Seo Ye-in’s possessiveness showed itself relentlessly even outside of training hours.
During meals, while casually chatting over tea or coffee, she stayed glued right beside me.
And whenever Dang Gyu-young or Jegal So-so tried to come near me or do anything—
“……No.”
The same thing kept happening over and over, and little by little, even Dang Gyu-young started pouting.
Eventually, though, the inevitable finally happened.
Seo Ye-in tried to monopolize the Kim Ho pillow too.
Dang Gyu-young first tried reasoning with her in a gentle tone.
“Seo Ye-in, I understand that you’re feeling jealous, but shouldn’t you at least compromise a little?”
“……No.”
“Until now, we slept together just fine, each using one side of the Kim Ho pillow.”
“Policy change.”
“What exactly changed?”
Grabbing onto my arm, Seo Ye-in answered,
“Kim Ho is mine alone.”
“……Wow, you’re really going all out now. In that case, I guess there’s only one option left.”
Letting out a small sigh, Dang Gyu-young narrowed her eyes.
“We’ll just have to take him back by force. Ready, Sho?”
“Of course, Qyu.”
As if she’d been waiting for this moment, Jegal So-so moved into position behind her.
And just as the next command was about to be given, she suddenly grabbed Dang Gyu-young’s arm and started dragging her away.
“Let’s go.”
“What, what?! Where are you taking me?”
“We agreed to leave the kids alone. Tonight, you’re sleeping with me in the next room.”
Betrayal filled Dang Gyu-young’s face.
“Jegal So-so……. You’re stabbing me in the back?”
“This is how I always feel. Tonight, you can experience it too.”
“No, wait. Wait, let go of me first.”
“Let’s stay up all night having sweet little conversations together.”
Smiling brightly, Jegal So-so took another step forward.
And every time she did, Dang Gyu-young got dragged along another step.
“Hey, hey, why are you freakishly strong? Roll up your sleeves. Are your arms secretly ripped or something?”
“What’s wrong with my delicate arms? Just hurry up and come already.”
And just like that, the two disappeared into the next room.
Seo Ye-in looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“……Taken care of.”
“Didn’t that kinda resolve itself on its own?”
“Borrowed-knife-elimination strategy.”
“You’re just making up phrases now.”
Like she’d been doing all day, Seo Ye-in then hugged me like luggage and carried me into the room.
Then we lay down side by side on the bed.
“…….”
“…….”
After fidgeting around for a bit, Seo Ye-in slowly crawled on top of me.
At a distance close enough for our breaths to touch, she stared straight down at me.
“…….”
“So what are you thinking about now?”
“……Homework.”
“What homework?”
“Kiss homework.”
The first time we exchanged a kiss, Seo Ye-in had felt a strange fluttering in her chest.
So I had given her homework: think about why she felt that way.
Apparently, she’d been thinking about it ever since.
I nodded and asked again,
“Any progress?”
“……A little?”
“Really? Want me to check your homework?”
“Mhmm.”
As she answered, Seo Ye-in quietly offered me her cheek.
I gave it a light kiss, and her gray eyes immediately sparkled.
“……Fluttering.”
“That’s the same as before.”
“Good fluttering.”
“Well, you added one more word this time. Why do you think it feels good?”
Seo Ye-in seemed to think for a moment before answering,
“……Because it’s Kim Ho?”
“You’re almost there. What about Kim Ho makes it good?”
But that was where she got stuck, tilting her head in confusion.
“……? I don’t know.”
“That’s the most important part.”
“Feels like I know… but not really…….”
It seemed she still couldn’t quite put it into words yet.
Still, it definitely was progress.
“Take your time thinking about it.”
“When I finish the homework…….”
“When you finish it?”
Seo Ye-in stared at me with eyes full of curiosity, then slowly raised a hand to my face.
And with her index finger, she gently poked my lips.
“……Lip kiss?”
“It’s not impossible.”
As long as we’ve both clearly realized how we feel about each other.
At that, Seo Ye-in tilted her chin slightly.
“Take good care of it.”
“What do you mean, take good care of it?”
“Reservation number one.”
