54 The Key (5)

There was a silence as I tried to take in what he said.

'The world has already ended?'.

What did he mean? If the world has ended, where are we then?

"I can guess what you are thinking. If the world has ended, then why am I here? The truth is, I don't know". He said it in a tired tone.

"My clan being gone and you appearing in front of me can only mean that the prophecy was true".

He slowly approached me.

"Child, if what you are saying is true, then you really are that person from the prophecy, but there is something that I didn't tell you.

My world has been destroyed; there is no doubt about it. But destruction and creation follow each other like fire and water".

He raised his hand, and out of it, the creature that I only saw in legends—a majestic phoenix—roared.

"I know I said I would never teach an outsider my technique".

There was a slight pause.

"But I just have to make you not an outsider".

"Kneel on the ground". His aura changed as I could feel a unique feeling coming out of him.

It seems like he is going to teach me the technique after all. I put one knee on the ground.

"I, Alderon Noom, as the founder of the Noom clan, have deemed..." He paused. "What was your name again?"

"Taeho Kim". I quickly answered.

"What a weird name". He continued again. "I, Alderon Noom, as the founder of the Noom clan, have deemed Taeho Kim to be the 42nd patriarch of the Noom clan".

As I looked at the ground, I could feel a strange heat. Soon I saw a red color, and I knew that the phoenix was flying around me.

Until it finally appeared in front of me, as I had eye contact with the phoenix. It made a shrill cry and flew inside my chest.

As it flew inside my chest, I felt a burning feeling spread all over my body. It didn't hurt; rather, it was very comfortable.

"Stand up". I heard a commanding voice.

I stood up and looked at the floating figure. He looked a lot weaker than before.

"Don't worry about me; this is because I don't have enough mana. Before I teach you the technique, I need to tell you something".

"First, I don't expect you to change your name to the Noom clan. That wasn't why I made you the patriarch. The reason that I made you the patriarch was that one day you would revive my clan". He coughed as he corrected himself "Our clan".

"This is why I will teach you the technique, in hopes that you can revive the clan. But there is something that I haven't told you.

As you could guess, this is not my true form; I was just a will left behind for the younger generations to learn my technique from. Normally there would have been an elder to keep supplying mana, but right now I am using my own mana.

After I gave you the heart phoenix, it used almost all my mana. Therefore, I can't teach you the technique". He stopped for a few seconds, trying to breathe out.

"That's why I gave you the heart phoenix; it's proof of being the next patriarch of the Noom clan.

That's why, when you regress, you need to summon me again".

As he said that, I realized what he meant. This guy lost all his mana by giving me that phoenix.

So his plan was for me to regress and talk to that version of him that didn't use all his mana. As I realized all of this, I nodded my head.

He slowly started to fade. Before he faded, he added his last words.

"Child of destruction, good luck on your journey".

As he faded away, there was only silence at the summit and the burning heat I could feel in my heart.

"Did he forget about me?" I heard a female voice say.

As I looked to the side, I noticed Park Jihye had a dumbfounded look.

'Shit, I forgot about her too'.

"While you were having your main character moment, I had to wait here doing nothing". Park Jihye said it with a sulking tone.

"Sorry".

I was a little sorry for ignoring her this whole time.

"Don't be sorry; when you regress, I am going to forget everything anyway". She murmured.

Well, it was true that she would forget everything when I regressed. But she was also the only person that I ever told about my regression.

As she looked over the summit,

"Taeho, when you finally make your last attempt, Can you do me a favor and don't tell me that you are a regressor". She said it with a gentle tone.

If that was the only thing she wanted, I could do that. She was my master in teaching mana after all.

And if I do meet her again, I can always get her help. It was good that her skill could detect lies.

"Sure, that is not a problem". 

I stood up and stretched my body.

It was good that he gave me the heart phoenix, or else it would have been a pain trying to explain all of this again.

The technique he had was probably the key to me being able to perfectly clear the floor. At least I was getting closer to perfectly clearing this floor.

As I went to look at the crystal that was inside the hole, I noticed that it had a crack.

I guess it can't be used anymore. Well, there is no point in me staying here any longer.

"Park Jihye, thanks again for everything".

Once again, she helped me, so I was grateful.

"Are you going to regress now?" She asked after I thanked her.

"Yes, there is no point being here anymore". I answered with a relaxed tone.

"Well, don't forget what I said". She reminded me.

"I won't".

I took my dagger and stabbed myself in the eye.

[Skill activation]

- Perfect Clear[X]

[Returning to the moment you first entered this floor] 

*****

As I killed the wolf with my sword, I tried to look for the crystal.

I had to cut it into multiple pieces until I finally found it.

'But why was this crystal inside the wolf?'

Well, there is no point in trying to find out.

After cleaning the crystal, I went to the peak of the mountain.

[Do you want to use the hidden exit?]

[Yes] or [No]

[No]

[The hidden exit will be closed for the rest of the floor.]

It is too much of a coincidence that the hidden exit was where the hole in the crystal was.

It's like the tower was purposely trying to hide the crystal and the hole.

But it doesn't matter now since I already found it. I inserted the crystal inside the hole, and I gathered my mana.

Just like last time, it sucked all my mana like a blackhole. Soon, it flashed so brightly that I closed my eyes.

"Welcome, young successor. It seems like in this generation, you have been chosen to inherit my technique". 

After he said that, he looked at me.

"Why do you have the heart phoenix? That's only something the patriarch can get after he has learned my technique. And I don't recall ever teaching you". He said with a shocked voice.