Chapter 253 - Growth (3) (1/2)

After that day, the party was busy, like the rest of the Tower.

Boo focused on making the dungeon, and Brahm was busy healing Ananta and restoring the Outer Space.

Shanon and Hanryeong gave their all on understanding the Monkey King’s inheritance and Rebecca on recovering her holy power.

Everyone agreed with what Yeon-woo said, and they realized many things from the war with the Red Dragon.

‘We’re still weak.’

They had all contributed a lot in the war.

However, they had only taken advantage of the confusing situation. There was almost nothing they did with their own strength.

They realized that the world they knew was small.

Hanryeong, who had been the Saber God, found that his peak wasn’t worth anything after watching the Martial King’s battle.

Also, through this war, Yeon-woo had clearly revealed himself to the world. Now, he wasn’t a rookie to look forward to but someone to be wary of.

Because of that, it was hard to make plans like they had until now. A lot of people would be watching and bothering them.

To protect Yeon-woo from those dangers, they had to become stronger first.

Everyone focused on their individual training. No one said anything about climbing the Tower.

One could climb the Tower anytime, but having the time to train was rare.

Yeon-woo also focused on his training.

He looked over his skills and powers again, and worked hard to completely master the 3rd step awakening.

His desire for the sword became greater.

On the 20th floor, he had continued to train after learning Aura, but unlike magic, he didn’t make that much progress with the sword.

Shanon and Hanryeong gave him advice for this.

「Most people think that they arrive at the end of martial arts once they can create Aura. That’s a ridiculous thought.」

「Aura isn’t the destination. It’s the beginning, because that’s when you learn what the meaning of the sword is. If you’re proud of merely knowing the meaning, you won’t grow.」

The two had walked different paths, but what they were saying was the same.

This was only the beginning.

They said that expanding his knowledge of the sword and engraving it into his body was the most important.

“Then what should I do to know its meaning?”

「Extend your consciousness onto the sword.」

「It’s not just focusing on your sword; you have to become one with it. Then, you’ll be able to complete the body that you want.」

Yeon-woo understood the gist of what that meant.

Becoming one with the sword. The One-horned tribe called it the Body and Sword as One.

The public said that the peak of the sword was becoming an expert.

From then, Yeon-woo began to train his sword again.

Oong, urrong—

Vigrid always shook like it was glad to see him.

Every day, Yeon-woo did his best to focus his consciousness on the blade.

A few months flashed by like that.

* * *

[Time Difference]

[Extrasensory Perception]

In the slower world, Yeon-woo swung his sword again for the millionth time. This was the world of his consciousness, where time ran ten times slower than the rest of the world, so he was now familiar with the movement.

All of his consciousness was absorbed into his sword. Aura occasionally sparked and was bound to his consciousness.

Strong Energy.

Aura had various forms, but they were all called Aura blades.

You were already a master being able to use Aura, so sword users only focused on refining their Aura and didn’t think beyond that.

However, the One-horned tribe split this into 3 different categories.

Sword Energy, Strong Energy, and Formless Strong Energy. Formless Strong Energy was also called Consciousness Strong Energy, and it was still too far for Yeon-woo to reach.

However, Strong Energy was different.

After Yeon-woo’s thorough efforts, he was able to use Sword Energy easily. He was working on moving onto the next step.

The power of concentrating your magic circle and fixing it with your consciousness, Strong Energy.

Yeon-woo wanted to accomplish this and chased again and again after someone in the world of his consciousness.

‘The Palgwae and Martial Extremes.’

The power that the Martial King had used against the Summer Queen. Yeon-woo had thought of it so many times that he could clearly replicate the fight with his eyes closed.

The King of Martial Arts. The man truly deserving the honorable name. If Yeon-woo could touch the Martial King’s feet, he would be able to escape the limits of where he was.

Puung—

The Strong Energy that gathered at his blade lost its form, and time sped up again.

