A Brief Respite and the First Step into the Primordial Forest
Since it was the weekend, Han Yujin spent the next two days resting deeply without using his ability at all.
Even though the cost of using his power was light, the mental exhaustion didn’t recover nearly as quickly. Still, simply reading the books he had brought back as spoils was rewarding enough.
‘Traveling to different worlds back-to-back makes reality feel a little… detached.’
Even now, he sometimes found it hard to believe he had truly awakened. That feeling grew even stronger whenever he looked at the repair techniques and spell arts written in the languages of other realms.
As a side note, when he had chosen these books as his spoils, it seemed the knowledge and understanding of their respective languages had come along with them. If that hadn’t been the case, he would have felt utterly scammed.
Anyway.
While resting, Han Yujin attempted the Hoe-won Gong a few times. He didn’t push himself too hard—he simply wanted to succeed at sensing spiritual energy.
In truth, there was one part that worried him slightly.
‘Just what is the grade of my spiritual root?’
A spiritual root, simply put, was the ability to sense spiritual energy.
Spiritual energy was said to fill the entire world, but if one traced its true origin, it flowed from the Primordial Realm—a cosmic current of power that existed in a state half-overlapping with reality.
Therefore, strictly speaking, the ability to resonate with that Primordial Realm was precisely what constituted a spiritual root.
‘And there are grades for this talent.’
Depending on how strong one’s spiritual energy sensitivity was, the grades were divided into Heavenly Spiritual Root, True Spiritual Root, and False Spiritual Root. If someone had virtually no sensitivity at all, they were considered to have No Spiritual Root.
Han Yujin wasn’t even hoping for a Heavenly Spiritual Root. A True Spiritual Root would be more than enough to satisfy him.
According to the common sense of the cultivation world, the difference in training speed between a Heavenly and a True Spiritual Root could reach up to ten times. Still, a Heavenly Spiritual Root was literally a gift from the heavens itself—expecting one was pure greed.
Even a True Spiritual Root was more than ten times better than the situation of someone with a False Spiritual Root.
‘If you calculate it that way, the difference between a Heavenly and a False Spiritual Root could be as much as a hundred times?’
The more he thought about it, the more he hoped for a True Spiritual Root. Even if he could somehow cover for a False Spiritual Root using his awakening ability, it would clearly involve an enormous amount of suffering.
Han Yujin didn’t even consider the possibility that he might have No Spiritual Root.
In Earth terms, spiritual energy was Mana, and it was common sense that every ability user who had awakened could sense mana. That was why.
The concept of mana originally came from the traditional cultures of various Pacific island peoples, including Melanesia. The famous Maori tribe was one of the groups that believed in mana.
Anyway, the reason “mana” became the representative term for supernatural power was because it had been used in a massively popular science fiction novel during the 1950s.
The novel was such a hit that when the first rifts appeared and ability users began to emerge, showing off their mysterious powers, nearly every American called that power “mana.”
It spread across the world at incredible speed and eventually became the international standard.
‘In China, they still just call it qi, or internal energy.’
In any case, it was common sense that every ability user could sense mana. There was no chance Han Yujin had No Spiritual Root.
As he read, he gradually felt his mind begin to wander, so he lay down on the bed, fiddled with his smartphone, and rested. Out of habit, he opened his messenger app, and something suddenly occurred to him.
He checked the profile of that middle school classmate once again—the one who might have been the trigger for his awakening. As he scrolled through the photos, a dark, murky sense of satisfaction welled up inside him. It was hard to put into exact words.
‘If you two knew what kind of ability I awakened, you’d both faint from shock.’
He knew full well that the pair had never done anything wrong to him. Even so, he felt a refreshing sense of satisfaction, as if he had carried out some kind of revenge.
Well, what did it matter? It was just a thought he was having alone.
After closing the messenger, Han Yujin began browsing internet communities. The sites he visited with particular focus were, of course, those centered around hunters and supernatural abilities.
There had been a time when he frequented these very sites. Back then, he had longed for the kind of luck he believed would never come—envying and resenting those who awakened.
As always, the board was filled with completely useless shitposts.
The main topic seemed to be a hunter who had been arrested for drug use. There wasn’t a single post defending him. The vast majority were filled with hatred, criticism, and insults.
For some reason, to Han Yujin, these posts didn’t feel like righteous condemnation of drug use. Instead, they looked like people venting their jealousy and envy toward a hunter who had luckily awakened an ability.
And strangely enough, that gave him a sense of self-satisfaction. It was probably because he now realized he could become the target of that same jealousy and envy.
Just as he had painfully realized only a few days ago.
Life was inherently unfair.
But now that he had become one of the beneficiaries of that unfairness, life felt brighter and more hopeful than ever.
He had only meant to rest a little, but suddenly his motivation was fully recharged. He immediately sat down at his computer chair and began reviewing his plans.
It was his plan to smoothly enter the path of leading energy.
Training here would be far less effective than training in a world where spiritual energy was far more abundant. Of course, bringing the results of that training back to reality would consume Karma, but he had a strong intuitive feeling that it was possible—and that it would be worth it.
The reason was simple.
