For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears. Then my heart started to race. That, I mean that. That must mean that Teacher Chaos wants to teach Yuhyun. Surely it’s not something random like cooking, painting, math, or science—of course, he means teaching him how to fight.

“Oh my, Elder! Teacher! You truly have an exceptional eye!”

Seriously, not just national or global—he’s the number one in the entire universe offering private lessons. It’s self-proclaimed that he’s the strongest among Transcendents, so I can’t believe it one hundred percent, but still, he’s unbelievably powerful.

What do I do, what can I offer in return? I hope he teaches him a lot, for a long time. Maybe I can cling to him somehow…

“I refuse.”

“Yuhyun-ahhhh!”

My little brother said something utterly absurd. Hey! You—do you know what kind of opportunity this is?!

“No, Teacher! My brother just misspoke—”

“Hyung.”

…For some reason, Yuhyun’s voice was firm. This time, I really didn’t understand the reason. He seemed to be behaving obediently, but maybe he didn’t like Young Chaos after all?

“Did you forget already? We said that someone that powerful entering the mental realm would put a strain on you. I don’t want to get stronger if it means making things harder for you. The Sword of the Sovereign is already enough… It’s annoying. Frustrating.”

Ah… right, that’s true.

“No, I didn’t think that far. Come to think of it, we’d have to use a mental-type skill to meet the Elder.”

At my words, Yuhyun relaxed his expression. But what a shame. It’s such a waste. Isn’t there another way? While I was worrying, Yuhyun suddenly glared at Young Chaos.

“So I don’t need it.”

“Yuhyun! Wait a second!”

“What if I try to teach you by force?”

Chaos smiled faintly. In an instant, his presence changed. It felt like dozens of needles were piercing my whole body. Even fear resistance was useless, and I gritted my teeth, holding onto Yuhyun. Was he angry because his goodwill was rejected? No, it didn’t seem like that. Then…

“Hyung is, absolutely…”

Even as he struggled against Chaos’s overwhelming pressure, Yuhyun growled.

“Little brat.”

His red eyes sank heavily.

“It’s fine that you want to protect him, but what can you do?”

“…”

“In that tiny world of yours, you probably didn’t have many real opponents. You must’ve acted like a tiger, not knowing you were just a fox in a rabbit hole.”

A hand reached out and grabbed me. It was no longer a child’s hand, but a suddenly grown adult’s. I was easily lifted without being able to resist at all. Yuhyun, left behind alone after I was taken, opened his eyes wide. He couldn’t stand up, but pressed his hands to the floor and desperately looked at me.

“One of the Transcendents is targeting your brother.”

Chaos spoke bluntly. I couldn’t even open my lips to respond.

“How do you plan to stop that?”

“Hyung is…”

“Just like now, all you can do is let him be taken without lifting a finger.”

Yuhyun’s fingers curled, scratching at the floor. It wasn’t wrong. It was painfully true. But still, those words were too harsh.

“But I’m different.”

Still holding me, Chaos took a step back. Yuhyun flinched. Then Chaos stepped back once more.

“If you want so badly to protect your brother, how about it? Should I take him with me?”

His tone was lighter than before. But my brother’s body trembled as if stabbed with a knife.

“In the First Origin World, there’s no restriction that only allows counterattacks after being attacked. Protecting this one person would be easy. I can leave him in a peaceful world and let him live beyond his natural lifespan in comfort.”

His soft, coaxing tone continued. Yuhyun quietly swallowed.

“Then, I…”

“But you cannot come. This isn’t just crossing into another world. It’s stepping beyond your origin. Even with my power, I can only take one person with me. You could grow into a Transcendent and cross the origin yourself, but there’s no telling if this one will still be alive by then.”

Firmly.

“No Transcendent other than me can step into the First Origin World.”

Chaos was saying goodbye forever. Telling us we’d never meet again. Yuhyun blinked slowly. His body trembled faintly.

He was # Nоvеlight # the kind of younger brother who chose to walk away to protect me. If he were the boy who smiled as he died, he might have answered without hesitation: to let me go.

But the brother in front of me couldn’t open his mouth. His pale face was drenched.

“…No.”

