Chapter 31
Chapter 31
4. The Savior Who Ended the Cold Wave -7
The journey to find the target, the holder of the 『Corpse-Plague Curse』 skill, was uneventful.
Shuk-!
Another flower fell. Its grotesque green tendrils quivered faintly.
Once you get used to it, any task becomes simple repetition. Walking comfortably through the forest—my body moved on its own without me having to think much, dodging the plant bastards and slicing their weak points with my dagger.
Sergios was the same. He swung his spear with a bored expression, clearing the path. That was why, even though our bodies were busy, our heads and mouths were idle.
But did that mean I wanted to chat with Sergios about everyday topics? No.
I could see exactly how the conversation would go. It would veer into more of that weird heroism and citizenship talk, and either I'd get annoyed or he would. Better to just keep my mouth shut.
Still, there was one thing I wanted to find out.
Now that I'd raised 『Quick Flash』 to skill registration level and realized that using 『Download -2』 let me skip about twenty percent of martial arts training, possessing up to three martial arts skills—on top of the conditions for C-rank promotion—was only a matter of time.
The timing was about right. I asked Sergios.
"How exactly does 『Embodiment』 work?"
"You ask as if you'd entrusted me with something."
"Who was the one acting like that first?"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
No matter how I thought about it, this guy had expectations of me. From singling me out to get involved with me in the tutorial, to handing out training and martial arts manuals, to not leaving even when I walked the line with a bad attitude—he'd get pissed, sure, but he never left.
If he was really giving me all this out of one hundred percent pure goodwill, that'd be one thing. But if we both wanted something from each other, this was a transactional relationship.
And this guy had a straightforward personality. So I could toss the question out casually—if he told me, great; if not, whatever. Sergios would weigh it himself, and if he decided against it, he'd just keep his mouth shut.
Sergios deliberated for a good while before speaking.
"⋯⋯Fine. I was planning to tell you anyway. As you know, warriors within the 『Tower Ascension (昇塔)』 system have a tradition of leaving something behind for those who come after when they rise to a higher realm."
"'As you know'? This is the first I'm hearing of it."
"I definitely explained it. You simply didn't listen."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
What was he talking about?
My memory wasn't bad, but I didn't think I'd ever heard that explanation from this spear-wielder.
Sergios said it so confidently that I wondered if I'd actually forgotten, so I retraced the past. The moment he'd rambled about that Tower Ascension training system was definitely⋯⋯
Ah.
"⋯⋯Back then, the Monstera was blasting solar rays at us, you lunatic!"
"Which is why I'm generously explaining it a second time. Listen with gratitude."
Kwak-!
Sergios slit the throat of a ragweed bastard and blew the pollen away with wind as he began his explanation. I also scattered the pollen with 『Azure Wind Wanderer』 and listened carefully.
『Tower Ascension (昇塔)』.
Instead of receiving 『Skills』 from someone else to grow stronger, it was a training system where you built something yourself and climbed upward. The exact opposite direction from what the System pursued.
<In the void immediately after this world was created, did martial arts truly exist?>
The pioneers of this training system created 『Martial Arts』 from scratch through brutal hardship, passed them down to later generations, and among them, some exceptional individuals, after accumulating effort⋯⋯ ascended to the next realm (層). Or rather, created the next realm.
And then died.
People are born. Among those born, some took an interest in martial arts and began walking the path the pioneers had walked.
Because the later generation had a path already built by the pioneers, they could reach the first floor while saving time. And with that saved time, from the rooftop of the first floor where nothing existed and only the sky was visible—they began building the second floor.
What emerged from that repetition was Tower Ascension (昇塔)—a tall, distant tower built from accumulated years of effort. Perhaps its peak had even reached the sky.
"⋯⋯So, the seniors just whipped up something like 『Quick Flash』 on their own, made several of those, and created 'realms' that didn't originally exist with their own hands?"
"Yes. It's not as though everything could have existed from the beginning of this world. At the very least, there was no being born already mastering the eighteen martial arts and emitting technically refined sword energy instead of crying. Talent can surpass effort, but it cannot create."
"Interesting story, but what I asked about was 『Embodiment』. If you're going to go off on a tangent, either say so quickly or skip it."
"⋯⋯You're the type who skips two pages at a time even when reading a book."
Sergios looked rather offended by my attitude of demanding a skip, as if he found it disrespectful, but he did skip it.
In the history of that massive, vertical relay climb called Tower Ascension, some kind-hearted 'seniors' worried about the later generations who would climb up after them. What if friends lacking talent fell while climbing or lost their way?
