38 – Dual Dimensional Gate (5)
Just in case, so that Jiwoo doesn’t suffer from the cold like before.
Yeoul isolated the space around Jiwoo’s body from the outside air, preventing the cold from engulfing her.
It would have been better if they had done this sooner, before such a thing happened.
But there’s no point in regretting things that have already passed.
Fully prepared, they set a direction and started walking in unison.
Walking.
Walking.
Over the hill,
No matter how much they walked…
Endless sands, as if there were no end, to the point of being nauseating.
The same landscape.
Because the field of vision was filled with white things, it felt like losing one’s mind.
Suddenly, the saying that in places like deserts, where the direction cannot be properly estimated, one cannot walk straight came to mind.
During the walk, encounters with maus were frequent.
Most were frail creatures like the snake ma that had attacked Jiwoo, but occasionally there were also maus that seemed formidable.
Watching Yeoul, who effortlessly sliced through even those creatures at an invisible speed, Jiwoo felt a sense of powerlessness towards himself, unable to do anything.
Jiwoo had reached the point of developing awe towards Yeoul.
There seemed to be no end to his strength.
No matter what kind of ma appeared, it felt like he would kill it in a single breath, just as always.
Perhaps…
Even stronger than himself, who was in a perfect state, one of the strongest supernaturals in Korea.
Such thoughts crossed Jiwoo’s mind.
While Jiwoo was thinking like that, the footsteps continued endlessly.
How many maus had he killed?
For how long, and how far had he walked? It was impossible to grasp.
The only certain thing was that they had walked for a long time.
And with a body that was already not in good condition.
As he thought that if he walked a little more, he might actually collapse on the spot, it finally happened.
They succeeded in reaching what was presumed to be the end of this space.
The realization came to him when he absentmindedly followed behind Yeoul, and then stopped and planted his face on Yeoul’s back.
He gently rubbed his itchy nose and stood next to Yeoul.
Yeoul reached out her hand into the empty space.
She tried to push her arm forward with force, but her hand stayed still as if it was being blocked by something.
After seeing her, Jiwu acted the same way.
He lifted his arm and reached out his hand. Instantly, something blocked his hand. Even when he tried to push it away with all his strength, he couldn’t pass through it, as if there was an invisible wall surrounding him.
Although the white desert extended endlessly behind that unknown something.
For some reason, it seemed impossible to move forward beyond it.
Yeoul never expected to be blocked in such a way, even though she anticipated that the space might be limited.
Perhaps this was not the ordinary space that she understood and used, but a special space that was created in a special situation.
No matter how hard they tried, it seemed impossible to escape from here with just cutting.
And they couldn’t tell whether there was something tangible or intangible blocking their way.
Bending the unknown space in curiosity, Yeoul tried to connect this place with her home, but as expected.
Somewhere along the line, beyond the bent space, there was only an endless darkness with an unknown identity.
Meanwhile, Jiwu asked, “Is there something… that’s not working well?”
She couldn’t understand what he was doing, but she could tell that he was trying something and it wasn’t going well.
“Yes. It doesn’t seem easy to escape from here.”
Even as someone who had thick skin in the transcendent realm, this situation was unprecedented for her, and she had just returned after three months.
Jiwu always tried to live with a positive mindset, but even for her, it wasn’t easy to stay positive in a situation like this.
What should they do…
As she had thought before, they couldn’t find water, let alone food.
Someone watching this situation might suggest that they could simply use magic, but they couldn’t.
Of course, there were magic beings that could be consumed as food, but most of them had the ability to act as poison to humans, so eating them recklessly would only lead to trouble.
It couldn’t be cut with Yeoul’s sword either.
He could only cut what he understood himself.
Perhaps it had been quite a while.
His throat felt dry, as if he had swallowed sand.
It felt as if the leather of the boat’s skin was about to stick tightly against their back, just before the daily ritual.
It seemed difficult to hold on for much longer.
But there was no suitable alternative coming to mind.
From Noble mtl dot com
If only they could use magic, it would have been much better, but they were still in a state where it was not possible.
Moreover, their condition was not good.
Thanks to Yeo-ul’s help, they had survived the sorcery and cold, but…
She was someone who believed that nothing is resolved easily.
They decided to finish the expedition here.
They were already at their physical limits.
It would be better to think about what to do next after relieving their fatigue and clearing their minds a bit.
As they did before, they clear away the sand and create a pit to enter.
Then they each lean against the wall and sit down.
They sit quietly, refraining from even speaking, thanks to the extremely parched throats due to the place they were in, like the current desert.
Suddenly, a thought comes to mind.
Yeo-ul, who came up with a way to gather moisture, takes hold of her sword.
Ji-woo quietly watches as he holds the sword.
He swings the sword.
Just as Ji-woo was about to close his eyes because nothing happened.
A few droplets of water form along the blade of the sword.
Her eyes couldn’t help but widen in surprise.
From her perspective, it seemed as if he had conjured water without any magic.
But no matter how much she regarded Yeo-ul highly, she couldn’t believe that he could create something out of nothing.
He merely extracted the moisture in the air and in the crevices of the sand, making it cling to the sword.
The amount of water gathered was not significant, but they were in a situation where they had to accept whatever they could get.
“Can you open your mouth a bit?”
Yeo-ul, who decided to take care of Ji-woo first since he was not feeling well, approached her and spoke while looking at her with a blank expression.
Ji-woo naturally followed his request, as if it was obvious.
She opened her mouth.
Yeo-ul tilted the sword and poured water into her mouth.
It was like rain falling on the cracking ground.
Only a few drops of water flowed through the dry throat.
Jiwoo was the most valuable thing in the world, he thought.
After giving her enough water to drink, Jiwoo sat back down, feeling a tingle in his own throat.
“How did you do that…?”
“I just collected the moisture.”
What on earth does that mean?
Jiwoo questioned his own ears.
Yet, he was becoming accustomed to his strange ability, and discovered the image of himself accepting it as possible.
“Amazing….”
Although she was still hungry, she found herself in a situation where she could survive, thanks to that.
Various thoughts came to her mind.
For example, the things she used to do outside.
“Miss Jiwoo.”
“Yes?”
“I am a teacher at the Korean Institute of Supernatural Specialization High School.”
In this situation, it was an indifferent remark to say, but Jiwoo responded to her as if it were nothing.
“I see.”
“I am quite adept at magic. I teach magic to children there.”
Right now, she felt like just a burden….
Jiwoo tried hard to swallow these words.
Meanwhile, Jiwoo had a thought upon hearing her words.
That was, her younger brother, Ryoun, had just enrolled in the same school a few days ago, the Korean Institute of Supernatural Specialization High School.
“Come to think of it, my younger sister also attends that school.”
“Really?”
What a coincidence.
She smiled happily and clapped her hands.
“What grade is she in?”
She just enrolled this year.
“Oh, then we must not have crossed paths. I mostly teach the upper grades.”
Still, it’s really amazing─.
The Jiwoo who said that.
“Yes, that’s right.”
It became a yard where such contact was established.
Since the first time she saw him, she had been vaguely thinking about it.
And until now, she had become even stronger, thanks to him.
“Miss Yeoul, would you by any chance… consider becoming a teacher at our school?”
She persuaded Yeoul to join as a teacher.
“I haven’t really thought about it, so I’ll have to think about it, but is it possible for me to become a teacher?”
She had been repeating the sudden question over and over, but Yeoul, who had always had thoughts about teaching someone, did not panic much and asked her.
Her response was as follows.
Due to the uniqueness of teaching giants, a teaching certificate is not necessary.
The current teaching staff, including herself, is mostly recommended or recruited directly.
As long as there are no disqualifications in character, it is possible.
“It would be too much to start classes right away, so if you decide to come, you will start in earnest from the next semester.”
And then.
I had been paying attention to your abilities since before.
Not the ability that was trapped in the framework of swordsmanship, but the power that was beyond that, even without magic.
“It goes without saying that asking for all of that is rude. So, could you at least give me a basic education in swordsmanship?”
Magic was fine.
There were quite a few magicians who had established solid theoretical foundations, including herself.
However, swordsmanship was a different matter.
The existence of “magical power” that enables the use of superhuman power was probably the biggest obstacle.
Why bother wielding a mere iron sword when you can smash rocks and bend metal with just your fists?
But she had seen it.
Not only swords, but also how far a body-enhancing giant who uses weapons as a means can become with magical power.
As someone who delves into magic, she did not know why weapons were stronger than bare hands.
But she felt it desperately, as it was necessary due to past experiences.
The world is still in a turbulent state.
As someone who has always believed that only strong and righteous-hearted children are hope.
Because of that, Yang Ji-woo, who willingly took on the role of a teacher despite being a first-class returnee, could not miss the opportunity for the children in front of him to become stronger.
“I can’t even leave this place and you’re giving me this suggestion… It’s funny, but.”
Still.
“If I were to go outside, do you have any plans?”