《The World after the Fall》
Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Prologue
¡°Hey, if any one of y¡¯all want to go back to the past, lemme know. I¡¯ll kill y¡¯all.¡±
-From the records of <>
Prologue. Carpediem
A sky hidden by the sky-soaring towers.
Various ruined structures. Faint sounds of moans and screams. Explosive smoke everywhere.
And continued silence.
Needless to say, this was the world after the apocalypse.
You all might know of this. I will not go into the details, but you will understand once you read the history.
Year 2018.
Enormous structures, or the <>, appeared in the skies of various cities around the world, including Seoul.
...I just realized it¡¯s a ton of work to go through every date. Besides, there are all sorts of simr fantasy novels that consist of simr stories, and that makes me wonder if I even need to exin everything.
But this¡¯ll make it simpler, so I¡¯ll continue on for a bit.
I should at least exin why mankind reached such an end.
As you might know, the beginning was calm.
In 2018, an enormous structure called the <> appeared in the sky above the city. The tower did not state anything nor did it exin itself, but the humans began talking. There were rumors and spections that the end hade.
Then the tower called upon humankind.
<>
The ones who wereter referred to as Walkers.
These people were summoned by the tower¡¯s ¡®message¡¯ and they had earned the power and right to climb it. This was the message: ¡®ept the summon if you want to stop the extinction of mankind.¡¯ And thousands of people responded to it.
It was about a ten thousand to one ratio if one considered the entire poption, but it was still fortunate. There were that many people who were willing to do what it took to save mankind.
But the information extracted from the Tower of Nightmares showed various rewards for climbing up the tower, which probably had attracted a lot of people too.
Anyway, these people then received the power called the <> that allowed them to earn items and skills just like a game to climb up the Tower of Nightmares.
People were not so eager to climb, however. There was the possibility of encountering various dangers and the human extinction that the tower mentioned was also very vague.
That was when the First Tower Impact urred.
The tower let some monsters loose to kill the inhabitants below, killing one-third of the Earth¡¯s poption.
Now, you might know what happened afterward.
Those Walkers were given an important task to climb up the tower for the sake of humanity.
But this story full of clich¨¦s does not end here.
Year 2023
A revival item, [Returning Stone], was found.
Just like the name said, it worked exactly as indicated.
Now you¡¯ll know what this story is about. Yes, it¡¯s a story that everyone might know.
Just when the world was about to end, the main character identally found the item that would take him back to the past.
With the discovery of the [Returning Stone], there came the truth behind the story that might¡¯ve only existed in novels.
Time traveling back to the past.
It was a good thing, but there was a problem.
¡°Dammit! I¡¯ll just go back then!¡±
¡°Yeah! We¡¯re screwed this time!¡±
¡°Me too!¡±
¡°F*ck it! Me too!¡±
Too many had gone back to the past.
Jaehwan spoke as he saw a group of people turning into light as they disappeared.
¡°There they go again...¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Is that thest of them?¡±
¡°Probably.¡±
Yoonhwan answered as he watched them. They were watching those lights disappearing from the 98th floor of the tower.
Those lights that disappeared through the sky were as beautiful as meteors.
The light that had hope on the new life of the past.
They would now forget every hour they spent in this ruin and start life anew in the peaceful past.
The safe, peaceful life that everyone once knew.
¡°Good.¡±
¡°No way.¡±
Jaehwan understood why people would want to go back to the past.
They all probably had their own stories.
Everyone would¡¯ve wanted to be the ¡®main character¡¯ of the world.
But it made Jaehwan wonder.
Did they even think about it once? The fate of people who would continue to live in the world that they had abandoned?
It had been 10 years since the discovery of the [Returning Stone]. Other than the Walkers who were killed, all the remaining Walkers went back. Thousands of them gave up on the chance to save mankind and returned to the past.
The [Returning Stone] was the reward on the 77th floor.
It was a giant stone that blocked the pathway to the 78th floor.
Everyer realized that this giant stone was actually an item.
The item had the following properties:
[Item Details]
Name: Returning Stone
Rank: Legendary
Description: Sends the user back to the past when the user was summoned. The user¡¯s memory stays intact. The stone is broken into pieces for use.
Nobody believed it at first. Although the items that the tower gave were fascinating, it seemed too good to be true.
But people were tempted.
These Walkers were those who had experienced various supernatural phenomenon in the tower. But most Walkers were without skills or the items they sought. These kinds of Walkers were tempted.
Start all over again with every piece of knowledge they¡¯d acquired?
¡°If we can break it down to pieces... everyone probably can take it!¡±
The first one who used the stone was Sword Panic, or Hwang Inchan, the leader of the front-line adventure group <>.
¡°It might be fake so I¡¯ll test it beforehand and let you know.¡±
And that was hisst words. Jaehwan was there when he said it.
¡®Everyone was fooled.¡¯
It didn¡¯t make sense. If it really took him back to the past, then there was no way for him toe back to let everyone else know.
But it was enough to make people panic.
¡°Is it true? Did he really go to the past?¡±
Some were skeptical but there were a lot who took the pieces for themselves. Inchan never returned.
Thus, the people were curious.
Why isn¡¯t he reappearing in this world? Why is the world still the same?
The answer came from the team¡¯s sole Japanese member and the middle-school¡¯s science teacher Sakamoto.
¡°Maybe it¡¯s only natural.¡±
He exined the multi-universe theory and the parallel universe theory, going through the possible oues. ording to some theories, it seemed that their history probably had parted ways from Inchan¡¯s world.
¡°Inchan must have returned sessfully, but the world he returned to had divided into another route where we will never meet him again.¡±
Most of the people were not very science-literate so they couldn¡¯t understand much.
But two things were certain.
One was that Inchan did return to the past, and him going to the past did not change the current world.
¡°Hey, is there a possibility that Inchan was transferred to elsewhere?¡±
¡°Look at the description on the stone. As far as I know, item descriptions have disyed any lies to this date.¡±
What Sakamoto said was true.
¡°I think it will send us all back to the world, but its all theoretical so we can never be sure.¡±
And like that, half of the leading expedition team went back to the past. If they were to fall into the same time period as others, they wanted to be a step ahead and be top of the others who had also gone back to the past.
That was when mankind began yearning for ¡®time travel to the past.¡¯
Everyone began thinking about what to do if they returned to the past.
There were some who thought it¡¯d be better to go back faster while others thought it was better to try getting to the higher floors beforehand. There were some who even took advantage of the stones and sold it to the Walkers on the lower floors.
Then, the Second Tower Impact urred.
It was the disaster that unleashed terrible monsters from the towers to the ground. It killed almost all of mankind except Walkers who were on the tower.
The Walkers were left with one of two choices.
Pay whatever it takes to get their hands on the [Returning Stone] to go to the past, or stay and die. But Jaehwan chose neither of the options.
¡°Damn idiots. Stop going! What will be of this world if you all go?¡±
Even with the best, front-line team <>¡¯s dismantle, Jaehwan and a few of his friends proceeded further to higher floors.
Then they were stuck on the 85th floor. Most of Jaehwan¡¯s friends were killed. There was no going forward.
Jaehwan began persuading and training other Walkersing from below. He handpicked individuals who might not be tempted by the [Returning Stone].
The final assault team was created.
The final team that stayed behind to protect the world.
Jaehwan led the team and broke through the 85th floor.
They went up and up.
There were some casualties and some went back to the past.
But they persevered.
And so, they reached the 98th floor.
Jaehwan med the Walkers who returned to the past. If even half of them stayed, the world would not have ended this way. Even after multiple tower impacts, mankind persevered. Many were dead and wounded, but they still somehow managed.
But they were at the limit.
Only two members remained.
Jaehwan did not give up.
¡°Let¡¯s go, Yoonhwan.¡±
As far as he knew, the 100th floor was the tower¡¯sst floor.
There were only two more floors.
Two more floors until the end of this hellish age.
The humankind would be freed. The world would be given another chance.
Or that¡¯s what Jaehwan thought. Or what he believed.
¡°Yoonhwan?¡±
No answer.
¡°Hey.¡±
One of the final members. Smile Knight, Kim Yoonhwan.
He smiled even during the worst times, and thus the members gave him such a name. But he wasn¡¯t smiling now.
¡°Wait...¡±
Where did he get the stone? Jaehwan nced at the small stone that Yoonhwan was holding.
¡°You... are you going to the past also?¡±
He couldn¡¯t believe it. Yoonhwan lowered his head and Jaehwan tried to jump at him, but he suddenly turned his back on him.
¡°...Go.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jaehwan.¡±
¡°Go away. Before I change my mind.¡±
Jaehwan walked toward the gate to the 99th floor while Yoonhwan watched his back.
It had been the back that he followed all the way here.
The gate opened and Jaehwan walked in. As he disappeared, Yoonhwan staggered and set himself up against the pir of the tower.
His breath began to grow heavy as blood streaked down between his clothes.
There was a small hole around Yoonhwan¡¯s chest.
It was the wound from the boss monster, Giltikas.
It wasn¡¯t something that a mere potion could heal. Only a rare-ranked Priest would be able to heal it but there were no more Priests left in this world. His best friend would have noticed the stone he was holding wasn¡¯t a [Returning Stone] immediately. Yoonhwan tightly held onto the stone. He felt the cold, rough edges. It was something he could only feel in this world.
He had learned this from Jaehwan.
He had learned how to clutch this rough, worthless life and never let it go.
But it was time to let it go.
Yoonhwan walked to the edge of the tower and stood there.
¡°It was nice to have known you, Jaehwan.¡±
Then his body disappeared off to the clouds and Jaehwan stopped as he opened the gate to the 99th floor. He used his right hand to wipe off his face. He waited until he stopped shivering and started to calmly breathe again. But he did not look back. He walked up toward 99th floor alone.
His world was not yet finished.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Millions of Stabs (1)
Ten years passed by. It had been a long time. Jaehwan had spent all that time alone on the 99th floor.
He had gone through thousands of dangers that almost killed him. He faced many dangerous situations as he climbed from the 1st floor to the 99th floor, but the number of dangers he faced just on the 99th floor easily took the cake.
The boss of 99th floor, Velkisus.
The dragon that came from had a breath attack that Jaehwan could not resist even with his [Frost Resistance] that hit its maximum.
Not only that, the durable dragon scales had crushed swords and armor many times. If it wasn¡¯t for the pieces of equipment left behind by the other Walkers, he would have had to give up a long time ago.
The Dragon Sword from 85th floor, the Frost Armor that Yoonhwan left behind, the [Bracelet of the Fire King] that Seoyul gave him before she died had been a huge help.
Han Seoyul.
Jaehwan thought of her. She had died even before she got up to the 77th floor.
Jay, the cksmith of Atopos asked, ¡°Jaehwan, are you going to try again?¡±
The vige that formed after killing Monster Dragon Alteminas of the 50th floor, Atopos.
People of the world still had hope when the vige was formed. Many Walkers were killed and wounded on the frontlines, but it still gave them hope. Priests formed an emergency team to heal the wounds while cksmiths worked to provide free repairs to those who fought.
was run by old man Jay and it was one of the best.
But he was now thest cksmith left in Atopos.
¡°Jaehwan?¡±
¡°Oh, right. Sorry.¡±
Jaehwan came back to his senses.
¡°Yeah. I think I can do it this time.¡±
¡°Are you sure?¡±
Jaehwan smiled. ¡°Yeah.¡±
It was a lie. He had no chance. He had no idea when, or if he could kill it. But he had to say it this way. Jayughed.
Jay was a foreigner.
As people got up on the tower, theirnguages werebined into themonnguage of the tower, but the cultural differences still remained. But Jaehwan considered Jay like a family. Jay hammered the Dragon Sword as he talked to Jaehwan.
¡°There are no more suppliesing from below. It wasn¡¯t a lot but there was someing up until a few months ago.¡±
Jaehwan nodded. Last week, he had checked out every floor starting from the 1st to 99th floor. But there were no survivors. He even had waited a week at the summoning area of the 1st floor but there wasn¡¯t even one who was summoned from below.
It probably meant that mankind had been wiped out. But it seemed possible.
Jaehwan did not know what the year was. There had been at least ten Tower Impacts and there probably was no one who could survive. Jaehwan managed to find one clue that was considered as a hidden piece.
The passage that used to be blocked by [Returning Stone] in the past, had some scribbling.
-Tower within the tower. A nightmare within the nightmare.
He couldn¡¯t understand it, however.
¡°Oh and ol¡¯ granny from disappeared the other day.¡±
¡°Hiren...¡±
Hiren, the ol¡¯granny from was one of thest supporter Walker remaining at Atopos. The ones who came into the tower did not age. If she disappeared, it was only one of two reasons.
Either the one went to the past, or jumped off.
Jaehwan wanted to ask which option Hiren took. But it probably was the same even if he knew. Then Jaehwan saw something deep within Jay¡¯s old eyes. It seemed he will not see Jay for much longer also.
¡°Jay, can you teach me the cksmith skill?¡±
The hammering stopped and both men looked at each for a moment.
Jay nodded silently.
Back to the 99th floor.
The Frost Dragon Velkisus was astonished at the human who hade again.
-You are one of a kind. No humans havee to the 99th floor alone until now.
Jaehwanughed. It was ironic that his hard work was being recognized by such monsters instead of mankind.
¡°I¡¯ll be sorry to kill you.¡±
-I¡¯m sorry to say that is impossible, human.
¡°No way. That scale of yours is cracking, didn¡¯t you notice?¡±
The dragon roared and Jaehwan charged with his sword in front.
It was a simple attack.
¡®Stab¡¯.
Jaehwan had started climbing the tower muchter than others. It made him miss out on the chance to get hidden skills or sses so Jaehwan gave up on everything else and concentrated on the ¡®Stab¡¯ skill.
He stabbed, stabbed and stabbed.
After about 50 million stabs, people began calling him ¡®Jaehwan the Persistent Stabber.¡¯ And that¡¯s when he felt his [Stab] changing. It became faster and more urate. It had be stronger.
60 million, 70 million... and 100 million times.
His basic [Stab] skill now had be powerful enough on par with even rarest of hidden skills. Also, it was only a basic move so it did not require him to use his mana, which made him attack endlessly.
But it was not enough to handle the Frost Dragon of the 99th floor. He barely made a scratch when he stabbed one point of the scale hundreds of times. But there were times when he managed to damage the scale with one strike.
¡®There, I see it again.¡¯
His sight became blurry and his stabbing changed its power. It was not fast, but not slow. But the stab wasn¡¯t avoidable.
¡°KAAAAAA!¡±
The Frost Dragon roared in pain.
He couldn¡¯t remember but this urred rarely. Maybe out of one in hundred thousand times, he saw a faint line on his sight. He followed it without thinking. If he were sessful in following the line, his stab managed to inflict an attack that equaled thousands of attacks.
¡®Dammit, it¡¯s still not enough.¡¯
The dragon took a deep breath and released it, filling the tower. It was a critical strike to Jaehwan who was already in bad shape. His health was dropping rapidly toward 0. Jaehwan barely managed to avoid the breath.
-It is unfortunate, human. If there were 10 more like you, you might have defeated me.
¡°Shut up.¡±
-If your foolish race wasn¡¯t tempted by the [Stone of Nightmare]... it would¡¯ve changed the fate of your race.
¡°Huh? Stone of Nightmare? What do you mean?¡±
The dragon did not answer, instead, its huge w swung at him.
¡°...I wille back.¡±
Jaehwan jumped backward to run and Frost Dragon did not go after him.
Five more years had passed by.
[Legend Incarnate: You have seeded in hunting ¡®Frost King Velokisus¡¯]
[You have achieved an impossible feat alone.]
[Acquired a new title: ¡®Nightmare of the 99th floor¡¯]
[Acquired weapon: ¡®Frost Dragon Sword¡¯]
[User¡¯s level has reached the limit.]
[User¡¯s HP has reached the limit.]
[User¡¯s Strength has reached the limit.]
[User¡¯s Dexterity has reached the limit.]
The gigantic dragon¡¯s body was disappearing.
-You... really are amazing, human.
¡°Speak. What is the [Stone of Nightmare]?¡±
-You know the answer to it.
Jaehwan did not want to believe it. He needed to learn more.
-You will know everything once you reach the final floor.
The Frost Dragon did not speak anymore. As Jaehwan finished while it disappearedpletely, he stood up and looked at the gate to thest floor. It had been so hard to even kill the Frost Dragon so he couldn¡¯t imagine what might be waiting for him on the final floor.
But he did not stop.
<<100>>
Jaehwan checked on the number at the gate. It was covered with dust, but he reached out to clean it off. Many memories shed by him as he looked at the number.
¡®Jay would be proud.¡¯
Jaehwan opened up the gate.
The 100th floor of the tower looked like an emergency operating room from various horror movies, but on a muchrger scale. Thousands of hologram panels showed various ces of the tower and some of them were showing Jaehwan.
The Jaehwan in the hologram screen seemed dumbfounded.
¡°Oh, you¡¯re here already. I thought you were going to stop by the vige first.¡±
Jaehwan grew tense and looked around. But there were no signs of any humans.
¡°Rx, rx. I forgot to send you an important message, stay where you are. These look fancy but they¡¯re really archaic so I have to do some manual work.¡±
After a few moments, a screen popped up in front of Jaehwan.
[Congrattions. You are the first to clear the tutorial game of World 294.]
[Your achievement will be recorded in the Immortal Library of the . Only the lords of the will be granted ess to the records.]
Jaehwan grew confused.
¡®What the hell is going on?¡¯
Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Millions of Stabs (2)
Tutorial game?
So everything had been only a tutorial?
Through the various floating hologram panels, a figure walked out.
¡°Whew, there we go.... OH?¡±
The figure looked at Jaehwan.
¡°WOW! We finally meet!¡±
The figure was a man in a suit with the head of a lion. He even had a gentleman¡¯s hat on him. The lionhead spoke.
¡°I¡¯m surprised! You came all the way here alone! This has never happened before!¡±
¡°...What is the meaning of this nonsense?¡±
¡°Whew ¨C what a fearsome man! Still eager to fight, eh? You sure are the Walker who received the attention of all the lords of the !¡±
¡°Who the hell are you?¡±
¡°Right! Gotta mind my manners.¡±
The lionhead then took off his hat and bowed gracefully.
¡°I¡¯m the Demon, Beasin. I¡¯m the master of the , which you justpleted and I¡¯m the master of World 294¡¯s tutorial game.¡±
Game. Tutorial game. He had not been mistaken. All of it, which wiped out mankind, had only been a tutorial. Jaehwan couldn¡¯t say anything. He was fighting a cacophony of emotions. Part of him told him to ept reality while part of him wanted to go mad.
After a while, he came back to his senses. No, he came back armed with a colder look in his eyes.
Beasin seemed impressed.
¡°Oh? You recovered pretty quickly.¡±
Jaehwan expressionlessly looked at Beasin. If he couldn¡¯t withstand the shock, he wouldn¡¯t have made it this far alone.
¡°If this is a tutorial, does that mean there¡¯s a main game waiting for me?¡±
¡°OH HO! You sure are quick to understand! Most Walkers who manage to finish either tried shing their sword at me or went mad.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the main game?¡±
¡°It¡¯s as you expect.¡±
Beasin then let out a horrible, eerieugh and snapped his fingers. Then the hologram panels immediately showed various screens.
<1st Floor>
Jaehwan was standing within a group of many.
¡°What is this? This is just like a game.¡±
It was the first time Jaehwan was summoned.
<7th Floor.>
Three people were forming a party. Someone started speaking.
¡°I¡¯m Yoonhwan. She is Seoyul.¡±
It was the first time he met Yoonhwan and Seoyul.
<32nd Floor>
Jaehwan had just managed to survive through the ¡®Shadow Cavern Trials¡¯ for a month.
It was the first time when his [Stab] had be powerful.
<54th Floor>
Jaehwan was standing there and there were people around him.
¡°I¡¯m Jaehwan. I¡¯m from Seoul and my ss is a Swordsman.¡±
Then he joined .
<66th Floor>
While he was fighting the boss monster Subus, he looked at the woman next to him.
It was first time he fell in love.
<76th Floor>
Among the bones of undead, Jaehwan wailed as he held on the woman.
He felt heartbreaking pain. It was when he lost Seoyul to the Death Knight¡¯s attack.
<77th Floor>
People disappeared with the lights. Enraged.
It was when the [Returning Stone] was found and had disbanded.
<85th Floor>
Shout of people who just cleared it.
Day of beginning of
<98th Floor>
Monster Giltikas
When he became alone after losing Yoonhwan.
<99th Floor>
When he just killed Frost Dragon while ago.
¡°This...¡±
Jaehwan could not speak. Everything he had done all this time had been recorded.
¡°It was an epic drama that went on for 30 years! I was d to have you! You know, if you stay here while doing the same thing over and over again, it¡¯s refreshing to see a story of a man like you! I¡¯m almost certain that the lords of the would have been delighted while they looked at your story.¡±
Beasin exined eagerly.
¡®Who are those lords and the ?¡¯
Jaehwan had lot to ask but he held on to it.
¡°What¡¯s your point?¡±
¡°It¡¯s simple. You can now, start the game all over again.¡± Beasin continued, ¡°With all the memory of course. It¡¯s the privilege only given to the man who cleared the tutorial game! Isn¡¯t it wonderful? It¡¯s something only exists in a novel in your world! The one who starts anew with all the memory! Isn¡¯t it great? Isn¡¯t it tempting? How do you like it?¡±
Jaehwan became dumbfounded. He said it was a reward. But wasn¡¯t the reward of clearing the tower salvation of mankind? Or what exactly was the reward for reaching the top? Did the tower speak of it?
It did not.
The tower never said a word about a ¡®Final Reward¡¯.
It only had been mankind¡¯s wish. They automatically thought, just like in other usual games, if they cleared the tower, they would be granted salvation.
The purpose just appeared on top of their heads and only thing mankind was able to do was to try to get to the purpose.
And there it was. The final reward, awaiting in front of Jaehwan. Only given to Jaehwan.
¡°So you want me to do everything I did all over again?¡±
¡°Well, you can say that. But with slight differences, of course.¡±
Jaehwan couldn¡¯t understand what was going to happen. He had been fighting only to save this world. To save the world whereas everyone had abandoned it. The purpose that kept him sane as a human being. But after he was sessful in clearing it, the only thing remaining was him wanting to give up on the world.
¡°So... you want to send me back to the past.¡± Jaehwan¡¯s voice grew cold, ¡°If you¡¯ve been watching me, then you should know. I¡¯m not going to the past.¡±
Beasin became confused.
¡°Past? Are you talking about the past?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Then came the maniacalughter.
¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±
¡°HAHAHA! RIGHT! You are absolutely right. You are the type that will never go to the past! Otherwise, you would not have made it this far. HAHAHAHA!¡±
Beasinughed maniacally for while longer. He then suddenly stopped abruptly.
¡°I will tell you a truth. One that is very brutal, but very urate.¡±
He began exining in a cold, eery voice.
¡°No item within or outside this tower, not even the one at the , can send you back in time.¡±
Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Millions of Stabs (3)
No way to go back in time?
¡°What do you mean? There must be an item that sends you back in this tower...¡±
Then Jaehwan realized.
Beasin said that there were no items that could send anyone back in time. He also exined that Jaehwan could start from the beginning. It didn¡¯t make sense. But there was one thing would allow all of this to make sense.
66th Floor.
Jaehwan had fought Subus, the lesser version of [Nightmare].
The team had spent a lot of time to defeat the monster. The illusion that made by Subus caused weak-minded Walkers to fall. The floor had be an orgy. Walkers who were trapped in the dreand created by Subus raped each other time and time again.
Jaehwan knew its power first hand. He almost raped the female Walker next to him because of it.
¡°Stone of Nightmare.¡±
Beasin narrowed his eyes.
¡°How do you know that item? That¡¯s the information you can¡¯t get.¡±
¡°The Frost Dragon told me.¡±
¡°Oh ho! That¡¯s troubling. You should not know about it yet!¡±
Beasin mumbled quietly.
¡°...This is why AI algorithm needs the best considerations! Those stupid . It¡¯s because they made a stupid number of those monsters without thinking!¡±
Jaehwan spoke as he watched Beasin mumbling to himself.
¡°So those who used the [Returning Stone] did not go to the past.¡±
Beasin turned to Jaehwan and paused. He then answered.
¡°Well, I guess since you are the first Walker to clear the tower alone, you have what it takes to know. Yes, you are right on that.¡±
Beasin snapped and the screen changed again.
¡°The one you found on 77th floor was not a [Returning Stone] but a [Stone of Nightmare]. It¡¯s a stone that traps you into a dream created by the Nightmare itself. It¡¯s a very special item.¡±
The screens showed countless Walkers. Sword Panic Hwang, Inchan... Science teacher Sakamoto... Everyone who had traveled to the past were there. They were living in a never-ending dream world, within their fantasy. Beasin seemed to be amused by it.
¡°But I did not lie. You can consider that they really did go to the past... In a certain way.¡±
Jaehwan couldn¡¯t speak. What Beasin said was right. They were those who gave up on the present and went back. They were the ones who easily cut ties with others for themselves. They were the ones who only valued the world they wanted to see. It seemed like the same end that they might have wanted.
¡°Well, but you all in this World 294 are a weird race. You were all great until the 77th floor, you know? Many challenged this tower from various worlds, but none were as sessful as you. It was like all of you had tried this kind of game for a long time.¡±
It sure was. Until they arrived at 77th floor.
¡°I even thought that if this progressed, the tutorial game would be cleared too easily. It was almost frightening! But the results were unexpected.¡±
The screens showed people using the [Returning Stone] at once.
¡°You, the humans are probably the only race that wishes to travel back in time.¡±
Jaehwan then mumbled as he saw the image of people disappearing into the light.
¡°Yeah... maybe so.¡±
Beasin nodded.
¡°So, you probably have heard enough. Let¡¯s get to the...¡±
Jaehwan interrupted him.
¡°You want me to start the game from beginning.¡±
¡°Haha, you sure got that right.¡±
¡°Without sending me back to the past.¡±
¡°Right. It is done by...¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°Yeah. Thanks to you, I now realize what this tower is.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
Jaehwan had been curious for long time. The enormous tower that appeared all of a sudden through the sky. And the mysterious message.
[Congrattions! You are chosen to be to save the world from the will of the ! Do you ept the summon?]
[Yes / No]
He agreed to the summoning. That¡¯s why he was here.
Jaehwan walked up and ced his hands on the walls. He felt the cold feeling of the stone. He had spent more time within the tower than the time he had spent time on Earth. But after all this time, he had never realized that this giant structure was an [Item]. It was time to change what he knew. He closed his eyes and focused on the tower. He imagined the shape of it. Everything he had seen and experienced.
After a few moments, his head hurt. It was as if something within him had broken down. Then a window popped up with an item description.
[Item Detail]
Name: Tower of Nightmares ¨C Tutorial Mode
Description: 2nd Creation of Nightmare [Mck], the creator of the ¡®Fortress of Remorse.¡¯ Traps the one who epts the summon into its dream world.
¡°This tower is a giant [Stone of Nightmare].¡±
Jaehwan spoke. ¡°I was already within the ¡®Dream of Nightmare¡¯ created by this tower from a long time ago. From the day I epted the summoning.¡±
Silence fell. Beasin was lowering his head so his face couldn¡¯t be seen. He shivered as if he cried for a seconds, then raised his head.
¡°HAHAHAHA!¡±
Heughed so hard. But hisughter now contained an anger of some kind.
¡°This... this is amazing! You have astonished me so many times!¡±
Beasin snapped his fingers again and the screens changed. The screen was now showing the outside world.
Jaehwan was dumbfounded. The world was fine. The city, people, everything that he considered to be gone after the Tower Impact was still standing. No one had been killed yet.
¡°As you can see, no one among you has died yet. Isn¡¯t it troubling if all of you died before even the ¡®Real Game¡¯ began?¡±
Beasin continued, ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t it wonderful that no one died? I believe it¡¯s good news for you humans who form groups like ¡®Family¡¯ or a ¡®Friends¡¯.¡±
All the people who seemed to be Walkers were sent to hospitals to be taken care of. It seemed the government was working to protect them. Among those patients was the unconscious Jaehwan. It had been many years, but his face on Earth was still his young self.
¡°You had lived tens of years here, but only a month has passed in your world.¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡®Right... this is a dream. That exins the time difference.¡¯
But this was only true if he could trust the image shown by Demon Beasin. He had no power to discern if this was all true. The demon already had lied to him, so he could not see what was the truth. Then all the screens turned off at once.
¡°Well, we have used up too much time! Anyway, I assume you realized you have nothing to lose with my offer then. You are not going back in time. You¡¯re just restarting it.¡±
Beasin then began punching something in the air.
¡°It has been a pleasure.¡±
Something popped up in front of Jaehwan.
[Gamemaster is trying to terminate the Tutorial Game. You can return back to World 294, and join the real game with all of your memory intact. Do you ept the offer?]
[Yes / No]
Jaehwan looked at the screen and made a choice.
-You have refused the offer.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Millions of Stabs (4)
¡°...What?¡±
Beasin seemed to be disturbed.
¡°RIGHT! You don¡¯t think the memory is enough as a reward!¡±
Beasinughed as he pped his forehead with his hand.
¡°Good. You have what it takes. What do you want? A hidden item? Hidden skill? Or information about hidden sses?¡±
But Jaehwan spoke the unexpected.
¡°I don¡¯t want anything.¡±
¡°Then why...¡±
For the first time, Beasin was troubled.
¡°I will kill you and move onto the next floor.¡±
Beasin¡¯s expression changed.
¡°Next... floor? There is no next floor. This is the end. Why do you think there is a next?¡±
¡°Because I decided to not trust you all.¡±
¡°Huh? You don¡¯t trust me? After all that proof?¡±
Beasin seemed irritated.
¡°Besides, you can¡¯t win. You can¡¯t kill me. The difference between you who just finished the tutorial game and me, Demon Beasin, is as different as the difference between a human and a dragon.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not much.¡±
Jaehwan spoke as he clenched the Dragon Sword from the 85th floor and the Frost Dragon Sword from the 99th floor.
72 times.
He challenged Beasin 72 times within 2 months and he never even scratched on him. When the battle was over, he returned almost dead each time. Yet Beasin never killed him.
He used everything he knew, every power and trick he acquired as he climbed up to the 100th floor.
Yet he was no match against Beasin.
He took the remaining potions from to bber onto himself and filled the tub with the holy water he got from the temple¡¯s storage and dived in it. His fatigue quickly dissipated. He also stopped by .
¡°Jay, I¡¯m here.¡±
Nobody answered.
When he returned to Atopos for the first time after he had been defeated by Beasin, the cksmith Shop was empty. He had learned cksmithing skill for this very moment, but he couldn¡¯t believe it was real.
Hisst friend had left.
He was really alone now.
Jaehwan picked up the hammer his friend had left behind.
The 100th floor of the Tower.
Beasin chewed on his fingernail as he watched the hologram of Jaehwan hammering his sword.
It was troubling. It was the first time something like this had happened.
The process of [Cultivating] to create the [Product] to withstand and adapt to life in the .
It was the first time after Beasin had be the [Cultivator] that he faced such a problem.
¡®I have to endure it... he¡¯s the precious [Product]. A very special one indeed.¡¯
He had installed in many other worlds, but none were like him.
¡®Why doesn¡¯t he want to start the real game? I even offered to give him everything!¡¯
A single Walker was now a hindrance to his entire cultivation process and Beasin groaned.
The cultivation was divided into two parts.
First, to sort out the best quality [Products] through the ¡®Tutorial Game¡¯ or the [First Cultivation]. Secondly, raise those that were picked out by going through the ¡®Real Game¡¯ or the [Second Cultivation].
Beasin could not start the second part of the process for three months because of Jaehwan. Unbeknownst of the frustration, Jaehwan steadily hammered the sword.
¡®This is crazy!¡¯
Beasin was tempted to kill Jaehwan and finish the game countless times throughout the day.
¡®Should I just kill him? But the [Harvesters] won¡¯t like it if I do...¡¯
The Tower of Nightmares was a creation of ¡®Nightmares¡¯ who were usually called [Creators] that ran on the power of the Great Tree, or the located at the center of the . It meant everything that happened within this tower was the dream created by the Tree of Imagery. This also meant that without any special way, no one who died in this dream will have its spirits die also.
But there was no telling.
The power bnce between Beasin who had acquired ¡®3rd Adaptation¡¯ power and Jaehwan who did not even finish the ¡®1st Adaptation¡¯ was too much. If Beasin identally harmed Jaehwan¡¯s spirit, there was a chance where Jaehwan would be starting the real game with a damaged spirit.
¡®I can¡¯t let that happen though.¡¯
That would surely enrage [Harvesters] or the Lords of the .
There were so many who already eyeing Jaehwan. There were some who were making their offers already, wary of the bid getting too high.
A Walker who cleared the 99th floor alone. This was a sole achievement not found within the entire Material World.
¡®They were fooled by those Nightmares with this stupid tower... what kind of control is this?¡¯
The Beasin was controlling was the first-generation tower created by Nightmares.
¡®I can¡¯t end the game without the [Product]¡¯s eptance? What kind of system is this?¡¯
If he had started the game with the new 3rd generation Tower, this would not have happened. It would have allowed him to start the real game without the [Product]¡¯s agreement.
It was a shame that they had no money.
This was something they came across when they were looking for the cheapest tower. This was bought because it was told that the tower was created by a [Master]-level Nightmare. But after trying it out in the real world, it was really archaic and although it was created by a [Master] Nightmare, but it was created before the Nightmare earned the title. It did work as intended but it had small problems in a lot of ces.
¡®I will surely bring this problem up when this is done.¡¯
Beasin gritted his teeth as he thought about the Nightmares who sold the tower.
Another month went by.
¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you tired of this?¡±
Beasin yawned as he deflected Jaehwan¡¯s attack. Jaehwan stabbed on various parts on Beasin, but he could not even touch the hair of Beasin¡¯s mane.
¡°If you agree to start the game, it will be good for both of us and of course your world. Why aren¡¯t you starting?¡±
Jaehwan did not answer.
¡°I think you are misunderstanding because of your victory against the Frost Dragon. It¡¯s no use. That dragon was only a mere copy and I¡¯m the real demon. If you really want to fight me, you need to finish the real game and spend at least tens of years at to even have a chance.¡±
Jaehwan thrust wordlessly.
¡°Come on! Please! What do you want? Answer me! I can give you everything you want!¡±
Beasin could not understand. All this fighting had no meaning.
It meant something to Jaehwan. Jaehwan had not been idling around for the past three months. There were a few reasons he held on the tutorial game.
First, Jaehwan¡¯s spirit was changing.
Beasin who gained ess to the tower by linking to the Tree of Imagery could not feel it, but his spirit was undergoing a change.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Millions of Stabs (5)
[User Details]
Name: Jaehwan
Level: 100 (At maximum level)
Title: (EX) Nightmare of 99th Floor
ss: Swordsman
Skill: (EX) Perseverance
[Status Detail]
Strength: 100 (At maximum)
Dexterity: 100 (At maximum)
Stamina: 100 (At maximum)
Will: 100 (At maximum)
Mana: 100 (At maximum)
He pulled up the screen through the Interface System. Jaehwan had tried hard to reach the limit at every end all this time. 30 years, and he had hit the maximum limit on all stats. That was when he began to think.
Can humans really be calcted with such numbers?¡¯
After some time, he began seeing something weird. He thought it was just an illusion, but it wasn¡¯t. He realized what he saw was the nature of this world. It was sometimes a smooth particle and sometimes became rough rocks. It always seemed to be in various shapes and sizes.
That¡¯s when his stabbing became unstable.
He felt a weird sensation each time he used his [Stab] skill. The skill that he had stuck in its form in perfection, had be loose and Jaehwan felt something he had been forgetting wasing back.
It was the feeling of being ¡®alive.¡¯
Jaehwan named it [Suspicion] for now. The power to look into the truth of the world. However, he had no idea how to use the power yet.
The quick thrust of Jaehwan¡¯s Dragon Sword was easily deflected. Beasin shouted in irritation,
¡°Hey, Jaehwan! Talk to me!¡±
Jaehwan did not answer.
¡°Wow, this is crazy!¡±
Beasin seemed frustrated.
¡°You are not going back! You¡¯re just starting the real game!¡±
The second reason Jaehwan wasn¡¯t ending the Tutorial, was the demon Beasin.
After some time, Jaehwan realized that for some reason, Beasin could not kill Jaehwan.
¡®I don¡¯t know why, but he can¡¯t force me.¡¯
Beasin not forcing the game to end or not killing Jaehwan right here was the proof. If he had opened the tower, he must have the power to close it, but he didn¡¯t do so. There must be a reason why. For Jaehwan, Beasin was just a good teacher right now. He challenged him countless times to adapt to the change happening with him.
Beasin was growing even more frustrated.
¡®Dammit, the due date ising closer!¡¯
However, there was nothing he could do. The only thing he can do was to ask Jaehwan,
¡°Hey! Please, answer me!¡±
¡°Answer what?¡±
Jaehwan asked as he pulled away the sword grabbed by Beasin.
¡°Wow, thank you! I thought you had gone mad because you didn¡¯t speak! I was worried that the precious [Product] had been damaged... uh, nevermind that,¡±
Beasin stuttered.
¡°Good. What do you want of me? I will do anything, other than killing myself, and moving to the next floor.¡±
Jaehwan then stopped the sword.
¡®There we go.¡¯
After Jaehwan realized he had the upper hand, he had been waiting for this very moment. He had waited until the Demon in front of him be frustrated. Jaehwan waited until Beasin could not wait any longer and took the bait.
¡°I need to ask you something then.¡±
¡°What is it? Anything!¡±
Beasin brightened up and continued,
¡°Do we now have room to negotiate?¡±
¡°Well, that depends on you.¡±
The answer made Beasin frown.
After pondering for some time, Beasin sighed and exined,
¡°Don¡¯t be surprised. The universe isn¡¯t connected in just one dimension.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°...huh? You know?¡±
Jaehwan scowled.
¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool?¡±
Jaehwan did not know much about the universe. Everything he knew about it was what he had learned from school and what he had heard from Sakamoto when he climbed the tower. But he did hear a lot of different theories about the universe.
¡°So, the universe isprised of and countless ?¡±
¡°You are right.¡±
ording to Beasin, the universe wasprised of one main dimension called and millions of other . The earth was a small within one of many . Beasin called Earth as World 294. Jaehwan summarized the exnation,
¡°So this Tower of Nightmare is to prepare Walkers to adapt to the .¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°And only the Walkers who sessfullypleted the Tutorial and the real game gets to move to the .¡±
¡°You are absolutely right. You sure grasp the idea quick.¡±
Beasin did not use the word [Cultivation] or [Harvest]. He knew what the product would be if he heard it. Jaehwan then asked,
¡°So what does adaptation do? Does it just mean getting stronger?¡±
Beasin shook his head.
¡°No, it¡¯s to get used to the of the .¡±
¡°...the one to use skills, get items, or invest status points?¡±
¡°You can say that.¡±
Beasin grinned.
¡°Most races going to the without preparation die out because they can¡¯t adjust to the system. That¡¯s why we made this to help them adjust. Through the tutorial and the real game, you learn what it is like to have the system on the and increase your survival rate. Demons like me work as an aid to this game.¡±
Beasin was careful with his exnation, but he was also astonished. He had seen no product this calm after hearing the truth about the world. All the products he had cultivated either refused to believe it or had gone mad. However, Jaehwan calmly epted what he was hearing. It seemed like he had been born for the game. And Beasin was satisfied by it.
¡°Let me ask you one more thing.¡±
¡°Go ahead.¡±
¡°Why are you doing ¡®this¡¯?¡±
Beasin smiled bitterly. He knew that Jaehwan would ask this in the end. He had cultivated thousands of products for hundreds of years. Some had be powerful beings in the while some had perished to its spirit. But all of them had asked this.
-Why are you doing this?
Beasin asked back.
¡°I don¡¯t get your question. Do you want to know why I manage the Tower of Nightmare?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Well, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what you really want to know.¡±
Beasin grinned and continued speaking,
¡°Isn¡¯t it that you want to know why I brought the Tower of Nightmares into YOUR world, instead of countless other options?¡±
Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Millions of Stabs (6)
Jaehwan did not answer and it made Beasin amused. The moment he looked forward to the most was going to happen now.
¡°There was no reason. It¡¯s only out of a whim that I picked out your world.¡±
A disaster that only happened because of a whim. Most [Products] could not ept this. They were devastated to hear that their race was faced with doom for such reason. Most spected that it somehow had a grand reason or a grand being behind it. But there was no such thing.
It was all out of coincidence. On a whim.
¡°...a whim?¡±
¡°Yes. I just happen to came across your world and started the game. There¡¯s no reason for choosing your world. It just kind of happened. Just like how you were born in your world.¡±
Beasin continued.
¡°You might be considering yourself unfortunate. You must be sad that a demon like me came to your world and killed your people.¡±
Jaehwan did not answer.
¡°Think about it. Even if I didn¡¯te here, do you think your race will live on for eternity? No way. You will all die in due time. All beings in the universe dies soon orter.¡±
Beasin continued. He was now getting to the climax. He will now be given with the face of a despaired [Product] who could not face reality. This was what Beasin loved the most.
¡°In that case, you can consider yourself lucky. At least you have received a chance to move onto the new world. It had made all the death very worthwhile. You will get a chance to move on to the and challenge to be a...¡±
¡°That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s skip the boring stories.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
Beasin could not believe what he was hearing.
¡°What I¡¯m wondering about isn¡¯t that.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°It seems like you¡¯ve misunderstood. Let me ask you again, clearly.¡±
¡°P-Please. Go on.¡±
The reins of the discussion had been passed on.
¡°What I want to know is that why are you managing this tower. What kind of reward do YOU get by doing this?¡±
¡°T-that...¡±
Beasin was shocked. This [Product] didn¡¯t seem to budge at his exnation and asked about the vital point without getting swayed.
¡°...It¡¯s just- just volunteering. Someone needs to do it, so here I am. Haha.¡±
The awkward smile made Jaehwan narrow his eyes.
¡®Volunteer?¡¯
Jaehwan looked at the particles floating above Beasin and thought. As his [Suspicion] skill got stronger, he was now able to distinguish various particles. Some stood in its ce while some moved about actively. The particles that floated above Beasin were very distinguishable. They touched Beasin and moved in some kind of formation, and disappeared toward the outside of the tower quickly.
To Jaehwan, the formation seemed like a word. It seemed Beasin was talking with someone from afar.
¡®Lord... ...sends... message...¡¯
¡®Product... cultivation... harvest... yet...¡¯
¡®Don¡¯t kill... the product...¡¯
¡®Thend... not... conversation...¡¯
¡®You can¡¯t... due date... no time...¡¯
Jaehwan spoke again.
¡°...Hmph. Let¡¯s go back to the story then.¡±
¡°Okay.¡±
Beasin felt sweat running through his back.
¡°You spoke of a ¡®Lord¡¯ back then.¡±
¡°Yes, I did.¡±
It finally came. Beasin had never spoken with a [Product] this long before finishing up the real game, so he was being extra careful that he did not make a peep about cultivation or harvesting and such.
¡°Who are they? Are they Kings?¡±
¡°It¡¯s simr. They are the rulers of the . The one who enters the will be offered to join the forces of the Lords.¡±
¡°...Forces?¡±
Beasin noticed Jaehwan¡¯s interest. No [Product] had ever shown interest in the Lords of the . Choosing the right Lord changed their future.
¡®You still are a Product after all.¡¯
Beasin grinned and continued.
¡°Not all of them will be offered. Only the strongest will be offered... but I¡¯m sure you will be offered by the strongest of the Lords.¡±
To put confidence into the [Product]. That was the first step. But Jaehwan seemed emotionless. Beasin became wary of it, but continued anyway,.
¡°If you follow my guidance, with the honor of the demon, I will swear that I help you on your future. It means I will do my best to have you sent to the best of the Lords. Of course, that¡¯s only if you clear the real game.¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s mouth almost came to a scoff.
¡®He sounds like an insurance salesman.¡¯
Jaehwan paused for a long moment, then asked, ¡°How can you prove that you are not lying?¡±
Beasin seemed to think Jaehwan had fallen for it, that his mouth turned into a faint grin.
¡°You don¡¯t need to trust me if you don¡¯t want to. I exined everything I can. There¡¯s no more.¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°Okay. I will do as you say.¡±
¡°Did you finally make up your mind?¡±
¡°Exactly 10 days. In 10 days, I will get out of this ce.¡±
Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Millions of Stabs (7)
9 dayster.
Beasin was lying on the ground, watching through hologram panel, cursing with all kinds of foul words. The panel disyed Jaehwan.
¡°Haha... f*ck.¡±
Jaehwan was still hammering on the sword.
¡°...that evil sh*t.¡±
Next to Beasin was a pile of information that consisted of the that Jaehwan requested. It did not contain anything about cultivation, the process of it, the [Product], or the Harvesters.
¡®I hope he doesn¡¯t recognize it.¡¯
Demon Beasin.
Ranked 8152nd among the Demons, or a middle-rank Demon.
His friends in the Material World called him the [Gentleman of Deception].
It was a shame for a Demon with such a name to have a hard time against a pitiful human. He would be teased for the next hundreds of years by his friends if they knew about it. Without the message he received from the harvester, it would have been easier.
[Do not kill the Product and have him face the real game. It is an amazing achievement to clear the 1st generation tower¡¯s hellish difficulty alone. It is rare, even within the Great Lands. If the cultivation is sessful, he will be an extra-special grade Product. If you damage his spirit due to yourck of attention, we will never make a deal with you in the future.]
¡®I¡¯m almost there... almost...¡¯
Beasin then called up another screen.
[Activatingmunicationwork: ]
¡®Let¡¯s see... what video should I upload this time? Oh, yes. I should upload the moment he killed the Frost Dragon.¡¯
The Tower of Nightmares installed in World 294 had been a huge gamble for Beasin, but it seemed like it had paid off this time. If he managed to finish harvesting, he would be allowed to go through the 4th mort and rank up to a middle-high rank Demon.
With that, [Big Brother] would notice him and he would be offered a job as a public cultivator and he¡¯d be able to livevishly afterward. He was almost certain of this. Even now, themunicationwork [Little Brother], which was under the control of [Big Brother] was receiving countless messages.
..
[¡®Ziegfried¡¯ the Lord of Destruction likes your video.]
[¡®Ainix¡¯ the Lord of Gold likes your video.]
[¡®Abraxas¡¯ the Lord of Undying likes your video.]
[¡®Illiones¡¯ the Lord of Forest likes your video.]
¡°HAHAHA! Those Lords are all over it!¡±
It wasn¡¯t the Lords themselves that pressed on ¡®Like¡¯ button or sent the message. They were far more dignified beings to do that. It was probably their servants who did it under their names, but it still meant a lot. It was the same as receiving the message from the lords themselves. This meant that all the Lords were observing his cultivation.
This was one of the luckiest events that would happen in thousands of years.
When he found Earth, World 294, he knew he was lucky. World 294 had no threats that could pose a threat to his cultivation. It was far from the Angels, the other [Cultivator], and was a ce where he can connect to [Big Brother], making it easier for him to gain approval to quickly start on the work. He gained the approval from [Big Brother] and he started seeking out [Creators] right away.
¡®...makes me sick to think of them. Damn Nightmares.¡¯
He would not have begged so hard under normal circumstances. He would have just rented the tower and returned it to them otherwise. Yet, this time it was different.
He had been spending modestly because he was only a middle-rank Demon, but he needed to prepare himself to reach the top ranks. He couldn¡¯t keep borrowing the tower even after he reached one of the top ranks, which would be considered humiliating.
Owning a tower. That was the dream of all Demons.
Beasin went out to do all sorts of biddings that those Nightmares asked of him so he could get the best tower possible at the best price. He thought he got the best tower in the end.
2nd creation of the [Master] level creator, Mck.
It was a tower that was made when he wasn¡¯t even a really old master yet, but it did prove to be a good tower.
¡®If not counting the devices are archaic.¡¯
Besides, the Lords would be d that the [Product] had been cultivated within the [Master]¡¯s tower.
But his luck ended there.
The race of World 294 were even better [Products] than he realized. They adapted quickly as if they had known such games for a long time. This adapting ability was the key to be strongest within the Great Lands. Beasin had met various races of ¡®Humans¡¯ but had never seen them adapting to the game this fast.
¡®Lords will love it.¡¯
But his luck ended on the 77th floor. Something he could not understand happened. Most of the [Products] had failed by the trap at the 77th floor.
Beasin could not believe what he saw.
¡®How can this be!¡¯
Most [Products] who he seemed to fetch a good price had failed. Beasin had despaired.
¡®Returning stone? Such a thing isn¡¯t even listed in the tower¡¯s manual!¡¯
He spoke as if the [Returning Stone] was intended to Jaehwan, but he had not expected of such item. He was worried as the creator of this tower was famous for his madness but never thought such a strange trap would have existed.
He wanted to remove the item at once, but if the [Harvester] found out through that Cultivator had interfered in cultivating [Products] to create better [Products]
illegally, his credit will be crushed.
The race that threw away the present to have a chance to go back into the future.
Lords of Great Lands did not like those kinds of losers. The great beings living in a bloodbath of the war did not care about the past or the future. They only existed for the presence.
Beasin thought his life was over, as he watched humans trying to return to the past.
He had no way to repay his debt he made to purchase to tower now. He thought about going into hiding for a long time. There were some Products remaining, but the number was not enough to clear the tower. Beasin then increased the tower¡¯s speed of the time to its maximum and left the tower to have a Spirit Beer. He had nned on going out for one or two days, but he drank so much that he slept through a few weeks straight.
¡®DAMMIT!¡¯
It was only a few weeks at the , but it meant tens of years at the tower. It was definite that no [Product] was remaining within.
But the unexpected happened. Cultivation was still in progress.
Beasin quickly examined the recorded video on a hologram.
There was one human that still remained. Beasin was in shock.
Most [Products] barely managed 10 years within the tower because their mental state couldn¡¯t handle the stress. But the [Product] had managed to survive for 30 years and was at the brink of clearing the 99th floor. His spirit was unhinged. Beasin was shocked. And overjoyed.
¡®THIS IS IT! IT¡¯S HIM!¡¯
Clearing the infamous difficulty of 1st Generation tower alone. It was unheard of in the entire material world. It was why Beasin had to ept every nonsense that the [Product] was doing until now. There was no telling how high of a price the [Product] might fetch him. He could not dare to damage it.
[Ignis the God of Fire, wants to send you a message. Do you ept?]
¡°Huh? Ignis?¡±
Beasin was shocked.
¡°Gods too?¡±
Like the Lords who wanted the [Product] to increase their forces, Gods needed [Products] to be their avatars. But most Gods were in contact with beings that were called [Angels] in the Material World. Lords talked with Demons and Gods talked with Angels. That was the unmentioned rule. But it had been broken now.
[Agreed to receive a message from Ignis]
Ignis: You bastard, why do you ept it so slowly? You wanna die?
Beasin: ...Aren¡¯t you a bit rude for an avatar? Who¡¯re you?
Beasin became annoyed. Even if the avatar borrowed the name of the God, manner was important.
Ignis: It¡¯s me, you f*ck.
Beasin: I don¡¯t know who you are if you don¡¯t say...
Ignis: You f*cking blind? Don¡¯t you know when you see the ID?
Beasin: Wait... are you God Ignis himself?
Ignis: You f*cking little Demon. Do you want a piece of me for real?
Beasin: N-no! Not at all. I am so sorry, O¡¯ Great One.
Ignis: I saw your video.
Beasin: D-did you see it?
Ignis: Tell me straight up. Don¡¯t even think about lying.
Beasin: ...Yes, Great one.
Ignis: You f*cked around with the mechanism, right? Or how can a f*cking human clear the 1st gen tower alone? Huh?
Beasin: I didn¡¯t do anything.
Ignis: Don¡¯t f*cking lie to me. ...C¡¯mon. I won¡¯t tell anyone.
Beasin: I¡¯m telling you the truth.
Ignis: F*ck? Okay, how much are you going to sell for it then?
Beasin: I-I¡¯m not selling it!
Ignis: F*CK! How much! Tell me! F*cking tell me now!
[Terminating the chat room]
[Ignis the God of Fire has sent you a message]
[Ignis the God of Fire has sent you a message]
[Ignis the God of Fire has sent you a message]
[Ignis the God of Fire has sent you a message]
[Aborting ]
Beasin was shocked.
¡®Dammit. Even the gods are interested in him... Ignis...¡¯
Ignis was a top-ranking god. This meant the [Product] surely was gathering a lot of attention. It made Beasin be happy with the thoughts.
¡®It¡¯s tomorrow now.¡¯
Next day, on the 100th floor of the tower.
Jaehwan read through the information provided by Beasin and memorized it carefully. Beasin asked, ¡°Are you done?¡±
¡°Yeah. Thank you.¡±
Beasin almost shouted in joy.
¡®DAMMIT! FINALLY!¡¯
Beasin barely managed to hold back his grin.
¡°If you¡¯re done, shall we start?¡±
¡°Sure.¡±
Beasin punched something in mid-air and a familiar window popped up.
[Gamemaster is trying to terminate the Tutorial Game. You can return back to your World 294 and join the real game with your memory intact. Do you ept the offer?]
[Yes / No]
Jaehwan then pulled out his Dragon Sword.
¡°...What are you doing?¡±
¡°You know what it is.¡±
-Offer rejected.
¡°I¡¯m hunting you down now.¡±
Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Millions of Stabs (8)
Beasin became dumbfounded and looked at Jaehwan.
¡°My... I was worried that you would do that. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve met someone like you.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard simr things in the past.¡±
Jaehwan spoke as he felt rough energy focusing into both of his swords. His immense spirit power was gathering at their tips.
¡°But this is my answer.¡±
Beasin then held up his both hands.
¡°Oh well, I give up. Do what you want.¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s sword thrust at Beasin. At that moment, a weird magical rune began to shine and sprouted ck wood that bound Jaehwan in his ce. It was the ck Iron Wood that existed on the 91st floor.
¡°I should¡¯ve done this from the beginning.¡±
¡°...what are you going to do? You would need my agreement or you can¡¯t end the game.¡±
¡°Well, we¡¯ll find a way. Won¡¯t we?¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to torture me,¡± Jaehwan continued. ¡°I have gone through all kinds of hell. Do you think I will lose to torture?¡±
¡°Of course, of course. Haha.¡± Beasin grinned.
¡°I actually gave up on receiving any agreement from you a long time ago.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Let me ask you this time. Why do you think this tutorial will continue forever?¡±
¡°Wait...¡±
¡°Haha, you should¡¯ve guessed. It has never reached this point before, but the Tower of Nightmares terminates the tutorial 100 days after it has been cleared.¡±
¡®But you postponed my due date, you bastard.¡¯
Beasin did not speak that out loud.
¡°I wanted 10 more days just because I wished to end this game in a more natural and safer way. And also to stop you from doing anything stupid. You can now wait there until the tutorial ends and enjoy the new game.¡±
It didn¡¯t seem he was lying. The tower had been slightly trembling since a while ago. It seemed that what Beasin said was true. Beasin felt some kind of victorious satisfaction as he looked at the face down Jaehwan. His n had been disturbed but now, this human would ept his fate. However, it was then...
¡°Demon Beasin.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°You are called the Gentleman of Deception in the ?¡±
¡°...Right. How did you know that?¡±
¡°You have lived 784 years and worked on 128 worlds to [Cultivate] various races. Spewing your filthy lies, such as promising the [Products] that you will make sure they go to Great Lords.¡±
¡°H-HOW DO YOU KNOW?!¡±
Beasin seemed in shock.
¡°What¡¯s so surprising? Is it shocking to hear this from your [Product]?¡±
¡°How...!¡±
¡°You¡¯re thinking of selling me to the [Harvester] called the Lord of Darkness. For that, you will receive a great reward that you need to go on your 4th Mort.¡±
Jaehwan looked up to the ceiling as he spoke. His [Suspicion] skill that he had trained for the past 100 days was working well. The particles within the tower were chattering and Jaehwan listened. [Suspicion] showed him a new world. A new world that told him a new story.
[...Lord of Darkness. The first stage of [Cultivate] will be ending soon. The deposits will be...]
[...This Product is an extra-special grade. I have never seen such a Product in my 784 years of life...]
[...After this deal is done, I will be a high-ranking Demon after my 4th mort. If you trust me through the cultivation...]
¡°...Who are you?¡±
¡°A [Product]. The [Product] that you raised here for over the past 30 years.¡±
Jaehwan felt the tree binding him bing loose. This was another power of his [Suspicion]. It allowed him to deny the presence of material and dismantle it.
¡°But not anymore.¡±
Two swords were thrust into the space. Beasin barely managed to dodge the attack, but his left arm was left with a long gash. It should be impossible. The enemy was a puny Walker who just cleared the tutorial, while Beasin was a Demon that finished the 3rd Mort. Only a being who passed at least the 1st Adaptation would be able to hurt him.
¡®Wait... Over-adapter?¡¯
Over-adapter.
A [Product] that had grown beyond the imagination.
¡®How did an Over-adapter appear within my tower!¡¯
There had been no records of an Over-adapter appearing during the tutorial. This was a top ranking talent even in the . Beasin could imagine the Lord of Darkness being overjoyed to hear this.
¡®But he¡¯s still at 1st Adaptation level. If I hold out for a while, the game will end.¡¯
Beasin bit his lip.
¡°This is pointless! You will be joining the game no matter what! Doing this to me is a loss!¡±
¡°We will see about that.¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s specialty was unleashed at the tip of the Frost Dragon Sword.
Stab.
Or it was hard to even call it at that anymore. From the movement to its power, Jaehwan realized through his [Suspicion]. After countless times of using [Suspicion], he realized.
¡®I have [Understood] the stabbing.¡¯
It was no more a mere thrust.
It was like a sh of lighting. Beasin¡¯s body began spraying in blood. His eyes opened in shock.
¡°2nd Adaptation?!¡±
The speed, and the power. This wasn¡¯t possible for anyone before the 2nd Adaptation.
And throughout all history, there were no 2nd Adaptations born from the tutorial.
Beasin was given no choice. If Jaehwan really did manage to gain the power of the 2nd Adaptation, Beasin had to bring out his power from the material world to fight. He quickly brought his synchronization to 80% to borrow his original body¡¯s power.
Strong spiritual power covered Beasin¡¯s body as a dark aura began swirling around him.
It was the power of a Demon of the 3rd Mort.
A Demon¡¯s 3rd Mort did have simrities to the 3rd Adaptation, but there were differences. Most adapters could not defeat Demons at the same stage. Even if the stage were the same, there was a huge difference in hands-on experience from age. A huge w raised from Beasin¡¯s hand swung at Jaehwan, damaging him instantly.
Jaehwan¡¯s body began bleeding like a fountain and his health dropped by half.
¡°SURRENDER NOW!¡±
Jaehwan felt his legs trembling from the terrible energying from Beasin. It was definitely a Demon. There was no chance that he could win. The particles forming the tower seemed to be at their limit also.
¡®Is this the end?¡¯
Jaehwan made hisst attack. His perseverance was what brought him there. He kept stabbing and stabbing. How many times did he stab? 100 million times? 200 million?
The only one who knew the answer was Jaehwan¡¯s body.
9,999,999,991
9,999,999,992
9,999,999,998
9,999,999,999
10,000,000,000!
At that moment, Jaehwan saw some kind of weird line in front of him.
He had a simr experience before when he fought against the Frost Dragon on the 99th floor. Also when he had to fight to the brink of death, he found the line. And when he did, he followed the line without thinking. It showed up when he forgot about everything else.
¡®Is that it?¡¯
Jaehwan shook in excitement. He released himself upon the line. All of his knowledge, his power, his experience. It was all thrown away at the line.
His body then began to crumble.
All the data that made up his body had been destroyed. The various status that formed his body, the power, strength, dexterity, skills, all other information.
Everything that formed his status was taken away from him.
State ofplete void.
When all those particles disappeared, his body was left with his true spirit. It seemed like if he was reborn. He was not data. He wasn¡¯t here because of a percentage. He was a living human.
¡®This is it.¡¯
Jaehwan thought.
¡®I wasn¡¯t a human until now.¡¯
A light shone from Jaehwan¡¯s body and Beasin could not do anything. It was the first time he had seen such a thing in his 784 years of life.
¡°What is... that?¡±
Beasin realized he had been mistaken.
This wasn¡¯t [Adaptation].
The world had something more terrifying than [Adaptation].
The power that everyone avoided and hated to mention.
A power so terrible that it could do more than shake up the , it could actually destroy it.
The beings of the called the power ¨C
[Awakening]
Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Millions of Stabs (9)
[Awakening].
Beasin could not believe it, but there was no other way to describe this phenomenon. If that was not the ¡®Awakening,¡¯ then what was?
However, there was no time to be shocked. A countless number of sword attacks were thrown at him. The attack power was also increasing. Beasin frantically used his ws to deflect the attacks. After blocking or deflecting every attack, and just when he thought it was over, he knew he had lost.
¡°....what... how can this be...?¡±
He felt a searing pain that seemed to rip apart his very being. His body had no visible damage, but he could feel the pain.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t kill you. But it might be more painful to be alive.¡±
What Jaehwan attacked wasn¡¯t the Beasin¡¯s spirit here. He attacked the line that connected him to outside of the tower. Jaehwan did not know but this was the ¡®Link¡¯ that existed between Beasin¡¯s spirit to its body.
The link was disconnected by Jaehwan¡¯s stab.
¡°AAAAARGH!!¡±
Beasin screamed in terrible agony.
Jaehwan took a deep breath and began to speak,
¡°Listen carefully for thest time. Humans are not something you can sell. We are not something you can put some stupid levels or status and put a price tag on.¡±
The Tower of Nightmares was trembling at a visible level. Jaehwan continued,
¡°I will not follow the damn scenario prepared by you all. I will destroy this ce and move up to the next floor. I will keep going up, and see the end of your world.¡±
Beasin, for the first time, felt fearful of this [Product]. Even high ranking adapters over the 4th Adaptation did not give off a feel like Jaehwan.
Awakener at the level of [Void]
A being whose status can¡¯t be shown by the system. Even Beasin, who was the master of the tower, could not see Jaehwan¡¯s status.
[User Detail]
Name:?????????????
Title: ??????????????
ss: ?????????????
Skills: ??????????????
Beasin shouted in pain.
¡°PLEASE! STOP! There... there¡¯s no next floor!¡±
¡°No, there is.¡±
Jaehwan had been saying ¡®Next floor¡¯ not because he was guessing.
¡°I know there is.¡±
From the 1st to 99th floor. Jaehwan had found scribbles from the passage between the 77th and 78th floor as he searched for survivors.
[Tower within the Tower. Nightmare within the Nightmare]
There were more clues like this.
On the 66th floor of the tower. There was this scribble at the back of the Subus¡¯s chair.
[All Tower of Nightmares are copies of the ¡®The First Nightmare¡¯ located at the top of the ¡®Tree of Imagery¡¯. I only think about one thing when I make my creations. If I borrow its powers, I will always end up with the same problem. All of my creations are just roots to maintain ¡®The First Nightmare¡¯.]
Scribbles that seemed to be left by some artist. Jaehwan figured this could be a hidden clue so he took note of it. Simr scribbles were also found on the 47th floor.
[I came to this conclusion. Shouldn¡¯t we climb up to the ¡®Tree of Imagery¡¯? Should we not see the secret of true creation? At the top of the ¡®Tree of Imagery,¡¯ shouldn¡¯t we face ¡®The First Nightmare¡¯?]
He couldn¡¯t realize what it meant back then. But after Jaehwan found out about the truth of the tower, these scribbles held new meaning. He realized it right away.
These were scribbles left by the creator Mck.
He couldn¡¯tprehend all the words but it did give him new insights.
Tower within the Tower, Nightmare within the Nightmare.
Tree of Imagery, Roots.
The First Nightmare at the Top.
It pointed to one fact.
¡®The world is connected.¡¯
It was only a theory, but enough to try out if it was true.
Jaehwan nced at the ceiling of the 100th floor and stabbed into it. The ceiling cracked and Beasin wailed,
¡°NO! MY TOWER! NOOOOOO!¡±
Again, and again.
Jaehwan saw it clearly through his [Suspicion].
The great flow of energy that sent particles that allowed the tower to be maintained. From the top to bottom. This area was at the far end of an enormouswork of energy flow.
Jaehwan knew if he followed the flow, he would arrive at the secret of the world.
The 100th floor was not the end.
¡®If this is a root, I probably can reach up through it.
The ceiling copsed from Jaehwan¡¯s attack and a bright light began to shine through it.
¡°NO! If you go through that way, you will never...!¡±
¡°Good-bye.¡±
He might have to y the real game in the future. But this was not the time. He was weak andcking in knowledge. It was hard to fight off just one Demon. He needed to know more and be stronger.
Light embraced Jaehwan as he jumped up into it.
He was not going to travel to the past, nor would he travel back to the world he left behind.
He chose to be in the present. This was the world he chose to be in.
Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Witch of Massacre (1)
[If you wish to be strong, climb the Tree of Imagery, only if you are confident that you will not go mad.]
-Huhyoo, Lord of Steel
Episode 2. Witch of Massacre
In the forest that seemed to be endless, the sun was high in the sky, with its heat drying up his entire body.
He could not feel how long he had been wandering.
Jaehwan wiped off his sweat as he nced around.
¡®Finally.¡¯
The footprint he found through the bushes were about the size of Jaehwan¡¯s. Even if it didn¡¯t belong to a human, surely it had been left by some form of bipedal being.
It had been a month since he broke free of the Tower of Nightmares. He had traveled through an endless forest all that time.
He wasn¡¯t sure where he was.
He must be somewhere among the , but he just couldn¡¯t figure out where it was. The heat of the forest made Jaehwan think it was ¡®Fiery Region¡¯, or one of the 12 regions from Beasin¡¯s information about the , but it didn¡¯t look like it was true since it did not have the famous ¡®Burning Tree¡¯ of the Fiery Region.
Jaehwan then thought he would know once he met with someone. He did encounter monsters simr to what he had seen at the tower, but these monsters had some special features. They all had horns, varying from one to five.
Yet none of them were enough of a threat to Jaehwan.
The strongest one he fought so far was a five-horned wolf. It moaned in pain as Jaehwan stabbed it, but it did not die at once. After a few more stabs, it was dead.
¡®So the monsters are mostly weak here.¡¯
He couldn¡¯t figure if he had be strong, or these monsters were weak. But it wasn¡¯t only monsters that he came across.
He did encounter some mysterious intelligent beings.
They were non-humans who wore white robes like ancient monks, but they had green skin and a pair of antennae on their heads.
¡°Worthless human### HOW DARE###¡±
¡°HOW### INSOLENT###¡±
He couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying, but he tried hard to speak to them as it was a rare urrence for him to met an intelligent being. Even with his [Suspicion] at full power, he still couldn¡¯t understand theirnguage.
¡°#### HORN!! ####¡±
They pointed and shouted at the horns of wolf that Jaehwan killed and carried on his belt.
¡°This?¡±
¡°###PUNY HUMAN!### HORN OF PENTAHORN!!¡±
¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m a puny human and this here is a horn.¡±
It seemed like he was able to speak.
¡°### HORN! ###¡±
A few of them approached Jaehwan and he felt a bit rmed.
¡®Why are theying all of a sudden?¡¯
¡°####¡±
There was no way he could understand. They did mention something about a horn, so Jaehwan shed it as he spoke.
¡°Good. I¡¯ll give you this if you tell me where this is...¡±
Then they attacked with their swords unsheathed. It wasn¡¯t just a threat. Jaehwan then turned to the sky. The sun-like thing was up there. It was hot.
¡°Hey.¡±
He dodged.
¡°Antennae.¡±
He dodged again.
¡°If you do that again, I¡¯ll kill you all.¡±
And he dodged yet again.
¡°Die.¡±
Soon, all of themy dead. They bled blue blood before they died and perished to dust. Jaehwan grabbed thest surviving one by its antennae and asked,
¡°Let me ask. Where is this ce?¡±
¡°HOW### HUMAN###¡±
He pulled it harder.
¡°Where.¡±
¡°Tree of Imagery### Chaos....###¡±
He pulled again.
¡°Tell me so I can understand. What are you? Demons?¡±
¡°### WE ARE FAMOUS### NO##¡±
He pulled yet again.
¡°I told you to say it so I can understand.¡±
¡°HHA### EJJJ# ARGG#¡±
It continuously spoke in a weirdnguage while Jaehwan pulled its antennae, and soon its eye turned back, showing the whites. Then Jaehwan could understand what it said.
¡°HUMAN. KILL. YOU.¡±
And those were itsst words as it bit its tongue and killed itself, turning into white dust.
¡®I thought they were weaklings.¡¯
It seemed as if it had a way toe back, since itmitted suicide without any hesitation. Jaehwan was astonished, and he buried the parts of antennae on a hill, which also turned into powder and disappeared.
He couldn¡¯t get much information but he acquired something.
It was the items that the group had in their belongings.
Most of the things weren¡¯t useful but one was good. After checking it with [Suspicion], the small white bag he had on his back was as follows:
[Item Details]
Name: Small Dimensional Backpack
Description: Use dimensional space to haul various objects. Provides 2 square meters of storage space.
¡®It¡¯s like an inventory.¡¯
After he got out of Tower of Nightmares, he was not allowed to use most skills that were provided by the Interface System, such as inventory. It was weird as Beasin had said that the Interface System worked throughout all the .
It was maybe because of the weird experience he went through before he got out of the tower.
The feeling of his body dismantling, and reassembling into a new thing.
He could not even use his [Item Identifier] skill so he had to rely on [Suspicion] to determine the details of an item.
Anyway, the backpack was the most important thing. Jaehwan gathered everything left by those he killed.
¡®What is this? A jewel?¡¯
They had well-cut crystal-like jewels. Most were blue-colored and some were red. Two of them were ck, and one of them came from thest one that hadmitted suicide.
It might be of value so Jaehwan put it into his bag.
¡®I should throw these away.¡¯
The other equipment that they had on was too big to fit in the bag. As Jaehwan was deciding on what to do, the Frost Dragon Sword at his waist began vibrating.
¡°Again?... Okay.¡±
After he got out of the Tower of Nightmares, his Frost Dragon Sword had be weird. Weird ck energy began radiating through its de and kept on vibrating as if it now had a will.
It vibrated harder when it became hungry.
Jaehwan took out the sword and thrust it into a pile of equipment. Then the de opened up like a mouth and began devouring the equipment. Jaehwan looked at it in awe. As the sword ate up the equipment, the color of the sword turned even darker. It also seemed to be increased its durability.
¡®Hmm...¡¯
Jaehwan did have a spection on what the sword had be, but it was only a guess at this stage so he decided to leave it be. There was something more important at hand. Thest good thing he earned from them.
It was the map of this forest region.
It was different and crude from the map of Earth, but he had no problem using it with the help of [Suspicion]. He read the name of the map.
¡®How do I read this? Tree... Im... Chaos... Hm...¡¯
The top of the map read . Then he remembered Beasin mentioning the Tree of Imagery once.
¡°Tree of Imagery is a huge tree located at the center of . Its purpose... well, it¡¯s not important. You¡¯ll knowter.¡±
The name also appeared with scribbles left by Mck, the creator of the tower.
[...My creation is a root to maintain ¡®The First Nightmare¡¯ at the top of Tree of Imagery...]
Afterbining of these clues, it seemed that the Tower of Nightmares was connected to the Tree of Imagery somehow, meaning the ce he had arrived at aftering out of the tower was either very close to the tree or a ce that was connected to the tree.
What was certain was that this area wasn¡¯t in the information that Beasin had given to him.
¡®Damn Demon.¡¯
It seemed like the races he killed were moving toward the mark on the map. It was possible that it was a vige of some kind. After a long examination of the map, Jaehwan was able to make out where he was on the map.
¡®I need information first.¡¯
He had been lucky to meet weaker foes, but there was no telling if it would continue to be the same. He needed to meet someone so he could gather more knowledge. He needed to consider himself as a newbie in this new world so he could survive.
But it didn¡¯t mean he would learn how to cooperate with this world.
Learn about the world, but never cooperate with it.
That was what he decided when he broke out of the Tower of Nightmares. It was also what made him break out of the tower in the first ce.
¡®There might be someone who broke out of the tower like me.¡¯
Jaehwan wished to see a living human if possible. He thought there might be humans living here who were freed from being a product. Beasin spoke to him once.
¡®There are a lot of humans out in the . World 294 is only one of them.¡¯
If what he said was true, there was a possibility that humans lived in the .
He was curious. He was curious about how the humans in thisnds lived, and what they thought about it. And what was it like to live after they left the tower?
After a long walk, Jaehwan stopped.
¡°Found it.¡±
In front of the direction of the footprints was the sound of weapons shing. He was able to see the owner of the footsteps. Through the bushes, there were about five people hunting horned monsters.
They were humans.
Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Witch of Massacre (2)
Kanghun, an officer from the Red Fox n, was happy. They had found a good prey.
¡°Keep the formation! Do as we practiced!¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡±
His teams quickly circled the monster. What they were fighting was a mid-sized ¡®unihorn.¡¯
¡®One for now.¡¯
They were powerful monsters found among the entire .
Monsters named after the number of horns it had. They were called uni, bi, tri, quad, and penta-horns, ording to the number of horns they had with the strength that only experienced [Adapters] in the could handle.
1st Stage Adapters could handle one unihorn and the only 1st stage Adapter in the team was Kanghun.
¡®It¡¯s not necessary for me to step in for now.¡¯
Parties of five were usually formed to fight a unihorn, but his party was special. Four of the party members, including Kanghun, were from the professional hunting n, ¡®Red Fox¡¯. The others were [Non-Adapters], but they were experienced unihorn hunters. They were waiting to be 1st stage Adapters.
[Leader, are you really going to continue?]
[Yeah.]
[But she seems to be fishy... are you sure?]
[Don¡¯t worry. Trust me.]
Kanghun nced at the woman shivering at next to him. She was the only non-n member of the party. She wore a dark silk robe to cover herself, but it didn¡¯t hide her beauty. She had bright red hair and pale white skin. She also had various trinkets and pieces of jewelry that sometimes peeked out through the robes. All of them seemed to hold great value.
¡®Wonderful.¡¯
The professional hunting group, ¡®Red Fox.¡¯
Most people knew of it, but they never outright mentioned what Red Fox hunted most. They hunted [Adapters]. This woman seemed to have walked into the group of hunters without knowing. They did not know where she belonged and where she came from, but Kanghun did not care. He had checked her spiritual level when he let her join their party.
¡®She¡¯s only a Non-Adapter.¡¯
A [Non-Adapter] was nothing to worry about even with a good background.
She probably had acquired all those items by luring men with her beauty.
Kanghun looked at the woman with lustful eyes on her body shape that could be seen through the robe.
¡®You might have been able to lure those men, but it will not end up like that this time.¡¯
Then, when a woman made some kind of mistake and screamed.
¡°NO! I¡¯m so, sorry!¡±
¡°Haha. It¡¯s okay.¡±
Kanghun answered as took the dagger out that was stuck in his leather armor.
¡®B*tch.¡¯
It seemed like it was her first timeing out to hunt. She had no knowledge regarding formations and there were many incidents where she attacked the party instead. It was her who brought the unihorn they were fighting in the first ce.
¡®I¡¯ll let it go because you¡¯re cute.¡¯
But soon, she had brought another unihorn.
¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±
¡°No problem. Let¡¯s get¡¯em all!¡±
Two was okay. Kanghun was nearing the end of the 1st stage so he was able to fight at least two unihorns by himself.
It was a good chance to kill the two of them and get the woman.
Everything seemed to be fine. Until another unihorn was brought upon them. The woman apologized.
¡°I¡¯m SORRY!¡±
¡°...Be careful.¡±
Kanghun answered as he frowned. It was hard to handle three of them at once.
¡®What did she do?¡¯
Three unihorns appeared in such a short time. It seemed impossible to fight this. At least they were unihorns, so that was fortunate. If it was a bihorn...
¡°Oops! I¡¯m sorryyyyy!¡±
And there she was, running as she waved with the monster chasing her from beyond. The giant monster was 10 feet tall and had two horns on its head.
¡®....that B*TCH!¡¯
And there was one who was watching everything.
It was Jaehwan.
¡®They will all die that way.¡¯
They seemed to be fighting well against the one-horned monsters, but they started losing as soon as the two-horned one appeared. Jaehwan was disappointed. He thought people in the were really powerful, but he now became curious as to how they even cleared the Tower of Nightmares.
¡®And they also have that weird woman.¡¯
He wasn¡¯t sure if she was trying to hunt or ruin the hunt.
¡®She seems to be the strongest though... are they not friends?¡¯
Jaehwan pondered. He wanted to help, but he couldn¡¯t make a decision as he wasn¡¯t sure what was happening.
¡®Let¡¯s look into it further.¡¯
Finally, they killed all three unihorns. It was a decisive battle.
¡®Now, there¡¯s one.¡¯
If Kanghun was not at the end of the 1st stage, and that bihorn had fully matured, they would have been wiped out a long time ago. It also helped to have middle-grade skill from a higher n [Fire King Squad], especially with the help of his n Master.
Middle-grade skill: [Breath of the Fire King]
It allowed the user¡¯s sword to be imbued with a glowing fire that increased its power. It was a great skill for 1st Stage Adapters who could not yet put their spirit power into the sword. The low-level skill did not allow Kanghun¡¯s sword to show the fire on the de, but it did help him stay alive. He felt dazed by using the massive amount of spiritual energy, but it seemed like they would be able to win soon.
A bihorn was a great reward when they killed. Even without the woman¡¯s item, if they managed to bring the bihorn¡¯s horns...
¡°Let me help! Hee-yah!¡±
¡°UGH!¡±
Kanghun turned down to see the dagger stuck in his thigh. The woman looked up to him with remorseful eyes.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!¡±
¡°YOU B*TCH!¡±
¡°HUH? Who¡¯re you calling b*tch! I was only trying to help!¡±
And that time, the bihorn attacked. With a crack, Kanghun¡¯s sword was broken and the shadowy figure of bihorn attacked.
¡°DAMMIT!!!!!!!!¡±
And that moment, a bright light shot out from the forest toward the monster. The bihorn then was struck and fell down with a loud sound.
Blue blood spurted out from the monster and sprayed upon Kanghun¡¯s face. He could not understand what just happened. When the monster disappeared, he first noticed the sword covered in a ck aura. It was radiating with ghostly energy.
But the sword seemed to extremely fine.
Everyone fell silent. Who was the one with such a sword? And when its owner showed himself under the bright sun, Kanghun sighed. It was a ragged man who looked like he just came out from hiding within the room for tens of years. Kanghun then came back to his senses and asked,
¡°W-who are you?¡±
To Jaehwan, that sounded like this.
¡°#W*#?¡±
Jaehwan thought there was no easy way.
After a while, Jaehwan sessfully managed to speak with the party. It was the result of using [Suspicion] to its limit.
¡°So... you are Jaehwan?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°And you just happened to be walking by?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°And you don¡¯t speak ournguage?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°That¡¯s weird... thenguage barrier doesn¡¯t happen in this ce that often...¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°...But is it really okay if we take the body of the bihorn?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t take back your words!¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Haha! Great!¡±
Kanghunughed. He was so happy. He had hunted down a bihorn and was handed over the body in its entirety.
¡°HAHAHA!¡±
Heughed hard while Jaehwan looked at him.
¡°You seem happy.¡±
¡°Of course! It¡¯s a bihorn! Don¡¯t you know them?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°...Haha. You must be joking.¡±
Kanghun¡¯s eye squirmed in irritation.
¡®What a fool!¡¯
They had captured the bihorn with a party formed to hunt unihorns. This wasn¡¯t something that could be achieved without a god watching over them. Non-Adapters could not even make a scratch and even the 1st stage Adapter would need to do its best to at least strike against the monster. That was the bihorn. His party was not enough to handle a bihorn.
Some might ask if it might change the result with some luck and perseverance.
But that was because they do not know about the . Under the system, the fight in this world was very honest. Strength was measured by status and skills. So the higher the status, the more powerful it will be to always bring victory to the higher status.
But Kanghun had achieved it.
He had killed the bihorn so he would now walk up to the 2nd stage Adapter when he returned.
Mino, who was watching everything from the back of the party was ufortable.
¡®Dammit. That was so close!¡¯
Mino, the Assassin from Dark Forest n, was one of the Ten-n.
She was the one whom they called the ¡®Witch of Massacre¡¯.
Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Witch of Massacre (3)
¡®Witch of Massacre¡¯ in a unihorn hunting party?
People who knew would haveughed. She was powerful enough to handle trihorns alone. If she had joined the unihorn party, that meant there was only one answer.
¡®What a stupid task it is.¡¯
Red Fox n.
A n that was infamous for hunting Adapters.
Mino had received a request to hunt them down from a certain Adapter. The problem was that it wasn¡¯t given to her as an official request from the Dark Forest n.
The Dark Forest n forbade Assassins from epting personal requests.
Therefore, she did not try to kill them by herself and lured the monsters instead. She could not reveal herself.
¡®Dammit... I was sure that bihorn was going to finish them.¡¯
Unique skill: [Lure]
This was the skill that gave her the nickname of the ¡®Witch of Massacre.¡¯ This allowed her to bring monsters around her. Everything went as nned. Until that strange man happened to walk by and killed the bihorn.
¡®Just walking by? No way!¡¯
Mino nced at dead corpse of the bihorn that Kanghun and the other men had picked up. It was still fresh in her memory when the monster was killed. Mino saw it clearly right in front. There were a lot within the who could kill bihorns, but the problem was how it was killed.
¡®He just stabbed it to death.¡¯
Killing a bihorn without using any skills. It didn¡¯t seem possible. It wasn¡¯t possible for Mino, or anyone else she knew. The leader of her n, the ck Forest, might be able to do that, but such a powerful figure walking around didn¡¯t make sense either.
¡®Is he from a renowned family?¡¯
There were some from renowned families from the that would visit to train.
¡®No... they will not be ragged like him.¡¯
The ones from renowned families moved in groups, wore peculiar clothing, and their walking style was easy to notice. He definitely wasn¡¯t one of them, but she couldn¡¯t make out who he was.
-Skill failed.
-Skill failed.
She had only been using the Assassin skill [Close Examination] on the man named Jaehwan. However, as if it were broken, her skill wasn¡¯t working correctly.
¡®Dammit, it¡¯s doing it again. I should learn some good skills now...¡¯
She was now left with using her secret items and her guess to find out about the man. She managed to acquire two pieces of good information.
One was that man had no skills rted to ¡®Walking.¡¯
¡®He walks too inly. If he¡¯s powerful enough to stab the bihorn to death, he must have learned some kind of walking skill...¡¯
The walking skill was an important passive skill to have within the . To ensure one¡¯s survival, one would need to quickly run away from stronger foes. Yet, that man didn¡¯t seem to have anything. In addition, there was something else that was weird.
The man¡¯s spiritual power rating was at the level of a [Non-Adapter].
Mino was shocked when she checked the rating. The Dark Forest n distributed urate tools to check spiritual power for absolute uracy as their targets might be concealing their power. Their machines allowed them to see through the spiritual powers of even the powerful ones. The machine showed the lowest rating possible for the man.
He had no skill, and he had no spiritual power.
But he killed a bihorn with one stab.
Mino was shocked.
¡°Let¡¯s rest here.¡±
Kanghun took three of his n members and chose a spot in the distance. A hawk made out of spiritual power was then sent out. It was a message-delivering skill. They were reporting the hunt.
Mino was sitting down on a cut-down tree next to Jaehwan.
Silent fell.
Mino then asked a question, breaking the silence.
¡°What are you?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I saw you kill the bihorn with one stab.¡±
She spoke to let the man know that she knew about his secret, but he didn¡¯t answer. Mino then spoke again.
¡°There¡¯s almost no Adapter in who can kill a bihorn with a single stab. Who are you? Where did youe from?¡±
¡°...What is ¡±
¡®What is ?¡¯
¡°Are you kidding me?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°How can you not know about then? Who are you?¡±
No answer.
¡°...Do you know what I¡¯m asking?¡±
She then realized he seemed to be having a hard time understanding thenguage. She then realized he might¡¯ve not understood her. She tried to ask him again, but she couldn¡¯t think of a better way to word it.
¡®Hmm... What should I do?¡¯
It would¡¯ve been easy if she showed her status window and used it as an example to show the name, n, age, and such, but it was taboo to share personal information between Adapters. Showing one¡¯s skills and status was the same as showing one¡¯s weaknesses.
Besides, she was an Assassin from the Dark Forest n.
Then she decided to show a separate status window that didn¡¯t include important information. That was when she identally pressed on the wrong window.
¡°This is me-¡±
[Individual Details]
Name: Han, Mino
Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Weight: 103 lbs
Three dimensions: 36-24-34
Breast size: 65D
Etc: Spot near the bottom end of the left eye. There¡¯s also a small spot on the right breast. Also the hip...
¡°AHHHH!¡±
She quickly closed the window, which showed her physical attributes.
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°I see. I know about you now.¡±
Mino screamed as she flushed red due to embarrassment.
¡°You knew what I was asking all along?!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t understand you.¡±
¡°Then did you ignore me?!¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Then tell me! Let make it fair!¡±
¡°...about my three measurements?¡±
¡°NOT THAT! ABOUT YOU!¡±
She screamed and Jaehwan grinned. There was a reason why Jaehwan didn¡¯t answer her directly.
As she asked who he was, he could not think of what he should describe himself as. When he was on Earth, he was the child of someone and a friend of someone. He attended college and also joined a club. He also tried to take up a job and worried about his country.
But after he came to the tower, all of that was gone.
He then made new friends and memories.
Yoonhwan, Seoyul, and Jay...
But after the tutorial was over, all of that disappeared. The only one with that terrible 30-year memory was Jaehwan because he was allowed to keep his memory for the reward of clearing the tower. His friends who he worked to climb up the tower might be alive somewhere on Earth, but they would no longer be his friends. None of them would remember Jaehwan anymore.
Everything had left him.
His past, future and his acquaintances.
But he was here. Then who was he?
¡°...I don¡¯t remember.¡±
That was the only answer he could give. And an honest one at that.
Mino was unconvinced.
¡°You think I¡¯m a fool?¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°Do you think if you say you lost your memory with a grim face, I will just nod and agree?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t say I lost my memory.¡±
¡°YOU JUST DID!¡± Mino shouted.
