Heavenly Demon Cultivation Simulation-Chapter 412: A Pleasant Encounter (13)

“Sniff. Why do you hit me… so painfully? Sniff.”

Du Hong was crouched in a corner of the Heavenly Library’s front yard, holding his cheek and crying.

To anyone listening, it was an endlessly sorrowful and mournful voice.

“Hmm. That’s why I’m apologizing, saying I’m sorry.”

Seol-Hwi replied while munching on an apple he had taken a bite of.

Perched next to the railing, he was looking at Du Hong with a semblance of pity.

‘He doesn’t look a bit sorry at all!’

However, to Songhwa, who was standing a step back, it didn’t seem that way at all.

A relaxed posture, a calm expression, a tone that offered no comfort.

Even taking the apple Du Hong had left unfinished without a second thought didn’t make him seem like someone who felt remorseful.

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“I don’t even know why I’m getting hit. Sniff… Every time I get hit, I feel so humiliated and wronged… Sniff.”

“Sss. Just stop there. Or do you want to get hit again?”

“Eek!”

Did he realize that hoping for sympathy would leave him in pieces?

As Seol-Hwi raised the hand holding the apple, Du Hong bolted away.

The front yard, which had been a sea of tears, naturally quieted down, and Seol-Hwi subtly asked Songhwa.

“I handled it well enough, right?”

“……”

Songhwa hesitated. He had a feeling that unnecessary trouble might befall him.

Still, he thought he should at least know what his problem was, so he answered in a quiet voice.

“Elder. With all due respect, the feeling of apology didn’t reach Elder Du Hong well.”

“Well, that’s unavoidable.”

“……Pardon?”

“I have nothing left but learned emotions.”

“Learned emotions?”

“As I live, that’s how it is.”

Seol-Hwi condensed countless hardships and emotional erosion of life into a simple answer.

Nevertheless, Songhwa moaned with an ‘Ah!’ at those words.

It was so ordinary that it was momentarily forgotten. The person in front of him was already akin to a god.

Of course, if it were said to someone other than Songhwa, it wouldn’t have worked at all.

“By the way, how do I summon that guy?”

“Pardon? Who?”

“There is. The one who uses Western characters.”

Combat Style [AI]

Seol-Hwi was looking at the AI characters obtained from Du Hong.

He came all the way here to summon the AI, and he succeeded.

However, summoning usually occurred when life was at stake or in emergencies.

How should he create such a situation for now?

Due to the already high state, it was difficult to even perceive a ‘crisis.’

“Oh? This is.”

At that moment, Seol-Hwi noticed the sword handle that Du Hong had dropped.

He picked it up and drew the sword.

“What, what are you doing?”

Songhwa asked, flustered by the sight.

It was an absurd situation, seeing someone suddenly holding a sword to their own neck.

“Ah, I need to create a situation where I have to die.”

“Pardon? A situation to die?”

“Yeah. Something like that. Just wait a moment.”

He actually pretended to cut himself. No, he was slowly pushing the sword into his neck.

“Elder!”

Songhwa exclaimed in shock and hurriedly tried to stop him, but Seol-Hwi frowned and asked.

“What?”

“Why are you suddenly trying to throw your life away?”

“I told you, I need to create an urgent situation.”

“No matter what, this is…”

‘This is madness!’

Blood was dripping from his neck, and Songhwa was staring blankly, as if in a trance.

Then, Seol-Hwi suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!” and handed the sword to Songhwa.

“Right. Rather than me doing it, it’s better for you to stab me.”

“Pardon?”

“Try stabbing me with this sword.”

Songhwa truly couldn’t understand this situation.

In contrast, Seol-Hwi was quite serious about this entire thing.

“If I stab myself, it’s a conscious action. My self-awareness that it’s not really dangerous will intervene. But if you stab me, it’ll be an unexpected situation, and I’ll truly assess it as an emergency.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Hurry up and stab me. Just without any thought, thrust it in. It’s okay if it goes through my abdomen. If you think I’m truly dead, that’s a success.”

“Uh, um, Elder…”

“I said do it quickly. It’s fine. It’s not like I’ll actually die.”

‘He’s serious. This person is completely crazy.’

Songhwa was suddenly frightened by all that.

