Three days pa.s.sed since the clanmasters entered 《Carpe Diem》. The clanmasters were separated into "Team Adaptation" and "Team Awakening". "Team Adaptation" began their training on the 1st floor of the tower, while "Team Awakening" continued theirs on the newly built 2nd floor.
As an 8th order Adapter, the Limitless Clanmaster s.h.i.+n Mugeuk took on the role as the leader of Team Adaptation. s.h.i.+n Mugeuk sighed heavily as he watched the other clanmasters. They were scattered all over the place, either learning each other"s skills or cursing at one another.
"I"m not so sure if this is going to work out according to the Count"s plans."
The idea itself was decent; these high-handed clanmasters were gathered in one place and teaching each other their own skills. However, ever since entering the tower, the clanmasters were busy boasting about their skills rather than diligently learning each other"s skills.
"…Are you trying to belittle the skills of the Holy Maidens?
"Hmph. No matter how nimble the Holy Maidens may be, you won"t ever be able to catch up to the speed of my Guardian of Thunder!
"Speed isn"t important! What"s really important is destructive force! And we, the Fire Monarch, are known for our destructive force!"
Mugeuk clicked his tongue at the clanmasters, who were now pointing their weapons at each other in agitation.
"What a pathetic crowd. There"s no improvement."
Out of all of "Team Adaptation", the Forest of Scholars Clanmaster Zhuge Ming was the most diligent. He was showing great achievements ever since he had moved to Team Adaptation from Team Awakening.
"I feel like absolute death. How long have you been training this skill for, Clanmaster Limitless?"
"Four hundred years."
The skill that Zhuge Ming was training for was Heavenly Swordsmans.h.i.+p, a top-grade skill that belonged to the Limitless Clanmaster. It was a skill that possessed a destructive power that could be counted on one hand across all of 《Chaos》, as well as one that ranked extremely high even amongst existing top-grade skills. Although it didn"t quite make the level of transcendence-grade skills that 9th order Adapters or higher used, there was no doubt that it was one of the best skills in the level below.
"Well, I still feel like it"s more doable than when I was in Team Awakening," said Zhuge Ming as he put away the sword that he had been swinging.
There weren"t as many people in Team Adaptation in the beginning as there were now. Despite the worries of the Holy Maidens Clanmaster Jageukryung, there were actually more people in Team Awakening when training first started. Four out of the six clanmasters had joined Team Awakening.
However, within a day in congruence with the time measurement of 《Chaos》, three out of the four clanmasters had left the team. Zhuge Ming was one of the three who had left.
"…No matter how I think about it, what they"re doing is madness," muttered the Forest of Scholars Clanmaster Zhuge Ming, his fingers trembling as if he was recalling a bad memory.
In the void, a lonely path of a sword embroidered the black sky. A lonely blade was being repeatedly swung in perfect form, rhythmically and systematically. The middle-aged man who was holding the sword was repeating the same Stab into the air, over and over again.
"Faster, Caiman."
Caiman"s hands moved faster in response to Jaehwan"s order. His Stabs were orderly and, at the same time, shockingly fast. He was drawing out the entirety of his spiritual power to increase the speed of his Stabs.
He didn"t know how many repet.i.tions he had done.
Hundred thousand times? A million times?
No—by now, he must have done at least ten million.
As he had been Stabbing day and night, it wouldn"t be strange even if the numbers exceeded eight figures. Repeating Stabs with that much speed and persistency for such a long time was excruciating even for Caiman, who had immense spiritual power.
How much time had pa.s.sed?
Caiman opened his mouth, extinguis.h.i.+ng his drained spiritual pressure.
"Can I really become stronger like this?"
"You"re still asking that question?"
". . ."
"You must be able to feel it yourself by now."
He was right.
Not long ago, the Southern Sea Clanmaster Caiman broke through the first gateaway to Awakening. Caiman could not forget how the world had changed—quite literally—in that instant. The moment the world altered as he obtained the keyword, 「Doubt」, came as a huge shock to Caiman, who had been living in the world of "Adaptation" for a long time.
