Chapter 32 of 100
Chapter 32
8 min read1,908 words
Chapter 31. Artificial Intelligence AI (1)
I can see a black ceiling.
A space created naturally, untouched by human hands.
I was moving inside it.
‘Am I alive?’
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
My senses are dulled, making it hard to judge.
I could only guess that the lower part of my back was being dragged.
‘I feel dizzy.’
My vision cleared for a moment, but I soon closed my eyes again.
The only thing that remained in my mind was the fact that I was still alive.
“Hey. Wake up.”
How much time had passed?
When Seohui opened her eyes again, a familiar face appeared before her.
It was Geun.
He was waking her up.
“I’ve regained consciousness.”
Geun, who was carefully examining Seohui’s pupils, said something.
It seemed like he was reporting to someone.
She wanted to lift her head, but she couldn’t muster the strength.
She briefly glanced around and opened her status window.
[State, Status]
Seohui [Low-Rank Squad Leader]
Life Coins 2 [Two chances]
24 parts of the body torn or injured, including minor damage to the temporal lobe, pain in the tibia, and paralysis of the left arm.
[Value, Stats]
Health 85/26,735
Internal Energy 3,500/29,180
Combat Power Below 10,000
‘I’ve taken quite a beating.’
A tingling pain and dulled senses are now flooding in.
Only then could Seohui see her surroundings.
As expected, it was a cave.
In the dim space, yellow lights were hung on both sides, and people were sitting in a corner.
Of course, their faces were not visible due to the darkness.
“It seems you’ve regained consciousness.”
A figure from a little distance away approached.
Although it was dark,
right next to her, the light faintly revealed his face.
‘This person...’
Seeing his curly hair that reached his shoulders, Seohui’s eyes widened.
She knew this person.
No, she couldn’t possibly not know him.
The place where she had gone to take the Yan test after finishing the Wu test.
The person who had killed her there.
[State, Status]
Guiyanmajun (Ghost Eye Demon Lord) [8th Rank of Hongmayuan (Red Demon Academy)]
Physical Condition Normal
Coin 1
Hostility: 95% (Dangerous)
Allied with the first disciple of the Heavenly Demon.
[Value, Stats]
Health 350,000/350,000
Internal Energy 310,000/310,000
Combat Power 420,000
His status and abilities, which had not been revealed before, now appeared one by one.
Truly, his stats were beyond measure.
He was a person of a different caliber from those she had encountered before.
“You seem to recognize me.”
Seohui’s reaction amused the middle-aged man with long hair.
He placed a chair in front of Seohui and sat down, continuing to speak.
“After all, you’ve been a spy, deceiving others. It would be strange if you didn’t know me.”
“...”
His calm voice brought an overwhelming pressure.
Seohui lifted her head to look at him.
Not at Guiyanmajun’s face, but at the words floating above his head.
[Insight + 1]
‘Insight?’
Was it because her mind reading skill had improved?
She could see various words appear.
Though she didn’t yet understand their meaning.
“If you answer my questions well, I can give you a quick death.”
“...”
“Who sent you?”
Seohui lifted her head and stared at him. Then, she smiled and said,
“...I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Indeed, words won’t work.”
Guiyanmajun placed his hands on the joints of Seohui’s shoulders.
Then, he infused internal energy.
“Aaaaaah!”
An indescribable pain surged.
Fenggenzhegu.
A technique that twists the flow of qi to cause extreme pain.
Fortunately, Guiyanmajun withdrew his internal energy after a short time.
“Gasp.”
Seohui couldn’t regain her senses.
It was a pain stronger than the one felt just before death, a truly unbearable agony.
“I’ll ask again. Who sent you?”
“Gasp. Gasp...”
“While staying in the Taihuang Pavilion and achieving this level of skill without any affiliation, you must have some backing, right?”
“Backing. Hah, hah...”
Seohui barely regained her senses. She lifted her swollen, bloodshot eyes and smiled.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Who?”
“...The Master of the Taihuang Pavilion. He’s the one who...”
“Aaaaaah!”
Fenggenzhegu began again.
This time, it lasted a bit longer than before.
To Seohui, it felt like an eternity.
Crunch, crunch.
A few of Seohui’s teeth shattered and fell to the ground.
The pain of her shoulder bones being crushed seemed to shatter her mind.
Snap.
Guiyanmajun grabbed Seohui’s hair.
He met her trembling eyes and continued.
“This is boring if we do it so quickly, isn’t it?”
“...The opposite... isn’t it?”
“What?”
Seohui’s body shook like a leaf, but her eyes were clear.
“If you don’t kill me by the time the Wu test ends... the one in a difficult position won’t be me, but you.”
“...!”
Seohui saw it.
A subtle change in Guiyanmajun’s expression.
A moment of silence followed.
During this time, Guiyanmajun released Seohui’s hair and asked,
“Why do you think that?”
“Because Gonma will find me. So, you made sure I couldn’t pass the Wu test.”
“Why would we?”
“Because I know the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion’s secrets.”
“You’re a funny one. So, how does knowing the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion’s secrets affect us?”
“Haha. Are you asking because you don’t know, or do you want to keep probing?”
Seohui glared at Guiyanmajun.
Then, she revealed her broken teeth and spoke clearly.
“Where do you think the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion is aligned? Coincidentally, the first disciple’s spies are interrogating me. Isn’t that enough of an explanation?”
“...!”
This time, there was a clear reaction.
Seohui saw his eyebrows tremble slightly.
‘My guess was right.’
There was only one reason why they were hostile to her.
A threat to the first disciple, Salma.
But Seohui had never done anything that could threaten the first disciple.
If there was, it was only the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion.
This led to one hypothesis.
Especially considering their intention to ask about her backing.
From the moment she revealed the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion’s weakness to Gonma, the other side must have moved.
And that thread must have been connected to the first disciple.
“Funny. The one who provoked the fight with Geun was you. So, why do you think we prevented you from taking the Wu test?”
“Originally, you planned to let me take the test. You thought I would die there. But your plan changed. Because Geun’s identity as a spy was revealed to me.”
‘The Wu test. It was a test I couldn’t pass from the start.’
Seohui thought as she looked at Guiyanmajun.
The order of the tests was irrelevant.
Even if she had passed the Body test and chosen one of the second tests—Yan, Xie, or Pan—she was destined to meet Guiyanmajun.
The reason she was alone in front of the Guardian Lion when she arrived at the Wu test.
It all proved that they were all in cahoots.
Even if she had given up halfway, they would have tried to kill her.
Do you have any evidence?
Yes.
Right here.
■ Year 95 of the Dynasty, Chapter 2-15. [Becoming a Core Warrior] After failing the Wu test, the final opponent.
The text that appeared when she saved.
Failing the test meant it was impossible to pass, and the final opponent referred to ‘Geun’.
“Now, be honest. Are you curious about my backing? Or...”
Seohui looked behind her.
She continued, looking at the person whose legs were barely visible in the darkness.
“...Haha, are you curious about how much I revealed to Gonma about the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion?”
“...!”
Seohui saw it.
The two men were flustered by her words.
And a strange message appeared before her eyes.
[With adequate insight, you have grasped the first disciple’s intentions.]
‘Huh?’
The words above Guiyanmajun’s head disappeared, and this message appeared.
[You have gained insight points, allowing you to upgrade one of your martial arts to a higher level. <Permanent>]
‘What does this mean?’
While Seohui was tilting her head in confusion,
“You’re more interesting than I thought.”
This was not said by Geun or Guiyanmajun.
A figure who had been quietly observing from the darkness.
He stood up from his seat and spoke.
“But you’ve missed one thing.”
His figure, revealed by the yellow light, showed a red robe, rarely seen even in the main school, with gold threads on the collar and chest.
“There’s someone here who can kill you even if the Wu test isn’t over.”
‘This person...’
Seohui’s expression hardened.
The numbers started to appear one by one, and the yellow light revealed his face.
“He’s the one who brought you here.”
“Sa, Salma...!”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Paaah!
The moment she saw the sword energy burst from him like a furnace, she lost consciousness.
After that, the flow of her vision naturally turned to text.
A familiar passage.
▶ Start from the beginning.
▷ Continue from here.
▷ Load a saved point.
Again, at the fork in the road of her life.
<You have chosen to ‘Load a saved point.’>
She had no intention of starting over.
After fighting so hard to get this far, going back to the beginning.
It meant giving up everything she had risked her life for.
In the end, Seohui had no choice but to choose a saved point.
[To which point would you like to rewind time?]
□ Year 95 of the Dynasty, Chapter 2-1. The three lives Gonma offers
■ Year 95 of the Dynasty, Chapter 2-15. [Becoming a Core Warrior] After failing the Wu test, the final opponent.
[Empty save slot]
‘Whether the first or the second, I will end up making the same choice.’
One thing she learned from this death.
Even if she returned to the life Gonma offered, passing the Wu test was impossible.
Since the first disciple was directly involved, she would inevitably have to fight Geun.
As for choosing a life with higher difficulty, she had no interest in that now.
‘If I have to fight anyway...’
Seohui’s gaze went to the second option.
Choosing this would mean fighting Geun again.
She believed there was a possibility.
There were combat abilities she hadn’t used yet.
A fight she had to win at all costs.
Based on the AI combat style she had seen before, it seemed much stronger than fighting directly.
And she had gained a new ability called Insight, though she didn’t know what it was.
‘This time, I will win. I have to win at all costs!’
[Year 95 of the Dynasty, Chapter 2-15. Rewinding time.]
* * *
As soon as she chose, a white light appeared.
Gradually, her surroundings became visible.
The underground storage of the Thousand Days Pavilion.
“Oh, I don’t have time.”
Seohui became anxious.
Geun must have just passed through the entrance of the Thousand Days Pavilion.
She quickly selected the text at the top of the screen.
Combat Style
Seohui changed it from turn-based to AI.
Then, she hurriedly opened the tool box.
She needed to create variables because the AI would think and move on its own.
[Tool Box]
<Medicines>
Golden Wound Medicine 5, Iron Blood Poison Antidote 1
<Herbal Medicine>
Huan Su Ling Shen Pill 1
<Equipment>
[Armor] Advanced Plate Armor 1, Mingwang Armor 1
[Weapon] Wu Ling Dao 1, Yue Xiang Bi 1
[Accessory] Bai Hun Tan 1
<Secret Manual>
Four Great Extreme Demon Arts - Wind
<Miscellaneous>
Wu Test Treasure Map (7/7), Wu Test Map (Body) 1, Wu Test Record 1