Truthfully, that was not something I needed to do.
However.
“It is… impossible.”
He was still suffering from the nightmares of his past, and there was no other way to make him—a boy who introduced himself as Lee Seo-jun—useful.
“He, Myeong-jun, has a different level of talent. He is called the greatest talent in South Korea, having never missed the number one spot at the Academy…”
It was not as if I had not heard of it before.
Before the Siwon School, they said a genius had appeared at the most promising academy.
There is a common saying.
A genius cannot beat someone who makes an effort, and someone who makes an effort cannot beat someone who enjoys it.
But that is just nonsense spoken by those who have never seen true talent.
Genuine talent—the kind worthy of being called a genius—can never be caught by just putting in effort or enjoying the process.
“That is certainly true.”
I readily admitted that as well.
The talent I saw in Gu Myeong-jun at the test site the other day was exceptional.
That is why I passed him, albeit with conditions.
He had the qualifications to be admitted without a test based on that talent alone.
However.
“Generally, that is true. But when I step in, all those laws become meaningless.”
I, and no one else, guarantee it.
I am certain of it.
If that is the case, it is no longer an absolute law.
“But my talent is enough.”
The past.
His trauma is holding him back, which is why his talent cannot bloom.
That is why the current process is necessary.
If he cannot overcome that, his talent will simply wither away.
“Because I will be the one guiding you.”
***
“But still,” he bites his lip, seemingly unable to believe it easily.
This, it seems.
“Who do you think I am?”
I think he needs to have faith.
“The world’s top…”
“The world? No. I am someone who reigned at the pinnacle not only of this Earth but across all dimensions.”
Since I conquered the Gritia Continent, that is not a lie.
“I am the one teaching you. Therefore, there is no failure. In one week, you will surely be able to defeat him.”
***
Once I have set my mind to it, it is already a decided fate.
That fate will not change.
Although I explained my greatness in great detail, there was still no trust.
I suppose that is to be expected.
If someone told me to defeat an existence that had been bullying me for years—one I dared not even oppose—and gave me only one week to do it, I would have spewed insults as well.
However, even if there is no trust, the process to create that result must move forward.
We are at the training ground, which is permitted only to Leon and me.
For once, there is a guest here.
Lee Seo-jun.
This 18-year-old youth, who until recently was being bullied for having no talent, was standing in one corner of the training ground.
He was wearing the comfortable Siwon School uniform (a significant amount of money was spent to produce this uniform).
“What is your primary weapon?”
To my question, he replied.
“It is the sword.”
He said it firmly.
“As I thought!”
And his answer did not stray from my expectations.
“Where did you learn before?”
“It was at the Cheongung Academy.”
Cheongung Academy.
It was a famous academy that held quite a bit of influence in South Korea—no, in the world—before I established the Siwon School.
I heard vaguely that it was one of the top 100 academies selected by Forbes or something.
Regardless, the influential Cheongung Academy became a second-rate institution because of my Siwon School.
Actually, it wasn’t even second-rate; it was just pushed out of the limelight.
For a while, they attempted all sorts of smear campaigns, such as spreading rumors about us, but in the end, all those conspiracies were futile in the face of our fame.
The attrition rate of the first batch was not high.
But starting from the second batch, departures occurred, and eventually, by the time we recruited for the third, most of the Cheongung Academy students were applying to the Siwon School.
Lee Seo-jun and Gu Myeong-jun, who were standing before me, along with the group that came with him, were all from Cheongung Academy.
It certainly seems like it was a famous academy.
Considering that talents like the two of them were affiliated with it.
Of course.
‘Though they seem to lack the talent to teach, despite their eye for talent.’
That applied to both Lee Seo-jun and Gu Myeong-jun.
If it were me, I would not have allowed the current environment to be created; in fact, the positions of Lee Seo-jun and Gu Myeong-jun would have been reversed.
And hearing Lee Seo-jun say he uses a sword, that conviction only hardened.
“Everything you have learned until now.”
“Yes.”
“Erase it from your mind.”
“…Pardon?”
Refining, training, and the Karma of martial arts are like painting a picture.
Lee Seo-jun was like a blank canvas that someone had covered with scribbles.
If I were to touch it and try to paint over it unnecessarily, it would only result in a messy, incomplete picture.
To prevent that, and to make it a blank canvas once again, the priority was to make him forget everything he had learned so far.
“Especially the sword.”
The first thing to erase is the sword.
“Erase every sword technique you have learned from your mind. You were never meant to use a sword in the first place.”
I do not know who it was, but the person who taught him the sword is truly a terrible teacher.
‘Then again.’
Unless one is born with an Insight Eye like mine, it would be difficult to recognize his true value.
Namely.
Hand-to-hand combat.
A sturdy physique derives various types of traits.
Among them, the most important was hand-to-hand combat.
This is a hidden trait that exists, yet no one knows it exists.
However, it could not escape my Insight Eye, and I grasped it clearly.
But why?
Why is the derived trait of hand-to-hand combat so important?
