161 – Training Methods of the Nymphs #2
“Seo Ye-rim.”
Seo Ye-rim often searched her name online during her free time.
Countless articles would flood in, and it was part of her daily routine to click on them and check the comments.
“S Ranker Seo Ye-rim in a love affair…? A strange schedule hints at romantic developments…!”
“From sold-out girl to sold-out woman—”
Today’s article was buzzing about Seo Ye-rim’s love life.
Whenever Seo Ye-rim appeared on variety shows, there had been tactics to boost viewership by linking her with male celebrities she interacted with, something that had been happening for a long time.
Curious about what nonsense they might have written today, Seo Ye-rim moved her hand to touch her phone screen.
She was the type of person who would peek out the window if she heard someone talking about her outside.
This was true for Seo Ye-rim, an S Ranker and a member of the global Megacorp.
“According to insiders, it is rumored that Ms. Seo Ye-rim has committed to a long-term relationship with Awakened Individual H…”
However, this article was quite sharp.
Photos of her arriving at the Chinese airport with Haildo, and images from their encounter at a well, had been cleverly mosaicked and published in the article.
“Wasn’t this kind of article supposed to be deleted at the corporate level?”
The rumors about Seo Ye-rim’s romance must be being censored and manipulated by Telos Corporation.
After all, it was normal for Telos to uphold such rights, considering the enormous advertising fees they deposited annually to the newspapers that published these articles.
So far, Seo Ye-rim and Haildo’s relationship had not garnered much public attention, so it was puzzling why this information had leaked.
“Doggy: Is Telos Princess getting married now?”
“Please subscribe to Honey Ant Tube: It’s rare to see an article without any negative comments, look at that, haha.”
“Cute Cat: Telos’s legal team must be scary, haha.”
The article was devoid of negative comments or criticism.
This was because the fear of the Telos legal team had spread widely.
In reality, the Telos legal team was actively suing those spreading false information or making malicious comments about Seo Ye-rim.
In this context, today was the day to contact the malicious user “Potion Mania,” who had been leaving a flurry of negativity about Seo Ye-rim online.
Her secretary, Ahn Young-eun, approached Seo Ye-rim, who was sitting on the couch.
“Ye-rim, I’ve brought Potion Mania.”
“Really?”
“Core Ye-rim is being urged to cancel the lawsuit against that Illinois…! This is a nymph-hating situation…! That Illinois will call a lawyer if needed…!”
The identity of “Potion Mania,” who had been leaving hateful comments about Seo Ye-rim in various online articles, was none other than Illinois!
Seo Ye-rim frowned and pinched Illinois’s cheek.
“Core technique, pinching nymph cheeks…!”
“Hyiek…!”
Tears welled up in Illinois’s eyes.
She flailed her arms and shouted in resistance.
“This Core technique needs to stop…! Core techniques are elegant and show beauty…! It’s not a movement abusing nymphs…!”
With that, Seo Ye-rim released Illinois’s cheek.
Finally, Illinois, with tears in her eyes, was busy looking in the mirror, asking, “Has my cheek not stretched…? Hasn’t my cheek turned into sticky rice cake and is still an Illinois…?”
Of course, Illinois’s cheek had not stretched.
“Hey! Why did you leave negative comments?!”
Seo Ye-rim asked Illinois.
Then Illinois smirked slyly.
“Did you know poison and medicine are a hair’s breadth apart…? Sometimes illness can be the medicine…! It’s a strategy to become a forsaken heroine that stimulates the protective instincts of men…!”
“What does that even mean?”
Illinois always babbled incomprehensible things.
Seo Ye-rim crossed her arms as if challenging her to explain more. Illinois, as if waiting for this moment, began to explain why she left negative comments about Seo Ye-rim.
“What’s important for women is the gap…! If men see the weak side of a confident woman, their hearts will vibrate! Thus, Core Ye-rim needs to become the forsaken heroine…!”
Seo Ye-rim roughly understood what Illinois was getting at.
But she wondered if it was really necessary to go that far.
“Do I really need to? I’m pretty! My family is great, and I have good abilities. I’m already perfect. Asking me to act like a forsaken heroine? That feels unfair, doesn’t it?”
If one were to choose the number one bride candidate in Korea, it would undoubtedly be Seo Ye-rim.
She was displeased at the notion that she needed to be more active in this scenario.
Her lofty pride wouldn’t allow such an idea, but Illinois made a frown and shook her fist as if throwing a tantrum.
“Don’t say the turtle is sleeping while the rabbit takes a nap in the race! Right now, nymphs are passing down Core techniques to other women!”
Nymphs loved living alongside pretty princesses.
