Chapter 11

Whoosh. Fwoom—

The spearhead pierced dozens of sparkling points in the air one after another.

Each time I completed a movement, the red tassel hanging beneath the spearhead whipped around. It wasn’t there just for show. It was meant to distract the enemy.

Bang!

Again, the sound of wind being torn apart rang out. It was the seventh and final form of the Jin Family’s Spear Technique: the Sky-Piercing Strike.

And this Sky-Piercing Strike was more precise and powerful than the ninety-nine I had successfully performed before it.

This is it.

My fingertips tingled. Each of the seven forms in the Jin Family’s Spear Technique was destructive enough when performed separately, but its true effect emerged when they flowed together.

If I compared it to a car race, the first form was starting the engine. The final Sky-Piercing Strike was crossing the finish line.

“Whew.”

I exhaled a hot breath and raised the spear upright.

Ding.

System

• Successful attempts: (100 / 100)

• You have acquired Jin Family’s Spear Technique.

• As a result of repeated training, related stats have increased!

• Strength, Stamina, and Agility have each increased by 1.

“Oh. My stats went up.”

So this was another way to improve my stats. Intrigued, I opened my Status Window.

Ding.

System

Status Window

Lv. 11 Jin Taekyung

Occupation: Second Rate Martial Artist

Fame: 10

Titles: 3 (Title effects active)

• Child of a Prestigious Family: All stats +5, Fame +50

• Shame of the Family: All stats –5, Fame –50

• Novice Trainee: Training speed +10%

Strength: 41
Stamina: 51

Agility: 51
Intelligence: 10

Charm: 10
Internal Energy: 10 years

Remaining Points: 0

At this level…

“What a fine second-rate nobody.”

Still, it was better than reality. I could keep climbing higher. I no longer felt the limitations I’d sensed every day since awakening as an F-rank, or the glass ceiling society had placed over me.

“So what? I can’t even log out whenever I want.”

I sighed and sank to the floor. After several hours of nonstop training, my body felt as heavy as soaked cotton.

“Oof. I’m beat.”

Ding.

System

• You feel fatigued and hungry. Consume food to restore your physical condition.

Yeah. I figured that would happen.

“Fatigue and hunger…”

The only answer was rest. Eat well and sleep well. But I didn’t have time to lie around scratching my belly without a care in the world.

If only I had some kind of recovery item…

“Oh, right. Grain-repelling pills.”

I took one of the grain-repelling pills from my inventory. It gave off a strange smell, but a professional Hunter couldn’t afford to be picky about whether his rice was hot or cold.

I opened my mouth wide and took a huge bite.

Then I thought,

Should I just spit it out?

It wasn’t merely tasteless. It tasted bad enough to make my tongue scream for mercy and my stomach hang up a no-entry sign.

But sometimes, humans could summon superhuman willpower. I squeezed my eyes shut, chewed the grain-repelling pill thoroughly, and swallowed every last bit.

Gulp.

“Uuugh. I ate it. I actually ate it.”

If the System notification hadn’t sounded the next moment, I probably would have kept rolling around on the floor for quite a while.

Ding.

System

• You have consumed an Excellent Grain-Repelling Pill.

• You feel full.

• Your fatigue has been relieved.

• All stats increase by 2 for one hour.

“What?”

I hurriedly opened my Status Window. Every stat except Internal Energy had increased by 2. On top of that, my fatigue had lifted and my hunger was gone.

Feeling energized and full, I muttered,

“This is completely broken.”

Who would have thought such a foul-tasting lump of grain could have such incredible effects?

Wait a second.

“Do the effects stack?”

Just one had increased my stats by a total of 10 points. What if I ate two? Three? No, ten?

I’d eat those even if they were goblin shit.

Goblin shit might actually taste better… but it was definitely worth a try.

I can do this. I can do this. Jin Taekyung.

With trembling hands, I picked up a second grain-repelling pill.

And a short while later—

System

• You have consumed an Excellent Grain-Repelling Pill.

