Wow, I’m exhausted.
I let out a sigh and sat in a corner of the waiting room to catch my breath.
“Thirsty for spiritual medicine…”
Imagine draining my aura just from using that one ora armor. It’s clear that without the armor, it’s far too inefficient.
It was the least assumption to use it while wearing the padded armor, or rather the gambeson.
Besides, using it bare-skinned would barely differ from the usual internal energy techniques commonly seen in martial fiction.
“…But where has Hye-ryeong gone off to?”
I expected she’d show up as soon as I arrived at the waiting room.
I sighed again and stood up. I wanted to watch the next match, but given my current state, meditation was a priority. Not only was my aura almost depleted, but I was extremely tired.
Learning is one thing, but even rest has its own rules.
I stood up and stepped out of the waiting room.
The path to the spectator’s seats was quiet. It’s probably because the matches are still ongoing.
I sighed again and walked to the spectator’s seats to look for Hye-ryeong, but she wasn’t there either. As Mok-kyeong has to participate next, it’s only natural she wouldn’t be here.
I glanced for a moment at Mok-kyeong’s retreating back as she walked to the arena and then turned around.
…Perhaps I should head back to Haenam Pavilion.
I immediately headed there.
To my relief, Hye-ryeong was at Haenam Pavilion.
“Mister?”
“Where have you been?”
“I was called by Elder for a while to have a chat… By the way, how did the match go?”
“Of course, I won.”
“Of course, Mister!”
Why are you so ecstatic? It’s awkward to look around, isn’t it?
She doesn’t even seem to be in pain despite shaking that much.
“…But weren’t you here quite early?”
“Yes.”
“Because I overused my ora… or inner energy.”
“You obviously fought hard, so that’s understandable. So, are you heading to the training room then?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and told Hye-ryeong, who was looking at me with a worried expression.
“So, I think we won’t be able to go out for dinner today.”
“That can’t be helped. Then, I’ll ask Sook-soon to pack you some food!”
“Thank you.”
There’s truly no one else like Hye-ryeong.
I smiled warmly as Hye-ryeong, who had declared that she’d prepare a separate dinner for me, met my eyes. As soon as our eyes met, Hye-ryeong smiled brilliantly and waved her arms.
Is that a person or a penguin?
I placed my hand on Hye-ryeong’s head and rumpled her hair.
“My hair is messed up!”
So soft, so soft. I took my hand off and turned around.
It’s time to enter the training room.
“Rest well!”
“See you later.”
I opened the door and grabbed the doorknob of the training room.
Then, I belatedly remembered one fact.
Wasn’t I dirty?
I’ll go clean myself first.
———————————–
Inside the training room, sitting cross-legged and closing my eyes, I began my meditation slowly. The ora flows into the mana core and diffuses throughout my body through the muscles and mana rods.
The meditation technique, adapted many times for the battlefield, has the advantage of quickly restoring ora. The battlefields are unpredictable, so quickly restoring your ora is crucial.
The downside is that it’s somewhat difficult to increase the ora capacity… but the Western meditation methods are usually inefficient, so this method was better in comparison.
The Roman gladiatorial technique combines gymnastics with meditation, and in Greece, they meditate while recalling incomprehensible formulas…
We don’t need to discuss Vesuvius. That place is a madhouse.
Even the Evil Sect members would be startled and run away if they saw them.
…Come to think of it, all three don’t seem to have a proper understanding of meditation?
Am I the one being too rigid?
Anyway, meditation feels somewhat odd, but the overall feeling is familiar.
While meditating with random thoughts crossing my mind, the match with Peng Jeoksan emerged in my mind.
I used to review my previous battles during meditation in the Western regions, so this process has become routine.
…The match with Peng Jeoksan.
Right.
Rather than the Great Dao or the Five Poison Sect’s techniques, what impressed me were his footwork skills.
The ability to move lightly despite carrying such a heavy weapon is an incredible advantage. I definitely felt through this match that Central Plains’ footwork techniques are indeed specialized for combat.
In the Western regions, while stepping is practiced, it’s somewhat ambiguous to call it footwork, and nothing like the special effects of Central Plains’ techniques. Hence, mastering a footwork like this might be quite important for me.
The problem lies in how to harmonize this with the skills I’ve already learned.
…Would it be possible with the Silent Arrow’s footwork technique?
The thief’s step and the knight’s step.
Isn’t that too extreme?
Still, I’ve managed to use their basic elements well, but when we dive deeper into footwork or lightness techniques, the story changes.
The Silent Arrow’s lightness technique is exclusively tailored for evasion and infiltration, after all. As it wasn’t primarily designed for combat, it’s somewhat intricate for me to utilize.
