The overarching goal at Cheonwisan this time was not so much about acquiring new power, but rather about reflecting on what I already possessed.
That didn't mean I had any intention of neglecting the weapons I currently had.
Once I had grown accustomed to my daily routine, I began reading the memories of the masterwork-grade sword, Judo, which I had received from my seventh elder brother, as well as those of Heukya, whose seals had been partially lifted.
"I'll read Judo later. For now, Heukya first."
Unlike Mujin or other weapons, Heukya didn't contain any particular hidden sword techniques or magical formulas.
Still, I kept reading Heukya's memories over and over again.
Something about it kept weighing on my mind.
Sssst!
A dark aura spread like black particles, wrapping around Heukya.
When I slowly opened my eyes again, I found myself in a now-familiar scene.
Within the memory, I was staring at Heukya.
Then, slowly, I reached out toward it.
"This was as far as I could go before the seal was lifted. And from here…"
The memory continued unfolding.
— I intend to seal this sword. I refuse to let my descendants be swayed by the power of a mere blade.
The owner of the memory spoke, gripping Heukya, addressing someone unseen.
If the legends surrounding Heukya were true, and if the discoveries made by scholars before my regression were accurate…
Then the man holding the sword was most likely the founder of the Sungmu family.
— Sealing it is not difficult, but are you certain? The ones chosen by this sword will not appear often, regardless of their strength or weakness.
A voice from the darkness responded to the man's words.
It was a woman, seemingly a shaman.
It wasn't hard to deduce that she was the one who sealed Heukya.
— That's fine. If someone is unfit, it's better they don't wield it at all.
Thus, the woman inscribed characters onto Heukya, sealing its true form.
A total of nine seals.
— The contents of the seals are as follows.
Zzt!
Except for the seals I had already unlocked, the rest of the information was distorted, as if covered in noise.
— The sealing is complete.
Nine glowing characters were now engraved on Heukya's surface.
"I need to focus now."
I steeled myself, determined not to miss a single detail of what was about to unfold.
Once all the seals were placed, the shaman spoke again.
— If the third seal is undone, the sword will be partially unsealed. Are you sure about this?
The man answered nonchalantly.
— It doesn't matter. That much won't change much. But a test is in order.
He gripped Heukya, now with three seals undone, and slowly began channeling his mana.
As his mana flowed into the sword, it began traveling through a complex network.
Heukya had an intricate circuit within it, much like a human's mana pathways.
"The internal mana circulation itself isn't special. The key is the sequence in which the mana moves within the sword."
I struggled to memorize the path the mana took through Heukya.
But the process was too fast, ending in an instant.
And the moment the mana completed its circuit, Heukya finally activated.
Grrrng!
A heavy, beast-like growl echoed from the sword.
As if ready, the man suddenly swung his arm through the air, spreading his mana outward.
Then, he slashed Heukya toward his own mana.
Skkak!
Heukya cut through the mana.
It wasn't like a magician's dispel, which disrupts magical structures, nor like a warrior's brute-force destruction.
It was as if the mana had simply ceased to exist—completely erased.
— The seals need to be strengthened further. But this is satisfactory.
The man, seemingly pleased, gazed at the blade.
Just as his reflection was about to appear on the obsidian-like surface—
Crackle!
The memory ended there.
I closed my eyes tightly, then reopened them.
"A weapon like this actually exists…"
Every time I read a memory, I felt awed anew.
Even for a celestial-grade sword, it was still just a weapon—yet Heukya had pathways inside it, functioning almost like an electronic circuit.
"And that phenomenon… The mana wasn't broken down or consumed. It just vanished."
Some truths of the world are considered absolute.
One such truth: mana does not disappear.
No matter how much humans use mana, the scattered energy always returns to nature.
Mana is infinite. It never truly ceases to exist.
'But the moment that man—no, the Progenitor—wielded Heukya, the magic vanished completely. As if it had been utterly erased.'
No weapon in the world was known to possess such an ability.
The problem was—
'I still can't replicate it in the slightest…'
The way magic was controlled in my memory had passed by too quickly, and the internal pathways of Heukya were incredibly complex.
As a result, I had been reviewing my memories daily, yet I was still struggling.
'This is going to take a while.'
I let out a small chuckle.
It felt like navigating a maze.
Just as there's a difference between viewing a labyrinth from above and actually walking through it, retracing Heukya's pathways gave me a similar sensation.
Heukya was a maze torn into thousands, tens of thousands of paths.
Even if I had seen people traverse it multiple times, finding the path myself was no easy feat.
Especially when the one who knew the way had raced through it at a maddening speed, with no consideration for others.
'If I keep at it, I'll figure it out someday. I've already come a long way.'
In a way, I was excited.
Even with only three seals undone, it could erase magic—what would Heukya be like once all its seals were released?
"That's enough for Heukya."
I let out a deep breath.
Next was Judo, the masterwork sword my seventh brother had given me.
It was a weapon with a thick blade, adorned with an intricate ripple pattern.
'Today, I can finally absorb Judo.'
Over the past three months, I had completely processed all the memories contained within it.
Judo's original wielder had not been particularly skilled. He had not mastered high-level martial arts, nor advanced magic techniques.
Yet, the man wielding Judo had been strong.
That was thanks to Judo's ability.
'A sword that returns to my hand no matter how far it is thrown.'
Using that ability, the man had held his own against fifth-rank warriors despite being only sixth-rank himself.
Wooong—!
