Mom Is My Constellation - Chapter 81

Squeak—.

Suddenly, Rebecca pulled out a red pen and drew a circle on the mannequin's forehead. Ugh, it felt so weird staring at it because the mannequin looked just like my mom.

Rebecca pocketed the pen and turned to me. "Please strike it once."

"...The mannequin?"

"Yes. But you must hit only the circled spot I've marked on its forehead."

Hearing that, I shifted my gaze back to the circle. It was a bit smaller than a ping-pong ball. Hitting a stationary mannequin wasn't exactly rocket science.

Just as I was clenching my fist, Mom chimed in with a sponsorship message.

"You mean go all out?"

Fine then. I'd smash right through it.

Grooo—.

As I ignited my fighting spirit and gathered mana in my hand, a sudden hesitation flickered through me.

...Even if it's just a mannequin, punching something that looks like Mom feels a bit off.

It was like committing filial impiety. Sure, she smacked my back without warning whenever she felt like it, sent messages out of nowhere invading my privacy, and this time around, she'd turned me into a zombie by not letting me sleep for three days under the guise of "family education." But she always loved and cherished me—.

BOOM!!

My straight punch obliterated the mannequin into pieces.

"...Hah?!"

I'd put way too much power into it. By the time I realized, the mannequin was a pile of stone fragments and mush.

Rebecca politely covered her mouth, narrowing her eyes. "...That punch just now carried enough killing intent to surprise even me."

"You told me to go all out!"

No, okay, maybe some unintended emotion slipped in there! But it made me feel like a total ungrateful son, and that was unfair.

"I meant strike the forehead with full power, not pulverize the entire body."

Snap.

Rebecca snapped her fingers, and another mannequin walked in. She drew the same-sized circle on its forehead.

"In other words, destroy only this circled area."

"With my fist?"

"Yes. With your fist."

"...The circle's smaller than my fist's surface area. How am I supposed to pinpoint just the circle?"

Poking with a finger might work, but a fist seemed excessive.

"That's a tip I can't even comprehend, Mom...."

What, like setting coordinates on a machine?

Could I really adjust the impact point at will?

Thud.

Rebecca stepped forward with steady footsteps and stood before the statue-still mannequin. Without any preparatory stance, she casually thrust her fist forward.

Whoosh—!Crack!

A straight punch loaded with ferocious fighting spirit that whipped up gusts of wind. Blue mana streams clearly rose, confirming she'd released it fully.

Yet the impact sound itself was small, like cracking an egg. Curious, I looked at the mannequin.

"...Huh?"

For a moment, I doubted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my eyes. A hole was punched only in the circled spot.

And with almost no margin for error.

It looked like someone had precisely carved out the circle with a knife. More importantly, with that much force, at least the face should've shattered, right?

"Let me explain the trick. Focus on my fist now."

As instructed, I watched Rebecca's fist, wrapped in blue streams. Toward the top, the mana thickened and condensed more densely.

Condensed. In other words, compressed.

...Exactly the size of the circle she'd drawn on the mannequin's forehead.

"Do you see the mana condensed small on top of my fist right now?"

"...You're concentrating all your power just into that compressed mana spot."

"Precisely. To be exact, I just now struck the target impact point not with my fist, but with the mana contained in my fist."

In other words, the mana hit before the fist made contact. That made adjusting the impact point possible.

Compress mana loaded with physical force to match the desired impact area's size.

I got the theory. Just the theory.

"How do you condense mana into such a tiny spot while still drawing out full power? That level of precise mana control is insane...."

"Eliminate all unnecessary loss to zero and operate exactly the required amount of mana."

"Sounds like 'study hard in math, English, and Korean to get into a good college.'"

Arguing more would just tire me out. Sigh.

...Zero-loss mana operation.

No matter how meticulously a player handled mana, some loss was inevitable. Say a player output 50% mana—actual release might be 53-55%, or up to 60% in bad cases.

That unaware waste turned into stamina drain.

