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Episode 14. Mana (3)
“No-Self (몰아, 沒我).”
This was not a state one could enter simply by having strong concentration.
It was a state of observing oneself objectively, forgetting even one’s own existence.
If one could freely control this “no-self” state, they could step into the realm of mental imagery (심상)—
a realm where one could train beyond spatial limitations through imagination.
“And if one reaches mastery and opens their spiritual nodes, they can project their mental imagery into reality.”
This was one of the paths toward manifesting Incarnations (화신).
Of course, if it were that easy, the world would already be overflowing with masters.
Even if someone managed to touch the no-self state by luck, it took long, grueling training to control it deliberately.
“Of course, even if you teach people how to enter it, most can’t do it anyway.”
But Yuri was different.
No one had taught him, and yet he had instinctively found his own way into the no-self state.
Even if it wasn’t deep immersion, entering it on his own was by no means easy.
“What on earth is this kid?”
At the age of only seven, he had awakened an incarnation.
He had a body with eerily perfect symmetry.
And now he had an innate perceptiveness (오성) sharp enough to discover the no-self state on his own.
The more Johan observed Yuri, the more convinced he became that this boy was born for martial arts.
And that made it all the more tragic.
“The heavens took away the most important talent… tsk.”
If Yuri’s ability to sense mana had been even just average, he might have become the next Swordmaster.
That regret weighed on Johan.
So Johan continued channeling mana, silently cheering for him—
hoping the boy would jump up at any moment, shouting that he could finally sense mana.
But Yuri remained silent.
Time passed.
One day, two days, three, four…
By the 25th day of their voyage—just before the end of the four-week journey—the storm that had raged for days vanished like a mirage.
The winds were favorable, but Yuri still hadn’t grasped the feeling of mana.
“I just don’t get it. What IS mana?”
Even after erasing his five senses to focus, nothing came through.
“What’s the problem?”
Johan had said that although Yuri couldn’t sense mana consciously, his body was definitely absorbing it—
even without his intention.
“Then shouldn’t I at least feel something?”
But he felt absolutely nothing.
As Yuri wrestled with this problem, Johan spoke.
“Let’s stop here.”
“Stop? No way! I can keep going.”
“You idiot, I’m not saying quit—I’m saying take a break. Do you even know what you look like right now? One poke and you’d keel over.”
Since first entering no-self, Yuri had been maintaining it consistently, proving it wasn’t just luck.
But holding that state for long periods was mentally draining; he had grown gaunt.
“Eat something, sleep, clear your head. Focus is good, but too much can be worse than just enough. Go get some air.”
“…Since when do you care about me?”
“Heh, even when I worry, you complain.”
“Fine. I am hungry anyway. I’ll grab a bite.”
Yuri stood up, muttering.
He swayed slightly and steadied himself against the wall—
Tap.
“Ah!”
Yuri suddenly let out a cry as if struck by inspiration.
“Hungry? Empty stomach?”
His eyes flashed.
“That’s it. Empty it out—just empty it out!”
If sensing what’s already there didn’t work, then remove it first.
If there was zero mana around him,
he could notice the difference between its presence and absence.
“If I can feel that difference… maybe I can finally grasp what mana is!”
Yuri hurried back to Johan.
“What’s this now?” Johan asked, frowning at Yuri’s sudden excitement.
Yuri explained his idea.
Johan nodded thoughtfully.
“Oh ho? That actually makes sense.”
“Right?! It does, doesn’t it?!”
“I think I’ve heard of a place that trains like that—to increase mana sensitivity.”
“…And you’re just remembering this NOW?”
“I’ve never had to learn how to sense mana, so why would I memorize that? That kind of training’s for people with weak mana sensitivity.”
“……”
“My sensitivity was nearly perfect even without crude methods like that. Ahem.”
“…You’re insufferable.”
Of course someone at Johan’s level, a master, would have extraordinary talent.
He’d never needed to think about how to teach someone who couldn’t sense mana at all.
And though he was indeed a powerful master…
“Hmph… Teaching someone is harder than I thought.”
He was brilliant at learning, but when it came to teaching, he was still a beginner.
He could teach martial techniques better than anyone—but outside that, he lacked finesse.
“They say you fill your gaps by teaching others… guess that’s true.”
Johan smiled awkwardly and asked,
“Shall we start right away then?”
“Of course!”
Yuri quickly sat cross-legged, heart pounding.
“With this method… it might work. No—it HAS to work.”
He closed his eyes to concentrate.
Johan began to act—not by filling Yuri’s surroundings with mana as usual, but by absorbing it, lowering the surrounding density.
“No need to do it slowly. A sudden change is easier to detect.”
With that thought, Johan sharply pulled the mana away—
creating a mana vacuum around Yuri.
And at that instant—
“Gah?!”
Yuri’s face turned pale in shock.
“Guhk!”
He snapped out of his focus, clutching his throat, gasping.
Startled, Johan hurriedly restored the mana.
“What’s happening?!”
“Ghhk!”
Yuri was suffocating.
Johan pressed a few points on Yuri’s chest and back, and finally Yuri gasped for air again.
Thirty seconds later, recovering, Yuri glared furiously.
“Are you crazy, old man?!”
“……?”
“I said remove mana, not my ability to BREATHE! You trying to kill me?!”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t—”
“You DID!”
Johan was about to protest when his face froze. He had realized something.
“…Let’s… try that again.”
“This time, don’t screw it up!”
Without waiting for his reply, Yuri sat back down.
Johan watched him silently.
“No way…”
Once Yuri re-entered no-self, Johan carefully began lowering the mana density again—slowly this time.
And almost immediately, Yuri’s face twitched.
“Already?!”
Johan’s eyes widened. He accelerated the process.
Yuri’s expression grew increasingly irritated and uncomfortable.
Johan became sure.
“So he wasn’t unable to sense mana… He’s ALWAYS been sensing it!”
The realization hit him like a shockwave.
“He’s been sensing it all along—so naturally that he didn’t even realize it was mana!”
Just as we only notice air when it’s gone, Yuri had only realized mana’s presence when it was removed.
Johan stared at him in disbelief.
“Just how long has this kid been sensing mana?!”
If he had been sensing it since the moment he developed consciousness… his mana sensitivity would be beyond imagination.
But then Johan frowned.
“Wait—if his sensitivity’s that strong, shouldn’t he have noticed when the mana density increased?”
He’d been very sensitive to decreasing density—but not to increasing.
Then Johan remembered something.
“Right… When mana density increased, this kid would just instinctively absorb it, like he was regulating it himself.”
He formed a hypothesis.
“Maybe that’s related to why he can’t consciously sense mana.”
Whatever was happening to Yuri, Johan had never seen anything like it.
It was best to keep observing carefully.
Meanwhile, Yuri was also confused.
“Why does my chest feel tight? Like the air’s disappearing…”
No matter how deeply he breathed, the suffocating sensation only grew stronger.
Then it clicked.
Yuri turned to Johan with a tense face.
“Old man, don’t tell me—”
“You’re thinking exactly right.”
“This… this tightness is mana?”
“It’s not that the tightness is mana…”
Johan explained what he had deduced.
Yuri’s face went blank.
“I… was already sensing mana?”
“Yes.”
“But even now, I still don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like.”
“Don’t worry. Since you’ve been sensing it unconsciously, it won’t take long for you to awaken to it properly.”
“Really?”
“You have my word.”
Hearing Johan’s certainty, Yuri’s face lit up.
He had suffered in silence for so long because of mana.
His usual confident grin returned.
“Alright! Effort? That’s my specialty! Without effort, Yuri Holland’s a corpse!”
“Tch. Your mouth never stops. Let’s just get to it.”
“Yeah!”
Yuri closed his eyes again.
Silence fell.
Yuri focused on sensing mana.
Johan carefully modulated the flow.
Without a single word exchanged, both poured their full effort into their roles.
The mana in the room swelled and receded in waves.
And at the center of that flux—
“Ah…!”
Yuri finally caught it.
That strange, repeating sensation of presence and absence.
“This is… mana?”
It felt oddly familiar, yet strange—
like discovering a new side to an old friend.
“Oh, right. I don’t have friends.”
He chuckled inwardly. But regardless, he had finally met an old companion anew.
“Nice to finally meet you.”
And in response, the mana stirred.
As if to say, “What took you so long?”
Woooooosh—
The mana around Yuri began to surge violently.
