Chapter 175
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: The Fifth Trial
[US Suffers Heavy Losses. Leviathan Appears in Manhattan, Causes Catastrophic Damage….]
[New York City Allocates 3.8 Trillion Won for Displaced Residents]
[American Icon, the Statue of Liberty, Destroyed. "A Dungeon Break? There Weren't Even Any Signs."]
[Over 10 Pyramids in Egypt Vanish. Head of Egyptian Antiquities: "They're Mocking Human History Itself."]
[Japan: 'A Quarter of Hokkaido's Area Lost,' Monster Suppression Deemed Virtually Impossible]
The media was in a frenzy, churning out breaking news day after day about the mysterious monster outbreaks occurring all over the world.
Among them, the articles dominating the headlines were, naturally, about South Korea.
"See? That's the Great Tiger Guild for you! What would've happened to our country if it weren't for them? America and Japan are in an uproar, but we're perfectly fine, all thanks to my granddaughter in the Great Tiger Guild!"
"Excuse me, is the Great Tiger the only guild in this country? My grandson is with Manseong, and he's always working late, coming home injured. Oh, I'm worried sick."
The streets were as ordinary as ever.
Compared to other countries, South Korea was in an exceptionally good position.
Sure, a black flame had fallen from the sky somewhere in Gapyeong, and a massive horde of monsters had suddenly appeared without any sign of a dungeon break.
But they were annihilated in an instant.
The monsters were massacred on the spot before they even had a chance to flee.
"Ma'am, Sir. To be honest, the Great Tiger and Manseong guilds didn't do anything."
"Huh? What are you talking about? Do you have any idea how hard my Ui-seong is working?"
"Tsk, tsk, this young man doesn't know a thing. My Mi-ju said her Guild Master or whatever flew all the way to Gapyeong and wiped them all out."
"Yes, and I'm saying that Nam Gang-ryul didn't do anything…"
"Hey! You brat! Is Nam Gang-ryul your friend or something? You don't know anything!"
Young-jin, who had chimed into the conversation for no reason, got an earful.
He was only trying to tell them the truth, but all he got was a scolding.
"No, I mean, I…"
"Chief Shim, stop slacking off and get over here!"
"Anyway, the man who took care of all the monsters in Gapyeong was Lee Do-jae, so you should know that!"
Young-jin hastily spat out the words and ran toward Ji-yoon.
"Where's Do-jae?"
"He said he's on his way!"
"But a party, at a time like this? Do you think it's okay?"
"We need days like this! How else are we supposed to live?"
"You've got a point there…"
Young-jin and Ji-yoon, their hands full of bags, headed toward the guild office.
The two elderly people, who had been clucking their tongues at Young-jin, looked at each other and asked the questions on their minds.
"Tsk, tsk. But who is this Lee Do-jae?"
"Oh, you know, isn't he that young man who was in the papers for a bit and then disappeared?"
***
A place filled with the refreshing scent of trees and the chirping of mountain birds.
One step forward, and it transformed into a place thick with sticky humidity and teeming with wild plants.
And that wasn't all.
Another step, and it became a place where a blizzard raged, his feet sinking deep into the snow.
As he continued to move forward, the space Do-jae occupied changed from moment to moment, eventually becoming a world so disoriented, with up, down, left, and right all mixed up, that it felt like he was losing his mind.
"Steady your mind."
A man with skin like white jade and a slender body appeared in the air.
If not for his broad shoulders, flat chest, and narrow hips, he was beautiful enough to be mistaken for a woman.
"Partisan, how am I supposed to steady my mind? A person can't just stop thinking."
The man Do-jae called Partisan.
He was a High Elf with pointed ears.
"Hahaha! That is my trial. Focus. You already possess the qualifications."
The fifth Ascetic, the High Elf Partisan.
His trial was to manifest whatever Do-jae thought of right before his eyes.
The scenes Do-jae imagined were materialized in his mental world.
Like this.
- A vast ocean.
As Partisan shouted, a boundless sea appeared.
Instantly plunged into the water, Do-jae sank continuously.
He could hold his breath for an hour, even two, and had no intention of swimming to the surface anyway.
But Partisan wasn't one to leave him be.
- A storm rages upon the sea!
Dark clouds formed in an instant, and a gale blew in with thunder and lightning.
The more detailed the description, the more Do-jae was forced to imagine it.
Ultimately, it became reality, and Do-jae was swept up by the violent waves, spinning round and round.
"Gurgle…!"
To escape the sea, Do-jae imagined a new scene.
A comfortable space, a place with good memories.
He tried to recall eating a delicious meal with Do-young at Eun-hee's house.
But Partisan's voice, hammering into his brain, forced him to picture a different place.
- A beach. A sandy shore with warm sunlight and a cool breeze!
*Flop—.*
Do-jae, who had been tossed about in the deep sea, landed on a beach of fine sand.
Seizing the opportunity, Do-jae composed himself and once again tried to think of Eun-hee's house.
But this time, the location didn't change.
*Shhk- Shhk-.*
Partisan approached, his elegant steps treading on the sand.
He took Do-jae's arm and helped him up.
"Haha. Not easy, is it?"
"How could it be? This is something humans are absolutely incapable of…"
Do-jae grumbled with a discontented look.
To think of only one scene?
To focus on a single thought?
Wasn't that something only a monk who had reached nirvana could do?
No matter how much Do-jae was an Awakened who had surpassed the S-rank, he was still a mere human who felt pain and had countless stray thoughts.
If someone next to him said, ‘You are now conscious of your breathing,’ Do-jae would immediately start to feel uncomfortable inhaling and exhaling.
"I told you. You've already grown enough to control your mind. That stat. Your Mental stat proves it."
"Well, I know my memory and comprehension have improved immensely. But isn't this a different realm altogether?"
"It's the same. In the end, it's all about how deeply you can immerse yourself."
Immersion.
And who was it that was disturbing that immersion?
Wasn't it Partisan who kept interfering?
"Whew. This isn't going as I thought."
"Shall I help you?"
"Please do. And stop tormenting me."
"Hahaha. Very well."
As soon as Partisan finished speaking, everything suddenly went dark.
Complete darkness.
Only Do-jae was illuminated, able to see his own form.
"What the…?"
- Form an image. An image is crucial for immersion and focus.
The darkness wasn't the end.
Gradually, Do-jae's legs disappeared, and the darkness continued to rise until it consumed him up to his chin.
"An image? What kind of image… Mmph…"
The darkness rose further, making his mouth disappear.
He could no longer speak. His nose vanished, his ears vanished, and finally, his eyes vanished as well.
Now, he couldn't even perceive the darkness.
‘I can't feel anything….’
Once his sensory organs were gone, he could no longer feel the darkness.
No, something that was neither darkness nor light settled into his consciousness.
As physical information disappeared, the scope of his thoughts expanded.
He could imagine things faster and more infinitely than usual.
‘Should I call this focus?’
Do-jae was filled with doubt.
Though the breadth of his thoughts had widened, their depth remained the same.
Swimming through imagination was something he could do even in his dreams.
Focusing on a single thought.
He had to discard everything else.
‘This is terrifying….’
The thought that then arose was fear.
When his senses first disappeared, it was comfortable.
Since he couldn't feel anything, nothing was frightening.
Fear, after all, arises when one's life is threatened.
The fundamental principle of a living being is survival, so anything perceived as a threat to survival is expressed as fear, whether consciously or unconsciously.
But Do-jae, having lost everything, could no longer feel the sense of survival a living being should.
This, in turn, made his fear disappear, but paradoxically, the absence of fear made him feel afraid.
‘I'm scared…!’
The terror grew and grew.
If he had skin, he would have broken out in a cold sweat. If he had teeth, they would have been chattering.
Fear beget fear, and Do-jae became buried in that single emotion.
‘I'm scared…!’
*Flash-!*
Just then, Do-jae returned to the beach.
The salty smell and the cool, blowing wind.
The vast blue sea and the refreshing sound of the waves.
Do-jae tasted the metallic tang of blood as he opened his mouth.
"I bit my tongue…"
"Is that all?"
Partisan asked, sounding incredulous.
Do-jae wondered what to say before simply nodding.
"Hahaha. Interesting. Your first words are about the sensation of biting your tongue. You're the first being to say something like that. Kahahaha."
Partisan burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
The Ascetic Partisan was a person—no, a god—who laughed quite a lot.
"Pardon? Does that mean there have been others who've had this experience?"
"Of course. I can't say it was exactly the same, but I made them experience something very similar."
"Experience what?"
"The things that gods always feel!"
“……”
Do-jae was at a loss for words.
The experience he had just been through.
It was by no means a pleasant one.
In the end, he had been so seized by terror and despair that he couldn't even think straight.
To hear that they felt such things all the time made him see Partisan in a new light.
"Well, you get used to it in the end. It's quite common for those who first gain divinity to be gripped by fear, just like you."
"Divinity…"
"Yes, a process like this is necessary to manifest that quality."
"Phew…"
Do-jae let out a deep sigh.
He had never even considered that such abstract actions would be necessary for someone like him, who was merely borrowing the Ascetics' power.
"Some beings even went mad from it, you know?"
"Being a god sounds truly difficult."
"It is. Not just anyone can possess divinity. Anyway, shall we resume the trial?"
"Alright. Let's do it."
Do-jae steeled his resolve.
He had realized something through his recent experience.
Thoughts are like water, and to contain water, you need a vessel.
And that vessel is emotion.
A boiling emotion allowed him to immerse himself in a single thought.
*Bubble, bubble-.*
A dining table in a home, set with delicious-looking side dishes.
The familiar kitchen of Eun-hee's house appeared.
Eun-hee and Do-young weren't there, but the scene looked as though they had just been eating a moment ago.
"Oho! It's not changing anymore, is it?"
Do-jae took a step.
Unlike before, his surroundings didn't change as he walked.
He picked up a spoon from the table and even smelled the savory scent of the soybean paste stew.
*Clap, clap, clap-.*
"You pass! Hahaha!"
Partisan approached, looking pleased.
He seemed to be in a good mood, his pointed ears twitching.
"It worked…"
*Flash-.*
The moment he relaxed, his surroundings changed again.
One moment he was on a cloud, the next in a pension in Busan, and now, he was in the Guardian Guild's office.
*Flash-!*
"That's enough!"
At Partisan's words, the scenery stopped changing.
They were in a forest filled with ancient-looking trees.
There, Partisan placed a hand on Do-jae's stomach.
"This is the authority I grant you. I hope you will use it well."
Partisan's divinity flowed into his body.
The last thing Do-jae saw was the message window that appeared before his eyes, and then he was returned to where he had been.
[You have acquired a new skill.]
[The passive skill ‘Golem's Domain’ has been added.]