The First Circle
"That was incredibly close."
Ilyang, drenched in sweat, pressed his right palm firmly against his heart and smiled.
He still did not quite understand why the circle spun vertically rather than horizontally.
But it did not matter anymore.
Now that a single, stable circle had been completed,
it would expand on its own without him even having to consciously guide it.
It would grow naturally, limited only by the boundaries of Ilyang's own comprehension.
Of course, actively gathering mana would speed up the process,
but having his internal energy accumulate even while he slept was an immense advantage.
"Still, since the laws of physics and magic I once knew don't fully apply here, my growth might hit a wall at some point."
Well, that was a problem for future him.
With a light heart, Ilyang stood up, pushed open the window, and looked outside.
He felt as though he had caught a glimpse of this world's fundamental laws today, however small.
Horizontal circles and vertical circles.
What kind of law governed such a phenomenon?
Just like the spontaneous generation of heroes and demon kings in his past life,
some inexplicable, grand design seemed to be at play in this world.
"Well, whatever the case, forming a circle entirely on my own is a massive achievement."
Feeling the bright sunlight and the gentle breeze, Ilyang checked the passage of time.
From the moment he had prepared to form the circle,
roughly a full day seemed to have slipped by.
The only problem was...
"Sniff, sniff. Ugh...! This stench is unbearable. I need a bath immediately."
The moment the circle was completed,
the impurities accumulated in his body had been purged all at once, leaving him with a rather severe odor.
A pungent, unmistakable stench assaulted his nostrils.
It was a foul smell nearly on par with the days when he had first arrived in this world as a filthy beggar.
It was enough to make his head spin.
Pitter-patter—
Ilyang opened his door and hurried down the stairs.
The jeomsoi, humming to himself as he wiped down an empty table on the first floor, spotted him and practically wagged his tail in delight as he rushed over.
"Young Master Ilyang! You've finally come out!"
"Yes. I'm going to the well to wash up for a bit."
"Ah! No, please! I will fetch hot water for you immediately!"
"No, no. It's fine. I just feel incredibly sticky right now, so... actually, I'd appreciate it if you didn't come any closer."
"What do you mean by—ugh! What is this?! Where is that smell of spoiled dog food coming from...?"
The jeomsoi grimaced violently and took two hasty steps back.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Ilyang said,
"Sorry. I sweated a bit too much. The smell is rather strong, isn't it?"
Seeing Ilyang's embarrassment, the jeomsoi suddenly snapped to his senses and delivered a sharp slap to his own cheek.
Slap!
"How foolish of me! Forgive me, Young Master! How dare I react that way to your sublime scent! Inhale! Inhale! Ahhh~ Your scent is truly fragrant, Young Master!"
"..."
The jeomsoi stepped right up to Ilyang's nose, puffed out his chest, and took a massive breath.
His eyes sparkled as he proudly displayed his absolute loyalty.
To the jeomsoi, this was the highest form of flattery he could muster on the spot.
But watching this display, Ilyang's face twisted in sheer disgust.
This guy is even crazier than I thought...
He knew the generous tip he had given earlier was driving this behavior, but still.
For the first time in decades—spanning all the way back to his previous life—Ilyang felt a profound, deeply uncomfortable sense of sheer embarrassment.
"Inhale! Inhale! This humble servant will fetch hot water at once. Please wait in your room, Young Master! Inhale!"
"...No, it's fine. In fact, you're making me feel worse. And could you please stop inhaling like that?"
"But why? Your scent is so fragrant—"
"I said stop it, you bastard."
His face thoroughly contorted,
Ilyang shoved the creepily persistent jeomsoi away.
"Ah! Young Master! I will bring the hot water in the blink of an eye!"
"I'm too sticky to wait! Right now!"
Leaving the clingy jeomsoi behind,
Ilyang quickly ran toward the large well located at the back of the alley.
However...
"Oh, dear..."
The well area was larger than he had expected.
But when he arrived, he found a crowd of people doing laundry along the stream of water flowing from the well.
For a split second, he wondered if he should have just listened to the jeomsoi.
