Apartment Rooftop

A cool morning breeze swept across the apartment rooftop, and far in the distance, the Han River's waves shattered into silver under the sunlight. I locked the rooftop door with a padlock and took position in the center of the concrete floor.

"Alright, Mongshili. Come on out."

Slithering out from my hair, Mongshili lightly settled on my shoulder.

'You called, oh great and ruthless one...'

"Skip the flattery. I'm thinking of taking the Flying Talisman Slash we practiced and applying it further."

I scattered a stack of Post-its from my pocket into the air.

Whoosh. The spiritual power drawn up from my dantian naturally linked to the bright yellow Post-its. The talismans hovering in the air trembled faintly.

I tried executing what I'd been visualizing in my head nonstop. Could I use it as armor?

"If I can make a shield with the Flying Talisman Slash, then I could cover my entire body without gaps, like dragon scales, and turn it into armor."

Swoosh! With a flick of my wrist, the yellow papers scattered in the air surged toward me like a swarm of snakes. Hundreds of Post-its began sticking to my arms, legs, chest, and back. Their edges interlocked precisely, covering my body seamlessly like dragon scales.

'I-Insane, Master. Making full-body armor out of Flying Talisman Slash talismans...'

'Pretty sturdy, right?'

'Sturdy? It's beyond sturdy! No one's ever made armor from talismans before. Wow... not a single gap. And the joints move freely!'

Mongshili's astonishment made me feel smug for no reason. Not only did it serve as armor, but every single Post-it wrapping my body was a Flying Talisman Slash ready to launch. It blocked physical and sorcerous attacks while turning into hundreds of blades on my command, shooting out in all directions—an absolute suit of offense and defense in one.

"No weight at all."

I clenched and unclenched my fist, then threw a light straight punch at the air. Feeling cocky, I turned to the reflective glass of the elevator shaft in the corner of the rooftop.

"......"

The moment I saw my reflection, I froze solid.

"......Ah."

Majestic? Absolute armament? Offense and defense united? The guy in the glass was nothing more than a lunatic plastered head to toe in yellow Post-its. A ridiculous clown prepping for an office sports day Post-it peeling game, papered in office supplies. Bright yellow from crown to toe—it looked like a giant banana or a wobbling sponge bob from afar.

Slurrrp! Using spiritual power, I recalled the hundreds of Post-its covering my body back into my hand.

'Huh? Why recall them? The defense and mobility were perfect!'

'Shut up.'

This was for desperate pinches only. No way I'd use it normally.

"Whew."

I leaned against the rooftop railing, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. I inhaled deeply, then exhaled a long plume into the crisp morning air.

"Mongshili."

'Yes.'

"Why does talisman sorcery always need paper and ink, anyway?"

Mongshili blinked all eight eyes at my question.

'Because... you need a medium, right? Spiritual power is formless energy. Binding it in midair and sharpening it with just the sorcerer's will is nearly impossible. So you draw ink lines like veins on talisman paper as a vessel, infuse spiritual power into those veins, and make it move like a living thing. That's the basics of talisman sorcery.'

"Right. A vessel to hold formless energy."

I exhaled a long trail of cigarette smoke into the air. The pale gray smoke drifted on the morning breeze, losing shape in seconds and blending into the atmosphere. The spiritual power pouring from my body would vanish into thin air just like that smoke if left unchecked.

This time, I gathered thick smoke in my mouth. I curled my tongue, adjusted the pressure in my cheeks, and blew a sharp whoosh at the air.

A perfect smoke donut formed, holding its shape as it floated slowly through the air.

"!!!"

A flash of insight pierced my mind. Smoke dissipates when blown out, but roll it around in your mouth...

'Increase the density and compress it, and it takes form. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just like that smoke donut.'

I cupped my hands into a sphere. Mimicking how I'd rolled the smoke with my tongue, I drew out spiritual power and kept swirling it inside the sphere. I had a hunch something was forming. My eyes stung from the spicy cigarette smell, but this was definitely working.

"Guys like Jang Chen, your average sorcerers, probably hit their limit there. They'd need talisman shells to hold even their puny power. But I'm different."

'...Different how?'

"What if I compress my spiritual power's density to the extreme without a talisman medium? Could I make it take physical form?"

Mongshili's eyes widened.

'You mean materializing pure spiritual power without a medium...'

Poof! Mongshili suddenly expanded, manifesting as a massive spider. It ballooned to the size of a small car in an instant—the overwhelming presence that had swatted away the stray ghosts during Mina's spirit flight training.

'Look, Master. My spiritual power inherently remembers this giant spider form. That's why I can materialize like this with minimal power.'

Mongshili's explanation cleared the fog in my head.

'Right. Once you create a form... you can summon it back with less power. If it's theoretically possible, no reason I can't do it.'

I stubbed out the cigarette on the ground and walked to the center of the concrete floor. Closing my eyes, I steadied my breathing.

