Mana.
The lifeblood of all hunters.
The mana that hunters created was small.
Unnoticeable.
So how did it work?
You found mana at its most dense.
Dungeons.
It hardened there.
Crystallized.
And it was called mana crystals.
Shining and glowing with a light and dark blue aura oozing out of them like liquid light trapped in solid form.
Hunters usually took such crystals and cultivated them—absorbed the energy within their stomach, pulling it into their core, making it their own.
Easier said than done.
The process was said to be painful.
And it took a high amount of concentration.
Especially for newly awakened hunters.
---
Ha Joon and Eun Byol sat on the ground.
They sat upright.
Spine naturally straight.
Head gently balanced as if lifted from above.
Shoulders hung loose.
Chin slightly lowered.
Legs folded into a steady base, knees resting toward the ground, weight evenly settled through the hips.
Hands rested softly—either in the lap or on the knees—fingers relaxed.
The face was still.
Jaw unclenched.
Eyes closed or half-lidded.
Breathing slow and quiet.
The body unmoving.
Not from effort.
But from complete ease.
---
Chi-Long stood before them.
In her right hand, she held a mana crystal.
The size of a football.
Glowing faintly.
Blue light pulsing from its core, aura bleeding into the air around it like smoke that never dispersed.
She placed it on the ground.
Between Ha Joon and Eun Byol.
Equidistant.
Centered.
"Now that you're fully awakened hunters, you can sense mana. And absorb it. Cultivating the energy. Making the power your own."
Her voice was calm.
Clinical.
"Close your eyes. Feel the energy. Think of nothing and no one. Clear all thoughts."
She stepped back.
Watched.
Waited.
---
Eun Byol closed her eyes.
Her mind went wild.
Like a storm.
Everything changed.
Her father.
Short.
Wearing a suit.
Standing in an office.
Looking out a window.
Her mother.
In a hospital bed.
White sheets.
Pale skin.
The doctor walked in.
Eun Byol saw it.
All of her mother's body—except for the face—had gone pitch black.
The Rot.
Her father.
All alone in the dark.
Crying.
She was supposed to be there that night.
She wasn't.
And in an instant—
A tsunami of pain crashed in.
Sharp.
Violent.
Overwhelming.
Like her insides were being ripped apart, like fire was crawling through her veins, like every cell in her body was screaming at once.
She awoke.
Screaming.
Agony.
Her eyes shot open.
Her hands clutched her stomach.
Chi-Long looked at her.
No concern.
No alarm.
Just observation.
"Good. You could sense it. That's very impressive."
Eun Byol gasped.
Tears ran down her face.
Her whole body trembled.
But Chi-Long said nothing more.
Just watched.
---
Ha Joon's mind went numb.
Darkness consumed him.
He stayed there.
Time almost disappeared.
No thoughts.
No images.
Just... nothing.
Then—
A scream.
It brought him back.
Sharp.
Familiar.
Eun Byol.
His eyes almost opened.
Chi-Long's voice cut through.
"Why did you stop? Don't worry about her. Focus on your own training."
A pause.
"She can at least sense the mana. Focus on your own problems, child."
Ha Joon's jaw tightened.
He forced his eyes to stay closed.
Forced his mind to go back.
Back to the darkness.
Back to nothing.
But part of him still worried.
About Eun Byol.
About the scream.
About what she'd felt.
His head slowly became heavy.
The spine in his back wanted to change shape—slouch, collapse, give in.
His hands twitched.
His breathing slowed down.
Too slow.
Unnatural.
He tried to sense it.
The mana.
The crystal sitting in front of him.
He reached for it with his mind.
Nothing.
He reached again.
Nothing.
Just darkness.
Just silence.
Just absence.
---
Time passed.
Eun Byol had been moved.
Apparently, the pain was too much for her.
She'd completed the first step in this training.
Ha Joon had been in this room for hours.
And still couldn't sense it.
Couldn't feel it.
Couldn't touch it.
Chi-Long stood.
Walked closer.
Stopped in front of him.
"I see you need a little motivation."
Her voice was quiet.
Cold.
"You're not going to move. You're not going to eat. You can't even do the bare minimum—sense mana."
A pause.
"You have one day."
The thought of doom rushed into Ha Joon's core.
Sharp.
Immediate.
Real.
Chi-Long turned.
Got up.
Left.
Only those words behind.
---
Ha Joon's eyes were still closed.
He could hear the steps of each movement of her legs.
The sound they made.
Precise.
Deliberate.
Each step echoing in the empty room as she left.
Then silence.
Just him.
The crystal.
And the impossible task.
He sat there.
Still.
Breathing.
Waiting.
Reaching.
For something he couldn't see.
For something he couldn't feel.
For something that was supposed to be there but felt like nothing at all.
The darkness pressed in.
The silence grew heavier.
And Ha Joon stayed.
Because he had no choice.
Because stopping meant failure.
Because failure meant—
He didn't know.
But he knew it would be worse than this.
So he sat.
And reached.
And waited.
For the mana to answer.
For something to change.
For one day to be enough.