Go Hyeonwoo slowly looked around.
Just a moment ago, he had been sitting cross-legged in the training room. But when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a place that looked like a royal palace or a temple.
So this is the place Kim hyung was talking about...
The land overflowing with dreams and hope, ★Kim Ho Land★.
As far as Go Hyeonwoo was concerned, he wholeheartedly agreed with that description.
Before long, he would be achieving a wish of his own, however small it might be.
Still, the favor he asked of me is no less important.
Even Kim Ho, the one who sent the [Invitation], had not fully grasped this place yet, so there was a need to run experiments whenever the opportunity arose.
As part of that, he had placed Wind God and [Martial Soul(EX)] on his knees while sitting cross-legged.
But at some point, they had ended up in his hands.
At least one thing is certain now.
His inventory would not open, but it seemed bringing items in with him was possible.
Thanks to that, it looked like he would be able to conduct the next experiment as well.
Before that, I should meet them.
Kim Ho’s old acquaintances.
And for him, seniors so far above him they were almost beyond reckoning.
A moment later, Go Hyeonwoo stood before a massive door.
Then, as if a heavy roar had sounded from inside, the door slowly began to open.
GRRRRND—
What spread before his eyes a moment later was a vast great hall.
And inside it stood more silhouettes than he could count, lined up in formation.
For an instant, Go Hyeonwoo felt a crushing pressure bear down on his entire body.
There are this many masters here?
But the pressure quickly transformed into swelling excitement.
Like stepping into a treasure vault overflowing with gold and jewels.
If I could receive instruction from any one of them...
For him, it would be an incredible stroke of fortune.
So the moment Go Hyeonwoo entered the great hall, he offered a respectful bow.
“This unworthy junior greets the seniors he deeply respects.”
...
No reply came.
Even so, somehow, he felt as though they were pleased.
Or intrigued.
Soon the silhouettes stepped aside to the left and right, opening a path, and Go Hyeonwoo began to walk forward slowly.
By the time he reached the center of the great hall, someone emerged from the crowd.
A man draped in a pitch-black robe.
A tyrannical aura and streams of demonic energy poured from his entire body.
His traits were so distinctive that Go Hyeonwoo could guess his identity at a glance.
The Heavenly Demon.
Or at the very least, a supreme master of the Demonic Cult on par with him.
But that is somewhat strange.
According to Kim Ho, the one who came out to receive a guest usually shared a somewhat similar disposition.
So why, out of all the many martial artists here, the Heavenly Demon?
He got the answer soon enough.
A faint breeze stirred through the hall where not a single gust had been blowing, and the man’s robe began to flutter.
WHOOO—
Even if their dispositions differed, their martial arts were extremely similar.
When Go Hyeonwoo tried to bow again, the robed man casually waved a hand.
...
A sign that empty formalities were unnecessary.
So Go Hyeonwoo got straight to the point and put the second experiment into action.
Showing [Martial Soul(EX)].
“I was asked to pass this along.”
Was it possible to lend or transfer an item to one of the figures in ★Kim Ho Land★?
Just from the name alone, [Martial Soul(EX)] seemed deeply tied to the martial-artist class, and Wind God had already been strengthened by it once before.
The person Go Hyeonwoo was meeting was not only a martial artist, but someone who had surely reached the very edge of S-rank, so there was a high chance he would receive similar benefits.
And if he were reborn as a transcendent being that way, then later, he would be able to guide their companions much more easily when they eventually challenged EX-rank.
...
Soon, the Heavenly Demon’s gaze fixed on [Martial Soul(EX)].
And not just his. It felt as though everyone in the hall was showing tremendous interest.
It would not be common even for them to see an EX-rank item.
After some time passed, the Heavenly Demon waved his hand just as he had when they exchanged greetings.
It seemed he had withdrawn his interest just as cleanly.
...So transfer is impossible.
Go Hyeonwoo felt deep disappointment.
Kim Ho would surely feel the same when he heard the news.
Since this had only been an experiment, he would not blame him for it.
