Ether Combat Arts (1)
Under a clear blue sky with bright sunlight pouring down. On the track that ringed the sports field’s sea of green grass stood Teacher Hye-jin. In front of her, the Class A students—now changed into neat blue training uniforms—were clustered together.
“My name is Lee Hye-jin, and I’ll be teaching Ether Combat from now on. I’m also the dormitory warden, so some of you have probably already met me, right?”
The teacher gave me a quick, almost invisible glance and winked in place of a proper greeting.
“What is Ether Combat? Just like the name says, it’s the subject where you learn how to fight using ether.”
Teacher Hye-jin, wearing the same red tracksuit she’d had on last weekend when she dropped me off at the dorm, continued.
“You all know this already, but ether is the energy generated and stored in the pineal gland. It’s absolutely necessary for using supernatural abilities. Activating an ability always consumes ether, and once it runs out you can’t use your power anymore. But that’s not the only way to use ether.”
The moment she closed her eyes and focused, a faint silvery aura began to rise around her fist.
“You’ve seen the ether particles that scatter into the air when an ability is activated, right? If you control the ether inside your body and gather it the way you want, it becomes visible outside like this. We call it Aura. And the ether gathered this way…”
“Hah!”
Rumble—
When she thrust her fist toward the sky, a violent surge of energy exploded outward, tearing through the air as if it would rip everything apart. For a split second it felt like the sky itself had shaken. The ether that had flooded the empty space eventually faded naturally into the distance.
“Pretty powerful, isn’t it? But that’s not all. Because it’s used to surpass normal limits when manifesting abilities, the ether that spreads throughout your entire body along your blood vessels lets ability users move beyond ordinary human limits. For example…”
“Upsie-daise!”
She crouched for a moment, pressed her hand to the ground, and pushed off. She shot upward until she was level with my head. After a light flip in mid-air, she landed with a heavy thud. A cloud of dust rose and the impact rang out loudly.
“As you can see, skilled ability users can suppress enemies using ether alone without even activating their powers. Now for the important part! Why do you need to learn Ether Combat?”
Teacher Hye-jin swept her gaze over the students, who were still stunned into silence, then pointed at Kim Yeon, whose eyes were burning with excitement from the demonstration.
“Yes! Would you like to answer, student?”
“E-eh? M-me? Umm…”
Kim Yeon looked flustered. She lowered her head for a moment, thinking, then spoke in a voice that lacked any confidence whatsoever.
“…Isn’t it, um, cool?”
“…”
I swear I could hear the Princess sighing inside my head.
Teacher Hye-jin burst out laughing at the answer, clearly amused, then pointed at No Chae-a next.
“That’s not a bad answer, but unfortunately it’s not the correct one. How about you this time, student?”
No Chae-a, who looked like she hated physical education with a passion, adjusted her glasses and answered in a dry tone.
“…So that when an ability user encounters a dimensional beast their own power can’t handle, they can use physical force as a countermeasure.”
“Correct! We don’t have dormitory points or anything, but I’ll still give you a compliment.”
Clapping her hands cheerfully, Teacher Hye-jin picked up from No Chae-a’s answer and continued the explanation.
“The dimensional beasts that appear during dimensional erosions come in truly endless varieties. Most of them have biological forms, but there are also many whose true nature you can’t figure out at a glance. On a related note, that’s why approaching an unanalyzed dimensional erosion always requires a team of skilled ability users with a variety of abilities. The real problem comes when you meet a beast your own power can’t handle. Let’s use the Princess as an example. If a dimensional beast appears that even her powerful flames can’t deal with—what then? Something like a rock golem, or a spiritual entity that physical force doesn’t work on.”
The Princess snorted, clearly not thrilled at being used as an example, but she didn’t argue. Still, hearing the teacher’s example made me curious too. Well, since I’m not a combat type anyway, I’d probably just hide behind everyone else…
“Support-type students are no exception! If you get separated from your team inside an erosion and a dimensional beast appears in front of you with no combat ability to use, you’d be in serious trouble, wouldn’t you?”
Did my thoughts show on my face? I flinched and quickly straightened my slouching posture.
“Therefore there are two reasons you must learn Ether Combat. First, so you can subdue dimensional beasts your ability can’t handle through physical force. Second, so you can escape quickly if you encounter a beast that neither your ability nor Ether Combat can deal with. I hope none of you think running away is cowardly? As long as the dimensional erosion is open, you can deal with the beast later. But once an ability user dies, their power never comes back! Even when you go on missions later, always value your life above everything else.”
In the distance I saw Kim Yeon watching the teacher with a deeply moved expression on her face. …They were good words, but wasn’t the reason she gave for valuing your life a little strange?
“Right, that covers the basic explanation… Shall we move on to practical training now?”
