There is no end to training.
Even training one has already mastered perfectly is bound to have meaning.
Thus, one must be wary of growing lazy and indolent, stained by the inertia of time.
One must find meaning in repetition, immerse oneself not in the act but in the process, and devote oneself to improvement day after day.
Gou ri xin, ri ri xin, you ri xin (苟日新 日日新 又日新).
If you would truly renew the day, renew it every day, and renew it again day by day.
That is the mindset with which one must face training.
“Whew.”
Recalling the teachings he had learned from the Chivalrous Yong Family, Yong Haerang steadied his breathing.
Savoring the feeling of returning to his original resolve, he assumed the posture for breaking roof tiles.
In time with his breath and the movement of his muscles, he drove his fist toward the photon slime at his feet.
Squish!
The photon slime, shaped like a water droplet, flattened along the direction of the force and split into two masses.
When Yong Haerang withdrew his fist, the masses merged back into one.
“Tch.”
A failure.
Clicking his tongue briefly, Yong Haerang grabbed the thing and hurled it high into the sky.
Then he spread his legs wide and watched the sky where it would fall.
“…”
He could see it.
Supporting his body with his lower half planted on the ground, Yong Haerang rained punches down on it.
If an attack that concentrated force on one spot did not work, he had decided to strike multiple spots evenly.
Squish! Squish! Squish…
But it had no effect on the slime that floated into the air each time it was struck.
There was no sense of impact at all.
It felt as if he were punching a waterbed.
Every time it received a blow, its shape merely rippled.
Yong Haerang gained nothing in particular, and the thing fell to the ground, burst, and then returned to its original form.
“You’ve got some spirit, don’t you.”
He had long since given up counting how many failures this made.
Yong Haerang caught the slime as it tried to inch away and let out a low groan.
‘The key is impact. Their bodies are absorbing the shock…’
And that was not all.
The shock was not being properly transmitted either.
In that case, all he had to do was deliver an amount of shock they could not withstand.
The problem was that there was a limit to attacks that did not carry mana.
“Hmm…”
Since he could not solve it with his usual kind of grit, he would have to solve it with another kind of grit.
Holding the slime that kept trying to escape in his grasp, Yong Haerang sank into thought.
He fell into a fundamental question.
‘What is impact?’
To begin with, it was necessary to distinguish between impulse and impact force.
Impulse was the change in momentum that occurred when an object received force.
The harder and longer one struck, the greater the impulse became.
Thus, impulse was proportional to force and time.
Impulse (change in momentum) = force × time
And at this point, the force an object received from the impact could be changed to impact force, and time to collision time.
In other words, the impact he applied to the slime was impulse, and the impact the thing received was impact force.
Impulse = impact force × collision time
Then, if he wanted to deliver more impact force to it than now?
Yong Haerang rearranged the diagram in his head.
Impact force = impulse / collision time
There were two methods.
Either increase the impulse, or reduce the collision time.
‘It’s the same principle as an egg breaking when dropped on glass, but not breaking when dropped on a cushion.’
But there was a limit to increasing impulse with a fist that did not use mana.
Since it could not be solved in a short period of time, reducing collision time was the wise choice.
Yong Haerang reached a conclusion.
‘As short as possible. Strike and cut it off.’
It was a fairly difficult technique.
But as someone who carried on the name of the Chivalrous Yong Family, there was no reason he could not do it.
If it was impossible, he would solve it with grit.
Yong Haerang raised his fists in a guard and paid attention to his steps.
He controlled his breathing, exhaling and inhaling repeatedly.
‘Thrust it out in an instant, then pull it back.’
He stepped forward with his front foot and threw his fist.
The moment the end of his fist touched the slime’s surface, he immediately pulled it back.
Then, unlike before, the slime’s surface trembled, and the particles of light within it surged.
It seemed to be working.
Yong Haerang quickly struck the slime with his other fist and withdrew it.
Just like that, he stepped and delivered a continuous barrage of blows.
Papapak!
The slime rippled violently, as if the shock had been transmitted all the way to its core.
Then, when it reached a level where it could no longer withstand the impact, it abruptly exploded.
───!!
The translucent substance that made up its body scattered in every direction.
The substance turned into particles of mana and began to lose its existence.
‘So this is how you do it!’
Amid the fluttering fragments of the slime and particles of mana.
