The Best Diet Method.
The Best Diet Method.
On the computer monitor in the room, videos posted online by so-called 'Awakened' individuals were playing.
The man on the screen barely managed to ignite a spark the size of a lighter flame at his fingertips, then sat down panting after a few seconds.
I clicked my tongue at the sight.
"Ugh, that idiot... His mana control is so poor that it's leaking not just from his fingertips but from his entire hand. If he just controlled it properly and expelled it from his fingertips, it would be much simpler and the output would be stronger."
It was frustrating. If I just taught him the most basic principles of mana control, he could grow that flame to the size of a torch and maintain it for a solid ten minutes.
No, if he trained to increase instantaneous output, he could turn it into a fireball as an effective attack, or by increasing duration and range, he could unleash a wide-area flame barrage like a flamethrower.
I was extremely frustrated, but there was no way for me to step in.
In this world, mana was still an unproven mysterious power, and proper research hadn't been conducted, so knowledge about mana was nearly blank.
In that situation, if I stepped up and revealed knowledge or principles about mana? There would definitely be chaos.
What about posting something like 'Mana Operation Guide.txt' anonymously on an internet community using a VPN? Of course I'd get caught.
You shouldn't underestimate the tracking abilities of modern Earth's cyber investigation units and intelligence agencies. Even terror threat posts hidden with VPNs or anonymous network tools are caught like ghosts. If I released such advanced information, within days my IP would be traced and I'd be greeting agents knocking on my door.
And if I wore a mask, wandered the night streets, and personally acted as a teacher to Awakened individuals? That would be no different from advertising to the whole neighborhood to please find out my identity. In a modern society with CCTVs everywhere, if the state makes up its mind, they'll find a way somehow.
Though they get criticized for not usually using that ability to find things.
Anyway, no matter what method I imagined, it always led to a conclusion that threatened my peaceful daily life.
"Daughter! Come out for dinner!"
At Mom's voice coming from the living room, I cut off my thoughts and opened the door.
At the dining table, my parents and older brother were seated. That guy still hasn't left.
Unlike my parents, my older brother was a bit... hard to deal with. When I was a guy, we'd bicker moderately and he'd kind of leave me alone, but now, even though he grumbles, I can feel he's really paying attention to me.
If there's one thing to be thankful for, it might be that even the female me before I returned didn't call this guy 'older brother'.
If I had to call this guy 'older brother'... Hmm... Ugh... I'd rather bite my tongue and die. Seriously.
With that slightly awkward feeling underneath, as the meal progressed, Mom glanced at the date marked on the calendar and spoke up.
"Daughter. You know next week is the deadline for your university tuition payment, right? I'll go to the bank tomorrow to lift the transfer limit..."
Ah, right. University.
It was time to give an answer to the worry I'd been having these past few days.
"Mom. I have something to say."
I put down my spoon, looked at each of my family members' faces, and dropped a bombshell.
"I'm not going to college this time. I'm going to retake the entrance exam."
Silence. Dad's chopsticks stopped in midair, and Mom's eyes widened.
"You, what are you saying? Even if you messed up the college entrance exam, retaking it? Are you serious?"
As Mom's voice started to rise with shock, I pulled out the perfect logic I had prepared.
"You know from watching the news lately how the world is going. Gates are opening everywhere, monsters are popping out, and people are dying."
"What does that have to do with your college..."
"In this situation, even if I enter college, do you think I'll have a proper campus life? If a gate opens inside the college campus by chance, there might be an indefinite school closure, and in the worst case, I'll be stuck taking online cyber classes forever. Pouring 4 or 5 million won per semester into such a chaotic place is just throwing money into thin air."
A world that has begun to fall into chaos due to the previously nonexistent threat of Gates. With even immediate safety not guaranteed, there's no way campus romance or anything exists.
At my realistic and biting analysis, my parents were speechless, just looking at each other's faces.
"So I'll safely prepare for the retest at home while watching how the world goes for a year. I think that's for the best."
