Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 11: Talent Identification (4)

"Us selectors categorize talent into six different types. It's a type of classification created by the Great Wizard. We call it the Shin-Ma-Qi-Yoong-Eung-Chae."

"Shin-Ma-Qi-Yoong-Eung-Chae?"

"It refers to the divine power, magic power, qi, spiritual power, communion, and physical capabilities. They compose the most fundamental talents required for abilities."

Yul took out a chair from underneath the table and sat down before continuing his explanation.

"You already know that there are people that deal with the power of martial arts and magic, right?

"How could I not know? Not only are there girls who introduce themselves as wizards, but there are also people who charged at me with swords and spears in this modern day and age."

The fact that Bo-ram was a magical girl with a contract with the Golden Dragon God was a completely unrelated matter, and it was mostly unknown even to the people of the parallel world. However, he had heard previously that the Supreme Magic Tower, the organization Bo-ram was in, was a renowned, powerful force in the parallel world. The Lee Family was Korea's largest power. There was no way that they had not completed a full background check on me, so he must have been confirming what he already knew. Kyung-eun nodded after listening to our conversation.

"Right. I also heard that you were attacked by mercenaries. Phew… There are problems everywhere, but the Black Moon Society is running too rampant these days."

"Well, those regional forces are none of my business, so let's continue to discuss the main topic."

"Oh, that's just mean. Is this the sorrows of being a small nation?"

Kyung-eun grumbled. Yul ignored her and began to explain further.

"The Great Wizard created two adjudicating organizations using his noble mana, endless knowledge, and the blessings of the Progenitor God."

"…From how the story is flowing, you must belong to one of them."

Yul's eyes morphed gently at my answer. He must have started to find the conversation with me quite interesting.

"That is correct. The Guards enforce the Great Wizard's will to completely separate the parallel world from the surface world. The Selectors detect and classify all the talents of humanity that exist on Earth. These two forces have a completely separated role from the rest of the forces of Another Plane.

"The other forces?"

"I am referring to the three Magic Towers, the five Martial Arts Houses, and the seven Families."

"Our Lee Family is one of the seven families."

I nodded at the two people's combined explanation. I also had some rough ideas regarding the forces that dominated Another Plane, the other side of the world.

Yul continued, "The process of finding and selecting new talents for the salvation of humanity is an absolute duty and authority of the selectors. As such, we have special authorities, which is…"

Woooong-

As Yul lightly stirred his hand, a bluish hue, emitted from the six candles, started to circle around the star. It was just a simple expression of energy, but the mystery contained in the phenomenon was syllogism that transcended reason.

Yul spoke, "Light of Selection."

Woong!

Nothing unexpected happened. It's just that the energy flowing through the six candles started to settle down. However, Kyung-eun groaned with a hardened expression upon seeing the reaction.

"As expected… Is it still working? I can't believe it's functional even after the death of the Great Wizard-nim."

Yul smiled at Kyung-eun's moans.

"He has predicted his own death for a very long time, so it would be strange if he had not prepared for it."

"Then all the guards must be fine too, right?"

"Of course."

"That is a relief. Some people must have made a misjudgment then."

"Well, anyone can make a mistake."

Yul had been smiling from the beginning until now, but his expression suddenly cooled down.

"If, they can take responsibility for their misjudgment."

I carefully listened to the serious conversation while voices in my head started to make a fuss.

This is amazing. Could this be…

What? This is an ultimate magic, right? It's a unique spell as well! What kind of guy is this Great Wizard? Why did he try so hard? Even if he was a Great Wizard, it would have taken at least 100 years to properly build this system, and it probably cost him a fortune, enough capital to buy an entire country at the least.

I found pertaining information after searching through the existing database. But to think that a system capable of representing an ultimate magic would exist on a backwater planet like this.

I confirmed Yul's title as they chattered away.

Great Wizard Zenon

Level 0

Selector Yul

'Level 0…'

Level 1s were dime a dozen on Earth, but this was my first time seeing someone who was level 0. Presumably, he was not an actual, existing figure, but only a terminal of some system.

"Hey."

"And so… Huh? Why?"

"So when is this starting?"

