Chapter 18
Chapter 18
The gliding descent landed him well past the midpoint of the grassland.
As his feet touched the ground, Joo Do-gyeom glanced back.
The hill where he'd started was now a faint blur on the horizon.
A journey that would have taken days on foot had been crossed in a single breath.
'That alone was worth a billion won.'
The math was simple.
Days saved.
Hundreds of trash mobs avoided.
And the Serpent Dolls of Eden Garden were infamous—defeating them yielded neither experience points nor worthwhile rewards.
This dungeon existed purely for Adam's Apple.
Pure time and stamina sinks.
By skipping half of them, he'd made the most economical choice possible.
'Good. Let's move.'
Just as Do-gyeom took his first step—
Rustle!
Something burst from the bushes beside him.
A human figure.
No.
A human-shaped figure.
A gray stone statue with joints that grated like grinding rocks when they moved.
And coiled around its neck like a collar—a pitch-black snake.
The serpent's tongue flicked toward Do-gyeom.
The snake was the true body.
The stone form merely its puppet.
Hence the name:
'Serpent Doll.'
Snake puppet. Snake stone.
Admiring the apt naming, Do-gyeom drew Daeboo from his inventory and swung lightly.
Crash!
Lightly—or so he'd intended.
The result was anything but.
The Serpent Doll's torso shattered into stone shrapnel, the shockwave splitting the bushes like a fan.
An axe with an edge that shattered like a warhammer.
'Quality.'
No comparison to the inferior goods from Yong Dun. This was a master-crafted weapon worth hundreds of millions.
The heft suggested solid durability too.
A dilemma formed.
'...Should I call this a good thing or not?'
This damn cursed axe.
Meanwhile—
Beyond the parted bushes, dozens of shadows approached across the revealed grassland.
All Serpent Dolls.
Stone puppets with snakes coiled around their necks, creaking forward.
Do-gyeom considered them briefly.
Fight?
'Pointless.'
No experience. No rewards.
Not even Magic Stones worth braising.
Only one answer remained.
Do-gyeom kicked off the ground and charged.
Straight through.
Before their arms could extend, he'd already leaped clean over their heads.
『Skill Acquired: Chasing Wind Movement (1★)』
Chasing Wind Movement.
A movement technique for chasing the wind across ten thousand li.
No explosive acceleration like Lightning Flash Step.
Instead, it maintained high speed over extreme distances.
Long-range travel. Escapes.
And skipping pointless fights like this—no martial art was better suited.
The grassland flowed like a river beneath his feet.
The creaking pursuit of Serpent Dolls faded to dots behind him.
Despite its worthless rewards, Eden Garden was surprisingly rated C-rank.
Its vast scale and the overwhelming numbers of tough, troublesome Serpent Dolls made it far deadlier than clumsy zombies.
For hunters of Do-gyeom's stats, it should've been virtually impossible.
Yet he traversed it like a stroll.
Blocking mobs? One swing of Daeboo.
Groups? Leaped over.
『Skill Promoted: Chasing Wind Movement (2★)』
Even proficiency rose smoothly.
Same stats, vastly superior mastery—an inevitable outcome.
Mid-stride, Do-gyeom noticed something peculiar.
'...This axe feels like part of my hand.'
A subtle thing.
His past self had primarily used swords.
As the Martial God, he could wield any weapon—but swords always felt most natural.
The blade that severed the Demon King of Annihilation's breath had been a sword.
Yet now...
This crude axe fit perfectly.
No desire to switch back.
As this thought crossed his mind, a dozen Serpent Dolls appeared ahead.
Too lazy to dodge, he swung Daeboo.
Massive weapons had drawbacks—weight and close-range awkwardness.
Their strengths? Destructive power and wide reach.
Again, it delivered.
KABOOOM!
A dozen Serpent Dolls crumbled beneath a single strike.
Immediately after—
『Skill Promoted: Heavenly Strength Steps (4★)』
『Skill Promoted: Heavenly Strength Steps (5★)』
'...What?'
The consecutive alerts made Do-gyeom's eyebrow twitch mid-sprint.
Astonishing.
Two proficiency jumps at once.
Skill mastery grew harder than stat progression later on.
Yet two ranks simultaneously?
Not impossible.
When a talent perfectly aligned with a weapon, skills could skyrocket.
Future Do-gyeom and comrades had experienced it.
But here lay the issue.
'An axe... is my talent?'
Again—his past self favored swords.
His greatest talent had been swordsmanship.
Now his class was Universal Chef.
Yet this axe...
Chosen by the curse, drawn to his heart—this massive weapon was his perfect match.
An odd feeling.
'Is this Heaven-Slaying Star's influence too...?'
Briefly.
'Well, it is what it is.'
Do-gyeom chose not to dwell.
Strong in hand—that sufficed.
Attaching sentiment to weapons wasn't his way.
As said, he'd used swords most because that was his best talent.
If post-regression his gift lay elsewhere, he'd follow that path unless circumstances demanded otherwise.
How long had he run?
At last, it appeared on the horizon.
An apple tree.
Upon sighting it, Do-gyeom slowed.
Activated Vanishing Shadow to erase his presence, then climbed a nearby boulder and crouched.
No rush.
This was the dungeon's climax.
From the boulder, the apple tree looked idyllic.
A picturesque tree bearing one luscious fruit.
It seemed one could simply pluck it and leave.
'Wrong.'
Within a certain distance, the dungeon's true mechanic activated.
'Paradise Illusion.'
Why else name it Eden Garden?
It showed intruders paradise.
Specifically, the paradise they most desired.
Those ensnared by the vision never left.
'Serpent Dolls.'
The stone puppets he'd shattered or bypassed.
They were those who'd failed.
Bodies turned to stone by paradise.
Snakes slithering into vacant necks.
Knowing this, their creeping gait took on new meaning.
Regardless.
A mental invasion mechanic.
Past Do-gyeom would've scoffed and strode in.
Not now.
'The curse.'
An uninvited guest lurked in his mind now.
No telling how Paradise Illusion might interact with it.
Relying solely on a Mind Fortification Ring would be foolish.
Confidence required foundation.
Without foundation, it's called arrogance.
Do-gyeom overflowed with confidence—not arrogance.
'So minimize exposure.'
The method was ready.
He checked the remaining duration of his blessing.
'10 minutes.'
2 hours 50 minutes spent traveling—Celestial Wings had just enough left.
Paradise Illusion triggered upon stepping within range.
Therefore—
'Cross through the air.'
Skip most of the zone by air, landing right before the tree.
Minimize exposure time.
Do-gyeom steadied his breath.
One.
Two.
He kicked off the boulder.
Whoosh!
The light wings expended their final energy.
A perfect glide.
Landing spot—close enough to touch the tree by leaning.
As the wings dissipated, Do-gyeom's feet touched down.
Simultaneously—
The world changed.
'...'
The blue grassland vanished.
Replaced by a street.
A familiar street.
The Unified Asian Fortress City before its fall.
Evening lights.
Passing crowds.
Cooking smells.
And—
"Joo Do-gyeom! What're you doing? Get over here!"
A voice he'd know without turning.
'Javier.'
The bear-like Spaniard waving a drink at a stall.
His shield-bearer in life.
Beside him, the bespectacled Li Wei shaking his head at the noise.
The aloof brown-skinned sniper Anisha chewing skewers.
Faces he'd never see again after that night.
All here.
Laughing.
Alive.
But more.
"Mr. Joo! No soup left if you're late!"
At the stall's center—
A woman waving with a raised glass.
'...Vivien.'
Vivien Ashcroft.
The archmage who'd burned her life to send him back—whole and smiling.
And—
'...'
Between them, two who shouldn't be.
Mother.
Father.
Gone before the fortress existed—now naturally blended among comrades.
Calling his name.
"Do-gyeom."
"Joo Do-gyeom. Our son."
An impossible scene.
They'd never coexisted with his comrades.
Paradise didn't care for accuracy.
Just crammed all desires into one frame.
'...Crude.'
That's what he thought.
Crude.
Sloppy.
Thus endurable.
Do-gyeom stood there, imprinting every face.
One.
By one.
Without omission.
Imprinting. Carving. Remembering.
Then ran.
Straight ahead.
Piercing through their reaching forms.
Because they're fake.
All fake.
Easier than expected.
'A relief.'
Genuinely thought so—when something trailed down his cheek.
Mid-sprint, he wiped it with his hand.
Wetness.
Tears.
'...The curse's effect.'
That was his conclusion.
The only conclusion he'd entertain.
Behind him, paradise crumbled.
Affectionate voices stretched, distorted—then became inhuman shrieks pouring against his back.
"KYAAAAAH—!"
"NOOOOO—!"
"JOO DO-GYEOOOOM—!"
Paradise's true face—furious at prey slipping away.
Do-gyeom didn't look back.
His fists had clenched unknowingly.
Suddenly—
Silence.
The world reverted to grassland.
As if declaring the illusion over.
All vanished without trace.
Only the giant apple tree remained ahead.
He'd passed.
'Now just pluck Adam's Apple and...'
That's it.
Return to Earth.
As Do-gyeom took his final step—
『You are the First Trial-taker.』
An abrupt system message chimed.