Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Taming the Heavenly Horse
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Murim's Tianshan.
A massive mountain range of sheer cliffs, towering peaks, and endless ridges that would take dozens of days to traverse.
The place once home to the group known as the "Heavenly Demon Cult," or simply the "Demonic Cult," had now become land for one man alone.
The Heavenly Demon, Jin Ha-ryeong.
He stood atop the snow-covered highest peak, gazing down at those climbing up from below.
"It's been a while since I've seen people around here."
"No wonder. You killed them all."
A massive crowd pushed through the neatly piled snow, ascending. There were enough to fill the peak entirely, each one with eyes steeled for death.
Leading them was Jin Do-ha, former head of the Murim Alliance and the Sword King.
"Still haven't given up?"
Jin Ha-ryeong spoke as if utterly fed up.
This wasn't the first time Jin Do-ha had come to kill him.
"Didn't I tell you? You can't kill me. You're nothing but the byproduct left after heaven birthed me."
"Shut your mouth."
"Little bro."
Jin Do-ha shuddered at Jin Ha-ryeong's words.
"Remember this one thing. Half the people who die here today will be on your hands."
"Little... bro?"
"Did he just call him little bro?"
"The Sword King and Heavenly Demon...?"
The murmurs around them grew louder. The warriors Jin Do-ha had led glanced back and forth between him and Jin Ha-ryeong.
The aged Jin Do-ha and the youthful Jin Ha-ryeong, who didn't even look middle-aged. If they were truly brothers, it was clear who'd gotten mixed up as the older and younger.
"Go back. I'm thinking of letting you off today."
"Then promise me. Swear you'll stop all the killing from now on. Atone for the sins you've committed."
The Heavenly Demon.
He was the strongest in the tower, and the one who drew the most hatred.
The Demonic Cult vanished by his hand, and Jin Do-ha's predecessor as Murim Alliance head died. Afterward, he wandered the tower's floors, massacring any guilds that caught his eye.
No one knew when the Heavenly Demon might strike next.
Terror like that had been etched into countless guilds.
"I can't do that."
"Why the hell...!"
"Because we need to go higher."
"That again?!"
Through their past conversations, Jin Do-ha knew he couldn't stop Jin Ha-ryeong with words alone. The only way to halt him was with the edge of a blade.
After steadying his breath, Jin Do-ha's eyes sharpened once more.
"Today won't be easy."
Thud.
As if recognizing it was time for introductions, one man stepped forward toward Jin Ha-ryeong.
"It's been a while. Do you remember me?"
For a moment, the Heavenly Demon's eyes narrowed upon seeing the man's half-ruined face.
"A sparrow trying to imitate a hawk."
It was already the fourth day of nonstop challenges.
The content had repeated so much that even the title had changed.
Find the Heavenly Horse, fail to tame it. Fall from its back dozens of times over.
How many attempts was this now?
Counting them wasn't hard.
Failures piled up one after another, as if to reverse all his successes so far.
Failure. Failure. Failure again.
And then the fall.
Viola and her Heavenly Horse caught Soo-hyuk plummeting toward Valhalla's depths below, just like before.
"Forty-first time."
Neigh.
Viola, counting attempts in sync with the viewers, and the Heavenly Horse gripping Soo-hyuk's clothes in its teeth while snorting mockingly.
Soo-hyuk, out of words, hung his head low.
Even the zero-win icon was getting roasted via sponsorships.
'This won't do.'
Trying the same approach over and over was pointless. He needed a different method.
Knocking something out and forcing submission was one thing, but taming an animal was clearly not his forte.
He needed a new idea. But he'd already tried pretty much everything over the past four days.
"Don't rush it. Take your time slowly. Getting used to each other is half the battle. Heavenly Horses aren't something you tame in a day or two."
"How long did it take you, Viola?"
"About five years for me."
"...Five years?"
Soo-hyuk's eyes visible beyond his mask shook violently.
Five years.
That was a timeframe he hadn't even considered.
Come to think of it, it wasn't that strange.
Soo-hyuk had just cleared trials at an unusually fast pace. Normally, most players spent considerable time climbing each floor.
Plus, what he was trying to ascend now was the staircase to the 8th floor. It'd be weirder if the trial was easy.
But then.
A mission dropped like sweet rain amid the tension.
"...Huh?"
As if everyone but him already knew, Soo-hyuk's face lit up at the new mission.
"Thanks for the mission."
Pledge made.
The sun set. They challenged twice more after that, but failed as expected.
They ate the bread and jerky they'd brought along late, then lit a campfire.
"That makes forty-third."
Viola reminded him of the count again, as if she'd gotten into it.
Soo-hyuk wasn't too hung up on the failure count.
What mattered more was how to tame that damn Heavenly Horse.
"Try luring it with food again?"
"We tried clouds, since that's what they like."
"Anything else it likes?"
"What they love most is freedom. That's why they're so hard to tame."
No matter how much he talked with Viola, nothing clicked. He chewed on jerky, sinking back into thought.
'Even if I solve some other trial somehow, it means nothing without taming that thing. So how...'
Snort.
It was then.
Viola's Heavenly Horse right beside them crouched down, showing clear fear.
There was only one situation that made it react like that.
"Huh?"
Clop.
A Heavenly Horse emerged from the clouds, accompanied by the sound of hard hooves.
The king of Heavenly Horses that Soo-hyuk needed to tame.
"It came looking for us first?"
It stood at a distance, staring at Soo-hyuk.
This wasn't some random encounter while wandering.
'It came for me?'
Their eyes met. It didn't approach closer, just observed him.
Soo-hyuk had no special talent for reading spirit beast eyes. But even he could tell at a glance that it wanted something from him.
"...Did this one have an owner before?"
Viola flinched visibly in surprise.
"How'd you know?"
"Was it Thor?"
"How'd you guess that?"
No way.
'I thought of it too late.'
He'd thought it was some grindy trial, but it wasn't. The trial had already given him a hint.
"Thunder's Wings."
"Pardon?"
"Guess it missed its old master."
The reason it wandered alone wasn't because it was bigger or stronger than others.
The way it lingered without coming closer from afar was surely due to the familiar sensation it felt from him.
Thor, wielder of thunder's power. A Heavenly Horse that once served that Thor as master.
It was drawn to him because of the thunder power he'd gradually shown.
Whoosh.
Soo-hyuk stood, swallowing the jerky in his mouth whole, and approached the Heavenly Horse.
"Is this what you were looking for?"
Crackle.
Blue lightning sparked from Soo-hyuk's fingertips.
It was considerable output. He raised the thunder as if ready to explode it at any moment.
And sure enough, the Heavenly Horse didn't flee.
Clop.
Instead, it drew even closer to Soo-hyuk.
Drawn like to a scent. The more he summoned thunder, the more it was pulled in.
Crackle!
So what Soo-hyuk had to do now was simple.
Just prove he was the chosen one worthy of thunder's power.
'Is it working?'
Thud.
But.
Having thunder didn't mean he could just become its master willy-nilly.
Neigh!
As if warning him not to come closer, the Heavenly Horse threateningly raised its front hoof.
Your allowed distance ends here. That's what it seemed to say.
"Alright, alright. Got it."
Soo-hyuk took a step back.
No need to provoke the barely calmed beast. At this state, it'd surely come find him again.
He'd found the approach.
Now, as Viola said, just take it slow and build rapport.
'Bonding, was it.'
Then today was enough.
"Too bad."
He'd reached the answer, but it wasn't 100% satisfaction.
It'd be a task to overcome eventually, but there was a mission on this trial.
"Looks like Safe Asset's mission is..."
A failure, he was about to say.
"It's real."
He spun around at the chilling, thorn-like sensation.
But the voice's owner had vanished like a mirage.
"We're acquainted, right? Nice to see you."
The mocking voice came from the opposite direction this time.
Only then did Soo-hyuk recall hearing it a few days ago.
"Not exactly thrilled to see you."
"Fair. Guess I'm the only one happy right now."
Loki.
Asgard's second prince and Thor's half-brother.
He waved at Soo-hyuk with a prankster's grin.
"Half-expected it, but real thunder after all. Surprising."
"Jealous?"
"You really know nothing. No god wouldn't covet that."
Snake-like eyes gleaming with greed scanned Soo-hyuk up and down.
Disgusting gaze. Meeting those eyes, Soo-hyuk looked down.
Loki's lips twisted below his line of sight.
"Quick on the uptake."
Loki's eyes held a special power.
He couldn't pinpoint what, but mana flowed abnormally centered on those eyes.
"I just don't get it. Why thunder ended up in hands like yours. Why Father and Tyr allowed it."
Soon, Loki's voice whispered in his ear.
"And why they're giving you wings."
Boom!
He reflexively fired lightning. Despite power ripping clouds apart, Loki reappeared unscathed.
"Good thing though? Unlike with big bro, killing a human like you and taking it won't cause issues. Music to my ears."
"...Knew something felt off."
"Hm?"
Soo-hyuk looked up, meeting Loki's eyes again.
Staring into them felt like a sharp spear piercing his chest.
He'd thought that was Loki's presence, but it was an illusion.
"You're not it after all."
Crackle!
The lightning flowing from Soo-hyuk's body changed color. Gold and blue mixed into black, granting power to meet Loki's gaze.
Now he could finally see.
"Those eyes-."
Beyond Loki.
Another figure watching him, face concealed.
"Who'd you get them from?"