After having ice cream and returning home, we headed to a nearby mountain to practice with the test weapons Kang Chulyi had given us. It had been a while since I’d held a proper spear and my hands itched with anticipation. We didn’t have a suitable place to leave Seola, so we decided she could also enjoy the outdoors with us.

“I didn’t know this place existed.”

“It’s a bit different from what I remember.”

We entered a small path that led to a hidden clearing inside the mountain. This had been my training ground before the return when I didn’t have a better place to train. I realized this was the first time I’d brought someone else with me.

“Seola, sit here quietly. Okay?”

“Okay!”

“Good girl.”

“Hehe.”

Seola seemed content and obedient. To keep her from getting bored, I handed her my smartphone with some cartoons loaded onto it. She sat on a small mat, her bright eyes glued to the cartoons. After watching over Seola for a moment, I went over to Eunhye, who was stretching in the middle of the field.

“Have you been doing any exercise lately?”

“No, my body feels stiff.”

Eunhye, dressed in activewear, was doing side stretches. She had her hair tied up neatly in a ponytail that suited her well. Her fingers touched the ground as she bent at her waist, proving that she was still quite flexible.

I wished I had done more exercise when I was younger. Now, my body was much less agile and I had very little stamina. Even Seola managed to climb the mountain with fewer complaints than I did. It wasn’t a surprise considering my past self had barely thought about working out.

I really should start from scratch. I have a few years on my side compared to before and maybe I can climb even higher this time.

With a more positive outlook, I felt a bit refreshed. After warming up, I took hold of the spear. About two meters and twenty centimeters. A bit longer than what I’m used to.

The spear was slightly longer than my previous one, but it had the right weight and balance. It was a well-crafted weapon to offer as a test piece. The materials were just ordinary wood and steel, but it seemed like it would fetch a decent price.

All right. Let’s give it a try. Even though my physical abilities, including strength and stamina, had declined significantly, my knowledge of spear techniques remained intact. I adjusted my stance, turning my body diagonally with my left leg forward. Similarly, my left hand grasped the front of the shaft and my right hand held the end near my waist. The blade is shaking. I was in the correct posture, but I could see the blade trembling slightly. It seemed my strength was lacking. Instead of sticking to the basic posture, I shifted my stance.

Eunhye, who had been doing stretches, looked at me. “Seojun, your posture looks pretty good.”

“Does it look okay?”

“Yeah. Where did you learn it?”

“On the internet.”

This wasn’t true. I wasn’t talented enough to learn the art of wielding a spear through self-study alone. If anything, I leaned more toward being a novice. It had taken several years to stabilize my spear techniques. And now that my body could not keep up, I had fallen back into an unsteady state. But in the eyes of Eunhye, an aspiring hunter, it appeared halfway decent.

“I’ll give it a try too. Watch me from the side.”

“Okay, sure.”

Eunhye picked up her bow, a different type from the compound bow I had ordered for her. It was a recurve bow, which meant that the nock point for the bowstring was in the opposite direction of the shooter.

“Ah...”

“To the side.”

“Oh, right.”

She followed my instruction by turning her body to the side. Her form while nocking the arrow felt awkward. Eunhye, whom I had always known to be capable of everything, appeared unexpectedly lost in this setting. But her posture while drawing the bowstring was anything but ordinary. This is her first time?

She extended the hand holding the bow straight forward, ensuring the bow aligned precisely with her shoulder height as she drew the string. She also secured her drawing hand under her chin to prevent any shaking. The target appeared to be a tree about fifty meters away. With a careful aim, Eunhye released the arrow.

Thwack!

The arrow struck cleanly at the base of the tree, hitting the mark in a way that was hard to believe for a first-timer.

“How are you so good at this?”

“I watched a bit of archery when I was younger.”

“That doesn’t quite explain...”

“The internet.”

I fell silent. In my case, claiming that I had learned from the internet was a lie. My stable posture had been the result of years of practice. But she might genuinely have learned from the internet. So this is true talent. The fact that she was a genius struck me once again, and I wondered briefly why there were so many geniuses around me.

Eunhye, with a serious expression, drew the bow without nocking an arrow. After a few repetitions, she nodded and retrieved the arrow. “It’s challenging.”

With a slight tilt of her head, she stood in the same position. She was much faster to get in position than the first time and this time, she raised her bow slightly before slowly lowering it again. Then, it locked into place and she released the arrow.

Thwack!

This time, it seemed she’d aimed slightly higher, and the arrow hit the tree dead center.

I watched in amazement. “You’re really good at this, aren’t you?”

“It’s not that far.” Eunhye shrugged it off casually, but praise was a powerful motivator. The corners of her mouth lifted, betraying the fact that she was trying to hide it.

“I don’t think you need me anymore,” I said.

“Didn’t you correct my posture earlier? Any more tips?”

“Well... try pulling your arm back after you shoot.”

“Like a follow-through after hitting the ball in golf? Got it.”

I didn’t have much advice to offer. I was a hunter who had never even held a bow. I had heard stories from hunters who used bows, but I wasn’t sure how effective that advice would be for Eunhye, who possessed considerable talent.

