Soul Food and the Three Energies

Pork gukbap can be considered the soul food of Koreans. It's hard to find a Korean who actually dislikes it. That steaming, spicy broth paired with tender pork, all mixed together with pure white rice—just imagining it makes my mouth water. I honestly can't understand why they promote bibimbap overseas instead of gukbap. I bet Westerners would groan in satisfaction after one taste. And the price is cheap enough that there's no guilt in eating it regularly. Thank goodness the author who created this world was both Korean and had common sense. If they hadn't been Korean, gukbap wouldn't exist at all, and if they lacked common sense, they probably would have turned it into some pretentious luxury item.

“Pork gukbap! I never thought the day would come when I'd indulge in such luxury!”

Of course, to our poor Eris, pork gukbap apparently counted as a luxury. How pitiful, that a commoner's dish seemed like extravagance to her.

“Whoa… pork gukbap is really good. Eating it after so long just lifts my mood.”

Yu Jin-ri smiled carefully as she scooped up some broth. Well, with all the debt she'd been carrying, she probably hadn't been able to buy proper food very often. Yu Jin-ri was pitiful in her own way too.

“Hyun-woo-nim, does the taste suit you? As you can see, we do not frequent gukbap restaurants often, so I cannot say whether a better establishment exists.”

“Ah, no need to worry. This is more than delicious enough.”

The fishiness was perfectly restrained, leaving a soft, clean flavor. The salted shrimp and mixed chili paste weren't overly aggressive, blending beautifully with the soup. And the meat itself was wonderfully chewy. The taste was outstanding.

“Still, this isn't really the time to be calmly eating gukbap.”

Yesterday, after recruiting Yu Jin-ri into Fantasia, a change had occurred in my title. The word that had clung to Fantasia like a shadow—(Ruined)—had transformed into (Reviving). Along with it, a new ability had been added.

The problem was that while an ability had appeared, I had no idea what it actually did. What the hell was Chegi? Searching for it online only brought up results about the heavy feeling you get from indigestion. Yeah, when your stomach's upset you feel chegi, damn it. Just to be sure, I'd secretly shouted it when no one was around. 'Chegi! Come forth, Chegi! Explode, Chegi!' All it did was make me feel embarrassed. But maybe someone else would know? Since I needed to address this new ability, I spoke up.

“Does anyone know what Chegi is?”

Siz tilted her head as if hearing the word for the first time. Yu Jin-ri's eyes sparkled as she answered.

“Of course I know! Hyun-woo, you really didn't even know that?”

“Uh, I don't. If you know, can you tell me?”

“It's a little surprising that you wouldn't know something so basic.”

Yu Jin-ri adjusted her round glasses and launched into full know-it-all mode. If she weren't so pretty, I probably would've found it annoying enough to punch her. But with that face, it was hard to get mad.

“Explaining it isn't difficult, so allow me to enlighten you.”

Was this the start of Genius Yu Jin-ri's lecture? I was already looking forward to it.

“Chegi refers to the bloated energy one feels inside when suffering from indigestion.”

“Are you messing with me right now?”

“Huh? I told you what it is, so why are you getting angry…”

“I'm asking because I don't know that kind of Chegi.”

“What other Chegi is there? I don't know any other kind.”

Yu Jin-ri stared at me with genuinely aggrieved eyes, as if wondering what she'd done wrong. Yeah, this was actually my fault. I was the idiot who only knew about Magi yet expected to understand everything else. Let's just call myself the dumbass here.

“Not the energy from indigestion, another Chegi? I know what it is!”

“Swallow your food first before talking.”

Eris spoke while her mouth was stuffed full of gukbap, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. How did she even manage to fit that much in there? It had to be burning hot.

“Munch munch… gulp! Not the energy from indigestion, I know another Chegi!”

“How do you know about it?”

“Mom told me when I was little!”

Eris continued speaking proudly while scooping up more gukbap.

“There are five types of energy in this world. We'll leave out the Esper Hunters' innate energy since it doesn't apply to every human.”

“Don't talk while chewing. You're spraying rice everywhere.”

“Hmph. I'm trying to explain and you just complain.”

Eris pouted and set down her spoon.

“As you already know, Hyun-woo, there's the Neigong used by the Murim Alliance and the Magi that Fantasia used, right? But there are three more energies besides those.”

“Three more? What are the other three?”

“They're called Chegi, Simgi, and Yeonggi.”

Chegi sounded like indigestion, and Simgi sounded like it would leave you feeling extremely uncomfortable. Was the author out of their mind?

“Among them, Chegi is the energy that flows through the body. The main difference from Neigong is that it circulates throughout the entire body instead of being stored in the dantian.”

“Then does the Murim Alliance use both Neigong and Chegi?”

“No. Neigong drawn from the dantian and Chegi flowing through the body are polar opposites. The moment they collide, it supposedly causes something like Zhumaihuo.”

“You mean Qi Deviation.”

“Anyway, it's basically ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the same thing!”

“They're completely different…”

“Whatever! That's why the Murim Alliance doesn't train Chegi. In fact, there are almost no people who practice it at all.”

Eris took a sip of water from her cup before continuing.

“And Simgi is the energy of the mind. It's power that lets you manifest mental images into reality for combat. Fantasia had people who used it too. They were a subordinate group called the Knight Order.”

“Just from the description it sounds incredible, so why did they all lose to Tushin?”

Fantasia had gathered both Magi-using mages and Simgi-using knights. Just what kind of monster was Tushin, to have destroyed that organization single-handedly? It seemed like Fantasia had been using energies ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far more powerful than something inefficient like Neigong.

