Objectively speaking, fifteen days is not a short amount of time.
Just think of it in terms of school assignments or work tasks.
Even if it’s something you don’t want to do, when the deadline is two weeks away, most people don’t really feel like they’re short on time.
But time, by nature, is a relative concept.
What feels like more than enough to one person can be painfully insufficient to someone else.
That’s what Choa came to realize over the past fifteen days instead of reaching Sword and Mind as One.
“I guess… I didn’t reach First-rate after all.”
“Uugh… I-I’m sorry…”
Seeing Choa shrinking in discouragement before him, Cheon Hwi let out a deep sigh.
Though she hung her head even lower at his reaction, Cheon Hwi hadn’t sighed out of disappointment or to scold her.
“After this dungeon is over… I’d like you to tell me a bit about your past.”
“M-My past…?”
Over the past two weeks, Cheon Hwi had carefully observed Choa’s training.
And through that, he realized the reason why she couldn’t reach Sword and Mind as One.
“Yes. I think you’re currently trapped in a heart demon.”
Heart demon.
In modern psychological terms, you might call it trauma — but in the martial world, it’s a broader concept.
It covers everything from lingering regrets about the past to anxiety about an uncertain future.
So being trapped in a heart demon means one hasn’t let go of something weighing heavily on their heart.
“From what I can tell, there’s probably an unpleasant memory from your past that you haven’t fully dealt with.”
Choa was passionate and desperate in her training.
At first glance, she seemed to enjoy martial arts and took pride in the way she was growing stronger day by day.
That’s all positive.
But the moment she picked up a sword, something felt… off.
Worry, fear — or maybe something close to both — would quietly surface in her expression and breathing.
“This might be a sensitive topic, but if you don’t face that experience and overcome it, you’ll never achieve Sword and Mind as One.”
Having lived a long time, Cheon Hwi prided himself on understanding people’s hearts.
And from what he had seen so far, to Choa, the sword was more than a weapon.
It was a symbol — of her dream to become a full-fledged Hunter, of the future self she hoped to become.
But every time she looked at her sword, the emotions reflected in her eyes weren’t entirely positive.
Among the various feelings — some shining bright, others subtle — there was one emotion that stood out.
Anxiety.
Whenever Choa looked at her sword, she seemed to fall into a strange sense of unease.
‘Only someone who’s been told cruel things… and felt the wall of reality up close… would look at it with eyes like that.’
Cheon Hwi’s gaze deepened as he looked at Choa, who was nervously curled up like a small animal.
Her experience, built through sword training and countless sparring matches with the mannequin, was more than enough.
Given how well she had followed his teachings so far, her talent for learning and applying martial arts was clearly exceptional.
And with the Blood Heaven Blood Refinement Method, through which she absorbed all of the boss Mountain Giant’s blood and even completed cultivation, her internal energy was overflowing.
In short — nothing was lacking for her to reach the next realm.
Only one thing held her back: something in her mind was clinging to her, keeping her stuck at Second-rate just as she was about to move forward.
“It’s a heavy subject… but for now, let’s focus on what’s right in front of us.”
“Ah, r-right…!”
The one-month promise she made with her viewers had now come to an end.
It was unfortunate that she hadn’t reached First-rate, but now was the time to deliver results — in one form or another.
“Let’s go. I asked the Association President to arrange a suitable E-rank gate.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The promised day had already arrived.
The sounds of people bustling filled the area with noise.
There were pedestrians snapping photos with camera shutters clicking, and even broadcast crew from major networks gathered on site,
Creating a massive crowd that, by even a rough count, easily surpassed a hundred.
Standing at the center of the largest crowd she had ever seen in her life, Choa gulped nervously at the overwhelming attention.
“Streamer Choa! How do you feel about solo-clearing an E-rank gate?”
“According to the official Hunter Association, you’re still a D-rank awakened with no license — how did you gain the right to clear a gate?”
“Just one look over here, please!”
Ignoring the wave of voices, Choa raised her head.
In front of her, a swirling blue vortex awaited.
A gate.
It might only be E-rank, but a gate is still a gate.
And just beyond it was a dungeon she would be clearing — for the first time, and completely alone.
Her body began to tremble on instinct.
“Hoo…”
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Choa opened her eyes wide.
Right — her master said she could do it.
She could easily take down training mannequins now, so this should be no problem.
There are people who’ve supported me.
And even now, there are people who came all the way here just to cheer me on.
Choa exhaled a trembling breath, and strength returned to her grip.
