It was indeed a strange dream.
What should I say? It felt less like a dream and more like watching some kind of video. My consciousness was fully alive, and it felt like a first-person perspective was playing.
Could this be what they call a lucid dream?
The content of this lucid dream I was experiencing for the first time was truly simple.
I was just stumbling along a forest path.
That was all.
Then suddenly, my vision went dark, and I opened my eyes.
“Hmm…”
Those who have dreamt would know. No matter what kind of dream it is, the memory is clear at that moment, but after waking up, just a few minutes later, that memory begins to evaporate, and within an hour or so, the very remembrance of having dreamt fades.
However, the memories from that dream were vividly etched in my mind.
I could still clearly recall the training sessions of the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique after finishing my physical training.
Could it be that this was the moment the memories within me awakened after arriving on this Spirit-Embracing Mountain?
It was a thought that made sense.
“Then let’s continue the search today.”
“Let’s do that.”
But I moved just like yesterday.
The phenomenon itself was definitely unusual, but… the content displayed within that phenomenon was too bland. Just the fact that I had a lucid dream wasn’t enough to twist the schedule I had set.
And it seemed this lucid dream was not pleased with that attitude.
That night, it presented even more stimulating content to me.
Unlike the previous night, it was merely fragments stitched together. Scenes passed by of two experts colliding with earth-shattering power, and I saw a woman wrapping around me. There was even a man who seemed to be a guardian of my memories, riding a great beast and wandering along mountain paths.
Sometimes there were urgent scenes, and sometimes peaceful ones, all continually flowing by. Throughout all that, the characters appeared only as shadows.
Daily life. Collision. Daily life. Conflict. Daily life. Escape.
It was truly fleeting. In terms of time, it was merely a few seconds of fragmented memories that endlessly replayed.
And then.
“Senior! Senior!”
I opened my eyes.
As I did, the worried face of the Black Cat filled my vision. For a brief moment, I was captivated by her extraordinary beauty before I sat up.
“Senior, are you okay?”
“Ahhh…”
I instinctively wiped my face, only to find my hand full of clammy moisture. It looked like I had been sweating profusely.
“Huh…”
“I thought you seemed to sleep longer than usual, so I came to wake you up…”
“It’s okay. Thanks, Black Cat.”
In truth, I wasn’t okay at all, but I forced a smile. I wiped the cold sweat on my sleeve and stepped outside. My companions looked at me with expressions of concern, but when I nodded, indicating I was fine, they reluctantly resumed their training.
I too geared up for training and slowly started to concentrate.
After sweating out hot, contrasting from the cold sweat, I felt a bit clearer mentally.
As I moved my body, I recalled the fragments of memories still vivid in my mind from yesterday.
I wasn’t sure what these fragments wanted to tell me, but one thing had become clear.
This was the memory of the young Ho Cheon-an.
There was evidence of that within the memories.
Fallen memories. A broken finger. A couple rushing in with shock. The woman who firmly grasped my hand placed a splint on it.
The sight of the finger that was bent to the point that the tendons could have been snapped was vivid.
And this body had the trait of [Cut Tendons] attached to it.
Since the injury was perfectly identical to my left pinky, there was no room for doubt.
“Huh…”
After finishing my physical training and panting heavily, I let out a big sigh.
Why is it that Ho Cheon-an’s memories are resurfacing now? Upon arriving at Spirit-Embracing Mountain? Is it because my memories have been stimulated while wandering this mountain that those buried memories are surfacing?
My mind got complicated, but one action remained.
I had to find the place where young Ho Cheon-an lived.
Though merely fragments of memories, unlike yesterday, there were quite a few elements that could identify the location.
“Somehow, it seems like some memories are surfacing.”
I explained the dream fragments as carefully as I could, and my companions listened and then set off to search.
“Could it be around here?”
“This place also seems to meet the conditions.”
While searching the suspected areas of Spirit-Embracing Mountain with my companions.
Finally, we discovered the elusive place.
It was just some random spot that could be found anywhere on a mountain. A rocky cliff where soil had gently washed away by rain and wind, partially covered, and various weeds sprouting on the scant dirt.
Throughout today’s climb of this Spirit-Embracing Mountain, I had seen countless similar spots, but somehow I felt a sensation.
This was where I was looking for.
With a bit of a trance, I approached and touched the rock face. Then I pressed it hard.
Why was I doing such a thing? I didn’t know, but it felt like it was something I must do. My companions silently watched, and I explored the rock face, pressing various places.
