Chapter 169: [169] The Final Step

One day was not enough.

Ark had managed to improve his sense of hearing by leaps and bounds, but it was very clear that he was far from mastering it.

There were times he still failed to hear Soo-jin. Sometimes his sense of direction was skewed, which would have been fatal in an actual battle, but most of all, he still could not hear that damn sword.

And so they continued...

Soo-jin had likely planned on teaching him the basics and leaving him to learn the rest. But she soon found herself enjoying their little sessions.

The next few days were repetitive, but they were far from boring. Ark would arrive as early as seven in the morning, and be blindfolded by Soo-jin. Then they would dance till the sun retreated from the sky and the world was drowned in darkness.

Since they were both awakened and in their race form, they were rather durable. Soo-jin could stay days without food, and Ark had no need for it, needless to say, they had a lot of time to practice.

The first few days, Ark’s sense of hearing sharpened. He began discovering new sounds.

The sound of their swords began to ring like the notes of a musical piece.

On the fourth day, Ark was able to take Soo-jin even when she increased her speeds

On the fifth day, Ark heard a sound he had never heard before. It was unique, clandestine, and strange in its own way.

Maybe he had imagined it? It might have been the sound of their blades sliding against each other, or his bones as they groaned to keep up with the relentless schedule.

Ark abandoned the very notion of sleep. Instead at night, from when their practice ended till the next morning, he would sit atop a sky scraper and listen to the sounds of the city.

On the sixth day, Ark saw a glimmer of light in the darkness.

On the seventh day—

Ark head it.

Clang!

Just as their swords exploded against each other, Ark stood frozen, unable to believe his ears. It was beautiful.

He stared at the darkness in awe. The instrument sounded a lot like a flute, but instead of playing one continuous note, it was an entire music piece.

A sound that caused a deep feeling of calm to flood his body. But that was not all...

Ark reached out into the air. There were tiny glowing spheres of light coming from the space in front of him. They looked like fireflies and were warm to the touch, but the moment his fingers grasped them, they would dissolve.

Swish!

Soo-jin dashed forward, her sword moving in a horizontal arc. But this time, Ark did not only hear the sword, he saw it, even if but for a brief moment.

It was far different from how he would normally see with his eyes. What was before him was still a canvas of darkness, but like sketches of neon chalk on a white board, he could see the patterns.

A wisp of blue in the shape of a narrow stick? It was hard to explain, but—

CLANG!

Ark blocked the strike, and the darkness flared around him, the notes intensifying. Another arc streaked through the darkness.

He leaned down and spun around, lashing out with the tip of his blade. The large wisp of light jumped back, it tried to lunge from his back.

He heard her. No, he saw her.

Ark immediately spun around, his sword slicing up to meet Soo-jin’s blade.

Clang!

The sound of their clash rang in Ark’s head like a cymbal. There was a disadvantage to using this ability, his senses had become hypersensitive, and at moments like these, the world around him flashed with colour.

But Ark was drunk on this new discovery, and so he could not bring himself to stop.

More arcs of light came at him. Ark deflected the first one, pulled his foot back as the second one cut past him, then he positioned his eye socket in front of the final thrust—

Stab!

And then, wedging the blade between his occipital bones, Ark flicked his head, sending the blade flying into the air, before pointing his sword at Soo-jin’s neck.

The blind fold slipped off, having been torn by the attack, only for Ark to see the tip of Soo-jin’s tail pressed against his neck.

Her face was soaked with sweat, and her hair was disheveled from hours of training him, but she had the biggest grin on her face.

"I was right. You will make a fine blade..."

<•••>

"To think you would learn that technique in just one week..." Soo-jin gulped down water from her bottle. "You’re really something, aren’t you?"

She placed the bottle on the floor. "You even managed to beat me."

Ark gave her a deadpan stare. "You’re acting like you were not holding back."

He might have gotten better, but beating Soo-jin while blind folded was still a stretch. Actually, he still had no idea how strong she was now.

Apart from her future prediction skill, she had managed to keep everything hidden. On the other hand, she knew so much more about him.

’Hmmm...’

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Soo-jin smiled slyly.

"No reason. I was just thinking about my guild."

Maybe he needed to invest in a spy as well? How hard was it to find another phantom even?

Soo-jin stared at the space in front of her for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought. "A guild, how bold." She smiled. "You are basically going against all the guilds in Eden, even the top guilds may work towards wiping you out."

Her tail swayed left and right. "And yet, you went along with it... I wish I was half as audacious as you. Maybe if I was..."

Her voice solemnly trailed off.

Ark stared at her for a few seconds. "What are you even talking about? Half as audacious as me? Considering the stunts you’ve pulled, I’m sure you’re much crazier than I am."

Soo-jin’s eyes widened slightly, just before she burst out into laughter. "Was that meant to be a compliment?"

She rubbed her eyes and then stared in front of them, at the shattered stage that used to be the association arena.

"I guess it really is a compliment." She muttered. "When it comes to surviving in Eden, craziness truly is a virtue."

Ark nodded. "Craziness, and just a little hint of madness..."