Earth Essence
‘...I suppose.’
‘...’
‘...My country.’
‘Hmm...’
‘Master! Get up!’
‘Gah!’
The excruciating pain in my stomach forced my eyes open.
‘The sun hasn’t even risen yet, so why...’
“Didn’t we agree to exercise every morning? Get up!”
Seol-hwi’s stern command rang out. We definitely did promise that when we went through the gate this time...
“Just five minutes... I’m so sleepy...”
-Swish!
“Stop talking nonsense... Hmm?”
“Snore... snore...”
As Seol-hwi forcibly snatched the duvet away, Yuryeon’s figure, curled up beneath it, was revealed.
“…Did she go at it again last night? What on earth is the source of that stamina…”
“Do you want to have a go too?”
“W-what…! I… I’m not like those loose women who’ll do anything for a bit of fun!”
“Never mind if you don’t want to.”
She’d blushed slightly, so I’d asked just in case, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Ahem. Anyway, I’m heading straight to the training ground. Get ready.”
With that, Seol-hwi stormed out of my room.
...Come to think of it, I’d only done it with Seol-hwi once.
Lost in my thoughts, I gathered my things and headed out.
“Status screen.”
----------
[Status System]
Name: Hwan I-hyeon
Age: 20
Stats:
Stamina: 12 -> 16
Strength: 11 -> 14
Agility: 13 -> 15
Intelligence: 10 -> 14
Resistance: 10 -> 13
Spiritual Power: 15 -> 17
Skills:
Senses(?)
Hwan-guk Sword Technique (E)
Wood Energy(?)
Fire Energy(?)
Metal Energy(?)
Water Energy(?)
----------
My stats have certainly risen considerably after passing through the Gate. In fact, the increase must have been even greater thanks to the Wood Energy.
After all, I managed to survive a high-level Gate despite my low physical abilities.
‘The most important thing lies elsewhere.’
[The Energy of Water(?)
One of the Five Elements. The energy governed by the Black Tortoise. It facilitates the smooth flow of spiritual energy.
Water signifies an energy that condenses and binds. As water always flows downwards to form vast oceans, this was regarded as the nature of water coalescing to become immense.]
This is the skill I acquired after defeating Jin-yul.
For some reason, I can’t seem to figure out the rank of any of them… but even so, the mere fact that it facilitates the flow of spiritual energy would be helpful enough.
“What are you thinking about? Pick up your sword quickly.”
“Ah, I was just sorting through the things I acquired this time.”
Before I knew it, the sensation beneath my feet had changed.
I looked up to find myself back in the training ground.
The floor was criss-crossed with countless sword marks.
Seol-hwi was twirling his wooden sword with one hand, gazing at me as if he’d been waiting for me.
His gaze seemed to say, ‘Come on, bring it on.’
With every twirl of the wooden sword, the sound of air splitting brushed past my ears.
“Yaaah!”
I took a deep breath and lunged straight at him.
I pushed off the ground hard with my heels and charged forward.
In just two strides, I had closed the distance.
-Crack!
The real sword and the wooden sword clashed, producing a dull thud that shouldn’t have been possible.
My wrist tingled as I was pushed back.
I tried to push back with force, but Seol-hwi’s grip remained unshaken.
I quickly attempted a slash to the left.
-Crash!
This time, he parried it effortlessly.
The tip of my sword sliced through empty air.
I readjusted my stance and attempted a thrust.
I twisted my waist and shoulders to gain speed, but—
-Thud!
Seol-hwi’s wooden sword deflected my trajectory and pressed down on my wrist.
My wrist snapped, and the tip of my sword dropped.
“I can read your movements.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Seol-hwi took a step forward.
The wooden sword came down straight from above his shoulder.
-Thud!
I blocked it with both hands, but the impact transmitted through my elbows and shoulders was overwhelming.
My heels scraped the floor as I was pushed back.
“Ugh… Hey, wait a moment! Let’s take a short break—”
“You grow stronger with every hit! Pull yourself together!”
Her toes slipped sideways.
My right side was left wide open.
-Thud!
The tip of the wooden sword pierced my side.
My breath caught in my throat.
Gritting my teeth, I launched an overhead slash.
But Seol-hwi dodged by twisting her body halfway, grazing my elbow at the same time.
-Thwack!
The strength drained from my arm, and the wooden sword was lifted upwards.
“Gaaah!!!”
A fierce blow landed on my leg.
My calf went numb.
I stepped back to catch my breath, then charged forward again.
Bending at the waist, I delivered a quick thrust, followed immediately by a horizontal slash.
But Seol-hwi blocked them all, barely moving from the spot, using only her arms.
Her sword simply erased the trajectory of my attacks.
Her body barely moved.
It was as if she had anticipated every single one of my attempts.
Five times, six times, seven times.
My attacks kept flowing, and her counterattacks followed.
To my forearm, my side, my thigh.
The pain built up and my body grew increasingly stiff.
A few times, I deliberately tried to leave an opening.
But each time, Seol-hwi’s sword pierced my opening even faster.
