I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 132

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 132.

Vincent staggered for a moment.

“Mr. Vincent!”

“…No, I’m fine.”

He stopped Park Cheong-mun, who had rushed over in alarm.

“I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment. Now, tell me again. What happened?”

“The research facilities… they’ve all been attacked.”

“And?”

The employee gulped.

He knew what he was about to say next would shock Vincent even more.

“…They were completely destroyed. Nothing remains.”

Vincent let out a sigh.

A sigh that sounded almost like a lament.

“What happened?”

“I-I don’t know. Suddenly, all communication with the research facilities was cut off, so we sent people immediately, but all we found was…”

The sight of the utterly destroyed facilities.

The researchers, the test subjects—all dead. Only ruins and corpses remained.

“Was it an attack by someone?”

“Yes, judging by the traces of weapons or magic, it’s highly likely.”

“Any way to identify who? What about the CCTV?”

“All… were disabled.”

Someone planned and executed this attack.

But who?

Who could have known the locations of all the research facilities and attacked them simultaneously?

‘It’s probably a large-scale organization.’

Vincent’s mind raced. Which organization would dare attack him?

And which one would even be capable of it.

‘A prestigious family or guild… Yoo Baek-jun?’

The thought crossed his mind abruptly.

But Vincent quickly shook his head.

‘No way. Yoo Baek-jun trusts me without a shred of doubt. Enough to gather people on his own. Besides, the timing doesn’t match.’

Yoo Baek-jun had attended an event with Vincent. There was a brief gap, but that was to recruit new donors.

The probability of him being involved was extremely low.

‘What then? Who could it be…?!’

Vincent was the one growing restless.

He needed time to achieve his goals, to fulfill his plans. Under normal circumstances, he could afford to take his time.

But now, things had changed.

The only thing he was certain of was:

‘There’s a traitor among us.’

Otherwise, it made no sense that all the research facility locations were leaked, and they were caught completely off guard.

Someone leaked and hid the information.

“……”

Vincent thought quickly.

What he should do next, how the Cult of Resurrection should proceed.

“Park Cheong-mun, we’re moving the plan forward.”

“Huh?”

“Use the remaining Metamorphosis serum to gather as many donations as possible and invest everything into the plan. We will start by next month at the latest.”

“Sir Vincent, that’s—!”

Park Cheong-mun protested.

Pushing the plan, originally scheduled for next year, forward would inevitably leave gaps.

Problems were bound to arise.

But Vincent’s resolve was firm.

“We’re out of time, out of time…!”

Even showing uncharacteristic impatience.

Vincent bit his lip and turned away.

“First, we root out the traitor within.”

“Yes!”

With so many believers in the Cult of Resurrection now, they had to do everything possible.

‘After all, I have a body that won’t die even if killed. It doesn’t matter if someone is after me. I won’t let the organization collapse before our grand plan is complete!’

Vincent felt the urgency of time.

* * *

“He’s probably thinking something like that right about now.”

A floating island above the sea.

Yoo Baek-jun lay sprawled on a large hammock near the World Tree.

“Ugh, the weather’s perfect. I’m melting, melting.”

The bitterly cold winter had ended, and a warm spring had arrived.

Soaking up the sunlight near the World Tree, with clean air all around—this felt like the good life.

—Kyaaah!

—Meow!

—Wait for me!

If only it weren’t for the noisy ones nearby.

Yoo Baek-jun glanced sideways. There were creatures bustling around.

The fairy of the World Tree, Seol-yeong, and the spirits.

“The spirits seem to like it here too.”

“Of course. We’re near the World Tree.”

“The fairy seems happy to have made friends.”

“Of course. She’s no longer a loner.”

Han Seong-ah, standing nearby, handed him water, and Yoo Baek-jun drank it indifferently.

Those spirits were the ones rescued from the research facilities. 

At first, he wondered if they’d adapt to the floating island, but they settled in surprisingly quickly.

“It’s like they’ve always lived here.”

“Right.”

Being low-level spirits, their appearances were incredibly cute.

A thunderbird, a mermaid, a water turtle, a fire lizard—all no bigger than a fist, making them even more adorable.

“Miss Jin Seo-yeon would’ve been delighted to see this, young master.”

“Why bring her up all of a sudden?”

“Just thought of her.”

Han Seong-ah gave him a peculiar look. Yoo Baek-jun stifled a sigh.

“She’s seen enough spirits to be sick of them. Why would she be delighted…?”

“Really?”

Yoo Baek-jun ignored her and sank back into the hammock.

The vast sky stretched above.

The clear blue sky was visible, and just looking at it made his chest feel wide open.

‘Vincent must be scrambling right now.’

Unlike him, his mind was a mess.

There was a reason Vincent traveled to conflict zones and gathered donations.

To execute one grand plan.

‘Sacrificing people.’

Vincent and Thanatos shared the same goal.

Spreading death in this world. Thanatos, the God of death, could grow his power by offering countless corpses and souls as sacrifices.

‘Thanks to Vincent’s unique ability…’

He had been granted a portion of Thanatos’s power, which he used to summon the god into this world.

That’s why Vincent visited conflict zones, especially those with heavy casualties.

To gather souls and corpses.

‘Of course, collecting donations was also a goal.’

Regardless.

If the Cult of Resurrection event wasn’t handled properly, Thanatos would descend upon Busan.

‘But I managed to stop that.’

Having thwarted the original Great invasion event, another one would take its place.

And that could be stopped.

“Instructor Han Seong-ah, set up a meeting with the Busan branch head of the Sword Saint family. I have things to discuss.”

“Understood. But the Busan branch head is…”

“Yeah, my brother’s man.”

Telling him anything would inevitably reach Yoo Tae-rang.

But that didn’t matter.

In fact, it was exactly what he wanted.

“Huh?”

“Ah, the spirits…”

As Yoo Baek-jun smirked with sinister thoughts, the spirits gathered around him.

—Thank you!

—Blessings to you!

—Squeak!

The spirits fluttered around him. Then, their bodies glowed, and an inexplicable energy flowed into Yoo Baek-jun.

—You have gained the recognition of the spirits.

—Acquired Trait: Friend of Spirits (B).

It was the spirits’ way of expressing gratitude.

[Friend of Spirits (B)]

—A mark given only to those recognized as friends by spirits. Most spirits will naturally feel goodwill toward you and obey your words.

Another message appeared.

[Achievement: The Altruist unlocked.]

[The Altruist: You’ve helped those in distress enough to be called altruistic.]

[Reward: 500P.]

Yoo Baek-jun chuckled.

‘The Altruist’—a term that didn’t suit him at all. But well, from an outside perspective, it made sense.

‘Looking at the traits I have now…’

Yoo Baek-jun opened his status window.

[Yoo Baek-jun]

Strength: A (11/100) 

Agility: A (12/100)

Stamina: A (9/100) 

Magic power: A (20/100)

[Unique Ability: The Book of the Martial God (EX, 3★)]

[Traits: Heavenly Martial Body (S), Energizer (C), One Invited by the Spirit Realm (C), Master of the Extreme Cold (A), King’s Dignity (A), Demon Hunter (A), Magical Veins (B+), Blood of the Battle Demon (A), Venom blood (A), Friend of Spirits (B)]

Compared to the early-game Yoo Baek-jun, the number of traits had grown exponentially.

Yoo Baek-jun nodded in satisfaction.

‘I’ve lived pretty diligently, all things considered.’

That’s what he thought.

* * *

And that evening.

“I’m back!”

Yoon Song-ha returned.

She had left Seoul for over a week, saying she had preparations to take care of, and now she was finally back.

Han Seong-ah greeted her with mixed feelings.

“Where did you go?”

“Huh? Oh, I had some things to take care of.”

“What did you bring back?”

Hearing she had brought something, Han Seong-ah eyed Yoon Song-ha warily.

Yoon Song-ha pulled out a large pouch.

“Elixirs!”

“Oh…”

Yoo Baek-jun checked the elixirs inside. They weren’t ordinary ones.

“There’s a lot here, but the important ones are these two. The Thunderbird’s Heart and Ariel’s Tears!”

“Ooh…”

Yoon Song-ha proudly presented the two elixirs—a massive heart crackling with electricity and a vial of tears.

[Thunderbird’s Heart (A)]

The heart of the thunderbird that ruled the thunder-stricken hills. Though its owner is dead, the heart still lives, crackling with lightning.

Consuming it grants immense lightning power, but a misstep could cost your life.

[Ariel’s Tears (A)]

Tears shed by Ariel, the Spirit King of Wind who ruled countless spirits, in a moment of sorrow.

Contains immense wind power.

Both were A-grade elixirs.

Priceless items. Yoo Baek-jun carefully accepted them.

“From now on, they’re yours.”

“Mine? Such precious things…”

“Ah, enough. Don’t say things like whether you deserve them. I’m giving them because I owe you.”

There was no need to ask what the debt was.

“If it weren’t for you, my uncle would still be bedridden. He wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye properly, and he’d have left with regrets.”

Yoon Song-ha pointed at Yoo Baek-jun.

“It was all thanks to you, so take them. My uncle would’ve gladly given them to you.”

Oh, girl crush.

These were likely items Song Dae-san had kept privately.

‘I didn’t expect this kind of reward.’

He knew Yoon Song-ha would enhance his skills, but her bringing elixirs was a new pattern.

It wasn’t unwelcome.

“There’s a recipe. If you combine them like this, the elixirs’ effects will be stronger.”

“Nice, let’s do it right away.”

No reason to hesitate.

Yoo Baek-jun followed Yoon Song-ha’s recipe to create two new elixirs. She might’ve intended to leave it to an alchemist, but that wasn’t necessary.

“You know how to make potions too… Oh! Right, you do. I forgot. Hey, sit here.”

“Okay.”

Yoo Baek-jun followed her instructions, using the two elixirs to create new potions.

The two resulting potions.

“Drink them and sit in front of me.”

As instructed, he drank both potions and sat cross-legged before her.

Whoosh!

An overwhelming surge of elemental magic began to swell inside Yoo Baek-jun.

Just as Ma Un-yeop had done for Peng So-young, Yoon Song-ha placed her hands on his back, helping him control the overflowing magic.

“You already had fire and ice elemental manifestations. Now, we’re adding lightning and wind.”

With her help, he could feel the elemental magic settling into his diantan.

It wouldn’t have been easy alone.

“Now, in this state…”

Yoon Song-ha grinned and pulled him up.

“Let’s roll.”

“What?”

Then she said something like that.