• The effects do not stack.

• You feel excessively full.

• Your movements will be slowed for one hour due to Overeating!

I dropped to my knees as the System notification sounded.

“Bleaaargh!”

I could only resume training after my bloated stomach finally went down. I had three days to stay in the training hall. I needed to grow as strong as possible before leaving.

“Hah!”

With a short shout, the spearhead traced a heavy arc.

Keep my stance low, my feet heavy, and my spear fast.

The Jin Family’s Spear Technique was aggressive. It advanced relentlessly, constantly pressuring the enemy. Its spear movements were simple but lethal.

Was it derived from the military?

I didn’t know what the game’s setting was, but it didn’t seem like a martial art an ordinary foot soldier could learn.

After all, it was a first-rate martial art and required considerable physical ability to perform. Perhaps it had been practiced by elite soldiers or commanders.

Compared with what I learned at the Hunter training camp, it’s like heaven and earth.

That was when my foot tangled—whether from exhaustion or distraction, I wasn’t sure. Once my foot got tangled, my hands lost their rhythm too. The spearhead, loaded with strength, lost its momentum and sliced through the air.

Whoosh—

The System sounded at the same time.

System

• Jin Family’s Spear Technique Mastery increased by 1. (6 / 100)

“Only 1?”

My Mastery increased each time I performed the martial art from beginning to end. The amount I gained depended on the System’s evaluation, and this time, all I got was 1 because my feet had tangled so often.

“Why am I getting worse the more I do it?”

My Jin Family’s Spear Technique had gotten worse with each of the three attempts since I acquired it. The first time, I gained 3 Mastery. The second time, 2. This third time, 1.

“Three, two, one. It’s not even a countdown. What is this?”

At this rate, the fourth attempt wouldn’t give me any Mastery at all. I sighed and gripped the spear again. My breathing was growing ragged, but I performed the Jin Family’s Spear Technique once more.

Around the fourth form, I lost my balance and fell.

Ding.

System

• You did not gain Mastery for Jin Family’s Spear Technique. (6 / 100)

“This is driving me insane.”

I lay there and stared at the training hall’s ceiling, where stalactites hung overhead.

My feet kept getting tangled. I was performing the technique exactly as I had learned it, so why was this happening? Nothing like this had happened while I was acquiring it.

“What’s the problem?”

There was a hitch somewhere, catching me every time. I had to figure out what it was.

I popped back up like a roly-poly toy and performed the Jin Family’s Spear Technique again. This time, I fell after only the third form.

System

• You did not gain Mastery for Jin Family’s Spear Technique. (6 / 100)

When I focused on my feet instead of the spear, the problem faintly began to reveal itself.

Good. One more time.

System

• You did not gain Mastery for Jin Family’s Spear Technique. (6 / 100)

Now I understood. But…

“Why is the Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique showing up here?”

I had struggled when I first learned it. I’d spent half a day practicing nothing but footwork. But if you asked whether that was enough to make me unconsciously mix it into my spear technique, the answer was no.

By that logic, I’d have mixed in every movement I’ve learned over the past seven years.

I had learned spear fighting before, too. It was one of the basics taught at the Hunter training camp. Since it was issued to F-ranks who couldn’t use mana, we called it shitty spear fighting among ourselves.

Compared with that, the Jin Family’s Spear Technique was good enough for intermediate Hunters.

“Should I give it a try?”

No matter how hard I racked my brain, all I’d get was a bald spot. The only way to understand a technique was to physically try it.

I began performing the Jin Family’s Spear Technique slowly. At the same time, I performed the Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique with my lower body.

The movements don’t flow naturally.

They kept falling out of sync. But it was different. Until now, it had felt like threads tangled in a jumble. This time, it felt like gears slipping past each other by a hair.

How many times had I tried?

Whoosh—Bang!

It was a simple thrust. For a moment, I wondered if I had performed all the way through the seventh and final form without realizing it, but it was only one movement from the fifth form.

“What was that?”

