The Hero Returns

It was already deep into the night.

Everyone else had gone to bed, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep, but Su-hyeun didn't need to sleep, to begin with, so he decided to go outside instead.

He then went around dealing with dungeons by himself before eventually coming back to the residence.

The night in this place was long. He would return in the early dawn when the morning sun hadn't broken through yet.

In the time being, he found a tree stump and settled down on it to think.

"He's here somewhere, she said."

Shiva…

The culprit responsible for creating dungeons was the existence responsible for destroying countless universes. He was a being who solely existed for that singular purpose, making him the biggest, most dangerous enemy of this universe.

"And here I was, wondering why the dungeon generation frequency had gone down."

Su-hyeun's world had become relatively peaceful lately. That was why he thought Shiva was not being as active as before. But he was wrong.

"So, Shiva was here all along."

That bastard extinguished people in the Path to Reincarnation, thereby severing the vital cycle of reincarnation, which could be called the origin of life in the first place.

By doing this, no new humans would be born, which in turn would lead to the eventual demise of not just humanity but all the other human-like races.

This method of destruction was undoubtedly different from Osiris, who schemed to destroy Yggdrasil's roots, but just as deadly.

"Fuu…"

Something felt so frustrating to Su-hyeun.

Why did Shiva even bother to appear before Lang Mei? He must have known that the Bull Demon King was next to her, so why?

"Was it to threaten First Brother?"

That could very well be the case.

If he was staying in the Path to Reincarnation, he was undoubtedly aware of the Bull Demon King's presence. Considering First Brother's strength or his status, Shiva probably wouldn't have liked the idea of the Bull Demon King butting in.

No, it would be more correct to say that he felt threatened by the prospect.

If so, this whole thing made some sense.

If Shiva's goal was to prevent the Bull Demon King from doing something by making him constantly worry about Lang Mei's safety, then…

"Hang on a second."

Something about this didn't seem to add up.

"He knew that much, yet he also didn't know about First Brother's lack of interest in fighting?"

According to what the Bull Demon King said, Shiva became active in the Path to Reincarnation quite some time ago.

The dungeon generation frequency had decreased a lot back in Su-hyeun's homeworld, and that decrease started some time ago. The start of these two events should coincide pretty closely.

Even so, the Bull Demon King had not interfered in Shiva's scheme until now. However, the latter still came to provoke the Yogoe, which was the same thing as waking up a sleeping tiger by yanking at its nose hair.

"Just what is that guy even thinking of?"

"And what about you? What are you thinking about so intently, young man?"

Su-hyeun turned his head to look.

He didn't know how Buddha broke through the barrier, but Su-hyeun saw him walking up to him.

"When did you get here, sir?"

"Just now. That Bull Demon boy had to go and create such a thick wall and all."

Clunk—

"I'm not too pleased by the prospect of strange folks frequenting my home, you see," The Bull Demon King retorted while walking outside his residence. He seemed to have woken up from this "intrusion."

Both Sun Wukong and Lang Mei seemed to be asleep. The Monkey King's snoring could be heard even outside the house.

"Are you calling me a strange person, then?"

"To me, yes, you are."

"Is that so?"

"It seems that Lord Buddha can't quite recall what our first encounter was like."

"Well, I agree that it wasn't that nice."

Su-hyeun figured out that the Bull Demon King and Buddha's first meeting ended with a bit of an ill-feeling from the brief chat between the two. Even so, Buddha being here must mean that the Bull Demon King had allowed it.

"Shiva is in this world, you say?"

"Yes. And I'd like you to do something about this situation."

"I'm merely an old man, so what can I even do?" Buddha chuckled affably before raising an eyebrow of his narrowed eyes. "Wouldn't it be better for you to make a move, instead personally?"

"But you know very well that I have no desire to do that."

"Really? Oh, well."

Surprisingly, Buddha backed off relatively quickly.

He dearly wished for the Bull Demon King to make a move, so he wouldn't have wanted to miss this opportunity, which meant that Buddha's response was somewhat unexpected.

"Well, if that's what you want, it can't be helped, then. As for you, young man," Buddha shifted his attention to Su-hyeun, then turned around to leave, "Why don't we have a private chat elsewhere?"

