Chapter 193
“Ah, you’re awake.”
The blurry ceiling came into focus as Finn slowly lifted his heavy eyelids.
The voice of the old man calling him was frail with age but exuded a mysterious aura.
“…!”
Finn shot up, his eyes wide open as he scanned the unfamiliar room, which was quite different from what he was used to. In one corner lay the sword he had received from the Central Church.
An old man was sitting there, staring at him.
With his bushy white beard, he clicked his tongue and began to speak.
“It seems you don’t remember anything. This is the Soul Forge Hall. I am Kanilisk, its master.”
Hearing Kanilisk’s words, the fading memories came rushing back.
“Right… I had reached the entrance of the Soul Forge Hall. It wasn’t a dream…!”
It had been such a grueling trek that in the misty mountains, he hadn’t satisfied even one basic human need in days.
Because of the unpredictable weather, he had shivered with illness.
He had also been deprived of sleep due to exceedingly quick mountain beasts.
Most of the plants around were toxic, giving him stomach aches. And the flesh of the mountain beasts was so distasteful it reeked like rotten meat even when freshly caught and cooked.
For the past few months, he had only dreamt of nightmares.
But now he had an unusually pleasant dream—only to realize it was reality.
Tears welled in Finn’s resolutely focused eyes. It felt like all his suffering had finally been rewarded.
“No, I mustn’t cry.”
He had merely passed the first gate. Arriving was just the beginning.
He hadn’t even fully begun his journey in the Soul Forge Hall. He hadn’t achieved anything. It was far too early to cry; it would be prideful.
As he wiped away his tears, he finally saw his own state clearly.
The bruises that had covered his entire body had vanished completely. And that wasn’t all. The nagging pain in his legs had also disappeared.
The thick fatigue layered upon him had melted away like snow.
Finn opened his lips for the first time since waking up.
“What day is it today?”
“Kekeke. Is that your first question upon waking? I put in so much effort to heal you, and you completely ignore me.”
At Kanilisk’s remark, Finn snapped back to reality, exclaiming, “Ah…!” and bowing his head deeply.
“Enough, you brat. Bow down and receive your reverence.”
After clicking his tongue, Kanilisk finally answered Finn’s question.
His crinkled lips moved as his long beard swayed up and down.
“I don’t keep track of worldly time. However, it has been seven days since you arrived here.”
“Seven days…?! No way, has that much time passed?!”
Finn jumped up in a hurry. Time was running out for him.
According to Kanilisk, there were barely three weeks left until the Final Exam…!
Panic set in.
“I’m terribly sorry, but I’d like to train in the Soul Forge Hall! As soon as possible… right now, if possible!”
“You’re quite in a hurry. Is there any special reason for that?”
“I need to gain all my insights and be done within two weeks. Otherwise, I won’t meet my promise, and the exam… Ugh!”
Kanilisk struck Finn on the head with his staff.
With a clear sound, Finn’s words were interrupted. Rubbing his now-smarting head, he saw Kanilisk get angry.
Finn’s words were cut off. As he was caressing Arin’s crown, Kanilisk got angry.
“You fool!”
“Uh…?”
“You’ve only just passed the first hurdle, and you’re already thinking about descending! Do you even have your wits about you?”
A sharp reprimand.
It’s true he couldn’t refute it.
After hearing that scolding, Finn oddly felt a little more at ease.
“Right… What was I even saying? Sure, the timeline matters, but there’s something way more important than that.”
No matter how fast he descends, if he doesn’t gain any talent, it would all be for nothing.
Wasn’t it a bit of humility that stopped him from shedding tears a moment ago?
And yet, to mention descending out of a sense of urgency—was he really in his right mind?
Kanilisk raised his snow-white eyebrows and looked at Finn between them. Finn slumped back down as if all his strength had drained.
Seeing him finally settle down, Kanilisk cleared his throat and continued.
“You don’t have to worry about time. What you mentioned is more than enough.”
Once you enter the Soul Forge Hall, there is no time needed for training.
Literally none. Time is irrelevant there.
The Soul Forge Hall is a place where souls train. The time of the body holds no meaning for soul training.
“The mist will guide you, so descending will be a breeze.”
The only date Finn needed to consider was travel time from the Mist Mountains to the Academia.
Just about a week’s time was all that was required.
“You’re right. I showed a hasty side of myself.”
“Indeed. You clueless fool, not only are you reckless, but you’re also hasty. Tsk tsk. At this rate, you’ll become a corpse in no time.”
“……”
“How many do you think survive after entering the Soul Forge Hall?”
