ALL NOVEL C5
The sun disappeared beyond the horizon. I stopped my workout.
Haa, haa.
I was panting, and my mouth tasted bitter.
I had pushed my body to its limit.
For an ordinary person, the amount of exercise I’d done would have been enough to cause a breakdown.
‘It’s more like exhaustion or torture than just exercise.’
I chuckled softly.
Memories of my past life.
The training under Deimos the Gladiator had been many times more grueling than this.
I pushed myself to the edge in order to grow stronger!
It was almost like I was trying to kill myself, pushing myself to the limit.
Compared to that, my limbs trembling now was nothing…
‘It’s nothing.’
I steadied my rough breathing.
The physical training for today was done. But the ‘training’ wasn’t over yet.
‘I’ll gather the energy of the Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb.’
I sat down, crossing my legs.
My gaze was upward, and my hands rested on my knees, facing downward.
The power of the low sun was too strong, so I couldn’t absorb the energy of the stars.
‘During the day, I’ll train my body, and at night, I’ll improve my Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb.’
Tuma’s instinct is the desire for power.
Although I am human in this life, the memories of my past life carried over, and that desire was still with me.
Becoming stronger.
Reaching the limits of nothingness.
I didn’t want to waste a single moment.
Hoo—!
Slowly, deeply.
I focused on breathing as slowly as possible, drawing in the energy of the stars that painted the sky.
My Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb achievement was at level 1.
Since I had already created a microcosm in my mental world, I could absorb the energy of the stars without needing the help of the great magic concentration technique.
A faint, milky-white energy lingered at my lips.
It was the energy of the stars, flowing down from the sky.
I inhaled and exhaled, accumulating the star energy in my mental world.
It was calming.
It felt different from when I first learned Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb.
The energy of the stars that mixed with my breath didn’t fluctuate like before.
It simply flowed into my mental world, into my microcosm, as if it were responding to my call, steadily accumulating.
The stars that settled in my mental world gradually began to shine brighter.
‘Ah, ah…’
The mental world gradually changed as it filled up.
It was a blissful experience I had never felt before.
No-self.
I let my body follow the flow of the stars, unconsciously repeating my breathing.
[The achievement of Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb increased by 1%.]
[Chaos Power increased by 0.1.]
[The achievement of Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb…]
The system notifications came at intervals,
But I ignored them.
My focus was entirely on breathing in and out the star energy, wanting to absorb every single bit of it.
How much time passed?
The star energy pouring from the sky began to thin out.
“Ah…”
A sigh of regret escaped my lips.
The ecstasy that filled my mental world began to fade.
I closed my eyes, then opened them again.
The faintly rising sun stretched and drove away the darkness.
Morning.
I had spent the entire night immersed in magic breathing.
I immediately opened the status window to check the results of the night’s training.
“What… is this?!”
My eyes trembled.
At first, surprise filled my gaze, but then joy engulfed my eyes.
[Chaos Power: 21 → 22]
[Chaos Qi: 210 → 220]
[Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb: 0% → 10%]
My Chaos Power had increased by 1.
And the proficiency of Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb had grown significantly.
The results were beyond my expectations.
“Crazy.”
An expletive slipped from my mouth.
I was so happy!
I wanted to jump up and dance right then and there.
‘To think Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb’s achievement grew this much in one day?’
Maybe it was because I had walked this path before.
Or perhaps it was related to the transformation of Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb’s dark mana into Chaos Power.
I didn’t know the reason.
Even the best talent among the Tumans in my past life hadn’t achieved this level.
But what did it matter?
‘If I can get stronger quickly, that’s all that matters.’
I thought positively.
I hadn’t slept a wink, but the fatigue in my body had completely vanished while practicing magic breathing.
Even the muscle aches that had made me scream before were now gone.
It’s said that the ground hardens after the rain.
My whole body, unlike yesterday, now overflowed with strength.
‘Nine days until the exam. I won’t waste a single day.’
With renewed enthusiasm, I stood up.
Ah.
But there was a strong smell.
It was coming from my body.
I definitely needed a shower.
* * *
One week of training.
During the day, I focused on strength training.
And at night, I practiced the Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb.
There had been many changes in my body.
“Status window.”
Name: Jeon Mincheol
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: None
Stats:
Strength: 21
Agility: 20
Endurance: 16
Health: 18
Chaos Power: 49
Chaos Qi – [637/637]
* Traits
[Play]
The deeds you’ve accumulated are deep enough to distort the world’s rules. By hunting monsters and earning points, you can change your own rules.
* Skills
[2/1]
[Seongcheon Jogyeong – EX Grade]
[Eye of Truth – S Grade]
* Currently, Seongcheon Jogyeong’s effect amplifies the Chaos Qi by 30%.
* This is a constant effect.
Khh!
It feels great.
Look at those glowing numbers.
The blood, sweat, and tears I shed over the past week, and… the pee… Oh, not the pee.
I felt the reward for pushing my body to its limits with the determination of cutting through bones.
The biggest improvement has come from Seongcheon Jogyeong.
[Seongcheon Jogyeong]
Type: Qi Gong
Grade: EX
Limit: None
Seongcheon Jogyeong is a magical breathing technique that forms a microcosm in the higher dimension of the mind, known as the ‘Shingyeong World.’ It absorbs powerful waves from both the light and dark nebulae and can be used at will in the mental world.
Achievement: 2nd Star
* Chaos Qi can now be activated.
* 2nd Star Perk – Chaos Qi increased by 30%.
* Chaos Qi regeneration rate: 3
‘Two stars in one week…’
It’s fast.
