Dharma Spell Cultivation Translator: Xzy ***
He didn't know when he had lost consciousness.
Han Yu-jin suddenly opened his eyes to a damp, ticklish sensation touching his cheek. And for a few seconds, he couldn't properly grasp the situation.
His mind was numb as if a rock had been placed on it, and his body was as heavy as water-soaked cotton.
He wanted to close his eyes and fall back asleep, but the sensation that kept touching his cheek was too annoying.
When his hand, moving reflexively, touched its body, he was startled by its reaction, and Han Yu-jin's mind also snapped awake as he sat up.
An animal that looked like a weasel with long, rabbit-like ears was staring at him, having scurried away.
"…What are you?"
It flinched when he made a sound but didn't run away, only twitching its nose.
The darkness that had descended like a curtain had already faded considerably, and it was a time when there was a faint light, allowing him to distinguish his surroundings even without the Spirit Eye Spell.
And it was particularly quiet and also damp due to the fog.
The traces of last night's battle were still clearly visible. The reason he probably couldn't smell the scent of blood was because his nose was already numb.
And on the corpses of the monkey monsters, three other rabbit-weasels were attached, diligently eating their meal.
"You little bastard, were you trying to eat me?"
When Han Yu-jin feigned a growl, the one staring at him flinched again.
It seemed like they were having a staring contest for a few seconds, but then, as if it had judged that he was truly not edible, it trotted off towards another corpse.
"Ugh…"
Han Yu-jin, who had been slightly tense, finally groaned at the pain he felt throughout his body.
Not only was his head ringing, but both his ears also hurt, his back was itchy, his limbs ached, his joints creaked; it was a total mess.
He desperately wanted to use the Healing Spell, but since it was right after he had used an excessive amount of Dharma Power, he was very reluctant to use a Dharma spell he wasn't familiar with.
It might even worsen his condition.
After sitting still for a long time to compose himself, he staggered to his feet.
The sight of the rabbit-weasels, who were in the middle of their meal, all looking at him at once was quite cute, yet also a little creepy.
'If I had died, those things would have devoured me.'
Come to think of it, those things were now openly stealing and eating his prey right in front of him.
Of course, that was just a thought; Han Yu-jin didn't particularly chase them away. More importantly, he was hungry right now.
With a slightly staggering gait, he entered the shelter under the nearby tree roots and picked up the Dharma artifact, the Spirit Liquid Gourd, which he had carefully placed to one side.
He opened the stopper and gulped it down without even having a chance to enjoy its fragrant smell.
Fortunately, when he had restored it by spending additional Karma, its contents had also been completely filled.
It was a spirit liquid that could keep one from feeling hungry for a whole day with just a single sip.
He was satisfied only after taking four or five sips and put the gourd down; it seemed like about half of the contents had been used up.
"Burp…"
A sudden burp came out, and he felt his fatigue ease a little. He wanted to just fall over and sleep right away, but he forced himself to pull his mind together and began to cultivate the Origin Reversion Art.
He could recover faster by nourishing his body and soul through a cultivation art like this rather than just sleeping.
At the same time, he could, of course, increase his cultivation level.
With every breath, abundant Spiritual Energy was drawn in and seeped into every corner of his body. The more he repeated this, the more vitality emanated from him, and he felt very good.
A long time later.
After at least two or three hours had passed, Han Yu-jin opened his eyes and let out a deep breath.
For now, he had prevented his body and soul from breaking down and weakening.
He couldn't say he was fully recovered yet, but it wasn't to the point where he would have problems testing out some Dharma spells.
The first Dharma spell he tried was, of course, the Healing Spell. For one, the pain in his ears seemed to be getting worse, and he couldn't bear it any longer.
It wasn't an easy Dharma spell, so he was able to succeed after a couple of failures.
As a cluster of turquoise light swept over and seeped into his entire body, his injuries disappeared at a noticeable rate.
"Ooh…"
It was as comfortable and refreshing as alternating between a hot and cold bath whenever he wanted. It felt almost addictive.
Once he had improved his injuries like that, he couldn't stand the stickiness of his body, so he immediately cast the Purification Spell included in the Origin Reversion Art.
This time, he succeeded right away without any failures, and instead of a visible cluster of light, a transparent heat haze rose up and evaporated all the filth.
It could only be described as literally evaporating. The scabs of blood that had been caked on his skin crumbled into black sand and then disappeared.
In a short moment, he became very clean, including the clothes he was wearing.
'As for the impurities in my body… I'm not sure if they've disappeared.'
It seemed like he would have to use it consistently to find out.
Next, he decided to test the remaining Dharma spells that he had never used before.
The foolish and frustrating situation of having a card but being unable to use it was over as of today.
He went outside, glanced at the rabbit-weasels that were still watching him and hadn't left, and then found a suitable spot.
The first thing he tried was the Fire Bullet Spell. The basic offensive Dharma spell of all cultivators.
The Fire Bullet Spell, which was successfully cast after only two attempts, and its brilliant red sphere of flame were shot at a tree in front of him.
When it collided, a flash of light erupted.
KWA-GWA-GWANG-!!
With a deafening explosion that tore at his eardrums, hot air spread out, and more than half of the trunk of the giant tree that had been the target turned to ash and scattered.
Even the ground behind it was gouged out into a pit large enough for four or five people to lie down in.
Creeeak…!
"Uh, uh…?!"
As a matter of course, the giant tree, which had suddenly been dealt a huge blow, began to fall to one side.
Han Yu-jin hastily backed away, and the sound of the giant tree colliding with other trees as it fell echoed through the forest like thunder.
THUUUD-!!
