The Swords I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 14

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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 14. The Transcendent (2)
“Shin Si-woo, the truth is that South Korea has three Transcendents.”
The world had transformed entirely—a stark contrast to my former life as an ordinary civil servant working for the Awakener Management Agency.
I kept hearing strange things.
‘Wasn’t Patriot the only Transcendent?’
If he was speaking of three Transcendents excluding me, who had just become one, then this small nation harbored four Transcendents in total.
“Are you including me in that count?”
“You make three.”
I nodded.
Then I asked.
“So where exactly are we going? It’s obviously some secret place connected to the presidential office.”
“We’re going to introduce you to South Korea’s second Transcendent.”
Director Kang Mu-jin led me toward the secret passage beneath the presidential office.
As we walked, we descended deeper underground.
The atmosphere shifted dramatically.
I could tell immediately.
‘A bunker.’
Descending further, a concealed bunker built beneath Cheongwadae emerged before us.
Befitting the president’s refuge, luminous steel walls gleamed brilliantly on all sides.
A bunker coated with [Mystery].
The hardest substance in existence.
Moreover, it possessed the capability to block even the abstract and formless forces emanating from Gates.
“We’ve arrived.”
We stood before the bunker’s entrance.
There, Im Ji-ah’s father asked me.
“Do you know of the Saint of Destiny?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
A title I hadn’t heard in quite some time.
‘I know of her, but…’
The Saint of Destiny, Im Ji-ah.
I even knew her name.
She was something of a nemesis to me.
‘She’s the one who made me believe I awakened through [Sword Cultivation] when I was young.’
She awakened while playing [Death’s Tarot Game] on her smartphone.
A tarot game where real lives hung in the balance.
It was essentially a form of gambling, despite the name.
Lose in the game and parts of your body would vanish; win and you’d gain power over ‘Destiny’ itself.
A fact she revealed in an interview.
‘A game where you must achieve victory before your very existence disappears.’
The Saint of Destiny, Im Ji-ah, had obsessively played that game since her teenage years until she awakened.
The trials she faced were said to be extraordinarily severe.
In her final game before awakening, she endured to the very end with her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and even her arms and legs gone, ultimately grasping victory?
‘She used her tongue to press the smartphone.’
As a result, she awakened possessing [Tarot of Destiny] as a Transcendent ability.
Unfortunately, her mental state was not entirely intact, befitting the severity of her trials.
‘She gambled away half the nation’s budget, got caught, and was executed by Patriot.’
I asked just to be sure.
“Are you referring to that gambling-addicted saint who nearly destroyed the nation gambling with state funds and was executed by Patriot?”
“…Yes.”
“She was alive?”
“She was.”
Beings I constantly thought were dead kept turning out to be alive.
A moment ago she was the leader of a pseudo-religious cult, and now she’s the ‘Saint of Destiny.’
“We’re protecting her in secret. I’d appreciate it if you’d meet her, hear her out, and make your own judgment.”
All I want is to cultivate my sword, yet why do such troublesome matters keep entangling themselves….
The moment I thought this.
Shhhhk―.
The door concealed by [Mystery] opened.
Sensing something slightly off, I observed the interior.
I witnessed an astonishing sight.
“Check.”
Hollow, vacant eyes.
Deep dark circles and an emaciated frame.
Yet despite this, a woman dressed in an immaculately pure white sacred vestment sat before a casino table.
‘Is this the true form of that Transcendent notorious among natural awakeners for losing her mind….’
Across from her, there was no one.
The casino table itself was equally empty.
And yet….
“Raise.”
The saint was conversing with someone.
No—she was gambling against someone.
Even making the motion of dealing cards into empty air.
At first, I thought she’d gone mad and was playing an imaginary game of chance alone.
But then….
‘An existence unseen, unfelt, and undetected.’
Splorch!
The saint’s arm vanished.
“Damn it! You keep bluffing like that, you coward? Next hand!!”
