Chapter 148:

Chapter 148:

Chapter 148

"Uwaaaah!"

Choi Pilyoung's right arm rolled across the grassy field. Even as he clutched his injured arm and screamed, Seo Gangrim showed no signs of concern. Seo Gangrim lifted the severed arm and spoke, "Doesn't seem to hurt, so quit the theatrics, will you? Not a drop of blood is coming out."

As Seo Gangrim stated, the cut surface was as clean as if it was tofu sliced by a blade, with no blood. Choi Pilyoung looked at Seo Gangrim as if in disbelief. "Ha, hahaha... Wow, this guy is insane!"

"Judging by your reaction, the real Choi Pilyoung doesn't seem to be here... An illusion created by your ability or a clone?"

At Seo Gangrim's words, Choi Pilyoung seemed taken aback. Indeed, what was in front of Seo Gangrim was not the real one but a phantasm created by Choi Pilyoung's ability, 'Clone.' Unless slashed or killed, it was impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake, but it didn't matter.

'Whether real or fake, I was going to kill you anyway.'

Considering the suffering Choi Pilyoung had brought to the members of the Flying Tiger Sect in his previous life, it was a necessary deed.

Furthermore, in this life, Choi Pilyoung would be an obstacle to him and his sect. Seo Gangrim, tossing the severed arm carelessly, continued, "By the way, when the reporter tracking you died, they said you had an alibi and got away."

"...?"

"If you had this ability, I wonder if you really did not kill him."

Choi Pilyoung's clone gritted its teeth. Hatred welled up in his eyes.

"Ha, are you threatening me now? You made a mistake. How dare you touch me?"

"Shut up."

-Swoosh!

Seo Gangrim raised the sword and beheaded Choi Pilyoung. The clone, now headless, lost its form and disappeared. Seo Gangrim surveyed the surroundings.

'Doesn't seem like the real Choi Pilyoung is nearby.'

There was no sign of Choi Pilyoung in the vicinity. He seemed to have kept a considerable distance from the clone.

'Since Choi Pilyoung took the bait, he'll come back to me. First, I need to prioritize conquering this demon realm.'

The objective of this demon realm was to descend into the deepest part of the tomb. To achieve that, the tomb needed to be found first. The dark forest at night seemed endless, making navigation challenging.

'I roughly know how to enter, so that's not an issue.'

As Seo Gangrim climbed the tallest tree to survey the surroundings, he noticed a faint object in the middle of the forest clearing – a massive tombstone. Approaching it, an entrance was visible beneath it.

'There are several tomb entrances, but this one seems the fastest.'

In this Demon Realm, the key was to find the tomb entrance first and which entrance to choose. Depending on the chosen entrance, one might unluckily end up taking the longest passage.

'Dokgo Jun was lucky and found the shortest path.'

In this forest, there were dozens, even hundreds, of passages. Activating a passage allowed exit through it, but re-entry was impossible.

The path Seo Gangrim chose was the same path Dokgo Jun took in his previous life, the shortest one. As Seo Gangrim entered the tunnel beneath the tombstone, the path above immediately closed with a sound.

["Entering 'Seo Gangrim.' Entry through this passage is not possible anymore."]

The upward path was already sealed. Even the faint starlight disappeared, leaving darkness all around.

[Activating ability 'Radiant Flame!]

When Seo Gangrim lit a fire, the surroundings became visible. The scent of an ancient tomb permeated the air, resembling an abandoned ruin.

'Alright. Now it's a race against time.'

Seo Gangrim bit his lips and moved forward. The darkness greeted him with an innocent open mouth.

***

"What's this? It's easy, isn't it?"

Voices echoed from the dark tomb passage.

A party of six or more people had entered a quite spacious room through the tomb passage. The demonic beasts that had been guarding the room until a moment ago were now all corpses, rolling on the floor.

"This is much easier than I thought!"

They found a passage leading down to the underground and entered, just as Seo Gangrim had found the tombstone.

"It's still not the deepest?!"

After descending to the 1st floor they laughed about how easy this Demon Realm was, but now their faces no longer held smiles. It had been approximately three days since they entered.

As they descended each floor, the demonic beasts became stronger, and they grew exhausted. Only three days had passed, but their faces looked as if they had been in this place for years.

"I wonder if we've reached the deepest part of this place."

"When was the last time we encountered someone else?"

"I think it was on the 30th floor...."

A trace of fear passed over their faces. How far down had they come? One of them looked up and said.

"W-well, we haven't reached the deepest point yet, right? The conquest period was seven days, after all..."

"So, are you suggesting we go even deeper? We need to consider the time it takes to return!"

It had been three days since they entered. Even if they reached the deepest part of the tomb, if they couldn't escape from there, it meant risking their lives. How they utilized the remaining week was crucial.

"What if choosing to return immediately sends us back to the entrance?"

"And if it doesn't?"

In response to the question, the others fell silent. If choosing to return meant retracing their steps, what then?

A person with a tense expression spoke, "We should consider heading back now. There are only four days left. Considering our stamina and condition, it might take longer to return."

"But we can reset and challenge it again, right?"

"True, but if someone else conquers it in the meantime..."

"Darn it, I'm going back! I choose to return!"

A person shouted towards the sarcophagus. Another alert window appeared.

[Will everyone return?]

"No, darn it! I'm going alone!"

[You can either return as a group or proceed forward.]

All party members who entered together had to share the same choice. Forward or return, they began to argue with raised voices.

Similar situations unfolded in other parties. How far should they go down? Some hesitated and chose to return, while others opted to go a bit further. However, as they reached the fourth day, the majority chose to return.

81 hours passed.

As most people ascended, one person continued to descend without hesitation.

-Schwaack!

Seo Gangrim split the corpse that blocked his way in half. Half-rotten and exposed corpses were blocking his path. After killing the mountainous beasts that smelled of death, Seo Gangrim moved forward. In front of him was the sarcophagus. As he approached the sarcophagus, the now familiar notification appeared.

[Will you proceed, or will you return?]

"I will proceed."

Without hesitation, Seo Gangrim chose to advance. As the sarcophagus opened, stairs leading to a deeper place were revealed. Seo Gangrim set foot on the stairs. Another notification appeared in front of him.

[Entering 66th Floor.]

Upon entering the 66th floor, even stronger beasts blocked his path. From the darkness, the beasts howled, and black saliva dripped from their mouths. Excited by the scent of a living person after a long time, they immediately bared their fangs.

-Grrrrr!

The beasts rushed towards Seo Gangrim like a wave. At the moment when their fangs and claws, forming a phalanx, were about to engulf Seo Gangrim:

-Crack!

Like the parting of the sea, the wave of beasts was split in half. The blood they spilled soaked the ground, creating a puddle. Seo Gangrim stepped on the blood puddle and continued forward.

[You have chosen to move forward.]

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