Chapter 456
Clink- Clank-
The noise of things hitting one another inside of a bag repeatedly rang out, marking the first sensation to awaken. Following suit, the others came shortly after. One by one, new pieces of information trickled into the man’s consciousness.
The weight of the duffle bag slung over his shoulder; the foul smell emanating from the light armor covering his entire body; the muddy mountain path from yesterday’s rain beneath his feet; and, on top of it all, the silence that made every little sound seem like it was echoing from all directions.
Squish- Clink- Clank-
Each step he took was loud enough to advertise his presence to the surroundings. Yet the man ignored the clamor and continued to ascend the mountain path until, at one point, he abruptly halted.
Thud! Woosh!
Two lycanthropes reeking of blood lunged at him from both sides. When the duffel bag had hit the ground, the two monsters released the wildness they had been suppressing to surprise their prey and ensure defeat.
However, the man did not flee. Instead, he drew two of the four swords at his waist and threw himself to the left.
Slash!
Deflecting the incoming claws, the man pressed deeper and sliced open one of the creature’s bellies. It roared in pain and attempted to retaliate, but it was already too late.
Crack- Shunk!
In the blink of an eye, the man’s two swords had shredded the monster’s muscles and were plunged into the exposed areas beneath its jaw and between its ribs to pierce its brain and heart simultaneously.
Crack-
Then, without hesitating, the man snapped off the sword blades sideways, spun around, and hurled what was left like throwing weapons.
Thunk!
One of the blades bounced off harmlessly; the other, however, directly pierced the right eye of the second lycanthrope. The beast flinched in pain, clutching its face and screaming in agony.
Slash!
Drawing a third sword from his waist with all his strength, the man severed both the lycanthrope’s wrist and thick neck in one smooth motion.
Thump-
“Haaah... haaah...”
Catching his breath, the man observed the sword that had severed the lycanthrope’s body, which had swayed and collapsed onto the ground.
Snap!
“...Tsk.”
The man tossed aside the handle of the sword that broke in just one use, then approached the lycanthrope corpses.
He drew the machete strapped horizontally at his waist and skillfully rummaged through the bodies to harvest two magic stones.
These are smaller than I thought.
Having heard that lycanthropes had grand names like Fangs of Silence, he had expected them to be powerful foes, but apparently, they were just monsters that had survived long enough to grow clever.
Shaking his head, the man quickly gathered several other useful byproducts before moving toward the duffel bag and loosening its straps.
Clatter-
Picking three from the dozens of swords cluttered inside the bag, he replaced the empty sheaths at his waist.
“Guess it’s about time to head back...”
Slightly frowning due to the number of remaining swords, the man placed the byproducts into the bag and tightened the strap. After that, as though nothing had happened, the man swung the bag back over his shoulder to resume his climb up the wet mountain path.
Tap-
It was also at that moment that Se-Hoon’s consciousness fully awakened and his vision separated from the body of the man.
“This place is...”
A mountain path, familiar yet unfamiliar, and a man walking along it. Watching the retreating in the distance, Se-Hoon habitually sifted through his memories first.
A monster with a name... no, this wasn’t my memory.
They had been as vivid as actual events, yet were merely illusions resulting from side-effects of Bond Recreate. Pushing them all away, Se-Hoon began retrieving his genuine ones that were submerged beneath.
Let’s see... I tried to get Kwang-Soo to tell me his past but got blocked by his inner demons... ah, right. That was when I activated my unique skill.
He had overlaid the extracted bond—Kwang-Soo’s bond—onto himself with Bond Recreate, then unified the two bodies into one consciousness using Soul Honing. Put simply, he was deceiving Kwang-Soo’s soul into believing he was Kwang-Soo, thus allowing him to infiltrate to get a peek at Kwang-Soo’s memories.
I thought I was being careful, but it seems I got dragged in pretty deep.
Lightly tapping his head to dispel the lingering discomfort, Se-Hoon glanced around again. Just moments ago, he’d been deep in a forest surrounded only by trees, but somehow was now atop an open hill.
“Whew...”
The man from earlier was sitting on a rock, catching his breath. Finding himself behind the man, Se-Hoon quickly approached the memory’s owner.
He had an overgrown beard and messy, uneven hair. But it was still clearly his past self because despite the disheveled appearance, Kwang-Soo’s eyes were just as sharply honed, with youthful traces still apparent on his face.
