The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

Chapter 308

Using the power of Cheonsugangsin, I was pulled into the roots of the World Tree in reverse.

It was a pitch-black space where not a single ray of light could enter.

"The chains of Cheonsugangsin have disappeared... I can't move my body."

With the energy inside me gone, I was unable to move at all.

In this dark space, all I could do was see and hear.

And then...

Flash!

A green light appeared in the distance.

It soon turned into a swirling, giant whirlpool.

"What is that?"

I watched it for a moment.

Swoosh...

In the center of the whirlpool, a red light flashed.

It quickly gathered into a circle and moved like an eyeball.

And then...

"Put it in."

From within that red dot, a language I had never heard as a Sung JiHan resounded.

Although it was a language I had never heard before, strangely enough, I could understand the meaning of the other person's words.

After the person finished speaking...

Thump! Thump!

Something started falling from above.

"...Are those people?"

Hundreds of people fell from above.

Men and women, young and old, people of various genders and ages, they looked around with trembling eyes.

"*##$!"

"#$@$..."

I could hear the words of the red-eyed person, but I couldn't understand a single word spoken by the fallen humans.

Some of the people walked towards where I was.

Swoosh.

They passed right through the spot where I was.

"Hmm... Is this some kind of illusion?"

People who didn't recognize or collide with Sung JiHan.

For now, I decided to observe the situation.

And not long after...

"I brought some too."

Another green whirlpool appeared from another direction.

Thump! Thump!

Another hundred or so people fell inside.

And this process repeated three more times.

500 people were trapped in this dark space.

"@$@!#!"

"@#*..."

As the 500 people gathered together, confusion ensued.

"500 have gathered."

"The experiment begins."

In the whirlpool that reached the target, the red eyes blinked simultaneously.

And then...

Thud. Thud...

Red liquid started dripping from above, touching the place where the people were.

Sizzle...!

Those who were hit by the droplets instantly turned into ashes and disappeared.

"^Percent$@$!!"

In order to avoid the red liquid, people ran in all directions.

But the droplets fell like rain, touching all 500 people.

And then, one by one, the people disappeared.

Only Sung JiHan remained in this place, calmly observing it all.

Flash.

"So this is the price of removing limits."

"The price of removing limits is cruel. How can they be so weak?"

"Eliminated the limits?"

Upon hearing those words, Sung JiHan thought of the Celestial Cube.

An item that expands the limits of a race, but is not well-received by humanity.

"Instead of abolishing the set limits, how about just extending them? And making the foundation of the species stronger."

"But then it would be meaningless. Eventually, they will reach the set limits."

"But isn't this weak species a failure of the experiment? They can't even withstand a drop of the root's sap."

"It's too early to conclude it as a failed experiment. Let's continue."

Sssss...

The whirlpools disappeared.

The experiment resumed once again.

Hundreds of people poured in.

How many times did they repeat disappearing into the red liquid?

Whoosh...!

Those who quickly recovered began to withstand the flames.

"Aaaah!"

As a result, the cases of screams increased from all directions.

"In the perspective of the experimenters, it would have been easier if they died all at once."

Compared to instantly burning up when a drop touches them, humanity's time of suffering only increased.

And as the experiment progressed, the initial 500 participants grew in number.

"If we add more, they will be overwhelmed and die."

"If they die from adding that much, then they are useless test subjects anyway. Add more."

"Right. The sap shouldn't go to waste."

Later on, thousands and even over ten thousand people were poured in at once.

It appeared to be a dark space without visible limits.

But as people poured in masses, humanity reached a point where they couldn't spread any further.

They huddled and piled up inside the massive container.

Before the experiment even progressed, people dying in large numbers became common.

And then, the red liquid falling from above.

Whoosh...!

The flames spread throughout humanity.

The interior quickly turned into a scene of chaos.

Perhaps because they didn't burn up all at once like before, a terrible hell unfolded.

Sung JiHan furrowed his brows.

"...To them, humanity is nothing more than mere test subjects."

And so, ten thousand of humanity was incinerated.

Suddenly.

Twist...

From the eyes of the whirlpool, a voice flowed out.

"Even after being reinforced to the maximum, they couldn't withstand the sap..."

"The experiment is a failure."

"It's a shame. We will dispose of this species."

The whirlpool declared "disposal" to humanity who couldn't withstand the red liquid.

But then, something happened.

Swoosh!

From the space where ten thousand people melted, a small child suddenly appeared.

Even though they were wrapped in the red liquid that melted humanity, the child was unharmed.

"One test subject survived."

"Is it a mutation? Not only can it withstand the sap, but it successfully absorbed it."

"Still, it's weak for now... How about starting anew?"

"For now, let's continue the experiment with this subject. If this subject dies, we will dispose of the species."

Perhaps it was because a survivor emerged after countless experiments.

The voices within the whirlpool were more lively than ever before.

Of course, those who had decided to dispose of the species once the subject died.

"This one survived again."

"It's more useful than I thought."

"Let's propagate the species centered around this existence."

"Just spreading seeds alone has its limits. We should grant some authority of domination."

The child continued to survive.

And as they grew healthier, patterns began to appear on their body.

At first glance, it was not so much a character as a complex and unique pattern.

[Assignment of Dominance Code]

To Sung JiHan, it was a character that was clearly understood.

It felt similar to when he saw the code of annihilation.

However.

"Unlike the code of annihilation, the vitality is strongly felt in the elements that make up the characters."

As Sung JiHan analyzed the characters like that, focusing on them.

Twinkle!

A bright light burst from the pattern engraved on the body of the grown child.

And the world stopped.

