"…It really is a core."
Cheon Yeohwa, who had been holding my wrist and concentrating for a while, spoke as if she couldn't quite believe it, even after confirming it herself.
I guess that means what happened to me is pretty unusual.
"Is it that weird?"
"Originally, a core is another heart that is only created when one succeeds in absorbing natural energy into the body through an internal energy cultivation method and gathering that energy into one place. I've never heard of anyone creating a core in a blank slate state like you, without even learning an internal energy cultivation method."
Suddenly, Cheon Yeohwa's expression turned quite serious as she continued her explanation.
"However… I sense a faint demonic energy from you."
"…Demonic energy?"
"It's too weak to say you've mastered demonic arts, but there's definitely demonic energy residing in your core."
At Cheon Yeohwa's words, I examined my body again. It wasn't easy to examine a core that had been created so recently, but after doing it a few times, I seemed to be getting the hang of it.
When I considered the total amount of energy contained within the core, it was less than a fingernail's worth of magic power in my circle. Moreover, I couldn't be sure if it was demonic energy. I had never contained any other energy in my core in the first place.
But it was definitely a foreign energy.
Sometimes it was purer than magic power, and other times it was as rough and violent as lightning energy. It seemed to change slightly depending on my state of mind.
"Then do I have to learn demonic arts?"
"It doesn't necessarily have to be that way. If you only possess weak demonic energy like you do, you can learn martial arts from the Taoist school and accumulate divine energy. Because divine energy basically has the characteristic of suppressing demonic energy, the demonic energy will naturally disappear if you accumulate divine energy steadily."
After that, Cheon Yeohwa continued to say things that seemed to subtly deny demonic arts. It was an appearance that didn't suit her status as the second daughter of the Heavenly Demon Church.
"…Yeohwa, do you not want me to learn demonic arts?"
This was just my guess, but Cheon Yeohwa seemed to dislike me taking an interest in demonic arts from the beginning.
In fact, whenever I asked her about demonic arts, she would usually gloss over it.
"…That's right. I hope you don't learn demonic arts. Most demonic arts have the side effect of making people give up being human. I also gained resistance to the cold while learning Moon Spirit Demonic Arts, but I became a contradictory body that only feels the cold."
The atmosphere became heavy at her unexpected confession. Noticing that, Cheon Yeohwa immediately ran to me and hugged me.
"Hehe, you don't have to look at me like that. It's true that I can't feel warmth, but I can definitely feel your body temperature. No, rather, I've become a body that can only feel your body temperature. So you must take responsibility for it. If you run away from me, I'll chase you to another world."
"Of course."
We hugged each other for a long time, sharing our body temperature. Of course, we weren't just hugging each other. We kissed and caressed each other's bodies.
Splish, splash!
"Hng, hng?! Slo, slower a litttleee?!♡"
A man and a woman in their prime rolling around on the bed in the middle of the night? It was a flow that inevitably led to sex.
Under the moonlight that came in through the window, Cheon Yeohwa's snow-white skin shone more desirably than usual.
"I'm, I'm going to goooo…!!♡ Haaah!!♡"
***
We were so engrossed in sex all night that morning dawned before we knew it.
Of course, we didn't just have sex the whole time. We also slept in between, and washed in the bathtub attached to the room. I wondered if this was possible in a martial arts novel, but I just brushed it off because it couldn't be the exact same world as the martial arts novels I knew.
[Remaining Match Time: 187:12:49]
Another time had passed while spending the night.
'…I wish they would change the exclusion of sleep time from match time during new matches to always apply.'
Honestly, it was too wasteful to spend match time sleeping. I searched the app, but there was no other way.
A sigh came out on its own, but these improvements would only be changed when they felt like it on the app, so there didn't seem to be a proper way for now.
Since this was the case, I decided to look around the store until Cheon Yeohwa woke up.
'I have about 4,000 coins left… I hope there's something good.'
The store icon was lit up. It was an alert that appeared when items in the store changed.
[Store]
[Weird Potion: 350 Coins]
[Gorgeous Dance: 500 Coins]
[Solar Tactical Radio: 620 Coins]
[Inventory Expansion Ticket: 800 Coins]
·
·
·
[The 3rd Step Towards Alpha Male: 1,750 Coins]
[Unknown Grimoire #1: 2,000 Coins]
As always, the ten changed items appeared. With the exception of a single product, I had no idea what kind of items they were just by looking at the names, so I clicked on them one by one.
