Absolute Regression - Chapter 10

If you show up in the 10th, you lose.

I slowly entered the cave through the passage.

The interior was well-ventilated, and the interior was not dark due to the light coming from the top of the cave here and there. Judging from the elaborate design and construction, it was clear that this place was made by truly skilled craftsmen.

I was slowly walking along the cave, and when I passed a certain point, I felt the surroundings shaking slightly.

Sssssssut.

I knew it in an instant. The highest level of attack that only experts with keen senses can detect has been activated.

When I thought about it, it was only natural. Why couldn’t the people who died here escape? If the gateway is difficult, you can just give up and leave. He died because he could not get out of this camp. When you enter, you walk in comfortably, but if you don’t break through the gate, it turns into a hellish formation where you can never get out.

How far did you walk like that?

A fairly large square appeared.

At the entrance to the square, there was a monument explaining the first gate.

一 Cut down all enemies without using sword energy or sword steel.

ii If you do not succeed within the time, you will be given another chance ten days later.

iii Those who are prepared should stand in the red circle.

‘Ten days later? What to eat until then?’

I looked around and found a jar full of Byeokgokdan (辟穀丹) on the wall.

‘If I eat this tasteless food for 10 days, I’ll go crazy.’

Without hesitation, I stood in the middle of the red circle drawn in the middle of the square.

After a while, dozens of human-shaped wooden dolls rose from the floor in all directions with a clanging sound. The area that needed to be cut was painted red. Some dolls have necks, some have arms, and some have legs.

My body reacted reflexively.

The moment they came up, I jumped and instinctively decided which herb to cut first.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The wooden doll was cut down.

The dolls were not fixed in one place. The plates on the floor began to move and change positions.

In that crowded situation, some dolls started to go down again.

‘no!’

I could tell. If you miss that doll going down, it will never come up again and at that moment, the challenge will be a failure.

That’s why I cut down the doll that was going down first.

As expected, the other dolls moved quickly and obstructed my path to cut it down.

He jumped over and swung his sword.

Suddenly!

A doll that was almost missed was cut off.

As time went by, the dolls moved faster. At first, I thought it was a gateway to testing footwork, but it wasn’t. This gate was a test of judgment.

What to cut first?

Quick and accurate judgment comes first, and walking techniques come second.

The gateway was complex and difficult, but not so sophisticated that it overtook my instincts and skills.

I cut down all the dolls and passed the first gate safely.

One thing was certain. If my skills were the same as before my regression, I would never have passed this first hurdle. Even if I ran, rolled, flew, and made a fuss, I would have failed.

I was able to understand why the test was resumed again after 10 days.

Many challengers would have failed at this first challenge and would have had to study and practice for at least ten days to succeed.

Only someone who remembered exactly how the dolls moved and which doll fell to the floor and at what time would have been able to come up with a solution. A dull challenger would have had to try again and again.

Looking at the first hurdle, it is understandable that the average breakthrough time for Socheon-dong is three years.

Drurr.

As soon as I passed the first gate, the stone door leading to the second gate opened.

I slowly walked towards the second gate. At that time, before I left the first gate, I discovered writing on the wall. There were writings left on the wall near the exit from the deceased who came first.

-Successful after nine attempts. Hahahaha.

-I did it sixteen times.

-This is crazy!

―Succeeded after 37 attempts. Tears come to my eyes from the long suffering.

-Am I going to die here? I just can’t solve it. I feel resentful towards my father.

-shit! I tried to go back, but there was no way back.

―I am confident that I am the best after succeeding only six times.

Among them, I saw a familiar handwriting at the bottom.

-Jerk the.

It was my father who had passed this gateway before me.

“ha ha ha.”

I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. Perhaps my father passed it in one attempt.

Even so, strictly speaking, they are our ancestors, so you boldly start insulting them.

“Father, I also passed in the first attempt! ha ha ha!”

I walked like that and arrived at the space where the second gateway was.

As always, there was a monument standing in the second square.

一 Use the sword hanging on the wall to cut the stone into two pieces within one square. You can also use sword energy or sword power.

2 If you do not succeed within the time, you will be given another chance after 20 days.

3 Those who are prepared should stand in the red circle.

This time, the next attempt is in 20 days.

By simple calculation, this means that it is twice as difficult as the first gate.

‘To endure twenty days with Byeokgokdan? ‘I’d rather die.’

I stood at the red circle in the middle of the square, determined to succeed.

Clap.

A stone table rose from the floor. On the stone table was an iron ball the size of an adult’s head.

‘I’m telling you to cut this iron ball.’

The given time is one hour.

It’s too long to cut down with a single iron ball. Thinking that there must be a reason, I slowly examined the iron ball.

The smooth surface was not ordinary iron, but artificially made stone.

Of course it’s a stronger material than cast iron, right? When I lifted it, it was so heavy that I couldn’t lift it without using my inner strength.

Hung on the wall were hundreds of swords to be used for testing. There were many different types. There were long swords and short daggers. There were heavy swords and light swords. There was even a soft sword worn on the waist. There were literally all kinds of swords.

It is not an easy challenge, so choose wisely and try it several times.

I walked slowly and took out a sword hanging on the wall. It was a well-made ordinary iron sword.

I stood in front of the sphere, controlled my mind, and powerfully struck down my sword.

The sword broke and flew away with a cheerful sound. On the other hand, the sphere did not even leave a scratch. It was a really strong metal.

I looked at the sphere again. An iron ball that looks nothing special to the eye.

He brought the sword again and swung it with the bell this time.

This time too, only the sword was broken and the sphere was intact.

“As expected, it just won’t work.”

I brought a new sword and injected it with internal power.

Ugh.

Immediately, a blue light flickered from the sword. It caused a blackout.

At this age before regression, I was able to use sword energy, but I could not create sword strength. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I learned the tricks of swordsmanship.

“This is the first lecture after returning.”

The color of each martial artist’s sword is different, and even if they learned the same mental techniques, the color was slightly different depending on the person. I always thought that was fascinating.

I like this color that my sword gives off. This pleasant blue color that sometimes looks like the sea and sometimes looks like the sky.

The moment when I was slowly cutting the sphere with my sword.

I quickly recovered my internal strength due to the sudden sense of discomfort that came over me. Then the sword on the sword disappeared.

‘Isn’t this too easy?’

At first glance, I thought it was a test to see if the challengers could use the sword steel since it would not cut with an iron sword. I think it would be difficult with a sword technique. That’s why it’s a test that you can’t escape until you learn the power of the sword.

However, if it is a late index that can use the sword, it will be cut and passed.

A gateway this simple?

On the other hand, it is very difficult for a person who cannot create a sword to reach a state where he can create a sword.

One side is too easy and the other side is too difficult. Something was out of balance.

So, just in case, I went to see the writings my seniors had left on the wall.

– According to the examination, there are two sides to the number of days.

―I tried eighty-nine times to cut it without using the sword, but they all failed and I ended up cutting it with the sword.

-I cut it without using a sword.

-How on earth? I can’t believe it.

-shit! My sword skills won’t cut it. I can’t reveal my sword, what should I do?

―It has been two hundred days since I studied Geomgang. Just the smell of Byeokgokdan makes me vomit.

-It is a lie to say that it was cut without using a sword.

―I vote for lying.

What I wanted to see was the writing my father left.

As expected, my father’s words were left behind at the end.

-That’s crazy.

ha ha ha. I heard you said shit to your ancestors. This person has a hard time pretending to be solemn.

But this time, he added a word next to it.

-If you show off, you lose.

‘If you get angry, you lose? Why did you add this? ‘If it were my father, he would have cursed at the first hurdle and drank it.’

If you have a fever? If you have a fever? if?

I quickly went to the first stone slab.

Cut the stone into two pieces in one hour. You can also use Geomgi or Geomgang.

A phrase that caught my eye.

Can I use sword energy or sword strength?

It wasn’t ‘using’, it was ‘could be used’. In other words, doesn’t it mean to just cut it and use it if it doesn’t work out?

When I think about it, the time given is too long. One hour is enough time to cut hundreds of such stones. Lastly, the number of swords hanging on the wall is also excessive.

‘ah! This gate must be cut without using sword energy or sword steel.’

When my father said that if he gets angry, he will lose, it was like a warning not to use his sword. When you open the sword, hot heat comes out from the sword.

There is a fact that adds strength to that speculation.

Doesn’t the fact that the retry period is twenty days mean that it is more difficult than the first gate?

This should just be cut down.

‘Thank you, father.’

Anyway, if I don’t have to use the sword, I don’t have time to do this.

I went in front of the sphere again.

When I thought that I had to cut it without using a sword, the sphere looked different.

‘How on earth can I cut this? Vertically? Horizontally? Laterally? askew? Or with a quick sword? With a heavy sword?’

I tried various things with the prepared sword. However, only the sword was broken and the sphere was not cut.

After failing about thirty times, I gave up and sat against the wall.

‘There must be a way.’

Time continues to pass by and now there is not even a moment left.

‘Should I try again in 20 days?’

I was in a state of semi-desperation.

‘Cut it to the sword and pass it?’

However, my father left a message on purpose, so I couldn’t choose the easy way.

‘It’s difficult. It’s difficult.’

After sitting like that in desperation, I inadvertently let out some energy. It was an exercise I learned from my father in the mountains.

A ray of energy extended from my body and touched the sphere.

‘I wish you were a wild boar. Then it would be cut off with a single knife.’

Energy enveloped the sphere and I slowly felt its surface.

For a moment, my eyes widened.

“uh?”

There were fine lines on the surface of the sphere. It is a line that cannot be felt when seen with the eyes or touched with the hand.

I felt it with all my concentration. My energy began to surround it like a bird embracing an egg and tried to become one with the sphere.

The line continued along the sphere and met again at the starting point.

I got up from my seat and slowly walked towards it. My energy was still connected between me and the sphere.

I closed my eyes and felt the sphere only with energy and struck the sword precisely at that line.

Whoosh.

It wasn’t hit hard. I focused on hitting the line on the sphere accurately without any error.

The next moment, something amazing happened.

Take a look.

The sphere was split in half. That line was a kind of critical point that could accurately divide the sphere.

And an even more surprising thing was waiting for me.

Again.

A single pill rolled out of the empty space of the cut sphere.