The Resonance of Layers
The new mage grumbled in an irritated tone. “This fucking…… I was hoping to have some fun, but it all went to shit.”
His scheme to swindle me had backfired, so it was only natural his mood had soured. He probably never imagined the prey he’d targeted would turn the tables on him instead.
“Damn it all.”
Abandoning any pretense, he dispelled his disguise. His true appearance—complete with pointed ears—returned, and he shouted at me.
“How did you know I was Jin?!”
“Doesn’t matter. Just answer the questions. You and that other swordsman both gave off that distinct, clear energy unique to your race. What is it?”
“……So that’s how you noticed.”
The man glanced up at me with a hint of admiration. Sensing the flow of someone else’s energy from a distance, without any physical contact and relying solely on perception, wasn’t an easy feat. Especially coming from someone who looked barely past boyhood—far younger than him. The fact that I’d identified not only the presence of the energy but also its specific qualities and scent left him visibly surprised.
“Answer.”
“Free me from these bindings and I’ll tell you.”
“Trying to pull something even now?”
The con artist was still trying to scheme. Did he really think that obvious attempt at manipulation would work on me? He was dumber than I’d expected.
“You still don’t understand the situation, do you?”
There was a method for moments like this. I crouched beside him, grabbed the hilt of the dagger embedded in his shoulder, and drove it deeper.
“Aaaagh! A-All right, I get it! I’ll answer, so p-please, spare me!”
See? Immediate results. I’d once watched the neighborhood guard captain deal with mercenary thugs using this exact technique. He’d even given me advice while I observed: ‘Watch closely, Juno. Use it when you run into bad guys later. Works like a charm. Torture’s the only language trash like them understands.’
Thanks for the lesson, Captain.
“Listen carefully, con artist. One lie, one finger. Answer honestly and I’ll let you live.”
I released the hilt. Finally ready to cooperate, the man spoke through a face twisted in pain.
“……Spiritual Qi.”
“Spiritual Qi?”
“It’s a mystical energy that flows through the atmosphere and nature. A wondrous force accumulated in the universe over countless ages, imbued with the profound power of the natural world.”
The man rolled his eyes, gauging my reaction. He was checking if that was enough. Obviously, it wasn’t.
“Tell me more. Its characteristics, its properties.”
I jerked my chin for him to continue, and he reluctantly kept talking.
“It’s the concentrated essence of natural purity—extremely clear and pristine. That’s probably why you sensed it as ‘clear.’ Spiritual Qi is purer than groundwater, cleaner than the air in high mountain forests, and carries a refreshing fragrance.”
Purity. So that was why simply sensing its scent had felt like clearing my mind.
“Where can you obtain it?”
“It doesn’t exist in your world. Only in the Jin Realm.”
“The Jin Realm?”
The man shot me a sidelong glance instead of answering. The look clearly said, This guy’s really ignorant. Whatever. Ignorance wasn’t a crime.
“Keep going.”
“The world where the Jin race lives is called the Jin Realm. Erosion exists there too, and we crossed over through one of those portals.”
The real reason I’d asked about the energy was simple: I needed information on the blue energy wielded by the swordsman who’d killed me in the cave. Understanding that monstrous power was the first step toward defeating him.
‘So it only exists in the Jin Realm……’
To obtain Spiritual Qi, I’d have to go there. But I couldn’t just drop everything and leave. I was still on a mission, and more importantly, I was currently based at the tower. Disappearing to another realm without informing my master Natasha or the team would be the height of irresponsibility.
Through further questioning, I gathered a few more details. According to the man, Spiritual Qi wasn’t something you could simply will into existence—you had to master specific mental techniques and principles to harness it. Not every Jin could wield it. The Jin Realm had developed a wide variety of martial arts and studies regarding Spiritual Qi, and the nature of the energy changed depending on which school’s techniques you learned.
“One last question.”
“W-What else do you want?”
“You seemed to have entered the erosion with your kin. There’s a long-haired swordsman who uses heavy sword techniques. Know him?”
I gave a rough description of the swordsman I’d encountered in the cave. No need for elaborate details—the man recognized him immediately.
“Of course I do. He’s the leader of my party. He’s the only one who uses heavy sword techniques.”
So they were all in the same group.
“That pointy-eared guy was using some kind of blue energy. Do you know what that was?”
“What? P-Pointy-eared? Don’t insult the noble name of the Jin race……!”
“Want to see what real insults look like?”
Thud.
“Aaaagh!”
When I pushed the dagger deeper, the indignant man quickly lowered his tail.
“I-I don’t……ugh, know the details either. The leader isn’t exactly talkative, and I haven’t been in the party long enough to be close to him.”
Thud.
“Kuh! A……I remember now! I-I once overheard that the leader came from a sect called the Blue Sun Gate. It’s probably a technique he learned there.”
His expression suggested he wasn’t lying. He really didn’t know anything more.
“You said you were in the same party. Why were you acting alone?”
“The leader told me to explore Room 2 and then move to Room 6. I’d just finished searching when……”
“Ah. You were planning to kill me and head to Room 6, but someone beat you to it?”
“Nngh.”
