Bam!

A wooden rod, which had been made by breaking off the long handle of a mop, sliced through the air.

Bam!

Its motion was perfect, as if it had been pre-measured with a ruler, and it moved unnaturally fast. However, the attacker’s arms were shaking, and their hands were torn and bloody.

“Just like I predicted, even a mere one-hundred repetitions of the movement are difficult in real life. But I can still enter the stance properly and successfully recreate it… I guess this means I retained muscle memory for it?”

Bam!

Dongsoo kept swinging his rod, again and again, but his real physical body was completely different from the aura-tuned body of Lancelot in-game. No matter how strong and persistent one’s mind was, it was impossible for a mind to transcend the body and its physical limits. For a soul that has not achieved enlightenment, the body was inevitably a prison that one could never escape.

Clang!

Finally, the rod slipped from his grasp and rolled to the ground. Dongsoo tried to pick it up, but a sharp pain spread through his aching muscles as they tore, stopping him in his tracks.

Dongsoo groaned in pain. “This isn’t working out. I don’t know why I pushed myself so hard knowing that I can’t achieve what I want.”

He fell onto his back and laughed bitterly. While lying on the floor, he recalled the sword qi that had spread out like light in the world of DIO. He let out a sigh. Suddenly, his body began to lightly tremble with quiet laughter, building until he was cackling maniacally.

“Ha! Hahaha! Hahaha!!!”

Dongsoo couldn’t believe it. The ideal of martial arts resided in that light-based attack. Though the attack had unfolded before his eyes, Dongsoo couldn’t understand the principles behind it at all. No matter how long he brooded on it, even if he were to spend his entire life analyzing what he saw, Dongsoo would never even discover how the move was done, let alone benefit from it.

Somehow, such a movement had been achieved by a young man, who appeared to be around Dongsoo’s age, and who was not even an expert martial artist who had devoted tens or hundreds of years practicing.

“Life is… life is just really unfair.”

Of course, Dongsoo knew this well. The world was never fair; all beings in the world were born in completely different starting points. A newborn baby from a second-generation chaebol and one from the poorest social class lived drastically different lives through no fault or merit of their own. Also, Dongsoo knew that in the real world, not everything could be achieved merely through hard work, just as mice and rabbits could not naturally fly like eagles.

“But… but…”

Dongsoo knew all this. He knew that the world was inherently unfair and that the concept of equality was nothing more than an illusion. Even still, wasn’t this too unfair? How could there be such a vast difference between two human beings? How could that possibly be logical?

Deep within him, Dongsoo heard whispers. Impossible. He’d never achieve what a few others could. Even in an online game, Dongsoo would never be able to reach the upper echelon. Those geniuses were still flesh and blood, just like Dongsoo, but their difference was inherent, built into them at birth.

“Hmpf.”

Dongsoo pretended not to hear the whispers and got back onto his feet. His muscles screamed out in pain, but he endured it as if it had become part of his daily life. DIO’s pain control system varied its threshold based on a user’s personal pain threshold, and since Dongsoo had been repeatedly undergoing more and more pain in-game, the DIO system’s pain control system had long since stopped applying to him. In other words, if he was mentally determined to move right now, he could. However, although his mind could overcome the pain, it wasn’t wise for him to continue moving, as his body was at risk of being unable to sustain the movement and breaking down.

“I need to extend my training time.”

Dongsoo already invested most of his day in DIO and devoted all his remaining time to training in real life. If he wanted to train more, he would have to somehow make some ‘other’ time.

“I need to increase the intensity of the training as well.”

***

[This stop is Pyeongyang, Pyeongyang Station. You may exit on the left.]

Screech.

Yongno got off the train and started walking through the crowded station. If one turned their head after exiting the station, one would see the Daehan Building; the tallest building in Korea.

“Sooyeon Apartment, please.”

“Okay. Do you live there?”

“Not me. My parents.”

The taxi driver, who seemed slightly interested after hearing the name of the apartment, whistled quietly.