Dark energy seeped onto Judo's surface as it began to tremble.
I instinctively knew—I could absorb it this time.
'It's ready.'
Without hesitation, I devoured Judo.
***
Time passed swiftly.
The seasons changed twice, and I had grown accustomed to the somewhat uncomfortable life in Cheonwisan.
"Huff… Huff…"
I exhaled roughly, focusing my mind.
—Kieeeeek!
The Queen of the Inmyeonju blocked my path.
It was only an illusion created by a goblin's magic, yet it felt just as real.
A foe I had never once defeated completely.
I slowly extended my foot and began to move.
Boom! Kwang!
The Queen's legs came crashing down like a bombardment.
But my demon eyes and senses detected every movement.
Not once did I allow her attacks to land.
'I still can't fully match her speed, but…'
I could see everything—I could predict everything.
Part of it was that I had grown accustomed to her movements, but more importantly, I could now keep up with her speed.
Kwarung!
At that moment, aura began to coalesce at the tip of Mujin.
When I first entered Cheonwisan, my aura techniques had been unstable—but that issue was long resolved.
Every last fragment of aura was now under my control.
Zzeojeojeok—!
The aura gathered at my sword's tip, exuding a cold chill.
Fierce Qi Technique—Yama.
The frost-infused aura bound the Queen's legs completely.
—Kieeeeek!
She thrashed, breaking free from the restraints.
But by then, Mujin was already weaving a new magic technique.
At the edge of Demon Slayer, lightning-imbued aura gathered.
Kwaaaang!
A flash erupted, and a massive aura explosion engulfed the Inmyeonju Queen like a bomb.
Slowly, I lowered Mujin.
—Kie… Kieeeek… Krk!
The illusion of the Inmyeonju dissipates.
At last, I had defeated the Inmyeonju.
A Rank 5 Variant Boss Monster.
Although various conditions had worked in my favor, it was still a flawless victory against an enemy far stronger than me.
I took a deep breath and retrieved Mujin.
"Wow, this bastard really pulled it off."
The mountain keeper, who had been using magic, let out a wry chuckle as he looked at the tattered talisman.
"Well, it was just one lucky win. You do realize this is the first time you've won after losing every time, right?"
"From now on, I'll win every time we fight. You know that, don't you?"
"Ah, seriously, you're so damn annoying."
It might have sounded arrogant, but it was the truth.
By the time I had completed my training, I was certain that I could defeat the Queen under any circumstances.
"So? What do you want to create this time?"
"I think it's time to stop training."
I had achieved everything I set out to do, surpassing my own expectations.
What remained now was long-term discipline—short bursts of training would no longer make much of a difference.
'Even if I challenged it right now, I could easily obtain the Jeongmusa qualification. I'm certain of it. I've truly reached the level of a Rank 5 warrior.'
A warrior's rank is typically determined by whether they can single-handedly defeat a boss monster one tier below their own.
A Rank 8 warrior should be able to defeat a Rank 9 boss, a Rank 7 warrior should be able to handle a Rank 8 boss, and so on.
Since I had taken down the Rank 5 Inmyeonju Queen, I could claim to be a Rank 4 warrior. However, the Queen had only just been born, an incomplete entity that had yet to fully awaken its abilities.
Realistically, calling myself a Rank 5 warrior was already generous.
"If you stop training… are you going to take a break? Hey, yeah, that sounds great. Let's both take a break."
The mountain keeper smirked as he approached me.
I shook my head and answered him.
"I'm about to begin."
The mountain keeper froze.
"I want to challenge the trial left behind by the ancestor."
My training was complete.
It was time to take on my final task at Cheonwisan.
***
The training grounds of Cheonwisan were created by the ancestor of the Sungmuiga clan.
The ancestor had decreed that all his descendants must train at Cheonwisan before stepping out into the world.
To maintain and oversee the mountain, he appointed a single goblin as its guardian.
But the guardian's duty did not end there.
He had one more sacred obligation—
To select and permit challengers for a very ancient trial.
"So, you truly intend to challenge it."
"Yes. That's the reason I came here."
"You are not yet at the level to pass the trial."
The mountain keeper assessed me coldly.
No matter how extraordinary this kid was, he was not strong enough to pass the trial.
'But…'
The mountain keeper glanced at a large mark etched into the training grounds.
'He managed to damage my training grounds.'
The magical floor of the training area had been gouged out, as if slashed by a massive beast.
"…But you are strong enough to attempt it. Whether you'll pass is another matter."
The mountain keeper gave a strange smile.
'In the end, I'm allowing it.'
A child whose growth showed no limits.
Still lacking in many ways—
But once he stepped into the trial, who knew how much more he would grow?
"You understand the dangers of the trial, correct?"
"Yes, I do."
The trial at Cheonwisan was like a naming ceremony.
Once entered, there was no leaving until it was over.
"There is no special reward for passing the trial. Even so, do you still wish to take it?"
"Yes. That's the very reason I came here."
"Fine. If that's your decision, I won't stop you. Follow me."
The mountain keeper led me to his dwelling—a cave imbued with magic.
But this time, the magic did not activate.
Instead of the goblin's residence, what appeared before me was a massive stone gate.
"Open it and step inside. Then it will begin."
I nodded and grasped the handle of the stone door.
"Well then, I'll be going."
"Yeah, take your time coming back. I don't want to see your face too soon."
The mountain keeper grumbled, waving me away.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed the stone door open.
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