Mana (1)

"What? She's just leaving?"

Lee Jeonghyeon tilted his head in confusion at his subordinate's report. He'd been told that Chen Mei had "coincidentally" run into Park Jihun and that the two of them had been seen moving together. Because of that, he'd kept them under watch. The place they were heading was a motel right nearby.

Lee Jeonghyeon had already figured out that Chen Mei planned to use a honey trap to lure Park Jihun in. He didn't want to butt in unnecessarily and leave a bad impression, so he'd ordered his men to stand by. If the two of them came back out, they were to report it immediately.

But the next day, right around the time the pair should have been checking out, the report came in that Chen Mei had left Park Jihun behind and headed straight to the airport with her subordinate.

Why?

The Black Society never hesitated to use any means necessary. Chen Mei was someone Lung Xiao trusted precisely because she handled her tasks so cleanly. And she was just going to leave Park Jihun and fly back to China? It was ridiculous.

She should have either kidnapped him, bewitched him with some strange method, or taken his life through extreme measures. At the very least, she was supposed to do something.

"Guess I'll have to talk to her myself."

He would have preferred to meet her at the airport, but there wasn't enough time. Since they'd gone straight there, her flight was probably departing in two or three hours at the latest. Still, if she'd only just arrived, she should still be stuck in the check-in process and able to answer her phone.

Lee Jeonghyeon immediately dialed the number for the phone Chen Mei used during her activities in Korea.

Chen Mei's voice was incredibly curt. Considering the brutal threats he'd made last time, the reaction was understandable.

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heard you met Hunter Park Jihun. What did you talk about?"

He asked what he was most curious about. Of course, he didn't expect her to answer honestly.

As expected, her reply was extremely curt.

"You're really just going back to China? Weren't you supposed to bring Park Jihun with you?"

He gave her a little prod, taking advantage of her continued curtness. She'd already claimed she had no such intentions before, but he spoke as if the matter was already settled.

She continued denying everything with a perfectly straight face.

By chance, my ass. You really expect me to believe you waited in front of the Another Guild office just to say that?

He wanted to snap at her, but since she was already on her way back to China, Lee Jeonghyeon decided there was no point in provoking her further.

"I see. Have a safe trip home."

With that, he hung up.

What the hell? What did Park Jihun do to her?

It didn't make sense. These weren't the kind of people who would back off so easily. Maybe some kind of secret deal had taken place?

Heh, the previous gate too... This guy really knows how to keep things interesting lately.

In Lee Jeonghyeon's hand were a copy of the D-Rank gate entry application submitted by Another Guild—where Park Jihun belonged—and a leaked record claiming their party had headed to an E-Rank gate in Uijeongbu.

"The association is even bending the rules to send him gates and leaking fake information to cover for him... Just who is this guy?"

Lee Jeonghyeon's eyes curved into amused crescents.

"Based on the stat increase from your Alpha Male skill, your mana stat has now surpassed 90, Sunbae. That means you've reached the level where you can control mana without any external help."

They were back in the association's training room that they'd borrowed before. Inside, Shin Jiyeon sat facing the three—Park Jihun, Kar, and Briana—giving them a thorough explanation about mana.

They'd already gotten a taste of it with the mana boots back in the Lizard Swamp, and thanks to Park Jihun's mana stat exceeding 90 under the inflated criteria, they could finally begin proper lessons on handling mana.

"You've already experienced the feeling of mana through the mana boots, right? Where it flows from, how it moves. I think you've got a decent grasp on the basics. Well... I'm not sure about Briana and Kar, though."

Unlike Serina, whose mana stat was high enough that she could use magic from the very beginning, both Briana and Kar were still D-Rank with relatively low mana stats. In other words, they couldn't control mana on their own yet. They were simply sitting in on the class as a preview, learning alongside Jihun.

"I'll explain what you need to handle mana. There are three main stages to manipulating mana."

The first was mana control. Since you couldn't do anything without first being able to move mana, the initial step was to sense the mana inside your body and make it flow internally or release it externally. This was the first stage: Mana Control.

"This first part, Sunbae, you've already cleared. Remember how you made that incredibly solid mana floor with the boots? It was seriously impressive. Even with the help of external equipment, managing to do that in a single day when your mana was under 80..."