She wildly thrashed the empty air with her remaining arm.
It almost felt like she was shuffling the deck.
“Check.”
“Raise!”
“Raise!”
“Call!”
Whoosh!
“Damn it! I tried bluffing too, but how do you keep seeing through it?”
A person had arrived, yet instead of greeting them, they were absorbed in gambling.
I was about to step forward to make my presence known.
But then….
Tap―.
Kang Mu-jin held the woman he was ‘secretly protecting’—the Saint—in remarkably high regard.
He blocked my path.
Then he brought his finger to his lips.
It meant to watch quietly.
‘Who is her opponent?’
I observed the Saint carefully.
Her arms, legs, eyes—everything.
She seemed hopeless at gambling, continuously losing something.
“You’re going all-in here?”
I examined this space more thoroughly.
“Damn it. If I go all-in, my head flies off this time too… Screw it! I’m going all-in too!!!”
To be precise, I was trying to perceive the mysterious [Trial]-like entity the Saint was facing.
Colorless, odorless, leaving no trace.
Yet I sensed something.
‘I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I could kill it?’
When I first grasped the [Aga Sword], a distant enlightenment came to me.
And by wielding Reinhardt Euclid and Iris Ruzbella, I partially embodied that enlightenment through my body.
Moreover, as the [Blood Lord], all my abilities evolved to a level transcending humanity.
Therefore, despite not perceiving it clearly, I felt certain I could kill it.
While I watched over the Saint like this.
“Huh? You suddenly go all-in and then call here??? Are you insane? Hey!!! Wait! Where are you going!!!”
I wasn’t sure what happened, but the Saint seemed to have won the game.
Her vanished body was restored, and three golden cards appeared on the empty casino table.
Only then did the Saint look at us.
“Welcome.”
A haggard woman sitting at the casino table.
Hollow eyes and a roughly cut bob haircut.
Her face was pale, probably from playing cards in the Underground Bunker all this time.
Yet as if nothing had happened, she smiled at me with benevolent grace like a true saint and spoke.
“In the end, Shin Si-woo, you will take a position to check Patriot. Or rather, you will overwhelm him.”
She suddenly said something like that to me.
Apparently trying to establish her authority as some sort of prophetess.
Me, Shin Si-woo.
I’m not that easy of a man.
“What should I believe in to follow that prophecy of yours?”
The Saint of Destiny, Im Ji-ah.
Having survived against Patriot, she must have something special about her.
With just one word from her, all my doubts vanished.
“————.”
I believe her.
She’s a real prophetess.
* * *
From the moment I granted her the trust of being a prophetess, the Saint’s attitude became remarkably favorable.
“Why don’t you draw one card?”
The Saint pointed to three golden cards laid out on the table.
“Didn’t you win these through gambling?”
“Well, I won them thanks to you, so don’t worry and just draw. If I leave them be, I’ll just end up betting them and losing them anyway….”
I can’t be certain that I was the reason she won, but at least I believe her claim that she’d lose them to gambling if she left them untouched.
I quickly approached and picked up one of the cards on the table.
Whoosh—
The card floated in the air.
‘She really is a prophetess.’
Looking at the image drawn on the card, I became even more convinced of Im Ji-ah’s abilities as the Saint of Destiny.
And for good reason—
[A picture of a bearded dwarf beating a red demon to death.]
Weren’t these clearly symbols of my swords?
[The Fourth Sword, Muratan] is a dwarf.
And it’s a sword that has never been revealed to the world yet.
The Saint’s ability was remarkable, but the divination result itself was hardly satisfying.
‘Does this mean Muratan is attacking Iris?’
The demon is Iris’s subject.
The dwarf is Muratan himself.
My swords exist in the Sword World, each with their own separate domains.
‘Could they be waging war there?’
Just as my head grew complicated, the Saint began interpreting the [divination].
