Chapter 141 : 3 Stars (2)
Chapter 141: 3 Stars (2)
♠ ◆ ♥ ♣
The Unkillable Mu-ak.
This was the first time he could leisurely and thoroughly examine his past self.
Despite the lifeless, cold eyes and the murderous aura sharp enough to slice skin, his face and appearance were as ordinary as could be.
That made sense—if one were too handsome or, conversely, too ugly, they'd naturally stand out with distinct traits or individuality.
For an assassin who had to blend quietly into his surroundings, that was a fatal flaw.
Though his current looks were considered handsome, back then, his appearance hadn’t been bad either.
Srrng.
Carl slowly drew his sword.
In his hand was the Divine Sword Heavenly Thunder.
One of the two things that had improved from the past was surely the quality of his weapon.
When he was the Unkillable, he only wielded weapons designed solely to kill.
Sometimes it had been a rotting tree branch, sometimes a rock rolling by the roadside, or even just a straightened finger.
As long as it could deliver killing force, he didn’t discriminate.
He had once been commissioned to steal a weapon similar to the Divine Sword, but he had never truly been its owner.
‘And the martial arts I learned along the way.’
Mu-ak, the Unkillable, had focused solely on training in the Silent Shadow Kill Technique.
It was one of the top-tier martial arts for an assassin, so there had been no need to learn anything else.
Even so, he had stolen and memorized the secret manual of the Primordial Unity Divine Art to survive the betrayal of the Killing Veil.
"……Pointless."
Carl shook his head, shaking off remnants of the past.
What mattered was the existence of Mu-ak the Unkillable, not his history.
Saaa—
Carl drew up the little divine power that remained within him.
Since there was no specific incantation or method for this, he activated it through a simple route, much like how a mage handled mana.
‘Fortunately, there’s no rejection.’
The power of Karlos radiated a pure white with a bluish hue.
Divine power typically brought to mind a pristine white glow, but what had entered Carl was closer to a bluish light.
“I should ask Gallon for advice when I return.”
As a former priest, Gallon was the only one in NOX well-versed in religion and divine energy.
Surely he would know how to efficiently grow and handle divine power.
For now, Carl intended to start by adapting to it himself.
Fwoosh.
A blue glow spread across Carl’s entire body, emanating a faint radiance.
When he glanced at his reflection in a mirror conjured in the air, he could only smirk bitterly.
"Perfect look to be branded a heretic."
He appeared almost as if he had become a god himself.
That striking figure made Carl smile awkwardly.
Even so, he didn’t feel any rejection or alienness from the new energy.
Though it was a faint power, he could feel that it had settled perfectly within his body.
"……Well then."
Carl nodded and lifted his head.
He intended to start by experiencing the full power of the Unkillable firsthand.
Back in the trial of the undiscovered ruin, the opponent had been a version of the Unkillable at a similar level to his current self.
It seemed the trial had matched the difficulty to his level, which had greatly displeased Carl.
‘To grow stronger, one must fight opponents above their level.’
And this was a virtual space—one that didn’t affect reality.
Of course, he could suffer mental anguish and fatigue in the process, but he had long since overcome the urge to whine about such things back in the Central Plains.
Step.
Enveloped in divine power, Carl walked forward with Heavenly Thunder in hand.
And when he turned to face his opponent...
Squelch.
A blade of icy blue pierced through his chest at an unforeseen moment.
He had been ambushed from behind.
He realized this a beat later, only after he saw the blood droplets scatter through the air.
Even as he vomited blood, Carl swung his sword behind him.
Shwik!
A sharp attack traced a blue arc through the air—but the Unkillable was no longer there.
"……Gah."
Carl clutched his chest and collapsed on the spot.
He had heightened his senses to simulate a real battle environment.
And feeling a blade pierce his heart in that state wasn’t pleasant in the slightest.
Clatter.
Since this was a space of mental imagery, he could fully heal his wounds at will.
But Carl suppressed that urge, and instead guided the divine power within him to heal his heart.
Saaa—
Was this truly divine power?
The gushing blood gradually ceased, and his labored breathing began to stabilize.
But with such a weak energy, it was impossible to fully heal a heart that had been split in two.
Carl looked down at his chest with a pale face and a bitter smile.
“Keep working. I’d rather not watch my master die…”
Slice.
Before he could finish his sentence, another invisible attack struck.
But Carl, already on edge, raised Heavenly Thunder diagonally to intercept the sneak attack from his blind spot.
Or so he thought.
"……!!"
His side was torn open, and his entrails began to spill out.
Carl slumped down again, clutching the wound, blood gushing anew as he lifted his head with a half-dead expression.
‘I’ll have to lower the difficulty further.’
With each strike he endured, he gradually lowered the level of the Unkillable.
Little by little, if he adapted to it, there would eventually come a time when he could easily block the opponent’s attacks.
And when that time came, he could start raising the difficulty again.
"……This is truly a ridiculous training method."
Spitting out all the blood pooled in his mouth, Carl gave a wry smile.
Back when he had been the Unkillable, he had summoned the Sword King as his opponent.
As the head of the Namgung Family, that absolute master who wielded thunder had been the strongest man he had ever faced.
And yet, Carl had chosen to fight his past self.
He was confident he wouldn’t be outmatched in a clash of strength versus strength.
