Episode 83. I’ve Learned A Lot
What Shadien Strauss was most interested in was the human psyche.
The reason why humans, no matter how hard they tried, were limited to the 9th Circle was because they relied solely on mana.
If they used not only mana, but also the power of their minds, wouldn’t they be able to surpass the limits of the 9th Circle?
In Shadien’s opinion, the human mind had infinite potential.
If he could reflect the power of his mind in magic, he would be able to surpass the existing limits and enter the next stage.
For convenience’s sake, it was called the 10th Circle, but in reality, it was an infinite power that was not bound by the number of circles.
With that in mind, Shadien had always trained his mind.
He didn’t experiment with huge expenses like other wizards.
Some wicked wizards even conducted human experiments, but Shadien never did anything like that.
He only conducted thought experiments in his own head.
Staring at the sea alone in his villa on the cliff, he struggled to raise his mind to a higher level.
This could be called a kind of asceticism.
However.
Despite all those years of effort, Shadien had not reached the level he desired.
He was unable to enter the realm of the mind, which had infinite possibilities, and was trapped within the limits of the 9th Circle.
It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t impatient.
He could feel the end of his life approaching.
He had lived a clean life, so he maintained a healthy body even after he was over a hundred years old, but he never knew when death would suddenly come.
Even with those thoughts…… Shadien did not fall into despair.
He simply did his best as an ascetic.
Thinking that he would have no regrets if he died after doing his best.
He had been working hard alone all this time.
The magic that Shadien was now displaying was a by-product of that effort.
“Haaap……!”
With a shout, he created a translucent javelin.
It was a spear with no substance. It didn’t even contain mana.
Mana was used in the formation process, but it itself had no mana.
This was a javelin of the mind.
It was a magic that he had accidentally created during his training to raise his mind.
He had never tested it on a person directly, but in theory, it had the power to cripple a person.
This was because it had the effect of directly shocking the opponent’s mind.
If this hit Sirius, Sirius’s mind would be shattered.
Knowing that, Shadien used this technique.
Why is that?
Because Sirius asked for his guidance.
He thought he had to show him what he could do with his trained willpower at full force…
No, that’s not it.
That’s not what Shadien truly wanted to confirm.
He wanted to see how meaningful his efforts as a magician had been so far,
against Sirius Canisroot, a young man who wielded a power that transcended magic.
Shadien unleashed his ultimate attack.
“……”
As he watched the translucent spear flying towards him, Sirius sensed Shadien’s will.
And at the same time, he grasped the true nature of the magic Shadien had used.
A spear composed solely of willpower, with no physical form.
Sirius knew what such a technique was called in Murim.
Simgeom (Heart Sword).
As its name suggests, it is a sword that originates from the mind.
This is different from what is commonly known as a Muhyeonggeom (Invisible Sword).
A Muhyeonggeom is created by shaping one’s internal energy into a sword and attacking the opponent. In other words, it is like wielding a sword without a blade.
However, Simgeom uses not internal energy, but the power of the mind… or more precisely, willpower.
It is said in Murim that no one can withstand a warrior who wields Simgeom.
Of course, very few have ever reached this level.
Even Baek Murang, the peerless Murim Lord, had not attained the level of Simgeom by the time he died.
The translucent spear flying towards Sirius right now was also an attack that used the power of willpower, just like Simgeom.
He could sense just how high of a level the great mage Shadien had reached.
Like a hermit who had transcended the mundane world, he had pursued his own truth in solitude and had finally stepped into the realm of willpower.
However, it was not yet Simgeom.
Originally, a true Simgeom could strike down an opponent the moment the thought arose.
Only when the mind and the kill are one can it be considered true Simgeom.
But the spear of willpower flying towards him right now was visible to the naked eye.
Shadien had succeeded in drawing out the power of his willpower, but he had not yet been able to properly utilize the infinite potential that willpower holds.
Perhaps this was inevitable.
Shadien had not trained his willpower in order to become stronger.
If anything, it could be said that he had trained in order to attain the state of Uhwadengseon.
That was why Shadien could not cast magic that was thoroughly optimized for overpowering his opponent.
If Shadien were someone who could use such magic… Sirius would have already been pierced by the spear, according to the principle of Simjeoksal.
Of course, the attack he was using now was also a very formidable spell.
