Chapter 291

“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.”

“It obviously gets bigger as it rolls downhill, doesn’t it?”

“Why?”

“Because it picks up the snow piled on the hill.”

“Yeah, just like my feelings for you.”

“Blegh! Bleeeggh!”

This was addictive.

Using Song Song’s renewed retching as 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 melted. No matter how hard you roll it all the way down there, the snowball 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 what you start with is a speck of dust, it stays 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 escape the rank you had been assigned.

But on extremely rare occasions, there were people who managed to pluck that star from the sky.

Second Awakeners. That was what they were called—and it was also the mask I was wearing at the moment.

“After awakening a second time as a C-rank Hunter, the effects increased dramatically. That was when a little snow finally began to pile up on the hill that had previously been nothing but grass.”

“Come to think of it, the results at the time were…”

“My mana reserves were C-rank. But even then, my control ability 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 carried out the remeasurement at the time, took a considerable amount of abuse. From their perspective, it must have been 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.”

Mana—or qi, as internal energy is called—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.

“Just learning it should produce dramatic gains. 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. Four people stared blankly at me with their 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, that’s a good reaction. In any case, this was a decision I made after careful consideration, so I’d like you to follow my instructions without complaint for the time being. Understood?”

The four people here were first up. Next would be the newly hired Hunters.

I would select them through a thorough screening process, then turn them into both Hunters and martial artists.

Elites who could comfortably handle two or three Hunters of the same rank.

“Well, then…”

I looked over the people who were still only half-present, one after another. Then I crooked a finger at one of them.

“Let’s start with Team Leader Choi.”

At that moment, a holographic window appeared over his face, which still looked stunned.

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, modern life had been peaceful.

But reality is a cesspool!

Feeling a sense of crisis at this reality, you have decided to pass martial arts on to trustworthy friends.

Whether this choice becomes a poison or a boon… depends on your choice and ability.

May fortune in the martial arts be with you!

Grade: Peak

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Mission: Guide the learning 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, since I had to send internal energy into the Mingmen acupoint located in his lower back and teach him how to circulate it. But after seeing the title, I suddenly felt like I really, really didn’t want to do it.

“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 so no outsiders can enter. And above all, no one is to touch our bodies. Understood?”

“Of course.”

Butler Kim nodded firmly and cast a spell. Each time he waved his staff through the air along with the incantation, an invisible barrier spread around the hospital room.

In the meantime, Team Leader Choi removed his shirt, awkwardly sat cross-legged, and presented his back to me.

“What are you planning to do to me from here?”

“…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.

I had to be extremely careful from this point on. Even the most formidable Murim master was practically defenseless while circulating their qi.

“Now 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 became much more relaxed.

“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? You handle that part yourself. Did I put handcuffs on you?”

“Ah, so that was an option. I’m really tense right now.”

“Whew. It’s all right. I’m sorry I got worked up for no reason.”

“It isn’t your fault, Taekyung. If I’d known this was going to happen, I should have worn a thong.”

Does this guy actually know his way around underwear…?

I warned Team Leader Choi, who was blurting out anything that came to mind because he was nervous, in a low, level voice.

“From now on, if you open your mouth, you’re dead. Focus on only one thing: where and how the mana is flowing.”

“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 roughly? Be honest.”

“Be honest?”

“Yes.”

After a brief silence, Team Leader Choi answered.

“I don’t even know what True Qi Guidance is.”

“Then just 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 was filled with resolve. I could feel Team Leader Choi’s body, which had been rigid with tension, gradually relaxing.

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 and sent it through my palm and into Team Leader Choi’s Mingmen acupoint.

Slowly. And carefully.

The moment the Scorching Yang Qi, imbued with Extreme Yang energy, entered his body, the System fired its signal flare as if it had been waiting for this.

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, the difference was like heaven and earth.

True Qi Guidance meant leading the energy inside another person’s body in whatever direction I wanted.

The mana Team Leader Choi possessed was abundant beyond anything an ordinary person could compare with.

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 were strong, and his acupoints were 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.

If there was anything that set him apart from an ordinary B-rank Hunter, it was his combat sense, sharpened by his clever mind, and the power of expensive equipment.

Honestly, for Cheon Taemin’s only blood descendant, there had always been something disappointing about him.

Outstanding leadership. A sharp mind and the ability to make decisions.

And yet, he was inevitably underestimated.

In the presence of Cheon Taemin, the hero who had saved all of humanity, anyone’s color was bound to fade.

But now I had changed my mind a little.

At this level… with a little help, he could 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 too good to leave to rot like this.

If the others were even half as capable as Team Leader Choi, things would be much easier.

With that carefree thought, I sent the Scorching Yang Qi flowing through him. Before long, more than one jiazi’s worth of internal energy began to wind 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.

I ignored it and gathered the energy scattered throughout his body, driving 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 it, the rest is easy.

His progress was astonishingly fast.

Before long, the energy I was guiding had reached half a jiazi, and the little waste that remained was cleanly destroyed 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.

And 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