Level 0 Master

Ugh.

Sungjin fell down into an unknown space.

His hand disappeared, and the space closed up. "Forget about all your illusions and relax in the world that I created," said Varka in a voice of authority.

[The battle is over. The challenger is defeated.]

The Valkyrie announced in a voice without any emotion, and the battlefield disappeared.

"Sungjin!" The girls were finally able to move. They ran to Sungjin, but he didn't answer. "Sungjin…"

Ereka held his body. He is still breathing.

His eyes were closed, and his body wasn't moving, but he still had the reaction of a living body. He fell into a state of suspended animation. It was not like any regular defeat. He was not back.

Is your soul really ripped from your body?

There was no second chance that the Valkyrie told them about. Varka's skill had found the weak point of the rule and had sealed Sungjin's soul during the first fight.

"His soul went to where it is supposed to be. His body will lose its life and will fall back to dust. You should drop your illusions and let him go."

Ereka looked at Varka with eyes filled with tears. "If you call my feelings for Sungjin an illusion, I will keep my illusion. Sungjin will come back."

"Come back… Look what happened to his soul."

A moving image came up among Varka and the girls.

Chapter 2

In the world that Varka showed them, there was a huge city in the center and six cities around it, and those six cities were surrounded by seventy-two small cities, and there were towers that fit each city's size. Each city had its own balance with buildings and roads placed according to a plan.

Looking down from the sky, the place didn't look like a place that was sealed. It was clean and beautiful. It was not an abyss in darkness or a burning hell.

Then the moving image started to show the small city among the larger cities.

The city was cleanly organized around the tower in the middle. The river running around the city was spotlessly clean with fish, and there was a bridge where cars with cargo moved around in perfect order. It was a place with perfect order unlike cities on Earth.

People worked hard, and robots moved around to monitor people instead of police officers, but everyone followed the order, and there wasn't much for the robots to do. There was no trash on the street, and all the waste was perfectly sorted. It looked like an ideal city that every country on Earth would like to have, and in the middle of it, Sungjin was standing there. He looked like a newly joined mechanic with his working clothes, tool box, and a driver in his hand.

A passerby bumped into Sungjin, who was standing with vacant eyes. "Excuse me." The passerby politely apologized for his tiny mistake.

"Don't worry about it." Sungjin slightly bowed politely to answer him.

And on the back of their heads… were chips around three centimeters large… Countless legs from the black chips pierced their skin to reach their brains.That was the only abnormal thing in the perfect place.

After apologizing, Sungjin started to think. Why am I standing here? Who am I?

There was an order in his head. Your duty is to tighten up the screws on the box in front of you.

Tighten up the screws? I'm sure I have other things to do… "Ugh."

Do it.

With the firm order, Sungjin felt a strong pain. To avoid the pain, Sungjin started to move reflexly. He followed the order and opened the box to tighten the screws. When he started to do it, an unknown pleasure went through his whole body. "Ahh." A substance from the chip stimulated his brain to give an incomparable pleasure. The name of the substance was "soma." It was a mystical substance that gave endless pleasure.

To keep the pleasure, Sungjin kept tightening the screws, but while following the order, he tried to find out who he was. He was a mechanic working in the area to manage the maintenance of the boxes. He was trained to do it, and enough food and a comfortable bed were provided as long as he worked. And he was able to get soma to feel happiness.

But I'm sure there's more that I should remember… Don't I have a past that I should remember?

You are a mechanic working in this area. Fulfil your duties. Don't get distracted by daydreams.

With the order, he felt the merciless pain again. Ugh. With the pain, he couldn't keep thinking, so he couldn't remember anything even if he tried to think of something from his past. His memory of his past was sealed and hidden.

Pain and pleasure. Pain was what people wanted to avoid, and pleasure was what they wanted.

Every time Sungjin tried to think of his past, he felt pain, and when he followed the order, he felt pleasure.

To avoid the pain, Sungjin followed the order. He couldn't remember who he was or anything from his past, so the best thing he could do was follow the order and adapt himself to the situation.

The pleasure and happiness from the soma took away his determination to try and think of his past that he couldn't even remember.

His soul with its stolen past was tamed to the world he was locked in to.

"See? He is no longer the conqueror of the continent. He is just another citizen who follows the orders of my world."

"Sungjin!" Ereka cried out his name, holding Sungjin's hand.

Sungjin suddenly stopped his driver.

Creak.

He recalled a girl under the sun with shiny blonde hair. Her body was perfectly balanced with beautiful breasts and a slim waist. Her hip was curvy and linked to her soft thigh. It was a girl who was graceful and beautiful.

Who…?

