The Goddess's Guidance
I got ready to head out.
Using a Player's power in just any old place was a surefire way to wreck the furniture. Training at a center that maintained active defensive magic was the only way to avoid any accidents.
'Once I save up enough money, I should build my own personal training ground.'
Player training centers weren't as common as regular gyms. Even the closest one was a thirty-minute subway ride away. I threw on some clothes and headed to the training center near my house.
"Is this your first time using our center?"
"Yes. I'll take the small room for six hours, please."
"Understood. Wait... aren't you Player Yu Jinho?"
"That's right."
The training center owner blinked a few times before letting out an impressed "Whoa!"
"It's a real honor to have Player Yu Jinho visit our center."
"It's not that big of a deal."
"If it's not too much trouble, could I ask for your autograph?"
This was a situation I'd gone through countless times before my regression. I skillfully scrawled my signature across the A4 paper.
"Thank you! I'll treasure this as a memento of our center!"
The owner even gave me a free usage voucher as a first-time visitor perk. Since it was free, there was no reason to turn it down.
—Oh? Someone recognizes you.
"There'll be more of that in the future."
It is only natural for the contractor of Yeo. Work harder and spread your fame far and wide.
"As you command."
I traded casual banter with Nyx as I stepped into the small training room.
It was about a hundred square meters wide. Magic circuits covered every inch of the walls—defensive spells designed to absorb impacts.
Before using the training center, a test will be conducted.
Please strike the sandbag located beside the door.
The durability of the room varied depending on its size. If you messed up your strength control and blew away the defensive magic, they'd have to re-enchant the entire array. That's why a power check was mandatory before using the facility. There was also a clause that said you'd have to pay the full repair cost if you broke anything.
'I'm here to train Polar Night today anyway.'
I shaped the power of Polar Night into a fist and slammed it into the sandbag with everything I had. The magically reinforced sandbag calculated the impact.
Within Grade 3. You may use this space.
Contractor, is there a reason you must strike with full power?
Of course I could hold back and fake the grade. But...
"If I break it, I have to pay for everything."
Could you not simply adjust your strength appropriately?
"If I adjust my strength, there's no point in coming to a training center. And if I break it and have to pay, that'd be enough money to buy thousands of cotton candies."
Yeo was mistaken.
It seemed Nyx had firmly associated the concept of currency with cotton candy. The cotton candy effect was working like a charm.
I closed my eyes and focused every ounce of my attention on sensing the power of Polar Night. The deep darkness gathered at the crown of my head. I could feel Polar Night's power there.
'It's grown enormously compared to when I first devoured it.'
In the heat of urgent battle, I hadn't really noticed how much the amount of Polar Night had increased. Even though the Polar Night stat had gone up, the amount I could actually manifest wasn't that significant. Now that I had the time to calmly observe it, I realized the darkness had nearly tripled.
Indeed. This growth rate is hardly something one would expect from a mere mortal.
"It's all thanks to the bonus stats."
I began to move the darkness condensed at the top of my head. Like carefully unraveling a tangled ball of thread.
Shhhht!
The darkness, reflecting my will, manifested outside my body. The power of Polar Night dyed the floor beneath my feet pitch black. Compared to the darkness gathered at my crown, it was only a tiny fraction.
Tsk. I clicked my tongue.
'Even when I focus, the output doesn't increase much.'
So far, Polar Night's power could only serve as support in battle. Through training like harvesting poison sacs, my fine control had improved, but the actual output was still too low to inflict serious damage on opponents.
'That Antonio guy didn't use it in such pathetic little drips.'
The legendary criminal who had once dominated Brazil's underworld, Antonio, could make shadows surge like tidal waves with a single gesture. Blades of shadow would burst forth wherever darkness gathered, and there were even those who fell under the control of his shadow manipulation.
'I need to raise the output itself, not just the control over Polar Night.'
No matter how many times I peered into the abyss residing at my crown, drawing out more of Polar Night's power seemed impossible. I focused every nerve on manifesting Polar Night again and again.
Shhhhhht!
From 5.5 to 6, then to 7. The amount of Polar Night manifesting outside my body slowly increased.
"This still isn't enough."
I let out a short sigh and sat down on the floor. The more I concentrated on handling Polar Night, the more I neglected the other abilities I'd gained through Devour. The efficiency compared to the focus required was terrible.
What are you thinking about so seriously?
"Your power is just too difficult to handle, Goddess."
Before my regression, I'd handled all sorts of abilities through Devour—telekinesis, elemental magic, martial arts, and so on. I'd even used the blessings absorbed from gods' relics and ruins.
'But this is by far the hardest one to control.'
The highest difficulty in operation. Since it was the power of a conceptual god like Nyx, raising the output wasn't easy.
"Goddess, could you teach me some tricks for handling Polar Night?"
Darkness was born from Yeo in the first place. As for tricks...
"Yeah, yeah."
Right. This goddess was the one who had created the very concept of night. To Nyx, darkness was something as natural as breathing. It had been a pointless question.
However, there does seem to be a way to help you.
"How?"
Do you remember the time when Yeo handled your darkness?
"Of course. But you said that could only be used once every ten days."
If it is not directly handling Polar Night but merely synchronizing with it, then it is possible.
Ah. Now that she mentioned it, when Nyx had first granted me the power of Polar Night, she had helped me train the same way.
