Chapter 27

Chapter 27. The First Hero (21)

At Na-ye's sudden shout, Park Seokdu narrowed his eyes.

She should be lowering her gaze. Doesn't she know everyone is watching?

As if refusing to lose to Na-ye's voice, Park Seokdu shouted back.

"How am I supposed to calm down?! He just called me a beginner in front of every guild member here! And you expect me to endure that? Me? The Guild Master of the Rice Ball Guild?!"

Seeing Park Seokdu's flushed face and furious eyes, Na-ye's wavering gaze steadied.

Mental Barrier is helping me. Even with Seokdu glaring at me, I don't immediately look away anymore.

Na-ye found it strange.

Whenever Park Seokdu became angry in the past, she had always avoided his eyes.

But now, she simply let his glare slide past her.

Why isn't she looking away? If she just looks away, this ends!

Park Seokdu frowned inwardly and closed the distance between them.

Even as he approached, he was nervous.

If she raises her shield, it'll be dangerous.

Park Seokdu knew exactly how strong Na-ye became when she held a shield.

That was why he intended to scare her into retreating instead.

He couldn't allow the guild members to see the Guild Master's authority collapse.

Park Seokdu hardened his gaze.

Then he noticed Na-ye's eyes tremble slightly.

Seokdu is still the Guild Master of the Rice Ball Guild. Maybe I should stop here. If his authority collapses in front of everyone...

The broad tolerance of a shield hero!

And there was one being who could no longer endure that tolerance.

Whoooosh!

BOOM!

Wind surged through the training ground.

Park Seokdu, who had been wearing the fiercest expression he could manage, was suddenly blown far away.

"Kyahoooong!"

Silnyang had felt Na-ye's suffocating frustration all the way from the Spirit Realm.

Unable to endure it anymore, the spirit crossed into this world.

And Silnyang wasn't satisfied with merely blowing Park Seokdu away.

It raised a front paw.

A blade of wind began forming.

"Silnyang! You can't do that!"

Na-ye's voice carried powerful determination.

Silnyang changed the direction of the wind blade and fired it high into the sky.

Then it glared at Na-ye.

"Kyaooo..."

The emotion coming from Silnyang was frustration.

Seokdu is the Guild Master. If I want the guild members to remain united, I need to know when to back down too.

Na-ye had spent an entire day thinking about how to change.

But changing completely in one day was too much for her.

She was still thinking about the gazes of everyone around her.

She also believed Park Seokdu couldn't be allowed to lose all authority as the Rice Ball Guild's Guild Master.

If the guild members became anxious, they wouldn't be able to display their full strength in dangerous moments against monsters or demons.

Order existed so people could prepare for crisis.

Na-ye tried to send those thoughts to Silnyang.

The spirit responded immediately.

Whoosh!

Silnyang turned its head away.

Its glaring eyes were full of anger.

It lifted one front paw and struck its own chest.

"Kyao!"

A wave of frustration surged into Na-ye through their emotional connection.

For a moment, she couldn't breathe.

Whoooosh...

With the wind, Silnyang disappeared back into the Spirit Realm.

Na-ye focused on her breathing.

Once she calmed down, sounds around her gradually returned.

"That was Silnyang."

"Wasn't she unable to control it?"

Everyone was talking about Silnyang.

Their voices were quiet, probably because they were conscious of Park Seokdu.

Silnyang was almost the symbol of the Rice Ball Guild.

It had been the spirit of Cha Hyeonwoo, the first Guild Master who founded the Rice Ball Guild.

And the person who inherited Silnyang wasn't Park Seokdu.

It was Lee Na-ye.

"That's enough sword training for today! Grab your practice swords and come out!"

Park Seokdu quickly left.

The guild members who followed him left as well.

"Vice Guild Master, can you control Silnyang now?!"

"They won't be able to ignore you anymore!"

"You can use a sword again too, right?!"

Kang Tae-sik and the guild members who had continued believing in Na-ye spoke excitedly, full of hope.

Na-ye hesitated over what to say.

I can't say it suddenly came out on its own.

