Ranker Who Lives Twice

Yeon-woo quickly cupped his hand and lifted Chirpy out. And the defense mechanism that had been in place quietly disappeared.

Chirpy looked critical. His breathing was faint and his chest was heaving.

Yeon-woo placed Chirpy out and poured his magic power out to him.

At the same time, he activated his heat skill and warmed Chirpy.

He thought heat might help Chirpy because he was of fire property.

Fortunately, as time passed, Chirpy started breathing more normally.

Yeon-woo set his skill up so Chirpy would be able to continuously receive warmth and looked around.

‘How big of a fight happened? And where’s the Phoenix?’

It was clear someone had attacked.

But when thought about logically, it wasn’t just one or two things that were off.

Clearly, the fight was over. It wouldn’t be this quiet if it wasn’t.

Also, there needed to be more evidence of a fight, but this much wasn’t enough.

He couldn’t even know if the attackers had been successful or not.

The Phoenix boasted a big size. It was impossible to completely get rid of her once she was killed. But there weren’t even signs of her being dragged away.

There were only questions left behind.

Yeon-woo thought that he would only get the whole story when Chirpy woke up.

And once 10 minutes had passed, thankfully, Chirpy woke up, fluttering his eyelashes.

“Chirpy.”

Chirp….

As soon as Chirpy saw Yeon-woo he let out a tired sound and tears dripped down from his eye.

He couldn’t communicate with Yeon-woo because he was still young, but he seemed like he had a lot to say.

Yeon-woo quietly stroked his head. As if saying it was all okay now. To not worry anymore.

Chirpy trembled. And with the strengthened connection, the incident from a few hours ago flashed by his eyes like a panorama.

***

“Are you the Phoenix? You’re as big as expected. Extremely.”

Yeon-woo raised his head towards the source of the voice. But strangely, he couldn’t move his neck.

He could only see things through a small hole.

Yeon-woo realized what he was seeing.

‘This is Chirpy’s view.’

It seemed to be the situation when Chirpy was hidden by the defense mechanism from earlier.

Chirpy tried as hard as he could to get out, but something strong blocked him.

The force that was blocking him had the Phoenix’s aura. The Phoenix had tightly put it in place so Chirpy couldn’t get out.

So he wouldn’t get hurt and get caught by the attackers.

[I have never allowed the entry of humans. Also, I have never invaded the humans’ territory either.]

“Is that important?”

[It is. Since that is the standard that splits good and evil will. At the very least, I don’t have any evil will towards humans.]

“Then I’m sorry. We definitely brought evil will with us. We need your Neidan.”

[…..What an arrogant human. Do you know how it ends for fools like you?]

“I don’t. But I know this well.”

Someone stepped forward while scoffing. In the darkness, the Phoenix’s eyes could be seen, filled with annoyance.

“That the ending will be different this time.”

And a large sword was pulled out. The space to see outside was too small to see the face of the attacker, but Yeon-woo recognized the pattern on the blade.

There was only one person who used that in the entire Tower.

‘The Saber God!’

Cheonghwado was an ‘island’ of people who dedicated their lives to martial arts.

They only work on getting stronger, and they trained their martial arts to the extreme.

So in Cheonghwado, people who used artifacts or magic tended to be looked down upon. It was important to be acknowledged just for your strength, and your strength alone.

Because importance was placed on individual training, their personalities were self-centered.

But on the other hand, they were also focused on being a collective group, because there was a clear hierarchy between them.

The Saber God was the closest to being a ‘martialist’ out of all of them.

He was strict in self-maintenance, and he lived a restricted life without enjoying women or alcohol.

His everything was centered on his sword.

And even we had to be careful when he pulled out his nine swords all at once.

Cheonghwado had the most members as an organization.

But of the Eight Clans, they had the least clan members, and they fell behind in power.

But there was one reason why Cheonghwado was judged so highly.

A small elite. And the 5 Martial Gods.

The Martial Gods were extremely strong. Each of them were at the top of the high rankers.

‘One of those guys came here….’

Yeon-woo was brought back to reality.

That was the end of Chirpy’s memory. Because he had fainted from the shock of what happened next.

But Yeon-woo could tell what had occurred here.

The sudden appearance of the Saber God.

And.

‘The Phoenix, dead.’

He was sure.

The Phoenix was dead. Chirpy could feel that, and he cried until he didn’t have any tears left to cry. The death of his mom was too much for him, who had only been born one month ago.

Yeon-woo tightly held Chirpy until he calmed down.

Chirpy cried until his shirt was completely soaked.

‘The Phoenix realized her fate from the beginning. So she thought I might come to save Chirpy, so she protected him.’

Yeon-woo grinded his teeth.

‘Is the reason why Cheonghwado sought after the Phoenix because of her Neidan?’

He couldn’t think of any other reason why Cheonghwado would try to catch such a difficult Legendary Beast.

And it wasn’t like Cheonghwado and the Phoenix had any relationship.

Yeon-woo grinded his teeth again. Right now, he was on Cheonghwado’s side as he was with the One-horned tribe. But Chirpy had become Cheonghwado’s enemy.

Chirpy had no one to lean on except for him.

That’s what the Phoenix had thought as well, and she left Chirpy to him.

