Auto-Hunting is the Best
The next day, Bukjin pushed himself even harder than before. He stopped worrying about his smartphone’s battery life and went all out in his search for the emblems. He scoured every inch of the wilderness, pushing his physical limits to the brink.
His harvest that day was massive. Combined with the emblems he had found on the first day, Bukjin now possessed a total of twenty-six. It was an absolute haul, a quantity that no one else could possibly hope to match.
"Dammit! What kind of twisted master hides a Star Emblem inside giant lizard dung?"
As evening fell, Bukjin finally secured his twenty-seventh emblem and began sprinting back toward the camp like a madman. Behind him, ten giant lizards were in hot pursuit, letting out ferocious, guttural screeches. It took a relentless six-mile dash before he finally managed to shake them off.
Bukjin couldn't help but think that even the lizards must have been baffled.
'Why is that human stealing our poop? Is he planning to eat it?'
If the lizards possessed any higher reasoning, that was likely exactly what they were thinking. Bukjin ran until his feet were slick with sweat, barely making it back to the camp just as the sun dipped below the horizon.
The moment he stepped inside the camp, he headed straight for the stone pillar in the center of the plaza. There had been some slight movement on the leaderboard.
First place was still Im Jin. She had found three emblems, putting her in the lead with thirty points. Second place was a boy named Sim Bi, who was scouting the wilderness alone without a faction. He had found one emblem, giving him ten points.
Out of a hundred students, Im Jin and Sim Bi were the only ones who had managed to score points by finding emblems. What truly shocked Bukjin, however, was that the geniuses of the National Imperial Junior Academy—people like Do Manseong, Lee Do, and Mo Yeom-dong—had yet to find a single emblem despite the massive number of followers they commanded.
Something was wrong. Do Manseong and Lee Do led the largest factions in the camp. With so many people searching, their probability of finding at least one emblem by the second day should have been significantly higher than anyone else's.
Standing before the stone pillar, Bukjin fell into deep thought.
'Wait... it couldn't be because of me, right? It’s not like I completely swept every single emblem around the camp... right?'
While Bukjin was wrestling with his conscience, Im Jin’s voice rang out.
"Jin Orabeoni! Did you have any luck today?"
The genius girl, Im Jin, approached with a light step and naturally linked her arm with his. "Orabeoni, why don't we team up tomorrow? I'll help you find emblems! Since you'll be putting in the effort too, you can still say you found them with your own strength!"
Bukjin quietly disentangled his arm from hers. "Im Jin, there's something I want to ask you. Can you give me an honest answer?"
"You can ask me anything, Jin Orabeoni!" Im Jin replied brightly, immediately grabbing his arm again. "You're finally initiating a conversation with me! Go ahead, ask. I'll make sure to remember every word!"
"What method do you use to find the Star Emblems?" Bukjin asked.
He tried to pull his arm away again as he spoke, but Im Jin’s grip was surprisingly firm. It was nearly impossible to budge.
'Wh-what is this monstrous strength? If I actually end up dating her, I might get manhandled without being able to put up a lick of resistance... Wait, why am I even thinking about dating her?'
Bukjin’s mind was a mess, and a sense of impending dread began to wash over him. Im Jin blinked a few times before answering his question.
"By sensing them with Mental Power, of course! The Star Emblems are artifacts refined through Hyeonmun. Because of that, they contain the flow of Hyeongi from the heavens and earth, which gives off a specific energy vibration. If a Star Emblem is within a certain range, you can detect it with your Mental Power."
Bukjin was stunned. 'Mental Power? What the hell is that?!'
He had never even heard the term mentioned at the 3rd Academy.
"Oh, I guess the 3rd Academy hasn't taught the Founding Emperor's 'Understanding Mental Power: Basic' yet, has it?" Im Jin added, as if suddenly remembering something. "It’s not strange that you don't know. Mental Power is usually a subject for the Intermediate Academies. Out of the seven Junior Academies, I think only the Imperial Academy has it as a formal course."
Hearing her explanation, Bukjin understood the situation instantly. Even back on Earth, there were always those top-tier students in middle school who did advanced placement studies for high school material. In prestigious schools, some kids were learning calculus before they even graduated. This was simply a difference in level.
"Is it difficult to train your Mental Power?" Bukjin asked.
Im Jin’s eyes curved into crescents as she gave him a radiant, charming smile. "If you want to learn, Orabeoni, I can teach you!"
"Deal!" Bukjin replied. 'It can't hurt to learn.'
"Great! Now, where should we start..." Im Jin pondered for a moment. "Wait right here!"
