Level 0 Master

* * *

The light that had covered his view dissipated, and Sungjin stood in a different place. “This is… space?”

It was nothing like the horizon. Stars twinkled among the dark emptiness that seemed never-ending.

On one side, where there was no gravity, was a planet of a natural earthy shade.

“Ho, as expected, you know of space. That planet on the other side is the Valhalla of our world.”

Sungjin turned to the space where the voice echoed from, and there was… several hundred coffins filled with water… with a human brain in each and every one of them.

“That?”

“This is the final form I have achieved. The transcendent knowledge arranged by hundreds of other brains. The wisest scholars over one thousand years have all gathered here. Of course, as of now, I have surpassed the calculations made possible from a hundred heads.”

“Hmm. It’s more like an ‘us’ rather than ‘myself,’ I see.” Sungjin wasn’t surprised, but he began to prepare for what might come next.

“Can you see it? That star with the largest source of light is called the sun. It may look like that, but it is larger than our Valhalla by several times.”

“I knew that much.” It was knowledge he had already learned from astronomy on earth.

“I see. Then you should know that each one of those stars are like the sun, and that each and every one has their own individual worlds?”

“Yes.”

“Huhu. Yes. I have discovered and understood each and every one of those worlds.” The several hundred coffins shone at the same time. “My research becomes my knowledge. Look, the world of water!”

The scenery around him changed. Sungjin now stood on a large rock. There was no land anywhere. All that could be seen was an endless range of blue.

Such a range approached Sungjin, and when that neared him, Sungjin realized that it wasn’t a mountain tall range of water. It was hail. A large hail that couldn’t exist on earth. It was created by the tidal force of three moons. It was not defeatable by the strength of humans. It was a natural disaster that went beyond thorough calculations and control.

The hundred brains created the disaster in reality: a re-enactment of theory. That was the ultimate and only skill the Kaiser of Gold possessed.

A human couldn’t go against it. This was no longer about martial arts.

A large hail that swallowed the horizon—there was some distance, but the size was enough to cover the sky. The water, which had reached his knees, swayed his body.

Why were humans such weak beings before the scholar who had understood the theory of all things?

“Ah…” At that size, even Sungjin’s teammates forgot to cheer for him.

What could he do?

“The universe is large, and there is a world composed of water within it. That sea is ten times deeper than the deepest sea in Valhalla, and the hail reaches higher than the mountain ranges of Valhalla.”

That was the height the scholar had reached in order to understand the world.

Beyond a human’s limit, it was an absolute calculation arranged by hundreds of other brains—the result of theories gathered over a thousand years.

This was a world which couldn’t be described as anything other than dangerous.

But Sungjin, who was watching the hail, didn’t even cower in the slightest, and released a strong fighting spirit. He raised his sword up high. “My dream is everyone’s dream. Those who are forgotten are remembered inside me! Soul Succession!”

From the places where the girls were defeated, several lights appeared. It crossed over space and time and gathered in him. Each individual color gathered into a single white blend of light. Six wings appeared behind him, and a shining light of armour covered him. Even the Dawn Bringer exuded a stronger light. That light shone upon the entire world. It was the exact figure of an archangel that had descended.

“Have you inherited the powers of your defeated allies?” Antherer’s voice rang through the air.

“Yes,” Sungjin replied, flying calmly toward the hail. It was the third skill he had earned after defeating the Kaiser of White Silver: gathering his allies’ powers into one within himself. As long as their souls and wishes were the same… not even death could split them apart.

The hail crashed and swallowed him. Before that natural disaster, Sungjin swung his Dawn Bringer. The white light shot forward and pierced the middle of the hail.

The power of the Kaiser of Gold. Its center was demolished. Sungjin flew through that center and flew higher with a shout. “Show off your scale somewhere else. You can’t do anything to me with this.

If the oncoming hail was the calamity of nature, then Sungjin was the angel which couldn’t be defeated, flying into the sky. Even the sea shooting into the sky couldn’t reach high enough to wet his wings.

“Haha. Are you saying that you’re in the center of the storm even if the storm were to approach? Then how about this. Asteroid!”

The world of water disappeared. The empty space appeared once more, but this was not a position where one could observe the stars. This was a space where remains of past stars floated about. The world of asteroids. The world where the remains of stars were brought together into a ring by gravity. They were called remains, but they were more like large asteroids.

Those remains began to rush at Sungjin at high speed. It was the calamity that was presumed to have ended the earth’s age of dinosaurs. It was certain that his body would turn to dust the moment one landed a hit.

The first asteroid approached. When Sungjin slashed with his sword, a light was slashed out, and it split the asteroid into two.

But it didn’t end there. The asteroid exploded into smaller remains. They were small in comparison, but they were actually as large as mountains.

The pieces sped up and rushed at Sungjin. When Sungjin slashed a bit more, the flying pieces split even further, and those pieces exploded into even smaller pieces. Now, the millions of pieces rushed toward Sungjin.

Although the radius of the sword’s range blocked some of them, a storm of meteors avoiding the radius struck to the very front of Sungjin.

Successive attacks eliminated about one fifth of them. All of the rest rushed forward as if they could tear apart Sungjin’s wings. Anything that hit would have a tremendous impact like a heavy truck.