Remembering the sensation left at the end of his fist, Yong Haerang raised the corners of his mouth.
[You have acquired a skill.]
[Penetrating Force Lv 1]
[Penetrating Force Lv 1]
◆ Skill Classification
―Conditional Activation
◆ Detailed Effects
―Critical chance increases by 10% only for martial arts-type attacks involving direct contact.
―Upon hitting with a martial arts-type attack involving direct contact, there is a 10% chance to inflict 5% additional damage.
* * *
Strength would not go where I wanted it to.
When I stepped forward thinking I was taking a single step, I found myself having moved ten steps before I knew it.
And my body was tilted as though it might topple over at any moment.
Because I had only meant to take one step, I had failed to account for the balance of force.
‘It feels like my brain and body are moving separately.’
To keep myself from falling to the ground, I hurriedly planted my left hand on the field.
I was certain I had applied force with the intention of supporting my body.
But my hand, into which more force than I expected had gone, did not brace against the field—it struck it hard.
‘Damn it…’
My waist lifted, and my body floated up.
Flipping over in midair, I was suddenly flying while facing the sky.
Soon, the ground entered my vision as it passed by in an arc.
I had flown up to the highest point and begun to fall.
As my vision spun round and round, I flailed my arms and legs to somehow regain my balance.
‘I have to find a compromise.’
With the way I usually exerted strength, my thoughts could not keep up.
But that did not mean I could blindly reduce my strength to match my thoughts.
That would be no different from undermining the purpose of using Current Control.
So the choice I had to make was to control my strength at a level where my thoughts could respond as much as possible.
‘I can do it.’
No, I had to.
If I could not, I would simply crash into the ground.
As if responding to that resolve—
Crackle!
Evasion Instinct activated.
The sensation and sound of the wind brushing against my skin became clearer.
The world in my vision slowed, as though the flow of time itself had decelerated.
It was a response entirely different from before, when it had focused on raising my physical abilities.
‘Good job.’
Praising the Gift for its appropriate judgment, I raised the corners of my mouth.
Soon, I caught sight of a slime down below.
[You have encountered a monster.]
[Rose Photon Slime (Rank. 03) x 1]
A Rank 3 slime boasting a size incomparable to the Rank 2 slimes.
It looked perfect to use as a cushion.
I made it my landing point.
I drew closer and closer to it.
Bracing for any possible impact.
To protect my head, I raised both arms in a guard and armed them with skin like steel.
At last, I collided with it.
───!!
The slime surged violently.
Having taken the full force of the impact from my fall, it exploded.
In the meantime, I was bounced off by it and flew over the field.
Crackle!
It was fine. Evasion Instinct was assisting me.
Curling my body into a ball, I executed a breakfall and rolled the instant I touched the ground.
After dispersing the remaining impact that way, I lay sprawled on the ground.
“Somehow… I made it work…”
As expected, the sky had charm only when looked up at from the ground.
I wanted to see Yeon Haneul.
Unable to forget the sensation of falling, I gasped for breath violently.
That had taken ten years off my life.
Meanwhile, Current Control was still acting on my body.
‘Let’s get rid of it first.’
There was something I had realized just now.
Unlike in the game, where the effects of Current Control had been limited because it was a game, in this world there was no need to be bound by that limitation.
The key point of the skill was, in the end, controlling the electrical current dwelling in the Ultramarine Sword.
If I dug deeply into that key point, there were many ways to make use of it.
Sensing the flow of the current, I gathered the azure lightning wrapped around my body at the tip of my index finger.
I aimed at a nearby slime.
The azure lightning condensed at my fingertip shot out like a bullet and dealt an electric shock to the slime.
Weak to lightning-attribute attacks, the thing could not withstand the shock and burst.
‘A useful discovery.’
Suddenly, Hong Yena’s teachings came to mind.
If I wanted to become an excellent mage, I should not be trapped within the perceptions I had created, but think flexibly and broadly.
It seemed that handling skills was no different from that teaching.
Aside from that, while practicing Current Control, I was able to discover several other uses.
‘Improving the detection network to a more precise performance by focusing on the characteristics of radio waves, stopping anywhere I plant my feet by using static friction, or granting magnetism to both me and a monster to pull us together…’
My understanding of electrical current was lacking, and it was difficult to control, but there must be boundless other methods as well.
It was worth researching thoroughly.
