Ch.209204 – Magic Workshop

Small waves wag their tails as they crash against the stone wall.

Each time the waves break, tiny droplets catch the sunlight and spray upward, adding saltiness to the shore.

A shadow falls over Master Baek Bonggon, who sits in the pavilion appreciating the scenery that hasn’t changed for 365 days a year, and never will.

“Excuse me.”

His head turns slowly at the dignified voice.

“Would you like some sikhye?”

Cheon Kyu-jin hands him a bottle of sikhye covered in cold droplets of condensation.

“Then would you care for a game of baduk with me?”

“I’d be happy to.”

Master Baek pulls out a baduk board from one corner.

He brushes away the cobwebs clinging sparsely to the pillars.

“When exactly was this additional test added?”

And so the match begins as Cheon Kyu-jin places a black stone on the upper right star point.

Master Baek coughs once, frowns, and picks up a white stone.

“Actually, there is no next test. This old man was just being stubborn.”

The two men’s gazes shift from the baduk board to the countryside house.

Children were running around frantically on the wooden porch.

Manifesting aura externally.

Skipping all the stages, Master Baek jumped straight to the final test, and NoName had shown off by succeeding.

“Then the test…?”

“I’ll have to think about it gradually before this match ends.”

So Master Baek found himself in an awkward position because of the bold child.

Cheon Kyu-jin smiled and thought of his next move.

“I heard you retired long ago, but I never expected to find you in a place like this. You’ve changed so much that I didn’t recognize you at first.”

“The same goes for you. Is it 30 years now? You’ve aged quite a bit too. Tell me, has your heart dulled somewhat in the face of time’s waves?”

“Perhaps it has.”

“Haha, that’s exactly what it means to be old! You’re qualified to join the ranks of us elderly folks.”

Another long silence followed, and when they reached a critical point, Professor Cheon spoke again.

“Why do you give such tests, both then and now?”

Memorizing the entire Analects, or maintaining a pistol squat position for an hour.

His question contained genuine sincerity.

Master Baek Bonggon remained a difficult type of person to understand.

*Click*

Master Baek confidently placed his stone.

“Gongpigoa (攻彼顧我), when attacking your opponent, advance slowly. Pigangjabo (彼强自保), when your opponent is strong, take good care of your stones. Ipgyeuiwan (入界宜緩), when crossing boundaries, enter slowly. See? Even simple baduk contains profound life philosophy.”

Seeing Professor Cheon deep in thought, he quickly waved his hands.

“Don’t think about it too hard. Just as baduk is a small world, the ‘self’ is also another world. In the end, I believe nothing is as effective as the ‘Analects’ and ‘Mabo’ for fully understanding oneself.”

“So all these processes were for properly handling aura?”

“You could see it that way. In Western medicine, they call it neurotransmitter pseudo-interlocking, I hear? When you think about it, it’s not really a new theory.”

Aura is the manifestation of will.

That was what Master Baek always emphasized.

When brainwaves pass through the aura heart, the aura heart converts mana into aura.

And the generated aura exerts influence according to the user’s demands.

“Even with identical brainwaves, different aura hearts produce completely different patterns. So who on earth can teach this? There’s not a single person in this world who can. With 8 billion people, there are 8 billion aura hearts, meaning 8 billion methods exist. Realizing the ‘self’ is such a tricky business.”

“That sounds difficult.”

“Indeed it is. That’s what makes that child even more special.”

The term “shining talent” doesn’t do it justice.

He couldn’t help but think that No Na-me was born perfect from the very beginning.

“Have you ever played table tennis?”

“Ah, occasionally in the past.”

“When rushing toward the net to return the ball, most people either hit it too high or into the net. Do you know why?”

“Why is that?”

“Because in that instant, they forget they’re moving forward. Professional players would know better, but ordinary people don’t realize that their body’s speed adds to the racket’s momentum.”

His words about objectification of the subject and a priori self align with Immanuel Kant’s theories.

As Professor Cheon finally showed an expression of enlightenment, Master Baek’s face brightened.

“Are you starting to get it now? But that’s not necessarily all good. As it is said, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Understanding oneself becomes the root of altruism.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yes… it is good. Very good indeed. But some degree of selfishness is also necessary for self-care. This is just my personal and unverified guess, but have you ever thought about what kind of being a human would be if they ultimately approached the concept of objectivity?”

“It’s hard to imagine.”

“Paradoxically, they would also lose their ‘self.’ They would understand themselves so well that their physical body would feel like nothing more than an independent entity.”

“Meaning?”

“Actually, this is just speculation I’ve thought about having nothing else to do on this island, so take it with a grain of salt. You know those games kids like these days?”

A momentary ominous light flashed in Professor Cheon’s eyes.

“Roughly speaking, wouldn’t your physical reality feel like a game character you’re controlling? Someone detached from death, fearless of the future, unhesitating in sacrificing for others—something human yet inhuman!”

The old man tossed white stones randomly into empty spaces.

“I think about it.”

The match ended with Professor Cheon’s victory by resignation.

Master Baek had lost.

“Well darn it, you play dirty as heck! Tsk!”

“Thank you…”

* * *

Master Baek Bonggon said he needed some time to prepare the next test, giving Arin and Minwoo an unexpected free period.

And it was clear this was a complete lie.

The confusion in his eyes was evident.

I used this as an excuse to ask if I could use the capsule in his room.