In other words, since she claimed first place, I wasn’t allowed to use them anywhere else.
At those words, I felt my contrary streak kicking in again.
“Well, wouldn’t the first person to actually do it be number one?”
A trace of dissatisfaction appeared in her gray eyes.
“Empathizing with Qyu-qyu’s feelings.”
“With what exactly?”
Instead of answering, Seo Ye-in bit down lightly on my arm.
“Nom.”
***
The Challenge Hardship quest continued the next day, and the day after that as well.
Perhaps because she wanted to keep the promise she made to me, Seo Ye-in threw herself into the sparring sessions with 200% motivation.
Thanks to that, not only did her close-combat skills improve dramatically, but her teamwork with her mirror self also became so synchronized that they moved almost like a single body.
And eventually—
Claaang—!
Chattering Sloth’s hologram pot smacked Ahn Jeong-mi across the back of the head.
“……That truly was excellent teamwork, young miss.”
Ahn Jeong-mi wore an expression as though she had no regrets left.
Just as she tried to steady her staggering body—
Claaang—!
Seo Ye-in’s Immortal Pot landed a second hit, and Ahn Jeong-mi finally lost consciousness.
Watching the scene, I asked,
“It was already over, so why’d you hit her again?”
“……I didn’t get to hit her.”
Seo Ye-in answered while quietly avoiding my gaze.
During the quest, she had been endlessly bonked by the toy hammer, so apparently she’d felt disappointed that only Chattering Sloth got revenge.
Fortunately, Ahn Jeong-mi regained consciousness fairly quickly.
With two enormous lumps on her head.
“Kim Ho-nim, I am perfectly fine. If this helped ease young miss’s feelings.”
At those words, I looked toward Seo Ye-in.
“Feeling better now?”
“……Four more hits.”
“You were really angry, huh?”
Still, if I let her continue, Ahn Jeong-mi might actually turn into some kind of yin-yang blood Jianshi, so we decided to stop the revenge there.
[Side Quest: Stage 14 Hardship] (Completed)
▷Objective: Achieve victory in close combat through cooperation with your mirror self
Before receiving the reward, Seo Ye-in said her goodbyes to her mirror self.
After fighting side by side for so long, they had formed their own kind of bond.
“Comrade.”
– You worked hard.
“……Reunion.”
– If the chance comes, let’s meet again.
Chattering Sloth stopped there, then scattered away into particles of light.
What remained behind was an item that looked like a torn corner of a skill book.
[Legendary Unique Skillbook Fragment B]
“Annoying…….”
Dissatisfaction filled her gray eyes.
It had been the reward they expected from the start, but after struggling so much for it, it hardly felt rewarding at all.
Meanwhile, I reacted like it was the greatest thing ever.
“You already collected two pieces? At this rate, you’ll complete it in no time!”
“When will it end…….”
“My guess is that C is probably the last one.”
“Or.”
“Or D is the last one instead?”
Seo Ye-in quietly raised her pot.
I calmly grabbed it and lowered it back down.
Then I quickly changed the subject.
“I’ve actually been waiting for you to clear the Challenge Hardship.”
“Why.”
“To massively shorten the cooldown.”
“……?”
Seo Ye-in tilted her head, clearly not understanding what I meant.
Since showing would be faster than explaining, I gathered everyone together.
Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so, Ahn Jeong-mi and the Hye-seong Group members, Dang Eun-bi who had been secretly hiding nearby, and finally the Dang Family Twin Heroes who had been handling other matters.
Apparently Uncle Qyu wasn’t around.
Pushing aside a bit of disappointment, I looked around at the group and began speaking.
“I’m going to assign quests.”
“You mean that thing called [Hardship]?”
Jegal So-so asked with interest.
I nodded easily and continued.
“Most of you will probably start at Stage 1 now, but it won’t be easy. Still, if you clear it, it’ll definitely help you.”
The Dang twins each added a comment.
“I’ve hit a wall lately.”
“This might end up becoming the breakthrough we need.”
Someday, they too would have to surpass the wall of S-Rank, so challenging their limits through the Hardship quests would likely be valuable experience.