“Should we move the rock?”
While I was lost in touching the wall, Tang So-yeol asked me with a question.
“Umm…”
“It’s okay. There are countless things in the world that cannot be explained with words. After all, aren’t you looking for something on this rock? If so, it makes sense to pull out the weeds and remove the dirt as proper searching.”
Before I could even respond, Tang So-yeol moved. Under normal circumstances, she groused about everything even during mountain climbing, but seeing her so proactive got all of us started moving.
We pulled out weeds and cleared away dirt.
I watched their movements and silently joined in the efforts.
Just when we had cleared about half of the rocky face.
“Look here.”
Hyeok Gi-rin revealed something.
It was possibly a half-spike. Or maybe a quarter of one. A very short, sharp object was embedded in the rock face.
“It’s metal. And quite valuable too.”
As stated by the Artisan Tang So-yeol, Hyeok Gi-rin questioned.
“Could something like this…be embedded naturally?”
“There can be metal fragments like this in natural rocks. The rock face could have eroded to reveal it. However, this spike-like thing was definitely created by someone artificially.”
Tang So-yeon casually surveyed the surroundings and said.
“It seems something is indeed here. Let’s investigate further.”
With everyone nodding in agreement, they dispersed. In this situation, having discovered even a small clue, everyone seemed more eager to search the wall.
“…Senior?”
I approached and touched that spike with my palm.
A sharp pain and the feeling of blood. I remained in that state, waiting for a reaction. I could feel my companions freeze and focus on my actions.
In truth, my current actions were entirely irrational.
I simply placed my palm there instinctively, just as I had touched the rocky surface when discovering this place earlier.
I had no idea how long I had been holding my palm there. Someone quietly gasped.
“Ah…”
Before I knew it, instead of a rock wall, a stone gate had appeared before me.
Everyone held their breath at the elegance of this Array Formation.
Even with many Peak Experts present, Hwa-gyeong, who should have been capable, felt no sense of incongruity with this Array right in front of them.
“…Should we open it?”
At Hyeok Gi-rin’s question, everyone exchanged glances and drew their weapons, taking their positions. The stone gate was just large enough for a single adult to pass through.
I too prepared to respond to any sudden developments and slowly pushed the stone gate aside.
Creeeeeeak!
As if oblivious to our boundaries, as soon as the gate opened, the view inside came into sight.
And the first thing that caught my eye was a skeletal figure, stripped of flesh.
“Hmm.”
“Umm…”
The skeleton had fallen in a position that seemed to have resisted someone trying to exit. It was clutching a sword, so it seemed to have been a Martial Artist.
I quickly tore my gaze away from the captivating skeleton and surveyed the surroundings.
A house suitable for a family and a garden overrun with weeds and various vegetables that seemed to have been left unattended for a long time.
On one side, two tomb-like mounds appeared to be present.
Next, what caught my attention was a sort of altar.
It showed signs of having been broken, whether due to a fight or not, but centered around it were marks on the floor that could only be described as having conducted some sort of ceremony.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like it had been a long time since anyone had left traces of human habitation, yet my companions did not ease their tension.
It was probably due to the memory of the Array Formation.
Ultimately, while leisurely searching, Jeong Cheol had caught me off guard, and although we had judged the inside to be empty, the Unknown Elder had been hiding there.
It was only natural to stay on edge in this house resembling a similar environment.
My companions continued to cautiously explore. They cautiously pushed through the weeds that reached waist height, analyzing risks one by one as we approached the house.
“Senior Ho, do you recall anything?”
“…This appears to be the place I saw in my dream.”
It matched with the various locations I had seen in my fragments of memory. My companions and I opened a few doors, each barely a few paces away from one another, for final confirmation.
“Senior, there’s something strange here!”
As the Black Cat exclaimed, slightly startled, everyone began to move around her room in a protective fashion. All were ready, and the Black Cat gulped nervously, grasped the doorknob, and flung the door open wide.
“What is that light flowing out…?”
“Is that a light from a painting…?”
Everyone muttered their confusion. It was because the scenery inside the room was so strange.
However.
Would the intense emotions felt in this moment even compare to the mixed feelings of all my companions?
An artificial bright light emitted from an LED ceiling light.
A keyboard and mouse spewing multi-colored light according to an input pattern.
And there was…
A monitor displaying the game “Martial World” start screen alongside a window showing a PC chat.
In one of the rooms of that house.
There unfolded the scene of my own small room.