His voice clung to me, full of tears.

“No, Hyung… don’t go, I’m sorry…”

My body, frozen as if bound, finally moved. I hurried over to Yuhyun and hugged him.

“Hey, what’s there to be sorry about…”

“If Hyung is to be safe… but still…”

Rationally, calmly thinking, following Young Chaos’s words is the right choice. It’s foolish to gamble on an uncertain future when there’s a way to be completely safe. Especially when there’s a hostile Transcendent out there. And yet.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I don’t want to leave you behind either.”

I comforted my brother, who felt sorry for not being able to let go of his desire for my safety. Turning away from the easy path to walk into thorns—maybe it looks foolish. But what can you do.

“I wouldn’t be happy just staying alive alone, isolated. I struggle because I want all of us to live together.”

Though my little brother was crying, I couldn’t help but smile slightly. Now, he really wouldn’t just suppress himself in the name of protecting me anymore. Yuhyun wiped his tears and raised his head to look at Young Chaos. Chaos had returned to his child form in the meantime. I wonder how that even happened.

“How much strain does it place on my brother?”

“None.”

…Huh? Wait a second, that’s different from before.

“Didn’t that rabbit punk make a space? If I help maintain it, the duration can be extended, so I was offering to watch over him once a week for a couple of hours.”

It really sounded like private tutoring. Yuhyun stared blankly at Chaos, then sighed in relief. Ugh, why are you relieved already? Aren’t you even a little upset? I grumbled in his place.

“So you were just being mean for no reason?”

“If someone without the ability just tries to protect blindly, both of them will only end up dead. You have to know when to let go according to your limits. Producing perfect results without a single sacrifice—that’s something only someone like me can do.”

“That’s true. Yuhyun covers me too much, and—ow!”

He twisted my ear again!

“What did a stubborn little calf like you do right, barely managing to hold on through sheer will? Since you don’t take care of yourself, the younger one acts like this. Know your limits—your proper limits.”

“Well, the situation’s always… I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

I quickly covered my ear with my hand and apologized. But instead of scolding more, the elder withdrew his outstretched hand and wore a bitter expression.

“Though it was the fault of the bastards outside for not respecting any lines to begin with. Second one, come here.”

Young Chaos walked forward. Yuhyun got up and quietly followed behind him. Chaos stopped walking, turned around, and slowly looked Yuhyun up and down. Then he swung a sheathed sword. Aiming for the solar plexus, Yuhyun twisted his body to the side to dodge. At the same time—

Whap!

The sheath sprang upward, shooting toward Yuhyun’s chin. Caught off guard, Yuhyun drew in a sharp breath and bent his upper body far back. The sheath barely grazed the tip of his chin. He dropped to one knee, braced a hand against the floor, and launched a low kick while nearly lying down. It was a good counterattack, but Chaos didn’t move an inch and simply kicked the incoming leg away.

With a thud, Yuhyun’s body was knocked back over a meter. Chaos, meanwhile, calmly lowered the leg he had lifted without so much as a wobble.

“Was there someone nearby who’s good at close combat?”

“Yes, there’s an S-rank Awakened named Song Taewon. He said they’ve sparred several times.”

At my words, Chaos gave a small nod. Then he flicked the fallen sheath with his toe and tossed it toward Yuhyun. Yuhyun caught it and bounced to his feet.

“Don’t think about taking hits with your body. You won’t hold up.”

A pure white blade sliced through the air. Yuhyun met the strike with the sheath. Maybe Chaos was controlling his strength—each clash was sharp and even, striking and sliding off in rapid succession.

“There was no one who used a sword?”

“There was one among the S-rank Awakened.”

Though he’s dead now.

“If he had no impact, then he’s as good as nonexistent.”

Young Chaos suddenly slid forward in a blink, appearing right in front of Yuhyun. The sword in his hand slipped into the sheath with a snap. Even as the weapon was taken from him, Yuhyun didn’t react much. Even candy taken from a child’s hand would be harder than that.

Chaos followed up with a few more diverse attacks. Not only close-range, but also mid— and long-range, and even manipulated his belt skillfully.

“Other than that, it’s all pretty clean. For someone with the fire origin, he seems to have mostly hunted monsters.”

