Language Acquisition
Muyedobotongji...
James was coming face-to-face with a new world, one that had nothing to do with the simple knightly swordsmanship he had trained in until now. The book explained every movement with illustrations and text, to the point that anyone could learn from it alone.
"If he concealed the sword on the left, strike inward once with the blade, then once outward, twist the body and switch stance... lower the sword and strike once, hide it low to the right and advance... raise the sword high and strike once..."
Compared to the knightly swordsmanship book, which was nothing but his master's relentless mana, this was unbelievably kind. On top of that, it contained twenty-four martial arts techniques in meticulous detail, including spear work and sword forms. And it said these were not limited to one nation’s fighting arts, but compiled knowledge from China to the north, Japan below, and even the martial traditions of Taiwan across the sea.
"Damn it..."
"Why?"
"I can't believe something like this is sold in stores."
'If the Round Table knights and soldiers who learned from my master's fierce mana had studied this instead...'
History itself might have turned out differently.
"That weird?"
"Weird and then some."
"If it's weird, throw it away already."
"..."
James lifted his head at Colt's words and broke into a wide grin.
"Throw it away? Why would I throw this away? Everything we need to learn is in here. Heh."
"...Was it a good swordsmanship book? You didn't get scammed by Su-ji, did you?"
James closed the book and checked the price printed on the back.
[Regular Price: 30,000 won.]
"This only cost thirty bucks."
It was far too little money to call it a scam.
"...That's all?"
"I'll need to buy a few more copies."
James felt as though he would need to read the book often enough for it to wear thin and fray.
"There's eye technique, movement technique, footwork, hand technique, leg technique, and then striking, washing, and more... There are a ridiculous number of basics we need to learn before swordsmanship."
Until now, he had thought it was enough to forge the knightly vessel that could contain his fierce mana, but that had been far too naive. Before learning swordsmanship, there were not only the mindset one had to possess, but also the parts of the body that had nothing to do with swordplay and the proper way to use them. The book Su-ji had sent was nothing less than a comprehensive collection of martial knowledge passed down through thousands of years of revision and refinement.
"What the hell does all that mean..."
'This is something you have to see and learn for yourself. I can't explain it one piece at a time.'
James could tell it was time to implant Korean into Colt as well.
"Let's go out later. I need to use magic."
"Outside? If you're going to use magic, why not do it here?"
"Because nobody here will know, right?"
"Still, be careful."
"Call!"
* * *
It had been a long time since Colt had gone out into downtown Seoul with James. Unless he was going somewhere with Ho-jung, he had no reason to leave. For Colt, who knew no Korean at all, Seoul was nothing but a frustrating place.
"Feels like everyone's staring at me."
"Might not just be a feeling."
In fact, glances kept flicking toward Colt as he walked with James. Tall and handsome, Colt had recently bulked up and now carried an imposing physique that made anyone standing in front of him feel a little intimidated.
"Guess I'm just that kind of face no matter where I go, huh?"
"..."
"So. Where are we going now?"
"Korean Academy."
"Huh? You're telling me to enroll there?"
"We're just going to take a look. I told you I was going to use magic."
James arrived at the Korean language academy he had checked beforehand and was shown to a small room.
"Please wait a moment. The instructor will be out shortly. They're still in class right now."
"Thank you."
"The one who wants to attend the academy is the gentleman beside you, right?"
"For today, we just wanted an interview. Nothing's decided yet."
James spoke fluent Korean, and Colt was left sitting there blankly because he had no idea what James and the staff member were saying to each other.
"That's fine. You can decide after the consultation."
Only after the guide had left did Colt speak in a low voice.
"What kind of magic are you trying to use here?"
"Just don't be surprised in a minute."
"..."
"Just react naturally. Call?"
"...Call."
When the ongoing class seemed to have ended, a man came into the room.
"Hello. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all."
"..."
"I'm instructor Gu Young-jin, and I handle the academy's regular Korean classes and conversation courses."
Perfect.
At the man's introduction, James gave a small nod. He was planning to pass the Korean skill he possessed on to Colt.
"I'm James Kane, and this is Colt Evans. We're both American."
As he introduced himself and Colt, James began moving his hands. It was the same magic he had used on Su-ji and Ho-jung before.
