(Nava's POV)
It's been a week since that weird blonde man decided to take me in as his student. Seriously, a week. It feels like a lifetime. Ever since then, my days have been filled with training, lectures, and endless questions that only made me more confused. I swear, my brain is gonna short-circuit soon.
He started by teaching me about this world—about something called "Honkai."
According to him, Honkai is like this corruptive force that tests humanity, pushing us to evolve. It evolves with us, mirroring our progress and getting stronger the more we do. It's like some kind of cosmic game of cat and mouse, except the mouse is humanity and the cat is a giant, world-ending monster.
I remember how confused I was when he first explained that to me. I mean, come on, that's some heavy stuff to drop on someone who just woke up in a ruined city.
"Wait, what? You mean we're supposed to fight something that evolves as we evolve?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "That sounds… fair."
He just smiled, all knowing and mysterious, and said that the only way to defeat it was to nurture a being capable of matching its level of evolution—a being born of humanity, yet somehow beyond it. He told me there already existed one being perfect for defeating it… and another, equally perfect, to replace it.
I never understood why he always called that entity "it," like it was some kind of nameless, faceless horror. As if naming it would give it power or something. Maybe he's superstitious?
After that, he began sharing what he called "public knowledge," the kind of stuff known by people aware of the supernatural. You know, the usual: monsters, magic, and the impending doom of humanity. But he also taught me things that, according to him, no one else alive knows. Secret techniques, forgotten histories, the whole shebang.
He told me stories about the Flame Chasers and the Divine Keys. Epic heroes, legendary weapons, the whole nine yards. It was like listening to a really intense history lesson, except this time, the stakes were real.
What caught my interest most was the Flame Chaser of Decimation. I mean, seriously, Decimation? That's a pretty metal name.
"You mean to tell me," I asked, leaning forward in my makeshift chair, "that a mortal managed to fight on equal grounds with something divine? Like, an actual god?"
He nodded, almost proud, a glint of admiration in his eyes. "Indeed. Even if he was only the third strongest, his sheer strength and modification allowed him to stand against gods."
Apparently, that man's greatest feat was defeating a Herrscher as a human. Which is, you know, kind of a big deal.
I still don't know if he even was human after that. I mean, come on, fighting a god? That's gotta leave a mark.
Anyway, back to that weird guy's lessons.
He finally told me his name yesterday.
Adam.
Something about that name felt off to me. Maybe because it's the name of the first human in Christianity—or maybe it was just my gut screaming that this guy is trouble. Either way, I'm keeping my eye on him.
Teacher Adam explained that there are thirteen Herrschers in total, though the previous era had fourteen. Apparently, they had a spare.
He even listed them for me, like he was reciting the periodic table or something: Reason, Void, Thunder, Wind, Ice, Death, Flame, Sentience, Stars, Dominance (or Legion, apparently they couldn't make up their minds), Binding, Corruption, and finally—Finality. The big boss. The end of the line.
Then he looked straight at me, his golden eyes piercing right through me, and said I had the potential to become one of them.
Yeah, I was shocked too. Me? A Herrscher? I could barely survive his insane lessons, and now I'm supposed to believe I can stand among monsters that shape worlds? Please.
After that, the lectures ended, and the real nightmare began.
He started training me in combat.
Boxing. Kickboxing. Taekwondo. Muay Thai. And something he called Renewal Taekwondo.
And that last one? That's where my suffering truly began. I swear, he's trying to kill me.
After the endless training sessions, he started teaching me the focus behind each martial art, as if that somehow made my pain feel more justified. Like knowing the philosophy behind getting punched in the face is supposed to make it hurt less.
He said Renewal Taekwondo was a "stylish martial art emphasizing speed, precision, and the exploitation of weak points."
Yeah, stylish. Sure. That's one word for it. I prefer "brutal."
He also said it required me to kick three times in under a second while accurately targeting an opponent's head.
Three times.
In. One. Second.
And apparently, that's normal. For him, maybe.
I swear this martial art wasn't meant for humans. I had to study human anatomy just to know which weak points to target. My brain was about to explode trying to memorize which nerves connected where while my legs were ready to give out. It was like studying for a medical exam while running a marathon.
But somehow, I managed to learn four moves from it: Baek Rok, Baekdu, Axe, and Ground Drawer.
Baek Rok was a 180-degree kick. I had to kick a Honkai beast twenty-nine feet into the ground before he accepted that I'd learned it. Twenty-nine feet! I thought I was gonna break my leg.
Baekdu was a knee attack—I had to send another beast flying thirty meters with a combo just for him to nod in approval. Thirty meters! I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle doing that.
