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The next day.

After a long, refreshing sleep, Seong-cheol prepared to step out of the Dokgo family estate, looking tidy. Behind him, the head of the household, Dokgo Jang-woon, and his granddaughter, Ye-ryeong, saw him off.

“Well then, take care.”

“…Thank you in many ways, elder.”

After finishing his farewells, Seong-cheol tried to pass through the front gate.

However, his feet wouldn’t budge.

The sense of despair and fear he felt last night tightened his chest once more.

What could I possibly do if I leave this place? Without connections or a backbone, I’ll just end up living like a beggar in that harsh martial world, without mastering even a single martial art before I inevitably die.

“My beloved Eun-jeong, my daughter Ye-seo…”

To see my precious family again, I must return to my original world. And to return to that world, I must survive somehow, no matter what.

– Swoosh.

With that thought, Seong-cheol turned his body. Noticing what he was about to say, Dokgo Jang-woon clicked his tongue and said,

“I told you I don’t take on disciples.”

“I know. I won’t be selfish any longer.”

– Thud!

With that, Seong-cheol knelt down, bowing his head to Dokgo Jang-woon.

“I don’t wish to learn the great swordsmanship of the Dokgo family! I only ask for the swordsmanship to survive out there, enough to protect myself. I will do anything in return! So please…!”

“What is this—”

“I have a place I must return to! But the road is long and treacherous! To go back, I need strength! So I beg you! Please grant me one last favor!”

– Thud!

Seong-cheol slammed his head to the ground with all his might. Seeing him throw away all dignity, a slight pity appeared on Dokgo Jang-woon’s face.

He was a perceptive man. He could somewhat read people’s inner thoughts based on their expressions.

Still, no matter how perceptive he was, he could hardly guess that Seong-cheol had come from another world far removed from here. Yet he could certainly feel one thing.

The place Seong-cheol insisted he must return to was undoubtedly where his precious family awaited him.

“…Grandfather.”

At that moment, Ye-ryeong, who had been standing nearby, gently grabbed Dokgo Jang-woon’s hand. Her expression explicitly conveyed what she wanted to say. A chuckle escaped Dokgo Jang-woon’s lips.

Family. That term always weakened his heart.

Seong-cheol’s desperate longing for his family and the expression of his only remaining family member, Ye-ryeong, ultimately broke Dokgo Jang-woon’s resolute spirit.

“…Raise your head.”

Even at Dokgo Jang-woon’s words, Seong-cheol kept his head down. He sighed, repeating himself.

“Raise your head. I shall grant your request.”

Only then did Seong-cheol lift his head, and joy and relief shone in his eyes that he could not hide.

Such honest eyes. With eyes that honest, he surely has no hidden schemes. Dokgo Jang-woon chuckled as he spoke to Seong-cheol.

“I will allow you to stay here as a helper for a time. While you’re here, I’ll teach you some basic martial arts and self-defense techniques. But I won’t teach you swordsmanship, not at all.”

The swordsmanship of the Dokgo family is for the Dokgo family.

It should never be passed on to outsiders, and even if it were, Dokgo Jang-woon had felt deeply that it would be in vain.

“Thank you, elder! I am truly grateful!”

Drenched in joy, Seong-cheol kept bowing his head while lying on the ground. Seeing this, Dokgo Jang-woon clicked his tongue again.

“A grown man bowing so easily… He will never amount to much. Ye-ryeong.”

“Yes, grandfather.”

“Teach him household chores. He’ll be doing all the manual labor for now. Since we’ve taken him in as a worker, we should make use of him. Right?”

“Yes.”

After Dokgo Jang-woon left, Ye-ryeong approached Seong-cheol. As he caught sight of her, Seong-cheol hastily bowed his head to her.

“Please give me any orders, Miss!”

Taken aback for a moment, Ye-ryeong soon chuckled and replied.

“…Just call me like before. I’ll call you Seong-cheol uncle, after all.”

Thus began Baek Seong-cheol’s life in the Dokgo family.

Seong-cheol’s primary role was that of a helper. This meant he would be taking on household chores that Ye-ryeong had usually managed alone.

“When you wake up in the morning, first go to the valley to fetch water.”

At that, Ye-ryeong picked up a huge jar that was larger than her body and placed it on her head. Seong-cheol wanted to help but, lacking the skills, could only watch.

“After fetching water, you’ll prepare breakfast. We usually buy ingredients from the market that last about three to four days.”

Could I be of help this time? After all, I had assisted my wife with cooking back in the other world.

