Talentless?
No, to be more blunt.
‘No talent.’
It means having absolutely no talent.
And it was only belatedly that I could recall the fact I had been mistaken about.
‘I was just a man in his thirties….
I’ve seen many people while establishing the Siwon School.
Among them, there were those overflowing with talent, like Gu Myeong-jun, and also those without talent.
But compared to the past me, even those I thought had no talent looked like angels… I had no talent.
To be a bit more explicit, trash.
Well.
How much talent could a self-employed man in his mid-thirties possibly have?
The most peculiar point, if I had to name one.
‘I had no Trait, nothing.’
Was having no Trait.
Most people, no matter how lacking in physical talent, can compensate for that shortcoming to some degree through their Trait.
But the past me was neither an Awakener, nor anything else.
However.
‘A thousand years. The Karma of Nothingness I accumulated during that time was incredible, but in terms of actual talent, there’s nothing special.’
That’s it.
My only merit was the Karma of Nothingness accumulated over a thousand years.
But once that was stripped away, if judged solely on talent, there was no trash trashier than this.
The future me is strong.
But that was only possible because of the time spanning a thousand years, the Karma of Nothingness accumulated during that time.
Judged solely on talent, I was inferior even to the Siwon School dropouts I deemed talentless.
Swish, whoosh!
I watch the past me training diligently in the yard today as well.
Even though barely two days have passed.
‘…He’s hopeless.’
I’ve taught many people until now, but this is the first time I’ve encountered such a hopeless situation.
Honestly, if he had even a moderate amount of talent, a skilled instructor—my teaching—could have filled the gaps.
But after observing for two days, I couldn’t see any possibility at all.
A hopeless situation.
Swish, whoosh!
Only the sound of the wooden sword swung by the past me echoes.
Still, I focused.
Just in case.
No matter how talentless, for someone who would accumulate this much Karma of Nothingness, it doesn’t make sense for there to be absolutely no hope.
But.
“…Hopeless.”
I unknowingly muttered it out loud.
Jolt!
As if hearing my voice, the movements of the past me, who had been swinging the wooden sword in a state of Muajigyung, stopped.
After looking at me briefly.
Bite.
He clenched his lips and swung the wooden sword again.
If anyone saw, they might curse me as a pathetic teacher.
Not only failing to encourage and soothe a hardworking disciple, but even disparaging him as having no potential.
But what could I do?
He really has no potential.
‘At this rate, it would take at least a hundred years of teaching just to grasp the basics.’
And that was an accurate assessment.
I am a dimension traveler.
Through that traveler’s blessing, I gained the authority to not age.
I think it was precisely after about a hundred years that I truly comprehended the sword.
A talent that, even if he held a sword like others, would take a hundred years just to barely approach the basics of a Knight.
With such utter lack of talent, even if an outstanding teacher were attached, there would inevitably be limits to what could be taught. Of course, after 100, 200, 300 years, he could be made into a usable swordsman, but the time given to me is not that much.
Not a hundred years, but a year, no, I can’t even stay for a month.
Because due to the phenomenon of unification, the past me, the memories and existence of the person before my eyes, was already being overlaid onto my existence.
It was beyond what I had anticipated.
‘At this rate… a week is the limit.’
And that’s pushing it to the maximum.
If I remain in this time period for more than a week, I will become an existence that can no longer be called ‘me,’ unified with the past me.
But a week is not enough time to grow to a level capable of stopping Nepas, who exists throughout this era.
So I was troubled.
How on earth should I break through this impasse?
‘That bastard Nepas, he had figured all of this out.’
I couldn’t help but admire Nepas’s meticulousness once again.
As expected of the adversary I acknowledged, he must have considered all these situations and processes.
That’s why he doesn’t bother to seek me out and attack.
One thing is certain.
‘He also couldn’t have left too many fragments.’
It had to be that way, because the death of a part of his own existence would undoubtedly be quite a blow to him as well.
No, perhaps that ‘part’ might be his very life, which he had spread across dimensions.
Thanks to that, I gained valuable information.
‘He didn’t simply hide his avatar on Earth, in the modern era. He concealed parts of himself across various dimensions, across various time periods, to enjoy eternity.’
A glimpse into Nepas’s thoroughness.
He spread his separated life, those fragments, across various times and dimensions.
As long as even one of them survives, he does not die.
He would then, at any time, separate his life again (probably by absorbing other lives to increase such lives) and secure his safety once more.
Right.
Putting all this information together.
‘Killing him… is close to impossible.’
Countless dimensions.
Countless time periods.
Is it possible to kill all the fragments of him hiding somewhere?
For now, I can only label it impossible.
Of course, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible forever.
Perhaps.
‘The unknown realm.’
That very realm Nepas seeks to reach.
If one reaches the realm of those who created the Tower, then it might be possible.
Of course, that role is not mine.
‘Lee Seo-jun. Or one of the talented children must be the one to end him.’
For that, I cannot die yet.
Until I fulfill my mission, to repay the debt I owe to humanity, I must pierce through these four limbs and pass.
