From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 78: Fenrir Pt. 3

The fact that the level of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mana stream had risen meant that it was very different from a skill that could be obtained through the sponsorship of a Sponsor.

When one was gifted a skill by a Sponsor, that meant that their ability to use it was intuitive. Basically, they used the sponsorship as a medium for channeling the skill. In other terms, it meant that one could use it unconsciously.

‘Some other skills, though, including mana stream…’

The stuff that Hunters created by themselves were different, though. The Hunters needed to have in-depth knowledge and enlightenment about mana and the skills themselves. Furthermore, when the level of those skills increased, it meant that their understanding of those skills would increase as well.

Now that the level of his mana stream had changed, the world that Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to see had also changed.

The flow of mana became more transparent, and his ability to handle mana had also improved.

But the most significant change as the level of his mana stream went up was gaining the qualification?to pass on his skills to someone else.

He stated, “You’ve already learned at least part of what makes up a mana stream, Mr. Jeong.”

As his understanding of the mana stream had increased, it made it easier for him to transfer his understanding of the principle behind it. Furthermore, Jeong In-Chang had already partially learned about the principle behind the mana stream anyway.

.

Even while he was ignorant about the existence of the mana stream, he had gained the ability to use it through the blue flames on his greatsword.

‘Is it because the Dragon’s Bloodstone is mixing with his mana and infusing into his body?’

He had a hunch it was somewhat related to the Dragon’s Bloodstone’s ability. By looking at the state of the Dragon’s Bloodstone in Jeong In-Chang’s greatsword, he could tell that its regeneration rate wasn’t rising at the same speed as compared to before.

“So… are you telling me to focus and look at the mana?” Jeong In-Chang asked.

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded. “Yes.”

Jeong In-Chang’s eyes lit up. “So that’s why you were meditating like that, Mr. Lee.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong explained, “To be precise, meditation is not the important part. It’s about taking the time to see and feel the flow of mana itself. To get used to it.”

“So…” Jeong In-Chang said while gesturing at his chest, “You’re telling me to learn that, right?”

"Yes."

"…"

Jeong In-Chang's expression betrayed his massive concern.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be strong?" Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.

The other man hesitated and said, "It is, but…"

To think that he was being told that he had to observe the mana flow without any notice. How was he expected to observe mana without even having any idea what it looked like?

‘I probably won’t be able to learn it…’

Jeong In-Chang had been lamenting about his intelligence these days. He wondered what he would do when faced with a way to become stronger. How much could he accomplish when he seemed to have a useless brain and an inability to learn anything?

As if he had noticed Jeong In-Chang’s self-deprecating thoughts, Lee Jun-Kyeong approached and put his hand on the Hunter’s shoulder.

“You don’t learn something like this with your head.”

“AHHHH!”

At that moment, Jeong In-Chang dropped to his knees. He screamed at the influx of mana that came rushing into his body.

“Goongje!!”

The princess heard Jeong In-Chang’s cry and tried to run forward.

“...”

But, after being on the other end of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s gaze, it stopped immediately on the spot. The doll felt that he wasn’t harming Jeong In-Chang.

Instead, this entire event was for his benefit.

“Ugh…”

Eventually, as if the pain had subsided, Jeong In-Chang was able to take a moment to look over himself with a tear-drenched face.

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at him and said, “You’ll have to learn it with your body.”

He had realized it when the level of his mana stream went up. It had been pure coincidence that he had been able to learn mana stream through the book of the Demon King.

‘I also…’

He had also received help from the Dragon’s Bloodstone. When it had reversed due to the unexpected clash with the red ore, he had gotten the trick. That was why he had been able to awaken mana stream.

He had confirmed it now as his understanding of mana stream had increased. The easiest way for someone to learn how to use mana stream would be to be beaten by those who had already grasped it.

Lee Jun-Kyeong warned, “Be ready. It’s going to be so hard from this point on that you’re going to want to die.”

“Gr…eat.”

Jeong In-Chang passed out on the spot with his face red from pain and tears welling up.

***

What Lee Jun-Kyeong had done to teach Jeong In-Chang was to inject him with a flow of mana forcibly. Since it wasn’t Jeong In-Chang’s natural mana and was being forced into his system, it caused the flow of his mana to be entangled and damaged, causing great pain.

However, it was the most efficient way to teach Jeong In-Chang at Lee Jun-Kyeong’s current level of mana stream.

