Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 94
SWOOOOSH-.
Standing beneath the sheer cliff, Seo-jin was drenched by the rain pouring through the hole in the ceiling.
His clothes were soaked through, clinging to his body, and the cold rainwater rapidly stole away his body heat.
The exit, invisible through the heavy downpour and ominous fog.
Seo-jin immediately grasped the nature of the test.
'This isn't simply designed to encourage climbing.'
The entire cliff was one massive barrier, a fantasy where reality and illusion were layered upon each other.
'This is like a mental barrier.'
There was a high possibility that this was a collection of despair formed by the accumulated souls of those who failed to pass the test.
If so, they wouldn't just let a new challenger pass through the test.
Hyeon-wol also narrowed her eyes as she looked up at the cliff.
[It's a barrier with considerable power. Can you pass through without magic?]
"Well, I'll have to try first."
Seo-jin placed his hand on the cliff.
Before analyzing the barrier, he needed to start by climbing the cliff.
The rocks were damp and slippery from the rain, with sharp protrusions that cut into his grip.
He concentrated the internal energy of the Primordial Unity Technique at his fingertips and toes, then kicked off the ground and leaped upward.
PAAANG-.
With a single running start, Seo-jin rose several meters up.
Just as he was about to kick off the wall again and leap up once more.
CHING-.
Sharp steel blades shot out from the cliff.
"Tch."
Seo-jin hastily withdrew his supporting foot, then stepped on the protruding blade with his other foot and leaped up again.
PAAANG-.
Having jumped as high as possible, Seo-jin reached out and grabbed a protruding rock.
However.
SLIP-.
He had expected it to be slippery from the rain, but it was far more slippery than he had anticipated.
It was as if oil had been smeared on it.
Seo-jin couldn't find anything to hold onto and fell downward. And at the same time.
PAAANG-!
A spear suddenly shot out from the cliff side, aiming for Seo-jin's heart.
Moreover, it didn't seem like an ordinary trap, as it contained strong internal energy that would be difficult to block easily.
'If I can't block it, I'll deflect it.'
Seo-jin used the Primordial Palm to strike the side of the incoming spear, pushing it away at an angle.
KAAANG-.
The trajectory twisted and the spearhead embedded itself in the opposite wall.
Having dodged the spear, Seo-jin landed safely on the ground.
"Phew."
The first attempt was a failure.
Seo-jin tried to climb the cliff several more times after that.
But he was repeatedly knocked down by the continuously operating traps and various attacks.
He hadn't even entered the range of illusions or barriers yet.
"Tsk."
Seo-jin looked up at the cliff while being drenched by the relentlessly pouring rain.
'This is unexpectedly challenging.'
First of all, climbing this cliff itself was the obstacle.
Climbing a cliff with no footholds or handholds was quite difficult.
It wasn't something that could be done with Seo-jin's strength stat alone; he had to use the internal energy of the Primordial Unity Technique.
There were two methods.
The first method was to strengthen the Primordial Step and break through in one go, an improvement on the method he had maintained so far.
This was fast, but it was difficult to respond to the traps and mechanical formations that attacked at every moment.
'The second method is to use the principle of the Primordial Step in reverse.'
Contrary to the existing principle of releasing internal energy to gain repulsive force, this method involved concentrating an appropriate amount of internal energy in the hands and feet to gain adhesive force.
If the internal energy was too strong, his hands and feet would be buried directly into the cliff, and if it was too weak, he would fall off the cliff, so much more delicate internal energy manipulation was required than the former.
This would allow him to advance steadily and safely, but the problem was that it was too slow.
How long would it take to crawl up a cliff that was hundreds of meters high?
Either way wasn't easy.
'At this rate, I won't be able to climb up within the time limit.'
Seo-jin sighed as he looked up.
Continuing trial and error as he had been doing was also a method, if it could be called a method.
If he memorized all the trap locations, activation conditions, and timing, he would eventually reach the top.
He had brought enough food and water, and if he got tired, he could sleep soundly and recover his internal energy.
However, Seo-jin had to finish the test and return by morning due to his promise with Rosaria.
A more innovative method was needed.
If only he could use the Tears of Siyul, it would be much easier, but now there was nothing he could do about it.
He had no choice but to solve the situation with martial arts.
"Hyeon-wol, don't you have anything to teach me?"
After thinking for a moment, Hyeon-wol spoke.
[It's a bit early, but there's a technique called Protective Body Energy (Hoshin Ganggi) that can be used in this situation.]
"Ah, that?"
Seo-jin also knew about that technique.
