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  1.  
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  4.  
  5. Chapter 58. Goodwill with Goodwill, Malice with Malice
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  9.  
  10. * * *
  11.  
  12.  
  13.  
  14. ‘Mm??’
  15.  
  16. It really happened without any warning. At the very least, it felt like the whole thing happened like a bolt of lightning to Seol Jihu, who had been checking out his teammates cautiously packing the burial goods until then.
  17.  
  18. The chamber that had been a mixture of green and yellow suddenly changed to a subtle shade of red. Then, as if the owner of the tomb was getting angrier, the whole space began to get dyed in a deeper shade of red.
  19.  
  20. Utterly shocked by this occurrence, Seol Jihu turned around and found Alex and Clara in the midst of touching burial goods found on the left sarcophagus.
  21.  
  22. To be more precise, Alex was reaching out to that very same keepsake as if he had been bewitched, while Clara was busy stroking a brilliant necklace with blue gemstones engraved within with an enraptured face.
  23.  
  24. There was no time to even think about anything.
  25.  
  26. “What are you two doing?!”
  27.  
  28. The two people flinched grandly. Alex quickly pulled his hand back, but Clara looked back at the youth with an unimpressed expression on her face and picked the necklace up without further hesitation. Immediately, the chamber became washed in the color of blood.
  29.  
  30. “Clara!”
  31.  
  32. “Argh, what?! Can’t I just take a look….?”
  33.  
  34. When Alex belatedly tried to stop her, Clara displayed her annoyance before her expression became dazed by what happened next. Seol Jihu wordlessly sprinted towards her and snatched the necklace away. He quickly placed the necklace back on the lid, prompting Clara to spit out a grunt. She then began chuckling in disbelief.
  35.  
  36. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
  37.  
  38. “That’s what I want to ask you.”
  39.  
  40. Seol Jihu’s tone of voice was not friendly at all. Sure, he still spoke in a courteous manner as before, but his voice definitely contained a trace of anger.
  41.  
  42. “Did you not see the contents of that paper just now?”
  43.  
  44. “I did. So what?”
  45.  
  46. “Then why?”
  47.  
  48. “I saw it, and what about it?”
  49.  
  50. Clara retorted back. Seol Jihu’s eyes narrowed to a slit.
  51.  
  52. “Hey, you. Don’t you think you’re getting too full of yourself?”
  53.  
  54. Clara crossed her arms and a mocking grin formed on her lips.
  55.  
  56. “Looks like you’re mistaken about something here. Samuel said that, even if the result of the ceremony wasn’t good, you should follow his suggestion. He said nothing about following what’s on the paper even if the results were good. Same story for me, as well for the others.”
  57.  
  58. “….You want to die that badly, huh.”
  59.  
  60. “Get the fuck out of here. How can you be so sure? How the fuck do you know whether the bitch buried below that lid is strong or not?”
  61.  
  62. Clara’s sharp tone of voice caused Seol Jihu to glare back at her.
  63.  
  64. “So you aren’t satisfied with what’s on the walls. Is that it?”
  65.  
  66. “Right. I’m not. If you got nothing else to say, get out of my way. Oh, and here’s an advice for you. Knowing your place will be good for your health in the future.”
  67.  
  68. She too didn’t lose and shot a glare back before taking large strides towards him. She shoved him away and walked right past.
  69.  
  70. “What a loser. Do you have any idea how much you can make by selling that thing? An item from the Empire will fetch….”
  71.  
  72. Just as she reached her right hand out towards the necklace again, Seol Jihu grabbed and yanked her wrist away.
  73.  
  74. “….You better let me go.”
  75.  
  76. Clara’s greed-filled eyes turned towards him.
  77.  
  78. “You want to have a go? Is that it?”
  79.  
  80. “Do not touch it.”
  81.  
  82. Seol Jihu’s own voice became icy.
  83.  
  84. Hmph, Clara snorted and her left hand reached out to the necklace. In that moment, Seol Jihu’s eyes began to gleam quite dangerously.
  85.  
  86. “I said, don’t touch it!”
  87.  
  88. His angry roar reverberated in the burial chamber, and at the same time…
  89.  
  90. “Aaaahkk?!”
  91.  
  92. Clara was flung away with force, and she crash-landed on the ground.
  93.  
  94. “YOU!!”
  95.  
  96. Clara’s shoulder and lower back clattered hard against the ground and she frowned deeply, but then, she shot back up right away in indignation.
  97.  
  98. “What are you two doing? Stop, Seol, Clara!”
  99.  
  100. Alex panicked grandly and tried to intervene.
  101.  
  102. “What’s going on here?”
  103.  
  104. Other members of the expedition turned their focus here now. But, regardless of all that….
  105.  
  106. “D-did you lose your damn mind?! How dare you touch me!”
  107.  
  108. “Shut your mouth.”
  109.  
  110. “What… You really wanna have a go at me?! Fine!”
  111.  
  112. Clara spat those words out in pure anger, then reached behind her back to pull her bow out and nocked an arrow.
  113.  
  114. “Calm down, Clara!”
  115.  
  116. Freaking out now, Alex helplessly flailed his arms about. And, just as Clara took aim at Seol Jihu and pulled the string back…
  117.  
  118. RUMBLE-!!
  119.  
  120. The burial chamber that remained still suddenly began trembling noisily. The surrounding view as seen through ‘Nine Eyes’ began flickering in four colors of yellow, orange, red and black. There had never been a time like this before where several colors showed up at once.
  121.  
  122. “What’s this? Where is this sound coming from?”
  123.  
  124. Dylan was about to intervene between the two people, but he stopped in his tracks to take a cautious look around. Seol Jihu looked behind him, and he paled from fright right away. He could see that the left sarcophagus was vibrating like a smartphone.
  125.  
  126. At that moment, for some inexplicable reason…. Seol Jihu gently placed his hand on the lid unconsciously.
  127.  
  128. ‘I’m sorry.’
  129.  
  130. Perhaps, he was sympathizing with this woman’s circumstances. Of course, the experiences the two went through, the experiences they had to be subjected to, were completely different. However, they still shared a similar fate, and that would be them being cast out by their respective families, whether through one’s own actions or through others’.
  131.  
  132. Seol Jihu had felt that he no longer had a place to stay back on Earth, and perhaps because of that, he could empathize with this woman’s state of mind, even if it was just a little. More importantly, she had calmed her anger and showed her goodwill just because he held a pathetic little excuse of an appeasement ceremony, so there was no way he would betray her expectations.
  133.  
  134. ‘I won’t let anyone touch it.’
  135.  
  136. It was then that something mysterious happened. Perhaps Seol Jihu’s thoughts had been heard because the vibrating coffin lid gradually came to a stop.
  137.  
  138. He quietly stared at the sarcophagus for a little while longer before turning around. Clara and her somewhat surprised face had been aiming at the sarcophagus until then, but she quickly changed her target back to him.
  139.  
  140. “What a good timing this is. Hey, kid, stop showing off and get the hell away from there.”
  141.  
  142. “Don’t you have any respect for the dead?”
  143.  
  144. “Gimme a break. You’ve been running your slick mouth on and on, but in the end, that was your true reason?”
  145.  
  146. Clara smirked derisively before her expressions became serious.
  147.  
  148. “Keep your high and mighty morals away from Paradise. Now get the hell away from there if you don’t want to get hit.”
  149.  
  150. “And what if I don’t?”
  151.  
  152. “In that case, it can’t be helped. You started this, so don’t blame me if you die.”
  153.  
  154. As her speech and conduct became worse, Seol Jihu let off a hollow chuckle.
  155.  
  156. “…Fine.”
  157.  
  158. His magic spear might be broken, but he still had another one.
  159.  
  160. “If you really want it, then try to take it over my dead body.”
  161.  
  162. He pulled his spear out and took aim at Clara as well. His mana began to surge within him. When the youth slightly lowered his posture as he got ready to really fight her, Clara began gritting her teeth.
  163.  
  164. It was then.
  165.  
  166. “That’s enough.”
  167.  
  168. Samuel quickly jumped in between the two and tried to diffuse the volatile situation.
  169.  
  170. “Clara, lower your bow.”
  171.  
  172. “S-Samuel?? But, that bastard started it!”
  173.  
  174. “It was you and Alex who acted like idiots first. You know now that there is a vengeful spirit here, so who told you to touch whatever you felt like? How were you planning to take care of the aftermath?”
  175.  
  176. Clara chewed on her lower lip. Shortly afterwards, she lowered her bow, but it was clear to see how indignant she was.
  177.  
  178. “Seol, please lower your spear as well.”
  179.  
  180. After confirming that she had lowered her weapon, Samuel asked Seol next. Seol Jihu also lowered his spear but didn’t step away from the sarcophagus. Samuel placed his hands on his waist.
  181.  
  182. “Fuuuu….”
  183.  
  184. He let out a big groan and softly opened his mouth.
  185.  
  186. “I’ll be straight with you. Actually, I agree with Clara.”
  187.  
  188. “Samuel.”
  189.  
  190. “Yes, I know what that lady had to go through was terrible. But, that is all. At the end of the day, we are Earthlings.”
  191.  
  192. “And she was a Paradisian.”
  193.  
  194. Samuel quietly studied the coldly-replying youth.
  195.  
  196. “….Now that I think about it, how long did you say you’ve been in Paradise for?”
  197.  
  198. “That has nothing to do with this.”
  199.  
  200. “Do you by any chance know why this place is called Paradise?”
  201.  
  202. That was a sudden and unexpected question. Seol Jihu shook his head.
  203.  
  204. “It’s simple. Only a few chosen can come here, and opportunities can be found awaiting pretty much everywhere.”
  205.  
  206. “Opportunities, is it?”
  207.  
  208. “I’m talking about the burial goods behind you, the ones on the coffin. If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, then they are from the Empire.”
  209.  
  210. Just as Seol Jihu tried to open his mouth, Samuel raised his hand slightly first.
  211.  
  212. “I’m sure you wanted to ask me this – if those things are that incredible. Indeed, they are incredible. No, they are beyond incredible. The Empire might have fallen at the hands of the Parasites, but still, the level of magic science they boasted was greatest in all of Paradise. Stuff from the kingdoms can’t even compare to them.”
  213.  
  214. Even still, Seol Jihu didn’t show any signs of moving.
  215.  
  216. “Don’t you understand? Let me be straight with you once more. Just one item from there, and we all can become incredibly rich.”
  217.  
  218. “Don’t you think your greed is getting excessive?”
  219.  
  220. Samuel thought for a brief second, before a bitter smile formed on his lips.
  221.  
  222. “Greed, is it. If you meant to ask whether I wasn’t scared of dying or not, then yes, I am prepared to risk it. I’m not kidding. Forget about bronze or silver, we can get gold coins here. Do you know how much of Earth’s currency you can get from a single gold coin?”
  223.  
  224. “No, I don’t. I’m not interested in knowing, either.”
  225.  
  226. Samuel smacked his lips after realizing that Seol Jihu wasn’t going to be convinced like this.
  227.  
  228. “Honestly speaking, I’d like to heed your wish if it were any other circumstances. Sure, the things on the walls are very good, but the items on the coffin exceed their value greatly.”
  229.  
  230. “Meaning, you will take them away no matter what.”
  231.  
  232. “Listen till the end, please. What you’re trying to say here is that, while I’m willing to take the risk and take those items, you don’t want to risk it and leave with only what we are allowed to take. I believe we both are not wrong in this situation.”
  233.  
  234. What was he trying to get at? Seol Jihu didn’t let his vigilance down and stared at Samuel.
  235.  
  236. “So, I propose we do it like this. Let’s decide with a vote.”
  237.  
  238. “A vote?”
  239.  
  240. “Right. Since neither of us are really wrong, we let the majority decide.”
  241.  
  242. “And what if I don’t want to follow the result of the vote?”
  243.  
  244. “That won’t be allowed.”
  245.  
  246. Samuel gravely shook his head.
  247.  
  248. “As long as you remain a part of this expedition, we must act as one whether you like it or not. There are times when you’ll have to do things that you don’t want to, and you’ll also have to back down regardless of your principals. If you continue to insist on doing whatever you want, then I can no longer recognize you as a member of the expedition.”
  249.  
  250. Samuel shifted his gaze away from the youth as if to indicate that he’d not hear Seol’s opinions anymore and scanned around him.
  251.  
  252. “Seol is obviously against, and well, Clara, you are definitely voting ‘for’, am I right?”
  253.  
  254. “Of course.”
  255.  
  256. Clara’s complexion had brightened considerably by now, and she leaned her head back as if she wanted to gloat.
  257.  
  258. “One vote yes, and one vote against. Let’s get started. I’m for it.”
  259.  
  260. Samuel immediately voted for yes.
  261.  
  262. “Uhm… I’m voting for yes, too.”
  263.  
  264. Alex raised his hand and hurriedly avoided meeting Seol’s gaze while mumbling timidly.
  265.  
  266. “S-Sorry about this, Seol. But, I….”
  267.  
  268. He then opened and closed his lips a couple of times before lowering his gaze altogether.
  269.  
  270. “Well, since Samuel wants to, I’m also voting yes.”
  271.  
  272. Grace shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
  273.  
  274. “Four votes yes, and one vote against.”
  275.  
  276. Just one more vote for ‘yes’ would determine the end result of this situation. Samuel looked at the four people who hadn’t cast their votes yet.
  277.  
  278. Seol Jihu closed his eyes as the situation barrelled towards the inevitable conclusion. All sorts of thoughts fleeted in and out of his mind. Should he fight, or escape alone? Should he reveal the truth of ‘Nine Eyes’ and try changing their minds? Whatever the case may be, he needed to decide quickly.
  279.  
  280. “I’m against it.”
  281.  
  282. It was then, a manly voice resounded out. It was Hugo.
  283.  
  284. “Against it?”
  285.  
  286. “I don’t wanna touch that woman’s coffin if I can help it. That’s all.”
  287.  
  288. When Clara asked him with a disbelieving tone of voice, Hugo replied curtly. It was a short-enough answer that perfectly suited his personality.
  289.  
  290. “Hmm.”
  291.  
  292. Dylan stroked his chin for a bit before quietly voicing his opinion.
  293.  
  294. “Against.”
  295.  
  296. Samuel’s brows quivered slightly.
  297.  
  298. “Dylan, you… are against it?”
  299.  
  300. “Mm. I understand where you’re coming from, but I agree with Seol’s deduction he came up with on the outside. When I think about the fate of Kahn’s team, it’s the right idea not to touch the coffin.”
  301.  
  302. When Dylan clearly stated his case, Chohong helplessly scratched her head.
  303.  
  304. “Aooo…. This is so screwed up. Seriously now.”
  305.  
  306. Her unwilling eyes lingered on the coffin for a bit, before meeting Seol Jihu’s. She licked her lips for a while, before grunting out her vote.
  307.  
  308. “….Eiii, damn it. I vote against, too.”
  309.  
  310. And so, four votes ‘yes’, and four votes ‘against’. All the members of Carpe Diem had sided with Seol Jihu. Having not anticipated this result, the members of Samuel’s team got visibly flustered.
  311.  
  312. There was only one remaining vote.
  313.  
  314. Ian remained silent until then, before slowly opening his mouth.
  315.  
  316. “On the outside, this friend talked about inverse calculation. I can empathize with it to a degree, but it’s still based on my hypothesis and thus, it can’t be thought of as a confirmed fact.”
  317.  
  318. Then, he stared at Samuel.
  319.  
  320. “However, Samuel….”
  321.  
  322. “Yes?”
  323.  
  324. “Were you aware of the fact that several times during this expedition, you revealed how much of a rush you were in?”
  325.  
  326. “Me…??”
  327.  
  328. Samuel blinked his eyes several times.
  329.  
  330. “Once, before the battle with the Lioners, and right after. And when the Quill Pen of the Flowing Consciousness was used, and finally, when you were having a heated discussion with this young friend.”
  331.  
  332. “No, I was just….”
  333.  
  334. “Rather than you judging yourself, others judging you can be far more accurate more often than not.”
  335.  
  336. He spoke of truth. Ian’s serious, grave tone of voice continued on.
  337.  
  338. “I pondered a long while, wondering whether I should mention this or not. The reason I kept my mouth shut until now was, firstly, I respected the authority of the leader of the expedition. Secondly, I didn’t want to snatch that authority from you, and finally, because I knew of your circumstances.”
  339.  
  340. When ‘circumstances’ were mentioned, Samuel became completely lost for words.
  341.  
  342. “Indeed, what happened was truly a lamentable matter. I do sympathize with your efforts to revitalize your team as it’s going through very rough waters. However, from where I stand, it looks like you have not learned anything from ‘her’ death and are trying to repeat the mistake of the past.”
  343.  
  344. “….”
  345.  
  346. “I won’t bore you any longer. I believe that we can return with what we have managed to achieve so far and be thoroughly pleased with the rewards waiting for us back home. There is no reason to take on any further risk. And therefore, my answer is against.”
  347.  
  348. “M-Master Ian.”
  349.  
  350. “There will be other expeditions in the future. I pray that you don’t bet everything on this one.”
  351.  
  352. That was something Seol Jihu heard Samuel say a little while ago.
  353.  
  354. Samuel clenched his fist tightly and slowly turned around. Clara looked utterly dismayed, while deep pain was etched on Alex’s face. However, Grace didn’t seem to care either way.
  355.  
  356. Samuel held their gazes for a little while before slowly lowering his head.
  357.  
  358. “….I understand.”
  359.  
  360. Only then did Ian form a refreshing grin.
  361.  
  362. “A trustworthy leader is a leader who knows when to retreat. You made the right choice.”
  363.  
  364. A weak smile struggled to form on Samuel’s lips.
  365.  
  366. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve collected all the burial goods on the walls, after all.”
  367.  
  368. “Mm.”
  369.  
  370. Samuel and Ian headed towards the exit with quick steps. Other members of the expedition all turned around one by one to leave, but Seol Jihu remained until the end and guarded his position.
  371.  
  372. Well, he couldn’t be sure that someone might have another idea. He was thinking of leaving last after confirming that everyone had left first.
  373.  
  374. “You must be really happy now.”
  375.  
  376. Clara gritted her teeth and sneered at him. Seol Jihu couldn’t understand why she was being this angry and this embittered.
  377.  
  378. “Yeah, you must be really fucking happy now that you can keep that petty principle of yours.”
  379.  
  380. “Oii. That’s enough from you.”
  381.  
  382. When a mace suddenly came flying at her face, Clara freaked out and quickly took several steps back.
  383.  
  384. “Ch-Chohong? Even you?”
  385.  
  386. “The decision’s been made already. Stop arguing.”
  387.  
  388. “Why are you only picking on me?!”
  389.  
  390. “‘Cuz you keep making problems.”
  391.  
  392. Chohong began emitting that uniquely cold glare of hers.
  393.  
  394. Seol Jihu slowly opened his mouth.
  395.  
  396. “Chohong. Please stop.”
  397.  
  398. “H,? No, hang on. I was just…”
  399.  
  400. “I know. I know, but she’s not worth your effort.”
  401.  
  402. After hearing something rather unexpected coming from the youth, Chohong’s eyes widened.
  403.  
  404. “What did you just say?! Hah, you think you won’t become like me later?!”
  405.  
  406. Being on the receiving end of a biting remark, Clara’s expression crumpled unsightly and she began to growl in anger.
  407.  
  408. “You just wait and see. Two years, no, one year, and you will definitely be regretting this day bitterly. Mark my words.”
  409.  
  410. “If you’re making predictions, then I’ll make one as well.”
  411.  
  412. Seol Jihu formed a mocking grin.
  413.  
  414. “You, if you continue to act in this idiotic manner, not knowing what’s what, you will die sooner than you think.”
  415.  
  416. “Wha-what?!”
  417.  
  418. “You should thank Samuel when you have the chance. Right now, I can’t really figure out why a guy like that lets a loose cannon like you hang around him.”
  419.  
  420. After listening to deeply insulting words, Clara began stuttering as if she was greatly shaken to the core.
  421.  
  422. “S-stop making me laugh! What the hell do you know?! You’re just a Level 1 newbie!”
  423.  
  424. “I wonder about that. I thought that I contributed far more than you in this expedition.”
  425.  
  426. Seol Jihu’s words remained frigid. So much so that even Chohong was taken aback as well. She always thought that the youth was a kind-hearted and well-behaved kid. This was her first time seeing such an expression from Seol.
  427.  
  428. “…Keuk!”
  429.  
  430. Almost instantly, Clara’s eyes became moist and she angrily ran out of the exit. Seol Jihu slowly let a sigh escape from his mouth.
  431.  
  432. “Hey, you….”
  433.  
  434. “Chohong.”
  435.  
  436. “Uh?”
  437.  
  438. “Thanks.”
  439.  
  440. “Uh, uh, uh, well, I, uh…”
  441.  
  442. Chohong went, Hmph, at the youth’s thanks, and turned around. While slowly walking away, she sneaked a glance and saw his back as he stared at the sarcophagus.
  443.  
  444. ‘He had that kind of side to him too?’
  445.  
  446. Chohong tilted her head this way and that, before wrapping her hands around her neck area. For some reason, that area felt unusually warmer than before.
  447.  
  448. ‘It’s done.’
  449.  
  450. With this, he had kept his promise with the woman’s spirit.
  451.  
  452. Seol Jihu corrected the necklace that had been misplaced slightly when he had to return it in haste. He even proceeded to carefully pat away the layer of accumulated dust on the lid and turned around to leave.
  453.  
  454. “I’m sorry about all the commotion. If I find another chance in the future, I’ll come to visit again.”
  455.  
  456. He left with those parting words; he began smiling softly as he sensed that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
  457.  
  458. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t understand what Samuel was saying. But, apart from the assurance given by the color of the chamber as seen through ‘Nine Eyes’, ending things this way certainly felt much better to him.
  459.  
  460. Money and fame? Of course, they sounded nice.
  461.  
  462. However, none of them compared to his own self-worth he had regained after such a struggle.
  463.  
  464. Plop.
  465.  
  466. The sound of something falling came from behind him, but Seol didn’t hear it and just closed the exit door.
  467.  
  468.  
  469.  
  470.  
  471.  
  472. Chapter 59. Goodwill with Goodwill, Malice with Malice (2)
  473.  
  474.  
  475.  
  476.  
  477. * * *
  478.  
  479.  
  480.  
  481. An expedition was an entity sharing one fate – this assertion from Samuel was something pretty much all Earthlings would readily agree with.
  482.  
  483. It didn’t matter whether one’s relationship was bad or not, or if there was some bad blood; as long as they belonged to the same expedition, every member had to cooperate with one another. Otherwise, there was a high chance the expedition would spiral into an uncontrollable mess during a march or a battle. This would obviously put everyone’s lives at risk.
  484.  
  485. In that regard, both Seol Jihu and Clara lacked the ‘educational’ aspect of what made Earthlings the Earthlings.
  486.  
  487. Blinded by greed, Clara provided pretext with her foolish actions, and when she was criticized for it, she got angry. Seol Jihu was triggered by her and relentlessly pushed her to a corner afterwards.
  488.  
  489. The result was the atmosphere of the expedition becoming icy. Everyone felt like they were walking on thin ice.
  490.  
  491. Clara continued to wipe at the edges of her eyes, her breathing heavy and rough as if she couldn’t get over her anger. Seol Jihu deliberately ignored her altogether.
  492.  
