A Post About Seong Hyun-jae Getting Motion Sickness

"Hmm."

A low moan escaped her lips. Her sleek jaw, clenched tightly, seemed to be holding something back. Unlike usual, when her eyes held a deep intensity, her golden eyes—which had been slightly concealed by her relaxed eyelids—flashed open, tinged with bewilderment. His hair, tousled as if swept by a fierce wind, looked slightly disheveled and fluttered gently—as if he had deliberately styled it that way. In reality, he simply didn’t even have the mental capacity to raise his arm and brush it back into place. At that moment, Seong Hyeon-je was in such a disheveled state that anyone who knew him would have found it quite awkward. He simply looked heavy, utterly exhausted, and fatigued—just as ordinary people sometimes do—but this was Seong Hyeon-je, who hadn’t even sustained a single battle injury. It was an opponent with no intention of attacking. There were other possibilities—a curse, poison, or something else—but… Seong Hyun-je accepted it. Right now, he was experiencing what could be described as ordinary motion sickness. The cause of the nausea—the dissonance in sensory information—stemmed from the mana raging inside his body, but the symptoms were the same. It was a rather overwhelming sensation. This was especially true because, even before his Awakening, he had been an exceptionally robust, naturally gifted S-class. I feel like I’m going to throw up.

Eventually, Seong Hyun-jae slowly came to a stop and quietly raised his hand to his mouth. However, the moment his leather glove touched the bridge of his nose, he let out a soft “Ugh!” and had no choice but to pull it away quickly. As he became aware of the unpleasant odor—which he hadn’t noticed amid the overwhelming sensation of dizziness—the smell of leather clung to the tip of his nose, even though he had already lowered his arm. Seriously... It was a nuisance. Instead of burning the gloves immediately, Seong Hyun-jae chose to quietly slip them off one by one and shove them deep into his coat pocket. The vast plain, where the only sight when facing away from the sea was the sunset blazing every few dozen minutes, where not even a single grasshopper—let alone any animal—existed, and only dry grass rustled. Since the environment here was so different from Earth’s, even if he discarded the gloves, they would crumble and vanish in no time. However, his partner’s jingling voice caught his attention. Also, the mana consumed to burn gloves—which weren’t even items—was truly, extremely minimal. But if he were to do that...

Although Han Yu-jin had been extremely exhausted from the grueling journey, Seong Hyun-je—who had been keeping watch for a couple of hours—finally managed to lull her to sleep after coaxing her. He stirred the campfire once and then slipped away quietly. This was because there were traces of a stranger who had clearly been lurking around them and interfering with Han Yu-jin. As he spread his black wings and gave chase, a certain “wind” swept past Seong Hyun-je as if passing right through him. There was a momentary flutter, but “it” was too fast for him to pause and pay attention; just as he was unsure exactly what had changed, the “wind”—which was also “it”—plunged down beneath the coastal cliffs, as if someone had cleaved the vast plain with a sword. The moment he generated an electric current powerful enough to collapse the entire cliff in order to blow “it”—which had no physical form—away entirely, Seong Hyeon-je realized what had happened to him. The dazzling golden current, unable to strike its target, exploded above Seong Hyeon-je’s head, scattering shards of light; the small, crackling golden sparks landed on the hem of Seong Hyeon-je’s coat, on his shoes, in the crevices of the rocks, and down the cliff, where they were swallowed by the sea, which was rippling as it lost its strength.

At the same time, Seong Hyeon-je was able to experience firsthand exactly what would happen if he used even a small amount of mana before this phenomenon—in which mana was circulating wildly within his body, creating a massive disconnect from the sensations his physical body was processing—disappeared. In proportion to the amount of mana he used—and to how far it spread—information about everything that had been altered by the force’s interaction and interference surged in, dizzyingly, like waves rippling at his feet. The gentle flow swirling inside his body at an unmanageable speed turned his stomach, but he felt stifled because he could discern neither its beginning nor its end. It felt as though he had been clinging to a constantly jolting cart, racing down a bumpy road for half a day. For a moment, he staggered and reached out to grab a sharp, protruding rock; the impact must have been considerable, as it sliced a long gash across his palm. Amidst the overwhelming dizziness, suffocation, and numbness, that single stinging, sharp pain was the only thing that pulled Seong Hyeon-je back to the surface. Coming to his senses, Seong Hyun-je slumped against a large boulder, taking in the sight of the sea tinged with the red glow of the setting sun, the rugged rocks stained with crimson blood, and the white, smooth coastal cliffs. If only the situation weren’t like this, it would have been fine to bring Han Yu-jin along. No, maybe it’s a good thing she didn’t come. As the lukewarm breeze that had returned swirled around him, the wound on his palm healed instantly. Though the nausea hadn’t subsided at all.

