### Chapter 372 – Room 205, The Cursed Room – ‘The Absolute Master’ (21)
—
– Lee Eunsol
Getting the Cheonui Alliance involved went way smoother than I could’ve imagined.
Sure, the fact that the Emperor decided to become Ijasung’s disciple was a bit outlandish, but the results were pretty fantastic.
If we break down why it’s good:
First, since the Emperor couldn’t go out due to his position, Seungyub began to live a much fuller life; I even heard rumors that he cried daily about it.
Second, Ijasung naturally took on a sort of ‘bodyguard’ role now that he was around the Emperor all the time, meaning one of our teammates doesn’t have to babysit him anymore.
Last but not least, I started to trust Ijasung a bit more—who would’ve thought?
A few days later, the Baehwa faction began gathering their forces in the plains.
From atop the bulwark, I could hear my grandfather’s voice as he looked down at the plains.
“Looks like they’re ready for a showdown out there, huh?”
“Yeah, I mean, we’ll probably win.”
No big worries. We already beat them once in the plains.
Even when we had no clue about anything back then, now we had the upper hand on what strategies they might pull.
Losing would be a bigger mystery.
Of course, Grandpa started to grumble.
“Hey, don’t get too comfortable up there! I’m the one who has to get my hands dirty down here!”
“…”
“What kind of world is this where young bucks get to sit back and give orders while old geezers like me are left to roll around on the battlefield?”
“If it’s bothering you so much, why don’t you just become the Emperor’s advisor? This isn’t exactly an easy gig either, you know?”
“Just give me a break…”
“Honestly, I’m more worried about the Sky Tower afterwards than this battle in the plains. I mean, they’ll probably build it again.”
“We’ll destroy it again. This time Seungyub has that laser, so it should be even easier. But I told Seungyub not to use that laser recklessly on the folks heading to Cheonjangsan…”
So far, everything seems on track for the Sky Tower demolition. Compared to our second attempt, this has been sailing through with much less trouble, but the real challenge lies ahead.
“By the way, how’s the Emperor’s training going?”
As soon as I asked, Grandpa grinned.
“Ha! Haha!”
“Is it really that funny?”
“The attendants are in an uproar. Apparently, Seungyub’s been crying his eyes out every day.”
Honestly, I couldn’t help but chuckle at that part too.
“So, does he seem to be getting stronger?”
Just then, Seungyub came over and chimed in.
“It’s only been less than a week. It’s too early for any results.”
Thanks to his role as the Emperor’s bodyguard, Seungyub often kept an eye on the Emperor’s training.
This allowed him to provide a more detailed breakdown.
“I was curious and checked out the training regime; surprisingly scientific! They mostly made him do running and squats.”
“Squats?”
“Oh, in this case, they call it ‘Mabo Pose.’”
Grandpa nodded in agreement.
“Every human body is pretty much the same. There are certain movements and exercises that naturally lead to better training results.”
“The theoretical lectures were fascinating too. It was like they mixed philosophy and mysticism.”
A doctor, astronaut, and former special forces member—that’s what Seungyub was. For him, martial arts seemed to be this amusing mix of philosophy and mysticism.
“Honestly, what’s most interesting isn’t the martial arts itself; it’s the methodology of teaching it.”
“Methodology?”
“They make you memorize everything perfectly, and if you make just one mistake, you have to rewrite it all from scratch. If you make three mistakes, you have to run laps around the training ground.”
“… I feel like Ijasung suddenly sounds like a Gangnam Spartan Academy teacher.”
At that moment, Grandpa muttered with a hint of regret.
“Ah, being old really sucks.”
“…”
Everyone understood the meaning behind that sigh about age.
When I first entered Room 205 and discovered the existence of ‘martial skills’—a learnable superpower—everyone had a thought of wanting to learn it.
Most of us ended up giving up, though.
Martial skills were nearly impossible to learn past a certain age.
“Kids from martial families usually start learning before they hit ten, and they need to start by their mid-teens at the latest.”