¡®Does he think he¡¯s a [Powerful one from the Depth] or something?¡¯
There were people who did lose their memories in , but it was rare to find someone who had lost it all like this man. There was only one group of people who experienced memory loss like that. They were the powerful ones who came back from , above . Their individual status windows were destroyed so they didn¡¯t show anything.
But the man didn¡¯t seem like he hade back from the .
That was when the sword Jaehwan was holding began vibrating as if it was crying. She knew it wasn¡¯t a normal sword, but a sword that cried? What was more surprising was what happened next.
¡°Okay, I got it. Stop crying.¡±
Jaehwan then began taking something out from his bag. Then the sword opened its de up like a mouth and began munching the item that Jaehwan gave it. Mino¡¯s eyes shook.
¡®Spirit Weapon!¡¯
The weapon that grew by eating other items. Spirit Weapons only existed within the . If that item was a Spirit Weapon, it made sense why the man was so strong.
Killing a bihorn with a single stab.
It was possible with the powerful damage that a Spirit Weapon could inflict. So, it was not the man¡¯s power that allowed it to happen. It was the sword¡¯s power.
Mino then nced at Kanghun and the Red Fox. Luckily, they didn¡¯t seem to realize what was going on here. Mino then scolded Jaehwan in her thoughts.
¡®You¡¯re so vulnerable.¡¯
Whoever he was, showing a Spirit Weapon out in the open like this showed how foolish he was. The weapon was probably very powerful, but relying on the weapon¡¯s power had its limit. Even if he was not killed here, he would soon be killed by his naivety.
Either way, it didn¡¯t matter. She just needed toplete her mission.
¡®The problem is, I¡¯m about to fail my mission.¡¯
The Red Fox was nowing back to them. It seemed like sending the report had gone well as they were all seemed to be d.
That was when Mino thought of an idea. It was a bright idea to show some of her anger for taking a peek of her three dimensions and achieve her goal at the same time. Mino then held on Jaehwan, who was dusting his butt off as he got up.
¡°OH, WAIT!¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°Now that I think about it...!¡±
Jaehwan felt something soft touching his arms. He flinched and tried to pull his arm away, but Mino did not let it go.
¡°You¡¯re Jaehwan! Jaehwan right?¡±
Jaehwan looked at Mino speaking to him in a sweet voice.
¡®Is she mad?¡¯
He wondered if this woman was the same woman who showed off her three dimension sizes just now.
¡°Don¡¯t you remember me? I¡¯m Mino! Mino Han! You know, the one you hunted with before... didn¡¯t we promise to hunt together again?¡±
Hunting?
He searched his memory just in case, but he had no such memory. It only had been a month since he came to this ce after he got out of the tower.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but...¡±
Before Jaehwan could finish speaking, Mino¡¯s elbow poked his side. Mino winked at him and Jaehwan spoke again.
¡°I don¡¯t know you.¡±
Kanghun and other party members looked at him weirdly. One of them evenughed and Mino bit her bottom lip.
¡®Dammit... you.¡¯
It seemed they were thinking Mino was trying to ask Jaehwan out and failed. She had expected this.
¡°Oh, so you don¡¯t remember me?¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°Yeah... I thought so too.¡±
¡°...?¡±
Jaehwan raised his eyebrows, but Mino smiled brightly and spoke.
¡°You lost your memory, right?¡±
Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Witch of Massacre (4)
¡°Jaehwan! You lost your memory!¡±
Jaehwan looked at Mino¡¯s face more closely.
She sure was a beauty. However, this beautiful face was forcing Jaehwan to agree that he had lost his memory.
¡°Didn¡¯t I say I didn¡¯t?¡±
Mino grinned and answered, ¡°I see... then can I ask you something? You must know these if you did not.¡±
¡°...Go ahead.¡±
¡°The region we are in. What is it called?¡±
Jaehwan couldn¡¯t answer. He had heard from various sources until now, but he did not know the correct words to describe it. As he became silent, the other party members eyed him weirdly. The attention was something he didn¡¯t like.
Then Jaehwan suddenly heard Mino whisper the answer.
[The answer is ¡®Chaos¡¯.]
Jaehwan decided to go with the answer for now.
¡°...Chaos.¡±
¡°Oh. You know.¡±
Mino smiled. It seemed she was more interesting than expected, considering that she was the type to walk around showing off her size measurements.
[But you really didn¡¯t know.]
Mino sent a message as she looked at Jaehwan with a grin.
¡°That¡¯s weird... I thought you really did lose your memory.¡±
[That¡¯s weird... howe you don¡¯t know?]
The two voices came at once. As far as Jaehwan knew, the skill [Whisper] did not work while speaking. It seemed the woman was using a different skill to send the message.
¡°Let me ask you one more thing then.¡±
¡°...Go on.¡±
¡°Do you know where is located?¡±
He had no idea. As he fell silent, Mino¡¯s voice came again.
[The answer is the Tree of Imagery. Chaos is the tree trunk portion of the Tree of Imagery.]
Jaehwan looked at Mino for a second and answered, ¡°Chaos is the trunk of the Tree of Imagery.¡±
As he answered the second question correctly, the members seemed to lose interest. Kanghun stepped up to solve the situation.
¡°Haha, I guess Mino must have misunderstood. Isn¡¯t that right, Jaehwan?¡±
Jaehwan nodded and Mino spoke.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, I guess I misunderstood. Sorry, Jaehwan.¡±
But the voice that came into Jaehwan¡¯s head was different.
[I don¡¯t know who you are and why you don¡¯t know this basic stuff, but I know two things. One is that you don¡¯t want attention and two is that you¡¯re pretty strong.]
Jaehwan listened without answering.
[I think we can make a good deal. What do you think?]
She hadplete control now.
Jaehwan was able to gain some pieces of information from Mino.
First, these members were evil criminals.
Second, Mino needed to kill these party members killed for a certain reason.
Third, Mino could not reveal her identity for another reason.
Fourth, if those party members are not killed, Mino and Jaehwan were the ones who would die tonight.
After hearing all the information, Jaehwan was able to understand what she wanted.
¡®So she wants me to kill these guys.¡¯
But he did not have the intention to do it yet. He knew these guys seemed like bad people, but it wasn¡¯t right to judge them through the first impression. In fact, cksmith Jay looked like a gangster at first but he was a good man at heart.
[You¡¯ll see soon enough. They will try to kill you too.]
And the night came.
The one who offered to camp out was the leader Kanghun. The vige wasn¡¯t far, but Kanghun reasoned that it might be dangerous to move at night as more monsters mighte out.
Jaehwan feigned sleep and used [Suspicion] to listen to the conversation between the parties with [Whisper].
[Leader, is that really?]
[Yeah. It¡¯s a Spirit Weapon for sure.]
[Spirit Weapon?]
[It¡¯s a weapon that eats up other items to continue growing. It¡¯s a valuable weapon used only by the Lords of the .]
[OH! Weapons used by the Lords!]
[Yeah. I don¡¯t think his weapon would be that powerful, but it¡¯s still an opportunity.]
It was as the woman had thought.
¡®So... I think they are talking about my sword.¡¯
It was unexpected. ording to Beasin¡¯s information, items that dropped from the Tower of Nightmares was trashpared to items from the . Jaehwan did not think his sword would draw attention because of that.
¡®I guess it was one of a kind.¡¯
He was fascinated as the sword ate up all types of equipment, but he never thought it would hold any value. He just kept it because he didn¡¯t have anything else on him.
The men continued discussing.
[But leader, isn¡¯t he strong?]
[Yes.]
[He killed a bihorn with one strike. How can we defeat him?]
[You fool.]
Kanghun scoffed and continued.
[Did you see how he killed the monster?]
[Uh... something kind of shed and...]
[He killed it with a stab.]
[Huh?]
Man seemed dumbfounded.
[How is that possible?]
[It¡¯s not possible. I bet my life that there¡¯s are very few people who can kill bihorn with a stab throughout the entire region.]
[S-so he¡¯s that strong?]
[Ugh, you fool. Hey, don¡¯t fool around and use the measuring device and check his Spirit Power.]
[Yes, sir!]
After a while...
[H-huh? Leader, his Spirit Power rating is the same as a Non-Adapter. It¡¯s lower than mine!]
[Isn¡¯t it? I knew it.]
Kanghun cackled.
[Then how did he kill the bihorn?]
[Hey, did you forget what we started talking about?]
[Uh... spirit... wait.]
[You¡¯re right.]
[Is that Spirit Weapon that strong?]
[As far as I know, all Spirit Weaponse from the . You know about that ce, right?]
[Yeah, the branches of the Tree of Imagery, right?]
[Right. That¡¯s the ce.]
[Oh... so it¡¯s the weapon from the branch!]
Jaehwan could not help butugh.
¡®I wonder what they would think if I brought this from the roots.¡¯
The conversation allowed Jaehwan to acquire the much-needed information. He was able to know the basic regions of the Tree of Imagery.
Tower of Nightmares, the roots.
Chaos, the trunk.
Depth, the branches.
So the tree was divided up into three big regions.
¡®So the Tower of Nightmares was only one of the countless roots.¡¯
He broke free from the roots to the trunk. That was this ce, Chaos.
Men continued to speak to each other.
[But Leader, how did he get the weapon? If he¡¯s from the Depth...]
[No way. Do you think Depth is some kind of a children¡¯s yground?]
[What if he¡¯s from a renowned family? There¡¯s a chance if he has such a weapon.]
[No, all members of renowned families send a message before visiting Chaos. The most recent family that sent a message to visit here was the Greens, but what part of him looks like them?]
[I heard they have these antennae stuff on their head.]
Kanghun nodded.
[And there¡¯s another piece of evidence that proves he¡¯s not from any of the renowned families.]
[What is it?]
[It¡¯s the smell.]
[A smell?]
[Doesn¡¯t he smell of something?]
[Hmm... huh? Is this...?]
Kanghun grinned.
[Yes... it¡¯s the dream smell.]
[Dream smell onlyes from the roots or the branches... then he¡¯s either of two. A Strong from the Depth or a rookie.]
Jaehwan groaned. He did not know he would bear such a scent.
[He can¡¯t be the Strong of the Depth. He¡¯s a Non-Adapter. Doesn¡¯t make sense.]
[Then, is he a rookie?]
Nobody answered but it seemed that they hade to a conclusion. They began to be filled with greed and lust.
[...what about the woman?]
[You guys take care of her. He¡¯s more important.]
[Hehe... sure. We¡¯ll take good care of her then.]
The men began to make their move.
¡®Ugh... so it dide to this.¡¯
Mino was right. These guys were criminals. Jaehwan did expect it, but it was a shame that his expectation did not betray him.
At that moment, something rolled and bumped into him.
¡°Oops!¡±
A soft feeling came from Jaehwan¡¯s right elbow. It was unmistakably a 65D sized breast.
¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here!¡±
[What are you doing! They¡¯re on the move!]
¡°Oh, Jaehwan, they¡¯re holding swords!¡±
[Come on! Do it as we nned!]
¡°EEEEK! Jaehwan! Help!¡±
[Whoa, are you not going to live up to the promise?]
The n was to have Jaehwan speak the promised words and start fighting. This was what he was supposed to say.
¡®HAHA! Red Fox, I was waiting for you. I am the Strong of the Depth who hase to punish you!¡¯
But he did not want to do that. He did not know what the Strong of the Depth was, but doing such thing just because he was taught about the region¡¯s name didn¡¯t seem fair.
[Come on! They¡¯re running in!]
Mino shouted but Jaehwan shrugged. Technically speaking, Jaehwan never even made a promise. It was Mino who just ordered him what to do.
Swords flew in.
¡°Kill them!¡±
Mino hugged Jaehwan and rolled to the side. Swords struck down on where they were lying and Mino shouted, ¡°Come on! Use your sword! The ck one! Get¡¯em with it!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have it.¡±
¡°WHAT?!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have it.¡±
Jaehwan pointed at Kanghun and Mino¡¯s eye opened in shock. The Spirit Weapon was in Kanghun¡¯s hand.
¡°I let him borrow it.¡±
¡°WHAT?! WHY!¡±
¡°He wanted to have a look while he stood guard.¡±
¡°You let him take the weapon for that stupid reason?!¡±
Of course he did not lend his weapon because of such reason. Jaehwan actually had a different purpose.
¡®I¡¯ll see how strong she is now.¡¯
Jaehwan grinned as he watched the swords flying in.
Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Witch of Massacre (5)
Kanghun grinned and the men with swords circled around Mino.
¡°Stay still... we¡¯ll have some fun soon.¡±
Mino closed her eyes and looked down.
It seemed as if she had given up on everything, but the Assassins of the Dark Forest knew what happened to enemies when she made such a face.
Mino¡¯s hands moved as the three men jumped at her.
The movements were so quick that they weren¡¯t even visible. The three men excluding Kanghun shook violently as if they had been struck with lightning and fell down. There were daggers in each of their chests. Kanghun¡¯s face turned grim.
¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I may have thrown them too hard because I¡¯m pissed.¡±
Mino smiled but her words became more vicious as she spoke.
¡°I failed on luring the monster... this partner won¡¯t cooperate... and the Spirit Weapon is in some fool¡¯s hands... so everything is working out... not so pleasantly.¡±
Kanghun felt his heart dropping as he heard the woman¡¯s ominous words.
¡°Why don¡¯t you return that sword to the owner?¡±
¡°...What if I won¡¯t?¡±
¡°It¡¯s bad to have such weapon that¡¯s not suited for your level. You will face trouble.¡±
¡°This weapon fits me better than that fool.¡±
¡°You think so? Then I guess I have no choice.¡±
Mino took off her ck robes and revealed her dark stealth cloth. Within her cloth, seven daggers came out to float by themselves in the air.
¡°You will now face trouble.¡±
Kanghun looked at her for a second and answered bitterly.
¡°Right... you really were the Witch of Massacre.¡±
¡°Huh? Did you know?¡±
¡°...how can I not know? You lured all those monsters so easily. Only a fool would not know.¡±
Kanghun answered as he gritted his teeth. Mino pped her forehead and mumbled, ¡°Dammit. Leader will lecture me again...¡±
Then, a vicious aura of energy began radiating from within her. Mino, who was posing as Non-Adapter was now exploding with Spirit Power only a high-level Adapter could use.
¡°So, it is true that Assassins from the Dark Forest can control their Spirit Power.¡±
¡°You know a lot for being a grunt.¡±
¡°...Who asked for the job?¡±
¡°Who cares? You guys killed too many Non-Adapters that there are so many who want you guys to die.¡±
¡°What, there¡¯s no way Dark Forest would work for such...¡±
Then Kanghun seemed to have realized something and asked, ¡°Wait ¨C the job. Was it a personal request?¡±
¡°Why would it matter?¡±
¡°If that is the case, you can¡¯t fight ¡®us¡¯. Witch.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Mino then felt something changing in the surroundings. The forests around had been suspicious for a while because she felt a lot of Spirit Powers. But it was distant and wasn¡¯t far from the vige so she didn¡¯t think it was anything serious. There was the possibility that they were hunters going out on a night hunt, but they were all gathering in one ce.
Mino¡¯s face turned pale. She remembered Kanghun sending the messenger bird.
¡°You think I didn¡¯t ask for reinforcements when I have the Witch from the Dark Forest and a man who killed a bihorn with one attack?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Well, I would not have asked for this much if I knew I would get hands on this Spirit Weapon so easily.¡±
Shadowy figures began showing themselves above the forest. There were a lot of them. Most were at least 1st stage Adapters while some were in the 2nd stage. And among them was someone who Mino wasn¡¯t sure if she could with a one-on-one fight against. It was a man with ck cape and a hood.
¡°ck Fox... you¡¯re here too?¡±
¡°Witch of Massacre.¡±
¡°You¡¯re that bored?¡±
¡°Think of it as an honor... that half of the Red Fox gathered just to kill you.¡±
nt the ck Fox. He was famous around the region for being a powerful 3rd stage Adapter and the n Master of the Red Fox n.
¡°...this is so freaking great.¡±
She spoke but the situation was dire. Mino counted the numbers of the enemies and asked without looking back.
¡°Hey, memory-loss. Oh, wait, the Strong of the Depth. Are you there?¡±
The voice came from behind.
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°I know it¡¯s bitte but I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I just wanted to make it look like the Red Fox had been killed by the Strong of the Depth.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°You did?¡±
Mino answered in surprise and Jaehwan repeated what he memorized in an emotionless voice.
¡°HAHA. Red Fox, I was waiting for you. I am the Strong of the Depth who hase to punish you.¡±
¡°...so you memorized it all but didn¡¯t do it?¡±
¡°I might have used it if it was better worded.¡±
Mino grinned.
¡°Haha, I see. Well, I¡¯m sorry I forced it on you.¡±
Mino smiled but her voice became serious.
¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡±
There were a lot of mixed emotios in it. Jaehwan looked at Mino¡¯s back wordlessly. He knew she did not mean any harm, but it wasn¡¯t something that could be done just by saying sorry. Mino bit her lips and spoke.
¡°You should run.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because I can¡¯t save you.¡±
That was herst way to repent. She knew that Jaehwan could not run. Jaehwan did not have any [Walking] skill that would enable him to run out of this mess. So Mino threw something over her back.
¡°What is this?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a [Stone of Escape]. You can teleport to nearest fortress. I only have one, so you should use it.¡±
¡°What about you?¡±
Mino did not answer and Jaehwan looked down at the stone. It looked very familiar. It had the shape of the stone that Jaehwan despised the most.
But this wasn¡¯t the stone that would send him back to the past. This stone was to save someone of the present.
It was the stone to save someone to have them move on to the future.
¡°Yoonhwan...¡¯
Jaehwan thought of his friend. The friend whom he could not save at the 98th floor of the tower.
Yoonhwan also held on the stone at the time.
He spoke as if it was the [Returning Stone] but Jaehwan knew that it wasn¡¯t anything like it. What if Jaehwan handed this stone to Yoonhwan at the time?
Jaehwan clenched the stone as if the stone was the answer he had learned. The feeling of the stone¡¯s rough edges came to him as if it were alive. Jaehwan spoke.
¡°Hey, let me ask you one thing.¡±
¡°...What is it.¡±
Mino did not look back and answered in tense voice.
¡°If you could go back to the past, would you go?¡±
Mino became dumbfounded.
¡°...Do you have to ask such thing at this time?¡±
She couldn¡¯t understand but she answered without hesitation as if the answer had been made long ago.
¡°I will never go back.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because I have lived so hard.¡±
She didn¡¯t go into any details but Jaehwan felt like he understood her.
¡°If I die, I die today. I¡¯m not going back.¡±
However, that answer made Jaehwan¡¯s heart pound. She would not know that her answer just changed her entire fate.
¡®Yes, that will do.¡¯
Jaehwan ced his hand on Mino¡¯s shoulder and walked up. Mino looked at him wordlessly. That was the step she could not dare to take, but Jaehwan stepped forward fearlessly.
¡°You will not die today.¡±
Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Witch of Massacre (6)
¡°Wait! You don¡¯t even have a sword!¡±
¡°I have one more.¡±
Jaehwan pulled out a sword from his dimensional backpack. It was the Dragon Sword that he got from the 88th floor of the Tower of Nightmares.
Mino shouted, ¡°That¡¯s not going to be enough...!¡±
The fight erupted before she could finish. Adapters quickly lunged at once all together. There were attacks from various weapons in a continuous strike. Some even had special skills that Mino recognized.
¡®Fire King¡¯s Fourteen Strike...!¡¯
It was the main attack skill of the Fire King n of the Ten-n of Chaos. If trained to the extreme, it allowed the weapon to wield fire and burn the area.
¡®So, the Fire King n really was selling skills to lower ns..!¡¯
The forest was burning. The fire of the Fire King burned everything in its path and the mad fox ran rampant from within. Jaehwan readied himself.
Mino knew what he was trying to do. She needed to stop Jaehwan.
A mere [Stab] was not enough to defeat the Fire King¡¯s Fourteen Strike.
But Mino could not believe what she saw. She could not believe her five senses. Thew of time was being distorted in front of her eyes.
[Void]
Mino, who was right next to Jaehwan, was able to see it for just a slight moment. The swords rushing to Jaehwan were slowing down, and Jaehwan moved through them effortlessly.
¡®...Am I dreaming?¡¯
None of the attacks couldnd on Jaehwan¡¯s seemingly frail body. It seemed as if Jaehwan did not exist.
[Suspicion]
Among the weapons, there was a way that was only shown to Jaehwan. The one line that was only visible to the one who is suspicious of the world. Jaehwan¡¯s sword moved.
It was a stab, a mere stab.
It wasn¡¯t anything grand, but with urate, rhythmic movement, the de shed the enemy¡¯s bodies. Lightning shed and brightened the darkness. Six of the Red Fox members disappeared to dust.
¡°DAMMIT! KILL HIM!¡±
The rest of them became frantic and began pairing up to attack. Fire King¡¯s Fourteen Strike attacked from all four sides, a prison cell made from the fire. It was an attack that none would stand a chance against.
Yet, Jaehwan came out from it unharmed.
¡°...How?¡±
There was much more to it than him remaining unharmed from the fire.
[Understanding]
The fire was now gathering at the end of his de, as if it actually originated from his de. Something bad was going to happen. nt, the ck Fox, shouted as he felt an attack iing.
¡°Everyone! Get to cover!¡±
Then Jaehwan thrusted. But it wasn¡¯t just a simple stab.
The air was extracted and grew silent. In that short silence, nt and the other Adapters felt their breath stop and their lungs getting struck. nt had felt this feeling a few times during his lifetime.
It was when he stood upon a Leader of the Ten-n, the strongest of the Chaos.
As the air exploded, the me shot out. The forest and humans alike burned as they were swept away by the storm of fire. Screams were covered by the explosions and broken trees and were scattered away.
What was left after the fire was burnt ash.
Mino had watched everything from start to finish.
That was when she knew. Jaehwan had given the bihorn corpse not because he was a fool. He had lent his Spirit Weapon not because he was a fool. The reason he didn¡¯t run even when he was cornered by all these Adapters wasn¡¯t because he was a fool.
He was just inly too strong.
nt, who barely managed to hide behind the trees, mumbled,
¡°...Where did such man appear from?¡±
He did get a report that a fool came with a ¡®Spirit Weapon¡¯ while he was on the way to the [Witch Hunt]. But it wasn¡¯t a fool; it was a monster. After blocking the Fire King¡¯s Fourteen Strike, he dismantled the skill and returned it with a more powerful attack. One simple attack eradicated half his team.
Defending the middle-level skill was possible for 3rd stage Adapter, but dismantling it and sending it back was unheard of. nt couldn¡¯t even guess how strong the man was.
Kanghun stuttered as he saw nt looking at him.
¡°Th-this can¡¯t be true!¡±
¡°Retreat!¡±
Kanghun gritted his teeth.
¡°I have the Spirit Weapon! I probably can defeat him with this weapon!¡±
nt nced at the ck sword that Kanghun imed to be a Spirit Weapon and shook his head.
¡°No. He¡¯s too powerful.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not true!¡±
Kanghun then charged toward Jaehwan. Jaehwan was approaching through the fire and Kanghun used his best skill to attack. The weapon was powerful enough to kill a bihorn with a stab. With this weapon, he would surely-
His attack was dodged easily. There was only the sound of his weapon swishing through the empty space. Kanghun felt his energy fading until Jaewhan effortlessly grabbed the de.
How?!
Kanghun could not understand. After all, he had done during the past, after graduating from the Tower, walked through the and came to , trained on his skills and gained status... he had endured so much.
Kanghun remembered Jaehwan¡¯s Spirit Power.
[Spirit Power: 154]
Most 1st stage Adapters had an average of 1000 so it was nothing.
¡°How did you manage with such stats...¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s eyes narrowed.
It had been a while since he heard of it. There was a time when he worked hard to increase his stats and level up. Those were in his Tower days. He had worked so hard to gain stats and gather better items. Jaehwan understood Kanghun, and that¡¯s why he could speak to him.
¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re weak.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
Jaehwan walked up to him. As he got closer, Kanghun stepped back out of fear. He could not understand the depth within Jaehwan¡¯s eyes. It was not something to be understood by numbers or stats. When Kanghun came back to his senses, he was kneeling down. Jaehwan reached out and took the sword from Kanghun and pointed the sword at the fleeing members of Red Fox.
Stab. But it was much more serious. It was if he were demonstrating what was it like to use the skill.
Kanghun shivered as he knew what about what was going to happen.
¡°...Wh...what are you?¡±
As his eyes filled with despair, a light was fired out from the de, a powerful and vicious energy that seemed to be aimed at the world itself. nt, who was running away in distance, looked back in shock but it was toote.
¡°I can¡¯t believe...¡±
nt fell to the ground with a hole in his chest. Simr sounds came from throughout the forest.
That was thest thing Kanghun was able to see.
During the dark night, a bonfire was started. Mino looked up to the dark skies and reminisced about the old days.
¡®Mino, you¡¯re not fit to be an assassin.¡¯
That was what she heard from the leader after her first failure. No, it was what she always heard each time she failed. The leader always spoke to her that her soft spot would be her doom.
She wanted to deny it.
Thus, she took the personal request even when it was forbidden. She intentionally took the hard jobs such as wiping out bandits and criminals, hoping to learn about being cold-hearted from them. After half year of hunting down various criminals, she even acquired the title, ¡®Witch of Massacre.¡¯ However, she wanted to ask today,
¡®Hey Leader, do you know that I¡¯m alive because I¡¯m not acting like an assassin?¡¯
She then turned to Jaehwan who was feeding the equipment he picked up to his weapon. He was mysterious.
¡®Who is he?¡¯
The fight was still lingering in her eyes. She had never seen such a fight before. It was shame that she offered to let him run.
¡°Hey.¡±
Mino hesitated but soon decided to call Jaehwan.
¡°What are you really?¡±
Jaehwan nced at her and looked back down on his sword.
¡°Can you tell me? Please?¡±
¡°About me? Hmph.¡±
Jaehwan then looked at Mino and grinned. He then began to speak.
¡°You know about me already.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Did you forget?¡±
He looked as if he was disappointed and Mino became confused. She could not remember him talking about himself or anything. As she was thinking, Jaehwan shook his head.
¡°Sadly, you seem to have lost your memory also.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°At least I¡¯m not the only one who lost the memory.¡±
Mino then realized something and answered in dumbfounded voice.
¡°Whoa... you... you really...¡±
She didn¡¯t imagine he would return what she did today at this moment. Minoughed.
¡°Shame on you.¡±
Jaehwan didn¡¯t answer.
¡°Give me back my stone.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have it.¡±
¡°Huh? Why?¡±
¡°Because I lost it.¡±
¡°What? It¡¯s expensive! How did you lose it?¡±
Jaehwan did not answer as Mino began speaking to him. The sounds of his sword eating away the equipment and Mino talking from his side were somehow very peaceful. It seemed Jaehwan had traveled back to the time that he had lost. A cool breeze brushed his hair and Jaewan looked up to the sky.
It was interesting. There were skies and stars. Jaehwan thought what he had been looking for was maybe like the night sky. Something that might prove that he was human in this unrealistic world.
¡°Do you really want to know about me?¡±
Mino stopped speaking all of a sudden.
¡°Then listen carefully.¡±
Mino nodded eagerly and Jaehwan spoke.
¡°I¡¯m human.¡±
¡°...Are you kidding me?¡±
Mino tried to shout but Jaehwan asked.
¡°Are YOU human?¡±
¡°Of course, I¡¯m human! I mean-¡±
Jaehwan grinned.
¡°Then that¡¯s enough.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°It¡¯s enough.¡±
¡°What do you mean...¡±
Mino tried to ask more but forgot what she was going to ask as she looked at Jaehwan. She had never seen a man that looked this lonely. As she looked at him for a while, she understood. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was enough.
Jaehwan reached to his pocket. There was a small stone at the end of his fingers. It was small, but well-crafted. Cold, but dense realism. The stone that only takes you to the present, the stone that tells you that the ce you should return to is only the present.
Jaehwan then dreamed of the old days, before the Tower of Nightmares appeared. Before nobody tried to return to the past. It was harsh and sometimes full of despair, but nobody returned to the past.
One month after escaping from the Tower.
Jaehwan had met a human for the first time.
Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Silver Bind (1)
[What do you know about the when you didn¡¯t even go into ? ...huh? Me? I¡¯ve never been there either.]
-Gainach, Lord of Sloth
The next morning, Mino was dumbfounded when she heard from Jaehwan on their way to the nearest fortress.
¡°...What did you want me to talk about?¡±
¡°About you.¡±
¡°What about me?¡±
¡°I want to know what was it like when you cleared the Tower of Nightmares.¡±
It was a boring trip, so chatting between them was natural. Mino would have considered it as such, but the problem was the topic.
¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit rude to ask that all of a sudden?¡±
Asking what happened in the tower was a taboo between Adapters. That¡¯s why people did not even mention it by the name ¡®Tower of Nightmares,¡¯ and instead called it ¡®Roots¡¯.
Nobody wanted to remember the time of when they were a [Product].
It had been eight years since Mino cleared the tower, but she still had nightmares from when she managed to survive through the Roots.
¡°I want to listen to your story in return for saving your life.¡±
Mino bit on her lip and spoke.
¡°...Okay.¡±
She thought about it for a second and began her story.
¡°My homeworld was called ¡®Arkal¡¯.¡±
10 years ago, a Tower of Nightmares appeared in Mino¡¯s World 7651. She did not remember how it looked now, but what she remembered was that just like how her world was nothing special, so was the tower. It was one of the mass-produced towers created to [Cultivate]. But the people¡¯s lives and deaths that happened within the tower weren¡¯t mass-produced.
After beating the tutorial and the real game, she reached the 100th floor. There, she, along with her friends, met the Demon, or [Cultivator]. She still could not forget what the demon said after looking at them disinterestedly.
-Bah, this is a failure. You¡¯re all Non-Adapters.
The forest was still dense. Jaehwan pushed on, ¡°What happened next?¡±
Mino seemed reluctant to continue.
¡°It¡¯s amon story of a girl getting out of the Roots and surviving through the Great Lands.¡±
¡°Care to go into details?¡±
Mino let out a deep sigh.
¡°...If you insist.¡±
She still remembered her excitement when she set foot upon the . Demons spoke to her.
-No money, or education matters within the . The only thing valuable thing was the numbers.
It was the promisednd after a long nightmare. Mino thought everything would turn out great. She thought with her items and skills, she would enjoy life on the .
But she was mistaken.
The was not the utopia that the Demons spoke of. Mino had to gather skills instead of money and increased Spirit Power instead of education.
More, better, and higher.
And Mino was a Non-Adapter, not to be associated with such words. She was at the far bottom of the food chain. So there was only one thing she could do. She always had to run, run, and run.
¡°After that is as you know. Most peoplee to Chaos for simr reasons.¡±
Mino frowned as she spoke, seemingly pained to have to reminisce about her past.
¡°You¡¯re cruel to make me remember of all that.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. But I wanted to hear it.¡±
Jaehwan did not need ¡®Mino¡¯s story¡¯. What he wanted was themon story of Adapters who cleared the Tower of Nightmares.
¡°...It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just consider it as having paid my debt for you saving me yesterday. Besides, it wasn¡¯t all that bad to speak of it, I think time really did pass quicker.¡±
Mino seemed refreshed as she spoke. It was as if she just finished a long novel that she had been hesitating to read.
One forest ended and another forest began. Now there were more shallow trees. Mino then spoke as if she was waiting.
¡°Okay, it¡¯s your turn now.¡±
¡°My turn?¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t we y fair? I talked about mine, so you should talk about yours.¡±
She was about to say that she would consider it as repayment but changed her mind.
¡°You still want to know who I am?¡±
Mino grinned.
¡°No, I just want to know about your story.¡±
Knowing about a person meant one needed to know the story behind them. It was obvious that who he was would be shown from his story. Jaehwan thought she suited the name ¡®Fox¡¯ more than those Red Fox members that he killed yesterday.
¡°Did you forget that I lost my memory?¡±
¡°...You and your memory loss. Are you still upset about what I did yesterday?¡±
Jaehwan shook his head and Mino eyed him strangely. Jaehwan did mention he did not know anything about . However, that was strange. There was a possibility of someone not knowing about if he was outside, but anyone inside it should know.
That was the kind of world was.
¡°So... you don¡¯t have any memory of when you walked into ... I mean, any memory of the ?¡±
¡°You can say that.¡±
He had never been to the , so he was not lying. Then Mino looked at Jaehwan with an expression that he saw for the first time on her face. It seemed-
¡°If that¡¯s true... I envy you.¡±
It was the expression of someone who was truly envious.
¡°What?¡±
¡°I envy that you don¡¯t have any memory of that ce.¡±
Jaehwan became curious and asked, ¡°What part about memory loss do you envy?¡±
¡°Most people here will envy you also.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
Mino did not answer.
Then a tower that seemed to belong to the fortress appeared in the distance. They were nearing their destination.
¡°That¡¯s Gorgon Fortress. It¡¯s thergest one around here.¡±
Jaehwan felt strange looking at the walls of the fortress. So, even within , there were groups of people living inmunities. It seemed the world still had basic human civilization.
-Most peoplee to Chaos for simr reasons.
Jaehwan became curious. Under what circumstances did Minoe here to have said that? Jaehwan asked about it casually. Then, he realized he had made a mistake.
¡°...You asked ¡®How¡¯ I came here?¡±
It was a cold voice. Mino¡¯s expression was frozen solid.
¡°You will regret that you even asked once you find out the answer to that.¡±
She then walked ahead.
The forest ended and there was now a medieval castle in front of them. He had never seen a fortress asrge as this. The Atopos that humans built to the 50th floor was probably a shackpared to this. The walls had various traces of reinforcements and repairs that showed that the fortress had been standing here for quite some time.
But, there was an interesting ce by the entrance. It had a great magic rune.
Jaehwan felt something familiar from it. He knew a simr ce. It was simr to the ¡®Summoning Ground¡¯ of the 1st floor of Tower of Nightmares.
¡°I-I don¡¯t want to die!¡±
¡°Save me!¡±
On the magic rune, naked people were cowering. Some were grabbing their chests and wailing, while others were moaning in pain. Some had destroyed faces as if they had been attacked while some seemed to be sleeping peacefully. But Jaehwan knew at once.
They all had different expressions, but they were in fact, in one emotion.
Jaehwan knew when people felt such an emotion.
At that time, the rune shone and another group of people appeared on top of it. People naked, shivering in fear. Screaming, moaning in despair...
He felt a chill run down his spine.
¡°So, they are...¡±
¡°Do you know what you asked me now?¡±
Mino seemed pained from even watching.
¡°...You asked ¡®how¡¯ I came to ? Don¡¯t you ever ask that to anybody here.¡±
Mino then took a dagger out from her clothes and made a small cut on her pinky finger. The blood spilled out from her finger and into the air, then it became white powder and disappeared.
In this world, the spirit disappeared into white particles.
It wasn¡¯t surprising as he had seen it hundreds of times and also saw when he killed Red Fox. But that¡¯s why he forgot. He had forgotten that the human body did not disappear. They bled and died in agony.
They did not disappear into powder.
Jaehwan finally understood the truth of this world.
¡°I see... so people here already have...¡±
Jaehwan looked at the summoning ground with a sad expression and Mino nodded.
¡°Wee to the world of the dead, .¡±
Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Silver Bind (2)
The , the promisednd.
Adapters who had lived for some time within thend knew what the ¡®Promised Land¡¯ stood for. Thend did not promise any chances, but promised one thing.
It was rted to death.
¡°...you can onlye here when you die.¡±
Jaehwan realized why he wasn¡¯t able to move to the and had insteade to . If he had his body, he would¡¯ve been able to move onto the . But Jaehwan broke out of the tower after clearing the tutorial with only his spirit. That was why Tree of Imagery categorized him as a ¡®dead man¡¯ and sent him here.
It was the ce where all spirits withered away from the Great Lands gathered.
That was Chaos.
Jaehwan looked at the naked people who were sent out in spirit form. They got out of the roots but were sent to the trunk. Most of them were men but some were women. However, they all had looks of despair. Some of them did not even realize that they were dead.
¡°So, this is the st chance¡¯ given by the damn .¡±
Mino spoke as she looked upon the summoning ground.
¡°If you die here, you¡¯re finished. The spirit will be sent as nutrients for the Tree. There are no more chances.¡±
Jaehwan thought about the Red Fox members who had scattered away.
¡°So, the people here still have a ¡®chance¡¯?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Is there a way to find a body?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a really small chance but if you survive here...¡±
It seemed brutal. Even after death, you still needed to find a way to ¡®survive¡¯. Mino looked bitter as she at the people.
¡®That¡¯s why she¡¯s envious of me.¡¯
She, too, hade here upon her death. It was a memory that no one wanted to think. Jaehwan¡¯s question, ¡°How did youe to ?¡± meant that he was asking, ¡°How did you die?¡±
The rune faded and soldiers came over the bridge from the fortress entrance.
¡°Damn, there¡¯s a lot this time also. Let¡¯s get to work!¡±
A bearded man in a uniform shouted and soldiers began working to hold up the wounded.
¡°Hey! Get yourself together! You died because you¡¯re so helpless!¡±
The neers were escorted into the fortress by the soldiers. It seemed that it was their job to take care of the dead.
¡°Hey, put this on and go stand in the line.¡±
Tens of people lined up in front of the office. Upon a small stage in front of the office stood the bearded man. He looked around and then spoke,
¡°You all probably know where you are by now. You might be thinking that it¡¯s not true, but it is. You all are ¡®REALLY¡¯ dead. Most of you probably died in the first battle of the . Your heads were probably crushed or your intestines were blown out like insects.¡±
Everyone¡¯s expressions became grim. What he said was true. Most of the people standing there had died as soon as they entered the .
¡°Do any one of you know why you died?¡±
Nobody answered as the bearded man stayed silent. He took out a cigarette from his clothing and lit it. He was giving them time to find a reason. It allowed them toe to a conclusion.
Some of the women were shaking with cold as the rags that covered them weren¡¯t enough. The bearded man threw his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. Then one of the men asked with a shaky voice, ¡°Was it... because we were weak?¡±
It seemed like he was being crushed from within just by saying it. The bearded man scoffed, ¡°Yes, but to be more precise...¡±
He drew in everyone¡¯s attention.
¡°You all died like insects because you did not put in enough work.¡±
The people began to mumble to each other. They disagreed. Every one of them here had put in enough work. The Tower of Nightmares wasn¡¯t easy to clear if they did not try. Some even red at the bearded man.
¡°You look like you don¡¯t agree. Think about it. Did you try really hard? To your st¡¯ breath?¡±
He intentionally emphasized the word st¡¯.
¡°You have died once, so now you will know. You, after getting killed with your intestines gutted open, head chopped off, being raped and left for dead, will know. You will know what I mean by ¡®dying breath.¡¯¡±
The people moaned and cried, the memories of their deaths were still fresh. They could not look at the bearded man. He was right after all. After they died, they now realized that they had never tried so hard to the point where it might kill them.
¡°But you all are lucky. You will be given another chance. A chance to try harder.¡±
Some looked up at him.
¡°You need to know only one thing. If you die here, you will ¡®really¡¯ die.¡±
Those were terrifying words for the people who had died once.
¡°So what you need to do here is only one thing. Survive. Keep surviving.¡±
Survive.
¡°Live, and work on your skills. Empower yourself. Wait for a chance.¡±
Wait and grow in power.
¡°That¡¯s when the miracle wille. I assure you, the ones who try hard will get a chance to leave the Tree of Imagery. Try hard to avenge your enemy. Do what it takes to return what you have suffered. That is all I can say.¡±
The people who listened were speechless. Some even shivered.
The speech was over. The soldiers around them pped emotionlessly. Then, they began guiding the neers into the office.
¡°Men, this way. Women, that way. Come.¡±
The soldiers approached the bearded man as he came down from the stage.
¡°It was a great speech!¡±
¡°What a great speech it was, Lieutenant!¡±
The bearded man took the water from the soldier and mumbled,
¡°...Nah.¡±
He was uninterested. He had probably repeated the same speech over hundreds of times. The words all sounded great, but he knew they were all lies.
No one among them would be able to leave this Tree of Imagery. Like everyone did when they were in the , most would die on their ¡®First Hunt¡¯, and those who survived would continue to barely live.
Like himself.
Then someone said, ¡°James, that was some speech. I thought you only did that when you ask girls out.¡±
James narrowed his eyes. There was a man and a woman approaching the gate. The woman was a beauty, she wore a ck robe and had bright red hair. There was no way he would not remember such a beautiful girl.
¡°Did you forget me already? C¡¯mon, James.¡±
Something shed in his head and the woman¡¯s features changed. Long ck hair and glistening eyes. Pale skin that was almost white. James brightened up.
¡°...Wow! Who do we have here? Isn¡¯t it Mino from the Dark Forest?¡±
Mino frowned as she quickly changed her features again.
¡°Don¡¯t say that out loud!¡±
Jaehwan nced at James and Mino. It seemed the two of them knew each other.
¡°So, you¡¯re now a Lieutenant Captain?¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I did that speech.¡±
James scanned Mino¡¯s body up and down as if he was starting a check at the gate.
¡°I waited too long for your speech to end. It would be great if you let us pass quickly.¡±
James grinned.
¡°What brings you all the way to the North entrance? Don¡¯t you normally use the other side?¡±
¡°Yeah, I just happened toe this way today.¡±
Mino didn¡¯t seem to want to go into detail and quickly answered,
¡°I don¡¯t need to ¡®Identify¡¯ myself right? You know my face.¡±
Jaehwan then looked at Mino. She then sighed and smiled.
[You don¡¯t know about ¡®Identify¡¯ also?]
Jaehwan nodded, and Mino sent another Whisper.
[Everyone entering the fortress must identify themselves. You usually pop up the User Details to prove it... you know how to do that, right?]
Jaehwan had not done it, so he did not know. But, he had a bigger problem. He could not use the Interface System at all. Ever since he had broken out from the Tower of Nightmares, he could not use any of the abilities rted to the Interface System. That was when Lieutenant James spoke, ¡°Mino.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry but things have changed.¡±
¡°...What? What do you mean?¡±
¡°Our policies have changed. We need certification from everyone who enters the fortress now.¡±
¡°Certification?¡±
Mino looked confused.
¡°You mean the old certification that [Big Brother] used to distribute?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Why? Wasn¡¯t it gone after we were allowed to use the Interface System within the Tree of Imagery?¡±
¡°I heard that the system has some problems right now and doesn¡¯t work properly.¡±
Mino then remembered her skill to identify failed. She thought her skill was broken, but it seemed like it was rted to this.
¡°Anyway, there are a lot of cases where the User Status window is corrupted. That¡¯s why all the fortresses in now requires ¡®Certification¡¯ to identify themselves.¡±
¡°Why now...?¡±
It was annoying. Mino ranted and looked at Jaehwan.
[Hey, do you have certification?]
Jaehwan did not answer.
[...I guess you don¡¯t.]
Then something came up in her mind. There were a lot of instances where the man made some rude mistakes such as asking about her past and asking taboo questions.
Mino grinned teasingly.
¡°James.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°I forgot my certification, but won¡¯t this do? We¡¯re not strangers after all.¡±
Mino smiled and handed James something. It was an envelope with white powder. James looked at it and answered,
¡°Good medicine. How many horns was this?¡±
¡°Bihorn.¡±
¡°You must be having good hunts these days.¡±
James smiled as he epted the envelope stuffed it into his pocket, satisfied. He then turned to Jaehwan and asked, ¡°Is he your friend?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡±
Mino walked past James and grinned teasingly.