Limited Drain. Active Mark. Except Point Check.
It was a preparatory sequence for extracting and copying the memory limited to Korean.
"Ah... both of you are Americans?"
"I already learned Korean in advance. This one is just at the very beginning."
"..."
"I see? Then I should check how much you've learned. Shall we begin the test?"
When he mentioned a test, James's mana activated.
Copy and Paste. Action.
The mana extending from James's hand began working inside the man's head, then soon returned and was input into James and Colt.
"!"
Whoa.
James had thought he had already mastered Korean through what he had learned from Su-ji and Ho-jung, but he could not help being astonished by the depth of the instructor's professional knowledge.
It's enormous...
James could only marvel at the breadth and depth of the man's Korean expertise, but Colt, who received the full brunt of that knowledge for the first time, was hit by an overwhelming shock.
W-what the hell is all this...
It was because a completely new language, one that was entirely different from his existing linguistic system, had been forcefully installed in his mind as though it were his mother tongue. The two languages were colliding inside Colt's head.
"Guh."
As Colt clutched his head with both hands and bent forward, James was startled and grabbed his shoulder.
"Are you OK?"
He asked in English, but the answer came back in Korean.
"I'm fine. My head just hurts a little..."
Hearing their conversation, Instructor Gu Young-jin tilted his head.
"You said he'd only learned a little? His pronunciation seems perfect..."
Colt, as though the headache had passed, straightened his back again and answered.
"I really only learned a little, sir."
"Even polite speech?"
It was not exactly wrong, since only a few seconds had passed between Colt knowing nothing and learning Korean.
"Colt. Maybe you should go home and rest."
"You should've explained this beforehand..."
"How would explaining it have helped?"
"..."
Without experiencing it for himself, he would never have understood no matter how much it was explained.
"Honestly, it looks like your friend's in no condition to continue the consultation today."
"Ah. Yes, then next time..."
James rose from his seat and pulled a thick envelope from his coat, setting it on the table.
"...What's this?"
"The lesson fee for learning Korean."
"..."
The man had taught them nothing at all, and yet Colt had just mastered the Korean he had spent his whole life learning. From the start, James had come here with this in mind, and he had already known how it would turn out. That was why he had prepared the envelope in advance.
The lesson fee for Korean is absurdly cheap.
"Ah, no... but you didn't even actually take a class..."
"Take it. I don't need it back."
Before the man could stop them, James and Colt had already left the academy.
"...What the hell just happened?"
Curious about how much money was inside the envelope, the instructor opened it a little and pulled out a bill.
"!"
Inside the envelope were fifty one-hundred-dollar bills, each bearing the clear face of Benjamin Franklin.
Five thousand dollars...
It was about as much as his monthly salary.
* * *
"Wow... wow..."
Colt had stepped outside the academy and was now staring at a whole new world. Every sign hung on the shops around him was catching his eye.
"Colt. So what's your impression after learning Korean?"
"It's amazing."
"Puh-hah."
Just then, students passing by cast side glances at Colt and murmured to each other in low voices. His sharpened hearing, honed through training in the fierce mana of knightly combat, caught every word.
"That foreigner looks like he'd eat butter with every meal."
"Heh-heh. Yeah. Totally greasy."
Colt came to a stop.
Slowly, his head turned toward the back of their heads.
"Heh-heh. I knew it from the start."
"..."
It was true that Colt was handsome, but in Korea he was being read as a rather heavy, greasy kind of face.
"Don't take it personally. Not everyone is like that."
"Those damn middle school punks..."
"If you lay a hand on a juvenile offender in Korea, you're screwed. It's not all that different in the U.S., either."
"Tch."
Colt forced himself to ignore the brash, immature chatter of the younger students and asked,
"How much did you pay back there? You paid enough, right?"
To Colt, he was now a great instructor who had instantly made him master Korean.
"Five thousand dollars."
"Only five grand? You should've paid more."
"Anything more would be too much. He's probably still not sure what to do even after taking that money."
In fact, the instructor was deep in thought over whether he should tell the academy about the money James had given him.
"Your magic is seriously a scam."
"Yeah. I'll own that."
Even James thought the language-acquisition spell was basically a scam. It was a ridiculous kind of magic that let you acquire in an instant a language that other people would need years, maybe even more than a decade, to master.
