TRPM 26

chapter 26

Yeon Mirae’s reward from the Awakener System for mastering the Reversal Heaven Divine Art was a special trait: the closer she stayed to her teacher and object of devotion—me—the more her current abilities and growth speed would increase.

Here, growth speed also meant her cultivation rate of inner energy would accelerate.

To maximize this, Yeon Mirae had the habit of always practicing breathing exercises at my side.

Often, to minimize distance, she would straight up hug me to her chest while meditating.

“… Hoo…”
“……”

Unlike me, Yeon Mirae was still inexperienced.

If she were disturbed during meditation, her inner energy could scatter, and in the worst case, she could suffer qi deviation.

That’s why, when she clung to me, I would stay still and entrust myself to her, making sure not to disrupt her.

At the same time, I observed her body to confirm she was cultivating properly, and I would spread a qi barrier to block out sound, reducing external interference as much as possible.

I wondered if Yeon Mirae realized how wholeheartedly I supported her like this.

‘… She must know. She’s a genius.’

By my standards she might still be immature, but she was undeniably a genius.

Even while meditating, she could sense what I was doing for her.

Right after Yeon Mirae finished one cycle of breathing practice, someone knocked on our door.

Knock, knock.
“May I come in?”

Of course—it was my mother.

Carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit, she stepped inside. Today it was Korean melon.

“Are you doing well with that Aura Training Method, son?”
“Yes. I’m managing fine.”

My mother believed both Yeon Mirae and I were aura users, and assumed we were training with an Aura Cultivation Method.

In reality, inner energy cultivation and aura training were entirely different disciplines. Still, they weren’t so different in practice.

After all, the aura training methods you often saw in Korean fantasy novels were themselves influenced by martial arts wuxia traditions. I too had referenced many aspects of aura training when creating my own inner cultivation technique.

The difference lay in the type of energy gathered and where that energy was stored.

‘Of course, I pride myself that my method is far more advanced.’

Anyway.

My mother didn’t think it strange to see Yeon Mirae hugging me.

She assumed Mirae was guiding me directly, helping me control aura so I wouldn’t hurt myself through mistakes.

Mirae herself had made that excuse before I even said anything.

“Still, Gunwoo, don’t cling to Mirae noona too much. She says it’s fine, but normally boys and girls shouldn’t hug like that. Understood?”
“Yes~.”

I had plenty I wanted to say, but given my apparent age—just beginning to understand the concept of boys and girls—I simply answered that way.

“And you too, Mirae. If he clings too much, you should push him away.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am. This is strictly part of training.”

My mother scolded her lightly too, but Mirae only laughed it off.

Sighing at her sly smile, my mother set the plate of melon down and said:

“After you finish, put the dish in the sink, okay? I’m heading to the mart.”
“Yes.”
“See you later.”

With that, she left the room. Moments later, I heard the front door close as she went out.

“… Haah…”

Given my mental age, having to hear that kind of lecture was exhausting.

I frowned at the thought. Seeing that, Mirae teased:

“Gunwoo kiddo~ Want to snuggle in your Mirae noona’s arms a bit more?”
“……”
“… Sorry.”

It was only a joke, but when I glared silently, she quickly realized I was serious and apologized with her head bowed.

Her fast apology drained away my irritation. With a sigh, I slipped from her embrace, stabbed a piece of melon with a fork, and popped it into my mouth.

“You should eat too.”
“Yes.”

Watching me carefully, Mirae nibbled her share.

I asked her:

“How’s school lately? Getting used to it? Or still uncomfortable?”
“Haha… Honestly, still awkward. The atmosphere is the complete opposite of my old school…”

Her previous school had been a specialized Awakener high school.

Her new school was also an Awakener-specialized high school.

Yet she said the atmosphere was completely different.

‘Strictly speaking, it’s the way people treat her that’s completely different.’

At her old school, she was mocked and ostracized as a halfwit.

But at her new school, no one dared bully or insult her.

Everyone knew what had happened to her old school.