“If ten thousand enter, I’ve heard only ten survive, and of those, only one obtains the desired level of talent.”
“Oh ho. Seems you’ve picked up some knowledge somewhere.”
A low survival rate and a horrific achievement rate.
A place where ten thousand challenge, and only one succeeds.
The Soul Forge Hall that Finn is about to step into is just that. A miracle blooming from the grave of countless dullards.
Those born as failures struggle to seize that one miracle.
They pour out efforts that bleed to reach the ranks of the victors.
—gulp.
Finn swallowed.
He knew this fact and had already steeled himself to climb the Mist Mountains, but now that the moment had arrived, he began to tremble.
The old man saw that trembling and casually spoke. Not to encourage him, but to gauge Finn’s reaction.
“You are the worst work I’ve ever seen. Yet, you’ve passed through the Mist Mountains and qualified yourself. Heh heh. Tenacity is not a bad thing, but that’s not enough to endure the challenges of the Soul Forge Hall.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“But still, are you thinking about challenging it…? If you die unjustly, nothing will remain.”
The old man took a jab at Finn.
He somewhat acknowledged Finn’s tenacity and spirit, but that was only enough to pass the first gate. He looked too daft to last long before dying.
The Soul Forge Hall requires unwavering will from its challengers. If you’re hesitant or indecisive, entrance will be denied.
That has always been Kanilisk’s long-standing stubbornness.
Finn muttered quietly.
“……I’m not without fear.”
“Really?”
Kanilisk expressed disappointment at Finn’s evasive response.
He had come this far, but if his will was shaky, he wouldn’t last. It wouldn’t be long before he’d become a mindless shell.
“You’re lacking resolve…. I’ll have to send you back.”
As that thought formed in his mind about Finn.
Finn spoke.
“Death terrifies me. No matter how strong I pretend to be or how unconcerned I claim to feel, I haven’t fully shaken off that fear yet.”
“You’re right. It’s nearly impossible to forget the fear of death while having a life. So, let’s end the conversation here; anything beyond this…”
Kanilisk continued speaking, but suddenly, he caught Finn’s gaze and couldn’t finish his sentence.
Risk continued speaking but suddenly caught Finn’s gaze, unable to finish his sentence.
A masterpiece of disaster, Toylen Troa Finn.
“…But the thought of returning without achieving anything here is far more terrifying than anything else.”
There was no ripple in his eyes.
A fierce desire to pursue strength.
His determination.
That resolve was firmly planted.
Grin—.
Kanilisk’s lips curled slightly. He had thought Finn was a complete fool, but it turned out he had some worthwhile spark in him.
He leaned on his staff, stood up, and stepped outside with his hands behind his back.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and come!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Weren’t you saying you were entering the Soul Forge Hall? …You’ve trained your body while crossing the Mist Mountains, so you should have a solid foundation. Hehehe.”
“Ah, that’s why… I see now.”
No matter how much healing he received, he had thought his body felt unnaturally light, but there was a reason for it. The Mist Mountains had been both a hurdle and a training ground.
Finn clenched and relaxed his fist, feeling the strength.
He hadn’t suddenly gained immense muscle or heightened senses, but he was definitely sturdier.
“Hurry up! What are you doing over there! Get a move on!”
“Ah, yes, yes…! I’m on my way!”
*
Mysterious wooden buildings.
Red pillars formed the center, surrounded by sand-colored earthen walls. Wind chimes hung, making pleasant sounds whenever the wind blew.
The many rooms were spaced apart, and it was unique that you had to take off your shoes before entering.
Finn followed behind Kanilisk, taking in the enchanting scenery of the Soul Forge Hall. Kanilisk moved smoothly ahead with his staff.
“By the way, kid, who told you about this place?”
Finn felt no need to hide and replied honestly.
“I first heard it from someone named Canthurman, but I got the location from someone called Kshanoll.”
“Oh, that prick. He had some serious inferiority complex.”
“Do you remember him?”
“Of course, I do! I remember all who enter the Soul Forge Hall, especially the fools who achieve something.”
“That’s impressive.”
“It’s nothing really… But wait, is that guy your master?”
“Um… I think so.”
“Really? Hoo, that prick developed some sympathy, huh? How peculiar.”
Finn saw Kanilisk smiling, a little too pleased.
‘Looks like he truly remembers Kshanoll. Seems like he’s more affectionate than I thought for a Divine Beast.’
Suddenly, that thought crossed his mind.
He didn’t know if it was a lie that he remembered everyone, but if it were true, it was astonishing.
He had heard that those who entered were in the tens of thousands over the years, and the idea of remembering all of them seemed impossible.
