Chapter 38

Chapter 038

Five days had passed since Isran’s training began.

He had stayed buried in the Training Grounds to the point that one had to worry whether he was eating properly.

‘Tsk, tsk. With that fellow’s talent exposed to the superior Martial Arts of our Sect, he must have lost his soul entirely.’

Jin Baek was extremely pleased by such news.

To lock himself inside the Training Grounds for five whole days—surely, he had become so thoroughly immersed in Martial Arts that he had forgotten even to eat and was devoting himself to training.

Perhaps if he waited just a little longer, the boy might come clinging to him and beg to be taught.

‘But why did they lock the door? It is not as though those two are doing Closed-Door Training.’

The strange part was that Jin Sohwi, who had entered with him, had completely shut the doors of the Training Grounds after the first day.

He brought meals in himself, and when asked about the progress of training, he gave no answer.

“Young Master is working hard too.”

Persica, sitting across from him, opened her mouth.

Since meeting was fate, Jin Baek had called her over to talk with her once.

“His nature is so upright that he has foolish aspects. It is not a virtue.”

“Thanks to that, he returned without losing a single person, did he not?”

“Hmph…….”

Persica was right.

When they encountered an anomaly in the Gigantia Nest, Jin Sohwi was said to have ordered the retreat faster than anyone else.

He had judged that he needed to protect his household, and in the end, he had been able to return to White Cloud Castle without a single death.

“May I hear what happened?”

“Tsk…… You are just like your father, with the same boring personality. Are you that curious?”

“Of course. It is where I will be going from now on.”

Jin Baek shook his head.

Persica did not know this well, but Jin Baek had had a fair connection to her since she was young.

Ten years ago, when Hildegard Ortanis formed the “Vityaz Expedition,” the death-defying expedition party for Deep Floors exploration, Jin Baek had also joined as one of its members.

Perhaps because he had heard Hildegard brag about her daughter until his ears were worn out, the girl before him, though he was seeing her in person for the first time, did not feel so unfamiliar.

“The centipedes have become far more ferocious than usual. Originally, if one left the nest, they would not pursue. Yet now, they chased us all the way to the northern lands.”

“That means……”

“Yes. Something is stimulating them.”

The Demonic Region where the Gigantia Nest was located.

Something unusual was happening in South Spirit Mountain.

“I have already dispatched investigation teams several times. Since all of them died and did not return, I sent Sohwi. With that fellow’s skill, he should at least be able to preserve his own life.”

“Did you discover the cause of the centipedes’ agitation?”

“No. But we did find out that it is not a natural phenomenon.”

Jin Baek took a sip of the tea in front of him.

Persica’s expression twitched.

How on earth could he drink something that bitter?

“There is a reason behind it. That is why we have forbidden entry near South Spirit Mountain and are preparing a large-scale investigation.”

“I see.”

“I am telling you all this only because I am considering your mother. If it had been anyone else, there would have been nothing for them.”

Persica smiled bitterly.

Her mother, Hildegard, had been an Adventurer respected by all.

If not for that day, for that journey to the Deep Floors,

she would still be alive and serve as an example to all.

Just like Jin Baek before her, who still had not forgotten and still held respect for her.

“Why are you trying to go to the Deep Floors?”

“To prove my mother’s innocence and restore the honor she lost.”

“You may be destroyed in the process.”

“I have already resolved myself.”

At the point when she had crossed half of the seventh floor, she encountered a Possessor and suddenly halted the expedition.

By remaining behind herself, she sent the rest of the expedition members back to the surface.

For Ebla, which had prepared expeditions for hundreds of years in order to overcome the Possessor, this was truly shocking news.

─Hildegard has betrayed us!

The world condemned her for stopping the expedition.

Her family, and even her father, did not defend her.

But Persica, at least Persica, believed that her mother had not been wrong.

There had to be a reason. So she would uncover the truth no matter what.

Even if it meant her own destruction.

“……I suppose I do not have the right to stop you.”

Jin Baek fell silent.

Since he had known the truth and still closed his mouth, he had no shame with which to stop her.

