Before heading to the intermediate library, I first visited the medical office. Because my physical condition was worse than I had thought.

“Anyone would think you’d fought a bloody battle with an assassin for three days and nights.”

The elderly physician, Go Wontae, clicked his tongue and placed needles on me.

“To have exhausted your true qi like this from a body that was already weak.”

I let out a faint breath, sweating coldly. The aftereffects of the fight seemed to have come late, as I didn’t even have the energy to answer. My consciousness was hazy as if I were sick, and my whole body felt like a ball of fire.

‘This damn body.’

If it weren’t for [Will of the Extreme], I would have lost consciousness long ago. The backlash from the duel with Jeongmuk was that severe.

“Your condition is more serious than I thought. With a body like this, you can’t even be a patient, let alone a student. It wouldn’t be strange if you died at any moment.”

Go Wontae scolded me as if shouting and checked my pulse. The sensation of his fingertips touching me was numb. It felt as if my body was gradually drifting away. I could feel the life within me slowly extinguishing.

“…I’ll write you a medical certificate. If you get over this crisis, leave the academy. You need to recuperate in a quiet place first.”

Go Wontae advised with a serious expression. Although he seemed eccentric, as a skilled physician, he knew. How messed up my body was right now.

“…I can’t.”

I squeezed out my remaining strength and barely whispered.

“Don’t be reckless. What can you do when you’re like this just from exhausting your energy, without any external or internal injuries?”

“I… can do it.”

Even in my hazy consciousness, I opened my eyes wide and met Go Wontae’s gaze. His wrinkled eyes, which held decades of regret, slowly closed.

“Even if you could die?”

“Yes.”

It had to be this way. To solve [Time-Limited Life], which could be said to be the most dangerous of the debuffs I had, there was no other way but to strengthen the [Life Extension] talent to neutralize it.

But to strengthen [Life Extension], I had to continuously experience near-death experiences.

In that process, I had to borrow the power of [Transcendent Growth] to achieve dramatic growth to barely overcome the debuff of [Time-Limited Life].

Paradoxically, the closer I got to death, the more I could live.

‘I will definitely endure it.’

As if Go Wontae had also glimpsed my resolve, deep wrinkles formed on his brow. He must have experienced such cases several times while watching over the lives and deaths of numerous patients.

I closed my eyes, watching Go Wontae who was silently continuing the treatment.

Although I couldn’t sleep deeply because of [Insomnia], I was finally able to rest after he pressed my acupoints and placed moxibustion.

* * *

The next day, I woke up in the medical office and checked my physical condition.

‘My energy has certainly weakened.’

Just by going all out once, my whole body was half-broken.

The only fortunate thing was that my circle, including the energy veins throughout my body, and my lower dantian had grown a little. It was thanks to the talent of [Transcendent Growth].

‘The synergy of [Absolute Magic] and [Limitless Martial Body] is a cheat.’

Originally, I would have had to recuperate for at least a few days, but I was able to get up in just one day because of that.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes.”

Go Wontae clicked his tongue as he held out a medicinal soup.

“You have a tenacious hold on life. I don’t know whether to say your recovery is fast, or that you’re strong in a crisis.”

I bowed my head as I drank the medicinal soup, which had a foul smell, in one gulp.

“Thank you.”

“The cost of the medicine you’ve taken is considerable, so you should. If you’re not careful, you’ll be called to the finance department before the year is out.”

“I will work harder to repay you.”

As I was reacting awkwardly, Go Wontae snorted.

“Your body is in a very unbalanced state right now. Your body itself is congenitally weak, and yet your muscle veins, skeleton, and energy veins are second to none.”

“Then isn’t that a good thing?”

I asked back, as it sounded like it meant that as my body got stronger, I could also overcome my congenitally weak constitution. Then he shook his head.

“Can you move the body of a great tiger with the innate true qi of a child? Your heart and internal organs are also weak. This requires changing your constitution itself.”

What Go Wontae was pointing out was the weakness of my innate constitution itself, including my internal organs.

It was a natural diagnosis, given my condition where even my digestive system, let alone my heart and cardiopulmonary functions, was a mess.

‘Of course, the functions of my entire body are supplemented in the process of increasing my internal energy.’

It wasn’t for nothing that masters didn’t suffer from minor illnesses. However, Go Wontae’s words meant that it wasn’t the only solution.

If I hadn’t known about the case of overcoming debuffs like [Weakness] with [Limitless Martial Body], I wouldn’t have been so reckless now.

“But you can’t change your innate constitution, can you?”

“It’s possible. If you have the ability and determination for it.”

“What?”

Go Wontae explained at my question.

“There was something that bothered me while diagnosing you. It’s a personal research, but I’ll fix your constitution as well.”

With that, he held out a map with several complex markings on it.

“Here is?”

At the familiar-looking map, I asked back, and Go Wontae looked at me and said.

“The elixir field of the Geummun Merchant Guild. If you bring the ingredients I mentioned from here, I will make you a medicine that changes your constitution.”

At those words, my eyes widened. Only then did I remember what this map was in my head. The Ginseng Hunter Event.

It was one of the few ways to obtain an elixir as a junior student.

It was an event that appeared randomly when certain special conditions were met, and it seemed I had won the lottery due to this hospitalization.

‘Is it because of my peculiar constitution?’

In any case, there was no reason for me to refuse. However, if I agreed too easily, he might find it suspicious, so I first asked for the reason.

“Why me?”

“Because your desperation is extraordinary. I needed a guy who would jump into a pit of fire for his goal.”

He seemed to like the tenacity I had shown. But that alone was not enough grounds.

“If that’s the case, there must be many other outstanding martial artists besides me.”

