Day of Peace (1)
I arrived at the antique shop, the venue for Kim Se-jin's special lecture.
Chime. Hearing the ring of the door bell, I stood in front of the counter.
Seol Ha-woon was appearing on a TV in a corner of the shop. I spoke to the elderly man behind the counter.
"Hello."
"...Hm?"
The old man looked at me. His eyes widened, and he let out a dry chuckle.
"Yes. It's me. Je-Mal-Olh..."
I stopped mid-sentence.
Suddenly, I sensed a 'scent' from the old man. It was the same unique sensation I had felt from Yu Yul.
But if Yu Yul was a single drop of ink in a lake, this man was paint in a cup. It meant the scent of his mana was infinitely clearer than hers.
There was only one answer.
"Are you, by any chance, Spellcaster Kim Se-jin?"
"......"
The old man froze. Tilting his head, he changed his face as if the game had lost its fun.
"Mmh~"
Polymorph. Face-changing. Human Skin Mask. Whatever it was called, it was clearly 'magic' that transcended the level of mere spells.
"You have quite the sharp senses. This was my little quiz, you see. Nine people came by before you, and they all left empty-handed."
Knowing how to cast a few spells didn't make someone a true Mage, but Kim Se-jin was certainly someone close to that rank.
"As expected, you have a good eye."
"Thank you."
"Mr. Seol Ha-woon, did you come to attend the special lecture? Or did you come to film?"
Kim Se-jin pointed at the GoPro.
"Both, but my primary goal is the lecture."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I want to grow as a spellcaster."
I want to get stronger. I had felt it when dealing with the Labyrinthins as well—to avoid dying, I needed far greater effort and skill.
If I ever become a Mage with sixty million followers, would I be able to live without worrying about public recognition?
"To grow as a spellcaster, you say..."
From behind the counter, Kim Se-jin looked up at me.
"Aren't you growing well enough already, Ha-woon?"
"I understand a spellcaster's Cognitive Image to some extent. But I believe there is more to the profound mysteries of spellcraft."
Warriors still feel pain when shot, but muscle fibers tightly bound with mana can roughly withstand the force of an assault rifle. A well-trained martial artist can showcase the art of deflecting or slicing bullets.
On the other hand, a spellcaster dies if ambushed by a gun. The speed of a trigger pull is faster than the process of visualizing a barrier.
"Hmm... Come with me for now."
Kim Se-jin stood up and headed down to the basement of the antique shop. I followed him.
The basement was a vast space, as empty as a training hall. Kim Se-jin stood right in the center.
"Set the camera down over there. Use the tripod."
"Yes, sir."
I set up the camera. Within the camera's frame, Kim Se-jin spoke.
"Now... I should recommend a method that suits you, shouldn't I?"
He looked at me. His gaze landed precisely on my left leg.
"Your left leg is too great a penalty for a spellcaster. You have virtually no mobility on the battlefield."
"I know."
"You'd want a way to compensate for that lack of mobility as much as possible, right?"
"Yes."
"In that case... try using a spell on me."
I fired a Magic Bullet at him. I wasn't worried.
Spellcasters are vulnerable to ambushes, but conversely, they can easily block an attack they know is coming.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
The haphazardly fired Magic Bullets vanished before they could even touch Kim Se-jin's body.
"More. Give it everything you've got. Pour out every method you would use to harm someone."
"Yes, sir."
Mana Memory learns and remembers every spell I repeat.
Consequently, my ammunition capacity was now close to hundreds of rounds.
On top of that, I could manipulate the trajectory of the bullets at will.
I didn't even need the medium of my fingers. Making a hand-gun shape was merely an auxiliary motion to aid aiming and enhance power.
I manifested bullets in midair. A substantial number of rounds floated behind my back—perhaps dozens. I unleashed them all in a single instant.
...Not a single one reached Kim Se-jin.
They all collapsed right in front of his face.
"Did you neutralize them?"
"Calling it 'neutralizing' is a bit of a misnomer."
Kim Se-jin smiled brightly.
"The moment you fired the Magic Bullets, my mana, which is connected to my nervous system, reacted first. My mana reflexively recognized the threat and devoured your spell."
"...Excuse me? Your nervous system?"
I had no idea what he was talking about.
How can mana connect to the nervous system? There was no such thing in MoMo.
"Ha-woon. Look at this."
Kim Se-jin held up his hand. I narrowed my eyes, focusing my gaze.
A faint 'mana layer' was accumulated just above the skin on the back of his hand.
"Let's think of mana as cells. I overlap those cells outside my body like this. And then, I connect them to my nervous system. Simply put, it's the process of linking mana to the brain and spinal cord."
Kim Se-jin tapped his temple.
"Then, the mana integrated with the nervous system reacts to external threats on its own. Have you heard of conditioned reflexes or unconditioned reflexes? It's similar to that."
In other words, before my brain could even perceive an attack, the mana in the central nervous system would perceive and react to it instead.
If such a technique was possible, it was exactly what I, with my lack of mobility, desperately needed.
"So, this mana layer reacts and responds to external threats on its own. You can think of it as my danger detection sensor."
Kim Se-jin brushed his hand over the mana on the back of his hand. It rippled like actual fur.
"Please teach me."
I requested with utmost sincerity. I would even kneel if necessary.
Kim Se-jin puffed his cheeks slightly, looking needlessly coy.
