The Protagonist is the Martial World’s Nemesis – Chapter 2

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“Ugh, damn it.”

The world wouldn’t change with just groaning and cursing. I tucked the manual into my clothes and returned to the cave. The floor, with its clear footprints, seemed to be reflecting the light, urging me to practice the basics of the Shadow Step. I tapped the floor a few times with my shoes and pulled the manual back out.

“So, I bend my knees and step forward…”

The floor was polished. Was it intentionally smoothed for practice? Or had so many practitioners used this place through the generations of the Shadow Step? Since the person assumed to be the master was a skeleton, there was no one to answer my questions.

I tried mimicking the Shadow Step once, then reread the text.

“The basics of the Shadow Step begin with moving silently. At first, reduce the sound by using your body’s center of gravity. After accumulating inner energy, channel it to strengthen your legs, but never let your feet make noise. If there is any noise, you must start over.”

I opened the chest and grabbed a Bigokdan. I was already hungry after a hard day’s work. Tossing the pill into my mouth, the dry texture reminded me of chewing dry earth, and my mouth felt parched. I frowned and walked to the water source.

Just as I was about to walk normally, I remembered the stepping pattern of the Shadow Step and adjusted my walk accordingly. There was a posture where one leaned forward. As my knees bent and my feet touched the ground, they naturally made a sound. Furthermore, the next step required leaping further than my stride, and when I did it thoughtlessly, my foot landed with a thud.

“Ah, this isn’t going to be easy.”

I returned to the inner cave. The holes that acted like windows illuminated the wall. Looking at the wall again, I noticed that the marks I had thought were just the results of age were at regular intervals. They were similar to the positions used for hands and feet when climbing a wall with the Shadow Step. I vaguely matched my hands and feet to the wall, rereading the text.

“This technique of the Shadow Step is used for scaling fences or cliffs. We must be able to go anywhere to obtain beauty, and if we wish to escape this cliff, we must master this skill. However, one thing that is unfortunate is that it is difficult to determine mastery within this small cave.
Oh, technique learner, if you are curious about your achievement, you must use the rope and stakes included in the chest and climb the cliff while tied. So, trust your skill and luck, and challenge…no, damn it.”

I reexamined the rope and stakes. They had looked sturdy earlier, but that was only because I had been looking at them objectively. When I realized they were going to be my lifeline, the sturdy rope looked like it would break any second, and the stakes and the cliff looked flimsy.

I reread the text and picked up the rope and stakes. The rope was long enough to tie myself up and still climb some distance up the cliff. But if I were asked if I could reach the top, I would have to tilt my head in doubt.

If I make a mistake, will the rope reach its limit and I’ll just fall after climbing a certain distance?

I won’t be able to train on the cave wall after a certain point, and will have to climb the cliff, relying on this single stake every time?

The person who had been here must have prepared for this, but a person’s mind naturally trembles with anxiety in such situations.

“Is this right?”

I asked the weathered skeleton. Of course, the tilted skeleton did not respond.

I sighed and began looking for the remaining section on bedroom techniques. I seemed to remember seeing it mention something about how the bedroom techniques helped strengthen leg and arm strength. I crouched next to the skeleton and opened the book. There, the content I wanted appeared.

[The foundation of bedroom techniques is in the thighs, fingers, and tongue. For this, it is important to steadily practice the Shadow Step and the Seizing Hand, and to do this posture once a day to train the strength of your fingers and thighs. First, spread your legs and bend your knees as if a general were riding a horse. Straighten your back and extend both hands forward.]

It was instructing me to take a horse-riding stance. I placed the book on the floor and tried the stance. It was an easy posture to follow, so I managed it quite well.

[Then, with your palms facing upward, move your middle and ring fingers as if they were wriggling dragons. Once you are used to the wriggling movement, simultaneously move your fingers and wrists according to the basic techniques of the Seizing Hand.]

I paused for a moment and examined the basic techniques of the Seizing Hand. It described how to twist your wrist or snatch a person’s collar with your fingers. I had to train my hands anyway if I wanted to climb the cliff, so I resumed the horse stance and flipped the page with my foot.

[Once you get used to this, take some wet soil and move your fingers in the same manner to create a bead-like shape. This is to learn how to properly distribute strength.]

I flipped the page again. The text was now waxing poetic on how to move one’s fingers, and on why the principles of the Seizing Hand should be applied when caressing a woman.

According to the author, the Seizing Hand, which used the opponent’s strength, pulling and pushing, was an art form that described the process of achieving harmony in the subtle relationship between a man and a woman. That’s why the essence of the Seizing Hand was the same as handling a woman.

Of course, there was no woman here, only a skeleton, so his words were not relevant to me right now. The next page described what I should do next.

[After taking the posture with your legs and hands, you must practice tongue movements. Stick out your tongue and repeat the motion of quickly flicking it up and down like a frog catching an insect. Once you are used to this and can use your tongue freely, practice shaping soil in your mouth.]

I finished reading the manual and took the posture. A horse stance, hands stretched forward, fingers wriggling. I wildly flicked my hands while making chewing motions in the air and rapidly flicked my tongue up and down like a frog catching a bug.

“……”

The cave was silent.

I was moving my fingers through the air in a horse stance, and the skeleton was watching me with empty sockets as if it were my only fan.

“Ebebebebebe.”

My tongue flicked with each sound I made, creating a foolish noise that seemed to mock me.

I felt completely fooled. Did you ever play a prank on a friend as a child? The joke that said you could touch your elbow with your tongue if you rolled your eyes back. The moment your friend believed you and rolled his eyes back while sticking out his tongue, you’d laugh and say, “Did you actually believe that?”

I felt like I was on the receiving end of a similar prank.

I stopped practicing and sat down on the floor for a while. I scratched my head and looked at the ceiling.

The sound of running water echoed in the empty cave. The sound of the water was particularly loud, and my sigh broke the silence.

“Haa…”

I scratched my head and opened the manual again.

“…If I look at it backward, will it reveal some Heavenly Demon technique?”

The thought of having to repeat this for an unknown amount of time already made my vision blur. Was this right? Was this really a stroke of luck? I flipped the book backward, just in case, but nothing came out of it.

“Damn it…”

I was destined to wildly move my fingers while taking a horse stance and shouting, “Ebebebebe,” for at least a year.

“Is this right?”

I looked at the skeleton. Of course, the skeleton remained motionless and silent. I kicked its skull a few times, then tugged at its clothes, scratched my head, and went outside.

The cave was gloomy, but a bright world opened up just a few steps outside. My stuffy mood seemed to lighten a bit as I gazed at the layers of fog that created a scenic view.

Beautiful views made people optimistic. If a moment ago, my head was filled with the question, “What do I do now?”, now it was filled with baseless optimism that everything would be alright.

Wasn’t this also fate? I believed that everything in the world was fate.

A life of learning bedroom techniques and footwork, buried among the white fog, skeleton, Bigokdan, and other junk.

Believing that this life given to me by the heavens wouldn’t end here, I turned around.

“Ugh, damn it.”

What could I do?
I had to train.

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