Mana's Seven Attributes and the Cube Quest
April 4, 2020, 1:00 PM. Abandoned Taekwondo Dojo near Incheon City Hall.
"The four attributes of earth, water, wind, and fire. So, what are the other three?"
I threw a punch infused with mana. The pure wave of mana grazed Deok-bae's rocky skin.
"Kuh! I don't know!"
Deok-bae dodged while lunging at me with his lowered body. The shoulder charge, leveraging his massive bulk, felt as intimidating as a charging bull. All I had to do was dodge.
"First answer: one is light. Gwanggeom is the prime example."
I pulled my foot back slightly and twisted my body. Deok-bae noticed and tried to adjust his punch's trajectory, but my elbow was already stabbing into his side.
Bam!
Deok-bae flew through the air and rolled across the floor. I waited until he recovered with a proper ukemi roll, then tapped the floor lightly with my shoe tip.
"The second is darkness. Most monsters have this attribute. It's also common among villains."
I kicked off the ground in one stride and leaped high, raising my leg overhead in midair. Realizing it was too late to dodge, Deok-bae crossed his arms over his head. His rocky skin had hardened, wrapped in mana like armor.
Thud!
His entire body sank slightly under the mana-infused downward strike. Deok-bae smirked triumphantly through his crossed arms.
"Gotcha!"
His hand shot out to grab my ankle. Too slow.
"You say that after you grab it!"
His hand sliced through empty air. Flame wings had already unfurled behind my back.
"!!"
Deok-bae raised his guard again upon seeing my wings. Smart move. It was too late to dodge anyway. I flapped my wings and hammered down repeatedly.
Bam! Boom! Bam!
Each shoe strike against his arms echoed like explosions. Deok-bae's feet began cracking the marble floor as they sank in.
"Here comes a big one!"
I flapped my wings hard, spinning my body half a turn. The vertical barrage shifted into a horizontal roundhouse kick.
"Tch!"
Deok-bae hastily lowered his guard to the left. His rocky skin was tattered, but cyan mana threads glowed brightly. Concentrated defense at the impact point. I stirred the mana across the top of my foot.
Whoosh!
Blue flames erupted from my foot, startling Deok-bae. His tightly woven mana momentarily loosened.
Thud!
The roundhouse connected, sending Deok-bae crashing into the wall. Fortunately, I'd pre-woven a mana net there, so no major damage. Probably.
"The last is the illusion attribute. Illusions, phantoms, that sort of thing. Telepathy, mind reading—psychic abilities like those all fall under it."
I clapped my hands, conjuring seven flames before Deok-bae's eyes.
"People react to their innate attributes, but some have talent in multiple. They might manifest as compound attributes or something completely different. Like the hero 'Lightning,' who awakened thunder abilities from a mix of fire and wind."
"Haa... haa... Enough... explaining."
Deok-bae gathered his mana, releasing his rocky skin. As the stone covering his body vanished, his bare form was revealed—still grayish skin with cyan mana veins bulging like blood vessels. His hoodless bald head gleamed under the fluorescent lights. Indeed. Even as a kaijin, no hair regrowth. New knowledge acquired.
"Feels like you just thought something creepy?"
"Not at all. Let's take a break anyway. Three minutes up."
I polished off the triangle kimbap atop the cup ramen—water boiled with my flames, of course. The unfamiliar brands from this world felt refreshingly novel compared to my original one. Deok-bae slunk to the seat across from me and nibbled a warmed hot bar.
"And, Mr. Jo Deok-bae, your attitude toward your boss is total trash. How can you embarrass your master in front of others like that? Is that how No. 2 subordinate acts?"
"Shut up and eat when it's mealtime."
Deok-bae snarled, tearing into his hot bar. Words rose to my throat, but I shoved them down with a slurp of ramen.
To clear up a misunderstanding: I didn't hoard the convenience store haul just for myself. As their master, I had to provide basic welfare, right? I'd ordered No. 1 to be self-sufficient, so he'd eat even better. A C-rank monster core was prime beef or better for kaijin, taste-wise.
I grabbed Deok-bae's wrist as he reached for the latte drink on the table.
"Hold it. Strawberries are mine."
"...Sigh."
Deok-bae scowled and grabbed another drink instead.
"If you want it that bad, answer a quiz. Get it right, and it's yours."
"Freakin' gross."
Harsh words, but his actions were honest. He set the drink down.
"Quiz time. Flames are usually thought of as 'red,' so why are mine 'blue'?"
"...Huh? Yeah, why?"
Deok-bae pondered. I tore open the strawberry milk in the meantime. No way he'd get it. I only learned it directly from Phoenix after entering her route. This strawberry milk was mine now. Haha.
"'Cause you like blue?"
"......"
I wordlessly chucked the strawberry milk at Deok-bae.
2:00 PM. Baek Sang-woo's office.
"Here. Your stuff."
Sang-woo handed over the backpack.
"ID, virtual account, and phone. Smartwatch is on the house."
"Whoa, thanks."
Phoenix carefully inspected the items, then strapped the smartwatch to her wrist.
"As I said, 1.9 billion's in the account. HQ rejected the A-rank core. Cores of unknown origin can't be trusted or circulated."
"First deal and all. I get it."
Phoenix fiddled with the three cores in her hand before stuffing them roughly into the bag. Sang-woo winced at the recklessness.
