The Conditions of a Believer (2)
In the early dawn.
If it had been any other day, I would have been training alone in the park, but not today.
I clocked in at Dio Guild early and headed straight for the training room.
“Hup! Huuup!”
I swung Judgment of the Superhuman a thousand times.
The training uniform I’d been wearing was soaked through with sweat in no time.
You couldn’t exactly say my skills had miraculously improved overnight just because of the magical circle called the Blessing of Effort.
Instead, a vivid image rose in my head.
I am.
A turtle that moves slowly, but never gives up.
Even one step a day was fine.
As long as I don’t stop.
I stack one small stone on top of another.
If it falls apart, I build it again.
That was how I trained steadily, without missing a single day.
Even if I was still at the very bottom for now.
Even if the tower of stone I’d built was nothing to brag about.
One day, when I looked back, I would be standing high above it all on thousands, tens of thousands of steps.
The stone tower I’d built would pierce the clouds.
The road I had chosen was one of patient, unhurried advancement, driven by sheer stubbornness.
…997, 998, 999.
Before I reached the final count, I twisted my body around.
The sandbag beside me caught my eye.
Without using Judgment of the Superhuman, I threw a punch with nothing but my own strength.
Bang!
The sandbag, made from the hide of a rhino monster called a Rhino, lurched as though it might smack into the ceiling.
It weighed well over a ton.
I steadied my breathing as I watched it swing back and forth.
To think I’d already gotten this much stronger without relying on my hero abilities.
A sense of pride welled up when my self-taught training method proved effective.
Next is—
I closed my eyes and circulated my mana.
Like spreading a thin coat over my whole body.
The mana spread through me as if forming a protective film.
This technique was Super Kid’s second skill.
I had copied Aura of the Gods exactly.
If it was fully deployed, it was a defensive technique that could even deflect bullets.
Let’s test it.
I shoved the sandbag with both hands as hard as I could.
Then I spread my feet into a perfect eleven shape, front and back, and held my ground.
If I succeeded, the sandbag should bounce off the barrier and get knocked back.
“Kkh!”
The moment the sandbag slammed into my face, my head snapped back violently.
I toppled over and rolled across the floor.
A thin line of blood trickled from my nose.
“……”
Compared to Judgment of the Superhuman, Aura of the Gods was far too slow.
It was less a barrier and more like simply coating my body in mana.
Any real impact shattered it in an instant.
What am I supposed to do?
I felt as lost as if I’d wandered off into darkness and couldn’t find the road back.
There were limits to training alone.
And I only had two weeks.
If I wanted to get stronger, I needed a teacher.
I needed the instruction of someone skilled, someone with real experience.
For example—
The training room door opened, and someone stepped inside.
Speak of the devil, and the mad dog shows up.
His figure, blurred by the backlight, gradually came into view.
His lips were twitching as he tried to hold back his temper.
“Choi Yongki. Who the hell gave you the nerve to drag me out here at this goddamn hour?”
It was Na Sang-min.
A rookie who’d only just joined the guild had summoned an S-class hunter.
If that wasn’t a rebellion against the hierarchy, I didn’t know what was.
Na Sang-min strode toward me.
“What, am I your damn family dog? Come when you call, leave when you tell me to?”
He looked ready to erupt like a volcano at any second.
“I’ll figure out whether you’re insanely brave or just plain stupid before I kill you.”
From everything I’d learned about Na Sang-min so far, he was proud and a little childish.
If you hate it that much, you could’ve just not come.
He’d shown up dressed for training, just like me.
I swallowed the words that rose to my throat, because the plan I’d set in motion wasn’t meant as a provocation.
At the same time, I even felt grateful to him.
Whatever else could be said.
He had come all this way to help me, hadn’t he?
He spat out sharp words without hesitation like a porcupine flinging its quills, but if you looked closer…
Maybe his insides are warmer than they seem.
Before long, Na Sang-min had reached me.
“Go on. Explain yourself. If you don’t have a damn good reason, you’re not walking out of here alive.”
