Raising A Hero – Chapter 82

Ch 82: Something Deeper.

Before the sun even rose, Larosha woke up and sat cross-legged on her bed, lost in meditation. Meditation was the mental training that her Heavenly Demon teacher had always emphasized. Because he had urged her to do this at all costs, even if she couldn’t do other training, she meditated whenever she had time.

Certainly, it helped her mental growth a lot. Of course, it also helped a lot in improving her skills.

━ Your goal from now on is that man.

Larosha’s eyes flashed open. She thought of Hero Gang Ji-hyuk. She still didn’t know exactly what part of him the Heavenly Demon teacher had seen to say such a thing, but he definitely looked different from other people.

After her meditation, she got up from her seat and headed to the backyard of the mansion. She had received permission yesterday to use the backyard.

It was still so early in the morning that the day was still dark. But she liked the darkness of this dawn. The moment just before the light arrived.

Larosha never neglected her efforts, always likening her situation to that. Perhaps this very moment was just before her dawn. If she tried a little harder, she might see the light.

Sigh, whoosh.

Standing in the middle of the wide backyard, she took a deep breath, and then began to thrust her fists. It was like a dance. The fist technique, where offense and defense were smoothly connected, was as flexible as water, as fast as the wind, as hot as fire, and as solid as the earth.

All of that was contained in a single punch.

━ You put your whole life into this one punch. Then you can strike the sky and split the ground. If you can control your mind, that is nature, that is God.

And the Heavenly Demon threw a punch with all his might. It split the clouds and the ground.

The disciple recalled her teacher’s divine skill and threw her fist in the same way.

Hupㅡ.

The wind burst.

But it neither struck the sky nor split the ground. It just made a loud sound of wind.

━ The fist must be light and, at the same time, heavy.

But the humble disciple couldn’t even follow in her teacher’s footsteps. Still, she didn’t stop. She constantly strove. More, more, more…!

Having finished her fist technique, Larosha adjusted her posture, lightly panting. She stood upright, clasped her hands as if in prayer.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

ㅡ!

At the sound of applause, she quickly turned her head. The Hero was lightly applauding and approaching her. She quickly turned her body and bowed her head respectfully towards him.

“Sir, what brings you here at this early hour…?”

“Just, I saw it by chance while I was taking a stroll. If I disturbed you, I apologize.”

“No, sir. I just finished.”

Larosha bowed her head even deeper. Ji-hyuk grinned.

“You will become an excellent Hero. The Heavenly Demon elder will surely be proud of you later. I guarantee it.”

“I do not know how to thank you for your excessive praise.”

“Too much courtesy is sometimes uncomfortable to watch. In this case, you just say thank you, and that’s it.”

“…I understand. Thank you.”

“Yes, work hard. It looks good. The elder will be proud of you.”

The Hero lightly patted Larosha’s arm and turned around. She slowly raised her head. She could see his back getting farther and farther away.

“…Sir…!”

Larosha mustered her courage and called out to Ji-hyuk. He stopped walking and slightly turned his body to look at her.

“I have an impudent request…, may I speak to you?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I would like to receive one move, a lesson.”

It was the first time she had asked a non-guild member to spar. Strangely, she was nervous asking such a request, and her hands and feet were tingling with tension.

The Hero looked at her quietly, then turned his body completely around again. He slowly walked towards her, lightly placing his hands behind his back.

“You want to spar?”

“…I am sorry.”

“No, no. You can do that. …But, I don’t have a sword right now.”

Come to think of it, that was true. But Larosha couldn’t dare ask the Hero to bring his sword here. She realized that this request was a rash action of hers.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that. Please forget my request.”

“Then, that is… Can we do it without a sword?”

“…Yes?”

“If you’re okay with it, I’ll use my fists without a sword. …Still, I have learned something before, so it won’t be too bad.”

Larosha was slightly dumbfounded. She didn’t expect the swordsman to say he would use his fists.

Swordsmanship and fist techniques were completely different kinds of martial arts. It wasn’t just a matter of having a weapon or not; the movements, from the breathing to the movements, were completely different. Not only those two, but all martial arts were like that.

In a bad light, it was no different from ignoring fist techniques. Of course, Larosha didn’t think that far negatively. However, she wasn’t feeling so good. …To fight with something that wasn’t her main, meant that he was ignoring her.

But since the Hero offered to give her a lesson by his grace, she shouldn’t have bad thoughts. That was exactly why she was meditating. A mind as clear as waterㅡ. The Heavenly Demon teacher said that if evil entered the mind, it would also negatively affect the body.

“If that’s what you prefer, then do that.”

“Okay.”

The two of them created some distance. Larosha lightly bowed her head as if to ask for a favor and took a Cheok stance. The appearance was indeed worthy of the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.

Indeed, it’s excellent.

Ji-hyuk was genuinely impressed by this person’s genius talent. If he had the same first-time life as her, he wouldn’t even have been able to lick her toes.

However, he got several lives instead of the same talent as her. Of course, he wasn’t completely without talent either. At least when it came to distance control, he was second to none. The Heavenly Demon had also acknowledged that.

Even though he hadn’t slept a wink last night, having been exploring his teacher’s vagina, he was strangely clear-minded.

Ji-hyuk exhaled deeply through his nose and slowly took a stance. Larosha’s eyes lit up at that.

So he’d learned some fist techniques. It seemed to be true. The posture itself was different. It was clearly that of a skilled person.

Seeing that, Larosha strangely began to feel a competitive spirit burning. This was a matter that also involved the Heavenly Demon teacher’s honor.

…At least, I can’t lose disgracefully.

She ignited her momentum. Ji-hyuk smiled inwardly. He had known from a long time ago that she had a great desire for challenge. Since it was fist technique versus fist technique, perhaps she wasn’t even thinking about the Heavenly Demon’s honorㅡ. If it was her personality, she could have easily done that.

