C960
As soon as Raon woke from death, he clenched his fists.
"Finally blocked it."
It was debatable whether he had successfully defended, since he died immediately after blocking Wrath’s attack. However, he felt satisfied just for not dying instantly from Wrath’s full-powered strike.
"Of course, there’s still much to reflect on..."
If his martial prowess had been a little higher, his sword might have broken, but his chest wouldn’t have been opened. He regretted that his strength had run out in the end, causing him to receive the attack head-on.
"No, if my swordsmanship level had been just a little higher, I might have been able to withstand it."
Knowing he was too inadequate to block Wrath’s strike, he tried to overcome strength with softness. But the gap in martial arts mastery and raw power was too great, causing his swordsmanship to crumble.
If his mastery of Flowing Sword and Severing Sword had been higher, he might have been able to deflect Wrath’s attack with Golden Flame Dance. His chest ached for not being able to achieve that.
"But that guy..."
Raon licked his lips as he recalled the blue cold energy Wrath had unleashed.
"Why did he apply swordsmanship?"
Wrath’s attack wasn’t just frost magic. He had created a new technique by applying the principles of swordsmanship he had observed from Raon’s own accumulated martial prowess.
"He should have regained his strength after entering the Room of Self."
It would have been simple to overwhelm him with his original power like before, so Raon couldn’t understand why he was also using swordsmanship.
"Could it be...?"
Was he influenced by me? Wrath had always been by his side whenever he trained. It seemed that the principles of swordsmanship had been engraved in his mind, even if he didn’t want them to be.
"Just as I was influenced by Wrath, it seems Wrath was influenced by me."
Thinking about it that way, he couldn’t help but smile. He felt his inner closeness with that cotton candy guy becoming even stronger.
"Should we continue?"
As he thought about how he seemed to have truly become friends with Wrath, he didn’t want to simply stand still. He wanted to keep challenging himself to block the other’s attacks. With a whoosh, Raon stepped on the Supreme Harmony Steps to advance through the sea and encounter Wrath again.
"It’s impossible to perfectly block Wrath’s attack with my current level."
Although they were both Transcendants, the difference in their levels was too great to block Wrath’s attack with defense alone. The Heavenly Drive would break, and eventually, his head would fly off.
"It’s also difficult to deflect."
While Wrath’s swordsmanship level wasn’t that exceptional, his pure martial prowess was incredibly high, allowing him to exert terrifying power simply by applying swordsmanship. If he tried to deflect with force, he would die with his chest cut open instead of his neck this time.
"And attacking would be suicidal."
Wrath’s attacks were several times faster and more powerful than his own. His head would fly off before he could even open his Sword Domain, so trying to block with an attack would be nothing less than suicide.
"Hah...."
Raon let out a bitter laugh as he rubbed his temples.
"Thinking about it, this is ridiculous."
I can’t defend, I can’t deflect, I can’t attack.
"Then how am I supposed to block it?"
Realizing that defense, deflection, and attack were impossible, he felt a knot in his chest. A sharp pain seemed to arise in his mind from frustration.
"Wait. None of the three work? Then what if I try all three simultaneously?"
So far, he had tried using the three swords and had even opened Divine-Demonic Harmony to use double swords, but it seemed his mastery was deficient in front of a master, so he ended up using only the Heavenly Drive.
"The answer wasn’t the Heavenly Drive."
To block Wrath’s attack even once, it seemed he needed to increase his mastery in using the three swords: the Heavenly Drive, the Blade of Requiem, and the Wooden Ring sword.
"Right. Let’s try everything we can."
Now, the fear of death had disappeared and only the desire to become stronger enveloped his mind. Even if he died not 50, but 100 times, he wanted to block Wrath’s attack no matter what.
With a whoosh, Raon ran through the sea without hesitation, thinking about how to block Wrath’s attack.
"Huh? Can I already see the island?"
It didn’t feel like he had run very far, but a gray island began to appear in the distance.
"Have the Supreme Harmony Steps grown?"
It seemed that crossing this vast sea dozens of times had greatly increased the achievement of the Supreme Harmony Steps.
"No, it’s not just the Supreme Harmony Steps."
Glacier, which had been absorbing the cold energy of the sea and the cave, began to stir as if it were about to break out of its egg.
Although it was still far away, it felt as if he could break the wall of level 10 if he could only find a small clue.
"Is Wrath really a lucky charm?"
This time, Wrath himself didn’t give him a great reward, but it seemed he was gaining more thanks to the confrontation at full power of the other.
"He seemed to be enjoying it too."
At first, he was reluctant to kill him, but now he seemed to have a rather refreshed expression.
"Of course, it wasn’t in the end."
In the previous battle, Wrath’s lips trembled in surprise when his attack was blocked. Raon entered the black mirror, enjoying the shocked face of his old friend.
"Mmm...."
When Raon landed on the snowfield, Wrath got up with an awkward expression.
"You really don’t get tired, do you? You’re not a 5-year-old anymore."
He wrinkled his nose as if he were stunned. Although his appearance was like a personification of beauty, his behavior hadn’t changed at all since he was cotton candy.
"I’m still far from that."
Raon planted the Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem in the ground and opened Divine-Demonic Harmony. He raised the Divine Sword and the Demon Sword in both hands and floated the Wooden Ring sword above his head.
"Didn’t you say you only use one sword because you can’t concentrate?"
Wrath frowned as if asking what he was thinking.
"That’s right. It became messy and my hands got confused. But I think it’s right to challenge myself."
Raon bit his lip as he crossed the burning Divine Sword and the frost-emanating Demon Sword.
"You can only grow by overcoming difficulties, right?"
If you only show your strength to those weaker or equal to you, you’ll eventually fall behind. He wanted to prove he could use three swords in front of a master like Wrath.
"Hmph. Do what you want."
Wrath narrowed his eyes slightly and raised his hand. He seemed to have become more serious because of the battle that had just ended. With a low hum, Wrath raised the frost light at the tip of his fingers without even saying he was going to attack.
‘Here it comes!’
It was surprising, but the attacker doesn’t always give a warning. It was right to block on his own.
‘As I prepared.’
Raon recalled the three sword techniques he had thought about while crossing the sea. Attack, defense, and deflection. He imbued each of the three swords with a different flow. With a roar, he raised a Fire Wall with the flames of the Divine Sword and drew Golden Flame Dance with the frost of the Demon Sword. Finally, he imbued Void Slash into the Wooden Ring sword that floated by Sword Control.
But before the three swords could connect as one, Wrath’s slash fell first.
With a bang, the Fire Wall shattered, the Golden Flame Dance was broken, and the Wooden Ring sword was knocked down. And then, with a hiss, his head was cut off as if he had returned to the beginning.
"What carelessness."
Wrath shook his head firmly as if Raon was far from being adequate.
"If the flow of the three swords doesn’t connect, it’s worse than using a single sword."
He clicked his tongue for a long time as if telling Raon to come to his senses.
"Don’t worry..."
Raon let out a slight smile.
"I’ll be back soon."
With those final words, he disappeared into the sand.
"He’s always had a strong desire for strength, but..."
Wrath frowned as he watched Raon overcome even death.
"Now it’s excessive. I’m surprised he’s not demanding that I hand over my power."
He knew Raon was obsessed with swordsmanship, but here that desire overflowed to an excessive degree.
‘Excessive desire? Could it be that Greed....’
Wrath narrowed his eyes into thin slits as he looked at the place where Raon had died.
‘That bastard Greed. Was this his goal?’
He had suspected from the beginning why Greed had given such an excessive amount of <Greed>, but it seemed he was trying to change Raon to his liking.
‘What a fool.’
Wrath shook his head with a smile.
