NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Harmony Academy
The “Harmony” Academy.
It was one of Korea’s elite academies, so prestigious and vast that it could rival even the best in the world.
As a mega academy, it naturally received an overwhelming number of applications.
Thankfully, the number of new students accepted was a whopping one thousand, comparable to a university!
However, this year’s applications totaled a staggering one hundred thousand!!
The administration was practically on the brink of collapse!!!
In this context, Choi Yeon-woo was quite a rare case.
Once known as the martial arts realm, there was even a daughter of the elusive Ice Palace, which was hard to come by in the martial arts community.
Not to mention, there was the scion of a major corporation, renowned for having no match in his age group.
There was also a boy from the Alkeon continent, known as the young lion of the Arbelora Kingdom.
And speaking of remarkable talents, there was Kim Hyun-soo, who boldly proclaimed that his younger sister was ‘outclassing him’!
All these talented individuals could shine anywhere. Naturally, not all students were outstanding just because of them, but…
Even so, the average talent at this year’s Harmony Academy was alarmingly high.
Based on two years ago, Yeon-woo, who had trained rigorously to barely pass without any mana, didn’t make the cut this time. Of course, the cut-off point had risen dramatically for a reason.
The professors.
Among the representative figures of the academy was none other than Kim Hyun-soo. Though there were controversies regarding fairness concerning his sister’s admission, they somehow brushed it off because it involved the upright Kim Hyun-soo.
Originating from the Alkeon continent, he was a swordsman who had earned the title ‘Ten Thousand Swords’.
There was also a man from the martial arts realm known as the ‘Demon King’.
In short, these three monsters could hold their own in any world.
If anyone could offer even a single piece of knowledge or insight from them, countless people would be ready to pay a fortune for it. Thus, it’s only natural that people flocked to the Harmony Academy.
Of course, there was at least one naïve novice who was clueless about such thoughts.
Meanwhile, the very person, Choi Yeon-woo, was casually fiddling with his smartphone, thinking everything would somehow work out.
Ding-.
After pressing the number once, the default ringtone echoed calmly.
– …Hello? Yeon-woo? What happened?
Claire’s voice came through, sounding even tenser than Yeon-woo himself. Yeon-woo chuckled softly but chose to remain silent. This prompted her to frantically guess.
– Did you fail? W-well, it’s okay, Yeon-woo! Even if you aren’t a hunter, you have your handsome face! Hurry back home on the bus! I’ll make something delicious for you, so don’t cry, okay?
One would wonder if Claire had hoped to be a talent since she didn’t react like this before. What changed, really? Thinking back, it seemed like she’d quietly taken the bus back to the orphanage before.
“…No, no, Sister. I passed! There’s a dormitory, so I decided to stay there. They said it’s free. I probably won’t be coming back there for a while.”
– You have to come back during the break.
“Ah, yes….”
With Claire’s serious tone, Yeon-woo cautiously apologized. It was the truth, so he had nothing to counter that.
– But how did you manage to pass when you didn’t even know a single thing about mana?
“Wait, you knew I didn’t have mana?”
– I’m an elf, Yeon-woo. I used to be an adventurer. Did you really think I wouldn’t know? I just hoped you’d taste the bitterness of life a bit and come back.
At that statement, Yeon-woo could only manage a wry smile.
Could it be that Sister had known all along that he wouldn’t pass since his previous life?
That was shocking. She hadn’t mentioned it before, right?
But she had always been someone who encouraged the child to try things rather than interfere in their choices.
– Still, I’m glad. You didn’t get hurt. Since you passed, do your best! Of course, you should take care of your health. Got it?
“Got it. I’m fifteen, so what’s there to worry about….”
– I’m worrying precisely because you’re fifteen! Well, if you get worried or make friends, just call me.
“Sure, take care until we meet next. I’ll bring lots of gifts then.”
With that, the call ended. It felt like interacting with a real nun brought a sense of calm to his heart.
Yeon-woo sat on the plush bed in a significantly larger single room than the orphanage.
What mattered most now was, of course, mana. Yeon-woo looked up at Shar, who had nestled atop his head.
He’d heard many stories of people claiming to have a crow’s nest on their heads, but he might be the first with a dragon’s nest.
After all, it seemed Shar wouldn’t be visible to others, so worrying about it was probably just Yeon-woo’s concern.
He spoke to this unexpected burden of pleasure-filled responsibility, having thought long and hard, but no answers had come to mind.
“Shar, do you happen to know how to use mana?”
[……Hmm.]
As Shar groaned in contemplation, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but feel flustered.
[No, I have no idea how not to use mana.]
“Great.”
But that was expected. Dragons were a magical species. There was no way that a being, which was essentially magical, would not know how to handle mana.
No matter how extraordinary a genius might be among humans, they couldn’t surpass even an ordinary dragon in anything related to mana. That’s just how they were created.
In short, it meant there were no tips for an underachiever like Yeon-woo. Disheartened, he heard Shar say.
[But I’ll try my best. Could you ease up a bit?]
“…Like this?”
Yeon-woo pondered for a moment. When asked to ease up, it didn’t mean to just fall limp like a corpse.
As he contemplated how to approach it, Yeon-woo sat still and relaxed his entire body as if meditating. It turns out letting go of strength consciously is more essential in combat than one might think.
[Okay. I’ll move mana in the dragon’s way, so can you focus inside?]
Upon hearing that, Yeon-woo closed his eyes and centered his awareness inward. Slowly, his consciousness sank….
Then he felt a warm energy gather near his heart, the same potent energy he had sensed from Kim Hyun-soo’s fingertips. It seemed to fluidly move like blood, slithering towards the veins….
“?”
[This is about the sensation. Do you think you get it? Should we try again?]
Shar seemed eager to receive praise, as the egg above her wobbled slightly. Is this what it means to become attached to a daughter? It was a cute gesture, and that thought crossed Yeon-woo’s mind…
“Impressive, Shar…. I think I get it, but why’s the mana concentrated in my heart?”
If he hadn’t made a mana heart to become a magician, wouldn’t it be normal for it to be in the lower dantian? At least that’s what the textbooks said. If he wasn’t walking the path of a wizard, the place where mana forms should be in the lower abdomen.
[…I-I’m sorry….]
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, did you? I’m just curious.”
[No, it’s right for me to apologize…. You see, Dad is pretty much a magician already.]
“What?”
That was a shocking truth. He thought he was just a martial artist, yet he was actually a magician? They said magicians couldn’t handle aura, so maybe he would have to register for magic classes after all.
[That’s not entirely it…. I hadn’t hatched yet, and I used up too much lifespan, so my existence became unstable. If I want to survive, I need to bond firmly with reality quickly. But to get you to use mana while still in egg form, there was no choice but to rely on your heart.]
“Ah, if that’s the reason, it’s okay, good job, Shar.”
Even so, Yeon-woo couldn’t just leave Shar to vanish. If it was to save her own life, he had no complaints.
Once he decided to bear responsibility, he would ensure to do so. That was the way of the man Choi Yeon-woo.
[So now, Dad has kind of become half-dragon. More precisely, my heart has been replaced with a dragon heart….]
“What…?”
My heart is a dragon heart?
The… most expensive and precious thing in the material realm?
[Uh… is it?]
“No, Shar! Even if you piled up all kinds of rumors about the dragon heart, it wouldn’t measure up to even half of it!”
[Dad, how would I know that? How old do you think I am?]
Shar shot back incredulously, and Yeon-woo felt a sudden realization.
Even though it had barely been half a day since they started chatting, Shar was so articulate and knowledgeable that he completely forgot she hadn’t even hatched yet.
In fact, Shar was just about a month old, which was like a fetus in human terms.
The maturity of a mad dragon…
[…Hehe, I’m just glad you’re pleased, Dad. I know that species can be a sensitive topic.]
It seemed Shar felt somewhat guilty for without her consent turning him into a half-dragon. Yeon-woo chuckled at her comment.