A few days had passed since Jeong In-Chang had started being taught.

"Ugh…" he moaned.

He had been forcefully imprinted with the flow of mana. At first, Jeong In-Chang had fainted after the injections of mana had ended.

“Th… thank… thank you…” he murmured over and over.

Now, he had reached a level where he could keep his sanity. However, he wouldn’t be able to learn mana stream just by enduring pain. Even Lee Jun-Kyeong had no idea when the Hunter would awaken his own mana stream.

All he could do was just wait for that day and continue to “teach” him over and over again.

[The proficiency of the mana stream has increased.]

Of course, this training hadn’t only benefited Jeong In-Chang. Lee Jun-Kyeong also had to understand how best to forcibly imprint the flow of mana on his target.

Drip.

Sweat trickled down his forehead. Whether it was the physical consumption or the dissipation of mana, Lee Jun-Kyeong had also felt the same.

Therefore, this “teaching” had also served as training, and his proficiency in mana stream had subsequently increased.

Ta da dak!

“Looks like you’re not getting any morning sickness anymore,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said from the top of the fast-paced Fenrir. After Jeong In-Chang had begun his hellish training, he had stopped getting motion sickness.

“I’m about to die from pain every day. How would I have the time to get motion sickness…” Jeong In-Chang had said to Lee Jun-Kyeong after collapsing after the day’s training.

“You’ll learn it soon enough,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said with a shrug.

Jeong In-Chang asked desperately, “If I can learn this… how much stronger do you think I can get?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong observed him quietly.

‘Looks like he’s hit a wall.’

It was clear that Jeong In-Chang was facing a bottleneck. He had been continually facing formidable enemies that kept appearing. He had grown much stronger, but with every enemy came another that was always stronger than him.

No matter how much effort he made, his rate of growth was slow.

That was because Jeong In-Chang was a normal Hunter.

He basically had no choice but to rely on his Sponsor for growth because the reward for his effort was not as great as the effort given.

He had reached the wall.

“At least this time,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said with emphasis. “You will finally be able to harvest the seeds of hard work you have sown properly, Mr. Jeong.”

“...”

Jeong In-Chang raised his head and looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“In addition, once the Dragon’s Bloodstone has completely regenerated in the future…” Lee Jun-Kyeong continued as he tapped Fenrir’s back. “You won’t lose to him either.”

“Growl.”

In response, Fenrir shook his head as if he was in a bad mood, and Jeong In-Chang laughed.

***

Fenrir sprinted across the continent at an incredibly fast pace. However, it wasn’t because there wasn’t anything blocking them. Not only did he have to eat quite a bit due to his size, but the monsters that appeared also grew stronger as the party progressed.

The worst of it was in Qingdao. As a coastal city, Qingdao had been completely submerged and frozen, and the whole city looked as though it had become a piece of ice.

In the end, the group had no choice but to skirt around the city, which had taken a little longer than expected. If there was anything good about the situation, then it was the improvement of the relationship between Jeong In-Chang and Fenrir.

“I'm sorry I didn’t know before,” he said as he approached Fenrir. Fenrir had transformed into a boy so he could rest for a while. Its gigantic appearance not only consumed an incredible amount of energy, but also drew the attention of those around it.

“Huh?”

Fenrir looked at the remorseful Jeong In-Chang and tilted his head.

Jeong In-Chang admitted, “Your back… I didn't know it was that comfortable."

"…?"

Lee Jun-Kyeong saw the whole interaction and burst into laughter. Jeong In-Chang had been so sick from motion sickness that he hadn’t been able to notice the most important thing.

However, now that he had overcome his motion sickness through their practice of the mana stream, he had finally been able to see what he had never seen before.

“How warm it was! Hohoho!” Jeong In-Chang said as if he was in a historical drama and smiled cheerfully.

Fenrir’s back was as warm as it was on Mt. Baekdu. This was because he was bonded to Lee Jun-Kyeong. The energy of fire had enveloped him, maintaining his body temperature.

Jeong In-Chang had only been able to feel the gratitude for that warmth at this point.

“Thanks to you also, Mr. Lee! Thank you for making me feel so warm! Hahaha!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was concerned.

‘Could I be injecting him with the flow of mana in a way that is wrong?’

