Third Floor, The Tower.

Standing in front of an angel statue in the middle of the forest, Do-Yun and Eun-Young looked at each other after searching their surroundings.

“No sight of them?” She asked.

“It doesn’t look like they were around here.” He checked the ground for footprints and only found theirs.

In conclusion, they got split up while transferring to the new floor. There were no signs of struggle that something could've happened after they arrived or the fact that neither of the two had any interest in strolling off in an unknown area.

“Shit…” Eun-Young grimaced.

It wasn’t because she was alone with Do-Yun, although that did sound troublesome in its own right. Leaving Byung-Ho alone with Ethan worried her more. Byung-Ho couldn’t attack and Ethan hadn’t moved a muscle through the two floors aside from eating and flipping pages. Yet, only she worried about this.

“Those two will do ok. Let’s see what we have to do now.” Do-Yun yawned, planning to set up a camp near the statue and look at other things in the morning.

“I think we should search for them immediately. We can’t leave the Tower before clearing the floor and it is more dangerous if we stay apart.” Eun-Young’s comment made him tilt his head.

“He’s a cool guy though.” Although she hadn’t said it out, he understood her concern.

“I just… don’t feel like leaving him alone with Byung-Ho. I can’t explain it… he gives me a bad feeling.” Eun-Young didn’t want to say it, but she had to this time.

“Oho? Looks like you got attached to our Byung-Ho.” Do-Yun smirked.

“…He’s the team’s tank, of course, I am worried about him. If something happens to him our progress will stop.” She deadpanned.

“Such a fun person you are.” He sighed, but he could see her point. Eun-Young wanted to progress into the tower for her own reasons, from the reaction she showed on the day he talked about the tower she wanted the healing artifact.

The fact that she hadn’t contacted Da-Eun to procure her service meant that the wound she wanted to heal happened years ago. To get an item that would heal such a wound, they’d have to keep climbing the Tower, and having a Tank like Byung-Ho would help big time. Even with his flaws, he played an active role in their team.

“We should find them before they die or get injured.” Hearing that he sighed again.

“The way I see it, you have more chances of dying before them Eun-Young-Ah.” Eun-Young froze at his words.

“…What do you mean?” She took a step back.

“Don’t need to be so defensive, it isn’t like I’ll attack you.” Do-Yun chuckled, however, she didn’t let up her fist clenched tight, “No I mean seriously, I won’t. You are too young for me.”

“Get to the point!” Eun-Young glared at him.

“You’ll die before we reach the fifteenth floor if I am being generous,” Do-Yun said. He had made the predictions after careful observation of the way she performed till now. He wanted to say this to her for some time and the time seemed just right.

“I can see fear in your eyes when you fight. Funny enough, you aren’t afraid of the enemy, but of yourself.” He walked up to her stopping her retreat.

“But I can still defend myself.” Eun-Young frowned.

“That! That right there is why people like you die fast. Honestly, I feel like leaving you out after this raid.” But, Do-Yun kept the fact in her face. He wasn’t lying and it irked her, even more, because this wasn’t the first time.

The first time they met, he told her she wasn’t suited for fighting the Beasts. Then he invited her to his team and then said that again on their first important raid. But, his words didn’t matter. Leaving her out in the next raid? She wouldn’t let that happen.

“You’re confident in your ability to fight, right?” Eun-Young asked.

“I’d say I am quite alright.” His answer made her snort, but that didn’t change much.

“Then how about we put it to the test? If I can beat you, then there is no reason to worry about my ability to fight is there?” Eun-Young stepped closer.

“If you can beat me then there won’t be any issues.” He laughed.

“Fine then, let’s get to it.” Her red eyes glowed in the darkness. She couldn’t let herself be dropped from the team because of his one-sided decision. If he doubted her, she’d prove herself.

“What happens if you lose?” Do-Yun’s question stumped her. She didn’t think about that at the moment.

“If I lose… I’ll never question your words again,” Eun-Young said in earnest.

“Hoho, this looks like a scene out of a martial arts movie, doesn’t it? The wild youngling that is about to get humbled by an old martial artist. After the master shows how wide the gap between their ability is, she later acknowledges him as her teacher. I quite like that trope.” Do-Yun chuckled.

“Take this seriously!” She glared. To her, this held a lot of importance.

“Well, sure. There is an open space about a hundred meters to the right. Let’s go there.” Do-Yun turned in that direction already, it looked like he’d need to delay sleeping a little today.

