Chapter 156: Break down (2) (2/2)

“But aren’t we putting off our job for too long? We must start.”

A smile formed on his lips.

“It’s time to become stronger. It’s the very reason why I urged you, Jeong Si-woo, to come here when you were enjoying an ordinary life.”

“Right.”

“To be honest, I wouldn’t mind having a Transcendent I can trust…. And if you become a formidable Transcendent, your world will be safe. So this will benefit us both.”

“You’re right. And keeping everyone safe would make me more than happy.”

“Yes. Hahaha.”

The Traveler laughed out loud and approached me.

“Since becoming stronger as a Transcendent will be an unfamiliar concept, I’ll teach you a few things.”

“…….”

“At the moment, you must know that the strength of Transcendents comes from class and powers. The power to actualize the images you envision, and class, the accumulation of achievements that can establish a rank of strength between Transcendents. These two.”

“Yes, for now.”

“But there’s more. Those two are just a fraction of the numerous things that make up a Transcendent.”

The Traveler moved his hands.

“As you know, the fundamental essence of a Transcendent is his image. Mortals can transcend due to a certain trigger, when they find enlightenment by having a strong desire and training endlessly. A Transcendent that went through the process keeps that trigger as their essence, which is their image. And they shed their body and gain a new one that fits that image.”

“…….”

“And losing that new body is basically the same as losing their image. So, new Transcendents can be destroyed by simply stabbing them in their vulnerable areas. This is because the common knowledge that ‘you die when your head is cut off’ and the image that ‘you die if you injure this area’ is stuck in their minds. But those that have transcended a long time ago cannot be destroyed so easily. This is because the strong conviction that they won’t die from such things is stuck in their minds.”

Tap, tap.

He tapped his temple.

“When you reach that level, you can break away from the limitations of your body. You can become a mountain, the sky, and the sun.”

“…….”

“And that is the level that you must reach as soon as possible. You must free yourself from your body. Only then can you own many worlds.”

“Own many worlds?”

“Yes.”

What was he talking about?

I frowned as soon as I heard him.

“You will need to accumulate your class as you live as a Transcendent, and you must create your images. But constantly envisioning images is very difficult for a single being to handle. Although Transcendents have broken through a certain wall, how much more advanced would they actually be? This is why Transcendents possess worlds under the guise of being gods. To let mortals praise them and imagine the image of divinity on their own.”

“…….”

“A world contains numerous religions, and each religion envisions god in its own way. And followers of the same religion each have their own image of god. All of those images are delivered directly to the god that owns the world. Which are then used as tools to create powers and to strengthen themselves.”

“…Used as tools?”

“Yes. Won’t you need this as well? ‘Hunters’ of your world are called many names, but they weren’t named by themselves, right? Likewise, the names, achievements, and class that Transcendents use are mostly attributed by the inhabitants of the worlds that the Transcendents own. They are quite useful.”

Useful, owned, tools.

Those words instantly made the Traveler seem distant. But he was still talking alone, unconcerned.

“You must become worlds to accumulate achievements and spend time building your class. Besides, you have the Akashic Records. You must develop it, as well. The more class you build, the more stories will appear, which will make you stronger. Also, the user of the Akashic Records can freely move through dimensions. This means that it is easier for you to decide which worlds to own. It’s easier for you to grow stronger. This is why I spent so much time looking for an Akashic Records user.”

Although he wasn’t direct, I could tell from his tone of voice. While telling me to use humans as tools, he was thinking of using me as his tool. I wasn’t sure what he was up to, but it seemed like his words definitely included me.

Don’t you know how useful an Akashic Records user is?

Akashic Records users are so useful.

Do you know how much time I spent looking for an Akashic Records user to use as my tool?

‘…Disgusting.’

My skin crawled. I forced a smile and agreed with the Traveler, who was still rambling on. None of his words were normal. Yes. Look at me like that, and think of me like that.

Don’t suspect me, and don’t think that I could be dangerous.

That way, you’ll never know the reason for your death, even at the very moment.

“Yes, thank you.”

I met his eyes.

Looking unsuspecting, the Traveler listened to my reply and then slowly opened his mouth.

“Well… Then let’s start your training right away. There’s no need to waste time.”