Su-hyeun could tell what their chat was going to be about.

He wordlessly followed Buddha. They didn't have to go too far.

Nearby was a small open field created by cutting down trees. That was where the Bull Demon King and Lang Mei often went on a stroll.

Buddha settled down on one of the tree stumps, then asked Su-hyeun, "I heard that you wish to restore the system somehow?"

"Did you hear it from First Brother?"

"Yes."

"Can I even do it, though?"

Buddha pondered for a while at Su-hyeun's question, then shook his head, "I'm not sure."

"In other words, it's worth a try."

"Well, only that kid, Subhuti, would have known that," Buddha muttered before looking back at Su-hyeun. "Even then, will you still go ahead?"

"Of course. It's not like we can locate Lord Brahma right now, anyway."

"In that case, give it your all. Our side will teach you the method."

"I was thinking of speaking to you on my own later, anyway. But I didn't expect you to come and see me first…"

"Is that so?" Buddha chuckled before standing back up, his hands resting behind his back. "Since we're here already, let's get started right away."

"Right away? You mean, right here, right now?"

"This task doesn't require a particular location. What's the matter? Do you need time to prepare mentally?"

Su-hyeun quickly waved his hand, "No, not really."

"Since that's the case, let's get started right away. Besides, isn't this an already perfect place? We're inside the Bull Demon King's barrier, so our safety is ensured, too."

Buddha scanned their surroundings.

Not even a single breeze blew inside this space. The Bull Demon King constructed his barrier so that no unauthorized existence could slip through easily.

Also, because of yesterday's event, he paid an extra level of attention to the barrier's strength.

"This place is probably the safest spot in the entire universe," said Buddha.

"Now that I hear you, I guess you're right," Su-hyeun chuckled in agreement.

The Bull Demon King was here, as well as Sun Wukong and even Buddha.

Su-hyeun already possessed more than enough strength to be ranked among the Five Godly Sages. The same also applied to both Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King.

Su-hyeun didn't need to worry about Buddha's strength as the sole remaining member of the Five Godly Sages club. Su-hyeun had never witnessed Buddha fight, nor did they enjoy a bout of sparring before, but something Sun Wukong told him in the past remained etched in his memories even to this day.

Sun Wukong said that his goal had always been defeating Buddha someday.

"It sounds like my safety is paramount," said Su-hyeun.

"Indeed, it is," Buddha replied while extending his hand. After placing his hand on Su-hyeun's head, he said, "Don't move from the spot, young man."

Su-hyeun was about to avoid that hand reflexively, but Buddha's firm voice stopped him.

If he wanted to, he could've easily shaken off Buddha's hand, but he chose not to remove the hand forcibly grabbing onto his head.

That was because of all the new information entering his mind through the hand right now.

"Is this… the system?" Su-hyeun thought.

This information was like countless complicated mathematical formulas or like staring at the origin of magic itself.

However, this was no mere magic. However, that didn't mean it was Master Subhuti's Sage Arts, Taoist art, or even sorcery.

This wave of information and formulas was simply unknown to him.

Su-hyeun accepted the new info without hesitation. His eyes slowly closed, and Buddha's voice entered his consciousness.

"The foundation of the system is Yggdrasil. You already know it as the Tower."

"The Tower of Trials," he responded inwardly.

"That's good. Don't try to speak and simply think while listening to me. The Tower consists of many countless floors. Each of the floors is actually many worlds within Yggdrasil. What Subhuti did was to connect these disparate floors as one structure to create the Tower. He then created the 'system' to be inserted in the souls existing within the Tower."

"Okay. What should I do, then?"

"That's what I'm about to show you. Well, Subhuti has already finished building the Tower, so there's no need to worry about that one. Meaning, the issue is with fixing the system that Subhuti had been managing…"

Shu-rururu…

Su-hyeun felt a strange sensation like his body was getting sucked into the ground.

That weirdly sticky feeling caused his eyes to shoot open again. The feeling of getting sucked under vanished instantly, and the only thing he could see was Buddha and his hand still placed on his head.

"Keep your eyes closed, young man."

"…"

Su-hyeun closed his eyes again.

The same sinking feeling washed over him once more. It felt threatening, like he would get sucked into a void and never be able to get out or something like that.

But he endured it.

Soon, the feeling of being sucked in took over pretty much every part of his body except his head, and then…

Fwhooosh—!

Su-hyeun's body that was gradually sinking lower suddenly began floating up.

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This place was really mystifying. He could see the roots and a trunk of an absolutely massive tree in the distance.

That was Yggdrasil.

Countless smaller World Trees surrounded Yggdrasil to form the universe itself, the one where Su-hyeun called his home.

"That's… beautiful."

That was the only thought that popped up in his head.

But what was he supposed to do in this space now that he was here?

Just as he began wondering about that, innumerable images suddenly floated all around Su-hyeun.

"Is that… mom?"

One of the images displayed both of his mothers from his memories—Kim Sung-in's mother and Shin Su-yeong.

Kim Sung-in's mother was a professor at a university. She was sitting by her desk, seemingly absorbed in her research. Meanwhile, Shin Su-yeong looked really occupied trying to run her store.

However, those two weren't the only familiar faces he saw.

"My brothers?"

He then saw the figures of the Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong. Next to appear were Lee Ju-ho, Hak-joon, and then even Thomas.

Even Roy, the boy who almost lost his body to the Lich King, showed up. He then saw the young crown prince and the lady from the fallen noble house. They were the people he met in passing during the past trials.

The scenes from all sorts of worlds were now being shown to him.

"What is that you want to tell me?"

Su-hyeun looked at Yggdrasil and the other World Trees.

They were the building blocks of this universe. Each tree was one gigantic world to themselves and the cornerstones of the universe itself.

And it was the trees showing Su-hyeun all these various scenes right now.

He began paying much closer attention to their voices. Then, he kept his eyes wide open to observe the worlds they chose to show him carefully.

So, so many worlds were dying as he watched.

"You want to live on?"

Su-hyeun's question caused the images to become blurrier for a moment.

That brief response was enough to deliver their intentions clearly.

What they wanted was crystal clear. These worlds, these trees facing destruction triggered by Shiva, wished to be saved.

That was what he was trying to do, anyway. He definitely wanted to help them somehow.

"But how am I supposed to—?"

Before his thoughts could finish, however, his hand reached out first. A system window resembling a computer monitor popped up before his eyes next.

So, so many numbers were tangled up messily on the screen.

This wasn't the system granted to Su-hyeun but the one currently malfunctioning due to Master Subhuti's passing.

However, he knew what was wrong the moment he saw this screen.

"Connections between the worlds and interfering with the worlds and the souls living in them…"

The energy source to activate the system wasn't some other strange thing but Yggdrasil and the other World Trees.

They granted the necessary energy, and the system operated with their energy as the fuel source.

"Fuu-woo…" Su-hyeun sucked in a deep breath.

He was nervous.

He had never done anything like this before. That was why he wasn't sure whether he would make a mistake or not.

Thankfully, though, he felt like he knew what to do here.

"I already know what to do about the energy source, so the next hurdle is connecting various worlds found within the Worlds Trees, then also reconnecting the chains existing between World Trees and the souls of people living inside."

Su-hyeun's eyes were already darting here and there on the screen, his mind razor-focused on the system's restoration.

"Separate the personalities, latent abilities, and willpower of people about to receive the system. As for the method of granting the system and the timing for the connection…"

His eyes darted around even faster.

He continued to manipulate the broken system by adding or removing various components.

The images spreading out before his eyes began to overlap one at a time gradually.

Countless many worlds had come closer to whisper to him, begging him to save them, too.

Master Subhuti and his fellow Five Godly Sages used the system to awaken the latent potential of the worlds so that they could stand up against Shiva's scheme.

And now…

"Issue trials through various administrators. As for the trials found from the first floor all the way to 100, keep the same difficulty levels as before, but the contents should be randomized. Use advanced level illusions to…"

Su-hyeun began his rapid repairing of the system.

He turned out to be so much faster than even Buddha's prediction—so fast and smooth that even Su-hyeun himself would've been shocked..