Forgotten Name, Perfected Steps
As I opened my eyes, a white space greeted me.
“Haa…” A sigh slipped out. What a pitiful life I have.
I crossed the white space while focusing the Heaven-Shattering Divine Power Art on my Yongcheon acupoint. In an instant, I stood before Geomjeong-i.
“I’m ready. Let’s begin.”
The moment I announced my readiness, Geomjeong-i swung his arm through the empty space. Eighty-eight white women appeared. Unlike the first time, their mouths were ripped ear to ear as they laughed with savage delight.
“Oh? Now they’re outright laughing. Do I look that pathetic to you?”
They must be thrilled to see their ‘prey’ standing right in front of them.
Do I… taste good?
A chuckle escaped me. Even in this nightmare, my sense of humor remained intact. I really am the definition of a cheerful guy.
Today, I will absolutely achieve perfection with the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps.
With that resolve burning in my chest, I sprinted toward the black stone.
And.
Today, I died five times.
[Slice!]
…Then I opened my eyes again.
“Damn it! I was so close!”
I desperately fought to steady my trembling body. No matter how many times I experienced it, the sensation of being fully conscious while those things ‘ate’ me never got easier.
As I stepped forward once more, Geomjeong-i stopped me.
“Didn’t I tell you my name is Geomjeong-i?”
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Is that really important right now?
I glared at him for the pointless interruption.
“Out of nowhere?”
“If my name is Geomjeong-i, what is yours?”
“…What?”
This bastard was already irritating me, and of course my name was…
…What is… my name?
A crushing wave of confusion flooded my mind.
What is my name? Gwangnyeo? No, that’s just what the demonic bastards call me…
What? Have I developed short-term memory loss from dying so many times?
What did people call me in my original world? Hope of humanity? Ultra S-Class Awakener? Great Hero? Lady Killer? No, no. My actual name. What was it?
That’s right! Didn’t I reveal my name to the demonic ones? So…
…I never did.
I felt reluctant to give my name to those insignificant demons… Is that it? So… So?
Did I even know my name back then?
Get a grip. I… Who am I?
Had the memory transfer erased only that part? Why… why hadn’t I realized I didn’t know my own name? Why hadn’t I even noticed something was wrong?
I remembered my father’s and mother’s names. I remembered my friends’ and colleagues’ names. I even remembered every ex-lover’s name.
But!
Who… am I?
“…You don’t know your name?”
I couldn’t hide the confusion and fear on my face.
“…I don’t know. Why…?”
“I see. So you truly don’t know.”
Geomjeong-i’s calm voice shook me more than the primal terror of being devoured earlier. I nervously swept my hair back; my palm was slick with cold sweat. It felt as if my entire sense of self was vanishing.
“I thought it was strange. Hm… The power you use here probably cannot be used to the same degree outside.”
“What?”
This guy was speaking nonsense again…
“There will likely be a slight difference. You are not you, yet you are. That is unreasonable. I know because I am you.”
“Explain it so I can understand!”
“It’s difficult to explain. Because even I do not fully understand it.”
Geomjeong-i paused briefly.
“This much, however, I can explain. Your current internal energy level here is mid-to-late Peak realm. Outside… it would be around First-class. That is the extent.”
“Explain it properly!”
Geomjeong-i stared at me quietly and spoke.
“So, what are you?”
His voice struck my ears like a primordial vibration echoing from the depths of the earth. For a moment my mind went blank, and a single name rose to the surface.
“…Dan-ah. …Hong Dan-ah.”
“Is that you?”
“Eldest daughter of the Hong family in Seonang, Guangdong Province… and… Ultra S-Class Awakener… hope of humanity… great hero… I am… Bae Tae-seong.”
“Does that define you?”
“Yes… I am Hong Dan-ah… and Bae Tae-seong.”
“Understood. Now go shatter that pathetic footwork. A person must know their roots.”
“Huh? Oh!”
I shook my head to regain my senses. The trembling had stopped.
…What just happened?
I couldn’t remember anything from a moment ago. The tension had eased, but I couldn’t let my guard down. For some reason, the white monsters before me now seemed afraid of me.
Why? They really do look scared.
Tilting my head, I stood in front of them.
Am I imagining it?
I dashed forward.
What does it matter? I just need to do what I have to do.
With steps as light as a butterfly’s wings, the ‘white butterflies’ came flying toward me.
The Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps was not merely a movement technique for speed. It was a combat-oriented illusory footwork that read the opponent’s Qi through soft motion and reacted accordingly. As the name suggested, every movement contained both illusion and reality, making it nearly impossible to distinguish between them.
It appeared gentle and slow, but the illusion deceived the eyes while the strange movements deceived the senses. Pure speed was possible, yet the technique’s true worth revealed itself in direct confrontations—predicting attacks, fooling the eyes, and paralyzing the opponent’s senses.
I only understood this after desperately observing and imitating it while being ‘eaten’ and dying over a hundred times.
…If this bizarre Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps were combined with the ferocious Dark Heaven-Defying Sword…
Just imagining it sent chills down my spine. That lecherous bastard Ok-myeon Eum-ma had truly passed on an incredible technique. It was both infuriating and worthy of gratitude. Infuriating because he had thrown me into this hellish training, and grateful because he had willingly taught me such a profound art.
As the distance closed, the white women’s expressions became clear. They had been laughing earlier, but now they were the very image of evil ghosts and rakshasas. Their torn mouths revealed blade-like teeth, radiating the intent to chew me to pieces.
One swung its hand to claw at me. My body reacted naturally, increasing the distance as if dust scattered by wind pressure. When another stretched out its hand as I drew closer, I spun around its body with minimal movement to evade.
The moment I brushed past them, the remaining ones swarmed like hornets!
Two attacked my ankles from below like snakes.
[Swish!]
I fluttered elegantly like wings, slipping past their teeth and nails by a paper-thin margin. It was as if I were riding the wind of their killing intent.
The unpredictable movement of dust reacting to wind pressure—I had made it my own!
In the blink of an eye, I closed half the distance. Then they attacked from every unpredictable angle. All eighty-eight of them targeted every part of me—head, eyes, nose, mouth, back of the head, chest, groin, legs, arms, buttocks, abdomen—and shot toward me at once!
Can I dodge them?
Thinking was a luxury. I had to surrender myself to the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps!
I danced. Twisting my arms, creating distance, bouncing my body, turning my waist, lowering my head. Dozens of lethal strikes brushed past me. The feeling of nails grazing my cheek, the chill of teeth skimming my throat. I avoided every attack by the narrowest margin!
[Slash!]
…Ah! I couldn’t avoid them all. Blood spurted from my right thigh, left wrist, and right shoulder.
Gritting my teeth, I turned toward the black stone. The creatures had formed a perfect encirclement in every direction around it, including the air.
…I’ll break through!
The bleeding was severe, but I couldn’t give up. My side was sliced open again, and my right cheek was torn away entirely. One stubbornly bit down on my ankle and refused to let go!
When I tried to move, the one latched onto my ankle dangled along with me. I lifted my leg high and twisted my body; the creature was flung away. The moment I took another step, a different white woman bit my wrist and hung on! Yet another clamped onto my left thigh!
Just a few more steps… If I could take just a few more steps, I would reach the black stone!
With all of them still clinging to me, I charged forward!
As I stretched my blood-soaked hand toward the black stone, they latched onto my shoulders, back, thighs, sides, chest—every part of me.
[Crunch! Crunch!]
The excruciating pain felt like it was destroying my brain.
…So what?
With dozens of white women still hanging from my body, I took one more step.
[Thud.]
Finally, my hand touched the black stone. A strange sensation froze time itself, and the white women clinging to me screamed in unison.
“Kyaaaaaaaak—!”
A chorus of ghostly wails that seemed to rip souls apart erupted at once.
Heh. The trumpet of victory.
They soon turned to dust and vanished. Light burst from the black stone and flowed into my body.
Standing there as a bloodied rag, I spoke.
I woke from the dream.
It didn’t feel real. Five days remained until the escape deadline, which meant only four days of actual training time. The goal that had seemed impossible—to ‘somewhat master’ the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps within that time—had been surpassed.
The result was the Great Achievement of the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps. A surge of pride lifted me up.
After falling into this damned Murim world, this was the first time I had accomplished something. The sense of achievement filled me with inspiration.
Today will go well too.
That’s right. Today was the very day I had planned to escape.
I rose and assumed the lotus position as usual to circulate the Heaven-Shattering Divine Power Art and the Dark Heaven-Defying Sword manual.
Maybe I should wash my face at least. Why are my eyes so crusty today? Haven’t the demonic ones woken up yet?
Random thoughts kept intruding, making it impossible to focus on my circulation. Tension and a touch of excitement left my mind floating.
Forcing it when it wasn’t working would only backfire. I walked to the edge of the prison where underground water trickled and lightly washed my face.
Wondering what the demonic ones were doing, I closed my eyes and gazed at the ceiling through the Vision Manifestation Array.
Huh?
I had woken earlier than usual, so I expected them to still be asleep, but Hyeolbu Mak-ga was already up. For some reason he sat with his head hung low, looking anxious.
“Hyeolbu Uncle, what’s wrong? Why are you sitting like that?”
My voice suddenly echoing in the quiet cave made Hyeolbu Mak-ga flinch in surprise.
“Ah… No, I’m just a little anxious…”
“What’s there to be anxious about? Everything will go perfectly.”
“Things could still go wrong… I’ve never been lucky. If I had any luck, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
“What are you even saying?”
They say people grow weak-hearted with age. Even if he had once been a world-renowned scoundrel, being locked in the Repentance Cave for so long would inevitably make anyone old and timid.
“Hyeolbu Uncle, have you forgotten? How could someone without luck become a ‘great awakener’?”
“Uh, well… Do you actually know how the Heaven-Shattering Divine Power Art can awaken so many different abilities?”
“I already told you. The true value of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Power Art lies in awakening powers. Its history is long. Our family holds records of countless awakeners. Though they never entered the Murim and lived hidden lives, I can guarantee their strength.”
I repeated the convenient lie I had fed the demonic ones before. If I told them I knew because I came from another dimension, no one would believe me.
“You are a great awakener. Say it with me again?”
“No… I’m just anxious.”
“Think positively. Then the entire universe will move to create a positive outcome. Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I do! I must have gone soft for a second. Our ‘Ugly’ is right.”
“….”
What the hell is ‘Ugly’ supposed to mean? Damn it, my face is itchy again.