Ryu Observation Journal # 5
Ryu Observation Journal # 5
—Fwoosh.
A shard of my own mana. I've roughly shaped it into a rectangle, and it slowly moves according to my will.
I haven't been able to give it any durability yet. It'll shatter at the smallest impact. Anyway, to move on to the next stage, I have to grant it durability.
Once I can do that, I can say I've basically got the fundamentals down. After that, the plan is to move on to lessons about wrapping a shield around my body.
"A shield that can block anything. Its name shall be Aegis. From now on, this thing's name is Aegis."
"Ha...! All talk and no substance!"
Just as I declared my resolve, Ryu cut in again.
"You'd bestow a mythological name upon something less than a scrap of tissue! Have you no shame?!"
"Hey. Ryu. It's all about the start. If you start with big ambitions, you can reach greater heights, don't you think?"
"Anyone can spout words like that!"
—Fwoosh!
Yelling that, Ryu instantly deployed several shields and began to flaunt his skill. He's literally making them right in front of me to show off. As if to say, this is the gap between you and me.
He pretends he's not showing off, but he actually loves to.
"This bastard's pretty good, I'll give him that."
"To be worthy of the name Aegis, one must achieve at least this much. Do you understand?"
"Aegis my ass."
"Aren't you the one who brought it up...?!"
He's so childish. Suppressing a laugh, I continued my mana shield training.
"Geun-cheol."
"Yeah, Si-hoo, what's up."
"How about trying to make two now?"
"Two?"
"Yeah. Try making and controlling two at the same time. Kind of like multitasking. If you gain experience that way, you'll probably start to see things you missed."
"Truly! Go-ri's advice!"
Si-hoo's advice is always gold!
"Alright! Then let's make two!"
I focused on maintaining one while creating another.
The moment I released my mana like that.
—Splat!
Something like a crumpled can appeared. At the same time, the existing shield started to get crushed. In the end, I ended up with two lumps of mana that looked like shriveled potatoes.
"Shit. What the hell is this."
I can manipulate them, but I can't manage to shape them. When I try to change one's shape, the other gets crushed too. And when I try to move one, they both flail around like crazy. Total chaos.
Controlling two at once is tough.
"It's hard for everyone at first. But keep practicing like that. Who knows, you might even get better results than when you only handle one. Besides, Geun-cheol, you're good at this stuff, so you'll get the hang of it quick."
"Thanks for the encouragement!"
—Srrk.
I concentrate as much as possible, shaping the two shields and practicing until I can move them according to my will.
—Fwoosh.
Of course, since I'm not used to it, sometimes the shields completely dissipated. But that's exactly what practice is for. True masters have to excel at multitasking. And as I keep at it, Instructor Kawar will probably help me out again.
"Kim Geun-cheol's working hard. Like Lee Si-hoo said, handling two at once might increase your proficiency faster."
"Leona. How many can you handle?"
"Quite a lot. But of course, I also found it difficult at first. So keep at it."
"How old were you when that happened?"
"Kindergarten?"
Is this what they call being born with a silver spoon...?!
Anyway, I couldn't just slack off with Leona watching. I formed two shields again.
But wait.
As I was doing this, something came to mind.
"Leona. Hold on. This shield... if I handle it well, can I freely change its shape?"
"If you have the talent for it, I don't see why not. This is fundamentally about manipulating mana released outside the body, so if you're skilled enough, you can make any shape. See, even I make mine into a shield with a pattern on it."
"I see."
I shared the thought that came to me with Leona.
"Leona. Then what about this."
—Srrrk.
I immediately canceled one of the two shields and shaved down the shape of the other. First, I made it square, then slowly trimmed the edges... and tried to shape it vaguely like a cross.
It's a bit squashed, but it's close enough to call a cross.
"A cross? Geun-cheol? What's this?"
Si-hoo cocked his head, looking intrigued by what I was doing.
"No. Not a cross. What if I shape this into, like, a sword, give it durability, and then? Huh? Whoosh! Fire it to make a ranged harassment tool?"
Imagining it, it seemed pretty solid.
Several mana blades floating around me. And me freely controlling them to use in battle.
Epically badass Kim Geun-cheol.
"Ooh, Kim Geun-cheol? That's a good idea!"
Leona came over and expressed admiration too.
"Right? What do you think?"
"However, you know..."
Just as Leona was about to say something.
"Ha! To have such an inefficient thought. It makes me scoff!"
At some point, Ryu had come in front of me and crossed his arms with a snort.
"Inefficient?"
This punk dares to scoff at me?
"He's right, Geun-cheol. Let me show you what you just described."
Si-hoo agreed with Ryu's remark, and in an instant, several blue mana daggers floated up around him. Wow. This guy made them right away. Well, it's not like I'm the only one who'd think of this.
"Ooh! That's it! That's exactly what I imagined!"
Right now, mana daggers are floating around Si-hoo magnificently. So if you can make a shield, you can also make a sword.
"Leona? Mind making a shield for a sec?"
"Yes, I'll do that."
At Si-hoo's request, Leona created a shield of an appropriate size. Looks like he's planning to show off its power.
"Geun-cheol. Watch carefully."
"Hurry...! Show me now!"
"Don't rush me. Here I go!"
The moment Si-hoo swung his arm.
—Fwoosh!
The four mana daggers floating above Si-hoo's head shot out at high speed and collided with Leona's shield.
—Bam!
—Bam!
A truly crisp sound.
There was no contradiction. The shield and the sword both burst at the same time...!
