Chapter 152: Five Mountains of Penances (2)

Violently shining eyes. It was a gaze to seduce men. Most men’s hearts would’ve skipped a beat.

‘There’s ramen in this world too?’

Yeon-woo thought of other things. If it existed, he kind of wanted to eat it. Ramen was the food that Yeon-woo wanted the most in Africa, where Korean food was rare.

[Ow. It hurts. Hey, Cain, that gran…..]

[Tsk!]

[…..don’t be tricked by that lady. She’ll want to spend a steamy night with you and tie you down so you work for her.]

Kahn spoke with a dirtied face climbing up the mountain. Glaring at Victoria on the way up.

Victoria smiled voluptuously.

[It wasn’t a lie. We had a steamy night.]

[And I almost died.]

Kahn shook his head from side to side. And he earnestly told Yeon-woo not to fall for her looks.

Yeon-woo smirked.

[Seems like you fell for it.]

[Ahem! That’s not important.]

Kahn coughed and looked at Victoria.

[Anyways, don’t bother this kid. He’s like a savior to me.]

Victoria’s eyes widened. Her seductive gaze disappeared, and curiosity replaced it.

[Hm? Then is this oppa…?]

[Yeah. Right. The person I…..]

It was then.

The child who had quietly been looking down at the three, Kindred, lightly jumped down from the tree and flew towards Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo subconsciously moved far back.

‘Why? I shouldn’t have gotten caught from anyone yet?’

It was because his Extrasensory Perception was opened that his body moved instinctively in defense.

At the same time, his sealed Magic Circuit activated. His 360 Cores spun around and released a bunch of magic power.

Magic power drew a circle around him and covered the mountain in a storm. His Extrasensory Perception dug deep into the territory.

As his magic power and Extrasensory Perception combined, it became an even more dangerous and concentrated power.

And within the territory of the 5th mountain.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Yeon-woo was able to see a clearer world than he had ever seen before.

Like he was seeing it from inside his mind, everything was clear. It was detailed enough to feel mana streaming with his skin. And he could read everything little thing happening inside it.

Kahn was shocked as Yeon-woo’s senses felt more heavier.

He wouldn’t have imagined that he wasn’t using magic power. And the heat that was mixed in his magic power was enough to boil the atmosphere.

Victoria used Blink again to move far away from them. LIke she was surprised by the magic power storm, or she expected something big to happen, she prepared herself with 5 layers of defense around them.

Kindred, who was right in front of Yeon-woo, seemed a little surprised.

And he smiled baring his teeth like the situation was amusing.

At first, he was only planning on testing him. But if he was this much, he wanted to check his skills a bit more.

The air split and a sharp wind blew between the 5 layers and tried to blow Yeon-woo away.

He could read the actions and thoughts behind the movements. He could also see where they were moving.

He could automatically predict what was going to happen.

Prediction.

Yeon-woo realized this was the best effect of the Extrasensory Perception.

It was reading his opponent and the environment to predict the next situation. In other words.

‘This means I can take a step ahead.’

He heard that he needed to learn sixth sense to predict the next attack of the hard-to-read focal point countless times. It seemed like the Extrasensory Perception could calculate more specifically than that.

This was the numbering skill Yeon-woo learned here.

He already felt like this now. He could only imagine how he would feel when all his other five senses were opened.

‘There’s no murderous intent. He’s only trying to test me. Then…’

His prediction finished. The calculation to turn the tables also finished. From the quick judgement using his Combat Will, to the extravagant attack using his Magic Circuit. They were all specialties of Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo

A red heat wave turned blue along Yeon-woo and hugged him in the shape of wings of fire.

At the same time, he swung his Carshina’s dagger around him.

Holy Fire fancily exploded.

Boom!

Kindred’s attack scattered. But he didn’t stop like the whole situation was amusing and brought down his right hand on Yeon-woo’s head.

Yeon-woo twisted his body to the side and stabbed Carshina’s Dagger.

With the proficiency of the Eight Extreme Fists over 50%, he was able to do more.

Crash!

Yeon-woo’s dagger crashed into Kindred’s hand and created an explosion.

Because it had been mixed with Holy Fire, Kahn had to step back even further from the sparks. Victoria added another layer of defense.

Crash!

Then, Kindred pushed it away with an uppercut, forcing Yeon-woo’s body to slide back.

Yeon-woo clenched his teeth. His right hand was already cut, blood dripping down. Carshina’s dagger was bent, almost broken.

That was how chaotic Kindred’s attack was. The entire time the ground vibrated, it was hard to control his body.

If it wasn’t for Extrasensory Perception and Combat Will, he would’ve collapsed a long time ago.

But this was the furthest he could go. If he went more, he would have to reveal everything. And he couldn’t guarantee victory even when he did that.

On the other hand, Kindred was smiling like this was all child’s play.

His appearance was cute, but Yeon-woo shivered. It looked like a devil licking his lips in anticipation.

His opponent was too strong.

[Even Hanryeong wouldn’t have been able to defeat him on his best days. Was Kindred always that strong?]

Shannon quietly murmured from within the shadows.

Then, Kindred opened his mouth.

[I attacked, but not only did you block, but also attack back. Oho. Impressive.]

The test was over.

