Chapter 62
“Hahahahahahaha, you’re a daredevil! Just as I expected from the son of Vito Corleone.”
Kwak Chun-sik laughs so loudly that the entire cafe echoes.
“So, you’re asking me to pass on the Aura Formula and my pride to you?”
“You don’t have any disciples yet, do you? I understand that your son hasn’t learned the Aura Formula.”
Aura Formula was a difficult skill to master, even in the game.
Not only was Aura itself a highly sensory skill, but it was not until much later that Kwak Chun-sik was able to explain it easily.
His son, Kwak Chun-sam, was already quite old by then……and although he eventually became an Aura Master, he was unable to master Aura Formula.
“Auras are usually hardened over time. As such, it is a very delicate and difficult elemental energy to develop.”
He raised his hand, and a star made of Aura formed in his hand but he continued to reshape it.
“So time and talent, both are important, but even my son, a prodigy, could not master it in time.”
His fist clenched tightly around the star, and he stares at me with intensity as he speaks.
“If you are his son, you should have awakened at an early age so by now it would be difficult for you to master the Aura Formula.”
Was that the only reason?
“If I’m right, I’ve awakened Aura for less than a month, so I should be fine.”
“……What? You’ve awakened Aura for less than a month?”
“Yes. To put it in terms of what you said……I’d say I’m like a child who just started crawling, isn’t that enough to qualify?”
Kwak Chun-sik is taken aback by my words.
Yes, he honestly doesn’t want to hand over his technique to just anyone. But I didn’t miss the worry in his eyes.
“But……I also have a granddaughter. She’s awakened at a young age, and she’s a godsend, so why should I teach you?”
“Do you really think your granddaughter, who is just about to start kindergarten, can survive an Aura-style training regimen?”
Kwak Chun-sik tried to make excuses and refuse but how could I have come all this way without doing some research?
The inevitable thing to do after learning Aura Formula was to forcefully inflate the Aura to widen its path.
Naturally, the process is incredibly painful so how could he teach it to an uneducated child, or even his cute little granddaughter.
“I have my father’s blood in my veins, and while I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, I can assure you that……I’m as good as heaven-sent being.”
Kwak Chun-sik smiled brightly, and as I studied his expression, so I could see that his pupils were twitching slightly.
Could he make any other choice? He certainly couldn’t after what I had just said.
“Hah, right, so in the end, for the sake of the Aura School’s reputation, I must accept you as an apprentice.”
The fact that he chose to call me his apprentice showed his intention to take the initiative.
Of course I’m not the kind of person to just hand over the reins.
“…… I don’t think I’d call myself a disciple, more like a mentee.”
“What?”
“As you know, I’m the heir to Corleone, so it’s a bit much to be your apprentice. Let’s just say I’m a student that you taught the Aura Formula.”
I don’t need to be his apprentice unless he was going to be my mentor for the rest of his life but at this point, it was enough to sell the organization’s name.
“So you’re just going to follow your own path?”
Kwak Chun-sik looked uncomfortable.
“Why would I want to do what’s not convenient for me? Isn’t that what saving the world is all about?”
Kwak Chun-sik was a hero who wasn’t entirely righteous and right now, he’s here because he killed a villain instead of capturing or subduing him.
In that respect, his values and mine were not so different.
To be above the law for the sake of one’s own goals and values was the path that Kwak Chun-sik and I wanted to walk.
“Follow me.”
With a sigh, Kwak Chun-sik stood up from his seat and as I followed him out of the cafe I saw the smiling face of Yoo Seok-hoon, the caretaker.
“Mr. Yoo, I’ll take this child for a while.”
“As you wish.”
With a single word, Kwak Chun-sik takes me inside Silver Town.
To other inmates or residents Kwak Chun-sik was practically a king in this place.
There was no one who could touch him here.
Following him, we arrived at a park inside Silver Town, where a number of Awakened Elders were exercising or chatting.
“Cheongsam, Chun-chul.”
Kwak Chun-sik walked through the crowd and approached two elderly men sitting on a bench chatting.
“Do me a favor.”
With that, he quietly whispered something in their ears. Soon, they raised their heads and looked at me in unison as if they had finished talking.
……I feel uneasy.
“Is that him?”
“Yeah.”
“This will be fun after all these years.”
Leaving Kwak Chun-sik behind, the two old men step forward and start unbuttoning their shirts.
Cheung glances around and sees that the old men who had been exercising have retreated, leaving the park empty.
“Are you ready, Cheong?”
“Of course, Chun.”
Suddenly, I realized who they were.
The Youth Duo, formerly C-class heroes, were buddies who could take on A-class villains together. And the fact that they took off their shirts meant that…….
“Isn’t that too much for a cadet who’s still in the academy?”
I asked but with a grunt, the old men’s upper bodies bulged as their ability, ‘Muscle Enhancement’, was activated.
Kwak Chun-sik, who was standing behind them, started laughing.
“Let’s see if you’re really worthy of being my disciple.”
This guy, really…….
“Since this is the first time we’ve met, let’s say hello. I’m Cheongsam of the Youth Duo!”
Cheongsam thrusts out his fist at me with his enormous biceps flaring but at the same time, I activated my [Bloodline: Corleone] and strengthened my physical abilities.
– Bang─!
I swung my right hand to meet his fist, and a loud sound of steel clashing against steel resounded.
“You’re so young, so fierce! Chun-chul!”
“Ew!”
I push off Cheongsam’s fist, and at the moment of the struggle, Chun-chul lunges for my lower back.
“Eek!”
If I were to receive his ability-enhanced kick defenselessly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it broke my leg.
Had it been a one-on-one situation, I might have been able to deflect the attack if I jumped in place, but if I jumped while I was still barely holding on, I’d be sent flying backwards by Cheongsam strength.