When Sungjin tried to remember more about the beauty, an extreme pain stopped him. "Ugh." And the pain erased the clue he was about to have. What was that? Why such pain…

He couldn't remember what he had been thinking. All he knew was that he was thinking about something that was not appropriate. What he had to do was tighten the screws in front of him. I should hurry up. If he couldn't meet the quota, he would get less soma.

"What are you doing!" Eustasia shouted in anger.

He recalled a girl with beautiful silver hair and straight posture. Her eyes looked like shiny moons. Her body under her armor was fit like a beautiful lioness and trained like a shiny sword.

Creak.

Another extreme pain stopped his thoughts again.

"Sungjin oppa…"

"Your Highness…"

Rachel and Zakiya called out Sungjin's name.

He recalled two girls again.

One was a girl with eyes like the dark sky and a cute short hairstyle. Her smile was warm and kind but the little girl was not just young. With her hands together as if she were praying, she looked like a saint. Her tiny body was lovely and cute, but her merciful smile looked after everyone.

The other girl was a more mature woman with passionate red hair. Her breasts were big and curvy, and her waist and hip line suggested a hot night. Her sun-kissed skin was sexy and had a provocative rose scent. She was a beauty no man could resist.

Who are…?

Creak, creak, creak.

Stop thinking. Think of your duties. Think of your calling.

The extreme pain made Sungjin go unconscious for a second.

When Sungjin regained consciousness, he started to question things again. Why such pain…

Creak.

Ugh…

There was nothing he could remember. He thought he had remembered something, but he couldn't remember anything about it anymore, just like an adult who had forgotten everything from when he was one year old.

It's useless to think about that. I should… work.

That's correct.

He received soma again.

Ah… He hadn't even finished his work, but he was rewarded for having correct thoughts. The pleasure that went through his body erased all of his unnecessary thoughts. All he was able to think about was finishing his job to feel the pleasure again.

"Sungjin…"

"You guys are truly connected. I didn't expect you to shake his sealed memories from beyond the dimension. But it doesn't mean anything. He doesn't have much time left." Varka pointed to a golden circle with twelve letters on Sungjin's chest. Half of the letters had already lost their light.

"This is…"

"This shows the time left for his body. When all the lights are gone, his body in this world will disappear and his soul will live in his new body in my world for eternity. So you guys should give up and go back to your world. That's the mercy I am giving you."

"Not yet! It's not over yet. Sungjin will come back!"

"That's an illusion. Then watch him until the end."

Sungjin was working hard to tighten the screws.

Next area is A4 and then C3.

His brilliant brain tried hard to follow the dear leader's orders. He obeyed all the orders and didn't think. He obeyed to not feel the pain but also for the reward.

The chip on the back of his head sparkled. His correct thought made the chip provide pleasure substance to his brain. Happiness and satisfaction spread all over his body.

It was a mystic substance that gave everything that people needed to feel happiness, and that made Sungjin smile with happiness. If he obeyed and followed the order, the chip would give him the substance as a reward. It was so satisfying. "Ah…"

When his happiness from the soma ended, his body trembled for a second, feeling badly now that the happiness was over. He wanted to feel that happiness again, and he knew what to do to feel it again. The next area.

He didn't have to think. All he had to do was work hard, rest during his break time, eat when he had to, and sleep when he was ordered to. All he had to do was follow the given schedule and follow the orders from the dear leader.

Just like other citizens, he became a model citizen and became satisfied with his present.

No. He was a true model citizen who worked hard with his brilliant brain.

"It's over." The last lighted letters on Sungjin's body started to fade.

"Sungjin!"

"And without him, I will rule Valhalla again. But don't cry. He is happy."

He was happy. Not as a conqueror of the continent or a challenger of the center but as a model citizen who worked as a mechanic. His brain didn't have to think of anything else… He was one of the citizens who worked hard to avoid pain and get more pleasure. That was Sungjin now, and that was his future.

When he got more soma, Sungjin looked happy, just like Varka said he did. Now he would live in simple happiness without any concern for dangerous battles or complicated state affairs. It was real nirvana.

"If you really care for him, let him go."

There was no other way…

The last light disappeared.

The seal was completed.

"Sungjin!"

"Huh?"

Sungjin felt a slight tingle in his heart and frowned, but it was brief. Pleasure filled his senses. With the happiness the substance was giving him, Sungjin stopped thinking and enjoyed the pleasure. All his five senses were satisfied. He had no concerns. Everything was fulfilled. He was truly happy. It was the blessing of the dear leader.

I will follow his order forever. When he promised himself this, the chip rewarded him with more soma. It was a reward for having the correct thought.

"Ahh…"

Sungjin was thankful for the kind pleasure that went through his body and soul for thinking something he was supposed to.

Endless happiness.

There was nothing to worry about.