Chapter 94

Chapter 94
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: The Unconscious Spear Master

—

It moved with a sluggish grace, yet it flowed as effortlessly as a mountain stream.

Shieeeek!

The master of the spear lunged directly toward my position.

I had finally located him.

Chalak!

Drawing my blade, I parried the oncoming strike.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the spearman pressed his advantage, closing the distance while tracing intricate patterns in the air with his weapon.

If I knocked it aside, it found a new path; if I tried to strike, it clung to me like a shadow.

He was utilizing the maximum reach of the polearm to an infuriating degree.

This was a genuine artist of the spear.

A person who had spent a lifetime refining their craft until they had stepped into the territory of a grandmaster.

‘This feels strange.’

Something didn’t sit right with me, though.

Even with such polished and deadly technique, I couldn’t sense a shred of enmity coming from my opponent.

There was no bloodlust, no spite, no emotion at all.

He was operating on raw, unadulterated instinct.

There was no strategy, no cold calculation behind the movements.

This was the absolute peak of action performed in a state of total unconsciousness.

‘Wielding such high-level spear arts through instinct alone.’

It was fascinating.

Furthermore, this individual had applied the maximum possible restrictions to himself, just as I had.

Despite those handicaps, he moved with this level of fluidity.

And he didn’t even possess a hidden trait like my ‘Mutation.’

‘He must have been in this state for at least a year…’

This level of performance suggested a total adaptation to his environment.

It was living proof that he had done nothing but swing that spear after losing all of his physical senses.

A year at the minimum. Perhaps even longer.

‘It’s not normal. But then again.’

It is easy to describe, but who could actually spend years swinging a weapon in total sensory deprivation?

Is it even achievable through the sheer, singular obsession with reaching the pinnacle?

‘…I suppose I’m not exactly normal either.’

A small smirk played across my mind.

Finding a technician of this caliber to test myself against was a rare opportunity.

I decided to engage him fully.

I had been looking for a proper sparring partner, after all.

—

I lost track of how much time slipped away.

Only after an endless exchange of steel clashing against wood and iron did a sense of recognition begin to dawn on me.

I couldn’t be absolutely certain, but the spear techniques he employed were far from the standard curriculum.

Most spear users prioritize brief, singular thrusts.

However, the man in front of me was obsessed with ‘combos.’

‘An 8-hit chain. Every subsequent strike is more fluid and carries more weight than the last. This style…’

It felt hauntingly familiar.

This specific rhythm of combat.

Didn’t it bear a striking resemblance to that specific class where you stack hits to trigger ‘Whirlwind’ at the tenth strike?

‘There’s no way…’

I tried to dismiss the thought.

It seemed impossible.

Yet, as the duel stretched on, my skepticism dissolved into cold realization.

I only knew of one spearman in this entire world who fought with that sticky, combo-heavy style while holding a long-range weapon.

‘Is it possible… that this is the spear master character I ditched while I was grinding…?’

Good grief.

The details lined up perfectly.

The unlucky character I had abandoned on the Mountain of Practitioners two years ago, logged out of, and never looked back at.

It was during the period when I was obsessed with maxing out Wilhelm; the grind for proficiency felt like an endless tunnel, so I simply gave up on him.

‘This is insane.’

It defied belief.

But how was he still functioning here?

He should have been deleted or killed by the environment long ago.

And there was a reason I had left him behind.

‘Two years just to reach an 8-hit combo? Truly, no talent whatsoever.’

The spear master character was devoid of natural gifts.

The Spear Master class was decent enough, with a proficiency ceiling of level 20, but its true power lay in ‘Whirlwind,’ which only triggered after a 10-hit chain.

To bridge the gap between an 8-hit and a 10-hit combo, one had to manifest ‘aura.’

Even if you hit proficiency level 20, summoning aura required an innate spark.

I had given him some basic talents during character creation, but they were nowhere near the level required to generate aura.

‘…Setting the restrictions to maximum was a mistake.’

Combining a lack of talent with the harshest possible handicaps had been a recipe for disaster.

It sucked all the enjoyment out of leveling him.

Who wants to stare at a pitch-black screen and swing a spear all day?

His progress was agonizingly slow, and since the management was a headache, I cut my losses without a second thought.