Teacher Hye-jin called out brightly and took a few steps toward the students. Just watching her light footsteps made an uneasy feeling creep over me. What was this? That ominous premonition…
“The foundation of combat arts is always stamina! First, stamina. Second, stamina. Without basic stamina you can’t attempt anything. Therefore today’s class will focus on improving your stamina! Every student will run along the track until I shout ‘Stop!’ Students who know how to manipulate ether are not allowed to use it—run purely with your own bodies until you reach your limit. I won’t tolerate anyone slacking or goofing off!”
Ugh.
♣ Ah… the sky is turning yellow…
“Haa… haa…”
“Heuk… heuk…”
I don’t know how much time had passed. Narae and I, who hadn’t even lasted a few laps, were slumped against the stands outside the field, gasping for air.
Teacher Hye-jin had lined all the students up in two rows on the track and started them running. She jogged alongside them, and whenever someone slowed down or ran half-heartedly she would approach and offer encouraging words.
“Hey now, your steps are too slow! Is that your best? Anyone who slacks off will spend the rest of the day training with me!”
…With those kinds of threats ringing in my ears, and since I already knew what Teacher Hye-jin was like, I tried my best to run seriously. Before long I was completely out of breath. Right when I thought my heart might actually explode, she finally told us to stop and rest. I barely survived… but it seemed I really did have poor stamina. Aside from Narae and a few others who had already dropped out, most of the students were still circling the track.
After a bit more time passed and I finally caught my breath, I listened to Narae’s ragged panting and looked out at the field. The students who had started in neat rows had long since fallen out of formation; they were just barely keeping some semblance of order. Yet the ones at the front still looked perfectly fine. As expected, both the Princess and Wi Ha-yeon were among them. It seemed the education they received from a young age included physical training for stamina.
The students who usually followed the Princess or Wi Ha-yeon also seemed to have decent stamina; they were keeping up with their respective leaders without much trouble.
“Ugh… why do we have to… run without even using… ether… heuk, heuk.”
…No Chae-a, who had dropped out at almost the same time as me and was still panting heavily, was clearly an exception.
“That’s enough!”
The running, which had continued for another ten minutes, finally ended with the teacher’s cheerful shout. As the group of students who had finished returned to where the dropouts were resting, the Princess and Wi Ha-yeon’s eyes met for a moment. The Princess glanced at her, then immediately looked away with a soft “Hmph.” Wi Ha-yeon, on the other hand, simply offered a gentle smile without any particular reaction.
Ugh, just watching that silent battle of wills is exhausting…
Once all the students had gathered in one place, Teacher Hye-jin gave us a short break before lining us up again.
“How about it? Feel refreshed after running?”
“Yeees…”
“We’ll continue stamina training for the time being. Students who fall below my standards will keep running, so you’d better not slack off and squeeze in some jogging on your own time. I won’t go easy on anyone.”
“Uuuu…”
Paying no attention to the groans of complaint coming from several places, the teacher continued.
“Since it’s the first day, we’ll stop here. To briefly explain future classes… As the name suggests, the goal of this subject is to learn combat techniques that use ether. The foundation for it is the Jeongmu Fist, created by the Iron-Blooded Duke during the Great War and later spread widely under royal support. The name sounds grand, but it’s easy to learn and practical in real combat, so it’s considered basic knowledge that active ability users must possess. Are there any students here who have already learned some Jeongmu Fist? Raise your hands.”
When the teacher finished speaking, several students raised their hands. As expected, most of them were connected to either the Princess or Wi Ha-yeon.
“Good. Is there anyone who can give a demonstration without using too much ether? You can spar with me or with each other. I’ll give bonus points to anyone who participates.”
A brief silence fell over the students. Asking self-conscious teenage girls to demonstrate combat techniques in front of everyone was apparently no easy task. I imagined myself standing in front of them, throwing a punch, then freezing up in embarrassment, and shuddered at the mere thought. I had never learned Jeongmu Fist or anything like it, but even if I were a Jeongmu Fist master I probably still couldn’t do it…
“Ohoho, if no one is willing to demonstrate, then I shall step forward.”
While the quiet atmosphere continued, a confident voice cut through the students’ silence. Ah, it was that girl from Wi Ha-yeon’s group. I hadn’t paid much attention before, but now that I looked, she really did give off the perfect impression of a noble young lady from head to toe. Especially the way she covered her mouth with her palm and laughed “ohoho”… wasn’t that character trait a bit much?
“Hmm. Hwang A-yoon… A-yoon, is it? Very well.”
Teacher Hye-jin checked the name written on the girl’s gym uniform and smiled.
“Is there a student who would like to demonstrate a spar with A-yoon? If not, I’ll be her opponent.”
So her name was Hwang A-yoon. She always seemed full of confidence, so she’d probably be able to demonstrate without trouble, but I wondered if there was anyone else brave enough to step forward despite the embarrassment…
Just as the teacher was about to speak again after waiting a moment, a new voice rang out.
“I-I’ll do it!”
“Ooh?”
At the sudden development, the students—including me—turned to see who had spoken. There stood the Princess with her sharp gaze, and in front of her, Kim Yeon with her hand raised and a look of firm resolve on her face.