Chapter 135 – Witchcraft…! (5)

I followed behind Samayeryeong, pretending to be pushed by Samamang.

An awkward silence flowed between us as we walked. I couldn’t help feeling a little emotional, even though I didn’t know why. Samayeryeong walked ahead without ever looking back, and I didn’t know what to say to her.

Should I explain that I was a little emotional earlier, but I wasn’t angry with her? But it seemed like a pointless conversation.

Fortunately, we arrived at a place near the foggy field, so my dilemma didn’t last long.

Thump, thump…tak.

The world was not dark but rather a deep blue. Samayeryeong finally stopped in the center of the empty foggy field and turned around.

“Divination is a field that is closely related to scholarship. On the other hand, witchcraft is strictly a matter of innate ability.”

“Huh? Uh, yeah.”

Samayeryeong’s first words were not teasing me or about my strange reaction earlier. She simply talked about witchcraft, as she had said she would.

“Talent. Or in this case, should I say physique? As long as the conditions are met, you can use it right away.”

“Oh…”

“In other words, if you can’t use it, you can never use it.”

“….”

This was surprising.

Samayeryeong chuckled at my dumbfounded expression.

“Why? Did you think I was born with a talent for witchcraft or something?”

“A little bit?”

“If I said that and the result was that I had no talent, wouldn’t you be even more disappointed?”

“Um…you’re right. It’s better not to have expectations in the first place.”

As I remembered a famous saying, Samayeryeong tilted her head.

“Why was that guy so excited earlier if he knew that?”

“Well, he thought he could do it at the time…”

If only I had studied philosophy in my past life, would the story have been different now? It was a meaningless assumption.

As I sighed, Samayeryeong took out a small droplet from her pocket.

“Here, hold this. It’s valuable, so don’t drop it.”

“What is it?”

It was an ordinary-looking droplet made of yellow metal with an old leather strap attached to it. But…

“Huh?”

No matter how much I shook it, I couldn’t hear the sound of the droplet. It was as if the inside was completely empty.

“It’s called Sagyeongcheongja. It’s a tool that starts making noise on its own when it detects witchcraft. Give it some of your inner energy.”

As I did as she said and gave it some of my inner energy, Samayeryeong’s eyes turned red in no time.

Ding-ding-

And then, the droplet started to shake on its own, ringing with a clear sound.

“See? When you infuse it with your inner energy and it detects witchcraft, it starts ringing like this. And if it detects stronger witchcraft, it’ll ring even louder.”

“Fascinating.”

I examined the Sagyeongcheongja closely, but it looked like an ordinary droplet with a leather strap attached.

“Stop looking at it and focus on what I’m about to teach you.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll teach you the simplest thing, but it’s hard to tell if you succeeded or not when the achievement is low.”

According to Samayeryeong’s explanation, the witchcraft we were about to learn amplified our energy instantly… or more accurately, it made the opponent think our energy had become stronger.

Of course, it wasn’t actually a powerful attack, but it could surprise the opponent for a moment.

Since it was the simplest thing, the incantation was easy to memorize. But…

“It’s not ringing?”

“Huh? Did you do it right? Say the incantation again.”

I repeated the incantation I had heard earlier, but Samayeryeong carefully examined the Sagyeongcheongja in my hand.

“That’s strange… it should have rung a little bit at least…”

I felt like she was swallowing her saliva as she looked at my bicep that was slightly exposed through my sleeve… but it was probably just my imagination.

In the end, Samayeryeong couldn’t find anything wrong. She tried several times, but nothing changed.

“Did it break in such a short time…? Let me try it again. Just stay still.”

The moment Samayeryeong’s eyes turned red again as she said that.

“You don’t have to do that, Yeoryeonga.”

Samamang, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.

“It’s not broken. Focus on the movement, not the sound.”

“Huh?… Oh. This is really… wow…”

Samayeryeong’s mouth hung open as she stared at the droplet.

“I never imagined this.”

“???”

I didn’t understand what she meant, so I focused on my inner energy as Samamang had said. The droplet wasn’t ringing because the bead inside was moving too slowly.

“Why is it doing this?”

“Because I have such a lack of talent that it’s almost strange.”

“I’m going crazy.”

I wasn’t too disappointed since I had already given up halfway. I was just a little surprised that it was only this much.

“Well… thanks for trying to comfort me. I appreciate it.”

“Oh? Wait a minute.”

“Oh, we should thank Lady Noh Honmayeo too. She explained everything to us patiently from the beginning.”

“So-hyeop…”

I gave Samayeryeong a pat on the shoulder with a smile and hugged Samamang.

Yeah. Let’s think positively about this. We discovered the existence of Simma that we had been ignoring until now.

I could face it before my inferiority complex grew even more. Today’s events were valuable just for that.

Now, not only physical training but also mental cultivation would be necessary.

“Okay, it’s getting late, let’s go back… huh?”

“I told you to wait, you idiot Gyeomryong! Where do you think you’re going on your own?”

Samayeryeong grabbed my arm as I was about to leave the training ground. Then she pulled me back to the center of the training ground.

“Just wait here for a moment.”

“What now?”

I couldn’t help but sound a little annoyed, wanting to go back and heal with Hong Yeonhwa, Peng Soso, and Neunsilnansil. But Samayeryeong silently took out a few things from her pocket that she intended to use as props and laid them out in the training ground.

A complex figure of a hexagon completed around me.

“Done!”

At the same time as Samayeryeong’s shout, a blue light slowly dissipated, and fog began to fill the training ground as night fell.

