Self-Defense Techniques (1)
"All right, all right—everyone? It’s not even Monday, so get up already!"
It was Tuesday of the second week at Sielm Academy.
The morning theory class was the same as always, one of the common lecture courses that usually passed without incident.
But I was in no condition to call myself usual.
After suffering something terribly embarrassing the day before, I’d gone back to the dorm and buried myself under my blanket, but I still couldn’t fall asleep no matter what I did.
- squeeze —
Haaah...
The memory of what happened yesterday kept drifting through my head. No matter how hard I tried to stop thinking about it, I kept remembering the weight on my head, the scent clinging to me, the softness pressed against my chest.
Lying in bed, I kicked the blanket off several times, and only after I’d exhausted myself did I finally drift off.
"Uuugh..."
Maybe I should’ve just read a book instead. When I looked online, people always said books were the best sleeping pill, but I honestly couldn’t understand how the precious time you spent building knowledge could turn into a sedative, so I’d never even tried.
Through my heavy eyelids, I could see Professor Han Seohwa energetically shaking the sleeping cadets awake, and right beside me...
"Paran, you look really pale... Did something happen yesterday?"
Han Riae, worrying over me as I looked exhausted, had an arm around my shoulders.
"Ah... do I really look that tired...?"
"Yeah. You look like you pulled an all-nighter..."
Did I really look that worn out?
It was true that I’d hardly slept... but honestly, I hadn’t expected it to show this much.
I’d definitely felt better after washing up...
"If you’re tired... do you want this?"
Riae fished around in her bag, then suddenly held out her hand to me.
What she was holding was...
"Coffee candy...?"
"Yeah. You look really tired, so I thought this might help wake you up."
Thank you.
After saying my thanks, I took the coffee candy she offered without hesitation. It was wrapped in luxurious packaging with the company logo printed on it—apparently made by the same brand as the chocolates I always got.
At a glance, it looked pretty expensive.
"...nom."
But I was so tired my mind felt foggy, and I couldn’t really be bothered to think about it. I peeled off the wrapper without much concern and popped it straight into my mouth.
Honestly, I’d expected the bitterness of coffee to hit hard, but instead a surprising sweetness spread across my tongue, and I found myself quietly enjoying the taste as the candy melted away.
Unlike last time, when I’d thought caffeine didn’t really do anything, this actually made me feel more awake than I expected.
"Thanks, Riae..."
"Ah, as long as Paran likes it."
With a head that had finally started to clear, I thanked Riae, and she hummed softly in response before turning back to the lesson.
"Pay attention! Attention! Hm... what am I going to do with you all?"
There were a lot of cadets nodding off today, some actually complaining of sleepiness and dozing off, others bobbing their heads as they fought to stay awake.
"Hm... right! What’s the best way to wake up from sleep? Obviously, moving your body! Come on now, everyone, let’s head outside!"
With that lively voice, Professor Han Seohwa led the sleepy cadets out of the classroom and over to the park where I’d learned mana application last time.
Even after several days, the blue grass was still swaying and dancing in the breeze, and the stream carrying abundant mana along its course made the whole place feel soothing.
Then, after a bit more walking...
"Okay! We’re here!"
The refreshing scenery of the park vanished, replaced by a gymnasium filled with stark white surfaces that made it look almost like a laboratory.
With so many people gathered, anyone would’ve thought I’d already passed out and been taken to the infirmary, but...
"Paran, are you feeling a little calmer?"
"Yeah... it’s okay when I’m being held like this... will you keep doing this for me...?"
"Of course. You can stay in my arms as long as you want, as long as Paran’s okay."
Riae was still hugging me, the only thing keeping my seizure under control. I should’ve been hearing ringing in my ears, feeling chills, and suffering that sickening pounding and trembling by now, but only a faint shudder kept passing through me.
Of course, even that was awful and unpleasant, pain I never wanted to feel again, but at this point, wasn’t this something to be grateful for?
Feeling an enormous sense of relief just from having Riae beside me, I tried to focus on the lesson again.
"I told you, didn’t I? If you want to wake up, moving your body is the best way. Now then, I’ve invited a special instructor for today’s class!"
After gathering the Wolchun cadets, including me, in one place, Professor Han Seohwa drew out her words with deliberate flourish.
Since she was always lively and great at pulling reactions out of the cadets, everyone had been pretty indifferent to the idea of an outdoor class—but the moment she mentioned a special instructor, every pair of eyes widened and fixed on her.
- Hey, who’s the special instructor?
- No idea. Maybe someone who fought in the Southwest Abyss? Professor Han Seohwa was active there too, wasn’t she?
- I hope it’s a female professor. Better yet, she should be pretty~
- Ugh, another girl-chaser...
The cadets’ reactions to the words "special instructor" were all over the place.
Most of them had come to Sielm Academy, so naturally they were interested in hunters, and there were even some cadets who knew every famous hunter and where they’d operated.
As their opinions spread from mouth to mouth, the gym quickly grew noisy, and...
"Ahem, ahem, let’s all quiet down a bit, shall we? Huh? Why is this alarm going off like this... wait a second... huh?!"
Professor Han Seohwa, who had been trying to settle the uproar, raised a hologram from the bracelet that had suddenly started ringing loudly, and a very flustered expression crossed her face as cold sweat broke out on her brow.
Even though she possessed an enormous mana pool, her magic always gave off a light, airy feeling—but this time it rippled with confusion, so vividly that I could feel it against my skin.
"Th-the special instructor... has taken sick leave...?"
Huh...
Professor Han Seohwa did her best to smooth things over with a playful tone, and the cadets, who had been voicing complaints loud enough to pierce the sky, quickly went quiet at her next words.
"Well... then today we’ll learn something light, like self-defense? It’ll be much more fun than theory, won’t it?"
A few cadets were still dissatisfied and tried to protest, but most of them felt this kind of practical training was far better than a boring lecture, so the objections naturally died down.
"Mm! I’m so relieved it ends here! All right, then, let’s begin!"
Professor Han Seohwa let out a long breath of relief as she looked over the now-quiet cadets, then extended one hand.
"As I said earlier, what I’m teaching you this period is self-defense techniques. If a monster hostile to us were trying to hurt you, what would you do?"
Using the fine, dustlike mana drifting from her fingertips, Professor Han Seohwa recreated the situation and asked the cadets the question back with a striking sense of realism.
Even without my strange otherworldly eyes, the colors were bright enough that any ordinary person could’ve seen it; it was clearly a high-level technique.
Even just by sensing mana erosion, I could tell at a glance that this was mana application worthy of a first-rank hunter—merging multiple streams of mana into a single image like that.
Not just me, but the other cadets were staring in total awe at Professor Han Seohwa’s mana control, and the moment she asked her question, answers burst out from all over the gym.
- Obviously you block it with magic!
- What are you talking about? Go straight for a vital point with your weapon!
- First, retreat quickly, then finish it in one blow.
Various voices rang out, and Professor Han Seohwa nodded with obvious satisfaction before speaking again.
"All right, everyone has different ideas. But let’s add one condition here."
Raising one index finger, Han Seohwa continued.
"What if you don’t have enough mana in that situation?"
A situation where you lack mana.
Basically, mana and magic power were consumables—wealth, resources.
Having them was good, and having a lot of them was, of course, even better.
But as resources, they also had limits.
When you used magic power, it got spent; if you waited without using it, it would recover, but what if you’d already used too much?
"As you all know, mana is a resource that gets depleted if you use too much of it. Naturally, you’d wait a moment to recover it—but what if a monster attacked during that moment?"
Even cadets like Yoon Hwayeon or Han Riae became dramatically weaker the moment their mana was completely exhausted.
There was a reason mana storage artifacts sold for such outrageous prices.
