## Chapter 983 – 983. Ascension To The Light
“The fifth floor trial will begin one hour from now. The trial is survival. You must survive for ten days. On the fifth floor, abandoning the trial is impossible. Those who wish to give up should do so within the next hour.”
Here and there, people with serious expressions were contemplating.
The Myriad Martial Tower opens every ten years, and as long as one isn’t restricted by the age limit, multiple entries are possible. The problem is that the content of the next trial also changes, so having experienced the Myriad Martial Tower once provides almost no advantage.
“…I will give up. I have felt the limits of my abilities and the insignificance of my talent. I will return to my hometown and till the fields.”
“This Myriad Martial Tower seems more difficult than I heard. I will aim for the next one.”
“I am injured. If a battle breaks out, I’ll only die a dog’s death. I give up.”
Quite a few people gave up. In numbers, it was about 5,000. The ronin who gave up retreated like a tide, but there were still many entrants remaining.
“The hour I mentioned has passed. The fifth floor trial will now begin. Survive for ten days, no matter what.”
General Baeun disappeared without looking back.
Silence descended on the fifth floor.
“Yujin, what should we do?”
Seong Ji-gon asked. I looked around. The atmosphere was sharp. It was an unlit powder keg. Once it exploded, we might have to face hundreds, even thousands of people.
“Check our emergency rations and water. Especially the water. Other than that, just stay vigilant.”
“Okay. Food shouldn’t be a problem. We have the rations we originally had and the emergency rations we prepared.”
A little while later, Seong Ji-gon reappeared.
“We have enough emergency rations. But the water seems a bit short.”
“How short?”
“We can easily last a week.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”
“Yujin, do you want to eat this? It’s surprisingly edible.”
Seong Ji-gon held up a round pill. A Bigokdan. It’s a famous emergency ration in this world. It’s high in calories, but the taste isn’t great.
“No, thanks.”
I turned my head sharply and glared at a man. The man, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, brazenly walked away. The man’s clothes were very shabby. His exposed skin was covered in dirt, and his hair looked like it hadn’t been washed for at least a few months.
‘A common beggar wouldn’t be here. Is he from the Beggars’ Sect?’
The Beggars’ Sect.
A sect of beggars.
In martial arts novels, the Beggars’ Sect is one of the Nine Great Sects. The Nine Great Sects exist in this world as well, but their reputation isn’t as high as in other worlds.
‘…Just because he’s a beggar who knows martial arts doesn’t necessarily mean he belongs to the Beggars’ Sect.’
I stopped paying attention to the beggar. He wasn’t the only one spying on us. We had already become a target of interest in this area.
A day passed. I realized that there were more people watching us.
‘Those bastards. They’re starting to run out of food and water. It’s still okay now, but if they’re cornered, they might go crazy and attack. It would be better if we had a barrier… but there’s only a prairie around here. The trees have been taken by others….’
Another day passed. The expression of Jin Gu-eon, the leader of the Cheolodan, was very serious. He also felt this chilling atmosphere.
“Seong Yu-jin-nim. The atmosphere is ominous. These guys might… they might be planning to attack us. We need to prepare.”
“How do we prepare?”
I asked in return.
“……”
Jin Gu-eon closed his mouth. The surroundings were an open prairie. There was no way to do anything.
“Just keep a good watch.”
“Yes.”
Two more days passed. A change occurred on the fifth floor. A focal point had emerged among the entrants. People were gathering and forming factions. The method of formation involved food and water. A temporary alliance. No, it was closer to employment.
‘They’re selling some of their food to hire people to protect the rest.’
They weren’t fools either. They knew that if they fought to steal food and got seriously injured, they would only be at a loss. This was only the fifth floor of the Myriad Martial Tower. Their minimum goal was the seventh floor, where they could obtain a magical artifact.
“Yujin, isn’t this dangerous? If they attack all at once, there’s nothing we can do, no matter how strong we are.”
Seong Ji-gon fiddled with his sword hilt. Around us, hungry people were shining their eyes fiercely. It was a tense, volatile atmosphere.
“Shall we make a move?”
I walked forward confidently. And I shouted loudly.
“I will now sell food and water! Payment can be made in money or in kind!”
My booming voice was enough to draw people’s attention. As if they had been waiting, people approached us.
“You’re selling food and water? Why would we pay to buy it? We can just kill you and take it.”
“Perfect timing. Let’s not end this with talk. Hand over the food for free.”
“Do you think you can handle all of us with your numbers?”
They were arrogant. They trusted in their numbers. I chuckled.
“Another group of suicidal hopefuls. Didn’t you see on the first day? You must have watched the Brain-Cutters or whatever get their asses kicked by me?”
I held up my palm. *Pajijijijik*. Blue lightning danced on my palm. Something impossible for an ordinary martial artist. Their eyes shook, and tension filled the air.
“I’m confident I can kill all of you. But I don’t need to, so I’m not doing it. If you’re not going to buy food, get lost.”
I threw the lightning to the ground. The lightning became a thunderbolt, shooting up from the ground to the sky. Fear appeared on the faces of those who saw the pillar of lightning.
“……I will buy food. What is the price?”
“It’s not much. I have a conscience, so I’ll sell it at a reasonable price. Ah, don’t be disappointed if you don’t have money or goods. I’ll also accept labor as payment.”
“You’re thinking of hiring us?”
“Don’t like it?”
“Of course not. That’s what we want. But the term is until the end of the fifth floor trial.”
More than 800 people gathered in front of me. No one bought food. They all wanted to be hired by me, and I hired them all. When food and water became scarce, I secretly took them out of my inventory.
