I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 77 : Daoist Scholar’s Fan (3)

I stepped on the stairs and began to descend down the passage. The stairs continued even until the moment the surface of the water that had been sloshing above my head became a stone passage.

‘I have to go down quite deep.’

When I finally reached the end of the stairs, a dark passage appeared. At the same time, the path that had been following me disappeared.

‘Are they planning to trap me if I don’t meet the qualifications?’

I gently lifted my head and looked at the dark interior of the cave.

The air of the area itself was heavy. A feeling as if I had entered water. The density of the atmosphere that filled this place was high.

Just then, an ominous scratching noise was heard, and with a strong wind, a fierce sound wave pressed down on my whole body as if to bind it.

“Keuk!”

A pressure that made it difficult to even take a single step. And on top of that, a cold water, no, a shadow, as cold as ice, rose from under my feet.

It was said that Zhuge Goya had once served as the honorary head of the Dark Martial Sect, and it was not an empty boast.

‘First, I’ll take the control of the shadow that is suppressing my mobility. I can block the wind with a shield and resist it with magic. The problem is the sound wave…’

For some reason, it was difficult to completely offset even that wave with the senses of [Absolute Magic].

‘The difference in power is too great in the first place.’

It was difficult to completely offset the vibration that was ringing throughout this entire cave at my level. It was the same principle as a human being unable to do anything in a huge rapid stream.

And on top of that, the deeper I went, the stronger the yin energy of the shadow became.

Because of that, the scenery inside the passage changed from a strong wind to an ice mixed with snow. And from the melted ice, a tree grew, and a fire blazed, using the fallen branches as a perch.

When I responded to this as well, finally, from the cave wall that had melted in the heat, a metal poured out with an electric shock.

The exquisite harmony of yin and yang and the five elements.

‘Do I have to deal with everything that Zhuge Goya has accumulated?’

I interfered with the daggers that were pouring down from the air in the form of a magnetic field circuit and twisted their path.

A skill that would have been impossible without an understanding of the yin and yang and the five elements and a delicate control.

‘The problem is that the end of the passage is not getting any closer.’

The threatening formation that was coming at me right now was a trick. The real problem was something else.

I spread my senses and looked at the inside of the passage.

‘The sound waves that are trembling throughout the entire cave are interfering with my perception.’

I pondered as I moved my feet.

No matter how much I walked, the passage was the same. No, on the contrary, the closer I got, the more I could feel the inside also getting longer.

This was also a high-level illusion. Because in reality, it wasn’t that I was getting farther away, but my stride was gradually decreasing in the pressure that was getting heavier.

If I take one step, then the next, that stride is reduced by half. If I continue with the next step, then that stride is reduced by half again.

Before I knew it, I was under the illusion that I was walking while standing still.

Like a being who had fallen into a cycle of never being able to reach the finish line.

I remembered a thought experiment that I had heard of someday.

‘Zeno’s paradox.’

A famous proposition. The logic that if the distance to the destination is infinitely divided, as it is now, then we can never reach it.

“Damn it.”

Only then could I realize what kind of place I had entered.

From the moment I had entered this great formation, it was impossible to release this pressure with just my personal strength. Because the entire lake, no, the entire natural earth vein was pressing down on me.

That’s why I could realize it instinctively.

‘From the moment I stepped in here, I was caught in a trap that I couldn’t get out of.’

A formation with no answer. In that moment, I thought of one existence.

The Unsolvable Formation.

A difficult problem that even no formation master could solve. That’s why I recalled the definition of a mysterious formation that was named because it was presumed that there was no solution.

If this formation were to be revealed to the public, it would be named the Unsolvable Formation.

But I know.

That there is a way to pass through this formation as well.

‘A paradox is just a paradox.’

Woooong-

In the midst of the pressure that was getting stronger, before I lost consciousness, I mobilized all my abilities and grasped the dark cave. Then I felt it. One variable that was dominating this space.

‘It’s that vibration.’

The sound that was still heard even after passing the formation exam. The tremor that was resonating as if it were digging into my brain at some point. But from some point on, that existence had disappeared from my mind.

As if someone had erased it.

‘Then…’

And so, as I was continuing my thoughts, I was about to lose my consciousness to the vibration that was dominating my mind, but I suddenly came to my senses.

‘Don’t tell me, this is?’

A certain intuition came to me. I lifted the Seven Star Ladle in that resonance. And I controlled the mana and put the vibration of the inside of the cave entirely into the Seven Star Ladle.