“Dang, that’s a nice place. I heard a lot of celebrities live there.”

“Is that right?”

Yongno didn’t seem interested or impressed by the taxi driver’s statement as he continued to look out the taxi’s window. The city wasn’t too different from Seoul, with its densely packed high-rise buildings. Seoul and Pyeongyang had a strange rivalry with each other. Both cities had a reputation to maintain as cultural centers, so both tried to one-up the other by being newer or cleaner. However, in Yongno’s eyes, both cities looked pretty much the same.

“34,000 won.”

“Here you are. Thank you.”

Yongno felt that the fare was strangely expensive for a relatively short ride, but he wasn’t strapped for cash, so he promptly paid and got out of the taxi. In front of him was a huge apartment building. Almost five hundred meters away from the apartment was a sign that read, [this is private property].

“Yongno!”

“Eh? Elder sis?”

While walking towards the apartment without much thought, Yongno turned his head towards the voice calling out to him. A woman in her early twenties came into his sight. She was 174 centimeters tall, with a slim frame, slightly wavy long hair, and many attractive facial features. Her looks would attract any passerby’s attention. Whenever she stood still, people would often try to sneak a glance.

“Wow, it’s been a while.”

“Whoa. You’ve been waiting for me at the entrance?”

“Of course. Outsiders aren’t allowed inside this place.”

Saying so, Boram walked closer toward Yongno. Though she had a slim body and a beautiful appearance, she walked like a soldier. Her gait shattered the illusions that men had after being bewitched by her appearance.

“Ah, sis, don’t walk like dad.”

“Huh? Hahaha! Did I walk like him again? It’s become a bad habit, hard to shake it! I’m more mindful in front of others, so don’t worry.”

She smiled and patted Yongno on the shoulder. There was a significant force behind her pats that would have staggered Yongno, if he was not already accustomed to his sister’s brazen personality.

“You’re still the same.”

“Pretty much. But you’ve gotten more handsome and toned, no? Have you been working out?”

“Working out? Ha, no. I’m just a loser who stays home.”

“Well, looking back, I guess you always had a pretty good frame… which is weird considering the way you live. Are you working out when no one’s looking? Like martial arts or something?”

“No way.”

Yongno shrugged. The truth was, he just had a very good physical frame. His body’s center of gravity was well established, his shoulders were wide, and his physique and skeletal structure were well developed, which gave his body an ideal shape. In addition, he seemed to have been born with natural strength, as he had been quite strong from an early age. If Yongno exercised a little, his muscles appeared readily on his frame.

Yongno wasn’t too interested in his body or in revealing it, but it was literally the ideal physical structure; a gift from god. As a spiritual or qi conducting vessel, his body would be the ideal form, which meant that his body was like a weapon. Hence, in terms of physical strength, Yongno’s body always carried a certain level of stability and power.

“I’ll just be passing through!”

“Of course, miss. Who’s that with you? Your boyfriend?”

“Hahaha. I don’t have a boyfriend. This is my younger brother.”

“Wow, everyone in your family is so good looking.”

The man who smiled and conversed pleasantly with Boram had a solid body. One could easily tell that he was well practiced in a martial arts discipline. Based on the atmosphere of their conversation, he seemed to be a security guard, and since such a person was on the premises, it was clear that this apartment complex was for the rich.

“Hahaha. I guess we lucked out in the genes department.”

As they entered the apartment complex, they were greeted with a well-decorated garden. Although it was winter, the grass and trees were bright green, as the garden was located inside the climate-controlled building.

“I’m always reminded of how rich we are whenever I visit this place.”

“Hmm? No way. Really rich people don’t live in these types of apartments. Do you remember Hyunwoo’s house? The real rich live in single family residences.”

