The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

Gilgamesh.

Upon hearing that name, Sung JiHan recalled the person Pithia had shown him before.

A man with brown curly hair, long beard, and tanned skin.

When asked if he was from the Middle East, she immediately confirmed it.

"Was Gilgamesh the person from before?"

"Yes. Do you know about Gilgamesh?"

"I think I've heard of Gilgamesh's epic. He tried to avoid death but ended up as a deceased figure."

"That's right. After all his efforts, he obtained the plant of immortality, but a snake stole it. The story ultimately teaches us that humans cannot refuse death..."

"But he himself achieved immortality. Like the Eastern Sage, did he become a servant of the gods to live long?"

Pithia shook her head at Sung JiHan's speculation.

"No. He became a servant of the gods not because of his lifespan."

"Oh?"

"Yes. He ate the plant of immortality himself. I heard it directly from him."

"The plant of immortality from the story? Then why did he become a servant?"

"I don't know either. He didn't talk about that."

If he himself remained silent and the gods didn't speak, there was no way to know.

Setting aside his doubts, Sung JiHan asked Pithia.

"But why does he want you to complete his abilities first?"

"...He always sleeps when the gods are awake. And when the gods are absent, he is active."

"Gilgamesh?"

"Yes. I... I've never seen Gilgamesh and the gods together."

Pithia added cautiously.

"And I've been mistaken about my abilities so far... Hell Summoning and Apocalypse Manifestation. The gods informed me and Gilgamesh advised me to enhance them."

"Then..."

"I... I suspect the connection between Gilgamesh and the gods. Maybe, they are the same person..."

They don't act together.

And like the gods, they give advice that is different from their original abilities.

With just these two facts, to think that the gods and Gilgamesh are the same person...

"Only insiders know the details, but isn't this going too far? The evidence is too weak."

"...That's true. But my intuition as a prophet has been telling me that something is strange since you used the Bingcheon Sword."

"Hmm. And when you correctly guessed the name of the Martial Art 'Honwon Singong.' I remember you prophesied that Gilgamesh and the gods would fight."

When she revealed the name of the Martial Art.

[The gods... You can't defeat them either. The Martial Art that combines the essence of humanity, Honwon Singong... Am I also unable to surpass it as a human?]

Pithia said this through her prophecy.

Since she also correctly guessed the name of Honwon Singong, it can't be said that this prophecy is completely wrong.

To think that the prophet would completely reverse what she prophesied.

Pithia let out a bitter laugh.

"Yes, I prophesied that. But... something feels off."

"The evidence may be weak, but do you have a feeling?"

"...Yes. Even if they are not the same person, there is definitely a special connection."

"Hmm... But here's the thing. What do I gain if I complete the fifth one first?"

"Gain...?"

Pithia blinked at Sung JiHan's words.

"Yeah. From my perspective, it makes sense to complete them in order from the third one. The fifth one is a Martial Art that I haven't even sensed yet."

"That's..."

"Whether the gods and Gilgamesh are the same person or not, what matters to me is whether it will be a definite gain. If that's not guaranteed, it's better to complete the Martial Arts in order."

Pitya and Gilgamesh being the same person or not was a serious matter.

But Sung JiHan's perspective was like, 'So what's the big deal?'

"No... but this is still important!"

"Yeah. It might be important to you. But to me, my martial arts mastery is more important than their relationship."

"...I understand. Let me give you all the information I have."

"If you know all the information, can you confront Gilgamesh?"

"Well..."

"If not, then I'll have to extract more from you."

Sung JiHan extended his palm with a nonchalant expression.

A gesture that meant if you're curious, pay a higher price.

Pitya looked at him in disbelief and let out a deep sigh.

"Ah... just telling me about Gilgamesh is already valuable information, isn't it? You're asking too much."

"Then write it off and tell me the third one as well."

"Fine. I won't tell you about that person. And the price... fine. Your sister. I'll share the burden of the Witch of Emptiness."

"The burden? What does that mean?"

"The Witch of Emptiness, as time goes on, gets buried in emptiness. Especially after overseeing the end, it becomes difficult to maintain one's own existence."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes. Your sister, at this rate, won't live long. The body may survive, but the soul and ego will disappear."

Sung JiHan furrowed his brow.

Wasn't this implying that his sister was on borrowed time?

He thought of the lock that bound Sung JiA.

The five locks that contained tremendous power of emptiness.

With so many of them, it wouldn't be strange if she got devoured at any time.

"I guess... I have no choice but to accept this proposal."

"Good. Then when the fifth power awakens, I'll take on the burden of the witch."

"All of my sister's burden?"

"Wow, you're asking for too much. Where do you want to dump everything? We'll split it in half. If I take more than that, I won't live long either."

"Hmm... if you've been alive since ancient Greece, you've lived for 2,000 years, right?"

"Well, well. So just because I've lived a long time, I can die now? Is that what you're saying to an old person?"

Something seemed to prick Pitya's heart, and her voice grew louder as she got agitated.

Sung JiHan shrugged his shoulders.

"No, it's nothing. Just that you've lived a long time. Who said you're an old person?"

"Ugh. That's the nuance...!"

Pitya glared at Sung JiHan fiercely.

"Oops..."

Suddenly, she looked around with a serious expression.

