Book 2: Chapter 406
Flower Mountain.
It was one of the three major forces that represented the Western Area of the World of Void, and it was also the main culprit that disturbed the situation in the area. Of course, such a radical move had only begun recently.
To be precise, it was after the Everlasting Plum Sword Yang In-hyun became the Sect Leader.
For some reason, Yang In-hyun declared an indiscriminate war against the surrounding territories, starting a War of Existence. It was a seemingly barbaric action, but some of the local Lords felt that Yang In-hyun’s actions weren’t sincere.
The reason for this was simple.
Since the beginning of the battle, Yang In-hyun, the man in question, had not made a single appearance. The pressure of the t.i.tle ‘Twelve Void Lords’ far exceeded imagination. If even the hem of his robes were to appear on the battlefield, most of the surrounding territories would surrender unconditionally.
That wasn’t all.
Yang In-hyun wasn’t the only powerhouse in Flower Mountain. It wouldn’t be counted as one of the three major forces in the Western Area if that were the case.
The Lords knew.
Those who were called the elders of Flower Mountain were, in fact, not the core forces. There were others who people needed to really be wary of.
Not a single one of those beings stayed in Flower Mountain. Unless it was an emergency, they usually wandered around the World of Void, fully focused on increasing their own strength.
The Seven Flowers. Or the Seven Sleeping Dragons of Flower Mountain.
That was what those beings were called.
* * *
‘…it’s been about 5 years.’
The Second Flower ranked second among the Seven Flowers, Sama Ryeong, roughly calculated the amount of time that had pa.s.sed.
Her internal clock was fairly accurate.
At most, the degree of error wouldn’t be more than a month or two.
About 5 years.
It was short enough to be called a short time, but what Sama Ryeong had obtained in this time was by no means small.
‘…I wish I could stay for a few decades.’
Such a thing was impossible for her. Sama Ryeong knew the limits of her mental power. This wasn’t a whine, it was simply the truth.
Within the dump site, there was an aura that gradually drove intelligent beings to madness.
This energy was incredibly tenacious and persistent, and it grew worse as time pa.s.sed, so much so that even the self discipline of Sama Ryeong had almost broken several times.
‘It’s a place you don’t want to return to.’
She’d stepped in because she didn’t have much of a choice, but she didn’t have any good memories of the place.
After all, there was no place more efficient than this to increase one’s power of existence. This was something that most intelligent beings in this world knew.
And yet, not many people actually came here. This was because, aside from the absolutely crazy access method, the risks were more than enough to offset the advantages.
One of those risks was the aforementioned madness.
If Sama Ryeong hadn’t mastered one of the Flower Mountain Faction’s secret methods, the Purple Cloud Divine Technique, then, let alone five years, she probably wouldn’t have been able to last one year.
She’d achieved some results.
Sama Ryeong was at least two steps stronger than before she’d entered the dump site.
Nevertheless, there was no feeling of satisfaction. Instead, her chest felt heavy as if there was a chunk of lead resting on it.
‘…Yang In-hyun.’
The current Sect Leader of the Flower Mountain Faction was a monster whose strength surpa.s.sed all of the former Sect Leaders.
But Sama Ryeong did not acknowledge him.
She wasn’t the only one.
More than half of the Seven Flowers did not like Yang In-hyun.
This was inevitable. Yang In-hyun wasn’t the one who’d created the Seven Flowers, instead, it was the former Sect Leader Dang Mu-gi.
All of them had received favour, great and small, from Dang Mu-gi, and among them, Sama Ryeong’s feelings were particularly special.
She regarded Dang Mu-gi as her father.
“…huu.”
The reason for her heavy sigh was obvious.
It was still not enough.
Even though she’d become stronger, she didn’t think she would be able to defeat Yang In-hyun. Sama Ryeong shook her head. Rather than the distance between Yang In-hyun and herself, she decided it would be better to focus only on the fact that she’d become stronger.
Besides, it was still too early for her to think about that. The dangers of the dump site hadn’t yet ended.
Instead, it could be said that they were only just beginning.
There were no corpses in the area that Sama Ryeong was currently standing in. There was also no stench that clung to her nose, and instead, it simply had the appearance of a normal cave.
