Chapter 242

It felt like dreaming.

He climbed the tower endlessly while using the Authority of the Absolute.

He was intoxicated by power, craving it without end.

A sensation of reaching every phenomenon in existence, surpassing limits.

It felt as if he had become a god.

As a result—

“You’re going too far.”

The True Master of the Cradle.

The black goat that had died and resurrected dozens of times before reappearing spoke.

The being that had kept its mouth firmly shut, indifferent even to its own death.

In a voice that seemed regretful, it opened its mouth, showing an attitude completely different from any demon or Demon Lord he had encountered so far.

“That Authority of yours belongs to the Absolute Being, the Fierce God Baal, who once made us tremble. If you continue to covet power, your soul will eventually be devoured by Baal. Do you truly believe the things within you can stop Baal once he awakens?”

It had comprehended and seen through everything.

It seemed to have sensed the countless heterogeneous entities within Park Chan-woo.

Yet it was confident that stopping Baal’s soul-devouring would not be easy.

Because—

“The Fierce God Baal… is one of the primordial Four Beasts. No matter how much you struggle, once it begins to devour you, it’s over. The things within you aren’t truly yours either, so eventually, Baal will awaken.”

Because it was one of the Four Beasts of the true Creator.

The Master of the Cradle died and died again, coming to understand the identity of the human named Park Chan-woo—and the entities dwelling within him.

But it did not speak of it.

Because it knew that speaking would cause them to emerge and interfere.

They would gnaw at Park Chan-woo’s mind, drive him to the brink, and send him rushing toward a more certain “death.”

“The things you possess are not meant for you.”

The Dragon God’s Heart.

The Sealed Demon God’s Grail.

And death.

They did not exist for the human named Park Chan-woo.

They were never things Park Chan-woo could contain in the first place.

Coincidences piled upon coincidences, miracles overlapping one after another, allowing them to find balance and dwell within him—but even so, they were nothing more than a time bomb.

In short, Park Chan-woo’s existence was merely a shell meant for “explosion.”

That had to be why.

Park Chan-woo was so reckless.

Instinctively knowing he would explode anyway, he was wildly wielding himself.

It was a desperate struggle.

Accepting and using the Authority of the Fierce God Baal was no different.

At least this power came from equipment he had obtained himself.

With that thought, he craved power even more obsessively.

But that was a mistake.

Strictly speaking, he hadn’t obtained it himself.

If not for the things inherent within him, he wouldn’t have been able to obtain it in the first place.

“The more you wield what is not yours, the more you will run rampant.”

The mountain-sized black goat—the Master of the Cradle—warned.

The Master of the Cradle existed on a different plane from the “Creator of the Cradle.”

Originally, its appearance here should have been impossible.

Because the [Hidden Piece]—the final hidden fragment of the “Cradle”—had been completed.

Because an absolutely unreachable, insurmountable condition had been achieved, a “non-existent place” emerged, and it too appeared.

…The problem was—

The Master of the Cradle was not here to be overcome or to give trials.

Only those who had honed themselves to an incomprehensible level could meet the Master of the Cradle.

In other words, it originally existed at the end of enlightenment.

And the Master of the Cradle was a mirror.

The fact that it had taken the form of an ominous black goat meant Park Chan-woo’s current reality was no different.

Park Chan-woo had not honed himself enough to meet the Master of the Cradle.

He had merely ascended too easily because, for some reason, his [Level] had become negative.

Therefore—

“I am the one who grants wisdom at the end. Another beginning. Since you have met me as a result, for whatever reason…”

Park Chan-woo was intoxicated by power.

Unable to fully control the Authority of the Absolute, he had lost his reason.

He was simply surrendering himself to a power he should have feared and used with caution.

The Master of the Cradle shook its head.

Even amid countless deaths.

Because the concept of “death” didn’t quite resonate with it.

Then, suddenly, the Master of the Cradle thought.

…Perhaps even this human meeting me might be part of some intention.

But… not everything in Park Chan-woo was alien.

He definitely had “potential.”

The things dwelling within him were not things Park Chan-woo could possess, yet they maintained a strange balance within him.

What did that mean?

It meant his potential was silencing those things.

The shell named Park Chan-woo was firmly blocking phenomena that could explode at any moment, as if it were natural.

In other words—

“Open your eyes.”

…If Park Chan-woo himself properly opened his eyes to his own potential, then truly handling those things would also be possible.

===

‘The Way of Heaven Reverses at Its Peak.’

One of the Twelve Heavenly Kings he had met in the cave.

The fallen monk had interpreted the meaning of ‘The Way of Heaven Reverses at Its Peak’ however he pleased.

The original meaning was that excess is dangerous—a phrase similar to “too much is as bad as too little.”

For example, it could be used as, “Working too hard harms your health.”

But the fallen monk claimed that the more one covets power, the purer one becomes, and that endlessly craving power is natural.

And that…

…Was the same for Park Chan-woo himself.

The fallen monk’s interpretation had, in fact, been impressive.

Is it wrong to desire power?

On the contrary, without desire, one cannot be a living being.

Without power, one can do nothing.

Trampling someone—or even saving them—are choices only the powerful can make.

Park Chan-woo had witnessed such scenes countless times.

Nothing was as futile as the cries of the powerless.

Thus, he wielded the Absolute Being.

Intoxicated by power, he desired even more.

He was also curious how far he could go.

But—

“Open your eyes.”

The moment he heard those words, his mind snapped awake.

When he opened his eyes, the black goat had already disappeared.

In its place stood a mirror.

A giant mirror.

His own reflection within it.

‘…How pathetic.’

He was running rampant, madly out of control.

Unable to control the power pouring out of him.

Was this what the Twelve Heavenly Kings meant by a ‘desire for power’?

‘That can’t be.’

He realized he had misunderstood the fallen monk’s interpretation of ‘The Way of Heaven Reverses at Its Peak.’

‘Not others’, but my own.’

It meant to covet infinitely what is mine—what I can handle.

And if I cannot handle it, it meant to keep challenging and challenging until I can handle it completely, until I complete the [Divine Art of Absolute Learning].

This realization wasn’t limited solely to the [Divine Art of Absolute Learning] conveyed by the Twelve Heavenly Kings.

It was a story about the entire life of the human named Park Chan-woo.

Did I desire myself?

Did I fully accept, cherish, and love myself?

Had I ever tried to know myself—to truly delve into myself?

‘I did not. I never did.’

Shudderrrr!

His entire body trembled.

Gradually, the remnants of his rampage began to fade.

The black aura of the Absolute Being slowly receded.

Finally, Park Chan-woo ‘opened his eyes.’

‘…This place.’

Why did the Will of Magic send him here?

To inform him of the corruption of the Hall of all Gods?

That couldn’t be the only reason.

To convey the intention of a god, or some story?

That wasn’t it either.

This place.

This mountain…

‘…Was it a place to come and hear my own story.’

It was a place he had been sent to with the meaning of honing himself.

It was time to listen to—and convey—not someone else’s story, but his own.

Simultaneously—

Ding!

[You have realized [Pure Non-Learning] and completed one-tenth of [Divine Art of Absolute Learning].]

[The effect of the [Weakest] status abnormality weakens.]

[100 residual stat points are granted.]

[You can ‘directly’ raise your desired pure stat.]

[Attack and defense efficiency based on physical and mana stats increases by 10%.]

[Pure Non-Learning] was the study of oneself.

The original Arahan pursued only their own personal study.

Thus, the effect of [Weakest], which forcibly set pure stats to 1, had to weaken.

Until now, he had only used [Elysion] to absorb the curse and raise pure mana, but as he completed [Divine Art of Absolute Learning], he could now raise other pure stats as well.

And as he wished—

“Who are you?”

Park Chan-woo asked, looking at the mirror.

Although the realization itself had been achieved alone, if the True Master of the Cradle hadn’t told him to open his eyes, it would have ended with him running rampant.

But no matter how long he waited, there was no answer.

As if it had done all it needed to do.

It merely left behind a solitary mirror.

Park Chan-woo reached out to the mirror.

Then—

Ding!

[You have obtained [Park Chan-woo’s Mirror].]

[It is said that looking into the mirror whenever you feel like losing yourself can help you regain yourself.]

The description was brief.

He let out a short laugh.

It was certain he had met some mysterious being.

And one he had never encountered before… an existence akin to an “immortal.”

Thanks to that, one thing became clear.

He now had a definite reason to climb this Mountain of Practitioners.

‘Not as the Heavenly Demon, but as myself, I must stand at the mountain’s peak.’

Sorry to Chiwoo, but he would not ascend to the summit to spread the name of the Heavenly Demon again.

It was Park Chan-woo who would climb this mountain.

He would climb to inscribe his own story—his alone.

At that moment—

“Ugh…”

Strength drained from his entire body.

The aftermath of the rampage finally arrived.

Ding!

[3 hours have passed.]

[All time has been consumed, and the [Mystic Tower] disappears.]

[You have cleared the 150th floor, the [Mirror Room]!]

[Your fame increases greatly.]

[You obtain the [Box of Endurance].]

[Your Class Level increases by 1.]

[You have achieved Class [Lv 49].]

[Upon surpassing [Lv 50], you can perform a [Class Up].]