The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 369

Chapter 369

Chapter 369 . The Awaiting One (3)

What Seol Jihu saw when he first opened his eyes was a boulder .

A boulder that had grown to the size of a house was filling his line of sight .

At that moment, Baek Haeju, who was standing in front of him absent-mindedly, stretched her left arm to the side .

Surprisingly, the boulder moved on its own as if it was remotely attached to Baek Haeju’s hand, and then it rolled down .

Only then did Seol Jihu’s vision clear up .

Seol Jihu’s breath paused while being astonished at Baek Haeju’s display of skill .

But then, he was shocked speechless when he saw what was in front of him .

It was the same for Baek Haeju . Her widened eyes were tinged with strong disbelief .

It was because the man sitting on the altar at the mountain peak with his arms crossed and looking down arrogantly… was none other than Seol Jihu .

Baek Haeju’s head blitzed to the side .

Seeing Seol Jihu standing dazedly behind her, she turned back to the mountain peak .

No matter how many times she looked, there were two Seol Jihus .

After a few seconds of being at a complete loss for words, Baek Haeju came to her senses and noticed the slight difference between the Seol Jihu standing behind her and the Seol Jihu sitting on the altar .

Their faces and outer appearances were the same… but they had completely different atmospheres .

There was a saying that an individual’s personality was reflected by their face .

The Seol Jihu that Baek Haeju knew was someone who was suited to a cheerful smile . His playfulness sometimes made him seem like a child, but this simplicity was what made him charming .

However, the Seol Jihu on the mountain peak was the opposite .

His face was dark like he hadn’t seen the light of day for a long time, and his lips were tightly shut as if he was a monk practicing asceticism .

His slightly raised brows seemed proud and sharp-tempered .

His pupils, which were tinged with inexplicable sadness, reflected weariness at times and a fierce, demonic resentment at others .

Most importantly, tremendous charisma emanated from his body in secret .

It was easy to see just from the reddish-black stains and dirt spots on his rusted black armor and faded spear that he was an experienced veteran who toiled away at gruesome battlefields for at least ten years .

It was at this point in time that Baek Haeju noticed where her feeling of déjà vu was coming from .

She had never met an Earthling, who gave off such powerful pressure . But thinking about it carefully, she recalled one person .

A man who not only showed no fear against the Parasite Army Commanders but also toyed with them as if they were mere children .

Right, it was at the Arden Valley war…

“Didn’t you hear me?”

As Baek Haeju’s thoughts continued, an annoyed voice rang out .

Black-armored Seol Jihu stood up from the altar .

He dusted off his butt and trudged over .

“Go back down . Don’t even dream about stepping onto the peak until you pass the trials . ”

He spoke with his hands in his pockets like a local delinquent .

“…You . ”

Baek Haeju’s eyes narrowed .

“Who are you?”

“Me? Well, how should I say this…”

Black-armored Seol Jihu scratched his nose .

“I can’t tell you the truth, to be honest, but I guess you can think of me as a helper . ”

He spoke apathetically before twisting the corner of his mouth in a smirk .

“Though, I don’t really feel like helping yet . ”

He was talking to the other Seol Jihu, who was staring at him blankly .

Black-armored Seol Jihu clicked his tongue and faced Baek Haeju .

“Anyway, take it easy . ”

“…What?”

“I mean, don’t overdo it . Even a lion throws its cub off a cliff when the time is right . How long are you going to baby him? Are you going to spoil him your entire life?”

With a stern warning, black-armored Seol Jihu turned back to the dazed Seol Jihu and snorted .

“Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“… . ”

“You climbed up without passing the trials, collapsed like a bug, and then threw a fit . It wouldn’t be enough even if you clenched your teeth and crawled up, and all you could come up with was to scurry up while hiding behind a woman’s ass?”

Harsh criticism came out .

“Snap out of it, buddy . Have some shame . ”

Strength entered Seol Jihu’s pupils .

He felt falsely accused .

He wasn’t trying to borrow Baek Haeju’s strength to pass the trials . He was simply trying to see how to get through them .

After all, the trials wouldn’t acknowledge him as passing if he didn’t complete them alone .

“!”

So just as he was about to say something, Seol Jihu felt his arm being yanked .

Pulling on her spear, Baek Haeju stepped on the peak .

“…Jeez, you know it’s of no use . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu spoke .

“Move it . ”

However, Baek Haeju didn’t back down .

“As I said, it’s no use . ”

“Did I not make myself clear?”

A somewhat threatening voice came out .

Baek Haeju fixed her grip on the Tathagata Spear as if to show that she wasn’t afraid of resorting to force .

Black-armored Seol Jihu dropped his head and smacked his lips .

“Do you really need to go that far?”

“This is the final warning . Helper or whatever, get out of the way . ”

“Haeju, you know I hate repeating myself . How many times has it been now?”

“Shut up . Don’t talk like you know me . ”

Blurting out in a threatening voice, Baek Haeju raised the Tathagata spear at last .

Black-armored Seol Jihu slowly raised his head .

“Haa . I don’t want to fight you, but…”

After a deep sigh, his hollow pupils suddenly flashed under the moonlight .

“I guess I have no choice . I can’t give up on this chance . I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, you see . ”

With an enigmatic murmur, black-armored Seol Jihu reached behind his back and pulled out a faded spear .

It was a simple spear that didn’t look all that special, but the moment it entered his hands, an inexplicable pressure emanated out .

Suddenly, the atmospheric pressure strengthened .

Struck with an indescribable sense of foreboding, Baek Haeju gulped unwittingly .

The air touching her skin was sticky .

The empty peak filled up with a sharpness that would cut anything that moved .

The energy that the black-armored Seol Jihu was furtively releasing had materialized and seized control as soon as he grabbed his spear .

Baek Haeju could tell that his energy easily surpassed her own . In terms of killing intent alone, it surpassed even an Army Commander .

What was even more unbelievable was that black-armored Seol Jihu did not seem to be using his full strength .

It was as if this show of power was only a preparation for battle .

“Are you going to just stand there?”

Black-armored Seol Jihu batted his spear .

Their eyes met .

Baek Haeju’s expression distorted, and the corner of black-armored Seol Jihu’s mouth curled up .

In the next moment, Baek Haeju kicked off the ground . Her white ceremonial dress fluttered like a flag in a rainstorm .

The Tathagata Spear suddenly forked three ways . The spear blade that shot out left and right curled like a whip and hurled towards black-armored Seol Jihu’s face and leg .

Of course, black-armored Seol Jihu didn’t just sit still .

He ducked down, revealing his teeth in a grin .

Pang! The figure that disappeared with an explosive sound reappeared in front of Baek Haeju .

Baek Haeju reflexively swiping her spear up and black-armored Seol Jihu rushing in like a ferocious beast happened at the same time .

Clang!

An ear-splitting metallic clang rang out .

Next, a spear flew into the air, spinning .

It was the Tathagata Spear .

Baek Haeju froze with her empty hands stretched out, and black-armored Seol Jihu leaped past her and stopped after three or four steps .

Seol Jihu, who was watching their battle, doubted his eyes .

In truth, it ended so quickly that he didn’t even get a good look .

A single exchange was all it took to result in a one-sided loss .

Baek Haeju looked more taken aback than ever before .

She stayed frozen as if she couldn’t believe what she just experienced .

“Surprised?”

A voice rang out behind her .

“I bet you’re curious about how I know the Jade Spear Technique’s weakness . ”

Baek Haeju shot back .

At the same time, the Tathagata Spear came swirling down .

Once the green spear stabbed into the ground, Baek Haeju looked down at it before raising her head .

Black-armored Seol Jihu reached out his hand to the spear and shrugged .

Sparks flew from Baek Haeju’s eyes . She pulled out the Tathagata Spear and roused her mana .

“You’re not done yet?”

Black-armored Seol Jihu asked with a dumbfounded expression .

Regardless, jade-colored energy began to undulate around Baek Haeju .

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

Along with a high-pitched scream, sword qi shot out of the Tathagata Spear .

It was the same technique she showed while crossing the second path, just on a completely different scale .

The bouquet of sword qi that shot out like waterspouts formed an encircling net in an instant and pounced on the enemy .

However—

“Let’s stop . ”

When Seol Jihu swung his spear like a bolt of lightning, a gaping cut was made on the left side of the net .

“You must have felt it too, right?”

When he swung his spear a second time, the right side was torn open, and the net was reduced to a rag .

Baek Haeju took in a deep breath . Suddenly, a bleak look flashed on her face . She felt like she was facing off against an Army Commander who had released their divinity .

