Once their hunger was sated, they all became sleepy. Everyone was extremely exhausted, and the amount of fatigue they had accumulated since they left the base camp was astounding. Although they had a mountain load of things to do, they decided to rest for the day and unwind. The majority of them slumped down wherever they could and fell asleep as soon as their heads touched the floor, but Chi-Woo waited. There was something more important than sleeping that he needed to do. First of all, Chi-Woo needed to choose a house he would stay in from now on. Although the fortress wasn’t big, everyone could pick a place of their preference since there weren’t many of them.
After wandering around for a bit, Chi-Woo picked a small brick house stationed between the central area and the outskirts. The house was quite impressive, as it was surrounded by stone walls, had a hardwood-floored porch, and three rooms. The thought of finally getting a house now that he was on Liber put a wry smile on Chi-Woo’s face. He unloaded his luggage and looked around.
He picked out some white clothes that fit his body and luckily found a bar of soap in a place that looked like a hearth. Truthfully, it wasn’t so much soap but solidified oil that smelled like herbs, but it didn’t matter. Chi-Woo almost jumped up and down in joy.
Exiting the fortress and following along the stone bridge connecting its entrance, Chi-Woo walked some distance away from the fortress before jumping into the river.
“Oh wow!” Chi-Woo shuddered from the cold and felt the chill spread through his body. He didn’t know how long it had been since he washed up. Then he scratched his itchy scalp and saw white substances stuck in his nails, which made him feel disgusted with himself.
“Ah…” After whimpering in joy for a couple of minutes, he began to scrub his body in earnest. He rubbed his hair and body with soap, putting special care into soaping his scalp. The soap didn’t foam as easily as he had hoped, but that was fine. Not even noticing the trickles of black and dirty streams of water flowing down his body, he hummed. As someone who was borderline OCD and valued cleanliness, Chi-Woo considered showers to be one of the greatest perks in life. Thus, he enjoyed this opportunity to clean himself greatly. He thoroughly scrubbed every inch of his body and washed his head three times. Then, he wetted the clothes he had been wearing for a long time and did the laundry with the soap.
Eventually, Chi-Woo got out of the moat and returned to his house dressed in the white clothes he had prepared beforehand, carrying his soaking wet laundry and leaving a wet trail along the way. Not long after he cleaned the place up a little and lay down on his made bed, he began to feel sleepy. He felt relaxed with his thirst quenched and his stomach filled. Plus, after sleeping on rough dirt for so long, the bed felt like clouds, and this humble bedroom might as well be paradise.
Closing his eyes, Chi-Woo saw everything that had happened up to this point flash through his mind like a movie credit. Zelit told him that they had just finished the rite of passage, and they weren’t even standing at the start line. As someone who had seen his own obscure user information, Chi-Woo had to agree.
‘There’s still a long way to go.’ When Chi-Woo first came to Liber, he didn’t have a strong intention to save this place or anything like that. He simply wanted to find his brother and go back home with him—or even just to talk to him for a bit. However, his thoughts were far different from that now. He hadn’t lost sight of his original goal, but he had already received too much from others to stay in the backdrop and safely watch everything unfold from afar. Thanks to the sacrifices of Giant Fist, Mua Janya, Salem Yohan, the middle-aged couple, and many more heroes and natives he didn’t know the names of, he was able to survive. He wanted to keep paying back what he had received until he could confidently say that he had done enough.
To achieve both his original and new goals, he needed more power— a power that would allow him to protect himself wherever he went and to prevent all the misfortunes they had to endure from happening ever again. They had only earned a moment of peace after a vicious struggle, and Chi-Woo didn’t think the peace would last long. Thus, before danger struck again, he had to use this opportunity to his advantage as much as possible.
‘Through whatever means.’ Chi-Woo thought to himself, turning off his user information and closing his eyes again. Soon, snoring noises filled the room.
The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Chi-Woo opened his eyes. His body felt refreshed. He had slept soundly through the night without dreaming.