“Hildegard Ortanis was an honorable person. That is all I can say.”

“That alone is enough. Thank you.”

They decided to leave the old-fashioned and heavy topic there.

It was not a pleasant subject for either of them.

Jin Baek changed the subject.

“So, what will you do about that fellow named Isran?”

“What do you mean?”

“I intend to make that fellow a disciple of our Sect no matter what.”

Beneath his white eyebrows, a fierce light shone in his eyes.

“That fellow is a jewel. A jewel that will never appear again in this world, whose very existence is unreasonable.”

“I admit that Isran’s talent is outstanding, but—”

“It is not merely outstanding!”

Jin Baek shouted.

“That is talent bestowed by heaven itself!”

“…….”

From Persica’s perspective, she could not understand why Jin Baek was making such a fuss.

She admitted that he was remarkable.

He was the first Platinum Token to appear in one hundred years, and within barely a month, he had defeated a Priest of the Downfall Order.

Was that all?

He had learned Ortanis swordsmanship just by seeing it, and now he was even using swordsmanship she had never seen before……

‘Huh…… Now that I think about it, he might actually be incredibly amazing……?’

Thinking it over carefully, this guy…… had done quite a lot in that short time, had he not?

Had she been slow to realize it because she was always beside him?

Just as she fell into confusion, the door suddenly slid open and someone entered.

It was Jin Sohwi.

“Grandfather. There is something urgent I must tell you.”

“We are in the middle of a conversation…… What happened to your appearance?”

Jin Sohwi looked terrible.

He smelled musty, as though he had not washed for days, and his eyes were hollow like a corpse’s.

“There is something you must see. It is truly urgent.”

“……?”

At Jin Sohwi’s appearance, which seemed to show a hint of madness somewhere, Jin Baek and Persica were puzzled, but they followed him out.

The place he guided them to was the Training Grounds that had been locked for the past five days.

“Isran.”

“Ah, you are here.”

The two seemed to have dropped formalities somewhere along the way, as their conversation was casual.

Seeing Jin Baek and Persica, Isran greeted them with a martial salute, as though he had learned even that in the meantime.

Like Jin Sohwi, he clearly had not washed or rested, and his appearance was terrible.

“Why did you bring me here? Are you stuck somewhere and need my advice?”

“That is not it. It is the opposite.”

“Hm……?”

After saying something incomprehensible, Jin Sohwi looked at Isran.

“Show them.”

Isran nodded and gripped his sword.

Then, without waiting for anyone to say anything, he began to perform a sword dance.

His movements were soft, yet light and nimble.

Watching the dance, which had not a single wasted motion, Jin Baek’s eyes widened.

“That is……”

It was Rising Cloud, the first form of the White Cloud Sword Method.

Isran had unfolded without obstruction the chant that even talented people took a month to learn.

Jin Baek’s eyes opened wide as if he could not believe it.

“He mastered it in only five days……?”

“It is not over yet.”

“What do you mean—”

Jin Baek’s mouth closed.

Isran’s sword dance moved on to the “next.”

Beyond the First Form, to the Second Form.

Then beyond that as well, to the Third Form…… the Fourth Form…… continuing without stopping.

“Wh-What is this! Has that fellow perhaps come to White Cloud Castle before?”

“This is his first time. In the first place, is he not an apprentice?”

As an apprentice, Isran could not have a past of having visited White Cloud Castle.

Jin Baek knew that too, but he asked because he simply could not believe it.

Even as his mouth hung open, Isran’s sword dance continued.

Thus, the sword dance continued to the Ninth Form…… then to the Tenth Form, and finally ended after unfolding the final Twelfth Form.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The White Cloud Sword Method.

Buddha Patriarch, the first grand chapter of that great art.

He had reached Great Completion in a Martial Art that an ordinary person would have to devote at least years to.

In only five days.

“For reference, I only taught him the first form.”

“What…… did you say?”

“But then, he seemed to realize something on his own…… and naturally continued to the next forms.”

Without even being taught, he had filled in the missing parts on his own and began unfolding all of it.

He had seen only a fragment of the sword method and predicted the whole.

