Chapter 377: Cars and Daily Life.
Chapter 377: Cars and Daily Life.
“Let me outttttt!”
A scream echoed inside the vehicle. The owner of that voice was Baek Si-hyun, who was desperately pulling on the interior door handle.
“My detention is overrrrrr!”
Han A-bin and I looked pityingly at Si-hyun, who was pressed against the window, on the verge of a total meltdown.
However, there was nothing we could do.
The person driving the car was an employee from the Management Bureau. Therefore, I currently had neither the authority nor the power to control the vehicle.
“Ah! Electronics… Wait! Just ten minutes! I just need to buy one thing!”
I didn't know what 'Electronics' was, but judging by her tone, it seemed to be a shop, and it appeared we had just passed it.
“I’m sorry, but that will be difficult. Due to security concerns, I have orders not to open the doors until we reach our destination.”
The Management Bureau Agent behind the wheel spoke firmly.
At first glance, he looked like a typical Western Man in a Suit, but he couldn't deceive my eyes.
He was a Martial Artist, somewhere between high B-Rank and low A-Rank.
The black bracelet that occasionally caught the light as he turned the steering wheel was a Holographic Tonfa, activated by infusing it with qi.
Such a high-level agent was now letting out a troubled sigh, unable to withstand Baek Si-hyun’s tantrum.
“Let me outttttt!”
Despite the agent's explanation, Si-hyun’s screams continued.
In response, Han A-bin and I each moved one seat over, as if to say, ‘We’re not with her.’
I knew exactly why Baek Si-hyun was acting like this.
During the week we were stuck in the hotel, she had spent every night making a list of things she wanted to buy once her detention ended, crossing off days on a handmade calendar before going to sleep.
Having longed for the day her detention would end, Si-hyun had intended to run out with her card the moment she left the hotel to buy everything she wanted.
But a black vehicle had pulled up in front of the hotel immediately, whisking the three of us away before the reporters could swarm us.
So, I could fully understand why she was throwing a fit like a child.
Of course, understanding it was one thing; putting up with it was another.
How much more time had passed?
“….”
Suddenly, Baek Si-hyun went quiet.
When Si-hyun, who had been the sole source of all the noise, fell silent, a heavy stillness settled over the car.
Is it finally over?
Just as the three of us—and even Un-ho—were about to let out a sigh of relief…
“…Right. I can just do that.”
Suddenly, something ominous spilled from Si-hyun’s lips.
“Right. I’ll just close my eyes and make a break for it… Getting caught and locked up then isn't much different from being locked up now….”
Her voice sounded as if the very concept of 'evil' was slithering out in verbal form.
She probably thought the others couldn't hear her, but her voice pierced clearly into the ears of everyone in the vehicle.
‘What is she planning now?’
The moment everyone turned to look at her with that thought in mind…
Flash!
A brief flash of light erupted, accompanied by a massive surge of mana.
Magical Girl Transformation.
Realizing she couldn't leave the car in her original form, Baek Si-hyun was resorting to force.
Enveloped in light, she began to transform.
“Hahaha! You can’t stop me no—”
Just as her transformation—accompanied by dialogue that sounded like a villain's—was nearly complete, and her beret appeared in mid-air to settle on her light gray hair…
“Go to sleep.”
As I spoke, I struck the back of Si-hyun’s head with a mana-infused hand-blade, disrupting her internal energy.
“Hkyak!”
Unable to react to my surprise attack, Si-hyun let out a bizarre shriek and fainted on the spot.
As a bonus, the transformation failed and was forcibly canceled, returning her to her original form.
“…Well done.”
Even A-bin praised my violent intervention.
That one sentence was enough to show just how loud and bothersome Si-hyun’s outburst had been.
Peace finally returned to the car.
“…Force field generator… heat-fixing cooler… Zero-Latency Communication lens… hehehe….”
Aside from the unconscious Si-hyun letting out strange sleep-talk with a happy smile, the car was quiet. We sat still, passing the time by fiddling with our phones.
Eventually, as the car left the city and began to speed along a vast highway…
“That technique you used earlier… is that the one? The one that’s famous lately.”
Suddenly, the agent who had been focusing on driving spoke up.
“Which one are you referring to?”
I replied politely to the agent’s vague question.
“The Form that uses the opponent’s power to produce an effect. It’s a hot topic among martial artists these days.”
Ah, that one.
But something felt off.
“Among martial artists, not mages?”
The ones who had researched that power in detail were definitely the mages.
“Yes, among martial artists. While no sect has specialized in that system yet, quite a few schools are showing interest.”
Hmm. Those guys are moving faster than they used to.
In the past, even if a new theory was announced by the magic side, the martial artists would have taken a long time to accept the new technology, grumbling about their own traditions and whatnot.
Still, to be honest, it didn't seem like it would amount to much.
“I don’t think that’ll work out very well.”
If it were that easy to succeed, such Forms would be everywhere by now.
Even if it doesn't exist in reality, as seen in the famous technique called the Great Art of Energy Absorption, the method of using an opponent's qi has been considered attractive since ancient times, and many have delved into that field.
However, very few martial artists have ever achieved it.
Even if they succeeded, most were actually closer to penetrating strikes or telekinesis rather than actual manipulation of power.
The very few martial arts that truly touched upon that truth were mostly considered demonic arts.
…Setting aside the lustful demonic art of the Biik-ssangryeon, which succeeded despite being riddled with special conditions.
Like the Theory of True Taste, which made the impossible possible through cannibalism.
Magic is specialized in manipulating external forces from the start, so interfering with another's power is somewhat possible.