What Seungyub said matched what I had heard.
By that standard, Seungyub was already a bit late to start, and the people here were probably nowhere near getting in.
“I heard similar things myself.”
Just then, Seungyub let out a little laugh.
“Even if you could learn it, who knows how well you’d do?”
Unlike Grandpa, Seungyub didn’t seem particularly bothered.
Had he realized something while watching Seungyub’s training up close?
“It’s a power that grows really slowly, surprisingly.”
“Slow to grow?”
“I asked Ijasung about this while on guard duty, and he said the minimum training period to even pretend to be a martial artist is three years.”
“…”
“Also, that’s based on the condition that you train at least eight hours a day—do you really think Seungyub’s got that kind of time at the hotel?”
“That’s true. Where else are you going to get a ridiculous amount of time like in Room 203?”
“It’ll be tough for Seungyub to achieve anything meaningful. It’ll probably just be good for physical conditioning.”
“Better than doing nothing, though.”
“That’s true, but it got me thinking: in terms of achieving the goal of getting stronger, learning martial arts seems pretty inefficient. The growth rate is nowhere near what you’d get from inheriting.”
“Inefficient?”
“A 21st-century soldier won’t bother training with cold weapons because it’s a waste of time. They could be firing that gun a few more times instead.”
Once I heard that, it clicked.
“So, what you’re saying is it’s better to spend that time boosting your inheritance proficiency instead?”
“Exactly. How long do you think it took the Seeker to hijack someone’s body? It must’ve taken at least a few hundred years. But Kain could do that the very first day he got his grimoire.”
With that, the teacher mentioned he’d go check on the soldiers again and left the scene.
The two of us left behind, Grandpa and I, exchanged hesitant glances.
“… Looks like Sanghyun isn’t going to feel too bummed out about missing out on martial arts.”
“True.”
“Not only does he have the Blessing of Diligence, but he can also get stronger through his final flash skill, so he’ll get some achievement out of that.”
“Right.”
The next thing was said with a hint of heat.
“But I have neither an inheritance nor a blessing that has growth potential.”
“…”
“In this room, I’ll need to find my own way.”
With that, Grandpa left the scene.
Strength, huh.
Seungyub had started learning martial arts.
Sanghyun had remarkable self-enhancement tools to not feel bummed about martial arts.
And Grandpa thought he’d need to find different avenues since he had nothing.
What about me?
I had an inheritance, and my ‘Hand of Greed’ had definite growth potential.
So, my situation is still closer to Sanghyun, who has some means, rather than Grandpa, who is out of options.
Therefore, the reason I’m progressing slowly comes down to my mindset.
If I unleash the Hand of Greed to its limits, it could put my companions in great danger.
That fear was nibbling away at the potential of the Hand of Greed.
“Let’s call it a day.”
Even thinking about this was risky.
The Hand of Greed is already activated.
It just wasn’t working since we were in the cursed room, but if this were in the hotel, it probably would’ve responded to my desires just now.
Taking a sip of hot tea, I pushed those complicated thoughts to the rear.
“I wonder how the kids heading to Cheonjangsan are doing…”
*
– Yu Songee
Humans have a remarkable ability to learn.
In the face of an unexpected crisis, they might panic and flail, but if the same situation pops up again, they tend to respond more rationally.
Just like us right now.
We needed various supplies to climb the expansive Cheonjangsan, but without cash in hand, we had no choice but to raid Hamanseong’s armed forces the last time.
Looking back, I feel sorry for those merchants.
Thankfully, we didn’t need to do that this time around.
Eunsol unnie understood our situation and solved it easily.
“I’ll order two of those silver plates from HP Market, and let’s grab some hotel supplies too.”
If you don’t have money, just take the expensive stuff!
I kinda wondered if grabbing hotel supplies felt a bit like stealing, but…
Nah, it’s cool.
The hotel had done plenty of bad stuff to us, so we can swipe a few supplies no problem.
“Miss! Is this really enough? If you go to the Kim family, they’ll pay you way more!”
