What exactly is talent?

As a child, Seti often wondered about it. What was talent that it caused so much suffering for her and her sisters?

Even when she was beaten with hundreds of rods to master Feather Step. Even when her palms tore as she trained in Cheondun Swordsmanship…

She couldn’t understand.

What was this thing called talent, that her peers were treated as defective just because they couldn’t master a single kick?

What was talent, that her sisters had to be whipped every day?

It wasn’t the government or the cruel overseers who answered her question.

It was the three brilliant talents, the true geniuses the government compared her sisters to.

The Vessel, the Saintess, and Jeon Yoon-seong...

It was only after she was utterly defeated by them that she realized what talent truly was.

Talent is the light that draws in a person’s soul.

It’s the firewood of burning jealousy, the unreachable moonlight, the constellation that guides you toward the future.

The day she realized this... she cried all night.

She cried because she hated the government for comparing her to them, cried because she pitied her sisters who had lost just like her, and cried because she was born without talent.

And now, in the present.

She felt like crying again, though for different reasons.

 

When Seti suggested they test his talent, Dung Beetle agreed without much thought.

After all, he too was curious about his own abilities.

“Shall we start with Feather Step? I need to see how much you’ve mastered.”

As soon as they arrived at an open area behind the motel, Seti spoke first.

She wasn’t simply asking for a demonstration, as she first explained the fundamentals of Feather Step.

How to guide mana through the muscles, how to move the body precisely to maintain form, where to direct mana for the optimal stance...

Her guidance wasn’t that different from what Dung Beetle had discovered on his own.

The only notable difference was that he had to use mana in his upper body in a coordinated way along with his lower body.

It was a small piece of advice, but it was enough to greatly help Dung Beetle.

The more he understood how to move mana through his body, the more possibilities opened for him to apply it.

“Now, show me the basic forms.”

“The basic forms?”

“The techniques. Show me all the Feather Step techniques you know.”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Dung Beetle’s feet were already moving.

He started with the most basic kicks, followed by the gliding steps, aerial kicks, and finally, the downward strike known as Jin Gak.

One seamless display of Feather Step flowed from his feet, as if it were all a single, uninterrupted movement.

“Uh...”

When the demonstration ended, Seti stared at him with a stunned expression, as though she had just witnessed something unbelievable.

She remained silent for a long time, looking at him before suddenly asking an odd question.

“...Dung Beetle, have you ever thought about what the true essence of Feather Step is?”

“True essence?”

“The core, the meaning... To put it simply, what do you think the creator of the martial art had in mind when they created it?”

Why is she asking me this? Dung Beetle furrowed his brow slightly but knew Seti wouldn’t ask for no reason.

After some serious consideration, he gave his answer.

“I’d say... connection.”

“...Connection?”

“You connect the ground with your feet, leap and connect the sky with yourself. Once the sky, myself, and the earth are connected, the mana that starts at the feet is connected to the head by the same principle.”

“...”

“To me, that’s the true essence of Feather Step. I can’t think of a better way to express it.”

After providing his answer, Dung Beetle noticed Seti’s face had turned into one of pure shock.

Curious as to why she reacted this way, he asked.

“Is my interpretation that bad?”

“...”

“I know my ability to express myself is lacking. Just tell me honestly.”

Seti stared at him in disbelief, as if lost for words. After chewing on her lower lip for a moment, she suddenly asked a different question.

“Tell me the truth. Have you ever learned another martial art before?”

“No. Unless you count watching documentaries about superhumans.”

“...This is a scam.”

She muttered something about damned talented people under her breath before speaking again.

“Dung Beetle, your interpretation of Feather Step’s true essence—connection—is exactly right. Your description of the mana flow was as accurate as if you’d read it from a secret martial arts manual.”

“...Really?”

“Really? Is that all you have to say? You’re talking like it’s no big deal, and now I feel a little sad for myself.”

Seti sighed, feigning a sorrow she didn’t truly feel, before walking to the center of the clearing where Dung Beetle had just demonstrated Feather Step.

“I was originally going to help you perfect your Feather Step, but… I think we need to move on to the next thing.”

“The next thing?”

“I’m going to teach you a new martial art. Unlike Feather Step, this one isn’t known to the South Korean government.”

Seti took a stance as she spoke, widening her posture, with her right hand placed in front of her left.

It didn’t look like a combat stance—it resembled a dance position more than anything else.

“This martial art is called Pahyanggyul. It was discovered by China during their dimensional explorations.”

Pahyanggyul. For some reason, the unfamiliar name carried a faint scent of blood.

“The forms are simpler than Feather Step, so I’ll show you both the basic and advanced techniques at the same time.”

As Seti began to move, Dung Beetle focused intently. It was the first real martial art he was learning, and he wasn’t going to miss a single movement.

The technique started with a light hand gesture. Her fingers stretched out, slicing through the air with a blade-like motion, as her hand moved smoothly as if scooping water.

“The foundation of Pahyanggyul is to treat the mana in your body like water. Just as a river flows, mana should flow through your body.”

After saying this, Seti folded her hand and clenched her fist.

“Once you’ve created a river, then comes the flood.”

Her muscles contracted, and the mana inside her began to surge violently. The change was so intense, it felt as though the mana would overflow at any moment.

“After the flood comes the wave.”