[Item]
[Weird Potion]
[Rank: Normal]
[It looks like it will taste weird]
[Drinking it will randomly trigger a weird effect]
I filtered out a piece of trash for now.
[Skill]
[Gorgeous Dance]
[Rank: Rare]
[You will be able to dance better]
[Has a certain chance to charm the opponent]
This was the first time a skill had appeared in the store, but my desire to buy it disappeared as soon as I saw the explanation.
[Item]
[Solar Tactical Radio]
[Rank: Rare]
[Allows you to talk to anyone you want for a week, regardless of distance]
[Ignores the effects of barriers and magic tools below a certain level]
It was a slightly ambiguous item. It was nice to be able to contact people without being restricted by distance in a world other than Earth, but I was a little worried about the one-week time limit.
'…But let's buy it for now.'
It wasn't a completely useless item, and if I connected it to Cheon Yeohwa, I thought I could deal with unexpected situations. Besides, 620 coins wasn't that expensive.
[Would you like to purchase 'Solar Tactical Radio'?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
['Solar Tactical Radio' has been assigned to you. It will be used automatically when you think of the desired person]
[Target: Unspecified]
[Would you like to connect 'Solar Tactical Radio' to 'Cheon Yeohwa'?]
[※Once decided, it cannot be changed]
[Y/N]
[Y]
I used it right away without hesitation. Cheon Yeohwa was asleep, so I couldn't test it right away, but it wasn't urgent anyway.
[Item]
[Inventory Expansion Ticket]
[Rank: Unspecified]
[Your inventory will increase by 5 slots]
I bought it right away. I already thought 10 inventory slots were not enough, so it was an unexpected gain.
I looked through all the remaining products with a satisfied heart, but only two of them made my heart move even a little.
[Item]
[The 3rd Step Towards Alpha Male]
[Rank: Epic]
[This is a textbook written by the God of Males. Imbues you with the blessing of the God of Males upon reading it]
[Price: 1,750 coins]
[Item]
[Unknown Grimoire #1]
[Rank: Epic]
[This is part of an unidentified grimoire. The grimoire will be completed if you collect all the remaining parts]
[Price: 2,000 coins]
They weren't items that were as overwhelmingly attractive as the Inventory Expansion Ticket, but they were items that made me want to buy them more than the 'Solar Tactical Radio'.
First of all, I was tempted by 'The 3rd Step Towards Alpha Male' because it could give me the blessing of God. Although there was a high possibility that the God of Males was a minor god, it was still a merit that I, who was not even a clergyman, could receive the blessing of God, which was hard to refuse.
'Unknown Grimoire #1', to be honest, I wasn't very attracted to this. But the fact that it was Epic rank and the most expensive item I had seen in the store played a role. The explanation looked like a junk item, but originally, these combination items would transform into cheat items later in the game.
However, the problem was that I only had about 3,000 coins left. I didn't have enough money to buy both of them.
"Huu…"
[Would you like to purchase 'The 3rd Step Towards Alpha Male'?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
After a long deliberation, I chose 'The 3rd Step Towards Alpha Male'.
The fact that combination items would transform into cheat items was just a guess. Besides, the blessing of God was not something that could be obtained easily.
I read the textbook while lying in bed. There were only 30 pages in the first place, so it didn't take 10 minutes to read it all.
The content was mostly advice on the attitude an alpha male should have, and adult knowledge about women's erogenous zones. When I finished reading the textbook, a new screen appeared.
[The blessing of the God of Males dwells within you]
[The blessing interacts with the 'Other World Dating App']
[The blessing becomes a skill]
[The 3rd Step Towards Alpha Male]
[Rank: Epic]
[Your bodily fluids become sweet]
[Your bodily fluids contain faint aphrodisiac components]
[Your bodily fluids give off pheromones that captivate the opposite sex]
"…Wow."
I was speechless at the effect, which far exceeded my imagination. No matter how I looked at it, it was worth more than 1,750 coins. At this point, it could actually be worth 5,000 coins.
After seeing this, my eyes naturally turned to 'Unknown Grimoire #1'.
'…I have to buy it as soon as I get coins.'
Fortunately, the store's reset period is not that short. It'll be fine until this match ends.
