Chapter 47 – Training (3)
A man was sitting on his knees in a large room. Two wooden swords lay in front of a man in a black uniform. The man with his glasses on and his bald forehead bulged his eyes and looked at Ichie. Ichie narrowed his brows at the man’s momentum and asked.
“Who?”
“I am Lee Jun-hyeok, the Thunder Sword of the Black Dragon. It makes sense, right?”
Ichie nodded his head. Lee Joon-hyeok jumped up from his seat and kicked the wooden sword on his floor and pushed it towards Ichie. The wooden sword that arrived right in front of Ichie boasted a heavy weight when he lifted it with his hand. Ichie, who swung lightly once, nodded as if he liked it more than he thought, and opened his eyes slightly.
Junhyeok Lee said.
“In Shinjinwangjeon, all weapon users use wooden weapons. To prevent fatal injuries.”
“What if someone uses a gun?”
Ichie asked. Lee Joon-hyeok answered the question like this.
“There has never been an awakening ability that requires the use of a gun.”
Ichie nodded his head. Somehow, it seemed a little disappointing. Lee Joon-hyeok took one look at her holding her sword and then said as she stretched out her own sword.
“Listen. As the black dragon room’s left guard method, I’ll have to test your talents.”
“Left-handed law?”
“It means a very tall person. Ruler! Come on!”
Ichie ran forward as if he had been waiting. Jumping up with one foot forward, Lee Joon-hyeok straightened his sword and walked out to block her path. Facing Lee Jun-hyeok, Ichie’s body staggered greatly, and she abruptly leaned down and stabbed the knife into Lee Jun-hyeok’s side.
Lee Joon-hyeok lightly slapped the blade of her sword in her wit with her hilt, then kicked her ankle and knocked her over. Losing her balance, Ichie rolled on her floor. In preparation for her follow-up, she rolled over and took a few more steps before meeting Lee Jun-hyeok’s eyes.
Strong. Ichie narrowed her eyes. Junhyeok Lee said.
“You learned the sword from a very terrible guy. Didn’t you learn martial arts from someone who did martial arts? I learned how to cut a knife from a bad guy. This?”
Ichie didn’t answer. She held her wooden sword shorter, and once again she bounced at Lee Jun-hyeok. Lee Joon-hyeok narrowed her eyes to see how she behaved. Suddenly, Ichie threw her sword at Lee Junhyeok’s head. The moment Lee Joon-hyeok, taken aback by her unexpected behavior, cut her sword away, she ran faster than Ichie and she tried to feed Lee Jun-hyeok her tackle.
The moment she thought she had caught her, Ichie’s arms cut through the air helplessly. Ichie, floating in the air, rolled on her floor. In that brief moment, Lee Joon-hyeok, who avoided her tackle, threw his wooden sword to the floor as he nodded.
The sword that had bounced through her air landed and hit Ichie’s head.
“Ouch.”
Ichie rubbed her hair and stood up from her seat again. Junhyeok Lee said.
“I don’t know what he was aiming for, but the number of targets was good. Were you trying to subdue me? That’s right, if you’re a lumberjack who will become our guild’s Musashi, you should have that kind of audacity. After all, our ark, that… What can I say what’s up discerning! You have a good eye! Yes? Uh?”
Ichie made no reply. Lee Jun-hyeok nodded his head in admiration as if Ichie had answered by himself, then picked up the sword again. He asked Ichie.
“Mister. What are your abilities?”
“Ability? Uh huh, don’t you know my ability even after seeing this nickname?”
“Yes.”
Ichie didn’t know what the nickname meant, but he didn’t bother to ask. Lee Jun-hyeok snorted at him and threw his wooden sword. Then he stretched out his hand into the air and gnashed his teeth.
“Haaaaa!”
As he groaned, purple sparks flew from his hand, and lightning extended in the shape of a sword. Ichie opened his eyes wide and looked at Lee Junhyeok’s ability. Lightning whirled around his hand like a sword. Lee Jun-hyeok said, not paying attention to the sparks that even ran into his face.
“Thunder sword! It’s my nickname and ability itself! How is it? Cool isn’t it uh?”
“It’s awesome.”
“Instead, if you keep it for a long time, the static electricity will cause your hair to fall out.”
“Ah…”
Ichie looked at Lee Junhyuk’s bald forehead with a sad face. She shook her head and said.
“I’m sorry.”
“Isn’t that what life is all about? It is to endure and live. If you rest, get up again. I need to train in earnest.”
“Yes.”
Ichie felt that although Lee Jun-hyeok was a strange person, his skills were certain.
*******
As I practiced again and again, I knew for sure. My abilities aren’t that great before interpersonal battles. Right arm for attack, left arm for defense. It’s an ability that can be applied in any way when dealing with monsters who don’t know my ability, but it’s the worst ability when dealing with someone who knows my ability.