  493. Eventually, Samuel stopped leading the team only ten minutes after leaving the tomb.
  494.  
  495. “Master Ian, I apologize for this, but can we return to the vicinity of the tomb?”
  496.  
  497. “Mm? Why?”
  498.  
  499. “It seems that we have left too quickly.”
  500.  
  501. “What do you mean by that?”
  502.  
  503. “I think we should take a short break first. I thought that, from what you told us before, the vicinity of the tomb should be the safest….”
  504.  
  505. Samuel glanced at the still-sobbing Clara, the ends of his sentence drifting away.
  506.  
  507. “….Apologies. She hasn’t been in the team for long. She’s only a Level 2, and thus is a bit lacking in some areas.”
  508.  
  509. He revealed the reason for the break with an embarrassed tone of voice. Ian scanned his surroundings, not really minding it.
  510.  
  511. “Now that I think about it, we haven’t taken a single break since we entered the forest in the morning. Even the mealtime has flown by us. Right, shall we take a break here?”
  512.  
  513. “You mean, right here? But….”
  514.  
  515. “It’ll be fine. If you’re worried about the effects of the Forest of Denial, then I believe we’ll be fine.”
  516.  
  517. “Is that true?”
  518.  
  519. Ian nodded his head.
  520.  
  521. “A Magician is more sensitive to the flow of magical energy. If my hypothesis is correct, then the boundary for the activation of that defense spell will be just beyond where we are right now.”
  522.  
  523. “Is… that so?”
  524.  
  525. For a brief moment there, a strange light flickered within Samuel’s eyes. It was truly for an infinitesimally short time, though.
  526.  
  527. “It is hard to believe, isn’t it? A magic spell that encompasses this massive forest.”
  528.  
  529. “Well, he was called a sage even by the people of the ancient Empire. You shouldn’t even compare him to a fake like me. Oh, it’s just my supposition, so don’t get too hung up on it.”
  530.  
  531. Ian waved his hand around and settled down with a bit of groan.
  532.  
  533. “Everyone, we take a short break! Eat something, if you’re hungry!”
  534.  
  535. Samuel shouted out loudly and then silently stared at Clara for a while. He stood there staring at her as if he was caught in a dilemma. Next, he called out to Alex, who was still unable to calm her down even now.
  536.  
  537. “Alex, let’s talk for a bit.”
  538.  
  539. Samuel dragged Alex away to a distance and they spoke softly to each other for a while. Alex formed a troubled expression and shifted his gaze towards Clara, now in the middle of being pacified by Grace.
  540.  
  541. Next up, Samuel walked over to Clara. His expression seemed determined as if he had made his mind up over something.
  542.  
  543. “Clara. We need to talk.”
  544.  
  545. “Hic! That bastard…!”
  546.  
  547. “Stop! You are not a little kid anymore! Don’t you understand that your actions are negatively impacting the atmosphere of this expedition?”
  548.  
  549. Clara continued to sniff away in bitterness.
  550.  
  551. “I only, I…!”
  552.  
  553. “I hear you. I hear you, so lower your voice. I’ll listen to whatever you want to say, so come with me.”
  554.  
  555. Samuel spat out in irritation, grabbed her arm, and dragged her deeper into the forest. Grace wordlessly followed after the two and disappeared from the view as well.
  556.  
  557. “What a dumb bitch. Seriously now.”
  558.  
  559. Chohong spat out some mocking words while chewing on a dried jerky.
  560.  
  561. “Chohong.”
  562.  
  563. Dylan quickly warned her since Alex had joined them again. But the latter simply waved his hand about with a weak smile on his face.
  564.  
  565. “No, no. It’s fine. Honestly, even I don’t have anything to say in her defense…. Tsk.”
  566.  
  567. While looking at Alex clicking his tongue, Hugo opened his mouth.
  568.  
  569. “Will it be fine for you to not chase after them?”
  570.  
  571. “Mm?”
  572.  
  573. Hugo raised his pinky.
  574.  
  575. “I mean, she’s your gal, right? Didn’t Samuel ask you just now to pacify her somehow?”
  576.  
  577. “Well, that….”
  578.  
  579. Alex’s shoulders drooped real low before he messily tousled his hair.
  580.  
  581. “Argh, damn it! I don’t know anymore.”
  582.  
  583. “I won’t help you if you get into trouble later~.”
  584.  
  585. Hugo giggled loudly. Alex spat out a long sigh and pulled the altar out from his bag. He carelessly placed a couple of plates on it, before throwing on some food there. Seeing this, Chohong couldn’t help but ask.
  586.  
  587. “What are you doing? What are you doing with the food?”
  588.  
  589. “I want to at least get her to eat something. Also, I should let the others grab a bite too.”
  590.  
  591. Alex spoke while not even turning to face her.
  592.  
  593. “Why doesn’t she just come over here and eat?”
  594.  
  595. “With her personality, she’s not going to calm down anytime soon. All I can do is feed her and hope for the best.”
  596.  
  597. “Well, sure thing. Come back after doing what you think is best. However, if she comes back here and continues on with that bitchy attitude of hers, I ain’t gonna take it lying down. Okay?”
  598.  
  599. “Che. I hear you. But still, aren’t you too openly favoring someone here?”
  600.  
  601. Alex carefully picked the altar up and began walking towards where the rest of his teammates had gone off to. Meanwhile, Chohong glanced to her side after her ‘sore spot’ was accurately pointed out. Seol Jihu was sitting a bit further away, busy sucking on a cigarette.
  602.  
  603. Hugo stopped gulping down on food and sneakily approached the youth, before reaching out with his cupped hands. Seol chuckled and pulled out a new cigarette for him.
  604.  
  605. “Keuh! As expected, Seol, you really are quick on the uptake, you know.”
  606.  
  607. Hugo grinned brightly and lightly tapped the youth’s shoulder.
  608.  
  609. “You aren’t feeling down from that fight, right?”
  610.  
  611. “No way.”
  612.  
  613. “That’s right. You haven’t done anything wrong. Even I didn’t want to touch that coffin, you know.”
  614.  
  615. “Really?”
  616.  
  617. “Yup. It’s like, I was kinda tempted back there, but like, my instincts stopped me from doing anything. I kept getting this feeling that I should not touch that coffin.”
  618.  
  619. Seol Jihu looked at Hugo with renewed interest. The big man was supposed to be a ‘Barbarian Warrior’, so the youth couldn’t help but wonder if he possessed some sort of animalistic wild instinct or something of the sort.
  620.  
  621. “Anyways, you were pretty damn cool back then.”
  622.  
  623. “?”
  624.  
  625. With a cigarette still stuck between his lips, Hugo stood back up. He then assumed the position of aiming something to his front and formed a grave, intense expression.
  626.  
  627. “….If you really want it, then try to take it over my dead body.”
  628.  
  629. Chohong burst out in a boisterous laughter. Even Dylan began chuckling quietly as well. Seol Jihu’s cheeks reddened instantly.
  630.  
  631. “Did I really say that?”
  632.  
  633. “That’s right, you did! Wow, I thought I’d wet my pants!”
  634.  
  635. “Well, I…. I just couldn’t understand it. I still can’t tell if that thing was worth all that greed.”
  636.  
  637. “It was definitely enough to rouse that sort of greed.”
  638.  
  639. Seol Jihu said what came to his mind so he could change the topic, but a reply did come anyway.
  640.  
  641. “I don’t know much about the necklace itself, but I know well enough what that keepsake, the token, was.”
  642.  
  643. Ian lightly massaged the back of his neck and carried on.
  644.  
  645. “If my memory serves me correctly, then that thing was most likely the ‘Proof of Castitas’.”
  646.  
  647. “Proof of…. What?”
  648.  
  649. When Hugo asked back, Ian clarified.
  650.  
  651. “It’s the proof of one’s chastity. It’s one of the artifacts given to a saintess.”
  652.  
  653. “But wasn’t her becoming a saintess only a symbolic gesture?”
  654.  
  655. “Well, it’s not only chaste women who get canonized as saints. Also, since you’re a symbolic existence, you’d be asked to appear publicly every now and then, don’t you think so?”
  656.  
  657. Ian lightly winked back and looked at Seol Jihu next.
  658.  
  659. “Have you heard of a magic system called ‘Memorize’?”
  660.  
  661. “Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
  662.  
  663. “Well, that should make explaining it a bit easier. Now originally, ‘Memorize’ was supposed to be unique only to the Magician class. As one’s level increases, the number of spells that one can ‘store’ goes up by one. For instance, I can store up to four magic spells.”
  664.  
  665. “Is it impossible for a Priest to store spells?”
  666.  
  667. “Normally, yes. That’s because Priests are most closely associated with the gods. Many of the important spells that require borrowing of gods’ powers can only be activated via the principle of equivalent exchange. It’s not for nothing that Priests lug around altars and offerings all the time.”
  668.  
  669. Seol Jihu nodded his head. For some reason, he recalled Maria’s face all of a sudden.
  670.  
  671. “The honest truth is, many Priests find this point rather annoying. However, there is an item that can make up for that shortcoming.”
  672.  
  673. “By any chance, was the crucifix Alex carried around one of those?”
  674.  
  675. “Correct. There are artifacts that let you store spells as well as allow you to perform holy magic without the need for offerings. Sure, there is a limit to the number of times it can be used, but then again, just those two points alone make such artifacts very valuable to Priests. During emergency situations or when the spells you’ve prepared run out, such items would become indispensable.”
  676.  
  677. Only now could Seol Jihu understand why Alex desired that item so much. Now that he had lost his artifact, Alex was no different than an average Priest.
  678.  
  679. “I guess that proof of chastity is a far better item than the one Alex lost.”
  680.  
  681. “No need to even mention that! I’m actually feeling rather embarrassed for even thinking of comparing the two. You can store six holy spells for as long as you want at no cost, which is the same thing as possessing the power of a level 6 Magician. On top of that, there is no limit to the number of times you can use the artifact, so can you imagine how amazing that thing is?”
  682.  
  683. Ian spoke passionately, but it still didn’t fully register with Seol Jihu. He could only guess that the item they were talking about was an incredible thing, judging from how wide-open Chohong’s mouth was.
  684.  
  685. “Had we walked out of there with that artifact, I’m sure every single Priest in Paradise would have come looking for us.”
  686.  
  687. “To that extent….?”
  688.  
  689. “I’m not exaggerating. And then, the other accessories, the longsword and that shield too. Every single one of them should match the proof of chastity in value.”
  690.  
  691. With his explanation now over, Ian gazed at the youth with warm eyes.
  692.  
  693. “Well, that’s that. I have answered a question of yours, so I’d like you to answer one of mine.”
  694.  
  695. Seol Jihu tilted his head.
  696.  
  697. “As long as it’s something I can answer.”
  698.  
  699. “Well then, let me ask you this. What would you have done if I voted yes back there?”
  700.  
  701. This was yet another question with no easy answers. Wasn’t he deliberating on his choices right until the end?
  702.  
  703. What should he say here? Seol Jihu pondered for a little while, before deciding to come clean.
  704.  
  705. “I’m not sure. Should I convince others, should I fight, or should I just give up and leave? Before Hugo voted against, I was in a dilemma. I can’t be sure of what my choice would have been.”
  706.  
  707. He tried to read Ian’s possible reason for asking this question, but the old Magician remained expressionless. And here he was, thinking that the older man was a bit of a character the first time they met. Seeing those deep, thoughtful eyes, Ian now came off as a different person altogether.
  708.  
  709. “Regardless of what the result was, you had no thoughts of ever touching the items found on the sarcophagus, is that it?”
  710.  
  711. “That’s correct.”
  712.  
  713. Ian silently stared at Seol Jihu as if he was trying to judge the youth.
  714.  
  715. “You are a righteous man.”
  716.  
  717. “A righteous man? No way that’s true. Hahaha.”
  718.  
  719. Seol Jihu broke out in a loud laughter.
  720.  
  721. ‘I’m righteous?’
  722.  
  723. Even a passing mutt would laugh non-stop at the notion. However, Ian’s brows rose up and down quickly for a moment there after seeing the youth deny that suggestion without a shred of hesitation.
  724.  
  725. “Being modest is a good thing, indeed. Still, you do look like a righteous man from where I’m sitting. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone that far to defend a woman who was already dead. Am I wrong?”
  726.  
  727. “I won’t deny that I sympathized with her. But if you believe that I acted only because of her, then well….”
  728.  
  729. “Are you saying you didn’t? If that’s the case, then why did you desperately stop Clara back then?”
  730.  
  731. “Mm…. If I were to put it into words, I’d say it was for me, as well.”
  732.  
  733. “For… yourself?”
  734.  
  735. “Yes.”
  736.  
  737. That wasn’t a lie, though. He didn’t want to die, after all. Also, he didn’t want any sour feelings to linger in his heart, too.
  738.  
  739. Ian quietly closed his eyes. As if he was mulling over what Seol Jihu had told him, he stood still and didn’t move from the spot.
  740.  
  741. Seol Jihu tilted his head in confusion and shifted his glance over to Chohong, but she raised her hands in the air with a shrug, her face saying ‘I dunno either’.
  742.  
  743. After some time had passed, Ian’s beard began to quiver.
  744.  
  745. “Fufu. Fufufufu….”
  746.  
  747. He grinned softly, rubbed his forehead and opened his eyes.
  748.  
  749. “So, that’s how it was. I wondered why there was this certain incongruency whenever I looked at you, but now…. I think I can understand you just a little bit better. You are an interesting fellow, that’s for sure. Your words and actions are unusual, but your thought processes are quite unusual, as well.”
  750.  
  751. “Hey, isn’t that the same thing?”
  752.  
  753. Hugo asked, but since Ian was talking to himself anyway, there was no reply to that question. Soon, the Magician smiled warmly and stroked his beard.
  754.  
  755. “Seol, let me introduce myself properly. I am Ian Denzel, a Level 4 Alchemist, currently employed by the Royal Magic Corps. I’m from Area 4.”
  756.  
  757. Suddenly, he introduced himself.
  758.  
  759. “From what I hear, it had not been long since you came to Haramark. Have you found a suitable team to join, yet?”
  760.  
  761. Shake, shake.
  762.  
  763. “Very good. Actually, I was planning to resign from the Royal Magic Corps.”
  764.  
  765. “Seriously?”
  766.  
  767. Surprisingly, Dylan asked a question, which was rare.
  768.  
  769. “I’ve already informed them of my decision. I told them the scouting of the Forest of Denial will be my last assignment for them. Well, it’s true that I was comfortable there, but things could get rather stuffy and boring too. And I believe that I’ve repaid their kindness by now.”
  770.  
  771. Ian grinned brightly.
  772.  
  773. “In any case. I’ll soon be unemployed, and no team is asking me to join them, so…. How about it? Would you like us two with similar circumstances to partner up?”
  774.  
  775. After hearing the older man’s suggestion, Seol Jihu became utterly dazed.
  776.  
  777. “Pardon me?”
  778.  
  779. “What I’m saying here is, don’t you want to go on the next expedition alongside this old man? After two of us form a team, that is.”
  780.  
  781. “Uwahk?! Hey, Dylan!”
  782.  
  783. Hugo yelped out and hurriedly got down to the ground in a kowtowing position.
  784.  
  785. “Dang it, what are you doing? Hurry up and get down! Seol-nim! We’re sorry for turning you away the last time!”
  786.  
  787. Hearing that, Ian’s eyes opened wider.
  788.  
  789. “What are you talking about?”
  790.  
  791. “My god.”
  792.  
  793. Dylan began to chuckle wryly, and Ian pieced together what had happened quickly enough.
  794.  
  795. “Huh-uh. But, why? I’ve always thought that you possessed pretty discerning eyes.”
  796.  
  797. “In all honesty, I was tempted, yes. However, I was not confident at all. If the old man was here with us, then, well….”
  798.  
  799. “Ahh, that fellow? Wait, now that I think about it, I haven’t heard anything from him recently.”
  800.  
  801. “He’s preparing to retire soon.”
  802.  
  803. The forest became noisier as several people began raising their voices. Hugo continued to plead with Dylan, but the latter didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Ian told Seol Jihu that the youth didn’t have to answer right away, that he should carefully think it over, and ended the conversation there.
  804.  
  805. Seol Jihu remained flustered even then, but still, happiness welled up rapidly in his heart. The expedition was coming to a successful conclusion, and it seemed like he’d be able to earn additional rewards, as well. On top of that, a Magician even tried to scout him with the words of ‘let us form a team’.
  806.  
  807. He was thinking that everything would work out well as long as they managed to return to Haramark safely. It happened then.
  808.  
  809. —Aaaaaaack!!
  810.  
  811. From afar, a desperate scream resounded out.
  812.  
  813. The flowing conversation came to an abrupt end.
  814.  
  815. Two people reacted first before anyone else could.
  816.  
  817. “Dylan!”
  818.  
  819. Chohong grabbed her mace and shouted out, prompting Dylan to grit his teeth.
  820.  
  821. “That was Alex. It came from the direction of the tomb!”
  822.  
  823. ‘What was that??’
  824.  
  825. Seol Jihu’s expression hardened. What was going on here? Didn’t Samuel and his team change their location to quietly pacify Clara?
  826.  
  827. “Those dumb fuckers!!”
  828.  
  829. Chohong angrily spat out and rushed forward first.
  830.  
  831. The cordial atmosphere was broken up in an instant. Even as he reflexively joined others and rushed forward, Seol Jihu continued to pray in his heart.
  832.  
  833. ….That his thoughts were wrong.
  834.  
  835. *
  836.  
  837. The remaining expedition members hurriedly ran to the tomb, but their steps came to an abrupt halt as soon as they saw Samuel in front of it.
  838.  
  839. There was around 50 meters or so to the tomb from where they were. However, they realized something was off about Samuel’s movements. His face was dyed in the colors of pure terror, and tears were streaming down non-stop from his eyes. And most importantly, his long hair was in a yanked-back position in the air behind him.
  840.  
  841. It was as if someone, or something, was pulling at them.
  842.  
  843. “S-save m….!!”
  844.  
  845. Samuel tearfully tried to say something, before he suddenly crashed to the ground on his back. As he flailed about, something fell out of his hand.
  846.  
  847. “Uwaaaahhh!!”
  848.  
  849. Just as everyone had finally regained their senses, Samuel was sucked into the tomb and disappeared from their view.
  850.  
  851. Slam!!
  852.  
  853. The iron door slammed shut violently after that.
  854.  
  855. —Kuaaaaaaaaah!
  856.  
  857. And then, an ear-piercing scream followed. The remaining five people belatedly ran forward, now utterly speechless.
  858.  
  859. The front of the tomb was in a chaotic mess. The altar Alex took away while saying it was for eating lay upside down, the food scattered about everywhere.
  860.  
  861. “This…. Those dumb idiots!!”
  862.  
  863. For the first time ever since the expedition began, Ian flew into rage. Dylan looked at Ian angrily stomping on the ground for a second before raising his crossbow.
  864.  
  865. “Chohong, Hugo! I’ll cover you.”
  866.  
  867. Chohong and Hugo stuck to either side of the tomb’s entrance. They stared at each other and mouthed the words one, two, three before Chohong kicked the door, hard. And, just as she was about to enter….
  868.  
  869. [GET OOOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTT!!!]
  870.  
  871. Incomprehensibly thick murderous intent, sharp enough to render flesh apart, slammed and dug into everyone’s brains.
  872.  
  873. “U-uwaaah?!”
  874.  
  875. Chohong, who always behaved like a female version of man’s man, began to falter, her face full of fear.
  876.  
  877. The roar of the Lioner leader was a joke compared to the enormous evil aura pouring out from the interior of the tomb. Never mind Chohong and Hugo, even Dylan and Ian had collapsed to the ground, gasping urgently for air. The only one standing unaffected was Seol Jihu.
  878.  
  879. Before anyone present had the chance to recover their wits, Seol Jihu instinctively activated ‘Nine Eyes’ and couldn’t help but question his own eyes.
  880.  
  881. ‘It’s yellow?’
  882.  
  883. Meaning, he had to pay attention?
  884.  
  885. But, why? Even Dylan, a High Ranker, couldn’t fight against whatever force was affecting him.
  886.  
  887. Seol was unable to figure it out, but the situation was rapidly getting worse.
  888.  
  889. The corrupted, indistinct, and blurry miasma leaked out from the tomb and began to envelop his teammates one by one. Seol Jihu looked around in helplessness, only for an object glittering on the ground to catch his attention. It was a small tiara boasting a brilliant silver hue.
  890.  
  891. Seol Jihu hurriedly picked the tiara up, and his trembling eyes shifted back to the tomb itself. The ‘Attention Required’ could not be seen as absolutely safe, but…. But, when he saw Chohong grasping at her neck with her eyes wide open, Seol Jihu stopped hesitating and ran inside the tomb.
  892.  
  893. Kwang!
  894.  
  895. As soon as he entered, the door slammed shut by itself. Seol Jihu flinched, but he never stopped moving.
  896.  
  897. And so, he entered through the doorway and managed to make his way past the lone corridor. What awaited him by the entrance of the burial chamber was a man sprawled on the floor.
  898.  
  899. Samuel was staring at the ground with dull eyes…. with his head and body separated. No, would the description of his head being yanked out from the body be more fitting here?
  900.  
  901. “Samuel….”
  902.  
  903. He wasn’t the only one.
  904.  
  905. “….Alex!!”
  906.  
  907. Alex, who had been holding that keepsake he desired so much, lay there with his neck twisted around like a twisted doughnut.
  908.  
  909. “G-Grace….”
  910.  
  911. Meanwhile, Grace’s head was cracked open like a watermelon.
  912.  
  913. And, finally….
  914.  
  915. “….”
  916.  
  917. Seol Jihu’s jaw opened vacantly after spotting Clara, now literally ripped in half from the top of her head right down to her groin.
  918.  
  919. Her remains showed the most amount of damage compared to others. As if something had dug her eyes out while she was still alive, her eye sockets were empty now. Her limbs were twisted into bizarre angles.
  920.  
  921. That wasn’t all. Her neck flesh was crumpled inward as if something had squeezed it too tightly. And, she must’ve been flung against the walls dozens of times, because her body now resembled finely ground meat paste.
  922.  
  923. His comrades who were alive and well only a few minutes ago had now all met horrifying deaths. Realizing this chilling truth, Seol Jihu froze up like a statue on the spot.
  924.  
  925. “Why…. why….”
  926.  
  927. Everything would’ve been fine if they just chose to quietly return home.
  928.  
  929. Run away! – suddenly, this thought popped up in his head. However, he couldn’t do that. Seol Jihu looked behind him and gritted his teeth.
  930.  
  931. This wasn’t ‘Do Not Approach’; since it was ‘Attention Required’, there had to be some kind of a solution to what was happening outside. At the bare minimum, a broader range of options should be available to him, compared to something like ‘Escape Immediately’.
  932.  
  933. But he could think of only one way out of this predicament.
  934.  
  935. Seol Jihu reached out to the bodies with his trembling hands. He retrieved the token from Alex; took the earrings from Grace; and finally, found the necklace emitting a blue luster near Clara and picked it up.
  936.  
  937. “!!”
  938.  
  939. He then looked at the sarcophagus, only for his breathing to come to a choking halt.
  940.  
  941. The left sarcophagus was completely disarranged. Not only that, the lid was half-open, and chilly, pale blue aura was slowly permeating out from the opening to fill up the burial chamber.
  942.  
