episode_0558

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There are many geniuses in the world, but only one stands at the summit.

The current No. 5 Hero of South Korea.

A man better known by his codename, Musin (武神, God of War).

Kang Palsan.

Even as he celebrated his sixtieth birthday, playfully placing a pointed hat on his tiny granddaughter, he deeply believed in—and adored—this saying.

It wasn’t entirely because of the pleasant arrogance of knowing he was one of the few geniuses who had stood near the summit.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

Even if one is praised as a genius, refusing to rest on that talent, pushing through bone-grinding effort to reach one’s own peak.

Crushing the talents of countless other geniuses beneath one’s feet, climbing endlessly higher.

Proving, proving, and proving again, until finally declaring to the world that your talent is the greatest.

Leaving behind a single, indelible footprint at the very summit of this vast world before departing.

This was the purpose of life that humans should strive for—a belief he had held unshakably for the past sixty years.

And those who shied away from it?

Well.

They were just rotten, self-doubting cowards.

From his youth, Kang Palsan had crushed thousands, tens of thousands of talents. There were no exceptions.

Not even for his own son.

He raised him with relentless discipline, whipping him forward so he could advance toward his own talent, no matter the field.

The only exception was his granddaughter, who had only just begun forming simple sentences.

Looking back, he could proudly say he had lived a life of relentless austerity.

How many decades had he spent cutting down on sleep, bleeding from every pore, drenched in sweat until his hair fell out?

Through it all, he trampled over geniuses, inching closer to the so-called summit, and naturally found himself standing above countless others.

Yet even for him, there was one person he found difficult to handle.

“What do you think, Master?”

“……Hmm.”

His long-time financial backer—Han Beom-hyeon.

A man who, like Kang Palsan himself, had strived to reach the summit in his own field.

A cash cow who was supposedly too busy running a massive corporation to even blink.

A man Kang Palsan had assumed was just building useful connections in the hero industry while solving monetary problems…

…Yet now, after years of support, he was bending his back for the first time, making a request.

His only daughter.

“So, you’re saying… a woman who’s too strong might not be seen as attractive to men…? Hm…”

“Yes, Master. For example, if she were to instantly shatter someone’s femur like just now… Even if the opponent was just some petty criminal…”

“Hard to say. Just because she’s strong doesn’t necessarily mean… If anything, it could be attractive.”

“…Is that so?”

“…….”

“…….”

“…Soo-ah.”

“Yes?”

“…You joined the Academy recently, right? Did you… meet a boy you like there?”

“…Wh-What?! No…?!”

“…I see. Must not be the case, then.”

It was Han Soo-ah.

558

The only daughter of his financial backer.

That fact alone made her someone Kang Palsan couldn’t easily dismiss.

But that wasn’t the only reason she was hard to handle.

(Setting aside the fact that she sometimes seemed a bit… lacking in conversation.)

Han Soo-ah was, without exaggeration, the greatest talent Kang Palsan had ever seen in his life.

He had witnessed hundreds of thousands of geniuses by now.

Among them, a select few had caught his eye—geniuses he had allowed to call themselves his “disciples” because they, too, sought his guidance.

Each of them possessed dazzling talent.

Even if they couldn’t match Kang Palsan himself, he had no doubt they would never be looked down upon wherever they went.

But Han Soo-ah was special even among them.

He had met her when she was around sixteen—an age where most would lament how late she was to start training in cold weapons.

Yet she was a variant, one who shyly introduced herself as a lion.

And the talent she possessed?

It was the very thing those who sought the summit coveted—something she had from the very beginning.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. If you slip on the ice and get hurt, I won’t be able to face your father.”

“Ah, yes.”

The subjugation of the Dongincheon Villain Alliance.

Kang Palsan had casually lumped it together as a “warm-up” and brought Han Soo-ah along. Flicking blood off the branch in his hand, he glanced at her.

Her wooden training sword was spotless—not a single drop of blood.

During the earlier fight, she had only targeted the most resistant foes, breaking their bones to immobilize them.

…Not his preferred method, but it was her own sense of justice, he supposed.

A cold winter wind made him cough before he continued.

“Leave the rest for the cleanup crew. Let’s move elsewhere.”

“Where to next?”

“Hard to say. These rats hide well… We’ll follow the wind for now.”

“Ah… Follow the wind…”

“Not that way. Soo-ah. It’s blowing from here.”

He had always approved of her movement, but it seemed the Academy had done her some good.

She was more precise, more fluid than before.

…As if she had learned how to move her body more freely.

Her lower-body movements, in particular, had improved.

And her strength?

No need to even mention it.

Brutishly simple, yet fundamentally overwhelming.

Like that guy in Europe, she could probably take on dozens of low-tier transcendents alone.

And her swordsmanship hadn’t dulled in the slightest.

As one called the God of War, his expertise was narrowly focused on the sword—but that very title spoke volumes.

From Kang Palsan’s perspective, Han Soo-ah’s swordsmanship was already beyond what most could handle.

Hadn’t she just forced an entire group of thugs to their knees with nothing but a blunt training sword and restrained movements?

And she had done it effortlessly, despite having trained for only about four years.

Of course, Kang Palsan at twenty could have done the same, but…

Could Kang Palsan, after just four years of training, have reached that level?

No—if he had been that strong after four years, he probably would’ve grown complacent and ended up as some washed-up nobody.

Leaving two sets of footprints in the snow, Kang Palsan finally spoke after a long silence.

“…Did you learn a lot at the Academy?”

“Uh, well… It’s not unhelpful, but I still think training under you is better.”

“I didn’t ask if it was helpful. I asked if you could learn there.”

“…?”

“Did you find a teacher there?”

Han Soo-ah looked up at the sky before answering.

“The teachers there know a lot about hero history… Oh, and math too…!”

“Never mind. Forget I asked.”

“Yes, Master.”

He briefly considered asking for the teacher’s name, but it didn’t matter.

If Han Soo-ah started as a hero now, she’d easily break into the numbered rankings.

No teacher at that level would be stuck in some Academy.

…Come to think of it, wasn’t the guy running the place Seok Jae-hwa?

The former No. 5 Hero before Kang Palsan himself.

Remembering the man’s thick hair and ugly goatee, Kang Palsan bent down, picked up another branch, and asked:

“Honestly, I’m not sure what else I can even teach you.”

“Really…?”

“At this point, you might as well start working as a hero sooner rather than later.”

“…Well, I’d still like to finish all three years at the Academy…”

“Two more years, then. For an old man like me, that’s nothing. But for you, two years is far from short.”

“I-I still think…”

“…Hm.”

Besides, Han Soo-ah had the backing of the Hansol Group.

Kang Palsan wasn’t well-versed in business, but he knew her debut would be a publicity goldmine.

Even setting aside her skills, her looks were exceptional.

Compared to his wife in her youth, Han Soo-ah wouldn’t lose out. The moment she debuted, she’d be the talk of the town.

The already well-known Hansol Group would now be inseparable from hero discussions.

…And if his financial backer prospered, so would Kang Palsan.

But if she wasn’t interested, so be it.

Clearing his throat again, he changed the subject.

“Have you thought of a title yet?”

“A title?”

“A codename. Western terms don’t carry the same weight…”

“Ah, a codename…”

The word “coolness” was already outdated, but Kang Palsan wouldn’t know that.

Still, Han Soo-ah understood. After a moment of thought, she tapped the wooden sword at her waist.

“I was thinking of following in your footsteps—something like Sword God. Doesn’t it sound cool?”

“‘God’? With your skills, you’d just be laughed at.”

“Eh? But you just praised me earlier…!”

“I said you were good for your age. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Then what was your codename when you were young?”

“Musin (God of War).”

“Eh…?”

“I was the strongest then, and I’m the strongest now.”

“…Hmm…?”

“You doubting me? When we first met, you could barely string two words together. Brat.”

It wasn’t entirely wrong—he had earned his numbering almost immediately after his debut.

(Though “strongest” was a stretch. “Near the strongest” would’ve been more accurate.)

But his young disciple wouldn’t know that. After teasing her a bit, he moved on.

“Speaking of which, you mentioned something about men earlier. Whether you’d be attractive or not.”

“……I-I was just curious! It’s nothing!”

“A classmate? Or an upperclassman?”

“Wh-What are you…?!”

“Someone you want to win over. I’m asking so I can help.”

“No, I was just… wondering…”

“What, don’t trust me?”

“…….”

“I do have a wife, you know.”

“……Ugh…”

She was terrible at lying.

Watching Han Soo-ah’s ears turn red in an instant, Kang Palsan clicked his tongue and rummaged through his pocket.

What he pulled out was a small candy—one he had secretly saved for his granddaughter.

He placed the green-wrapped candy in Han Soo-ah’s palm.

“Like this. Small gifts, one at a time. Got it?”

“…….”

“That’ll make them curious. ‘Why is she giving me this?’”

“…….”

“Then keep giving little nothings every day until—”

“…That won’t work. I’ve already seen that somewhere…”

“Hm? Really?”

“Yeah. In a webtoon… or a novel…”

“Well, either way, you do have someone you like.”

“……Huh?!”

By the time she jumped like a startled rabbit, it was too late.

Clearing his throat, Kang Palsan stopped walking and began writing in the snow with his branch.

The first question:

“Are you worried I’ll tell your father?”

After a hesitant glance around, Han Soo-ah nodded slightly.

The second message was a vow:

“I swear—on your level—if I tell anyone, you can shave off my eyebrows.”

But even that didn’t reassure her. She shook her head vigorously.

…Well, if she was that unwilling to talk, so be it.

Brushing snow off the branch, Kang Palsan then poked her wrist.

No deep reason—he just wanted the candy back.

This was for his granddaughter.

As he coughed into his sleeve again, Han Soo-ah, who had been fidgeting, spoke up cautiously.

“…Master.”

“Speak.”

“Are you… catching a cold?”

“Hard to say. Maybe. Or maybe it’s just the cold.”

Either way, it’d pass in a week.

As he erased the words in the snow, Han Soo-ah thumped her chest confidently.

“Um, I know a healer… A really good one…”

“A healer?”

“Yes. If I ask them, you’ll get better right away.”

“…Hm.”

“…Do you want me to?”

He had assumed most Korean healers had been lured abroad by money.

Was this someone she knew through her father’s connections?

Or had they been brought from overseas?

Either way, it wasn’t a bad deal for Kang Palsan.

If this led to a connection with a healer, he’d have someone to call if his granddaughter ever fell ill.

So, if this was just a cold, he’d take her up on the offer.

With that, Kang Palsan and Han Soo-ah continued their “warm-up.”

It wasn’t long before Kang Palsan met Seo Woo-jin.

And it would be much, much later before he realized just how personal this matter truly was.