### Chapter 376 – Room 205, The Cursed Room – ‘The Absolute Master’ (25)
—
– Kim Mooksung
Late in the evening, the sentinels sent in a baffling report.
Jo Wonhong had suddenly left the plains with his elite forces!
“What?” I exclaimed. “Really?”
“Sir, it’s not just one or two people who saw it!”
I hurried off to Eunsol’s quarters, my mind racing.
The Sky Tower had been destroyed, and Jo Wonhong took a severe hit.
I had anticipated he would make a last stand.
Was he planning to rally everyone from the 13 Commanders to the front lines?
Was he trying to negotiate peace with the Abester Church to boost their numbers and prepare for a counter-attack?
Or perhaps he was proposing a ceasefire with the imperial family to buy himself some time?
We had discussed various possibilities.
All of them turned out to be wrong.
*
– Park Seungyub
“Hot!”
— Thwack!
“Damn! Why is this so hard?”
I had completely lost count of my failures by now. I finally plopped down on the floor, feeling defeated.
“This is strange… The Master said this would fit me perfectly.”
As a motivational boost, I recalled the “special talent” my Master had mentioned to me days ago.
*
“Co-co-covetous talent? I have that talent?”
“….”
“What kind of talent?”
“I’ve envisioned martial arts that fit Your Majesty perfectly.”
“W-what kind of talent is it?”
“The ‘Soul of Aksha.’ It’s a profound martial art from across the sea.”
“No, but what’s the talent?!”
My Master never revealed what my talent was until the very end.
*
The Soul of Aksha.
I thought the name was odd from the get-go. It’s not some divine technique or magic—it sounds like nothing I’d ever encountered.
I heard it originated from a region similar to modern-day India.
It was impressive that my Master had enough knowledge to teach such distant martial arts, but I still didn’t understand how my talents matched the Soul of Aksha.
Because I hadn’t even managed a proper initiation for over ten days.
“Damn it!”
“You talk to yourself too much,” a thick voice interrupted.
It was Chun Kaunak, the second or perhaps the third disciple of my Master.
Either way, he ranked above me.
Of course, he treated me with caution, probably due to my title of ‘Emperor.’
This was just one of the perks of the Emperor job!
“How’s life in Cheonnim? It seems my Master brought you here unexpectedly…”
“Yes.”
“Did the food suit your taste? Since it’s a martial arts clan, I assume it can’t compare with the iconic imperial cuisine—”
“Half of the royal cooks fled, so there’s not much to talk about.”
Plus, the traditional imperial dishes weren’t to my liking.
Honestly, I’d prefer some fried chicken or tonkatsu instead.
“I’m glad you’re adjusting well. The Emperor—”
“Me?”
“… I was worried the Master might resent you.”
I understood what he meant.
My Master had shown up out of nowhere, bringing me to Cheonnim. Yet, this awkward relationship wouldn’t last.
The empire was embroiled in a war for survival, and my Master only took me along to protect me as his disciple.
But, honestly, I wasn’t unhappy about the situation.
There was nothing I could do in the imperial palace.
Could the Emperor take part in the battle against the Baehwa Sect?
It’d be even crazier to go wake my brother up from the ceiling mountain and dig him out!
So, I’d been eating and sleeping, but compared to that, training in martial arts was quite exciting.
Chun Kaunak, relieved, changed the topic.
“I heard that my Master has passed down the ‘Soul of Aksha.’”
“Yes.”
“I could hear your frustration outside the training hall; it doesn’t seem to be going well.”
“Well… It’s the initial stage where I’m trying to infuse energy or something. I keep failing…”
“Training is difficult to do alone, so let me spar with you for a bit.”
With that, Chun Kaunak approached and lightly swung a wooden stick.
— Thwack!
“Ugh! Just like my Master!”
“…”
“Why is it so painful when you move so slowly?”
“Focus! Correct your posture…”
“Correct what now?”
“Forget about the stick and concentrate on yourself.”
“Doesn’t that sound weird? How can you ignore getting hit with a stick?!”
“The Soul of Aksha is a martial art that transcends common sense; don’t judge it by your usual standards, just accept it.”
I was getting pounded with sticks with no point. After ten or twenty hits, I started to get genuinely annoyed.
I knew it couldn’t be, but I was beginning to suspect Chun Kaunak was doing this on purpose.
After so many hits, I felt lightheaded, and then for the first time, I sensed something strange.
Blood surged from my heart, racing through my veins.
At that moment, something else traveled with it.
It felt like small insects dancing around.
A slight tickling sensation all over my body mixed with little pops.
As my mind focused on this bizarre sensation, I instinctively forgot about the stick.
And then…
“Uh?”
For the first time, my hand struck Chun Kaunak’s wrist, successfully blocking the stick!
“W-what? I actually succeeded!”
Of course, I didn’t think I had dealt a fatal blow to Chun Kaunak.
He had been deliberately moving slowly to teach me.
But still, blocking a slowly swinging stick wasn’t an insignificant feat—not at all!
“I did it!”
Wow! Am I actually a genius? Did I just succeed?
Wait, how do I handle this enormous talent now?
Ah, these guys at the hotel finally unleashed an uncontrollable monster!
World, brace yourself for the arrival of a transcendent genius you can’t handle—
“C-calm down!”
Chun Kaunak, unable to hide his shock, grabbed my shoulders, admonishing me.
As I came to my senses, I realized I’d gone wild, dancing and shouting like a lunatic.
I was making such a commotion everyone outside the training hall peeked in.
“…”
“Your Majesty! Please maintain your dignity!”
“That sounded like one of the officials at the palace!”
