TRPM 370

chapter 370

The dantian.

At the sound of that word everyone pictured a certain genre.

Wuxia.

“(Dantian… dantian, huh.)”

Normally aura and mana gather in the heart, and mental power and spirit force gather in the brain. Other energies used by Awakened tend to reside in those places as well.

That made sense. After all, the dantian is the place in the body where energy accumulates most.

“(The upper dantian is the brain, the middle dantian is the heart. And the dantian you mean must be the lower dantian, right?)”
“(Yes.)”

Cheonma muttered that to himself.

“(…So the Artist uses martial arts?)”
“(Martial arts… If that’s the case, it would explain how the Artist imitates magic and psychic powers.)”

When the keyword “martial arts” came up, the Grand Shaman also said he had some understanding.

“(Different wuxia novels handle it differently, but some open not only the lower dantian but the middle and upper as well. In other words… one could gather qi in the heart like a magician, or gather it in the brain like a psychic. So they could mimic magic and psychics.)”
“(…That would explain the Artist’s signature swordmanship too. Or rather…)”

Oracle spoke up this time.

“(In wuxia you often see masters at a certain level manipulate swords without touching them — the flying sword style. Honestly, it’s surprising we didn’t think of ‘martial arts’ when we first saw the sword feats.)”

Cheonma, the Grand Shaman, and Oracle — all three agreed.

The Artist, that is Han Geon-woo, had awakened martial arts.

“(…Is that really that important?)”

Watching the three, the Necromancer asked. He agreed with them in principle, but felt this didn’t warrant such serious deliberation.

“(Heh heh… No one’s awakened martial arts until now. So the Artist would be the first in the world to awaken a whole new category of ability — martial arts.)”

That fact alone would be enough to make the Artist a target.

“(In wuxia there are techniques like Beilmose-su or Chugunggwahyeol — complicated to explain, but basically skills that can make someone stronger. The Artist probably learned techniques like those…)”
“(…High-ranking people could pester the Artist to apply such techniques for them.)”

Of course, just because a noble or powerful person asks doesn’t mean the Artist will comply.

“(But those puffed-up high-ups who’ve sat in their positions too long might make foolish choices. For example…)”

They might try to touch the Artist’s irreplaceable family.

“(Of course the Artist would have some insurance to prevent that, but learning that someone’s targeting his family would still be stressful.)”
“(Also, there’ll be Awakened begging the Artist to teach them martial arts. The police will haul some of them away, but there will be enough troublesome ones to bind the Artist.)”
“(Heh heh… And not only that. They could create instruments designed to snip away at a martial-arts-using Artist — like the distributed-energy poison you often see in wuxia.)”

Just the revelation that the Artist had awakened martial arts spawned several plausible schemes to keep him in check. If the Necromancer had thought longer, he would have come up with the same ideas…

“(…I see.)”

What mattered was that upon hearing only the single word dantian, the three instantly reached those conclusions. There’s a difference between coming up with something after slow thought and doing so immediately while seated.

“(By the way…)”

Oracle turned to the Grand Shaman and asked.

“(Shall we get back to the original topic? What’s the sure way to handle the doppelgänger?)”
“(…Doppelgänger?)”

Unlike the others who had been watching the news and discussing, the Necromancer — who had just come in and had no idea what they were talking about — cocked his head.

“(Heh heh… You’ll use necromancy.)”

It so happened that the Grand Shaman’s disciple had matured enough…

“(Might be a good chance to test my disciple in the field.)”
“(……)”

The Necromancer, sensing he was expected to do something, stared silently at the Grand Shaman. The Grand Shaman would say what the disciple was to do.

“(Heh heh… Disciple, your job is to assassinate someone using necromancy.)”
“(……)”

The Necromancer said nothing, simply glaring at the Grand Shaman. And he had reason to be silent.

“(Master, this isn’t the same as when you brought me from Korea, is it?)”

The Grand Shaman and the Necromancer had signed several contracts in Korea. One of them stipulated that the Necromancer would not use his necromancy to harm others.

“(Even though I came here to learn from you — and though this place is essentially a crime organization now — I used to be a police officer.)”

He wasn’t claiming saintliness just because he’d come; he simply wasn’t willing to cross that line.

“(Heh heh… I remember the contract. Don’t worry — this won’t breach it.)”

The person you must kill is that Oracle’s doppelgänger over there.

“(…I see. It’s a doppelgänger, not a person… so it’s not a contract violation.)”

But are you sure about that? The Necromancer asked Oracle.

“(Sure about what?)”
“(From a shamanic standpoint, a doppelgänger and the original human are treated as the same entity. If you use necromancy, it might affect the original Oracle instead of the doppelgänger…)”
“(…Probability?)”
“(I don’t know where the doppelgänger is, but necromancy usually affects whoever is closer first… over 80%.)”
“(Then that’s not okay! There’s over an 80% chance I, the original, would die instead of the doppelgänger!)”

