*
There were many attempts to create a Dantian.
After doing this a few times, I stopped dying.
I get that unique feeling before I die, and if I feel it, I just have to reload.
I lost track of how many times I repeated it a long time ago. I must have died at least dozens of times.
A person without talent can only survive through endless repetition, and I was confident in my perseverance.
[Si-woo-nim... I'm worried that continuing to repeat that way might cause problems.]
"I'm fine though?"
[Mental issues are different from visible injuries, so you might not know right now.... I think you need some rest.]
Did I try that many times?
I was just repeating the reload as usual, but Makina started worrying about me.
"I'm really okay...?"
[Si-woo-nim seems to be in a hurry, like someone being chased.... Maybe you should take it easy...]
"Someone being chased..."
Listening to Makina, I wondered if I was trying to rush too much.
'Take it easy.'
Thinking about it, I might have been too impatient.
Being impatient doesn't solve everything.
I stopped mechanically adjusting the numbers and repeating, and started watching the falling water.
While watching the endlessly falling water, I started organizing what I had gained from the attempts so far.
A Hunter's Mana only flows through the Mana circuit. There's no space to store Mana like a Dantian, and there are hardly any Mana circuits well connected to it.
So, what I tried was to repeatedly create new passages and spaces through Mana.
I tried to slowly create a Dantian by circulating the surrounding Mana, but it repeatedly failed.
All the attempts I made, delicately adjusting through Da-eun's Mana controller, failed.
'Should I think about it more simply...?'
If it doesn't work slowly, how about pushing in a large amount of Mana at once?
The reason I have an expanded Mana circuit, unlike other melee Hunters, is actually because I got it through a brute-force method.
Thanks to Da-eun's ability, I should be able to move a large amount of Mana regardless of any impact. Also, since the circuit is wide, the amount of Mana I can move at once is also large.
'The backlash is definitely coming.'
Internal injuries were a certainty. It was a difference between receiving the damage all at once or gradually.
If it's an impact that I can't accept anyway, even if I receive it slowly, wouldn't it be better to receive it all at once and recover?
What I can use in times like this is, of course.
'Elixir....'
*
The next day, Da-eun, who had brought her subspace bag as usual, entered the training room.
"Si-woo-ya~ Are you training again today?"
Da-eun blinked, looking at the same scenery in the training room as yesterday.
"What kind of training are you doing here?"
"Um.... Should I call it meditation...? It's hard to explain in words?"
"Meditation? Hmm~ I do it sometimes too. It's good to maintain peace of mind when moving Mana~ Is that what Si-woo is doing too?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Hehe."
Da-eun started laughing, thinking that she had something in common with me. Her smiling face is so pretty that I can't help but keep looking at her.
"I'm sorry for asking this favor..."
I realized for the first time that you can't just buy high-grade Elixirs just because you have money.
Not only is the price high, but only qualified people can buy them.
I tried to buy it by emptying out the money I had saved up, but I was told that it was not a product for sale.
It seems that the quantity itself is so small that it is sold on a reservation basis. I had no choice but to ask Da-eun because I was told that I, an ordinary student, would have to wait several years to buy it.
I thought about asking Seo-ah, but I asked Da-eun because Seo-ah would probably just give it to me without asking any questions and wouldn't even take the money.
"Can you give me your account number?"
"Huh? I can just give you this much~"
"Still, we have to be clear about these things."
No matter how much money Da-eun has, it's not like it's just a few tens of thousands of won, but she's just going to receive something worth billions?
No matter how much of a gigolo I am, that was a shameless act.
My wallet was bleeding tears at the sudden large expense, but wouldn't investing when you need to is what a man does?
Da-eun was holding an Elixir with a shimmering color in her hand. An Elixir of A-grade or higher.
The beautiful color was still the same, befitting the Elixir called a panacea.
'I've had it once thanks to Seo-ah, but I didn't know I'd be eating it again....'
As I received the Elixir from Da-eun, I felt my hands trembling. Just holding the bottle, which was carved with a dragon pattern on a luxurious bottle, felt burdensome.
"Are you hurt somewhere?"
Da-eun asked with a worried expression. She seemed worried about me needing an Elixir, as it is used for treatment.
"I'm perfectly fine, no injuries. I just thought I should keep a bottle just in case."
"You're really not hurt? You have to tell me if you're hurt. Okay, Si-woo-ya?"
"I'm really okay. Thanks, Da-eun-ah."
"Hehe. Tell me if you need any help!"
After that, I started having light, everyday conversations with Da-eun.
"Did you pack a lunch box again?"
"Hoh... Was the food not good?"
"It's not that, I'm just worried you'll be tired."
"I like cooking, so it's okay!"
