Chapter 209

Small waves wagged their tails and crashed against the stone wall.

Every time the waves broke, small droplets of water, kissed by the sunlight, leaped up, adding more saltiness to the shoreline.

The shadow of Baek Bong Gon fell over him as he sat at the pavilion, appreciating the scenery that remained unchanged 365 days a year and would continue to do so.

“Excuse me.”

At the deep voice, his head slowly turned.

“Would you like a glass of Sikhye?”

The cold droplets glistened on the Sikhye bottle handed over by Cheon Kyujin.

“Then how about playing a game of Go with me?”

“Sure.”

Baek Bong Gon pulled over the Go board that was in the corner.

He brushed away the spider webs that clung sparsely to the pillar.

“When exactly did an exam get added?”

With that, Cheon Kyujin placed the black stone at Oh’s Gyu point, and the game began.

Clearing his throat, Baek Bong Gon frowned as he held the white stone.

“In fact, there isn’t really a test after this. This old man just wanted to play a little trick.”

The gazes of the two men shifted from the Go board to the countryside house.

Children were running around wildly on the porch.

Manifesting aura outside.

Ignoring all the steps, Baek Bong Gon jumped straight to the last test, and Na-me seemed to succeed in doing so as if to show off.

“So, what about the test…?”

“Let’s think about it slowly until this game ends.”

So, Baek Bong Gon found himself in a tricky position because of the audacious child.

Cheon Kyujin smiled as he thought of his next move.

“I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this after retiring long ago. You’ve changed so much that I didn’t recognize you at first.”

“Same here. Has it really only been 30 years? You have aged a lot too. How about it? Have you grown somewhat dulled in front of the wave of time?”

“That might be true.”

“Haha, that’s what it means to be old! You’d fit right in with this old brigade.”

A long silence followed, and as they reached a life-and-death issue, Cheon Professor spoke again.

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

Forcing students to memorize the Analects or hold the pistol squat position for an hour.

His question was sincere.

Baek Bong Gon remained an incomprehensible type of human.

Tap—

Baek Bong Gon confidently placed the stone.

“When attacking the opponent (攻彼顧我), approach slowly. When the opponent is strong (彼强自保), take good care of your stones. When crossing the boundary (入界宜緩), step in slowly. See? Such a simple game of Go can contain profound life philosophies.”

Seeing Cheon Professor lost in deep thought, he hurriedly waved his hand.

“There’s no need to think so hard about it. Just as Go is a small world, the existence of ‘I’ is another world. In the end, there’s nothing as effective in fully understanding oneself as this ‘Analects’ and ‘Mabo.’”

“Was it all to properly handle aura in the end?”

“Well, you could see it that way. In Western medicine, they call it neuro-transmitter pseudo-interlocking, right? If you think about it, it’s not a new theory.”

Aura is the manifestation of will.

It was always a phrase emphasized by Baek Bong Gon.

When brainwaves go through the Aura Heart, it converts mana into aura.

And the generated aura exerts its influence as per the user’s demands.

“Even identical brainwaves will manifest differently if the Aura Heart differs. So who can actually teach this? There’s not a single person in this world who can teach it. If there are 8 billion people, there are 8 billion Aura Hearts, and hence there are 8 billion methods. Realizing ‘I’ is a very tricky matter.”

“Difficult, indeed.”

“Exactly. That’s why that child is even more special.”

Describing it merely as shining talent is insufficient.

Na-me already seemed like a perfectly born human from the very beginning.

“Have you ever played table tennis?”

“Ah, occasionally in the past.”

“When running hurriedly towards the net to receive the ball, most of the time the ball either goes high or gets caught in the net. Do you know the reason?”

“Why is that?”

“Because in that moment, one forgets that they are moving forward. Professionals know how to handle it well, but the average person doesn’t realize that their body’s speed is added to the table tennis paddle.”

His words about actualizing the subject and the transcendental self resonated with the theories of Immanuel Kant.

Seeing the realization on Cheon Professor’s face, a smile blossomed on Baek Bong Gon’s.

“Are you starting to catch on? But that doesn’t mean it’s all good. It is said, ‘If you do not wish to be desired, do not make demands of others.’ Understanding oneself serves as the root of altruism.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Right… It is. Good and all. But a certain degree of selfishness is also necessary in cherishing oneself. This is merely my personal and unverified guess, but have you ever thought about what kind of being a person who ultimately approaches the concept of objectivity would be?”

“It’s hard to imagine.”

“Paradoxically, this leads to losing the ‘I’ as well. Having understood oneself so well, one feels their body merely as an independent entity.”

“What does that mean?”

“The truth is, I only think about this since I have nothing to do on this island, so just let it pass. By the way, don’t kids these days have a favorite game?”

Cheon Professor’s eyes momentarily flickered ominously.

“Do you think the physical body in reality doesn’t feel like a game character they control? Feeling indifferent to death, devoid of fear regarding the future, and willing to sacrifice for others without hesitation—wouldn’t they become something human yet not human?”

The old man threw the white stone anywhere into the empty space.

“They think.”

The game resulted in Cheon Professor’s resignation.

Baek Bong Gon’s concession.

“Wow, you really play dirty. Tsk!”

“Thank you…”

* * *

Baek Bong Gon needed a little time to prepare for the next test, and unbeknownst to them, Arin and Min Woo found themselves unexpectedly free.

And they knew it was a complete lie.

His eyes clearly displayed a flustered expression.

I took advantage of this to ask him if I could use the capsule in his room.