True, species could indeed be sensitive, but the fact that an unborn child was worried about such matters was just strange.
Besides, if she were a dragon, it really wouldn’t matter. It would be rather nice.
But wait, could dragons use aura?
That was the fundamental question. Were they strong enough that aura wasn’t necessary, or could they use it as an added bonus? From what he gathered, it seemed that mana was just present in the heart instead of the lower dantian.
[Maybe it’s possible to create a mana core in the dantian?]
“Can that be done? Isn’t the dragon heart supposed to absorb all the mana around?”
[Hmph!]
Shar, brimming with confidence, continued speaking. If this child had expressions, he could only imagine how proud she would look. Yeon-woo couldn’t help but fantasize about it.
[What can’t a dragon do!]
……Right, she’s a dragon!
“Alright, then let’s give it a try.”
Deciding to move his mana first, Yeon-woo took a step forward. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. He knew better than anyone how to destroy his body, but dealing with mana was another story entirely.
To use mana naturally at crucial moments, one must practice moving it regularly.
[I’ll split half of the mana and move it to the lower abdomen. Once you get accustomed to manipulating mana, you can create a core.]
Noticing Yeon-woo’s focus, Shar helped guide him with a calm voice.
Feeling grateful yet wanting to concentrate, he didn’t respond. He inhaled deeply.
[On a side note, if you’re going to train manipulation, it’s best to do it from the heart. That area is the most sensitive.]
Hoo-.
Following Shar’s advice, he slowly shifted his awareness to his heart….
He didn’t intend to move his heart. An ordinary human wouldn’t know how to do that.
But if a strange energy called mana existed.
If he acknowledged the dragon heart, which wasn’t originally his own—
He could manipulate mana. For Yeon-woo, who recognized it through Kim Hyun-soo and was supported by the dragon heart’s exceptional responsiveness, this was the first step where he stood in a rather advantageous position.
The warm energy began to stir slowly. He started to play around with it. Mixing, gathering, reshaping.
As it was his first attempt, he moved it very slowly. But the joy of having the mana flow according to his will filled him.
He knew himself better than anyone. For a talentless person, there was but one path.
Persistently repeating to accomplish one task before moving on to the next. One step, one step—he had to progress slowly.
In a nutshell, it meant putting in the effort until he died.
……Watching that, Shar couldn’t help but feel perplexed.
The sight was agonizingly slow and boring, like falling asleep while watching paint dry. Although he was her father, she found no trace of talent in him.
Yet it seemed, as Mom said, that his focus and effort were genuine, so she decided to just watch him blankly.
No matter how talentless he was, of course, repetition would lead to mastery. The work of gathering and releasing mana was simple enough, so even Yeon-woo, with his lack of talent, quickly grasped it.
However, it appeared that his father was not one to be satisfied with such progress. For dozens of times, he repeated the same process at the same speed as his initial movement.
Moving just like his body, if he moved slowly, the stimuli to his muscles would increase, and his understanding of the motion would deepen. Mana wasn’t so different from muscles in that regard.
Recognizing and developing parts of his body required continuous slow movement.
Minutes turned to hours, and the work that started under the midday sun continued until the moon rose, with cold moonlight seeping through the balcony.
During that time, Shar dozed off several times.
As she lay quietly listening to Yeon-woo’s breath, she felt sleepy. Comfort washed over her like being cradled in nature’s arms.
……And while she gently dozed off and woke up multiple times, her father remained focused throughout.
Only when the sounds of his stomach rumbling pierced the silence did Yeon-woo suddenly think, “Oh, is it already this time? Should I eat something?” and naturally rose.
They say that geniuses take only about a week to understand and manipulate mana. Reaching that level would allow them to form a core without difficulty.
He needed only to concentrate mana, which spread throughout his body, into one point.
Despite being at an overwhelmingly advantageous position in every aspect except talent, it took him twelve hours to create a core the size of a pea.
Yeon-woo found it difficult to judge whether he should be happy or regretful about this fact.
(Continue in the next installment)