Teachings From The Ancestors
Soon, each push-up felt like an eternity, and it was a moment of time before his muscles began to give up on him.
At first, everything was fine. He was doing push-ups like usual, but after the fifteenth one, he began to feel the weight of the grain of sand growing heavier and heavier on his back.
The boulder's weight wasn't the only thing he had to be concerned about. His stamina was also historically low. It almost felt like the grain of sand was siphoning his stamina to increase its size.
However, he knew he had to keep going. The memory of his mother's pleading voice and the smugness of Taejun's family were enough to keep him moving for a while.
Unfortunately, his mind wasn't in sync with his body. Gojin had the willpower, but that didn't mean he had the strength to match it.
"Keep going," the old man's commanding voice echoed in his ears. "You need to be stronger."
Gojin gritted his teeth, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. It was easier said than done. His body wasn't in the state to continue, and he wanted nothing more than giving up.
"I... I can't... it's too heavy," he panted, feeling his arms shaking uncontrollably.
"You can do it, kid," Kim Kangho insisted, as he cranked out push-ups alongside Gojin. "You've faced worse. Remember the beating you got? Wasn't that feeling of despair infuriating? Think why you're doing this and keep going!"
"Argh... FUCK!"
With a growl of determination, Gojin forced his body upward again, even though his muscles screamed in protest. The boulder grew even heavier, but he refused to give in. He had to become stronger and couldn't let his weakness win, not this time.
"This brat isn't useless after all," the old man nodded with a hint of approval. "Push through the pain. Embrace it."
Gojin didn't bother replying. His sole focus was on the push-ups as he kept pushing through the pain until he couldn't feel his numb body anymore.
Eventually, Gojin's vision blurred, but he kept moving. One more push-up. And another. His body felt like it was on fire, but he couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop. Not until he had the strength to rewrite the past.
Finally, with a roar of effort, Gojin pushed up once more, only for the boulder's weight to increase substantially. He collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. A moment later, he passed out from exhaustion.
The old man stepped forward. With no visible effort, he lifted the massive boulder off Gojin's back and set it aside. Then the old man kneeled beside Gojin and gently patted his head.
"You've done well, Gojin," he said, his voice gentler now. "Rest now. Tomorrow, your training shall resume."
With that, the old man stood and walked away, leaving Gojin lying on the ground.
***
A week later...
In the silence of his room, Gojin was busy doing exercises recommended to him by his ancestors. At last, he dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups at an sped up pace.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his arms burned, but he felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He was getting stronger every day, and the training in the spirit realm with his ancestors was paying off.
Just then, his bedroom door creaked open. His mother walked in, holding a glass of juice that Nurse Lee had recommended for healing his wounds. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw him out of bed and drenched in sweat.
"Gojin! What are you doing?" she exclaimed, assuming that he had fallen out of bed.
"Just exercising a bit, Mom," Gojin replied and looked up at her, still holding his plank position. "I was getting bored doing nothing so..."
Yeji's surprise quickly turned to anger. She was worried her son was suffering through mental trauma from the attack, but no, he was just being a reckless brat.
"Exercising? You were told to rest because of your injuries!" She marched over, grabbed his ear, and pulled him off the ground. "Are you trying to make things worse for your mother?"
As she pulled him to his feet, she noticed something strange. Most of the wounds on Gojin's body had healed. There were still some black and blue marks, but the cuts and bruises that had covered him a few days ago were gone, leaving some scars behind.
He had recovered to the point that no one would believe he had needed a walking stick to move around just days earlier.
"Gojin, how...?" Yeji's voice trailed off in confusion as she examined his nearly healed body.
Gojin saw the bewilderment in her eyes and smiled. "I'm feeling a lot better, Mom. Really."
"But how can this be? You were so hurt..." Yeji shook her head, still not quite believing what she was seeing.
Not wanting to explain the truth about his training in the spirit realm–something she wouldn't believe anyway–Gojin quickly took the glass of juice from her.
"It's probably the juice Nurse Lee recommended. Maybe it's got some magic healing properties or something," he said, gulping down the bitter-tasting drink in one go, wincing slightly at the taste.
"Are you sure it's that-"
"Thanks for bringing this, Mom," he said, pushing her gently towards the door. "I have some work to do and need some privacy."
"Alright, but don't overdo it," Yeji mumbled, still shocked and confused, and willingly allowed herself to be pushed out of the room. "You still need to rest."
"I will, Mom. Don't worry," Gojin reassured her, closing the door behind her.
Yeji stood outside his room for a moment. She couldn't understand how Gojin had recovered so quickly. It seemed impossible, yet here he was, almost back to his old self.
Shaking her head, she turned and hurried down the hallway. She had to thank Nurse Lee for recommending that juice. Maybe it really was some sort of miracle cure.
"I should get more recipes from her," Yeji said, smiling. "Maybe she has some cure to get rid of aging skin and wrinkles."
***
Back in his room, Gojin sat on the edge of his bed, a small smile on his lips as he checked his physique, which had improved from his past skinny self. Also, he was glad his mother was so easily convinced by the explanation about the juice.
The truth about his training in the spirit realm with his ancestors was something he preferred to keep to himself. It was his secret, his advantage, and he wasn't ready to share it just yet.
It's not like anyone would believe me, either.
With that thought, Gojin opened the system page to look at the changes.
[Name: Kim Gojin]
[Traits: Reliable, Should have been named John Cena, Unlovably Single, Has the head in the right place, +7 more] ¹
[Grade: Still useless, but can be used as cannon fodder.]
[Aura: Akin to a beetle (Someone with strong willpower but easily used by others)]
[Skills:
• Suplex (Novice)
• Diplomacy (Novice)
• Perception (Beginner)
• Fistfight (Beginner)
• Dodging (Beginner)]
[Synchronization attempts left: 1/1]
Over the past week, besides doing push-ups, he had been learning a lot from his ancestors. Kim Kangho imparted some wrestling and fighting skills to him.
Gojin had his primary focus on this section because even the scholar spirit agreed that only the strong may engage in diplomacy. That said, the nameless scholar was teaching him about diplomacy so he could get out of tricky situations with words, if possible.
As for the old man, he taught him about being perceptive and seeing things one couldn't see usually. For now, Gojin had little use for this skill.
The old man explained that at his current level of mastery, the skill would only provide a slight advantage in fights or conversations by allowing Gojin to sense his opponent's intentions and predict their next move to a certain extent.
In other words, Perception wasn't a standalone skill at the current level. However, the old man assured him it would develop over time, becoming an invaluable companion as Gojin navigated through life and sought success in the world.
"Time to synchronize and learn the last lesson before tomorrow's meeting with the school board..."
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Author's note: I changed the Nicknames section to Traits because I thought it suited more. Sorry for any inconvenience.