He thought Seol-Hwi might be a god, but by now, he wondered if the man was just going insane.

Perhaps that’s why his future was so twisted.

‘If I run away, he’ll follow me, won’t he?’

If he hadn’t seen this man’s martial arts, he might have thought differently, but Songhwa had clearly witnessed his earth-shattering strength.

Even if he tried to escape, he would follow him like a rat trapped in a jar, so that wasn’t feasible either.

While he was waving his hands dismissively, Seol-Hwi suddenly clapped his hands and said.

“Wait. Yes, that’s it! Silly me. There was a better way, wasn’t there?”

“…?”

Seol-Hwi looked at Songhwa and grinned.

“You can cast a sorcery chant on me.”

“…Pardon?”

“As you know, I’m someone who’s lost fear, so make it so I can feel it. No, make it so I can perceive it as a moment of crisis.”

Seol-Hwi’s request was quite strange, but Songhwa understood what he wanted.

He wanted to feel such emotions through demonic sorcery.

Seol-Hwi waited expectantly for Songhwa’s response.

Then.

“That cannot be done.”

“Why? Is your sorcery not strong enough?”

“That’s not it. Your mastery is already as high as the sky. I dare not change the perception of a warrior at such a high level.”

“It’s okay. You can lower the mastery.”

“It’s not like that.”

Songhwa made a frustrated expression but continued to speak calmly.

“Even if those who have reached mastery artificially lower their level, their understanding and enlightenment in martial arts do not disappear.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s how it is.”

Had he become too strong?

Seol-Hwi was perplexed as yet another proposal was blocked.

Then was there no other way?

No matter how much one tried to create a crisis, if the perception itself did not change, he could not be met.

The fact that one had become too strong had led to a situation where AI could not be summoned.

“What if we try this?”

Songhwa spoke to Seol-Hwi, who was pondering with his chin resting.

“Does the person using Western characters only appear in critical moments?”

“…What do you mean?”

“You mentioned that he appears in urgent situations, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Doesn’t that mean he’s watching what the Elder is doing?”

“There were times when he wasn’t, but there were definitely times when he was watching.”

Seol-Hwi nodded, recalling memories with Sa Yu-kang.

“Then try to provoke them with something that will inevitably make them angry. Won’t they come out even if it’s not an emergency?”

“Yeah. That’s right. That method was there!”

It was only because it had been too long that he hadn’t remembered, but Songhwa’s words brought it back to Seol-Hwi’s mind.

There were times in the past when he cursed, and the fellow reacted to it.

“Alright. I’ll give it a try, so hold on for a moment.”

Seol-Hwi organized his thoughts for a moment, then spoke again.

“Hey, you bastard. Come out quickly!”

“……”

Seol-Hwi waited for the fellow with an expectant expression.

Seeing Songhwa’s awkward gaze, he realized he hadn’t cursed properly.

“You worm-like scum. Are you too scared to come out?”

Once again, there was no response.

Since Sa Yu-kang had disappeared, another AI must have come.

Seol-Hwi decided to dig into that point.

“A coward who ran away in fear of the Absolute One”

“Weaker than Sa Yu-kang.”

“A person who lives trapped in a yoke for life.”

Still, there was no response.

As Seol-Hwi pondered deeply, something crossed his mind.

“Do you know the North Star? I’m trying to kill him, do you have any information?”

“……”

Silence again.

Then Seol-Hwi looked at Songhwa and tilted his head.

“Hey, words don’t seem to provoke him… huh?”

It was then.

‘What is this? This presence.’

Seol-Hwi felt an unknown qi tapping at his upper dantian.

A current of qi he hadn’t sensed before.

Normally, he would have rejected it, but Seol-Hwi, realizing it was AI, slowly let it be.

Swish.

The qi flowing from the upper dantian began to awaken his mind and manifest before his eyes.

As the space seemed to warp and shake, the afterimage gradually transformed into reality.

Then, unlike previous AI, it created a new character right before his eyes.

- I never expected you to be alive…

Long hair like Earth Demon, eyes hiding secrets like Demon Lord, and a large build like End Demon.

A face unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable.

In the blurred memories of the past, it was vividly imprinted, because there had been an unavoidable incident.

Seol-Hwi pushed Songhwa back and posed a question to him.

“…Was your name Shin Yaja?”

