A Fortuitous Encounter?!
"Alright, I understand for now. So, what exactly has changed about my body?"
"To put it simply, I opened another gate for you to absorb Qi. I pushed your soul slightly aside and created an energy absorption gate."
"What? You pushed my soul? What do you mean by that?"
The old man, seeing that the young man didn't understand at all, paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.
"Hmm… To explain it simply, humans are beings that absorb the world's Qi through breathing. Whether it's through the nose or the pores, the principle is the same. But in your case, I've created a special gate that allows you to absorb a unique kind of energy beyond just breathing."
"Oh! I see. So, how can I use this energy gate to build up my internal power?"
Instead of answering, the old man turned his back, gazed into the distance, and asked an unrelated question.
"Do you know what a human being is made of?"
"Uh… well… people say we're made of body, mind, and soul."
"Close enough. Then do you know what binds those three together?"
"I'm not sure… life force?"
"Not entirely wrong. More precisely, vital energy (生氣, saenggi). A person's vital energy is strong enough to bind the precious soul and mind to the physical body."
At that point, Seoun started feeling a sense of dread.
"So… what are you getting at?"
"Then what do you think happens to this vital energy when someone dies before their time?"
"It disappears?"
"Wrong. A person's vital energy doesn't disappear — it disperses."
"Uh…"
For some reason, Seoun felt scared to hear more of the old man's words.
"In the world I come from, there were scoundrels. People who thought it wasteful to let that precious vital energy simply disperse into nature. They researched ways to absorb the vital energy released when a person dies — and they eventually succeeded. Do you know what happened after that?"
"I imagine… a bloodbath."
"Exactly. And the more people they killed, the stronger they became — until they became addicted to their power, and the world plunged into chaos. So, what do you think I did?"
"You killed them all?"
"Wrong. I didn't kill them. I studied the inner power they accumulated and analyzed it. Then I revealed their weakness to the world."
"They had a weakness?!!"
Seoun unconsciously raised his voice.
"A fatal one. While most people's vital energy is similar, it is still fundamentally foreign energy. Absorbing the vital energies of many people means taking in an unstable force. The more it accumulates, the more the yin energy grows and the yang energy diminishes — so they must constantly replenish the lost yang. Also, by forcibly twisting their energy meridians to create the energy absorption gate, they develop a critical point. If that spot is struck, they either lose all their martial power or die."
"What?!!!"
Only then did the old man, seeing Seoun's wide eyes and gaping mouth, turn to him with a smile.
"But don't worry. That was their case — you are different. Those bastards twisted their meridians with forbidden arts to create the gate, but I simply pushed your soul aside to make room, avoiding any critical point. I also altered your meridians slightly to disperse the excess yin and maintain balance when absorbing vital energy."
"Then… I have no weaknesses?"
"Right. But still, this technique belongs to the Left Path (Zuo Dao), so it's not without drawbacks. You won't achieve rapid mastery without killing, and adapting to your altered meridians will take time. Do you understand why I still passed this on to you?"
"It's because of this environment, right?"
The old man's smile deepened, and he nodded.
"Smart. To survive here, you'll likely end up killing people. From what I've observed, there's definitely vital energy released just before people vanish upon death in this place. If you absorb it, your power will grow far greater than it is now. And since you're a martial arts novice, you won't be confused when adjusting to the new meridians, so it won't be too hard."
"Yes."
Seoun, having only recently become aware of his meridians thanks to the information implanted in his mind and the system-generated energy center (dantian), didn't need much time to adapt to the altered flow.
"Then now I have things to do, so hurry and memorize this: 'Just as the depths of a great river are profound, so too is the mind of a great vessel — deep and serene. And just as Mount Tai pierces through the clouds, so too does the will of a great person rise even to the heavens…' Finally, pass through the wind gate, stop at the convalescence pavilion, and accept it into your dantian."
Seoun tried his best to remember the old man's long, abstract words — but couldn't memorize them all at once.
"How much of it did you memorize?"
"Ha, I couldn't memorize a single thing."
"Tsk tsk. I'll recite it again, so listen carefully this time."
At his own admission that he hadn't memorized anything, Seoun could feel the old man's favor toward him slipping away fast. In a panic, he shouted:
"Wait a moment! Let me find something to write it down."
"That won't do."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Though fate has allowed me to pass on my martial arts to you, it will only be through oral transmission. I have no intention of recording my martial arts anywhere."
He claimed he had no intention of writing anything down, but it seemed more like he was being cautious—worried that people from the same world as Seoun might kill him and let his martial arts leak out.
'Tch. If I just wrote it down in Hangul, no one here would understand it…'
But Seoun couldn't say that out loud.
"Phew."
He calmed his breathing and closed his eyes.
The old man began to recite the verses of the cultivation method again.
How many times did he hear them? At first, they were incomprehensible, but with each repetition, they slowly started to settle in his mind. By the twelfth time, he had memorized them all.
"Your aptitude isn't so bad after all. As you wished, I've passed on my martial art. It doesn't have specific techniques, but that's because my cultivation method wasn't built around them—use it as you see fit."
"Thank you, sir."
At some point, Seoun had stopped calling him "old man" and was now respectfully calling him "sir."
"Then I shall take my leave. I hope we meet again."
"Wait a moment!"
"Hmm? You have something else to say?"
"You've granted me such a great favor—even if I'm not a formal disciple, shouldn't I at least know your name?"