The atmosphere relaxed.
With full bellies and no thirst, their bodies were comfortable. The reason to shed blood had disappeared.
“Yujin, was this your plan from the start?”
“Yeah. The fifth floor trial is about survival, not competition. There’s no need to fight with swords.”
“It’s good that we don’t have to do anything tiring, but isn’t 800 people too many? We could have hired half that… no, 500 would have been enough.”
“The more lackeys, the better. Do you know where power basically comes from? It basically comes from the number of people. And…”
“And?”
“General Baeun said to survive. If I’m right, something will happen. Otherwise, a trial to survive for ten days is too boring.”
“True. Even if you only reach the level of Entry, you won’t die from starving for ten days. You’ll just get weaker.”
On the fifth day of the trial, an anomaly occurred. At the edge of the prairie, demonic dogs appeared. Hundreds of demonic dogs, the size of tigers with gray fur, rushed in with their red eyes glowing.
‘The Myriad Martial Tower deliberately released the demonic dogs. This is what makes it a trial.’
The martial artists were startled and drew their swords, beginning to fight the demonic dogs.
“Demonic dogs!!”
“Don’t scatter! Fight together! Demonic dogs are faster than us! We have to aim for a counterattack!”
“The demonic dogs’ weak point is their belly! Aim for the belly!”
Most of the people here were ronin. And there wasn’t a single ronin who hadn’t faced a demonic dog while working as a ronin. That’s how common demonic dogs were.
However, the number of demonic dogs was excessive. Some of the martial artists died.
“Yujin, shouldn’t we go help?”
“It’s okay. They should be able to handle demonic dogs on their own. That’s why I gave them food and hired them.”
“Ah, damn. My hands are itching….”
“If you’re that bored, go. I won’t stop you.”
“……I’ll be right back.”
Seong Ji-gon had been focusing on absorbing the spirit herbs since coming to the fifth floor. It’s human nature to want to see the results when you’ve made progress. Seong Ji-gon ran towards the demonic dogs and swung his sword.
‘Seong Ji-gon’s level is Entry. He won’t get seriously hurt since he’s not fighting hundreds of them alone.’
I quietly watched while eating cider.
After about an hour, the situation was resolved. The martial artists sat down, catching their breath. Their faces were not bright.
‘They know this is just the beginning, not the end.’
Half of the ten days had passed. They had to endure the remaining half.
The next day, more demonic dogs appeared. More than 20 martial artists died. The day after that, shadow monsters were mixed among the demonic dogs. More than 40 martial artists died. And the martial artists’ complaints exploded.
“Hey! Why aren’t you moving? Aren’t you the strongest here? If you had stepped up, fewer people would have died!”
A bandit-like man came out and argued with me. He wasn’t alone. There were a bunch of riffraff gathered around him. They were pretending to be brave, but they were terrified.
‘If he was truly brave, he would have come to me alone.’
I got up from my chair. That alone made them flinch.
“The reason I didn’t step up? I hired you to prepare for this kind of troublesome situation. If you’ve received food and water, which are more precious than anything else here, then work as much as you’ve received before complaining.”
“…We just want you to step up and help us a little.”
“Oh, is that so? My answer is one thing. No.”
“Is it okay to treat us like this? If we leave, wouldn’t you be in trouble?”
“Well, I don’t think I’ll be in trouble. Leave if you want. But do you have anywhere to go? Do you have food?”
“……”
“I hired you fairly. Don’t forget that fact. If you understand, go back to your places and eat.”
“You’re the worst. Your name is Seong Yu-jin, right? You have power, but no chivalry. You will regret this later.”
“What’s your name?”
“…I am Ha Mun-so, the Great Axe Warmhearted Hero. From Hanam.”
Great Axe Warmhearted Hero. It was a title I had never heard before. Well, just because someone had a title didn’t necessarily mean they were a great martial artist. If you’ve been active in the martial world for a few years, you can easily get a title. A title is different from being famous. And most titles tend to be exaggerated.
“You even have ‘hero’ in your title? You must be a very impressive guy. But you seem to have chivalry, but no power. Don’t act out too much. You’ve managed to survive until now, but chivalry without power is just a bluff.”
“There have been many who have said such things to me. But most of them didn’t live long.”
“You must have only met idiots.”
“…I will follow you in this trial. Since I’ve been hired. But I won’t do so on the next floor.”
Ha Mun-so turned around. 200 martial artists followed him. In a way, it was a spectacle.
“Cool…!”
Seong Ji-gon muttered beside me.
“Yujin, I think we’ve finally met a true hero!”
“What true hero? That’s all politics.”
“Still, it’s a bit unexpected. Why didn’t you kill the Great Axe Warmhearted Hero right away? We have the numerical advantage. 500 people are on our side.”
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and spoke quietly so that only Seong Ji-gon could hear.
“Ji-gon, you’re mistaken about something. The only ones on our side here are you and me. The others are just hired for food. It wouldn’t be strange if they turned around and pointed their swords at us right now.”
“Oh…. I understand why you didn’t kill the Great Axe Warmhearted Hero. But isn’t the Cheolodan on our side?”
“Those bastards are just people we’re using. They’ll probably stab us in the back as soon as they get the chance. Hey, you haven’t gotten attached to the Cheolodan, have you?”
“No. We can kill the Cheolodan anytime. I’ve lived with them for the past few days, so I know now. There are hardly any people you can trust who aren’t family.”
“Good. We’ll abandon the Cheolodan around the seventh or eighth floor. That’s all they’re good for. Prepare for that until then.”
Seong Ji-gon quietly stroked his sword hilt.
