Chapter 127: Bulgaram (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: Bulgaram (3)
Finding the path was harder than I thought.
No, much, much harder.
Flames surged from all directions, and the ground of molten lava churned precariously, as if it could collapse at any moment.
The heat seeped into my very bones, and even breathing was agony.
While I was protected from the actual damage, the sensation of the heat was all too real.
“Hooo…”
CRASH!
The ground beneath me trembled.
And then, the floor supporting me began to crumble away.
I was keenly aware that every ounce of will in this land, this entire region, was trying to incinerate me.
Bulgaram’s world was a mirror, reflecting my own mental world—all the chaos, emptiness, and anxiety hidden deep inside me.
The very flaws and scars I tried to hide became my enemies, materializing right before my eyes.
It was a trial that was difficult to conquer if one’s mind was unstable and unhealthy; only by overcoming these inner demons could one reach Bulgaram.
But I had no idea what state my own mind was in.
“Am I… completely messed up in the head?”
It felt like I was walking across my own twisted psyche.
It was far less pleasant than I’d imagined.
At every block, a colossal lava giant stood in my way.
Even in the original game, the difficulty had never been this insane.
Ruuuumble.
After taking down several lava giants in a row, I knew this wasn’t working.
‘To do this alone…’
An overwhelming pressure, a sense that I could never break through by myself, enveloped me.
I didn’t want to waste any more time.
This was why I brought the equipment.
I immediately took out the compass and opened its lid.
[Compass of Salvation]
[It points to the right path, a single ray of light even in the abyss of despair.]
A beam of light shot out from the tip of the compass needle, pointing forward.
A narrow path opened between the crimson lava and the roaring flames.
Zzzzzing.
I braced my entire body.
One step, and then another, I followed the light forward.
BOOM!
A lava giant slammed its fist down near me.
I thought I was about to be flattened, but it missed by a hair’s breadth.
Flames grazed my cheek, and lava erupted from beneath my feet.
But miraculously, the compass’s light guided me along a safe path, steering me clear of every danger.
The path seemed to stretch on endlessly.
“……”
Seriously, I think I need to book an appointment with a psychiatrist when this is all over.
But once again, the compass’s light guided me past the giant, revealing a path that was narrow and perilous, yet undeniably safe.
I lost all sense of time as I walked on, catching my breath over and over.
How long had it been? Tens of hours? Maybe even days?
Just as my perception of time began to blur…
The end came into view.
My vision cleared, opening up to a wide space.
There were no more untamed flames.
Only a pure, perfect fire burned with intense heat.
The iron floor and the immense furnace exuded a divine majesty.
There, I saw the entrance to a dark, deep forge.
I stopped in my tracks.
Slowly, a figure emerged from between the flames.
He carried a giant hammer on his shoulder and wore sturdy armor stained with soot and molten metal.
Shining orange hair covered his forehead.
His eyes, like metal that would never melt, pierced right through me.
The blacksmith who had reached the realm of the gods, Bulgaram.
He was looking at me.
‘This level of power…’
The claim that he had reached the realm of the gods was no lie.
I felt an overwhelming pressure that made it hard to even breathe.
An Apostle?
I could tell in an instant that he was on a completely different plane from the likes of them.
His face, however, was much younger than I’d expected.
I cautiously stepped forward.
“Excuse me…”
I swallowed my nerves and began to speak, when…
“You foolish whelp.”
A harsh rebuke was hurled at me.
“?”
While I stood there, bewildered, Bulgaram used an irresistible force to snatch the spear from my hands.
“Why did you bring this?”
Using telekinesis, Bulgaram levitated Catastrophe in the air.
He scrutinized the weapon for a moment, then let out a snort.
“Do the fangs of a mere beast deserve to tread upon my sacred ground?”
CLANG!
He then threw the spear, embedding it deep into the floor.
Just by looking at it, I could tell it was impossible to pull out.
Next, he casually took the compass from my hand.
“And who told you to rely on something like this? You, of all people, should know the path wasn't made for that.”
With a cold smile, he threw the compass to the ground.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering metal echoed sharply throughout the workshop.
The atmosphere was turning grim.
The compass was a legitimate way to clear this trial.
I hadn’t expected this kind of reaction.
Still, it was a huge relief that I had the qualification.
I would have been in deep trouble without the Fragment.
I carefully took a step forward.
“I have the right. My own existence may be insignificant, but the power I hold…”
“Says who?”
Bulgaram scoffed.
He stood his ground and stared at me.
“You speak of qualifications?”
I had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy.
*
A memory from long ago surfaced.
No, could this even be called a ‘memory’?
I’m not so sure.
“Bulgaram! I have arrived!”
That day was no different from today.
A fool had crossed the threshold of the workshop, shouting thoughtlessly.
A reckless, idiotic brat. That was Bulgaram’s assessment.
The boy had skipped every part of the process, relying solely on a single tool in his hand to set foot in this place.
“I have the Fragment. And I have perfectly cleared the trial. Now, hand over the weapon.”
The boy’s name was Seong Si-woo.
“Hah.”
Bulgaram let out a short sigh. It wasn’t even worth a response.
He simply split the boy in two and threw him out.
To think a brat like that possessed a Fragment… This world, it seemed, was not going to be easy.
Not long after, someone else returned.
A strange mental world, one that even Bulgaram hadn't anticipated, opened up.
A psyche unlike any he had ever seen. It was the first time in his life he’d witnessed such a living hell.
Heavy darkness, an inner self like the very pit of hell… Was it even possible for a mere human to contain such agony?
Could a human remain whole in the midst of it?
Sitting in a corner of his forge, Bulgaram quietly observed the entrant.
The man was draped in a black robe, his eyes lifeless, but the power emanating from him transcended the heavens.
“Can he even be called human?”
Jung Hae-in.
The man bearing that name paid no mind to his own physical well-being.
He broke through.
He broke through with terrifying force.
Wounded, bleeding, he did nothing but press forward.
Bulgaram sensed something was wrong.
He should have died.
He must have died here dozens, hundreds of times.
And yet, he did not die.
He did not fear death. He lacked even the most basic human instinct of fear.
His empty eyes seemed to have transcended death itself.
This was Bulgaram’s sacred ground, a space he ruled, which was why he could feel it.
The man did not die, even when he was killed.
“Death Regression.”
It was an excellent ability, but the man was already pushing himself to his absolute limit.
There seemed to be no path for further growth, no way forward.
Even so, Jung Hae-in eventually reached Bulgaram.
He looked slightly angry, yet also as if he had transcended everything.
“What is the reason?” Jung Hae-in asked in a low voice.
“Doesn’t the Fragment prove my qualification?”
It had been a while since he’d had an interesting opponent.
He could at least grant him a conversation.
“You’re not wrong. But… not that one. Why, you know the reason too, don’t you?”
At Bulgaram’s words, Jung Hae-in gave a slight nod.
“Do you have any intention of changing your mind?”
“None.”
“…”
Bulgaram felt the man’s energy begin to rise.
Words were useless. A human, trying to impose his will upon a god through sheer force.
So, the man intended to challenge a god to obtain what he desired.
Bulgaram laughed.
At such audacity, a smile couldn’t help but spread across his face.
“Hahahahaha!”
Seeing Bulgaram laugh, Jung Hae-in lowered his spear slightly.
“However, with you, the story might be a little different.”
Bulgaram opened the doors of his workshop to Jung Hae-in.
It was a complete acknowledgment.
Even though he knew the end would be ruin.
Bulgaram already knew.
He knew that Jung Hae-in would never reach the ultimate goal he sought.
He wasn’t selfish, but he was extremely self-righteous.
He acted for others, but in the end, he shouldered every burden alone for their sake.
His will to stand with others, his relationships—they were all like a rotting old tree, ready to collapse at any moment.
That was Bulgaram’s assessment.
And his prediction had been perfectly correct.
“A shame.”
In the middle of the forge, he felt the world come to an end.
A cold sense of regret, but there was nothing more to be done.
And then, the world was overturned.
He didn't know why.
It was a sensation as if time, space, and all of order had reversed in an instant.
It was a change whose cause even Bulgaram could not fathom.
A great star rose in Bulgaram’s workshop.
The star moved slowly before finding a new path.
Bulgaram felt it instinctively.
Something had changed.
And now.
Jung Hae-in had once again visited his workshop.
This time, he was much younger.
An instinctive smile spread across Bulgaram’s face.
He was different from before.
This Jung Hae-in had not lost his vitality. He had entered this place with human values, joys and sorrows, anxieties, hesitations, and even hope, all held firmly in his hands.
Bulgaram’s eyes could see the numerous ‘safeguards’ placed upon Jung Hae-in, safeguards the man himself was unaware of.
He was weaker than before, but he had faced this trial while tenaciously maintaining his bonds with others.
Of course, his mental world wasn’t completely clear.
But it was no longer the ruin it had once been.
This was a place of trial. Anyone with a desire, with something they had overcome, could find their own way.
The most important theme of Jung Hae-in’s trial was solidarity with others.
Calling upon others could never be a taboo.
“Hah.”
However, Jung Hae-in had quietly taken out the compass.
The man had not yet completely abandoned the notion of overcoming this alone.
But there was a glimmer of hope in Bulgaram’s eyes.
All that remained was to properly convey the will and value of solidarity.
That much was not difficult at all.
Bulgaram declared firmly.
“Who gave you the right to speak of qualifications?”
Jung Hae-in was flustered, and he hesitated before trying to make a clumsy excuse.
“Well…”
This mental world was designed to be impossible to break through alone.
The man surely had a ‘child’ he had recently been cherishing and raising.
“Just because you hold a Fragment, do you think you can bear everything alone?”
Bulgaram’s voice boomed like a sledgehammer striking an anvil.
“The ember of a generation is not for you to carry alone.”
“This is not a place to test your individual strength. Only those who protect the flame of solidarity, succession, and hope are qualified to enter my workshop.”
Jung Hae-in stared at Bulgaram in silence, his eyes full of questions.
Even though he had chosen to change his path, Bulgaram intended to show the true way to this monk who was about to repeat the same mistake.
A new path was opening, the one Jung Hae-in had chosen.
“The child you are raising. Bring that child here.”
For a moment, Jung Hae-in looked bewildered.
Bulgaram also paused for a second.
“Lord Bulgaram, but I… I don’t have a child.”
“…Tch.”
A sacred power flooded the space.
Bulgaram banished Jung Hae-in.
*
“Kuh…”
A small breath echoed in the room.
“……”
That crazy bastard, Bulgaram.
If he was going to kick me out, he could have at least done it gently.
The place I opened my eyes to was none other than Yoon Chae-ha’s room.
She was sound asleep on her bed, looking as peaceful as could be.
Just then, a voice came from outside the door.
“Chae-ha~ It’s time to get up~”
A headache washed over me, and I pressed my forehead lightly.
‘Ah.’
It seems a small problem has arisen.