NOVEL WEB Chapter 20: How to Become Stronger
< Chapter 20: How to Become Stronger (3) >
We decided to move to a quiet place first.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
We are now riding in Instructor Pi Jin Ho’s car, speeding through the night streets of Seoul.
The world tree, emitting a faint light, is beautifully harmonized with the night view of Seoul.
I looked at those night views and thought.
What Instructor Pi said earlier.
What does he mean by knowing the secret of my ability?
He probably didn’t notice that I don’t have a status window.
In this world, a status window is something that every human should have.
We don’t think that a human is not a human just because they behave strangely.
It is impossible to come up with the hypothesis that someone else doesn’t have a status window in the common sense of this world.
And I didn’t do anything that strange.
Then what did he mean by that?
“The ranking match.”
“Yes?”
I woke up from my thoughts at Instructor Pi’s words.
“That killing intent. Where did you learn it?”
Killing intent.
It seems that Instructor Pi judged ‘Predator’s Killing Intent’ as killing intent.
It was a momentary use, and I thought it was a weak aura that wouldn’t leak out of the magic field.
“A killing intent that can cause convulsions in the opponent’s body. It’s not something that an ordinary 20-year-old officer cadet can learn.”
Aha.
It’s because of Instructor Pi’s trait, ‘The Eye That Sees Mystery’.
“A hidden trick… That’s all I can say.”
“I see.”
The conversation ended with that. The car continued to run in silence.
After driving for about 20 minutes.
“We’re here.”
We arrived at our destination.
It was a pretty house.
I thought it would be nice to live in such a house after getting married.
A country house that made me think so naturally.
“…Where is this?”
“This is where I used to live.”
Instructor Pi answered and went into the house.
I saw a glimpse of longing in his eyes.
I understand.
This is where Instructor Pi lived with his wife.
He must be thinking of his deceased wife.
“Come in.”
“Oh, yes.”
I hurriedly followed him.
The house was very clean.
“Sit down.”
Instructor Pi arrived at the living room and sat down on the sofa first.
“Yes.”
I also sat down on the opposite side.
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing to offer you since this is not a place where people live.”
“It’s okay.”
Silence flowed again.
“You must be curious why we came all the way here.”
“…Yes.”
“As I said before. I know the secret of your ability.”
“What does that have to do with coming to your house….”
“It does.”
Pi Jin Ho cut off my words and said.
“You have the same ability as my wife.”
“…What?”
What ability?
* * *
I don’t know how to deal with this situation.
“That’s the end of the explanation.”
Instructor Pi Jin Ho is mistaken. And it’s a very serious misunderstanding.
“Based on these conjectures. I judged that you have the trait of ‘Weapon Master’.”
He thinks that I have the same trait as his wife, Kang Min-ji. The huge misunderstanding is that I have the seed of a weapon master.
Weapon Master.
It’s a trait that was mentioned a few times in the original work.
But it only came out as a flashback in the end.
There was no description of the detailed effects of it.
All I know is that those who have the trait of Weapon Master can ignore the weapon’s wearing restrictions.
I didn’t know anything about the detailed settings, such as having a low potential for ability or having an innate talent in handling weapons.
“I know it’s rude to ask about someone else’s trait. But please trust me and tell me the truth. I beg you.”
Instructor Pi Jin Ho’s serious eyes pierced me.
This is really complicated.
His reasoning was certainly reasonable.
According to him, my appearance so far was surprisingly similar to that of Kang Min-ji, who had the trait of ‘Weapon Master’.
F-rank ability.
High proficiency in bow and dagger.
Ignoring weapon restrictions.
These abnormal factors overlapped.
It was natural for Instructor Pi Jin Ho to misunderstand.
Now that things have come to this, I have to choose one of two options.
Lie that I have the trait of ‘Weapon Master’.
Or tell the truth that I don’t have such a trait.
“…I.”
There was only one answer in fact.
“I don’t have anything like Weapon Master.”
Telling the truth and clearing up the misunderstanding.
“….”
What was Instructor Pi Jin Ho’s intention to bring this up?
Maybe he wants to make me his disciple.
He wants to honor his wife and train me as the second weapon master.
That offer is not bad for me either.
The disciple of Pi Jin Ho, the superhuman.
There are many things I can gain by acquiring that title.
It would probably be a great help in the progress of the story later on.
But this is like a poisoned chalice.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Pi Jin Ho knows everything about Weapon Master.
I might be able to fool him for now.
But someday he will find out that I don’t have ‘Weapon Master’. He will definitely find out.
There is no need to say what will happen after that.
That’s why it’s a poisoned chalice.
This offer is sweet poison.
“…I see. I guess I was narrow-minded thinking about my wife. I’m sorry.”
Instructor Pi Jin Ho bowed his head slightly. He backed off easier than I thought.
I thought he would be more suspicious.
“No, it’s okay. Your reasoning was very reasonable. I would have thought the same way.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
Instructor Pi Jin Ho smiled bitterly.
An awkward atmosphere settled in.
I felt awkward looking at Pi Jin Ho, so I looked around.