It is because of the characteristics of this hand-to-hand combat trait.
‘If you use a weapon, you actually ruin yourself.’
If you use a weapon, your movements become tangled.
This is because your body instinctively rejects it.
That is why he must have been treated as a nuisance at the academy all this time.
No matter how much they taught him.
No matter how much he trained.
No matter how much he tried.
Everything remained stagnant.
It was obvious that he could not even properly digest the most basic movements or training.
And as a result, he must have been bullied by his classmates.
“You are not suited for the sword, or rather, any weapon at all. What you need is…”
I clenched my fist and showed it to him.
“…only your fist. You can only display your true value by learning martial arts.”
Hand-to-hand combat only begins to shine when you use your bare hands.
Because I recognized that talent, I even gave him a Super Pass to bring him in.
I even staked my honor to show my belief in him.
But was that belief not enough?
“B-but…”
His trust in me was severely lacking.
No, it was non-existent.
“…I have never learned martial arts before?”
“I know.”
“Can I really learn something I haven’t even learned, and defeat him in just one week? No matter how I look at it, it seems impossible…”
“Do you see a possibility if you use the sword?”
“I just thought there might be a chance if I used the sword I had learned for years.”
“What if those years were a completely useless period?”
“I will not force you to trust me. But you must know this. My honor is at stake in this match. If you are defeated, all the fame I have built up will collapse in an instant. You aren’t going to say that your current honor is higher than mine, are you?”
“No. Of course not!”
“Then follow me willingly. I will cultivate you while staking my honor on it. I will help you break out of your shell and overcome your past trauma.”
“…”
He adds no further unnecessary words to my sincere statement.
‘It’s a difficult obstacle.’
Certainly, guiding a child who has walked the wrong path and, as a result, become broken is a difficult task.
But it is fine.
If I can present the right path, and if that path is certain, I will make sure his talent arrives at its destination.
“I will do my best not to be a disgrace.”
Finally, he has a reasonably decent look on his face.
Imposing responsibility on this type of person actually causes them to display avoidant tendencies.
Then what should one do?
You must not present the person themselves, but the situation that causes harm because of that person.
Even more so, if the subject is me, the world’s top Awakener, he cannot help but feel a sense of responsibility regarding it.
A child with such a good soul hates harming others more than death.
Thanks to that, I was able to plant a certain level of responsibility and mission in him.
“What you need to do is simple.”
Now is the time for full-scale training.
The one thing I had to teach him was a single movement.
-Swish.
He takes his stance.
His lower body is bent, and his upper body is held straight.
His left arm is forward, his right arm is back.
And using the strength of the moment when the positions of those two arms swap.
-Pop!
He thrusts his right arm—that fist—forward.
“It is the Straight Punch.”
It is indeed a straight punch.
The most basic stance taught to everyone learning martial arts—or rather, practically anyone using any weapon—at the beginning.
“…Pardon?”
But he questions me instead.
“A straight punch…?”
The most basic of basics.
A straight punch that many people actually skip over.
“For a week, just a straight punch…?”
“That is correct.”
“Is it possible to defeat Myeong-jun with just that?”
“It is possible.”
“You don’t seem to believe me.”
“It’s just that a straight punch…”
“It is a basic. One that everyone ignores.”
But that is incorrect common sense.
“That is just what those who haven’t learned it properly say, ‘All rivers return to the same sea’. When everything reaches its peak, it eventually reaches one point. When the straight punch also reaches its peak, it possesses more destructive power than any other attack.”
“…”
It seems he cannot easily understand it.
Certainly, it would be easier to persuade him by showing the result rather than just talking about it.
‘I once looked down on martial arts as well.’
I didn’t say much about his doubt because I also went through such a time.
In truth, a weapon was an implement to maximize slaughter.
The difference between those who use it and those who do not is stark.
Can’t an ordinary person with a lethal weapon subdue someone who has been trained for years?
That is no different even for an Awakener.
That is why everyone uses weapons.
In terms of attack range and lethality, weapons overwhelm bare hands in every aspect.
However, ‘The Fist King’ he sparked the twilight of the gods and created the era of humans.
But the evil Empire of Galas still remained.
In the middle of the war to deal with them, I had to welcome a guest who came to find me, the one who had reached the pinnacle of the continent.
He, who had undergone long hours of training, showed me only a single movement, and at that time, I almost experienced defeat at his hands.
I, who had gone through the Legion Commander and Divine God of Victory levels, almost lost to a mere human.
Although he proved his value and skill before quietly closing his eyes, the movement he showed at the time remained clear in my mind.
[Straight Punch]
And I implement that movement.
The most perfect, flawless straight punch.
-Whoosh!
The moment it unfolded.
“Ah—”
Lee Seo-jun, who had shown no reaction until now, let out an exclamation for the first time.
“This is the flawless straight punch you must learn. It is the fist of the ultimate peak.”
And that was the one and only movement he had to learn for the next week, andit will be his card for victory.