Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Calibrating Power
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Over the next week or so, our daily routine could be summed up simply: eat well, rest well.
"Hah... hah..."
And then pour every ounce of strength into training as if there were no tomorrow, only to get beaten senseless by Lee Se-eun. I jammed my spear into the ground and wiped the drool from my mouth.
To win a fight, you just need to nail three things.
First, figure out what your body can do. Next, gauge what your opponent's capable of.
Finally, compare the two and find a path to victory.
"Easier said than done..."
I rolled to the side to dodge the swinging greatsword, and the ground exploded with a heavy thud. I managed to avoid the blade itself, but the shockwave spreading out caught me full force.
My guts churned, bile rising in my throat. A glance sideways showed Han Sang-ah looking just as queasy.
"We keep going, right?"
"Not even close."
It was barely morning. Quitting now would leave the rest of the day hanging.
We had two goals: get stronger and sync up with Han Sang-ah. Our aims aligned perfectly, which meant plenty of time sparring together.
We wouldn't mesh properly in a real fight until we'd fully adapted to each other.
"Here we go again."
Han Sang-ah nodded at my words and channeled mana into her sword. A faint crackle of sparks danced along the blade.
"Tone it down more."
Han Sang-ah's focus was one-shot kills—like butchering beasts back at the slaughterhouse, severing their throats in a single stroke. End it instantly.
To walk that path, a few conditions had to be met, including no flashy wind-ups. The result had to be spectacular, not the prep work.
She gritted her teeth at my instruction.
"I know it's tough. But syncing up is straightforward."
I create an opening, she lands the killing blow. If that doesn't finish it, I clean up. That was our core tactic when working together.
"Meeting over?"
Lee Se-eun blew a smoke ring from her cigar in a perfect circle, then spun the greatsword effortlessly in one hand.
"Yes. Back to pounding us."
Lee Se-eun chuckled, tapped ash from her pipe, and charged.
I read her movements, estimated the swing speed and mana infusion to gauge the attack's power.
Then judged and executed how to minimize the damage.
"You fight well... but something's still off."
From her expression, Lee Se-eun seemed lost in thought. After a week of back-and-forth, she was spotting more oddities.
You don't have to be stronger than your opponent to help out.
I instantly analyzed the mana and speed behind the downward slash.
I could deflect the strike, but not the shock. I'd have to tank it. As I parried, my vision shook from the impact, but I pinned the greatsword under my foot.
"Han! Cover me!"
Right on cue, Han Sang-ah lunged, swinging her blade. A torrent of overwhelming slashing energy poured toward Lee Se-eun—hard to believe it was the same sword that had only faintly sparked moments before.
"Hah."
Lee Se-eun dropped the greatsword and dove into the barrage. She weaved through the slashes like a salmon swimming upstream, racing toward Han Sang-ah.
"Where you going? Play with me."
Before she reached her, I shook off the shockwave's aftereffects and wedged myself between them. Han Sang-ah swiftly pulled back.
"Such a pain."
Losing her greatsword didn't weaken her. Every swing packed enough force to total three or four trucks.
The same pattern repeated. I made openings; she exploited them.
"How about this?"
Suddenly, Han Sang-ah jumped in between me and Lee Se-eun, slashing at her. Lightning arced across the ground like a rampaging demon.
"What about it?"
Lee Se-eun neutralized the charging bolt with an exasperated look. Unless she was caught off-guard, Han Sang-ah's attacks couldn't touch her.
She stared at Han Sang-ah pityingly.
"I like it."
I'm all for mixing it up. The moment Lee Se-eun countered, I charged with trails of blue light, unleashing Cannon.
Normally, I created the opening for Han Sang-ah to exploit. This time, roles reversed—she made a split-second gap with her heavy strike, and I capitalized.
"..."
For a instant, Lee Se-eun's movements grew sluggish and cluttered.
"Good try."
But it lasted only seconds. She quickly regained her poise. Moments later, an alarm blared.
"Radio check time. We'll pause here—be right back."
The greatsword vanished from Lee Se-eun's hand. Han Sang-ah and I relaxed our stances, gasping for breath.
"That last switch-up wasn't bad."
"Just lurking for openings from behind isn't enough. And even if I tried, it would've meant nothing if you couldn't follow through."
I tossed Han Sang-ah a towel and took a sip of water.
