Chapter 113 - Another Transformation, Side Story 3: Another Madman's...

Yeon Youngha shrugged and continued.

"Hmm? That's a bit tricky. If they leave here, I might miss my chance to join the big game that's finally getting underway. Heehee!"

"What would it take for you to let them go?"

Jang Gangpil asked again, refusing to give up.

Yeon Youngha gave him a bright smile, revealing her neat, even teeth.

"Simple."

"Drop dead. Once you're dead, I'll let them go."

"... That wouldn't be letting them go, would it?"

"Huh? It wouldn't? Silly me. Hehehe."

Laughing as she lightly flicked her own forehead, she looked every bit an adorable young girl. But no one here found the sight adorable. No one except her.

"Then just..."

Yeon Youngha drew out her words, then gave a cute little lick of her tongue and said,

"Fucking die already. Why try so hard to stay alive? Hm?"

And that was how the Great Saber Sect was annihilated that day.

But it was only the beginning.

No Family Village, the Great Saber Sect, Long Family Manor, the Heavenly Star Training Hall, and more.

Within a week, several small and midsized sects with established reputations in Henan Province vanished without a trace.

All overshadowed by the excitement surrounding the All-Under-Heaven Youth Sparring Tournament...

Generally speaking, time passes at much the same rate everywhere.

Roughly a week had also passed at Weapon Stipend Pavilion, where Dong Bongsu was.

'Hehehe...'

Looking down at Sosam's flesh—the body that had been his for quite some time—Dong Bongsu grumbled wearily.

Already 105,239 times.

Some unknown will—yes, a will, but not his own—kept separating him from Sosam's body. Enduring the pain of being torn apart, he swam through the air and returned to the flesh, only for that will to drag him out again.

That will was the New Murim Online System.

The System forcibly logged him out of Sosam's body. Over and over, without pause.

And Dong Bongsu logged back into it.

Once again, pain swept over him as though his soul were being torn apart. At the same time, that strange, refreshing sensation seeped throughout his body.

Soon, the System dragged his soul back out of Sosam's body. Then it tried to send him across dimensions to the actual MURIM ONLINE servers. But the System had no authority to do any such thing. Still, it kept trying.

Because of that, the pain never stopped, even when he was a disembodied soul. It was merely different from the pain he felt while logged in. Not a tearing sensation, but an excruciating agony... as though his soul were being compressed until it burst.

Log in, log out, log back in, log out again...

Was this what the Hell of Unceasing Torment was like?

An endless succession of logins and logouts. Repeating pain.

Had it been an ordinary person rather than Dong Bongsu, their soul would probably have been destroyed or extinguished long ago. Or they would have gone completely insane.

But even in those circumstances, he never lost his mind.

He merely found it painful...

And tiresome.

How much more time had passed?

It felt like an eternity, but then again, perhaps only a few days had passed. Perhaps the agony had simply made it feel so long.

Dong Bongsu was still thinking.

How could he end this horrific cycle of suffering?

Sosam's body was wearing an altered [Beginner's Sword] that the System could not accept. And the outside dimensional realm, the place Dong Bongsu had originally lived, lay beyond the System's reach. That meant he could not log out properly, either.

Yet he could not leave this room.

With the System constantly trying to send his soul across dimensions, even swimming back to his body was no easy task.

Hehehe...

Laughing quietly, he returned to Sosam's body again. He had no particular plan. He did it simply because it was the only thing he could do right now.

He thought the Weapon Monster or Eulji Tae might return to Weapon Stipend Pavilion and put an end to this horrific suffering, but Dong Bongsu was not one to simply sit around waiting for that.

Unlikely though it might be, they might never return...

And in the worst case, their intervention might destroy his soul.

And so the Hell of Unceasing Torment continued.

That was how systems worked.

If errors persisted, they eventually broke down. One way or another.

What would he do if it didn't?

He briefly posed that question to himself, but it was meaningless.

Because he would keep doing this until it did.

Besides, in his current state, what else could he do?

Log in, log out...

It repeated without end. Naturally, the pain was endless, too.

Like all online games, MURIM ONLINE did not permit illegal Items.

Then how had the [Beginner's Sword] become an illegal Item?

In truth, changing its shape alone had not made it illegal.

What had changed the [Beginner's Sword]'s serial number was none other than the Weapon Monster's Internal Energy.

Unable to melt the "divine iron" through normal means, the Weapon Monster had used all his Internal Energy to hammer it for months, barely managing to melt the [Beginner's Sword]. In the process, his Internal Energy had imbued the divine iron.

It went without saying that Internal Energy was not a stat in the System.

Yet that stat had seeped into the [Beginner's Sword] and changed its very nature.

Interestingly, the New Murim Online System already recognized Internal Energy. When measuring the levels of the people here—the NPCs—the most important yardstick it used was the depth of their Internal Energy.

High Internal Energy meant a high level; low Internal Energy meant a low level.

Though it did not fully understand it, the System implicitly knew that this affected an NPC's strength.

Strange though it was, the countless errors within the System had caused not only Dong Bongsu, but New Murim Online itself, to evolve.

Just as he had changed after coming here.

210,739.

The number of times the login and logout cycle had repeated.

Dong Bongsu had kept his wits about him and counted every one. And he could have kept counting forever.

That was Dong Bongsu: a being who would never give up as long as he lived.

Now, however, he no longer needed to count.

Because...

[CLICK.]

On his 210,739th login to Sosam's body, the error messages finally stopped.

Instead, the familiar sound of equipping an Item rang through his mind. At the same time, the pain tearing at his soul subsided.

Dong Bongsu calmly opened his equipment window, as though nothing had happened.

It was damaged and cracked all over, like a car windshield shattered in a collision. He could plainly see that a serious System error had occurred. Yet it was equally clear that it had not broken down completely.

After all, the window had opened.

This body was still a game character, and it would presumably still be able to use its various ancillary abilities.

Dong Bongsu examined the equipment window methodically.

Before long, he spotted a change.

Though the equipment window's hologram was badly cracked and damaged, its basic appearance was exactly as it had been before. With one exception.

"An extra equipment slot."

A voice so utterly indifferent that it might have had no equal in this dimensional realm resounded low within Weapon Stipend Pavilion. It was also a sure sign that Dong Bongsu had reconnected to New Murim Online.

Eyes as emotionless as that voice continued to scan the hologram.

A small, faint Item slot had appeared beside the weapon slot. Equipped in it was [Beginner's ???].

Its image matched the full-body armor the Weapon Monster had made him—the armor now safely equipped on Sosam's flesh.

[Beginner's ???]

?????

It seemed to have lost all the original abilities of the [Beginner's Sword], with a new ability, "?????", granted in their place.

But he did not need to spend long wondering what that "?????" meant.

"A new stat."

There was an unfamiliar gauge in his stats window.

A different gauge had appeared beneath the Strength, Agility, and Intelligence bars.

That would be the stat ?????.

Surely it was that current-like sensation that had been flowing through his body.

Though it was labeled ?????, Dong Bongsu already suspected—no, was certain—what it was.

"Internal Energy, then."

Indeed. Just as he said, it was a gauge showing the amount of his Internal Energy.

Previously, when Tang Wu had identified him as having a Body of No Meridians and performed the Great Reformation Ritual, he had mistakenly believed he had created pathways for qi to flow through Dong Bongsu's body.

But he had been utterly mistaken.

To be precise, the Body of No Meridians—a character's body—lacked not only acupoints but also a dantian, making it incapable of cultivating Internal Energy. In short, it was not the unparalleled physique Tang Wu had imagined. Rather, it was the worst possible body for martial arts, less suited to them than even an ordinary person's. It could not learn martial arts at all.

Dong Bongsu had already learned this well during his time as a mercenary.

Previously, he had acquired numerous secret manuals after killing Tang Wu, Tang Hwa, and the others below the cliffs of Seonjung Mountain. He had tried to learn the martial arts he obtained then, but soon realized that not the slightest amount of Internal Energy would accumulate in his body.

The moment he understood that, he stopped practicing Internal Energy cultivation methods.

At the end of his Hell of Unceasing Torment, Internal Energy had finally arisen within his body. Or, more precisely, he had gained Internal Energy points.

A full Lv.35's worth of points, all at once. Naturally, that was according to the New Murim Online System's own arbitrary interpretation.

A tingling current ran through him.

At Dong Bongsu's will, Internal Energy flowed through [Beginner's ???] and spread freely throughout his body.

[Beginner's ???] supplied True Qi throughout his acupoint-less body, effortlessly serving the role of a dantian.

"Then I can do this now, too."

Dong Bongsu swung his hand toward the wall, as though throwing something.

A dozen or so fine needles emerged from his Inventory into his hand, clustered into the shape of a butterfly, and flew straight into the wall.

It was none other than...

Tang Wu's signature secret technique, Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly. Though it used far fewer needles than Tang Wu's version, it was unmistakably Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly.

Dong Bongsu's lips stretched into an indifferent line. His teeth hovered on the verge of showing.

And so...

With that, Dong Bongsu had attained a complete Body of No Meridians.

Once again, he had successfully evolved and taken another step forward.

Side Story 3: The Birth of Another Madman

Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.

- William Blake, English poet and painter

A strange star appeared in the sky.

I was conceived.

The whispering began.

I still remember it clearly.

On the day a cute, perfectly round moon rose,

I was born,

And died for the first time.

With hands that were not yet fully formed, I opened the belly of the woman who was my mother and finally emerged into the world.

"Help! Somebody!"

People running frantically about welcomed my birth. So did their screams.

Yaaawn!

I think I gave a great big yawn then.

Heeheehee!

Or maybe I was laughing like that.

No? Did I do both?

Well, anyway, while doing all that, I latched onto the breast of the headless woman who was my mother. It was instinct. With my supply of nutrients cut off, I must have naturally known that I needed to feed somehow to stay alive.