  943. Could Samuel and his team have tried to open the sarcophagus, too?!
  944.  
  945. As Seol Jihu stood there frozen in shock, he realized that the burial chamber had suddenly become a level darker.
  946.  
  947. His surroundings became eerily silent. For some reason, his instincts loudly screamed at him not to move from the spot.
  948.  
  949. All of a sudden….
  950.  
  951. “….Ah.”
  952.  
  953. Seol Jihu could feel ‘it’.
  954.  
  955. A glare, staring at his back. Someone, or something, standing behind him. And then, a disgusting, acrid odor of blood stinging his nose.
  956.  
  957. The fog that darkened the burial chamber slowly enveloped him, too. The evil aura he sensed on the outside of the tomb brushed past his skin, and he thought that every cell in his body had woken up and was screaming.
  958.  
  959. The only other time he trembled this hard, must’ve been back in the days of going through cold-weather winter training when he was still in the military.
  960.  
  961. Even though he tried to control the tremor, his body still trembled like crazy. Not just because of the chilly aura leaking out of the sarcophagus, but also from something else grasping at him.
  962.  
  963. His brain continued to ring alarm bells. It told him to never look back. That he must not look back.
  964.  
  965. Subconsciously, Seol Jihu’s neck creaked like a piece of rusted machinery and slowly turned towards his back, but he managed to squeeze his eyes shut in time. He also somehow managed to extend his shaking arms out as well. This was all he could do under the circumstances.
  966.  
  967. After five minutes that felt like an eternity had passed, he sensed the necklace slowly leaving his hands.
  968.  
  969. [A keepsake from my mom.]
  970.  
  971. He nearly opened his eyes after a certain ‘will’ entered his mind.
  972.  
  973. [This, a gift from someone dear.]
  974.  
  975. Next up, the slick and cool-to-the-touch tiara was gone.
  976.  
  977. And then…
  978.  
  979. [I warned them.]
  980.  
  981. Suddenly, the words got colder, sharper.
  982.  
  983. [I hate those people.]
  984.  
  985. [I told them not to enter.]
  986.  
  987. [But they entered anyway.]
  988.  
  989. [I was going to endure, but then, these two…!]
  990.  
  991. ‘I’m sorry.’
  992.  
  993. Seol Jihu dropped his head.
  994.  
  995. ‘I thought we’d be going home, but I didn’t know they would….’
  996.  
  997. [I know.]
  998.  
  999. When he desperately spoke in his mind, her will that sounded like a reply entered his mind.
  1000.  
  1001. [These people, they secretly schemed.]
  1002.  
  1003. [They lied.]
  1004.  
  1005. [That man said it.]
  1006.  
  1007. [That I won’t be able to chase them once they passed the boundary.]
  1008.  
  1009. What Seol Jihu feared the most turned out to be true. Samuel and his team couldn’t throw their greed away in the end.
  1010.  
  1011. ‘Really…?’
  1012.  
  1013. [Really.]
  1014.  
  1015. [I was seeing you off but felt something was wrong, so followed them.]
  1016.  
  1017. ‘Seeing me off?’
  1018.  
  1019. [Un.]
  1020.  
  1021. [You promised to come and see me again.]
  1022.  
  1023. Before he had noticed it, he was no longer shaking.
  1024.  
  1025. The evil aura was still just thick and heavy as before. However, Seol Jihu had finally realized that it was not directed at him. He even began to think that she sounded like a sulking, pouting child, busy whining about this whole thing being not her fault.
  1026.  
  1027. Just how much time went by like this?
  1028.  
  1029. The token and the earrings remained in his hands, yet he could hear the footsteps shuffling away. Regaining some calmness, Seol Jihu breathed in deeply and opened his eyes.
  1030.  
  1031. The first thing he saw was a pair of feet. He expected to see rotting, withered feet of a mummy, but hell, they were small and beautiful instead.
  1032.  
  1033. ‘….Eh?’
  1034.  
  1035. She should have been dead for a long time, right? Seol Jihu summoned up some courage and raised his head a bit higher.
  1036.  
  1037. And he saw her back. What he saw was the rear of a woman, her long, gently-waving silver hair reaching down to her ankles. Wearing a white gown with icicles adorning it, she readily entered the sarcophagus and laid down.
  1038.  
  1039. Ssssss…
  1040.  
  1041. When the sound of the lid closing resounded out, Seol Jihu finally regained his wits.
  1042.  
  1043. His mind was now silent, her will no longer sounding within.
  1044.  
  1045. “Uhm….”
  1046.  
  1047. ‘Did she just spare me?’
  1048.  
  1049. He half-expected to be killed off. Currently, he felt like ten years were shaved off his lifespan.
  1050.  
  1051. Seol Jihu turned around hurriedly to leave, but then he noticed the chaotic state of the burial chamber.
  1052.  
  1053. “….”
  1054.  
  1055. And then… for some reason, he began to tidy up the burial goods. He closed the lid properly and unfurled the red cloth before laying it back on the sarcophagus. He also correctly placed the longsword and the shield back to where they used to be.
  1056.  
  1057. The problem only occurred when he was just about done with tidying up.
  1058.  
  1059. Plop.
  1060.  
  1061. “Mm?”
  1062.  
  1063. Something weird happened. When he tried to place the earrings and the Proof of Castitas to their original positions, they kept falling down. No matter what he tried, they resolutely refused to stay in their original positions.
  1064.  
  1065. ‘What’s going on here?’
  1066.  
  1067. He only wanted to finish tidying up quickly and leave, so this was one hell of an exasperating event.
  1068.  
  1069. “Argh…”
  1070.  
  1071. [Argh…]
  1072.  
  1073. “?”
  1074.  
  1075. [?]
  1076.  
  1077. Seol Jihu tilted his head this way and that before cautiously thinking to himself.
  1078.  
  1079. ‘By any chance, are you doing this deliberately?’
  1080.  
  1081. [You can take them.]
  1082.  
  1083. ‘….Pardon?’
  1084.  
  1085. [Thanks.]
  1086.  
  1087. [It was the first time.]
  1088.  
  1089. [A person protecting me.]
  1090.  
  1091. [Come again.]
  1092.  
  1093. ‘No, hang on. I was….’
  1094.  
  1095. Seol Jihu was about to say something inwardly, but then he saw the sarcophagus suddenly grow distant from him.
  1096.  
  1097. His body was actually being pushed out. No, it was more like someone or something was dragging him away, and before he could do anything about it, he slid past the corridor. Soon, he heard the sound of the door opening up, and the darkened world brightened up once more.
  1098.  
  1099. As the door closed shut with a resounding ‘slam’, Seol Jihu looked behind him.
  1100.  
  1101. Dylan, Chohong, Hugo, and Ian were patiently waiting for him.
  1102.  
  1103. Just before Seol Jihu opened his mouth….
  1104.  
  1105. “As soon as you entered inside, the miasma dissipated.”
  1106.  
  1107. Ian spoke up in a soft voice.
  1108.  
  1109. “We heard what happened. Listening to the will of the vengeful spirit…. That was truly an unexpected phenomenon.”
  1110.  
  1111. Ian sounded lonely and wistful as he closed his eyes. It seemed that the vengeful spirit relayed her will to the four people outside the tomb, as well.
  1112.  
  1113. “It’s my fault that Samuel’s team decided to act separately like this. If only I didn’t speak of my hypothesis so carelessly, then….”
  1114.  
  1115. “No, that is not true.”
  1116.  
  1117. Dylan spoke in a formal tone of voice.
  1118.  
  1119. “We all were given the same opportunity. And it was them who ignored it. They could not control their greed and paid the price for it.”
  1120.  
  1121. “Is that so….”
  1122.  
  1123. Ian sounded resigned. He shifted his gaze over to the accessories in Seol Jihu’s hands – the Proof of Castitas and a pair of nameless earrings. From a certain point in time, the fate of Seol and Samuel’s team had become clearly divided.
  1124.  
  1125. The old man chuckled wryly and gazed up at the sky, looking somewhat helpless.
  1126.  
  1127. “Goodwill with goodwill, and malice with malice… I’ve learned a lot during this expedition.”
  1128.  
  1129. “I agree. After all, humans aren’t the only race who possess intelligence.”
  1130.  
  1131. Dylan smiled ruefully before turning around. Their Pathfinder might have died, but he was also an Archer.
  1132.  
  1133. “Let’s go back.”
  1134.  
  1135. Soon, the remaining members of the expedition assumed a new formation according to Dylan’s orders and silently left the tomb’s vicinity.
  1136.  
  1137. 11 had entered, but only 7 were leaving the forest.
  1138.  
  1139. *
  1140.  
  1141. The return trip proved to be uneventful. With the sole exception of Ian performing another one of his mind-calming magic spell, nothing of note happened.
  1142.  
  1143. The mood of the expedition remained…. quiet. Sure, they had experienced the annihilation of a friend’s team, but also, each of them had a lot to think about.
  1144.  
  1145. It was a rather common event for a person to die in battles against monsters or other enemies. However, today’s circumstance was slightly different. It was Samuel’s fault for making the vengeful spirit their enemy in the first place.
  1146.  
  1147. Endless questions still swimming inside his head, Seol Jihu remained confused. He didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about this expedition.
  1148.  
  1149. But, if he were to be honest, he was more regretful than anything else.
  1150.  
  1151. [More importantly, if we don’t acknowledge the Warrior who managed to defend against a female Lioner as one of the members of the expedition, then how can we even think about acknowledging anyone else?]
  1152.  
  1153. Samuel….
  1154.  
  1155. [Name’s Alex. I’m a Level 3 Investigative Priest. From Area 4.]
  1156.  
  1157. Alex….
  1158.  
  1159. Seol Jihu never once thought of them as bad people. Samuel could be a bit hard-headed at times, but still, he was a good leader who paid attention to the opinions of his teammates. And Alex was a good-natured young man with a bright smile on his face most of the time.
  1160.  
  1161. And that was precisely the reason Seol Jihu found it so much harder to understand. Why did they try to take on the risk, when the situation was anything but certain?
  1162.  
  1163. As he walked while submerged deeply in his thoughts, the sky that had been hidden away by the trees began to show up. He could even see the distant Napal Hill too, as well as the previous night’s campsite.
  1164.  
  1165. “How much do you know about ‘death’?”
  1166.  
  1167. Soon after they finally managed to escape from the Forest of Denial, Ian initiated a conversation with Seol Jihu.
  1168.  
  1169. “All I know is that you lose all memories of Paradise and it becomes impossible to re-enter.”
  1170.  
  1171. “Looks like you have some understanding of it. If I were to correct one thing, then there actually is a way to re-enter Paradise.”
  1172.  
  1173. Now that was the first time Seol Jihu heard about that.
  1174.  
  1175. “It’s not easy, of course. First of all, you need to revive the dead being. And secondly, you must find a way to bring the person back here, the person who had utterly forgotten about Paradise. If you meet these two conditions, then you’re given one last opportunity to re-enter.”
  1176.  
  1177. “Revival?”
  1178.  
  1179. “Well, rather than calling it ‘revival’, it’d be more like you praying to the gods for your wish to be granted. Will you please revive that person, or something like that.”
  1180.  
  1181. The moment he heard that, Seol Jihu felt like a hammer had struck him in the head.
  1182.  
  1183. A wish….
  1184.  
  1185. That was a rather familiar word to him.
  1186.  
  1187. [You have honored your side of the deal, so I shall honor mine. What is it that you wish?]
  1188.  
  1189. [So, do you wish to be revived?]
  1190.  
  1191. Indeed, back in his dream….
  1192.  
  1193. “Of course, the act of praying for that wish itself is the difficult one. You need to either achieve great military merit in the battlefield, get a promise from a god, or get yourself truly ridiculous, unbelievable offerings…. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the whole thing is practically impossible.”
  1194.  
  1195. “….Master Ian, do you think Samuel was trying to revive Vanessa?”
  1196.  
  1197. “I do.”
  1198.  
  1199. ‘….Vanessa?’
  1200.  
  1201. Seol Jihu shifted his gaze over to Chohong after hearing an unfamiliar name. She quickly whispered to him.
  1202.  
  1203. “A Level 5 Blade Runner. She’s the OG leader of Samuel’s team.”
  1204.  
  1205. “….I was worried about that, so I tried to warn him, but in the end, he couldn’t let go, could he?”
  1206.  
  1207. “I can understand, just a little, where he was coming from. They had been teammates for a very long time, and while she was still alive, they were one of the best teams in Haramark.”
  1208.  
  1209. “I’m sure that the weight on Samuel’s shoulders was heavy. In any case, I’m deeply worried. Samuel was a capable enough Archer to enter the ranks of Level 5. And now, both Vanessa and Kahn…. What a shame, when every single High Ranker is important.”
  1210.  
  1211. Ian abruptly stopped talking and began rummaging through his robe. He then pulled out a round crystal. Seol Jihu remembered seeing something similar in Carpe Diem’s office, but this crystal was several times clearer.
  1212.  
  1213. “Is it from the royal family?”
  1214.  
  1215. “Looks like it. Sorry about this, but can you give me some privacy?”
  1216.  
  1217. “Of course.”
  1218.  
  1219. Seol Jihu followed Dylan and the rest to distance himself away from Ian.
  1220.  
  1221. “Is it possible to communicate with Haramark from here?”
  1222.  
  1223. “Well, he works for the royals, right? I mean, they are still a royalty, so they should at least possess good quality crystals, no?”
  1224.  
  1225. Chohong replied and lightly clicked her tongue.
  1226.  
  1227. “I hope that’s just a friendly call.”
  1228.  
  1229. “Unfortunately, doesn’t look like it.”
  1230.  
  1231. Dylan seemed to get a little tense after seeing Ian’s surprised reaction.
  1232.  
  1233. “Wait, it’s not a war breaking out, is it?”
  1234.  
  1235. “I wonder. Surely, the Parasites wouldn’t have the necessary manpower to focus on us right now.”
  1236.  
  1237. “In that case, is it the Federation?”
  1238.  
  1239. “That makes even less sense.”
  1240.  
  1241. While they chatted among themselves, Ian’s communication came to an end. As the older Magician slowly walked over, his complexion was definitely not so good.
  1242.  
  1243. “What happened?”
  1244.  
  1245. “….They say that all communications with the Arden Fortress have been cut off.”
  1246.  
  1247. Hearing that, Chohong’s expression crumpled immediately.
  1248.  
  1249. “Damn it! I knew that would happen!”
  1250.  
  1251. “Let me continue. The last communication was two days ago. The royal family of Haramark has issued an emergency bounty and has recruited Level 3 and 4 Earthlings. They have issued draft notices for High Rankers as well.”
  1252.  
  1253. “Draft notice?! Gimme a fucking break!”
  1254.  
  1255. Chohong angrily shouted out. Dylan calmed her down and asked.
  1256.  
  1257. “How many answered the notice?”
  1258.  
  1259. “Not even one.”
  1260.  
  1261. “I thought as much.”
  1262.  
  1263. “It can’t be helped. The Arden Fortress was a strategy the royal family forced. In any case, they are in the midst of marching towards the fortress as we speak, along with a small contingent of Earthlings accompanying their own armed forces.”
  1264.  
  1265. Things just got complicated as they were about to return. Ian helplessly stroked his beard. After a short bout of silence later, Dylan asked.
  1266.  
  1267. “Will you be heading there, as well?”
  1268.  
  1269. “You know it. I’m still employed by the royal family, after all. I’ve received quite a few benefits from them, so I must comply.”
  1270.  
  1271. “Argh, don’t go! You’re supposed to quit after scouting the Forest of Denial is done, right?”
  1272.  
  1273. Seeing Chohong so vehemently react like this, Seol Jihu became quite curious. He could tell that a war had broken out, yet he failed to understand why everyone was so openly vocal about it.
  1274.  
  1275. Dylan finished organizing his thoughts and asked once more.
  1276.  
  1277. “What did they want from us?”
  1278.  
  1279. “The mission to scout the Forest Denial is to be put on hold immediately. Escort me to the previously-agreed rendezvous point. As for the rest, they will discuss it with you. They also added that you’ll be paid suitable compensation so you should rest easy.”
  1280.  
  1281. “Sounds like the royal family is in a serious bind.”
  1282.  
  1283. Dylan slowly shook his head.
  1284.  
  1285. “I will have to discuss this with my team first. Can you give us a bit of time?”
  1286.  
  1287. “Well, I don’t have a say in that to begin with. And also, I’m sorry about this.”
  1288.  
  1289. “This isn’t something you should apologize for, Master Ian. Well, then. ….Ah.”
  1290.  
  1291. Dylan was about to gather his teammates around, but he thought of something before that and asked quickly.
  1292.  
  1293. “By the way, who is the commander of the forces?”
  1294.  
  1295. “Teresa.”
  1296.  
  1297. “…Pardon?”
  1298.  
  1299. Dylan frowned deeply.
  1300.  
  1301. “Teresa Hussey is personally participating?”
  1302.  
  1303. “Fufufu. I see that you’re reacting exactly the same as I did.”
  1304.  
  1305. Ian chuckled loudly and nodded his head.
  1306.  
  1307. “That’s right. The princess of the Haramark’s royal family is personally going to war.”
  1308.  
  1309.  
  1310.  
  1311.  
  1312.  
  1313. Chapter 60. Princess Knight
  1314.  
  1315.  
  1316.  
  1317.  
  1318. * * *
  1319.  
  1320.  
  1321.  
  1322. After the discussion with his teammates, Dylan decided to escort Ian to the rendezvous point.
  1323.  
  1324. The Forest of Denial was located on the southernmost border of human territory. It was also an area where the territories of mankind, the Federation, and Parasites overlapped with one another.
  1325.  
  1326. So perhaps unsurprisingly, the rendezvous point lay somewhere in the way back home to Haramark. And quite obviously, they couldn’t let Ian return all on his own when he didn’t possess a lick of close-quarter combat skills to speak of.
  1327.  
  1328. There was the slight inconvenience having to take a bit of a detour, but regardless, an escort mission was a still mission, just like any other. Since they were promised suitable compensation, the members of Carpe Diem didn’t complain much.
  1329.  
  1330. Seol Jihu also decided to accompany them on this trip to escort Ian, precisely because of those reasons.
  1331.  
  1332. While Dylan was negotiating with the two porters, Seol Jihu went to speak to Chohong. She was still in the midst of trying to cool her head, but her crumpled facial expression displayed how incensed she still was. She even intermittently spat out several choice words like ‘fuck this’, ‘bullshit’, etc, etc.
  1333.  
  1334. And then, upon sensing Seol Jihu’s gaze on her, she spun her head towards him abruptly and formed a tearful face.
  1335.  
  1336. “You were planning to ask me something again, weren’t you?”
  1337.  
  1338. “….”
  1339.  
  1340. “How is it possible for a guy to be this curious about everything??”
  1341.  
  1342. “….Okay, okay. Fine. I will never ask you a question ever again.”
  1343.  
  1344. While feigning a look of dejection, Seol Jihu turned around to leave. But, when he did that….
  1345.  
  1346. “No, waaaait!”
  1347.  
  1348. Chohong hurriedly ran up to him and grabbed his arms.
  1349.  
  1350. “Hey, hey! That’s not what I’m trying to say!”
  1351.  
  1352. “No, I know. It’s my fault for being so tactless.”
  1353.  
  1354. “Hey, will you just listen till the end?! Whenever you are curious about something, you always ask me! But, compared to me, Dylan is….”
  1355.  
  1356. Chohong was about to point at Dylan, but then, stopped midway. He was still busy with negotiating a new contract with the porters.
  1357.  
  1358. “Well, there’s Master Ian too….”
  1359.  
  1360. Ian had his eyes closed, his expression one of pain and deep contemplation. And then….
  1361.  
  1362. “….”
  1363.  
  1364. After spotting Hugo rolling around on the grass field for fun like the thoughtless idiot he was, Chohong’s head slowly dropped to the ground.
  1365.  
  1366. “…Go ahead.”
  1367.  
  1368. “It’s fine. It wasn’t that important anyway.”
  1369.  
  1370. “Wait, are you sulking right now? A man is sulking like a little girl?!”
  1371.  
  1372. Chohong glared at him in exasperation, but Seol Jihu was smiling to himself.
  1373.  
  1374. ‘I knew it. She’s still a big softie in her heart.’
  1375.  
  1376. Of course, he made sure that the smile would not be noticed by her.
  1377.  
  1378. “Just what is this Arden Fortress?”
  1379.  
  1380. Chohong slowly facepalmed as if she knew he’d ask about that.
  1381.  
  1382. “It’s a fortress located in a certain canyon, on the border against the Parasites. It’s still under construction, I think.”
  1383.  
  1384. “Why were you so incensed back then, though?”
  1385.  
  1386. “Well, that….”
  1387.  
  1388. Chohong looked a bit troubled, then.
  1389.  
  1390. “Well, it’s complicated.”
  1391.  
  1392. “Is it related to the rebellion?”
  1393.  
  1394. “Oh? Where did you hear about that?”
  1395.  
  1396. He just threw that out there hoping, but Chohong’s complexion brightened up considerably.
  1397.  
  1398. “Okay, come and take a seat over here.”
  1399.  
  1400. He came to ask her a question, but instead, he ended up getting caught by her. Even before anyone had time to notice it, she was no longer annoyed by his questions anymore. Chohong began unfolding her tale with some relish.
  1401.  
  1402. “Remember what you said earlier? The one about the war between the Federation and the Parasites intensifying?”
  1403.  
  1404. “Yeah.”
  1405.  
  1406. “Okay now. Think about it for a sec. Those two are preoccupied with ripping each other apart, so is there a reason for us to jump in the fray? I mean, we’re the weakest of the lot too.”
  1407.  
  1408. “I…. uh, guess so?”
  1409.  
  1410. “Damn right it is! I mean, it’s not even enough for us to keep our heads down and shore up our strengths. Yet, we’re busy building a fortress in the border, so what would the Parasites take that as?”
  1411.  
  1412. “They would take that as a provocation.”
  1413.  
  1414. Chohong slapped her knee.
  1415.  
  1416. “Exactly! That’s why, I’m like, why are they poking a bitch that is minding her own business? When the royals announced this plan, the majority of the High Rankers active in Haramark all objected, but they went ahead with it anyway, saying it’s something that must be done or some crap like that!”
  1417.  
  1418. Chohong began to properly explode in dissatisfaction now.
  1419.  
  1420. “They did whatever the fuck they pleased, and now they want our help? Did they really think no one’s gonna attack them? Did they expect that hostile-as-hell Parasite Queen to sit quietly and wait until the fortress was finished?! Gimme a freaking break. What a bunch of morons.”
  1421.  
  1422. After Chohong added, “That’s why I’m really pissed off. Wouldn’t you be, too?”
  1423.  
  1424. Seol Jihu began contemplating quietly. He could understand many parts of her complaints. If he looked at the situation using Kim Hannah’s analogy of Paradise being a game, then it would be like the Earthlings being forced to take on a quest they didn’t want to do.
  1425.  
  1426. However, Paradise was without a doubt ‘reality’. One had to listen to both sides of the story first. There had to be a reason for the Haramark Royal Family to pursue the construction of the fortress.
  1427.  
  1428. Seol Jihu became curious about how he should think of this princess named Teresa Hussey.
  1429.  
  1430. Chohong had complained to her heart’s content, but when Seol Jihu didn’t side with her immediately, she began pouting a bit.
  1431.  
