“No, seriously, how did you do that?”
I scratched my head.
“……That's what I'd like to know.”
“Hmm…… Could you do it once more?”
“Yes. I think I can.”
When I nodded, Director Yoon Tae-hyun left the room and returned with several wooden training dummies from somewhere.
There were five of them in total.
Director Yoon Tae-hyun set one of the dummies in place and looked at me.
I swung the wooden sword along the blue line again.
SLASH—
He removed the dummy whose head had fallen off and put another one in its place.
I swung the wooden sword again, with the same result.
SLASH—
I repeated the process five times in all.
After I'd severed the heads of all five dummies he'd brought, Director Yoon Tae-hyun spoke.
“This is beyond the realm of technique.”
He ran his fingers along the edge of the wooden sword as he continued.
“Being a wooden sword, it naturally has no sharp edge. And there's something I'd like to ask. Is there a reason you only cut through the neck?”
That's a good question.
Why does the blue line always lead to the neck?
“Could you try aiming somewhere else? The left arm, for example.”
I nodded and swung the sword at the dummy's left arm, deliberately moving away from the blue line.
THWACK—
All I heard was the dull sound of something being struck. The arm wasn't cut.
Director Yoon Tae-hyun nodded as though he'd understood something.
“How did that feel just now? Did you notice any difference?”
Now that he asked…… there definitely was a difference.
“The wooden sword didn't feel like it was part of my hand.”
“And?”
“Hmm…… I can't really explain it, but it definitely felt different from when I severed the neck in a single stroke.”
“Yes. That was how it looked to me, too.”
Director Yoon Tae-hyun nodded and continued.
“To be precise, what you just did looked much more like striking than cutting. Of course, you did strike the wooden dummy with a wooden sword, so striking is exactly what it was. What matters is the difference between when you cut and when you struck. I cannot explain it because I have never experienced that sensation myself, but you said you felt the difference, correct?”
“Yes.”
“That's enough. Make sure you remember it.”
Director Yoon Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction.
He continued.
“It seems this isn't the time to begin swordsmanship training just yet.”
“Huh? Then……?”
“Let's start by building your stamina, Mr. Kim Ji-han.”
***
A Swordsman's strength lay in a powerful body.
Although Mana could be used to enhance physical strength, it did not increase stamina as well.
That was why stamina training was an essential part of a Swordsman's training regimen.
TAP! TAP! TAP!
I was running laps around the training ground.
For the moment, Director Yoon Tae-hyun was running alongside me.
“One, two! One, two! It feels good to get some exercise again after so long. Are you doing all right, Mr. Kim Ji-han?”
“Uh…… Yes. I think I'm fine.”
“Excellent. Then let's pick up the pace a little.”
With that, Director Yoon Tae-hyun pushed off the ground and accelerated.
I sped up as well and caught up with him.
Around then, Director Yoon Tae-hyun began to sense that something was strange.
“Have you trained somewhere before?”
“Uh…… No?”
To be honest, I was starting to find it strange too.
Have I always had this much stamina?
“Let's increase the pace a little more.”
“Okay.”
No sooner had I answered than Director Yoon Tae-hyun broke into an all-out sprint.
I ran at the same speed, but oddly enough, I didn't feel tired at all.
I wasn't even short of breath, so there was no need to pant.
To be honest, I felt as though I could run even faster if he asked me to.
“Who's that kid?”
“He's keeping up with the director?”
The trainees who'd been practicing nearby began watching, apparently fascinated by the sight.
We ran for about ten minutes.
Then Director Yoon Tae-hyun stopped.
I stopped too and looked at him.
He handed me a bottle of water from nearby and spoke with a rueful smile.
“This is troublesome.”
“What is?”
“I have no idea what I should teach you first, Mr. Kim Ji-han.”
Yoon Tae-hyun had been running at full speed.
He had maintained that pace for an entire ten laps.
And Kim Ji-han had followed him all the way without stopping.
Moreover, he didn't look remotely exhausted.
The fact that he wasn't even sweating suggested he still had enough stamina to keep running.
“You've really never exercised before?”
“No.”
“Have you always had stamina like this?”
“Uh…… No. My stamina wasn't particularly good.”