Wasting mana you don't need lowers combat efficiency.

But it couldn't be helped. Mana wasn't a listening creature; controlling it perfectly was tough.

"Easier said than done."

Well, if mana obeyed me like an arm or leg, zero loss might be possible. And tricks like compressing it small for max power, like Rebecca did.

The expert assistant continued. "The goal of the second curriculum stage is to get familiar with mana."

"How?"

"Think of this as live combat and deploy your mana once."

As Rebecca said, I emitted a moderate amount—not too much, not too little—from my body. A subtle heat enveloped me, sharpening my senses.

"...What?"

"And what Hwang Jae-min must do right now is run laps around the arena at full speed for 12 hours while operating mana like that."

"...Pardon?"

I must've misheard.

"This... is... inhuman... torture!"

"Seriously...! Soon...! I'll snap...!"

Grievances poured from my mouth as I sprinted full speed around the arena. I realized it again—this wasn't training; it was torture!

Running 12 hours without mana emission wasn't hard. But maintaining mana circuit operation in hyper-focus while sprinting madly? That was another level. For 12 hours? Beyond insane.

"30 minutes left. Your form's starting to break. Don't stop mana emission. If you do, the timer stops too."

"You're not... a homunculus...! You're Satan... Satan...!"

Rebecca was definitely a devil. I couldn't tell if I was moving my legs or if they were dragging me by the collar. Gasps and screams erupted from my mouth ten times a second.

My heart felt like it might leap out, but even then, I paused mana briefly but never stopped my legs.

Why? Thud thud ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thud—!

"Gah! Stop chasing me...!"

Right now, mannequins resembling Mom were charging after me like a stampede of water buffalo, eyes blazing, gripping terrifying weapons.

Yeah. Stop, and you're dead.

"Urk...! Ack...! Hah...!"

The reason I hadn't depleted after 12 hours of constant emission? The sanctuary's atmosphere endlessly supplied and refilled my mana.

An infinite mana recovery system. At first, I thought it a blessing. Turns out, it was a damn curse.

Like the world screaming, "Don't stop running, slave!"

"12 hours complete."

Thud!

I collapsed the instant Rebecca said "12 hours." Wow, the dirt floor felt comfier than any bed. I could've fallen asleep in 5 seconds flat. For real.

Yeah, only a top-grade potion could save me now—I was that wrecked. Too exhausted to lift a finger, I eyed the potion desperately. Rebecca approached, uncorked it, and fed it to me directly.

Normally, I'd squirm in embarrassment, but now? Too tired to care.

"You worked incredibly hard. I knew Hwang Jae-min could do it."

Gulp gulp.

"Rest fully today. But don't stop mana operation during rest, or the training's pointless."

"Phew! Got it...."

Vitality surged through me, muscle pain vanishing. Killer effect.

But potions couldn't touch mental fatigue. I headed straight to my quarters—no, my old home—washed up, petted Gift despite being half-dead, then—

"Uwaa!"

—dived into bed. Ahh, paradise....

I dreaded tomorrow's hellish training but shoved it aside. Sleep first.

Eyes closed, consciousness sank.

....

......

Wham—!

"Gah?!"

Something slammed my stomach, jolting my eyes open. What, did Gift jump on the bed—!?

"I told you, didn't I?"

Seeing Rebecca by the bed with her hand in a chop position blanked my mind.

"Don't stop mana operation during rest."

"Can't help it while sleeping!"

"You can. Effort to emit mana even in sleep is required."

"......"

"Good lord."

No wonder I like Dad more than Mom....

A month passed since then.

"Four fifty-three, four fifty-four, four fifty-five...."

With each rhythmic flex and extension of my arms, my firm triceps contracted and relaxed. Three times per second.

Over 400 push-ups in under 3 minutes. Steam-like heat rose from Jae-min's body—not from sweat, since not a drop beaded his skin.

'Mana flow is stable. Extremely calm state.'