Although it was not the Simgeom of Simjeoksal, it was magic imbued with true willpower.
Baek Murang, the peerless Murim Lord, had also pondered greatly on the subject of imbuing martial arts with willpower.
That was why Sirius was able to learn so much by observing Shadien’s magic.
“……!”
To repay that knowledge, Sirius amplified his brainwave energy.
The third stage of the Heavenly Wolf Divine Technique, ‘Lightning Spear,’ has penetration as its first advantage.
The second advantage is speed. It is an attack that uses brainwave energy to literally strike like lightning.
Sirius created a spear with his brainwave energy.
It is the brain spear that he used in the Dread King’s illusionary magic last time.
However, the speed will be faster than that time.
Kwarrung!
The brain spear shoots out towards the approaching mental energy spear.
Very fast, and precise.
Without missing by a single millimeter.
The brainwave spear pierced through the mental energy spear.
The mental energy spear has no substance.
Therefore, it does not receive a physical impact.
However, the moment the brainwave spear pierced through the mental energy spear, cracks formed all over the spear and it exploded.
This was something to let Shadien know.
It was to say that even though he uses the power of mental energy, he is still bound by the laws of the physical world.
And the brain spear… flew towards Shadien as it was.
“Heok…!”
The Dread King who was watching from the roof screamed.
The Dread King had already experienced Sirius’ brain spear in the illusionary space.
If Shadien, who had not deployed a single defensive spell, were to take that brain spear head-on, it would be difficult for him to save his life.
However, the brain spear did not end up piercing Shadien.
It passed by the side of Shadien’s head, and disappeared far away over the vast sea.
“Ah…”
The Dread King sighed in relief and sat back down on the roof.
From Noble mtl dot com
The ones who attacked each other risking their lives were Shadien and Sirius, but the one who was most nervous and sweating was actually the wang.
“……”
“……”
Shadien stared at Sirius without saying a word.
Sirius also looked at Shadien without saying anything in particular.
Only after a little while did they open their mouths.
“I learned a lot.”
“No, I learned a lot.”
There was no need for long words.
There was no need for them to exchange opinions on what this offense and defense meant.
Because the two of them had reached such a high level in their respective fields.
If there was one regret, it was that this might be the last time they face each other.
Shadien was too old.
And Sirius had too much to do.
“I’ll see you again next time.”
“Yes, someday.”
Sirius bowed his head and turned his back on Shardian.
Hwanwang, who was leaving the villa, hurriedly chased after Sirius.
“Hey!”
Hwanwang tried to ask a question, but Sirius waved his hand to stop him.
“There’s nothing I can explain.”
“Damn it…!”
“Haven’t you learned a lot just by seeing it with your own eyes? Don’t try to eat me alive.”
Hwanwang had already felt a lot.
Rather than savoring and contemplating it in his heart, he was just being like this because he preferred to ask and find out directly.
“Alright, then let’s make a bet.”
“A bet?”
“You’re going to the Western Region now, right?”
The Western Region.
The land on the opposite side of the Eastern Region.
It was also the region with the roughest atmosphere out of the east, west, south, and north.
“You’re going to take a ship?”
“Yes, I plan to travel along the river. Preparations will already have been made at the pier.”
He had also come by ship when coming from the Eastern Region to the Southern Region.
If he followed that river further west, he would be able to reach the Western Region.
If he were going alone, he could have used light-body technique to go straight west, but since there were people he was going with, he planned to go by ship.
“Let’s compete to see who arrives at the pier first.”
“….”
A showdown between light-body technique and flight magic.
Sirius had been victorious last time.
However, it seemed Hwanwang intended to challenge him again.
“If I win, explain to me in detail about the battle with Shardian.”
“And if I win?”
“Tell me whatever you want.”
“Anything is fine?”
“If it’s something that’s balanced for both of us.”
“I understand.”
Sirius nodded his head.
“If I win… tell me about the Poison King.”
“What…!”
The Poison King.
Like Hwanwang, he was one of the upper executives of the Alliance, and Verdian’s teacher.
And… the woman Hwanwang was fixated on in his heart.
“Hey, that’s…”
“Then let’s begin.”
BAM!
Sirius kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
Hwanwang was startled and used a flight spell, but he was already behind from the start.
“This bastard…!”
Hwanwang gave chase while yelling, but he didn’t say anything about canceling the match.
