Chapter 96
Chapter 96
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: A Hundred Days
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My Fourth Martial Brother led a bewildered me to our master's chambers.
The interior was bleak, without even a bed.
A single old drawer and a table. The two chairs were exactly as I remembered them.
[Sit.]
My Fourth Martial Brother urged in his characteristically emotionless voice.
“Ah, yes…”
I had no idea what was happening… but I found it difficult to ask.
His very aura was exceptionally unique.
With his back to me, my brother fiddled with a tea set. Before long, a savory aroma filled the room.
[Do you still like tea?]
“Yes, I suppose…”
[That's a relief.]
As I reached out to take the teacup he offered, I noticed something was wrong.
“…Huh?”
My right arm had grown back, perfectly fine.
No, more than grown back, it was as if it had never been injured in the first place.
[What is it?]
“Uhm… it's nothing.”
I accepted the teacup.
After first savoring the aroma, I slowly sipped the tea.
*Slurp.*
…The nameless tea my Fourth Martial Brother often brewed for me had the same taste and scent as I remembered.
He had only prepared a single cup, as he himself did not drink tea.
It seemed a waste for someone so skilled in the art of tea not to drink it, but…
I had never once seen him eat or drink anything.
I glanced at my Fourth Martial Brother.
There was so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to ask, but what came out of my mouth was something even I hadn't expected.
“It's been a while, but you're still not going to take off that helmet for me?”
The five disciples of the World's Greatest, Baek Rogwang, were all strong individuals…
But among them, the one with the most unique appearance was, without a doubt, my Fourth Martial Brother.
The helmet, likely made of some alloy unknown to me, had a surface that looked as smooth and polished as glass.
In reality, it was dozens of times harder, and at times, it even flickered with an artificial light.
[As I always say, this isn't a helmet.]
He replied, a hint of laughter in his voice.
According to him, the helmet itself was his face.
So my request was akin to asking him to show me what was beneath his skin.
At first, I thought he was lying…
But I had once seen the body beneath his drab, dark coat.
How should I put it…
If the part on his head was a helmet, then his body was like armor.
Of course, I mean a highly compact suit of armor, not something excessively bulky.
‘He said his body was made of machinery.’
The most complex machine I knew of was a clock, but my Fourth Martial Brother's body was incomparably more intricate.
He seemed to be an artificial life form, similar to the golems said to be created by alchemists.
But I never really asked him about it in depth.
In any case, we martial brothers all lived in different worlds, and it was our nature not to dwell on the past.
“Hoo…”
Finishing the cup of tea cleared my chaotic mind considerably.
My Fourth Martial Brother had probably given me the tea for that very reason.
“So, what is all this about? Just a moment ago, I was—.”
[In your own world, I presume.]
At his words, a sudden, ominous thought struck me.
“…Don't tell me everything I went through was an illusion or something? Like I was just having a long dream, and in reality, I've been stuck here on Spirit Mountain, sleeping all this time. You know, as my Third Martial Brother would say—.”
[Brother, this bastard's smiling.]
“Yeah, that.”
[That's not it.]
My Fourth Martial Brother said with a laugh.
[I also heard about our Eldest Martial Brother. And the order our master gave you.]
His voice was emotionless, yet it had a quality that calmed the listener's heart.
It put me in a tranquil state of mind.
For the first time in a while, I was the youngest of the five martial brothers again, and I spoke as if I were complaining.
“…Since he’s not here to hear it, I thought he’d finally gone mad.”
My Fourth Martial Brother let out a low chuckle.
“In terms of strength, Second Martial Sister would have been better. If you wanted someone close, it should have been Third Martial Brother. And if you wanted someone who wouldn't shy away from any means necessary, then you, Fourth Martial Brother, would have been the right choice.”
[You're not wrong. But I agree with our master's judgment.]
“What?”
[You are the right person for the matter concerning our Eldest Martial Brother.]
I hesitated before finally letting out a sigh.
“Back in my homeland. I looked into our Eldest Martial Brother’s activities, and they say he’s playing the part of a Demon King.”
[Demon King?]
“They say he destroyed an entire nation.”
[…]
“Honestly, I don't know what's going on. I feel like I've been thrown into some great current that I don't understand, and I can't even tell which way I'm being swept.”
That was how I truly felt.
It was why, since my return, I had focused only on short-term goals.
Protecting the tendons in my arm from the Collector.
Escaping the Jewel Mountains.
Overcoming the checks of the Council of Elders.
My Fourth Martial Brother spoke.
[Then you haven't met our Eldest Martial Brother in person yet.]
“No.”
[As you know, our Eldest Martial Brother was not one to slaughter indiscriminately. For such a person to destroy an entire nation… there are two possibilities.]
