BRDM 104

chapter 104

Yuk Imihu.

A monkey demon who, when standing in one place, could perceive events a thousand li away and who understood the principles of all things with extraordinary clarity.

He was tapping away at a drum while wearing a butterfly mask.

Instead of mingling with nobles or dancers, he hid among the musicians, quietly observing Ihyeon.

“I wonder… will he be able to find me?”

Yuk Imihu found this human, Ihyeon, deeply intriguing.

That someone who was not a demon, but an ordinary human, had been chosen as Sun Wukong’s apostle was already curious enough.

Even more impressive was how he had overcome the disadvantage of sensory deprivation and managed to climb the floors unharmed.

Such feats were things that the frail body and mind of a human should never have been capable of.

“I had worried when a new apostle came to replace the one originally appointed… but this is truly fascinating.”

Yuk Imihu let out a hollow chuckle.

“If that were all, I wouldn’t be thinking this way. But he also added Sha Wujing’s and the Demon Horse King’s apostle trials on top! What kind of human is this?”

Adding apostle trials didn’t simply mean more tests.

The difficulty multiplied.

In other words, the base Sun Wukong apostle trial had now increased in difficulty eightfold.

Naturally, the fourth-floor mission, “Find the Real One,” had become that much harder.

“The venom here turned out to be far more vicious than I had expected. And the combinations make it even trickier.”

The method to conquer the fourth-floor mission was straightforward:

Taste the food and wine little by little, and remember the aftereffects.

Each dish and drink contained a different poison, each showing unique symptoms.

Everyone at the banquet had already ingested some of these poisons.

By carefully observing the different reactions, one could identify Yuk Imihu.

“But my clones didn’t just eat one type of food. Sometimes they had three or four together. That means the combinations must also be analyzed.”

And with so many dishes… once combinations were considered, the possibilities became nearly infinite.

To make things worse, there were no hints about what food Yuk Imihu had eaten.

Those had to be deduced through situational reasoning.

Thus, this mission required unwavering patience and sharp analytical skill.

“But can anyone truly maintain such patience while tasting these deadly poisons? The overlapping status effects should make rational thought nearly impossible.”

And with the difficulty skyrocketing like this, Yuk Imihu couldn’t even imagine how much hardship Ihyeon would face.

“Had he not been greedy, had he just focused on this one trial seriously, things would have gone better. What a pity, what a shame.”

He recalled Yeongmyeong’s praise and smiled bitterly.

“Well, apostle trials usually grant multiple chances anyway. Even if he fails this time, he can study it well and try again later.”

To him, Ihyeon’s failure was already a foregone conclusion.

For now, his goal was simply to observe.

But then—

“Hm?”

He tilted his head.

Ihyeon had suddenly stuffed an entire slice of cake into his mouth.

“Oh no! He mustn’t do that!”

Yuk Imihu sighed regretfully.

Eating that much at once would bring on severe symptoms of poisoning.

Was he that hungry?

“Well, I suppose after climbing so many floors without rest, he must be exhausted. But still… what a waste.”

Perhaps Ihyeon thought the poisons weren’t a big deal.

“I thought he had good judgment. Could it be that arrogance clouds his eyes?”

His evaluation of Ihyeon dropped a little.

Such reckless behavior.

And sure enough—

“Urgh!”

Ihyeon clutched his chest, face contorted in agony.

“Unlucky him—he must have consumed something from the blood-poison family. That could cause a heart attack. Out of all things to pick… he should wait for another chance. Eh?”

He had picked one of the top ten deadliest poisons in the entire banquet from the very start. His luck was abysmal.

But suddenly, Ihyeon’s expression eased, and he grabbed a nearby snack.

“Gah!”

Once again, a pained look.

Then, almost immediately, he recovered—only to grab a cookie and repeat the cycle.

“……??”

Question marks floated over Yuk Imihu’s head.

Ihyeon kept repeating the same bizarre routine.

