Chapter 97 : Hidden Weapon Techniques (1)
In the end, Namgung Il decided on Hidden Weapon Techniques as his elective subject.
Besides that, there wasn't much else that caught his interest, and Hidden Weapon Techniques was one of the skills that Namgung Il absolutely needed.
'If I learn Hidden Weapon Techniques, the power of the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art will become even greater.'
The Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art and Hidden Weapon Techniques were quite compatible.
Just as poison and hidden weapons were compatible, the nature of the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art was also very similar.
Because if he could somehow invade the opponent's interior, he would be able to inflict a fatal wound.
Although at his current level, all he could do was cause a simple paralysis, that alone would be quite useful in a real battle.
'The same goes for the Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders.'
Among the sword forms of the Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders, there was already one that used hidden weapons.
The form he had used against Namgung Cheon before.
As he had used the Thunder Chasing Flash Step in a real battle at that time, Namgung Il had felt the need for Hidden Weapon Techniques even more.
"..."
The Thunder Chasing Flash Step was a form that could move a certain distance in an instant.
Although it was possible to move so fast that even Namgung Cheon had momentarily lost his movement, that form had one drawback.
That was that it was only possible to move in the direction where the hidden weapon was thrown.
To be precise, it was only possible to move to a place where the energy of the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art was present.
'Even to improve the achievement of the Thunder Chasing Flash Step, Hidden Weapon Techniques is a skill that I absolutely need.'
Now, it was only possible to move in one direction where the hidden weapon was thrown.
Although the attack might work on an opponent who was seeing this movement for the first time in its current state, wouldn't the movement be easily predicted by an opponent who had experienced the Thunder Chasing Flash Step even once?
Since it was only possible to move in the direction where the hidden weapon was thrown, if one just paid attention to that side in advance, the movement would be clearly visible.
'Namgung Cheon. If I were to use the Thunder Chasing Flash Step in front of that brat again... this time, it would be easily blocked.'
The Thunder Chasing Flash Step was definitely an excellent technique in that it struck the enemy's weakness.
But it had a fatal drawback in that its power was extremely reduced against an enemy who had seen this movement even once.
To minimize that drawback, wouldn't this be enough of a reason to learn Hidden Weapon Techniques?
Even if there were no classes as an elective subject, Namgung Il had been planning to practice Hidden Weapon Techniques personally in the future.
'Is this it?'
Today was the day of the first Hidden Weapon Techniques class.
Namgung Il arrived in front of the class location that he had found out in advance, in time.
Creak—
Namgung Il immediately opened the door and went inside.
But at that moment, his face was filled with questions.
What should I say about this... the inside was quite empty.
'I didn't come to the wrong place, did I?'
No, that couldn't be.
He had surely checked the location for sure, and he had also come at the right time...
Although it was true that he had arrived a little early for the class, Namgung Il couldn't understand that there wasn't a single student inside.
"...They'll come if I wait."
Namgung Il muttered to himself and walked inside.
Since there were traces of hidden weapons here and there in the small training ground, Namgung Il could at least know that he had not mistaken the location.
'Is this an unpopular class?'
As the name suggested, elective subjects were classes that students chose themselves.
Since that much freedom was guaranteed, it was natural that students would flock to popular classes.
In a word, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Namgung Il was directly witnessing the miserable end of an unpopular class.
'This... don't tell me I'm the only one who applied for this class?'
Namgung Il was slowly feeling such an anxiety.
Because as Jong Seo-eon had said before, it was true that the perception of hidden weapons was not good in the world.
Although Namgung Il didn't think so, there was a high possibility that the students' thoughts were different from his.
'...Can I even take the class?'
As far as he knew, if a class was too unpopular, that class would be canceled.
Since a class originally existed for the students, wouldn't it be a natural flow for it to disappear if the demand was low?
In this state, it seemed that the Hidden Weapon Techniques class would close its doors without even being able to take a single class, following that logic.
Creak—
Just then, the sound of a door opening was heard from the entrance.
To think that the sound of a door opening would sound so welcome.
Namgung Il turned his head towards the entrance like a bride who was eagerly waiting for her husband who had gone to work.
"...?"
As he turned his head, a familiar face was visible there.
"Tang Wol-yeong?"
"..."
"Are you perhaps... here to take the Hidden Weapon Techniques class?"
Only after asking that did Namgung Il realize that he had asked an obvious question.
Since she had appeared here at this time, she must have come because of the class.
Tang Wol-yeong looked around just as Namgung Il had when he had first come in, and then looked at Namgung Il again.
"Are there no other students?"
"...Well, as you can see."
"..."
"There's still some time before the class starts, so maybe more will come if we wait."
"...I see."
Tang Wol-yeong muttered and approached where Namgung Il was.
Although there were now two people instead of one, a silence still flowed inside.
'It's quiet.'
Namgung Il slightly turned his head and looked at Tang Wol-yeong, who was standing nearby.
To think that he would be alone with Tang Wol-yeong in a place like this.
Since there had been no particular point of contact after they had talked at the dining hall before, the relationship between Namgung Il and Tang Wol-yeong was just that they knew each other's faces.
'That's that... it seems that brat Jong Seo-eon has completely fallen for that girl.'
The trigger was surely that time yesterday.
When Tang Il-yeong had challenged Jong Seo-eon to a spar, Tang Wol-yeong had stopped that spar.
With that incident as a trigger, Jong Seo-eon's expression when he looked at Tang Wol-yeong had changed dramatically from before.
