NOVEL WEB Chapter 10
The aftereffects of the ritual have ended.
Jinseong’s body was healthy, and there were no lingering aftereffects whatsoever.
‘If it were before the rewind, I would’ve immediately conducted another ritual.’
In the past, he relentlessly repeated rituals, eager to confirm any unverified magic he stumbled upon, once he recovered.
Watching him, a close companion mercenary remarked, “It’s not like a video game character uses their skills right after the cooldown ends; what are you doing?”
‘That no longer holds any meaning now.’
That’s not to say his disposition had changed.
Jinseong’s past and future.
Time twisted and turned, bringing Jinseong back to the past, yet it was not much different from that time when he couldn’t withstand the side effects of magic and ultimately burned his body along with the unverified spell.
‘No matter where the flames arise, their essence remains unchanged; even if the body and time change, if the mind and soul are the same, then that essence does not change.’
Anytime he discovers unverified magic, he will learn it, and when he finds an unverified ritual, he will perform it alone. Magic is his everything; it is his very life.
He simply realized now.
That, like before, it would amount to no more than a fleeting spark.
‘Having already laid the foundation, what I need now is a robust body and wealth.’
A robust body.
An expression widely used everywhere.
In gyms, in the military, on construction sites.
If it’s a job that relies on physicality, one would surely have seen this expression.
However, for Jinseong, the “robust body” he needed referred to a different kind of physique than the commonly used term. The body he sought to create was not merely built through physical training.
‘Robustness. The ultimate foundation shaped by knowledge and talent.’
If it ended with just physical prowess and muscle-building, Jinseong’s life would not have ended so pointlessly.
Being a mercenary is a profession where the body is an asset.
Mercenaries are treated as “consumables eligible for purchase with money,” much easier to utilize than soldiers, and often required to possess physical prowess beyond even special forces.
In the fierce battles where one’s head could roll at any moment, it was only their strength and armed force that could protect their lives.
As such, the body of the past Jinseong was quite impressive.
He carried firearms and hand grenades, along with materials for various rituals, and thus, he was not lacking in strength compared to ordinary mercenaries.
Moreover, knowing countless recovery rituals meant he had little need to worry about injuries.
No, at least he shouldn’t have needed to…
His kidneys burst.
His lungs collapsed.
His intestines were torn in half.
His organs ceased functioning, rendering him impotent.
The extremities of his body rotted, and mold began to sprout.
Recovery was of no use.
The ruptured kidney came back, but it would burst again.
The collapsed lung shrank further.
Even if the torn intestines regenerated, they turned into lumps of cancer in precisely those spots.
No matter what methods were applied, the mold sprouted again, and his body continued to decay.
The lost reproductive capabilities never returned.
Even if his body healed, it was only for a brief moment.
The human body could not withstand continuous recovery and injury, and the untrained interior left scars that sustained issues. Jinseong’s body could fend off illness, yet it could not root it out completely and could heal injuries, but never returned to its original state.
Upon seeing him like that, one of his close companions cringed and said it horrifically.
“Hey! Crazy shaman! You’re from a good family, why are you rolling around in this sewer? You could use your family’s money to master the magic you like. Spend lavishly, pull in connections. Gather information! How great is that?”
It was when he barely returned after participating in the European civil war and suffering greatly.
Perhaps it was because he had sufficient confidence in their friendship that the question emerged.
Either that or it was just a casual check-in to either receive an answer or not.
What was clear was that that donkey-like human surely believed Jinseong would answer his question.
But Jinseong replied to that question simply.
‘While magic can be obtained that way, transcending it is not possible.’
Hearing that, the companion scoffed, thinking, ‘What nonsense.’
However, whether his companion laughed or not, Jinseong held onto that thought unwaveringly.
Even amidst the harsh mercenary life, while the world descended into chaos.
When he was ultimately killed by the warriors of China.
When he became a despised entity, ridiculed as a parasite.
And even to that moment when he burned himself due to the side effects of the hastily learned magic.
He had no regrets about his journey.
