### Chapter 340 – The Moment of Choice (1)
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– Kim Ahri
—
He spent quite some time curiously touching and moving his hands and feet.
What would it feel like to regain a human body after hundreds of years?
Before long, he began to approach us.
Strangely, the closer he got, the colder it became, and the lighting grew dimmer.
“I have a question that just crossed my mind.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why was Kain trapped in a bird’s body? He could’ve swapped into another primitive’s body since he can use the grimoire…”
“It’s not like he was trapped for all 300 years. In the beginning, he borrowed human bodies now and then.”
“Really?”
“He said the last time he borrowed a human body, he felt a ‘thread’ in the primitive’s body. So he was afraid of entering a primitive’s body.”
“…”
I understood.
In the latter part of Room 203, the demon turned the entire legion into monsters by some means.
This means the demon had some sort of connection that allowed him to control the legion.
Kain seems to have noticed that connection through the power of the grimoire at some point.
Definitely, entering a primitive’s body in such a situation would be a significant risk.
Then, Kain silently sat down next to me. I hesitated a moment before speaking up.
“Do you remember anything?”
Instead of answering, he stared blankly at my face and suddenly reached out to touch my face and neck.
“…”
It felt like he was trying to figure out how to make a ‘voice.’
“Your actions remind me of a big kid…”
“It’s essentially that kind of situation, yes.”
“Did you act like this when I was around?”
“At this point, I’ve recovered quite a bit. I think it’s the flute’s influence.”
“Is this what you call recovery?”
“… In the end, I was just a bird. A bird that occasionally acted mysteriously, just a bird.”
Kim Sanghyun’s expression was so dark that I couldn’t bring myself to ask more.
It must have been an immense shock for him to see a comrade who had been by his side for hundreds of years acting like a beast.
After observing Kain silently, I realized his situation was far more serious than Sanghyun’s.
Sanghyun lived as a tribal leader, a husband, or a parent, maintaining the human life he had.
That’s why, even after enduring 300 years, he was still a distinct human, albeit changed from the past.
In contrast, Kain had spent most of his time trapped in a bird’s body, depending solely on the power of the grimoire to survive for hundreds of years.
Moreover, the grimoire was the force that allowed him to exist, yet it was also a demonic force that shattered his intellect.
The current Kain was closer to a chaotic entity with a human body than a human itself.
One fortunate aspect was that, unlike how Sanghyun described Kain’s state at the end, he hadn’t completely lost his intellect.
Thanks to the flute’s power, his intellect had recovered, but it wasn’t quite human intelligence.
At that moment, I heard a metallic sound, and a metal cart with three plates approached us.
“What is this…?”
“It’s a meal. It seems they want us to talk while eating.”
When I opened the lid of the plates I brought over, to my surprise, each contained the food we desired. This felt so familiar, evoking a warm sense of nostalgia for hotels.
— Swish!
A strange noise came from Sanghyun’s side.
His plate contained some unidentifiable leaf-like things, and upon seeing them, he visibly brightened. He started shredding some and rolling up others—
“Are you smoking? Did you smoke originally?”
“I don’t know how it was originally, but I do smoke now. The aroma isn’t bad.”
Sanghyun then took the smoke into his mouth and flicked his fingers to light it up.
“Phew! Has it been this long? Seriously—”
“…”
“Ach! Cough, cough!”
Fortunately, before I could point out anything, Kain promptly started coughing.
Upon hearing that sound, Sanghyun’s eyes widened, and he tossed the cigarette into the trash bin under the cart with a look of realization.
“My mistake. I apologize.”
“It’s okay.”
Lighting up a cigarette without so much as a word to the person next to him while having a meal seemed like something the old Sanghyun, who would have been exceptionally conscious of my presence, would never have done.
It suddenly struck me how much had changed between the old Sanghyun and the current one.
I didn’t feel the desire to reprimand him.
After all, during the past 300 years, Kim Sanghyun hadn’t lived as a slave or a servant; he had been a king and ruler of a city.
How many times had he had to care about what others thought?
After a moment, Sanghyun brought up another topic.
“There have been times over the long years when I felt regret.”
“About what?”
“To say it myself—”
“Sanghyun, you can just speak comfortably now.”
“…”
“Or should I start calling you ‘Oppa’? Sanghyun Oppa. What do you think?”
In the next moment, Sanghyun burst into laughter, unable to contain himself.
“Hahaha! No way. Let’s not go there, but it’s funny the first time you hear it—just not the second time.”
“Yeah, so what were you regretting?”
“Despite living so long, I haven’t had as much time to dedicate to honing my martial arts and combat skills as I thought.”
“Because you lived as a leader, not a warrior?”
“To be more precise, there were many times I had to avoid confrontation rather than face it.”
I began to grasp his meaning.
If you aim for exceptional achievements as a warrior, then instead of dodging monsters, you should face them head-on.
A struggle for your life is an invaluable experience that cannot be replaced by any other method.
However, this mindset is one that can be carried if you’re only responsible for your own life.
If a chief of a primitive tribe behaved that way, there would be no one left.
“Kain, on the other hand, was different from me.”
With those words, Sanghyun finely chopped the meat on his plate.
As the knife moved swiftly, it was like witnessing a skilled knight cutting a steak.
“You seem to have mastered using a cold weapon, huh?”
“I can confidently call myself an expert now.”
Watching Sanghyun slice the meat into bite-sized pieces as if he were a child, I turned my gaze to Kain.
“… What a mess. Kain, that’s not how you touch it with bare hands.”
Kain was struggling with a chunk of meat, contemplating how to swallow it without even touching a knife or fork.
Sanghyun transferred the finely chopped meat onto Kain’s plate.
Finally able to eat, Kain started his long-awaited meal, and our conversation shifted to ‘choices.’
“What legacy do you think would be best to choose?”
“Oppa, it should’ve been the unknown cell without question, right?”
“I’m contemplating.”
I was surprised that Sanghyun was considering it at all.
“The fact that you’re deliberating is surprising. Have you lost interest in immortality after living so long?”
“That’s not it. If living without youth is annoying, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want the unknown cell to guarantee my youth.”
“But what are you thinking about?”
“I’ve realized something through the long years enduring in the hotel; the notions of immortality and what’s considered valuable are meaningless inside the hotel if you can’t get out.”
I understood.
If the Final Flash is a more powerful legacy than the unknown cell, choosing the unknown cell out of a thirst for immortality would be a significant risk.
If I die due to a lack of power, ending up trapped in Ice Hell makes the notion of immortality meaningless.
For Kim Sanghyun, the top priority when choosing a legacy isn’t immortality but how helpful it would be for escaping the hotel.
He continued explaining.
“The unknown cell is a powerful legacy. At least in terms of ‘individual physical enhancement,’ I believe it surpasses any other legacy we’ve confirmed so far. It definitely exceeds the enhancement through Ruda, and based on my experience fighting you…”
“It also surpasses ancient blood.”
That was my conclusion from our encounters.
“However, it also has clear limitations. No matter how it’s enhanced or mutated, the human body remains a mass made of protein.”
“Can’t you transform your entire body into titanium or something?”
“Impossible.”
“Hmmm….”
“I’ve felt it countless times while fighting you. Even though the unknown cell surpassed ancient blood, when my martial arts, which I’ve honed, were combined, you still overwhelmed me… Why?”
“The Final Flash. And common address, please stick to one way. It’s kinda annoying.”
“Did you not also mix your speech back then? Are you telling me to change it all at once?”
“That’s true.”
“Anyway, I sensed the limits of the power the unknown cell possesses. Even if I scrape at the unknown cell’s potential to the core, and enhance my body to its limits…”
“I’d still die if I merely grazed by a laser?”
“Exactly. It’s clear to me there’s a distinction between the two legacies.”