"Awesome!"
That's so fucking cool! Summoning swords with mana to fight! This is what being an Awakened is!
"Si-hoo! Isn't that totally badass?!"
"Heh-heh, it is cool. But still, Geun-cheol. As you just saw, this technique really isn't good."
"What the hell isn't good about it?"
—Step.
Leona came over to me and explained.
"Kim Geun-cheol? Do you know that Awakened can also be classified by type?"
"Of course I know."
"Right. As you know, we are all basically Enhancement-types. That means we're close-combat types."
That's right.
We are all melee DPS types.
Other skills are just minor utilities. The main thing is slicing up monsters with our enhanced bodies and weapons wrapped in sword aura.
"However, Emission-types. Those who belong to that category specialize in ranged combat. They can't boast close-quarters prowess like us Enhancement-types, but in ranged combat, they're absolutely flying around. They're experts who fire their own mana to attack."
"Hmm."
I kept listening to the explanation.
"No matter how much Kim Geun-cheol makes a sword and launches it, you won't even match the toes of an Emission-type Awakened."
"Ah."
"It's a matter of efficiency. And while you're making that and fighting, it'd be better to just spray bullets at them. On top of that, there's the mana consumption and the concentration needed to control it. It's inefficient in many ways."
"Ah."
My romantic fantasy is crumbling...!
"Th-Then! Leona! Like this!"
—Fwoosh!
I immediately manipulated the shield into a dome and placed it over my head. Right now it's just this shape, but with more practice, I could make a cool helmet.
And if I form that into mana armor and wear it?
"Like, I make a helmet or armor out of mana and put it on."
"Geun-cheol. If you're gonna do that, it's better to just wrap a shield around your skin. Armor looks cool, but it's way too inefficient."
There he goes again with efficiency!
"Hey. And if you need a helmet, you buy one and wear it. Why would you make something like that out of mana?"
Yu-ri spoke as if she couldn't believe it.
"Indeed, a perspective and thought process befitting a Taliban brat. Before lecturing me, you should cultivate your own discernment and judgment."
Ryu smirked after saying that and went back to his spot. Looks like he felt good after getting a jab in at me.
Beep.
"No, but still, if I use this well, it could be useful..."
"Dude, stay still. I'll show you how it's done."
"You'll show me?"
"What's so hard about it. Hup!"
—Splat!
Right away, Yu-ri released her mana and started shaping it into something. Her mana formed a helmet and armor and attached itself over her uniform.
With that, semi-transparent medieval armor was equipped over her uniform...!
"Th-That's so fucking cool!"
She's clad in mana armor!
From a helmet to armor and gauntlets! It's totally badass! All my romantic ideals are packed into that!
"Well, I guess it looks cool. If you make the color denser, you'd get some style points. But Kim Geun-cheol? Instead of making and wearing crap like this..."
—Fwoom.
Yu-ri dispelled the mana armor.
—Splat!
And immediately generated a protective layer on her skin.
"Wrapping a shield directly on your skin like this uses less mana. You don't have to maintain a ridiculous armor shape, so it's easier and more efficient. That armor you just saw? You have to constantly pay attention to maintain the shape. And on top of that, it doesn't really have any special defensive power."
"..."
"You'd be better off going to a store, buying protective gear, and wearing that. Why the hell would you go out of your way to make armor out of mana?"
I had already turned into stone.
"Woo Yu-ri...! Wait! Kim Geun-cheol's taking emotional damage! What do we do?!"
"Wh-What? Emotional damage?"
Leona shook my shoulder, but.
"My romance... is shattered."
With my romance shattered, there was nothing I could do. Using mana to forge supremely cool armor and wear it, creating floating mana flying swords around me to fight—
All of that is inefficient, garbage hipster nonsense?
For a moment, I imagined the superpowered Kim Geun-cheol clad in mana armor, commanding a set of magic swords. So goddamn cool. But since it's garbage, nobody acknowledges it... They say it's better to buy and wear protective gear, hold a submachine gun in your left hand, and swing a sword with your right.
"Hey, Geun-cheol! You can't take damage just because your romance was shattered!"
"Si-hoo."
"If the performance is lacking, you can just cover it with affection! Geun-cheol. Whatever you do, if you keep practicing and become better at handling mana, it'll work out! If that's what you want to do, let's start with practice!"
—Grab!
Si-hoo grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes as he said that full of confidence. Hearing that, I felt my low spirits start to rise a bit.
"Y-You think so?"
"Yeah! Trying to control mana in complex ways is a really good training method! As long as you're interested, just do it! In fact, if you train to chase that kind of romance, your efficiency might even improve!"
"Then... let's do it!"
Might as well try!
"Ha! What do you mean 'do it,' you Taliban brat! Your imagination is truly utterly impoverished! If you're going to do it, at least think of something a little more efficient! Something efficient!"
"Ah, shit! Hey! Ryu! Then what do you have, something like that?! Can you even imagine armor or swords like I can?!"
"I shall show you. My imagination."
"What?"
—Snap.
The moment Ryu snapped his fingers.
—Fwhoooosh!
Stylish mana wings erupted from behind his back!
"Whoooooooooaaaa?!"
Fuck, what is that!
Epically badass Ryu!
"You can also create wings like this. For reference, it's an item that can actually be used like a parachute."
"Wh-What?! Hey! How did you make those!"
Ryu, you crazy bastard!
"Beep! He really knows some stuff!"
I want to learn this too!
