Chapter 238: Return (3)

After finishing my conversation with the Sword Empress, I returned to the guild. I handled some miscellaneous tasks roughly and walked toward the training room.

I was the only one in the training room. Since it was the guild master’s exclusive facility, it was expensive and built on the rooftop. Previously, I had half-destroyed the building with my Form power.

‘To think they rebuilt it in just three months.’

It cost a lot of money, but it was worth it. I changed into comfortable clothes: a black short-sleeved t-shirt and black shorts.

Then, I sat on the floor of the training room, lost in thought.

‘They called it the Special Stat Seal, right?’

It seemed like a stamp ability, but I was not sure about its exact utility. I needed to experiment with this.

‘First, let’s try it on an item.’

I was about to take out my items but stopped. A crack had appeared on White Rouge.

‘I’ve used this well… but it’s over now.’

It’s a shame, but White Rouge has reached its end. It served me well, so now it was time to find the next item.

There was also the Mask of Illusions I used when I became the Masked Man, and the Truth within Dreams I obtained from the Tower of Dreams, which could cast an illusion on an opponent once a day.

‘Since this is a consumable, let’s try it here.’

Seal.

I imbued my power. White light started to gather at the tip of my finger, and I instinctively realized something. This power could transfer my strength into another object.

‘Could this be permanent?’

As that thought crossed my mind, I recalled my other powers.

The Absolute Stat, Black.

It held the Energy of Defying Heaven, Form, and the power of the Boundary.

A Concept Stat, which pursued destructive forces.

Then what about White…

‘Creation.’

It was the power to give birth to something. The Concept Stat Alchemy allowed me to create something using alchemy and runes. The Concept Stat Seal imbued objects with other powers.

No, as I thought further, one possibility emerged in my mind.

‘Could this be used on people?’

It could be engraved on a body like a tattoo, allowing that person to use the power. It would require a lot of preparation, but the resulting power would be immense.

I was momentarily distracted, but the Absolute Stat, White, seemed to allow the creation of something through substitution.

‘It feels different from the power of Starlight.’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hmm…

I thought about it for a while but couldn’t figure it out.

In the Epic World, there were no Absolute Stats, and no one who wielded both the power of Starlight and the Energy of Defying Heaven at the same time.

I thought about the power of Gray.

The gray power, known as the Absolute Authority, had the ability to destroy everything.

‘I still don’t get it.’

No matter how much I pondered, I didn’t understand. With a deep sigh, I tried using the Seal to imbue my power into an item.

Truth within Dreams (B)

The boundary between dream and reality.

A dagger that confuses the opponent.

Once a day, it can cast an illusion on the opponent.

That was the original ability.

Black Flame’s Truth within Dreams (B+)

Power residing in the boundary between dream and reality.

Now imbued with Black Flame, it charms the opponent and negates all their powers.

Once a day, it can cast an illusion on the opponent.

‘Hmm… not bad.’

Still, it felt a bit ambiguous. I decided not to worry about it too much. Since the stat’s power was still at level 1, I figured something might change as it grew.

‘Now, let’s try it out.’

The power I obtained by defeating the Apostle.

The Ex Rank Ascension Ticket.

When I obtained the Absolute Stat, Black, and the technique Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex), two powers could be raised to Ex Rank.

I could raise Eternal Existence (S+) to Divine Spirit (Ex), or I could raise Yin-Yang Divine Art (S) to Color Spirit (Ex).

‘Neither is a bad choice…’

Divine Spirit (Ex).

It allowed control over spiritual powers.

But for me? It felt unnecessary. Divine Spirit (Ex) enhanced all abilities related to spirit powers, but I already covered that with Concept and Absolute Stats.

Lustful Spirit (Ex).

…As a man, I wanted to raise this.

The more love I shared, the stronger my powers grew.

The problem is that if I misuse this, my partner might climax and die.

In other words, there was a possibility of Death by Ecstasy.

Even now, my partner could barely handle it, so what good would it do to raise this?

That was why I most wanted Sword God (Ex).

But only one person per era could possess an Ex Rank ability.

To gain that talent, I would have to kill the Sword Saint, and that was a burden too heavy for me.

‘I need attack power.’

What I lacked most while fighting the Apostle was firepower.

A little more attack power.

If I had had that, I wouldn’t have needed Seo Ga-yeon’s help, and I could have killed him myself.

‘Do I have to settle for Divine Spirit (Ex)?’

As I thought that, I used the Ex Rank Ascension Ticket.

[The following talents and techniques can be raised to Ex Rank using the Ex Rank Ascension Ticket:]

[Black Flame Divine Sword (S+) -> ???(Ex)]

[Eternal Existence (S+) -> Divine Spirit (Ex)]

[Sword Demon (S+) -> Sword God (Ex) - Not Available]

[Yin-Yang Divine Art (S) -> Lustful Spirit (Ex)]

[*Seven-Colored Eyes (?) -> Divine Sight (Ex)]

“……”

My mind stopped for a moment.

Two choices increased.

‘I’ll give up on Divine Spirit (Ex).’

For the same reason, I also gave up on Lustful Spirit (Ex).

