Chapter 34

Tap!

The sword appeared in my hand. It wasn’t any physical phenomenon but rather like a CG manipulated image appearing without warning. I sat on the bed and quietly looked at the bone longsword. Made from wild boar bones, it was quite sharp but still just a normal grade item made of bone.

“It is really absurd.”

Starting with the first gate, Jipmun (접문), where understanding began by recognizing elements, a chakra practitioner could deepen their understanding and raise the level of knowledge to open the second gate, Chungmun (중문), the third gate, Jumun (거문), and the fourth gate, Ee-mun (이문).

Finally, there was the fifth gate, Hyunmun (현문), which created a small universe.

This realm creates channels imbued with actual power rather than mere images within one’s mental world. It is a level unattainable without comprehending the ‘meaning’ underlying each element.

In martial arts terms, it equates to mastering internal energy manipulation and manifesting sword qi, akin to a pinnacle master. In magic, it corresponds to becoming a fifth-class mage capable of casting advanced spells effortlessly.

Upon passing through the Sixth Gate, Jinmun (Human Gate), and the Seventh Gate, Gimun (Earth Gate), one reaches the pinnacle of the Eight Gates of Divination, known as Transcendence and Ultimate Reality.

Opening the Eighth Gate, Cheonmun (Heaven Gate), signifies mastery over that element and completion of the small universe.

By reaching this point, the small universe within a chakra practitioner becomes its own world, enforcing its laws upon reality.

‘Yes. Looking back, what Ardenia showed… was typical of the Heavenly Gate domain.’

Level up points, classes, gatekeepers, collection system—why do stats increase when leveling up? What is the connection between collecting items and becoming stronger as a Player? There is no reason for it. It’s all based on a kind of promise or rule, not any inherent principle.

‘The problem lies in these promises and rules being game-specific, not applicable to reality.’

Nevertheless, Ardenia imposed its own rules on reality, and as a result, I, who was once spiritually disabled, gained incomparable power compared to my past self. This truly represented the heavenly gate and the nine stages of transcendence.

‘But I am only at the first stage?’

It didn’t make sense. If forced to use an analogy with mages, it would be like a level 1 mage, still in their apprenticeship, using a ninth-class ultimate spell.

‘In fact…this goes beyond that.’

The completed small universe being equivalent to one world was just an analogy. Normally, it should remain a concept unless realized by a chakra practitioner opening the door.

It was absurd that a small universe with billions of living creatures spanning 1,900 km by 1,900 km could be maintained without any cost.

Pop!

After 30 minutes passed, the bone longsword in my hand disappeared.

“Ardenia. Connection Gate. Open.”

Once again, I focused on my inner small universe.

“Summon. Orc Raider’s Axe.”

Pain.

In an instant, there was intense pain and the summon failed. It was disappointing despite being expected.

“Ah, it still isn’t high enough. Is it because my level is low? Ardenia. Connection Gate. Open. Summon. Bone Long Sword.”

The bone longsword appeared once more. Then I broke it straight away.

Crack!

It broke cleanly. My strength was already higher than most physical trainers, and the bone longsword was just bones, making it easy to break. Then after another 30 minutes…

Pop!

The broken bone longsword disappeared.

“Login.”

I entered the carriage. The previously prepared broken bone longsword was rolling around inside. Next to it was the orc raider’s axe that I couldn’t summon before.

“To summarize… can I bring items from Ardenia into reality?”

It was a tremendously surprising ability but, when thinking calmly, it seemed utterly useless. After all, there were no battles on Earth.

‘Furthermore, unless it is Hero rated equipment or higher…it can’t compete with modern weapons.’

In such circumstances, the ability to summon ordinary equipment was quite ambiguous.

“Well, this explains many things.”

Why I didn’t age in Ardenia, why time stopped in reality when entering Ardenia and vice versa—all these situations were understandable now.

‘A small universe…’

It meant that the reference point was myself. When I went to Earth, time in Ardenia stopped, and when I entered Ardenia, its time accelerated almost infinitely. This was possible because Ardenia wasn’t just another world somewhere; it existed within me.

“Lordship, we have entered the dragon’s vein.”

I got off the carriage at Flower’s report and turned to see a pillar of light shining far away. Among it, there were goblins bubbling up.

‘Still, they have decreased quite a bit.’

With my elite soldiers strengthened by leveling up, along with the support of the twelve hundred villagers, the regeneration speed of the goblins couldn’t keep up with their death rate. After all, goblins were ultimately regular-ranked monsters. Despite being faster than expected and possessing adult-like strength, their height barely reached one meter, making them severely lacking in killing power on the battlefield. This deficiency rendered them insufficient against our well-equipped and highly motivated soldiers.

“Continue advancing. We must secure a position near the pillar of light within three days.”

“Yes!”

I entered the carriage again and started meditating. I opened the chakras in my body, strengthened and activated them with the resulting power, repeating this process over and over.

Then during this…

“Not bad…?”

It was completely different from when I used Inner Force before. After forcibly awakening Inner Force, it was difficult to detect its presence. It couldn’t be seen, heard, smelled or felt. Something that couldn’t be perceived at all. I moved the inner energy solely through desperate wishes, making the efficiency close to worst possible.

On the other hand, chakra could be utilized by consuming mental energy alone. Unlike Magic Power and Inner Force, there were no processes of accumulating (축기) or circulating (운기) psionics.

