Chapter 224 –
Moon Ga-eun Riding a Fox (2)
A few days ago, at the Atsuta Shrine.
Moon Ga-eun had come to a place called the ‘Shaman’s Field’ where only dedicated shamans could enter.
The Shaman’s Field was a space set up within the shrine for various education and training of the dedicated shamans.
Originally, it was a place Moon Ga-eun, a Holder from another country, could never enter. However, since Akiba Miyu, who would become her short-term teacher from today, held a high position as a senior shaman here, there was no problem with her entrance.
“What I will teach you today is called ‘Spiritualism’.”
Akiba, who had entered the field with Moon Ga-eun, went straight to the main topic.
In her hand was a large longbow, and on the table next to her were items that glowed mysteriously like spirit objects and strangely shaped clothes.
Glancing between them, Moon Ga-eun asked, “Spiritualism?”
“Yes. Actually, after receiving the request from Do Jae-hyun, I pondered a lot about how to train you. After all, you’re a B-rank Holder like me and a Holder who was educated by Holder Moon Jeong-hyuk, right? So I thought regular archery training might not be a very meaningful time for you.”
“Hmm…”
Moon Ga-eun nodded in understanding at Akiba’s explanation.
It wasn’t wrong.
No matter how skill and education might not be proportional, Moon Jeong-hyuk was one of the best archer-type Holders in Korea.
For Moon Ga-eun, whose father was such a Holder, rudimentary archery training could be more harmful than helpful.
There was no guarantee that simply adding another orthodoxy to an orthodox growth would easily blend.
So Akiba concluded that she should not just teach archery but add a special element to the training.
Something to refresh Moon Ga-eun, who had hit a wall in her growth.
In other words, something that could revitalize the current direction of training as an archer-type Holder – a new path.
And that was the ‘power of shamans’ that Akiba had cultivated over a long time.
“Spiritualism is a kind of sacred power mainly used by Japanese shaman Holders. This ability is divided into all sorts of types, but the Spiritualism that we direct combat types handle is mostly physical enhancement.”
“Wait a moment.”
Moon Ga-eun, who had been blankly listening to the explanation, raised her hand.
She had heard words she didn’t quite understand for a moment.
“Are you saying you’re going to have me learn a new rune?”
Spiritualism was a special power from the shamanic faith that often appeared in dramas and movies, but in the Holder world, its meaning was completely different.
Like ‘curses’ or ‘blessings’, it was a special power that temporarily borrowed the power of a god.
It fell under the sacred power category.
In other words, Akiba’s words sounded like she was going to have Moon Ga-eun learn a new rune that she didn’t have before.
“To be precise, it’s about confirming your talent.”
“Confirming my talent?”
“Yes. Do you happen to know about inborn talents and acquired talents?”
“Yes, of course.”
Inborn talents and acquired talents.
The former referred to all the powers of runes one obtained from the start of awakening as a Holder, while the latter referred to the abilities Holders gained through growth after awakening.
Kim Chae-eun starting with [Frozen] and gaining [Frozen Battlefield] was a representative case of an ‘acquired talent.’
To go into more common examples, common runes like [Magic Control] or spell runes like [Florian Spell] also fell into this category.
One of the major reasons academies were operated in each country to educate novice Holders was to develop these hidden acquired talents.
“Most Holders focus more on enhancing their inborn talents rather than finding acquired talents. You probably know the reason for this too.”
Moon Ga-eun nodded at those words.
“Yes, well… It’s inefficient to blindly search for uncertain talents, and even if found, their performance may lag behind inborn talents.”
“Exactly.”
This was also one of the reasons why Multi-Holders were rare.
There were Multi-Holders like Seong Na-yeon of <Royal> who were born with two talents from the start, but in most cases, acquired talents were discovered and developed as supplementary talents.
If talents existed but were not discovered, or if people didn’t even attempt it for efficiency’s sake…
Of course, Holders using multiple runes would be scarce.
On the other hand, however, there were also Multi-Holders who possessed countless runes and had special talents in all of those runes.
Do Jae-hyun.
An A-rank Holder and still a student Holder at the academy.
He was being hailed as a once-in-a-generation promising talent expected to become the youngest S-rank Holder, and had risen as the hope of the domestic Holder world…not without reason.
“In any case, Spiritualism is a rune that can be acquired through the development of such acquired talents. It does require some items and special conditions, but if you can acquire it, it will definitely be a great help to your abilities. Through this, I want to present a new possibility to you.”
In other words, Akiba’s education this time was a kind of ‘special lecture.’