Is this his... early twenties? No, mid-twenties, perhaps.
Se-Hoon gazed curiously at the youthful Kwang-Soo. He had seen some older photos before he regressed, but those had been from Kwang-Soo’s forties, with obviously completely different vibes.
This version of him seems more vigorous. His emotions are clearer, too.
Negative emotions like anger, sorrow, despair, and confusion dripped heavily from his subtle expression and gestures. If the young Kwang-Soo had not let anger dominate him, he would likely have ended his life already—an all-too-familiar sight that made Se-Hoon unconsciously smile bitterly.
He’s... exactly how I was before.
As Se-Hoon mused over the obvious realization that he wasn’t the only one fueled by vengeance, the scenery shifted again without warning.
Shunk!
Finding himself now watching Kwang-Soo finish a boar-like monster off by plunging his sword into its neck, Se-Hoon at last figured out some of the rules about how the memories were revealed.
So I can’t choose the specific memory to look into, but the point of view does change.
It was inconvenient, but considering the range of the memories didn’t start from Kwang-Soo’s infancy, it was only a slight one. From what Se-Hoon could tell, Kwang-Soo’s intention seemed to influence the selection, clearly prioritizing memories related to the inner demons.
I suppose I’ll just have to watch for now.
Just then, right as Se-Hoon made that decision, the surrounding scenery changed once again as if it had been waiting.
They were now in a deserted village swallowed by giant trees, surrounded by a murky swamp teeming with monsters that resembled a grotesque mix of catfish and eels.
Around them, areas twisted by mana and demonic aura continuously unfolded before his eyes, prompting Kwang-Soo, who was traversing through them, to mutter, “I’m sick of all this...”
Although nearly ten years had passed since the world transformed, Kwang-Soo found the nightmarish scenery still impossible to adapt to.
First-generation heroes really do see things differently, Se-Hoon thought, noticing Kwang-Soo’s reaction of disgust.
To him, it was just another typical neglected location, but to the young Kwang-Soo, it was the complete opposite. In Kwang-Soo’s eyes, the environment was full of fantastical phenomena that should be impossible to exist in reality. He deeply denied it all from his very core.
Maybe this fundamental difference in perception is why more than half of the Perfect Ones are first-generation heroes.
Only the first-generation had that sense of dissonance, being those who had lived in the era before the emergence of the Towers of Heroes and Abyss of Demons.
Experiencing the dissonance, which was strangely unfamiliar yet oddly nostalgic, Se-Hoon was left entranced—
Step-
Kwang-Soo’s feet abruptly paused along the ruined road as his head sharply turned to look upward. From beyond the mountain ridge, faint smoke rose into the air. However, its pattern was far too regular to suggest a natural fire, making Kwang-Soo’s eyes narrow.
“Could it be...”
Kwang-Soo hesitated in place before decisively changing direction and heading toward the source of the smoke.
Is there even a village out here? Se-Hoon wondered, looking on with interest.
According to Kwang-Soo’s thoughts, the countryside at the same time was practically lawless. Transportation and communications nationwide had collapsed, and with monsters, demons, and criminals roaming freely, maintaining public order outside major city strongholds was impossible.
Even if there is a settlement, they wouldn’t openly set a fire like that.
Given the circumstances, only two possibilities came to mind: demons or criminals had occupied an abandoned village and were brazenly using fire without concern, or...
Thunk!
Or it was a just village capable of surviving in such lawless territory.
“...”
The scene changed again, showing Kwang-Soo halted in his tracks by an arrow lodged at his feet. Turning toward the direction it had likely come from, Se-Hoon spotted a massive stone wall built in the middle of a mountain valley, and not long after, his eyes widened in surprise.
Is this... constructed using mana?
The wall stood at least seven meters tall and appeared impressively thick. However, what was even more remarkable were the villagers atop the wall—each was armed completely. Weapons from bows and guns to swords, spears, and axes were all prepared for close combat.
And while their ages ranged from youths to the elderly, they all shared one common trait: each was a hero, those known as awakened individuals in the era.
This must be the rural village Kwang-Soo mentioned.
Was it here that he first met his master? His interest growing, Se-Hoon watched on as Kwang-Soo lifted his head and addressed the villagers.
“Are you the awakened company who deserted last year?”
The cautious villagers instantly turned hostile. Arrows and bullets were all turned toward him, ready to rain down at any moment, yet Kwang-Soo didn’t even blink.
