The Unkillable Being
I felt a twinge of regret for not choosing the name more carefully for an unkillable being, but since I had put some thought into it, it should be fine. (Whoa! Something just popped into my head! Me, me, I think I can read this!)
Rainy, who had frozen in place, regained her energy and waved her branches through the air a few times as she spoke. (Rainy, Rainy! The name you just gave me is floating in the air! This is really amazing! How is this even possible?)
I wasn't sure if seeing a status window was more surprising than turning into a talking tree, but watching Rainy so happy made me feel good too.
(Wooooow! Something, something! It feels so weird! Ah! Ooh! It tickles!)
Rainy's drooping branches suddenly shot toward the sky, and three new leaves sprouted rapidly from them. (Look at this! Three whole leaves in one day!! I haven't even eaten your mana yet—how is this possible? Is it because I received a name? Hehehehe—anyway, today feels like it's going to be the best day ever!)
As I watched the tree dance with joy, I focused again to try sensing the scream Rainy had mentioned earlier. But I still couldn't detect anything like that. Instead, I suddenly caught a massive presence in the form of a single orb.
'When did he get here?'
My master had already entered my range and was floating toward me with a languid sway. Soon the orb that was my master revealed itself, circling me several times as if inspecting me before letting out a small sound of admiration.
[Skeleton brat, it's been a while. Hmm... Oh-ho—hmph—]
He examined me thoroughly before speaking again.
[Your rank doesn't seem to have risen significantly, nor do I sense any particular enlightenment. So why has your overall balance improved so noticeably?]
'He can tell just by looking? That's impressive.'
I thought to myself as I showed my master proper respect.
[Hmm—whatever it is, it's much better than before. Let's start with the basics again today.]
'Yes sir!'
...
Thwack—!
'......'
[Tsk—how many days has it been since I taught you, and you've already forgotten... Tsk tsk.]
'......'
I had demonstrated the same movements and sword techniques as last time, but what came flying at me was a full-body tackle from the orb. In my opinion, I'd done it exactly as taught, but it clearly didn't meet my master's standards.
After several hours of brutal training that left no part of my body untouched, I took advantage of a short break to ask my master a question.
'In the world you lived in, Master, did you ever go on expeditions to kill the Blue Eye or anything like that?'
The organization Maeng Seong-yong belonged to was enthusiastically working to stop the Blue Eye. Since their goal was to eliminate the cause of anomalies occurring in other worlds, I suddenly felt curious and asked. It might have been a bit rude to ask someone who had already met a terrible end, but my master didn't seem particularly bothered. He spun slowly in place before answering.
[I don't remember everything, but we did make our own efforts. What you call the Blue Eye was known as the Demon King in our world.]
'The Demon King...?'
There were rumors floating around the internet about early awakeners who had accidentally crossed into a world inhabited by demons and encountered a Demon King. But that probably wasn't the Blue Eye.
I mulled over the word for a moment. Since a Demon King usually came with certain titles, I asked my master carefully.
'Um, Master. Did you have any other titles that people called you by...?'
[Ahem—we were called heroes by the people. Looking back now, it was far too grand a title. What kind of hero can't even protect his own world?]
I had asked on a hunch, but his answer was truly astonishing.
[My comrades, our army, and I were known as the 'Light of Salvation.' We believed without a doubt that we would save the world. But... after facing the Blue Eye, we finally realized the truth.]
'W-what is it?'
[We couldn't kill it.]
'......Pardon?'
[We couldn't kill it. That monster. No, calling it a god wouldn't be an exaggeration. The 'Blue Eye' had already ascended to true divinity. It was not something that could be slain by human hands.]
'So that's how it is...'
[How many worlds do you think that thing has devoured? Having faced it directly, I could sense it. At least dozens of worlds had been consumed and dominated by that creature. How could anyone overcome such an evil god? It's impossible.]
Hearing my master speak with such absolute certainty left me stunned.
'Still, if we keep doing what we can... won't a way appear eventually?'
That was exactly what my master had told me just a few days ago.
[Complete extermination is impossible. That much is clear. The best you can do is make the creature withdraw from your world on its own. Focus only on that.]
'......Only think about our world.'
[Exactly. Looking beyond that is pointless. The creature is simply... too absurd an existence. Of course, its massively inflated rank is currently preventing direct intervention. But if it receives an attack, the story changes. Unless you have the power to fight it on equal footing, never provoke it first. If I had known this sooner, I wouldn't have tried to strike first. Heh heh...]
A chill ran down my spine.
'...This isn't good. We're not supposed to touch it?'
In other words, what the Association was trying to do was essentially flipping the switch on a bomb.
'......A new organization has just been established in our world. It seems they're trying to do something similar to what a hero's party would do. We've only just joined them.'
[I haven't seen the events or people you've experienced, so I can't judge. But my disciple, you must be cautious. You must not repeat the same mistake I made.]
The sincerity in my master's advice made the back of my head tingle.
'Sigh... Yeah, it did seem pretty reckless. For now, let's just focus on creating a way to travel to other worlds. That's the feeling I got...'