Eat food. Suffer in pain. Recover. Eat again. Suffer again.

When his throat clogged, he downed a whole cup of wine.

Before long, all the food and drink on one side of the banquet table had disappeared.

“……Does this apostle share the same taste as the King?”

After all, all the dishes had been prepared with “Sweet-tooth” Sun Wukong in mind.

But how could Ihyeon eat so much venom and still stand?

Could it be poison immunity?

But then—

Fsssh—

Wherever Ihyeon passed, a foul stench lingered, his skin repeatedly flushing red.

He was being poisoned—and detoxifying—rapidly.

“The Ruyi Jingu Bang! He’s using its regeneration ability!!”

Yuk Imihu finally realized that the golden bracelet on Ihyeon’s arm was none other than the transformed staff.

“…But such regeneration can’t be used endlessly. Is he dividing divine power into fragments? Incredible!”

That Ihyeon was actually handling the Jingu Bang was astonishing.

It wasn’t just a relic—it was a spiritual artifact with its own will.

It had existed since the dawn of creation, and its masters were always extraordinary figures.

Even Sun Wukong himself had struggled in his youth when the staff refused to listen.

Yet Ihyeon was already borrowing its strength.

“What in the world…!?”

And the surprises didn’t stop.

“He isn’t just using the Jingu Bang! He’s neutralizing poison with Sha Wujing’s relic, casting curses on his own body to assist detoxification, and burning off residual toxins with the Demon Horse King’s relic!”

Yuk Imihu narrowed his eyes.

“And to coordinate all of those relics simultaneously, he’s using Gingoa to process the calculations. His relic mastery is… astonishing.”

Thanks to this, Ihyeon could suffer extreme poisoning, then detoxify quickly, steadily building resistances.

“Ha! That wasn’t what these poisons were prepared for…”

Yuk Imihu chuckled, watching his painstakingly collected poisons vanish instantly.

Venoms strong enough to kill bosses outright were reduced to mere training tools.

“But the most shocking thing is his patience. Even if he detoxifies quickly, the pain remains. How is he enduring it all?”

Instead of suffering, Ihyeon was grinning—enjoying himself.

“…His growth rate is insane. Not just resistance, but his muscles, his bone density—they’re transforming.”

Beol Mo Se Su.

A purification of the body when one transcends karma and receives a new fate.

Ihyeon was experiencing it again.

“Ha…”

Watching Ihyeon walk past the fourth table and onto the fifth, Yuk Imihu laughed weakly.

And now… his hands were trembling.

“If he keeps eating… I’ll be ruined.”

Was Ihyeon never full?

He seemed to have forgotten the mission to find him altogether.

System Messages:

[Congratulations! You have consumed a variety of deadly poisons!]
[Poison Immunity (S) has been created.]
[All resistances have risen to Grade A.]
[The Trait ‘Indomitable’ has been strengthened.]
[You have once again experienced ‘Beol Mo Se Su,’ strengthening your body.]
…

[All stat coefficients have risen by 5.]
[Magic coefficient surpassed 200—preparing to unlock new sub-abilities.]
[Strength coefficient surpassed 200—preparing to unlock new sub-abilities.]
[Prepare to unlock new sub-abilities.]
[Existing sub-abilities of Strength and Magic are strengthened.]
…

Ihyeon smiled at the new changes to the stats he had invested most into—Strength and Magic.

“I’ll organize this later on the fifth floor…”

Looking at the banquet hall, now empty of food and drink, he clicked his tongue.

“A little more would’ve been nice. Shame.”

He didn’t know when he’d get to “train” so conveniently again.

If all apostle trials were like this, life would be easy.

Still, the efficiency of his poison training was already dropping, so he had no regrets.

Relaxed, he turned to face the master standing absentmindedly nearby.

“Thank you for the divine gift.”

“…That wasn’t what this banquet was meant for, but—”

Yuk Imihu lowered his butterfly mask with a wry smile.

