Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 009
Chapter Title: The Tutorial Begins (8)
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“Now, everyone, close your eyes! The beginning of awakening—no, the moment to transcend humanity!!”
In response to the fairy Alice's words, the chosen ones closed their eyes. And they waited for their awakening.
Flash!
The world, filled with pure white clouds and vibrant blue skies, suddenly darkened. It became pitch black, impossible to see even an inch ahead, as if they'd been cast into the endless void of space.
Weeeeng!!
A strange hum, like a lightbulb flickering on, rang out, and ten red lights appeared in the night sky.
The red lights trailed long comet-like tails as they descended toward the chosen ones.
“......”
Lee Sang-hyun stared at the sight, waiting silently. His expression didn't waver. He was utterly calm, fully understanding its meaning.
Soon, the red light reached the top of his head.
The chosen ones sensed that the moment of awakening had arrived. Every sensation in their bodies pointed to it.
“Behold! Embrace the great power, the mark of transcendence, a new life! Be reborn as your true 'self,' you who have been chosen by the constellations!!”
Alice's cry was like a mystical revelation. The chosen ones felt a sacred destiny and surrendered to it willingly. Not a single one resisted.
Perhaps it was an inescapable whirlpool of fate.
Swoooosh!!
The red light, balled up like a bead, opened its maw to devour the chosen ones.
At that instant, Lee Sang-hyun moved.
Now!
Just as it had taught him, before the red light could fully open, Lee Sang-hyun thrust out his hand and seized it. Then he crushed it with all his strength.
Crack!!
No one witnessed Lee Sang-hyun's sudden action. The chosen ones were each lost in their own special destinies, and Alice was focused on Kang Mu-hyuk, who might become one of the Seven.
The constellations watched only their own 'players.' So no one saw Lee Sang-hyun's bold move.
Having crushed the red light, Lee Sang-hyun swiftly brought it to his mouth and gulped it down.
Done.
It nodded quietly in approval.
The red light fully enveloped Choi Tae-seong. It was like a mother tenderly cradling her young. Beautiful. Mystical.
Choi Tae-seong felt it.
He had awakened. He had transcended humanity to become a new breed. He had become a true magic swordsman!!
This is a magic swordsman...! Ahh! Now I can feel it! How to wield sword and magic! My destiny!!
Opening his eyes, Choi Tae-seong shuddered at his completely transformed self.
Squeeze!
It's on another level from before. At least twice... no, ten times stronger! And now I understand. Why I scored so low in job selection.
From half-baked to complete magic swordsman, Choi Tae-seong could feel it. How lonely the path of the magic swordsman truly was.
A path that's neither sword nor magic... That's why it's strong, but also why it's weak.
To walk both the path of the sword and magic at once? When even mastering one makes reaching the 'end' nearly impossible?
Unless you're a genius, failure is certain. Despair over your talent or torment over lack of time—collapse is inevitable.
...But I can do it.
Yet Choi Tae-seong didn't falter. He believed he could pull it off.
Because I'm chosen by the Magic Sword King!
Magic Sword King. That was the name of the constellation watching Choi Tae-seong, who had chosen magic swordsman.
Bae Jin-cheol, chosen not as an ordinary mage but as an archmage, thought much the same.
A path worlds apart from mage. Several times... no, dozens of times harder. With ordinary talent, you can't even approach the end. But I can do it. With the Demon God watching me... I can reach the pinnacle.
Bae Jin-cheol fervently believed he could become an archmage.
Kang Mu-hyuk, who had chosen swordmaster, was no exception. Like the others, he felt his 'job.'
...I can feel it. What a swordmaster is, and how hard it is to reach the end.
But unlike the others, Kang Mu-hyuk also felt his own insignificance.
To speak of swordmaster with this wretched body...! How arrogant was I? Swordmaster in this beggar-like state... I... was a fool.
The insignificance he felt upon grasping 'swordmaster' was in the realm of talent.
Because it meant he precisely 'understood' how difficult it was to reach swordmaster.
...I need to work harder. Several times—no, dozens of times harder than now. If I can't... I'll never make it.
Kang Mu-hyuk didn't blindly believe he'd become a swordmaster. Instead, he steeled himself, knowing he had to give his all just to take the first step.
This set him apart from the others. Starkly so.
Alice watched Kang Mu-hyuk and was genuinely delighted.
As expected! A candidate! Yes! Keep pushing like that! Someday... you'll be one of the Seven! The chosen strongest Seven!!
Lee Sang-hyun, who had swallowed the red light, was also feeling out his 'berserker' class.
A beast. A bloodthirsty beast. One that acts purely on instinct... stripped of reason.
Even without blood on his hands yet, the urge for slaughter welled up like thirst. So intense that one slip could make him lose his mind.
...I can feel I can beat those guys. And how to tear them apart.
It came instinctively. Their frailty, their weaknesses... all clear as day in Lee Sang-hyun's eyes.
But no matter how strong, without reason, it's meaningless. Worse than trash.
There was a reason he scored 1 point in job selection. Overwhelming power means nothing if the user can't control it.
Berserker was undoubtedly the worst job.
“......”
Twitch twitch!
Stronger than hunger or crashing drowsiness, the impulse made Lee Sang-hyun's gaze grow feral. He looked ready to rip apart the nine others gathered here.
Yet Lee Sang-hyun suppressed it with calm, rational control.
Hard to endure, but not to the point of death. I can hold it back if I manage well. And I can direct it as I please.
Not indiscriminate slaughter, but targeted kills—hunting monsters. That's what Lee Sang-hyun thought.
Of course, whether it would go as planned was uncertain. Berserkers were blood-mad monsters, after all.
Twitch twitch!
Alice looked around at the awakened players and spoke in a loud voice.
“You should all feel what job you've chosen. And the power transcending humanity. But that's not all! You still have contracts with the constellation lords ahead! Pacts that grant power several times stronger than this!!”
“Pacts...!!”
The players, awed by their transcendent power, lit up at the promise of something even greater. Desire blazed uncontrollably.
“I guarantee it—several times, dozens of times more ecstatic than now. Maybe the happiest experience of your lives. So work harder! You need skill to contract with named constellations!”
Alice's words ignited their competitive spirits beyond compare.
Anyone in my way... dies...!
For points, even killing fellow players would be a joy.
I'll completely rewrite their evaluation of me!
Kang Mu-hyuk? Hah! Just watch! I'll show you who's the real number one!
I won't stay at the bottom anymore! I'm climbing up! And... I'll stand at the top!
I'll show them it was all a joke until now!
My constellation is special! On another level from yours!
Catch Kang Mu-hyuk... and number one is mine!
The real game starts now.
I'll turn this around for sure.
Time to prove I'm the best.
The players burned with fighting spirit. Players awakening elsewhere bared their desires for first place, awaiting the survival game's start.
Alice gazed at them, deeply satisfied.
“Ufufu! Such passion! Perfect! That's the attitude! So what if the score gap widened a bit? Don't drown in defeatism—think of catching up! With that in mind, let's start the survival game! Everyone ready?”
3, 2, 1! Ding! The numbers ended, the world went dark. When they opened their eyes again...
A strange, unfamiliar landscape greeted the players.
Higher than the sky, lower than the universe. From that place, countless constellations gazed down upon the earth.
In the eyes of the constellations, one or several players were 'awakening.' A sight beautiful if beautiful, eerie if eerie.
「......」
Among the countless constellations, a special one—the strongest of the Seven, ranked in the highest 6th hierarchy, 'Edge of the Sword'—was watching a certain player.
That player's name was Kang Mu-hyuk.
Another constellation in the 6th hierarchy, like Edge of the Sword, approached and spoke.
Edge of the Sword replied to the question.
It scoffed at Edge of the Sword's response.
Separate from the snark, its words rang true. Pro fighters started strong, unlike civilians. Several times stronger than Kang Mu-hyuk, whom Edge of the Sword watched.
Edge of the Sword spoke.
It laughed at those words.
As Edge of the Sword said, the body was irrelevant—what mattered was the soul. High-hierarchy constellations all craved to peer into humans' inner selves.
But it seemed bored, continuing its jabs.
Compared to other 6th-hierarchy avatars, Kang Mu-hyuk fell short. Even 2nd or 3rd hierarchy, or lowly 1st, avatars looked stronger.
Yet Edge of the Sword didn't care. Kang Mu-hyuk was a swordmaster who had never wielded a blade.
A genius undiscovered, untapped—how could it be disappointed?
Expectations soared instead.
What form would this genius take upon awakening to his hidden talent?
In Edge of the Sword's vision, Kang Mu-hyuk appeared as a single blade. A sharp sword that could cut anything.