Episode 4: Blooming of the Trait
2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and then 5 years.
As time passed, my abilities steadily accumulated.
And today, an unexpected visitor showed up first.
“When exactly do you plan to head to the Tower?”
Estelle, who usually only appeared when I summoned her, had shown up on her own.
“Oh? You came without me calling for you?”
It was surprising, but not enough for me to stop training.
Thanks to reaching Intermediate Level 1 in martial arts, I now had a solid idea of how to maximize my training efficiency.
I was currently applying the same methods to weapon mastery as well.
“That’s not what’s important right now, is it? And when someone speaks to you, please stop and listen.”
“If you’ll compensate me for the loss I incur by stopping, then sure.”
I replied without stopping my training.
My role model for movement was Yoo Soeun. To me, her movements were nearly perfect.
I imitated her, tried to understand her, and whenever I hit a wall, I would think, Why did she move like that?
By repeating that process, new paths I hadn’t seen before would often open up.
“Huu… fine. I’ll teach you the basics of advanced martial arts—something you can’t learn in the tutorial. So don’t miss a single word and listen closely, got it?”
“Yes, Estelle-noona!”
I immediately stopped what I was doing and knelt on the spot. Looking up at her with sparkling eyes, Estelle sighed and put her hand to her forehead, as if she had a headache.
“Haah… You really are a man obsessed with training. Anyway, answer my question from earlier. When do you plan to head to the Tower?”
Since she said she’d teach me advanced martial arts, I thought she’d ask a tough question, but it turned out to be surprisingly simple. So simple I even wondered if this was really enough to be worth learning advanced skills.
“Hmm… When I get stronger.”
I answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I had a clear goal I wanted to achieve within the tutorial.
“Player Han Yeomyung, you’re already strong enough.”
Estelle said firmly. I could feel there was no lie in her words.
“You’re likely stronger than anyone currently in the tutorial. And yet, you still think you’re weak?”
Of course I do. I’ve survived here alone for five years. But that wasn’t the important part.
“Among the people here now, maybe I am the strongest. But…”
I looked up at Estelle, as if asking whether she could give the same answer to this next question.
“What about compared to those who have already passed the tutorial?”
Estelle went silent.
She must’ve seen countless monster-like geniuses who surpassed my five years in just a month.
Even I could remember a few. The greatest among them was Yoo Soeun.
“Even if ten of me from four years ago teamed up, they wouldn’t beat the current me. But could ten of me now defeat Yoo Soeun from five years ago?”
“…I can’t deny that.”
Estelle admitted it. That I still couldn’t beat Yoo Soeun.
“Still, if there are twenty of you, you might at least be able to take her down with you.”
Even at 20 to 1 odds, I’d have to throw away my life just to stand a chance.
That actually made me laugh.
“…Why are you laughing?”
She must’ve found my reaction incomprehensible.
“Because I can’t help but be happy.”
I answered calmly.
“Right now, just by following Yoo Soeun’s footsteps, I can grow stronger.”
The path I need to take is laid out clearly before me.
Back then, I couldn’t even touch her with a hundred of me.
Now, with twenty of me, I might be able to take her down with me.
What will happen after another year, or two, or three?
“You’re a strange man… A disturbing man…”
Estelle sighed and shook her head, as if she got chills.
But her gaze held no scorn or disgust.
Only pure confusion. She just couldn’t understand.
“Is ‘I want to get stronger’ the only thought in your head?”
Her eyes pierced into me like they were trying to see through my very essence.
“When you open your eyes—training. While you eat—training. Even while breathing—training. Until you sleep—training.”
She sighed again as she continued.
“Don’t you ever get tired of it?”
Of course I get tired. I’ve wanted to give up more times than I can count.
“…I do get tired.”
I replied calmly. I recalled the countless hardships I had endured.
“I’m sick of it.”
Effort isn’t passionate.
Some people romanticize it as burning passion or unwavering willpower, but effort… is cold. Still.
The same routine every day. A life where I push myself to the edge without skipping a single day.
When that becomes a day, a week, a month, a year, five years… at that point, it’d be strange not to go insane.
I could already feel it. A part of my brain was broken.
The world I saw was filled with nothing but training. No joy, no happiness.
Only the desire to grow stronger, even just a little.
That alone was the reason for my existence.
It was no wonder Estelle was fed up with it.
