“Suppose you roll a snowball the size of your fist down a hill. What happens? Anyone know?”
Song Song snorted at my question.
“Even a kindergartener could answer that.”
“Then answer it.”
“Obviously, it gets bigger as it rolls downhill.”
“Why?”
“Because it picks up the snow piled on the hill.”
“Yeah, just like my feelings for you.”
“Blegh! Bleeeggh!”
This was addictive.
With Song Song’s renewed retching as my background music, I continued.
“What Song-i just said is correct. But the premise is different here. This isn’t a snow-covered hill. It’s a hill where the snow has already melted. No matter how hard you roll the snowball down it, it won’t get much bigger.”
“The snowball you’re talking about is mana, then.”
“Team Leader Choi, you catch on fast. Yes, a Mana Cultivation Method works the same way. If all you start with is a speck of dust, it’ll still be a speck of dust no matter how much you roll it.”
“The lower the rank, the lower the ceiling. Is that what you mean?”
“Exactly.”
There was a saying that once you were an F-rank, you were an F-rank forever.
That was how difficult it was to break free of the rank you had been assigned.
But on extremely rare occasions, some people managed to pluck that star from the sky.
Second Awakeners. That was what they were called—and it was also the mask I was currently wearing.
“After my second awakening made me a C-rank Hunter, the effects increased dramatically. That was when a little snow finally began to accumulate on what had been a grassy hill.”
“Come to think of it, your results at the time were…”
“My mana reserves were C-rank, but even then, my control was A-rank. You know why, right?”
“The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.”
Team Leader Choi groaned.
“So it wasn’t a mistake on the Association’s part.”
As I became famous and my past actions came to light, that part was concluded to have been a measurement error.
As a result, the Bucheon Association, which had conducted the retest, had taken a mountain of abuse. From their perspective, it must have felt deeply unfair.
“The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, which you and Butler Kim call a Mana Cultivation Method, has two effects. The first is an increase in mana. And the second is…”
Butler Kim picked up the thread.
“Mana control on an entirely different level.”
“Correct.”
Qi—called mana here and internal energy in Murim—could differ as greatly as heaven and earth depending on how it was used.
The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique was a Peak martial art. It accumulated qi slowly, but its stability rivaled that of a Supreme Peak martial art.
“Learning it alone should lead to dramatic progress. We’ll keep an eye on the new recruits for now… For the time being, only those of you here should focus on learning the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique. And of course, this must be done in absolute secrecy.”
“…”
“…”
What was with their reactions?
A heavy silence descended over the hospital room. All four of them stared blankly at me, mouths hanging open.
“Did you just say… you were going to teach us a Mana Cultivation Method?”
“Not a Mana Cultivation Method. The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.”
“Yes, yes. The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.”
Team Leader Choi’s eyelids trembled.
“You’re going to teach it to us?”
“That’s why I brought it, obviously. Did you think I brought it here just to show off?”
I looked around at everyone and continued.
“As you all know, we won’t last long at our current level. Lee Jungryong won’t come after us right away because of the recent incident, but it’s only a matter of time. But… what if we had the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique?”
Im Kkeokjeong, who had been sitting with his mouth wide open, shouted.
“Jin! Family’s! Cultivation! Technique!”
“Ah, now that’s a good reaction. Anyway, I made this decision after careful consideration, so for the time being, I’d like you to follow my instructions without complaint. Understood?”
The four people here would be the first in line. Next would come the newly hired Hunters.
I would put them through a rigorous screening process, then turn them into both Hunters and martial artists.
Elites capable of handling two or three Hunters of the same rank with ease.
“Well, then…”
I looked over the still-dazed group one by one, then crooked a finger at one of them.
“Let’s start with Team Leader Choi.”
At that moment, a holographic window appeared over his still-stunned face.
Ding.
System
A Quest, Back, Back—Let’s See Your Back!, has been generated!
“…”
That was a title that made me not want to do it for some reason.
System
Quest
Back, Back—Let’s See Your Back!
Unlike the Murim, your modern life had been peaceful.
But reality is a cesspool!
Alarmed by this harsh reality, you have decided to pass martial arts on to trustworthy friends.
Whether this choice proves poisonous or beneficial… depends on your decisions and abilities.
May fortune in the martial arts be with you!
Grade: Peak
Restriction: Jin Taekyung
Mission: Guide the acquisition of Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique (Incomplete)
Reward: A considerable amount of EXP
Repeat Quest
???
Failure: In the worst-case scenario, suffer qi deviation
“…”
Who the hell came up with this quest title?
I really did need to see his back. I had to send internal energy into the Mingmen acupoint in his lower back and teach him how to circulate it. But after reading that title, I suddenly really, really didn’t want to.
“Whew. Team Leader Choi.”
“Yes.”
“Your back.”
“What?”
“Ah, never mind. Take the position I’m about to show you. Butler Kim and everyone else, guard the hospital room and make sure no outsiders enter. Above all, no one is to touch either of us. Understood?”
“Of course.”
Butler Kim nodded firmly and cast a spell. Each time he swept his staff through the air while chanting, an invisible barrier spread around the hospital room.
Meanwhile, Team Leader Choi removed his shirt, awkwardly sat cross-legged, and presented his back to me.
“What are you planning to do to me now?”
