Chapter 25
Lesson 6. For the goodness of the teachers is as high as the sky is – 4
The sight unfolding before Ban Yu-won stopped his breath in his throat. It was because he found Death when Dok Go-yeon’s shortsword cut through the air.
He remembered when she confronted Ortima, she killed his power with just her spirit. That was essentially the same force as what she had now exerted.
‘The action of slashing with the sword, the Form. The heart is contained within, the meaning of Snapping. But this goes one step further. It’s a willingness to cut a person to death….’
At that time, he was just vaguely surprised. But now that he had a better understanding of martial arts, he could see how miraculous and terrifying her sword was. How could Death be contained in human action, and more so, in such a simple sword strike? Not to mention it was also such a pronounced and dense Death.
Ban Yu-won was just thankful that the sword wasn’t directed at him.
―However, it was definitely worth facing that fear head-on.
[Understanding advanced techniques for dealing with emotions and phenomena, the grip of power has been increased. The depth of Complete Hearing, Complete Sight, and Complete Speaking have increased by 5.]
[Successfully captured some concepts of very powerful and complex martial art. The depth of the Soul has increased to 390. The depth of Martial Arts has increased to 97. The extra depth not attributed to the sub-concepts will help you acquire and develop Martial Arts in the future.]
[The depth of Swordsmanship has increased to 52.]
[By observing and understanding the essence of Snapping, the depth has reached 15.]
Now, when Dok Go-yeon asked him to call her teacher, he should comply. Where was a teacher as good as her who could raise Ban Yu-won’s level just by showing him a single sword strike? And his realizations didn’t end there.
‘Maybe Ruchel’s Mind Brazier is similar to the technique Dok Go-yeon showed.’
The ability to instantaneously generate concepts not inherent in the body to boost one’s power or achieve desired results, wasn’t that an active skill in a video game? However, if there was a difference between Ruchel and Dok Go-yeon, it was that she could control the concept as she wished, while Ruchel could not.
‘Then the only way I can help Ruchel….’
“Ban Yu-won.”
“Yeah?”
When he returned to his senses and looked up, he saw Dok Go-yeon’s cross pupils peering at him. Her face was so close that he almost fainted with surprise.
“Did you see it? I don’t want to show you twice this time. I’ve used all my strength, you know?”
“Well…I think I managed to.”
The giant spider was cut in half with a single strike and disappeared. But no matter how great Dok Go-yeo’s abilities were, there was no way she could casually fire such an attack off. If that were the case, that would be terrifying.
Moreover.
[Life 3, Physique 11, Devil 12, Carapace 15, Spider Web 10, Resistance 1]
Considering the significant amount of Life he gained from the monster, Ban Yu-won recognized how terrible they truly were. Ban Yu-won was momentarily embarrassed because it felt like he had robbed her of her income, but Dok Go-yeon smiled in a way that seemed to say, ‘I know everything about you.’
She became scarier as he became more aware. “The two of you, stop messing around! Hurry up and help me!”
Light’s urgent voice at that time pulled Ban Yu-won’s attention away from Dok Go-yeon.
“Grrrrrrr!”
“Ruchel is going crazy!”
One of the two giant spiders was confronting Light, and the other was writhing in pain with some of its limbs torn off. The mucus and carapace fragments on Ruchel’s hands showed that it was her achievement, but…
[Mind Brazier 84 ― Anger 27, Madness 40, Pity 9, Delight 3, Kill 5]
Compared to when he checked it just a moment ago, the depth had jumped sharply. And he couldn’t miss this new concept he hadn’t seen before.
“Grrrr, grrrrrrrrr…!”
“Ruchel, you idiot! Focus on the monsters!”
“Oh my, this is going to be so much fun.”
Most cases where Dok Go-yeon said it was fun weren’t actually very fun.
“Not at all! It’s no fun!”
“Hehehehe!”
―Screeeeeeech!
In fact, the situation right now is a good example. If they pushed it further, they could end the spider that lost its limbs. However, Ruchel was instead rushing toward Light, leaving the spiders behind. Hence, Light was faced with a dilemma where he could neither deal with the giant spider properly nor defeat Ruchel.
Ban Yu-won looked back.
“Dok Go-yeon.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve done enough in this battle.”
Everyone knew that she was limiting her capabilities to some extent to match the average range of their party. Actually, it was also necessary for everyone’s growth that she didn’t do anything.
