Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The torn skin on my palm was hastily wrapped in a bandage.

It was one I had stolen from Seol Yeong.

Judging by the lingering pain, it seemed like it would take some time to heal.

"I managed to stop the bleeding, but it’s not very effective.

"Blood had already soaked into the bandage, leaving a stain.

Even though I had used acupressure to stop the bleeding, it still trickled out.

Was the wound that deep?

The bone was faintly visible, but considering my current physical state, it was clear that my healing was slow.

"What kind of material is this?

"Was this level of damage caused just by touching it?

And what if it had actually cut me?

I didn’t know for sure, but I could guess—it wouldn’t have ended well.

Still, there was something strange about this.

"Does this happen even when internal energy is used?

"Earlier, during the handshake, I hadn’t thought to fortify myself with energy.

Would it have made any difference if I had?

The thought lingered in my mind.

"Should I try it out?

"I wanted to, out of curiosity, but trying something like that now felt like inviting unnecessary injury.

If nothing happened, I might have gone ahead with it.

"But right now, I need to use my body.

"With so much riding on my physical condition, I couldn’t afford to take risks.

"Hmm.

"I moved my hand back and forth experimentally.

The pain was still present, but it wasn’t enough to hinder movement.

If I avoided using this hand too much, I could manage.

"This should work.

"I roughly gauged how much strength I needed to adjust.

And so—"Time to get moving.

"I stretched lightly and turned around.

Cheonma was staring at my hand.

"What are you looking at?

"I asked sharply, annoyed by her gaze.

Cheonma, unfazed, met my eyes and asked:"Are you okay?

" "What if I’m not?

" "...

"Her eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t expected that response.

It seemed like something she hadn’t planned for.

I let out a sigh and said:"I'm fine, so stop worrying.

" "Okay.

"Satisfied with the answer, Cheonma nodded.

Was that all she wanted?

Clicking my tongue, I turned away again.

There was still a long time before sunset.

I glanced up at the sky briefly and began walking again.

Cheonma followed naturally, matching my steps.

Should I tell her not to follow me?

I considered it but decided against it.

She wasn’t the type to listen anyway.

Right now, there were more pressing matters than Cheonma.

"Should I take Gubong with me?

"I thought about it for a moment but ultimately decided against it.

He didn’t seem to be in the right mental state for this.

"Moving quickly on my own is better this time.

"Considering the plan, Gubong wasn’t necessary for now.

Keeping that in mind, I continued walking.

At the same time—Screeech—!

Focusing energy into my core, I set it in motion.

Thin threads spread out, wrapping around my body.

Though invisible to the naked eye, my body could feel the distinct and foreign energy.

It was as if my soul itself was being overlaid with something.

As I fully experienced this—Srrrk.

Something formed within my soul, and my physical body changed.

Ears and a tail appeared—something the Turtle had once created for me.

"Not bad.

"I touched them briefly, nodding in approval.

It wasn’t as strong as what the Turtle had done, but it was better than my initial attempts.

After confirming there were no issues with my body, I called out:"Hey.

"Cheonma answered immediately.

"Yes?

" "Come here.

"At my words, Cheonma approached quietly.

If she was going to follow me, I couldn’t leave her as she was.

Since I needed to do something about it, I reached toward her chest.

"...

"My hand hesitated just before touching her.

The memory of that morning flashed through my mind.

"...

Tch.

"The sensation I had felt then made me pause.

"...?

"Cheonma looked at me curiously, her expression puzzled by my hesitation.

Ignoring it, I extended my hand further.

My palm landed just below her collarbone.

I infused energy into her body, spreading threads throughout.

Saaaaah—!

Just as I had done with myself, I tried to overlay her soul.

Crack—!

"Hm?

"Something felt off, and I frowned.

"What the hell?

"The threads extended but crumbled before they could fully wrap around her.

Normally, they would completely encase the target, but this time, they failed to connect properly.

Were they disintegrating before they could reach?

Or burning away before they touched her soul?

Either way, it was clear—the spell wasn’t working on Cheonma.

"This...?

"What was going on?

Was it because I was casting the spell on someone else instead of myself?

That could have been one explanation.

"No, that doesn’t seem right.

"Remembering how the Turtle had cast the spell, it didn’t make sense.

If that wasn’t the case—"Does this mean Cheonma is the issue?

"It seemed more likely that she had something preventing the spell from working.

"Hmm.

"Was it impossible to use the spell on her?

No, that couldn’t be true—the Turtle had managed it, after all.

In that case—"There must be another way.

"The method I was using clearly wasn’t right.

If this approach didn’t work, there had to be an alternative.

Focusing again, I tried increasing the energy.

Saaah.

"Still the same.

"Even with more energy, the threads dissolved at the same point.

It wasn’t a matter of quantity.

I adjusted the angle.

If a straight line didn’t work, I tried diagonals.

When that failed, I curved the threads.

"This isn’t it either.

"Nothing worked.

But after repeated attempts, I realized one thing.

"There’s a specific point.

"The threads always dissolved at the same location, as if burned by a flame.

"A flame?

"Burned by a flame?

The thought sparked something in my mind.

Ssss—!

I altered the energy again, not by increasing its amount but by making it more compact.

Instead of just adding more, I focused on increasing the density.

Even though the energy remained the same size, I aimed to make it stronger.

How should I do it?

The answer came quickly.

"If I do it right, it’ll work.

"If I wanted it to happen, I could make it happen.

As long as I tried, no matter how difficult, it wasn’t impossible.

"Denser.

As dense as possible.

"I worked to eliminate any gaps, making the energy seamless.

Though it required intense focus, it wasn’t beyond my capability.

After all, it was just about increasing density.

"It’s done.

"Not long after, I noticed that the threads I emitted had become stronger than before.

I extended them again, repeating what I had done earlier.

Hisss—!!!

"Oh.

"Surprisingly, the reaction was different this time.

The threads reached the point where they had disintegrated before, but this time they didn’t vanish completely.

They weren’t entirely unaffected.

There was pressure pushing back against them, but unlike before, they didn’t dissolve immediately.

It seemed they could hold on.

But not for long.

A single misstep or moment of hesitation would spell failure.

My instincts told me as much.

Ssss—!

The denser threads of the spell began wrapping around Cheonma’s body.

Crackle!

The threads burned as they moved.

I endured the resistance and managed to encase her, though the spell couldn’t reach her soul.

"Is this the best I can do?

"Pushing further would be greedy.

Continuing without restraint would be overreaching.

"Tch.

"I clicked my tongue in frustration but secured the threads to complete the spell.

Then—Fwoosh!

Cheonma’s appearance briefly shimmered, and a pair of deep violet dog ears sprouted from her head.

"Oh.

"Cheonma curiously touched her ears, fascinated.

Last time, only a tail had appeared.

This time, it was just the ears.

Still, Cheonma seemed pleased as she eagerly played with them.

"Hey… if you keep touching those, they might—"Sway—!

Suddenly, dizziness swept over me, and I staggered.

I barely managed to brace myself with my legs to avoid collapsing.

"Heh.

"A hollow laugh escaped me as sweat dripped from my chin.

"What the hell…?

"I hadn’t thought it was that exhausting, but it seemed I was wrong.

It wasn’t physical fatigue.

"…It feels like my insides were shaken up.

"Like being wrung dry.

It was as if I had used every ounce of energy I had.

"Is this exhaustion from increasing the density of the threads?

"Now that I thought about it, martial arts techniques that relied on compression and rotation could cause similar fatigue even when using the same amount of energy.

This might be something along those lines.

"Haah.

"I steadied my breathing and stood upright.

Though mentally drained, my body was fine.

A short rest should be enough to recover.

With that thought, I turned to Cheonma.

"Let’s move.

" "Okay.

"There was no point in lingering, so we pressed on.

*******************Leaving Mount Hua, we headed toward Yahwol.

Before sunset, we reached Yahwol Palace.

I suppressed the urge to run or leap and forced myself to walk.

I could have gotten there faster, but holding back was far more grueling than I had expected.

The only saving grace was that we reached the fortress before my patience wore thin.

"Halt!

"As we approached the gate, a guard leveled a spear at us.

It was the same as last time.

"What’s your business here?

"His tone was sharp and filled with suspicion.

He hadn’t been this wary on our first visit.

It seemed like this was a result of the commotion I had caused previously.

That had been intentional, so I didn’t mind.

I pulled a token from my robes and showed it to the guard.

"…Ah!

"The guard’s eyes widened as soon as he saw it.

"My apologies…!

"He quickly lowered his spear and stepped aside, gesturing for us to enter.

It seemed the token was proving to be quite useful.

His attitude was different from last time.

Was networking the ultimate currency, no matter the world?

With mixed feelings, I stepped inside.

Just as I had noticed before, the fortress was much larger than Mount Hua, and the population was significantly denser.

I could feel cautious gazes directed at us.

Armed patrols moved through the area, adding to the atmosphere of order and control.

As we wandered through the streets—"Where are we going?

"Cheonma asked.

I nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Well… I was thinking of visiting the same place as before.

"The Black Clan.

Gubong’s family.

There were things I needed to discuss with his father, the clan leader.

It seemed like the logical first destination.

"Or…"We could explore somewhere else.

I had already seen both the White and Black Clans, so visiting the other two colors wouldn’t be a bad idea.

After all—"I’ll need to meet them eventually.

"Whether as myself or as Cheonma, I would have to face them.

"So…"Should I visit another place before going to the Black Clan?

Yes, that seemed like the best choice.

I made up my mind.

But—"…Where should I go?

"I didn’t know the exact locations of the other clans.

I would need to find directions.

Although I had a rough idea from last time, it wasn’t enough.

Just as I considered climbing a tall building to get a better view—"Well, well… looking for something?

"Suddenly, something draped over my shoulder.

I turned my head to see what it was.

It was an arm.

Following the arm, I looked up to see its owner.

Standing there was a young man of the Yahwol Tribe, smiling brightly.

"You seem like an outsider.

Lost, are you?

Need some help finding your way?

"His friendly smile and tone were disarming.

"…What the hell?

"I stared at him, swallowing dryly.

He looked young, with a slight frame—not someone who seemed threatening at first glance.

But—Thump!

My heart told a different story as I looked at him.

"What is this monster?

"Despite his unassuming appearance, I could sense something immense lurking within him.

It was enough to send chills down my spine.