Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 942

Chapter 942

The hastily applied bandage around my palm was one I had taken from Seol Yeong.

The persistent ache suggested it would be a while before it was fully healed.

“I stopped the bleeding, but it’s not doing much.”

A dark stain had already seeped through the cloth. Even after using pressure points to stem the flow, a slow trickle continued.

Was the cut really that deep? The bone was barely visible, but given my current condition, my recovery was clearly slower than usual.

“What is this thing made of?”

Could simply touching it cause this much damage?

What would have happened if it had actually sliced into me?

I couldn’t say for sure, but I had a feeling—it wouldn’t have been good.

Still, something felt off.

“Would it react the same if I used internal energy?”

When we shook hands, I hadn’t thought to reinforce my grip with energy. Would it have made a difference? The question lingered.

“Maybe I should test it.”

Curiosity tugged at me, but experimenting now felt like asking for more trouble.

If the risk were lower, I might have tried.

“But I still need my body in working order.”

With so much depending on my physical state, reckless testing wasn’t an option.

“Hmm.”

I flexed my hand slowly. The pain was still there, but it didn’t prevent movement.

If I was careful not to overuse it, I could manage.

“This will do.”

I roughly estimated how much strength I could exert without issue.

And then—

“Time to go.”

I stretched lightly and turned. Cheonma was staring intently at my hand.

“What are you looking at?”

I asked sharply, irritated by her gaze. Unfazed, she met my eyes and replied:

“Are you alright?”
“What if I’m not?”
“…”

Her eyes widened slightly, as though my response had caught her off guard. It wasn’t something she had anticipated.

I let out a sigh and said:

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Alright.”

Satisfied, Cheonma gave a small nod. Was that all she wanted? Clicking my tongue, I turned away again.

There was still plenty of time before nightfall.

I took a brief glance at the sky and started walking.

Cheonma fell into step beside me without a word.
I thought about telling her not to follow, but decided against it.

She wasn’t the type to listen anyway.
Right now, there were more important things to deal with than her.

“Should I bring Gubong along?”

I considered it for a moment but ultimately dismissed the idea.

He didn’t seem to be in the right frame of mind.

“I’ll be faster on my own this time.”

For what I had planned, Gubong wouldn’t be necessary.

Keeping that in mind, I continued forward.
At the same time—

Screech—!

I focused energy into my core and set it in motion.
Thin, invisible strands spread out, weaving around my body.

Though unseen, I could feel the distinct, foreign energy enveloping me.

It was as if my very soul was being layered with something else.
As I fully immersed in the sensation—

Srrrk.

Something shifted within my soul, and my physical form changed.
Ears and a tail emerged—similar to what the Turtle had once made for me.

“Not bad.”

I touched them briefly and nodded in approval.

It wasn’t as refined as the Turtle’s work, but it was better than my previous attempts.

After confirming everything was in order, I called out:

“Hey.”

Cheonma responded immediately.

“Yes?”
“Come here.”

At my words, she approached quietly.

If she was going to follow me, I couldn’t leave her as she was.

Since I had to do something about it, I reached toward her chest.

“…”

My hand hesitated just before making contact.

The memory of what happened that morning flashed through my mind.

“…Tch.”

The sensation from that moment made me pause.

“…?”

Cheonma looked at me curiously, puzzled by my hesitation.
Ignoring her expression, I pushed my hand forward.

My palm rested just below her collarbone.
I channeled energy into her, spreading threads throughout her body.

Saaaaah—!

Just as I had done with myself, I tried to overlay her soul.

Crack—!

“Hm?”

Something felt wrong, and I frowned.

“What’s going on?”

The threads extended but crumbled before they could fully envelop her.

Normally, they would wrap around the target completely, but this time, they failed to connect.

Were they disintegrating before reaching her? Or burning up before touching her soul?

Either way, it was clear—the spell wasn’t working on Cheonma.

“This…?”

What was happening?

Was it because I was casting it on someone else?
That might have explained it.

“No, that can’t be right.”

Remembering how the Turtle had cast the spell, that didn’t make sense.

If that wasn’t it—

“Is the problem Cheonma herself?”

It seemed more likely that something within her was resisting the spell.

“Hmm.”

Was it impossible to use the spell on her?
That couldn’t be—the Turtle had managed it.

In that case—

“There has to be another way.”

My current approach clearly wasn’t working.
If this method failed, there had to be an alternative.

Focusing again, I tried increasing the energy output.

Saaah.

“Still nothing.”

Even with more energy, the threads dissolved at the same point.
It wasn’t about quantity.

I adjusted the angle, trying diagonals. When that failed, I curved the threads.

“This isn’t working either.”

Nothing seemed effective.
But after several attempts, I noticed one thing.

“There’s a specific point.”

The threads always dissolved at the same spot, as if burned away by a flame.

“A flame?”

Burned by a flame? The thought sparked an idea.

Ssss—!

I altered the energy again, not by increasing its volume, but by compressing it.

