The lesson had lasted longer than usual, and combined with the time the students spent choosing their Gu, night had already fallen.
All facilities accessible to Rank 1 external disciples had closed.
No library.
No cultivation center.
No training arena.
Nothing.
This forced all the students in the class to return to their dormitories.
[Dormitories]
The external disciples' dormitory was simple.
Small.
Cramped.
A bed.
A low table.
A narrow window.
Nothing luxurious.
Nothing comfortable.
But at least it was free.
"...More or less free."
Lee Hyun closed the door behind him and immediately sat down on the floor.
His legs still ached from the tension of the entire day.
Awakening.
Choosing a Gu.
The strange teacher.
The rewards.
And most importantly—
That unknown thing inside him.
He slowly took a deep breath.
Then closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank into his aperture.
The small golden Gu was still there.
Quiet.
Motionless.
Looking like a tiny doll carved from gold and wood.
Its appearance was still strange.
A crude little doll.
Small ears resembling those of a rabbit.
A simple dress.
Poorly carved.
Like something made by a child.
But at the same time—
Beautiful.
And there was also a strange sense of familiarity, though it was so distant and hazy that it was difficult to grasp.
The feeling immediately made Lee Hyun even more suspicious.
Beautiful things were usually expensive.
Or dangerous.
Sometimes both.
"There are no useless Gu..."
It was a famous saying in this world.
So he began his tests.
First—
Primeval essence.
The aperture released strands of pale green essence toward the small Gu.
Nothing happened.
The Gu did not react at all.
No glow.
No movement.
Not even a vibration.
"..."
Lee Hyun narrowed his eyes.
He tried again.
More essence.
Nothing.
It was like trying to dig through an iron wall with a wooden spoon.
Then he tried mentally touching the Gu.
Absolute silence.
It felt like a stone.
The Gu's will was so surprisingly strong that it did not even bother resisting.
There was no clash of wills like one would expect from refining a Gu, or from some mystical artifact in a classic cultivation story.
The Gu simply ignored him.
One wave of primeval essence after another.
Nothing.
No reaction.
Even when he concentrated his will into firm attacks.
No reaction.
There was no battle.
...
Three hours later
Most students had already gone to sleep.
"..."
"...Great."
Lee Hyun slowly opened his eyes.
His mood worsened with every passing second.
He took a deep breath.
Tried to think rationally.
"I have B-grade aptitude at seventy-seven percent and still have a decent amount of essence left."
"I have enough stones to refine an ordinary Gu."
...
Three more hours later
The Gu still did not react.
Weed was confused.
Lee Hyun was his name now, but at this point even that felt questionable.
The will of this Rank 1 Gu was so strong that he could barely scratch it?
None of this made sense.
He knew stubborn Gu existed.
Strong-willed Gu existed.
But those at least fought back.
At least you could see them weaken after repeated attempts.
Was he doing something wrong?
Maybe.
This was a magical world where even the laws of physics were different.
Making a mistake was entirely possible.
But according to everything he knew about this world, and according to everything his teacher had explained, he was doing everything correctly.
Except for this cursed thing that would not even react.
Should he give up on the competition?
He was competing against A-grade talents.
Those people had probably already gone to sleep to continue tomorrow.
That theoretically meant he still had a chance to surpass them through effort.
But if this was impossible...
Then wasting resources would simply be stupid.
Weed spent a second calming himself.
He inhaled.
And exhaled.
Sigh.
He inhaled.
And exhaled.
Sigh.
Gradually he reached a state of peace and tranquility.
He was calm like the surface of an autumn lake.
...
...
"HEY!"
He pointed at his own abdomen.
"YOU USELESS GU!"
...
The true incarnation of serenity.
...
"YOU DON'T EVEN REACT!"
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO USE YOU IF I CAN'T EVEN REFINE YOU?!"
"AND WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EVEN DO?!"
(Truly, as calm as Amitābha the Buddha of the Pure Land.)
"ARE YOU GOOD FOR ANYTHING AT ALL?!"
"CURSE THIS STUPID LUCK!"
Silence.
...
Then—
Beep.
Lee Hyun froze.
A small blue screen appeared before him.
Clear letters.
Neatly arranged.
Perfectly readable.
Exactly like the interface of Royal Road.
His mind went completely blank.
And then came the flashbacks.
Hundreds of hours spent playing.
Thousands of sculptures.
NPCs and players enchanted by his works.
Countless battles and adventures.
His glory.
His achievements.
Everything rushed through his mind at that moment.
The first window slowly appeared.
[Lee Hyun... I am hungry.]
"..."
All the blood drained from his face.
A second window appeared beneath it.
[Sir ... I have been waiting for you.]
His heart nearly stopped.
No.
That was impossible.
It made no sense.
He was in another world.
Another body.
Another life.
Then—
A third window appeared.
[If you wanted to know about me... you only had to ask.]
"...Huh?"**