I got into school for nothing - Chapter 75
I got into school for nothing (75)
Lesson 16. The Tutorial is Over - 4
It was certainly not Anneri Dedota’s words that he was concerned about.
What could she possibly know about their relationship, having been but a fleeting acquaintance?
Overly boisterous people often exaggerate and fantasize about relationships between men and women.
If two people are merely together, they are instantly paired up.
She must have been the same.
Thus, truly, there was no need to dwell on her words.
Nor was there any need to be needlessly self-conscious when interacting with Dokgo Yeon.
He would simply forget about it.
“Dokgo Yeon? Are you really alright?”
“......You don't need to feel burdened about learning martial arts. What I’m about to teach you isn’t even a martial art traditionally passed down in my family.”
It must be because time was pressing.
In a voice more hurried than usual, Dokgo Yeon began to explain the martial art.
“In Murim, there were many who committed all sorts of bizarre acts to become stronger. Among them were those who committed shocking acts, unacceptable to society at the time: they coupled with monsters to sire children.”
No, it seemed Ban Yuwon had been mistaken.
He had never imagined she would explain the very origin of the martial art she intended to teach him.
“It was a foolish endeavor. Those born of human and monster parentage gained powerful bodies, but in exchange, their internal energy and reason became clouded, preventing them from properly training in martial arts. However, among these half-human, half-monster offspring, there was a mutant.”
“Uh... let me guess. Did that mutant happen to create a new martial art suited to herself?”
“Precisely. She was born with a cursed body, yet also with exceptional innate comprehension. So much so that she nearly reinvented her family's imperfectly transmitted martial art to perfectly suit her own body and internal energy.”
“Oh...”
“By mastering and perfecting it, she finally cast off her heavenly curse and regained a mind and body closer to that of a human. It was indeed a formidable martial art, but... as it was developed solely to her own standards, it was impossible for others to grasp its true essence.”
Listening quietly to Dokgo Yeon's continued story, Ban Yuwon began to suspect that ‘she’ in the story might be an acquaintance of Dokgo Yeon's, but lacked the courage to ask, so he kept his mouth shut.
However, Dokgo Yeon, having read Ban Yuwon's unspoken thoughts, let out a small chuckle and explained on her own.
“She was a hidden guard, protecting me from the shadows.”
“Thanks for telling me. Please continue.”
“What I am about to teach you is precisely her unique martial art. It is an excellent stealth technique and assassination martial art, combining the ferocity of a beast with the stealth of a shadow and the lethality of a single strike.”
Perhaps she was reminiscing about her? For a fleeting moment, Ban Yuwon felt as if he had seen a faint smile play on Dokgo Yeon's lips.
“As I mentioned earlier, it is normally impossible for an ordinary human to learn this. However, the movements you just displayed before me were closer to those of a beast than a human, and it suddenly occurred to me that you might be able to master it.”
“So that's why you told me all this, because it's not an ordinary martial art with an unusual lineage. That's truly something to be grateful for, but...”
Ban Yuwon narrowed his eyes and asked her.
“Is it really alright to just teach someone else's unique martial art to me like this?”
“Her techniques are essentially mine now, so it doesn't matter.”
Bossy-pants... no, Dokgo Yeon, after making that declaration, briefly closed and opened her eyes.
At that moment, Ban Yuwon could feel her aura shift.
More stealthily, yet also more fiercely.
‘This is what she calls not fully mastered?
Even with her right before his eyes, he couldn't grasp her true form.
And a sense of danger, as if his throat could be torn out at any moment, was dominating his entire body.
And yet she claimed it was merely an imitation.’
“Therefore, from now on, I will discuss the forms of the martial art, the methods of internal energy manipulation, and the oral traditions, and you should harmonize them with your own abilities.”
“Alright. ...Huh? Is it that simple?”
“For you, it is.”
It felt as if Dokgo Yeon had just given Ban Yuwon a tremendous compliment, all while pretending not to.
However, Dokgo Yeon's demonstration movements began immediately, so Ban Yuwon couldn't inquire about the meaning behind her words, and had to focus on her movements instead.
