Chapter 3
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 3.
Falling.
To be more precise…
“Aaaaahhh!”
He was plummeting.
Into an endless abyss, his body accelerating with every passing second.
There was no visible bottom.
‘If I keep falling like this, I’ll die.’
With a crash!, he’d be sent straight to the afterlife.
He knew it because he’d experienced it countless times before—so many trial-and-error attempts to find this route.
‘The only difference this time is that if I fail, I’ll really die.’
Yoo Baek-jun pulled the hand holding the axe backward.
Then, he closed his eyes and timed it.
“One, two…”
The sound of wind rushing past his cheeks was loud. But right now, he was so focused he couldn’t even hear it.
“Three!”
Yoo Baek-jun opened his eyes.
At the same time, he hurled the axe straight ahead.
The axe, thrown with his weakened body, looked feeble, its trajectory unstable.
‘I threw it with all that in mind!’
Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes widened.
In the rapidly darkening field of vision, a glowing blue orb floated into view.
The axe he threw spun weakly through the air before striking the orb dead-on.
Poof!
With a crisp sound, the orb burst.
The blue light inside scattered in all directions, forming something like a magic circle on the ground.
“Aaaah!”
Yoo Baek-jun’s falling body was instantly sucked into the magic circle.
But the sensation of falling didn’t stop.
The endless feeling of plunging into the abyss. Yoo Baek-jun clenched his eyes shut again.
THUD!
“Ugh!”
He was slammed onto a stone floor.
Yoo Baek-jun writhed on the ground.
“Ugh, oooh. My body….”
Whether something had broken during the fall from such a height, his entire body ached.
On top of that, he’d lost so much blood that he felt dizzy.
“Hey, herbs.”
He took the medicine he’d prepared earlier.
But this medicine only helped regenerate wounds—it did nothing to restore stamina.
“Even if I want to rest, I can’t….”
Yoo Baek-jun forced his heavy body up and slowly looked around.
What he saw was an enormous cavern.
The ceiling was embedded with glowing white luminescent stones.
‘Did I make it?’
He recalled the monument in the forest.
Every word inscribed on it had been a hint necessary to enter this cave.
‘As if anyone could figure it out from hints like that.’
Had it not been for a sheer coincidence, he wouldn’t have even noticed this place existed.
And even then, it took countless playthroughs to reach this tomb.
The reason was simple.
‘Because I had to get through that damn complicated and difficult maze.’
That wasn’t all.
Without proper knowledge of the herbs in the game, you couldn’t prepare the right medicine to heal your wounds.
That made breaking through the maze even harder.
And since Yoo Baek-jun’s condition was so poor, even the slightest misstep in the maze would waste stamina and lead to death.
‘Am I some kind of death magnet?’
Yoo Baek-jun let out a dry laugh as he scanned the area.
‘There's nothing here.’
All that existed were a few trees and a shabby tomb in the center of the cavern.
Staggering, he walked toward it.
—Born empty-handed, you shall leave empty-handed.
—I leave behind all that I have of martial arts here.
The words were written in elegant calligraphy.
Yoo Baek-jun bit his finger to draw blood and scattered it over the inscription.
Whoooom!
The words began to glow red.
The light spread across the entire tomb, and soon, a clunk!—the sound of a mechanism activating—echoed.
Groooan….
The tomb opened.
Naturally, there was no corpse inside—only a single book remained.
—Martial God
The Martial God.
The founder of Yoo Baek-jun’s family, the Sword Saint family.
A man who mastered all martial arts of the world and recorded his insights in a book.
And one who, in the end, disappeared without telling anyone, becoming a legend.
‘Who would’ve known?’
That the Martial God’s tomb would be here.
Some NPCs even speculated that the Martial God had ascended to immortality.
Whether that was true or not, his legacy was here.
‘The real legacy.’
A true secret manual, one whose very existence was unknown even to the rest of the Sword Saint lineage.
