1238——————==

Soul of the Evil God

I couldn’t quite grasp what Asura meant. Then Asura turned to the machine in front of us and asked, “Where do we need to go to gain control of this ark?”

[To the control room.]

“I thought it would be the multiverse observation room, but I guess not. Then take us there.”

[Please disclose the purpose of your visit and fill out the guestbook first.]

“How do I do that?”

Whiing

The machine displayed a translucent screen in front of me. With a translucent pen in hand, it seemed clear I would use it to write in the guestbook.

‘How fascinating…. This must be the AR touch padding technology, right?’

I knew this was a holographic technology developed at least 500 years into the future. According to Sima Ling, I had heard that augmented reality research had made significant advances in practicality starting a few years before my return. In fact, Sagong Lin had used this technology to process documents before.

‘…Ark… The owner of the ark must be the Master of the Twelve Joules. He offered this ark to Master Mangnyang, which was then passed down to Zen Master.’

I recalled the words of the Master of the Twelve Joules.

[It’s just… a human from the future.]

The Master of the Twelve Joules had once proclaimed himself a human who foresaw humanity’s destruction. So, it made perfect sense for the ark presented by a future person to contain future technology. I wasn’t sure how technology progressed, but it probably wasn’t vastly different from the scientific advancements in our world over the last 500 years.

As I was marveling at the similarities with future technology, Asura began scribbling something and said to me, “Baek Woong. Remember when you were invited by the Master during your previous incarnation to visit the Old Continent? You headed to the most significant room that the Master of the Twelve Joules had, which was called the multiverse observation room.”

“Oh… I do remember.”

“It seems the ark that the Master of the Twelve Joules had differs structurally from this one. Anyway, let’s try to gain control of this ark first.”

“Why do we need control?”

After finishing his writing, Asura continued, “Zen Master referred to this facility as the ark, and since that was the name given by the one who offered it, it naturally has a metaphorical meaning attributing to its direct function. So, what do you think the ark signifies?”

I tilted my head at Asura’s question and replied, “A rectangular ship, I’d say.”

“Exactly. A ‘ship.’ Ships are made for navigating, right?”

“…….?”

“In other words, it has a function for movement.”

“Eh?”

I widened my eyes in surprise at this unexpected revelation. Is that how it works?

Asura grinned and said, “No matter what ‘sea’ is, if this is a moveable mechanism that has lost its function… reviving the ark’s functionality would let us travel easily!”

“Indeed!!”

I gasped in amazement, finishing the guestbook and submitting it.

[Thank you for filling out the guestbook. Then….]

As the machine received the guestbook, it began to whir away, but I urgently yelled at it, “Wait! Can you guide us to the control room?”

The machine paused for a moment and replied, [Guiding unauthorized users violates internal protocols.]

“Authorization? How do we do that?”

[Please present a quantum password or TR code with a clearance level of 3 or above.]

“………”

I was at a loss for words….

I scratched my head, but Asura queried, “If we take control of the control room, can we use the ark to move?”

[That is possible.]

“Got it. Then let’s figure it out on our own.”

Asura turned to look at me and said, “Baek Woong! Use the National Seal to show us the internal structure of this vessel on a map.”

“Oh ho!”

“It’s a treasure that can detect anything, so it probably has mapping functions.”

I had never thought of that!

I shouted toward the National Seal, “National Seal, show us a map of the vessel’s internal structure!”

…….

But the National Seal did not respond with any spirit energy nor showed any sign of reacting. I, along with Asura beside me, was left stunned.

“No….”

“What on earth is going on?”

Without knowing the reason, Asura and I pondered for a long time why this was happening. After some time, I suddenly realized something and exclaimed, “Oh! Right! Inside the ark, any spiritual abilities aside from qi can’t be used! Naturally, that includes treasures.”

“…Ugh, right. I didn’t think of that.”

“So we have to walk around and find it?”

“It seems like there’s no other option. But, it’s not like it will say ‘control room’ on any of the doors… How…”

“……”

I realized that obtaining control over this ark was more challenging than anticipated, but suppressing the pain in my swollen hands, I declared, “If Zhuge Sa is on another continent, finding him in a short time using running or teleportation won’t cut it. So, even if we take a little time here, I will make this ark move!”

