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Chapter: 01
Being Taken to the Grand Selection
“Do you think it’ll work?”
“I hope so.”
“We’ll probably die.”
“If we survive, it’ll be amazing.”
“Still…”
“Honestly, I’m ready to die if I have to.”
“What?!”
“Why so shocked?”
“You said you’re ready to die! How can you not be scared?”
“It’s a challenge. That’s all…”
“That’s all? What’s so special about a challenge?!”
“It makes me feel alive. That’s just my nature.”
“How would you even know your nature?!”
“I know. I’ve been like this before.”
“When?”
“Never mind. I said it wrong.”
Ganghyeon shook his head.
Indeok, who had been keeping him company, shrugged. He was used to Ganghyeon saying strange things sometimes.
Then Indeok stared into the air, as if trying to calculate something, before looking back at Ganghyeon and speaking.
“Honestly, I wish you didn’t have Yeonggeun.”
Ganghyeon stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Is that all friendship means? You wish the thing I desperately want would break?”
“Hey! If we get dragged in, a hundred percent chance we’ll die.”
Indeok shouted, his face pale with fear.
“That’s not exactly true. We just enter a different world, so it’s hard to return. Sometimes, people do come back. And those who return live well.”
“But they said it’s madness, this Grand Selection.”
“You can’t avoid it anyway. If you have Yeonggeun, you’ll be taken automatically.”
It was true. Once the Grand Selection started, the only thing that mattered was whether someone had Yeonggeun. Those who had it would inevitably be taken.
“If you give up Yeonggeun immediately, you could come back,” Indeok tried to reassure.
He didn’t want his friend to risk his life.
“Do you think I’d do that?”
Sigh.
Ganghyeon smiled faintly, and Indeok let out a deep breath. He knew Ganghyeon wasn’t the type to avoid danger—and if Ganghyeon wanted this, arguing was pointless.
“Alright, let’s stop talking about what might happen. We have only a few days left.”
Ganghyeon patted Indeok’s shoulder, brushed off his pants, and got up. Indeok reluctantly stood too.
They continued their work, weeding the ripening rice fields.
Only twelve years old. By modern standards, this would be child abuse. But here, children as young as six were expected to help with chores.
A strange blue light appeared in the sky.
It was the signal that the Grand Selection was beginning, targeting children aged six to fifteen.
There were many schools on the Haram Continent, but only twelve were considered the strongest. These twelve controlled all other groups and individuals.
Long ago, these schools would send disciples to find candidates with Yeonggeun. Then, hundreds of years ago, they created a continent-wide formation to conduct the Grand Selection.
No one outside the schools knew exactly what happened. The only certainty: the formation could detect those with Yeonggeun and take them.
“Do you think we’ll be taken?”
Indeok’s face turned pale as he looked at Ganghyeon. The sky was a mix of sunset and blue light, with purple tints adding a mysterious beauty.
Ganghyeon remembered seeing this when he was two, trying to anticipate the changes ahead—but Indeok’s voice broke his thoughts.
“Are you scared you’ll be taken too?”
Ganghyeon turned to him. He guessed Indeok worried about being alone, not himself. He couldn’t be harsh this time.
“Of course! I’m scared!”
“You said if you give up Yeonggeun, you can come back. The village chief said so, right?”
“Yes… but still…”
“Well, you can’t know what will happen, so it’s natural to be scared.”
“That’s true.”
“Still, it’s not impossible to return immediately from the Grand Selection. Don’t worry too much. And…”
“Huh? What?”
Ganghyeon stopped mid-sentence, and Indeok pressed him.
“If we’re taken together, you must never stay there. Understand? You can’t stay for my sake.”
“I won’t be taken!”
“Even better.”
“You won’t go either!”
“That’s—”
Slap!
“Ouch!”
Indeok ended up hitting the back of his head on Ganghyeon’s palm.
“Funny?”
“Yeah, one hit clears my mind. Hehehe.”
“Did you greet properly?”
“I said I’m not going! Even if I go, I’ll give up Yeonggeun and come back. What’s the point of greeting?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Ganghyeon nodded and looked at the sky.
