Chapter 281

Chapter 281

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 281: Closing The Gate (4)

Ocean and Heaven Unification.

The martial art that would make me whole.

It was evolving my body according to its purpose.

As I regulated my breathing, I could feel my body becoming just a little more complete.

A martial art tailored not for Lee Seo-ha, but for the transcendent Lee Seo-ha.

It quickly healed injuries and allowed me to gather energy no matter where I was or what I was doing.

Although its foundation stemmed from Black God Martial Arts, its performance exceeds imagination.

I think it’s a more perfect, superior counterpart to the strongest external martial arts that the Heavenly Demon took pride in.

If what I created before was a mere preview, this is a martial art crafted more appropriately for a swordmaster.

‘I can’t believe this….’

I continued circulating the martial art.

It breathed within my body.

Ocean and Heaven Unification wrapped itself in a blue power. It permeated throughout my entire body.

It fortified the blood, blood vessels, bones, muscles, skin, and everything else, making them firm and resilient.

‘Far beyond what I expected….’

Its performance was exceptional.

The more I circulated it, the more amazed I became.

At this rate, perhaps even a direct hit from a sword aura would be met with a clang! and stop at my skin.

Ocean and Heaven Unification was theoretically capable of indefinite circulation. The more it circulated, the stronger the body became—its growth operated like compound interest.

As it flowed within me, I felt an indescribable sensation.

‘Is it alive?’

It felt like a living organism. Even when I rest, it autonomously circulated its blue energy through my body, continually enhancing me.

It weaved itself throughout my body.

And this wasn’t the only benefit.

Ocean and Heaven Unification.

This power harmonized exceptionally well with the blue energy.

The energy, which spread itself to the surroundings, allowed Ocean and Heaven Unification to enhance my body even faster. It also reinforced other energies within me.

[Absolute Stat Blue has increased by 1.]

Currently, my body held eight black stars.

By gaining blue energy, one star turned blue, and now there are two.

‘It was bound to grow soon anyway.’

Ocean and Heaven Unification was hastening that progression.

This concluded the morning training.

Afternoon training focused on strengthening.

In the mental world, I was omnipotent.

If I believed in something and set my mind to act on it, nothing was impossible.

“Phew…”

What I was about to do was near madness.

I compressed Destruction of Heaven.

Swoooosh—A massive tidal wave compressed and condensed above me.

And then.

Destruction of Heaven pressed down on me.

The blackened ocean, imbued with the power to decompose all matter, exerted its sheer pressure on me.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

I felt my entire body twisting. My bones, muscles, blood, skin, and all my organs were under immense strain.

The gravity I was experiencing felt hundreds of times stronger than Earth’s, and the weight amounted to thousands of tons.

‘This is insanity.’

One misstep, and I’d sustain grievous injuries. If I made even a single mistake, I might die—or come dangerously close to it.

‘It’s fine.’

Absolute Stat.

This power governed colors, and the more it accumulated, the greater its dominance became.

In absolute terms, the values may seem small, but I could confidently say that I wielded black and blue better than anyone.

‘And this is the most certain thing.’

This method was also the most reliable.

It’s the perfect method for rapidly accelerating the growth rate of the body.

Whenever people heard or saw this method, they always looked at me with concern.

“…Is that really okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine. It’s even more effective than I thought. Since I started using this method, I’ve become much more adept at Ocean and Heaven Unification.”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon looked at me with tired eyes.

That gaze stung a little.

Anyway, after wrapping up such routines, I tended to urgent matters in the evening.

Even though I may not look it, I was still a guild master, so there were tasks at my level that required handling.

It might seem like I was just messing around—in fact, I had delegated most of the work to Ershil and the Electronic Witch—but regardless, I was the guild master and must make final decisions here and there.

“You know, for someone who ‘handles everything,’ you leave an awful lot to us.”

“…”

Ershil crawled out from under the desk as she spoke.

Her words were muffled as she gulped something down.

“Hmm, today was delicious too. Honestly, I thought I’d have to brace myself because it’s usually so pungent, but Seo-ha, yours is sweet, so I like it.”

Ershil, dressed in what was commonly called an office suit, gave a mischievous smile.

“But why do this here?”

“Because I heard it’s a man’s dream?”

“…”

Well, I didn’t mind.

“Work tends to build up stress. Taking the position of the family head, I somewhat expected it, but there’s even more work here than back then. Not that I hate it—it’s just a reflection of how much Seo-ha’s status has grown, which naturally brings more tasks.”

“And so?”