“…”
“It’s not just about the win-loss when two legacies clash. It’s more like this: a creature you could defeat with your life on the line using the unknown cell could be obliterated with just a flick of the finger by the Final Flash.”
I understood it as I listened.
I used the Final Flash, and Kim Sanghyun used the unknown cell, so I expected him to prefer the latter, but it was entirely the opposite.
Every time I threatened him with the Final Flash, he helplessly rolled on the ground, which seemed to be a very shocking experience for him.
I fully grasped what Sanghyun was trying to say.
This isn’t merely a limitation of the unknown cell; it’s the limitation of the ‘human body.’
No matter how much you enhance a human body with the unknown cell, it’s hard to compare its combat power to the Final Flash.
Various counterarguments filled my mind.
Comparing a lethal legacy type that unleashes all its power in one hit, leaving a long cooldown, with a legacy that provides continuous physical enhancement offers an undue advantage to the former in short battles.
However, the issues within the hotel aren’t solely about combat.
But I decided to hold my tongue.
Sanghyun must have already considered everything I had thought about.
If he made a decision after careful consideration, then it deserves respect.
“It seems you’ve already made a decision. We just need to write it down in the catalog, right?”
“Probably. But Ahri, you should wash your hands.”
“Huh?”
As I stood up, wondering what he meant, I looked at my hand, which was glistening with meat grease.
“What the heck?”
Sanghyun smirked.
“Did you not notice? It’s quite surprising how impressive Kain’s power is.”
“…”
“Now, look closely at your own hand.”
A moment later, my hand moved on its own, reaching for Kain’s meat plate.
Soon enough, my hand tightly grasped a chunk of meat and tore it away, which Kain happily munched on.
“…”
“You’re using your hand as a substitute for a knife. You find using a knife uncomfortable.”
“…”
“Having dwelled in Pero’s body for a long time, he’s developed that ability. He primarily used it to control his believers’ bodies as if they were his own.”
“I had no idea. Even when my hand was moving on its own, I felt no sensation. What the heck is this? Is it some sort of manifestation power?”
Of course, Sanghyun couldn’t give me an answer.
The ability itself seemed like an extension of the manifestation’s power.
While controlling his own body, it was also robbing the control of parts of another’s body.
If the power shown in the past was about seizing control of an entire body, now it was manipulating just a part of it, which meant it had become a smaller scope.
Despite that, it looked much more convenient for him.
The manifestation power, while protected by the status window, was barely usable for 10 minutes, but now, manipulating just one hand seemed almost effortless.
A slightly chilling feeling crept in. It had been a thought I had harbored for a long time…
It felt like he had clearly stepped into an area beyond my control.
Sensing my uneasiness, Sanghyun cautiously spoke up.
“Kain doesn’t have any ill intentions. He just, uh, doesn’t differentiate much between his own body and others’.”
“What kind of mindset is that?”
“Well, maybe it’s the spirit of free America…”
“Are you joking about that right now?”
Sanghyun awkwardly added various reasons once more.
Kain hadn’t entered the primitive’s body because of the anxiety of being controlled by Adravita.
Yet, he seemed to have developed this habit of borrowing primitive hands due to circumstances.
In this process, I realized that Sanghyun harbored a significant psychological burden regarding Kain.
“With that, I think I know pretty much everything. Let’s get ready to head out. The legacy is the Final Flash, right?”
“Correct.”
“And for memory and forgetting?”
“…”
“Think a little longer by yourself.”
Giving Sanghyun some extra time to ponder, I pulled Kain’s arm and started walking through the train.
Honestly, I had an inkling of what choice he would make.
Even now, containing all his memories, he still retained a human touch without any issues.
“The problem lies with you two.”
Kain had, by now, pressed himself against the window, gazing outside.
In the meantime, my right arm, whose owner I had been confused about since earlier, moved on its own, shifting to make the seat comfortable for Kain.
“…”
At that moment, Kain suddenly turned toward me.
—
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