Episode 129
Quang!
Cheongdo-yul, who was observing the situation from the corner of the huge traditional house, hit the table in anger at the report of his subordinate.
“You missed it? What does that mean?”
I couldn’t understand it intuitively.
He perfectly captured the power of the Jeong-Hwa faction until it was a bit overkill, and even borrowed the power of other neutral factions.
But why can’t we catch Cheongjuhwa, which is only an academy cadet?
However, in response to the answer that followed, Qingdao-Yul had no choice but to feel as if he had been hit in the head.
“… It looks like the Blue Ki-beom group is attached to it. Unchul Chung was accompanying them.”
“Cheongunchul?”
Except for the elders, in fact, he is Chung Woon-cheol, who possesses one of the most powerful forces within his family.
The fact that the subordinates could not use their hands was certainly understandable.
“Why is he… … ?”
It was hard to believe that the Cheong Ki-beom group, who usually sat with their heavy buttocks attached to the living room, moved without knowing me.
However, as a person who stands out from the outside, there is no way they could have looked at it wrongly.
‘… You’re in trouble.’
It was a disappointment for Qingdao-Yul, who tried to clear up the situation in an instant by putting pressure on the cleaning gang from the beginning.
If a solution is not found quickly, the situation may eventually end in a no-nonsense way.
It had to be avoided somehow.
Qingdao-yul hurriedly summoned his henchman, Cheong Yi-rin, and asked for his opinion.
“You know better than I do about the Cheong Ki-bum clique. Do you have any thoughts?”
“Once they step in, they are not the ones who will come out with a mean attitude. If there is a firm goal, there is a high possibility that even the elder Cheong Ki-beom will move.”
In order to deal with the Blue Ki-beom, of course, an exorcist of the same elder level must follow.
However, Qingdao-Yul was unable to move because he was trying to contain Jeong-Ha, and besides, the elders from the neutral forces who decided to add power also sent some of his servants, but they were not easily moved.
“Ts. Does it mean that we have no choice but to pay something and let the elders on our side take the initiative?”
“Yes. The 9 elders, who have a close relationship with Ki-beom Cheong, seem appropriate.”
Cheongjonghu, the 9th elder of the Cheongga. He doesn’t have a very good relationship with the fourth elder, Cheong Ki-beom. Therefore, there was a high possibility that he would be willing to mark him if he paid an appropriate price.
“I can’t help it. Let’s deal with the Blue Ki-bum case like that.”
A rough conclusion has been reached, but it is still a concern. Cheongju-hwa and his party were moving in haste to somewhere until they joined with Cheong-un-cheol. What the hell is their purpose?
Qingdaoyul gave a special order to Cheong Irin in front of him with a small click on his tongue.
“After negotiating with King Jong-Hoon, can you personally confirm their movements?”
“Yes. I will.”
It was the moment when Cheong Do-yul’s henchman and second-in-command, Cheong I-rin, was targeting Han Kang-yun’s party.
***
“… It really was. It is a sight that is hard to believe.”
Unchul Chung spoke to me with surprise. The views of those around them were not much different.
It was because I was able to accurately break through the lengthy maze of mirrors in less than an hour.
‘Twenty minutes is usually enough.’
It was partly because I was careful about whether there would be a difference from the knowledge I knew, and it took longer than expected to move with the party.
As we escaped the maze of mirrors, a small shrine-like structure appeared before our eyes.
After checking the place, I nodded and opened my mouth to Cheong Ji-yeon and Cheong Woon-cheol.
“From here on, the two of you will have to work hard.”
“What do you need?”
“I think you can open the entrance to that shrine with your power.”
There were a total of three conditions to completely break through this Mirror Forest.
The first is that, as mentioned before, you must have either a blue-white sword or a blue-and-white sword.
Second, you must have the minimum skills to overcome the maze of mirrors and open the entrance to the shrine.
And the last condition, the moment you cross that entrance, you will come to know naturally.
“Is this a recipe for breaking the barrier?”
“Yes. A good choice.”
After hearing my words, Ji-yeon Cheong and Woon-cheol Cheong recited a high-level mantra to open the entrance, and immediately fired the completed spell at the same time.
“Chilsan Gyeok (七産擊)!”
“Cheongun Gongjeju (淸韻攻碎嗾).”
Nettle juice!
Wow-!
A significant wave of spiritual power occurred and a roar resounded, and the protective barrier blocking the entrance to the shrine was broken.
Pointing there, I spoke to the group again.
“If you enter the shrine and pass the final exam, you can reach the place where the Proposal Sutra is located.”
“A test?”
“Yes. There is no life-threatening situation, so you are free to enter. If only one person reaches the end anyway, there is no problem getting out of the barrier.”
While the party was contemplating, Cheong Ji-yeon, who made the first decision, took a step back and sat on a tree.
“I don’t let it fall. Seeing you say that, it looks like you have the confidence to break through anyway.”
I nodded at that. As for Cheong Woon-cheol and Cheong Ju-hwa, curiosity preceded worry, it was the three of us who eventually entered the interior.
“As soon as you enter the inside, the Proposal will illuminate the spirit of the entrant and begin the test. If you show your intention to give up, the person will be sent back to the entrance right away, so I think you should judge the situation appropriately.”
