Chapter 33
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 33.
The Venom Mantis Queen was dead.
Kwoong!
The corpse collapsed, and a few items the creature had been carrying dropped.
Yoo Baek-jun entrusted the items to Han Seong-ah.
“Instructor Han Seong-ah, are you alright?”
“Haa, ha… Yes. I’m just a little tired.”
“That’s good to hear. Hold onto these for me. And take this little one too, while you’re at it.”
—Kyahoong?
Seol-yeong was also handed over in the process.
Until now, he had kept it tucked away, confident it wouldn’t be hit, but things were different now.
From this point on, no one but him could go forward.
—Grrrrrr….
“Y-you want me to take this fierce creature?”
“If it acts up, just calm it down with some meat or something.”
Yoo Baek-jun stood before the altar.
The reason he had chosen the most perilous gate was precisely because of this altar.
He let a single drop of blood fall onto the altar.
“…….”
Plop.
The blood dripped, and the ancient altar began to emit a faint glow.
“Ooh, the light…!”
“Young Master, step back!”
“No, it’s fine.”
Yoo Baek-jun stopped the disciples and the Instructor who were about to rush forward and stared at the altar.
And after a moment—
—Will you accept the trial?
A voice echoed.
It was a stern voice, one that carried the weight of time—a voice that made one’s body shrink just from hearing it.
Yoo Baek-jun raised his head.
“Yeah.”
Kurururung!
The previously empty altar suddenly split open, revealing a staircase leading downward.
It was the path to the trial grounds where the traces of the Martial God remained.
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled.
“Young Master, what in the world…?”
“I’ll be back soon after going down for a bit. You all stay here and guard the place. And dismantle that thing too.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Instructor Han Seong-ah, you can’t come anyway.”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped aside as if to let her try.
Instructor Han Seong-ah stood at the top of the staircase.
And as she attempted to descend—
Pajijik!
“Ugh!”
Sparks flew.
Han Seong-ah recoiled from the pain that surged through her entire body.
She tried to push through the pain, but Yoo Baek-jun stopped her.
“That’s enough. If you force your way in, things will go badly.”
“But I can’t just let you go alone…”
“Do I look like a child to you?”
Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue.
Just then, a quest appeared in the Book of the Martial God.
[The Martial God’s Trial Grounds.]
A trial ground created by the Martial God to test his successors lies before you.
Pass through the trial grounds and seek the opportunity.
—Reward: 500P.
The point reward was quite high.
Yoo Baek-jun stood before the open staircase.
“I’ll be back soon.”
* * *
The Martial God’s trial grounds weren’t much different from the Martial God’s tomb he had seen before.
The structure was similar, and like the tomb, it was designed like a maze.
“I’m sick of mazes.”
Just as the Martial God’s tomb had a maze, so too did this trial ground.
Maybe the Martial God really loved mazes. Given that they appeared twice, it was possible.
“Or maybe he just didn’t want to give things away easily.”
It was just speculation, but—
Perhaps he didn’t like the idea of a Successor of the Book of the Martial God simply taking the treasures he left behind.
Considering the Martial God’s background, it made sense.
‘He was from the late Joseon period, wasn’t he?’
A man born as a lowly commoner with nothing.
No parents, no family. The Martial God was literally born empty-handed and raised himself.
If not for the gates that began appearing around that time and the awakened beings now called Hunters, he probably would have lived and died as a commoner.
“Seriously, what’s the harm in just giving it to your successor?”
Yoo Baek-jun grumbled as he walked.
After passing the first course, the second course required fighting the guardians the Martial God had placed.
There were only two battles with those guardians.
Clear those, and it was over.
‘The maze… isn’t too hard here, either.’
Instead, there were a lot of monsters here.
Yoo Baek-jun strode forward confidently.
He had already memorized all the paths of the Martial God’s maze.
Was that even possible? Any other ordinary player would naturally question it.
“Hmm, straight ahead here.”
But Yoo Baek-jun could do it.
