Chapter 5: Water Bullet
Ugh.
I felt nauseous, barely able to lie still on the ground as the whole world twisted like a spiral. Mentally and physically, I was exhausted. Using Ghan continuously had drained me dry, leaving me completely helpless.
I closed my eyes, sleep creeping in—but then I remembered where I was.
A forest.
A place where beasts could kill me at any moment.
Worst of all, this was hell.
I exhaled heavily, biting my lip to stay conscious. A painful groan escaped my throat as my vision blurred even further. Slowly, the world around me began to dissolve into dust.
Tiny dots filled my sight—everywhere. On the trees. On the ground. On anything without a clear form. At first, I thought it was just another illusion, but then I realized they were insects. Small. Harmless.
They were everywhere.
When I turned my head toward where I had tied the boy, I didn't see him. Instead, I saw a dense cluster of dots, vaguely shaped like a human figure.
Most of my vision was gray and white. The dots themselves were black—or almost black. The white areas were mostly non-living objects, while the gray—perfectly mixed black and white—felt like the air itself.
I blinked twice.
My vision cleared slightly.
The dots sharpened into meaning.
Trees. Insects. The boy.
Ants crawled onto my body, using me as a bridge. They probably thought I was dead—my Ghan level was pitifully low.
I could sleep and recover.
But I didn't trust that boy.
And if a monster showed up, I'd be completely defenseless.
How pathetic. To think I'd fall into this state because of something so stupid.
I clenched my teeth.
This was my fault.
I should've been careful. I should've experimented instead of relying entirely on that damn book.
Survival of the fittest. Knowledge is power.
Those laws followed me even here.
Goodbye, my salted-fish life…
No more slacking off, Xavier. There had to be clues.
Yes—there was that definition.
Magic is the process of using Ghan alongside incantations to create visual effects that affect reality.
They never explained what Ghan truly was.
I remembered Grandpa saying Ghan was something demons used as nourishment—but where it came from was never clearly stated.
My head throbbed.
I wanted to give up. Thinking hurt. Existing hurt. If I gave up now, I'd probably die.
…Maybe I'd reincarnate back into my old world.
I shook my head weakly.
No.
Giving up this easily would only leave regrets. Still, deep down, I knew myself—if things became unbearable, I'd choose the easy way out.
For five whole minutes, I drifted in and out of that strange vision of dots. During that time, I noticed something else.
I could gather them.
The dots inside me.
Those five minutes of rest restored barely two percent of my power. Enough to think—but not to move.
And once again, the same question surfaced.
Where does Ghan come from?
When I looked down at my stomach, I saw clusters of dots—similar to the ones on the boy, the trees, the insects. Mine were fewer. Smaller.
And in the gray around me, the same dots existed—only more diluted, mixed with white.
What if…
What if I could absorb the ones in the gray?
I tried.
Using my hand, I reached out—
Failed.
…Second attempt. Failed.
By the tenth attempt, I was already thinking of giving up.
After all, I had tried the Water Bullet spell twenty-three times before abandoning it—and look where that had landed me.
Ugh.
Then suddenly—
My hand went numb.
It felt like countless needles were piercing through my skin, forcing their way in through every pore.