Regret flickered in his mind,
but the sheer discomfort was so overwhelming he felt he might faint if he didn't wash up immediately.
"I have no choice."
This was an emergency.
Ilyang scanned the area, waiting for an opening. Keeping as much distance from the crowd as possible, he dashed to the emptiest section of the water channel. He scooped up a bucket of well water, and then—
Splash! Splaaash!
He whipped off his upper robe
and poured the freezing water over himself.
He couldn't very well strip off his trousers, so his lower garments ended up completely soaked, but it couldn't be helped.
"Oh my, what in the world is he doing?"
"I know, right? He looks like a young master from a wealthy family, and he's handsome to boot. How scandalous of him to bathe out in the open like this."
"But whose son is he to behave like that?"
"Who knows? His face doesn't look familiar."
Regardless of the whispering townswomen and maids nearby,
Ilyang, driven mad by the stickiness, shut his eyes and ears to his surroundings and moved on to the next step.
Scrub, scrub, scrub—
He vigorously scrubbed his upper body with the jodu (herbal soap powder) he had brought from his room.
"Oh my goodness!"
"Hey! Go wash up in the corner!"
"Goodness. I've never seen a young master so shameless."
"But his skin is so fair and smooth, isn't it?"
Ignoring the women's scolding and teasing, Ilyang maintained a stoic expression, stubbornly accomplished his goal,
and poured another bucket of water over himself.
Splaaash—
Ah... I can finally breathe.
His skin had been itching terribly just moments ago, but even this makeshift bath made him feel incredibly refreshed.
Only then did he notice the disapproving stares from the crowd, causing him to pause.
"Uh... my apologies. I was simply too uncomfortable..."
"Well, at least he has the decency to apologize."
"We got quite a view today. Your skin is as white and smooth as tofu, Young Master. It's lovely."
"..."
Even before he had aged a century in his past life,
Ilyang had always been a remarkably thick-skinned individual.
Perhaps it was because of his young body,
but this mild teasing actually made him flush with embarrassment.
Of course, he hadn't caused them any real harm,
but stripping off his shirt and splashing water in public like a savage was, upon reflection, a bit of a public nuisance.
"I am sorry."
When Ilyang bowed politely and apologized,
the women giggled among themselves and waved their hands.
"It's fine, it's fine. Go on and change your trousers."
"Indeed. If you were going to strip, you should have taken off the bottom half too, Young Master."
"Oh my! If you had done that, we wouldn't have complained at all!"
"What a shame. We missed out on a truly rare sight."
Leaving the women's playful banter behind,
Ilyang quickly gathered his discarded robe and hurried back to the inn.
Upon his return,
"Ah! Young Master! Give me your laundry, and I will wash it for you immediately!"
"No, thank you. Just do your work."
Declining the jeomsoi's renewed flattery, Ilyang entered his room.
He used a simple fire magic spell to instantly dry the moisture from his body and clothes, then sat down on the bed, lost in thought.
Sigh. I shouldn't be celebrating just because I completed the first circle. I need to reach the third circle as quickly as possible.
At the third circle, he would gain access to Clean and Laundry magic.
Everyday utility magic was surprisingly high-level.
Still, he had never imagined he would yearn so desperately for mere third-circle spells.
Ilyang let out a soft sigh as he recalled the embarrassing incident,
then stood up, opened his door, and walked down the stairs.
"Young Master! What can I do for you?!"
Seeing the jeomsoi approach with that same obsequious, tail-wagging posture, Ilyang asked him to bring a simple meal up to his room.
Naturally, he paid in advance as he placed the order.
Along with a tip.
"Leave it to me, Young Master!"
Money truly made the world go round.
The jeomsoi dashed to the kitchen, barked out the order, and loudly demanded that the chef pay extra attention to this dish.
With that clamor serving as background noise,
Ilyang closed his door once more and sat quietly on the edge of his bed.
Perhaps it was because he had washed off the grime,
but his mind felt incredibly sharp.
This allowed him to flesh out the thoughts that had been drifting through his head.
