The World’s Greatest is Dead

“Chirp- chirp chirp.”

The sound of birds rang in my ears. Even the sunlight forced my eyes open.

I lifted my heavy eyelids, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation.

“… Ah…”

A familiar ceiling came into view.

Seeing it made me finally feel relieved.

At least, it wasn’t white.

“Wow…”

How long had it been since I last saw a proper ceiling? It felt like years.

Unconsciously, I sighed in awe and got up.

In that moment,

*Zing-!*

“Ugh!?”

A sharp pain struck my head. I urgently clutched my forehead.

“Grrr…”

The pain was almost more than I could bear; I nearly lost consciousness.

“Hoo… hoo…”

As I breathed heavily, trying to control myself, I started to calm down.

『Hmm. What a refreshing morning.』

I turned my gaze to the voice coming from beside me.

『Did you sleep well?』

“…”

Did this look like a good sleep to you?

I wanted to say that.

“Does this look like a good sleep to you?”

So, I said it. I simply couldn’t hold back.

『Judging by your appearance, it seems you had some dreadful dreams. Tsk tsk… should’ve been more careful.』

“… Are you insane?”

His audacity left me speechless.

I couldn’t believe he had the nerve.

“After throwing me into that hell, you say, ‘should’ve been more careful?’ Grandpa, are you out of your mind?”

『Hell, you say! Boy, there is a proper term for that: training.』

“What a joke.”

My teeth grit together.

“What exactly did you do to me?”

Training? That was laughable.

What I went through couldn’t be called training.

How could that be training?

“Do you know how many times I died?”

It was countless. Honestly, I kept track, but the number was so high, I couldn’t believe it myself.

『Indeed. I never imagined you could endure it all.』

“What…?”

『Honestly, I planned to stop if you gave up halfway and explain everything… but you…』

Yu Chun-gil made a sheepish expression.

『I never expected you to finish it all in a day.』

“…Huh.”

I was dumbfounded. He planned to stop halfway?

“Then why didn’t you stop?”

I endured through that ordeal, doing everything I could, and he watched the entire time?

Just as I was about to shout in anger,

『You didn’t give up.』

Yu Chun-gil’s words stopped me.

『I was going to stop when you did, but you never gave up. So, I wanted to ask you.』

His blue eyes turned to me.

They truly seemed filled with curiosity.

『Why didn’t you give up?』

Why didn’t I give up in that endless repetition?

I frowned as I answered.

“Because I didn’t know I could give up.”

If I had known, I would have given up long before. Just as I thought that,

『No.』

Yu Chun-gil firmly addressed me.

『Giving up isn’t about if you can or can’t. It’s about whether your spirit dies or not.』

His voice felt more serene and dignified than usual.

『But you didn’t. Even after being cut thousands of times, you never gave up. Why?』

“….”

I pondered for a moment at his question. Why didn’t I?

Looking back, it wasn’t a big deal.

“Because I could manage it.”

『……!』

Yu Chun-gil’s eyes widened at my answer.

“It was a space where one could die and come back to life. If I endure, I win.”

I said without the slightest hesitation. Hearing this, Yu Chun-gil let out a chuckle.

『That sounds like an answer from someone who’s experienced it before.』

“Not particularly.”

But I had.

So much that it made me sick.

It wasn’t a memory I wanted to recall.

Yu Chun-gil stared at me silently again upon hearing this.

『This is enough.』

“Pardon?”

He nodded suddenly.

『Indeed. It’s you.』

“……What…….”

What kind of nonsense was this? I wanted to blurt out, but I restrained myself. I had too many questions right now.

“Now, Grandpa, why don’t you answer my questions?”

I asked, furrowing my eyebrows at Yu Chun-gil.

“What was that about?”

What was it meant for?

And what exactly was that guy?

『Ah.』

Yu Chun-gil answered as if he had suddenly remembered.

『The one you were fighting was myself in my younger days.』

“……Pardon?”

I wore a stunned expression at his answer.

“……What?”

His younger days?

I tried to grasp the idea.

That young man who killed me thousands of times was Yu Chun-gil’s younger self?

『Around fifteen years old, I suppose?』

“…….”

A wave of shock swept over me.

Fifteen?

‘With that face and height……?’

I recalled his face; he indeed seemed about my age. Sure, it could be a few years difference.

But……

‘His height…….’

He was clearly larger than me. He had a physique that could easily surpass an average adult’s……

How could that be? I felt startled but then realized, ‘Well… considering this old man’s younger days, it makes sense.’

I quickly understood.

Looking at Yu Chun-gil’s current body, it all added up.

He towered over me by at least a head, with muscles that seemed ready to burst.

He really looked to be around eight feet tall, so it wasn’t odd that he was like that at fifteen.

“Then why…….”

I asked about the gaps in his wrist movements and the differences from Moon Wave.

『……Well……it was before I fully grew up.』

Yu Chun-gil responded, oddly seeming embarrassed.

Ah…… so in other words,

‘He wasn’t fully skilled because he was young…… that’s what he meant.’

But I was killed thousands of times by a fifteen-year-old?

A fifteen-year-old?

‘……Unbelievable.’

I felt particularly annoyed.

Additionally,

‘You’re from the Blue Moon Sect, right? I suspected as much when I saw the Moon Eye, but so that’s how it is.’

‘Damn bastards.’

His reaction when I mentioned the Blue Moon Sect was peculiar.

It was almost a sheer aversion.

‘Why?’

If that was Yu Chun-gil’s younger self, what reason did he have to loathe the Blue Moon Sect?

It made me curious for a moment.

“……Why did it suddenly come to this?”

Even if it was truly Yu Chun-gil’s younger self, I couldn’t understand why I had to fight his younger self.

“For what purpose…….”

『There are various reasons.』

Yu Chun-gil interrupted my questioning.

『First of all, the main reason was that my method did not align with yours.』

“… What do you mean?”

『It’s difficult to help you with abstract concepts. You don’t have much talent in that area.』

“…”

The statement was irrefutable.

It was like being told to my face, ‘You’re a dullard’, and it was accurate.

I was indeed dull-witted.

‘That’s why my progress was so slow.’

Only now had I somewhat improved, thanks to Yu Chun-gil’s possession and a few fortuitous encounters.

『However, I can’t always teach you through possession… It seemed like a suitable method had presented itself, so I attempted it.』

“Was that… the dream?”

『Yes.』

Making a younger version of himself kill me like a madman?

『As I said, I thought this would be better than explaining at first. I planned to explain when you grew tired and gave up…』

“But I just kept going to the end?”

『… Indeed.』

Yu Chun-gil’s expression seemed sincere. It was an expression that implied he never expected me to repeat it thousands of times in one night.

『I underestimated you. I apologize.』

I paused at his apology. I never thought that the old man would offer an apology.

“… Alright. Let’s say so.”

For now, I let it slide.

But then.

“So… what exactly was the point of the training?”

I died thousands of times and finally won once.

What was the meaning of that? I couldn’t grasp it.

“Ultimately, a dream is just a dream.”

No matter what happens there, it is merely a dream in the end.

“Even if I do something a hundred times there, there’s nothing to gain from it.”

It was truly a fleeting dream.

Aside from the fact that Yu Chun-gil could intentionally use dream techniques.

Why did I have to do such a meaningless act?

To me, that was crucial.

『Is it really so?』

Yu Chun-gil spoke in a curious tone, looking at me as I grew increasingly frustrated.

『You gained nothing from that place?』

“Of course not. What use is something that happens in a dream…”

『Try using the Blue Moon Mind Technique.』

“… Now?”

『Yes.』

I was briefly taken aback by the sudden directive, but I unconsciously began to stir my inner qi as instructed.

Woo-oo-oom–!!

The mind technique circulated from my dantian and spread throughout my body.

‘Why suddenly this… huh?’

I almost choked on my breath as I moved my qi.

Something felt different.

I circulated the same amount of qi as usual, in the same manner, yet.