“That's because Tushin was a user of Yeonggi, an energy only spoken of in legends.”

“Is Yeonggi the energy of the soul, by any chance?”

“Exactly! To figure that out right away—Hyun-woo really is amazing!”

Eris continued with a bright, sunny smile.

“Soul energy was said to be a power that only existed in legends. No one knew how to wield it. But Tushin could use soul energy, and because it was overwhelmingly stronger than any other type, no one could stand against him.”

“So that's what happened…”

“That's everything I know! But why were you asking about Chegi?”

“No reason. I was just curious.”

In the end my knowledge had grown, but I was still stuck in the same place. The fact that almost no one practiced Chegi meant there was nowhere I could go to learn it.

“Still, thanks for explaining. Here, sister, have another piece of kkakdugi.”

“Eeeek?! Get that kkakdugi away! I hate vegetables more than anything in the world!”

When I tried to add kkakdugi to her bowl, Eris hid the earthenware pot behind her body. What kind of older sister was this? Rejecting kkakdugi with gukbap—as a proud Kimchi Man, I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not accept this situation.

“I'm doing this because I'm genuinely thankful, so why reject my good intentions? I didn't think you'd be like this, sister. I'm disappointed.”

“W-why are you phrasing it like that? It makes it sound like I did something wrong!”

“You did do something wrong. Not eating kkakdugi with gukbap? That's just weird.”

“Ugh…”

Eris glanced back and forth between Siz and Yu Jin-ri. Both of them were eating their kkakdugi along with the gukbap. Out of the four of us, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eris was the only one refusing it.

“F-fine. I'll eat one piece.”

Eris pushed the hidden earthenware pot toward me. Seeing her like that made her look so cute that I suddenly felt like teasing her even more. So I grabbed the plate of buchu and dumped it straight into her gukbap.

“Aaack! What the hell are you doing?!”

“You have to add buchu to gukbap. What kind of flavor is gukbap without it?”

“I hate you, Hyun-woo! I told you about Chegi because you asked, and you ruined my gukbap with tasteless green weeds! I'm going to get indigestion now!”

Eris shed big, fat tears while glaring at me with resentful eyes. The more she reacted like that, the more I wanted to tease her, so I topped her bowl with no fewer than three pieces of kkakdugi.

“Still, since I'm not some creator of bizarre cuisine, I won't add onions. Those are a separate side dish anyway.”

“I'm not eating it. Hyun-woo did something that should never be done to gukbap. So rude! So rude!”

Clack! Eris slammed her spoon down on the table. She seemed seriously upset. It made me feel a little guilty because it contrasted so sharply with how happily she'd been eating earlier. But I wasn't actually in the wrong, was I? Adding buchu and kkakdugi to gukbap was completely normal. Who was she to lecture me about manners?

Feeling wronged myself, I moved closer to Eris and scooped up a spoonful from her bowl.

“Here, open wide. Try it just once and you'll never forget the taste.”

“No way! No matter how cool and amazing Hyun-woo is, if you make me eat this I'll—ahahaha!”

I'd only lightly tickled her side, but she burst out laughing from the sensation. The moment her laughter died down—before she could get indigestion—I slipped the spoon into her mouth.

“Mmph?!”

“You wouldn't waste good food by spitting it out, right?”

“Sniff… sniff…”

Eris cried as she reluctantly chewed. Watching the scene, Yu Jin-ri muttered quietly.

“Hyun-woo sometimes… seems like he has the personality of garbage.”

Siz, apparently having heard her, responded.

“Eris-nim needs to eat vegetables even if it must be done this way. Besides, gukbap tastes better prepared like that, so Hyun-woo-nim has done nothing wrong.”

“Hmm, says the person who floats sliced cheongyang peppers in their gukbap.”

“This is quite delicious. Would you like to try some?”

“Ah, no thank you… I don't handle spicy food well, so I'll decline.”

Yeah, Siz wasn't wrong. Eris's expression was gradually improving. The moment her chewing no longer looked forced, she swallowed and broke into a bright smile.

“Huh? Even with vegetables in it, this is actually good?!”

“See? I told you it was delicious. This is how gukbap is meant to be eaten.”

“Sorry… I thought you were just trying to bully me, Hyun-woo. I was worried my dignity as boss had completely hit rock bottom.”

Sorry, but your dignity as boss really had hit rock bottom, and I really was bullying you. Still, if that's what you wanted to believe, I wasn't going to correct you.

“There, there. It's good that you finally know what real delicious gukbap tastes like.”

“I got angry and you just brushed it off so coolly. As expected, Hyun-woo is amazing! The best!”

Watching Eris's bright, innocent smile, I made a mental note.

'Eris hates vegetables.'

I'd be using that against her for a long time. It wasn't really a bad thing, right? Vegetables were good for your health.

“Then shall we move on to the next topic?”

“Next topic? Are we getting jajangmyeon now?”

Jajangmyeon, huh. If I loaded it with chili powder, I might get to see another adorable reaction.

“That sounds good too, but we're too full to eat more, so let's skip it.”

What I needed to discuss now was a serious conversation about Fantasia's future.

“Yu Jin-ri, what results have you obtained from researching Magi so far? And what do we need to do to support that research?”

At the question, Yu Jin-ri smiled with sharp, focused eyes for the first time.

“I've discovered the method to craft a staff that enables the use of basic magic.”

And the task I needed to handle was—

“Could you gather the materials required to create the staff?”

It was combat after all. Exactly what you'd expect from Fantasia's fighting dog.