“As a way to relieve stress. Taking one step back under Seo-ha’s desk has surprisingly been very effective for me.”

“…Isn’t it usually men who say things like that?”

“Oh, don’t be so old-fashioned. What era do you think this is? Well, considering half of the Merchen family was like that, I guess I can understand. If I ever quit being your secretary, I might just come to your house and focus on supporting you full-time….”

“I really like having you around, Ershil.”

“Hehe, in that case, please sign this too.”

Ershil handed me a tablet. While I signed the electronic documents, she started gargling.

“All done. But why are you suddenly gargling…?”

“Mmm-mmm. Ptoo. Men can be so selfish. They fantasize about being ‘eaten,’ but then hate kissing afterward.”

“…”

“Alright, here you go.”

Ershil kissed me on the lips.

“Hehe.”

She then made strange noises. Uhit. Hehehe. For about 10 seconds, she kept making those sounds before clearing her throat.

“Just to clarify, Seo-ha, relieving your stress is also part of my duties as your secretary.”

“…Alright.”

Though I doubted her words, I wasn’t petty enough to point it out and let her use it against me later.

That’s when I felt a presence.

Two presences—Kim Ara and the Electronic Witch.

‘What’s going on?’

Before they reached the door, I opened it using the blue energy.

Creak.

The door opened naturally. Kim Ara sniffed the air.

“Seo-ha’s… semen smell… Did you already do it? How shameless…”

“No! I didn’t do what you’re thinking about!”

“…Shameless.”

“We’re here to talk about work. Can we start with that?”

“Sorry. I must have been inconsiderate. Seo-ha may seduce anyone, but he hasn’t seduced the ‘previous girl’ yet.” (Kim Ara’s self-imposed nickname, calling herself cute.)

“…Should I kill you?”

“Hm?”

The Electronic Witch quietly muttered with killing intent, but Kim Ara simply stared back at her with a faintly puzzled expression.

…Seeing this now, Kim Ara was surprisingly sly too.

“…Anyway, we came to talk about work. The one called Mad Evil has quietly sent us a message.”

Right. I almost forgot about those guys.

‘Time to clean them up a bit.’

Deceitful Evil and Mad Evil.

Both of them were irritating.

The others tried to face me head-on, but Illusionary Evil and those two excelled at scheming from the shadows.

“Is that so?”

I spoke to the Electronic Witch as calmly as possible.

It didn’t surprise me that Mad Evil made that decision.

Unlike the others who would do anything for the Evil Gods, Mad Evil treasured his own life above all else.

‘That guy is strange too.’

Once someone started believing in the Evil Gods, their sense of logic was forcibly altered.

They began valuing the ideals of the Evil Gods more than their own lives. That’s why there was no need to negotiate with those who had become Mines.

‘That’s why he hides his true body using the talent of duplication.’

Normally, he’d be a tricky opponent, but once you reached a certain level, he was one of the easiest to kill.

You just need a technique to kill his duplicates and deal damage to his true body.

‘Something like Phantom God Sword, Rising Flame, or Manifestation Alteration… those would work.’

But it didn’t matter to me. A single swing of the Dark Azure Sword was enough to kill him.

I looked at the Electronic Witch.

Her expression was calm.

It was as if she was simply handling a task that needed to be done.

But Mad Evil was someone connected to her.

She had once hidden herself in the cyber world, afraid of him.

“Should I take care of it?”

“…”

The Electronic Witch closed her eyes tightly.

“It’s not a difficult task. Whether he’s weak or strong, I just need to capture one of his duplicates to easily locate his true body.”

“…Please, take care of it.”

“Alright.”

As soon as the Electronic Witch asked for my help, I spread black energy in all directions.

The blue energy intertwined with the black as it cascaded down the buildings.

In an instant, the city of Seoul was engulfed.

“What, what’s happening?!”

“Black energy? Isn’t that Seo-ha’s power?”

“Is he hunting Mines again?”

Surprisingly, the citizens weren’t very alarmed.

This was partly due to the good reputation I had built.

‘Being on friendly terms with transcendents has made both politicians and corporations eager to align with me.’

Additionally, the photos of me being close with dragons, taken by someone unknown, had also helped.

‘In the end, connections are everything.’

The revelation of my identity as the Masked Man had also played a part.

As I began searching throughout the entirety of Seoul, I started detecting traces of Mines.

‘There are five of them.’

I sensed five Mines hiding in the underground tunnels.

They were soon consumed by the black energy, leaving no trace behind.

Moments later…

I detected another presence—the same one I encountered during the fight with the Sword Saint.

‘Found you.’