"Suuuuh— foooo."

Like before, I cupped my hands in front of my chest and poured spiritual power into the space between. From the deep sea of pitch-black power coiled in my dantian, I hauled up a vast surge—enough for a thousand Flying Talisman Slashes and more.

Rumble—the air behind me shimmered like a heat haze, the rooftop atmosphere growing heavy and humming. Sand grains on the floor lost gravity, floating faintly into the air.

"Suuuuh— foooo..."

I gathered the massive power in my palms. Like forming the smoke donut, I condensed and compressed it, swirling the spiritual power round and round.

Vrrrrmmm—the power rebelled fiercely. Without a vessel, the energy resisted confinement, swelling to burst outward. I gritted my teeth, wrapping my palms in more spiritual power to crush it down. Veins bulged on my arms like they might explode; thick sweat poured from my forehead like rain.

'Master... the power's about to go berserk.'

Mongshili, back to normal size and clinging to my shoulder, shrieked in panic.

"Kuh!"

The power in my dantian rampaged like an untethered colt. My palms tried to force themselves open, blue sparks crackling through the gaps as power leaked out. It was like the spiritual power was desperate to escape my body.

"You think I'm gonna lose?!!!"

I bit my tongue to focus. No way I'd lose to something I'd beaten before! I ramped up the spiritual power encircling my palms. Like calming smoke in my mouth, I soothed and compressed it further. My temples throbbed. My heart felt like it would burst. Sweat rained down.

"Get in there... you fucking bastard!!!"

I clenched my palms tight. The raging power inside calmed. In an instant, the wildly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expanding energy in my hands deflated like a lie, going still.

Smoothly, a heavy, cold solid formed in my palms. The formless energy, compressed to its limit, had materialized into a bead with mass.

'No way... you refined it successfully?'

I paused to savor the triumph, then tried forging it with spiritual power. It obeyed me now, so no crisis like before.

'Raise the density. Harder, sharper, thinner.'

The power's temperature plummeted, white frost forming around my hands. At the limit of compression, I stretched the bead-like mass long with my fingertips.

'In-insane...'

My eyes flew wide. Hovering above my open palms was a translucent, deep-blue blade gleaming with abyssal light. About a handspan long, dagger-shaped. The razor-sharp menace of ultra-compressed spiritual power. Transparent and keen like a glass dagger.

"Hoo, haa..."

I panted roughly, staring at the blade floating at my fingertips. Just one had drained me like a marathon—total exhaustion sweeping my body.

'Master, you know you nearly died? What lunatic pours out all their spiritual power like that? You almost got devoured by it!'

'But I lived, didn't I?'

'Crazy...'

Mongshili hopped from my shoulder onto my hand, poking the blade before raising its arms dramatically.

'A weapon forged from pure spiritual power... it's a divine object. One that manifests at your will. It can be stored or summoned on command.'

'Gonna need a name to call it, huh? Hmm... what to name it? It's transparent, so... Glass?'

I'm trash at naming. Whatever.

"Glass it is. Your name's Glass from now on."

At my words, the translucent blade hummed in resonance, vibrating like it welcomed its master's call. A divine object that had guzzled half my spiritual power was complete.

"Glass, fly up."

Linked strongly to my power, I could control it like a drone in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the air. Chills ran down my spine watching it shoot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skyward like a bullet into the blue. Then—

Glass chased a flying crow, slash! Shredding it to nothing. Only black feathers drifting down proved the crow had existed. Now it dove at another.

I hadn't ordered that.

'Too much killing intent, Master. At this rate, it'll be a cursed object, not divine.'

"Glass, return."

Firm command. It veered off, halting the slaughter, and obediently floated back to my palm. I released its form, absorbing it into my body. The drained power flooded back into my dantian, refilling the void and easing the fatigue.

'Why'd it kill the crow on its own?'

'Seems it inherited your predator instincts and killing vibe from devouring countless evil spirits in the netherworld. Raise your power more, and it'll calm down.'

A blade bearing the full temper of Duikryeong, the netherworld predator. Even absorbed, it warned me: without boosting my power, it might one day devour my sanity.

'Still, congrats, Master. You've got a weapon that could wipe out humanity.'

'Why would I wipe out humanity?'

'Isn't that why you came from the netherworld?'

'Nah?'

That was when it happened. Clank, creeeak. The heavy iron rooftop door groaned open. With the cool breeze, Kang Mina appeared in a gray sweater, beaming brightly.

"Oppa! Teach me that Post-it talisman stuff too!"

She was emitting considerable spiritual power. The moment she awakened to it, she became a 1st Grade sorcerer. Her dantian brimmed with top-grade vengeful spirit power from the Virgin Ghost, so Special Grade would be right—but I'd asked the Virgin Ghost to hold back her power deliberately.

But her outfit... sweater and no bottoms.

Gulp.

'Oh. Master... so that's why you came from the netherworld... to breed...'

'You're dead.'