Chapter 37: The Mimic Crystal (2)

I felt an invisible force acting upon my entire body, moving me against my will.

And before I knew it…

I had taken two steps back, just outside the Orc Warrior’s attack range.

Whoosh!

A battleaxe the size of a human torso whistled past my nose.

Chiek?

The Orc Warrior staggered back, utterly bewildered.

Against such an opponent…

I unleashed the most basic killing move of the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist.

Though the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist primarily utilizes punches, it’s fundamentally a full-body combat art, with a particular emphasis on leg techniques.

The Soaring Dragon Single Horn Flash was one such technique, relying on footwork and leg strikes.

Immediately after initiating the move…

Swish.

I anchored my left leg and thrust my right leg upward in a swift, powerful arc.

Once again, my body moved independently of my will, yet the movements flowed seamlessly, like water.

My right foot shot out with lightning speed—

Thwack!

—striking the monster squarely in the solar plexus.

Kieeeek!?

This is no joke.

The Orc Warrior’s panicked eyes, reeling from the sudden blow, met my gaze as I regained my stance and smirked.

It’s actually activating like a skill.

The Soaring Dragon Divine Fist wasn’t a skill in the traditional sense. It was a martial art that required endless practice to master through physical conditioning. But now, simply activating the skill…

My joints and muscles moved fluidly on their own, effortlessly executing the proper stance.

And it didn’t even consume any Mana.

Of course, I still need to assess the situation and activate the skill at the right moment.

Using the skill-enhanced Soaring Dragon Divine Fist in real combat felt like inputting timed commands in a fighting game.

Furthermore, channeling Mana into my martial arts techniques to amplify their destructive power would exponentially increase Mana consumption.

Therefore, it would take considerable time to truly master the skill-enhanced Soaring Dragon Divine Fist.

That’s just a matter of gaining experience, I thought.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the Orc Warrior, still reeling from my previous strike, charged at me once more, axe raised.

“Alright, this time…”

Should I try using Soaring Dragon Ten Horn Flash, the advanced technique?

Unlike Soaring Dragon Single Horn Flash, which delivers a single front kick, Ten Horn Flash unleashes ten strikes with lightning speed.

If I could master this, I should be able to take down most C-rank monsters without breaking a sweat.

But as I braced myself to face the charging Orc, my eyes widened.

For a moment, my body froze as if encased in plaster.

In the blink of an eye…

Shwaaaack!

A dull axe sliced through my defenseless chest.

Naturally, it was just a Mana-based illusion. Since I hadn’t enhanced its physical presence, it dealt no damage.

Of course.

Tssshh!

Still, watching the Orc Warrior’s illusion smirk mockingly and vanish after landing a successful blow was a little infuriating.

Straightening my posture, I glanced at my Status Window.

”…That was a close call.”

As expected.

I could execute the technique, but my body wasn’t prepared to withstand the strain.

This required further investigation.

I instructed [ Mimic ] to demonstrate the remaining stored movements.

To pause the demonstration, tap the crystal twice with your finger.

I summoned the Mimic again and began converting all the movements it had performed into Skills.

About two hours later, I muttered, stroking my chin, “If this is all I can do… I barely have any usable techniques right now.”

Of all the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist techniques I had converted into Skills, I could currently only execute two: Illusory Serpent Step and the basic Killing Strike.

Well, no wonder.

It’s like a complete beginner trying to bench press 100 kilograms right away. It’s impossible.

Still, at least the Skills were saved. As my abilities improved, the number of Soaring Dragon Divine Fist techniques I could handle would steadily increase.

“Alright, I’ll settle for this for now,” I said.

After all, you can’t expect to be full after just one bite.

With a lingering sense of disappointment, I was about to deactivate the crystal when…

You have acquired your first high-level martial arts skill.

A new Status Window suddenly flashed into view.

Ah, right.

I already had this.

A way to get full on the first bite.

The corners of my mouth involuntarily curled upward.

In other words…

“The more I repeatedly cast Soaring Dragon Divine Fist skills, the better my body becomes.”

As my physique develops, I’ll naturally be able to execute more complex and dangerous techniques.

Just as I thought, a new Status Window appeared before my eyes.

By repeating these three basic techniques 2,000 times each, will my physique develop enough to execute higher-level moves?

Manager Mi spoke with a look of utter dismay. “A basic requirement of 2,000 repetitions… the sheer number is brutal, Taegoon-nim.”

But I grinned and replied, “No, this is manageable.”

The Soaring Dragon Divine Fist requires at least several years of dedicated practice just to reach the level where one can freely execute its basic techniques.

Not only did I skip the years of training…

But I also bypassed the advanced techniques that would normally be forever out of reach, dependent on innate talent.

Now, I could use them simply by repeatedly casting the skill.

If that was all it took, repeating the same motion thousands of times would be a piece of cake.

A notification sounded, and another Orc Warrior materialized on the other side.

Was it a reflection of my consciousness?

Or was it simply accessing the database that stored the data of the one that had struck me earlier?

The creature tilted its head, sneering contemptuously.

“Hey,” I said, beckoning with a flick of my finger.

“You’re going to take a beating.”

No more, no less, than exactly 20 hours’ worth.

“What on earth is he doing?”

Lee Seonah stood before the Shinwa Guild’s S-2 Training Room, her face a mixture of confusion and concern as she stared at the firmly closed iron door.

She had been agonizing over this for an hour already.