But right now, they were caught up in an Irregular.
“I don’t know what will happen if one of us dies right now. Do you? It’s an Irregular.”
“…Irregular, huh? Right, you’re right about that.”
Perhaps she wanted Ban Yu-won to convince her. Sometimes these cumbersome but transparent procedures were needed to move people with firm standards.
Dok Go-yeon, who was persuaded with relatively little effort, nodded.
“Then I’ll take care of that Beast.”
“Whatever, just hurry up!”
Dok Go-yeon stretched out her fingers at Light’s cry, and Ruchel, who was attacking him, was thrown into the air and against the far wall.
“Grrrrrrrr!”
However, she jumped back up and, this time, ran toward Dok Go-yeon.
Dok Go-yeon knocked back Ruchel again as if she had been waiting for the chance. Ruchel jumped up and rushed forward again…only then did Ban Yu-won realize that Dok Go-yeon was ‘playing’ with her.
“When her reason is completely blown away, she’ll attack whoever she sees as strong.”
“Don’t tell me why she left the spider and rushed to me?!”
“Ah!”
Light turned to the giant spider attacking him as if he had just remembered its presence. By now, Ban Yu-won realized what Dok Go-yeon wanted from him. Wasn’t there one guy lying around without any opponent to face right now?
“Teacher, the assignment is a bit tough.”
“If you looked at my sword movement properly, then you can do it.”
Dok Go-yeon responded with a smile to Ban Yu-won’s complaints. Even while dealing with Ruchel, whose eyes had turned upside down, she had an extremely relaxed attitude. Maybe it was a lie that she used all her strength in that attack earlier.
Ban Yu-won sighed and turned to his opponent, guessing this was her best compromise.
―Khieeeeeeek!
The giant spider let out a pained cry. Of course, its condition wasn’t normal because it was missing three of its eight legs, but because time passed, it had recovered to some extent and was now scrabbling back up. And even with its legs gone, that hardened carapace remained the same. Ban Yu-won would be crushed to death just from its size if he attacked.
But he knew from the beginning that he would have to cut this guy down since Dok Go-yeon’s teachings were Spartan.
“Shh.”
“No, Eve.”
Eve stepped forward, transforming their body into a rifle, but Ban Yu-won shook his head.
“It’s a waste of bullets. Please turn into a chain.”
“Shhh.”
This time, Eve transformed into a bundle of chains. Using that as a signal, the giant spider charged at Ban Yu-won!
―Khieeeeeek!
“Tsk!”
It was fast but huge, so Ban Yu-won could avoid it by passing through the blind spot created by the pulled-out legs. However, the unexpected thing was the silver threads scattered in the air following his movements. The sticky threads were placed to interfere with Ban Yu-won.
[You stole 0.3 Spider Web. It is a concept that humans cannot possess.]
“Just like with Spider-Man?”
―Kiiiiek?!
Of course, the spider web that had already been released couldn’t escape Ban Yu-won’s power. When all the spider webs were replaced with golden strings and absorbed into Ban Yu-won, the giant spider reared in confusion to attack again.
“Eve!”
―Clank!
But by then, Eve’s stretched chain had already tied down one of its legs. Because the other side of the chain was put into the wall, it could hold on for a while despite the giant spider’s resistance.
That was enough time for Ban Yu-won to attack.
‘Eat this!’
Although it was impossible to follow Dok Go-yeon’s attack, which contained Death, at least he was confident that he could handle a sword strike with Snapping in it. The concept of Snapping resonated with his movements, and if he added the power of Blood Poison to this-
―Slash
It was possible to cut off one of the spider legs.
“I’m done!”
“It was cool. But you have to split its head to kill it.”
However, Dok Go-yeon wasn’t satisfied with that alone.
Ban Yu-won released a devastating sigh as he saw the spider lying on the floor again, with half its leg cut off. He could cut off the leg because he aimed at the joint, but could he cut through that thick head?
“Haah……all right, I’ll do it.”
The spider couldn’t even move properly. When else would he cut it down? Ban Yu-won charged it with the protection of Eve’s chains.
“Let’s get this over with!”
He brought his sword down on its head.
―Clank-clank!
But he failed. There were two reasons: his lack of strength and skill, and Blood Poison didn’t work this time.
―Krieeeeeeeek!
―Baaaang!