"Yeah, I definitely felt something click back then."

Sensing mana, making it flow, and releasing it—Park Jihun had already passed this stage.

"...That really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hurt, you know."

Serina, who had stepped up as a magic instructor alongside Shin Jiyeon thanks to her experience as a magic knight, rubbed her horn and head as she recalled slamming into that thick, rock-solid mana barrier. The association's training room guaranteed complete privacy, and since the association already knew about Park Jihun's growing power and that Shin Jiyeon had tamed Serina, they maintained strict security. As long as no hunter capable of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breaching that security specifically targeted the room, there was no chance of anyone overhearing them. That was why they could freely bring her out of the subspace without worry.

"Hehe... If it hurts, should I stroke it for you?"

Shin Jiyeon stopped her lecture mid-sentence, flashing a lewd smile as she reached toward Serina.

"N-no! You always try to touch me everywhere else too...!!"

"Let's focus on the lesson for now. I'll stroke every inch of you later."

Serina's panicked refusal and Park Jihun's intervention stopped her in her tracks.

"......"

"...U-um, us too."

At Park Jihun's casual promise to stroke them all over, everyone's faces flushed red and the room fell silent for a moment. But they soon recovered their previous energy and continued the lesson.

"Th-the important part comes next."

Once mana control was achieved, the next stage was Mana Materialization.

"This is where you truly start to manipulate mana. You give it physical form."

You could wrap your body in a solid layer of mana to use as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a shield, or infuse a weapon with it to create a sharp mana blade.

"The mana barrier you created with the boots is exactly that. It's an item designed to materialize mana into a solid platform."

The mana shield Shin Jiyeon used in battle and the aura she wrapped around her sword were both examples of mana materialization. Most close-combat hunters above C-Rank could reach this level.

"And the final stage is... Attribute Bestowal."

The third stage involved giving mana specific attributes.

"Serina's magic is the perfect example."

By bestowing the attribute of 'water' onto mana and then materializing it into the shape of a 'sword,' she created the Water Sword she had used in combat.

These three stages—control, materialization, and attribute bestowal.

"Well, they're called stages, but after mana control, the order doesn't really matter. Attribute bestowal can only be done by those with the right skills or natural talent anyway."

Just like how close-combat hunters fought using only materialization to create aura, it was possible to simply bestow attributes onto mana to cast spells, or imbue the released mana itself with properties for attack.

"Remember when Serina first appeared and water sprayed everywhere? That was just bestowing an attribute onto mana without materializing it."

And if you added materialization in the middle of that, you could turn flying water into a powerful high-pressure cutter.

"Whoa... that's awesome."

"Incredible."

"Lizard, amazing."

The students who had listened to Shin Jiyeon's full explanation clapped for Serina with looks of genuine respect. Now that they understood it, they realized just how impressive it was that she could use all three aspects—materialization, attribute bestowal, and everything in between—to cast magic.

"I mean, it's just some magic... Wait, hold on! I'm not a lizard!"

Serina had been shyly accepting the sudden praise until Kar's words made her snap.

"Then... lizard person?"

"Y-you stinky beast...!"

"Kar doesn't smell! Human female gave Kar Christmas! Fur is super fluffy now!"

"It's not Christmas, it's a treatment, Kar. Haa haa, the way you mix up the words is just too cute. I want to devour you."

And with that, total chaos erupted.

Serina and Kar started brawling, while Shin Jiyeon jumped in between them. Even as she got hit, her tough B-Rank body didn't take any damage. She simply basked in the happiness of being in physical contact with them.

"...As a fellow familiar, I apologize."

"No, it's fine. I like this lively atmosphere. When it's just you, it's way too quiet with only the two of us."

Briana felt embarrassed by their behavior as a fellow familiar, but Park Jihun actually loved it. This noisy, lively scene was something he could never have imagined during his lonely days before. It filled him with warm satisfaction...

Oh yeah. Look at their tits bouncing around. Damn, even their clothes are ripping? This is perfect.

...Yeah, right. He was simply enjoying the sight of beautiful female bodies colliding and jiggling all over the place.

Shit, I'm getting hard. Should I just spend the rest of our time here fucking them senseless?

Even though he'd completely wrecked both Chen Mei and Shin Jiyeon not long ago, his lust showed no signs of settling down.