Chapter 213: Men’s Farewell Doesn’t Require Many Words

Men had a love-hate relationship with the military. The reason for that? Well, one would need to enlist once to know why. In short, men could neither just hate nor love the military. Well, it wasn’t necessarily bad per se, but whenever they thought about the time they spent there, all they could scrounge up were the horrible memories.

There were enjoyable and meaningful experiences, that was for sure, but if they had the time to reflect on those memories, they’d realize that they weren’t actually all that meaningful.

Hearing the words above, the question, ‘Why are you being unnecessarily philosophical?’, would appear, but many men would agree with the sentiment.

After all, that’s what love-hate relationships were all about. Just like how a girlfriend would go and ditch their boyfriend the moment they went to the military.

“Why do you keep talking to yourself? It’s not like you’ve ever dated a woman.”

“…Dokgo Hyung, stop hitting me with the harsh reality…”

“Hey! Call me platoon leader! We are in the military!”

“A letter from the heart…”

“…Call me hyung.”

Dokgo Hyung grumbled and complained while Lee Han stared at him strangely. The former muttered to himself, ‘Seriously, if I hadn’t been promoted, I would have beaten this kid up’.

It’s so realistic.

Not only his face, his speech and even his personality were similar to the Dokgo Hyung Lee Han knew.

That hyung’s father was an avid reader of murim novels and named in ‘Gupae’ due to his fascination with the genre¹. Perhaps because of the influence of his name, the hyung grew up to be a good guy. He didn’t treat soldiers below him like dirt, and he knew how to take good care of them. Even when there were rascals like Lee Han who called him hyung openly, he’d just grumble and ignore them.

That was why even the soldiers who firmly believed that ‘The officers are our enemies!’ treated Dokgo Hyung as ‘their friends.’

He’s a good person…

To be treated as friends by the soldiers was a quite significant achievement to say the least.

Regardless, Lee Han just snickered at him.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy to see your face, Hyung.”

“…?”

“Don’t mind me.”

“…You crazy bastard.”

Seriously, even the insult is realistic. Do they need to go this far?

What a ridiculous [Trap].

And a tasteless one too.

It didn’t take much time for Lee Han to realize that he had fallen into a bad trap. Even though he was confused for a few seconds, he felt it was fine as long as he realized that this was an ‘illusion’.

However, it wasn’t just an illusion.

It’s an incredibly well-made illusion.

After all, the illusion could trick even his five senses.

The coolness of the wind, the taste of the food, even the pain and hitched breath because of exercise. Since the senses were also tricked, if it was anyone else, they might have just suspected that they had actually been resurrected in their previous life.

However, Lee Han could feel the ‘gnawing feeling’ that was assaulting the corner of his mind. This unpleasant feeling made him realize that this world was an illusion.

And, the biggest evidence of it all was…

Bang-!

“Wow! Your fist made a gunshot sound?!”

“Awesome…!”

His Martial Power, the martial arts Lee han created, the proof of his efforts, all told him that this world was nothing but an illusion.

The reaction is really slow though.

It was subtle, perhaps in the micro-level.

An ordinary person probably wouldn’t notice it since it was a tiny element in the micro-level.

But, this micro-difference managed to save Lee Han’s life.

He could deny everything else, but he couldn’t deny his own efforts.

Or else it’d be an insult to his own life itself.

This was why he quickly realized that this world was full of lies.

What do I need to do to wake up, though?

Regardless, he knew that he was trapped in an illusion, so the next thing he’d need to do was to find a way out.

“-Ah, wait, there’s something I have to do before that.”

At that moment, he suddenly remembered that there was something he had to do in this illusion.

Of course, it was none other than…

“H-Hey, you crazy bastard! How could you beat up the battalion commander and his son like that!”

“But it felt good, didn’t it?”

“T-That’s not the problem…!!”

“Hahaha.”

“Stop laughing, you rascal!”

Lee Han laughed out loud inside the military prison.

Clearing up grudges of ten—no, forty years, certainly brought up a refreshing feeling.