"The Spirit Realm definitely exists in this world, yet there is no response. Magic circles can be formed, but their structure is different."
These were the laws of this world he had uncovered so far.
He had established at least two solid facts.
What else is there?
Speaking of which, the late, "generous" Pyeong So-byeok came to mind.
He recalled the Pyeong clan's cultivation technique that the man had revealed under interrogation: the Heavenly Wolf Qi Art.
The Heavenly Wolf Qi Art was considered an upper-mid tier cultivation method in the Murim.
It was said that mastering it completely would allow a cultivator to reach the realm of a peak master.
"Since the flow of internal energy follows the Conception and Governing Vessels..."
A stream of qi originating from the dantian
would travel up the back of the body to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head, then down to the Huiyin acupoint at the perineum.
From the Huiyin acupoint, it would circulate back up to the Baihui acupoint,
completing a grand cosmic orbit through the vertical axis of the human body.
Remarkably, if one were to trace that flow, it ultimately formed a massive circle.
"Ha... Come to think of it, cultivation methods are just another form of a circle."
This was a highly intriguing realization.
In this world, the fundamental flow of mana seemed to naturally take on a vertical orientation.
And structurally speaking, the human body was built to accommodate a much larger circle vertically than horizontally.
The same applied to the heart.
The heart is vertically elongated.
Naturally, a circle formed around the heart in this world could grow far larger than any circle in the lower realms.
"Fascinating. So this is what it means to be in a higher plane?"
The corners of Ilyang's mouth curled upward.
He felt a swell of satisfaction at having deciphered a piece of this world's truth.
Just then—
Knock, knock—
"I've brought your meal, Young Master!"
Ilyang opened the door.
The jeomsoi, who now felt somewhat familiar, stood there bowing, holding a wooden tray and a small wooden rice bucket.
Ilyang casually tossed him a few more coins as a tip and was about to take the tray and turn around,
but the jeomsoi hesitated before speaking.
"Um, Young Master."
"Yes? Speak."
"I heard that kidnappings have been occurring just outside the town recently. I'm sure you'll be fine, but I wanted to warn you to be careful, just in case."
"Kidnappings?"
Suddenly?
Seeing Ilyang's puzzled expression,
the jeomsoi lowered his voice to explain the details.
"Yes. Just a few days ago, Butcher Jang's third son vanished, causing quite an uproar. The local guards were dispatched, but they couldn't catch the culprit. They say only children around ten years old are being targeted. I was worried that you might come to harm, Young Master."
"Hmm..."
He knew it was likely motivated by money,
but the jeomsoi's gesture of concern was still rather endearing.
Ilyang had casually asked him a few days ago to report any strange rumors, and the boy had faithfully remembered and executed the task.
Naturally, such loyalty deserved a reward.
Clink—
Ilyang gladly rewarded the dutiful jeomsoi.
Aside from the tip,
he pulled out his pouch and tossed him a few more coins.
A broad grin spread across the jeomsoi's face, now brimming with absolute devotion.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
"You take care of yourself too. You said it was dangerous."
"Of course, Young Master! Thank you! You truly understand my loyalty!"
"Yes, yes. Good work. Go back to your duties."
"Understood!"
As the overjoyed *jeomsoi* bowed his way out of the room,
Ilyang carried the wooden tray over and neatly arranged the rice and soup bowls on the table, organizing his thoughts.
But why kidnappings all of a sudden?
Moreover, the fact that the victims were specifically around ten years old weighed on his mind.
It carried the distinct scent of the Mansi Sect or the Cheonhyeol Sect.
It felt exactly like their handiwork.
After all, this very body had been kidnapped by the Mansi Sect not too long ago.
I should be careful.
But aside from the kidnappings, he felt as though he was overlooking something else.
What was it?
A lingering sense of unease tugged at him.
"...What am I missing?"
Ilyang pondered for a moment, but since nothing came to mind, he decided to let it go for now.
Instead, he began to eat the warm meal set before him.
Sipping the hot broth of the dumpling soup,
Ilyang began to finely adjust the distance of the blood jiangshis linked to him by threads of consciousness.