Whether he realized I caught on or was just pleased I passed the exam, he approved my request easily.

“Wow, a capsule! A capsule!”

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

“At that time, it was too dark to see anything!”

Baek Bong Gon was using a medical capsule, similar to the one used by the Mother of Yuna, or rather, it was something far better.

While claiming to uphold the earth and sky in front, he was indulging in modern advancements, secretly enjoying them from the children behind—it was inconceivable how duplicitous a person could be.

Yes, people must live.

“What’s this?”

Baek Ho Chan pointed at a frame he discovered while turning on the light.

[Certificate of Intangible Cultural Heritage Holder]

[Name: Baek Bong Gon]

[Date of Birth: August 25, 1966]

[You have contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage that our ancestors have cherished, thereby greatly contributing to the development of traditional culture in the Republic of Korea; thus, we present you with this certificate.]

[Master of Mago, Baek Bong Gon]

“What? Master of Mago? My grandfather is a human cultural asset?”

“What does Master of Mago mean?”

“Well… it’s not exact, but it refers to someone who makes traditional magic tools in Korean culture? Like a simple magical writing tool?”

“What’s a wand?”

“This is a wand, Arin.”

I pulled out the ‘IWC Recall’ from my pocket.

“Ooh! H… Can I touch it just once?”

Arin’s eyes sparkled as she seemed to shake an invisible tail repeatedly.

By the way, Master of Mago.

It was nearly impossible to see traditional magic tools in this era.

Most of what existed belonged to luxury goods or decorations, and their actual uses were either very limited or completely absent.

I realized that the muscles on his right arm were unusually well-developed compared to other places.

No wonder the mastery in enveloping aura was remarkable; I hadn’t expected him to keep this kind of skill hidden.

“But there’s only one capsule, so who gets to use it first?”

“I don’t need to use it. You both can decide among yourselves.”

“Min Woo oppa, do you want to go first? But I also want to use it, what should I do, ugh!”

Baek Min Woo seemed indifferent to it.

On the other hand, while he felt hesitant to go first, Arin, unable to bear the impatience of waiting for her turn, rolled around on the ground.

“Na-me… was it?”

Baek Min Woo approached me and tapped my shoulder.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Arin. No, I hear about you all the time. ‘If it’s Na-me, she did it in one go,’ ‘If it’s Na-me, she memorized it all in one go,’ ‘If it’s Na-me…’ But is that really true?”

“Ah, well. Yeah.”

“…”

“…”

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

I wondered what he thought a non-social person like me should do if a fellow non-social person tried to talk.

Yet, trying to take responsibility like a man, Min Woo pointed to my hairband.

“Where did you buy your hair tie, Na-me?”

“I bought it at Daiso right in front of my house.”

“Then why do you still wear twin tails? And even tied so low?”

“So is it bad? Or are you just trying to pick a fight?”

“No! It’s pretty!”

“Ah, it’s pretty? Well, thank you?”

It was almost like a bowing to receive a compliment.

In Korea, oddly enough, there was a culture that belittled twin tails, so after middle school, one could hardly find them except during sports days or Halloween.

I re-tied my hair tightly, which had loosened slightly, and explained the profound reasons behind my hairstyle.

“Look closely.”

I bent my knees and lowered my upper body significantly.

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

Then I moved it side to side and even spun around.

“How is it? Do you get it?”

“No?”

“Every movement causes my hair to sway differently. This is a sort of clue to objectify my movements.”

During intense battles, I couldn’t accurately gauge how far and how much I was moving.

For instance, if I were hurled far back due to tremendous recoil, I needed to know at least how fast I was flying to appropriately prepare for it.

Gravity is always constant, so the angle created by the hair is proportional to the horizontal speed.

Such small clues always simplify matters directly related to survival.

“Are you a freak?”

“It’s natural not to understand without trying it yourself. If Min Woo oppa wore twin tails, he’d understand everything right away.”

“No, I don’t particularly want to do that…”

“I can’t stand it! I’ll use the capsule first! Sorry, Min Woo oppa!”

Wiping the sweat from my brow with a towel, Arin laid down on the plush capsule seat.

“Whew! It’s so refreshing!”

As the door slowly closed, the interface screen activated by Arin was projected as a hologram above.

[Connecting to Void Space.]

[User Name: Na-me is so cute! Welcome!]

For a moment, Arin’s nickname reminded me of a troublesome viewer in our room, ‘NoName must protect the baby,’ and I was startled.

That’s right; Arin was using such a nickname too.

I should tell her to change it later.

“Are you going to play LoL?”

“You think Arin plays LoL?”

“That’s probably all she knows how to play, right?”

“Yeah! I’m good at Yuumi!”

With her bravely starting to play LoL.

Once she logged into her account and pressed the start game button, she was taken to a white site screen instead of the battlefield.

[Hello, this is Legacy of Legends.]

“Starting the game isn’t clickable!”

[Number of days of suspension according to the Game Industry Promotion Law: 10 days]

Where were the blood-soaked battlefields, only a woeful apology welcoming us back.

“Then, if it’s alright, would you like to try World of Arcelia instead, Arin?”

Yes, Lara also seemed to have liked that game.

World of Arcelia is a game suitable for all ages as long as it’s not Nightmare.

[Hello, this is World of Arcelia.]

[Number of days of suspension according to the Game Industry Promotion Law: 1 month]

In the Korean online gaming market, two nations that were once embroiled in the Three Kingdoms were merely annihilated at the same moment.

It was a touching Daoist oath.