Instead of adding more, I focused on making it denser.

Even with the same amount of energy, I aimed to strengthen its concentration.

How should I do it?
The answer came quickly.

“If I do it right, it’ll work.”

If I wanted it to happen, I could make it happen.

As long as I tried, no matter how difficult, it wasn’t impossible.

“Denser. As dense as possible.”

I worked to eliminate any gaps, making the energy seamless.
Though it required intense focus, it wasn’t beyond my ability.

After all, it was just about increasing density.

“It’s done.”

Before long, I felt the threads I emitted grow stronger than before.

I extended them again, repeating the process.

Hisss—!!!

“Oh.”

This time, the reaction was different.
The threads reached the point where they had disintegrated before, but now they didn’t vanish completely.

They weren’t entirely unaffected—there was still resistance—but they held on rather than dissolving immediately.

It seemed they could endure.

But not for long.

A single misstep would mean failure. My instincts warned me as much.

Ssss—!

The denser threads began wrapping around Cheonma’s body.

Crackle!

The threads sizzled as they moved.
I pushed through the resistance and managed to encase her, though the spell couldn’t fully reach her soul.

“Is this the best I can do?”

Pushing further would be pushing my luck.
Continuing recklessly would be overreaching.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue in frustration but secured the threads to complete the spell.

Then—

Fwoosh!
Cheonma’s appearance flickered briefly, and a pair of deep violet dog ears sprouted from her head.

“Oh.”

Curious, Cheonma reached up and touched them, fascinated.
Last time, only a tail had appeared. This time, it was just the ears.

Still, Cheonma seemed pleased as she played with them.

“Hey… if you keep touching those, they might—”

Sway—!

A wave of dizziness hit me, and I staggered.
I barely caught myself with my legs to avoid falling.

“Heh.”

A weak laugh escaped me as sweat dripped from my chin.

“What the hell…?”

I hadn’t expected it to be so draining.

It wasn’t physical fatigue.

“…It feels like my insides were shaken up.”

Like I’d been wrung dry.
It was as if I’d used every bit of energy I had.

“Is this exhaustion from compressing the threads?”

Now that I thought about it, martial techniques that relied on compression and rotation could cause similar fatigue, even using the same amount of energy.

This might be something like that.

“Haah.”

I steadied my breathing and stood upright.

Though mentally drained, my body was fine.

A short rest would be enough. With that thought, I turned to Cheonma.

“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”

There was no point in delaying, so we moved on.

*******************

After leaving Mount Hua, we made our way toward Yahwol.

We reached Yahwol Palace just before sunset.

I suppressed the urge to run or leap, forcing myself to walk.

I could have gotten there faster, but holding back was more exhausting than I’d expected.

The only relief was that we reached the fortress before my patience ran out.

“Halt!”

As we neared the gate, a guard lowered his spear toward us.
It was the same as before.

“What’s your business here?”

His tone was sharp and suspicious.
He hadn’t been this wary on our first visit. This was likely a result of the commotion I’d caused earlier.

That had been intentional, so I didn’t mind.

I pulled a token from my robe and showed it to the guard.

“…Ah!”

The guard’s eyes widened as soon as he saw it.

“My apologies…!”

He quickly lowered his spear and stepped aside, motioning for us to enter.
The token was clearly useful.

His attitude was different from last time.
Was networking the ultimate currency, no matter the world?

With mixed feelings, I stepped inside.

As I’d noticed before, the fortress was much larger than Mount Hua, and the population was significantly denser.

I could feel cautious eyes on us.
Armed patrols moved through the area, adding to the atmosphere of order and control.

As we walked through the streets—

“Where are we going?”

Cheonma asked.

I nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

“Well… I was thinking of going to the same place as before.”

The Black Clan.
Gubong’s family.

I needed to speak with his father, the clan leader. It seemed like the logical first stop.

“Or…”

We could go somewhere else.
I’d already seen the White and Black Clans, so visiting the other two might not be a bad idea.

After all—

“I’ll have to meet them eventually.”

Whether as myself or as Cheonma, I would have to face them.

“So…”

Should I visit another place before the Black Clan?
Yes, that seemed best. I made up my mind.

But—

“…Where should I go?”

I didn’t know the exact locations of the other clans.
I’d need to ask for directions. Although I had a rough idea from last time, it wasn’t enough.

Just as I considered climbing a tall building to get a better view—

“Well, well… looking for something?”

Suddenly, an arm draped over my shoulder.
I turned to see who it was.

It was a young man from the Yahwol Tribe, smiling brightly.

“You seem like an outsider. Lost, are you? Need some help finding your way?”

His friendly smile and tone were disarming.

“…What the hell?”

I stared at him, swallowing dryly.

He looked young and slight—not someone who seemed threatening at first glance.

But—

Thump!

My heart told a different story as I looked at him.

“What is this monster?”

Despite his unassuming appearance, I could sense something immense lurking within him.

It was enough to send chills down my spine.