Chapter 152
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Eyes That Please
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"Looks like I won the bet... So, what now?"
Lee Se-hun asked with a confident shrug.
Ha Seon-woo took a deep breath to steady himself before responding slowly.
"We'll talk about the bet later. For now, could you shoot a few more arrows? It ended quicker than I expected, so we're short on samples."
She knew Lee Se-hun had excellent foresight and countermeasures, but it wasn't enough to judge his full talent.
Even with his pride undoubtedly bruised, Ha Seon-woo's polite demeanor made Lee Se-hun nod.
"Got it."
Lee Se-hun picked up a new arrow and, now far more practiced than before, fired it straight at the wind barrier in one fluid motion.
Thwung!
The arrow pierced into the barrier, smoothly riding the currents. Watching from the side, Ha Seon-woo stared in disbelief.
'Is this... even possible?'
With every shot, Lee Se-hun's archery improved as if a year had passed.
At first, she thought he'd practiced in secret or had innate talent, but observing through her unique skill, Clairvoyance, changed her mind.
'It's not like he's learning anew... It's more like he's remembering.'
Like a seasoned archer picking up a bow after decades, his dulled skills sharpened with each repetition, memories resurfacing.
Ha Seon-woo felt both awe and suspicion at the unnatural sight.
'Is it just the skill's effect... or something else entirely...?'
A promising next-gen talent from an ordinary family, suddenly blooming with terrifying growth after enrolling at Babel.
His talents were unnaturally diverse and exceptional. As Ha Seon-woo eyed him curiously,
"Hmm."
Lee Se-hun, gazing at the arrow, reached for another from his quiver.
"What...?"
Thwung!
Before Ha Seon-woo could react, a second arrow flew toward the barrier and began weaving through the currents alongside the first.
The arrows moved separately, spaced about 10 meters apart. Control faltered slightly at first with two, but stabilized instantly.
'At this rate... about 30%.'
Lee Se-hun quickly calculated the stamina and mental strain per arrow, plus the increasing load.
He grabbed another arrow.
"Here it comes."
Thwung! Thwung! Thwung!
Arrows fired at steady intervals. Each new one disrupted the others briefly, but they realigned swiftly, surging forward powerfully.
Three arrows became five, then ten in total.
Whoosh!
Like salmon battling upstream, the arrows lined up, riding the flow. Ha Seon-woo gaped, too stunned to react further.
'Isn't this... instructor level?'
Perfectly grasping the wind currents around ten arrows and maneuvering each individually.
Even in her family's archery hall, only the instructors—including herself—could manage kite-flying drills to that extent.
"Next one... won't work. This feels like my limit for now."
Lee Se-hun spoke casually while maintaining the ten arrows. Ha Seon-woo looked utterly confused.
Too unrealistic to seem real, perhaps. As she struggled for words amid the surreal scene,
Ding!
A notification chimed from her pocket. Ha Seon-woo flinched and quickly pulled out her phone to check the screen.
[Great-Aunt Grandma]
Recognizing the name, she straightened up tensely and answered.
"Yes, I've got you."
-Put that kid in front of me... No, switch to speaker.
At Ha Baek-yeon's instruction, Ha Seon-woo quickly adjusted the phone so the voice echoed around them.
-Ah, can you hear me?
Ha Baek-yeon's voice emanated from the speaker. Lee Se-hun, having anticipated this, replied calmly.
"Yes, loud and clear."
-Good. I saw your archery. Better talent than I expected.
"Thank you for the kind words."
Ha Baek-yeon chuckled lightly at Lee Se-hun's polite response.
-So, that archery that crushed my grandnephew earlier—was it taught by that punk Gwang-su?
"Don't say my name."
"......"
Ma Gwang-su grumbled curtly at being mentioned. Ha Seon-woo flushed silently.
Embarrassed already, and now judged as "crushed" by a respected family elder—what could she say?
"I didn't learn archery specifically. Just how to fight well."
-Oh? Yet you pulled out that hidden technique...
"Cut the chatter and evaluate already!"
Ha Baek-yeon laughed over the phone at Ma Gwang-su's irritation before continuing.
-Fine, fine. Short evaluation... Yeah, it's decent. Not great, not bad.
"......Pardon?"
Ha Seon-woo blurted out involuntarily.
Archery rivaling instructors, foresight piercing her every move—yet only "decent"?
-Tsk tsk. Can't you tell? It's all tricks and patchwork.
"Tricks...?"
At Ha Baek-yeon's dismissive tone, Ha Seon-woo instinctively looked at the arrows still dancing in the wind barrier.
They moved exquisitely with the flow. She'd thought each controlled independently, but now patterns emerged.
'Using the lead arrow to read the overall flow... then minimal adjustments for the rest?'
Inducing slight regularity in the irregular winds, then efficiently controlling arrows to match.
Not superior archery per se, but an optimized method for kite-flying drills alone. Ha Seon-woo let out a hollow laugh.
"This is... really..."
Should she blame her own oversight for missing it, or praise Lee Se-hun for fooling even her eyes? She couldn't decide.
As Ha Seon-woo stood dazed, Ha Baek-yeon pressed on.
-Still, deploying those tricks means solid basics. Reads wind decently... bow handling's fine too.
"But not great."
-Exactly. And don't you know?
Gazing at Lee Se-hun from a distant mountain peak, Ha Baek-yeon asked flatly.
