Chapter 224 – #50_Golden Talent (3)
#222
1.
Dark energy (暗勁), manifested through movements so small they are invisible to the naked eye.
Inch energy (寸勁), manifested in close contact with the enemy or at extremely short distances.
Flick energy (彈勁), which sends energy from a distance.
Penetrating energy (侵透勁), which shatters only the enemy’s insides while ignoring defenses.
The energy release techniques that appear in Chinese martial arts novels and movies are diverse, and the list could go on endlessly.
They often appear as convenient settings, like putting a ring on your ear or a nose ring on your nose.
However, the energy release newly established by Eloa was very simple.
Action and reaction caused by physical laws.
Waste caused by unnecessary muscles being engaged.
Forced power, or strained power, caused by excessive tension.
Thus, when a human performs any action, an inevitable dispersion of power occurs.
What if that dispersion is suppressed to the maximum and refined into one point, an extreme point?
What if a fist is not simply thrown with the power of the arm, but extended through the whole body?
Humans can easily punch a hole in a wall with the power of extending a single finger.
In other words, energy release is an action performed with extremely refined and concentrated power.
Eloa could do this as naturally as breathing and applied it to all swordsmanship.
“…..I don’t think that’s quite it?”
“It was almost the same. Try again.”
Siwoo, who had begun using magic power, imitated Eloa’s energy release almost identically with a single attempt.
It wasn’t perfect.
The excessively large crater at his feet proves this.
It is possible that the force that inevitably occurs when extending the leg breaks the ground it steps on.
However, a crater of this size means that the force that should have been extended straight was dispersed around it.
Nevertheless, it was undeniably surprisingly similar.
“Hoo…!”
Siwoo took a deep breath.
“Don’t breathe so deeply. It makes your body heavy. Even if it’s just a single movement, make your body light and agile.”
“Yes.”
Siwoo relaxed and again mimicked Eloa’s movements in his head.
He constantly reflected on which part of her body accelerated magic power at which timing.
And he threw a punch in time with the beat in his head.
-Thud!
“Ah…”
This time, Siwoo realized his mistake first.
A sound that scattered weakly.
While naturally throwing a punch, he felt a sense of incongruity, as if he had hit a speed bump.
“When you throw a punch, it must go from your lower body, through your center of gravity, and then to your upper body. If the distribution is wrong or the transmission of power is cut off, you cannot use it properly. Again.”
“Yes!”
“Try again, your mind and body must be in harmony. Think of it as copying the image in your head directly into reality.”
“Yes!”
“But don’t get too caught up in the image. If you think too much, your body will be slow. Moderation is important.”
“Yes!”
Several failures and several pieces of advice were exchanged.
Siwoo’s body, having gone through trial and error, was slowly becoming accustomed to its unique timing.
The important thing is not the posture.
It is the acceleration of magic power that pushes the body at the right timing.
-Creak!
Siwoo’s foot twisted a piece of broken cement.
The force pushing against the ground did not lift his body up, but rather pulled it down.
The energy that dug into his legs, which were as firm as pillars, went to his back muscles through the rotation of his pelvis and was transmitted to his upper body as if it were being charged.
Now all that was left was to.
Cut off sharply, reaching the shoulders, arms, and fist.
-Bang!
When Siwoo’s fist struck the air, it made the same sound as Tiferet’s.
It was just a punch, but there was a sense of unity as if the entire body, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, was mobilized and unified.
A tingling vibration remained at his fingertips.
The remnants of power that had not yet been released vibrated his body like a gong.
“Wow….”
Siwoo exclaimed in admiration.
The moment he succeeded, he intuitively realized, ‘Ah, I was using my body like crap!’
It felt like succeeding in a complex combo with many mixed commands for the first time in a fighting game.
In reality, it was just a cool punch, but that was all.
“Did I succeed?”
“……..”
Even while looking at Siwoo, who was smiling happily, Eloa was lost in thought.
It was a technique she was already very familiar with, but energy release was quite a tricky technique.
Eloa simplified the necessary elements of energy release into three categories.
The mind (心), which draws a perfect movement of the body in the mind’s eye.
The energy (氣), which follows that movement and assists with magic power.
The body (體), which refers to the physical ability to actually realize the movement.
It is possible to approach the essence when all of these achieve the standard and are harmonized in a balanced way.
However, Siwoo was below standard in the ‘body’ category.
His body was not enough to fully contain his mind.
The reason he was able to demonstrate energy release despite this.
It lies in ‘energy’.
The magic power, which he handles more freely than his limbs, flows through the circuits that extend throughout his body, assisting the movements of his deficient body.
The path was different, but the destination was the same.
In any case, he had successfully demonstrated energy release.
It was not exactly as Eloa had expected, but it was worthy of being called ‘talent’.
“If you understand the feeling, try practicing it repeatedly.”
“Yes!”
Siwoo immediately recalled the feeling from before and repeatedly practiced the exploding fist.
It’s the same with any exercise, but once you get the hang of a movement, it comes out pretty well no matter how many times you repeat it.
Siwoo, who had made many mistakes at first, was already remembering the trembling of his whole body, the vibration of his fingertips, and the timing, so he succeeded in succession without difficulty.
-Thud! Thud!
The fists that were thrown in succession echoed loudly in the air.
Siwoo felt a thrill in his chest at the feeling, as if he had caught a big fish.
Was it because he had felt like he had been spinning his wheels for the past few days?
When he saw a clear achievement, he clenched his fist and cheered without realizing it.
“Lady! I succeeded! Wow, this is really amazing? I don’t feel like any power is leaking out!”
Over Siwoo’s joyful appearance, a flashback from the past was superimposed.
Memories that had blurred like a poorly managed oil painting stirred her heart, regardless of Eloa’s will.
‘Master, how is it? I finally succeeded! You said you’d give it a name, would you like to hear it? Look… Secret Technique! Heavenly Dragon Shattering Mountain Reversal Fist!’
It was, without a doubt, a phantom of Lapi.
When she blinked her trembling eyelids, the hallucination that had been as vivid as reality disappeared, and only Siwoo remained, staring at Eloa, who was standing blankly, with a puzzled look.
However, the guilt, karma, and self-reproach did not scatter like phantoms, but seared her heart like a hot branding iron.
“Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
Siwoo readily sent her a worried look, and Eloa tightly closed her burning eyes.
“I’m fine, it’s nothing. Let’s stop here for today.”
“Yes, thank you for today.”
Tiferet withdrew the otherworld barrier.
The shattered rooftop was restored as if it were being played in reverse, and the city’s unique noise began to rise noisily.
Siwoo, who had been in a good mood after successfully performing the exploding fist, was flustered by Eloa’s very depressed expression.
He wondered if he had done something wrong, but it was impossible to fathom Eloa’s intentions, which she had not even uttered.
“Ah, I forgot to tell you something. From today, I will be staying in the apartment below yours.”
Eloa continued to speak as if nothing was wrong, but even to Siwoo, who was quite slow, her voice still had a hint of melancholy.
It was like the smog floating in the air in Seoul?
Anyway, there was something that could not be hidden by the light voice she had consciously switched to.
“From today?”
“Yes, you don’t have to worry too much about it. I won’t interfere with you or anything like that. Then, I’ll go down first.”
Usually, after training, Eloa would leave first, and Siwoo would stay on the rooftop to smoke.
But…
Eloa’s drooping shoulders as she tried to open the rooftop door and go down.
He didn’t know exactly what the situation was, but Siwoo could roughly guess.
Because there was knowledge he already knew.
It was a very vague guess.
It may also be nothing more than an impertinent assumption.
But… could it be that Eloa was reminded of the apprentice witch she had lost during this lesson?
If so, then her expression, which had been looking at Siwoo with pride and then suddenly became blank, was also understandable.
“Do you have any special plans when you go home?”
When he came to his senses, he was holding onto Eloa.
Honestly, Duke Tiferet was quite a difficult opponent for Siwoo.
First of all, regardless of the difference in their positions, it was because of the way she had looked during the lesson.
She had not directly criticized Siwoo, but she was very strict and scary like an instructor.
Moreover, he could easily feel it even in sparring where he did not use magic power or anything else.
He knew that if Eloa wanted to, it would not take her even a second to kill Siwoo.
Perhaps that was why he had kept a considerable distance from her…
Eloa slowly turned to look at Siwoo.
“Nothing in particular.”
“Then, is the move already over?”
“I don’t have any belongings to carry, so Ms. Sua must have taken care of it.”
Then, wouldn’t she be feeling so depressed and locking herself in her room alone?
He was worried that it might be unnecessary meddling.
Still, there was a bond from the time he had been taught.
Also, Siwoo felt both goodwill and pity for Eloa as a human being, not as the witch Tiferet.
Whatever the reason, she was one of the few witches who cared for humans, and Siwoo also had the pain of losing a loved one.
“Then, would you like to have dinner together to celebrate your housewarming?”
“Dinner… you mean?”
“Yes, there are many delicious places around here. It’s almost dinner time anyway.”
Wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to have dinner together than to go home alone and feel lonely?
It was a suggestion made with the same thought.
Well, she was also the duchess who had certified his status, so there was no harm in getting a little closer to her, right?
There was still a lot to learn.
However, Eloa hesitated for several seconds without answering.
Was he going too far?
“Ah, I just mentioned it. If you’re uncomfortable, let’s postpone it.”
“…No. That’s fine.”
Was it his imagination that the shadow on Eloa’s face had lifted a little as she nodded?
The two of them went down the stairs together amicably.
“Then, I’ll go change and come back, so please wait.”
-Beep beep beep beep
As he entered the password, he heard a loud crash from inside.
And as soon as the door opened.
“Siwoo, you’re home earlier than usual today? Are you very tired? I’m going to take a sh…..”
Sharon, who was wearing only a suggestive pair of panties in addition to the white shirt she had been wearing naked this morning, rushed out, fully prepared.
What she was prepared for was obvious.
It seemed that she had jumped out of her studies as soon as she heard the sound of the front door password being entered.
Sharon’s expression, which had been smiling brightly and planning to have a hot time with Siwoo, froze.
It was because she saw Tiferet, who was staring at her intently through the still-open front door.
-Bang!
The door slammed shut as if it would break.
“……..”
“……..”
While Tiferet and Siwoo stood blankly in front of the front door.
A moment later, the door opened slightly, and Sharon, whose face was as red as a boiled octopus, greeted the guest in a faint voice.
She was also wearing clothes properly, as if she had just put them on.
“W-welcome… Duchess…”
“I wasn’t really going to go in…”
“Ah, I-I see…”
“I’ll go change and come out soon too.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Siwoo closed the door, Sharon hit Siwoo’s arm with tearful eyes.
“You should have said something…! You should have said something…!”
“Ouch! Ouch! No! You were the one who jumped out, what are you talking about!”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!!!”
Siwoo burst out laughing at Sharon’s muffled screams.
“Is this funny? Is it funny!”
