## Chapter 193 – 193. The Ascent To Radiance Diagram
193. The Ascent to Radiance Diagram
I tossed away the pigeon I had taken out of the Ascent to Radiance Diagram.
In the original story, the protagonist eats the pigeon and marvels at its taste. Because it had been inside the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, its meat was more exceptional than that of an ordinary pigeon.
‘Eating pigeons can give you diseases.’
No matter how delicious it was said to be, a pigeon was still a pigeon. I had no desire to eat it at all. If it were a chicken, maybe, but not a pigeon.
‘Now that I have the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, I should test it out. What should I put in first…?’
I pondered.
The Ascent to Radiance Diagram could hold anything you could pick up. Even a tree bigger than my body could enter this small painting if I could lift it.
‘……I’m thirsty.’
I was somewhat exhausted from running around and fighting the underlings. I desperately wanted some cool water.
I took out a water bottle from my inventory. I was about to put it straight to my mouth when I saw the Ascent to Radiance Diagram.
‘Water should be enhanced quickly.’
I brought the water bottle to the center of the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, towards the light descending from the sky, and gently rubbed it. Then, the water bottle and my hand went inside. I pulled my hand out when the water bottle was completely inside.
In the center of the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, a picture of the water bottle had appeared. The light from the Ascent to Radiance Diagram began to move, enveloping the water bottle.
‘I can’t take things out in this state.’
I had to wait until the item was enhanced. The enhancement was complete when the light disappeared.
‘How many minutes will it take? It might take more than 10 minutes because of the plastic.’
The Ascent to Radiance Diagram could only hold one item at a time. You could put something inside a box and then put the box in, but that would reduce the efficiency of the enhancement. It would take longer, and the result would be lackluster.
Also, the number of times you could enhance an item was limited to one. You couldn’t put an already enhanced item back into the Ascent to Radiance Diagram.
‘The effect gets better in proportion to the enhancement time.’
Even if you put in the same item, it wouldn’t always be the same. It might take longer. The longer it took, the better. It meant the item would become more exceptional.
Also, the Ascent to Radiance Diagram could enhance anything as long as you could put it in, whether it was water or fire.
‘But I can’t put in living things.’
To be precise, it was that you couldn’t put in souls. In the case of the pigeon, it was already a dead corpse, so it had gone inside.
‘The reason the pigeon was inside… either the guy who used the Ascent to Radiance Diagram before me put it in to make the pigeon taste better, or the pigeon was flying and hit the Ascent to Radiance Diagram and died, and its corpse accidentally went inside. It’s one of the two.’
I wanted to believe it was the latter.
Such an incredible treasure shouldn’t be known to anyone.
‘The latter must be right. In the original story, no one knows about the Ascent to Radiance Diagram except for the protagonist who obtained it.’
I thought as I looked at the Ascent to Radiance Diagram.
My original plan was to take the Ascent to Radiance Diagram back to the real world.
‘If you take an item with special powers to the real world, its effects diminish. The same goes for this Ascent to Radiance Diagram.’
So, to fully use the power of the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, I had to use it in this world. I had to bring items from the real world to this world and enhance them.
‘There are items that take days, months, or even years to enhance… It’s better to enhance them here.’
In this world, the higher your cultivation level, the longer your lifespan. There are also items that extend your lifespan.
‘Above all, an item that would take months to enhance in the real world can be completed in an instant here. Because I have auto-progress.’
Considering everything, it was better to use the Ascent to Radiance Diagram in this world.
“Oh.”
The light that had been enveloping the water bottle in the painting disappeared. The enhancement was complete. It had taken about 10 minutes.
I reached into the Ascent to Radiance Diagram and took out the water bottle. It looked the same as before, with no visible changes.
I opened the water bottle and started gulping down the water.
“Kuhhhhh!”
The water tasted amazing. It felt like the spring water was seeping into every part of my body.
‘If I use this water to make ramen or turn it into a drink, it’ll be a huge hit.’
The water bottle was quickly emptied. I squeezed the plastic water bottle. With a crunching sound, the water bottle was crushed.
‘It’s stronger than a normal water bottle.’
It wasn’t surprising since I had expected it.