¡°Uh, he said he lost his memory...? Or something.¡±
Jaehwan stood without a word and James spoke,
¡°Then I need your certification.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have it.¡±
¡°Huh? Then you can¡¯te in.¡±
¡°Do you need it?¡±
James and the other soldiers became dumbfounded.
¡°Of course.¡±
¡°Because I can¡¯t prove myself?¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°But I can prove to myself that I am me. Why do you need anything else?¡±
¡°Haha, are you trying to fool around with me?¡±
The soldiers began closing in as they gripped their weapons. Mino grinned as she watched from the entrance of the wall.
[Why don¡¯t you ask me for help now? If you want, I can help you.]
Even if Jaehwan was powerful, he was only an individual who needed to follow the rules of this world. This world had rules.
¡®Maybe I overdid it.¡¯
Even without a Certification, it was easy for her to persuade one or two soldiers. But something weird happened. The energy changed within Jaehwan. His left foot stepped back and he lowered his shoulders. It was a slight change that only Mino noticed, and if he were toy his hands on the swords...
¡®Wait!¡¯
Mino quickly used Whisper.
[Wait! Don¡¯t do that!]
She sounded desperate.
[I know you¡¯re strong, but you will be a criminal if you kill them!]
Jaehwan didn¡¯t seem to want to budge and Mino bit her lip.
[You can¡¯t fight the whole fortress! Do you know what that means?]
However, that did not change Jaehwan¡¯s stance. The foolish soldiers did not know, but Mino shook at the powerful presence gathering within Jaehwan. It even gave her an illusion of Jaehwan killing everyone here and strolling in.
The devastation from yesterday came back to her. The terrifying stab that burned the entire forest.
Mino realized she had made a mistake.
This man wasn¡¯t just strong. He was also not bound by anyws.
She knew then that he would draw his sword. He would kill all the soldiers and if needed, fight the entire fortress. The matter of ¡®if he could win or not¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to bother him.
Mino became pale.
Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Silver Bind (3)
Killing soldiers was easy for high-ranked Adapters in . The problem was what came after.
Fighting the ¡®Fortress¡¯.
This was very different from fighting against an individual or a n. The fortress worked as an administrator who controlled the Interface System and information about Adapters.
A fortress meant it was a world.
The leaders of the Ten-n could kill high ranking Adapters single-handedly, but they would not attempt such a foolish action. There was no benefit to it.
Mino realized that this man would not care about any of that.
¡°Wa-wa-wai-wait-WAIT! James! He¡¯s my friend!¡±
¡°...Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t know him?¡±
¡°I was just fooling around.¡±
Mino answered quickly, smiling awkwardly.
¡°...¡±
¡°Please, can you let him pass?¡±
James looked at the man again. It seemed like he was only a rookie in . James, with his job to teach neers, did not want to let the man go after he did something that he was not allowed to do.
¡°What if I say no?¡±
¡®It will mean death for all of you, you fool!¡¯
But she couldn¡¯t say that. Her joke was now endangering a man¡¯s life.
¡°I¡¯ll treat you once if you let it go this time.¡±
¡°No.¡±
Mino bit her lip.
¡°What¡¯s with you? I¡¯ll pay more if you need it. Do you want a horn?¡±
James narrowed his eyes at Mino¡¯s over-eagerness.
¡°You doing that makes him more suspicious. I¡¯ll take him to the Captain.¡±
Mino frowned. All gates of the fortress had a Captain. Most of them were powerful enough to easily handle 1st or 2nd stage Adapters. The one at this northern gate was the most famous among the gates. People called him...
Karlton the Stubborn!
Mino had to go through a series of annoyances because of him in the past. Karlton was infamous, but it wasn¡¯t because he was violent, rude, or corrupted. It was the opposite.
No gate captain was innocent and Karlton was no exception. Born within the subfamily of the Sky people, the ones who inherited the blood of Angels, Karlton was a person who went by the book.
That was the problem.
The gate captains needed to be corrupt. They needed to be bribed to let criminals pass. That would allow the fortress¡¯ underground markets to thrive, allowing the officials in the fortress to gain more profit.
However, Karlton never allowed any unjust habits.
That was why people avoideding through the northern gate. Even innocent people had been taken in for simple mistakes.
Mino looked at Jaehwan.
¡®If he meets Karlton, it will be the end for him.¡¯
One was an ouw who did not abide by the rules, and the other was a Sky person who did not let such things happen. She felt sweat rolling down her back.
¡°James, he¡¯s not a bad person. You¡¯re mistaken! Come on!¡±
Mino began to exin frantically.
¡°This person saved me! You know the Red Fox n, right? He killed them all single-handedly!¡±
¡°Killed the Red Fox n alone?¡±
¡°Yeah! He¡¯s not suspicious!¡±
James looked at Jaehwan again. He seemed to have a good sword, but other than that, he looked like a beggar.
¡°...It makes him more suspicious, you know.¡±
¡°N-no, I mean... Hey! You should say something!¡±
Jaehwan narrowed his eyes at that. It seemed that he was also enjoying the moment. Mino sent a [Whisper].
[Come on! I was just joking around!]
Mino begged and Jaehwan answered, ¡°She speaks the truth.¡±
Mino frowned.
¡°Please, exin in detail! Tell him how you killed them and where!¡±
Jaehwan did not answer and James scoffed. Another [Whisper] was sent to Jaehwan.
[Come on! Please! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry, okay?]
Mino then saw Jaehwan focus on someone approaching. A powerful Spirit energy was approaching. It was the person that made her efforts useless.
It was a tall, fair-skinned, handsome man. Other than a silvery wing on his back, he looked just like a human.
The most stubborn one within the Gorgon Fortress.
Mino became grim as James brightened up.
¡°...What is going on here?¡±
It was Captain Karlton the Stubborn.
After hearing what happened, Karlton scratched his clean chin. It was his habit when he was thinking. He was famous not only for being stubborn but also for his handsomeness.
It was beautiful to see how he gently touched his chin with his blonde hair tied behind him. Some sculptors even sculpted Karlton touching his chin and sold them to the women in the fortress.
The most famous of all was [Karlton in deep thought].
But to Mino, he was just a stubborn, annoying gate Captain.
¡°So, Captain, he killed the Red Fox n...¡±
¡°Everything¡¯s fine about the Red Fox n now. Thank you.¡±
Mino closed her mouth. The situation had gotten worse. Karlton asked Jaehwan, ¡°So, you want to enter our fortress?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°But you don¡¯t have a Certificate.¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°Then you can¡¯t enter.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
Karlton closed his mouth. Why was he asking the obvious? He couldn¡¯t understand it. He had been doing this for over 55 years, and no one asked such an obvious question. It was just not possible. There was no reason for it. However, Karlton seemed happy to hear that question.
Mino pped her forehead. It was time for ¡®that¡¯.
Karlton opened his mouth,
¡°If you cannot prove yourself with a Certificate, a Captain has the right to turn a visitor away. It is written in Chapter 27, the 4th Line of Gorgon- Entrance Code of Law. And ording to Chapter 34...¡±
The soldiers became excited.
¡°It¡¯s here! Captain¡¯s [Stubborn Encyclopedia of Law]!¡±
¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve heard it.¡±
¡°How does he memorize all that?¡±
¡°I sometimes think it might be a lie. Doesn¡¯t it sound different every time?¡±
The soldiers seemed excited because they trusted their captain. The one that Adapters agreed to be the strongest of the gate captains was obviously Karlton. For the past 55 years, not once was his gate breached. Nobody knew how strong Karlton was.
¡°...and ording to thew in Chapter 2, line 7, we can take custody of the traveler...¡±
Jaehwan interrupted him. ¡°Stop. I get it.¡±
The guards immediately turned to Jaehwan.
¡°So you want to arrest me?¡±
Everyone moaned. No one had spoken like that to Karlton in thest 10 years. Karlton did not change his expression but every soldier knew. Karlton was really angry now.
¡°If you do not have the ¡®Certification¡¯, I might have to do that.¡±
¡°Why do I need that to prove myself?¡±
¡°Because you need it. Everyone here uses it to prove themselves.¡±
¡°What does it contain?¡±
¡°Your true name, organization, ss, skills and status, criminal record, corruption rate of the spirit and...¡±
¡°Then I really don¡¯t need that ¡®Certification¡¯.¡±
Karlton raised his eyebrows. Everyone in had a certification and used it to identify themselves. It was one of the few ways to prove themselves in . But this man was denying its importance.
¡°I don¡¯t understand you. How are you going to prove yourself?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t prove myself.¡±
Karlton was shocked. It was a rare case for an Adapter to be this defiant throughout his 55 years of duty. Most Adapters could not resist the bind that hisw readings gave them. He didn¡¯t just read thews for no reason.
Skill [Order of Law]
It was a skill only a few people in the fortress could acquire. Karlton was the only one who was allowed to learn even though he was only a gate captain. Even 3rd stage adapters could not resist his [Order of Law].
However, this man easily ignored it. What was weirder was that it was Karlton who had received damage by using the skill. A spirit that not even [Order of Law] could break through. Karlton was astonished.
¡®He seems to be proving himself by not proving himself.¡¯
How was that possible?
¡°Then, I, Gate Captain Karlton, will arrest you under the Gorgon Gate Code of Law, Chapter 2, Line 7.¡±
Karlton¡¯s hands began to be covered in a silver aura. The silvery shot out from his hands and wrapped Jaehwan¡¯s entire body. The guards shouted in excitement. It was a rare sight.
¡°Wow!¡±
If [Karlton in deep thought] was the favorite for women collectors, then there also was the wealthy collectors¡¯ favorite. A sculpture of Karlton covered with a silver aura.
[Karlton of the Silver Bind]
The motive for the sculpture was standing in front of them. Silver Bind was another one of Karlton¡¯s nicknames.
The unique skill of the Sky people, [Silver Bind].
This was the best skill Karlton had. It bound the target no matter how powerful the target was. However, Karlton was shocked yet again. The aura that was shot out at Jaehwan dissipated into smoke and disappeared as it touched him.
¡°...But how?¡±
There were some who had resisted [Order of Law] as some Adapters had powerful Spirit Power. But even they were powerless against [Silver Bind].
Everyone who disobeyed the Gorgon Code of Law was ¡®Evil¡¯ who could not be freed with the [Silver Bind]¡¯s power. But [Silver Bind] was now saying that this man was not ¡®Evil¡¯.
Mino took the chance to interrupt them.
¡°Captain! He has the Certificate but he just forgot about it! I¡¯ll make sure he carries it around if you let him go this once! Please!¡±
Mino¡¯s small shoulders were shaking and her hands were pale. Jaehwan looked at Mino. If she was doing to this extent, the fortress seemed to hold great power.
¡®Code of Law... hmm..¡¯
Jaehwan then changed and let go of his powers. Mino brightened up.
¡®Finally, he¡¯s listening!¡¯
It wasn¡¯t anything troubling actually. All he needed to do was to follow the Captain and provide information through the Interface and receive a new certificate.
¡°Good. I will follow your Code of Law.¡±
Mino became worried that he was too willing, but Karlton nodded.
¡°Good. So, I will now arrest...¡±
Jaehwan shook his head.
¡°No, I don¡¯t need to be arrested.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t I just need to do what this woman did?¡±
Mino flinched. What did she do? She immediately turned pale.
¡°W-wait!¡±
However, Jaehwan already took something out from his backpack and threw it to Karlton. Karlton caught it easily.
¡°Take that and let me go. That will do, right? I saw that you all seemed to be doing that.¡±
Everyone was dumbfounded. It was even more interesting to see James whose eyes met Jaehwan¡¯s.
¡®D-damn bastard!¡¯
Karlton was looking down at the thing that Jaehwan threw to him.
¡°What¡¯s wrong? Isn¡¯t everyone doing this? That¡¯s what I saw a while ago.¡±
[Code of Law]. Everyone knew, but not all followed.
Jaehwan spoke again, ¡°Isn¡¯t it enough? Then take this also.¡±
Another thing was thrown at Karlton, as Mino shouted in a [Whisper].
[W-WH-WHAT¡¯S WRONG WITH YOU?!]
The air became cold as James and the other soldiers who knew about the bribery became pale.
¡®We have to kill him now...!¡¯
If Karlton knew what they had been doing, they knew that this would not end lightly. James took up his weapon.
¡°How dare you try to bribe the Captain! You fool!¡±
¡°Captain, we should kill him now!¡±
This was one thing that could never be done to Karlton the Stubborn. A total of 154 Adapters tried to bribe Karlton and had lost their lives. And this was the 155th one.
However, Karlton did not budge.
¡°...Did you say you¡¯re Jaehwan?¡±
Karlton stared at the teal gem in his hand for a long time. Then, something unexpected happened. He suddenly became polite.
¡°You sure know how to crack a joke. I was waiting for you, The Messenger of the Greens.¡±
Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Silver Bind (4)
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°Captain allowed someone without a Certificate to enter...¡±
¡°Did he get bribed?¡±
¡°Be quiet!¡±
The soldiers seemed to be in shock as James red at Jaehwan.
¡®...who the hell is he?¡¯
And after a while, Mino and Karlton walked out of the office. Mino seemed she had been shaken as she definitely had a hard time going through the [Order of Law].
¡°Mino, you should always carry the certificate. And never bribe again. I would have to punish you, but I¡¯m letting you go because Jaehwan asked me to.¡±
Mino looked lifelessly at Jaehwan as Karlton continued,
¡°Jaehwan has proved his identity.¡±
It was the object Jaehwan threw at Karlton. It was the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit] created by one of five renowned families of Great Lands, the Greens. It was mostly used by members of the Greens to prove their identity, but there was a reason why it was famous.
The stone would boost an Adapter¡¯s Spirit Power when carried around with them.
The one he threw at Karlton was powerful enough to change a Non-Adapter into a 1st stage Adapter. That was enough to prove Jaehwan¡¯s identity.
¡°These stones have been examined, so I will return it to you.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need it?¡±
¡°You should not give it away to anyone. You should value what you have, Messenger of the Greens.¡±
Karlton handed over the two stones to him. After guiding Jaehwan and Mino inside, he took out something that looked like a temperature measurement device.
¡°This checks the Corruption level of the Spirit. Everyone must be tested with this, just in case.¡±
Jaehwan looked at Mino as she would usually exin in this case. But Mino still looked lifeless.
¡°She will be like that for a while since she was punished with the [Order of Law].¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°I will start with Mino.¡±
The machine beeped for a while and then a floating small screen disyed in the air.
[Result: Caution ¨C corruption has exceeded 15%. Rmend taking medication.]
Karlton became grim.
¡°Mino, ording to Chapter 8...¡±
Mino then took out some medicine and swallowed the pills with a deadpan face. It was then Jaehwan¡¯s turn. He felt something quickly surging through him while the device beeped. It seemed Karlton had never seen such a device before.
¡®Is he a corrupted spirit?¡¯
The result popped up.
[Result: Cannot measure corruption level.]
Karlton became dumbfounded and apologized to Jaewan, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Let me try again.¡±
[Result: Cannot measure corruption level.]
Karlton fell silent. This machine never made any errors. Not once since the device was created had he heard that it make an error. The only asion where the device could not measure was when the spirit¡¯s corruption level was at 0%.
0% wasn¡¯t something that could be achieved just by eating good medicine. No one in this fortress had such a pure spirit. Karlton seemed to understand.
¡°I see... that¡¯s why my [Silver Bind] did not work on you. I have never seen such a pure spirit like you.¡±
Karlton remembered that all of his skills were useless against Jaehwan.
¡°Everything is done. You can go now.¡±
Jaehwan did not leave. He opened his mouth...
¡°Captain, can we really just let them go?¡± James asked as he saw the two of them disappear. He could not understand.
¡°James, didn¡¯t you know that ones from Green areing to ?¡±
¡°Yes, but...¡±
There¡¯s no way they would not know. All five renowned families sent a message to the fortress before they visited . They were the only ones, along with the [Nightmares], who could visit without paying the price of death. James knew that they wereing.
¡°But he doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s from the Greens.¡±
Green skin and two antennae. The people of Greens looked very distinct. Karlton nodded.
¡°Right. He doesn¡¯t look like them at all.¡±
¡°Then how do you know if he is from the Greens?¡±
Karlton smiled bitterly and asked, ¡°James, do you know what the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit] does?¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t it increase an Adapter¡¯s power?¡±
¡°Right.¡±
Everyone knew about the stone. All Adapters wished to put their hands on it.
¡°Then do you know about its traits?¡±
James became dumbfounded but Karlton took off his white gloves and showed his hands. It was as if his palms had been burned. It wasn¡¯t a burn, but James knew what it was.
¡°Corruption...!¡±
James could not believe it. Corruption was like a gue that existed within . Everyone in would rack up corruption little by little, just by living here, and when it reached 100%, they would meet with a fate more horrific than death.
But there were ways to defend against it. It was to eat the horns.
Those who took those medicine created using the horns were allowed to live longer, and Karlton, was the one with the cleanest of spirits within this fortress.
However, his spirit was corrupt, only at the palm.
James took out medicine from his pocket frantically and powdered Karlton¡¯s hand. It was the medicine he got from Mino.
¡°...Is this from the stone?¡±
Karlton nodded.
¡°James, have you seen anyone other than the Greens holding the stone?¡±
James thought about it. He had never seen anyone else.
¡°Isn¡¯t it weird? Why won¡¯t others try to take it as their own?¡±
That definitely was weird. There were Greens who traveled alone and if they all had those stones, some might have attacked them in order to take the stones for themselves.
¡°It¡¯s because of the corruption.¡±
Karlton nodded again.
¡°Yes. No one other than the Greens can handle those stones. They are the only ones who are allowed to carry the stones without corrupting their spirits.¡±
If that was true, then it wasn¡¯t weird for Karlton to consider him to be from the Greens.
¡°But I have never seen Greens without antennae.¡±
Karlton smiled bitterly and hid the silver wing behind his back.
¡°James, who do I look like now?¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
James then understood.
Karlton Javier.
A crossbreed of the Sky people and humans.
Since he was half-human, he was not born with the Sky people¡¯s unique traits of long pointy ears and a gem on the forehead. All he had inherited was the silver wing. Without it, there was no telling that he wasn¡¯t human.
¡®Right... if that man is like him...¡¯
That was when James stopped.
¡®But let go of him for that petty reason?¡¯
James looked at Karlton.
¡°You seemed unconvinced.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°No, your suspicion is well ced.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I would not have let him pass under normal circumstances.¡±
James then realized something.
¡°Was there an order from the inner castle?¡±
¡°Yes, they were in a hurry. They will go look for those two as I already sent a message. Whether he¡¯s from the Greens or not, he carries the stone and he can use it so it won¡¯t matter.¡±
The Stone of Forgotten Spirit.
The stone that empowers an Adapter¡¯s Spirit Power. The stone that corrupts anyone other than the Greens.
Finding one who could use such a stone was important.
James suddenly thought of something.
¡°...Is it rted to the Master¡¯s sickness?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know the details. But...¡±
He was certain that something was going to happen in Gorgon. Karlton recalled the conversation with Jaehwan.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you are up to.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I¡¯m not that Greens person. You must know that.¡±
¡°Of course I do.¡±
¡°Is it okay to let me go then? Isn¡¯t it against your ¡®justice¡¯?¡±
Karlton smiled.
¡°Soon, our justice will meet again.¡±
Karlton then remembered Jaehwan¡¯s terrifying energy. It was that energy that made Karlton exit the office quickly. He didn¡¯t know why, but the man seemed to want to fight him.
¡®No, maybe what he wanted to fight was...¡¯
Karlton then looked at the wall of the fortress. If Jaehwan did not give him the stones, or if he had drawn his sword, what would have happened? Karlton wasn¡¯t sure.
¡°Oh, and James.¡±
¡°Yes, sir?¡±
¡°Jaehwan told me that you are the one who took the bribe.¡±
¡°T-that is...¡±
¡°ording to the Code of Law, Chapter 34...¡±
James frowned.
Chapter 21
Chapter 21: World of 1% (1)
There¡¯s a world that you can never reach just by trying.
-Meikal Garnad
In , there were outposts that allowed Adapters to rest while hunting. The most famous among them was the Three Pce¡¯s Four Fortress. The four fortresses had considerably easier entry and allowed settlements that a lot of Adapters loved to visit. Gorgon Fortress was one of those four.
¡®I should¡¯ve just fought him.¡¯
Jaehwan thought about Karlton reading thew to him.
Jaehwan did not trust anyone who spoke ofws. Even back in his tower, there were a lot who worked inw-rted fields.
-All humans within the tower are equal.
They first began creatingws to protect the weak. It seemed reasonable to createws as the tower waspletely divided from the outside world. They made manyws and some even seemed to protect the weak.
But it was a lie.
Thews became things that only those who made them could understand and people fell prey to thews that they did not even know about. They had to pay heavy taxes and had to hunt in controlled areas under the guise of ¡®protection¡¯. They were also only allowed to acquire weak skills and weapons.
Thews that worked considering all humans as equal had sumbed to skills, status, items, and levels.
Thews were weak against the strong, vicious against the weak, and becameplicated to keep in ce. When the tower was at its limit because of the society that thews had created, the ones who created thosews disappeared into the past. They were abandoned.
Jaehwan made onew after the 85th floor.
All ¡®humans¡¯ live today.
That was thew he had been following all this time.
¡®Anyway, this ce is tooplicated.¡¯
Jaehwan frowned. He also had a burden. Mino still seemed to be dazed. She, however, did follow Jaehwan as he walked. It was annoying to take her with him, but he didn¡¯t feel good to leave her be when she was the first ¡®human¡¯ that he had met. Jaehwan decided to walk around until Mino came back to her senses.
He walked through merchants selling various herbs, equipment, and various foods.
¡°I haven¡¯t seen the castle master recently...¡±
¡°I heard he¡¯s sick.¡±
¡°Hmm...¡±
After a long walk through many merchants, Jaehwan realized he had lost his way. He was now in a back alley of the bazaar. Deep in the alley, people that looked like gangsters were inhaling the ¡®medicine¡¯ that Mino took.
¡®Where the hell am I?¡¯
Jaehwan activated [Suspicion] and [Understanding]. It was so he could gather any information he heard from his surroundings. However, he ran into a problem. It was his first time visiting such a crowded ce. He was bombarded with information and received a headache. That was when he obtained an important piece of information.
¡°Hey, it¡¯s about time you woke up.¡±
Mino slowly came back to her senses.
¡°...why am I here?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ask and lead the way. I¡¯m having a headache.¡±
Mino looked around and then guided Jaehwan.
¡°Let¡¯s go that way first.¡±
As they walked out to the alleyway, they arrived at a big road with fewer people. Jaehwan felt his headache disappearing.
¡°Good. You can go now.¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s rude?¡±
She now remembered everything that had happened. Mino¡¯s face blushed.
¡°You¡¯re a hindrance.¡±
Mino shouted, ¡°I was just trying to tease you!¡±
Mino then felt every strand of her hair rise as Jaehwan red at her.
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±
It was too much for a simple tease. After all, Jaehwan did save her life. The incident that they had just gone through might not have happened if Mino hadn¡¯t tried to tease him.
¡°...I¡¯m really sorry.¡±
Mino looked at Jaehwan, but he did not answer. She waited for an answer, but she realized that Jaehwan always did not answer. She didn¡¯t even know who he was.
The one thing that she knew was that he was a human.
He was the kind to ask, not to answer. He asked if she would go back to the past, and he also asked why would he need the Certificate to prove himself. He asked questions that she had never even thought about.
That was all that Mino knew about Jaehwan.
¡°Where are you going now?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±
¡°...tell me anyway.¡±
Mino looked hurt from such a cold refusal.
¡°I need to find something.¡±
¡°What is it? Maybe I can be of help.¡±
Jaehwan paused for a second and answered,
¡°[Nightmare].¡±
It was a name Mino had not heard for a long time. The beings that were called [Creators] in the . The beginning of every nightmare.
¡°What are you going to do when you find them?¡±
Jaehwan did not answer.
¡°Avenge them?¡±
Mino thought Jaehwan might actually do that.
¡°You won¡¯t understand even if I exined.¡±
Mino opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. She figured asking more questions might anger Jaehwan and she probably wouldn¡¯t understand anyway if she heard the reason.
¡°...It¡¯s hard toe across even in the . They never stay in one ce either.¡±
¡°So, they¡¯re not here?¡±
¡°There might be one if you look through . They are one of the few who can enter the Tree of Imagery without dying.¡±
It was interesting information, but it made sense. The Tower of Nightmares was a part of the Tree. But there was a Demon on the 100th floor. He was sure that these [Cultivators] or [Creators] knew how to ess the tree without dying.
¡°Uh... I can¡¯t guarantee anything. ¡±
Mino spoke after hesitating for a long time.
¡°I know a ce where a [Nightmare] might be at.¡±
¡°Where is that?¡±
¡°There¡¯s a cksmith. The one made by [Nightmare].¡±
Jaehwan looked at his Frost Dragon Sword. He needed to stop by a cksmith anyway.
¡°Oh.¡±
Mino nodded. Carrying around that kind of valuable sword without a scabbard would draw too much attention.
¡°Shall I lead the way then?¡±
Jaehwan nodded as he gripped his sword.
¡°Yeah, but after I beat those that have been following us for a while.¡±
Jaehwan turned. At the corner, there were the ruffians that were sniffing medicine back in the alleyways. The man who seemed like their leader walked up.
¡°Leader! It¡¯s him!¡±
¡°Haha! We got you now. Bring that sword to...¡±
As they took out their swords, Jaehwan stabbed with his sword.
The head of their leader turned into white powder and dissolved away.
After a moment, ten ruffians all disappeared into white powder and dispersed.
¡®I think there was one hiding that was not a ruffian...¡¯
One was watching him from the top of the structure. He was noticed when Jaehwan used [Suspicion]. Jaehwan also knocked him unconscious while he was dealing with the ruffians. He didn¡¯t kill him because he wasn¡¯t a threat.
Mino spoke in astonishment.
¡°It¡¯s really amazing every time I see it. How do you manage to do everything by just stabbing?¡±
¡°That¡¯s the only skill I have.¡±
¡°...you¡¯re kidding.¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t there various types of stabs?¡±
¡°Yeah. Slight stab, regr stab, strong stab.¡±
¡°...What did you just use?¡±
¡°A slight stab.¡±
The ruffians were strong, considering that they were just fools lingering on the streets. Most were Non-Adapters but a few seemed to be at the 1st stage. However, they were killed by a ¡®slight¡¯ stab. Mino remembered when Jaehwan wiped out the Red Fox n and asked, ¡°Have you only used ¡®slight stab¡¯ until now?¡±
¡°No, I used ¡®regr stab¡¯ once.¡±
Mino thought it was when he wiped out the Red Fox n, but it wasn¡¯t.
¡®I killed that five-horned wolf with ¡®regr stab.¡¯
Jaehwan also remembered that he had the horn of that five-horned wolf. It was the strongest enemy he had ever faced after he came to . The wolf did not die even after being struck by multiple ¡®slight stabs¡¯. But it was killed in one hit with a ¡®regr stab¡¯ anyway.
¡°...Well, I have seen someone who uses only one skill, like you.¡±
¡°Like me?¡±
¡°Yeah. But he uses ¡®sh¡¯.¡±
An Adapter that only used sh. Jaehwan became interested and was about to ask, but was cut off by the faint sound of metal being hammered from a distance.
It had been a long time since he had heard such a sound. Jaehwan remembered his friend Jay and his cksmith.
Jaehwan loved hearing the hammering sound from Jay¡¯s cksmith as he dived into the Temple¡¯s holy water. It wasn¡¯t music, but it was a calming sound that gave him peace.
Even after Jay disappeared, the memory of that sound stayed in Jaehwan¡¯s mind.
Maybe it was because of the sound that allowed Jaehwan to press on and eventually break through the 100th floor.
¡°That¡¯s the biggest cksmith in Gorgon.¡±
That was the name of the ce.
The people of the had once discussed this topic.
¡°Who are the best artisans in the Great Lands?¡±
The best artisans, after a long discussion, were unanimously decided as the [Nightmares]. If Lords were the most powerful beings in the , [Nightmares] were the best artisans within the . 500 [Nightmares] that were called [High Artisans], and the 13 [Nightmares] that were called [Master Artisans], were considered the best [Creators] in the .
was a cksmith shop made by the top-ranking [High Artisan], ¡®Ignell of the Deep Fall¡¯.
Jaehwan looked around and nodded in satisfaction. This was a much better quality cksmith than the one in Atopos. The inside wasrge and all the tools were top quality. Tens of artisans were working on various projects and the furnace at the center radiated an intense heat.
¡°So, a [Nightmare] made this ce?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Then, it might be here.¡±
¡°Maybe.¡±
One of the Apprentices, who was in charge of talking to customers, came and greeted them. It was a young, healthy-looking man.
¡°Wee-¡±
¡°Are you a [Nightmare]?¡±
The Apprentice frowned at the question. [Nightmare] only meant one person. Mino quickly stepped up to interrupt, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, he¡¯s not really bright on such things.¡±
¡°Oh, I see.¡±
Mino smiled brightly and the pprentice epted her apology.
[...He¡¯s a human no matter how you look.]
Jaehwan did not answer.
¡°What brings you here?¡±
¡°I came to meet the [Nightmare].¡±
¡°...You mean Chief cksmith.¡±
The Apprentice seemed troubled.
¡°He¡¯s not in his seat right now.¡±
¡°Where did he go?¡±
¡°Well... he likes visiting various ces. Are you here with a request for him?¡±
Jaehwan thought about it.
¡°That might be a good idea.¡±
¡°If I may ask, what are you trying to ask him to...¡±
¡°Scabbard.¡±
¡°...¡±
The Apprentice looked at Jaehwan¡¯s scabbard-less sword and shook his head.
¡°Even if he were here, he wouldn¡¯t ept your request.¡±
¡°Why is that?¡±
The Apprentice looked at Jaehwan and scoffed.
¡®So, he really isn¡¯t bright.¡¯
He continued, ¡°His specialty is not making weapons. Maybe you¡¯re not aware, but [Nightmares] specializes in making ¡®other¡¯ things.¡±
Jaehwan wanted to ask what they were, but he realized he knew the answer. It was because he had spent 30 years with those ¡®other things¡¯ that they usually made.
Chapter 22
Chapter 22: World of 1% (2)
Jaehwan shook his memories away. He was disappointed as he wanted to ask the [Nightmare] something.
¡°Who¡¯s the top artisan here then?¡±
¡°Hmm... It¡¯s Vice-Chief Meikal. But...¡±
The Apprentice looked at Jaehwan from top to bottom. Jaehwan also looked down at himself. He forgot that he looked like a beggar.
¡°The cost of a request from Meikal is expensive. You need the materials too...¡±
¡°I have the materials.¡±
The materials meant horns from the horned monsters. They used steel and iron, but there was no material more valuable than horns within the Tree of Imagery. None of the metals were as light and durable as horns.
¡°...You have a horn?¡± he asked, his voice filled with suspicion. The horns that the used were the horns of a bihorn or higher. They had mass-produced weapons that could be used by Non-Adapters or 1st stage Adapters, so it was unnecessary for special requests with unihorns.
¡°We only take in horns from bihorns or higher. Why don¡¯t you just choose one from the mass-produced scabbards? They are still well-made...¡±
Jaehwan shook his head. As the Apprentice became red with anger, Jaehwan spoke.
¡°By bihorn, you mean the monster with two horns?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
Jaehwan reached into his backpack and took out the horn. It was the horn he got from killing the monster wolf. After he handed it to the Apprentice, the Apprentice looked at it for a long time and then began to shiver.
¡®How many horns did this one have...?!¡¯
He had trained in for a long time but he had not seen such a horn. The shine of the ck horn and its durability... even its thickness alone was mesmerizing.
¡°This... this is so beautiful...!¡±
He realized this wasn¡¯t for him to decide; he needed to fetch the Vice Chief at once! After ncing around for a while, he stopped. There were tens of artisans that had gathered next to the central furnace.
¡°Oh, there he is!¡±
Before he could finish, Jaehwan had already begun walking. He was followed by a sighing Mino and the Apprentice with the horn.
Meikal, the Vice-Chief Smith of . Everyone in Gorgon Fortress knew his name. He was the only cksmith with the title [Apprentice] amongst the humans. The title was usually only given to the [Nightmares]. So even if the title represented the lowest rank, it was a great feat for a human to have such a title.
¡°I¡¯m an old man now.¡±
Meikal remembered the day he first earned the title, tens of years ago. A [Nightmare] hade and spoken to him.
-me your heritage. You will never achieve a higher rank than [Apprentice].
He did not heed those words back then. Young Meikal back then thought he had time and passion. He thought he could get into a higher world if he tried. He practiced while [Nightmares] slept, and studied metallurgy while [Nightmares] yed.
But as he was faced with the twilight of his age, he knew.
It was something that could not be achieved no matter how hard he tried.
¡°I guess I¡¯ve been doing this for too long now...¡±
Meikal mumbled as he looked at the horn in front of him. It was the horn from one of the Ten-n vice leaders from . It was to make a sword and the work was almostplete. The only thing left now was to put in the final touch.
¡®I need a ce to fit a gem in the center of the sword hilt.¡¯
Shaping the quadhorn wasn¡¯t easy as it was too durable; it was hard to tear it apart. He barely managed to craft the de and shape it, but that level of finesse wasn¡¯t easy.
[Nightmare]¡¯s unique skill [Craft].
When he became an [Apprentice], he received the skill from the [Nightmare]. Even with this skill, carving the horn out still wasn¡¯t easy.
Meikal put it down for now. He needed to rest before continuing the job. After he stopped working, artisans around quickly began reaching out to him.
¡°Master, can I try...¡±
¡°Let me try...¡±
Meikal grinned. It was good to be young.
¡°You should train more if you want to work on this one.¡±
Meikal knew none of them would surpass him, but their passion motivated him. All he could do now was to make sure that the youngbloods and their efforts were put in the right ce.
¡°Good. If any of you can make a hole in this horn, whoever it is, I¡¯ll make you Vice-Chief for the day.¡±
He was giving them hope in achieving something even though it wasn¡¯t possible. Meikal thought it was his job to provide such hope.
¡°Wow! Is that for real?¡±
Young artisans lunged at the horns and obviously, no one seeded. Even the ones who had a bit of Spirit Power couldn¡¯t even make a scratch. That was when someone spoke up.
¡°Let me try.¡±
It was an unfamiliar face. Meikal looked at him weirdly as he fanned himself against the central furnace¡¯s intense heat.
¡°No! You can¡¯t do that!¡±
Then Meikal noticed young Apprentice running after him, holding onto something. He was a young Apprentice who was in charge of the entrance. Meikal asked, ¡°Naven, who is he? What is it that you¡¯re holding?¡±
¡°Uh, this...¡±
Naven wasn¡¯t sure how to reply. He nced between Jaehwan and the horn, and Jaehwan answered instead.
¡°You need a socket in this hilt?¡±
Meikal narrowed his eyes. The man looked like a beggar but he sounded like an experienced artisan.
¡®I guess he¡¯s a traveling young artisan.¡¯
Meikal waved his hands to let other artisans stand back.
¡°Let him be.¡±
It was astonishing to see a man with such confidence in while being cornered by many experienced artisans.
However, he was still foolish.
The reason why was famous because of its sses. Meikal thought it was a good chance to show this young man the difference of sses. Then, he was shocked.
¡®....What?¡¯
It looked like the man was trying to poke a hole using his finger. He was definitely crazy. Meikal had heard that high-ranked [Nightmares] could work on horns without any tools, but he had never heard of any human capable of doing that.
¡®If that can be done, I would not have done all the...¡¯
With a loud boom, dust exploded everywhere. The sound itself was as if the whole building itself had copsed.
Meikal didn¡¯t know. He did not know that it was the sound of his lifelong work that was about to be worthless.
As the dust settled, they were able to see the small hole in the hilt.
¡°Wh-What-WHAT?¡±
They all couldn¡¯t speak or believe what they were seeing.
¡°This should do, right?¡±
The man stood there with his finger in the hilt, spinning it around. Meikal felt like his whole world was spinning with it and asked, ¡°...Who are you?¡±
Jaehwan thought it was tiring to hear that question now and answered,
¡°Vice-Chief.¡±
Meikal then brightened up a bit. If he was the vice-chief of some cksmith, he might be a skilled artisan.
¡°Vice-Chief of where?¡±
Jaehwan answered, ¡°Twilight¡¯s Fall.¡±
At that answer, some of the artisans frowned and shouted angrily,
¡°Don¡¯t mess around!¡±
However, Jaehwan spoke calmly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise earlier?¡±
Promise? Everyone became dumbfounded. Then, everyone thought of what Meikal said earlier. Meikal¡¯s face was grim. Jaehwan spoke again, ¡°For today, I¡¯m the Vice-Chief of .¡±
And at that moment, the quadhorn on Jaehwan¡¯s finger began to crack. Meikal grew pale.
¡°N-NO!¡±
The bone shattered into pieces and turned into powder. Jaehwan frowned and mumbled,
¡°...Dammit. I thought I was careful.¡±
Chapter 23
Chapter 23: World of 1% (3)
Meikal could not think straight. He didn¡¯t know what the man did, but it was a quadhorn that had been broken. The bone that was so valuable that it was priceless. What should he tell the owner?
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t intend to do that.¡±
¡°Sorry? Are you saying you¡¯re sorry?¡±
Meikal roared as he trembled in rage. He was now thinking if he should hammer the man to death or put him into the furnace alive. But Jaehwan spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll repay you with something better.¡±
¡°...Repay?¡±
Everyone scoffed. It was the horn of a quadhorn they were talking about. A quadhorn was not only rare; it was so powerful that only the elders of the Ten-n could barely manage to fight one.
¡°You should keep your promise if I do.¡±
¡°Promise?¡±
Meikal then remembered what he said about making space for a gem in the bone hilt. It was infuriating. He was talking about the promise even in this situation.
¡°If you can rece the horn, I will let you do whatever you want whether it¡¯s the Vice-Chief role or anything else. However, if you try to repay us with something stupid, you will not walk out of this ce alive.¡±
Jaehwan nodded and turned to Naven.
¡°Put it down here.¡±
Naven brought over the horn and ced it down next to the furnace. It was the ck,rge horn of a monster. Everyone stopped, wondering what it was. Then they all gasped.
After a while, someone mumbled with a moan.
¡°I...It¡¯s the horn of a Garnak...!¡±
Pentahorns were categorized by their species because they were that dangerous and powerful. A Garnak was a wolf-like monster that required many elders and even the Vice-Leader of the Ten-n to fight it.
Everyone fell silent and Meikal ordered them in a heavy voice,
¡°Close the door. We are closed for the day.¡±
Apprentices ran to close the doors to the cksmith and the iron doors were shut. It was the third time that Meikal had seen an unprocessed Garnak¡¯s horn. The first time was when he had juste to while he was at another famous cksmith, and the second was when the former Vice-Chief of worked on one.
¡°...It¡¯s amazing.¡±
It looked like it was cut from a young Garnak as the horn had taken no damage. Everyone was focused on the horn.
¡°Is that enough?¡±
¡°....Yes. It¡¯s more than enough.¡±
The value of a pentahorn was more than ten times that of a quadhorn. He could have just cut a part of it and it would¡¯ve been enough, but this man gave it away whole. This was much more than enough.
Meikal pondered and answered,
¡°For today, is yours.¡±
Everyone began mumbling but Meikal shouted angrily, ¡°QUIET!¡±
Silence fell again and Meikal asked, ¡°Where did you get this?¡±
¡°I killed it.¡±
A man hunted a pentahorn down, but Jaehwan said,
¡°We¡¯ll start working so get ready.¡±
¡°What are we working on?¡±
¡°I¡¯m making what I need.¡±
Naven then ran to Meikal and whispered. Meikal nodded.
¡°I see. So you need a scabbard.¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°What about the material?¡±
¡°This.¡±
Jaehwan took out another horn. The pentahorn had five horns, so he obviously had more. But it didn¡¯t make sense to Meikal.
¡°Are you going to make a scabbard using a Garnak¡¯s horn?¡±
It was a pentahorn they were talking about. The material seemed like overkill just for a scabbard, so Meikal asked, ¡°Can I take a look at the sword that you¡¯re trying to make a scabbard for?¡±
Jaehwan lent him the sword. After Meikal looked at its status, he moaned,
¡°Ahh... the Frost Dragon Sword.¡±
¡°Do you know about it?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a sword made out of the Frost Dragon King¡¯s horn. Or at least that¡¯s what it says.¡±
The Frost Dragon King was an Evil Dragon that lived in the ¡®Forgotten Region¡¯, or the most dangerous region among the 12 regions of the . The sword was made from monster¡¯s horn. It was bound to be a powerful weapon.
However, it was a shame that this sword was only a replica.
It was obvious. Meikal had listened to the news of the and had never heard of the Evil Dragon being hunted down. It seemed like a certain [Nightmare] had witnessed the Frost Dragon King and made a replica afterward.
¡°It¡¯s valuable since a [Nightmare] created it but it¡¯s a bit of an overkill to make a scabbard for a weapon at such a level. It might be better for you to make a new sword out of the horn...¡±
However, the sword began to cry. Meikal dropped it in shock and itnded on top of the Garnak¡¯s horn. The sword then vibrated even harder as it opened its ¡®mouth¡¯ and began devouring the horn.
¡°It¡¯s a Spirit Weapon...¡±
The Frost Dragon Sword began glowing as it finished eating the Garnak horn.
¡°I¡¯m witnessing a lot of fascinating things today. Your sword is evolving.¡±
The de became sharper and the durability became tougher. It was now tough enough topare to the Garnak horn. The ck aura that the de was radiating was now so dense that the only way to hide it was to cover it up with a cloth. It was in dire need of a scabbard. This kind of spirit energy needed to be covered up to keep unneeded attention at bay.
¡®It seems like the spirit of a higher race is absorbed within... why...?¡¯
The de kept on crying. Meikal checked the sword and spoke,
¡°It¡¯s a Greater Evolution. It will take some time to finish. But you will need a new name for it once it¡¯s finished.¡±
¡°Name?¡±
¡°Spirit Weapons lose their original name when it goes through a Greater Evolution.¡±
The sword was wailing now. Meikal then turned to Jaehwan.
¡°But now we don¡¯t have the material anymore.¡±
The material had been devoured by the sword.
¡°It¡¯s okay. I have more.¡±
Jaehwan took another one out from his backpack.
Meikal stood in front of the Garnak¡¯s horn. It was the first time he was given a chance to process a Garnak¡¯s horn. He had seen a horn that was processed a long time ago but...
¡®Can I really do it?¡¯
He was a Vice-Chief and he had received the title of [Apprentice], but he barely managed to process a quadhorn.
¡®I¡¯m not a true [Apprentice]... I didn¡¯t even create a tower.¡¯
Although it was the same rank, the difference was too great. While humans were having a hard time creating a sword, [Nightmares] created towers that turned into worlds.
Meikal looked down at the Garnak horn. There were some materials that could be overwhelming just by looking at it.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can...¡±
Jaehwan was wearing something.
¡°What are you... no, Vice-Chief. What are you doing?¡±
Jaehwan pulled up his sleeves after changing into a smith¡¯s protective gear and spoke.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±
Meikal became confused.
¡°I¡¯m making the scabbard.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°You should help me.¡±
He couldn¡¯t understand. Jaehwan had tremendous power, that was for sure. He had the power to destroy the horn. However, destroying it wasn¡¯t the same as processing it.
¡°But you can¡¯t...¡±
¡°Right. I can¡¯t do it alone.¡±
Jaehwan nodded. He had the power, but he didn¡¯t have the necessary skills.
¡°That¡¯s why I need you,¡± Jaehwan said as he nced at the trace of the [Nightmare]¡¯s skill [Craft] still lingering at the end of Meikal¡¯s hammer.
At the same time, within Gorgon Castle.
A middle-aged man in clean, formal clothing, coughed as he drank his tea.
¡°What? You lost him?¡±
¡°...I¡¯m sorry, sir.¡±
The man in dark clothes bowed his head as he kneeled in front of the middle-aged man.
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know, sir. I just... got knocked out and I woke up lying on a roof.¡±
The middle-aged man frowned. He had been knocked out but did not know how he was knocked out.
¡°What stage are you at?¡±
¡°3rd stage, sir.¡±
¡°What¡¯s your stealth rank and level?¡±
¡°It¡¯s at the high-ranked and master level.¡±
¡°And you were found out?¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know what happened, sir.¡±
¡°This is crazy.¡±
If a 3rd stage Adapter with a master level, high-ranked stealth skill was in hiding, it was hard for even higher ranking Adapters to find out. But the target had found him and easily knocked him out without him knowing.
¡®Karlton said he probably wasn¡¯t the 5th stage...¡¯
Maybe he was at the 5th stage. If he was at that stage, the man needed to be prepared.
¡°We¡¯ll gather more men. Find him, no matter the cost.¡±
At that moment, a deep thud came from the underground cell below the castle. It was a slight tremor, but the middle-aged man, who was a high-ranked Adapter, was able to feel it. Then he heard a faint, long screaming from below.
He frowned.
¡°...Master, please hang on a while longer.¡±
Chapter 24
Chapter 24: World of 1% (4)
A day passed aftering to . The promised time for the Vice-Chief position had passed but the artisans didn¡¯t seem to mind. Maybe it was because it was a rare opportunity to work on the horn of a Garnak. Even just having a glimpse of the horn getting worked on was a thing of legend.
Mino quietly left .
Middle-aged men were heard talking loudly from within the saloon. At the center was an old hologram machine that was showing a broadcast. The person on the broadcast was a pink-haired [Nightmare] with a small horn.
recently! It is the [Solo-clearing of the 99th floor] video!>
The video then showed a man solo fighting a giant Frost Dragon. The man kept stabbing it over and over, endlessly. His face was censored so that the Product information would not be leaked. The men at the bar rumbled while watching.
¡°I wonder what happened to him. The Lords want him badly.¡±
¡°Huh? You didn¡¯t know? That tower is on hold for Cultivation.¡±
¡°On hold? Why?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe some dumb Demon tried to cheat in it. There¡¯s a rumor that he ran during the Cultivation because of it.¡±
¡°So that¡¯s a fake?¡±
¡°Of course. Do you think it¡¯s possible to beat a 1st gen tower alone?¡±
The men discussed it for a while but soon changed the subject. Besides, the subject of the matter was irrelevant to them now. This was , the world of the dead.
¡°I hope I get a [Fruit] someday. I want to be revived.¡±
¡°Haha, you won¡¯t even get a seed with that kind of thought.¡±
¡°Hey! Give me a unihorn beer!¡±
At that moment, the door to the saloon mmed open and a woman walked in. It was Mino. She walked briskly to the bar and sat down. Her thin waistline and fair-skinned face immediately attracted all the attention of the men in the saloon.
¡°Hey,dy. Are you here alone?¡±
¡°Get lost.¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±
The men were shocked and scared by the vicious energy pressure that Mino was releasing and ran out. Minoughed bitterly.
¡®I¡¯m strongpared to those buffoons.¡¯
She thought about Jaehwan and felt bitter. Then, the owner of the saloon appeared.
¡°You, girl, are bad for my sales.¡±
¡°...Aunt ire.¡±
¡°So... Auntie... listen...¡±
Mino was too drunk to talk straight, but she kept on mumbling.
¡°I¡¯ve heard enough, girl.¡±
ire, the middle-aged woman, frowned. She was a survivor from the world ¡®Arkal¡¯ where Mino hade from. She was the only one left alive from Arkal in .
¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is this.¡±
¡°...Huuuh?¡±
¡°You tried to cheat on a man and almost got killed, but he saved you.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Then, you tried to prank him again and got what you deserved.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°And yet you still tag along with the man like a fool?¡±
ire narrowed her eyes; she knew Mino well. Mino was like this since they met at the Tower of Nightmares. She was weak, but she had a temper. In addition, she also liked to prank people and cause trouble. She wasn¡¯t bad but she always got the people around her into trouble.
¡°You even got me killed once, remember?¡±
Mino drank her beer.
¡°...Am I that much of a nuisance?¡±
¡°I think the man is dangerous. Let him go. You can get any man you want.¡±
¡°...Heh heh.¡±
¡°Why are you still on his tail?¡±
Mino¡¯s eyes shook. She thought for a while and then spoke.
¡°It¡¯s just... when I look at him...¡±
ire had heard many stories that followed starting with those words. She braced herself for a long love story or something simr. However...
¡°He makes me so mad.¡±
It was unexpected.
¡°He¡¯s so arrogant, he¡¯s ill-mannered, and talks crap... but no one can stop him. He does whatever he wants but no one can stop him. Red Fox n. The Stubborn. Twilight¡¯s Fall. None of them. ...ire, do you know what that makes me think of?¡±
Mino nced around the saloon and continued,
¡°It feels like my entire life is a joke.¡±
¡°..¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t die because I didn¡¯t want to. Me and you. We did the best we could.¡±
Mino smiled bitterly.
¡°And him... he justes out of nowhere as if he wants to prove that all we did and all we fought for is wrong. He just destroys, kills, and break things apart...¡±
Her mug was emptied and then she refilled it again.
¡°Maybe I just want to see... someone stop him. I can¡¯t do it. But someone... mighte along and put an end to him. So...¡±
ire then understood what she meant. She also felt something simr, a long time ago in the past. She ignored it and ran, and got old. She knew what Mino was going through.
¡°Mino, let me give you advice.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk to him or even go near him anymore.¡±
¡°...Why?¡±
¡°If you stay with him, you will ¡®really¡¯ die.¡±
Mino flinched. She had never seen ire¡¯s face this solemn since she got ire involved in an incident where it killed the both of them. Before Mino could reply, a message energy made from spiritual power shot through the window of the saloon and reached Mino. She checked the sender.
[Karlton ¨C Northern Gate Captain]
¡®...Huh? Why me?¡¯
At that moment, Mino felt a terrifying pressure from all sides. It didn¡¯t feel like it was there to fight her, but the energy was overwhelming. And there were a lot of them. There were many that Mino could not guarantee victory against in a one-on-one fight that were closing in. Then, the doors to the saloon opened and men walked in. Mino pulled out a dagger from her clothes despite her drunken stupor. One of the men walked up to her and asked, ¡°Are you the Witch of Massacre?¡±
¡°...What if I am?¡±
The gate closed upon her answer as the man smiled ominously and said, ¡°I need you to do something for us.¡±
The cksmithing started by supplying spiritual power to the central furnace. With the horn of Garnak as the material, they needed more spiritual power than usual to create a more powerful fire from within. As the me erupted, Jaehwan looked at the now-clean Garnak horn.
¡°Show me how you work on it first.¡±
The first thing did when processing a horn was to create a basic ground. Meikal was actually designing how to work on the horn with a quill pen and white ink. The basic sketch needed to be detailed because once the horn was processed, it could not be undone.
The central furnace was now glowing with bright white me and Meikal put the horn in a prepared setting and waited for the horn¡¯s bonds to loosen. After some time, the surface of the horn started emitting some kind of vapor and Meikal took out the horn and began cutting.
The cutter moved through the white inked mark on the horn. Even after it was loosened, the horn¡¯s durability was so tough that a total of 14 cutters were broken in the process. After it was done, Meikal said, ¡°It¡¯s now up to skill from here on.¡±
[Craft], the unique skill only given to creators at the [Apprentice] level.
The skill was at its max. The hammer shone with a white light that made it hard to believe that a mere cksmith was wielding it. But Jaehwan¡¯s expression did not change as he had seen a simr thing in the past.
-Jaehwan, what I¡¯m doing is not cksmithing. It¡¯s just a game of chance.
Jay, the top cksmith of Atopos, told him once.
-I¡¯ve done what I can. I have mastered almost every skill rted to cksmithing and I can assure you that I can repair all the weapons from this Tower of Nightmares with a 99% sess rate.
The weapons in the Tower of Nightmares were justmon weapons in the . All the items within the Tower of Nightmares were replicas from the . However, a repair rate of 99% was one of a kind. The only one who had such a high sess rate was Jay. In fact, Jaehwan had never seen Jay fail to repair something.
-But when I got to that percentage, I felt like I was missing something really important.¡±
Jaehwan didn¡¯t get what he meant so he asked.
-I spent my time and effort to reach 99%. You know, sometimes I think I¡¯m just trying hard to run away from that 1% instead of running toward the 99% chance.
It was not long after that discussion that Jaehwan acquired [Suspicion]. It was a power that was different from normal skills. It was imperfect but free.
¡°I got it. We¡¯ll take a break here.¡±
Jaehwan stopped Meikal who was drenched in sweat. A long time had passed but there were no scratches on the horn. Only the chisel and hammer were broken.
¡°Crafting takes a long time. And if the material is the horn of Garnak, it might even take a month.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°...You know? Haha,¡± Meikalughed.
¡°Don¡¯t tease an old man.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You know I¡¯m lying, don¡¯t you?¡±
Jaehwan did not answer. He just touched the surface of the horn. A material that no hammering could damage. Jaehwan could not use the anymore, but he knew what Meikal heard for an hour as he worked on crafting the horn.
[Skill has failed.]
¡°I¡¯m too old to handle a Garnak horn. You should¡¯ve visited me earlier.¡±
Meikal slumped down on the chair next to the furnace and lit up a cigarette.
¡°You want one?¡±
Meikal offered a cigarette and Jaehwan shook his head. The other artisans¡¯ faces became heavy. Meikal wasn¡¯t the type to do something else while working, but now he had stopped and was smoking a cigarette.
¡°There are some things that you just can¡¯t do, even if you try thousands of times. Young ones like that Naven over there might not think of it, but I know.¡±
Naven blushed. It was the Apprentice that showed Jaehwan and Mino around the day before.
¡°N-no, Vice-Chief!¡±
¡°Haha, have you forgotten that you talked back to mest time?¡±
Meikal then turned back to Jaehwan.
¡°He really tries hard. He was pushed out to the entrance because he talked back, but his future is bright. The future ¡®Mastercraft of Twilight¡¯ will be him. He might even get the [Apprentice] title if he¡¯s lucky, but...¡±
Meikal put out the cigarette against the anvil.
¡°We can¡¯t go beyond our birth. Not even him. Man cannot be the finest cksmith. Just like I can¡¯t handle this Garnak horn.¡±
Jaehwan knew this old man¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t just because of the Garnak horn. It was something deep within him that crushed him. Jaehwan said, ¡°You never know without trying.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve tried. Hundreds. Thousands.¡±
¡°Then you should do millions.¡±
¡°What if millions don¡¯t work?¡±
¡°Then billions.¡±
¡°Billions? Haha, you¡¯re young,¡± Meikalughed.
¡°You probably think that I didn¡¯t try hard enough.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°But I did. Believe it or not, I did. I¡¯m not sure if I tried a billion times, but I something close to that. I tried and tried. That¡¯s how I got here.¡±
Meikal thought about his past. It had been a long time since he had arrived at this cksmith workshop.
¡°How long have you lived?¡±
Jaehwan counted his age. He was 20 years old when he was summoned to the tower and he had lived 30 years within the tower.
¡°Fifty years.¡±
¡°Really? So you must have died early.¡±
Jaehwan looked like he was in his 20s. It didn¡¯t make sense if he died at the age of 20 and lived 30 years here. Meikal spoke,
¡°I have lived for 150 years.¡±
Meikal¡¯s tone became a bit arrogant. He felt relieved after knowing Jaehwan¡¯s age. He thought that no matter how great this man was, he was too young to understand.
¡°You will not understand no matter how hard I try to exin. You have not lived as long as me.¡±
No one could fully grasp another¡¯s time. It was true. Jaehwan answered, ¡°No, I know.¡±
Meikal chuckled. It must be the young blood in Jaehwan that make him insist. Meikal thought he should give this young man some gentle advice but Jaehwan spoke first, ¡°You have tried harder than anyone else.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You got here by trying and trying.¡±
Meikal couldn¡¯t reply. It was just a simple sentence with basic facts, but Meikal was surprised. Shocked. There was none who epted what he was. He was praised when young and admired when old. However, not once did he feel like he was epted for what he was.
¡®I may have grown old.¡¯
Meikal became bitter.
¡°Thank you for that.¡±
Jaehwan did not answer and Meikal became curious about what the young man thought of Meikal¡¯s life.
¡°I want to ask you something.¡±
Meikal took out another cigarette.
¡°What do you think Ick?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Talent? Birthright? Luck?¡±
Jaehwan looked at him. It was deep. No, it was more than just deep. His stare made Meikal feel ufortable.
¡°You do notck anything.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°No. It¡¯s more like...¡±
¡°Like?¡±
¡°You have too much.¡±
¡°Too much? What do you mean?¡±
Meikal asked back in confusion and Jaehwan answered, ¡°You have lived for too long.¡±
Chapter 25
Chapter 25: World of 1% (5)
Lived too long? It was the artisans around them that became enraged at Jaehwan¡¯s words.
¡°How dare you?!¡±
But Meikal was calm. He was deep in thought at those words.
¡°...What do you mean?¡±
Jaehwan did not answer him outright.
¡°Use your skill again.¡±
Meikal stood up and followed what Jaehwan told him to do. He held the chisel and the hammer and tapped on the horn. Once, twice, and a third time. Jaehwan stopped Meikal and asked, ¡°What did you see?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°When you used the skill, what did you see?¡±
Meikal became confused but Jaehwan shook his head.
¡°Look closely and do it again.¡±
Meikal used the skill again. His ears were filled with the message saying ¡®Skill Failed¡¯. He ignored the message and red at the point where he had used the skill, but he couldn¡¯t see anything. All he saw was the hammer and the chisel.
¡°Yes, you will see that kind of thing.¡±
¡°...Are you joking with me?¡±
Meikal almost threw the hammer at Jaehwan out of rage. Jaehwan asked, ¡°Do you know how the chisel and the hammer manage to work on the horn?¡±
Meikal pondered and answered, ¡°The [Craft] skill works...¡±
Jaehwan shook his head.
¡°I asked you the wrong question. Let me ask you again.¡±
Jaehwan looked straight at Meikal, found the right words, and asked, ¡°Do you know how your [Craft] skill works?¡±
Meikal¡¯s face turned grim.
¡°Young man, do you know what you¡¯re talking about?¡±
Meikal seemed angered.
¡°Do you want to know how the skill works?¡¯
There were countless skills, but all skills were based on another. The skills of the origin. The [Craft] of [Nightmare] was one of those kinds of skills. They existed way before any other skill. They existed before the world even came into existence. At least that was what everyone living in the thought.
How could a human exin the origins of such an existence? And what was the point of doing that?
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°Right. So you do not know what exactly you are doing and just kept on using your skill.¡±
Meikal gritted his teeth. Jaehwan¡¯s words had injured his pride.
¡°...The spiritual power empowers the hammer and the chisel and wields the power to work on the horn. That¡¯s probably how the skill works.¡±
¡°Really? If it¡¯s that simple, then why can¡¯t anyone else use it?¡±
¡°That¡¯s...¡±
It was simply because they did not learn the skill. Meikal tried to answer, but held back. It didn¡¯t make sense. If how the skill worked was that simple, then it did not make sense that one needed to learn the skill to use it.
¡°You don¡¯t know your skill, but you¡¯re using it.¡±
Meikal started to hate the man. No one knew about how the [Craft] skill worked and this man was insulting him just because of it.
¡°You sound like you know how it works.¡±
¡°Yes. I found out just now.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Jaehwan then touched the horn with his hand. The surface swirled as if it was reacting to his touch. In the next moment, something unbelievable happened in front of Meikal.
¡°H-how did you use [Craft]...?!¡±
Jaehwan cut the horn with his finger as he ran it along the white marking. Meikal became dazed. He felt his legs losing strength and slumped to the floor. He was filled with jealousy and despair.
¡°...Wha-what are you? How did you earn such blessings and talent?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not a talent,¡± Jaehwan answered firmly.
¡°Look again closely and tell me what you see.¡±
Meikal looked at Jaehwan¡¯s fingertip again. The particles that his finger touched were dug up as if something had eaten them.
¡°...The particles are being destroyed?¡±
Jaehwan shook his head. Meikal focused closer.
¡°It won¡¯t be easy. Your hard work has made your ¡®world¡¯ more durable.¡±
Jaehwan was correct. Even when Meikal was watching with his own eyes, he didn¡¯t fully trust Jaehwan. He was blinded by the suspicion that he was being cheated on. There was his distrust toward the young, and his stubbornness for his work. The product that he strengthened over the years weren¡¯t his skills, but his pride.
¡°Your work itself wasn¡¯t wrong.¡±
¡°Then...¡±
¡°If you tried that much, you must¡¯ve realized it by now.¡±
The parts of the horn where Jaehwan¡¯s finger touched were destroyed.
¡°If trying that hard did not work, it¡¯s this world that is wrong. Not you.¡±
¡°B-but...¡±
Meikal couldn¡¯t understand. How was that possible? Meikal thought about the days when he first learned the [Craft] skill. His young days were full of uncertainty. He believed that he could be like a [Nightmare] one day, but he was full of doubt. He wasn¡¯t sure that doing the same thing that a [Nightmare] did could advance him beyond those [Nightmares].
Meikal eventually decided to just try harder. He used the skill over and over again. He tried so hard that he couldn¡¯t even think. After pushing himself and being rewarded with a sense of achievement, he forgot about his doubt. However, it was natural as his sess rate increased as his skill improved. It was the world that rewarded him for his effort.
That was how he got here.
There was no other way and his only way was now blocked.
¡°...This world is wrong?¡±
Meikal¡¯s voice became heavy, ¡°And what do you propose that I do?¡±
It was the voice of his 150 years of hard work.
¡°You want me to fight the world?¡±
Jaehwan looked at Meikal. It was the old man¡¯s eyes who were betrayed by the world he believed in, but he still could not abandon it.
¡°...You may be old, but you can still fight it.¡±
Meikal¡¯s eyes shook.
¡°Look again closely. Don¡¯t rely on anything else. Just use your eyes.¡±
Meikal understood what he said. Jaehwan was telling him to throw away all the knowledge he had learned, and all the skills that he knew. Reject everything that he had built up over all these years. However, Meikal became curious about what he would see. Maybe it was only the part of his youth that was left in him.
Meikal forgot about the skill.
It was hard to break from the binding that restricted him, but he did not stop. He focused on Jaehwan¡¯s fingertip. He tried hard to see what he had missed. Jaehwan picked up the hammer and chisel and the [Craft] skill shone at the end of it.
After multiple taps, Meikal felt his spirit disintegrating. All his logic and senses were broken apart. Then he felt something being destroyed and a new truth came into him.
Then he felt that he saw something that he had never seen before. He closed his eyes to shut it out, but he knew. The world he had lived in was now gone. Now, he was stepping into a new world.
There was a horn in front of him.
Yet it was not a horn. It was a giant monster as tall as a fortress wall with many sharp teeth and spikes protruding from its body. Meikal shuddered and watched on.
He had been facing such a thing until now. He was using his puny skill against such a monster.
He looked around and there were dead bodies near the area where the artisans were standing. Their skin was rotten and their eyes were full of maggots. Meikal felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Then there was Jaehwan.
With his hammer and chisel, he was facing the monsters without any skills.
The monster attacked Jaehwan and he attacked back. The monster screamed and spat blood out from its body, but it didn¡¯t seem to be bothered. It was enjoying it. The dead bodies around them cheered, uncertain if they were cheering for Jaehwan or the monster. Among such chaos, Meikal was dazed and afraid.
¡®This man... was he always looking at such a world?¡¯
The world beyond skills, status, or levels. Nothing was hidden so it was vulgar, but it was an honest world. Meikal was afraid, yet thrilled.
This was the World after the Apocalypse.
How could this world exist? And how did that man not go mad?
Meikal then locked eyes with Jaehwan. Jaehwan looked like an ordinary man in this world. He was no hero or savior of the world. He was just amon man. The only thing he had was the courage to not give up on this world. Meikal then understood Jaehwan¡¯s madness. His loneliness. His sadness. He understood and knew that no one could fully understand Jaehwan.
The horn ¡®looked¡¯ at Meikal.
-You cannote here.
The fear of the world¡¯s rejection. Meikal stepped backward in fear. There was nowhere to go. The monster approached with hisrge mouth wide open. The inside was filled with dead bodies and Meikal saw his reflection in the monster¡¯s giant eyes.
¡®How... how can I... in this world...¡¯
That was what Meikal thought before the monster ate him. Almost.
Jaehwan frowned and pulled Meikal out. Jaehwan wiped off his sweat and spoke.
¡°Get yourself together.¡±
¡°Ugh...¡±
¡°Did you forget that we¡¯re in process of working? Help me out.¡±
Meikal faced the monster again. With Jaehwan¡¯s hand on his shoulder, Meikal gained courage. Courage to face the world without any skills. Courage to walk along a path he had never taken before. Courage to take the step that he could have taken a long time ago.
Then his hand became covered in flesh. The veins appeared within, and new blood flowed. His heart pounded, and his sight cleared. He felt his body was filled with energy, just like in the days of his youth.
He charged at the monster, toward the Garnak¡¯s horn.
Two dayster, the scabbard wasplete.
Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Dead man (1)
[There¡¯s something worse than dying. If you have visited at least once, you would know.]
-Yoo Surha, the 2nd Squadron Captain of [Rupture]
Episode 5. Dead man
Three dayster.
Jaehwan was standing at the entrance of with his scabbard. The work that he thought would take one day actually took three, but it was still much shorter than the average of three weeks for processing a horn. Meikal and a few artisans came out to say goodbye.
¡°...Are you really going on your way?¡±
¡°Yeah, I got what I needed.¡±
He also had some unexpected information. When Jaehwan [Understood] the [Craft], he acquired some interesting information. Those monsters were not naturally urring. The Garnak horn had already been [Crafted] before they worked on it. That meant-
¡®Monsters are the creation of someone else.¡¯
There was no telling who did it and for what purpose, but they were carefully crafted masterpieces for sure. Jaehwan tapped on the scabbard and said, ¡°I like it.¡±
It seemed like his sword also liked it as it let out a satisfied cry. The scabbard glowed with a ck light. Its durability and ability to cut off dark energy from the outside was great, but the scabbard also had a power to scare off trihorns and below with something called [Presence of Garnak], which was useful. Meikal looked at the scabbard and asked,
¡°Oh, did you choose your sword¡¯s name?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°If it¡¯s alright, can I name it for you?¡±
Meikal smiled and said, ¡°I felt something after watching you for three days.¡±
They were short but impactful days.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you wish to do and why you showed me that ¡®world¡¯.¡±
Meikal remembered the world. After he came out from it, everything seemed like a lie. He would probably never be allowed to see that world again. It was because of Jaehwan that Meikal, who was too used to the skill and interface, managed to see the world. Was it a dream? A hallucination? Or...
Meikal looked at Jaehwan.
¡°But I know one thing.¡±
Whatever it was, one thing wascertain.
¡°The people in this world will not like you.¡±
In this world, the truth did not mean justice. People here were too used to the reality of their ways. They did not like uncertainty andplication and this man was a mix of all that.
¡°Some might be astonished by you, but most will not.¡±
Meikal thought about Jaehwan when he first walked in. A man who knew of no modesty.
¡°Some might fear you.¡±
He was violent.
¡°Some will belittle and look down on you.¡±
And he looked foolishly weird.
¡°Some will ignore you.¡±
Meikal knew. He knew what Jaehwan did would buy him hatred. The world would reject him and some would even want to kill him.
¡°But you still want to save that ¡®world?¡±
Meikal wanted to stop him. Even if the world he was shown was great, and the world contained something that all people of had to know, Meikal wished for Jaehwan to give up on it and live instead.
However, Jaehwan did not answer. Meikal then knew that the man did not have a choice. The world was his life. He would brave the world alone no matter what.
Meikalughed.
¡°The only name fitting for that sword will be one.¡±
Meikal ordered someone to bring a hammer and chisel and used the [Craft] skill to engrave the letters on Jaehwan¡¯s scabbard.
-Lone-denied
¡°Farewell.¡±
Jaehwan nodded and walked away. Before Jaehwan could walk too far, Meikal said, ¡°Let me ask you one thing.¡±
Jaehwan stopped.
¡°In the ¡®world¡¯ that you see... what am I?¡±
Jaehwan did not turn back, as if he refused to turn. He answered, ¡°...A human.¡±
He then walked away. Meikal knew why he did not turn back. Meikal sighed.
¡®Who can understand his world?¡¯
There was a woman walking toward him. Meikalughed.
¡°Youth, eh?¡±
Jaehwan felt something had changed as he walked. Something that was normally beside him wasn¡¯t there. It sometimes poked him while he was at the cksmith and lurked around like a cat, but it had gone missing since yesterday. Maybe it was finally gone.
¡°Are you looking for me?¡±
Mino appeared in clean clothing. She wore a short dark top with ck tights. She still had the dark robe over her though.
¡°Where have you been?¡±
¡°Somewhere close.¡±
¡°What did you do?¡±
¡°Stuff. I¡¯m a busy woman you know? Oh, and take this.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Your clothes. You can¡¯t keep walking around like a beggar.¡±
He then remembered his clothing was still ragged and took the clothes. It had a medieval style, but it was okay. Everything was ck up to the coat.
¡°...It¡¯s just a token of my apology.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
¡°Maybe you should say thank you?¡±
¡°Thanks.¡±
Mino then turned around to look at in distance. Meikal and the artisans were still watching.
¡°They must have liked you.¡±
¡°No way.¡±
¡°You looked like you were close to that old man though.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve got it wrong.¡±
¡°But he looked at you like a lover or something.¡±
¡°...¡±
Jaehwan did not reply. They walked the wide streets for a while. Then they came to the side of the road with more people.
¡°Why are you still following me?¡±
¡°Why? Do you think I might have some dark motive or something?¡±
¡°I¡¯m also considering that.¡±
Mino¡¯s expression changed for a short moment but Jaehwan noticed it. Mino smiled and asked, ¡°How did you know?¡±
¡°...What are you up to?¡±
¡°I¡¯m nning to kill you.¡±
¡°And do what?¡±
¡°And take your Spirit Stone.¡±
¡°And then?¡±
¡°...I didn¡¯t think about it afterward. Well, it will get me good money, so that¡¯s a start.¡±
Jaehwan smiled. Whether she really meant it or not, it was not going to happen. Mino felt her pride getting hurt.
¡°I¡¯m serious, you know?¡±
¡°Sure.¡±
Mino was curious about where Jaehwan gained such confidence. She thought it came from his sheer strength, but Mino knew other powerful individuals like Jaehwan, such as the leader of the n she was in. But Jaehwan¡¯s confidence was different from theirs. Mino then felt that Jaehwan was not from this world.
¡°What are you going to do now?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to meet up with the [Nightmares].¡±
¡°How?¡±
¡°Meikal taught me how.¡±
¡°And what will you do when you meet them?¡±
¡°Ask about Tree of Imagery and find the way to go to the .¡±
Mino¡¯s face turned weird.
¡°...Why would you want to do that? To be strong? Or be reborn?¡±
There were people who wished to go up to , the branch of the Tree of Imagery. Many failed to do so and those who did mostly never came back. Even the ones who returned and earned the title of the ¡®Strong of the Depth¡¯ became victims to PTSD which destroyed them.
Tired, Jaehwan asked, ¡°Are you THAT curious about my motive?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
Jaehwan looked coldly at Mino. Mino flinched but did not step back.
¡°You won¡¯t believe me even if I tell you.¡±
¡°...Try me.¡±
Jaehwan turned up to the sky and Mino looked at him. Then Jaehwan said something.
Mino became dumbfounded. She couldn¡¯t understand it at first. It wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t understand the words he said. It was just because-
It was simply impossible.
Minoughed out loud. It must be a joke, and that was what she thought. However, she realized that Jaehwan was not joking. She frowned.
After that, she felt even when she knew it was impossible, that Jaehwan might be able to do what he said he would do. She became angry.
¡°...What are you? What makes you think you can do that? Who are you to do that?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I hate you.¡±
Mino could not even understand why she was getting angry.
¡°You do whatever you want, you have no manners, you don¡¯t talk, you look down on everyone and...¡±
She lowered her voice.
¡°You don¡¯t consider others as humans.¡±
Mino realized she should not have said that but she continued talking, ¡°They all are having a hard time even without you doing that. We barely got out of the roots, got to the , and died toe here.¡±
Mino thought about why she was saying all this. Was it out of anger? She did not know. But she needed to speak.
¡°Did you ask me if I was human back then?¡±
Mino thought about what Jaehwan asked. She knew what he meant at the time, but maybe that was not what he meant.
¡°I am human. I¡¯m not as strong or as confident as you, but I¡¯m still a human.¡±
Maybe the word ¡®human¡¯ meant something greater to him, but that was too hard for Mino.
¡°As far as I know, a ¡®human¡¯ is someone who lives day by day and considers it happiness to survive. Not living with some big dream.¡±
There was a fork at the end of the road. Mino felt this was the fateid out in front of her.
¡°In that sense, you don¡¯t seem like a ¡®human¡¯ to me.¡±
And they reached the fork in the road.
¡°We should part ways here.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I can¡¯t stay together for ¡®that kind of purpose¡¯ any longer.¡±
Mino then ran into the road that was full of merchants. Jaehwan stared at her until she disappeared into the crowd. The first ¡®human¡¯ he had met. After a while, he mumbled, ¡°...I should change clothes first.¡±
Mino arrived at the saloon. It was ire¡¯s.
¡®...What brought me here?¡¯
Mino thought as she stared at the door. This wasn¡¯t the n. Jaehwan should¡¯ve followed her here and opened the door first, but she couldn¡¯t do it. She had lectured him about humans and stuff and could not bring him here. She wanted to let the man know that the humans here weren¡¯t bad. They mightck the requirements that Jaehwan had set, but they were still humans.
Mino opened the door and walked in.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Auntie. Am Ite?¡±
ire was tied down to the chair with an empty expression on her face. She turned to Mino and grinned.
¡°...I knew it, you brat.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I should¡¯ve stopped you earlier.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
ire shook her head whileughing.
¡°You are ¡®really¡¯ getting us killed this time.¡±
ire cleared the Tower of Nightmares with Mino and even stayed with her in . Mino bit her lips as she nced at ire. She would not be able to save her friend anymore.
¡°Witch of Massacre.¡±
A cold voice filled the saloon. It wasn¡¯t only the saloon; the entire area around the building was filled with terrifying energy. The owner of the voice was the man who hade to visit Mino days ago.
¡°What¡¯s happened to our deal?¡±
¡°He¡¯s noting.¡±
The atmosphere was horrifying. However, Mino justughed in that atmosphere. Maybe she had been influenced by Jaehwan.
¡°He¡¯s gone to destroy the world.¡±
Chapter 27
Chapter 27: Dead man (2)
Mino thought that everyone around her had met a bad fate since her days in the Tower of Nightmares. In fact, her nickname, ¡®Witch of Massacre¡¯, wasn¡¯t something she actually acquired in .
When she was in the Tower of Nightmares, the first party she joined was attacked by monsters and was wiped out. She was the only survivor of the group. The people back then considered her to be ¡®lucky¡¯.
Mino felt strange. She felt like it was some kind of premonition.
It was only after the second and third party were wiped out that she knew for certain. She had survived all alone, again. People now were suspicious and began to wonder. After simr happenings urred a few more times, people began to be wary of her and stayed far away.
-Is she the ¡®Witch of Massacre?¡¯
The witch who brought the monsters. The cursed woman who killed all her party members. People shunned and abandoned her. The abandoned 16-year-old girl... that was Mino. Minoter found out that her bad luck was her passive skill.
High-grade skill [Lure]
It was the sole hidden skill in her Tower of Nightmares. Mino still thought of the day of the clearing; about what might have happened if she did not have ire and her other friends with her. When everyone shunned her and she faced clearing the tower alone, they were the ones who came to save her from the danger.
That was why Mino still trusted humans.
Even if there were terrible things in the world, even if the world was filled with evil people, there were still some good people. Some were not strong or did not have talent, but they would still willingly die for others.
Mino survived because of them.
She tried hard to be strong and survive. If she was cursed and brought misfortune to others, she needed to be stronger than the curse. Thus, she joined the Dark Forest n. To learn powerful assassination skills and gain spiritual power. The result was in front of her.
[Girl, don¡¯t hesitate if you¡¯vee this far.]
ire was biting her lip hard. Her face was bruised and bleeding.
[Being weak doesn¡¯t mean we don¡¯t have the right to choose death.]
Mino became saddened.
[Hang in there, Auntie. I¡¯ll save you.]
ire smiled bitterly. She and Mino both knew that it was impossible, but Mino couldn¡¯t give up. She nced around. The situation was worse than expected. There were more than ten 3rd stage Adapters. The man in the center was even more powerful than what Mino could measure. They were much stronger than those Red Fox members.
There were not many organizations that had the ability to mobilize groups with these kinds of people within Gorgon Fortress. It was either the Ten-n or someone with power. There were only two from the Ten-n within the Fortress.
The Fire King n led by Kanghwang and the Arms Extreme n led by Shin Mukuk.
But these people didn¡¯t seem to be rted to either of those ns. Kanghwang was known for his freedom and Mukuk was known for his noble manners. Both would not allow themselves to do such dirty work. Besides, some of these men wereprised of assassination targets that she had been assigned to before.
¡®Desert Serpent?¡¯
Desert Serpent was a 3rd stage Adapter who hunted down neers in the desert region, east of . He hid his face with a mask but his cross-shaped scar on his eyes was not something he could cover. She couldn¡¯t find him before and had to give up on the request, but here he was.
¡®Wait... all of them...¡¯
She btedly realized that these people were wanted fugitives and understood who they were. There was only one n that could unite those criminals and use them.
Golden Sky n.
It was a n made of ruffians and criminals, but the n had be powerful. They epted criminals that were shunned by the other ns. Someone among them walked up.
¡°You must be out of your mind, witch.¡±
Mino felt a shiver run down her spine.
¡®4th stage Adapter...!¡¯
And there was more than one. The two behind him were also close to the 4th stage. 4th stage Adapters were so powerful that three of them could even handle a grown pentahorn, or a Garnak. Mino knew their names. A 4th stage Adapter was so rare that their names were usually known within .
¡°The Jan brothers...¡±
They were infamous around this region. They were high stage Adapters never joined a n... until now.
¡°Why didn¡¯t bring him? Was it not part of the deal?¡±
¡°Did you hear the witch make the promise?¡±
Janya frowned.
¡°The stone belongs to us.¡±
¡°That sounds persuasive.¡±
¡°We were trading with the Greens. The man intercepted it.¡±
¡°Right.¡±
Mino narrowed her eyes.
¡°Then why don¡¯t you confront him yourself to get it back, or send a help request to the Fortress? Why go about it the hard way?¡±
¡°That¡¯s...¡±
Janya could not answer. Mino scoffed.
¡°It¡¯s not toote. Bring him here.¡±
¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
¡°Then you will die.¡±
Mino did not answer and Janya¡¯s eyes were filled with anger. At that moment, the 2nd brother, Janmyung, came out.
¡°I heard the women of Dark Forest are one of a kind! I¡¯ve always wanted to have a taste.¡±
Mino frowned.
¡°So, you do know that I¡¯m from Dark Forest.¡±
¡°Of course, I do.¡±
¡°And you want to try and do that still?¡±
Mino pretended she was confident even when she felt every inch of her skin crawling.
¡°You guys think your n is something just because you came up to the Ten-n level, but you will regret it. Dark Forest isn¡¯t that easy.¡±
In fact, she had already notified the nearest Dark Forest station. But it would take them at least an hour to arrive and she had no way of dragging out the time. Suddenly, the third brother, Janmang,ughed.
¡°You think we are fools?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°We know there is no Dark Forest branch within Gorgon Fortress. You will lie naked before they evene here.¡±
¡°...You will be hunted by Dark Forest.¡±
¡°That¡¯s for our n master to deal with.¡±
Janya flicked his finger and all of the Golden Sky members cornered Mino.
¡°Enough. We cannot waste any more time.¡±
Mino bit her lip.
¡®Dammit...¡¯
The Jan brothers¡¯ specialty lied in the [Shadow] skill. It was the leaked version from the renowned family, ck Spirit, and while it did not match theirs, it was still very powerful. However, Mino¡¯s skill did not fall far behind. Seven daggers floated behind her.
High-grade skill [Seven Daggers of Akaram].
It was what she had inherited from the n master of the Dark Forest n. It was said that the skill was given by a [Nightmare] and was proven to be very powerful.
¡°Haha! So, the witch knows how to fight!¡±
The Jan brothers left images as they moved through the shadows and swung the hidden des at Mino. Mino¡¯s robes were cut as her white skin was revealed. Her right arm was left with a long cut.
¡°It will be fun to strip you naked!¡±
She managed to kill two 3rd stage Adapters, but there were still a lot of enemies. And the Jan brothers attacking from her blind spots was troubling.
¡®If only this was outside the fortress...¡¯
Outside fortress, she could use her [Lure] skill and she might have been able to bring in monsters to fight in the chaos, but this was inside. She sent out a few daggers imbued with spiritual power and made a side of the roof explode. The hole was big enough for everyone around to hear what was happening inside.
¡°You think you¡¯re smart?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°It¡¯s no use. We alreadyid silence magic around this area.¡±
Herst trick didn¡¯t work. It was obvious that they had someone who could use silence magic if they hade in with this crowd of people. They might have even bribed the guards.
¡°You were called the ¡®massacre¡¯ during hunts, but what about now?¡±
Janmyung¡¯s sword cut the side of Mino¡¯s thigh. It was a deep wound.
¡°What about ¡®naked¡¯, Brother?¡±
Janmangughed as he saw Mino¡¯s clothes torn off from her shoulder.
This was not a fight.
Some of them were now touching the other female employees of the saloon. They knew they didn¡¯t have to fight.
She had to send a message to tell the Dark Forest n to hurry. The criminals of Golden Sky were now shaking the already fainted ire by yanking her hair.
¡°It¡¯s not toote yet. Bring him here before that old hag dies.¡±
Mino¡¯s patience broke at the pitiful state ire was in.
[Seven Daggers of Akaram] Final skill, Frozen des.
The seven des released a freeze with the Spirit Power that filled them. The storm covered all of them. Janmyung and Janmang were left with some wounds.
The one who stopped the skill outright was Janya.
¡°I will rip you apart myself.¡±
Mino felt her legs losing strength as her Spirit Power was now close to zero. She could barely hold onto a pir to keep herself from kneeling. She saw Janya walking closer and thought, ¡®Is there no salvation in this world?¡¯
It was a world filled with criminals. Even if there were some good ones, if those criminals stood on top, then that world was hell. The humans that Jaehwan spoke of, the humans Mino spoke of, would all be left to die by those criminals.
Mino closed her eyes as she saw his de. For the first time, she thought she wanted to go back to the past. What if she had followed him at the fork in the road? She might have been able to watch the world fall, andter tell the others about it. Mino became jealous of herself in her imagination.
However, she knew that there wasn¡¯t that kind of future. She would never meet with Jaehwan now.
After a moment, she realized something was wrong. She did not feel the cold de on her. The surrounding air seemed to be still. She knew this feeling.
She opened her eyes and saw the Jan brothers staring weirdly in her direction. She knew that look.
She thought she hated this clich¨¦ and felt her legs finally give way. Someone kept her from falling down. The hands were rough but warm. He was tough but reassuring. Mino looked up and saw the man¡¯s face.
¡°...Weren¡¯t you going to destroy the world?¡±
Jaehwan then held up a bag. It was the bag that contained the clothes that Mino bought for him.
¡°They¡¯re the wrong size.¡±
Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Dead man (3)
Jaehwan knew everything when he and Mino stood at the fork in the road.
[Don¡¯t be foolish, witch.]
[If you don¡¯t keep to the deal, that old hag is dead.]
Whispers kept flying to Mino. Jaehwan knew what was going on. Someone was threatening her and was holding a hostage. And the criminal wanted Jaehwan.
Jaehwan thought Mino would betray him.
After [Understanding] the world through countless [Suspicions], he realized that this world was full of stats and data. It was filled with people selling even their spirits for higher stats. To Jaehwan, Mino was the same kind of dead corpse. The [Suspicion] that was never wrong warned Jaehwan that Mino would betray him. That was why Jaehwan did not listen to Mino.
-As far as I know, a ¡®human¡¯ is someone who lives day by day and considers it happiness for surviving. Not with some big dream.
When Mino¡¯s story ended, Jaehwan came back to his senses.
-In that sense, you don¡¯t seem like a ¡®human¡¯ to me.
With those words, Mino left him, with no hesitation or betrayal. His [Suspicion] was wrong. That¡¯s when Jaehwan¡¯s thoughts went nk. [Suspicion] lost power and the words that came to him from all around stopped and his world was covered in silence. He felt his heart ache.
Why did she look ¡®human¡¯?
He couldn¡¯t understand. As he saw Mino walking away, he shook his head. Simr things were happening, one after another.
Mino answered that she would not go back to the past.
Meikal made the scabbard together with Jaehwan.
They became human at that moment, but only for a short time.
They soon returned to being dead bodies.
Jaehwan knew. Focusing on each of them would not change the world. No matter how many times he saved them, they would not be human. Jaehwan turned back.
That was when his [Suspicion] returned with the voices.
[The witch has betrayed us! Send the message!]
[...The [Nightmare] we brought is no use then.]
¡®[Nightmare]?¡¯
That was how Jaehwan came. Mino looked up to him and asked, ¡°...Did you reallye because of the size?¡±
She thought Jaehwan really would¡¯vee because of that, but he did not answer.
Janya was thrilled by Jaehwan¡¯s appearance.
¡®I don¡¯t need to go looking for him then.¡¯
He was sure that Jaehwan had the stone as Janya could feel the power of the Greens in him. Jaehwan asked, ¡°Hey, you guys have a [Nightmare] right?¡±
Janya¡¯s face darkened. It was top-secret, even among themselves that they had a [Nightmare]. Janya sent a [Whisper] to ones working on the silence barrier outside.
[He knows about the [Nightmare]. What happened?]
[...That can¡¯t be...]
It seemed they were too shocked. Jaehwan asked again, ¡°Where¡¯s the Nightmare?¡±
¡°...I won¡¯t tell you,¡± Janya blurted out identally. He realized that he had confessed that they had a [Nightmare], but it was toote.
¡°Bring the [Nightmare] here.¡±
Janya frowned.
¡®Is he mad?¡¯
He appeared suddenly and asked about the [Nightmare], and now was ordering him to bring the [Nightmare] here.
¡®...Why am I listening to him anyway?¡¯
Janya became angry. He was the eldest of the Jan brothers. He was the shadow of the Forest Region and the Killer of the Forest.
¡°I heard rumors that you mean to fight the Fortress... it seems you really are as mad as the rumors say.¡±
Mino expression turned grim as she saw Janya pulling out two swords.
[Be careful. They are 4th stage Adapters.]
After fighting with them, she realized that Janmyung and Janmang were close to the 4th stage. But Janya was well into the 4th stage. The 3rd and 4th stages had vast differences as they were considered the beginning of high-stage Adapters. Most of the elders in the ns were at least in the 4th stage.
¡°Do you think I will lose?¡±
[...No.]
Mino was surprised that she was admitting it so easily. He was up against a 4th stage. The enemy was someone that could even fight a Garnak. He was able to wipe out the Red Fox n like a piece of cake. Yet she was still not worried.
The one who moved first were the brothers.
[Shadow]
The shadow swords swung at Jaehwan. It was hard to tell which was real and which was not. Jaehwan moved to dodge, but the attacks followed. Jaehwan barely managed to dodge the des.
¡®That¡¯s why they say 4th stage and above are high stages.¡¯
The skill that the man was using was very powerful. Jaehwan was nning to find the real ones by using [Suspicion], but their spiritual pattern was not easy to recognize.
Jaehwan became annoyed and decided to deflect all the de attacks. White light filled the air as Jaehwan used ¡®Slight Stab¡¯ multiple times. There were so many that the attacks left traces lingering in the air.
Janya frowned.
¡°This can¡¯t be...!¡±
Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Dead man (4)
Jaehwan had deflected every single shadow de and aimed for Janya¡¯s head. But his attack barely missed.
¡®He dodged?¡¯
It was Jaehwan who was surprised. There was no one who had dodged his ¡®Slight Stab¡¯ until now. No, there was one, but he killed that with his ¡®Normal Stab¡¯ and was now his scabbard.
¡°Brother!¡±
Janmyung was holding Janmang while he was shocked by the unexpected damage. It seemed Janmang ¡®s thighs and right arm were wounded by the stabs.
Janya was shocked. He could not believe what he had just experienced.
The man in front of him had just deflected every attack just by using [Stab] and even aimed for his head. The only reason he was able to dodge the attack was because he was lucky.
If his instincts did not warn him, he would have been killed. He messaged the members outside again.
[Isn¡¯t the man a Non-Adapter?]
[...Yes. We are sure.]
If the Golden Sky members said so, then it must be true. But how could he be that strong?
¡®...is he the ¡®Strong of the Depth?¡¯¡±
No, he felt something simr but no ¡®Strong of the Depth¡¯ were Non-Adapters.
¡®Then what is he?¡¯
Janya readied himself again. The man had no spiritual power and only used [Stab], but he was much more powerful than the three brothers.
[I can¡¯t believe it, but he¡¯s stronger than us.]
[B-brother, then...]
[Change tactics.]
Janya epted quickly reality. If the enemy was strong, he just needed to fight ordingly. Jaehwan frowned at the change in tactics. The Jan brothers quickly grabbed the hostages and began fighting while holding onto them. It was a tactic to fight against Jaehwan, who only used [Stab].
[Stab] was quick, but it was also very simple. If the direction of the attack was blocked from the start, it was easy to deal with. It proved to be very useful in fighting Jaehwan.
However, that didn¡¯t matter.
¡°What...?¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s right hand began gathering Spirit Power. It was so powerful that the whole building was shaking. He was preparing for ¡®Regr Stab¡¯.
Jaehwan did not care about the hostages. The Jan brothers, the criminals, the hostages, they were all dead bodies in his eyes.
But when he tried to [Stab], his heart ached. His sight blurred and the faces of the hostages were covered with an image.
¡®What is it?¡¯
Jaehwan ignored it and tried again. His sight blurred and a voice came to him.
-I¡¯m human. I¡¯m not as strong or as confident as you, but I¡¯m still human.
Jaehwan became confused. Why was he seeing those dead bodies as humans? His body was refusing to attack. His body was telling him to not use ¡®Regr Stab¡¯ against them.
The brothers began running rampant once Jaehwan¡¯s attacks stopped. His [Suspicion] was shaking and his [Understand] was doing the same.
He needed to kill the hostages.
He tried to use ¡®Regr Stab¡¯ again, but he couldn¡¯t focus. Even his [Suspicion] was now making it hard to focus. His [Suspicion], instead of being suspicious of this world, was now being suspicious of [Suspicion] itself.
He felt his spirit undergoing change. Something deep and powerful that was also warm was being born from within. It was something very old, but something he longed for. Long-lost power...
However, the problem was that it was not going to help him right now.
¡®Dammit.¡¯
Jaehwan, for the first time ever, regretted that he only knew how to stab. If he had some other skills at least...
¡®Other skills... hmm...¡¯
Jaehwan suddenly redirected his ¡®Slight Stab¡¯ at various parts of the saloon. Some attacks were aimed at the Jan brothers, while others were aimed at the roof. The attacks made the saloon look like it was full of bullet holes.
¡°He¡¯s gone mad!¡±
Janyaughed as he thought he had gained the upper hand. It was apparent that the man¡¯s Spirit Power would soon fall to zero at this rate. A few minutester, Jaehwan stopped attacking. He had used his stab so much that the saloon roof was now full of holes and the sky was visible. Jaehwan looked up at the sky and lowered his sword.
¡®This should do.¡¯
He turned his back to them and Mino became shocked.
¡°W-what are you doing?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll let him take care of them.¡±
¡°...Him? Who are you talking about?¡±
¡°The talkative, stubborn one.¡±
Talkative, stubborn one?
Mino thought of someone. But how...? At that moment, one of the Golden Sky members shouted in shock.
¡°Janya! The Silence Barrier has been broken!¡±
Janya waspletely shocked.
¡°What?! WHEN?!¡±
He sent a message to the ones working on the Silence Barrier, but he couldn¡¯t feel their Spirit Power. He then nced around the saloon. The holes made by the stabs. Those attacks...
Suddenly, everyone in the saloon felt powerful energy quickly approaching. It was powerful enough to confront a 4th stage Adapter with ease.
It was a powerful, yet pure energy. There was only one who had such spiritual energy. The door burst open and men in silver-white te armor walked in. It was the guards from North Gate and...
¡°What is going on here!¡±
The silvery glow filled the saloon. Bright, blonde hair, with a silver winging from the back shoulder. The most stubborn Gate Captain.
Karlton the Silver Bind.
Mino swallowed as she watched. It was her first time seeing Karlton look so reliable. Karlton narrowed his eyes as he found Jaehwan in the crowd and asked, ¡°Jaehwan? What¡¯s going on here?¡±
Jaehwan nodded and answered, ¡°These are people who have disobeyed thatw of yours. I¡¯m not too familiar with yourws, but they probably did not follow Chapter 276 and Line 4.¡±
Karlton red his eyes and asked, ¡°...Who are they?¡±
¡°Them.¡±
Jaehwan pointed with his chin and Karlton turned to them. There were criminals holding hostages.
¡°What are they...¡±
¡°I think they are conspiring to destroy the world with this saloon as the start.¡±
Mino was dumbfounded by the lie but Karlton pulled up the giant silver halberd in his hands.
¡°Destroy the world... I can¡¯t let that pass.¡±
His face grew cold.
¡°Under thews of Gorgon, I will arrest you all for illegal trespassing, destroying private property, and kidnapping.¡±
The Jan brothers and all the Golden Sky members became pale.
Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Dead man (5)
Silver Bind was very powerful.
All criminals could not resist his [Orders] and the brothers were having a hard time against [Silver Bind]. Karlton was living up to the reputation of the ¡®best of the four Guard Captains¡¯.
¡°So, it wasn¡¯t a false rumor that you can kill a Garnak alone....¡±
Janya deflected Karlton¡¯s halberd as he gritted his teeth. To the Adapters traveling in , the [Silver Bind] of the Sky people was the worst skill to fight against. Janya was barely resisting, but his two brothers were already bound. Karlton¡¯s halberd swung towards Janya¡¯s neck.
¡°Your resistance is futile.¡±
Janya gulped.
[We should use ck Cloud.]
[Are you serious? If we do that...]
[The ones who were reinforcing the barriers are all dead. We will all die anyway.]
[...Understood.]
Janya then knelt and raised both his hands.
¡°I surrender.¡±
¡°Wise choice.¡±
Karlton then released the bind and approached. At that moment, Janyaughed.
¡°You are as na?ve as rumored also.¡±
Karlton then realized something and shouted, ¡°Everyone! Get out of the saloon!¡±
Something exploded from within Janya and a ck cloud began filling up the saloon. Within the smog, people moaned and coughed. Some who moved out of the smog tried toe back in, but Karlton yelled, ¡°Don¡¯te back inside!¡±
The smog did not go away and Karlton¡¯s voice disappeared. Then, the sound of flesh and bones twisting was heard.
The Janya brothers were watching it unfold at the top of the ruined building next to the saloon.
¡°I never imagined I would need to use ck Cloud here.¡±
They were all covered with some kind of a mask. Janmyung spoke grimly,
¡°Janmang breathed in a bit of the cloud.¡±
¡°...Fool. I warned him so many times.¡±
Janya frowned as he saw Janmang¡¯s darkened face.
¡°If he swallowed only a bit, he might live. Hang on.¡±
Then, they saw reinforcements from Golden Sky running towards them.
¡°...About time.¡±
Their leader was the high stage Adapter and an elder of Golden Sky, Heuk Sung. He was famous for his sexual desire in the and was eventually killed by Adapters with his tongue and penis ripped out. Janya was ashamed to side with such a man.
¡°Janya, look at you... how pitiful.¡±
¡°...Shut up.¡±
¡°What happened to the witch? You need to hand her over to me.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t have time for that.¡±
Sung frowned. He then checked the cloud in the saloon.
¡°You were in a hurry, I see. Using the cloud with the Leader¡¯s permission?¡±
¡°Silver Bind was here.¡±
¡°Silver Bind?¡±
Sung¡¯s voice shook.
¡°Wait- so Silver Bind is in there right now?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Sung cackled at the world.
¡°HAHA! That fool swallowed up the ck Cloud? That¡¯s a sight to behold.¡±
No criminal had a good impression of Silver Bind. Even Sung had bad memories of Karlton.
¡°That¡¯s a good sight to watch,¡± Sung said, but Janya didn¡¯t seem too excited.
¡®...What happened to him?¡¯
Silver Bind wasn¡¯t much of a problem. Under normal circumstances, he would have defeated him already. The problem was the man who cornered them with just a stab.
And he couldn¡¯t stop thinking that the man was probably not affected by ck Cloud.
¡°Oh, and where¡¯s the stone?¡±
¡°Not yet.¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t tell me you let the Fortress take it.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. We just need to pick it up now.¡±
Janya adjusted his mask and readied himself to walk back into the saloon. The saloon was covered in ck smog. Even the smallest effect was enough to corrupt the spirit so he did not want to go back in. The ones inside had probably reached their limit of corruption already.
¡®I don¡¯t even want to think about it.¡¯
He knew what became of the ones who reached the limit of corruption. There was no one in who did not know this. Suddenly, Sung stopped Janya and asked,
¡°...Janya. Who is he?¡±
Janya turned and found a man looking at him. He had casually walked out of the smog-filled saloon. Janya was shocked. It wasn¡¯t possible. Even the Greens could not stay normal after breathing in the cloud, and he was not one of the Greens.
¡°...He¡¯s the one with the stone.¡±
¡°Oh? Good. Get him!¡±
The men who came with Sung charged as the man took out his sword.
Step by step, with each step he took, Janya felt the ground shudder. One strike equaled the death of one of his men. Sung bellowed, ¡°What is he?!¡±
Who was he? That¡¯s what Janya wanted to know. He checked and it looked like there was still about fifty 3rd stage Adapters. That was enough to wipe out mid-level ns. Janya calmed himself.
¡®We have enough... we have...¡¯
Jaehwan frowned as he fought off the enemies. There were too many to stab each one and there was a chance that more bad things might happen again if he wasted any more time.
He did not use his sword because he did not like relying on an item¡¯s power, but it was time to use it now. Jaehwan drew the sword from the scabbard. It was then that Janya first realized that the man had been fighting with the scabbard on.
¡®So I was only fighting a scabbard?¡¯
The sword cried out with ominous power as it was drawn. Everyone excluding Janya and Sung froze. It was as if a giant horned monster was standing in front of them.
¡°G-Garnak...¡±
The skill within the scabbard. [Garnak¡¯s Presence] was activated.
Janya stared at it dumbfoundedly. The reinforcements were smashed like insects and when he came back to his senses, the only ones left were himself and Sung. But Sung was already far away, fleeing.
¡®...Bastard.¡¯
Janya then looked at his brothers on the ground. He would not survive.
¡°There¡¯s one way for you to survive.¡±
To survive? Janya¡¯s eyes opened wide.
¡°Where¡¯s the [Nightmare]?¡±
[Nightmare]...
¡°Why do youugh?¡±
Jaehwan asked Janya who wasughing maniacally.
¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡±
He knew. If he told him about [Nightmare], he would die even if he survived. He thought of one man. The strongest in and the only one who could unite .
The leader of Golden Sky.
Even if this man was strong, would he be stronger than the leader? He couldn¡¯t agree. He believed it was only possible for his leader to unite and get the [Fruit] to return to the .
¡°Ke...hahaha...¡±
Heughed. With the cloud out, ¡®IT¡¯ would start now.
¡®If I¡¯m going to die here...¡¯
Janya quickly pulled out a dark gem and swallowed it.
[Stone of Forgotten Spirit]
Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Dead man (6)
It was only for an instant, but Jaehwan saw the stone. It was definitely the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit], but with a different energy. The energy began expanding in Janya¡¯s body and grew.
[HAHAHA! KAHAHAHA!]
Janya¡¯s voice distorted and all his veins ckened as his muscles expanded. His power of around a 4th stage Adapter was amplified nearly twice and exceeded that of a 5th stage. Then, Janya¡¯s body cracked from his torso and a giant mouth with vicious teeth opened up as tentacles began spreading out from within.
[So this is the power of the Dead Man!]
Dead Man.
That was what one changed into when corruption reached 100%. It was feared by all who lived in and everyone considered it a fate worse than death. It was the form of a monster that lost all memories and was only left with desires.
[My memories...]
Janya felt his memories being wiped away as he was left with simple desires. He was now free from himself. He was now free to throw himself into temptation, into destruction. He was now in the world.
[So, this is the world¡¯s truth!]
The world where all humans looked like dead bodies. The world where stats and data ate away everything like maggots. Janya saw his tentacles and felt like he could do anything. It was funny that he had been so afraid of bing this being. It didn¡¯t matter if he lost his humanity if he could see this world.
¡°D-dead Man!¡±
¡°RUN!¡±
The guards began running away in terror as Janya reached out with his tentacles and began feeding the dead bodies into his mouth. He then turned to the man.
Janyaughed and tried to reach out his tentacles. But he felt something different.
Why was there a ¡®human¡¯ in this world?
Janya looked around, but there were no humans. They were all dead bodies. However, that man still looked human. Janya could not believe it. That being should not exist. He looked like a human, yet he felt like a dead man, but with a much greater presence than himself.
Janya tried to move his tentacles to kill the man, but they didn¡¯t move.
His tentacles were trembling. Janya, was trembling. Janya tried to attack with all his might to ease his terror and be freed from that being.
The man held up his sword and aimed. At that moment, Janya¡¯s sight became distorted. Powerful energy sped past him and he felt his entire body being torn apart while the world turned upside down. Excruciating pain filled him and he saw his reflection in the man¡¯s eyes. Ripped tentacles rained down from the sky.
¡®It¡¯s like the world just ended...¡¯
And that was thest sight Janya was able to see.
[What are you... how did you acquire the power of the Dead...]
Janya¡¯s spirit lingered a little before it scattered away.
[But you will... not alone...]
Then Janya¡¯s spirit dissipated into white powder. Jaehwan rotated his shoulder and frowned.
¡®...I wasn¡¯t going to use ¡®Normal Stab¡¯ if possible.¡¯
The trace of the stab that prated past Janya distorted the sky. It was as if the sky had been hammered down.
What was he?
It seemed that he had be a monster called a ¡®Dead Man¡¯ in this world. The monster that was born from a spirit corrupted to its limit. Jaehwan was surprised. All beings here showed him their true identity once he used [Suspicion] on them. Humans became dead bodies while monsters became tainted objects of feelings. But this ¡®Dead Man¡¯ did not change its shape. It meant its giant mouth and tentacles were a part of its true form.
Jaehwan decided to return to the saloon. He didn¡¯t get any information about the [Nightmare], but there was a chance that the saloon still had those that came with him. When he returned, he felt something was wrong. Karlton, Mino, and the other female employees were still on the ground. Karlton seemed to be in an especially bad condition with his silver wing that was now gone. Fortunately, he was still alive and was barely able to speak.
¡°Please... alert... the fortress...¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s expression turned grim as he saw ckened veins appear on Karlton¡¯s face. It was simr to the symptom that he just saw on Janya. It seemed that Mino was also suffering from the same thing. Jaehwan went to Mino and asked, ¡°...What¡¯s going on?¡±
Mino barely opened her eyes and spoke,
¡°It¡¯s... spirit corruption... the worst...¡±
Mino¡¯s breathing was shallow. Jaehwan asked again,
¡°Doesn¡¯t the corruption happen because of not consuming the medicine?¡±
¡°Yes... usually...¡±
Spirit Corruption was amon disease in . It was easy to deal with by consuming medicine made from horned monsters. So Jaehwan thought it was weird. Karlton had the same symptoms and there was no way for him to have missed his medication. There was only one answer. Something had corrupted the entire saloon.
¡®Was it because of the ck smog?¡¯
Mino had already given up on everything. She could not use her anymore. It meant her spirit was corrupted and bing a ¡®Dead Man¡¯ was imminent.
¡®So, this is how it ends...¡¯
She then looked closely at Jaehwan¡¯s face. His distinct features and battle-worn face reflected how many trials he had faced until now. This was the first time that Mino looked closely at his face.
¡°What happened to them?¡±
¡°I killed them all.¡±
¡°...I see.¡± Mino answered. She could not bear to open her eyes anymore and felt her energy fading away.
¡°I... can¡¯t see well.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°How do I look?¡±
¡°Your veins are ck.¡±
¡°I see...¡±
Mino tried to speak. No, she did actually speak. Something in her wanted to keep speaking to him. But she could not make out what she was actually saying. She felt like she was losing her mind but she kept on talking. Her veins ckened even further.
Jaehwan looked at Mino.
¡°Stop. Talk no more.¡±
Jaehwan knew what Mino would turn into. This woman would be the monster that he just killed. And Jaehwan did not know how to save her. The only thing he practiced while he climbed the tower was to kill. Mino then asked, ¡°I know I¡¯m not in a ce to ask... but please do me a favor...¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Mino smiled bitterly.
¡°Kill me.¡±
Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Deadman (7)
¡°Understood.¡±
Jaehwan took out his sword. This woman was a disruption. Jaehwan could not understand. Why was it when he looked at that woman, his skills were disrupted? Why did his memory try toe back? Everything wasn¡¯t going well. He didn¡¯t need feelings; they made him weak. The woman wanted him to kill her, so there was no hesitation. This was for her, and for Jaehwan.
¡°NO! Wait!¡±
Someone rushed up and held onto Jaehwan¡¯s wrist.
¡°There might be a chance! Please!¡±
It was a middle-aged woman, the owner of the saloon. She was probably the one named ire. She had evacuated at Karlton¡¯s warning and had fortunately evaded the corruption. Just then, the paramedics from the fortress rushed into the saloon.
¡°This way!¡±
Gorgon Fortress acted quickly. The paramedics from the fortress quickly hauled Karlton and Mino outside. Jaehwan stared at Mino being carried away and asked,
¡°Will she live?¡±
¡°If she starts the ¡®Morph,¡¯ there¡¯s no chance, but...¡±
One of the paramedics answered hesitantly. It seemed everyone was terrified of the ¡®Dead Man.¡¯
[Warning! Corruption level has reached 90%!]
It was the corruption measurement meter that Karlton had. Suddenly a siren sounded from somewhere within the fortress.
[WARNING- GORGON 4. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!]
[SMALL DEAD MAN WITHIN THE FORTRES.S]
[CITIZENS ON THE NORTHERN STREETS, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.]
The entire fortress plunged into chaos. Jaehwan felt it was a bit weird to be that scared.
¡®Is ¡®Dead Man¡¯ that dangerous?¡¯
There was various information about a Dead Maning in on his [Suspicion]. Then he felt some strange whispers. Right after, red-clothed figures appeared on the rooftops of buildings around them.
[Anti-Evil First Squadron has arrived at the scene.]
[Second Squadron has arrived as well.]
As the reports ended, the red-clothed man in the center nodded and gave an order, ¡°We will eradicate them before they finish the ¡®Dead Man¡¯ morph.¡±
Their hunt began. Most of them were higher than 3rd Stage Adapters. They were either as powerful as the Golden Sky, or even stronger. They all rushed into the saloon at once.
¡°Mino! Come back! Talk to me!¡±
ire was feeding all the medicine in her possession into Mino¡¯s mouth. It didn¡¯t matter if what she had was valuable, whether it was uni or bihorn medicine. The doctor in the rescue team asked the paramedics, ¡°How much medicine do we have?¡±
¡°...Not much, sir.¡±
¡°Why is that? Didn¡¯t we have enough supplies?¡±
¡°It¡¯s all been used up to ease the Master¡¯s disease...¡±
¡°Dammit.¡±
The corruption level was increasing. Something seemed to be creeping into Karlton and Mino¡¯s spirits, something so powerful that the unihorn or even bihorn powder could not stop. As they reached the hospital, the guard posted at the gate blocked them from entering as he looked at ire.
¡°Karlton can enter, but the woman cannot. We do not have much...¡±
¡°I will provide the medicine! Just give us a spot!¡± ire yelled.
¡°If you insist...¡±
The hospital was worse than Jaehwan thought. It was poorly equipped and the ¡®building¡¯ was just a tent. There were hundreds of beds with patients slumped in them, and they all seemed to be corrupted.
¡°Move away! Emergency!¡±
Doctors closed in quickly and got respirators on Karlton and Mino. It seemed that they were trying to force-feed the medicine via the respirators. Outside the tent, the saloon could be seen with smog leaking out from it. With the evacuation order, the saloon was closed down and the elites of the Anti-Evil squad stepped out to guard the saloon. From within the saloon, cries of woman employees who had turned into Dead Men were heard.
¡°Are you the man that Mino talked about?¡±
Jaehwan turned to ire as she continued, ¡°I sent her to hunt down the Red Fox n... never imagined she woulde back with Death itself.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Heard you reject allws here. You judge the world by your standards, and you measure humans.¡±
Jaehwan did not answer.
¡°I know a man like you. I¡¯ve seen one.¡±
ire ced her hand on Mino¡¯s chest and checked her breathing before continuing. Jaehwan looked at ire¡¯s face. He had never met her before.
¡°If you live long enough, you get to see all kinds of people.¡±
ire spoke as she looked at Mino once and then nced around the hospital.
¡°People live here not because they¡¯re fools. They have no other choice.¡±
It was voice full of lethargy. Then Jaehwan spoke for the first time,
¡°No, there¡¯s always a choice. You all just have no courage.¡±
¡°Courage?¡± ire retorted, ¡°Why do you need courage?¡±
Jaehwan tried to speak, but stopped. He had seen ire¡¯s eyes, the deep eyes with regrets over her long life. She had lived with courage all this time and now had no more courage to do so.
¡°You... you are the type who values a higher standard, higher justice...¡±
There were paramedics and doctors shouting from all around. Some with higher corruption levels were coughing ck coughs. ire continued, ¡°It must be a wonderful thing. Too wonderful that people here cannot dare to imagine... You may be right. I may not have the courage, but because of that, I do not know what you may think. But I know one thing for sure.¡±
ire¡¯s eyes were simr to that of Mino¡¯s.
¡°I know that YOU are dangerous.¡±
Jaehwan thought about what Mino mumbled to him before she fainted.
-I now know why I wanted to tag along with you. Why I wanted to stop you from leaving.
The words that Mino spoke earlier, and the words that ire spoke now were mixed before it came to a conclusion.
¡°You must leave this ce.¡±
-You must not leave this ce.
¡°You will bring despair to the people.¡±
-You will bring hope to the people.
¡°You will make them think that nothing will change.¡±
-You will make them think that something will change.
¡°The young ones like Mino will like you. They will be tempted and shaken. And then they will die like her.¡±
-The older ones, especially those who have adapted here, will hate you. They will be jealous. And hurt. Many will die.
¡°I really...¡±
-Yet I still want to hold onto you.
ire couldn¡¯t continue because tears had started flowing from Mino¡¯s eyes. ire took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears.
-Do not give up on this world.
That¡¯s when the ragged door to the hospital opened.
¡°Captain!¡±
It was Lieutenant-Captain James and the other guards. James red at Jaehwan while a guard from before exined everything that happened. James became grim and looked at Karlton.
¡°Take out all the medicine we have!¡±
The Guards took out all their medicine, which were mostly unihorns and some bihorns. James even took out the trihorn powder he had saved.
¡°Even the trihorn isn¡¯t working...¡±
One of the doctors moaned. The corruption level wasn¡¯t going down. One of the guards then asked worryingly, ¡°What do we do? If he bes a Dead Man...¡±
¡°No one can stop him.¡± James spoke clenched his fist. That was when Jaehwan asked from a distance, ¡°Is there any way to reverse it once someone bes a Dead Man?¡±
A doctor nodded and Jaehwan nced between Karlton and Mino. Then he suddenly grabbed Karlton¡¯s cor and spoke.
¡°Hey, get up. I have something to ask you.¡±
Jaehwan began pping Karlton¡¯s cheeks. He hit so hard that Karlton¡¯s cheeks turned red and the guards became furious and ran in.
¡°H-how dare you do that to our Captain...!¡±
However, Karlton did wake up.
¡°C-Captain!¡±
The guards gathered around. Usually, guards hated their superiors, but the guards of the Northern Gate were all worried about their captain. Karlton must have been a good superior to them. Karlton murmured, ¡°...Jaehwan.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°...I have a favor.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Please kill me.¡±
Everyone wanted to be killed. Jaehwan frowned.
¡°You should be able to do that. Please, before it¡¯s toote.¡±
Karlton looked at Jaehwan¡¯s emotionless face.
¡°Isn¡¯t it time to ask to be saved instead?¡±
Karlton grinned. ¡°Gorgon Special Law Chapter 1 Line 4... Once the subject reaches 95% corruption level and the Morphing begins...¡±
Then Karlton started coughing hard.
Jaehwan couldn¡¯t like him. He hated men like Karlton who were so devoted to the organization. But Jaehwan still respected Karlton for one thing. If the Tower of Nightmares had ten people who were like Karlton, or maybe even five, he wouldn¡¯t have had to spend thirty years within the tower. Jaehwan pped Karlton who was about to slip into unconsciousness again.
¡°Hey, let me ask you one thing.¡±
¡°Y-Yes...¡±
Karlton¡¯s lips were trembling.
¡°In your Gorgon Law, is there aw that prohibits one from going back into the past?¡±
¡°What do you...¡±
¡°Aw that punishes those who abandon the world and flees into the past.¡±
¡°I- I don¡¯t get the quest-...¡±
Karlton¡¯s eyes then rolled back as his body began to twist. His veins began to expand and his flesh began to swirl like worms. The morphing was imminent.
[WARNING! WARNING! Corruption level has reached 94%! Morphing IMMINENT!]
Suddenly, a group of men entered the hospital. The man in the lead was familiar. It was the leader of the group who fought the Dead Man in the saloon.
The best fighting group within the fortress.
The Anti-Dead Man group, Anti-Evil. The leader.
James¡¯ face turned grim.
¡°Commander...¡±
Themander eyed Karlton coldly. Some guards tried to hide Karlton¡¯s body by blocking it with their own, but it was pointless.
¡°Move out of the way.¡±
He drew his sword.
¡°He is no longer the captain you know. You must know this.¡±
The guards still did not move away and themander resorted to force.
¡°By thews of Gorgon, Special Law Chapter 1, Line 4, I will now purge Guard Captain Karlton and the other person.¡±
It was an [Order]. Jaehwan felt it was ironic.
¡®Stubborn man, the world you saved has nowe to kill you.¡¯
The guards kneeled as they could not resist the [Order]. It was the most powerful skill within the fortress that no one could withstand. The sword then swung toward Karlton¡¯s neck. It was a strike that no one could stop.
Rather, it was a strike that no one could stop, until Jaehwan¡¯s bare hand stopped it.
Jaehwan spoke.
¡°You can¡¯t kill him. I need to ask him a few things.¡±
Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Deadman (8)
¡®...What is this man?!¡¯
Themander tried to pull out his sword away, but it did not budge. He was a powerful man who had almost reached the 5th stage. But the man stopped his strike bare-handedly. Even if his attack did not contain Spiritual Power, there was no one who could block his attack with their bare hands.
¡®[Order] doesn¡¯t work on him?¡¯
He had lived a hundred years in this fortress but he had never seen this happen before, a man who was not affected by [Order] and could block his attack with just bare hands. Whoever he was, he was probably a powerful man.
¡°...I don¡¯t know who you are, but you must not block me from my duty. We¡¯re just trying to stop a bigger disaster from happening.¡±
¡°Disaster?¡±
Jaehwan scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t think killing Karlton will solve the matter. Isn¡¯t your job to find the reason behind this rather than killing him?¡±
He was right. Themander knew what had happened. A group from the Golden Sky n had done something and corrupted Karlton¡¯s spirit. It seemed that he had jumped in to save the civilians, but so what? The criminals were gone and there was no evidence. And Karlton was going to be a Dead Man.
¡°I¡¯m only working to uphold thew.¡±
¡°Thew. Yeah.¡±
Jaehwan used [Suspicion] and examined Karlton¡¯s inventory.
¡®He has it.¡¯
Jaehwan reached out and took out a book. It was a book ofw.
¡°Let me see... Specialw, Chapter 1 line 4... Once the subject reaches 95% corruption level and begins to Morph, he or she will be put to death at once. Is this it?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
¡°So, if Karlton does not be a Dead Man, he will be saved?¡± Jaehwan asked as he took out a dark, ck horn from his dimensional backpack.
¡°I think this will do.¡±
One of the doctors immediately recognized the horn.
¡°A Garnak horn!¡±
Themander had heard that someone had brought in the horn of pentahorn, but he did not know that this man was the owner.
¡°We might have a chance!¡±
The doctors agreed and themander sheathed his sword. The man was right. If Karlton did not be a Dead Man, he didn¡¯t need to be killed. However, the doctors didn¡¯t look too delighted.
¡°But there¡¯s a problem...¡±
The highest medicine usually sold were trihorns because it was hard to find someone who could process quadhorns or higher. The only one who might be able to do that was Meikal, the Vice Chief of . But it was toote to call the Vice Chief and they were not sure if the proud cksmith would agree to make medicine with his skills. Yet, the doctors were shocked once again.
¡°Isn¡¯t this enough?¡±
The horn was crushed into turned into powder by Jaehwan. The doctors present trembled as they took the powder. They were not sure how much value this medicine held. The processed powder was sucked into the respirator and distributed to Karlton and Mino. As the horn powder was consumed, the corruption level stopped increasing and became steady. It did not purify the corruption, but it stopped the morphing.
Suddenly, the doctor tending to Mino shouted, ¡°I-it¡¯s not working!¡±
The corruption level began to rise again.
¡°It¡¯s not stopping. Her stamina is too low to...¡±
A doctor quickly measured Mino¡¯s corruption level.
[WARNING! CORRUPTION LEVEL HAS EXCEEDED 95%. MORPHING WILL START!]
The doctors became frightened.
¡°It¡¯s toote...¡±
When the corruption exceeded 95%, there was no medicine that could stop it. Themander tried to draw his sword again but ire shouted,
¡°Chunghuh, call Chunghuh! He can use ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯! That will give us a chance!¡±
¡°...Are you talking about the Doctor of Despair?¡±
One of the doctors frowned.
Chunghuh, the Doctor of Despair.
Every doctor knew his name. He was the only doctor who could save someone who had begun morphing. His unique skill, ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯, allowed him to stop the transformation.
Jaehwan heard the doctors whispering to each other.
[But, what does that ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ skill do?]
[It¡¯s what the Doctor of Despair uses. I heard it cuts down the corruption itself.]
[How is that possible?]
ire said, ¡°Yes! The Doctor knows her! He will certainly help her out!¡±
¡°The doctor is within the inner keep. He will note out for such a thing.¡±
¡°...For ¡®SUCH A THING¡¯ you said?!¡±
ire became enraged and tried to speak but themander interrupted her,
¡°Move out.¡±
His powerful energy made ire and the doctors fall to their knees while screaming. Themander measured Mino¡¯s corruption level and said to Jaehwan, ¡°I cannot stay put this time. You should move away too.¡±
Jaehwan drew his sword and the air turned cold. Then Jaehwan turned.
¡°I will kill her. She asked me to do so.¡±
Themander moved back. The doctors moved away as ire bit her lip and watched Jaehwan. James paled and some guards looked away. Jaehwan looked at the woman lying on the cot. With her mask skill gone, her face was pale but still beautiful. She was the first human Jaehwan had met after he came to .
Her name was Mino.
It was a name that he had never called. He did not know much about her. He didn¡¯t know what she had done, and why she was so weak-minded the fact that she was an assassin. Yet, he didn¡¯t want to know. He raised his sword. He was shown an imaginary line which showed Mino¡¯s death. It was only disyed when his senses reached their limits. If he followed the line, it would mean instant death for her. That was the best he could do for her now.
However, at that moment, the area began to change.
¡®What?¡¯
Everything, except Mino and Jaehwan, turned white. Jaehwan used [Suspicion] and his senses grew. He had felt a simr thing when he met the subus on the 66th floor of the Tower.
¡®It¡¯s a hallucination.¡¯
Jaehwan nced around while using [Suspicion]. There was no one other than Mino lying down. Jaehwan gripped his sword tightly, thinking to rip the space apart. Suddenly, he was surprised. There was an old man sitting next to Mino.
[My, my... little Mino. What happened to you?]
It was an old man dressed in dark clothes with a long, round hat. It seemed that the old man had not noticed Jaehwan.
[Poor girl... let me help you.]
The old man then squished Mino¡¯s cheeks this way and that, before breaking into a satisfied smile. Jaehwan looked at him quietly. After a while, the old man noticed Jaehwan and turned towards him in shock.
[HHHAA! Who are you?!]
He blushed like a man caught stealing and coughed.
[Y-you, young man, have a very noble spirit. How did youe here?]
Jaehwan did not answer and used [Suspicion], but it did not work. Many theories shed through his mind. It was a man who suddenly appeared as he was watching a corrupted spirit.
¡®Is he the reason for the corruption?¡¯
The man also gave him the feeling like that of the Dead Man. Jaehwan then remembered the whispers among the doctors.
¡®Dead Man sh, right?¡¯
The woman might live if this old man was killed. The old man kept on speaking.
[But why is the noble spirit eager to fight like that... like a five-year-old...]
Jaehwan¡¯s sword moved.
[W-what?]
The old man opened his eyes wide in shock and yelled,
[You, young man, must be taught a lesson!]
Then, a bright sword strike sh. With the shock, Jaehwan was forced back a step, and the old man staggered three steps back. Jaehwan was shocked.
¡®He blocked my attack?¡¯
It was the first time that his [Slight Stab] was blocked. There were instances where someone dodged it or didn¡¯t die, but no one was able to block it. However, that wasn¡¯t the only thing.
It was a ¡®sh¡¯ that the old man had used to block the stab.
The old man moaned.
[H-how did you block my ¡®Normal sh¡¯...?!]
It was a familiar name. The old man stepped back. It seemed his wrist was sprained from the strike and his sword had a crack.
[What are you?!]
The old man shouted as the hallucination shattered. Jaehwan knew he was back in the normal world. His sword was still at Mino¡¯s neck but something around had changed. He heard a voice.
¡°No... my precious quadhorn sword!¡±
Jaehwan realized it was the same old man¡¯s voice. He turned, and there he was, on his knees and wailing. He was shaking as he held onto the broken sword. Themander and ire shouted at once.
¡°D-doctor of Despair...!¡±
¡°Chunghuh!¡±
It was the number one doctor from Gorgon Fortress, Chunghuh, the Doctor of Despair.
Chapter 34
Chapter 34: Doctor of Despair (1)
[That old man... because of him, everyone thought people can do that too. What did he say? Repeating same sh trillion times will make him really powerful... or something?]
-Imai Kazuki, 3rd Captain of the [Rupture]
Episode 6. Doctor of Despair
Four men sat in the inner keep office. The middle-aged man in the higher seat was a famous individual within the fortress.
Chancellor Euren Chiver
He was the one who was in charge of the keep while the master was out. The one sitting next to him did not fall behind in status.
¡°Doctor, are you sure that Jaehwan can use the ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯?¡±
¡°...Yeah,¡± Chunghuh answered, obviously not happy that he had to admit that, and the Anti-Evil Commander agreed.
¡°I saw it too, Chancellor. It was definitely the ¡®Dead Man sh.¡¯¡±
¡°Well, to be specific, it¡¯s not [sh],¡± Chunghuh added and looked at the man in front. The man was the only one who had no rtion to the Gorgon Fortress.
¡®...Why am I here?¡¯
Jaehwan thought as he saw Chunghuh in front of him.
Chunghuh, the Doctor of Despair.
Everyone in had heard about his rumors. The one who can do ¡®Dead Man sh.¡¯ He was the only one who could do that. But he wasn¡¯t famous just because he was a skilled doctor.
-I heard he¡¯s as powerful as the Ten-n¡¯s leaders.
The doctor was extremely strong. This was a good topic to be gossip about.
-I heard he is a ¡®Strong from the Depth¡¯.
-I heard he was a member of the [Rupture] also.
-I heard he cleared the [Master]¡¯s tower.
However, no one knew what was true because Chunghuh never talked about himself. Then his rumors became much less exciting over time.
The old man who only knew how to sh.
The old man who loved women so much that he only tended to women.
The word despair was put on him because he always felt despair.
¡°The doctor is despairing!¡±
Doctors were shocked to see the rumors were true as they saw Chunghuh kneeling down. Themander approached and asked, ¡°Doctor! Why are you here? What about the Master?¡±
¡°...This cutie is about to die. Who cares about the Master?¡±
¡°Wh-What?!¡±
Chunghuh then red at Jaehwan.
¡°Hey! What are you going to do? You ruined my ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯! And with my sword in this state...¡±
His sword was crushed. The ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ could only be used by a sword made from a quadhorn or higher. That¡¯s when Chunghuh¡¯s eyes caught something interesting.
¡°OH! Boy, you have something good with you!¡± Chunghuh eximed. ¡°Horn of Garnak, eh?¡±
The sword with the power of a Garnak. He had seen a sword made from pentahorn¡¯s horn, but he had never seen a sword with even the scabbard being the Garnak¡¯s horn. Garnaks were vicious and violent beasts that were difficult to hunt. Chunghuh reached out toward the sword without permission Jaehwan grasped his wrist to stop him.
¡°...you, young man, got some skill.¡±
He knew the man wasn¡¯t an ordinary man when his ¡®Normal sh¡¯ was blocked, but it seemed the young man was more than what he had expected. That was when Jaehwan spoke up unexpectedly.
¡°If I let you use this sword...¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°If I let you, then can you save her?¡±
Chunghuh blinked. ¡°...Of course. I can do that.¡±
Jaehwan took out the sword and handed it over with the scabbard on. Chunghuh was shocked. It was his first time meeting the man and that person just gave the weapon away. But this wasn¡¯t important right now.
¡°...It¡¯s a good sword, but it does fit you.¡±
Chunghuh cackled as the sword cried as the old man held on it. Then his pupils turned white and Old man began swinging his sword in the air. The area then turned quiet.
¡®So this was what he did earlier.¡¯
Jaehwan looked into the world that had turned white. As old man moved his sword, the world was being painted into a white light. Jaehwan finally realized that this was not just some hallucination.
This was the world that this old man was seeing.
Within the bright white area, was Mino as her outline was fading away. The old man then looked at Mino. He stood in front and held the sword like a paintbrush. Then he began painting the lines back in.
Jaehwan felt that it was a strange sight. It was smooth, yet violent. It was rxed, yet rushed. But everything was urate.
Mino¡¯s body was repainted into the world. Jaehwan felt relieved as he watched the old man at work. He painted Mino¡¯s nose, her lips, and paid more attention to her breasts. As his brush moved, the world in white danced. It was like a calm, soothing song. Then the song that the old man creating was nearing its end. The old man slumped down, losing his grip on the sword.
¡°Ugh, I can¡¯t do it any longer.¡±
Chunghuhy down on his back.
¡°Dammit... my Spirit Power is running out...¡±
Mino¡¯s painting was still unstable. But it was close topletion.
¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that damn Master...¡±
The world shook. Jaehwan knew if that picture wasn¡¯t finished, this ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ would not work. Jaehwan wondered.
He couldn¡¯t do a [sh], but even if it was a copy of what the old man did...
Jaehwan took back his sword. He felt the people around him shouting, trying to stop him. It was noisy. Jaehwan closed his eyes. His mind always had [Suspicion] on against the world, and the spirit wanting to [Understand] stopped. His thoughts were freed.
Yes, this was how it was supposed to feel.
Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Doctor of Despair (2)
As he opened his eyes again, the white world was waiting with only Chunghuh who was there in shock and Mino who was asleep.
Jaehwan, for the first time ever, took up the sword to save someone. The white world epted him. He felt like he could draw in anything in this world. Then, Jaehwan began moving.
He then remembered Mino, a weak-minded Assassin. A stubborn woman who liked to joke. A woman who always attracted trouble. A woman who did not betray. A woman who hated him. And...
The woman who trusted humans.
Jaehwan moved his hand without resting. As if he was worried that the Mino he knew would disappear, he moved and moved again.
After some time, it seemed like it was finished but something wascking. That¡¯s when Jaehwan remembered. He had never seen it, but he came to know about it unintentionally. Jaehwan then finished by cing a small spot on Mino¡¯s right breast. It wasplete. Jaehwan blinked and as he breathed in...
¡°...You still remember that?¡±
Mino smiled brightly in front of him.
When Jaehwan opened his eyes again, he thought he was still in the white world. It was because everyone was silent. James was rubbing his eyes and doctors were shaking with the measurement meter in their hands. ire was numbly looking at Mino. The ck vein was disappearing. Someone shouted.
¡°The morphing has stopped!¡±
¡°Corruption level is dropping!¡±
And the Doctor of Despair was in shock.
¡°How... but...¡±
He had used the ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯. This wasn¡¯t something that could be copied just by looking at it. This was not a skill. Many wanted to be taught, but nobody could manage to do it.
¡°...His eagerness disappeared a bit,¡± Chunghuh mumbled as he eyed the man. It seemed like something changed him just now.
¡®But that only makes him 10 years old now.¡¯
Chunghuh didn¡¯t seem to like it much.
¡°Who are you? How did you do the ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯...¡±
Chunghuh stopped. The man¡¯s movement was not the ¡®sh.¡¯
¡°No, I should call it ¡®Dead Man Stab¡¯. Where did you learn that?¡±
Themander was then shocked as he asked, ¡°W-wait. Did he just use the ¡®Dead Man sh?¡±
¡°...I do not want to ept that fact, but yes.¡±
¡°Then...¡±
Chunghuh frowned as he watched themander¡¯s expression. He was the most loyal to the Master of the Fortress. Chunghuh had lived for a thousand years. It was easy to know what the 100-year-old young man was thinking.
¡°Wait, Commander. Rx. We do not know about him yet.¡±
¡°But didn¡¯t he just say that he could do the ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯? And didn¡¯t you mention that if there was one more who could do it, you could save the Master?¡±
¡°That¡¯s...¡±
Chunghuh frowned. He did say such a thing. He just didn¡¯t realize themander would still remember it.
¡®How would I know that there would be another one who could do it?!¡¯
Themander sternly said, ¡°Doctor. There¡¯s no one more valuable than the Master.¡±
Chunghuh stopped and sighed. He then sent a [Whisper].
[...Commander. You know that I¡¯m an Awakener, right?]
Themander became tense. Everyone knew the term ¡®Awakener¡¯. These were the ones who escaped the system and earned great power in return. Even throughout the Great Lands as a whole, there weren¡¯t many ¡®Awakeners¡¯. Those included the few Lords of the 12 regions and their subjects, the [Rupture]¡¯s few captains, and the organization that the [Big Brother] considered a dangerous organization.
Themander knew there were a few more Awakeners other than them.
One was the old man in front.
He was weaker than the Lords or the Captain of [Rupture] but was still an Awakener. The fact that Chunghuh stayed within Gorgon Fortress stopped other Fortresses that were thinking about attacking Gorgon.
[What if he is an Awakener?]
Chunghuh asked, [Is that true?]
[Yes. And a suspicious one at that.]
Themander felt sweat running down his back. An Awakener appearing within the fortress was not to be taken lightly. They were powerful enough to alter the power bnce.
[Is he from the [Rupture]?]
[...I don¡¯t know anything yet.]
Suddenly, the entrance opened and men in dark green clothes entered. Themander recognized them at once. It was the organization below the Chancellor himself, Shadowmoon. The man in the front was the general.
¡®Why are they here?¡¯
They had nothing to do with killing the Dead Man. They only obeyed direct orders from the Master of the Fortress and the Chancellor. The general walked up to Jaehwan and bowed.
¡°I¡¯m the General of the Shadowmoon. Are you the Messenger of the Greens?¡±
Messenger of the Greens?
Chunghuh and themander looked at each other.
¡°Please, follow us to the keep. Our master¡¯s life is in...¡±
That¡¯s when the general felt something was strange.
¡°Huh? Why are you here, Commander... and... D-doctor?¡±
It seemed he was shocked to see them standing here. But Chunghuh and themander did not care about the general. They were looking at Jaehwan and was thinking of the same thing.
And Chunghuh was still thinking the same thing as he watched Jaehwan in front.
¡®Who is this man?¡¯ he thought as he saw Jaehwan ying around with the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit] in his fingers. Chancellor Euren spoke to him.
¡°Mister Jaehwan, I need to make a request of you.¡±
Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Doctor of Despair (3)
There was a reason why Jaehwan followed them to the office of the inner keep without any protest.
-You were looking for a Nightmare, right?
Gorgon Fortress was arge ce. Even if Nightmares were rare, there might be one or two if one looked very closely. That was what Meikal said.
-Go to the Registrar of the Inner Keep. Tell them my name and show the scabbard. You will then take a look at the entrance record.
It seemed like a good idea to track down possible a Nightmare who hade into the fortress. That was what he nned to do unless he encountered some other problems.
¡®It¡¯s getting mixed up.¡¯
But it might be better. The middle-aged man seemed to hold a high position so it might be easier if he helped find a Nightmare. Jaehwan looked at him.
He had a clean mustache along with a wise and intelligent face. Euren looked very noble and intelligent. But it was his 211th year after he died at Great Lands. He was one of the oldest within the Gorgon Fortress.
¡°I will have to introduce myself first. I am Euren Chiver, Chancellor of this ¡®Gorgon Fortress¡¯.¡±
¡°Jaehwan.¡±
Eurenughed. ¡°You sure sound like the one, the doctor told me about you.¡±
Jaehwan nced and the doctor was mumbling, ¡®Look, I told you he¡¯s rude.¡¯
¡°But you must know that it is not your name that we want to know.¡±
He cut straight to the chase, but did so politely. It was interesting to see such a high ranking officer be so polite.
¡°Let me ask you this outright, Mister Jaehwan. Are you the Messenger of the Greens?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
Euren didn¡¯t seem to be shocked.
¡°...You weren¡¯t?!¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t I say that?¡±
Chunghuh added, ¡°Hey, kid. Let me ask you. If you are not from the Greens, then where did you get those stones?¡±
Chunghuh asked as he red at the stone in Jaehwan¡¯s hands.
Jaehwan¡¯s answer was simple. ¡°I picked them up.¡±
¡°...and you want me to believe that? What happened to the owners?¡±
¡°They¡¯re dead.¡±
¡°Dead? Who dares to kill five families...¡±
¡°I killed them.¡±
Themander was shocked and Chunghuh stood up, but Euren stopped him.
¡°Please, rx, Doctor.¡±
The Chancellor was so dignified that it even made Jaehwan astonished.
¡°He killed them all!¡±
¡°We do not know what happened between them and Mister Jaehwan.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°We should hear him out. He must have had his reasons.¡±
Euren looked at Jaehwan and Jaehwan answered, ¡°They attacked me first. They wanted my horn, so I fought them.¡±
Jaehwan then took out thest horn from his backpack. Euren nodded.
¡°...I see.¡±
The Greens were famous for their greed for materials. If a mere human was walking around with high-value material like the horn of a Garnak, there was a chance for them tounch an attack. If Jaehwan killed them to protect himself, then there was nothing to me. Euren became curious. How did this mane all the way here?
¡°Mister Jaehwan, would you mind exining your story some more?¡±
After a while...
¡°I see. Let me summarize your story.¡±
Euren recounted the events, ¡°One. You were ¡®identally¡¯ swept away into this .¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°Two. You ¡®identally¡¯ met the Greens and came into this fortress.¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°Three. You ¡®identally¡¯ ran into the trouble and met the doctor. And you copied what he did.¡±
Jaehwan nodded.
¡°I see. I understand.¡±
Chunghuh frowned as he watched them.
¡°...Chancellor, do you even believe him?¡±
¡°Yes, I do.¡±
¡°Have you lost your mind because Master¡¯s out sick?¡±
Eruen smiled.
¡°Doctor.¡±
¡°What.¡±
¡°To earn the trust of someone, you must trust him first.¡±
¡°...¡±
The doctor became dumbfounded and Euren looked back at Jaehwan.
¡°Mister Jaehwan, can I ask a few more questions, if it¡¯s not too much?¡±
¡°Sure.¡±
¡°Then, the first question. Your body is alive right now. Is that right?¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s finger that yed on the stone stopped cold.
¡°...How do you know that I didn¡¯t die?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were ¡®identally swept into ¡¯?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Did you know that no one in expresses their ¡®death¡¯ in that way?¡±
He was a very intelligent man. Jaehwan heightened his guard.
¡°Second question. Is there a reason for you to hide your identity?¡±
Jaehwan fell silent and answered, ¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Is it because of a certain threat?¡±
¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡±
¡°It somehow is, while it¡¯s somehow not.¡±
Euren tapped on the table and continued, ¡°I must apologize beforehand.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve been watching you use my people for the past three days.¡±
¡°I knew about it.¡±
¡°Of course.¡±
Jaehwan remembered the man in a dark green cloth that he knocked out near Twilight¡¯s Fall.
¡°It was hard as you were too powerful, but there were a few results.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°We did manage to find out a few things about you. Do you want to listen to it?¡±
¡°Go ahead.¡±
Euren smiled. ¡°This document summarizes what happened after you walked into the fortress.¡±
Jaehwan looked down and read the paper in front of him.
First day
Target has shed with Karlton.
Target took out the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit] and made the civilians feel terrified.
Target massacred local gangs.
Target trespassed the Twilight¡¯s Fall and threatened the Vice Chief.
Target took Twilight¡¯s Fall illegally. (Resulted in 180 million horuns in property loss.)
Target started processing SS-grade material ¡®Horn of Garnak¡¯.
Third day
Target destroyed the northern merchant road. Estimated property loss: 40 million horuns.
Target shed with the Janya brothers and the Golden Sky n. (Northern Guard Captain and 14 other guards were wounded in the process.)
Target massacred Janya brothers and the Golden Sky n.
Target shed with the middle Dead Man.
Target killed the middle Dead Man. (Estimated property loss due to the damage: 30 million horuns.)
Target shed with the Doctor of Despair.
Target used ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯.
Target¡¯s danger grade: SS
Target¡¯s physical strength: Impossible to measure
Estimated property loss: 380 million horuns
Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Doctor of Despair (4)
¡°Do you know what people call a man like this?¡± Euren asked.
The doctor interjected, ¡°A madman.¡±
Themander also added, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you are a hero or a viin.¡±
Euren smiled.
¡°Yes, some might call you a hero, and some will call you a viin. Some might even call you a madman. Everyone will call you something different.¡±
Euren¡¯s tapping against the table stopped.
¡°I call that kind of man a ¡®Protagonist¡¯.¡±
Chunghuh frowned.
¡°He¡¯s just a madman!¡±
¡°It¡¯s just a metaphor. One who¡¯s not bound to any rules and lives how he likes... only a ¡®Protagonist¡¯ can do that.¡±
Euren continued, ¡°There¡¯s one thing that you have that is rted to a ¡®Protagonist¡¯. Do you know what it is?¡±
¡°No,¡± Jaehwan replied.
¡°It¡¯s that they¡¯re famous.¡±
Jaehwan fell silent and asked, ¡°...and after the investigation, you found out that I¡¯m a famous ¡®Protagonist¡¯?¡±
Euren shook his head.
¡°No, that¡¯s where the problem lies.¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°You are not famous at all.¡±
Euren continued, ¡°A powerful being considered to be a Protagonist leaks their powers. Their status, birthright, the legendary stories... even if the protagonist himself did not want the stories to be told, others will spread it anyway.¡±
Jaehwan listened silently.
¡°But there was nothing about you that was known. Not here, nor in the Great Lands. Even with the Fortress¡¯mand system that can pull up all Adapter information with the search of a name, we found no information about you. Do you know what this means?¡±
Jaehwan did not answer, but Euren continued speaking.
¡°Someone is blocking your information.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Someone is protecting you so that you will not be known, whatever the motive may be.¡±
Jaehwan did not speak.
¡°And I think the one doing that is probably not friendly toward you.¡±
¡°Why is that?¡±
¡°If a powerful organization who can meddle with the information is there to protect you, you wouldn¡¯t have run into trouble for a simple certification at the gate.¡±
Jaehwan was impressed by Euren¡¯s logic.
¡°My conclusion is this. You are a Protagonist who fled to Chaos ¡®identally¡¯ and are in pursuit of a giant force.¡±
Satisfied, Euren asked, ¡°What do you think about my story?¡±
¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡±
What Euren said matched exactly with Jaehwan¡¯s thoughts.
¡®It¡¯s about time for the Lord of Darkness to move.¡¯
At this time, the Harvester did not realize that something had happened to the Cultivator and the Product. Therefore, they must have started doing something. Erasing any information would be a start. There was a chance that they would follow him into soon.
Jaehwan asked, ¡°So, what do you propose?¡±
¡°My proposal is simple. Gorgon Fortress will protect you.¡±
¡°Protect?¡±
Euren nodded.
¡°We will not ask for your status, nor your identity. We will not ask you to pay back the property loss and protect you. All you need to do is one thing for us.¡±
Jaehwan was able to guess what the request would be. He had heard many whispers along the way and the powerful spiritual energy deep within the deep castle was telling him the nature of the request already.
¡°Please, save our Master.¡±
Two hourster, Jaehwan was walking to the guesthouse of the Inner Keep with Chunghuh. They were guided by a Shadowmoon woman.
¡°You can rest here. You will be escorted by the servants inside.¡±
¡°Understood.¡±
¡°Oh, and we heard a report that the Guard Captain and woman are now recovering. Captain will take about two weeks and the woman will take three months to recover.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
¡°Please call me when you need anything.¡±
The woman who introduced herself as Hekuwa disappeared into the shadows. Jaehwan turned to Chunghuh and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going?¡±
¡°...I have a question to ask. Follow me.¡±
Jaehwan followed Chunghuh. They were going to the underground area with the guesthouse. The fire from the candle lit the corridor as they walked down. Jaehwan thought about what his discussion with the Chancellor.
-Is Gorgon Fortress strong enough to fight the 12 Lords of the Great Lands?
-Is it the 12 Lords that are after you?
-It¡¯s a possibility.
Euren thought about it for a while and answered.
-The only one who can stand against a Lord is one of the Lords themselves.
-Does that mean you cannot protect me from them?
-No, it¡¯s much better that way.
-Why is that?
-Lords are not allowed to directly interfere what happens within .
-What do you mean...
Then, he came back to his senses.
¡°We¡¯re here.¡±
Chunghuh stopped and Jaehwan frowned.
¡°What are you thinking?¡±
There was arge training ground at the underground area of the guesthouse. Weapons hung from one wall and other wall had training dummies. It seemed that the warriors of the fortress used the equipment for training.
¡°Kid. From what I can see, you¡¯re not from the [Rupture]. Your energy is vicious, but it¡¯s not machinated like theirs.¡±
Chunghuh continued, ¡°But you don¡¯t look like the subjects of the Lords either. I don¡¯t feel any energy of those 12 regions from you.¡±
There were some warriors that were training within corners of the training ground. They noticed Chunghuh and bowed.
¡°You are an Awakener but not from the [Rupture] or the Lords... and one I do not know.¡±
Chunghuh waved to the warriors.
¡°Then there¡¯s only one answer.¡±
Chunghuh looked at Jaehwan closely.
¡°Kid, are you the one who cleared the [Master]¡¯s tower?¡±
Chunghuh grinned as he read Jaehwan¡¯s face.
¡°I see.¡±
¡°...What do you know, old man?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Jaehwan tried to speak but Chunghuh pulled out a sword.
¡°Show me a move.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Your stab and my sh. Let¡¯s see which one¡¯s stronger.¡±
Jaehwan pulled out his sword too. He was also curious. For the first time, this old man was a worthy opponent. Jaehwan knew that this old man was one of his kind. Just like how he had stabbed for all his life, this old man must have shed for his life, for an even longer time period.
¡°Fight me. If you win, I¡¯ll answer all your questions.¡±
Chunghuh cackled and added, ¡°But it¡¯s probably impossible.¡±
Chapter 38
Chapter 38: Doctor of Despair (5)
¡®Steel Region¡¯
The 5th region of the 12 regions of the Great Lands waspletely covered in steel. As such, the region was abundant in steel as well as other metals and ores. Many cksmiths and artisans worked in the region. The 5th region¡¯s nickname was the ¡®Home of All Weapons¡¯.
Since a lot of Nightmares resided within the region, its production of cultivation towers or weapons increased and the region became one of the most important regions in the Great Lands.
Recently, the ruler of the 5th region wasn¡¯t too happy. An old man with distinct features frowned.
¡°What did you say?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°The Lord of Darkness did what?¡±
The Chief Secretary shivered in front of the old man. He was the ruler of the 5th region and had the nickname, ¡®Unbreakable Steel¡¯. His name was renowned in the Great Lands. In just 80 years after he hade up to the Great Lands, he became the Lord of the 5th region and was ranked on top of the Great Ones.
Lord of Steel, Huhyou.
He looked down at his Chief Secretary and frowned.
¡®What was his name... Allen?¡¯
He had been chosen to take the position since he was born in a good family with a good upbringing, but it didn¡¯t satisfy Huhyou. Allen was in charge of intelligence within the organization but all the information he brought was outdated information.
If Huhyou fired the Chief Secretary again, it would be the 24th time during this quarter. Huhyou changed his tone and asked again, ¡°Rx and tell me. So, what is the Lord of Darkness up to?¡±
Jerome, the Lord of Darkness, was the ruler of the 9th region, which bordered the 5th region. Huhyou had qualms with Jerome because of Jerome¡¯s sly and vicious nature.
¡®Maybe it¡¯s about time for me to settle the score with him.¡¯
The 9th region had been up to no good in recent years. The region weed all fugitive Adapters and for the first time, contracted middle to low-level cultivators to increase the production of Products. They were obviously increasing their army force. This was the only possible reason. They were preparing for war.
Under the current circumstances, it was apparent that their target would be the neighboring 5th and 7th regions. Allen shivered and said, ¡°I-it seems that the Lord of Darkness is contacting for some reason.¡±
¡°? What about that ce?¡±
Huhyou was surprised. Under the 295th Great Lords Decree, all Lords of the Great Lands were forbidden from meddling with .
¡°Well... it¡¯splicated.¡±
Allen seemed to have prepared something as he called out to and showed up a hologram panel. Huhyou looked at it closely.
¡°What about it?¡±
He knew about the video. It had the Non-Adapter who killed the Frost Dragon alone. The famous [99th Floor Solo-Clear Video] with a man who stabbed the Frost Dragon.
He remembered a former secretary who insisted on scouting him. Purchasing Products or recruiting Adapters were the secretary¡¯s job so he did not really care.
¡®Wasn¡¯t it proven to be fake?¡¯
The video that topped the rankings on ¡¯swork had be a problem as the Cultivator had disappeared. Even now, some were debating if the video was fake or not.
¡°The product... is the Product that was being created under the contract by Lord of Darkness.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Huhyou then looked more closely.
¡®Wait... this one...¡¯
As the man thrust against the Frost Dragon, there was weird energy. It was very faint, but he recognized that energy.
¡®Awakener... in a tutorial?¡¯
Even the Lord of Steel himself, who was the most powerful Awakener in the Great Lands, had not seeded in being awakened in the tutorial. Huhyou quickly asked, ¡°Where is this Product now?¡±
The secretary hesitated.
¡°...He escaped.¡±
Escape?
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°He... refused to clear the tutorial. He destroyed the roof of the tower and ran to through the Tree of Imagery. That¡¯s what I heard.¡±
Huhyou thought he misheard it.
¡°What about the Cultivator waiting at the 100th floor?¡±
¡°He was killed.¡±
¡°...Are you kidding me?¡±
¡°N-no, my Lord. I can¡¯t believe it myself, but Lord of Darkness seems to trust the information.¡±
Huhyou could not speak. If that was true, the Product¡¯s value was immeasurable.
¡®That¡¯s why the Darkness is poking at .¡¯
The situation did seemplicated.
¡°But does the 9th region have a connection with ?¡±
¡°I-I came across this information while I was at it... but it seems they had been meddling in for a long time even before this incident.¡±
¡°Long time?¡±
¡°Yes, my Lord. Few among the Ten-n of Chaos had been in regr contact with the Lord of Darkness.¡±
Huhyou¡¯s face sunk. It meant the Lord of Darkness had been disobeying the decree for a long time already.
¡®What are you up to?¡¯
He thought about bringing this up to other Lords for a second. But doing so wouldn¡¯t really change as it wasn¡¯t a situation for the other Lords to pay much attention to. Other than the eastern region, which wasprised of the 5th, 7th, and 9th regions, all regions of the Great Lands were battling a vicious war. It wasn¡¯t certain if the Lords of the other regions would have room toe and use the 9th region for its crimes.
¡°Who else knows this information?¡±
¡°I think it is only known within the 9th region. But 7th region would have their intel so they should know that by now.¡±
It was very possible. The 7th region was thend of the Lord of Fire, Abraxas. Huhyou pondered for a minute and spoke.
¡°Go send a message to the Nightmare Union and ask for permission to use the [Narrow Door].¡±
Narrow Door.
The artifact that allowed ¡®Living¡¯ to look like ¡®Death¡¯. The Five Renowned Families, or Nightmares, used this [Narrow Door] to travel to without dying.
¡°A-are you trying to go into ?¡±
¡°No, I need an eye. We need to be on top of the situation.¡±
¡°...Who should we send?¡±
¡°Send 10 people from the Gold First ss. ...and send Hyeyoung.¡±
The warriors of the Steel Region were divided into five ranks. Adamantium, Mithril, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Each rank was also divided from First to Fifth ss. The Gold First ss was mostlyprised of Adapters who were at least in the 5th stage.
The leader of Gold First ss, Hyeyoung, was almost as powerful as the higher-ranked Mithril. The group as a whole seemed to be overkill for .
¡°We need to make sure. We do not know what might happen.¡±
¡°Y-yes, my Lord.¡±
Huhyou saw his Chief Secretary going away and dove into his thoughts.
¡®Chaos...¡¯
There was an old friend in Chaos that he fought alongside during his tower days. He was called the best doctor back then and had the name, the Doctor of Despair in .
¡®Chunghuh, I wonder how you¡¯re doing.¡¯
Their pathways in Awakening divided them up, but Lord of Steel thought of his old friend from time to time. Chunghuh insisted on staying as a human before bing a perfect Awakener, but he eventually lost his life as a human.
¡®He would¡¯ve lived longer if it wasn¡¯t for his temper.¡¯
Huhyou smiled at the memories that he shared with his friends.
¡®I hope he fixed his temper there.¡¯
¡°Hey, fight me again.¡±
Chunghuh spoke with his bruised eyes and swollen cheek. He couldn¡¯t understand. He was the Doctor of Despair, the best doctor within . As rumored, he was also the ¡®Strong of the Depth,¡¯ one of the very few within .
It didn¡¯t end there. He had a grand past. He was born in World 12764 and was the clearer of the ¡¯s Tower. World 12764 was famous within the Great Lands. It was named the ¡®Middle Land¡¯ or it was also known as ¡®Moorim.¡¯
Those from Moorim were automatically considered a great power, as it was the world that gave birth to the Lord of Steel and its Legendary generation. Moreover, Chunghuh was from the Legendary generation.
¡°I think we¡¯ve done enough, old man.¡±
Jaehwan spoke irritatingly. The Doctor of Despair was in bad shape. His clothes were ragged and his hat was destroyed. Over 20 swords were strewn out on the training ground had already destroyed and Jaehwan still hadn¡¯t pulled his sword out from the scabbard.
¡°I still have my final skill! Kid!¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You will surely die if I use this! That¡¯s why I¡¯m not using it!¡±
He had been saying that over and over again. He kept saying that even with 10 ¡®Normal shes¡¯.
¡°You can¡¯t beat me, old man.¡±
¡°You never know until you try.¡±
¡°You are weaker than me.¡±
Weak? Chunghuh rubbed off blood from his nose and smiled. The blood turned into white powder and scattered.
¡°You insolent fool. How old are you?¡±
¡°About 50.¡±
¡°How old do I look?¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know. 200?¡± Jaehwan guessed.
¡°Wrong!¡±
¡°...then how old?¡±
¡°A thousand!¡± Chunghuh answered proudly. Jaehwan was a bit surprised. He had not imagined the man to be that old.
¡®He¡¯s like a kid for being so old.¡¯
Jaehwan became curious about what he would be like when he turned a thousand years old.
¡°Do you see the difference now?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Even if you stabbed for over 50 years, you can¡¯t beat me when I shed for a thousand years!¡±
¡°I only stabbed for 30 years.¡±
¡°Same thing!¡± Chunghuh shouted. ¡°You will not beat me!¡±
Jaehwan then became doubtful and asked, ¡°Did you really sh for a thousand years?¡±
¡°YES!¡±
¡°...It looks like you only did it for 10 years.¡±
Chunghuh exploded.
From the tower to the Great Lands to Chaos and the Depth, he only shed over and over again. Of course, he did not do it every single day for 1000 years, but he still kept at it. For the normal sh that only took 1 second, he did 8 hours of it per day. After 100 years, he had achieved a billion shes. His body was filled with the energy of being awakened. He left behind the power of being Adapter and moved onto a new world. Chunghuh had not forgotten that moment ever since. He didn¡¯t do as hard after he had achieved the billion shes, but if everything he had done was counted, it would exceed 5 billion shes.
The miracle created by all those shes were now being focused on the de of the old man. Jaehwan felt something and changed his stance. It seemed Chunghuh was really preparing to use a powerful skill. Chunghuh gritted his teeth and shouted.
¡°Let¡¯s see what you think after you take this one!¡±
Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Doctor of Despair (6)
Vicious energy filled the room. Jaehwan finally felt danger for the first time.
¡®It¡¯s powerful.¡¯
Chunghuh¡¯s de moved. Quick and powerful, that one attack was enough to blow this building away. The two swords shed and created a terrifying energy wave. Warriors ran out from the room while the building shook with the tremor. Jaehwan had to take 7 steps back from the sh and his right arm felt slightly numb after the attack. Chunghuh had taken 3 steps back.
¡°HAHAHAHA!¡±
He seemed very happy.
¡°SEE?! I knew you couldn¡¯t take this!¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°But kid, you¡¯re good too. I was worried that you might die.¡±
Chunghuh seemed to be surprised that Jaehwan was unharmed. Yet it was Jaehwan who was really surprised. He had to admit that the old man was quite strong. What Jaehwan just used was [Normal Stab]. He had been pushed back this much even though it was just a normal stab.
Jaehwan asked, ¡°What is the name of that skill? It¡¯s quite powerful.¡±
¡°It¡¯s ¡®Powerful¡¯ sh.¡±
Chunghuh put his hand on his waist and proimed the name proudly. He seemed to think that he had won.
¡°Your skill was good too. What was the name?¡±
¡°Normal stab.¡±
Chunghuh¡¯s eyebrow flinched.
¡°Normal? What an arrogant name! It makes it sound like you have a stronger skill!¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
Chunghuhughed as if he didn¡¯t hear that.
¡°I will give you another name for your skill. You can call it a ¡®Powerful Stab¡¯ from now on. So...¡±
¡°I have a stronger skill.¡±
Chunghuh narrowed his eyes.
¡°What?¡±
¡°I have a stronger skill than the one I just used.¡±
Jaehwan then fixed his stance. He had never used this skill in yet and Chunghuh became alert. Ominous energy began to radiate from Jaehwan.
¡°What...¡±
Chunghuh knew this kind of power. Was it from the Leaders of Ten-n? No. Was it the Masters of the Four Fortress? No. Then what was it?
¡®Dead Man!¡¯
It was the power of Dead Man. However, it was strange since the power of Dead Man and Awakener had simr power, but they did not originate from this world¡¯s foundation. It was the intensity of the power that was the problem.
Chunghuh remembered the days of his youth when he traveled to the entrance of the looking for [Fruit]. He then encountered the ¡®King of Chaos¡¯ at the [Pce of Dead Man].
The sole King of Chaos. The cmity that destroyed everything.
This man was not like the King of Chaos, but Chunghuh felt the same fear he felt when he faced the King of Chaos in the past.
Could he sh against that attack? His body shook. How could one fight against such power? He then spoke frantically.
¡°S-Stop! STOP!¡±
He could not imagine what might happen next if that skill were unleashed. Everything would be in ruins, leaving one man standing in the center.
¡°STOP IT!¡±
If the attack was unleashed, half of the pce would be left in ruins. Or even...
¡°DON¡¯T USE IT!¡±
Jaehwan did not lower his power. Chunghuh ran to him and begged.
¡°I-I LOST! I LOST!¡±
Jaehwan then rxed at once and Chunghuh panted.
¡°Ugh... what in the world...¡±
He could not understand. He could not believe it. This man had only stabbed for 30 years and had achieved that sort of power.
Jaehwan opened his mouth as Chunghuh seemed to be rxed.
¡°Old man, you admit that I won?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°You fooled me.¡±
Jaehwan became confused and looked at Chunghuh.
¡°You told me you lived for 50 years.¡±
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m about 50 years old.¡±
¡°And that you stabbed for 30 years.¡±
¡°Yeah, for about 30 years.¡±
Chunghuh red and shouted, ¡°DON¡¯T LIE TO ME! You¡¯ve probably lived for at least two thousand years!¡±
¡°You know that¡¯s not true.¡±
Chunghuh gritted his teeth. He too knew if Jaehwan had lived for 2000 years, Chunghuh would¡¯ve known him.
¡°How many times can you even stab in just 30 years to do that?¡±
Jaehwan answered, ¡°About 10 billion times?¡±
¡°LIES!¡±
It didn¡¯t even make sense. Even if he took each second of his life for all 30 years without sleeping and eating, that would not have equaled 1 billion.
¡°That¡¯s impossible to do in 30 years!¡±
¡°You can if you try.¡±
¡°LIES! IT¡¯S ALL LIES!¡±
Chunghuh began calcting in his head.
¡®Uh...¡¯
He couldn¡¯t calcte so he ordered one of the warriors that was watching them dumbfoundedly to calcte for him.
¡°I-it¡¯s done, sir!¡±
¡°Yeah, tell me.¡±
¡°If you want to do 10 billion stabs in 30 years, then you would need to stab 11 times in per second for 30 years. This is considering the fact that you don¡¯t sleep or eat or rest.¡±
The warrior spoke, thinking it was pointless to even think about it. Chunghuh asked, ¡°So you can¡¯t do it with just 10 in one second?¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s not possible.¡±
¡°Then do you think a man can do 11 stabs within 1 second for 30 years straight?¡±
¡°Absolutely not, sir.¡±
Chunghuh then became satisfied and turned back to Jaehwan.
¡°SEE! It¡¯s not possible!¡±
Jaehwan then spoke.
¡°Old man.¡±
¡°WHAT!¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you sh 10 times in 1 second?¡±
¡°Of course I can!¡±
¡°Then you can do it too.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not as simple as that!¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s that simple.¡±
¡°NO!¡±
¡°Old man, I can stab 100 times in a second.¡±
¡°I just said it¡¯s not that kind of problem...¡±
¡°I can do 1000 times.¡±
¡°...What? How can you stab 1000 times in a second?¡±
¡°Why do you think you need to stab it with a sword?¡±
Chunghuh then realized something. He then turned doubtful.
¡°Wait...¡±
There was something he felt the moment he met Jaehwan. Energy that pointed out from within him like a spike. Chunghuh just thought it was Jaehwan¡¯s character, but when he felt it more carefully, the energy was more like thousands of energy spikes. Chunghuh then ced his hands on the sharp energy radiating out from Jaehwan.
Blood came out as he was poked. That was when he realized that it was not energy.
It was a real [Stab].
The stab that had ovee the form of an image. The man, through his countless stabs, had be a stab himself.
¡°You... you really...¡±
The will against the world itself. The man¡¯s 10 billion stabs was the product of the hatred of the world. Even now, this man was stabbing the world.
¡°Like I said, 10 billion times.¡±
Chunghuh felt his leg giving out and kneeled. He could not believe it. There was no way such a man could be still sane.
¡®Wait... this kid was...¡¯
Chunghuh felt like he could understand everything, but he was suddenly too tired for using too much energy for the day and fell unconscious.
Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Doctor of Despair (7)
Chunghuh opened his eyes again.
¡®Brat, not respecting the elders.¡¯
His bruised eyes still hurt. Chunghuh spoke.
¡°I haven¡¯t lost yet. The fight always goes on if you live.¡±
¡°...¡±
Jaehwan looked at Chunghuh. He was the old man who had lived for 1000 years with a sh. It looked like he was shocked to see that his sh had been overpowered.
¡°I¡¯ve realized one thing after living a thousand years.¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°Survivors always win.¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you die already?¡±
¡°If you still live after 1000 years, I will ept my loss.¡±
Jaehwan then took out a piece of paper and Chunghuh frowned. The paper was the ¡®Agreement¡¯ that they made before they started fighting.
-It¡¯s boring to just do it so let¡¯s make a bet with this.
This agreement was made by the Nightmare with the [Spiritual Agreement]. So when one signed it, they would be required to follow what was written on it. If the agreement was not followed, the paper would then make the spirit disappear. It did not go through the Interface System. Instead, it directly essed the spirit that even Jaehwan couldn¡¯t avoid.
The agreement they signed was as follows: The loser grants three wishes for a week.
Chunghuh was determined to win and deal with Jaehwanter on. He then asked in a dignified voice, ¡°...So, what is it that you wish? Young one.¡±
¡°Answer my questions to the best of your knowledge.¡±
¡°Hmph. So be it.¡±
The light shined from the paper and was absorbed into Jaehwan and Chunghuh. It was the first wish.
Jaehwan asked, ¡°What is a ¡¯s tower?¡±
¡°Master¡¯s tower?¡±
Chunghuh closed his eyes.
¡°You know what the Tower of Nightmares is, right?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
People who came into the Great Lands all knew about the tower. It was the beginning of the tragedy. The world had ¡®Nightmare¡¯ races and they created ¡®Tower of Nightmares¡¯. The name did fit as for all beings, and the tower was nothing less than a nightmare.
¡°Each tower has a grade. From S to F. Most towers created from to are graded as such.¡±
Titles of the artisans. Jaehwan had heard it from Meikal already. Nightmares only considered making the tower as their grand purpose of life. Their towers were evaluated by their union, , and were given grades.
¡°Most Nightmares strive to create an A-grade tower. If they can make an A-grade, then they will be epted as and will not need to worry about their sry just by renting out what they have made.¡±
It looked like even Nightmares, the nobles of Great Lands, worry about money. Jaehwan thought it was ironic.
¡°But there are some Nightmares who are not interested in sales.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°It¡¯s those who have created an S-grade tower as an .¡±
Meikal also said that talent limited Nightmares. Even among them, some were born with great talents which that brought them to the top of all Nightmares in the early stages.
¡°They are called .¡±
The top of all [Nightmares]. The 13 Master Artisans.
¡°So Master Tower just means the tower was made by them?¡±
¡°No, not all are considered that way. Only towers that were not created for [Cultivation] are called Master towers.¡±
¡°Why do they make those towers?¡±
¡°I do not know. No one knows what those Masters are thinking. They are all busy unraveling the ¡®Truth of the World¡¯.¡±
Chunghuh continued, ¡°Only two things are for certain. There are a few Master Towers spread within the Great Lands and the clearer of those towers sometimes be ¡®Awakener¡¯, or the one who had ovee certain things.¡±
¡°So, you are from a Master Tower too.¡±
¡°Yes.¡± Chunghuh smiled. It seemed he was proud to say that he had cleared a Master¡¯s tower.
¡°I cleared the 4th Master Tower of Master ¡®Melville.¡¯ The tower is also known as [Moby Dick].¡±
Chunghuh¡¯s eyes became dark. It seemed he still had memories of the days when he cleared the tower.
¡°There was a big white whale that appeared on the 1st floor that hunted people down. It was a disaster back then. Many strong warriors of Moorim died. It was a miracle that I even cleared it.¡±
Not all towers had simr shapes.
¡°And you sound like you¡¯vee here from a Master¡¯s Tower. Who made it? Melville? Jorje? Scarge?¡±
Chunghuh named some of the Master Artisans he knew. Jaehwan answered.
¡°Mck. I think that was the name.¡±
Jaehwan remembered the status window he saw when he first realized the tower was an [Item]. There was a description on the status window.
¡°Mck, you say?¡±
Chunghuh¡¯s expression changed.
¡°I never imagined that an Awakener would clear Mck¡¯s tower...¡±
Jaehwan flinched at the word ¡®clear.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t sure if he actually cleared it.
¡°Do you know Mck?¡±
¡°Of course I do.¡±
Chunghuh thought for a second and answered grimly.
¡°...I met Mck in the .¡±
Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Doctor of Despair (8)
Jaehwan was surprised.
¡°You met Mck?¡±
¡°Well...¡±
Chunghuh nodded. ¡°I actually traveled with him.¡±
¡°Traveled?¡±
Chunghuh seemed to be thinking of very distant memory in the past. The name Mck was really an old name for Chunghuh to remember.
¡°It was way back in the day. We¡¯ll take a walk.¡±
Cold air swept over Jaehwan as they walked out. Chunghuh did not speak for a while and Jaehwan waited. The streets were filled with the smells of various foods. Jaehwan looked at the food being sold. It seemed like the people here were farmers since some of the vendors were selling were corn and other crops while most were selling meat. It felt weird. Jaehwan heard that people in did not need to eat. In fact, Jaehwan himself had not eaten for 30 days until he came here and he never felt hungry.
The people selling food all looked gloomy. It wasn¡¯t like the life they were living was giving them a hard time. It was as if something deep within them was empty.
¡°What do you think when you see this road?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t feel alive, does it? The people don¡¯t feel alive.¡±
It was as Chunghuh said.
¡°But that¡¯s probably normal since they are all dead.¡±
Chunghuh frowned at Jaehwan¡¯s answer.
¡°People are not dead until they ept their death.¡±
Jaehwan felt the ¡®death¡¯ in this world was different from the ¡®death¡¯ he knew. These people had spirits within . They had their lives. Also, they also had a chance to be revived.
¡°This ce wasn¡¯t like this from the beginning.¡±
Gorgon Fortress wasn¡¯t this gloomy hundreds of years ago when Chunghuh first came.
¡° was thend of blessings. It was a ce where war-torn spirits gathered to rest and regain energy.¡±
People in did not get old. They did not die from hunger. Every being was freed from their old life and found a new life here.
¡°There were fewer spirit corruptions.¡±
The weak joined forces to hunt down horned monsters and they shared the horns. Alliances were formed when it was impossible in the Great Lands and all races joined hands to survive. Everyone was satisfied with life here.
That is, until ¡®That Day¡¯.
¡°...What happened?¡±
Chunghuh stopped. He then walked over to the outside drinking bar and sat down. Jaehwan hesitated but decided to sit next to him. Chunghuh ordered a beer and spoke.
¡°Ha, it¡¯s a shame that your store is in ruins.¡±
The answer came back from the person who just served the beer.
¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±
It was ire, the woman who was with Mino. Jaehwan then realized he was on the road where he had fought earlier in the day. Chunghuh cackled.
¡°So, are you going to open up an outside bar for now?¡±
¡°Yeah, I have no choice. Someone ruined my store.¡±
ire nced at Jaehwan and began to prepare the food. Then she served a skewer of unihorn meat also.
¡°Ha, it¡¯s good.¡±
Chunghuh drank the beer, took a bite, and spoke.
¡°So, where were we?¡±
¡°That was a peaceful ce.¡±
¡°Oh, yes.¡±
Chunghuh smiled bitterly. ¡°It was really peaceful back then.¡±
Peace. That was interesting. If the ce was so peaceful and everyone enjoyed their eternal afterlives, what had driven this ce to its current state?
¡°The reason is here.¡±
Chunghuh spoke as he shook the cup of beer he was drinking. He then drank again.
¡°...What do you mean?¡±
Jaehwan could only guess that it had something to do with the beer.
¡°Did people begin to fight while drunk?¡±
Chunghuhughed while spraying the beer out of his mouth.
¡°Haha! That would¡¯ve been much better.¡±
ire shouted in disgust for spitting beer from the distance and Chunghuh continued, ¡°You don¡¯t know anything, do you?¡±
Chunghuh cleaned his mouth with his cloth.
¡°I guess you don¡¯t know life when you¡¯ve spent your entire life stabbing.¡±
¡°...Life?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you think it weird? You don¡¯t need to eat food here.¡±
It was as he said. Even when no one needs to eat, everyone ate when it was time.
¡°Even the beer. You never can get drunk. It just smells and tastes like it.¡±
Jaehwan then took a sip of the beer. It did have the distinct smell of alcohol, but that was it. It meant that the drink wasn¡¯t really a beer after all. Jaehwan became curious.
¡°Then what are they?¡±
Jaehwan turned to two men fighting each other with red faces who seemed to be drunk.
¡°What do you think they are?¡±
¡°Drunk men.¡±
¡°Drunk? With a beer that doesn¡¯t get you boozed?¡±
Jaehwan felt something was off. He looked closely. Their faces were red, and their speech was slurred. But something was missing. Their eyes. Their eyes were too clear to be the eyes of drunk men. They were just pretending to be drunk.
¡®Why?¡¯
Jaehwan felt like he had found an answer as he saw Chunghuh drinking a beer that couldn¡¯t give him a buzz, or the men who were fighting each other, pretending to be drunk.
Eternal life. No death, no war. Very peaceful.
¡°Pretending to live the ¡®life¡¯.¡±
Life, a limited time given that was set to end when death came. They were just given freedom from their limited time, but they then longed for the life with it. Jaehwan finally felt like he understood. These people wanted to re-live the real ¡®life¡¯ again. The life where they had a body and a heart. A life where they would die if they didn¡¯t eat or get drunk when they drink beer.
Chunghuh cackled.
¡°Yes, life. That was the reason. People longing for the ¡®real¡¯ thing appeared.¡±
Chunghuh continued, ¡°Well, there were more people who longed for it from the old times. It¡¯s just that there weren¡¯t much.¡±
¡°...Their numbers grew?¡±
¡°Yes, but slowly. Over a very long time.¡±
The one who lived long enough usually only consisted of one or two until then. They moved out of the fortress to quietly face death, or they traveled to the center of looking for the entrance to the .
Then, a new group of people who chose the third option appeared.
Ones who became bored with eternal life. Men who longed for ¡®real¡¯ life.
¡°That was the ¡®Depth Expedition¡¯ team. The one who grouped up to find real life again.¡±
Chunghuh¡¯s eyes sunk. Jaehwan then understood that Chunghuh was one of the team members.
¡°Why did you go to the Depth?¡±
¡°To find the [Fruit].¡±
¡°Fruit...¡±
¡°It¡¯s the [Fruit of Resurrection]. It¡¯s just called [Fruit] usually.¡±
Jaehwan realized what the [Fruit] meant when he overheard from his [Suspicion] then. This was the only way that the dead of could be revived back into the Great Lands.
¡°I was only 120 years old back then. I had nothing to be afraid of.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why you joined?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then you traveling with Mck means...¡±
Chunghuh nodded.
¡°[Nightmare] Mck was on that team. He was the captain of the team.¡±
Chunghuh still remembered those days. The first time he met Mck when he joined the expedition team.
-Awakener? Interesting.
That was what Mck first said when he saw Chunghuh.
-And with an emotion... imperfect awakening? You walk the treacherous path. It must be hard for you.
Chunghuh did not feel good. All Awakeners faced the need to abandon human ego to see the real world. But Chunghuh refused to leave it behind. That was what made him weaker than his friends. That was what got him killed and sent him to .
-Cut your nonsense.
-I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.
Offend? It wasn¡¯t only the topic that was offensive. Chunghuh was offended the moment he saw Mck. He was a [Product] back in the days. He still had hatred toward anyone rted to the Tower of [Nightmares]. In fact, he killed every Demon he met while he traveled the Great Lands, but he had never killed [Nightmares] until now.
-Why is a [Nightmare] is going to the ? Shouldn¡¯t you stay put in your room and make a tower?
Also, Mck wasn¡¯t even dead. These [Nightmares] used [Narrow Door] to enter alive.
-You are not happy about me because of the [Cultivation].
Mck thought for a second and spoke.
-I have nothing to say. It will be pointless to ask for your forgiveness in the name of all [Nightmares].
-...Shut up.
-I think it is my burden to take.
Chunghuh thought he was lying. A [Nightmare] being remorseful about making a tower. He had never heard of such a [Nightmare].
-Believe it or not, the reason I came into the Tree of Imagery and going into the is because of that tower.
-What?
Chunghuh could not forget what he heard next even to this day.
-To end all [Cultivation]. That is why I am leading this expedition.
Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Doctor of Despair (9)
After listening to everything, Jaehwan asked, ¡°...End all [Cultivation]?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s what he said. He was one of a kind.¡±
Jaehwan continued asking questions. ¡°The expedition. Was it sessful?¡±
¡°You can say it was. I had to stop by the entrance of but Mck did manage to reach the top of Tree of Imagery.¡±
¡°How do you know that?¡±
¡°Because [Fruits] began to drop from the branch.¡±
Chunghuh remembered watching the fruit dropping from the skies. The golden meteors that would surely give hope back to the people.
¡°I guess you can say it was lucky. All expedition team members returned with an armful of fruits.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
But that was weird. If the expedition was sessful and they acquired the [Fruit], why was this old man still in ? That¡¯s when ire jumped in.
¡°Don¡¯t lie old man. The expedition was sessful?¡±
Chunghuh cackled. ¡°I was wondering when you would interrupt.¡±
¡°That expedition failed. You know that.¡±
¡°...What do you know when you weren¡¯t even born yet?¡±
ire frowned and moved to serve the other tables. Chunghuh gulped down another cup of beer.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°It¡¯s as she said. The expedition failed.¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you just say it seeded?¡±
¡°It seeded in getting the [Fruit].¡±
It meant something happened when they returned to .
¡°There were some waiting for the team at the entrance of .¡±
They were the strongest who resided in the Great Lands for a long time, but they were the ones who never dared to venture into the .
¡°It was the Lords and the Elders of the Renowned families.¡±
Chunghuh spoke angrily. It was hundreds of years ago but he still remembered it very clearly.
¡°The expedition had Masters of fortresses and leaders of Ten-n. However, all of them together was no match against them. Not even close.¡±
¡°And your [Fruits] were taken away.¡±
Chunghuh drank again.
¡°They still use the [Fruit] even to this day to be revived if they die. They even have a ce called where they can revive. All of them go to that ce if they die and wait for their turn to be revived.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
¡° is only the part of the Great Lands. The ones who are allowed to a normal life are not us.¡±
Jaehwan looked around the streets again. The world had a thing called [Fruit] and that would allow them to be revived. But it was so far from them. That was why they were all in despair, as this old man was.
¡°Oh, and what happened to Mck?¡±
Jaehwan had forgotten about Mck while talking so he asked. Chunghuh did not answer so Jaehwan turned to Chunghuh.
¡°Hey, old man.¡±
He fell asleep on the table. Wasn¡¯t he the one who said people here could get drunk? Why did he pass out?
¡°It¡¯s no use. Old man really gets drunk.¡±
ire spoke as she cleaned the dishes.
¡°...Get drunk?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know why, but he gets drunk when he drinks.¡±
Jaehwan looked closely Chunghuh¡¯s face. It was the face of a man who had lived for thousands of years. Maybe in his thousand years of fake lives, he had found way to fake reality.
¡°You had a question about Mck?¡±
Jaehwan became surprised at the voice.
¡°...You know about him too?¡±
¡°Everyone in Gorgon Fortress knows about [Depth Expedition Team]. It¡¯s the story that old man always tells when he¡¯s drunk.¡±
ire sighed and continued.
¡°That Nightmare is gone.¡±
¡°Gone?¡±
¡°No one saw him after the expedition was over.¡±
ire paused for a moment and continued, ¡°I think the Nightmare did say something to the old man before he disappeared...¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°What was it? Hmm...¡±
ire thought as she rubbed the dishes for some time and mumbled as she remembered it.
¡°I have failed.¡±
The ent seemed so realistic that Jaehwan almost thought this woman was Mck himself.
¡°Yeah, that was it. I have failed. That¡¯s what he said.¡±
I have failed... Jaehwan could guess what it meant. Mck had reached the end of the Depth and acquired [Fruits], but he failed to stop [Cultivation].
¡°Is that it?¡±
¡°Hm... there was one more....¡±
ire didn¡¯t seem to remember and then someone slumped down on the chair next to them. It was one of the drunk men that was fighting a while ago.
¡°Ha, this old man is drunk again.¡±
Jaehwan felt the face was familiar. As he looked more closely, he realized that it was the guard that he got into a quarrel with at the gate a few days ago.
¡®Was it James?¡¯
ire spoke. ¡°Hey, drunkard.¡±
¡°What.¡±
¡°Do you know what Nightmare Mck said before he disappeared?¡±
¡°Mck? The crazy Nightmare who said he would stop the [Cultivation]?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Wasn¡¯t that a fake story that the old man made up? There¡¯s no such Nightmare.¡±
James was then struck with a pan then mumbled on what he knew.
¡°I have failed but notpletely... was this what you talking about?¡±
¡°Yeah, that.¡±
¡°Dammit, that hurts. So, why did you ask?¡±
¡°The one next to you was curious about it.¡±
James then nced at Jaehwan.
¡°Oh. We¡¯ve met.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I was looking for you. To think about all the trouble I went through because of you...¡±
James mumbled as he gritted. It looked like Jaehwan would be involved in another annoying problem, but James suddenly said something that was unexpected.
¡°Thank for what you did today.¡±
James didn¡¯t look at Jaehwan as he spoke.
¡°It¡¯s about the captain. He would¡¯ve died if it wasn¡¯t for you.¡±
An awkward moment passed and James took the cup Chunghuh was drinking and gulped it down.
¡°Madam, I¡¯ll pay for him. How much is it?¡±
¡°Get lost. I wasn¡¯t thinking of getting paid by him anyway.¡±
¡°Oh, you wanted to say thanks too?¡±
¡°Get lost.¡±
James stood up as he ranted.
¡°Hey, whatever you do,e by the North Gate when youe into Gorgon next time. I won¡¯t ask for certification from now on.¡±
He turned back and added with a small voice, ¡°Oh, but don¡¯t let the Captain know.¡±
James walked away. ire began chopping ingredients and Chunghuh began snoring loudly. The sound of food being made to fill non-existent hunger and the sound of tasteless beer drinking filled the area.
A world with no hope. A world without real things, filled with people who pretend to be real.
¡®What is this feeling?¡¯
Jaehwan could not understand what he felt. It was very strange. Then he saw someone running to him.
¡®Themander?¡¯
He was sweeping the street with his men like a madman.
¡°Doctor! Where are you! Doctor!¡±
Themander then found Jaehwan and Chunghuh and ran to them while panting.
¡°...You were with him also?¡±
Themander bowed and nced at Chunghuh.
¡°Dammit, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t answer. Doctor, wake up!¡±
The doctor didn¡¯t wake up and Jaehwan asked, ¡°What is it?¡±
¡°The Master went berserk all of a sudden. He only does it once a week, but...¡±
It seemed something had happened regarding the Master of the fortress that only Chunghuh could solve. Then, an explosion was heard within the keep and themander turned pale.
¡°No...!¡±
The powerful and ominous energy source was stronger than Janya¡¯s. It was stronger than any force Jaehwan had faced until now. He narrowed his eyes.
¡®So, the master was in that state.¡¯
He had guessed when he heard Euren asking to him to save his ¡®Master¡¯.
¡®Below the keep... is it underground?¡¯
Jaehwan looked into the keep with [Suspicion]. It looked weird. It felt like the keep was shaped like a giant stomach of a monster. Deep below lied something dark. It was a dark figure that his [Suspicion] could not read. A monster with tentacles and a giant mouth. Jaehwan knew what it was immediately.
¡®...Dead Man.¡¯
The Master of Gorgon Fortress was morphing into a Dead Man.
Something terrible was about to be born.
Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Master of Gorgon (1)
Episode 7. Master of Gorgon
Themander looked toward the Inner Keep that was filled with ominous energy and turned to Jaehwan.
¡°You, you can also do the ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ right?¡±
Jaehwan shook his head.
¡°I just copied what he did. I can never do it like this old man unless I learn it from him.¡±
Themander turned pale at the words.
¡°At this rate, Master will...¡±
The only one he could depend on now was the doctor, but he was in deep sleep from being drunk. That was when Jaehwan felt some powers moving toward the keep. The energy was familiar.
¡®It¡¯s those Golden Sky people from the earlier.¡¯
Something was going to happen. Jaehwan hauled Chunghuh onto his back and ran toward the keep with themander. As they drew closer, the powerful energy radiated out from within. It was tens of times stronger than the power he felt from Janya. Maybe it was because it was the Master¡¯s power.
¡°So, what is the Master like?¡±
Themander seemed to be surprised to hear such an unexpected question and answered, ¡°...He is a good man.¡±
Jaehwan had heard that already. That he wasst hope of Gorgon, or the Great Master.
¡°He was a living legend. He is one of the very few who joined the [Depth Expedition Team] along with the doctor.¡±
¡°The expedition?¡±
Before Jaehwan could ask, they were blocked by someone else. The speed and their movement proved that they were not some weak ruffians. One of them stood forward and asked, ¡°Are you the one who does ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯?¡±
Jaehwan then heard whispers from his [Suspicion].
[Is he the one?]
[Yes. I saw him talking with the Chancellor today.]
[He¡¯s like a Non-Adapter. Are you sure?]
[...I just think it¡¯s a rumor.]
[But we have our orders. We have to kill him.]
Themander then became confused.
¡°Captain of the 3rd and 5th Battalions...?¡±
¡°Long time no see.¡±
The 3rd and 5th Battalions represented the army stationed outside the fortress. Individual soldiers were weaker than those of the Anti-Evil group, but the group itself still had good fighting prowess. These two men were the leader of such groups.
¡°Move out of the way. It is an urgent matter. You all know about it.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t.¡±
¡°...Why is that?¡±
¡°It¡¯s an order.¡±
¡°An order? Who¡¯s order are you working under!¡±
The men did not answer and themander realized what it meant right away.
¡°You betrayed us...!¡±
¡°We serve Golden Sky now.¡±
Themander shivered in rage as he listened to them.
¡°The Golden Sky n...¡±
Themander pulled out his sword. The powerful energy of a 5th stage Adapter was unleashed from within. He was the most powerful man throughout the entire military organization within the Gorgon Fortress. The two menbined would not have a chance against him.
¡°Do you know who you¡¯re trying to fight against?¡±
¡°Commander, don¡¯t think that we are the same as before.¡±
The spiritual energy unleashed they each unleashed made themander frown. He knew those captains as 4th stage Adapters, but the energy they unleashed was that of the 5th stage.
¡°How did you...¡±
Jaehwan narrowed his eyes. The energying from them was simr to the energy from Janya. Their power was simr to the Dead Man.
The fight erupted and themander could not stand a chance against two men who were equal in power. He stepped back quickly before he stood in front of Jaehwan and shouted.
¡°R-run! I will block this...¡±
¡°Hey, hold this.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
Commander then felt something being put on his back. It was the doctor still snoring in his sleep. Jaehwan flexed his wrist and stood forward.
¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not good at saving people¡¯s lives. That¡¯s his job.¡±
The two men paused for a second but then charged again, this time at Jaehwan. Jaehwan pulled out his sword.
¡°But I know a thing or two about killing.¡±
The prison cell beneath the Inner Keep.
Chancellor Euren looked inside with concerned look.
¡®The doctor iste...¡¯
The cell made out of monster horns was being destroyed and the door was letting out ominous energy from within. Euren knew what was behind the door. It was the man who was the closest to having the title of ¡®King¡¯ if not including the ¡®King of Chaos¡¯ himself. The man who was on the brink of bing the most terrifying Dead Man in .
That person was inside.
Euren looked around. The people gathered here were the top officers of the Fortress. Euren looked closely at them and thought, ¡®Why did the Master go berserk now?¡¯
His spirit had been deeply corrupted that even the doctor¡¯s ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ did not work. But it had some effect as one ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ bought a week¡¯s worth of time. It was all thanks to the Master¡¯s great endurance. The corruption was too deep to fully recover from, but the sh allowed him to stop him from bing a Dead Man. But now it hade to this.
¡®Not even a day had passed since thest sh...¡¯
It was in the morning that the doctor had performed treatment. They checked the morphing which had subsided and the power had dissipated. But why? Euren could not understand.
¡®If we had a month, we might have had the chance of saving him...¡¯
Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Master of Gorgon (2)
The n that was not possible had be a reality today with Jaehwan¡¯s appearance. He remembered the doctor¡¯s words.
-We can¡¯t do it now. His ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯ right now is just a copy, but it will beplete in a month.
Euren thanked the miracle that had brought Jaehwan to Gorgon.
-I have never tried, but we might be able to do it with two men. Besides, he...
Euren just needed to buy more time. But all the time he had bought was not even a day. He was now being pressured by the other leaders of the Fortress who were ring at him.
¡®Does some of them know about Jaehwan?¡¯
Euren already knew there was a traitor among the fortress leaders. He knew it when Master went out on an inspection on the Outer Fortress half a year ago and returned with spiritual corruption.
¡°Chancellor, any word?¡±
Maihan, the Outer Fortress Minister, spoke. He was the second oldest one to have served the Master and the closest one to take up the position next.
¡°No, nothing.¡±
Maihan nodded and spoke.
¡°Everyone, stand ready.¡±
They were all powerful Adapters, but everyone seemed to be tense. Euren held on Maihan who was trying to walk into the cell.
¡°It¡¯s dangerous. We¡¯ll move in once the doctor arrives.¡±
¡°Gorgon will end if we waste any more time.¡±
Euren scoffed from within.
¡®Since when you care about Gorgon?¡¯
Everyone knew the situation in the Outer fortress had be worse after Master had fallen ill. The North was fine where Karlton was defending, but the other three areas had increasing crime rates.
¡°We need the doctor to perform the treatment. Are you trying to kill Master or something?¡±
¡°Master? You know that we all don¡¯t stand a chance against him.¡±
¡°Then why...¡±
¡°I have a way.¡±
A way? Some were confused, but most of them seemed to know what wasing.
¡°We will proceed with [Dead Man Seal].¡±
¡°NO! That¡¯s thest resort!¡±
¡°We can¡¯t do it if we wait any longer.¡±
[Dead Man Seal] was the final resort to seal off the spirit before the powerful spirit turned into a Dead Man. This was a legendary skill only the Greens could perform.
¡°But we don¡¯t even have the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit]!¡±
¡°Chancellor, we know already. Do not lie.¡±
Maihan spoke sternly. ¡°I know you have the stone.¡±
Euren¡¯s face became pale.
¡®How?¡¯
That was when some figures came from outside of the cell with a ck box. Euren knew the box. It was the box with the [Stone of Forgotten Spirit] that he received from Jaehwan. The box was floating with its spiritual energy to avoid contacting the corruption spilling out from the stone. Euren knew who was moving the box right away.
¡®General...¡¯
It was the General of Shadowmoon. He never thought that the one who worked directly under him was the traitor. The general did not look at Euren and gave the stone to Maihan.
¡°Gorgon¡¯s future is in question. Why did you try to hide this?¡±
Euren wanted to say that it was because he was suspicious of them, but he had nothing to prove. The Master went berserk and the doctor wasn¡¯ting. The only way left was to do the [Seal].
¡°If the Master bes a Dead Man, you know what will happen.¡±
Giant Dead Man. The monster of disaster. A cmity that would sweep thend with countless Dead Men alongside him.
¡°W-we have to stop it!¡±
Some of the other officers shouted, agreeing with Maihan. Euren tried to stay calm and spoke.
¡°But the [Seal] can only be performed by the Greens. Having the stone doesn¡¯t many anything.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Maihan calmly spoke. ¡°I have those who can.¡±
Then, mysterious people came from his behind him with robes which hid their faces and bodies. They even had cloth bandages all over their faces. They were letting out dark energy.
¡°But they are not the Greens.¡±
¡°No, but they can do the [Seal].¡±
Euren bit his lip.
¡®Something¡¯s not right.¡¯
If they start performing the skill, the Master¡¯s spiritual energy would be absorbed into the stone. The problem would ur afterwards.
Who would take the ownership of the stone? did not have session rules. People who wanted the Master¡¯s stone would appear and the people here would end up fighting against each other. Having the Master¡¯s energy didn¡¯t mean it would grant them the power.
¡®Having his power means he will be the Guardian Horned Monster or Gorgon¡¯s master. If it falls into the wrong hands...¡¯
That was when the robed figure picked up the stone. People began mumbling. If one could pick up the Stone when he was not a Green, there was only one answer.
¡®Corruption wielder...!¡¯
Euren then remembered Master¡¯sst words.
-There are people who can control corruption...
He was investigating them when he returned in his corrupted state. Euren looked at Maihan.
¡®Wait... is it him?¡¯
Euren looked around. Other than the few officers who looked concerned, most of them looked calm. That was when he realized it was toote.
¡®No...¡¯
Maihan opened the cell door and walked in with the robed figures. Maihan then used a skill to light the inside up. Bright light from the orb moved up to the ceiling and revealed the cell.
The Master of Fortress was revealed in his bony, near-dead state. His body had turned ck and his veins trembled like tentacles. It was thest of the legend of Gorgon. Euren felt like crying at the sight.
¡®I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡¯
It was at that moment, that the prison cell¡¯s ceiling exploded. It was so powerful that the robed figures screamed and were thrown backward. Officers and Maihan shouted angrily. Someone came down from a big hole that was made by the explosion. Only the Chancellor knew who it was at once.
¡°Jaehwan!¡±
It was Jaehwan with Chunghuh on his back.
Chapter 45
Chapter 45: Master of Gorgon (3)
¡°How dare you interrupt...!¡±
Maihan shook with rage as he watched his men who were on the ground from the shock. The [Seal] was about to beplete, yet some man appeared out of nowhere and ruined his n.
¡°Who are you?!¡±
¡°Minister, enough with your lies.¡±
It was themander who came down next to Jaehwan and spoke.
¡°We know that you are a traitor.¡±
The officers were surprised and began mumbling themselves, while Maihan answered calmly.
¡°Under what circumstances are you using me of such a thing?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t think you will get away with your lies.¡±
Themander had one man in each of his arms. Maihan knew these men very well.
¡°These men confessed to everything.¡±
Maihan narrowed his eyes as themander threw down the two men in front of him.
¡°M-minister...¡±
They were badly beaten up and out of their minds. They were obviously overpowered by someone much stronger than them.
¡®They did this to them?¡¯
These captains were now almost as powerful as themander himself. In fact, with their entire battalion, it would even allow them to fight the doctor himself.
¡®What in the world had happened...!¡¯
He could not know, but his n was definitely crumbling by the second. Maihan¡¯s eyes grew cold.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry...¡±
One of the captains moaned, and at that time, their body exploded. Themander quickly moved to check on them, but they were dead.
¡°What are you doing, Minister?!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t do it.¡± Maihan shrugged.
¡°Maybe they killed themselves for their traitorous acts.¡±
¡°How dare you spit out such lies!¡± themander yelled.
¡°Don¡¯t use me of such nonsense. Come on! We will start the [Seal]!¡±
The mumbling died instantly. What was important was the Master. Some officers spoke to themander.
¡°Hey, we don¡¯t know what happened but we should do the [Seal] first and...¡±
Themander shouted angrily.
¡°Clear your minds! This is treason! The minister is a traitor! He cannot continue the [Seal]!¡±
¡°Get him out.¡±
The Shadowmoon Guards and the general circled themander and Jaehwan. Jaehwan quietly looked at them and spoke to Euren who was next to him.
¡°It¡¯s a mess.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Euren bit his lips. He realized that Jaehwan now knew what had been going on within the keep. Jaehwan said, ¡°You have given me false hope.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°This kind of group cannot ensure my safety.¡±
Euren felt his heart fall at his words.
¡°You mean...¡±
Their contract was to protect Jaehwan while he saved their Master. But if Gorgon could not fulfill the promise, there was no need for Jaehwan to uphold his end. But what Jaehwan said next was out of the blue.
¡°We will change the contract.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I will save the Master and kill all those traitors.¡±
Euren became dumbfounded at the unexpected words. Some of the Shadowmoon Guards charged at Jaehwan, but Jaehwan easily deflected their attacks and threw them at the wall like trash.
¡°You give me that old man in return.¡±
Jaehwan pointed at Chunghuh whom he had thrown behind him on the floor.
¡°And...¡±
He deflected few more swords and continued, ¡°Help me create an expedition team.¡±
Expedition Team. Euren felt his heart pounding at that word. He didn¡¯t know why. Maybe it was because the ¡®Expedition Team¡¯ had special meaning to it in this fortress.
¡°I will recreate the [Depth Expedition Team].¡±
Depth Expedition Team!
Euren thought of his memories. He saw shes of Master returning from the Expedition, which he barely survived. He had lived hundreds of years in remorse afterwards.
-Euren, these people need hope. They need greater hope to keep them alive!
That was what the Master of Gorgon said to him in the past. Euren thought as he watched Jaehwan¡¯s back. Maybe it was this back that the Master had waited for after all this time. Euren answered with a shaky voice.
¡°...It shall be done.¡±
¡°Good. Keep the promise.¡±
The contract was made. Jaehwan immediately struck.
¡°Wh-What?!¡±
¡°AAARGH!¡±
One stab killed three guards. The general panicked and ordered to form a new formation.
¡°Attack together!¡±
In the next moment, tens of Shadowmoon Guards vanished after Jaehwan¡¯s normal stab. An enormous ck beam erupted out from the sword and almost half of the Shadowmoon Guards were gone, dissipating into white powder. The beam destroyed the ground and shot up into the sky.
The Shadowmoon General looked down at his waist, which was gone. He tried to speak, but he could not make a sound. He then disappeared into powder.
It was a terrifying attack that killed an army and a 5th stage Adapter in one move. The people were shocked. Maihan, who managed to barely protect himself from the explosion, panted.
¡®It was him!¡¯
He had heard about him. There was a man who killed Janya after he had be a Dead Man. But the man who reported was Huksung who was infamous for lying so Maihan thought it was an exaggeration.
¡®He spoke the truth!¡¯
Maihan saw how far he had been pushed out. There were traces of it on the ground. He was pushed back at least five steps. The attack killed all of Shadowmoon and had pushed him five steps back.
¡®He¡¯s strong as me or stronger.¡¯
He was nearing the Adapter 7th stage, and there was no other match for him other than the Doctor of Despair within this fortress. Maihan changed his attitude immediately.
¡°Who are you to bother our sacred work-¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
Jaehwan¡¯s vicious aura made Maihan flinch and step backward.
¡®I¡¯m afraid? Me, who is at end of the 6th stage?¡¯
Jaehwan¡¯s voice was cold.
¡°You will all die.¡±
¡°How dare you say such a thing?!¡±
Jaehwan caught various whispers through his [Suspicion] even now.
[Prime Elder, what should we do?! Can we proceed with our n?]
[If we cannot proceed, we should choose thetter option...]
[We should let the ck Cloud loose right now!]
[We should rather eradicate all of Gorgon then...]
¡°Maihan Keldergran.¡±
Maihan flinched at Jaehwan who spoke his full name.
¡°Outer Fortress Minister of Gorgon, and the Prime Elder of Golden Sky n.¡±
Maihan¡¯s face turned grim. How did this man know?
¡°I do not know why and how you corrupt spirits.¡±
The man approached and Maihan stepped back without realizing.
¡°But I know one thing. I like the ones like you.¡±
¡°Y-you like us? What are you talking about?!¡±
Maihan shouted as he held up the sword. He instinctively knew that if he did not stop this man here, the n¡¯s entire n would be ruined.
¡°KILL HIM!¡±
Chapter 46
Chapter 46: Master of Gorgon (4)
Maihan shouted and seven officers pulled out their swords. The traitors had revealed themselves willingly. At that moment, ca ountless number of Golden Sky warriors appeared. Themander and Euren¡¯s face paled. It was impossible to defeat an army like that even with the doctor or Leader of the Ten-n. It was the unified attack of one 6th stage Adapter and seven 5th stage Adapters, including hundreds of 3rd stages. But why?
¡°It¡¯s really great-¡±
Jaehwan looked excited.
¡°The likes of you-¡±
His sword roared like a lion.
¡°Make me feel at ease to put an end to this world.¡±
Maihan then felt something was wrong. He also knew it was toote to turn back. Something great wasing. But before he could think, he was swept away by something.
An enormous beam of light destroyed the inner fortress¡¯ ceiling and the tower. It soared through the sky and created a giant crack across the night sky. The light shined upon the dark night instantly. People of Gorgon ran out of their houses at the tremor.
Stars were falling down from the sky.
Star particles bombarded the Inner Keep. Armies approaching the inner fortress died from the falling particles and the area was filled with white powder that was blown by the winds.
The extreme of all stabs.
It was Jaehwan¡¯s first time using a ¡®Strong Stab.¡¯
When the dust died down, Maihan was revealed again. Golden Sky and all the officers around him were gone. Maihan realized that he could not survive. He had lost his both arms and legs in the attack. His body was torn and he could not even speak properly because of his ripped throat.
¡°Ugh... he... but... it¡¯s toote! The Master... Gorgon will be...¡±
And before he could finish, Jaehwan thrust his sword at his face and finished him. Jaehwan then pulled out his sword from the powder and kicked Chunghuh.
¡°Old man, wake up. You¡¯rete.¡±
¡°Nngh... what¡¯s going on? ...You¡¯ve done a great mess here, kid.¡±
At that moment, the rm went off within the cell.
[WARNING! TARGET¡¯S CORRUPTION LEVEL HAS REACHED 99.9%! MORPHING WILL START!]
[WARNING! TARGET¡¯S SPIRITUAL POWER LEVEL IS EXTREMELY HIGH!]
[SYSTEM IS CALCULATING THE THREAT LEVEL OF THE TARGET-]
...
[EVALUATION FAILED!]
[SYSTEM EVALUATION: GIANT DEAD MAN!]
[ACTIVATING GORGON¡¯S AUTOMATIC ALARM!]
A siren red from the outside. It was sound of the ¡®Gorgon One¡¯ evacuation order and a voice which told the civilians to run. Chunghuh said, ¡°You, help me out.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Your [Stab] is too sharp to save someone right now.¡±
Chunghuh then picked up his sword. The sword began to move like a brush on a paper.
The world turned white. It was the start of the ¡®Dead Man sh¡¯.
The Master¡¯s spirit burning in ck me was in the center. Chunghuh¡¯s sword moved quickly. Forgotten memories of the Master were being retraced and his darkness moved. Chunghuh¡¯s forehead was drenched in sweat. After some time, the Master opened his eyes. He had opaque, deep dark eyes. Chunghuh quickly took some steps back.
¡°What is it?¡±
A spirit opening its eyes meant his conscious was back. But Chunghuh did not seem d.
¡°Something¡¯s wrong. Something else has been awakened...¡±
Jaehwan felt the being in front of them had too great of a power to be considered a human. The eyes began to glow as he stood up and looked down at his skinny body.
¡®No, that¡¯s not the Master.¡¯
It was a much more powerful being that had borrowed Master¡¯s body to appear.
[I¡¯m surprised. I didn¡¯t think I would return through this body. ...So he has fallen also.]
Jaehwan saw the Master¡¯s body quickly regenerating. Enormous energy filled the body as the flesh gained life. Jaehwan had never seen such power.
¡®Dead Man?¡¯
He used [Suspicion], but all he could see was deep darkness. The being in front wasn¡¯t human, and it wasn¡¯t a Dead Man. It wasn¡¯t alive or dead but it didn¡¯t look like an object either. Jaehwan could not figure out what to say about the being.
[It brings back old memories...]
The being was like a ¡®world¡¯ of its own.
[I see a familiar face.]
Chunghuh was shaking, terrified. He knew that being.
[Imperfect Awakener... Why are you still in ?]
¡°K-King of Chaos...¡±
Jaehwan looked at Chunghuh. As far as he knew, the most powerful in were the Masters of the Fortresses and the Leaders of the Ten-n. But no one had the title of ¡®King¡¯. Jaehwan now knew why.
¡®The title was for that thing.¡¯
The only one who had the title of ¡®King¡¯ in this . Chunghuh mumbled, ¡°Sole-King Catastrophe...¡±
Chunghuh knew this being. He had faced it 900 years ago.
Sole-King Catastrophe. The King of all Dead Men and the Master of [Dead Man Pce] located at the center of . The only being who could open the door to the .
[Why? Why are you still here? Is it to protect this worthless world?]
The voice shook through the spirit. It was as if the voice was going to suck the spirit into it. The King reached out with his hand towards the white world that Chunghuh had created. The white turned into darkness at once.
[Did you not find what you wanted within the ?]
Chunghuh slumped down on the ground. His spirit had reached the limit in handling the situation. That¡¯s when the King turned to Jaehwan.
[Interesting. Fully awakened, but with a human heart.]
Jaehwan then realized he had been gripping his sword tightly. He was tense. Jaehwan asked, ¡°Old man, you failed, right?¡±
Chunghuh looked at Jaehwan while trembling. How could that man stay calm with that thing in front in front of him? How can he be so calm?
¡°Then, I can kill it right?¡±
Chapter 47
Chapter 47: Master of Gorgon (5)
The King looked Jaehwan weirdly. He seemed to be surprised, or amused. Or perhaps even angered.
[You wish to kill me?]
His presence was so great that it seemed like he could destroy mountains and the earth.
[ME?]
Chunghuh could not even get up. The strong presence was so overbearing that even Chunghuh, who was an Awakener, could not stand against him. His power was immeasurable, an impossible might that could not be exined.
¡°Give back the Master¡¯s spirit.¡±
Chunghuh could not understand how that man can stay so calm and-
¡°Or I will kill you.¡±
...Speak like that to him. The King looked at Jaehwan. Chunghuh could not even dare to look at the King even when he wasn¡¯t looking at him. But he had to do something. He barely managed topose a whisper. Even if it meant that they would lose the Master, he could not let Jaehwan die here.
[Kid! No! You can¡¯t just kill him!]
Jaehwan wordlessly prepared for a [Stab].
[That... that thing is not something that can be killed!]
¡°Old man.¡±
Chunghuh looked at Jaehwan while shivering.
¡°Man up.¡±
It wasn¡¯t confidence or pride. It was just a matter of fact.
¡°I¡¯m stronger.¡±
A strange sound came. The sound was so strange that it took some time for Chunghuh to realize that it wasughter. The King wasughing.
[Amusing fool. It¡¯s the first time in 900 years after that [Nightmare] came that someone funny like you appeared.]
Chunghuh knew who that [Nightmare] was. Mck, the legendary [Nightmare] who reached the top of the Tree of Imagery. However, even Mck could not do anything against the King. Although Mck fought the real King¡¯s body and the one in front was only an avatar, Chunghuh was sure that no one could fight against such a being.
[Good. We shall fight. Come, foolish Awakener.]
A cloud-like substance appeared in the King¡¯s hand and formed a dark, transparent de.
¡®Void Sword!¡¯
Chunghuh barely managed to calm himself by grabbing his own trembling shoulders. It was the terrifying weapon that made half of the Expedition Team into Dead Man in one strike. Weapons on each side moved in an instant.
¡°UGH!¡±
Chunghuh was thrown back by the wind created by the sh. The King spoke.
[I¡¯ve seen eyes like yours before. You wish to go to the .]
Chunghuh was surprised.
¡®The kid wants to go to the ?¡¯
He knew the man was mysterious, but he never thought Jaehwan would want to go to the .
[It¡¯s amazing that there are ones who wish to reach the end of this world, even to this day.]
Jaehwan ignored his words and readied himself. It was the start of a real fight.
[EXCITING!]
The King shouted. He seemed to be really excited.
[But not enough! It¡¯s not even close to that [Nightmare]!]
The King¡¯s movements became faster. Jaehwan had notid a sessful strike against the King yet. The King was moving much faster than Jaehwan¡¯s [Slight Stab]. Jaehwan focused his sword to concentrate the energy on his de.
[Normal Stab]
The attack was made but the King wasn¡¯t there. Jaehwan then felt sudden danger and instinctively twisted his waist. It was a miracle that he dodged the attack. The shoulder that Void Sword touched had turned ck.
[Corruption is a disease of time.]
Jaehwan quickly examined his shoulder through [Suspicion] and was shocked. Only the shoulder¡¯s time was being fast forwarded. Hundreds of years were passing by.
¡®So, this is how the corruption takes ce.¡¯
The phenomenon of spirit bing aged. The corruption was with time. Jaehwan let out the aged spirit from his body. King spoke, astonished.
[Interesting. A slight touch would¡¯ve made you a Dead Man... you have a great spirit.]
The King smiled, and then disappeared.
[But that¡¯s not enough!]
Ten Void Swords appeared from the King but Jaehwan did not fall back. Ten [Normal Stabs]. His stabs shed against the ten Void Swords.
[It¡¯s great for a toy made by a [Nightmare]!]
The de then cut Jaehwan¡¯s thigh and Jaehwan cut off part of the spirit that was starting to be corrupt.
[You will not have enough spirit left if you continue.]
That was true. If this went on, Jaehwan would lose.
¡®He¡¯s really strong.¡¯
Jaehwan could not measure the opponent¡¯s strength. He could not see his weakness even through [Suspicion]. Without [Suspicion], his [Understand] would not work. All he knew was that the being had lived for countless years.
Jaehwan unleashed his energy. The white world Chunghuh created was being removed and was reced by a new world. Chunghuh shook. It was the true power of an Awakener.
All Awakeners had their [Own Worlds]. This world came to life through the keyword they acquired when they awakened and the more powerful an Awakener was, the more beings it could bring into its world.
Chunghuh¡¯s white world was such a world. Then, Chunghuh realized something.
It was hell. Jaehwan was living in hell. His world was made of hatred and rage. A world that destroyed all worlds.
The ground had countless des stuck in it with hotva flowing underneath. There was an eery eye in the sky like a moon with a swarm of crows pecking away at the ¡®moon eye¡¯, spilling blood into theva.
Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Master of Gorgon (6)
[I see. This is your world! Interesting!]
The King¡¯s voice became even more excited. Their swords shed. Jaehwan felt strange as he moved his sword. He had never felt this way. As their swords shed, thousands of words were exchanged.
[You do not give up on your hatred even after you realize the truth and emptiness of life!]
The King was astonished.
[I have seen beings that destroyed worlds for over millions of years. All of them climbed this tree with their questions.]
King Catastrophe spoke while deflecting stabs.
[What question do you seek to be answered with such a world on your back?]
Jaehwan did not answer. But the King seemed to understand.
[I see. The world itself is your question.]
Their swords shed again.
[A world that has fallen!]
The stab had reached its maximum power.
[Arrogant world! A mere human questioning the worth of the ? You ask through your words that if the is worthy enough to exist?]
Jaehwan swallowed his breath and spoke.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±
[What?]
Jaehwan did not answer. Instead, he thrust his sword.
The world screamed. His [Strong Stab] was unleashed.
The light that prated the world stormed the area. The ce that stormed left the Master¡¯s body. Only the flesh remained with the bones while the left arm and right leg were missing.
[I see... so it wasn¡¯t a question. You are not climbing the Tree to question.]
The King was enraged.
[You are an insolent fool!]
Powerful Dead Man energy quickly regenerated the Master¡¯s body. The arm and leg regenerated and all the wounds on the body had healed. Yet the King was shocked. Jaehwan had disappeared from his sight. The King then felt the pain of something being cut from the back.
[What...?]
[Strong Stab] was made to fight against an army. It wasn¡¯t a good skill to use to attack an individual. Jaehwan had not intended to kill him with [Strong Stab]. It was just a decoy to buy time.
¡®This being cannot be killed. Even when I¡¯m using a stronger skill than [Strong Stab].¡¯
The only thing that would be destroyed would be the Master¡¯s spirit. The King was using his spirit as a conduit to appear in this world. Its material body was not here, so it was impossible to kill. The only way to fight it was to cut the link between the King and the Master.
Jaehwan had done it on Beasin back in the tower. He was sure that he could do it again. As the King focused on defending against the Strong Stab, Jaehwan concentrated his entire focus on [Suspicion]. He was then able to see a faint lineing out from the body.
[How did you use this skill...!]
For the first time, the King was shocked.
[...Interesting. Skill of [Rupture]!]
The power of the King was being lifted and the Master¡¯s damaged spirit wasing back. The King red at Jaehwan and spoke.
[You who live the fall. I will wait for you at the entrance of the . Please, do not disappoint me then.]
And he was gone. Master fell down on the ground like a rag doll and Jaehwan sighed.
¡®It¡¯s finished.¡¯
He wasn¡¯t sure if he could seed. The King was a powerful enemy. He might have lost if he tried to fight it outright.
¡®I should get stronger.¡¯
His stab wasn¡¯t enough anymore. He needed new skills to climb up to the . Jaehwan then turned to Chunghuh.
¡°Old man.¡±
Chunghuh had fainted. Euren and all the others also had fallen unconscious. It was then that he heard a whisper.
[You...e over here.]
Jaehwan gripped his sword tightly again.
¡°Still here?¡¯
[I¡¯m not the King.]
It wasing from the Master. There was a faint spirit power within that was holding on. Jaehwan realized who it was immediately.
¡°Master?¡±
[I was in the state of Dead Man, but I was watching you. Having the courage to fight the King... I thank you.]
The whisper barely continued.
[I do not have much time. Let me ask you a favor. If Chunghuh or Euren, any of them are near...]
¡°Both are here.¡±
[Bring them over...]
¡°They both are knocked out.¡±
Master moaned.
[...Pleasee closer.]
Jaehwan walked up to him and the Master used his remaining strength to grab Jaehwan¡¯s wrist. Jaehwan frowned.
¡°What is this?¡±
[...Maybe Gorgon needs to change... please take it.]
Jaehwan felt powerful energy flowing into him. It was the Master¡¯s spirit. But it wasn¡¯t just a normal spirit. As the power was absorbed, a drawing of a ck serpent appeared on Jaehwan¡¯s left arm.
[You have a familiar energy... that brings back old memories...]
Master seemed to have felt something from Jaehwan and smiled with satisfaction.
[Please, do not lose your humanity.]
And then he was gone. The drawing squirmed as if it were alive. That was when he heard Chunghuh from the back.
¡°...What on earth.¡±
He was looking at Jaehwan¡¯s arm with a dumbfounded look. Euren, themander, and all the others were waking up. The ck Serpent let out a faint silvery glow.
¡°Is that...?¡±
Jaehwan could not understand what was going on. Euren and other officers approached Jaehwan and began to kneel. One, two, three people increased into tens and thirty... even the other officers who arrived at the sce, saw the drawing on Jaehwan¡¯s arm and quickly kneeled.
All of Gorgon was now kneeling in front of Jaehwan.
Then the man at the front, Euren spoke.
¡°Euren Chiver, at the Gorgon¡¯s new Master¡¯s service.¡±
Chapter 49
Chapter 49: Master of Gorgon (7)
Two days passed after Jaehwan became the Master of the Gorgon Fortress.
A lot of things happened within the keep. Many people worked to prepare for the new Master and many n Leaders came to the keep to introduce themselves to the new Master.
Euren turned away all visitors. The problem at hand was more important.
Within the keep, the same discussion was being held again and again.
Jaehwan was sitting on the Master¡¯s chair, feeding his sword. Euren spoke.
¡°Hm... Master.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not your Master.¡±
¡°You are now.¡±
¡°No. I told you, I won¡¯t do it.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not what you promised!¡±
¡°Promise? I fulfilled my promise.¡±
¡°Maybe you have forgotten it. I will remind you again.¡±
Euren took out a small paper and handed it over to Jaehwan.
-Save the Master of Gorgon¡¯s life
-Kill the traitors
-Help Jaehwan form a Depth Expedition Team.
Jaehwan frowned.
¡°...Since the Master died, you want me to be one?¡±
¡°Well, I guess we can say that.¡±
Jaehwan did fail to uphold his part of the promise. That was true.
¡°Wait, so am I the ¡®Master¡¯ of this fortress?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°But if that¡¯s true... ¡®Master of Gorgon¡¯ still lives right?¡±
¡°That is correct.¡±
¡°So I fulfilled my promise then.¡±
Eurenughed. ¡°Yes, you did.¡±
Jaehwan looked confused and asked, ¡°And?¡±
¡°And, you will keep on with the promise.¡±
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you are the new Master now?¡±
¡°I did.¡±
¡°Look at the paper again.¡±
Jaehwan frowned.
¡®Dammit. So that¡¯s how it goes.¡¯
Frankly, Jaehwan did not fulfill the promise on his part. The Master he needed to save died. That¡¯s why Jaehwan was working his way around, trying to weave himself out from his own trap. He tried to argue that even though the Master died, there was a new Master so he technically did fulfill his part. But for that to be true, Jaehwan himself now had to stay as a ¡®Living Master of Gorgon¡¯. He needed to fulfill his duty as a Master.
¡°I don¡¯t have time to stay behind and guard this fortress.¡±
Jaehwan wasn¡¯t interested in power or fame.
¡°I need to go into the .¡±
Settling down would make him weak, and the weak became corrupt. Corruption then strengthened the settling down process, which would prevent him from leaving.
¡°I will make you the new Master.¡±
¡°You cannot do that.¡± Euren shook his head. ¡°No one besides you can be the Master.¡±
¡°Why is that?¡±
¡°Because Gorgon will not ept it.¡±
Jaehwan then realized it wasn¡¯t the keep that Euren was talking about when he mentioned Gorgon. It was the ck serpent tattoo wiggled on Jaehwan¡¯s left arm. Euren once mentioned that it was ¡®Gorgon¡¯.
¡®So, this one chose me?¡¯
Euren added, ¡°The Master of Gorgon changes only when the former dies. It¡¯s not a seat that can be passed down voluntarily.¡¯
Jaehwan wanted to bust out of the keep at this moment, but he couldn¡¯t. Since he took the Seal of Gorgon, he also inherited some of the memories of the former Master. He knew that what would be of the fortress if it lost its Master.
¡®Dammit.¡¯
But he couldn¡¯t just agree to stay and be a new Master. Jaehwan looked at all kinds of documents that Euren had piled up.
¡°You have to take care of those documents by today. And this...¡±
Jaehwan looked through the documents. After looking through some documents, he began looking at the manuals left by previous Masters. After a while, Jaehwan came across a book written by the 17th Master ¡®Arbat¡¯ with a name of [101 Ways to be a Good Master].
¡®It¡¯s bit thin to hold 101 ways.¡¯
It was maybe a tad thicker than a fingernail. Jaehwan opened up the book.
-Congrattions! If you are reading this book, you are probably the new Master!
-You will have a lot of questions. You will feel burdened by your new position. Oh, how I understand your worries! You must be spending day and night thinking about how to improve Gorgon Fortress!
Jaehwan wasn¡¯t thinking about any of that.
-But don¡¯t worry. You are very lucky, because there¡¯s only one thing the Master needs to do.
Jaehwan became curious as he read through the book.
-That is, to do NOTHING!
Jaehwan became confused.
-You might be confused. But it¡¯s true! Remember, all you need to do is do NOTHING! Let your departments do the work specified for them. They will do just fine!
He couldn¡¯t understand.
-You will think that it is strange. Why is a former Master giving such strange advice? But remember. These are wise words that have been handed down from generations!
The story continued.
-Passion brings sickness in Chaos. You do not know, but half of the former Masters died by killing themselves. ording to stats in [Big Brother], the job that has the highest suicide rate in is the Master of Fortress. What killed the other half? They died from overworking themselves. ¡®Spirit Corruption¡¯ urred from the burden of work, to be precise. Working too much hastens the corruption, as you might already know.
The book was now turning more personal and emotional.
-This advice is for you, and Gorgon. Don¡¯t be greedy. Don¡¯t try to change anything. Don¡¯t overwork yourself.
Jaehwan could feel Arbat¡¯s remorse and helplessness. He felt the former Master¡¯s pain by reading it.
-