Chapter 279

Chapter 279

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 279: Closing The Gate (2)

“This martial art was incomplete from the start. So, I haven’t given it a proper name yet.”

“The Heavenly Demon laid the foundation, and I tried my best to adjust it… But still, the original purpose of this martial art was to enhance Seo-ha’s body, so that remains its main focus.”

“No matter how much of an unprecedented genius I am in the martial arts world, creating a martial art for someone else is a first for me.”

“Well, I was the one who rashly asked for it, after all.”

“Indeed. You live up to the title of Heavenly Demon, as shameless as ever…”

“Hehe. The Heavenly Demon is such a genius that they made the martial art sloppily. Thanks to that, I had to struggle quite a bit.”

“Huh?”

The Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun glared at each other.

I quietly opened the cola I had snuck in and took a sip.

From experience, siding with one person in situations like this always caused trouble later.

Usually, a third party resolves matters like this…

‘Normally, it would be my turn, wouldn’t it?’

Solving this would be quite bothersome.

One side would boast after their position is confirmed and keep picking fights, while the other would pester me to cut them some slack.

I could take a hardline approach, but I was the one asking for favors here.

The Heavenly Demon, with their innate talent in controlling the body.

And Kim Seo-hyun, the walking martial arts library who carries every martial art in their mind.

‘I didn’t want to resort to this, but…’

I had a method.

Since this was my mental world, I casually tapped the wall and summoned Black Heaven.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this form.”

The Black Heaven, materialized with dark energy, looked puzzled.

“But why summon me all of a sudden?”

“I think I might need you soon.”

“Me?”

Black Heaven, scanning its surroundings with a curious look, spotted the Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun.

“Don’t tell me…”

“…”

“You summoned me to avoid getting involved in that quarrel, didn’t you?”

“I’ve got no one else but you…”

“Master, you’re really…”

Black Heaven trailed off and said nothing more. That silence somehow made me feel worse.

Black Heaven mediated appropriately.

“You’ve seen Master use the Black Heavenly Demon Sword, haven’t you? The fact that my name is part of it should tell you we’re not in the same league.”

Why start a fight over this?

I stared at Black Heaven with a blank expression.

“Are you trying to turn the Heavenly Demon into a swordmaster?”

“Seo-ha is not a swordmaster!!”

“How dare you use such a lowly term like swordmaster? Heavenly Demon, remember that I represent your future.”

“I don’t want that kind of future!!”

“…More importantly, shouldn’t we work on completing our martial art?”

“…Let’s do that. No matter how pleasant this place is, I don’t plan to stay here forever.”

“I wouldn’t mind staying forever, though.”

Kim Seo-hyun grinned and looked at me.

“…Fine, go date each other. I’m heading out to play games.”

The Heavenly Demon let out a dry laugh and sat down.

“As I said before, this martial art is incomplete. Even though we are unparalleled geniuses who surpass the norms of the martial arts world, creating someone else’s martial art is no small feat.”

“It’s like a tailor trying to sew a garment with just a glance. You might get a general idea of height or shoulder size, but the details are pure guesswork.”

“So, I’d like you to share any flaws you notice while using it.”

Kim Seo-hyun and the Heavenly Demon looked at me expectantly.

Indeed.

Black Heaven seemed to have everything under control.

-Heheh? Of course, Master. I always have a plan.

…Turns out, it didn’t.

I could feel Black Heaven’s favorability dropping in my heart as I considered the flaws.

An unnamed martial art.

I didn’t notice any particular flaws while using it.

‘If anything, it feels even better when combined with my Sword Saint talent.’

There wasn’t any noticeable strain on my body either.

When I mentioned this, the Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun gave me a curious look.

“That’s true. For some reason, your talent has increased.”

“Could something like this even happen? Well, Seo-ha has always been an inscrutable existence.”

“Who knows? There’s even a chance you could suddenly grow stronger in this state.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

I spoke with certainty.

As much as I’d love to get stronger, it’s not likely at the moment.

I recalled the past.

The Vicious Abomination fused with Mad Evil.

The notifications that appeared after defeating it.

–-

[■■■ has recognized this as a noteworthy achievement!]

[This achievement is one that will be renowned across the universe!]

[The Dragon God has sent you an invitation out of curiosity.]

[If you wish to respond to the invitation, you can head to the Dragon God’s location at any time.]

[Someone eyeing the position of a Titan is glaring at you with jealousy.]

[You have obtained an EX-grade Selection Ticket.]

[The stars residing within you struggle to endure the burden of a seat… Searching for an alternative reward.]

[Absolute Stat… confirmed. The current color vacancy is nonexistent.]

[Do you wish to challenge the positions of Green, Yellow, Jade, Purple, and Red?]

