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Chapter 157

The unprecedented monster wave that struck Harmony City finally settled down.

The schedule for the countermeasure had been slightly delayed due to the overwhelming number of undead corpses overflowing in and out of the streets, but people sighed in relief at the fact that they had successfully held off the wave.

Naturally, some people cast doubts on the timing of the monster wave occurring on the very day of the countermeasure.

Conspiracy theories started circulating that perhaps they had intentionally neglected the area’s management to boost support for the academy by broadcasting their success live during the countermeasure.

However, with the investigation from the Magic Tower revealing that the cause of the wave was the machinations of the Demon King’s cult, those conspiracy theories began to fade away as quickly as they had come.

And at that moment, Kim Yoo-min and Yeon-woo were lying in the infirmary, groaning. It was obvious that Yoo-min’s injuries were much more serious than Yeon-woo’s. Her two fists were completely battered, and her body was covered in bruises. Full-body muscle pain was a given.

But Yeon-woo’s injuries weren’t trivial either.

Due to moving under extreme tension to counter the Gloomy Monster’s attacks, she also suffered from full-body muscle pain, and there were moments when her mana deficiency nearly turned into something serious right afterward.

Fortunately, thanks to the mana recovery ability of Dragon Heart and the regenerative power of her lizard-shaped Stigmata working in tandem, she was able to bounce back quickly.

As she got out of bed, she felt that the Divine Art training methods taught by Na Yang-ho had been a huge help.

Thus, Yeon-woo was reading some brief information about the Gloomy Monster, whose real name was Christopher, which she had received from Yuri, feeling quite better.

“Why are you the only one okay, Choi Yeon-woo…?”

“Hahaha.”

Lying on the next bed, Kim Yoo-min groaned in pain as Yeon-woo indulged in a moment of superiority.

Honestly, it wasn’t exactly something to feel superior about, but it was amusing to laugh at someone who was lying incapacitated.

However, that thought was fleeting as Yeon-woo mumbled gloomyly.

“But still, it doesn’t change the fact that I absolutely have to rest for a day…”

“Serves you right for mocking me.”

Kim Yoo-min, lying on the next bed, chuckled at her words. Yeon-woo, who had been lounging in bed, turned to look at Yoo-min.

Yoo-min looked almost like a mummy.

That is to say, she was bandaged and plastered all over with various medical supplies. Seeing Yoo-min being transported, Na Yang-ho had no choice but to use Divine Art on her.

Even having received recovery Divine Art from someone of the Church’s saintly rank, the fact that she was unable to move indicated how severe her injuries were.

“That guy seems to be interested in you.”

“What, what? That guy, you mean the assassin?”

As Yoo-min was about to take a sip of water, she spewed it out. Wow, do you know Ammu?

It was pretty ambiguous to refer to that man as an assassin, but nonetheless, Yeon-woo nodded positively.

During that battle, there was no doubt that all attention had been drawn to Kim Yoo-min in the end.

“Ugh, how did I end up getting the attention of that kind of person…?”

“You were kinda cool back then. If you hadn’t been crying, a few people might have had a crush on you.”

“Oh, was I sexy?”

“You were, indeed. You were all bloody, going bam bam. How did you even do that?”

“Hehe. Just sway it like this, and it’s easy.”

As Yeon-woo showered her with compliments, Yoo-min smiled shyly. It was a relief to see her have enough energy to smile. After all, they had just fought a person!

“So, what’s it like to risk your life and fight with a stranger?”

“…….”

At those words, Yoo-min’s smile faded. It was only natural. After all, it was a life-and-death struggle. Remembering that wasn’t going to feel good.

Especially for someone like Kim Yoo-min, who could only be described as too kind-hearted.

Her arm, covered in plaster, fidgeted. People often move unconsciously when their thoughts get tangled. However, at that moment, even that degree of freedom was not allowed to Yoo-min.

This wasn’t due to her naïve thinking.

Yoo-min had faced off against someone trying to kill her and had brilliantly defended herself. Just because she seemed incapable of killing didn’t mean she wouldn’t if the opponent could indeed die.

“I had mentioned before that being a Hunter might be very different from what you expect. Were you able to firm up your resolve through this experience?”

At Yeon-woo’s question, Yoo-min’s mouth twitched. It seemed like she was trying to say something, but the words wouldn’t form.

Yeon-woo gestured for her to take her time. After a brief silence filled the infirmary.

“…I’m not sure if it’s enough, but if it becomes really necessary… If someone looks like they’re going to die, then I think I might reach out without even thinking about it.”

“That’s kinda half-hearted.”

Despite that experience, Yoo-min’s mindset was still incredibly half-baked.

She placed conditions on killing someone. Saying she would swing her fist if anyone, including herself, seemed likely to die was somewhat weaselly.

But conversely, it also expressed her intention not to view someone posing a threat to her as a person.

If you included even enemies in the realm of human beings, it would be like a coding error preventing her from doing anything.

Seeing Kim Yoo-min give a vague smile at Yeon-woo’s blunt and honest assessment hinted that she somewhat expected to hear those words.

“Well, you… yes, that level suits you.”

“…Huh?”

“Since you’re fundamentally kind-hearted, I expected you to compromise at that level. It’s a hundred or a thousand times better than the time you said you couldn’t kill at all. At least you won’t die from a blind sword strike now.”

If she thought that way and made that decision, there was nothing more for Yeon-woo to say.

