The Punch That Parts the Heavens
It was a story from when I was still young and immature, but there was a time when I sought to shatter the heavens. Of course, it was only a metaphor. As a reincarnator, I knew the heavens had no physical form. To speak without metaphor, I simply wanted to see my fist reach the sky. Picture it—the shockwave of a punch thrown from the ground racing upward to cleave the clouds in two. Is that not magnificent?
I went through countless trials and errors. What was always lacking was raw power. My fists had bored holes through mountains, pulverized boulders into dust, and rendered the reinforced qi of many murim masters meaningless, yet they never reached the sky. And even when they did, they only punched tiny holes in the clouds, never creating the grand spectacle I desired.
Power. Power. All I needed was power. Not merely a fist that could touch the heavens, but one that could split them in half.
After ceaseless effort, on a cloudy day, I stood atop a mountain peak and swung my fist. Before long, the sun that had been hiding its face emerged from between the dark clouds. That day, I perfected my Divine Fist.
The compression of internal energy, condensed to its limit and fired from the entire body as a single devastating strike.
The air near the black entity’s mouth grew hazy. That much pressure had been added. It would fire soon. Could I offset it? Could I pierce through? Could I neutralize that immense energy? I held no certainty. There had never been a time I felt certain in such moments. When I took action, it was because I wanted to, not because I was assured of victory. Still…
Wouldn’t it be interesting? To erase the breath fired from that black thing’s maw with a single punch. A smile rose unbidden to my lips.
In the past, when I longed to split the sky, I constantly pondered one question: how could I produce even greater force with the same amount of power? Even then, this one was the Heavenly Demon, and my strong fist was powerful enough to claim superiority over anyone in the murim. Yet splitting the heavens remained an arduous task. There was a limit to simply pursuing a stronger punch.
To achieve what I desired, I ultimately had to change my approach. After much contemplation, I arrived at compression. Reducing the internal energy lingering within my body again and again, concentrating it into my feet for a stomp, then using my entire body as a cannon to fire the energy forth.
My reinforced qi could already carve fissures into the earth with mere intent. What would happen if I condensed that power into a single mass and launched it? It would be a thunderbolt striking from the ground toward the sky.
The internal energy I possess in this version of myself within Apis is less than what I had when I split the heavens back then, but what does that matter? No matter how great this black entity may be, could it possibly stand higher than the sky itself?
Now then. Come. Just as you prepared a gift for me, I too have prepared a present for you. This is a wager. The one whose gift proves smaller shall offer their neck.
The trembling air around the black entity’s mouth suddenly stopped. It was coming.
The fundamentals of a fist never change. One must not simply swing the arm, but strike with the entire body. From the feet. The legs. The waist. The shoulders. The arms. The wrists. The fingertips. Forward.
My Divine Fist collided with the breath exhaled by the black entity.
There was no sound. The air itself that would have carried it had been completely shattered, so all I could feel was pressure.
Once the clash ended, the scattered air rushed back in, unleashing a ferocious gale. Dust clouded my vision. Yet it could not hide that presence.
In the collision just now, there was no victor. A draw. Each of us had canceled out the other’s attack.
Hoo. This is troublesome.
It had been an attack thrown with all my strength, yet I never assumed the opponent had gone all out. That would have been far too optimistic a delusion.
Had this been the murim, I would have gladly accepted defeat. However, this was not the murim. It was not even reality. This place was nothing more than a world inside a game. What was a player’s privilege? The ability to challenge as many times as one wished until satisfied.
Next time, I will surely win.
When I came to my senses, the shield knight was staring at me with eyes full of complicated emotion. I couldn’t discern everything, but the dominant feelings seemed to be reverence, fear, and a touch of wonder.
“Child. You were right. Your dagger was exceedingly sharp.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“Thanks to you, it was most enjoyable. Therefore, accompany me a little longer.”
I could not possibly withdraw after a defeat. Come now. Accept the rematch quickly. And summon that black entity once more. Though I lost this time, the next shall be different.
Even after I sent the direct request, the shield knight did not accept my invitation.
“Why do you refuse?”
“Hwaryeong-nim. That was our promised tenth match, remember? I’m only human, so I’m getting tired too.”
“It is fine. You need only summon the Outer God and watch from afar.”
“Goodbye… Ah. Wait. Are you serious? You actually want me to? No, this… this isn’t it. I’ll die.”
The shield knight, who had been trying to speak, suddenly began muttering to himself. He was probably talking with his viewers. I hoped they would help persuade him. Surely they too would want to watch a human challenge a colossal being.
“Ugh, forget it. Hey. Hwaryeong-nim.”
“What is it?”
“Dude… you suck at this.”
Huh…? How dare you toy with this one?
Very well. I understand. I understand your intention very, very clearly. Therefore, I shall do exactly as you wish. You will soon learn just how dangerous the opponent you provoked truly is. I shall teach you personally.
After ending her broadcast, Enry lay on her bed scrolling through community hot posts and couldn’t stop herself from gasping in admiration at the video of the user named Hwaryeong.
