Chapter 59
The Most Brilliant Empire (1)
Choi Yeon-hwa possessed a unique ability called ‘Blessing of the Sword.’
It was a remarkable ability that made her mind clear when holding a sword, improved her concentration, and enhanced her physical abilities. Based on the ‘Blessing of the Sword‘ and her innate sword talent, Choi Yeon-hwa was able to grow rapidly.
However, there is one more reason behind Choi Yeon-hwa’s growth background. It is a skill called ‘Descent of the Sword Ghost’ that she obtained during the tutorial. When using this, she enters a berserker state where she cannot control her body, but displays tremendous sword skills. The movements and experiences gained during these times became a substantial foundation for Yeon-hwa’s growth.
She made efforts to have her body remember the movements every time she used the Descent of the Sword Ghost. Choi Yeon-hwa’s desire for growth was tremendous.
Kang Hyeon and the executives of the Badass Guild. The Dangun Guild and Han Se-yeon. When other ability users gave up, calling them trees too high to climb, Choi Yeon-hwa did not. She wanted to become like Kang Hyeon, and believed that with her talent, she could eventually catch up. That desire further motivated Choi Yeon-hwa.
“The first problem occurred when the skill rose to A-rank. From then on, I started hearing strange voices, and sometimes my body moved on its own even when I wasn’t using the skill.”
“You continued to use the skill even after reaching that state?”
“Hahaha. Of course not.”
Choi Yeon-hwa burst into laughter at Kang Hyeon’s question.
“From that point, I also truly thought it was dangerous, so I stopped using the skill. But it was already too late.”
Not long after the Descent of the Sword Ghost rose to A-rank, the system disappeared. During that time, her unique ability ‘Blessing of the Sword’ that had been protecting Yeon-hwa disappeared, but strangely, the sword ghost did not leave her.
“When the Blessing of the Sword disappeared, the sword ghost began to rampage in earnest.”
She herself did not know that the Blessing of the Sword had such an ability. After the Blessing of the Sword disappeared, the sword ghost officially revealed its presence.
“I was truly out of my mind. Moreover…”
Choi Yeon-hwa stared intently at Kang Hyeon.
‘With you dead, I couldn’t live with a sound mind.’
She had tried to become stronger looking only to him, but the person himself had died. The guilt of not being able to be with him at the end further drove Choi Yeon-hwa to madness. In that situation, Choi Yeon-hwa forced reckless battles for revenge, and each time, guild members and subordinates died. The continuously accumulating guilt. In this vicious cycle, Choi Yeon-hwa could only become more and more broken.
“Moreover, what? Why did you stop talking?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Choi Yeon-hwa awoke from her thoughts at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Anyway, the system disappeared, but for some reason, only the sword ghost remained and stayed with me.”
After listening to Choi Yeon-hwa’s explanation, Kang Hyeon looked at Dehera.
“Why didn’t this skill called Descent of the Sword Ghost disappear?”
“Pardon?”
Dehera had a puzzled expression, as if wondering why he was asking her.
“You’re the one who created the skills and the system, right? And you don’t know the reason?”
“Hmm, Perhaps, It’s not like I know everything…”
As Dehera was speaking, when Kang Hyeon raised his fist, she quickly nodded.
“Alright. I’ll tell you.”
Indeed, there was nothing better than a fist for recovering forgotten memories.
“First, you need to understand the difference between abilities and skills in the system.”
“The difference between abilities and skills?”
“Simply put, an ability is a cheat that helps you quickly acquire physical techniques.”
“And a skill can be described as a cheat that allows you to use advanced techniques at once without a separate acquisition process.”
Kang Hyeon slowly nodded. When he thought about it, abilities were related to techniques like swordsmanship, martial arts, while skills included many magical types like magic explosion.
“I think I roughly understand.”
“The system’s skills were basically derived from magic, but not all skills are magic.”
“Then?”
“The Descent of the Sword Ghost was probably related to something shamanistic. Using magic to summon a soul to fight.”
“But with repeated skill use, as the soul gained strength, it was able to exercise more authority. Of course, the ultimate goal is to take possession of Ms. Choi Yeon-hwa’s body.”
“So even though the system disappeared, that soul remains?”
“Yes. Originally, the Descent of the Sword Ghost is a skill that summons a soul, but the sword ghost is already in a parasitic state in Ms. Choi Yeon-hwa’s body, so I think it remained even after the skill disappeared.”
“Hmm… That’s complicated…”
After pondering for a moment, Kang Hyeon snapped his fingers as if something had occurred to him.
“Ah! So you’re saying she’s possessed by a ghost?”
“What does ‘possessed by a ghost’ mean…?”
“Tsk. Never mind if you don’t know.”
Kang Hyeon waved his hand dismissively and continued.
“I have another question. Why can only I see the sword ghost?”
“That’s related to your physical body, Kang Hyeon. To explain that would be quite lengthy…”
“Forget it. Let’s skip it if it’s long.”
“It’s not immediately important. I’ll listen to it later.”
“Yes.”
“Good. I roughly understand the situation, and now only the conclusion remains. So how do we get rid of this sword ghost?”
“That’s simple. We can eliminate it with magic.”
“With magic? Like what I did last time?”
“Yes. After all, it’s a soul created by magic. If we repeatedly eliminate it, it will eventually lose its power and disappear. Or it will leave Ms. Choi Yeon-hwa before that.”
“It’s good that it’s simple.”
Kang Hyeon approached Choi Yeon-hwa.
“Bear with it even if it hurts a little.”
“What?”
Kang Hyeon stretched his hand into the air and grabbed something.
“Kyaaaaa!”
Choi Yeon-hwa screamed at the unknown pain suddenly felt throughout her body.
