Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Joint Victory and the Will's Gift
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As if to prove that the words of the inner self were no lie, the tentacles around him doubled in number.
Tentacles of flesh and bone.
Just counting them, there were nearly fifty.
The problem was the amount of mana each of those tentacles held.
Each one brimmed with mana close to B-Grade levels.
To put it simply, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that fifty C to B-Grade wizards were blocking my path.
Those grotesque things writhing disgustingly shot toward me at high speed.
Paaat—!
I reinforced my body with mana and swiftly retreated backward.
There was no need to deal with the tentacles directly.
The victory condition for the final trial was for someone's body to touch the inner self's body.
If I kept its attention while Lee Seojun touched it, my goal would be achieved.
And as I hoped, Lee Seojun charged toward it.
Some of the tentacles that had stayed behind to protect the inner self shot toward Lee Seojun, but they were sliced in half by the sword he swung.
But—
The severed tentacles wriggled grotesquely as if nothing had happened and regenerated.
The regenerated tentacles shot toward Lee Seojun again, hindering his approach.
"Tch!"
Faced with the relentless tricky attacks, Lee Seojun momentarily fell back.
Watching him, I felt uneasy.
The tentacles' movements were unnatural.
Not only had their numbers increased compared to the original story, but their speed and sharpness were impossibly fast and precise.
In the original plot, Lee Seojun hadn't struggled this much...
While I was briefly distracted by Lee Seojun.
Piuung!
The tip of a tentacle sharpened and shot toward my head.
I barely twisted my head to dodge the attack. A line was scratched across my cheek, and blood beaded up.
"Whew. That was close."
At this rate, someone might get eliminated before we even reached it.
And as if refusing to give me any respite, another tentacle shot toward me.
I blocked it by blasting it with magic, but even that had its limits.
They kept regenerating like immortal beings.
At that moment, the trunks of the severed tentacles began to multiply, increasing their numbers further.
"...No way, they're multiplying even more here?"
The difficulty had already doubled and was tough enough, and now they were increasing?
Lee Seojun also fell back with a flustered expression and shouted at me.
"Kim Sunwoo! Aim for the main body!"
I nodded.
That was the only way.
No matter how many tentacles we cut down, they would just keep regenerating and wearing us out.
On top of that, as time passed, their numbers grew and they got stronger.
So, we had to end this trial quickly before things got even worse.
I looked at the inner self hiding behind the tentacles.
Its head was turned toward me.
As if taunting, *What are you going to do now?*
"...Tch."
It seemed the thing knew my goal of handing the win to Lee Seojun.
If this kept up, one of us would get eliminated without achieving anything, leading to an irreversible situation.
If that happened, it would cause major disruptions to future plans.
"Lee Seojun! When I give the signal, match it and charge at it!"
Lee Seojun, who was battling the tentacles, turned his gaze to me at my words.
"What?!"
"When I give the signal, let's both charge at it together!"
"Got it!"
Fortunately, Lee Seojun seemed to understand what I meant.
After hearing his response, I manifested magic.
It wasn't a neutral orb.
Feeling the need for a wider-range attack, I manifested wind attribute.
Paaang!
The wind orb shot forward and spread out widely in the shape of blades.
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, the tentacles were sliced in half one after another and fell to the floor.
And now, with their front line disrupted—
"Charge!"
I shouted loudly to Lee Seojun.
Lee Seojun reacted to my call, slicing through the tentacles in front of him as he rushed toward the inner self.
The inner self showed a moment of panic but responded calmly.
It recalled the tentacles toward itself, forming a wall.
But Lee Seojun and I calmly used our specialties to dismantle the wall in front of us.
[Kugh!]
The inner self took a step back.
Then, as if making a final struggle, it spread its arms wide and mobilized all the tentacles to target Lee Seojun and me.
However, Lee Seojun and I were charging at it with nearly all our mana depleted.
There was no way mere tentacles could catch up to that speed.
And so, we reached out toward the body of the 'inner self.'
And.
Lee Seojun's and my hands touched the inner self's body.
Ttak!
At that moment, the world was dyed pure white.
[The winner of the 'Dream World' has been decided!]
[All trials in the 'Dream World' will now end!]
[Entering the 'Altar of the Victor.']
The 'Will' followed.
When I came to, I was standing alone in a pure white space with nothing in it.
"...Am I the victor?"
I panicked, looking at the suddenly changed scenery.
This was the 'Altar of the Victor.'
In the original story, it was the mystical place where Seongmuje's victor stopped briefly to obtain the 'Tiger.'
['Seongmuje Final Victory' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 10,000 points acquired.]
I stared at the message in front of me.
Seongmuje Final Victory.
I blankly gazed at it before dismissing the message and slowly walking forward.
Then, I paused and crouched down in place.
"...Haa."
A sigh escaped me.
It was good that we'd somehow survived the monstrous inner self.
But I hadn't expected to become the victor instead of Lee Seojun.