The user Hwaryeong was like every romantic fantasy that people who played the Heavenly Demon class had ever dreamed of, all condensed into one person. The lofty gait, the meaningful glances, the arrogant tone backed by overwhelming skill—she could truly be called the Heavenly Demon incarnate.
The way she toyed with Dekay in particular filled Enry with vicarious satisfaction. Dekay stood at the absolute top of the food chain among Turret’s Apis users. He was a monster who supposedly required an active pro player to guarantee victory. The number of missions Enry had failed after being sniped by him was more than she cared to count. In monetary terms, it easily reached several hundred thousand won.
She had always wanted to mess with him at least once but lacked the skill to do so. Seeing someone accomplish it in her stead made praise inevitable.
To think the user had dodged Dekay’s sure-kill strike and calmly declared, It was a good aim. However, it was insufficient.
Kyaa. It was like a movie. Damn.
Even setting aside personal feelings, the user named Hwaryeong was simply too cool. The fact that every clip from rank 1 to 10 on Turret was related to Hwaryeong proved other people felt the same.
The “Good Aim” video that Enry had watched more than ten times was surprisingly only in second place. There was an even more impressive scene.
The title of the first-place clip was Heavenly Demon Punch.
It was footage of the player offsetting the instant-death pattern fired by the secret boss Outer God in the Temple using nothing but a fist. The moment a human fist collided with a god’s power, the air exploded until sound itself vanished, only pressure remained, and then a storm swept through, covering the entire temple in dust—it was beyond what the word “cool” could express.
No wonder Enry was seriously considering giving up sleep to launch Apis again. Just who was that person?
According to community speculation, the user was definitely an Apis newbie. Perhaps a pro from another game, or someone who had trained in real-life martial arts. To possess such skill as a newbie… If only Enry had possessed that kind of talent. She wouldn’t have to endure her viewers’ teasing then.
Recalling how her audience had cheered and mocked her the moment her rank badge changed from gold to silver, Enry grit her teeth.
Just you wait. This Enry Scott may have taken two steps back today, but it is merely a retreat to advance four steps forward. My goal has always been that pure, pristine Platinum rank!
—Riiing.
While kneeling on the floor throwing a dramatic tantrum by herself, Enry panicked at the sudden phone call, tripped, and planted her face straight into the floor.
Ouch. Who could be calling at this hour? If it’s spam, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.
The name displayed on her smartphone was “Baek Ara.”
Huh? Why was Ara calling? Oh, right. She had asked Ara to try Apis and share her thoughts afterward. How had it been? Had it been fun? She hoped so. It was always delightful to gain a friend who shared the same hobbies.
“Hello?”
“Ara, did you try Apis? How was it?”
“It was enjoyable. Except for the end.”
The sound of teeth grinding came through the receiver. Had something unpleasant happened? Apis had plenty of toxic veterans who enjoyed bullying newbies. Maybe she had gone through something difficult.
Enry carefully asked how the gaming session had gone. Fortunately, it seemed Baek Ara had enjoyed Apis quite a bit. The prologue had been fun, and fighting other players in normal matches had been an interesting experience. At the very least, she didn’t seem ready to quit the game immediately.
Just as Enry was breathing a sigh of relief, Baek Ara posed a question.
“Enry. Can you change customization later in this game?”
“It’s possible, but once you set it, you can’t change it for a month. Why? Did you make it look weird?”
“It is not that. I wish to wear the hairpin I received in the tutorial, but my hair is too short.”
The tutorial hairpin? Just to be sure, Enry asked if Ara had done the Heavenly Demon tutorial. Ara answered that she had.
That was strange. Enry had done the Heavenly Demon tutorial as well, but there had been no hairpin reward. The only thing she received was the Third Elder personally teaching her her place.
Her thoughts halted. The word “perhaps” filled Enry’s mind. It couldn’t be, but if…
“Um… Ara. Did you defeat the Third Elder?”
“Yes.”
The casual tone, as if it were no big deal, left Enry speechless.
A lie…? No, that didn’t make sense. Until recently, Ara had known nothing about VR. She clearly had no idea what defeating the Third Elder in Apis even meant. So why would she lie? Some people spent hours just to land a single scratch on the Third Elder and received praise for a “human victory,” yet here someone had defeated it in a single day.
If the gap in talent had been moderate, Enry might have felt bitter. But the difference was so overwhelming that such thoughts didn’t even surface. All that remained in Enry’s heart was pure awe.
So this is what true talent looks like.
Wait a second. If it’s the Heavenly Demon, then…
“You said you played normal matches today too, right?”
“Yes.”
“How many wins in a row?”
“Forty-five consecutive victories was my last. I was stopped there.”
“…Ara. Is your nickname Hwaryeong?”
“How did you know that?”
Enry burst out laughing without realizing it.
Wait. The person who brought the Heavenly Demon—who was currently setting the entire Apis community on fire—into the game was me?
I even had plans to invite the user Hwaryeong onto my stream to get an autograph!
Enry buried her face in her pillow and kicked her legs wildly on the bed for a long time.