This was a training method that held more meaning because it involved overcoming his past self.
Slice.
Slash!
Stab.
After that, Carl’s body was etched with countless wounds.
Not a single one of them was non-lethal, and the amount of blood spilled on the floor had already surpassed a fatal volume.
Vmmm.
The divine power tirelessly circulated through its master’s body, healing his injuries.
It sealed up the sliced flesh, stopped the bleeding from torn-off muscle, and replenished his fading stamina.
‘So that’s it.’
Amid the process, Carl could faintly grasp the principle behind divine power.
‘Divine power seeks perfection.’
When the pure white light poured out, wounds were healed and injuries mended.
It wasn’t simply because divine power specialized in healing.
Divine power, in and of itself, possessed a nature that sought perfection.
Thus, when it came into contact with something imperfect, it tried to restore it to a perfect state.
However, the extent of recovery likely varied depending on time passed and the severity of the wound.
Carl had seen many people deemed untreatable.
Wounds from old wars or injuries sustained in early childhood could not be healed.
Perhaps because those had already taken a complete form and had become fixed as they were.
‘And the scope of healing would also vary depending on who uses the divine power.’
If a low-ranking priest and the pope had the same abilities, they wouldn’t be revered differently.
The higher one’s rank in the clergy, the wider the scope of healing would likely become.
“My divine power was stolen and absorbed directly from a demigod, so I wonder what its limits are.”
Unlike other priests who received it in exchange for faith, he had usurped the power of a divinity.
That likely made it more fundamental, closer to the origin.
Especially considering that even with such a small amount of energy, he could rapidly heal minor wounds.
“……Hoo.”
Carl let out a deep breath, overwhelmed by the intense pain racking his entire body.
The training method came with significant strain, and his knees trembled uncontrollably.
Still, he had gained a better understanding of divine power, so it hadn’t been a wasted effort.
Srrrk.
Carl used his Intent Thought to erase all his wounds and fatigue.
As he returned to a pristine state, the Unkillable who had relentlessly attacked him ceased movement and landed before him.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been beaten this badly.”
Even when he fought the demigod Karlos, he hadn’t suffered such heavy wounds.
In reality, he had fought almost evenly, and once he entered the space of mental imagery, he had been able to gain the upper hand thanks to the intervention of the Heavenly Demon and Bingbaekmok.
This might be the first time since arriving in Artenia that he had been beaten into such a wreck.
The divine energy surging from Carl’s sword and body faded and returned to its original state.
But immediately afterward, a vivid gray aura began to rise into the air.
Carl, now using the Primordial Unity Divine Art, stared at the Unkillable with an incomparable intensity.
“I was curious what would happen if I went all out.”
With the full power of the Primordial Unity Divine Art, perhaps he could block the Unkillable’s strike.
He had felt a little confident in that belief.
Stab.
Yet just like before, a sword burst through his chest without resistance, and Carl smirked bitterly.
“You really were monstrously strong.”
When would he finally surpass his past self?
Carl himself had become curious.
Since the external field trip took place during the week, the weekend returned just a few days later.
Carl promptly returned to NOX and sought out Gallon For, who was resting, to ask for advice.
“……Divine power? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“I didn’t include it in the report out of concern it might leak. More importantly, what’s your take on it as a former priest?”
“Hmm.”
Gallon For looked at Carl with a perplexed face.
It was already astonishing that a fragment of the demigod Karlos’ divinity remained in an undiscovered ancient ruin—yet now, the master had absorbed part of that power?
‘This is ridiculous.’
It was a feat impossible for a normal human.
And when Carl actually drew forth that pale blue divine power, Gallon For lowered his head with a bitter smile.
“Master, I should apologize first.”
“……For what?”
Carl tilted his head at Gallon’s sudden words.
He was the one seeking advice—why was Gallon apologizing?
“To be honest, I thought you were a dragon polymorphed into human form enjoying a leisurely life. But seeing you use divine power, I realize that’s not the case.”
“……A dragon?”
Carl’s eyes widened.
But upon reflection, he realized it was a reasonable misunderstanding.
‘I guess it wouldn’t be strange if others saw it that way.’
Carl also smirked wryly and waved his hand dismissively.
“I won’t deny I’m not an ordinary human, and that I’m still hiding many secrets from you all.
But one thing’s for sure—I’m human, just like you.”
“Yeah, now I’m sure. Dragons can’t use divine power.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Dragons as a species are beings entirely composed of mana.
They fundamentally can’t accept divine power, and if they tried to force it, they’d suffer immense backlash.”
“Hm.”
“That’s definitely divine power.
I don’t know if it really came from the demigod Karlos, but it’s a pure and genuine divine force... even purer than mine.”
Gallon raised his hand.
A pure white light settled atop it, exuding a noble presence.
It was divine energy, but carried a distinctly different atmosphere from Carl’s.
“In that case…”
“There is a way to train divine power.
Of course, it’s not the kind of barbaric method where you shave away your flesh and sanity like you did, Master.
Do you know how crazy you’d have to be to train that way?”
Barbaric method.
At Gallon’s sharp criticism, Carl clamped his mouth shut.
He had merely chosen the most efficient method.
‘As expected, the ordinary can’t comprehend.’
Carl could only shake his head internally.