Learning My Clones' Moves (1)

"Mister Park! Mister Park!"

Lee Seung saw a guy with a chestnut hairstyle calling from behind, exhaustion evident in his voice.

The guy then ran to the arrogant Hunter's side.

"Yee, yee," the guy panted heavily, bending while pressing down on his knees. "Oh my, why... why did you move that fast?!"

The S-rank Hunter, Park Junho, nonchalantly glanced at Lee Seung while pocketing his hands.

He smirked, then said, "You should be careful with the kind of people you offend, kid. Being targeted by powerful people won't last you long as a Hunter, or even as a human being."

Lee Seung suddenly felt his heart pound. How could someone speak that bluntly?

Mr. Choi shut his eyes and sighed, 'He isn't hiding the fact that he's making a threat. Mr. Lee shouldn't have offended him for my sake!'

Finally, the guy with the chestnut hair straightened his back, having regained his energy.

He then drew closer to the superior Hunter and whispered, "Mister Park, don't forget you have an appointment—"

"Cut it out, I know," the man said calmly. He gave Mr. Choi and Lee Seung a brief glance, then left with the guy.

The threat replayed in Seung's mind. It was a dangerous kind. But most importantly, he didn't feel terrified at all.

He knew himself; back in the days, his heart would pound hard when he saw his male classmates because of the thought of being bullied.

'This man is a billion times stronger than my bullies, but I don't seem to be easily scared anymore,' he thought, grinning. 'Maybe I will be frightened the day he fulfills the threat.'

Mr. Choi's voice jolted him back to reality, reminding him it was time to move on.

Meanwhile, around a corner, a mysterious figure watched Seung from the shadows as he left the guild.

* * *

The Red Range Rover pulled over at the junction of Lee Seung's former neighborhood.

When he stepped out, Mr. Choi said, "Thank you for today, Mr. Lee."

Lee Seung smiled slightly. "I can't keep silent when he embarrassed you..."

The man got lost in thought for a few seconds. He then asked, "Aren't you curious why I was expelled from Dongwon Guild?"

Seung responded, "Honestly, I'm curious. But you can choose whether to talk about it or not. Besides, the past is just the past."

The man's lips curled into a smile at the youngster's words.

After being expelled from the guild due to a wrongful accusation, people despised his presence.

He was simply an outcast wherever he went. Everyone found solace in discussing the case.

However, here was someone who not only defended him but also wasn't interested in discussing his past.

Wasn't this what he yearned for?

"I have to meet someone today, so you can pick my clones up at home and drop them at an E-rank dungeon. They won't have a problem with getting unscathed," said Lee Seung.

"Uh... no problem. I will do so," Mr. Choi said.

* * *

The red car revved away, and Lee Seung walked up the street.

He thought of tutoring Mr. Song's granddaughter for an hour and paying his sister's care fee later.

Afterwards, he arrived at Mr. Song's house. He entered and found the girl in the living room.

Jiwon was sitting at a small table in the center of the room, surrounded by textbooks and notes.

The room was quiet except for the occasional rustling of pages.

CLANK...

Jiwon looked up from her Physics textbook when she heard the door close.

A smile spread across her face when she saw who it was.

"You came."

Seung took off his shoes and slipped into a pair of slippers by the door. He smiled back. "Yes, I did."

He walked forward and sat on the floor opposite her. Glancing at the textbook, he asked, "How far have you gotten with this?"

Jiwon bit her lip and smiled wryly. Seung could see she was embarrassed about her progress.

"How about we start afresh?" Seung suggested, feeling a bit uneasy himself. 'Poof, I still struggle with social interaction.'

They began working together, Seung explaining topics and helping her with questions.

The room was filled with the sound of their discussion, punctuated by Jiwon's occasional "Ah, I see" and Seung's patient explanations.

Time passed. The sky outside transitioned from gold to deep orange, shadows lengthening as the sun dipped.

A cool breeze whispered through the leaves, and the first stars began to emerge, signaling the arrival of evening.

Seung ended up spending the whole day tutoring her, despite initially planning to use only one hour.

He rose from the floor and picked up his bag.

"It's getting dark. I should be on my way now," he said.

Jiwon stood up as well and smiled. "Oh, yes, you should. We'll meet at school the day after tomorrow."

"Yes, bye."

He left and took a cab home. By the time he arrived, it was already dark. As he opened the door, he could hear the faint sound of the TV.

As anticipated, his clones were watching TV.

"You guys must have worked your asses off at the dungeon," he said, taking off his shoes. The clones glanced at him.

"Welcome, master."

Despite watching TV, it was clear the clones were exhausted.

One sat slouched on the couch, barely touching the backrest, while the other was curled up in a corner, knees drawn up to his chest or stretched out sideways.

'There's nothing to feel bad about; after all, I made them myself,' Seung thought, smiling. He sighed and said, "Unsummon clones."

The bluish platform opened before him.

[Unsummoning clones...]

The clones' bodies began to emit tiny azure lights, gradually disappearing.

Lee Seung walked into his room and lay on the bed, facing the ceiling.

The screen opened above, displaying that the clones had been unsummoned.

Feeling the stress all over his body, he went to bed.

Rays of light fell on Lee Seung's fair skin as he sprawled in bed. The birds chirped loudly, welcoming the awakening of a new day.

He woke up, rising from the bed and stretching with a loud yawn. After showering, he made pasta for himself.

Eventually, he decided to resummon his clones.

"Resummon clones!"

Thud!

A cloud of dust manifested, and once it lifted into the air, First and Second stood before him.

"Welcome back, guys," he said. "Our aim today is to push our limits."

"Push our limits?"

Lee Seung rubbed his chin. 'I used to believe that Second is stronger than First and that I am twice as strong as both of them. But that seems wrong now. I need to test their strengths against strong humans and each other. That way, I can learn their moves and improve.'

The three of them left the neighborhood, boarded a cab, and soon arrived at their destination.

Lee Seung led the way to a building named Sparring Complex.

"Let's have chicken and chips after sparring," Lee Seung said. "Follow me."