episode_0041

Crack… widely…

The noise of burning firewood echoes quietly inside the cave.

I was staring blankly at the flames, mesmerized by the dry warmth, and suddenly I shifted my gaze to look at Jinseowon sitting next to me.

“… … .”

After changing into her pajamas, she hugged her knees with her roughly dried hair loose and stared blankly at the fire.

‘You can’t believe I started breathing on day 1…’ .’

Jin Seo-won showed much greater talent than I expected.

Of course, it took some effort to make it easier for her to concentrate, but it was clear that she learned breathing techniques incredibly quickly.

‘It took Seol Joo-hee almost a week too… . ‘Is this because talent is talent?’

Although Seol Joo-hee started training ignorantly, as if she was heading to the ground, from the middle she continued training with my assistance in the same way as now.

It took a total of two days, not including the time I forgot… .

Jinseowon can be said to be very fast, as it was mastered perfectly in just one day.

“… … .”

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

‘Couldn’t Jin Seo-won be the main character?’

Seol Joo-hee, the main character of the original novel ‘The Strongest Master’, became the center of the play based on her enormous potential.

Even considering the main character correction, he saved the world with only his fists, without even the commonly used cheats such as regression, possession, and reincarnation.

Well, the author went crazy at the end and ended up with a terrible ending.

Anyway, considering Seol Joo-hee’s actions in the novel, Jin Seo-won could not have been the main character.

He is talented, has a good ego, and has trustworthy colleagues.

I, who was a half-assed fake protagonist, remained as a supporting character… .

Wouldn’t it be possible with Jinseowon?

“… Producer.”

At that time, Jin Seo-won, who noticed my gaze, quietly spoke to me.

Then, he rolled his eyes back and forth as if he was thinking for a moment, but then as if he had made up his mind, he made eye contact and asked a question vaguely.

“… Seol Joo-hee, how long did it take?”

“… Uh, huh?”

I was a little taken aback by the random questions thrown at me, so I tried to keep my composure and asked her back… .

“Why is Seol Joo-hee suddenly?”

“… Photo.”

“Photo… ?”

“… A photo taken together. I saw it there.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I know the full story of the incident,

“Well… .”

I pretended not to remember, and answered appropriately, choosing my words carefully.

“I think it was similar?”

OK.

“… How much?”

Jin Seo-won appeared strangely persistent and asked a question once again.

It seemed like he was conscious of Seol Joo-hee as competition.

‘Maybe this is a good thing… .’

To speak only of facts, the current Jinseowon is superior.

There are differences in my experience as a tutor and the curriculum, but in any case, fast is fast.

but… .

Is it really right to tell the truth about this?

The reason I came here is to accelerate the growth of Jinseowon.

Saying that Seol Joo-hee was faster could give Jin Seo-won stronger motivation.

Conversely, it may be like cutting off a growing bud.

One word from now on will determine the future path of Jinseowon.

“Hmm… . How long did it take?”

I subtly shifted my gaze, conscious of Jin Seo-won’s stinging gaze, and looked back on the background of her life.

She has not lived a prosperous life until now.

It was a life in which there was nothing in excess, and literally everything was lacking.

Maybe that’s why she seemed to have no interest in everything… .

I have shown great curiosity in being the only person to have the self-identification of being a ‘decent adult with a respectable job.’

In other words, it’s not that you’re really not interested in everything, but it’s that you’re not interested because you don’t know.

She showed interest in competing with Seol Joo-hee… .

It would be right to encourage them properly.

“Is it a week?”

“… A week?”

“I trained alone for almost 5 days without any help… . Even without that, it took about two days.”

Jin Seowon looked lost in thought for a moment and looked intently at the burning firewood.

I glanced at her secretly with my eyes closed.

“… … .”

Her dainty lips that are tightly closed and drawing a line little by little.

It seems he was very happy that he was faster.

‘cute.’

I got excited when I noticed her rare smile, and pretended like I didn’t know anything and continued.

“But the next training will be a bit difficult, right?”

