Without parents or siblings, the child wandered the streets every day, hungry.
The figure of this child, who was searching for food to fill his aching stomach in the trash, was spotted by someone.
An elder of Flower Mountain, Jo Seong-chu.
Jo Seong-chu recognised at a glance that the child was a possessor of natural martial bones. That wasn’t all. Despite his squalid appearance, the child’s eyes sparkled with intelligence even as his hands desperately searched through the garbage.
In other words, the child was perfectly equipped with all of the necessary tools to practice martial arts.
Jo Seong-chu collected the child. And he had no doubt that the child would become a key figure in his secret plan.
At that time, the Murim was experiencing unprecedented chaos due to conflicts between factions, the overflowing power of the various sects, and the establishment of the Demonic Cult.
Jo Seong-chu’s plan was to create a secretive organisation to protect Flower Mountain from the turbulent Murim, so he sought out and collected talented children regardless of their origin, age, or character.
A secret organisation that would protect the peace of Flower Mountain from the shadows.
He had planned slowly and meticulously.
But as a result, Jo Seong-chu’s plan failed before it could ever bear fruit.
In the grandest and most miserable manner.
* * *
A cold wind.
Lukas found himself standing near the entrance of the underground cave. The ground beneath him shook, signifying that the collapse of the cave was still underway.
Then, with a loud crash, the shaking stopped.
“…”
No presence could be felt from the prison. This meant that the elders had been crushed.
“Huu.”
Lukas let out a breath.
While it was possible for him to use Warp, it seemed to have some conditions attached.
Firstly, the destination could only be a place that he had been to before.
For example, the peak of Flower Mountain stood high in the sky, piercing the clouds. Although it was a place that he could see, Lukas could not designate it as a destination. This wasn’t a condition that was added because it was the Imaginary World. In the original world, in order to use Warp accurately, it was necessary to have an accurate grasp of the destination’s coordinates, and the most accurate way to do so was to have personally visited the location.
Instead, it was the distance restrictions as well as the mana consumption that was much more fatal. According to his rough calculations, he had used up at least five times as much mana, but the distance they had travelled was less than half of his initial expectations.
‘I have roughly half of my mana left.’
He had about 60% of his mana left.
While it was by no means a small amount, it wasn’t enough to be considered plentiful.
Lukas felt that he was at a crossroads of choice.
If more than five elders like the ones he’d just fought were to appear, then even Lukas wouldn’t be able to win without using absolute.
In addition, the mysterious ‘Sect Leader’ was likely to be even stronger than an elder.
‘Let’s leave this place first, then come back when I’m in perfect condition.’
Just when he turned to Pale with that thought.
Another thought flashed across his mind.
“Wait a minute.”
“What is it? Why do you have such a scary look on your face?”
“Are you alone?”
“Huh? No, there’s that one there.”
Pale pointed towards Lee Jong-hak, but Lukas tried to suppress his rising anger.
“No. There was another person besides Lee Jong-hak.”
“…?”
“The woman we found in the desert.”
“Ah.”
Pale’s eyes went wide.
Then she smiled bashfully and clasped her hands together.
“I forgot. Sorry.”
“You…”
His anger flared for a moment.
He hadn’t known anything about the woman, but he was certain that she was from the same universe, he hadn’t meant for her to die.
Lukas almost let his anger out, but he decided to suppress it instead. After all, he didn’t think Pale would actually feel apologetic even if he were to show his anger, and now wasn’t the time for that.
‘Is she still alive?’
Generally, it would be better to consider her dead.
However… there was a twisted law in this world where even fatal injuries could be healed just by eating.
Even if she was in a terrible state that was difficult to look at, it might be possible to save her even if she was on her last breath.
Of course, in order to do that, he would need more jerky from Pale.
It didn’t look like she’d be willing to give it, but if she had any conscience left, she might give it to him surprisingly easily.
…However, that was just his wishful thinking.
In general, he didn’t believe that defenceless humans could survive a cave collapse.
As he was contemplating what to do, Pale spoke.
“Rather than that woman, wouldn’t it be better to focus on the situation in front of us?”
“What?”
Instead of answering, Pale pointed behind them.
The moment Lukas turned around, he felt his back go cold.
A middle aged man was standing there.
‘Since when?’
He hadn’t noticed.
If Pale hadn’t said anything, Lukas would not have noticed his presence.
“…”
The middle aged man seemed to have an empty aura. His expression was calm and his hands were held behind his back. If it wasn’t for the location and the situation, Lukas might have mistaken him for someone taking a stroll through the mountains.
But there was no way that was true.
A single sword hung from his waist, completing the image that they were being looked down on.
“…Yang In-hyun.”
Lee Jong-hak stuttered.
Lukas picked up the subtle terror in his voice.
“Yang In-hyun?”
“The Sect Leader of this place.”
…This man.
Lukas looked at the middle aged man again.
The man, now identified as Yang In-hyun, tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth.
“Is your body feeling better, Human Dragon? It’s been a while since you last had a breath of fresh air.”
“…I didn’t expect you to show up so quickly.”
“I had some free time.”
There was no tension in Yang In-hyun’s voice.
He was peaceful as if he was just greeting them.
“It seems Hae and Jung lost.”
Although it was their first time hearing those names, they could roughly guess who those two were.
The two elders who had just fought a fierce battle with Lukas.
Eventually, Yang In-hyun’s gaze turned to Pale.
To their surprise, he politely bowed his head towards her.
“It is a pleasure to meet you again.”
Both his attitude and tone were polite. This was not an act either, it was an honest gesture.
Pale blinked a few times.
She looked surprised, but more than that, she looked confused.
“Huh? Who are you?”
“I’ve seen you once before. In the ‘War of Existence’ in the Western Region…”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Those words cause Yang In-hyun to raise his head and stare at Pale for a while.
It was as if he was trying to peer into her brain.
“…indeed.”
After a while, he muttered as if he understood something.
“As Young Miss said, I must have been mistaken. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“Hehe. So you agree.”
“There is one more thing I would like to ask you.”
Afterwards, Yang In-hyun looked at Lukas.
“I am going to kill that man now. Will Young Miss stop me?”
Even when he said those words, his tone did not change. Lukas’ gaze sank as he heard that calm tone.
“Uh. Why are you asking me that?”
“If Young Miss intends to stop me, I will back down immediately.”
0
“Aha.”
Pale chuckled.
“I’m not going to interfere. I’m not so tactless as to interfere in someone else’s fight.”
“I see. Under-”
Shuk-
Lukas bowed his head.
“-stood”
He heard the end of the word afterwards. He felt a cool breeze sweep past the back of his head.
If someone were to ask him why he bowed his head, he wouldn’t be able to give a definitive answer. In any case, it was clearly an instinctive reaction. Lukas had not been fully aware of Yang In-hyun’s attack.
That wasn’t all. He’d also missed his movement.
‘A completely different level.’
The two elders he’d just met.
They were also rare Swordsmen who had caught a glimpse of the peak of swordsmanship, but Yang In-hyun was a level far above them.
Swoosh!
Yang In-hyun’s offensive didn’t stop.
He no longer felt empty. On the contrary, a ferocious aura of intimidation radiated from him like a wild beast.
A deluge of swords. In an instant, the tip of his sword seemed to split into countless pieces.
This wasn’t a part of Yang In-hyun’s sword technique. It was a sight that only lasted for a few seconds.
Sword Road.
Lukas had to analyse the hundreds of thousands of swords that Yang In-hyun could ‘choose’.
‘Find it.’
Which of these swords would be the most suitable for his opponent to choose.
He couldn’t simply rely on his senses. Such an analysis wasn’t couldn’t be fully trusted without sufficient support.
He recalled the skirmish with the two elders. The Plum Blossom Sword Techniques they used seemed completely different, but they were fundamentally the same.
The form of their swordsmanship, or its personality.
There were some commonalities that could not be eliminated.
That was part of the reason why Lukas let his fight with the elders carry on for so long. To learn even a little about their swordsmanship.
Yang In-hyun.
This man was probably no exception. The sword technique he was using also seemed to be the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
‘Three.’
In the meantime, Lukas had reduced the hundreds of swords down to three. The time it had taken to reach this point was extremely short, but the most important part was what came next.
A one in three chance.
Some might consider this probability to be quite high, but for a Wizard, it was still too risky. He had no intention of gambling. Lukas raised his concentration even more, to the point where his face went pale.
It wasn’t just the eyes, hands, or waist.
He also carefully observed the factors that appeared in flashes when his clothes moved like his soaring tendons and stretching muscles, to factors that were difficult to see at all, like the tips of his toes.
And he saw it.
‘Left side cut.’
