I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 2.
The Sword Saint Family.
A Family located in Korea’s Seoraksan Mountain. It was founded by a powerful individual known as the Martial God, who brought an end to the Gate Incident that occurred long ago.
“The Martial God vanished at some point, but…”
Based on the books he left behind, containing profound insights into martial arts, the Sword Saint Family grew significantly and established itself as one of Korea’s most prestigious families.
“Hahk, huff!”
Yoo Baek-jun was the youngest member of that family.
Not just an ordinary member, but one of the five direct descendants.
Those descendants were currently embroiled in a succession dispute.
Of course, the chances of Yoo Baek-jun becoming the family head were practically nonexistent.
“And there’s even one bastard who’s so displeased with that, he’s trying to kill me. Our beloved eldest brother.”
Yoo Baek-jun smiled bitterly.
An excruciating pain coursed through his entire body.
The agony was unlike anything he had ever experienced, leaving his mind hazy. If he let his guard down even slightly, he would pass out.
“If I pass out… I die.”
Heroes Road was infamous for its insane difficulty.
While all playable characters were challenging, Yoo Baek-jun was in a league of his own when it came to difficulty.
“Starting the game with a fatal wound.”
The injuries he sustained while being pursued by Shin Woo-hyun and the Sword Saint Family’s trackers were severe.
If left untreated, he would bleed out and die within 20 minutes. He knew because he had experienced it firsthand.
“To recover…”
Yoo Baek-jun staggered forward.
The blizzard was still raging, but it didn’t obstruct his vision as much as he had expected.
“Here.”
He entered a nearby forest.
The interior was complex, but he headed deeper without hesitation.
He had been here countless times before. There was no chance of getting lost.
“Hoo, huff…”
Inside, there was a small clearing.
Yoo Baek-jun knelt and frantically dug through the snow-covered ground with his bare hands.
“Ugh! I had no idea when I was playing the game!”
Digging through the snow barehanded was literally torture. His hands felt like they were freezing solid.
Gritting his teeth, he kept digging until he uncovered a flower buried beneath the snow.
“Snowbloom Herb.”
It looked like a flower but was actually medicinal.
Yoo Baek-jun gathered two Snowbloom Herbs and immediately shoved one into his mouth.
He then dug up the nearby ground and found a few more plants.
“Huff, huuuh!”
He crushed the gathered herbs and the remaining Snowbloom Herb with a rock, turning them into a paste.
He then applied the paste to his most severe wounds.
—Your craftsmanship is poor, but your exceptional understanding of medicinal ingredients allows you to create a new ointment.
—Nameless Ointment has been applied.
—Your wounds will regenerate for a while, and you gain high resistance to the cold.
Yoo Baek-jun let out a sigh of relief.
The biting cold that had felt like it was slicing through his body had subsided somewhat.
It was still freezing, but it was now bearable enough to move.
“I should gather more herbs.”
He scavenged the area, collecting every usable herb he could find.
“The ointment’s duration… is about 30 minutes.”
Though his wounds were regenerating, the process was slow.
And given how much blood he had lost, he needed to figure out his next steps before the ointment wore off.
“I saw a message earlier.”
This meant the system of Heroes Road still existed and could be utilized.
Yoo Baek-jun opened his status window.
[Yoo Baek-jun]
Strength: F (1/100)
Agility: F (1/100)
Stamina: F (1/100)
Magic Power: F (1/100)
[Unique Abilities: None]
[Traits: None]
[Skills: None]
A trash-tier status window.
This was one of the reasons Yoo Baek-jun’s route was the hardest.
He was pathetically weak.
“There’s a reason for this, though.”
An F-rank stat was the lowest possible—equivalent to a walking scarecrow.
An extreme situation where the slightest mistake means death from the very start, plus pursuers on top of that.
What about the other routes?
The protagonist-level characters Han Chang-woo and Jin Seo-yeon, and the supporting characters Peng So-young and Kang Yi-jun—all four were difficult, but each had their own strengths in some way.
They weren’t thrust into such an extreme situation from the beginning. But Yoo Baek-jun was.
“Literally nothing at all…”
Worst possible stats.
No items whatsoever.
An extreme starting situation.
A scenario where an average person would give up, saying no game should be this brutal.
“But getting through that is what makes you a veteran.”
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled a white breath.
“Think, Yoo Baek-jun.”
As he breathed in the freezing air, he had to figure out how to survive from here.
And, ultimately—
A way to survive this route.
“If this is the Yoo Baek-jun route, the starting location should be… the same as in the game. In that case…”
He looked beyond the forest.
“There’s only… one way.”
This seemingly endless forest led to the heart of the snowfield.
And at its center lay a complex maze teeming with monsters. A place known as the ‘Labyrinth Forest.’
But that was where his chance lay.
“Let’s go.”
There was nothing more to think about or hesitate over.
***
The deeper he ventured into the forest, the darker it grew, and eerie sounds began to echo around him.
―Kuoooo!
―Keuheung!
The cries of monsters.
In the world of Heroes Road, monsters were humanity’s sworn enemies, and those appearing on Earth were exterminated by Hunters.
But this place was different.
‘Seoraksan.’
Though the game was set in modern times, Seoraksan was far removed from modernity.
Due to the frequent appearance of Gates and monsters, it had become isolated from the ordinary world.
‘This is where monsters have established an ecosystem, living like wild beasts.’
It was a literal hellscape, filled with all kinds of monsters, making it uninhabitable for normal people.
Because of this, many of its secrets remained undiscovered.
Of course, it’s no place for a weakling like Yoo Baek-jun to wander without protection.
He had been dragged here.
Shin Woo-hyun, the instructor he had seen earlier, the man who had raised Yoo Baek-jun since childhood, supported another sibling as the heir.
That sibling, his eldest brother, had ordered Yoo Baek-jun’s elimination while he was away.
‘He brought him here, to the highlands of Seoraksan.’
Under the pretense of showing him something, in secret.
There would be no help coming from the family.
He had to survive alone in this snowfield, where a natural ecosystem thrived, and return to the family.
That was the intended way to clear Yoo Baek-jun’s route.
But,
Yoo Baek-jun took a slow breath.
‘Seoraksan remains largely unexplored due to the monsters. There are many hidden opportunities here.’
The reason he was heading to the Labyrinth Forest was precisely for those ‘hidden opportunities.’
Something only he had discovered.
“Here.”
A little further ahead, a small stone marker came into view.
Four lines were inscribed on it.
—One who is not prepared to sacrifice their life, one who lacks ice-cold composure and a broad perspective.
―Turn back now.
A sign marking the beginning of the labyrinth.
“I have nowhere to retreat to anyway.”
Without hesitation, Yoo Baek-jun stepped inside.
The moment his foot crossed the marker, he felt the air around him shift.
“Let’s go.”
He moved forward.
Counting steps in his head, he walked for a while before abruptly turning left and continuing.
His movements were decisive.
Though the forest looked identical in every direction, he moved as if following a path.
‘This rock… I should turn right here.’
There was no actual path, but there were markers.
Subtle differences existed in the seemingly uniform forest—a rock that hadn’t been there before, a single flower blooming.
Yoo Baek-jun had memorized them all.
Through countless attempts, he had mapped out the route.
‘If I don’t know the way, I’ll get lost, and the ointment’s effect will run out. Then… I die.’
If this were a game, he could just restart.
But now, that wasn’t an option.
Failure meant getting lost and dying in the forest.
Yoo Baek-jun quickly recalled the path.
‘This is the seventh turn. Then here…’
He immediately flattened himself against the ground.
–Ssshhhk!
A snake suddenly dropped from the trees above.
A massive snake with white scales. It surveyed its surroundings as its enormous body slithered.
‘Just pass by, just pass by.’
If I hadn’t noticed and kept walking, the snake would have snatched me, and I would have been eaten.
—You don’t know? Then you should die.
The trap seemed to radiate such malice.
Before long, the snake left, and only then did Yoo Baek-jun get up and start walking again.
This went on for 20 minutes.
“Huff, hoo.”
Yoo Baek-jun let out labored breaths.
His stats were so poor that even walking for a long time was exhausting. His entire body ached as if he had been doing strength training for hours.
“Now, slowly…”
Then, Yoo Baek-jun did something strange.
He suddenly pulled out finely ground herbs from around his waist and began scattering them on the ground.
‘Within three minutes from here.’
And then he started running.
His body, pushed to its limits, could barely move, but he had to run here.
He moved along the path as fast as he could, and after running for who knows how long—
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted nearby.
The sound of trees shattering.
Yoo Baek-jun looked toward the noise. There stood a monster.
Pale white skin, a massively muscular body, and long, protruding fangs—an Ice Troll.
—Haa, a human…!
The Ice Troll grinned hideously.
—Prey! I haven’t seen one in a long time!
Without another word, it charged at Yoo Baek-jun to kill him.
Yoo Baek-jun took a deep breath.
“Hup!”
—Kaaaah!
He flung the powder he had prepared earlier into the Ice Troll’s face.
The troll didn’t dodge, taking the hit head-on, while Yoo Baek-jun rolled to the side.
—Hmph.
Futile struggle.
The Ice Troll sneered and swung its axe down at Yoo Baek-jun.
But at that moment….
—Grrrooar!
—Kyaaak?!
From the spot where Yoo Baek-jun had just been, a massive white tiger lunged out.
The tiger, its body studded with icy fragments, drooled menacingly.
—Graaah! Why are you attacking me?!
—Grrrooar!
The tiger ignored Yoo Baek-jun entirely, focusing only on the Ice Troll.
Normally, as fellow predators, they would pretend not to see each other and pass by.
The reason for this confrontation was simple.
The powder.
By carefully mixing certain herbs, he could create a powder that enraged tigers.
That was what Yoo Baek-jun had made.
