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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Those who had awakened through the program called the ‘Awakener System’ all gained abilities and knowledge.
For example, a person who awakened the Flame Magic Trait would gain an aptitude for magic, mana, and knowledge of flame magic.
Furthermore, Awakeners were generally able to grow even more by sharing knowledge.
Although those who awakened the Flame Magic Trait mainly used flame magic, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t use other types of magic.
For that reason, various fields of ability — such as Magic, Aura, Psionics, and Spirit Arts — developed by sharing knowledge.
However… I was different.
‘The world’s only Martial Arts Trait Awakener.’
Because I was the only one in the world, I received a lot of attention.
Especially since martial arts was a relatively familiar subject to the people of the East, many had high hopes for me.
“……”
And I failed to live up to those expectations.
What I had gained upon awakening was, in the end, nothing more than a body suited for martial arts and only the basic knowledge of it.
I had to create the internal energy-related martial arts known as Internal Energy Cultivation Method, from feeling the internal energy and accumulating it in my Dantian, to Qi Circulation and Dantian Breathing, all by myself, from start to finish.
‘Although I had the System’s help, I’m no genius.’
Naturally, the process was anything but easy.
The nation provided me with active support, but the problem was those who tried to monopolize the new concept of martial arts through me.
They were the ones who didn’t just try to harm me, but they even went so far as to kidnap my mother to lure me in.
Because of them, I became worn down, and after I finally got a grip on myself, it inevitably took a very long time for me to create my martial arts.
‘…I went through such hardship to finally create my martial arts, and I did grow by gaining enlightenment.’
The enlightenment I gained was the question of whether there was any need to be bound by the framework of ‘martial arts.’
Mages ignore the laws of physics by using mana to cast magic.
Knights were not only able to do things similar to martial artists, such as creating a sword energy called an Aura Blade or strengthening their bodies with aura, but they could also cause various phenomena by applying their aura.
Espers viewed the world from a different perspective than ordinary humans and forced certain phenomena to occur.
Spiritmancers performed miracles by borrowing the power of nature called spirits.
‘Would martial arts be any different?’
The magic of mages, the aura of knights, the psionic powers of espers, the spirits of spiritmancers.
Their knowledge was so widespread that even I could obtain it, and by comparing their knowledge, I came to a realization.
The fact that while I gathered internal energy in my Lower Dantian, mages and knights gathered mana or aura in their Middle Dantian (the heart), and espers and spiritmancers gathered psychic power or spirit power in their Upper Dantian (the brain).
To put it another way…
‘If I gathered internal energy in my Middle or Upper Dantian, couldn’t I do similar things as them?’
At a glance, I thought it might be no different from an act of madness, but I trusted the Awakener System.
Because up until then, the Awakener System had always warned me in advance whenever it seemed like I was about to suffer from Qi Deviation.
And I succeeded.
As my internal energy began to accumulate in my Middle Dantian, I was able to imitate magic and aura.
‘From then on, I entered secluded training.’
I decided to cut off all contact with the people around me and go to a quiet place to train.
As time passed, just as I had succeeded in imitating magic and aura by accumulating internal energy in my Middle Dantian, I was able to use psionic powers by gathering internal energy in my Upper Dantian.
Although, I was unable to use Spirit Arts, perhaps because I couldn’t perceive the existence of spirits.
Being able to use magic, aura, and even psionic powers like that, my perspective on the world changed.
Thinking that I had been wrong about martial arts all this time, I began to create my martial arts again from scratch.
How much time had passed after that?
When I judged that it was time to start correcting my martial arts through actual combat, I returned to society.
‘…If only I had come out a little sooner.’
And then I came to know of the fact that the world had been destroyed while I was in secluded training.
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I walked along the road.
As I did, I saw the remains of destroyed buildings.
The countless skyscrapers that had once soared as if they didn’t know how high the sky was must have provoked the monsters’ displeasure, as most of them were left as mere traces like this.
‘Still, it’s a relief that the roads weren’t destroyed.’
The roads, which the monsters must have trampled on, were by no means in perfect condition, but their original form remained, and thanks to the occasional signs, I could roughly guess which area I was in.
However, that was the only thing I could guess. I couldn’t find any trace of survivors.
Knowing it would be like this, should I have just continued my secluded training instead of wandering around?
No, was it wrong of me to have coveted power and done the secluded training in the first place?
Would it have been better if I hadn’t gone into secluded training and had instead fought against the apocalypse with everyone else and died?
I walked on while mocking myself inwardly like that.
“Kruk?”
“Kyahak…!”
When you walk down a wide-open road, you are bound to attract the attention of beings who see moving things as prey.
Although I had noticed their presence, I paid them no mind and kept walking.
Those things can’t reach me anyway.
“Krawrr…!”
“Kyaaaak…!”
“!”
The monsters near the road charged straight at me.
But as I said a moment ago, those things can’t reach me anyway.
Kwajik…!
Pow!
The monsters that were charging at me exploded and died.
I didn’t even look at them and just kept walking.
Then, the monsters that saw this did not approach me.
Because even they possess a degree of fear.
Because even they possess that much intelligence.
‘Because they know I am a being they cannot defeat even if they all charge at me as a group.’
Just by being exposed to my ‘killing intent,’ the approaching monsters died.
Perhaps the monsters felt the difference in our levels after seeing me kill their kin with killing intent alone.
‘To think they’d feel a difference in levels from me, who hasn’t even completed a proper form of martial arts yet.’
I let out a hollow laugh and continued walking.
That was right, I still had not completed my martial arts.
If I had intended to be satisfied with a simple form of martial arts, I would have completed it and then some a long time ago.
But I was greedy.
Magic, aura, psionic powers.
I sought to create a martial art that could encompass and use all three of these powers.
Because my goal was set so high, I still had not completed my martial arts even now, decades after I had finished my secluded training and come out.
‘I have a rough framework, but….’
I had built the foundation through secluded training and increased its completeness by slaughtering monsters for the past few decades, but… something was lacking.
And I had an idea of what the final piece to complete my martial arts was.
‘I need a fight against an opponent stronger than me.’
I needed a fight with a being who possessed greater power and superior techniques than I did.
But ironically, my power, with only that one step remaining, had already become far too strong.
I had tried reluctantly diving into the middle of countless monsters bare-bodied, or deliberately raising a few monsters to make them strong enough to endanger my life before fighting them, but it was all meaningless.
‘Just because they have greater power than me doesn’t mean their techniques are superior to mine.’
Considering the intelligence of monsters, there might be some with superior strength, but it was unlikely that there were any with superior techniques.
“Well… Even if I meet a monster like that… Even if I complete my martial arts that way, I guess nothing will change.”
The world had already ended.
In a world like this, becoming stronger than I am now has no merit other than simply surviving a little longer.
The martial artists in novels were said to retreat into the mountains to achieve ascension, but I had no intention of going that far.
I just want to find survivors, get along with them, live together, and die together.
In that sense…
‘I’ve arrived.’
I thought to myself as I looked at the giant dome.
It wasn’t a building.
It was a barrier erected by someone to protect the people inside.
The trace of survivors that I had finally found after wandering the entire country for decades.
‘I wonder who put it up.’
An expert capable of erecting such a massive barrier would have to be a figure famous enough for even me to know.
Or it could be a new expert who appeared after I entered my secluded training.
Considering the time I spent in secluded training and the time that has passed since then, the latter was more likely.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
What was important was that someone had erected a barrier.
That someone was alive.
‘Let’s see…’
I observed the barrier closely.
With my current self, it would be possible for me to forcibly open the barrier and enter, but that would inconvenience the survivors who might be inside.
And since I had also learned magic, I had some expertise when it came to barriers.
Therefore…
‘If I just slice from here to here, it won’t affect the entire barrier.’
I slightly modified the barrier.
The overall effect remained the same, but it was done in a way that would temporarily create a small opening for me to enter.
Zzziiing….
Once I finished modifying it, the barrier in front of me opened slightly.
Seeing that, I quickly entered the barrier’s interior before it could close again.
As I did, I thought.
‘The person who put up the barrier must have noticed my presence by now, right?’
I didn’t know who had erected the barrier, but I had no intention of being hostile, so I disarmed myself and put my weapon in my bag.
Although my “armament” was only the old sword at my waist and an overcoat made of troll leather.
However…
“Hmm…”
Why aren’t they coming out to meet me?
If they knew that someone had modified the barrier and entered, they should have come to find me, at least to confirm who it was that did it.
“……”
Having thought that far, I felt a sense of unease for no reason.
No way.
It can’t be.
‘Right, they must be in a state where they can’t move because they’re maintaining the barrier.’
Indeed, the strain of maintaining a barrier that large must be immense.
Rather, it would have been stranger if they had come looking for me while maintaining such a barrier.
I said that and tried to convince myself.
…Because I didn’t want to believe it.
Because I didn’t want to believe that all that remained here was the barrier, and that there were no survivors inside.
“……”
I started walking again.
I didn’t want to believe it, but I still had to check.
I had to cling to my last hope.
If there were any survivors left, they would surely be near the core of the barrier.
However…
“……”
As I entered the huge stadium where I assume the barrier’s core is at, I couldn’t help but grit my teeth.
‘What a mess.’
On the floor was a magic circle for maintaining the barrier, and at its center, a woman sat with her eyes closed.
Looking only at that, it seemed truly peaceful, but outside the magic circle, the situation was completely different.
Corpses.
What filled the area outside the magic circle were all corpses.
‘The wounds are all different.’
There were people with sword slashes, people who had been burned to death, people who had been impaled by something…
‘…Then the woman who is maintaining the barrier is…?’
I turned my head to check on the woman sitting in the center of the magic circle.
But she was…
“……”
A corpse.
A corpse, not a living person, was maintaining this barrier.
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T/N – Hey guys! JayM here, back at it again with another novel.
Okay, an interesting premise. Martial arts that can mimic other forms of powers. And with that background, it also means that anyone else can also learn this as long as the MC completes it and makes it public.
I thought it was going to be some boring generic martial arts novel, but I’m always a fan of mixing other forms of power together. As long as the author can make the techniques have the distinct flavor of the other powers and not just be pure martial arts, then they’ll be cooking.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
