Chapter 3
Hwaryuk. Hwareuryuk. Hwareuryuk.
As Sa Bigang entered the cave, torches inside the dark cavern automatically ignited.
Looking back, he could still see the view outside the gorge.
From the outside, it appeared to be just a rock face, but once inside, there was a cave structure.
The effect of a barrier.
Jeobeok jeobeok.
Sa Bigang moved forward without hesitation.
He had experienced countless barriers like this in the Demon Realm.
Among them, if he were to rank it by grade, this belonged to the lower-class barriers.
The cave was deeper than expected.
It was after walking for quite a while.
Ssuaaang!
A spear suddenly flew through the darkness from ahead.
But Sa Bigang didn’t even blink.
Ssuuk!
The fiercely flying spear passed through Sa Bigang’s abdomen.
An illusion.
The spear that had pierced through his abdomen disappeared like smoke without a trace.
The barriers used in the Demon Realm are almost identical to the Central Plains’ mechanical formations.
However, while mechanical formations require considerable physical construction, barriers are maintained almost entirely by the power of mana.
Ssaeng! Ssaeeng!
Hwareureuryuk!
This time, flames suddenly erupted and two spears flew simultaneously.
Likewise, Sa Bigang didn’t budge.
Illusions.
The fire wasn’t hot, and the flying spears still passed through his body before disappearing.
If one felt even the slightest threat from what they saw, they would suffer actual damage at that moment.
Sa Bigang, who had been walking, suddenly stopped.
The air had changed.
From now on, it wouldn’t only attack with illusions.
Sa Bigang closed his eyes and felt the mana accumulated in his heart.
Since the middle dantian hadn’t formed yet, the mana and internal energy weren’t mixing.
Therefore, even after pouring all his power into lightness skills, the magic power absorbed from the Demon King remained intact in his heart.
Sa Bigang finally opened his eyes.
He quietly murmured.
“Shield.”
At that moment, a faint energy formed around his entire body, creating a thin membrane.
Soon he took another step.
In an instant,
Pajijit! Chijit!
Two orbs flew from ahead, creating electrical waves.
This time it wasn’t an illusion.
It was real.
Lightning Bolt.
Sa Bigang quickly used footwork to dodge the Lightning Bolt.
But soon after, fireballs began flying.
Hwareuryuk! Hwaryuk! Hwareuryuk!
These were also real.
If he stood there dumbly thinking they were illusions, he’d likely burn to death.
He twisted his body as much as possible to avoid them, but two fireballs exploded against his body.
Peupeng! Hwareureuryuk. Hwareuryuk!
The fireballs burned through the thin membrane before dissipating.
‘Tch, bothersome.‘
Still, this meant he had overcome most of the traps.
‘Is there only one left now?‘
Sa Bigang drew a dagger from his waist.
Jeobeok jeobeok.
At some point, a sweet melody and fragrant scent brushed his nose.
Followed by terrible drowsiness.
Just before his eyes closed, Sa Bigang stabbed his thigh hard with the dagger.
“Keuk!“
His mind snapped back to alertness.
In an instant, the melody and fragrance also disappeared.
A dead end.
“Huhuhu. Finally arrived.“
Blood dripped down his thigh.
At a glance, it might not seem very difficult, but for Central Plains people, even discovering this place would be hard.
It’s only possible if one can sense mana.
Moreover, to enter the barrier, one must match the compatibility with the mana in their body.
Even if luck allowed entry into the barrier, Central Plains people who don’t know mana attributes would have over an eighty percent chance of losing their lives inside the barrier.
Sa Bigang, who had been quietly staring at the dead end, took a deep breath and walked straight into the wall.
As he passed through the wall, a large cavity appeared.
A cavity lit by torches on all sides.
“Mana Point.”
Sa Bigang muttered quietly.
It was a term used in the Demon Realm.
A box was placed in the center of the cavity.
Opening the box, he found a gem that glowed brilliantly with blue light.
Light seemed to float and move about inside the gem.
A Magic Stone.
Among them, premium grade.
“Huhuhu. Finally obtained it. Premium grade Magic Stone!“
Sa Bigang’s lips curled upward.
Next to the Magic Stone, there was a small vial containing red liquid.
Healing Potion.
Five in total.
“Quite a nice haul.“
Sa Bigang, grinning, picked up the Magic Stone.
Chijit. Jjiririt.
The light floating inside the stone occasionally fluctuated like a living creature.
Of course, it wasn’t a living thing.
That’s why it was here in this place.
“Huhuhu. I’ll eat well!“
Suddenly, thick veins bulged on Sa Bigang’s hand.
Pajijijit!
An intense wave of energy erupted from the Magic Stone.
Soon after, white energy and blue energy began swirling and being sucked into Sa Bigang’s grasp.
***
The Demon King’s army appeared in the Central Plains one day without warning.
And an unexpected blood calamity occurred.
Just six months.
In six months, all Central Plains people were wiped out.
The majority of Central Plains people were either killed or kidnapped.
However, the Demon Realm hadn’t accomplished this overnight.
They had planned and prepared for a long time.
But there was a slight problem with dimensional travel.
A time difference occurred between the movement of living and non-living things.
Even when attempting dimensional travel simultaneously, the movement speed of non-living things was much faster.
An average difference of about 20 years.
That is, even when traveling dimensions simultaneously, non-living things would appear in the Central Plains 20 years earlier.
Moreover, the Central Plains was a place where mana didn’t exist in the air.
As such, potions, Magic Stones, Dragon Hearts, and other items that could replenish mana were essential to them.
Eventually, they scattered various essential items throughout the Central Plains in advance. And they protected them using barriers.
In other words, magical items had already been hidden everywhere in the Central Plains for at least ten years.
Of course, if including the period when the Demon Realm was conducting experiments, there were demon realm items that had existed here for much longer.
The Jeongdo Alliance belatedly realized this fact and tried to find the barriers, but most fell into traps and died.
This was because they weren’t familiar with barriers that used mana.
“But my situation is different.”
Sa Bigang quietly muttered and opened his eyes.
A red energy briefly swirled in his pupils before disappearing.
“Huuuuu.“
He exhaled a long breath.
Hot heat rose from his entire body like steam.
Two full days had passed.
The mana accumulated in his heart surged, breaking through blood channels and pouring out.
The mana that circulated refreshingly throughout his blood vessels descended to the lower dantian and was converted into internal energy.
The middle dantian was also opened.
Opening the middle dantian while training internal energy is extremely difficult, but using mana makes it easier to break through.
This is because mana itself accumulates in the heart from the beginning.
However, the middle dantian isn’t the vessel that contains mana.
It should be seen as the heart itself.
The reason Sa Bigang opened the middle dantian was to train both mana and internal energy evenly.
The magic power absorbed from the Demon King during regression was more helpful than expected.
“As always… absorbing Magic Stones is a pleasant thing. Huhu.“
Nagong Heart Method.
It was a unique heart method he had developed, learned, and named in the Demon Realm.
A heart method that absorbs mana from any target.
Unlike the spiritual medicines obtained through fortune in the Central Plains, it had almost no side effects, which was also an advantage.
Since it was a premium grade Magic Stone, he could absorb the mana without difficulty by circulating the Nagong Heart Method for about two days.
Sa Bigang pocketed the five Healing Potions from the box and stood up.
Raising his right hand and concentrating his consciousness, a blue orb formed above his palm.
Pajijijik! Pajijik!
Energy waves arose roughly.
It was incomparably larger and more intense than the small orb he had created at the academy.
The next moment, Sa Bigang suddenly extended his hand.
The blue orb that had formed above his palm flew without hesitation and struck the cavity wall.
Gwagwang! Gwagwagwagwaang!
Following the tremendous explosion, the ground shook.
A large hole appeared in one wall of the cavity.
Light was faintly seeping through from the end of the hole.
It was an exit.
“I’ll harvest them one by one from now on. Hahaha!”
Sa Bigang laughed heartily as he walked.
Jeobeok jeobeok
***
“Hmm. He’s late.“
Dean Ju Yu-cheon stroked his beard and slightly furrowed his brow.
A temporary platform was set up in the front yard of Yongdam Room.
Ju Yu-cheon sat there with his eyes gently closed.
Beside him sat the instructors who taught first-year students in a row.
And across from them, a temporary martial arts stage was set up, with quite a few people gathered around like spectators.
Most were students from the academy.
“Didn’t they say there would be a martial arts match today?”
“I heard it’s a match for the position of assistant instructor teaching spear techniques to first-years.”
“A spear technique instructor isn’t much to see, right? Who learns boring spear techniques these days? Is it perhaps that instructor named Sa Bigang?”
