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Episode 7 – “Thirst” (Part 2):
Yuri suddenly cut straight to the point, making Johann click his tongue quietly.
“Tsk, you little brat. When someone feeds you, isn’t it basic manners to at least say you ate well?”
“Consider that covered by the rent for using my house.”
“And bringing your sorry ass all the way here doesn’t count for anything?”
“Who was it that made me pass out again?”
Yuri didn’t back down a single inch, and Johann let out a silent, wry laugh.
‘Definitely not an easy kid.’
Even with the renowned titles of Master and Unyielding Sword, Yuri showed not the slightest hint of intimidation.
If anything, he only grew more guarded.
From that attitude alone, Johann could roughly guess the kind of storms the boy must have weathered in his life.
‘The more you provoke someone like this, the harder they’ll push back.’
A kid like Yuri wasn’t someone you could control by constant pressure. What he needed was to be given just enough of what he wanted, step by step, to build trust.
And right now, what Yuri wanted was the compensation for their previous deal.
Johann wiped the greasy meat off his hands onto his pants and spoke in a low voice.
“What you think of as a curse… is actually called Manifestation.”
A flash of curiosity crossed Yuri’s eyes.
“Manifestation?”
“Yes. Manifestation—or the embodiment of the mindscape, sometimes called an Avatar. It’s a term referring to a high-level spiritual technique wielded only by those who have reached the realm of Masters.”
“……”
“Normally, the human body can exceed its limits by training physical strength or harnessing mana. But no matter how much of a genius someone is, the spiritual domain isn’t something they can access easily.”
Johann was delivering a lecture on Manifestation—a subject countless martial artists only ever dreamed of hearing.
Anyone stuck at the official 9th dan would pay a fortune just to hear this. And here it was, being explained in a shabby cave.
“After years of tempering body and energy, one can reach a special turning point—an awakening—that allows access to the spiritual domain.”
“A special turning point? What kind?”
In response, Johann tapped his forehead with his index finger.
“This. Right here.”
“Your… head?”
“More precisely, the brain inside this head.”
“What about it?”
“Inside the human brain is a gateway that connects to the spiritual domain. That turning point is what opens that gateway.”
“……”
“Those who manifest can open the brain’s spiritual gate—called the spirit point (靈穴). People often call it ‘opening the lid.’ Normally, this lid opens and closes intermittently, but…”
“But what?”
“In your case, that lid has been stuck open this whole time.”
Yuri stared blankly, processing Johann’s words.
“So… this isn’t… a disease or a curse?”
A hollow, almost bitter expression settled on Yuri’s face.
‘No wonder… no wonder I couldn’t find it!’
For years, he had searched high and low for a way to lift what he thought was a curse. But the reason he’d found nothing was simple—he’d been looking in the wrong place all along.
It wasn’t a curse or an illness. So how could he have found answers in those fields?
And this was a technique only those at the Master’s realm could wield.
How could ordinary people have possibly known about it?
As Yuri sat there, blank from the crushing realization, Johann’s voice floated to him again.
“Of course, it’s not some curse. It’s the greatest treasure countless people spend their lives chasing. But for you… I guess it might as well be a curse.”
“…?”
“Normally, the realm you’ve reached only opens up when soul, energy, and body are in perfect harmony. But right now, your soul is overgrown—out of balance. So…”
“My body’s collapsing because the balance has been broken?”
Yuri hit the nail on the head, and Johann’s eyes gleamed.
“Exactly.”
The coughing up blood, the fainting—all the strange symptoms Yuri had experienced were signs of his body breaking down.
Now he finally faced the truth behind the mystery he’d carried for years.
With trembling eyes, he asked Johann,
“Then how do I survive…?”
“You’ll have to restore the balance between soul, energy, and body—and learn to open and close that lid at will.”
“And if I agree to your deal… you’ll teach me how to do all that?”
“Of course. Heh heh heh.”
Yuri’s eyes narrowed as he watched Johann laugh delightedly.
“And in return… what exactly do I have to do? What do you gain from this deal?”
“Nothing much. I just want you to learn what I teach you with all your heart. That’s all I want.”
A question mark appeared above Yuri’s head.
“That’s weird. So the thing I get from the deal is the same thing you want?”
Johann grinned.
“What I’ll be teaching you isn’t my old martial theory, but a new, condensed martial system I’ve recently completed.”
“Is it… good?”
“Of course! You think anything I create is cheap or sloppy? However…”
“However?”
“It just hasn’t been, you know… completely safety-tested yet. A tiny, teeny little issue. But nothing you need to worry about.”
“……”
Yuri’s stare instantly turned cold.
“So basically… you’re asking me to be your test subject?”
“Ahem. Well, if you put it that way… yes.”
“And if I mess up learning it… could I die?”
“It’s not impossible.”
“…Can’t you just teach me something else?”
“Do you think that’s an option?”
Yuri’s glare grew colder and colder, but Johann just shrugged.
“Either way, you’re going to die sooner or later. Might as well try something before you kick the bucket.”
