Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Proving (4)

Drop, drop…

I stared straight ahead, holding the Heavenly Blood Demonic Sword drenched with blood in my hand.

Resillian, leaning against the wall made out of broken mirrors, bleeding harshly, jumped to my eyes.

The Sword Flame in the broken sword that he was holding had disappeared long ago.

Resillian glanced down at the deathly wound on his chest and then laughed loudly as though something was funny.

“Hahahah… so this is the real Sword Flame, I see…”

Yes.

I had just miraculously entered the realm of Sword Flame and overwhelmed Resillian’s sword.

I broke his blade in half and, at the same time, cut into his chest.

It was a wound so huge that everyone would be convinced that no one could ever survive it, and Resillian seemed to be aware of that fact to some extent.

“…”

But Resillian didn’t obsess with life, nor was furious about his defeat.

Rather, he smiled happily as if he had something to learn, and thanked me.

“It was a big help for me, who couldn’t use a real Sword Flame. Thank you, adventurer…”

At the words Resillian had uttered, I shook my head with a face as though absurd.

“The help you gave me would be greater. If I hadn’t understood the principle of how the Sword Flame works, I wouldn’t have been able to use it properly.”

It was true.

I couldn’t imagine that Sword Ki wasn’t just a skill that came out as a result of the Body and Sword as One.

Body and Sword as One was simply a matter of how far one could handle their mana to the limit with willpower.

By recognizing the sword as a body, allowing mana to permeate the sword, and then transferring the willpower along with the mana to form a blade that cuts through everything.

That was the principle of the Sword Ki.

And the decisive move called Sword Flame is the technique of Sword Ki developed by interpreting the principle of Sword Ki at a higher level.

I could see why Namgung Hyuk told me that skills are just an imitation of martial arts.

To think that you could affect the laws of reality if you reached a certain level…

An overpowered skill like this couldn’t properly be implemented even with skills, and its value was quite considerable.

However, in the process of realizing the Sword Flame, I had no choice but to have one doubt.

Sword Ki is one’s will that greatly influences mana and twists reality.

And Sword Flame is to maintain Sword Ki with willpower at a higher level and to instill in the mana the nature of destroying Sword Ki.

“…Why didn’t you use a proper Sword Flame until the end?”

But it wasn’t clear why Resillian had used an incomplete Sword Flame.

He was the one who taught me how to activate Sword Flame, as well as the real principle of Sword Flame.

Resillian was enlightened enough, and he probably had the same level of willpower to wield Sword Flame as I did.

However, he couldn’t reach the level of true Sword Flame in the end.

The fire fluttering from the blade was weak and wobbly, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

As though he couldn’t properly transfer the will to the mana…

“Don’t tell me…”

“Seems like you’ve noticed. I can’t move my mana with willpower properly.”

“What do you—”

“I couldn’t control my mana since birth.”

“…”

“I wanted to walk the path of the sword and become an imperial knight… but I couldn’t. Hahah… I may have had the talent for swords, but I didn’t have the talent for mana.”

Resillian continued speaking as if it was just his memory of a time.

“I wanted to prove myself.”

I stood still and listened attentively to the voice that I would’ve previously ignored and decapitated right away.

“I wanted to strike a heavy blow to those who laughed at me for not being able to control my mana.”

“So I mourned and prayed loudly. That I’d become their faithful sword if anybody gives me the ability to handle mana.”

“…And the God of Proof gave you the strength, huh.”

“Yes. They allowed me to move my mana through divine power. It was a really tiny amount of power to control, but that was enough.”

“I was able to materialize the aura, and on the way to the next level, I manifested the flame of the sword.”

“But you couldn’t use the Sword Flame properly because your ability to control the mana wasn’t enough, I see.”

At those words, I slowly blinked my eyes and opened my mouth.

“…You were the greatest warrior I’ve ever seen.”

I meant it.

Even among the challengers of the Murim dimension, there was no one who walked the path of true martial arts like him.

Not just the skills, but even in terms of the character, he was a real martial artist.

“I’m glad to hear that. Adventurer, you were great too.”

Resillian smiled and forced himself to say it in a squeezed voice.

“You’ve proven your martial arts and put your own belief right.”

At that, I wanted to tell him that he told me everything, but.

Resillian raised his hand to prevent me from opening my mouth.

“When you win against someone and prove your martial arts, don’t carry any regrets about it.”

Gradually, the energy disappears as though the soul is leaking away from Resillian’s voice.

“The path of martial arts is to shoulder the karma of the vanished warriors.”

His voice became timid, and soon after, Resillian slowly closed his eyes.

“Win, Win again, Keep winning… and prove your path without regret…”

After he mumbled those words as though he was dreaming, Resillian showed no signs of moving.

At the same time, black energy slowly rose from Resillian’s body, and that’s when I realized it.

「 You have absorbed the soul of the priest ‘Resillian’. 」

「 Proficiency increased by 14% 」 

High priest Resillian was no longer alive.

「 Innate ability ‘Necromancy’s’ proficiency reached 100%. 」 

「 Innate ability ‘Necromancy’ ranked up. 」

***

[Translator – Ramen ]

[Proofreader – DVN-L ]

***

Resillian gave me enlightenment when I was shaken, and even became a support for my mental state.

Hesitation on the path to prove one’s own martial arts is nothing but a luxury. I shouldn’t tell what’s right from wrong.

And it was inevitably sad that a good man who gave me such realization died.

Even if this world was materialized by the Tower of Trials and had no effect on the real word, that fact didn’t change.

It’s because it was Resillian who gave me enlightenment and taught me the path of martial arts.

So it was natural to feel sad, and it was natural for guilt to seep into my heart.

However…

“…”

I didn’t tremble more or have any confusion.

I just calmly accepted his death and soon laid his body, which was leaning against the wall, on the floor.

Resillian was dead with a light smile, as if he was satisfied.

I looked at his corpse, and after a moment of silence, I brought out the words I couldn’t speak.

“Like what you told me… I’ll win, win, win again. And prove my martial arts.”

Currently, I had received so much from Resillian that it was difficult to put a price on it.

As well as the beliefs of a person walking the path of martial arts, I came to understand the true principle of the skill called Sword Ki.

Therefore, if I don’t do this at least, I wouldn’t feel comfortable.

「 Administrator ‘God-slaying Swordsman’ gives a faint smile at your actions.」

「 Administrator ‘The Hero of the Collapsed World’ stays silent while watching your actions. 」

「 Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’ reminiscences the past in your actions.」 

「 Administrator ‘Iron-blooded Monarch’ feels the qualities of a lord in your actions..」 

I left the room made of broken mirrors, silently receiving the stares of the administrators.

On the way to the fourth hurdle, I could see the broken mirror gradually changing from its broken form to its normal form.

The mirror that continued, as though it was gradually becoming a normal mirror, felt like myself changing form as I pass through this hurdle.

「 Permanently increasing your stats using the soul of priest ‘Johann’. 」

「 Permanently increasing your stats using the soul of priest ‘Jane’. 」

「 Permanently increasing your stats using the soul of priest ‘Resillian’. 」

As soon as I reached the end of the hallway, I absorbed all the souls just in case.

Because these souls were too good to just spend it as a passive shield.

「 Strength increased by 8. 」

「 Agility increased by 6. 」

「 Stamina increased by 7. 」

「 Mana increased by 8. 」

「 Tenacity increased by 9. 」 

I felt vitality all over my body and the pleasure of growing up, which I couldn’t feel easily recently.

And.

「 Acquiring one of the skills of Priest ‘Resillian’. 」 

「 Acquiring skill ‘Iron Will’. 」 

I immediately moved my mouth and opened the status window.

「 Han Sungyeun 」 

「 Radiance – Conqueror ] 

「 Strength – 86 」         「 Stamina – 84 」

「 Agility – 85 」             「 Mana – 79 」 

「 Tenacity – 81 」 

「 Innate ability – Necromancy (B) 」 

「 Innate power – Skill Combination 」 

「 Power – Serenity (C-), Realm of Sword flame  (A-), Wings of Steel(C+), Sword of Iron-blood(A-)  」 

「 Skill – See details 」

I had confirmed once again that I was truly becoming a monster now.

All stats were rising toward triple digits, and they weren’t far from that.

I immediately checked the new detailed effect of Necromancy, which had ranked up by absorbing Resillian’s soul, in the status window.

Other than the skill rank, the description written below hadn’t changed, but…

『 Detailed effect (6) – When absorbing the soul of an opponent stronger than the user, power can be extracted depending on the judgement. 』

The sixth detailed effect created by increasing the rank of Necromancy was a pretty fair ability.

To think that I was allowed to extract power when I absorbed a strong opponent’s soul…

Even though that alone was already surprising, I was excited at the fact that this innate ability was at rank B.

‘I wonder what kind of abilities will be available when it ranks up a bit more.’

Soon after, I opened the skill window and checked the skill description for the newly acquired ‘Iron Will’.

「 Skill – Iron Will(A-) 」 

「 Proficiency – 27% 」 

「Definition – A symbol of one who doesn’t give into despair and challenges the impossible until the end.」 

「 Basic effect – When you encounter an opponent stronger than the user, physical stats greatly increase overall, and your concentration goes up.」 

「 Additional effect – When the skill is activated, it becomes easier to gain enlightenment, and the mental protection ability is greatly strengthened. 」

It was a skill that had better abilities than I thought.

To think that the physical stats and concentration will greatly increase when dealing with powerful enemies?

It was a skill that was like a ray of light to me, who always had to fight against strong opponents.

And it didn’t stop there. When the skill is activated, it said that it becomes easier to gain enlightenment, and the mental protection ability increases significantly.

‘I guess I’ll be using it often since it also has a series of abilities in regards to growth assistance.”

With that, I felt satisfied and soon turned off the status window.

Now that I had somewhat checked the things I had acquired, it was time to move.

Creak—

I slowly opened the door leading to the fourth hurdle, and soon I was able to see the room made of mirrors.

Although there were still cracks in the mirror, it was better than the room made out of broken glass in which Resillian was standing.

“Uh… Seems like Resillian died. This is a bit out of my expectations.”

The high priest in charge of the fourth hurdle was a little boy.

“Are you really an ordinary adventurer who’s challenging the hurdles…?”

The boy, who seemed like he had just turned 10 years old, asked that question as though he was dumbfounded.

I didn’t answer that question right away but first looked at the boy who was the guardian of the fourth hurdle.

The boy held a small blade made out of a mirror in his hands and was dressed in a loose-fitting priest robe.

Seeing that the vibe he gives off is different, he really did feel like a real priest of God.

I stared at the boy silently, then spoke with a tired voice.

“I don’t really want to have a conversation. Please start the fourth hurdle.”

At that, the boy looked at me, and then said with a cold smile.

“So that’s what happened… You, do you know that? You’re out of your mind right now.”

To the boy’s tone as though he had become a psychiatrist, I answered flatly.

“I know.”

But despite my answer, the boy continued to speak like he was giving me advice.

“I don’t know what that guy Resillian, who’s crazy for martial arts, told you, but you’re slowly being consumed by the madness of martial arts.”

Maybe he can see through my current state?

‘To be consumed by the madness of martial arts…’

Perhaps the boy’s words are the most appropriate expression for my current state.

It was amazing, but that doesn’t mean I paid close attention to what he said.

“So?”

“The madness of martial arts isn’t something that ordinary people can handle. Give up the trial, go outside and focus on resting your mind and body for a while.”

“Then what would change?”

“At least you won’t be killed in vain by me here. Stop thinking that you can defeat me by only using martial arts.”

In short, if I believed only in the martial arts I had and attacked him, he’d be killing me.

After understanding the hidden meaning right away, I immediately shook my head and opened my mouth.

“It doesn’t matter, so it’d be better for you to start the trial of the fourth hurdle.”

“…It’s been a while since I saw someone purely crazy about martial arts like Resillian.”

“I’m Kairan, a preliminary apostle who serves the God of Proof.”

Preliminary apostle.

When I narrowed my eyes at the name of his position, that seemed strong just by hearing it.

“Starting now, according to the law of proof, you’ll have to prove your flesh to me.”

Kairan soon announced the beginning of the fourth hurdle and his eyes lit up.

And—

“Come forth, adventurer who has surrendered himself to madness. Your body will end all the proving here.”

After finishing his sentence, small wings sprang up from Kairan’s back that somehow felt divine.

They were wings that seemed impossible to fly with, but the energy you could feel from them was enormous.

I could feel the flow of a slightly different energy from mana, but that was probably divine power.

‘He’s amplifying the energy through the wings.’

Just like I used the mana circuit to strengthen my body, he was doing something similar.

It seems as though he’s strengthening himself through the energy transmitted from his wings.

Having such a powerful ability, it seemed right for him to call himself a preliminary apostle.

However—

「 Activating the power ‘Realm of Sword Flame.’ 」 

「 Activating the skill ‘Wind’s Blessing.’ 」 

「 Activating the skill ‘Instant Acceleration.’ 」 

I wasn’t a real warrior who came here only with pure martial arts.

「 You’ve encountered a strong opponent for you to handle. 」 

「 Activating the skill ‘Iron Will.’ 」 

Now, it’s time to finish this damned proof of the body.

——