Her palms were damp with sweat, but the weight of the sword she held remained unchanged.
She took a deep breath and slowly shifted her gaze.
At the edge of the crowd, she spotted Cheon Hwi calmly setting up the stream for the dungeon run.
Strangely, just seeing his composed demeanor eased the tension that had been stiffening her entire body.
“Huh? Isn’t that…!”
At that moment, someone’s shout cut through the crowd, and everyone’s attention shifted.
A woman approached quietly from behind Choa, and the moment Choa sensed her presence with sharpened intuition, she sucked in a breath.
“That’s Seo Ye-rin!”
Seo Ye-rin.
There were few people who didn’t know that name.
An A-rank Hunter and the current head of the Hunter Association’s Audit Division, she was known as the strongest A-rank in Korea when it came to one-on-one combat.
Why would someone like her be here?
Many of those gathered tilted their heads in confusion.
But Seo Ye-rin ignored the attention focused on her and spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
“This gate has appeared near Daehak-ro, where foot traffic is heavy. In such cases, the Association is obligated to prepare for the worst, and the assigned rank of the gate is not a factor to be considered.”
She listed off the official reasons for her presence, as if directly addressing the growing public curiosity.
Wearing a sharply fitted suit, Seo Ye-rin pulled a pair of white gloves from her pocket and slipped them on.
Then, without hesitation, she walked up to Choa and stood by her side, speaking again to the crowd.
“Additionally, my presence here is to fulfill the regulations required for an unlicensed awakened individual to legally enter a gate.”
Normally, only those with an official Hunter license are allowed to enter and clear dungeons.
But gates appear constantly, and the number of Hunters available to handle them is limited.
There are times when urgent reinforcement is needed for various reasons.
So, when Seo Ye-rin invoked the clause that allows for special entry in such emergencies, a reporter stretched their mic forward and shouted with excitement,
“Then your presence at a site where a C-rank Hunter would be sufficient—
Is it because you have a personal connection with Streamer Choa?!”
The moment that question was asked, the entire crowd fell silent, holding their breath.
Objectively speaking, this was not the kind of site where an A-rank Hunter like Seo Ye-rin needed to be present.
According to regulation, for an unlicensed awakened individual to enter a gate, either one Hunter of a rank one level higher than the participant, or two Hunters of the same rank, must accompany them.
Given that, just one or two idle C-rank Hunters from the Association would’ve been more than enough.
And yet—Seo Ye-rin, a Hunter three ranks higher, had personally come to the scene?
No matter how you looked at it, the only plausible explanation was that she had volunteered for the assignment out of a personal connection.
It was a hot scoop any reporter would drool over: a relationship between Choa, the internet’s rising Trizik streamer, and the famously aloof A-rank Hunter.
The reporter who had thrown the question looked like he was already savoring the clicks.
But then came the response.
“No. I have no personal connection whatsoever with this individual.”
“Th-Then why…?”
A reaction so far from what they’d expected that it stunned the crowd.
It didn’t feel like a lie, either — Seo Ye-rin’s tone was too firm, too clear.
And even Choa, the one being named, didn’t look flustered.
She looked more like someone who had simply accepted an obvious truth.
Could it really be… that there was no connection at all?
Faces in the crowd twisted into varying shades of confusion.
Some looked disappointed. Others seemed bewildered.
In the midst of it all, Seo Ye-rin continued speaking, her voice level and emotionless.
She responded to the reporter’s follow-up with the same cold clarity.
“I was dispatched by the Association President.”
In truth, Seo Ye-rin herself didn’t know why she had been sent to a place like this.
The Association President had called her in out of the blue, giving no context before assigning her to the task.
Naturally, Seo Ye-rin’s gaze shifted to the girl standing beside her—Choa.
Just who was this girl.
For the Association President to personally dispatch her to the site?
Seo Ye-rin quietly pondered the question.
But to everyone else listening, what she had just said opened up far more questions than it answered.
After all, she had offered no background, no justification—just a flat, “I was sent, so I came.”
Still, one thing was now very clear.
Streamer Choa has a direct line to the Association President.
Once people realized that, the crowd burst into noisy chatter.
Seo Ye-rin let out a small sigh, turned her head, and pointed toward the gate.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-Yes…!”
Choa, flustered, practically scurried into the gate.
Seo Ye-rin followed behind without hesitation.
“H-Huh? The gate is…!”
—And just like that, the two disappeared into the portal.
Thus, Choa’s solo E-rank dungeon challenge officially began.
And then—something unexpected happened.