Even a first-rank hunter was exposed to danger the instant their mana ran dry.
"And for moments like that, there’s something called self-defense techniques! If you’ve never heard of them, that’s perfectly normal! I just made the name up myself!"
Professor Han Seohwa continued her explanation with her signature teasing smile.
"Now then, I’ll continue with something most Sielm cadets should know. What kinds of magic application do you all know?"
"Magic!"
"Mana circulation?"
"Magi, obviously!"
Professor Han Seohwa actively drew out the cadets’ reactions, creating a lively exchange, and the cadets answered with all kinds of different ideas, heating up the class.
"Everything you said is correct! But if you don’t have enough mana, then it all comes down to not having enough to use, doesn’t it?"
Using magic power means, quite literally, using magic power converted from mana.
Basically, in the process of refining mana into magic power, a small portion of mana disperses into the air, and the resulting magic power is what gets applied.
Magic naturally means shaping magic power into a specific form and firing it off, so magic power is consumed outright. Mana circulation, too, keeps moving through the body to enhance physical ability, but in the process, some magic power naturally disappears.
"So techniques that rely on applying most of your magic power require you to be prepared to consume at least some mana. But what if the mana is exhausted to the point that you simply can’t use it at all?"
Professor Han Seohwa paused for a moment before continuing.
"That’s why even a magician capable of casting truly powerful spells needs a certain amount of self-defense. Now, take a look at this~"
Professor Han Seohwa created a tiny orb of magic power in her right hand.
Just from looking at it, it was truly small, and even through mana erosion it was a minuscule cluster of magic power so tiny it was almost impossible to perceive.
Looking around at the other cadets, most of them—despite being Sielm students with at least some sensitivity—could barely feel it at all.
"Seems like some of you can’t sense it. This is magic power. Just a very tiny pinch of it."
As if expecting that reaction, Professor Han Seohwa enlarged the orb in her hand a little to show it more clearly, then reduced it again to a size so small it was barely detectable.
If I didn’t have these strange otherworldly eyes, would I even have known something was there?
With that absurd thought in mind, I focused again on Professor Han Seohwa’s right hand.
"You there! Golden Retriever! Come over here~"
"Y-yes?! Me?"
Professor Han Seohwa pointed at Miel Norison, and Miel blinked in bewilderment before confirming she meant him and making his way to her.
The first thing I’d thought when I saw Miel was also Golden Retriever. I guess people really do think alike.
Even the other cadets seemed to find the flustered Miel hilarious, bursting into laughter around him.
"All right, Cadet Miel, put magi around your right hand right now."
"Ah, yes!"
At Professor Han Seohwa’s command, Miel wrapped his right hand in a sturdy suit of armor-shaped magi.
"Now! Everyone, watch closely!"
Professor Han Seohwa gripped the mana in her hand with all her strength—
- BOOM!
"Agh!"
A violent crack exploded so suddenly it pierced my ears, and Miel, clearly having never anticipated such impact, lost his footing and sprawled onto the floor.
"So! This technique is called Impact! It’s a very cost-effective technique that can be used with the tiny bit of magic power you just saw, but..."
- drip—
Mid-sentence, Professor Han Seohwa frowned and began healing her right hand with mana, blood already bursting out between her fingers.
"Unlike other unique techniques that gather magic power outside the body before detonating it, this one’s used by forcefully squeezing the magic power in your hand, which puts strain on the hand itself. That’s why it’s called self-defense techniques."
Professor Han Seohwa demonstrated the skill with a playful laugh, then ended the class with the warning not to use it too often.
And I looked at that technique with deep inspiration...
- KWAAAANG!
"Huh?!"
I’d tried using it, inexpertly, during a spar with Professor Seres...
"You crazy bastard... what the hell is wrong with you..."
Professor Seres had blurted out those harsh words.
And then it had turned my hand into a rag, unleashing a fierce explosion...
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