Before Dawn (2)
Lee Jun rose from the bed and lifted the case containing the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Essence (Eternal Ice Spirit).
Inside lay a single shard of ice, glittering brilliantly. So clear it could almost be called transparent — a fragment about the size of a human palm. This artifact was, in fact, a legendary-grade elixir.
"I'm going to have Ms. Seo Yoon absorb this."
Seo Yoon regarded the Ice Essence in silence. A resplendent shard of ice. Though it looked like nothing more than a beautiful trinket, it held an energy of immense concentration within — and the notable thing was that it was described as energy, not mana.
"Your mana overload, Ms. Seo Yoon, is a phenomenon caused by an imbalance in the mana within your body."
Multiple mana overload occurs when the amount of mana the body can contain exceeds the amount it can actually use. Which meant there were only two possible solutions: increase the amount of mana you can use, or decrease the amount of mana stored inside you.
"This Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Essence, which came over from the Hwan Continent, contains not mana but neigong — internal energy."
Internal energy was fundamentally different in nature from mana. Where mana gathered in the mana circle at the heart, internal energy pooled in the lower dantian near the abdomen. Of course, someone who had reached a sufficiently advanced realm could form a middle dantian and store internal energy near the heart as well — though that risked a clash between the two. The Ice Essence wouldn't push things that far, so there was no need to worry.
"If I absorb the Ice Essence… will my mana be reduced?" Seo Yoon asked.
"No. Quite the opposite."
Consider what would happen if Seo Yoon, who had yet to form a dantian, absorbed it. Mana and internal energy were forces that did not mix, and since the body could hold only a finite amount, most of the internal energy would simply dissipate — leaving her with a modest surplus of mana, if anything.
At a glance, that sounded like it would make her condition worse, not better. But the reality was different. Strictly speaking, the description above wasn't wrong either — Lee Jun simply intended to go about it in another way.
"I'll be guiding the energy outward as you absorb it, releasing it from your body."
If internal energy interfered with mana, then the answer was simply not to trap the Ice Essence's energy inside once it was absorbed. That way, only the total volume of power her body could accept would increase — think of it as enlarging the vessel itself. And the amount of energy stored in the Ice Essence was more than sufficient for the purpose.
There was, however, one fundamental precondition for this method of treatment: the healer had to be capable of guiding the energy. This was the very point that had been nagging at Seo Yoon.
"Boss… you can't sense mana, can you?"
"That's right. But it's fine."
Lee Jun's body could not feel mana. At first glance, that made him seem ill-suited to this treatment — but it didn't matter in the slightest. Because mana and internal energy were different things. Even Lee Jun, unable to use magic, could feel internal energy.
"In that case… might it be better for you to absorb the Ice Essence yourself, Boss?"
"Hmm."
She was suggesting that instead of treating her mana overload, he build up internal energy in his own body — the reasoning being that if he could feel internal energy, unlike mana, perhaps he could use it. It was an idea Lee Jun had entertained himself. He had even trained under Shao Yongliu once, pursuing exactly that possibility. But the conclusion, simply put, was no. He could feel internal energy, but he could not accumulate it.
"Internal energy is a somewhat more tangible form of energy than mana or ether — that's why I can sense it. But storing it in the body is another matter entirely."
For some reason, Lee Jun's body seemed incapable of accepting any kind of energy at all. He could not accumulate internal energy either. More precisely: no dantian would form. Energy could enter him without issue, but it had nowhere to settle. It was the same story with mana — no mana circle, no dantian. All for that same reason.
"Then…."
"You're about to suggest we try a lower grade, aren't you?"
"…I am."
"No. We're using this one."
The Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Essence was a legendary-grade elixir-type artifact. He couldn't measure Seo Yoon's exact mana capacity, but this should be more than enough by any ordinary standard. Still, you never knew. There was always the possibility that something less than the Ice Essence would fall short — and that something was entirely possible with Seo Yoon. If he used an elixir below her threshold, the elixir would be spent and her mana overload would go untreated. With no precise diagnosis available, it was simply better to pour in enough to guarantee a comfortable margin.
But Seo Yoon clearly didn't see it that way. She spoke in a calm, level voice.
"Objectively speaking, I don't believe I'm worth that much."
A legendary-grade artifact versus a B-Class hunter. Worse, the artifact wasn't even equipment — it was a consumable. By any conventional accounting, the numbers didn't add up. But Lee Jun said, "I don't see it that way."
No answer came back. Still, he could sense what she was thinking — a silent question asking whether he truly meant it. He gave a single nod.
"…Thank you."
Really, an elixir like this could be obtained again if one went looking. And if it was going to be used at all, it was most worthwhile spent curing Seo Yoon's mana overload. Lee Jun genuinely believed this — and that sincerity reached her. With that, the explanation was complete. It was time to begin the treatment in earnest.
"Please sit on the floor, cross-legged, to start."
"Understood."
Lee Jun then pulled a device from his Pocket — long and slender, with a slightly rounded tip.
"…Is that a massager?"
"Huh. Now that you mention it, it does look the part."
This wasn't the work of the Technology Bureau — it was one of Freya's creations. A device that confined the movement of mana within a set range. Or rather, a failed one.
"It was supposed to carve out a single channel for mana to move along, but it ended up working on every kind of flow there is."
"Wouldn't that make it better, then?"
"It's good, sure. The problem is that it doesn't discriminate."
