ALL NOVEL Thus began the long and arduous training in the closed-off training grounds.
According to Wolhyang, the ruler of this world, a month in the Myoseondong with adjusted time scaling corresponds to a day in the outside world. If you apply this calculation directly, spending 2 years in Myoseondong translates to about 25 days in the outside world.
Honestly, when I first heard it, I thought it was a huge scam.
It’s not like Dragon Ball, where if you can stretch a day into thirty, the possibilities for training purposes are practically endless.
However, just because the time scaling is different doesn’t mean aging stops; spending 2 years here essentially means getting 2 years older while only a month passes outside.
In other words, it’s like borrowing time from the future, which has its pros and cons.
Anyway, during my first month of training with Wolhyang, I mostly wasted my time on lower body exercises and learning the basics of kicking and evasion techniques.
Just like a newbie swordsman learns the Three Calamity Sword Technique, or a beginner in martial arts learns the Six Harmonies Fist, it turns out there are fundamental things to learn in kicking as well.
Thanks to that, my thighs became huge in no time.
Well, turning into a manly figure isn’t so bad, right?
*
-Three months into training-
According to Wolhyang, I had developed a ‘bad habit’ when kicking, so I needed to erase that trace and return to square one.
After forgetting the poorly learned kicks through rigorous foundational training, I followed her lead to learn various kicking techniques.
Moonless Kick, New Moon Evasion, Half Moon Kick, Full Moon Strike, and so on.
The names might sound grand, but they were just various kicking methods.
“They name everything differently based on the kicking area and angle?”
Isn’t this a bit excessive, like a perverted obsession?
“Wrong! That’s not it!”
Anyway, despite her cute appearance, Wolhyang was an incredibly strict teacher. She personally guided each kicking movement and immediately pointed out any mistakes, making me practice until I nailed it perfectly.
It took a total of two months to learn those diverse kicks.
In other words, I had spent one-eighth of my precious two years solely on kicking practice.
*
-Six months into training-
Having received all the kicking techniques, the next training stage from Wolhyang was ‘combat-like sparring.’
She intended to train me to reflexively use the techniques I knew, claiming that knowledge alone wouldn’t help me execute them effectively, but there was one added restriction.
That was the requirement to fight with hands tied, using only my feet.
“You’re slow!”
Wolhyang shot out a Moonless Kick with her characteristic swift movements.
Barely blocking the attack with a New Moon Evasion as I stepped back to create distance, I found myself under pressure from a series of three consecutive Half Moon Kicks. Caught in a tough spot, I raised one knee defensively but couldn’t endure the pain any longer and yelled.
“I surrender!!”
Wolhyang, who was about to unleash another Half Moon Kick, paused and lowered her leg.
Finally able to breathe again, I sat down on the floor, panting heavily.
“At first, it ended in five seconds, but now I’m able to last quite a bit longer.”
As she approached, Wolhyang looked down at me and said,
“You can still do more, right?”
At that moment, she appeared to me as nothing less than a devil.
“No, can’t we take a bit more of a break?”
“Nope! ♥”
“Ahhhh!”
*
-Ten months into training-
By now, I had accumulated enough skill to reflexively kick even when startled awake. Finally, I received Wolhyang’s permission to use my arms during our sparring sessions, which had been tied until now.
“From now on, it’s free sparring. Until now, you’ve been restricted to the techniques I taught, but now you can use any skills you have, Chilbok.”
Hearing those words from Wolhyang, I cautiously asked,
“Is it really okay?”
“Of course! Do you think I’d say something I didn’t mean?”
‘That sounds familiar.’
I muttered that in my head, recalling all the struggles I’d endured under her guidance over the past year.
‘At first, she appeared to be a naive child who didn’t even know how to lie, but that was a complete misconception.’
If anything, it felt like she mirrored the traits of storybook rabbits.
Beneath that innocent exterior, her true nature was extremely dark.
“Anyway, let’s get started.”
As I said that, I bumped my fists together, and Wolhyang nodded, starting to do light jumps in place.
“First up must be the Moonless Kick.”