It was hard to avoid. Lukas’ body wasn’t fully trained in dodging attacks at such a close range.
As expected, the only way to respond was with magic. (TL: Why was there any other option?)
Crackle.
Ice spread across his skin. Of course, it wouldn’t be possible to fully block the sword attack with the ice. But he would be satisfied if it was able to buy him even a single second.
“—kuk.”
For a moment, his thoughts froze as he coughed out a breath. He felt like his intestines had twisted.
Pain?
‘My stomach…’
Yang In-hyun’s fist was buried there.
What was going on?
Paak!
His head was quickly jerked to one side. The forming ice shattered. That meant that his concentration had been broken, which was an extraordinary phenomenon for Lukas. He had never stopped a spell after casting it. He always held on to the end regardless of what happened. That was the case even if his limbs were torn off or his tongue was pulled out.
However, this time was different.
It wasn’t the pain that was the problem.
Instead, he was more shocked by Yang In-hyun’s unexpected move.
“An opponent with the habit of analysing can be pretty tricky, but once you get used to it, there is nothing more trivial.”
He heard a whisper beside his ears.
Lukas fired off a number of Hyper Bolts, but it was futile. Yang In-hyun avoided everyone with ghost-like movements.
“Twet,”
He spat a mouthful of bloody saliva.
Pieces of his teeth followed his spit to the ground.
Eventually, his gaze settled coldly onto Yang In-hyun.
“You know about Wizards… No.”
He denied his own words.
That wasn’t right.
The two elders he’d fought not so long ago had known about Wizards. But he was not like them.
The knowledge of Wizards that the elders had… was shallow at best. It could even be called crude. The knowledge they had was nothing more than a superficial touch, a scratch on the surface, and even then, it was not information that they could put into practice.
On the other hand, what about Yang In-hyun?
Lukas was well versed in battles of wits.
And yet, he’d lost. It was an unfamiliar experience for Lukas, and it could only mean one thing.
“You have experience fighting Wizards. Perhaps even with a Wizard with skills similar to mine.”
“…”
At those words, Yang In-hyun drew his sword.
The tingling pressure that had enveloped the area also seemed to vanish in an instant.
Silence fell on the area, then, after a while, a small smile appeared on Yang In-hyun’s face.
“How arrogant. Great Wizard.” (TL: From the context, I think this should be ‘Great Mage’ instead, but since the author used ‘Great Wizard’ I’ll leave it.)
“…you know me?”
“I do. I’ve heard a lot about you, from a certain being.”
Lukas listened quietly.
This is because he didn’t think Yang In-hyun would need his urging to keep talking.
“You’re probably thinking about a few people. But your guesses are all wrong. Because you don’t know the answer. It is not someone you know.”
“You’re saying it’s someone who knows me one-sidedly?”
“You’re trying to dig for more information. There’s no reason for me to tell you that much. However… Indeed. I can understand what that person said now that I’m seeing you for myself.”
“What did they say?”
“⟨The magic that is spread across the Three Thousand Worlds has many different branches. However, the roots are the same. In other words, the higher the level they pursue, the closer they get to the true form of magic.⟩”
“…”
His tone changed.
Those were not Yang In-hyun’s words.
He was just repeating what he’d heard while imitating the voice of the other person.
“⟨The Great Mage, Lukas Trowman, is probably one of the closest to the origin of magical science. A man who realises the truth. A being born with talent, fate, and luck, all exquisitely intertwined… And a being watched by God, the four Rulers, the King, and the four Knights.⟩”
Lukas couldn’t fully understand that statement.
God and the four Rulers… he knew them.
But who were the King and Knights?
“Do you believe that you are the Wizard who has reached the highest point? Do you think there is no one with greater understanding of the truth than you? No. Not at all. The words ‘frog in a well’ might not be fully accurate, but you are still not good enough to call yourself the Lord of that field. If you hadn’t come to this world, you wouldn’t have even known about that delusion.”
When he stopped talking, Lukas bit his lip.
“Who is it that you were talking about?”
“Even after I said so much, you still couldn’t figure it out… It’s a Wizard.”
Yang In-hyun slowly raised his sword and pointed it at Lukas.
His aura was beginning to rise again.
Plum Blossom Sword Technique? No. It was something completely different.
Dark red light flicked across Lukas’ entire body.
Absolute.
He had decided that it was not the time to conserve power.
Just before the two collided once again, Yang In-hyun’s voice drifted into Lukas’ ears.