In his previous life, there were several enemies that he held a grudge against. But, no matter what anyone said, the ones he hated the most among them were the battalion commander, the lieutenant, and the son of the battalion commander—all were the main cause of stress during his time as a non-commissioned officer.

Back then, he considered obedience and living a good life like a swindler a virtue, hence why those two were no different from his mortal enemies.

Honestly, the 7 hours of beating that he gave them wasn’t much compared to the things he had to go through, but unfortunately, he had many people he needed to beat up.

It’s an illusion anyway, I’ll clear up all my grudges, who cares.

Since he still didn’t know how to get out, he figured that he should just enjoy this world for now.

Bang-!

He immediately escaped from the military prison. If he just stayed still in there, he’d only be punished for insubordination and assault, so it’d be better to do whatever he had to do.

Although his current body’s power was insignificant compared to his main body’s, it was enough to turn him into a Kryptonian in modern society.

And so, he went to find his targets of revenge one by one.

“It’s been a while, Teacher.”

“W-Who…?”

“They always say that perpetrators would never remember their victims, it seems it’s true. It’s just an illusion, but it’s still disgusting. Well, I don’t really need you to remember me. All I need from you is to stay still and let me beat you up for all the shit you did to me.”

First, he pulled out the spine and eyeballs of the teacher who didn’t treat him like a human being just because he was an orphan with no money.

“Fucking bastards, living a good life, aren’t you? So someone really has to live a bad life if they want to have a lot of money, huh? Look at those foreign cars!”

“H-How did you get here…”

“That’s not important. First of all, I’m gonna make you guys pay, you fucks.”

“W-Wait!”

In the case of his school bullies, he gave them a full course of Twisting the Muscles and Bones. He knew that having their muscles and bones twisted would be a good experience for them to the point they’d beg for more.

After that…

“Why are you here again?!”

“Because I think the last time wasn’t enough.”

“D-Don’t come near me! Don’t come near me!!”

He went to the battalion commander and his son and beat them up again.

That made him feel so refreshed.

Who were those fucks who said revenge is futile again?

“It feels so good. The fucks who said such bullshit must’ve never taken revenge before.”

“…”

“Don’t you think so, Dokgo Hyung?”

“…Fuck. Stop it, you crazy bastard….”

Dokgo Gupae, who had been silent even when he beat up the battalion commander and his son since God knows when, approached him, his hair disheveled.

“If you don’t like it, you should’ve stopped me, but you didn’t.”

“Are you the kind of guy who’d listen to me if I told you to stop?”

“Nope.”

“Exactly. There’s no point.”

“…”

Lee Han stared blankly at Dokgo Gupae, and soon nodded his head.

“…You aren’t Dokgo Hyung.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You seem to be good at imitating others, but you failed at imitating him. Maybe because of you, I have become even more convinced that this world is an illusion…”

“…”

“The Dokgo Gupae I know is a bigger martial arts fanatic than I am. He is someone who’d be more curious about the techniques I used than the indiscriminate retaliation I did, and yet you didn’t show a single interest in the techniques I did. That’s not how the Dokgo Gupae I know will react.”

Indeed. The person who introduced Lee Han to murim novels, and at one point, even had a martial arts discussion with him was none other than Dokgo Gupae. If there was someone who could be considered Lee Han’s martial arts master, then it would be him.

“He said that he was teased when he was young because of his name, but it was due to his name that he ended up liking martial arts so much.”

“…”

“So, who are you? Are you the master of this illusion?”

“Hmph, I never thought I would be caught for such an absurd reason…”

Dokgo Gupae, or rather, the man with Dokgo Gupae’s face, wore a dejected expression at that moment. As if he was really sad that he was caught so quickly.

Then…

“I also didn’t expect you to pass the ‘gate’ so quickly.”

“…The gate?”

“This is the name of the world you call ‘illusion’. It was originally a security device to prevent illegal intruders, and it’s been almost 300 years since the last time it was activated.”

“That bastard. How dare he act all cool back then…”

At that moment, Lee Han’s mind wandered to the spear bastard. He had thought that he was so talented, yet, he still failed and made him fall into this trap.

“Don’t scold him too much. Even if it was an illegal intrusion, he still managed to break through. Moreover, this gate isn’t all bad. It also had many benefits. For example, it can help people overcome past traumas.”

“…Even so, it doesn’t mean much since it’s just an illusion, you know?”

“Not really.”

“?”

“This gate itself is a [Mystic]. It’s affected by the Divine Technique that countless priests have practiced, as well as the power of the sacred relics within the Sacred Treasury, so it could even create a world that’s similar to reality. Also, it can also summon ‘souls’ of people, even if they’re souls from ‘another world’.”

“!?!!”

Lee Han’s eyes widened at those words.

That means…

“Then I…”

“You’ve taken your revenge. Since what you attacked was the soul itself, the container of the souls will probably continue to be hurting without knowing why. Misfortune will also continue to befall them in various ways. In short, the rest of their life will be quite difficult.”

“…Wow.”

Lee Han was more shocked than ever. Honestly, he had forced himself to bury his grudges after he found out that he had been reincarnated, so he never thought it would be resolved like this.

That’s why it feels different…also refreshing…

Damn, who woulda thought that I’d get this lucky?

Lee Han opened his eyes wide, wondering why this was called a gate or a security device. After all, the unexpected coincidence didn’t match what it was called.

As he was thinking about that…

“No, it’s really a gate. Any normal person wouldn’t have been able to maintain themselves or even their memories here. They’d have been assimilated and drown in their trauma forever. It’s only because you are a knight who has ‘trained even your soul,’ that you are able to maintain your memories and self.”

“…”

“Moreover, even if they overcome their trauma, they still have to find me, the [Guardian] who maintains this gate. In that sense, you are the someone who overcame your trauma and found me the fastest among those who had infiltrated the Sacred Treasury. So congratulations.”

“Is that really something to celebrate?”

It was certainly a happy thing to pass through the gate, but in the end, he came to steal the Holy Relics. That was why Lee Han felt a little uneasy when he was congratulated for his achievement.

However, the Guardian just answered lightly.

“There must be a reason why a knight with an upright soul like you invaded the Sacred Treasury. If it’s not that, then it must mean that the temple is doing something bad.”

“…”

“Corruption and accidents happen once every 30 years in the temple. At this point, I’m used to it, hahaha!”

“I don’t think it’s something to laugh about…”

“Well, it isn’t like I expected anything from humans.”

“…”

…Considering that he knew how deep the darkness that ran in the temple was, Lee Han was surprised that there was a period of 30 years when they were free from corruption.

But, why did It become corrupt when I was in the kingdom?

On the other hand, he felt a little dissatisfied because the corruption happened when he was still alive.

“Life…”

“Haha, that’s how life is. Don’t feel too bad.”

“…Forget it. Just let me out quickly.”

“How dare you treat the master of this world so rudely!”

“You’re just the Guardian.”

“Hahahaha. I got caught.”

“…Hmm?”

At that moment, Lee Han raised his head. What he heard was a kind and affectionate laughter that was different from the Guardian’s. When he checked to see the Guardian’s face—no, Dokgo Gupae’s face, his eyes widened.

“-I’m glad you look healthy. I’ll visit your grave later. Well, even if I don’t go there, the kids you saved often go there. Can you believe that those little ones are already in middle and high school? Hehe!”

“…Dokgo Hyung?”

Lee Han belatedly uttered his name. Their eyes met, and Lee Han tried to reach out, but…

Flash-!

“…”

When he opened his eyes the next moment, there was no one in front him. As if there had been nothing in the first place.

So, he…

“…You should’ve given me time to talk with him.”

He shook his head with a bitter smile while realizing the greatness of [Mystic] once again. However, the bitter smile only lasted for a moment.

“…I’m glad he looks healthy.”

After all, meeting the person he had missed so much left him satisfied.