“A lucky encounter beneath a cliff.”
Wasn’t that a cliché in martial arts novels?
Who knew it’d apply even in a game like this? He couldn’t help but laugh hollowly.
Yoo Baek-jun slowly grasped the book.
“…….”
Nothing happened.
No brilliant light, no ghost appearing before his eyes, no voice whispering in his ears.
None of that occurred.
Flick!
He turned to the first page.
There, the Martial God’s words were written.
—In my lifetime, I sought to record and preserve all martial arts of this world.
—But my life now nears its end.
—Thus, I have created this book.
—Even if I die, may this book record the new martial arts that emerge in this world.
Even though he’d read it before, many parts still left him puzzled.
How had such a book even been made?
The only thing he could guess was that it might be related to the Martial God’s unique abilities.
—I do not know who reads this book, but perhaps it is a nameless descendant.
—I pray it is used for righteous purposes.
Yoo Baek-jun read the final words.
“Yes, I’ll use it for righteous purposes, Ancestor.”
After I crush those who deserve crushing and flip this irritating family upside down, that is.
Yoo Baek-jun turned to the next page.
An empty, blank page stared back at him.
—The Book of the Martial God is verifying the user's qualifications… Blood relation confirmed.
—The Book of the Martial God is verifying the user's physical condition… A body with no talent for martial arts.
—Improvement is necessary.
Words began to appear one by one on that page.
After the phrase ‘Improvement is necessary’ appeared, light emanated from the letters.
—Forcibly awakening the Martial God's blood within the body to improve the physique.
The entire book emitted an intense light.
A blindingly bright light exploded, and when Yoo Baek-jun opened his eyes again, the Book of the Martial God had disappeared.
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun looked down at his body.
He could see the intense light he had witnessed earlier lingering where his dantian was located.
The book he had seen earlier, the Book of the Martial God, had entered his body.
-Unique Ability: Acquired the Book of the Martial God.
-Trait: Acquired the Heavenly Martial Body.
-Due to the trait's effect, the body will automatically improve. All stat grades have increased.
Messages began to appear before his eyes.
At the same time, the wounds all over his body slowly began to heal.
A smile formed on Yoo Baek-jun's lips.
"This is it."
The reason he had risked his life to jump.
The greatest opportunity hidden within Mount Seoraksan .
[Yoo Baek-jun]
[Unique Ability: Book of the Martial God (EX, 1★)]
[Trait: Heavenly Martial Body (S)]
[Skills: None]
This was what he had sought—this unique ability and trait.
[Heavenly Martial Body (S)]
—An innate talent for martial arts bestowed by the heavens, along with a body optimized for it.
—Can quickly comprehend and learn any martial art and rapidly develop the body.
—Additionally, it enhances the power of skills used.
It was a skill that couldn’t help but make him smile.
In the game Heroes Road, there were no levels.
Instead, one had to grind endlessly to raise stats or skill proficiency…
‘This trait allows me to increase stat growth speed and skill proficiency at a faster rate.’
With just this trait alone, he could raise them at an accelerated pace.
Not only that, but it also allowed him to learn skills quickly. It was an incredibly generous trait.
‘It’ll be a huge help for growth.’
And finally, the Book of the Martial God.
[Book of the Martial God (EX, 1★)]
—A book left behind by one who ascended to the realm of the gods in martial arts at the end of their life.
—Records all martial arts that exist in this world, and newly created martial arts are automatically recorded by an unknown power.
—Points are awarded based on quests or the owner's actions, and the owner can spend points to learn skills recorded in the Book of the Martial God.
And this unique ability.
Unique abilities are powers exclusive to an individual, and unless transferred through special means, others cannot learn them.
This was an ability that set him apart from other playable characters, one that could significantly lower the difficulty of this route—a cheat-like ability.
‘If it’s a skill that exists in this world… I can learn anything.’
It wasn’t limited to just martial arts.
