### Chapter 375 – Room 205, The Cursed Room – ‘The Absolute Master’ (24)
—
– Kim Sanghyun
Upon landing on the writhing stingray, Jo Wonhong’s expression contorted.
The composure of the sect leader, who had been looking down on us from above, vanished in an instant.
At that moment, I truly realized I was genuinely ‘enjoying’ this.
[The ‘Enjoyer’ is Activated!]
Finally, I took a step forward.
— Boom!
In response to the leader’s rage, the stingray writhed and twisted, trying to throw me off.
At first, I didn’t even realize what kind of ability I had gained. It wasn’t some intuitive superpower like super strength or psychokinesis.
Next, I thought I had gained Cha Jinchul’s ability to move precisely like in an instant.
Despite the stingray shaking all over, I found it astonishingly easy to maintain my balance.
The leader, with a furious expression, shouted, “You, punk! I didn’t expect you to come up here! Forget about coming down alive!”
With limited space on the back of a flying creature, the leader swung both hands and rushed at me.
When I clearly saw his movements, I felt a rush of panic.
Did I gain some kind of precise vision?
But that couldn’t be, since I wasn’t like Eunsol, who could see people’s pores!
The leader extended his right hand, spewing flames.
I rotated my upper body clockwise while stabbing the spear I held in my left hand toward his waist.
He knocked my spear aside with his left hand, and given his posture, I could predict his next move would be a diagonal attack with his right.
Simultaneously blocking that attack, I dashed inward and shoved my shoulder into the leader’s upper body.
The leader stumbled back a half turn, and then it seemed the ground was writhing as a fireball formed in his hand.
I instinctively realized that the stingray’s movements were connected to the leader’s retaliation.
He was pushing me back while preparing to launch a fireball, but I could read the stingray’s movements, allowing me to maintain my balance with incredible precision.
Next—
…
“What, what’s going on?”
In the blink of an eye, an intense exchange ensued.
I defended against the leader’s attack, predicted his next move, and even blocked his subsequent counter.
… Something was different.
It felt completely unlike the first time we exchanged blows just ten minutes ago.
Back then, I was at death’s door after just one of his moves!
If Cha Jinchul hadn’t swung his crescent moon sword from behind, I wouldn’t have survived.
Yet now, I was not only holding my own against the leader, but I was also reading his next movements.
The leader erupted in pure admiration.
“Disciple of Ijasung, your talent is remarkable!”
“Talent?”
“It wasn’t like this just moments ago! Did you have an epiphany during our brief exchange?”
In this moment, Jo Wonhong resembled a seasoned martial arts master discovering a talented junior before seeing him as our enemy.
… I finally understood what the ‘Enjoyer’ ability was.
*
There’s a saying out there: “Geniuses cannot beat those who work hard, and those who work hard cannot beat those who enjoy.”
According to this saying, the ‘enjoyer’ surpasses both the talented and the hard workers.
Why is that?
I interpret the implication of that phrase like this.
Because they find joy in the process, they can invest more time than others.
Thus, enjoyers are inherently hard workers.
If one works hard yet achieves nothing, enthusiasm naturally wanes, so enjoyers are the ones who can achieve.
Therefore, enjoyers also possess the talent required for success.
However, while doing anything, there are bound to be stressful moments.
What do you need to overcome stress and enjoy passionately?
You need motivation.
The best motivation is to imagine your future self, the successful you who has already achieved.
Thus, if you can bring your accomplished future self to the present, that’s the ultimate motivation.
It’s easy to understand if you compare it to gaming.
The blessing of diligence grants you the power to obtain skills commensurate with effort; so, after primitive bonfire struggles thousands of times, you get [Flame Evolution lv1], and after long-term spear training, you gain [Spear Technique lv1].
The enjoyer temporarily raises the levels of these created skills.
It’s about implementing the achievements of your future self right now.
*
— Whoooosh!
A thunderous roar echoed through the atmosphere.
As I momentarily lost myself in thought, I snapped back to the reality of the fight.
The leader spun around, summoning the fiery vortex I had seen earlier, and it began to expand gradually.
I managed to retreat a few steps on solid ground, but I was on the back of a flying stingray.
