전생검신 80권 13화

I spoke to Lee Kwang, who was freed from petrification.

“How does it feel to be back from the stone?”

“…….”

It seemed both Lee Kwang and Lee Hwan-woong were blinking and struggling to grasp the situation. After a moment, Lee Kwang seemed to regain his composure, his expression returning to normal.

“My last memory was being hit by that monster Hermes’ bizarre spell. Did the Master free us from it?”

“You’re quick on the uptake.”

“Of course. But Master, why do you have horns on your head? Were you cursed?”

“……uh… that’s…”

Dammit! Of all the things, you just had to ask the hardest one to explain!

I was at a loss on how to describe Chiu’s spiritual horn, and since I didn’t even know its origin, I decided to just brush it off.

“Something like that happened. Anyway, I used my powers to free you from petrification, so you better be thankful.”

“Do I need to bow in gratitude? I often think that the Master doesn’t know how to earn respect from others.”

“…….”

“Thank you. If anything happens again, please free us again.”

Even though Lee Kwang thanked me, his tone was so sarcastic that it didn’t feel like gratitude at all. I couldn’t help but scowl.

‘Lee Kwang is still Lee Kwang. Damn it, what was I expecting?’

On the other hand, Lee Hwan-woong looked relieved and sighed in relief.

“Right. I thought I was completely done for after facing Hermes, so this is a relief. But what should I say in thanks?”

“Yeah! You thank like this.”

“But can you explain how you freed us from petrification?”

“Of course… but right now, I can’t use memory transmission, so I’ll explain it verbally.”

“You can’t use memory transmission?”

“Yeah, that’s the situation.”

I recalled that because I was caught in the Void Record’s gold thread, the memory transmission from the obsidian was prohibited, and that Cheon Woo-jin had planned to block memories in this space. Thus, I couldn’t use the obsidian on Shim Su-ryeok and Subori and had no choice but to explain everything directly. Then Lee Hwan-woong smiled bitterly.

“Looks like it’s going to take a while. Make sure to cover everything without leaving anything out.”

I sat them down and detailed everything that had happened since they were petrified. Even though I didn’t think I had said much, the time passed quickly, and I realized I had gone through more than I thought. After thoroughly explaining everything, Lee Kwang and Lee Hwan-woong seemed to grasp the situation, and after a moment of thought, Lee Kwang spoke.

“So Master, what you’re saying is this is the Training World within the Heavenly Secret, and once we go out of here, we’ll be in the era of the Great Cycle in the past. And with the power of commerce, you sold all the treasures of this world to free me from petrification.”

“Correct.”

Suddenly, Lee Kwang made a grim face and burst out.

“How did things get this tangled? If what you said is true, then we’re stuck in a world within a world within a world! How on earth are we supposed to return to the original world?!”

“…….”

“Damn… it’s not just a separate world; how can we deal with this cosmic mess spanning time and space?”

“Yeah… I get what you’re saying.”

Lee Kwang made a valid point, making me hesitate and fall silent for a moment. I also hadn’t anticipated things spiraling this far out of control. It was clear that returning to Soeul Village, the original world, from this spot was going to be really hard.

Then Lee Hwan-woong spoke up.

“I don’t care. After all, the Master has betrayed me, so I no longer have a hometown, and I shouldn’t have any attachment to the ‘original world,’ right? So feel free to talk to me.”

“Um… I appreciate you saying that.”

Lee Hwan-woong’s cold gaze made it clear he was serious. For some reason, he looked colder and more restrained than any strategist I knew.

“But it’s certainly something we need to clarify. Baek Woong, your intention in waking us is to make us strong enough to survive in the era of that god called Takrok, and if we get strong enough to overcome difficulties, with the help of the Heavenly Secret, we might be able to return to the ‘original world.’ Our two main goals right now are these. Did I summarize that correctly?”

I pondered Lee Hwan-woong’s words for a moment before nodding.

“Right on.”

“Well then, I must ask. Frankly, both this Lee Kwang and I are far too weak compared to you. When we go back to Takrok, we’ll be fighting at least the level of the Overlay Technique, and basically, we’ll be up against god-tier opponents—how do you plan to strengthen us?”

“Hm.”

“Our strength is decent in human terms, but against gods, we’d be toast. We’d be dead in a second.”

Lee Hwan-woong had a clear grasp of the situation. I expected his question, so I answered without hesitation.

“This training world will remain for at least 70 years. In that time, I’ll make sure to train you in the power of the Absolute Realm!”

