Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Stage 4
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“…….”
“ Ahh…….”
A low murmur of awe rippled through the space.
Delaila and the ten examiners.
All of them had their mouths agape, utterly amazed.
“He… he really passed stage 3?”
“How the hell do you endure that? This guy's mental fortitude is on another level this generation.”
“Vladimir and Zhang Wei could’ve done it too.”
“Of course! Their individual scores alone put them in the top 5 all-time. This is an insane batch.”
Over the roughly 72-hour ordeal.
Some had caught naps.
Others had chatted idly.
But now, right at the end of stage 3.
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the hologram screen.
“Lady Delaila.”
Ryuka spoke up.
“Yes?”
“Out of all the teams, only the ‘Crazy’ team has tasted stage 4, even if just briefly, right?”
[1st: ‘Crazy’, 73:05:32 (Stage 4)]
[2nd: ‘Dragon Slayer’, 72:00:00 (Stage 3)]
[3rd: ‘Rider’, 70:45:05 (Stage 3)]
[4th: ‘Lions’, 68:50:40 (Stage 3)]
[5th: ‘Mud Skippers’, 66:23:10 (Stage 3)]
…….
He glanced at the Theme 3 rankings.
The ‘Dragon Slayer’ team, now firmly in second place.
“Yes.”
Delaila nodded.
“To be precise, it was the ‘Crazy’ team’s berserker, Jang Dae-woong.”
“How in the world did he endure stage 4? And for over an hour, no less…….”
Ryuka recalled the stage 3 that Joo Dong-hoon had just survived.
Sure, he had endured it himself in the past.
But stage 3 was the absolute brink of limits.
A situation where your body simply refused to obey, no matter how badly you wanted to push on.
A relentless demand for constant movement.
Focus.
Unyielding tenacity.
“…….”
He wasn’t confident he could do it again, even now.
‘And then.’
To face stage 4 right after that?
He’d be the first to drop out.
No, more like forced to drop out.
‘Honestly.’
When limits were exceeded and something beyond poured in.
How could your body keep up when it couldn’t?
It defied the laws of physics. It made no sense.
“Hmm, that berserker back then…….”
Delaila tapped her chin, deep in thought about that moment.
Even after his four teammates had all fallen.
The way he’d clung on, eyes blazing with madness.
“He was definitely a madman.”
“Pardon?”
“Just go insane. Lose yourself completely, Ryuka. That’s how you do it.”
“……By ceasing to be yourself, you surpass your own limits?”
“Yes, strangely enough, some people can pull it off. Though it doesn’t last long.”
Delaila glanced sideways.
The examiners were all clenching their fists, eyes locked on the central hologram.
Drip, drip!
Joo Dong-hoon, sweat pouring endlessly yet his eyes still alight with fire—they were all captivated.
“But why is it…….”
She alternated her gaze between the screen and Ryuka.
“I have this feeling that Joo Dong-hoon’s about to shatter the all-time record. I’m not the only one, right?”
Her words made Ryuka’s fists tremble.
Shivers of excitement.
The world’s 25th-ranked swordsman.
Trembling at the feat of a mere ranker candidate.
“Let’s just watch, Ryuka.”
Clang!
The signal for stage 4’s start rang out.
“The birth of someone who might become a legend.”
* * *
“Huff, huff, hack, heuk!”
My throat burned like fire.
No matter how hard I breathed, gasping in and out.
My body craved more air.
My entire form glowed red-hot.
“Hmm, you.”
The old man who appeared muttered.
“Still here, eh? You’ve somehow endured this far.”
‘Fuck, I feel like I’m dying, old timer. For real.’
“Yeah, it’s a miracle you’re still alive and moving, you fool. Incredible, really.”
My muscles were shredded, useless.
My fuel had run dry ages ago.
No energy left.
Screeeee!
Stage 4 began.
‘Insane.’
An arrow streaked past, leaving a black afterimage right in front of my eyes.
‘This isn’t even asking me to dodge anymore.’
The arrows’ speed had changed.
No more mercy for my limits.
They poured out with full force.
Every ounce of power in the world, aimed to kill.
“……!”
Instinct.
If I hadn’t moved on pure instinct, it would’ve pierced straight through me.
“Enough now, kid. Push any harder, and it won’t be your body that breaks—it’ll be your mind. Remember what I told you? Rest is part of training too. You’ve done plenty.”
Worry laced the old man’s voice.
But I shook my head.
‘No.’
I was starting to see it now.
The skills I’d learned—‘Slash’, ‘Thrust’, ‘Shoot’, ‘Defend’. The processes of acquiring them.
They were finally melding into the ‘World’s Greatest Invincible Footwork’ I’d just picked up.
I was finally getting it.
‘I can’t give up now.’
Why?
The idea of someone else dictating my limits.
It grated on me.
“Hup!”
With a short shout, the Taecheong Heart Technique fired up in my heart once more.
Pure energy surged from there, bolstering my body.
My flesh had been exhausted long ago.
But through qi, I barely mustered the strength to move.