"But~ you might regret learning it. There are quite a few paths for a spellcaster, and this is just one of them. Often, mastering one means you won't be able to learn another."
"...Is there anything better than this?"
"Not by my standards. But it's foolish to badmouth a car you bought for a fortune to others. Once you've bought it, for the sake of your own mental health, you have to drive it while telling yourself it's beautiful and the absolute best."
"To me, it doesn't seem to have any drawbacks."
"No, there are plenty of drawbacks. In particular, it places a severe burden on the brain."
A burden on the brain. If that's the only drawback...
"...I will do it."
I felt a surge of confidence.
"Alright, good. First, close your eyes."
I closed my eyes.
"Bring your mana as close as possible to a specific part of your body. I showed you the back of my hand for convenience, but it really doesn't matter where. After all, the ultimate goal is 'connecting mana with the nervous system.'"
Just like Kim Se-jin had done, I gathered mana on the back of my hand.
"Yes. Now, connect that mana to your brain."
"The brain..."
"I told you, didn't I? The key is linking 'mana' and the 'nervous system.'"
Connecting mana to the brain. In a way, it made sense that the mana would perceive on its own. Human instinct, after all, is just chemical reactions occurring in the brain.
"I mainly utilize mental imagery. Sending intent to the brain."
Kim Se-jin said so, but I intended to use a different method.
Because a better idea had crossed my mind.
Shring. I drew my military dagger from my pocket.
"Why the knife all of a sudden?"
Kim Se-jin asked.
"The easiest and most efficient way I know to stimulate the nervous system is..."
I sliced through both the mana layer and the skin on the back of my hand at the same time.
"...pain."
Squelch.
The flesh tore, and blood welled up. The pain was transmitted directly to my mind.
Kim Se-jin let out a dry laugh.
"True. The brain is a strange fellow. It's easily deceived by visual cues."
Feeling pain while piercing the mana layer. Of course, I was actually cutting the skin beneath the mana layer, but if this process was repeated, the brain would mistake the mana layer for the skin itself.
Connecting mana and the nervous system.
Stab. Stab.
I repeatedly carved into my flesh. I dragged the fire of pain and wired it to my brain.
The human nervous system is resilient. Even if nerves are severed due to extreme damage, the brain endlessly seeks alternative routes. It bypasses existing circuits or sometimes creates entirely new pathways.
The only issue was the pain that accompanied the process.
"...Is this from personal experience?"
Kim Se-jin asked. I nodded.
My injury had been total paralysis caused by damage to my cervical spine and spinal cord. Metal pins had been driven throughout my body, leaving me an irrecoverable cripple.
Yet, I had overcome it. It was 99% effort and 1% talent.
But the core was the talent, not the effort.
It was a miracle that could never have been achieved without that 1% talent, and the doctor had described my talent like this:
"You were born with an extraordinary nervous system."
It is called neuroplasticity.
My cervical spine and spinal cord are still damaged to this day. The reason I can move despite that is because my brain found a new path.
I drove the knife into the back of my hand.
!
Suddenly, a sharp pain flared in the back of my neck. It felt as if someone had actually stabbed the back of my head.
"Ugh, fuck!"
Collapsing on the spot, I looked up at Kim Se-jin. My entire body's functions ground to a halt. It was that sudden of an ambush.
"Why..."
Why did you...?
My vision blurred.
My consciousness faded.
"You son of a... bitch."
When I opened my eyes, Kim Se-jin was looking down at me.
"You have a foolish side to you, Mr. Seol Ha-woon."
He drooped the corners of his eyes. I was dumbfounded.
"...You struck me, Spellcaster."
"It was an illusion."
An illusion? It had felt so incredibly vivid.
"If you really doubt me, touch the back of your head."
I touched the back of my neck. It was perfectly fine. There wasn't even a trace of blood, let alone a wound.
"What... What is this?"
"The idea of using pain to connect mana with the central nervous system was brilliant. However, you overlooked the fact that the brain is quite foolish."
Kim Se-jin shrugged.
"Your nervous system got tangled. The mana on the back of your hand temporarily connected to the back of your head. That's why the pain of stabbing your hand was transmitted to the back of your head."
"......"
Was that even possible? I pressed down on the back of my hand. It genuinely felt as if someone was pressing on the back of my head.
"This is why I don't recommend pain. It's too violent and radical, causing confusion in the nervous system. Watch out for the back of your hand for a few days."
My lips parted silently. I had thought it would go smoothly, but it had tangled up in a strange way.
Kim Se-jin added, as if understanding my frustration.
"Sometimes, people overrely on their past experiences. No, they overrely on themselves. 'I should be fine,' 'I'm not too bad.' Humans tend to think that way. I suppose it's because anyone who lacked even a bit of this self-affirming cognitive circuit ended up committing suicide and was weeded out by natural selection?"
Kim Se-jin chuckled.
"At times like that, the world needs to give you a slap to the back of the head. It needs to tell you to be humble. Just like now."
His gaze leaned toward me.
"Ha-woon. The wound was an illusion, but the pain was real. Pain without physical trauma can still kill a person. Do you still intend to keep using that method?"
"Yes."
I answered instantly.
"...Excuse me?"
Kim Se-jin blinked in silence.
"I believe I can manage it."
It was entirely possible.
However, it wasn't because I was special. There was a far more solid ground than mere self-belief.
Because I had been saving my Tech points all this time.