Should she open the door and check on Taejun? Or should she trust that everything was fine and wait patiently?

The problem was…

It’s been thirty hours already.

It had been well over a day since Taejun entered the training room. When he initially held up two fingers and said “twenty hours,” she had dismissed it as a joke. But now, ten hours beyond that deadline, there was still no sign of him emerging.

”…Something’s really off.”

Even to Seonah, his childhood friend of seven years, Taejun’s recent behavior was baffling.

She knew he had awakened a new ability.

She also knew his stats and Mana reserves had undergone unbelievable growth.

But apart from all that…

How could he, in less than two months, make Cheongyeon Guild headquarters—the home of Korea’s top support guild—his base of operations?

And how had he caught the eye of Matthew, one of the three masters of martial arts?

No matter how hard she pondered, she couldn’t figure it out.

I can’t exactly grill him about it, she thought. Knowing Taejun’s personality, he probably wouldn’t give me a straight answer even if I asked.

“Still, being recognized is a good thing, I guess,” Lee Seonah muttered with a wry smile.

After a long wait, Taejun had finally emerged from his cocoon and begun to soar.

Amid fierce competition, he brazenly shattered records left and right, achieving a special B-rank promotion in spectacular fashion.

He had become a talent coveted by many, including his mentor, Che Soohyun, Hwarang Commander Matthew, and Cheongyeon Guild Leader Seo Yeon-hwa.

A week had already passed since his B-rank promotion examination.

The community, reporters, and top guild scouts were still in a frenzy, desperate to uncover Taejun’s identity.

Yet…

”…”

Lee Seonah wasn’t entirely happy. She felt as if Taejun was slipping away from her faster than she had anticipated, drifting to a distant place beyond her reach, as if he might vanish at any moment.

“You look troubled.”

Che Soohyun’s voice startled her. She quickly turned around.

“Chairman.”

Che Soohyun approached with a knowing expression. “I heard you’ve been practicing Vision Swordplay in the Training Room.”

“Ah.”

She had suspected something like this might happen, which was why she had hesitated before entering. Even for someone like Lee Seonah, reserving a Training Room for over a day—especially with the internal CCTV disabled—was bound to draw the attention of guild officials. And as it turned out, that official happened to be Che Soohyun.

“It seems the one so engrossed in training isn’t one of our guild members,” Che Soohyun remarked.

“I apologize, Chairman,” Lee Seonah replied.

“It’s fine. I’m sure you wouldn’t lend our Training Room to just anyone.” Che Soohyun smiled faintly. “It must be Hunter Taejun, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. He originally requested it for about twenty hours…”

“Hmm.”

Che Soohyun narrowed his eyes, silently studying the Training Room’s iron door for a moment. “I don’t sense any distinct Mana fluctuations. Could he be focusing on physical training?”

Suddenly, he casually strolled over and gripped the iron door. “I should check on him.”

“Ah, Chairman…!”

“We’re letting him use the nation’s best Training Room for over a day, free of charge. Surely it’s reasonable to peek in and see what he’s up to, right?”

With that, he pulled the iron door open.

Creak.

The door to the S-2 Training Room swung open.

Bang!

“Hmm.”

”?!”

A deafening explosion shattered the air as a massive body hurtled toward Che Soohyun and Lee Seonah.

Swish!

Che Soohyun flicked his arm once.

The body split cleanly in two, the halves falling to either side.

Thud.

Lee Seonah stared wide-eyed at the corpse on the floor.

”…An Orc?”

An Orc Warrior, a C+ Grade monster with strength rivaling many B-rank creatures. Yet as its form dissipated into Mana, countless wounds marred its body. It appeared to have been slaughtered without landing a single counterattack.

“Uh, Director? What are you doing here?”

The Training Room had materialized into a clearing deep within a forest. Taejun’s puzzled voice drifted in from the far side.

Lee Seonah slowly turned her gaze toward him.

Once again, she couldn’t help but be astonished.

“Lee Taejun?”

Taejun stood there, frozen in place with one leg extended forward.

But it wasn’t his posture that surprised her.

“Your… body…”

She didn’t know how intensely he’d been moving, but Taejun’s clothes were torn in several places, leaving his upper body almost entirely exposed.

Yet that body, drenched in sweat and radiating heat, was unmistakably different from when he’d first entered the Training Room. His entire physique seemed altered, his skeletal structure broader, and his roughly heaving abdominal and pectoral muscles more prominently defined. He even appeared slightly taller.

The change wasn’t so drastic as to make him unrecognizable, but it was far beyond what could be achieved in less than two days.

“Hmm.”

At that moment, Che Soohyun, who had been silently observing Taejun, finally spoke.

“Hunter Taejun, what happened to your body?”

Che Soohyun paused briefly, then shook his head. “It’s nothing. I was deeply immersed in my training and apologize for the interruption.”

“It’s fine. I was about to wrap things up for the day anyway.”

“At least you didn’t destroy the Training Room this time.”

“Yes, I’ve been working on controlling my strength,” Taejun replied casually, matching Che Soohyun’s tone.

Che Soohyun smiled warmly as he gazed at Taejun before asking, “Hunter Taejun, you’re still working as a freelancer, aren’t you?”

“That’s right,” Taejun answered, a puzzled expression on his face, caught off guard by the sudden question.

Che Soohyun nodded slowly.

Then, his expression turning meaningful, he said, “In that case, I don’t see any problem with making you an offer right here and now, do you?”