Chapter 67. Breakaway (1)
One plus one is two.
Two plus two is four.
Four plus four is eight...
Wait, what was I doing just now?
…Oh! Addition! I was reviewing the basic arithmetic functions.
Hahaha.
He felt happy for the first time in a while and laughed. He had long forgotten how much time had pa.s.sed in this s.p.a.ce. After he stopped counting the time at 100 days, he started to have a meltdown.
Had it been five months? Six? No... Had it been years?
There was no way to measure time. He could only guess with such ridiculous methods.
Perhaps he was already dead and was floating around in some sort of afterlife.
‘I thought I’ll go to heaven when I’m dead...I’ve done a lot of good things, after all.’
He laughed on the inside. He was sure he was laughing, but there were tears in his eyes. Of course, he couldn’t actually cry, but he imagined himself sobbing.
How did things get so bad?
He simply entered the Cave because he wanted to get stronger. Had he been too selfish?
He began doubting himself—’Was I not strong enough to handle this?’
Had he truly been mistaken? If he was able to go back, should he run away?
He thought for a long time.
‘...I don’t want that.’
That was his decision. He would pursue power and even if he had to risk his life, he would clear this Trial.
But where did that persistent mindset go? All that was left was weakness.
‘I am Seo Jun-Ho.’
He controlled the darkness and was the strongest man that had once stood over the 75 million people in his country.
‘I am Specter.’
There was nothing he couldn’t defeat.
If he wanted to give up, he would kill himself before he could even think of doing it.
‘If you can’t even do that, don’t complain.’
Seo Jun-Ho swore to himself that he would find a way out of this s.h.i.tty place.
Magic, gravity, the past, insomnia, starvation. Scent, sound, sight.
He had overcome all those Trials. And yet the Cave of Trials was demanding even more from him. The Void and Time Trials had even been combined into one.
‘What do you want me to do? Am I supposed to become a G.o.d or something?’
But a human couldn’t become a G.o.d and he had been born as a human.
‘But…’
With his effort, he could become something ‘beyond human.’ After all, someone who could cut the sea with one hand couldn’t be called a human.
‘Something beyond human.’
Seo Jun-Ho thought that that was what the Cave of Trials wanted from its Players. It wanted the Players to overcome all the things oppressing them and surpa.s.s their limits.
‘I feel like I’ve become a cicada.’
Some species spent close to 20 years underground until they died. They had one chance in their 20 years to shed their skins, for a breakaway. They could become new creatures and fly through the skies. The cicadas who missed their chances died thinking that the ground was the whole world.
‘I will never die in a s.h.i.tty place like this.’
Seo Jun-Ho sharpened his will. His reason started to return to him, and so did the feeling of emptiness. Even in this state of suspended eternity, his determination could not be destroyed.
‘I am Seo Jun-Ho.’
He would not fold.
The moment he thought this, a layer of himself was shed.
‘...Ah.’
And his senses started to return to him.
Magic.
Magic that overflowed in his body, air that filled his lungs. His ear twitched as a drop of water dripped on it from a stalact.i.te on the ceiling.
“...Phew.” Seo Jun-Ho let out a breath and slowly opened his eyes. He saw the familiar sight of the cavern once again. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
“Welcome back.”
Seo Jun-Ho nodded at the Frost Queen’s voice. “Thanks.”
“I stayed right here as I promised.”
“How much time has pa.s.sed?”
“Ten days.”
“This f.u.c.king Cave of Trials. It messed with me.”
He counted several months, but it had only been ten days? Seo Jun-Ho scoffed and stood up.
The Frost Queen looked up at him. “Something has changed within you.”
“It’s not all that amazing. I’ve only shed a single layer.”
Seo Jun-Ho unsheathed Black Dragon Fang. The blade was silent, without a single sound.
‘I haven’t eaten for ten days…’
But his body was in great condition, and he felt that all the magic in his body was under his control.
“My magic loss rate ...” He muttered, grinning. After he awakened from the ice, he managed to lower his magic loss rate by 5%, but that had been the limit. He thought it would take some time to lower it to 3% from when he was Specter...
‘I didn’t think that I’d be able to master magic control like this.’
His magic loss rate was now 0%.
This meant that he wouldn’t waste a single drop of magic while using it. He was now equal to the blessed by magic, Great Mage Skaya.
“Wait, that means...”
He pushed his magic into Black Dragon Fang, creating a pitch-black energy. It burned as strong as a beacon. This was the final stage of swordplay that everyone aimed for, a state that could only be reached if you had perfect control of magic.
“...A sword aura.” Seo Jun-Ho swung the burning, black blade. The thick cave wall was cut through like tofu.
“I suppose there’s no one left on the 1st floor that can beat me in swordplay.”
Forget the 1st floor, even on the 2nd floor, there were tons of sword users who couldn’t create a sword aura, let alone a sword ki.
The Frost Queen sincerely congratulated him on his growth.
“This looks stronger than the sword aura you used in the past,” the Frost Queen said eagerly.
“It probably is. I thought it was perfected back then, but it seems like it hadn’t been perfect yet.”
Seo Jun-Ho sheathed his sword, and messages popped up before him.
[You have cleared the Void Trial and the Time Trial.]
[Calculating Cave of Trials clear rewards.]
...
Last time, the rewards had been calculated immediately, but it took much longer this time.
“Is it lagging?” Seo Jun-Ho hit the message box without thinking, and a new message appeared.
[Don’t whine. The rewards are still being calculated. - Administrator Gray.]
“...?” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened.
‘The rewards are so good that the Administrator has to calculate them himself?’
He stood there silently, and System messages poured out.
[Hero’s Mind (A) has evolved to Hero’s Mind (S).]
[You are now completely immune to all telepathic abilities below S-rank.]
[Keen Intuition (B) has evolved to Keen Intuition (A).]
[You have received the t.i.tle ‘Limit Breaker’.]
[All stats increased by 20.]
[Seriously, congratulations. - Administrator Gray.]
“...” Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t believe his eyes.
‘The ranks of my skills increased? Two of them, at that?’
This was the first time this happened to him...No, actually, he never even heard that this happened to anyone else.
‘It’s a good thing that Hero’s Mind evolved. My mental power gets drained whenever the Frost Queen uses her powers.’
Now, she could use more powerful abilities more often. In short, she was the one that had gotten stronger.
‘I didn’t expect Keen Intuition to evolve either.’
Even at B-rank, the skill was incredibly useful. But now that it was A, it was practically an intelligence skill.
‘Not only that, but I also got 20 stat points. That’s twice as much as last time.’
“Ah!” He suddenly exclaimed.
[I don’t know if you’re honest or clever…]
He realized why Administrator Gray had said those words.
“The Cave of Trials rewards its Players based on how much they struggle.” Understandably, he would receive more rewards than other Players.
‘So Gray has been watching me since then.’
Of course, Seo Jun-Ho had simply spoken his honest thoughts at the time, but it had turned out for the better.
“And a t.i.tle...” It was his third one now.
[Limit Breaker]
Rank: A
Description: A t.i.tle given to those who broke through their limits in the Cave of Trials.
Effect: Every time you level up, random stat +1.
“...!” He was so shocked that his brain short-circuited. Seo Jun-Ho read the effect over and over. “I’m not misreading this, right...?”
“What is it?” The Frost Queen peeked over his shoulder and nodded as she read the description. “I believe it simply means what it states.”
“Right?” He pinched his cheek just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. “...Ow.”
“Do not worry. You are awake.”
Only after the Frost Queen confirmed that he wasn’t asleep did he start to feel excited.
‘A random stat increases by 1 every time I level up?’
If others received 5 stat points when they leveled up, he would receive 6.
‘And if it keeps stacking… what happens when I reach level 130?’
He would have over 100 bonus stat points. If he reached level 230, it would be more than 200, and if he reached level 330, it would be more than 300.
“Amazing...”
The luck he never had for the past 25 years was starting to come all at once.
‘I was born in the wrong generation.’
Seo Jun-Ho nodded quietly and turned around. A Gate had been created in the middle of the cavern at some point.
“Let us go. I am weary of these cavern walls.” The Frost Queen urged.
“Same here. I think I’m gonna go crazy if I stay here any longer,” he muttered, turning to her.
***
“Mm.” Jampa was watching the Gate today as well.
‘It has already been a month, but it seems that he still has no thoughts of coming out.’
It was the first time this had happened. Even if someone reached the 9th level, it only took them around two weeks. But it had been over a month since Seo Jun-Ho entered the Gate, yet there was still no news from him.
‘Perhaps…’
Jampa shook his head, trying to get rid of his darker thoughts. He wasn’t stupid; he had eyes and ears so he knew that it would be a big scandal if Seo Jun-Ho didn’t emerge from the Cave of the Trials. The disappearance of a world-famous rookie would be unprecedented in the history of the Gate.
“Phew… My mind is unsteady.”
“It’s cold underground. Please go back up, Jampa-nim,” his subordinate said. He sighed and started up the stairs.
Beep— Beep— Beep—
A sound started to go off behind him.
“What is that sound?”
“The ranking list! The ranking list is being updated!”
Jampa hurried back to see it. “Did he finally clear the 9th level?”
“I don’t believe it. I didn’t know that he was on the same level as the Nine Heavens...”
“Haa, I disagree. He’s not quite up to their standards.” Jampa thought about the situation from an objective standpoint. “Kim Woo-Joong and the others only took two weeks to reach the 9th level.”
“Ah! I didn’t think about that.”
Seo Jun-Ho had taken longer than them, which meant that he was inferior in some way. Still, Jampa clapped. “Even with that, he has achieved something amazing. Korea has produced yet another outstanding Player.”
“Yes, indeed...Huh?” A strange look filled their eyes. And as if it were contagious, Jampa’s eyes also widened.
The ranking list had changed, but Seo Jun-Ho’s name wasn’t simply added.
[Cave of Trials Rankings]
2. Specter - 9th level
2. Rahmadat Khali - 9th level
2. Tenmei Mio - 9th level
...
2. Wi Cheon-Hak - 9th level
2. Shin Sung-Hyun - 9th level
2. Kim Woojoong - 9th level
...
After 30 years, the Cave of Trials rankings finally shifted. All the names went down by one.
“Is it possible...?”
“N-no way...It can’t be.”
They couldn’t fathom what was happening before them and shook their heads in disbelief.
A new name appeared above Specter.
[Cave of Trials Ranking]
1. Seo Jun-Ho - 10th level
2. Specter - 9th level
...
He had broken through the limits. A new legend was created.