I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 62

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 62.

Yoo Baek-jun opened the Book of the Martial God.

He wasn’t trying to learn a skill or trait. He was searching for a new technique of the Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique.

The clue he had found during the second trial.

“This is a place I’ve been to before.”

When he obtained the Dragon-Fang Spear Technique, the Book of the Martial God had recorded the locations of some of the secret manuals for the Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique .

Retrieving those manuals would allow him to learn the third technique. 

Since the location changes within a certain range each time, it’s difficult to find without a clue.

‘Even without that, there’s another reason it’s hard.’

Even with the clue, there was a reason he hadn’t obtained it yet—or rather, couldn’t obtain it.

In some ways, it’s easy to acquire, but in others, it’s absurdly difficult. That’s the third technique.

“At this point…”

Yoo Baek-jun checked his status window.

To clear this event, his stats and the skill proficiency of the Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique were crucial.

Proficiency was at 3 stars, and stats were at B+ rank.

‘Just the bare minimum.’

If he was willing to endure the side effects and even temporarily dope himself, he could clear it.

Yoo Baek-jun immediately headed to the alchemy lab.

“Master, are you busy?”

“Oh, what brings you here, young master? I heard you’ve been so busy lately you can’t even breathe.”

“Busy? More like disgustingly busy.”

Joo Jung-won was, as always, brewing medicine. Yoo Baek-jun opened a subspace in front of him.

“You’ve learned another mysterious skill, I see.”

“There are far more amazing things than this.”

Inside the subspace were various items.

The dagger and cloak Emma used, a crossbow, medicinal herbs from treasure chests, and materials gathered from the Treasure Hunter’s underground.

From among them, he took out the herbs and materials.

“This is… hooo, hmm!”

“Impressive, right?”

“Ha! Impressive doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Joo Jung-won exclaimed in admiration.

It was filled with nothing but rare medicinal herbs. 

Yoo Baek-jun sorted them into several groups.

“I plan to combine them like this.”

“You’re going to do it this way? Hmm…”

Joo Jung-won looked concerned.

“Isn’t it too dangerous? The horn of the Hrumor or the warrior’s blood are practically poison.”

“But if you add them, they temporarily boost physical abilities significantly. And they enhance the effects of the finished product.”

“Right… If added to an elixir, the elixir’s effects would improve too. It’s a thought I hadn’t considered before…”

Joo Jung-won let out a sigh.

“But the side effects will also become far more severe.”

That was the problem.

Among the ingredients for making medicine, many are practically poisonous if consumed raw.

Still, through special processes, their toxicity can be removed or greatly reduced.

But these herbs are different. There’s no method.

“If you can’t metabolize them, they’ll leave severe damage to your body. Of course, you’re practically a genius in this field, so you’ll handle it well.”

“A genius? Seems like you’re overestimating me? Anyway, that’s why I came to see you.”

“Heh, you want me to find a way to reduce the side effects?”

Yoo Baek-jun smiled, and Joo Jung-won looked at him fondly. 

It was somewhat—no, extremely dangerous, but it was certainly an innovative idea.

“Sigh, I’ll do my best to help.”

Yoo Baek-jun brewed medicine with Joo Jung-won.

He planned to use the elixirs he was making now to obtain the next technique of the Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique.

‘Looks like I’ll have to pull an all-nighter tonight.’

Drying, grinding, simmering, boiling.

Making medicine was a battle of patience.

Yoo Baek-jun stayed up all night using his skills.

* * *

And the next day.

A remote village in Gangwon Province.

In a place where outsiders rarely ever visited, a helicopter suddenly appeared.

“Woah, woah, woaaah!”

A kid playing in the dirt nearby gaped in astonishment.

The deafening noise of the helicopter, the incredibly strong wind, the sight of it.

Everything was a shock to the rural boy.

“Wooaah! A helicopter! Is that really a helicopter?”

The helicopter slowly descended. 

The boy hurriedly ran toward the landing spot.

But the wind was too strong. The spinning blades made him flinch in fear.

“Kinda, kinda scary…”

Then, the helicopter door opened.

Thud! 

A man with a robust physique stepped out, and the boy’s eyes widened.

“Wow, a handsome mister.”

His facial features, his pale skin—it was an appearance you wouldn’t see in the countryside.

The man, Yoo Baek-jun, smirked at the boy staring dumbfounded and said,

“Who are you calling ‘mister’? Want a beating?”

“Eek! You heard me? With all this noise?”

“Of course I heard. How could I not?”

Yoo Baek-jun gestured to the pilot, and after a while, the spinning blades stopped.

The pilot suddenly stuck his head out.

“Young master! How long should I wait here?”

“Hmm… At most, five hours.”

“Understood! I’ll be on standby until then!”

Yoo Baek-jun looked around.

Literally a mountain village. Scattered old houses, fields beyond.

Few people, no passing cars.

“Wow, mister. Where are you from? What’s that outfit? It’s so cool. Why is your hair so long?”

“…….”

Instead, there was one elementary school kid next to him.

In the distance, he could see a school. Given the time, the kid must have finished classes and was playing around.

“Whoa, your clothes are so soft… Huh? There’s something squishy inside…”

—Raaawr!

“Waaah!”

Left alone, the kid started fiddling with his clothes.

Then, he touched the pocket where Seol-yeong was sleeping, and the angry Seol-yeong suddenly popped its head out.

The boy, startled by the roar, fell on his butt.

“Hey, why’d you scare the kid… Aren’t you’re a kid too? Sigh, sorry. Here, take my hand.”

“Y-you scared me!”

“It’s a bit fierce. But hey, kid, you were born and raised here, right?”

“Yeah! Why?”

Yoo Baek-jun, who had been glancing around, looked at the boy.

“Is there a big stone monument or something nearby?”

“What’s a stone monument?”

“A big, flat slab of stone.”

“Big and flat stone…”

The boy fell into thought for a moment.

“Ah! There’s one!”

“Really? Where? Can you show me?”

“Only if you buy me cream first!”

“…….”

The kid was bold.

* * *

Yoo Baek-jun walked along the path.

The kid walked ahead, smugly holding an ice cream in his mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! This way!”

The rural kid’s cheerfulness was refreshing. 

Yoo Baek-jun followed him.

After walking for a while, vast fields came into view.

Farmers were hard at work.

“Dad!”

The boy raised his hand, and a sunburned man looked up.

“Oh, son! Who’s the guy next to you? Never seen him before.”

“This mister came on a helicopter!”

“A helicopter?”

The man looked at Yoo Baek-jun in surprise.

He had seen a helicopter passing by earlier, but to think someone had come down from it.

His appearance alone made it clear he wasn’t an ordinary person.

“Uh, who… are you?”

“No need to be so tense. I heard there’s a stone monument nearby, so I came to see it.”

“Stone monument?”

The man’s eyes widened.

“Ah! That thing? You came all the way here just for that?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Where is it?”

“Hmm, it’s close. Follow me.”

The man stopped working and strode ahead. 

The boy followed behind quickly.

After a while…

“There it is.”

“Oh…”

The stone monument came into view.

A massive monument stood in the middle of a vast field.

It was as big as a two-story house.

“Sigh. That thing’s been here since forever, and it just had to be right there. Had no choice but to farm around it.”

“How long has it been here?”

“Well, I heard it’s been here since my grandfather’s time, but I’m not sure.”

It’s certain.

The Book of the Martial God had recorded this area as the location. 

There’s no mistake.

“Hmm…”

“We’ve tried breaking it so many times, but it just won’t break. Tried tools, even brought an excavator, but nothing worked.”

The man kicked the monument pointlessly.

“See? Not even a scratch.”

Of course not.

This isn’t an ordinary stone monument.

It’s a secret manual left by the Martial God in the form of a monument.

‘No wonder no one knew, buried in a place like this.’

Yoo Baek-jun stood before the monument.

The surface was covered in chaotic script. 

It wasn’t any language of this world.

It was the language of another world—Halpeon.

―To the successor who has found this place. Prove purely that you are the strongest.

The message was brutally simple.

No need to navigate a labyrinth or defeat a guardian. Just prove you’re the strongest.

How? By breaking this monument.

‘Deal enough damage to shatter the monument.’

Skills are allowed. Buffs are allowed. Weapon effects are fine.

No matter what you do, prove that you’re the strongest—that you can break this monument.

“Sigh…”

What a bothersome task.

“Hey, come out.”

―Grrr.

Yoo Baek-jun pulled Seol-yeong out of his pocket.

It squirmed as if reluctant, but he couldn’t just leave it be.

Seol-yeong sighed deeply, then curled up on a nearby rock.

“Wh-what’s that? A tiger?”

“Mister, does it bite?”

“Yeah, it bites. So don’t go near it.”

Yoo Baek-jun casually took off his outer robe and stretched. It’s been a while since he last broke a monument like this.

“Deep breath. Feels like I’ve become a drug addict.”

He took out the elixirs he had prepared.

To break this monument, his stats needed to be at least one tier higher than they were now.

Ordinary buffs wouldn’t cut it. He needed strong, side-effect-heavy buffs.

But the effects would be worth it.

“Is he sick or something? Taking medicine all of a sudden.”

“Dad, is that mister sick?”

Yoo Baek-jun ignored the chatter and assumed his stance.

Then, he gathered strength and struck the monument.

Thwack!

“Whoa, he looks fine, but he’s a brute. Hey, doesn’t your hand hurt? Need some medicine?”

“Mister, that thing won’t break!”

“Yeah, yeah, it won’t break. We even tried an excavator!”

It’s definitely tough.

His hand stung from the impact. With his current stats, he could shatter ordinary rocks bare-handed.

“Huuu…”

He had brought exactly two elixirs.

One boosted overall stats, the other specifically strength.

Yoo Baek-jun poured both into his mouth.

‘Normally, one shouldn’t take elixirs like this.’

But thanks to Joo Jung-won’s special brewing, the two complemented each other.

Yoo Baek-jun closed his eyes and activated his Mind technique.

As the elixirs dissolved, a torrent of energy surged through his body like a waterfall.

Grrr!

Like a raging horse.

He wanted to control it, but couldn’t. 

The wild energy spread uncontrollably.

Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“Huh?”

The man watching him tilted his head.

It felt like Yoo Baek-jun’s body had suddenly grown larger.

It wasn’t just his imagination.

The energy rampaging inside him was stimulating his muscles and enhancing his body.

“Huff!”

Yoo Baek-jun controlled his bursting body and took his stance. 

Then, he pivoted sharply, twisting his waist with all his might.

Crack!

And struck.

With his waist snapping back, he unleashed a punch with all his strength.

Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique. 

His fist slammed into the monument.

At the same time, the enhancement greedily consumed magic, triggering a second impact.

“…….”

“…….”

Silence fell.

His fist had struck the monument perfectly, but nothing happened.

The man, who had been holding his breath, clicked his tongue.

“Ah, see? I told you it won’t brea—”

At that moment, a change occurred.

Crack, crackle! 

Cracks began spreading from where Yoo Baek-jun’s fist had struck.

The cracks spread across the entire monument in an instant.

Crash!

The monument shattered into pieces.

Fragments scattered everywhere as the broken monument collapsed.

Dust billowed up.

“…He broke it?”

The man’s jaw dropped.