Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 23: Tutorial (5)

"Figurine."

'Wh-What did you say?'

"And a very antique one at that..."

That's right. The newly appeared steel doll had the shape of some sort of ancient statue. It was also only 15 centimeters in size, so it was a truly unsightly form.

Then, how about this one?

Chakak! Kigik! Chakak! Ares' shape transformed, and his whole body was covered by silver armor. It was in the form of the God-rank Gigas, Ares, an appearance I was familiar with. I exclaimed, "Ooooh! If this was displayed in the show window, kids would lie down in the middle of the mart to ask their parents to buy it for them!" Its size remained the same, but it no longer looked like an antique. It now looked like an expensive high-end figurine instead.

Is that a compliment?

"It's high praise."

Great then!

We had a playful conversation. It was a fascinating feeling to speak to Ares face-to-face, since I had always communicated with him via Udjat. However, Do-geom, who was watching the scene unfold, had an extremely serious expression. "I can't believe it... It's talking..." He took a pair of glasses from the table and approached Ares with a serious look. Putting the glasses on, he muttered, "I can't believe this. It has an ego...? Is its attribute metal?"

Ratatak!! A horrendous spark splattered as soon as Do-geom finished speaking. Ares chuckled and laughed, Wow! This is a totally different feeling though? It's so amazing!

"Multiple attributes...?" Do-geom's expression transformed from one of awe to shock. He was dumbfounded. It was at that moment that…

You have succeeded in a Spiritual Contract!

Class: Spirit Master(1st Class) has been generated!

"Oh, finally a job," I commented. It has been quite a while since I saw "Class: None." It had already been 10 years since I changed the title in the Status Window, and confirmed the fluctuation in stats. I used to think that it might be unlocked someday, but I forgot about it upon entering space. However, it finally happened.

Level System is unlocked!

Level has been created!

Current Level: 1

Experience Gauge: 100%

"What's an experience gauge?"

"You chose three jobs, so you'll figure it out eventually, but... What exactly are you?"

"In Do-geom-nim's words, a talented person? 'Spiritual Arts can only be thoroughly learned by talented people,'" I directly quoted Do-geom's words.

However, Do-geom shook his head. "Bullshit. Huh... This isn't just at the level of a talented person. I really don't understand. Why hasn't someone with this much talent been detected thus far?"

"They say it's an acquired awakening."

"Even so... You, no, it's nothing. It's fine, so just sit here." He shook his head, perhaps because he was baffled. He then extended out a golden chair.

"Eckk. It's that again?" I naturally frowned. After all, how could I react in any other way when I previously experienced being electrified after having soju poured all over my body?

However, regardless of my reaction, Do-geom had a stern and serious expression. "So you won't do it?"

"No. I have to do it," I grumbled and sat in the chair. As I sat down, the smell of alcohol that was caused by the sprayed soju earlier on stung my nose again.

"...That's unusual."

"What is?"

As I turned my head and questioned him, Do-geom squinted his eyes and said, "What do you mean what? It's you. I don't see any desire to be strong coming from you. But despite that, your movements are similarly reckless like those fools who are trying to be strong."

"Hmmmm," I pondered. I did not want to be strong. Yes. He was right. I didn't learn the spiritual powers to be strong. I was just trying to train myself to build up the capabilities to protect my own ego, as well as to suppress the wild Divine Spirit in my soul.

'It's also a desperate effort to protect the Earth,' I thought to myself. On the off chance that I became overwhelmed, the Earth, and especially mankind's fate, would literally end. There would be a massacre, and humanity would either be extinct or on the path to extinction. Even the Howard's Duchy, which mobilized a huge number of space battleships, could not withstand the power of an Emperor-class. Therefore, there was no way Earth, which was barely a Stage II civilization, could withstand it.

Even so, the most important thing is the Captain-nim.

'Important or not, I refuse to commit any more massacres...' I said firmly. There was also the option of throwing away everything and going back to the Empire, but… 'That's a little... I think there would still be accidents and incidents even if I go there.'

"Hey?"