The merchant in front of me kept apologizing.
Even if he pooled all his money together, he still couldn’t even afford the hotel-sold silver candlestick I had offered.
Maybe it’s because the grotesque guy next to me was glaring menacingly at him?
Instead of trying to cheat me, the merchant honestly suggested I could get a better deal from the nearby wealthy family.
“It’s fine. Just make sure to get me the items I requested.”
“I’ll consider your child and get you the best quality, I promise!”
“That’s all I need.”
I mean, I’m not taking the money I gathered here outside the hotel anyway, so what do I care if he takes a loss or not?
I just need the items I need right now.
And…
Room 205 reset, and he forgot everything, but my memory was crystal clear.
Thanks to that, the scene of Miro smashing his stall with a Seeker’s punch was fresh in my mind.
“… It’s a kind of an apology too.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just hurry up!”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
As I looked around, Miro was busy tearing into some chicken skewers after taking off his helmet.
“Did you steal that?”
“Nope. I asked nicely and they gave it to me.”
“Take a bite before you talk. Just swallow it.”
“It’s not a lie. They gave it to me with a smile.”
“…”
Is he using his innate power without even realizing it?
Or did those merchants just take one look at the overwhelming ‘White Dragon Armor’ and offer it to him?
Who knows.
But either way, it was better than that ‘Seeker’s punch.’
“Good job. How about Ahri?”
“She’s taking care of things.”
“Taking care, huh…”
About 30 minutes later, a loud screech echoed.
The merchants looked confused, glancing around at the noise, but soon returned to their work.
It was Ahri’s signal.
I moved to the promised spot with Miro.
A shabby alley on the outskirts of the castle, entirely different from the vibrant market we had just seen.
This was the slums, where those living hopeless lives would readily stab others for a loaf of bread.
As if waiting for us, greedy eyes turned our way from all directions.
And then…
—Boom!
When the grotesque guy slammed the ground, all the poor folk vanished in an instant.
“Aww! What a shame.”
“… What are you upset about?”
He missed the chance to punch someone, didn’t he?
In a moment of deep sigh at the ridiculous girl before me, the shadows parted, revealing Ahri.
She held a human head in her hands.
It was the head of an herbalist, one of the two experts tasked with guarding the seal from the Seeker.
Ahri had taken care of this incognito guy right after arriving at the castle.
“Did you find out anything useful?”
“Let’s step outside.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s talk outside.”
It seemed like she found something significant.
*
After informing the market merchant to prepare climbing gear until evening, I exited the castle.
Ahri gently caressed the head of the herbalist.
Beside her, Miro poked the severed head with his finger.
“… Ahri.”
“Yeah?”
“Your idea’s already gone out the window, but maybe we can still raise Miro innocent.”
“True. I’ll make sure Miro doesn’t go all dark-side yet.”
As Miro tilted his head and turned away, Ahri pulled out the herbalist’s eyeball—
“Yikes!”
“Shut up! Songee, are you still on Day 1 at the hotel?”
“Hey! If you’re going to do that, just tell me to step aside!”
“You don’t have to keep that innocence. You’re long past that.”
With the eyeball in hand, she stuffed her finger into the socket and began rummaging through the brain.
It looked like she was using some creepy sorcery she learned as a Bureau agent, probably using old blood.
In the past, she didn’t have the time to use such methods, but now she seemed to have sufficient time to set up her ambush.
I understood why she was doing this.
I got it, but still, it made me feel sick to my stomach!
Miro, seemingly unsettled by the horrid sounds, started to distance himself.
“…”
“…”
“Did you find anything useful?”
“Hold on. I’m still organizing my thoughts.”
As Ahri concentrated, I reflected on our current issues.
Our goal was to rescue Kain oppa from beneath Cheonjangsan.
The problem was getting down there in the first place.
Last time, Miro summoned the teacher and cleared a path with his laser, but we couldn’t use that trick this time.
We had asked Cheonui Alliance not to use the final flash on this side of the fence.
Is there another way?
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