Chapter 57 - Episode 9. Three Fortresses Meeting (2)
Chapter 57: Episode 9. Three Fortresses Meeting (2)
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The historians of 《Great Realm》 defined an Awakened One as follows.
An irregular who had escaped the System.
Perhaps because their heretical nature was so blatant, Awakened Ones generally had a poor reputation. The fact that many active Awakened Ones belonged to the terrorist organization Rupture also greatly contributed to that perception.
Public opinion of Rupture could be summed up as follows.
"People who caused unrest in the world at the drop of a hat."
Despite that hostile atmosphere, the value of an Awakened One in the 《Great Realm》 was incomparably greater than that of ordinary Adapters.
Overwhelming strength and rarity.
The Lords of the twelve zones were desperate to recruit Awakened Ones. Though extremely rare, there were even Lords who were Awakened Ones themselves.
According to information circulating among the Hall Masters, Jaehwan, the current Fortress Lord of Gorgon, was one such Awakened One.
And Jaehwan wanted to give them special training.
It was only natural for the Hall Masters to show a strange sort of anticipation.
"That's right. I intend to make Awakened Ones out of you."
A few Hall Masters brightened at those words.
Jaehwan was not finished.
"But I don't intend to make all of you into Awakened Ones."
"Why not?"
"Because there will certainly be people among you who do not want Awakening."
Jaehwan recalled what Cheongheo had told him not long ago.
"You've experienced it yourself, brat, so you know this. For an ordinary being to reach complete Awakening, one must pass through three stages."
The first stage of Awakening.
It was the destruction of the world of Adaptation they had lived in until then. Existing Awakened Ones called this process Dismantling. In Jaehwan's terms, it corresponded to the stage of Doubt.
By breaking their fixed ideas about the world they saw, they realized that the lives they had lived were, in fact, lives agreed upon by countless numerical values.
Those who reached this stage gained eyes that could Dismantle the world and see its essence. Countless numbers and particles that formed the world, the principles that made up the world that had once seemed as solid as stone, began to appear before their eyes.
That was the first stage of Awakening, Dismantling.
Jaehwan swept his gaze over the Hall Masters looking up at him, waiting for his answer.
"Most of you have lived too long to attain Awakening."
Lived too long?
The Hall Master of Thunder God Hall asked with a puzzled expression.
"I don't quite understand what you mean, Fortress Lord."
"I believe he means that we have become too accustomed to this world's System."
The one who answered was Ja Geukryeong, the Hall Master of Goddess Hall. True to her nickname as 《Chaos》's mastermind, she understood Jaehwan's words at once.
The Hall Master of Thunder God Hall still looked confused.
Ja Geukryeong let out a deep sigh and added, "It means we have enjoyed the benefits of the System, things like skills and status, for far too long."
"Ah, is that what you meant?"
"Thunder God, it's remarkable that you managed to become one of the Hall Masters with that level of comprehension."
Yoon Yong, the Hall Master of Thunder God Hall, answered with an embarrassed smile.
"Ahem. Brainpower aside, I am still an Over-Adapter."
Over-Adapters. Among Adapters, they were people who displayed an excessive affinity for things like skills and the Interface System.
These Over-Adapters, often dismissed as people "blessed by the System," could reach high Adaptation stages with less time than ordinary Adapters.
The difference depended on talent, but their rate of growth ranged from ten to over a hundred times faster.
Most of the Twelve Great Lords stood at the peak of such Over-Adapters, making Over-Adapters a rare talent even in the 《Great Realm》.
"You idiot. Is there anyone here who isn't an Over-Adapter?"
Kang Hwang, the Hall Master of Fire King Hall, said as he flicked Yoon Yong on the forehead.
As Kang Hwang said, there was not a single person among the Hall Masters who was not an Over-Adapter. They might not all possess the highest-tier Adaptation talent, but every one of them had at least mid-tier talent. Without that much talent, they could never have risen to the position of Hall Master.
Then Cayman, the South Sea Hall Master, spoke.
"I am not an Over-Adapter."
Cayman, the South Sea Hall Master, had not received the blessing of Adaptation that all the other Hall Masters possessed.
Over nine hundred years, Cayman had reached the high stage of seventh Adaptation through effort alone.
Cayman spoke again.
"And Fortress Lord, I am already prepared."
"It won't be easy."
"Is that because, as the Hall Master of Goddess Hall said, we have become too accustomed to this world's System?"
"Yes."
"If that is the problem, then do not worry."
Cayman, the South Sea Hall Master, spoke with a fierce gleam in his eyes.
