NOVEL NEXT Chapter 519
Suddenly, I had a curious thought.
What on earth is the standard for dividing common sense from what isn’t?
René Descartes viewed common sense as an element that helps humans establish self-esteem.
Because every human is convinced that they themselves are a person of sound common sense.
Thus, we need to reflect on ourselves at least once.
Like Ruohan, who didn’t know it was a no-no to mention someone’s mom for ice-breaking,
I was pretty clueless about the sects in China.
“Well, I don’t know absolutely nothing. I’ve picked up bit and pieces from movies and dramas.”
“NoName, then let me name a sect one by one, and you tell me the first image that comes to your mind.”
“Sure.”
“Shaolin Temple.”
“Baldy.”
“Hwasan Sect.”
“Volcano.”
“Jeomchang Sect.”
“Georges Seurat.”
“Who’s that?”
“Er… He’s a notable figure of the Post-Impressionist movement who developed pointillism… This should be common sense in art history, right?”
“I-I don’t know…? And hold on, you don’t know either!”
I, too, had become a person lacking in common sense by Chinese standards.
“Common sense is hard.”
Honestly, what am I supposed to do about things that don’t interest me?
I wonder if I really need to know about Chinese sects while living my life.
– Volcano LOL
– Mudang Sect is crying in mass
– How do you not know Jeomchang Sect yet know Georges Seurat? LOL
– Isn’t Jeomchang Sect the one that’s mentioned the most on TikTok?
– NoName doesn’t use TikTok.
– Is it even okay to air this? LOL
Surprisingly, the Chinese audience responded quite well.
– Hwasan Sect is said to be built on a volcano, though, is that a problem?
– Jeomchang Sect: just goes around poking with swords.
– Does Shaolin Temple use hair loss shampoo? Hahahaha
Since there were only negative feelings towards each other, it appeared that they were more accustomed to derogatory terms.
Could we say that the Korean professional baseball team has control over politics, economics, society, and culture altogether?
Terrifying.
I shivered and made brr sounds with my lips.
“Well, let’s stop the ice-breaking here. What did you want to ask me?”
“How about we review the duel we had earlier today? In our Mudang Sect, we review duels for hours or even days after they end.”
“That might be tough. We are still in the National Exchange Tournament, after all.”
“Then, just show me one part! I won’t ask you about the duel anymore afterward.”
“Call me ‘Great Hero’.”
“NoName Great Hero! I beg of you!”
“Wow. Hearing a native Chinese person say it feels different. Don’t you think so, everyone?”
[‘Cat Love is the Best’ donated 100,000 won!]
– Pretty Boy trait! Obsessed with titles!
“Damn, be quiet now!”
– The cute side of NoName just came out.
– A bully duo above a running hoodlum LOL
– Bully duo, huh? LOL
– Seriously, NoName feels wronged…!
– Shouldn’t it be Ruohan who feels wronged?
– Model student (full-body tattoo).
– NoName (school bullying perpetrator!).
– I’m dizzy…
In the meantime, ten minutes had already passed.
Of course, I wouldn’t be petty about time like a small-minded person…
But geez, this was nerve-wracking.
Anyway, Ruohan downloaded the match footage and showed it to me.
“Let’s see. Where is it?”
“From 14 minutes 15 seconds to halftime.”
“Oh?”
I thought Ruohan would point out the last eight minutes that led to her defeat.
But instead, she asked about the process of me completing the Adela magic circle.
I got interested and sat properly in my chair.
“This is a technique called Eum-Yang Haedong from the Taeguk Hye Sword. It’s a sword technique that maximizes the mystery of Yin and Yang.”
Nodding my head as I listened to Ruohan’s explanation.
“Can you all see? Ruohan’s bizarre footwork is conveyed at roughly 70% in the video. Watching her jump and dash around makes me think of a human Mario… No, a human Forkball.”
– NoName’s shaking with laughter LOL
– Looks like a bug-ridden character.
– Instead of feeling like I need to fight, I get the vibe I need to dodge.
– NoName, from the start, Forkball isn’t even a person! LOL
From here, I watched frame by frame.
“But here you found an opening and thrust your sword, right? Honestly, I was surprised here too.”