That meant the man had gained insight into the True Meaning White Cloud Zen Master had placed inside the sword method in the past.

“Huh……!?”

“……My goodness.”

Jin Baek and Persica were each shocked in different ways.

***

When I knew one, I could see a hundred.

When I saw a hundred, I realized ten thousand.

‘I understand.’

White Cloud Zen Master Jin Ryeon.

I could see everything he had wanted to do with this sword method.

How to use it. What its purpose was.

The will contained between form and form, movement and movement, flowed into me like enlightenment.

‘I can see the severed parts!’

I looked ahead to what came next.

I read the will of the creator.

I understood it and pierced through it.

“Ah.”

At the end of that, I finally realized what I had been lacking.

‘It was not something where I should only raise my Trait when using a Skill.’

The reason swordsmanship and Skills had been cut off from each other as though they were separate techniques.

It was because I had been trying to raise my Trait only when I used a Skill.

Traits, by their very nature, required the process of awakening Mana and transforming it.

Since I had been trying to use that only at the necessary moment, it was only natural that the flow kept breaking apart.

What mattered was the flow itself.

The essence of swordsmanship was to continuously circulate Mana while the swordsmanship continued.

The moment body and energy became one, the swordsmanship was completed, and only then did perfect connection become possible.

‘Operate Mana from beginning to end.’

Use Mana to bind each movement into one continuous motion.

Then, in the sections where a Skill was needed, all one had to do was activate the Trait.

Since the process of awakening Mana was omitted, the movement became far smoother and more concise.

Although the White Cloud Sword Method was new to me, and I did not have the Skills or Magic that suited it, I could unfold the swordsmanship perfectly by omitting the lacking parts at my own discretion.

And when I came to my senses, I had succeeded in unfolding all twelve forms of Buddha Patriarch.

“You raaaaascal!!”

The elder Sohwi had brought was greatly shocked when he saw me.

Originally, we had called him to inform him that I had fulfilled the condition……

“Isran! Become a member of our House! You are a fellow born to learn the Martial Arts of our Sect!”

“…….”

Out of nowhere, it seemed I was about to become Jinsran.

***

“Haa…… What exactly is going on here…….”

We took Elder Jin Baek, who had practically fainted, to his room.

While Jin Sohwi laid him down, Persica looked at me with a face full of disbelief.

“When you were told to enter the sword method, you mastered it? In only five days? What exactly are you?”

“Isran, who is as amazing as Ishara.”

“Are you perhaps insane?”

Persica shook her head with a look of disgust.

Why? It was not even wrong.

“Y-You rascal.”

Jin Baek opened his mouth while trembling.

Perhaps because the shock still had not faded, his thick eyebrows quivered.

“How…… How exactly did you do it……?”

“While unfolding the sword method, I tried to estimate the will of its creator, White Cloud Zen Master.”

I gained insight into how it was made and how it would be used.

Naturally, I saw the True Meaning contained within the sword method…… and in that moment, I realized it.

The core of the White Cloud Sword Method.

‘In truth, I had already used it before.’

The sword method was new to me, but I had used the build contained within it countless times.

Because I was the one who had made it.

Since I was the one who had put together the build, understanding its intent and predicting the movements was simple.

“Huh……”

Jin Baek let out what must have been his countless sigh, his eyes seeming to ask, What in the world is this bastard?

I bowed my head to him.

“I gained much thanks to you.”

I realized what my swordsmanship had been lacking.

Until now, when I unfolded Ishara’s swordsmanship, I had felt a strange sense of dissonance every time I used a Skill.

A feeling that something was not connecting, but being cut off piece by piece.

I realized that it was because I had only been moving my body without Mana.

“……What is your realm?”

“I am 2-star.”

“Buddha Patriarch should require at least 3-star to reach Great Completion……”

His words trailed off.

His voice carried many intersecting emotions.

“If only you had appeared ten years earlier……”

“Pardon?”

“It is nothing. In any case, a promise is a promise, so I will include you in the Demonic Region investigation.”

“Thank you.”

“And I will consider your wish unused. If something you desire appears later, tell me.”

