"Alright, go stand under that waterfall. Make sure you take the full brunt of the current." Kluivert pointed toward the cascading waters glistening under the morning sun. The torrential downpour crashed into the basin below with a chest-rattling roar.
Yujin swallowed hard. He had been enduring Kluivert’s training for days now—training that made his stomach churn violently every time Acceleration wore off. Without that skill, he would have collapsed a long time ago.
"Just… stand there?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"Yes. Hold your ground for ten minutes. That’s all."
Ever since he first laid eyes on this waterfall, Yujin’s gut had felt uneasy. His body felt completely drained just standing near it. Now, he had to willingly step into the torrent. Taking a deep breath, he waded into the freezing, calf-deep water. The closer he got to the falls, the heavier his steps became. He extended his hand, testing the force of the current.
"Kuuhhk—!"
His right hand was instantly slapped backward as if struck by a violent gale. His forearm muscles tensed, completely powerless to resist. He turned back to Kluivert with a deeply awkward expression that clearly asked, Are you seriously making me do this?
Kluivert simply flashed a thumbs-up, his lips curving into a challenging smirk.
Yujin gritted his teeth. The moment he stepped fully under the waterfall, the world shifted. The water slammed into his shoulders like an icy sledgehammer. His knees buckled instantly. His chest flared with a burning sensation, as if hundreds of sharp thorns were piercing his lungs with every breath. A deafening buzz filled his ears, sounding like thousands of angry hornets swarming inside his head.
He tried to lift his arms, but his body collapsed forward instead. His knees bashed against the slick, rocky bottom. Water assaulted him from every direction. Even breathing felt like a sin. With every ounce of strength left, he crawled toward a boulder he faintly remembered seeing. Every inch of movement felt like he was paying with his life. Yet, the boulder never appeared. His vision began to blur. Time seemed to warp—ten minutes felt like an entire day.
Eventually, his world turned a deep, crimson red. Something warm and thick began to trickle from his ears. His knees could no longer support him.
Yujin’s body went limp, swept away by the merciless current.
Meanwhile, amidst the bustling crowd of the city market, two women stood by the roadside. Viola’s vibrant purple hair stood out subtly under the scorching morning sun, while Aurelia, with her fiery orange hair, looked entirely drained, nervously twirling the edge of her cloak.
"So… why did you drag me to such a crowded place?" Viola asked, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow.
Aurelia looked down, her grip tightening around her magic staff. "As Yujin probably told you… we’re in deep trouble." Her voice was faint, nearly swallowed by the market's hustle and bustle. "I heard you're an incredibly skilled elemental mage. Even my family's advisor praised your abilities."
Viola shrugged. "And?"
"I want you to teach me your magic. I'll pay whatever you want—"
"No."
Aurelia froze as Viola cut her off without a second thought. That same frigid, unapproachable gaze Viola had shown during Yujin's placement test returned. It was glaringly obvious she had zero interest in mentoring her.
"Why?" Aurelia stepped forward, her voice rising. "As a guild official, aren't you supposed to help adventurers in need?"
Viola let out a heavy sigh, slowly turning her back. "That is true. But when it comes to teaching magic, I decline."
"But I’ll pay anything!" Aurelia quickly snatched Viola’s wrist. "Even if it costs half of my entire inheritance!"
"Half your inheritance, you say? Sorry, I have no interest in your wealth."
Aurelia went dead silent. She had sought out numerous mages she thought could make her stronger, even sacrificing her sleep just to dig up information. Of all the mages she knew, only Viola possessed a background that genuinely intrigued her.
Her fist clenched so hard her nails dug into her palm, leaving pale marks. Dammit… if it weren't for that stupid contract, I wouldn't have to humiliate myself like this.
"Then... how can I convince you?"
"Didn't I make myself clear? I have no desire to teach you my magic. Not even if you offer me an Eternal Ice Essence."
Aurelia fell silent again. "Tch..." She hung her head, her knuckles turning white. But she had no other cards to play to sway Viola. In the dead silence, Aurelia's mind raced at a thousand miles per hour, desperate for any leverage.
Seeing her just stand there only irritated Viola. She was wasting valuable work hours listening to this nonsense. Besides, the guild was currently in absolute chaos due to a sudden calamity in the western region.
But as Viola turned to walk away, a pale, almost porcelain hand grabbed her sleeve once more. "Just one hour then. And in exchange, I'll give you the manuscript regarding the Ring of Gravity that I possess," Aurelia said, her eyes suddenly filled with a blinding, desperate hope.
Viola sighed, realizing Aurelia wasn't the type to back down easily. "Good grief... you really are stubborn." Viola placed a hand on her hip. "Fine. But I want a few extra gold coins as a bonus fee."
"Deal. I accept."
The fragile body that couldn't even withstand Zarveth's onslaught now lay completely stiff and drained of energy on the dirt. Yujin was sprawled out helplessly while Kluivert sat quietly beside him, roasting a few fish over a campfire.
"Wake up. You've been resting long enough."
Yujin didn't respond. However, a brilliant glow began to emanate from his body. The light, composed entirely of raw Aether, was a phenomenon that genuinely startled Kluivert. It was his first time seeing someone's body bleed Aether so profusely while completely unconscious.
Seeing that Yujin wasn't waking up, Kluivert pressed several nerve pressure points on his body, and—
"KAAHKH!" Yujin jolted upright, gasping as an agonizing pain flared through those specific spots. However, the pain vanished just as quickly, replaced by a sudden numbness. He couldn't even feel himself breathing.
"M-Master?! W-Wait, how long was I out?!" Yujin asked in a panic.
Kluivert chuckled at Yujin's sudden, clumsy panic right after waking up from a dead faint.
"Calm down, Yujin. You just woke up from a long slumber. Eat up first. I roasted some fish for us."
"R-Really? Then thank you for the..." Yujin glanced up at the sky, which had already turned a deep orange. "...evening meal?"
The moment Yujin took his first bite of Kluivert's roasted fish, his eyes widened. The savory seasoning was flawless, cooked to a perfect crisp on the outside while remaining tender and juicy on the inside.
"S-So good..." he blurted out instinctively.
"Good, isn't it? I quickly stopped by the guild to grab some spices so it wouldn't taste bland. The guild is in total chaos right now because of the disaster in the west, but I'm glad you like it."
"I see... Thank you for the food. I really appreciate it."
Once the timing felt right, Kluivert brought up the Aether leakage coming from his body. Yujin flinched, not expecting Kluivert to notice it so quickly. He was reluctant to admit that he lacked a Magic Core, but he feared hiding it would ruin his future training.
"I actually… don't have a Magic Core like everyone else. The Aether just leaks out on its own, like a reflex. My body has its own way of expelling foreign substances."
Kluivert went silent, quietly analyzing every inch of Yujin's posture. Frankly, he didn't buy the explanation. It was biologically impossible for a living creature to survive without a Magic Core. Furthermore, he couldn't fathom why Yujin lacked one. He momentarily hypothesized that Yujin might have been captured and had his core surgically extracted, but even that seemed far-fetched.
"Then how exactly do you stay alive?"
"That's..." Yujin's throat tightened, as if blocked by a massive lump, making it difficult to find the words. "I... I don't really know."
Kluivert observed him for a moment before dropping it. He understood that this was likely a highly sensitive topic for a novice adventurer. The old man let out a soft laugh, breaking the awkward tension that had suddenly gripped the campsite. "No worries if you don't want to tell me. You can keep your secrets."
With that, Kluivert pushed himself up. Because Yujin had passed out, they had lost a significant chunk of training time. But he could overlook it. After all, Yujin was still a greenhorn who had just plunged into the dangerous world of adventurers.
"That's enough for today. We'll resume tomorrow afternoon. Meet me then, and we'll finish what we started."
"Right. I'll remember."
Kluivert turned and walked out of the clearing. Slowly, his silhouette vanished behind the dense trees, leaving Yujin alone with a few roasted fish and the smoking campfire. As he finished his meal, Yujin couldn't stop thinking about the waterfall from this morning. He was consumed by curiosity as to why he became so incredibly weak near it, despite feeling perfectly fine moments before.
Driven by curiosity, Yujin approached the waterfall once more. There were only a few things that could cause such a reaction. First, if the area was saturated with an immense amount of Aether, his body would experience an Aether overflow, forcing his innate traits to work overtime. The side effect of that was extreme lethargy and nausea.
Armed with that theory, he tried to replicate the trick he had seen the priest perform when he first registered at the guild. He visualized particles of light condensing into his palm, which would then be channeled into his chest.
Without realizing it, his palms began to perspire, even though it wasn't raining. He focused all his bodily pressure into his right hand. Right then, a miracle occurred. The water from the falls began to swirl around his hand in a distinct spiral pattern.
The shimmering water gradually coalesced, forming a rudimentary construct on his palm. But as he focused, Yujin noticed his right hand was rapidly losing all sensation. He tried to halt the concentration of matter, but instead of stopping, the pattern violently destabilized.
It began to expand rapidly, moving erratically. The hissing sound of the spinning water grew deafening, echoing alongside the roar of the waterfall. Worse still, the hand supporting the mass was turning a deep shade of blue, as if his blood circulation had completely ground to a halt.
A low rumble echoed from the violent mass as it began to shake violently. Yujin realized this fraction of a second was his only window to abort the accidental spell.
In a split second, he felt a massive weight lift off him as an explosion erupted directly from the condensed core. Yujin's fragile body was blasted backward as spiderweb cracks fractured the surrounding earth. His head struck something hard, but the pain vanished instantly as his world faded to black. His consciousness slipped away while the violent, wild water construct he had accidentally unleashed continued to thrash erratically.
Yet, from behind the dark, shadowed trees, a pair of eyes had witnessed the entire spectacle. Not far from where Yujin lay, a man who was supposed to have left long ago stood leaning against a tree trunk.
He smirked softly.
"It seems I underestimated you, Yujin..."