Now, that very character had survived this purgatory alone, thrusting his spear at me.

‘His proficiency has reached level 20, at the very least.’

After two years, he had finally hit the cap.

Yet, there was still no aura.

Was it a simple lack of talent?

‘Usually, manifesting aura requires both talent and the guidance of a master.’

Even those with potential usually need a ‘master’ to teach them the trick of it.

Of course, with my absurd level of talent, I never needed such help.

The other option was dedicated internal training.

The game featured meditation and energy cultivation techniques to refine one’s internal strength into aura.

But two years should have been more than enough time to figure it out under normal circumstances.

Especially on the ‘Mountain of Practitioners.’

This place wasn’t just for grinding numbers.

‘The true purpose of the Mountain of Practitioners is aura development. If you meditate at the summit after hitting level 20, aura manifests as a matter of course.’

Something was definitely wrong.

There was a specific reason why the spear master still couldn’t grasp that energy.

‘…This is my responsibility, too.’

If I hadn’t seen him, I could have moved on—but ignoring him now that he was right in front of me? I couldn’t do that.

Like Isaac and Isabella, he was a character I had built.

I couldn’t just walk away from a spearman who had spent two years in solitary training.

‘I need to investigate this.’

It was time for a proper diagnosis.

My current experience and insight were leagues beyond what I possessed back then.

—

“Lady Aria. Are you heading to the Chaos Realm again?”

An attendant spoke up, but Aria began her descent down the slopes without offering a word.

She usually stayed at the very zenith of the mountain.

That area was overflowing with divine energy and was known as the Celestial Realm.

There was no logical reason for her to go down, yet she traveled to the Chaos Realm every single week when it opened.

The reason was simple.

‘You always leave that man in such a pathetic state…’

Whenever the Chaos Realm became accessible and the spearman appeared, they would clash.

It wasn’t much of a duel—it was a brutal, one-sided thrashing.

She would beat him to the edge of death and then simply leave.

‘Lady Aria has no patience for those without talent.’

The spearman was talentless.

What did it matter if he used maximum restrictions?

What did his endless labor count for?

He had spent years here without ever touching the realm of aura.

To her, it was a form of silent coercion: give up and get off the mountain.

Yet, even after a year of this treatment, the spearman remained.

‘Though, in a way, she’s the reason he’s still alive.’

Without Aria’s intervention, he would have been killed by others long ago.

Her “mark” on him kept everyone else at bay.

On this mountain, she was the undisputed sovereign.

From the moment she arrived, she had climbed to the Celestial Realm faster than anyone in history.

Her terrifying talent and overwhelming strength had left both the staff and the other practitioners in a state of shock.

‘Another victim today.’

The attendant sighed and shook his head.

He couldn’t understand why the spearman didn’t just quit.

Surely he must have realized his own limitations by now.

Furthermore, even with the maximum restrictions on the Mountain of Practitioners, the sensations of pain and suffering were all too real.

‘At this point, it isn’t persistence—it’s just pure idiocy. What a waste.’

Tsking under his breath, the attendant followed her toward the Chaos Realm.

Suddenly, Aria came to a dead stop.

“…?”

The attendant blinked in confusion.

The spearman was there, as expected.

But he wasn’t alone.

“Ah… I heard some lunatic just entered with max restrictions. That must be him. But that’s odd. How is he in the Chaos Realm so quickly…?”

He had heard the rumors a week ago.

A newcomer who had handicapped himself to the limit despite having pathetic proficiency—the other practitioners predicted he would be dead within days.

“Wait. Level 19?”

The attendant rubbed his eyes, staring in disbelief.

There was no error.

His proficiency was supposed to be bottom-tier, yet it was at level 19 already?

In such a short window of time?

“2, 20! He just hit level 20!”

At that exact moment, the attendant witnessed the level-up notification.

Level 20 was a major milestone.

Even the most gifted often struggled to break through that wall.

But the real shock was yet to come.

“…Sword, au…!”

Aura—visible sword aura—began to radiate from the newcomer’s blade.

Manifesting sword aura the very second one hits level 20.

It was a feat deemed impossible, even for geniuses.

In all his years as an attendant, he had never witnessed anything like it.