‘That weasel would have become the King of Greed even if you hadn’t interfered!’
As he thought Greed would regret it someday, the Dimensional Gate opened and Raon entered. It seemed his footwork had grown incomparably since before, having crossed that vast sea dozens of times.
"Let’s begin immediately."
Raon nodded as if telling him to prepare for the next fight.
"No...."
Wrath shook his head as he watched Raon smile as if he were enjoying this moment.
‘Could it be I’m the one who regrets it first…’
I should have run away from the beginning!
* * *
Raon licked his lips as he advanced through the sea.
"This isn’t easy."
He thought he had gotten quite used to using three swords, but when he actually faced a master like Wrath, he realized he was full of openings, worse than using a single sword. His face flushed with embarrassment.
"But that’s what makes it fun."
Having many deficiencies meant there was a wide path to growth, so he could keep improving. That made him incredibly happy.
"I can see the path I need to take, even if it’s just a little."
After using three swords, he had experienced more than 40 deaths. Because he reflected on himself and challenged himself again with each death and resurrection, he could feel his swordsmanship had grown to a different level than before.
"In the previous fight, the deflection was good, but the defense side collapsed. Because of that, I couldn’t even attack properly."
Because he was assigning different mastery to each of the three swords, it wasn’t easy to control his power and flow. Especially since Glacier was being overwhelmed by Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, it was difficult to balance the cold and hot energies.
"But if I keep clashing, eventually I’ll achieve it."
Vowing to block Wrath’s attack even if he had to die a thousand times, he entered the blue cave. However, something was different from before. With a roar, the ceiling and walls of the cave rippled as if they had turned to mud, and the fragments of frost that had been emitting a pale blue light swelled as if they were about to burst.
"What is this...?"
It didn’t feel right. He put strength into his legs and quickly advanced using his footwork to advance through the cave. When he reached the end of the cave, he saw a mirror stained black. The mirror had cracks drawn on it like a spiderweb that he hadn’t seen before.
"Is it over...?"
Raon extended his hand towards the mirror with a frown. With a feeling that his legs were floating, his body was absorbed by the mirror. Fortunately, the path leading to the snowfield was still there. But the state of the snowfield wasn’t normal either. The sky was collapsing and the ground was splitting to create spaces of nothingness.
"Exactly 99 times."
Wrath shook his head as he looked at the crumbling ground.
"99 times? What do you mean?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Wrath.
"The number of times you’ve died is exactly 99."
"Ah...."
"It seems you can only die 100 times in this space."
Wrath licked his lips, saying there was a limit to death even in this place.
"Then, if I die this time, will I also die in reality?"
"That’s possible, but it’s more likely that you’ll be expelled from this space."
He said Raon would probably be forcefully expelled from the Room of Self as he lowered his hand.
"Then that’s fortunate."
Raon let out a sigh of relief.
"Fortunate?"
Wrath let out a bitter laugh as if he were stunned.
"Yes. It means I can fight you one more time."
Raon smiled as he pulled out the Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.
"Didn’t you hear what I said? I said you could also die in reality!"
"You said it’s less likely. I trust you."
Because he trusted Wrath, he didn’t want to miss this last opportunity.
"Your greed is crazy enough to make me cry. Because of that..."
Wrath frowned and then drew a slight smile.
‘It’s even admirable.’
No matter how much <Greed> was working, this was the first time he saw someone who wanted to become stronger so purely. Besides, the reason for wanting to become stronger wasn’t just for himself, but for others, which made his fondness for the guy grow even more.
"Fine. I’ll face you one last time."
Wrath nodded and took a step forward.
"You won’t take things lightly because it’s the last time, right?"
Raon shouted not to take things lightly at all as he opened Divine-Demonic Harmony.
"Of course I won’t. I’ll use all my power to kill you."
Wrath nodded and straightened his back. His eyes shone with coldness as if he meant it.
"Haa...."
