“To awaken Martial Arts through mystery, there must be some special condition.”
Otherwise, there would be no reason for other Martial Arts to bypass everything and only awaken the Flame Barrier.
Kim Seo-jun was deeply immersed in thought, trying to find the common point between the mysteriously awakened Solar Martial Arts and the Flame Barrier.
“The first time I used the Flame Barrier in real combat was when escaping from the buried cave.”
When Crompf was smashing through the rocks to climb upward, the cave began to collapse, and Kim Seo-jun spread the Flame Barrier to prevent others from being crushed.
And at that moment, he remembered feeling a refreshing coolness in his chest.
Could that coolness have been the sign of awakening? That was the only explanation he could think of.
But why? Why didn’t he feel that refreshing sensation when using other Martial Arts in real combat?
When awakening, his focus was so concentrated on doing the Blood Circulation and Meridian Opening on his parents’ body that he probably didn’t notice the sensation.
“Wait. Blood Circulation and Meridian Opening…?”
As Kim Seo-jun recalled why he performed the Blood Circulation and Meridian Opening, one situation strangely overlapped with when he first used the Flame Barrier.
The Blood Circulation and Meridian Opening was done for his parents’ health.
The Flame Barrier was used to save others from danger.
The common point between the Solar Martial Arts and the Flame Barrier was right there.
“To awaken Martial Arts, you have to use them to benefit or save some life—that’s it.”
Though the thought suddenly came to him, it felt like the correct answer.
Kim Seo-jun decided to test this newly formed theory.
He looked around and found a small rock, grasping it firmly. Rising from his seat, he pulled an Arondight from his gun holster and strapped it to his waist.
“Let’s see if using Martial Arts to save myself can also awaken the mystery.”
Kim Seo-jun tossed the rock high above his head. As the rock hovered a few meters above and was about to fall directly onto his crown—
Chop.
Kim Seo-jun slashed the rock with Surakyukseom. The rock split cleanly in two, falling to the ground.
Checking his status again, Kim Seo-jun frowned.
‘Failure.’
Surakyukseom did not awaken.
Could it be that a mere rock didn’t qualify as a danger? He decided to try again.
He found a slightly larger rock nearby, tied it with a rope, and hung it on a nail fixed on a nearby tree. The rock, about the size of his head, was positioned exactly above Kim Seo-jun’s head.
He pushed the rock vigorously and prepared to use Arondight’s kick just like before. The large rock, having moved back in a big arc, flew forward with real momentum toward Kim Seo-jun.
If left alone, the rock would strike his face.
When the rock came close, Kim Seo-jun deployed Surakyukseom.
Thud.
The rock cracked sharply. It made a muffled sound as it fell to the ground.
At that moment, the nail, which had been holding the rope, suddenly gave way under the rock’s weight and flung upward.
Unluckily, a bird’s nest was built at the very end of the nail, and the nest was flung as well.
“Ah!”
Seeing that there were eggs inside the nest, Kim Seo-jun quickly moved to catch the falling nest.
“Phew…”
The nest landed safely in his hands. He carefully placed the nest on the ground beside him and checked his status again, but there was no change.
“Is my theory wrong?”
Just then, the nail holding the rope violently swayed and suddenly snapped. The large nail fell straight down, heading toward the nest on the ground.
Kim Seo-jun couldn’t let the bird eggs break, so he unleashed Surakyukseom toward the falling nail.
Crash!
The nail, about the size of a person’s forearm, shattered into pieces, scattering in midair. Thanks to that, the nest remained unharmed.
At that moment, Kim Seo-jun was startled by an overwhelming wave of refreshing coolness surging through his chest. The subtle pressure that had been weighing on his chest completely dissipated.
It was like shedding all his clothes and feeling a cool sea breeze on his bare skin.
“This is it!”
Kim Seo-jun realized that this sensation was the signal for awakening. Feeling the lingering coolness, he checked his status.
[Kim Seo-jun]
- Mana: 40 / Internal Energy: 17
- Mystery: Reverse Emission Mechanism (13%) / Solar Martial Arts (6%) / Flame Barrier (1%) / Surakyukseom (1%)
His prediction had hit the mark.
Surakyukseom had awakened mysteriously, and his mana had increased by 10. With this, Kim Seo-jun fully understood how to awaken Martial Arts.
In unintended situations, Martial Arts can only awaken if used to protect some life.
He strongly suspected that cases where Martial Arts were used to save oneself would be exceptions.
The keywords for awakening were threefold — unintended, for others (not oneself), and used to protect life.
This was vastly different from how ordinary people awakened mysteries.
Generally, to awaken a mystery, one must have a strong will to achieve something and a clear mental image of the form and ability they desire.
Will and form. It sounds simple, but it’s too abstract, and even if understood intellectually, it’s extremely difficult to practice. Even if possible, the probability of awakening is very slim.
Kim Seo-jun’s first mysterious awakening of Reverse Emission Mechanism was along similar lines. Wanting to become a hunter, he couldn’t awaken it for over two years, sinking into deep despair and wasting his days painfully.
Then, toward the end of his second year in high school, during a math trip, he went to a winter valley to take pictures and fell into an icy lake.
The young Kim Seo-jun, nearly dying there, formed a strong will to survive and a clear desire to live, which resulted in his awakening.
Usually, awakening through some special trigger is normal, but the current Kim Seo-jun was completely different.
“I know the awakening keywords, but it’s not easy to carry them out.”