And I can't tell them I still can't control it.

The guild members now believed she could control Silnyang.

If she could control Silnyang again, that also meant she might be able to use a sword again.

Na-ye was the best swordswoman in the Rice Ball Guild.

However, because she still couldn't truly control Silnyang, she couldn't honestly confirm their expectations.

She pushed down the bitterness in her heart and spoke.

"Silnyang and I are still getting closer."

Seongchan watched Na-ye hide her bitterness behind a faint smile while the guild members surrounded her.

Silnyang came out because its master was suffering.

Silnyang had been so frustrated with Na-ye that it refused to come out normally.

Yet the moment she truly needed help, it appeared immediately.

Then it returned to the Spirit Realm.

Still, the fact that Silnyang had openly sulked before leaving meant its heart had softened compared to before.

"Seongchan, we've received a lot of help from you yesterday and today."

"Yes. Do you need something from me?"

Kang Tae-sik cautiously approached.

Several guild members were with him.

They were all people who knew Na-ye well.

"You divided us into beginner and intermediate groups. I wanted to ask why."

"You'll understand once you feel it physically. But I heard from Na-ye that you all warm up first?"

"That's right. Don't you think warming up is necessary too? You can injure your muscles if you don't. But Park Seokdu doesn't warm up at all. He immediately starts running or makes people practice vertical cuts."

Kang Tae-sik's voice became slightly agitated.

Apparently he had been holding those complaints inside for a long time.

It was easy to see just how much importance he placed on warming up.

"And?"

Kang Tae-sik's eyes wavered.

That clearly wasn't the reaction he'd expected.

"Warming up is important. Shouldn't you warm up before practicing vertical cuts?"

"For ordinary people, yes. But heroes are different."

"No! Even if it's you saying that, Seongchan, I can't agree!"

Kang Tae-sik openly resisted.

His tone clearly showed that he had no intention of backing down.

"Heroes have a different physical structure from the people of this world."

"I know that. But warming up is still necessary."

"All right. Tell me why you're insisting on it so strongly."

Seongchan had come to the training ground excited about breakfast.

Instead, he had somehow ended up debating warm-ups.

Since Kang Tae-sik was clearly determined to persuade him, Seongchan decided to listen.

"The Rice Ball Guild has always warmed up since the day it was founded."

"So you're doing it simply because you've always done it?"

"A hero's body still needs warming up. There's a huge difference between warming up and not warming up. Even heroes can get hurt if they don't warm up. And during the time it takes to recover, who knows what might happen?"

Kang Tae-sik repeatedly emphasized the importance of warming up.

Seongchan looked around.

Very few guild members seemed focused on Kang Tae-sik's explanation.

Most of them looked dissatisfied.

This kind of explanation won't convince them.

Kang Tae-sik was only repeating the same thing.

Warm-ups were important.

If you didn't warm up, you could get injured.

But very few of these guild members had ever personally felt that difference.

It was difficult for them to relate to what he was saying.

"Do you all really think so?"

This time, Seongchan didn't ask Kang Tae-sik.

He asked the guild members around him.

An uncomfortable silence answered him instead.

Their expressions seemed to say, Do we really have to say it out loud?

Seongchan spoke again.

"Did the previous Guild Master tell you to do it?"

"How did you know? That's right. Guild Master Cha Hyeonwoo said warming up was important. He said that no matter how strong a hero's body is, you can't properly control it unless you warm up first. He told us warming up was essential."

"So that's why you believe warming up is necessary?"

"Exactly!"

Kang Tae-sik's serious expression finally relaxed.

He seemed satisfied.

Seongchan wasn't.

That's simple.

He understood what Kang Tae-sik meant.

Understanding it and accepting it were different things.

Seongchan couldn't accept Kang Tae-sik's reasoning because it was too simple.

Cha Hyeonwoo had experienced better results after warming up, so Kang Tae-sik had simply copied him.

"Cha Hyeonwoo was the strongest, right?"

"Yes. Even if all of us fought him together, we'd lose."

"Even if Na-ye joined?"