After satisfying the conditions by mobilizing related knowledge and items, she would develop a new power.
That was the purpose of this training.
Of course, it might work or it might not.
Just as Moon Ga-eun acquired [Magic Control] in <Basics of Magic Control> but did not acquire any runes in <Harvesting of By-products>…
One must have talent in that field to acquire a rune.
But even so, it was worth a try.
As an archer-type, Moon Ga-eun almost never used the ‘divine’ stat among her ability stats, but if she could utilize a new direction using that, it would certainly be a boost to her combat support.
“I understand. I’ll give it a try.”
“Good. Then first…”
Akiba took out a neatly folded pile of clothes from among the items on the table.
“Moon Ga-eun. Will you wear this?”
Total of three outfits.
One was a white top that neatly covered the upper body, another was a skirt full of red, and the last was an outer garment that covered them both.
It was clothing in almost the same form as what Akiba was currently wearing.
A shaman’s outfit, also called a ‘hakama’ in Japan.
Moon Ga-eun tilted her head as she accepted it.
Before the training, why was she told to wear this outfit?
“What is this?”
“It’s a shaman’s outfit containing sacred power. The shaman’s power I will teach you today, its responsiveness varies greatly depending on the wearer’s clothes. Therefore, you must wear this to more effectively check your talent.”
A shaman’s outfit containing sacred power.
In other words, an item.
Upon checking the information, it was indeed a rare-grade item with some sacred stats attached.
It even had the special effect ‘compatible with spirit channeling.’
As Akiba said, wearing it would definitely help with the training.
However….
“This is a bit short, isn’t it?”
The length of the shaman skirt was not orthodox.
Unlike Akiba’s shaman outfit that draped down to the ankles, Moon Ga-eun’s was shortened to ride up above her thighs.
An outfit that would accentuate her long, pretty legs if she wore it.
In a way, it seemed like an outfit emphasizing fashion.
Then suddenly, Akiba cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Ahem. Ah, it’s modified to fit the Korean style. As long as the shaman’s outfit contains sacred power, there’s no need for you to wear the Japanese traditional costume.”
Modified to fit the Korean style?
…Really?
Moreover, Akiba, who had been explaining smoothly until now, suddenly cleared her throat and stumbled over her words, which made it seem even more suspicious.
Moon Ga-eun, feeling there was something amiss, narrowed her eyes.
“Akiba.”
“…Yes?”
“Does Jae-hyun know I’m receiving shaman training today?”
Freeze-.
Akiba’s body stiffened for a moment.
From that brief reaction, Moon Ga-eun could tell.
Who the client was for this specially made shaman’s outfit.
“Ah, he does know but the shaman’s outfit has absolutely nothing to do with Jae-hyun. First of all, this is women’s clothing, and Jae-hyun is male, so… uh, so….”
…What is this woman even saying?
It was strange seeing such a flustered side from Akiba, who usually wouldn’t let anything faze her.
Moon Ga-eun let out an awkward laugh and grasped the shaman’s outfit in her hand.
“Anyway, I got it. I’ll go change. Where should I change?”
At that, Akiba briefly looked embarrassed.
Seemed like she realized her lie was exposed.
Then she pointed to the changing room situated in one corner of the vacant lot.
“You can change in there.”
“Okay. Wait a bit.”
“Ga-eun…”
“Yes?”
Suddenly, Akiba approached her stealthily and looked around.
Then, making sure Seong Na-yeon, who was standing guard at the entrance, couldn’t hear, she leaned in and whispered.
“Jae-hyun asked me to keep it a secret…”
“Pfft. I know, I know.”
Now she’s not even trying to hide it, huh?
Moon Ga-eun smiled and nodded, then headed towards the changing room.
And after three steps, four steps…
When Akiba was almost out of sight.
Moon Ga-eun’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
‘…Th-That idiot, really.’
Even though she acted nonchalant in front of Akiba, Moon Ga-eun was more embarrassed than anyone.
She couldn’t tell if the outfit in her hands was a shaman’s robe or a cosplay costume.
That’s how peculiar and short it was.
Something she shouldn’t have found out…
It felt like she had discovered Do Jae-hyun’s secret taste.
‘Well, if you wanted it, you should’ve just said so.’
But even so, her heart raced unnecessarily.
Her boyfriend, who usually just joked around…
Secretly hoped to see her in this kind of outfit.
The unexpected realization made her feel giddy and excited for no reason.
‘…Maybe I should lose some weight?’
She could already picture herself meeting Do Jae-hyun while wearing the shaman’s outfit.
Following that thought, Moon Ga-eun started thinking about dieting.
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