* * *

"This... you've been hiding in the sanctuary for too long. It's time to disband today."

"I understand. So are you going back to competing in matches? As the representative of Japan?"

"Japan? Ah, my avatar country? No. I'm not going to fight you. Originally, I wanted to teach you a lesson..."

Pitya smirked.

"Dongbangsak will take care of your education."

"Dongbangsak. Has he come too?"

"Yes. He's in Taiwan. He was disappointed last time when you didn't show up... Don't avoid him in the next match."

Upon hearing those words, Sung JiHan remembered the elderly player from Taiwan who swept away one set in the match against Korea.

He didn't show up from the second match due to exhaustion, or so he said.

Even back then, I thought it was suspicious that there was a player I didn't remember, but it was Dongbangsak.

"I avoided him. We just didn't meet because of training. I have to defeat him."

"Hahaha! Defeat him? Dongbangsak?"

Pitia scoffed, clapping her hands.

"Other than being a wandering god, he is the closest to being a god of nothingness. It's not about winning, it's impossible to withstand even a minute in front of his sword."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Shall we make a bet? If you can withstand him for a minute, I'll give you a free prophecy. But if you lose, you have to tell me all the names of your martial arts."

A minute?

No matter how strong Dongbangsak is, this is too much of a disadvantage.

Sung JiHan nodded.

"Alright. I'll accept the bet."

"Great! Then I'll go first."

Whoosh!

As Pitia disappeared, the ice chair and table vanished.

In their place, flames quickly filled the area.

As Pitia's coldness disappeared, the inferno of Apollo's sanctuary unfolded just like before.

"Hmm..."

However, unlike a while ago, the flames began to scorch Sung JiHan's skin, turning it red.

Just as Sung JiHan was wondering why he was being harmed, Pitia's voice echoed in his ears.

"Oh. By the way, I didn't like being treated like a grandmother. So, show me your abilities to the fullest in the sanctuary! By the way, since I unfolded the sanctuary earlier, half of your national team has been wiped out."

Pitia's voice reached Sung JiHan's ears.

"A dignified person like you is being petty."

"What? What!? Ah, my, my lord... I, I will go..."

After a moment of hesitation, Pitia's voice cut off, as if she had been summoned by a god.

Sung JiHan looked around the inferno and lightly swung his sword.

Whoosh!

With just one swing of his sword, the flames quickly subsided, but soon burst into flames again.

Sung JiHan had tried various martial arts, but the flames seemed to be extinguished only to suddenly blaze up again.

'Just destroying everything won't work...'

In that case, should he try a different approach?

Sung JiHan stared at the flames and threw Eclipse into the sky.

Honyeonsingong

Myeolsingyeol

Bingcheongeomu

Thud!

The sky froze in an instant.

Although the tracking of the immortal's origin did not emerge from Bingcheongeomu, Sung JiHan had learned a little more about its true nature while talking with Pitia earlier.

He could now use this martial art a little more creatively than before.

"Lower the tracking criteria of the sword."

Not just chasing after the existence of immortality.

But to be able to find the core of this unextinguishable sanctuary.

He decided to lower the tracking criteria of the sword.

Sssk!

And then, instead of a giant sword of water.

Like rain, water droplets in the shape of a sword began to fall.

"Did I lower the standards too much?"

It was impossible to trace what the problem was, as the water was falling in all directions.

"No, there is still a place where they gather...."

The sword-shaped water was right in front of Sung JiHan.

It started pouring intensely in the spot where there was an ice table just a moment ago.

Splash!

The raindrops in the shape of a sword extinguished the fire and cooled the ground.

As it continued to hit the ground.

"Ahhhh!"

From the ground, a giant face popped out.

The face made of fire had a neutral beauty, making it uncertain whether it was a man or a woman.

The place where the eyes should have been was empty, giving off a creepy feeling.

"So this is where the power of this fire came from."

It was the sanctuary of Apollo, whose name had fallen.

Could that face be Apollo?

While Sung JiHan was momentarily questioning that.

"Ah... Ahhh...."

The face of fire continued to be hit by the pouring rain from all directions and gradually went out.

And.

In the place where the sanctuary disappeared like this.

The South Gate map for the first game appeared again.

50:100.

The power difference was twice as much, and if we consider the value of Sung JiHan, it was more than that.

The Korean national team must have been in a difficult situation.

"I need to help quickly."

Sung JiHan, as soon as he fully returned to the map, took out his two weapons.

Since Pitiya didn't bother to interfere, it would be easy to sweep away the enemies.

"Uh...."

"Uncle! You're here?"

As soon as he returned to the game, Yoon Sae-ah waved her hand brightly and smiled from behind.

It was a 50:100 game, so Sung JiHan was worried that she might not survive her debut match, but it turned out well.

"You're alive? You're not late, are you?"

"No. Am I late?"

"Yeah. Look behind."

Sung JiHan looked behind.

And then, he saw Japanese players lying around here and there.

Players who couldn't even get close, pierced through.

The remaining survivors were all looking at Yoon Sae-ah with tired eyes, not Sung JiHan.

"This is...."

"The MVP of the first game... I'll take it, Uncle."

Ting!

Yoon Sae-ah flicked her wrist again and smiled brightly.