City of Witches

༺ Prodigy (3) ༻

1.

An Jin, the small movement, hidden, unable to be observed with naked eyes.

Chun Jin, to unleash a burst of power within the minimum range.

Dan Jin, to shoot one’s internal power from a distance.

Qin Tou Jin, to pierce through one’s enemy’s defense, destroying their insides.

The variety of Fa Jin applications that appeared in Chinese martial arts were endless.

Those techniques were among the most versatile and easiest to use. Its versatility was similar to a ring that could function as different things depending on where one chose to wear it; For example, put a ring on one’s ear, it’d turn into an earring, while if one were to put a ring on one’s nose, it’d turn into a nose hook.

However, even considering that, the Fa Jin technique that Eloa established was a simple one.

It didn’t break the law of physics, rather moved closely with it.

Each movement didn’t produce the unnecessary waste of energy that would always occur whenever one were to move their muscles.

The deterrent force that came out when one used more power than necessary wasn’t there either.

Normally, when someone were to move their muscles, a dispersion in force would inevitably occur.

But, what if one were to suppress that dispersion as much as possible and converge it into a single point?

What if one could project the muscle strength of their whole body into a single fist?

With that kind of method, even a normal human could drill a hole in a wall using merely a single finger.

Such was Eloa’s Fa Jin, a movement that she could perform by expending a refined, and concentrated force.

She was able to utilize it as naturally as breathing, and even incorporated it into all of her sword techniques.

“…Something feels missing.”

“You almost got it.”

Now that he was allowed to use his magic, Siwoo almost managed to imitate what Eloa demonstrated in a single attempt.

Of course it still wasn’t perfect.

The fact that the crater he made was bigger than necessary proved this.

It was inevitable that a crater would be formed, since the ground where he stood was the place where the force was generated.

The problem was the crater’s size, as it was bigger than it should be, signifying that the force wasn’t dispersed in the correct ways.

Still, the size was pretty close to Eloa’s.

“Haah…”

Siwoo let out a deep breath.

“Don’t do that, ease your breathing a little. Heavy breathing will make your movement heavy as well. You need to lighten even the slightest thing so that your movement will lighten as well.”

“Understood.”

Hearing that advice, he relaxed his body while replaying Eloa’s movements in his head.

Focusing on when and where she distributed her mana.

And how exactly did she stick out her fist after all that.

-Thunk!

“Ah…”

This time, he realized his mistake before Eloa pointed it out.

Because the sound he made didn’t create an echo.

When he extended his fist, he felt a strange feeling, as if his fist was being caught in a bump.

“Before you extend your fist, make sure to let the force travel properly. From your lower body, to the center of your body and to your upper body, in that order. If you made a mistake in the distribution or the transmission, you wouldn’t be able to perform it properly. Try it again.”

“Yes!”

“Again. You’re trying to materialize your thoughts into reality, your mind and body must be in harmony.”

“Yes!”

“Don’t get caught up in your thoughts. Too much thinking will slow your body down. Moderation is the key.”

“Yes!”

He made more failures and each time he did, Eloa gave him a piece of advice.

Throughout this trial and error, his body became more accustomed to the unique timing.

He realized that the posture wasn’t important here.

Rather, it was the timing of when he injected his mana into his movements.

-Krrrk!

Beneath his soles, a piece of cement crumbled.

The force he used to push the ground didn’t bounce his body upwards, but pulled it downwards.

It was then directed to his back muscles through the rotation of his pelvis and transmitted to his upper body just like a gun being loaded.

After going this far, he only needed to do one thing.

Direct the force into his shoulders, arms and fists, before releasing them moderately.

-Bang!

When Siwoo unleashed his fist into the air, it made the same voice as what Tiphereth did.

Though he only threw a single fist, he could feel a strange feeling, as if his whole body had turned into one, utilized for one single purpose.

A tingling sensation remained in his fingertips.

Some of the remnants of the force that he hadn’t released made his body hum like a gong.

“Woah…”

Siwoo let out a sigh of amazement.

The moment he succeeded in recreating Eloa’s fist, the fact that he was doing it with his own body struck him.

It gave him a similar satisfaction just like when he finally managed to do a complex combo in a fighting game.

Even though he had only thrown a single good fist.

“Did I really do that?”

“…”

Siwoo asked in excitement, but Eloa only stared at him, lost in her thoughts.

This was a technique that she could perform easily, but more than anyone, she knew how tricky it was to perform it.

She had simplified the requirement to perform the technique into three.

One, a mind that could visualize the move properly.

Two, a strong enough mana that could support the execution of the move.

Three, a body that could perform the move perfectly.

With those three elements, anyone could do the technique, as long as they could keep those three elements in harmony.

Siwoo had been falling short on the third element, the body.

His body was too lacking to perform the move perfectly.

But, he managed to do it anyway.

As for the reason why, it was because of his ‘chi’.

He managed to cover his lacking body by injecting the mana that he could manipulate freely to the necessary body parts that he needed to use to perform the move.

Taking a different route to achieve the same goal.

This showed his brilliance.

While it wasn’t exactly what Eloa had hoped to see from him, she wouldn’t mind using the word ‘prodigy’ to describe him.

“Try it again, familiarize yourself with the feeling.”

“Yes!”

Siwoo immediately recalled the feeling from earlier and practiced the technique repeatedly.

Just like an exercise, once one gets the feeling of a certain move, one would be able to repeatedly perform it, and once they perform it enough time, they’d be able to perfect it.

Though he made several mistakes at first, he was able to successfully remember every step necessary to perform the technique down to the vibrations of his fingertips.

-Bang, bang!

The fists he threw one after another echoed through the air.

Siwoo felt his heart trembling as he did this, just like an amateur fisherman who had just caught his first fish.