"Ah, well, just. It's just..." I roughly glossed over my reply to Do-geom, because there was no reason to reveal my current circumstances to him. "It's just, my goal was to improve myself."

There was no need for me to develop combat capabilities. I had hundreds and dozens of unmanned Gigas, a Terra-class ship called Albatross, a Shadow Stalker which was the fruit of a Stage IV civilization, as well as Ares who was a God-rank Gigas. It was only necessary to learn various kinds of spiritual powers to test out how much I could strengthen my mental power through spiritual power, and how effective it would be.

"That's unusual. It's very unusual," Do-geom muttered and took a new item out of the cupboard which he had retrieved the golden chair from. It was a bronze cup with a blue hue and a dagger with a shimmering deep blue blade. Swhhooook. Swooosh. Do-geom slit his wrist nonchalantly, dropping the dripping blood into the bronze cup. Then, he explained, "The second spiritual power that you have to awaken is your life energy. Do you know anything about life energy?"

"I only know that it makes the body strong."

"That means you don't really know."

"Well, that's correct," I replied, but in actual fact, the spiritual power that I had witnessed the most after going to the universe was life energy. Life energy was the spiritual power of soldiers. Unlike other spiritual powers, which cannot be learned without talent, life energy could be immediately learned by anyone who had undergone physical reinforcement procedures. Since the training method was based on the premise of hard training, and not on ingenious logic or enlightenment, the majority of soldiers handled life energy to increase their survivability in battle.

"Originally, a Strongman rarely chooses a Sub-class."

"Is there a problem?"

"For a Strongman to pick a Sub-class... Yeah, it's just as great as it sounds. No matter what kind of spiritual power you are dealing with, there is nothing to lose with strengthening your body. Even a wizard who rarely uses physical ability would lose nothing by strengthening their body."

If neigong and life energy could be honed simultaneously, the synergy would simply be beyond one's imagination. The physical evolution of life energy would be beyond comparison to waigong[1], which was just a part of martial arts. As a straightforward example, if neigong and life energy were honed together, it would be possible to freely train in magong[2]. If one were to learn a decent amount of magong, the body itself would evolve in a way that would be able to withstand all the side effects. So, even if they learned something like the Blood Bursting Magong, which was famous for its self-destructive traits, the body would be able to endure all the subsequent recoil.

The effect would be enormous if magic and life energy were mastered together. If one were to concentrate the entire evolution of their life energy into defense, they would be able to obtain an indomitable endurance that no one could possibly interfere with the completion of their magic.

"But you're saying that it's not possible?"

"Yes, it's not possible. Rather, life energy should never be chosen when you have chosen multiple jobs. The ability users who accept the Life Energy Factor, and begin their evolution, would have their inspiration slowed down."

That was not all. Life energy would resist 'all' attributes and further 'interfere' with it. This was one of the greatest strengths of life energy. If one were to become trained in life energy, their weak attributes would disappear. It would be rare to get burned, even if they walked down a blazing path. They would not even freeze if a cryogenic cold air was poured on them. Even if they were poisoned, they would develop a resistance quickly, and would not be electrocuted even if struck by lightning.

However, resistance to all attributes was not always good, so life energy practitioners would experience a significant slow down in their sense of the attribute they were born with. Their elemental affinity would not disappear, but it would be harder for them to perceive the attributes. Therefore, if a Spirit Master accepted the Life Energy Factor, they would encounter a situation where they would have to almost give up controlling the relevant attributes even if they contracted a Spirit. Considering that a Spirit Master was a job that elemental affinity made up most of their potential, their future as a high-ranking ability user would be doomed… Needless to say, I chose it despite already knowing all of that. I commented, "I don't care."

"Did you hear my words through your asshole? The Dual Class of Spirit Master and Strongman is a stupid choice."

"But you did it, didn't you, Do-geom-nim?"

"My circumstances are different!"

"What is?"

"I am!" Do-geom said before he stopped talking. He stuttered for a moment and soon shook his head. "Yeah, the interference is severe."

