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Chapter 308: Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Chapter 308

Act 7

Chirp, chirp .

Su-hyeun could hear the birds chirping when he regained his consciousness . He slowly opened his eyes, got up, and scanned his surroundings . He then noticed a sparrow on a branch over his head .

Chirp .

The sparrow met Su-hyeun’s gaze and chirped again .

He bewilderedly stared at the bird for a little while before coming to his senses .

“A bird?” he said, confused .

The sparrow got near enough . Su-hyeun walked closer, careful not to scare it away .

He should currently be in a ranch located in the middle of Gangwon Province . This place was supposed to be destroyed during the First Outbreak crisis . Humans and animals would find it difficult to live in this desolate land .

Birds were not an exception . Yet, how come there was a sparrow here?

Su-hyeun hurriedly searched through his pockets . But when he pulled out his phone to confirm the date…

Shatter .

The moment he held the phone, the screen cracked .

“Huh?”

Not one to easily give up, Su-hyeun tried to turn it on . He was hoping that it would still work despite the broken screen . After several attempts, he stopped .

He stared at the device, thinking he could still do something about it . He tried each solution he could think of, but none worked . He put it down next to him . Then he repeatedly clenched and opened his hand .

‘Did something change?’

He wanted to know, but he feared the answer—it might disappoint him .

It felt like he had been asleep for a long time . Seeing how a sparrow managed to get this far, he must have slept for more than one or two days . As for the smartphone failing to start up, it could also be due to the battery running on empty; nothing to do with the broken screen .

‘As for my body, it…’

Su-hyeun examined his body . He was feeling light but overflowing with energy . He clenched and opened his fists again . This time, it felt different .

This new sensation, along with a whole new different atmosphere, Su-hyeun felt that the world had become part of his being .

He was still getting used with his newfound strength .

‘Could it be?’ he wondered .

Su-hyeun immediately checked his status .

[Name: Kim Su-hyeun]

[Magic count: 93]

[Magic level: 9]

[Strength: 100] [Agility: 99]

[Stamina: 99] [Reflex: 99]

[Death Aura: 70]

[Skill: Leap * advanced]

[Skill: Transfiguration * advanced]

[Skill: Flame * advanced]

… .

[Fatigue: 0]

[Sage Arts]

* Grade: —

* Category: Passive

* It is a type of discipline created by Taoist gods . It improves the purity of magical energy . One can acquire the related skills . A unique ability will manifest when the proficiency improves .

* Proficiency: 31 . 81%

* Proficiencies for the Somersault cloud and the Palm Leaf is +20% .

“…!”

Su-hyeun’s eyes widened in surprise . Through the Broken Sandglass, he was able to train and polish his abilities for three years . His proficiency of the Somersault cloud, the Palm Leaf, and the Necromancer trait had improved . His understanding of the Sage Arts deepened as well .

He basically achieved the goals he had set out for himself . However, he still felt a bit frustrated as he could not sense any noticeable change despite the improved proficiency .

But now…

‘Is it because time has begun to move again?’ he suspected .

This magical energy transcended the scope of modern science . Scientists persistently worked on the magical energy . Eventually, they discovered the source of this power .

It was nature… The ‘magical energy’ was the power of nature . That power would accumulate in a person’s body . Later on, that person would emit that power . This was the essence of magical energy .

The reason for his magical energy count going up might have something to do with the time moving again . The ‘frozen’ world started spinning again, and the magical energy began flooding back to Su-hyeun’s body .

To put it the other way, it meant that the vessel called Su-hyeun had grown larger than before .

And finally…

‘Yeah, I definitely got it right . ’

Now he was sure of it .

—Your body has taken a step beyond the boundaries of humans .

—Acquired the qualification of godhood .

Su-hyeun held on to the memories and dragged them back to the present .

He remembered hearing something about it back then . He received a lot of messages, but he was too sleepy at the time . He didn’t pay much attention on the information being relayed to him . However, after confirming the changes, he realized that they weren’t part of his dream at all .