So those 'seniors' lowered a ladder (梯) down below the realms. Descendants, don't start from bare ground—climb comfortably.
It was the moment a kind of 'guideline' appeared in a wasteland that had no manual or anything.
"That is called the 『Ladder Ascension Method (登梯法)』."
"Is there only one Ladder Ascension Method?"
"No. For the first realm (第一層), which is relatively easy to climb, I understand that countless Ladder Ascension Methods currently exist. But they aren't all scattered and chaotic—there is a major current that runs through them."
Hm.
After thinking for a moment, a perfect analogy came to mind.
"So I can understand the floors as first job advancement, and the Ladder Ascension Method as the advancement quest."
"Don't use obscure analogies. I can't tell whether you've understood or not."
"Later, if you meet someone from a world with RPG games, just explain it exactly the way I said and they'll get it instantly. It seems like an accurate analogy, so use it."
"Hmph, there is no next one besides you. The monsters won't wait. Surely you don't think time is infinite."
This seemed to be the main point. Next, Sergios would explain the Ladder Ascension Method he knew. I hid my pounding heart and kept my expression vaguely indifferent, pretending not to care.
Because if I showed that I was looking forward to it, he'd get all fussy again.
Step.
Sergios stopped walking, brought his hands together in a gesture of respect, and wrapped himself in a solemn, grave atmosphere. I also stood in place and closed my mouth.
He seemed to hold some kind of reverence for the training system and process of 『Tower Ascension (昇塔)』. Like a Shaolin monk training in martial arts.
I didn't harbor that level of peculiar emotion toward the mere process of getting stronger, but I had no intention of mocking him or looking down on him either. This finicky spear-wielder revered it to this extent, didn't he? I wanted to respect at least that ritual.
Thump.
And so, I followed the gesture of respect Sergios had made.
"⋯⋯You're quick on the uptake."
"It's basic."
He let out a small laugh and began reciting a declaration that sounded almost like an incantation.
"Hear me, fated one (緣子). I, Sergios of Mount Moria, as a member of the Battle-Demon Gate (鬪鬼道門), intend to pass down the ladder (梯) of my sect to you. You need not be subordinated to the sect, as you have no interest in the Battle-Demon path, but when the time comes, you too must pass it down to someone you are fated to meet. This is the sole obligation."
"I will do so."
"Then receive it. This is the foundation for truly becoming a superhuman, a part of the First-Realm Ladder Ascension Method (一界登梯法), the rite of 『Battle-Demon Ascension (鬪鬼昇格)』."
Woooooo—
No, it actually seemed to have been an incantation.
The moment those words ended, I could hear what sounded like ghostly wails and drumbeats from all directions. It was an echo that rang shallowly, as if it had departed from somewhere very far away and arrived here, but it was by no means quiet.
And information about the rite of 『Battle-Demon Ascension (鬪鬼昇格)』 naturally settled into my mind.
[This rite promotes the Embodiment of only one sparring partner (一人). One sparring partner and one receiving partner stand facing each other and offer a standing bow without leaving the circle. The receiving partner is the anvil for harmonizing the sparring partner's three bodies (三體), so fight fiercely but do not strike first. The receiving partner must possess the skill to withstand the sparring partner's attacks—]
To summarize this formula:
It was a Ladder Ascension Method where you fought bloodily against an opponent of roughly equal skill to reach 『Embodiment』. And its effect was a complete transformation of the body—a re-establishment—specialized for the martial arts one had mastered.
It was a rite whose method lived up to the name Battle-Demon.
"⋯⋯Are we starting right away? The rite of 『Battle-Demon Ascension (鬪鬼昇格)』."
"Do you think you could withstand my full power in your current state? The rite comes later."
Well, that made sense. Right now I was under a zombification curse, and I hadn't even filled out my skill set yet. I'd need to get a bit stronger before I could fight Sergios on equal footing.
⋯⋯Wait a moment.
Now that I knew about the rite, part of his behavioral logic became clear.
The reason Sergios, despite being obscenely strong, remained a D-rank hunter, attended every single tutorial without fail, and poured all sorts of things into me while nagging me desperately to get stronger—
It was because he had no one to perform the Battle-Demon Ascension rite with!
Remember the System's C-rank promotion reward?
[Sta■■ mission and re■ard changed : C-rank promotion / Skill-based body enhancement ■■ (Searching user dictionary for similar terms : Complete Transformation granted, Embodiment granted)]
When you promoted to the next rank, the System forcibly bestowed Embodiment. Then wouldn't the Embodiment through the rite Sergios wanted become impossible? Doing a complete transformation twice would be strange too.
But ordinary people could never catch up to Sergios.