They seemed to have been involved in a serious topic, but Kyung-eun finally came to her senses when I intervened in the conversation. She smiled awkwardly before responding.

"Ah, my bad. I was just about to leave, but I got caught up in the conversation."

"You're leaving?"

"The screening process is strictly personal information, so it would be inappropriate for me to stay and watch, since I'm neither family nor your teacher. I have some personal business to take care of anyways."

A bitter smile appeared on Yul's face as he listened to Kyung-eun's words.

"…I see. It's about time that the empire started to move."

"I heard that a messenger arrived. I hope they don't push too far."

Kyung-eun left the room while muttering something along the lines of 'This is the sorrow of not having power'. She waved her hand as she left, but the sight seemed quite heartbreaking somehow.

Confirmed. The group that the man named Yul refers to as the Guards also piggybacks on a similar system. There are about 1,000 members, scattered throughout the entire planet.

I have seen quite a lot of transcendents my day, but the Great Wizard from this planet is one-of-a-kind. There was only one person, and he's dead now. But there isn't a single place where he hasn't stuck his nose inside of.

This is a very special case. Perhaps the Great Wizard, the master of Earth-34… Hmm, captain-nim.

As if she had sensed something, Genie paused for a moment.

Target number 2 is expected to come to the palace.

I had ordered Genie to search for some people when I returned to Earth. Number one was my father, but he was nowhere to be found. Number two was Yeong-min. According to Genie's observation, he seemed to be doing fine, so I had told her to only watch for now-

'You said he was in North Korea.'

Correct. He was in the parallel world located in North Korea, the area where the Supreme Magic Tower is located. He has visited the Teleport Tower located there. According to the information I collected, a space movement will be generated in about 3 hours.

'Is he coming back?'

As I pondered, Yul spoke to me.

"This is quite unusual."

"What do you mean?"

"The way you treat the lady."

Yul smiled as if he found the situation interesting, and I replied.

"I'm only treating her normally. Just like how I treat my other classmates."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think her other classmates treat her the way you treat her either. Even now, you had no interest in whether she left or not, isn't that right?"

I tilted my head at his words. If Kyung-eun decided to leave, then she would leave. What was I supposed to do? Say goodbye? Whatever the case, I didn't feel like I did anything wrong, so I replied while shrugging my shoulders.

"Not all teenagers have a burning sex drive."

"…What?"

Yul took on a blank expression. He seemed to doubt his ears. But soon, his face distorted and his mouth opened, and he erupted into boisterous laughter.

"Ha, haha! Hahahaha! You are truly amazing!"

Tears formed in his eyes from all the laughter, although I wasn't sure what was so funny. Even when he regained calmness, I could clearly see that his eyes were full of interest.

"Are you sure that you are just an ordinary person from the surface world?"

"It has only been a few days since I passed over. I have never been to the parallel world since birth."

It was true. I had only been in space. I felt too lazy to continue the story further on this topic, so I approached the David's Star drawn on the desk. At the points of the star, the candles were emitting a subtle presence.

"Are we going to be lighting these candles?"

"You've noticed. That is right. Except, we will not be using a lighter or a match."

"Then?"

"Pray. That the candles would light."

"……"

I turned around speechless and saw Yul smiling.

"I'm not pulling your leg. Candles imbued with the spirit of the selectors accept one's desires as they are. Not all candles are like that."

"Shin-Ma-Qi-Yoong-Eung-Chae."

Yul nodded as I murmured.

"I am glad that you catch on very quickly. Each of these six candles symbolizes one of the powers. The candle of divine power. It represents a rare, sacred talent that only a few possess. The candle of magic power. Those born with this talent tend to have a more promising future than the rest. The candle of qi, the Chinese people's favorite. The candle of spiritual power. The power of the supernaturals. The candle of communion, which represents the ability that most shamans and prophets are born with. The candle of physical strength, which serves as a basis for all other abilities."

"So I just need to be able to light the candles?"

"Of course not."

Yul lightly waved his hand towards the six candles.

Papat!

All six candles lit up at the same time. They did not emit ordinary flames, but rather colored ones – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, navy. Although I was a little disappointed that purple was missing, it was not difficult to figure out what the colors represented.