“…Huh?”
Then, suddenly, a necklace on the floor caught my eye.
The iron necklace that Instructor Pi Jin Ho always wears.
Isn’t this important?
I picked up the necklace.
“Uh, Instructor. This fell off.”
Instructor Pi Jin Ho looked at me with a meaningful eye.
There was a faint smile on his lips.
“…Yeah. I put it on the table, but it must have fallen off. Put it on the table.”
“Oh, yes.”
I placed the necklace neatly on the table.
“Then let’s go back before it gets too late. I’ll take you.”
He said as he got up from his seat.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh, yes.”
The back of Instructor Pi walked away with big strides.
It looked strangely relieved for some reason.
I brushed my chest.
It seemed like it was resolved well somehow.
* * *
Pi Jin Ho returned home and sat on the sofa in the living room, smiling.
“He’s a tough guy.”
He burst into laughter as he thought of Kang Seo-yul.
“You don’t have anything like Weapon Master?”
It was a laugh that came out of disbelief.
He didn’t expect him to deny it even after he said so as an instructor.
Well, to be honest, he had some idea that Kang Seo-yul would do that.
Given his personality, he was likely to deny whether he had Weapon Master or not.
“But he’s still clumsy.”
Pi Jin Ho looked down at the iron necklace on the table.
The necklace that he deliberately dropped on the floor earlier.
A necklace that looks exactly like the one Pi Jin Ho always wears, but it’s a different item.
The name of the necklace is [Weapon’s Extreme]
It was a necklace that Kim Min-ji owned, a special item that only those who have Weapon Master can wear.
The necklace that Pi Jin Ho wears is a couple necklace that copied the appearance of Kim Min-ji’s necklace.
Pi Jin Ho reached out to [Weapon’s Extreme].
Zap-!
At that moment, a fierce spark flew out.
It was a rejection reaction.
It was natural for Pi Jin Ho, who didn’t have Weapon Master.
But Kang Seo-yul picked up this necklace without any problem.
There was only one thing that meant.
“…Min-ji. I think I’ve finally found someone who can follow in your footsteps.”
Kang Seo-yul was indeed a seed of a weapon master.
Pi Jin Ho smiled like the happiest child in the world.
* * *
Thursday, 11 a.m.
Today was the day of Jia’s ranking match.
“…Wow. What a crowd.”
Ranking 1st Shin Jia.
Ranking 2nd Eun Hyuk-jin.
All eyes were on the clash of the two top prospects that everyone coveted. It seemed like everyone from all the guilds in Korea was there.
“Are you really busy?”
“Yes, I am very busy.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I’m doing a very important job of finding future prospects.”
I lowered my sunglasses slightly and smiled softly.
“Well, the guild master needs to rest sometimes.”
“Hey. I’m not resting, I’m working.”
“Yes. Let’s go with that.”
I moved my eyes back to the field.
“Who do you think will win, Seo-yul?”
“Of course, Jia will win.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Yu Hwa frowned as if she didn’t like it.
“Well, 99.9%. Shin Jia will win.”
“She’s the strongest in the first year.”
I wonder if Jia would win even if she fought against the first-ranked second-year student.
“I wish she would just lose.”
Yu Hwa cursed as she glared at Jia.
It was right at that moment.
[Ranking 1st Shin Jia. Ranking 2nd Eun Hyuk-jin. The ranking match begins.]
“It’s starting.”
The ranking match began.
[Start!!]
As soon as the message announcing the start appeared, the two disappeared at the same time.
The battle was one-sided.
Eun Hyuk-jin couldn’t even approach Shin Jia and was pushed back helplessly.
“…Tsk. That’s what happens when you use a big sword.”
Yu Hwa seemed to be very unhappy about it.
“As expected, Jia is dominating.”
“Aye. It’s boring.”
Yu Hwa lost interest in the match and turned her eyes to me and said.
“By the way, how high are you planning to go in the rankings?”
Something was wrong with her words.
“It sounds like I can raise my ranking anytime I want.”
“That’s right.”
Yu Hwa asserted.
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes? Then let’s go with that.”
“It’s not like that….”
“So. What is your goal for ranking above?”
Yu Hwa changed the nuance of her words a little.
Well, I do have a goal.
“To enter the top 10 within six months.”
“…Within six months, top 10?”
Yu Hwa opened her eyes wide.
“Do you want to go to the National War or something?”
Wow.
She’s sharp.
“That’s right.”
National War.
It’s like an Olympic version of superhumans, where each country competes with each other.
“Why do you want to go to the National War all of a sudden?”
“Hmm. I need to do that.”
The main scenario of this novel starts with the National War.
It would be complicated if I wasn’t selected as a representative.
“Is it because of the ‘Saviors of Truth’?”
“….”
I was flustered for a moment.
That’s right.
The episode that will happen in this year’s National War is a massive raid by the “Saviors of Truth”.
“Well, I don’t know about that.”
But I can’t say that directly.
I maintained a poker face and dodged the question.
“…Is that so?”
Yu Hwa nodded her head with a meaningful look.