Martial Arts Training (2)
The training grounds of Eden Camp still held the chill of dawn, the cold not yet burned away by morning light. In that hush, as the eastern sky began to pale, Hyun Si-woon sat cross-legged in deep circulation of his internal energy.
Overnight, dew had settled on his shoulders like frost, yet he did not so much as stir.
How much time passed, he could not have said.
"Hooo."
At last a long, clear breath left his lips. Silver-white energy rose from his dantian, wound once around his entire body, and thinned into the dawn air.
Ever since he had reached the realm of Form Refinement, his need for sleep had dropped sharply. More precisely, sleep was no longer the only means of recovering the body's fatigue. Merely sinking into deep energy circulation melted away a night's exhaustion and left his mind clear. Thanks to that, his days ran three or four hours longer than anyone else's.
Si-woon devoted those dawn hours entirely to looking inward.
That attitude of casting life aside will, one day, seep into everything you do.
She's right.
He turned Ha-wol's words over again. Regression was a privilege, true enough — but it was not omnipotent. And the moment a save point was set, everything before it became irreversible reality. So every moment had to be lived well.
He set short-term goals.
First: never stop advancing in martial arts.
Second: grow not alone, but with his comrades.
Third: raise the overall level of the entire Republic of Korea server.
With that resolve, his days began to turn with the seamless precision of interlocking gears.
When the sun rose, Team 1 — Hyun Si-woon's climbing party — and Team 2 — Yoo Jin-hyeok's climbing party — gathered. The Republic of Korea server's pure talent and its current peak, assembled in one place.
Si-woon stood before them.
"From now on, each member of Team 1 will take a member of Team 2 one-on-one and instruct them. We'll pair you by the weapons you use."
"Oh."
"So we're getting disciples of our own, Hyeong-nim?"
Disciples, huh.
Si-woon huffed a quiet laugh and nodded.
"If you look at it that way, yeah."
Hwang Dae-un really was simple. An ordinary mind might have bristled at the thought of a rival learning the same techniques — yet he just grinned, ear to ear. Probably because Si-woon had looked pretty impressive when he took Yoon Seo-a as his disciple.
"All right. Pair up by weapon."
"Yes, sir!"
Team 2 moved with sharp, almost military haste. When people want something badly enough, the body accelerates on its own — and there was also the instinctive deference that came from the gap in stature. Team 1 was simply stronger, and everyone knew it.
"Anyone who uses a spear, over here."
"Yes, ma'am!"
At Jang Cha-yul's call, Han Ji-yoon hurried over. The pairings were as follows:
Spear: Jang Cha-yul — Han Ji-yoon
Blunt weapons: Hwang Dae-un — Jeong David
Shield arts: Baek Yeon-ho — Bok Dong-jin
Bow: Kang Si-a — Oh Jeong-min
Staff: Baek Do-hee — Cha Dae-beom
The one difference was that Cha Dae-beom leaned toward the mage path, unlike Baek Do-hee. It didn't matter. Baek Do-hee had only been taught heart techniques specialized in the circulation of qi, after all.
And Yoo Jin-hyeok.
The sword-user stood alone. But Si-woon could not teach him the Moon Spirit Divine Art. Ha-wol would throw a fit, that much was certain. The Moon Spirit line had always walked the path of single-lineage transmission.
Of course. Don't worry. This lady knows well over a hundred martial arts. I'll throw him something suited to his build and temperament.
Okay.
So the twelve climbers found their partners and scattered across the training grounds. From the basics, slowly. Before long the grounds of Eden Camp were thick with heat and effort.
The Atla raid.
After that vast storm had passed, the Republic of Korea server sank, paradoxically, into a deeper silence. The festival had been short. Climbers had raved over the heroes' exploits and sighed in relief that the server had survived — and then they were face-to-face with cold reality again.
Nothing had changed. Aside from the Pioneer party that had taken first place in contribution, no climbers received rewards. They still had to fight monsters day after day for TC, and still spent their nights under the terror of being torn apart at any moment.