Wham! As Seti swung her fist, the overflowing mana concentrated into her fist. The force was so immense that even Dung Beetle squinted at the sheer power.

“The deeper the water, the larger the wave. The power of Pahyanggyul depends solely on the user’s mana and skill level. Like this!”

When Seti brought her fist down, the mana that had gathered in her fist struck the air.

!!!

A soundless shockwave rippled out from her fist, flattening the grass around them and sending leaves falling from the trees.

The power contained in her punch was comparable to, if not greater than, Jin Gak, the strongest Feather Step technique.

‘So this is… real martial arts.’

Covered in the dust kicked up by the shockwave, Dung Beetle squinted as he stared at Seti’s fist.

“How was that? It’s a bit more challenging since it focuses on mana control, but the potential applications are endless.”

Dung Beetle didn’t respond. To be precise, he couldn’t respond.

His mind was consumed with thoughts about the new way to control mana he had just witnessed. There was no room for any other thoughts—his mind was completely absorbed by a continuous stream of realizations.

He had entered a state of Muah, a state of enlightenment commonly referred to by superhumans as a moment of insight and by magicians as awakening.

Unfortunately, Seti didn’t realize the state he was in and continued explaining.

“If you apply Pahyanggyul to Feather Step, even the government won’t be able to recognize it.”

“...”

“Once you practice wrapping mana around weapons, you’ll be able to apply it to them too. Eventually, you’ll be able to infuse waves into every strike.”

“...”

“I don’t have much talent with mana myself, so I haven’t been able to fully master it... but you’re different…”

At that point, Seti finally realized something was off about Dung Beetle’s lack of response.

“Hello?”

She cautiously examined his face. His breathing was steady, his gaze unfocused, and the mana within him had frozen as if he were dead.

Had he really entered a state of enlightenment after just one demonstration?

It only took her a moment to realize what had happened to him. Her thoughts raced through surprise, envy, and astonishment in rapid succession.

“This is a scam…”

 

The past few days had been nothing but chaos for the Janitors' Guild.

The entire team of their best foreman had been murdered, then the next day, the workshop manager disappeared.

To make matters worse, even the notorious “warehouse” that everyone in the know had heard of had mysteriously burned down, forcing the branch manager, who was rarely seen, to visit the scene, constantly in and out of the fire station and police department.

The junior members didn’t care and just went about their work, but the more experienced janitors sensed an ominous atmosphere.

And that sense of foreboding peaked when they were assigned to clean Pier 13, which had been sealed off.

The pier was soaked in filth, with piles of meat strewn across the ground and the corpses of well-dressed men who were clearly government officials...

The scene screamed of something far beyond the ordinary.

The fact that not a single article appeared on TV or the internet was a clear sign that someone higher up was suppressing the rumors.

—See nothing, hear nothing.

The janitors turned a blind eye in unison.

Ever since the new guy who asked what the hell those disgusting bodies were vanished without a trace, no one even whispered a word.

Of course, not every janitor kept their mouth shut. There were always those who didn’t value their lives.

Janitor Park Gu-shik was the prime example of someone who didn’t know how to value his own life.

A heavy drinker who blurted out everything he knew when drunk, he once again spilled secrets he shouldn’t have the moment he got wasted.

—This city’s insane! There’s a killer on the loose, but the cops haven’t even started investigating!

—Do you know how many people this maniac has killed? I’ve seen it myself! Dozens! And it’s not just humans, they killed two elves too!

—Hell, I bet the guy who killed the foreman is the same guy who wrecked Pier 13. I’m telling you, it’s the same guy!

The bartender, used to hearing drunks spout nonsense, simply chuckled and ushered him out, saying, “You’re pretty drunk tonight, aren’t you?”

—Ugh, filthy city. MacArthur here, MacArthur there. Damn it, is this America or Korea?

Stumbling through the streets of Incheon, Park Gu-shik made his way home.

His shabby, musty basement room, the only place he could call his own.

Creaaak.

As he opened the rusted door with a screech, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

“What the he... huh?!”

As he turned around irritably, something cold poked into his cheek.

A sword. The thing that tapped his shoulder wasn’t a hand, but a sword aimed directly at him.

The sight of the blade instantly sobered Park Gu-shik up. He raised his hands above his head and pleaded pitifully.

“I-I’ll give you all the money I have! There’s a wallet in my right pocket, just please spare my life…”

“We’re not robbers.”

The person holding the sword was a woman. A woman with an eerily beautiful voice.

“Th-then what do you want…?”

“Do you remember what you said in that bar earlier?”

“Said in the bar?”

Desperately racking his brain, Park Gu-shik recalled what he had blurted out. The moment it dawned on him, a wave of terror washed over him like the sky collapsing.

‘The higher-ups? Have they been watching me?’

He trembled as he tried to beg for his life. He wanted to explain that he had no intention of defying the government, that it was just drunken rambling.

But before he could even open his mouth, that beautiful voice silenced him.

“The murdered elves.”

Elves? The unexpected word made Park Gu-shik cautiously turn around. Behind him, two tall shadows stretched across the ground.

Their silhouettes were slender, almost model-like. Park Gu-shik, sizing them up for a possible fight, lifted his head.

And immediately, he dropped it.

Both of them had long ears—something no human on Earth could ever have.

“Tell us everything you know about those elves.”