Whether he thought I had figured him out, or he was just pleased I had passed the test, he easily approved my request.

“Wowww, a capsule! A real capsule!”

“Didn’t you contact me using this last time?”

“It was so dark then, I couldn’t see anything!”

Master Baek Bonggon was using the same product line as Yuna’s mother’s medical capsule for therapeutic purposes—no, something much better.

While preaching about traditional values up front, he was secretly enjoying modern technology behind the children’s backs. It was the height of hypocrisy.

Well, people have to live somehow.

“What’s this?”

Baek Hochan pointed to a frame he discovered while turning on the lights.

[Certificate of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Holder]

[Name: Baek Bonggon]

[Date of Birth: August 25, 1966]

[You have made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of national intangible cultural heritage magic crafts inherited from our ancestors, thereby contributing to the development of traditional Korean culture, and are hereby awarded this certificate.]

[Magic Craftsman Baek Bonggon]

“Huh? Magic Craftsman? Our grandfather is a living cultural treasure?”

“Uncle, what’s a Magic Craftsman?”

“Hmm… I’m not exactly sure, but someone who makes Korean traditional wands? Like portable formation inscription devices?”

“What’s a wand?”

“This is a wand, Arin.”

I took out the ‘IWC Reminiscence’ from my pocket and showed it to her.

“Ohhh! C-can I touch it just once?”

Arin’s eyes lit up as if she were wagging an invisible tail.

Magic Craftsman, though.

It’s rare to see traditional magic crafts in this era.

What few remain are mostly luxury items or decorations with very limited or no practical use.

Come to think of it, his right arm had noticeably more muscle than other parts of his body.

No wonder his skill in wrapping aura seemed extraordinary—he was hiding such talent.

“But there’s only one capsule, so who goes first?”

“I don’t need to use it. You two figure it out.”

“Do you want to go first, Minwoo oppa? But I want to use it too, argh!”

Minwoo didn’t seem particularly interested.

Meanwhile, Arin was rolling on the floor, too shy to go first but too impatient to wait.

“Na…me, was it?”

Baek Minwoo approached me and tapped my shoulder.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Arin. Actually, I hear about you every day. ‘Name would do it in one go,’ ‘Name would memorize it all at once,’ ‘Name would…’ And it turns out it’s all true?”

“Oh, well. Yeah.”

“…”

“…”

And an awkward silence descended.

I mean, when someone as socially awkward as me gets approached by another socially awkward person, what am I supposed to do?

Still, trying to take responsibility like a man, Minwoo pointed to my headband and spoke.

“Where did you buy your hair tie, Name?”

“At the Daiso near my house.”

“Why do you still wear twintails? And tied so low like that?”

“Is that a problem? Or are you trying to pick a fight?”

“No! They look pretty!”

“Oh, you think they’re pretty? Well, thanks?”

This is practically groveling.

For some reason, Korea has a culture that looks down on twintails, so you rarely see them on anyone past middle school except during sports days or Halloween.

I retied my slightly loosened hair tightly and explained the profound reason behind my hairstyle.

“Watch carefully.”

I bent my knees and lowered my upper body suddenly.

My hair swayed in the air before returning to its place.

Then I moved side to side and even did a full spin.

“See? Get it now?”

“No?”

“The way my hair moves is different with each movement. It’s a kind of cue to objectify my movements.”

In intense combat, it’s hard to know exactly how and where I’m moving.

For example, if my body is thrown far back by tremendous counter-force, I need to know how fast I’m flying to prepare an appropriate response.

Since gravity is always constant, the angle formed by my hair is proportional to horizontal velocity.

Such subtle cues always simplify survival-critical issues.

“You’re insane?”

“It’s natural that you wouldn’t understand without trying it yourself. Minwoo oppa would understand everything if he wore twintails too.”

“I don’t really want to go that far…”

“That’s it! I’m using the capsule first! Sorry, Minwoo oppa!”

Arin wiped her flowing sweat with a towel and lay down on the soft capsule seat.

“Ahh! So cool!”

The door slowly closed, and a hologram interface screen appeared above as Arin operated it.

[Connecting to Void Space.]

[Welcome, User Name: NamesIsSoCute.]

For a moment, I was startled when Arin’s nickname reminded me of our room’s problematic viewer with the username ‘NoNameIsABabyIMustProtect’.

Right, Arin used that kind of nickname too.

I should tell her to change it later.

“Are you going to play LoL?”

“Arin plays LoL?”

“That’s probably all she knows how to play.”

“Yes! I’m good with Yuumi!”

She confidently started LoL.

After logging into her account and pressing the game start button,

She was directed not to the battlefield but to a white website screen.

[Hello, this is Legacy of Legend.]

“I can’t click on game start!”

[Days of business suspension according to the Game Industry Promotion Act: 10 days]

Instead of the battlefield flowing with blood and sweat, we were greeted only by a sad apology message.

“If you’re okay with it, would you like to try World of Arsheria, Arin?”

Right, she definitely liked WoA too.

World of Arsheria is an all-ages game as long as you avoid Nightmare mode, so there’s no pressure.

[Hello, this is World of Arsheria.]

[Days of business suspension according to the Game Industry Promotion Act: 1 month]

The two nations that had been waging a Three Kingdoms-style battle in the Korean online gaming market were destroyed in an instant.

It was a tearful oath of brotherhood.