“…But,”
She stopped speaking and looked at me quietly.
“Then why don’t you stop?”
Her gaze deepened.
“Would it be so bad to rest for just one day?”
The answer to that question wasn’t hard.
“If I rest for one day… I’ll want to rest for another. The moment I let my guard down, that thought creeps in. ‘Ah. Why was I doing something this hard in the first place? Maybe I’ll rest just one more day?’ That’s just how people are.”
They say that laziness is ingrained in human DNA. That without momentum, people quickly want to give up.
Just like how a diligent person has seven todays in a week, and a lazy person has seven mornings, I had to live each day not as a mere morning, but as a complete day.
“So I can’t rest. No—I won’t rest. Never.”
“In my opinion, you’re insane.”
She said it with conviction.
“You’re not normal.”
She was right. I wasn’t normal.
Among everyone here, or anyone who’d passed through the tutorial, no one was as obsessed as me.
But so what?
I don’t think being insane is a bad thing. To reach a place that’s otherwise unreachable, to cling to even the faintest possibility… I have to give everything up.
“Because without going insane, you can’t go any further.”
I spoke slowly, but firmly.
“At least until my growth completely stops, until I see the end of my path… I will never give up.”
“…Sigh.”
Estelle let out a deep sigh.
Then she stared at me intently.
“A training-obsessed pervert… Fine. I’ll uphold my promise and teach you the advanced martial arts.”
“Thank you!”
I didn’t even register her sudden insult. I was just insanely curious about what the advanced martial arts entailed.
“You’ve learned all the martial arts the tutorial offers, right?”
“Yes.”
I had been training in ten different styles—regardless of origin like Wudang’s Tai Chi, Huashan’s Six Harmonies Fist, Shaolin’s Arhat Fist, the royal combat arts of the Caelion (Selion) Kingdom—without discrimination, steadily raising my proficiency in each.
“Do you know what all those skills have in common?”
Estelle posed a meaningful question. Having learned them all, it wasn’t hard to find the common thread.
“They all focus on building a physical foundation.”
She had already given me a hint—missing the answer would’ve been strange.
“Exactly.”
Estelle nodded.
“The martial arts provided in the tutorial are certainly useful in combat. But they’re lacking if you try to use them as your main techniques. Yet there’s a reason you must learn at least one of them. Do you know why?”
I answered right away.
“Because they serve as stepping stones to transition into advanced martial arts.”
“…You’re smarter than I thought. Correct.”
Estelle spoke as if she already knew everything.
“And yet, Player Han Yeomyeong managed to learn all those skills despite having no traits.”
‘She noticed, after all.’
I had never mentioned that I lacked any traits, but she had realized it just by observing my abilities.
But that wasn’t the important part right now.
“What does it mean that I learned all those skills despite not having any traits?”
Estelle smiled.
“It seems that some kind of special synergy is occurring within Player Han Yeomyeong’s body.”
“Synergy…?”
“Perhaps…”
She paused for a moment, then looked deep into my eyes and spoke with certainty.
“If you master all the martial arts you’ve learned so far, a new trait will awaken.”
In that moment, my heart began to race.
The awakening of a new trait.
If that was possible… then this decision was immensely important for me.
“So, let me ask you.”
Estelle spoke in a calm voice.
“Do you want to master all the skills and acquire a new trait before learning the advanced martial arts? Or do you want to learn the advanced martial arts right now and become stronger quickly? However, if you choose the latter, the possibility of trait awakening will disappear.”
I didn’t hesitate for even a second.
“I will master all the skills first!”
Awakening a new trait was far more valuable than learning advanced martial arts right away.
“Even though you could become incredibly strong right now?”
Estelle gave a mischievous smile.
“Please don’t tempt me. I’ll learn it later.”
I replied firmly.
But soon, an anxious thought crept in.
“…You’re not going to say something like, ‘That opportunity is gone because you didn’t choose it earlier,’ later on… right?”
Her expression changed subtly at my question.
“Ha…”
Estelle sighed, her face showing some irritation.
“Do I really look like such an angel to you? Should I just actually do that now…”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once.”
I immediately bowed deeply.
Then she let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
“Just this once.”
As usual, Estelle threw out a short line and disappeared.
But this time, it felt a little different.
Just before she vanished, I thought I saw a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
“…Was she smiling just now?”
She always had such a blank expression.
