Chapter 203

It’s preposterous.

A bio-energy cultivator is a living embodiment of tenacity and resilience. When one achieves the pinnacle of willpower, transcending to a higher realm, they become practically immortal. Yet such an entity can be killed in a single blow?

But if that’s possible, why have tanks at all? Both damage dealers and tanks can die in one hit—how is that fair?! Does this make any sense?!

‘It… makes sense.’

Indeed. Upon reflection, it does make sense.

‘It’s an instadeath pattern…’

I slowly bring my excitement under control. Yes, I think. Consider the renowned Chromatic Dragon F-D, hailed as the strongest force in the universe—it has been absurdly killed by instadeath magic before.

“First, whew…”

As I exhaled deeply at the sudden wave of exhaustion, Flower cradled me and laid me down.

“I’ll handle the work within my capacity. Would you like to eat?”

Her words made me wince for a moment. Perhaps due to the increased stress from the Prophet’s Mask, my appetite was nonexistent. Still, it would be good to eat for the sake of recovering my body.

“Bring it here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I completed the meal that Flower brought and fell asleep immediately after.

This pattern continued for one day, two days, three days, four days.

I ended up taking an extended break. The aftereffects of resurrection were far from trivial. While my body had recovered to some extent, my mind and soul had suffered a tremendous blow that lingered.

For a week, I remained bedridden, and after that, I went out and about with Flower here and there. I had to alleviate the stress still lingering in my mind.

“Your Highness! I’ve heard the newly developed sweet bread is extremely delicious! Would you like to eat some while watching the performance?”

“Well, alright. Could you bring some over?”

“Yes!”

I murmured to myself, finding the sight of Intelligence bounding away in excitement somewhat remarkable:

“He seems happier than I thought.”

At my words, Flower smiled.

“This is my first trip with Your Highness, you see. If it’s not too much to ask… I would like to have such moments more often.”

”…”

Rarely making personal requests, Flower paused for a moment in thought.

Come to think of it, I wasn’t even a good father, at least not in a serious way. I hardly ever spent personal time with my son Jisung or showed much interest in him.

It was rather amusing when I thought about it.

I only started spending time with my family after my body and mind began to hurt.

”…Yes,” I said. “It might be nice to have these moments sometimes.”

“Ah.”

“Hm?”

Flower turned at my groan, her face breaking into a radiant smile like a blossoming flower.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

From then on, I took Flower and Jisung out for walks every day.

“This musical is based on works by Lord Rozelian. It’s currently popular throughout the entire Empire!”

We attended all kinds of musicals and concerts.

“Wow. So this is the real sea.”

I rode on Kasim, soaring through the skies and even visiting distant seas.

“I’ve acquired quite an arsenal of unique artifacts!”

I even went to the night market in disguise, intent on keeping my identity hidden.

As the week passed, I gradually began to emerge from the shock of my resurrection.

I’ve been resting for over two weeks now.

Of course, I wasn’t idling away. Once I felt steadier, I took the time to organize my understanding of Muwong.

Whirr…

Whenever I delved into meditation, I would envision vast oceans. These images were etched upon a canvas different from my inner world.

I can wield it well enough, but… I still don’t fully grasp it.

If only I had opened the heavenly gate using the chakra of inner force; the effect would have been far more intuitive. Then, I could have truly harnessed the power of the inner force, as near-infinite as the cosmos itself.

A completed minor universe, attained through stellar astronomy, indeed possesses tremendous power. There are even a few documented cases of this phenomenon. The martial arts and chakra disciplines have always been rather compatible.

However, incorporating an entire category of the supernatural—martial arts—into one’s minor universe is exceedingly rare. Moreover, there has never been a transcendent who reached that pinnacle through such means.

This is no joke; I may well be the only being in the universe to accomplish this feat. Thus, I must forge my own path.

“I’ve become a Late Bloomer, eh?”

I wielded a ‘Soil’ category biological mechanism to cultivate martial arts within a minor universe, becoming a chakra master. The martial arts techniques I’ve developed are so unique and idiosyncratic that they’re impossible to teach to others.

In essence, my sole task now is to document these techniques for my exclusive use.

Gurgle.

In the vast expanse of the great dispenser, akin to the boundless ocean, fishes swam. Among them, I observed schools of sardines swimming together.

This is… the Swiftflow Art.

Though each individual was small and insignificant, when they formed a school, they possessed a size capable of overwhelming anything. It was the pinnacle of modern demonic arts—a martial art that allowed one to easily become a second-rate warrior even with a minimal understanding of martial arts.

Swish!

A single sardine sliced through the water. It reminded me of the techniques I once employed, the Instantaneous Incantation.

Gurgle, gurgle…

A massive sea turtle floated lazily along the water’s current.

The Divine Art’s Philosophy, Sinews Transformation, Cleansing Meridian, and Texture Reversion Scripture—an internal exploration.

How marvelous!

No human in this world could possess such a dantian. This phenomenon couldn’t be explained by simply referring to it as a “great vessel.”

The great vessel is completely connected to the chakra.

This wasn’t only evident in martial artists swimming underwater.

The rock island standing like a pillar in the middle of the sea represented Soil, the Body Element.

The sharp wind churning the sea and creating ripples represented Weapon, the Single Strike Element.

The flying fish darting around like seagulls represented Wind, the Acceleration Element.

But that wasn’t all.

Splash!

A woman in the form of a human walked through the sea. It was the special boss from the idolization point, the Ice Queen.

I thought she’d turn into a fish, but I guess this is just her original form. Well, there’s no need to create a new image for someone who already has such a clear one.