Seong Ha-yeon said as she looked at me collapsed on the floor.
“Yes? Too many weaknesses. If you don’t block with your left arm, there’s no benefit, but you can’t block with only your left arm. If I hit only my right hand, your movement is restricted. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to win first place with this ability? There are quite a few guys with good awakening skills, but is it really possible? There are kids who shoot beams from their hands, and there are kids who can just hold on to you and beat you, saying it’s just to strengthen their muscles. To be honest, among the apprentice hunters, you’re agile and have good skills, right? But when it comes to whether or not I can win with a penalty, I think it’s going to be a bit difficult for me.”
“I cannot give up.”
I shook my head. Never could give up Because I had a dream. Seong Ha-yeon asked.
“What kind of dream is it that you can’t give up?”
“…I made a promise with senior Yoojung.”
“It is romantic. Stylish.”
I couldn’t tell you what the promise was, even with my mouth torn apart. Seong Ha-yeon complimented me on how cool I was and then patted her on the shoulder. Before she knew it, her time at the training ground was over. I barely got up while wiping the sweat that was pouring like rain. However, Seong Ha-yeon showed no sign of difficulty.
“Good job then. See you again.”
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I had to fight with Seong Ha-yeon. In the meantime, I had to break through the weakness of my ability. Otherwise, winning was impossible.
******
Ichie was waiting for me when I entered the training ground. Yoojung sunbaenim was playing on his cell phone a little far away, and as soon as I came out, he ran over. Ichido got up at the same time and stood next to me.
“Oh, I was sweating. I’m going to take a shower.”
That’s what I said to senior Yoo-jung, who was trying to cling to me. Ichie had a fresh shower, and his face was dry. I packed my toiletries and a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.
I don’t know what the other training grounds are like, but this training ground was more like a bathroom than a shower. There was a large bathtub in the middle of the shower. In the bathtub, a man with his head half-naked was soaking himself.
“Ugh… ! Uhh… !”
And he was breathing heavily in the bathroom. I don’t know who it is, but since it’s at the training ground, it’s probably a hunter, and there’s a good chance it’s a higher class than me. I quietly took a shower and came out again.
*********
After taking a shower, the world looked different. However, there were still weaknesses in my abilities, and the problems I had to solve were piled up like a mountain. Senior Yoojung and Ichie got up from their seats as soon as I came out and looked at me. I asked Ichie.
“It makes sense. How was your training today?”
“I did it with a strange bald man.”
Senior Yoo-jeong licked her lips at the word strange bald man. It looked like he was trying to stop laughing. She glanced at the shower stall behind me and urged us to get out. We got into the car again following Yu-jeong. Senior Yoojeong said as she took the steering wheel.
“You can’t call me the weird bald man. Because he is our guild leader.”
“I thought he was a very strong person.”
“And, originally, that hair was very lush, but it became like that when I used my ability. Every time you use an ability, the static electricity affects your hair badly. I saw a wedding photo before, but when you were in your 20s, you grew your hair cool like a band member.”
“Are you married?”
Ichie was really surprised. Senior Yoo-jeong said with a smile as if her surprised face was familiar.
“Yes. Will there be a daughter our age?”
“Cool.”
I also nodded, remembering the person I just met in the bathroom. Senior Yoojung asked me.
“Soohyun, how did you train well? Do you teach Hayeon well?”
“Yes. It helped me a lot.”
It was a time to think about weaknesses that had never been thought of in a person-to-person battle, and it was a useful time to learn the basics of fighting against a powerful person. I asked.
“What was he doing in the first place? You seem to have a very tight kick.”
Even as a beginner, it was a neat kick. It didn’t seem like it was simply a posture made by living a long life as a hunter. Senior Yoo Jung said.
“Hayeon older sister was a taekwondo player. She said that she once made it to the finals of the National Sports Festival.”
“Oh, so you’re a silver medalist at the National Sports Festival?”
“No. The day before the finals, I woke up and was disqualified. Awakened people can’t participate in athletics, so if you report it, you won’t get a medal itself. Ha-yeon unnie reported it voluntarily, so I just went down.”
“It’s a pity. If I had just awakened, there would be no difference.”
“He said he didn’t like talking behind his back later.”
The details were known only to me. Ichie told me.
“Soo Hyun-sang. Are you confident of first place?”
“I don’t know yet.”
I wasn’t confident right now. At first, I was confident that I would punish anyone with my nuclear fist, but when I actually rolled my body instead of training in meditation, it felt different. Attacks from blind spots were more difficult than I thought, and my body was twisted thinking about the variables using my abilities.
Seong Ha-yeon praised me for being much more nimble and responsive than the average apprentice hunter, but that was not enough. I needed something to cover my weaknesses. Ichie said.
“Still, the two of us will meet in the finals.”
“It should be.”
Couldn’t lose for an appointment.