Whether it was wuxia techniques or fantasy skills, as long as they fell within the category of martial arts, he could learn anything.
As long as he paid the appropriate price.
‘It’s a shame I can’t learn things like magic or alchemy, but there are other ways for those.’
Like using skill books or other methods.
Yoo Baek-jun grinned and activated his unique ability. The Book of the Martial God shimmered like a heat haze and materialized in his grasp.
—Available Points: 100P.
—New quests are available.
A small message appeared.
Yoo Baek-jun opened the second chapter. There was a table of contents, and the names were unusual.
1. Three Disasters Sword Technique
2. Bash
3. Charge
4. Rapelda Kingdom Spearmanship
…….
The names in the table of contents were skill names.
The skills that could be learned with 100P were listed there.
Yoo Baek-jun scanned the list and chose the skill he wanted to learn.
‘Sword techniques or whatever are useless right now.’
Whether it was swordplay or spearmanship, they were meaningless.
In his current state, fighting would be suicidal, and there was no need to fight in the first place.
What he needed was a means to move quickly.
"Well, there’s only this left then."
Yoo Baek-jun pressed his finger against one entry in the table of contents.
The name of the selected skill was ‘Lightness technique‘—a martial art that lightened the body, enhancing speed, agility, reflexes, and the like.
It was perfect for him right now.
‘Besides, once the Book of the Martial God’s proficiency increases, I can do something even more interesting.’
Yoo Baek-jun chuckled. It was a choice that helped him now and also served his future.
"Alright, then."
The message before his eyes flickered.
Especially the one about new quests being available, as if urging him to start now.
"Let’s sleep first."
Yoo Baek-jun flopped onto the floor and lay down.
At that, the message window flickered even more intensely.
Of course, he was eager, but—
"I’ve hit my limit……."
He didn’t have any strength left.
Yoo Baek-jun closed his eyes.
"Zzz……."
He fell asleep as if he had passed out.
* * *
The world of Heroes Road is set in the modern era.
The year 2035, a time when civilization has advanced to its peak.
Yet, despite that, one should be able to enjoy the fruits of civilization…
"Damn it, this guy doesn’t even carry a lighter!"
Yoo Baek-jun spat out curses as he vigorously rubbed a thin, long branch.
Beneath it lay a thick tree branch.
"Friction heat, this damn friction heat!"
Couldn’t he have at least brought a lighter when coming to a place like this?
He was desperately trying to start a fire, and his frustration was boiling over.
SiZZLE!
Before long, the fire caught, and Yoo Baek-jun transferred the flames to dry branches, finally managing to build a campfire.
It had been an excruciatingly long process, enough to make him swear.
"I can’t believe the cold woke me up…"
Yoo Baek-jun slept for a full two days.
He only woke up because of the unbearable cold.
Otherwise, he would have slept even longer.
"Ugh, I’m hungry."
His stomach felt like it was sticking to his back.
He looked around, but there was nothing to eat and no passage to escape.
‘Is it time to clear a quest now?’
Yoo Baek-jun took out the Book of the Martial God.
[You can undertake two quests.]
"I’ll take the quests."
A new quest window appeared.
[Catch Me If You Can.]
Hone your lightness martial art and increase your proficiency. Keep running, running, and
running, you might realize something along the way.
—Reward: 100P, stat increase
And the second one. This was the main point.
[I’m Sorry, Ancestor. Just for today, let me be a righteous tomb raider.]
The Martial God’s tomb holds many things prepared for future successors.
Find as many as you can and take them. The Ancestor will probably forgive you.
—Reward: Points and items (varies depending on the amount retrieved)
"Even when it speaks, it’s like this…"
Yoo Baek-jun let out a sigh.
A tomb raider? The saddest part was that he couldn’t even argue against it.
RUMBLE!
As soon as he accepted the quest, the cave wall, which had been empty, suddenly opened, revealing a passage.
‘This is a piece of cake.’
Yoo Baek-jun whistled.