Chapter 258 Growth (8)

Team: HH, thursdays, Yahiko

Palgwae, the power that the Martial King had completed after pushing his Eight Extreme Fists to the limit. Yeon-woo wanted to imitate the power in his Sword Strengthening.

He gathered Consciousness into the vestige of the Magic Bayonet. He acted out the movements he saw in his head.

Pat!

Aura shined intensely, but nothing happened.

Sssss—

Rather, the light at the end of the Aura crumbled, like a sandcastle being destroyed by a wave. It scattered smoothly.

Yeon-woo muttered to himself looking at the quiet Magic Bayonet.

“As expected, it doesn’t work.”

The Martial King had said something to him.

-It’s because it’s not your path.

At the time, he didn’t understand what the Martial King was talking about.

He thought that something was wrong with the way he was doing things, so he tried to look for another way to do it, and even got Galliard’s help to open Wind Path in the end.

But the more he trained Consciousness and controlled his body completely, Yeon-woo was able to realize what the Martial King meant.

‘Palgwae and the Martial Extremes weren’t the path for me.’

Palgwae and the Martial Extremes used Consciousness Energy as a foundation. It was a martial art made of the Martial King’s thoughts and mind. It was a new Mugong that the Martial King created through his life experience and Eight Extreme Fists.

Yeon-woo, who was on a completely different path from the Martial King, copy the Martial King’s Palgwae and Martial Extremes?

Of course it would be impossible.

It was different from how Phante chased after the Head Elder’s Blood Lightning. The Mugong that they used were similar, and Phante was ready to throw everything he learned away to learn Blood Lightning.

However, Yeon-woo wasn’t like that.

He had earned too many things until now. He didn’t have the slightest inkling to throw all of them away to chase after Palgwae and the Martial Extremes. The Martial King never spoke about this either. Even if Yeon-woo decided to do this, the Martial King would have rejected him.

‘My ability with the sword stops here.’

The more he understood his body, the more Yeon-woo was able to judge his abilities.

As Yeon-woo had always known, he wasn’t talented.

The only reason he had been able to grow this fast was that he grew the potential of the Dragon Body and made up for what he lacked in the slowed-down world of Time Difference.

It was because he had worked as much as he needed to make up for.

However, he had hit his limits.

It wasn’t the limit of reaching the 3rd step awakening. This was really the line where Yeon-woo had to stop with his mental talent.

No matter how hard he swung his sword around, he wouldn’t grow anymore.

It wasn’t a wall that he was met with. It was a pathless cliff.

Saying that this path wasn’t for him meant that the sword wasn’t his path.

However, Yeon-woo realized that the Martial King’s words were also a hint.

‘He was saying I should’ve put everything into the sword. To grow from now…..I can’t do a little bit of everything like I’ve done until now… I have to combine everything together.’

If there was a cliff in front of him, he had to grow wings.

And what would those wings be?

The answer was easy.

Consciousness Energy.

Just like how the Martial King had created the Palgwae and Martial Extremes, Yeon-woo could make a martial art of his own.

‘But…..I don’t know where to start.’

He had also wondered if he should enter the Myunbyeok Building like Phante and research the Yin Sword and the Tai Chi Pangu Sword.

He might really see a new path that way.

He might’ve even been able to reestablish the magic that he had learned until now.

He had considered this for a while, but…..

‘No. I can just do that slowly.’

Yeon-woo shook his head. Going into the Myunbyeok Building was really the last resort. He hadn’t even gotten a good idea, and going in without a plan would just be a waste of time.

Also, just because he had reached the limits of his sword and his body wouldn’t grow from here, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t any solution.

Even if things seemed impossible now, there was always a way. And it wasn’t something he had to do right then and there.

‘Wave of Fire. I should complete that first.’

Since he completely knew how to control Consciousness, completing Wave of Fire wouldn’t be hard.

Because it was a skill he failed to control every time, he needed to control it.

There was also a final form of Wave of Fire that Yeon-woo needed.

‘If this immense power is combined with Aura…..it’ll be a sight to see.’

Yeon-woo could guarantee that there wouldn’t be many people who could deal with his Aura.

Even the Martial King had been surprised seeing what he could do against the Summer Queen.

He wanted to test it out right away, but today, he needed to stop here and rest. His entire body was screaming at him to stop.

Plop—

Yeon-woo collapsed to the ground and sighed.

Galliard smirked looking at Yeon-woo.

“Seems like it’s not as easy as before.”

“Yes, sir. This is probably what the Martial King meant. I feel like all my strength is being sucked out just trying to attempt it.”

“Don’t feel too rushed. You’re already growing fast. Rather, if it’s too fast, it’s easier for you to collapse.”

Yeon-woo nodded in understanding.

“Also, isn’t it time to greet your visitors? It’s not nice to leave them waiting.”

Yeon-woo nodded again.

A few days ago, he received news that a visitor had come to see him.

However, he had just sent a letter saying to wait because he was just on the verge of learning something about Consciousness. Since he had grasped it now, it was probably now time to go see whoever it was.

But before that, he needed to shower. Yeon-woo smelled the nasty odor emanating from his body, as he hadn’t washed in several days, and sighed.

* * *

“Whoa, this is pretty cool.”

“I’ve never seen it before. Magicians really have strange heads on their necks. How were they able to think of this?”

“How do I know what’s going on in their heads? Kekekeke. Hey, what about this? It looks good on me, hm?”

“It’s like a pearl necklace on a pig.”

“What, you bastard?”

The atmosphere in the village One-horned tribe was bustling.

They were excited because of items merchants brought from outside of the village. It had been a while since they had come. All of their eyes were sparkling as they fought to take what they wanted.

Most merchants would have smiled widely, but Atran felt anxious.

He was going to get neurosis at this rate.

“Whoa. How do you use this? It’s so complicated. Where would you use this?”

“Fool! Why are you using it like that?”

“Then?”

“Hit the top. If you hit complicated machines, they’ll work again.”

“Oh, I see!”

Puk, puk!

‘They must have udon noodles for brains! Why would you touch it like that?’

Atran’s faces turned into all kinds of colors. Every time the One-horned tribe members touched an expensive artifact, he felt like he was going to go crazy. It was a wonder they didn’t break with how rough they were handling it.

It was hard to stop them.

The image of the warriors walking over the Red Dragon without feeling threatened by them was still clear in his head.

The guy that had a stupid face saying he didn’t know how to use the artifact was the one who bloodied the head of one of the 81 Eyes. Atran still got nightmares remembering how he had cackled at the sky covered in blood.

The one next to him was someone who cut off a leg of a Nine Dragon Son, and the other was the crazy bastard who chewed on it, saying that the meat tasted good.

The female warrior behind them looked comparatively fine, but she was actually the craziest person here.

She had built a hill of the corpses of the Red Dragon players, and she climbed on top of it, saying ‘I built the highest tower!’ She was a crazy b****.

It wasn’t a secret that the warriors of the One-horned tribe members had played games building towers of corpses because of her.

They also placed bets on who broke the most heads and who would send blow people away the furthest.

When he saw the one who beat up the Summer Queen grin at him, Atran’s entire body trembled.

“Huh? This is broken!”

“Hey! It’s exploding!”

Just then, an incident happened not too far away from where they were.

‘Ack!’

Thankfully, before an explosion occurred, some other warrior came to stop it, so thankfully, no one was hurt. The man promised to pay him back, but Atran felt like he was going to faint.

It had already been 4 days since he had been here. He didn’t know why Yeon-woo wasn’t coming.

Muscles! Muscles! Muscles! Everywhere he looked, all he could see were hunky muscles and the smell of sweat.

If this went on, he would probably be locked in this prison of muscles. Or die from stress.

“Thanks for bringing these good items. It was nice to boost everyone’s moods.”

The Martial King patted Atran’s shoulders, not knowing how he was feeling.

An image of the Martial King ripping the Summer Queen’s wings out flashed by in his head.

If the Martial King accidentally put too much pressure on his shoulders, what would happen to him? He almost wet his pants.

“Tell Freesia I’ll use it well.”

“……!”

Atran came to attention at the Martial King’s words.

A name that shouldn’t have been mentioned had come out. Freesia. He turned his head subconsciously, but the Martial King was leaving examining a glove in his hand.

Of course someone like him would know that person. However, even the people who knew ‘that person’ called her Master; they never spoke her name.

No, there wasn’t anyone who knew her name. Atran only knew it by coincidence as well. He even received warnings to erase that memory from his brain from the people around him.

But the Martial King said that name so easily like he was telling Atran to deliver his greetings to an old friend.

What was the relationship between the two? He was curious, but Atran couldn’t muster the courage to go ask the Martial King. His merchant’s instinct told him that if he asked, things were going to get complicated. He knew that a curiosity he couldn’t handle would make his lifespan shorter.

He was standing there looking blankly at the Martial King’s back when he saw a familiar face. No, to be exact, it was a familiar mask.

It was a mask that was as dark as a demon. It was a demon-like bastard to Atran.

He didn’t want to see it again, but what could he do?

Atran was someone who would jump into fire for money.

“The thing I asked for?”

Yeon-woo got straight to the point without saying hello. Atran was about to spew out all the curses he had been keeping inside of him all this time, but he just held it in, nodding his head.

“They accepted it.”

Yeon-woo nodded his head.

“Okay. Let’s head somewhere else.”