‘Nimble and covert, movements that seemed to press down, to tear into a prey's weak point in a single, decisive strike. Utterly enchanting, yet chilling...’
As he observed, a thought naturally occurred to him: that perhaps the person who developed this martial art had the blood of a feline predator flowing through their veins.
‘Indeed, this must be why she told me to harmonize it with my own abilities. Trying to imitate the movements of a tiger with the concept of a weasel would only end in splitting one's crotch, just like a crow-tit trying to follow a stork.’
Regardless, Dokgo Yeon's demonstration—which she herself called a mere imitation—was enough to grasp the ‘true essence of the martial art’.
For Ban Yuwon, the master of Authority, body language was also understood as a form of language.
“—Why are you staring so intently?”
“I have to watch to learn.”
“If you cling too much to the form, you'll err. This martial art isn't about simple movements like thrusting or slashing.”
Though Dokgo Yeon, not fully understanding Ban Yuwon's abilities, cast him a suspicious glance.
Her thoughts would surely change once she saw him actually master it.
“Then I’ll recite the oral traditions now. I’ve also frequently heard her explanations, so ask if anything is unclear.”
“Please do.”
The oral traditions were even easier to understand.
A sequence of words dealing solely with the martial art.
For Ban Yuwon, who could decipher the intent behind even the most complex ciphers, nothing was difficult.
Especially in the section on manipulating internal energy—that is, mana—and harmonizing it with one's movements, Ban Yuwon gained profound insight.
‘Ah... so mana could be handled with such finesse. Wait, if this is the case, Hyunsingong seems far more incredible a martial art than I thought...?’
It could even be called a fundamental realization about the ability of martial arts in general.
While Dokgo Yeon was merely discussing an assassination martial art that humans couldn't even master, Ban Yuwon was laying the foundation to establish all his actions as a martial art!
[Having gained fundamental enlightenment regarding martial arts in general, the depth of his martial path reached 500. The depth of Hyunsingong reached 80. He is now ready to establish a new concept of martial arts for himself.]
[The depth of Hyungi reached 270. The depth of his soul reached 630.]
Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon, seeing Ban Yuwon's eyes slowly close as he listened to the oral traditions, was somewhat dumbfounded.
Surely he wasn't dozing off right in front of her. Could he really have achieved enlightenment with just this much?
‘Or is his comprehension truly so exceptional that he's already reconstructing Heukseol's martial art, solely by referencing the oral traditions I just provided?’
Neither possibility made any sense, so it was better to simply assume he had fallen asleep.
Dokgo Yeon shook her head and said.
“You're not asleep, are you, Ban Yuwon? If you are, I'll be angry.”
“I'm not asleep. Just finish reciting the oral traditions.”
“Are you really understanding this...? It's quite abstruse, you know.”
“It's fine. Please, the rest.”
Dokgo Yeon sighed, but recited all the remaining oral traditions.
Then, half in doubt, she asked him.
“Are there any parts you don't understand?”
“I understand. However, I don't think a leopard suits me, so I’ll need to modify it a bit. But there’s no need to strictly follow a weasel’s movements either...”
“......! How do you know Heukseol is a leopard?”
Dokgo Yeon, startled, even blurted out the name of her guard, a name she hadn't intended to reveal, but Ban Yuwon was too deeply immersed in thought to hear it.
‘If I extract and retain only the pure essence of a predator from both of them, couldn't I find a wonderful compromise?’
Extracting a purer, higher concept from an existing one was, after all, Ban Yuwon's specialty.
He activated the concepts of Shadow Steps and Assassination residing within his body, and then began to combine them with Dokgo Yeon's demonstrated martial art forms and oral traditions, ‘appropriately modifying’ them.
Governing all of this was Hyunsingong, the foundation of his martial art, and the Hyungi that originated from it.
“Ban Yuwon? The oral traditions, once more...”
