Hoshin-ganggi (3)
Arisha summoned Han Jungwoo the moment he returned from his short leave. As soon as he arrived back at the base, Garan escorted him straight to the commander's office.
“Did you gain anything?”
“Yes.”
At Arisha’s question, Han Jungwoo gave a silent nod. The determined gleam that had filled his eyes when he asked her to teach him magic had softened somewhat. It meant he had achieved what he wanted.
Arisha had personally taught him the concepts and principles of magic. That was why she was curious about what kind of realization he had reached during those three short days of leave.
The mana manipulation ability Jungwoo had shown her before was precise to an astonishing degree. It was hard to believe he had once failed the mage examination.
What is that composure?
Where there had once been a fierce determination to grow no matter what, now there was ease. She wondered what lay behind that ease—what kind of realization and growth he had achieved.
“Show me.”
Arisha’s order was only natural. Before the relationship of new recruit and commanding officer, there was the bond between student and teacher. Confirming a student’s progress was a teacher’s rightful privilege. That was how Arisha saw it.
“…Here?”
Jungwoo, however, seemed reluctant. His shoulders trembled slightly, betraying his surprise at the unexpected command.
“You don’t want to?”
For a moment, Arisha’s brows drew together. She had no intention of forcing him if he truly disliked it, but for some reason the refusal left her in a foul mood. She had expected that since she was the one who taught him magic, he would at least show her what he had accomplished.
She didn’t realize it herself, but what she felt was disappointment.
“It’s not that…”
Jungwoo glanced at both Arisha and Garan before continuing carefully.
“It’s just… it might be a bit inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate?”
“Hmm?”
Both Arisha and Garan tilted their heads at the same time. They couldn’t understand his reaction. Showing a spell—what could possibly be inappropriate about that?
“It’s fine. Just do it.”
“…Understood.”
Jungwoo nodded reluctantly. Then he began unbuttoning his uniform one by one.
“You…?”
“Why is he taking off his clothes…? Huh?”
Both Garan and Arisha reacted with shock at Jungwoo’s actions. Arisha, in particular, was flustered. She had asked him to show her magic, not to suddenly strip. But when she saw the runic pattern engraved on his chest, her face hardened.
“A spell formula…”
“Did you carve it into your own skin?”
Garan, who noticed it a moment later, also looked stunned. Although he had no talent for magic, as a squad leader responsible for his men he understood the basic concepts well enough. He knew exactly how bizarre and shocking what Jungwoo had done truly was.
The startled Arisha rose from her seat and approached the now shirtless Jungwoo. She wanted a closer look at the spell formula drawn near his heart. Any embarrassment she might have felt at seeing a man’s bare torso had completely vanished.
“This crazy…”
A curse slipped from her lips—something she would normally never say. It showed just how deeply shocked she was by the sight before her.
“C-Commander.”
Garan was so flustered by the sudden profanity that he actually called out to her.
“Ahem.”
Realizing she had lost her composure, Arisha cleared her throat. She pushed down the agitation rising in her chest and looked at Jungwoo again.
“…What the hell did you do?”
“As you can see, I designated my own body as the target of the spell.”
His calm answer made Arisha’s expression twist again.
“Among the seven attributes of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, the Gold attribute manifests differently from the others. Creating metal with actual mass consumes far too much mana compared to its efficiency.”
Normally, magic was manifested using natural elements such as fire, water, wind, earth, light, or darkness. It wasn’t impossible to generate the Gold element, but producing metal with real mass and density required an enormous amount of mana. For that reason, most Gold-attribute mages used existing metal as a medium to strengthen it instead.
They reinforced the durability or sharpness of bladed weapons, or created sturdy, solid walls—defensive magic, in other words. Without a physical medium, it offered no direct help, so its practicality in combat was extremely low compared to the other six attributes that could annihilate enemies or support allies with overwhelming power.
In the Allied Forces, Gold-attribute mages were usually assigned only to specialized duties such as forging weapons in armories or constructing fortresses.
“The great advantage of magic is that with only the user’s mana and a spell formula, one can annihilate enemies with overwhelming force or support allies anytime, anywhere.”
On the other hand, the Gold attribute had a fatal flaw: without a physical medium to serve as both target and catalyst, it could not be used properly.
But what Jungwoo had done was use his own body—not a weapon or armor—as that medium. Arisha knew exactly how dangerous such an attempt had been.
“Do you even understand what you’ve done? You could have died.”
“……”
Jungwoo closed his mouth. She was right. During the process of activating the magic, he really had nearly died.
“The spell formula near your heart is a very basic one. It’s a one-digit magic called Ferro Skin that grants greater solidity to the chosen target.”
Digits was the grading system used by mages. The higher the digit, the greater the power of the magic—and the higher the mage’s status and treatment.
It was in the book Arisha lent me.