“Earlier you made it sound like you would save me if I proved myself! And now you’re saying I might die no matter what?!”
“When did I lie? If you learn it without problems, you’ll live.”
“And if there are problems?”
“Then you’re dead.”
“You con artist!”
Yuri exploded in anger, while Johann just smirked.
“So what, then? You don’t want to? You’re backing out?”
Seeing Johann’s sly crescent-moon grin made the veins pop on Yuri’s forehead.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say “No.”
Because deep down, he knew.
This might be his first and last chance to keep his dying flame from burning out.
‘If I miss this… will my body even last until the next chance?’
Even if he could handle the body and mana training, Manifestation was a Master’s domain.
When would he ever meet another Master?
And even if he did, would they ever teach him Manifestation?
No matter how many times he turned it over in his head, there was no “next chance.”
‘Damn it…’
No matter how he looked at it, the situation was stacked completely against him.
He had no choice but to accept.
Johann knew this too—that’s why the old fox was so confident.
‘You sly old snake…’
Yuri let out a heavy sigh, lowered his eyes slightly, and asked,
“…What are my chances of surviving?”
“That depends on you.”
“Bloody hell…”
The curse slipped out quietly, but Johann could tell from it that Yuri had accepted. He chuckled.
And so, on a cold day at winter’s end—
Across a small campfire,
A strange bond was forged between master and disciple, experimenter and test subject.
A spacious room.
By the fireplace, Ashraf and Gunter sat facing each other.
In the quiet, Gunter recalled what had happened earlier that day.
‘What on earth… was that?’
The Unyielding Sword, the boy named Yuri, and the events that followed.
Everything had been a shock to Gunter.
Sensing his son’s turmoil, Ashraf spoke softly.
“What that boy Yuri showed today was the realm called Manifestation.”
“…What is Manifestation, exactly?”
Ashraf explained what little he knew.
Even though it wasn’t much—just that it was something only Masters could do—it was enough to leave Gunter stunned.
“I have to compete against someone like that in the Cradle…” he muttered, his face stiff.
Yuri had passed the Cradle’s entrance test, which meant he’d be in the same intake as Gunter.
Ashraf gave a casual question.
“Are you worried?”
“It’s not worry. More like… pressure.”
Ashraf’s eyes softened at his son’s unhesitating reply.
‘This boy…’
He knew Gunter well.
Worry meant fearing a problem you couldn’t solve.
But pressure meant the challenge was daunting—but still conquerable.
Gunter felt the pressure, but he believed he could rise to it.
Ashraf smiled faintly.
“There’s no need to pay that boy too much mind. Sir Johann and Yuri won’t be going to the Cradle.”
Gunter tilted his head.
“Why not?”
“Do you know how the Cradle was created?”
Gunter nodded.
“Yes, roughly.”
On the southern tip of the Lymont continent—shaped like a dragon lying down—there was a massive lake.
From afar, it looked more like a sea, and its shape resembled a dragon cradling an egg.
It was called Lake Monparché, or “Dragon’s Egg.”
“The Swordmaster built an island on Lake Monparché—that was the beginning of the Cradle.”
“Correct.”
The Swordmaster gathered immense resources and manpower to build an artificial island in the lake.
Everyone called it madness. Impossible.
But contrary to the world’s disbelief, the island was indeed built. In just half a year.
‘They joked that if you stacked all the gold used for the island, it would reach the clouds.’
The island kept expanding as more resources poured in.
Now, decades later, the island was larger than several territories combined.
The lake that once looked like a dragon’s egg now looked like a cradle wrapped around it.
The Swordmaster declared the lake and island his territory, naming it “Dragon’s Cradle.”
“Nowadays, people treat the Cradle like some academy.”
Over the decades, people began seeing it as a training ground for the Swordmaster’s chosen.
Graduates were called “baby dragons,” and the Cradle became synonymous with success.
Ashraf scoffed.
“Academy? The Cradle is no shallow school. It’s closer to a military camp.”
In truth, “lawless land under the absolute rule of the strong” was more accurate.
The only reason Ashraf called it a military camp was because there were some minimal rules.
“The Cradle is part of the Swordmaster’s domain. Not even Johann Redner can enter freely without permission.”
“Ah!”
“And once you go in, you can’t come out for at least five years. He won’t send off a hard-won disciple that easily.”
Especially not that strange boy.
‘If even I noticed it, then the Unyielding Sword definitely did.’
Ashraf was certain.
Yuri wouldn’t be entering the Cradle this intake.
‘Eleven months until the next intake. If Yuri fixes his imbalance by then, maybe. But that’s impossible.’
Ashraf smiled slightly at the thought.
Yes. Impossible.
After Yuri and Johann finished their talk,
Yuri was about to lie down again when he suddenly sprang upright.
“We’re leaving? Where?”
Johann looked at him like he was speaking nonsense in his sleep.
“Where else? Obviously, to the Cradle.”
✅ End of Episode 7 – “Thirst” (Part 2)
