Chapter 287 (2/2)

This was much sooner than he expected.

The color shifted from indigo to blue, then from blue to green.

Gradually, the coloration approached a reddish hue. This change indicated the weakening of the magic circle’s effects.

“I expected him to take at least two hours…”

Bak Yun-gyu was deeply stunned by the fact that Su-hyeun managed to raid the indigo-colored dungeon much faster than expected and couldn’t help but take another look at the current time.

He checked several times in disbelief, yet only five minutes or so had passed by.

“Five minutes to raid an indigo-colored dungeon…”

Other than “As expected of him,” Bak Yun-gyu couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Su-hyeun always managed to exceed his expectations. No, not just his, but even the entire world’s on his way of reaching the current heights.

Now was no different either.

As the magic circle’s color changed completely to red and slowly dissipated, Bak Yun-gyu began applauding.

Clap, clap, clap—

“As expected of you, what an amazing—”

Drip—

The sound of liquid dripping onto the floor resounded.

Bak Yun-gyu’s keen hearing caught that sound clearly. That’s why he instantly stopped clapping and shut his mouth.

Soon afterward, the magic circle’s color completely vanished, and Su-hyeun’s figure revealed itself.

“M—Mister Su-hyeun?!”

“Ah…”

The blood that flowed out from Su-hyeun’s body was now pooling on the ground.

He staggered unsteadily before discovering Bak Yun-gyu and then, while barely supporting his body with his sword, asked, “Can I…ask you for a favor?”

“Just what on earth…? N—no, before all that…”

“I trust you, so…I’m going to…sleep for a bit.” Su-hyeun, barely keeping himself upright by leaning against the sword with shaking hands, finally lost consciousness at that point.

Plop—

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He didn’t need long to take a hold of his faint consciousness and open his eyes again.

The current location was South Korea’s top hospital where recovery-type awakeners could be found. It was precisely at this place that Su-hyeun opened his eyes after receiving the medical care of the best physicians and A-Rank-and-higher recovery-type awakeners.

“You’re awake?!”

“How are you feeling???”

“The patient has regained consciousness!”

After opening his eyes, Su-hyeun was greeted by a cacophony of urgent voices, which helped him realize that he was currently lying on a hospital bed.

“How long have I been out for?”

Su-hyeun asked the two people he saw first after opening his eyes, Lee Ju-ho and Bak Yun-gyu.

Since Bak Yun-gyu was with him back in the training hall, this made sense, but Lee Ju-ho must have rushed here after receiving the news.

“About one hour? You woke up almost right away after you got transferred here, got your injuries healed, and had some IV fluid injected in you.”

“…Is that so?”

“Just what happened back there? Unless you were taking on a trial, you wouldn’t have gotten injured that badly, right?” asked Lee Ju-ho as he observed Su-hyeun’s expression.

The latter seemed to be a bit out of it at the moment. Lee Ju-ho waved his hand in front of Su-hyeun’s face to make sure. “Did he black out again?”

“…No, I’m feeling fine now,” Su-hyeun replied before shaking his head. He seemed to have finished organizing his thoughts by then and raised his upper body, only to lie back down on the bed again.

“Just what exactly caused your injuries?” Bak Yun-gyu asked, hoping for an explanation.

The word of Su-hyeun’s injuries had already gotten around and reached those with robust information networks by the time he was admitted to the hospital. Reporters that picked up on the scent of a potential story had already published articles filled with nothing but their baseless conjectures.

One wrong move could result in the Authority being blamed for Su-hyeun’s injuries. That’s why Bak Yun-gyu couldn’t help but get deeply anxious from the entire affair.

“Could it be that a defect in the magic circle or—?”

“I’d have broken out of the magic circle by myself if that was the case. It’s nothing like that, so you don’t have to worry,” Su-hyeun replied while quickly waving his hand around. “It’s just…I was not good enough, that’s all.”

“Not good enough, you say?”

“That ‘guy’ turned out to be far more dangerous than I thought, you see.”

Bak Yun-gyu’s expression became even more confused at Su-hyeun’s reply. “I’m not sure what kind of a monster you ran into inside the simulation, but I was under the impression that all the injuries inflicted by a monster inside the magic circle will disappear as soon as the simulation is over.”

“That should be the case. If not, it’d be no different from a regular dungeon, after all.”

“In that case, how…?”

“The magic circle wasn’t the cause,” Su-hyeun replied and then glanced at his own sword resting next to his bed. Bak Yun-gyu had recovered it and brought it here. “It’s just that I incorrectly used my powers, that’s all.”

“Your powers…incorrectly?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you any more than that. And if it’s possible, please block the publication of the news reports as well. There’s someone who will feel bad after learning about this incident, you see.”

If Kim Dae-ho learned about what happened here, he would no doubt feel apologetic toward Su-hyeun. He might even start thinking that he failed to craft the sword properly and caused Su-hyeun’s injuries.

Su-hyeun obviously didn’t want that.

“There’s no need for him to feel that way, after all,” he thought.

Despite what happened, a grin appeared on Su-hyeun’s face.

Up until now, his preference when it came to weapons had always leaned toward something that boasted better sharpness, sturdier durability, and smoother magical energy conductivity than his previous gear. Su-hyeun’s nature of sticking to the basics played a large role in that.

Of course, he hadn’t had a change of mind about the basics being important.

However, the story had to change if things were like this. This Palm Leaf Sword was basically a custom-made weapon exclusively for Su-hyeun’s use.

“Uncle has created something truly extraordinary here,” he inwardly triumphed.

Su-hyeun had been thinking that the biggest gain from the 60th floor’s trial was the rise in the level of his magical energy. But he was wrong. In all honesty, both the level and the total reserve of his magical energy would have reached this point sooner or later.

However, knowledge such as the Sage Arts was a different matter altogether. On top of that, he even received presents that he couldn’t fully comprehend yet.

The Somersault cloud from Sun Wukong.

And then the Palm Leaf Fan from the Bull Demon King.

These two things had to be some of the greatest presents Su-hyeun had ever received in his life.

“I’ll put them to good use, big brothers.”

He abruptly remembered the Bull Demon King’s message delivered by the administrator.

“We’ll meet again, little brother.”

Su-hyeun didn’t believe they were some simple parting words.

Once one reached the zenith of the Sage Arts, one would apparently see through the truths of the world and even gain the power to predict future events.

The Bull Demon King was infinitely close to becoming an actual god. Therefore, Su-hyeun couldn’t help but wonder if the Yogoe had already foreseen the future where they would meet again.

Honestly, Su-hyeun wished for it.

Every time he used either the Somersault cloud or the “Palm Leaf,” he thought he could see their faces.