The First Step Toward an Art
Arts? I tilted my head. "T-techniques?"
"Exactly. Techniques. Shiro, do you know the difference between a skill and an art?"
I didn't. If you translated 'technique' into English, it was just 'skill.' But seeing the look on Mr. Jong-wu's face, there was clearly a distinct standard. I tried to deduce it. He told me to create an art using my elemental skills, so...
"Does it mean something that isn't registered in the status window?"
"Close. The skills granted to an Awakened don't stop at simple emission. Each has a different form of mana, and hunters use that to create their own unique techniques, much like a martial art."
"Aha..."
"We usually call them 'Arts.' Sometimes, the older generation refers to them as 'specialties.'"
I glanced at Grandfather at that remark.
"Hoho, I'm from the generation that calls them Arts, too."
"I-I wasn't thinking anything rude like that!"
"It's alright, it's alright." Grandfather laughed heartily, but... he looked a little sad.
"The quantity and quality of one's Arts are the most important criteria for distinguishing an amateur from a professional."
"Why is that?"
"Shiro, you might find it hard to understand because you're strong even without special techniques. But you should view Arts as a matter of efficiency. No matter how much mana you have, it isn't infinite."
I think I understood. It was obvious, but having polished and accumulated Arts would make it easier to deal with unexpected situations than just relying on raw power. When I thought about it, handling mana in a structured form would yield higher power for less mana consumption than just blindly blasting it out.
"And this is just my speculation, but..." Mr. Jong-wu looked at Jeolmi and Bombe for a moment. Jeolmi turned his head as if asking what he was looking at, and Bombe was too busy sleeping.
"Usually, hunters who handle familiars use Arts that work in tandem with them, but Shiro's friends... I suspect they might be able to create their own unique Arts."
"Oh...? You mean they're separate from me?"
"Correct. If they can do that... the day will come when you are called a one-man army, Shiro."
"Ooooo...!"
So, while other people have to train hard to barely make a few Arts, there's a possibility that Jeolmi or Bombe could create their own on their own? If that happened, I really might become the perfect solo-playing hunter, creating friends that fit every position, just like I'd imagined.
"First, let's start with you creating your own Art, Shiro. That's why I gave you this homework—to come back with an Art, any Art."
"Hmm... can I do it in two weeks?"
I was worried. I rested my chin on my hand and looked up at Grandfather.
"If it's you, Shiro, you can certainly do it."
"Mmm-hmm... Okay! I'll give it a try!"
If I try hard enough, it'll work out. Let's do this, fighting!
"Grandpa... it's too haaaard..."
A week had passed since I'd made that bold declaration in front of Mr. Jong-wu. I hadn't even gotten a hint of what an Art was. I lay sprawled on the floor of the training facility, whining to Grandfather.
"Hoho..."
Surprisingly, Grandfather and Se-eun Unni had their own private training facilities. Well, it made sense; they were an S-rank hunter and his daughter, an A-rank hunter. Apparently, it was a facility Grandfather had built for his children with the money he'd earned when he was younger, and the scale was immense. They even sold memberships to close hunter friends to help run it.
"How many Arts did you say you had, Grandpa?"
"I have four in total. It's quite a small number compared to other S-rank hunters."
"Why did you only make a few?"
"The Admiral told me so. He said it's better to focus on a few and master them completely than to blindly increase the number."
"Hmm..."
That Admiral seemed to have given such good teachings, so why was the one I met...!
But I couldn't complain; the effect of the skill he gave me was too good. Nami-jiho. It boosted my vitality and replenished my stamina like a passive skill even when I wasn't actively using it. Plus, whenever my mana ran low, I could just hug my Yeouiju, allowing me to pour all my time into training except when I was eating or sleeping.
"Can you show me one more time?"
"I can show you as many times as you like."
Grandfather clenched his fists and took a stance in front of a massive steel plate. Soon, blue mana swirled around his arms, and the form of a great white shark manifested. BOOM! As the white shark opened its jaws and slammed into the steel plate, the impact shook the ground along with a wave of water. The water made of mana dissipated quickly, but the impact was at a level that couldn't be ignored. Even though he'd held back since it was just a demonstration, the alloy steel plate was completely mangled.
"Wow... is that the Art called Ivory Strike?"
"You remember well."
"But... why did you choose a white shark to make your Art, Grandpa?"
"That is..."
Grandfather scratched his cheek and laughed hoarsely. Se-eun Unni had gone out for hunter business, so only Jeolmi, Bombe, and I were in the training hall. Even so, he hesitated to speak. What could the reason possibly be?
"My wife loved white sharks very much."
"Oh..."
"We'd been together since our academy days, so our tastes influenced each other's Arts."
What a romantic. No wonder Yeon-hwa Unni and Shin-yeong Ajumma were so smitten. Anyway.
"Hmm... so you're saying that mental imagery is really important for Arts...?"