It wasn’t that his intelligence was exceptional—he had just always had a strangely good memory.
And thanks to countless repetitions of learning, he had perfectly memorized this complex path.
“It should be coming up soon.”
Though the maze looked the same everywhere, it had its own ecosystem.
The monsters the Martial God had brought with him had, over time, created a food chain.
A structure of predator and prey.
—Sssssss!
—Kiiii…!
A scream echoed from somewhere.
The sound of predator and prey. Yoo Baek-jun muttered, ‘Figures,’ and kept walking.
The sound wasn’t far away.
Thud! Thud!
The clang of metal striking metal rang out.
Yoo Baek-jun peeked around the corner of the alley and looked down the passage. There stood a monster.
A hulking, muscular green creature.
—Kreugh?!
“You see me?”
It was an Orc.
The creature, gripping an axe in one hand, noticed Yoo Baek-jun and glared at him.
Blood dripped from the axe. It seemed to have just returned from hunting prey.
—Sssss, sssss…!
“…….”
Silence hung between them.
The Orc was the first to break it.
—Human! Meat! Soft!
“Yeah, sure. I am pretty soft.”
The Orc roared and charged.
True to its sturdy muscles, it was quite fast.
Yoo Baek-jun watched it calmly, then—
—Human! Don’t run!
He suddenly turned and bolted.
The pursuing Orc let out a furious howl, drawing the attention of other Orcs nearby.
—Uwoooooo!
—Human? Human! Food!
Orcs from all over the maze began to swarm. Yoo Baek-jun ran desperately.
‘Here, then this way, and then here…’
Even while constantly switching directions, he kept just enough tension to make sure they didn’t give up.
How long had he been running?
Skreeeek!
Yoo Baek-jun suddenly stopped.
The chasing Orcs skidded to a halt as well. A bloody grin spread across their faces.
—Human, tired now!
—We eat…! Meat!
“Why do you keep going on about meat?”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at the door behind him. This is the final destination of the maze.
Beyond this, another trial awaits. To solve it easily—
“You all need to die here.”
—Human, have you gone mad from fear?
—Hehe, you’re the one who’s gonna die, human!
The Orcs laughed as they approached.
Their numbers were around 35. Quite a lot, but not an insurmountable amount.
Yoo Baek-jun rotated his wrist.
‘Weapons are axes. With that length…’
He quickly calculated the reach of his opponents.
And their weaknesses. Orcs have sturdy bodies, and their structure is similar to humans.
Their weak points should be about the same as humans’.
‘Should I use a buff skill first?’
There was a skill he had trained for this moment.
Berserker.
Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes turned red as if filled with madness, and a red aura began to flow from his body.
“Huuuh.”
He felt power surging through him.
But it was still weak.
This Berserker skill grew stronger the more enemies he killed.
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the approaching orcs.
“Huuuh…!”
He stepped forward, clenching his right fist tightly.
A stance as if he was about to throw a punch at any moment.
The Orc at the forefront charged.
—Die, human!
The distance closed.
Yoo Baek-jun stomped the ground with all his might and threw his right fist.
He targeted the Orc’s abdomen.
Thud!
—Guhk!
The punch landed squarely, striking the abdomen.
Crack! The sound of bones breaking echoed.
The Orc’s head bowed reflexively. Yoo Baek-jun brought his fist down on its neck with all his strength.
Crack!
With a gruesome sound, the neck snapped.
—Grooar!
The Orc beside it swung its axe in rage. Yoo Baek-jun read the trajectory and swiftly grabbed the Orc’s wrist.
Wham!
He wrenched the axe away and brought it down on the Orc’s skull.
Blood splattered everywhere.
“Huff!”
Then, a Gale kick.
A furious wave of strikes crashed into the Orcs behind him.
Yoo Baek-jun immediately charged into the midst of the orcs, raining down relentless attacks.
—Guhk!
—This human… he’s abnormal!
The Orcs were being slaughtered one-sidedly.
They tried to counterattack, but he dodged swiftly or retaliated with uncanny movements.
