Han Yu-jin sat inside a relatively intact building and took a short rest, with a pile of books stacked in front of him.
It had taken about four days to go around the entire Outer Sect area and figure out where everything was.
If he had been able to get around using Dharma spells, it would have ended much faster.
The places worth looking at carefully in the Outer Sect area were actually obvious.
The library pavilion was the top priority, followed by the Formation Hall, then the Alchemy Hall, and then the Armament Pavilion, in that order.
And the most important rewards from those places were, of course, the books.
Among what were commonly called the cultivation arts, the four that were considered the most prominent were the Formation Arts, Alchemy Arts, Forging Arts, and Talisman Arts.
The value of an expert in these fields was high in the order mentioned.
The Formation Arts, also called Restriction Arts, were extremely precious despite being the most complex and difficult among the cultivation arts, as they were essential for defense and convenience for any power with a faction.
As for the Alchemy Arts, since spirit medicines were indispensable for cultivation, their academic techniques were naturally precious in a situation where they were not easy at all.
The Forging Arts were also precious in that the items they produced, such as Dharma artifacts and Dharma treasures, could greatly assist a cultivator's abilities in various ways. One could easily think about how important the item buff is in an RPG game.
The Talisman Arts were precious because they could be very useful in occasionally difficult or dangerous moments.
As they were consumables, both their production cost and selling price were cheap compared to spirit pills and Dharma artifacts, and thus they were bound to be popular among low-realm cultivators who could see great effects from talismans.
The rest of the cultivation arts, for example, the Spirit Plant Arts for cultivating and harvesting various spirit plants, or the Puppet Arts for creating golems similar to those in fantasy, were not considered very valuable.
In the case of the Spirit Plant Arts, it was purely because so many low-realm cultivators learned them to make a living, and in the case of the Puppet Arts, it was because their usefulness was not great compared to the effort required to learn, create, and handle them.
The other arts all had their own reasons as well.
Anyway,
Han Yu-jin originally had little intention of learning these cultivation arts.
It was for the rational reason that he lacked the time and energy to focus solely on cultivation.
He also thought that even if he didn't necessarily learn them, he could somehow manage with his awakened ability.
But his thoughts changed a little while exploring the Five Elements Sect this time.
He had started to think that he might be able to utilize his awakened ability better if he actually knew how to do such cultivation arts.
For example, if he didn't know how to do the Forging Arts, he could only hope for good items to come out of places like the Armament Pavilion here.
He would have no choice but to wander around looking for items suitable for his use even when visiting other worlds.
But if he knew how to create suitable items for himself through various materials, the range of possibilities would widen significantly.
This was because the difference in difficulty between obtaining materials and obtaining a finished product would be enormous.
'The only problem is, how to learn those arts quickly.'
It was clear that it wouldn't be easy even with his transcendent language comprehension.
That was why he needed to utilize his own awakened ability right here.
'Anyway, for the time being, I can't get cultivation results or items because I don't have enough Karma.'
It meant that until he accumulated enough Karma through Hunter activities, it would have to be a sort of resting period for his awakened ability, but there was a way to utilize that very period.
'Obtaining knowledge requires almost only my lifespan.'
And as it happened, cultivation originally aimed for longevity, not strength.
Just by reaching the Dharma Soul Stage, one could live a long, disease-free life for nearly two hundred years, and if one reached the Core Formation Stage, it would differ slightly for each cultivation art, but the minimum lifespan was four hundred years.
'Four hundred years… what was happening on Earth in the 1600s? Was it the Age of Discovery?'
In any case, it was certain that it was before the Industrial Revolution. It meant it was a very long time ago, and this was something that made him realize how long a period of four hundred years was.
'Taking a slight detour might actually be a way to reach the destination faster and more stably.'
It didn't seem like his skills would improve as much as he wanted just by dedicating himself to cultivation.
This was the fundamental reason why Han Yu-jin was having these thoughts now.
He even had the intention of not discriminating against the techniques of other worlds, besides the Xianxia-style cultivation arts.
If he encountered fantasy world's artifact creation techniques or alchemy, he might be able to create something better by combining it with the knowledge he already knew.
That was what it meant to properly utilize his awakened ability.
'What would come out if I did alchemy with a Dragon Heart?'
As he was thinking about it lightly while resting, a moment later, he came up with a brilliant idea and his eyes widened.
There was a method that felt much better than just using it for alchemy. A method that might even be able to completely change his talent, which was only at the level of a True Spiritual Root.
