This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 535

It seems like the years of knowing each other have built up to this moment.

There were quite a few times I trained together with those two.

At least, we trained enough that it would be impossible to count on my fingers, but still… this was the first time I got to watch them train up close like this.

Maybe that’s why it felt so fascinating, and couldn’t be shaken off in my mind.

After all, Dogun, who was helping Yoonseo train, looked entirely different from when he was assisting us with our training.

When he was helping us, he seemed more of a supportive presence, but now, he appeared incredibly proactive and leading.

It felt as if he were fully immersed in the training himself.

I had heard that they trained together since childhood; could that be influencing him?

As I continued to observe Dogun’s somewhat unfamiliar demeanor, their conversation about training kept going.

“Do you remember slushies? The ones you loved so much when you were young?”

“Am I an idiot? How could I forget that?”

“Right… You did drink so many that you ended up with a stomachache, so I guess it makes sense you might not remember it.”

“When did I ever do that?”

“Remember when I visited you in the hospital, and you held onto my sleeve saying, ‘Dogun, my stomach hurts so much… Am I going to die…?'”

“I-I never said that!”

“Sure you didn’t… We nearly died holding back our laughter with your dad, you know?”

“I swear, it didn’t happen.”

“Of course, it didn’t. Right.”

Well, looking at it, their conversation seemed less focused on training and more like reminiscing about old times.

So why exactly did they bring up slushies?

As I pondered, Dogun seemed to read my thoughts and continued speaking.

“Anyway, you can think of slushies as a state somewhere between solid and liquid, right?”

“Is that so…?”

“Well, it’s not completely frozen, but it’s not entirely liquid either. So let’s consider that.”

“And?”

“Let’s try to recreate that slushy-like texture.”

“Hmm…”

“What, think it’s going to be hard?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve frozen it entirely before, but never halfway like that…”

“Then let’s at least give it a shot. If it doesn’t work, we can rethink it.”

Watching Dogun take a more active role, voicing his opinions and making decisions, looked cooler than ever. Was I just blinded by admiration?

If only he could show such enthusiasm when training with me…

But him being content with just helping out reflects the difference in our years of friendship.

Now I could say I knew him well enough to have reached a decent stage, but compared to Yoonseo over there, I was still as pitiful as a drop in the ocean.

‘This is why…’

I actually didn’t want the two to reconcile.

Having witnessed how much Dogun cared about the distance growing between him and Yoonseo, saying this makes me feel like a jealous villain, even though there was a time when I truly felt that way.

Seeing their relationship return to how it was shows that time truly is unbeatable.

While lost in thought, their training continued.

Despite Dogun saying it seemed hard, Yoonseo initially struggled but quickly started executing his directions well.

“Is this right?”

“Hmm…”

Unlike my thoughts, the one who issued the orders didn’t seem too pleased with the result.

“I’d prefer it to be a bit thinner.”

“A bit more?”

“Yeah, when slushies melt, they have that feel of liquid with bits of ice mixed in. You get what I mean?”

“I think I do…”

“Alright, then give it a try.”

Adjusting the liquid’s consistency and lowering the amount of ice-like bits, it seemed successful.

The last time we tested the force, it was too thick for training, but the new projectile they made definitely wobbled better than before.

Still, the furrow in Dogun’s brow suggested he wasn’t satisfied yet.

“While the power has definitely increased, can’t we make it faster and more powerful?”

“Even more than this?”

“Yeah, you know, that feeling of shooting with compression…”

Maybe it was because of the years we spent training together.

It felt like we understood each other perfectly.

And I felt a twinge of jealousy.

If I had known it would be like this, I would have asked Dogun if I could help him train…

Thinking about his situation, I figured the Association would never approve of it since they were paranoid about safety. I had made a miscalculation by giving up.

‘Speaking of which…’

Is that really possible?

Remember what Dogun said earlier?

That you can cut diamonds with water.

Normally, he’s not one to spout nonsense, but honestly, it was hard to picture.

After all, it’s diamond we’re talking about!

The idea of that being penetrated by water felt highly unlikely.

Because of that, doubt flooded my mind, but if, by some chance, it were true? Even if Yoonseo could replicate even half that power?

In this competition, the lead would definitely be on their side, unlike before.

Suddenly, that thought took over my mind.

My hands began to itch.

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Training with Dogun’s help felt nostalgic, almost as if I had been transported back in time.

Back to the days when neither Bora, Baeksulhwa, nor Chae-rim’s Sister were by Dogun’s side.

Perhaps it was because of this feeling that training, which had once felt dull and arduous alone, was now surprisingly enjoyable.

Well, regardless of the fun factor, I still had doubts whether Dogun’s suggestion was truly feasible.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him.

I knew him to be someone who never spouted nonsense during training, unlike other times.

Despite being aware of that, it felt impossible to be sure because the expectations were so high.

As Dogun said, if we could really cut through diamonds, then those Another Ones’ exoskeletons would be a piece of cake.

But generating such power isn’t something you achieve easily.

It would take grueling training sessions until you’re left in tears to even come close to replicating it.

‘Still…’

One undeniable fact was that each time Dogun proposed a method, I was making small progress.

Honestly, at the beginning of training, I thought ice would have better firepower than water…

Yet every time I shot out highly compressed water, when it would pierce the training dummies effortlessly, I naturally realized.

My ability was to control liquid, not to create ice.

In hindsight, this was an incredibly obvious realization, but discovering it now felt as refreshing as if I had taken off fogged-up glasses.

As my vision cleared, a surge of what could only be called confidence began bubbling up from within me.

The moment I channeled that into my attack, the sight that ensued was—

“…Whoa.”

Truly destructive.