The Yokai Core

The cadets watching Geum Taehyung and Bihyung's duel could not hide their awe.

"That's a normal fireball?"

"He's a bloodline holder, isn't he? He's probably got some power specialized in fire. More than that, though... has the top student lost his mind?"

"How does someone even move like that? Is he specialized in body arts?"

At first, that was all they could think, watching him slip past Geum Taehyung's fireballs and scatter shot. They learned soon enough how short the thought had been.

"...Is that even real?"

"Looking at the art, it seems like the basic technique, Earth Wall... but what kind of power is that?"

The cadets were stunned, and inwardly the professors were no less so.

Earth Wall. An art that shifts the earth and drives it up like a wall.

He raised it to about the usual height, but height is the only thing it shares with an ordinary Earth Wall.

The thickness was something else entirely. It had taken a bloodline holder's fireball head-on and come through intact, which meant the density of the packed earth had also gone far beyond the ordinary range.

Power past the 1st Rank. Not yet at the 2nd, perhaps.

The most astonishing part is that he isn't using a terminal.

Geum Taehyung himself had worked the basic talisman on his phone just to cast. And the top student? He hadn't so much as lifted a phone. A single stamp of his foot, and the floor of the dueling ground had surged upward.

The professors knew that phenomenon well.

To grasp an art's principle completely and fix it in the mind until it can be wielded at will.

It means his proficiency has reached the very end—far enough that he can cast merely by drawing the talisman in his head.

After seeing a basic art once? Heh. A monstrous talent.

That degree of technique would not have looked out of place beside a seasoned first-rate exorcist, and a cadet who had only just enrolled was the one displaying it. A chill crawled up the faculty's spines.

...If he's already like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this with his learning still unfinished, what will he become once the Academy is done with him?

Every one of them thought the same thing: the birth of a great figure who would leave his mark upon the world, and that they were watching the beginning of it.

Whew.

Once the duel was over, Bihyung looked around. The cadets had nothing to say. They only stared back and forth between him and Geum Taehyung with vacant faces, and a few, as if fear had gotten hold of them, tucked their necks in like turtles.

Did I overdo it?

The thought crossed his mind for an instant, but he shook his head at once.

I didn't.

The boy wasn't going to die. If you were going to make a scene, you made it as large as it would go. He couldn't hear the professors, but a space like a qi barrier had unfolded around them; they were clearly being told how the duel had come about.

With this, Geum Taehyung's family won't be able to touch me or Mina.

The Academy would step in to protect them.

No matter how prestigious the house, they can't lay a hand on the Academy.

They belonged to the Exorcist Association as well. If they wanted to fall out of the Association President's favor, they were welcome to try.

Satisfied, Bihyung walked back to his place. Even that unhurried, confident stride suited a top student—or so the cadets were beginning to say, only now finding their tongues.

"Anyway... at that level, couldn't he beat a second-year too?"

"Are you stupid? You need at least a rank increase to advance a year. If the dead last of the second-years showed up here, they'd wipe every one of us."

"Then did that art just now look like a mere 1st Rank to you?"

They fell to arguing over whether Bihyung was on par with a second-year.

Ha. Honestly.

A hollow laugh escaped him. Did they think "second-year" was some stray mutt's name?

He took a seat in the rearmost row of the dueling ground, built like a colosseum. The whole event had come about because of him and Geum Taehyung, but the professors in charge had said that anyone who wanted could keep the duels going.

Watching wouldn't hurt.

His body was worn down, and he wanted nothing more than to go inside and rest, but these were the people he would be competing against from here on. Better to see how strong they were around now.

Just then, a voice rang in his ear.

"Bihyung!"

Mina came dashing over and dropped into the seat beside him.

"You were seriously amazing! How did you do that!?"

Her eyes sparkled like stars in a night sky. Of course they did. Geum Taehyung was the one who had seized her, the second-ranked student, and refused to let go. And Bihyung had all but toyed with someone like that. Top student and second they might be, yet she had never imagined the gap behind those titles would be this wide.

