Celeste was learning how to move.
But not just simply moving, rather, she was learning footwork, something practically every martial artist learns.
And unlike her normal footwork, the technique she was learning did not involve big movements.
How to move.
It’s really simple.
With one foot supporting the body while the other foot is in front, then pull the foot supporting the body forward and take another step.
The process involves bending the knees and stepping on the heel first so it points outward.
The technique was to combine everything.
The foundation of martial arts is body movement, and the foundation of that lies in the footwork.
Thus, the movement of the foot determines the movement of the whole body.
Celeste was sweating heavily from simply putting her feet to the side, stepping on her heel first, or moving a little more to the side.
“Why is that little child practicing walking?”
“I don’t know. Seems like Yoo Seodam instructed her to?
Yoo Seodam watched Celeste from the side.
Since there has been an increase in the number of registered prospects at Geumgang gym after her debut a while ago, quite a few people noticed Celeste’s ‘walking practice,’ even though no one understands it.
They thought perhaps she just wanted to do some unique training.
At first, even Celeste couldn’t understand it.
Why practice walking like this when they should be training their swordsmanship?
Or why do movements that are harder and more painful than normal ones.
However, after practicing her footwork for two weeks.
Celeste realized.
‘Uh…?’
“Hmm?”
During her spar with director Kim, unknowingly, she used the footwork technique she has been learning for the last two weeks.
The sword of director Kim, a person with C-Rank physique, was too fast to avoid for a D-Rank like Celeste, so she had always relied on her reaction speed, but this time, she was able to see it clearly and avoided it.
“Miss Celeste. Your movement has gotten better, hasn’t? Did your physique improve?”
Asked director Kim.
Celeste shook her head.
Her physique was developing very slowly, and not to this extent.
This was purely due to the footwork technique.
A technique that came from a very small fraction of Haren Almus’ SS Rank skill, something she would never know.
That’s why it’s so effective, even though it’s an imitation.
However, in the end, it’s still an imitation and pale in comparison to the original version.
If the original skill was SS-Rank, what Seodam copied was at most D-Rank.
Nonetheless, this is the result of a D-Rank superhuman training in the footwork for two weeks.
‘Good. If I keep this up…!’
Unknowingly, Celeste became excited.
She could sense that her growth has reached a higher level.
The fact that she can now avoid attacks from a C-Rank.
Stretching out her sword instinctively.
“Ah…!”
An awkward step that didn’t match her body movement, she tripped and fell.
Celeste used to enjoy training.
After awakening an E-Rank physique at an early age, every time she trained, she could feel that she was making progress.
If put into numbers it was like going from 10 to 11, 12 to 13, and so on.
When others were stuck, she was able to progress by putting in a little more effort, so because of that, Celeste used to frantically train.
However, one day, all those accomplishments crumbled.
The confrontation against Sanagi Okamoto, a rival the elders arbitrarily chose, became her thorn.
Sanagi Okamoto.
A woman who became a C-Rank superhuman at the age of twenty.
A year ago the D-Rank Celeste was defeated in a competition against Sanagi, and since that day, she has devoted herself to training, even going so far as to forgo her meals occasionally.
However, her growth was still the same.
Of course, just growing steadily is already amazing, but to her, that alone was not enough.
Both Celeste and Sanagi were growing at the same rate.
If she is growing at the pace of 16 to 17 to 18, then Sanagi is growing at the pace of 26 to 27 to 28.
The same pace.
This gap that can’t be narrowed.
It became her first ‘wall.’
Obviously, their talents were about the same.
However, Sanagi was born first and awakened her physique first.
In spite of being rivals, Celeste would never be able to catch up to her.
Salvatore, who couldn’t stand seeing his daughter depressed, invited many world renowned swordsman instructors, but Sanagi also had a similar background, so their level of education was the same.
‘Our physique growth rate is clearly the same.’
‘So, why don’t I just compete in swordsmanship, rather than physique?’
Although Sanagi has a stronger physique than Celeste, her swordsmanship was worse than Celeste’s.
To Celeste, Sanagi’s swordsmanship only has superficial power and speed.
However, their difference in power and speed was so overwhelming that it was impossible to overcome despite that simple thought.
She couldn’t catch up.
Although it was frustrating, there was nothing she could do about it.
She had accepted that reality.
That was until she met someone who overcame the difference in strength and speed.
Yoo Seodam, with his D-Rank strength, overwhelmed her with his sword.
Seeing him, she thought.
‘I’ve finally found a way to break this wall.’
People only think superhumans with superpowers are talented.
However, before there were superpowers, there were clearly talented people in education, sports, entertainment, and so on.
Even though it has been overshadowed by superpowers in the modern era.
A talent for the sword exists.
Celeste, who swung and swung her sword every day, was given the opportunity for this talent blossom.
She enjoyed it.
It was different from her past self, mindlessly wielding her sword.
Everything she learned from Yoo Seodam was new and different from what she was taught or knew.
Even the smallest details, like how to move or breath.
It was a new territory for her.
Late into the night, all the other prospects are gone, and only Celeste remains.
“Are you feeling better?”
Asked director Kim.
He used to live in the gym, so it didn’t matter who stayed.
However, he was still concerned about her.
Director Kim, resting on a nearby bench with a worried look, handed Celeste a water bottle.
Recently, he has been seeing her overwork herself to the point where it looked like she wasn’t doing too well, but strangely, she didn’t seem exhausted at all.
Rather, the more she wielded the sword, the more powerful it seemed, which was quite surprising to him.
“Yes. Thank you.”
She drank the water in silence.
Yoo Seodam was away today.
Although he’s a hunter, lately, he’s been heading to the gym and library, and has rarely gone to a dungeon.
When director Kim asked if Seodam was worried about money problems, Seodam just replied saying he was not because he recently cleared a dungeon by himself.
‘Also, library…’
There are certainly some hunters with good academics, but most were terrible.
Unless it was needed to hunt, they studied very little outside the basic essentials.
Yoo Seodam was already much more knowledgeable than any hunter, and Celeste knew he was very smart.
Still, a hunter going to the library…
It was a very weird place to be at.
‘What are you even studying there?’
When she asked, Seodam just said that he was studying as much math as he could, and didn’t really give a proper answer.
“Uh…”
“Hmm?”
Celeste looked at director Kim.
There was a question she has been meaning to ask for a long time, but was very reluctant to do so.
“Did Yoo Seodam really beat my father?”
Although her father has retired, he is still a SS-Rank hunter.
It’s hard to imagine Yoo Seodam, a F-Rank hunter, winning.
Hearing her ask such a question, director Kim awkwardly smiled.
She was reluctant to ask Yoo Seodam directly.
Director Kim didn’t feel right to be the person to tell her….
But he thought she would eventually find out anyways, so it’s better that it came from his mouth.
“It happened 8 years ago.”
Salvatore Costantini led a team of 12 hunters, one of them being the F-Rank hunter Yoo Seodam.
They used to hunt monsters in desolate areas, and Salvatore would ask other members to spar with him whenever they had free time.
He didn’t discriminate against people without superpowers.
So despite being S-Rank, he also sincerely wanted to duel with Yoo Seodam, a F-Rank hunter.
“The result was obviously 99 wins in 99 duels for Salvatore. Thus, Yoo Seodam had never won a duel.”
“Then…?”
When she wondered if Yoo Seodam had lied to her, director Kim continued with a bitter look.
“Their mission at the time was almost done. All they had to do was seal a gate to stop the monsters from leaking out. That’s when the worst villain, ‘Curse Virus,’ appeared.”
A superhuman with a ridiculous SS-Rank superpower called Curse Virus that had been placing ‘curses’ around the world, taking many lives in the process.
Curse Virus hid himself before Salvatore and his team arrived at the location.
Salvatore Costantini, the first person to encounter the Curse Virus, had the curse placed on his daughter.
“Huh…?”
In other words, Celeste was cursed eight years ago without even realizing it.
“The curse simply took away the lifespan of the target, and most died within a week. To a certain extent, it depended on the condition of the superhuman…However, miss Celeste was nine years old at the time and was in critical condition because you were an ordinary human.”
It was then.
Salvatore, one of the top S-Rank superhumans at the time, awakened a ‘frenzy’ ability.
An ability later evaluated as SS-Rank, it was an ability to harness a greater power than one normally could.
This was also how Salvatore became one of the 37 SS-Rank superhuman on Earth.
However, there was a downside to this ability.
He could not identify foe from ally, and would indiscriminately attack every living thing in sight.
People around him were surprised that Salvatore, who always had a smile on his face, could make such a scary face.
But, he had to be stopped.
If the villain Curse Virus is killed without the curses being removed, everyone including Celeste would die.