In the blink of an eye, she vanished from his sight. A moment later, she reappeared, holding a small booklet in her hand. She handed it over to Bukjin.
'Understanding Mental Power: Basic? So this is the textbook they use at the Imperial Academy?'
"Here, take it and read as much as you like. It’s not some secret manual or anything. Spend some time tonight getting a grasp of the general concepts. Tomorrow, when we leave the camp, I'll start your actual training."
"Thanks." Bukjin didn't bother refusing and tucked the booklet into his robes.
The next second, the middle-aged lady who served as the instructor for the Imperial Academy appeared out of nowhere. She shot Bukjin a murderous glare before grabbing Im Jin and dragging her away.
"The teachers at the Imperial Academy are truly angels," Bukjin muttered. Every time that instructor dragged Im Jin away, he felt a profound sense of gratitude.
Returning to his tent, Bukjin pulled out the booklet and began to read. 'Understanding Mental Power' was a cultivation method created by the First Sword God, the founder of the North Sea Empire. Since this was the basic course, much of the content was simplified.
The book explained the necessity of training one's Mental Power. It stated that no matter how brilliant a martial art might be, it could not be properly controlled without sufficient willpower. More critically, if one encountered a powerhouse with superior Mental Power, a "Willpower Shock" could cause them to lose their ability to fight entirely.
Furthermore, strong Mental Power was the foundation for everything—from refining pills and engraving Hyeonmun to setting up formations. In short, a true powerhouse needed to be strong both externally in body and internally in spirit.
Internal-External Unity. This was the definition of true strength.
The textbook Im Jin had given him focused on basic cultivation methods. It introduced two primary ways to train Mental Power: Breathing and Meditation. These were the foundations. Once Mental Power reached a certain level, there were higher techniques called Visualization Arts. The booklet only briefly mentioned Visualization Arts without going into detail.
Bukjin wasn't disappointed, though. For a beginner like him, building a solid foundation was the most important thing. Advanced methods were useless at his current level.
After reading the detailed explanations, Bukjin tried to follow the instructions for breathing and meditation. The result was...
"I guess I really am no martial arts genius!"
After several attempts, he gave up. His mind was simply too full of distracting thoughts. To be fair, Bukjin didn't have high expectations for his own natural talent anyway.
'Whatever. I'll just turn on an app and let it auto-hunt for me.'
With a light sigh, he pulled out his smartphone and began taking photos of the textbook. As expected, a new application appeared in the App Store.
New Application Detected: [Understanding Mental Power - Basic]
Data required for download: 300MB
Would you like to install?
After using 300MB of data to download and install the app, Bukjin launched it immediately.
"Heh, auto-hunting really is the best," Bukjin muttered, completely devoid of any shame.
Just then, his stomach let out a loud growl, and a wave of intense hunger hit him. 'Oh, right!' He realized his physical energy was almost completely depleted. He had been so busy hunting for emblems that he hadn't eaten a thing all day. He hadn't even stopped to hunt for food.
"I'm going to be starving tonight," Bukjin said with a bitter smile.
As time passed, Bukjin experienced the agony of hunger for the second time since arriving in this world. To him, hunger felt like a cruel punishment. The more he tried to endure it, the more painful it became. His stomach continued to growl, and he felt as if his belly was sticking to his spine.
Suddenly, a basket filled with fruit was pushed out from the inner room of the tent. Ak Hong-hyang’s soft voice followed shortly after.
"I'm sorry. I didn't have any luck hunting today. I only managed to gather some fruit. If you're okay with it, would you like some?"
"Huh? Oh! Yes! Thank you!" Bukjin didn't hesitate for a second. He grabbed the fruit and devoured it in an instant. As the sweet and sour juice flowed down his throat, he finally began to feel at ease.
Silence fell over the tent once more. Since the first day of the selection trials, Oh Sobang and Mok Simwol had not returned to the tent even once. Only the lonely Bukjin and the solitary Ak Hong-hyang remained, spending the night in their respective rooms.
They had never really spoken before; that brief exchange just now was their first actual conversation.
"By the way, Ak Hong-hyang! How is the wound on your arm?" Bukjin asked, awkwardly breaking the silence.
"It’s much better," she replied.
"I see."
[Basic Sword Arts: Close-body Triple Link] and the [Understanding Mental Power - Basic] apps running. He shut down all other applications, including [Intermediate Hyeongi Condensation].
He decided to focus his efforts on mastering the Big Dipper Descent and his Mental Power for the time being. Since he had already reached the peak of [Intermediate Hyeongi Condensation], further training yielded no results. It was better to close the app and minimize unnecessary power consumption.