Chapter 276: The Righteous Faction (1)
I didn’t belong in the Righteous Faction in the first place.
***
On the sixty-first day of the Viper’s seclusion, he muttered, “This isn’t right...”
Water dripped from the cave ceiling. The Viper had taken to heart the ridiculous claim that the Death King had fasted for many days in order to train, so he had decided to follow in Gong-Ja’s footsteps. He had been fasting for sixty days, but, as time passed, not only did his stomach become emptier, his brain also became devoid of thoughts, as if he were getting dumber.
“No, that’s not it. This won’t do. In fact, I can hardly imagine the Death King fasting to train... This training method seems to be a waste of my time, vitality, and intellect, instead of a genuine way to help me defeat him.”
To his rejoice, maybe, his moment of enlightenment arrived.
“Damn it!”
That day, the Viper broke his fast and went down to a Skian village to gorge himself on food. Pig’s feet, fried food, noodles—an abundance of dishes, which the Viper had taught the Skians how to cook, awaited him. After feasting for five days, the Viper sat in the cave in despair, resembling a dieter who had succumbed to the yo-yo effect.
“How the hell am I supposed to beat him?!”
Sixty days had been wasted. This was discouraging news. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the Viper still had plenty of time left. A lot, actually. He had at least sixty years.
“What should I do... Damn, what should I do...”
He was still experiencing side effects from fasting for sixty days in seclusion, such as talking to himself. The Viper sighed and looked at the cave wall, envisioning the absolute truth of martial arts etched there, just like in those murim novels. Yet such fantasies didn’t come true. Perhaps the Viper wasn’t the main character after all. Maybe he was supposed to join the Demonic Cult instead of Gong-Ja.