The intention was to subtly stimulate and increase motivation.

“… What is it?”

Sure enough, Jin Seo-won, who was caught in the operation, asked a question with a smile on his face, as if he had never done that before.

I tried to pull down the twitching corner of my mouth and gave a hint about the next training.

*

Day 2 of training in Dowonhyang.

Jin Seo-won, who competed with Seol Joo-hee in the past, was motivated, and thanks to this, training went smoothly.

“For today’s training, as we talked about yesterday, we will learn about light attack.”

In the original novel, ‘The Strongest Master’, light attack is described as a type of active skill that instantly increases speed.

It is divided into quite detailed stages, such as the commonly used portrait ratio, dapseol muheun, equal horizontal number, empty space step, and heteromorphic ring position.

Today’s goal is the most basic level, the level of being able to run on blades of grass.

“You know how to play tag?”

“… Playing tag?”

There are many ways to practice Gyeonggong, but in my experience, none is more appropriate than playing tag.

Playing tag is the simplest and surest way to express your will with speed.

“ just kick the sandbag and catch me. If you catch it, the training ends there, and if you don’t… . Keep going until you catch it. Is it easy?”

“… How long did it take Seol Joo-hee?”

Jin Seo-won showed more interest in beating Seol Joo-hee than in the difficulty of training… .

Unfortunately, this training seemed like it would be difficult to beat Seol Joo-hee.

Because she learned Gyeonggong and caught me in exactly 6 hours.

At that time, I had realized the principle of carrots and sticks, and I offered a ‘wish’ as a training reward, but I remember having a hard time because she rushed at me with all her might.

‘You went to an amusement park with a wish back then, I guess?’

As I looked back on my memories for a moment and was filled with nostalgia, I answered Jin Seo-won with a mischievous smile.

“I will let you know about Seol Joo-hee’s records whenever you complete your training. If you worry for no reason, it gets in the way.”

Then, as if she understood what I meant, she silently agreed, and I lightly twisted my waist and quietly brought up the topic of compensation.

“There is a reward for this training.”

“… What is it?”

“Do Ji-hyeok 1 free pass. It’s a right to wish that grants everything except the impossible.”

Unlike Seol Joo-hee, who rolled her eyes at the story of Sowon, Jin Seo-won did not show any particular reaction.

I thought about offering her some other reward for seeing her like that, but… .

A good thing is a good thing, so I decided to just proceed with the wish ticket.

*

“Whether you use your inner strength or whatever you do, you just have to move quickly and catch me. Let’s start!”

Taaaa!

Jin Seo-won was a little surprised to see Do Ji-hyuk suddenly moving away.

‘fast.’

Do Ji-hyeok’s level is equal to the level of running, stepping on grass floating on the water.

Do Ji-hyuk, who had been with Seol Joo-hee for a long time and perfectly copied her abilities, already possessed considerable skills.

Taaaa!

Jin Seo-won quickly jumped up to catch up with Do Ji-hyuk.

but.

“This way!”

“… Tsk… !”

It wasn’t easy for her to catch Do Ji-hyuk right away as she couldn’t even use basic light techniques.

Taaa! Taaat—!

‘too fast… !’

“3 hours have passed.”

“… ha… ha… !”

Jin Seo-won, who was out of breath due to the continuous chase, gasped and glared at Do Ji-hyuk.

On the other hand, Do Ji-hyuk, who was squatting on a nearby rock, looking fine and not at all tired, looked at Jin Seo-won closely and made a hint.

“Seowon. What do you think ‘ability’ is?”

“… ?”

“I think that the ‘ability’ we have is a kind of packaged gift. As the level goes up, things open one by one.”

Although Jin Seo-won could not understand Do Ji-hyuk’s words, he silently listened, thinking that his words were not meaningless.

“Well, my expression may be wrong. The point is that our ‘ability’ itself does not grow. The completed ability is in your head, and the more you recall it, the stronger it becomes.”

‘My abilities are already complete… ?’

