Namgung Jipyeong gasped for breath, craning his neck to look at the child who had approached him.
“Are you done?”
“Yes… One thousand… I’ve done them all….”
“As expected, a thousand is easy for you.”
“…Yes…?”
Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes went wide, as did the eyes of the squad members who were also catching their breath. Can’t she see how hard this was? Don’t we look like we’re about to die?
She may be a child, but still!
“From now on, it would be better to put a weight on your back. At this rate, it seems difficult to train your bones and muscles.”
Her serious expression as she spoke made the jaws of Namgung Jipyeong and the squad members drop.
“A weight… on our backs…? Fifty geun…?”
Is… that even possible…?
“Because wearing them on your arms and legs for push-ups is meaningless.”
Seolhwa said to the squad members sprawled on the ground.
“For the horse stance as well, wearing them on your legs is meaningless, so from now on, it would be better to place them on your thighs.”
The squad members’ jaws dropped. They had endured the deathly horse stance for a full hour only because the weights on their legs helped them maintain their balance.
What?
Take them off their legs and put them on their thighs?
“W-Won’t we die if we do that…?”
One of them mustered the courage to protest.
“You won’t die from something like that.”
Seolhwa did not back down. The fact that her expression was so bright and innocent as she said it made them feel even more wronged.
‘She’s a demon.’
‘I should have known when she knocked out the Squad Leader.’
‘She’s planning to kill us all!’
‘I’m quitting…!’
I’m going to quit! It’s better than dying from all my muscles tearing! As if by agreement, the squad members all resolved not to show up starting tomorrow.
But then.
“If you just do this, you all can quickly become Inner Hall Warriors.”
“…!”
“…!”
The squad members’ eyes sparkled. The dream of the Outer Hall Warriors was to become Inner Hall Warriors. To become an Inner Hall Warrior, called the elite of the Namgung, learn the martial arts passed down only to them, become stronger, and make their names known in the Martial World.
“Can we really become Inner Hall Warriors just by doing this?”
It was the word of a child, but wasn't she an esteemed guest of the Heavenly Guest Room? So couldn't they believe her?
“Of course. It’s more than possible.”
Seolhwa nodded without hesitation. The warriors’ faces brightened even more. They soon began to talk excitedly, as if they had already become Inner Hall Warriors.
Even during training, they would often ask Seolhwa for confirmation, and each time, she would affirm with a nod. Each time, the squad members would train with renewed vigor. All except for one person, Squad Leader Namgung Jipyeong.
On the way back after training. Though exhausted, the squad members, now filled with a glimmer of hope, returned to their quarters with bright faces. After seeing them off, Seolhwa spoke to Namgung Jipyeong, who had remained until the end.
“From tomorrow, let’s meet at the Red Dragon Squad’s training ground.”
Namgung Jipyeong asked, a little surprised.
“You mean our training ground?”
“Yes. I don’t think I’ll be staying here anymore.”
“Are you leaving…?”
“I’m not leaving. I’m just leaving the Heavenly Guest Room.”
By today, she would be announced as a child of the Namgung and would leave the Heavenly Guest Room to enter the Inner Hall pavilions. Once that happened, she would no longer be able to use the training ground of the Heavenly Guest Room.
“Training only yields results when it’s consistent. So how can I be lazy? Let’s meet at the Red Dragon Squad’s training ground starting tomorrow.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Please tell the other warriors as well.”
“…Yes.”
She had said what she needed to, so she was about to turn and leave, but for some reason, Namgung Jipyeong did not move. He had the look of someone with much to say.
“If you have something to say, please say it.”
At Seolhwa’s words, he hesitated for a moment before sighing and speaking.
“It probably won’t happen.”
“What won’t happen?”
“Becoming Inner Hall Warriors. No matter how strong we become, we won’t be able to.”
Namgung Jipyeong had agonized over whether to say this or not. For the sake of his squad members, who had regained their will to train at the mention of becoming Inner Hall Warriors, he considered not saying anything.
