Myriad Immortals Return to Origin
I had prepared everything I possibly could.
With nothing to my name, the only thing I could do was take over the menial chores of the outer disciples.
The other new applicants were each paying their own price in their own ways. Those with money paid in coin; those without paid with their bodies. Every last one of them was throwing every means they had into currying favor with the outer disciples or prying loose scraps of information, all for the sake of growing stronger.
The weak had to swallow their pride, stroke the egos of the strong by any means necessary, and slip through the cracks if they wanted to take even a single step forward.
And today was finally the day we entered the Poison Cave.
Before the trial began, I went looking for Wi Ho. I needed the sword I had asked him to get for me earlier.
After walking for a while, I found him leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette with lazy ease.
"Wi Ho-nim."
"What is it?"
"About the thing I asked for…"
"Ah, the sword."
Wi Ho looked down at me and smiled in a way that made my skin crawl.
"Sorry about that. Couldn't get one."
"……"
It was obvious he was just fucking with me on purpose. I let out a long sigh inside. I had more or less expected it, but still—figures.
"So there's no sword, then?"
"Yeah. My bad. If you make it out of the Poison Cave alive, I'll get you one then."
Shameless as hell, but getting angry would only hurt me.
You bastard. I'll make damn sure you regret this later.
I forced a smile and bowed my head.
"Understood. Then I'll ask again once I come out alive."
Wi Ho snorted and waved me off.
"Yeah."
The moment I turned away, a similar exchange drifted over from not far off.
"Hey, you took that much money and now you're saying you don't have any good intel?!"
"You're the idiot for falling for it. Get the fuck out of here, you piece of shit."
What a pack of complete thugs.
A dry laugh slipped out of me. Instead of rage, cold reason filled my head. I clenched my fist lightly, then opened it again.
Should I use what's in the storage?
I had brought the sword I used back in reality. The problem was I never found the right moment to pull it out of storage. Newcomers like us were under constant watch. And once inside the Poison Cave, I wouldn't be able to take it out either.
I didn't know the exact method, but I had heard they watched the fights that happened inside. If someone like me—who couldn't even use spiritual energy—suddenly pulled something out of thin air, it would draw every eye and create all kinds of headaches.
Guess I'll just have to find a weapon inside.
I started walking slowly toward the plaza.
Eighty-seven new applicants had gathered in the plaza. Every last one of them had endured the grueling chores to make it this far.
On a high platform in the center stood a middle-aged man in red martial robes. A blood plaque marking him as an inner disciple hung on his chest.
"I am Wang O. I will be overseeing today's Poison Cave trial."
His voice was cold and dry.
"There are six gates into the Poison Cave. You will be divided into groups of fourteen or fifteen per gate. Only the ten who survive inside will earn the right to become outer disciples of the Red Blood Sect."
The plaza fell deathly silent for a moment.
Eighty-seven people total. Only ten would live. That meant the other seventy-seven would die inside the Poison Cave.
Someone's hard swallow sounded unnaturally loud.
"Of course, if you don't want to die, you may give up. Leave the plaza right now and you'll keep your life."
Wang O's gaze swept slowly across the plaza. Those eyes were as cold and greedy as a butcher picking out meat.
"But the gates of the Red Blood Sect will never open for cowards."
No one moved.
Wang O watched them and nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Then we begin the Poison Cave trial."
He raised a hand, and the outer disciples standing on either side of the plaza moved in perfect unison.
"I will call names in order. When your name is called, move to your assigned gate at once."
The roll call began.
"Gate Six—! Lee Seo-jun and fourteen others!"
The moment my name was called, I quietly stepped out of line.
Fourteen other newcomers were already gathered in front of Gate Six. I glanced around.
One guy was grinding his teeth and glaring ahead. Another's hands were trembling. One stood with his arms crossed, smiling with easy confidence. Every face was different.
I wonder if any of them have actually learned proper martial arts or cultivation techniques.
The odds were low. Even if someone had, it would mostly be trash-tier methods. Anyone who had learned a real technique wouldn't need to take a trial like this.
Wang O delivered his final cold words.
"Inside the Poison Cave, any means are permitted. Kill, rape—do whatever you want. Surviving is what matters. That is the way of the Red Blood Sect."
The instant he finished speaking, the entrance to Gate Six twisted into a pitch-black vortex.
"Enter."
I stepped forward first.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
Inside the Poison Cave.
It was nothing like what I had expected.
I had pictured a wide open space or some kind of cavern, but when I opened my eyes, a fairly expansive forested terrain stretched out before me.
Dense ancient trees crowded in from every direction, and the sky was blanketed in ash-gray mist, casting a dim twilight even though it should have been day.
No one came in behind me. It seemed the moment you passed through the entrance, you were forcibly scattered to different locations.
Pretty similar to a battle royale setup.
I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
Everything was quiet. Nearby, only the sound of wind brushing through leaves reached me; farther off, the occasional cry of a beast or the faint noise of something breaking drifted through the air.
First things first—map the terrain.
Years of running dungeons had taught me exactly what to do in a situation like this.
I picked the tallest, thickest tree trunk I could find, planted my hands on it, and climbed quietly. I muffled even the sound of my feet on the bark and hid myself among the branches.
…The area's bigger than I thought.