He seriously wondered for a moment about if there was something bad that had happened to Jeong In-Chang’s head, but he soon realized that the Hunter simply looked tired.

Thump.

The reason he thought that was that the Hunter soon fell asleep as if he was drunk.

It made sense. He had immersed himself in his training without sleeping for several days. Even Lee Jun-Kyeong had been shocked enough for his jaw to drop.

As Jeong In-Chang got used to the pain, he had begun to urge Lee Jun-Kyeong to help him even more, as if he was enjoying it.

‘Little by little…’

Lee Jun-Kyeong believed that the Hunter was going to grow sooner or later.

“Growl!”

Then, Fenrir got up and looked somewhere.

"What's the matter?" Lee Jun-Kyeong said, but the boy continued to stare at something without any response.

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over in the same direction and then put his hand on Fenrir’s shoulder and asked, "Do you want to hunt?"

There was a monster where the boy was looking. However, it was something like an orc or a troll.

[Fenrir's favorite food is…]

–ROAR!

A roar was heard from afar. Just as Fenrir sensed it, it had sensed the wolf.

Boom, boom, boom!

The ground shook. The monster was coming this way.

"What do you want to do?" Lee Jun-Kyeong said provocatively to Fenrir.

For the first time, the boy answered with the correct pronunciation, “I want to do it.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong slapped Fenrir on the forehead with a thump and looked at the approaching monster.

"It's my first time hunting a drake…" he murmured.

[Drake.]

The drake was a high-ranking predator that would appear as a boss in an A-Grade Gate. Furthermore, this was a continent where the monsters were becoming stronger as the continent progressed in its gateization.

Lee Jun-Kyeong grinned. “Let’s try it out, then.”

Still, Lee Jun-Kyeong leaped forward without fear, and Fenrir roared as he watched Lee Jun-Kyeong going ahead.

“ROAR!!”

Suddenly, a white wolf was galloping across the white continent.

“Umm…”

“Goongje?”

***

The reason Lee Jun-Kyeong had suggested this hunt to Fenrir was simple. Although there must have also been a reason the boy had wanted to hunt the drake, more importantly, he had never had a proper fight alongside the brat.

He had become another Familiar, and would become a companion with whom he would spend countless hours together in the future.

Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t been able to test their strengths together properly. Until now, all they had done was move and let Fenrir hunt unilaterally.

Another thing was that he needed to test his familiar’s power too.

They would soon reach their destination, and there would be dangers that couldn’t be compared with the ones they had come across at this point.

To prepare, he was teaching Jeong In-Chang mana stream. As for Fenrir, he needed to check out his strength.

It was time. The strength that the boy actually had wasn’t anywhere near what he had shown at Mt. Baekdu. It wasn’t for nothing that he had been called names such as the Lord of the Beasts.

But now? Fenrir could be said to be even weaker than he was at Mt. Baekdu.

He had submitted, and they had united, and the wolf had become a Familiar.

During that process, the wolf had become ‘sealed.’

Far from being able to grow his strength, he was still tied to the weak Lee Jun-Kyeong. Thus, many of his stats were still sealed. But, as it was difficult to check his detailed abilities, Lee Jun-Kyeong had decided to figure out the wolf’s exact power through battle.

–ROAR!!!

A bright blue light beam flew towards them in a straight line. Although they were a subspecies of dragons—or even although they were a disappointment to the name of a subspecies of dragons, there was one reason that they were constantly mentioned in the same vein as dragons.

Their breath.

The strength of a drake lay in its ability to use breath.

Lee Jun-Kyeong would find it difficult to stop a drake’s breath at his current level of power.

–ROAR!!

But, before Lee Jun-Kyeong could even attempt to dodge, a white wolf blocked in front of him.

“Huh…?”

BOOM!

The white wolf gave a prolonged roar, and soon, a red beam of light blasted forth from its mouth.

Then, Lee Jun-Kyeong exclaimed in bewilderment, “This…? This was possible?”

Fenrir was using breath too.

–GRAH!

The blue and red rays collided and exploded, but that was only just the beginning. As the earth melted apart in a cloud of thick smoke, the white wolf advanced while bounding over broken fragments of ice.

Crunch!

The wolf bit the drake’s neck and broke through its spine.

“Y… you’re really sealed, right?” he sputtered.

Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t been able to do anything, to the point where it was embarrassing that he had asked the wolf to hunt together.