I had dinner with Da-eun, who had packed a lot of different menus from the food I ate yesterday.
I was grateful to Da-eun for preparing so much food that I couldn't even imagine how long it would have taken to do it alone, but on the other hand, I felt very sorry.
I told her that she didn't have to do this much for now, but I don't know what will happen in the future.
After that, we talked about class, the next evaluation, and everyday things like how to handle Mana, and it was slowly time to say goodbye.
It wasn't that late yet, but she seemed to be in a hurry to leave because she didn't want to interfere with my training.
I was sad to say goodbye like that, so I tried to have some light skinship, but she seemed embarrassed even holding hands.
I wondered how she could have done something more than that without even being able to hold hands, but I figured it was an accident back then, so I let it go.
"Si-woo-ya."
"Yeah?"
When I turned my head, Da-eun shyly kissed me on the cheek.
"S-see you tomorrow!"
I said goodbye to Da-eun, who was embarrassed after just one kiss and ran out of the training room as if she were running away, and sat down.
The Elixir with its shimmering light was in my hand.
Thinking about the price, I still feel my hands trembling.
"Okay. Shall we try again?"
I sat cross-legged in front of the large rock in front of the waterfall. I used the Mana controller to designate the location of the Dantian and finished preparing to push a large amount of Mana in at once.
I have the Elixir in my hand, so I'm fully prepared.
"Mana must move without stopping."
It wasn't over just because I had pierced the Dantian. After that, I had to keep moving Mana without stopping to prevent the circuit from twisting or my heart from exploding.
It was an act that other people wouldn't even attempt, but I had pain resistance.
"Okay... here I go!"
Thanks to Da-eun, my mental strength has recovered enough. I closed my eyes and started circulating Mana.
Mana rotates quickly along the optimal path that has already been created after many attempts. I started manipulating the Mana that was starting to flow smoothly.
A large amount of Mana starts to spin quickly along the wide Mana circuit.
The destination of all Mana was only one place.
Dantian.
[Resisting fainting due to pain resistance.]
[Pain perception is reduced due to pain resistance.]
[Pain perception is reduced due to pain resistance.]
[Pain perception is reduced due to pain resistance.]
Tearing through the circuit and turning the inside into mush, tremendous pain rushed in.
Somehow maintaining my sanity with pain resistance, I started pushing in the Elixir.
Forcibly opening and repairing the torn circuits, I somehow kept the Mana flowing so that the Mana circuit would not twist.
The energy of the Elixir rotated with the Mana and began to heal the inside that had become mush.
[Resisting fainting due to pain resistance.]
[Resisting fainting due to pain resistance.]
[Resisting fainting due to pain resistance.]
Ignoring the constantly ringing notifications, I focused on circulating the Elixir's energy as much as possible.
I don't think it's ever been this painful.
Even a very short time began to flow like billions of eons.
In a time where just 1 second felt like dozens of times longer, I forcibly held on to my fading consciousness.
I decided that if I failed even after doing this, I would never do this crazy thing again.
When I focused all my mind on circulation, I stopped hearing the constantly ringing notification sounds.
"...?"
When I carefully opened my eyes, I saw the floor soaked in blood and my body sitting upright.
When I looked inside through Mana, a space that didn't exist before had been created.
"I succeeded..!!!"
I waited for the Elixir's energy to fully permeate and waited until my body stabilized.
And I tried casting the Mind Method again.
Unlike before, external Mana began to accumulate in my body little by little.
The Mana accumulating in the new space called Dantian had quite a lot of impurities, but who cares as long as it accumulates.
[The level of Mana Basic Mind Method has increased due to proficiency.]
[Mana Basic Mind Method: LV. 7]
'I guess I have to reach Master to accumulate Mana without impurities...?'
It seemed like there was a limit to raising it any further.
'Let's just use points.'
I decided to flex for my hard work.
[Would you like to consume Fate Points to increase the level of Mana Basic Mind Method?]
'The answer is already decided.'
[The level of Mana Basic Mind Method has increased.]
[The level of Mana Basic Mind Method has increased.]
[The level of Mana Basic Mind Method has increased.]
[Mana Basic Mind Method: MASTER]
I used 725 Fate Points, but I was quite satisfied.
Now I have to train with Seo-ah and Min-ji. Aura is best learned through sparring.
*
"Min-ji-ya, shall we go to the new cafe that opened?"
"Cafe? There's not much time left until the next class?"
"Come quickly."
"Hey... where are you grabbing, you idiot!"
There was a man watching Kim Si-woo dragging Kang Min-ji away from afar. The man clenched his fist tightly.
"..."
Is he a goldfish? It's only been a few days, and he's already forgotten their warning?
"This guy won't listen to words... I'll have to teach him a lesson."