Even if I attempt to overhaul it, having only meager knowledge of it, I cannot realistically dismantle Central Plains’ martial skills. To achieve that, I would need to collect more lightness techniques to compare them and devise an effective method.
This means that I won’t be able to use it in this tournament.
So, until the competition ends, it’s probably best to put the lightness technique discussion on hold.
Next is… the sword technique, right?
The sword techniques I’ve seen are nothing more than what the Mamluks use, which feels paradoxically impractical but oddly effective. If you use it like that, it seems like a waste of ora, but the abundance of ora legitimizes its practicality?
Is it because of the higher techniques or the advanced martial skills that the ora consumption is incredibly high? In the Western regions, I’ve rarely seen such levels of ora usage, yet even they were capable of utilizing ora freely.
If I had practiced these techniques, I would probably struggle with even a single skirmish and might be grateful to last five minutes.
If I hadn’t been clearly one level above, it would have been a tough fight.
…I envy the idea of eating spiritual medicine like meals and freely using ora.
Carrying a bit of envy and regret, I concluded my meditation.
The mana core was nearly full as well.
“…I wonder when Hye-ryeong will come?”
My stomach feels so empty.
I opened the door and stepped out of the training room, gazing outside the window. The sky was almost void of dusk and stars were slowly appearing.
It’s about the end of evening, probably.
Shall I inspect my sword for a bit?
I sat astride my bed and began meticulously cleaning my sword. A detailed checkup was essential after such a great battle.
How long had passed while I was doing this? By the time I finished cleaning my sword, there was a knock on the door.
“Mister! It’s me!”
“Come in.”
“Hehe.”
“Looks like you’ve packed a full bundle.”
“The cook congratulated you for the hard work in the arena, so he packed a lot of easy-to-eat stuff!”
Taking the bundle from Hye-ryeong, I opened it on the table. Inside were dumplings and stir-fried vegetables. It’s a very simple and easy-to-consume package.
I picked up the chopsticks provided and took a dumpling into my mouth.
As I bit into the dumpling skin to taste its filling, the juices exploded in my mouth.
“Of course, this is the taste.”
“Hehe, isn’t it delicious?”
Hye-ryeong giggled and retrieved some wrapped chopsticks from somewhere inside her bosom.
…Why does she carry chopsticks there?
“I’ll eat with you!”
“Didn’t you eat?”
“I couldn’t wait to eat with you, so I rushed here with it packed!”
There was no need, but…
“Alright. Let’s eat together.”
We both picked up the chopsticks and started eating together.
As we ate, we talked about the matches. Then, Hye-ryeong, seemingly reminded of something, let out an exclamation and shared some important information with me.
“Mr., it seems one of the teams will advance to the semifinals by default!”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Apparently, Group 2 mutually injured each other so badly that neither can participate,” people in the cafeteria were saying.
Mutual injuries?
What kind of match has mutual injuries?
Isn’t Group 2 composed of the Taoist priest and the Shaolin monk?
They seem to be the ones least likely to have mutual injuries, and yet, both have been eliminated?
“Really?”
“Yes! I heard it clearly!”
“Hmm…got it.”
If it turns out that way, maybe I’ll have to fight one less time.
Even if I have to fight once more, it won’t be a problem.
I mentally adjusted my training schedule until the semifinals while digesting the precious information provided by Hye-ryeong.
—————————-
The day the semifinal matchups were to be drawn.
I was the last to show up in the Martial Arena.
There wasn’t really any particular reason, just that the other two had arrived before me.
I stole a glance at Mok-kyeong and Namgung Hwi, then turned my gaze to the referee. As soon as I arrived, the referee cleared his throat and announced the news.
“Since the members of Group 2 mutually injured each other, one will advance by default!”
Indeed, as Hye-ryeong said, it seems that the priest and the monk both got eliminated.
“Now, with only three participants remaining, please pick the note from the box.”
True, with only three people remaining, there’s no need for a lottery anymore. I casually picked the middle note and unfolded it.
“Advance by default.”
Should I be happy about this?
I glanced at Mok-kyeong, who was staring intently at her slip with a determined look on her face.
Namgung Hwi seemed to hand his note lazily to the referee with a look resembling boredom, showing that he probably thought it was going to be a meaningless fight.
Objectively speaking, his assumption isn’t completely baseless since Mok-kyeong is the weakest among the four semifinalists, which is a pretty reasonable judgment given her current level.
First-rate versus supreme.
Closing that gap is nearly impossible.
According to common sense, the match will be one-sided.
But…
No.
My condolences in advance.
I silently prayed for Namgung Hwi’s peaceful rebirth.