‘Must’ve been my imagination.’
I immediately got back into position.
Master all the martial arts. I had a new goal.
There was no time to rest.
***
Five years later. Year 10 of the Tutorial.
“Finally..!”
[The level of Royal Basic Martial Arts has increased.]
[The proficiency of Royal Basic Martial Arts has reached the maximum.]
With each martial art I mastered, the time it took to learn the next one shortened.
And finally, after five long years, I had succeeded in mastering all 10 martial arts.
“Haa…”
A wave of relief washed over me as the long journey ended.
But as if unwilling to wait, change came immediately.
[Certain skills resonate, triggering changes in your body.]
[A new trait is awakening.]
…It’s here.
The system itself was proving that the path I’d walked wasn’t wrong, that the effort I had poured in was leading me in the right direction.
That joy lasted only a moment.
Crack. Snap.
“Urgh!”
Suddenly, my whole body began to twist violently.
It felt as if puzzle pieces that had been wrongly shaped from the start were finally finding their proper places. The shape and position of my bones, muscles, and organs all shifted as intense pain surged through me.
My bones were being torn apart—no, they were being remade into a new form. Muscle fibers snapped and reconnected. It was a process of transformation that went far beyond what could be described as mere pain.
But I couldn’t let myself collapse. My body and my mind were being reborn. If I lost consciousness now, I had a feeling this transformation might end up choking the life out of me.
‘Stay awake, Han Yeomyeong.’
Even amidst the agony that felt like my entire body was being crushed, I clenched my teeth and endured.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Through my pores, impure energy and contaminated blood were expelled from my body, releasing a foul stench that stung my nose. And at the same time, a pain struck me that felt like I was being hammered all over.
Could I really withstand this?
‘Please… just end already!’
Right as I was about to lose consciousness, the pain vanished.
Along with it, new blood was generated, surging through my veins and revitalizing every corner of my body.
And in that moment, I knew it for certain—I had grown stronger. Not just in terms of raw power, but in a completely different way.
If my previous body had moved like mismatched, creaky parts forced to function, then my current body flowed like a perfectly tuned machine, capable of executing any movement with flawless grace.
My body… had been completely reborn.
“This is it.”
It had been worth dedicating five years to this.
> [A new form of acquired martial body has been born from the fusion of skills across different worlds.]
[Please give your new trait a name.]
A name. What should I call it?
I’ve never been good at naming things.
I needed something I wouldn’t regret.
Then suddenly, it came to me.
“…Yeomyeong’s Physique (Body of Dawn).”
The name my parents gave me.
So I could always greet a new “dawn,” no matter the hardships I faced.
It was the most fitting name.
> [Would you like to name the trait ‘Yeomyeong’s Physique’?]
“Yes.”
[Trait Acquired: Yeomyeong’s Physique (S-rank)]
‘…S-rank trait?’
I immediately checked the details.
_______________________________________
> Trait: Yeomyeong’s Physique (S-rank)
A miraculous body born from the fusion of skills and extreme training, forged from a talentless shell. It contains limitless potential.
① Versatile
- Receives the highest-level growth correction in all fields.
② Superhuman
- Receives the highest-level stat correction in all attributes.
③ Metamorphosis
- The body continues to evolve under intense willpower. When the threshold is surpassed, the Trait itself evolves.
_______________________________________
“Wow…”
I stared blankly at the trait window for a while.
…Is this even real? One trait contains three separate abilities—and each one is extraordinary.
Growth correction in all fields, stat amplification, and even the potential for the Trait itself to evolve.
It was hard to believe this was only an S-rank trait.
‘…No wonder Yoo Soeun was so strong.’
I finally understood—the miraculous growth she showed in just a month. Unlike me, who only had this one trait, she had dozens of these.
Can I really catch up to that kind of gap?
‘…No.’
There’s no need to worry.
Now that I know how strong she really was, I just have to walk the same path.
“Still… this isn’t bad at all.”
I smiled faintly. Ten years ago, I was talentless.
Now, after ten years of relentless training, I finally held the sweet fruit of my efforts in my hands.
The Fool Moves Mountains.
Just like the foolish old man who moved a mountain, relentless effort would eventually lead to success.
Others might see it as impossible, but with continuous effort, anything can be achieved.
“From now on… I should be able to run a little faster.”
Slow, but steady.
A little faster—
I need more!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!