I frowned as I stared at the notifications.

Five seats remained.

‘The White Seat isn’t vacant…’

So Kim Seo-hyun must have claimed the power of White?

Or perhaps the Martial God has occupied the White Seat while residing within Kim Seo-hyun’s body.

‘No, that can’t be it.’

I had been told I could ascend to the White Seat.

So it made sense that Kim Seo-hyun had claimed it.

‘But a challenge, huh…’

A challenge.

It was odd that I couldn’t challenge the White Seat. Perhaps obtaining the Blue power had made it impossible for me to acquire White.

For now, I kept the possibilities open.

But I wasn’t sure about the challenge.

‘At least those beings called gods…’

They had spent countless years training.

The deities currently on Earth, those stuck in Olympus or Asgard, or the gods in the Hundred Temple, weren’t the same.

They likely acquired their powers of color after eons of being stronger than those other gods.

‘I don’t feel good about jumping in recklessly.’

I already had Black and Blue.

Among the remaining ones, the Purple ruler and the Dragon God were the only ones I had encountered.

As for the Titan, they lacked a color, but I had only confirmed the existence of those two entities.

‘In the worst case.’

I might end up facing beings with two, three, or—at worst—four colors.

“…No, I refuse.”

Refusing was the right choice.

[………Following the user’s decision, the challenge will not proceed.]

I slumped to the ground.

I’d always known it would come to this someday.

My vessel wasn’t infinite.

The ability known as Reading (-) essentially stuffed my existence with more than I could handle.

‘If anything, it’s strange I’ve made it this far without any rewards.’

Of course, I had no intention of giving up rewards.

This Reading ability provided me with stats, items, or other enhancements.

‘It seems I’ll have to focus on items instead.’

That thought crossed my mind.

Should I change my approach?

If it was not an EX-grade artifact, its efficacy will be limited.

Alternatively, I could pick something that enhanced others’ power.

[Converting rewards per user request…]

[EX-grade artifact detected.]

[Confirmed as an alien object. Using it here may impose significant restrictions.]

[89 S-grade weapons detected. You may select 15 artifacts to take…]

That was how I ended up with S-grade artifacts.

The sad part was that even though I carefully chose items with high potential and efficiency, there was nothing particularly useful for me.

“At least I got things like Angel’s Feather for Seo Ga-yeon, the Sword of the Slayer to evolve Gram into a formless sword, and the Celestial Punishment Blade.”

I also picked up gifts for Hong Yu-hwa and Kim Ara.

Regardless, this was why I wouldn’t be getting stronger anytime soon.

It was also part of why I suggested creating a martial art with these two.

“So, you’re saying you believe you’re currently in your strongest state.”

“Yeah.”

“Then the story changes. Instead of focusing on growth, we should prioritize perfection.”

“Rather than leaving gaps here and there, we need to fill them in properly.”

“I think I can handle this part based on my intuition.”

“Wait a minute. Kim Seo-hyun, this part strengthens the lower body, but it causes tension in odd areas.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if it’s even stronger?”

“Go die.”

“The intent embedded in the sword is to annihilate the Evil God, so there’s no need to include destructive intent to break through defenses.”

Time passed.

After countless exchanges of ideas, we completed a martial art. The Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.

Black Heaven, in its spirit form, seemed halfway drained as well.

One book.

‘The name of this martial art is…’

I had to decide on it.

When people created martial arts, they imbued them with their own intent.

The Heavenly Demon…

Created this martial art with the desire to help me.

Kim Seo-hyun…

Was a bit greedier. They designed this martial art to be used exclusively by the two of us. While both of us could utilize it, it was slightly skewed toward their preferences.

[Talent, Sword Saint (Ex), observes you.]

Intent, huh.

What I desired was simple.

To annihilate the Evil Gods here and achieve a happy ending.

‘No, that’s fine.’

The Black Heavenly Demon Sword…

It was already imbued with intent for destroying evil. There’s no need to replicate that in this martial art.

The direction was set.

What I wanted from this martial art…

‘To make my existence inviolable.’

A martial art that ensured the Evil Gods’ powers could not encroach upon my body.

Thus, this martial art would be…

‘A technique to perfect my being.’

Like a lightning bolt, inspiration struck my mind.

Heavenly Unification.

But this wasn’t truly my martial art.

The Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun laid the foundation. All I did was add the flesh to it.

I glanced at Kim Seo-hyun. Their presence felt like the image of the sky, yet it also evoked calm, rippling waves.

Thus…

Ocean and Heaven Unification.

That name seemed fitting.

—Though, to be honest, Kim Seo-hyun reminds me more of a sports drink, like Pocari Sweat, rather than water…

I tried my best to ignore that thought.