Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Ether
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Title: The Terrifying Strength of This Novice Me
(Pic of the mutant with its head blown clean off)
(Pic of my forearm, muscles bulging with effort)
Can you feel... my power...?
lmao newbie vibes. Look at you all hyped up after learning your first martial art.
Hehe, takes me back to when I first started martial arts. I was thrilled like a kid too.
Reminds me of my first foray into the martial world.
Newbie gooooood!!!!
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I'd cleaved through the mutant in an instant.
Unable to contain my joy, I immediately posted proof to the gallery.
Most of the gallery users treated me like a newborn taking its first wobbly steps.
"The gallery average is way too high."
Honestly, I still couldn't believe I'd taken that thing down solo with just a club.
How did I even handle those back in the day?
I think I used to pick up abandoned taxis by the roadside and slam them into airbags until they burst.
"Is martial arts... really this powerful...!"
Anger Control Expert and Black Sky.
The transcendent feats those two gallery users had shown me made my skin crawl with the realization of just how high martial arts could go.
But that was the peak.
Can you really say a basement-dwelling day trader messing with penny stocks is in the same line of work as Cashwood sis or Warren Buffett?
I was basking in that ultimate high when...
Hold up, what's that?
The moment I spotted that comment, I reflexively rolled across the ground to evade.
Because, genre convention-wise, whenever that line drops, you're usually already screwed.
Thud!
I snapped into a defensive stance right away.
But...
"...What the hell?"
Shockingly, nothing happened.
Normally, this is when the "dead" mutant revives and phase 2 kicks in, right?
"For real, what is it?"
Scratching my head, I checked the gallery again.
Hold up, what's that?
What're you talking about...?
That thing... on the mutant's neck area. A single drop trickling down.
What? Oh, damn, it's really there. Like a tiny dot.
It's real.
It's legit?
Following Armed Librarian's lead, I zoomed in on the pic I'd posted.
And sure enough, there was a silver dot, pixel-sized.
I was wondering how the hell anyone even spotted that when...
(Demon King spots it! Con)
Right? So I wasn't seeing things?
Hold up, isn't that really...?
Why?
What's going on?
Why's everyone freaking out?
Why are you making me excited too?!
No... guys, ease up on the newbie hate...
Tell me too!
Newbie, go check the mutant's corpse. See if there's a silver droplet-like thing around its neck.
I bolted over and checked right away.
Sure enough, there was a single dewdrop of silver glistening on the mutant's neck.
Armed Librarian! This what you mean?
I zoomed in max, snapped a pic, and posted it.
...You saw it right.
"Saw it right"?! What exactly did you see?!
Newbie, ever heard of Ether?
Ether?
Ether... I think I read about it in some philosophy book as a kid.
Uh, yeah... isn't it like a hypothetical substance or something?
Hypothetical substance?
The fifth element, I think? Water, fire, air, earth are the four, and the fifth represents the heavens or something. Not sure if it's actual sky or outer space...
Hah...
I wasn't entirely sure myself—it was just some half-remembered trivia I'd picked up somewhere—so I hedged as I replied. Armed Librarian let out what sounded like a sigh or maybe a gasp.
I've thought this before, but your world is fascinating. No knowledge of martial arts or mystical transmissions, yet the philosophical pondering and exploration of their essence is remarkably advanced...
...?!
So what the hell is it?!
Stop the newbie exclusion and explain nicely!
I was trembling with alienation when Armed Librarian posted a long explanation.
Ether is what we call the primordial substance of the world.
Before we connected through the Martial God Gallery, research into the world's origin was booming.
Each dimension arrived at one answer for the origin: the primordial substance known as Ether.
Primordial substance.
There was once a hypothesis that it existed only in the heavenly realms. But as we delved into martial arts, we confirmed the inseparable link between the greater cosmos and the lesser universe. Thus, we gained certainty that Ether exists even on the earthly plane. It was named the primordial substance encompassing all creation. Through the Martial God Gallery, we clarified the massive flows permeating the world and their materialized form—that's the origin of Ether.
Aha!
Got it?
I understood that I didn't understand!
...
lol retard?
Couldn't explain it better myself...
No, don't look at me like that.
How am I supposed to get that in one go?
Don't bully my newbie!
But luckily, just as I was shaking with exclusion...
My master—Colorless Bird—had my back.
Master...! (Choked up! Demon King con!)
My disciple...! (Touched! Demon King con!)
Fuck... you two are both insane..
(Plagiarized! Demon King con!)
After all, Master is all I need.
Unlike these rotten gallery users who only moderate and ban, Colorless Bird stood up for me.
But Master, what exactly is Ether?
Hmm... simply put, the origin present in all things. Think of it as qi.
Qi? Like the Yin-Yang Qi you taught me?
Yup! But Ether is even more fundamental. Yin-Yang Qi was an attempt to mimic Ether. It failed, of course.
According to the follow-up explanation, the world is empty yet full.
Empty and full are the same concept, apparently. I never quite got that part.
Anyway, countless gallery users had challenged reaching it, and the highest achievement was Yin-Yang Qi—the Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture my master taught me.
'The Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture's greatest strength is its overwhelming compatibility. Being the closest to the world's origin, Ether, it meshes seamlessly with any martial art. That's why the gallery users picked it as my first technique.'
Honestly, I had no clue what any of it meant.
If you view martial arts academically, each gallery user is like an Einstein or Edison surpassing those giants—true pioneers opening new horizons. How could a total newbie like me, barely past kindergarten, grasp their expertise? Even Master was a great scholar in her own dimension, the first to observe cosmic principles.
But at their level, they can dumb it down for elementary kids. Master skipped the esoteric boredom and gave me an intuitive grasp.
Put simply, that's like a spirit medicine.
?!
Know what spirit medicine is?
Stuff you pop for free inner power gains?!
Spirit medicine.
No matter how wild this world gets—wuxia, xianxia, fantasy, gallery, apocalypse, newbie, mod drama, mara grilled fish mint Dubai chewy chocolate strawberry tanghulu kimchi pita longevity pork—spirit medicine has one use.
Only one.
'The protagonist's level-up event!'
It's what you find after villains shred your limbs, shatter your meridians, and you tumble off a cliff.
A miraculous cheat item that sprouts new flesh and makes your skin baby-smooth with one bite.
My heart was already pounding at the discovery...
Yep, you got it. And there's one more crucial fact. Good news, though.
Master dropped another bombshell goodie.
The Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture is the martial art optimized for absorbing that kind of spirit medicine.
!!!!!!!
Mom, what do I do.
My heart's gonna explode!