“Alright. Let’s go!”

Asura and I began to walk around the ark’s interior, which was completely engulfed in darkness and silence. Due to the darkness, the internal structure was barely visible, but by using qi sense, I was able to roughly perceive its shape. I discerned that the space was at least as vast as a palace with a minimum of 50 rooms.

‘It’s spacious enough to accommodate thousands of people.’

The problem was, there were indeed that many rooms, and we had already passed dozens of them. Asura conjured a sphere of light and peered at the doors, muttering to himself, “At least it’s fortunate that all rooms are marked with labels indicating their purposes.”

“Hmm… what do these labels even say?”

I squinted at one of the labels but couldn’t make any sense of it. Asura was also scrutinizing the labels and frowned, shaking his head, “What’s this? Seems like a language I’ve seen before. It’s definitely not the language of the otherworldly race.”

“Uh… I feel the same… but where have I seen this…”

Wait, this language feels familiar!

It’s not the characters of the Central Plains, but I’ve definitely seen this before!

‘What is it? What is it? Hmmm…’

After a while of racking my brain, I suddenly clicked. “I—I got it! I figured it out!”

“What is it?”

“This is Idu!! It looks like Idu!”

Idu!

Back when I asked Professor Sima Ling to research the Reverse Root Water Mirror in the world 500 years later, he referred to a modifier noted in the Diamond Sutra as Idu. Moreover, the characters resembled those of Idu, and I had encountered similar peculiar characters during my time in Goryeo, commonly used by certain literate scholars.

“Oh, I see. I think I’ve seen Goryeo merchants using it sometimes.”

Asura also seemed to recall, and I cautiously examined the characters, adding, “But it’s different from Idu. This character set seems to have a more structured system. Hmmm….”

“Now’s not the time to think. Even if it’s similar to Idu, we can’t interpret it now. Let’s just memorize all of it as we go.”

“Right.”

I committed the labels and room names to memory. Though I didn’t know the meanings, I could remember their shapes. Later, if I showed these characters to my advisor companions, they’d help us decipher their meanings.

After walking for a while, we unexpectedly discovered an enormous steel door in the central area, where I found another character. I read the label slowly, “Control Room. Hmmm… this must be it.”

“Strange.”

“What is?”

Asura crossed his arms, looking puzzled.

“All the other rooms had those Idu-like labels, but why is this one marked in Chinese characters?”

“…Right. Is there a reason?”

The control room was probably the most crucial place in this ark.

I couldn’t understand why the label for such an important room was in a different language.

“Maybe the Master of the Twelve Joules lived in a world where those unique characters and Chinese characters were used interchangeably.”

“Hmmm, that’s not our concern now. Let’s open this door and check it out.”

I shook my head at Asura’s speculation and reached for the steel door handle. Upon contact, a numeric keypad appeared above the door, along with an indistinguishable woman’s voice calling out.

[#%&%@&%@%&. …Enter your 4-digit password… パスワード… 入力し… ださい….]

“……?”

What the?!

I had a feeling three different languages were mingling in the instructions.

‘Oh… somehow, I feel like Dongyoung’s language was mixed in there too.’

Fortunately, I could somewhat understand one of them, but it still felt slightly off from the dialect I knew. Anyway, it was asking for a four-digit password, with digits ranging from 0 to 9 and special characters # and *. As Asura examined the keypad, he said, “It seems like 0 through 9 are numbers, but what about these two beside them? Are they new numbers?”

“…No. The asterisk and the hash sign are just special symbols, not numbers. They look exactly the same.”

“What do you mean ‘they look the same’?”

“……”

I fell silent. Even with the inherited memories, there were still subtle differences between Asura, who lived in that era, and me, who had firsthand experience using smartphones. Looking at the numeric layout on the keypad in front of me sent chills down my spine.

‘It’s true… the Master was truly a man from the future.’

This wasn’t a boast or a fib. I struggled to suppress the shivers as I said, “Guess the odds of randomly guessing a four-digit password between 0 and 9 are horrendously low. Is there any clue?”

“Hmm. If we keep getting it wrong, it might get locked out…”

As Asura and I pondered, he suddenly suggested, “Let’s just ask that machine guy from earlier.”

“Hey!! I’m going to write in the guestbook again!!”

Whiing

I called out to the machine again.

[Would you like to modify the guestbook?]

As the machine approached from the darkness, I asked, “I want to enter the control room. What’s the password?”

[Hint: Our captain’s password is very random. Even the soldiers in the squad know it. Anyone could guess it, but it violates security regulations. Who has a 4-digit code like that? Don’t bother asking again; I’ll take care of you, Lieutenant Choi.]

“……?”

[This hint has been provided according to secrecy protocols.]

Huh?

What is going on?

Asura and I exchanged confused looks, until Asura seemed to grasp something and remarked, “Four same digits in a row would mean it’s probably the number ‘10’.”

“So that means I should input 10?”

[Normally, if you get it wrong 3 times, it locks, but currently, due to being deactivated from the Human Alliance, there is no auto-lock function.]

“Got it!”

Beeep beep beep beep

[Incorrect. Please try again.]

Beeep beep beep beep

I attempted to input from 1111 up to 9999, and after getting everything wrong, my last attempt at entering 0000 caused the steel door to gradually open.

Creeeaaak….

“……”

“Hmm… seems like the ark’s owner wasn’t that strict after all.”

“Good.”

Once inside, I was met with a large, brightly lit room. Observing the structure, I felt something and said, “It looks similar to the multiverse observation room. But it feels much smaller and compact.”

“I don’t see the Primordial Void device here either.”

Asura spotted something while looking around for a moment and exclaimed, “Isn’t that a control device for gaining control?”

Looking at the machine Asura pointed to, it had a slot that seemed designed for a human palm. I tentatively placed my hand on the device, and a beep sounded from the gigantic screen in front of us.

[Rebooting the operating system of the Human Alliance’s 72nd battle ship the Yi Seong-gye. Confirming support power….]

“……!!”

[6% of remaining power confirmed. Minimum 12.5% of passive power is needed to reboot. Unable to continue rebooting due to lack of support power. Would you like to terminate?]

“Um….”

So we need to fill it up by 6% more?

I suddenly faced an unexpected dilemma, and after some contemplation, I resolved to present the National Seal to the screen, stating, “Can I use the treasure’s energy as power?”

Somehow, it felt like that wouldn’t work…

I was anxious, but after a moment, the voice replied.

[Energy confirmed. Please contact the energy impulser in the control room.]

Whir – Whiing

Next moment, right next to the device where I had placed my palm, a large hole appeared. I took the National Seal and inserted it into the opening. For a moment, the National Seal vanished, then it began to vibrate within the invisible waves before popping up into view.

[Absorbing ether…. 1 minute and 23 seconds remaining until energy recovery is complete. Once recovered, would you like to reboot?]

“Uh.”

[Rebooting will commence shortly.]

Whir –

After a while, the screen turned off and on again, revealing the image of a vast planet, indicating the position of the Yi Seong-gye on the continental map. I stared blankly at the sight, and soon the voice spoke again.

[Error. Error detected.]

“What’s wrong?”

[An error occurred during energy supply, causing the freezing in the sealing room to deactivate. The beacon sealer has been opened. Maximum alert level.]

“Eh?”

[Fast re-sealing is possible for a cost of 25% of power. Would you like to proceed?]

I felt an ominous sense.

‘Hmm. I may not be able to reach the maximum capacity of 75%, but I don’t want to create any unnecessary troubles now.’

I nodded.

“Go ahead.”

[Embarking on re-sealing… Success in freezing.]

Looks like something was about to be released and then held back. I figured I’d find out what later, and I said to the voice, “So now I’m the owner of this ark? Is it possible to head to another continent?”

[That is possible. Both flight and amphibious movement are available.]

“Great! Then National Seal…”

I was about to use the search function of the National Seal but paused.

‘Oh. I can’t use treasures inside this ark…’

So how am I supposed to find Zhuge Sa? I gingerly called out to the screen, “If the energy is fully charged, is it okay to take out the National Seal?”

[Not recommended. If continuous supply is interrupted, only emergency energy can be used for power generation. Emergency power only amounts to 8% of the maximum energy, thus not recommended for users.]

“Damn…. So I can look it up for a moment and then return it…”

While I was lost in thought,

Whiing!

[My master, the great one, the Apostle of the Sovereign Shao Hao!]

“Who are you?!”

I was startled when the spirit of the National Seal suddenly emerged before me. The spirit, made of light, waved and said,

[I’m roughly aware of the situation. Please do not disconnect as it is!]

“But then I can’t find Zhuge Sa’s location…”

[There’s something advantageous if I revive the functions of this vessel while you do as well. By merging with this boat, I could also utilize the search function alongside it.]

My eyes widened at those words.

“Can it be done?! But this thing was manufactured with science…”

[This ark possesses the ability to handle ‘the smallest things,’ allowing for a resonance with me. My Apostle, please grant permission.]

“…Alright. I permit it!”

[Oooo….]

Wuuumm!!

The next moment, golden light began to radiate from the National Seal, and I realized that was the “merging” the spirit had spoken of. Once the golden glow began to fade, I reached out to grasp the floating National Seal.

“National Seal, find Zhuge Sa!”

As I firmly grasped the floating seal and shouted, moments later, Zhuge Sa’s location appeared on the screen as a dot.

[Zhuge Sa’s location is presumed to be in the Otherworldly Realm. Unable to search in the material world.]

“What?! The Otherworldly Realm?! Where?!”

[Calculating coordinates….]

After some time, the voice announced, [It is presumed that Zhuge Sa is on the way to the second transit point via the island of Mount Penglai. To capture detailed movements, please go to Mount Penglai.]

“……”

I felt dazed by the unexpected response.

‘Mount Penglai?’

Why on earth did Zhuge Sa go there?

‘Surely… that can’t be…’

The only anticipated destination was just one. But I sincerely hoped it wasn’t that.

Feeling utterly perplexed, I announced, “Alright. Let’s head to Mount Penglai. As fast as possible!”

[Initiating movements of the battle ship… Please input the coordinates for Mount Penglai.]

“That’s right here.”

I pointed to the vicinity of Tamra Island, near the Samshin Mountains, which could be referred to as the location of Mount Penglai, and heard a beep.

[Dimension distortion detected. Confirmation of entry to the Otherworldly Realm.]

Gurrggh

[Destination: Mount Penglai.]

For a brief moment, the entire ark trembled. After some time, scenes of the natural environment near the ark gradually appeared on the screen, revealing the massive steel vessel rising through the rocky mountains.

Gowwww

As I observed the scenes displayed around, it became evident this vessel could indeed fly in the sky. Moments later, a swoosh sounded as the ark airborne commenced.

And within just about half of a meal, we ceased flying, and the voice remarked,

[Neutralizing the entry barriers presented to the Yi Seong-gye with the energy barrier of the National Seal. Forcing entry into Mount Penglai.]

With a surge, I felt the ark entering through a dimensional distortion. I marveled at the sensation, like passing through the gentle surface of a lake in the void, while Asura beside me murmured, “Can science really breach the gate of dimensions…. Impressive.”

As the ark sailed through the dimensional gate, the scenery of Mount Penglai unfolded around us.

Gugugugugu

[Re-searching Zhuge Sa’s location… Marking the position of the second transit point on the map.]

Beep!

After a moment, as Zhuge Sa’s location appeared on the screen, I realized my worst suspicions had become reality. The scenery around that spot only confirmed it, and I clenched my fist tightly.

“Gah… that place….”

Was it true that Zhuge Sa had gone there?!

“…This is troubling.”

Asura, who was beside me, sighed deeply.

“Baek Woong. From here on out, we will have to gamble our lives.”

“……”

The marked location on the map was right at the northernmost point of Mount Penglai—at the very entrance of the Five Demon Gate, where the Northern Sovereign Jeon Wook of the Three Sovereigns resides, guarded by the divine being Yeol.