- You remember.

“Can AIs choose players directly?”

- Usually, us AIs can’t choose. It’s only possible in cases like yours. Since we’ve met before, I was given priority.

“Is that so? So, did you choose me and watch from afar?”

- That’s not it. You have the ability to open and close the AI’s door on your own. Only when you opened the door did I finally become visible.

‘Was that the flow of the upper dantian?’

A moment ago, to be precise, when he acquired the AI ability from Du Hong, an unfamiliar energy touched the Middle of the Head Blood Point.

It was such a faint qi that he ignored it, but as soon as the North Star was mentioned, it became strong enough to be felt.

‘But… this is the first time.’

<AI level has increased. Lv3>

Seeing the text appear before his eyes, he thought.

Combat mode [AI Lv3]

It was a different level than before.

And as soon as he recognized it, the explanation continued.

<AI Lv3 - The ability reaches its maximum, and the time limit disappears.> - You can summon him at any time. - You can converse with the AI without losing control of your body.

Seol-Hwi wanted to ask what was going on, but Shin Yaja spoke first.

It was a strong tone laced with displeasure.

- Have you still not given up? Do you think you can defeat the Absolute One?

“That’s none of your concern. If you know anything about the North Star, spill it. That’s why you’re here anyway.”

- Ha… Trying to kill the North Star? You’re as fearless as ever.

“Not just fearless. I’m emotionless too.”

Seol-Hwi spoke honestly, but it didn’t seem to be heard that way by the other party.

- Trying to kill a god? Why not become an AI instead? There’s a vacancy anyway.

“No. Even though I lack emotions, I can’t become the Absolute One’s dog.”

- Are you seriously planning to fight the Absolute One again?

“Yeah.”

- Crazy…

The AI, facing him, was actually taken aback by his sheer confidence.

- I’ve seen countless players, but you’re the first truly insane one.

“Are you crazy? I’m telling you, there’s no emotion.”

Shin Yaja stood there dumbfounded with an incredulous expression.

As he hesitated, unsure of what to say, Seol-Hwi asked.

“Ah, before you tell me about the North Star, let me ask this first.”

- …….

In truth, there was a question more important than anything else for Seol-Hwi right now.

“Is there a way to go back to the past in this world?”

- ……What are you talking about?

“There are people I need to meet if I go back to the past. But they’re not ones I can meet by just ‘starting over.’ I need to go further back, but I don’t know how.”

- Are you saying you want to reverse time?

“Yeah.”

- You really are lacking in a lot of means. Do you think that’s even possible? This world was created by the Creator.

“The Creator? Ah, that Absolute One.”

Despite the other’s sarcasm, Seol-Hwi didn’t take it lightly.

Instead, his gaze became sharper than before.

“Yes, that’s right. The Creator. He made this world, didn’t he? Then even if others can’t, he surely can. Right?”

- What on earth are you talking about…?

At those words, Shin Yaja was rather flustered. The player was presenting an approach he had never thought of, one he was hearing for the first time.

“Yes. If it’s him, it’s possible. It’s a simple yet comprehensible principle.”

- Hey, even if he has that ability, the very thought itself is wrong. Why would the Creator send you back to the past?

“Usually, that’s true.”

- …?

Looking at him still puzzled, Seol-Hwi grinned.

“That’s why we have to create an event that forces him to turn back time. A situation where there’s absolutely no choice but to rewind to the past.”

Shin Yaja didn’t understand, but Seol-Hwi was confident.

It was somewhat aligned with his own philosophy.

A method that forces the Absolute One to revert to the past.

‘Make him desperate enough to be driven mad if he doesn’t rewind to the past.’

When he can’t find the player, and the world he created doesn’t flow as he wishes.

When he can’t find the problem in the present, he will coldly review what happened in the past.

Then, that starting point will be the foremost among all players.

‘That day will be the day he dies by my hand.’

Seol-Hwi’s blood boiled.

Although he hadn’t devised a specific method yet, he could plan the grandest scheme.

If he could really return to the past as planned, he would be able to meet everyone.

Seo Ryeong, and Sa Yu-kang.

And if he was really lucky.

Cheon Miryo, he might be able to see her too.

Even an entity that vanished like Sa Yu-kang could be resurrected under that assumption.