Chapter 258. Each Person’s Constitution
Chi-Woo didn’t stop after the first success. He began swinging the club again.
Swoosh, swoosh. Meaningless wind sounds rang in the air and then—
Crackk! Again, Chi-Woo made a sound as if the atmosphere was splitting. The sound was much clearer than before, but above all, it took less than ten attempts this time. Chi-Woo succeeded in exactly eight tries. Chi-Woo swung the club non-stop, and the more he swung, the fewer attempts it took him to make the right sound. After succeeding on the eighth swing, he succeeded on the seventh. Then eighth, sixth, sixth again, and fifth…
Crack! Craccck! Then there were times when he succeeded twice in a row, and then three times in a row. A pleasant notification sound also rang. The fact that his basic blunt attack rose was proof that he had fully comprehended this technique. Moreover, Chi-Woo showed signs of exhaustion quicker than before. It was different than when he swung his club mindlessly because he needed a considerable amount of mental energy to pay attention to his every movement to maintain the appropriate balance. As a result, he naturally ran out of breath, and sweat flowed down his body like rain.
Although it was extremely strenuous, Chi-Woo endured it. He gritted his teeth hard and swung the ghost-busting club with great care because he also felt like he was properly training. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he finally exhausted all the energy in his body, he stopped moving his club. There was no power left in him to swing it. Chi-Woo got down on one knee and gasped for breath.
“How…is…it…?” he asked while gathering his breath.
Byeok didn’t say anything. She merely looked down at him as he panted. However, there was clear surprise in her eyes. Chi-Woo had already fulfilled her requirement of successfully swinging 1,000 times; to be exact, he had swung 1,279 times correctly. There was only one reason why she did not stop him even though he exceeded her condition—she could tell that he was growing. She didn’t know if he realized it himself, but by the end, Chi-Woo succeeded almost seven or eight times out of ten even while changing his movements, adding stabbing into the mix.
Of course, she couldn’t understand this situation at all. It was only yesterday that Chi-Woo had been unable to make even one successful swing out of thousands of times. How could he suddenly swing like this today? On the other hand, he really did succeed, and Byeok sincerely admired his growth in real-time. She quietly raised her hands.
Clap, clap, clap, clap. Chi-Woo’s eyes widened at the following sound. He had been curious about her reaction, but he didn’t expect to receive an applause. However, it was natural for Byeok because this was her usual personality; she always said things as it was and criticized people for bad work while praising good work. And Chi-Woo just now did a great job.
“I’m surprised. You really proved your words. As expected of a hero from the Choi family.” She continued complimenting him. “If you ask me how it was, rather than genius…hmm…should I say it feels superhuman? Yeah, it feels like I’m looking at a beast who realized his instincts.”
Chi-Woo flinched after hearing Byeok’s accurate assessment. It seemed she really lived up to her fame.
“How did you manage to do it? You didn’t seem like that type at all. How can a person change so much overnight?”
Chi-Woo scratched his head at Byeok’s question. He had used his merits to fulfill her condition, but he was embarrassed to reveal the truth. Byeok intuitively realized that Chi-Woo must have used some kind of shortcut or help from the way he was hesitating, but she didn’t mind it too much. Even if he got detailed advice from someone, this was not something he could do with only a few words. But above all, it was undeniable that Chi-Woo did this on his own. Since she saw it with her own eyes, she could verify it as well.
“It’s all right. Tell me.”
At Byeok’s urging, Chi-Woo was forced to speak. “I…bought it.”
“What? Bought it?”
“Yes…Should I say I bought talent…?” After his conversation with Noel, Chi-Woo had opened up his user information and raised his ‘Golden Ratio’ ability with his merits. There were two reasons why Chi-Woo came up with this idea. First was due to his brother’s words.
[It’s amazingly messy.]
[This is crazy. I expected as much but…there’s more than one thing to correct. And balance is the key driver to your growth? Why that out of everything? What am I supposed to do with this? What the hell were you thinking…]
Chi-Hyun had severely criticized Chi-Woo’s user information when he first saw it. He even cursed La Bella, questioning how on earth she let him get to this point. Chi-Hyun had also scolded him, saying that the Golden Ratio was also a result of a unique ability and not a product of effort. However, after reading that ‘the same actions become more efficient by several-fold’ in the description of Golden Ratio, he said La Bella at least had a bit of conscience.
The second reason was due to the words of his assistant, Mimi.
–F →E →D→C →B → B+ →A → A+ → A++ →A+++ →AA → AAA → S → EX.
