Paradoxically, when I opened my eyes, what I saw was not an unfamiliar ceiling, but pitch-black darkness.
Even when I closed my eyes, the scenery was the same as when I opened them.
Eventually, I opened my eyes, sat up, and fumbled around.
I touched something cold and hard.
...Rock?
Startled, I scrambled backward and sat down, trying to retrace my memories.
I clearly remembered lying down in my soft bed to sleep after playing a game.
But what I was touching right now...
It was a floor made of rock—no, solid stone.
Hoping this was a dream, I slapped my cheek.
In the darkness where not even a handful of light existed, only the sound of me slapping my own cheek rang out quietly, and a stinging pain flowed across my face.
"...Ha."
I let out a hollow laugh of disbelief, and the low sound echoed once more.
I lay back down.
And on the cold stone floor, I tried to sleep again.
Hoping all of this was a dream, I escaped into sleep.
I fumbled around, stood up, and surveyed my surroundings.
The space enclosed by rock was very narrow. Was it even 16 square meters? (approx. 5 pyeong)
...And...
Fumbling with my hands, I stuck my hand into a small hole in the floor.
A mysterious hole existing in this space.
It was narrow enough that only a single arm could fit, but strangely, it felt ominous.
And... I couldn't tell its depth.
I threw a small stone chip in as a test, but there was no sound of impact that should have naturally followed.
And going through this series of processes, I had no choice but to admit it.
This is not a dream.
No matter how many times I slept and woke up, what greeted me was not the light of my computer, but a darkness where nothing existed.
Still, there is hope. The fact that I can breathe in such a narrow space means there is another hole where air comes in.
There is... only one way.
I clenched my fist and struck the stone wall.
"Aaargh!!!"
It was obvious.
It hurts!
Clutching my fist, I hopped around for a moment and glared at the wall.
Of course, I couldn't see anything.
"...Fuck. Why the hell am I here..."
I sat back down and finished my daily routine by lamenting my fate.
The fist that struck the wall stung.
Tomorrow... tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I will break that wall.
I'll make even a small shard and use that shard to break the wall.
...And I can just throw the leftover debris into that hole.
Fortunately or unfortunately, in this space devoid of light, I could fall asleep quickly if I closed my eyes.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
It's been 18 days since I started hitting the wall with my fist... or maybe it's been 18 days. I'm not really sure anymore.
I satisfied my hunger by eating bugs that came from who knows where.
It was truly terrible when I first ate a bug.
A texture and taste on the tip of my tongue that I had never felt in my life.
I paid the price for rashly imitating actions I'd only seen in videos by retching up everything inside me.
But humans are animals of adaptation. Now, even bugs feel like ordinary food.
Plus, since they are rich in bodily fluids, I can roughly ingest water along with them.
When I was tired, I slept, and when my eyes opened, I woke up.
I forgot about night and day long ago.
I strike the wall with my fist.
Bang.
A stinging pain crawls up my fist.
The wall didn't break easily.
Blood flowed from the wounds on my knuckles and hardened, and the hardened blood became scabs.
But with the continuous punching, the scabs tore open again, and blood leaked out once more.
"Raaaaaah!!!!"
I slept 19 more times.
My fists had become callous enough that blood rarely flowed anymore.
I thrust my fist forward.
Crunch.
Finally!
Finally, the wall broke away!
I couldn't feel much sensation at the end of my fist anymore.
But it didn't matter.
I couldn't see anything.
All I could feel was the sense of taste when chewing bugs, the tactile sensation when striking with my fist, and the auditory sense of hearing the antennae of bugs crawling around.
And the reason I was screaming with joy was...
Because my eyes, which I thought would atrophy from lack of use, were doing their job again.
From the small ore revealed by breaking the wall, a soft blue light, like moonlight, was flowing out.
It's bizarre. A mineral that emits light on its own.
And from my mouth, a voice, rough from long disuse, leaked out.
"Noc...tilucous Jade?"
To shout out the name of a mineral that only appeared in a game. It seemed strange even to me, but my situation was bizarre enough that it felt convincing.
After pondering, I shoved my worries deep into my mind and picked up the largest of the broken rock fragments.
