Chapter 373

“Welcome to Onir’s mental world. I’m greeting you on behalf of him, hehe.”

It felt as if I had traveled back in time in this world. Doom Dejire also had a knack for sending me to alternate worlds like this as well.

Anyway, the woman who spoke to me was a tall, blonde woman who appeared to be a formidable warrior. However, I quickly recognized her as Yeon-Hee. She motioned for me to be silent by placing her index finger on her lips, then guided me to one side.

There were only a few onlookers in our vicinity as most were either drunk or scattered throughout the campsite, reveling in their own festivities. I also held a bottle of alcohol in my hand, with wrinkles and scars serving as a testament to the numerous times I had been stabbed. Furthermore, I noticed a knife hanging from my waist.

“Your name is Zico. We both used to be farmers in the Forest of Wailing, but it has been a little over a year since we joined this mercenary army. The mercenary captain is teaching swordsmans.h.i.+p to the three of us, including Onir. We have traveled back around twenty-five years.”

I commented, “This is interesting.”

She nodded. “The stronger they are, the better mental defense system they have. Onir’s is far inferior to Ronsius’s, but it’s better than nothing. These guys are annoying.”

Yeon-Hee grumbled. Despite her changed appearance, her facial expression and eyes were sufficient enough for me to identify her.

She added, “Mana’s influence is added to their training, so the Old One must be protecting their mentality to a certain extent.”

“So you haven’t taken full control of his mentality?” I asked.

She gestured vaguely. “Well, half and half.”

“What do you mean?”

She simply said, “Focus. You will feel something naturally.”

I could activate my Sixth Sense here, as well as skills such as Night Eye that enhanced my visibility in darkness, and all the stats that enabled me to ascend to the Ender section. The distinction between reality and the illusion of power was evident, but whatever was feasible on the outside was also possible in this mental realm.

“What if we get killed here?” I asked.

She shook her head. “There is no chance of that in the realm he is aware of.”

“What if it happens?”

Yeon-Hee explained, “We will be bounced off from this world, and that’s it. We didn’t come in separately with a separate mental system, so there will be no impact on us.”

“Mental system?”

She clarified, “It can be explained in a concept of soul or spirit.”

I nodded. “Ah, I see what you are talking about. I have cut open something like that before. Then, what happens if I break through the gate to Elsland?”

This was the safe way to reach the Queen of Elsland.

Yeon-Hee pointed out, “If he was in a position to go to Elsland, then he wouldn’t have been robbing like this, right?”

“So?”

She sighed slightly. “We can’t go somewhere that he doesn’t remember. If you need to because of the command you got, then we need to go into the mind of someone who has close contact with the queen.”

“What if we do that now?”

“The void will unfold, and the defense system of this world will notice us. But that’s what we are going to do now. Try to break through the gate to Elsland. Let’s do that first before anything troublesome happens.”

Yeon-hee smiled mischievously.

“Okay, Seon-Hu? No, my brother, Zico.”

***

[Power 76 / 380]

As I opened the gate, the location that materialized was identical to the dark zone where the System had forcefully grouped together three individuals and informed us that only one could exit alive in the Stage of Advent.

Yeon-Hee said as if I didn’t need to intervene, “Do you want to watch or join us?”

I shook my head. “Neither. You watch.”

The ‘Defense System’ ent.i.ty entered through the gate, sporting a cold expression.

He said, “Things that were not supposed to enter, have entered.”

He was one of the mercenaries who had been drinking. Although he was speaking in their native tongue, I was able to comprehend him. Right then, I understood why Yeon-Hee had mentioned that this would be a great opportunity to learn their language.

Yeon-Hee replied as if she was scolding me., “Their defense system sucks as much as the way they don’t grasp the situation. I can’t believe such a weak guy is acting up. Close the gate, Seon-Hu. He is nothing.”

Although she had no intention of killing him, she sounded like she was suggesting that I could satisfy my curiosity by toying with him as much as I desired.

