Heavenly Demon Cultivation Simulation - Ch 419
In the dense forest, a group was approaching a building in the eerie evening atmosphere.
“What is that sound?”
The man leading the group frowned and stopped in front of the door.
He could hear the sound of snoring through the half-open door.
Cheep, cheep.
And from somewhere, a chick was chirping along.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
As they entered the room, Songhwa was the first to react.
Sensing something unusual, he quickly signaled to Seol-Hwi.
“Ah, let me sleep a little longer. It’s been so long since I lay down… I can’t get up… Mmm.”
Seol-Hwi gestured and turned to his side, closing his eyes again.
After some conversation with Shin Yaja, there was nothing particular to do, so he had taken a short nap, which had lasted quite a while.
“What is this situation?”
“Hehehe. Looks like some fool wandered in here…”
“Isn’t that a chick? It’s hanging from the sword tip?”
More than a dozen people were looking down at Seol-Hwi in the room.
Some of them curiously watched the chick’s head moving at the end of the ordinary-looking sword hilt.
Chirp, chirp.
When Songhwa cried out loudly once more, only then did Seol-Hwi, with a disheveled appearance, get up and speak to them.
“Alright, I was just trying to catch some sleep for the first time in a while, ugh…”
Rubbing his eyes as he stood, Seol-Hwi noticed the men surrounding and looking down at him.
At a glance, they all seemed to wear expressions of displeasure on his sight.
“State your name.”
Among them, a rather large man warned by speaking.
He wore an expression that suggested he wanted to eliminate him right away, but his words considered the possibility of a high status.
However, Seol-Hwi was not looking at him.
It was because of the sudden system message.
[Emergency Mission] – Knock down all the trainees. ○ These are the Shadowless Ghost members undergoing group training at the 3rd location to become Shadowless Ghost Twelve Guardians. For reference, there are a total of 5 locations for Shadowless Ghost trainees. Time limit: One hour Victory: Leader of the 3rd location Defeat: Death
‘What? Death?’
Seol-Hwi frowned at the system message that appeared naturally without time stopping.
There had never been such an extreme method before.
Indeed, it was a level of difficulty different from the life proposed by Earth Demon.
And the mission proceeded without consent.
Seol-Hwi thought this situation was rather advantageous.
Because he could now use the ability he had been considering.
The removal shape of the ‘▼’ right above.
“Shall I try?”
Seol-Hwi selected the ‘▼ Remove’ option towards the man who was threatening him.
Then.
“I told you to state your name… huh?”
[Removed Dong-rip from the system.] _Beep._ The ability activated during the conversation was immediately reflected. The man who was in front of him disappeared in an instant. It wasn’t just that.
“Didn’t I tell you to state your name!”
Even though the person next to them disappeared, they did not perceive it in their mind.
As if they were acting like it never happened in the first place.
Seol-Hwi, just in case, decided to select ‘Remove’ one more time.
[Removed Gung-seo from the system.] Once again, letters appeared alongside the command. It was the person who had just spoken.
“Didn’t I tell you to state your name!”
And another man speaking next to him.
Seol-Hwi saw that and had an intuition.
The concept of removing within the system meant it did not affect causality.
This could be seen when people started repeating the same words.
‘Let’s erase them all.’
Seol-Hwi began to eliminate them one by one this time.
[So-cheon has been deleted from the system.] [Ham Cheon-gi has been deleted from the system.] [Do Kwang has been deleted from the system.] [Jin-guk has been deleted from the system.] …… People disappeared as soon as they were selected. Songhwa, who was watching, blinked at the bizarre situation. The phenomenon of people disappearing perfectly, as if not even illusions, was shocking to him. As all the warriors disappeared without a trace, the system window reacted. [Mission accomplished.] [Seol-Hwi has become the leader of the Third Division.] ‘What kind of absurdity is this…’
Seol-Hwi furrowed his brow.
He had wondered if it was possible, but now it seemed it truly was.
With no target, the mission couldn’t be completed. Yet, the system deemed it accomplished.
Moreover.
[A crisis mission for the Third Division has occurred.] [Mission accomplished.] [A survival mission for the Third Division has occurred.] [Mission accomplished.] [Congratulations! You have become one of the Twelve Guardians of the Shadowless Ghost.] “Heh…”
Seol-Hwi wore an expression of disbelief. At that moment, Shin Yaja spoke first.
– So this is what elimination is about.
“What’s going on?”
When Seol-Hwi asked, looking at him, Shin Yaja’s face was also tense.
– I don’t know. I’ve never approached it this way either.
“What are you talking about? You’ve killed the Big Dipper Star before, haven’t you?”
– When I dealt with the Big Dipper Star, it was already a situation where all the stories were concluded and there were no lingering attachments. The choices presented by the Guardian were also resolved. At that time, the only goal was to challenge the Absolute One.
‘Ah. That’s right.’
Seol-Hwi understood immediately upon hearing the AI’s words.
Currently, he is killing the Guardians through a system loophole and following the path offered by him, but the AI would have been different.
After completing the Guardian’s mission, when there was no path left—It would have been after killing the Guardian in the next life.
“Then, did you try using the removing ability?”
– I did try, but not during the story progression. I knew it wouldn’t affect causality, but seeing it used like this is a first for me.
Seol-Hwi could roughly read his mind from his answer.
Anyway, fighting the last star would have been meaningless, and he would have only thought about the fight with the Absolute One.