"Rainbow?"

"That is correct. These candles distinguish the amount of talent by color. Ah, of course, these colors right now don't represent my talent by any means. In fact, you won't be able to find anyone with a talent corresponding to navy, or above it, even if you search the entire world."

"It must be using high standards."

Yul nodded in response.

"The Great Wizard had once said that if someone possesses talent corresponding to purple, they had the possibility of becoming a transcendent in their respective field."

"Then what about red?"

"It would correspond to talent required to enter into the field. For example, if the candle of qi emitted a red flame, it would allow one to open their eyes to feel the qi in the world. It is also referred to as a red-grade aptitude, but it's not enough to allow one to train martial arts."

"Are you saying it needs to be at least orange?"

"It's not that. I am saying that the body needs to be at a level where it could support the abilities. Even if one has a green-grade aptitude in qi, they would not be able to grow properly without having proper physical strength."

Indeed, simply possessing an abundant qi does not make one an excellent martial artist. It was obvious that they would need to have a good knowledge about martial arts and a body capable of expressing it.

"What about the other abilities?"

"In terms of physical strength, one needs to possess a physical talent above the orange-grade aptitude, but it is unaffected by any of the other talents. One can train in magic if they are able to light the corresponding candle at all, but apart from that, one needs to be intelligent in order to grow in the field. Summoning and spirit techniques of magic also require one to have adequate spiritual power and communion. Besides that…"

Paat!

Yul continued to explain, but suddenly, the candle of physical strength caught fire. Yul looked to be in disbelief rather than being surprise.

"What? You're the child of the Great Witch, so why is the candle of physical strength green…"

"Green's not that surprising, is it? It's only in the middle."

Since there were seven colors in the rainbow, green was situated exactly in the middle. However, Yul shook his head right away.

"Normal people would not be able to even get a red. Orange represents rare talent and yellow represents monstrous talent. To make it easier to understand, a world-class athlete would have a talent corresponding to green."

Then he turned his face towards me once more. I guess his disbelief was justified. How could he be calm when I had a world-class talent for physical strength without a proper background?

'I never really worked out either.'

In fact, it was a phenomenon that was basically a side effect. As the level of my soul increased exponentially, the gap between the container, the body, and the soul had grown unbelievably large. As such, my body's capabilities had been increased forcefully. It was the opposite of the proverb 'A healthy mind comes from a healthy body.' Well, in the end, I had only reached the human limits.

"The first way is to strengthen the body. One can train their physical body and biological functions to reach a level where the body is aligned with the world, protecting it from the flood of divinity."

I recalled the words of the Progenitor God. One of the issues I had was the incongruity of the soul and the body, so training my current body to the point of transcendence would solve the problem. It was quite ironic that the incongruity resulted in a talent for physical strength.

"This level of talent… It is sufficient for the Lee Family, no, for the Geumgangpa, one of the five Martial Arts Houses, to beg for you to join them. In addition, if you possess a high aptitude for qi, you will be receiving love calls from all of the Martial Arts Houses."

Yul started to tap on the desk. After a while, he continued.

"But this is surprising. It's not like delayed awakening doesn't exist, but it is a rare event… Since it's come to this, I will need to guide you on the premise that you awakened the blood of the Great Witch."

"Guide?"

"Yes. I don't think you will be a simple selection target but a selection.

A selection… What an obvious naming sense. Wasn't it called a selection because you were selected by a selector? Still, it must have been a rare thing from the way he talked about it.

"Most of the ability holders on Earth are those who awakened their powers under our supervision."

"Most?"

"At least 98%. In terms of numbers, there are roughly over 10 million. Only 470,000 of them are selections."

'What a letdown. That's almost one-twentieth of the total.'

"Not everyone can become a selection. Selections are beings with brilliant talents. Most of the time, they will be able to reach the highest positions in the parallel world, receiving…"

Yul began to explain, but I lost all interest and zoned him out. I had no reason to be interested in status or benefits on Earth. Instead, I focused on the next candle and prayed.

'Burn.'

Fwoooosh!!

'What!?"