Chapter 029
[Chapter 029]
< My Own Unique Power >
Heart Method (Simbeop).
The principle and methodology of operating and training Internal Energy (Naegong).
If Internal Energy (Naegong) is the power handling the Qi inside the human body, the Heart Method (Simbeop) could be called the mental and technical Internal Energy (Naegong) operation manual for circulating, controlling, and amplifying it.
In a word.
It could be called the instruction manual determining how to pull up, turn, and explode the energy inside me.
‘It was said that upon acquiring an Internal Energy Emission technique, a 2nd stage awakening of the skill is possible.’
Beyond my power becoming strong, the condition for the evolution of the [Absolute's Herb Garden] skill itself, the root of all my miracles. This was not a choice but a necessity.
But this is strictly a concept that appears in martial arts novels.
Since I had never seen someone using Internal Energy (Naegong) in my life.
During my Bureau days, I had authority to view all types of hunters and monsters in South Korea.
Nowhere in that vast database did the word Internal Energy (Naegong) exist.
Still, I searched Hun-Tube (Hunter-Net) just in case.
“Oh, it's there.”
[Question] Are there any hunter skills that use Internal Energy (Naegong)?
ㄴ Internal Energy? Hahahaha. You seem to have read too many martial arts novels.
ㄴ Where would such a thing be? Mana and skills are everything.
[Info] List of individuals using Internal Energy (Naegong) among monsters reported in history
- No results
“....”
However, the result was empty.
It was the feeling of searching for a word that doesn't exist in the world.
Hunters, monsters, no one uses Internal Energy (Naegong).
Only the mana leaking from the Tower was the only standard and law of power in this world.
‘But.’
Closing my eyes quietly, I felt the heavy and pure energy boiling up from my dantian.
This is clearly a power different from mana.
This power in my body was flowing surely without doubt.
Everything since the day I awakened the EX-Rank skill.
The energy of the garden had awakened something dormant in my body.
If so.
This is my own unique power derived from this skill.
Perhaps, I am the only one in this world who can possess this power.
* * *
MK Sphere Tower, Executive Shin Seung-ah’s Office.
“What is the condition of Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk?”
At Kim Min-jun’s question, Shin Seung-ah replied while pressing her throbbing temple.
“The urgent fire is out. The shoulder curse is gone and he barely broke through the 64th floor. But that's it.”
“...Is the recovery still slow?”
“It's not just slow. After raiding one floor, he used to recover in one day, but now he stays in bed for a full week.”
Thinking about Yu Jin-hyuk’s state, Shin Seung-ah let out a deep sigh.
“The impurities accumulated in the mana core are purified, but the life force itself that was gnawed away for the last 3 years doesn't seem to recover. The Chairman has already started nagging the guild's primary physicians.”
A heavy silence flowed between the two.
In the end, the answer was only one.
“That retiree named Jang Kang-hyun we met the other day. Did you find out anything?”
“Hunter Jang Kang-hyun?”
Kim Min-jun asked as if that name were unfamiliar.
“Yeah, you visited his house the other day.”
“....”
“Really, nothing happened?”
Kim Min-jun seemed to fall into thought for a moment, then kept his mouth tightly shut.
“Manager Kim?”
“Yes. There were no other special notes.”
He answered while unconsciously stroking the right arm he hit back then.
Returning to the office after leaving the executive's office, Kim Min-jun buried his body deep in the chair and closed his eyes.
‘I hope it didn't show.’
It was a lie.
Kim Min-jun still often thinks about the potato soup he ate that day.
That mysterious energy felt at the tip of his tongue must have been essentially the same as the Hasuo-boiled water Hunter Lee Seok-ju mentioned.
But Kim Min-jun didn't report that fact.
It was because of the conversation he shared with Lee Seok-ju.
‘Mr. Kang-hyun, he didn't receive proper treatment at the Bureau, but he did so many things during the last 6 years.’
‘Everyone probably won't know. When a crack formed on my shield at the B-Rank Rift site, the person who discovered it first and repaired it all night was Kang-hyun. He gave all the credit to the equipment team, saying he couldn't step forward because he's an E-Class.’
‘Honestly, someone like Kang-hyun could go anywhere, couldn't he?’
It was already certain that he was a talent to be coveted even at MK.
Because the data Kim Min-jun analyzed and the reference check on industry reputation were all perfect.
He was someone who would become greater whether he belonged to an organization or not.
‘But that friend... looked too tired.’
Lee Seok-ju’s voice, which was tinged with bitterness, echoed in his ears.
And Kim Min-jun himself also owed a great debt to Kang-hyun.
It was the chronic disease that made Kim Min-jun give up his dream as a hunter, mana nerve paralysis.
His skill was crafting magic nets by intricately weaving mana, but there was a fatal side effect.
The more he used the skill, the more the nerve endings of his right hand emitting mana became paralyzed and lost sensation.
It was a death sentence that the moment he crossed that limit, he would never be able to use his right arm again.
He had given up his dream before the wall and run away using the excuse that he hated dangerous things.
But a single meal Kang-hyun prepared changed all of that.
Not to mention the broken arm healed, even the chronic pain that tormented the bone vanished as if washed away.
The fact that the chronic disease was healed.
It meant he could dream again.
He didn't know when he would challenge the Tower again, but that itself felt like he found what he had lost.
‘It was just that one meal.’
What was felt from the potato soup he ate that day was not just mysterious energy.
Inside it was the heart of not wanting anything in return, worrying about the hunger of an uninvited guest met for the first time and caring about the injured arm.