If I passed down the Seven Great Techniques, the Peerless Technique, and all the martial arts I knew, they would experience a tremendous improvement!

“…….”

“Lee Hwan-woong, why are you looking at me like that?”

Lee Hwan-woong, who had been staring at me with disbelief, touched his head.

“Uh… my martial arts skill would probably only be at a beginner level compared to yours. Achieving the Absolute Realm will surely increase my strength dozens of times… but, are you forgetting something?”

“Forget about what?”

“Can an Absolute Realm expert defeat a god?”

“…….”

“Of course not. I know that when a proper divine being appears, Absolute Realm experts get wiped out like bugs. So there’s really no point in spending time trying to reach the Absolute Realm.”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

I realized that Lee Hwan-woong’s reasoning highlighted a problem I hadn’t considered. Whereas I needed to cultivate my martial arts to break through the Absolute Realm over hundreds of years, the others might not have that luxury!

‘I got too caught up in my martial training…!!’

I had completely forgotten.

No matter how strong an Absolute Realm person might be, they could never stand against a god!

Lee Kwang, who had been listening in, suddenly spoke up.

“Master. I’ve also learned from you and believe I can reach the Absolute Realm within a few years through my own efforts. But having faced a Demon God, I understand I can’t possibly compete with just the Intent Heavenly Pillar from the Absolute Realm. Don’t we have another option?”

“Hmm….”

“It seems certainly so. A few years ago, this Lee Kwang was almost at the Absolute Realm, and thanks to the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, he could become much stronger than regular Absolute Realm experts. Yet, the fact remains that even if Lee Kwang reaches the Absolute Realm, he won’t be able to fight directly against gods. Without the operation of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, he would’ve been incinerated in a single blow fighting against Hermes.”

While I was mulling over this, Lee Hwan-woong chuckled and spoke.

“Hehe. Don’t worry about it. I already saw a way.”

“A way?”

“Just use that power of commerce you mentioned.”

“How do you use the power of commerce?”

“Let’s think simply. To put it straightforwardly, the power of commerce is the ability to buy and sell anything, right? If it can be used to break our curse, it can definitely be applied in other ways.”

Lee Hwan-woong continued.

“For example, there are two methods. You can either transfer the money you’ve saved, the Ma-Du, directly to me, or you can use that Ma-Du to unlock our latent abilities.”

“Can I really give my Ma-Du to someone?”

“I’m not sure. It’d be better to test it out directly. But first, why don’t we go outside?”

Lee Hwan-woong slowly stood up.

“I want to see the faces of Subori and Shim Su-ryeok you mentioned.”

“…….”

Looking at Lee Hwan-woong, I sensed that he was different.

‘I thought he was like a strategist… but he’s something else.’

He was making cold judgments about the situation, but there was a certain vibe that felt not quite like a strategist. It was as if he was calculating multiple things while thinking of clever solutions, emphasizing his desire to be in control of the situation. I recognized this same feeling in the Master of the White Lotus Sect or the Master of the Twelve Joules.

‘Traits of a Ruler.’

Satisfied with planning and crafting, but also having the decisiveness to execute his own plans!

I could feel the aura of someone called ‘king’ or ‘hero’ radiating from Lee Hwan-woong. I began to understand more clearly why Nailatop wanted to take him on as a disciple.

I took both of them outside, and soon we ran into Subori and Shim Su-ryeok, who had been waiting. They took a moment to introduce themselves to each other.

When I mentioned the “enhancement method” Lee Hwan-woong spoke of, Subori stroked his chin and said.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. However, I have another advanced method to suggest.”

“An advanced method?”

“Before that, Baek Woong, I think you should see if you can transfer Ma-Du to someone using the power of commerce first. Can you try it out?”

“Let’s see.”

I followed Subori’s suggestion and tried to transfer my Ma-Du to Shim Su-ryeok.

“Daegwi! I want to give 100 million Ma-Du to Shim Su-ryeok.”

Whoosh

Then, Daegwi appeared as a translucent turtle spirit in the air and said.

[Transfers are free, but once transferred, the Ma-Du cannot be reclaimed without the recipient’s consent. Do you understand this?]

“Okay. If I give 100 million Ma-Du to Shim Su-ryeok, can he use it with the power of commerce?”

[No, he cannot.]

“What? He can’t?”

[While transferring Ma-Du to others is free, only those who have awakened their power of commerce can use the Ma-Du. Those without the power cannot use it.]