Hyunwoo was one of Boram’s friends, and someone Yongno knew very well. Hyunwoo was the son of the chairman of the Daesung Group, a world-renowned conglomerate. Hyunwoo was also good in his studies, which allowed him to enter the country’s top university. Of course, conspiracy theory-loving netizens created accusations and rumors that his father had just bought his way through admissions, but this was absurd. Hyunwoo could speak eleven languages at a native-speaker level, and he worked as a diplomat, so he was able to easily cast off any doubt about his intellectual ability. Moreover, Hyunwoo was quite handsome and had a sculpted body, a type of body that could be seen in a magazine. He epitomized the ideal son that all mothers spoke about.

“Is that how it is?”

“Yes. Still, I like all the conveniences that a place like this affords. To be frank, the size of the apartments in this place is shockingly large.”

Ding~!

Boram got into the elevator and pressed the seventh-floor button before continuing,

“Oh, right. Do you play that game that’s all the rage right now?”

“You mean DIO?”

“Right, that one! It’s so popular right now!”

Boram spoke excitedly about DIO. DIO had achieved feats that modern science could never implement and had produced an incredibly fantastic world. Based on what she was saying, it seemed that the spiritual power areas that she chose were internal energy and aura.

“Let me ask you something! What level do you think I am in-game?”

“Level Seven.”

“…”

Boram’s excited expression quickly hardened as the elevator doors opened with a ‘ding’. However, seeing that his sister was still in a daze, Yongno took it upon himself to drag her out of the elevator. It was only then that his sister seemed to awaken from her stupor.

“Don’t… don’t just guess whatever comes to mind…”

“I must have guessed correctly.”

“Ugh.”

It seemed that Boram was crestfallen after failing to surprise her brother. However, Yongno didn’t pay any attention to his sister’s expression and looked around the area instead. Though there was a hallway, there was only one door. This meant that the whole floor was one family’s apartment. Moreover, the hallway was outfitted with two cameras, allowing the occupants within the apartment to see who came and went.

“Aren’t you going to open the door?”

“What? Huh… oh… wait a second.”

Boram shook her head as if to clear her mind and reached for the keycard within her purse. She placed it over the keycard reader and punched in an access code.

Ring~

With a clunking noise, the front door unlocked and opened. However, before entering, a question popped into Boram’s head.

“Wait, how did you know my level? Did someone take a video of me and post it on the internet?”

“No, I just figured you’d be around that level.”

“Oh, then you just guessed.”

Boram mumbled about how Yongno had just happened to guess correctly. However, this wasn’t the case. As if he was looking down from a place high above her, Yongno could tell what her level was just by looking at her. Although he couldn’t tell what spiritual power she specialized in, or feel her spiritual power level or qi, Yongno just knew. It would be more appropriate to say that he felt it.

‘What’s going on?’

Yongno started questioning how he could have felt it. Of course, he always had a discerning eye. Just by looking at someone walking, he could accurately guess what their job was, how their physical condition was, what kind of exercise they were doing, and even what their personality or goals in life were. However, these types of things were done through reasoning and intuition. Wasn’t it strange to know someone’s level in DIO, which had nothing to do with reality? Was this some sort of superpower?

‘Well, it’s not like I have one or two of these talents…’

In truth, Yongno had several talents that were close to superpowers. There was his high-speed reasoning ability that he had mastered before the age of ten, and his swimming skills that he had developed from just moving his arms and kicking against the water. Moreover, over the past three years, he had learned how to perfectly control his body from a state of weightlessness, which went against the laws of physics and the rules governing reality.

Once Yongno became interested in something for a long time, he always reached a state of competence and developed a talent in that field. He didn’t find this very strange, but anyone else would have been shocked after hearing of such an ability. The awakening of this power within a modern-day body, with one’s genuine-qi and spirit vein blocked, meant that Yongno had acquired extreme enlightenment, like Jesus or Buddha in the past.

Nevertheless, his consciousness hadn’t yet reached the point of transcendence like these transcendent beings of the past. This was because he hadn’t struck a balance between what he knew and what he had become enlightened in.

“Mom, I’m back!” Boram shouted.

“Welcome back. Where did you go?”

“I was bringing in a visitor.”

“A visitor? Boram, it’s been a while since our family has gotten together… I don’t think it’s appropriate to have a visitor…”