“…You really know how to phrase things strangely.”
I ought to give him qi deviation. Damn it.
I placed my hand on Team Leader Choi’s Mingmen acupoint.
From this point on, I had to be extremely careful. Even the most formidable Murim master was practically defenseless while circulating their qi.
“Close your eyes and focus on the mana inside your body. Whatever happens, endure it. Is anything bothering you right now? If so, tell me now.”
“My right shoulder blade is a little…”
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s itchy.”
“…This is driving me crazy. Here?”
Scratch, scratch.
When I reached out and scratched it for him, Team Leader Choi’s voice relaxed considerably.
“Yes, right there. That feels wonderful.”
“They used to call me the Filial Son’s Hand.”1
“And the area around my underwear is a little tight, so…”
“Are you crazy? Handle that part yourself. Did I put you in handcuffs?”
“Ah, so that was an option. I’m very tense right now.”
“Whew. It’s all right. Sorry I got worked up for no reason.”
“It isn’t your fault, Taekyung. If I’d known this would happen, I would have worn a thong.”
Does this guy actually know his way around underwear…?
Team Leader Choi was so nervous that he was blurting out whatever came to mind. I warned him in a low, level voice.
“From now on, if you open your mouth, you’re dead. Focus on one thing and one thing only: where the mana is flowing and how.”
“Understood.”
“Even if your shoulder blade itches, endure it. Even if something gets caught in your underwear, endure it. Do you understand?”
“May I ask what exactly we’re about to do?”
“I’m going to move your mana through True Qi Guidance. After that, I’ll perform a Small Circulation according to the formula of the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, then finish by circulating your qi and regulating your breathing.”
“…”
“Did you understand any of that? Be honest.”
“Be honest?”
“Yes.”
After a brief silence, Team Leader Choi answered.
“You lost me at True Qi Guidance.”
“Then close your eyes and shut your mouth. If you start wiggling your ass while saying things like, ‘Something’s caught in my underwear,’ I’ll kill you before I die.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
His answer rang with resolve. I felt Team Leader Choi’s body, which had been rigid with tension, gradually relax.
He was a novice taking his first step into the unfamiliar world of martial arts.
It didn’t matter how much social experience Team Leader Choi had accumulated, how many languages he spoke, or what kind of knowledge he possessed.
“Then we’ll begin.”
Everything depended on me now.
After steadying my breathing, I drew internal energy up from my dantian, channeled it through my palm, and sent it into Team Leader Choi’s Mingmen acupoint.
Slowly. Carefully.
Ssshh.
The moment the Scorching Yang Qi, imbued with Extreme Yang energy, entered his body, the System fired a signal flare as if it had been waiting.
Ding.
System
True Qi Guidance begins.
I had removed the waste accumulated inside Mom and Hayeon’s bodies once before.
But in terms of difficulty, this was as different as heaven and earth.
True Qi Guidance meant leading the energy inside another person’s body in whatever direction I wanted.
The energy Team Leader Choi possessed was incomparably more abundant than an ordinary person’s.
And cleaner than I expected.
No, let me correct that. It wasn’t merely cleaner than expected. At this level, it was exceptionally clean.
His muscles and bones were sturdy, his sinews and meridians strong, and his acupoints as clear as a highway at dawn. There was hardly any waste inside him.
What the hell? He said he hadn’t learned a Mana Cultivation Method.
Team Leader Choi’s Hunter license was B-rank. The energy I usually sensed from him was exactly at that level.
The only things that set him apart from an ordinary B-rank Hunter were the combat instincts born of his sharp mind and the power of his high-end equipment.
Honestly, for Cheon Taemin’s only blood descendant, he’d always seemed a little disappointing.
Outstanding leadership. A brilliant mind and decisive judgment.
Despite all that, he was inevitably underestimated.
Anyone would pale beside Cheon Taemin, the hero who had saved all of humanity.
But now I had changed my mind a little.
At this level… a little help would be enough for him to reach a higher realm in no time.
An A-rank Hunter? No. I intended to turn Team Leader Choi into a Peak master. His basic hardware was far too good to leave to rot.
If the others were even half as capable as Team Leader Choi, this would be much easier.
With that carefree thought, I sent the Scorching Yang Qi flowing through him. Before long, more than one jiazi’s2 worth of my internal energy was winding its way through his body.
Whoosh!
I felt the body beneath my palm twitch. By now, he was probably experiencing heat unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Paying it no mind, I gathered the energy scattered throughout his body and drove it through dozens of acupoints.
Team Leader Choi had to remember this. From now on, he would have to travel this path on his own thousands, tens of thousands of times.
Once the body remembers, the rest is easy.
The pace was astonishingly fast.
Before long, the energy I was guiding had reached half a jiazi,2 and what little waste remained was cleanly burned away by the heat of the Scorching Yang Qi.
Now for the last step.
I had gathered the scattered energy. It was time to store it in the dantian. Once that was done, a complete circulation would be achieved, and he could be said to have taken his first step as a martial artist.
But then…
What the hell is that?
When I reached Team Leader Choi’s dantian, I stopped dead.
A massive mass of qi occupied half of his dantian.
Then came the System notification.
Ding.
System
A Sudden Quest, I’ll Take Only Half the Internal Energy I Digest, has been generated.
Will you accept it?
Y / N
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