A Day of Peace (2)
I had three Tech Points remaining.
However, the tech tree related to the nervous system was not under 'Mana'. Nor was it under 'Stamina'.
It was under 'Perception'.
├─ 1. Low-Grade Spatial Awareness
├─ 2. Low-Grade Danger Detection
├─ 3. Low-Grade Echolocation
├─ 4. Low-Grade Perception Amplification
├─ 5. Low-Grade Cognitive Expansion
└─ 6. Low-Grade Intuition Awakening
If I learned Low-Grade Perception Amplification and Low-Grade Cognitive Expansion here, the tech tree called Low-Grade Nervous System Strengthening would unlock.
Let's do this all at once.
You have acquired Low-Grade Perception Amplification.
You have acquired Low-Grade Cognitive Expansion.
You have unlocked and acquired Low-Grade Nervous System Strengthening.
Low-Grade Nervous System Strengthening
◈ The character's overall nervous system efficiency, resilience, and recovery rate increase.
◈ Senses become significantly sharper.
In that instant, a strange sense of exhilaration washed over me.
My vision cleared, my hearing sharpened, and my nasal passages opened up—it felt as if every single sense in my body was standing on end.
On top of that, there was the item I had previously dismissed as trash.
◈ Overview: Reinforced, compressed rimless glasses. Their durability is incomparable to standard rimless glasses. By wearing them, perhaps you can see the unseen, and achieve the impossible?
◈ Effects: Equipping increases Perception by 2, but constantly consumes mana.
◈ Trait Granted: Grants the trait Nervous System Amplification upon equipping.
◈ Nervous System Amplification: Infusing mana into the rimless glasses temporarily amplifies the character's nervous system performance. The effect increases in proportion to the mana injected, and mana is consumed every second.
If I wore these as well... I should be able to manage it somehow.
“Ha-woon.”
Kim Se-jin called out to me. Still lying on the floor, I merely tilted my head up to look at him.
“Yes?”
“Ha-woon, why do you wish to grow as a spellcaster?”
I pondered for a moment, then gave a concise reply.
“...To survive.”
“But you are already alive, aren't you?”
No, I wasn't.
“No. I am dead.”
It wasn't simply a matter of my remaining lifespan.
It was the life of a cripple that had dragged on ever since the day my body was shattered. A life that had lost its purpose and drifted off course, like a buoy on the vast, empty ocean. An existence that could neither float away nor bring itself to drown.
They were colorless days.
“I was a soldier. For a very long time. Perhaps that's why I still delude myself into thinking I'm one.”
I couldn't say I was cut out for it. The officers hated me, after all.
A natural-born soldier had to be loved by their superiors as well. For a soldier, politics was a basic survival skill. Those who lacked it were merely consumed as fodder on the battlefield.
“I... still have things left to do.”
The regression hadn't just given me a chance at Labyrinth Exploration NaN.
The opportunity to properly settle 'that day' had also returned.
“Very well. Stand up.”
Kim Se-jin extended a hand. I took it, careful not to put pressure on the back of my hand.
“Let's stop the recording here.”
He turned off the camera. Then, using a spell, he manifested a desk and chair and sat down. The colors and textures looked so real it was quite fascinating.
I asked him.
“But you didn't actually teach me everything just now, did you?”
Kim Se-jin's instruction had been missing a few teeth. It felt as though the most crucial parts had been omitted.
Kim Se-jin shook his head.
“No, I taught you properly. It is simply difficult. The reason it seems like there are gaps is because it's a method that requires innate talent. What I just showed you is called the 'Sequence,' and the qualifications to use it are extremely limited.”
“Sequence?”
“Yes. In Korean, it translates to 'connection' or 'continuity.' It refers to the connection between mana and the brain itself, but ultimately, it means a medium used to achieve a grander purpose. You know how the introductory scenes before the main feature are called a sequence?”
I found it slightly absurd.
“...If this is just the sequence, then what is the main feature?”
Kim Se-jin pointed to his own eyes.
“The eyes. The ultimate form of spellcasting eventually culminates in the eyes. Spells manifested through the eyes are on a far higher plane than those cast through the hands or feet.”
He continued.
“Ha-woon, think about it. If people were asked to choose between going blind or losing their limbs, many would gladly sacrifice their limbs. No, if they absolutely had to choose one, they would beg to have their limbs taken instead.”
Suddenly, the past flashed before my eyes. When my entire body was paralyzed, I had lost my sight for a brief period.
It had been a terror far greater than being unable to move my body.
“All humans know this instinctively. The eyes are the most perfect proxy for the brain, a window that sets humanity free. Limbs without sight are merely trapped in the prison of the flesh.”
Kim Se-jin dissolved some coffee into his teacup.
“In any case, once this 'Sequence' is fully connected, it reaches the 'Visio Divina'—the eyes that see miracles. It is the path to becoming a Mage.”
A... what?
I flinched slightly.
“So you were teaching me the training methods of a Mage?”
“You realize far too late. As expected, your quick-wittedness doesn't quite match your talent.”
Kim Se-jin chuckled.
“Ha-woon, don't you think today's recording will get quite a bit of airtime?”
He sipped his coffee and looked at me, the corners of his mouth curled up in satisfaction.
“For now, I'm getting dragged online. Because of some evil editing.”
“It's only temporary anyway. The public goes wild when a person's natural narrative begins to feel like a drama. That is exactly what is happening to you right now, Seol Ha-woon.”
Looking at Kim Se-jin, a sudden curiosity welled up inside me.
“Is there perhaps something else you are curious about?”
Fortunately, Kim Se-jin was kind enough to ask first.
“Uh... this is a purely personal curiosity, but...”
It wasn't curiosity about Kim Se-jin himself.
“Is it possible to artificially trigger a Black Call inside a labyrinth?”
Kim Se-jin's expression stiffened. A strange shadow flickered across his face, but only for a fleeting second. He quickly regained his friendly smile.
“Why would you be curious about such a thing?”
The Black Call. While labyrinths are divided into alphabetical ranks for convenience, the Explorer Association categorizes them by color.
Blue. Green. Yellow. Red. White. Black.
In other words, a Black Call meant the labyrinth had been dyed black. A Black Labyrinth was a catastrophe that absolutely required Mage-level forces to resolve.
“About three years ago, wasn't there a Black Call incident in a C-Rank labyrinth? It just crossed my mind. I was still in active service back then.”
“An artificial Black Call is naturally impossible. How could a mere human trigger a Black Call?”
“Impossible...”
I ran my tongue over the inside of my cheek. I asked Kim Se-jin once more.
“Can you declare with absolute certainty that there isn't even a 0.1% chance?”
“.......”
Kim Se-jin met my gaze in silence. With a faint smile, he shook his head.
“Well. If Mages were to design the labyrinth, perhaps it might be possible.”
“Design...? Don't labyrinths generate naturally?”
“Most people believe so, yes.”
“If most people—”
“Shh.”
Kim Se-jin placed a finger over his lips.
“Let us stop here. Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge, on the other hand, is poison. To someone who lacks the means to protect themselves, the truth is far more dangerous than a blade pressed against their throat.”
The means to protect oneself.
I raised the back of my hand toward Kim Se-jin. A vibration of mana rippled through the epidermal layer.
The 'Sequence' he had spoken of.
Though it was still highly incomplete and riddled with gaps, I had managed to replicate it somehow after acquiring Low-Grade Nervous System Strengthening.
Kim Se-jin's eyes trembled slightly.
“...You might obtain those qualifications far more easily than I thought, Ha-woon.”
Ding!
The smartphone in my pocket vibrated.
Im Hae-jun had sent a selfie of himself and Kang Hyun.
As if I would.
Leaving him on read, I checked the internet news. A fresh article had just popped up.
My face froze.
There was something going on.
Beneath the surface of Labyrinth Exploration NaN, there might exist a depth far beyond anything someone like me could ever imagine.
It was a familiar sensation to me.
A commander never reveals the true nature of a mission to their soldiers. Yet, soldiers do not march into war knowing whether they will live or die. Every soldier steps onto the battlefield believing they will survive.
It is a confidence born of ignorance.
An ego that leads straight to death.
Kim Se-jin advocated for ignorance, but I could not agree.
Those who do not know are simply consumed in their ignorance.
“—Next stop is Jeongdong Beach. Jeongdong Beach Station.”
Before I knew it, I had arrived at my destination. Leaning on my cane, I stepped off the bus.
“Oh! There he is!”
A voice immediately called out to me.
“Hyung!”
It was Im Hae-jun. I had agreed to his request to meet up. Not because of Hae-jun, but because of Kang Hyun standing beside him.
Kang Hyun bowed his head politely.
“Hello.”
“Yeah, hey.”
I approached the two, who were dressed in light shirts, and asked.
“Hae-jun. How did you end up meeting Kang Hyun?”
“Ah~ It turns out Kang Hyun and I are from the same neighborhood! Seocho, Gangnam! We just ran into each other by chance!”
I smiled at Im Hae-jun's words.
In truth, last night.
Or perhaps today.
Another duty had been thrust upon me. A duty that belonged to me alone.
Perhaps I still hadn't shed my instincts as a hound, a remnant of my time as a 'specialized soldier'.
“Did you just come back from your lesson, Seol Ha-woon?”
Kang Hyun asked. I turned to him with a remarkably friendly look.
“Yeah. But, Kang Hyun.”
“...Yes?”
I had my suspicions.
An intuition that bordered on absolute certainty.
Among the eight members of the future debut group, there was definitely a culprit.
A culprit who, through some method completely incomprehensible to me, would trigger a Black Call and burn everyone else to ashes, leaving not even a corpse behind.
“Just call me Hyung.”
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
A very wise saying.
I slipped my smartphone back into my pocket.
On the screen was the news article from this morning.
Forest Guild Successfully Clears D-Rank Samcheok Cave Labyrinth in Gangwon-do... A Feast of Spoils Estimated at 10 Billion Won. Achievement Secured Through an Anonymous Tip.
“But wasn't that editing a bit too much?”
On the sun-drenched Jeongdongjin Beach, Im Hae-jun muttered as he lay beneath a parasol.
Without a word, I scooped up some sand and piled it onto my left knee.
A sand bath. It actually helps quite a bit.
“Seriously, even in my friends' group chat, they keep talking about you, Hyung! They're calling me a pushover idiot instead of a leader! Because of you!!”
Im Hae-jun suddenly flew off the handle.
He didn't just care about appearances on the down-low; he was completely obsessed with them.
“I was the team leader!! But everyone thinks you were the leader!!!”
“So what?”
I lay back down, merely turning my head slightly to look at Kang Hyun.
“Kang Hyun. What do you think?”
Kang Hyun scratched the back of his neck.
“I don't really have any thoughts on it. It was just interesting to see. I didn't know editing could shape things like that.”
“...Is that so?”
Beep-beep-beep- Beep-beep-beep-
Just then, the digital watch on my wrist went off. I had already prepared everything.
It was time to push down the mana circuits.
Today's target was my lower body. Once I cleared the path down to my calves and the soles of my feet, this tedious training would finally be over.
“Whew...”
I quietly closed my eyes and spent several tens of minutes opening up the circuits.
Beep-beep-beep- Beep-beep-beep-
I opened my eyes at the sound of the alarm.
In training, managing your condition is vital. You need the self-control to stop even when you feel like you're on a roll. Rather than overtraining and hindering the next day's progress, it was better to adopt the mindset of steadily building up progress, grain by grain, like a sandcastle.
“...Ah, I'm exhausted.”
I pushed myself up. Kang Hyun was staring at me, his expression somewhat vacant.
“What? What is it?”
“Ha-woon Hyung. What were you just doing?”
“Circuit training. Because of my leg, working on the lower body is pretty tough.”
Kang Hyun nodded silently.
“Whoa~ It's here! It's over there!”
Suddenly, Im Hae-jun stood up, pointing frantically toward the water.
“Come on! Let's go ride that!”
A yacht had appeared at the dock.
“Ride what? Is that yours?”
“My dad's. He lent it to me when I told him we were going out to play today.”
...He really was filthy rich. Well, I had my suspicions ever since I saw him using Ternium arrows.
Im Hae-jun ran ahead and boarded the yacht, and Kang Hyun and I followed.
“Hurry up and get on~ We're setting sail right away~”
Im Hae-jun took his place at the helm, firmly gripping the wheel that was nearly as large as his torso. The yacht cut through the waves, leaving the dock behind. Im Hae-jun's white shirt fluttered in the sea breeze.
I leaned against the deck railing.
“Have you been on boats a lot?”
Kang Hyun asked out of nowhere. I let out a dry chuckle.
“Of course.”
Did this guy not know what the UDT was?
“Everyone~ We are currently on a yacht!”
Before I knew it, Im Hae-jun had whipped out a GoPro.
“With these two! The 'Je-Mal-Olh' guy, and Kang Hyun!”
He babbled on as if he were hosting a personal livestream.
“Everyone, give me a V-sign! V! Je-Mal-Olh Hyung! Give me a V!”
I flipped him off. Startled, Im Hae-jun quickly blocked the camera lens with his body.
“Ah, seriously! What are you doing!”
“This is a V too.”
I raised only my middle finger and thumb in a V-shape. Kang Hyun bit his lip slightly, seemingly holding back a laugh.
Im Hae-jun furrowed his brow.
“Wow, unbelievable. I've never seen that kind of 'V' in my entire life.”
“That's because you haven't lived long enough.”
“No, we need to secure at least three more minutes of screen time! And encourage people to vote! Come on, do it properly.”
Im Hae-jun raised the camera once more.
And then, some good news arrived.
Wait, what kind of candy?