“Unfortunately, there are not many among them who would help me to the point of violating the principles of the Martial Alliance. To the point of making an enemy of the Geummun Merchant Guild.”

“Then you’re saying I can.”

“You said you were from the Zhuge family, right? Then you’d be good at avoiding formations, wouldn’t you?”

At Go Wontae’s words, one of the conditions for the Ginseng Hunter Event to occur came to mind. To have a high proficiency in formations.

“I see why you chose me.”

I nodded and looked at the map. The marked point indicated a place not so far from the Martial Academy.

“Then will you do it? Even if you fail, you have to take responsibility.”

Go Wontae looked at me and declared.

There’s no way that would happen anyway. If you get caught in the elixir field of the Geummun Merchant Guild, it’s summary execution.

Even if my acupoints were subdued and I was locked in a prison, my body wouldn’t be able to withstand the torture.

It was a mission where the risk was much greater than the immediate profit.

‘Normally, I would have to refuse, but right now, I’m not in a position to be picky.’

As I had felt from Jeongmuk’s attack before, this world was the epitome of absurdity.

No matter how great one’s talent and family prestige, it was a society dominated by irresistible violence, where one could be futilely struck down by the assassination of a strong person.

‘If I don’t get stronger, I can’t do anything.’

I survived this time because it was an instructor, but what about next time?

As I work towards clearing the game, that is, seeing the world’s ending, things like this will be commonplace.

‘In the end, it’s either kill or be killed.’

I had to seize the opportunity to get stronger when I could. And most of all, it wasn’t like I didn’t have a guide.

I put the map in my bosom and replied.

“I’ll do it.”

After being assigned a certain mission like that, when I came outside, it was already afternoon.

‘It seems I’m skipping a lot of classes, but attendance wasn’t that important.’

Anyway, the first week was mainly for exploring each other and self-training, so it didn’t matter. The real thing was after the second week, when theory and practical classes were held concurrently.

‘So before the real battles begin, I’ll improve this damn constitution even a little.’

I was planning to do it this week. As the top student, I could use my outing pass every weekend, so it was perfect.

‘Then all that’s left is how to break through the high-level formation spread throughout the Geummun Merchant Guild’s herb field.’

The basic formation book that Peng Geun-u had thrown at me was not enough.

‘In the end, there’s only one way.’

The place I headed to, to solve both the formation problem and the excuse for magic, was the intermediate library on the second floor of the secret manual library.

Passing by the guard, the place I entered had a different atmosphere from the start.

‘There are quite a few other students.’

In the spacious area, those who were sitting on chairs and studying were intermediate students. As information about martial arts was released, there was an overflow of things to learn and contemplate.

In an atmosphere like a modern library, I quietly began to examine the books scattered everywhere.

[The Five Elements Similarity and Difference as a Fist Art between the Thunder God Fist of the Namgung Family and the Lightning God Fist of the Hwangbo Family]

Documents with titles that looked like they came from a thesis. If the first floor had only collected the classics of the past, the intermediate library had many recently compiled books.

They were mainly martial arts that were currently being researched, developed, or integrated.

‘This is also strange.’

One of the most active things in the martial world since the Great Martial Arts Era opened is the exchange and analysis of martial arts.

Behind it lay one huge proposition. Which martial art is the strongest?

In the past, the answer to that question ultimately came down to the matter of people. How many masters were produced.

And which sect the number one under heaven of the time came from was the most important indicator and proof.

But in modern times, that standard has changed quite a bit. Through various records and analyses, it became possible to more objectively compare the average strength of each martial art.

The 21 types of martial arts that survived through such research and various verifications were called the top 21 martial sects.

And the research to further perfect those 21 martial sects has been the trend for the past 100 years.

‘The Martial Academy is the center of it.’

Since all the martial arts copies and research results left by the Heaven-Shattering Demon and his disciples were in the Martial Academy, it was natural that the research would also start here.

I felt a sense of unfamiliarity as I passed by an intermediate student with brawny forearms who was busily stacking books and moving.

In this academy, the students had to obtain their own martial way.

Whether they followed the tradition of a high-level school or tested a new martial art with new possibilities by integrating other schools, a student had to prove their own martial studies.

Especially to become an advanced student.

After briefly organizing my thoughts, I turned my gaze to a bookshelf in one corner. A bookshelf that had hardly been touched, as if students rarely went there. I found what I needed there.

[Intermediate Formation Theory]

‘This is it.’

As I opened the formation book, I was soon able to find the part I wanted. How to write a talisman.

Usually, a formation takes a lot of time and effort, but a real battle is always sudden.

To prepare for this, one could prepare an instant-cast formation in advance. The prime example of that is a talisman.

It’s a method of dissolving a medium powder, which is rich in the power of the five elements, in blood and then drawing it on a talisman to use as a circuit. It’s a miniaturization of the structure of a formation that spans a huge space into a talisman.

Of course, the power or efficiency of a talisman made in such a way is quite low for its price, but since I was going to pretend to use a talisman and use magic, it didn’t matter.

‘If I say it’s a hidden secret art of the Zhuge family, they’ll think for themselves.’

For the time being, I was thinking of making them believe that all the magic I use is the work of this talisman.

It was a trick possible because the Martial Academy did not place great restrictions on the use of equipment if the student had prepared it themselves.

As I was about to move with the formation book, I suddenly heard a low voice from behind.

“Why are you here?”

I was able to clearly recognize it because I had been supplementing my lowered hearing due to [Dulled Senses] with mana enhancement as part of my training.

The owner of this firm voice.

‘This is crazy. What bad luck.’

“Don’t ignore me and answer. Mr. Scoundrel Assaulter from the Zhuge family.”

I slowly turned my head, hiding my sinking heart.

What was there was Namgung Bihwa, staring this way with a book in one hand.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep