Growth (1)
Growth (1)
Friday night.
I went out of the dormitory and headed to the vacant lot.
It was to learn the Thunder Spirit Divine Art.
The Thunder Spirit Divine Art starts by using a lightning-attribute Magic Crystal to harbor the Thunder Spirit inside the body.
By harboring the Thunder Spirit in the body and accumulating the lightning it emits within, one increases their Internal Energy.
However, I couldn't learn the Thunder Spirit Divine Art immediately because the process of harboring the Thunder Spirit causes electricity to spark, which could paralyze nearby electronic devices. I confirmed this by accidentally interpreting the heart method through Knowledge Browsing.
That's why I couldn't learn the heart method in the hotel training room or inside the hotel. I couldn't learn it in the dormitory either. So, I had no choice but to learn the Thunder Spirit Heart Method in the vacant lot at the Academy.
I took out the Magic Crystal I had bought by telling Lee Ji-ah and Kim Ha-rin and paying them the money. I looked at the Magic Crystal with a complicated expression.
'To think a rock like this costs 10 million won each.'
Fortunately, I was able to buy it with the money I earned by posting academic papers on the Cockatrice on the Hall of Fame, which Kang Han-ja recommended. I received more money than expected; nearly 100 million won came in even though it hadn't been long since I posted it. And since all sorts of people will keep looking at it, my money will keep increasing.
To have earned 100 million won before even reaching my 20s. It didn't feel real.
I spread out the mat I had brought in advance, found a spot, and sat down. I sat up straight. The posture didn't really matter, though. And I created a mask.
A mask suitable for the Thunder Spirit Divine Art.
One that prioritizes increasing lightning affinity, and then has excellent mana sensitivity. If that's not possible, it's a shame, but I'll have to give up on mana sensitivity.
Suddenly, while making the mask, I had this thought. Wouldn't a mask that imitates someone be more effective? As I reached that thought, the divine beasts of this game came to mind.
I recalled the characteristics of the Qilin. Beings that are Four Spirits but also possess the characteristics of the dead. Originally, they were all killed by 'someone'. I don't know who that someone is. In the game, it just appeared as 'someone', and nothing else came out.
And the Four Spirits are resurrected by 'The Cult' that tries to resurrect the Demon King. Since they can't use the full power of the Four Spirits without a self, the main story in the middle part was the hero party killing the Four Spirits to give them rest.
I recalled an illustration of the Qilin, along with Yinglong, causing storms and blowing away several cities in China.
[Mask imitating the Qilin Lv. 1]
When worn, lightning affinity and mana sensitivity increase.
※Caution! The prerequisite conditions for the mask have not been perfectly met. You may be buried in the Qilin's ego.
The mask I made this time was very unique. There was a caution sign that doesn't usually appear.
I pondered while reading the explanation written on the mask. Buried in ego. I know the Qilin's ego is somewhere in the world. Because that's what resurrected the Four Spirits. But what on earth does that have to do with the Mask of a Thousand Faces?
'I don't know.'
If I had at least read the description, I might have guessed, but it was a big mistake that I just randomly picked a special perk when choosing them.
The prerequisite conditions, though... I had a guess. Perhaps what that refers to is the relationship chart. After having sex with Lee Ji-ah, my relationship level went up, and I obtained the trait called Karma of Magic.
'Should I try wearing it for now?'
I thought about making something else here, but since it's already like this, I wanted to try wearing it once. Wouldn't it be fine for a short while?
I put on the mask. The usual unpleasant feeling of something sticking to my face. And 1 second passed, 10 seconds passed, 1 minute passed.
'What is this.'
Nothing happened. Just in case, I waited a little longer, 5 minutes passed, but nothing happened.
'What the hell is this, really.'
After thinking for a moment, I remembered what an extra in the game said.
-I, I went through so much trouble to wake these guys up and make them!
And the mentally challenged doctor who gets killed by the hero party came to mind. He said he woke them up. Perhaps all the souls of the Four Spirits were asleep?
So maybe that's why nothing is happening?
'I'm having it too easy lately.'
The Thunderbird subjugation, too. Getting close to the Sword Mistress, too. Getting private lessons from the Sword Mistress, too. Whatever it was, it was a gain, so I started operating the Thunder Spirit Divine Art.
"Hoo."
I breathe consciously. I become conscious of the particles called mana in the air. Then, faint warm energies are felt. Those energies enter my body according to the breathing specified in the Thunder Spirit Divine Art.
The mana that entered my body moves along the meridians specified in the Thunder Spirit Divine Art. The mana travels through fifteen meridians, spreads in all directions, returns to the Dantian, and from the Dantian, it spreads in all directions again through the meridians.
'The mana is being absorbed much better than usual.'
The way the mana moved was different from usual. Unlike usual, the mana moves as if it were a part of my body. The mana moves as I think, and it doesn't repel.
"Hoo."
The mana suddenly rotated rapidly. The surroundings started to greedily devour the mana. It wasn't a runaway. It rotates rapidly with stable movement. This was the result of me getting used to the Thunder Spirit Divine Art.
And slowly, the mana gathered in the shape of a bead inside the Dantian.
Thunder Spirit.
The beginning and the end of the Thunder Spirit Heart Method. Its form was created. The bead-shaped form seemed alive, hovered around my Dantian for a moment, and then grew in size while greedily devouring the mana I was sending.