Thick red liquid mixed with the metallic-tasting milk and flowed into my mouth. So much poured down my still-narrow throat that it was hard to breathe, but I didn't care. I think I rather liked that unpleasant sensation.

Bandits wielding sharp pieces of metal ran wild, hacking away at the people around the carriage where I was born.

I just kept nursing at Mother's breast. None of it mattered.

I didn't care what happened to them.

How much more time passed?

My belly was full to bursting. By the time I could drink no more of that mixture of blood and milk, the noise had died down.

The last man fell forward onto my mother's severed head once more. His bloodshot eyes stared at me. He looked somehow aggrieved, but that didn't matter to me either.

Heeheehee.

I looked at him and laughed. I suppose I wanted to play.

"Lucky little brat. Its ma and pa are both fucking dead."

Only then did the shaggy bandit chief notice me and speak in his nasty voice.

"Boss. What do we do with it?"

A weasel-faced bandit tickled the sole of my foot with a filthy, blood-soaked hand as he asked.

Yesterday, at this very moment, I'd been so eager to play with him that I couldn't help poking a finger into one of those narrow eyes...

And I'd been cut in half.

If that cute, perfectly round moon hadn't risen again, my life would have ended for good, wouldn't it?

So let's hold back a little today. Heeheehee.

Back then, I was still too young to know when to play and when to hold back.

"If it's a boy, kill it. If it's a girl, take her back to the stronghold."

I checked yesterday—or was it today? I'm definitely a girl, Mister.

The shifty-looking man confirmed that I was a girl and cut the umbilical cord.

That's right. A girl. Heeheehee.

I beamed.

The bandits laughed, too.

"Hehehe. So happy, and she doesn't even know why we're taking her."

Their laughter was sinister.

So I laughed again. Heeheehee.

I doubt they had any idea why I was laughing then. Heeheehee.

Of course, the whispering continued even then.

Though no one but me could hear it.

Ten months passed.

I started calling the shaggy man Daddy.

He gave a revolting smile and said,

"Hehehe. Daddy? Daddy sounds good. For now, that's good enough. Hmm... Then I suppose I ought to give you a name, at least."

Yeon Youngha.

From that day on, that was what people called me.

I turned five.

It was hard to resist the whispers of "it," but I held back anyway.

Why?

Hmm... How should I put it?

I suppose I'd grown attached to those bandits before I knew it.

Daddy, Uncle, Mister.

We'd become a family. I wanted to believe that.

Anyway, those lingering feelings made me reluctant to play with them. So I never once let "it" out in the mountain stronghold.

An ordinary person?

Yes, I think I believed I could become one back then.

And for quite a long time, I don't think the same moon rose two or three times in a row, either.

I really was innocent back then. Stupidly so.

I turned ten.

One day, Daddy called me into his room. He looked me over the way he looked over stolen goods and said,

"My Youngha. You've grown up nicely. There are buyers in the city who'll pay a fortune for a girl like you. Hehehe."

The moment had come.

I'd hoped it never would, but I knew.

I knew how my family looked at me. What they really thought of me.

So...

I laughed. Hehehe.

My laughter sounded nothing like it had when I was a baby, but it must still have sounded quite innocent. Cute, too, of course.

"Daddy, thank you. And I'm sorry."

Those words, that voice, came naturally to me now.

Daddy—no, the shaggy man, so much older than when we'd first met—gave a revolting smile. Yes, revolting. Very, very revolting.

"No, I'm the one who should thank you and apologize. Hehehe."

"No. I'm grateful to you for raising me all this time. And I'm sorry. Because I can't go where you're sending me, Daddy."

"Hehehe. Daddy's so glad you understand. Come here."

I watched the shaggy man beckon me closer and gave him a small, sweet smile.

For one brief moment, I released "it" into the world—the thing that had clamored noisily for ten years.

I could see my face, my eyes... reflected in the shaggy man's covetous gaze.

They had turned black. Very, very black.

That day, for the first time in ages, the same moon rose twice.

I gave my family two chances, but all of them...

Wanted to play with me... with it.

The mountain stronghold fell silent, and a stench filled the air.

I pattered across a sea of blood.

Anyway, that quieted the noisy cries of "it," at least for a little while. Though I didn't think it would stay patient for very long.

In a few more days,

It would probably be louder than ever, wouldn't it?

I left the stronghold and looked up at the sky.

The strange star was no longer visible.

"Aw, what's this? Someone's in my way. Asking for a beating."

A bright star with a transparent hue was blocking my view.

The moment I saw it, I wanted to play even more.

"I want to meet you. Let's meet. Let's play, let's play."

I reached high into the sky, but I couldn't touch it.

To catch that peculiar star, with which I felt some inexplicable kinship, I ventured out into the world.

Several more years have passed since then, but I still haven't found it.

I'll find it someday, won't I?

We'll be able to play together, won't we?

Yes, yes. Somewhere beneath the vast skies of the Central Plains, it must be there. I'm sure of it.

My eyes began to turn black once more.

My only friend whispers.