I couldn’t see anything except for the fog around me. The only exception was the sound.

Samayeryeong’s calm voice came from beyond the fog.

“It’s a maze. It not only confuses your senses but also your intuition, making it quite difficult to get out.”

“What?”

In fact, all the fog around me was imbued with a strange energy, preventing my intuition from extending properly.

“What the hell is this all of a sudden? Release me quickly!”

“No. I won’t release you. From now on, you have to get out of the maze on your own.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Didn’t you see earlier that you couldn’t understand anything? Like the difference between life and death?”

“I don’t know anything about that. It doesn’t matter.”

“Even if you don’t know, it doesn’t matter. You already know the way out.”

“I don’t know anything.”

Was she trying to make fun of me? I unknowingly raised my voice.

But Samayeryeong still spoke to me calmly.

“Do you really think you don’t know? Think carefully, you idiot Gyeomryong. You’re definitely a fool, but you’re not just a fool.”

“…A great fool?”

“I didn’t say that! I just called you Gyeomryong! Do you know that anyone can be called Gyeomryong, whether they have talent or not?”

“Oh.”

That was the sound of it. Why couldn’t she just praise me normally?

Samayeryeong let out a tired sigh, her voice hoarse from screaming.

“Did you get it? Then you should know how to get out of here.”

“Are you serious?”

There are two ways to uncover a formation. One is to understand the structure of the formation and escape through the vital points. The other is to use overwhelming force, like Hong Yeonhwa did in Mosanpa.

“I can do that?”

“Well, I think you can. Of course, it would be difficult in places where you have to spend a lot of time and money.”

For example, Mosanpa, Jegalsega’s hometown, the now-destroyed Samasesaga’s hometown… and when the formation in Pengga is completed, it will be the same.

But on the other hand, formations made on the spot can be destroyed by any means necessary.

“I don’t know what kind of Simbeop you’ve learned, but your inner strength is more pure than even the highest level of Dogan or Buga.”

“Well, that’s because…”

I know that part well from Hong Yeonhwa. Maybe that’s why my sword is so white.

“Pure inner strength is easy to handle and powerful. But it has a fatal flaw of being incredibly slow in releasing energy… and you have so much inner strength that it’s almost impossible to measure.”

“I may not know much, but I’m confident in my inner strength.”

I heard a snicker from beyond the fog.

“How about it? Do you feel like giving it a try? If you still don’t think you can do it, I’ll release you right away.”

“No need for that.”

Shing.

I drew the sword from my waist and held it out at an angle.

“Be careful not to hit yourself. I can’t see anything right now.”

“Hmph! That’s just because you’re trapped in the formation. Can’t you see what you’re doing here? Don’t worry and swing your sword with all your might.”

That’s what I was planning to do anyway.

“Hoo…”

I exhaled lightly and summoned my Mu Ryeong Shin Gong.

In an instant, my inner strength and vitality overflowed. The confidence bordering on omnipotence calmed my mind.

As I stared straight ahead in silence, a part of my hazy memories suddenly became clear.

The final battle in the movie. The moment when I barely managed to hold out against the divine martial arts prince, who could be considered the final boss.

When my heart faltered in the face of dazzling swordsmanship that didn’t match my own, I remembered my master’s words.

There’s no such thing as perfect swordsmanship. Because the person wielding the sword is not perfect.

Then, if a strong person wields it, wouldn’t anything become strong swordsmanship?

I have no talent for formations, no talent for magic, and not even talent for martial arts.

All I know is the simple Samjae swordsmanship.

But it doesn’t matter.

Fighting is ultimately about clashing one’s own strength against the opponent’s.

I have fought and won like that until now.

There’s no need to feel regretful about what I don’t have. I also have things that others don’t have.

I took a step forward with my right foot and laid the sword sideways. The posture matched my drunken appearance, with a clean and neat stance while holding the sword in my imagination.

I infused my inner strength into the sword, which was parallel to the ground.

Wooong-

A light resonance sound and a cluster of light that reminded me of starlight emanated from the sword. This is not the end. I continued to infuse my inner strength.

Woo-wooong-

The sword energy, which was like a snake, twisted and turned before shining more clearly like smoke.

When my arm started to tremble, the sword energy wrapped around the sword and whirled around.

Perhaps it was because I slightly exceeded my control ability. Most of the inner strength I pushed in scattered into the air in vain.

Starlight that flickered and disappeared in the fog.

After glancing at it for a moment… I swung the sword.

“Hup…!”

Hyeoksocheon-gun.

A strike to sweep away everything blocking my path.

The sword energy, which now felt like a pure flame, was released from the sword and tore apart the front like a storm.

With a loud noise, the fog blocking my vision was blown away like a spell, revealing a clear night sky.

A landscape with real starlight densely packed. As I stared blankly at the sight, I felt someone tapping my back from behind.

“How was it? Just as I said?”

A night-colored iris filled with amazement and mischief. Samayeryeong was grinning.

“From the moment we split up in Do-dao, whether it’s martial arts, techniques, or magic, they’re just skills to become stronger.”

Then, Samayeryeong punched my chest with her fist.

“And you’re strong. Probably even more than me.”

The moment I heard those words, I could sense it.

“You’re still a fool and clumsy, but…”

This was the maximum praise and recognition that Samayeryeong, whose personality was twisted in many ways, could give.

“Still, you’re strong.”

A little.

It felt like my gaze towards Samayeryeong had changed a little.

What’s this? Is it magic?