Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 37

Lesson 9. Learning Martial Arts - 2

'What exactly is this man?'

This was the thought Dokgo Yeon had been pondering the most lately.

Ban Yu-won was different from any other man... no, any other person she knew.

His talent for martial arts was undoubtedly exceptional, but what was even more astonishing was the potential of his other abilities.

It seemed as if those abilities might have enhanced his other qualities as well.

'I was truly surprised when he found the gap in the magic that even I couldn't detect.'

When he discovered and broke through the secret of the maze that even she, confident in her sensing abilities, couldn't find.

At that moment, Dokgo Yeon was convinced that if she wanted to reach the top of the tower, she absolutely had to take this man with her.

While other companions merely marveled at how amazing Ban Yu-won was, Dokgo Yeon couldn't think of it so simply.

If it had taken him three hours to break through the trick, it wouldn't have been surprising, but no matter how she looked at it, he...

'He seemed to have noticed from the very beginning. I don't know why he stayed quiet for three hours though.'

She was a bit angry at being made to look foolish, but believing he wouldn't act without reason, she couldn't bring herself to confront him.

In fact, the technique he showed next was so astonishing that any desire to confront him completely vanished.

That technique, which shook the presence of a large monster by unleashing an inner force that even she, who had experienced countless wonders in the martial arts world, couldn't easily comprehend.

'It was similar to the Taoist arts, yet different. While Taoist arts have visible vulnerabilities, the miracle Ban Yu-won created was so incredibly solid in itself...'

Of course, she could suppress it with her inner energy, but the amount of energy she'd have to expend would be far greater compared to the effort Ban Yu-won put in.

This essentially meant that the depth of Dokgo Yeon's martial arts was inferior to the depth of the technique Ban Yu-won possessed.

He, who had only just begun to develop his abilities, possessed potential surpassing her own!

'How on earth?'

As the gap in their realms was still wide, curiosity surged before jealousy.

If he already possessed such remarkable qualities and abilities, what would happen if he grew systematically?

How quickly, how far could he go?

This was why Dokgo Yeon decided to teach him martial arts.

'I want to nurture him with my own hands.'

No, to be precise, it was a bit different.

She didn't want to let Ban Yu-won, who possessed such incredible qualities, be influenced by others.

She wanted to claim him for herself now, while he was still like a newborn, before he could learn systematic combat arts including martial arts.

This was the first prodigy she had ever seen. It was only natural for her eyes to be transfixed.

So much so that she wanted to imbue him with her own color, even if it meant passing on her most important martial art, the foundation of her being.

'Although the Mysterious Body Technique is originally a martial art that cannot be passed on to outsiders.'

Had Ban Yu-won discussed the Nine Reverences?

No, in fact, this wasn't a martial art that could be taught even if one were to be revered as a master.

The Mysterious Body Technique was part of the family's divine skill, strictly passed down only through bloodlines.

If her father were to find out about this, he would be greatly shocked before even blaming her.

After all, she, who had been prouder of her family and their divine skill than anyone else, had passed it on to an outsider she had only recently met.

'Unless Ban Yu-won becomes my husband, it cannot be acknowledged.'

Thinking this, Dokgo Yeon just laughed it off.

Her, getting married? And to this thunderbolt of a man from another world?

She would rather kill Ban Yu-won and pretend it never happened.

The transmission of the Mysterious Body Technique was that significant of an event.

If it were discovered, that is.

'However, since the Mysterious Body Technique uniquely evolves according to the practitioner's abilities, no one would be able to discover the connection between him and me unless my father directly checked his pulse.'

Who would find out and take issue with whom she passed on the Mysterious Body Technique to in this place beyond dimensions?

Of course, the transmission of the Mysterious Body Technique would end with Ban Yu-won.

As befitting a secret technique, the Mysterious Body Technique required the transmitter to directly plant the seed of energy in the successor's body.

Removing this seed was no small burden, so even if there was no possibility of being discovered, she had no intention of creating a successor other than Ban Yu-won.

"Ban Yu-won, are you ready?"

Lost in thought about transmitting her family's secret technique, she had let her mind wander.

Having made up her mind, there was no point in agonizing any further, as she had no intention of backing out.

