nagpurpolice Chapter 419: Ski Resort (3)
Chapter 419: Ski Resort (3)
Chapter 419 - Ski Resort (3)
It had been quite some time since Baek Yu-Seol last stepped foot in Ha Tae-Ryeong's secluded hideout. After absorbing most of the knowledge he could from this place, he had swiftly returned to Stella, leaving his visits here scarce and fleeting.
"... Should I clean up a bit?"
Although he had never even seen Ha Tae-Ryeong in person, to Baek Yu-Seol, Ha Tae-Ryeong was both a mentor and a lifesaver.
Ha Tae-Ryeong had given him a remarkable insight when Baek Yu-Seol had hit a major bottleneck in his growth and could only rely on the game system.
The hideout resembled little more than a forgotten storeroom, its surfaces blanketed in layers of dust. The furniture - a bed and desk that might have been used centuries ago - was so aged and rusted that it no longer had a place in the modern world.
It was pointless to try salvaging such relics. And since no one else was likely to use this space again, Baek Yu-Seol discarded the useless debris and swept away the dust and clutter.
When he took a closer look at the old weapons, he noticed a wide variety. It appeared that Ha Tae-Ryeong had once experimented with not only swords but also spears, axes, and other weapons.
Yet in the end, it seemed he had settled on a sword... One designed to cleave through both magic and shields.
Then, Baek Yu-Seol found a book.
[On Mana Leakage Disorder]
[Author: Ha Tae-Ryeong]
Its cover was plain, and the handwriting was rough, yet this was the very book that had once taught Baek Yu-Seol everything he knew.
He had already recorded its contents in his Sentient Spec, leaving little reason to revisit the original text. Still, seeing it again stirred a wave of nostalgia.
When he opened the book, he found a slightly folded page he had read before, and something strange caught his eye.
— All life begins its journey toward death the moment it is born.
His own body was a little special.
From the moment he started running, the destination was already right in front of him.
She said: "You won't live past twenty."
Mana Leakage Disorder.
This condition was so rare that only one person in a generation might be born with it. —
"... She?"
The word lingered in his mind. As he reread the passage, he realized the book frequently mentioned someone referred to only as 'she.'
Until now, he had never given it much thought, assuming it referred to Leafanel. But...
"Is this you?"
— Hmm?
The tone of voice was completely different from Leafanel's.
Unlike Leafanel's soft and timid voice, which carried the hesitance of a shy child, the 'she' described in the book seemed to speak with the poise and confidence of someone far more mature.
Of course, it wasn't impossible that Leafanel's manner of speaking had changed over the span of thousands of years. After all, men often returned from military service as entirely different people.
— It's not me.
"Really?"
With Leafanel denying it outright, Baek Yu-Seol was now certain. The 'she' mentioned in the book was someone else.
"Then who is 'she'...?"
Baek Yu-Seol fell into thought, his fingers lightly tapping against the surface of his Sentient Spec.
"Activate text clip. Highlight every instance of the word 'she.'"
As he turned the pages, the Spec projected glowing text into the air and each instance of the word 'she' shimmered faintly.
To his surprise, there weren't as many mentions as he had expected, and nowhere did it reveal her real name.
Yet, scattered among the passages, a few clues emerged.
— I know her feelings. But accepting those feelings... is impossible. Even at this very moment, as I write this book, I can feel my life slipping away.
With each passing second, the flame of my existence dims.
And then he said to her.
"An enemy's enemy is an ally, but we cannot become more than that."
After that, 'she' left.
When she comes looking for me again, I will probably no longer be in this world.
And that will be enough. —
There was one particularly puzzling line.
"An enemy's enemy is an ally..."
Ha Tae-Ryeong's enemies had undeniably been the mages. So by that logic, 'she' must have been an enemy of the mages as well, bound to him only by a shared opposition.
It seemed he had drawn a firm line between them, rejecting her feelings with the words, 'We have only gathered to oppose a common enemy, and we cannot be together.'