There was no place to dodge, and retreating further would mean falling.
While the stingray, being a summon of the sect leader, was fine enduring the swirling flames, if I was caught in that inferno, I would turn to ash.
An obvious life-or-death crisis.
However, knowing what I could do and what I should do made me smile.
The people of Room 205 would call it Flame Evolution.
In a primitive environment back in Room 203 during the ancient times, this ability emerged after endlessly lighting bonfires.
I thought it was merely a talent for sparking a cigarette.
Even after learning how to cast it on my spear, I didn’t find it particularly useful.
After all, I’m fundamentally a 21st-century American.
I thought pulling a trigger would be much more lethal than engaging in these antics and dismissed it.
Yet….
This ability held far more potential than I imagined.
Calmly, I leaped into the tempest of flames created by the leader.
The moment Jo Wonhong’s eyes widened, astonished that I had gone mad—
The swirling flames, now free from his control, swirled in response to my gestures, clearing a path.
“No! What the—”
“Take that!”
Like a flash of lightning, my spear shot through, piercing Jo Wonhong’s head.
Or rather, it seemed to pierce it.
His form cracked like glass and suddenly shifted to the back!
As the leader narrowly escaped peril, his determined expression showed as he joined his hands together, the stingray that had been carrying us suddenly collapsed, vanishing!
“You crazy bastard!”
“Have some decency!”
“During all this, you’re just—”
We were falling.
Falling.
In that instant, I was thoroughly flustered.
What was the leader thinking, suddenly sending the stingray away to fall with him?
As if he had been waiting for this moment, the leader’s robe billowed, and his descent noticeably slowed.
Like Ahri, he too possessed some form of ‘slowed descent’ skill.
Due to the differential in our falling speeds, the leader smiled victoriously from above.
If things stayed this way, my demise was unavoidable while the leader would emerge relatively unscathed!
“Leader, let’s go together!”
My spear sliced through the air toward the leader.
Jo Wonhong sneered and unleashed an energy barrier to deflect my spear.
And then—
As if guided by an unseen hand, my spear twisted in midair, piercing his upper body.
“This—this makes no sense!”
— Boom!
… If I had just dropped a bit lower, I could have tested how much my medical skills had improved.
A bit of a missed opportunity.
But hey, it was a great ride.
This was my last memory of Room 205.
*
– Lee Eunsol
“Cough!”
Jo Wonhong’s body crashed to the ground, drenched in blood.
To be honest, this was a result I had never expected.
I had been watching the fight between Jo Wonhong, Cha Jinchul, and Sanghyun.
I couldn’t physically join the battle, but my eyes easily penetrated their fight.
At least from what I observed, it seemed almost impossible for Sanghyun to inflict a fatal blow on Jo Wonhong alone.
But that wasn’t the case.
As Sanghyun fell, his head and spine shattered—he was dead, but somehow, Jo Wonhong had also taken a lethal blow.
…
Depending on how you look at it, I could be impressed by Sanghyun’s performance, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to be indulging in emotions.
The fight had dragged on too long.
The elite of the Baehwa sect surrounding the Sky Tower had long since encircled us.
“What the—”
Though Jo Wonhong had taken critical damage, our situation was no better.
Sanghyun had fallen, and Jinchul’s one hand was still out of commission.
Moreover, the elite Baehwa sect surrounded us like they were ready to devour us.
On top of that, Jo Wonhong was already receiving first aid from the sect’s members.
In this dire situation, why was I still alive?
Ironically, it was because of Ijasung, who had been trying to eat me all along.
The members of the Baehwa sect were avoiding me out of fear of Ijasung.
“Ugh…”
At that moment, Ijasung, processing his disciple’s death, expressed his profound sorrow.
“Jo Wonhong, what are you thinking now?”
“…”
What was this guy on about? Why has he become so interested in my thoughts?
Ijasung, suppressing his sorrow, advanced toward Jo Wonhong.
Seeing this, the sect members trying to staunch Jo Wonhong’s bleeding gathered their courage to block Ijasung.
“H-Halt!”
“…”
“No matter how great of a sword you wield—”
“Enough.”
“Leader!”
“Ijasung wouldn’t ambush me in this situation.”
“…”
“Do you have something to say, Jasung?”
“Your disciple… is dead at your hands.”
“… Are you blaming me? It was a fight for our lives!”
“That isn’t true. It was a bloody battle, and you nearly died yourself. Who could I blame?”
“…”
“How was his last moment? So—”
Every time those two spoke, I sensed their relationship resembled that of long-time friends.
Despite being the heads of opposing forces, it would be hard to call each other enemies.
Was that why?
Jo Wonhong responded with the answer Ijasung longed to hear.
“He had remarkable talent. He had the potential to reach the heavens. Given a little more time, he could have matched your prowess from back then.”
“… In the end, he returned to the right path.”
Ijasung’s gaze turned to the sky.
Did he see his apprentice, who had fallen into temptation, returning to the path of the righteous at the last moment?
A flicker of change seemed to pass through Ijasung’s heart.
“Can I take the remaining ones with me?”
“… Go ahead.”
Neither side could fight anymore.
From our perspective, we had no way to break through all those Baehwa sect members and kill Jo Wonhong.
From Jo Wonhong’s angle, he probably felt that if he attempted to kill us here, Ijasung would intervene.
This battle was over.
*
As soon as we arrived at the royal palace, Grandpa and Elena emerged with shock plastered across their faces.
“Eunsol! That bastard Ijasung—”
“Sister! Seungyub!”
“Both of you, quiet down. I already know what happened.”
Jinchul, who had heard the situation, forced a smile as he spoke.
“Ijasung… negotiated.”
“Excuse me?”
With a sigh, I began to recount the absurdity of it all.
“Let me explain. Just how ridiculous Ijasung is and the offer he made to me.”
I confess, I felt like an idiot talking with Ijasung.
Although it was human speech, I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
If Mooksung had been there instead of me, with his years of reading martial arts novels, he might have understood Ijasung’s way of thinking better.
Ijasung believed that I was the root cause of the royal family’s corruption.
The ‘corruption’ was so confusing to me that it probably meant instead of focusing on martial training and studying, I had been spreading evil sorcery and unholy cult teachings.
… Me? Spreading evil sorcery? Unholy cults?
This was the first time I was hearing such nonsense, yet Ijasung’s conviction was unshakeable.
Not even trusting his own insights, the one who should know best.
*
“No way, you say you can see into people’s souls just by locking eyes? Can you peer into mine too?”
“This wretched girl! You think I wouldn’t notice the demon in you? Don’t try to deceive me!”
*
At this point, I gave up trying to persuade him and just ignored his criticisms.
As I was spiraling into being labeled the evil sorceress and the blasphemous priestess of a fallen god responsible for ruining the empire and the young emperor’s future, Ijasung found his ‘last hope’.
“Y-Your last hope?”
“It seems I thought I failed to fully corrupt Sanghyun. Because at the final moment, he returned to the right path, to the way of martial arts.”
“No, n-no! But the teacher still… died, right? Dead, what hope can there be?”
As Elena, flustered, spoke up, I reminded her of something she had overlooked.
“Ijasung has realized he still has one young disciple left.”
“Excuse me?”
“He’s decided to protect the innocence of the young emperor from the wicked hands of ‘Eunsol’.”
“Wicked Eunsol! Pfft!”
“Don’t laugh. Elena, you’re the wayward daughter of the Baehwa sect, undoubtedly a demon that will drag the young emperor into hell!”
“…”
“And then he propositioned me. He would not break the alliance; in the remaining war, the Cheonui Alliance would continue to side with the royal family. However…”
“However?”
“He wants to take Seungyub with him.”
Grandpa slapped his forehead with a ‘thwack’.
“Oh my! So he barged into the palace to take Seungyub away?”
I decided to take a positive view of this.
“Who knows! He’s a fellow who thinks a lot about his disciples. Seungyub won’t just die out there. He might have already received the escape pass!”
I felt the looming final showdown in Room 205 nearing.
It was all because of the Baehwa sect’s desperate situation.
They had lost their massive battle with the empire, the Sky Tower had been destroyed, and their leader had sustained injuries that wouldn’t heal quickly.
If they had any remaining ‘last-ditch methods’, now would be the time to bring them out.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.