"Eung… Hyunwoo?"
"Ah, you're awake?"
I was happy with the unexpected harvest, but Cheon Yeohwa woke up rubbing her eyes.
"It's too cold…"
"Didn't you say you can't feel the cold?"
"I don't know about that…"
Cheon Yeohwa closed her eyes again and burrowed into my arms. Her attempt to gloss over it was cute. Unlike what she looked like, Cheon Yeohwa was weak in the morning.
"By the way, Hyunwoo… I smell a strange smell from you."
"Smell? Is it the smell of sweat?"
Cheon Yeohwa, who had been hugging me for a while, put her head on my chest and smelled it. I wondered if I smelled like sweat I had shed all night, but it didn't seem to smell like anything in particular.
"Eung, it's not that. It's a smell that's a little sweeter and makes my head feel hazy… sniff, haa…"
Cheon Yeohwa's face turned red as she smelled me as if possessed by something. Her pupils were strangely unfocused.
"Um… shouldn't we do it later? I'm a little busy now…"
"No."
Thud-
I was hungry because I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. When I tried to get up, Cheon Yeohwa immediately laid me down again.
Cheon Yeohwa's hair, which had risen from her body, was disheveled. Her breasts, surrounded by her bra, were revealing their majesty without hiding anything. When I saw that, my lower body involuntarily felt stiff.
"Just a little more like this… sniff… puhaa…"
I quietly hugged Cheon Yeohwa, who buried her face in my neck. That day, I had to skip breakfast again.
***
Around noon, Cheon Yeohwa and I met with Jo Jawon, the Lord of the Hundred Flowers. Unlike yesterday, there were no elders.
Jo Jawon lowered his head as soon as he saw me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to happen just by grabbing the Mad Demon Sword."
He actively explained to us that he had no intention of hiding the side effects of the Mad Demon Sword, and that I would not have been exposed to demonic nature in the first place thanks to the wooden box containing the Mad Demon Sword and the silk string that sealed it.
I didn't say anything about that part. In the first place, I fainted not because of the demonic nature of the Mad Demon Sword.
Of course, I didn't say anything that would make him feel better, such as "I understand" or "I forgive you." If I could just talk well here, I might be able to get some silver.
As I expected, he took out a small pouch from his sleeve and handed it to me. There was silver in it. At first glance, it looked as much as I had received from Elder Suyanggeon.
I was happy with the unexpected additional income, but I was puzzled as to why Jo Jawon, the Lord of the Hundred Flowers, one of the best sects in Xi'an, was acting so humble.
"Ahem, there is something I would like to ask of you."
"A favor?"
That's right, there was a reason why he gave me a sword worth tens of gold and silver.
"Recently, a very old temple was discovered in a place called Jinheung Village."
At that, Cheon Yeohwa and I exchanged glances. It was the content I had heard from Elder Suyanggeon.
"The Mount Hua Sect decided to investigate the old temple, and I heard that they recently formed an investigation team and sent it to Jinheung Village. But… the Mount Hua Sect hopes that the Hundred Flowers Sect will also form an investigation team and send it."
This was the first time I had heard of this. Elder Suyanggeon clearly said that the Hundred Flowers Sect would not go to Jinheung Village. Was he lying to me, or was he unaware of it?
"I don't like talking around and around, so can you tell me the main point first?"
"…I hope you will participate in the investigation team together."
"Why? Does the Hundred Flowers Sect not have people?"
"That's right, to be exact, the number of experts in the Hundred Flowers Sect is currently too small. Most of the unit leaders have left the Hundred Flowers Sect to carry out their missions. However, if we send a large number of elders, it would be the same as informing the Mount Hua Sect of the Hundred Flowers Sect's lack of manpower."
"Wouldn't it be the same if we send outsiders?"
"That's not the case. You are guests of the Hundred Flowers Sect, and the fact that you have two transcendent-level martial artists as guests will make the Mount Hua Sect see the Hundred Flowers Sect's abilities in a high light. Furthermore, if you even help this investigation team, there will be no need to talk about that evaluation."
Jo Jawon took out another pouch from the other sleeve. Just by listening to the rattling sound, I could feel that it was heavier than the silver bundle I had received earlier.
"I will give you an appropriate reward. So, will you go to Jinheung Village with the investigation team?"