Chapter 28

<Chapter 29> Ah, how does a veteran endure teaching a newbie like this?

“Hahaha! This is way too fun!”

It’s been three days since the training started.

Yu-jin was enjoying himself more than he’d expected.

And why not? His so-called master, Tae-jin Kim, hadn’t shown up once!

Normally, he should be full of complaints, right?

But Yu-jin didn’t want to meet that Strong Hero anyway.

After all, getting stronger wasn’t even his goal, so there was no reason to complain.

“Wow, washing clothes in the brook really gets them this clean, huh? Learned something useful today!”

In fact, his recent life had been surprisingly peaceful.

Waking up early, cleaning, doing laundry…

Then after lunch, washing dishes…

Taking a short break before heading out to gather firewood and ingredients.

The life of a hermit, completely alone in nature!

Phytoncides galore—Yu-jin, the ultimate otaku, was absolutely loving it.

“Thank goodness that guy Tae-jin Kim doesn’t keep promises. What a waste of space.”

Of course, objectively speaking, he knew he should be mad.

He came here to learn, but instead, he’s been abandoned.

But hey, as they say, if everyone’s happy, that’s all that matters.

Yu-jin decided to embrace utilitarianism like Bentham and call it a day.

“Finished washing clothes—I should stir-fry some greens with rice… Crap, I’m out of sesame oil.”

Just as Yu-jin was happily doing laundry, a girl who believed herself to be Tae-jin Kim’s disciple was munching on dried meat nearby.

Her eyes were fixed on Yu-jin the whole time.

“What a weirdo.”

When she first heard about being assigned to teach the successor of Hwagcheon, she thought it was absurd.

Who hates Hwagcheon more than herself?

If someone hadn’t begged her on their knees, she would’ve refused outright.

She only accepted because she had no choice,

and planned to kick him out within a day.

“Too normal for someone from Hwagcheon.”

From the moment they met, Yu-jin showed impeccable manners.

He even helped carry loads without being asked.

Ever since, he’s been eager to help with everything.

There’s no way this guy could belong to Hwagcheon.

“He’s willingly doing chores without any training—and he seems happy?”

This is the first person she’s seen smile like he found treasure while washing clothes.

Not to mention, despite her lack of instruction, he doesn’t seem weak either.

As the successor of Hwagcheon, he effortlessly shrugged off her killing intent.

His calm demeanor made it seem like he didn’t even feel it.

“This kid has potential… maybe?”

Clearly, this isn’t your average Hwagcheon member.

Maybe it’s just his nature?

How did such a guy come out of an organization like that?

“Hey, Senior! Look at this! I washed your underwear spotless!”

The guy held up a pair of panties and waved them around.

Tae-jin Kim immediately rushed over and bonked him on the head.

“Ow!”

“You idiot! Who treats a lady’s undergarments like that?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Despite his deflated apology, she couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“Is he stupid or just naive?”

A weirdo from Hwagcheon.

Strangely, though, she didn’t hate him.

“Senior…”

Hearing that title after so long made her chest feel oddly warm.

Since becoming a Strong Hero, nobody treated her casually anymore.

But seeing his cheerful smile calling her “Senior” made her inexplicably happy.

“Alright, enough. If you’re done, fold them up. Let’s go eat downstairs.”

“Yes, understood! Should we make kimchi stew or doenjang stew today?”

“Nah. Let’s grill some pork belly today.”

“Wow, pork belly!”

Kim walked away with her hands behind her back, feeling strangely nostalgic.

Somehow, these last few days felt bittersweet.

“Hey, brat, come here.”

While sweeping the yard, she called out.

Honestly, the brat was her, but whatever.

There was definitely something to learn from this small senior.

“Besides, she’s kinda cute.”

Thanks to her, Yu-jin was having way more fun than he initially anticipated.

“Yes, Senior.”

“What weapon do you use?”

“I don’t really use any weapons.”

Yu-jin never learned proper weapons.

Fighting monsters scared him!

Sure, he shot a gun a few times,

but after realizing it didn’t work on Ogres, he mostly gave up.

So Yu-jin decided to walk the path of non-violence like Gandhi.

“Hmm, interesting. So you’re a pure unarmed fighter like me, huh?”