  1432. “Well…. I know. As long as we are in Paradise, we have duties to fulfill and all that. But there is a limit to being loyal, you know. They wanna go to war whenever there’s a chance. They keep creating troubles for us all the time, and every day they go, ‘Do this!’ or ‘Do that!’. Don’t you think it’s just too much?”
  1433.  
  1434. Only after Seol Jihu quietly nodded his head did Chohong form a satisfied expression.
  1435.  
  1436. *
  1437.  
  1438. The rendezvous point was where the roads merged into one and led to the canyon. It was about two days’ travel away from the Forest of Denial, but the expedition decided to increase their pace after receiving the request to arrive there as soon as possible.
  1439.  
  1440. The expedition marched for the whole day, and when the sun dipped below the horizon, they set up camp for the night. Dylan was quite satisfied with their progress, saying that they should arrive at the rendezvous point tomorrow morning, what with them having covered so much ground today.
  1441.  
  1442. After dinner, Ian asked if Seol Jihu would let him appraise the earring. The youth was curious about its effects too, so he handed it over without saying anything. When Ian told him that the appraisal process might take a bit of time, Seol Jihu chose to take a smoke break and walked to the edge of the camp. He was still feeling a bit restless.
  1443.  
  1444. While he sat on the ground sucking on the cigarette, he suddenly felt a warm air tickle his cheek. Dylan was pushing a teacup at him.
  1445.  
  1446. “Thank you.”
  1447.  
  1448. “Rather than words, it’s the physical things that convey your meaning better.”
  1449.  
  1450. Seol Jihu chuckled and pulled out an extra cigarette before handing it over. Dylan lit up and inhaled deeply, a look of rejuvenation forming on his face. He settled down next to the youth.
  1451.  
  1452. “What were you thinking about?”
  1453.  
  1454. “I was just thinking about Samuel and Alex.”
  1455.  
  1456. Seol Jihu answered frankly. Dylan stopped tilting the teacup to his mouth.
  1457.  
  1458. “Oh my gosh. I was wrong again.”
  1459.  
  1460. “?”
  1461.  
  1462. “I thought you were thinking about the war.”
  1463.  
  1464. “Ah, that. Well, that’s something I’m bound to experience sooner or later anyway.”
  1465.  
  1466. Seol Jihu smiled weakly and spoke in a dispirited voice.
  1467.  
  1468. “It’s just that…. I still can’t wrap my head around what happened.”
  1469.  
  1470. “First time seeing someone die?”
  1471.  
  1472. That wasn’t the case. But from Seol Jihu’s perspective, both Samuel and Alex were not some random strangers.
  1473.  
  1474. “The life in Paradise is like that. The guy you had a nice chat in the morning would return as a corpse in the evening.”
  1475.  
  1476. “You seem fine, Dylan. Master Ian, too. Same for Chohong, Hugo….”
  1477.  
  1478. “….Hmm.”
  1479.  
  1480. For some reason, Dylan seemed to be at unease, unable to open his mouth. Seol Jihu wondered if he said something he shouldn’t have and decided to change the topic.
  1481.  
  1482. “By the way, what will you do when we get there?”
  1483.  
  1484. “Mm? Ah, that. We are thinking of joining the war as long as the royals don’t ask for something ridiculous. And, although he hasn’t said anything, it looks like Master Ian also wishes for that, too.”
  1485.  
  1486. “Won’t Chohong go crazy?”
  1487.  
  1488. “Nope. She may look like that, but she still knows how to separate her duties and her feelings. Of course, I’ll have to convince her first, but a chance to have a Magician in your debt isn’t easy to come by. It’s all worth it.”
  1489.  
  1490. Seol Jihu wasn’t sure, but by the look of things, Dylan made his choice in consideration of Ian. Was he trying to buy a Magician’s favor? Although Dylan sounded like he was coldly calculating profits and losses here, Seol Jihu wasn’t put off by that.
  1491.  
  1492. Once that discussion came to an end, a moment of silence drifted in between the two men. The only sounds to break it was the tea being gulped down, as well as cigarette smoke being puffed out.
  1493.  
  1494. A short while later, Dylan opened his mouth.
  1495.  
  1496. “Seol.”
  1497.  
  1498. “Yes?”
  1499.  
  1500. “I don’t know if this is too early for you, but…..”
  1501.  
  1502. It was then – a voice came calling from behind, looking for the youth. It seemed that Ian was done with the appraisal.
  1503.  
  1504. “Oh. Should we go and take a look?”
  1505.  
  1506. Even though he was interrupted, Dylan didn’t mind it and stood up from the spot.
  1507.  
  1508. ‘What was he trying to say to me, I wonder….’
  1509.  
  1510. It didn’t sound like he was trying to recruit Seol Jihu; it was as if Dylan had something else in mind. Seol Jihu carried his unsolved curiosity with him and walked back to the tents.
  1511.  
  1512. Inside the tent, the smiling Ian was waiting for the youth’s arrival. Meanwhile, both Chohong and Hugo were staring at the earring with their eyes sparkling brightly.
  1513.  
  1514. “Congratulations.”
  1515.  
  1516. As soon as Ian saw Seol Jihu, he congratulated the youth.
  1517.  
  1518. “As expected of the Empire. I still can’t understand how a nation capable of producing such goods was destroyed so easily.”
  1519.  
  1520. Ian chuckled jovially and handed the earring back.
  1521.  
  1522. “The name of this item is ‘Festina Earring’. That saintess has gifted you with something truly wonderful.”
  1523.  
  1524. “Is it a good item?”
  1525.  
  1526. “Of course! Now, let’s see. First of all, this Festina Earring will become bound to the very first person putting it on.”
  1527.  
  1528. “So, you gotta think about it carefully. The moment you put it on and activate it, the earring will become utterly worthless.”
  1529.  
  1530. When Chohong quickly followed up, Hugo snorted loudly.
  1531.  
  1532. “What is there to even think about? Of course, Seol should use it. That accessory’s been designed for Archers and Warriors, anyway.”
  1533.  
  1534. “Now, now. Let’s put aside the unnecessary side broadcasts for the time being.”
  1535.  
  1536. Ian cleared his throat and continued on.
  1537.  
  1538. “When you infuse your mana into ‘Festina Earring’, the ‘Boost’ function imbued within it will activate. Meaning, it will increase the speed of the person wearing it. According to the result of my appraisal magic, your overall speed should be enhanced by about 1.5 times the normal, and the effect will last for around one minute.”
  1539.  
  1540. “Keuh!!”
  1541.  
  1542. “On top of this, you can use the Boost up to three times. Whenever you activate the effect, it automatically charges back to full again. The time needed for a full charge is around six hours.”
  1543.  
  1544. “Kyah!”
  1545.  
  1546. Seol Jihu remained quiet, but it was Hugo who was making all the sound effects. Ian then spoke with an expression that said, “You will definitely react to what I have to say next.”
  1547.  
  1548. “But, most importantly, both the number of usages, as well as the activation time, can be stacked on top of one another.”
  1549.  
  1550. “Oh.”
  1551.  
  1552. Seol Jihu let out a soft gasp.
  1553.  
  1554. “So, if I use the Boost three times in a row….”
  1555.  
  1556. “Your speed will be boosted by up to 3.375 times, lasting for three minutes. Meaning, you will be maintaining the speed fast enough to clear 100 meters in three, four seconds for three minutes straight!”
  1557.  
  1558. Ian spoke triumphantly, even though the earring didn’t even belong to him.
  1559.  
  1560. “As long as the wearer can utilize it properly, he will be able to display fearsome combat prowess.”
  1561.  
  1562. Seol Jihu looked down at the earring in his hand. Crafted out of silver material and shaped like the Star of David, there was an ivory-colored jewel stuck in the middle that scattered gentle light.
  1563.  
  1564. “How much would this go for?”
  1565.  
  1566. “Hey, you!”
  1567.  
  1568. Hugo cried out in alarm. Ian grinned brightly.
  1569.  
  1570. “As much as you want it to be. However, will you really sell it?”
  1571.  
  1572. “Not at all. I mean, I got this during the expedition, so….”
  1573.  
  1574. “That’s nonsense.”
  1575.  
  1576. Ian waved his hand around.
  1577.  
  1578. “Both the Proof of Castitas and the Festina Earring are rewards you earned through your independent actions. You won’t find any sons of bitches among us who’d even think about taking a share of your achievements.”
  1579.  
  1580. Hugo barked out loudly like a dog. When Ian glared at him as if he was a helpless idiot, Hugo whimpered and quickly backed down.
  1581.  
  1582. “In my personal opinion, it’d be for the best if you used it. That earring is far too valuable to sell.”
  1583.  
  1584. Seol Jihu cautiously equipped the earring. He initially thought that he needed to pierce his ear, but when he brought the earring close to his left earlobe, it just attached itself there like sticky glue.
  1585.  
  1586. “Very good. Now, infuse some of your mana into it.”
  1587.  
  1588. This earring would become his the moment he used it. Although he was momentarily taken by indecision, Seol Jihu quickly made his mind up.
  1589.  
  1590. ‘….It’s not like I’m in need for money, anyway.’
  1591.  
  1592. And so… It happened when he closed his eyes and roused his sleeping mana.
  1593.  
  1594. Pow!
  1595.  
  1596. His hair suddenly danced around, and at the same time….
  1597.  
  1598. “!!”
  1599.  
  1600. A powerful gust of wind swept past him before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
  1601.  
  1602. Seol Jihu quickly scanned his body, utterly mystified. It felt like a certain formless aura had wrapped around him.
  1603.  
  1604. “Would you like to run and see for yourself?”
  1605.  
  1606. Running was Seol Jihu’s specialty. So, he began running with everything he had.
  1607.  
  1608. Soon enough, Seol Jihu had run out of the campsite and found himself running on the grassy plains, completely failing to hide his shock.
  1609.  
  1610. ‘Holy shit.’
  1611.  
  1612. He could definitely feel the difference once he started running with all his might. When he sneaked a glance behind him, he spotted the campsite rapidly getting further away. He even thought that this couldn’t have been his own body.
  1613.  
  1614. ‘I can stack the effect, right?’
  1615.  
  1616. While circling around the plains, he roused his mana once more.
  1617.  
  1618. POW!
  1619.  
  1620. Seol Jihu freaked out at the sudden feeling of his entire being entering a strange state. The surrounding objects brushed past him in a streak of a blur. The headwinds felt sharp enough to slice his flesh. His chaotic thought process was cleared up in an instant and indeed, it felt like he had entered a brand new world.
  1621.  
  1622. Ian was right. Depending on how it was used, this earring would exhibit truly unimaginable effects, be that in the middle of battles, while trying to rush forward, or even when running away. If he could control it properly, then it’d be the same thing as holding an absurdly powerful weapon.
  1623.  
  1624. He gradually got closer to the campsite. Seol Jihu thought that now would be a good time to slow down, so that’s what he did. No, that’s what he tried to do.
  1625.  
  1626. “Uh…? Uh, uh, uhhhh?!”
  1627.  
  1628. His legs didn’t want to listen. As if he was a circus performer, his legs got all tangled up, and eventually, he couldn’t win against the inertia and his limbs began performing a bizarre dance routine.
  1629.  
  1630. “Euh?! U-uwaaah?!”
  1631.  
  1632. Tumble!! Crash! Smash!!
  1633.  
  1634. In the end, as soon as entering the campsite, Seol Jihu fell hard and tumbled on the ground. He rolled forward for a long time before finally coming to a stop.
  1635.  
  1636. “Argh, ouch, ouch, ouuuch…”
  1637.  
  1638. Chohong and Hugo were watching on dazedly until then, but they exploded in a fit of laughter and nearly toppled over. Even Dylan and Ian were laughing out loud as well.
  1639.  
  1640. As the night deepened, the campsite was coming alive with the sounds of laughter.
  1641.  
  1642. *
  1643.  
  1644. Next morning.
  1645.  
  1646. The expedition arrived at the rendezvous point even before the sun reached its halfway mark in the sky. Ian contacted the royal family and then, conveyed the message to the rest of the team that the army should be arriving soon. Seol Jihu suppressed his pounding heart and scanned his surroundings.
  1647.  
  1648. The surrounding topography wasn’t that interesting to look at. The road to the canyon itself was rather rugged, though. Boulders could sparsely be seen here and there, but their numbers gradually increased the further his sight shifted towards north-east. Even further away, one could see an imposing mountain range, well beyond the boulders the size of houses.
  1649.  
  1650. ‘So, we’re going into that mountain range, huh….’
  1651.  
  1652. No, going there hadn’t been decided yet. Although he had half a mind to return home immediately, but…. Surely, his ‘Nine Eyes’ would help him choose the right option.
  1653.  
  1654. “This must be your first time meeting a royalty.”
  1655.  
  1656. Perhaps finding all that waiting around boring, Ian initiated a conversation. Seol Jihu nodded his head while fidgeting with the Festina Earring.
  1657.  
  1658. “Hmm. Not sure what you’re thinking of here, but it’ll be better to lower your expectations.”
  1659.  
  1660. “?”
  1661.  
  1662. “Even if one’s a royalty, you’re still a human being, no? There’s no need to be tense.”
  1663.  
  1664. “Are you implying that the royals have lost their power?”
  1665.  
  1666. Ian smiled brightly. If he were to ask the very same question to either Chohong or Hugo, they would just form an expression that said, “What are you talking about?” But, this young man in front of his eyes seemed to make his reply always after giving it some thought first.
  1667.  
  1668. “What comes to your mind when you think of Haramark?”
  1669.  
  1670. “Uhm…. A castle? A city?”
  1671.  
  1672. “Indeed. Most of the Earthlings would answer in a similar fashion.”
  1673.  
  1674. Ian spat out a sigh.
  1675.  
  1676. “Rather than as an actual kingdom, everyone now sees Haramark as just another city. The extent of the current Haramark Royal Family’s influence is only around their current address. That’s about it.”
  1677.  
  1678. “The side effects of the rebellion must’ve been great.”
  1679.  
  1680. “Indeed, you’d be a fool to deny that. However, after the rebellion itself, the king of Haramark willingly cast away the authority of the ruler.”
  1681.  
  1682. “The king…. did that?”
  1683.  
  1684. “He didn’t have much of a choice. He learned that neither the king’s authority or the forceful approach worked with us, the Earthlings. He had no choice but to change his stance. In order to survive, that is.”
  1685.  
  1686. The mention of one trying to survive sounded a bit desperate.
  1687.  
  1688. Seol Jihu had been quietly mulling over what Ian said, before opening his mouth.
  1689.  
  1690. “What kind of a person is the princess, the one coming here?”
  1691.  
  1692. “Teresa Hussey. She’s one hell of a woman.”
  1693.  
  1694. Ian grinned deeply. His eyes lit up warmly like a grandfather proudly boasting about his own granddaughter.
  1695.  
  1696. “She grew up watching the invasion of foreign races. Well, she’s a rather special case among the Paradisians.”
  1697.  
  1698. “Special? How?”
  1699.  
  1700. “The Paradise System we know and use is actually the providence bestowed onto the Earthlings only. However, she is one of the very few original residents who has been blessed with the same providence.”
  1701.  
  1702. That was his first time hearing about such a thing.
  1703.  
  1704. “So, that’s how it was. Paradisians can also….”
  1705.  
  1706. “From what I hear, they invoked something called the ‘Royal Family’s Promise’ and received the providence in return. I understand where she’s coming from, though. As a woman in this world, you’d need great power if you wanted to safeguard your remaining family, especially when there are only two of you left.”
  1707.  
  1708. “What’s the level of Princess Teresa Hussey?”
  1709.  
  1710. “Hoh? Now that I take another look at you, I see that you’re quite interested in that lady!”
  1711.  
  1712. Ian suddenly formed a lewd expression and then, lightly poked Seol Jihu on the side.
  1713.  
  1714. “Very good! Of course, I’ll tell you! First of all, she’s 32D around her chest, and her waistline is like…..”
  1715.  
  1716. “….Master Ian.”
  1717.  
  1718. “Haha, I’m kidding. Just kidding! She’s also a High Ranker. Level 5 Princess Knight.”
  1719.  
  1720. Princess Knight? Seol Jihu tilted his head after hearing a term he had never heard of before.
  1721.  
  1722. “Yes, the name of her class is kind of funny. However, do not be mistaken. You need to discard the preconceived notion of princess knights being held hostage by the orcs.”
  1723.  
  1724. “Looks like they are here.”
  1725.  
  1726. Just before Seol Jihu could ask for the clarification from Ian, Dylan opened his mouth first.
  1727.  
  1728. The youth reflexively shifted his gaze to look, and his sight caught onto something running towards the group while kicking up a mighty dust storm from afar.
  1729.  
  1730.  
  1731.  
  1732.  
  1733.  
  1734. Chapter 61. Princess Knight (2)
  1735.  
  1736.  
  1737.  
  1738.  
  1739. * * *
  1740.  
  1741.  
  1742.  
  1743. Seol Jihu stared at the march of hundreds of beasts as they kicked up a mighty dust storm on the rugged terrain.
  1744.  
  1745. “O~iii!!”
  1746.  
  1747. Ian raised his hand and waved it while shouting out. Someone from the march also raised a hand as if to reply back. When that happened, the cavalry slowly decreased their ground-shaking march.
  1748.  
  1749. A beast boasting the greatest size among them approached the location where the expedition team was. Shortly thereafter, the beast stopped in front of Ian.
  1750.  
  1751. When the rider pulled on the reins hard, the horse-like creature growled and reared on its hind legs.
  1752.  
  1753. “I didn’t expect you to arrive before us, Ian.”
  1754.  
  1755. A voice that sounded light and energetic but also refined rang out from the top of the beast.
  1756.  
  1757. Ian replied with a short bow and a smile.
  1758.  
  1759. “What gentleman would dare to be tardy when invited by Princess Teresa Hussey?”
  1760.  
  1761. “Thank you for your kind words. I was worried that you might ignore the invitation.”
  1762.  
  1763. Teresa smiled before turning her shapely chin away to shout at her men.
  1764.  
  1765. “We will take a short break here! With the exception of the soldiers entering the Arden Valley, the rest will immediately prepare to return to Haramark with the carriages and the Horuses!!”
  1766.  
  1767. Instantly, lots of activity broke out behind her.
  1768.  
  1769. Ian slowly rubbed his beard.
  1770.  
  1771. “But isn’t there a road leading to the fortress? By riding on Horuses, we should get there much faster compared to running on foot.”
  1772.  
  1773. “Well, the communication with the sentries posted on the road to the fortress has been cut off as well.”
  1774.  
  1775. Teresa replied in a clear voice and elegantly dismounted from her Horus. When her feet landed on the ground, a loud metallic clank resounded out.
  1776.  
  1777. “Which means….”
  1778.  
  1779. “It’s obvious. The sentry posts have been lost already. And we don’t know if there’s an ambush lying in wait for us. Rather than taking on the risk, it’ll be better to climb up the Dawn Peak to survey the situation first.”
  1780.  
  1781. Ian nodded his head as if he understood her intention.
  1782.  
  1783. With a fatigued look on her face, Teresa Hussey scanned her surroundings, and upon finding the team of Carpe Diem silently standing to the side, she winked at them.
  1784.  
  1785. “Been a while, Dylan, Chohong, Hugo.”
  1786.  
  1787. Dylan bowed slightly to greet her, while Hugo raised his hand and waved it. A cold aura was oozing out of Chohong as she deliberately avoided the princess’s gaze.
  1788.  
  1789. Next up, Teresa’s disinterested gaze shifted over to an unknown young man staring back at her; he kind of looked dazed at the moment.
  1790.  
  1791. “….And this gentleman here is?”
  1792.  
  1793. “He’s an Earthling that graduated from the Neutral Zone during March this year. He’s a comrade who participated in the scouting of the Forest of Denial with us.”
  1794.  
  1795. “Oh…. Wait a minute? Hold on. If you’re talking about this year, then he’s only Level 1?”
  1796.  
  1797. Without realising it himself, Dylan took a look at Seol Jihu. And then, didn’t open his mouth anymore.
  1798.  
  1799. The youth was simply staring, utterly dumbstruck… at the beautiful woman and her pale smooth skin that seemed to have shunned sunlight until now.
  1800.  
  1801. Suddenly, there was a gust of wind.
  1802.  
  1803. As she was not wearing a helm, Teresa’s hair flowing down to her shoulders like a waterfall danced in the air. Her pale pink-colored hair playfully wavered about, scattering reddish-golden sparkles around at the same time.
  1804.  
  1805. When Seol Jihu gazed into her deep, profound eyes that were seemingly carved out from the Pink Star diamond and emitted the same golden hue like her hair, he was finally able to regain his senses.
  1806.  
  1807. Sunlight reflected off her marvelous silvery-platinum armor, making it hard to keep his eyes open.
  1808.  
  1809. Seol Jihu placed his hand on his chest.
  1810.  
  1811. Thump, thump – his heart was beating wildly.
  1812.  
  1813. ‘But why?’
  1814.  
  1815. He failed to hide his flustered state.
  1816.  
  1817. The moment he saw her, he was captured by an unexplainable emotion. Although it didn’t violently rampage about in his head, he was overcome with this inexplicable sense of deja vu.
  1818.  
  1819. ‘….Right. Must be….’
  1820.  
  1821. “Argh! Let’s chat after we sit down first. I haven’t caught a wink of sleep for the past two days, so…. Ouch, even my butt hurts.”
  1822.  
  1823. Teresa tore her gaze away from him with ‘Oops!’, and as if she was performing a light exercise routine, she began to turn and loosen her lower half. Then, after finding a boulder with the right size, she strode there and plopped down on it.
  1824.  
  1825. She even beckoned others to come and join her.
  1826.  
  1827. Ian opened his mouth first.
  1828.  
  1829. “It is truly praiseworthy that you have set off as soon as possible with a contingent of elite troops, but the Parasites have been making a mockery out of our expectations every time. If they are using radio wave interference to block the communication, then we do need to hurry, but you must consider the possibility that the fortress has already fallen.”
  1830.  
  1831. “I know that. That’s why we’re climbing up the Dawn Peak first.”
  1832.  
  1833. “In that case, I shall follow. However, what are your plans if it’s the latter situation?”
  1834.  
  1835. “You mean, if the fortress has fallen already? Just thinking about such a dogshit situation… Cough, cough!! Argh, goddamn it!”
  1836.  
  1837. Kaahk, ptooi!!
  1838.  
  1839. Teresa’s rather beautiful eyes suddenly narrowed to a slit; she roughly spat on the ground before taking several large gulps of water from a bottle.
  1840.  
  1841. “Oops, excuse me. My throat was hurting a little, what with riding hard and fast on this dry desert sand.”
  1842.  
  1843. Teresa covered her mouth ‘primly’ and grinned brightly. Others didn’t mind that at all, but Seol Jihu’s face looked as if he was struck dumb by a huge culture shock.
  1844.  
  1845. ‘The hell…’
  1846.  
  1847. Her outer appearance of a dignified knight was straight out of an old-school fantasy epic, yet the way she acted was straight out of those backstreet hooligans.
  1848.  
  1849. ‘Is this what he meant?’
  1850.  
  1851. Seol Jihu recalled what Ian had said not too long ago and told himself that he should try to be more understanding.
  1852.  
  1853. Well, going by the examples of both Maria and Chohong, he should be able to get used to this too.
  1854.  
  1855. “In that case, we go back home. What else can we do? However, I think the possibility of the fortress falling to their hands is very low. The Arden Fortress is a heaven-defying defensive structure. Simply by utilizing the surrounding topography well, the fortress’s personnel can defend against an army several times bigger in size.”
  1856.  
  1857. “Che, it’s not even finished, you know.”
  1858.  
  1859. “Well, it’s almost finished, you know.”
  1860.  
  1861. When Chohong spoke up in an icy voice, Teresa eloquently returned the volley. Then, she crossed her arms and frowned slightly.
  1862.  
  1863. “However, something just doesn’t add up. I definitely had lots of sentries stationed all over the place, so how did the enemy manage to ambush us…?”
  1864.  
  1865. “I have something to report in that regard.”
  1866.  
  1867. Ian informed her in a swift but well-organised fashion on the result of the scouting of the Forest of Denial. Teresa’s eyes narrowed to a fine slit when they got to the part about the ambush of Lioners.
  1868.  
  1869. “That’s impossible. How could the bastards calling the mountains on the other side their home enter there?”
  1870.  
  1871. “If I were to offer up an opinion, then I believe they were chased away.”
  1872.  
  1873. “Chased away?”
  1874.  
  1875. Teresa quickly let out “Ah!” after that.
  1876.  
  1877. “That certainly does make sense. Sensing the presence of the scouts, the Parasites traversed through the mountainside next to the forest, and the Lioners ended up running away towards the Forest of Denial after sensing the approaching danger…. Damn it. I should’ve commissioned the scouting of that damn forest sooner.”
  1878.  
  1879. “And also….”
  1880.  
  1881. Ian then made a short report regarding the demise of Samuel’s and Kahn’s teams. Teresa hid her face while sounding deeply unhappy.
  1882.  
  1883. “Screw this. Losing Vanessa already hurt like hell, but now, Kahn’s and Samuel’s teams are all annihilated…..? Now of all when every High Ranker is important?”
  1884.  
  1885. “I understand your concern, but the current situation is far too urgent. Right now, the soldiers of the Arden Fortress could be locked in a bitter battle of attrition, believing only in the timely arrival of the kingdom’s support.”
  1886.  
  1887. Teresa wordlessly nodded her head. She let out a soft groan and rubbed her cheeks before shifting her gaze over to Dylan.
  1888.  
  1889. One of the reasons the army decided to stop here, even though the situation was urgent, was to take a short break. But, there was also another much more important reason as well.
  1890.  
  1891. “Whew…. Dylan, what are your thoughts?”
  1892.  
  1893. Dylan quietly waited for her to finish.
  1894.  
  1895. “I’m well aware that you’re tired from the scouting of the Forest of Denial. However, I’d feel a lot more reassured with a trustworthy Arch Shooter and two experienced warriors watching my back.”
  1896.  
  1897. She extended an invitation while sneakily raising the evaluation of the other party. However, Dylan remained impassive as he opened his mouth.
  1898.  
  1899. “How many Earthlings heeded the recruitment call?”
  1900.  
  1901. “….Not even 100.”
  1902.  
  1903. “Surely, you should know the exact number of them.”
  1904.  
  1905. “It’s 68. 12 Level 4s, 56 Level 3s. Ian is the sole Magician, while we have four Priests.”
  1906.  
  1907. “That’s far too few.”
  1908.  
  1909. As soon as Dylan displayed signs of doubt, Teresa squeezed her eyes shut.
  1910.  
  1911. Chohong snorted loudly.
  1912.  
  1913. “Of course there are only a few. Aren’t these the consequences of your actions?”
  1914.  
  1915. “Consequences?”
  1916.  
  1917. Chohong had been waiting for this moment, so when Teresa curtly replied back, she went on a full-on snide attack.
  1918.  
  1919. “You know what I’m talking about. You forcibly got this thing off the ground, so we all thought you had the confidence to take care of stuff by yourselves. From what I hear, not one answered your draft notice, right?”
  1920.  
  1921. “If you really thought like that, I’m disappointed.”
  1922.  
  1923. Teresa shot back in a tone of voice that said, “How can you even say such things?”
  1924.  
  1925. “How many times do we need to say it before you finally understand? This is something we simply had to do. Once completed, we’ll have ourselves a sturdy fortress that will encompass the entire mountain range.”
  1926.  
  1927. “Give me a break. You honestly thought the Parasites would sit by and let that happen? Look, they came invading already! Why did you have to poke a…..?”
  1928.  
  1929. “But that’s not such a bad thing.”
  1930.  
  1931. Teresa cut Chohong off there.
  1932.  
  1933. “….What?”
  1934.  
  1935. “At a bare minimum, we’d be helping indirectly.”
  1936.  
  1937. “And we’d be helping who now?”
  1938.  
  1939. “Who do you think it is? The Federation, obviously.”
  1940.  
  1941. Chohong formed a dumbfounded expression.
  1942.  
  1943. “I can’t even bring myself to call you a thick-headed idiot. Have you forgotten the fact that the core of the Federation is actually made up of those foreign races that invaded Paradise in the first place?”
  1944.  
  1945. “Of course I remember. I fought them off several times myself.”
  1946.  
  1947. Teresa nonchalantly replied and began her explanation.
  1948.  
  1949. “Currently, the warfare between the Federation and the Parasites are getting far more intense.”
  1950.  
  1951. “I know that.”
  1952.  
  1953. “I acknowledge my oversight in failing to consider the possibility of the Parasites traversing through the rugged, hostile terrain of the neighboring mountain range. However, it is undeniable that we managed to draw their attention away by building a fortress there. And they even attacked us, too.”
  1954.  
  1955. “Oh, so you wanna split their focus, is it?”
  1956.  
  1957. “That’s right. The Federation has been expending all of their military might to fight the Parasites, but with us doing this, they should be feeling less pressured now. Of course, it’d be no more than splashing a couple of cups of water on the bonfire, though.”
  1958.  
  1959. “Oh boy~. You must be feeling pretty comfy with your life now? Worrying about the folks over at the Federation and all.”
  1960.  
  1961. “You shouldn’t take this issue so lightly like that.”
  1962.  
  1963. Ian cautiously offered his opinion, having been quietly listening to the tit-for-tat between the two ladies.
  1964.  
  1965. “I don’t know what your thoughts are, but I wholeheartedly agree with the princess’s opinion.”
  1966.  
  1967. Ian slowly stroked his salt-and-pepper beard and continued on.
  1968.  
  1969. “Once upon a time, the Beastmen Alliance boasted the second greatest power in this land, but eventually, they couldn’t withstand the Parasites’ offensive and ended up being destroyed. Meanwhile, we humans stood by the side and did nothing. The end result was that only a few remnants of the formerly-glorious Beastmen survived and they had to enter the Federation in order to survive.”
  1970.  
  1971. “And a result of that, the battlefront we have to deal with doubled. Not to mention, the Parasite army grew even stronger after preying on the corpses of the Beastmen.”
  1972.  
  1973. Teresa wrapped the strand of her attractive hair around her index finger while muttering out helplessly. Ian, too, looked rather bitter about that.
  1974.  
  1975. “You all heard about the Cave Fairies joining the Federation recently. To be more specific, they have entered the Federation that the Sky Fairies have entered first.”
  1976.  
  1977. Now that Seol Jihu thought about it, he could just about recall Dylan and Ian discussing that very matter earlier.
  1978.  
  1979. “Those two might have come from the same ancestors, sure. The important point here is that these two opposing forces that had been at constant loggerheads with each other for centuries – nay, millenniums – are joining hands. I want you to think carefully about how pressed and desperate the Federation must have been for such a situation to occur.”
  1980.  
  1981. Seol Jihu listened to those words and quietly agreed with them.
  1982.  
  1983. It was just like the proverb, ‘without lips the teeth will feel cold’. Right now, the humans and the Federation were in a similar relationship of interdependence.
  1984.  
  1985. ‘It makes sense.’
  1986.  
  1987. It was a simple enough story.
  1988.  
  1989. What if they stood by the sidelines once more sucking on thumbs and doing nothing as the Federation fell?
  1990.  
  1991. “Listen to me. If us royals really wished to do whatever we wanted, then we would have tried to invade the Parasite’s territory. After all, that would make it clear whose side we are on. But that’s not what we did. We’re simply building a fortress. As long as that is completed, we’d have ourselves a trustworthy fortress to rely on.”
  1992.  
  1993. Teresa suddenly began pleading with the group, sounding rather earnest now.
  1994.  
  1995. Chohong hmphed and turned her head away, but she kept her mouth shut as if she couldn’t think of anything clever to say.
  1996.  
  1997. “That’s why, please aid us. You already know this. Even though I’m a High Ranker, Earthlings don’t respond well to directives issued by the royal families.”
  1998.  
  1999. “….”
  2000.  
  2001. “Dylan, not only are you a High Ranker, but you’re also the leader of the famed Carpe Diem. I believe you’ll be able to control them.”
  2002.  
  2003. “I must think about my comrades first. We were supposed to be returning to Haramark, but this…. Moreover, this friend here is still only a Level 1.”
  2004.  
  2005. When Dylan pointed at Seol Jihu, Teresa shook her head.
  2006.  
  2007. “I’m not that much of a shameless and brazen bitch. I’ll have him return alongside the carriages and Horuses.”
  2008.  
  2009. “Hmm….”
  2010.  
  2011. “Dylan~ You can earn experience points from the battles, and you’ll also earn lots of achievement points by participating in the war. Since the royal family will also give out suitable rewards, it will be like killing three birds with one stone. What is there to even think about? We’ve never short-changed you when it came to rewards, haven’t we?”
  2012.  
  2013. Teresa spoke while folding her thumb, index, and middle finger one at a time. Even then, Dylan didn’t show a single trace of being convinced. She let out a long sigh and raised her head to the sky.
  2014.  
  2015. It was a bit out of nowhere, but Seol Jihu found her deer-like neckline quite pretty and rather pale to the view.
  2016.  
  2017. A short while later, Teresa spoke in a powerless voice.
  2018.  
  2019. “….I understand. I won’t ask you for anything excessive. I promise. I won’t rashly order you to start fighting, so please, safeguard Ian if nothing else.”
  2020.  
  2021. “We can do that.”
  2022.  
  2023. Finally, Dylan agreed.
  2024.  
  2025. As if everyone was waiting for that…
  2026.  
  2027. Hugo’s mouth opened and closed several times, and as for Chohong, she did look wholly unsatisfied but still, didn’t say anything. It seemed that Dylan did indeed have a chat with those two earlier.
  2028.  
  2029. “Thank you.”
  2030.  
  2031. As if she was relieved by this, Teresa expressed her gratitude in a soft voice and eventually, pushed herself up rather lethargically.
  2032.  
  2033. “We’ll set off again in five minutes. I wish we could rest for a bit longer, but the situation remains too urgent, you see. Please forgive me.”
  2034.  
  2035. She then walked away.
  2036.  
  2037. Seol Jihu watched her departing back as she strode forward, and activated ‘Nine Eyes’.
  2038.  
  2039. “Seol, now that the situation has come down to this, I’d like to ask you for an important favor.”
  2040.  
  2041. Dylan suddenly spoke to the youth.
  2042.  
  2043. “A favor?”
  2044.  
  2045. “Mm. We’d be grateful if you returned to Haramark and safely guarded our loot. Until we return, of course.”
  2046.  
  2047. Ian revealed a toothy grin. It was a clear sign that Dylan was looking after the youth. But then, Seol Jihu looked behind him again at the distant back of the princess.
  2048.  
  2049. “….Seol?”
  2050.  
  2051. “I’d like to go with you.”
  2052.  
  2053. “Nope.”
  2054.  
  2055. Dylan refused right away.
  2056.  
  2057. “If you are thinking of your loyalty to the team or about your feelings, then let me tell you this, you’ve done more than enough already. You’re a Level 1. There’s no need for you to participate in a war yet.”
  2058.  
  2059. “Am I going to be a hindrance by going there with you?”
  2060.  
  2061. Was that an unexpected question for them?
  2062.  
  2063. Dylan quickly waved his hand.
  2064.  
  2065. “Not at all. You even managed to stand your ground against a female Lioner whose strength should have exceeded a Level 4 Warrior. Never mind your skills, that kind of balls means that you’ll be helpful in any situation.”
  2066.  
  2067. “That’s a relief. In that case, let me go with you.”
  2068.  
  2069. “Look at this kid. Hey, are you saying that for real?”
  2070.  
  2071. At Chohong’s question, Seol Jihu simply nodded his head.
  2072.  
  2073. “Whether I want to or not, I’m bound to get involved in the war anyway. I figured that it wouldn’t be so bad to experience it first-hand here.”
  2074.  
  2075. Of course, that was just the surface explanation. There was another reason Seol Jihu wanted to participate in the war.
  2076.  
  2077. Teresa Hussey, the person he felt an unknown but powerful attraction from the moment he saw her. He was curious about the reason for this.
  2078.  
  2079. He even thought that, were he to let her slip through his fingers here, then he’d never find another opportunity to see her again.
  2080.  
  2081. In other words, he was moving according to his emotions.
  2082.  
  2083. “Mm…. If that’s what you want, I won’t try to stop you. Looks like we’ll have to add one more person to the list of those we protect.”
  2084.  
  2085. “You know, you shouldn’t be acting like this already.”
  2086.  
  2087. Dylan shrugged his shoulders and spoke, while Chohong massaged her forehead as if she had given up now.
  2088.  
  2089. “I’m grateful about you guys wanting to protect me, but doesn’t that mean I gotta pay you guys something?”
  2090.  
  2091. “Not at all. We still haven’t even paid you back for the rest of the change, yet.”
  2092.  
  2093. Dylan chuckled gently.
  2094.  
  2095. Whatever the case may be, this youth was an Earthling that saved their lives a few times already back in the Forest of Denial. For some reason, he made others hold high expectations of him.
  2096.  
  2097. “This is why I like you so much, Seol!”
  2098.  
  2099. Hugo suddenly pounced on him.
  2100.  
  2101. Seol Jihu did his best to push the bald and muscular black dude away from him and looked back at Teresa once more.
  2102.  
  2103. His ‘Nine Eyes’ did not see a color on her.
  2104.  
  2105. ***
  2106.  
  2107. The expedition joined up with the reinforcements led by Teresa Hussey and immediately set off towards the Arden Valley.
  2108.  
  2109. Although it was already expected to some degree, the path leading to the Dawn Peak was an arduous one to take, with boulders and jutting rocks of varying sizes strewn about everywhere.
  2110.  
  2111. Not to forget, they were marching forward at a breakneck pace, so cases of Priests falling behind occurred as well. Of course, that didn’t mean the army would abandon them and continue on, so the warriors had to go back and give them a piggy-back ride.
  2112.  
  2113. Before long, the sun was about to dip below the horizon; the fading twilight drew shadows, big and small, on several places of the steep ridge.
  2114.  
  2115. While being carried on Hugo’s back, Ian was tirelessly manipulating the communication crystal to get in touch with the fortress.
  2116.  
  2117. For a time, these communication crystals played the strategically important role of swiftly transmitting the unfolding situation to elsewhere. But that was only until the Parasite Queen developed an ability to emit the communication-disrupting interference.
  2118.  
  2119. With that, the Parasites also changed the way they attacked.
  2120.  
  2121. In the beginning stages of the conflict, they pushed forward with absolutely overwhelming numbers, but nowadays, the Parasites began performing sneak attacks after interfering with communication first.
  2122.  
  2123. From the perspective of the human alliance, this was a truly maddening development, but still, they couldn’t stop using the crystals to communicate with each other.
  2124.  
  2125. When the distance between two crystals shortened, the strength of mana being sent between the two, not to mention the amount of time the two stayed connected, would improve greatly. Which meant that it was possible to break through the interference.
  2126.  
  2127. That was precisely why Ian tried his best to communicate with the fortress, even now. As long as they had not fallen, then the closer the reinforcement army got, the greater the odds of getting through to the fortress.
  2128.  
  2129. Pzzzzt!
  2130.  
  2131. Ian’s once-worried eyes opened wider. A noisy discharge of energy came from the crystal.
  2132.  
  2133. “Yes!! It worked!”
  2134.  
  2135. Ian shouted loudly.
  2136.  
  2137. His shout was so loud that it even took Seol Jihu by surprise as the youth was breathlessly running up the steep slope.
  2138.  
  2139. “This reinforcement effort wasn’t in vain. At the very least, it’s not the worst-case scenario!”
  2140.  
  2141. Ian declared so, and hurriedly poured more mana into the crystal. Almost right away, it began emitting an ear-splitting mess of noises that contained all sorts of buzzes and crackles.
  2142.  
  2143. Dylan opened his mouth.
  2144.  
  2145. “Master Ian. Should I speak to the princess and stop the march?”
  2146.  
  2147. “No! It’s fine. I’ll continue to connect to them while we’re on the move.”
  2148.  
  2149. Ian brought his face closer to the crystal.
  2150.  
  2151. “Can you hear me? This is the Magician Ian in the direct employ of the Haramark’s royal family!”
  2152.  
  2153. —Ian?
  2154.  
  2155. Tzzzt, tzzzt.
  2156.  
  2157. Perhaps because he hadn’t completely gotten through the interference, the cracking noise was still quite severe, but still, one could hear the urgent voice coming through.
  2158.  
  2159. Hell, the listeners could even sense desperation in the voice, too.
  2160.  
  2161. —Wait a second! If you’re coming, then….?!
  2162.  
  2163. “As soon as all communications with the Arden Fortress had been cut-off, we summoned Earthlings and set off from Haramark with elite troops. We’re on our way to the fortress.”
  2164.  
  2165. —But, the interference….!
  2166.  
  2167. When hearing that disbelieving voice, Ian began to carefully explain the situation.
  2168.  
  2169. “We already entered the Arden Valley earlier in the afternoon.”
  2170.  
  2171. —Truly? Did the Haramark royal family really figure out the situation on this side and dispatch reinforcements? This quickly??
  2172.  
  2173. “Yes, they have. Her Majesty Teresa Hussey is personally leading the troops.”
  2174.  
  2175. —The Princess is personally leading the troops?!
  2176.  
  2177. It was then, a loud cheer could be heard coming from the crystal.
  2178.  
  2179. Waaaaah!!
  2180.  
  2181. That couldn’t have been made by just one or two people. They must have been elated because there were a couple of tearful voices mixed in there as well.
  2182.  
  2183. The sounds of thing exploding intermittently, as well as strange beastly roars in the background, were simply an added bonus.
  2184.  
  2185. “How does the situation look?”
  2186.  
  2187. —We’re giving everything we have to defend against the enemy horde, but their number is far too overwhelming! The defensive line will fall at any second now!
  2188.  
  2189. “Just wait a little bit longer! We’ll arrive at the Dawn Peak soon! Reaching the fortress will only be a matter of time!”
  2190.  
  2191. —Thank you! I beg of you, please hurry!!
  2192.  
  2193. The guy on the other side of the line shouted out in an elated, emotional voice.
  2194.  
  2195. The moment they realized that the royal family had not forsaken the Arden Fortress, the fighting spirit that was running dangerously low had been re-ignited.
  2196.  
  2197. “Can you tell us the enemy’s size?”
  2198.  
  2199. —Understood! The invading Parasites are….!
  2200.  
  2201. Pzzzzzzt!!
  2202.  
  2203. Another wave of interference abruptly ended the communication. Ian clicked his tongue, poured more mana into the crystal, and shouted out.
  2204.  
  2205. “Dylan! Please go inform the Princess!”
  2206.  
  2207. Dylan ran forward hard as if he had developed a pair of wings.
  2208.  
  2209. Meanwhile, Seol Jihu swallowed down his saliva nervously.
  2210.  
  2211. During this rushed march forward, the whole thing felt intolerably tough, and he only wished that they could get there sooner. But, now that he heard the communication, his tension was shooting up through the roof.
  2212.  
  2213. Those people, just how much of a desperate struggle were they in right now?
  2214.  
  2215. Seol Jihu’s eyes drifted upwards.
  2216.  
  2217. They were about to arrive at the Dawn Peak.
  2218.  
  2219.  
  2220.  
  2221.  
  2222.  
  2223. Chapter 62. The First Turning Point
  2224.  
  2225.  
  2226.  
  2227.  
  2228. * * *
  2229.  
  2230.  
  2231.  
  2232. The Arden Fortress had not fallen yet. No, it was still bitterly defending itself. After receiving that message from Dylan, Teresa Hussey whipped her soldiers even more and increased the marching speed.
  2233.  
  2234. As they mounted the steep slope, they were soon greeted by the part of the mountain standing tall all by itself. It was the peak of the mountain, dyed crimson by the setting sun. It was the Dawn Peak.
  2235.  
  2236. Suddenly, the atmosphere had changed. Seol Jihu had been running forward in silence until then, and when he ran past a certain, intangible ‘border’, he sensed the air becoming much hotter than before.
  2237.  
  2238. It was a bit difficult to put it into words, but he found it harder to breathe and his body felt lethargic, as well. It was as if he was subconsciously sensing the presence of something just past the peak.
  2239.  
  2240. He stopped momentarily and that delayed him just for a second or so. When he got to the peak, he found Dylan shaking his head while looking over the edge.
  2241.  
  2242. “It’s a sea of ‘Bugs’. ‘Cockroaches’ are flying everywhere, and…. even a ‘Medusa’ is present, I see.”
  2243.  
  2244. “A Medusa?”
  2245.  
  2246. Chohong’s face crumpled in an instant. Seol Jihu sneaked to the peak and peeked over the edge, only to freeze up stiff in place. His jaw fell to the floor from the sheer astonishment.
  2247.  
  2248. “Oh, my god.”
  2249.  
  2250. “What in the world….”
  2251.  
  2252. That was someone’s gasp of lamentation that also happened to perfectly capture the feelings of everyone present.
  2253.  
  2254. The fortress was built along the undulating bedrock and was an enormous structure that boasted the walls as tall as eight meters high, but right now, its current status had fallen to the sorry, devastated shell of its former glory.
  2255.  
  2256. The once-smooth, pristine walls were now destroyed in several places, and most noticeably, the front gate, or what remained of it, was scorched jet-black and had been split into countless pieces, making it hard to tell what just happened to it.
  2257.  
  2258. Although it was blurry, the black dot-like things were in the middle of trying to rush past the now wide-open gateway. Besides those, one could also see countless large flying creatures spread around to every part of the fortress to hasten its destruction or to simply fly around in confusion.
  2259.  
  2260. Within this confused maelstrom, the soldiers of the fortress were desperately defending that gateway with everything they had.
  2261.  
  2262. Every second mattered at this point.
  2263.  
  2264. “I’m telling you. you can’t!!”
  2265.  
  2266. It was then, Teresa Hussey’s sudden shout entered Seol Jihu’s ears. She was the first one to arrive at the peak, and now, she was in the middle of trying to convince the Earthlings.
  2267.  
  2268. “The fortress hasn’t fallen to the enemies’ hands yet! They are still defending it. We can definitely save them.”
  2269.  
  2270. “No, even if you say that….”
  2271.  
  2272. A man blurred the end of his sentence and sneakily avoided her gaze. Teresa’s face reddened even further. She did her very best to suppress her rising anger and continued on with a relatively calm voice.
  2273.  
  2274. “We did our best to come here as soon as we could, yet the fortress walls have been destroyed. They are in the middle of a battle, so there is no guarantee that we will be able to enter the fortress safely.”
  2275.  
  2276. “You’re right, but….”
  2277.  
  2278. “That is why we should sneak attack the Medusa from the back. Because the enemy is focused on this all-out attack, you can see that there aren’t that many guarding it.”
  2279.  
  2280. “But, that’s….”
  2281.  
  2282. The man displayed an unwilling expression.
  2283.  
  2284. “Looks like Your Highness isn’t aware of it, but well, both the Bugs and Cockroaches are born from the mother body of the Medusa. Not to mention, a Medusa is the final evolved form within the ‘medium’ class.”
  2285.  
  2286. “That is why I’m saying….”
  2287.  
  2288. “Most importantly, Parasites have the characteristic of absolutely obeying the higher ranking entity. How will they react when their ‘mother’ is attacked? Every single one of those bastards would be pouncing on us, their eyes hungry for blood.”
  2289.  
  2290. Teresa glared at the man, her facial expression clearly implying ‘You think I don’t know that already?’
  2291.  
  2292. “….There is only one high ranking entity present here. As long as we sneak attack and quickly finish off the Medusa, we should be able to emerge victorious in no time at all.”
  2293.  
  2294. “But that doesn’t mean the Medusa is completely unguarded. A single mistake will lead to failure. In other words, everyone will end up dying.”
  2295.  
  2296. Even though Teresa desperately pleaded, the man still resolutely rejected her idea.
  2297.  
  2298. “So, how about doing things this way, Princess? You form a detached force out of your army and sneak attack the Medusa. Meanwhile, the remaining forces secure an escape path and evacuate the folks from inside the fortress.”
  2299.  
  2300. ‘This crazy bastard!’
  2301.  
  2302. Curses crawled all the way up to the top of her throat, but Teresa managed to swallow them back down, just like how she’d gulp down her saliva. Did these bastards come here to spectate or fight a war? She just couldn’t understand it at all.
  2303.  
  2304. “What you’re suggesting is basically to abandon the fort.”
  2305.  
  2306. “Let’s just call it a tactical retreat, Princess. You can gather a bigger force to reclaim it at a later date or, well, now that things have turned out this way, it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea to just cut your losses.”
  2307.  
  2308. It was precisely at this point that Teresa gave up on talking to this man. Even as they were wasting time like this, her precious soldiers were dying down there. There was no meaning in dragging out this unproductive strategy meeting anymore.
  2309.  
  2310. She shifted her gaze to Dylan with hope, but even he chose to remain quiet. Teresa bit her lower lip and spoke up with some determination.
  2311.  
  2312. “That, we will not do. We will simply continue on with the strategy as discussed previously.”
  2313.  
  2314. The man immediately displayed signs of dissatisfaction.
  2315.  
  2316. “Are you disregarding our opinions again? Trying to do whatever you want, is it?”
  2317.  
  2318. Teresa looked back at her silently-waiting soldiers. Although there were only a few hundreds of them, every single one was an experienced, wizened veteran who had fought and survived several years of constant warfare. She gazed at them with apologetic eyes, her voice sounding powerless.
  2319.  
  2320. “My soldiers and I will stand in front to carve out a path. In the meantime, concentrate your firepower on the Medusa.”
  2321.  
  2322. “Well, we can certainly do that much, supporting you from the rear.”
  2323.  
  2324. “Wow. I’m so grateful that I might break down and start crying.”
  2325.  
  2326. Teresa finally voiced her own dissatisfaction and turned around. Chohong had been staring at her with narrowed eyes until then, but she suddenly searched around for someone.
  2327.  
  2328. Seol Jihu was still staring at the fortress while kneeling down on one knee.
  2329.  
  2330. “…..Seol?”
  2331.  
  2332. When she looked a bit closer, his condition didn’t seem so good. He was sweating buckets, and his breathing was labored, too. Not only that, his brows were raised up high as well.
  2333.  
  2334. ‘….Could it be?’
  2335.  
  2336. Every now and then, you’d find some people like him.
  2337.  
  2338. War was fundamentally on a different realm compared to explorations or expeditions. No, it was a bloody, messy battle to the finish, where different races holding different views put their lives on the line just to kill the other side. However, there were those who failed to realize this fact and take part, only to get scared shitless by the brutality of it all and display some unsettling psychological reactions.
  2339.  
  2340. ‘So, why did you even follow us here, then?!’
  2341.  
  2342. Chohong hurriedly trod to where he was and cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder.
  2343.  
  2344. “Hey, Seol.”
  2345.  
  2346. Even though someone spoke to him, Seol Jihu couldn’t tear his eyes off from the battlefield.
  2347.  
  2348. Jet-black smoke rose up to the sky. He wasn’t even close, yet the smells of burning and metallic odor of blood seemed to fill up the air.
  2349.  
  2350. ‘Again….’
  2351.  
  2352. Seol Jihu watched on as if he had been bewitched before gently placing his hand on his chest. His heart that he worked so hard to calm down was pounding incredibly hard again – even harder and faster than when he met Teresa Hussey for the first time.
  2353.  
  2354. “Are you feeling okay?”
  2355.  
  2356. “This can’t go on.”
  2357.  
  2358. “What? What can’t go on?”
  2359.  
  2360. Chohong had spoken out of worry, but she flinched slightly and backed away. Seol Jihu abruptly pushed himself up.
  2361.  
  2362. ‘The fortress must not fall.’
  2363.  
  2364. He didn’t know why, but this was the feeling he got. Just like the time he met Kim Hannah for the first time as she was trying to sucker him in, his emotions were violently opposing this. They were telling him to do something. Anything.
  2365.  
  2366. He could almost, just barely, remember something. His eyelids trembled. His breathing quickened, and the nearly-forgotten deja vu began gripping him a bit by bit again. He spun his head around, but he wasn’t looking at Chohong.
  2367.  
  2368. A short while later.
  2369.  
  2370. As he stared at Teresa’s utterly forlorn-looking back….
  2371.  
  2372. “…Ah.”
  2373.  
  2374. The feelings that were on the precipice of his reach suddenly came crashing in and caused his chest to tumble. His body physically quaked hard, just as much as his emotions.
  2375.  
  2376. He instinctively activated his ‘Nine Eyes’ and cast his glance down below once more. The ruined Arden Fortress was glowing in the color of gold.
  2377.  
  2378. ‘The Golden Commandment.’
  2379.  
  2380. He now understood it.
  2381.  
  2382. Once, before he was facing the Gaekgwi in the assembly hall.
  2383.  
  2384. Another, when breaking past the second floor of the school….
  2385.  
  2386. And finally….
  2387.  
  2388. [Your innate ability, ‘Future Vision’ has been activated.]
  2389.  
  2390. Seol Jihu’s eyes began sparkling brilliantly.
  2391.  
  2392. “Hold on, please.”
  2393.  
  2394. Teresa’s steps came to a halt. Her sorrowful face turned to greet the youth. Seol Jihu scythed past the gathering eyes and hurried with his steps.
  2395.  
  2396. “That tactic is too dangerous.”
  2397.  
  2398. Teresa’s expression crumpled as if to imply “No, not this again!”
  2399.  
  2400. “Damn it! I know that, too! But we can’t afford to waste any more time!”
  2401.  
  2402. “I understand that you’re feeling urgent, but….”
  2403.  
  2404. Seol Jihu calmly carried on.
  2405.  
  2406. “Even if you succeed, your combat force will suffer significant losses. It’ll be the same with you as well, Princess.”
  2407.  
  2408. “….What did you say?”
  2409.  
  2410. Teresa’s forehead creased up. Rather than getting angry, it was more like she couldn’t really believe what she was hearing.
  2411.  
  2412. The man who was chuckling in secret angrily opened his mouth at the sudden intrusion of this hindrance.
  2413.  
  2414. “Who the hell are you again?”
  2415.  
  2416. “Stop.”
  2417.  
  2418. Ian raised his hand. He may not be a High Ranker, but still, he was a Level 4 Magician. Not only that, he was also someone who could exercise some authority within the groups of both Earthlings and the Paradisians.
  2419.  
  2420. “Seol, from the way you say it, you must have thought up of a better plan.”
  2421.  
  2422. “I have thought of something, yes.”
  2423.  
  2424. “In that case, allow me to ask you a question.”
  2425.  
  2426. Ian asked quietly.
  2427.  
  2428. “Warfare is quite a different beast from expeditions. You see, as a strategist, you’re risking hundreds and thousands of lives if we’re talking about a small scale, and hundreds of thousands, even millions, in a greater scale conflict. Are you aware of this fact before trying to offer up your strategy?”
  2429.  
  2430. “Yes.”
  2431.  
  2432. Ian’s expression dimmed slightly. After a moment of silence lasting for 4, maybe 5 seconds, he continued on.
  2433.  
  2434. “…I’ve witnessed your capabilities with my own eyes, but I still need to ask you again. Do you truly believe that your plan is worth a shot?”
  2435.  
  2436. “Before answering that, I’d like to ask you one thing as well. Master Ian, by any chance, are you able to use this spell?”
  2437.  
  2438. “Spell?”
  2439.  
  2440. When Seol Jihu asked back, Ian slowly nodded his head.
  2441.  
  2442. “I should be able to perform it. If you can give me enough time to Memorize it, as well as to prepare the potions, then, well….. Wait a minute.”
  2443.  
  2444. Suddenly, he began blinking non-stop.
  2445.  
  2446. “Friend, could you be thinking of…?!”
  2447.  
  2448. “That’s a relief. If you can indeed use it, then we will be able to decimate over half of the enemy’s forces without sacrificing anyone from our side. As long as everything unfolds according to plan, that is.”
  2449.  
  2450. Ian let out a soft gasp.
  2451.  
  2452. “I’d like to hear this plan of yours now.”
  2453.  
  2454. “Princess, do you have the map of the valley?”
  2455.  
  2456. At the youth’s sudden question, Teresa hesitated slightly. She only now recognized this young man as the Level 1 Warrior she met at the crossroad earlier on.
  2457.  
  2458. Right now, every second and every minute was precious to her, but Ian’s reaction spoke volumes. Even Dylan, who had been maintaining a neutral stance until now, was approaching closer with some interest in his face.
  2459.  
  2460. Just who was this Earthling??
  2461.  
  2462. “If it’s a map, yes, I obviously have it.”
  2463.  
  2464. Teresa was stuck in a dilemma, but in the end, she pulled out the map. If there was a way to not sacrifice any of her men, but still shave the enemy’s forces by half, then she’d not ask for anything more. However, could there really be a method as wonderful as that?
  2465.  
  2466. Teresa unfurled the map and spread it out. Meanwhile, Seol Jihu quickly scanned the land around him. The surrounding topography was filled with several precipitous inclines that truly deserved the label ‘valley’; on the ground below, many narrow alleys could be seen, with countless smaller roads spreading out from them like spider’s web.
  2467.  
  2468. “How many paths are there from the Dawn Peak to the fortress?”
  2469.  
  2470. “That’s….”
  2471.  
  2472. Teresa pointed to several spots on the map. Seol Jihu nodded his head and hurriedly explained his plan. When he was finished, everyone stared at him in a daze.
  2473.  
  2474. “Puhahaha! That’s bullshit!”
  2475.  
  2476. The Earthling man guffawed out in ridicule.
  2477.  
  2478. “And here I was, wondering what kind of tactic you might come up with, but if that qualifies as a plan, then I…..”
  2479.  
  2480. “Excuse me, fella. Do you know what an egg of Columbus is?”
  2481.  
  2482. Ian’s question caused the noisy man to falter.
  2483.  
  2484. “Uh-uhm? Excuse me?”
  2485.  
  2486. “Well, if you don’t know what it is, then just stop.”
  2487.  
  2488. Ian easily silenced the man and shifted his gaze over to Teresa and Dylan. Teresa was deeply pondering something, while Dylan was tilting his head this way and that.
  2489.  
  2490. “The plan itself is pretty simple, I see. Since the Parasites don’t know that we’re here already, we should use that fact as a weapon – I get that. However, even then, the odds of success is near zero.”
  2491.  
  2492. “But I believe it’s worth trying.”
  2493.  
  2494. Teresa hurriedly raised her voice.
  2495.  
  2496. “Dylan. Will it still be impossible even if it’s you?”
  2497.  
  2498. “Yes, totally. If you’re talking about a High Ranker Archer who raised his agility to the limit, then it might be doable, but in all honesty, not only is the terrain of the valley too rugged, the Cockroaches can fly as well. You will be caught in no time.”
  2499.  
  2500. Dylan’s immediate refusal was about to bring Teresa to despair, but then….
  2501.  
  2502. “I’ll do it.”
  2503.  
  2504. Seol Jihu raised his hand up.
  2505.  
  2506. “W-What did you say?!”
  2507.  
  2508. Chohong’s eyes opened super-wide as she freaked out.
  2509.  
  2510. “Hey, you!! You can’t do that!”
  2511.  
  2512. Hugo also displayed a similar reaction.
  2513.  
  2514. “Seol, bravery and foolhardiness is….”
  2515.  
  2516. Ian spoke as if he was sighing out, but his words came to a stop – because, Seol Jihu was pointing at the single earring attached to his left earlobe with his thumb.
  2517.  
  2518. “…..M-hmm. However, you still can’t control it properly.”
  2519.  
  2520. “If it’s running in a straight line, it’s possible. You saw me last night.”
  2521.  
  2522. “Hey!!”
  2523.  
  2524. As if she couldn’t bear to listen to this nonsense anymore, Chohong roughly grabbed his collars.
  2525.  
  2526. “Are you really, seriously trying to kill yourself here?! Hah??”
  2527.  
  2528. “Chohong.”
  2529.  
  2530. “What?! Why are you even….”
  2531.  
  2532. “Let me go.”
  2533.  
  2534. Chohong flinched, then.
  2535.  
  2536. There was a clear hint of annoyance in Seol Jihu’s eyes. It was as if he was telling her not to get in his way.
  2537.  
  2538. “You, you…?!”
  2539.  
  2540. Right at that moment, Chohong realized the shocking fact that this youth felt like a total stranger to her. No, it was as if he had become someone else entirely different. His deeply calm eyes were quite similar to when he was confronting Clara inside the tomb. A rush of unexplainable bitterness filler her up.
  2541.  
  2542. “Do whatever the hell you want! You damn son of a bitch!”
  2543.  
  2544. In the end, Chohong flew into rage and threw his collar down before turning around. As an added bonus, she even spat out, “Die or survive, I don’t care!!”
  2545.  
  2546. Seemingly not caring either way, Seol Jihu shifted his gaze back to Teresa Hussey.
  2547.  
  2548. Her face showed how flustered she was. She found it unbelievable that an Earthling had volunteered to take on such a dangerous assignment, but she also couldn’t believe that this young man was capable of performing the role that even a High Ranker Archer said was nearly impossible to pull off.
  2549.  
  2550. In the end, she decided to leave it to Ian’s judgment. She thought that these two men knew each other well enough.
  2551.  
  2552. “If you stack the Boost up to three times, then…. Mmmmm….”
  2553.  
  2554. Ian licked his lips for a bit before opening them with a bit of hesitation.
  2555.  
  2556. “There is certainly a chance of success.”
  2557.  
  2558. “T-Truly?”
  2559.  
  2560. “But.”
  2561.  
  2562. Ian’s complicated eyes landed on Seol Jihu. He wondered to himself, ‘what if something goes wrong?’
  2563.  
  2564. No, the odds of something going wrong was much greater than anything else. When that happened, he’d beat the ground in lamentation for sure. The youth’s actions in the Forest of Denial left that much impression on the Magician, and the potential displayed by the boy back then was also something else, too.
  2565.  
  2566. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel his anticipation rising up.
  2567.  
  2568. “Princess, we don’t have much time left.”
  2569.  
  2570. Seol Jihu urged her.
  2571.  
  2572. “I-Indeed, that is true, but….”
  2573.  
  2574. Teresa remained at a loss, but eventually, she spoke in a serious voice as if she had finally made up her mind.
  2575.  
  2576. “May I…. May I truly entrust it to you?”
  2577.  
  2578. “Of course.”
  2579.  
  2580. Seol Jihu grinned refreshingly. She was supposed to be a complete stranger to him, but for some reason, she didn’t feel unfamiliar to him. Hearing her ask if she could believe in him inexplicably lifted some kind of unseen weight off his chest. He had no idea why.
  2581.  
  2582. “The decision’s been made. I’ll get ready, then.”
  2583.  
  2584. Ian unsteadily pushed himself up. He still didn’t seem too convinced, though.
  2585.  
  2586. “Princess, we must remain undetected.”
  2587.  
  2588. “Yes, I know.”
  2589.  
  2590. Teresa nodded her head.
  2591.  
  2592. “Seol, I’m well aware of that artifact being amazing, but don’t you want to reconsider?”
  2593.  
  2594. Both Dylan and Hugo were trying their best to dissuade the youth, and surprisingly enough, Seol Jihu agreed with them. Somewhat.
  2595.  
  2596. “Yes, I know that it will be far too difficult for me alone.”
  2597.  
  2598. “Right!! So….”
  2599.  
  2600. “That is why I’d like to give Dylan an opportunity to pay back the rest of the change.”
  2601.  
  2602. Seol Jihu’s crafty suggestion caused Dylan’s expression to harden instantly.
  2603.  
  2604. “Oh, my gosh. I’d like to decline the chance to die with you.”
  2605.  
  2606. “That’s not it. Just provide me with cover fire from a suitable vantage point. And also, with Dylan helping me out, the odds of the operation succeeding and me walking out of there alive will increase substantially, don’t you agree?”
  2607.  
  2608. “….”
  2609.  
  2610. If it was the princess asking him, Dylan would have refused right away. However, the youth in front of his eyes was a different story altogether. The youth had saved his life twice already.
  2611.  
  2612. For a little while there, Dylan lightly tapped the top of his head before a helpless sigh escaped from his mouth.
  2613.  
  2614. “….Okay. Tell me. I’ll decide after hearing you out.”
  2615.  
  2616. ***
  2617.  
  2618. The operation began.
  2619.  
  2620. After climbing down from the peak, Dylan and Seol Jihu hid themselves behind a hill.
  2621.  
  2622. “My fate’s in your hands, Dylan.”
  2623.  
  2624. “Don’t worry about it. When you’re ready, go ahead. I’ll match your timing.”
  2625.  
  2626. Seol Jihu smiled at those confidence-boosting words and re-checked his spell balls as well as the bow and arrow he received from Teresa’s soldiers.
  2627.  
  2628. Realizing that there was not a single trace of the youth being tense no matter how hard he looked, Dylan could only chuckle wryly. It couldn’t be helped since he didn’t know about ‘Future Vision’. No wonder he found the youth rather mystifying.
  2629.  
  2630. “To be able to think about the direction, too. It’s a lot more intricate plan than meets the eye.”
  2631.  
  2632. “I’m just doing everything that I can.”
  2633.  
  2634. “Is that so.”
  2635.  
  2636. “Well, I’m off now.”
  2637.  
  2638. Dylan was about to pull out a lengthy arrow but stopped and asked the departing Seol Jihu.
  2639.  
  2640. “Hey, Seol. This could be the last time we meet again, so is it okay if I ask you about something?”
  2641.  
  2642. Hearing Dylan’s playful tone of voice, Seol Jihu nodded his head.
  2643.  
  2644. “I think Hugo asked you this before. But well. Just what did you do back on Earth before coming here?”
  2645.  
  2646. “…Uhm….”
  2647.  
  2648. Seol Jihu scratched his cheek, looking troubled a bit, before a bitter smile formed on his lips.
  2649.  
  2650. “I was a gambler.”
  2651.  
  2652. Dylan chuckled without making a sound.
  2653.  
  2654. “Okay. I think I now understand what kind of a guy you are.”
  2655.  
  2656. “I quit, though.”
  2657.  
  2658. “I believe you. I shall pray for your success.”
  2659.  
  2660. Dylan extended his fist out. Seol Jihu bumped fists with him, and while keeping himself very low, he climbed down from the hill.
  2661.  
  2662. With every passing second, he got closer to the fortress. The acrid odor and deafening noises grew ever louder; the remaining distance was nothing more than the proverbial leap away.
  2663.  
  2664. And eventually, he arrived at his destination.
  2665.  
  2666. ‘Bugs….’
  2667.  
  2668. The first thing he saw was a crustacean-type bug creature about half the size of a grown man featuring an alligator-like maw and eight legs, busy rushing inside the crumbled ruins of the fortress’s front entrance.
  2669.  
  2670. However, Seol Jihu’s concentration was solely focused on one single creature.
  2671.  
  2672. ‘….Medusa.’
  2673.  
  2674. When he first saw it, he thought it was an over-four-meters-long battering ram.
  2675.  
  2676. But when he took a much closer look at it, beastly legs were mixed in among the limbs of humans sprouting out of its main body; spotting a thick green hue, they tangled messily with one another to form a mishmash shape coiling upwards, and the upper torso of a female was located on top.
  2677.  
  2678. And surrounding this bizarre creature were several bugs roaming around that resembled supersized cockroaches.
  2679.  
  2680. He wanted to take an even closer look, but there was no more time left. He could be discovered at any moment, and more importantly, the desperate resistance of the soldiers trapped inside the fortress was nearing their end, too.
  2681.  
  2682. However, it was a strange thing, indeed – he didn’t feel afraid at all. No, he was excited, instead. If he managed to save this fortress, what kind of ramification would that have in the future?
  2683.  
  2684. When he thought about it, things were always like this – ‘Future Vision’ caused him to be led by his emotions, not logic. It was as if that supposed ‘skill’ was pushing him from behind, telling him to just do it. If he were to be honest with himself, then this so-called skill only seemed to boost his baseless confidence, but the important thing here was that he still managed to accomplish everything in the end.
  2685.  
  2686. ‘Maybe….’
  2687.  
  2688. [Your Innate ability, Future Vision, is responding to the awakening of the new ability!]
  2689.  
  2690. ‘….Could it be that my two Innate Abilities are connected to one another?’
  2691.  
  2692. Like a compass guiding him to change the future.
  2693.  
  2694. Seol Jihu shook his head, having recalled the messages he saw back in the assembly hall when his ‘Nine Eyes’ awakened. He knew that the answer he was looking for would only become clear after he unlocked the remaining direction of ‘Nine Eyes’ first.
  2695.  
  2696. In order for that to happen, though – he simply had to save this fortress and return to Haramark, alive.
  2697.  
  2698. Seol Jihu breathed out deeply and quickly raised his body up. And then, chucked one of the two spell balls held in his hands. Seol Jihu silently stared at that ball containing a magic spell as it flew towards its intended target.
  2699.  
  2700. Keeruk?
  2701.  
  2702. Perhaps sensing that something was wrong, the Medusa’s head snapped to the sky above. The spell ball spinning in the air suddenly emitted bright light, then it transformed into a large pillar of liquid that crashed to the earth below.
  2703.  
  2704. SPLASH!!
  2705.  
  2706. The Medusa became soaked in an instant, and the moment it reflexively took a look around its vicinity…
  2707.  
  2708. Pzzzzzt!
  2709.  
  2710. A strand of electricity streaking in like a ray of light pierced the chest of the female portion of the creature.
  2711.  
  2712.  
  2713.  
  2714.  
  2715.  
  2716. Chapter 63. The First Turning Point (2)
  2717.  
  2718.  
  2719.  
  2720.  
  2721. * * *
  2722.  
  2723.  
  2724.  