He had somehow succeeded in awakening Surakyukseom. But the Biroe Shinbo and Cheongung-si were still left, and many other Martial Arts he wanted to awaken overflowed.
It was a bit much to rely on such coincidences to awaken all Martial Arts. Besides, such coincidences hardly ever happened, so there was plenty of reason to worry.
The best chance to get many opportunities was to join other hunters on raids and save hunters in danger.
“Haa… I wanted to live quietly here without standing out, but even mysterious awakening isn’t helping at all.”
To awaken Martial Arts mysteriously, he had to live like a hero, saving people. Giving up on mysterious awakening would waste the mana gained with every awakening, yet he couldn’t afford to live boldly like a hero.
“Ugh, this is troublesome.”
In a way, this new life here was much more complicated than before. In his previous world, all he had to do was burn his revenge on Cheonma Gunjang Cheon Gang-woo and push forward like a bulldozer.
Kim Seo-jun shook his head vigorously to clear his complicated thoughts.
“For now, I’ll focus on the present.”
Without overthinking, he resolved to awaken Martial Arts mysteriously at the next opportunity.
“I should start by ingesting mana stones, right?”
There was no need to treasure the stones like precious jewels. Using them quickly when the chance came was best.
Kim Seo-jun took out two Blue Stones and one Green Stone from his space pouch. The Green Stone, obtained from the large burk his older brother caught, was reserved for their father.
“Blue first.”
Kim Seo-jun, who never saved tasty things for later, decided to consume the Blue Stone first, which was a tier above Green.
The Blue Stone, resembling sapphire, held a dazzling and beautiful blue light like the deep sea.
It was Kim Seo-jun’s first time consuming mana stones. Having only seen them online, in photos, or books, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was really okay to eat one.
“Since it’s Blue, the mana should increase by at least 16, right?”
The Green Stone raised mana by 11 to 15. The Blue was the next tier, raising it from 16 up to 20. Judging by the intense color, it should be at least 17.
Kim Seo-jun swallowed a gulp of saliva and threw the Blue Stone into his mouth.
Honey.
The stone melted instantly like cotton candy, releasing a sweet scent as it slid down his throat.
Just as in his previous world when consuming spirit essences, Kim Seo-jun habitually activated his internal energy and started the circulation technique.
The result was even more astonishing. The mana energy passed through his throat and was slowly absorbed into his cells, suddenly generating hot energy.
But thanks to his body trained in Solar Martial Arts, that level of heat was no problem. Kim Seo-jun guided the heat with Solar Martial Arts.
He gathered the energy coursing through his body into a dense mass and circulated it through the Large Meridian according to his cultivation method.
One, two, three times.
As the circulation increased, a faint blue glow began to emanate from Kim Seo-jun’s body. Especially strong was the light flowing from his dantian.
After about thirty minutes passed, Kim Seo-jun opened his eyes.
“Phew…”
His exhale was heavy with fatigue. He was quite exhausted.
Normally, mana stones were absorbed like medicine, and mana would naturally fill up to the maximum. No matter how much Kim Seo-jun combined it with Solar Martial Arts, the difference shouldn’t have been that big.
Yet, it took over thirty minutes to absorb a single Blue Stone. His body was twitching as if absorbing a spirit essence aged hundreds of years.
With a strange sense of anticipation, Kim Seo-jun checked his status.
[Kim Seo-jun]
- Mana: 60 / Internal Energy: 37
- Mystery: Reverse Emission Mechanism (13%) / Solar Martial Arts (8%) / Flame Barrier (1%) / Surakyukseom (1%)
“Whoa.”
Something amazing had happened. Mana had increased by over 20, the maximum that could be obtained from the Blue Stone, and internal energy had increased by 20 as well.
Moreover, his proficiency in Solar Martial Arts had increased by 2%. Truly remarkable results.
“Is this… even possible?”
Efficiency: 100%. Both mana and internal energy showed the highest efficiency.
As the first one took effect, Kim Seo-jun immediately swallowed the second Blue Stone. After performing circulation for another thirty minutes, he opened his eyes again.
[Kim Seo-jun]
- Mana: 80 / Internal Energy: 57
- Mystery: Reverse Emission Mechanism (13%) / Solar Martial Arts (10%) / Flame Barrier (1%) / Surakyukseom (1%)
The increase was ridiculously high. He wondered if this was even allowed given how efficient it was.
“Finally, the Green Stone!”
Kim Seo-jun held the third stone in his hand. This was the stone obtained from the heart of a monster. While consuming stones from monster bodies was somewhat unsettling, eating one from a human body was even more disturbing.
“If eating this makes me stronger, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
Without hesitation, Kim Seo-jun swallowed the stone. Closing his eyes and starting circulation with Solar Martial Arts, he felt a weaker heat than before spreading through his body.
He gathered the heat into one and started the Large Meridian circulation. After about ten minutes, absorption was complete.
But there was a strangely different feeling compared to when he consumed Blue Stones. His chest felt as refreshing as when awakening a mystery.
“Could it be…?”
Kim Seo-jun checked his status and was shocked once again at the result before his eyes.
[Kim Seo-jun]
- Mana: 95 / Internal Energy: 72
- Mystery: Reverse Emission Mechanism (13%) / Solar Martial Arts (11%) / Flame Barrier (1%) / Surakyukseom (1%) / Shin An (1%)
The increase of 15 in both mana and internal energy was hardly noticeable anymore.
The new addition to his mysteries — the word ‘Shin An’ caught Kim Seo-jun’s gaze and refused to let go.
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