Wonderful.

Ji-hyuk also wanted to have such a wonderful disciple. Then he could suck her and love her. …Ah, of course, he didn’t mean to suck in a sexual sense.

Anyway.

The Hero soon cast off his stray thoughts. He had to focus on the fight now. Of course, even though the level difference was huge, his opponent had a depth of talent that he couldn’t predict. He didn’t know when it would suddenly flash and explode. …Still, he wouldn’t lose, but the fact that he would allow even one hit was an insult to his pride.

Soon, Larosha’s first attack came.

She quickly surged with her nimble body and threw her fist with a whoosh. The Heavenly Demon’s disciple, who was a training maniac, had excellent basic skills. Her fist was fast and precise. …But it was too honest.

Of course, it would work on her peers. No, it wouldn’t just work, it would completely destroy them. But Ji-hyuk was a being that was far beyond that peer group.

ㅡㅡ!!

The fist brushed past, barely the width of a knuckle away. But it wasn’t that he almost hit her; it was the result of his opponent’s tremendous reflexes.

Ahㅡ!

Soon, the Hero’s hand moved at tremendous speed. It struck the side of her chest with a thud. But it wasn’t a fist that struck her, but the palm of his hand.

ㅡㅡ!!

If that had been a fist, she would have already had a hole in her chest with this one blow. Of course, it wasn’t without pain. A tremendous impact that blocked her breath for a moment penetrated her torso.

Ugh…!

But she quickly swung her arm and retreated backwards. And quickly controlled her breath.

The Hero’s movements were almost perfect, with no excess. He moved as little as possible to avoid the attack, then aimed for the empty space and counterattacked.

With this one exchange, the difference in skill was already proven. But she didn’t back down. It was natural to have expected the difference in skill anyway. This sparring wasn’t about winning, but about learning.

Larosha put all her strength into it. And attacked with all her might. It was a desperate struggle. To land even one attack.

But he evaded all of them, as if he was going to be hit. The fists always brushed past dangerously. So she swung faster and stronger. But the result was the same.

She tried not to get excited. But it was impossible not to feel urgent because her attacks were brushing past so unfortunately. …It felt like she was going to get hit if she just tried a little harder, but she couldn’t get hit for some strange reason.

As Larosha continued to attack, the Hero’s palm also polished every corner of her body. …After a while, the Hero, who couldn’t bear to watch, shouted.

“Don’t get excited, focusㅡ! You have to approach it with the intention of learning, why are you swinging so wildly like thatㅡ?!”

ㅡㅡ!!

At the Hero’s shout, Larosha’s heart grew cold and she regained her sanity. …Only then did his movements begin to come into her view little by little.

Of course, it was still impossible to follow him. But it was much better than before. At least she didn’t look so disgraceful.

Should I end it soon?

It seemed like the guests had come, and he had to end this tedious sparring at this point.

Ji-hyuk exploded his speed. Larosha momentarily lost track of his movements completely.

And the fist that was flying like lightning right in front of her stopped abruptly.

Paaah, aaaahㅡㅡㅡ.

A tremendous wind hit her face. Her hair fluttered wildly. The wind that hit her face, without losing its momentum, caused a huge dust storm behind her back.

……Ah…….

It was an incredible blow that was shocking. It was impossible to believe he was a swordsman. …His fist technique, which he had supposedly learned over her shoulder, had nothing to fault, in her eyes.

━ Your goal from now on is that man.

Their ages were similar. But their martial prowess was the difference between heaven and earth. …Exactly how and how much should she catch up with him was so distant.

The Hero released his rigid expression and smiled, lightly tapping Larosha’s cheek with his palm. It was as if he were doing it to a cute junior.

“Good work. Your skills are good. If you keep going like this, there won’t be many people to fight with in ten years.”

Despite the compliment from his opponent, she felt a very great sense of disappointment within herself. However, she shouldn’t show that right now. The opponent had sparred with her with good intentions, and she should, of course, be grateful.

“Thank you so much for teaching me. …Today, I feel as though I’ve opened my eyes greatly.”

“I’m glad if it helped. …Anyway, I’ll be going now. Good work.”

“Yes, Sir. Please go carefully.”

Ji-hyuk purposely left towards the garden. It was to avoid the Heavenly Demon, who was standing near the entrance. …It seemed that the two disciples would have an intimate conversation.

As the Hero had predicted, Larosha approached her Heavenly Demon teacher hesitantly and bowed her head as if to apologize.

“…I am sorry, Teacher.”

“It’s okay. If you did your best, that’s enough. It’s the result we expected anyway.”

She bowed her head even deeper. Of course, she knew that she had no choice but to lose, but that thought itself was a sad thing to her.

She had experienced countless defeats until now, but today’s defeat was especially painful.

“I believe you have realized a lot.”

“…Yes.”

“Do not forget today’s sparring for the rest of your life and be sure to imprint it in your mind. And think it over again whenever you have time.”

“Yes, Teacher. I will be sure to do so.”

The Heavenly Demon turned around. He slowly walked down the hallway, lost in deep thought.

…He is, a real genius, that is beyond words.

Especially the evasion technique was astonishing. He had never seen anyone with better distance control than that Hero. Including the Heavenly Demon himself.

Honestly, it was unbelievable. At that age, is it possible to have achieved that? …It was impossible to estimate how deep his talent was.

The Heavenly Demon felt a wall for the first time. His chest was cold. …But then a strange thrill suddenly began to surge. It meant that a companion could be created for the lonely practitioner who had walked the lonely path alone.

…Perhaps….

A spark fell on his long-cold heart.

A trace appeared in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.

…It seems it is time to move the guild to the capital.