Sirius smiled at his attitude and dashed forward like a whirlwind.
* * *
“Come to think of it, it was impossible for us to reach the pier in one go with our abilities.”
“Damn it, I got caught up in the moment and did something stupid….”
Sirius and Hwanwang collapsed on the mountainside, breathing heavily.
Shadien’s villa was at the southernmost tip of the southern region.
On the other hand, their destination, the pier, was closer to the northern tip of the southern region.
It was impossible to traverse the entire southern region without resting, even with Sirius’s strength, and the same went for Hwanwang.
“You really made a stupid suggestion.”
“You would have accepted it, wouldn’t you?”
“Because I got caught up in the moment.”
Sirius slowly got up.
“I’m hungry. There seems to be a village over there, so let’s eat something and then set off again.”
“Tch….”
Hwanwang, who had barely managed to get up, followed Sirius.
“But I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“It seems to me that flight magic basically uses the power of the wind.”
Sirius had been observing Hwanwang’s flight magic the whole time they were fighting.
Since he also needed to improve his light body technique, flight magic was also a subject of study for him.
“I understand that you manipulate the wind to generate forward speed. But how do you stay in the air?”
All objects are supposed to fall from above to below.
If you generate a wind blowing from below to above, i.e., an updraft, you can resist it and stay in the air.
But it didn’t seem like he was generating such a wind to stay in the air.
“This guy… He doesn’t answer a single thing I ask him, but he asks me what I’m curious about?”
“Then ask me one question. I’ll answer it.”
“Let’s exchange?”
“Wouldn’t that be unfair?”
“….”
Hwanwang thought for a moment.
“There’s something called lift.”
“Lift?”
“Birds that fly also use this principle.”
As he said this, Hwanwang opened his hand.
Then he moved it horizontally with the back of his hand facing up.
“Let’s say your hand moves through the air like this. Then the air is divided up and down, and it’s split between the back of your hand and the palm of your hand. Because the back of your hand and the palm of your hand are different shapes, the speed of the air flowing is different, and different pressures are generated. If the pressure pushing the palm of your hand is stronger than the pressure pushing the back of your hand, then there’s a force that pushes it up, right?”
“……”
“If you use this principle, you can greatly reduce the magical power required for flying magic. Well, when you’re just hovering in the air or something, you end up having to offset gravity with another force.”
Sirius was quiet for a moment, lost in thought.
He had never heard of such a theory in Murim before, so it was quite refreshing.
“Then, when using flying magic, the magical power that was enveloping the body… was it not to protect the body, but to take the form of generating lift?”
“You understand right away. That’s because the human body is not shaped to generate lift. One more thing, it also has the effect of reducing air resistance.”
“Hmm…”
Can I apply this to Gyeonggong?
You end up having to use the strength of your legs to soar into the air.
But if I use this lift thing, won’t I be able to stay in the air longer?
Something similar to Neunggongheo (凌空虛道) might also become possible.
To do that… should I envelop my body with a protective barrier like Geommak and make it take the form of generating lift?
It seemed worth looking into.
“That’s really interesting. It seems like something someone who has deeply studied the nature of wind or air would come up with.”
“Of course. In the first place…”
“But wait.”
“Hey, why are you interrupting me when I’m talking?”
Hwanwang was annoyed.
But Sirius didn’t care.
Instead, he imbued the power of Cheongryong into a throwing knife and launched it.
Paang!
The throwing knife flew like lightning, cutting through the air.
Come to think of it, is a throwing knife a form that lift works on?
“Ack!”
The person hiding in the tree fell.
Hwanwang’s eyes widened, and Sirius retrieved the throwing knife again with the power of Noenjeon.
“What happened?”
“From the middle, they kept tailing us… no, chasing us.”
“What?”
The men kept chasing after Sirius and Hwanwang as they flew through the air.
And as soon as they came down to the ground, they approached and surrounded them.
“Hwanwang, how many people in the Alliance can chase after you with their flying magic?”
“What?”
“Are there even people who can chase after you, even if they’re only 6th Circle?”
The moment Sirius asked that.
The assassins approaching from the forest all flew up into the sky at once.
A fierce wind blew, and Hwanwang’s face twisted.
“They’re subordinates of the Wind King (風王), damn it!”
“It looks like we’ll have to eat later.”
From Sirius’s sword, blue lightning shot up.