How would he take that? Sungmin stayed quiet and only stared at Wijihoyun. She looked with confidence and continued.
“I lived for 13 years and became famous. Isn’t that good enough. I’m not dying for another 13 years.”
“We don’t know.”
“No, I won’t. I can’t. I’m not going to live my earned freedom for only 13 years. I’m going to live a long, long time.
Wijihoyun said with a huge energy. Then she looked back at Sungmin.
“You are like a boat with no destination travelling the big ocean. You move with no destination, following the wind. Is that traveling? That’s called drifting.”
It was hard to disagree. Sungmin knew that he didn’t have a goal. No, if he was truthful, he was scared of making a goal. The 13 years had given him experience, but it had also given him limits.
Knowing the present and knowing the future limited him. He had no talent. He knew that. He was going to stay a second rate for 10 years.
“You can’t go anywhere because you are drifting aimlessly. So you need a goal. ‘Me’”
It made sense. Wijihoyun… was one of the strongest otherworlders. To the point where even if he practiced fr lifetime, he might not get anywhere.
That made Sungmin negative.
“Even if I made you my goal, it doesn’t make me you…”
“Did you try?”
Wijihoyun spit out.
“Please don’t say anything that you haven’t tried”
“No, you don’t say anything irresponsible. I can’t do it. No. I have no talent. We have different starting lines. You have gotten so much aid because of your amazing genius talent. You were fed so many potions and you lived in a place where grace techniques were lain over the place. Isn’t that why you’re here, Small Pegasus Wijihoyun.”
Sungmin’s words had malice in them. No matter how much he tried to forget or not remember or not care, Wijihoyun was that person.
“But I’m not.”
It was also self knowing information.
“I didn’t have anything. It was the same before. I was summoned with nothing, with no talent. That was how I was summoned, completely barehanded. You left this city in one month. I lived here for three years. I attacked rabbits and boars, risked my life for goblins, and moved in fear away from orcs. That was how I lived for three years. In the new city, I survived by hard labor in mercenary guilds.”
Wijihoyun didn’t say anything. She listened to Sungmin’s story.
“That is me. I lived 13 years to be a second rate martial artist. A C rank mercenary. Then… I died. I’m back. That me…”
“You are a second rate martial artist.”
Wijihoyun opened her open.
“It took you 3 months to be a second rate martial artist. You are true. I started as a genius and got a lot of aid. But what about you. You learned the Amethyst Cloud. You got 20 percent of me inner strength. You will learn spear techniques as well.”
Wijihoyun shook her hand.
“Is that not good enough? Then I’ll give you more. What do you want. Outside strenght? Or fist techniques? Anything else. If you want something, I’ll teach you.”
“...I don't want anything.”
Sungmin answered. A spear technique and Amethyst Cloud. That was enough. He didn’t have confidence to learn any more.
“You got opportunity as well. Let’s say talent is inevitable, because of your lack of goals, you aren’t going to be working as hard… isn’t it a waste to spend your second life like this.”
Wijihoyun picked up a cup beside her. She drank the milk inside of it.
“Well, maybe that’s just my thinking. Useless interventions, I guess. It’s your life, so there’s no reason for me to make a goal. Sorry. I said…”
“Shut up.”
Sungmin spit out. He made a fist. Everything that Wijihoyun had said stuck in his heart. When Sungmin cut her off, Wijihoyun’s eyes widened.
“Are you that mad? I’ll properly apologize…”
“Yes, I’m mad. To hear something like this from a 13 year old.”
His pride was hurt. That was true.
But he was truly hurt because,
“I will make you my goal.”
Sungmin stared at Wijihoyun. The reason why he was so mad was at him who couldn’t refute anything. He agreed to her words but couldn’t say anything because of his pride.
“I will make you my goal, and I will practice after you leave. And when we meet again, I will stab my spear in your heart…”
“No, you can’t do that. I’m gonna die then. How could you do that as friends?”
Wijihoyun immediately disagreed. Sungmin turned sour and changed his words.
“...Then...uh… I will… beat you…”
“Hmm. If it’s a fight, that’s fine. I’ll be waiting.”
And then Wijihoyun understood and smiled happily. Sungmin stared at the smiling Wijihoyun for a second.
‘Crazy.’
To have his heart beat slightly at a 13 year old girl’s smiling face. Wasn't this a bit dangerou? Sungmin turned to avoid looking at her.
Then, he stopped going to the forest. He had enough money because of the money from the request and the money from the hunter. He had some that he was saving as well.
“You don’t have the basics down. It’s probably because you didn’t have a master helping you.”
When Sungmin didn’t go to the woods, Wijihoyun actively tried to help Sungmin. She helped him in the morning and fixed the High Heavens in the evening.
“The blade may be called the best for all situations, but that’s just nonsense from the blade users. Usual martial artists agrees. The spear is the best. It’s hard to fight someone with a spear.
Whi! Wijihoyun swung the spear.
“So it’s best to get the basics.”
Sungmin had to agree. It was true that he didn’t have any basics. He didn’t learn it from anyone and only learned it from the Chase Soul manual and practice.
“There are 4 parts to a spear. The end of the spear is the head. Below the head is the spear string. The wood is the spear body. The opposite of the head is the spear spike.
Bvm! She swung the spear. The red string below the head was swimming with it.
“The spear is a decoration and can be used to confuse the opponents.”
She kept swinging the spear. The red string swung around confusingly. The string was wavy compared to the actual spear. It did make the watcher look at the spear.
“If you want to use the spear, you have to use all of it. Use the spike as you would use the head. Use the string to confuse the opponent. Change where you hold the body and keep the distance.”
Sungmin nodded blankly. She took the proper stance after swinging it a bit.
“There are three basics to the stabbing. These are used in the famous spear techniques as basics. It could said to be the very basic. These can be used in anything. It is the ran, the na, and the zha.
The ran was an inner transmission while the na was a outer transmission. The ran bounced the attack outside while the na coiled the attack inside.
“The important thing is to not only use two arms. It doesn’t give enough strength.”
The zha was the stabbing.
“The length of the spear give sit the power. Change the position on the body. If you only use the middle, the power isn’t great enough.”
“...Hm.”
But the ran, na, zha is only the basics. It’s only the stabbing part. There are many different attacks with the spear. It’s also a club.”
She showed a few more actions and gave the spear to Sungmin and took a step back.
“Try it.”
“...What?”
“I showed you it. Try it.”
“If I could do what you did perfectly in one try, would I be irritating you by saying i have no talent?”
“When did I say to do it perfectly?”
She grumbled.
“Just try it. You have to try it to know.”
Sungmin lifted the spear. Wijihoyun said at that moment.
“Don’t use your inner strength.”
He didn’t pull up his strength and did the basics of the spear techniques. Wijihoyun said as she looked on.
“Again.”
And then.
Again, again, again. she continued to say that word, and he continued to swing the spear. He didn't’ use his inner strength. Therefore, his body tired out easily, and he took heavy breaths.
“Again.”
“...Until when…?”
“When you get used to it.”
“Do you think that happens with just a few times…!”
“So do it again.”
She said with apathetic face.
“Continue that everyday, only that.”
AT that, Sungmin saw the devil in her. He swung the spear even with his shoulders shaking. He was so tired. He was only using his body strength to swing the spear. The spear wasn’t light, and the basics weren’t that easy either.
“Don’t faint. If you think it’s too tiring, then take a rest. If you have energy left, then swing more.”
It felt like it was testing Sungmin’s perseverance. If he could do it or not, it was up to him. When he swung it 10 times, he really felt like he was going to die. His breath was hard and his arms and legs...no, his whole body was dying. He wanted drink water and rest. He wanted to get wind in the shade.
He saw Wijihoyun’s face in the shade. To that, he bit his lower lip.
He could do more. He seemed like he was going to die, but if he tried his hardest, he felt like he could swing a few more times.
So he did.