“Yaaawn.” Chi-Woo stretched his arms and headed outside. A couple of heroes he knew passed by him and greeted him. They asked if he had eaten yet and told him that there was food at the square. Chi-Woo immediately started running, and after eating the same meal as yesterday, he wandered around and eventually returned to his room. He sat on the porch and pondered. He had sworn to become stronger, but he struggled to find the way to be so.
He knew he had to do something, but didn’t know how. He had never handled anything more dangerous than a toy knife in his childhood, so he couldn’t come up with any ideas. Fortunately, there was somebody who could help him; he decided to call upon his assistant.
‘Mimi?’
[I see that your situation has improved dramatically over the past few days.]
She sounded as sharp as ever.
‘It’s been a while.’
[Yes. You have gone through a lot. Good work.]
Mimi talked as if she had been watching by his side the whole time. Chi-Woo told Mimi all his concerns and how he wanted to quickly gain battling skills. Thus, he wanted to ‘share’ one of Ru Amuh’s abilities and asked for her advice. Surprisingly, Mimi’s response wasn’t positive.
[I wouldn’t recommend that.]
‘Why?’
[Did you read the explanations of Ru Amuh’s skills?]
Chi-Woo brought forth Ru Amuh’s user information that he had saved recently.
<Basic Skills (2) >
1. [Basic Swordsmanship A]—…although he uses only basic…
2. [Basic Hand-to-hand Combat A]—…although he uses only basic…
[‘Basic Swordsmanship’ means simple moves like slicing, swinging, and piercing, while ‘Basic Combat’ means things like punching and kicking. So let me ask you this. Do you really have no idea how to do any of those at all?]
Chi-Woo frowned. He could swing a knife if he had to. It was the same for hand-to-hand combat; after all, he had been learning taekwondo since he was young.
‘But—’
[Yes, I know your proficiency in these skills is far below Ru Amuh’s, but please consider the skills on their own. Acquiring them wouldn’t be difficult.]
After thinking a bit, he said in his head, ‘I get what you mean, but the problem is my proficiency in these skills. You told me raising any skill to even B rank was extremely hard.’
[Yes, but the situation changes when the skill ‘Sharing’ comes into the equation. You can only share one skill from each star, and you can neither change your mind about it nor delete it later on. Do you think those two skills are valuable enough to use this single opportunity on?]
That gave Chi-Woo pause, and he came to realize how rashly he had been thinking. ‘Then what about Synesthesia?’
Mimi didn’t answer right away.
[Synesthesia…is a very rare skill, and there is a great barrier to acquiring it.]
‘And Ru Amuh’s rank in this skill is A too.’
[I admit. It is worth considering.]
‘Then…’
[But I don’t recommend it at the moment.]
Chi-Woo’s eyes turned wide. Not this one, either?
[Think about it. What and how are you going to use Synesthesia?]
This statement quietened Chi-Woo.
[You said you wanted to get stronger. How is the skill going to help you do that?]
‘…’
[If you can’t answer that question, the skill is nothing more than a pretty wrapper on a gift.]
Yes, even if he received this skill, it would be akin to putting pearls on a swine.
[Furthermore, skills may differ even when they have the same name. You may be receiving a completely different skill than what he originally has. Ru Amuh’s synesthesia bloomed through his innate talent and insurmountable efforts. In other words, it is a skill created by Ru Amuh; it belongs to him and only him, and it’s perfectly tailored to his present state. I doubt you would be able to adjust and attune to it.]
Mimi was right. Chi-Woo might as well be an infant in this regard. If he attempted to use synesthesia, it would be like a baby who couldn’t even roll himself to the back trying to learn how to fly, skipping jumping and running altogether.
[That’s not all. Your sharing ability transfers skill in a way that is similar to transplanting a flower to another plot of land.]
Ru Amuh’s basic combat skill was 10, it would drop to 8 when Chi-Woo received it.
[The more fertile your land is, the higher the chance of the newly planted flower surviving.]
If Chi-Woo would at least train his basic combat skill to a 1, though, the skill he received might be at better than 8.
[And there would be nothing better than blooming your own flower through the process.]