[Hmm... If that's the case, it's not yet at a stage where we need to worry too much. Connecting dimensions isn't something that can be done easily. Pretending to help while taking what you can and stepping back wouldn't be a bad idea.]
'Uh...'
In other words, suck up the sweet nectar and bail? It didn't sound like something a former hero would say, but strangely, that made it hit even harder.
[And if possible, you should guide them onto the right path. For that, you'll need strength.]
'I suppose so.'
For a being who had once been a hero to evaluate the entity that destroyed his world like this... just how terrifying must the Blue Eye be for my master to speak this way?
[The Blue Eye is undoubtedly pulling the strings of other worlds connected to yours and meddling in the one where you reside. Until you clearly understand the true intentions of this newly formed organization, it's best to keep an appropriate distance. It will be painful, but you must constantly doubt those who approach you.]
My master had once believed that with firm faith, any adversity could be overcome. But now, reflecting on it, he let out a sigh mixed with deep regret.
[There were certainly people who gave us sound advice. But we were trapped by the notion of 'good,' and we rejected too strongly the greed and desire that humans inevitably possess. Looking back, the opinions of those who held a proper amount of selfishness and ambition were actually more realistic. I hope you can embrace such people as well and listen to a variety of perspectives.]
I had only asked during a short break, but my master was unusually talkative today. As I listened, Kang Yeonsu suddenly came to mind. In my opinion, she was relatively righteous compared to other hunters, yet she didn't hesitate to show her own desires.
'Was it wise of Yeonsu to keep her distance from the Association...? Maybe she sensed something off.'
For a moment, I felt the urge to have a proper conversation with her. Of course, I had no suitable way to do so right now, so it remained just a thought.
[My disciple. Even if it takes time, the only way is to completely eradicate those tainted by the Blue Eye down to their roots and close the doors connected to other worlds one by one.]
'Understood...'
I pulled my mind away from the somewhat distant conversation and focused once more on observing my body. Watching me, the orb master spoke again.
[This is only the second time I've truly seen you, but the vessel you possess is truly mysterious and strange. From what I can tell, you have at least dozens of abilities. Am I right?]
'Yes. There are some I don't use often, but if I combine them all, there are quite a few.'
[Indeed. Normally a vessel would overflow and make that impossible. Is it because you're an undead by nature...?]
The orb master kept circling me endlessly, as if he truly couldn't figure it out. The training continued after that, and today I was able to take my first steps with a meaningful technique.
Last time, the training had felt short because I'd stopped midway, but today I realized that wasn't the case.
'This is fun. It's mentally exhausting, but it's fun.'
The experience of having my posture corrected bit by bit and my once monotonous movements becoming more varied felt completely different from the ability increases the System had given me before. And the key to that was my absolute trust in my master.
'It's strange. Taking an orb as my master... and developing this much faith in him. Is it because we both had [100]?'
Perhaps we were connected by an invisible thread. The fact that we were both trapped in this space might be part of it too.
After observing me for a while, my master finally began to add variations.
[Hmm—practice the techniques I taught you whenever you have time to familiarize yourself with the sensations. Since your growth is clearly visible, I think I can push you a bit harder. From now on, overlay your senses onto the sword as you swing it.]
'Whoa... That's going to be tough. And you're saying we'll keep doing this going forward?'
[Yes.]
I hadn't said anything about my Sense ability, but my master had already figured out what I possessed. That meant Sense wasn't an ability unique to our world.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
'Ugh... It hurts... Yeah, this is tough.'
Pain Resistance
Pain Resistance
The mixture of magic power and senses that I had only used to strengthen my attacks or stealth, or to handle locked objects. This technique was mentally taxing even for me, and it consumed several times more magic power, so I had avoided overusing it except when absolutely necessary. Moreover, I still didn't fully understand the exact mechanism by which it created a synergistic effect to increase attack power.
But after hearing my master tell me to train using that power, I became convinced there was something to it.
...
Quite a bit more time passed like that.
Thud—!
[······]
The moment my master declared that today's training was over, I collapsed straight to the floor.
'Hoo— Uuuugh... I didn't even swing that much. Why am I so exhausted? Haah—'
But my master didn't seem to hear my question at all. He showed no reaction and appeared completely absorbed in muttering to himself.
[Being an undead has this kind of effect... But it couldn't be possible with just the body alone...]
'What have you been muttering to yourself about since earlier?'
He had been doing it throughout the training as well, so my curiosity got the better of me and I asked the master floating in the air. But at that moment, before I could hear his answer, another message appeared.
Through intense concentration, you have absorbed the high-level training of a great being who once stood at the end of the path of the sword.
The trait Penetration is now permanently fixed at 16% (+1%).
'Huh?!'
Today's training had been quite rigorous, but it was only a single session. Yet the Penetration that had been fixed at 15% after my class change had increased by 1%?
'What is this now?'
Moreover, I thought I could see something like a haze rising from the tip of my sword.
'......So that's what I glimpsed during battle.'