With a final shockwave that made the ground vibrate, the tree finally fell completely.
In the meantime, the leaves that had been torn off scattered down here and there, and the broken branches that had been floating in the air belatedly fell with a clatter, continuing the commotion for a little longer.
"…"
This was the destructive power of the Fire Bullet Spell, the most basic offensive Dharma spell of cultivators.
'It's this strong?'
If he had been able to use this Dharma spell freely last night, the battle would have been much easier.
Seizing the initiative?
There was no need for shouting.
With one shot of the Fire Bullet Spell, those savage beast-monkeys would probably have been terrified immediately.
'Of course, maybe not.'
Worried that the noise he had just made might have attracted the attention of some dangerous predator, he briefly surveyed his surroundings with the Spirit Eye Spell.
After confirming that there were no unusual signs, he moved on to practicing the Jade Skin Spell.
The fact that the rabbit-weasels had all been startled and run away was not very important.
Surprisingly, this Jade Skin Spell was quite tricky, and he barely managed to succeed after trying more than six times.
The skin all over his body began to glow with a white jade-like light and shine. As a test, he punched another nearby tree, and he felt no pain at all.
On the other hand, the tree that was punched had a mark left on it as if it had been hit by a steel bludgeon.
'Could I have blocked the attacks of those Apes bastards with this?'
He thought about it for a moment but soon shook his head. Even if he had blocked the damage, his relatively light body would have been sent flying here and there, putting him in a very disadvantageous position.
And vital spots not covered by skin, like his eye sockets, were not protected by this Dharma spell. It was a point that required caution when using it.
Next, he tried the Shadow Hiding Spell and succeeded on his second attempt.
It could easily be dismissed as a Dharma spell that only concealed one's spiritual aura, but he had heard that it could have the effect of completely evading the perception of opponents weaker than oneself.
In short, it meant that he could create a situation where he wouldn't be detected even if he was standing right in front of an opponent.
As he was getting used to it by canceling and casting the Shadow Hiding Spell a few more times, he narrowed his eyes as he saw a rabbit-weasel that had cautiously revealed itself again.
'I think that's the one that dared to try to eat me.'
Unforgivable.
He immediately cast the Object Control Spell on the creature, and gratifyingly, he succeeded on the first try and was able to lift the small creature into the air.
Squeak- Squeak-!
Naturally, the creature went completely crazy. But no matter how much it struggled, it couldn't shake off the formless power created by the Dharma spell.
As he gathered and held the ears of the rabbit-weasel that had flown right in front of him, the creature, whose eyes met his, quickly stopped struggling and just kept twitching its nose.
"Hey."
"…"
"You dared to try and eat me. Should I roast and eat you instead?"
Its round, pitch-black eyes rolled around. Its appearance, twitching its nose and looking thoroughly scared, was quite cute.
"I'll let you go, you little punk."
He let go of its ears and also released the Object Control Spell. The creature, which landed nimbly on the ground, glanced at Han Yu-jin once and then quickly scurried away.
Smiling faintly as he watched it disappear beyond the bushes, he turned his attention to the last remaining Dharma spell, the Wind Cloud Spell.
A moment later.
Thud-!
Han Yu-jin, who had been running through the forest at an incredible speed, failed to turn and crashed into a tree trunk.
Fortunately, he was in a state where he had cast the Jade Skin Spell, so he wasn't hurt, but the sight was very comical.
"Hsss…"
The successful casting of a Dharma spell and how well one could handle it were completely different stories.
The same went for the success rate, efficiency, power level, and control.
The speed of the Wind Cloud Spell was too fast for him, who was still just a beginner.
That's why he didn't even dare to attempt to fly through the air.
In fact, it was the same for all the other Dharma spells.
Like his cultivation realm, he had just succeeded in entering the path. He had to practice consistently over time to make them completely his own.
'Still, I've roughly grasped the feel of each of them once.'
He felt like he had truly become an Entry Stage Cultivator now.
Trudging back to his shabby shelter under the tree roots, he sat down and was about to start cultivating the Origin Reversion Art to soothe his tired mind and body when he noticed something and paused.
It was the piece of mushroom he had gathered on the first day to test its toxicity.
'I don't need this now.'
He had thought it would take at least a few days to enter the path of cultivation.
But since he had already entered, as long as he had the Spirit Liquid Gourd, there was no need to eat things like mushrooms.
It was when he was thinking that and casually cast the Spirit Eye Spell.
"Hmm…?"
For a simple, ordinary mushroom, it contained a considerable amount of Spiritual Energy, which surprised him a little.
'This was a Spirit Plant?'
A Spirit Plant, as one could easily guess, meant a spiritual plant. It was also commonly called a Spirit Herb.
As an aside, according to Earth's academic classification, mushrooms are fungi, not plants, but in the cultivation world, they seemed to be conveniently treated as plants.
Anyway,
If it contained more than an ordinary amount of Spiritual Energy, it was a Spirit Plant, no matter how humble.
And it was common sense that all Spirit Plants, if not poisonous, were beneficial for cultivation when consumed.
Han Yu-jin stuffed all of the mushrooms into his mouth and then left the shelter to gather the rest.
But just then, he suddenly realized anew that the still-unprocessed corpses of the monkey monsters contained even more Spiritual Energy.
'…How could I have been so stupid!'
Because he had mentally written them off as monsters, he hadn't even considered the possibility that their meat could be Spirit Flesh that could aid in cultivation.
It was truly a foolish act of not recognizing a treasure even when it was right in front of him.
'…I should have roasted and eaten those rabbit-weasel bastards!'
And he couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of the fact that he had just watched like a pushover while his Spirit Flesh was being stolen.
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