He couldn’t take Chirpy to Cheongheado.

Of course, leaving him behind wasn’t even an option.

Yeon-woo didn’t even consider that thought.

While he was staying at the nest for over one month, Phoenix and Chirpy had grown to be his family.

Even if Chirpy hadn’t asked for it, he was going to avenge the Phoenix.

‘But right now it’s difficult to switch sides.’

For him, both sides were going to be ones he destroyed anyway, but he couldn’t just switch now.

Red Dragon was probably aware of him by now. Also, he had killed Shanon. It would be weird if no one tried to kill him for doing that.

‘Let’s think about it after going back.’

First, he was going to return to his room and organize his thoughts. He needed to find out about Cheonghwado’s plans after going back.

‘If the Phoenix died, there’s a chance the other Legendary Beasts will be sought after too. I should find out about that as well.’

And this place wouldn’t be good for Chirpy’s mental health either.

He was also going to try to find out why the Phoenix’s body wasn’t there either.

And so he stood up with Chirpy in his arms.

But suddenly, a flame appeared in the middle of the air in front of him.

It was a flame of various colors. It was the Flame of Life. And it wasn’t the Flame of Life that his egg had received. It was the original. The spark.

[…Thankfully, you’ve found my child. It’s a relief. Really.]

“Phoenix?”

The familiar voice widened his eyes.

Was she alive somewhere? But the Phoenix didn’t respond to him. This was just a will.

[The one called Saber God. He was very strong. I tried to save the youngest, at the very least……It’s a relief that you didn’t forget about Chirpy. This might be the fate of you and Chirpy, it could be a blessing.]

The Phoenix continued in a grateful tone.

[Also. Don’t be too angry that I died. I don’t know if you remember, but I’m one who dies and comes back alive with the flame. I’ve disappeared for now, but I’ll be born again. There’s no need for you to avenge me.]

No.

Even with the words of the Phoenix, Yeon-woo knew that wasn’t it. The Phoenix would definitely be reborn. However, no one knew how long it would take. Also, even if she was reborn….she would be leading another life, separate from this one.

No one knew what kind of thoughts and standards the new Phoenix would have. It would be a completely different existence to Chirpy. Death was death. And that was it

But the reason for Phoenix’s words were simple. To console Yeon-woo, so he wouldn’t do anything foolish. Also, Chirpy needed someone to lean on.

[So don’t be too angry, and take care of my child until I return. If it takes some time…just take care of him until he can survive on his own. I’m asking you for a favor.]

The Phoenix worried about her children until her very last breath.

[Of course, I won’t just ask you to take care of him…]

And at that moment, the flame suddenly soared up. And it split into pieces and wrapped Yeon-woo.

[….It’s very weak, but it’ll help you and the youngest going forward.]

The flames started to blend into his skin.

[The Phoenix has chosen you as her heir. According to her will, the ‘Flame of Life (Original)’ is being given to you.]

[The former contract with the Legendary Beast has strengthened.]

[It is reacting with ‘Heaven Wing Mana Control.’ The skill ‘Flame Infusion’ is reacting to the Flame of Life.]

[Magic Circuit is preparing to accept the Flame of Life.]

[Your body has opened.]

….

[The succession process is being started.]

Yeon-woo felt like all the cells in his body were opening up. He didn’t try to fight against it. He knew this was the last present the Phoenix was giving him.

The flames were absorbed through his open pores to his Magic Circuit, Cores, and his bones.

He couldn’t explain the feeling in words. At first, it was warm, like being hugged by his mom.

But then, an intense pain followed. Because of the pain, his muscles burned.

But Yeon-woo didn’t let out a sound.

He knew from studying Inner Cultivation that if he opened his mouth, energy would leave his body. Yeon-woo wasn’t planning on wasting anything the Phoenix had given him.

And even when he became dizzy, he held on.

[The proficiency of ‘Heaven Wing Mana Control’ is increasing. 27, 28, 29…..33%…..]

[The proficiency of ‘Flame Infusion’ is dramatically increasing. 57, 58…..71, 72…91%]

The flames dug into all the circuits he hadn’t found before. It burned away all the obstacles and paved its own path. The occasional explosions occurring in his body shook his body.

[The remaining center circuits 3 and 5 are opening.]

[The remaining large circuits…..]

…..

Status messages popped up continuously.

One would’ve thought this breaking up of the circuits would destroy his body, but because holy power was also included in it, his body healed faster than ever.

*Crash*

And at that moment, Yeon-woo felt something different than the expected pain. It was joy.

Joy from his ‘tier’ increasing.

[All magic circuits have been opened.]

[The succession process had been finished.]

[The title ‘Phoenix’s Successor’ has been earned.]

[Strength has increased by 5.]

[Dexterity has increased by 5]

…..

[Affinity with fire property has increased by 30. You have gained a part of the qualification of fire property.]

…..

Congratulations! The proficiency of the skill ‘Flame Infusion’ has reached 100%, and a superior skill ‘Heat Wave’ has been unlocked.

[Your title is being applied to ‘Heat Wave’, and it is being replaced with another skill. The qualification of fire property is being applied and the skill is being evolved to a superior skill.]

[The skill ‘Holy Fire (Numbering 050)’ has been created.]

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