I can't go on living like this.
I want to get strong like them…
Should I just climb the Tower?
The event had planted a hunger for ascent in those who remained. That anguish spilled raw across the free boards.
Questions poured in by the minute, but replies were scarce. When they came at all, the mood was cold.
In a way, it was only natural. In a world where survival itself was a struggle, who would pour time and effort into a stranger's face they would never see?
Then, like a comet, someone appeared.
"…!"
Everyone who saw the reply went wide-eyed. Beside her name sat the overwhelming level marker — 7th Floor. And more than that: not a dry list of facts, but warm words with genuine encouragement in them.
The rumor spread like wildfire. Climbers searched her nickname and flocked to every reply she had left, as if on a pilgrimage.
Her answers never faltered. Like a private tutor, she offered kind, meticulous explanations, one after another. Climbers went wild. They chanted her nickname as if a god had descended.
Hehe.
Watching the reaction, Jang Cha-yul grinned. After grinding through hard training, washing clean in warm water, and flopping onto her bed, community-lurking was her one true joy. And the one who had taken the reins off her was none other than Hyun Si-woon.
To raise the server's overall level, he had decided to release information directly through his own party members — separate from Owl. As he had said before, nothing that could count as hidden content. Only information that would let people climb safely along the official routes.
Before long the community was full of praise for Jang Cha-yul.
Community-only, of course — but Jang Cha-yul looked even more selfless than the Saintess, Baek Do-hee.
And when a question stumped her?
She showed a frank, easygoing side instead.
That reply set off another wave.
People's eyes moved past Jang Cha-yul to the vast presence behind her — the Pioneer. Someone who never showed his face, and yet exerted the greatest influence over the entire server.
The climbers never realized that the two suns they revered were, in truth, a single existence.
Jang Cha-yul's mouth itched, but she held it in. What the leader had permitted was releasing basic clear information to climbers. That alone was enough for her.
People had been chanting Dragon Spear, Dragon Spear — and before long they hung a new nickname on her.
Dragon Savior.
A portmanteau of Dragon Spear and savior.
Pfft, look at these people.
Her cheeks flushed at the over-the-top praise, but the corners of her mouth were hitched up to her ears.
Training ended near sunset. Hyun Si-woon's day was not over yet.
I still need to refine my own martial arts further.
Huuh.
Steadying his breath, he let silver-white sword-qi bloom from the tip of his blade.
Form Refinement. The realm of shaping qi.
Ha-wol had told him: to reach Moon Gang, he had to wear that shaped qi like armor. In her world, they had called it the Sword Veil.
The Sword Veil is not defense. It is an extension of the attack. Think of it as wrapping yourself in invisible blades that cut everything that brushes your body.
Ha-wol's counsel cut through his mind.
Sssaaa—
Si-woon drew the sword-qi from the tip of his blade back onto his own body. It demanded exquisite control. The slightest slip, and he would cut himself — a razor's-edge performance.
Chzzzt!
The energy touched his skin. His clothes scorched through, and shallow wounds etched themselves into his flesh.
"Kh—"
He clenched his teeth. It hurt, but he did not stop. He healed the wounds with recovery, and when his qi scattered he focused again.
Dozens of failures. Hundreds. His body was a map of cuts with no unmarred place left, and the training ground floor was stained with blood. Night deepened and the moon climbed high, yet he showed no sign of stopping.
Enough.
At last Ha-wol, who had been watching, could not hold back.
You stubborn brat. Did you think you could break through to Moon Gang in a single day? What will you do if you fall into qi deviation?
"Damn it."
Si-woon finally sank to the ground. His whole body throbbed. The energy in his dantian was all but gone. He pushed sweat-soaked hair back from his forehead and dragged in rough breaths.
Right. Don't rush it.
If not today?
He would try tomorrow.
If not tomorrow either?
Then the day after.
Hyun Si-woon's time kept moving.
And at last, the six months he had promised his members were gone.