If it weren’t for Eve, who quickly turned into a shield, there would be a hole in the center of his torso as the angry spider swung one of its remaining legs.
“You should’ve used that ability to draw blood and load it onto the sword.”
“Kuuuurgh!”
Dok Go-yeon said as she threw Ruchel to the ceiling. However, Ban Yu-won, who knew he was unlikely to cut its head even if the Blood Poison worked properly, only clicked his tongue in response and adjusted his posture.
‘It’s hard to use Blood Poison continuously. It’s obvious when you think about it, damn it.’
While organizing his thoughts, the spider’s legs swung for him again. However, the space was already narrow, and if he stepped back any further, he could cause damage to Light or Dok Go-yeon.
‘I can’t back down. If I want to be equal with these guys from now on…!’
―Krieek!
He swung his sword desperately in response and slashed the spider’s leg. However, if he hit it straight back, his arm would break under pressure. He had to drain the enemy’s power as much as possible first. Of course, knowing that didn’t make it any easier.
―Krieeeeeeeeeek!
“How come…!”
The spider, who had completely given up on moving, tried to attack him with its remaining legs instead. Some of them were blocked by Eve, but they were reaching their limit.
In the end, Ban Yu-won had to knock most of them aside.
“Uugh…!”
His arm was about to break, but Ban Yu-won never let go of his sword. Rather, he was getting more and more immersed in the battle.
The four legs rushed at him irregularly. Ignoring the creaking sound of his arms and the fact that his body was about to crash to the floor at any moment, he struck back. Frankly, it was― it was a bit of a fun challenge.
―Clank! Clank! Krieeek!
Before he knew it, Ban Yu-won forgot his current situation and the pain he felt and focused only on striking the legs. In the process, the spider gradually lost strength, and the impact caused by its attack decreased.
Did the weight of the attack decrease because the spider was exhausted? That was undoubtedly the case, but it wasn’t the only one. Ban Yu-won had begun to successfully drain the power from its legs, and he truly had a formidable ability to adapt.
―Krieeeeeeeeek!
How many more times did he dodge its attack? However, suddenly, Ban Yu-won realized he was no longer afraid.
A little lighter. A little faster. When Ban Yu-won’s sword bounced off the spider’s leg, a mysterious force took hold.
[In the process of dodging the enemy’s attack, you realized and acquired the concept of Flow. The depth of Flow has been increased to 5.]
Perhaps his simple realization of this new martial arts concept was influenced by the remaining depth of what he obtained from Dok Go-yeon’s sword strike earlier. However, even considering that, his realization was sufficiently amazing, though it didn’t end there.
‘The moment the attack comes, the enemy’s power is loaded; I can drain it if I move my sword properly. Then wouldn’t it be possible to reverse the enemy’s power and send it back?’
The so-called Parrying concept. To be honest, this was a mix of ‘game thinking’. However, the power of the concepts he dealt with was in how he perceived them. Contrary to the natural dodging of the enemy’s attack, the concept of Flow was obtained.
This time, he first moved with the concept of “Return” and “Anti” in his mind.
“Now!”
―Krieeeek!
It was a bit of a failure at first. To use the enemy’s power to inflict a blowback, it was necessary to take advantage of the minuscule gap when the enemy’s attack reached its peak, which was harder to get the hang of.
But then it got a little better. After that, the backlash made its leg cringe away for a moment. And then…
―Clash!
The moment when the power of the spider’s legs that stretched toward him reached its peak, he succeeded in reversing the direction of the force by deflecting it with his sword. The concept of Reverse that made its leg cringe in an instant was born.
―Krieeeeeeek!
The spider, its leg now completely bent and broken, struggled. However, Ban Yu-won didn’t have time to care as he checked the notifications in front of him.
[You have engraved the self-defined concept of Reverse into your body. The depth of Reverse reached 10! In the process of learning high-ranking martial arts, the depth of Martial Arts has reached 120. The extra depth not attributed to the sub-concept will help you acquire and develop Martial Arts in the future.]
[The depth of Soul has increased to 400.]
Ban Yu-won looked back at Dok Go-yeon with shining eyes. It was clear from the beginning that she had hoped for Ban Yu-won to attain this realization by creating an opportunity for him. And it was to face a strong opponent whose limbs weren’t intact!
“Teacher!”
“…What? You’re scaring me.”
…Or maybe not.