‘Why does it feel so easy?’

What had previously required immense concentration to subtly and precisely control…

Now it felt inexplicably easier.

“This is… what…”

『Controlling qi is ultimately a matter of the mind.』

I stared at Yu Chun-gil with surprised eyes.

『Can the process of desperately striving for survival in actual combat be deemed useless to a martial artist? I don’t think so.』

“…”

『You can already see the difference.』

Whoo-oong-!

The Blue Moon Mind Technique circulated through my body several times.

I used to have to focus my entire being just to complete one cycle.

Now it felt so natural.

『Whatever you do from now on will be considerably different. Something must have been ingrained into your foundational qi.』

“…”

The difference was undeniable. Nothing showcased improvement better than something that previously seemed impossible.

But,

“… If that’s all I gained from going through that ordeal…”

I wondered if it was truly worthwhile. The cost-effectiveness didn’t seem right. Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind.

『Who said that?』

Yu Chun-gil’s face twisted in a strange expression, as if I had said something utterly nonsensical.

『Who declared that you gained only that? Who uttered such nonsense?』

“Pardon?”

Did he mean I gained more than just better control over my qi?

Perplexed by his reaction, I observed my body more closely.

“It can’t be. There’s nothing that has increased.”

My energy remained the same. It hadn’t increased even a little. Besides handling it a bit better, was there anything else?

That made me wonder.

『Get up. We need to verify this ourselves.』

“What do you mean by verify…?”

『It’s simple.』

Yu Chun-gil smiled as he spoke.

『You’ll understand once you experience it firsthand.』

“… What?”

Experience it firsthand?

I wondered what he meant, but it soon became clear.

It was a really simple statement.

* * *

A handsome young man.

Chun Uijin visited early in the morning and I asked him.

“A duel?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind…”

“Oh! I would be delighted. If it’s instruction from you, I would be more than willing!”

Chun Uijin spoke excitedly. He seemed overly happy, but I could somewhat understand why.

‘I’ve kept rejecting him.’

Chun Uijin had asked me to teach him through a duel several times.

But I had never agreed to it.

How could I have accepted it?

‘If I accept, my skills would be revealed immediately.’

Chun Uijin thought of me as something extraordinary, so I absolutely couldn’t duel with him…

“… I look forward to your guidance…”

Was it really okay to do this?

With growing unease, I glanced at Yu Chun-gil, but the old man just looked at me with his usual smile.

To suddenly duel with Chun Uijin, what kind of absurd request was this?

‘And me, following his orders without question.’

Even after barely surviving that terrible dream, here I was doing this.

‘Was I possessed?’

Unless haunted by a ghost, there was no other explanation.

‘… There’s no way.’

I shook my head. I couldn’t possibly be possessed.

‘Especially not by a creepy old man.’

It wasn’t even a beautiful woman but that evil spirit? That was unacceptable.

‘I just want to confirm.’

The statement about gaining something from my recent hardships.

I wanted to verify if that was true. That had to be the reason. It certainly had to be.

“Shall we use real swords for the duel?”

Chun Uijin asked eagerly.

“No. Let’s use wooden swords.”

He must have lost it. I didn’t want to get hurt, so I chose wooden swords.

“I see…”

Chun Uijin looked disappointed.

Why was he disappointed…?

Wasn’t it good to not get injured by using wooden swords?

‘Martial artists, these people…’

They were beyond understanding.

“… Alright then.”

I grabbed the wooden sword that Chun Uijin handed me.

Watching the still eager Chun Uijin, I said,

“I look forward to it.”

“Me too!”

The duel began.

* * *

My unease subsided shortly.

A brief moment passed.

“… Hah… Hah…”

Catching my rough breath, I looked ahead.

There stood Chun Uijin with a bitter smile.

‘… No way…’

My wooden sword was pointed at his neck.

‘This means…’

In other words,

‘Why did I win…?’

It meant I had really defeated Chun Uijin.

TL’s Corner:

So he already experienced getting killed repeatedly in a spirit dream before. He must have already went crazy and got back.