Axe was, well, a jumping axe kick. He made me split the ground ten feet deep with it before he said, "Good job." My leg is still screaming from that one. I think I cracked the earth's crust.
And the hardest of all? Ground Drawer. A spinning kick that grinds the floor itself. I had to destroy an entire wall just from the wind pressure before he said it was acceptable. An entire wall! My feet were on fire.
By the end of it, my whole lower body was on fire, and I was pretty sure I'd aged about ten years.
And when he told me there were "recoilless" forms of each move, I almost started crying blood. I mean, seriously, what does that even mean?
Luckily, he said I didn't have to learn those. For now. The "for now" part is what scares me.
Then, as if he hadn't tortured me enough, he decided to teach me how to cook.
Cooking.
While my legs were still killing me.
That blonde devil really knows how to make me suffer. He's like some kind of sadist chef.
Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, he tells me I have to learn two more Renewal Taekwondo moves: Hwechook and Nigawa Kick.
And—get this—I had to learn both within a week.
Hwechook, according to him, was a spinning kick that gathered momentum from rapid rotation at a central point. I barely understood half of that. It sounded like something out of a physics textbook.
Nigawa Kick was, apparently, a stylish backflip kick that used the momentum of the flip to stomp on another enemy's face mid-air. Yeah, stylish. If you're into that sort of thing.
He even demonstrated it. The ground cracked under his foot. Cracked!
I still remember how my stomach twisted when he mentioned "recoilless" forms of both moves. What kind of psycho trains someone by casually breaking physics? It's not natural!
I swear, my legs were already shivering just thinking about it. I could feel the pain in my bones.
And then came the final test.
"Little Nava, I will see your progress in martial arts. Let's spar," he said out of nowhere, like it was the most casual thing in the world.
The next thing I knew, we were standing in what used to be an arena—a broken, ruined place that looked like it hadn't seen peace in decades. The air was thick with dust and the smell of decay.
When he said "Go," I didn't hesitate. I dashed forward and launched a Baek Rok kick, putting everything I had into it. All the frustration, all the pain, all the sleep deprivation.
Blocked. Effortlessly. Like he wasn't even trying.
Then he used that random dragon technique again, and I was flying before I even processed what happened. One minute I was charging, the next I was airborne.
I rolled to a stop, coughing dust and trying to remember which way was up.
I got up, charged again, and went for his weak points with a flurry of punches. I remembered all the nerve clusters, all the pressure points, all the things he'd taught me.
He blocked all of them. Effortlessly. Again.
"Focus your rhythm, little Nava," he said calmly, like he was giving me a cooking lesson. "Your intent must follow your flow."
I wanted to punch his stupid serene face. So badly.
Fine. Let's see him handle Ground Drawer.
I spun low and kicked out—but the bastard mirrored me! He used Ground Drawer too, and worse, hurled debris at me mid-spin like it was part of the technique. Talk about unfair.
"You didn't tell me that was allowed!" I shouted as I dodged a flying rock. Seriously, who fights like that?
"Adaptation," he said with a grin. "That's the essence of mastery."
For a full hour, I threw everything I had at him—every punch, kick, and spin I'd learned. And for a full hour, he countered all of them, showing me better versions of my own attacks. It was like fighting a mirror, except the mirror was a hundred times stronger than me.
Forty-six times. That's how many times I got sent flying. I counted.
When I finally collapsed, panting in the corner, my body aching in places I didn't even know existed, he stood there without a scratch, smiling like this was just a light workout. The nerve!
"I have a question, old man," I said between breaths, glaring at him.
"What's the strongest move in Renewal Taekwondo for you?"
He paused, thinking, his expression unreadable. Then he smiled that calm, terrifying smile that always sent shivers down my spine.
"For me, it's Jin Hoechook. It draws in all surrounding energy, compresses it, and releases it like a collapsing star. It creates a black-hole-like force that drains the enemy's very essence."
I just stared at him, my mouth hanging open.
He's serious.
A black hole.
I couldn't even make a proper tornado kick, and he's talking about black holes?! It's insane!
After the spar, though, he finally let me rest. He even fed me—a warm meal that almost made me forget the pain. Almost.
Sometimes, he's nice.
Other times, he's the literal devil.
But as I sat under the broken arena's twilight, my body aching yet my heart strangely calm, a thought came to me.
Maybe this pain means something.
Maybe by mastering Renewal Taekwondo, by understanding his teachings, I could finally break free from everything that held me back. All the fear, all the doubt, all the things that haunted me.
Yeah… my dream is clear now.
To perfect Renewal Taekwondo.
To perfect myself.
And one day, to stand alongside my teacher in that final battle he keeps talking about—the battle against Finality itself.
Even if it kills me.