Chapter 150: Mountain of Penance (4)

[Oh? You’re already training your sixth sense? I was going to teach you when we have time, but to think you were training yourself using this method.]

When Yeon-woo felt hunger for the first time, he entered a small tunnel, and pulled out food from Intrenian to lightly fill himself.

And he summoned Shanon and Hanryeong to confirm his accomplishments. Feedback could help a lot with training.

Shanon and Hanryeong were people who climbed to a higher level of sword mastery than Yeon-woo. He wanted to check if he was heading the right direction.

‘Sixth sense?’

It wasn’t hard to discuss with the two Death Knights.

Since they conversed using mental means anyway.

Yeon-woo just had to deliver his thoughts to them.

Shanon smirked at Yeon-woo’s question.

[Did you forget already? The sense I said you need to have to find a focal point.]

‘Of course I remember. But I didn’t know this was sixth sense. I just thought it was something related to Soul Control.’

[Soul Control?]

Shanon tilted his head in confusion.

So Yeon-woo explained what he had learned. The wavelength of things, Soul Control. And the new sense he felt with Soul Control.

But as he continued to explain, Shanon’s body trembled. Even though he didn’t speak, his thoughts were violently shaking.

[What? Nonsense!]

There was only one emotion. Shock.

Yeon-woo cocked his head, not being able to understand. It was a good thing to understand the sixth sense, but why was he exuding those thoughts?

And so he turned his consciousness towards Hanryeong.

[…..]

Hanryeong, who had been quiet all this time, was even more quiet now.

He seemed like he needed to think something through. His dignified personality was slightly shaking right now.

And he opened his mouth to speak.

[Since sixth sense is related to the subconscious and instinct, it’s a door to soul power but…..I think you went backwards.]

[Does that make sense! This crazy…..!]

Yeon-woo frowned at what they both said.

‘Both of you explain so I can understand. What’s soul power?’

Hanryeong replied in a tranquil voice.

[If Soul Control is the weight of the soul that grows with progression, Soul Power is the power that comes from it. Usually, it raises the level of magic power as well because that’s what takes mana from the mana stream.]

Hanryeong continued.

[However, because this is deep within the realm of your subconscious, it’s usually dormant. As you become more powerful, you’re able to open the sixth sense, which can be said to be the door to your subconscious.

Because the sixth sense was the base of instinct, it was located right on the line between your consciousness and your subconscious.

[However, the subconscious is about 80% of your total consciousness, so it’s not easily approachable. If you make a mistake, your brain may be damaged, so it’s carefully dealt with.]

Yeon-woo somewhat understood what Hanryeong said. He had to enter his subconscious to enter his soul, and then he would be able to use Soul Power.

But.

‘I didn’t even open the door, so is it like I opened the door from the inside using Soul Power?’

Shanon’s screams rang out.

[That’s not something that can be so easily done! This is, hm? It’s like that. You, what do you do when you enter a building?]

‘What do you mean what do I do? Of course you have to enter through the door. And if there’s any obstacles, get rid of them.’

[Right. You either enter the front door or a side door, right? But you, master boy, you…..]

Shanon’s hand on his sword breaker shook.

[It’s like you jumped up to the attic and are heading downstairs to the lobby!]

***

[Many gods and demons of the 98th floor and looking at you with incredulous eyes.]

[A few gods laughed futilely.]

[A few demons are having a serious conversation about you. Someone has brought up a powerful idea.]

[Hermes is looking at you proudly.]

[Urd is looking at you with an anger-filled gaze.]

***

The mind of a human can be separated into two sections.

The consciousness where the thinking happens, and the dormant unconsciousness.

The dormant unconsciousness was commonly called the subconscious, and it was the path to reach the base of your soul.

If it was compared to an ocean, it would be the water that you had to cross to reach the ocean’s bottom.

Players all wanted to someday be in control of their subconscious. Only then could they escape the prison of their physical body and have Soul Power in their hand, and their ‘rank’ to finish their spiritual growth would be completed.

It was similar to Nirvana or Diable. The act of surpassing yourself. An ascension to heaven.

‘Was this that amazing?’

[You’ve got to be kidding me…..!]

Shanon wanted to smash Yeon-woo’s head with the sword he was holding.

He was almost feeling wronged that he couldn’t.

‘But I can only feel Soul Control, I can’t use Soul Power yet.’

[…..If you could do that, you would’ve been the boss. Wouldn’t you have jumped up to the 77th floor then?]

Shanon sighed like his world was falling apart.

Hanryeong added an additional explanation.

[Soul Power is something that even high rankers cannot use freely. The Sword God and the Summer Queen can only use a part of it. To be able to freely use Soul Power means that you’re becoming complete. That would mean that you’re a true ascender who has surpassed their physical limits.]

The highest point.

[And those people are usually…..]

‘Called gods or demons.’

Hanryeong nodded up and down.

[That’s right.]

His serious voice spread out.

[It’s too early for you to deal with Soul Power. Your soul hasn’t even developed fully, and if you make a mistake, it could shatter.]

Unlike Magic Power that could always be replenished, Soul Power was the strength that came from your soul, and it couldn’t be renewed.

So opening your Soul Power was something that was only possible when your soul had developed and you had Soul Control.

[However, just by sensing Soul Control, you already put the first button on what others can’t easily do, so it’ll be easier from now on. We don’t even need to talk about training your sixth sense.]

Shanon crossed his arms and spoke in an aloof voice.

[So first, like how you felt Soul Control, think about expanding your sixth sense to the outside.]

Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes.

It was a training method he hadn’t thought of before.

‘Expand? Sixth sense?’

[Sixth sense is just another sense. It’s not something that should remain in your subconscious, but also come out to the outside. Then, the path for your Soul Power to leave your body will be made as well.]

‘So I can think of it like making a channel.’

[It’s similar.]

Since the time to release his Soul Control would someday come. Before that, he had to make a path for it, and it was sixth sense.

Yeon-woo, Shanon, and Hanryeong all felt exalted while conversing with each other.

Soul Control and Soul Power. It meant that the process to become an ascender was officially beginning.

It also meant that he had reached the level to become a real master.

Yeon-woo thought of the paths he took so far.

He made efforts as well, but it had been a string of coincidences. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his brother had paved the way.

His brother’s diary still had the locations of quite a lot of the hidden pieces, but this was something Yeon-woo had to do for himself now.

The tiny steps that Yeon-woo took from now would affect the results of his growth drastically.

And Yeon-woo was proud of himself for putting on the first button right.

‘But what I do from now on is more important.’

Yeon-woo organized his thoughts while chewing some jerky.

***

[How does it taste?]

‘Like I’m chewing rubber.’

[Hahahaha. I understand. When I climbed the 4th mountain, my annoyance level was really at its max.]

Shanon laughed while following Yeon-woo up the 4th mountain.

The sense that was blocked next was taste. There wasn’t any discomfort for when he moved, but it was quite uncomfortable for his lifestyle.

Since he couldn’t taste anything, it was torture everytime he put something in his mouth.

Jerky tasted like rubber, chewy and tart, and when he drank water, he felt like he was drinking sewer water.

It wasn’t that his sense of taste was completely blocked, but changed, to taste other flavors.

Yeon-woo grimaced.

This meant he had to give up on his lunchbox, and he was slightly annoyed by this. It seemed like the trial of the 20th floor wouldn’t ever budge from the theme of penance.

But he still had to eat something, so as he put the jerky in his mouth, he tried something that he had been practicing from yesterday.

Sixth sense release.

As it slowly revealed its presence, it started to feel the wavelengths around it.

It was different from using his magic power to observe his surroundings.

Going past the wavelengths, it was like he could freely feel the world.

And with the advice of Shanon and Hanryeong, he felt like this was totally doable.

[You have understood a part of how to deal with Soul Power.]