However, she did not let go of her spear .

She immediately retrieved her energy and fused it together, forming a huge hail of sword qi to rise up .

Black-armored Seol Jihu shook his head . He stared at the hail sweeping down on him before raising his spear up high at the last moment .

A red light flashed from his eyes, and a large pillar shot out from the speartip that was pointing at the night sky .

This wasn’t sword qi .

It was too large to be considered a creation of sword qi . Rather, it seemed like a form of energy that was compressed to its limit .

Feeling its unprecedented destructive power, Baek Haeju widened her eyes .

“No… Way…”

Level 8 Spear Demon, Secret Art — Reinforced Sword Qi .

A huge storm descended on the hail .

Baek Haeju’s hail of sword qi pounced forward like a never-ending waterfall, but it significantly decreased in number as it made contact with the storm .

Like a piece of paper that fell into a shredder, the hail reduced in size and count before ultimately disappearing into nothingness .

But unlike the hail of sword qi that vanished in an instant, the reinforced sword qi was still going strong .

It descended without weakening a bit and stopped in front of Baek Haeju .

Her eyelids trembled .

“Reinforced sword qi… isn’t a skill that can be learned with contribution points…”

She fell on her knees .

Black-armored Seol Jihu then struck down with his spear .

Kwang! The earth exploded .

Just by hitting the ground, he caused the entire mountain to rumble .

Swept by the aftereffect of the explosion, Baek Haeju helplessly flew into the air with other debris .

“…I’d rather not kill you even though we’re in this space . ”

Muttering bitterly, black-armored Seol Jihu confirmed Baek Haeju disappearing down the mountain before turning around .

Seol Jihu was standing dazedly in his spot . He was just as shocked, if not more, than Baek Haeju .

Though he couldn’t be sure, the energy that shot out of black-armored Seol Jihu’s spear was something beyond his current comprehension . His instincts told him that it was a technique far out of his reach .

Black-armored Seol Jihu’s strength could be easily surmised by how easily he defeated Baek Haeju, who was currently the strongest Earthling in Paradise .

“Frustrated that you can’t do anything?”

Hearing his counterpart’s voice, Seol Jihu snapped out of his daze .

“Listen, pal . If I were Sung Shihyun, Haeju would have been taken from you right here . You know that?”

Black-armored Seol Jihu approached Seol Jihu and nudged his shoulder playfully .

“How can you be scared of that retard? I’ve never once lost in a fight against him . Well, him absorbing Diligence’s divinity was outside of my expectations though . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu smirked .

“Anyway, if you’re frustrated…”

He slowly raised his foot .

“Climb back up after you hear the message that you passed the trial three times . With your own strength, of course . ”

Puk .  He kicked Seol Jihu’s stomach .

Not down the slope, but down the cliff .

Seol Jihu blinked .

Black-armored Seol Jihu grew farther away .

The last thing that the falling Seol Jihu saw before he hit the ground…

“I’ll see you down there!”

…was the black-armored Seol Jihu running down the slope after peeking down the cliff to check on him .

Koong!
 

*

“Keuk!”

Seol Jihu found himself at the starting point when he opened his eyes .

He sat on the ground, trembling at the pain of falling to death, before looking up at the peak with a burning gaze .

He gripped the Spear of Purity subconsciously…

“…”

But there was nothing he could do .

Black-armored Seol Jihu had defeated Baek Haeju easily .

Someone like him would only be killed in a second even if he tried to climb back up in a rage .

He didn’t even know whether he would succeed in climbing to the peak again .

After gritting his teeth for a long time, Seol Jihu put the Spear of Purity down .

He had confirmed the contents of the trials and saw what he had to do to pass them .

All that was left to do was start over again .

Seol Jihu trudged over and stood in front of the boulder .

Clenching his teeth hard, he put his hands on it and pushed hard .
 

*

“Do you mind going back?”

Baek Haeju was lying down on the slope, vacantly looking up at the night sky, when she heard a familiar voice and glanced to the side .

Black-armored Seol Jihu was looking down at her .

He looked sorry, which contrasted the cold, proud impression he initially gave off .

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand, but if you help him climb to the peak, it won’t count as passing the trials . ”

“…What?”

Baek Haeju blinked in confusion .