It was a technique that released internal energy to protect the entire body, and he had seen Choi Gang-hyeon, Lee Seo-mun, and Ju Won-jae use it in the past.
Hyeon-wol explained.
[But your internal energy isn't sufficient yet to handle Protective Body Energy. Even if you deploy Protective Body Energy with mediocre internal energy, the defensive power will be weak and meaningless.]
"Hmm."
He understood what she meant, but for now, let's learn it.
"First, teach me."
At Seo-jin's insistence on learning it anyway, Hyeon-wol narrowed her eyes.
'This guy really...'
It wasn't a technique that could be learned at his current level anyway, and even if he learned it, it would be meaningless.
Nevertheless.
[...Alright.]
Hyeon-wol decided to teach this to Seo-jin.
Seo-jin wasn't an ordinary guy anyway, and she had expectations that perhaps he might show something new.
***
"I see."
In just a few minutes, Seo-jin perfectly understood the formula that Hyeon-wol had taught him.
There were various applications, but basically, the core was to emit internal energy from each meridian connected to the acupoints and envelop the entire body.
It could be applied in a spherical form to prevent attacks from reaching at all, or in the form of armor to block them.
He could also understand what Hyeon-wol was worried about.
'It would certainly be difficult to use with my current internal energy.'
He had to cover his entire body with the energy of Primordial Unity. How much internal energy would that consume?
It was a completely different amount from what was used for fist techniques or movement techniques.
It was easy to understand if you thought of the difference between the iron used to make a single sword and the iron used to make full body armor.
There was no inefficiency like this.
Also, if it was made too thin, it would break easily like glass.
A lot of internal energy would be needed to achieve defensive power above a certain level.
However.
'This isn't iron, it's magical power.'
Unlike iron which has a fixed form, wouldn't it be enough to release internal energy only where needed and as much as needed for protection?
There seemed to be no need to spread it large and wide like armor or a sphere.
Having organized his thoughts, Seo-jin stood up and released his internal energy.
Where he wanted it, as much as he wanted.
And.
KWAAK-.
He grasped with his hand, gathering internal energy from the air and forming it into the shape of a small surface, maintaining it.
What had been a simple release of energy overlapped and gathered, soon becoming solid enough to deflect anything.
Seo-jin tried moving the barrier of internal energy here and there through hand gestures.
WOONG-.
A barrier the size of a palm circled around Seo-jin.
'Is this the feeling?'
If he became a little more familiar with the sensation, he felt he could move it with just his gaze rather than hand gestures.
Having finished the demonstration, Seo-jin asked.
"Could this also be considered Protective Body Energy?"
At Seo-jin's question, Hyeon-wol scratched her cheek.
[Well, if we go by the meaning of the term, it's similar, but whether this can really be called Protective Body Energy...]
She had never seen this kind of Protective Body Energy in her entire life.
It was certainly energy that protected the body, but it definitely wasn't body energy.
Who would have thought to use body energy in such a way in the first place...
'But what's certain is.'
Seo-jin had instantly grasped the principle and succeeded in reinterpreting the technique in his own way and casting it.
He had also devised a method that could achieve the best results while maintaining efficiency.
Although it used less internal energy, maintaining that form required a higher ability to manipulate energy.
Regardless of the amount of internal energy required, the difficulty of the technique itself was much higher than Protective Body Energy.
'Perhaps this is closer to the principle of Sword Control with Energy (Igiegeom) rather than Protective Body Energy.'
Just because his internal energy was a bit lacking, he incorporated the principles of a higher realm.
She was reminded once again that this guy was a monster.
Seo-jin picked up several stones from the ground and threw them upward.
And.
PABABANG-.
He moved the small barrier here and there with hand gestures, easily deflecting the falling stones.
'The speed is about this much.'
Within the range he could perceive, he could react immediately.
However, he couldn't send the barrier beyond a certain distance.
SSSSS-.
'This barrier is ultimately connected to the energy of Primordial Unity within my body.'
Currently, Seo-jin was releasing minute amounts of internal energy from his entire body to adjust the trajectory of the barrier.
The optimal trajectory for moving the barrier was naturally a form that orbited around Seo-jin like a planet.
He understood why most forms of Protective Body Energy were spherical.
Seo-jin then increased his proficiency to the point where he could control the barrier with just his gaze.
It took about three hours.
As expected, mastering it with the body took much longer than learning it.
"Shall we go now?"
The preparation was complete.
Seo-jin took a deep breath, gathered the energy of Primordial Unity at his toes, kicked off the ground, and leaped up.
PAAANG-.