But.
‘The greater the hope, the greater the despair.’
For their future, he had to speak. He had to prevent his squad members from harboring false dreams, swayed by the words of a master.
“Why?”
The child asked innocently. She may be a powerful master, but she was still a child. She might not know.
No, it was natural that she wouldn’t. Namgung Jipyeong calmly began his story.
“It has been over a decade since I began striving with the dream of becoming an Inner Hall Warrior. In the Outer Hall, I’m considered quite skilled.”
Seolhwa listened in silence.
“I rose to the position of Squad Leader faster than others, and I thought I would soon be able to become an Inner Hall Warrior.”
His peers, who had passed the warrior examination with him, all praised him, saying he would quickly become an Inner Hall Warrior.
“When a junior less skilled than I was chosen, I first thought something was wrong. The second time, I thought I had been arrogant, and the third time, I thought I was making a mistake in some way.”
Perhaps there was a major problem with his form when executing his sword technique, or perhaps he had misunderstood the incantations of the internal method. He tried to find and fix his shortcomings and dedicated himself even more to training.
However, as he took the promotion test again and again, not only Namgung Jipyeong but also those who had praised him came to a realization.
“It was only after failing the promotion test ten times that I realized. The reason I was failing was not because of my skill. And I only found that out because someone told me.”
‘Namgung Jipyeong will never become an Inner Hall Warrior, no matter how hard he tries.’
‘Will his turn ever come?’
‘It’s a waste of talent to let him rot in the Outer Hall… but what can be done? He has no background.’
Namgung Jipyeong let out a weak, resigned laugh. Once he faced his situation, he finally felt at ease.
“I was merely a frog that could not escape the well.”
Looking up at the sky, climbing and climbing the well’s wall, but escaping the well on my own strength was impossible from the start. Born a frog, it was a fate that could not be escaped unless someone pulled him out.
“So, I hope you won’t give the squad members too much hope. Those kids joined not long ago, so they don’t yet know the circumstances of the Namgung.”
Namgung Jipyeong scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. It was ridiculous to be talking about the circumstances and power dynamics of the Namgung to a child, and he felt embarrassed.
“Things will be different now.”
“…Pardon?”
“You have me now.”
Namgung Jipyeong blinked his vacant eyes. He had been talking about the family’s internal politics, yet she, an outsider, was telling him to just trust her. Having a master of the peak realm guide his training was certainly an unparalleled opportunity.
However.
‘Just by increasing the training intensity a bit, it’s not like I’ll suddenly gain political power and be able to become an Inner Hall Warrior…’
As expected, she doesn’t understand because she’s a child. He must have overlooked it because she was so mature. Such adult matters would be difficult for her to understand.
Namgung Jipyeong smiled agreeably and played along with her words.
“Yes. I will work hard.”
Seolhwa watched him quietly.
“Will you promise me one thing?”
“What kind of promise?”
“That you will never give up.”
No matter how hard it gets, even when the overwhelming feeling that you can achieve nothing comes crashing down.
“That you will do your best until the very end.”
Her gaze was so determined. Faced with her firm eyes, devoid of any playfulness, Namgung Jipyeong could do nothing but nod.
“…Yes. I understand. Isn’t that my specialty, after all?”
He had been doing it for over a decade, what were a few more years? Just meeting a master of the peak realm and regaining his lost passion was something to be thankful for.
“I’ve been slacking for years, so I must work hard now. So that if an opportunity ever comes, I’ll be able to grab it tight.”
Seolhwa nodded.
“Yes. It will surely come.”
An opportunity.
A chance to change one’s life. An opportunity of a lifetime that must not be missed. Some might say that those who seize such opportunities were ‘lucky’.
However, it is something that can never be achieved by luck or coincidence. One who is not prepared cannot even grasp the opportunity that comes into their hands. Thus, an opportunity is an inevitability created by one's own effort and skill.
Seolhwa smiled back at him.
“I will help you.”
Inevitability smiled upon him.