Screech.
A day passed, and the main gates of Landbard Academy swung open.
“Leader, I hope you stay safe for the next ten days. I wanted to go with you, but you refused…”
Aaron, standing next to Eugene, looked disheartened. The night before, he had asked Eugene for permission to accompany him, but Eugene had firmly declined.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Rohen asked, carrying a large bag as he exited the academy. He looked like a student who had been expelled.
“What’s with that bag?” Eugene asked, raising an eyebrow.
“This? These are the books we use in class.”
“Why are you bringing textbooks out?”
The books Rohen brought were for subjects like herbology and geography, all of which they studied in class. He had even packed the clothes provided by the academy. Anyone seeing him would think he had been expelled.
“I want to show my mother. To tell her what I’m learning.”
“Alright…”
Through their conversations, Eugene had learned that Rohen’s family consisted of only his mother, as his father had passed away on a monster-slaying mission. Rohen wanted to proudly share his academy experiences with his mother.
“Where are you headed?” Ken Pelven asked, curious about Eugene’s destination. Normally, students leaving the academy for a while would head to their family estates, but Eugene had mentioned going somewhere else first.
“I’ve got a place to be. See you later.” Eugene patted Rohen and Ken on their shoulders and quickly moved away.
‘First, I need to get to the nearest teleportation device.’
Teleportation devices, present in cities and territories, were often used by knights and nobles who couldn’t use teleportation magic themselves. However, they had a significant drawback: they were quite expensive to use, making them inaccessible to common folk.
‘But I have this.’
Eugene took out a small, square piece of wood from his pocket. This enchanted wooden token was proof of his status as a student of Landbard Academy. It bore the academy’s emblem and was magically imbued to verify the student’s identity.
‘With this token, I can use the teleportation device. And I can use it up to ten times for free.’
Thanks to this, Eugene could travel without much financial burden despite his limited funds.
“There it is.”
After running for a while, Eugene spotted the teleportation device in the distance, his eyes gleaming.
Huff.
“Whoa, you startled me!”
The guard stationed at the teleportation device was taken aback by Eugene’s sudden appearance. Not wanting to waste even a second, Eugene had used light-footed martial arts to get there swiftly.
“To the Seifran Territory of the Bevel Kingdom, please.” Eugene showed the guard his token and stated his destination.
***
Tinkle.
“Welcome.”
“I’d like a room.”
Upon arriving in the Seifran Territory of the Bevel Kingdom, Eugene immediately entered a modest inn.
“I need to drink the potion now.”
He wanted to consume the potion he had received as a reward from the academy just the day before.
Originally, Eugene had planned to drink the potion on the night he received it, when everyone was asleep. However, even when dawn arrived, his team members were still awake, chatting away. They were too excited about passing the test, achieving excellent scores, and receiving the potion. It wasn’t until nearly 3 AM that they finally fell asleep.
‘Damn them…’
Because of this, Eugene couldn’t drink the potion. Drinking the potion and then meditating to circulate its effects would take several hours, so he couldn’t drink it if he wanted to leave the academy early in the morning.
Rustle.
“I’ll take care of my own meals, so I’d like to rest quietly,” Eugene said.
“Very well,” the innkeeper replied with a hearty laugh, handing over the room key as Eugene gave him 3 silver coins.
“What? You had money?” came a voice from Eugene’s bag as he climbed the stairs. Taeje poked his head out, looking at Eugene.
“Where did you get it?”
“I’ve always had it.”
“You said you had no money! That’s why we traveled from home to the academy using light-footed martial arts.”
“Oh, that was a lie.”
“Eek!” Taeje scowled at Eugene’s deceit. If Eugene had the money, they could have taken a comfortable carriage instead of using light-footed martial arts, which left them dehydrated and sleepless.
“I didn’t have much,” Eugene tried to explain.
“Enough!” Taeje turned away with a sulky expression. How could Eugene do this to him? Taeje had asked for some meat on the journey, but Eugene claimed he had no money and gave him only jerky.
“I’ll buy you a whole cow. Don’t be mad.”
Creak.
Eugene opened the door, trying to placate the sulking Taeje. How could a divine beast get upset so easily?
“Really…?”
“Yes, really.”
“Hmph… alright. I, Taeje, will magnanimously forgive you,” Taeje said, smiling as he leaped onto the bed.
Plop.
Shuffling sounds followed.
“Oh, are you going to drink it now?” Taeje showed interest as Eugene sat on the bed and took out the potion from his bag.
“Yes. Keep guard for me. Not that anyone will come into the room anyway.”
“Alright.”
Pop!
When Eugene opened the potion bottle, a cheerful sound accompanied by a sweet aroma tickled his nose.
“It smells sweet.”
“Indeed.”
“It’s a far cry from the so-called elixir you made earlier,” Taeje commented.
Eugene had no retort. Taeje was right. Compared to the potion before him, the elixir Eugene had made was like night and day.
Gulp, gulp.
“Hah…”
The sweet potion slid smoothly down Eugene’s throat.
“Let’s see how it works.”
Eugene got off the bed, sat cross-legged on the floor, and closed his eyes.
“Huu…”
A hum filled the air.