Do-geom had a somewhat complicated expression. He held the bronze cup out. Unlike the chair, the bronze cup looked like an ordinary cup made of moderate castings. It did not have a single hint of magical energy and was filled to the brim with the blood that dripped from his wrist. This was the Factor. It wasn't just blood, but a seed of life energy that Do-geom had produced in his body over a long period of time. "All you have to do is drink it. Of course, just ingesting it wouldn't do any good, so an intense training to awaken the Life Energy Factor is necessary."

"What kind of training are you referring to?"

"It doesn't matter what kind. The moment you sense that there is a physical limitation in your strength, agility, or stamina, the Factor would awaken. The direction of evolution would be determined then-"

You have successfully awakened the Life Energy Factor!

Class: Strongman (1st Class) has been generated!

Current Level: 1,1

Experience Gauge: 50%

"Huhh? What?" Do-geom was flustered.

However, I ignored the panicked Do-geom and read the text. The Experience Gauge decreased from 100% to 50%. I pointed out, "It seems multiple jobs impose a penalty for gaining experience, huh?"

"...Two jobs actually require four times as much experience. There would be two separate levels you have to raise, so you would only get half of the experience. Besides, even if you have a few jobs, there would only be one Mana stat, so you have to split the growth. You would also be bad at making judgments of monsters. No, more than that, did you just awaken the Life Energy Factor? As soon as you took a dose of the Factor? You're telling me your body was initially trained to the limit? You, a normal highschool student?" Do-geom asked as if he could not believe it. His reaction was understandable, since Life Energy was a spiritual power that had a low level of entry, and was commonly referred to as the spiritual powers of soldiers. However, it was definitely not easy to learn it.

Since I had to reach the physical limits of the body to successfully learn Life Energy, it would mean that I would've had to have the same physical capabilities equivalent to a national athlete. It was an area that could never be reached in the way which I exercised alone. Feeling unsurprised, I urged, "Now it's Aura."

"What the hell did you do previously? Don't tell me you are planning to finish the tutorial in a single day?"

"How long does it usually take?"

"Except for some jobs, including a Spirit Master, it would take months at the very least! It would even take several years depending on the kind of job... No, nevermind. At the very least, Aura is not a spiritual power that can be mastered that way. It was possible to be prepared for Life Energy in some way, but..." Do-geom raised his right hand as he mumbled. Kwaaaanggg! A hammer of flame revealed itself, along with an intense heat. It felt as if it was clearly separated from reality, like CG, and there was not a hint of realism. "It's the materialization of Aura. A Materialization-type like me can solidify the Aura that I have amassed to materialize an object that possesses a spiritual function."

"Do I have to materialize it too?"

"You're just getting started now, so it's still too early for you to materialize. I'm just trying to get you to unlock the Aura. When a talented individual comes into contact with an external Aura, they would be able to awaken the spiritual power and manifest an internal Aura." Then, Do-geom extended the hammer of flame towards me. I could feel the burning heat, but it was not to the extent of scorching hot. I could feel some sort of unique power, which was void of aggression. Grooooar---

"Oooh, something is… It's a peculiar feeling..." I felt something changing inside me. I could resist if I wanted to, but there was no reason to do so.

Do-geom explained, "It's proof that the spiritual nature inside you has been stimulated. You chose Aura for the purpose of the Blacksmith job, so you have to meditate in your space-time for your inner image to..." Wooooom-! "Image… What?"

Chwareukkk-! Something came out from inside me, and I could hear a metallic sound echoing in the air. As I looked up, there was a clump of magnetic sand powder floating in the air.

Do-geom groaned, "Attribute materialization..."

Aura has been successfully unlocked!

Class: Blacksmith (Aura type, 1st Class) has been created!

You have successfully completed the Tutorial!

Activated Jobs: Spirit Master, Blacksmith, Strongman

Current Level: 1, 1, 1

Experience Gauge: 25%

I got up from my seat as I saw the most dumbstruck expression on Do-geom's face thus far. It was the end of the tutorial.

1. Waigong ??(外功), is external arts, and it is martial arts that focuses on honing external body strength.

2. Just like neigong is internal arts, magong is magical arts, deriving from the chinese word 魔.