“Still, I’m glad it helped you.”

He smiled faintly.

“Yeongmyeong was right. You have a presence even more demon-like than us demons.”

“Should I take that as a compliment?”

“A compliment indeed. It means you step beyond established boundaries.”

His smile deepened.

“And to become the successor of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, one must break those boundaries.”

He wondered where Sun Wukong had found such an apostle.

Or perhaps, it meant the originally appointed apostle must have been remarkable as well.

After all, such a precious talent had been sent to them.

“…Still, that boy too had the makings of a great tree, had he grown. A pity. If he stood beside this one, it would’ve made a beautiful picture.”

Yuk Imihu still remembered the original apostle’s name clearly.

Mun Suchan.

He could never forget.

…For in his youth, Yuk Imihu had met the boy, admired his nature and heart, and personally recommended him as an apostle.

Now it was all in the past.

A past that the new apostle, Ihyeon, would never know.

“Isn’t there nothing less fitting for the Great Sage than being bound by rules made by who-knows-what?”

“That is true.”

“Then congratulations. Only the final gate remains.”

Clap!

The moment Yuk Imihu clapped—

[You have received the recognition of Yuk Imihu, the Guardian of the Fourth Floor.]
[You have passed the Fourth Trial.]
[The gate to the Fifth Floor has opened.]

Clatter—

The door on the far side of the banquet hall opened.

“The last gate will be overseen by the King himself.”

As he erased the image of Mun Suchan’s bright childhood smile from his mind, Yuk Imihu added:

“As you know, he is fickle and unpredictable. On the last floor, that will be even truer. He won’t hand over his seat easily.”

But as he looked at the man who had inherited Mun Suchan’s karma, he beamed.

“But I believe you will manage it without difficulty. Keep strong until the end.”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll go.”

Ihyeon gave a slight bow and strode past.

Yuk Imihu watched his retreating figure endlessly.

For just a moment, it overlapped with the sight of young Mun Suchan running beneath the sun.

System Message:

[You have entered the Fifth Floor.]

The moment Ihyeon heard it, he infused his willpower into his sealed senses.

[Gingoa focuses thought and consciousness into vision.]
[The sealed sense of sight awakens. You have fulfilled the first condition. (5/5)]
[The Fiery Golden Eyes open!]

The instant his vision sharpened, a blazing golden light flared from his eyes like lightning.

The Fiery Golden Eyes opened fully, automatically.

Momentarily overwhelmed by the flood of perceptive information, he staggered.

[Gingoa spins furiously, accelerating thought processes!]
[Overheated nervous system calms. Information is organized. A new form of mental map opens.]
[The Trait ‘Demon’s Senses’ has been unlocked.]

Demon’s Senses
Allows one to perceive the world through the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hands of a demon.
-Origin: Myth “Journey to the West”

Ihyeon steadied himself, focusing on this new vision.

The world shone in rainbow hues.

“…What is this?”

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—

Spectrums of light sparkled everywhere, layered over ordinary images.

It was as if something was trying to reveal itself to him.

“How does it feel to open your eyes anew?”

A voice came from behind.

Ihyeon realized then that he stood in an empty white space.

He turned.

Sun Wukong.

A handsome man with flowing white hair walked toward him, robes fluttering, hands clasped behind his back.

One of the rare times he appeared in human form.

Though Ihyeon had seen this figure several times, today he felt strangely unfamiliar.

“No… maybe it’s familiar. Have I seen something like this before…?”

Burying the elusive memory, Ihyeon nodded.

“It’s fascinating.”

“Of course. With a human body, you’ve set one foot beyond humanity. Sit. Let’s talk.”

With a wave, Wukong conjured an antique table and chairs, coffee and sweets atop it.

He pulled out a chair as if it were natural and sat down.

Ihyeon followed, taking the seat opposite.

The final trial had begun.