But the next moment.
“Huup!”
The returning headache.
It’s not just a simple migraine.
The process of the past me and the present me unifying.
An irresistible, unknown force pushes in, overlaying parts of my memories with past memories.
‘Where do you think you’re going!’
But I resist.
If I’m pushed back by this momentum even once, unification will progress not in a week, but in a single day.
Tzzzt, tzzzt!
Force against force.
The price for opposing an irresistible law was tremendous backlash.
“Ah—”
The past me, watching this spectacle, is dumbfounded.
No, it wasn’t because he was watching the current spectacle, but a momentary pause caused by the unification phenomenon.
The unification phenomenon is affecting not just me, but him as well.
‘…Wait?!’
And while watching that, I could grasp an inspiration.
‘If I am affected by the past me, then can’t I also affect the past me?’
The unification phenomenon means unifying into the existence that is the past me.
That’s how the laws of the world are.
If something goes, something comes; if something comes, something goes.
There is no one direction.
If that’s the case, then isn’t it possible that I’m not just affected by the past me, but that I can also affect the past me?
But what’s so important about that?
It is important.
Because.
‘If I can only impart my Karma of Nothingness…’
If I can impart even a part of the Karma of Nothingness, that presence, accumulated by the present me, to the past me?
Then, without having to accumulate Karma through harsh ascetic practices, he could develop enough power to face Nepas.
Then.
“Grk!”
I do not resist the unification phenomenon.
After all, the memories the past me holds, that existence, is me.
I accept it without resistance and concentrate.
Intense concentration.
The moment I entered a special realm where I could even feel the flow of the atmosphere, the flow of time.
‘I see it!’
I could see it.
The pathway through which the past me was affecting me.
Something that could never be discovered without such intense concentration.
And through that memory.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
I sent forth the Karma of Nothingness I had accumulated, that experience.
Tzz, tzzzt, tzzzt!
At first, tremendous backlash occurred.
The spectacle of pure white sparks flying generated a repulsive force similar to when I rejected the unification phenomenon just moments ago.
Right.
I didn’t think it would be easy.
Just as this law couldn’t easily overcome me, for me to overcome it is also extremely difficult.
But I don’t give up.
Even at the cost of losing some of my memories, I must convey the memories of the present me, a part of that power, to the past me.
‘This is the only way.’
It’s the only way to save the past me.
Because it’s the only way to protect what little remains of my lifespan.
Crackle, crackle-zap-zap!
Sparks fly noisily due to the tense battle of forces.
As if telling me to stop, accompanied by tremendous heat and shockwaves from that power.
Sssss!
It’s enough to scorch flesh.
The fortunate fact is that it doesn’t affect the past me.
This law was now sending me a warning.
However.
‘If you unify me, I will also unify you.’
The law of unification.
What stands above that is equivalent exchange.
Using this absolute law, while accepting past memories, I also conveyed my memories to the past me.
And at some point.
Kwaang!
With one explosive sound.
Of course, an explosive sound only I could hear.
“Aah!”
I could hear the past me screaming.
A scream?
No, it should be called ecstasy.
That’s how humans are.
They feel ecstasy in growth.
And now, because the Karma of Nothingness I had accumulated was being conveyed, he was feeling the ecstasy of growth through it.
Of course, the price was considerable.
The law of equivalent exchange.
Not only was I conveying the Karma of Nothingness I had accumulated, but past memories were also being overlaid.
As if trying to achieve complete unification through this opportunity.
With the aim of erasing the present me, it continuously injected those memories held by the past me.
But.
‘Why am I making a distinction?’
The past me.
And the present me.
Both are me.
Not separate beings, but one.
Yet, I was now distinguishing between the past me and the present me.
As if they were different beings.
But even if the time period is different, I am me.
The moment I gained that realization.
Sssss
I accept the past memories, that existence, which I had been forcibly blocking, without any resistance.
And I send those memories flowing back to the past me.
Circulation.
The past me, the present me.
In the end, we are one.
Therefore, we share all memories and experiences.
Not overlaying, but accepting and absorbing those memories, that existence.
It is a circulatory method that can turn the past me into the present me.
If we continue sharing memories and existence like this, the past me could gain the same power as the present me.
However.
The past me, who had been filled with ecstasy, began to scream.
He had to.
‘The vessel is not complete.’
I endured immense training and discipline to obtain my current power.
Even if it’s the past me, one cannot share that time of harsh discipline.
Therefore, there was a limit to the power I could convey.
If I continue conveying existence like this, instead of becoming another ‘me,’ a physical collapse like what Leon experienced would occur.
Therefore.
“Stop!”
My will, having gained enlightenment, was enough to intervene in the law.
Shhh
With my shout, the unification phenomenon disappeared.
Of course, it’s just gone for now.
Probably soon, as time passes, its intensity will grow even stronger.
But it’s okay.
“What on earth is this…?”
The past me, regaining his senses.
He’s looking at me.
A bewildered voice.
But in his eyes.
Flash!
A sharpness, a Karma of Nothingness that the past me could not have possessed, was hidden.