But Yeon-woo couldn’t relax. He felt like Kindred would eat him up if he showed even the slightest weakness.

And as expected.

Kindred didn’t pull back his aura and narrowed his eyes.

[But you. What’s your relationship with Sword God?]

It was a completely unexpected question.

Yeon-woo tried to remember whether Kindred and Sword God had any meeting points. But there wasn’t anything about that in the diary.

[What do you mean?]

[You can’t say no. The sword skills you showed. Even though it was a bit different, it was definitely the same as Sword God’s.]

Yeon-woo realized what Kindred was saying. He was misunderstanding something.

[That’s not right.]

[What…..]

[My seseung-nim is the Martial King.]

This time, Kindred’s eyes widened. Kahn and Victoria also had shocked expressions. They seemed more shocked then when they saw his skills.

[Martial King? From the One-horned tribe?]

[Yes.]

[Hm. Then that makes sense. Since Sword God was taught by the Martial King to. But the person who said wouldn’t take another disciple after ‘that guy’ took a new disciple…..]

Yeon-woo thought ‘that guy’ that Kindred spoke about was the 2nd disciple that the Martial King had talked about.

He seemed to know well about the Martial King. What was their relationship? Acquaintances? Enemies? He couldn’t read from Kindred’s attitude what kind of relationship they had.

Kindred was lost in thought for a moment before he released his position and walked back.

His aura was pulled back, but the leftover aftereffects were still floating around in the atmosphere. Normal people would’ve been trembling from fear.

[I didn’t expect much since you just realized your consciousness. But it seems like you have the basics down. I understand why the youngest complimented so much about you.]

Kindred ran at Yeon-woo the moment Kahn said something. Just what had Kahn said about Yeon-woo?

[Are you planning on training in the Five Mountains of Penances as well?]

Kindred seemed to have a leader role in the 5th mountain.

Because he might learn something, Yeon-woo answered politely.

[Yes. That’s correct.]

[Fine. You pass.]

Kindred left those words and went away.

Fortunately, he received the permission to stay, but he thought it wouldn’t be that easy after experiencing Victoria and Kindred.

***

[He wouldn’t have accepted you if you were just a good for nothing. That guy just chases out people if they’re not to his taste.

Kahn said he would introduce Yeon-woo to a place where he could stay and moved along with him.

Before they left, Victoria told him to contact him if he ever changed his mind. Saying that they should really share a steamy night together. Of course, Yeon-woo didn’t reply.

[Are Sadhu all like that? It’s a lot different from what I know.]

Kahn realized what Yeon-woo was trying to say and lightly chuckled.

[No. The image that you’re thinking of is probably right. People who are selfish, greedy, and don’t want to talk to outsiders. They don’t want to interfere in others’ businesses, they just focus on they’re training. Isn’t it obvious by looking at the other 2 people who didn’t appear?]

[Then what about Kindred and Victoria?]

[Those two are the same. They don’t usually stick their noses in others’ businesses. And they don’t like other people getting in theirs. But they’ve been here for so long that if they see someone who seems like a potential newbie, they take interest.]

[I see.]

[Yeah. But Kindred despises people who aren’t that trained to get near him. Like being around weak people makes him weak. So because of him, a lot of people were kicked out.]

And so that’s why I’m playing the role of the youngest. Kahn lightly muttered to himself.

‘To be precise, he doesn’t want to be bothered by nobodies.’

Yeon-woo thought about Kindred.

[But they’re not bad people so don’t worry. As long as you don’t bother them, you can stay close to them. And after some time, they offer advice and help a lot. Thanks to them, I was able to become this strong faster.]

Yeon-woo felt like he knew why Kahn had gotten this strong so fast. Being with those kinds of people, there was no way he wouldn’t grow.

[How long has it been since you entered the Tower?]

[Mm. Not that long. About 2 months? And when I came up here, I heard you entered Red Dragon and you were like fish in water.]

Quite some time had passed since Yeon-woo had entered the Tower. While he was focused on the war, it seemed like a new tutorial had opened.

[Hey. But the records you left were all unbelievable. The unrevealed person in the hall of fame. That’s all you, right?]

Yeon-woo wordlessly nodded his head. Kahn shook his head.

[Because of that, I couldn’t even think about breaking it. I just focused on climbing up. I thought about going to see you but…..I thought I would just be a bother. And I thought we would meet someday anyway.]

And like he thought, they had met like this.

[Have you been well?]

[So so. You?]

[I’ve been the same. Actually, after retiring then, I thought a lot. About how to become stronger. I wanted to find my path.]

When Yeon-woo saved them in Section F, Kahn had been greatly shocked. He realized the world he knew was too small. So he wanted to break free from it.

And he climbed the Tower like there was no tomorrow, and pushed himself thinking of Yeon-woo in Section F to find himself here.

Kahn could affirm himself that if Yeon-woo was the person who shook his world, this place was the place that put it back again.

[What about Doyle?]

And when Yeon-woo asked the question he wanted to avoid, Kahn smiled bitterly.

Obviously, he would be curious. After all, they used to stick to each other like they were real brothers.

[He’s not here.]

But Kahn didn’t reveal his frustrated mind. Although Yeon-woo could read his feelings with Extrasensory Perception, he tried to hide them as much as possible.

[It’s been a while since I split up from him.]