‘Godhood… Is it…’

‘Godhood’… It was the qualification to become a god . It meant that the power of his body had exceeded the human state . He was now a step closer to the realm of the gods .

A stat that reached the three-digit mark… Su-hyeun was not expecting to reach godhood in this fashion, although he originally set his sights on it .

‘The Sage Arts is a discipline that helps an individual to reach godhood . That’s what he said . ’

It wasn’t that hard to figure out why his stats had a sudden increase .

‘He also said that the more one practices the Sage Arts, the closer they would get to being a god and acquiring the qualifications of godhood . ’

That was what the Bull Demon King told Su-hyeun in the past . When the latter heard that for the first time, it didn’t make sense . Sure, his stats did improve a bit when he trained for the Sage Arts, but such a result could also be achieved by climbing a tower as well .

But when his Strength stat reached 100 and those messages popped into his brain…

Su-hyeun finally realized what the Bull Demon King meant .

The Sage Arts was a discipline that enabled a mere human to acquire the qualification to become a god and to possess a body and strength that rivaled an actual god .

“Hmm…”

Su-hyeun looked at his hand for a while, and then clenched it . He opened it and then clenched it again, then slammed it to the ground .

When he did—

Ku-gugugugugu—

RUMBLE!

The ground shook forcefully .

His fist didn’t make a dent on the ground, but his power managed to penetrate the ground and caused an earthquake . It lasted for a minute or two .

“It’s really possible,” Su-hyeun remarked, amazed .

He initially thought he couldn’t do it, but he figured he wouldn’t find out unless he tried . So he did . He was quite pleased .

Additionally, the boost in the Strength stat alone imparted this completely different, higher level of perception compared to the past . The reason why he unintentionally broke the phone’s screen was because he had not adjusted yet with his sudden improvement in strength .

That was how great it was—the difference in the strength Su-hyeun possessed back then and now .

‘Is the three-digit mark some kind of a wall?’ Su-hyeun wondered .

When the Strength stat remained within double digits, he didn’t experience such a massive transformation with each improvement .

Even if there was a noticeable difference in every improvement, it would only be around the level of him needing about a day or two to adapt .

But the three-digit stat was another story . He even had to question if this was real . This power was simply beyond Su-hyeun’s comprehension .

‘And I am only at 31%, too . ’

Even now, the Sage Arts’ proficiency was increasing at a frustratingly slow rate .

Once it got past the 10% mark, its rate had slowed down . Now that it had reached 30%, Su-hyeun was pretty sure that the rate would get even slower than before .

However, it didn’t matter…because Su-hyeun had now fully discovered its potential .

* * *

South Korea enjoyed a period of peace when the First Outbreak had ended . It was so peaceful that the previous commotion did not cause an alarm to the people .

Except that Gangwon Province still remained a deserted land even then…

It had been a while since the end of the First Outbreak . Su-hyeun decided to pay the Jongno Tower another visit .

“Hey! You came back…”

Lee Ju-ho welcomed Su-hyeun into the office . He didn’t seem to find it strange that the latter could not be reached for the past few days .

Su-hyeun found it awkward, though he was careful not to let Lee Ju-ho notice .

In Lee Ju-ho’s defense, he thought Su-hyeun was someplace else, taking a much-needed break . He didn’t want to disturb him .

Meanwhile, Su-hyeun felt sentimental by the fact that they were meeting for the first time in a long, long while, yet Lee Ju-ho didn’t appear to be enthusiastic . But in all fairness to Lee Ju-ho, he was meeting Su-hyeun again after 10 days—for his part . Su-hyeun had an entirely different notion .

‘I guess it’s only me feeling this way,’ Su-hyeun realized .

Su-hyeun heaved a sigh of relief . He didn’t look it, but he was really happy to hear another person’s voice after a long while .

“But how could you go back to the tower without saying anything? I mean, come on! Even if you were really busy, you should have at least left a text message or something,”Lee Ju-ho ranted while handing Su-hyeun a cup of coffee .

It seemed that he was under the impression that Su-hyeun could not be reached for a while because he had already begun his trial on the next floor .

Su-hyeun didn’t say a word . He just patiently listened to Lee Ju-ho’s ramblings . Even if he tried to explain, the old man would never understand the things he had experienced in the last three years only he knew of .

“Well, it somehow happened that way . ”

Su-hyeun took the cup of coffee and quickly sipped from it .

“It’s hot!”

“What were you expecting?” Lee Ju-ho replied sarcastically .

It was too sweet for his taste . He wasn’t into sweets, but welcomed the effect of caffeine in his system . It perked up his mood .

In the last three years, Su-hyeun only consumed water, dried meat, and nuts . They weren’t what he would consider ‘delicious’, but they sustained him, provided the nutrients his body needed .

“This tastes pretty good actually,” Su-hyeun commented .

“Really? I was worried you wouldn’t like it . But that’s all I have in here . ”

“Really . I’m not actually a coffee person, but I liked this…for some reason . ”

“Now that’s a surprise . I guess you really like it, then . ”

All they had in the office were coffee mixtures, so Lee Ju-ho had no other options to offer Su-hyeun . He was puzzled to see Su-hyeun genuinely enjoying the drink .

They didn’t really have much to talk about . Their conversation was mainly about the progress of things post-outbreak crisis . Su-hyeun felt good talking to another human being . He missed company .

As they went on updating each other, Su-hyeun learned one important thing .

‘It has been 10 days from what I can recall . ’

Which meant that Su-hyeun had been asleep that long .

It did feel like he was asleep for a long time, but he wasn’t expecting it to be 10 days . It was too long, which explained the fatigue he had been experiencing .

‘In any case…’

Squeeze .

Thoughts occurred to Su-hyeun . He was silent for a while, clenching and opening his fist .

‘I have basically found a lead now . ’

Su-hyeun continued to talk with Lee Ju-ho . He agreed to a dinner, a small get-together with Lee Ju-ho, Hak-joon, and Gwok Yun-seon .

He was reminded of how enjoyable it was to have a good meal with the people he cared about and how precious it was to spend a normal day with them .

He missed doing mundane stuff . It gave him some sense of normalcy .

But, on the following day…

He directly headed back to the 101st floor .

* * *

The world found on the 101st floor remained deserted .

No living creature could be found in there .

The silence was deafening that the moment Su-hyeun arrived, he shouted, “I’m back!”

It echoed throughout the deserted city .

Not too long afterwards, the administrator’s reply came to him, “Man, have you forgotten that I’m still here?”

The administrator’s hands were covering his ears, teasing Su-hyeun . He then walked closer towards him .

Su-hyeun asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You… Did something happen?”

“Like what?”

“Ah…right . You had that thing, didn’t you?” the administrator muttered softly as if he was already aware of the Broken Sandglass . “Oh my! That didn’t feel like three years, did it? I wasn’t expecting it to be this fast . ”

He sounded rather unhappy about something somewhere .

He wasn’t sad or anything like that . Just unhappy . Actually, seeing that satisfied grin etched on his face, he must have been feeling pretty good right now .

Su-hyeun immediately realized what the administrator was talking about and gave a knowing smile . The latter’s slightly jealous reaction didn’t bother Su-hyeun .

“Do I still look desperate even now?” Su-hyeun asked, eager to know .

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” the administrator answered, chuckling . “You ain’t there yet . ”

The administrator didn’t directly shoot Su-hyeun down, which would indicate that he, too, had seen some kind of potential here .

Su-hyeun was satisfied with that . He wasn’t planning to remain in this state, anyway . He was determined to improve .

“In any case, congratulations…,” the administrator greeted Su-hyeun . He paused and a sheepish grin formed in his lips . He avoided Su-hyeun’s gaze and spoke again, “…on acquiring the first qualification of godhood . ”

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