Yeon-woo let go of his sword from the pain of being flicked out into the world and was pushed back from where he was standing.

“…..It’s still not working.”

He clicked his tongue seeing his bloodied right hand. Dragon’s Blood circulated to quickly close his wound. It was his Regeneration skill.

The past few months had been torture to Yeon-woo.

On the Five Mountains of Penances, he had also worked this much, but there, he was limited by the penances so he was able to grow quickly. This time, he couldn’t.

He had to test the limits of his body and focus on mastering it, so it was an endless cycle of boredom.

There was only one movement. Striking his sword down. Although he was putting his consciousness on it, repeating the same movement thousands of times made him feel like he was going to go crazy.

Of course, Yeon-woo didn’t just train his sword.

In fact, Yeon-woo learned a lot during all this time.

The Demonic Dragon Body with the Dragon’s Blessing and the Demon’s Blessing. The Philosopher’s Stone in his Cores. The 3rd step awakening he had forced open on the 21st floor.

His body quickly grew, but his consciousness couldn’t catch up.

He didn’t know where his limits were and what his potential was.

That was why he used Time Difference and pushed himself to the extremes.

At first, it had been effective.

Occasionally, he would awake his powers and break through his limits.

He did it because he trusted in the ability of the Regeneration skill.

He was able to gain the most from the bloodline magic that Brahm advised him about.

Of course, he only learned the basics and used it with his rune magic.

He didn’t even think of touching the harder ones, leaving it to Boo.

Even with just that, Yeon-woo had changed noticeably.

But for some time, he had been blocked by a large wall.

His magic growth paused, and his body didn’t change. The only thing he had left was the sword.

He had arrived at his last limit.

The problem was after this.

He no longer grew.

It would’ve been nice if he made a little progress, but there wasn’t anything like that. The wall was too high. He had swung his sword against it again and again, but he failed every time. Everything was useless.

Yeon-woo wasn’t strong enough to aim for the Palgwae or the Martial Extremes. However, he was at the beginning.

He could begin to learn it, and this was done using Strong Energy.

But he failed to.

He had enough magic power, his body was enough, and his level was enough. He definitely put enough of his consciousness on it too.

However, he was missing one thing.

He just didn’t know what it was.

He went to the Martial King for advice, but he only received an unclear answer.

“It’s because it’s not your path.”

Yeon-woo didn’t understand what that meant.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Figure it out on your own.”

“…….”

The Martial King didn’t give him an answer and just smirked.

Yeon-woo sighed. It wasn’t just this time he felt the Martial King’s teachings were like this.

Whenever he asked a question, the Martial King just told him a vague answer and told him to figure it out himself.

Yeon-woo knew he needed to make his own path, but he would’ve liked it if the Martial King was a bit nicer. Although he’d probably never be nice.

In fact, since he knew that he would gain more if he heard this kind of answer, he couldn’t complain. Looking back at it now, the Martial King’s answers were always to the point.

‘He’s probably not saying I’m unfit for the sword. He wouldn’t have tried to teach me the Yin Sword if so. Then what is it? Is he saying Strong Energy doesn’t fit me? That’s probably not it either. Palgwae? The Martial Extremes? Or am I just doing it wrong…..’

Yeon-woo just felt frustrated. He had used all kinds of hidden pieces to get where he was and forced Time Difference to improve himself.

There were only a few obstacles when he learned Aura.

He had struggled this hard.

That was why the ‘wall’ was even scarier to Yeon-woo. He didn’t know what he should do from now.

It wasn’t like he could absorb additional Dragon’s Blessings or Demon’s Blessings.

His body was at the right balance for the 3rd step awakening. If this balance was broken, his body could be destroyed.

He also wanted to seek advice from Shanon and Hanryeong, but they had been silent for a while. They were also focused on their individual training deep inside his shadow.

「…….」

「…….」

Yeon-woo wasn’t able to find the answer. The time came for him to sit down blankly and organize his thoughts.

He felt extremely dejected.

* * *