"Ah, my name is Jang Docheon. In my world, people often call me Yugo Gipseon. And the cultivation technique I passed on to you is called Baekmu Juyeon-gong."
"I won't forget your name or the grace you've shown me."
"That's how a person should be."
The old man said that as Seoun bowed deeply, making Seoun's lips curl into a slight smile.
When he looked up after finishing his bow, the old man had vanished without a trace—just like when he first appeared.
"Huh. Feels like I've been possessed by a ghost."
After glancing around for a while, Seoun shouted with a slightly disappointed tone:
"My info."
Name: Jin Seoun
Race: Human
Trait: Magin (Mage)
Strength: 30
Stamina: 30
Agility: 36
Toughness: 5
Magic Resistance: 10
Special Trait Stat – Inner Power (Naegong): 5
Special Trait Stat – Mana: 30
Upon closer look, his trait had changed from Warrior to Magin (Mage).
"Magin? Well, considering I've turned into someone who absorbs life force by killing people, it's not exactly wrong."
Thinking that, Seoun quickly checked his status, then opened the map.
"Hmm… Where should I go…"
The problem was that he had wandered deep into mountainous terrain, close to the center of the shrinking zone.
There were plenty of small farming spots nearby, but that wasn't the issue. What concerned him was a fairly sizable village not far from his current location.
'Even if it takes longer, it's better to head toward the outskirts. Anyone who knows how to read a map will be heading toward the center of the zone.'
With that thought, Seoun planned his route and turned off the map.
"Looks like I'll be walking all night."
But he had no choice.
If he ran into enemies while farming nearby, even the martial art he had just learned wouldn't be enough—he was at a clear disadvantage for now.
Once he finally escaped the dark mountainous terrain, relying only on the map, a vast, open plain shimmered ahead of him under the moonlight.
It was the first flatland he had seen since arriving in this world.
Until now, he'd only roamed through secluded mountain huts that seemed untouched by human presence, so this endless field of wheat felt like an entirely new experience.
As a narrow path cutting through the dense wheat fields came into view, Seoun looked around the wide plain surrounding the mountain and began to walk again.
'Is it because this is another world's wheat? Or was wheat always this tall?'
The field looked like the perfect hiding spot—if someone really tried, it'd be hard to find them. Thinking it was a good piece of natural cover for future strategy, Seoun burned the wheat field's location into his memory.
'A Chikorita is a must.'
Hiding in the bushes and ambushing enemies was one of the most basic survival game tactics.
It wasn't until sunrise that Seoun finally reached his destination.
As expected, it was a mountainous area shrouded in deep darkness on all sides.
Seoun narrowed his eyes in thought as he observed the cabin emitting a bright light about twenty meters ahead.
"Judging by the lantern still being on, it's most likely an empty house… But there's a chance it could be a confident player inside."
And right now, if Seoun encountered a player with that level of confidence, it would almost certainly mean death for him.
"Survivor!"
-Ding!
-29/100
"It's dropped by this much again?"
Now, every remaining player was likely to be a formidable opponent.
"Besides, this game has healing scrolls. It's better to assume no one's injured. Unless you're really lucky, the chances of meeting someone hurt are slim."
That thought made Seoun even more hesitant to enter the cabin.
"What should I do…"
After thinking for a while, Seoun summoned a few Wind Balls over his hand and hurled them straight toward the cabin.
"Strike!"
-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The Wind Balls crashed through the window and vanished inside the cabin.
Even after waiting for some time, the inside remained quiet.
"Guess there really is no one in there…"
If someone had been inside, they would've likely reacted in one of two ways:
First, they would've turned off the lantern. Or, if they were a confident player, they would've charged out to search for the attacker.
If neither happened—no lantern turned off, no one rushing out—then there was no reason for anyone to have confidently left the light on in the first place.
Still, just in case, Seoun cautiously approached the cabin with a crossbow and throwing star in hand.
Peeking through the window and finding nothing unusual, he leapt inside.
"Just as I thought…"
It was empty.
Quick to act, Seoun picked up the healing scroll lying in wait and stored it in his subspace. He then searched the area thoroughly for any other items.
He found nothing else of value.
"Phew."
Only then did Seoun turn off the lantern and collapse to the floor as if he'd been knocked over.
"So tired…"
Compared to the beginning, he had probably grown stronger both physically and mentally—but it had still been a long day.
The nerve-wracking tension that made his hair stand on end, life-or-death battles, and all-night marches had taken a serious toll on him.
"Still, I've got to do what needs to be done."
He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but there was something he had to do.
Even just a little—he had to increase his internal energy.
As he began his breathing technique and circulated his qi, the energy within him began to accumulate.
After a while of meditating and building up his qi, the crushing fatigue pressing down on his body began to ease a little.
When he finally finished, Seoun opened his tired eyes.
"Phew. Let's just get a little shut-eye."
He lay down in a corner and pulled the Cloak of Stealth over himself, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
Who knows how long he had rested, but he suddenly jolted awake as if struck by a seizure, gripping a hidden weapon in his hand and scanning his surroundings.
"Haah… Just a dream. At this rate, I'll really end up with some kind of neurosis."
He let out a long sigh and stretched.
"Survivor!"
-28/100
***
Juyeopmun → Kalitz (Killed with sword energy.)
"Only one more down, huh. Well, I guess it makes sense—it's only Day 4 of the game, and this few have already survived… Maybe it's not 'only' after all."
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