Although Ok-Rye's gaze seemed indifferent, it sometimes became so sharp that it felt like she was peering into Yu-Seong’s soul. Whenever Yu-Seong met her gaze, he unconsciously gulped.
As they exchanged several cups of makgeolli and chatted, Ok-Rye chuckled and asked, "So what do you want to learn from me?"
"I want to learn many things, but... just because I want to, doesn’t mean that I am able to, does it?"
In the original novel, Do-Jin suffered greatly in order to learn from Ok-Rye. It was not surprising that Ok-Rye, a transcendent being, was not inclined to easily teach her martial arts to others.
"Well, of course. If such a handsome young man calls me 'noona' and asks for a favor, I have to at least pretend that I can't refuse. Hehe."
Yu-Seong didn't quite understand Ok-Rye, because Do-Jin was no less handsome than himself. Nevertheless, in the original novel, Do-Jin spent over three months doing various chores and clearing dungeons as instructed by Ok-Rye in order to learn from her. Compared to that, it seemed easy for Yu-Seong to be allowed to learn from Ok-Rye.
‘I wonder if it's because my facial features are more appealing to her?’
Or maybe it was because Do-Jin couldn't call Ok-Rye 'noona' due to his personality? In fact, in the original novel, Do-Jin never called Ok-Rye 'noona'.
‘From the beginning, he came here with the introduction of the Association president and called her master.’
Anyway, Yu-Seong passed Ok-Rye's disciple test very easily.
"Why? Why are you looking at me like that? Did you think I would give you some strange task to receive my teachings?"
"Uh..."
"Hahaha! Look at this immature guy. His emotions are written all over his face. How can he survive in this harsh world?" Speaking with a smirk, Ok-Rye filled her own cup with the last remaining makgeolli.
"I'm naturally moody, but I'm feeling good today. An unexpected guest came, and he's handsome and called me 'noona'. There's nothing more I could ask for. I'll take you as my disciple.”
"..."
"It's rare in the world these days, so let's do a formal greeting. Dear disciple, do you know the Nine Bows ritual?"
"Of course."
Ok-Rye set down her makgeolli cup and sat cross-legged in a fairly formal posture. "Go ahead, it's been a while since I've received a greeting from a disciple."
Yu-Seong silently kneeled before bowing respectfully. One, two, three... The nine bows of different rituals continued on.
Only as it approached the end did Ok-Rye laugh loudly and extend her hand. She said, "I'm Park Ok-Rye. Call me 'master' from now on, young disciple.”
As he watched Ok-Rye and wondered if this was really the end, Yu-Seong cautiously opened his mouth to greet her. "Master."
"Hahaha! Perhaps it's been a while… That sounds good to hear."
As he looked at the laughing Ok-Rye, Yu-Seong wrapped the title of 'master' around the tip of his tongue again. It was a strange feeling, one that made him feel uplifted.
***
After forming a formal bond between master and disciple, Yu-Seong told Ok-Rye about the remaining time and the current situation.
"Two weeks? You have to be able to beat Kim Do-Jin within that time?"
"...Is that difficult?"
"Difficult? Not at all. Kim Do-Jin has some potential, but he's still a novice. For me, I could win with just one finger."
"That's for you, master."
Ok-Rye's words were not an exaggeration. In fact, if she wanted to, she could subdue Do-Jin with just her voice, let alone a finger. However, for Yu-Seong, it was definitely not an easy task.
"However, it won't be easy to follow my training program. You might even feel like dying. Are you still okay with that?"
"Yes."
In the first place, Yu-Seong had no intention of beating the main character of the original novel without facing such extremes.
Seeing Yu-Seong's determined gaze, Ok-Rye nodded with a strange expression on her face. "Good. Show me everything you have now. Two weeks is too short a time for you to learn something new from me, so we’ll focus on improving what you already have."
"I understand."
"Follow me."
After Ok-Rye waved her hand, a blue-dimensional portal formed in the empty space. She proceeded to enter it with an indifferent expression and Yu-Seong followed her.
Inside the portal, the landscape that unfolded before them was a barren wasteland where it was hard to find even plants, let alone people. Looking around and frowning from the intense sunlight, Yu-Seong asked, "Where are we...?"
"I can't even remember the name… It’s somewhere in the US. After all, there’s no other suitable place to train where people are hard to find.”
This meant that, with one gesture from Ok-Rye, they had instantly crossed from Korea to the US. Yu-Seong looked at her in surprise.
Ok-Rye nodded as if it was nothing with her arms crossed. She said, "Give it your all. Don't worry about me getting hurt or dying."
"I understand."
Silently, Yu-Seong activated all the ancient relics he had with him and transformed Pharaoh’s Caprice into the form of a spear. From the beginning, he wasn’t worried about hurting her. While she did not directly interfere with the world, if she set her mind to it, she was a transcendent being capable of single-handedly killing even the Demon King.
‘If I think about it, there's a higher wall than the S-rank hunters I saw during my E-rank days.’
There was absolutely no reason to worry about Ok-Rye getting hurt.
‘From the beginning, with all my might…’
Boom-!
