BRDM 100

chapter 100

Lee Hyun calmly tried to assess his current condition.

He had supposedly gained a new perception by expanding the realm of “self,” but now that his physical senses had returned, that perception felt even more vivid.

“Feels like my body is bound by chains or shackles.”

He tugged his hands and feet inward.
His body moved unnaturally, and even standing up was difficult.

When he extended his perception further, he realized he was alone in a large, sealed chamber.

“Feels like I’m some kind of prisoner in a movie… First, I need to find the floor’s gatekeeper. Where could they be?”

Thinking he had to first break free from the chains binding his limbs, Lee Hyun was about to draw out his brain energy when—

“Hm… I was excited that a qualified candidate finally entered the trial grounds, but why did some strange fellow show up instead?”

The air in front of him shimmered faintly, and then someone walked out slowly.

Using the waves of his expanded consciousness, Lee Hyun could vaguely sense the opponent’s form and movements.

It was an elderly figure leaning on a staff.
His eyes, white as glass marbles, were warm and clear, like mirrors.

But the truly shocking part was—

“A monkey…?”

The being wasn’t human, but rather a large simian creature.

[The 1st Floor Gatekeeper, Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey, has appeared.]

It looked just like the Flower-Fruit Mountain monkeys Lee Hyun had seen in Monkey’s Den or Harmony of Sun and Moon.
No, this one was bigger—more like a demon beast.

“Young human… what are you… Ah, no, because of the trial you won’t hear my voice right now.”

The elderly monkey, the Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey, cleared his throat lightly and opened his mouth.

『Ah, ah. Can you hear my voice, child?』

“…!”

Lee Hyun’s eyes widened slightly at the voice echoing directly in his mind.

It wasn’t quite sound, but rather a direct transmission of thought.
Different from the small-bodied forms of Son Oh-gong or Sha Wujing when they used their mental voices.

This was more like imprinting one’s will onto another’s soul—
Or perhaps pulling out the voice of one’s inner image.

“So you can converse like this too… To be able to use such a technique so naturally, how vast must his consciousness be?”

『Who are you, to have made it this far? This is a trial ground meant only for the Great Sage’s Apostle.』

The voice was kind, almost sage-like.

『And yet…』

But it was filled with wariness and suspicion toward Lee Hyun.

『Why do you carry not only the relics of that one, but also his techniques?』

The Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey lifted his staff and pressed it against Lee Hyun’s neck.

『Are you a thief?』

At last, Lee Hyun understood what he was being suspected of.

“He thinks it’s strange that I’m here instead of Brother Suchan.”

And he realized who exactly the gatekeepers of each floor were.

“The Four Monkeys… the ones said to be either vassals of Son Oh-gong or peers in talent. He’s one of them.”

[The Four Monkeys]
Four monkeys born from the essence of Heaven and Earth, the four sworn vassals of Son Oh-gong.

Each had the qualities to become a demon king of their own region, but Son Oh-gong either recruited them as his retainers or forced them into submission.

—Origin: The classic Journey to the West

Among them, the Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey was the “holy and sagacious stone monkey.”

Originally this referred to Son Oh-gong himself, but when he became a Buddha, he passed that title and role to his most beloved subordinate.

“And that subordinate is this elder monkey here…”

Lee Hyun swallowed hard.

“That means all four monkeys are in this Five Elements Tower.”

After Son Oh-gong’s fall, the Flower-Fruit Mountain monkeys scoured the underworld, seeking his resurrection.
They sought new apostle candidates and laid foundations for one to grow strong.

Naturally, the Four Monkeys were at the center of all this.
After their preparations, perhaps they retreated to these trials, praying that the Apostle would succeed and eventually restore Son Oh-gong.

But now—

“Since I’m here instead of their chosen Apostle, of course he’d be confused.”

Lee Hyun’s head finally began to clear.

『Hm. In this state it’s difficult to converse… Still, you should hear my thought-voice. Try writing on the ground with your finger.』

Lee Hyun started to comply but hesitated.

He wanted a proper conversation with this being.
Simple writing could easily cause misunderstanding.

“Isn’t there a way…?”

He observed carefully the Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey’s method of transmitting thought.
Each time the being projected will, his vast consciousness rippled, releasing patterned waves.
When those waves touched Lee Hyun, he “heard” the voice.

“If I can embed intention not just into will, but also into my movements or skills… I might amplify power.”

Thanks to Ginkgoa accelerating his thought process, Lee Hyun could roughly grasp its use.

“Pulling out one’s will or mental image… Unlike fleeting thoughts, these move vividly. With practice, maybe even shaping them. This feels like a glimpse of a higher realm.”

It wasn’t like a skill or divine authority at all.

If he could channel his mental imagery through the lightning net he used to sense the outside world… he might be able to imitate it, at least crudely.

“Yes… like the traces of cultivation I saw on the Great Sage’s training grounds at Flower-Fruit Mountain.”

『Do you not even know how to write?』

The Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey pressed his staff closer.
Lee Hyun instinctively realized: if the will in that staff struck, it would cut like a blade at his throat.

“Let’s try this.”

Luckily, he had a secret weapon—

Whirrr!

Ginkgoa began to spin.

[Ginkgoa emits incandescent light. Thought speed accelerates, forging intention into patterned thought!]
[You have discovered a new usage of Ginkgoa.]

“Intention? So this is what they call intention-voice. Interesting.”

Lee Hyun realized his expanded consciousness could “speak” and carefully projected it outward.