“Unfortunately, his trials are different than yours . ”

“Different? How so?”

“You insisted on doing everything alone, so Ira purposely made cooperation a necessity in your trials . That isn’t the case with him . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu put his thumb over his shoulder and pointed at the slope below .

“He has to complete the trials alone . That was what he strongly wished for too . ”

The trials of the Path of the Soul changed depending on the desires of the person taking them, as well as the situation .

So even if the overarching content was the same, the details might differ .

This was the first time Baek Haeju was hearing about this .

But that was only natural given that she was the only one to have taken the trials to receive a divine vestige .

“You don’t even know the conditions for passing the second and third trials . You should have noticed it when you pushed the boulder up for him and there wasn’t a message saying that he passed . ”

Baek Haeju spat out an empty laugh . She seemed to have been struck speechless .

“Now if you get that, please go back . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu spoke as he peered down at Seol Jihu struggling to push the boulder up the first peak .

“This is an important time for him . If it’s not fixed now, he’s never going to fix it . ”

“… . ”

“I’m not telling you to stay away forever . You can drop by if you’re that worried . You can talk to him and even help him so long as it doesn’t directly influence the trial . ”

“… . ”

“But for now, no . He’s not even at the starting point and he’s got a long way to go . So… please . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu asked in a serious voice .

Baek Haeju slowly got up, feeling an inexplicable desperation in his voice .

“…I will if you answer one question . ”

“I don’t mind, but if your question is who I am, I can only say that I’m a helper . That’s the truth too . ”

“What did you mean back then?”

Hearing this, the young man crossing his arms looked back at Baek Haeju .

“What, me breaking through your Jade Spear Technique? Or my reinforced sword qi?”

“You saying you’ve been waiting a long time for this moment . ”

Baek Haeju glared at him sharply .

Black-armored Seol Jihu looked flustered as if he didn’t expect her to ask this question .

“Mm… how should I say this…”

He took a moment to think while staring back down the mountain path .

“I think I’m partially responsible for him ending up so out of balance . ”

“?”

“I didn’t think the side-effect would be this bad . I wouldn’t have bolstered his growth if I knew… Ah, you probably don’t understand what I mean . ”

“Do you care to explain?”

“I can’t even if I want to . You’re not allowed to know, and I’m not allowed to say . ”

“… . ”

“That’s all I can say . If you really want to know, hear it from that guy . Later, of course . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu winked .

Baek Haeju gave a look seeking an explanation .

However, black-armored Seol Jihu’s tightly shut lips did not open again .

After a moment of silence, Baek Haeju quietly sighed before disappearing .

She had left the Path of the Soul and returned to Paradise .

“See you . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu waved his hand, then trudged down the slope .
 

*

“Keuk…”

Beads of sweat began to form on Seol Jihu’s forehead .

As expected, the boulder stopped in the same spot about thirty steps away from the first peak .

“You’re doing well . Keep at it . ”

As he was struggling in place for a long time, he saw black-armored Seol Jihu trudging down the mountain slope . Black-armored Seol Jihu then waved at the confused Seol Jihu .

“Ah, since you already saw me, I figured I’d come and watch . I was going to show up once you passed the first trial, but you were taking too long . ”

He came all the way down before plopping down on the ground near him .

“By the way, Haeju went back . ”

“…Got it . ”

“Don’t be so tense . You can talk casually . ”

“I’m not the type to do that to someone I meet for the first time . ”

“What do you mean, ‘first time’ . You’re me, and I’m you . ”

Seol Jihu didn’t reply . He simply focused on pushing the boulder with a red face .

“Hmm . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu rested his chin on his hand . He looked a little surprised .

“Interesting . I thought you’d at least ask who I am . ”

“…I think I already know . ”

Seol Jihu said without looking at black-armored Seol Jihu .

“Smart . Still, you’re not going to ask what I’m doing here or what my purpose is?”

“Regardless of who you are or what your goal is, don’t I still have to get through this trial alone?”

“Yep . ”

“Then do I need to ask?”

“Uh… I guess not . You really got me there . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu shrugged, then crossed his arms .

Seol Jihu focused on his breathing and went back to concentrating on the boulder .

“… . ”

“… . ”

After quite some time passed by in silence, Seol Jihu glanced sideways .

“…… . Why’d you come out?”

“Kek—”

Black-armored Seol Jihu put his head down as his shoulders moved up and down . He seemed to be holding in his laughter .

“Alright, that was cute . ”

Seol Jihu’s face reddened, perhaps from blood rushing to his face .

“Why I came out? To be honest, it’s to switch souls . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu said with a serious expression .

Seol Jihu jumped in a startle . His hands almost slipped from the boulder .

“Switch souls?”

“Yep, you were just too frustrating to watch, so Gula begged me behind the scenes to take over your body . Of course, that isn’t exactly easy, so I plan to strengthen your body through the trials before stealing it . ”

“Gula-nim asked you to?”

“Yep . And since she knew you’d be shocked, she told me to let you know that she’s sorry . And also—”

Black-armored Seol Jihu cleared his throat .

“That it was a joke . ”

“… . ”

Seol Jihu’s tension evaporated in an instant . A dumbstruck expression emerged on his face .

How could he joke in this situation?

“Hahahaha! I’m kidding, I’m kidding . I can’t, even if I want to . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu cracked up and clapped his hands .

“But it’s true that I thought about it on more than a few occasions . You have no idea how frustrated I felt while watching you . You have so many resources, especially compared to what I had, but you don’t know how to use them at all!”

“… . ”

“And that’s not all . I reaaaaally want to beat you up every time you say ‘pArdON?’, ‘yES?’, or ‘huh?’ If I were you, I would’ve banged Shin Sang-Ah, starting all the way back in the Tutorial . ”

“… . ”

Seol Jihu looked back at the boulder with a snort . He decided it was no longer worth replying to him .

…He inwardly understood how Chohong and Phi Sora must have felt in the past .

“Oh yeah, do you wanna hear something interesting? Not all Level 8s are the same . ”

When Seol Jihu didn’t reply, black-armored Seol Jihu laughed and changed the subject .

“Experience, ability, temperament, physical level, and the direction of growth… The level of an Earthling, you see, is only an indicator of the minimum standard . The same goes for stats . ”

He continued smoothly .

“Just because two Earthlings have Intermediate (High) strength stat, doesn’t mean they’re equal in physical strength . Consider the ranks on a scale from 1 to 100, from Lowest-rank to Pinnacle-rank . Of course, there’s a rank beyond Pinnacle-rank, but we can ignore it for now since it’s beyond the realm of a human being . ”

Despite trying hard to ignore him, Seol Jihu found himself paying attention to his alternate self .

“If you look at the stages within Intermediate-rank… Intermediate (Low) would probably be around 55 and Intermediate (High) would probably be around 85 . You see the huge gap in between?”

Seol Jihu nodded his head .

He knew this already, but this was the first time he was hearing about such a detailed, quantifiable breakdown .

“Since your strength stat just reached Intermediate (High)… let’s see, I guess it would be in mid-to-late 70s . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu held his head straight .

“Work a little harder and raise it to early-to-mid 80s . It’ll still be in the Intermediate (High) rank, but you’ll see a noticeable difference . ”

From mid-to-late 70s to early-to-mid 80s .

It probably wasn’t as easy as it sounded . Though the numerical difference was small, raising one’s physical level became harder the higher-ranked one got .

But it was still a good piece of advice .

Having progression be quantifiable was much better than simply knowing the different ranks and stages . It helped clear up the vague differentiation in the many ranks and sub-ranks .

“…I thought you weren’t allowed to help me . ”

“I’m not supposed to provide help for the trials . I can watch and say a word or two… Also, I think you’re misunderstanding something . ”

Black-armored Seol Jihu continued .

“I can complete the trials for you . ”

“What?”

“Think about it . Who are you?”

“Huh?”

“Who am I?”

Seol Jihu wanted to ask if he was kidding once more but instead did a doubletake .

Thinking about it now, the trials had to be completed by ‘Seol Jihu’ alone .

Seol Jihu was obviously himself, but this black-armored Seol Jihu was also Seol Jihu .

“You finally get it? I’m not something like a doppelganger . I am Seol Jihu that existed, exists, and will continue to exist . ”

He seemed to be saying that he was the only existence that could directly interfere in the trials .

“Not that I have any thoughts of doing that, of course… Hoit!”

Black-armored Seol Jihu hopped up .

“Anyway, hurry on up . Don’t get stuck on just this . ”

He then turned toward the peak and left .