Chapter 184
The Heavenly Mountains of Murim.
A vast mountainous region composed of steep slopes, high peaks, and an endless range that would take several days to traverse.
In the past, it had been the seat of the ‘Heavenly Demon Cult’ or simply the ‘Demonic Cult’, but now, it had become a land for only one individual.
Heavenly Demon, Jin Hwaryung.
He stood at the peak of the highest snow-covered mountain, looking down at those climbing up from below.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone here”, he remarked.
“Of course. After all, you killed them all”, came the retort.
Braving the neatly piled snow, a large crowd ascended. They were so numerous that they filled the summit, each person determined to face death.
At the forefront stood Jin Doha, the former leader of the Martial Alliance and the Sword King.
“Still haven’t given up?”
Jin Hwaryung said with exasperation.
This was not the first time that Jin Doha had come to kill him.
“Didn’t I tell you? You can’t kill me. You are nothing more than a byproduct left by the heavens when they created me.”
“Shut up.”
“Little brother.”
Jin Doha trembled at those words.
“Remember this one thing. Half of the people who die here today are killed because of you.”
“Little brother…?”
“Did he just call him ‘little brother’?”
“The Sword King and the Heavenly Demon are…?”
The murmurs around them grew louder. The martial artists who accompanied Jin Doha glanced back and forth between him and Jin Hwaryung.
An old Jin Doha and the still youthful Jin Hwaryung who didn’t even look middle-aged. If they were indeed brothers, it was clear who was the elder and who was the younger.
“Return now. I am willing to let you go just this once.”
“Then promise me. Promise me that you will stop all your mass killings and atone for the sins you’ve committed.”
The Heavenly Demon.
He was the strongest in the tower and also the most hated.
Under his hand, the Demonic Cult vanished, and the previous leader of the Martial Alliance, Jin Doha’s predecessor, was dead. Even after that, he wandered the tower, annihilating any guild that caught his eye.
Countless guilds lived in fear of his sudden appearance.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why on Earth…!”
“Because we have to go higher.”
“Again with that nonsense!”
Through their conversations, Jin Doha realized he couldn’t stop Jin Hwaryung. Ultimately, the only way to stop him lay in the sword.
After taking a moment to calm his breath, Jin Doha’s eyes gleamed sharply once more.
“Today will not be easy.”
Thump-
A man stepped forward, recognizing it was time to introduce himself.
“It’s been a while. Do you remember me?”
At that moment, Jin Hwaryung’s eyes narrowed upon confirming the half of the man’s face that remained.
“The one who pretends to be a sparrow.”
* * *
『Title: Taming the Sky Horse (Not the Heavenly Demon)』
It was the fourth day of the challenge.
The repeated content had even changed the title.
Finding the Sky Horse, failing to tame it, and falling off its back over and over again.
How many times had it been now?
Counting the attempts wasn’t hard.
– Failed on the 41st try, lol.
– I guess Lee Suhyuk isn’t good at everything.
– Lee Suhyuk? More like 2Suhyuk.
It seemed like every success he had achieved so far was being flipped on its head, leading to continuous failure.
Failure. Failure. Again.
And another fall.
Once again, it was Viola and her Sky Horse who caught Suhyuk as he plummeted, seemingly destined to crash through to the underground of Valhalla.
“The 41st time.”
Neigh-
Viola counted the attempts in harmony with the viewers, while the Sky Horse snorted in mockery, holding the edge of Suhyuk’s clothes with its teeth.
With nothing left to say, Suhyuk hung his head low.
『’SafeAsset’ has donated 100 points.』
『Damn, I should have set this as a mission』
Even the icon of zero wins was taunting him with donations.
– For real, lol.
– You managed to beat things that seemed impossible, but you can’t clear this, lol.
– SafeAsset fail, lol.
‘This won’t do.’
It was useless to keep tackling the challenge the same way. He needed a different approach.
But while he might beat and subdue it, taming an animal was not really his forte.
He had to think of a new way. Yet, over the past four days, he had tried almost everything he could think of.
“Don’t rush. Take your time and try to get used to it. The Sky Horse isn’t something that can be tamed in a day or two.”
“Viola, how long did it take you?”
“It took me about five years.”
“… Five years?”
Lee Suhyuk’s eyes, revealed from behind his mask, trembled violently.
Five years.
That was an unexpected length of time.
– Five years of this?
– For five years
– But this makes sense
– Yeah, until now, it was kind of easy
Come to think of it, it wasn’t that strange after all. Lee Suhyuk had been passing the tests at an exceptionally fast pace so far, but typically, most players spent a considerable amount of time ascending even one level.
Moreover, he was now about to climb the stairs to the eighth floor. If the test was easy, that would be the strange part.
Yet.
『’Safety Asset’ has registered a mission.』
『Hahaha, nice. Tame it by today and get 100,000 points. Have fun~』
In the midst of this serious situation, a mission like sweet rain came through.
“… Huh?”
-Wow, really
-It’s like a resurrection spell lol
-Did… did he win?
It seemed that everyone else knew but him. Lee Suhyuk’s face brightened upon seeing the newly registered mission.
“Thank you for the mission.”
A flag was set.
* * *
The sun set. He tried two more times but failed again.
Having a snack of bread and jerky that he had packed with Viola, they lit a campfire.
“This makes it the 43rd time.”
As if she was having fun, Viola reminded him of the number again.
-lol
-This sister is on the same side as the viewers?
Lee Suhyuk didn’t dwell too much on the number of failures.
What was more important than the number of failed attempts was figuring out a way to tame that wretched Sky Horse.
“Should we try luring it with food again?”
“We tried with the cloud thing that the Sky Horse likes, remember?”
“Is there something else it likes?”
“What they like most is freedom. That’s why it’s so hard to tame.”
No matter how much he talked it over with Viola, there were no clear solutions. Chewing on a piece of jerky, Lee Suhyuk fell into deep thought again.
‘Even if I manage to solve other tests, it’s useless if I can’t tame that creature. So what should I do…’
Swoosh-.
It was then.
The Sky Horse next to Viola started to crouch and show signs of fear.
There was only one reason it would react like this.
“Huh?”
Clop-.
The sound of solid hooves and a Sky Horse appeared from beyond the clouds.
It was the king of the Sky Horses, the one Lee Suhyuk had to tame.
“It’s coming to us first?”
It stood at a distance, observing Lee Suhyuk.
It wasn’t a mere coincidence that it had wandered over and encountered him.
‘Is it seeking me out?’
Their eyes met. It didn’t come any closer, just kept watching him.
Lee Suhyuk didn’t possess any special talent for reading the eyes of spiritual creatures. But even at a glance, he could tell it wanted something from him.
“… Did that creature once have a master?”
Viola noticeably flinched, clearly surprised.
“How did you know?”
“Was it Thor by any chance?”
“How did you know that, too?”
As he feared.
‘I realized it too late.’
It wasn’t just some tedious test of manual labor. The test had already given him a hint.
“Thunder’s Wings.”
“What?”
“It must miss its old master.”
The reason it wandered alone wasn’t just because it was bigger or stronger than other Sky Horses.
It couldn’t come any closer from afar because of a familiar feeling it sensed.
Thor, who wielded the power of lightning. The Sky Horse who had served Thor.
It was drawn to him because of the glimpses of thunder power he had shown.
Swoosh-.
Rising from his seat, Lee Suhyuk swallowed the piece of jerky he had in his mouth and started walking towards the Sky Horse.
“Were you looking for this?”
Crackle-.
Blue lightning bloomed from the tips of Suhyuk’s fingers.
It was quite a significant output. Suhyuk seemed ready to make it explode at any moment as thunder surged.
As anticipated, the Sky Horse did not avoid it.
Crunch-.
Instead, he approached Suhyuk even closer.
He was drawn in to catch a whiff of it. The more thunder Suhyuk generated, the more the Sky Horse was attracted to him.
Crackle-!
So, Suhyuk had only one thing to do now.
He had to show that he was the one chosen by the thunder.
‘Is it working?’
Step-.
But, just because he had the thunder didn’t mean he could become its master outright.
Ki-hi-hi-hing-.
The Sky Horse raised its front leg threateningly as if to say, “Don’t come any closer.”
It seemed to indicate that this was the limit Suhyuk was allowed to approach.
“Alright, alright. I got it.”
Suhyuk took a step back.
There was no need to provoke the barely calmed Sky Horse. Judging by its current state, it would definitely come to find him again.
He had found a way to get closer.
From now on, as Viola mentioned, he just needed to take his time to get acquainted with it slowly.
‘Interaction, she said.’
So, for today, this was enough.
“It’s a pity.”
Even though he had found the answer, it wasn’t a 100% satisfactory result.
He would eventually overcome the challenge, but there was a mission associated with this test.
“Seems like the SafeAsset mission…”
As he was about to say that it seemed like a failure.
“It’s real?”
A chill ran down his spine, and he turned around.
But the owner of the voice vanished like a mirage.
“Aren’t we old acquaintances? Nice to see you.”
A mocking voice sounded from the exact opposite direction.
Suhyuk remembered hearing that voice a few days ago, albeit belatedly.
“Not particularly happy to see you.”
“Well, it’s just me being happy then.”
Loki.
The second prince of Asgard and Thor’s half-brother.
With a playful face, he waved at Suhyuk.
“I didn’t really believe it, but it’s true. It’s Thunder. Interesting.”
“Do you desire this?”
“You really don’t know anything. There isn’t a god who wouldn’t desire it.”
His eyes gleamed with greed, resembling those of a serpent. His gaze scanned Suhyuk from top to bottom.
It was an unpleasant look. Meeting those eyes, Suhyuk lowered his gaze.
Loki’s twisted smile entered his sight.
“You’re quick-witted.”
Loki’s eyes possessed a special power.
Although the exact nature was unknown, it was clear that magic flowed abnormally around those eyes.
“I really can’t understand. Why does someone like you possess Thunder? Why did Father and Tyr permit it?”
Soon, loki’s voice reached Suhyuk’s ears.
“And why do they want to give you wings?”
Crash-!
Reflexively, he unleashed lightning. Despite its force tearing the clouds apart, loki reappeared unscathed, nonchalantly.
“It’s fortunate, isn’t it? Unlike my brother, killing a human like you to take it wouldn’t be a big issue. For me, it’s a welcome situation.”
“… Somehow, I thought it was strange.”
“Huh?”
Suhyuk raised his head again and met Loki’s eyes.
Facing those eyes felt like a sharp spear piercing through his chest.
He thought it was Loki’s presence, but it was a misconception.
“It’s not you after all.”
Crackle-!
The lightning flowing through Suhyuk’s body changed color. It turned black as golden and blue hues mingled, giving him the strength to face Loki’s eyes.
『’Lightning Lord’ imbues your body.』
『’Selfish Sacrifice Lv9′ resists ‘Lightning Lord’.』
Then, he saw it at last.
“Those eyes-.”
Beyond Loki.
Another figure with a concealed face stared at him.
“From whom did you get that?”
TL’s Corner:
The characters for Heavenly Demon and Sky Horse are the same, which is 천마.