<You have 22 lives remaining.>
The familiar text appeared before the eyes. A good 15 lives were added now to his life count which should have gone down to seven.
Was it because I killed Yupae…
It was the result of killing the key person. But despite obtaining this result, Seol-Hwi felt odd.
In the past, he would have felt elated to get so many lives, but now it felt like a leash around his neck.
Now Seo Ryeong…
And just in time, he thought of someone important.
Even though he died, the lives of many in the world continued. And Seo Ryeong in his last life had to be waiting for him.
He could no longer go there since he was dead, but she was alive there.
Not a single thing is easy…
Seol-Hwi blamed himself.
He could not properly get the ending he wanted because of the death. The wall he had to move was so high that he did not have the time to care about those around him.
In the end, in order for his subordinates to live happily, he would have to survive.
Despite his messed up thoughts and emotions, the choices appeared ahead.
■95th Heavenly Year. Chapter 2-1. Three Lives presented by the Earth Demon. □98th Heavenly Year. Last day of 7th month. □98th Heavenly Year. Self Story_Fateful day.
The life the Earth Demon presented.
Seol-Hwi had no longer to head back to the same spot. Now he had to set different goals.
There was a strong enemy to take down, and he had to take a look at the wider world ahead, be it in martial arts or outlook of life.
<You would like to move to the 98th Heavenly Year, last day of 7th month?>
Seol-Hwi’s choice was that.
It was the option of the Earth Demon which he had not touched for a long time.
The light vanished. As soon as Seol-Hwi opened his eyes. The Earth Demon was there and he had to choose an option from it.
<Choose from the three options.> ▶Become a Core Warrior for the Earth Demon. ▷Become a Secret Warrior for the Earth Demon. ▷Become an Escort Warrior of the Earth Demon.
Second choice—
<Would you like to be a Secret Warrior of the Earth Demon?>
After the selection—
The warning came.
<The difficulty is the most difficult among the options. Are you sure you want to continue?>
Now there was no reason to avoid it.
When Seol-Hwi made the choice, the Earth Demon’s expression went stiff.
“It is surprising.”
“…Uh?”
“Nine out of ten times, it is a choice for death. Do you really want to do it?”
The Earth Demon’s words made him think more, and then Seol-Hwi calmly said,
“Yes.”
The Earth Demon glanced at him for a long time and then slowly opened his mouth, turning to the side.
“Chun Gwang.”
“Yes!”
Pat!
Where he appeared was unknown, a figure in black came up and bowed.
“Send this one to the Returning Moon.”
“Uh, this one?”
Chun Gwang’s eyes quickly began to scan the body of Seol-Hwi. Even though the opponent only looked at him with his eyes, Seol-Hwi could understand his emotions.
Quite negative.
As expected, he told the Earth Demon.
“Fourth Disciple, this person seems to be a warrior with no affiliation within the Supreme Pavilion, and the Returning Moon is a place for those who are the most well regarded and even they end up with an untimely death. You want to put such a person there?”
“If he wants to head into the hell himself, then…”
The Earth Demon continued to speak sternly,
“If he can survive… I might be able to get a lot of inspiration from him.”
“That is possible but…”
“Don’t ask me more and send him there. The essential things will all be provided generously.”
The Earth Demon turned around.
He has indicated that he would not discuss this any longer. Chun Gwang had no choice but to follow it. And when the Earth Demon disappeared, he looked at Seol-Hwi.
“Tch. Follow me.”
The Returning Moon—
Firstly, the Earth Demon’s secret warrior training, which was divided into three stages—
The training regimen was simple.
Survive in the cave for three months.
“Have you heard of this place?”
At Chun Gwang’s question, Seol-Hwi, who followed him while looking back, said,
“My first time hearing about this.”
“This is a place created to train the warriors in secret. This is where you learn about your own stamina, strength, combat sense, and to handle it all.”
“…”
“Training is the easy part. There are no conditions, just endure it for three months.”
“…Simple.”
Halt
Chun Gwang stopped walking. The words Seol-Hwi said got on his nerves.
“Simple.”
He turned around and talked, looking at Seol-Hwi.
“If you knew what was inside the cave, you wouldn’t say that.”
“What is in there?”
“There are monsters.”
“Monsters.”
Chun Gwang paused here for a while before opening his mouth.
“Normally, the place is used for training ghastly demons. One should know that they are those who study the various techniques and disguises. They took wild animals and did a lot of experiments.”
“Then, the thing is…”
“Right. They have beasts in there. Many of the people died and since they brought a lot more some must have survived. Originally, the cave was an area which should have been closed after the experiments were done.”
He continued,
“We chose this place as the training ground and continued to manage it. There are beasts greatly superior to humans in there and there are people like Jiangshi. You have to go in there and survive for three months.”
“…I see.”
Huh?
For a moment, Chun Gwang wondered if he heard it wrong.
People usually would get scared or at least somewhat nervous when he talked about it to this extent, but this one seemed calm.
He stared at him in the eye to tell him to not fool himself, but he could not see any signs for it.
“Do you know what I meant?”
He asked just in case.
“That I need to just survive?”
So Chun Gwang decided not to explain further. After all, it was something that one would know by going inside.
Tuk
They moved on the mountain road for a while, and he saw a temporary building of rocks. When they went further up the road, there were warriors walking out of what seemed like temporary barracks.
“Uh? What is this?”
A warrior asked Chun Gwang by bowing.
“A child to train.”
“What…”
The warriors turned to Seol-Hwi.
“Ah this child got selected now?”
He smiled welcomingly, but,
“…Not a selected one.”
“Uh?”
“According to the Fourth Disciples’s words.”
At those words, the face of the warrior went stiff.
“I see.”
“Supply the needed things.”
“I understand.”
After the warrior answered, he walked into what seemed like a warehouse. Then, he came out with something and handed it to Seol-Hwi.
“Take this.”
<You have obtained the Little River Sword.> <You have obtained a Silver Pill.> <You have obtained 10 Golden Pills.> <You have obtained 3 flammables.> <You have obtained 100 wheat pills.>
Seol-Hwi took them all and looked at Chun Gwang.
“The basic things you need to live,”
He said silently.
Seol-Hwi looked down and said,
“Just the sword will do.”
“What?”
“You don’t need to give me food, pills, or anything else. I don’t think it is needed.”
Chun Gwang looked like he heard it wrong, so the warrior next to him said,
“Look here, the place you are going now…”
Chun Gwang opened his mouth.
“Isn’t this survival training?”
“…?”
“Who can guarantee that these items will always be there when you are left alone in enemy territory?”
Chun Gwang did not answer, rather he looked shocked.
He never thought these words would come out of a child who was nothing special.
“In there?”
When Seol-Hwi said so, Chun Gwang nodded.
“Do I go in?”
“Right.”
When Seol-Hwi turned and moved, Chun Gwang made a slightly puzzled look, and then with a subtle expression like he could not understand, he kept looking at his back.
There were floating things in front of the cave.
<As the difficulty level rises “Combat Method <Free>” is used by default.> <Due to the increased difficulty, you cannot use the “special skills” until you become a Secret Warrior.> <Combat method “Simulation” and “AI” can be obtained through specific events.>
Unlike the past, not just the turn based system but also the free got put in.
Also, Simulations and the AI which did not exist at the present time could be obtained through certain events.
Above all, there was even a restriction that special skills could not be used.
“It doesn’t matter. In this life, I will not be helped by the system except to call in the AI,”
Seol-Hwi promised.
They said they would no longer be using the system like before.
He was going to catch up to the Supreme Denon like before. Seol-Hwi changed the combat method from Turn Based to Free.
Combat method <Free>
“In this life, surely…”
Seol-Hwi looked down at the sword in hand.
He thought this was the only useful tool he had in this selection.
“To rise to a higher level.”
Seol-Hwi stepped into the cave.
Adapting to the dark was not so difficult.
Even if it was not for the shining poles nailed into the ceiling, the faint lights were shining all over the cave. It felt like this place was really well taken care of.
Smell of blood.
Did he walk inside?
Along with the sense of energy, he smelled the filthy smell of blood. However, it was unknown if this was the blood from a human or not.
I see it feels like this.
Seol-Hwi felt that the sensation he had when he became Supreme Demon and his current strength had changed by too much.
At that time it was so clear. The sound of insects and grass moving could be heard around him. In addition, it felt like the flow of time had felt a lot slower.
Now let alone how far, it was a situation where he could hardly feel what was around him.
So… I see myself now.
Seol-Hwi rather liked this. In the past he could not tell how strong he was. But now, it was different.
His body was slower, but the movement was as expected. So was the speed of the sword.
How much strength exists in his swing?
As for the flow of dantian, everyone could guess how much internal energy could be felt.
Rrrng!
A wolf?
The cry of a beast gradually grew stronger in the darkness, and Seol-Hwi steadily took a breath.
It was the first hunt.
Depending on how much the first was overwhelmed, he could determine how to deal with the monsters inside.
Here it comes.
Seol-Hwi’s eyes, which raised with his senses, moved. Something blurred. Suddenly, it rushed at him at a high speed.
In an instant, Seol-Hwi swung his sword and responded. Until then, he could feel it.
Uh?
Seol-Hwi’s eyes widened. Something which was not human turned in the air.
“Kwak!”
Thud!
Seol-Hwi’s body flew in the air, and hit the wall as he fell down.
“Ugh!”
Clenching his chest, he raised his head.
“Ha…”
It was clear now.
It had the same height as a person and looked like a wolf, but then its face was bizarre.
Rumble. Rumble.
And the beast was crawling out slowly with a cry.
There were four.
There were huge wolves with their heads down, and through various techniques surrounded Seol-Hwi.
“Yes, this should be the first.”
Clench
Seol-Hwi stood up while stamping the ground with his sword.
It was hard to predict how strong they were, but he smiled ahead of them.
“That way, I will be able to see the road to the Profound Demon level.”