TRPM 08

CHAPTER 08

[Yes. It’s a precautionary measure for the children’s safety, so we ask for your cooperation.]

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

That weekend, after I cleared the orc dungeon that had appeared in a secluded corner of the school grounds…

I was watching TV with my mother after dinner when I overheard her talking on the phone with someone.

‘That voice on the other end… isn’t that our principal?’

A sudden school closure, huh.

They must’ve found the dungeon I cleared.

Even if the monsters were already dead inside, anyone would be cautious upon discovering such a thing.

‘I could’ve burned all the orc corpses with Sammae Flame, but…’

If I had done that, they would’ve judged it to be a completely new type of dungeon, with no threats like monsters or traps remaining. It wouldn’t have just ended with a school closure—researchers from around the world would have been dispatched in droves.

That would’ve been far worse. Better to let them believe there was some unknown intruder.

‘The school will probably try to uncover the intruder’s identity with the government’s help, but…’

Before I left, I burned away everything in the dungeon—aside from the orc corpses. Even the mana itself.

So there’s no way they’ll find anything.

Even if they brought in a psychometrist, it wouldn’t work. Psychometry reads residual memories within scattered mana in the air. Since I erased all traces of mana, it would be useless.

No matter how skilled the government agents are, finding my traces in that dungeon is practically impossible.

“Haa… What should I do about this….”

Anyway.

Because of what I did, the school ended up announcing a sudden closure.

My mother, after hearing this, murmured in slight distress.

“Why, Mom?”
“Ah, Gunwoo. Starting tomorrow, your school’s going to be closed for a week.”
“Closed?”
“Mhm… It means you don’t have to go to school.”

I tilted my head like a child too innocent to understand the word “school closure.”

In truth, I didn’t know why she seemed troubled.

After a moment’s thought, my mother made a call.

‘Ms. Jaehee? What happened over the weekend?’
“Yes, Team Leader. I was wondering if I could take some days off starting tomorrow.”
‘So suddenly? A day, maybe, but…’
“Actually… a week.”

She must’ve called her workplace.

‘Ms. Jaehee, you’re not asking for just a day off—you’re asking for a week, and on a Sunday, no less? Not even on a Friday in advance?’
“I know, but… my son’s elementary school suddenly announced a week-long closure. He just started first grade, I can’t leave him home alone….”
‘That’s… haah….’

Ah.

She doesn’t feel safe leaving me alone at home.

Fortunately, her team leader sympathized and made some concessions.

‘… But at least come in tomorrow. We have an important meeting. I’ll process your leave starting Tuesday. Just find someone to look after your son for tomorrow.’
“Thank you, thank you so much.”

… And just like that, she secured four days of leave.

Then she started making more calls, looking for someone to take me in.

“Oh, um… Could you—ah, you’re busy? Sorry, I’ll try somewhere else.”
“My son, could you maybe—huh? Oh, Ha-eun’s grandmother’s house? And he even said he’d stay the week since school’s closed? Your husband took leave too…? Ah, I see….”
“You’re busy too… yeah, I understand.”

But her circle of contacts wasn’t wide, and by Sunday night she hadn’t found anyone who could watch me on Monday.

“….”

In the end, she failed to find anyone to look after me for the day.

“… Well, it’s just one day, right? One day should be fine. Gunwoo is a smart kid….”

The next day.

Monday.

Ready to leave for work, my mother held my shoulders firmly.

“Gunwoo, you can stay home alone today, right?”
“… Yes.”

I nodded.

I thought she was worrying too much—but that’s only because I’m a regressor.

If I were just an ordinary 8-year-old?

‘She’d worry I’d get into trouble alone, or get hurt somehow.’

So her concern was perfectly normal.

Any normal parent would think the same way.

“When it’s lunchtime, scoop some rice from the cooker and take out the side dishes from the bottom shelf of the fridge….”
“Yes.”
“If a stranger tries to come in, hide under the bed….”
“… Okay….”

… Of course she’d say that, right?

Though I thought it was a little odd, I nodded anyway.

“Alright then, I’m heading out. Lock the door as soon as I leave, okay?”
“Yes.”

Only after making me promise multiple times did she finally leave for work.

