Day 8 of Recovery
Yoo sat in the meditation chamber, forcing his battered body to circulate Gi properly.
Iron Rank 15 meant his energy pathways were fully formed—adult equivalent despite his four-year-old appearance. But the void rift sealing had scorched those pathways, left burns that normal healing couldn't reach.
Breathe. Channel. Circulate.
The Gi moved sluggishly, like pushing water through damaged pipes. Every circulation sent sparks of pain through his chest.
"Pathway damage: 67% recovered. Estimated full recovery: six additional days. However, scar tissue forming. Permanent efficiency reduction: 3–4%. Acceptable cost."
Three percent less efficient forever. For one rift closure.
"Affirmative. Extrapolate: sixty-two more rifts at similar cost equals cumulative efficiency loss of approximately 190–250%. However, diminishing returns and increasing resistance mean actual impact will be nonlinear. Estimate: after fifteen to twenty closures, host body will be unable to channel Gi effectively. Mission continuation becomes impossible."
So I have maybe fifteen closures before my body breaks permanently.
"Correct. Therefore: must improve technique dramatically or accept mission failure after fifteen to twenty successful seals."
Yoo opened his eyes. The meditation chamber was simple—bare walls, soft lighting, privacy wards. Academy provided it for intensive recovery.
Really, they wanted to study how he healed from near-erasure.
He could feel the monitoring equipment hidden in the walls. The sensors tracking his every vital sign. The academy's research division documenting the impossible child who survived touching the void.
I'm still a specimen. Just a useful one now.
The door opened. Seo-yeon entered without knocking—her usual style.
She was Bronze 9 now. Close to Iron breakthrough. Training had accelerated during Yoo's three-month spatial focus. She'd taken his temporary absence as a challenge.
"You look terrible," she announced.
"Thanks. You look like you've been rolling in dirt."
"Combat training. Sergeant Park made us spar for six hours." She dropped onto the floor beside him, unconcerned with meditation chamber etiquette. "Heard you're cleared for light training tomorrow. Want to spar?"
"You want to fight someone who almost died a week ago?"
"You're Iron 15. I'm Bronze 9. Even half-dead, you're probably stronger." She grinned. "Besides, I need to test something."
"Test what?"
"New technique I developed. Energy projection at range. Like your Bind but different. More... explosive."
She's been advancing while I've been sealed in training and missions.
"Show me."
Seo-yeon stood, extended her hand. Her Gi gathered—visible as faint lightning crackling between fingers.
Then she thrust forward.
A bolt of energy shot across the chamber, hit the far wall with a sharp crack, left a scorch mark.
Yoo blinked. "That's— that's Gold-rank level technique. How did you—"
"I watched Master Yoon during your rift closure. She was channeling energy to monitor the sealing. I saw the pattern. Figured out how to replicate it on a smaller scale." Seo-yeon looked at her hand, fascinated. "Took me three days of practice. Nearly blew my fingers off twice. But it works."
She's a natural. True prodigy. While I'm manufactured anomaly—reincarnated consciousness with cheat abilities—she's earning her growth through pure talent and effort.
"That's impressive," Yoo said honestly. "Really impressive."
"Thanks. Now stop meditating and help me refine it. You're the genius anomaly. Give me pointers."
"I'm recovering from—"
"From being incredible. Yeah, I know. But you're also bored. I can see it. So help me train, and we both benefit."
She was right. Sitting still was driving him insane.
"Fine. But we're doing theory first. No explosions until I'm sure you won't kill us both."
Seo-yeon beamed. "Deal."
That Evening — Jae-sung's Quarters
Yoo found his father reviewing mission reports. Platinum-rank hunters were being deployed constantly now—void rifts attracted monsters, and the perimeter defenses needed reinforcement.
"Busy?" Yoo asked.
"Always." Jae-sung gestured for him to sit. "But never too busy for you. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Just…" Yoo hesitated. "Akasha calculated something. I can only do fifteen to twenty rift closures before my body breaks permanently. After that, my Gi pathways will be too damaged to function."
Jae-sung went very still. "You're saying you can close twenty rifts maximum. Out of sixty-three total."
"Yes."
"Meaning forty-three rifts remain unsealed. Leading to—"
"Partial dimensional collapse. Not total extinction. But catastrophic damage. Possibly billions dead anyway."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Jae-sung spoke: "What if we evacuate those areas? Move people away from unsealed rift zones before collapse?"
"Sixty-three rifts scattered across Korea, Japan, and China. Evacuation zones would require moving—" Yoo did a quick calculation "—approximately two billion people. In five months. While fighting monster incursions and resource shortages."
"Impossible."
"Probably."
Jae-sung leaned back, rubbing his face. "So we're back to: save who we can, lose the rest."
"Unless I can improve my technique enough to close all sixty-three without destroying my body. Or—" Yoo's mind raced "—find other spatial users. Train them. Distribute the load."
"Master Yoon said most spatial users died trying to seal rifts. You're the only success."
"Because I'm anomaly with pocket dimension that I can draw energy from. But maybe— maybe I can teach that. Use Extras World as shared resource somehow."
"That's theoretical."
"Everything about me is theoretical. I'm reincarnated consciousness with dragon DNA and dimensional manipulation. If theoretical works for me, maybe it works for others."
Jae-sung considered. "You'd need to find other spatial users. Test the theory. Train them. All while continuing your own closures and recovering from each one."
"I know. It's insane."
"It's the best plan we have." Jae-sung stood. "I'll talk to Min-ji. Get access to academy's registry of spatial-affinity hunters. We'll screen for candidates."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. This might not work." Jae-sung touched Yoo's shoulder gently—avoiding the bandaged areas. "But you're right. We try everything before giving up. That's how we've survived this long."
Together. We survive together.
Day 10 — The Marketplace Encounter
Yoo had been cleared for light activity. He wandered the academy marketplace, observing.
The market had grown since his first visit—more traders, more goods, more desperation as resources became scarcer.
And there—at the same hidden alley entrance—sat Han.
The mysterious trader who'd given Yoo the dragon core. Who'd asked for "one favor" in return.