It was a great joy and pride for them to become protectors, friends, or teachers, helping those princesses grow into admirable women and marry princes and heroes.
Winning in the romance department for their core was the greatest source of pride for the nymphs.
“If we keep this up, we might get overtaken by the turtles who are running hard… But I still think it’s too early, so I’m telling Core Ye-rim about the advanced Core’s finishing techniques…!”
Seo Ye-rim didn’t like the implication that other women were competing in the same arena as her.
She believed her stage was different from theirs.
However, there was something intriguing in Illinois’s story.
“Advanced Core? What does that mean? What comes after Core?”
“Usually, girls become Lesser cores from the preliminaries! After that, through training and adornment, they become cores and eventually reach the Prime Core, which is the typical route!”
Core Prime.
It was said to be the realm of outstanding princesses, cores like the ancient beauties “Psyche” or “Helene,” who could sway the world with their beauty.
It could be said that they reached the legendary beauty that captivated all men, shaking the fates of many.
“Those Illinoises pass down the Core techniques from the nymphs…! The ‘Drug Smile’ will be taught to you…! However, it will be a stronger, better, faster, and tougher training than before…!”
“Are you going to make me meditate again?”
“It’s not a strange meditation!”
While Seo Ye-rim and Illinois were bickering, Seo Ye-rim’s secretary and long-time friend, Ahn Young-eun, wore a subtle expression as she watched the scene.
She still wasn’t accustomed to the concepts of nymphs and cores.
“But after meeting Illinois, Ye-rim’s mana control has improved considerably, and her evaluation as an S Ranker is rising smoothly. There’s more potential for her to grow.”
Ding dong.
At that moment, a message arrived on Ahn Young-eun’s phone.
Her eyes widened as she checked the content.
“Ye-rim, Haildo is looking for flights to Greece?”
# # #
“This Inoi is already itching at the thought of heading to the land of heroes, princesses, gods, and nymphs…! It feels as if spiders are clinging to my back…!”
━Hioooong…!
While Inoi was trying to shake Bang Bang off from his back, I was pondering while checking for flights to Greece.
Lately, I had wondered if I was traveling abroad too frequently. Also, I hadn’t confirmed my trip to Greece yet.
But Inoi seemed genuinely excited thinking about going to Greece, a place once called the land of nymphs.
He was packing his bag with tracksuits and candy wrappers, full of thoughts of embarking on a long journey.
“The homeland of the nymphs, huh…”
I recalled Inoi, who longed for his homeland.
Of course, even if one offered to let him return to his hometown now, he would refuse, shouting, “This Inoi does not wish to be released back to nature…!”
Inoi and the nymphs used to hit their director of the release management team who often tried to send them back to nature.
Nonetheless, it was, honestly speaking, a good opportunity to head to the land of nymphs. I might be able to uncover more of their secrets.
“During the assessment of Tang So-hae from China…? Doesn’t it say here that she is collabing with Telos Corporation to rise as a strong nation in the 5th industry?”
By chance, I turned my gaze to find an article with a pretty familiar name.
It spoke of Honey Ant So-hae rapidly raising her skills and receiving S rank assessment recently.
“She might have gained some sort of enlightenment through training with the ‘Tang Clan Secret Techniques’?”
“I can’t just sit idly by. I can’t be complacent just because I’ve become A rank.”
Not long ago, during the battle with Ma Wang-jun, I was deeply shocked to see Cha Yura freeze an entire island.
It was the first time witnessing the full power of S rank’s firepower.
The frozen “Paradise Island” had become a winter island as if an ice age had arrived.
Being an S rank is akin to experiencing a natural disaster.
Reaching from A rank to S rank might be a longer journey than climbing up from F rank to A rank.
“There are more Awakened being stuck as A rank for longer than one might think.”
I remembered seeing an internet post stating that A rank individuals were twisted in their mindset, isolating and scrutinizing one another because they felt the gap with S rank too painfully.
At that time, I thought, “If I could just become an A rank, I would have no complaints. How entitled that sounds.”
Now that I’m targeting S rank, I can somewhat empathize with that feeling.
The wall.
No, the gap between A rank and S rank felt like a cliff from a steep mountain.
Seo Ye-rim, Cha Yura, Tsukki, Xiao Xiao, Cash, and others were truly remarkable people.
But—.
There was a man in Greece who defeated the greatest among S ranks, Achilles?
An unpublicized S rank?
Just meeting him might grant me some ‘enlightenment.’
Sometimes, just watching a ranker’s match can provide more information than playing a hundred games.
It was then that Inoi finished packing.
“I think it’s about time for the owner of the house to climb onto the ‘Hero’s Path’…! The man named Achilles might have self-taught through the ‘Hero’s Path’…!”