Kang Tae-sik had answered immediately at first.

At Seongchan's question, he thought for a moment and corrected himself.

"If Vice Guild Master Na-ye joined with her shield, perhaps it would be a draw."

"No."

Na-ye immediately denied it.

Seongchan also didn't think it would be a draw.

"You're both wrong. Na-ye would endure until she won."

"Seongchan! No, that's ridiculous. How could I beat him? Even a draw makes no sense. I would've gotten exhausted and collapsed first."

Na-ye frantically waved her hands.

In reality, she had never directly blocked Cha Hyeonwoo's sword.

If she fought Cha Hyeonwoo one-on-one without him using Silnyang, Na-ye would win.

Na-ye lacked confidence.

Because of that, she couldn't accurately judge how strong she really was.

She believed she would tire after blocking Cha Hyeonwoo's sword a few times.

As if she'd actually get tired.

The guild members who knew how strong Na-ye's shield was didn't look like they agreed with her.

They simply stayed silent.

"Well, if Na-ye says so, let's leave it there. Anyway, that incredible Guild Master said warming up was important."

"Exactly. And without understanding that, the current Guild Master said warming up was unnecessary."

"Does it actually have an effect?"

"Warming up is important."

Kang Tae-sik repeated the same statement again.

Na-ye had now agreed that Cha Hyeonwoo was overwhelmingly strong.

And the thing that powerful Cha Hyeonwoo had emphasized most was warming up.

Seongchan simply never saw Guild Master Cha Hyeonwoo.

Kang Tae-sik remembered Cha Hyeonwoo fighting the Demon King's Army.

Cha Hyeonwoo's overwhelming strength as he cut down several demons at once had remained deep in Kang Tae-sik's heart.

That was why Kang Tae-sik believed he had to follow the warm-up routine Cha Hyeonwoo considered so important.

He wanted to catch up to Cha Hyeonwoo's sword.

He looked at Seongchan, thinking the man simply couldn't understand that feeling.

He doesn't even know why Cha Hyeonwoo did it, yet he's still trying to follow him.

Kang Tae-sik didn't truly understand the effect.

Even though he couldn't feel it in his own body, he continued making the guild members warm up simply because Cha Hyeonwoo had said it was good.

Cha Hyeonwoo probably honestly described what he personally felt.

Just because Kang Tae-sik didn't understand the effect didn't mean Cha Hyeonwoo had lied.

Cha Hyeonwoo had genuinely felt the difference.

"You said you wanted to know why I divided the groups into beginner and intermediate levels, right?"

"Yes. Guild Master Park Seokdu said Cha Hyeonwoo's method was inefficient and changed it."

Park Seokdu must really have gotten on Kang Tae-sik's nerves.

Every time he spoke, Park Seokdu somehow entered the conversation.

And so did Cha Hyeonwoo.

"Give me a practice sword. Kang Tae-sik, take one too."

"Seongchan, you know how to use a sword?"

"I'm a cook."

"Right..."

"Are you sure about this?"

Seongchan accepted a practice sword.

Kang Tae-sik picked one up as well.

His face showed the same doubt as Na-ye's.

"You wanted to know, right? Let's practice vertical cuts."

"Understood. I'll go slowly."

"Do whatever you want."

Seongchan gripped the practice sword with both hands.

Kang Tae-sik took the same stance.

But he didn't move.

He's giving me the first attack.

Seongchan had no reason to refuse.

He stepped toward Kang Tae-sik and performed a vertical cut.

Whoosh!

There was nothing obviously wrong with Seongchan's movement.

It wasn't fast.

It wasn't slow.

It moved at a speed Kang Tae-sik could easily follow with his eyes.

There was only one difference.

I'll show him how a vertical cut is actually done.

Creaaak. Crackle.

Painful sounds came from Seongchan's body.

He was paying attention to every individual muscle fiber.

Seongchan was completely serious about that one vertical cut.

He's only doing a vertical cut. Why is his body making sounds like that?

The sounds coming from Seongchan's body confused Kang Tae-sik.

He had no idea what Seongchan was trying to show him.