However, in the medieval-style kitchen lacking modern conveniences, even that was impossible. Just making a fire required skill, and the cooking process was nothing like the convenient modern methods with seasoning and ingredient measurements.

“After finishing the meal, you’ll take a short break and then go manage the field on the back mountain. Usually, grandfather chops firewood during that time, but today, he asked me to have you do it. Good luck.”

With that, Ye-ryeong handed him an axe. Seong-cheol, who had been of no help all morning, was determined to make a valiant effort this time.

“An axe is also a blade. If I swing it with similar techniques to swordsmanship—”

Naturally, that was not going to work. The weight distribution was completely different.

– Thud! Thud! Thud!

Seong-cheol swung the axe with all his might but couldn’t manage to fell even a single tree by the time Ye-ryeong came back to check on him. At that point, Ye-ryeong took the axe from him and swung it effortlessly.

– Crack!!

With a single swing, a crack opened in the tree, and after a few more moments, the thick trunk broke and fell.

As Seong-cheol looked on with a shocked expression, wondering how she did that, Ye-ryeong asked in disbelief.

“Do you really not know how to use inner power at all?”

“Nope.”

Seong-cheol’s immediate answer made Ye-ryeong tilt her head even further.

Even common ruffians learn at least some third-rate martial arts and principles for managing inner power, yet someone carrying a weapon—albeit a wooden club—doesn’t know how to use inner power at all?

“That’s what he says, Grandfather!”

That afternoon, after Ye-ryeong stacked up the chopped firewood behind the house by herself, the two of them visited Dokgo Jang-woon. Jang-woon had the same puzzled expression as Ye-ryeong.

“…No way, that can’t be. He has so much qi in his body, there’s no way he doesn’t know the internal martial arts technique.”

“Excuse me? What’s in my body?”

“…??”

After discussing, they concluded that there was already a considerable amount of qi stored in Seong-cheol’s body, at least to Dokgo Jang-woon’s eyes.

However, having lived in the modern world, Seong-cheol had no knowledge or skills related to martial arts, including inner power techniques. How could he have such a significant inner strength despite that?

After a long conversation, they simplified the situation to Seong-cheol being born with a special quality that allowed him to innately possess much qi…

“If he already has that much strength, he just needs to learn how to use it well.”

The next day, Seong-cheol began learning the basic operations and training methods of qi from Dokgo Jang-woon.

While Jang-woon was strict about the family’s swordsmanship, he was lenient regarding inner power techniques. After learning excellent inner power techniques to manage the qi in his body, Seong-cheol quickly grasped the principles of qi and was able to handle it.

It was the moment he had so longed for—to awaken the power to survive.

And so a month passed. Seong-cheol made remarkable progress. Of course, not as a martial artist but as a worker of the family.

Although Jang-woon taught him some martial arts, it was merely a few techniques related to self-defense and grappling. Seong-cheol, having trained in swordsmanship, naturally wanted to learn techniques for wielding a sword, but Jang-woon’s stubborn refusal regarding swordsmanship left him with no choice.

Yet.

Jang-woon’s refusal only meant he would not teach swordsmanship. Therefore, there was no way to stop Seong-cheol from practicing swordsmanship on his own.

– Swoosh.

In the early dawn when everyone was asleep, Seong-cheol quietly rose and grabbed a wooden sword, heading outside.

“Whew.”

Taking a deep breath, he steadied his mind. Then, he swiftly swung the wooden sword that had been hanging loosely at his side.

– Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The movements Seong-cheol took were not the sword techniques he had learned before. He already knew that modern kendo wouldn’t translate here.

Thus, he adopted the swordsmanship he had seen on his first day, the one belonging to Dokgo Jang-woon.

– Whoosh!

The sword techniques passed down in the Dokgo family estate. Naturally, someone like Seong-cheol couldn’t perfectly imitate what he saw.

– Whoosh!

Moreover, he didn’t even know the basics of martial arts in this martial world, and the wooden sword he wielded was completely different in weight and shape than a real sword.

– Whoosh!

Yet somehow, Seong-cheol’s movements resembled Dokgo Jang-woon’s swordplay to a surprising degree.

Seong-cheol himself didn’t realize the resemblance. He would shake his head, saying someone like him couldn’t possibly be compared to that. But anyone who could see the sword’s trajectory would nod in agreement.

Compared to the master’s movements, his were clumsy and lacked form, lacking even the proper balance to be compared at all.

Nevertheless, it was still a version of the Dokgo family sword.

“Whew.”

