Chapter 94
Light slipped through the slightly open window and woke me.
An unfamiliar ceiling came into view.
I sat up and looked around.
The spacious room was filled with expensive decorations.
When I looked down at myself, I found that I was dressed in fine silk robes.
What is this...?
This was completely different from before.
I should've been inside the Demonic Cult right now.
So where exactly was this?
I immediately got out of bed and checked the mirror.
A completely different body stared back at me.
Thin, with barely any muscle.
But the face was almost excessively handsome.
Then a series of messages appeared.
[This location is a type of ‘Special Dungeon’ connected to the 50th floor.]
[The consequences of your actions in this world will remain even after you reach the 50th floor.]
[After clearing the dungeon, your current body will be recognized as your original body.]
In other words, this was slightly different from the Hidden Dungeons I'd experienced until now.
Normally, my actions several years in the past would create results in the future.
This time, however, the 50th floor and this place existed on the same timeline.
Only the body is different. There isn't any difference in time.
[Upon completing a specific mission, you will be summoned to the hidden 49th floor.]
[Constellation chat will remain closed until you reach the 49th floor. Please keep this in mind.]
Leon and Seong-a were nowhere to be seen.
And that wasn't all.
My current body's condition was a mess.
Several meridians were severed, preventing Internal Energy from circulating smoothly.
The yin and yang energy inside the body were completely imbalanced.
Apparently, this body had been born with the Nine Yang Severed Meridians.
"At least my Traits are still intact."
I let out a hollow laugh.
"Should I even call that lucky?"
The Constellations weren't idiots.
Some of them had probably already begun suspecting that I had deliberately created this situation.
[Body Reforging (S) is temporarily locked.]
[Health will remain below 30% at all times.]
[All stats except Internal Energy are temporarily restricted to 25.]
In other words...
I had effectively become terminally ill.
And there was another problem.
Because of my 180 years of Internal Energy, I can't even use martial arts properly.
So this time, I'm supposed to overcome everything alone without anyone's help?
Knock, knock.
At that moment, a man casually opened the door and walked inside.
Judging from his clothes, he appeared to be a servant.
"...Keugh."
The instant I saw his face, my head spun.
My body staggered.
Unfamiliar memories flooded into my mind.
"Y-Young Master!"
He barely managed to support me and get me back onto the bed.
Only then did I finally understand where I was.
And who the original owner of this body was.
Just as Murim had the Martial Alliance and the Five Great Clans...
The Demonic Cult also had five great families.
The Bloodlight Family.
The Black Heaven Family.
The Crimson Flame Family.
The Ghost Raksha Family.
And the Night Soul Family.
The owner of this body was Heuk Mujin.
The eldest young master of the Black Heaven Family, one of the central powers among those five great families.
At least in name.
In reality, because of the Nine Yang Severed Meridians, he couldn't even learn demonic arts.
He was little more than a worthless delinquent.
"...Young Master."
The servant sighed deeply and shook his head.
"I told you, didn't I?"
"What are you going to do if you get up like that and collapse again like last time?"
"Seriously, you never listen to anything I say."
His name was Hyeon Doun.
As far as this place was concerned, he was probably the only person truly on Heuk Mujin's side.
Everyone else treated him like trash who could die at any moment.
But Hyeon Doun had continued taking care of him until the very end.
"And last night too."
"I keep telling you to stop meeting women."
"No matter how much excess yang energy you have, if you're careless, you could collapse and die on the spot."
"Fine."
I answered calmly.
"That probably won't happen again."
"This time, no matter what excuse you make, I'm absolutely not letting it sli... Huh?"
He blinked.
"W-What did you just say?"
"I'm not going."
I looked at him.
"Like you said, I'm done chasing women at brothels."
"...What?"
He started digging at one ear as if he'd misheard.
"No, seriously?"
"Our Young Master wouldn't say something like that."
"I won't drink anymore either."
"I'll stay away from women."
"Is that enough?"
"R-Really...?"
Hyeon Doun stared at me in disbelief.
"What in the world happened overnight for our delinquent Young Master to suddenly..."
His reaction was understandable.
Living with a body that could die at any moment because of the Nine Yang Severed Meridians, Heuk Mujin had spent nearly every day fooling around in brothels.
Ding!
[A ‘Mission’ has been assigned to Player Lee Suhyeok.]
[1. Become the Young Cult Leader's husband.]
[2. Make the heads of all five great families follow the Young Cult Leader.]
[3. Overcome the Nine Yang Severed Meridians.]
(Upon completion, you will be summoned to the 49th floor.)
[4. Kill the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.]
The missions appeared at just the right moment.
If my memory was correct, she was currently twenty years old.
The same age as Heuk Mujin.
Her before my regression, huh.
She probably isn't much different from the woman I knew.
Cold.
Ruthless.
A woman who sought only strength.
And I was supposed to become her husband.
That was going to be troublesome.
"The competition should still be underway."
"Which family is next?"
"Four families have already gone through it."
Hyeon Doun answered.
"So naturally, it's the Black Heaven Family's turn now..."
He looked awkward.
"Which means it's your turn, Young Master."
If Heuk Mujin's turn had already come, that meant every candidate before him had been eliminated.
Of course, that was probably exactly what the other families wanted.
The instant someone became the Young Cult Leader's husband, they could be assassinated by the opposing faction at any moment.
They might even die by her own hand.
That's why they sent disposable sons into the competition.
Just as the mission message had said, completing the fourth mission would immediately summon me to the 49th floor.
Taesu and the other two probably wouldn't be summoned.
What the Constellations wanted to see on that stage wasn't the three of them.
It was me.
The real problem was the final mission.
Kill the current cult leader.
If I remember correctly, the previous cult leader died by her hand.
I don't know exactly why...
But something definitely happened.
For now, I had no choice but to complete the missions in order.
The first was becoming her husband.
I immediately changed clothes, took up a sword, and prepared to leave.
Hyeon Doun was still staring at me as though he'd seen a ghost.
"I-I never thought I'd live to see this."
"The Young Master changing his own clothes..."
"And personally carrying that sword you always said you hated touching...."
I put on my outer robe and gave him a faint smile before stepping outside.
"If anyone asks where I went, tell them I went out for some fresh air."
"I have somewhere to stop by."
At that same time...
Several young martial artists were gathered in a pavilion.
They were descendants of the great families representing the Demonic Cult.
And their conversation revolved around the Young Cult Leader.
"By the way, isn't it that guy's turn now?"
"Yes."
"That's right."
One of them smirked.
"I feel sorry for the Young Cult Leader."
"To think the final candidate is that worthless bastard from the Black Heaven Family."
Every insult was directed at Heuk Mujin.
There was only one reason they despised him so much.
He had none of the dignity expected of someone born into a prestigious family.
And worse...
He had none of the talent required to stand beside them.
"Still, at least his face is decent."
"Who knows?"
"Maybe the Young Cult Leader will take a liking to his looks."
"Kukuku."
Laughter broke out.
Among them, one woman silently sipped tea.
Black hair.
Black eyes.