“How fascinating. Awakening should only affect the human body through Mana…….”
Director Yoon Tae-hyun stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Apparently, he was trying to work out what on earth he should teach me.
If neither swordsmanship nor stamina was a problem, couldn't I just learn whatever I wanted to learn?
“Director.”
“Yes?”
“Could you teach me Physical Enhancement using Mana?”
“Ah, that would be a good idea. At present, lectures and Physical Enhancement are about the only things left for me to teach you.”
He nodded and headed toward the Private Training Room.
“Follow me. I'll teach you right away.”
***
I sat upright in the center of the Private Training Room.
Director Yoon Tae-hyun had gone out to fetch someone, so I was waiting alone.
‘Mana, Mana…….’
Could my physical abilities and my ability to see those lines come from Mana?
BANG—
Just then, the door opened.
Director Yoon Tae-hyun entered with Instructor Baek Ha-yeon, whom I'd met yesterday.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I've brought someone who can awaken your awareness of Mana.”
“Hah…… I'm telling you, it's too early.”
Baek Ha-yeon sighed as she looked at Kim Ji-han.
She shook her head and continued.
“His body's not conditioned yet. If we do this now, he'll pass out.”
“His body is already conditioned.”
“What?”
Baek Ha-yeon scrutinized Kim Ji-han again.
No matter how she looked at him, he seemed like nothing more than a scrawny kid.
“Ten laps around the training ground. I ran at full speed, and he kept up with me. Without even breaking a sweat.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Which is why I believe Mr. Kim Ji-han can endure it.”
“Uh…… What are you talking about?”
Endure it? Pass out?
They were exchanging some rather ominous remarks, so I couldn't help asking.
Director Yoon Tae-hyun answered.
“Your current condition is called Mana Unawareness, Mr. Kim Ji-han. Mana flows through your body, but you cannot perceive it yet. We will introduce someone else's Mana into your body to awaken your sense of it.”
“Is it safe?”
“It is extremely painful. However, it is also the only way to bring you into a state of awareness. You will not die, so please do not worry.”
That's exactly what worries me.
In other words, it'll hurt terribly, just not enough to kill me, right?
GRIP—
Instructor Baek Ha-yeon placed her hands on both my shoulders.
It felt as though she was making sure I couldn't get away.
“Whatever you do, you mustn't pass out while I'm injecting Mana into you. That's why stamina and mental fortitude are important. From here on, it's also a race against time. It'll only end once you manage to sense the Mana, so the sooner you do, the better. Can you handle it?”
“No.”
“Director, why did you bring him here when he isn't even prepared for this?”
At Baek Ha-yeon's rebuke, Director Yoon Tae-hyun gave his characteristic smile.
“Mr. Kim Ji-han, they say it's better to get a beating over with quickly. Since you'll have to do this sooner or later anyway, wouldn't it be better to do it now?”
“Will it hurt just as much no matter when I do it?”
“People with lots of muscle and larger builds tend to find it much more painful.”
Baek Ha-yeon looked puzzled as she listened.
There shouldn't be any difference like that…….
“Then I guess it's better to do it now.”
“It might not hurt if it's done gently.”
Yoon Tae-hyun looked at Baek Ha-yeon.
She nodded and prepared to impart her Mana.
“It's going to hurt quite a lot, but you mustn't lose consciousness. If you pass out, we'll have to start over.”
“Okay.”
“Then I'll begin.”
WHOOOOSH!
My eyes widened before I knew it.
I could feel it clearly.
A warm energy was entering my body, beginning at my shoulders.
‘……Huh?’
This is supposed to hurt that much?
Rather than painful, it felt refreshing.
The warm energy spread throughout my body, putting me at ease.
My wide-open eyes slowly closed, and a smile appeared on my lips.
The pleasant sensation made me steadily drowsier.
“W-wait!? What's happening?”
“What's wrong?”
“My Mana's being sucked in! Something's wrong! This has never happened before?!”
My mind grew hazy under the pleasant sensation.
Director Yoon Tae-hyun's and Instructor Baek Ha-yeon's voices gradually faded into the distance.
A scene flashed across my darkened vision.
It was the man who'd looked like a knight in my dream.
I was following that knight across a green meadow where a gentle breeze blew.
