“Master what is your level?” Krug asked suspiciously.
“Level 0.”
“…I see in that case I can arrange something else. Please come with me, we can arrange all this right away!” Krug said excitedly.
Geomchi2 smiled with gratefulness. “I remembered we still haven’t given you a disciple’s title.”
The other practioners nodded in agreement. “Yes master, he definatelly needs a name.”
“Earthen Geomchi 11?” Suggested Earthen Geomchi 10.
“No…I do not believe that will suit him.” Geomchi 2 said.
The others looked at their master puzzled…
“You will be Wangja Meonji (prince of dust).”
Krug bowed upon receiving his title. “I do not know what it means, but I receive this titles bestowed upon me by you, my great master, with great honor.”
Krug was quick to arrange for wooden swords and practicing targets (a pole wrapped in layers of cloth). Geomchi2 was filled with excitement. “Yes this is indeed perfect.” Geomchi2 said as the last pole was hammered into the ground. A few onlookers gathered plahyers and NPC, seeing all the work being carried out. The practioners decided to ignore them.
“Then let us begin!”
Geomchi2 explained to Krug the basics of sword strike and watched him practice strikes till he got the movement right. Then together they began to hit the poles with the wooden swords.
“So it’s a must to do this?” Krug asked another practioner.
The practioner simply nodded as he pounded the pole with the wooden stick.
“Boom!”
Geomchi2 felt a bit of nostalgia from swinging the sword like this again. Constantly hitting a fixed object was like the training method practiced only in VR games. Training students like this had long been discarded in reality (about 50 years ago).
“Argh! Shout louder!” Geomchi2 said.
“Yes!” Shouted back the practioners.
The Geomchis eagerly beat the poles. ‘I must hit it harder than the others!’ Each Earthen Geomchi thought to themselves.
Some of the onlookers began thinking that the Geomchi’s were crazy.
‘What use is the sword in this world?’
‘Isn’t the elemental control far more powerful?’ They whispered to each other.
‘Isn’t that Krug Rosenheim?’ whispered some NPCs who were watching.
‘Aye! It is one the shrine’s instructors!’
‘Why is he practicing swords?’
‘Is this some kind of joke?’
Geomchi2and the others however continued to ignore them. Learn the sword first; a sword cuts monsters as knife cuts butter. That had been there dojang teachings. But no matter how many hours they swung their sword, their strength and other abilities did not grow. This was because only upon gaining level 1, could stats be applied and skills are learnt. However the Geomchi’s did not deter, they only began to think they were not putting in enough spirit.
‘I must become master’s best disciple!’
With that thought, their eyes grew brighter and brighter. However, they could not escape the rules of this world. The more they exerted themselves the more hungry they became and faster their bread diminished.
“Master, we have two pieces of bread left each!” Earthen Geomchi3 cried out.
“Hmmm…” Geomchi2 was in deep thought. Neither he nor his disciples were able to raise their stats. ‘Maybe Lee Hyun built this game to be much harder than before?’
“Eat one bread each and lets look for a quest. If we do a quest we will receive some money and then be able to buy more bread.” Geomchi2 suggested. He had grown wiser than before. He wasn't going to let his disciples die out of hunger.
The Geomchis ate the bread that was left. Now each Geomchi had only one bread left. Krug too ate bread as he was now under the training of his master. He would eat whatever they would eat, drink whatever they would drink and sleep wherever they would sleep. So if they decided to go on a quest he would too go on a quest! He had decided that he would imbibe the way of the Geomchis!
“I feel full thanks to the bread now!” Said earthen Geomchi4.
“Oh, yea! Krug you look quite proficient now.” Earthen Geomchi4 said.
“Yes I gained the sword mastery stat! and my strength also increased!” Krug replied excitedly.
The other Geomchi’s scowled. How was it that when they were doing the samething that he was the only one able to gain stats?
“Che!”
“It’s ok!” Geomchi2 said, seeing his frustrated disciples. “I am sure we must try even harder!”
“Master, you are right.” The others said.
“Krug-nim, we are looking to do a quest to earn some money. Do you know where we can get a quest?” The Geomchi’s asked.
“I think there are plenty of people in the town who needs work done. I do not know of these people but I often hear from my men that there are many errand workers here.”
“Alright then.” Geomchi2 said coming to a decision. “All of you head to the town and find quests for yourself. Once you do that buy money with the bread and comeback here. We shall continue our training from where we left.”
The Geomchi’s nodded and left. Just as Krug was about to leave with them, Geomchi2 turned and said, “Not you krug, you are still the newest member amongst us all, you must practice the way of the sword even more. So if you feel hungry then eat but don’t die of hunger.”