Bihyung caught the private thought.

I'm grateful she's rating me so highly, but it wasn't quite to that degree.

He had been able to toy with Geum Taehyung only because three conditions had lined up. The first was that Geum Taehyung had been immature.

An exorcist with any real combat experience doesn't just let you trigger the principle of mutual generation.

A check would have come at once. If Bihyung reached for a wood art, the answer would have been to burn him with fire on the spot.

And he comes from a clan. What exactly did he learn?

Looking at the fallen Geum Taehyung, he clicked his tongue low.

The second is the Path of the Zenith.

Through that derived story, the potential of every technique had expanded. Basic arts once capped at the 1st Rank now reached the 2nd, and that slight difference—the very same art—had struck with greater force than his opponent's.

But none of it could have come together without the nature of the dueling ground and the half-yokai race.

Arts cast by burning stamina.

There, the cheat-like nature of being half-yokai showed itself. Stamina far beyond a human's had produced power to match a considerable expenditure of energy. Those three things were what had won him the duel.

I can't exactly explain any of this.

He meant to smooth the moment over with nothing but a smile. Then, in that instant—

Huh?

His head spun without warning, and his awareness went hazy. Before he knew it, he had rested his head on Mina's shoulder.

"Bi-Bihyung...?"

Her voice trembled. It wasn't only her voice; her shoulder was shivering faintly beneath him.

Ah.

He had no room to notice.

It's from the stamina I burned in the duel.

So even a half-yokai ended up like this, if he raised an art's power in proportion to the energy he poured in. A new realization.

I'm being a burden on Mina, though.

He struggled to push himself upright. Perhaps she noticed the effort. Her trembling had already stilled; she quietly took his hand and whispered.

"It's okay. If you're tired, you can rest for a bit."

"...Thanks."

"No. I'm the one who should thank you."

She knew why he had dueled Geum Taehyung, and that she herself lay behind it. Lending him a shoulder was the least she could do. What reason could there be to refuse even that?

"Lean on me as long as you want."

At the warmth in her voice, Bihyung let his guard down and took the rest. This was hardly something that could be called a weakness. This much would be fine.

A little time passed, and his breathing slipped into the soft, even rhythm of sleep. Every time that breath brushed her shoulder, Mina felt a pang run through her heart.

Seriously... why does my heart keep doing this whenever Bihyung is next to me?

Her face flushed. A little while later, recovered enough to sit up, Bihyung rose.

Ah...!

She startled at the disappointment that had nearly slipped out of her. Why were her feelings really like this?

"Thanks. I got to rest a bit because of you."

"Y-yeah..."

"Was I heavy?"

"N-no! You weren't heavy at all! More importantly, did you rest well? You'll need to be in good shape for tomorrow's class."

Bihyung nodded.

"Yeah. Tomorrow's class does matter."

The duels seemed to be finished. After seeing to the injured, the professors in charge announced the next day's schedule.

"Tomorrow there will be a Weapon Selection."

Weapon Selection: the Academy lending cadets weapons it owned.

"Once you enter an anomaly's domain, you must find the weapons scattered there and pass the trials those things set. Come thoroughly prepared, all of you."

The professor in charge grinned and lifted the enormous bamboo staff bound across his back.

"This may not look like much, but it's a fairly high-grade weapon, you know? I got it there myself."

The corner of Bihyung's mouth twitched where no one could see.

Weapon Selection. The weapons you get there are growth-type.

As their owner grew, they gained all manner of effects. The variance was large, and later the growth efficiency fell off enough that most people switched to something else—

but they're good at least through the middle ranks.

From the 4th Rank to the 6th. Fine weapons to carry until an exorcist could raise their voice a little in the world.

And there's a hidden piece at the selection site, too.

Whether he got his hands on it would change how hard the early story was to push.

The next story still hasn't been set, though.

He had cleared First Departure, and still the next story refused to open. How long was this settlement going to take?

Whatever it is, I'm seeing the ending.