"That's right. Mana is ultimately moved by the heart. Firm will and imagination. Those two things are the most important. Especially for a mana-type hunter like you, Shiro."
"What's important for other hunters?"
"I rely on mana, so I'm the same as you... but for physical-type hunters, the actual sensation of body movement is more important than mental imagery."
I remembered Se-eun Unni saying she was a physical-type hunter. So those people create Arts by physically clashing with their opponents.
"I don't get it... honestly, I don't even know what the standard is for calling something an Art."
It sounded nice to call it an 'Art,' but it was just a way of utilizing abilities. Couldn't just wildly emitting mana be called an Art, too?
"There are many theories about that... but usually, we look at efficiency and standardization the most."
Efficiency and standardization. Those were the concepts Se-eun Unni had explained on the first day of training. Efficiency, which produces vastly superior results for the same mana consumption, and standardization, which consistently produces the same result through a fixed structure. I'd heard that these two characteristics must be practically guaranteed for it to be called an Art.
"Mmm-hmm... how old were you when you created your first Art, Grandpa?"
"I awakened at fifteen, and I think I made it around sixteen."
"Hmm-mm..."
When I thought about it, I was a newbie who hadn't even been awakened for two months, so it was only natural that I couldn't make one yet. But I wanted to participate in NOVA. There was no other choice.
"Grandpa! I have to go to the Tower."
I clenched my two fists and pushed my upper body up from where I'd been lying. Grandfather crossed his arms, looked at me, and tilted his head with a hoarse laugh.
"Why do you suddenly want to go to the Tower?"
"My abilities got stronger in the Tower... and actually, I saw an Unni in the Tower who uses the same abilities as me."
"An Unni?"
"My job is a Snow Girl, right? Hmm... it felt like she was showing me what a real Snow Girl is."
I wasn't supposed to talk about the contents of the Tower, but since Mr. Jong-wu, the stickler for rules, wasn't here, I told Grandfather. I explained everything in detail, from the scenery I saw when I entered to the moment the real Snow Girl appeared and demonstrated her own abilities.
"Ho-oh... then it would truly be helpful."
"There are only two days left until I can enter again... so I'll keep training, and if it really doesn't work out, I'll go back in. Is that okay?"
"Yes. After hearing your story, I think it would be good for you to go back at least once."
When I told him about the Tower, Grandfather readily agreed. That meant there was a lot I could gain from the Tower.
"Okay...!"
But just in case, I resumed my training. Appear! My genius!
Two days later.
― Bwong ― Kki-ung...
In the end, I didn't suddenly become an Art genius. I took Jeolmi and Bombe and arrived at the Tower in Yeon-hwa Unni's car. Grandfather, Se-eun Unni, and Mr. Jong-wu were all busy, so Yeon-hwa Unni was the only one who could look after me.
"The kid is already trying to make an Art. You're walking a tough path, aren't you?"
"I'm not a kid..."
"Geez, if you're not a kid, then who is?"
As I sat in the passenger seat, Yeon-hwa Unni kept talking to me. I wanted to punish her, but she was driving, so I held back. It's not that I was scared of an S-rank hunter or anything, I was just being patient.
"How many Arts do you have, Unni?"
"Me? About two."
"Huh? That's fewer than Grandpa?"
"My skills have quite a few variables. It means that even with few Arts, I can transform them in various ways."
What did that mean? What kind of skill did she have?
"So... I plant seeds by channeling mana through my fists or feet, right?"
"Yes."
"If you call that action an Art, the skill itself has a function that determines the effect of the seed planted as an Art. So there's no need to make many Arts."
"Aha."
In the end, she only needed an Art that could trigger her skill. I felt it made sense, as her skill didn't seem to be the type that allowed for free manipulation of power like mine or Grandfather's.
Screech- The car stopped when we arrived in front of the Tower. Yeon-hwa Unni surprisingly had a taste for old cars, so the brakes weren't exactly smooth. She liked Grandfather and she liked old cars. Her tastes were truly consistent.
"Are you okay by yourself, kid? Even if you don't die in the Tower and have a Return Stone."
"I'm fine! I'm an SSS+ rank hunter!"
"Oh boy, alright. I'll be waiting out here."
"Got it!"
― Kki-ung... ― Bwong! Bwo-bwong! ― Kki-ung...
Jeolmi seemed to be waking up Bombe, who was sleeping well, and pestering her. It felt like he was telling her it was time to enter the Tower. I checked on Bombe, who crawled out sluggishly, and took a step forward. The feeling of entering the Tower was truly strange, but since this was my second time, it was manageable.
I was pulled into the black zone. And the world changed in an instant.
It was a snowy mountain again. The snowy mountain I'd seen that day. The Tower was divided into floors, but the background was often the same. It felt like several episodes were separated against the backdrop of a single world.
"It's... a snowy mountain again."
The difference from before was... there were no worshippers. I was completely alone. Furthermore—
"Ah...?"
A giant Jotunn. A giant with a white body and hair was walking toward me.