In contrast, a Martial Artist’s Form is fundamentally about using the power one possesses. Therefore, unless one has a special ability like mine that is specialized in manipulating others' power, the basic premise falls apart.
Thus, assuming the martial artists' research wouldn't yield results anyway, I was staring blankly at the vast American plains, feeling uninterested, when…
“Surprisingly, they say there have been results.”
Startling words reached my ears.
“What?”
I was so surprised that I blurted out the question.
No, how?
“Haha, so even Lee Ha-ram is surprised by this.”
The agent began to chuckle, seemingly enjoying my reaction.
“Are you lying?”
Just to mess with me?
If so, it was a very well-crafted lie.
Or so I thought.
“No, it’s true. However, there’s a debate within the martial arts community about whether this can even be classified as a Form.”
Huh. If he’s saying that much, they must have actually achieved something.
“Let’s hear it then.”
You wouldn't have brought this up unless you wanted to chat because you were bored.
“Well then, since a great senior of the martial arts says so, shall I tell the story?”
“I’m a Magical Girl.”
Not a Martial Artist.
“Let’s go with that, then. Now, first of all, a Form is basically magic performed with the body. Well, if I said that openly, there are plenty of martial artists at headquarters who would absolutely hate it.”
True enough.
The old fogies there are always insisting, “It’s not magic! It’s a martial art!”
Though I can understand how those old martial artists feel.
Compared to a Form created through bone-grinding discipline, magic seems much easier to acquire on the surface.
Of course, that’s just a Martial Artist’s prejudice.
“The problem with this type is that it’s difficult to create a Form that uses external power. Even if one gains enlightenment and stops using the physical body, the basic structure of using one’s own power doesn't change.”
Man, he’s really beating around the bush.
“Just the main point. The main point. Do you think I don’t know that?”
When I pressed him impatiently, the agent let out a small laugh and spoke.
“Ah, my apologies. It seems I had trouble focusing because another member of the audience was listening so intently.”
Who else? There’s no one but me and Han A-bin.
When I turned my head, Han A-bin was waving a small hand at me with a faint smile.
Just like when she had listened intently to my previous lecture on Forms, her face was filled with deep interest, as if she didn't want to miss a word of this story.
Seeing that, I confirmed a thought I’d been having about Han A-bin for a while now.
…A-bin is more greedy than I thought.
Because her natural behavior was gentle, her speech soft, and her actions passive, it had been hard to notice. Only now could I be certain of her greed.
She is more greedy for strength than even Baek Si-hyun.
If the power of a Magical Girl isn't enough, she’ll take a Martial Artist’s Form; if a Form isn't enough, she’ll take magic; if magic isn't enough, she’ll take technology and her own original power.
I don't know why she keeps such a desire hidden deep in her heart without revealing it.
I can only guess it’s related to a trauma she has never told me about.
I recall something Hyun-seok once said to me.
That A-bin and I are alike.
At the time, I thought it was nonsense.
But perhaps Hyun-seok saw through this greed.
Just like me, who arrived here after rummaging through countless things in pursuit of strength.
…Without seeing through her true nature, I gave her the Happiness Drop.
Was that really the right thing to do?
For a moment, my thoughts trailed off.
“…Um. Excuse me. Master?”
The one who broke my reverie was the very source of my concern.
Since I was sitting silently, she must have wondered what was wrong.
“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something. You can continue the story.”
I reacted immediately, filing my thoughts away in a corner of my mind and returning to my usual demeanor.
What’s done is done.
Rather than trying to undo it, I vowed to prepare for any potential consequences.
In the meantime, the agent continued with some more basic talk about Forms, and after about two minutes, he finally got to the point I wanted to hear.
“…So, the method they found to address this gap was… tattoos. It was a way to reduce the opening by essentially engraving part of the Form onto the skin.”
Right, tattoos that translate a Form into a drawing.
You couldn't do anything too complex, but it was a way to quickly use simple but overwhelmingly advantageous Forms in combat, such as strengthening the next strike or accelerating the body part where the tattoo was engraved.
However, there was a problem.
“That failed, didn't it? Because the tattoo itself would interfere with other Forms.”
Yes, no matter how simple a Form is, it is still a Form.
Just having it engraved on the skin interferes with the manifestation of other Forms.
It wouldn't matter for simple techniques, but for precise, high-difficulty Forms that use the entire body, even a simple Form engraved in a tattoo would disrupt the formation of the technique.
However, I had heard that the method was still popular among rank-and-file soldiers.
Using it to engrave acceleration-type Forms on their legs and such.
After all, they had no intention of delving that deeply into martial arts anyway.
“You’re well-informed. So, this time, the martial artists thought of it the other way around. That’s The Core of this story.”
…Huh? The other way around?
The opposite?
What’s the opposite of a tattoo?
Permanent, semi-permanent?
“…Tattoos you can put on and take off?”
Like those fashion items I’ve seen?
When I threw out the answer I’d wrung from my brain…
“….”
The inside of the car suddenly went silent.
“…Mumble. Mumble. A semi-permanent external battery that lasts for two months on a single charge… weighs only 100g… Huh? Ounces?”
Aside from the idiotic Baek Si-hyun’s sleep-talking, the car was silent.
How much time passed in that silence?
“…It means engraving the tattoo on the opponent’s body.”
“Ah.”
Right, this was a conversation about manipulating the power inside someone else’s body….
Having heard the correct answer, I quietly looked out the window.
It wasn't because I was embarrassed.
It was simply because the scenery outside was so vast that just looking at it made my heart feel at peace.