In an instant, ten Orcs had fallen.
Swoosh!
—That bastard, he’s turning even redder!
Seeing the enemies’ blood, the Berserker’s buff grew even stronger. His eyes reddened further, and the red aura around him intensified.
His physical abilities also surged.
“Ha!”
Whether it was due to the Berserker’s buff, his mood was exhilarated.
Yoo Baek-jun grinned savagely as he began slaughtering the Orcs one by one.
The terrified Orcs slowly retreated.
—Aah, no good. This human is too strong!
—We should fall back… Aaagh!
—You idiots! All of you, move aside!
Then, one Orc stepped forward.
It was noticeably larger than the others. Probably their leader.
—To lose to a weak human! I’ll handle this bastard myself, so scram!
—Boss!
The Orc leader stepped forward.
Armed with an axe, shield, armor, and even a helmet—unlike the others, he was heavily equipped.
Perhaps because of that, he looked confident.
—Human, you’ve picked the wrong opponent. You did well against the others, but…!
Yoo Baek-jun cut him off and lunged.
The startled Orc leader raised his shield.
Yoo Baek-jun took a deep breath and closed the distance.
In an instant, he shifted his stance, concentrated his strength, and pulled his right arm far back—
Boom!
He unleashed a devastating strike.
The iron shield crumpled with a deafening clang. The Orc leader’s face twisted in shock.
—Y-you bastard! I’ll smash your skull!
The Orc leader hastily raised his axe.
Yoo Baek-jun grabbed his wrist in an iron grip.
The strength was so overwhelming that the Orc couldn’t even move his hand.
—You…!
Yoo Baek-jun drove into the Orc leader’s chest.
Wham!
His fist struck the abdomen.
Despite the armor, the force made the Orc’s waist bend reflexively.
“Huff!”
Yoo Baek-jun aimed for the Orc’s head.
As the punch came in, the orc clenched his teeth.
He was even wearing a helmet. Even with this unexpected strength, he could withstand one hit.
Crash!
—Guhk?!
Or so he thought.
An unimaginable impact struck the Orc leader. His head rattled, and his mind grew hazy.
—Y-you…!
The Orc leader's helmet was dented inward.
His trembling eyes turned to Yoo Baek-jun’s left hand. Was this really a human’s fist?
—Ugh…!
The blow to his head shook his brain.
The Orc leader’s body swayed dangerously.
Yoo Baek-jun didn’t miss the opening and drove his knee upward.
“You said I picked the wrong opponent?”
The Orc leader fell to his knees.
He flailed, trying to get up, but his body wouldn’t obey—his brain was too rattled.
Yoo Baek-jun immediately stepped back to create distance.
Then, he charged forward again—
Smash!
—Ghk…!
He kicked the Orc’s head straight on.
A full-force kick with all his momentum.
It was a soccer kick—a move banned in martial arts.
—Huh, ugh…
The Orc’s body trembled before collapsing.
Yoo Baek-jun stomped on his face.
—Hiiik!
—Run, run away!
The terrified Orcs tried to flee.
Yoo Baek-jun didn’t let them escape, hunting them down one by one.
The number of Orcs, which had been 35, dwindled until only one remained.
“You’re the last one?”
—H-human. W-we lost. Spare my life… Ghk!
Yoo Baek-jun grabbed the Orc’s neck.
Then, stepping over the corpses, he walked toward the door he had seen earlier.
Crack!
He snapped the last Orc’s neck.
The red aura surrounding Yoo Baek-jun grew even more intense, thick enough to obscure his surroundings.
“The stacks… are almost full.”
This was why he had hunted them all down.
To max out the Berserker stacks in one go.
At this point, his stats must have risen by a tier.
‘The Berserker’s buff doesn’t last long.’
At best, five minutes.
But the timer resets with every enemy killed.
If he beat the next monster within five minutes, he could maintain his current state.
Yoo Baek-jun stood before the door.
“I’ll return before these stacks fade.”
Creak!
The door opened.