‘Why is he taking this to a more open space?’ Following him Eun-Young didn’t understand his motives.

With the way Do-Yun fought, a space with multiple objects in the way suited him. The forest around them became the perfect place for him as he weaved through the trees to dodge and attack from blind spots. His ability to wipe his presence off contributed to his deadliness too. That is what took them through the second floor that fast. But, now he told her that they’d fight in an open area?

Eun-Young didn’t want to be boastful, but even if she held back he couldn’t match her attack power and her speed wasn’t that lacking either. In an open area where she could constantly see him, the element of surprise had gone out the window. In an instant, he had put himself at a severe disadvantage.

“Eun-Young-Ah, you know that the fight started when we agreed to do it. So, you can attack me.” He said jolting her out of the thoughts.

“Why would I attack you before reaching the destination?” He had his back turned towards her.

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With those lax strides, Do-Yun looked as unprepared as ever. Then why would he ask her to attack when he wasn’t ready to defend?

“I see, it is worse than I thought.” He said as they entered the wide opening illuminated by the moonlight, “You shouldn’t question the handouts when you are weaker.”

Eun-Young narrowed her eyes watching him sigh again. He seemed to know what she thought on the journey here. It was that weird feeling again when she looked him in the eye. Trying to understand him was like solving a thousand-piece puzzle for the first time, but blindfolded. And she was short on time too.

“Then, let’s end this quick. I need to get my beauty sleep.” He walked over, his footsteps still having no sense of strength to them, neither did he have a correct form.

‘But he’d fast.’ Eun-Young moved her head to the left to dodge a quick jab. In a blink he entered her strike zone, she had studied it when he fought so his reach, power, and all the combinations he used, she knew them already.

Ducking the kick to her head she did a low kick to target his standing leg. Do-Yun jumped. After a spin, his left heel came down onto her head. Defending with her right hand, Eun-Young gathered strength in her own legs. The ground below shook, but she didn’t budge.

When she tried to grab his leg he moved back and created space in an instant. That kick had power. But, it didn’t even make her arm sting. The troubling part came with Do-Yun’s unnatural and loose attack patterns. From kicks and punches to elbows and knees. His attacks had no sense of connection or a fixed style to them.

‘It is like he does them on the fly. A punch followed by an elbow once, but other times he’ll do a Brazilian kick before trying to land an uppercut. But, this isn’t a problem. His strength, speed, and attacks, I can deal with them. All I need to do is a single takedown. As long as I get a hold of him, it’ll end.’ Her eyes locked onto his movements.

Although the fight had been a one-sided attack from him. No progress came from it. But, with his unconnected attacks finding openings became easier. As someone who trained in Judo, Eun-Young had been told that there wasn’t anyone better than her when it came to analyzing. The style didn’t matter, the martial arts used in tandem didn’t matter, and age or experience didn’t matter. Even if it was someone throwing random moves, within a few minutes she could understand her opponent and how to take them down in the shortest time.

Even before awakening, Kim Eun-Young had the natural ability that got her the nickname ‘Martial Demon’ at a young age.

‘There!’ When Do-Yun a punch to her face. She stepped inside his range, the punch brush by her bangs missing her form. Predicting his next move, her left shin collided with his right stopping his follow-up knee and elbow with ease.

With swift movements, she grabbed his outstretched hand. She swiped at his legs to push him to the ground. Once caught, he had no way of escaping her grip, or so she had thought.

Eun-Young’s body went limp after her head jerked a little. Her vision blurred as she lost control over her body. The world around her spun, knees hitting the floor her unfocused eyes shook. Her chin stung at that moment as she stared at her hands that refused to move.

A hand grabbed at her throat and pulled her face. Staring at his black eyes and the small smile on his face, she shuddered when he mouthed some words to her.

‘There, you are dead.’ Her ears rang but she could understand it. These were simple words, but she got covered in cold sweat.

In that moment she understood that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t use her strength. Do-Yun hadn’t shown his full speed yet. In the moment she tried to take him down he struck her chin with a punch that escaped her vision. It rattled her brain and made her limp for a few seconds. However, those few seconds were enough to decide her fate.

Since starting Martial arts, Eun-Young has not lost a single time. It didn’t matter if she fought an adult or someone with more experience than her in a multitude of martial arts. Her natural talent gave her the potential to learn from her opponents and copy their abilities in real time. However, even this genius had something holding onto her ankles.

“I am not against you hiding your strength. It is a common tactic everyone uses, but the problem with you is that you can’t change gears as fast as others because you do not know what comes after.” Do-Yun said.

