ACT 4 Mentor and Disciple

Isyuram reflexively hid himself. When he peeked stealthily at them, he saw that the person definitely resembled Hyun-woo.

‘That face is definitely Hyun-woo’s. Damn, to meet him in a place like this!’

He never even told Ark that he was playing the game. The reason he was hiding it from Ark was because he didn’t want him to know that Isyuram was a merchant.

“What did you say?”

Then Garam spoke in an intimidating voice. But Ark didn’t even blink and just muttered.

“Are you deaf?”

“What?”

Garam’s face hardened.

“Hmm, do you have a facial muscle disorder? Or maybe a person with disabilities. If I knew beforehand then I would’ve conceded.”

“Disabled person? H-h-how dare this bastard say that?”

“A stutter? This is serious. Oh, I am sorry. I never knew it was that serious.”

Isyuram marvelled at the sarcasm rolling off Ark’s tongue.

‘He had this sarcastic side to him?’

Isyuram had thought of Ark as a reticent person. Had Ark’s character changed in the game? Anyway, the situation was quite bothersome. In fact, Garam’s nature meant that he angered easily. And he had started fights a few times. Isyuram had thrown his whole body and managed to prevent the previous ones. Of course, it wasn’t because of Garam. Currently Isyuram was using Garam to infiltrate and investigate the suspects. If Garam killed someone and became chaotic then all his efforts would go to waste. It was also the same if Garam died. Luckily Garam called Isyuram a friend of his heart so he always stepped down when Isyuram interfered. But it was different if his opponent was Ark.

‘If Hyun-woo calls my name then I’ll be unable to infiltrate the group…… However, I can’t just watch them…… Damn, what should I do?’

Isyuram looked at Takosu and Rokon to try and request help. But the nature of humans was for similar people to flock together. They just watched the scene with interest. So Isyuram was on his own.

“This mannerless brat!”

Ark had fully incited Garam’s rage, making Garam throw a punch at him. Garam was a warrior who used knuckles with blades attached as his weapon. Wasn’t the feeling of punching someone more exhilarating? Garam had proudly recited that in his jail cell. Garam was a hooligan familiar with street fighting. Isyuram remembered that Garam’s criminal record was attempted murder after swinging his fist at people. As expected, that power was also applied to New World. The speed and power of that fist couldn’t be underestimated.

Bakak-!

Ark’s jaw was forced upwards as he was hit by the fist. At that moment a spark sprang into Isyuram’s eyes.

‘What is he doing? He was hit by a fist like that? What has he learned so far?’

No matter the situation, Ark was still Isyuram’s disciple. Naturally he would feel angry after seeing his student being hit. Garam’s fist was beyond ordinary, but it wasn’t to the extent that Ark couldn’t avoid it after training in the gym. He had the capabilities but he didn’t avoid it. All he could think was that Ark had become dull because of fear. But why would Isyuram’s disciple be afraid of a mere hooligan? It was because Isyuram still didn’t know New World that well.

“You hit me?”

Ark rubbed his bloody mouth and laughed. The first attack had an important meaning in New World. The person who attacked first and killed the opponent would 100% become chaotic. However, the person who was attacked first wouldn’t become chaotic if they killed that person. That’s why Ark didn’t avoid the attack. As expected, Garam’s name became grey after he attacked Ark. Now it was counted as self-defence if he killed Garam.

“I hit you, what about it?”

Garam rushed back and threw a punch again. Ark instantly used some quick footwork and the punch missed. In a blink of an eye, he had managed to get behind Garam. At that moment, Ark used rapid-fire kicks. Low kick, high kick and spinning kick!

“Heok, t-this bastard…!”

Garam wobbled and grabbed Ark. But Ark had trained in wrestling against a bronze medal winner of a national tournament. The moment Garam’s hand touched his shoulder, he instantly counterattacked by rotating his body and knocking Garam down onto the ground.

‘Right, right, well done. He is indeed my disciple. He must’ve been playing around earlier.’

Isyuram had forgotten the circumstances and inwardly clapped.

“Kuaaak……. Okay, now let’s do this properly!”

“Properly? That’s good.”

Ark smiled at Garam’s words and took out his sword. Isyuram suddenly remembered when he saw the gleam of the sword.

‘Ah, now isn’t the time for this. Damn! That Hyun-woo, he’s stronger than I thought…… I’ll be in trouble if Garam dies! Without Garam, Roco and Takosu would never bring be to their colleagues’ meeting place. But it’ll be over if I’m found by Hyun-woo……’

Isyuram held his head and frantically worried. Suddenly an image of a thin merchant was reflected off an onlooker’s shield. Isyuram looked at the shield for a long time before realizing that it was his image. Yes, he had forgotten since there were no mirrors in the game but Isyuram’s features were completely different from his real life image. Of course, there was no way for Ark to recognize him.

“Stop, stop, Garam!”

After having the thought, Isyuram immediately ran between the two of them. But Ark and Garam were already exchanging fists. The two of them tried to stop attacking when Isyuram got between the two of them but it was already too late.