Dokgo Yeon, who couldn't possibly imagine that the transmission of a martial art could be completed with just a single demonstration and recitation of oral traditions, approached him and opened her mouth to speak, but Ban Yuwon was already too deeply absorbed in the process of re-engineering the concepts he held within, and couldn't even hear her voice.
“Surely... could it be true?”
Of course, it was too early to tell.
Concerned that he might fall into qigong deviation, even as she tried to suppress her aura, Dokgo Yeon cautiously approached him, and waved a hand in front of his eyes.
Ban Yuwon did not react.
However, the constant twitching of his eyelids showed that he was still intensely visualizing images.
Presumably, within his mind, the martial art was being ‘assembled’ in real-time.
‘Come to think of it, the flow of his internal energy has also changed... He truly understood the oral traditions. Moreover, that flow was even changing in real-time...’
Was this a state that could merely be explained by exceptional comprehension?
Of course, she had expected a certain level, but this was beyond all limits.
She had intended to repeatedly engrave the martial art's forms, explain the oral traditions in detail, and discuss the martial art.
Frankly, she had believed that he wouldn't be able to modify the martial art with his abilities alone, and had even planned to subtly emphasize her own capabilities by directly assisting him in reconstructing the martial art.
She had even prepared to pull an all-nighter with him...
‘As if he didn't need her help at all.’
Cowardly, Ban Yuwon had gained enlightenment alone, abandoning her and sinking into his own inner world.
“Why are you making such a sour face?”
“Beast...?!”
At Rucell's sudden appearance, Dokgo Yeon almost screamed.
If not for her concern about Ban Yuwon's qigong deviation, she wouldn't have been able to suppress her instincts and would have cried out loudly.
“What were you trying to do to Yuwon?”
Was Rucell's skill so remarkable that she could appear behind Dokgo Yeon without a sound, or had Dokgo Yeon foolishly let her guard down?
Dokgo Yeon met Rucell's clear pink eyes, which were staring intently at her, and sighed inwardly before replying.
“I was observing his state. It's dangerous to disturb him right now, so you should be careful too.”
“......Is that all?”
“What did you think I was trying to do, then?”
Rucell hesitated for a moment, then spoke honestly.
“Kiss...”
“You're thinking too much from your own perspective.”
“Ah, I haven't done that yet. Me either.”
Dokgo Yeon glanced between the closed-eyed Ban Yuwon, and Rucell, whose eyes were wide as she openly stared at a certain part of his body.
It felt as if that beast just licked her lips.
“I just said it's dangerous to touch him.”
“I wouldn't do something as boring as a surprise attack. ...Though I do wish he would do it to me.”
“A woman's heart is complicated.”
“You're a woman too, you know.”
Rucell said, smiling faintly as if probing her thoughts.
This was a side of her that would never be seen when Ban Yuwon had his eyes open.
Convinced that this woman actually carried the blood of a fox, Dokgo Yeon scoffed.
“Gender isn't a very important factor to me. That's why I abandoned the woman within me.”
“Can you truly abandon it just by trying?”
“Indeed, the troublesome things still remain. Detestable things.”
Dokgo Yeon said this, recalling that man, Ortima, who had tried to play tricks on her with his pathetic lies.
Rucell, apparently guessing what she was thinking, shook her head.
“Lies and delusions, sigh.”
“Beast, if you have something to say, then properly—”
—Where—did you two—go—!
Just then, at Light's voice echoing from afar (tinged with a hint of a whimper), Dokgo Yeon and Rucell simultaneously slumped their shoulders, as if all the air had gone out of them.
“What could that be?”
“An idiot.”
At Rucell's answer, Dokgo Yeon nodded in understanding.
“You go to Light and explain the situation. I'll stand guard over Ban Yuwon.”
“Alright.”
Rucell, her misunderstanding cleared, seemed to skip away, about to leave, but then suddenly turned back and said to her.
“Dokgo Yeon, you'd be fine.”
“Stop spouting nonsense and get lost.”
“Yesh.”
Two hours later, Ban Yuwon succeeded in establishing his own unique martial art, and opened his eyes.
Dokgo Yeon checked his martial art, and then permitted him to infiltrate the small city with her.
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