Okay, that was enough. I’d gotten everything I could out of him. I rummaged through the man’s bag nearby and pulled out a healing potion and a bracelet. I tucked the potion into my robe and slipped the bracelet onto my wrist—the same one that helped regulate body temperature according to the surrounding climate, which I’d also looted in a previous run.
“No! Anything but the bracelet……!”
“Why not? It’s mine now. Very much mine.”
The way he pleaded with teary eyes told me it was quite valuable. Well, it had worked great when I tried it.
“You gave me information. You gave me items. You’re even going to be kindling. At this point, you’re practically a tree generously offering everything it has. Right? Might as well give a little more while you’re at it.”
The man’s face turned deathly pale at my muttering.
“You……w-what are you……!”
“Wondering what I mean by kindling? You’re a professional con artist—you should’ve figured it out. But since you asked, I’ll explain nicely. It’s something like this: I pull out this dagger, blood gushes out, the monsters come running because of the scent, and you get to die a glorious death as bait.”
I’d already told him I’d wring him dry to the bone.
“You fucking bastard! I answered every single question! You said you’d let me live! You goddamn con artist!”
“Wow. Getting called a con artist by an actual con artist. Feels pretty refreshing, actually. Thrilling, even.”
Scamming someone who tried to scam others was oddly satisfying. People who lived by deceiving others deserved a taste of their own medicine.
When I retrieved the dagger, bright red blood began pouring from his shoulder. Leaving him behind, I used magic to ascend to the top of the cliff. I waited there, keeping my breathing quiet.
A moment later.
“Krrrk. Human.”
“Offering. Meat. Krrkik.”
I looked down. Drawn by the scent of blood, a pack of rat monsters had gathered—six large ones swarming over the fallen man, gnawing at his flesh.
“Aaaagh! H-Help me! Please, help meeeee!”
Screams. Hmm. I’d originally planned to just leave him to be eaten naturally by the monsters, but I’d changed my mind.
‘The noise pollution is getting a bit excessive.’
I wasn’t usually capricious. This wasn’t whimsy—it was simply adjusting my approach based on the situation.
“Please! I’m begging you, just spare meeeee! Aaaagh!”
More screams. At the same time, the harmony of flames rang out.
「Flowing Flames」
The fire opened its maw and swallowed both the rat monsters and the man in one bite.
‘Much quieter now.’
Leaving the ashes to scatter in the wind, I stood up and stretched.
“Hup.”
The view from the cliff top was truly spectacular.
“The scenery’s killer.”
At some point, the green door to Room 6 had appeared beside me. Previously, I would’ve jumped through without hesitation, but not this time. There was something I wanted to test.
I plopped down beneath a tree at the summit.
‘He called it Spiritual Qi.’
A mystical energy flowing through the atmosphere and nature. Accumulated in the universe over countless ages. Imbued with the profound power of the natural world.
‘It flows through the universe and nature……’
When I’d heard the explanation earlier, an idea had struck me like lightning. If Spiritual Qi existed in the Jin Realm, then in the “world of magic” I lived in from a first-person perspective, there existed [Space].
I opened [Space].
Whoosh—
Over the landscape of towering rock formations, a vision of golden grids layered upon one another like waves rippling to the horizon appeared. The Layers weren’t static. Though slow and irregular, they drifted through the air, flowing gently toward somewhere. Like a river. Like the wind.
‘If they’re flowing……then there must be a force enabling that flow.’
Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner? Just as a person moves their arm with muscle strength, perhaps the Layers possessed their own kinetic force and propulsion to generate flow. If that kinetic force was real, then what was its source?
I focused on the golden threads of the Layers. Thin strands weaving horizontally and vertically, forming a net-like pattern. And the light flowing along those threads.
‘In other words, it’s light-attribute energy—and a light source in itself.’
Natasha hadn’t taught me about this light yet, so I didn’t know its specific name or concept. But if I had to reason it out……
‘What if light is the force that governs [Space]?’
I’d try it first. If it didn’t work, I could revise the hypothesis and experiment again.
‘Let’s give it a shot.’
I recalled the day Natasha first taught me magic—the moment I’d closed my eyes and awakened to [Space]. Just like then, I shut my eyes. I awakened every sensory cell within me. I extended the threads of those sensory cells in all directions, connecting them to the threads of the Layers like terminals fitting into place.
My mental senses seeped into the flow of the Layers.
Then, a resonance reached my ears.
‘……I can hear it.’
Like the clear ringing of a bell echoing through the mountains. Like ripples spreading across a still lake.
Resonance. As if recognizing its master, the golden waves resonated with my soul. Each time the resonance spread across the surface of the Layers, it felt as though my soul’s heart pulsed in rhythm.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump.
A powerful force emanated from the resonance. Focusing my nerves and sharpening my concentration, I traced the source of that power.
Light.
The moment I realized it, lightning struck and thunder roared in my mind.
‘Now!’
I willed it, drawing the light flowing through the Layers toward me.
I opened my eyes.
The astonishing scene unfolding before me left me utterly spellbound. Brilliant golden streams of light that had been floating in the air were now pouring toward me like a meteor shower, trailing long tails across my entire field of vision.