[You are able to feel Soul Control more specifically. You have understood the way to reveal your existence with your Soul Control.]

[The level of your soul is growing.]

…..

And before he knew it, when he was on the 5th mountain, he was able to expand the territory of his sixth sense.

His careful movements became more natural. He didn’t hesitate when walking anymore.

If someone saw, they would’ve thought he was seeing the way in front of him.

Although all his senses were blocked now.

Strangely, he felt something around him. He saw a new world looking at things the other way.

It was like he had a third eye.

Also.

As Yeon-woo was able to find his direction, his growth rapidly increased.

[The proficiency of the skill ‘Sense Strengthening’ has dramatically increased. 82, 83%…..96, 97%…..100%.]

[Congratulations! You have reached the Max level of your ‘Sense Strengthening’ skill.]

[All stats related to your skill increase.]

[Strength increased by 10.]

[Dexterity increased by 12.]

…..

[You have gained a new understanding about your skill. A superior skill is being opened.]

[The skill ‘Sixth Sense’ has been created.]

[The proficiency of the skill ‘Sixth Sense’ has quickly reached the Max level.]

…..

[New skills are being searched for considering your stats.]

[The superior skill ‘Inspiration’ is being opened.]

…..

[The proficiency of the skill ‘Inspiration’ has dramatically increased…..]

…..

After he mastered his Sense Strengthening skill, multiple superior skills were created and disappeared after being mastered.

The Tower ‘s system was looking for a skill to fit Yeon-woo’s achievements.

Although it was forcefully sealed, his Dragon’s Sense was continuing to change as well.

Then.

[The skill ‘Extrasensory Perception’ has been created.]

The messages reached one place.

[Extrasensory Perception]

Numbering 95

Proficiency: 0.0%

Summary: It combines the five senses and the sixth sense into one, and allows for the recognition of things that couldn’t be felt before.

*Intuition

As the proficiency increases, the range of your sense increases, and you can easily feel the base of items in your range. Sometimes, you can activate a sense similar to Foresight, and you can peek into the Idea.

*Automatic Defense Mechanism

In the case of an unexpected situation, your speed to realize this increases. Also, in the dangerous case where your HP decreases to under 10%, all stats can increase by 200% once a day.

‘Extrasensory Perception?’

Yeon-woo was completely surprised at the newly created skill.

Mastering the skills that were given and making a signature skill of your own was the path to becoming a ranker.

But it wasn’t easy to make a superior skill, and even if you received one, it was much harder to control it.

It was obvious, but raising the proficiency of a superior skill was more tricky than raising a lower skill.

He thought he would receive a skill that was a few levels ahead of what he had.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

But the system gave Yeon-woo something much higher than he expected.

Extrasensory Perception.

One of the top sensing skills that had a numbering had landed in his lap.

Without any warnings in advance.

[The proficiency of the skill ‘Extrasensory Perception’ is increasing. 2, 3%…..]

And the proficiency of even this skill was quickly rising.

In a way, this was something that should’ve obviously happened.

Five senses that were trained with Sense Strengthening.

Recognition using magic power.

Sixth sense that used Soul Control.

And the Dragon’s Sense.

They were all combined into one. It was only expected that an outstanding skill would come out.

He could feel the range of his sixth sense expanding rapidly.

It wasn’t something that could be explained. Yeon-woo felt like his mind was going to explode.

It was different from when his consciousness had grown after awakening his Dragon Body. Then, it was like forcefully growing his vessel, and now, it was like filling that vessel to the brim.

Additionally. Yeon-woo was able to see a kind of ‘flow’ in the information that was being entered.

He saw things he couldn’t before.

He felt things.

And he easily realized what it was.

Mana stream.

He could clearly feel the mana in the atmosphere flowing in like a large stream. And he could see the smaller things inside it.

They came to Yeon-woo as a newfound wonder. It was like his third eye was widened.

Yeon-woo’s environment was highlighted so clearly with his Extrasensory Perception, he thought his senses had all been opened.

He checked his condition to check just in case, but his five senses were definitely closed off.

Yeon-woo subconsciously shivered.

He could already feel all these things with his Extrasensory Perception. What would happen when all his senses opened after finishing the trial?

He couldn’t tell what he would feel then.

[Master.]

Shanon who had been blankly looking on spoke in a sour voice.

Yeon-woo pressed down the joy in his body and turned his consciousness to where Shanon was.

‘What?’

[I think I get why that Phante sighed everytime he looked at you now.]

‘Mm?’

[You’re infuriating.]

‘…..’

[Sheesh! Does this make sense? The thing that some have to work their entire lives to get! Hm? It comes to someone like this! How! Hm?]

Shanon thumped his chest with his fist. He felt so wronged.

He worked his ass off to get to the 50th floor for a long time, and now felt aggrieved.

But then, Shanon sighed like the sky was coming down.

Watching Yeon-woo from his side, he knew how much he pushed himself.

What he thought was difficult when he was living, the things that he worked so hard for, was actually just child’s play in Yeon-woo’s case.

Yeon-woo did the crazy act of sealing all his senses and skills when he climbed the mountain.

If he took a single misstep, he could plummet down a cliff.

He faced dangerous situations head on and challenged himself after overcoming his limits.

In a way, it was like abusing himself. Shanon couldn’t think that he had unfairly achieved this.

No, Yeon-woo’s gift was just normal. However, he overcame that with tenacity, rigor, and clear judgement.

And when Yeon-woo was satisfied with himself for accomplishing such a feat.

[…..Hm?]

[Whose disposition is this? Was there someone like this?]

[Yeah. There’s no way I wouldn’t now. Hey! Who are you?]

[It seems like you were enlightened after coming here. Hey, youngest. It’s the newbie you were looking for for so long. Accept the newbie.]

[Heyheyheyhey! Who are you?]

Suddenly, voices popped inside his head and made him dizzy. It was the same Open Speaking the Sword God used.

Yeon-woo was able to immediately realize the owners of the voices.

‘Sadhu!’

Of the trials of the 20th floor, obviously, the trial of the 5th mountain was the most painful.

Because all my senses are all blocked off, isolating me in darkness, and I still had to somehow climb the mountain.

This was hard even for the skilled rankers. No, actually, it was harder. Because the more you have, the more pressure is put on you on the 5th mountain.

This is the reason why players who were met with a wall came back to the 20th floor.

However, they came here feeling like they were grasping at straws. The 20th floor wasn’t somewhere they came because they enjoyed it.

But it’s a fact that all kinds of perverts exist in the world.

There’s people who enjoy torture and pain. And they experience pleasure as they received the penances, and said something about a new freedom?

They were crazy scumbags.

However, they called themselves this. Climber of the penances, Sadhu.

Long story short, Sadhu were hermits who focused on their individual training by isolating themselves in the 5th mountain.

Like they didn’t want to be disrupted, they were spread all over the mountain.

In the middle of a tunnel, in a large forest, and even in the lake.

But Yeon-woo felt them with his Extrasensory Perception.

They were all people with trained sixth senses because of their time in the mountain, and he could feel something scanning him.

And there were five.

When he read the foundation of them.

‘They’re strong.’

He clenched his fist.

Each of them were skilled people.

Two of them were skilled people who could probably stand against Bahal or the Saber God.

And.

Woosh-

Yeon-woo felt something approach him quickly.

LIke a flying bird, it landed on the top of a nearby tree in a blink of an eye.

They were probably curious about the expert who could feel them.

The player who wanted to check out the newbie was surprised when he checked Yeon-woo.

[Huh? You’re?]

Yeon-woo looked around, trying to look for the player, still not used to his Extrasensory Perception, and he was taken aback as well.

It was familiar to him.

Someone he had met in the Tutorial but someone he hadn’t kept in touch with.

‘Khan?’