“Hmm…!!”

As I murmured in disappointment, Subori chimed in as if he expected this.

“I suspected that, but it’s a shame. After all, if anyone could use the power by just transferring Ma-Du, there would need to be much more restrictions on that power than there are now.”

“What should we do now?”

“Don’t be too disappointed yet. Ask the next question.”

I repeated Subori’s question to Daegwi.

“Daegwi, can I consume Ma-Du to awaken someone’s power of commerce?”

[That is possible. However, please remember it can only be done through two methods: [Inheritance] and [Lease].]

“……Inheritance and Lease? What are they?”

[Inheritance means completely giving up your power of commerce and fully transferring that ability to someone else. Lease means entering a rental contract with the recipient, allowing temporary limited use of the powers, but active use of the Ma-Du is not allowed.]

“……?”

What does that mean?

I was confused since it sounded complicated, but Lee Hwan-woong seemed to understand and spoke up.

“Baek Woong, to put it simply, the time when Chi You appeared in the Heavenly Secret and completely gave you his power of commerce was precisely [Inheritance]. And based on the explanation, it seems the power of commerce can only have a single user, as it’s a unique ability, not intended for multiple users.”

“Oh, I see. But if there’s a [Lease] method, doesn’t that mean it can allow multiple users?”

“No, think it through. The lease and limited usage imply… simply put, it’s like a creditor-debtor relationship. It doesn’t mean the number of users is increasing; it means the number of slaves is increasing.”

“……Slaves, huh? Daegwi, is that true?”

When I questioned Daegwi, he added an explanation.

[A person who has leased the power of commerce can temporarily own the processed results without the cost of the law of causality. Furthermore, the original owner can grant benefits to the lessee by consuming the Ma-Du. However, if the lessee receives Ma-Du or any processed products from the original owner, they will also have a duty to repay the original owner with interest after a certain period.]

“Hmm? Repayment?”

[The interest rate will be determined by the original owner once the user’s stage of commerce has risen, so they must set it accordingly.]

Why does interest suddenly come into this?

As confusion clouded my mind, Subori seemed to realize something and sighed.

“……I get it now. So that’s why it’s called the Eight Parts of the Divine!! You clever bastard, Chi You!”

“Subori, what do you mean?”

Subori spoke with a bitter expression.

“Baek Woong, didn’t you tell me before? Chi You has those Eight Parts of the Divine in his service, and those beings were originally human heroes, not divine beings.”

“Hmm, that’s right. Asura, the Thief Gang, Gin Nara, and Yacha were all humans once.”

“And those humans received the ‘physical body of a god’ from Chi You, transcending the limits of their race and becoming semi-divine beings, gaining the power of the Eight Parts of the Divine. But isn’t that strange?”

“What’s strange?”

“No matter how powerful the magic or sorcery, it’s fundamentally impossible to mass-produce that many strong apostles. Even if they shared the ‘physical body of a god,’ the process would cause degradation, making it impossible to bestow true divine power. Yet, you mentioned that the power of the Eight Parts of the Divine was too strong.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ve always thought this was odd, but now I think I know the reason why.”

Subori’s explanation intrigued me, and I couldn’t help but question back.

“Why’s that?”

“Because… the ‘physical bodies of gods’ shared with the Eight Parts of the Divine were processed through the [power of commerce], and Chi You didn’t just give them away but rather ‘leased’ them!”

“……?!”

What? What did you just say?!

As I was taken aback, Lee Hwan-woong nodded, understanding Subori’s statement.

“Indeed. If you simply transfer power, it’s like a tax brimming with causal rates, leading to a downgrade of the power contained in the ‘physical body of a god.’ But if you’re ‘leasing’ it, there’s no reason for the power to degrade. Because the one leasing is responsible for the ‘interest,’ the item being leased cannot degrade, thus the power remains intact.”

“……“

“Moreover, since it’s a lease, Chi You can reclaim the physical body of a god along with interest anytime he feels the Eight Parts of the Divine might betray him. So for Chi You, he can create eight powerful subordinates without any loss!”

In that moment, a past scene flashed through my mind.

‘When Chi You revealed his ambitions and abused the power of Hanja to rampage against humanity… he must have reclaimed the physical body of the Eight Parts of the Divine. Could it be…’

Did Chi You not just recover the grace he had given to his apostle as a god, but rather used the [power of commerce] to reclaim it with interest from the Eight Parts of the Divine? Given the amount of interest accumulated due to the long-standing lease, he must have also taken the strength and power the Eight Parts of the Divine had accumulated over thousands of years!

I recalled what Chi You had said.

[There is no causal link between me and them. If we were to classify it, it would be a creditor-debtor relationship. So even if the Eight Parts of the Divine die, my strength won’t weaken; rather, it grows stronger with interest.]

At the time, I took it for granted, but could it be that he used the [power of commerce]?

As I was taken aback by this sudden realization, Subori spoke up.

“Baek Woong, now that you comprehend the method for using the power of commerce, it’s time for practical application.”

“Ugh… I have no intentions of acting as vile as that guy…”

I began my sentence only to glance at Lee Kwang’s face.

Lee Kwang glared at me as if to ask what I was looking at, and I trailed off.

“……I might not, but anyway….”

“Well, whatever works. In any case, it’s true that using the power of commerce can easily empower our followers. Besides, it seems to me there might be other applications as well…”

“Other applications?”

“That can wait until later, but before that, may I make one suggestion?”

“What suggestion?”

Subori grinned.

“Something like this.”

Swish!!

Suddenly, Subori transformed into a mask and flew into my hand. As I accidentally caught the mask, it spoke.

[Wear me on that young man, Lee Hwan-woong.]

“……?!”

“Hmm…?”

Both Lee Hwan-woong and I were surprised. However, Subori’s following statement was undeniably compelling.

[You didn’t need me, but in truth, when I’m worn as a mask on someone, I can penetrate their subconscious and extract their potential abilities. Or is it better to call it their aptitude? Using this ability, I can enhance both Lee Hwan-woong and Lee Kwang to a primary degree.]

“Whoa!! Such a power…?! But why is it unnecessary for me?”

[Actually, this isn’t an ability that awakens others; it’s a ‘mental attack technique’ only a mask possesses. It seeks to demolish any frozen subconscious to make it easier to dominate the other’s will. But your subconscious is so deeply submerged in darkness that even I, as a mask, can’t access it. Just what sort of darkness are you hiding?]

“…….”

[Anyway, since it’s an ‘attack technique,’ if I had any evil intentions, I could easily devastate someone’s personality. However, if I suppress that aggression and only soften the structure of the subconscious, I could awaken latent abilities. For this, consent is required.]

At that moment, Lee Hwan-woong, who was listening, suddenly spoke.

“You mean that’s a question directed at me? You’re asking whether I’m ready to risk awakening my latent abilities?”

[That’s right, friend. Did you say your name was Lee Hwan-woong? Are you prepared to trust someone you’ve never met before and put yourself in a risky situation?]

Lee Hwan-woong smiled slyly and responded.

“Ha! How could I trust a mask like you? However, I trust the Reborn Person Baek Woong. You know what that implies, don’t you?”

[Brave of you. Provoking me while being fully aware.]

Lee Hwan-woong extended his palm.

“Stop with the tricks. Don’t pretend to care about others while testing my resolve; it’s truly disgusting. My Master was a mask as well, so I know the psychology of your kind better than anyone else. You among self-indulgent and scheming folk.”

[…… I couldn’t refute that. What shall we do, Baek Woong?]

I nodded, stepped closer with the mask, and said.

“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Now that’s trustworthy.”

Snap

The moment Lee Hwan-woong donned Subori’s mask—dark light shimmered.

And when that light subsided a moment later, Lee Hwan-woong slowly rose from his seat, wearing the mask.

‘Did it go well?’

I looked at Lee Hwan-woong, now wearing the mask, with a concerned expression. Shortly after, he smiled widely and said.

“Baek Woong.”

A faint smile graced Lee Hwan-woong’s face.

“I think I have talent for the Super Ability.”

Click

The moment Lee Hwan-woong opened the lid of the pocket watch he was holding.

“……!!”

Time stopped!!

Literally, everything aside from me and Lee Hwan-woong froze, and I exclaimed in surprise.

“Time Stop?!”

“Hmm, not quite. It’s not such a simple ability.”

As he carefully examined his pocket watch, Lee Hwan-woong eventually closed the lid with a snap and said,

“Time itself isn’t my ability. Right now, I can only manipulate the Chrono Quartz.”

“……?”

What does that mean?

Not understanding, I asked for clarification.

“One thing is certain.”

Lee Hwan-woong talked in an oddly joyful tone.

“My ability will be strongest when paired with science.”