Chapter 335: Eighty-First Floor, Monstrous Might and Malevolent Spirits (3)

[Explore the world. Time remaining: 165 hours 23 minutes.]

[However, the challenger is required to hunt at least one Great Yokai.]

The man, who had just begun to regain consciousness, let out a faint groan with his eyes still closed.

“

Ugh.

”

His eyes suddenly flew open, and he sprang upright.

Whoa, he shouldn’t be moving like that.

As expected, the abrupt motion caused his face to twist from pain and him to scream.

“

Gaaaah!

”

With his intact left hand, he clutched the spot where his right arm used to be. Given that his arm had been severed and his intestines had once been outside his body, he had to be in unbearable pain.

I unconsciously tugged on my chin. I hadn’t experienced such a thing myself, so I couldn’t imagine how painful it would be, but it had to be excruciating.

Yet, the man didn’t allow himself to be consumed by the pain. Even as his face contorted, he quickly grasped the situation.

His widened eyes darted left and right before settling on us. His brow furrowed. However, he didn’t seem to be fully focused, nor was he hostile. He seemed wary of us as he tried to piece together his memory.

I found that impressive. Despite losing an arm, he barely flinched. He was only briefly overwhelmed by the pain.

Another wave of agony slipped between his lips as a groan.

“Urgh.”

I set down the bowl I was holding and looked at Doppy. “Ease his pain.”

“Got it!” Still chewing, Doppy swallowed what was in his mouth and began chanting a spell.

A brief spark later, and the man’s expression relaxed slightly. Despite that, he seemed even more astonished.

“Wh-what is this? Wh-what happened to me?” he stammered, his face riddled with confusion.

We had already prepared an explanation for when he woke up. It wasn’t anything elaborate, though.

“It’s simple. We saved you and killed the yokai.”

“What?” At the mention of killing a yokai, the man whipped his head around in the wrong direction.

I raised my hand to correct him. “Not there. Over there.”

In the direction of my extended finger, the yokai’s head lay half-sprawled across the alley. Its lifeless pupils remained vacant.

Honestly, I had thought about cremating the thing, but decided to leave it just in case. Unfortunately, the corpse didn’t contain an elixir or anything similar.

“Heavens above—”

The monk, who had been staring blankly at the yokai, snapped out of it and forced himself upright.

He then turned to me with a respectful posture—albeit with eyes full of suspicion—and asked, “May I ask which realm you hail from, exalted one?”

I had anticipated this question and already decided what to say. Naturally, I couldn’t claim to be from around here.

I intended to gather information from him anyway. If I lied too elaborately, it would only raise unnecessary doubts.

Therefore, I kept it simple. “Just someone here to hunt yokai.”

It was the same strategy I had used countless times while climbing the tower. I would say something vague, then let the other person steer the conversation with their assumptions.

“Could it be— you’ve descended from the Celestial Realm?”

Once again, it worked.

People tend to believe what they want to believe, especially if they think the other person is some kind of sage or enlightened being. Even without a direct answer, they will construct their own conclusions.

Moreover, since it was a conclusion they had arrived at themselves, they believed it even more strongly.

There was no need to deny or confirm anything. All I had to do was just leave room for interpretation. It was impossible to know how the conversation would unfold, so it was best to keep the possibilities open.

I said nothing. I didn’t offer an awkward smile, either. I simply allowed a smile to tug at the corner of my lips, just barely.

Whatever he took that to mean, the man nodded solemnly. “As I thought. Before I lost consciousness and even now, I had a faint sense of it when I saw the healing power you wield. You descended to stop the rampage of those yokai!”

“Well, close enough. Not exactly correct... but not wrong, either.”

It wasn’t a lie. After all, I did have to take down a Great Yokai.

After I trailed off, the man fell into thought for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes in realization.

“Then why did you come here?” He glanced at me hesitantly.

If I had known anything, I would have answered.

Since I didn’t, honesty was the best approach. “What do you mean?”

“Not just here, but there was an attack on the royal capital as well. There is no time to talk!

Ah

, His Highness!”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it was clear the situation was serious.

“The royal capital?”

“Yes. Why did you save me? I’m just a mere monk...” he trailed off, face clouded with sorrow.

The situation was ambiguous, but there was a simple way to move past it.