Raon closed his eyes as he felt the ground tremble as if it were going to collapse.
‘Then this is the end.’
He was happy to keep growing even as he felt the pain of death. He enjoyed it thinking it was a time that would never come again, but now it seemed that end was approaching.
‘Let’s do our best now.’
This was an opportunity that wouldn’t come again, an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. To not miss this last moment, he sharpened his concentration to the maximum and opened his eyes.
"Come."
Raon nodded as he raised the Divine Sword and the Demon Sword, and floated the Wooden Ring sword above his head.
"Very well."
Wrath twisted his lips into a smile as he extended his hand.
"I’ll kill you more spectacularly than anyone for the end!"
The moment a blue light flickered at the tip of his long, beautiful fingers, Raon stepped back on the Supreme Harmony Steps.
The Supreme Harmony Steps, which had grown by crossing the sea 100 times, moved Raon’s body as if it were transcending space.
After gaining time for Wrath’s attack to approach using the Supreme Harmony Steps, he raised a Fire Wall with the flames of the Divine Sword. With a roar, the fire shield, which originally had a square shape, blocked in front of him with the curved beauty of a castle wall. With another roar, Raon drew the White Shadow Slash with the Demon Sword in his left hand at the same time as he extended the Fire Wall.
The light of the Demon Sword spread across the black sky, rising like a white wave.
The moment the red shield and the white canvas bloomed, Wrath’s slash swooped down. With a deafening roar, the fire shield barely resisted the onslaught of the frost, but the canvas of the White Shadow Slash, which lacked power, trembled as if it were about to break.
‘I have to resist.’
He knew from the beginning that the White Shadow Slash performed with level 9 Glacier would be insufficient. Although he felt as if his left hand was being torn off, he held on tightly.
‘You’ve eaten enough, now it’s time to spit it out!’
He completely released the cold energy he had accumulated while crossing the sea and the cave a hundred times. With a roar, a crescent moon of silver light shone upon him, guiding the cold energy with a clear radiation. With another roar,
Glacier’s frost circulated rapidly along the ring of fire, raising a massive cold energy that wouldn’t be overwhelmed by Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
With a dull thud, he felt a jolt as if the blades of cold energy emerging from inside his heart had pierced his three energy centers. His energy centers pulsed as if they were going to explode, and an immense cold energy rose through the mana circuits of his entire body.
Level 10. Level 10 Glacier raised frost on the blade of the Demon Sword that was deeper than moonlight.
With a roar, the canvas of the White Shadow Slash, which seemed about to break, was stained with silver frost, raising an unbreakable wall of silk.
‘Now!’
While blocking Wrath’s offensive with the flames of the Divine Sword and the frost of the Demon Sword, Raon unleashed the Whispering Wind, which harmonized wind and lightning. With a deafening roar, the three lights and Wrath’s slash clashed, sending a massive shockwave that seemed to erase the snowfield itself.
The collapse of the snowfield, which would have crumbled even if it had been left alone, accelerated, and faint snowflakes rose towards the sky.
"Kuhek...."
Raon, who had been standing under that blue snow path, coughed blood and fell to his knees. The Blade of Requiem and the Wooden Ring sword were broken, and a long wound appeared on his abdomen as if it had been cut by a blade. But he didn’t die, nor did he receive a mortal wound. With a crunch, Raon stood up, leaning on the Heavenly Drive, the only sword that hadn’t broken.
"I died a hundred times, but..."
Straightening his back with an overwhelming emotion he didn’t even realize, he looked at Wrath.
"In the end, I blocked you."
He wiped the blood flowing from his mouth and hit his chest with that fist.
"Ha...."
Wrath let out a bitter laugh and nodded as if he were stunned.
"I admit it. You’re the craziest bastard I’ve ever seen!”
With that extreme praise from him, the world darkened. This seemed to be the end. In the darkness, he could see a golden-haired man smiling with satisfaction. He wasn’t sure if that reflected himself or the image of the First Patriarch. With a whoosh, Raon slowly closed his eyes as he fell into darkness.