After swinging the sword for over an hour, Seong-cheol let out a long breath and looked up at the sky. The eastern sky was gradually brightening, and if he didn’t wrap things up soon, Ye-ryeong and Jang-woon would awaken.

“There’s no good reason to show off wielding a sword foolishly.”

With that thought, Seong-cheol turned his head. And then—

“Oh.”

Oops. At the end of his gaze sat Ye-ryeong, who had gotten up and was perched on the floor, her eyes wide. With a smirk on her lips, she waved her hand at him.

“…How long have you been there?”

“Maybe about a meal’s time? You didn’t notice at all? You were so focused…”

“…”

“That was the sword technique of my grandfather, right? When did you see it?”

“Just once, on the night I first got here…”

Thinking Ye-ryeong was interrogating him for sneaking a peek at the family’s swordsmanship, Seong-cheol admitted the truth. But upon hearing his answer, Ye-ryeong’s eyes widened slightly.

“You could follow along with something you only saw over a month ago, without properly learning it…?”

Ye-ryeong was not a martial artist. She didn’t consider herself one.

However, she had learned the basics from Jang-woon. In terms of ability, she could easily handle self-proclaimed martial artists in the market below with one hand closed.

Although Jang-woon had told her she lacked talent, Ye-ryeong’s skills were objectively above average. Had she trained with those skills in another sect, she would likely have been known as the top ranking exponent before reaching adulthood.

And the glimpse of talent Seong-cheol exhibited was incomprehensible, even to Ye-ryeong.

“Uncle, have you really never learned martial arts before?”

“Nope.”

Seong-cheol’s straightforward answer made Ye-ryeong tilt her head further.

Victims swept away by dimensional rifts usually receive exceptional talents suitable for survival in another world.

In Seong-cheol’s case, that talent revolved around martial arts. Therefore, despite his lack of knowledge about inner power techniques, he possessed a considerable amount of inner strength, allowing him to awkwardly imitate the Dokgo family’s secret sword techniques.

However, at this stage, Seong-cheol himself was unaware of it. Thus, he could not recognize his own talents, and Ye-ryeong was, in essence, the first to witness Seong-cheol’s potential.

“…Uncle. Would you like to swing it again?”

“Huh? Um, how should I swing it?”

“Just the way you were doing before.”

At her request, Seong-cheol felt a sense of nervousness despite himself and swung the wooden sword again.

– Whoosh!

The sound was utterly lackluster compared to Dokgo Jang-woon’s. His stance was awkward, and the blade lacked sharpness. If Jang-woon saw this display, he would likely order him to stop immediately for tarnishing the family’s sword techniques.

But Ye-ryeong was different. She had no pride comparable to that of Dokgo Jang-woon. After all, she merely trained in martial arts and was not groomed into a martial artist from the start.

So, with a light heart, Ye-ryeong spoke to Seong-cheol.

“Uncle, when you swing the sword, shift your center of gravity a little forward. Yes, just like that. Bend your left knee a bit more. Try to be aware of using your waist strength.”

From Ye-ryeong’s perspective, she was just pointing out what looked off to her. There was no notion in her mind about leaking the family’s sword techniques.

And that was to be expected. Seong-cheol had only seen Jang-woon’s sword just once. There was no way her simple advice could lead him to connect with the Dokgo family’s swordsmanship—

– Crack!!

“That’s not possible.”

Ye-ryeong’s casual assumption shattered into literal pieces with Seong-cheol’s sword strike.

“…”

Seong-cheol felt an utterly different sensation as he swung the sword. Without realizing it, he looked down at his own hands. He could feel the blood pulsing vigorously through the palms that gripped the handle tightly.

– Thud. Thud. Thud.

Seong-cheol glanced at Ye-ryeong. She had a similarly surprised expression. Tentatively, Seong-cheol asked her.

“Is there something I should fix again?”

“Pardon?”

In that moment, Seong-cheol was consumed with a singular desire to make his swordplay even better. He was entirely oblivious to the fact that this was akin to stealing the family’s sword techniques. He was that absorbed in improving his own skills.

“That’s…”

But Ye-ryeong saw it. She saw the fleeting moment when Seong-cheol touched the family’s sword techniques.

To push further at this point would be to go against Dokgo Jang-woon’s intent not to further leak the family’s sword techniques.

But—

“…Well then, would you like to swing it again?”

Ye-ryeong was not a martial artist. Yet blood doesn’t deceive, and she too possessed the innate qualities of a martial artist.

Thus.

“Alright. Then once more…”

– Crack!!

Ye-ryeong found herself unconsciously thinking.

She wanted to see the seed of talent before her bloom, just this once.