Then the wisest course is to gain what can be gained.
It was time to begin the sparring with a powerhouse, the true purpose of the invitation.
Soon, the Heavenly Demon drew a pitch-black sword.
WHOOOO—
The wind filling the hall felt even rougher than before.
Go Hyeonwoo was just about to place a hand on the sword at his waist when—
KIIIIING—!
All at once, Wind God let out a sharp sword cry.
...Why now?
Go Hyeonwoo looked down at it with rare surprise in his eyes, and once again the sword cry rang out, as if urging him on.
KIIIIIIING—!
As if to say, Not that pathetic sword. Use me instead.
Kim hyung told me to bring it in just in case...
The third experiment had been to see whether he could use Wind God here just as he had in Black Serpent Fang.
Of course, he had not pinned great hopes on that.
And he had no intention of going against Wind God’s will.
Had I not sworn it?
That until the day he was worthy, he would not draw it carelessly.
The trust between him and Wind God was no less important than the trust between him and Kim Ho.
KIIING—!
And yet the sword cry kept coming, so Go Hyeonwoo quietly asked in his heart,
Are you saying you will permit it, just this once?
WHOOOO—
Instead of a sword cry, a soft wind wrapped around him.
At that point, it was fair to take it as an answer in the affirmative.
Of course, even if he had Wind God’s permission, he would still be breaking the promise he had made to himself—
But I am in no position to refuse.
He had to grow stronger as quickly as possible and become Kim Ho’s sword.
For that, setting aside his pride for a little while was nothing.
Soon, gripping the hilt, Go Hyeonwoo spoke inwardly.
Then I leave myself in your hands.
And slowly drew Wind God from its scabbard.
The instant he did, a violent storm erupted.
WHOOOOOOO—
Its pressure seemed to surpass even the Heavenly Demon’s by a step.
But Go Hyeonwoo could not withstand Wind God’s power, so just as in Black Serpent Fang, he was feeling tremendous backlash.
Still, it is more bearable than it was then.
Proof that his skill had grown that much.
Soon, with effort, he raised the sword and saluted the figure opposite him.
“Senior, I ask for your guidance.”
...
At that, the Heavenly Demon lowered his sword as though intrigued.
The next moment, demonic energy burst from his body and countless strands of sword energy swept forth like a storm.
At the same time, Go Hyeonwoo also swung Wind God and charged straight at him.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA—!
******
I looked down at Go Hyeonwoo, seated cross-legged.
This is taking longer than I expected.
Which almost certainly meant the fight was dragging out.
That also meant he was learning a lot while he was in there, so it was a good sign.
So I kept standing guard and waiting, and then the training-room door slid open and Han Somi walked in.
“I’m here! ...Huh?”
Apparently, she had not expected me to be here, because her eyes shot wide open.
As usual, it looked like she was about to launch into an “Hiii! Hiii!” barrage of questions, but before she could, I raised my index finger to my lips.
“...Shh.”
Then I pointed at Go Hyeonwoo, and Han Somi zipped her mouth shut too.
Still, since she did not seem to know what exactly was going on, she threw me a What is it? What is it?? What is it??? look about twenty times.
So it was possible to be noisy without saying a word.
Anyway, I lowered my voice as much as I could and explained.
“I used the [Invitation].”
“Oooh! Then right now?”
“He went off to Kim Ho Land.”
And he was probably getting happily beaten black and blue by some S-rank grand-senior right about now.
Han Somi tilted her head and asked again.
“When’s he coming back?”
“He should be almost done.”
“Reaaally?”
Then she crouched down in front of Go Hyeonwoo and quietly peered at his face.
The moment she did, he snapped his eyes open.
“...Mm.”
“Gah! You scared me!”
“You startled me instead. When did you get here?”
“Just now!”
Go Hyeonwoo got up from where he was sitting.
I threw him a question right away.
“How was it?”
“It was an immensely worthwhile time. I feel grateful to you all over again, Kim hyung.”
“Sounds like you learned a lot in there.”
