Chapter 67

Chapter 67

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 67: The Overlord (3)

The Overlord was a being that stood alone in his uniqueness.

That was why he didn’t have any followers.

At least, not outwardly.

No matter how transcendent, it was impossible not to have a force.

Even if he disliked it, those who admired a transcendent being would gather people on their own.

And the Overlord acknowledged the utility of these people.

He was an entity that destroyed everything alone, but he couldn’t do everything.

So, he led followers from behind.

‘The followers wouldn’t have disclosed this.’

Most of the followers stayed on the periphery.

They admired the Overlord’s martial prowess to the extent of being stubborn, believing they had grown their power on the boundary.

‘In that case.’

If the person who provided the information was from a force that knew a fair amount about the Overlord, then it must be from an influential force unknown to most in the world.

An accomplice.

Monsters who had deemed it possible to ‘trade’ with the entity known as the Overlord.

Among his accomplices, the most prominent was the Electronic Witch, known for her invisible eyes.

A witch who roamed the sea of electrons, having forsaken her physical body in the real world.

‘Did she send this knowing that I am Veritas?’

On second thought, the mark that only the Electronic Witch could know seemed a bit strong. I didn’t expect her to play the Overlord card, though.

“You seducing my daughter?”

“You’re in a relationship with Kim Ara?”

“No, I’m not.”

I shook my head in denial in response to Celestial’s question.

“I see.”

His eyes, like purple lightning, bore into me. Eyes that possessed the ability to discern truth from lies.

The Overlord must have realized that I wasn’t in a relationship with Kim Ara.

“Hmm… No, in this case, it might be the opposite. Kim Ara towards Lee Seo-ha…”

Celestial said with a playful smile.

Then, an intense pressure came. The Overlord glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.

“To me, Ara is…”

“Ara?”

The Overlord looked at me with a contorted posture.

“…Kim Ara is my colleague.”

“You mean my daughter isn’t attractive?”

“That’s not it. Rather, Ara is more to my taste…”

“So, you’re saying you seduced my daughter.”

A murderous aura began to emanate from the Overlord’s eyes.

What should I do now?

“Overlord, have you forgotten the proper etiquette towards guests?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lee Seo-ha is my student.”

“Well, I was joking, but don’t scare him too much.”

“…”

The Overlord turned his gaze to Seo Ye-bin and Celestial.

“Are you two defending him?”

“He’s the most intriguing student we’ve had in a long while.”

“He has quite a unique power.”

“Both of you take an interest in him?”

The Overlord faced me again.

His purple eyes bore into me, like lightning, trying to size me up.

“…….”

“How about it? Can you sense it?”

“It’s peculiar. There’s something amiss. It definitely exists here.”

Seo Ye-bin’s brows furrowed.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t refer to him as a ‘thing.’”

“……?”

The Overlord regarded Seo Ye-bin with an odd look.

“So, that’s how it is… I’m not one to talk, but consider your age. It’s preposterous.”

“That’s rich coming from you. Someone who married a woman fifteen years his junior.”

The Overlord and Seo Ye-bin traded jibes.

“More to the point, you were about to say something before…”

“You’re thicker-skinned than I imagined. When these two start their arguments, even the brave shudder.”

Celestial laughed softly.

“Are you suggesting you want to take me as your disciple again?”

“Would you agree if I offered?”

“I already have a master, so that would be complicated.”

“Hmm, a master more skilled than I.”

A subtle expression crossed Celestial’s face.

“I just wanted to study your power. I’ll pay a fair price for it. Besides, those two—how about stopping the quarrel? The students will be here soon.”

“…Right.”

Seo Ye-bin sighed.

The door creaked open behind us. Turning around, I saw students gathering.

“…Papa?”

Kim Ara spoke, her eyebrows twitching.

The Overlord flinched.

“That man…”

“Wait a minute. Is that man Kim Ara’s father?”

Everyone looked at the Overlord, their expressions filled with confusion.

It was understandable. As the Overlord, he could change the power dynamics of the world—a figure well-known to those aspiring to be heroes, a transcendent being, one of the few in the world.

“But Ara calls her dad ‘Papa’?”

“…Dad told me to call him that.”

Kim Seo-hyun replied as Kim Ara blushed.

“Are you that guy?”

The Overlord looked at Kim Seo-hyun.

“Not as robust as that guy, but you have a fine physique indeed. Have you fully inherited the Thousand-Year Martial Veins? Yet, you’ve learned all kinds of miscellaneous tricks (雜技) like magic.”

“Ah, are you talking about Seo-ha? Seo-ha’s body is incredibly well-crafted. His appearance is as if a god meticulously molded it, and his body seems like it was assembled by a master of martial arts.”

Kim Seo-hyun said, smiling.

They were talking past each other.

They were discussing different things.

Kim Seo-hyun probably didn’t want to talk about the Thousand-Year Martial Veins.

More precisely, he didn’t want to discuss it here due to some underlying issue at its core.

“He’s definitely useful. The Thousand Sorcerer would cherish nurturing him. He could even hold his own in a match against that guy from Heaven.”

“…Is that guy really that strong?”

At Kim Seo-hyun’s question, the Overlord chuckled.

Perhaps he chuckled because he didn’t get a proper answer to his question.

The Overlord looked at him for a moment, then turned to gaze at Kim Ara.

“So, you’ve awakened your bloodline too.”

“Seo-ha helped me.”

Crack.

The ground beneath the Overlord’s feet was fractured.

“Seo-ha. Is Lee Seo-ha that guy?”

“Seo-ha is not ‘that guy’; he is Seo-ha.”

Kim Ara spoke calmly.

I gave Kim Ara a look, hoping she would tone it down.

“You two, don’t exchange looks in my presence.”

The Overlord glared at me, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

…It seems I had further agitated him.

“…Are you two dating now?”

As soon as the Overlord finished speaking,

All eyes turned to us.

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Right.”

Ershil dismissed the question, and Kim Seo-hyun chimed in from the side.

“I see.”

The Overlord nodded, accepting their answers as honest.

Kim Ara quietly fixed her gaze on him.

In the evening,

I sat on the floor of the training ground, meditating in silence.

I was practicing Black God Martial Arts.

-The sun sets and the moon rises, and as the moon sets, the sun rises again. Everything flows according to the natural order. Yet, Defying Heaven challenges all natural orders.

That is the core of Black God Martial Arts.

Black Heaven sat beside me, reciting this essence. I absorbed her words while regulating my breath.

-Everyone is born with blessings. Born under the heavens, I alone am cursed. If this is heaven’s will, then I will resist it and yearn for Defying Heaven. Thus, beneath the heavens, I alone shall be supreme.

My body became energized.

I optimized the tension in each muscle, making them supple.

I managed the flow of my blood, fortifying my organs.

-What is martial arts? Ultimately, it’s the art of killing an opponent to defend oneself. If it concludes with the taking of the opponent’s life, there’s no room for superfluity. Therefore, I have devotedly studied the body and the eyes.

I imparted flexibility to each joint, weaving Defying Heaven into them like threads. The force of defiance infiltrated every part of my being.

– Humans sleep because of their frail bodies; there’s no progress in sleep. Therefore, even in sleep, I create a self that shapes the body with Black Essence. Above all, I forge a powerful body. That’s the foundation of Black God Martial Arts.

The Black Essence absorbs the Energy of Defying Heaven coursing through my body, then expels it throughout.

One complete cycle.

With each cycle of Defying Heaven through my body, it grows slightly stronger.

– My destiny cannot be determined by the heavens. I have decided so. Therefore, I will smash all shackles that oppress me. Thus, I name this Black God Martial Arts.

Though it was called martial arts essence, it was no different from a diary or a vow of a being.

I pushed the Energy of Defying Heaven back into the Black Essence.

Like a machine, the Black Essence remembered the movements I had made and moved the Energy of Defying Heaven accordingly.

Training like this, I understood.

The Heavenly Demon was a real monster. How did she come up with something like this?

– Is it done?

‘Yes, it was helpful.’

I replied to Black Heaven while examining my body.

My body operated perfectly, as if I had never fainted.

‘I guess I can lift about 500kg now.’

That’s unbelievable.

“Until recently, I could bench press 300kg, but I can feel my body getting stronger.”

“This martial art is preposterous. I’ve never heard of a martial art that wraps the body with law and controls qi on its own.”

He spoke with a heavy voice, almost throwing out the words. Before I knew it, the Overlord was standing in front of me.

“…Were you watching?”

“It was hard not to notice. Your mana seemed to be devouring everything around it.”

The Overlord looked at me for a moment.

“Do you have any intention of becoming my disciple?”

It was a shockingly unexpected proposal.

Heaven.

It referred to the place once called the Celestial Empire.

And when the world’s boundaries collapsed and dimensions merged, it was the place that benefited most.

Because the Hall of a Hundred Deities descended there.

Beings of omnipotence, each with distinct powers, manifested there.

A place where a hundred deities resided.

That’s why it was also known as Heaven.

Each deity, possessing different powers, could be considered omnipotent within their realms.

There were a hundred such beings.

Calling it Heaven was only fitting.

“Hmm.”

An academy was there—an academy where one learned theology and comprehended divinity.

The Divine Academy, a symbol of Heaven.

A being looked at a document.

Lee Seo-ha (★★★★★★)

“Six stars.”

There was a boy, known as his rival. A boy who had learned magic from the Thousand Sorcerer and had first united the Thousand-Year Martial Veins of the fallen China.

The stars on the document signified danger or potential.

Both his rival and he had received five stars.

They were considered the most brilliant beings.

‘Has there ever been such a case?’

Emperor, Celestial, Overlord, Thousand Sorcerer.

All evaluated by the Hall of a Hundred Deities as five-star beings.

This meant that even they had not fully recognized the boy on the document.

The being continued to read.

With each line, their eyes sparkled more.

– Boy enrolled in the Korean Hero School.

– Identity unclear. No past traceable by any means. (Even future sight doesn’t work.) As if he had dropped from the sky.

– Uses the power of black. Defies the world’s laws and principles but is not an alien force.

– The Heavenly God said it negates alien powers more strongly. To add, it’s called the Energy of Defying Heaven or the mana of defiance.

– Growth rate is too steep. No hero or transcendent being’s growth could compare. Hence, six stars.

– Potential, immeasurable.

– If not for an accident, he is certain to become a transcendent being.

– Hall of a Hundred Deities meeting outcome: Persuade him to ascend to Heaven by any means. Maintain peaceful relations under all circumstances.

– Administrative decision: Absolute mandate to avoid hostility towards Lee Seo-ha. Any hostile action necessitates neutralization by any means necessary.

– There are rumors he has connections with Veritas, who revolutionized alchemical studies.

“There’s an exchange event in the second semester.”

The entity reading the document stood. An existence surpassing both himself and his adversary. Fascinating.

It was a first.

“This exchange event just might shatter.”

What exhilaration.

The entity turned and exited the room.