Mimi had told him that the limit of human physical ability was rank C. However, standards for an ordinary person’s ability or skill was different from physical abilities.
—Rank A means that you are an expert. And an expert is still human.
—If you surpass rank A, you’ve surpassed the limits of a human. Thus, a person at rank S is a superhuman. Only those who surpassed human limits can reach this stage.
Chi-Woo’s Golden Ratio was originally triple-A grade. Although it exceeded A, it was still within rank A. Of course, even this was a great feat, but the problem lay in Chi-Woo. As Chi-Hyun said, since Chi-Woo basically just picked up this skill and didn’t acquire it through effort, he wasn’t able to utilize it 100 percent. Thus, the solution Chi-Woo thought of was to rank up Golden Ratio to raise its upper and lower limit at the same time.
It wasn’t an easy decision. Chi-Woo hadn’t even dared to raise Golden Ratio’s rank when it first required 2,178,675 merit points. It even went up to 2,217,392 at one point, but it had decreased considerably after Chi-Woo’s training with his brother. Unfortunately, the amount of merit points required was still huge, nearly 2,000,000 points. Still, Chi-Woo thought this was the only way, so he decided to splurge.
[Golden Ratio S] – A temporary vessel reassembled by the ‘Core of Balance’. It is based on the golden ratio, said to create the most beautiful and balanced harmony since ancient times. After the body achieves perfect balance, all physical attributes increase by one rank. In addition, every action taken under a clear purpose has a tremendous positive effect. The body has achieved the minimum conditions to transcend mortality and challenge for immorality. However, the user's physical abilities are too low and do not transcend human capabilities, so the effects of this ability will be only semi-permanent, and the user will only be able to maintain it through continuous training.
In the end, his prediction hit right on the mark. After raising it to S rank, the Golden Ratio gained a new ability: ‘Every action taken under a clear purpose has a tremendous positive effect’. When the Golden Ratio was at triple A, he could get a rough grasp of how great this ability was, but it was a totally different ballgame once he reached S rank. As soon as he experienced it, he felt an electrifying sensation that melted gently throughout his body. He couldn’t understand it, but his body instinctively accepted this sensation, and he succeeded in embodying it by fulfilling Byeok’s condition. However, he felt a prick of conscience because he had taken a short-cut rather than coming to the realization on his own.
“Hmm…you bought a talent… Is it a temporary effect?”
“No. It applies semi-permanently as long as I try hard to maintain it.”
“Well, then it doesn’t matter.” Unexpectedly, Byeok didn’t criticize him or say it was a lowly trick. “Doesn’t it mean that it’s yours now anyway? Then it shouldn’t be a problem.”
She was not as stringent as he thought. Chi-Woo’s complexion brightened with her generous words.
Then Byeok asked, “If you could do that, why didn’t you buy it earlier?”
Chi-Woo also felt the same way. He never imagined that there would be such a big difference between the level of humans and the level of superhumans.
“Let me see… Since you kept your promise, it’s my turn to keep mine.” Byeok sat back down on the verandah and said, “Share your user information first.”
Chi-Woo hesitated at her sudden request, but he remembered what Noel said and turned on his device. For some reason, he had a feeling that he could trust her.
Byeok slowly scanned Chi-Woo’s user information. She looked interested for a bit, and then her expression quickly stiffened.
“Wow…” She gaped and said, “Wow…fuck…wow…”
How bad was it that she was swearing? Seemingly having sensed his gaze, Byeok turned to look at him. She kept licking her lips while glancing at him. “You cowardly punk!” Then she suddenly began yelling at him. “Haven’t I clearly told you to fulfill my condition through the standard process!? How dare you use such a cheap trick!”
‘What…why is she suddenly acting like this?’ Chi-Woo grumbled, “But you just told me it was okay earlier, and there was no problem…”
“Do you not have pride as a man?” Byeok flinched and shouted as if she was trying to find fault with him somehow. “A woman you don’t know suddenly invaded your personal space and is acting so arrogant! If I were you, I would have yelled and tried to chase me out already!”
For some reason, it sounded like Byeok was begging him to kick her out. She sounded extremely desperate. At that moment, Chi-Woo had an intuition that he had to cling onto her at all costs. Fortunately, he had already set a condition for this.
“You promised me already that you’ll teach me until I want to stop…”
Byeok let out a groan. She blamed herself for agreeing and now regretted her words.