Jin Seo-won thought back to the abilities he encountered when he first awakened.

A somewhat eerie-feeling ability with an unfamiliar name, Heavenly Demon Godkong.

Then, he recalled Seol Joo-hee’s famous Bing Baek Shin-gong and asked Do Ji-hyuk a question.

“… then. Which is stronger, the Heavenly Demon Magic or the Ice White Magic?”

OK.

“Well… .”

Do Ji-hyuk bobbed his head as if he was lost in thought for a moment, but then hinted as if he had found the answer.

“Usually, the Heavenly Demon Magic is stronger.”

Cheonma Shingong, which pursues extreme destructive power and the strongest martial arts, is by far the best among many martial arts.

Jin Seo-won inadvertently lowered his gaze and looked down at his palm.

“… … .”

Soon, I realized one thing again.

Do Ji-hyuk believes in his own abilities… .

How strong.

Sigh─

Jin Seo-won, who lowered his posture, looked at Do Ji-hyuk and brought out his deep sleeping abilities.

Dismissal──! It’s a bit shaky───!

Then, the internal energy that I could not capture turned into black sparks and jumped all over my body.

“!”

Do Ji-hyuk was startled by Jin Seo-won’s suddenly changed momentum and slowly stood up.

‘Catch it.’

Ability is a manifestation of will.

The power of the Heavenly Demon that pursues strength is expressed purely through the will to show strength.

The ‘Cheonma’ of the original story gained strength through the medium of revenge against the world, but

Jin Seo-won increased his power with only the pure will to be recognized by Do Ji-hyuk.

Paaa!!!

Jin Seo-won approaches in an instant and waves his hand.

“… !”

Do Ji-hyuk, who narrowly escaped the attack, was startled by her unusual speed and hurriedly threw himself away.

Taaa!

Paaa!

The appearance of Jin Seowon rushing forward with terrifying force is the Heavenly Horse itself in the novel.

‘fast!’

Do Ji-hyuk swallowed his saliva without thinking and narrowly avoided the attack with skill.

however… .

There were limits to running away with a body not suited for battle.

“Ugh… .”

Do Ji-hyuk, who felt phantom pain from the successive shocks, hesitated for a moment.

Come on!

Fluttering─

Soon after, he was caught by Jin Seo-won, who attacked him, and was crushed under her.

“Ah… . Caught.”

Do Ji-hyuk was secretly amazed at how much Jin Seo-won had grown in such a short period of time, and checked the watch on her wrist.

Exactly 3 hours and 20 minutes had passed.

‘oh my god… .’

Do Ji-hyeok, who was amazed at the overwhelming growth rate, looked up at Jin Seo-won, who was sitting on his stomach, stretching out to his side.

“It was exactly 3 hours faster than Seol Joo-hee. Is it really amazing?”

however… .

“… ha… ha… .”

Jin Seowon’s condition seemed a little strange.

“… Seowon?”

“… ha… ha… .”

Panting breath as if he couldn’t control it and eyes shaking back and forth with loss of focus.

She was extremely excited.

‘… I… . I got it… !’

“Vow… Tsk… !”

Jin Seo-won raised both hands and placed them on the ground and looked down at him.

“Seo, Seowon… ?”

“… ha… ha… !”

The face, which was full of relaxation, was slightly distorted with embarrassment, unlike usual.

Recognizing that the embarrassment originated from herself, and at the same time realizing who had the upper hand, she began to recognize Do Ji-hyuk as ‘prey’.

‘… I… . Because I caught it… !’

That moment.

Exactly!

“Ugh… !”

Jin Seo-won, who suddenly came to his senses from the shock that hit his forehead, stood up, smoothed his forehead, and looked down at Do Ji-hyuk.

“Please come to your senses?”

“… eww… .”

“Let me get up.”

Jin Seo-won quietly moved out of the way with a brief apology.

Do Ji-hyuk, who had been in prison for ten years, got up and straightened his clothes, pretending that nothing had happened.

It was the second day of training.