Fragmented Secret Manual
– Ding! Summoning item list…
[Martial Arts Manuals: Black Star Cavalry (10 coins), True Family Fist Technique (30 coins)…]
[Spellbooks: Wind Spike (25 coins), Flame Strike (50 coins)…]
[Accessories: Lowest-grade Blink Ring (60 coins), Earrings Containing the Smile of the Goddess Mercury (70 coins)…]
[Miscellaneous: Paladin's Whip (80 coins), Spider Wire (85 coins), Dagger of the Cursed Colossus (10 coins)…]
As Seowoon browsed through the item list, certain items stood out—ones he absolutely had to take.
Among them, the one that made Seowoon feel the proudest seemed to melt the stiff expression he'd worn due to Cheonma.
"I finally collected them all."
It had been incredibly lucky to be able to gather all the scattered fragments of the secret manual.
'Who would've thought someone else was collecting all but one of them?'
He never imagined there'd be someone else out there bothering with such a frustrating item.
As he was studying the item list, a belated notification sound rang out.
– Di-ri-ri-ring! The final five receive a drawing ticket!
– Player Jin Seowoon receives two spins.
"Come to think of it, the solo and squad modes work a bit differently."
While squad games included voting and draw-based rewards, solo mode skipped the voting and offered rewards based solely on the draw and item list.
'Yeah, that's how it was during the first game too.'
It also felt oddly unfamiliar that the usual three spins had been reduced to two.
"Feels like I'm getting ripped off. Tsk."
Having consistently ranked first in squad games, losing even one spin felt like a major loss.
Letting go of the disappointment, Seowoon grabbed the spin handle and gave it a powerful twist.
– Tr-r-r-r-r-ring… Ding! You have obtained: Earrings Containing the Smile of the Goddess Mercury. Congratulations!
His eyes sparkled as he obtained the earrings that had previously enhanced his Luck stat.
'This must also be closely tied to Luck.'
Usually, the first draw always landed on some useless junk, but getting a 70-coin item this time made him think of new stat possibilities.
He grabbed the handle again and gave it another strong spin.
– Tr-r-r-r-r-ring… Ding! You have obtained: Paladin's Whip. Congratulations!
With just two draws, he had saved 150 coins' worth of items.
– [Lowest-grade Blink Ring, Spider Wire, Fragmented Secret Manual (3 volumes), Dagger of the Cursed Colossus, Black Star Cavalry] Total coins used: 345. Remaining coins: 1274. Would you like to finalize your item selection?
Looking at the over-1000 coin balance, Seowoon smiled and pressed the [O] button.
At that moment, his brightened vision shifted—he was now inside a car.
– Screeeeech!
Juriel, still a beginner driver, slammed on the brakes, and Seowoon shouted,
"You can't hit the brakes like that on a highway!"
– Vrooooom!
In the next instant, Juriel slammed the accelerator, causing the Bentley to fishtail and shoot forward as if in a sudden launch.
Once the initial shock subsided and the vehicle stabilized, Seowoon spoke up.
"Whew… Everyone… Are you alright?"
Whether he was asking about the game or the surprise was unclear, but Lilingyu answered first.
"If you're talking about the game, it was practically a quad match without you and Namsagwang. Everyone survived."
"Oh! Now that I think about it—excluding me and Namsagwang, were all of you in the same rank?"
He hadn't paid much attention to his teammates' ranks, but apparently, they had all reached White Sword, just below Crown.
"Yes. Thanks to that, the game went smoothly. Dump and Jinryung have been promoted to Crown."
Seowoon's eyes widened at Juriel's words.
"Jin sahyung, sure… but Dump, that guy?!"
Lilingyu nodded, as if understanding his surprise, and explained.
"We'd just entered the survival zone when we were ambushed trying a boss monster. Most of the team was wiped out, leaving only the two of them, Juriel, and me. We decided to endure to the end and fight only once. Luckily, we managed to stay hidden. The four of us ended up around the TOP 50, but for some reason, those two were added as the lowest-ranked of the new Rankers."
Seowoon nodded in understanding.
'They must've barely outlived the others by a margin.'
Since 50 players from the Crown rank had dropped out this game, pulling up 50 new ones from below made sense.
"Oh, by the way, how many people were in White Sword?"
"800."
The higher-than-expected number made Seowoon's gaze turn serious.
"That's more than I thought. So a third of the total players have been eliminated this round… That's going to be a problem."
Juriel tilted her head, not understanding.
"A problem? Why would reducing the number of players be a problem?"
"Because they'll try to fill the gap."
"Ah…"
At Seowoon's answer, Juriel's grip on the steering wheel tightened.
Unlike their world, Earth was one where almost every civilian knew about Clorid.
If a sudden influx of new players occurred, it could create chaos.
Juriel understood all too well that gifted individuals here on Earth could easily lead to social unrest.
"Would it really be a problem if a few more new players appear?"
"Linyu. Our world and this one are different. Even if gifted individuals surged in our world, it wouldn't matter much. But this world never had martial arts or magic in the first place."