Muttering to herself, she strolled away with her hands behind her back.

Now understanding her personality better, Yu-jin silently followed.

They arrived at an open field.

At its center stood a rock the size of a car.

“To be honest, I hate Hwagcheon.”

Leaning against the massive rock, she spoke.

“Just a bunch of rough, brute-force-loving thugs. If I could, I’d tear them limb from limb.”

Yu-jin stood there dumbfounded.

Seeing his reaction, she glared at him.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“Do I need to be?”

“Your family’s reputation is being dragged through the mud!”

“Eh, can you really live life pleasing everyone? If someone dislikes me, there’s nothing I can do. I dislike things too, you know.”

Yu-jin, the ultimate otaku, realized long ago:

It’s impossible to be loved by everyone!

Whenever you take a side, you’ll become a bastard to someone!

“And besides, Hwagcheon isn’t exactly a great organization, right?”

Yu-jin knew Hwagcheon was a scary group.

Otherwise, people wouldn’t fear them so much.

Of course, the real dark secrets of Hwagcheon were terrifying enough to make Yu-jin foam at the mouth and collapse.

But ignorance is bliss.

“As long as you don’t hate me personally, it doesn’t matter if you hate Hwagcheon.”

“Hmph, you really are a strange one.”

Could this guy really be from Hwagcheon?

At this point, she started doubting her own knowledge.

“How could a witch who ate a hundred eels give birth to someone like this?”

Thinking about it now didn’t change anything.

What mattered was that she decided to teach him.

“Whatever. Since I agreed, I’ll honor my promise.”

Shaking her head, she continued.

“What do you think is most important to become stronger?”

“Um… believing in yourself?”

“Hmm, not bad. A person who doesn’t believe in themselves isn’t worth the effort.”

Somewhere, a genius of hard work would agree with that.

Of course, Yu-jin meant “Someone who lost their common sense and fights monsters must have insane confidence,” but…

No one expects the heir of Hwagcheon to think like that.

“But I mean specific methods.”

“Hmm, having a good weapon could let you one-shot anyone… Ow!”

“You occasionally… no, frequently say stupid things.”

“But isn’t that true?”

“That’s true.”

“So why did I get hit?”

“It’s my 心 (heart/mind).”

Wow, what a stretch.

Ignoring his protests, she continued.

“The key is repetitive, boring daily practice.”

“Like what you do every day?”

“Sharp observation. Were you trying to steal my techniques?”

“I’m not that smart.”

“That’s not an insult—it’s praise.”

Indeed, Tae-jin practiced basics daily without fail.

She firmly believed this maintained her strength.

“Hmm, so you’ve been watching.”

The foundation of learning is observation.

Anyway, this guy was ready to learn.

“Anyway, now you know. Repeat boring basic practices every day! That’s the fastest and only way to grow stronger.”

She pointed at the rock behind her.

“Starting tomorrow, punch this rock until you can break it. No other training until then.”

Yu-jin blinked.

Seriously? Smash this huge rock with bare fists?

Isn’t there a punching bag for this kind of thing?

“Is there a better method?”

“Or I could beat you up daily instead.”

“Rock, let’s work together!”

Yu-jin clenched his fist and approached the rock.

Watching him, Tae-jin smirked.

“This won’t be easy.”

This rock was specially designed for hero training.

Even an experienced hero’s magic-infused sword strike couldn’t easily break it.

It absorbed magic power, which it used to regenerate.

“Chipping away daily won’t work either.”

There’s no way this brat could break it with bare fists in a week.

“Well, this will still help him greatly, so not a total lie.”

Though she liked this kid, teaching Hwagcheon’s heir wasn’t something to take lightly.

This was all she could offer.

Still, a clear-minded student could gain some insight.

“Tch, why do I feel so restless?”

For some reason, she felt a pang of regret.

Just as she was about to take a walk to clear her mind…

-CRACK!

She froze at the loud noise behind her.

Slowly turning her head…

“Uh… I just hit it with all my might. There’s no way such a big rock would break easily… But…”

The rock had split perfectly in half.

…What the hell?

What IS this guy?

“Haha… It broke… Um… Is this my fault again?”

An uncontrollable smile spread across Tae-jin Kim’s face.

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