“…” Krug silently accepted his master’s orders and began swinging his sword.
Silence surrounded the group after what Geomchi2 had just said.
“Master weren’t you too harsh on him?”
“Master, he is not that weak.”
“He will grow stronger; we will even call him to practice in the dojang.”
Earthen Geomchi 8 said, “He is not one of us.”
The atmosphere became tense after those words had been said carelessly.
“What do you mean brother?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Geomchi2 spoke, “He is an NPC.”
The Geomchis began questioning.
“Are you sure?” The other 9 began asking.
“I mean, how do you know?”
“This is a serious situation. What do we do?”
“This means Krug-nim can never practice in the dojang with us?”
“Is that why master asked him to practice more here?”
“Fools.” Geomchi2 spoke irritatedly. “This is more serious than that. He needs to grow much stronger than us. Have you ever heard of an NPC coming back to life after dying?”
“…” The Geomchis had no answer.
“Unlike us Krug will be playing with his life on the line when we enter the battlefront. If he is not strong enough then he will wither away.” Geomchi2 continued feeling slightly emotional. Though he just met Krug, he had grown fond of his new disciple. He could not help feeling concerned about each of his disciples.
“Master! I think I know.” Spoke a Geomchi.
“Earthen Geomchi 6 (Author: shortened to EGeomchi), tell me your idea. What would you do?” Geomchi2 ordered.
“If Wangja Meonji is in danger we can protect him! We just have to grow stronger ourselves!”
“Sigh…” Geomchi2 felt his disciples need more training in the art of consideration. “Would you like me to save you everytime you were in danger?” He asked EGeomchi6.
“Never master! I can never have you save me!” EGeomchi 6 spoke back embarrassed that his master made such an offer.
“Then alright, how about having all other EGeomchi’s stick out their neck before you?” Geomchi2 casually asked as they reach the town square.
“…” EGeomchi6 and the others finally understood what their master was driving towards. They weren’t thinking about how Krug-nim would feel to be continuously protected by others. It would serve as a reminder of how weak he was and furthermore it would crush his pride as a warrior.
“For now, it is best if he practices and becomes stronger and stronger. If a level 0 like me can kill him, can you imagine how weak he is?” Geomchi2 asked.
“Master…we have been meaning to ask you…how did you defeat him?” EGeomchi4 asked.
The others looked at Geomchi2 eagerly. Even though they had witnessed it, they did not understand everything. All that they saw was their master hiding behind trees and quickly reaching behind Krug. However, what interested them was how he could creep up so quietly behind Krug nim, especially since the ground was littered with falling autumn leaves.
“Yes master tell us! How did you dodge his attack with your eyes closed?”
“You can feel the tremors of an attack before they reach you.” Geomchi2 replied with a smug smile.
“Ahhh!” The other Geomchi’s exclaimed.
“And how did you move around with your eyes closed?” asked a senior practioner.
“He probably memorized the place when he walked in…” muttered an instructor as he turned red with embarrassment for not being able to figure it out sooner.
“And how did you hide your presence?”
“You mean soft wind steps?” Geomchi2 asked.
“Ah!! You used another branches ability.” The Geomchi’s exclaimed.
“I think you are mistaken. We aren’t branches of different teachings. We are branches of the same teaching. You must complete mastery of each branch before you can claim to be a master.”
“…” The disciples were speechless. They had spent the past several years trying to master just one branch. The instructors weren’t surprised they were already at a stage where they had mastered two branches and were mastering the other ones. Since all elements had some common points, progressing across all four branches wasn’t as difficult as the disciples imagined it to be. Nonetheless it did take significant time to master the remaining branches. The disciples and instructors could only look up in awe at their master.
"However, this is VR. Had it been a fight to the death, I would have lost." Geomchi2 said to tarnish that sheen of his victory that was building up in the eyes of his disciples. "With only 80 HP and such little damage, it would have been impossible to kill Krug."
The Geomchi's understood what their master meant here. This is not reality and by the rules here this wasn't really a victory. They had to become stronger!
“Then let us split here. We shall return only after buying enough bread for ourselves. I have created a whisper conference for Earthen Geomchi’s. If any of you are in trouble or find a good quest to share, let the others know.” Geomchi2 said.
With that the Geomchi’s went in different directions across the town.
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Authors Note:
1. Created the following abbreviations: EGeomchi = Earthen Geomchi, FGeomchi = Fire Geomchi, WiGeomchi = Wind Geomchi, WaGeomchi = Water Geomchi.
2. I sleep, eat, write and post. Happy reading.
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Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?Side StoryNo
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