Ahn Jeong-mi seemed to feel the same way.
After giving everyone one final glance, I confirmed,
“Then I’ll begin.”
I lightly raised my staff and activated the skill.
[Activated ‘Octopus Limbs’.]
[Activated ‘Enchantement’.]
[‘Stage 20 Hardship’ has been granted to ‘Dang Gyu-young’.]
[‘Stage 15 Hardship’ has been granted to ‘Seo Ye-in’.]
[‘Stage 1 Hardship’ has been granted to ‘Jegal So-so’…….]
[‘Stage 1 Hardship’ has been granted to ‘Ahn Jeong-mi’…….]
[Bestowed upon ‘Dang Il-bi’…….]
……
[Cooldown: 699 days 23:59:58]
Since I had used a skill with a one-week cooldown ten times in a row, the cooldown had multiplied by one hundred.
At this rate, it was practically sealed away until graduation from Dragon Slayer Academy.
Of course, it wasn’t as if I had handed out Hardships recklessly without any kind of plan.
The item that soon emerged from my inventory was,
[Magic Scroll – Time Leap (S)]
Whether it was a week, a month, or 700 days, it would all reset the same way, so this was my final chance to “push it to the limit”.
That said, I had no intention of handing them out to the entire Dang Clan, so I limited it to people with whom I had at least exchanged some degree of mutual support.
The moment I tore the magic scroll cleanly in half, a notification message appeared at the edge of my vision.
[Cooldown time has been reset.]
As expected, both [Enchantement] and [Hardship] now showed a cooldown of 0.
It truly was the overwhelming power worthy of an S-Rank time skill.
Unfortunately, since it had been imbued into a magic scroll, it was only single-use, but,
Once the Golden Pocket Watch is complete.
I’d be able to use [Time Leap] whenever the opportunity arose.
Once again, I engraved that goal firmly into my mind.
***
While the others busied themselves clearing their respective Hardship quests,
Dang Gyu-young and I were summoned to the family head’s hall.
The Head of the Dang Clan had emerged from closed-door training.
That ended quickly.
Most martial artists would remain secluded for months, sometimes even years, once they entered closed-door cultivation, but for him, it had only been about a week.
It was probably one of two possibilities.
Either what he believed to be an “enlightenment” had not been enough to overcome the wall,
Or, on the contrary, all preparations had already been completed, leaving only the final step beyond it.
And the moment I entered the family head’s hall and faced Uncle Qyu, I immediately realized it.
So it was the latter.
He had reached S-Rank.
The Head of the Dang Clan also fixed me with an intense gaze.
“……Now that my realm has risen, I can see many more things. You truly are a monster after all.”
“You flatter me. Congratulations on your achievement.”
“Thank you. As I’ve said before, your contribution was significant.”
We exchanged words in a warm atmosphere before the Head of the Dang Clan shifted the topic.
“Though I only mention it now, the reason I hurried into closed-door training was to organize my enlightenment before it faded.”
“That was my assumption as well.”
If he failed to grasp it in time, it would vanish, and there was no telling when such an opportunity would come again.
“The other reason was that I wanted to become your backing. While it is true that the main family holds considerable influence in Sichuan, the level of our strongest expert was admittedly somewhat lacking, was it not?”
After all, there was a world of difference between receiving support from a clan led by an A-Rank Clan Head,
And receiving support from a clan led by an S-Rank Clan Head.
“There was one piece of news I heard that made it necessary to hurry even more. Fortunately, it seems I was not too late.”
What the Head of the Dang Clan meant by that “piece of news” soon became clear.
The very next day, an envoy from the Murim Alliance visited the Dang Clan.
Most of them were unfamiliar faces, though there was one I recognized.
Moyong Jun, the promising member of the Swordsmanship Club.
We exchanged a brief nod of greeting.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man who resembled him in many ways, his gaze fixed squarely on me.
Soon, an old voice flowed from the man’s lips.
“You truly are a child with many interesting qualities. I can see now that your words were no exaggeration.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
So he was not Moyong Jun’s father or uncle, but his grandfather.
He was the S-Rank Sword Saint, Moyong Hyeon-seong.
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