Jiiing-

Then, along the groove of the Seven Star Ladle, the vibration created a music like a record.

A regular and religious rhythm as if a certain high frequency and a low frequency had been combined.

“Ha, so this was the identity of the final exam.”

I gathered my center in the midst of the consciousness that was becoming hazy and seemed to be sucked in by the vibration.

A trance state. An abnormal state of awakening that you enter when you listen to a sound wave of a certain frequency.

The reason why shamans, when they take a group of gong players and shake their bodies, roll their eyes back and ride a straw cutter is because of this external stimulus.

Zhuge Goya’s formation had been intentionally inducing that throughout this entire space.

‘This has gone beyond the level of having a deep knowledge of music.’

To think of a trance state that is obtained in exchange for playing the strange noise of the cave with the Seven Star Ladle.

I continued to walk, holding the Seven Star Ladle. Then the vibration became stronger, and my consciousness gradually faded.

I endured it and thought.

‘What in the world is he trying to show me?’

Every time I take a step, I can feel my mind floating. Beyond my flickering vision, I could vaguely feel the spiritual realm that had been built through the formation.

I was silent at that boundary.

A dangerous gamble where I might lose my consciousness itself. If by any chance Zhuge Goya had prepared some kind of device that was not even in the guide, then everything would be over.

But my worries were short. Because I knew instinctively.

That from the beginning, I couldn’t have reached the end of that cave without entering an unknown realm.

Because this was the final exam where Zhuge Goya had put all his essence.

I continued to play the Seven Star Ladle, until the end.

The world swayed. The outline of the surface was erased, and the line that had divided the world scattered.

And so, the moment the boundary of everything became blurred, I entered the spiritual realm.

‘Where is this?’

The rugged cave walls that had been surrounding all directions were fitted together, and a magnificent stone palace appeared in a bright background. And in the center of it was an old man who was standing with his back turned.

‘Zhuge Goya?’

The moment I reflexively tried to get closer, I heard the opponent’s voice.

【Child. Why are you trying to move forward?】

A thought that rang not in my eardrums, but in my mind itself. I gave an answer.

“Because that’s the only way.”

【Will you not regret it?】

The question that followed. But what he wanted was not an answer.

Before this side could even part its lips, Zhuge Goya’s body and the world scattered.

And what appeared was a child.

The sharp eyes, which had a hint of intelligence, were somewhat familiar. A boy who was holding a sword and striking to the point where his hands were chapped. It was Zhuge Cheonwu.

I watched it. I did not block the images that were rising from somewhere deep in my heart.

There, the memories that had been worn out and had settled in my subconscious were seated.

The appearance of trying hard, the despair of being blocked by the wall of talent, the frustration, the checks of those around, the giving up, the attempt to change the bloodline, the twisted blood, the pain, the added madness. All of it brushed past.

No, it came out of my body and entered my body again.

The thoughts continue. The memories of Jaejun began to rush in.

It was an ordinary life. But it was also an unhappy life, like others.

Effort was not rewarded, and after experiencing frustration, I compromised and continued my days, rationalizing that everyone lived like that.

Even though I had wanted to be a protagonist.

So I wanted a well-made game. Because I wanted to find something special in it. I longed for a world I could immerse myself in.

In it, there was a being that was different from myself.

A character who had the courage to challenge again even after being betrayed by his efforts. He had talent and infinite opportunities.

A world where potential, opportunity, and effort were rewarded was there. So he could always stand up even after being hurt and denied by the world.

That was a game.

I think. About Zhuge Goya’s question, about the bottom that I have to face.

Now, why am I moving forward?

To live? Am I really just struggling to live? Was that all?

No.

At least here, there is a specialness that my ordinary self does not have.

Something I had longed for so much. There is a possibility.

I can reach the brilliance that I had left in a corner of my heart, something that I could not achieve.

I can do the impossible.

I can do what I cannot do.

Do I need any other reason than that?

Crack-

A crack forms in the world of my consciousness. A line is drawn.

I was stepping on the floor that had been created before I knew it. And in accordance with that, all the world was pushed back.

Perhaps there was a point where Cheonwu’s life and my own were similar.

I had experienced the betrayal of effort and frustration. But even so, I was living with a desire to become, a longing. That was perhaps a lingering attachment, in another sense…

A wish.

In the mixed consciousness, the memories of Cheonwu and Jaejun are combined.

Perhaps it was the first time I had faced Zhuge Cheonwu since I had entered this body.

Finally, in the collapsing world of my consciousness, I moved towards the light.

When I came to my senses, my vision returned with my breath. When I lifted my head, it was a dark passage.

Although it was the same pressure as before, for some reason, my heart was light.

So even in a situation like this, I had the leisure to look back not only on myself, but also on Zhuge Goya. I thought.

Why a lake?

The initial question came to my mind anew.

Everyone praises the result and the process of becoming a dragon. They discuss the strength of a dragon, the miracle of a dragon being born from a mere lake. But did the fish that had become a dragon really think it was just a lake? Didn’t it want to come back?

Now that I had felt this resonance, this tremor, I could be certain.

That the fish that had become a dragon had missed the lake.

That with regret and a lingering attachment behind, the dragon had soared towards the sky.

I walk. The closer I get to the end of the passage, the slower my steps become.

As expected, the pressure is the same.

If I take one step, then it slows down by half.

When I go halfway, that stride is halved, and when I go the next half, that stride is halved again.

It’s distant.

It feels like I can never reach it.

And yet, I was just repeating empty thoughts.

Did Zhuge Goya really regret it?

I thought that perhaps this distant maze was Zhuge Goya’s agony.

Regret cannot be stopped. It is just a matter of forgetting.

That’s why I move forward.

Only a choice can erase regret.

I took a step. The mind, which was assisted by [Extreme Will], burns its will in the midst of pain. The special ability of [Transcendental Growth], which was connected on top of the consumed body, makes me a different me from before.

The things that I had overcome and moved forward were changing me even at this moment.

Leaving behind the short recollection, I continued to take my steps. And I stepped towards a more distant place.

I move forward, continuing the eternally dividing steps.

Now, even a single step consumes the strength of my whole body.

It feels like my circle is burning. I endure the vibration with my whole body. I’m trembling.

It felt as if even I were becoming a single rhythm, as if all this tremor were turning me into a wave.

A world where everything was selfless. A world that was infinitely divided.

The circle pulsates like crazy.

And yet, I move forward.

Whether I regret it or not, in the midst of the distant infinity that was infinitely spread out, in the end, there is only one thing we have to do. Just to walk.

That’s why this is also like life.

The share of life gradually decreases. When we come halfway, we agonize over the remaining half of our lives. And when we move forward, we endure the remaining half of our lives. And we live the remaining half of our lives.

The act of constantly adding. The act of overcoming the gradually decreasing stride, the act of enduring.

The act of continuing the steps that seem like they will never end.

That is life.

I was now taking the beginning of that continuation. With a stride that had become slightly wider at some point.

Then the space that had been getting farther away, as if it would never be reached, gradually folds.

The space that had been expanding, centering on me, stops growing. It does not leave me.

If my center is firm. If I do not stop moving forward.

Even if everything withers away, only I can be whole here.

I took a step with all my might.

And finally, one step. I reached the end of the darkness.

A wall made of darkness. But it was a darkness that was no longer daunting, but somehow cozy.

Towards the beyond, I placed my palm.

Flash!

The thick darkness lifted, and the scenery beyond it was revealed. A deep-sea cave. The interior, which was full of purely natural mana, even had a sacred energy.

Fwoosh-

In an instant, the huge pressure disappeared, and as a pure mana like sunlight poured in, the circle, which had been rotating to its limit, pulsated as if it would explode inside.

‘This is?’

Crack-

At the same time, the ring of the second circle, which should have been completely exhausted, began to differentiate as if it were breaking a shell. At that certain tremor, which resembled that of the beginning, I closed my two eyes.

Woooong-

My whole body rang like a single instrument. A trio that was resonating with its own wavelength.

And soon, my vision expanded, and the saturation of the world changed. I could feel the mana, which was sparkling more delicately than before, as if it were touching my skin.

It was the realm of the third circle.

‘I’ve finally achieved it.’

I had finally reached a level where I could be called an intermediate mage.

In the midst of the overwhelming emotion, I opened my two eyes.

The cave was no longer dark. Because the hazes of mana looked like a sparkling Milky Way here and there.

In the center of the wondrous scenery, a stalactite and a stalagmite were growing opposite each other like huge pillars. And in the center of it, a certain object was fixed as if it were covered in a limestone rock.

A crudely folded fan. It was the divine artifact left by Zhuge Goya, the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

(End of Chapter)