"Haa."
I let out a long sigh and stopped the heart method I had been concentrating on for a while. It had grown at least twice as large as when the Thunder Spirit was first created. There was a sense of accomplishment, but my whole body was soaked in sweat, damp and unpleasant.
Sniff, sniff.
When I smelled it, a disgusting odor that made me want to gag was wafting from my body.
"I should go take a shower quickly."
I shook off the sweat and headed to the dormitory.
On the way back from showering, I suddenly wanted to drink Sikhye, so I headed to the first floor of the dormitory.
As I headed to the first floor, I saw someone walking with a towel on their head, their silver hair wet as if they had just finished showering.
It was Yoon Seung-ha.
Because of the casual outfit of a black short-sleeved shirt and shorts, white skin was visible. Skin that looked soft if touched.
Even though I knew he was a man, he was exuding an alluring atmosphere that made it confusing whether he was a man or a woman. Indeed, it was an appearance that made me understand why villains who aren't gay and villains who are gay had passionately wooed Yoon Seung-ha.
"Hi. Are you on your way to get a drink, too?"
"Yeah. Your name is Siwoo, right?"
A voice that made it confusing whether it was a woman or a man. Yoon Seung-ha replied languidly to my words.
"Yeah. It's Siwoo. Lee Si-woo. You're Yoon Seung-ha, right?"
"Yeah. How was the Thunderbird?"
"Easy. If I said that, it would be a lie. Actually, I knew the strategy, but it had already been subjugated by someone else, so I just reported it and came back."
"Subjugated? A mission came to the Academy, and if you accepted it, others wouldn't be able to receive the mission, right? Who is it?"
Yoon Seung-ha asked in a curious voice.
"Sword Mistress-nim."
"Huh?"
"Sword Mistress, Nam Da-yoon-nim. I was searching for the Thunderbird to subjugate it, but I got caught by the Sword Mistress nearby, and it was already a corpse."
"Must have been very comfortable."
Yoon Seung-ha opened his mouth with an envious tone.
I looked at Yoon Seung-ha. He was the person who made me play Loque, and the person who made me lose interest.
He possessed a demonic charm that would bewitch most women around him. Despite that, he was a character who could be called the protagonist of a 'distribution ending' where, if he flirted with all sorts of heroines, he wouldn't end up with them in the end, and always married other women.
Actually, it's not like the other heroines got married or anything, but isn't the fact that he didn't confirm they ended up together a distribution ending? That's why he was the object of love and hate for all users. Even the female hero, Yoon Chae-rin, had a route where she ended up with the female lead!
"How was the Dark Spirit?"
"Unn... Noona finished it off in one hit."
One hit, huh. The Dark Spirit has excellent physical resistance and the ability to delude the mind, so it's tricky to deal with. But considering Yoon Chae-rin's abilities, it wasn't a strange thing.
"That's amazing."
When I was giving a meaningless exclamation, Yoon Chae-rin was coming from far away. She was walking this way, stretching out her long, slender legs. As if to prove they were twins, she was also dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
She was also shaking her wet golden hair with a towel, as if she had showered, and coming this way. She's no better than the others.
"Huh? What is this, were you enjoying a secret meeting when I wasn't here?"
"What kind of secret meeting is it between men."
I felt unnecessarily unpleasant, so I said it to Yoon Chae-rin in a sharp tone.
"......Ah, sorry, sorry."
Yoon Chae-rin apologized with a strange expression. An expression with a deep sense of regret for some reason. I wondered, and pulled out three Sikhyes from the vending machine. If you're Korean, it's Sikhye after a shower. I handed the Sikhyes I pulled out to Yoon Chae-rin and Yoon Seung-ha.
"Oh, thank you. I was just craving Sikhye."
"Thanks for the treat."
Yoon Chae-rin received a Sikhye, opened the lid, and downed it in one go.
"Keu, this is the taste."
She made an exclamation closer to an old man than a girl. Yoon Seung-ha was drinking it gulpingly in a modest manner. Twins usually resemble each other, but these two were the exact opposite. From hair color to eye color and personality. Everything was the opposite.
Wiing-wiing-wiing-
Suddenly, an emergency text arrived on my smartphone. Feeling suspicious of the loud noise like a disaster alarm, I turned on the smartphone.
[There have been incidents where cadets have recently lost their memories or gone missing. Everyone, please be careful when walking alone.]
The moment I saw the text, I had an intuition. The episode had begun in earnest. The guy with the 'real Hypnosis App' had started to get involved in the incident. This episode was very important.
Because a turning point occurs for Kim Ha-rin. If she chooses the wrong route here, the possibility of her turning to the villain side becomes very high.
'Kim Ho-dong.'
I thought of the owner of the Hypnosis App. A guy who looks like a piglet. He has the grades to enter the Hero Academy, but he is also a guy who is bullied for his fat physique.
'A kid who gets bullied having a Hypnosis App.'
It was a story that would often appear in Hitomi. But I'm not worried. Because he is.
'An eunuch... after all.'
It was a somewhat pitiful reason. Kim Ha-rin happened to see Kim Ho-dong's naked body, and it was so disgusting that she shot light with her specialty, Mad Wings.
He survived, but... the setting was that he became an eunuch because it grazed a sensitive spot.