Chapter 7. Thirst (2)

When Yoo Ri abruptly cut to the chase, Johann clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, brat. If you’re going to take something, shouldn’t you at least say it was good?"

"Let’s call it rent for staying at my place."

"Are you not going to count the fact that I brought you here?"

"Whose fault was it that I fainted?"

Faced with Yoo Ri’s unyielding attitude, Johann inwardly chuckled.

'Sure enough, he’s not an easy one.'

Despite Johann’s reputation as a prodigy and a prodigal, Yoo Ri showed no signs of being intimidated.

If anything, he was even more on guard.

From his attitude, Johann could roughly guess what storms the young Yoo Ri had weathered to survive.

'Guys like him only rebel more when provoked.'

Yoo Ri needed a process of building trust by giving him what he wanted, rather than constantly provoking him.

And what he wanted now was the reward for the deal he had made with Johann.

Wiping his meat-greasy hands on his pants, Johann spoke in a low voice.

"That thing you consider a curse... it’s called a ‘Hwasin.’"

Yoo Ri’s eyes sparkled at Johann’s words.

"Hwasin?"

"Hwasin, or the manifestation of a mental image, also known as an avatar, is a term used to describe the advanced spiritual artistry of those who have reached the level of a master."

"..."

"Originally, the human body can exhibit abilities beyond its limits by enhancing physical strength or using magic power. However, the spiritual realm is something even the most talented geniuses can’t easily access."

Johann’s explanation was a lecture on the manifestation of mental images, something countless people could only dream of.

It was a lecture that anyone blocked at the 9th dan would pay a fortune to hear, starting in a shabby cave.

"After a long time of training the body and energy, if one obtains a special catalyst, they can access the spiritual realm."

"Special catalyst? What’s that?"

In response to Yoo Ri’s question, Johann tapped his head with his index finger.

"This, this."

"Head?"

"More precisely, the brain inside this head."

"Why is that?"

"Inside the human brain is an entrance to the spiritual realm. The special catalyst is what opens this entrance."

"..."

"Hwasin practitioners can open the spiritual entrance in the brain, known as the ‘Spiritual Acupoint.’ This is often referred to as ‘the lid opening.’ Normally, this lid opens and closes..."

"Then?"

"You, on the other hand, have a lid that’s always open, so to speak?"

Yoo Ri’s face turned blank as he listened to Johann’s story.

"So... this isn’t a disease or a curse?"

A sense of resignation settled on Yoo Ri’s face.

'No wonder... no wonder I couldn’t find it!'

The reason he hadn’t found an answer despite searching for years to remove his curse was right here.

He had been approaching it the wrong way from the start.

How could he have found something that wasn’t a curse or a disease by looking in that category?

Moreover, a technique that only those who had reached the level of a master could use.

How could ordinary people know about it?

While Yoo Ri was lost in resignation, Johann’s voice came again.

"Of course, it’s not a curse. It’s the greatest treasure that countless people spend their entire lives searching for. However, in your case, it might as well be a curse."

"..."

"Originally, the level you’ve reached is a new world that opens when the soul, energy, and body are in harmony. But in your case, only the soul has become abnormally large. Therefore..."

"Is my body collapsing due to the imbalance?"

Yoo Ri’s words hit the nail on the head, and Johann’s eyes sparkled.

"Exactly."

Coughing up blood, fainting, and so on.

The phenomena Yoo Ri had experienced were precursors to his body’s collapse.

Yoo Ri, who had faced the truth of the mystery he had harbored for years, asked with trembling eyes.

"So, how can I survive...?"

"You need to balance your soul, energy, and body, and learn how to open and close the lid in your head."

"By making the deal with you... I can learn those things?"

"Of course. Hehehe."

Seeing Johann laugh happily, Yoo Ri’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"By agreeing to the deal... what do I have to do? What do you get out of it?"

"Nothing much. I want you to earnestly learn what I teach you. That’s all I want."

For a moment, a question mark appeared above Yoo Ri’s head.

"Something’s off. Are you saying what I get from the deal is the same as what you want?"

Yoo Ri’s question made Johann grin.

"What I’ll teach you isn’t the martial theory I’ve learned, but something new I’ve recently completed based on a newly synthesized martial theory."

"Is it good?"

"Of course! Do you think I’d teach you some cheap, cobbled-together martial theory? However..."

"However?"

"There’s a very, very minor issue that the safety hasn’t been verified yet... but you don’t need to worry about it."

"..."

Yoo Ri’s eyes turned cold as he looked at Johann.

"So, you’re telling me to be a test subject?"

"Hmm. If we’re being precise, that’s about right."

"Could I die while learning it?"

"It’s not impossible."

"Can’t you teach me something else?"

"Can I?"

Yoo Ri’s eyes grew even colder.

Johann just shrugged.

"Whether you die this way or that, it’s better to try something before you die."

"Earlier, you said I needed to prove that you could save me. Now, you’re saying I’ll die no matter what I do!"

"When did I lie? If you learn it without any issues, you’ll live."

"What if there are issues?"

"Then, you’ll die."

"You liar!"

Seeing Yoo Ri shout, Johann smirked.

"So, you don’t like it? You won’t do it?"

Seeing Johann’s annoyingly curved eyes, Yoo Ri’s forehead veins popped.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say he didn’t like it or that he wouldn’t do it.

Yoo Ri had realized that this might be the first and last chance to extinguish the wick that was burning away inside him.

'If I miss this opportunity... will my body last until the next one comes?'

Handling mana and the body was one thing, but Hwasin was said to be the exclusive domain of masters.

When would he meet a master again, and even if he did, would they teach him how to handle Hwasin?

No matter how many times he thought about it, the ‘next opportunity’ didn’t easily come to mind.

'Damn...'

This was a situation that was too disadvantageous for him, no matter how he thought about it.

A condition he had to accept somehow.

Johann, knowing this, was so confident.

'What a cunning old man!'

Yoo Ri, sighing heavily, lowered his gaze and asked.

"...What are the chances of survival?"

"That depends on you."

"Damn..."

A low, frustrated curse.

But Johann, realizing that this was Yoo Ri’s acceptance of his proposal, chuckled.

Thus, on a winter’s day, with a small bonfire between them, a subtle relationship was formed between teacher and student, experimenter and test subject.

* * *

In a spacious room.

Ashraf and Gunter sat by a fireplace, where flames were dancing.

In the silence, Gunter recalled the events of the day.

'What on earth was that?'

The prodigal and a boy named Yoo Ri, who appeared after his test.

And the series of events that followed.

All of it was a shocking incident for Gunter.

Ashraf, guessing his son’s thoughts, spoke softly.

"What Yoo Ri showed today is called the realm of Hwasin."

"...What is Hwasin?"

In response to Gunter’s low question, Ashraf explained what he knew about Hwasin.

Of course, it was only that it was something used by those who had reached the level of a master.

But even that was enough to shock Gunter.

With a stiff face, he muttered.

"I have to compete with such a person from the cradle."

Yoo Ri had also passed the cradle’s test.

So, he would be in the same batch.

To this, Ashraf asked bluntly.

"Are you worried?"

"More burdened than worried."

Ashraf’s eyes softened at his son’s straightforward answer.

'You...'

Ashraf knew Gunter well.

Worry and burden.

Though similar in negative connotation, the two words Gunter used had quite different meanings.

If it were his son, he would have said he was worried if he faced a problem he couldn’t solve.

'But he said it’s a burden, meaning he thinks it’s a challenge worth overcoming, even if it’s a difficult obstacle.'

Burden meant he felt it was worth trying.

That was the meaning of ‘burden’ in Gunter’s words.

With a smile, Ashraf said.

"You don’t need to worry too much about him. Johann and Yoo Ri won’t be heading to the cradle."

Gunter’s head tilted slightly at Ashraf’s confident statement.

"Why not?"

"Do you know how the cradle came to be?"

Gunter nodded in response to his father’s question.

"Yes, I know the general idea."

The continent of Ryment, said to resemble a lying dragon.

At its southern end was a massive lake.

The lake was so large that it felt like an ocean from a distance, and its shape, due to geographical characteristics, resembled an egg held by a lying dragon.

Thus, it was called the Egg of the Dragon, or in ancient language, the Montparc Lake. However, this was changed by the Sword Lord.

"The Sword Lord, I believe, created an island in Montparc Lake, which was the beginning of the cradle."

"That’s correct."

The Sword Lord gathered countless human and material resources to Montparc Lake and began to create an artificial island in the lake.

A historic event that shocked the world as a crazy and impossible feat.

But contrary to the world’s prejudice, the island in Montparc Lake was indeed created.

And it was done in just half a year.

'They say the gold used to create the artificial island in that half-year would reach the clouds if stacked.'

The artificial island, created by pouring gold like water, continued to expand in area with the investment of countless resources.

Decades later, a massive island, several times the size of a typical fief, was established in Montparc Lake.

The lake, which once resembled a dragon’s egg, now looked like a cradle holding the egg.

Later, the Sword Lord named the combination of Montparc Lake and the artificial island the Dragon’s Cradle and declared it his territory.

"Is the Dragon’s Cradle now treated like an academy?"

Decades after the Dragon’s Cradle was established.

The Sword Lord referred to the talents he selected as eggs and those who spent five years in the Dragon’s Cradle as the young dragons he raised.

As the young dragons gained fame, people’s perceptions changed.

They began to see graduating from the Dragon’s Cradle as a measure of success and a necessary ‘educational institution’ to achieve success.

Ashraf scoffed at the world’s people’s thoughts.

"An academy? The Dragon’s Cradle is far from that shallow place. It’s more like a military base."

Honestly, it was more like a lawless zone where the absolute principle of ‘might is right’ prevailed.

He only called it a military base because there was at least a minimum level of discipline.

"Originally, the Dragon’s Cradle referred to the Sword Lord’s territory, and it still does. Even someone as renowned as Johann Redner can’t enter or leave the cradle without permission."

"Ah!"

"Once you enter, you can’t meet for at least five years, so he won’t send his hard-earned disciple away so soon."

Especially not a ‘boy who seems off’ like Yoo Ri.

'Even I noticed, so the prodigal can’t have missed it.'

For this reason, Ashraf was confident in his thoughts.

Yoo Ri wouldn’t be entering the cradle with this batch, at least not in the next few years.

'There are about 11 months until this batch enters. If he can correct Yoo Ri’s issues within that time, it would be fine, but...'

Ashraf smiled slightly at his thoughts.

That was impossible.

* * *

After some kind of agreement between Yoo Ri and Johann.

Yoo Ri, who was about to lie down, suddenly sat up at an unexpected question.

"Leaving? Where to?"

To Yoo Ri’s question, Johann replied with a look that said, 'What are you, a snoring sleeper?'

"Where else? The cradle, of course."