Every time I was near him, I was reminded just how formidable S-class hunters were.
Even standing before him made the air feel like it was stabbing into my skin.
That said, I couldn’t back down.
I answered evenly, “The favor I’m owed.”
“What?”
During the multi-gate incident at Gangnam Station, Na Sang-min had said this to me:
“I don’t know what you’re so damn confident about, but if you pull it off, I’ll grant whatever you want, Choi Yongki.”
I’d obsessively dug into his past.
“I took down the multi-gate, so you have to grant my wish.”
“Y-you—!”
Na Sang-min’s lips trembled.
Not only in the guild, but everywhere, people were afraid of him.
I was no different.
The first time I’d met him, I’d been so tense my legs nearly gave out.
But after seeing him over and over again…
Somehow, he’s kind of cute.
Maybe that was because, in actual years, I was much older than Na Sang-min.
Maybe men like him were easier to handle because of that.
Let’s see if I can train him a little.
I met his eyes.
“A man doesn’t take back his word.”
Self-inflicted bondage.
From Na Sang-min’s point of view, he’d never dreamed I’d actually close the multi-gate, so it had been a reckless thing to say.
But in the end, the words he’d spoken had tied him up all on their own.
“Hah. So what do you want?”
“Just like I said on the phone. Teach me how to use a sword.”
Na Sang-min had originally been a highly skilled swordsman.
Then, for reasons unknown, he had suddenly switched to the spear as his main weapon.
“That’s it?”
“If possible, I’d like you to start from the basics. As an Awakened, I want to handle mana more skillfully.”
I wasn’t planning to learn only swordsmanship from Na Sang-min.
Wasn’t this a chance to hire an S-class hunter as my one-on-one private tutor?
If I was going to do it, then I might as well—
—milk him for everything he’s worth.
After a moment of inner torment, Na Sang-min bared his crooked teeth and grinned.
“You’re the one who made the first offer.”
Huh?
For an instant, Na Sang-min’s smile looked demonic.
“No backing out later.”
The devil took off his top.
It was the first time I’d seen his bare body without any gear on.
Every inch of his excessively developed upper body was carved with scars.
What kind of life do you have to live to end up with a body like that?
Na Sang-min stretched, then stood upright.
“What are you waiting for? We’re starting now.”
* * *
“Uwaaagh!!!”
I bent over and puked my guts out.
The food I’d eaten that morning splattered all over the floor.
A line of liquid I couldn’t tell was saliva or stomach acid kept dripping from my lips.
Only fifteen minutes had passed.
And yet, in those fifteen minutes alone, I’d completely emptied myself of strength to the point that I couldn’t even move a finger.
“Hah… huff.”
Na Sang-min jutted out his chin.
“Clean up the puke later.”
He’d been smirking the whole time.
Damn it.
Na Sang-min was the one helping me.
I was definitely the one receiving the help.
That’s the problem, though. The more I suffer, the happier he looks.
I staggered to my feet.
Na Sang-min had taught me a Tabata workout he’d designed himself.
Officially, it was called Na Sang-min Style High-Intensity Interval Training.
And that wasn’t all.
…This is heavy as hell.
I’d strapped a weighted vest across my chest and fastened heavy lead pouches to my wrists and ankles.
No wonder I’m vomiting.
But I couldn’t complain.
“Tsk. And here I thought you were going to fall apart that fast.”
Na Sang-min was wearing even heavier equipment than I was.
On top of that, he added more reps using the exact same movements I did.
According to him, he trained five times every week without fail.
Surprisingly diligent.
While I was catching my breath, Na Sang-min folded his arms.
“You said you want to become a master swordsman in fifteen days?”
“Yes. I’ve got my reasons.”
I decided to leave out the part about the Twelve Apostles of Cheonyang-ji.
“Be that as it may. What’s your goal in life? You know. That thing you desperately want, the thing you’re aiming for.”
It was an unexpected question.
Was he trying to set a destination before a grueling march?