If he awakened a skill that was similar, but not identical to synesthesia, sharing the skill might yield different results; when a flower was grafted onto an existing plant, a new flower would bloom.
[Then you may gain a skill based on your abilities that transcends synesthesia.]
In other words, the skill could evolve. Chi-Woo’s eyes widened in realization. Mimi had told him that a S-rank skill embodies a power that transcended human capability. It dawned on him how he had almost wasted a precious ability.
‘I see. And Ru Amuh is still developing; no one knows what skill he will acquire in the future.’
[Yes. There’s no reason for you to choose now.]
Waiting was the answer. If he waited, there would come a day when he could reap the fruit of his patience. He had to wait for that day to come. Chi-Woo nodded.
‘Thank you. I’m glad I consulted you.’
[My role is to give you advice. You can take them into consideration, but don’t swear by them, either.]
An assistant only recommended, and the one who had the final say was Chi-Woo.
[The fact that you are aware of your ignorance in physical combat and want to learn is good though. If that’s the case, however, you can get the help and advice of experts. You don’t have to look far. Aren’t there many combat experts around you?]
There was one hero who was especially connected to him. When Mimi finished giving her advice, Chi-Woo got up from his seat.
Chi-Woo sent a message to Ru Hiana, asking her if she was with Ru Amuh. He got a reply in 10 seconds, which said that Ru Amuh had gone out early in the afternoon but just came back. Chi-Woo asked for their location, and he followed the detailed directions that Ru Hiana gave him to a building that looked like a barrack.
Knock. Knock.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, please come in!”
Chi-Woo opened the door and was met with a wave of warm air. As Ru Hiana said, the one answering the door was Ru Amuh. The blonde, young man was wiping his face with a wet towel with his torso bare.
“You’re here already, sir?” Ru Amuh smiled brightly while looking at Chi-Woo. “I heard from Ru Hiana that you were looking for me.”
“Yes, yes. Do you have some time to spare?”
“Of course…ah, sorry. I just came in. Please give me a moment.” Ru Amuh adjusted his towel and quickly put on his clothes. He guided Chi-Woo to a seat, and they both sat down facing each other. Ru Amuh looked at Chi-Woo with curiosity and expectations that felt almost like a physical weight, but Chi-Woo mustered up his courage and revealed the reason for his visit.
“The method to become stronger?” Ru Amuh failed to hide his astonishment.
“Yes,” Chi-Woo said calmly and asked, “How did you become so strong, Mr. Ru Amuh?”
“Uh…well, I…” Ru Amuh stated simply that he had trained and worked hard since his youth. When Chi-Woo asked ‘since when’, Ru Amuh answered ‘since six years old’, which made Chi-Woo sigh and continue, “I want to learn from you.”
“What?” Ru Amuh exclaimed in the same disbelieving tone as before. “F-From me…?” He couldn’t even finish his words properly, his finger shifting between Chi-Woo and himself. Chi-Woo quietly nodded.
“I-It doesn’t make sense, sir. You are much stronger than me. How would I dare…”
Chi-Woo didn’t know how, but it seemed Ru Amuh was deeply misinformed.
“I already told you I have no experience in physical fighting.”
“Ah.” Ru Amuh had a look of understanding on his face. “That’s right. You did tell me…” He didn’t seem to find it strange. After all, there was no rule dictating that only warriors could become heroes. Ru Amuh was well aware of this, but he was still curious.
“I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries, but may I ask you why? I’m sure you must have had your reason for not training in close combat until now. Is there a reason for the sudden change in heart…?”
There was nothing of that sort, but Chi-Woo simply humored him by saying, “I thought it would be necessary here in the future.”
“Hm. Well…if that is the case.” Ru Amuh interpreted that as Chi-Woo finding it necessary to eliminate any weaknesses in a harsh world like Liber. “You are impressive, sir, but I wonder if I would be able to teach you, sir Chi-Chi…Hm, hm, well.”
Surprisingly, Ru Amuh didn’t appear too confident, and it seemed he felt troubled at the thought of teaching Chi-Woo for some reason.