Maybe it was because he had been stagnating for the past few days.

The moment he managed to achieve something, he couldn’t contain the feeling of joy that burst through his heart.

“Duchess, I did it! Amazing! I don’t feel anything leaked out!”

At that moment, a blast from the past struck Eloa as she witnessed Siwoo’s happy appearance.

The memories, blurry, like an old oil painting, made her heart throb, regardless of her will.

‘Look at this, Master! I finally did it! Also, I came up with a name for it! Do you want to hear it? Ready? …Heavenly Dragon’s Devastating Thunderstrike Fist!’

It went without saying that it was Ravi that came to her mind.

When she blinked through her trembling eyelids, the image of her dear apprentice had gone, replaced by Siwoo, who was staring at her.

But, unlike the illusion of Ravi, her feeling of guilt, karma and self-hatred didn’t disappear with that blink. Rather, it stood out even more, just like a heated iron.

“Are you okay? You don’t look too good.”

There was a clear worry in his gaze, and it prompted her to close her eyes tightly.

“I’m fine. Anyway, that’s all for today.”

“Ah, yes, thank you for your guidance today.”

Tiphereth lifted the barrier.

As she did so, the craters on the rooftop were restored to their original state as the bustling noises of the city reached their ears.

Siwoo, who was in an extremely good mood after successfully progressed in his training, was left dumbstruck by Eloa’s depressed look.

He wondered if he had done something wrong, but it wasn’t like he could guess what was in her mind as she refused to tell him what happened.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you this. Starting from today, I’ll be living below your place.”

She said, trying to brush the depressing mood off, but even as dense as Siwoo was, he could tell the gloomy tone of her voice.

It was similar to the smog that was floating in Seoul’s air.

Just like how the bustling city noises couldn’t hide that smog, her light tone couldn’t hide her mood completely.

“Starting from today?”

“Yes. You don’t need to worry, though, as I won’t interfere with your daily life. Anyway, I’ll be going down first.”

Usually, whenever their training session was over, Eloa would leave first while Siwoo would stay on the rooftop to smoke.

But…

After Eloa opened the door, she only stood there with slumped shoulders.

He didn’t know what was wrong with her, but he did have a rough idea.

From what he knew…

It was just a vague guess…

In fact, it might even be a presumptuous assumption on his part…

‘Maybe she was reminded of her dead apprentice…?’

If that was the case, Siwoo could understand why her expression immediately switched to a depressed one even though she had shown him a somewhat proud look when he tried to boast to her.

“Duchess, do you have any plans after this?”

Before he realized it, he already grabbed her hand.

In truth, the Duchess was someone that he couldn’t really handle well.

Her noble title was one thing, but there was also the atmosphere she exuded when she taught him.

Although she never scolded him or criticized him, she was very strict and scary, just like the stereotypical instructors.

Not only that, he could also clearly feel the difference in their strength, even when she refrained herself from using her magic.

She was someone who could kill him in a second the moment she wished to do it.

And perhaps that was why he had been unconsciously put up a distance between them.

Eloa turned back to face him.

“No.”

“Then, have you finished unloading your belongings?”

“I barely have any in the first place. Miss Sua should’ve taken care of it already.”

‘Does that mean she’s living in a pretty much empty room…?’

He was worried that she might find him nosy.

But, after being taught by her for a while, he became a little fond of her.

Not toward the noble witch Duchess Tiphereth, but toward the person, Eloa.

Whatever the reason, she was among the few witches who cared for ordinary humans, and he could understand the pain of losing someone.

“Then, do you want to eat dinner together? Take it as a housewarming party.”

“Dinner…?”

“Yes, there is a lot of good food you can buy around here. Also, it’s almost dinner time, isn’t it? Might as well.”

‘Wouldn’t it be better to eat together than alone?’

He invited her under that premise.

‘Also, I’m under her protection anyway, so it shouldn’t be bad to get closer to her.’

‘I have a lot to learn from her anyway.’

But, Eloa went silent for a good while after hearing his words.

‘Did I go too far?’

“I-I was just saying it, if you are uncomfortable with it, you don’t need to—”

“…No, let’s do it.”

When she nodded it felt like the gloomy mood on her face was eased a little.

Then, the two of them came down the stairs together.

“Alright, I’ll change my clothes quickly and come back, so can you wait for a moment?”

-Beep beep!

As he typed in the password to his room, a bustling sound could be heard from inside.

And when the door was opened…

“You’re earlier than usual, Siwoo. Are you tired? Come here, I’ll wash you up—”

Sharon, fully prepared, wearing nothing but a pair of sexy underwear, ran out of the door.

As for why she did so, it wasn’t a hard thing to guess.

When she heard him pressing the password to the room, she definitely ditched her research and hurriedly came outside.

The cheerful smile she showed immediately froze.

Because she could see the Duchess staring at her intently after she ran out of the door.

-Bang!

Almost immediately, the door was slammed shut.

“…”

“…”

Siwoo and Tiphereth stared at the door blankly, unsure how to react.

After a while, the door was opened again, and Sharon, with a face as red as a boiled octopus, greeted them with a trembling voice.

This time, she wore her clothes properly.

“U-Um…p-please come in, D-Duchess…”

“Ah, no, I won’t be coming in…”

“I-Is that so…?”

“Yeah, uh, she’ll just be waiting for me while I’m changing my clothes…”

“I-I see…”

After Siwoo entered the room and closed the door, Sharon immediately slapped his forearm.

“What were you doing?! You shoulda told me—!”

“Ow, ow! What are you on about? You were the one who ran out so suddenly like that!”

“I don’t know! Ugh, I don’t know!”

Siwoo burst into laughter seeing her like this.

“Is this funny to you?! Is this funny to you?!”