“Of course. I shall explain everything.”
Then he laid out everything that had happened in the inner world.
Including the experiment I had asked him to run.
So you can bring items in, but only the owner can use them.
That was more or less what I had expected.
If you could give items, then it stood to reason you could receive them too.
That would be practically the same as tearing down the wall between worlds, so there was no way it would be easy.
I should assume it was close to impossible, and even if it were possible, it would require very difficult conditions to be met.
I’d just keep testing that from time to time in the future.
And then, when I heard that the one who had come out to receive Go Hyeonwoo was not just any martial artist but the Heavenly Demon, Han Somi’s eyes went round.
“Huh? Why the Heavenly Demon?”
“He seemed to use martial arts of a similar type. The kind that controlled wind—more precisely, flow.”
Since I had raised him myself, there was no way I would not know.
So I casually added,
“It was probably the Heavenly Demon Blood Wind Sword Art.”
“The Heavenly Demon Blood Wind Sword Art...!”
“Yeah, it definitely has that same feel. If the chance comes up, maybe go see it for yourself sometime.”
“By ‘go see it,’ do you mean... the Blood Cult?”
“That’s possible too, but it’s way too dangerous.”
I pointed downward with a finger.
A question mark practically popped up over Go Hyeonwoo’s head.
“...I see. Since you and I have also cleared dungeons related to the Demonic Cult.”
“You can see the Heavenly Demon there too.”
“When the time comes, call on me anytime.”
The next thing that came out of Go Hyeonwoo’s mouth was unexpected too.
“So you used Wind God. No wonder the fight ran long.”
“Even I found it surprising.”
Maybe it was because such a powerful opponent had appeared.
Or maybe Wind God had also wanted to help Go Hyeonwoo grow.
Either way, it seemed to have granted him permission to use it temporarily.
Its power was so overwhelming that it could practically toy with White Serpent, a B+ hidden boss, so it made sense he had held out pretty well even against the Heavenly Demon.
I ran my eyes over him from head to toe.
“Considering that, you look pretty fine.”
“I feel no internal injuries whatsoever.”
Back in Black Serpent Fang, he had ended up half-dead, and I had needed to cast [Retrocovery] on him.
Against the Heavenly Demon, the damage should have been far worse.
And yet there was not a single scratch on him, inside or out.
Then again, Seo Ye-in was totally fine after using her ultra-finisher too.
Normally, she should have turned into an Unlucky Sloth for about a week, but she had still been Lucky Charm.
Which meant you could push yourself harder in the inner world.
I should probably start factoring that into my plans from here on out.
While I was thinking up evil little ideas like that, Go Hyeonwoo spoke.
“I intend to challenge it again right now.”
“What?”
“The sacred relic inheritance.”
Apparently, after handling Wind God several times and gaining new realizations through sparring powerful opponents, he had built up confidence.
Since I also got to save the cooldowns on [Retrocovery] and [Grant], I had no real reason to stop him.
So I nodded easily.
“Go ahead. Want us to step out?”
“It will be fine to do it here.”
Whether it worked or not, it would be over quickly anyway, he added.
Soon, he placed Wind God on the opposite side of the training room and backed away some distance.
Then he manifested the principle of drawing something in through empty space and cracked the blade slightly from its sheath—
KIIIING—!
A sharp sword cry rang out, and fierce winds immediately started to rage.
Go Hyeonwoo stepped forward at once.
The difference from before was that he looked much more relaxed.
KWAKWAKWAK—!
The closer he got, the more sword energy mixed into the wind and came surging at him.
Even so, Go Hyeonwoo strolled forward at an almost leisurely pace, casually flicking his hand.
Before, he had needed to use one technique to neutralize each individual strand of sword energy. But now, even though his gestures were far fewer and slower, the sword energy scattered on its own.
KWAKWAKWAK—!
It did not take long before Go Hyeonwoo had nearly reached Wind God.
Watching him slowly extend his hand, Han Somi said in a voice tight with tension,
“Is it working? Is it working? Did he get it?”