In the depths of the sea, the eight attributes stemming from my Hwa Point were also wandering. Despite appearing as marine life, everything was merely an illusion of my inner force; there were no issues with their presence.

Phew.

As the illusion stabilized, the aftereffects of resurrection subsided. In truth, I could have fought without any problems for the past week, but I had taken extra time to rest just in case.

After eating a substantial meal and receiving a healing spa treatment from the exclusive priests of the royal family, I returned to the Guild Office.

And just like that.

“Log out.”

I was returning to Planet Lute.

From afar came the anguished wails of the Power Force.

Thank goodness they appear to have respawned promptly.

I had been worryingly apprehensive about how the lengthy subjective time might have been their undoing, but it seemed to have had little effect.

In the skies above, the Deep Eye, close to death, cast its vibrant seven-colored light upon the world.

It’s finished.

With a leap, I broke free from the confines of the Earth, soaring into the fixed dimension.

The Power Force let out a shrill cry.

Ignoring their outburst, I bore down on the Deep Eye. The radiant seven-colored light enveloping them was indeed inescapable, but that mattered not. Just as chance would have it, I had acquired a specific item.

Ding!

The construction’s hourglass activated, time froze. I observed the multi-colored plasmic being diffused, unable to reach me within the stopped time. With my conditional invincibility, I had surpassed the instant kill threshold.

“Die.”

And as I arrived at the Deep Eye.

I looked down at the man with rope around his neck… I saw a mother crying.

A scene so horrific it hardly bears witness

“Log… in.”

I returned to Ardenia.

After spending a full two days in the same place, I had grown so frustrated that I yelled.

“In terms of story structure! Huh? Shouldn’t the Light’s Hourglass necessarily work here? No, how could it fail?”

In game terms, it was about item acquisition mechanics. In novel terms, it was the natural flow of foreshadowing. But to die without even using the Hourglass we obtained?!

Does this make any sense?!

“It… does not.”

Yes. My killing the Magic Sword King to obtain Light’s Hourglass had nothing to do with the Deep Ones.

Think of it as an independent variable. It would be naive to assume that obtaining the Age’s Hourglass just before the battle would automatically lead to victory.

Come to think of it, my battle intuition is useless here.

It’s true that I can glimpse the future, but only the very immediate moments—mere fractions of a second. I can see when I’ll get hit, but it’s difficult to discern whether it will be fatal or not. After all, getting attacked doesn’t mean my head will instantly split open.

Well, suffice it to say, once again, the outcome of the clash had me laid up for a week.

“Your Highness! Harmony-nuna is holding a ten-year concert! Will you attend?”

And once again, we embarked on a one-week family trip.

“True, ‘Introduction to Public Administration’ is an excellent guide, but it clashes with reality in many aspects of the Human Empire.”

We shared a meal and engaged in a lengthy discussion.

Jisung possessed the Great Vessel, the fraudulent biological organ, yet his interests lay more in administration and politics than combat.

Music was his refuge and solace. Unlike others whose muscles grew from flesh, he preferred the artistry of baked goods and decadently sweet pastries.

”…And thus, taxes should reflect players’ collection registration levels for classes and items,” he concluded.

“Indeed… I’ll consider implementing such policies.”

Thanks to that damned Instant Death pattern, I found myself enjoying rare leisure time. As a workaholic who usually spent spare moments honing his skills, this break was unusual.

Originally, I would’ve been training at this time, but… even that had become difficult now. When my stress levels were high, my mind simply couldn’t withstand the strain of training.

And so, another month passed.

Fully recovered, I stood in the Guild Office, gazing down at the city below.

It wasn’t such a bad time, but…

Despite all this, I couldn’t afford to die anymore.

I only had one Mask of the Pioneer left.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I placed a few items on the desk, then sat down in the chair.

“Log out.”

I was returning to the planet Lute.

Immediately upon my return, I heard incredulous voices:

I observed the bewildered Power Force as thoughts raced through my mind.

Right. It’s all just gimmicks.

In a game, a gimmick refers to specific elements—monsters, traps, puzzles, etc.—and their underlying patterns and mechanics. Often, these gimmicks operate in ways that can’t be overcome by sheer numerical superiority alone. Instead of charging in en masse against monsters, players must learn about them as they perish, developing an effective “clearance” strategy.

I had dodged the Deep Eye’s pattern using the construction sand timer, but it proved futile. Presumably, the Deep Eye’s frantic attacks would continue this pattern until the gimmicks were successfully executed.

Krrrx!

I propelled myself upward, leaving the ground behind.

What?! Going straight in again?!

Power Force was either shrieking or talking, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

I leaped towards the red energy in the midst of the seven colors shooting in every direction. As the red energy struck me, a red icon appeared above my head.

Aha. The irregular pattern of the seven colors themselves is the key. If the sequence is wrong, or even if I accidentally touch the wrong color, the pattern will trigger.

I dove into an orange-colored blob. Another jump. Empty space. To be precise, I simultaneously passed through blobs of orange, green, blue, pink, and purple light.

With this sharp narration, the instant death pattern came to an end.

Zraaap!

The number 90 split horizontally across the screen.

Chandeliers!

Around ten items materialized before me: five legendary and five heroic items.

And among them…

Rrroom!

Beyond God Weapon Zerosum glinted in the light.

[Your inventory of drop adjustments has decreased.]

[Legends: 301 → 291]

“Well, that was nothing.”

I was feeling disheartened that there were plenty of legendary items but no mythological ones when…

“Hey! You! What’s that?”

“Huh?”

As I pondered the abrupt shout, Guardian Constellation Exposure landed with a thud beside me and yelled:

[What? Why are all these items suddenly cleaning themselves up without anyone doing anything?]