Hoshin-ganggi (2)
“…You said your aptitude test came back as C-rank, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then what the hell is this?”
Arisha’s brows drew together tightly. Her gaze was fixed on the tip of my finger, where Heavenly Fate shimmered and swirled. I hesitated, unsure how to explain.
Strictly speaking, what I was using right now wasn’t mana—it was Heavenly Fate. To anyone watching, it would simply look like mana. Naturally, since Heavenly Fate was something only I could see, no one else could tell the difference between the two.
I thought it over, but in the end there was only one answer I could give.
“I kept practicing, and it just… started working.”
“……”
Arisha’s eyes grew icy cold. She clearly thought it was a ridiculous excuse. I couldn’t exactly blame her. If practice alone were enough, the number of mages in the Union Army would be several times higher than it was now.
“Fine. Dragging this out won’t get me a satisfying answer anyway.”
She saw through the lie immediately. Was I really that bad at lying? I knew I wasn’t good at it, but there was nothing I could do. Who would believe me if I told them I had died and come back to life, that I was using the lifeforce stolen from dead monsters to extend my own lifespan?
Her expression remained dubious and dissatisfied, but Arisha didn’t press any further.
“With that level of fine control… using magic shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s move on to spell formulas.”
She erased the blackboard that had been filled with explanations of magic’s principles and fundamentals. What she wrote next was information about the seven attributes that represented the Yin-Yang Five Elements.
Fire, water, wind, earth, metal, light, and darkness.
She listed the representative characteristics of each attribute, then moved on to the basic spell formulas that composed them.
“…Do you actually use all of these?”
I couldn’t help but be stunned as I watched her write out the foundational spell formulas for all seven attributes without hesitation—especially since she had said she mainly used wind.
“No. I stayed up last night memorizing them from books so I could teach you today.”
“……”
I was speechless. There might only be seven attributes, but each one contained dozens of runic characters that formed its spell formulas. And she had memorized all of them.
What kind of person is she?
The only mage I knew personally—the only one I had actually fought alongside—was Lumia, our former commander. She had become a commander thanks to her talent for magic, but even she wasn’t on this level.
“Don’t make such a fuss. I only memorized them. Using these formulas effectively on the battlefield is a completely different story. I’ve never even practiced them properly.”
That made sense. On the battlefield, mages only used spells they had mastered through experience and repetition. Naturally, they would stick to the wind-attribute formulas they were most familiar with.
Still, memorizing this much in one night…
“Why go this far…”
It was far too much effort and sincerity to spend on just one person—especially a former slave soldier with no talent.
“If you’re going to do something, do it right.”
She shot me a sharp look as I stood there in a daze.
“This isn’t for you. It’s for me. And it would be rude to Garan, who recommended you.”
Arisha was just as strict with herself as she was with her subordinates. She was also far more capable than I had imagined. I absorbed every word of her explanation, committing the information about all seven attributes to memory without missing a single detail.
“From now on, you need to determine which attribute’s magic suits you best.”
“The right attribute…”
I had heard about this before. Every mage was born with an innate attribute along with their talent. No matter how much you studied or practiced other formulas, if it wasn’t your natural attribute, the magic simply wouldn’t manifest. Each attribute had distinct characteristics, so those with rare and powerful ones were treated with special respect even among other mages.
Arisha pointed to the stack of papers on the table. Each sheet contained one of the seven attribute formulas she had written on the blackboard.
“Infuse mana into these papers one by one. The attribute whose magic activates will be yours.”
“Understood.”
I reached for the paper on the far right of the seven sheets on the table.
“Imagine pouring mana into the formula written on the paper… Yes. Just like that.”
The paper began to glow. The inscribed formula started moving and rotating on its own, and a bright orb of light gathered at its center.
“…Fire attribute?”
Arisha murmured softly as she watched the sphere of light form above my hand. I glanced at her reaction and asked,
“Is that good?”
“Not bad. Fire is especially well-suited for combat. If you learn it properly, you’ll be treated decently.”
“……”
I fell into thought at her answer. It was certainly a safe response, but it wasn’t the attribute I had hoped for.
“Judging by your face, you don’t seem very pleased?”
My inner feelings must have shown clearly on my expression.
“Then let’s check the others as well.”
“Wasn’t the attribute supposed to be fixed?”
“It’s extremely rare, but there are cases where someone is born with two attributes. Whether the second one pleases you or not will be up to luck.”
Following her explanation, I tested the second attribute. The formula on the paper reacted to the mana I poured in and began to rotate. Soon, a small droplet of water floated above it.
“Huh?”
This time, clear surprise leaked into Arisha’s voice.
“…Wait a moment.”
She placed the third sheet under my hand. After I infused mana into it and saw the result, her expression hardened. As if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, she repeated the process with the fourth sheet. Then the fifth. Then the sixth.
Only after confirming the seventh and final sheet did she finally whisper in a trembling voice,
“…This is impossible.”
I could use all seven attributes.
I spent the entire morning receiving Arisha’s thorough lecture on magic before finally leaving the commander’s office.
Incredible.
I, who had been told I had no talent for magic, had now gained the possibility of actually using it. On top of that, discovering that I could handle all seven attributes was an unexpected windfall I had never even considered.
But I couldn’t fully grasp just how enormous this was.
Anyway, I don’t need it right now.
Since I could now use the magic of the attribute I wanted, that was enough. Arisha, on the other hand, had sent me off with a deeply dissatisfied expression, as if she still couldn’t accept what had happened.