“I do have experience in teaching others, but I’m not good at it. Ru Hiana didn’t really like getting taught by me, either.” Ru Amuh smiled shyly. He told Chi-Woo how Ru Hiana had often complained that she didn’t get anything even after he explained with all his heart. That made sense since knowing something and teaching it to someone else were completely different matters. Furthermore, Ru Amuh was a genius. How could a genius know the pains of an ordinary person? It was too much to expect an ordinary person to feel the same things that a genius would. Chi-Woo could understand what Ru Hiana had gone through, but he didn’t take back his request.
“I’m not expecting anything amazing. I just want to know the way to move my body, how to fight, use weapons, and so on. I’m fine with learning the basics.” Chi-Woo wanted to train properly now that he had the opportunity. That delighted Ru Amuh since swordsmanship and close combat were his expertise.
“If that’s the case, I think I can do it. It’s nothing amazing though.” Ru Amuh scratched his head in embarrassment and suggested getting up from their seats. “It’s nothing much, but I can teach you if you want.” But there was one more thing Ru Amuh wanted to ask. “How deep is your knowledge in fighting?”
“I learned martial arts for a brief period when I was young. That’s all the experience I had,” Chi-Woo said, thinking about his time getting a red and black belt in taekwondo.
“I see. If it’s alright with you, could you show me some of your skills?”
“Pardon?”
“Please try attacking me with martial arts. You may hit me as hard as you can.”
Chi-Woo looked at Ru Amuh hesitantly, and Ru Amuh responded with a warm smile. It was a bit embarrassing, but Chi-Woo tried to remember some taekwondo moves from a long time ago. He stretched out his left arm and struck with his fist and repositioned himself to do a back kick. Then he swung his fist and feet back and forth. Ru Amuh stood stiffly and nervously but blinked when none of Chi-Woo’s attacks made contact.
“Um…”
“?”
“Please don’t just pretend to do it, but attack me properly…”
Ru Amuh seemed to be telling Chi-Woo to genuinely show him his skill, but Chi-Woo was already doing that. He was pouring his whole soul and mind into his taekwondo moves.
“It’s fine. Why don’t you try again, please?” Ru Amuh smiled nicely and asked.
Chi-Woo felt miserable, but he gritted his teeth and made his move again. While going through the different techniques, he thought about doing a poomsae[1], but since he didn’t remember it too well, and there was a high possibility that his attempt would become a dark, terrible memory in the future, he decided against it. After some time, Chi-woo began to wonder, ‘How long do I have to keep doing this?’
Just moving his arms and legs while looking at Ru Amuh exhausted him. He swung his fist, blocked, did a round kick, and then followed that up with a side kick, repeating the same set of moves meaninglessly. The smile on Ru Amuh’s face was long gone now. He was looking at Chi-Woo with a solemn and thoughtful expression.
‘This should be enough, right?’ Chi-Woo thought he had demonstrated quite a lot — Slid—when Ru Amuh suddenly unsheathed his sword. Chi-Woo came to a halt in surprise.
“Mr. Ru Amuh?”
Before he did anything, Ru Amuh pierced his own left arm, deep enough that the blade dug into his skin. Blood flowed down his forearm, and Chi-Woo exclaimed, “What are you doing?!”
“It’s fine. It will heal in an instant.”
“But why?”
“This level of injury is nothing to me, sir.” Ru Amuh looked up at Chi-Woo seriously. “I would be fine having such shallow cuts all over my body.”
‘Why is he cutting himself all of a sudden?’ Chi-Woo stared at him in shock. Ru Amuh looked too serious for this to be a joke.
“…I’m sorry for surprising you, sir.” Ru Amuh wiped the blood off his arm with a towel. “It may be presumptuous of me to do so, but let me ask you two questions.” Ru Amuh suddenly aimed his sword at Chi-Woo, showing him the bloodied tip of the blade. “Have you ever pierced someone with a weapon like this sword?”
“…”
“Or with anything?”
Chi-Woo became speechless.
1. Sequence of taekwondo moves that consist of basic stances, punches, kicks, and blocks arranged in a pattern ☜