I heard his voice.
-The Core is called the Knight Heart, or the Knight's Heart. Just as those magic-wielders have Circles, we have Cores.
He thumped his chest as he continued.
-A Core allows us to control Mana. Everyone who has taken their first steps on the path of a knight knows how to create Aura.
-……What is a knight?
What was a knight, that he would save me and share my grief over the tragedy that had befallen the village?
The knight smiled at the innocent question.
-Those who serve valor as their liege, protect even the smallest among us, and live with honor and glory as their reward.
Why was that?
My heart began beating faster before I knew it.
The pounding wouldn't stop.
My eyes were wide as I stared at his back.
-That is what a knight is.
I watched the cloak fluttering behind him.
At that moment, I was reaching toward his cloak.
It felt like my own will, and yet not my will at all.
Perhaps this was the first time I'd become one with the boy's emotions.
I, too, was feeling something similar to what the child felt.
The boy and I looked at the knight and thought the same thing.
I want to become a knight too.
A dream to pursue had been born.
FLUTTER—
“My goodness…… What in the world……?”
“…….”
Hearing their voices, I gently opened my eyes.
“Is it over?”
I turned my head and looked behind me.
“……?”
There was something translucent and blue there.
Something broad and fluttering, extending from both my shoulders.
It was like a knight's cloak.
But the phenomenon lasted only a moment.
SHHHHH—
The wide, fluttering cloak dissolved into tiny blue particles and scattered.
***
“Th-th-that was definitely Mana, right? M-M-Mana, wasn't it?”
“…….”
Director Yoon Tae-hyun spoke with a grave expression.
“Mr. Kim Ji-han.”
“Yes?”
“Could you show us what you just did one more time?”
Does he mean that cloak?
I shook my head.
I didn't know how I'd done it, either.
“I see. Can you sense Mana properly now?”
“Uh…… Yes, I can feel it. So this is Mana?”
How should I describe it?
A warm energy was circulating through my body.
This must be the Mana Director Yoon Tae-hyun had been talking about.
“Good. Then let's end today's training here.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Yes. We have quite a lot to think about ourselves.”
Director Yoon Tae-hyun continued with a wry smile.
“I'll draw up a training curriculum by tomorrow. Please get some rest in your quarters until then.”
“All right. Oh, right, Director.”
“What is it?”
“About that game console……?”
“Haha, I've already ordered it.”
“Oh.”
“It should be delivered sometime this week. Well, we'll be going now.”
With that, Yoon Tae-hyun and Baek Ha-yeon left the training room first.
Baek Ha-yeon spoke in a serious voice.
“Could my eyes have been playing tricks on me?”
“No. I saw it too.”
Yoon Tae-hyun held out his phone with a quick movement.
On the screen was a photograph of Kim Ji-han's translucent blue cloak.
“You managed to take a picture already?”
“I thought it might become important evidence.”
“How is this possible? What we just saw was definitely Mana. But not only was that Mana visible to the naked eye, it even took on a distinct shape…….”
“I cannot say about giving Mana a form, but haven't there been similar cases of Mana becoming visible? I have seen one myself.”
“What? There have?”
“The blue particles that appear during awakening.”
“!?”
An awakening phenomenon that appeared only in Awakened individuals with talent for magic.
There was exactly one Hunter in South Korea who had produced such a phenomenon.
“Yoon Si-a, one of South Korea's only two S-Grade Hunters and a Grade 1 Mage. It was similar to the phenomenon that occurred when she awakened.”
“Then does Kim Ji-han have a talent for magic? Could what we just saw have been magic too?”
“Hmm…… Who knows? One thing is certain: even Mages cannot do that.”
What Kim Ji-han had demonstrated wasn't magic.
It was simply a mass of pure Mana.
And that Mana had taken the form of a cloak.
If so, there was only one possible explanation.
“Mr. Kim Ji-han once asked whether it was possible to envelop an object in Mana.”
“That's impossible. The moment Mana leaves the body, it disperses.”
“Yet Mr. Kim Ji-han succeeded.”
Mana that left the body could no longer be controlled.
That was common knowledge.
But what Kim Ji-han had shown them today had overturned that common knowledge.
“Please gather the instructors. I have something to discuss.”