Juriel finally seemed to understand, nodding her head.
"You mean something like the Modogo Incident might happen again?"
"Modogo?"
This time, Seowoon tilted his head at Juriel's comment.
Showing interest in the unfamiliar incident, Lilingwi confidently explained.
"I saw it on the news yesterday. A high school student who gained powers killed four classmates and two teachers."
Juriel added to the explanation.
"He was apparently someone who'd been bullied. According to eyewitness interviews, the power used looked like a basic Wind Arrow spell. The problem is, there's no solid legal framework for punishing someone like that."
Now that she mentioned it, it was indeed a murky legal issue.
Murder, from a legal perspective, can vary in sentencing depending on intent and method. But since the act was committed using magic rather than a conventional weapon, it could be difficult to determine the exact intent behind the killing.
"If it were our world, something like that would've been passed off as justifiable action," said Lilingwi. "Earth is just too rigid sometimes."
At her words, Seowoon frowned.
"Justifiable murder? Six people died."
Juriel chimed in on Lilingwi's side.
"Those students severely abused the victim. They tied a rope around his neck, stripped him, dragged him around like a dog through the school... They even uploaded the video in a group chat with two teachers and mocked him. In our world, if a teacher abused a student like that, they'd be publicly executed."
Coming from two women who lived in a society with a strict class hierarchy, their stance carried weight.
After hearing the full story, even Seowoon felt the anger boiling up inside him.
"What on earth were those teachers thinking?"
"I heard it was over some 'chonji'—a kind of bribe. Most of the other students' parents gave it, but the parents of a few kids didn't, and those students were subjected to harsher punishments and discrimination during class. It's ridiculous. Why didn't they just pay the bribe?"
Seowoon shook his head at Lilingwi's words.
"Lilingwi, a chonji... It's basically money. A parent gives money to a teacher asking them to look out for their child."
"Oh, a bribe! So the teacher bullied the student just because they didn't pay? Doesn't your country pay teachers a salary?"
"They do."
"Then he deserved to die. That victimized student made the right call."
"No, that's not it. I understand how he felt, but you can't just go around killing people, even if you're in the right. That's not how the rule of law works."
At Seowoon's words, Lilingwi beat her chest in frustration.
"Then what would you have done if it had happened to you?"
"I'd rip them all apart, obviously."
Even Juriel gave Seowoon a baffled look through the rearview mirror at his contradictory statement.
"I have immunity, don't I? But that kid didn't. He should've handled it more cleverly."
As their conversation continued, they arrived at their destination.
Once they reached Wonju, the topic of the Modogo incident finally wrapped up. Liringwi turned to him.
"Oh, you survived, right?"
"Survival wasn't all that hard."
"How did you rank?"
"I couldn't do anything about Cheonma. He took TOP2."
"Cheonma…"
Lilingwi's expression darkened at the mention of the name.
"You know him?"
Since they were from the same world of martial artists, it wasn't surprising that she'd at least heard the name.
"I heard that's what they call the leader of the Ilwol Divine Sect. Heavenly Demon of Ten Thousand Demons. But from what my grandfather told me, he hasn't appeared in the martial world since my grandfather was young."
The fact that just hearing the name could stiffen her expression told Seowoon just how heavy that name was.
"Even when the final surviving rankers teamed up and attacked him, he didn't flinch. He wasn't a player—he was like some epic monster."
Coming from Seowoon, that opinion alone made Juriel reevaluate Cheonma—from a vague #1 Crown player to an invincible, immovable figure.
As Seowoon leapt lightly and landed in an open space, Lilingwi followed closely behind, tilting her head.
"Something's... different about you?"
"Really?"
"It's subtle, but… you feel more stable."
"You sound like Namsagwang."
Smiling, Seowoon stopped speaking and began pulling items from his subspace inventory.
The first thing he retrieved was the earring that increased his luck stat.
-Click!
As he pierced his earlobe with the item, Juriel quietly observed.
Next, he took out eight martial arts manuals.
'Just in case, better boost my luck. That might increase the quality of the final manual.'
At first, he hadn't planned to collect them.
Each manual cost a whopping 480 coins.
For an average player, they were completely out of reach.
As he laid out all eight manuals, even Lilingwi swallowed hard and watched him closely.
[Ding! You have collected all pieces of the Fragmented Manual. Would you like to combine them into one?]
The moment he pressed the O button, the manuals were enveloped in a brilliant light and fused into one complete book.
As he reached for the newly formed manual, a translucent padlock shattered in a visual effect, and the surrounding glow slowly faded.
His eyes sparkled at the sight.
'Just as I thought!'
As expected, the fragmented manual wasn't just a collectible—it had been a locked item.
-Memoirs of the Forgotten Immortal.
"Me-Memoirs? Not a martial insight text, but a memoir?!"
At Seowoon's bewildered outburst, Juriel and Lilingwi approached.
"An immortal?!"
Lilingwi emphasized the term.
"That's not the issue here… Why the hell is it a memoir of all things…?"