When she had taught him magic, she had lent him a book as reference. That concept had been written inside it. Jungwoo had learned the spell formulas and usage methods for Gold-attribute magic from that very book.
The one-digit spell Ferro Skin that Arisha mentioned had become the cornerstone for the Hoshin-ganggi he created.
“You must have felt excruciating pain when you activated it. Ferro Skin raises the solidity of its target to the extreme, pushing durability to its limit.”
Even though it wasn’t her primary attribute, Arisha explained the one-digit Gold magic with perfect accuracy.
She was right. Solidity meant hardness and firmness. Hardness implied an immovability that would not be shaken by any impact or external stimulus. That could be an advantage in some ways, but applying that property to a living body was incredibly dangerous.
It would mean stopping the constantly beating heart and the circulation of blood through the veins. When vital organs that must never stop suddenly did, it meant death.
What he had attempted was no different from suicide.
“I really can’t believe this.”
“I did have some confidence of success when I tried it.”
“Confidence? Or just recklessness?”
“……”
Jungwoo closed his mouth again. He had truly seen a degree of possibility before attempting it. But explaining that would require revealing the secret he carried. Since he couldn’t do that, he had no choice but to stay silent.
“Haa.”
Seeing his troubled expression, Arisha let out a small sigh.
“That magic. What do you call it?”
“Pardon?”
“The magic you created. What’s its name?”
Jungwoo answered Arisha’s repeated question.
“Ah, I named it Hoshin-ganggi.”
“A Ricon Kingdom-style name. Fine. From now on, you must never speak of this magic to anyone.”
“…Because it’s a new spell?”
The magic Jungwoo created could no longer be called the one-digit Gold spell Ferro Skin. Ferro Skin was originally a spell that increased the solidity of ordinary soldiers’ armor, shields, or weapons to boost durability and defense. Jungwoo’s version, which strengthened the body itself, could no longer be called by that name.
It was closer to an original magic newly invented by a mage. If its existence were discovered, both the Allied Forces and other mages would covet Jungwoo.
“Obviously. Besides, if it becomes known that you can use magic, things will get extremely complicated.”
“…Will they?”
Even after the explanation, he didn’t quite understand. It was Garan who resolved his lingering doubt.
“You’re a former slave soldier, aren’t you? And you’re currently listed as killed in action.”
“Ah.”
Jungwoo let out a belated sigh of realization. The number of mages in the Allied Forces was pathetically small compared to regular soldiers. If it became known that he could use magic, he would draw attention from all sides. And that would inevitably reveal his past as a slave soldier.
“We can push the story that a soldier recorded as killed in action is still alive as an administrative error, but having your history as a slave soldier come to light would be troublesome for you too, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Jungwoo nodded. He had no desire to be dragged back to Central Command and reduced to a slave soldier again.
“Fortunately, once you put your clothes back on, it doesn’t look like much of a problem from the outside. In battle, you’ll just seem a bit tougher than others… It would be impossible to tell you not to use it at all in combat. Instead, hide the existence of the magic as much as possible. Garan.”
“Yes. I will assist with that.”
Since Jungwoo belonged to the search and reconnaissance unit, if the squad leader Garan helped, they should be able to keep the magic hidden.
“Good. Then you may leave.”
“Understood.”
Jungwoo saluted Arisha and left the commander’s office.
“Huu…”
Once they were alone, Arisha sank into her chair with a heavy sigh. Then she looked at Garan.
“We really picked up something outrageous.”
“It would seem so.”
Garan gave a small nod before asking again.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“About the young man named Han Jungwoo.”
“……”
Arisha fell silent. She immediately understood what he was asking. It was about whether she should continue using Jungwoo or cast him aside.
The reason she hesitated to answer was to carefully choose the words she wanted to say.
“I don’t know.”
Even so, the conclusion Arisha reached was simply I don’t know.
As a commander responsible for leading troops, she thought she had met countless soldiers. In her eyes, Jungwoo was an extremely easy person to read. The half-day she had spent teaching him magic wasn’t enough time to fully understand someone, yet even then, he didn’t seem like a villain who had committed crimes and been turned into a slave soldier.
“His actions are clumsy, and he’s bad at lying. But he has a clear sense of self. He has goals he wants to achieve, and he sincerely works to learn whatever is necessary to reach them.”
Slowly, she spoke of what she had observed and felt while teaching him magic that half-day.
“…Why would someone like that have become a slave soldier?”
That part didn’t make sense to her. That was why she hesitated to decide whether to use him or discard him. If he had truly been an irredeemable criminal who committed unforgivable evil, she would have cast him away without hesitation.
“The results of my inquiries through a contact at Central Command arrived yesterday.”
Garan placed a document in front of the still-worried Arisha. She slowly read through its contents, but her gaze suddenly stopped at one particular section.
“This is…”
Specifically, she read the list of Jungwoo’s crimes two, then three times, wondering if she had misread.
“…Assault on royalty?”