“Well, an opening was spotted. But I think Ruohan did well to respond.”
“I deflected your sword very precisely and neatly.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But why were you not in a defenseless state?”
“What do you mean? My sword is way over there. My stance is open. I’m completely unguarded!”
“Immediately afterwards, when I tried to insert a disruption loop, you recovered your sword with multi-aura instantly. You knew I’d deflect the sword in that direction beforehand. But how? Luck? That can’t be it.”
“Wow, you’re smart. Did you realize that by yourself?”
“No, I noticed while replaying it with my Master… He considered it a draw. But it’s hard for me to accept with my own reasoning.”
“Why?”
“Preemptive victory. You only aim for the winning matches.”
I was almost at the answer, and I had a grasp on the last clue, but I was still one step short.
“Missed it, so close. Think a little harder.”
Feeling disappointed, I grabbed Ruohan’s wrist and shook it.
After trying out a couple of deductions, I ultimately couldn’t figure it out.
I need to give a simple example.
“Ruohan, let’s play rock-paper-scissors. Rock, paper, scissors!”
I showed scissors, and Ruohan showed rock, so she won.
“If we don’t use any tricks, the chance of me or my sister winning is one in three, right? Isn’t it? That’s luck.”
“Yeah.”
“Now here’s something fun to tell you. Our human bodies have some incorrect codes embedded occasionally. And most people don’t know this fact. Taking rock-paper-scissors as an example, whenever we shout ‘paper,’ we always start with rock. But what if I started with scissors?”
“Then the probability of one in three wouldn’t change, right?”
“If it were a machine, yes. But if it’s a human, no. Rock-paper-scissors!”
I threw scissors and instantly jumped to make a rock-paper-scissors play.
Ruohan showed rock, while I changed to paper simultaneously.
Ruohan’s eyes widened.
“Did you see? Ruohan unconsciously threw rock. This time, the command to throw rock, to win against scissors, takes precedence over the command to simply throw anything when saying ‘paper.’”
This is a theory about the inherent irrationality of humans.
Evolution for survival can act disadvantageously in certain situations.
“I feel like I somewhat understand, but not really…”
“Now, our Ruohan sister might not understand since she’s a girl, but let me explain to the viewers, especially the male audience. If I were to deliver a knee kick aimed at your cough cough, everyone would instinctively bend back, right?”
– Whoa!
– This metaphor is a bit intense;;
– Pedophile kick to the rescue!
– That’s just a man’s instinct, can’t help it.
– NoName, be gentle…!
“But now let’s say there’s a stone wall behind you, and I’ve driven in sharp nails into the stone wall. How painful would it be to get hit by my kick without any aura? You’d just suffer for about ten minutes. But if you bend back, your spine is doomed.”
“Okay, I get it! You drove the nails beforehand and then kicked, huh?”
“It’s a rough metaphor… but kinda accurate.”
“Whoa! Would I still have deflected my sword in the same direction if I were put back in that situation?”
“Not likely. If you’re good at learning.”
Generally, if you stab at a certain angle, most will deflect at a similar angle.
It’s a principle learned naturally when facing countless knights charging at you.
If you realize the principle, it can be applied.
Afterwards, Ruohan and I exchanged questions about the intended direction of our auras, confirming each other’s intentions.
“Here, ‘heavy’ (重) penetrated ‘black’ (黑), so I exchanged it for ‘light’ (白) to go to ‘light’ (環).”
“Isn’t that too passive? If it were me, I’d just have charged in.”
“Because you still don’t know your aura’s limit radius yet.”
“Smaller than yours.”
Basically, my act of swinging a sword infused with aura penetrated her defensive position, so I widened my aura to prepare for the inevitable clash that would follow.
Anyway, since language can’t adequately explain aura, it’s just a secondary element.
To deduce the intention contained within, we reflected on the situation.
Since viewers started dropping off noticeably halfway through the broadcast.
[‘If It Rains, I’ll See You’ donated 10,000 won!]
– Is this the conversation of geniuses? My heart is filled with grandeur.
Then, unexpectedly, Ruohan began to stubbornly argue about a strange point.