After a long silence, Dad finally nodded heavily. Mom, seeing my stubborn gaze, also agreed with a short sigh.
Except for one person. My older brother was staring at me with a strangely sharp gaze.
"You... something's a bit off."
"What is."
"If it were the usual you, regardless of tuition or whatever, you would have thought about going to college and having fun first. You seem like a completely different person these past few days."
I felt a momentary pang, but I snorted and picked up my water glass.
"I also came to this conclusion after thinking it over for several days, you know? I do like playing around, but in this chaotic situation, if I play without any preparation, who knows what might happen."
"No, well... I got it. It's your life, so you'll do as you please."
My older brother still had a suspicious expression but didn't dig further. He seemed to let it slide for now.
I quickly shoveled the rest of the rice into my mouth and stood up. I was anxious that if I talked longer, I might get caught on something.
Thus, the perfect alibi was completed. Now I had successfully acquired the status of a 'hermit retaker' who would go between home, the library, and study cafes for a year.
Returning to my room, I locked the door and sat cross-legged on the bed.
A year's time. If this chaos is a temporary event, I just need to wait until it subsides, but if it continues... I had to build the strength to protect myself and my family.
Because the threats approaching this world felt too serious to just quietly hide and live alone.
Plus, I had to study on the side. It feels a bit like cheating, but using magic that enhances intelligence and wisdom would be a great help. If I achieve proper results, my parents won't say much.
I don't even hope for a perfect score on the entrance exam. It would be enough to get into a decent university.
Training to become stronger, studying for the retest. It will be hard to accomplish both in many ways. But I am prepared. Enough.
So.
'First, I have no choice but to build power in myself properly.'
I slowly began operating the 'Vitality Conversion Method', which burns my body's calories and converts them into mana.
With considerable pain, the excess fat in my body burned finely and was replaced by blue mana, gathering in my lower abdomen. It wasn't very efficient, but it was the only way to obtain mana in this world where mana does not exist.
Ah, except inside Gates. That place is not this world.
Anyway, as I quietly evened my breath and burned calories to gain mana, a spark like lightning suddenly flashed in my mind, and with a flash! I opened my closed eyes.
"Wait a moment."
The Vitality Conversion Method. This ancient technique that generates mana by burning only my own calories, avoiding others' eyes.
This technique... wasn't it a technique that could be used on 'others' as well?
From the far side of memory, in a distant past. Fragments of memory surfaced: using the vitality of wounded soldiers on the battlefield to convert into mana for healing magic, or forcibly extracting vitality from captured monsters to use as a power source for magic circles.
And one more thing. The black mages who kidnapped villagers and offered them as sacrifices used techniques derived from the Vitality Conversion Method to convert life itself into mana to perform rituals.
Of course, I don't plan to imitate those bastards...
"It could be used not on myself, but on other people...!"
Another person's calories. In other words, forcibly burning the excess fat or calories accumulated in another person's body and converting them into mana.
Moreover, I, as the caster, could 'absorb' the mana created that way to increase my mana capacity, or conversely, leave that mana inside the other person's body to induce artificial 'awakening' or physical enhancement.
My heart began to race.
If I could use this properly... well, even if not others, if I could somehow do it for my family... then I could secure my family's safety.
And if I could teach this Vitality Conversion Method to others... ordinary people could become Awakeners without entering Gates and protect themselves.
Wouldn't it be possible to reduce the damage caused by Gates and monsters?
Of course, the process of administering the Vitality Conversion Method involves considerable pain, and the mana generated is meager compared to the vitality consumed...
Ah, that's it! If I do it in the style of a diet massage... No, but even then, to use it, basic knowledge of mana is required. Explaining all that would demand too much knowledge.
Is it just simplest for me to do it myself? Hmm... This isn't easy.
But still, isn't it a good idea? Humans in modern society do anything to lose weight.
Even if it's a bit painful, if you can lose weight and get an awakening as a bonus, isn't that actually a good thing?