That was when Nam Yuri approached.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she tilted her head to one side and asked.
“Gyeonu-Gyeonu, from what I saw, it looked like you were playing a pretty fun game. What are you doing?”
“It’s not a game. It’s training.”
“Really? What kind of training?”
Nam Yuri grinned with curiosity in her purple eyes.
She was the sort to cling persistently if she could not resolve something she was curious about on the spot.
Knowing her nature all too well, I answered halfheartedly.
“As you saw, it was training to control electrical current.”
“Electrical current? People from the Divine Sword Do Family don’t just know how to use azure lightning, they can handle it freely too!”
“No, I’m the special one. Now go catch the rest of your slimes.”
It was not information I needed to keep from her.
Compared to how annoying Nam Yuri could be, it was not something I could call a loss.
Not wanting my training interrupted, I tried to shoo her away like that.
But instead, she seemed to become even more interested in me.
She asked another question.
“It’s not something just anyone can do easily, but Gyeonu-Gyeonu, you’re really amazing! So how far can you handle it?”
“How far…?”
“From what I saw, it looked like you were strengthening your body by putting a load on the current flowing through your muscles, granting magnetism to monsters, and using static friction… Can’t you do electrolysis? If you can do that too, it would be seriously incredible.”
“Electrolysis?”
“Yeah! To put it simply, it’s decomposing substances through electricity.”
“How can that be applied?”
“Hmm, to say what comes to mind right away…”
Unlike me, who only knew the surface, Nam Yuri seemed to have a deep understanding of electrical current.
Come to think of it, as someone from the Yeonseong Nam Family, it made sense for her to be well-versed in pharmacology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and the like.
Interested, I spoke to her to ask for advice.
Then she brought a finger to her lips as if lost in thought.
“You decompose a water molecule, H2O, through electrolysis into two hydrogen atoms, H, and one oxygen atom, O. From there, if you combine two oxygen atoms, O, you can make the oxygen molecule O2, which allows us to breathe. If you combine three, you can make ozone, O3. And ozone is harmful to the human body. If inhaled, it can destroy the cells of the alveoli and lead to death by suffocation. Isn’t it interesting that the difference in the number of atoms can save or kill a person?”
“…”
“And also… Ah, you could cause a hydrogen explosion too! Kaboom!”
“A hydrogen explosion?”
“Hydrogen makes up seventy-five percent of the universe and is the lightest element in existence. And it’s flammable. If the environmental conditions are sufficient, you can apply a spark to hydrogen and cause an explosion, you know? If you go even further, you can cause a nuclear fusion reaction with hydrogen atoms and make a hydrogen bomb too. You know hydrogen bombs, right?”
“…Nuclear weapons?”
“Yeah, that’s right! If Gyeonu-Gyeonu could freely cause hydrogen bombs too, wouldn’t you be called a walking nuclear weapon then? Ah, I want to drop one on our family! The people of my family would never imagine that Gyeonu-Gyeonu had that kind of power! Gyeonu-Gyeonu, if you have time during vacation, won’t you come visit the Yeonseong Nam Family!?”
You can even use our family as a testing ground!
Nam Yuri rattled on and grew extremely excited.
Unfortunately, however, my head could not follow even half of her explanation.
‘What is she talking about…’
Judging from the depth of the content, it seemed I could not approach it with mere superficial knowledge.
In conclusion, I had to study physics and chemistry.
Even if I received special tutoring from Nam Yuri, it would likely take quite some time.
Moreover, that was not the only problem that had to be solved.
‘Death by suffocation through ozone? A hydrogen explosion? For that to be possible, it would eat up an absurd amount of mana. And it would require a level of control beyond imagination too…’
With my current state, where the amount of mana in my body was not vast and my magic stat was low, it was impossible.
In the end, I could not realize it immediately.
I clicked my tongue in regret.
The road ahead was impossibly long.
Even so, I did not want to give up on a path that could make me stronger.
It was worth the effort—very much so.
“Could you explain that electrolysis thing in a little more detail?”
“Sure! If a friend asks me, of course I have to do it! No, wait. I’ll tell you if you promise to drop a hydrogen bomb on our family later!”
“I don’t think I can go that far… Fine, I’ll try. Even if it works, you’re taking responsibility, got it?”
A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step.
Using a slime in place of a chair, I asked Nam Yuri for instruction.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss