The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 109. At the End of Hell Training

Time flowed like water.
By the third week, an unexpected incident forced Kazuki to leave Big Stone Rock Mountain.
He’d clearly wanted to stay to the end, but when he received word from an associate, he showed rare anger. It seemed an unforeseen obstacle had emerged in the banquet preparations.
In the end, Kazuki sought Jang Maldong’s permission and summoned a carriage to leave that very day.
Seol Jihoo didn’t learn the details, but he reasoned that if Kazuki had to return in person, it was no small matter.
Once Kazuki departed, there was no further reason for Agnes to remain as an observer. Rather than leave immediately, she assisted with Seol Jihoo’s training for about a week before returning to Haramag.
Unaware of the circumstances, Seol Jihoo cautiously assumed Agnes had simply couldn’t endure Jang Maldong’s training any longer.
Though their numbers had dwindled from five to three, Seol Jihoo paid it no mind. If anything, he was quietly pleased—fewer people meant more of Jang Maldong’s direct attention.
It might seem obsessive, but having experienced it firsthand, Seol Jihoo now understood why Jang Maldong was revered as the finest trainer. His strengths were countless.
For one, Jang Maldong prioritized process over results. Not that he ignored outcomes, but rather he guided trainees to gain insight through their methods. He explained the purpose behind each exercise, ensured they precisely identified their shortcomings, then built upon them through training—that was his approach.
For Seol Jihoo, who had always thought physical conditioning was the entirety of training, the novel discipline of refining the Six Senses was utterly captivating. Each day felt like a new horizon opening.
Jang Maldong was equally delighted. Unlike some ungrateful wretch, here was a pupil who pushed himself relentlessly to master even one more technique—how could he not be pleased?
Thanks to this, Seol Jihoo felt happiness for the first time in ages. His body and spirit were exhausted, yes, but he could devote himself entirely to training without worry. Someone was guiding him forward, and with each passing day, he felt himself grow stronger.
So absorbed in training that he lost track of time, yet each day at Big Stone Rock Mountain was, without question, a happy one for Seol Jihoo.
And thus.
Time continued its passage, and the final night of the fifth week arrived.

For Hugo it had been long; for Seol Jihoo it had been short. The thirty-five-day journey was nearing its end.
Though rigorous during training, Jang Maldong wasn’t harsh about daily life. He sent word through a communication device for Cho Hong to bring the carriage the next day, and that night he held a modest celebration.
It wasn’t in his nature to take initiative or lead such things, but seeing how earnestly Seol Jihoo carried himself, he decided to arrange something special.
Thus he hunted down a wild boar from Big Stone Rock Mountain that bore an uncanny resemblance to Hugo, butchered it with his own hands, built a fire, and roasted the meat. He even chilled Whiskey in the cool mountain stream—a slice of Paradise itself.
“Aah!”
A succulent chunk of meat, seared golden on the outside, paired with a glass of Whiskey.
Hugo drained his glass and quipped that he could die happy right then and there.
Jang Maldong proved unexpectedly skilled at cooking, and Seol Jihoo found himself lost in the taste of the delicacy—savory meat juice dissolving on his tongue, the fat yielding a subtle sweetness that clung to his palate.
Modest though the feast was, Seol Jihoo savored every bite and sip with genuine joy, etching the memory into his heart.
As the night deepened, the once-plump wild boar was reduced to bone, and the crackling fire dwindled to embers.
Overwhelmed by drowsiness, Hugo sprawled out flat. After eating and drinking his fill, Seol Jihoo too felt his body grow heavy. Yet rather than rest on the soft grass, he began stretching.
Exercising on a moonlit night—Jang Maldong, who’d been cleaning up after the meal, asked in bewilderment.
“What are you doing?”
“Warm-up exercises… Oh, let me help you.”
Seol Jihoo stopped his stretching and assisted with the cleanup. The haste with which he worked showed his eagerness to get back to training.
Meanwhile, observing Hugo sprawled out like a glutton claiming to be caught, Jang Maldong let out a heavy sigh.
“Don’t you think it’s pathetic?”
“Hmm? Oh. No, not at all.”
“What? Why not?”
“Well—I’ve never beaten Hugo even once.”
Jang Maldong had meant pathetic in the sense that Hugo only knew how to eat, not clean up after himself, but Seol Jihoo had interpreted it as neglecting training.
Jang Maldong smirked inwardly. There was no way he’d reach that conclusion unless training occupied every corner of his mind.
“I’ve never outrun him once, and he can dodge logs far longer than I can…”
Seol Jihoo’s misunderstanding continued, but Jang Maldong didn’t bother correcting him.
Humans were fickle—the moment they grew satisfied, they began to stagnate. Had Seol Jihoo started strutting around with pride, thinking “I’ve trained this hard, so I must be strong,” Jang Maldong would have disciplined him harshly.
True, Seol Jihoo had trained diligently. By simple calculation, he’d accumulated the equivalent of a hundred nineteen days of training.
Yet by Jang Maldong’s standards, he’d merely filled in a few of his many gaps. He’d only just laid a foundation—if he grew complacent before taking his first true step, his growth would inevitably slow.
But Seol Jihoo remained unsatisfied. He didn’t grow careless or look down on opponents simply because he’d trained. Whether it was his nature or not, it was one of the young man’s few genuine strengths.
“That’s right. Hugo’s been at these things for years, so maintaining his touch is all he needs. He didn’t really need to come at all.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Hugo, eyes still closed, nodded with considerable smugness, whereupon Jang Maldong hefted a stick and growled, “This bastard—” Hugo shrieked and bolted.
“Damn fool.”
Jang Maldong shook his head in mock exasperation.
“Let’s take a walk. Running right after eating will upset your stomach.”
Seol Jihoo was about to ask why Jang Maldong hadn’t shown such restraint in the first week, but he obediently followed along. Now that he thought about it, it seemed designed to make him confront his limits. Besides, Jang Maldong still hadn’t put down the stick.
When they reached a small clearing, Jang Maldong finally spoke.
“Agnes mentioned that you’ve been thinking about advancing to the Upper Tier Rank.”
“Pardon?”
“Or did Agnes lie?”
“…No, sir.”
“Pathetic. You’re not even level 4 yet and you’re already talking about upper tier rank?”
Jang Maldong chuckled. Seol Jihoo, at a loss for words, scratched his head awkwardly. Agnes had seemed tight-lipped, but he decided to chalk it up as revenge for the buttocks incident.
“Fair point, considering your pace. All right, since we’re on the subject—what do you think upper tier rank means?”
At the sudden question, Seol Jihoo could only blink.
“Don’t overthink it. Upper tier—the character for ‘upper’ and the character for ‘position.’ It literally means a high position. But what does this ‘position’ really signify?”
“Well… I suppose it’s vague when you put it that way. It doesn’t seem like you’re asking for the common interpretation.”
“Of course not. I think of it as a domain.”
When Seol Jihoo said nothing, Jang Maldong rephrased his question.
“How many people do you think have reached upper tier rank across all of Paradise?”
“I couldn’t say.”
Seol Jihoo’s face suggested he had no way of knowing.
“Hmm. Let’s see… If we call this entire mountain Earth’s population.”
Jang Maldong picked up a stick.
“Those given the chance to enter Paradise—well, that would be about this area.”
He glanced around briefly,
“Those who actually make it through the Tutorial and the Neutral Zone and enter for real—that’s about this much.”
He jabbed the stick at the small clearing where he and Seol Jihoo stood.
“Those who survive for years and reach level 4—that’s about here.”
He drew a large circle in the dirt with the stick. It was roughly a quarter of the clearing.
“And from that group, those who ascend to upper tier rank…”
Jang Maldong bent down. He gathered dirt in his palm until it was full, then held it out as if to demonstrate.
“This much.”
Seol Jihoo, who had been watching silently, felt his throat tighten. Now he had some sense of just how remarkable those at upper tier rank truly were.
Kim Hanna’s words suddenly came to mind—that reaching level 5 typically required four or five years of effort, even for the talented.
“Then—”
After a long silence of staring, Seol Jihoo asked quietly.
“Of those, how many would be the ‘real’ upper tier rank you mentioned?”
Jang Maldong let out a small laugh. As he opened his hand wide, dirt cascaded down. Only a scant handful remained on his palm.
“Are you saying the real upper tier rank refers to those who grow by directly comprehending things, not relying on settings?”
Seol Jihoo asked with a glimmer of hope. Jang Maldong thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Half right, half wrong.”
“?”
“I do distinguish between genuine and false, but not everyone can reach upper tier rank in the first place.”
Jang Maldong continued.
“I mean, I’m not trying to diminish upper tier rank itself. It’s not something you stumble into by luck. They must have suffered for it in their own way.”
He brushed off his hands,
“But—”
He quietly foreshadowed a twist.
“You know from experience, but Paradise draws all kinds of people.”
“That’s true.”
“Just look at the Neutral Zone. In any group of dozens, there’s always one or two who stand out. What you’d call exceptional.”
Thinking of Odelette Delphine, Seol Jihoo unconsciously agreed.
“But here’s the funny part—even among the exceptional, there are gradations. Those more talented, more outstanding. And sometimes, even after all that filtering, you find someone who stands out in a class of their own.”
Beyond Heaven. Just the thought of it was dizzying.
“Such people don’t simply master existing techniques—they carve out entirely original paths. They step into unique domains no one else has touched. That’s what I call enlightenment.”
‘An original path? A unique domain?’
Tilting his head, Seol Jihoo asked.
“Do you mean Dylan’s—”
“If you’re talking about Dylan’s Raelektron, then no. The idea of imbuing electricity into mana is clever, but it’s just a shift in thinking. Far from enlightenment.”
“What about Cho Hong, then?”
“The same. Cho Hong is an exceptional case. She simply enhanced her Divine Descent ability because her class is a priest from the start.”
Given that Carpe Diem was one of Haramag’s finest teams, it was a surprisingly harsh assessment. Seol Jihoo shook his head.
“I can’t quite grasp it.”
“Fair enough. Not that I’m here to lecture on martial arts, but…”
After a brief pause, Jang Maldong spoke.
“Long ago, I once saw movements where weapon and body moved as one. That grace couldn’t simply be called a technique.”
Weapon and body moving as one?
“Are you talking about Body-Sword Unity?”
Seol Jihoo, who had read his share of martial arts novels in his youth, ventured a guess.
“I think I’ve heard something with a similar name.”
When Jang Maldong affirmed it, Seol Jihoo’s expression crumbled.
“Some pursue Formlessness, while others call themselves the Thousand Swords.”
“Pfft!”
Jang Maldong’s words cut off. Seol Jihoo hastily covered his mouth.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It’s not that. The name is just…”
He’d managed to hold it together through Formlessness, but lost it at Thousand Swords. Seol Jihoo tensed his jaw, fighting the laughter. Jang Maldong’s lips quirked upward.
“Hm. Years from now, when a thousand blades come flying at your face, do you think you’ll be able to laugh like you just did?”
The smile vanished from Seol Jihoo’s face entirely.
A thousand swords attacking simultaneously? By any rational measure, it was absurd.
Yet after facing combat multiple times and skirting the edge of death, Jang Maldong’s words didn’t sound like a joke.
“You fool. If you’d carved out your own territory and stood as an equal, that would be different. But don’t mock what you haven’t even reached yet.”
“My apologies. I wasn’t laughing in contempt.”
“I know. To be honest, the name Thousand Swords is a bit much. I laughed when I first heard it too.”
“Even you, sir?”
“Yes. His skill, though—that’s genuine.”
An unpleasant memory surfaced; Jang Maldong rubbed his forearms absently.
“Anyway, what I just described is what I call the true Upper Tier Rank.”
‘If the true Upper Tier Rank is only that much…’
Seol Jihoo, showing a hint of frustration, cleared his throat and asked.
“Sir, then what about the High Tier Rank?”
“I don’t know.”
Jang Maldong answered without waiting to hear more.
“I speak of the Upper Tier Rank with such familiarity because I’m in the Upper Tier Rank myself.”
Then he tilted his chin upward, gazing at the sky.
“But the High Tier Rank… to me, it’s like the stars in the night sky. They’re beyond my reach, no matter how I stretch. How could I presume to judge them?”
Seol Jihoo exhaled a long breath. He felt the weight of how far he still had to go. At the same time, he realized he’d been nothing but a frog in a well until now.
The world was vast, and talent was everywhere.
Jang Maldong, observing the dispirited young man, offered a slight smile.
“You were laughing so well a moment ago. Now your spirit’s broken already.”
“…It just feels hopeless.”
“What’s there to worry about? You’re walking a path. What waits at the end—well, no one can know that.”
“Sir?”
Already preparing? What did that mean?
“Didn’t I tell you? That you must devote yourself ceaselessly to harmonizing your Spirit Core Structure until you reach the Upper Tier Rank. This is no simple matter.”
Seol Jihoo’s face showed utter bewilderment.
“In all my years, I’ve never seen a single person whose three elements were twisted and misaligned like yours.”
“What does that mean?”
“Real or fake—cast aside idle thoughts and focus only on achieving Trinity Unity. It won’t be an easy path, but the harder it is, the more I believe you have the potential.”
Trinity Unity.
The moment those words reached him, life kindled anew in his hollow eyes.
“I’m going to go train right now!”
Seol Jihoo spun around immediately. With a path to greater strength laid before him, his body thrummed with restless energy.
“Good spirit, but do it in moderation. It’s getting dark—you’ll miss the banquet if you’re injured.”
Seol Jihoo, who’d been fastening his Sand Pouch, hesitated.
“And if the opportunity comes, you can attempt Stage 3 as well. Go and gauge where you stand.”
“Sir?”
Seol Jihoo’s head snapped around, his jaw dropping wide open. Jang Maldong clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Entering Stage 3 is a matter of fortune. Dylan and Kazuki didn’t fail to enter because they lack skill.”
But did it matter? He’d been given permission to participate. That single word felt like payment for all the suffering he’d endured.
“Yes!”
Seol Jihoo cried out with force and began to sprint. As the young man’s figure receded into the distance, Jang Maldong bared his teeth in a grin.
The training on Big Stone Rock Mountain today had been a kind of verification. Based on what he’d observed, he could see a certain possibility.
Jang Maldong slipped his hand into his breast pocket and fingered the vial with saliva inside. He’d sworn never to use it again, but—
‘That boy, though.’
His hand moved slowly over the vial.
He knew Seol Jihoo was accumulating stat points rather than spending them. But he didn’t know that Seol Jihoo had stockpiled multiple pre-contracts in preparation for the Upper Tier Rank, nor that he already possessed a Sacred Mark.
Had he known, he might have deliberated a little longer.
In any case, the two eyes fixed on the direction where the youth had vanished burned with unmistakable hunger.
Seol Jihoo’s rise to Upper Tier Rank is something Jang Maldong anticipates as well. Trainer or not, he knows the value of quality ore when he sees it, and his instinct for refinement is second to none—as fierce as Agnes’s own.
When that willful, fractured Spirit Core Structure finally achieves unity, what will emerge? In what form will it manifest? He cannot begin to imagine.
And that is precisely why he waits with such hunger.
Yes.
In Jang Maldong’s eyes, Seol Jihoo is raw stone only just beginning to be cut.
Refined with care, a gem that could outshine them all.
The smile that rose from his chest was quickly stifled by a cough.
‘At my age, what am I….’
He chided himself for foolishness, but once a fire catches, it does not die easily. So he spent a considerable time wandering the surroundings, trying to cool the heat that had ignited within him.
And so the final night on Big Stone Rock Mountain passed, and morning broke.

(To be continued in the next part)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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