“Try changing your stance too. Maintaining a perfect stance in real situations might be challenging.”

“Right, I’ll give it a try.”

Eunhye accepted my advice and immediately put it into practice. Sitting and shooting, switching hands, holding the bow horizontally—she tried it all. The surprising part was that every arrow she released hit the tree. Even if there was a slight variation in accuracy, she consistently hit the target.

Unbelievable. I felt like I was facing an incomprehensible level of talent. Eunhye, wearing a satisfied smile, seemed to be enjoying herself. Her enthusiasm somehow fueled my determination. I took the spear in my hand once more.

I need to regain my touch as well.

***

Feeling a tingling pain in her fingers, Yoo Eunhye paused her practice for a moment.

With each shot, her accuracy improved, and she could now hit targets at even greater distances. What initially seemed like a daunting training turned into an enjoyable exercise.

Meanwhile, Seola was focused on something other than the smartphone. Her eyes moved with his every movement.

Whoosh.

In a swift motion, Seojun gracefully twirled his spear through the air. He pushed an invisible opponent away with the end of the shaft and adjusted his grip near the back of the spear. Leveraging the difference in range, he thrust deeply into the imaginary foe and withdrew the spear.

Panting heavily, he slouched forward, hair clinging to the sweat on his forehead. Although it was clearly strenuous, he showed no signs of stopping. He moved his legs and spear tirelessly, engaging in a simulated battle with an unseen opponent.

“Mommy?”

“Hmm?” Eunhye was staring blankly at Seojun, and before she knew it, Seola had come over to her side.

Seola looked at her mom with wide eyes before turning her head toward Seojun. “Daddy looks cool, doesn’t he?”

Eunhye didn’t respond. Seojun seemed deeply immersed in his spear practice, which was shocking since the man she knew didn’t have a hardworking bone in his body. She had expected him to practice a bit and then whine about going home. Time really does change people.

Seojun was Seola’s father, but he wasn’t particularly responsible. But in the past few days, this perception had completely flipped in Eunhye’s mind. She had never seen anyone more responsible than Seojun. He seemed ready to risk his life for Seola and believed everything she told him without asking questions. Despite her difficulty expressing emotions, Eunhye was overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Mommy, you nodded!”

“Oh, me?”

“Yes! Just now!”

Eunhye had actually nodded absentmindedly. But she shook her head in denial as if she couldn’t possibly believe it. “I did no such thing.”

“But you did,” Seola whined with a pout. “I saw it!”

“What are you talking about?” Seojun asked, halting his training and walking closer.

Startled, Eunhye struggled to maintain her composure. “Nothing. We weren’t talking about anything.”

“What, it’s a secret? Seola, tell me the secret.”

“Sure! It was about...” She innocently leaned in close to Seojun’s ear.

Sensing danger, Eunhye hurriedly interrupted, “S-Seola. What do you think about ice cream?”

“Ice keem? Okay!”

“Trying to buy her off, Eunhye?”

“Shut up.”

Seojun grumbled, but Seola was already excited about the ice cream. Eunhye let out a relieved sigh. In retrospect, it wasn’t such a big deal. But for some reason, her heart raced.

“How does the bow feel?”

“It seems to fit well.”

Seojun nodded as if he knew she would like it all along. After firing the bow a few times, Eunhye got the feeling that this was the weapon for her. It seemed to fit her hand perfectly.

“Let’s get started for real now.”

“Start what?”

“The mana control training.”

***

After the Collapse, mana seeping in through the dimensional rifts had melted into the atmosphere. The term “hunters” referred to those who could receive and adapt to this mana, using it to their advantage. A hunter had to be able to at least infuse mana into their weapons. Without that ability, they couldn’t penetrate the mana-infused hides of the monsters they hunted.

“Hunters are stronger than ordinary people and can quickly recover from injuries, thanks to mana,” I explained.

“I see,” Eunhye replied.

I launched into a lecture about mana. It had taken me a long time to learn how to control mana, and I had compensated for my lack of talent with theoretical knowledge. I figured my knowledge from the future would likely be more accurate than the current haphazard theories. I wasn’t sure if she understood, but Seola listened intently from her seat in Eunhye’s lap.

“First, you need to feel the mana before you can control or manipulate it.”

“Yes. That makes sense.”

“That’s where the mana control training comes in. Close your eyes.”

“Okay,” Eunhye replied, sitting cross-legged and following my orders.

Seola copied her mother, closing her eyes.

“Relax your body and focus.”

“Mhm.”

“Mana is everywhere. Recognizing it is a matter of mindfulness...”

I explained the technique I had used to sense mana. Surprisingly, Eunhye didn’t catch on easily, furrowing her brow in concentration.

“Can’t you feel it?”

“Not really. I’m not sure.”

“It’s okay. It usually takes some time.”

Sensing mana took time and practice. Some might take a few weeks, while others could take months. In my case, I couldn’t sense mana for nearly half a year.

However, as Eunhye continued to meditate with her eyes closed, Seola suddenly opened her eyes and said, “Daddy, I can feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“The mana!”