I felt I knew what those two possibilities were, so I finished his thought.
“Either he's gone completely mad, or he had a very good reason.”
My Fourth Martial Brother nodded and said.
[Follow me for a moment.]
I followed him out of the chambers.
He headed toward the edge of a cliff, a place that I couldn't help but feel uneasy about.
I mean…
It was the very place where our master had thrown me off, claiming he was sending me to the past.
“…”
Feeling a sense of reluctance, I stood there hesitantly until my Fourth Martial Brother urged me on.
[Come closer.]
“Uhm…”
I really didn't want to, but I had no choice but to walk up and stand beside him.
I had faith that, at the very least, he wouldn't suddenly throw me off.
My Fourth Martial Brother gazed at the scenery, where nothing was visible beyond the surrounding fog, and spoke.
[Spirit Mountain. That is what we call this place. But Ruan, do you know what this world truly is?]
“Well…”
If you were to ask what I knew about Spirit Mountain…
It was a rocky mountain where not a single blade of grass could be found.
An ever-present fog that never lifted, season after season.
An area swarming with all sorts of wicked demons, except for the mountain peaks.
And finally, it was the abode of the World's Greatest, Baek Rogwang.
As I calmly explained what I knew, my Fourth Martial Brother said.
[What you've described is merely the surface of this place. In essence, Spirit Mountain is our master's personal space.]
“Perse… what?”
[Simply put, it is our master's own world, a world he created himself.]
“…”
I had never heard anything so absurd.
Of course, I knew that our master—the World's Greatest, Baek Rogwang—was an incredible man.
I knew that, but to be able to create an entire world—
“…Isn't that just a god?”
[If your definition of a god is the creation of a world, then you could call him that.]
“…”
[Spirit Mountain is a place located outside the normal spatio-temporal domain of the universe. That's why I sometimes call it a 'rest stop in time.']
“You're starting to get too complicated again…”
It was a habit of his to use strange words.
But today, it was especially confusing.
[I'll explain it simply. You came to Spirit Mountain under our master's guidance, trained for ten years, and then returned to your original world. At that time, did you return to your original timeline?]
“Um… no.”
In my original world, I had died at the age of twenty-five, but after spending time on Spirit Mountain and returning, I was around fifteen.
Ten years in my original world and ten years on Spirit Mountain.
In terms of perceived time, it was as if I had regressed twenty years.
[Those who enter this mountain share one thing in common. Whether their regrets are large or small, no one without them can set foot here.]
“Uhm…”
[It is the same now. The regrets you harbored have called you back to Spirit Mountain. And our master said that by the time our youngest returned, he would have finally acquired the last element of a martial artist.]
“The last element of a martial artist?”
[A desperate mindset.]
My Fourth Martial Brother pointed at me and said.
[Such a mindset cannot be obtained through innate talent, golden advice, or bone-grinding effort.]
“Then what is needed?”
[An event.]
“…”
[Only an event that ignites a fire in your heart can forge a desperate mindset. I consider that the true starting point for a martial artist.]
In that moment, I recalled our master's faint voice.
—As of today, you have entered the world of martial arts.
[You have talent. You have willpower, and even malice. But you lacked a clear and definite goal. He never showed it, but I'm sure that always weighed on our master's mind.]
I spoke with a troubled expression.
“The desire to become stronger has certainly taken root. As you said, brother, if my best is not enough, then I must cling to this with desperate resolve. But… I don't know.”
I recalled what I had experienced just before coming here.
Dozens of spirit swords had died.
Evan had become the Young Lord.
And the High Priest who caused all that chaos was already dead.
After experiencing all of that, I belatedly realized I was angry, but…
This was a rage with nowhere to go.
Would killing the Young Lord Evan resolve this feeling?
And if nothing changed even then?
Should I kill the Demon King next?
[It seems you've already forgotten what I told you earlier.]
“What?”
[Ruan, remember. When your training on Spirit Mountain ended and our master sent you back to your world, did you return to your original timeline?]
“That was…”
No.
Back then, I had not returned as the twenty-five-year-old Ruan Bednicker on the verge of death in a war.
I returned as the fifteen-year-old Ruan Bednicker, just moments before the Collector Keian severed my tendons.
No, wait a minute.
“Then, don't tell me…”
[One hundred days.]
My Fourth Martial Brother's voice struck my heart with a heavy thud.
[That is how long you can stay on Spirit Mountain this time. You will complete your training here during that period and return to your world. Once again, by turning back time.]
It was only in this moment that I truly understood the power of Spirit Mountain's blessing.
[You will be given another chance.]
This was a blessing that could change everything.