The Weight of Existence - The Path of the Sword
The weight of existence increases — The Path of the Sword.
The transcendent being who had neared its end presented an extremely dangerous training regimen.
You completed the training with exceptional focus and concentration.
The trait Penetration is now fixed at 20% (+4%).
You have accomplished the astonishing feat of slicing through space itself!
'......'
It was the kind of achievement that would normally leave my jaw hanging open, but right now it barely registered. I had no idea how long I’d been trapped in that space. When I was curled up I at least tried to keep count, but this time I couldn’t even begin to guess.
Yeon… hee…
After that endless stretch of torment, the only thing that rose in my mind was her name. Then darkness spread through me like ink, and I could no longer form a single coherent thought.
Thud—!
(Kyaaaaah! No! Ilwol’s dead!)
The moment I collapsed, Rainy panicked and shook her long branches wildly.
(What the hell did you do, you damn old geezer?! You killed my one and only friend!)
Rainy had no qualms about blaming the orb for everything.
[Hey! Can’t you be quiet for one second?! Who said he would die from a little training— Huh? W-what’s happening to him?!]
Even though he had boldly declared there was no way I would die, the moment he saw my armor crumbling into powder he fell into complete panic. Anyone could tell the situation was critical.
[Just how long were you in that space for your body to weather away like this?!]
Watching me disintegrate, the former hero now reduced to a single orb—Azamyun—flustered and spun around in a frenzy. The tree and the orb could only circle my body helplessly, unable to find any solution.
By then my armor had completely vanished, leaving only the bones beneath it glowing with a faint light.
(Do something, you useless orb!)
[I can’t do anything directly— This is bad!]
While they wallowed in helpless anxiety, Azamyun suddenly sensed a foreign energy rushing toward us at frightening speed.
[Hm?! This energy…!]
It carried a scent he had encountered once before. Even as the unidentified presence drew near, neither the orb nor the tree left my side.
Shwaaaaaaaa—!
What their senses eventually picked up was a vast cluster of tiny particles. A colossal amount of smoke hurtled toward me without slowing down and shot straight into my open mouth.
Whoooooooosh—!
(Uwaaaaah!! Some weird smoke just poured into my friend’s mouth!!)
They tried to stop it, but their efforts only sliced through empty air. A heavy silence fell between them.
As friend and teacher, they were crushed by the helplessness of being unable to do anything at all.
“……Clack.”
(Huh? He’s awake?!)
[Ho…? He absorbed that murky energy without any side effects? Thank goodness he’s an undead.]
Shortly after I inhaled the smoke, the armor that had weathered away began to slowly reconstruct itself.
[Whew— That really was close.]
I still didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but the immense dark energy had prevented my death. The smoke was undoubtedly the power I had stored earlier. The moment it entered this place, its ownership transferred completely.
It possessed enough ego to fly here on its own when its master was in danger.
[You somehow obtained something truly precious. Your talent far exceeds the power you currently possess.]
Though Azamyun spoke as if calmly reflecting on the situation, he was actually spinning in every direction to cool his rising heat.
(Sigh… You evil orb! Training should have a limit, you know!)
[Ahem… This time, the fault is indeed mine.]
The training method he had devised after thoroughly analyzing the thorn he once removed from my body was meant to honor the incredible mental strength that had allowed me to endure eons in this place. He had slightly adapted an ancient secret art to create it, yet even he hadn’t expected it to wield such overwhelming power.
As Rainy said, excess was worse than deficiency. Gazing at the lingering traces of my scattered form, Azamyun reflected deeply.
Very well. Next time I must clearly set a time limit.
Of course, the depth of his reflection didn’t seem particularly profound. He wasn’t considering abandoning the idea at all—only how to improve it.
The two of them watched in silence as I struggled to push my upper body upright.
“Clack… Clack clack…”
My insides feel like they’re churning.
It was as if I had been dreaming; everything felt hazy. Hmm… I can tell my body has changed, but I can’t figure out exactly how.
After several minutes of calmly examining my inner self, I sensed a powerful force coiled deep within my core.
This is… the energy of a Great Calamity. How did it get inside me?
Whatever it was, it still hadn’t fully merged with me and was writhing. When I tried to touch it, the energy pushed my consciousness away as if telling me it wasn’t time yet.
Darkness energy is established.
The weight of existence grows heavier.
You become colder. You become bolder.
……
Hadn’t I already been plenty cold? This was the first time I had received a reward that affected my disposition rather than granting new abilities or stat points, so the feeling was refreshingly new.
