The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2
chapter-401

‘So, your memories have returned, Dongbang Sak.’

Ashoka smiled faintly.

In the infinite regressions of the Martial God, this was the first time he had regained his memories.

‘This time, there’s definitely a chance….’

He steeled his heart once more.

The Martial God grew stronger with each regression.

Before he became any stronger, they had to break the cycle of regressions here.

Ashoka closed his eyes.

Then, in his imagination.

He captured the image of Dongbang Sak standing in the sky over Earth, beyond the boundaries of space.

[Of course, Golden Wheel is guarding.]

Ashoka, who was in Tuseong, sent his voice to Dongbang Sak.

[That’s a relief.]

Dongbang Sak, hearing this, responded without surprise.

[I want to cut down the snake myself, but as you know, I can’t go against him.]

[It’s the same for me.]

In the past.

The two people who gave the Martial God the most headaches were Dongbang Sak and Ashoka.

They caused such trouble that he even considered setting fire to the planet Earth and migrating elsewhere.

Ultimately, although the Martial God chose infinite regression over migration based on Ashoka’s suggestion.

He never lowered his guard against the two.

With every possible restriction, he made sure they could not oppose him.

[If he realizes that I’ve regained my memories, I will die on the spot.]

[……Correct. He must never find out.]

[Then, what should we do about this matter?]

The Martial God ordered Dongbang Sak to grant the Taiji to the Abyss Owner.

The intention was clear.

It was to help the Abyss Owner suppress Seong Jihan.

‘This cycle is the most dangerous for the Martial God, but it also offers the greatest gains. Especially if Seong Jihan, who acts as a variable, dies and the regression can restart…… he will be one step closer to his goal.’

Ashoka gazed at the sky above Tuseong.

The numerous sacred weapons floating there were.

These were methods by which the Martial God stored the power of his previous cycles within the infinite regressions.

‘At first, there were no relics in the sky of Tuseong.’

Now, there were more weapons visible than stars in the night sky.

This indicated how many regressions the Martial God had undergone.

By continuously turning back time and storing power in the weapons.

He could gain power comparable to that of the Administrators if he absorbed all their power.

‘But his goal is beyond being a term-bound Administrator…….’

An “Eternity Administrator” without a fixed term.

The Martial God’s ambition was to stand on par with the Ultimate Administrators of the universe, known as ‘Black and White.’

‘Yet, in recent cycles, the relics have stopped increasing.’

Even the storage of power through infinite regressions was approaching its limit.

No more relics were appearing.

It would have been worth tweaking the existing methods and trying something new, but.

‘He pursued safety.’

Even if power increased by only 0.00001% per cycle.

The Martial God possessed the mindset that he could go back a million times to the past.

He was that much oriented towards stability rather than challenge.

Though temporarily pausing his regressions, intrigued by the potential value of the variable Seong Jihan and under the scrutiny of the Black and White Administrator this time.

‘If the Abyss Owner is not granted the Taiji by Dongbang Sak, the Martial God will become suspicious.’

If Dongbang Sak did not follow orders, the Martial God would immediately notice the anomaly.

And then, he would try to turn the Golden Wheel.

[Make sure to grant the Taiji.]

[Then, Seong Jihan is likely to lose.]

[If he’s meant to overcome the Martial God, he must be able to overcome himself as well. We only have one chance. If he knows you might betray him, he’ll kill you at the start of the next cycle.]

[I see…….]

[Make sure to follow the Martial God’s orders. Now is not the time to bare our teeth.]

[I will follow your intentions.]

It was not yet time to betray the Martial God.

Ashoka waited for the optimal time.

* * *

Because of the story Seong Jihan brought up, the celebration after the China Battle ended awkwardly.

“Martial God…… Gilgamesh…… Are they the ones destroying humanity?”

“Gilgamesh definitely isn’t. He doesn’t seem to have that kind of capability.”

“Ugh, there’s just too little information to know. Boss, you have to tell us later, okay?”

“Of course. I have to broadcast it live due to the buffs as well.”

“Buffs?”

“One of my buffs increases relative to the number of viewers.”

“Oh, there’s such a thing?”

Lee Hayeon, who was about to leave the house, perked up at Seong Jihan’s talk about buffs.

“Then we need to inform the BattleNet Association immediately and make sure everyone tunes into your channel!”

“Oh, sis…… good idea? Let’s do it right away!”

Lee Hayeon’s suggestion to mobilize people for mandatory viewing.

Considering Seong Jihan’s current standing among humanity, it was feasible.

However.

“Human viewers aren’t very effective. Aliens watching are more effective.”

“Oh, really? Buffs are so picky…….”

“Do aliens watch Uncle’s channel a lot? Even so, is it still not enough?”

“It’s always better to have more.”

“Then should we dig up more content about the World Tree Elves that died?”

“I think my channel has moved past that stage.”

“That’s right……Since it attracts so many viewers when an Administrator appears on the channel.”

Lost in thought about how to increase concurrent viewers, Lee Hayeon pondered deeply.

“Ugh…… It’s not easy to develop content that aliens would like. They don’t seem interested in lower species.”

“Sis, how about summarizing the previous boss rush videos?”

“That’s being edited now. Since the Administrator’s hand was shown, it should garner some interest….”

Besides the games Seong Jihan played, what new content should they create?

Lee Hayeon racked her brain, but nothing exciting for extraterrestrial viewers came to mind.