Even if he spent the same amount of lifespan, he could conserve time in his home world of Earth. The Karma consumed could be considered the price for eliminating risks like qi deviation that might occur during self-study, as well as the rental fee for an excellent training location.
‘Whether it’s truly good or bad, I’ll only know once I try. I need to run a few tests and get a feel for the cost.’
With that thought, Han Yujin focused once again on reviewing his plan.
Along with sleep, Han Yujin entered that pitch-black space. He had decided to call this place the Waiting Room.
‘As expected, it doesn’t work.’
The first thing he checked was whether the survival backpack he had placed beside him right before falling asleep had come with him. Unfortunately, just as he had predicted, it had not been brought to this place.
However, as he had also expected, all the items he had chosen as spoils last time were still here, exactly as they had been.
He could take them when crossing through the door, and even if they were lost or damaged there, the next time he returned they would be back in perfect condition.
Just like how he would be restored even if he experienced death.
As his understanding of his awakening ability deepened, Han Yujin approached the ever-changing door ahead and slowly placed his hand on it.
Woooong…!
The familiar resonant sound rang out, and the door’s shape stabilized. It looked as if no proper civilization existed there—nothing more than roughly stacked stones covered in thick, lush vines.
Seeing that, a sudden worry crossed Han Yujin’s mind.
‘They’re not going to dress me in primitive rags, are they?’
Every time he had visited a new world so far, he had been changed into clothing appropriate for that place. So it was only natural to worry about what kind of outfit would suit this “primitive world.”
Shaking off the stray thought, he gathered the few books he hadn’t fully memorized yet, along with his sunset blade, the Five Elements Sword, and the spiritual liquid bottle. After steeling his resolve, he brushed aside the hanging vines and stepped through the door.
It was already his fourth time experiencing dimensional travel.
He glanced at the disappearing door, then began surveying his surroundings with a fair amount of familiarity.
It was a deep forest where enormous trees soared toward the sky as if trying to pierce it. There were no traces of civilization whatsoever. Even the sunlight from above was partially blocked, giving the area a slightly dark feel despite being daytime.
Fortunately, his clothing was not primitive rags. It was a very modern and highly practical explorer’s outfit. There was even a multi-purpose belt, allowing him to hang both the sunset blade and the Five Elements Sword.
‘Good. Very good.’
With a satisfied sigh, he attached the two items to his belt, held the rest in his hands, and began moving to find a hiding place first. In this primitive world, he didn’t need to worry about other people’s malice, but the dangers of the wild still existed.
‘And since it’s overflowing with vitality, there should be plenty of food too.’
Until he could begin the path of leading energy and use the spiritual liquid bottle, he would at least be able to survive without pathetically starving.
Even if he failed, it was fine. He could simply try again as many times as needed.
Carrying both tension and excitement, he moved while constantly scanning his surroundings. Rather than wandering aimlessly, he headed toward a rocky cliff formation faintly visible between the trees.
A short while later.
Before he even reached the cliff, he discovered a small earthen cave formed beneath the exposed roots of a massive tree. It wasn’t very large—probably just big enough for one person to fit inside snugly.
‘This is it.’
It looked long abandoned, but there was a chance something might still be living there. Still, given its small size, even if there was an occupant, it probably wouldn’t pose much of a threat.
He set down the items in his hands and began diligently widening the cave using the Five Elements Sword. Its current size was far too small to serve as a proper hiding place.
The work continued for several hours.
Using not only the sword but both hands as well, he dug into the earth, scattered the resulting dirt piles evenly around the area to conceal his work, and finally gathered dry leaves from nearby to spread across the roughly finished floor of the cave.
For this planned exploration, he had diligently absorbed Bushcraft knowledge from places like MyTube.
Although he couldn’t bring any tools, it meant he wasn’t completely helpless like someone who had been stranded without any knowledge.
He even retrieved a large stone from the nearby rocky area to cover the entrance of the roughly completed shelter. Only after deciding that he probably wouldn’t just scream and die in his sleep did he set out to find drinking water. Naturally, he left the cumbersome items behind in the temporary shelter.
By sheer luck, he hadn’t gone far before he found a gurgling spring. Nearby, there were even mushrooms that looked edible.
‘This can’t all be pure luck, can it?’
It seemed that his strong desire for these environmental conditions had influenced the door’s stabilization.
With that thought, he drank a little from the spring and examined the mushrooms. He carefully touched them to his skin, then checked whether they tore cleanly vertically as per internet lore. When he noticed traces that looked like they had been partially eaten by insects, he felt somewhat relieved.
He reasoned that if it were a poisonous mushroom, insects probably wouldn’t have eaten it. Unless, of course, it was a very special insect with resistance to the toxin.
He harvested a portion of the mushroom and returned to the shelter to sit down. Only then, after realizing he had completed all the urgent tasks, did a sense of leisure wash over him, and a deep sigh escaped his lips.
After resting for a moment to recover his mind, he placed an extremely tiny piece of the mushroom in his mouth to test for toxicity, chewed it, and swallowed.
Then, without paying the mushroom any further attention, he sat comfortably and began practicing Hoe-won Gong.
Since this was a world he had arrived at by following a powerful wind, the spiritual energy here was bound to be extremely abundant.