* * *
“Mmm….”
Raon let out a low groan as he got up.
“This is….”
For the first time in a long time, he didn’t see a white sky, but a dark ceiling and dim oil lamps. He had returned to the entrance of the Room of Self connected to the audience chamber.
“Is it all over?”
The sensations in the Room of Self had been exactly the same as reality, so he still couldn’t feel like he had returned. Just in case, he looked at the mirror in the room, but it now seemed to be an ordinary mirror, reflecting only his image.
-Haaah....
As Raon examined the mirror this way and that, Wrath emerged from the ice flower bracelet.
-My head hurts. I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion.
He rubbed his eyes as if he hadn’t slept for days.
“Do you remember everything?”
Raon moved his chin towards Wrath.
-How could I not remember! You leech!
He said he would never forget it even if he died, frowning. It seemed that everything that happened in the Room of Self had been real.
“This is amazing.”
Raon let out a slight smile as he felt the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and level 10 Glacier flowing inside his energy center.
“Both cultivation methods actually ascended to level 10.”
He had been worried about what to do if the growth achieved only in the Room of Self didn’t apply, but all the growth he had achieved there was applying to reality.
“How about you? Did you get everything you gained there?”
-It’s the same for me.
Wrath nodded, saying it was an amazing place.
-I, I recovered some of my power. But....
“But?”
-It’s nothing!
Wrath abruptly turned his head and glanced at Raon.
‘Why is this troublesome guy so quiet?’
Wrath had expected him to make a fuss about being repeatedly killed and bring up Nadine’s bread, but he was unsettlingly calm. The Raon he saw in the Room of Self and the Raon here seemed like different beings.
“Leaving aside martial arts, it’s amazing that the growth in aura and body carries over to reality. What kind of place is it?”
As Raon murmured that he wanted to test his grown martial prowess, a message window appeared in front of his eyes.
[You have passed the First Patriarch’s test.]
[You have experienced 101 deaths.]
[All abilities…. ]
[New traits…. ]
It seemed the system was sending additional rewards besides what he had directly obtained in the Room of Self.
-You were quiet, but! I knew this was going to happen! Damn…
As Wrath was about to let out a yell, Raon dismissed the message window.
-Huh...?
Wrath froze mid-anger.
“Should we go get something to eat?”
Raon shrugged, saying they should fill their stomachs first.
-F-Food? Not Nadine’s bread?
“Did you want Nadine’s bread?”
-I-It’s not that, didn’t you say you would forcibly feed me Nadine’s bread no matter what!
“Both you and I worked hard, so.”
He shook his head with a kind smile.
“Let’s go.”
Raon calmly got up and gestured to Wrath.
‘There’s no need to rush now.’
He had achieved incredible growth in a short period of time. There was no reason to torment Wrath, who had helped with that. Besides, if he became too greedy for strength beyond this, he risked injuring himself. It was time to rest now.
“Well, do what you want if you don’t want to.”
-No, I’ll go, but I’m confused because you’ve changed so much.
Wrath swallowed as he perched on Raon’s shoulder.
-Did dying 100 times mess your head up?
‘Maybe so.’
Raon chuckled as he opened the door and went outside.
-Touch your sword three times if you’re threatened! I’ll save you!
‘I’m not!’
Raon finally couldn’t hold back and hit Wrath on the head.
-Then why have you changed so much! You weren’t acting like a rabid dog in the Room of Self!
‘Because I had something I absolutely needed to get there. Now that it’s over, I should return to my usual kind self.’
-What nonsense! You were always crazy! You just became even crazier there!
‘Think what you want.’
As Raon and Wrath argued and left, the Room of Self was dyed in a silent darkness. However, a wind blew from somewhere, raising a faint golden flame in the extinguished oil lamp. As if waiting for the two to return someday.
-
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