“Heok, what is this……?”

“Isyuram, it’s dangerous!”

Ark and Garam both shouted with confusion at the same time. But what happened afterwards was the truly confusing part. Isyuram smoothly parried Garam’s fist with one hand while raising one leg to raise Ark’s wrist upwards. Even though Ark and Garam had tried to stop their attacks, it was still a merchant intervening between two warriors. In fact, sometime of this degree wasn’t difficult for Isyuram. Although his attack and defense couldn’t compare to a warrior’s, he was unmatched in terms of technique. Of course, it was a game so 100% of his real life skills weren’t applied. Thanks to the situations he had gone through, Isyuram had long ago mastered the evasion skill ‘Parry.’ Unlike other users, he felt the pain and consequently figured out how to parry with the least force while investigating the skill.

“A-are you okay? You’re not injured?”

Garam hurriedly asked Isyuram.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“What are you doing? Why would a merchant interfere in a fight? Fortunately you were lucky this time, but it the blows landed then your life would be at risk. How could I live with killing a friend of my heart?”

Garam never even considered that Isyuram had managed to evade both of the attacks. That was because a common gangster knowing such a high standard of technique was impossible.

“I’m sorry but let’s stop this. Hey you, why don’t you let it go?”

“That’s…….”

Ark gave Isyuram a funny look before shrugging his shoulders. However Garam roughly shook his head.

“No, this time you can’t stop it. That asshole, I’m going to smash him!”

“It is a request. If you cause a disturbance here then you can’t meet your colleagues.”

“B-but that bastard……!”

“Are you going to give up or fight? I’m a little busy.”

“Look, look! Did you hear him? That bastard keeps on insulting me!”

Garam’s shoulders moved up and down as he shouted while Ark yawned.

“Stop!”

At that moment, the harbour guards broke through the crowd and came running up.

“This is the harbour that Lord Reuben manages. If you cause a disturbance then you’ll be immediately arrested.”

“Dammit…….”

Garam frowned and spat out curses. Now Takosu and Rokon finally approached them.

“Garam, let’s end it here. I said that Jepeteu hyung is waiting. It’ll be annoying if you’re confined here.”

“……Understood.”

Garam stared at Ark for a moment before heading onto the ship. Ark also nodded and retreated when the guards looked at him. Thus the situation was cleared up for the moment. The other users also started to board the ship. When all the passengers finished boarding, the ship captain appeared and laughed as he spoke.

“Young ones, everybody listen up. My sailors won’t get involved in any fights on land. But they’ll tie you up and throw you into the sea if anything happens on the boat. Now we’re going to depart. Plot the course!”

The ship’s crew responded to their captain’s command and hurriedly rushed around. The sails were then opened and the voyage to Seutandal had begun.

————————————————————————————————————–

“Sheesh, I feel dirty. If only the guards had come a little bit later.”

Garam grunted with dissatisfaction while sitting on the deck. Then Takosu grinned and muttered.

“You didn’t have to get so angry.”

“There are many schoolkids like him who don’t have manners. If I disregarded a schoolkid then wouldn’t you make fun of me? Ugh, I get mad every time I think about it.”

“It’s not the end.”

Takosu approached Garam and spoke in a low voice.

“We have the same destination as that guy. Do you understand? Even if the guards hadn’t appeared, if you killed him then you wouldn’t have been able to take the ship. But it’s different once we arrive in Seutandal.”

“What? Then?”

“Huhuhu, The harbour is separated from Haman Fortress, which is the heart of Seutandal. And there aren’t that many guards at the harbour. If we attack him as soon as the boat arrives, we can kill him before the guards show up. Anyway, Jepeteu hyung is in the field so it isn’t necessary to enter a city. Besides, if he’s killed in Seutandal then wouldn’t that guy be even madder when he is resurrected in Reuben?”

“Oh, that’s quite good?”

Garam laughed with sparkling eyes.

“So in the meantime, let’s get down to our cabin and play poker. We’ll leave the revenge for later.”

“Okay, as expected from you. Huhuhu, let’s look forward to it.”

Garam, Takosu and Rokon all smiled wickedly before standing up. Indeed, a bad guy in reality was still a bad guy in the game.

“Isyuram, do you want to play poker?”

“No, the inside is slightly uncomfortable for me. I’ll prefer to stay on the deck where there is the wind.”

Isyuram made excuses to separate from the group and headed towards the deck. Takosu looked at his back and asked in a slightly suspicious voice.

“That guy, isn’t his behaviour suspicious? Doesn’t that guy know our plans now?”

“What are you saying? I told you that Isyuram is a friend of my heart. There is no reason for you to doubt him.”

“…..Well, I suppose we’ll know if he’s a reliable guy when we arrive. Let’s go.”

Once Isyuram confirmed that they entered the cabin, Isyuram immediately acted like Takosu suspected and searched for Ark. After looking around for a while, he saw Ark waiting by the rails.  Ark naturally glanced to the side when Isyuram approached.