“……”

A spark of genuine curiosity finally flickered in Aria’s usually cold eyes.

—

《Sword proficiency has reached Lv20.》

《As sword proficiency has hit Lv20, the ‘Sword Aura’ attribute has been unlocked.》

《Sword Aura has been manifested. All damage is increased by 20%.》

《Sword Aura provides a damage bonus equivalent to your sword proficiency level.》

《Requirements for the ‘Earth’ technique of Heaven-Earth Overturn have been satisfied.》

By reaching level 20 and manifesting aura, I had unlocked the same technique I used during the battle with the Earth Dragon.

The ‘Earth’ of Heaven-Earth Overturn.

It was a defensive sword art that could resonate with and neutralize any incoming force.

It was the very move that had parried the Earth Dragon’s massive strikes.

The fundamental requirement was the manifestation of sword aura—it made perfect sense.

‘I’ve found the problem.’

I finally understood why the spear master had failed to manifest his own aura.

‘Unconsciousness. That’s what’s holding him back.’

Spending too much time in total darkness had given birth to a mind that functioned entirely on autopilot.

It was likely his only way to survive the constant threats.

However, that profound state of unconsciousness was also acting as a barrier to new growth.

Therefore, I had to wake him up.

I had to drag the spear master’s consciousness back to the surface.

The method was straightforward.

‘Until one of us can no longer stand.’

We would just keep fighting!

I had to unleash two years’ worth of pent-up energy to shatter that shell of unconsciousness.

I used my own aura to resonate with him, acting as a guide to pull his mind back into reality.

I fought until the very concept of time began to blur.

Thud!

Finally, the spear master collapsed, falling into a heap on the ground.

But as he lay there, his spear was faintly enveloped in a shimmering aura.

—

She hadn’t felt this level of intrigue in a very long time.

No, perhaps it was the first time she had ever felt this way.

Aria had been trapped in a cycle of eternal boredom. A year of stagnation had turned the world into a dull, grey place.

Even those without talent usually only served to annoy her.

That included the human spearman.

The way he wasted years on this mountain without ever grasping aura was an insult to her.

She had believed he would remain stagnant forever.

That was why she had pressured him: telling him to quit, calling him talentless, and demanding he leave the mountain.

‘Aura…’

And yet.

At the very end of that struggle, the spearman had finally manifested aura.

That glowing energy dancing on his spear was unmistakable.

It had happened because of the newcomer.

The man who, like the spearman, was operating under maximum restrictions.

‘A genius.’

He was clearly her peer.

To manifest sword aura the moment he arrived and then guide someone else to do the same—his talent was overflowing.

She had never seen anything like it.

Not in the land of Kramdel, not from the White King, nor even among the Four Lords.

She had met countless powerful figures, but none had stirred her emotions like this.

Thump! Thump!

Her heart began to race violently at the sight.

“…I’ve finally found you.”

—

Baal Talisman

The Spear Master, Balte, had been drowning in a deep ocean of despair.

Two years had passed without a single step forward.

Still, he never let go of his weapon.

He held onto the belief that his labor would eventually bear fruit.

But every time he stepped out of the Chaos Realm, he was met with crushing defeat.

‘A radiant talent that I can never hope to match.’

He didn’t know who she was.

But he was always broken by that insurmountable gap.

Every time they fought, her strikes seemed to whisper:

-You have no talent.

-Hard work isn’t what matters on the Mountain of Practitioners.

-Give up and go home.

As she mocked his struggle, she grew more powerful with every passing second.

The gap had been small at the start, but now it had reached unreachable heights.

She was surely one of heaven’s chosen, possessed of a brilliance that defied comparison.

‘Balte. Keep swinging. Is a hundred not enough? Then do a thousand. A thousand? Then ten thousand!’

He had ground his teeth and pushed himself even harder.

People say effort doesn’t betray you? That’s a lie.

The widening chasm in skill and raw talent was crushing his spirit.

‘Balte, stay strong. If you think too much, the darkness will swallow you.’

Eventually, he had retreated into the depths of his own mind, swinging his spear in a state of total unconsciousness.

And he had stayed that way until today.

‘Who is this?’

Now, a new figure stood before him.

A man who was clearly suffering under the same maximum restrictions as himself.