Yeon-Hee stepped away to grant me the freedom to attack him as I pleased.

Suddenly, the ent.i.ty with the exterior of a mercenary charged toward me. Notably, the technique it used to create the trajectory was the same as before, but the speed at which the body was hurled was faster than what I had witnessed during Onir’s fight with Seong-Il. He appeared to have the intention of piercing my throat with the Aurora Blade[1] that he had launched from a sluggish speed.

As I looked at it hurtling towards me, I telepathically connected with Yeon-Hee, transmitting at an extremely high frequency, faster than if I had spoken aloud.

- Seon-Hu: He must be at a higher level than Onir. Probably around Level 510?

- Yeon-Hee: The defense system here is not precise. Ronsius’s was far superior to his ability. It must be due to the difference between a warrior and a wizard.

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The moment when the Aurora Blade split into two was captured in slow motion, with the trajectory aimed at my neck transforming into a vertical line that was now aimed at my groin. He was attempting to slice me into four separate pieces.

The weapon in Seong-Il’s left hand had been smashed by this exact same attack.

I leapt towards Onir and delivered a swift kick with the sole of my foot, sending him hurtling towards the path of his still-active blade. In a panic, he raised his protective s.h.i.+eld just in time to narrowly escape with his life.

Despite his s.h.i.+eld absorbing most of the impact, the force of the collision managed to chip away at a layer of the barrier, causing him to rebound toward me uncontrollably.

It was unnecessary for me to use my skills on him. As I had just done, I pushed him back into his trajectory when the mercenary threw the blade at me again. After a few more times of repeating the same procedure, this stupid idiot’s s.h.i.+eld was completely worn off.

With his neck now firmly within my grasp, he writhed in agony and attempted to kick weakly at my body, though it was clear that he lacked the strength to deliver any meaningful blows. His kicks were not intended as attacks, but rather a feeble attempt to break free from me.

He was dying like a real human. When he began to make noise as he strangled with a ghastly pale face, I added more strength to my grip. My thumb and index finger pierced through his skin, and they made contact inside his flesh.

Yeon-Hee walked out while looking at the corpse.

“Nothing should bother us for now. I have full control of his mentality.”

Based on her words, she appeared to be familiar with guys like him.

I said, “Yeon-Hee…”

“Yes?”

“How long were you in Ronsius’s mental world?” I finally asked.

She said she had been there for more than one year. At one point, she served as an apprentice to Ronsius. On the second time, she was a member of King Onyx and the Holy Knight"s expeditionary team at a different time, and in the third, she also experienced living as Ronsius.

Moreover, she mentioned that she made sure to come out to reality occasionally and apply the techniques she had learned during that time, while also ensuring that she didn’t get lost in fantasy.

Nonetheless, compared to Yeon-Hee’s exceptional ability, these procedures were quite basic. She could even read a person’s life story just by looking into their eyes.

Upon questioning, she provided me with a similar response. According to her, the strength of the Old One"s will was directly linked to the amount of mana possessed by the target. As such, it exerted corresponding limitations. She suggested that the only way to truly understand a particular time period was to travel back in time and experience it firsthand. Additionally, she emphasized the need to invest significant effort into brainwas.h.i.+ng strong individuals.

This explained how Yeon-Hee was able to become Ronsius during her last visit to his mental world. She had manipulated memories to make the real Ronsius believe that he was her disciple, allowing her to take on his persona.

She smacked her lips in regret. “Well… But he realized who he was and eventually killed himself.”

She also mentioned that things would have been different if everything had happened on our mainland as Mana’s influence was cut off there.

“So what is our plan from now on?” I asked.

She shrugged. “There is nothing to wait for since we have taken the initiative. We will move right away. Also, don’t laugh when you see this, okay?”

“See what?”

Similar to Joshua’s transformation back to his old face, Yeon-Hee’s face began to contort and change. Once the transformation was complete, I realized why she had warned me not to laugh. She looked and sounded like Seong-Il now.