"Still, thanks to you, I feel like life in Korea's going to be a lot more interesting."
"It won't just be interesting."
'The more you know, the more troublesome things tend to become.'
As James walked down the street, a large bookstore came into view.
"Oh. I was actually thinking of going to a bookstore anyway. Perfect. Let's go there."
James had a clear purpose in mind for visiting the bookstore.
'Will it be here too?'
He intended to look for the same book Su-ji had given him.
"I wanted to read a Korean original myself."
* * *
James went into the large bookstore and headed straight for the book search terminal.
Muyedobotongji Juhae...
The search results displayed exactly the book he wanted.
"Okay. Found it."
"Jimmie. I'm gonna go look around over there."
"Go ahead. I'll find it and wait at the checkout desk."
James headed toward the shelf location listed by the search terminal, while Colt flipped through books here and there with a grin.
"Heh."
I can read them. I really learned Korean.
As Colt moved between the shelves and skimmed the titles, he came to a stop in one section.
[Economics / Business]
"..."
Several specialized books welcomed Colt, but he did not reach out to any of them. He only stood there with a rigid expression.
There's stuff I saw before, too.
Colt had found the books he had once studied in college. He had majored in business administration and taken related courses. But once he entered society, there had been no chance to use anything he had learned in college. Becoming the emcee for performances, relying on his natural face and easy speech, had been the most comfortable and straightforward path.
Principles of Business Administration, Principles of Economics, International Business, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Statistics, Finance, Accounting...
The specialist books that had once made his head feel like it might burst were sitting there, greeting him again.
Whoosh.
Colt turned away from the section at once. If he kept looking, he felt like greed would start creeping in for no good reason.
That's impossible for me.
There had been a time when Colt studied business and economics in college and dreamed of becoming a businessman.
But no company would hire a man with not a single line of relevant experience to his name.
"What're you doing here?"
"Oh. Nothing."
James looked over the section Colt had passed by and said,
"Business and economics? Even after learning Korean, that's a bit much."
"...I graduated from Columbia University's Business School, you know?"
"You were an Ivy League guy? And you went to business school? Damn."
James had never bothered to ask what Colt had studied in college. He was hearing for the first time that Colt had even attended one at all.
"Ohhh. Colt, you're a serious intellectual."
"So what? I'm still just your exclusive MC for the magic show."
And even that career had now been cut off and ruined.
"Let's go once you've picked everything out. Our future's still bright."
Still, Colt took comfort in what remained to him. He was prepared to enjoy the rest of his life with the large sum of money and his financial assets.
"Hold this."
"Whoa. Why'd you buy so many?"
Colt read the identical title printed on the spines of the books.
"Huh? They're all the same book."
"You're a little slow on the uptake, huh?"
"Muyedobotongji Juhae... is this the same book we saw at home earlier?"
"I figured I might as well take them all just in case."
James had taken every copy of the book he found in the store.
"I took a quick look at some similar swordsmanship books, and this one was the source."
"The source... so all the other sword forms were derived from this?"
Colt understood even difficult words perfectly now.
"Anyway, just hold these for a second. We'll store them away once we leave."
"Call."
At the checkout counter, James had to endure the staff member's puzzled stare.
These were books we'd been sitting on for years...
They were books that had been gathering dust and taking up shelf space for a long time, so it was odd that one person was buying all of them today. And on top of that, he had a foreigner with him.
"You're buying multiple copies of the same book?"
"Ah. We're planning to read them together."
Colt grumbled from the side.
"Together my ass. It's just the two of us..."
"It's still not just you reading it alone, is it? Colt."
"..."
The staff member, startled by Colt's fluent Korean, froze halfway through scanning the barcodes.
"Ah... sorry. That was rude of me, wasn't it?"
"Oh, no, not at all."
"All done?"
"Yes. All fourteen copies come to 420,000 won."
"That's seriously cheap."
"If it's so cheap, why don't you buy them yourself?"
"My credit card hasn't come out yet."
"Then you should've handled your banking sooner."
In the end, James and Colt finished paying with James's card and left the bookstore bickering. The moment James rounded the corner, twelve of the books vanished, leaving only two behind. He had set those aside to read right away.
"Take a look first."
"Call."
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