The situation had grown increasingly dire, forcing me to give it my all, but this outcome was unforeseen.
As I felt various emotions—
[Congratulations, Kim Sunwoo.]
A voice rang out.
It was no different from the voice of the 'inner self' I'd just fought.
"Where are you?"
[I am manifested as the 'Will,' so I have no physical body.]
The voice came from the empty air.
It felt strange, like talking to myself.
Regaining my composure, I asked what I was curious about.
"Did Lee Seojun fail?"
[No. Lee Seojun is in another 'Altar of the Victor,' just like this one where you are.]
A sigh of relief escaped me.
Lee Seojun being at the Victor's Altar meant...
He had won alongside me.
"...Joint victory, huh."
[Yes. Your hand and Lee Seojun's touched my body simultaneously. An incredibly slim probability, even by ritual calculations.]
To achieve this result despite such odds.
I was satisfied.
Joint victory with Lee Seojun.
For me, it was the best possible outcome.
['Hero's Blessing' will be granted equally to Kim Sunwoo and Lee Seojun. Hero's Blessing enhances concentration in specific situations and grants the courage to feel no fear even in extreme circumstances. In a way, Hero's Blessing can be called the 'qualities a hero must possess.']
A pure white light poured out in front of me.
The light gradually approached me and seeped into my body.
I closed my eyes and felt the new power settling within me.
[Adaptive trait, 'Hero's Blessing (S)' added.]
[All stats increase by 10.]
[Concentration greatly enhanced.]
[Strong courage obtained.]
[Fatigue accumulates less easily.]
[Mental magic resistance increased by 10%.]
I'd gained a trait.
The 'Hero's Blessing' that only Lee Seojun had in the original story.
Looking at the acquired abilities, it was indeed worthy of being called the 'qualities needed for a hero.'
I closed my eyes and felt the changes in my body.
With the stat increase, I felt an overall improvement in condition.
As for concentration and courage...
I wasn't sure yet.
I'd feel it in the next battle.
[How is my gift?]
The Will spoke again then.
The word 'gift' caught my attention.
[Do you know? Actually, this situation was my intention.]
I was momentarily flustered by the Apostle's sudden words.
"Your intention?"
[Yes. As I explained before, I am bound by the world's laws. I cannot change a predetermined future. But through my conversation with you, I felt a small freedom behind my eyes. In other words, I was able to momentarily escape the world's laws.]
This was the Apostle of Observation speaking, not the inner self I'd faced earlier.
[I didn't expect this either. To escape the world's laws, even briefly, just by conversing with you who possess freedom!]
Emotion unlike its usual self colored the voice.
[So, I wanted to give you a gift. Namely, I manipulated the trial with my will to create a world where you and Lee Seojun met in the early stage and won together.]
I was at a loss for words.
Meeting Lee Seojun in the early stage and the sudden difficulty spike in the final trial.
All of it had been a plan for joint victory.
[Joint victory wasn't that difficult. I have near-perfect ritual calculation abilities, after all. Of course, the 'freedom' you possess was a variable?]
A chuckling laugh came through.
It was a pleased laugh from the confidence of a successful plan.
[But perhaps because I acted too freely, almost no freedom remains in my body now. It seems the freedom I gained from you is a consumable energy-like power.]
I couldn't react.
You gained freedom from me, the freedom is consumed— even if you tell me, I can't feel such a power.
At my silence, a small chuckle came from the voice again.
[I must have gotten too excited and talked too much alone. As atonement, I'll give you one more gift. The things I learned while briefly gaining freedom. First, due to your intervention, the world is changing rapidly. Future events are being pulled forward.]
"The future is being accelerated?"
[Yes. Have you not experienced events you thought would happen in the future occurring sooner?]
I had.
The Atlantis raid by Jawoon for acquiring 'Poseidon.'
An event that should have happened a year later, but for some reason, it was pulled forward.
At the time, I thought it was just butterfly effect changes.
But thinking about it, it was a bit odd.
No matter how much of a butterfly effect, could Lee Seojun and Jawoon boarding Atlantis coincide exactly?
[From your expression, you have had such an experience. The reason is likely that your power of freedom is overriding the world's laws. And such accelerations of future events will happen even more going forward.]
I learned for the first time that future events could be pulled forward as is.
This was a serious issue.
Major events in the future.
They might be too much for the protagonists who haven't grown properly yet.
[And last time, you asked me, didn't you? How Lee Seojun dies.]
I nodded slightly.
[I cannot tell you how that person dies. However, as I mentioned earlier, due to your intervention, the possibility has arisen that the future where that person dies will be pulled much further forward. Namely, your 'power of freedom.' Because it influences others.]
["...Lee Seojun's death is also being accelerated?"]
The death of Lee Seojun I'd witnessed happened when he was '25 years old.'
An event six years in the future.
[Yes, it will likely be greatly accelerated. How much, I cannot say exactly. But the event could happen as soon as tomorrow—the time will be pulled forward rapidly.]