-I am not dead.

A voice echoed in Sung JiHan's ear.

Sss...

And the grown child disappeared.

Light began to enter the dark space.

Along with that, a sense of reality was felt.

Clank. Clank.

Chains that had extended from his own body were restraining Sung JiHan's arms and legs.

And.

Thud. Thud.

"Did you see it clearly, child?"

A man walked towards him.

"...Gilgamesh?"

* * *

The man had the same impression as Sung JiHan had seen in the prophecy of Pithia.

Sung JiHan could quickly figure out who he was based on his appearance and way of speaking.

"More precisely, he is an illusion left behind at the root."

"He's doing all sorts of things."

"All sorts of things, but it's for the sake of humanity's survival."

Sung JiHan closely observed the presence in front of him.

Gilgamesh, who was transparent and had no substance.

He didn't feel any energy from him.

Certainly, it was an illusion.

"But still, I should be prepared for whatever he might do."

Sung JiHan glanced around.

A collective made up of brown wooden walls.

Sung JiHan's chains were embedded in all directions here.

Is this the space inside the roots of the World Tree?

"Through the chains of the Heavenly River, the vitality continues to flow in."

Through the chains, the vitality of life was injected from the roots.

It was still within Sung JiHan's body's tolerance range.

But if this energy continued to accumulate, it seemed like it would be completely eroded by it.

While thinking about how to respond to this, Sung JiHan asked Gilgamesh, pretending to be surprised.

"A while ago, the survivor was you?"

"That's right."

"Did this happen at the beginning...? You showed me what happened back then quite well."

"Hoho, the events at the beginning were forbidden to be revealed by the contract with the gods... But you happened to witness the memories left in the roots, so this is not a violation of the contract."

So he avoided revealing the contract with the gods like this.

Rather than being the king of the beginning, he seemed more like the king of deception.

Sung JiHan questioned him while looking at him.

"Why did you show me this?"

"Hmm... You still have a lot to learn."

In response to Sung JiHan's question, Gilgamesh suddenly crossed his arms, as if he didn't like something.

"The king commands. Show the utmost respect from now on."

"I don't want to."

"...What?"

Gilgamesh widened his eyes.

He looked surprised, then nodded his head.

"Indeed, one who possesses a soul. It seems they cannot be dominated in just one attempt. Then, let's see it again."

Hmm...

The world grew dark.

The scene that Sung JiHan had just witnessed replayed before him.

Humanity, starting with 500 people and expanding to 10,000 in the experiment.

And there, Gilgamesh, the one who survived.

And even the five whirlwinds that bestowed the domination code upon him as he grew.

Sung JiHan, who had to watch the movie from the beginning again.

"How troublesome. Bow down to the king. Sung JiHan."

Gilgamesh's apparition spoke arrogantly.

"You do it yourself."

Sung JiHan replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh's expression twisted.

"No... No matter how soulless, how can this be? Even humanity should be dominated by me...!"

"Because of the domination code?"

"The domination code? Read the code...?"

Gilgamesh looked at Sung JiHan with eyes that couldn't believe it.

"Why is this guy acting like he's seen me use the annihilation code earlier?"

Sung JiHan couldn't understand his initial reaction, but...

"Oh, before you clashed with me at the Tower of Babel, were you prepared with an apparition?"

"No, how did you know?"

"Because Gilgamesh saw me writing the code at the tower. You wouldn't be so surprised if you saw that and read it."

"Write... the code... You?"

Gilgamesh's apparition looked at Sung JiHan as if he couldn't believe it.

"It's unbelievable! How can a human write the code with their own body! Even I, it's still impossible...!"

"So that's why you kept showing me you writing the code? To dominate me?"

Since he couldn't directly write the domination code.

By intentionally replaying the scene where the domination code was being written, he was trying to dominate Sung JiHan.

Gilgamesh nodded slowly at Sung JiHan's words.

"...Yes. If you have reached the root, you have enough value to be dominated. Even if I have to sacrifice a strand, I have decided to definitely take it. I couldn't stop you from becoming a candidate for the Holy See. And if you have even cleared the Tower. I have resolved to dominate you, even if it means using just one strand..."

Sung JiHan was dumbfounded by the apparition's words.

This bastard, how many traps does he set?

"But... the life force of the chains seems to have weakened."

Sung JiHan felt that the chains that had been restraining him were weakening.

Whether it was because of the apparition's hesitation or because of replaying the domination code scene, he didn't know.

Either way, he couldn't miss this opportunity.

Snap!

The chains that extended from Sung JiHan's body broke.

"Kuk... I can't believe it... Look again...!"

As Gilgamesh's apparition retreated, the scene from earlier replayed once again.

Because Sung JiHan wasn't bound, the scene of the domination code being written appeared as a giant screen in front of him.

Now, it seemed like they were just playing the climax, trying to bind Sung JiHan.

But...

"It won't work."

Sung JiHan looked at it and smirked.

"Oh, right. Should I try writing it?"

He tried writing the domination code that appeared on the screen.

The characters engraved in the air following his hand.

Perhaps because it was based on the life force, the power was significantly weaker, and the pattern only took up 1/5 of the space.

"To... write the code...?"

Gilgamesh's apparition slumped in his seat as soon as he saw it.

And...

As the characters that only took up 1/5 of the space appeared.

Shuuuu...!

Life force was drawn in from all directions.

"I used the domination's code, but does it have this effect?"

While Sung JiHan was looking at the crumbling world...

[Fragment of an incomplete ability detected. Absorbing.]

[Do you want to acquire the stat 'Eternity'?]

A message window appeared before him.