But having returned through time, now healthy, there was no need to repeat the past.
Humans are creatures that learn and grow from their past mistakes.
‘The reason I couldn’t transcend was due to my physical limits.’
The stacking of the mercenary life’s burdens and the side effects of rituals had led him to a point where even momentary recoveries were out of reach, and he merely clung to life through all sorts of means.
This was all due to the insignificantly limited body of Jinseong.
He tried to endure it all with a normal person’s body right from the start, so mishaps were bound to happen.
‘But it’s indeed difficult for a shaman to create a robust body.’
When it comes to martial arts, very few possess the “robust body” as per Jinseong’s standards. The popularity of internal abilities utilizing qi rather than external physical training rose due to such difficulties, but additionally, honing the human body to its limits was exceedingly challenging. It was a field that required specialized knowledge beyond merely gathering energy and refining it.
Even the specifics called for at least university-level knowledge.
Telomeres related to lifespan.
Synapses related to reaction time.
Immune systems related to resistance.
Adrenaline and endorphins, closely tied to combat.
The liver, involved in detoxification.
…
…
…
Listing them goes on endlessly through the myriad components that constitute the human body.
Among these countless elements, Jinseong sought longevity and resistance.
‘I am a shaman. Thus, a body that exceeds necessity is merely greed.’
The magic he primarily used was primitive sorcery and forgotten spells.
Unlike the so-called “refined” modern magic, which strips away symbolism and minimizes side effects while allowing for significant benefits, his spells bore severe side effects but also provided substantial returns. With determination alone, he could substitute reaction speed, memory, and regenerative abilities necessary for combat.
‘When it comes to construction, the foundation is paramount. Yet, I cannot practice that, which is truly regrettable.’
The problem was that, as of now, Jinseong had no way to enhance his immune system and telomeres.
‘Wealth and connections.’
The reason was simple.
Because he had neither money nor connections.
To be exact, he lacked the money and connections required to gain access to the inner circle, those who knew how to enhance the immune system and telomeres.
‘Only the wealthy with a long history of power can access that.’
Long ago, perhaps even when humanity first began forming tribes.
Those in power wanted to maintain their authority for eons and feared the poison their rivals would send their way. With that, longevity techniques and detoxification methods developed dazzlingly, yet still, the desires of power holders remained unfulfilled.
And now.
In modernity, those desires have come to fruition to some extent.
“ॐ-”
In an age of information, with rapidly advancing science, a capitalism where anything can be bought with money, a staggering population of 7 billion, and the occasional emergence of geniuses.
All those elements combined, methods to meaningfully enhance telomeres and the immune system have emerged.
But the power holders would never release that information to the general populace.
Naturally, this “amazing secret that extends lifespan and alleviates the fear of poison” circulated only among the rich and powerful, becoming knowledge exclusive to them, inaccessible to ordinary people.
‘Lifespan, immunity…’
The most vital aspect is immunity.
Lifespan will matter nothing if he achieves transcendence, so it’s not a concern, but immunity was essential.
Without immunity, the risk of meeting the same tragic end as before remains significant.
“First things first, I need money.”
Connections, wealth, power.
These three are intertwined.
Just having one of the three can somehow lead to acquiring the other two.
Jinseong pulled out a jar from his pocket.
A jar with a bluish eye-shaped design engraved on it.
“Head, head. Where is the brightest gold?”
As he brought his mouth close to the jar and whispered, the eye-shaped design bulged as if alive before glaring at him.
Crack!
The eye soon morphed into a mouth. Like that of a long fish, it opened wide, biting forcefully into Jinseong’s hand with its teeth that jutted out to the roof of its mouth. Only after feasting on the blood trickling from Jinseong’s hand did it turn into smoke and retreat back into the jar.
What remained was the grayish eye design and shimmering golden smoke only visible to the Jinseong’s eyes.
Jinseong began to follow the golden smoke.
* * *
“Such a nice road.”
Jinseong smirked while gazing at a shabby building.
On the second and third floors of the run-down structure hung signs reading “Great Mother Capital” and “Sambon Money.”