Sparkling like starlight and radiating brilliance like the glow of streetlights, it dazzles the eyes while continuously shifting shapes to capture attention. The light, spreading as if it would shatter with every movement of the arm, resembles the ephemeral nature of flames, while the lingering energy that vanishes without regret resembles cold air rolling like ice.
Truly, this was sufficient to captivate anyone.
So, who is it trying to enchant?
Jinseong, clad in golden armor, stepped outside the mansion. Using teleportation, he moved to the rear mountain, continuing to use it as he traversed through desolate forests and ruins. Every time he employed it within a short span of time, he felt his body drying out like a withered twig, his legs trembling under him.
Especially after arriving far from the mansion, his soles felt parched and twisted like bark, the bright red flesh beneath the dry, wrinkled skin glaringly exposed. Yet not a drop of blood flowed; it seemed too precious to spill, leaving behind only the terrible pain that accompanied his every step.
This was the cost of teleportation.
It was the price paid for excessively utilizing the Improved Shortening Earth Method.
*
Teleportation has evolved numerous times.
According to history, the originally created method employed the concept of meridians to facilitate movement. In geomancy, mountains were not merely viewed as geographical features but were seen as substitutes for human anatomy.
Rocks were likened to the bones of mountains, and the soil covering them equated to human flesh. Naturally, it was believed that mountains harbored life energy and that there were channels, akin to blood vessels, through which energy flowed.
The energy channels of the mountains were called meridians.
Meridians, also referred to as dragon veins, were considered sacred pathways carrying life force, connecting the acupoints, and nurturing nature’s lifeblood. Thus, construction was carried out carefully to avoid disturbing these veins, and whenever calamities befell the country, investigations would be launched to see if any issues had arisen with the dragon veins.
Teleportation was a method of using the life energy flowing through these meridians like a river.
However, this original teleportation method had a distinct flaw.
It could only be used where meridians existed.
While this presented no issue when moving along the mountain’s flow, it became problematic for a being whose existence wasn’t confined solely to the mountains.
Indeed, those capable of using teleportation would likely live in the mountains for a long time, yet it would be rare for them to completely avoid human interactions. Naturally, they needed to visit villages to converse with others and purchase necessities.
Moreover, alongside this inconvenience came complaints from the people. The dragon veins were sacred and should never be desecrated—how could anyone trample upon them with their feet?
As time went on, these complaints intensified, reaching a peak during the reign of King Sejong. In 1433, Go Jong-an wrote a lengthy petition stating:
“Those who treat the land like a mere paper to fold as they please lack restraint, forgetting their place and thinking only of convenience. This is akin to those who prioritize one harvest and burn the forest to cultivate crops, despite knowing better, thus their guilt is evident. Such outrageously rude behavior is bound to cause issues with the dragon veins. Therefore, I request that those who belittle the dragon veins be punished, and that trampling upon the life force, thus disrupting the clarity of the aquifers, be strictly prohibited.”
Following this, those knowledgeable in geomancy, like Mok Hyo-ji, urged that any encroachment upon the dragon veins be severely punished, solidifying it as a taboo. King Sejong, upon receiving this petition, prohibited travel along these veins, and thus the original teleportation method nearly vanished into the annals of history…
Fortunately, those who could not forget the convenience of teleportation had managed to reintroduce it in a modified form.
Yet problems persisted as if cursed.
In trying to improve it using earth energy and wood energy, the country was engulfed in the flames of war, leaving behind only barren lands. Attempts to utilize just the natural energy led to pollution due to industrial development, causing the efficiency of the method to turn into a mess.
Furthermore, with the advent of cars and trains, the necessity for teleportation diminished entirely.
As such, by modern times, teleportation had half-vanished. The tragedies of ethnic conflict led to sorcery being utterly shattered; thus, it would only be natural for the teleportation method to vanish from history.
However, after the Third World War, teleportation underwent another improvement.
A method utilizing the energy within one’s own body was developed by an unknown individual.
To be precise, the existing teleportation method was infinitely divided and lowered, allowing the energy stored in a person’s body to serve as power. Though the original teleportation method was tremendously efficient, its energy requirements were excessively high, the Improved Shortening Earth Method had only minimal efficiency and limited distance but could barely be utilized by the human body.
Viewing the human body as a microcosm, the idea of drawing upon earth energy and wood energy for use was revolutionary. Sadly, very few utilized it.
“Sorcery touches the flesh, soul, and spirit of a person.”
That is the price.
If one wears uncomfortable shoes for years, their feet will change shape, and those with poor eating habits will inevitably attract the calamity called illness. Even if weak, such practices would accumulate and alter a person’s form from its original state.
The difference lies in that typical sorcery manipulates discreetly and slowly, whereas rituals can instantaneously transform a person.
Thus, other capable individuals shun sorcery. Even if there are sorceries that use magical power, wizards won’t touch them, and even warriors, despite the existence of sorceries utilizing Qi and life force, would handle them with caution. For even brief convenience, problems would surely arise.
Their forms would disrupt the storage of magical energy, obstruct the channels of Qi, and distort them strangely. It would become a hindrance when one sought to transcend the corporeal realm into the soul’s domain, beginning from a mere speck of dust and morphing into the heart demon that tears apart one’s spirit.
To those yearning for higher realms, even a grain of sand would become a colossal boulder, a weight exceeding that of a hundred pounds when trying to cross a barrier.
Thus, despite altering teleportation, it was seldom employed by the average capable person.
Even if they did use it, it was only in critical situations.
“Treating skin strain or bone weakening can be managed with healing or regenerative magic,” they would say.
But for Jinseong, such considerations were irrelevant.
He could move across the land at the price of merely having his skin and bones weaken.
Finding a sorcery as sweet as this was a rare delight.
Despite the peeling skin on his soles, Jinseong kept casting teleportation to reach a village in Chungcheongbuk-do.
Upon arriving, he found a few ordinary small houses and a well.
An exceedingly unremarkable well.
“I’ve arrived.”
Yet Jinseong’s eyes gleamed as he approached it.
Situated beside the well was a well-maintained road, and the well itself was built from smooth, gleaming white stones, arranged in the shape of the character for well. The stones, stacked in three tiers, reached slightly above head height, with a small stone lantern beside it.
The lantern sat atop a square pedestal, and around the top, a curious metal emitting a strange energy shimmered in the sunlight. This metal transmitted a faint magical power to a small antenna located behind the well, which in turn loosely converted it and directed it under the empty space next to the well.
It was a stylish perimeter magic barrier for security.
Should any issues arise, it would immediately activate, launching suppressive magic at any entities within range.
Jinseong carefully maneuvered to avoid entering the barrier’s confines. He turned his gaze toward a signpost set up behind the well.
“Well of the Last Days.”
The Well of the Last Days.
Legend has it that each time the water overflowed, calamity would descend, and if it overflowed three times, the world would perish.
Jinseong looked at it and smiled.