I locked the door right away, as instructed.

“… Finally, I’m alone.”

I went to the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and brought it to my room.

Now I was about to do something that would make my mother faint on the spot if she saw it.

“Let’s see….”

Glancing around my room with the knife in hand, I made some quick mental calculations, then—

Stab.

I drove the knife into my own hand.

Blood immediately began to flow, but ignoring the pain, I used it to draw on the floor before it stopped bleeding.

A magic circle.

‘Like the ones in the school training room.’

A mana-gathering magic circle.

The ones at school are drawn with powdered magic stones, which function like monster hearts. But I had no way of obtaining magic stones.

I could’ve grabbed some from the orc dungeon, but their quality was too low to be effective.

‘And while it’s possible to use orc blood instead of magic stones, I had no way of bringing it back—and besides, its quality is poor.’

So instead, I used my own blood.

From infancy, I’d circulated energy through my body and expelled impurities, so my blood was clean.

It was also compatible with mana, making it a decent substitute.

Far better than orc blood or a low-grade stone.

“Phew….”

I finished the circle before my wound closed.

Then I let mana trickle into it to activate it.

Woom…

The circle gave off a faint hum as it began drawing in ambient mana.

‘… It’ll take some time to accumulate, unlike the school’s larger circle.’

Still, it was enough.

‘By the time I get back from school or wake up in the morning, there should be plenty stored. Then I can absorb it through energy circulation before sleep or after waking.’

Satisfied, I glanced at the blood-soaked floor.

Of course, I couldn’t leave it like that—Mother would faint if she saw.

So I used Sammae Flame to burn away only the blood.

‘Only the blood.’

The circle, once activated, wouldn’t disappear even if the medium was destroyed.

As long as the mana flow remained, the circle would persist unless deliberately disrupted by a mage.

After cleaning away the blood and washing the knife, returning it to its place, I muttered:

“Good….”

I sat in the center of the circle.

‘Looks like my body can finally handle Harmony Divine Art.’

I inhaled and exhaled slowly.

The mana drawn in by the circle gathered in my room, and I greedily absorbed it.

The mana that entered my body merged with what was already stored in my middle dantian (my heart), flowing through my meridians and transforming into inner energy.

It filled not only my lower and middle dantians, but also my upper dantian.

‘… This is Harmony Divine Art.’

Even though I created this martial art, even knowing its principles in advance—it was still absurd.

There are many types of inner energy techniques, but this one…

‘It transforms every form of energy I absorb—mana, aura, psychic power—any resource used for supernatural abilities—into pure qi.’

This was no longer mere imitation.

Until now, I’d only “copied” magic, aura, and psychic techniques, and higher-level users could sense the discrepancy.

But now, with Harmony Divine Art, I could wield all of them flawlessly.

Not just those three, either.

‘In theory, even lesser-known arts like spirit summoning should be possible.’

Even techniques I couldn’t imitate before, I could now fully use.

That alone would make Harmony Divine Art extraordinary.

But it didn’t stop there.

“… To think it even lets me interfere with space-time….”

I raised my hand and clenched the air.

I felt a faint distortion ripple.

‘Right now, it’s only minor interference. But that’s because I’ve only been practicing for a few hours.’

Harmony Divine Art was essentially the culmination of everything I’d experienced.

Everything I’d seen, heard, and lived through—including my regression—was embedded in it.

So it made sense it could interfere with time itself.

And by extension, space, which is deeply tied to time.

【User Han Gunwoo has completed an unmatched martial art.】

【System judges User Han Gunwoo to possess the qualities of a Grandmaster.】

【User Han Gunwoo is granted the “Eyes of the Grandmaster.”】

And then, as if eager to shower me with gifts, the Awakener System itself responded.

With conditions this favorable, not becoming stronger would’ve been the real problem.

So I continued cultivating Harmony Divine Art tirelessly.

No matter how exalted a technique, it meant nothing if its mastery was shallow.

And by the time I finished training the entire day—

“Gunwoo, didn’t I tell you to make sure to eat lunch while I was gone?”
“….”

I’d completely forgotten lunch.

And my mother caught me red-handed when she returned.