The heat was the mana he was emitting. Rebecca closed her eyes, gauging it.

Smooth and pure, yet heavy and intense. An average expert would faint just sensing it.

'...Growth that shames comparison to a month ago.'

"Four seventy-nine, four eighty...."

Counting beside him, Rebecca's gaze drifted to his hands.

Thumbs. He was push-upping solely on his thumbs, without a waver.

He'd just finished 12 hours full-speed running, then jumped straight into this without rest.

A month's change was like a new person.

'His growth speed is no surprise anymore... but that tenacity is still astonishing.'

The past month's "family education" was brutally intense, even by her standards. Jae-min complained but never quit.

"Four ninety-four, four ninety-six...."

Muscles tearing, guts churning—he never wore down his desire or spirit. Not once.

Not for a moment.

Perhaps that was his true talent, beyond mortal imitation.

Rebecca thought so.

"Five hundred."

"Hoo!"

Exhaling lightly, Jae-min stopped and stood. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, smacking his lips.

"No sweat anymore. Should we up the intensity?"

"Humans really are creatures of adaptation."

Though Jae-min's adaptation was more monster than human.

Suppressing the urge to point it out, Rebecca spoke. "No need to increase intensity further. Time to wrap up the second curriculum."

"Wrap up?"

That instant—

Slash—!

A sword strike fell toward Jae-min's head. A mannequin had snuck up behind him.

But,

"Sounds good."

Jae-min wasn't sloppy enough to miss it. Beyond High Sense, his instincts caught it.

He spun half around, gathering clear blue mana in his raised right arm to block. Grooo—!

Rebecca's eyes narrowed sharply.

'Zero mana loss. All emitted mana functions purely for defense.'

No waste whatsoever. Peerless control beyond "precise."

At that point, Rebecca mentally passed him.

Until she saw the longsword shatter against his arm like glass.

Crackle—!

"...Huh?"

Rebecca's stoic eyes widened briefly.

It was purely defensive mana. So why did the sword shatter—no, crumble?

Yeah, crumble. Beyond breaking—utterly pulverized.

No sword that fragile against strong mana collision....

Feeling inexplicable again, Rebecca focused on his right arm.

"......"

Her eyes gleamed. The mana on Jae-min's arm was whirrr—! spinning like a vortex nonstop.

Rotation turned to sharp cutting force.

Mana flowing out became countless tiny blades.

Offense and defense as one. Simple principle: Accelerate surface mana flow to extremes.

But implementing meant controlling every flowing mana particle in real time.

Was that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even a deliberate realm? Maybe instinctual mastery?

A chill ran down Rebecca's spine, hairs standing.

"...This is, truly."

As she blanked briefly, Jae-min seized the opening. The mannequin hesitated weaponless.

He punched the tiny circle on its forehead.

Crack—!

Force concentrated on one point drilled a small hole.

Yes!

Seeing only the circle carved out, Jae-min grinned, fist pumping.

I nailed what Rebecca demoed a month ago!

Undeniable pass. Sure enough—

"Congratulations, Hwang Jae-min."

"This was the toughest month of my life."

Wonder if it'd become a "fond memory" in hindsight. With a hollow chuckle, he shook her hand.

Then a question crossed his mind. What exactly is the shop?

Mysterious points affecting others' stats. Ability only Rebecca wielded.

A skill branch? Or new concept?

Time to ask. Savoring the warm fullness surging inside—sign of shop awarded—he opened his status window to check his efforts' fruit.

"......"

For a split second, a weird noise nearly escaped Jae-min's throat.

100 points. 20 more than the first curriculum.

Stunned, he grinned at Rebecca. "Lots of bonus points this time? Or do second-stage shops start at 100?"

"All curriculums base at 50 points."

"...Pardon?"

"No bonus points this time."

"But it's clearly 100—."

Stopping there, Jae-min eyed her suspiciously.

Rebecca met his gaze steadily. "With the second stage, you also pass the third curriculum. Congratulations, Hwang Jae-min."