Chapter 247: Chapter 247

Su-ho immediately stepped back.

Right after the notification appeared, the Fire Dwarves, as if they had made a pact, lifted their hammers and slammed them down onto the anvil with all their might.

In that process, the four hammerheads shattered, and once the dust settled, Su-ho could see a flame standing tall at the center of the anvil.

But this flame was far larger than the ones he'd seen in the previous three gates.

And its color was different too.

Whereas the previous flames had been orange, this one was an incomparable shade of gold.

Once again, Su-ho created a bridge with his Blood Weapon and approached the golden flame.

The golden flame was also encased in a transparent bubble, and when Su-ho touched it, it flared brilliantly before being absorbed into him.

Then, an intriguing notification appeared.

[ You have acquired the final fragment of ???. ]

[ You have successfully obtained the qualification. ]

[ ■■■■ is observing you. ]

‘Uh... what’s with the name display?’

??? had changed to ■■■■.

That alone meant a lot.

Usually, ??? appeared when someone didn’t even meet the minimum qualification—when the security level was at its highest.

So for the question marks to change into black boxes meant the security level had dropped... in other words, that the being beyond had acknowledged the player.

‘Black boxes... we used to call them Transcendents.’

The reason they were called Transcendents wasn’t that complicated.

Despite countless players trying to uncover the secrets of the black boxes, no one had succeeded.

And judging from the system’s behavior, it was assumed that black boxes were beings as high up as the system itself—thus, the name Transcendent.

Sure, some people called them gods. But honestly?

Since no one knew their true name or form, calling them gods seemed too ambiguous. So eventually, people settled on the term Transcendent.

‘And there were lots of religious folks who opposed the god label too.’

Su-ho himself was already associated with one Transcendent.

The one who owned the Heo-gong Style swordsmanship he used.

Of course, he didn’t know the name.

It was a connection that had continued since his past life, yet even now, he still had no idea who that being really was.

So Su-ho didn’t particularly care.

Not just because of that specific Transcendent—no one knew the true name of any of them.

But now, a new Transcendent had begun showing interest in him.

For Su-ho, this was a first in his entire Hunter life.

[ ■■ expresses displeasure. ]

[ ■■■■ doesn’t care. ]

[ ■■■■ continues to observe you. ]

Su-ho tilted his head after reading the system messages.

Was this kind of notification even possible?

It was the first time something had ever appeared.

‘Could it be that the Transcendents are fighting among themselves?’

That’s what it looked like, no matter how he saw it.

But come to think of it, it wasn’t so far-fetched.

When he first learned the First Form of the Heo-gong Style—

[ ■■ nods at your growth and blesses you. ]

—he had received a message like that.

He hadn’t misread it.

It was clearly recorded in the Library of Memory.

‘Yeah, now that I think about it, the system has been describing the actions of the Transcendents to me.’

Almost like a monitoring device.

So maybe the system and the Transcendents weren’t on the same level?

‘Could it be that they’re just in different positions?’

Either way, it was something he’d need to observe further.

At that moment, the previously paused system messages resumed.

[ ■■■■ shows great interest in you. ]

[ ■■ frowns in disbelief. ]

[ ■■■■ doesn’t care. ]

[ ■■■■ bestows a blessing upon you. ]

[ The preservation of ■■■■ is imbued within you. ]

[ Manryu-Gwijong has been activated. ]

[ Congratulations! You now qualify to become the successor of ■■■■. ]

[ Will you accept succession from ■■■■? ]

A flood of notifications appeared before his eyes.

Su-ho’s eyes widened as he read them.

He was already the successor of the Heo-gong Style.

And now there was another succession offer?

That had never happened before.

‘Isn’t a player only supposed to have one succession?’

Getting a succession proposal wasn’t in itself rare.

Su-ho wasn’t the only one who had received such a proposal.

‘Those bastard traitors were all successors too.’

The traitors who had stabbed Su-ho in the back.

Regardless of their character, they had been some of Earth’s most powerful individuals.

But even those bastards had never been offered succession twice.

Yet Su-ho was getting it a second time.

It was certainly strange.

‘Could succession be like traits now?’

People used to think Awakened could only have one trait.

But eventually, some had two or even three traits, shattering that assumption.

And so, the saying was born:

‘Unless the system says no first, nothing is impossible.’

Su-ho agreed with that.

The system may push players to the brink, but it never cheats them.

‘As long as you endure, the system gives you your due reward. That’s its basic nature.’

So Su-ho was now contemplating whether or not to accept succession from this nameless black box.

Part of that hesitation came from a sense of loyalty to the owner of the Heo-gong Style.

He had benefited greatly from using the transformed form of the Guardian Sword through that style.

But then, suddenly, another thought occurred.

‘Wait. Why the hell am I worrying about loyalty to a Transcendent?’

Sure, the Heo-gong Style had helped him, but that didn’t make the guy his savior.

Strictly speaking, if the system had never appeared, maybe all the tragedies he endured wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

‘I forgot that I was once a persecuted slave.’

Just because a slave owner is a little nicer doesn’t make them friends.

Either way, a slave is still a slave. And more importantly—

‘If another Transcendent is cutting in to offer me succession, that means I must be someone they really want.’

If a monk doesn’t like the temple, the monk leaves—not the temple.

Su-ho was not the monk. He was the temple.

At least in the relationship between Transcendents and players.

With his mind made up, Su-ho accepted the offer.

[ You have accepted the offer. ]

[ ■■■■ is pleased with your acceptance. ]

[ ■■ scowls at your acceptance. ]

[ Congratulations! You are now the successor of ■■■■'s “Yajang Style.” ]

[ You have obtained the Sealed Hammer of the Great Yajang. ]

[ You have obtained the Sealed Necklace of the Great Yajang. ]

[ For achieving a great feat, the system gifts you 10 bonus stats. ]

System notifications poured in.

But something felt off about the messages.

If it was a succession, shouldn’t he have received some kind of technique like with the Heo-gong Style?

Instead, the owner of the Yajang Style had just handed him a hammer and a necklace. That was it.

Su-ho checked their details.

[ Sealed Hammer of the Great Yajang ]

A brilliant legacy given only to the most cherished successor of the Great Yajang.

To unlock the first {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} seal of the hammer, ten strikes are required.

[ Sealed Necklace of the Great Yajang ]

A brilliant legacy given only to the most cherished successor of the Great Yajang.

To unlock the first seal of the necklace, you must find the most familiar flame.

Upon reading the item descriptions, Su-ho furrowed his brow.

The hammer made sense.

It was straightforward—just hold it and strike something ten times.

But a “familiar flame”?

‘A hot flame is a flame. What the hell is a familiar one?’

He would definitely need to investigate.

There was no record of a familiar flame in Su-ho’s memory.

He fiddled with the hammer and necklace for a bit, then stored them away.

As much as he wanted to test them right here, he knew from experience that things were best done with plenty of preparation.

‘Either way, this is a much better outcome than I ever expected.’

In the previous timeline, even after clearing all four anvil gates, there had been no real reward.

There were two likely reasons.

First, no one had ever triggered a second phase for those gates.

Second, no single person had cleared all four anvil gates.

Since each gate only allowed one person at a time.

Su-ho checked the final notifications at the end of the message log.

[ You have reached Level 180. ]

[ The system wishes for you to become even stronger. ]

[ The system grants you greater power. ]

At the very bottom of the system messages—

It was the announcement that Su-ho had reached level 180.

‘Only 20 levels left.’

Just 20 more to reach 200.

Su-ho checked the new Crusader skill he gained at level 180.

‘Finally, I get this.’

Compared to when he was a healer, the skills he acquired now were completely different in nature.

After confirming the skill, Su-ho pulled up his status window.

It was about time to reallocate some points.

‘Let’s hope a synergy effect kicks in.’

With that thought, Su-ho put 3 points into Strength, 3 into Magic, and 6 into Sense, then closed the window.

He moved toward the exit portal.

But just before stepping through, he paused and looked back.

The anvil buried in the ground.

And the scattered pieces of Dwarf hammers and the anvil itself.

After a moment of thought, Su-ho picked up a few pieces and muttered to himself.

‘Martin Park will love this.’

With the materials in hand, Su-ho walked out of the portal.

After exiting the gate through the portal—

‘I guess it’s time to head back.’

He had cleared all four of the major gates in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Along the way, he had obtained hidden pieces.

There was nothing more to gain from Kaesong.

Sure, a few minor gates and leftover Agwis remained, but those could be left to the incoming strike force.

If Su-ho handled everything himself, it would definitely stir up trouble in more ways than one.

He planted a Guiyeong Spear nearby for transport, then prepared to use shadow movement via the Guiyeong Spear installed at his home in Seoul.

But then, through a gaping window, he noticed a strange disturbance.

Su-ho immediately climbed to the rooftop of the building where the Residential Wing gate was located.

And with his own eyes, he could clearly see it.

What appeared before Su-ho—

Was a brand-new gate portal he had never seen before.