âUburka. I realized something while watching the way you used your mana.â
-You mean the Shibal Aura Training Method?
âI canât help but mourn your horrendous naming ability⊠Anyways, right. I saw a profound possibility after looking at the Shibal Aura Training Method.â
I spoke as I say atop Uburkaâs head.
âItâs the Formation Method.â
-Formation Method?
Uburka tilted his head.
-Whatâs that, Daddy?
Formation Method(éłæł).
Before meeting Master, I knew hardly anything about martial arts, but Iâd learned a lot about the common sense of Murim from Bae Hu-ryeong.
The Formation Method was literally a method(æł) of attaining a formation(éł).(1)
âMartial arts is basically the method of learning to utilize oneâs body. On the other hand, you could think of the Formation Method as the method to spread it among several people.â
-Ugor, do you mean like battle formations?
âSimilar. But itâs not the same as simple hand to hand combat.â
I told him.
âLetâs say people from different factions fought on the same side. They might be attacking together or carrying out joint attacks, but it couldnât really be called the Formation Method. Itâs the same principle. Only when they use their aura in the same way could it be called the Formation Method.â
-Does Daddy want to teach me the Formation Method?
âRight. To be precise, I want to teach you the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art first and then develop it into a Formation Method with you. Iâve never used a Formation Method before so Iâm not sure if itâll work, but so what?! Iâm still interested to try.â
-I donât quite understand. Is there a reason to learn it?
âHey, hey. Baby. If you look for a reason or value before doing everything, then you will never do anything!â
I tapped the top of Uburkaâs head.
âFor now, weâll just test it. Then if it doesnât work, we can just give up. But if it does work then weâll delve deeper. Alright?â
-So itâs just relaxed.
âMhm. Relaxed.â
I smiled.
âBut, baby. I have a question for you.â
-What is it?
âHave you ever starved for more than a week?â
Uburka blinked.
-Huh?
After that, I slowly taught him the ârelaxedâ Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.
âThe Infernal Heavens Demonic Art is divided into nine forms. The first form is the Asa Sword of Starvation. In other words, it is a sword that was created from the longing and desperation of hunger. This is why you are starving now. Aya, this dream world is really useful. Time passes, but you wonât die no matter how much you starve!â
-Kill me!
Uburka, who had already been starving in his dream for a week in his dream, cried out. His legs and arms were bound by chains. And I was sitting in front of him, eating delicious fruits and fish.
This was the result after I defeated him in a fair duel.
-Iâd prefer you killed me!
âIs it painful?â
-Itâs painful!
âDoes it hurt?â
-It hurts! It feels like all of my muscles are screaming!
âThatâs it! My baby. I want you to input that pain, that hurt into your sword. Iâve also been forced to starve for a week. But even if youâre starving, you canât starve without thinking. Think of a farmer starving to death in the middle of nowhere because of a bad harvest, think of the farmerâs child. You have to starve while thinking about that.â
-Daddy youâre crazy!
I taught him.
âThis dream world really is nice. If I think of a snowfield, a snowfield appears, and if I think about an epidemic, an epidemic spreads. Itâs the perfect environment to learn the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. There was nothing like this in my time, phew.â
-Cold⊠Daddy, Iâm so coldâŠ.
âThis is what it means to freeze to death! Imagine someone who doesnât even have a blanket, and has to use fallen leaves to cover themself.â
-Iâll freeze before I can imagine itâŠ.
âThatâs fine, thatâs fine. You wonât die. My baby is the strongest goblin that ever lived. This is easy, isnât it?â
-Itâs been a long time since Iâve said this word in this context, but⊠ShibaaalâŠ.
I taught him.
âIs it difficult to learn? Is the burning too painful? I understand. Iâll experience this one with you. Even if it hurts, itâll be fine as long as we feel the pain together. Are you not okay? Does it still hurt? Thatâs natural. Itâs supposed to hurt. But baby, I canât hear you at all. Even if your vocal cords are burnt, you can use your aura to speak. Look at dad. Iâm not moving my lips, Iâm using my aura to talk freely. Now. Try it.â
-Th-⊠is⊠is⊠hellâŠ.
