Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Chapter 41 Choice.
The more we fought, the more he became my perfect mirror.
"Well done? Yeah. You can do it if you try!"
"Shut... up..!"
The guy showed a negative reaction even to my sincere praise.
But his skill was genuine.
His learning ability was exceptionally outstanding, implementing my movements almost perfectly, and thanks to that, I could also analyze the problems in my movements by watching him.
Even though no intent was contained within, just by properly following the movements, he was producing similar power through sheer physical difference.
'So that's how I was moving?'
Unlike executing it directly, being able to see and analyze the movements with my own eyes showed me many areas for improvement.
When I found improvement points and modified parts of my movements, he would also move earnestly to catch up, and I would find more improvement points from those movements and continue developing my martial arts.
[Advanced All-Mastery's level increases.]
The virtuous cycle structure where master becomes student and student becomes master made me grow endlessly.
Baal's movements, which I had only vaguely imitated, became increasingly clear in my mind and naturally ingrained in my body.
As this happened, my movements contained even more intense will, so the gap between him and me was actually widening.
There was a gap that simple imitation alone couldn't follow. Martial arts aren't just about showing off strength.
"Why..? Clearly the same..."
The guy finally began to have doubts. He was feeling discomfort at the different results despite clearly following the same movements identically.
The reason was simple.
My goal is Baal, and his goal is to kill me.
Since our aims were different, what was contained within was also different, and martial arts containing only killing intent might have a high starting point but couldn't reach truly high realms.
"Remove the killing intent. And put something else inside."
Even though he was a monster born to kill me, he was a junior who helped me grow further and began walking the path of martial arts with me as his goal.
I gave him the answer to his question.
But even after hearing the answer, it didn't seem easy.
Emptying killing intent meant he had to deny the reason for his birth and his very reason for existence.
The guy born to kill me had to abandon his desire to kill me in order to become stronger.
Killing the killing intent toward humans that monsters basically possess. That was the way to transcend the limits of the monster species and walk the path of martial arts.
The difference in skill was clear. I could kill him anytime, but I continued to face him, harboring the hope that he might somehow transcend the limits of being a monster.
"It's still not working..?"
[Remaining time: 0 hours 2 minutes]
But even with 2 minutes and 59 seconds remaining, he still couldn't put anything other than killing intent into his fist.
'Is it really impossible to transcend the limits of being a monster?'
Still, I decided to comfortably send off the opponent who had made me stronger, with the courtesy he deserved.
"You've worked hard. Rest now."
Heaven-Shattering Fist 4th Form - Shatter Heaven, which was once my strongest technique.
My martial arts had passed through Heaven-Shattering Martial Arts, God Demon Annihilation Dance, and Transcendence Limitless Path, and the boundary between techniques and non-techniques had disappeared.
Distinguishing techniques no longer had meaning, but the concept of techniques hadn't completely disappeared from me.
The technique called Shatter Heaven had also continued to develop, and that technique which was once the strongest now had a new name.
Transcendence Limitless Path - God Slaying.
A fist meant to kill gods flew toward a mere monster. This was the maximum courtesy I could show.
Not looking down on the opponent and sending them off with my best effort.
And as death approached... at the very end, only at the very end, something other than killing intent appeared in the guy's eyes.
Longing, awe, and desire for survival.
The guy who had only imitated martial arts for killing was now genuinely feeling attraction and longing for martial arts.
The guy who had only thought of me as an opponent to kill now held awe for me, who opened new horizons.
The guy for whom killing opponents was everything in life finally showed a desperate desire to live.
And the fist he swung containing all those feelings held completely different power from before.
A fist swung not to kill but to live.
It was for preservation of life, not taking life.
It was an attack that his previous level could never have blocked, but it stopped at blowing away half of his upper body.
His enlightenment about martial arts kept him alive, if only briefly.
[Remaining time: 0 hours 1 minute]
Of course, there was no time left now. I approached the dying guy to hear his last words.
And the words that flowed from his mouth were shocking.
"I... I also... want to become... like you..."
The moment I heard those words, I felt a tingling sensation for the first time. The power of Retainer Transformation, which had never reacted before, was appealing to me for the first time that this was a viable target.
'Is it because he developed individuality..?'
Unlike other monsters, he wasn't summoned by copying an actually existing monster, but was a monster with his own individuality born from resentment toward me.
So it seems Retainer Transformation was possible with him.
There were two choices.
Kill him and devour him with Predation to gain new possibilities, or use Retainer Transformation to make him my first retainer.
If I chose Predation, I would gain the various possibilities of a newly born monster.
My possibilities would become richer, and I might gain new traits or strengthen existing ones.
But I would lose the opportunity to gain as a retainer someone who had fought on equal terms with me, even if briefly.
If I chose Retainer Transformation, I would gain a new ally besides my existing companions.
A capable retainer who would thoroughly obey my commands and whose future growth was promising.
But I would have to give up the numerous possibilities that could only be obtained by devouring him.
Both were choices with advantages and disadvantages.
[Remaining time: 0 hours 0 minutes]
There was no more time to think. 59 seconds remained. Before the trial ended, I had to choose between devouring him or making him a retainer.
*'Ah, I don't know.'*
"Hey. Do you want to become my retainer? If you become a retainer, you won't die, and you'll probably be able to learn and directly use what I showed you earlier. You'd have to follow me though. Will you still do it?"
I gave him the choice. If he refused, I'd devour him with Predation, and if he accepted, he'd become my retainer.
If he didn't want to become my retainer in the first place, it would all be pointless. And obedience not chosen by oneself was meaningless.
Even if I forced him to follow, would that be efficient? I had to make him truly want to follow.
The guy seemed to have a stronger desire to live than to kill me.
He nodded, showing he was willing to submit to me.
"I'll... follow... you... I... want to... live..."
"Alright. You're my retainer now."
I used Retainer Transformation on him.
[You have made ??? your retainer.]
[Your power dwells within ???.]
[Please name your retainer.]
My energy seeped into him, breathing vitality into his dying body. Whether he shared my immortality, the blown-away half of his upper body was rapidly recovering.
And his form, which had been perfect but with a terrible appearance like patched rags, was also changing as it regenerated.
He was becoming more human-like.
*'What would be a good name?'*
He's a life form created following me. If I'm Adam, wouldn't it be fine to consider this guy Eve?
I didn't have much time left to think anyway. I just went with what came to mind.
"From now on, your name is Eve. My name is Han Yeong-min."
"Eve... Got it. That's my name. My master is Han Yeong-min."
As her body changed to become more human-like, her vocal organs also normalized, and her halting speech disappeared.
*'But... she looks similar to Baal..?'*
Whether the power absorbed from me caused special changes in her body, her appearance changed to resemble Baal.
[One of the Demon Kings of Pandemonium is bewildered.]
She probably felt that too.
She looked very similar to Baal as I saw her on the 2nd floor. Of course, they weren't completely identical, and unlike her white hair and red eyes, her hair and eyes were the same black color as mine.
It felt like me and Baal mixed half and half?
Whether this was because Baal's presence had grown that much within me, or because the origin of my power was Baal, I didn't know, but I just accepted it.
'What's good is good.'
It was much better than her hideous appearance before.
Since her appearance had become more human-like, I couldn't just leave her as she was, so I dressed her in a full set of Hero-grade martial arts equipment I had prepared just in case.
It has automatic repair functions and changes size to fit the wearer, so it shouldn't be uncomfortable.
"Oh..! I became stronger wearing this..!"
I didn't know since I'd never encountered monsters using artifacts, but equipment effects do seem to apply.
*'I've gained another means to strengthen retainers.'*
I was right not to devour him with Predation.
After dressing her completely, messages appeared as the trial ended.
[You have cleared the Hell difficulty 3rd floor trial of the Testing Floors for the first time.]
[Rewards are enhanced.]
[You have defeated all monsters]
[Rewards are greatly enhanced.]
[You are in a penalized state.]
[Rewards are very greatly enhanced.]
[Rewards have reached maximum level.]
[Rewards from floors 1 and 2 are stacked.]
[Would you like to receive your rewards?]
[Yes / No.]
Up to here was the usual routine. But this time, a new message was added.
[You have succeeded in perfectly subduing a special entity.]
[You acquire the title: Conqueror of the Unknown (Rare).]
*'Oh. Did I finally get a title?'*
A special power obtained when achieving accomplishments worthy of recognition in the tower. Just possessing it has effects, and equipped titles have double effects.
I heard you usually don't get them in the Testing Floors, but this must have been a worthy accomplishment.
I immediately checked the information.
[Conqueror of the Unknown (Rare): A title given to those who conquered hidden pieces in the Testing Floors.
① Stats:
All stats +1]
It was a simple but good effect.
Since stats have great meaning in the tower, gaining 6 to all stats just by possessing it was priceless.
And since the effect doubles when equipped, this one title alone could give me 12 stats.
I also liked that it raised all stats evenly without causing ability imbalances.
Since I didn't have any titles anyway, I immediately equipped it and felt my abilities increase slightly.
Having received additional rewards in good spirits, I immediately skipped the existing rewards.
[You have skipped the rewards.]
[The value of the rewards will be stacked on the next floor's rewards.]
Looking at the space beginning to slowly crumble, I said to Eve.
"Follow me. I'll take you to a new place."
Just as the legendary Eve left the unchanging Garden of Eden for the mundane world, my Eve was also leaving the eternally unchanging world of trials for a broader world.
We headed toward the portal together.
To head toward a broader world.