“I wouldn’t know. I just came because I was told to. I’m not too clear on what’s going on here, to be honest.”

“You don’t know? But you came from the Celestial Realm.” The man looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“I’m not exactly well-versed in worldly affairs.” I deliberately paused. “Even now, I’m more like an errand-runner.”

As the man’s eyebrows knit together, he suddenly let out an exclamation of realization, and his demeanor grew noticeably more cautious. “Are you perhaps one of the Great Warriors imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison?”

I wasn’t certain what that even was, but if that was what he wanted to assume, I saw no reason to correct him.

I chose to remain silent. Strictly speaking, I could have told him I came from another world, but that would have been complicated to explain and far less credible by comparison.

“In that case, it makes sense. You were likely released to redeem yourself, which is why you’re unaware of the current state of affairs...” I let a hint of displeasure cross my face as he spoke, which had caused the monk to quickly trail off. “Forgive me. I crossed a line.”

“There may be some misunderstanding, but let’s continue. I saved you because I happened to descend here. It could have been a coincidence, or perhaps saving you was meant to be the start of everything.”

“Me? No. I’m not someone that important-”

“I don’t think that’s what matters right now. Tell me about the current situation. Concisely.”

The man hesitated for a moment as if organizing his thoughts.

I studied him. He seemed to believe he wasn’t important, but I thought differently.

One way or another, he was my initial link to this trial. Whether the hidden reward for completing his objective was great or small, there was definitely something tied to him.

At last, he quickly relayed, “Starting a few months ago, the yokai near the borders started acting unusually. Even among us monks, many were saying that the stars had grown faint.”

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“You mean the yokai were preparing to invade?”

“Yes. So the monks and soldiers were stationed at the borders. We thought we had sealed every gap, but a breach occurred somehow. A Great Yokai and its followers made it all the way into the heart of the capital. We discovered them far too late.”

“How late?”

With a pained expression, the man replied, “I didn’t even know there were yokai here until just before I saw one myself.”

“That is quite late, but how did you find out that the capital had been attacked or that a Great Yokai had snuck by?”

Something about the timeline didn’t add up. I glanced at the man with suspicion.

“I heard it from the yokai, a high-ranking official among its species, that you struck down,” the monk answered, seeming humiliated.

Well, I didn’t need to see it myself to know how that situation had gone. He had likely been mocked, even after losing an arm.

“Where are we?”

“A small village, three days from the capital.”

“That’s according to a civilian’s pace, I assume?”

“Yes.”

I recalled the yokai I had seen earlier. That thing would have reached the capital in less than a day. Moreover, since a Great Yokai was involved, it would have been even faster.

“I see. I’ll need to head for the royal capital.”

“Yes, as quickly as possible.”

I smiled inwardly.

Considering that the hint mentioned a king, it felt like I had landed a major catch, even more so than the average hidden mission—it definitely wasn’t an ordinary one.

The monk had been moments from death. If I hadn’t come across him, he would have died mid-battle. Even if I had found him, he wouldn’t have survived without Doppy’s help.

And there is no way the yokai would have told me all of that before dying.

Finding the correct path with no information would have been next to impossible. I had Sixth Sense and Doppy’s instincts, but those weren’t infallible. I had simply been fortunate.

If I had gone the wrong way, it would have cost me a great deal of time. The king would have likely died.

I turned to the man and asked, “I’m not too late, am I?”

“

Umm,

I can’t say for certain. Even with how many troops are stationed at the borders, the capital still contains many royal monks and soldiers. Still, a Great Yokai isn’t something to take lightly.”

Though he wore a grim expression, I believed the king was likely still alive.

This hidden mission had only revealed itself through a monk on the brink of death. Now that I had encountered him, the king wouldn’t die, at least not until I arrived. The Tower of Ordeal had probably accounted for travel time when designing the challenge.

The man looked at me with a cautious expression. “Great warrior, may I ask for your help?”

“Of course. That’s why I’m here. Let’s go. Just point the way, and I’ll carry you.”

He nodded and pointed eastward.

Just before I began channeling my mana, I turned back. “Oh, right, what’s your name?”

“Ha-Seon. My name is Ha-Seon.”

“I’m Kwon Su-Hyeok, and this one’s Doppy.”

***

I tore across the mountain trail at a blistering speed.

