Chapter 32: An Uneventful Trip

Ki Jung meets up with the caravan and pays a reduced price as a traveler by agreeing to fight if they came under attack. The trip is nearly uneventful. There are a few situations where monsters attempt to attack the group as it races along the road. None of these beasts actually attack the caravan, which comes as a surprise to the veterans of this run. None of them have any idea that Ki Jung is responsible, and she intends to keep it that way.

Ki Jung continually watches over the speeding land-train using her Qi enhanced senses, which she has modified so that it reaches out 100m in an arc of 18° rotating a full 360° every second. If something comes within range, and she deemed it hostile, she sends out a thin line of Qi with an intense death intent imbued within it. She then taps each of the threats with it. With the vast amount of power under her control, the message is clear to the would-be assailants: Death Awaits! There was an ambush in waiting on the land-train at one point, and as soon as she detected them, she hit the group with this form of deterrence. It would have been easy to have killed them all, but she chose to dissuade them from attacking. She would only kill if necessary on this trip.

The beasts pulling the caravan are all controlled by individuals with the ability to tame and control intelligent animals known as Beast-Tamers. The Beast-Tamers are controlling teams of Hook-beaked Rampagers. Each team of four beasts is pulling one of wagon, be it passenger or cargo. It would be a misguided to call the teams of beasts “tame.” They are willing to do the work as long as the agreement they have with the Beast-Tamers is kept. In all, there are 40 of the Rampagers pulling ten wagons.

Ki Jung could have made it to the new town much faster if she had run the entire way on her own, but she decided to use the travel time to study what she had learned so far. She wanted to have a better understanding of the world, her Qi, and magic. After what Ki Jung learned during the trip with Min Joon, Phong Ahn, and Chanming, she has questions that she wants to find answers to. She now understands that intent is a significant piece of both the use of magic and Qi. This is how she came to realize she can direct a thread of Qi from herself to another (beast or person) with a specific intent behind it that will effect her target. Her successes are dependent on the difference in potential that exists between her and the subject of her attention.

Due to her overall level, there seem to be an absence of creatures in the inner ring capable of overcoming her intent infused Qi. This makes the passage go faster and allows her to practice using Qi at a distance. If she can see or sense it, she can make the connection and interact with it.

As the trip progresses, Ki Jung manages to connect with a hawk-like beast flying far above the caravan at one point. With some trial and error, she is eventually able to see through its eyes. With more practice, she gains the ability to sense its desires and needs. It is hunting, but having little luck. It is also a young adult male without a mate. This makes it easy for her to do what she does next. When she notices a rabbit analog enter her range, she scares it out of hiding, and she then draws the hawk’s attention to it. The hawk seeing it, folds its wings back and dives!

Once the hawk has the rabbit in its talons, Ki Jung calls it to her. On the wagon, she makes space for it to sit and enjoy its meal. She intends to keep the bird with her for the rest of the trip and then release it. They would recognize one another in the future (if they crossed paths), but she has no intention of taming it.

Ki Jung’s intent is to use it in order to gain a better understanding of this use Qi and to scout ahead for possible dangers. The group’s Beast-Tamer notice what she has done and want to ask how she did it, but none dares to approach her and ask. If they had, she would have explained it in detail.

Five days after they started the voyage, it comes to its first stop and the end of her ride with them. Chang Li is a more substantial city than Dong Kyu. There were more blacksmith shops here and they are more specialized. There are also formation masters, magical merchants, etc., most of which are specialized which ensures they all get a piece of the action as there are no monopolies to be found. When she asks the hawk to fly up and look down on the city, she is able to get a better idea of its size. The city of Chang Li is at least three times the size of Dong Kyu. She doubts that she’ll find another situation like the one she had with Auntie and little brother Pak. That’s fine, though. She doesn’t intend to be spending too much time in the city itself.

When she enters the city, each person is required to pay 1 silver. The traders and the caravan’s drivers paid a yearly fee and simply show their passes and are allowed entry. The travelers with the caravan do not actually pay the guards. Instead, the leader of the caravan has a sheet of paper that names each traveler not covered by the yearly fee and pays the guard based on this, though a guard does take a proper headcount. The fee is covered as part of the cost each traveler paid for the trip.

Once inside the city and having gotten her aerial view of Chang Li, Ki Jung gives her feathered friend a gentle caress with her Qi and then releases it. The hawk sets off in search of a new roost and hunting ground. What Ki Jung doesn’t realized was that the bird has absorbed a significant amount of Qi and now had a core of its own, albeit a tiny one. In time, it will become the most powerful hawk in the land. Already, it is able to sense prey with its Qi alone. From a height of 200m, even if hidden, the hawk is able to detect prey. Had she known this, she might have kept it and made it a familiar, like witches were supposed to have. As it is, the hawk will recognize her from her Qi signature for the rest of its life.