Chi-Woo felt down because it was so obvious that she didn’t want to teach him. “Is it that bad? To the point where you don’t want to teach…”
“…No…it’s…” Byeok didn’t finish as she saw his sullen face. It wasn’t only because of the promise she made with him; his face also kept overlapping with when he was a baby, when he always smiled brightly at her. But above all, considering that Chi-Hyun always went above and beyond for his brother, he wouldn’t leave her alone after finding out about this incident.
“Sigh…” In the end, Byeok realized that she had no other choice and lowered her head. “Ha, seriously. I’ve been preparing myself, but what a guy…never thought I would get so shocked even in my old age…”
Chi-Woo’s eyes became big as saucers when he heard this because he suddenly recalled a long-buried memory in his head. It was when he was living with his mentor.
[Chi-Woo.]
One day, his mentor suddenly called out to him and said.
[Do you remember what I told you when I first saw you?]
[Yes, of course I remember.]
[Really? Then what did I say?]
[Ha, damn it. What a guy…even in my old age, I’m shocked! That’s what you said.]
[What, how do you remember it so accurately?]
[Honestly, it was because I was hurt by your words.]
[Damn. Why are you getting hurt by such a thing? Are you a snowflake?]
[Well, I have a sensitive, young heart. So anyway, why do you ask?]
[…By any chance, if even in the distant future.]
Chi-Woo clearly remembered his mentor’s words.
[If there’s someone who says something similar to me, cling to them no matter what.]
[What? Why?]
[Because that person will help you tremendously. You have to cling onto them no matter how dirty and cheap you have to be. Okay?]
[I mean, why? Why do I have to do that just because of a few words? Sir, you have to tell me the reason.]
[Don’t ask me why. If they say that after seeing you once, that person is probably an extraordinary person.]
[What’s wrong with my condition?]
His mentor hadn’t answered his question. He hadn’t known it then, but now he could guess that his mentor probably wanted to answer but couldn’t. Anyway, the important thing was that the person that fit his teacher’s criteria finally appeared. What Byeok just said was almost identical to what his teacher had said when he first saw him.
Soon after, Byeok took out the pipe she had been smoking the whole time from her mouth. “You know that blonde guy.”
“Blonde guy? Do you mean Ru Amuh?”
“I don’t know his name, but that guy who sometimes comes and goes after watching you quietly.”
This was news to Chi-Woo. In addition, he blinked because he didn’t know why she suddenly mentioned Ru Amuh.
Byeok drew a perfect circle on the ground and said, “To use a metaphor, that guy’s condition is like this.” Then she said, “It’s ideal even in my own eyes both in terms of potential and talent. He even knows exactly what he should do. He’s not lacking in any way. He doesn’t even need a teacher because he’s the type to do well by himself.” She tapped the perfect circle on the ground and said, “But you…” She glanced at Chi-Woo and started drawing on the ground again.
Unlike before, the pipe began moving very dramatically, and she wasn’t drawing a circle anymore. She drew spikes, waves, and lines that crossed and tangled up with each other. In short, it was extremely asymmetric. Thus, the result of the drawing could hardly be described as a shape, let alone a circle. It was not even close to a geometric pattern and far worse than a grotesque alien monster.
“I need to make this into this.” Byeok moved her pipe and pointed to the perfect circle. “Would you be able to do it? Of course you wouldn’t.”
Chi-Woo didn’t answer; he knew it was a metaphor, but he knew intuitively that it was more difficult to teach him than the metaphor would suggest, or at least just as difficult. Would it have been this bad if he had listened to his brother and stayed in the mountain?
When he began to regret his decision, Byeok continued, “But if you ask for my opinion…there is a way.”
Chi-Woo opened his eyes wide.
“Of course, it’s not easy at all. If you’re expecting a standard or normal method, wake up. I really don’t like using extreme measures, but this is not something that can be solved within normal standards.” Byeok continued, “Therefore, I need you to trust me. We must see it to the very end once we get started.” Since this was not an area that could be approached hastily, Byeok said, “You need to have complete trust in me.”
“I will.”
When Chi-Woo answered without any hesitation, Byeok smiled bitterly. “You answer too easily. Aren’t you worried about what I might make you do?”
“Miss Byeok, what should I do first?”
Byeok realized that there was no turning back anymore as Chi-Woo sounded extremely determined. She quietly closed her eyes. “…Break.” She opened her eyes after a moment of silence. “All right, if you trust me completely, why don’t I test your trust first?”
She looked at Chi-Woo with a sharp gaze. “Listen carefully from now on and carry my words exactly into action.”