Second Life Ranker

Chapter 731 - Another Dream (3)

Ding!

[An opponent from the lost ‘Dream 113,223,188,489’ has appeared!]

[This is a being that cannot exist in this ‘Dream.’ Judgment is being made regarding this existence.]

[System error.]

[System error.]

…

[The system judges the being again.]

…

[After confirming multiple conditions, the system has successfully updated information regarding the being.]

[The system displays new information with the updated data.]

[A scenario quest has been created!]

[Scenario Quest / Opponent Resistance]

Description: After roaming around in countless dreams, you have succeeded in returning to the dream you desire and postponing the “sleep.” However, it appears it will be difficult to achieve your wish in this dream. It is because “Opponents” who have been bothering your other egos in other dreams have appeared here.

Opponents have gained greater enlightenment than gods and demons, and obtained a uniqueness. Through this, they have successfully managed to keep their identity after escaping their dreams. But because they have failed to completely escape, they are still unstable. They wish to create their own safehaven in a new world to overcome this.

You have the materials to make the safe haven. It is because Quirinale’s legacy is fated to be given to you. The Opponent of the other dream will have to fight against the Black King’s ego in this dream as well.

From now on, protect Quirinale’s legacy from the Opponent.]

[Time Limit: -]

[Qualifications: Black King’s ego]

[Rewards:

1. Full ownership of Quirinale’s legacy

2. Secret history of Quirinale]

A new quest was created with the information Yeon-woo discovered.

The concept of “Opponent” was one that Yeon-woo was familiar with. When a dream reached its end, the Black King’s ego always brought forth the end of things, and the being who attempted to stop this was given the nickname “Opponent.”

There could be one or multiple Opponents in a dream, and they were chosen by the Heavenly Demon. If not, they usually had the Heavenly Demon’s blessing, so it would be a repeat of the fight between the Black King and the Heavenly Demon.

‘The war the Black King made me fight as he woke up was something that happened at every end of things.’

But of course, no one had ever been able to stop the end of things. There were rare cases when the end of things occurred without Opponents. It was what had happened in this dream where Yeon-woo was.

‘That was a bit strange. I thought Vivasvat, the Heavenly Demon’s son, would be the Opponent… But he wasn’t. How come?’ Since it was impossible to read the Heavenly Demon’s mind, Yeon-woo wouldn’t know.

Anyhow, the Opponents disappeared with the end of things. As they were a part of their dream, when the dream was over, their existence naturally disappeared as well. This was what Yeon-woo had thought, but according to the quest description, a few had survived. They had risen to the emperor-level and gained independence and uniqueness. They were small existences—pieces of the dream.

“We are battling like this, but I didn’t want to fight you.”

Dududu! Scythe and Mjolnir, both divine weapons that were among the greatest in their dreams, trembled. They weren’t backing down for each other.

Thor continued to speak with a composed expression, “Our resentment against the Black King is great, but this isn’t our dream anyway. How about making a deal to let us leave this place in peace?”

“Hm. You want me to trust you after creating such a situation? That’s some creative bullshit.” Yeon-woo snorted. He couldn’t possibly trust the bastards who had made such a messy situation while he was asleep. It would be stranger if he did trust them.

“That’s…” Thor mumbled with a regretful face, but he used more holy power.

[Holy power is expanding!]

[The being’s faint existence has been confirmed.]

[The world begins to properly perceive the being.]

Crackle! Dududu. Lightning sparked in all directions. The black-red lightning tore up the Illusory World, and the golden lightning made recovery impossible. The Illusory World had been destroyed and re-created multiple times already.

『Your fire power…is about the same.』Kronos was surprised as the clash became rougher. He realized Thor was stronger than the egos they had seen inside of the Black King.『How can that be? Even if he’s an emperor, he’s a failure who wasn’t able to stop his dream from ending.』

If Thor wasn’t able to stop the Black King’s ego, he shouldn’t be able to fight on equal ground with Yeon-woo, who had defeated the Black King’s ego.

‘He must’ve trained himself harder because of it.’ Yeon-woo could guess the reason. The holy power that the being exuded gave Yeon-woo glimpses into the being’s battle-filled history.

The being had probably trained himself intensely to stop the end of things and continued to train after it. No, after he had fallen from his dream, the being had probably trained himself more persistently. This place wasn’t his motherland. Because he had become a nomad without a home, there probably wasn’t anything he could do but train himself.

Although Yeon-woo didn’t know what their purpose was, he could tell they had fought over and over again to achieve it. However, that didn’t mean Yeon-woo would let the suspicious beings off easily. He was confident his history of battle didn’t lack anything compared to theirs.

[7th-step Dragon Body Awakening]

[Release all powers]

[Sky Wings]

Yeon-woo contained fight in his left wing and opened death in his right wing. When he finished transforming into a dragon human with Sky Wings, he rapidly swung Scythe. ‘If our fire power is similar, I can just raise mine.’

Swish! Yeon-woo pulled up more Sword Thunder. Heat was added as his blade swung in the air, amplifying the force.

Crash.

[Eight Extremes of Sword Thunder]

Whoosh!

[Eight Extreme Swords New Path]

[Extreme Direct Motion]

Scythe’s direction was ever-changing. When it seemed to be turning left, it was already right, and when it appeared to be drawing a circle, it slashed up in a line. The Sword Thunder that was being created made a giant storm of firepower. The atmosphere was split several times and Thor was repeatedly flung out… It was similar to what Yeon-woo had one day seen from the Martial King, but different.

What is martial arts to you?

To me, it’s Mugeuk, having no extreme. Why? Duh. Because I’m that strong. And since I’ll continue to become strong, it’s Mugeuk. Likewise, the Head Elder is Blood Lightning. Look at his face. He looks like he’d like blood. And he’s quick as lightning too.

Sheesh! You have damn good hearing…! Okay, okay, stop with the nagging. Anyway, you’ll also… In a hundred years? In a thousand years, you’ll be on the same level as your respected teacher. You’ll realize that martial arts is a path. To some point, everyone’s on the same level, but after that, it’s completely different.

Only you have to step this path and develop it. You have to continue making a road that doesn’t have a visible end… It’s fucking frustrating.

The Eight Extreme Swords was composed of eight steps, and when they were all complete, eight secret skills would appear. Then, when those were complete, they would combine into one to open the mysteries of the art.

For Yeon-woo, this path was the Yin Sword and Sword Thunder. However, Sword Thunder was made of multiple skills he collected over time. After the Monkey King’s exuviae touched it, it had changed a bit as well. In other words, it was his power, but it wasn’t really his power at the same time.

So in the repeating dreams, Yeon-woo ceaselessly activated Eight Extremes of Sword Thunder. Part of the reason was because if he didn’t do something, he’d fall apart, since all he was doing was fighting for eons. But it was also because of what the Martial King had shown him before he died.

Did you see it?

Yeon-woo wanted to replicate it. No, he wanted to go beyond it. In the dream, he repeatedly polished his Sword Thunder. Then, Sword Thunder began to mix with Yin Sword, and the Yin Sword combined with the Eight Extreme Swords. That was how ‘Eight Extreme Swords New Path’ was created.

Clang!

Of course, Yeon-woo wasn’t one to stop there. Since he had reached his target, the Eight Extreme Swords New Path, he was able to use the Yang Sword, which hadn’t been something he could combine with his body type… It wasn’t easy. If it was possible, the Martial King would have obtained the Bright Tai Chi Pangu Sword for himself. However, Yeon-woo had something the Martial King didn’t.

‘Dream.’ Yeon-woo had seen new possibilities and choices that weren’t in his universe. The knowledge he gained provided a new path for him, and Yeon-woo studied them vehemently. It wasn’t hard to apply them, since he was surrounded by things to fight. Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was able to complete it.

[Bright Tai Chi Pangu Sword]

The sword that Yeon-woo was only able to complete after artificially giving Kronos the Yang Sword was finally finished by his own hand. Fwoosh! His blade cut, crushed, and split through laws. The martial arts Shaohao Jintain had left for his descendents, the One-horned tribe, was done.