It was a device that controlled not just energy but every flow in its vicinity — which was exactly the problem, because it blended all manner of energies together. It even encompassed physical flows like the movement of air and water. Sensing that it might prove useful in a fight someday, Lee Jun had gotten it from Freya and kept it around. Of course… he had never once used it. But now, at last, it had found a purpose.
"I'll use this to spread the internal energy you absorb from the Ice Essence throughout your body. In Hwan Continent terms, you could call it opening your meridians."
The energy of the absorbed Ice Essence would travel to the area around the navel, where the lower dantian should be. And since Seo Yoon had no dantian, under normal circumstances it would simply scatter and vanish there. His job was to force that energy to make a full circuit of her body instead.
"We'll be forcing open blocked acupoints, so it may be quite painful."
"I am prepared."
"Good. Then let's begin."
Lee Jun approached Seo Yoon, who sat cross-legged on the floor. He carefully lifted the Ice Essence from its case and held it out to her.
"You may swallow it."
"Understood."
She gazed at the shard of ice for a moment, then swallowed it in one smooth motion.
Fwoooosh—
In an instant, the Ice Essence transformed into blue light and seeped into Seo Yoon's body. The absorption was done — anticlimactically fast, but the process was far from over.
"Now, I'll begin guiding the energy."
Lee Jun switched on the rod and brought it toward Seo Yoon's abdomen. It had to make direct contact — held even slightly apart, it would only manipulate the air between them without ever touching the internal energy.
"The energy will head up your arm first. We'll start with the right. Please stretch both arms out to the sides."
Ssshh—
Keeping the rod pressed to her, Lee Jun moved it slowly from her abdomen up toward her arm, taking care to avoid contact anywhere too intimate. In hindsight, maybe he should have just worked from behind her.
No — wouldn't that be even weirder?
These things only became strange the moment you started dwelling on them. What he was doing right now was, unquestionably, medical treatment.
"Nngh…!"
"……"
A sound he had never once heard from the usual Seo Yoon slipped out of her. He decided to be grateful this room was so well soundproofed.
But this really does look like I'm up to something terrible.
"No — it's a treatment," he said.
…Where do you even learn this stuff?
"Whew…."
Really, though — bantering with Silhouette had a way of clearing his head. He would not get swept up in the mood. This was perfectly wholesome medical care. An act with nothing that could be pinned on him.
"Alright… next we'll move to the legs…."
In any case. That was that.
For a full hour, he repeated the process over and over. Seo Yoon, for her part, seemed to grow accustomed to it partway through, enduring the discomfort in stoic silence. …Discomfort being the right word? Regardless.
The treatment proceeded far more smoothly than anticipated, and Seo Yoon murmured with a considerably wearied face, "It was… simpler than I expected."
"The process is, yes. Most people simply can't do it because they don't know the method."
And in this particular case, it worked because Lee Jun was the seasoned expert. One slip-up here and she'd be crippled on the spot. That little fact… hmm. Better left unsaid. Rather than say anything unnecessary, Lee Jun chose to focus on Seo Yoon's results.
She drew a few ragged breaths and turned her mana over inside her body. He couldn't perceive any of that himself, but her expression had brightened in a peculiar way — which meant, apparently, that the treatment had succeeded.
"How does it feel?"
"Unquestionably better than before. My usable mana has increased substantially as well, and the overload no longer occurs even after sustaining my magic for a long time."
As she said it, she looked faintly elated. For Seo Yoon, that much was a staggering display of emotion. She must truly be happy.
Lee Jun watched her with a soft smile — and then, without quite meaning to, his gaze drifted to her cheek. There was a faint flush of pink there.
"By the way… are you wearing makeup?"
"…Pardon?"
"Ah — it's just, even at the lodging you're perfectly put together. Very you, Ms. Seo Yoon."
"…I'm not."
"Really? Could've sworn you did…."
"I did not."
Her reactions were oddly stilted. Come to think of it, she wasn't wearing her glasses either. Was it because she was usually so unadorned? Compared to the Seo Yoon he knew, she looked strangely made-up.
"Um… Boss?"
"Ah, sorry. I was staring, wasn't I?"
"No, it's… quite all right."
Even as she said it, she tilted her head slightly to one side — and in the space between her neatly tied hair, an ear tinged faintly red came into view. Had he been looking too intently?
Then—
Crackle—
Violet sparks burst from around Seo Yoon's body.
…What the hell.
"Seo Yoon. Are you all right?"
"Nngh… I'm… I'm fine…."
She said so, but she was clearly in pain. Judging from what had just happened and her reaction… could it be that not everything had been cured?
"Boss… what is this…?"
"…There was nothing wrong with the treatment itself. Your mana usage genuinely improved… but then, don't tell me—"
Even a legendary-grade artifact couldn't cover… this much mana?
Did that even make sense? The Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Essence was close to the pinnacle of elixirs on the Hwan Continent — internal energy you'd need to amass several Zisodan or Daehwandan just to trade for. If even that, blasted through her meridians, wasn't enough… then Seo Yoon's mana capacity ranked among the upper echelons of not merely martial hunters but mage-class hunters as well.
"Well… it's good news, for now. Your usable mana did change, and it means you have far more room left to grow."
Discovering that Seo Yoon's potential was even more monstrous than he'd imagined — that, he supposed, was today's greatest achievement. The problem, of course, was something else entirely: it meant they would have to open her meridians all the way to the very end of that potential. Which meant—
"Then, don't tell me…."
"Hmm. Looks like we'll need to do this a few more times."
A few more times of… this?
Wow.Am I actually going to prison for real?
That… was something he truly, seriously needed to consider.