It was a habit I had noticed after about four months of daily sparring with her.
The Moonless Kick was a no-motion kick with low risk, making it one of her favorite kicking techniques.
Swish!
As expected, Wolhyang vanished from my sight without any warning.
Her speed as a rabbit spirit made it challenging to track, so I had to anticipate her attacks in advance.
“Here!”
I raised my forearm just in time to block Wolhyang’s Moonless Kick.
“Ugh!”
Even without any weight behind it, the impact at the struck area was numbing in its destructive force.
Biting my lip, I immediately executed the second technique of the Tangmun Fist: the Scorpion’s Strike.
It was a counter that dealt more damage the more powerful the opponent’s attack was, and I had previously used it against a dark martial artist named Ma Dongcheol.
Wolhyang’s eyes lit up as I aimed a punch at her belly, twisting her body in midair.
Wham!
To my surprise, she pushed my punch away with her right foot and used the recoil to leap back powerfully.
I was taken aback, unable to comprehend the impossible skill I had just witnessed.
‘No way, she countered it like this?’
But there was no time to be distracted.
“I’m coming again!”
Wolhyang closed the gap of about five meters with her incredible agility and launched a front kick.
“!”
I barely managed to cross my arms in an X formation to block, but it felt like being hit by a dump truck as my body flew backward.
I rolled across the training ground floor about five times before finally getting back on my feet, only to find Wolhyang’s toes right in front of me.
This was a combo of her New Moon Evasion followed by the New Moon Kick.
Whoosh!!
I narrowly leaned back to avoid her toes, but her leg rose up and then sliced downwards like a guillotine.
There was no way to evade this attack, so I shouted.
“I surrender!!”
Wolhyang’s heel came to a halt just above my forehead.
Had it hit me, I surely would have ended up with a broken nose; it was undoubtedly a freeze-up moment attacking enough to chill me.
“That’s a bit too fast to surrender, isn’t it?”
Her comment made me respond with a bitter smile.
“Yeah, but you’re just too strong.”
Wolhyang puffed out her chest proudly as she replied,
“Well, I am your master, Chilbok.”
“Yay, yay.”
Having seen her boastfulness before, I laughed it off while brushing the dust off my clothes.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to lose this quickly. Were you holding back until now?”
With a smile, Wolhyang replied,
“Of course. If I went all out, you wouldn’t last ten seconds.”
After all, a normal human can’t possibly win against a spirit, right?
“……”
It wasn’t that she held any superiority complex or anything; she was just stating the truth.
Just as it’s natural for a human to defeat an ant, it was entirely obvious to her that a spirit would beat a human.
Anyway, since I had just started my training, I prepared to spar with her again from the beginning. I asked Wolhyang,
“I’ve only trained in kicks so far, but do you think I’m stronger?”
To be honest, I wasn’t feeling it much at all.
I wondered if I should have focused on perfecting my Tangmun Fist instead.
However, due to Baek Yujin and Wolhyang’s stubborn attitudes, I had no choice but to learn kicks. Now I felt a slight disconnect with the completely different fighting style compared to before.
Perhaps it was simply because I hadn’t had any chance to truly experience my enhanced strength.
Noticing my internal struggle, Wolhyang patted my shoulder, telling me not to worry.
“You don’t need to be overly concerned. You’re steadily getting stronger, Chilbok.”
“…Is that so?”
“Strength isn’t something you can see directly. It builds up slowly, little by little, until you realize one day that you’ve become significantly stronger. That’s when you’ll finally understand how strong you’ve become.”
Wolhyang looked me straight in the eye as she spoke.
“If, despite everything, you still can’t believe in your strength, then believe in me instead, not you. Trust in my judgment that you will grow stronger.”
With her firm tone, Wolhyang seemed more reliable than usual, and I couldn’t help but be influenced by her words, nodding vigorously.
“Yes!”
Wolhyang smiled brightly and said,
“Good! That’s the spirit! Let’s go again!”
“Yes! Master!”
And so, our sparring continued until I was worn out and collapsed.