163 – Nymphs’ Training Method #4
“Seo Ye-rim, haven’t you gotten prettier lately?”
“Did you change your makeup? Did you switch your makeup steps?”
“They say that the nymphs wash with blessed ditch water every day…”
“They say love makes you even prettier. Is there a real dating rumor?”
Seo Ye-rim scoffed at the article written about her.
The statement that she had gotten prettier lately was incorrect.
“I was beautiful from the start. I haven’t changed even a bit!”
Seo Ye-rim was filled with pride about herself.
Appearance, reputation, wealth, skill, background—she had no shortcomings in any of these aspects.
That was Seo Ye-rim, and such a remarkable person was naturally forgiven and accepted in this world.
She was indeed an S-rank.
“What are you grinning about? It’s annoying!”
Cha Yura, who had just dealt with the T-321 together with Seo Ye-rim, frowned.
Cha Yura still thought of Seo Ye-rim as her rival and held a competitive spirit. In fact, many people tried to create a competitive scenario between the two for various content.
Of course, Seo Ye-rim did not consider Cha Yura her rival.
If Seo Ye-rim had a rival, it would be someone like Yu Ara from the B-rank days.
’No, she can’t even be called my rival anymore.’
Seo Ye-rim quickly changed her thoughts and gazed into her handheld mirror.
Her makeup was perfect.
There was dust and soot on her clothes, but it made her appear even more radiant.
“Then let’s head outside the rift.”
Seo Ye-rim and Cha Yura exited after just finishing off the “T-321.”
A multitude of journalists and officials had gathered to congratulate them on suppressing the rift, and Seo Ye-rim showcased her recently practiced “Drug Smile” to those people.
“Hot─☆”
Click-click-!
Bang bang-!
Camera shutters and flashes erupted intensely from all directions.
“Take a picture! Take a picture!”
“It’s definitely front-page news!”
Even Mr. Journalist, who had spent 20 years capturing the faces of various women, thought Seo Ye-rim’s smile looked like twinkling starlight.
“It’s a perfect smile!”
For a while, her face would be prominently featured on the covers of fashion magazines and various photo books.
Of course, Cha Yura, watching this scene, frowned.
All camera angles seemed to focus solely on Seo Ye-rim instead of her.
Swoosh-.
Cha Yura climbed onto a specially prepared box.
She enjoyed looking down at people from atop such boxes.
“S-rank ranked Cha Yura has climbed onto the box!”
“Take a picture!”
“For some reason, I want to pet her so much!”
People inexplicably liked to photograph Cha Yura standing on the box.
‘How about that!’
Noticing that the camera shutters had finally turned somewhat in her direction, Cha Yura looked at Seo Ye-rim with a gleam of self-satisfaction.
Seo Ye-rim, however, was leaving as if uninterested.
Seo Ye-rim’s heart was filled with a certainty.
‘“Drug Smile.” It’s not perfect, but I’ve mastered it to some extent. This reaction is proof. I’ve taken a step closer to Core Prime.’
A lion, king of beasts since birth, wouldn’t need training.
For a lion to train would be cowardly behavior.
What if such a lion did train?
People would call that training lion Seo Ye-rim.
Right now, Seo Ye-rim was a training lion.
‘Now then, shall I see how far my training has come?’
Immediately, Seo Ye-rim got in a car and headed toward the well house.
After meeting Haildo, she unleashed her “Drug Smile.”
“Hot─☆”
“…What, what is it? What is it…!?”
However, the reaction was rather subtle.
Haildo seemed flustered and bewildered.
“…Did I eat something wrong? Why are you suddenly smiling? Is there something on my face?”
“……”
It was different from the reaction she had hoped for.
Seo Ye-rim’s expression scrunched up in disappointment.
The days spent in meditation and training, coupled with being pummeled daily by Illinois with “Drug Fist,” now seemed foolish.
Swoosh-.
Seo Ye-rim raised her hand and pinched Haildo’s side.
“Ow!”
Oi-noi was visibly impressed by the sight.
“Ah! That is the ‘Core Technique, Side Pinch’…! I have never seen a Core execute the ‘Side Pinch’ so perfectly like that…! This is high-level Core skill…!”
# # #
Seo Ye-rim suddenly pinched my side.
Suddenly laughing, then frowning, then pinching my side—it was hard to tell which way to dance to this rhythm of emotions.
But that was how Seo Ye-rim was.
Her emotional swings were so vast that it made those around her feel cautious.
“You’ve been working too hard lately, haven’t you?”
I said, rubbing my side while looking at Seo Ye-rim.
I had heard she was clearing two T-rank dungeons a day recently.
No matter how powerful an S-ranker she was, wouldn’t her schedule be quite taxing?
“Seo Ye-rim, it’s good to work hard, but make sure to take some breaks.”
If she worked too hard, it would affect her sanity.
There were even papers stating that the more exposed people were to the rift’s power, the more extreme their personalities could become.