Way too fast.
In my previous life, it took about a year to reach the second star in Seongcheon Jogyeong.
Although the rate of increase slows down drastically after the second star, comparing my current progress to my past life feels like the difference between a slug and an eagle.
I activated Seongcheon Jogyeong.
The light nebula and dark nebula.
The powers of the two opposing nebulae clashed in the Shingyeong World with a resounding boom.
The collision produced a grayish aura—Chaos Qi.
[Seongcheon Jogyeong has been activated.]
[Chaos Qi is circulating throughout the body.]
[Due to Chaos Qi, all attributes except for Chaos Power have increased by 40%.]
[Chaos Qi consumption: 2 per second.]
Woosh!
A light jab.
The sound of the wind was piercing and intimidating.
When I use Chaos Qi, my strength approaches 30.
Compared to my initial abilities upon awakening, it’s more than four times stronger.
I grabbed a nearby rock.
It was so large that I could only wrap my arms around it fully with both hands.
“Haa!”
I shouted as I put force into my arms and legs.
The muscles in my thighs and biceps relaxed as I exerted my strength.
Gggrrunnn—
A rock weighing over several hundred kilograms was lifted off the ground by my powerful thighs.
The distance from the ground was a meter.
I relaxed my strength.
Boom!
The earth screamed.
The sound was as loud as an explosion.
‘The basics are done. Now, I can move on to the next phase.’
Now, it’s time to officially learn martial arts.
Weapon techniques, body strengthening, defense arts, or even movement techniques.
To master Chaos Qi in Seongcheon Jogyeong properly, martial arts are essential.
Martial arts are like a gun.
Chaos Qi is like the bullets.
‘I have plenty of knowledge about martial arts.’
In my previous life, the gladiator Deimos was a monster who studied and developed all types of martial arts.
I quickly skimmed through my past martial arts knowledge.
‘This one’s it.’
[Nangachilseonggyeon]
Nangachilseonggyeon is a martial art passed down among the wanderers.
An unnamed wanderer created the martial art by surviving countless life-or-death situations.
The style is not systematic but rather made up of instinctive movements.
I chose this for two reasons:
‘If I don’t lay a solid foundation, I can’t master advanced martial arts.’
In my mind, techniques that could smash mountains with a punch or cut through seas with a kick were already engraved.
But my body couldn’t handle those kinds of powers right now.
‘If I tried to use that now, my body would break down.’
It’s like firing a cannonball with a handgun.
The handgun would break before the cannonball even fits.
I need to master basic martial arts to adapt my body to the flow of Chaos Qi.
The second reason is versatility.
Nangachilseonggyeon consists of seven basic techniques that can be flexibly rearranged or partially used in any situation.
It’s also easy to mix with other martial arts.
I closed my eyes and focused my mind.
The circulating Chaos Qi felt tangible in my hand.
A sixth sense, spiritual awareness, that I hadn’t had before becoming aware of my past life.
‘I will synchronize the movement with Chaos Qi.’
I stretched out my hand.
A quick punch that sliced through the air.
Boom—
That was just a simple punch.
Boom! Boom!
Like a seasoned boxer, my arms moved in repeated, rapid succession, striking the air continuously.
Grayish energy lingered at the tips of my fingers.
Chaos Qi.
Some of the Chaos Qi I injected into my arm became focused on my hand.
‘No need to train separately in handling mana!’
In my past life, I freely manipulated dark mana.
The experiences engraved in my soul carried over into my current life.
Fortunately, the method of using Chaos Qi isn’t much different from using dark mana.
In fact, I could throw out faster and stronger punches with less energy.
The issue was with my body, not my soul.
Every time Chaos Qi was released, my muscles screamed in pain.
It was the kind of response you get after intense exercise.
The immense energy permeating my body caused these side effects.
If I hadn’t trained my body for a week, my muscles would have torn apart from the strain.
I continued repeating the same movements for about ten minutes.
[Nangachilseonggyeon has been learned.]
[Nangachilseonggyeon]
Type: Martial Arts
Grade: C
Limit: Requires manipulation of mana/Chaos Qi
A martial art developed by the wandering warrior Yang Cheondeuk, perfected through countless real-life battles.
It uses internal energy to enhance certain parts of the body, raising their latent power and explosively increasing attack strength in a short burst.
Achievement: 1st Star (0%)
* Amplifies a part of the body by 10% (4 Chaos Qi per second).
* Increases strength and agility by 50% for one attack (10 Chaos Qi).
The notification I had been waiting for echoed in my ears.
“Hehe. Just like when I first learned Seongcheon Jogyeong!”
I couldn’t help but smile.
After repeating and mastering the technique, it was registered as a skill just like when I reached 1st Star in Seongcheon Jogyeong.
C-grade skill.
Compared to Seongcheon Jogyeong, the difference in rank was huge.
Just by looking at the skill description, it’s obvious.
The foundation of Seongcheon Jogyeong lies in breathwork.
Even just practicing the breathing technique enhances physical abilities.
On the other hand, Nangachilseonggyeon focuses on strengthening the body, but in terms of efficiency, it lags behind Seongcheon Jogyeong.
‘But that’s to be expected for a foundation.’
I didn’t feel discouraged.
On the contrary, being able to check the skill rank felt like a major achievement.
Nangachilseonggyeon’s grade was C.
I wonder what the system will evaluate as I continue to develop martial arts.
My heart fluttered with anticipation.
Having mastered the basics of martial arts, it’s now time to learn the next step—movement techniques.