But this Saint—prophecy is her only talent; her insight is terrible.
“It’s a symbol of cooperation and harmony. A very auspicious omen indeed!”
A gruesome-looking dwarf beating a grotesque demon to death, blood flying everywhere, the kind of gory image that sends chills down your spine just looking at it.
It would be more credible to call it a sign of continental destruction….
“This?”
I asked, bewildered.
The Saint let out a soft chuckle.
“It is a divination I stake my very existence upon. Before long, through the harmony of those depicted in the cards, Shin Si-woo will obtain even greater power.”
Greater power.
Those words held an undeniable allure.
Yet the completed Swords already possessed transcendent abilities that surpassed all others.
I couldn’t imagine growing stronger than that, but….
‘Perhaps the interpretation matters more than the dream itself?’
Honestly, I still didn’t understand what harmony and cooperation meant.
Yet my mood had improved considerably.
“You seem pleased. Would you like to draw another card?”
They say even a charlatan can fool the masses.
I harbored doubts about the divination, yet the interpretation didn’t feel unfavorable.
So I drew another card on impulse.
*Whoosh.*
[A tall Black man standing 2 meters 50 centimeters with split hair, parting the sea as he approaches.]
This….
“Jesus?”
The Jesus we commonly know.
That Jesus is a real person.
“The United States’ EX-Rank Awakener, Jesus. He is heading toward Shin Si-woo. Based on the angle of the parted sea… he should arrive within three to seven days.”
Wait, why is Jesus appearing?
An EX-Rank Awakener is coming to find me out of nowhere.
From my experience wielding my Sword, I can say with certainty that Patriot is a worthy opponent.
But Jesus is different.
“Is that person able to leave the United States mainland?”
“The Saint has judged that you are of such significance.”
Just as I was inwardly satisfied with the Saint’s divination, I had to hear something strange once more.
“That Jesus is coming to destroy Shin Si-woo.”
Regardless, the Saint’s interpretation was quite cryptic.
Why would Jesus, who commands the world’s greatest faith, seek to kill me, who saved South Korea?
“Could it be because I damaged the symbolism of parting the Red Sea?”
Jesus, too, is a Transcendent.
And a deeply traumatized madman at that.
My conjecture was quite reasonable.
“…That Sword and the demon. The outcome saved the world, yet it is difficult to overlook―.”
My head tilted involuntarily at the Saint’s words.
“―such beautiful and magnificent things. Jesus surely covets them!”
My head soon returned to its proper position.
The Saint clearly possessed considerable insight into interpretation.
The problem was….
“Could the government handle the Jesus situation for us?”
I asked Director Kang Mu-jin, who had been standing silently behind me.
Naturally, he shook his head firmly.
“Jesus is practically a god in the United States. It’s impossible. If he decides to do something, that becomes the will of the nation itself.”
It hadn’t even been a week since I awakened.
I found myself in an extremely difficult situation—having to check Patriot while simultaneously dealing with Jesus.
“Why don’t I draw one final card as well?”
At this point, there was no reason not to draw it.
‘Huh?’
When I drew the third and final card.
I obtained a clear answer on how to handle the Jesus problem.
‘In the end, the answer lies with my swords.’
I had left [Communication Ability] open.
Naturally, Reinhardt Euclid perceived everything that transpired.
And so—.
【I shall attempt this!!!】
* * *
President Lee Seok-hyun seized the opportunity provided by martial law to buy time to persuade Shin Si-woo.
The objective of checking Patriot must never be exposed.
That was why he maintained martial law even after the Red Sea disappeared.
“Please, make a decision for this nation!!!”
Under the Patriot Special Law, massive evacuation shelters protected by [Mystery] were constructed in each city.
These facilities possessed the capacity to accommodate the entire population, and every Mystery consumed in their construction was voluntarily donated by Patriot after he personally cleared the Gates.
‘A man who cares for this nation with such fierce devotion.’
The president was lost in anxious contemplation, his expression troubled and sorrowful.
“Ah, Kang Mu-jin! How did it go?”
Chief Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin had returned.
He brought the news the president had been hoping for.
“He agreed to do it!”
The president broke into a deeply satisfied smile.
And he spoke thus:
“You could enter politics soon yourself. Why not just run for the next presidential election?”
Kang Mu-jin should have entered the political arena long ago….
“Why would a righteous prosecutor engage in politics? That’s strange. Surely you don’t harbor other intentions?”
Because Patriot opposed it, Kang Mu-jin remained a perpetual chief prosecutor.
“To be honest, I would like to retire.”
“Kekeke, is that even possible?”
Retirement was an impossible thing.
“Even I, who clear ten Gates a day, only get one day off a week—why would the righteous prosecutor Kang Mu-jin take a vacation? I’d be hurt!”
As a Transcendent, Patriot doesn’t need sleep.
Besides, with the Constellations handling matters on his behalf, he moves at a leisurely pace, taking things easy.
“I’d like to stop working seven days a week.”
“Let’s think about that problem later for now….”
The President also works seven days a week.
It’s Patriot’s conviction that the nation’s representative must work the hardest.
The President, Kang Mu-jin—both of them.
No, all the honest politicians who dedicate themselves to this nation cannot rest.
“First, let’s end martial law and then proceed directly to the Transcendent appointment ceremony.”
Thus, the President made an announcement.
【As of this moment, martial law is hereby lifted.】
Martial law had been lifted.
All citizens returned to their daily lives.
Twelve years ago, a single declaration of martial law would have shaken the nation.
But in this present world, where Gates tear open and strange creatures plague civilization, even this had become merely routine.
【Breaking News: Shin Si-woo has been revealed as South Korea’s second SSS-Rank Hunter and Transcendent. An appointment ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow evening at Cheongwadae…】
Citizens expressed curiosity about Shin Si-woo’s official activities.
Shin Si-woo, who became an SSS-Rank Transcendent mere days after awakening.
—Insane, so he’s still leveling up from there?
—He summoned monsters and devoured the entire Red Sea, so his level and rank must have increased significantly.
South Korea’s second Transcendent.
Though he uses somewhat fearsome power, he is the savior who resolved the Red Sea and repelled a catastrophic disaster.
—What will he do with the Essence he obtained from clearing the Red Sea?
—Since it’s his first appointment ceremony, won’t he donate it to the nation like Patriot did?
Patriot donated 300 grams of Essence.
And it came in the form of ingots.
This alone rivaled South Korea’s national defense budget.
And Shin Si-woo was given one kilogram of Essence ingots.
* * *
While browsing WorldNet, I discovered something I couldn’t believe.
“A 1-kilogram ingot is that rare?”
One kilogram of Essence ingot.
The [Essence] stone fragment from the first Gate I cleared was worth 100 million won.
By weight, that’s approximately 10 grams.
So I thought 1 kilogram would be worth around 1 trillion won.
“Ingots are more expensive because of their higher purity?”
I searched through articles about various Transcendents and tapped away at my calculator.
Converting this to Korean won—.
“Approximately 100 trillion.”
An amount that requires discussion at the national budget level.
But why was that?
—Shin Si-woo would probably donate it all too? After all, Mystery is what helps ordinary citizens the most.
The entire world, drawing parallels to Patriot, assumed I would also donate [Mystery].
“Why would I?”
[Mystery] was nothing short of a divine artifact.
It had bestowed upon humanity, stripped of the heavens, the blessing of [Portals].
It had purified the corroded seawater and revived the fishing industry.
More than that, it was a miraculous object that had birthed “Guided Awakeners” with sound minds among the nature Awakeners who had gone mad.
[Mystery 1kg Ingot]
I had already decided exactly where it would be used.
If this played out well, I would gain something tremendous.
‘I absolutely cannot yield on this.’

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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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