As if thunder was ringing in his head, Yu-Seong’s hair stood on end, and electricity began to flow through his body. The power of the wind that supported his body to float was quite light as well.
‘The fury of the Lightning Punisher, the breath of the Wind Watcher, the vitality of the Giant Hunter.’
By fully utilizing the power of the three ancient relics, and with the reinforcement abilities obtained from the Tower of Heaven, the Wind Thunder Dragon God Art skill that was originally difficult to maintain flowed quite naturally throughout Yu-Seong’s body.
‘Perhaps…’
Perhaps this power alone was enough to defeat Do-Jin at this moment? However, Yu-Seong immediately shook his head.
‘As much as I've grown..’
No, perhaps Do-Jin had become even stronger than that.
"Well... Wind Thunder Dragon God Art skill, huh? You have quite a useful skill."
Even this Wind Thunder Dragon God Art skill was just a ‘useful skill’ for Ok-Rye.
Feeling the thrilling electricity flowing through him, Yu-Seong said with a glint in his eye, "Then... Here I go!"
With a loud shout, Yu-Seong crossed the vast wilderness with a flash.
***
Time flew by like an arrow. This was especially true for Yu-Seong, who hardly realized the passage of time.
The training that started in the wilderness had no concept of day or night, and meals were not even taken into consideration. Yu-Seong's training was literally an infinite battle. There was no rest and no room for complacency. Even when he was tired after pouring out his Wind Thunder Dragon God Art, Ok-Rye relentlessly attacked Yu-Seong and forced him to evade and defend himself.
As Ok-Rye shouted for him to push his body and mind to the extreme, Yu-Seong felt like he might die. However, he still pushed himself to the limit. Even though he felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion, what more could he do?
Regardless of his doubts, Yu-Seong's body moved without rest. The situation was peculiar; he was already exhausted, but his body continued to respond. Later, even the doubts disappeared from his mind. Ok-Rye either attacked or induced an attack without saying a word, and Yu-Seong somewhat instinctively moved his body according to Ok-Rye's will.
Just when the thought of actually dying from exhaustion had completely vanished from Yu-Seong’s mind, Ok-Rye pulled back her fist and stepped back. She asked, "You said two weeks, right?"
“...”
“Hm, you still haven't regained your senses," commented Ok-Rye.
Without another word, she lightly tapped Yu-Seong's forehead with her fingertips as he rushed toward her.
Smack!
"Uh-!"
After rolling on the ground a few times, Yu-Seong suddenly stood up. His dazed look quickly went away, his eyes regaining their usual light.
"Didn't you say the appointment was after two weeks at noon?"
"Oh, yes."
"It's time."
“What...?"
"The two weeks that you mentioned have passed."
Yu-Seong looked at Ok-Rye with an incredulous expression. He remembered coming over to this barren land with her and starting their first battle. However, since then, he had no idea how time had passed.
"Did I spar with my master without eating or sleeping?"
In response to Yu-Seong’s question about the inexplicable situation, Ok-Rye pointed at him to reveal a blue aura connecting to his body like a thread. She said, "You wouldn't have been able to do it in normal circumstances. But with someone's help, it's possible enough."
"Ah..."
Ok-Rye forcibly grabbed Yu-Seong, who was about to collapse from exhaustion at any moment, and made him move. She explained, "What you've been doing is an unconscious sparring. Two weeks is too short a time to teach you something new, but it's enough to bring out your maximum potential. And to do that, it's much easier to bring out your power in a state of unconsciousness rather than consciousness..."
"I roughly understand."
"You don't need to fully understand anyway. More importantly, there's another reason why I woke you up exactly after two weeks."
"What reason?"
"Your potential is not ordinary, but Kim Do-Jin is such a monster. I took out another insurance policy just in case. There's a limit to bringing out your potential with a two-week-long training."
"It sounds a bit different from what you first said..."
Ok-Rye smirked at Yu-Seong's question and shook her head. "It doesn't mean you're losing. It's just that we needed to make use of the two weeks fully."
As she was disappearing from Yu-Seong's sight, Ok-Rye’s fist grazed Yu-Seong's cheekbone.
Yu-Seong instinctively turned his head to avoid the punch without much thought, and his eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't see Ok-Rye's attack, but his body moved on its own.
"Right now, your body is in a state of extreme tension and excitement, which is practically the best situation to fight in. The best option would be to rest after embodying everything you've learned….” Ok-Rye let out an awkward laugh before saying with a smile, “...but there wasn't enough time for that."
“Then…”
"In an hour, all the recoil of your previous training will come."
"...It’s going to hurt a lot."
"Very much so. It could be as painful as the first awakening."
"Oh, my goodness..."
Ok-Rye giggled at the sight of Yu-Seong's panicked expression. She then said, “Did you think it would be easy to grow rapidly in a short period of time? Since there is a promised match, there is no other choice but to push yourself. I hate hearing that my disciple got beaten up somewhere.”
"I see… Uh, by the way, what time is it now, master...?"
"It's 12:10 pm in Korea."
"...I said the appointment was at noon."
"I got carried away with the fun of teaching my disciple after a long time, so I was a little late."
Yu-Seong realized he was late and hurriedly spoke up.