Valerie hadn't even let me stay in the training hall for long before dragging me straight back to the lab.
"This is going to be a long conversation, so sit down."
She placed a cup of green tea in front of me and a coffee in front of herself before continuing.
"Before I explain anything, there are some basics you need to know about the Mystic Eye. First of all…"
She took a sip of her coffee and began.
"First, you need to understand that my Mystic Eye — and the Mystic Eyes others possess — are fundamentally different from things like the 'Mind's Eye' that monks or martial artists gain through enlightenment."
"I know that much."
Of course, I'd never obtained a Mind's Eye myself — I only knew of it through books.
From what I'd learned, the Mind's Eye was essentially heightened insight, intuition, or a sense for detecting magic — a mental expansion of perception rather than anything visual.
Despite the name, the Mind's Eye wasn't about sight — it was closer to a spiritual state of awareness.
Valerie nodded.
"Here's where it gets tricky. On the surface, it might look like the Mystic Eye is just an enhancement of vision — but that's completely inaccurate. No sensory enhancement or supernatural ability grants something from nothing. Even if magic lets you visualize something similar to what the Mystic Eye perceives, that's still just... well, it's still being seen through human eyes."
"...Could you explain that in a bit more detail?"
As fluent as I was in Korean, the conversation had ventured into specialized territory, and I was losing the thread.
At my request, Valerie's brow furrowed sharply.
"Ugh... Korean really is hard..."
She muttered a curse under her breath in French.
Crossing her arms, she tapped her foot against the floor in thought.
A brief silence fell between us.
Then, as if something clicked in her mind, her eyes lit up.
"Alright. Let's put it this way. My Mystic Eye allows me to see something and instantly comprehend and interpret everything about it. More specifically, it reads the thoughts or intentions that went into creating or recording that thing... well, something like that."
She raised another finger.
"There was a monk in Southeast Asia who had a Mystic Eye called the 'Clairvoyant Eye.' No matter what was blocking his view — no matter how well something was hidden — he could see its form perfectly."
As soon as I heard those examples, I felt like I was beginning to grasp what she was getting at.
"Are you saying... the Mystic Eye grants a sense that humans fundamentally don't possess?"
"Uh... yeah. Exactly."
Valerie stumbled a little, seemingly surprised I'd caught on so quickly.
She cleared her throat and continued.
"Humans don't perceive objects through echolocation like bats, nor can they see infrared like snakes. We never evolved those abilities — we don't have the organs for them."
"But the Mystic Eye isn't like that. It lets you perceive things that the human body simply isn't built to perceive. No — not just humans — no living creature can."
No creature can read another's mind, see through concealment, or interpret things hidden beyond sight.
But the Mystic Eye can.
That's why it's dangerous.
"How is that even possible?"
"That's the thing — it isn't possible. It completely defies science. Even magical theory doesn't explain it."
Academically, there was no framework to define it.
If anything, it was closer to a spiritual or supernatural phenomenon.
That was why the Mystic Eye was so special.
As technology advanced and more supernatural abilities were studied and understood, the Mystic Eye remained shrouded in mystery.
Valerie pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between her lips.
"I actually had an fMRI scan done while using my Mystic Eye once."
fMRI — Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging — a machine for measuring brain activity.
"That was back when I couldn't control my Eye. The moment I activated it, the blood flow in my brain skyrocketed, and my neurons went into overdrive."
"So that's why people who can't control their Mystic Eye experience such intense pain."
"Exactly. The brain is being forced to process a sense it was never meant to handle."
It made sense — that was why the Mystic Eye could spiral out of control.
Why it was so difficult to manage.
It was a power that forced the impossible to happen — naturally, it resisted restraint.
"Wait... then what about the Mystic Eyes commonly seen among non-humans or monsters? They don't seem to feel any pain."
"That's not the same thing. That's just a human classification error — we call it a Mystic Eye because it looks similar to us. But in reality, those are just racial traits or biological features unique to their species. From a human perspective, it's just another type of enhanced sensory ability."
In other words, non-humans and monsters see special things simply because they possess different organs — not because of a true Mystic Eye.
"In any case, the Mystic Eye is incredibly dangerous. That's why it needs to be controlled. If you fail, it'll go berserk — you could die, or lose your mind."