It was a rock the size of a staff, so it was quite heavy.
Bang! Bang! Crunch.
I slept 40 more times.
Now the size of the space I was trapped in had changed to about 100 square meters.
...It is such a strange space. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the countless fragments produced by breaking the rocks could build a mountain, but the mysterious hole still made no echoing sound when I threw stones into it.
And...
I cast my gaze toward the place where I had piled up a mound of Noctilucous Jade.
The light emitted from dozens of Noctilucous Jades was brightly illuminating the place where I was.
...How much more do I have to swing?
I miss food.
I miss sunlight.
I miss the wind.
I miss people.
I miss everything I used to enjoy.
The despair of having what I took for granted become something not granted crushed me.
Realizing the preciousness of daily life in every moment, I dropped the giant rock stick I was holding and lay down.
The more I swung what was in my hand, the more desperately I missed freedom, and the firmer my goal became.
I want to get out.
No, I must get out.
I ground my teeth and stood up from my spot.
And I began to swing the rock stick, now full of cracks, once again.
I slept 180 more times.
The rock stick I was swinging broke, so I had to make it again.
As I gradually got used to swinging, I learned which trajectory made it easier to break the rock and how to apply force.
Whether my mind was going crazy or my body was going crazy.
I was gradually getting used to this life.
But I still miss it.
Real sunlight, not light coming from this damn rock.
The taste of real food, not the taste of bugs.
Therefore, pledging that I would get out today, I lifted the rock stick.
I slept 199 more times.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!"
I am going crazy. I am definitely going crazy.
Swinging the rock stick that had become familiar to my hand like a madman, I gradually broke the surrounding rocks.
The surroundings were filled with broken rock fragments.
Now I hated even throwing the rock fragments into the hole.
The space I had broken open exceeded 300 square meters, but there was still no sign of an exit.
Does my struggling have any meaning?
Does all of this have any meaning?
I don't know. Yet, I swing.
As the madness grows, the longing grows even more, so bound by longing, I swing again today.
I slept 208 more times.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
I was diligently grinding a giant piece of Noctilucous Jade with a small pebble.
Now, the surrounding rock began to break after just a few dozen hits. But since I was breaking rock with rock, the stick made of rock crumbled quickly.
Therefore, I intend to make a stick out of the harder Noctilucous Jade and make the tip sharp.
Because I realized that breaking by stabbing is the most efficient method.
After cutting down my sleep thousands of times to grind it, a stick that looked like a sword was completed.
When I swung the sword made of Noctilucous Jade, which was several times harder than rock, a small crack appeared in the giant rock at once.
Today, too, I swing.
I slept 301 more times.
Something happened to my body.
Surprisingly, it wasn't... in a bad way.
Until now, it changed slowly so I couldn't feel it well, but consciously checking it again, I could feel the anomaly better.
As a test, I picked up a small pebble and held it in my hand.
When I put strength into my fist, my body heated up, and I felt something rush like an arrow toward my fist.
Crackle.
A sound that rarely comes from stone leaked through the gaps of my fist.
On my opened palm, there was a pebble split into dozens of pieces.
This... what in the world...
I slowly turned my head to look at a bug crawling on the floor.
...Don't tell me.
Is it related to consuming those bugs?
My body is increasingly deviating from being human.
Is this a positive thing?
Perhaps, have I already gone mad and am seeing hallucinations?
...Let's take it positively. It means I can break rocks more easily.
I lifted the Noctilucous Jade sword emitting light.
Let's swing again today.
I slept 263 more times.
This time, an anomaly occurred in the Noctilucous Jade sword.
I woke up from sleep and broke rocks as usual, when suddenly, I saw something like a haze rising from the tip of the sword.
The haze rising from the Noctilucous Jade sword, which was emitting light itself, was even more noticeable.
And when that sword with the rising haze clashed with the rock.
Bang!
The rock exploded with a huge roar.
Surprised, I dropped the sword and stared blankly at it for a moment, then hurriedly picked it up and swung it again, but the haze was not emitted again.
Something... is happening.
I groped through the memories of my free days, escaping from the memories of living here, and soon a word came to mind.