Eugene exhaled once and began to focus on the energy surging within his body.
‘This is incredible.’
Despite his body trembling, Eugene calmly managed the surging energy, marveling at the potion’s power. He hadn’t expected much, but the energy contained in the potion exceeded his expectations. The energy from the potion merged with the energy in his lower dantian, creating even greater movement, and this combined energy began to intensify.
‘First, the lower dantian.’
Eugene moved the energy to his lower dantian, the Stone Gate acupoint. He needed to expand the lower dantian to its maximum size with the energy currently in his body.
Crack.
‘Ugh…’
As his lower dantian broke, intense pain overwhelmed Eugene’s body. However, if he moved in this state, he would immediately fall into deviation. Eugene endured the pain with immense concentration and patience, gradually restoring his shattered lower dantian.
Normally, a dantian doesn’t grow like this. It naturally expands and enlarges as internal energy accumulates. But Eugene didn’t have that time, so he shattered his lower dantian.
Saaaa.
“Good. The lower dantian expansion is complete.”
As the lower dantian was reconstructed into a larger size, a refreshing sensation penetrated through Eugene’s lower back.
“Now for the middle dantian…”
Without a moment’s rest after remaking the lower dantian, Eugene immediately began moving the remaining energy.
‘I need to stay focused.’
Eugene directed the surging energy towards the middle dantian, the Jade Hall acupoint, steeling himself with resolve.
‘To create the middle dantian, I need to start with the Severed Meridian.’
He had to heal the Three Yin Severed Meridian, a congenital condition he was born with. Of course, he couldn’t clear all the blocked meridians right now. However, he could unblock the meridian leading to the middle dantian.
‘Now…’
Crunch.
Eugene took a deep breath and broke through the Zhongting acupoint at his solar plexus, which had been blocked. The sound was dull and deep. Breaking the lower dantian sounded like shattering glass, but unblocking the meridian sounded like breaking wood. And simultaneously,
‘Krrrrgh.’
Eugene suppressed an unbearable scream, enduring immense pain.
Rumble.
As the blocked meridian opened, the energy surged wildly.
“What… what’s happening?” Taeje was startled to see Eugene’s body shaking violently and sprang up in alarm.
‘This is just the beginning…’
Eugene endured the extreme pain, controlling the energy one by one while maintaining even breathing. With two meridians still blocked, his internal energy circulation was incomplete, making it even harder to control the energy.
Eight hours later,
Saaaaa.
A thick mist filled the room. Interestingly, despite a gap under the door, the mist didn’t escape and stayed within the room.
Finally,
Swoosh!
As Eugene opened his eyes, the mist filling the room was drawn into his nostrils. The mist was, in fact, Eugene’s internal energy.
Shuffle.
Eugene repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, checking his body’s condition.
“How did it go?”
Taeje, who had fallen asleep on the bed, woke up at the noise and approached Eugene.
“I need to test it out.”
With a smile at Taeje’s words, Eugene opened the door and moved to the forest behind the inn.
Srrrng.
Arriving at the forest, Eugene drew the longsword he had brought from the academy.
“Now, let’s see…”
Crack.
Swish!
“Huh?!”
Taeje’s eyes widened as he watched Eugene’s actions.
“Could it be… you’ve reached the peak level?!”
Hummm.
Eugene smiled in response to Taeje’s question, seeing the aura around the longsword. It wasn’t the crude aura he had forcefully created before but a sharply refined aura enveloping the longsword.
“You crazy bastard…” Taeje shook his head as he observed Eugene’s progress. Despite having just reached 5-star status, Eugene had already ascended to the peak level, a feat that typically took a sixty-year cycle.
“Time to stretch a bit,” Eugene said.
Swish!
Eugene gracefully wielded his sword, slicing through falling leaves around him. Until now, he hadn’t been able to fully infuse his movements with energy due to insufficient internal power. Footwork, essential for executing sword techniques, required precise energy infusion in every step to be perfect. Due to his previously limited internal power, he hadn’t been able to use the advanced footwork techniques of higher martial arts.
Swish! Swish, swish.
Eugene moved smoothly, like a fish in water. Although he still felt some limitations, he found it relatively easy to move.
“Third Form of the Heaven’s Killing Sword Technique: Ghost Slash.”
Slash.
Swish, swish, swish.
For about ten minutes, Eugene had been slicing leaves when he suddenly executed the third form of his Heaven’s Killing Sword Technique. Numerous sword energies appeared before him, extending in all directions.
Boom.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Eugene’s sword energy cut through seven densely grown trees in all directions before gradually dissipating.
“Only seven trees…” Eugene clicked his tongue in disappointment as he sheathed his sword. Although this was already a highly satisfactory achievement, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
“You’re being ungrateful,” Taeje, who had been quietly watching, chuckled. For a typical martial artist, accumulating internal power equivalent to a sixty-year cycle would take a lifetime, but Eugene had achieved it in just a couple of months.
“I wish I had my own sword…” Eugene felt the long sword used by knights was uncomfortable.
“I need to gather ingredients for an elixir and look for a sword,” Eugene said, placing Taeje on his shoulder and heading back to the inn.
Cliche Novel 