Chapter 101
Rumble!
The shockwave from inside Taebudong was enough to make the entire massive cavern tremble.
The roar and the tremor were so immense that every monk in Great Buddha Temple came rushing out to stare up at Taebudong.
Chang-kyung and No Death ran to the Stone Gate and tried to open the one Hyuk-min had entered, but it would not budge.
“Why won’t this open!?”
“Once the trial begins, no one can open it.”
“Don’t lie to me. Go get that Mantae guy. He’s the one who opened and closed these Stone Gates.”
In the urgency of the moment, Chang-kyung answered with actions instead of words.
He gathered his Internal Energy, grabbed the Stone Gate No Death had come out of, and pulled. Unlike the one Hyuk-min was behind, it opened with surprising ease.
“Then how are we supposed to open this one!?”
Rumble!
The tremors grew harsher and more frantic, only fanning the anxiety burning in No Death’s chest.
“What are we supposed to do?! Has anything like this ever happened before!?”
Chang-kyung shook his head.
“Never.”
“Then why is it happening to him?”
At that, Chang-kyung stared at the Stone Gate with a grim expression and said, “This isn’t Hyuk-min’s doing. I warned him again and again… He must have provoked that thing.”
“That thing? You mean that LIMITLESS you mentioned earlier? Isn’t that still part of Hyuk-min?”
“It is his Latent Dragon, so in that sense, yes. But this is not normal. Of all the things I have ever seen… this is the most dreadful and powerful.”
“What kind of Skill is it…?”
“It is not a Skill.”
“Huh?”
Just as Chang-kyung was about to part his heavy lips,
“Venerable Elder!”
“He’s here.”
As if on cue, Mantae appeared on the stone steps leading up to Taebudong, his entire body cloaked in a dense aura of Internal Energy.
The blue haze shimmering off Mantae as he climbed the steps was so intense that even No Death, who was not a martial artist, could feel the force of his Internal Energy.
“What is happening?”
Rumble!
As if announcing its presence, another tremor shook Taebudong.
“It is as you see.”
“Good heavens…”
Mantae’s eyes moved past the Stone Gate and upward.
Then, even things that had been invisible to No Death came into view.
A dark purple, unknown force, as though it were trying to burst out of Taebudong.
Its power was so overwhelming that it was not merely enveloping Taebudong. It was gripping it and shaking it, as if trying to rip it apart.
Even Mantae was flustered by this unprecedented situation.
“Can something like this even happen inside Taebudong…?”
“This is serious. We must open the door.”
Their eyes, searching for the source, settled on the Stone Gate Hyuk-min was behind.
“At this rate… Taebudong will be destroyed. Mantae, prepare to open the gate.”
At Chang-kyung’s quiet words, Mantae frowned and said, “To do that… I must summon Gakyak.”
Gakyak, who was supposed to remain unaware that a trial was taking place inside Taebudong.
Wasn’t that the whole reason he had been sent away from Great Buddha Temple in the first place?
Chang-kyung’s expression twisted.
‘If we leave it like this, not only will the one inside die, but Taebudong itself will collapse.’
Taebudong was the very symbol of Great Buddha Temple.
If Taebudong disappeared, the very reason for the temple’s existence would vanish with it.
After a long and painful silence, Chang-kyung finally spoke in a low voice. “Summon Gakyak.”
“Does that mean you truly intend to…”
The decision was made. Chang-kyung’s eyes sharpened.
Staring only at the Stone Gate Hyuk-min was behind, he spoke in a solemn voice.
“We… will open the gate.”
= = =
The Latent Dragon from his previous life, when he had an ordinary Class.
The Latent Dragon from his current life, now that he had the Hidden Class, Immortal Demon Art.
Though the power of the trials and the strength of the Latent Dragons had differed, their appearance had never once changed.
They had always been roughly the same size as Hyuk-min, with only slight differences in color depending on the Skills they possessed.
But…
“Don’t tell me, you’re…”
LIMITLESS was different.
Chang-kyung’s warning came back to him.
‘Do not ever make up your mind to do it, and do not even think of attempting it.’
Now he understood in an instant why Chang-kyung had said that.
A Latent Dragon so enormous that it stained the black world dark purple…
“LIMITLESS?”
In the end, he had met the one he was never supposed to meet.
Whoosh.
The dark purple Latent Dragon, bearing Hyuk-min’s form, bent its body and crouched down.
