Chapter 141
Chapter 141. Battle (1)
"Heavenly Madness."
"Yes, Mubon."
"Have you ever imagined such a thing as another world?"
"No."
"If there were one, what do you think it would be like?"
"...I don't really know. The only other worlds this humble one has seen in books were places where immortals leisurely wander or where demons run rampant."
"You speak of the Immortal Realm, Heavenly Realm, or Ghost Realm."
"Yes, Mubon."
"Indeed, that is the limit of imagination for the people of the Central Plains. But you see, while I have never seen anyone who has ascended to immortality, I have heard of someone who came from another world. In fact, I've actually seen them."
"..."
"In that other world, they say everyone endlessly kills and is killed. Yet everyone is so joyful they don't know what to do with themselves."
"That place must truly be hell itself."
"Huhu. Most would call it that, but I don't think so. Why, you ask?"
A moment of silence swept through Mubon's Secret Cave.
That time was not very long.
"That bastard—yes, there wouldn't be anyone in hell who enjoyed blood and death so purely as that bastard. And he said it. In that place, there are many who are stronger and far crazier than him."
"...!"
"Heh heh heh. I still remember what he said while plunging his sword into the hearts of masters."
"...What was it?"
"Level up."
"Level... up? What kind of language is that from where?"
"I don't know. I didn't then, and I don't now... Perhaps I'll never know for all eternity. Unless someone from that world comes here again to explain it. But every time he shouted those words, I still remember the all-too-clean light that enveloped his body and the all-too-radiant expression spread across his face."
"...Who was that person?"
"Heh heh heh—"
Mubon only laughed lowly without answering.
The air currents inside the cave churned madly.
Then at a certain moment.
The air inside the Secret Cave froze cold.
"Heavenly Demon."
"...!"
"I still remember it clearly. That chilling voice whispering 'Finally max level?' while driving that blood-red sword into my chest."
"..."
"Of course, now it's a voice that only exists in history..."
Mubon's murky voice swirled through the Secret Cave before slowly dying away.
***
Whoosh...
A sinister wind swept through the Murim Alliance.
The aftershocks of the explosion that had just occurred gradually cleared away, carried by the wind.
Thud thud.
One person walked out through the dust cloud.
He was simply walking out normally. Yet the complexions of everyone watching him changed.
Some wore expressions of horror or puzzlement, others looked pale, and those like Hyeoncheon Jinin who had vaguely guessed about him wore grave expressions.
However, most were simply busy fleeing from the sudden large-scale explosion.
Only one person. Only one person was smiling toward him.
"How on earth did you know?"
He didn't specify what was known. Nevertheless, he understood.
"This told me."
Someone's right hand was being held in his hand.
"What is that?"
"Yesterday's me."
"Yesterday's you? That?"
Yeon Yeong-ha didn't understand his words. Nevertheless, she didn't ask further. What does it matter if she knows or doesn't know?
In any case, he was as much of a monster as she was. He could have any number of secret abilities. How fortunate. There's still more to see and experience.
"Well, fine. So now you've changed from yesterday's you? You've gotten stronger, right?"
"I will make it so."
"Can that work?"
Dong Bong-soo was an incomprehensible existence. As such, there was an inexplicable power in his words. It was different from sincerity. Just a power that made it seem like everything he said would come true.
"How? With just that one fact you learned, can the you of now surpass the you of yesterday?"
Yeon Yeong-ha questioned once more.
"We'll know once we clash."
Dong Bong-soo answered.
Whoosh—!
Simultaneously, he flew.
***
Back Server or Roll Back.
It refers to the phenomenon of reverting current data to any arbitrary point in the past, or the server unexpectedly rolling back days or months due to an unforeseen accident.
Forced back server is when the system operator resets server data to before a bug occurred when a critical bug happens in the system.
Unexpected back server occurs when an error arises from the system itself in an uncontrollable state, or due to external attacks such as from hackers.
Dong Bong-soo concluded this case was the latter.
There is a 'server' called Murim.
And.
Someone back-served this entire world.
Whether this was possible or not was no longer an issue to debate. The very fact that existences like himself or Heavenly Demon existed here already had no scientific reality.
The premise that anything is possible was laid. Therefore, nothing is impossible.
Back-serving the world.
What couldn't be done?
It was a bold deduction, but Dong Bong-soo believed it was correct.
However, since that back server was limited only to this Murim world itself, he hypothesized that the 'New Murim Online System World' including the Inventory continued to flow through time regardless of this Murim back server.
In other words, the hypothesis that their dimensional realms were different.
With such a hypothesis, the chaotic Inventory situation and the added 24 hours could be explained.
'Then what on earth happened here at the Murim Alliance during that day 'before the back server' occurred?'
It was impossible to know precisely. As the phrase goes, even his own memories would have rolled back a day.
'The tournament wouldn't have proceeded normally. There was fierce combat.'
The countless unidentifiable body parts scattered chaotically inside the Inventory and the missing auxiliary weapons. These were traces of war that would be found on northern battlefields.
Dong Bong-soo continued thinking.
Ordinarily, so many people couldn't die at a martial arts tournament. The bodies in the Inventory alone far exceeded the tolerable threshold for a martial arts tournament.
It was certain that large-scale combat had occurred—or would occur.
On top of that, his own severed right hand was inside.
'What does this mean? What's its relationship to what will unfold?'
Dong Bong-soo always assumed the worst first and prepared and responded to work accordingly. That was the only way to deal with all possibilities.
The worst that his severed right hand signified was clearly.
'My death.'
He died. Or had died. Or would die.
Any expression was fine. It had happened or would happen. If nothing special changed, regardless of the back server, yesterday—precisely 'the previous today'—would repeat identically today.
So...
He abandoned calculated movements. He had to.
Surely he had made the calculated, optimal choice on 'the previous today,' as he always did. That had failed.
If calculation failed, he would move according to instinct. Then wouldn't some change occur?
That was his new calculation.
***
He used the 'secret [Skill]' he had saved for the end against Eul Ji-chu.
His original self wouldn't have used the final technique he'd hidden away in a situation that wasn't even dangerous. So he did the opposite.
Eul Ji-chu's death was the same. His death ran directly counter to his plans up until now.
All of this was newly calculated instinct.
This method could fail.
But if he didn't do it. He would die. If tomorrow repeated again, he would die again.
If he didn't attempt it, the possibility became 0% from the start.
That always led directly to death.
Whether he failed and died or didn't attempt and died would be the same, but if he attempted it, even a 0.00...01% probability would arise. Then wouldn't attempting and failing be better?
His instinct wouldn't tolerate the words "just give up."
So, even now, he continued trying.
That was also his instinct.
***
Whoosh—!
Dong Bong-soo flew.
The direction he flew was toward the northern edge.
Right where Yeon Yeong-ha was.
Huuuummm—
His Wanderer's Sword began ultra-high-speed rotation. Around the sword, once again a Sword Ring—no, now beyond that, it became a complete Wheel and spun gathered together. It had advanced one more stage with the level-up from moments ago.
Ultra Rotation Sword Wheel.
Due to its tremendous ripple effect, fierce winds swept around as if caught in a storm.
Yeon Yeong-ha's eyes watching this slowly turned black. As if dropping a drop of ink onto white paper, the black pupils gradually devoured the whites.
"Right, words aren't needed between us. As expected, you're a man to my liking."
The opponent was a perfect battle lifeform. A perfect killing weapon without fear or emotion.
Could that man truly change the fate set by heaven?
Yeon Yeong-ha was so curious about that.
'Prove it. That there is no heaven.'
Huuuummm—
When Dong Bong-soo closed the distance to about thirty meters, she stretched her right hand forward.
Ink-colored Heavenly Calamity Energy extended long as if drawing the Milky Way across the sky.
Dong Bong-soo swung his Wanderer's Sword forcefully toward that Heavenly Calamity Energy.
Shrrrip—
With a sound like silk being torn, the Heavenly Calamity Energy was severed in two.
Fwish—
Yeon Yeong-ha pulled her right hand back.
Then the Heavenly Calamity Energy that had split into two strands and scattered to Dong Bong-soo's rear gathered into one again from behind. Then it immediately rushed toward Dong Bong-soo's back.
Dong Bong-soo paid no heed to the Heavenly Calamity Energy following him.
Crrk-crack-crack—
He continued cutting through the Heavenly Calamity Energy ahead while flying toward Yeon Yeong-ha.
When Dong Bong-soo flew right up to Yeon Yeong-ha, the Heavenly Calamity Energy had also nearly reached his back.