Jin Baek treated my desired reward, “learning the White Cloud Sword Method,” as if it had never been used.

It seemed my achievement had been that impressive.

“Can you unfold the sword method one more time?”

“Yes.”

Since the room was spacious, there was no reason I could not.

I drew my sword and perfectly reproduced the chant of Buddha Patriarch that I had unfolded earlier.

When I unfolded the final form, I was soaked in sweat as though rain had fallen, along with extreme fatigue.

It was not something I could do many times.

“……Strange.”

However, Jin Baek’s reaction was a little odd.

“You rascal, why are you not using your Dantian? How are you operating Mana?”

“Pardon? Dantian?”

Another unfamiliar term suddenly came out.

When I tilted my head, Persica explained in his place.

“He means your Mana Core. You should have made one, right?”

“Mana…… what? What is that?”

“Hm……?”

What was a Mana Core? I did not know anything like that.

But perhaps my reaction was even stranger.

Persica, on the contrary, answered while looking even more dazed.

“You said earlier that you were 2-star, did you not? What were you basing that on?”

“Well…… roughly based on my Mana quantity?”

“……Star Rank is not measured by Mana quantity. It is determined by the output of the Core that circulates Mana.”

“……?”

Was…… that a thing?

My mind went blank at the concept I had heard for the first time in my life.

No, there had been nothing like that in the game.

“The Core is the central organ that circulates Mana. Even when using Traits…… and even when unfolding Skills, the Core is necessary. And you do not know that?”

“I do not remember making anything like that…….”

“???”

At this point, not only Persica but even Jin Sohwi and Jin Baek began to grow flustered.

I was flustered as well.

Jin Sohwi spoke.

“The Dantian…… or rather, Mana Core, can be obtained by receiving instruction from a House or master, or by paying a small fee to the Adventurer Association.”

Even the method was simple.

Why did I not know this?

After thinking deeply for a moment, I soon arrived at one conclusion.

‘Come to think of it, I did pay money when registering as an Adventurer in the game…….’

Was that perhaps the fee for that?

I thought it was just an issuance fee or something.

“How did you register as an Adventurer?”

“The Temple where I was staying did it for me.”

Robin had done it on my behalf, saying it was a Platinum Token service. He had also issued my identification card with it.

He said a Temple Caretaker had that much authority.

“At that time, I did not hear anything…… Ah.”

“……Ah.”

That was how we realized it.

Robin…… had thought I had already made a Core.

Because I had a Platinum Token.

Because I was such an impressive guy…… he had assumed on his own that I would have already made something like a Core.

“You…… do not have a Core……?”

“…….”

“Then how exactly are you using Traits? When you do not even have a Core?”

“I just…… did it, and it worked…….”

Persica’s expression soured completely again, but this truly was the only way I could explain it.

Thinking about it, Ishara had not had anything like a Core either. She had simply known how to do it.

I had just done it too, and it worked.

“……Come here for a moment.”

Persica placed her hand on me for a moment, then told me to operate Mana.

After completing a kind of examination,

she spoke with a stunned expression.

“You really do not have a Core……”

“Is that strange?”

“Are you seriously asking that? Using Mana without a Core is…… in human terms, no different from making blood circulate by moving every single blood vessel one by one without a heart!”

An act of circulating blood without a heart.

I had already accomplished that extremely difficult and inefficient method.

And I had been doing it unconsciously at that.

“This makes no sense. Beyond whether it is possible or not…… If you were an ordinary person, your body would have burst and you would have died long ago…….”

“So what is the conclusion?”

“You are still 0-star.”

“……What?”

Persica shouted.

“You do not have a Star Rank yet!”

“…….”

An Adventurer’s rank was determined not by Mana quantity, but by the output of something called a Core.

And since I had not made a Core, I had no star rank either.

Even in that state, I had shown this much accomplishment.

Then, if I made a Core……

“You rascal!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Jin Baek went berserk.

“You must absolutely become a member of our House!!!!!!!!!! If you wish to leave, kill me first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“…….”

Apparently, I was far more of an extreme talent monster than I had thought.