It would take a great deal of interest and affection for the challengers to do that.
Just as Finn was observing Kanilisk with those thoughts, he stopped in his tracks.
“Looks like one just opened up.”
No sooner had Kanilisk finished speaking when a door on a secondary building flew open, and a person crawled out.
“Ughhh…”
“Oh dear. He’s completely lost it.”
Just as Kanilisk said.
The young man who had stumbled out looked like he had forgotten how to walk, crawling on all fours. He was drooling, and his eyes were vacant.
Kanilisk poked the young man with his staff, stirring him like a dish as he inspected him.
“Looks like he held on for about a hundred years, but anything beyond that proved too much… He’s totally fried.”
After confirming something, his white beard grew long.
He gently lifted the young man, enveloping him in his entire body.
‘Strange?’
Finn felt puzzled.
The young man appeared to have failed to endure the Soul Forge Hall.
He definitely looked like someone who had lost their mind, yet he was still alive.
He had thought that failing the challenge would only lead to death, but was it a mental death rather than a physical one?
Certainly, that was no different from death, but it felt a bit different from what he had heard…
It may be no different from death, but it feels a bit different from what I’ve heard…
While thinking that, I was horrified by Kanilisk’s actions.
—Thud.
One of Kanilisk’s whiskers pierced the young man’s heart like a spear.
Then, tossing the red organ aside, Kanilisk opened his huge lower jaw hidden within his whiskers.
Without hesitation, he shoved the young man into his mouth.
“Chomp chomp… Mmm. Not bad. After all, meat should be tender to taste good.”
His grotesquely elongated mouth chewed the contents, making a squishing sound.
He was having a clean meal, not spilling a drop of blood on his long white whiskers.
Finn was so shocked that his eyes were about to pop out, and his mouth hung open in disbelief.
“Gulp. …Huh? What’s wrong, my dear?”
Kanilisk’s expression revealed confusion over the horrified gaze directed at him.
Swallowing the food down his throat, he picked at the flesh stuck between his teeth with his claw, then poked the heart lying on the ground with his staff and lifted it.
“The heart, with a ruined soul, is tasteless and was discarded. Is that really so surprising?”
Finn swallowed hard again, this time for a different reason, and asked slowly.
“The Twelve Divine Beasts… have a treaty that says they cannot harm humans, right?”
“A treaty…? Ah, I see. So that’s why your head is in such a state. That prick didn’t tell you, huh? Tsk tsk.”
Although it was the same words, for some reason, his laughter sent chills down my spine.
Kanilisk carelessly tossed the heart stuck to his staff far away, as if it didn’t matter.
Then he tore a leaf from a nearby tree, wiped the blood off his staff, and continued speaking.
“Only fools who can’t break free from their chains follow such evil customs. …Besides, my dear, I haven’t harmed anyone; I simply received a rightful ‘payment’.”
“Payment… you say?”
“How many times have I asked? Do you truly wish to enter the Soul Forge Hall?”
Kanilisk’s thick white eyebrows lifted slightly, revealing his amber eyes filled with a hint of surprise.
A sinister energy swirled around him, and his withered lips moved.
“Those who strive with bone-chilling efforts but still fall short of talent. They are the refuse that can’t even achieve the common successes others easily obtain. Yes, my dear. What use are your kind?”
“…….”
“I provide you with an ‘opportunity’ to gain talent, and you give me ‘food’. Surely, you’ve tasted the mountain beasts and grass in these misty mountains; they’re hardly worth eating, right?”
Even the Twelve Divine Beasts absorb nutrients through food.
A process that should be natural for living beings.
He chose humans as his staple food.
If the challenger’s spirit survives, they descend; if not, death follows, both mentally and physically.
On the surface, Kanilisk appears to be nothing more than a quirky old man, or perhaps an immortal.
But inside, he was a monster that delighted in feasting on humans. The head of them all.
“What say you, my dear? Does your desire to enter the Soul Forge Hall still remain unchanged?”
He asked one last time.
Finn no longer viewed Kanilisk’s actions as concerning.
His heart raced, and beads of sweat formed on his palms.
Feeling that sensation, he remembered parting with his benefactor.
The words he spat out while slamming his head against the ground before him.
—Now it’s my turn to show a miracle.
…And.
The essential process needed to create a miracle, the Soul Forge Hall.
Finn clenched his fists, rallying his courage.
I can do it.
I can do it.
I must do it.
He reaffirmed the words he had thought countless times, showing his resolute will.
“The contemplation ended long ago. I request to enter.”