"It’s not in my nature to just keep receiving without giving anything back."

Because I have a partner who needs to rest deeply. I felt I finally understood the nature of this planet, which was losing its vitality and fading away, as well as the true identity of the “non-Transcendents” that Young Chaos had warned me about in cryptic terms. The winds—the only ones that didn’t irritate my senses—began to appear one by one, then swept in all at once, making a sound as if they were howling.

"I’ll apologize for that. I had no intention of meddling in this world. I plan to leave as soon as I rejoin my party, so don’t touch him. There’s no reason to be on guard anymore... Ugh. I want to leave without delay just as much as you do."

It was such a beautiful sight that he felt a pang of regret at not being able to share it with someone, but the sound and smell of the waves—carrying highly concentrated magical energy—and the gusts of wind that kept crashing against him... In any case, considering that there are beings capable of exerting absurdly powerful influences—especially the more potent and sensitive one’s mana—Seong Hyeon-je genuinely wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. There are plenty of peaceful, beautiful, and—most importantly—non-dizzying sights they could go see together.

Having stopped replaying the situation from just a moment ago—which was hardly even a battle—Seong Hyun-je had been imagining Han Yu-jin’s reaction upon spotting him, walking toward her slowly and looking pale. Even the slightest hint of concern—mixed with a touch of exasperation—would make him happy, so it seemed to help clear his throbbing head. “It actually seems to be working…” Seong Hyun-je let a small smile cross his face again. Though he had to immediately press his slightly parted lips shut.

This was already the third time I’d come to a halt. Even if I’d let my utterly exhausted body—which had been constantly burning through vast amounts of energy—rest, it would have been difficult for it to adapt. But since this wasn’t the kind of situation that would improve by standing still, I’d forced myself to keep moving—only to find my condition deteriorating at an ever-faster rate. The moment I put anything in my mouth or absorbed it in an attempt to gain energy, I felt as though I would vomit it all back up; my body, drenched in cold sweat, was losing heat, and my vision seemed to be shaking violently, and my limbs hung limply—I didn’t want to move a muscle, wanting instead to just lie down right there in the wide field. If I left this world or rested long enough, I’d be fine, but since this was the only solution, I was in a bind. Maybe I should just let it all explode. It wouldn’t be so bad to flush it all out at once, like shock therapy. I’d made a promise, and since I didn’t sense anyone following me, I suppose I should just stay quietly entangled in the net they’d cast for now. He didn’t want to disturb his partner’s light sleep, and though returning just like this might create a dramatic effect, feeling a slight pang of regret that flowed as erratically as his own state, Seong Hyun-je loosened the tie that was choking his neck.

Seong Hyun-je considered a few possibilities again. It wasn’t actually that far from here to the cave where Han Yu-jin was sleeping. It was a distance he could cover in just over ten minutes simply by unfurling his wings, and one that wouldn’t consume much mana even if he used teleportation. However, no matter which of the two he chose, the moment he acted on it… If, just as he was staring blankly at the dying embers of a fire made from dry wood, the void were to spit out Seong Hyun-je—who was little more than a tattered rag—Han Yu-jin would probably feel like spitting out her own heart. Seong Hyun-je closed his eyes and savored the familiar sound of the chains coiling and clinking. It wasn’t an unpleasant sound. And Seong Hyun-je also thought about what would happen if he caught that nameless figure, who was carrying out a stakeout so obvious it was laughable to call it “tailing.” He’d hit his mark. The bloodcurdling crunch of the chain piercing flesh and the horrific screams signaling the start of battle filled his ringing eardrums. Ah, Seong Hyun-je truly missed Han Yu-jin.