Creak— *Thud!*
A heavy, dull sound echoed as something massive touched the floor.
A gym facility filled with all kinds of exercise equipment in a spacious area.
It was a space large enough for dozens to train simultaneously, yet the only one using it was a single person.
And that was only natural.
From the start, this place had been a personal space created for him alone, so it was a given.
“Whew.”
I set down the specially crafted giant barbell, wiped the sweat from my face with the towel around my neck, reached to the side, and grabbed a bottle of beverage.
*Glug— Glug—*
“Kegh!”
Along with a refreshing coolness, my thirst was quenched in an instant.
Not only that, new energy settled into each and every overworked cell in my body, and my stamina, which had nearly hit rock bottom, began to refill at a rapid pace.
“That’s one reliable effect.”
It was a miraculous effect that would have shocked anyone else, but by now, something like this was nothing special to me.
After all, this too was just a part of the daily routine that had been repeating for a long time.
‘As expected of the World Tree’s leaf. They say it’s used as an ingredient for Elixirs, and it’s no empty boast.’
I set the drink, whose main ingredient was World Tree leaves, back down and lightly twisted my body this way and that.
Not just Elixirs, but it was a staple ingredient in the highest-grade potions crafted by elves, so its recovery effect was beyond question.
‘Of course, I did deliberately adjust the concentration to compromise the efficacy a bit.’
No matter how good an ingredient was for the body, relying too much on such substances for physical refinement wasn’t ideal.
Simply boosting the「Sturdiness」I possessed and extremely activating「Super Recovery」was enough to assist my training.
“If this is luxury, then it’s luxury, I suppose.”
A chuckle slipped out before I knew it.
To think that something made from such a precious ingredient as World Tree leaves was nothing more than a sports drink to gulp down while working out.
If the elves of the Elven Kingdom learned of this, wouldn’t they grab the backs of their necks and collapse?
‘Hey, look at all I’ve done for them. They wouldn’t complain over something this minor.’
If you looked at it that way, even clearing out the entire warehouse storing the World Tree’s byproducts wouldn’t be enough.
Of course, even now I was taking things in bundles as if merely picking up items I had left in storage, so it might not be much different.
I did my best to ignore the pained groans of the World Tree gardeners ringing in my ears as I swept my gaze once across the indoor gym facility.
Truth be told, that wasn’t the only luxury I had indulged in for my training.
“Hmm, truly excellent.”
The numerous pieces of exercise equipment filling this spacious area—possessing not just practicality but aesthetic beauty as well.
Everything here was a handmade product that the dwarf Howard had crafted with meticulous care.
Designed custom-tailored based on the principles of modern exercise equipment, and made by the dwarf artisan himself hammering away after pouring in all sorts of rare materials without hesitation—these were the finest of the fine items that existed nowhere else in this world.
This place was the very fantastical paradise that every gym junkie dreamed of.
‘The training effect is even better than before, too.’
I nodded slowly, satisfied.
This was absolutely not a placebo effect.
The「Artisan's Soul」that Howard possessed was the secret art of the dwarves that elevated items to the realm of magic artifacts through production alone, drawing out the object’s inherent potential to its limits.
It was only natural that exercise equipment made by such a man going all out was incomparable to mass-produced goods.
“That’s it for today.”
Having thus finished today’s training routine, I stood before a mirror placed off to the side.
Carved muscles inscribed across his entire bare upper body.
With low body fat, the distinct grain of his muscles wriggled, flaunting their presence.
‘Of course, at this level, I wouldn’t stand a chance against our dependable Halina Heinrich.’
Those two were exceptions from the outset, impossible subjects for comparison.
How could a body trained through mere home workouts compare to a mutant born a physical monster from birth and a Holy Knight who stood at the pinnacle of the gym junkie world?
However, his current physique was by no means a level that could be easily dismissed.
Combined with physical strengthening through vast amounts of Karma, and the hard training that had continued without pause from the early days of my Awakening when I obtained「Super Recovery」, it was enough to make me far exceed the bounds of an ordinary human.
On top of that, if the power of various skills like「Monstrous Strength」and「Nerve Hypersensitivity」were added, I could probably beat down low-grade Returnees with my bare body alone.
