Childhood Friend of the Zenith

A few years ago, not even a year after I regressed, I went to the Military Exhibition of Tang Clan with Wi Seol-Ah.

My goal was to locate the secret vault hidden within the Golden Sky Yeon Clan of Sichuan, and I was successful in finding it thanks to Wi Seol-Ah’s help.

Wi Seol-Ah found the space hidden by Formations almost too easily, allowing me to achieve my goal quickly when it could have taken much longer.

You might wonder why I’m bringing this up now, but what I’m seeing reminds me of that moment.

Is she perhaps?

Wi Seol-Ah was moving her hands through empty air, yet the space around them felt different.

It almost felt as if she was making waves in the air.

There was no way I didn’t know what was happening right there.

Really…?

Formation.

I had to know, especially since I’d learned in my past life about a secret vault hidden beneath the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

That Formation connected the space within to the outside world.

I looked everywhere every morning after winning against Cheol Hwanho in the bet he made but I wasn’t able to find it.

But she found it that easily?

Then,

Was it really a Formation?

I wasn’t sure.

Given its proximity to the Head’s building, it was possible this Formation was meant to protect him.

First, I moved closer to Wi Seol-Ah and tapped her shoulder to let her know I was there.

“Ah…!”

Startled by my touch, Wi Seol-Ah quickly turned her head around.

“What were you doing?”

Wi Seol-Ah looked shocked, as if she didn’t know that I was here the whole time.

She stopped making the strange hand movements.

“Um…”

“Is there something there?”

“I just…it felt like something was here, so I was trying to make contact.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at her response.

She was doing it for no reason, huh?

Wait, she shouldn’t even be able to touch it, so how was she?

I couldn’t comprehend it…

I reached out, trying to make contact with whatever Wi Seol-Ah had felt,

But nothing is here?

I hoped to make contact with something, but unlike Wi Seol-Ah, my hand just passed through the air without any reaction.

Seeing I was reaching in the wrong spot, Wi Seol-Ah gently took my wrist and guided my hand.

“Not there… but around here.”

She didn’t even move it that much.

Just slightly.

Then, she adjusted my fingertips ever so slightly.

Just that tiny movement,

Woong-

“…!”

But I began to feel it.

I felt the Formation before me.

It was faint but unmistakable.

Before me was a remarkably crafted Formation.

It’s really here.

I didn’t know what kind of a Formation it was, but I was at least certain that it existed.

I could sense that it was designed to hide something, rather than to protect.

It wouldn’t feel like this if it were meant for protection.

So this is the Formation that’s hiding the secret vault?

That was highly likely.

To be sure, I had to break through the Formation and check for myself,

But I can’t afford to do that right now.

I had to remind myself that the Qinghai Sword wasn’t too far away.

Even if the Qinghai Sword didn’t create this Formation, forcing my way in would make it tremble, and he would almost certainly notice it.

Of course, it justhadto be near the Head’s building.

In a way, this was the safest option, but as far as I knew, this secret vault wasn’t made by the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

This meant that it wasn’t made here on purpose.

If I wanted to enter this Formation safely, I’d have to wait until the Qinghai Sword was far away.

Then I’ll get to see if this Formation is really for the secret vault I’m looking for.

For now, I was satisfied knowing that a Formation existed here.

Though I wasn’t the one who found it and it was all Wi Seol-Ah.

Despite this, Wi Seol-Ah herself didn’t seem to care at all about the Formation.

Should I be glad about it?

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“Huh?”

“This.”

Surprised by Wi Seol-Ah’s lack of reaction, I asked bluntly.

I asked her if she wasn’t surprised by the Formation right in front of her.

After rolling her eyes for a moment, Wi Seol-Ah parted her pink lips and spoke.

“…Everyone has a few secrets they want to hide, after all.”

If it needed protection from a Formation, then it probably wasn’t a normal secret.

Putting that aside, Wi Seol-Ah for some reason didn’t seem to care too much about it.

It was also too difficult for me to break in right now.

I guess I should be glad about it, right?

It could have been a problem if someone else had found it, but since Wi Seol-Ah did, I was fortunate.

“That’s that, but what’s your reason for avoiding me recently?”

“…Pardon…?”

The Formation was one thing, but I had to ask what needed to be asked.

It was my primary concern, after all.

Maybe because it was out of the blue, Wi Seol-Ah flinched.

“I-I didn’t avoid you.”

“Huh? Don’t lie to me, did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Does she think I’m stupid?

She avoided me every time, looked away from my eyes, and was never around when I looked for her.

She was clearly avoiding me, but why though?

“Did I do something wrong?”

I knew I wasn’t the nicest to others, but I don’t really remember doing anything bad to Wi Seol-Ah.

At least not in this life.

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah gave no response.

Instead, she tried to avoid my eyes…

“Ough…!?”

So I just grabbed her chin and held her head in place so that she couldn’t look away.

“What’s your problem?”

I had to know.

I could only address it once I knew what was going on.

She, who used to follow me everywhere, was now avoiding me? I couldn’t let that slide.

I had no intention of letting her escape again.

Wi Seol-Ah stared at me, her pupils trembling.

Unable to look away, her eyes darted around in a panic.

Yet, she made no effort to push me away.

I waited for a long time.

I had no intention of letting her go until she spoke.

After a moment, she slowly parted her lips.

But she was still hesitant, speaking very slowly.

“…I’m embarrassed.”

“Huh?”

Her voice was barely audible, so quiet I could hardly hear her, but I did.

Embarrassed?

“What are you embarrassed about?”

Why was she suddenly feeling embarrassed?

She did something similar before, saying she didn’t want to show her changed self to others, yet she stopped wearing her cover that hid her hair, so it seemed like she was embarrassed about something else.

But what was it?

As I wondered in my mind after hearing Wi Seol-Ah’s response, she added on.

“I became embarrassed about… seeing you, Master Gu.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Do I look funny or something?

I suppose I don’t go out of my way to look good.

“…It’s hard to look into your eyes.”

“Is it because I look scary?”

“That’s not it…! You don’t look scary at all!”

“Why are you the one becoming angry when it’s my eyes?”

Should I be thankful that she’s mad because I insulted myself?

“Anyway… it’s not like that.”

“Okay, then what do I need to do for you?”

“…G…Give me some time.”

“What time? So that you can avoid me even more?”

“Yes… So, please give me a little time.”

Huh? She needed more time to avoid me? What kind of nonsense is that?

She’s the one who said she wanted to see me, even watched me secretly from afar, yet now she was asking me to give her some time.

“So? How much time do I need to give you?”

“It won’t be long… I-I’ll be done quickly.”

I couldn’t understand why she looked so serious.

What did she mean by getting it done quickly?

“Do you want to go back to how we were like in the past?”

Our relationship as a Young Master and a servant.

It was only a few years ago, but was she saying she wanted to return to those times?

For a second, I believed that to be the case…

“No.”

But Wi Seol-Ah gave a firm response.

“That’s not it. Back then, we had lots of good memories… but now, instead I—“

“Instead?”

“I want to change, so I need some time. Enough time to make up my mind.”

She made up so many things, silly mistakes, and excuses, and now her mind was going to be one of them.

That amusing thought passed by my mind for a second.

Heh… If I made that joke now, Wi Seol-Ah might not look at me for days out of anger.

“You know that, Master Gu?”

“Know what?”

I still wasn’t used to her calling me by that title.

It felt especially strange coming from Wi Seol-Ah.

Even though Wi Seol-Ah would’ve called me by that title originally.

“It’s called greed if a person tries to get possession of something they can’t.”

“That’s greed?”

That’s not necessarily greed.

Though it was understandable to a certain extent.

But putting that aside, it was completely out of the blue.

What does she mean by greed all of a sudden?

I stared at her in confusion, but Wi Seol-Ah put on an expression I couldn’t comprehend.

It looked like she was forcing a smile on her face.

“You know,”

“Hmm?”

“I want to be a little greedy myself.”

“What?”

That was an odd response.

Wi Seol-Ah wants to be greedy?

When I thought about Wi Seol-Ah, she didn’t completely lack greed, so did she mean something different?

Her face and body were that of an adult now, but Wi Seol-Ah still had a childish side.

Technically, she was still a kid, as she hadn’t reached twenty yet.

“So please wait for me. It won’t take long.”

Finishing with that, Wi Seol-Ah forced a smile.

I wanted to ask more, but her smile told me not to, and I decided to let her off the hook since she told me it wasn’t going to take long.

“…Fine, that’s that, but I have a question.”

“Yes.”

“Why were you called to the Head’s room?”

“…”

For a brief moment…

Oh, right.

These two words were written all over Wi Seol-Ah’s face.

It seemed she had forgotten about it.

“You said you caused some trouble, so what was it?”

“I-I didn’t cause any trouble.”

“You had ‘Oh! I made a mistake!’ written all over your face just now though?”

“…N-No?”

She closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Sigh… How can I believe her when it’s so obvious?

I didn’t think Wi Seol-Ah had the kind of personality like me to cause trouble.

She would have held herself back instead.

She wasn’t the type to explode like I did.

“Aren’t you going to tell me? Should I go ask the Head of the Academy then?”

“…”

Of course, the Head wouldn’t tell me about another student’s action even if I asked, but she started to explain what she did with her eyes clenched shut.

After I heard her confession…

“…You hit a person? You? And not only that, but- “

I asked her wondering if I misheard her for the first time.

It was so unbelievable.

“Your own bodyguards or whatever?”

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah avoided eye contact, biting her lips.

That was her obvious way of saying yes.

It seemed like Wi Seol-Ah really did hit a person, after all.

A lot of them at that.

******************The second son of Pe Clan of Sichuan, Pe Woocheol.

That was the name of a young man who had just turned twenty.

He was relatively famous compared to other Young Prodigies, and everyone believed he had a bright future due to his exceptional talent, which stood out over others.

He wasn’t in the same ranks as the Six Dragons and the Three Phoenixes, but he was still an outstanding snake in a den of snakes.

He knew he was talented.

He was bound to know because of how poor others around him were.

I will stand in the same ranks as them.

Pe Woocheol believed this when he first came to the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

The Six Dragons and the Three Phoenixes were powerful monsters, but he believed that he wasn’t far behind them.

He had reached over the level of First-rate, getting strong thanks to his father training him, so he believed in himself.

Truthfully, the entrance exam to the Academy wasn’t too difficult for Pe Woocheol.

In fact, It was easy.

Isn’t this a bit too easy?

He thought it was light work.

He was confident that he was going to earn the top spots in the Academy, but ironically enough, Pe Woocheol wasn’t even close.

What was more surprising was that he had expected the top three to be from the Six Dragons and the Three Phoenixes, but that wasn’t the case either.

The first place was taken by a Dragon, but the second and third weren’t Dragons or Phoenixes.

Instead, it was an unknown girl without a title and a swordsman with the title of Meteor Sword.

Pe Woocheol couldn’t help but nod after seeing those two.

Their Qi were outstanding, they were definitely different from the rest.

However, he wondered if he could catch up with them with enough effort.

His competitive spirit was getting fired up.

But during this,

What’s that bastard?

Pe Woocheol observed the Dragon who had earned first place.

He was young.

It was certain that he was younger than himself, and he even seemed young compared to other Young Prodigies in general.

This bastard not only became a Dragon, something he couldn’t do, but he also earned the top place in the Academy.

He even seemed to have a poor attitude.

He bounced his leg during the Qinghai Sword’s speech and looked around as if all of this was a hassle to him.

That was Pe Woocheol’s first impression of the infamous True Dragon, and that same afternoon, Pe Woocheol ended up losing his consciousness after being struck by him.

He didn’t even get the chance to use his strength.

The next day, Pe Woocheol angrily charged right at the True Dragon as soon as he woke up, only to be beaten once again by his fist.

It was an ambush while he was asleep, but the True Dragon got up right away as if he was expecting it and beat up Pe Woocheol ever so violently.

Only then did Pe Woocheol realize the difference in power between himself and the True Dragon.

He couldn’t see a thing, nor was he able to even touch him.

How could his fist be so heavy and fast without even using his Qi?

A wall.

That’s what Pe Woocheol felt. But of course, that didn’t stop the True Dragon from beating him up.

-I-I get it now… so please stop.

-What do you mean by ‘stop’ you bastard? Why would you mess with a person when they are trying to sleep?

-Agh! N-Not there!

-Don’t tell me what to do. You better stay still you know? You might not be able to have kids if you move right now.

-W-Wait! Senior Brother! B-Brother, please…! Agghhh!

He didn’t want to remember what happened that morning.

Just thinking about it gave him chills.

Ah shit, this bastard is batshit crazy.

Pe Woocheol realized then.

He had thought that he was the crazy one, but it was the True Dragon who was truly mad.

Pe Woocheol couldn’t forget the look in the True Dragon’s eyes as he beat him up. up.

He was definitely enjoying the whole process.

He was forced to call him ‘Senior Brother’ to hopefully stop his violence.

At the time, he sought revenge whenever he was given the opportunity, but that changed ever since he saw what happened in the first group training with Cheol Hwanho.

The hunt for a Demon.

Pe Woocheol felt powerless when he and other Young Prodigies fought against instructor Cheol Hwanho all at once.

No matter how much they charged at him, they couldn’t even touch his clothes.

…So this is an instructor huh?

Pe Woocheol’s arrogance and pride, built from reaching First-rate, seemed to be crushed in an instant.

As everyone was rolling in the dirt, instructor Cheol Hwanho spoke.

-Why are you standing still?

He was addressing the True Dragon who stood in silence behind him.

In truth, the True Dragon had only watched as the others fought the instructor, doing nothing himself.

-The training would become too easy if I joined in.

How could he remain so arrogant even after witnessing Instructor Cheol Hwanho’s strength?

Pe Woocheol himself was crushed both mentally and physically.

Pe Woocheol was fascinated by how the True Dragon still wore a confident smile on his face.

Is that why he was a Dragon?

He sincerely believed that to be the case. Wasn’t it cool?

To remain so confident in a situation like this.

However, instructor Cheol Hwanho seemed to disagree and offered a bet against the True Dragon.

He called it a bet, but he was clearly trying to crush the True Dragon, and the other Young Prodigies believed that even the True Dragon couldn’t stand up to the monstrous Instructor Cheol Hwanho.

Pe Woocheol was no different.

He was the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army and a Peak Realm martial artist well-known throughout the Central Plains.

As he wondered how a Young Prodigy could win against such a figure, their spar began, and Pe Woocheol watched, holding his breath.

-Flaming Sphere.

He gasped at the monstrous power emanating from the True Dragon’s hand.

He had hidden such power?

It was something Pe Woocheol had never seen from the True Dragon.

The heat was overwhelming, distorting the space around it.

Cheol Hwanho recognized the danger immediately and charged at the True Dragon in an instant.

This meant that it was dangerous even to Cheol Hwanho, but he wasn’t able to block the True Dragon’s attack.

As Pe Woocheol couldn’t even dare to track Cheol Hwanho’s movement, the True Dragon read it effortlessly and dodged his attack.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, the True Dragon instantly withdrew his Qi, placed his hand on Cheol Hwanho’s chest, and emerged victorious.

Even that huge power of his was a fake all along.

He was quite frankly playing mind games with Cheol Hwanho.

“…”

Pe Woocheol’s eyes widened.

As he watched the True Dragon smile at Cheol Hwanho, clearly enjoying the shock on the instructor’s face, Pe Woocheol thought to himself.

It wasn’t jealousy or a surge of competitiveness.

It was a sense of awe.

Their levels were way too far apart.

He couldn’t look down on him anymore.

That man’s very existence was different from his own.

With that thought, Pe Woocheol made a decision.

I want to be by his side.

The monster who continued to soar higher, beyond the sky’s limit.

Now was the time.

He had to stay by his side.

This was a chance.

His pride had long been crushed, and any jealousy had faded from his view.

The monster had folded his wings and decided to spend his time in this land for some time.

There wouldn’t be another opportunity like this.

Pe Woocheol had no hesitation in asking.

“Eldest brother!”

Pe Woocheol ran towards the True Dragon, shouting at him, as the True Dragon was busy talking to Cheol Hwanho.

Then, he promptly fainted again after being struck in the chin by the True Dragon’s fist.

A few days passed after that.

Pe Woocheol continued in his role as Gu Yangcheon’s right-hand man, and Gu Yangcheon eventually gave up trying to get rid of him due to his sheer stubbornness.

Slam!

After striking the wooden dummy during his solo training session, Pe Woocheol withdrew his Qi and steadied his breath.

“Phew…”

Drip-! Drip-!

He felt refreshed as he got to train alone for the first time in a while, but he wasn’t too satisfied.

This much isn’t enough if I want to follow his path.’

After watching Gu Yangcheon for a few days, Pe Woocheol realized he was greater than he expected.

The Poison Phoenix, Snow Phoenix, and even the Sword Dancer were by his side.

Did women naturally gravitate toward him because he had power and talent?

But for it to be those three women of all people made it even more impressive to Pe Woocheol.

And then there was the time he went to a different group and taught them a lesson.

He didn’t even seem to care about what the others felt about him.