My breath came in gasps.
Sweat soaked my palms, and the sword slipped from my grasp.
The muscles in my arms felt heavy and stiff.
In the end, until Cheong-hwa came to find me, my sword never once touched Seol-hwi’s body.
“Master, it is time to go to the lecture hall.”
“It’s already that late, is it? Let’s call it a day.”
“Huuu… Huuu…”
-Thud!
As the tension eased, my chest heaved. I could feel the blood coursing through my body with every beat of my heart.
“Water… some water…”
“Yes, Master.”
I took the water Cheonghwa handed me and drank it. It hadn’t been a particularly long time, but for me, who had been parrying Seolhwi’s sword, it had felt like an eternity.
“It’s good to see you working so hard.”
“Huh… I’ve got to do something, after all.”
A word of encouragement like that was a real help at a time like this.
“How come you can’t win even once?”
“The very idea that you, who’ve held a sword for less than a month, could beat me is preposterous.”
On the way back, Seolhwi immediately cut short the grumble I let slip.
“…Is that so?”
“Still, you seem to be improving in your own way, so there’s no need to worry too much. You managed to unlock your first move again today, didn’t you?”
“Really?”
“That clumsy form you had when I first saw you has certainly faded a lot. I suppose that’s all thanks to practising hard with me.”
“The increase in stats is down to the Gate...”
“...”
“No. It’s thanks to your excellent teaching, Seolhwi.”
‘Yes. That’s how it should be.’
Seol-hwi nodded with a satisfied expression.
**********
As I closed the heavy door to the Chancellor’s office, the air inside grew heavy and oppressive.
A thick pile of documents lay on the desk, and sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a slanting glow across the edge of the desk.
“So, you’re asking me to open the path to the Underworld?”
“Yes.”
I answered straight away.
Jin-yul’s words about having to return to his family home kept echoing in my head.
To help him with that, I ultimately had to get permission.
“What are your plans regarding your studies?”
“Ah…”
A thought suddenly popped into my head.
‘I’ve neglected those studies because I’ve been up to no good every single day.’
The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them whole.
It was obvious that if I said that in front of my aunt, my head would roll on the spot.
“By the way, I hear you’ve been through the Gate recently?”
“Yes. We all went together...”
“What were your grades?”
‘One B-rank and one A-rank...’
-BAM!
Before I’d even finished speaking, the documents on the desk flew up into the air.
My aunt’s palm slammed down hard on the desk.
It made the air vibrate.
‘Are you telling me you went to a place like that at your level? You’d be lucky to make a D-rank hunter.’
I was momentarily stunned.
D-rank? That was a higher assessment than I’d expected.
Considering that the Hwangguk Sword Technique I currently rely on is E-rank, honestly, I should be grateful for that.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I was a bit bruised, but I’m fully recovered after a night’s rest.”
“And did you achieve anything? After all, it was the Saint who cleared the Gate, wasn’t it?”
Huh? How did she know I’d been with Elena?
“How did you know that?”
“Hyun, rumours that you’re sleeping with the Holy Maiden are already rife within the Academy. I hear you’re letting the child of the Holy Maiden and the Juak Party run about in a vulgar state?”
“That’s them…”
“Since we’ve never properly established or enforced a dress code, I don’t really mind, but I honestly can’t fathom why you’re walking about like that.”
I’m not entirely sure myself. To be honest, it does turn me on, though.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Ah, right. Since I’ve got to know the kids, I’ve learnt how to use this too!”
-Whoosh!
Centred on my body, the energies of Wood, Fire, Metal and Water scattered out all at once.
The wind swirled once, and the energies drew a circle around me.
“The energies of the Five Elements, I see.”
“The Five Elements?”
“They are the five energies that interpret all things in the universe. In addition to the four you’re currently handling, you must also acquire the Earth energy.”
I blinked.
Having skived off my studies until high school, this was the first time I’d heard of such a concept.
“Where do I get that Earth energy? There are only four of us, after all.”
“…It’s likely to be found in the Otherworld, around the Divine Tree.”
The Divine Tree.
The moment I heard that name, I realised straight away that this wasn’t an energy governed by a specific divine tree.
“So, can you send me to the Otherworld?”
My aunt closed her eyes for a moment, then exhaled deeply.
“Phew… Yes. It would be dangerous for you to stay in your current state.”
“Dangerous?”
“The earthenware symbolises harmony. I don’t know how you gathered the remaining energies, but if those four incompatible energies run wild inside your body as they are... you won’t be able to withstand it.”
“...”
“In the worst case, you might burst like a balloon.”
Those words stuck in my mind.
It meant that the energies I’d been eagerly absorbing were, in fact, slowly eating away at my body.
“Shouldn’t we get going?”
“Until you’ve obtained the earthenware, refrain from using it as you did just now. I’ll look into the earthenware further.”
“...What?”
In the end, I had become someone who possessed four types of energy yet was unable to use them properly.
It was the first time I’d ever felt the power in my hands feel so frustratingly constrained.