“… You know so much about this that it’s suspicious.”
However, Chungwoon Railroad, who said that, looked quite interested.
So the three of us entered the shrine in order, and immediately a bright light covered our eyes and a new place opened up in front of me.
Whoa!
‘Here… … .’
It’s a sight in my memory. A duel map in the VR version of the Exorcism series that I enjoyed in the other world.
Simply put, it meant a place for PVP between users.
‘Perhaps the Proposal Summoned it from my memory and realized it.’
The Proposal Test is very standard and simple.
All you have to do is fight and win against the self that is reflected in the mirror.
Anyway, I knew roughly the strategy, so as soon as I saw the unfolding scene, I immediately laid out amulets all over the place to form a drinking group.
And at that moment, the air was distorted, and the figure of someone who copied me began to materialize.
‘just now.’
Whoops.
I activated the spell through the pre-set alchemy, and the Duplicant immediately responded to it as soon as it opened its eyes.
👌👌👌👌👌👌
Whoa!
However, the lead of several seconds obtained through perfect timing is still valid.
And then I brought my whole body up to a state of concentration and started to maintain that slight difference.
Whoops!
blah blah!
Kwaggagak!
The workshop continued, and as if the clone had the same specs as me, I calmly used advanced technologies and raised the pace without falling behind.
But in fact, I had already won.
Because I never intended to narrow this nuance in the first place.
“Clean squash.”
👌👌👌👌👌
As each other constantly raised the pace, in the end, everyone got closer to the limit.
As a result, the last thing left is me, who was one step ahead from the beginning.
Even though the Duplicants were aware of it, they had no choice but to follow my pace. Because he was designed that way in the first place.
Just as I was exhausted by pouring everything into it, the Duplicate, which had responded to all attacks so far, allowed the first strike.
Nettle juice!
Wow-!
And that was the last.
I poured all of my remaining strength into an abrupt manner and finished the match without the opponent having a chance to do anything.
blah blah!
slurp.
The Duplicant’s figure disappeared as if it had melted away, and I took a deep breath and managed to take a deep breath.
Theoretically, there was nothing difficult, but the perfect winning formula that can only be learned by repeating countless trials and errors.
However, it was nothing special to me, who had been through the ordeal of Proposal in the past over and over again.
In the end, I became the winner, and the Proposal once again changed the surrounding landscape and led me to a new place.
Whoops.
Whoa!
“Arrival?”
The place that immediately appeared before my eyes was a small room inside the shrine that seemed to have enshrined something.
And on the wall in front of it, a mirror with a mysterious energy was showing off its brilliance.
It was the Proposal (靑魂鏡).
‘It’s just like what we saw in the game.’
By obtaining this and handing it over, the transaction with the Blue Ki-bum is completed.
However, as I said before, the Proposal can not directly hand over the things I wanted to get when I also have spare time to Cheong Ki-beom.
So it was necessary to do something secretly.
I leaned against the wall, carefully picked up the proposal, and put my spiritual power into it. Then, a soft light began to appear on the Proposal Sutra.
‘… It must have been like this.’
After that, I was able to separate the mirror face and the frame separately, after having touched the proposal for a long time.
click.
Tuuk.
‘done.’
As far as I know, what Cheong Ki-beom needs is this mirror part of the Proposal.
It was this ability that gave a test to those who entered the shrine.
There is a legend that it is possible to grow beyond the limits by looking into one’s own shortcomings by constantly fighting with oneself in the mirror.
It must have been the most coveted thing for a Blue Ki-beom who purely aspires to be strong, but has already reached a plateau.
However, in fact, the body of the Proposal can be seen as a two-frame rather than a mirror surface.
In order to truly utilize the Proposal Sutra, this frame was absolutely necessary, and even the ability of the mirror can be used only with this frame if conditions are met.
If I could only get this, it was said that I had no regrets at all.
‘Cheong Ki-beom will probably be satisfied with just the mirror, so there is no reason for the deal to go wrong.’
I carefully kept the marriage proposal in my arms and picked up the leftover mirror in my hand.
At that moment, with a bright light, a new figure appeared inside the room. It was Cheongjuhwa.
She narrowed her eyes and looked around, but when she saw me beside her, she immediately opened her mouth.
“Are you saying there is no danger?”
“Even if I lost, there would be no real damage to my body.”
“… You have to tell me that in advance. I thought it was going to fall off.”
It was too familiar to me, so I didn’t take care of it.
By the way, that’s quite a bit of speed. There are several strategies for the trial of the Proposal, but unless you know them, it must have been a difficult fight.
As for the battle, he was indeed a genius with great talent.
“He is not coming. Shall we go first?”
“There is no need to delay.”
Cheongju-hwa and I nodded and left the secret room and headed out of the shrine.
kuung.
“Hey, it looks like it’s already been done.”
It was Cheong Woon-cheol who was bitten by the fact that he couldn’t make a decision, but he immediately put down his regrets and asked me.
“Did you get anything?”
“Yes. Here it is. You may want to check it out.”
A mirror about twice the size of my hand showed off a mysterious light.
With this, the deal with Cheong Ki-beom is concluded, and the power of their faction, which is said to be the best among neutral forces, can be freely borrowed.
So, from now on, it was time to start a counterattack in earnest.