‘The old man once said.’
Screeeee!
My body shifted automatically to match the incoming arrow’s path.
‘Swing in the coolest, most comfortable stance I can imagine. That’s where all the concepts I’ve experienced in life reside.’
Back then.
When he’d taught me ‘Slash’.
‘Your whole life is in there.’
I’d thought it was nonsense, pie in the sky.
But now, I got it a little.
Cutting something down while advancing.
Dodging while advancing.
They weren’t different.
All streams return to the source.
No matter the martial art, reach the pinnacle, and it converges to one form.
Countless waves in the world, flowing together into rivers, ultimately merging into the sea.
That was the essence of all techniques.
‘Old timer, surrender has no place in my life.’
“……Is that so? But your movements now exceed your limits. Everyone has innate vital energy—the primal life force you’re born with. That’s what you’re burning through right now.”
‘…….’
“Keep it up, and the very vessel holding it might shatter. You could end up a cripple chasing strength.”
‘But.’
That.
Only happens if I brute-force it like this.
I didn’t want to end up crippled.
Enduring like this was all for becoming strong.
What’s the point if I’m broken?
‘Since ancient times, humans have done all sorts of things to surpass their limits.’
Still, I didn’t stop.
“…….”
‘Invent tools, create techniques.’
Techniques.
The answer I needed to transcend this trial’s limits.
I moved my feet.
Letting my body lead.
Just as I’d felt through the three prior stages.
“Mm……!”
The old man let out a shocked grunt.
“No way. Already stepping into the gateway of all techniques?”
He stopped trying to hold me back.
Just crossed his arms and watched from afar.
“The supreme art lives up to its name. Not even a full year since starting, and you’ve tasted the absolute realm, if only briefly. What an entertaining brat.”
‘Slash’?
‘Thrust’?
‘Shoot’?
‘Defend’?
The techniques I’d learned from the old man, session after session.
The lessons then, my insights now—they began fusing into one.
So, things changed.
I could see my body moving beyond limits.
Each arrow, hurtling at insane speeds.
Easily dodged with simple motions.
‘Just for a moment.’
I’d mimicked, even slightly, the realm the old man had shown before.
And right then.
[Skill, ‘Slash’ (A-rank) has disappeared.]
[Skill, ‘Thrust’ (A-rank) has disappeared.]
[Skill, ‘Shoot’ (A-rank) has disappeared.]
[Skill, ‘Defend’ (A-rank) has disappeared.]
[Skill, ‘World’s Greatest Invincible Footwork’ (A-rank) has disappeared.]
Five skills vanished from my [Possessed Skills] window at once.
And then.
[Skill, ‘Myriad Techniques’ (A-rank) has been created.]
Ahh.
The skills had fused.
Slicing, stabbing, shooting, blocking, stepping.
All reach the peak, and become one!
“Mad bastard.”
The old man muttered.
“Right, Myriad Techniques means mastering ten thousand arts until you realize they’re all the same. Grasping that intellectually is one thing—now you’ve internalized it with your body.”
‘Old timer.’
“Yeah.”
‘Is this the world you saw?’
My mind cleared in a rush.
Body aching, breaths ragged.
Yet my crown felt refreshed.
Like fog lifting from a stuffy haze.
“Hmph, don’t get cocky. You’ve barely scratched the surface. Acting like you’ve unlocked the universe’s secrets?”
‘Myriad Techniques is incredible.’
I smiled.
Dodged arrows while grinning.
No strength left, but now I had margin.
Like a 3D being overlooking 2D—everything laid bare.
I could sense every arrow’s trajectory.
A whole new level.
‘It’s beyond incredible—it’s insane. And that’s why I love it. Thank you, old timer. For letting me taste this realm.’
“Tsk tsk. Well, getting stronger is more addictive than any drug.”
The old man chuckled.
“You’re a riot, kid. And now I see it clearly. You’re worthy to inherit Myriad Techniques. Not just grit or luck—you’ve got talent now.”
‘You said it before, didn’t you?’
That dungeon I’d reached thanks to Gi So-yul.
In ‘Stage: The Deep-White-Haired Old Man’, as he’d gazed at me.
- I’ll trust your words. I’ll trust the venom in your eyes. So promise me. No matter the trials, you’ll inherit everything I have. Etch ‘me’ somewhere in this world.
I was just keeping that promise.
For the old man’s lingering regret.
And for my own dreams and desires.
“Heh heh.”
Laughter burst out for the first time.
I was thrilled.
The pain felt good. I admired myself for enduring the ordeal to the end.
Scree! Screeee!
Stage 4 dragged on.
As my limits expanded.
Arrows accelerated relentlessly, the floor bucked even wilder.
As if begging me to quit.
Throwing a tantrum for me to give up.
But I held on.
One hour, five, ten.
No real reason.
‘I endure as long as I can.’
That was all I’d programmed into my head.
And finally.
[24 hours have passed.]
[Advancing to stage 5.]
When the stage 5 transition message appeared.
That was my last memory.
I’d poured out everything.
Then blacked out.