His form shot up in an instant.
Seo-jin ran up the cliff like that, shooting out like lightning.
PABABANG-.
Spears and blades flying along Seo-jin's path.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Seo-jin controlled the barrier with just his gaze, deflecting the spears and blades flying toward him.
KAGAGANG-!
The spears and blades bounced off, blocked by the barrier and shooting sparks.
The defensive power also passed.
Seo-jin climbed the cliff, breaking through the pouring traps like that.
Just then.
HWAAK-.
The rain seemed to lighten, and suddenly black fog filled the surroundings, obscuring Seo-jin's vision.
Soon, he felt as if something was grabbing his ankle and pulling him down.
"...!"
Countless hands extending from the darkness had grabbed Seo-jin's legs and ankles.
[Come here. Don't go. Where are you going? Only you?]
It wasn't real. This was definitely an illusion of the barrier.
But for Seo-jin, who had lived countless long hours in illusions and nightmares due to the madness of black magic, it was just a trivial illusion.
"Get lost."
PAAANG-!
Seo-jin cast the Primordial Step even more strongly with the energy of evil-breaking, shaking off the hands clinging to his feet and legs.
Seo-jin continued to kick off the cliff and advance upward.
This time, a familiar yet horrible form crawled out from within the fog.
It was one of the demon fragments that had escaped from within the Tower when it collapsed in the world before his regression.
The thing with a hideous appearance as if embodying greed and despair was looking down at Seo-jin with a bizarre smile.
[Kehehehe, we meet again, lowly mortal.]
"..."
He was startled for a moment, but Seo-jin first avoided the hand that the thing extended.
KWAAANG-.
The demon's grip smashed right through the path Seo-jin had been taking.
Why was this guy's illusion in this test?
After thinking for a moment, Seo-jin soon figured out the identity of the illusion.
'I see. This barrier is an illusion that materializes the target's fears.'
The hands that had been pulling at Seo-jin's legs earlier were illusions that materialized the slightest possibility of not passing this test and the fear of it.
The demon that appeared now was something pulled from memory, materializing the fear of the guy who had caused great damage to humanity in his previous life.
Having grasped the identity, it wasn't so frightening anymore.
For Seo-jin, fear was an emotion that had already been worn down and disappeared.
"Get lost, you bastard."
PAAANG-.
Seo-jin gathered the energy of Primordial Unity and released it in the form of a palm.
CHARRRR-.
The guy's illusion disappeared and scattered like snow melting in the energy of the Primordial Palm.
Seo-jin continued to smash the demon illusions that kept attacking one by one as he climbed upward.
Each of them had horrible appearances as if materializing humanity's primal fears, but for Seo-jin, who had always lived with madness, they weren't particularly surprising.
While he was climbing up, smashing them for a while.
A familiar figure was looking down at Seo-jin from within the darkness.
It was Ju Won-jae. The very guy who had cut Seo-jin's neck before his regression.
The guy's illusion drew a holy sword and swung it toward Seo-jin.
[Bearing all malice and resentment, die for humanity.]
The moment he saw the guy's face, anger surged, but Seo-jin didn't respond to his words and threw a punch.
"Wash your neck and wait."
PEOONG-.
The guy's form burst apart from the Primordial Fist.
Having burst the guy and continued forward, Seo-jin could instinctively feel it.
The end was not far now.
And the last illusion he soon faced was.
"..."
The figure of Kwon Ha-yeon with her eyes closed, buried in ice.
She had consumed all her power in place of Seo-jin in the final battle and became trapped in the Eternal Snow Ice.
For a moment, it felt as if his heart was sinking.
This could be said to be Seo-jin's only fear and sense of guilt.
"..."
If it had been the Seo-jin of the past, he would have lost his balance and fallen beneath the cliff.
'Not anymore.'
Because he had been given another chance. This time, he wouldn't let it happen like that.
"In this life, I'll do better."
Instead of smashing her illusion, Seo-jin passed through it as if embracing it.
Then Seo-jin used all his strength to reach for the end of the cliff.
The rough and solid texture of rock touching his fingertips.
He finally crawled up to the top of the hellish cliff.
"Huff, huff."
Seo-jin emerged with rough breathing.
As he climbed over the cliff with rough breathing, the rain that had been pouring fiercely stopped like a lie.
The ominous fog that had covered all directions also lifted without a trace.
Before his eyes spread a quiet and peaceful green meadow.
The storm had disappeared without a trace, and warm sunlight was shining down from the sky.
And in the middle of that meadow, Talis was standing with his arms crossed, looking intently at Seo-jin.