“How many times did I swing the stick, and how many times did you succeed?”
“Uh… You swung it hundreds of times, and I succeeded once…”
“Only succeeding once despite swinging dozens of times isn’t an achievement; it’s just luck, not a real technique. You need to successfully hit nine out of ten to use it in real life.”
“…”
Afterward, Chun Kaunak stressed the importance of sincerity in training before leaving the training hall.
He left, huh?
“Waaaaaaah! I am a genius! The Four Great Masters of All Time—”
*
As I stepped out of the training hall, a loud shout erupted behind me, and Chun Kaunak let out a wry smile as he walked away.
Just then, an old man appeared.
“Kaunak, what in the world is that noise? The Emperor’s roar was so loud, it would startle Jo Wonhong in the barricade.”
“The priest accomplished something. I intended to take a look lightly, but he happened to succeed while I was watching.”
“You helped with the training? Didn’t you say the Emperor was scheming to put the martial arts clan in danger?”
“… Honestly, I don’t believe the Emperor is the scheming type.”
“Didn’t you say that from the beginning?”
“Indeed, Master’s intuition is remarkable.”
“Let’s skip the flattery for now.”
“Here, take a look at this.”
Chun Kaunak rolled up his sleeve to show his wrist to my Master.
There was a small bruise.
It was almost embarrassing to consider it a wound, as he had almost taken the hit on purpose…
But being bruised meant his internal energy had faltered, which was solid proof.
My Master smiled faintly.
“The Emperor’s aptitude isn’t bad.”
“That’s strange. Honestly, he doesn’t seem that remarkable in strength or resilience.”
“There’s a mystique to a person’s aptitude. Just because someone excels in academics doesn’t mean they will master martial arts, and many who survive in the forests are illiterate.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Soul of Aksha was originally developed in a harsh tropical rainforest.”
“Isn’t that from Tianqiu?”
“Eating grass, there isn’t anything edible. The toads secrete poison from their skin, and even the creeping insects can release enough venom to kill a dozen men. It’s filled with beasts that can swallow a person whole.”
“That sounds horrific.”
“Some call it the Green Hell. Warriors that survive here are closer to beasts than humans. Who do you think would survive?”
“They must have extraordinary instincts, given all the dangers around.”
“Diving into a den of monsters to find food won’t work if you’re sober. Thus, you need a strong confidence of survival and exceptional instincts to evade dangers. And above all…”
“And above all?”
“You need a bit of luck.”
“I guess that makes sense. But what does that have to do with the Emperor?”
Chun Kaunak really couldn’t understand.
What could hunters who survived in a perilous Green Hell have in common with an Emperor, born with the most noble status in the world?
“Let’s leave it at this. I haven’t revealed anything to the Emperor.”
“Excuse me?”
The old man raised his hand to point toward the training hall, where cheers still echoed.
“With that kind of personality, it’s scary to think about what talent you might share with him.”
“… I understand.”
“Disturbing news has come.”
“Pardon?”
My Master’s expression darkened.
“The eyes of Cheonnim stretch out across the continent. A grim report just came in.”
“Grim report?”
“Jo Wonhong is about to cross a line he shouldn’t.”
*
– Miro
“Uaaaaaaaah!”
“…”
“Uaaaaaaaah!”
“…”
“How many days has it been? More than ten by now?”
Ari’s once-white and lovely face was now completely unrecognizable, covered in mud from digging alongside me.
There weren’t even any bathhouses nearby, so we had no way to clean up properly.
“Right…”
“That’s just not okay!”
“Right…”
It had been at least ten days. Adding in the preparation time, that made it even longer.
We had run out of food and water, and Songee had to go back multiple times to replenish supplies.
During that long period of adversity, all I had done was dig a hole.
If it were the olden days, I would’ve called for my buddies at the right moment and brought down the ground with a final flash or the power of stars.
But this time, Ari vehemently opposed it.
If we carelessly used our inheritance and caused Gayin’s body to collapse, it would unveil the truth that the devil had awoken.
“Come on! But isn’t this just ridiculous?”
“….”
“Think about it! What idiot tries to punch a mountain into submission?!”
“It’s not a punch; it’s a protective suit. And let’s remember, I’ve broken a lot more than you have!”
“Sheesh! By now, it’s likely I could demolish the Sky Tower. Just call the Master—”
“Wait?”
“Don’t stop me! Let’s zap it—”
“Shush!”
“…”
“What’s that sound?”
In our cramped cave filled with dirt and stones, Ari’s eyes widened as the revelation hit her.
With the headlight on her protective suit, what she saw, I saw too.
It was a hole—a tiny hole.
A little gateway leading to a vast, very vast expanse!
“Isn’t that it?”
“I can’t reach it! What do we do?”
We needed to strike at that hole with our protective suits, but panicking over my lack of reach, I was taken aback.
In that moment, a mining parrot called Pero, who had been struggling alongside us, broke through the cracks and stopped the entrance with its body.
“What’s it doing?”
“Ahhhhh! Pero, stop!”
Just as Ari opened her mouth to protest—
Exhausted from his long mining duties, Pero made a bold resolution.
He pushed his body into the fist-sized hole and transformed into his grotesque form.
— Crash!
“Is this bird out of its mind?!”
A thick fog emerged.
We had finally reached Gayin’s sealing place.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 206
Current Location: Room 205, The Cursed Room – ‘The Absolute Master’
Wise Man’s Advice: 3]
—
– Han Kain
— Splash!
I awoke in an unfathomable abyss, unable to see an inch ahead.
And then…
An incomprehensible abominable being appeared before me.
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