"Captain, don't you think Miss Wol-yeong is also interested in me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"If not, there's no way she would have helped me in that situation. Don't you think she helped me because she's interested in me?"
"..."
He had had such a conversation with Jong Seo-eon before he had fallen asleep yesterday.
Although it was his grand-disciple, that was really absurd.
If he followed that logic, wouldn't Tang Wol-yeong also be interested in him?
Since she had taken his side against Hwang Dong-jae before, in fact, it could be said that she had helped him more than Jong Seo-eon.
"..."
Namgung Il could not bring himself to tell Jong Seo-eon that it was his delusion.
Because Jong Seo-eon's expression as he was saying that looked so happy.
Also, in that state, there was a high possibility that he would not listen even if he told him the truth from the side.
'Love... is it?'
Namgung Il could not say anything about this part.
Although Namgung Jeongung was perfect for this kind of consultation...
Although he had heard a few things from Namgung Jeongung in the past, he would not be able to consult Jong Seo-eon with just that.
'Why did he have to fall in love!'
For a martial artist, the biggest enemy was the opposite sex.
Now, Jong Seo-eon had an obligation to learn the Beggar's Staff Style as soon as possible in the time he was falling in love.
From Namgung Il's point of view, this situation where Jong Seo-eon had completely fallen for Tang Wol-yeong was nothing short of difficult.
"Why do you keep looking at me?"
"Uh...?"
"Is there something on my face?"
As if she had felt his gaze, Tang Wol-yeong turned her head and asked.
"..."
Yes, what was good about a grand-master?
For the sake of the Beggar's Staff Style... no, for the sake of his grand-disciple, Namgung Il decided to sound out Tang Wol-yeong a little on this occasion.
"Do you perhaps remember what happened yesterday?"
"...?"
"You know. I got into a fight with that brat named Tang Il-yeong, and you stopped it."
"Ah... were you talking about that?"
"You know Jong Seo-eon, right? Why did you help that brat at that time?"
Although he knew it wasn't, there was a possibility that she had helped him because she had a little bit of a good impression.
Namgung Il slyly asked Tang Wol-yeong to find that out.
"Didn't I answer that yesterday?"
"...?"
"I just stopped it before things got bigger. I knew that my brother would go all the way if I didn't stop him."
"Brother?"
Judging by her tone, it seemed she was talking about Tang Il-yeong.
Come to think of it, it seemed they had some resemblance to each other.
Just then, Namgung Il suddenly remembered that Tang Wol-yeong was the older sister and asked again.
"Uh... then how old is your brother?"
"He's the same age as me."
"...?"
"We were born at the same time. Of course, I was born a little earlier, so I became the older sister."
This was a little amazing.
To think that they were not just siblings, but twins.
Although there might be cases where siblings attended the academy together like him and Namgung Yeon, it seemed really rare for twins to attend the academy together.
'Twin brother... to be picky, it means she stepped forward because of her brother.'
Thinking that, Namgung Il sighed inwardly.
Jong Seo-eon, although he hadn't expected much, as expected, it was just your delusion.
In the first place, Tang Wol-yeong seemed to have no interest in Jong Seo-eon at all.
Creak—
Just then, the sound of a door opening was heard.
'Another student?'
No matter how much, it would be absurd for only two people to be in a class.
Thinking that the students were starting to come now, Namgung Il turned his head towards the entrance.
"...?"
At that moment, Namgung Il's expression was filled with questions.
No matter how much he thought he looked old, that face was definitely not a student, right?
The middle-aged man who had just opened the door came this way with a bright face.
"Oh—you brats, are you perhaps here to take my class?"
"...Are you perhaps the teacher for the Hidden Weapon Techniques class?"
"Yes, I am Mang U-yeong, who is in charge of the Hidden Weapon Techniques class."
"..."
Not an old-looking student, but really a teacher.
Since the teacher had come in now, it meant that the class would be starting soon... then was it really just the two of them?
Looking at the door just in case, the door was still closed without a single movement.
"Nice to meet you."
As if he did not feel any seriousness about this situation, Mang U-yeong held out his hand for a handshake to Namgung Il as if he were happy to see him.
Since the teacher had offered a handshake first, Namgung Il had no choice but to hold out his hand, and then Mang U-yeong approached Tang Wol-yeong and offered a handshake.
"You're both from the Vermilion Bird Class, right? What year are you in, by any chance?"
"...We're first-years."
"Oh—new students in my class? This is an honor."
Elective subjects did not distinguish between year and class.
So it was common for various years and classes to be mixed in one class, but that didn't seem to apply to this class at all.
"Uh... teacher."
"...?"
"May I ask you one thing?"
"Of course. A student's question is always welcome."
Although most teachers were like that, Mang U-yeong was particularly happy with Namgung Il's question.
Seeing that smiling face, Namgung Il felt a little sorry for asking this.
"Uh... are we the only ones taking this class?"
"Probably so."
"..."
"Last year, I conducted the class with one person, but I'm really happy that there are two this year."
"...One person?"
So the number of people had doubled this year.
Namgung Il found that the most amazing.
"Let's do well, kids!"
"..."
Only then could Namgung Il understand the reason why Mang U-yeong was welcoming them so much.
In this class, each and every student would be a being like a welcome rain in a drought.
Since he had conducted the class with one person last year, it seemed that the class would not be canceled, fortunately... but Namgung Il could not erase the uneasy feeling.
'It seems there have been times when there were even fewer than one person...'
No matter how much it was Namgung Il, he could not bring himself to ask that.
(End of Chapter)