âAigoo. As expected of my baby boy. Such a fast learner! It can be said that Infernal Heavens Demonic Art makes the users experience the various hells one after the other.â
-This⊠horrible martial art⊠did Daddy learn it as well�
âThatâs right.â
I smiled brightly.
âI also had to learn it.â
I taught him.
[Purchased âDream Appearanceâ.]
[100 points have been deducted!]
[You currently have 8800 race points.]
Ten days.
While the other hunters were busy spending their time caring for their races, I poured all of my time into Uburka. And if one were to count the time spent in each dream, it would be much longer than 10 days.
âMm.â
I scratched my cheek.
âWell, itâs not bad. Not bad. Iâm a bit disappointed, but Iâll have to be satisfied with this.â
-Thatâs it?
Uburka grit his teeth.
-I endured living hell for ten days!
âNo. Mm. Thatâs true⊠I also realized it while teaching you. You have a great talent for the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. But itâs not something thatâs easy to understand even with overflowing talentâŠ.â
-Thatâs natural! Only a psychopath would be able to fully grasp the Starving Death, Dehydration Death, Drowning Death, Freezing Death, Poison Death, Sickness Death, Blunt Force Death, and Burning Death! A person can only die once, and when they die, itâs all over! If this wasnât a dream, I wouldnât dare to learn this!
âWellâŠ.â
The Demonic Cult has always been a bit of a hard place.
-Itâs strange that Daddy is even able to perform such a horrific art in the first place! I donât know how you can do it! No, the amazing thing is that youâre still sane!
I smiled.
âThanks for the compliment. Now. I will be saying goodbye to this era after today. So before that, we need to create a draft version of the Formation Method.â
-âŠâŠ.
âEven if you havenât fully comprehended the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, you have at least reached the level of rising demon. Uburka. You and I are now seeds that sprout in the same direction. We can now share our dreams, or even fulfill each otherâs dreams.â
I jumped off of Uburkaâs head.
âSit down.â
-Ugo.
âUnlike martial arts, formation methods arenât organized. Theyâre all over the place. Most sects use the basic level of formation method in teams.â
I sat down in front of Uburka and grabbed a few stones. Using my aura, I rolled the stones around on my palm.
âThink of each stone as a martial artist.â
-Understood.
âFive out of six of them are moving in a certain rhythm. Almost like music. Those who are fighting them will get used to the rhythm of the five people. And the moment they get used to this rhythm, the last one rushes in with a completely different rhythm.â
Swish!
One of the stones suddenly leaped forward, striking Uburkaâs chest before he even had a chance to respond.
-âŠâŠ.
There was no damage to speak of. Nevertheless, Uburka stared at me with a blank expression as though he was unable to fully comprehend what had just happened.
âThis is the basic level of formation method. People have intelligence. Intelligence is the ability to understand rules. Rhythm is also a rule. The key to formation methods is to use peopleâs cognition as an opening .â
-âŠis it really that amazing?
âIt is amazing. But thatâs on the basic level of formation method.â
I smiled.
It was worth it to learn this and that from Bae Hu-ryeong whenever I had time after learning the teachings of the Demonic Cult.
âThe next level of formation method is magic.â
I sent aura to the palm of my hand.
âWhat do you see?â
-It looks like fire.
âThatâs right. Even though itâs not fire, it looks like it. This is because I copied the appearance of fire with my aura. Uburka. Youâre not actually a giant, but you can make yourself become one with your aura.â
I focus my aura on the six stones.
The stones were set on fire.
âWhat if six people made their aura like fire? Imagine being surrounded by those six people. Youâd probably feel like you were in a furnace, right?â
-Ugor.
âThis is also the path we will go along when we plan together from now on.â
Tak.
I caught the stones in the air.
âThe only ones who have mastered the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art so far are just me and you. But what if there were three? What if it increased to six? Imagine what would happen if we increase the number to twelve, or twenty-four.â
-âŠâŠ.
âImagine what would happen if 100, 300, or even 600 people were to all learn the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art and they all performed it at once.â
Uburkaâs eyes slowly widened.
The corners of my mouth raised like a cunning villain.
âOn my own, I might only be able to create a furnace five steps wide. However, if we worked together, we might be able to burn ten or even fifteen steps away. And hundreds gathered togetherâŠ.â
-They could burn the entire battlefield.
Uburka opened his mouth.
His eyes were dazed as though he wasnât looking at me at that moment.
He was probably imagining the scene Iâd just described.
-The souls of hundreds of warriors burning at the same time with the same image and technique. The battlefield would definitely turn into hell in an instant.
Thatâs right.
Not a personal skill, but a group skill.
That was the way I envisioned the new Infernal Heavens Demonic Art to be.
-Daddy called it magic, but I think differently. When fantasy imposes itself on the world, it becomes real.
âWhat do you think? Is it worth doing?â
-I want to try.
âOkay. Then letâs try it step by step.â
I smiled.
âIn order for this to succeed, weâll have to have the same image in our hearts. After all, if a choir wants to sing the same song, theyâll have to memorize the lyrics. Uburka. You will have to share not only the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, but also the scenery we create to the others.â
-What scenery are you talking about?
âIâll show it to you now.â
I drew a mansion on the ground.
âI encountered the childrenâs dolls in a remote mansionâ.â
And talked.
About everything Iâd experienced so far.
The scenery Iâd seen.
The 1st scene.
Little dolls in a burning mansion.
The 2nd scene.
Petra who lived at the edge of a village.
The 3rd scene.
A peony blooming in the middle of winter.
The 4th scene.
The moon whose heart was stolen by a mirror.
The 5th scene.
Teardrops falling onto a rooftop.
Sometimes I drew pictures on the ground. Sometimes I drew them with my aura. I talked about the stories Iâd experienced with my body, and the scenes Iâd seen with my eyes.
These were just stories. Since they didnât yet have a form, they couldnât be called the formation method.
But these were scenes that would someday become the foundation of the formation method.
âThese are the scenes I have. Five. There might be more in the future, and itâll probably increase. But for now, there are five.â
-I see.
Uburka murmured.
-Daddy⊠youâve experienced a lot. Youâve proudly lived a more intense life than anyone else. Iâm certain now that Daddy is even more diligent than I am. The density of your time is incredibleâŠ.
âThatâs because I travel around a lot.â
-Will I also be able to travel to places like Daddy has?
âWell.â
I got up.
âPerhaps. Because you have already merged your mind and body. Maybe youâll reach the stage of rejuvenating your body. Iâm about to leave this era, but itâs possible that you will survive until the next eraâŠâ
-Iâm going to live for a very long time.
Uburka let out a laugh.
-I will spread the story of Daddy to our race. I will make our meetings into a play and have it performed on stage. I will share it to the younger generations. I will make the five stories into five fire paintings and personally showcase them during the full moon. I swear. Just as Daddy has taken care of our race, we will not forget you.
I stretched out my arm.
Uburka bent over and held out his arm as well.
My tiny human hand was grabbed the hobgoblinâs giant hand and we shook them.
âUburka.â
-Mm.
âYouâre an amazing child. Continue to spread your Shibal to the entire world.â
Uburka grinned widely, showing off his fangs.
-Of course. Daddy.
Then.
âI declare stage clear.â
[Stage clear.]
[You have cleared the 33rd floor.]
[Your compensation will be settled after entering the 34th floor.]
[Chain layers in progressâyou will be sent directly to the 34th floor!]
A white light enveloped me. (TL: I hope the little gobbies can survive that hellish training.)
(Note.
1.Formation in this case refers to troop formations.)