  2725. Kyaaaaaah!!
  2726.  
  2727. The pained scream reverberated thunderously throughout the valley. It was so loud, in fact, the creatures busy rushing towards the fortress walls had to stop their advance and take a look back.
  2728.  
  2729. The electricity danced and crackled like a fish meeting water for the first time, causing a spectacular electrocution effect. Electrical sparks arced up from the entire body of the Medusa, scorching the creature black – so much so that its flesh even melted and bodily fluids began leaking out.
  2730.  
  2731. The Medusa writhed around in agony. One of the Bugs even forgot to finish chewing on a human that had been bitterly resisting the horde until now and dropped its jaw open. A corpse with clear fang marks fell to the ground.
  2732.  
  2733. Yet another spell ball flew and hit the head of the painfully-shrieking Medusa. Dozens of arrows of light rained down and evenly pounded on the creature’s torso. The second scream from this attack caused the ground to quake even further.
  2734.  
  2735. Normally, this monster would have shaken off tens of such weak, simple magic attacks. However, it was already gravely wounded and there was the ‘small’ matter of the flames from the electricity burning it up.
  2736.  
  2737. Kyaaahuuk!! Kyahwuuuuk!!
  2738.  
  2739. Enraged beyond control, the trembling Medusa turned its head in the direction of where that strand of electricity had come from. In that spot, a lone human was taking aim at it with a bow and arrow. The Medusa flinched in surprise and hurriedly raised its hand to point at that offending human.
  2740.  
  2741. Kiiiiieeeehh!!
  2742.  
  2743. It exploded in fury, and fittingly enough, spat out a huge ball of flames. Seol Jihu hurriedly discarded the bow and reflexively fell down to the ground.
  2744.  
  2745. BOOM!
  2746.  
  2747. The ball of flames missed its target and managed to blow away over half of the strange cliff formation behind him, instead. The falling debris caught on fire and rained down on the valley below like burning hailstones.
  2748.  
  2749. ‘I’ll just throw this, and…?!’
  2750.  
  2751. Seol Jihu was pulling out the last spell ball, but then, he abruptly raised his head.
  2752.  
  2753. The air touching his face suddenly felt hot. Black smoke blowing up furiously from almost everywhere blocked his view. And past that….
  2754.  
  2755. Tadadak!
  2756.  
  2757. He could hear the noises of countless legs running on the ground. Not to mention, buzzing noises of furiously beating wings resounded at the same time as well, making him feel dizzy.
  2758.  
  2759. Just as he internally yelled, ‘shit!’, a certain leg suddenly parted the smoke and popped into his view. Almost instantly after that, dozens of Bugs jumped out of the smoke and flames simultaneously.
  2760.  
  2761. “Son of a….”
  2762.  
  2763. He didn’t have the time to finish the rest of his sentence. Startled silly now, Seol Jihu simply chucked the last spell ball at the rushing horde and out of pure instinct, he turned around and ran as fast as he could.
  2764.  
  2765. He heard a cacophony of explosions and loud roars coming from behind him. He sneaked a glance behind him, but nearly lost his balance and tripped over from the sight.
  2766.  
  2767. The fury of the Medusa must have been rather great, because the number of creatures chasing after him was not in the dozens, but had ballooned to several hundreds. The chasing horde managing to blacken the land behind him.
  2768.  
  2769. Their direction was, without a doubt, towards him. Having confirmed their speedy and rather energetic pace, Seol Jihu shifted his focus back to his front.
  2770.  
  2771. The distance between him and them didn’t decrease, but neither did it increase – not even when he was going around a massive boulder, or when he was going up a hill. The reason he was able to prevent his speed from dropping too much was all thanks to his abundant mana.
  2772.  
  2773. Just as he began thinking that the plan might succeed with less pain than he expected, the sounds of beating wings scratching at his ears froze up his thought process.
  2774.  
  2775. A disgusting odor suddenly wafted in and his neck felt itchy. There was no time for him to think; he just lowered his head as fast as he could.
  2776.  
  2777. Swish!
  2778.  
  2779. A revolting sensation diagonally swept past the back of his head. The thing grazing past him didn’t crash to the ground below. As if it was performing a drift, it drew a sharp curve in the air and stormed in again.
  2780.  
  2781. The flying insectoid creature with three, four pairs of wide beating wings was a Cockroach.
  2782.  
  2783. There was no time to feel horrified. The horde of flying Cockroaches easily scooted past him and soared high up in the air – their aerial maneuvers resembling a person’s disheveled hair somehow.
  2784.  
  2785. On top of that, what’s in front just so happened to be the middle point of the distance he had to cover, which also happened to be one of the most rugged and rather steep hilly terrains.
  2786.  
  2787. As he began running on the rising slope, Seol Jihu had to concede that he had underestimated the enemies’ capability to fly. Unfortunately, just because he had recognized the problem, that didn’t mean his situation would improve on its own.
  2788.  
  2789. Soon enough, the Cockroaches stopped soaring higher before descending rapidly – all at the same time.
  2790.  
  2791. “!!!”
  2792.  
  2793. Seol Jihu had been frantically running up the hill until then; the enemy’s organized actions left him utterly breathless. They were like eagles taking aim at their prey. He could definitely sense their strong desire to kill him from the decisive manner they were rushing at him.
  2794.  
  2795. What surprised him even more was the fact that they were not ramming straight into the location of where he was but, while maintaining their frightening rate of descent, they were actually landing on the steep slope at an angle!
  2796.  
  2797. Front, rear, left, and to his right – Cockroaches landed everywhere and rushed towards his position as if they were gliding on smooth surfaces. The distance he thought he could maintain disappeared in an instant.
  2798.  
  2799. Growl!!
  2800.  
  2801. The sight of these creatures speeding towards him while scattering sparks and pebbles all around was terrifying enough to be mistaken for a nightmare. Their noisy, beastly bellows were more like a frenzied declaration of their desire to catch him and rip him to pieces.
  2802.  
  2803. Seol Jihu nearly freaked out at their intense suicidal attacks and gritted his teeth. These things had chosen to smash into him, rather than pouncing on him. Each Cockroach was several times larger than regular Bugs; just their momentum alone would be similar to a giant speeding truck with no brakes. A little graze and he’d be sent flying or die outright.
  2804.  
  2805. Originally, he was planning to use ‘that’ once he ran past the summit of this hill, but now that his life was on the line, he was left with no choice.
  2806.  
  2807. ‘I’ll trust him.’
  2808.  
  2809. Seol Jihu decided to trust Ian and without hesitation, poured his mana into the Festina Earring. Immediately, storm winds enveloped him. And right away, he spun on his heels to avoid the large black creatures trying to crash into him from his sides.
  2810.  
  2811. Kwang!
  2812.  
  2813. Cockroaches crashed into one another; their bodies crumpled, momentarily floating up in the air.
  2814.  
  2815. Meanwhile, he roused more of his mana and kicked the ground. With barely a hair’s breadth, he slipped past the Cockroaches.
  2816.  
  2817. These massive creatures never imagined that a human’s speed would suddenly increase so greatly. He was able to leave behind some of them with this sudden burst of speed, but he knew he couldn’t relax just yet.
  2818.  
  2819. A silver lining here was the fact that the enemy failed to change or divert his escape route at all.
  2820.  
  2821. Seol Jihu ran like the wind in a zigzag pattern in between the Cockroaches that were trying to ram him from the front. While displaying remarkable on-the-limit evasive maneuvers, he managed to break past the Cockroaches’ attempts to crash into him, but then, his face was drained of all color.
  2822.  
  2823. The summit of the hill was almost there, but he still could see more Cockroaches flying overhead. Not only that, each of them carrying Bugs, too.
  2824.  
  2825. The Cockroaches trying to take him down with the suicidal attacks had done their jobs by making their human target take several steps more than necessary.
  2826.  
  2827. Perhaps these things figured out that he was far quicker than their initial estimate because they gathered in close proximity to eliminate all visible gaps. And then, they began dropping their loads.
  2828.  
  2829. ‘God damn it!!!’
  2830.  
  2831. Seeing the Bugs raining down from above, Seol Jihu clenched his teeth.
  2832.  
  2833. If he wanted to avoid the falling Bugs, then he had to go around them, but that would definitely result in him getting caught. But, for him to run blindly ahead, their descent was just too impeccably timed. It was almost enough to make him blurt out some choice words.
  2834.  
  2835. The only remaining option was to increase his speed even further. However, if he were to stack the Boost one more time, he had no confidence in dealing with the potential rate of descent once he got to the downhill part.
  2836.  
  2837. Unfortunately, the current situation demanded him to make a quick decision. Preparing himself, Seol Jihu roused up his mana once more.
  2838.  
  2839. With one more Boost stacked on top of the initial buff, his entire body suddenly began vibrating. He shuddered like an automobile failing to endure the excessive speeding.
  2840.  
  2841. Seol Jihu ran like a cheetah towards the summit in that state. And just as he was close enough to look straight into the eyes of one of the falling Bugs, he leaned his body back.
  2842.  
  2843. If he ran upright, he’d have collided with that Bug without a doubt. There was only a gap of less than 80 centimeters between the falling creatures and the ground below, yet Seol Jihu successfully got through by sliding on the ground.
  2844.  
  2845. Right after that, his sliding body became airborne; he was then assaulted by the sensation of his lower torso being sucked down towards the ground. He had ‘run’ past the summit in this fashion, and as if he was plunging down to earth, he began sliding down the hill almost out of control.
  2846.  
  2847. ‘Keuuuuuuh!!’
  2848.  
  2849. His body parts rubbing hard against the solid rock surface below was burning up.
  2850.  
  2851. The danger hadn’t ended yet, though. The bottom of this steep hill was getting ever closer. If he continued on this rate of descent, it would not end with just a couple of bones breaking; as for what would happen after that, well, that would be as clear as the midday sun.
  2852.  
  2853. ‘Please!!’
  2854.  
  2855. Even though the pain shooting up from his back was crippling, he still desperately managed to press down on the ground with both of his hands. He somehow forced himself up, but his body tottered unsteadily, and his legs couldn’t quickly adapt to the current speed.
  2856.  
  2857. Just as his body lost balance again and teetered on the edge, his leg extend out with great difficulty and met the ground.
  2858.  
  2859. Bang!
  2860.  
  2861. The sensation of his foot almost breaking under the impact nearly made him faint. He stopped breathing for a moment there, and that led to his chest feeling like it was burning up from the lack of oxygen.
  2862.  
  2863. However, the sole reason he didn’t tumble down but use the inertia to continue running was that he had already experienced something like this before. He recalled the days he spent running over and over again on the track, and….
  2864.  
  2865. “Keuaaaaaah!!”
  2866.  
  2867. …. He gritted his teeth and finally managed to regain his balance by taking one step, then another, forward.
  2868.  
  2869. And then, he began raising his speed again!
  2870.  
  2871. From the perspective of the Parasites, such a scene was unbelievable. They must have found the human managing to evade their attempts like a slippery eel completely detestable, because they all began emitting loud roars of anguish. Cockroaches driven mad with rage chased after him like crazy, and the Bugs rolled themselves into a ball and began rolling down the hill.
  2872.  
  2873. Seol Jihu could only marvel at their dogged pursuit, but still, he didn’t let go of his focus.
  2874.  
  2875. Having overcome several close brushes in a very short amount of time, his situation finally changed for the better. The rest of the way was on a piece of land that looked utterly flat and peaceful when compared to the dangerous terrain he had been running on until then.
  2876.  
  2877. More importantly, he could see it now – a pair of tall, imposing cliffs facing each other as if something had split them into two. And then, a deep ravine running in between the two.
  2878.  
  2879. His goal wasn’t far away now.
  2880.  
  2881. Sensing that the successful completion of his mission was just around the corner, Seol Jihu activated the final stack of the Boost.
  2882.  
  2883. Pang!!
  2884.  
  2885. Three stacks of explosive burst of speed.
  2886.  
  2887. As fast as the storm winds, Seol Jihu disappeared into the ravine.
  2888.  
  2889. *
  2890.  
  2891. “He did it!”
  2892.  
  2893. Ian clenched his fists tightly.
  2894.  
  2895. The anxiety the Magician felt when the youth broke past the encirclement of Parasites on top of the hill’s summit with near-miraculous dexterity quickly changed to half-belief when the boy slid down the hill, and finally, to joy when Seol Jihu managed to regain his balance and continue running.
  2896.  
  2897. If it were up to him, Ian might have broken into a dance routine right there and then. Unfortunately, he had no leeway to do that.
  2898.  
  2899. Below the tall cliffs that might cause one to faint when peering over the edge, the Parasite horde was chasing down the youth in an arrow-like formation that made them look a lot like a deadly-sharp drill.
  2900.  
  2901. If Seol Jihu was seen as the most important person in his plan, then the second most important person would be Ian.
  2902.  
  2903. The youth had exceeded all expectations and carried out his part of the plan. As for the rest, all Ian had to do was pretty similar to enjoying a nice, luxurious meal provided free of charge.
  2904.  
  2905. Ian’s current location was on top of a massive triangular rock formation jutting out of one of the cliffs. On the surface below his feet, some kind of white powder had been thickly laid down to form a straight line over eight meters in length.
  2906.  
  2907. Ian vigorously swung his staff.
  2908.  
  2909. “Liquefaction!”
  2910.  
  2911. Something amazing happened, then. The white powder suddenly transformed into liquid and soaked the ground.
  2912.  
  2913. Tzzzt, tzzzzt!
  2914.  
  2915. The liquid then began boiling over and rapidly melted the rocks below to seep deeper into the cliff. Soon, a thin, lengthy fissure formed on the ground.
  2916.  
  2917. “Crack!!”
  2918.  
  2919. Ian immediately slammed his staff down on the ground. From the fissure that continued to cut deeper into the bedrock, visible fractures began spreading out.
  2920.  
  2921. “Crack!!”
  2922.  
  2923. Ian chanted out the same spell once more. The fissure visible on the surface widened faster and faster, and it spread out rapidly like the webbing of a spider.
  2924.  
  2925. By this time, Seol Jihu had entered the ravine.
  2926.  
  2927. Right then, Ian pulled out an envelope and poured its contents out in the air. Yellowish green powder scattered in the wind before disappearing from the view as if they had become one with the sky. And the Magician activated his fourth Memorised magic.
  2928.  
  2929. “Ventus Gladio!!”
  2930.  
  2931. Sharp, ear-screeching blades of winds gathered around the tip of his staff.
  2932.  
  2933. From here onwards, Ian could not afford to make a single mistake. White smoke rose up from the newly-formed cracks and blocked his vision, but they failed to blind a Magician who had raised his concentration to the extreme. Sweat trickled down his face, but he still continued to look on with slightly bloodshot eyes as rapid calculations took place in his head.
  2934.  
  2935. And when he confirmed that Seol Jihu had run past the entrance of the ravine to enter the midway point, he didn’t hesitate and slammed his staff down once more.
  2936.  
  2937. The blades of winds continuously condensing near his staff suddenly lashed out to below. More specifically, they disappeared into the deep cracks formed by the liquid on the ground. And then, slice!
  2938.  
  2939. The noise of something being cut came out from the gap.
  2940.  
  2941. Kiik, kiiiik!
  2942.  
  2943. Next up, the giant triangular rock formation spat out huge chunks of dust and it began gliding downwards at a diagonal angle. It was cleanly separated from the rest of the cliff, revealing a smooth cutting plane as it got ready to gently slide down, but then….
  2944.  
  2945. Smash, crash, rumble, boom!
  2946.  
  2947. Craaack!!
  2948.  
  2949. The triangular formation smashed into the cliff walls three, four times before it broke up into several tens of massive pieces.
  2950.  
  2951. The sharp, pointy rocks plunged to the ground. Each and every one was as big as falling meteors, and they proceeded to crash-land on top of the Parasite horde chasing after Seol Jihu in a bloody frenzy.
  2952.  
  2953. This was a precise attack performed after many calculations. The Parasites had been driven into the berserk state after the youth made an utter fool out of them, and so, they could not evade in time and had to receive the falling boulders in full.
  2954.  
  2955. A short while later….
  2956.  
  2957. Boom!! Boom!! Boooooom!!
  2958.  
  2959. The ravine quaked violently with frightening explosions as the boulders hit their targets.
  2960.  
  2961. The boulders crashed down on the Bugs, crushed past their carapaces, and slammed into the hard ground below. The gravity-assisted momentum caused the boulders to explode into countless shards as soon as colliding with the earth like a hand grenade. Those Parasites that luckily evaded the initial fall were all swept away by the stormy whirlwinds of the shrapnel-like rock shards.
  2962.  
  2963. And so, after the first ‘crash’, the ravine had transformed into a living hell.
  2964.  
  2965. Those that got killed in the initial crash were the fortunate ones. As for the rest, some simply exploded after being crushed by the bouncing pieces of the boulders, or their bodies were torn asunder by the shrapnel. The jutting rocks spread around the greenish bodily fluids and chunks of their victims in the air.
  2966.  
  2967. Seol Jihu had managed to escape out of the ravine in the nick of time, but he still continued to run non-stop.
  2968.  
  2969. He couldn’t hear anything at all anymore. Tinnitus caused by the incredible impact force behind him rang loudly in his ear. He could only use his intuition to roughly guess.
  2970.  
  2971. Suddenly, he realized that time had slowed down. His vision began shaking abruptly, and his entire body felt like it weighed a ton.
  2972.  
  2973. Only then did he figure out that time hadn’t actually slowed down, but it was his speed that had returned to normal, instead. The effect of ‘Boost’ had run its course.
  2974.  
  2975. And then, the familiar sense of alienation came crashing down.
  2976.  
  2977. “Uh, uh….”
  2978.  
  2979. Seol Jihu faltered about in confusion and took a look behind him before his eyes shot up wide. Nobody could tell how it managed to escape, but a single Cockroach was rushing towards him like a fired arrow.
  2980.  
  2981. Reflexively, Seol Jihu’s hands searched for his spear but he belatedly remembered not bringing it with him. But at the same time, a spear flying in from out of nowhere skewered the wayward Cockroach into the ground.
  2982.  
  2983. Seol Jihu was stunned out of his skull and finally tumbled down on his rear – only to sense something hard and metallic supporting him from his back, as well as someone gently embracing him.
  2984.  
  2985. Rose-colored strands of hair tickled his face. When Seol Jihu’s eyes met a pair of deep rose-gold irises, all he could do was to blink several times in a daze.
  2986.  
  2987. It was Teresa. She was staring at him with passionate eyes of a young maiden falling in love for the first time.
  2988.  
  2989. “…! …!”
  2990.  
  2991. Her lips moved rapidly, so she must’ve been saying something, but Seol Jihu couldn’t hear her, as his ears were still ringing loudly.
  2992.  
  2993. The princess knight saw his dazed expression, closed her lips and quietly stared at him. However, she still couldn’t disguise the pure happiness burning brightly in her eyes.
  2994.  
  2995. She then suddenly pressed her face close enough to touch his. Their noses pressed tight, and he could even feel her rough breathing, too.
  2996.  
  2997. She swept back her waterfall-like hair and spoke again.
  2998.  
  2999. “Did you know?”
  3000.  
  3001. Her voice sounded rather flushed just then.
  3002.  
  3003. “I said, did you know!?”
  3004.  
  3005. In the next moment, Seol Jihu felt a pair of hands tightly grasping the back of his head.
  3006.  
  3007. “You, you’re so fucking hot and sexy right now!”
  3008.  
  3009. Teresa yelled out and pressed her face to his. Seol Jihu formed a stupid expression. Only after about five seconds went by did he realize that soft and moist sensation rubbing against his lips happened to be her lips.
  3010.  
  3011. “Wu, wuup?! Mu, mupp…”
  3012.  
  3013. Smooooch.Teresa swallowed saliva as if she was trying to suck his lips in, and after that she let his face go. She snorted in satisfaction and even licked her lips slightly too.
  3014.  
  3015. She carefully put the dumbstruck youth on the ground in the sitting position, and then, with a still-excited face, she shifted her gaze towards the ravine.
  3016.  
  3017. The triangular rock formation crashed into the front and the middle of the enemy horde, and as a result, the Parasites making up the rear fell into a state of pure chaos.
  3018.  
  3019. However, they were no better than rats stuck in a trap. Around Teresa, a dozen or so Earthlings and hundred-plus soldiers stood by, waiting. The important thing was, though – this wasn’t the only place where the army was waiting.
  3020.  
  3021. “Looks like a feast has been prepared for us.”
  3022.  
  3023. From Dylan, who quickly came here after successfully sniping the Medusa….
  3024.  
  3025. “I wonder. Isn’t it more like someone else’s leftover?”
  3026.  
  3027. Even from Chohong….
  3028.  
  3029. “Who cares if it’s leftovers?! I’m always up for any type of tasty treats, you know!”
  3030.  
  3031. Even Hugo, too.
  3032.  
  3033. From the countless side paths leading out of the ravine, the concealed Earthlings and elite soldiers revealed themselves one by one.
  3034.  
  3035. Once the net had been cast, Bugs and Cockroaches faltering around in confusion in the rear belatedly began looking around. By then, it was well beyond ‘too late’.
  3036.  
  3037. Clang! Teresa pulled out her beautiful longsword and raised it to the sky.
  3038.  
  3039. And staring from above the cliff, Ian was filled with admiration. From the very beginning till this moment, everything played out according to Seol Jihu’s plan.
  3040.  
  3041. ‘He really has managed to create this miracle!!’
  3042.  
  3043. “Chaaaaaarge!!”
  3044.  
  3045. In that moment, Teresa’s spirited roar resounded throughout the ravine.
  3046.  
  3047. Uwoaaaaaaah!!!
  3048.  
  3049. “Hoh!”
  3050.  
  3051. Ian’s eyes sparkled brightly.
  3052.  
  3053. The army that had been separated into ten groups and lay in ambush….
  3054.  
  3055. “Attaaaaack!!!”
  3056.  
  3057. ….Began their simultaneous attack on the lured enemy.
  3058.  
  3059.  
  3060.  
  3061.  
  3062.  
  3063. Chapter 64. Class Advancement
  3064.  
  3065.  
  3066.  
  3067.  
  3068. * * *
  3069.  
  3070.  
  3071.  
  3072. The ensuing battle was so one-sided that one could easily describe it as utterly overwhelming.
  3073.  
  3074. Two-thirds of the Parasite horde that entered the ravine were either crushed or gravely wounded by the rock fall. As for the remaining creatures at the rear of the horde, not only were they trapped in a net, they couldn’t even put up a proper resistance at the assault coming in from ten different directions and were systematically massacred.
  3075.  
  3076. Originally, Seol Jihu thought that his plan would be a success if he managed to drag about half of the invading army’s numbers. However, he ended up luring nearly 80% of the total horde instead.
  3077.  
  3078. Once the Medusa determined that the grave injury it suffered was not something to be ignored, it ordered the majority of its army to pursue him while leaving behind only the bare minimum number necessary to conquer the fortress.
  3079.  
  3080. Of course, some of the blame for that decision lay with its enraged state stopping the creature from properly deciphering the situation, and Seol Jihu pretending to shoot the damaging arrow worked wonders as well. Furthermore, him slipping through their encirclement like an eel played a big part too.
  3081.  
  3082. All thanks to that, every single Cockroach was now dead. As for the remaining horde, only Bugs managed to survive, but that didn’t last for long, either.
  3083.  