Sword Qi (Geom-gi).
...It seems I am definitely going crazy.
But to say it was a hallucination...
I stared blankly at the exploded rock.
The evidence is too clear.
Snatching a passing bug and chewing it in my mouth, I continued to swing the sword.
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I slept 58 more times.
And finally, I saw the haze once more!
Now I have become able to use the haze consciously.
Thinking of flowing the energy boiling in my body into the Noctilucous Jade sword, I swung it, and the haze rose up. Just like that time, the rock exploded after only 6 swings.
And... I fainted.
So, right now, I have slept one more day.
The memory is vivid.
And I felt something boiling in my heart.
It was fun. For the first time since falling into this dark place.
This anomaly that invaded this damnably monotonous and pastoral daily life was so welcome.
I stood up with a broad smile.
What anomaly lies beyond this?
What else will happen to my body!
The pleasure coming from the non-daily life I felt after such a long time fried my brain with thrill.
And I stood up and started grinding the now blunt Noctilucous Jade sword again.
Tomorrow, too, I will swing.
Now, with joy!
I slept 450 more times.
Now I was able to identify this energy boiling in my body.
Before losing my freedom, I liked martial arts novels (Wuxia) quite a bit, so I could easily name this energy.
Internal Energy (Naegong).
Yes. Let's call it Internal Energy.
I smiled and held up the sharply honed Noctilucous Jade sword.
When I applied force, Sword Qi naturally rose from the tip of the sword.
Now I can maintain the Sword Qi a little longer. If so... it means I have reached the state called a First-Rate Warrior.
It was fun. It couldn't be more fun.
I want to enjoy this non-daily life more.
I stood up, gripping the Noctilucous Jade sword, and researched how to swing to break rocks more strongly and efficiently.
I slept 341 more times.
Now the space had become huge enough to be called a cavern.
But... the end could still not even be guessed.
I lifted my head, following the light flowing from the Noctilucous Jade sword.
There was a ceiling.
...Don't tell me. Don't tell me.
What if the place I am in is underground?
What if that's why breaking rocks sideways was useless?
I ground my teeth.
Touching the ceiling was too dangerous.
If it collapses...
...I will die.
As strength went into the hand holding the Noctilucous Jade sword, Sword Qi rose up.
As if preparing to move to the next stage, the Sword Qi began to gradually take a certain form, unlike the past when it was just a haze.
My body is gradually moving forward.
...If so. I must move forward too.
I will go up there.
I had forgotten, lost in the small pleasure coming from the non-daily life.
I will get out.
I will find my daily life.
I must. I must!
I ground my teeth, stood up, and aimed the sword at the ceiling.
6... no. Was it 7?
I slept... 721 more times.
It's been about 2 years since I started breaking the ceiling.
I continued to advance, breaking the ceiling and deflecting the massive debris pouring down.
Now, the Sword Qi completely surrounded the sword, and I had grown enough that rocks were ground to dust with just a few swings.
But... still. Still!
Only rock lay before me.
And now it had become so high that I had to climb the rocks to strike the ceiling.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit!
I howled, resenting the invisible sky.
The anger and despair with nowhere to go wandered, then followed the homing instinct to settle into the mind where they originated, floating up madness.
Why on earth.
Why on earth!
WHY ON EAAAAAARTH!!!!
When the hell can I get out of heeeeere!!!!
I slept 432 more times.
The Sword Qi had taken shape, reaching a level worthy of being called a Sword Master.
Furthermore, thanks to continuously jumping and striking the ceiling, my footwork had grown enough to climb flat walls with just a few leaps.
I lifted my head.
There, as always.
Was rock.
I slept 992 more times.
Now I could jump up and strike the ceiling without difficulty, but the problem was my realm.
I am not advancing beyond Sword Master.
The only thing that gave me joy in this damn place was my gradually growing realm.
But it stopped.
As if blocked by some ceiling.
I slept 652 more times.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Daaaamn iiiit!!!!"
I kicked off wall after wall, jumping up to strike the ceiling.
Repeating this motion about five times, the ceiling exploded and fragments rained down, and I raised my sword obliquely to deflect all the fragments.