As she steeled herself and turned around, there stood Ban Yu-won, wearing only light undergarments, exposing his upper and lower body.

"I'm all set, except for the fact that I feel like I'm going to die of embarrassment."

"Shh..."

Ban Yu-won wasn't a pervert.

Dokgo Yeon had ordered this of him!

Eve was trying hard to cover his body, but that only made it more provocative.

"Uh, haa, aaaa."

"Luciel, don't look, don't look."

"But, but Light is looking."

"I'm fine. I'm a man after all!"

"That's a cowardly excuse!"

Light and Luciel, who had become spectators, were staring intently at Ban Yu-won.

Was it because he had gained a well-trained body in such a short time, without developing any strange habits?

Ban Yu-won's physique was alluringly perfect, enough to captivate anyone.

This was also proof that his innate qualities were excellent enough that he didn't need to focus on training his external strength.

'But it's far from perfect.'

Of course, the peerless Dokgo Yeon wasn't satisfied with just that.

That's why she intended to overhaul his body and magic power in one go with the Mysterious Body Technique.

"First, let me give you a warning."

"Whatever it is, if it's going to be long, wouldn't it have been better to do it before I took off my clothes?"

"The martial art I'm about to pass on to you will completely transform the nature of your qi... your magic power, and the foundation of your body."

"What?!"

I thought I was going to learn some basic martial arts, but this doesn't sound basic at all!

As Ban Yu-won exclaimed in surprise, Dokgo Yeon continued in a calm tone, as if trying to reassure him.

"Well, your current magic power is completely unrefined. It's only natural that the nature of your qi will change when you start training it."

"That's... true, but..."

"There's no need to think about it too seriously. It's just a more refined and powerful energy, not like other qi techniques that completely alter the framework of magic power, such as the Flame techniques or Ice techniques. I did say it was a basic martial art, didn't I?"

"So you're saying it just filters the magic power into a purer energy?"

"...Well, yes, something like that."

A look of astonishment flashed across Dokgo Yeon's eyes for a moment, but Ban Yu-won decided to assume it was just her criticizing his ignorance about martial arts.

"With this purified qi, we stimulate the body, training its nature to be purer and stronger as well. In the process of continuously training your body, your magic power will be constantly consumed, and as both your body and magic power are trained simultaneously, your vessel will naturally grow larger. We can't increase the absolute amount of magic power, but that's not an issue for you, is it?"

"Right. I have a quick way to gain magic power."

"Usually, that's the biggest problem."

Dokgo Yeon muttered in disbelief at Ban Yu-won's matter-of-fact response.

Meanwhile, the more Ban Yu-won heard, the more he thought that this Mysterious Body Technique might be a perfect technique for him.

"Now that I've explained the overview, let's get to the practice. Stay still."

"Huh? Isn't this usually when you recite some kind of mantra or something?"

"It's surprising that you know about the transmission of martial arts, but... Would you even understand if you heard the mantra? Rather than explaining it, I'll just engrave it directly into your body."

That's not true, I could understand it instantly no matter how it's explained.

But since he could perfectly understand body language as well, it didn't really matter which method was used.

As he was thinking this, Dokgo Yeon had already moved behind him.

"I'll say it again, stay still. It will hurt, but don't open your mouth."

"Ah... so it was this type?"

"Where on earth did you see this before?"

"Sorry, please start."

Ban Yu-won shut his mouth tightly.

Dokgo Yeon's soft hands seemed to trace around his neck, then gradually moved down to settle between his shoulder blades.

The motion was strangely sensual, causing Ban Yu-won to struggle to calm his flushing cheeks.

"Concentrate."

Who's the one making it hard to concentrate!

—Just as he was about to retort.

Ban Yu-won's eyes widened as he felt a black flame flowing into his body through her hands.

'Hot, it's hot...!'

This wasn't just a metaphor.

It was purely, simply hot.

Despite being a tiny mass, the flame that burned hot enough to seemingly incinerate his entire body was freely roaming inside him, growing its presence from the moment it entered.

No, that's not it.

The magic power that had been evenly spread throughout his body was now rushing towards that black flame, like moths drawn to a flame.