For that, he fixed a burning gaze on the professor. The man yawned wide, then added, with an oh-right look:

"Complete the missions the Academy issues and accumulate merit, and ownership transfers to you. So if you're choosing, pick a weapon that matches your affinity. That's all."

Tomorrow's class was something to look forward to.

Once the duel was done, the professor in charge dismissed them. Until Weapon Selection was finished, there was no regular class schedule to begin with.

Bihyung stepped onto the top floor of the dormitory he had been shown to separately, and for a moment the luxury overwhelmed him.

"Whoa..."

Wasn't this a little too different from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shabby villa where he had opened his eyes on the first day? The feeling rose on its own. The facilities were the best there was. The interior was as high-end as a penthouse, and from the broad terrace the whole of the Academy lay in a single view. A transmission formation sat in the kitchen all its own; write down the ingredients or dishes you wanted and submit the slip, and the refrigerator filled itself.

...This really was the best, wasn't it?

"A duplex, and so many rooms."

Each of them was fitted out with something different. Among them, Bihyung headed for the bath.

There was a hot spring labeled Vitality Bath—a soak that steadied flesh, blood, and qi. He washed quickly and lowered himself into the heat.

Hoo. This was it. His body loosened into a languid ease, and when the day's fatigue had finally unwound, he climbed out, ordered a simple meal, and ate. Washed well. Ate well. Now if he only slept well, there was no finer way to live.

"Ahh. I can actually live."

Lying in the bedroom, he went back over the day: the entrance address, the ban from the library, the duel sparked by Geum Taehyung picking a fight, and a reckoning of everything he himself now held. It had been nothing if not a precarious day.

"The most important thing is still left."

He looked into the empty air. The derived story, A Lesson Taught. It was time to confirm the reward.

"It said the Bet would expand, didn't it."

The ability's grade wasn't rising. From the start, the Dokkaebi Bet was already EX; there was nothing beyond that to reach.

Expansion means the range in which I can use it grows.

He was rather looking forward to what sort of expansion his Bet would undergo. And the result—

"Hm?"

What was this. A limit?

"Does that mean... I'm supposed to make a bet with myself?"

The moment he reached a limit, it would activate on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its own.

Not bad. Now, with this, I can make the plan a little clearer...

The thought lasted only a moment. Sleep came on far too fiercely. Had he pushed himself too hard earlier? He didn't fight it. He closed his eyes. Nothing sound had ever come of a plan made half-asleep.

Only even breathing sounded in the bedroom. He would meet a comfortable dream. So he thought.

Bihyung's eyes flew open.

"...Huh?"

What met him was not the bedroom where he had closed his eyes, but an old abandoned subway. Yes. He had opened his eyes inside the domain of the subway anomaly he had already brought down.

"What? Do I sleepwalk now?"

No—before that, the subway anomaly should have been subjugated. Holding the question, he looked around. Far beyond the fog, something enormous was squirming. As if it had no fear of trains at all, it sat at the center of the tracks. Looking closer, he saw a subway car smashed to pieces beside that massive bulk, and before it a train operator's head rolling loose. At the same time a gigantic hand seized the operator's body, tore it, and swallowed it down.

...It's eating the anomaly?

A chill went through him, and he stepped back without realizing it. In that instant—

A rush of air. The massive thing turned its head, and his eyes met two pupils burning with a ghastly blue ghost-fire.

"...!"

A gasp nearly escaped, but he clenched his teeth. He had been swept into this out of nowhere; at the very least, he had to keep his mind sharp. On willpower alone he glared up at the monster's enormous frame, and around then he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was able to wake.

...A dream?

Cold sweat had soaked him through. His eyelids were still trembling.

"It was a dream, right?"

Haha. A nonsense dream, if ever there was one. Had bringing down the subway anomaly stayed that deep in him?

"...I can't even say that."

He forced himself to face the thing he had been looking away from. His lower abdomen. In the place where a dantian had not yet formed, he felt something. A chime, and a single notice rose before his eyes to match it.