Draconian Oak
The next day.
From here on, they decided to split up and move as two teams.
Yoo Seon-ah and Bella would be one team.
Seo Hwarang would go alone.
"You shouldn't need to spend any gold, so I'll give you 1,000 silver for now. Use it for snacks and such while you're out. If you need more later, just say so."
"Okay! Thanks!"
Yoo Seon-ah grinned as she took the money, then turned.
"Bella!"
"Yes, Master Magician!"
"I got my allowance today! Let's go find something delicious to eat!"
"Ehh? I told you, the first meal is on me!"
"That can wait! His Great and Gorgeous Magicianship is a bit busy starting today!"
"Oh my— really? Then we absolutely have to eat together later!"
"First, let's go check out the Magic Guild. Might as well do some sightseeing around this city too."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
It was clear enough.
Yoo Seon-ah fully intended to embrace and enjoy her time on the Etherion Continent.
Not bad, actually.
If she kept that up, she might even bring back another nice quest for them.
In exchange, he'd made her promise one thing.
Beware of nobles, beware of crime. Absolutely, no exceptions!
Unlike Seo Hwarang, Yoo Seon-ah was still weak.
He demanded she stay as cautious as humanly possible.
Alright then.
Swish.
Out in the courtyard, Seo Hwarang pulled his shirt off over his head.
His strength and stamina had grown recently, and besides—
The process of making his clothes itself had been dramatic enough that his muscles had filled out in no time.
His shoulders had broadened, and his abs were showing.
TMI, but Awakeners didn't need to exercise separately.
The moment their stats rose, their bodies naturally reshaped themselves to match that power.
That said, they didn't turn grotesquely massive either.
It was more a matter of muscle strength increasing than raw muscle mass.
Which was why, as a rule, Awakeners all had great physiques.
That was also the thing women envied most.
The automatic diet.
Eating and eating and never gaining an ounce.
"Hoo."
Seo Hwarang exhaled. Today's agenda: establishing his combat mechanisms.
He'd learned far too many skills recently, and it felt like he needed to settle on some set combinations.
Otherwise he'd end up flailing skills out in no particular order, and some would slip through the cracks.
First.
Ice Shard, newly learned this time around.
It was similar to Ice Needle, yet different.
If the Needle was a needle, the Shard was a fragment.
Krkkkkk!
First, he floated five Ice Needles into the air.
Then—
Fwububuk!
He drove them precisely into the training dummy standing in the yard.
Once he'd applied the frost damage and the slowing effect like so?
2nd Circle.
Master Ice Shard.
The moment Ice Shard activated—
Kwagagagaga!
The embedded needles burst, scattering into dozens of flying fragments.
Every single one of those fragments carried the exact same effect as an Ice Needle.
A single-target spell had effectively become a splash attack.
Linking these two together like that seems the better way to use them.
Next.
Master Arcane Missile.
A non-elemental attack spell that condensed mana and fired it—its nature was similar to Light Arrow.
Swish.
One sweep of his hand, and twenty Light Arrows hung in the air.
And then—
2nd Circle.
Master Arcane Missile.
Another sweep, and ten translucent orbs of energy appeared alongside them.
The difference from Light Arrow?
For one, they were barely visible!
And unlike the arrows, they had homing capability.
Fweee!
He flicked his wrist.
Fwubuk—kwagagagagaga!
Thirty streaks of energy wove brilliantly through the air before slamming into the dummy and detonating.
The burst damage on this is insane too.
Used together as a set, these two seemed like they could be put to real strategic use.
Next up.
Wind Blast!
A spell that whipped up a powerful gust to shove back enemies or objects.
He could chain it with Wind Cutter, or use it defensively to knock away warriors who tried to close the distance.
Seems like this one's applications are practically endless.
So he practiced the newly learned skills, raising his proficiency and drilling his combinations at the same time.
Once he'd gotten a bit more comfortable—
Kwagagagagaga!
Every offensive spell he knew converged on the dummy at once and detonated.
And how strong was that, exactly? The poor thing didn't just get blasted to splinters—it vanished without a trace.
"Ah, man."
His bad.
But wait.
Wasn't that thing the inn's property?
Scratching his head, Seo Hwarang cast—
2nd Circle.
Master Cleanse.
Cleanse washed his body spotless.
The sweat he'd shed didn't just disappear—his whole body turned fresh and dry, and apparently Master Cleanse even came with a purification effect.
Any curse or status ailment below a certain threshold could apparently be resolved with a single cast, too.
Body and clothes freshened up, he dressed again and made his way to the front desk.
And there—
Swish.
A well-mannered employee greeted him with an elegant pose.
Feels like a luxury hotel.
Come to think of it, that made sense.
One gold coin a night.
The only people who could afford to stay in an inn like this were nobles and wealthy merchants.
No wonder the service came so naturally.
"Is there anything you require, honored guest?"
"Ah, well, about that."
Seo Hwarang hesitated a moment, then spoke with an apologetic look.
"The training dummy out in the courtyard is broken. Completely. It vanished without so much as a splinter left behind... What should we do about that?"
"...I beg your pardon?"
The employee's face scrunched up as if to ask what on earth he was talking about.
***
The employee was dumbfounded.
This was the finest luxury inn in the entire city.
Naturally, every amenity was top-tier—and the training dummy was no exception.
"...Sir, that's simply not possible."
"Excuse me?"
Hoo.
The employee took a slow, steadying breath.
Is he a troublemaker?
Every so often, customers like this did show up.
The kind who stole an item and then swore up and down that it had vanished.
"Our inn only carries premium dummies made of Iron Wood. Iron Wood is extraordinarily dense—no magic can burn it or damage it. Even a skilled mage could, at best, manage to scratch it."