"As long as I can become stronger, I am ready to discard my world."
"South Sea Hall Master. Do you know what that means?"
Ja Geukryeong asked sharply.
"It means throwing away all the time we have built up until now. Can you discard every skill and every point of status you have accumulated like scraps of paper?"
Unexpectedly, it was not Cayman but the other Hall Masters who reacted to her words.
They had lived anywhere from two hundred to over a thousand years. They had endured every hardship to become strong and fought for a lifetime to acquire even one top-grade skill.
To tell them to abandon everything they had built until now was no different from telling them to commit suicide.
"That certainly is a little..."
The one who muttered was Kang Hwang, the Hall Master of Fire King Hall. Yoon Yong, the Hall Master of Thunder God Hall, also appeared to agree.
Jaehwan watched their expressions and thought,
Of course.
He had expected this reaction to some degree.
Awakening was an incomplete and uncertain path. There was no reason for high-stage Adapters, already settled on a stable course, to deliberately risk themselves by insisting on the path of Awakening.
High-stage Adapters had grown far too accustomed to the existing System for such a gamble. To the point where it was impossible to tell whether they were the System or the System was them.
Cayman addressed Ja Geukryeong.
"Skills or anything else, I am prepared to throw it all away. Except for my hatred of those Lords."
The words carried a terrifying killing intent.
Ja Geukryeong briefly hunched her shoulders, then spoke again.
"It will not end with simply losing your skills or status! As the South Sea Hall Master who has lived for over nine hundred years, you should know well enough how dangerous Awakening is."
"..."
"You have not forgotten the Great Disappearance, have you?"
A few Hall Masters went pale at those words, while a few others looked as if they were wondering what it was.
Jaehwan was naturally among the latter.
The Hall Master of Thunder God Hall spoke in his place.
"The Great Disappearance? What is that?"
It seemed Yoon Yong's historical knowledge was lacking because he had lived for less time than the other Hall Masters.
Ja Geukryeong lightly bit her lip and began.
"The Hall Masters older than I am will all know this, but there was an event that caused Awakened Ones to become synonymous with fear, as they are now."
"What happened?"
"...Everything began with the emergence of Rupture."
Rupture.
This time, every Hall Master went pale.
There was no one in the 《Great Realm》 who did not know the name of that organization.
"They suddenly appeared in the 《Great Realm》 seven hundred years ago."
Even now, countless powerful people in the 《Great Realm》 remembered what happened then with fear.
"We will fight cultivation."
Seven hundred years ago, the terrorist organization Rupture had suddenly emerged with that declaration.
Needless to say, their rash declaration enraged countless Lords of the 《Great Realm》. The one who objected most fiercely was Maihalt, the Lord of the 4th Zone at the time.
Maihalt was one of the Lords who did not believe the rumors about Awakened Ones.
"I could kill those so-called Awakened Ones with my little finger."
The day after that boast spread, Maihalt, Lord of the 4th Zone, was found in his bedchamber with his little finger severed.
What was more, his little finger had been embedded near Maihalt's heart.
That was when the 《Great Realm》 began to fear Rupture.
The 4th Zone might have been the weakest of the twelve zones, and its Lord's qualifications might have been questioned, but Rupture was an organization capable of killing a Lord in their own bedchamber.
Before the shock of the incident had even faded, Rupture made the following announcement.
"Anyone can become an Awakened One. Those who wish to become Awakened Ones, come to the Forgotten Land."
The 《Great Realm》 were shaken.
Especially because it came right after the Lord of the 4th Zone had been killed.
Rumors of Awakened Ones flooded the 《Great Realm》, and a few Adapters were filled with hope that they could truly become Awakened Ones.
"Deny the world."
Adapters flocked to the Forgotten Land, where Rupture was said to have its headquarters.
There were easily tens of thousands of them.
The strange thing was that almost nothing was known about what happened afterward.
That year, the tens of thousands who gathered in the Forgotten Land vanished as if they had evaporated.
Some said that a portion of them became Awakened Ones. Others said they had gone mad, or that they had been used in Rupture's horrifying experiments before being cruelly discarded.
Only rumors were abundant.
Before long, Rupture fell silent, and the rumors disappeared as well. The missing people never returned.
That was the full account of the event known as the Great Disappearance.
"Among those who headed for the Forgotten Land at the time were Companions who had been with me in the 《Great Realm》."
By then, the Hall Masters were listening closely to Ja Geukryeong's story. Even Hall Masters rarely had a chance to hear about the Great Disappearance.
"Some of them returned from the Forgotten Land as Awakened Ones. They said they had only reached 'first-stage Awakening,' though."