He’s more meticulous than I thought.
I wiped my mouth and looked at Na Sang-min.
“The strongest hunter.”
I could answer without hesitation because it was something I’d always resolved to become.
Though it’s a little different in truth.
What I desperately wanted was to become the strongest hero.
Na Sang-min mulled over my answer.
“The strongest, huh. The strongest.”
Then he snorted.
“And you think you can do what even I couldn’t? You’re saying you’ll surpass me?”
Na Sang-min was the strongest in Dio Guild.
Still, there are always higher skies above the sky.
There were SS-class hunters overseas.
And there were SSS-class hunters said to be the strongest on Earth.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to reach the summit.”
This time too, I expected to hear him laugh at me.
But instead, Na Sang-min muttered with a serious expression, “Yeah. There was another bastard who used to talk like you.”
Na Sang-min turned away.
“Wait here. I’m going to bring something I used to use.”
A little while later, Na Sang-min dragged something back with him.
It was too massive to simply call a greatsword.
It was an enormous great sword.
Na Sang-min held it out to me.
“Brace yourself. I’m not going easy on you.”
As the frayed cloth wrapped around the great sword’s hilt touched my palm, a bead of cold sweat slid down my forehead.
* * *
From that day on, hell began.
Except for the day a gate burst open, I practically lived in the training room with Na Sang-min.
I woke at dawn, trained, ate, trained, trained again, trained, trained, trained…
My grip had torn open long ago and gone numb, and bruises had spread across my entire body until sensation itself had started to fade.
One day, while swinging the sword, I collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep right there in the training room.
When I opened my eyes, brilliant morning sunlight was shining on me.
A pure white training uniform had been draped over my body.
Na Sang-min’s name was written on the name tag.
He’s unexpectedly kind…
Yeah, right. Like hell he was.
“You little son of a bitch! Keep running! If that’s all you’ve got, just quit!!!”
With veins bulging in his neck, Na Sang-min drove me like he was trying to catch a rat.
And so a week passed.
On the eighth day.
I was standing on one foot on a needle, gripping the sword and trying to keep my balance.
If my concentration slipped even a little, the needle’s sharp tip would stab into my big toe.
By then, I’d already been at it for nine hours and forty-eight minutes.
Both my body and my mind had reached their limit.
…I’d rather die.
I trembled, and then my big toenail finally cracked, sending me crashing to the floor.
Na Sang-min grabbed me by the collar and hauled me up.
“Again! Back to position! I told you clearly. Twenty-four hours. No food, no sleep, and you hold it for a full day.”
Since I hadn’t had even a sip of water, my nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
“Damn it! What the hell is this even supposed to do?!”
I must have hit my own limit too.
Driven half-mad, I swung the greatsword wildly.
“You’re just doing this to torment me!”
Na Sang-min shifted his body slightly to dodge the blade, then shoved me in the chest.
As I went flying, Na Sang-min lashed out and kicked the sandbag with terrifying force.
The sturdy hide split cleanly down the middle, and the colorful contents inside scattered through the air.
“What good is it? It’s good for something.”
Na Sang-min picked up the great sword from the floor and slung it over his shoulder.
“I got stronger with this too.”
He pointed the sword tip at me.
“If you’re going to take me as your master for life, then trust me.”
I’d asked him to teach me for fifteen days.
I hadn’t said I’d make him my master for life.
My chest ached, so I didn’t say anything more.
At this point, it looked like he’d already accepted me as his lifelong disciple anyway.
“Fine. Master. Let’s go all the way to the end.”
I brushed the dust off my ass and stood back up.
And then.
Ten days, thirteen days, fourteen days…
At last, the day before the Twelve Apostles’ trial arrived.
Srrk.
Na Sang-min drew a properly forged sword.
It was a pitch-black blade, as though it had devoured every color around it.
“Here. Take it. This is your final gift.”
This was the one I had only ever heard about in rumors.
Heoksikdo.
Na Sang-min’s ultimate weapon, the one he had used before becoming a spearman.