"If it's going to hurt you like last time, I'll pass."
S-surely... are you worried about Yeo?
Nyx replied in an agitated voice. Hmm, had I wounded the goddess's pride?
"We're partners, aren't we?"
Partners... I see. That is true.
Nyx's voice quickly calmed down. Her mood swings were something else.
"Is there anything I need to do?"
Simply relax and accept Yeo's presence.
Nyx slipped into my shadow just like last time. The shadow rippled with a faint tremor.
'I can feel it.'
A massive presence had settled into my darkness. It was Nyx's aura. She didn't interfere with the power of Polar Night like she had on the first floor of the Tower. But simply by being there, her presence allowed me to sense the darkness much more clearly.
"Good. Let's try again."
That is the spirit.
Nyx's encouragement rang through my mind.
* * *
One hour into training.
I was able to unravel a little more of the clumped Polar Night power. After three hours, I could manifest the unraveled power outside my body. And by the time the training center's rental period was almost over...
Kwaaaaaang!
Out of the seventy points of Polar Night power, I managed to manifest fifty.
"Whoa."
I let out a short gasp of admiration. The moment I manifested fifty points of Polar Night at once, a wave of darkness engulfed the entire room. I'd literally only 'manifested' it without any intent to attack, so when it collided with the walls it scattered into foam and shattered apart. If I'd put any killing intent behind it, the training center would've been demolished.
To think you would be able to handle this much darkness in such a short time.
"It's all thanks to your help, Goddess."
While I was at it, I asked if it was possible to synchronize with the darkness during actual combat as well. Nyx shook her head.
It is only possible when the shadow is still.
She left not even the slightest possibility open.
"Tch, that's a shame."
So it wasn't viable for real combat. After Nyx withdrew from my shadow, I tried using Polar Night again and found I could manifest about twenty points of darkness.
'It's increased quite a bit.'
Of course, manifesting twenty points still required considerable concentration. Fully utilizing a hundred percent of Polar Night's power in the middle of battle... I still had a long way to go.
"Looks like I'll need to adapt every time the Polar Night stat increases."
Your dedication is truly a pleasure to watch.
"It's power you gave me. I need to get used to it quickly."
I gathered the power of Polar Night back into myself.
"Mr. Yu Jinho, please make sure to visit our center again next time!"
The training center owner's enthusiastic farewell. Until I saved up enough money to build my own place, I'd have to keep coming here.
When I stepped outside the building, the sky had grown quite dark. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and the streetlights along the road were beginning to flicker on one by one. Another day was coming to an end.
It was truly a fulfilling day.
"It's not over yet."
You still have work left?
"I need to practice my cultivation."
I had no intention of wasting what little time remained. Three Talents Qi Gong. It was the lowest grade of third-rate internal cultivation methods, but it could still accumulate a bit of internal energy.
"They say even dust can become a mountain when gathered."
What does that mean?
"It means that to achieve a big goal, you have to build up steadily, one step at a time."
Indeed. A fine saying. It suits you well.
Nyx let out a strange chuckle, as if something about it pleased her greatly.
"I didn't mean it that way."
Hehe.
Why was this goddess in such a high-tension mood today?
Just then, bzzz! bzzz! A vibration leaked out from my pocket.
"I really need to change this number soon."
It seems someone is looking for the contractor?
"Lately a lot of random nobodies have been crawling out of the woodwork."
An unknown number. It was obviously another guild recruitment offer. Becoming famous was such a hassle.
As I walked while holding the phone, the vibration soon stopped. Then—bzzz!
Nope. The phone kept ringing in succession. It looked like they'd left a text message. Might as well check what it said.
Wait a second. Hong Yesul... wasn't that Hong Yunsu's little sister?!
I'd wondered if it might be someone with the same name, but the fact that she had a brother who was a Player confirmed it. When she'd taken my contact information, I'd thought she was just being polite. I never expected her to reach out first.
Good thing I checked my phone.
An acquaintance?
"Not exactly an acquaintance, but it was an important message."
Hong Yunsu was an early-stage Player who had already made quite a name for himself in Korea.
Then would it not be better to speak with them immediately when they call?
Nyx was right. But it felt a bit awkward to ignore their call on purpose and then call them back myself, you know?
I let out a small groan and pressed the call button.
"Is this the mister?"
"I'm not a mister. I'm Yu Jinho."
"Anyway, you're the mister who saved me that time, right? You didn't pick up so I thought I had the wrong number."
Hong Yesul chattered away in a bright, cheerful voice. The liveliness of a teenager. For someone who'd lived through the age of destruction in my previous life, it was honestly hard to get used to.
"Mister, are you free right now?"
"I don't have any other plans."
"Oppa!!!!!"
Hong Yesul's voice rang out loudly through the receiver. She wasn't seriously suggesting we meet right now, was she?
"Mister, my brother wants to meet you. Could you spare some time?"
"......"
I was left speechless by Hong Yesul's sheer drive. I'd contacted them with the intention of building a connection with Hong Yunsu, but I never imagined things would progress this quickly.
'Even better.'
Forming a connection with the Ranker Hong Yunsu hadn't been part of my original plan. But if I played this meeting right, I could push my plans forward significantly.
You're wearing that sinister smile again.
Nyx let out a sigh.