"I followed because I judged it feasible."
A series of cracks echoed from my body as I stood still. I groaned involuntarily. No direct hits, but the shockwaves alone had my whole body screaming.
Han Sang-ah posed a question.
"You really think we'll take down a Rank-1 Erosion Core like this?"
"No clue."
I had zero experience with Rank-1s. I was just following the fastest path to power I knew.
"Sword up."
I gripped my spear and faced her.
"Number guessing?"
I nodded, raised my spear, and charged.
"30.6?"
"Wrong."
My spear crashed onto her sword. Her knees buckled, a groan escaping her lips.
"15.7."
"Close, but no."
The beatdown continued. We rated attacks relative to max output as 100, training to gauge the opponent's power precisely. Han Sang-ah hadn't nailed it once yet.
By the time Lee Se-eun returned from her check, Han Sang-ah had eaten fifty hits from me.
"Role swap."
She nodded and, bruises blooming across her body, started sparring me.
"5.1, 6.3, 3.3... What a mess. If you hate it, just say you're out and scram."
Her strikes needed consistent power output. The goal: within 0.2 error margin of 5% of her max.
"Strengthen your body with the mana in it. Can't control yourself, what can you do?"
String of mistakes. I drove my fist into her gut. She doubled over, floating briefly before retching onto the ground.
"Up. Unless you want more."
She staggered to her feet. Lee Se-eun, back from radio duty, clucked her tongue.
"Beating her again."
"Don't say it like that."
I knew it wasn't easy. Power output wasn't uniform just by matching mana. Direction, stance, footwork, speed, positions—all variables every time.
My goal demanded awareness and control of them all. While sparring defensively, no less. Slip up, and I punish.
"Hey, up! You deaf?"
She caught a spear to the head exploiting a gap, tumbled, and I kicked her. She rolled a few times before rising unsteadily.
Lee Se-eun watched with incredulity.
"...How about handling junior hunter training at Zanabi?"
"Told you already."
Helping Han Sang-ah worked because our goals matched.
She took three hours of my pounding.
"That's enough."
She groaned, rose shakily, and collapsed onto the dorm steps.
"My turn?"
"Please."
Now I got thrashed. I trained her; Lee Se-eun trained me. A chain of beatings from top down.
And though Han Sang-ah might not realize it, she looked thrilled watching me get pummeled.
I'd probably enjoy it too. The guy who'd treated you like a punching bag getting the same treatment? Refreshing.
"Checked radio fifteen minutes ago. Keep it regular."
"Got it."
Han Sang-ah replied promptly, sipped her drink, circulated mana to ease fatigue and heal.
"Go easy?"
Lee Se-eun summoned her greatsword again and offered.
"No way. Beat me like stress relief."
Going easy made it playtime, not training.
"Alright then."
She swung. Sparring Lee Se-eun wasn't much different from with Han Sang-ah.
Difference: she was learning new; I was reviewing known skills.
End result: both ended up too battered to look at in a mirror.
"Dinner time."
"..."
I lay spread-eagled, staring blankly at the darkening sky. Gonna die for real. Then I chuckled inwardly.
"You're getting fast."
Lee Se-eun controlled her power while thrashing me. Han Sang-ah needed more time, but Lee Se-eun had hit 0.4 error margin after days of effort.
"The stuff I ordered arrives in an hour."
During dinner, Han Sang-ah's words lit up my face.
"Perfect timing. Running low anyway."
Korean hunters were hoarding elixirs like mad, so UK's quality was subpar by comparison.
But for me, those lower-grade ones were a godsend.
After dinner, till bedtime, I crammed them in to reinforce my meridians.
By the time we challenged the Rank-1 Erosion Core, Paradox Flame could burn more, with way higher output and control.
"Three months feels plenty."
I grinned at Han Sang-ah's comment.
"Wonder if Dangun's descendants are chilling at home with popcorn and games?"
Timing unknown, but they'd target the shield generator again. Lee Se-eun's face soured as she stirred her canned food with a fork.
"Britain signed a deal dumping mining rights to five overseas oil fields and thirteen mines—thirty years' worth—for peanuts, to host the shield experiment."
"Korean government never planned to honor it."
They'd figured on Dangun's descendants swiping the generator en route from Siberia.
No public link between government and them anyway—just blame terrorists.
Before meaningful data, Dangun's descendants would strike again.