The mere sight of that colossal dark purple figure lowering its head was enough to send chills down his spine.
But something was strange.
Hyuk-min had never intended to seek out the LIMITLESS System’s Latent Dragon.
Chang-kyung’s warning had played a part, but there was a more decisive reason he had never sought out LIMITLESS.
It was because LIMITLESS was ‘another System,’ just like the white System that ruled over this world.
What was a System?
‘A god.’
In both his previous life and his current one, the System was God itself, reigning over all people.
So how could he possibly subdue and use the LIMITLESS System, one of those gods, in a place that merely drew out a person’s latent potential?
He had been certain that even trying would only lead to his death and annihilation, so Hyuk-min had forcibly pushed all thoughts of LIMITLESS from his mind.
But what in the world was this situation?
The Latent Dragon of the LIMITLESS System.
This completely unexpected encounter made his mind race faster than ever.
‘How do I get out of here?’
He had already obtained the Latent Dragon of Immortal Demon Art through its trial.
If he was going to leave, it had to be now.
Nothing good could come from getting any more entangled with that thing.
[Ting.]
Damn it.
From the way it communicated alone, the LIMITLESS Latent Dragon was already on a completely different level from the others.
Along with the System notification, a message from the LIMITLESS System appeared in red text against the black background.
[Would you like to begin the trial?]
He shook his head.
Even the trial for a Hidden Class like Immortal Demon Art had been dangerous enough to put his life on the line.
So what kind of hell would the trial of LIMITLESS, a god that reigned over this world, be like?
‘I have to get out.’
He looked around.
But in this pitch-black void, there was no exit.
There was only one way to leave this place.
He had to obtain the Latent Dragon and leave with its permission.
‘But why can’t I leave?’
He had definitely obtained the Latent Dragon of Immortal Demon Art.
If he was meant to leave, then the moment the Latent Dragon of Immortal Demon Art died, he should have been forced out.
‘Don’t tell me…’
He lifted his head and looked at the LIMITLESS Latent Dragon.
‘Are you the one stopping me from leaving?’
It merely crouched there, looking down at him.
Even so, the sheer pressure radiating from that colossal dark purple figure was more than enough to put Hyuk-min fully on guard.
More than anything, that thing was…
another god of this world, was it not?
[Two things are required to exit the trial.]
As expected of another god, it read Hyuk-min’s thoughts as if they were written out in front of it.
And as if answering those thoughts, it spoke in the form of a quest message.
[Quest Generated.]
[Bring two items.]
[Condition: Death Knight’s Helmet, Dark Ring.]
[Reward: Shining Key, System Upgrade.]
The combination of the two required items was rather strange.
“Why do you need those?”
Then another System message appeared.
[They are Qualification Conditions.]
“Qualification Conditions?”
At those words, he remembered the conditions he had seen within LIMITLESS.
The Qualification Conditions within LIMITLESS that had swallowed [Regression Mode].
[Qualification Conditions: 5 / 10]
“Wait a minute.”
Since they had not been displayed, he had known nothing beyond [Regression Mode] about what he possessed or what he still needed to obtain.
But the moment two of the unknown conditions, previously shown only as question marks, were revealed, he instantly realized what all of them were.
The stele that had suddenly appeared in his previous life, and the great and small wars that had broken out because of it.
And the items that had caused those wars, the very things Hyuk-min was now risking his life to collect.
The Godslayer’s Stele.
All of those items had been written on the stele that appeared in the EX-rank Dungeon in his previous life.
For a moment, his curiosity flared hotter than his instinct to survive and escape.
“How do you… Don’t tell me, the Godslayer’s Stele…?”
Zzzzt.
He had asked only one question.
Yet that single question made the LIMITLESS Latent Dragon’s body suddenly flicker with static like an old television.
Then, as if something had gone wrong, it clenched its fist and began pounding the pitch-black emptiness.
Boom! Boom!
He had thought this was a world of nothingness.
But every time that fist swung, the force was so terrifying that he could feel a faint electric current run through his entire body.
[Beep!]
[This word cannot be used with your current authority.]
[You have spoken an unusable word.]
Boom! Boom!
“What does that…”
[BEEEEEEP!]
[Error Occurred!]
[Error Occurred!]
[System defense against unauthorized words does not function in the Abyss.]
[Due to the lack of a defense system, the avatar in the Abyss is going berserk.]
Boom! Boom!
What was this nonsense about an avatar?
The absurd explanation was brief.
Whoosh!
The colossal LIMITLESS Latent Dragon turned and looked down at Hyuk-min.
Then the fist that had been hammering against the formless void turned toward Hyuk-min instead.
“If that fist hits me, will I die?”
[Death in the Abyss signifies the physical and mental death of the target.]
“Damn it, can’t you stop it?”
[The system defense will cease to operate only when you have the authority to ask about that word.]
“And how do I get that authority?”
[You must fulfill 9 Qualification Conditions.]
“Shit!”
He stopped asking questions.
The method was absurd, and it was not something he could accomplish right now.
It was time to dodge the fist now descending like a meteor.
He could tell just by looking at it.
That fist falling like a meteor…
was not something he could block or endure.
Tap!
Without a second thought, he threw himself backward and started running.
Because the creature was so huge, he had no sense of how large the fist was or exactly where it would land.
But if there was one saving grace, it was that a body that large made its attacks incredibly slow.
THOOOM!!
“Keuk.”
He ran through the world of nothingness as if his heart were about to burst from his chest, and he barely dodged the fist by a hair’s breadth.
But there was another problem.
The next fist was already descending from even closer than the first one he had dodged.
“Find a way! At this rate, I’m going to die!”
[Searching for a method within your authority. Please wait a moment.]
There was no time to wait.
It was so close that even if he started running now, getting hit was almost guaranteed.
Dodging the same way again was pointless.
‘Calm down. I need a way.’
He was in a position where his chance of survival was practically zero.
He slowly steadied his breathing.
“Damn it.”
Even so, there was no stopping his racing heart.
“You son of a bitch, LIMITLESS!”
He had finally come to Taebudong and obtained the Immortal Demon Art through the trial.
Everything had been going according to plan, one step at a time…
He absolutely could not die like this.
“Hoo!”
He drew in a deep breath and forced himself to cool his head.
As the saying goes, even if you walk into a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
Just as he somehow managed to steady himself and scan his surroundings,
Glint.
It seemed fate had no intention of letting a man die so easily.
Within a distance he could reach if he sprinted hard enough before the fist landed, a tiny key, so small he would have missed it if he were not so on edge, caught his eye.
And the instant he spotted it, the LIMITLESS System window appeared.
[==========]
[[???-Rank] Escape Key.]
[- This is a key that allows you to escape the Abyss.]
[- If you insert and turn it anywhere in the Abyss, a door to the outside will open.]
[==========]
His hesitation was brief, his action immediate.
The moment he confirmed the text, Hyuk-min kicked off the ground and sprinted at full speed for the key.
It was so close now that even as he ran with his eyes fixed ahead, he could see the enormous fist descending.
WHOOOOOSH!
He ran and ran with everything he had.
And as the massive fist drew near enough to swallow the whole world,
Snatch!
‘Got it!’
Throwing himself forward into a roll, he barely managed to seize the escape key.
He did not even bother catching his breath.
After taking one sharp breath to steady his trembling, he rammed the escape key into empty air.
And when he turned it with all his might,
Click!
A door radiating white light opened in the pitch-black world of nothingness, as though it were a lie.
“Hoo…”
Barely five seconds remained before the fist landed.
Holding back his ragged breathing, Hyuk-min let out a single gasp and, without hesitation, threw himself at the door leading outside.
Thud!
[Insufficient authority.]
That message, together with the transparent wall he crashed into, snatched away all of Hyuk-min’s hope in an instant.
“Hah…”
Am I really going to die like this?
No way.
He hurriedly got back up and desperately tried to force his way through the door.
But the answer he heard again and again never changed.
[Insufficient authority.]
[Insufficient authority.]
[Insufficient authority.]
And then a thought struck him.
Even if that fist hit him, would he be able to get back up?
Could [Curse of the Dead] possibly still work even in the Abyss?
How do I survive this?
With no answer in sight, and the word death naturally rising in his mind, there was only one thing he could do.
Squeeze.
‘Give up? Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t die like this.’
All he could do was clench his fist with all his strength and fight back against the descending fist.
“Uwaaaaaaah!!”
Just as he braced his whole body against the death rushing toward him,
Grab!
“…!?”
At the very instant the fist was about to connect, a hand shot out from within the blocked door and seized Hyuk-min by the scruff of the neck.
And just before the fist landed, it yanked Hyuk-min through the door.
RUMBLE!!!!