How to Pass as a Man (4)
Kang Eunyoung led me to her private training ground in the basement of her house. As expected from a facility she'd built back in her S-rank hunter days, the walls were made of highly durable materials. Even so, they were scarred with all sorts of slashes and craters—most likely the results of training sessions between the S-rank hunter Kang Eunyoung and her A-rank daughter Kang Hyeun.
"Let's start by having you grip the sword once."
"Sure."
Following her words, I picked up the sword and assumed my usual stance, just like when I swung it in practice. It was exactly as she'd taught me before I entered Hunter Awakening High School.
"Your form looks fine on the surface, so we should start with how to sense your inner energy."
"Sensing inner energy?"
"That's right. Sensing inner energy."
With that, Eunyoung unnie drew an old greatsword from the storage rack and mirrored my stance, holding it out in front.
Before long, a purple aura began to flicker around her body.
"Whoa..."
Even after more than a decade in retirement, seeing her inner energy still so potent drew an involuntary gasp of admiration from my lips.
"Inner energy is basically life force and mana. Green is the baseline—leaning toward purple means it's got more life force properties, while closer to red means more mana properties. You know this much, right?"
"Yeah, I learned it in school back then."
"The more it leans toward life force, the easier it is to boost physical abilities or shape it into pure inner energy. The more it leans toward mana, the easier it is to convert into magic and form circuits."
Come to think of it, Cha Yuri always had that red mana rippling around her whenever she cast spells. Looking back now, it meant she was the closest thing to a pure mana mage.
Do Sihee used her blue inner energy for enchanted arrows while also enhancing her physical abilities—a hybrid form. And the purple aura rising around Eunyoung unnie's body spoke volumes about just how formidable a swordswoman she had been.
"Anyway, let's check out your inner energy first. Give it a try and release it."
I'd never actually done it before. I vaguely remembered trying a few times during inner energy sensing classes in high school, but I was always the one who ended up with nothing, no matter how hard I tried.
"How do I do it?"
"Simple. Grip the sword and imagine the sensation of swinging it."
"Grip the sword... and the moment of swinging..."
"Once you feel the inner energy rising like that, focus your mind and hold it as long as you can."
"Got it."
Naturally, my mind flashed to the most recent hunt—the moment I'd swung at that white slime. Clutching the sword tight, I recalled facing it head-on.
"Oh..."
Something ignited around me the instant I did. It was a totally different sensation from those high school classes.
Now I just have to maintain this state...
"......"
"......"
"......"
"......"
"...Taekyung?"
"Yeah."
"Not used to the feeling of releasing it yet? Should unnie... er, auntie explain it again?"
"...Huh?"
Snapping out of my focus at her sudden words, I dropped the stance. She looked a bit troubled.
"What do you mean?"
"You've been at it for over ten minutes without releasing any inner energy. Was I meddling?"
"What? I've been releasing it since way earlier."
"R-Really...?"
"Yeah."
I could definitely feel my vision shimmering around me, something draining from my body. I thought I'd been doing it right. Maybe I hadn't followed properly after all.
"C-Can you try once more?"
"Sure."
Wondering if the impression hadn't stuck last time, I pictured my most intense battle this time. Among recent fights, the tensest had to be that Trerallodon in the abandoned city.
Right after tangling with Do Sihee, that thing had shown up. I leaped into the air, twisted my body mid-swing, and finished by hurling my sword straight into its eye.
Nearly a month had passed, but the memory was still vivid—sharper even than the white slime fight. Inner energy surged stronger around me, palpable across my whole body.
"Releasing it now."
"Uh, y-yeah?"
"Yep."
"......"
For some reason, she didn't seem to buy it outright. She quietly released her own energy and stepped up beside me.
"Taekyung, sorry, but from what auntie sees, you don't have inner energy..."
As she grabbed my shoulder to say more—
"...Huh?"
She let out a puzzled sound and gripped harder.
"You're saying I'm the type with no inner energy, Eunyoung unnie?"
"W-Wait. Hold that state just a bit."
"Huh?"
"Need to check something."
"Okay..."
She kept her hand on my shoulder, focusing intently. Then, as if she'd figured it out, she pulled back with a knowing look.
"Taekyung."
"Yeah."
"It's a first for me too, but hear me out?"
"Go ahead, Eunyoung unnie."
She still looked unresolved, barely registering the "unnie" nickname. Finally, she ventured a cautious guess.
"Your inner energy... it seems to be colorless."
"Colorless? Not white or something?"
"Yeah, colorless. No color at all."
...Colorless inner energy? Did that even exist?
Her theory was something I'd never heard of, pulling me into the same confusion.
"What's colorless inner energy?"
"Beats me..."
"Huh?"
"It's a first for auntie too—this colorless inner energy."
As an S-rank hunter with tons of field experience and a long career, she'd met countless people. For her to admit ignorance meant it was news to me too.
Esilla, you know anything about it?
Found the closest info on colorless inner energy, but it's probably meaningless.
Tell me anyway.
Title: Yo, what ability would colorless inner energy give?
Content: Colorless means all colors mixed, right? So swinging a sword or shield while casting magic—no problem?
Esilla?
Found about 7,200 similar entries. Continue?
Nah, we're good. Thanks.
The best hit Esilla could find was some troll post on a community site. No point digging further. I apologized for the pointless query and moved on.
"If it were at least white, I could guess it's tied to holy power... but colorless?"
"At least it's confirmed I have inner energy, right?"
"Yeah, that much seems solid. At first I thought you had none, but I felt it in my hand. Definitely not."
Eunyoung unnie touched her chin, pondering with a furrowed brow. Her voice took on a worried edge as she asked the next question.
"Who all knows you've awakened now, besides auntie?"
"Hyeun first, then one, two..."
Cha Yuri and Do Sihee already knew. I hadn't told Han Mina about the awakening ability itself...
It's bound to come out soon anyway, so include her. Choi Hwayoung doesn't fully trust me yet, so skip her for now.
That made four women I'd been with, plus me and Eunyoung unnie—six total.
"Including you and me, that's six."
"More than I thought..."
Her concern deepened. To reassure her, I rushed into an excuse that wasn't quite one.
"It'll be fine. Two of them met me under aliases while hunter-ing, not my real name. One's a friend from before awakening, so she'll keep the secret."
"Aliases as a hunter...? Wouldn't guild admins know?"
"Around when I got the ability, I got an artifact that hides my identity too."
"......"
"So they probably haven't figured out I'm a guy."
"Right. You're not the type to lie to auntie."
She relaxed just a fraction and continued her advice.
"Try not to let on about your colorless inner energy if you can. It's so rare, it'll stir up a storm."
"Even without them knowing I'm a guy?"
"Obviously. It's not like black or white where it's visible, at least—that's a small mercy. If anyone asks about your inner energy color, better to say you have none."
"...Got it."
The more I learned about my abilities, the more secrets piled up. When could I finally own the title of male awakener without hiding?
Hope that day comes soon, whenever it is.
"Anyway, we've confirmed you have life force, so let's move to the next step. Not sure if it's life force or mana since it's colorless, but we can figure out its traits a bit."
"Looking forward to it, Eunyoung unnie."
"Drop that nickname already..."
She blushed every time, but no way I'd stop now.