They were also impossible to avoid. The cosmic scale of the tens of thousands of meteor fragments created no intervening gaps.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones.

A meteor storm in the universe was of a different level from a natural disaster on earth.

Sungjin seemed to give up, releasing the sword and quietly falling down. It was as if he had left everything to fate and was praying, but they were mistaken.

The next moment, a strong energy stretched out from within his body toward everywhere. It was filled with a mighty strength that overwhelmed everything.

And… the flying meteorites subtly orbited. It was only a little movement, but as a result, the meteorites bumped into each other and exploded. It became a chain, as the bursting pieces flew back to another meteorite. Then the trajectory changed again and again, repeating so that they continued to bump into each other. It seemed as if the invisible hand of God decided to push and pull the meteorites against each other and destroy itself.

No, it was neither fate nor divine hand. It was the energy that stretched out of Sungjin.

It orbited the meteorites. It was not necessary to move all tens of thousands of pieces. Sungjin calculated exactly where to move them and how they would bump into each other.

The successive meteorite explosions created a splendid sight, but Sungjin’s body did not have a single small wound. The six wings continued to shine brilliantly without any flaws.

Words of praise came from out of outer space. “Is it possible to have full control over the force that is released from within the body, even outside of yourself?”

“Yes.”

“The Kaiser of White Silver couldn’t do that.”

“If learning from a master is a privilege of disciples,” Sungjin laughed, “isn’t it polite to reach beyond the master’s level?”

He was able to realize the heights much faster because he had already fought one-on-one those who had reached such heights. Then the next thing was, of course, going beyond. He also prepared while training his teammates.

“Hahahaha.” Laughter rang high.

Sungjin aimed the sword toward the air.

“Now it’s my turn.”

Six wings spread wider, and a more intense light emanated from it. That intense light began to gather on the sword. At the end of the sword, the density of the light rose higher and higher. Soon, the rising light was reconstructed into a huge white sphere at the end of the sword.

“Light of Genesis!” The liberation of Dawn Bringer. The stillness of the world. A mythical light that cuts back chaos and returns order.

The photosphere became a huge beam and ran straight. The white sphere became a huge ray of light that ran straight through the infinitely wide space, and… the light hit one of the seemingly endless spaces.

As the hidden window broke, the cracks opened up. He heard the sound of space breaking. The cosmic space was broken, revealing the myriad of brain coffins. Sungjin flew wildly towards that place and stabbed his sword.

Crash.

The tube was broken, and the brain inside it was stabbed.

“Do you have any last words?” Sungjin asked before breaking the rest of the brains.

“Huhu. It was a good game.” The old man with his cane appeared again. “I didn’t expect to lose on the very first game.”

“If I came to you first without going through the Kaiser of White Silver, I would have lost your first game.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything else to say?”

Antherer looked at Sungjin with calm eyes. The eyes had many emotions. “Now you will rule the world for a thousand years. But you wouldn’t be content by ruling the earth for a thousand years, yes?”

“Of course.”

“Haha. okay… … . If I couldn’t accept that a thousand years is enough, how could it stop you?” Antherer burst into laughter. “This world’s best game is waiting for you. You can’t be satisfied unless you’re in front of it.”

It was like winning the semifinals and abstaining from the finals. Sungjin’s eyes shone with enthusiasm. “Well… I promised something.” He promised that if he became an Arc Master, he’d create a better world.

“I see. The fate of the god’s realms is upon you…” Trailing off, Antherer shook his head. “No. You might surpass it.”

“Leave it to me.”

Antherer scanned Sungjin from top to bottom again. “What is waiting in the sanctuary is… nevermind. It’s something you have to bump into and get over. My analysis is that you are more likely not to go beyond fate after all, but it’s more fun, because I may be wrong”

“Ho. Really?”

“Will you find the ultimate answer beyond the sanctuary? I wonder what it would be like to find out.”

“Yes.”

It had been his research for over a thousand years. Sungjin fully understood the Kaiser of gold’s disappointment, who had to leave without seeing the ending.

“So do me a favor.”

“What?”

Antherer lightly hit the ground with a cane. Then, a tube of opaque crystal soared. Unlike other tubes full of liquid, the crystals were hardened.

“Is there anyone inside?” Beyond the crystal, a faint doll could be seen.

“My granddaughter was hibernating for this moment.”

“Granddaughter?”

“Yes. I was worried about what I should do if I don’t complete my research, so she volunteered to complete it on my behalf if such an event was to pass.”

“Hmm.”

“I want to leave this child to you. Can you let her watch for me the last answer you find, whether it is the right answer or the wrong answer?”

“Ok. I accept that request,” Sungjin answered readily. How can I refuse a fan’s request to watch my game?

Even though he was summoned to Valhalla, he did not forget his role of a wannabe pro-gamer.

“Thank you. Afterwards, I will support you to go beyond the fate awaiting you.”

Then, all the coffins exploded in unison. It was to leave without waiting for Sungjin to strike.

“Farewell. I learned a lot.” Sungjin bowed to his opponent’s last example.

This battle would surely be a great foundation for progressing into the god’s realm.