“I’m not here willingly either, so I’ll cut to the chase. Apparently, Lee Chul-Joong’s daughter, Lee Ha-Rin, is here. I’ve brought the sum of her inheritance—”
Whoosh!
Before he could finish speaking, someone had leaped out from behind the stone wall, prompting Kwang-Soo to draw a sword from his waist instinctively.
“?!”
However, that just made the other individual swiftly draw their own sword, and naturally, the two blades clashed.
Clang!
One sword, brimming with murderous intent, slashed precisely at the other’s vital points but was effortlessly deflected by the other blade.
From that one exchange, Kwang-Soo outwardly appeared to have the upper hand, causing alarm among the villagers atop the wall as they watched their comrade lose ground.
“Brother! We need to provide covering fire immediately—”
“Leave him be. It’s fine.”
Unlike the rest, the village leader was casually watching. Because, despite appearances, the truth was that the advantage belonged not to Kwang-Soo but his opponent.
Crash!
Finally missing an attack, Kwang-Soo’s chest was exposed, allowing his opponent’s elbow to strike him squarely in the solar plexus.
“Ugh...!”
The impact pierced through Kwang-Soo’s armor, disrupting his breathing. And without missing that opening, his opponent pressed on relentlessly. Strikes came one after another, each executed so skillfully that they left Kwang-Soo no room for defense, let alone a counterattack.
Driven into constant retreat, Kwang-Soo’s eyes lit up fiercely as he grasped his sword’s handle with crushing force. Then, once he aligned with his opponent’s rhythm, he swung with all his might to cut through anything in its swing trajectory.
Clang!
A sword blade snapped and flew into the air.
Shnk!
Simultaneously, both combatants froze.
“...”
Lowering his gaze, Kwang-Soo saw his sword was jagged and half-missing. Then, when he moved his gaze further down, his eyes landed on the sword pointed at his throat. The opponent’s sword was shimmering with a pristine blade that seemed freshly drawn from the forge.
And at that sight, Kwang-Soo’s expression hardened.
Wow... He was completely crushed, Se-Hoon marveled, quietly admiring the outcome.
Had his opponent’s weapon been superior, he could have blamed it on equipment, but from Se-Hoon’s perspective, both swords seemed equally matched. In other words, Kwang-Soo had been completely overwhelmed by pure skill alone, even losing his sword in the process.
If it’s anyone, that must be his master.
Excited that he could at long last see Kwang-Soo’s master, Se-Hoon turned his gaze toward them—but saw nothing. Strangely, their face was shadowed and indistinct, as if obscured intentionally.
Hmm... Maybe it’s because Kwang-Soo didn’t get a good look yet?
He’d swung his sword instinctively, thinking it was an ambush, and had been fighting frantically ever since. It was plausible he hadn’t seen them properly.
Se-Hoon watched intently, waiting and wondering when the face would be revealed. Then, finally, the figure’s face was gradually illuminated as Kwang-Soo’s gaze shifted upward from the sword at his throat.
“...”
Chestnut-brown long hair, paired with skin so pale they seemed ill—a woman. She looked delicate, as though she might collapse at any moment, yet she also evoked the image of a sharply honed blade.
Seeing her appearance, Kwang-Soo’s eyes slowly widened.
“Are we going to keep this going~?” the woman gently asked with a soft smile, clearly amused by his reaction.
Despite just clashing swords with Kwang-Soo, she showed no displeasure; instead she was even showing a genuine smile, as though thoroughly enjoying herself. And at that smile, Kwang-Soo’s body stiffened. At the same time, his heartbeat quickened as countless thoughts flooded his mind.
What the... why is he overreacting all of a sudden...
Still synchronized with Kwang-Soo, Se-Hoon tilted his head in confusion at the sudden intense reaction that rushed him. But when he turned his gaze toward Kwang-Soo and clearly saw the scene before him... he gaped in surprise.
Kwang-Soo’s pupils were trembling as if an earthquake had occurred, his cheeks were flushed from his racing heart, and the distinct lack of the negative emotions previously present in his face—all triggered by the sweet emotions flooding his mind.
It was completely obvious, making Se-Hoon’s expression sour.
“Don’t tell me it’s love at first—”
“What the hell are you peeping at, you bastard!!”
Having shared the memories of his youth against his will, the current Kwang-Soo appeared before Se-Hoon with a furious shout.