"Ah... is that so?"
Well, that explained it.
No wonder it had felt so hard for a piece of wood.
But Seo Hwarang was not your average mage.
He was a mage who'd dumped everything into the Intellect stat that boosted his skill damage—stat bonuses included, on top of that.
And the spells he'd unleashed weren't ordinary spells, but Master spells.
All of them, gathered and slammed into one point at the same time? Of course the thing might just cease to exist.
Still, though.
He could hardly blame the man for doubting him.
"But it's true, though. So what do we do about it?"
"Sir?"
The employee's expression hardened further, and Seo Hwarang couldn't exactly fault him for it.
If this went sideways and the night watch got called in, things would get messy.
The worst-case scenario was getting tangled up with the nobles who frequented this place.
"Would you like to bring out another dummy for comparison? I'll demonstrate for you."
Best to clear up the suspicion first.
Then he could pay for it and be done with it.
"We do have new dummies on hand, but..."
By now, the employee looked genuinely uncertain.
Anyone insisting this hard—was there really any reason for him to be lying?
And yet—it was Iron Wood.
To shatter even one of those, you'd need at least a 4th Circle Master, or perhaps a 5th Circle...
Besides.
If the man really did destroy another one, things would get awkward.
At that point, he couldn't exactly demand compensation anymore.
"Whether or not the dummy itself is beyond saving, we can certainly compensate you for the Iron Wood, so please, just wait a moment."
And the way he spoke so confidently about paying up—
Oh no.
The employee bit his lip.
A mistake.
This man was, without question, a far more powerful mage than he'd imagined.
Nothing short of that could explain such brazen confidence—nor would there be any reason for it.
"Sir, I've made an error. If you're willing to simply cover the cost, there's really no need to see anything at all."
"Oh? Well, in that case—"
Seo Hwarang flashed a grin.
Works for me.
***
Back in his room, Seo Hwarang immediately summoned Plantman.
- Grooowoowook!
Our adorable little tree-man, sprouting up straight from the floor!
"Plantman."
- Grook?
What's this.
Does it only make tree-growing sounds?
The sheer absurdity of it somehow made it even cuter.
Its face looked like it wanted to go Gwaaah, Gwaaah!
"Hey, could you give me some Iron Wood? About this much."
Just as Seo Hwarang swept both arms wide to describe the size—
Grook, grooowoowook!
Wood grew out from Plantman's arm and—
Krack!
Snapped clean off.
"Haah."
Seo Hwarang let out an admiring breath.
Identical to the dummy he'd just destroyed.
So this is the Iron Wood that's considered so precious on this continent?
"Thanks, buddy."
He gave Plantman's head a fond pat, then headed back to the employee—
Iron Wood floating at his side in a telekinetic grip.
***
"Huhk!"
The employee gasped aloud.
When he'd said he'd offer compensation and asked for a moment to wait, honestly, he'd been skeptical at best. But the man had actually brought back the wood!
The staff who maintained those dummies every single day couldn't help but recognize it on sight.
"Truly... it is Iron Wood. And in such quantity, at that. This is more than enough. If my words caused you any offense, I sincerely apologize."
"No, no—I'm the one who broke it. Paying up is the right thing. Oh, but—"
"Yes?"
"Is Iron Wood actually considered the top-tier material for magic training dummies?"
That was what Seo Hwarang genuinely wanted to know.
Was there something even better out there?
"That would be no."
Oh.
Seo Hwarang's eyes sparkled.
Then what—?
"Iron Wood is certainly good enough, but the true premium material is Evonia Wood. A timber known to absorb magic and curses alike. However, it is genuinely expensive—one dummy costs a full 5 gold."
"And something even better than that?"
"Hmm."
The employee thought for a moment, then nodded.
"There is one more. It's called Draconian Oak. Named after the dragons of legend, for it possesses the highest magic resistance on the continent. But it is truly rare— even a small piece would go for over 30 gold. And even then, you can't buy it, because no one ever has any to sell."
Ah.
Ahhh.
Thirty gold for a single piece of wood?
Game over. That's it, game over.
With Plantman around, he could just sweep this continent's money straight into his pockets, couldn't he?
"Thank you for the answer."
Ting!
Seo Hwarang flicked a single gold coin through the air.
Good information deserved good payment.
It was information worth well over four million won, easily.
"Th-thank you!"
The employee, receiving such an enormous tip, bowed his head all the way to a right angle.
***
Back at the inn, once more.
"Plantman."
- Grook?
"Different wood this time. Draconian Oak. Can you do it?"
- Grook!
Plantman nodded.
And then—
Grooowoowoowook!
Wood began growing out of its arm again—wood that looked, honestly, just like a reptile's scales.
The trunk and branches were knotted like dense muscle, and the whole thing looked rock-solid at a glance.
Krack!
Plantman snapped it free.
"Ooh, one more! One more!"
- Groooooh...
And in that moment—
The creature wore a gloomy expression and shook its head side to side.
"What's wrong?"
- Groo, grooooh!
"Can't do it?"
- Groo.
Another slow shake of the head.
What now.
So what are you trying to say?
"You can do it, but it hurts?"
- Grooook!
At last, a vigorous nod.
Aw, no.
Ordinary scrap wood was fine, but the rare stuff took a toll on him?
"Then how much can you produce at a time? One hour's worth?"
- Grook.
A plain branch sprouted from Plantman's hand and bent into a V shape.
"Two hours?"
- Grook!
He nodded.
Ah, I see.
Two hours for this much.
Even that wasn't a bad deal, though, was it?
"Okay, then."
Time to build his first proper training dummy, then.
Me, use cheap knockoffs like plain oak?
Draconian, or nothing at all.