Like catnip, but much worse.
It worked like a charm.
‘Normally, I’d have to run away or take a detour.’
But after playing this game so much and accumulating random knowledge, he had learned to do things like this.
The half-mad tiger tore into the Ice Troll with killing intent.
During the struggle, the Ice Troll dropped its axe.
Yoo Baek-jun quickly grabbed it and fled.
“Hahk, huff!”
His stamina was nearly exhausted.
But he couldn’t stop.
As he ran, he glanced at the axe he had just picked up.
Gulp.
Then, squeezing his eyes shut, he dragged the axe blade across his own arm.
A sharp pain.
Blood dripped steadily from the wound onto the ground.
‘Now I really can’t last more than a few minutes.’
Yoo Baek-jun moved forward, leaving a trail of blood. After what felt like an eternity, he finally escaped the forest.
Whooosh!
A wide clearing came into view.
A snow-covered clearing, in the center of which stood a cliff of unfathomable depth.
When he first arrived here, he had been utterly despairing.
‘I thought I’d found a path, but there was nothing—just a cliff.’
He had thought it was a waste of time.
But he was wrong. Yoo Baek-jun staggered forward with unsteady steps.
At that moment.
“Yoo Baek-jun!”
A voice called out.
Yoo Baek-jun turned his head.
From the forest behind him, the same one he had just exited, a group of people emerged.
“Shin Woo-hyun.”
Shin Woo-hyun and his underlings.
The pursuers who had been ordered by ‘his brother ’ to kill Yoo Baek-jun and had chased him all the way here.
“Did you think you’d shaken us off?”
Shin Woo-hyun smirked and pulled out something resembling a compass from his pocket.
Yoo Baek-jun knew what it was—a single-use artifact, ‘Tracker’s Sight.’
‘Tracking magic.’
An item that allowed the use of tracking magic.
And not just any tracking magic, one that could trace the target’s entire movement path.
Naturally, the target was Yoo Baek-jun.
“You thought you’d find salvation here? That the place you clawed your way to… would save you?”
Shin Woo-hyun glanced at the cliff.
“A cliff, huh.”
He raised his fist.
The pursuers spread out widely and began to surround Yoo Baek-jun.
“You’re destined to die here.”
“Maybe….”
Yoo Baek-jun staggered backward.
There was still some distance left. At his current speed, he would surely be caught by those pursuers.
But it didn’t matter.
“…Seems like it’s not time yet.”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced behind Shin Woo-hyun.
At that meaningful gaze, Shin Woo-hyun sensed something ominous and turned to look behind him.
—Kyahak!
—B-Blood… I smell blood!”
A massive horde of monsters was rushing toward them.
Monsters with gleaming silver fur, walking on two legs, the hyenas of the snowfields.
Shin Woo-hyun looked at Yoo Baek-jun’s arm and gritted his teeth when he saw the deep wound on it.
“You bastard, that wound!”
“They go crazy over the smell of blood.”
“You lured them here!”
Shin Woo-hyun was shocked.
Even they hadn’t fully grasped the extent of the monsters in this forest.
Yet Yoo Baek-jun, who must have come here for the first time, possessed such knowledge.
‘As if he’s already figured out this entire forest….’
It was a bold move, a daring act.
“That’s none of your concern.”
Yoo Baek-jun stood at the edge of the cliff.
Shin Woo-hyun and the other pursuers tried to chase him but were blocked by the monsters.
“You think we’d lose to these measly monsters? This is a dead end! No matter how much you struggle, there’s nowhere to run!”
He was right.
The other pursuers were ordinary trainees, but Shin Woo-hyun was an outstanding hunter.
They’d only be delayed for a moment—soon, they’d overpower the monsters and chase Yoo Baek-jun down.
“Haaah, huuu….”
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the cliff with trembling eyes.
An endless darkness stretched below.
If he fell there, the probability of death would be close to 100%.
“Hah.”
A dreadful fear of death, something he never felt while playing the game, surged through his mind.
His body trembled on its own.
Yoo Baek-jun let out a hollow laugh, finding his own situation absurd.
‘I’ve been completely fooled.’
XxSupremeOverlordXx.
That bastard never mentioned the risks.
He just brushed it off, saying he’d think about it if he failed.
Now, Yoo Baek-jun thought he understood what that risk was.
‘My death.’
He probably didn’t mention it because he knew Yoo Baek-jun wouldn’t agree otherwise.
He’d been thoroughly deceived, too naive.
But who could have known? That accepting that proposal would drag him into the game itself.
“You damn bastard….”
Yoo Baek-jun laughed savagely.
Yeah, he’d been fooled. But he’d fooled that bastard too.
That guy probably thought he couldn’t clear it and pushed him into this route—but that was a huge miscalculation.
He was a veteran.
This route? Of course he knew it.
“Yoo Baek-jun!”
“You think I can’t beat this?”
Yoo Baek-jun threw himself off the cliff.
Into the endless darkness.