“He said that besides Director Song Taewon, he hasn’t had much combat experience.”

“There’s definitely no influence from anyone else. Just a slight habit from close combat. Around 193 in height? Broad frame, and heavy—maybe he can control his body weight. He’s an attacker type but gives off a strong defensive feel. Must be living quite pent-up.”

…Wow, he’s like a fortune teller. How does he know all that so well?

“In total, about 70% of his habits come from the older brother.”

“Huh? Me? This is the first time I’ve ever fought with Yuhyun.”

“You think your daily life doesn’t affect him? He’s lived looking only at you and adjusting to you. Of course that’s deeply ingrained. About 20% is from innate habits, and the rest is a mix of monster hunting and that Song Taewon guy.”

It was more than unexpected—it was shocking. I thought I had almost no influence on Yuhyun as a Hunter, but a whole 70%?

“There are barely any bad combat habits. You two seem practically inseparable—so why were you apart for so long?”

“Huh? You can see that too?”

“There’s no habit of trying to protect someone much weaker than himself. Looks like you were separated right after his Awakening.”

“Even if we lived together, that kind of habit wouldn’t form if I didn’t go into dungeons.”

“I said daily life. Everyday behavior naturally seeps in. He really only knows you. Can’t find a trace of anyone else, even if I scrub my eyes looking. The stuffy guy didn’t care outside of combat either. Thanks to that, it’ll be easier to teach him.”

Chaos added that it takes more work and progress is slower when things are mixed up. Guess Yuhyun being indifferent to others turned out to be a good thing this time.

“Excuse me, Elder. Would you mind taking a look at someone else too? Even if you don’t have time to teach properly, just a quick check-up would be helpful.”

He knew so much that even simple advice would likely help a lot.

“Is there another one who uses a sword?”

“No. Yerim—she’s the third in our family—she can use the power of the Mermaid Queen. Water power. She’s an innate S-rank. Not an Origin-holder, but still an S-rank Awakened.”

“The Mermaid Queen… is that the one the rabbit mentioned? In that case, it’d be better to ask the mermaid herself rather than me. I don’t handle grappling types.”

Grappling, he said. Still, he told me to bring her if I wanted, since he’d take a look. If it’s the Rookie’s space, I could bring anyone, so I should ask him to check on others too. Seong Hyunjae… would he be able to read his condition instantly as well? It would be dangerous if the Transcendents learned about Seong Hyunjae.

‘Would the Elder be safe?’

I wanted to trust him. Of course, I had to get Seong Hyunjae’s consent first. I’ll have to ask if he’d like to meet this Transcendent grandfather I recently got to know—he’s very skilled. We’d have to connect the system before heading overseas.

Saying that staying long would worsen my condition, Young Chaos only taught Yuhyun how to infuse magic into his sword. Infusing magic into a weapon was a basic technique that most Hunters used, but he said this was a more effective method suited to the properties of a sword.

“I’ll be in your care going forward.”

Yuhyun gave a slightly awkward bow to Young Chaos.

“Yuhyun, make sure to explain my condition well so Yerim doesn’t get too shocked.”

“Yeah.”

“Elder, how long should I avoid using potions?”

“Indefinitely.”

“What?”

That’s a bit much. How am I supposed to live without using potions?

“If you promise never to push yourself with skills again, then two or three days of rest would be enough. But that’s not going to happen, so it means take care of your body daily. Potions and healing skills directly affect the body, so if your body’s already prone to magic overload, they can weaken it even more. Just think of it like your immune system is getting worse. For a normal condition, a few potions won’t cause magic resistance to weaken, but you’re not normal.”

…There went my dreams of stamina potions. Still, better than recklessly wearing my body down without knowing. He added that I should also avoid other skills that directly permeate the body as much as possible.

At the end, I thanked Chaos and withdrew the skill. My vision went dark, and for a moment I lost all feeling in my body, before sensation returned—blazing hot.

“…Ugh.”

“Mister?”

I heard Yerim’s voice. I barely opened my eyes, and the world spun around me. My body felt hot. The last thing I thought was, ‘I must have a high fever,’ before my consciousness faded.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep