C949
"Was the Room of the Self here?"
Raon's eyes widened as he followed the direction Glenn was pointing at.
'Now that I think about it, while I was gathering information about the Room of the Self, I never paid attention to where it actually was.'
Although he had obtained information about the Room of the Self from various people, including Alice, he was completely unaware of its crucial location.
"How stupid of me."
He sighed to himself for being too excited to enter the Room of the Self.
"Yes. The Room of the Self is in Lord's Manor, specifically in this audience chamber."
Glenn stroked his chin as he explained that the Room of the Self was inside the audience chamber.
"That's why you also need my permission to enter the Room of the Self."
He smiled slightly and explained that the entry conditions were strict because the Room of the Self was located inside the audience chamber.
"I see."
Raon nodded as he turned his gaze to the left.
'Now that I think about it, Karoon also came out of Lord's Manor.'
He remembered waiting in front of Lord's Manor to confirm if Karoon had achieved Transcendence.
-Well then, shall we go?
Glenn nodded gently and stepped down from the platform.
"I'll guide you."
Roenn, who was standing in front of a pillar, walked towards the door on the right.
'The door on the right.'
On the right side of the platform was a gray door that looked like a wall. He had seen the left door open and close many times, but this was the first time he had seen the right door open. Roenn took a yellow key from the inner pocket of his vest and opened the right door.
"Please enter."
As he stepped aside, Glenn entered with heavy steps.
"Master of the Light Wind Palace, please enter as well."
"Yes."
Raon bowed slightly to Roenn and followed Glenn through the right door.
'A corridor?'
What he saw immediately upon entering was a windowless corridor. It smelled of an old building, but the floor and walls were spotless, indicating good maintenance.
-Is this really the place?
Wrath frowned, unable to understand.
-They said it was a mysterious place where the axes of time and space change, but is it so poorly managed?
"It's not poorly managed."
Raon shook his head firmly.
'To forcefully enter this place, you would have to defeat the strongest person on the continent.'
Only martial artists recognized by Glenn could enter the Room of the Self. There were very few people in the entire dimension who could defeat him and enter.
-Well, that's true.
Wrath nodded, agreeing that it made sense given Glenn's martial prowess. Glenn stood in front of an old door at the end of the corridor. This door was also well-maintained, but clearly showed the passage of time.
"This is it."
Glenn opened the old door after confirming that Raon was following him. The door opened silently, as if well-oiled, revealing the interior.
'Is this the Room of the Self?'
It was a room large enough that a sword strike wouldn't reach the walls. An inextinguishable lamp hung from the ceiling that looked like a pile of rocks, and the walls and floor were covered in cracks that looked like spiderwebs, as if they could collapse at any moment. A full-length mirror was embedded in the black wall opposite, and it also looked so old that it could break at any moment.
Apart from its dilapidated state, it looked like a normal room, which made Raon doubt whether this was really the Room of the Self.
"Head of House, is this..."
"Yes. This is the Room of the Self."
Glenn looked down calmly, confirming that this was indeed the place.
"Mmm..."
Raon let out a low groan as he scanned the entire room.
"It seems you don't believe it."
Glenn smiled slightly, as if he had expected that reaction.
"It's a bit different from what I had heard..."
Raon scratched his forehead as he looked at the room again.
"I don't know what stories you've heard, but this is the Room of the Self that has existed for a thousand years."
Glenn nodded, confirming that they had arrived at the right place.
"I can't feel anything special."
He had heard that the Room of the Self was connected to a different time axis than the current world, so he expected some special magic to be operating, but seeing it in person, it was just a plain, ordinary room.
'Wrath, can you feel anything?'
Unable to detect anything with his own senses, he nudged Wrath with his elbow.
-Mmm...
Wrath briefly licked his lips as he looked around the Room of the Self.
-I don't know. Is this really the place?
He lowered his eyebrows, muttering that there was nothing here.
"I see. Now I understand what you're seeing."
Glenn nodded as if he now understood.
"It's understandable that you're skeptical. This is the only Room of the Self I know of."
He pointed to the exit where Roenn was, saying that they didn't have to enter if they didn't want to.
"No, I'll enter."
Raon shook his head vigorously. He didn't doubt Glenn, he was just curious about the true nature of the Room of the Self.
"Sigh."
After exhaling deeply, he entered the space called the Room of the Self. Even after entering, nothing changed. It was still a normal room.
'I should unpack first.'
Raon took out a package containing Nadine bread from his subspace bag.
"This should be enough."
As he didn't know how long he would be in the Room of the Self, he had packed enough Nadine bread to last him for months. Wrath hated it, but Nadine bread was the best food for a place like this.
-Ugh...
As soon as Wrath saw the package containing the Nadine bread, he frowned and gagged.
-Get that disgusting thing out of my sight! Just looking at it makes me want to vomit!
He shivered and said he felt like he was suffocating from the rubbery smell.
'But I can't smell anything?'
Raon tilted his head as he brought his nose closer to the bulge.
-Your sense of smell is pathetic! How can you not perceive that stench?
Wrath gritted his teeth as if he was holding back curses.
"Is that Nadine bread?"
Glenn moved his hand as if he had identified Nadine bread just from the shape of the package.
-Yes. I've brought a lot of stuff because I'm going to be here for a while.
"You won't need that much."
He shook his head and said that two or three would be enough.
"Excuse me? What do you mean...?"
Raon exhaled blankly as he looked at Glenn. He couldn't understand why two or three Nadine breads would be enough when he could spend a long time there due to the changing time axis.
"You'll understand soon. You don't need to explain."
Glenn smiled gently and said that Raon would naturally understand.
"Hmm, I've taken up too much of your time."
Glenn turned his back after looking at the lamp on the ceiling.
"I hope you find the path you're looking for."
He left the Room of the Self, saying he would wait. Judging by the lack of presence outside the door, it seemed he had returned directly to the audience chamber.
"Mmm..."
Raon narrowed his eyes like thin threads as he watched the lamp flickering slightly on the ceiling.
«I still can't believe this is the Room of the Self.»
He had expected to find a hidden cave in North Grave Mountain or a special underground space, but he never imagined he would be staying in such a small, ordinary room. Honestly, he felt discouraged.
-No, the most important thing...
"What am I supposed to do here?" Neither Glenn, nor Alice, nor Rimmer had told him what to do in the Room of the Self. He had no idea what actions to take in that small room to become stronger.
'Maybe...'
He tried to operate the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the Ring of Fire with some expectation, but nothing changed.
-If you don't know what to do, we might as well sleep. I couldn't sleep well yesterday because you were so restless!
Wrath gestured with his hand, suggesting that they should get some sleep first.
-It's not a bad idea, but...
Raon shook his head as he sat on the floor.
«I think it's better to meditate first.»
After achieving Transcendence, mental training became more important than physical training. He had been trying to gradually increase his meditation time and this seemed like a good opportunity to focus on meditation.
-When you meditate, the noise in your head echoes and it's too loud!
Wrath pressed his face close, saying they should sleep instead of doing boring meditation.
—Then, do I want to make you not bored?
Raon smiled as he looked at Wrath.
-¡As if you can! It's not easy to pique my interest!
Wrath nodded, challenging Raon to try if he could.
'Then, to prevent our Wrath from getting bored...'
Raon took out a Nadine bread from the bag he had left on the floor.
-¡W-wait a minute! Come to think of it, now is perfect! I'm not bored at all...
-No. Too late.
Ignoring Wrath's gestures, Raon put the Nadine bread in his mouth. The dry, rubbery taste caused a strong storm in his mouth.
-Ugh...
Wrath, who had been muttering that he was bored, rolled on the floor with foam at his mouth.
-How can you... when it hurts you too...?
His whole body was trembling and his eyes were bloodshot. Fortunately, he no longer seemed bored.
"As I said before, it's edible for me."
Although it couldn't compare to delicious food, Nadine bread had its own flavor. He could enjoy it enough.
-¡Nadine, bastard resembling bread!
Wrath collapsed after saying something that could be a compliment or an insult.
"Finally, he's quiet now."
Raon threw the limp Wrath next to the package of Nadine bread and sank into the world of meditation.
* * *
"..."
Glenn remained in the old corridor, watching the Room of the Self where Raon had entered.
"You don't need to worry too much."
Roenn stood behind Glenn and chuckled.
"I'm sure Raon will return having gained a lot."
He finished his words with a confident tone, showing his trust in Raon.
"It doesn't matter if he gains anything or not."
Glenn shook his head with his eyes closed.
"Raon can grow even without the Room of the Self."
He had gained confidence after seeing Raon's duel with Karoon. Raon had the qualities of a martial artist who could reach higher than anyone else, regardless of the Room of the Self. The realm beyond humanity that even he couldn't reach. Only Raon could reach that end, ignoring causality.
«Of course, that's not just Raon's power».
Raon's talent and special abilities were aided by the demon king he called a friend. It was thanks to that child's help that Raon became who he is now.
'I would like to meet him.'
Before time completely disappeared, he wanted to meet the demon king and thank him for taking care of his grandson.
"Of course."
Roenn nodded and said that Raon could become stronger in any situation.
"Still, I can't help but have expectations. They say that the stronger the Zieghart blood is, the more you can get from the Room of the Self."
Glenn opened the door to the Room of the Self with a slight smile. The dark room where Raon should have been meditating had become a small library filled with the smell of old books and was empty.
"Maybe it's just my hope, but..."
Glenn closed the door to the now empty room, wearing a soft smile.
"I think Raon will return having gained quite a bit."
* * *
Raon clicked his tongue sharply as he opened his eyes.
'It's not working.'
Despite meditating for a good while, nothing had changed. He was still in the empty room, facing the mirror.
-¡I told you meditation wasn't the answer!
Wrath snorted, saying that Raon should have listened to him.
'You just said we should eat ice cream!'
There was bead ice cream and some snacks for Wrath in the subspace bag, but he had no intention of eating them now.
-By the way, how much time has passed?
Being in a place without windows made his sense of time ambiguous. It felt like four days had passed, or maybe a week.
-What four days? It's been two weeks!
Wrath shook his head and said that it had been a week a long time ago.
Two weeks? But I've only eaten three Nadine breads?
-¡I'd rather starve to death than wake you up!
He shook his head and said that it had been more than two weeks.
'That's strange.'
As a Transcendent, he should be able to maintain his sense of time even in a dark space, but his perception of time and Wrath's were very different.
"It seems that time has already begun to distort."
It seemed that the effects of the Room of the Self, where time and space were said to change, had begun to manifest.
'Should I practice some swordsmanship then?'
Fortunately, the ceiling was high and the room was quite spacious, so he could practice swordsmanship as long as he didn't use aura.
-You only do boring things.
Wrath yawned and lay face down on the floor, showing no interest.
—Then, should I eat the Nadine bread that interests you...?
-¡N-no! I'm very interested!
He raised his bright blue eyes and said he would watch intently.
"I didn't expect this threat to work so well."
It seemed he would need to carry a set of Nadine bread to threaten Wrath from now on.
'Let me know if you see any areas that need improvement.'
After asking Wrath for advice, he raised the Heavenly Drive above his head and then lowered it. He deployed all the sword techniques he had learned, from basic swordsmanship to Sky-Piercing Thunder, before lowering the Heavenly Drive.
"It didn't take long."
At first, it took him a long time because he had learned many sword techniques and principles, but after repeating them so often, he could now develop all the techniques in a short time.
-Don't you get tired of repeating the same sword techniques?
Wrath wrinkled his nose, unable to understand.
“It feels new every time I do it.”
For him, training was always fun and enjoyable because he could feel himself growing with each swing of the sword.
-I should have stolen that damn talent...
Wrath licked his lips with regret.
'Should I do it one more time?'
He concentrated well because the room was dark. As he raised the Heavenly Drive to practice swordsmanship again, the lamp on the ceiling suddenly went out as if the wind had blown it out.
'Huh?'
Why did the light go out suddenly? Thinking it was strange, he looked up and found his eyes in the mirror.
'Something is...'
There is a sense of dissonance with the self in the mirror. Although he had golden hair, red eyes, and wore a black training uniform, he looked like a different person. As Raon frowned and looked at himself in the mirror, a blue mass rose behind him.
'Wrath...?'
Wrath, who should only be visible through his eyes, was reflected in the mirror.
'Impossible!'
Startled by the incomprehensible situation, he took a step back, but his reflection in the mirror remained in place.
'It could be...'
As Raon bit his lip hard, the lips of his reflection in the mirror curled into a soft smile.
-
More Ch4pters on KoreanPlayer
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Thanks for the support