Goo-ooh!

I became engrossed in chakra training. While I practiced inside the carriage, my forces continued to move forward. We fought wars, leveled up, and farmed items that were stored in either the inventory or the carriages.

Without Diva’s Favor, the drop rate was terrible, but as the accumulated number of goblins exceeded 10,000, it resulted in a significant amount of gold. During meal times, I recovered gold by consuming wild boar hind legs, Songpyeon (event item), etc. With this gold, I purchased enforcement scrolls, which were the only items available for purchase with gold from the cash shop.

‘Indeed, there must be people who occasionally buy these enforcement scrolls.’

Although Ardenia’s system lacked main quests, daily quests, and events, it wasn’t entirely devoid of features.

There was also a cash shop and exchange. There was a mailbox as well as achievement rewards.

‘However, most of them were half-baked.’

The cash shop and exchange existed but were useless without diamonds. The mailbox couldn’t be used because there was no account ID, and the problem with achievement rewards was that they mostly consisted of tokens. Since there was no NPC to exchange tokens, it was futile to have too many.

“Next is elemental type water.”

On Earth, I received chakra instruction from Sohyang. In practice, I returned to Ardenia while learning theory through the access device. No matter how realistic the virtual reality of the access device seemed, it couldn’t compare to the real thing in Ardenia.

And so, three days passed…

An unbelievable event occurred. I succeeded in gaining a deeper understanding of my body.

The second gate, Chongmon (重門).

I realized that there were choices presented within my consciousness:

1. Recovery >

2. Enforcement >

3. Body >

After briefly pondering, I chose recovery.

“If I open the chakras for Amplification and Reverse simultaneously, it will result in ‘Super Recovery’ or ‘Body Restoration’.”

Perhaps due to my high understanding and mastery of the body, the speed of opening gates was truly unimaginable. It was just speculation, but if I continued training for about one week, I would reach the next stage—entering the realm of Jumeon (巨門). This growth rate was akin to what only geniuses could exhibit!

However, I don’t regret not learning chakra earlier (not that I could have learned it). It’s more about missed opportunities.

“This is still half-baked.”

Chakra training consists of two pillars: Unbounded Strata and Eight Gates of Divination. Among them, growth through the Eight Gates of Divination involves delving deeper into one’s inner realm to enhance knowledge. In contrast, the development of Unbounded Strata relies on using oneself as an antenna to communicate with the outer world.

In essence, opening and utilizing gates requires strong mental fortitude and deep knowledge, but building up layers demands extreme spiritual sensitivity.

Extreme spiritual sensitivity…

‘Where can I find such a thing?’

Despite being devoid of any spiritual sensitivity, I am immune to ghost attacks and curses simply because I’m oblivious to them. Despite undergoing forced awakening, which people from other planets envy, my Spiritual Energy remains below average.

‘My perception is truly pathetic.’

In mage terms, it’s like mastering spells but unable to progress beyond Class 1 Magic Power. It means there’s no future for me in this regard.

“Well, at least it’s better than having absolutely zero aptitude for martial arts.”

As I grumbled…

Boom!

A massive explosion startled me, causing me to leap out of the carriage. Turning around, I saw soldiers scattered chaotically in the distance.

“It’s magic! It’s magic!”

“Ahhhhh! I can’t see! My eyes!”

“Argh! It burns! Help meeeeee!”

Dozens of soldiers writhed on the ground. The shield bearers, who had been blocking enemy advances like castle walls, were forced to abandon their shields due to the raging flames. With their defenses breached, goblins poured through the gap.

“This is insane!”

In recent battles, these elite soldiers had defeated thousands without losing a single man. Now, dozens lay dead, with potentially over a hundred casualties if things continued worsening. It was truly horrifying damage.

Boom!

I thrust off from the ground, soaring high into the air with one leap covering several dozen meters. As I hung suspended, I spotted something.

Red Spike Hop Goblin (Rare)

Jibago

At a distance of about 300 to 400 meters away, there was a goblin that seemed one head taller than the others, giggling. In that moment, it pointed at me floating in mid-air with unmistakable meaning:

[You.]

Then, it used two fingers to point at its own eyes, again conveying a clear message:

[I’m watching you.]

With a giggle, it moved towards a hole nearby. Having dealt a significant blow, it would now retreat, but this also served as a warning that similar attacks could follow if I let my guard down.

“That…”

My blood pressure rose.

“That bastard?”

He immediately opened his inventory and took out the bone long sword.

Kriiiiik!

His muscles tensed throughout his body. He stretched both arms behind him as far back as possible until they touched his heels, arching his torso forward. His muscles vibrated like tightly pulled rubber bands about to snap.

And when he reached his limit…

jae-yeon released them all at once.

Shwip!

The blade cut through the air like a laser beam. The force of the throw, amplified by over five hundred strength points, defied logic.

Boom!

A delayed sonic boom erupted, sounding like a jet fighter had flown overhead.

Whirr… Whirr… Whirr…

As a result of the recoil from throwing the sword, jae-yeon spun twelve times in midair before landing roughly fifty meters away.

“Pant…pant…pant…”

I regulated my breathing while scanning the battlefield and then laughed.

“Son of a bitch… Pant…Pant…” My eyes caught sight of the hop goblin collapsing without its head.

“You will lose.”