Colder and bolder… Not bad at all.
On top of that, the weight of existence tied to my self-destruction had increased. There was nothing more I could ask for.
(Are you okay, my friend?)
Friend… It had been a long time since I heard that word.
I’m fine. Thanks for worrying about me.
(Huh? Y-yeah…)
[Kid, if it gets too much you should ask for help. Just how long were you in there?]
I thought my master would know better than anyone, yet the question still made me tilt my head.
So even Master doesn’t know.
[That secret art is still under research even for me. I could only split off a fragment of ego to teach you, so it’s natural I wouldn’t know everything.]
(You crazy old man! How could you experiment on Ilwol with something you don’t even fully understand?!)
Rainy had perfectly voiced the exact complaint I wanted to make. Azamyun gave an awkward laugh but still passionately argued how much potential the training held.
[Next time I’ll refine it more precisely and we’ll try again.]
‘…As you wish.’
Rainy grabbed my thigh and shook it, protesting why I would ever do something so horrible again, but I stroked the tree’s leaves and comforted her, saying it would be fine.
I then took out the greatsword from my subspace and swung it casually through the air.
[Ooooh…]
It was only a tiny line barely detectable by senses, yet a streak of light flashed through the dark space.
[Hahaha! Just as I thought! Exactly as expected!]
Azamyun rejoiced as if his theory had been proven correct. I watched him for a moment and realized my time here was almost up.
Ah— Rainy.
I had forgotten something. I approached the tree to supply her with nutrients.
(Ah, no. You don’t have to give me any today— Ahh!)
Rainy had hesitated, perhaps feeling guilty about absorbing mana from me while I was collapsed, but she soon became drunk on the mana I released and began drinking greedily.
(Nomnomnom— Slurrrp— Huh? What’s—)
What’s wrong?
I grew nervous, wondering if the Great Calamity’s energy had somehow harmed her.
(It’s… it’s so sweet and delicious! Super ultra delicious!)
After that her eyes rolled back completely. She wrapped her branches around me and drank even more frantically.
Master has already disappeared.
If he had a technique that let him move that fast, I wished he would teach me that first.
(Ughhh— Hic— My stomach’s gonna burst.)
After drinking her fill, Rainy pulled her roots out of the ground and flopped onto her back.
It’s time for me to go again.
Though she was clearly reluctant, Rainy shook her drooping branches vigorously to bid me farewell.
Clank—!
Whenever I heard Yeonhee’s call and the door opened, an overwhelming joy always filled my entire being.
“Ilwol~!”
Yeonhee…
I walked forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Mmm…”
Even if only for a brief moment, after having stood at death’s door, how precious this instant of holding her truly was.
You wouldn’t know.
We entered the Frogfolk Dungeon once more.
The party members waiting by the gate tilted their heads when they saw me. All of them were talented, so they seemed to faintly sense the change inside me.
We stepped through the gate without delay.
“Ugh— What is that smell?”
“I don’t recommend wearing a mask. Enduring the stench is good training too.”
The three who were entering this dungeon for the first time had to experience the same torment we once had. The damp dungeon, monsters hiding in crevices waiting for an opening, and the treacherous terrain where one wrong step would land you in sticky mud only to be swarmed by monsters.
Still, even if the environment was awful and dangerous, clearing it at least once was good preparation for the promotion exam and guild application. Most guilds valued records of having cleared every dungeon at least once, regardless of minor differences between them. It was proof that you could handle any enemy you might encounter.
“Ughhh… Having to go through this again.”
Bae Jua shuddered at the dungeon, which was clearly worse than the Lizardman Swamp. Yet she also seemed to be enjoying the chance to use her grown abilities.
“If I don’t step on it, there’s no problem!”
Thud! Clatter-clatter-clatter—!
A path made of stone stretched out ahead of us like railway tracks.
“Looks like Jua’s ability is perfectly suited for this dungeon.”
“Just wait until the next dungeon—I’ll show you this isn’t the only one I’m good at!”
“Please do.”
No Hayun and Jua were quickly becoming close friends. Yeonhee naturally paired with Arin. I had worried Ham Eun-yeong might feel left out, but her current position seemed ideal; the flow of her magic power was remarkably stable.
“Rock Way!”
Thud thud thud—!
Thanks to Jua, the most annoying swamp terrain was no longer an issue, and the dungeon’s difficulty dropped sharply because of it.