Jaehwan was listening carefully as well. Having never met an Awakened One other than Cheongheo, he found the topic interesting.
"What happened to them?"
"...They all committed suicide."
A few Hall Masters groaned.
"They all suffered from severe dissociation. Some were tormented by madness, while others lost all their memories. Their symptoms differed, but they all had one thing in common."
"What was it?"
"They said they did not really know who they were."
Kang Hwang, the Hall Master of Fire King Hall, spoke.
"They did not know who they were? What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like. I have explained it already. So..."
"A name is enough to explain oneself. I am Kang Hwang, Hall Master of Fire King Hall. Is there anyone who does not know that?"
The Hall Master of Goddess Hall looked at Kang Hwang as though he were pathetic, then said, "Fortress Lord, it seems we already have one person disqualified as an Awakening candidate."
Kang Hwang was about to retort when Jaehwan spoke.
"Ja Geukryeong. Let me make two things clear first."
"What..."
"First, I am not Rupture."
Ja Geukryeong's mouth opened slightly.
In truth, Ja Geukryeong had raised the subject of Rupture deliberately. She had been trying to indirectly learn where Jaehwan came from.
In the 《Great Realm》, everyone thought of Rupture first when they heard the words Awakened One. Yet Rupture was far too dangerous an organization to join. Carelessly becoming involved with Rupture could earn the hatred not only of the Lords of the twelve zones, but also of Big Brother, the being who oversaw the System.
A few Hall Masters visibly relaxed at Jaehwan's words.
"Second, as you said, Awakening can be dangerous. That is why I have no intention of forcing you to become Awakened Ones."
"Then..."
"I will accept volunteers separately for Awakening."
Jaehwan said this while glancing at Cayman.
Ja Geukryeong asked again, "Then what will you do with those who refuse Awakening?"
"I will make them strong too."
"How?"
"I will raise their Adaptation stages."
Ja Geukryeong looked slightly disappointed. She had expected some special answer, but Jaehwan's plan was surprisingly ordinary.
There was also a fatal problem with it.
"In only one week?"
"Yes."
"That is impossible."
"Why?"
Ja Geukryeong spoke as if imitating Jaehwan.
"The first problem is time."
It took hundreds of years just to become a sixth- or seventh-stage Adapter. Yet they had only one week.
"I can solve that problem."
"...How?"
Jaehwan seemed to consider it for a moment, then addressed all the Hall Masters.
"All of you, follow me."
Jaehwan and the Hall Masters arrived at a large clearing behind the Inner Fortress.
A massive one-story circular structure stood in the clearing, taking up a great deal of space. It resembled the stump of a giant tree.
Workers moved busily around it, repairing and smoothing different parts of the structure.
"A building made from Horned Beast horns."
Some Hall Masters touched the building's surface and exclaimed in admiration.
Cheongheo was the only one in the group who was not surprised. He had known for a week that this place was being built.
"You have arrived, Fortress Lord."
Someone stepped forward from among the workers. It was an old man with impressively bulging arm muscles.
"Artisan of Dawn?"
"Why is Twilight Dusk's Deputy Workshop Master here...?"
The muscular old man was Meikal Garnad, Deputy Workshop Master of Twilight Dusk.
Jaehwan asked, "Is construction finished?"
"It is almost complete. We rushed to make it in a week, so it is a little rough, but its performance is fine. However..."
"However?"
"Contamination control is not running smoothly."
"That is fine. We have plenty of horns."
Jaehwan briefly examined the building's exterior and asked, "Can you start it now?"
"I can."
"Then show them."
Meikal nodded and touched the control panel installed outside the structure. He wore an oddly moved expression.
"I never thought I would live to make this."
"You simply never tried before. You could have made it alone."
"Thank you, Fortress Lord."
Meikal smiled faintly.
A humming sound filled the air as lights came on across the building. Shortly afterward, a message appeared before Jaehwan and the Hall Masters.
[Would you like to answer the summon?]
He had never thought he would see this message again while alive.
When Jaehwan responded to the message, the Hall Masters followed him without thinking.
The next moment, Jaehwan and the Hall Masters stood somewhere else.
The Hall Masters realized that this place was inside the structure.
A familiar sensation flooded their minds.
An ancient sense of déjà vu.
Memory boxes buried deep in their consciousness, sealed with old locks, shook wildly.
They knew this place.
How could they forget it?
Someone muttered like a sigh.
"The Tower of Nightmares..."
Then a small message window appeared before them.
[Welcome to the Tower of Nightmares, Carpe Diem.]
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