Now that I believed that the king was still alive, there was no room for delay. Depending on when we arrived, the entire course of the trial could shift, perhaps even the rewards.

With Ha-Seon still in critical condition and Doppy unable to keep up with my top speed, I carried both as I ran. Of course, I didn’t hold them in my arms.

Too awkward, and it would throw off my balance.

Instead, I conjured a sort of car with Master of Shadows. I even added some chairs for their comfort. With my wind spirit providing a protective barrier, neither of them felt a thing, even at supersonic speed.

“Incredible, truly incredible.”

I wasn’t the only one looking out for Ha-Seon. Doppy regularly recited divine spells to ease his pain.

Honestly, I had been skeptical at first. At Doppy’s level, he was the equal of most high-ranking climbers, capable of instantly mending most moderate to severe wounds. This made the unusually slow pace of recovery all the more concerning.

As it turned out, it wasn’t just because Ha-Seon had been close to death—the yokai’s eerie energy lingered in his wounds. According to Doppy, the strange energy interfered with divine power, resisting its effects.

I will have to be careful, too.

Apparently, the Great Yokai hadn’t attacked the capital alone. There were likely dozens, if not hundreds, more. That high-ranking official, or whatever he was, hadn’t even been among the stronger ones.

I didn’t respond to Ha-Seon’s awe as I was too focused on maintaining my top speed.

Enveloping myself in the wind spirit’s power, I observed the flow of mana coursing through me. If a fight broke out the moment we arrived, I would need to be efficient with my strength while traveling.

Still, the more I thought about it, something felt odd.

Since he had been the first to drop formalities, I didn’t hesitate to do the same. “What exactly do you find amazing?”

“I mean the power you wield, great— no, Mr. Kwon.”

The wind and shadow I was using now didn’t seem particularly unusual.

“Monks can control wind too, can’t they?”

I wasn’t entirely sure, but a line from an old film came to mind, one where the main character was a monk.

“He commands the wind and folds the earth beneath his feet,” or something like that.

The catchy background music had stuck with me, so I remembered it vaguely.

“Well, yes, but the energy you use is fundamentally different. The power you use to sustain it is something else entirely.”

He was probably referring to the difference between mana and the monk’s energy.

Ha-Seon continued, “But honestly, what astonished me most was the lightning flowing through you. That level of pure, immense current is a power we’re forbidden to wield.”

His comment genuinely took me aback. My wind and shadow abilities were on full display, so it made sense that he had noticed them. My lightning, though? That had remained unused since killing the yokai.

Ha-Seon hadn’t seen me fight. The fact that he could sense the lightning meant that he had some way of perceiving my inner state.

Is it because he is a monk?

There had to be something different about him.

Come to think of it, he doesn’t feel like an ordinary person.

I had sensed a clean, crisp kind of monk energy from him. His presence alone hadn’t made him seem especially powerful, however.

“By the way, can you do that... like, folding the earth as you run?”

“Folding the earth?”

“You know, running by bending the ground beneath your feet.”

“

Ah

, you’re referring to the Earth Art.”

“Whatever it’s called.”

Ha-Seon slowly shook his head. “I can use it, but not in my current condition. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I’m just mentioning it because it could have allowed us to go a little faster.”

“Even so, our current pace is likely faster than using the Earth Art.”

“

Huh?

Really?”

“Yes. It depends on the user’s spiritual power, and mine isn’t particularly strong.”

“Got it.”

Ha-Seon ended the conversation with a nod.

Still, our conversation had helped me gain a general understanding of this world. It had a king, monks, and yokais. In the Celestial Realm, there were gods, but they didn’t interfere in mortal affairs, merely watching from afar.

There is a legend that monks who amass enough spiritual power can ascend to the Celestial Realm, right?

Even that sounded more like a myth than the truth.

The gods likely remained detached from this world. Or perhaps there were simply too many of them. Maybe they had signed a mutual pact of non-interference to avoid conflict.

After running for about half a day more, I caught sight of figures on horseback in the distance.

However, something about them felt off. Since Ha-Seon had fallen asleep, I used the wind spirit to gently rouse him.

“Hey, Ha-Seon. Isn’t that the king over there?”

Ha-Seon cracked his eyes open, still half-asleep, then suddenly let out a thunderous cry. “Wh-what! Yes! That’s him!”