“I can’t agree.”
“I was expecting Ruohan to be aggressive here.”
“NoName, I predicted you would predict that!”
“Then I am predicting your predicted prediction.”
“In fact, I predicted your predicted prediction of the prediction.”
“I’m predicting your predicted prediction of the predicted prediction of the prediction—”
[‘If It Rains, I’ll See You’ donated 10,000 won!]
– Is this the conversation of geniuses…? My heart is shrinking…
[‘qpwoei’ donated 20,000 won!]
– Pretty Boy trait. Lives for verbal fights.
– You both are so childish LOL
– LOL, when did it turn from a profound discussion to a childfight?
– If we’re being precise, aren’t both little kids?
– Please protect your image, NoName!
– It’s cute and good, though LOL
– These kids went around the stadium making violent fights!
– It turns out athletes are surprisingly meticulous and surprisingly careless.
– At first: Every action is filled with awesome intent / Later: Just swinging around blindly as it felt correct.
– What even is this LOL
In the end, while our differences in opinion remained, we wrapped up the part we agreed to review.
Honestly, this conversation didn’t seem very fruitful even to me, but Ruohan seemed satisfied.
We had been spiraling around the periphery of Paris and somehow ended up on the opposite side of Paris.
We still had about thirty more minutes to go to our accommodation.
Right about now, I should be lying down in a hotel bed and letting my body relax.
As the tension in both body and mind loosened, sleep began to wash over me.
Inside the vehicle, it immediately became quiet.
As I dozed off, Ruohan offered her shoulder to me.
“Ruohan, I really appreciate the kindness, but your shoulder bone is too stiff, it feels uncomfortable…”
I think it’s better to lean against the window and sleep.
“Ah! Do you want to lie down here?”
“Uh?”
Kneeling on the first date? This girl was so generous.
Without bothering to turn her down, I sprawled over the three seats.
“What will you do when you return to China?”
Thinking about why the National Exchange Tournament is only held for those under 16,
I think there’s a clear intention behind it: Do not burden a child’s life solely on fighting.
In fact, in Russia or Middle Eastern countries, there are quite a few kids raised solely for battle from the moment they are born.
“I’m planning to go back to school and study.”
“Study?”
“Yeah. Can I turn off the broadcast mic for a second?”
“I just turned both off.”
After a brief pause, Ruohan lowered her window and gazed at the night sky.
“It was my dream to become a physical astronomer.”
“Oh, you really love stars, huh?”
“There are so many different stars in the world, but why have our ancestors always said everything exists in Yin and Yang? I’ve wondered about that since I was a kid. Of course, I know theoretically. I was born with Taeguk’s body.”
Seemingly referring to a multi-aura user.
“If that was your dream, you should’ve just gone to school instead of joining the Mudang Sect.”
“I couldn’t do that. If I can’t exhibit the talent bestowed upon me by the heavens, it’s a mockery of those who have dreams but lack talent.”
“You’ve got a real sense of righteousness.”
“That’s what I say when I’m out, hehe. The real reason is pretty simple. I just couldn’t adapt to public education. Want to see a childhood photo of me?”
Ruohan showed a photo of her in elementary school on her phone.
“How old were you here?”
“Nine.”
“Huh? You look just like now.”
“Oh…! This one is me. The other person is just a scary girl from our countryside.”
A normal girl with long hair and round glasses.
At such a young age, she has a pretty unremarkable appearance, and if I had to pick a feature, she looked like a model student.
In contrast, Ruohan’s current appearance resembled the delinquent in the photo.
Like a girl telling a fairy tale, she unraveled her past.
Having been born to a family where her mother had passed away and her father was an alcoholic, Ruohan had grown up under the influence of delinquent older boys and girls.
The woman with tattoos in the photo had a fearsome look and was the leader of that delinquent circle.
However, she was someone who recognized Ruohan’s talent in an instant.
She had taken Ruohan to the Mudang Sect’s headquarters and brutally discarded her, disappearing without a trace.
“So I really wish I could have climbed a little higher… So that I could be reflected on her face too.”
She said that in a voice thick with regret and yearning.
“That person was truly a great hero.”
“She was indeed a great hero.”