Golden lines, symbols, and letters appeared in the purple sky as if responding to him.
“Cool.”
“Huh?”
“That’s cool.”
“Gold?”
“Yes!”
“You’re crazy.”
“What? Why?”
Ganghyeon scrunched his face, and Indeok asked, puzzled.
“You have Yeonggeun too.”
“Huh? How do you know?”
“You can’t see this without it.”
When Ganghyeon was only two, he saw golden lines and symbols in the sky. They pulsed for a while, then vanished—the Grand Selection ended.
No one else mentioned it; only the blue light was noted.
‘These lines and symbols aren’t visible to ordinary people. That’s how I knew I had Yeonggeun. But Indeok can see it too.’
Ganghyeon sighed and held Indeok’s hand.
“Why?”
“We’ll be taken somewhere. We need to stay together.”
“So I’m really going to the Grand Selection?”
“Seems like it.”
“If you say so, it must be true.”
Indeok gripped Ganghyeon’s hand tightly.
“You’re strong.”
Ganghyeon smiled and squeezed back. Indeok felt a little reassured.
Then—
“Wow! It’s beautiful!”
A part of the formation in the sky brightened, dazzling above them. The glow focused on Ganghyeon and Indeok.
“Gasp!”
Ganghyeon felt strange energy wrap around him.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept the spot they stood on, and they vanished. The villagers didn’t notice until the next day.
Buzzing noises.
“Ganghyeon!”
“Calm down.”
Ganghyeon held Indeok’s hand tightly, looking around.
A huge field, about 300 jang across (roughly 1 km), was filled with children. Too many to count from end to end.
“Ganghyeon…” Indeok whispered, worried.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll have a chance to choose whether to participate or return.”
“Really?”
“You said the village chief said so.”
“True, but…”
“Even I heard that. If you don’t want to, just return.”
Indeok’s face darkened; he knew Ganghyeon wouldn’t go back with him.
“Don’t overthink it. I can manage alone. If you stay, it’ll be harder for me.”
Indeok understood, but still felt gloomy. They would have to part soon.
“There are so many kids… thousands, maybe tens of thousands.”
“Really?”
“Look at how crowded it is. Our village has only us, so imagine how many they must have gathered from far away.”
Ganghyeon thought of the whole Earth in his past life; pulling special children from such a large range could easily reach this number.
‘To forcibly gather people on a scale comparable to the Earth… are these people like immortals in xianxia novels?’
He had wondered for a long time but could not confirm it with village information. Now, seeing it firsthand, it seemed the fictional xianxia world might exist here.
Waaaah!
“Mom! Mom!”
Children cried; the youngest were about six. They couldn’t understand the situation clearly.
“Pity.”
“Yeah.”
Most would probably return home, Indeok hoped.
“Do you think so?”
“I’ve never heard of young kids returning from the Grand Selection. Usually only ten and older.”
“Then we must… have strong will.”
“Exactly! You must decide not to participate, no matter what. Promise me you’ll come back!”
“Okay, I will.”
Indeok resolved to follow Ganghyeon’s advice.
Boom!
“Ah!”
The ground shook, and a huge twelve-sided stone tower rose. It was massive, taking more space than their village. Strangely, no children were harmed; the tower created space naturally as it rose.
Ganghyeon marveled at the strange phenomenon.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know. People are coming out!”
Indeok screamed. Other children watched too.
Seven floors up, people appeared, stepping hundreds of meters in the air.
= I am Yanggwang of Cheonroeum.
Only Ganghyeon and Indeok heard him.
= I will manage the children for now.
The children seemed divided into twelve groups. Yanggwang would be important, so they focused on him.
= Let’s see the fortune of Cheonroeum and test for Yeonggeun.
Ganghyeon focused on him. Yanggwang turned to the tower, and dozens of disciples emerged, standing in formation.
= Go to someone you like and get tested for Yeonggeun!
The Cheonroeum disciples were ready. Yanggwang commanded the children.
“Let’s go.”
Ganghyeon grabbed Indeok’s wrist and headed toward the tower.