『Why no response—』

『Ah, ah. Is… this… working?』

『…!?』

『So this is how it’s done. Can you hear me now?』

His voice was choppy, sometimes too loud, sometimes too soft, but the meaning was conveyed.

The Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey was visibly shaken.

『You can use intention-voice? Then why didn’t you speak before—』

『This is my first time trying.』

『What!?』

『Anyway, I’m glad you can hear me now. At last, we can converse properly.』

『This is really your first attempt?』

『Yes. Why, is there a problem?』

『N-no… it’s just… How could you… even with Ginkgoa, still…!』

The monkey looked utterly disbelieving.

Lee Hyun’s intention-voice smoothed out, now sounding like natural speech.

His rate of mastery was absurd—unthinkable for a human.
Ordinary people needed years just to project their will outward.

After all, intention-voice was the basic foundation for completing martial arts and arts alike—
And a prerequisite for inheriting the “Combat Transmission Style.”

『Normally one would only discover this by completing every trial in this tower… No. Perhaps it is precisely because you have such talent that you reached here despite not being the Apostle.』

The monkey muttered to himself, then his eyes sharpened.

『So then, who are you? Why do you, a human, pretend to be the Apostle?』

Crackling energy surged along his staff.

『You’d better explain carefully. We loathe lies.』

Lee Hyun nodded slowly and began to speak.

It was just like the first time he met Son Oh-gong.
Those clear eyes seemed to discern truth from falsehood.

Not that he had intended to lie anyway.

『The one you call Brother Suchan…』

And he began to explain.

The Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey’s eyes trembled violently.

『…So the Apostle sacrificed himself in your place, passing the Fiery Golden Eyes to you? And after that you met the King and came here?』

『That’s correct.』

『And even Priestess Sa and Lady Lyu… I did feel the tower shift suddenly, but their trials as well? What is going on…』

The monkey was overwhelmed by the torrent of information, but none of it rang false.
And not only Son Oh-gong’s blessing, but also that of Sha Wujing and the Bull Demon King now infused the tower.

That sudden shift in the environment must be because of that.

『Then you are the King’s new Apostle? And the King himself allowed you to take the trial?』

『Yes.』

He had asked the same question countless times, but Lee Hyun only nodded again.

『…You do wield three sacred relics, but… ha. How am I supposed to understand this?』

The monkey narrowed his eyes.

『Strange, far too strange. I cannot easily accept your existence.』

『What exactly troubles you?』

『Your existence itself.』

『…?』

『You are human, are you not?』

What was wrong with that?

『How could a mere human become the King’s Apostle? The King is born of Heaven and Earth’s essence, a demon monarch who transcended evil to be reborn as Buddha.』

His voice trembled with anger.

『He became divine through demonic roots, ruling even the Heavenly Realm, standing eye to eye with beings from the far Outer Seas. How could a human—who is not born with demonic essence—inherit that mantle?』

Lee Hyun didn’t understand terms like “Outer Seas” or “demonic birth,” but the meaning was clear.

『You’re saying I lack qualification?』

『It is not about qualification.』

The monkey shook his head firmly.

『I mean that, from the start, a human cannot become the King’s Apostle.』

『That’s nonsense. Then Brother Suchan—』

And in that moment, Lee Hyun glimpsed a hidden truth he had never considered.

『…You mean Brother Suchan was never human to begin with?』

His face went stiff.

Looking back, with suspicion, there were indeed many odd things about Moon Suchan.

“Neither I nor the orphanage director ever knew anything about his past or parents. He never spoke of it either.”

But Lee Hyun never doubted him—many kids at the orphanage had mysterious pasts.
He just thought Suchan disliked talking about it.

“…I was the same, after all.”

Yet there were more clues—
His huge appetite in their academy days,
His sharp senses during missions,
Or how, as a child, he often mingled with demon beasts.

Even the way he obtained the Fiery Golden Eyes was from playing with monkey demons in a cave.

Considering demons usually opposed humans, this was definitely unusual.

“Did Brother know his own true nature?”

Lee Hyun thought he must have, or at least suspected he was different.
Suchan always had uncanny awareness in the strangest moments.

“…So what? No matter his identity, he’s still my brother.”

Lee Hyun shook his head firmly.

“That fact doesn’t change. What matters is that he sacrificed everything for his foolish younger brother. I just miss him all the more…”

『The King surely knew this truth as well… Then why… why choose like this?』

Even as the Spirit-Wise Stone Monkey kept doubting, Lee Hyun spoke.

『Does it matter so much?』

『What?』

『For you, the only thing that matters is whether the Great Sage’s Apostle has the qualification, isn’t it?』

The monkey shut his mouth. His clear, glass-like pupils wavered.

Lee Hyun pressed.

『You see it yourself. I clearly have the qualification to take this trial.』

『…You are human, so you cannot understand. Whether one is demon or not—this is not a trivial matter.』

Crack!

Crash!!

Lee Hyun flared the Fury of the Oni to its maximum, shattering his chains in an instant.

Then he stood up.

『…!!』

A crushing aura filled the chamber. The monkey’s eyes widened.

Rumble!

Flash! Flash!!

The room once filled with only darkness and cold was now ablaze with pale lightning and fierce winds.

『I don’t care about your doubts. Choose only one of two things.』

Moon Suchan had given his all to create this chance.
It was Lee Hyun’s duty to run to the very end.

『Will you conduct the trial, or not? If you refuse—』

His voice turned icy.

『Then I will step over you and ascend.』