I was tempted by Divine Sight (Ex), the evolved form of Seven-Colored Eyes (?), but…

‘I’ll choose Black Flame Divine Sword (S+).’

It was a sword style I created by stitching together various martial arts.

Even though I had practiced consistently in the dimension I wandered through in Murim, it was still difficult to sharpen it properly.

“I’ll choose Black Flame Divine Sword (S+).”

[Black Flame Divine Sword (S+) evolves. Black Flame Divine Sword (S+) evolves into Black Divine Sword (Ex).]

“Black Divine Sword (Ex)?”

Information flooded into my mind.

I drew Black Heaven.

Wuuuuung!

Black Heaven vibrated. The black blade concealed itself in the darkness.

Then, black light emerged.

‘…What is this?’

I unconsciously stepped back.

Sword Aura.

It was a power known as the light of destruction, usable upon reaching a higher stage.

It didn’t exert as much absolute power as spells that used projected imagery, but since the structure began with sword aura for martial artists, the more this power was trained, the stronger spells became.

This felt similar but different.

The form was the same.

But the contained destructive power was hundreds of times greater.

It held a force that seemed capable of annihilating and denying everything within this darkness.

‘What is this?’

At the same time, I felt a sense of danger.

I realized that this power was on a different level from anything I had encountered before.

As if turning, compressing, and concentrating the Energy of Defying Heaven, Form, and Boundary, this power emerged.

Fwoooong.

The limitless sea of the Energy of Defying Heaven drained at an alarming rate.

Even though I had obtained Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex), it felt as though maintaining Black Divine Sword (Ex) was draining too much power.

Crack, crack, crack.

I heard something shatter. Looking around, I saw that space itself was breaking apart. Simply by manifesting the power, the surrounding space could no longer contain it and began to fracture.

‘What about Black Heavenly Demon Sword?’

I released Black Divine Sword (Ex). The power that seemed to bring about the destruction of everything was dispelled, revealing the blade of Black Heavenly Demon Sword. I ran my hand over the black blade, but there were no traces of damage.

‘…It feels different.’

The state of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword was different from usual. I wasn’t sure what had changed.

I checked with the Reading(-) ability.

[Black Divine Sword (Ex-)]

A divine sword once used by the Heavenly Demon.

Forged with black steel and millennium stone, boasting supreme strength and hardness.

The soul of a transcendent is becoming one with the sword.

Innate Skill: ???

Innate Skill: ???

Innate Skill: ??? ---

“What is this?”

Why had the rank risen so much? The name had changed from Black Heavenly Demon Sword to Black Divine Sword.

But what caught my attention most was the item description.

‘The soul of a transcendent is becoming one with the sword.’

Was Black Heaven here again… for me?

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

The soul and the sword becoming one. Who would do this for me?

‘I’d better treat her well.’

Maybe not every day… no, I should care for the sword every single day.

I resolved to do so.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“The new ones.”

After leaving the training room, I was getting nagged by the Electronic Witch.

The reason being that I used Black Divine Sword (Ex), which shattered the space around it, rendering the training room unusable for the time being.

So I had gone outside and was now chatting with a woman I ran into.

Golden eyes, like stars, gazed at me.

“Winter is coming soon.”

“That’s right.”

“So, it’s almost time for the new students to enter Korea’s Hero School. Not to mention, how much did the first-year students accomplish this year?”

“They killed three of the major villains.”

“Oh, wait, three? I thought it was two… wait, who was it?”

Ershil looked at me, startled.

“The Vicious Abomination.”

“…That’s impressive.”

Sssip.

Ershil took a sip from her drink through a straw.

“Anyway, because of that, even though we’re first-year students, we’re already globally renowned. Four top-tier students emerged, so there’s a lot of anticipation for the new recruits.”

“Is that so?”

Now that I think about it, there were a few talented new recruits this year as well.

‘But training them at this point…’

It didn’t seem like they’ll be of much help.

“Ahem, anyway, do you want to check out the new students? Black Flame Dragon Lee Seo-ha?”

“…What kind of nickname is that?”

“When you used black flame during the Duel of the Moon, it became a hot topic. Especially when you blocked the Dragon’s Breath with that black flame form. That video went viral on the internet.”

Ershil said this as she typed something on her phone.

“Here, take a look.”

Ershil leaned toward me and showed me her phone.

When she searched for ‘Black Flame Dragon’ on YouTube, countless videos with me in the thumbnails appeared.

“…”

“Look at the titles. [Korea’s Pride: The Youngest Top-Tier Hero, Lee Seo-ha. Is He Actually the Black Flame Dragon…?]”

“Stop. I don’t want to see it.”

“So, are you going to check out the new students? They’re so fresh. Don’t you want to be called ‘Sunbae~’?”

“At my age? No thanks.”

Ershil’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“Sunbae~?”

“…”

I looked at Ershil with a blank expression.

This was dangerously tempting.

“What? You’re reacting to this?”

“We’re the same age.”

“It’s fine. If you’re handsome, you’re ‘oppa.’”

“Who said that?”

“Then, how about we go to the school together?”

Ershil subtly wrapped her arm around mine and whispered provocatively in my ear.

“Sunbae.”