"It's thick, so at least read it first," Juriel said calmly.
Nodding, Seowoon sat down with a thud and opened the book.
I write freely, knowing that no one will ever read this.
Once, I lived 160 years with unmatched martial power, and later, as the Forgotten Immortal, I existed for 2,000 more.
Even after achieving perfection and ascending as an immortal, I had no regrets—until now.
My only regret… is that there is no one to inherit my progress.
Though I once shook the world under the title of Invincible, it pains me to see my legacy treated as worthless trash…
The story went on for over ten pages.
No matter how thick the book was, the fact that this valuable item began with ten full pages of the immortal's personal reflections made Seowoon's patience run thin.
"That's not what's important!"
When Seowoon shouted in frustration, Lilingwei pulled out a small pill from her robe and handed it to him.
"This is...?"
"You're studying an important martial manual. Just in case, it's best to take this. It'll help calm your mind."
At her words, Juriel also took out a potion from her subspace.
"Please take this too. It will stimulate your neural activity."
After taking both the calming pill and the Awakening Potion, Seowoon regained his composure and resumed reading intently.
"...It's truly unfortunate that my martial progression is so underestimated in the human realm just because it only contains seven techniques."
Martial arts is the process of accumulating the energy of heaven and earth within the body, forming a microcosm in oneself, and attaining enlightenment to understand the principles of the universe.
One forms the danjeon (energy center), grasps the balance of yin-yang and the five elements, opens the middle danjeon to feel seonki (spiritual energy), and opens the baekhoe (crown chakra) to stand atop heaven and earth, mastering nature. Once one begins to control nature, the Wonyoungshin (Primordial Spirit) settles in the middle danjeon, and by nurturing it, one becomes one with nature, discards the physical body, and ascends as an immortal by uniting with the spirit.
From here, I shall explain each step and why my progression is truly exceptional.
"Ah... So basically, he wrote this whole thing to explain how great his own secret martial art is..."
Overcome with the urge to close the memoir—written seemingly to boast without damaging his pride because no one else recognized his brilliance—Seowoon shook his head and refocused.
"...Once the flow of internal energy becomes unhindered, one begins training to manifest qi into form. In the human realm, this is called Manifested Qi Technique.Manifested Qi Technique is..."
As Seowoon read this part, his eyes started to glaze over.
Watching Seowoon stare blankly at the same page for two whole hours, Juriel became visibly anxious and was just about to call his name—when Lilingwei stopped her.
She put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Seeing this, Juriel realized now was not the time to disturb him.
Even so, Juriel couldn't erase the worry from her face.
"Cough!"
Every time Seowoon coughed while reading, thick black blood dripped from his mouth.
Naturally, some splattered on the manual, but the blood quickly vanished without a trace.
Juriel. This will take a long time. Nothing bad will happen, but we must only watch.
How long? What if he hemorrhages?!
That won't happen. At most, it could take a few days. If we interrupt now, he could suffer grave harm or miss his moment of enlightenment. This is the most critical point in a martial artist's life. We must not interfere.
Only after hearing Lilingwei's explanation did Juriel finally nod and step back to quietly observe Seowoon.
When he opened his eyes, he was immediately enveloped in a bright light, and the energy of the forest vibrated as if sensing a living presence—it all felt completely natural.
Seeing the foul-smelling, dried black blood on his clothes, Seowoon realized he had been in deep meditation for quite some time. He looked over at Lilingwei, who had stayed by his side.
"How long was I like this?"
"Yaaawn... Five days."
Seeing Seowoon awake, she answered with a tired yawn, her exhaustion evident on her face.
"Are you okay?!"
Juriel came running up from behind Seowoon.
As he turned around, she threw herself into his arms, tears brimming in her eyes.
"I was so worried! You kept coughing up mouthfuls of blood—I was terrified something terrible was happening!"
Seowoon wasn't the only one flustered by Juriel's sudden outburst.
For Lilingwei, who had heard of and even experienced enlightenment trances many times before, this wasn't anything special. But seeing Juriel's emotional reaction, she clenched her fists, her expression tinged with regret.
As Juriel cried in his arms, Lilingwei stood behind them silently, blaming herself for not realizing something important.
Awkward and embarrassed, Seowoon gently peeled Juriel off him.
"I'm alright. Or rather... I feel much better than before."
Stretching out his arm, a stream of Sugang (water-type qi) extended from Seowoon's hand, similar to Namsagwang's energy.
"Whoa! Can Manifested Qi Technique progress this much in just a few days?!"
At Lilingwei's shocked exclamation, Seowoon nodded.
"Well, I already had all the necessary conditions. Once I figured it out, it wasn't that impressive."
Her gaze drifted to the martial manual still in Seowoon's hand.
"Ah, don't worry. I'll give it to you once I'm finished."
As Seowoon prepared to sit back down and resume reading, Juriel pulled him back.
"At least eat something first. You'll hurt yourself."
In truth, his body wouldn't have suffered even with more fasting—but looking at the two women who had stayed by his side for five whole days, Seowoon quietly nodded.
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