Chapter 109 (2/2)

Seol Jihu was reminded of Odelette Delphine and nodded his head subconsciously.

“But the funny thing is, there are differences even among the gifted ones. The one who's more talented, the one who's more special. You can go on and on, and eventually, you'll find someone who's unrivaled among the gifted.”

'A heaven beyond heaven.' Seol Jihu suddenly thought of this saying.

“People like that will go above learning skills on their own and will tread their own paths. They will enter unique realms no one else has ever reached. I call that Enlightenment.”

'An independent path? A unique realm?'

Seol Jihu tilted his head and asked, “Could Dylan have….”

“If you're talking about Dylan's lightning, you're a bit off. Infusing electricity into mana — the idea is good, but that only const.i.tutes as thinking outside the box. It's far from Enlightenment.”

“What about Chohong?”

“It's the same. Chohong is a special case. Because she is originally a Priest, she only strengthened her Manifestation ability.”

It was quite a stingy evaluation considering that Carpe Diem was one of Haramark's best teams. Seol Jihu shook his head.

“I'm not sure I get it.”

“I don't expect you to. Well, I'm not trying to discuss martial arts theories with you, but….” Jang Maldong took a brief pause before opening his mouth again.

“In the past, I've seen someone move like his body and weapon were one. That wasn't something as simple as a movement technique.”

Moving like the body and weapon were one?

“Are you talking about the famous One With the Sword?” Seol Jihu asked, remembering the martial arts novels he used to read.

“I've heard that it was something like that.”

When Jang Maldong agreed, Seol Jihu's expression waned.

“One person seeks the path of Formlessness. Another seeks the path of the Thousand Sword.”

“Puha!”

Seol Jihu's laughter interrupted Jang Maldong. The former quickly covered his mouth.

“Is that funny?”

“N-No, it's just that the names….”

He was okay with 'Formlessness', but he couldn't stop himself when he heard 'Thousand Sword'. They were both terms he was somewhat familiar with from martial arts novels.

Seol Jihu put strength into his hand to hold back his laughter. Seeing this, one corner of Jang Maldong's mouth curled up.

“Hmph, let's see you laughing when you face a thousand swords flying straight at you.”

The smile on Seol Jihu's face vanished. A thousand swords attacking him simultaneously? By commonsense standard, that was simply impossible.

But because of his past life-threatening experiences, Jang Maldong's words didn't seem like a joke.

“Brat, don't ridicule them unless you've pioneered your own independent realm and can stand toe-to-toe with them.”

“Sorry. I'm not laughing because I'm ridiculing them.”

“I know. The name Thousand Sword is a bit strange. I laughed when I first heard it too.”

“You too?”

“Mm. His abilities are the real deal though….”

Jang Maldong rubbed his forearm as if he was reminded of a bad memory.

“Anyways, these are who I call true High Rankers.”

'If High Rankers are that amazing….'

Seol Jihu made a tired expression before clearing his throat and asking, “Sir, what about the Unique Rank?”

“I don't know,” Jang Maldong answered immediately.

“I can say this and that about High Rankers because I am a High Ranker myself.”

He tilted his head up and looked at the sky.

“But the Unique Rankers… are like the stars in the sky. I can't get anywhere close to them even if I reach out my hands, so how can I dare to evaluate them?”

Seol Jihu let out a long sigh. He felt that he still had a long way to go. At the same time, he found out that he was just a frog in a well. The world was wide, and there were many gifted people.

Seeing the youth's dejected look, Jang Maldong smiled, “You were laughing before, but now you're all down?”

“…It just seems so far out of reach.”

“What's there to worry about? You're also walking your own path and making proper preparations for it. Though, we don't know what lies at the end of it.”

“Making preparations? What do you mean? ”

“Didn't I tell you? That you have to constantly devote yourself to balance your mind, technique, and body before becoming a High Ranker. This isn't an easy thing to do.”

Seol Jihu tilted his head as if he had no clue what Jang Maldong was talking about.

“Never in my life have I seen someone whose mind, technique, and body are so twisted.”

“You mean….”

“Never mind true and false and all that. Just focus on balancing your mind, technique, and body. It's not an easy path to tread, but I believe it has potential.”

'Balancing the mind, technique, and body'— the moment he heard this, vitality returned to his lifeless eyes.

“I'm going to go running.”

Seol Jihu immediately turned around. Now that he was shown a way to get stronger, his body became heated until it couldn't handle standing still.

“That's fine, but do it in moderation. It's still dark, and if you get hurt, you won't be able to go to the Banquet.”

Seol Jihu flinched in the middle of putting on his sandbags.

“And if you get the opportunity, you can attempt Stage 3 as well. Go see what position you're in.”

“Sir?”

Seol Jihu turned his head. Seeing his dropped jaw, Jang Maldong clicked his tongue.

“Don't get ahead of yourself. Entering Stage 3 is all up to luck. It's not like Dylan and Kazuki couldn't go because they were lacking in skills.”

Who cared? Seol Jihu was more than happy to hear Jang Maldong giving him permission. Just this single moment felt like a generous reward for everything he had suffered so far.

“Yes!”

Seol Jihu shouted with spirit before starting to run. Seeing the youth getting farther away, Jang Maldong revealed his teeth in a grin.

He had confirmed something with the training in the Huge Stone Rocky Mountain. From what he had observed so far, he could see all sorts of possibilities.

Jang Maldong put his hand in his pocket and touched his needle case. It was the same case he had vowed to never open again.

'If it's him….'

His hand fiddled with the case. He knew Seol Jihu was ama.s.sing stat points. However, he didn't know Seol Jihu had several Divine Elixirs along with the Divine Stigmata saved up for when he reached the High Rank. If he did, he might have mulled over his decision a bit more.

In any case, Jang Maldong's eyes were clearly burning as he stared in the direction the youth disappeared to. Seol Jihu wasn't the only one looking forward to the day he became a High Ranker. After all, Jang Maldong was a trainer.

Just like Agnes, he was thrilled to see a high-quality gem in the rough. And as far as his desire to refine it went, he was confident he wouldn't lose out to anyone else.

What would happen when the youth's chaotic mind, technique, and body became one, or what form it would take – Jang Maldong had no clue.

And that only made him look forward to it even more.

Right! In Jang Maldong's eyes, Seol Jihu was a gem that only now had begun the refining process. As long as he was refined well, Jang Maldong was confident that he would s.h.i.+ne brighter than anyone else.

After bursting out into a hearty laughter, he let out a few dry coughs.

'What am I laughing about at this age….'

He was a bit embarra.s.sed by his childish antic.i.p.ation, but the fire in his heart refused to diminish. Thus, to cool the heat in his chest, he had to walk around for a long time.

Just like that, the final night in Huge Stone Rocky Mountain pa.s.sed, and morning dawned.