On the wall of this cave was a door.
The appearance of this wooden door embedded in the wall filled her with deep unease, but Sama Ryeong, who was already lost in her thoughts, didn’t pay much attention to it.
One thing was clear.
This door was the exit.
Grabbing the doork.n.o.b a bit roughly, she opened it.
Creak-
Her vision immediately went black and she had a feeling as if she was floating in time and s.p.a.ce.
It was something she hadn’t felt upon entering.
Perhaps it was reverting her incorrect time. The moment one stepped into the dump site of their home universe, their very existence stepped into the flow of an independent time. That was completely separate from the ‘time and s.p.a.ce on the outside’. Naturally, the pa.s.sage of time was not the same.
Sama Ryeong didn’t resist, and quietly accepted the feeling of floating.
A few moments later, as she blinked her eyes, she heard a voice.
[- originating from Universe Number 5518588, Sama Ryeong.]
A dark room.
It wasn’t that wide.
The voice… it had come from her left.
When she turned her head slightly, she saw a skeleton standing there. The ghastly glimmer in its eyes let her know that it wasn’t a simple corpse. More than that, she was certain that it was this skeleton that had just spoken.
[5 years, 2 months, 7 days, 2 hours, 11 minutes, 31 seconds.]
“…what does that mean?”
It was closer to something she muttered to herself, but it seemed the skeleton heard it anyway and responded.
[It is the time you spent in the dump site.]
It was an uncharacteristically fluid manner of speaking.
It felt completely different from the inarticulate skeleton at the entrance of the dump site. Perhaps this one was a higher level.
‘I was right, about five years.’
Sama Ryeong looked around the room.
It was an empty black room.
“Where is this place?”
[The waiting room.]
“Waiting room?”
[There are no restrictions to entry, but exiting is a different matter. If you don’t meet the Master’s standards, you will not be able to leave this place.]
“I know that.”
She also knew who the ‘Master’ the skeleton had mentioned was.
Corpse Ghost, one of the Twelve Void Lords.
…If one didn’t meet the Corpse Ghost’s standards, they would not be able to leave the dump site. She knew that as well.
That was another of the risks that Sama Ryeong had been thinking about. No one knew what the Corpse Ghost’s criteria would be.
She’d heard that it varied greatly depending on the person, where they originated from, or the Corpse Ghost’s mood at that time.
“My question is, what does this waiting room have to do with meeting the standard?”
[It is a matter of efficiency. Master is of the opinion that things like this should be dealt with all at once.]
“All at once?”
[When a certain number of people gather, the door will open.]
Suddenly.
The door that Sama Ryeong had just entered from swung open and someone appeared.
“…”
It was a man with grey skin.
He had horns on his temples and thin wings on his back. His hairy lower body was reminiscent of a goat.
Looking at this man, who perfectly matched the image of a devil, the skeleton opened its mouth.
[Originating from Universe Number 2, Haspin.]
“…”
[12 years, 8 months, 35 minutes, 3 seconds.]
The man named Haspin walked past the skeleton with an expressionless face and sat in a corner of the dark room.
‘Haspin…’
Sama Ryeong’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Just from looking at his appearance, it was easy to tell that he was from [The Pit]. In addition, she’d heard of the name Haspin before.
She didn’t talk to him. He was a dangerous man.
Instead, Sama Ryeong’s gaze turned to the skeleton once more.
“What exactly is the ‘certain number of people’?”
[Six people.]
…That meant there were still four to go.
Tch. She clicked her tongue before also going to a corner and placed her b.u.t.t on the ground.
She wondered how long they’d have to wait, but, fortunately, it didn’t take too long for the next figure to appear.
Burk-
The appearance of the figure who appeared this time was much more shocking than that of Haspin.
It was an enormous mantis.
Large mandibles, emotionless compound eyes, and above all, the pair of front legs that seemed to emit a bloodthirsty aura.
[Originating from Universe Number 59953, Duk Mantis.]
“Yes yes. That’s me.”
To her amazement, the mantis responded with a nod. It shouldn’t have been possible with the structure of its mouthpart, but its p.r.o.nunciation was accurate as if it had a tongue.
[3 years, 11 months, 29 days, 23 hours, 35 minutes, 1 second.]
“Hmm. Hmm?”
The mantis tilted its head to the side for a moment before approaching Sama Ryeong.
Sama Ryeong got ready to draw her sword at any time.
“Pretty Miss over there, can you tell me what that skeleton friend said?”
She had a rough idea of where the mantis was from, so she replied simply.
“Go away.”
“Ou.”
Without seeming particularly offended by her att.i.tude, the mantis turned around, this time approaching Haspin.
“Handsome gentleman, I would like to ask a-”
“He was stating the time you spent in the dump site.”
Haspin answered before the mantis could finish talking.
The mantis nodded.
“Ah. So that was it.”
“…”
“Uh, by the way, aren’t you the famous Apocalypse Disciple from [The Pit]…?”
Haspin did not answer anymore and simply closed his eyes.
Taking her eyes off of them, Sama Ryeong turned her attention to the door once more.
A short while after, the door opened again.
The next person to appear was an old man who was half bald. He was wearing a pure white robe and held strange mechanical devices in each hand, the inverted eyes behind his gla.s.ses were by no means normal.
[Originating from Universe Number 92158, Daihad Roksilo.] (TL: Diehard.)
[1 year, 7 months, 19 days, 10 hours, 51 minutes, 9 seconds.]
“Kiki. A year. Good.”
Daihad giggled strangely before looking around.
The moment Sama Ryeong’s eyes met his, she felt a sensation as if her entire body was being licked, so she turned away and didn’t look at him again.
“Kikiki…”
Daihad continued to look at her with half-lidded eyes before finally turning away with a smile.
‘There really aren’t any sane people in this place.’
Perhaps the others in the room had similar impressions of her, too.
After a slight interval, the next person appeared.
[Originating from Universe Number 39339, Jacob Big Crash.]
[103 years, 11 months, 19 hours, 12 seconds.]
“…!”
Sama Ryeong’s body shook. It was the same for the others.
100 years in the dump site was not a time that one could reach simply with high mental power. This figure was without a doubt an extraordinary being.
The figures in the black room all turned to look at the door with sharp gazes.
There, they saw a man in blue robes.
The man had a handsome appearance and a calm aura.
Upon seeing his appearance and aura, Sama Ryeong was all but certain.
‘Wizard.’
In addition, the pattern of a planet had been embroidered into the robe, signifying that he was a Wizard from the Magic Planet.
It wasn’t strange that he was able to pa.s.s 100 years.
It was well known that mental training of Wizards was very comprehensive, and Jacob was also a member of the Magic Planet.
He had probably reached the level of understanding the nature of the mind.
“…”
The Wizard, Jacob, looked around with a smile that was more of a smirk. In an instant, the humble aura around him disappeared, and he gave a dirty feeling instead. Only he knew what his smile meant.
‘…100 years.’
Nevertheless, what Sama Ryeong paid more attention to was Jacob’s time.
In this place, she’d obtained a ‘dense number of possibilities’ that couldn’t be easily obtained outside. She’d prepared the conditions to become stronger, and in fact, she had increased the size of her container by several times.
It had only taken 5 years to accomplish that.
And yet, Jacob had spent 20 times as long as she had in this place. He’d probably seen and obtained more possibilities than anyone else in the room.
Sama Ryeong carefully observed everyone in the room, not just Jacob. Perhaps there would be a situation where she had to fight them. Naturally, none of them were easy characters to look at.
—As she was making observations and developing countermeasures for them, she suddenly realised something.
There were still five people in the room.
The last one still hadn’t appeared yet. Nevertheless, it felt like after Jacob-
[-from Universe Number 2731361.]
The voice of the skeleton broke Sama Ryeong’s train of thought.
[Lukas Trowman.]
“…”
At that moment, Jacob, who had been meditating with his head down, suddenly opened his eyes. Then, he showed a complicated expression that was difficult to describe.
Before Sama Ryeong could even think to ask the reason, the skeleton’s voice continued.
[4,000 years, 17 days, 1 hour, 11 minutes, 3 seconds.]
…
…
As a cold silence descended upon the room, the door opened.
(TL: We all knew it was coming…)