Only a talent overflowing with potential—someone who could promote to C-rank whenever they wanted, who grew extremely fast while also honing fundamental martial arts—could help him with his promotion.
Seriously, there was no substitute for me.
So.
If I started making things difficult for him, this bastard might never make it to C-rank in his entire life.
Say I went on strike. Then this bastard would have to wait for at least one more Noah Won-level genius to enter a tutorial, and then raise and support that kid before he could even aim for promotion.
He'd said himself that he didn't have time, so if he didn't want to take that kind of loss, he'd have to respect me.
Somehow I felt full even though I hadn't eaten anything. As I let a smile rise from the depths of my heart, Sergios, as if sensing something ominous, glanced at me warily.
"⋯⋯Why are you smiling? Noah Won."
"No reason. The world just suddenly got interesting. Why?"
"⋯⋯No, it's nothing. Let's hurry our steps."
He tried to hurry toward the deeper part of the forest, as if he wanted to get away from this spot as soon as possible.
Where do you think you're going?
It wasn't like I was going to make unreasonable demands over this. Or that I was so desperate for gain that I'd try to wring everything he knew out of him. That would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
But still, with this much, I figured I could settle at least one thread of an old grudge.
"But hey. Other things aside. That Whirlwind Thrust you threw at me in the tutorial—that was a misunderstanding, and it was one hundred percent your fault. What do you think about that, Sergios?"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"I asked what you think."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯"
After about thirty minutes of psychological warfare, I finally got an apology.
The rite of Battle-Demon Ascension. This was something I needed to look into more.
I wasn't sure whether it would apply to 『Azure Wind Wanderer』, how it differed from what the System provided, and from what I could tell, there seemed to be several other types of rites besides this one—I needed to verify whether Sergios's method was really the best.
But there was no harm in being prepared.
The Battle-Demon Ascension rite only promoted one primary caster, and if the same pairing performed it again, the effect decreased significantly. That meant once I'd raised Sergios up, I'd have to find a new partner for myself.
One more goal added. I should also work as a mentor in tutorial stages and find a newbie who'd match with me for my rite.
It struck me anew.
The power called the 『System』 was mighty. It connected universe to universe, person to person, provided the clear benchmark of the Status Window and the limitless resources of the Shop, and above all, offered a distant opportunity for ascension.
But this System wasn't the only answer.
Perhaps something existed that could only be obtained outside the System. Like that Tower Ascension system Sergios followed.
This universe held many secrets and histories, and if I used them wisely—yes.
Even if I was a debtor with negative Credits, an empty shell unable to use the core functions of the System, I could keep up. No—was keeping up really all there was?
I might even grow stronger far faster than those free from debt.
⋯⋯⋯⋯
One more thing.
People say fear comes from the unknown, but sometimes the opposite is true—knowing can become fear. Especially when you know only vaguely. The more I adventured under the System's regime and gradually uncovered the unknown parts, the more I felt it.
Embodiment that absorbs martial arts. Internalization that absorbs skills. The Tower Ascension that climbs upward. The 『Skills』 that descend downward. And even the mutations that plant bastards devour and bloom into. Even looking back at all those powers—
My ability, 『Download -2』—
Wasn't it a power fundamentally unlike anything else I'd ever witnessed—?
Crossing through the forest, we emerged into a sunken area like an open-pit mine.
Looking at the wreckage of excavators rolling around nearby, the support beams, and the traces of dug earth, it was unmistakably a mine—but looking more closely, it was different. There were parts of the ground that had been carved away with extreme delicacy.
This was⋯⋯ an excavation site.
Down below, I spotted a structure that looked like the entrance to some building. Had they been excavating that old building? If so, it might be better to call it a ruin.
"Didn't you say we were searching for the holder of the curse skill, Noah Won? There's no drinking water around here, and it's not a place animals would visit. It's not somewhere a person could live. If the coordinates aren't wrong, we'd be better off searching the forest around here."
"⋯⋯You're right. But no. I think they're hiding here."
"What makes you think so?"
"First, zombie footprints."
If you looked closely at the ground around here, there were traces that seemed recent. Footprints with the distinctive dragging quality of zombies. The trail led inside the ruin.
Sergios spoke, sounding skeptical.
"⋯⋯How did you see that from this distance?"
"I've got good eyes. And one more reason⋯⋯ I'm not sure how to explain it. I can feel it."
"Feel it?"
Yes.
[-> Download Slot 2 : 『Corpse-Plague Curse』 (Downloading⋯⋯ 96%)]
I could clearly feel an invisible line extending from inside that ruin.
The culprit who had plunged Sohye's world into a double apocalypse was in there.