A shiver ran down my spine. For one brief moment, the footwork and spear technique had meshed perfectly. The spear in my hand trembled.

System

• You did not gain Mastery for Jin Family’s Spear Technique. (6 / 100)

I shoved the System notification into a corner of my mind and tightened my grip on the spear. Recalling the sensation from a moment ago, I stepped forward.

And again.

Swish—Whoosh—

This is it.

I felt it the instant I thrust the spear.

The footwork and the spear technique. The two gears meshed perfectly.

Overwhelmed by indescribable exhilaration, I turned those two gears again and again. My steps, and the spearhead that thrust, slashed, and swung, were fast, precise, and powerful.

My dantian grew hot. My internal energy became a ball of fire and seeped into the spear.

I had to release it.

Right now!

“Hah!”

The Sky-Piercing Strike—the final blow of the Jin Family’s Spear Technique, said to pierce the heavens—shot forward.

A deep, muffled boom erupted through the cavern.

Bang!

Dust billowed, and stones scattered in every direction. The spear embedded in the training hall’s wall trembled. A massive hole had formed around the spearhead, which had plunged so deeply that it was no longer visible.

A hole? No.

This was a crater.

The sight stole my breath away.

“Huff, huff…”

The exhilaration sent a shiver down my spine.

Fuck, that was me. I did it!

I had unleashed that insane strike—the kind that could take down a troll in one blow.

Me!

I staggered.

Huh?

I needed to shout my head off and take a proof photo. I needed to put Big Brother Jinho in his place—he used to call me a freeloader.

Oh, right. This was a game.

My vision blurred. The strength drained from my body. An unbearable wave of sleepiness washed over me.

I’m sleepy.

I stopped thinking and surrendered my body to instinct. A familiar sound gradually faded into the distance.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

.

.

.

System

• All internal energy has been depleted.

• You feel extreme fatigue.

• You have completed the achievement Unity of Self and Object. A reward will be granted!

• You have realized how to link martial arts together on your own. As a reward, the realms of your martial arts will rise substantially.

• The realm of Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique…

• The realm of Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique…

• The realm of Jin Family’s Spear Technique…

• Level up!

• Level up!

System

• Sleep mode has ended.

I opened my eyes. The cave ceiling, with stalactites hanging from it, came into view.

The training hall.

How long had I been unconscious? Half a day? Or a full day?

I didn’t know. What mattered was that I was still in the game and had gotten plenty of rest.

I feel great, too.

My body felt strangely good. Come to think of it, I seemed to have heard System notifications just before I passed out.

“Open Message Window.”

The next moment, unread messages covered my vision. By the time I finished reading them all and sorting through my thoughts, more than ten minutes had passed.

I muttered a brief reaction.

“I really hit the jackpot.”

The Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique and Spear Technique had risen all the way to the Third Stage, jumping two whole stages. The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique had reached the Second Stage.

And on top of that…

“I went up two Levels?”

I was happy, but also bewildered. I’d barely expected to Level up at all in the training hall.

“Don’t you usually Level up by completing Quests or killing monsters?”

Apparently, learning martial arts and gaining insight like I had could also lead to a Level Up. Was it because this was a martial-arts game? I really couldn’t make sense of it.

“No wonder my body felt so light.”

The Level Up effect must have restored my condition. The bruises and slight pain that had remained before I leveled up had vanished completely.

“Open Status Window.”

The Status Window had changed too. Reaching Level 13 had given me twenty remaining points, and the effects of training had slightly increased my Strength, Stamina, and Agility.

“Level 13…”

The Quest completion requirements were reaching the first-rate realm, Level 30, and 500 Fame.

I wasn’t progressing quickly, but I was steadily leveling up through training alone. That meant I was cruising along.

Once I leave the training hall, I can spread my sails and surge forward.

I smiled contentedly and distributed my points.

Now, all that remained was to check the reward I’d received for completing the Unity of Self and Object achievement.

“Open Inventory.”

System

• You have 1 new Item. Would you like to check it?

Yeah. Hand it over.