Chapter 122 – You Should Get What You’re Owed
I snapped back to my senses.
‘Am I dead?’
That thought crossed my mind for a moment.
But my body was intact.
No, it was battered and would require some time to recover, but I was still alive.
I could still feel the two circles inside my body.
And the Great Sky Dancing Divine Mantra in my dantian.
They were all still there.
However, they were all empty.
The mana that had once filled me to the brim was now slowly refilling.
“I survived.”
This time, I survived.
Barely, but I made it.
I sat and fell into thought.
What happened?
The Insect Dragon King.
I killed him. And I collected everything that I suspected to be his remains.
A core filled with immense magical power.
And his body.
‘Not a human body, it’s less scrupulous that way.’
In the end, he appeared before us like a shadow superimposed on something else.
‘Let’s deal with the byproducts later.’
I looked at the being staring intently at me.
“You finally decided to look my way.”
Principal Kwon Sora was looking at me.
“What is it?”
“So prickly.”
Despite saying that, Kwon Sora’s eyes were fixed on me.
“I figured you had something up your sleeve from the start. Was that what you were counting on?”
“Could I have acted so recklessly without something like this?”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
Nodding in agreement, Kwon Sora acknowledged my point.
“So, how many saw it?”
“All of them.”
“...”
Those guys claimed they were busy.
Fighting off the beings of darkness coming from outer space and all that.
Seeing me with such eyes, Kwon Sora spoke as if making an excuse.
“There was no choice. Someone on the other side was taunting us. And we didn’t realize just how strong the Insect Dragon King would be.”
“That’s true.”
Insect Dragon King.
He lost to me, but it’s because I was his opponent.
He was once called the strongest Demon King.
His power of greed.
It allowed him to temporarily swell his magical power.
And his strength was in black magic.
No ordinary foe, not even a transcendent one, could withstand a fully powered Insect Dragon King.
“We were really racking our brains on how to deal with him. Most of the gods at the boundary were about to release the transcendent beings, saying they’d bear the burden of their karma.”
“How many transcendent beings were there?”
“Around thirty in total?”
“That’s a lot.”
“Well, there used to be fewer, but a lot of them ascended after coming here.”
That’s true. This place offered many favorable conditions for transcendence.
Mana overflowed, and there were countless magical realms.
Moreover, there were many people.
In my second life, even when the Empire spread across the continent, the population was only a hundred million.
In the third life, the martial world also had just over a hundred million.
Even though the population here had drastically decreased, perhaps due to the constant threat to survival,
The number had become enormous.
Half a century.
In just half a century, the population had exceeded ten billion.
‘There are also those who came from other worlds.’
Although they merged, Earth was still the best place to live.
Mana was abundant, and there were many people.
The power of belief had strengthened, and countless disciplines had clashed.
The martial world and the magic world were less so, though.
‘Well, that’s because...’
I was the one who destroyed those two worlds, so it couldn’t be helped.
‘No, I didn’t destroy them.’
In my 2nd life, the Insect Dragon King ran rampant.
In my 3rd life, I saved the martial arts world, only to be attacked by the Orthodox factions.
The magic world was one thing, but the martial arts world’s downfall was their own doing.
As I pondered this, Kwon Sora looked at me.
“Anyway, that’s why everyone was watching you.”
“That’s a bit troublesome.”
I sensed something great about their fate.
Just like when I used Manifestation somewhere before the Bloodshed of Mount Hua.
‘Well, let’s set that aside for now.’
I looked outside.
There were signs of people. About thirty or so.
‘Are they here to check on me?’
I didn’t like it being too crowded.
But I couldn’t keep them waiting forever.
Creak.
I opened the door with telekinesis.
Two women stood there.
Atsuko, who claimed to be my aunt.
And Nam Daram, the elder sister of the Sword Saint, who was in her 40s.
Students were also there from a distance, watching the two.
Judging by the situation, it seemed like the two had combined their strengths to block it.
“Baby brother, are you okay?!”
“...It’s a relief you’re not seriously injured.”
Nam Daram approached me with a worried expression.
She started touching my body.
“...?”
“Uh, you don’t seem to be hurt anywhere. Our brother’s body is really firm... slurp... ack!”
“You bastard, where do you think you’re touching my nephew?!”
“Hey, you’re not even his real aunt!!”
“He is my nephew!! He is my son born from my heart!!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!!”
I gave them a disdainful look and stood up.
“Ar-are you okay, brother? Can you move?”
“It’s just exhaustion.”
Saying so, I walked forward.
Yoo Eunchae came into view.
“Were you really exhausted?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Seolrang came into view.
“Thanks to you, professor, we were able to protect everyone. Thank you.”
“That’s your ability; you protected them.”
“That’s true.”
Yoo Seolrang nodded at my words and said,
“But this reversal trait, can’t I control it? It makes me laugh like a madwoman.”
“I admit that, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”
They said that great power always came with a great price.
I saw Seo Boram.
“Hey, Master. I did a lot this time, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, I saw.”
“But it wasn’t enough to protect the kids.”
“...Because you’re not a god.”
I believed that some things were beyond human control.
No, even a god couldn’t control certain things.
“That’s why you have no choice but to get stronger. It’s extremely difficult to protect people within your chosen boundaries.”
“Seems like it. I realized that this time.”
“That’s a false realization.”
“What?”
“If you don’t swing your sword with blood and sweat, it will disappear. Run to the training ground immediately.”
“Usually, in this kind of situation, shouldn’t there be some inspiring words?”
Seo Boram grumbled and walked to the training ground.
Then she stopped.
Shin Yura, looking haggard, was staring at me.
“Are you okay... I guess that’s a pointless question.”
“...If I were a bit more skilled, would this not have happened?”
“Even if you were a bit stronger, it would be useless. Even if you reached the Supreme Realm, you would have been attacked more.”
I should give her a separate lesson later.
I’d visit the Magic Tower soon, as I had some things to properly explain about magic.
However, it might take some time.
Because the insights left by Han Seojin, the God of Magic, for me...
‘That guy.’
He deliberately set the stage to show me magic.
He used magic that he didn’t even need to use.
‘He said there’s no need to be bound by time, space, or creation, didn’t he?’
As soon as I saw that scene, inspiration struck me like lightning.
If I materialized it, something quite interesting might come out.
‘I thought the third would be engraving a new star.’
It seemed something different would come out.
I sent all the students away. I also sent Nam Daram and Atsuko away.
The ostensible reason was that I wanted to rest.
[A remarkable achievement has been accomplished.]
[Would you like to receive your reward?]
It was because of the reward for killing the Insect Dragon King.
“Of course.”