And maybe, he might be able to change not only his Spiritual Root talent but also his constitution to a Spirit Body, which was advantageous for cultivation, no, to a Dao Body, which was considered to be of a higher class than that.
That is, if the Dragon Heart he would obtain was as munchkin-like as it was described in any genre novel.
If that was really possible, his imagination ran wild about what kind of power he would enjoy.
His heart pounded and his body heated up, just like when he had first encountered cultivation.
It took quite a long time before he was barely able to calm down.
But it was inevitable that a plan for that Dragon Heart was automatically made in a corner of his mind.
<><><>
"Ah."
Han Yu-jin, who had woken up in his bed in reality, reflexively let out a groan and sat up.
"It hurts more than I thought…"
When the spirit liquid in the Spirit Liquid Gourd ran out and he felt there was no need to persevere any longer.
He boldly attempted an 'escape'. He changed a part of the Fire Bullet Spell's Dharma script to make it capable of harming the caster well enough, and then dropped it on his defenseless head.
Of course, he was a little scared, but there was no logical reason why it wouldn't work, and it felt that way intuitively, and now, as a result, it was that way.
Of course, as it was a very extreme act, he had consciously agonized over it dozens of times, wondering if he was really okay doing this, if he could wake up safely in reality.
It was because it would be a big problem if it became a habit. If he were to inadvertently do such a thing in reality later, would there be another death as pointless as that?
Anyway,
He had thought he could be neatly blacked out with the explosive power of the Fire Bullet Spell, but he felt a terrible heat, albeit for a moment. He was able to empathize, at least a little, with the feelings of the enemies who would be hit by such a fire-type Dharma spell in the future.
'The remaining Karma is…'
He looked at the rewards placed around him, almost all of which were books, and let out a sigh.
He couldn't bring a single one of the Dharma artifacts he had painstakingly collected in the Inner Sect area.
This was because, unexpectedly, a tremendous amount of Karma was consumed in restoring and selecting them.
'They must have been at least high-grade Dharma artifacts.'
The Five Elements Sword was a kind of basic Dharma artifact that the Five Elements Sect distributed to all Inner Sect disciples, so it was only mid-to-high-grade, but even such a Five Elements Sword was in fact not lacking for the current Han Yu-jin.
As for the items he had brought besides the books, there were the seeds of the selectively bred Bloodwood, and when it happened to catch his eye and he opened the jade box, he could see life force gushing out.
After finishing organizing the rewards like that, he headed to the bathroom, feeling like it had been a very long time.
Not much time had passed in reality, but in terms of perceived time, it was correct that it had been a long time.
"Huh…"
So he was a little surprised when he looked in the mirror.
He hadn't been ugly before, but he could see a more handsome appearance. It was thanks to the subtle distortions and imbalances being resolved and his skin becoming as clear as a commercial model's.
'Did I get a little taller too?'
It could be just that his posture and body shape had improved, but in any case, it felt like he had grown a lot.
What suddenly came to mind was the cultivator's skeleton in the Inner Sect area of the Five Elements Sect ruins.
Despite having been weathered for a long time, it was as white and glossy as jade.
'I'll soon become a person who is beautiful even on the inside.'
Han Yu-jin thought. Though it would be an inside with a slightly different meaning from the general usage.
Roughly shaking off his idle thoughts, he replaced the process of washing with the Purification Spell and went back to his room.
He changed his clothes to go out and grabbed his smartphone and Bluetooth earphones, and he let out a few hollow laughs at how unfamiliar that act felt.
'If I live in another world for decades with my awakened ability, will I act a bit like a social misfit when I come back?'
It was a truly realistic concern. It was probably a part of the shadow hidden behind the greatness of the ability.
'If it's severe, I might not be able to feel that this place is reality anymore.'
Of course, this was probably a concern that was a little ahead of itself.
Anyway,
The place he was heading to was the Ability Verification and Training Center. It was a place he could reach in about twenty or thirty minutes by public transport from where he lived.
'It would be faster if I went with the Wind Cloud Spell.'
He had to restrain himself because he would have to pay a fine if he got caught. Even if that wasn't the case, he would look too much like an attention seeker.
He left the one-room apartment building, passed through the alley, and turned onto the main street.
In the meantime, he put the earphones in his ears and played music on his smartphone, but he was horrified by the poor sound quality that he had never noticed when he was an ordinary person and immediately stopped.
Now he saw that there was a reason why the Hunter-use earphones were expensive. For now, it was much better to just enjoy the noise of the city.