Valerie's eyes gleamed.
"And up until now, every Mystic Eye I've encountered had a single, clear-cut ability — clairvoyance, interpretation, telepathy, precognition... straightforward and absolute within its domain. But."
Hiss.
Valerie ground out her finished cigarette in the ashtray.
"Your Mystic Eye — how many things can it do now? You predict your opponent's moves, analyze phenomena, perceive special powers, read spell structures..."
My eyes... see far too much.
I said nothing.
Valerie looked at me with slightly trembling eyes.
"And one more thing. You said you awakened your Mystic Eye through that ritual of the Soongmu family, right? That's strange too. Normally, those who awaken a Mystic Eye start seeing strange things around the age of five. It's like a mutation — we assume their brain developed differently from the start. But what about you? Did you see anything unusual before the ritual?"
There had been signs.
But even that didn't happen until I was eleven — during my naming ceremony.
"Then let me ask you this. Has anyone else in the Soongmu family ever awakened a Mystic Eye like you?"
No.
I was the first in the history of the Soongmu family.
When I told her that, Valerie gave a bitter, crooked smile.
"Do you understand now why I got so serious?"
"Yes, I understand."
I had mixed feelings myself.
I came here to investigate the slate — but ended up hearing something completely unexpected.
"But I have control over my Mystic Eye."
"Hah. In a real combat situation? You'll lose control in no time."
"..."
"What's with that face?"
"I've used it in countless battles, you know."
"...What?"
Valerie's eyes widened in disbelief.
"If there's an overwhelming amount of energy tangled up — like in the middle of Gyeongju city — or if there are too many things directly visible to me, like here in your workshop, sure, I feel pain. But as you saw earlier, once I adapt, I recover quickly. And I've been steadily improving my control."
I wasn't exaggerating. That's exactly how it was.
"That's... impossible. Even if a Mystic Eye has two or three functions, the overload is insane. You'd either have died of a brain hemorrhage or gone insane long ago. But you're saying you're seeing even more than that — and still staying in control?"
Valerie stared at me like I was some kind of impossible phenomenon.
"But I am doing it."
"You were in excruciating pain just now."
"And I adapted just as quickly, didn't I?"
Valerie let out a hollow laugh and gazed at me silently.
"There's never been an exception like you."
In her eyes, there was a strange glint — a faint light that was almost... suggestive.
It was the same look she had the first time we met in that alley — like she'd stumbled across something truly fascinating.
"I think... there's something we need to try."
A bad feeling crept over me.
Instinctively, I leaned away from her — but Valerie's eyes only gleamed more dangerously.
***
It had already been several days since I arrived at Valerie's workshop.
Life here was simple.
Until dinner, Valerie would focus entirely on deciphering the slate.
Apparently, the effectiveness of her interpretation depended on the knowledge she had accumulated — and to that end, she poured over every piece of information she could get her hands on, building her knowledge brick by brick.
To be fair, this wasn't anything new.
Back then — though I'd left the Soongmu clan and was living in hiding, and didn't know the details — I still remembered the general sequence of events.
The Soongmu clan had discovered the slate's existence and begun tracking it. They retrieved it from Baek Cheol-soo and immediately set to work deciphering it.
But even under my eldest brother's leadership, the project dragged on for years without success.
Eventually, word spread that Valerie was staying in Korea — and my brother commissioned her help.
Using her Mystic Eye, Valerie successfully decoded the slate. The Soongmu clan followed its directions to a certain location, opened it — and went inside.
Of course, back then, Valerie's decoding ability had evolved much further than it was now — so it was only natural that things would take a bit longer this time around.
Still, I wasn't worried. I already knew — from the future — that she would succeed eventually. Failure wasn't even on the table.
While Valerie was buried in her decoding work, I spent my time in the adjacent lab — undergoing a certain "training."
That training was...
"Ugh... ngh..."
Pushing my Mystic Eye to its absolute limit — to understand its true nature.
"Guh...!"
It felt like I was being subjected to some horrific biological experiment. My limbs were strapped down, and various brainwave sensors were attached to my head.
In front of me shimmered an array of complex, bizarre magical formulas, ritual structures, spirit veins, and artifacts — all of which I had to observe with my Mystic Eye.
This was supposed to be training.