Anything she might say would just be an overstepping of bounds. Perhaps for an average fifteen-year-old, it wouldn’t be much of an issue, but for someone as talented as Yoo-min, who had entered the academy, it was the age where their worldviews were being solidified.

Yeon-woo didn’t want to become some self-righteous person who meddled in everything. At least, not when it came to someone like Kim Yoo-min, who had been like a hero to her before the regression.

“…What should we order before Yang-ho shows up?”

“You should be the one feeding me.”

“Eh, no way.”

Fortunately, they managed to compromise by using magic to feed each other. The four of them had a joyous delivery food party together with the kids.

Of course, it was only natural that when Yang-ho finally showed up and saw the scene, he was taken aback and scolded the two.

*

Spread the aura widely through the bloodstream. It’s not too different from aura strengthening. The difference is that instead of focusing on efficiency, it felt like the external outline of the body was being strongly recognized.

Mana spreads throughout the body, centered around the heart.

For Yeon-woo, aura and mana were synonymous, but for others, they were not.

Aura and mana must be strictly differentiated. Humans are not permitted to possess both simultaneously.

If aura coats the veins, then mana flows through the blood. Aura is emitted outward, while mana is absorbed internally. After strongly recognizing that difference and mentally mapping out the structure of the human body, it would look like this.

For convenience, let’s recognize mana as blue and aura as red.

The mana, melted into the blood, spreads throughout the body. Following blood flow, through capillaries, the outline of the human figure drawn in the head is overlaid in blue. By perceiving mana, the muscles and internal organs lying beneath the skin can be felt as if they could be grasped.

Conversely, the aura heading outward is drawn outside the body.

Rather than being within the skin, it feels like a thin membrane sticking to the outer surface. Red lines and blue lines separate by a layer of skin.

And now, one can add divinity onto this.

Typically, regular people would not have the clarity to capture such an image since they only possess either mana or aura, but Yeon-woo was different.

Stigmata ultimately gets engraved on the skin. In other words, recognizing the ‘strength’ that lies between red and blue is the first step in handling divinity and can be considered the foundation for learning divine arts.

“I can’t learn divine arts, though.”

Just because one can manipulate divinity doesn’t mean it’s all divine art. Divine arts are miracles performed on behalf of the gods by invoking their names.

Simply being able to use divinity isn’t enough; one cannot execute it unless they are recognized as God’s representative and endowed with the names of incantations.

In other words, the Crescent Moon Stigmata, for whatever reason, means that Yeon-woo currently has no way to use the divine art of the lizard-shaped Stigmata.

Considering that the Stigmata’s power leans towards regeneration, one could guess that the divine art would also be recovery-related, which was indeed a rather regrettable situation.

Lunaria’s divine art would also be very useful, but recovery-based divine arts are unmatched in rarity and utility. One could understand that just by seeing how valued Na Yang-ho is within the Hunter community.

Yeon-woo internalized the sorrow brought on by human greed, feeling the deep yearning that she desperately wanted something she couldn’t attain.

After fiercely contemplating what the best way to overcome such sorrow could be, Yeon-woo finally found her answer. It was quite trivial.

“Hey, Kim Yoo-min.”

“Why suddenly using honorifics, Choi Yeon-woo?”

“Do you perhaps know the way?”

“What’s with the sudden weirdness? Are you crazy?”

Kim Yoo-min, who usually had a decent reactiveness, showed an even more intense response this time. What’s up? Did she get conned by a cult or something?

“Not really~. It’s nothing special, just wondering if you’d consider a good religion~.”

“What? This is actually a religious solicitation, isn’t it…? Oh no, maybe you really are nuts…!”

“No, it’s not like that! It might really be a decent religion… I think. Though, technically the god is absent.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to recommend something to someone when you’re not even sure of it yourself?”

“Ugh, who would’ve thought I’d get schooled by Kim Yoo-min….”

It was shockingly painful. Unlike someone bright with smarts yet careless about studying, Kim Yoo-min, who was simply pure-minded, had bested her in logic. It was an absurd solicitation for a religion after all.

Seeing Yeon-woo with her forehead in hand, Kim Yoo-min let out a sigh.

“…Well, if you’re going to shut up, then what are you going to do? Say something. Can’t you sell me on it more?”

“Um, they say the divine position is presumably solar god-related and the power is regeneration. A feature is that Tae-oh is supposed to become friends with it, and currently the total number of believers is one.”

“Wow… what the heck is that supposed to mean…?”

In Kim Yoo-min’s eyes, a spark of interest ignited after those words. Perhaps the regeneration aspect was what caught her attention.

There’s nothing quite as desperate for an enhancer-type Awakened as a divine being that can grant them regeneration.

Oh wait, could it be…?

“Hold on, Kim Yoo-min, calm down. You’re stuck and frustrated right now; joining an unknown religion isn’t a good idea.”

“What kind of thing did you just sell me? Hand it over right now.”

The seriousness in Kim Yoo-min’s eyes was evident. The absurdity was on her part. Who would’ve thought she would want to join a religion just because she felt trapped? Ironically, the person who understood Kim Yoo-min’s mental world best in this academy was actually Yeon-woo.

“What do I need to add to keep the divine dignity intact…!? Ugh, I have no idea…!!”

For a god, accepting a believer is of utmost importance.

From that point on, it’s considered part of the contract, so unless the criteria are clearly specified, it could get troublesome later when other believers want to join.

A contract with a god is inscribed into the world’s laws.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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