‘If Salvatore follows us here, we won’t be able to fight the monster!’
‘Damn it, I can’t believe we’re up against a SS-Rank ally and a SS-Rank villain at the same time. We have no chance of winning.”
‘When are the reinforcements coming!?’
‘Will they be able to stop him once they arrive?’
‘Once Salvatore sees Curse Virus, he’ll definitely try to kill him. Yeah, It’s possible with that power. But…’
Someone reluctantly brought up the dilemma.
‘Once the frenzied state is over and he finds out his daughter died because of him. Will he be able to continue living normally?’
Absolutely not.
Thus, the 11 hunters tasked themselves with the difficult mission of not killing Salvatore, who had the ability of SS-Rank, while trying to subdue a SS-Rank villain.
It seemed impossible.
When everyone thought as such.
Yoo Seodam, who remained silent up until that point, spoke.
‘I’ll try to stop mister Salvatore.’
‘…What?’
The only F-Rank here.
However, no one doubted his ability.
Although he was an ordinary hunter, his ability alone was noteworthy.
And more than anyone else here, he had the best judgement.
Still, no one thought Yoo Seodam could hold out against Salvatore.
Everyone had the same thought.
‘Yoo Seodam is sacrificing himself.’
Only then could they successfully subdue the villain and stop Salvatore, at the cost of one casualty.
‘…Try to hang in there.’
‘Alright, we’ll quickly overpower that bastard and come back.’
‘We’ll be right back and figure something out, so stay alive!’
The 10 hunters succeeded in defeating the villain.
They even successfully stopped the Curse Virus’ superpower, lifting all the curses that had spread throughout the world.
But, it was too late.
It took a week to stop the villain.
They thought there was no way Yoo Seodam could hold out after a week.
Nevertheless, they tracked down the signal from Yoo Seodam, and ran to retrieve the body.
However, what they saw was an unbelievable sight.
Far from dying, Yoo Seodam had knocked Salvatore out, and was waiting alone.
‘…Did you subdue Salvatore?’
‘I was lucky. There just happened to be a power plant nearby…’
Yoo Seodam had spent an astronomical sum during the battle with Salvatore.
He said he had miscalculated beforehand, so he had no choice but to blow up the nearby power plant and even used a tank.
And that he had to rely on technology because an ordinary person couldn’t win against a superhuman, but no one paid it any mind.
Only the fact that a F-Rank hunter subdued a frenzied SS-Rank was remembered.
Recounting the story, director Kim nodded his head.
“Come to think of it…Yoo Seodam is miss Celeste’s benefactor.”
It was her first time hearing about how countless hunters fought to save her life.
“Such a…person. I had no idea at all…”
Said Celeste with a trembling voice, then director Kim spoke.
“It’s understandable. What happened back then was kept a secret. You know, a frenzied superhuman doesn’t paint a very good picture to the world. And it was critical at the time that Salvatore’s position was not shaken. Well, that’s a political story for another time, so let’s skip that.
“Yes…”
“You don’t have to feel burdened. After what happened, Salvatore compensated Yoo Seodam.”
Director Kim, who spoke up to this point, said he had to go take a phone call.
Celeste silently sat on the bench, trying to gather her thoughts.
Such as, how has she been treating her benefactor.
‘He must think I’m crazy. I am…Hiring him to be my sword instructor as a favor?’
Feeling a deep sense of shame, Celeste lowered her head and covered it with both hands.
After a long time, Seodam, wearing a black shabby padded jacket, opened the gym doors and walked in, carrying a flower pot in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.
“Wow. You’re still at it?”
“…Yes.”
“Really? Do you want some ice cream?”
“No.”
Said Celeste resolutely.
With a sullen look, Seodam looked down at the bag in his hand.
“Alright…I’m going to eat both by myself.”
“No. Let’s go out to eat. Could be…anything. Anything is fine, I’ll buy it. Restaurant? Buffet? Lobster? Steak? What do you like?”
“…?”
Only
Seodam checked his watch.
“It’s 3:00AM in the morning…?”
Before Seodam could finish, Celeste interrupted, saying she wanted to treat him, right before rushing to take a shower.
“What’s wrong with her? I wonder if the sun will rise from the west today.”
[The sun doesn’t rise from the west…]
“…That’s what I meant.”
[It doesn’t make sense…]
“Really, this rascal of a flower.”
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