It was all thanks to Jaehwan that he could remain sane despite the intense mental shock. He was only barely able to hold onto his sense of self because he had Jaehwan, who had been walking this path before him. Caiman recalled the words of the Great Dead-slaying Doctor, Chungheo.
—Have faith in the Count. He knows more than I do when it comes to Awakening.
"Your posture is unstable. Fix it," instructed Jaehwan.
"Sorry."
"Are you still worried that you wouldn"t be able to overpower the Adaptors?"
"…I am."
Somewhere along the line, Caiman was speaking to him respectfully. He had acknowledged Jaehwan as his teacher when he began to walk the path of Awakening, regardless of his age.
"I know best that I have no talent."
Caiman thought of the other clanmasters who would be concentrating on their training downstairs. They could even be on their way towards 8th order Adaptation.
"…Do you really believe that I have it in me, Sir?"
"I do."
Jaehwan knew from the beginning that the Southern Sea Clanmaster would be the first Awakener. Unlike the other clanmasters who were blessed with Overadaptation, the Southern Sea Clanmaster had endured his life purely through hard work. Persistence and diligence—the force that led a being towards Awakening was not talent, but resolve.
Only those with a strong resolve—those who were willing to start over all that they had built—could climb over the wall of Awakening. In that sense, it was only obvious that the Southern Sea Clanmaster Caiman was the most suitable for Awakening out of all the clanmasters.
"So you must believe in me as well."
The voice was a.s.suring. Caiman nodded slightly and continued to Stab. If he didn"t believe in him, he couldn"t have come all this way in the first place.
"What did the Count go through to have become so strong?"
As soon as the thought reached him, Caiman shook his head to shake it off.
A new world awaited him.
Night settled onto the steeple of the inner fortress.
A woman with a chain around her waist was sitting on the dark ledge of the steeple. She was the same woman who was nicknamed the "Chain-sickle Woman" in the tournament.
"Pah, this is what booze is all about."
The woman waved the bottle of liquor around with her right hand, her legs gently swinging outside the ledge. She seemed to be buzzed; a light blush had blossomed on her cheeks. It was a strange thing. Even though there was no way that a deceased dwelling in 《Chaos》 could get drunk, the woman sure looked drunk.
Her hazy gaze was fixed below the steeple onto the large structure in the back garden of the inner fortress. She took another gulp from the bottle.
"Carpe Diem, huh," she scoffed.
From time to time, a number of clanmasters whose soul corruption rates had reached their limit exited the structure. She watched them as they devoured the medicine made out of beasts" horns before returning to the tower. They seemed desperate for every minute and every second.
The Chain-sickle Woman snickered, "Everyone"s trying so hard. They still seem to believe that they can change something even after living for hundreds of years. Quite idiotic, I"d say."
n.o.body replied.
Still, the woman continued to speak into the darkness.
"So, is that your newly found "hope"?"
A moment pa.s.sed before an answer returned from the darkness. The old man"s voice was utterly cold and distant.
"…What are you plotting, Seolha?"
"Plotting? That makes me sad. It"s been a while since we last met, yet you"re saying such heartless things."
The Chain-sickle Woman, who had been called Seolha by the voice, squinted at the darkness behind her. How long had he been standing there? An old man"s figure wavered behind her, dressed in a modest blue cowl that touched his feet. The old man was none other than the Great Dead-slaying Doctor, Chungheo.
"Long time to see, Master," she chuckled.
"I will not allow myself to be called that by you."
"Just look at your temper."
"Why are you here?"
"I"ve got some business."
Chungheo"s expression hardened.
"I told you, I have no intention to return to 「The Crevice」."
"Awh, no need to be so serious. You"re scary when you put on your serious face, Master."
Seolha snickered and waved the bottle of liquor.
"Want a drink?"
"No."
"What"s going on? You used to be all over booze and women."
Chungheo didn"t answer.
"How does the Ripper?"
"He"s pretty good. He still talks about you sometimes."
"Quite funny."
"I miss you too, Master."
"Don"t lie."
"Yeah, I was actually lying."
Seolha answered with a smile. Even as she beamed, there was no trace of emotion in her eyes.
"Still. Come back, Master. Everyone"s waiting for you."
"I will never go back."
"Why not?"
"I cannot stay with those who aren"t even humanlike."
Seolha"s expression changed in a strange fas.h.i.+on.
"You always went on about that. All that about being human. Always saying stuff like we must never give up being human."
"「The Crevice」 betrayed humanity."
"That"s not true. We fight for humans. To be exact, only we fight for humans."
"You"re wrong. You"re merely using humans as tools. The Crevice was already finished when the 「Ma.s.s Disappearance」 happened. Now, you"re nothing more than a nominal organisation without any missions or objectives."
"Human, huh…"
Seolha paused for a moment.
"You have no right to say that, Master." Her voice housed a strange tone of agitation. "After all, you were one of the people who planned that G.o.dd.a.m.n 「Ma.s.s Disappearance」."
"…That"s different from the truth."
"Of course, it kinda strayed from the path that you had hoped for. But in the end, you never stopped the 「Ma.s.s Disappearance」. To be exact, you were a bystander of the 「Ma.s.s Disappearance」."
". . ."
"Well, I"m thankful for it. If it weren"t for you, Master, I wouldn"t be here right now."
Chungheo didn"t reply. He silently stared into Seolha"s face. The face of a young girl who survived the 「Ma.s.s Disappearance」 seven hundred years ago flashed by.
"Did you know, Master? Even these days, there are kids who try to Awaken by following your method. Kids who have neither talent nor connections."
". . ."
"In order to become stronger, they swing their swords at each other hundreds and thousands of times. Just like that, they kill and kill and kill."
". . ."
"After swinging their swords millions and millions of times and kill hundreds of their friends, they slowly forget why they had picked up their swords to begin with. After swinging about a hundred million times, they start to break within. Some of them even swing their swords at themselves. Very few of them survive to reach a billion swings. They grow dull to life and death, and are able to see the world from a perspective that transcends humanity. Only then do they obtain the first keyword to Awakening, 「Disa.s.sembly」."
"…That was an inaccurate keyword."
"You"re saying that again. What do you know? You aren"t even a complete Awakener."
"I know. I"ve seen those who have reached the third stage of Awakening using my method."
"No. You"ll never know, because you"re a coward."
Her words triggered the surroundings of Chungheo to be dyed white. It was the sign of Chungheo"s inherent world, the White Quartz. It was also a clear threat that he was willing to fight using his Awakened powers.
"Nothing"s changed at all in your "inherent world"," Seolha scoffed as she gazed at Chungheo"s inherent world that resembled a blank calligraphy paper. "You were so scared that you"d lose your humanity that you couldn"t draw anything at all in your "inherent world"."
In the very next moment, lightning struck all across Chungheo"s White Quartz. Seolha"s chain-sickle was unwinding. As lightning tore through Chungheo"s inherent world, a new world appeared. It was Seolha"s inherent world. Chungheo smelled blood as it pooled around him.
A Mountain of Corpses and a Sea of Blood.
It was a world that could only be described using those words. Tens of thousands of corpses, an ocean of blood—Chungheo quickly realised where this inherent world was derived from.
It was none other than the site of the 「Ma.s.s Disappearance」.
"How does it feel to see the masterpiece that you painted?"
Chungheo backed away. He had taken quite a bit of damage just from his world colliding with hers. Chungheo gritted his teeth.
"…I heard that you became a squad leader. Did you reach the third stage of Awakening?"
"Third stage? You think I"m only on the third stage?"
Before he could even realise, Chungheo kneeled in front of her frightening aura. An unbelievable amount of pressure was squeezing his whole body. Chungheo"s face turned yellow. Seolha was already beyond the third stage. Seolha stared at Cheongheo who was on the ground, unable to lift his head.
""The living" shouldn"t imitate "the dead", Master. Let"s go back to 「The Crevice」."
". . ."
"You know perfectly well, Master. You can"t change anything in Chaos. Whether you go into the Abyss or climb to the top of the Fantastic Tree, this world can never change."
Just then, Chungheo perked up his head.
"Yes, it can."
"What?"
"I said that the world can change."
Something akin to a streak of light flickered across Chungheo"s eyes. Seolha took a sudden step back, as if that light had burned her.
It was in that moment that the tower lit up and a man appeared from within. Seolha jolted and hurriedly extinguished her inherent world.
The man who revealed himself from the darkness was Jaehwan. He began to manipulate the control panel that was built into the outer wall of the tower. He seemed to be setting the time ratio. The change didn"t take long. Jaehwan glanced at the steeple of the inner fortress where Seolha and Chungheo were before disappearing into the tower, seemingly uninterested. Seolha followed him with her eyes.
"Is it him?"
". . ."
"Was he the one who changed your mind?"
Chungheo didn"t reply. He had already gotten up.
"Just give me a sip of that," he mumbled.
Seolha hesitated before holding out the bottle of liquor. A moment later, Chungheo"s face flushed an unsettling colour as if he were getting drunk. The two didn"t exchange words for a long time. However, Seolha could tell everything from Chungheo"s expression. Distrust filled Seolha"s eyes. She couldn"t believe that the old man in front of her could still manage to make a face like that.
"I"ll ask you one last time. Why are you here?"
"To kill you."
Chungheo stared into Seolha"s eyes for a moment. They were eyes of a woman whose soul was lost. Chungheo seemed to be measuring the truth that was contained within those eyes.
"Then kill me," he said not long after.
"No, I changed my mind a little bit," replied Seolha, turning her head towards the Tower of Nightmare, Carpe Diem. "It looks like something fun is gonna happen."
"…Are you planning to disrupt our plan?"
"Disrupt?"
A sneer seeped into the corners of Seolha"s lips. She smiled as if she knew what the future held.
"You will fail. Just like you had in 《Chaos》 nine hundred years ago , and just like you had in 《The Great Land》 seven hundred years ago."
"That won"t be the case."
The firmness of his answer made Seolha"s eyes waver. The 2nd Squad Leader of 「The Crevice」 Yoo Seolha could not admit that the old man who had been drowning in despair for a thousand years, sinking deeper than anybody else, was making such a face. She didn"t want to admit that the old man who had abandoned everything found new hope at the tip of despair.
"「The Crevice」 will be watching you."
Seolha"s figure disappeared as her cold voice echoed in the air. The chilling night wind caressed the cheeks of the lonely old man. Alone, Chungheo gulped down the liquor that she had left behind and sighed.
"…The drink is sweet tonight."
Having completely lost his sense of time since entering the tower, Caiman couldn"t possibly tell exactly how much time had pa.s.sed. His memories remained in patches. After some repeated Stabbing and sparring against Jaehwan, Caiman metamorphosed out of his 900 years into Jaehwan"s world.
And one day—
Caiman exceeded the second keyword to Awakening, 「Understanding」, and finally reached the third keyword, 「Dissociation」. His soul that was cornered into its limit tore apart, and a new birth was about to begin. He was at a level in which he must not only understand the world, but forget his self that had been tamed by this world.
He didn"t know how many times he had Stabbed. A hundred million times? A billion times? Perhaps even ten billion. Although that was impossible considering how little time had pa.s.sed in comparison, Caiman believed that he actually had Stabbed that many times. Somewhere along the line, he forgot everything about the world, about numerical values, and about skills.
Caiman had completed his training. He opened his eyes.
He had finally succeeded in creating his own world.
"Congratulations."
Jaehwan was standing in front of him. As soon as he lay his eyes upon Jaehwan, Caiman was at a loss. He had been unable to make sense of Jaehwan"s power. Now, it was crus.h.i.+ng his body.
"I can"t even estimate the extent of the Count"s power."
According to Chungheo, he was also a third stage Awakener. Despite that fact, Caiman felt a wall between Jaehwan and himself that he could not hope to climb. As soon as he sensed that wall, a sudden anxiety took over him. He was still unsure of his own strength.
"Have I really become stronger?"
"You have."
"But after training for only two years…"
"Two years? Do you really think that it"s only been two years?"
Caiman"s expression creased in confusion.
"Time flows differently in the second floor that we"re currently on compared to the first floor where the other clanmasters are."
"T-Then just how much time has gone by?"
Jaehwan didn"t answer his question. Instead, he patted Caiman on the shoulder.
"It"s time to see your strength for yourself."