It should have been just that.
Probably.
"Haa... haa..."
The experiment — no, the training — was being automatically recorded by telekinetic devices and machines.
At first, it wasn't so bad — but the difficulty was steadily ramping up.
Now, under the pretense of testing my limits, Valerie was shoving intricate clusters of tangled magic right in front of my face to see how long I could endure them.
My limbs were restrained to prevent me from reflexively moving away in pain.
According to Valerie, even the smallest margin of error had to be eliminated.
In extreme cases, I wasn't even allowed to blink.
"How's it going? Hanging in there?"
Just then, Valerie finished a brief break from her decoding work and strolled over, grinning.
That smile of hers — she looked every bit the mad scientist.
I groaned from the pain, as though an ice pick were drilling into my skull.
"Valerie... you said... using the Mystic Eye puts a strain... on the brain, didn't you..."
"Don't worry~ This magitech machine is set to stop right at the point of overload. You won't actually be harmed."
Seeing Valérie's bright, playful smile only made the anger simmering inside me boil over.
Crack!
I clenched my muscles and forced my arms upward.
The restraints were still holding me, but they were only meant to keep me in place — not truly bind me. If I focused, I could break free on my own.
"Nngh…"
I freed my hands, pressing my fingers hard against my closed eyes to massage the throbbing pain away, letting out a low groan.
"Tch. For a guy, you sure whine a lot."
...She's insane.
There was no longer any room for doubt.
Up until now, I'd been comparing her to my aunt — but honestly, I owed my aunt an apology.
"At least we're collecting some excellent data. I'm figuring out the limits of your Mystic Eye and its nature. And like I said, the more you use it, the more it develops — just like a muscle. I trained my Mystic Eye the same way, you know? You can feel it too, can't you?"
"...That's true."
My eyes and head felt like they'd been ground to pulp from overusing the Mystic Eye — the pain was unbearable — but as Valérie said, my ability to control it had undeniably improved.
If it hadn't, I would've quit this hellish training a long time ago.
"But… do we really have to go this far?"
I thought I'd gotten used to enduring pain through all sorts of training, but this sensation — like my insides were being twisted apart — was something I could never grow numb to.
"Your Mystic Eye is unique. Unless we clearly understand its properties, you won't know how to develop it further. Think of this as killing two birds with one stone — it's training and research. So hang in there just a little longer. We're really almost done."
"...Understood."
"Good. Take a short break, then we'll start again. The sooner we finish, the better for you too, right?"
"..."
Maybe I should check if I'm being used as some kind of lab rat here.
Valérie hummed to herself, mumbling softly in French.
…She must not know I can understand casual French conversation.
I'd thought this before, but yeah — she's absolutely out of her mind.
"Hm, hm-hmm-hmm~♪"
Still humming, Valérie walked over to the machine recording data on my Mystic Eye.
'...Hm?'
And then, the moment she glanced at the monitor, her eyes went wide.
'Wait. Am I seeing this right?'
The device was designed to analyze the properties, traits, limits, and patterns of my Mystic Eye.
It automatically monitored my condition and adjusted the difficulty of the training via preset magical formulas.
The experiment itself was driven by magic, while the detailed measurements were handled by the machine.
It was an extremely expensive piece of equipment — and with Valérie's own magic circuits carved into it, there was no way it should be malfunctioning.
'That should be the case... so what is this? It's not an error, is it?'
Valérie checked the automated spell formulas, holding her breath.
The graph was spiking — skyrocketing in an almost vertical line.
'Is it even possible to adapt this fast…?'
She finally understood why I was in so much pain.
I'd already reached the highest stage of difficulty the machine had pre-programmed — far sooner than expected.
She'd figured my growth would be fast — but this was beyond ridiculous.
'No… this isn't growth. It's more like…'
Adaptation.
Yes — adaptation was the closer word.
It wasn't like I was learning something new — it felt more like reclaiming something I'd always had.
There's a huge difference between someone who's never worked out building a new body like an athlete — and an athlete recovering their original form after an injury.
Setting aside her previous analysis, Valérie turned her full attention to the magical circuits, examining them in detail.
She activated the decoder and began dissecting the flood of data and values pouring in.
'No way…'
For a brief moment, Valérie's eyes widened again — utterly stunned.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]