'Is this... what they call magic power? Dokgo Yeon's magic power? Don't tell me all my magic power is going to become as hot as this flame—'

Due to the intense pain dominating his mind, he could no longer continue his thoughts.

As it devoured more and more of Ban Yu-won's magic power, the flame grew larger, and eventually began to create 'paths that didn't exist before' as it moved around inside his body.

All the magic power that had been spread throughout his body gathered along the paths created by the flame, and the flame greedily swallowed it, moving at an even faster pace.

'At this rate, it's going to... circulate through my entire body...!'

Ironically, Ban Yu-won was gradually feeling more comfortable in this extremely painful process.

The enormous energy generated as the black flame circulated through his body was invigorating his entire being, causing changes in areas that couldn't be reached through simple physical training.

As he got used to the heat and began to accept it as evidence of his own development, he regained his peace of mind.

'So magic power isn't just meant to be used as it is.'

Just as Dokgo Yeon had said, the magic power that had turned into black flame was purer, more intense, and had stronger sustainability.

When all of Ban Yu-won's magic power had finally been transformed into black flame, Dokgo Yeon let out a deep sigh and removed her hands from his back.

"Keep moving the Mysterious qi... the flame along the path I've engraved in your body. That's the beginning of the Mysterious Body Technique. If you achieve results in your practice, you'll be able to find the next path on your own."

Ban Yu-won half-opened his eyes and examined his body.

Now he could perfectly observe the changes happening inside his body with his own eyes.

In fact, it was far easier than he had prepared himself for.

Dokgo Yeon had already shown him the path.

And he was aware of the physical changes created by the black flame moving along that path.

If this was the Mysterious Body Technique, hadn't he already mastered it?

[You have grasped the concept of a new martial art, 'Mysterious Body Technique'. The depth of Mysterious Body Technique has become 20.]

Due to his outstanding achievement, the Mysterious Body Technique that Dokgo Yeon had passed on to him had settled at a depth of 20.

He was certain that this depth would continue to deepen in the future.

The changes weren't just limited to that.

[The concept of magic power has been completely converted to Mysterious qi. During the concept change, the depth has decreased, and the depth of Mysterious qi has become 150.]

[The depth of the Body, stimulated by Mysterious qi, has decreased to 215. The concept of the Body is undergoing changes. You feel the accumulation of an unknown concept, but cannot define it yet.]

[Due to the practice of Mysterious Body Technique, some negative concepts within the body have been eliminated. A positive surplus of Life has been created. This surplus potential will promote the growth of other concepts.]

[The depth of the Soul has become 440!]

[The depth of Resistance has become 7!]

As Dokgo Yeon had warned, all of his magic power had been converted into black flame, Mysterious qi.

But this was flame in name only; its nature was essentially the purest form of magic power itself, so there shouldn't be any problems handling it in the future.

No, rather, as he continued to practice the Mysterious Body Technique, the Mysterious qi would become purer and more concentrated, allowing him to exert much stronger power than the same amount of magic power.

Right now, it seemed like he had suffered a setback with the depth decreasing by nearly 50, but considering the positive changes gained from the Mysterious qi, this much was nothing. He was confident he could quickly replenish it.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?"

When he became accustomed to the circulation of qi and was certain that he could continuously circulate the Mysterious qi within his body even while speaking, Ban Yu-won finally opened his mouth to answer.

"It's perfect. Think about what kind of gift you'd like."

"You've already gotten used to it... Hehe, I'm looking forward to the gift."

Ban Yu-won would never forget the expression Dokgo Yeon made as she said those words.

It was like the expression of a spider looking at a butterfly caught in its web.

But just as he was about to say something, Dokgo Yeon beat him to it.

"Now that the basic stage of practice is over, let me tell you what you need to do next."

"Huh? Don't I just keep circulating it like this?"

"That's a given, but besides that."

Dokgo Yeon, who had now put some distance between them, pointed at Ban Yu-won's upper body.

His upper body, and even his lower body, were covered in strange, sticky sweat that had seeped out.

"The smell is terrible, so clean yourself up thoroughly. Unless you want to explore alone."

Ban Yu-won finally understood perfectly why he had needed to get naked before receiving the martial art transmission.