Looking at the eccentricities of S-rankers exposed to the rift’s powers, it seemed like something to take seriously.
“What, are you worried about my health right now?”
Seo Ye-rim opened her narrow eyes and looked at me.
I nodded.
“Of course. You’re an important person.”
“Important….”
Seo Ye-rim calmed down as if she had regained her senses.
An S-ranker, of which there were only two in Korea.
Could there be anyone more important than that?
“If you want to rest, feel free to come over to our place. There are plenty of adorable animals.”
Is there anything that can restore one’s energy and provide relaxation more than spending time with cute animals? Seo Ye-rim grabbed the Iningyi she was holding and stretched it back and forth.
━Iningyi!
Seemingly pleased by the soft and cool sensation, Seo Ye-rim started pulling Iningyi here and there before finally letting out a scoff and offering it to Oi-noi.
“The flame doesn’t know how to rest. It just goes out. By the way, you might even go to Greece, right? Take Illinois with you. I’m sure Illinois would want to go to Greece too.”
With that, Seo Ye-rim turned on her heel.
I see.
She came to tell me to take Illinois along to Greece.
“What were you doing all this time? Laying down cushions under the tree?”
Seo Ye-rim seemed curious about the cushions laid under the golden apple tree. Oi-noi raised his hand excitedly to respond.
“The owner of the house was in meditation training…! They say that meditation is crucial to reach the ‘Hero’s Path’…!”
“I don’t know what the ‘Hero’s Path’ is, but it’s true that meditation is important. The time difference in meditation can distinguish A-rank from S-rank.”
Really?
I found it slightly surprising to hear Seo Ye-rim, someone I thought would have nothing to do with meditation, talk about it.
“But the owner of the house is apparently clumsy at meditating…!”
I felt a bit embarrassed at Oi-noi’s comments.
It felt as if I were recalling the time my mom exclaimed to the aunts, “Our Idlo is smart, but he doesn’t put in enough effort—” while I stood beside her.
Wouldn’t Seo Ye-rim laugh at me saying, “You can’t even meditate while dreaming of being an S-ranker?”
However, Seo Ye-rim turned back to me with a rather serious expression.
“Haildo, you are a bit lacking in substance.”
“What? You say I’m lacking in substance?”
It was the first time I was hearing such a thing.
Wouldn’t I be considered somewhat solid in that regard?
But Seo Ye-rim didn’t explain this and simply stated what she wanted to say.
“When it’s hard to empty your mind, try focusing on just one thing instead of emptying everything. When the mind is focused, nothing is impossible.”
Focus on one thing-.
Wasn’t this something I vaguely rambled about to Seo Ye-rim before?
Hearing it come back to me as advice from her felt like one of those strange, unpredictable turns of fate.
“Well then, I’m off. Make sure to take Illinois with you when you go to Greece.”
Swoosh-.
Seo Ye-rim’s electric vehicle made a soft sound as it exited Primal Village.
She simply said what she wanted and disappeared without any changes.
“Meditation.”
I resumed my meditation under the apple tree, interrupted by Seo Ye-rim.
But emptying my mind proved to be a challenging task, with a million distracting thoughts rushing in.
It meant my meditation was completely failing.
Then suddenly, I recalled the tip Seo Ye-rim had given me.
“To focus on one thing?”
Focus.
Focusing on one thing-.
What should I focus on?
I rummaged through my thoughts, bringing back the earlier incident.
What was it exactly?
That “Hot─☆” sparkling smile just earlier?
It was the first time I had seen Seo Ye-rim smile so brightly, and it was almost unsettling.
At the moment, I had felt flustered, but now, recalling it made it persist in my mind.
It commandeered my brain like an annoying hook song that got stuck during exam periods.
What was it!
“I can feel the energy of meditation…! The owner of the house is clearly focused on one thing…!”
Focusing on one thing.
That day, I had a small realization about how to concentrate my magic operations on one singular aspect.
“So that’s why she said I was lacking in substance.”
Ever since my awakening, I had been through enough experiences and training to compare with others.
Thus, I thought of myself as a person with a firm base.
However, even I had rapidly leveled up from C-rank to A-rank, which meant I probably hadn’t had enough time to accumulate experience regarding “magic operation.”
I had surpassed what would have taken others three to five years in just a few months.
Therefore, it was natural that I lacked the substance I should have gained while reaching from C-rank to A-rank, and it seemed that Seo Ye-rim had accurately pinpointed that shortcoming of mine.
“This concentration of magical energy could be applied to my ‘Hyper Evolution,’ right?”
At this moment, I might be able to hyper-evolve Ahn Ahn.
Filled with anticipation, I projected my magic towards the Ahn Ahn I held in my hand.
━Zzzzi…!
Wuuuuuuun-.
Ahn Ahn’s body began to glow.
This was the light of evolution, and I was deeply moved!