The deflected fragments naturally rolled into the mysterious hole and disappeared.
When I finally reached the ground.
I realized it only then.
There are only three moves I can do with this sword.
Slash. Stab. Deflect.
Only these three.
There is no master.
Nor is there a secret manual like in martial arts novels.
I dropped the sword.
...Can I, get out?
Suddenly, a massive sense of exhaustion washed over me.
I don't even remember how many times I slept. No. I don't want to remember.
It is despairing.
I don't want to live, but I lacked the courage to die.
What day is it...
I lay down and looked up at the ceiling.
It's futile.
Everything is in vain.
I cannot get out.
My realm doesn't rise either.
...?
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
My eyes opened at the sound of something smacking the floor elastically.
What... is it.
I groggily stood up and walked over, lighting the dark space with the Noctilucous Jade sword.
As the light shone, the source of the sound was revealed.
And there.
"...Slime?"
There was something like a round water droplet.
Surrounded by rocks, it was bouncing around.
Then, strangely, my appetite surged.
I leaped at once, arriving in front of the slime.
As soon as the startled thing stopped moving, I thrust my sword into it.
Crunch.
With a single stab, the slime shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions. I stared closely at the fragments, then picked up a small piece and put it in my mouth.
It was slippery, sticky, and tasted bizarre.
And yet.
It was fantastic.
A new non-daily life.
My mind surfaces above my consciousness.
The goal is engraved once again.
I want to go out of here and see more things.
I want to feel the world again, where every single thing was new.
Savoring the slime very slowly.
I gripped my sword and looked up at the ceiling.
I slept 650 more times.
Now, instead of bugs, I put the slime clumps that appeared occasionally into my mouth and chewed.
The more I chew, the greater the longing and desire grow.
And for some reason, something similar to internal energy was accumulating faster than before.
...Is it really thanks to the bugs and slimes?
I held the sword and infused it with internal energy.
Unraveling like thread, the Sword Aura surrounds the Noctilucous Jade sword.
Looking into the perfected Sword Aura, I realized.
One step, one step remains.
I immediately stood up and leaped.
I see the ceiling.
The ceiling that has detained me for decades.
I ground my teeth and thrust the sword.
So what if it's only three moves?
So what if I can only do three things?
I am still moving forward!
The Sword Aura clumps together with higher density.
So what if there is no master, so what if there is no manual.
I am moving forward.
That is enough.
The Sword Aura clumps, and Sword Flux (solidified energy) soared from the tip of the thrust sword.
I reached it.
Finally, I reached it!
The Super Peak!
Falling down, I burst into laughter laced with madness.
I slept 450 more times.
Chew. Chew. Chew.
I sliced off the shell of a Geo Slime with Sword Flux, took out the slime fragment inside, and shoved it into my mouth.
To say it tastes good... my conscience does not allow it.
Yet, I chew.
Since the slime was mostly water, it was a great help in quenching thirst, so I ignored the taste and silently chewed and swallowed the sticky flesh of the slime.
It's been about 9 years since I entered the realm I named Super Peak.
My age is now passing 40, and white hair is replacing black hair.
Now, rock is sliced like tofu by the Sword Flux.
And yet, I feel that I am still far away.
My now sharpened senses allowed me to feel beyond the rock... but beyond that, only rock existed still.
Sword Flux cannot be maintained permanently yet.
If I become able to maintain this Sword Flux permanently, I might be able to see beyond this.
I sat down to meditate for a while, then stood up.
As expected, time is too short for meditation. Action suits me better than meditation.
Because I want to get out of here even one moment sooner.
I slept 1231 more times.
I became able to maintain Sword Flux constantly, and now I saw the wall.
Finally. Finally, I saw the wall!
Unlike when crossing from Peak to Super Peak, I didn't feel despair even seeing the wall.
Rather, anticipation wraps around my body.
Seeing the wall means it is certain that I can jump over it.
I will jump over it.
I will see beyond this.
And I will get out of this damn place!
I slept 3412 more times.
Surpassing the Super Peak boasted a difficulty far exceeding my imagination.
Yet, it was fun.
Because I could see myself growing very slowly.
I slept 4612 more times.
Now I clearly feel that my body is senile.
But finally.
One step remains.
Maintain Sword Flux constantly, and leap.
Kick off wall after wall, flying toward the ceiling.
Now it is so high that I have to spend four days just to see the ceiling.
Yet I still feel that it is still far.
But. Even so, I will go forward.
If I can see the world even just one more time!
It doesn't matter if I die!
I swung the sword.
As the Sword Flux was swung.
Momentarily, I felt a change occurring in my body.
I feel specific energies that were playing separately all over my body condensing at the upper Dantian, that is, the crown of the head.
They were a total of five energies.
I close my eyes and feel that energy.
Then, the colors of those energies began to appear.
Blue energy.
Red energy.
Yellow energy.
White energy.
Black energy.
All energies condense, heating up the crown where the Baihui point is located.
I feel the Sword Flux becoming even more solid and sharp.
But that is not enough.
I have no time.
More! I must rise to the realm faster!
Lifespan doesn't matter! Take as much as you want!
The world, freedom!
I want to taste it just one more time!!!
I felt my muscles contract as if to break every bone in my body, but I didn't stop and sliced the ceiling.
With a single sword stroke, stones spanning meters are cut away.
Stand the sword obliquely to let the debris flow, and continue to swing.
Grip the five energies gathered at the crown, and continue to condense them.
I felt many things while climbing the realms.
Until the crude path of the sword, embarrassing to call a Sword Path, became a Sword Path.
Until Sword Qi became Sword Aura.
Until Sword Aura clumped to become Sword Flux.
It took a lot of time.
Yet it is insufficient.
So, even if it strains my body.
I must see even a glimpse of the next realm with this recoil!
I continued to slice the ceiling, rotating the energy in my whole body to stimulate the five energies gathered at the crown.
Then, a cataclysm began to occur.
The intensely contracted energy cracked my bones, and my body began to twist.
And yet.
I leaped up.
If one leg is crushed, use the other leg.
If both legs are crushed, use the arms.
If an arm is crushed, use the other arm!
Like that, when only one arm remained, the five energies clumped together and began to transform into the shape of a flower.
I feel it.
The flower blooming from the crown of my head.
...It was beautiful.
The energy resembling a flower I saw after such a long time.
Then, realization pierced my brain like lightning.
Broken bones are reassembled.
Twisting muscles are rewoven even more solidly.
A flower bud rises.
The flower, blooms.
Metamorphosis (Hwan-gol-tal-tae)!
I saw it.
It's unstable, but...!
Three Flowers Gather at the Crown (Sam-hwa-chwi-jeong)!
I began to fall.
Tremendous pain was rising all over my body, but I endured it.
And. How long did I fall?
Thud.
I landed with a roar.
And no strain at all was put on my body.
Instinctively, I had overlaid an incredibly dense Body Protection Aura.
I could finally smile genuinely.
The senses that became more acute by climbing to the unstable Three Flowers Gather at the Crown are telling me.
That really, not much is left!
Now, I see it.
Three flowers bloomed above my head.
I climbed to the perfect realm of the zenith of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.
And now.
The petals of the three bloomed flowers scattered, fluttering dizzily.
The scattered petals seeped onto my body and swirled into the inside of my Dantian.
I feel the internal energy swirling inside my body swelling to the point where it feels endless like ocean water.
Now I have secured enough internal energy that the Body Protection Aura protects my body without conscious thought, and I can maintain Sword Flux constantly.
Flowers Fall from the Heavens (Cheon-hwa-nan-chu).
I have climbed... to a new realm!
Now, I am looking at the realm called Ascending the Peak (Deung-bong-jo-geuk).
But...
I saw my long white hair, now completely painted pure white, coming down to my waist.
My age, nearly 100.
I reached a lofty realm, but I could not cheat age.
Now, even holding the sword feels difficult.
Yet the reason I hold the sword... is because really only one step remains.
And my lifespan also does not have much left.
"...Right. Finally. If I die seeing the sunlight, that is enough."
I smiled without lingering regrets and leaped up.
A distance that takes two weeks to reach even with increased speed.
Leaping up into the burrow that had now completely become a deep tunnel, I retraced my memories.
The memory of when I first drew out Sword Qi.
The memory of shouting in wonder when the Sword Aura surrounded the sword.
The memory of struggling to create Sword Flux by condensing Sword Aura.
The memory of struggling to remember the names of the realms while retracing the past.
It was truly long.
Now, it is the end.
Even if I die, I will die facing the sun!
Climbing the wall with my feet, I light the way with the Noctilucous Jade sword that has been with me for decades.
This sword resembles me.
My sword, forged to swing, stab, and deflect.
A sword that suits me, who has lived solely to cut, stab, and deflect for decades.
I smiled and prepared a farewell to my old friend.
Like that, a few days passed.
Now, the final ceiling began to be visible.
And.
"...Gasp!"
The end of my lifespan also began to be visible.
I cannot... die... here!
I forcibly took a step and shouted.
"I will... see... the sun...!"
I will see it no matter what!
I will feel the wind no matter what!
Certainly! Certainly!
I will not let my 80 years be in vain!
My body, solidly forged by Metamorphosis, kicks off the wall and springs up.
Just a few steps... just a few steps!
I see the ceiling!
I took a stance to thrust the sword.
And.
My heart.
Stop—
Thump!
"Raaaaah!!!!"
I used my internal energy to strike my heart.
The heart is forcibly revived.
The heart forcibly regains vitality.
I take a step.
I strike my heart.
I bend my arm to thrust the sword.
I strike my heart.
The sword.
All my strength.
Thrust.
...Falling... I am...
In the end...
My sword was stuck in the ceiling.
At the last moment, all my strength scattered, and it ended with my sword stuck in the ceiling.
It's over.
Without even seeing the sunlight.
To end so futilely like this.
I feel the sound of my heart gradually moving away.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ah. Is it drifting away?
My life. Freedom.
I tried to slowly close my eyes as I fell.
But.
I saw it.
Through the cracks of the parted rock.
The sunlight reaching down!
That line of technicolor light!
I don't want to die.
I want to see it.
I want to feel it.
So take a step.
It's one step.
Don't die like this, you damn body!!!
I looked at my sword stuck far away.
I resemble that sword.
I lived to cut.
I lived to stab.
I lived to deflect.
I realized it only now.
I, was a sword.
Sword is Self, Self is Sword (Geom-jeuk-a, A-jeuk-geom).
The sword is me, and I am the sword.
A rusty and old sword must be refined again!
I squeezed out the last of my strength, circulating my Qi and forcibly moving my body.
The energy that has walked with me for 80 years wraps around me.
All these years feel real.
My body, the sword, heats up.
And.
Strike the heated sword with the hammer called Qi.
Bang!
"Puu-kuh!"
Blood leaks from my mouth.
Yet I strike down.
Bang!
The Qi explodes.
The years accumulated in the Qi evaporate.
"...Kuh-hurk!"
Blood spews out even more.
The hair that time had painted pure white.
I, began to paint it black again.
My body that time had ravaged.
I... make it again!
Strength returns to my body.
I will not die today.
I will see the sun!
I took my stance again and sprang up.
Kicking off the wall with terrifying speed, speed that cannot even be compared to before, I soar.
Climbing and climbing.
Even going against time.
To reach the end.
To climb to the peak of this mountain of endless realms.
I have continued to climb.
And, only now do I climb the peak.
This is.
Ascending the Peak (Deung-bong-jo-geuk).
I see the ceiling.
I grip the sword.
And.
"Huuup...!"
Thrust!
Sword Flux, no.
Created by Sword Flux clumping and clumping together.
Sword Aura Pellet (Geom-gang-ap-hwan).
Dozens of Sword Fluxes spewed relentlessly from the roundly clumped Sword Pellet tore the ceiling completely apart.
And.
"...Ah..."
The sunlight welcomed me.
The earth welcomed me.
The wind welcomed me.
Freedom welcomed me.
Shaking my black hair shining in the reflection of the sunlight, I shouted.
"I saw it... I saw iiiiiiiiiit!!!"
Finally! Finally!
I saw beyond!!!