  3084. Sensing that this was the perfect heaven-gifted opportunity, Teresa Hussey led the army from the front and immediately rushed to the fortress. The commanding Medusa suffered tremendously under Dylan’s precise sniping, as well as the continued barrage of ranged attacks from the Archers, before falling to Ian’s magic.
  3085.  
  3086. The confused, lost Bugs became nothing more than tasty treats the moment their ‘mother’ died.
  3087.  
  3088. And so, the battle of the Arden Fortress had ended, with the human coalition emerging as clear victors.
  3089.  
  3090. Waaaaaaaaahhhh!!
  3091.  
  3092. A loud cheer resounded out in the valley.
  3093.  
  3094. Teresa raised her longsword high up in the air to meet their cheers. She even forgot about saving face to cutely cry out, “Kyaaahk!”
  3095.  
  3096. Just how long had it been since she tasted a victory this sweet and this refreshing? She had been thirsting for a victory so much that she celebrated with all of her might. She was truly happy, not as a princess of a nation, but as a resident of Paradise. Of course, it was still a bit excessive given her position.
  3097.  
  3098. In the end, she still failed to completely vent out her happiness and so, with a flushed face, she began searching for the hero of this operation.
  3099.  
  3100. However, for some reason, Seol Jihu flinched grandly when their eyes met. He then covered his mouth and hurriedly ran away.
  3101.  
  3102. Teresa broke out in a fit of giggles and chased after him. Seol Jihu doggedly ran away from her, and eventually, sought shelter behind Chohong. Such joyous events happened here and there, but in any case, the fact that they were able to win without too much sacrifice from their side did not change.
  3103.  
  3104. Later that day, Teresa Hussey conveyed the results to the Haramark Royal Family with two simple communiques.
  3105.  
  3106. [Parasites, annihilated. Defence of Arden Fortress, successful.]
  3107.  
  3108. [Casualties from the reinforcement army: nil.]
  3109.  
  3110. A message of victory had been sent out for what felt like the first time in ages.
  3111.  
  3112. *
  3113.  
  3114. Even though the battle was over, the reinforcement army didn’t leave the Arden Fortress right away. They still had to take care of the aftermath.
  3115.  
  3116. The battle may have been won, but it was only the reinforcement that suffered no casualties. The situation of the Arden Fortress was truly dire.
  3117.  
  3118. The structure that was supposed to be ‘nearly finished’ was now half in ruins. As for the forces that resided here, not even 200 managed to survive. It was pretty much a total annihilation.
  3119.  
  3120. While Priests hurriedly went around here and there to perform their roles, Teresa was making requests for various supplies to be sent over via a communication crystal. Skills laborers and materials to reconstruct the fortress, carriages that would transport the injured back to the city, relief and medical supplies, etc.
  3121.  
  3122. Seol Jihu wasn’t lounging around either. He spent his time either getting rid of the Parasite corpses or helped out with the initial preparation to get the fortress’s reconstruction started.
  3123.  
  3124. In addition to acting as a lookout in his spare time, he went on patrols with Dylan every now and then. Although the odds were low, they still had to consider the follow-up attack from the Parasites.
  3125.  
  3126. Perhaps preparing for this and that took more time than expected, the requested supplies only arrived eight days later. Earthlings got ready for the return trip back to Haramark only then.
  3127.  
  3128. Before he left, Seol Jihu took one last look at the Arden Fortress with his ‘Nine Eyes’ active. And it was still glowing in the same golden color.
  3129.  
  3130. ‘You gotta pay me back in the future, okay?’
  3131.  
  3132. He grinned slightly, and just as he was about to climb into the carriage along with the rest of Carpe Diem, his steps came to a halt.
  3133.  
  3134. From the open door of the carriage right at the front, a certain someone’s hand was slowly gesturing at him, as if to order him to come closer. The owner of the hand peeking her head out of the doorway was none other than the grinning Teresa Hussey.
  3135.  
  3136. *
  3137.  
  3138. On their way back to Haramark.
  3139.  
  3140. As soon as the group left the valley, the road became comparatively smooth.
  3141.  
  3142. There wasn’t anything worth mentioning about the princess’s carriage. Well, Ian was riding in it too, but that was about it.
  3143.  
  3144. “I can only apologize to you, friend.”
  3145.  
  3146. “N-no, it’s fine.”
  3147.  
  3148. Ian’s voice conveyed how apologetic he was, prompting Seol Jihu to quickly wave his hands about.
  3149.  
  3150. “Even then, I don’t feel good knowing that it was I who first made the suggestion, only to back out on you like this.”
  3151.  
  3152. After a lengthy period of rethinking, Ian decided to remain as the royal family’s Magician for a little while longer. There were a few reasons for this decision, but the biggest one had to do with the royal family making more concessions. Also, Teresa begged him too, so there was that as well.
  3153.  
  3154. On top of that, the royal family also promised to wholeheartedly support him, so it’d become a step easier for Ian to break into the ranks of High Rankers. He said that once they returned to Haramark, he’d sign the revamped contract with them.
  3155.  
  3156. “Well, it wasn’t as if we made a definite promise or anything. And I also delayed giving you a definite answer. So, Master Ian, please don’t mind it.”
  3157.  
  3158. “Thank you for saying that. That certainly eases a load off my shoulders.”
  3159.  
  3160. Ian slowly stroked his beard and formed a relaxed smile.
  3161.  
  3162. “Please wait a while longer. You see, there is a substantial difference between a High Ranker Magician and a regular one.”
  3163.  
  3164. “Pardon?”
  3165.  
  3166. “The royal family has made some concessions. They promised not to interfere with my external activities, such as going on expeditions or explorations.”
  3167.  
  3168. Ian winked playfully.
  3169.  
  3170. “Although things worked out this way because this old man couldn’t forsake the loyalty and bonds I’ve formed with them throughout the years, I was being honest when I said I’d like to form a team with you. I’ve learned a few things from this exped… Ahem, I mean, our mission this time, as well as the battles we fought together.”
  3171.  
  3172. “….Still trying to pretty up a swine, huh?”
  3173.  
  3174. Teresa took a look at the two men with a dumbfounded expression.
  3175.  
  3176. “Loyalty? Bonds? Let’s be real. You said yes reluctantly because we promised to raise your research budget and let you roam around freely whenever you feel like.”
  3177.  
  3178. “Oh, my. Looks like she saw right through me.”
  3179.  
  3180. Ian stopped smiling like a wizened old man and formed a playful expression of someone pretending to not know anything. Teresa shook her head helplessly before seeing Seol Jihu’s face and going ‘oops’.
  3181.  
  3182. “I’m sorry. From the way I hear it, I guess you two were about to form a partnership.”
  3183.  
  3184. Indeed, Seol Jihu did regret it a bit. There was still a ton of things he didn’t know, so if an experienced, street-smart veteran Magician accompanied him, that would certainly give him a lot of confidence.
  3185.  
  3186. However, it wasn’t as if they had agreed to the partnership in the first place, and he was in no position to demand one either. So, Seol Jihu decided to be satisfied with getting acquainted with these people only.
  3187.  
  3188. “No, it’s fine. It seems that Master Ian is a really important person from the royal family’s perspective.”
  3189.  
  3190. “That’s indeed the case. Also, he’s essential if I want to make my dream come true.”
  3191.  
  3192. “Your dream?”
  3193.  
  3194. “Yup.”
  3195.  
  3196. Teresa’s eyes gleamed brightly.
  3197.  
  3198. “The Arden Fortress is only the first step in my dream becoming a reality.”
  3199.  
  3200. “May I hear about this dream?”
  3201.  
  3202. “Of course. It’s pretty simple, actually. The Arden Valley is an imposing mountain range, and it also serves as the border region that’s holding back the Parasites. Plus, it’s also the shortest route to Haramark for them.”
  3203.  
  3204. Seol Jihu also knew that much already.
  3205.  
  3206. “So, I plan to turn the entirety of the Arden Valley into a fortress. One large and impregnable enough to make the Parasite Queen voluntarily give up on the notion of invading us.”
  3207.  
  3208. Seol Jihu tilted his head slightly.
  3209.  
  3210. ‘Wait, it feels like I can… remember something here….’
  3211.  
  3212. A considerable time had passed since he had that dream, but if some part of it still remained in a blurry, indistinct form like this, then it must have been an incredibly shocking incident.
  3213.  
  3214. ‘The Arden Valley…. Haramark….’
  3215.  
  3216. “….Not just a small portion, but fortifying the entire mountain range. All I can hear is your naked desire to overwork this old man to death.”
  3217.  
  3218. While Seol Jihu was thinking to himself, Ian grumbled softly under his breath.
  3219.  
  3220. “The royal family will always reward you accordingly.”
  3221.  
  3222. “I am happy with the rewards, but this old man would like to hear a generous helping of your encouragement every now and then, as well.”
  3223.  
  3224. “Well, it won’t be hard doing that for you, but… you’re just going to ask me to say things like, ‘Kuek! Kill me instead!’ or ‘That will not make me submit to you!’ How does that qualify as encouragement?”
  3225.  
  3226. “Those are the perfect encouragements for this old man’s body.”
  3227.  
  3228. “….I don’t want to. I don’t know why, but whenever I say those words, I feel strange.”
  3229.  
  3230. Hearing Teresa’s refusal, Ian could only tut in disappointment.
  3231.  
  3232. Seol Jihu did his best to suppress his laughter. Still, he quietly gazed at Teresa with curiosity. Things have worked out well in the end, but his personal questions hadn’t been addressed yet.
  3233.  
  3234. Why did he feel such a powerful attraction the first time he met this woman? He gave it a lot of thought, but couldn’t figure it out at all.
  3235.  
  3236. ‘Hold on.’
  3237.  
  3238. Feeling way too curious now, Seol Jihu activated his ‘Nine Eyes’ again. Teresa remained colorless, but he wasn’t looking for that.
  3239.  
  3240. ‘Green is the General Observation, right?’
  3241.  
  3242. [Teresa Hussey’s Status Window]
  3243.  
  3244. [1. General Information]
  3245.  
  3246. Summoned date: N/A
  3247.  
  3248. Mark’s Grade: N/A
  3249.  
  3250. Sex/Age: Female/24
  3251.  
  3252. Height/Weight: 168.5 CM/54.6 Kg
  3253.  
  3254. Current Condition: Good
  3255.  
  3256. Class: LV. 5 (Princess Knight)
  3257.  
  3258. Nationality: Haramark
  3259.  
  3260. Affiliation: The Haramark Royal Family
  3261.  
  3262. Alias: Haramark’s Princess
  3263.  
  3264. [2. Traits]
  3265.  
  3266. 1. Temperament:
  3267.  
  3268. – Stout. (Both her mindset and actions are sharp and substantial.)
  3269.  
  3270. – Responsible (Places importance on the duties or obligations she’s been tasked with.)
  3271.  
  3272. – Heroic (Possesses vigorous spirit and does not hesitate to do minor matters if it needs to be.)
  3273.  
  3274. 2. Aptitude:
  3275.  
  3276. – Sagacious (Has a gift in quickly judging the situation correctly and to respond accordingly.)
  3277.  
  3278. – Breaking-through (Regardless of the difficulty of the situation, she will search for a way to survive and overcome the current adversity.)
  3279.  
  3280. [3. Physical Level]
  3281.  
  3282. Strength: High-Intermediate +1
  3283.  
  3284. Endurance: Low-Intermediate
  3285.  
  3286. Agility: High-Intermediate
  3287.  
  3288. Stamina: Intermediate-Intermediate
  3289.  
  3290. Magic: Intermediate-Intermediate +1
  3291.  
  3292. Luck: High-Low
  3293.  
  3294. Remaining Ability points: 0
  3295.  
  3296. [4. Abilities.]
  3297.  
  3298. 1. Innate Abilities (1)
  3299.  
  3300. 2. Class Abilities (6)
  3301.  
  3302. 3. Other abilities (4)
  3303.  
  3304. [5. Level of Cognition]
  3305.  
  3306. Hard to please (Tenacious and persistent) / Curious / Melancholic (Feels hopeless and is frustrated in her heart)
  3307.  
  3308. That was someone else’s Status Window, something he hadn’t seen in a long, long time. He actually found it weird that he could also see the status window of a Paradisian.
  3309.  
  3310. Did he stare at her too much? He didn’t get to read past the first couple of lines before Teresa suddenly swiveled her head towards him. She must have sensed his gaze.
  3311.  
  3312. As soon as their eyes met, Seol Jihu flinched and hurriedly turned his head away, pretending to not notice anything.
  3313.  
  3314. ‘Was I found out?’
  3315.  
  3316. Just like a little kid who was busted for doing something naughty, Seol Jihu was inwardly feeling nervous.
  3317.  
  3318. “Excuse me.”
  3319.  
  3320. He pretended to not hear her.
  3321.  
  3322. “Ex~cu~se~me~~.”
  3323.  
  3324. When he didn’t reply, Teresa just got up from her spot and sat back down right next to him. Even then, he showed no response, so she brought herself even closer; close enough for their butts to touch. Seol Jihu flinched again and looked at her. A satisfied smile then formed on her face.
  3325.  
  3326. “Well, there is this thing. I’m curious about it, so can you help me understand it better?”
  3327.  
  3328. “Pardon me?”
  3329.  
  3330. “Back when we first met? Why were you staring at me so~ intently? You were doing the same thing just now.”
  3331.  
  3332. It was finally here. Seol Jihu fixed his expression and opened his mouth.
  3333.  
  3334. “If you were offended, I’d like to apologize.”
  3335.  
  3336. “No? I wasn’t offended or anything like that.”
  3337.  
  3338. Teresa raised her hands.
  3339.  
  3340. “Well, let’s be honest, I know I’m quite pretty.”
  3341.  
  3342. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
  3343.  
  3344. “So, were you staring at me because of how pretty I am~? Was that it?”
  3345.  
  3346. Her absolutely forthright attitude left Seol Jihu utterly lost for words. It took some effort on his part to say something.
  3347.  
  3348. “Ah, that…. Both your eyes’ color and your hair are quite beautiful, yes. From where I come from, pink color is very rare, you see.”
  3349.  
  3350. Seol Jihu smiled awkwardly all the while subconsciously trying to distance himself from her. He didn’t feel like letting her steal his lips again any time soon.
  3351.  
  3352. “Oh, really? I don’t feel much of anything, though.”
  3353.  
  3354. “I, I see.”
  3355.  
  3356. “Yes. I don’t particularly feel anything about them since I grew up with them.”
  3357.  
  3358. As the conversation unfolded, Seol Jihu managed to create a bit of a gap between them. Teresa tilted her head, but when she saw him covering his lips with his hand…
  3359.  
  3360. “….Ah.”
  3361.  
  3362. She let off a soft gasp.
  3363.  
  3364. “H~ng.”
  3365.  
  3366. She then let out a strange moan as a clear-as-day playfulness filled up her expression.
  3367.  
  3368. “Well, I mean, you know.”
  3369.  
  3370. Her subtle but dangerous smile reminded Seol Jihu of a carnivorous predator taking aim at a herbivore.
  3371.  
  3372. “I’ve had these pinks eyes and pink hair since birth….”
  3373.  
  3374. She suddenly lowered her gaze and scanned her body for a second, and then…
  3375.  
  3376. “And, also….”
  3377.  
  3378. She grinned brightly and leaned closer to Seol Jihu’s ear – and whispered.
  3379.  
  3380. “I’m pink in the other place, too.”
  3381.  
  3382. After whispering, Teresa winked at him.
  3383.  
  3384. Seol Jihu hurriedly and rather painfully coughed and wheezed.
  3385.  
  3386. *
  3387.  
  3388. The traveling army arrived at Haramark on the fourth morning.
  3389.  
  3390. Time spent away was one thing, but perhaps because so many incidents had happened since the initial departure from the city, Seol Jihu couldn’t help but welcome the sight of civilization.
  3391.  
  3392. Both Teresa and Ian were busy people. As a departing gesture, she requested for a firm handshake. She also told him to wait a little bit for his promised rewards. Ian bade goodbye with these meaningful words, “Let us meet again soon.”
  3393.  
  3394. After saying goodbyes to those two, Seol Jihu climbed out of their carriage all the while reorganizing his thoughts. He needed to receive the rewards and had to stop by a temple, too. He also had to worry about selling off his share of the loot, as well. He thought that, for a little while, he’d be kept somewhat busy.
  3395.  
  3396. ‘Even still…..’
  3397.  
  3398. In the end, nothing much had changed.
  3399.  
  3400. Ian decided to remain as the royal family’s Magician. Once the splitting of loot was done, he’d have to go his separate way from Carpe Diem too. Sure, they had gone through a lot together, so some amount of friendship and trust had been built between them, but it’d still be hard to go on another assignment with them again out of sheer coincidence like this time.
  3401.  
  3402. ‘It’d be nice if I could level up.’
  3403.  
  3404. Although being in another expedition would be tough, wouldn’t he still be able to weasel himself into an exploration party if he was at least a Level 2?
  3405.  
  3406. ‘If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to tough it out as a porter for a little while longer.’
  3407.  
  3408. “Hey.”
  3409.  
  3410. While Seol Jihu stood there moistening his lower lip, a familiar voice suddenly pricked him in the ears. The trio of Dylan, Chohong, and Hugo were waiting for him by the city’s gate.
  3411.  
  3412. “Sorry about that. Were you guys waiting for me for long?”
  3413.  
  3414. “…Nope, not really.”
  3415.  
  3416. Chohong sneakily averted her gaze. Seol Jihu wondered if something was up because Hugo was grinning brightly like a fool and Dylan was quietly observing the situation with his arms firmly across his chest.
  3417.  
  3418. “H-hmm.”
  3419.  
  3420. Chohong coughed to clear her throat and quietly spoke up.
  3421.  
  3422. “So, what’s your plan from now?”
  3423.  
  3424. “Huh?”
  3425.  
  3426. His rather nonchalant reply prompted Chohong to roughly scratch her head. As if she couldn’t figure out what to say or how to say it, her lips restlessly parted and closed.
  3427.  
  3428. “Argh, damn it. You know, like…”
  3429.  
  3430. “…Okay?”
  3431.  
  3432. “…Wanna come?”
  3433.  
  3434. She said something that had neither the beginning nor the end. Seeing Seol Jihu’s confused expression, Hugo began clapping his hands as huge laughter exploded out of his mouth. Chohong loudly yelled out, “So why did you ask me to do it in the first place?!”
  3435.  
  3436. After the commotion died down, Dylan opened his mouth.
  3437.  
  3438. “Seol, are you planning to stay in Haramark?”
  3439.  
  3440. “Yes, I am.”
  3441.  
  3442. Dylan advised him to leave Haramark, but Seol Jihu wasn’t planning on doing that. Him being right or wrong was beside the point; he just wanted to remain in this city for just a little while longer.
  3443.  
  3444. “I see… Okay, in that case.”
  3445.  
  3446. Dylan uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on the heads of Chohong and Hugo.
  3447.  
  3448. “Listen. I am technically the leader of Carpe Diem, but even I find it pretty rough trying to control these two idiots.”
  3449.  
  3450. Seol Jihu was about to agree with that, but after seeing the scary glare shot from Chohong’s eyes, he stopped right away.
  3451.  
  3452. “So I want to know, would you like to lend me a hand doing that?”
  3453.  
  3454. Seol Jihu blinked his eyes.
  3455.  
  3456. “As your compensation, I’ll let you use a training facility that’s not too shabby from now on, free of charge.”
  3457.  
  3458. Only then did the youth realize the meaning of those words, and his jaw dropped slightly.
  3459.  
  3460. “D-Dylan.”
  3461.  
  3462. Dylan grinned, baring his teeth.
  3463.  
  3464. “Well, how about hashing out the small details while we eat, drink, and enjoy?”
  3465.  
  3466. Seol Jihu also smiled brightly.
  3467.  
  3468. “Sounds good to me.”
  3469.  
  3470.  
  3471.  
  3472.  
  3473.  
  3474. Chapter 65. One-of-a-kind Class
  3475.  
  3476.  
  3477.  
  3478.  
  3479. * * *
  3480.  
  3481.  
  3482.  
  3483. When Seol Jihu woke up, the sun had climbed up to the middle of the sky. Even though he was nominally awake, he didn’t open his eyes. For one, he had a headache from his hangover painfully poking his forehead, and two, dreamy drowsiness was still lingering about him.
  3484.  
  3485. Several thoughts fleeted in and out of his mind. Back when he volunteered as a porter in the pub; the events of the Forest of Denial, and the vengeful spirit of the tomb; the deaths of Samuel, Alex, and their team; the fortress tucked within the Arden Valley, Princess Teresa Hussey, and Ian. And then…..
  3486.  
  3487. Feeling like he had just woken up from a long, long dream, Seol Jihu let a soft sigh escape from his lips. He opened his eyes to see the warm sunlight filling up this unfamiliar room. Everything was foreign, including the white walls with cracks here and there, as well as the bed he was lying on.
  3488.  
  3489. ‘Oh. Right.’
  3490.  
  3491. His confusion gradually settled down. Seol Jihu and the members of Carpe Diem were celebrating last night, and they made him chug down one tall glass after another – and that’s where his memories ended. Someone must have carried him into this room.
  3492.  
  3493. The important thing was that he was now a member of Carpe Diem. They were the only team in Haramark marked by the ‘Golden Commandment’, so understandably, he was quite pleased with this result.
  3494.  
  3495. Seol Jihu jumped up from the bed and threw the windows open. He was thinking of catching some refreshing breeze while looking at the scenery provided by the city of Haramark, but he could only frown deeply at the steadily-permeating stench of acrid body odor.
  3496.  
  3497. His current state was nothing to laugh about. He was stuck in the wilderness for almost three weeks and hadn’t had the chance to properly wash up, not even once.
  3498.  
  3499. Thankfully, he discovered a shower in the bathroom attached to this particular room, so he promptly stripped down.
  3500.  
  3501. *
  3502.  
  3503. After scrubbing every part of his body with cold water, Seol Jihu now felt quite refreshed. Putting on regular clothes, he emerged from the bedroom only to realize that there was no one else on the third floor.
  3504.  
  3505. He went down to the first floor, just in case, and finally spotted a familiar face there. Chohong, kitted out in a sleeveless T and a pair of hot pants just like the first time he saw her, was busy exercising as sweat poured down from her body.
  3506.  
  3507. When he cautiously entered the gym, Chohong turned her pony-tailed head slightly towards him while still hanging on the steel bar.
  3508.  
  3509. “Oh, you’re up.”
  3510.  
  3511. “Yeah, just now. What about you?”
  3512.  
  3513. “Woke up in the morning. I was thinking of getting rid of the hangover together, but you were in a deep sleep, so I left without waking you.”
  3514.  
  3515. Now that he thought about it, there was an extra bed in the room. That must have belonged to Chohong.
  3516.  
  3517. “If it was breakfast, you should have woken me up, though.”
  3518.  
  3519. “Breakfast, my foot. Exercise is the best cure for a hangover, you know? Besides all that, aren’t you too weak against alcohol? You got KO’ed way too quickly.”
  3520.  
  3521. “….”
  3522.  
  3523. “Don’t worry. You didn’t throw a drunken rampage. You just slept quietly like a baby.”
  3524.  
  3525. Chohong smirked and resumed her pull-up regime. Every time the steel bar touched her chest, her finely-crafted muscles flexed for all to see on her sweat-soaked back. