Chapter 102
About thirty minutes after the entire Great Buddha Temple had begun shaking from an unknown earthquake, signs of damage slowly started appearing on the giant Buddha statue as well.
Crack!
A faint crack formed on the face of the Buddha, which was as massive as a cliff, and stone dust began falling below Great Buddha Temple.
“One, two!”
That stone dust rained down on Chang-kyung, Mantae, and No Death as they struggled to open the Stone Gate at the rear entrance of Taebudong.
The stones falling from such a high cliff should have hurt, but the three of them, gripping the Stone Gate while pouring out all their Internal Energy and Mana, did not even have time to show pain.
“Huff… Huff…”
They stared at the Stone Gate, gasping for breath.
“It’s gotten even stronger than before.”
At Mantae’s words, No Death bit his lip as he gathered his black smoke.
“It feels three times stronger than when we started. Compared to that…”
No Death trailed off.
Chang-kyung, Mantae, and No Death.
The fact that the Stone Gate would not budge an inch even after the three of them, all considered powerful by human standards, had thrown everything they had into it drove them to despair.
It was then.
Chang-kyung suddenly fixed his gaze somewhere, then placed a hand on No Death’s shoulder.
“You said your name was No Death.”
“Should we go again?”
“No, step aside now.”
“Huh?”
“What was meant to come has come.”
And not long after, a voice filled with fury echoed from the distance.
“Chief Monk!”
“He’s here!”
Mantae’s joy was short-lived.
Gakyak landed with such force that the ground beneath him shattered.
“Gakyak, what happened was…”
“You, be quiet.”
“Urgh…”
Gakyak’s burning eyes held nothing but rage.
And that gaze was fixed solely on Chief Monk Chang-kyung.
“How could you do this? The rear entrance of Taebudong is opening.”
“This is not the time to argue about that.”
“Chief Monk!”
“Gakyak!”
It was the first time Chang-kyung had ever roared at Gakyak since he became a Guardian Monk.
The echo of Chang-kyung’s true fury was enough to startle not only the enraged Gakyak but even Mantae, who had been quietly listening.
“Taebudong is collapsing. What is Taebudong to our Great Buddha Temple? And yet you put your anger first? Is that truly the bearing of Gakyak, who stands as a Guardian Monk?”
“…..”
Only then did Gakyak’s eyes shift to Taebudong, where stones were pouring out with heavy thuds.
Gakyak had become a martial artist through long years of training.
Like Chang-kyung and Mantae, he instantly realized that the source lay behind the closed Stone Gate.
And the moment he confirmed which Stone Gate it was, Gakyak’s brow twitched.
“Is it that place?”
He had tried to forget, but at the sight of that Stone Gate’s location, the memory of that day, the day he could never forget, came flooding back.
His face twisted as if in pain, and Gakyak’s hand seized his own collar.
“It is that place.”
He looked at Chang-kyung, then up at Taebudong, which was still shedding stone dust.
Was this what it felt like to have your heart torn apart?
Every one of those emotions was laid bare across Gakyak’s face.
“……”
Gakyak’s lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something.
But the words would not come easily, as if they were words he should not say.
“Gakyak!”
It was then.
Mantae, who understood Gakyak’s heart better than anyone, called out loudly.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“You’re the one telling me not to do something I’ll regret right now, Mantae?”
“It’s time to end your pain. It won’t be too late to see it with your own eyes, will it?”
At Mantae’s words, which instantly seized his attention, Gakyak’s face filled with confusion.
Mantae then pointed at No Death and said,
“He is the one who overcame Taebudong’s trial today.”
“…?!”
Those unexpected words made Gakyak’s eyes widen as far as they could.
Disbelief filled his eyes as he stared at No Death.
“Overcame Taebudong’s trial… what do you mean by that…?”
The already short distance between him and Chang-kyung closed by another step.
Meeting Gakyak’s gaze, which seemed to plead for an answer, Chang-kyung gave a gentle smile.
“It’s true. He’s a young man from Korea named No Death.”
The moment he heard the words he had longed to hear, Gakyak immediately approached No Death.
Then he grabbed No Death by the shoulders and asked,
“Did you… truly pass the trial?”
“Whoa, you startled me. Is that really such a big deal? More importantly, you shouldn’t be here. You should be over there.”
No Death pointed toward the Stone Gate.
“I don’t know what happened, but do something about it, quickly! At this rate, my friends are really going to die!”
Gakyak lowered his head.
“He really… really passed the trial.”
It was then.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
For the first time, a powerful quake struck three times in a row.
Chang-kyung, Mantae, Gakyak, and even No Death.
The round of tremors was strong enough to make all of them stagger, and for a moment everyone could do nothing but stare at Taebudong.
“Aish! If you’re not going to do it, then move! I’ll do it myself!”
As the situation grew more dire, No Death shoved Gakyak aside.
Then he stepped up to the Stone Gate and threw all his strength into trying to move it.
“Nngh! Nnnngh!”
No matter how hard he pushed, the Stone Gate would not move, but No Death did not give up. He pushed again and again.
“Let’s do it together.”
Seeing No Death’s desperate struggle, Mantae rolled up his sleeves and stepped in beside him.
Then he unleashed the Internal Energy he had stored up and drove strength into his legs, trying to push the Stone Gate with everything he had.
But despite their desperate efforts, the Stone Gate showed no sign of moving at all.
“Gakyak.”
Chang-kyung spoke to Gakyak, who stood silently watching Mantae and No Death.
“Do you see the effort of that child, who does not possess even a trace of Internal Energy? The desire to protect one’s own is a natural feeling. It does not belong to you alone.”
Pat, pat.
He patted Gakyak once on the shoulder.
“Unlike you, that child still has time. It means you no longer have to run away.”
Then he walked over to Mantae’s side, set aside his title as Chief Monk, and joined them in pushing the Stone Gate with all his strength.
Gakyak’s eyes remained fixed on No Death.
He did not even know how to use external arts, so his hands were already torn open and bleeding.
Even so, he continued straining with all his might, black smoke pouring out of him as he pushed.
The more he forced himself, the more the skin on his palms split open, and thin streams of blood began to run.
Bloody handprints covered the Stone Gate.
“…..”
Gakyak’s fists clenched tightly.
“One, two!”
“One, two!”
“One, two!”
After three failed attempts,
“Alright! One more time! One, two!”
Just as they were making their fourth attempt,
Screeeech.
“Oh!”
For the first time, the Stone Gate began to move.
This was the same Stone Gate that had not budged no matter what they did.
So why had it suddenly begun to move?
Soon, No Death’s wandering gaze found the answer.
“Huh? Gakyak…?”
Gakyak was gripping the Stone Gate, unleashing his Internal Energy with all his might.
“What are you doing!? We don’t have time! Move it!”
At Gakyak’s shout after joining them, No Death gave a small smile and shouted to the others.
“Alright! One more time! One, two!”
Screeeech.
“One, two!”
Screeeech.
“Last one, all at once! Uraaaaaaaah!”
SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!
And so…
The epicenter of the earthquake that had shaken the entire Great Buddha Temple…
swung wide open through the courage of the man who could not forget the pain of the past.
Screeeeeeeech. Thud!
= = =
Gakyak’s courage was by no means a light matter.
He had lost his cherished disciple, and he had lost his only son.
And the Stone Gate Gakyak had opened with his own hands was the very place where he had lost that son.
Thump.
The Stone Gate swung wide open, and the earthquake that had shaken the entire Great Buddha Temple came to a stop.
At the same time, Gakyak’s legs, which had stood firm like a great mountain protecting Great Buddha Temple, gave way before the Stone Gate of Taebudong, the place he had sworn never to return to.
Was it gratitude?
Even after the Stone Gate opened, No Death did not rush straight through it. Instead, he went first to Gakyak, who sat there with his head bowed.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“…..”
Gakyak’s eyes shifted to No Death’s shoulder.
Stone dust and bloodstains covered those once-clean clothes.
“Bang Hyuk-min!!”
No Death’s shout rang out.
Gakyak did not even need to look through the open Stone Gate to know.
“Ha…”
He raised his head and looked up at the sky.
Today, yet another life had disappeared, becoming dew within Taebudong.
And yet the ignorant sky remained clear.
Just as he was about to cast off the anguish gnawing at his chest with a sigh and rise to his feet,
“No Death.”
“…..!!”
A new voice, one that made Gakyak doubt his own ears, rang out.
He jerked his head up and looked toward the Stone Gate.
And there, as if it were a lie, he saw Hyuk-min walking out from within the Stone Gate, perfectly intact.
“Ah, ah…”
His body, which had been halfway up already, collapsed once more.
A laugh escaped him out of joy, but while his mouth smiled, tears streamed down Gakyak’s face.
A smiling mouth and flowing tears.
“Thank goodness…”
Two miracles had happened today.
And because of those two miracles, the deep wound in Gakyak’s heart, like a trauma, did not feel as though it were worsening for the first time in a long while.
Instead, it felt as if it were healing, little by little.
= = =
Hyuk-min, whom everyone had believed would die, walked out through the Stone Gate without a trace of hesitation.
He briefly frowned at the bright sunlight.
No Death rushed over and asked,
“Are you okay!?”
“There was a problem, wasn’t there?”
At Hyuk-min’s question, No Death let out a deep sigh and replied,
“A problem? Of course there was! Can’t you tell from seeing everyone gathered here?”
“Well, the fact that both Guardian Monks are here means you must’ve forced the gate open.”
He nodded as though he had expected as much.
Then Chang-kyung stepped forward and asked,
“What happened?”
“It was that bastard, LIMITLESS.”
“Did I not warn you over and over not to meet him!”
“That was the plan. But things didn’t go the way I wanted. You know, don’t you? LIMITLESS… what kind of being it is.”
The System.
In this world, it was a being like a god.
Chang-kyung himself knew full well that even he, someone known as [One Who Awakens Potential], could never notice the variables created by such a being, but the situation had been so dire that he could not help growing angry.
“So… did you obtain it?”
At Chang-kyung’s question, Hyuk-min shook his head.
“If you hadn’t opened it, I would’ve died for sure.”
“It’s a miracle that you’re alive.”
“Still, I knew you would come.”
“Ha! You knew I would open it? How could you possibly know that?”
He spoke with an awkward smile.
“You’re the first to notice when anything goes wrong during a trial, Chief Monk Chang-kyung. I believed you would open it if something happened. Besides, time inside the trial flows infinitely slower than outside, so I thought you would find some way, somehow.”
“My, my, I thought you were a fox, but you’re a hundred-year-old serpent! Ha!”
He had boldly entered Great Buddha Temple and worked over and over to get on Chang-kyung’s good side.
But there was a reason he had not skipped the official procedures.
If all he had wanted was to undergo Taebudong’s trial, he knew the grounds of Great Buddha Temple well enough to have done it on his own.
The reason he had gone through all that trouble to come here was simple.
To protect both his defenseless teammates and himself while he was inside the trial.
In other words, it was a safeguard for unforeseen situations.
“How much time has passed?”
At Hyuk-min’s question, Chang-kyung said,
“Are you telling me not to ask anything more about LIMITLESS?”
When Hyuk-min offered only an awkward smile instead of an answer, Chang-kyung let out a dry laugh and a cough before speaking.
“There are now five days left until the three months you mentioned.”
At that unexpected answer, No Death’s eyes widened.
“What!?”
“Didn’t your leader tell you?”
“No, he never said anything like that.”
“What do you even like so much about a leader like that, that you tried to save him even after tearing your hands to pieces?”
“I know, right? I shouldn’t have done that.”
At No Death’s answer, Chang-kyung gave a snort and a crooked smile.
This time, Hyuk-min looked around and asked,
“What happened to Hyun-jung?”
“As you can see, not yet.”
He could see that every Stone Gate was still closed except for the now-open gates belonging to No Death and Hyuk-min.
“She’s taking a while. That’s unexpected.”
There were only five days left until the promised three months.
Of course, there were still another three months before the war on December 26, but the plan Hyuk-min had put together needed to begin soon.
Because…
‘The signs are going to appear soon.’
He looked at Hyun-jung’s still-closed Stone Gate.
‘Just hurry up a little. I absolutely need you.’
He quietly sent that wish toward the silent Stone Gate.
It was then.
The Latent Dragon he had forgotten because of LIMITLESS stirred and made its presence known.
[Ting.]
[Skill ‘Immortal Demon Art’ has been detected.]
[The conditions to master the Skill ‘Immortal Demon Art’ have been met.]
[Would you like to learn the Skill ‘Immortal Demon Art’? Yes / No]
A message from the white System, not LIMITLESS.
At the sight of the message that only someone who had overcome Taebudong’s trial could see, Hyuk-min’s fist tightened slightly.
‘Now…’
It begins.
The first sign of the coming war and the first step toward preparing for it.
Click.
[You are mastering the Skill ‘Immortal Demon Art’.]
[The Skill ‘Immortal Demon Art’ has 5 stages, and you must gain proficiency in each stage to advance to the next.]
[To reach ‘Immortal Demon Art Stage 1,’ the process of converting Mana into Internal Energy is required.]
[Would you like to proceed? Yes / No]
Click.
He pressed yes once more, and a white System window unfolded.
[Due to your high potential and Mana capacity, the conversion will take time.]
[Estimated time required: 12 minutes]
[Estimated stage: Immortal Demon Art Stage 3]
[Beginning conversion.]
At that moment, an immense amount of blood-red energy, enough to envelop all of Taebudong, erupted from Hyuk-min’s body.