However, it didn’t look like the Bright Tai Chi Pangu Sword Shaohao Jintain had left behind. Because it was based on Eight Extreme Swords New Path, it had a different nature. Its force and steps were completely different.

Boom! But Thor wasn’t an easy opponent either. He had been famous as a military god from where he was from. His martial arts was top-class since he led battles to victory. The way he controlled Mjolnir was an art. It wasn't enough to deflect the amplified Sword Thunder, but he was filling in for what he lacked with his capability.

Thor swung up, to the side, and down. When Scythe was near his waist, he pushed it aside, and brought Mjolnir up to explode lightning, changing the trajectory of Scythe. When he found an open spot, he pushed Mjolnir in. Crash! Mjolnir instantly landed on Yeon-woo’s right shoulder. A column of yellow lightning shot down from the sky and exploded the right side of Yeon-woo’s body.

[‘Universal Recovery’ is activated!]

However, Yeon-woo didn’t seem to be affected. He had already experienced his entire body and head being blown away in the fight with the Demonisms. His data was backed-up in Idea. As long as his real body was safe, he could maintain his polymorphed form.

Rather, Yeon-woo’s body being crushed right now could be an opportunity. Since Thor would think he was injured, Yeon-woo could attack when he was off guard. Flash! Using Shukuchi, he quickly arrived behind Thor.

Before Thor was able to look back, Scythe was already swinging for his face. Pwesh! Scythe’s blade cleared through his forehead. The black-red lightning emanating from the blade burned his body. Boom! Thor’s body exploded like a balloon. Heat expanded as lightning poured down. Black ashes were heavy in the air. Anyone would think he was dead.

『Above!』

Yeon-woo looked up at Kronos’ urgent shout.

『Even the Black King’s ego that fought me wasn’t able to push me to this edge… You’re amazing.』

There was now an impossibly giant being, comparable to an otherworld god. Yeon-woo could feel the being’s aura from where he was. It looked like a massive elephant or cow, with its mammoth tail. It was Behemoth, one of the three creatures that came with the end of things here. Yeon-woo could tell it was Thor’s real body because he had the Eye of the Heavens open.

『An Opponent who’s supposed to stop the end took the form of a creature of the end of things? Does that make sense?』Kronos muttered to himself in disbelief.

『I didn’t want to look this gruesome either, since it costs a lot of laws of causality… But oh well.』

Thor widened what seemed like his mouth, and hot breath spilled out from a black void. Whoosh! The yellow breath melted everything it touched, including the Illusory World that was barely maintaining its shape.

Crash, crash!

[The instance dungeon ‘Lightning of Darkness and Gold’ wasn’t able to withstand the pressure and has collapsed.!]

[The being descends into reality.]

『You’re…gone? That’s not good.』In the middle of space, Thor narrowed his eyes and stopped his breath only after countless stars were melted. He searched for Yeon-woo’s presence, but he felt nothing. He belatedly regretted his decision. From what he’d seen of Yeon-woo’s power, he didn’t think his victory was easy, so he used his full power in the end… But he didn’t know Yeon-woo would die like this.

Since Yeon-woo was the Black King’s ego, he wouldn’t disappear completely, but it would take a significant amount of time for him to restore his ego. Either that, or Yeon-woo would be in a coma.

Thor needed to take Quirinale’s legacy, so he was wondering how he should explain the situation to his other companions.

『We’re already short on laws of causality, but you made more trouble?』When an annoyed voice suddenly came from behind him, Thor turned around with chills running down his back. But the owner of the voice was already biting Thor’s neck.

It was a dragon… No, it was a beast larger than Thor, who was already bigger than a galaxy. It was a creature Thor had heard about from the leader of his organization. It was the beast that always arrived at the final end among the many ends of things.

‘The End Dragon!’

Crack! Crack! Thor’s flesh was torn and his bones cracked. His soul was crushed. Thor screamed at the pain of his legends burning. 『Aaaack!』