When the Necromancer spoke calmly, Oracle sprang up in a fury. The Grand Shaman, watching Oracle’s reaction, spoke up.

“(Heh heh… Oracle, you needn’t worry. If my disciple’s necromancy were to target you, the talisman around your neck will stop it.)”
“(…Are you sure?)”
“(Of course.)”

With that assurance…

“(Disciple, try repeatedly until you succeed.)”
“(So failures are fine… that’ll be a good teaching tool.)”
“(Please don’t call people teaching tools?!)”

Hearing the exchange between the Grand Shaman and the Necromancer, Oracle finally exploded.

“(Heh heh… Seems Oracle has been exploding a lot lately.)”
“(Enjoying yourself?)”
“(Try poking him — he reacts more violently than you’d expect.)”
“(If I get the chance I will.)”

Cheonma stood, chatting with the White Lotus leader. For one thing, it’d be amusing to watch the Necromancer — now the Grand Shaman’s disciple — use necromancy.

The White Lotus Sect followed Cheonma. As Cheonma and important guests started residing in the White Lotus compound, the sect’s influence grew. Naturally, rival sects — the Bright Sect, the Sun-Moon Divine Sect, the Cheonma Blood Sect — began to keep an eye on White Lotus.

If White Lotus asked for an item, the rivals would dig through their own storage to provide it.

Thanks to that, the Grand Shaman’s and Necromancer’s lab underneath the White Lotus was filled with various ritual items perfect for spellcraft.

“(Shall we use this first, Master?)”
“(Heh heh… An old sword soaked not only with monster blood but human blood too. Perfect as a sacrifice for a killing talisman.)”
“(Understood.)”

The Necromancer carefully drew the old sword from its sheath at the Grand Shaman’s suggestion.

“(Oho…)”

Cheonma admired the sword. Just drawing it seemed to fill the air with the smell of blood.

“(That blade must’ve killed at least hundreds.)”
“(Heh heh… Cheonma, you don’t know much about ritual work but you’re perceptive.)”
“(The blade reeks of blood; how could I not notice?)”

Cheonma replied to the Grand Shaman.

“(By the way, are there people who could’ve killed that many these days?)”
“(Heh heh… The Cheonma Blood Sect, wasn’t it? I heard it belonged to a warrior from there who used it in life…)”
“(Ah, I see. Makes sense for those blood-obsessed types.)”

Among the many groups called “demonic sects,” the ones that most fit the term were always those that prized strength. A competent warrior belonging to such an organization might have killed hundreds.

Cheonma looked at the Necromancer with that thought in mind.

“(Oracle, may I take one strand of your hair?)”
“(That’s fine…)”

The Necromancer took a lock of Oracle’s hair for the ritual. How he would carry out the necromancy was not yet clear, but everyone could guess how the hair would be used: the target was Oracle’s doppelgänger.

‘(He plans to use the hair as a medium to identify the necromancy’s target.)’
‘(Heh heh… But disciple, how will you send the blade’s lingering ghosts to the doppelgänger?)’

The Necromancer gripped the sword with the reverse edge and raised it so the blade pointed vertically toward the floor.

“…Do you resent him?”

He muttered in Korean.

“Do you resent the original owner of this sword?”

At first there was no reaction.

“Do you resent the one who killed you?”

Yes, you resent him. And I know something.

“Do you want to know where the one who killed you is now?”

Clatter…!

The sword, which had shown no sign of life a moment before, trembled. The sword was so old the connection between blade and hilt was loose; the blade moved on its own and metal rasped against metal.

Clack! Clack! Crrrch…! Clack!

…the noise intensified.

“Do you want to know where the owner of this sword and the owner of that hair are?”

Then the lock of hair in the Necromancer’s hand flared and turned to ash in an instant.

Seeing that, everyone understood why the Necromancer had spoken in Korean rather than the local language, Chinese. He meant to target Oracle’s doppelgänger in Korea, not Oracle, who was currently in China.

“He is in my country.”

Whoosh…!

The flames that consumed Oracle’s hair spread in all directions. They weren’t very strong, but they were enough. Now the spreading flames would cross the sea and attempt to kill Oracle’s doppelgänger in Korea — if the ritual succeeded.

But…

“……”

The Necromancer turned his head and looked at the talisman around Oracle’s neck. It had darkened a little.

That was proof the ritual had aimed at Oracle himself rather than the doppelgänger.

“(Heh heh… It failed.)”
“(I’m sorry…)”
“(No, no. The ritual itself was perfect. The problem was distance and the fact the association building in Korea likely had measures to block weak rituals.)”

But that was okay.

“(Then we’ll try again.)”
“(Hmm…? Again?)”
“(Oracle, may I have another strand of your hair?)”
“(……)”

Hearing that, Oracle thought: this Necromancer really planned to repeat the ritual until it succeeded.