‘In the original story, the protagonist uses it to enhance herbs in the early stages.’
If you put herbs into the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, there was a small chance they could become spirit herbs, herbs imbued with spiritual energy. They would still be low-grade spirit herbs, though.
If you put in rotten or withered herbs, they would become high-quality herbs. If you put in low-grade spirit herbs, they would come out as better spirit herbs.
‘The protagonist does herb farming in the early stages.’
It was a daily routine of enhancing herbs he gathered from the mountains through the Ascent to Radiance Diagram. He would eat the spirit herbs and sell the rest to make money.
‘I have to do that annoying chore every day? Bullshit.’
It was much easier and more efficient to steal herbs and spirit herbs.
‘First, let’s enhance the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives. They’re my most used and most cherished weapons.’
I put the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives into the Ascent to Radiance Diagram. The Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives appeared in the painting. A cluster of light began to envelop the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives.
It would take a while. The Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives were not ordinary items.
‘A few days? No. It might take a few months.’
I rolled up the Ascent to Radiance Diagram and put it inside my clothes. I didn’t put it in my inventory. The inside of the inventory was frozen in time, so the enhancement would definitely not progress.
‘Just in case, I’ll experiment with it later… Should I go check if there’s anything in the underling’s hut?’
I was bored being trapped for two hours because of the formation.
I went to the hut, only to be disappointed.
‘Like the trash he is, most of it is garbage.’
There were a few items that had a strange aura. They seemed to be items used for sorcery.
‘Let’s take them for now. I can sell them for a little money.’
There was no harm in having more money.
I took what was worth taking and left the hut. I spent the remaining time reading novels before returning to the Meteoric Sword Sect.
•••
Back at the Meteoric Sword Sect, I lived a normal life.
During the day, I trained with Sung Ji-gon using the Silver Star Sword, and in the afternoon, I defiled the female servants. I wanted to go out to Hunan City outside the Meteoric Sword Sect and have a wild time, but my confinement was not yet lifted.
‘When will the enhancement of the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives be finished?’
Five days had passed. Because of auto-progress, it had only been less than five hours in real time, but I was a bit impatient at not being able to use the weapon I always used.
I looked at the Ascent to Radiance Diagram. The cluster of light enveloping the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives showed no sign of disappearing.
‘…Is it really going to take a few months?’
I shook my head and was about to turn away when it happened.
A notification window popped up in front of me, like in a computer game.
『A special quest has been generated!』
『You are currently at the 5th level of the Entry Stage. You need to get stronger quickly to save the heavens, but you are not even thinking about getting stronger. Therefore, we propose this to you.』
『Reach the 6th level of the Entry Stage within 100 days.』
『Success Reward: 3 Body Strengthening Pills』
『Body Strengthening Pill
Makes the body stronger. Increases physical abilities when consumed.』
My eyes widened as I checked the notification window.
Body Strengthening Pills!
It was the first time I had heard of them, but judging by the effects, they were definitely spirit pills.
‘They want me to reach the 6th level of the Entry Stage in 100 days? That’s not going to be easy.’
In this world, each cultivation level is divided into detailed stages.
From the 1st stage to the 10th stage.
The 1st stage refers to when you have entered a cultivation level. Conversely, the 10th stage is when you have reached the end of a cultivation level and are preparing for the next stage.
‘It’s a bit ambiguous to divide cultivation levels into stages.’
You can’t tell just by looking. You might mistake the 1st stage for the 2nd stage, or the 5th stage for the 6th stage.
‘That’s why they also call them the Early Stage, Middle Stage, and Late Stage.’
A master of a high cultivation level can accurately determine what stage someone is at by grabbing their body and checking. After all, stages are ultimately divided based on the energy within the body.
‘The Entry Stage is the stage where you accumulate energy in your body. The Manifestation Stage is the stage where you release the energy from your body. The Five Qi Stage is the stage where you create an inner core in your body and control the five energies.’
There are various ways to distinguish them, but you can also instinctively feel what stage someone is at. That’s the case for me.
‘If I want to reach the 6th level of the Entry Stage… I need to accumulate more energy.’
Energy, or in other words, mana. I was confident in controlling mana, so I just needed to accumulate more mana in my body.