And so, he enjoyed his daily life to the fullest, standing at the bus stop while appreciating the city scenery that felt strangely welcoming because it had been a long time in his perception, slowly getting on the bus with the number he knew when it arrived, exploring how his perception of the bus's shaking had changed after becoming a cultivator, and watching the ordinary people living in the busy modern society.
'This is healing.'
Others might consider camping in a place like a primeval forest to be healing, but it wasn't for the current Han Yu-jin.
Perhaps because he had enjoyed it so much, time passed quickly.
He got off at the Ability Verification and Training Center stop he had arrived at, and after walking leisurely for a minute or two, he took in the center's building in his sight.
It was a scale that couldn't be taken in at a single glance. Quite a few people were bustling in and out, but what particularly caught Han Yu-jin's eye were two family groups that included a teenage child.
'Their child must have awakened.'
He thought that his middle school classmate probably visited in a similar manner in the past. Though it probably wasn't this exact center.
'I'm the late bloomer, the laughing cheetah, aren't I?'
Holding back a laugh that was about to come out for no reason, he entered the building.
As he was looking around a bit in the lobby, he made eye contact with a public official standing at the desk.
As he approached, the other person spoke first.
"How may I help you?"
"I'm here to report my ability awakening."
"Pardon?"
A reaction as if it was unexpected came back. And for good reason, as he had once thought before, it was very rare for someone of his age to awaken.
It was usual for them to awaken in their mid-to-late teens.
"Ah, for ability awakening verification, you can go to the left over there. If you go, you'll see…"
After hearing the rest of the directions, Han Yu-jin expressed a short thanks and headed in that direction.
The verification room was not difficult to find. First, its scale was not small, and before that, he had spotted the family that had entered the building earlier and was able to follow them.
As he entered the place partitioned by a glass door, the gazes of the people in the waiting room swept over the family that had entered first and then lingered a little longer on Han Yu-jin, who was following behind them.
'There's no one my age.'
There were four kids who looked to be in their mid-to-late teens, and only adults who seemed to be their guardians.
"This way, please!"
A female employee at the counter guided him like that.
Han Yu-jin, who had gone to a different female employee than the family that had entered first, went through a series of processes, such as stating his purpose of visit and presenting his ID.
The person here didn't seem very surprised.
With a very natural, moderately business-like and moderately kind attitude, it was as if she were dealing with a citizen who had come to a community center.
"You'll have to wait for about an hour."
"That's fine."
"Then, please read this information consent form and…"
The employee handed over a document and skillfully underlined the important parts with a highlighter and circled the parts that needed to be signed.
When he read it quickly, it was literally a document providing various information and points to be aware of.
While requesting consent for the provision of personal information, it was also requesting consent for the fact that additional costs could be incurred if it was determined that one had not awakened an ability.
Seeing that content, he was suddenly reminded of something he had seen on the internet.
'They say there are a lot of people who come to get tested even though they haven't awakened.'
It could be an act of truly wishing to awaken, or it could be due to a slight mental illness. Or they could just be crazy.
In any case, it was clear that such people existed.
'Don't tell me I was mistaken for such a person?'
Given his age, someone might think so. Of course, it wasn't a big deal.
After signing and handing over the document, the employee handed over another document this time.
It was a kind of aptitude test, about three or four pages long.
First, it asked if he had really awakened, and then it asked in turn what kind of ability it was, and so on.
"You can fill it out over there and then bring it over~."
"Okay."
Since she said he had to wait for an hour anyway, it was perfect for killing time.
It was when he was filling out the test paper at a standing table on one side.
"Han Yu-jin-nim?"
"Yes?"
When he approached at the employee's call, she handed over another document with a slightly apologetic expression.
"You have to sign this document too. This was added this time, you can get a basic health check-up while getting a blood test."
"A blood test?"
He asked back without much thought and, after reading the general content, signed willingly.
But perhaps because of how she took that question, or perhaps because the employee was also bored, she let out a related story as if chatting.
"I heard that recently, there are people who increase their physical abilities with some kind of narcotic drug and then come saying they've awakened."
"There are drugs like that?"
"Yes, yes. The side effects are big, but it seems to be effective. They say it sometimes even fools the mana scanner… Of course, it all gets revealed later, but…"
After finishing the short chat that followed.
As he returned to his original spot and finished filling out the aptitude test, he was suddenly reminded of a certain memory.
Right before visiting the primeval forest, he had seen a similar story while browsing an internet community as a form of rest.
It was about a Hunter with a healing-type ability who had been caught using drugs.
'Could it be related to that?'
After thinking for a moment, Han Yu-jin soon erased that question from his mind.
It was someone else's business anyway.
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