Even if that incident hadn’t occurred, who would be reckless enough to mess with an Aura Blade user?

Still, Mirae found this new atmosphere uncomfortable.

“… Well, nothing we can do about that.”

I turned on the computer.

With my mother out at the mart, it was a good chance to browse the news.

As usual, the headlines were similar: association officials accused of embezzlement, unjust exploitation of Awakeners, and so on.

The Awakener Association was under fire in the media.

‘And that’s partly our doing.’

It had all started with a post Mirae made on her personal SNS account.

As I’ve mentioned before, Mirae and I cleared about three dungeons a night after dinner.

We disposed of dungeon byproducts through the Association’s marketplace.

One day, Association staff tried to pull a stunt—not to steal money, but to probe Mirae’s true strength.

‘That time, if I recall, there was a spirit summoner, a psychometrist, and a mind-scan telepath.’

The summoner and psychometrist tried analyzing the dungeon remains.

The telepath attempted to read Mirae’s thoughts.

But their schemes failed.

I had already burned away all lingering energy from the byproducts with Sammae Jinwha, leaving nothing to read.

And I erected a mental barrier for Mirae, blocking the telepath entirely.

The most they learned was that their abilities didn’t work on her.

‘I had no intention of letting them off the hook.’

After telling Mirae what had happened, I had her write a post on her SNS, exposing how the Association deployed those three to dig into her secrets.

Even for the Association, that was illegal.

Such powers could only be used temporarily with government authorization, and only against criminals.

Yet they dared target her.

Chances were they had done the same to others too.

Some probably stayed quiet to avoid antagonizing the Association.

But now, it was different.

“They’ve found more proof of corruption? Looks like they’re really getting torn apart.”

Mirae commented while glancing at the news on my monitor.

“Of course. They dared pull that stunt on an unaffiliated Aura Blade user.”
“Huh?”
“… Your value is greater than you think.”

An Aura Blade user was a walking tactical weapon.

And she was still young, without any guild affiliation—yet already among Korea’s top ten strongest.

The promise of her future made her even more precious.

For the Association to antagonize someone like her was a grave mistake.

At worst, they could drive her to emigrate.

‘They underestimated her, just because she’s still a high schooler.’

In an instant, the Association had turned into traitors who nearly sold off one of Korea’s strongest to another country.

That gave guilds and unaffiliated Awakeners, already resentful of the Association’s abuse of power, the excuse to unite and attack them.

Eventually, the Association’s current executives would have to resign, replaced by guild-backed or Awakener-friendly figures.

‘Not that guilds are spotless… but it’ll still be better than now.’

At least with multiple guilds competing, none would dare monopolize influence.

Ironically, a guild-friendly Association would end up more neutral.

Total eradication of corruption might be impossible, but improvement was likely.

“… Hoo… this is exhausting.”

Politics was tiring.

Hard to tell friend from foe, and the best you could do was choose the lesser evil.

It almost made me nostalgic for my regression days, when I fought monsters sleepless for days—it was simpler.

Noticing my headache, Mirae placed her hand on my head. Her touch was strangely cool.

“… What are you doing?”
“Practicing stealth arts. You taught me the technique to lower my body temperature, remember?”
“I also told you not to use it too often—it slows metabolism and isn’t good for your health.”

At that, she withdrew her hand and said cheekily:

“Then just lie down and cool your head. You look tired.”
“… Maybe I will.”

I was about to lie on the bed when—

Bzzz—

Mirae’s smartphone vibrated. She checked the screen and froze.

“… What’s wrong?”
“Take a look at this.”

She showed me the display.

It was an emergency support request message.

“… An armed robbery involving mostly veteran Awakeners? Currently holding hostages—support requested?”
“The important part is the location.”

At her words, I lowered my eyes to the listed address.

It wasn’t far from our apartment.

“… A large supermarket.”

I instantly recalled what my mother had just said:

[“After you finish the melon, put the dish in the sink, okay? I’m heading to the mart.”]

“……”
“……”

Mirae and I locked eyes.

We had both reached the same conclusion.

Mother was in danger.