Most games come with main quests and side quests.
This world was no different.
It might wear the mask of a martial arts world.
But a game was a game.
This world had main quests and side quests too.
Under the names Missions and Objectives.
So what separated Missions from Objectives? Simple.
'Whether or not it affects the progress of the story.'
When you carried out a Mission, the result had a big effect on the journey ahead.
Objectives didn't.
An Objective was just what the word said. Nice if you achieved it.
No big deal if you didn't.
Even if you never cleared one, it wouldn't affect your journey much. That was an Objective.
So most people didn't bother much with Objectives.
Plenty of people thought clearing them was a waste of time, so they often skipped them.
But every so often, there was someone who compulsively cleared every side quest, every Objective.
That was me.
I had cleared hundreds, thousands of Objectives, so many that there wasn't one in this world I hadn't done.
Why did I do that, you ask?
'Because to see that damned ending, I had to try every trick in the book.'
But even to someone like me, the Objective in front of me now was a kind I had never seen.
[ Objective: Learn every martial art tied to the Four Divine Beasts ]
I. Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Scripture
II. Vermilion Bird Blazing Flame Scripture
III. Azure Dragon Verdant Vein Art
IV. White Tiger Life-Severing Scripture
I'd had no idea an Objective like this even existed. Then again, it made sense that I didn't.
The conditions for taking on this Objective.
[ Conditions ]
I. Nine Yang Severed Meridians
II. Learn the power of the Four Divine Beasts.
No one could ever have met these insane conditions in the first place.
So I wondered.
"Is this even clearable?"
I thought it was next to impossible.
"Every one of those martial arts is somewhere ridiculous, isn't it?"
Take the White Tiger Life-Severing Scripture.
"The White Tiger Life-Severing Scripture lies in the vault of a nameless Martial God that won't be discovered until later."
Next, the Vermilion Bird Blazing Flame Scripture...
"The Demonic Cult's Heavenly Demon Vault."
And the Azure Dragon Verdant Vein Art...
"The Murim Alliance's vault."
None of them were easy places.
'Honestly, the hardest one is the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Scripture in the Yellow Dragon Vault, but having it doesn't make the rest any easier.'
The White Tiger Life-Severing Scripture and the Azure Dragon Verdant Vein Art could be obtained somehow, if I put my mind to it.
But...
"Getting the Vermilion Bird Blazing Flame Scripture from the Heavenly Demon Vault looks a lot harder."
Maybe if I gave up my imperial status.
And threw myself into the Demonic Cult, ready to make enemies of the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions alike.
Otherwise, getting the Vermilion Bird Blazing Flame Scripture was all but impossible. Not unless the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions were united as one.
'Ah, actually, maybe it is possible?'
If I could expose to the whole world who 'those bastards' hiding in the shadows really were, it wasn't completely impossible.
But dragging those bastards into the open was next to impossible in the first place.
Either way, it meant this Objective had a ridiculous difficulty. And so one question led to another.
"...Why on earth would anyone make an Objective this ridiculous?"
I was sure there had to be a reason.
This insane world might be a filthy, unkind one, but it wasn't a world that made things like this for no reason.
In other words, there was a reason behind an Objective this insanely hard.
Besides, normally you were told what reward you would get for achieving an Objective.
But not even that?
"Hmm—"
Highly suspicious.
'There's definitely something to this.'
And somehow, I had a strong feeling it was tied to reaching the ending.
'At this level of difficulty, it has to be.'
I figured my guess was most likely right.
My instincts had never been wrong about this sort of thing.
So I made up my mind.
"Let's clear this Objective."
But not right now. There was too much I had to do first.
'Fixing this damned body and awakening the White Scale Sword's true power come first.'
An Objective didn't carry much risk even if you didn't clear it right away.
So for now, the priority was moving my stage somewhere familiar. And for that, I needed martial arts.
"Time to learn them."
I slowly got up, ready to combine and learn the martial arts I had brought out of the vault.
***
A little later.
[ You have successfully learned the Sound-Hearing Qi Flow Art. ]
[ You have successfully learned the Hundred-Li Eye. ]
[ Conditions met. The two martial arts merge into one. ]
[ Supersense ]
Having succeeded in merging the two martial arts I had brought out of the vault, I slowly opened my eyes.
The world before me looked different from before.
"It's so clear."
If the world I used to see was 480p, the world I saw now felt like 1080p.
And that wasn't all.
Tweet, tweet—!
The birdsong reaching my ears was different from before, too.