“You heard him too. I want to do him a favor.”

Swoosh-!

The background disappeared with the sound.

***

When I opened my eyes, blinking, Yeon-Hee, who was disguised as Seong-Il, was kicking a guy straight in the face. The face that was crushed and turned toward me was the face of Onir in his youth. He was looking up at me with a look of appeal for help.

“Zico… Stop your brother…”

However, he soon grabbed Yeon-Hee’s foot and begged for mercy.

“I… I am so sorry… Hyung[2]. Please…”

It was because Yeon-Hee looked like Seong-Il. Her eyes were filled with rage that was similar to the ones she had during the Stage of Advent.

Yeon-hee remained silent. All she did was grab a fistful of young Onir’s hair and pull him up to stand while staring at him intently. Despite his inability to resist, Onir trembled with fear under her gaze, reminding me of a goldfish that had escaped from its tank.

She snarled, “Don’t act like a friend just because we have the same master. If you treat me like that again… I will kill you.”

“Okay, okay. I’m so sorry.”

“I will kill you even if you tell Master… I’m going to slit your throat and throw your head to the herd of wild dogs.”

He begged piteously, “I… I would say that I was beaten up at a gambling house. I deserve all the criticism.”

“Yeah, keep that in mind.”

Yeon-Hee actually took out a dagger and put it in front of his eyes. The tip of the knife was reflected in his pupils.

“I will bring the Master,” Yeon-Hee said.

She spoke to me while winking and gesturing with her knife over Onir’s shoulder. Seeing Seong-Il’s face wink like that made me speechless for a moment.

Time slowly pa.s.sed after Yeon-Hee left the room. During that time, Onir s.h.i.+vered and even avoided my gaze. This was definitely the appearance of a person who had been exposed to violence for a long time.

Soon, Yeon-Hee returned with a bulky guy. He was the captain of the mercenaries and the master who had been training us in swordsmans.h.i.+p.

“Where did you get beaten that much?” he asked.

Yeon-Hee, who was crossing her arms behind the mercenary captain, made a brief gesture at Onir with her chin.

Onir replied, “I got into a quarrel at the gambling house. Since I’m like this, they are… They probably need to lie down in bed for a few days. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Blood kept leaking out of his mouth every time he moved his lips because he hadn’t spat out all the blood yet.

“Is it something that I should be concerned about?” the captain asked.

He shook his head. “No, they were nothing. Just parasites at the gambling house.”

“If you get involved in an affair with aristocrats…” Master gnawed his teeth.

“I am not that crazy and tactless. Isn’t that right, Zico?”

As he glanced at Yeon-Hee’s face, he sent me a signal to help him out. I briefly nodded to the mercenary.

“Zico was there too. I swear they were not like n.o.bles.”

“Okay, then. Follow me, all of you. I will open the door for you to become Sword Users. You know what you should give me in return, right?”

Yeon-Hee answered, “Loyalty. I can even give you my life. I swear under the name of the Lord Lacryma.”

“Don’t even think about that f.u.c.king G.o.d!” the captain snapped.

“...”

“I will give you the luck that you will never find elsewhere. Make sure to master everything before you enter the next battle on the frontline. The next battle is different from what you have been through so far because you are getting into the battlefield against the Holy Knights. Okay?”

“H…Holy Knight! Y… Yes, sir!” Onir cried out with a mixture of worry and excitement.

Then, I heard Yeon-Hee contacting me telepathically.

- Yeon-Hee: The introduction course won’t take long.

- Seon-Hu: I hope it works for us.

- Yeon-Hee: Yeah. We will be moving to the place where he got Saint Ca.s.sian’s records. The place that got him to his current position.

Two weeks had pa.s.sed since the captain of the mercenary declared the end of the introductory course. Unlike our concerns, in the beginning, we were able to deal with Mana.

1. A rare and powerful sword that appears in video games and is often characterized by its unique design, high damage output, and special abilities. ☜

2. How Korean males call their older brothers or friends older than them. ☜