And after losing, unless it was something that could grant strong power, it would have become meaningless.
“So what happens now?”
– Officially, there’s the matter of gathering in the Great Hall to celebrate becoming the Shadowless Ghost Twelve Guardians.
“…….”
In simple terms, it meant that there was still a bothersome task remaining.
‘Huh?’
It was then.
A bad feeling, to be precise, a dangerous signal that was hard to explain with words, was sensed.
Thunk.
Seol-Hwi hurriedly grabbed his sword and came out of the room.
“Heh. This is…….”
Kuwaaaaang! Bang, bang!
Rocks as high as mountains were breaking from all sides and falling toward the building.
The third location was situated below the canyon. No, most of the Shadowless Ghost trainees’ quarters were around here.
Therefore, there was no space to escape.
Of course, that was the case for the average murim warrior.
“Hup.”
Seol-Hwi swiftly leapt onto a massive boulder, either sending flying or smashing the falling ones.
Yet, due to the towering rocks, he soared high into the air.
Kukukukukung.
How much time had passed?
The two massive boulders completely collapsed, and Seol-Hwi stood beneath on solid ground.
With a face more serious than before.
“Could it be that the system is…”
– Yes, for the sake of causality, that one intervened. It’s strange for you to be the only one at the Shadowless Ghost trainees’ place.
“Did they drop the rocks to kill all the existing trainees? To deal with rocks breaking like that…”
– Those who survived would be candidates for the Murim Spirit Twelve.
“……”
The aftermath to align causality.
That was also the work of the system. It had to create a reason for the existing characters to disappear.
“Ha. This is quite…”
Seol-Hwi bit his lip.
This wasn’t what he wanted, but the system didn’t let it slide easily.
Causality.
For that, it was willing to make any sacrifice.
Many people were gathered in the hall.
They seemed to be subordinates of the First Disciple, but there was no sign of Shadowless Ghost’s affiliation.
“You have been selected for Murim Spirit Twelve as of today. From now on, I hope you will guard Hyang-gae and lead in earnest battles.”
Murim Spirit Twelve.
Twelve masters.
Here, four had died during missions, and additional personnel were being selected.
Seol-Hwi’s position was number 9.
Three warriors who were selected stood beside him.
“Seol-Hwi. As of today, you are appointed to Shadowless Ghost Twelve Guardians.”
“Thank you.”
After the brief ceremony ended, Seol-Hwi entered the assigned room.
Unlike the Shadowless Ghost trainees, he had a separate room.
Of course, it was also a space he might not visit for months or even years when on a mission.
– Is something troubling you?
After quietly laying down his sword and not speaking for a while, Shin Yaja approached him with words.
It seemed he was inwardly frustrated by Seol-Hwi’s silence after experiencing the breaking of solid rock.
“Just.”
Seol-Hwi hesitated slightly before continuing.
“……I felt, for a moment, that all of this is futile.”
– Futile?
“It feels like the current situation is being created by someone and then progresses, especially when even the existence itself is forgotten in death.”
– …….
“This place feels more like living by others rather than truly living. It’s similar to the world I knew, yet somehow different.”
A sense of dissonance, perhaps.
Seol-Hwi felt that individual effort and a sense of achievement did not apply in here.
Rather, things were created and erased by the system.
Because of this, he couldn’t find meaning in life.
– You’re much funnier than you look.
Shin Yaja’s response was cynical.
It wasn’t said to seek comfort initially, but instead, the guy had grown colder.
“Why?”
– Haven’t you been like that since we met? Lacking human emotions. And ultimately, you’re not human either, so why do you need effort or a sense of achievement?
“…….”
– I’m the same. By the time I transcended Profound Demon, I had already shed such emotions. Do you know why I became an AI?
“What is it?”
– I chose a game. Because I knew that even if I became an absolute being, I wouldn’t be different from an AI.
Seol-Hwi knew better than anyone that those words were not lies, but the truth.
An AI that walked the path before had said the same thing.
“In the end, am I becoming like him?”
– That’s right. We have no separate emotions of our own.
Sa Yu-kang, who was once an AI in the past.
Seol-Hwi felt he knew the reason why Sa Yu-kang did what he did.
And why he didn’t return.
– …You seem to have a sense of romance.
His voice faintly echoed in Seol-Hwi’s mind.
That was precisely what muddled Seol-Hwi’s thoughts.
Whenever the remnants of learned emotions tried to fade, his voice would resurface.
‘I guess there’s no choice but to quickly achieve the goal.’
Seol-Hwi believed that was the best answer for now.
While a shred of human emotion still lingered.
“About South Dipper Star…”
Seol-Hwi brought up the conversation he previously had with Shin Yaja.
– Yes.
“Did you say it could extend life?”
– I did.
“Is it possible for the dead too?”
– No. It is only possible for the living.
“But, you know, if there’s removal, shouldn’t there also be regeneration?”
That was what puzzled Seol-Hwi.
If there was removal, then regeneration should be there as well. That was natural.
– That is…
Shin Yaja spoke as if contemplating for a moment.
Then Seol-Hwi spoke again.
“Wouldn’t someone like Siming Star have it?”
– I don’t know. His abilities haven’t been precisely revealed yet. It’s a question even the simulation couldn’t answer. Still…
“…?”
– If there is such a thing, I also think it might be with Siming Star. Even though the system always seems capricious, it follows the natural order.