This situation forced me to make a choice but in this case I would have to step back.
I slowly withdrew my fist and used Cheongsam’s power to send me flying backwards, then rolled on the ground.
Rather than trying to defend against both of their attacks, I decided it would be more appropriate to create some distance and see what I could do.
And so, with the distance between us, Chun-chul kick hit the air.
“The kid has some skills, huh?”
“He’s quick to judge.”
As I stood up, dusting off the dirt from my body, I saw two people standing in front of me, looking at me with a look of pride on their faces.
I finally understood why Heroic Silver Town is called the final destination of the heroes in the game.
I wrapped myself in my [Bloodline: Corleone] aura once again to get serious about the fight.
“Hmph?”
Kwak Chun-sik was looking at the scene with interest from behind. His reaction was probably due to the fact that he had just realized that the technique I used involved aura.
“Elders, if you don’t think you can do it, surrender.”
“Hehe, the young one takes care of all our worries. Thank you!”
“Student, if you can’t do it, surrender.”
I get ready and lunge at them but it’s hard to deal with two people who have been buddies their whole lives.
I launch a flying kick at Cheongsam, who is a bit further ahead than Chun-chul.
“Hahaha, this is fun!”
I just need to knock one of them down first.
Cheongsam seems to be taken aback by my rapidly increasing speed since I used [Bloodline: Corleone] but quickly prepares to catch my foot.
Their skill was beyond belief, but there was something they overlooked.
“If you block it, it might break.”
“Huh?”
Bending down to grab my leg, the hand that was meant to grab my foot flies backwards, sending Cheongsam flying.
I threw the kick with the mindset that even if I’m blocked, I’ll still do damage but Cheongsam absorbs the impact by shifting his center of gravity backwards, however his body is sent flying.
It would have been nice to finish him right away, but Cheongsam shrugs it off.
“Chun-chul!”
“Ugh!”
Normally, he’d be worried about the safety of his blown teammate, but Chun-chul doesn’t seem to care, swinging his bulging fist at me.
“Are you trying to fight us one by one while closing the distance? The stamina expenditure is no joke!”
“I’m still young, I have plenty of stamina!”
I twist my waist to dodge his punch, then punch him with all the strength I have in my body.
“Hmph!”
It feels like I’m punching a steel plate.
This time, I aimed for Chun-chul, intending to finish him off once and for all, but he only stumbled backwards without falling.
“That kid has a spicy fist…….”
“You think his fists are spicy? His feet are also quite spicy. Isn’t it better if we attack together?”
“Do you think so, too? Shouldn’t we?”
“One by one, we’ll run. One!”
But the two people rushed at me without counting.
One on top and one on the bottom so I eagerly raise my guard to minimize the damage from the upper one and parry the lower one with my shin or step back to deflect it.
“Hey, Cheongsam, he’s holding his own.”
“He is. Pick up the pace!”
Their attacks get more and more intense.
If I keep going like this, my body will inevitably be exhausted by the continuous blows they’re throwing at me and they would eventually strike first, and I would lose so it was time to change the plan.
“I apologize in advance!”
I synchronized my fist with Cheongsam’s punch, concentrating the aura I had spread throughout my body into my right fist.
-Quang──!!!
The power amplified to the extreme exploded from my fist and even for a hero of the past, the decline in physical strength is inevitable.
If he was still in active duty, he would have survived, but now he didn’t have enough stamina to recover from the damage.
“Ouch!”
Cheongsam’s body was sent flying backwards by the fist that dug into the gap.
“Cheongsam!”
Unlike Chun-chul cries of concern for Cheongsam, his sharp fist came in without mercy, aiming for my liver.
To catch me off guard he pretended to be worried, that’s not experience, it’s cheating, isn’t it?
Deciding that the next incoming attack from Chun-chul is difficult to dodge, I take a step backwards to mitigate the damage as much as possible.
I’ve only managed to defeat one of them back, and my body is exhausted.
This isn’t easy after all. Still, I couldn’t give up, so I looked at Chun-chul, who was glaring at me from the front, and prepared his next attack.
“Stop.”
A blue palm appears in front of me, blocking the way between me and Chun-chul.
“Are you done testing ……?”
Hearing my words, Kwak Chun-sik smirks and nods.
At that, I squirm on the floor and spit out the blood in my mouth.
“Wow.”
That was blood from my mouth?
Just how vicious are his fists?
A normal person’s head would probably explode from a single punch.
The two guys I faced were strong.
They had hard-to-defend combinations and breathing that seemed to communicate thoughts without words, and if Kwak Chun-sik hadn’t interrupted it, it would have been a pretty tough fight without really risking my life.
I glanced up and saw Kwak Chun-sik, who appeared to be thinking about something.
“I thought you were a first-year cadet at the Academy, so I asked for a favor from my brothers, but I’m surprised that you’re on par with active heroes.”
“I’m living a bit of a rough life.”
“Ha, I’m sure you are.”
Seriously……. this was me, a Hitman and an executive of Corleone.
“Well, at least you don’t look like you’re lacking in practice right now, and judging by the way you’re gathering aura in your fist, you seem to know how to move it around inside your body reasonably well, so…… not bad.”
I catch my breath at Kwak’s assessment and slowly push myself to my feet.
“Why do you leave out the part about being moral, I did it out of respect for my elders.”
“The one who punched the old man without hesitation is indeed moral. That’s not honor, that’s aggression.”
His words were mean but his expression was bright.
“Follow me. I’ll write a letter confirming my acceptance to mentor you.”
As I was looking at Kwak Chun-sik’s back as he walked away, the two old men in front of me were smiling brightly.