He could have dug into the identity of those mysterious potatoes, but Kim Min-jun didn't want to.
‘He's a person to whom that is more important.’
So he doesn't want to bother Kang-hyun.
At least, until Kang-hyun walks out on his own.
Until the day comes when he walks out on his own and proves his value to the world again, he intended to keep the secret.
“Next time, I should bring him something better, anything.”
Because he was a benefactor who made the time that had stopped flow again.
* * *
-Hey, Manager Jang! Have you eaten!
Over the phone, Old Man No’s vigorous voice was heard.
“Your voice is full of energy.”
-Haha, does it sound like that to you too, Manager Jang? Actually, work is quite enjoyable lately.
A genuine joy instead of a tired fatigue was tinged in Old Man No’s voice.
“Did something good happen?”
-A while ago, the Valhalla Guild replaced all our Bureau equipment with the latest models for free. Thanks to that, these days there's no worry of equipment failure and they run very smoothly.
“From Valhalla?”
Valhalla.
The No. 1 guild in South Korea, no, one of the top guilds in all of Asia.
It was a place created by S-Rank rankers 1st and 2nd who survived since the early days of the Tower.
‘But, they replaced the equipment?’
A place like Valhalla wouldn't do charity work without any conditions.
The private guild's interference in the Bureau equipment replacement, a state monopoly business, was the same as saying there was a purpose.
-The equipment is all shiny. I guess what's used at the No. 1 is different.
Old Man No’s voice, rejoicing as if it were his own business, flowed through the receiver.
What was certain right now was that the Bureau regained vitality for a while thanks to that.
Eh, I don't know.
What does it have to do with the current me.
-Either way, it's good that the organization is lively. It would have been better if you were here.
“You’re doing that again. Now I decline.”
After hanging up, I stared at today's peaceful yard.
Unlike the noisy outside world, this place was always quiet and warm.
-Hmyoot!
Just then, Muryong ran toward me while struggling with its short legs.
“Hmm?”
Something as large as its own body was held in its small mouth.
“Are you giving this to me?”
-Hmyoot!
As if it had achieved a great feat, it puffed its chest out proudly and dropped it "tuk" on my palm.
Then it looked up at me with round eyes like a child wanting praise.
It looked very happy to be able to give me something while being shy.
After stroking Muryong’s head, I looked into the object on my palm.
Looking closely, it was too large for a scale.
An adult-palm-sized, thin and round form looked like a well-made white porcelain plate.
A faint light like moonlight was lingering on the surface.
“It looks unique.”
Focusing my consciousness, I tried to read the power contained inside.
[Item: Reverse Scale (Ni Lin) of the White Snake]
[Rank: Heroic+]
[Description: The root of power for the White Snake of the Moon (Wol-baek-sa), a spiritual animal that lived for hundreds of years while eating the moon's essence. It condenses pure Yin Qi.]
“White Snake of the Moon? Such a thing lived near here? No, where did you pick this up?”
In the moment I was contemplating what the identity of this was.
Ding! Ding!
Notifications were pouring into my terminal.
Thanks to the Gorani video uploaded on Hun-Tube, donation points were accumulating steadily.
[Held Donation Points: 135,800 P]
“Let's see what I can buy with this.”
I looked through the Association's official store catalog.
With points, I couldn't directly buy Gold sold in the Dimensional Shop, but there were plenty of excellent equipment and consumables equivalent to that.
[B-Rank Reinforced Mithril Armor Set - 120,000 P]
[A-Rank Hunter ‘Flash’s Longsword (Replica) - 150,000 P]
But these things were not needed for me.
My body was already harder than an average armor, and anything becomes a weapon if I load Internal Energy (Naegong).
[Superior Health Recovery Potion (3-pack) - 30,000 P]
The same for potions.
Brewing a single Hasuo root from the garden would be much more effective.
“Is there nothing else.”
I kept scrolling down.
And finally, I discovered a mysterious item at the very bottom of the catalog.
A category no one looks at.
“Ancient Books and Odds and Ends?”
Clicking it out of curiosity, truly spectacles of items popped out.
[Item: 1988 Vintage Empty Coke Bottle]
[Price: 50 P]
[Description: Rare. (Maybe)]
[Item: Left Sock Thrown Away by a Goblin]
[Price: 100 P]
[Description: Terrible smell. Maybe it can be used as a biochemical weapon?]
[Item: Partially Used Hunter Introduction for Awakeners]
[Price: 300 P]
[Description: Clean up to page 3.]
[Item: Hero Helmet (Plastic)]
[Price: 1,000 P]
[Description: Wearing it makes you feel like your courage rises by 0.1%.]
“The Association selling such trash for money is also amazing.”
Was it when I scrolled down about 50 times.
Finally, I discovered something sparkling in that pile.
“Found it.”
[Item: Anonymous Daoist's Old Breath Record]
[Rank: Normal]
[Price: 70,000 P]
[Description: A record of a breathing method left by a Daoist who is said to have trained alone in the mountains long before the Tower appeared. Most of the content is too old to be deciphered, but some phrases can be read. (Efficacy not verified)]
[One-line review: Never buy unless you're into Murim roleplay. Buying a B-Rank longsword for 70k points is more profitable.]
A trash among trash items that is literally a waste of money for other hunters.
Looking at the item description, it was really likely to be trash.
But I couldn't take my eyes off the term "Breath Record".
‘Breathing method.’
Isn't it the foundation and the root of all Internal Energy (Naegong)?
If so, maybe?
I didn't hesitate.
[Purchased ‘Anonymous Daoist's Old Breath Record’!]
< My Own Unique Power > END