Home/I Became the Heiress of a Top-Tier Guild /ch67

Chapter 67

Huff, puff.

She'd been running up the uphill path like crazy, and now her breath was caught in her throat.

'What? I thought we were almost there, but it's still so far?'

Unless the path was multiplying, this couldn't be right.

"We're almost there. Just hang in there a little longer!"

Geum Seong-hwan threw words of encouragement towards Sol-a.

'Liar.'

That was already the third time he'd said that.

Running had been a lost cause for a while now.

Watching Geum Seong-hwan's unfamiliar back, Sol-a walked and walked.

Geum Seong-hwan seemed to be strict when it came to training.

Even though his daughter was struggling so much, he remained calm—a man who would have been making a fuss long ago.

'Let's just think of it as part of the training.'

It was tough, but this was the training she'd been waiting for.

'Who knew there was a place like this in Taeyang City?'

She paused for a moment, marveling at the mysterious surroundings.

A pine forest shrouded in morning mist.

The bird calls echoing through the trees were dreamlike.

But after the brief admiration, reality struck.

'All this vast forest path is Geumho's private property? Just how many pyeong do they own?'

And after a while, Geum Seong-hwan said with a smile.

"This is where Sol-a will train today."

Sol-a let out a shallow breath and stared blankly at the training ground.

It was a place with a mysterious atmosphere, on a different level from the paths she'd seen along the way.

A small flat area near the summit of a rocky mountain.

Beyond the cliff surrounded by the pine forest, the entire range of small rocky mountains came into view.

It looked like a miniature version of the Geumgangsan Mountains' 12,000 peaks.

The weather was also misty, adding to the mysterious aura.

Just looking at the scenery made her feel like she'd grown a step.

"Both I and your grandfather received our first training here. It's a secret training ground passed down through generations to the successors of the Geum family."

Geum Seong-hwan sat on a wide rock and patted the spot beside him.

"It feels strange to have brought you here so soon, Sol-a."

Father and daughter sat side by side, quietly watching the rocky mountain range as the mist began to clear.

"The fact that you climbed this rocky mountain with that small body, without much help from me, is proof enough that you're ready for training..."

Sol-a quietly looked up at Geum Seong-hwan's profile, which seemed troubled.

"Since the day you were safely born, I was prepared to bring you here someday... but I hadn't planned on it being so soon. If I could, I would have put it off as long as possible."

The morning sun was rising over the vast sky beyond the rocky mountains.

Sunlight fell upon Geum Seong-hwan's head.

Worry, concern, anxiety, guilt.

His sun-like eyes transparently reflected these complex emotions.

Geum Seong-hwan forced a hollow laugh, trying to hide his feelings.

"But since we've come all this way, we can't go back empty-handed."

Sol-a lifted her head as Geum Seong-hwan stood up.

A blinding backlight spread behind him as he stood with the sun at his back.

"I trust that my daughter can finish this in one day."

...Excuse me?

The training hasn't even started yet...

"Today, Sol-a, you'll only be able to go home once you've mastered up to 'Energy Manipulation Stage 2'."

Am I dreaming right now?

---

Sol-a nervously touched her neck.

With the necklace removed for training, her neck felt bare.

Geum Seong-hwan stood before her like a stern instructor.

Taking a deep breath, Sol-a sat on the flat rock.

"Close your eyes and sit comfortably."

Geum Seong-hwan said in a low voice.

Sitting cross-legged, Sol-a slowly closed her eyes.

Just then, a breeze blew, ruffling her hair.

"From now on, you must stay still and concentrate."

Concentrate. As soon as she heard the word, all sorts of distracting thoughts began to surface.

Should I close my eyes tightly?

What if I open them even a little?

Is my posture a bit uncomfortable?

Should I not put my right leg up?

The rock is too cold—should I sit on something?

"...Daddy, can I go to the bathroom first before we start?"

"Focus."

Geum Seong-hwan said in a firm voice.

And to help Sol-a immerse herself, he explained slowly, as if reading from a book.

"You don't need to try to think about nothing. Just focus on your own body."

A pitch-black view.

Sol-a's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

As she slowly breathed in, she felt her heartbeat pulsing beneath her skin.

The pulse at her wrist, below her neck, was beating.

The sounds of birds from the mountains and pine needles rustling in the wind faded away.

Soon, only the sound of her own heartbeat filled Sol-a's senses.

"Now, imagine Sol-a's body is a huge aquarium."

Then, an ideal aquarium formed in her mind.

It was filled to the brim with water, with colorful little fish swimming around.

It was like a huge, silent box filled with blue light.

"Now, imagine attaching a small faucet to it."

A faucet?

Isn't that a bit out of the blue?

Sol-a's brow furrowed again.

'Let's think. A faucet.'

Let's think about it step by step.

What kinds of faucets are out there?

Automatic or manual?

Manual is better for saving water, I guess.

A flat handle is nice, but...

For some reason, she thought of a vintage-style faucet with a cross-shaped handle.

Just like the one she'd used in the yard the other day, playing in the water with her friends.

Then, like magic, a silver faucet appeared in Sol-a's transparent aquarium.

"Now, slowly turn on the faucet."

The handle creaked as it turned.

Then, water gushed out in a torrent.

Is this wrong?

By the time she sensed something was off, Sol-a was already submerged in deep, dark water.

'I can't breathe!'

Gurgle. Her body sank.

She couldn't even struggle.

Just as her consciousness was fading—

"Sol-a!"

"Huff..."

Geum Seong-hwan shook Sol-a's shoulders, waking her.

"Are you okay? Your energy suddenly escaped your body—you must have been startled."

Sol-a gulped down the water Geum Seong-hwan offered her.

The first attempt was a failure.

'How am I supposed to do this in one day?'

Energy Manipulation Training.

This training could be divided into exactly three stages: Activation, Implementation, and Application.

And the first stage, which Sol-a was doing now, was the Activation training.

<Energy Manipulation Domain 1 – Activation Control>

This was the basic training the children did every session at kindergarten—controlling the energy within the body to freely switch it between active and inactive states.

If the active state continues, a hunter will collapse like a drained battery.

It was said that hunters with strong energy could lose control and be consumed by their own power.

Just like what Sol-a experienced on her first try.

"That's why it's very important to be able to control your own energy."

"Hmm, so... I need to turn the faucet gently, right?"

"That's right."

"I'll try again."

With a bit more application, controlling the intensity of her power later would be easier, so it was important to get this right from the start.

"Hmm..."

Sol-a closed her eyes again.

Where did I start...?

Then, she suddenly remembered a sci-fi novel she'd read during her time as Jo Yoo-hwa.

A time when scientific civilization was far more advanced than now.

In that fictional world, hunters were provided with a very convenient system.

Hunters would just complete missions the system gave them, level up automatically, and become the strongest. Then they'd defeat evil and bring peace to the world.

...Anyway. It was a story like that, even if it made no sense.

'But it turned out that the system window was an alien conspiracy, and they were just playing with Earthlings like game characters.'

But right now, anything would do.

'If only something like that existed!'

Instead of training, just doing missions to gain skills and level up using the system window!

A dream that was impossible in reality.

A world where you get nothing without effort.

"Sol-a, focus."

'How did he know I was daydreaming?'

At Geum Seong-hwan's stern voice, Sol-a's slack shoulders tensed up.

"Phew..."

Back to focusing.

Back   Next