-All your techniques are hollow.
Techniques that rang empty. Lee Se-hun's expression flickered oddly at the evaluation.
'Haven't heard that in a while.'
A critique he'd endured endlessly from the Three Dogs and top heroes pre-regression.
The words that made him realize his lack of combat gift. He replied evenly.
"Yeah, kinda feels that way."
-Don't get too down. Pulling that off despite it is talent in itself. For example... Whoops, bad analogy. Forget I said it.
Ha Baek-yeon awkwardly shifted topics.
-Anyway, that's the eval. Result? Pass.
"Pass?"
-Qualified to be my disciple.
The arena's chaotic air froze. Ha Seon-woo, laughing hollowly, widened her eyes.
"D-disciple?"
Many had learned from Ha Baek-yeon, but none claimed as her disciple from Yuanjian Temple.
She gave lessons more freely than other Summit Climbers, but rarely took formal disciples.
-Archery's lacking, but your eyes appeal. Type closest to that Forerunner punk, but moldable.
Lee Se-hun looked mildly surprised at the assessment.
'Likes my eyes?'
Reading winds, or piercing her actions? The opaque criteria puzzled him as Ha Baek-yeon asked again.
-So, what do you think? Rare chance, if I do say so.
An opportunity to become disciple to a Summit Climber from Yuanjian Temple.
No loss, even if cast out midway—the teachings were invaluable.
"Hmm..."
Lee Se-hun pondered the unexpected option seriously when,
"No way!!"
Ma Gwang-su shouted urgently from the side.
"Who said you can take him as disciple? Absolutely not!"
-Why the fuss? Anyone'd think you're his master...
"He learned Heavenly Insect Sword from me—close enough! No way! You get it, right?!"
Lee Se-hun met Ma Gwang-su's desperate plea with a steady gaze.
"Why?"
"......What?"
"I'm in your class, Professor... but that's it. No other ties."
"You little..."
Ma Gwang-su bristled at the firm rebuff.
After tailing him and supporting from shadows at his age, to get stabbed in the back like this!
As he opened his mouth in outrage,
"And earlier, you called me a greenhorn? If that's the level, doesn't matter if I vanish, right?"
Lee Se-hun's sharp retort left Ma Gwang-su's jaw dropping.
Surely he'd side with a Summit Climber—yet he was sulking over that remark?
'Such a petty guy...'
As Ma Gwang-su floundered on how to salvage this,
Hahaha!
Ha Baek-yeon's laughter burst from the phone.
-Priceless expression. Make that face more often—be a sight.
"......Shut it."
Ma Gwang-su twitched irritably. Ha Baek-yeon chuckled softly again.
-No rush to answer. Think it over. You've got plans anyway.
"Thank you."
-Until then... Right, Seon-woo, serve him as junior uncle.
"Understood... Wait, junior uncle?"
Ha Seon-woo looked baffled.
Junior uncle—master's junior colleague, her senior.
-If he's my disciple, same generation as your master and father. Junior uncle it is.
"B-but..."
-But?
"Even so..."
-Even so?
"......"
Under Ha Baek-yeon's repeated prompts, Ha Seon-woo faltered, then sighed.
"Got... it."
-Good. I need to talk with that Gwang-su punk. You two settle that bet outside.
"Y-yes..."
Click.
The call ended, leaving an awkward silence in the arena.
Ha Seon-woo stared at her phone for a long moment before turning to Lee Se-hun.
"Please take care of me, Junior Uncle."
Lee Se-hun grinned brightly, delighted. Ha Seon-woo's eyes twitched as she bit her lip before replying.
"P-please take care of me, Junior Uncle."
Vibrant Lee Se-hun and near-dead Ha Seon-woo exited the arena. Ma Gwang-su's phone buzzed immediately, left alone.
"......Tch."
He clicked his tongue briefly and answered Ha Baek-yeon's call.
-Why dawdle if you're gonna pick up?
"Quiet! What're you thinking?"
Acting casual at first, then disciple? Irritation peaked with Lee Se-hun involved, but Ma Gwang-su had reasons.
"Even so, not disciple material. Why the sudden change?"
Decades of acquaintance—mostly on battlefields—meant they knew each other's quirks, styles, standards intimately.
-Honestly? A bit lacking.
"Then why?"
-Said it. His eyes appeal.
Glancing at Lee Se-hun walking off with Ha Seon-woo, Ha Baek-yeon stated flatly.
-His perspective's twisted. Faintly laced with the future... Highly unique.
"Future? Like precog?"
-Different. Less seeing, more seen before... Definitely not commonplace.
Same fundamentals yield vastly different results based on viewpoint.
Lee Se-hun's held polish-worthy potential.
-Disciple stint's temporary. That rarity polishes quick.
"What about Ludwig?"
-He tells me to teach whoever. Me watching leisurely proves it.
"Tch... Help me out more..."
Wondering if non-Summit Climbers got short shrift, Ma Gwang-su inwardly cursed Ludwig when,
-Learning from me won't hurt you either.
"How?"
Ha Baek-yeon replied calmly to his annoyance.
-He's doppelganger-like.
Ma Gwang-su's face hardened. He turned not to the phone, but her direction.
Cold eyes brooking no nonsense. Meeting them, Ha Baek-yeon smiled.
-Teach well, and it'll help your search.