“P-please be a little kinder…”
“They say you should pull off a cow’s horn in one go. This needs to be ended decisively.”
Kang Hyeon gradually increased the intensity of his magic. Then, overlapping with Choi Yeon-hwa’s scream, a bizarre howl was heard.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
Saaaaaaaa
Yoon Na-rae, who was watching from the side, trembled.
“Oooh… I just got goosebumps…”
“Are you really that scared? Don’t ask me to go with you to the bathroom at night.”
“I don’t ask the Guild Master to go with me! And I’m not scared at all!”
Kang Hyeon’s joke made Yoon Na-rae shout loudly. A moment later. After enough time to drink a cup of tea had passed. Choi Yeon-hwa, drenched in sweat, was panting on the floor.
“Huff, huff…”
“How do you feel? Are you alright?”
“Yes… I think I feel good…”
Choi Yeon-hwa smiled despite her pale complexion. This would not completely eliminate the ghost that had been clinging to her for years. She would probably have to repeat a similar process many times. Still, if she could get better than her current state, that would be enough.
“Good. It’s a bit early, but let’s stop here for today and rest. We’ll probably reach Shenyang tomorrow anyway.”
Though the sun had not yet set, Kang Hyeon decided to camp. There was no reason to force movement when Choi Yeon-hwa was in a difficult situation. But Yoon Na-rae objected.
“Let’s go a little further before resting…”
“Why?”
“Well…”
Yoon Na-rae hesitated before continuing.
“It’s, it’s unpleasant…”
“What’s unpleasant?”
“We just chased away a ghost here, how can we sleep!? Let’s camp a little further away!”
Yoon Na-rae burst out.
Kang Hyeon chuckled and looked at Yoon Na-rae with subtle eyes.
“How old are you to be afraid of ghosts?”
“I’m, I’m not scared, I just think it’s unlucky! Don’t you understand? This ground is impure now!”
“What nonsense about impurity. If bad luck comes from ghost possession, wouldn’t Choi Yeon-hwa have died long ago? No, how can you even travel with Choi Yeon-hwa in the first place? She’s possessed by a ghost and impure.”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, Choi Yeon-hwa gazed steadily at Yoon Na-rae. That gaze contained the question of whether she really thought of her that way.
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“Then what? If you’re scared, just say so honestly. Nothing to be ashamed of. Even at 26, you can be afraid of ghosts. Sure. Of course!”
“Ughhhh…!”
Yoon Na-rae clenched her fists and trembled in frustration.
“This is why I can’t communicate with old stubborn geezers!”
“Do you want to die!? Why is that suddenly coming up here!?”
“Hit me! Go ahead and hit me!”
Yoon Na-rae taunted Kang Hyeon as she hurriedly ran away.
But for some reason, there was a deep smile on her face when she turned around.
‘Hehehe. If I run away like this, we’ll get far from here, right?’
Then the camping site would naturally be moved as well.
‘Am I actually a genius!?’
It was a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone plan to tease Kang Hyeon while naturally changing the camping location. Although it came from her own mind, it was truly an admirable and perfect plan!
Then Yoon Na-rae noticed something strange.
“Huh…? Why are you just standing there?”
Normally, Kang Hyeon should have chased after her quickly and smacked the back of her head, but he was just standing still.
“Bye.”
“What?”
“Go ahead. Look, the sun is already setting. Have a good night by yourself.”
As Kang Hyeon said, the sun was gradually setting. A deep smile spread across Kang Hyeon’s face, colored by the sunset glow.
‘No matter how much you run around, you’re still in the palm of Buddha’s hand.’
The clear smile of a victor showing that he was one step ahead.
“This, this isn’t right…”
As Yoon Na-rae was flustered and rolling her eyes around.
Caw! Caw! Caaaaaaw!
A flock of crows appeared from somewhere and flew over the party’s heads.
“Hii, hiiiiek…!”
“Just to let you know, I don’t take back someone who has left once.”
“I’m, I’m sorry!!!”
It seemed Yoon Na-rae would need a million years to defeat Kang Hyeon.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The next day.
The party arrived at Shenyang, where Han Myeong-do was.
“I knew you would resolve it well! Haha!”
After hearing the story of the past few days, Han Myeong-do was delighted as if it were his own achievement.
“By the way, you’re leaving today?”
Han Myeong-do asked with a disappointed face.
“Yes. I want to go straight to the Heigran Kingdom.”
“That’s a shame… It would be nice if you stayed a little longer.”
“I have things to do. And I think resting in the Heigran Kingdom would be more comfortable than here.”
“I see…”
He wasn’t offended by the straightforward words. It was true, after all. The Heigran Kingdom would be much more comfortable than Shenyang, which was virtually lawless and had poor facilities.
“That bathhouse there was certainly amazing.”
Han Myeong-do nodded, recalling the massive bathing facilities of the Heigran Kingdom.
“It’s disappointing, but let’s have a beer together next time.”
“Yes. Since I’ll connect a portal to Seoul when I return, we can see each other anytime.”
Han Myeong-do’s face brightened at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“That’s great news!”
“I’ll contact you as soon as it’s done, so please come visit.”
“I will definitely do that! I would like to go with you, but I’m in a position where I cannot be absent for long…”
“Yes…”
Han Myeong-do genuinely seemed to want to follow Kang Hyeon.
‘It seems the senior brother has been quite lonely living in a foreign land.’
How difficult it must have been to lead so many people without anyone to rely on in a strange land. Kang Hyeon looked at Han Myeong-do with a face tinged with sympathy.
“Then we’ll be going now.”
“Alright. Be sure to contact me as soon as the portal is installed!”
“Yes. We’re really leaving now.”
With Han Myeong-do’s face full of regret behind them, the party entered the portal heading to the Heigran Kingdom.