Pe Woocheol felt nervous when he was called by the instructor.

Even he could tell that the trouble Gu Yangcheon caused wasn’t minor.

However, Gu Yangcheon himself didn’t seem worried at all.

Was he not afraid because he already won against Cheol Hwanho?

Yes, that must be it. My senior brother is such a man after all!

As Pe Woocheol smiled in satisfaction at that thought,

“Hmm?”

He considered heading back to his room after finishing his training, but he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

“…Brother Jiseon?”

It was Cheol Jiseon, Gu Yangcheon’s friend.

Though his martial level was much lower than his own, Pe Woocheol’s Senior Brother had told him that Cheol Jiseon was a friend, so he had no choice but to treat him as a Senior Brother.

He believed that Gu Yangcheon was fond of Cheol Jiseon, so he had to make sure that he treated him with utmost respect.

Where is he going in such a hurry?

As Cheol Jiseon was making his way into a forest with hurried steps, Pe Woocheol thought about back when Cheol Jiseon was being picked on.

Because of that, he hid his presence and started to follow Cheol Jiseon out of concern.

Thankfully, Cheol Jiseon didn’t seem to notice Pe Woocheol trailing him.

Pe Woocheol followed Cheol Jiseon to a secluded spot where someone was waiting for him.

Pe Woocheol had to hide his shock when he saw that person.

That bastard!

It was someone Pe Woocheol was familiar with.

It was none other than the Meteor Sword, Jang Seonyeon.

He was one of the Young Prodigies frequently discussed at the Academy.

Why is he and Brother Jiseon meeting with each other?

From what he’d seen before, Gu Yangcheon and the Meteor Sword didn’t seem to have the best relationship.

According to the rumors, the True Dragon was supposedly jealous of the Meteor Sword, but that didn’t seem like the case to Pe Woocheol.

Instead…

It seemed to be the other way around.

To Pe Woocheol, it was an absurd rumor, but Gu Yangcheon told him not to worry about it, as if he didn’t care at all.

Because of this, Pe Woocheol held himself back.

But now, Gu Yangcheon’s friend, Cheol Jiseon, was meeting with Jang Seonyeon in a place like this.

Pe Woocheol sharpened his senses.

He needed precise control to avoid being caught.

After he increased his hearing, he started to hear Cheol Jiseon’s quiet voice.

-I’m sorry to call you so late at night like this, Master Cheol.

-…Why did you call me here?

-I have something to ask of you.

Jang Seonyeon wore a kind smile, but that smile didn’t exude an ounce of trustworthiness for some reason.

Why was that?

Pe Woocheol didn’t know.

Smiling, Jang Seonyeon spoke to Cheol Jiseon who wore a nervous expression.

-First, Master Cheol. Wait no, I should call you by a different title.

It was for a moment Jang Seonyeon’s mouth moved, but no sound could be heard.

It seemed like he put a barrier around themselves.

Darn.

Jang Seonyeon didn’t seem to notice Pe Woocheol, but he clearly didn’t want anyone else to overhear their conversation.

Because there was the risk of him getting caught, Pe Woocheol turned around and started to make his way back.

Cheol Jiseon and Jang Seonyeon are having a conversation that others weren’t allowed to know about?

Pe Woocheol didn’t know what it was about, but he knew he had to inform his Senior Brother.

He quickly ran back and looked for Gu Yangcheon, and told him everything about what he saw just earlier.

It seemed like shocking information, after all.

However…

“Oh, is that so?”

Gu Yangcheon remained calm despite hearing this.

This left Pe Woocheol feeling confused instead.

“B-Brother?”

“I was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t made any moves yet, but thankfully, he’s finally starting.”

“…Pardon? What are you…?”

“Forget all that you saw today.”

“Huh?”

Following those words, Gu Yangcheon made his bed and lay down.

“Stop standing there and lie down, I’m going to sleep now.”

“U-Understood.”

“Oh, right. Woocheol.”

“Yes, brother.”

“What’s for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.”

“…From now on, instead of secrets like that, make sure you learn about what’s for breakfast.”

“Understood.”

It certainly felt like important information, but Gu Yangcheon reacted as if he had expected it all along and seemed more concerned about breakfast.

…Isn’t that strange?

Is this normal?

Pe Woocheol wondered, but quickly forgot about it and fell asleep.

By the way, despite saying he would, Pe Woocheol never once remembered what was for breakfast, even until the end.