‘But even so, there is a limit to that alone.’
Returnees were beings who returned embodying not just their unique skills, but the accumulated mysteries of each world within their bodies.
Conversely, because I had not crossed over to another world, it was normal that I couldn’t use certain ‘energies’ since I hadn’t accumulated even a single speck of energy within my body, but…
Clench!
I squeezed my fist.
The powerful force felt in my grip.
It was not merely physical strength.
Hum—
Scarlet-black flames blazed along my fist.
The supernatural ability that ignited the body’s bio energy to draw out explosive destructive power—「Bio Aura」.
But I didn’t stop there.
In the grip where the scarlet-black flames had subsided, dazzling platinum divine power flickered into being.
Immediately after, black demonic mana that swallowed the surroundings in pitch-blackness flared up like a heat haze.
Blood fiend energy exuding a fishy scent of blood flowed out, then natural forces that gently enveloped the surroundings spread out, and soon after, it became internal energy radiating a heavy presence.
Having brought out various powers in rotation within just a few breaths, I nodded in satisfaction.
‘Excellent.’
As expected, there was merit in consistently training the permanent reinforcement, the additional effect of「Individual Projection」.
Of course, it was inferior to the avatar using it directly, but being able to pull up whatever energy I desired at will the moment I needed it was a tremendous advantage.
Also, since it didn’t use energy actually accumulated inside the body, the fact that no one could suspect I was an Awakener until I unleashed my power was another great advantage.
‘And if I utilize Heinz II’s「Existence Denial」to conceal any sense of discord, no one would be able to suspect me.’
No particular energy in the body and not even a special sense of discord detected?
At that point, even the Heavenly Demon who had seen through Hugo’s identity at a glance would never notice me.
‘Besides, I can even use「Individual Projection」if necessary.’
Unless something extreme happened, there would be little chance of danger on my end.
Of course, given my disposition, I wouldn’t go to such places in the first place.
Afterward, having washed away the sweat from my body with a shower, I reclined leisurely in a massage chair as always.
“Whew.”
And savoring the pressure of the state-of-the-art massage chair kneading my entire body, I calmly organized the thoughts rising in my head.
Even at this very moment, the situations in other places were progressing smoothly.
From Auterica, which had been my existing garden, to Ganghwangye, which I had been paying particularly close attention to recently.
I turned my attention to the side that had just finished its work.
‘I can consider the Demon Cult roughly settled with this. Of course, remnants still remain, but now that the main base is occupied, dealing with them won’t take long.’
Hans, who had raided the Demon Cult alone, had finally succeeded in completely devouring the place.
A military occupation displaying overwhelming might alongside terrifyingly dense black demonic mana.
Naturally, the Demon Cultists had tried to resist somehow, but the Demon Cult currently had not a single person remaining with the capacity to lead such resistance.
‘Those who had attacked Shaolin Temple alongside the Heavenly Demon hadn’t returned yet either.’
Not just them, but the other elite units dispatched across the continent to secure Dragon Children were the same.
They said even the Demon Cult’s second-in-command, Strategist Cheongimaseon, was away from his post, so it was no joke—it had truly been no different from an empty house.
Of course, given that plenty of defensive measures remained, including jiangshi and other yokai, it seemed they had been somewhat mindful of defending their main base, but—
‘Those are only useful against ordinary enemies.’
Unfortunately, Hans, the Otherworldly Demon King who had descended upon Ganghwangye, was not an opponent who fell into that ‘ordinary’ category.
Rather, thanks to that, hadn’t everything they prepared—the zombies, formations, sorcery, and all—fallen completely into his hands?
“Hmm, well—I suppose I can leave that side to Hans now. Their nature is a bit different, but the Demon Cultists also belong to the demonic.”
Dealing with such bastards was precisely the specialty of Hans, who ruled over demons!
He was a so-called experienced newbie with a track record of leading an undead army for years without incident.
If it were him, he could probably wipe out all the remnants who had gone outside before they even noticed something was amiss.
‘The Geumo side isn’t… bad either. Perhaps because of the Demon Cult’s rampage, they are actively supporting Horus.’
The topic Horus had been focusing on recently was how to link and use the Yeouiju and Dragon Heart together.
Using those two mighty cores separately was far too inefficient.
‘The total energy is already sufficient. A dual-core system would indeed be the most efficient.’
But to find that solution immediately, his understanding of sorcery was too lacking compared to his magical knowledge.
To solve this, he would need to balance the two sides to some degree.
In the end, it was a matter that required time.
‘...Time is still fine. With Hans occupying the Demon Cult, the Geumo side has gained more leeway than expected. Besides, securing the Dragon Children is the priority for now.’
As expected, though I had held out hope, no living Dragon Child could be found at the main headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Even before this incident, the Demon Cultists had consistently searched for and kidnapped Dragon Children. Those who did not wish for the Dragon Heart to be resurrected had sacrificed every last one of them through fire sacrifice to grow their own power.
That the Heavenly Demon could use Beoncheon Hoeju’s divine power without great loss, and that the martial artists who faced the Demon Cultists had unnatural internal energy control—were all parts of the power obtained through that process.
‘From the beginning, they were ones arranged to reconstruct the Dragon Heart, the greatest mystery of Ganghwangye. They would have been the optimal sacrifices for other uses as well.’
I clicked my tongue lightly and furrowed my brows.
As I grasped the situation, I realized the current state of affairs was more serious than I had thought.
He didn’t know how many Dragon Children had been born in this world, but their numbers couldn’t have been very high.
‘Since they are born frail, if born into poor households, they would have died before reaching adulthood. In the end, the number of survivors up to now must be but a handful, and with the Demon Cult’s interference on top of that…’
He didn’t know how many Dragon Children were needed for the ritual to reconstruct the Dragon Heart.
But since nothing had been decided yet, it was natural that the more there were, the better.
If he went through the trouble of finding a solution only to be unable to even attempt it due to insufficient numbers, wouldn’t it all be for naught?
‘I’ll need to move more aggressively. Their basic protocol is to bring them to the main base and offer them as sacrifices, but there may be those who change their minds along the way.’
There, Hallie, who was currently sightseeing in Geumo with nothing better to do, would step in.
Truthfully, he had been vigilantly looking for opportunities to pick fights and sink his teeth into yokai flesh, but perhaps because rumors had spread that he had completely overwhelmed Dogol in a fight, everyone was keeping their distance in hushed fear, yielding no real gains.
Perhaps it was only natural, given that he had rampaged so conspicuously with a gigantic body nearly 10 meters tall.
‘Well, that side doesn’t matter anymore. We discovered plenty of internal pills brimming with yokai factors in the Demon Cult’s laboratory.’
They were two groups that had continuously clashed in the shadows, hunting each other.
The Demon Cult’s main base was piled with an enormous number of byproducts from this, among which were even parts of so-called Divine Beasts, the highest-tier yokai.
‘The shell of the Xuanwu, the horn of the Qilin, and even the Dragon’s Yeouiju… It’s literally a goldmine.’
Since it was decided, there was no need to hesitate.
I moved Hallie and checked on the last avatar situated in Ganghwangye.
Hugo, who had hurriedly set out on the journey back with the party from the Zhuge family.
Had it not been for that, others would never have left them alone given their weakened defenses from rapid travel.
“At this pace, they’ll arrive soon.”
Truthfully, it felt somewhat late already, but even so, the information obtained from the parties involved would still be of considerable help in tracking them.
I focused my attention there for a moment before turning my head again.
In any case, with this, I had finished checking all the currently ongoing situations, so now only one thing remained.
An affair that was, in fact, hardly an overstatement to call the most important.
‘The reckoning.’
The corners of my mouth twitched upward before I knew it.
The Karma supplied from Auterica was as stable as always, but truthfully, since quite a few major events had occurred consecutively on the Ganghwangye side this time, there was much to look forward to.
“…Oh?”
Before going to the Martial Alliance meeting, the Karma immediately after acquiring skills including「Imitation」through the ‘Random Draw’ had been around 3.6 million, but…
『Owned Karma: 6,212,830』
As expected, pioneering a new garden had been a great success.