"If your rep grows and we build trust, we could handle higher than B-rank. Bring back that A-rank then. If you're still alive."
"Reputation, huh?"
Phoenix flipped her new ID front and back. An address in Incheon's outskirts she'd never seen, a birth year making her young, and the name 'Phoenix'.
"Yeah. And the Black Market account."
Sang-woo tapped his smartwatch. Phoenix blinked blankly before mimicking him on hers.
Connection established. Holographic display activated.
A device smaller than an egg emitted light. Beams shot in four directions, projecting rectangular screens between them.
"You access it via the watch like this. Customers can only connect; you need an insider's 'recommendation' to join."
Sang-woo tapped around his screen, and a small alert popped up on Phoenix's.
"[IncheonBundle] has invited you to the chat room."
"That's me."
"I figured. Just accept it, right?"
"Yeah. But first, one thing."
Phoenix selected the alert and accepted. The screen glitched briefly, downloading data rapidly before turning black.
"That's the Black Market. Stolen goods, cores, monster byproducts, hero intel—everything's bought and sold."
Sang-woo pointed at Phoenix.
"Your job: set a 'nickname' for it. Can't change it once set, so choose wisely."
"Easy."
Phoenix rapidly typed on her holographic keyboard. Sang-woo stared at the blackened screen, then pondered her choice.
"Done."
"[PhoenixOfTheAzureFlame]? What kinda nickname is that? Are ability users trending toward edgelord titles these days?"
"Edgelord? It's my real name."
Sang-woo scratched his goatee and nodded.
"Fair enough. Can't expect common sense from ability users. But you sure? With your personality, you won't do proper work, and if you're marked villain, that nick goes on the bounty board."
"Hoping for it, actually. No plans to hide. Oh, teach me 'organization registration' while we're at it. Can do it now?"
"Tryna get it all for free."
"I'll sell you cores later."
"Lip service appreciated. Tap this tab first..."
As Sang-woo and Phoenix alternated screens exploring the Black Market, Deok-bae leaned against the wall, glaring at his chattering master's back, lost in thought.
'What the hell is this guy's deal?'
Not from the sky, not from the ground—where did this monster pop from? Phoenix's childlike wonder at new tech grated on him; he wanted to bolt.
'If not for that damn command.'
He could revive the dead as kaijin, but not force loyalty. Deok-bae's petty rebellions only got him used as Phoenix pleased.
While Deok-bae brooded, Sang-woo finished explaining.
"Hmm, got it. Just pick an organization name, right? Heh, feels like making a guild."
"Don't take it so lightly... Sigh."
Sang-woo sipped coffee, raising a finger.
"Listen up. Registering an organization means declaring as a named 'villain.' Sloppy moves get you hunted by bounty hunters and jailed. Especially newbies diving in like moths to flame, like you..."
"Yes, understood. Duly noted."
Phoenix registered the organization name swiftly. Sang-woo shook his head but checked the new entry.
[Cheonghwa-dan]
"[Cheonghwa-dan]?"
"Yep. Pretty legit name for a villain group, right?"
Phoenix grinned, unbothered by the villain label.
Deal done, we left Baek Sang-woo's office and entered a cafe near City Hall. Deok-bae fumbled awkwardly—clearly out of place in such spots—but successfully fetched the tray of drinks per my order.
"Neat."
I tapped the smartwatch on my left wrist. Unlike Black Market access, a small side screen now showed the cafe payment details from checkout.
"Even Incheon's like this—Shin Seoul must be a whole new world. Cars flying on autopilot?"
"You joking?"
"Nah."
Monster cores as energy sources had propelled human civilization forward. Despite the monster menace, mana opened new horizons. But that was limited to metropolises like Shin Seoul and Busan; outskirts lagged amid frequent raids.
"If Seoul still functioned, no need for Shin Seoul, right?"
"So what? Why's that mean we gotta go to Seoul?"
Deok-bae grumbled reluctantly. Indeed. After forming Cheonghwa-dan, I'd told him our destination.
"Many reasons, but explaining them all would take all night. For now, remember this: Cheonghwa-dan's goal is collecting treasures and artifacts scattered worldwide. Especially..."
I peeled a sugar cube's wrapper.
"...cubes about this size. Weird patterns etched in— you'll know it's no ordinary item at a glance."
"That's your goal? Collecting those."
Deok-bae dumped ice and coffee into his mouth.
"Killing and reviving people just for toys?"
"Toys? Puhuhu. Listen, one of those could end Earth. That's what they are."
God's cores, for good reason. I dropped the sugar into my coffee.
"Amplifies abilities, awakens them, infinite energy extraction. That's all research has uncovered so far, but..."
I aimed a teaspoon at Deok-bae.
"Monster creation, human kaijinization, mind control, natural disasters. In S-rank hands, it enables any ability. Magic stuff."
"You planning to..."
Deok-bae swallowed hard. I set the spoon down and stirred my coffee.
"Yeah. For world peace—"
"Conquer it with that?"
"...What do you take me for? Do I look like that type?"
Deok-bae twisted his already fierce face, mouth working like he wanted to speak but held back.
"Spit it out. That's an order."
"A monster who treats people like bugs and burns 'em—world peace? Pfft."
His true feelings spilled out, will be damned. I set the spoon down and sipped my coffee. Bitter. Why, after the sugar?
"Time to clear a misunderstanding. Let me say it clearly."
I slammed the cup down.
"This is all for the world's peace."