He admired her genius, what he used in this fight was a copy of A-Rank martial Arts ‘Formless Fighting Spirit’. As the title suggested the moves and combos had no form or rhythm to them. It moved like a chaotic drunk man trying to walk down a road full of people. But, his goal was to not touch anyone. A martial art known for its unpredictability. However, she predicted the attacks from this art after seeing it for a couple of minutes with pinpoint accuracy.

“I understand that you fear your newfound strength. It is like a sharp blade. Trying to sheath it is normal. Doing it without knowing how sharp the blade is will lead to disaster. Not only can it hurt you by slicing the sheath, but it can also hurt others around you. You don’t want that, right?” Do-Yun noticed her shaken eyes.

He heard her on the day they spent alone at Byung-Ho’s gym. Eun-Young feared her ability, but for the sake of someone else. That became the reason why he thought she wasn’t suited for fighting. But, what of it? He’d teach her to become a fighter.

‘I wasn’t suited to fight either. But, that didn’t stop those people from training me. But, she has a talent for it. She might be able to reach it… that Selfless stage.’ Do-Yun looked at Eun-Young, most of what he had said. She should already know most of it.

Even knowing that she didn’t want to continue, she had to move forward just like him. Because she had a goal too.

“If you listen to me, I can help you control your ability and strength. Then you can live your normal life without any worries or hurting someone.” She trembled at his words.

Do-Yun smiled, no matter how tough she looked on the outside. Eun-Young was still young. From what he understood she had no one around to look after her, and she took care of her younger sister too.

‘She only nineteen after all.’ In a way, being tough was the only way for her. However, a dependable older figure should help her loosen up a little.

‘Who else could be a better dependable older figure than me?’ Do-Yun tooted his own horn.

“So, Eun-Young-Ah what do you say?” He flipped his hair with a generous smile as she slowly raised her head.

“…Don’t you think it is about time you let go of my neck?” She glared at him with eyes full of disgust.

“Ah… Sorry… I forgot…” Do-Yun moved back releasing his hand. Lost in his mind, he forgot where his hand was for a second and kept on talking.

She snorted watching his face. He didn’t lie but that didn’t make it any better. In anything related to the real world, Eun-Young knew that she could never trust Do-Yun’s words or actions. He was the personification of a careless adult she wanted to avoid all her life. However, in one thing she would take his words over anyone else’s.

Rubbing her neck she noticed the amount of sweat, even though he hadn't squeezed it hard enough she still felt the press of death in the moment he took hold of her. If he wanted to, he could've ripped her windpipe out. Taking a deep breath she understood how well-placed that attack was to cut her off.

If he had that speed and held back that much, then his control over his physical power had reached a high level. She had always thought of it whenever he could eat without worrying about bending the chopsticks and spoons, or the time he could jump around like a kid without worrying about destroying the floor. Unlike most Awakened with high strength who walked on eggshells in daily life, he was free, almost like he didn’t have that much power to begin with.

Although she knew of this, Eun-Young hadn’t asked him for help. Because he didn’t have a reason to help her, and she didn’t want to impose her problems on him. He wasn’t her caretaker.

But, now she had a reason.

‘If he is taking the initiative to teach me, then he needs my strength to climb the Tower. And I need his knowledge and skills to get that artifact.’ Both had something the other needed, so it should’ve been an easy choice.

“This punch… I’ll get you for this.” She said getting to her feet.

“If you stay with me, you’ll get enough chances to do that.” Do-Yun smiled before turning around, “I’ll set up the tent, you’re on watch tonight.”

Watching him laugh while taking out the tent Eun-Young grimaced. She had landed herself in a questionable agreement, but backing out wasn’t an option now. One sleepless night wouldn’t affect her much. However, one thing did affect her seeing him enter the tent without another word.

‘Be tough, Byung-Ho. We’ll find you soon.’ With a small fire in front of her for warmth, Eun-Young spent the rest of the night reviewing her battle with Do-Yun.

Moments Lost Between Pages:

Thinking over the battle she thought back on her conversation with Do-Yun that led up to the decisive duel.

Eun-Young: (Did he just reject me back then?)

[Her pride as a woman had been hurt.]

Eun-Young: Why should I care anyway?

[Next day…]

Do-Yun: You have any questions?

Eun-Young: No. [*Continues to stare]

Do-Yun: Heh. Could it be that… you fell for my charms? I already told you that you aren’t my type.

Eun-Young: Respectfully, Kill yourself.