Chapter 95, Omen
By the time twenty hours had passed since Gallery Master shut himself away to train, a new post appeared.
[Martial arts might actually be the best]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
[Martial arts are the best.]
It was probably the shortest and simplest post Gallery Master had ever written.
But the weight contained within those few words was heavier than anything else.
The martial artists who mainly used martial arts raised their cups and drank to the post, while the mages burned with determination, declaring that they too would create magic that could be used without mana.
And then there were the minority Gallery users who belonged to neither the side that had already achieved victory nor the side still trying to seize it.
└What about us?
└If martial arts and magic use techniques that consume their respective energies as resources, then we basically just pick up the resource itself and swing it around....
└So in other words, impossible?
└Uh....
└Should we just pray?
└Please let Gallery Master awaken divine power....
└Prayer prayer.
One group consisted of angels, demigods, and gods who used divine power.
└Honestly, if we're talking pure potential, aren't techniques the highest ceiling?
└For real. Martial arts and magic are split into different genres, right? Our techniques cover all those genres, so aren't techniques the best?
└The potential itself is definitely high.
└But actually bringing out all of that potential is impossible....
└Doesn't it take a talented martial artist or mage around ten thousand years to reach the Life-and-Death Realm or Archmage?
└Doesn't it take a talented cultivator around ten million years to reach True Immortal?
└Yeah....
└Guess we should give up....
The other group consisted of cultivators from xianxia worlds who practiced techniques.
Amid the heated atmosphere, both groups quietly faded into obscurity.
Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, a full week had gone by since I first learned Heavenly-Demon-White-Horse's sword art.
During that time, everyone spent their days in their own way.
Eriel took care of organizing the spoils we had obtained, while the others devoted themselves entirely to training.
That meant it had already been a week since I last saw any of their faces.
Normally, training meant sitting with me while browsing the Gallery and accumulating knowledge about martial arts, magic, and divine arts.
This time, however, the training was slightly different.
Rather than accumulating knowledge and insight, everyone focused on completely absorbing everything they had learned so far into themselves.
Because of that, we had no reason to encounter one another.
Everything each person needed to absorb already existed within themselves.
Only after a full week of training did I finally get to see everyone again.
“Yuhyeon! I missed you!”
Hwa-ryeon ran toward me and threw herself into my arms.
She was fast enough that calling her an arrow wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
Caught off guard, I instinctively tried to dodge, but Hwa-ryeon was faster.
In the end, I could only obediently open my arms.
Hwa-ryeon hugged me tightly at close range.
The fragrance of plum blossoms wafting from her like perfume was quite strong.
She rubbed herself against me as though trying to spread the plum-blossom scent clinging to her body onto me as well.
That was stimulating too, but my attention was currently fixed elsewhere.
“...Hwa-ryeon. Did you cross the wall?”
I asked while still being fiercely hugged.
Even as I asked, I was already half certain.
After all, the speed Hwa-ryeon had just displayed was far beyond what I expected.
I knew her capabilities.
Not only hers, but the capabilities of all my companions.
I hadn't deliberately tried to memorize them.
After repeatedly crossing life-and-death situations together, I had simply learned them naturally.
And from what I knew, the speed Hwa-ryeon had just shown was beyond what she had previously been capable of.
At my words, Hwa-ryeon's lips curved upward into a smile.
That alone was enough of an answer.
“Then you've reached the Peak Realm?”
“Yeah. Hehe.”
“Reaching the Peak Realm at your age... that's impressive.”
According to what I had heard in the Gallery, even talented martial artists usually reached the Peak Realm around their late thirties.
Hwa-ryeon, on the other hand, was only in her early twenties.
That growth speed was too absurd to attribute to talent alone.
The incidents she had experienced alongside me had probably pushed her achievements forward.
Either way, it was good news.
Noticing the slightly dark circles beneath Hwa-ryeon's eyes, I stayed still and let her enjoy the hug for as long as she wanted.
“Sword Freak. Why do I have to watch you shamelessly rub yourself against Yuhyeon the moment I arrive?”
Arlin returned right then.
Rubbing the dark circles beneath her eyes, she glared at Hwa-ryeon.