‘Hrmm, what should I say?’

Isyuram worried for a moment before muttering.

“That kick before was quite acceptable. What martial arts have you learnt?”

“Taekwondo.”

‘Eh? What a short reply.’

It was Hyun-woo’s face so Isyuram became angry when Ark spoke such curt words.

‘Well, he does only know me as Garam’s colleague. Huhuhu, yes, so this guy really doesn’t recognize me? I suddenly have a funny idea. Yes, this situation makes me want to try it out.’

“It seems like you’ve been practicing for a long time. After seeing that posture, did you stop for a while? Then you’ve started receiving training from a mentor for one year. Am I correct?”

“H-how?”

Ark flinched and turned his head around as he nodded.

“Well, I’m at a standard where I can tell just by looking at your posture.”

“Then it wasn’t an accident when you interrupted the attack before…….?”

“Oh, you noticed it?”

Isyuram looked startled. Although it was slightly exaggerated, he was still surprised. Isyuram used an advanced technique because he knew that Garam wouldn’t recognize it or become suspicious. Only people with keen eyes could recognize the technique. He honestly thought that Ark hadn’t noticed.

“Although receiving no damage might be because of a skill, but isn’t the movement unrelated to the skill? Haven’t you also learnt martial arts?”

His words had instantly become longer. Isyuram deliberately shivered before replied.

“Well, I didn’t learn as much as other people.”

“Then why did a person like you pick a merchant?”

“Isn’t the warrior originally strong? I wanted to completely rule over my mind and body in the worst situation. My mentors are Ryu and Ken, Chun-Li and Zangief…….”

Isyuram once again started talking nonsense. Yes, Isyuram was putting on his crazy act that normal people would yell at him to retire already. But Ark listened seriously and immediately his gaze brightened when Ryu and Ken were mentioned. Ark loved street fighting games so he absolutely knew those names. Anyway, Isyuram became embarrassed and coughed before speaking.

“Hum hum, well anyway, your steps still seem a little weak.  The foot which you are using as an axis to turn is more important than the kicking leg. It isn’t bad now of course, but your kicks will become more powerful when your legs are more stable. Didn’t your teacher also say this?”

“How did you know?”

“Huhuhu, any good teacher would’ve mentioned it.”

Isyuram answered playfully with a smirk.

“If I look at the disciple then I can determine the teacher’s skill. You apparently have a wonderful teacher. The accuracy and sharpness of your techniques is beyond the usual level. There aren’t that many people in South Korea with this degree of technique. What kind of person is your teacher?”

“Teacher…..”

Ark suddenly looked at the horizon with vague eyes. It had already been 3 months since he had seen Ark in reality. Although there was no time to consider Ark while playing game, occasionally he remembered Ark. Since Hyun-woo couldn’t recognize his face, Isyuram half-jokingly asked Ark how he felt about his teacher. But that feeling didn’t even last 1 minute.

“My teacher is a cruel man. His hobby is blindly beating me up and he won’t even raise an eyebrow if his student sheds blood or tears. Ever since I started at the gym, I’m constantly amazed that I’m still alive.”

“B-but all that is to forge the student. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right. The problem is that he’s trying to turn a human into a superman.”

‘This, is this how that child normally thinks of me?’

Isyuram inwardly fumed at Ark’s answer. Isyuram now wanted to suddenly shout ‘your teacher is here!’ and beat him to death. Although his fury was like a big bang inside his head, he was forced to push it down.

“Isn’t there any good points? Think closely. There should be at least one. There is no way he has no good points.”

“Let’s see?”

Isyuram endured his anger while waiting for Ark’s reply, but he was still furious.

‘In the future, I’ll call him to the gym and flatten him into a rice cake!’

“I caught something! Oh, isn’t this a big fish?”

At that moment, someone shouted from one side. It took 4 hours to arrive at Seutandal. After observing the stunning scenery for a while, most players became bored and started fishing. Ark pricked his ears as he heard and waited for the fish to be reeled in before approaching.

“Wow, what a great scup. Could you entrust this to me? I’ll make sashimi and spicy seafood stew in an instant. Originally I would get a small fee for the labour but you’re the first guest so I’ll do it for free.”

“Eh? Really?”

The user expressed their joy and extended the fish. Fishing was a common skill learnt by users. That’s because a groundless rumour spread on the information site that master fishermen had rare accessories. On the other hand, a lot of ingredients were required for cooking and the dishes produced weren’t that much different from the ones sold in the stores. Therefore there were many users who learnt how to fish but hardly any who knew how to cook the fish. Ark had waited on the deck because he was aiming for this market. Ark took out his knife and showed amazing workmanship as he sliced it into sashimi before boiling the rest. Start-ups were the most important thing in running a business. Thanks to the use of fresh ingredients and skill, he was able to create amazing sashimi and spicy seafood stew.

Sashimi created from freshly caught scup. It is a relatively simple dish that heavily relies on the abilities of the chef. Thanks to the skills of an experienced chef, the best taste and sensation of the flesh has been produced.