Before, it had been a faint sound, as if through static; now it was as clear as if the bird were chirping right beside me.
All of this was the power of Supersense.
[ Supersense / High ]
Every sense, hearing, sight, and feeling, is expanded to the limit. Further stages unlock as Proficiency rises.
[ Realms ]
I. Perception
→Detects the flow of surrounding qi.
II. Expansion
III. Assimilation
IV. Transcendence
[ Proficiency ]
Stage 1 0%
Right now, it only made me a little more sensitive to everything I heard, saw, and felt, but as the realm rose, that would change.
'Once it really reaches its limit, I'll be able to predict my opponent's attacks.'
A realm some even called foresight. Supersense was what could get me there, and it was exactly the power I needed right now.
'In a way, it's a power I need even more than the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Scripture right now.'
There were several reasons.
First, the moment I left the Imperial Palace, I would be exposed to countless dangers.
Normally, if you started the game with Severed Meridians, a certain group hunted you relentlessly.
'Reverse Heaven.'
That was the name of the group, and they always targeted those who bore Heaven's punishment in the form of Severed Meridians.
'The Divine Body.'
Those bastards hunted anyone born under Heaven's punishment in search of that body.
I didn't know exactly what this Divine Body they were always going on about was.
Even after devoting 10 whole years to this world, I never found out.
Actually, I nearly found out on my last playthrough. The final Trial had been about exactly that.
But sadly, I never did. All I learned was their goal.
'The resurrection of That One.'
That One probably meant their leader. I had never actually laid eyes on this leader, so I had no idea who it was.
Either way, the bastards wanted their leader resurrected, and a body seemed to be what the process needed.
'That's why anyone who starts with Severed Meridians is hunted by those bastards from the very beginning, and nothing beats Supersense for sensing that danger ahead of time.'
Of course, Supersense was still only at Stage 1. That wasn't enough to sense danger coming ahead of time.
In other words, if I went out now, things could get pretty messy.
But it didn't matter.
As I kept saying.
'Operating on a stage I know makes it easier for me to deal with things anyway.'
The Imperial Palace, where I was now, was the hardest place for me to deal with.
Because I never knew when a Sudden Trial I didn't know would appear, or what danger would come bursting in.
So I had to get out of the Imperial Palace right away, before the next Trial began.
'Then where should I go once I leave?'
Actually, I already had a rough idea. What I needed now was a place where I could grow strong fast.
Whether to survive those bastards.
Or to become the Strongest Under Heaven.
I had to build up what I had, and fast. As it happened, there was a place near Beijing where I could do just that.
"The black market."
A place with everything I needed right now.
"That's the perfect place."
I quickly settled on my destination.
With my destination settled, there was no reason to hesitate. So I began getting ready to leave at once.
I didn't have much to pack.
'First, the elixirs I brought out of the vault.'
And finally, the White Scale Sword, and that was it.
"That's it."
I strapped the White Scale Sword to my back and finished getting ready. All that was left was to leave.
But as I was about to leave the room.
'Wait.'
A question suddenly occurred to me.
'Normally, someone with Severed Meridians gets targeted by those bastards from the very start. No matter where they are. But could they really get in here?'
Right now, the Imperial Palace couldn't be entered from outside. So I wondered if the bastards after me might not be able to get in either.
The biggest danger in the early game was their relentless pursuit. But what if that were taken care of?
'...Then it might be worth staying here, even with the risk of the unknown?'
Until now, I had only planned to leave, because the Imperial Palace was unknown territory even to me.
I had simply assumed, on instinct, that their clutches reached into the Imperial Palace too.
But I had overlooked one thing. That where I was, was the Imperial Palace.
Of course, it wasn't impossible that their clutches reached as far as the Imperial Palace.
But...
'The Emperor.'
Would that monster of a man really just stand by and let that happen?
'No way.'
Of course, there was no such thing as never. Their clutches might have reached here too.
So I thought it might be worth checking.
Unknown territory or not, if their clutches couldn't reach here, it would be better to build my strength here first and then go after the important things outside.
So I agonized over it.
'Should I hold off on leaving and check first?'
Or.
'Would it be better to leave as I originally planned?'
My mind raced, trying to arrive at the best answer.
But at that point, I didn't know.
That there had been no need to agonize at all.
[ '??' has sensed the presence of the Black Tortoise. ]
[ '??' turns its gaze on you. ]
A voice, out of nowhere.
And at the same time.
[ A Sudden Trial begins. ]
[ Escape the Calamity that cannot be resisted. ]
Another Sudden Trial had begun.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, my vision went black.