‘The answer is spirit pills.’
I had the Ascent to Radiance Diagram, so it wasn’t too much of a burden, but the Ascent to Radiance Diagram was currently being used to enhance the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives.
‘It’s impossible to take out the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives before the enhancement is complete… I should prepare for when the Fiery Lotus Throwing Knives are enhanced.’
There were a few areas in the Meteoric Sword Sect that could only be entered with the sect leader’s permission.
One of those places was the Secret Herb Garden.
The Secret Herb Garden was a place where herbs and spirit herbs were grown.
Herbs and spirit herbs were essential to get stronger in this world. Purely wielding a sword had its limits. Therefore, any sect with a certain scale had a place to grow herbs and spirit herbs.
‘In the original story, the protagonist only stole a few spirit herbs from the Secret Herb Garden when the Meteoric Sword Sect was destroyed. I’m different. I’m going to steal all the herbs from the Secret Herb Garden.’
I could do it.
Unlike the protagonist in the original story, I had an inventory.
‘Hehe… Once I get the spirit herbs, I’ll enhance them right away with the Ascent to Radiance Diagram. I’m looking forward to that day….’
•••
My confinement was over.
I didn’t go to the city right away to have fun. If I just went out and partied without a plan, there was a high chance I would be dragged back and confined again.
‘I need to act like I’m being diligent.’
I would reduce the frequency of going to the city. I would work diligently for five days a week and play in the city for the remaining two days. The sect leader and elders of the Meteoric Sword Sect would understand that much.
To act like I was being diligent, I trained with Sung Ji-gon. Sung Ji-gon was a diligent and hardworking guy that everyone in the sect acknowledged. Just being with him improved my reputation.
‘The elders of the sect don’t know that this guy is sleeping with the female servants every day. He also has a hobby of cutting off the pubic hair of the first woman he sleeps with and collecting it.’
These days, he was going to the city with me to sleep with women.
‘Sung Ji-gon. This guy’s a pervert.’
Strangely, Sung Ji-gon preferred older commoner women to young and pretty courtesans. Of course, being a man, he liked pretty women too.
I once asked Sung Ji-gon.
“Why do you dislike courtesans? Aren’t they pretty?”
“It’s not that I dislike them. It’s just that… how should I put it… I think they’re less arousing because they’re women that any man can sleep with if they pay.”
“But you sleep with married women with husbands just fine.”
“That’s a bit different.”
“Most of the women you prefer are old.”
“I like mature women. Young women aren’t that arousing. And virgins bleed. The blood gets on my thing… Ugh… I hate even thinking about it.”
Sung Ji-gon liked pretty women, but he wasn’t picky about women. If a woman fit his taste, he would sleep with her even if she was ugly.
“A woman’s vagina is more important than her looks. And it’s better to have a slightly loose one than a tight one.”
“You’re weird.”
“I think you’re weirder, Yoo-jin.”
It was good for me. Because we had different tastes, there weren’t many times we fought over women. Especially since Sung Ji-gon always gave me the women first if they were virgins.
Also, when sleeping with women, Sung Ji-gon would always yield the woman to me first.
“You want me to go first? I’m not complaining, but why?”
“You don’t sleep with them after I do, Yoo-jin.”
“Because they’re not pretty enough for me to want to sleep with them after someone else’s semen is inside.”
“And when I see you sleeping with a woman… it somehow arouses me.”
I was 100% sure. This guy was definitely a pervert.
And tonight.
Sung Ji-gon and I went down to the city. We rented a room at a decent inn and ate food and drank until nightfall. And when night came, we went into the inn room and put on masks.
Eating food and drinking at the inn was a kind of alibi. We secretly threw away the alcohol and drank water. We were going to carry out a big plan, so if we were drunk, an accident could happen.
“Yoo-jin, where are we going tonight?”
“Where did we go last week?”
“We went to a farm on the outskirts of the city.”
“Ah. That girl’s virgin vagina was so chewy. Let’s go to the head manager’s house of the Ban-eun Merchant Guild today.”
I hadn’t forgotten the incident where I was confined because of the Ban-eun Merchant Guild.