After eating, I’ll start right away.
I could see the path now. The path to becoming stronger. The path that would let me move forward. All that remained was to walk it.
I visited the mess hall in time for lunch. As always, I filled my stomach with spicy stir-fried pork over rice, then immediately went to find Garan.
“You want to take leave?”
“Yes. I’m asking for your approval.”
“Hmm.”
Garan looked at me with a strange expression. He seemed curious about what I was planning to do.
“It seems your meeting with the Captain helped you decide on a direction.”
“Yes.”
There was no reason to hide it or deny it, so I answered immediately. Garan gave a small chuckle and nodded.
“I see. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but we have a mission scheduled for next week. Make sure you return before we depart.”
Garan approved my solo action far more easily than I expected. He seemed curious about what had happened during my meeting with Arisha, but he didn’t ask. It was as if he knew he would find out eventually.
“I’ll look forward to seeing what kind of changes you bring back with you.”
“…Understood.”
After finishing my report, I packed a simple bag and left the outpost. I didn’t have much to carry—just a small rucksack containing about three days’ worth of preserved rations. I headed toward the nearby village.
After walking for half a day, I arrived at the village and ordered dinner at the inn.
“One pork bowl.”
I shoveled the bright red seasoned meat and perfectly steamed white rice into my mouth. Once I had finished a satisfying meal, I headed up to the second floor and entered my room.
I locked the door, sat down cross-legged on the floor, and took a deep breath.
“Let’s do this.”
I settled into the most secluded corner of the training grounds. Opening the book I held in my hands, I began to read. It was the textbook Arisha had given me—Understanding Gold-Attribute Magic.
She had said she couldn’t understand why I would choose gold-attribute magic, but this was exactly what I wanted.
I wanted it.
The kind of unbreakable toughness that could withstand any attack.
The reason I had been so utterly helpless against the minotaur was simple. My human body had been far too fragile. It had broken, torn, and been violated far too easily. The helplessness I had felt right before death still made me shudder every time I remembered it.
That was why I wanted it. A body strong enough to stand against that overwhelming violence and not break.
Therefore, the magic I chose was this one.
The greatest characteristic of the gold attribute was its hardness and solidity. Because of this, gold-attribute mages typically engraved formulas into objects or equipment to reinforce them. They were especially useful on battlefields that employed defensive barriers, fortresses, or shields, which naturally gave the attribute a defensive inclination.
Just as fire was the most attack-oriented of the seven attributes, gold existed at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.
Arisha had not recommended it, saying it wasn’t suitable for someone who desired to grow stronger. But I chose a different path from the conventional gold-attribute mages she had described.
I wasn’t going to engrave formulas into objects or equipment.
The target I would engrave the formulas into was my own body.
This is the kind of strength I’m pursuing.
A body tough enough to endure any attack. That was the growth and strength I desired. I would strengthen my own flesh.
I carved the magical formulas from the textbook directly into my body. Using Heavenly Fate in place of mana, I sent it flowing through my bones, muscles, and meridians.
“Ugh…”
Was this what it felt like for metal to be forged inside one’s body? It wasn’t that actual metal was being created. It felt more like I was tempering my own body into a weapon. No mage had probably ever attempted this before.
Little by little, my body felt as if it were being forged into metal. The heartbeat that had steadily circulated blood through my veins began to slow, turning metallic. As I sent Heavenly Fate into every corner of my body, my skeleton gradually grew as heavy and hard as cast iron.
My heart felt heavy, as if it had turned to metal, yet its beats grew fiercer and more powerful. Like a war hammer—thud, thud. With every pulse, it pushed blood through my entire body with pressure strong enough to shatter steel.
If I keep going like this, I’ll die. But…
Just like how I had died and come back to life, with my current ability to recover accumulated damage to my body using Heavenly Fate, I could endure this process.
The heartbeat that had been slowing to a stop began to surge again as it grew as hard and solid as metal. It no longer stopped. Instead… it circulated even more powerfully.
But it couldn’t be rigid like steel. I divided the flow of Heavenly Fate—sending hardness into my skeleton and outer shell, while granting flexibility and elasticity to my muscles and meridians.
The metallic power pressed down on my body like a crushing weight, yet within it, I could move freely. The sensation of hardness and softness coexisting within a single body was a kind of toughness I had never experienced before.
I tempered and circulated it throughout my body. I focused entirely on making every meridian through which Heavenly Fate flowed pure and clear.
“Cough!”
I suddenly vomited blood that rose up my throat. It wasn’t a side effect. The unnecessary impurities that had accumulated inside my body were being filtered out by the circulating Heavenly Fate, condensed, and expelled.
“A little more…”
I stopped thinking. I focused solely on circulating Heavenly Fate. I poured every ounce of my concentration into making my body harder, more flexible, and more elastic.
After countless repetitions of this circulation, when the reinforcement of my body finally reached its peak—
“……”
I slowly opened my eyes. I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly, checking the changes in my body. A faint smile spread across my lips.
“It worked.”
The magic I had created. My own magic. The tempering of a body that surpassed human limits and possessed true solidity.
"Unbreakable defense forged in the soul."
"Body of steel that defies all violence."
⟨ Hoshin-ganggi ⟩
As I named the magic, I realized something. This was merely the first step. The spell was still incomplete. I would need to refine it countless times, test it repeatedly, and continue forging it into a true body of steel.
But one thing was certain. I had now reached the starting point where I could stand against even the overwhelming bodies of high-ranking monsters.
“This is just the beginning.”