In other words, identifying the enemies of the mages might lead him to uncover her identity.
But there was one problem.
"How many enemies do the mages have?"
Countless terms flashed across the display of the Sentient Spec in an instant.
"... There are too many."
Even just recalling the groups and species that hated mages was overwhelming—it was impossible to count them all.
"Spec, you don't have any suggestions?"
[I do not possess logical reasoning abilities.]
"Of course you don't."
Baek Yu-Seol let out a weary sigh. If only his Spec had the ability to reason, his
Grade: Legendary
Description: A sword that can only be wielded by those who have mastered the essence of Nature's Heavenly Energy Body and become one with nature.
Effects:
Physical Strength +61%
Agility +47%
Sense +97%
※Usage Conditions:
Nature's Heavenly Energy Body, 'Harmony of Heavenly Qi' unleashed
Special Abilities:
1. Like a Clear Wind
- Blends into nature, erasing presence, and increases natural mana circulation rate by 99%. Attributes change depending on the location.
2. Like a Bright Moon
- Identifies points that can absolutely be cut. However, executing the cut depends entirely on the wielder's skill.
Baek Yu-Seol's jaw dropped as he read the detailed description.
"This is insane..."
The sword was only one step below the legendary 'Flash of Tribute'—the weapon wielded by his end-game character in Aether World Online.
While it lacked the guaranteed fatal-strike ability of the Flash of Tribute, Ethereal Wind and Moonlight compensated with its ability to expose weak points... an overpowered skill in its own right.
In essence, this ability was no different from a one-hit kill.
Of course, such an extraordinary skill inevitably demanded a heavy price. Given that Baek Yu-Seol had previously spent several days hospitalized from the backlash of using Harmony of Heavenly Qi, he knew better than to wield it recklessly.
Still, the mere fact that he now had a powerful finishing move - something he had always lacked - made it more than worthwhile.
[Harmony of Heavenly Qi has been deactivated!]
The moment his focus wavered while reading the description, the Harmony of Heavenly Qi mode flickered out, and the silver sword fell heavily to the ground.
"... So this is what it feels like."
Without the Harmony of Heavenly Qi sustaining him, the sword felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, completely immovable.
Sighing, Baek Yu-Seol carefully stored it in his subspace before collapsing onto the floor.
Even though he had only maintained Harmony of Heavenly Qi for a short moment, the backlash was brutal, leaving his entire body drained and trembling.
This time, he had avoided breaking any bones by taking precautions, but the experience made one thing painfully clear... this ability was not something he could afford to overuse.
'... No. That's not the real issue.'
Baek Yu-Seol raised his right hand, flexing his fingers as if testing them.
He vividly recalled the overwhelming surge of natural energy that had coursed through his body just moments ago.
'It's not that my body can't handle it—it's that there's simply too much energy for me to control.'
Using Harmony of Heavenly Qi alone had temporarily boosted his stats by 2 stars, but that kind of massive surge was too much for his current 5-star physical limits to withstand.
Two Possible Solutions:
1. Train his body until it reached 6 star capabilities to handle the power.
2. Limit the power output of Harmony of Heavenly Qi so that it could be used freely without severe backlash.
The first option, though ideal, was completely unrealistic in the short term.
Even with rigorous training, raising his stats by just 1 star would take years of effort.
That left him with the second option... adjusting the Harmony of Heavenly Qi to scale down its boost, making it usable without severe backlash.
'I'll have to slightly lower the stat boost... so I can use it anytime, anywhere.'
But there was one major problem.
"... How do I do that?"
The natural energy in Harmony of Heavenly Qi was still an unknown force to Baek Yu-Seol.
He could barely sense and guide its flow, let alone manipulate it with precision. Controlling it felt nothing like moving a limb or flexing a muscle... it was wild, boundless, and entirely foreign to him.
'This isn't like controlling muscles or strength... How do I even regulate something like this?'
The mere thought of it made the path ahead feel impossibly steep.