The space was large, just as I'd guessed. It looked roughly circular, and most importantly, a faint red-tinged barrier shimmered along the outer edge of the forest.
That barrier was clearly the boundary of the Poison Cave. Trying to cross it would mean instant death.
From my perch in the tree, I slowly scanned the surroundings.
No other movement yet. But someone was already on the move hunting prey, and someone else was probably hiding like me, waiting for an opening.
I decided to stay put in the tree and watch for my chance. I didn't move. I held my breath. I kept my ears and eyes as open as possible.
And after some time had passed—
A massive sound tore through the forest from far away.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Kill him! Just kill him!"
Screams mixed with the dull, heavy impacts of something colliding again and again.
Someone had already clashed.
It's started.
I quietly tracked the direction of the noise with my eyes. In the distance, two men were chasing a third. Two-on-one.
They must have teamed up before coming in.
A smart move. Two was better than one, and you could always betray the other at the end.
But if they keep making that much noise, the hyenas will come running.
I crossed my arms and watched from the tree.
The man being chased tripped over a root and went down. The other two rushed in, pinned his chest and arm with their knees, and slit his throat with a dagger.
"Ghk…!"
Blood sprayed like a fountain. The man convulsed a few times and went limp.
The two survivors panted and looked at each other. One of them grinned.
"Nice. One down. Six left to—"
Before he could finish the sentence—
Swish—!
His partner's dagger sliced clean across his throat.
"……?!"
The man with his neck half-severed stared wide-eyed at his own ally. Blood gushed out as he dropped to his knees.
"Sorry, but I've decided moving as a pair isn't worth it after all."
The traitor flicked the blood off his dagger and smiled coldly.
I watched the entire scene from the tree without looking away.
Betrayal that fast, huh.
I wondered if he really needed to do it right then, but I understood. In a place where a knife could land in your back at any moment, finishing off one more while you were already at it wasn't a bad calculation.
The traitor scanned the area. He was still riding the high of the kill, clearly worked up.
I slipped down from the tree without a sound.
The man was busy looting the corpses—rummaging through the small pouch at the dead man's waist and even taking an extra dagger.
Idiot.
After making that much noise, others would be heading this way. And yet he was casually digging through the spoils.
But I wasn't much better. I could have just kept watching, except—
I don't have a weapon.
The only one nearby with a proper weapon was this bastard. Getting even one blade into my hands would make every fight from here on a hell of a lot easier.
I hid myself in the shadow of a dead tree and slowly closed the distance.
The moment the man bent over the corpse's pouch—
I closed the last gap in a single burst and locked onto his back.
One hand clamped over his mouth; the other arm snaked around his throat and squeezed.
"Mmph—!"
He thrashed violently, but it was already too late. The raw strength of Physical Enhancement Lv. 2 crushed his neck like steel.
I whispered low and cold into his ear.
"Goodbye."
Crunch.
The soft sound of a neck bone snapping.
His body went limp. I lowered the corpse quietly to the ground, picked up the fallen dagger, and immediately left the area.
I had no interest in the hassle of fighting whoever showed up next.
Or… someone might already be watching my movements the same way I was watching his.
I tucked the dagger into my waistband and moved quickly between the trees, muffling every sound as much as I could.
The forest was still quiet, but within that quiet the stench of blood was growing thicker by the second.
And then—
"Die—!"
A sharp battle cry exploded from above my head as a black shadow came crashing down.
Clang!
I twisted on pure instinct and raised the dagger. Blades met with a sharp ring, and a heavy shock raced up my wrist.
"That was close."
My attacker was a tall, lean man. He held a rusted but still decently sharp iron sword, and his eyes already gleamed with murderous intent.
"So you can actually fight… but this is as far as you go!"
He swung the sword in a wide arc again.
Whoosh—!
The blade came for my neck. I simply stepped back and slipped past it.
No spiritual energy that I can tell, but his movement's solid.
He was quite agile. He had probably trained in some form of martial arts before joining.
I put a tree at my back and reversed my grip on the dagger.
He had an iron sword; I had a short dagger. Reach was already against me.
"I'm pretty good with a dagger too, you know."
Even in E-rank dungeons, if you had no abilities and still wanted to survive fighting monsters, you learned how to stay alive with your body.
The man charged again.
"Shut the fuck up and die!"
This time he raised the sword high and brought it straight down.
I dropped low and slipped inside his guard.
Dagger reversed, I drove it toward his left side.
Thud!
"Kh!"
The blade sank into his flank, but not deep enough. He had twisted at the last second and avoided the worst of it.
He groaned in pain and swept the sword horizontally.
The wound had already slowed him down.
With my free left hand I slammed his elbow downward hard, and with my right I drove the dagger cleanly between his ribs.
Thud—!
This time it went all the way in. The dagger punched through flesh and grazed his lung.
His body shuddered violently. The sword slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
I twisted the dagger and shoved it deeper.
"Keh… hhk……!"
Blood poured from his mouth.
His pupils slowly lost focus. His body sagged and his knees buckled.
I yanked the dagger free and kicked the corpse over.
Blood pooled on the ground.
I let out one rough breath, then picked up the fallen iron sword. It was longer and had real weight to it—rusted, sure, but now I finally had a proper weapon.
This is just the beginning.
I gave the bloodstained iron sword a test swing and slid it into my waistband.