“Uncle, even though human viewers aren’t very effective, wouldn’t gathering them still help a bit? Let’s mobilize them right away.”

“Yeah, Jihan. Given it’s a matter of humanity’s fate, let’s tell everyone to tune into BattleTube.”

“I’ll organize the content and push it.”

“Inform people about the extinction?”

“Yes, knowing the reason will make them more diligent about tuning in.”

Seong Jihan wondered how much to reveal as he thought about it.

‘If I disclose everything about the Martial God’s infinite regressions, that guy might just revert time to the past….’

Known as the snake to the disciples of the Martial God.

He was cautious if put favorably, but cowardly if put bluntly.

If he sensed that Seong Jihan was aware of his infinite regressions and intended to reveal it to the world.

‘He might think, “This is as far as it goes,” and revert time.’

‘Haha. The onus is on the weaker side, me, to reassure him not to be scared.’

Given his power to load from the save point if things got bad, he was indeed a tricky opponent.

For now, Seong Jihan needed to observe the situation and decide how much information to disclose.

‘This issue is on hold for now, let’s organize the power gained from the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.’

The substantial power gained from breaking another level of the seal.

Seong Jihan felt the need for training to fully utilize this newfound power.

“For now, let’s shelve the idea of forcing people to watch. I need to head to the void training room.”

“Okay. Come back soon, Uncle~”

After finishing his discussion, Seong Jihan entered the Void Training Room.

He first checked his abilities in his status window.

Level: 495

Affiliation: Star League – Space 2

Martial Soul: 490

Void: 195

Red: 73

Eternity (Incomplete): 27

‘When did my level reach 495?’

While leveling up rapidly during the boss rush, it hadn’t been this much.

Perhaps eliminating the World Tree in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams had boosted his level near 500.

Additionally, the drastic increase in Red and Eternity during the process of destroying the Inner Palace of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.

‘The fruit……it was delicious.’

Seong Jihan reminisced about the fruits forcibly taken from the Red World Tree inside the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.

The otherworldly taste of the World Tree’s fruit.

He had eaten so much of it that the food during the celebration after the China Battle tasted flavorless.

‘The World Tree’s fruit might have ruined my taste buds. I should finish the remaining ones now.’

In the training room, Seong Jihan took out the leftover fruits from the World Tree.

The apples that made his mouth truly burn as he ate them.

Absorbing the energy of the Red as fire erupted in his mouth each time he ate, he consumed all the apples he had taken.

[Red increased by 1.]

[Eternity increased by 1.]

Red and Eternity started to rise incrementally.

The total increase in stats was.

‘Red by 2, Eternity by 3….’

Seong Jihan, having reached Red 75 and Eternity 30, noticed a significant number of remaining points in the status window.

Usually, he would have used these points to raise the Red stat.

‘Now, I can increase Red using the Administrator’s hand. No need to waste these points here anymore.’

With a free method available, why waste points unnecessarily?

Seong Jihan deliberated on where to invest the remaining points.

‘Cannot increase Eternity as it’s incomplete, nor is it necessary to exceed 200 in Void…….’

The only option left was Martial Soul.

‘I’ll invest them all here.’

Dumping all remaining points into Martial Soul resulted in an unexpected sharp increase.

Previously, investing points yielded minimal growth or messages indicating further investment was impossible.

‘500…… it’s crossed easily.’

Pouring all the remaining points into it, his Martial Soul reached 502.

Martial Soul had improved significantly more efficiently than before.

‘Did perfecting the Taiji Sword even in its dagger form make the difference?’

Reflecting on acquiring One Sword Breaks the Sky and advancing the Taiji Sword within the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.

Considering Martial Soul’s dependency on martial advancements, the increase in efficiency made sense.

‘Though I’ve certainly become stronger…….’

Checking his upgraded status, Seong Jihan recalled the Abyss Owner.

‘……It’s still hard to fight that guy.’

Charging into the Abyss with just the Taiji Sword was unwise, considering their basic stat differences.

Using the Star Buff and narrowing the gap might help, but.

A real-life battle with him required complete readiness.

‘I should find a clue from the greatly increased Red and Eternity.’

With this in mind, Seong Jihan began researching the enhanced Red and Eternity in earnest at the training hall.

Time passed by unheeded.

“……The proficiency of Eternity doesn’t increase.”

Red and Eternity.

The former was a power previously used by the Red Administrator.

The latter tied to the infinite life force of the World Tree.

Seong Jihan had sufficient understanding to utilize both to some extent.

Yet, using them effectively against the Abyss Owner proved challenging.

‘I’m no Dongbang Sak, that’s for sure.’

He rapidly progressed when Dongbang Sak gave one-point lessons on the Taiji Sword.

Trying to upgrade abilities alone yielded nothing but stalled progress.

Was Ashoka right about his inadequacy?

‘……Can’t progress no matter how much I research at the current state. Instead, I’ll try raising my stats further.’

If understanding fell short, raising the stats might resolve it.

Thus, Seong Jihan set on using his stats to overcome the current stalemate.

“Inventory.”

He accessed his inventory.

At the very end lay the ‘Black Sealed Box’ containing the Administrator’s hand.

Seong Jihan took out the box and opened it.

Then.

[Collecting golden egg?]

A message appeared over the red eye.

Did it remember the mention of a goose laying golden eggs from before?

“Yes, lay the egg quickly.”

[Understood.]

The red eye agreed without resistance.

It began extending blood vessels everywhere.