“That’s right. Actually, I don’t really care who it is, but opportunities to see instructors’ martial arts tournaments aren’t common.”
“But why aren’t they starting?”
The front yard was bustling with the chatter of students.
Among them were Yeon U-gyeong and Gok Bo-ok ‘s group.
Gok Bo-ok curled up the corner of his mouth.
“Maybe he noticed who his opponent was and ran away?”
“That would be really boring.”
Yeon U-gyeong narrowed his eyes and turned his head.
His gaze reached where Maeng Son-deok, who would participate in this martial arts match, was standing.
He held a spear shaft with both hands and bent his body this way and that.
Just then, he stepped onto the martial arts stage and clasped his hands toward the platform.
“Respected Dean and instructors. When can the martial arts match begin?”
“Hmm. Please wait just a little longer.”
Ju Yu-cheon finally opened his eyes and replied.
Then Cheon Se-myeong, sitting beside him, leaned over and whispered.
“Dean, we agreed to proceed with the martial arts match at Early Wei Hour (13:00-14:00), but it’s already becoming Late Wei Hour (14:00-15:00). How can this happen without ignoring the academy’s regulations?”
“That’s right. I think it would be better to disqualify him as is.”
Yeo Un-jin, sitting beside him, also urged.
The dean quietly made a contemplative sound and looked around at the people.
Complaints were erupting everywhere due to the delayed martial arts match.
Of course, this martial arts match should be seen as a kind of practical exam, not an entertainment event.
But showing so many people that regulations weren’t being properly maintained wouldn’t be good.
‘It can’t be helped.‘
Ju Yu-cheon suddenly stood up.
The people who had been murmuring also held their breath and looked at him.
“Today’s venue was an important place to select a first-year spear technique assistant instructor. However, since the martial arts participant has not appeared until now, we have no choice but to disqualify…”
“Wait!”
Suddenly, a resounding shout echoed throughout the front yard.
Ju Yu-cheon stopped speaking and looked up.
A man stood tall on the roof of the building across from them.
‘Sa Bigang?‘
As Ju Yu-cheon slightly furrowed his brow, Sa Bigang leaped up and instantly landed on the martial arts stage.
Kung!
Ju Yu-cheon’s pupils grew quite large.
‘That movement technique just now…‘
It was a crude yet extremely strange movement technique.
The other instructors and students who saw Sa Bigang also had similarly surprised expressions.
“What was that just now? How did he come down from there?”
“Well. I saw it but don’t really understand?”
“I’ve never seen such lightness skills before.”
Toward the murmuring students, Ju Yu-cheon shouted.
“Everyone be quiet!”
When people closed their mouths, Ju Yu-cheon asked Sa Bigang.
“Why are you so late?”
“I had a place to visit briefly. I apologize.”
Sa Bigang apologized politely, but his expression didn’t show much remorse.
‘Hmm. Was this fellow always so brazen?‘
Ju Yu-cheon was inwardly flustered by Sa Bigang’s unfamiliar appearance.
Not only that, but the instructors sitting on the platform and the students also couldn’t hide their bewilderment at Sa Bigang’s changed appearance.
“Was that instructor’s personality always like that?”
“No. He was extremely simple and honest.”
Meanwhile, Maeng Son-deok saw Sa Bigang, grinned, and stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you! You were so late that I wondered if you had run away somewhere.”
Maeng Son-deok showed a hearty laugh.
At his joke, the surrounding people also found their laughter and giggled.
Sa Bigang glanced at Maeng Son-deok.
‘So it’s this bastard. Huhu.‘
He remembered.
When he heard that Yeon U-gyeong had been dragged away by ruffians and rushed there, that masked fellow was there.
And…
‘I was beaten up badly and lost consciousness.‘
A memory he wanted to forget suddenly came back.
His past self had lost his fighting spirit the moment he saw Maeng Son-deok on the martial arts stage.
Because he realized from his eerie smile and voice that he was that masked person. So he declared surrender before even fighting.
From that day, he fell to the position of doing odd jobs while staying at the academy.
But…
‘Now everything will change.‘
Sa Bigang curled up his lips and looked at Ju Yu-cheon.
“Is that him?”
“Hmm?”
“Is that trash standing there really my martial arts opponent?”
Sa Bigang grinned with a somehow excited expression.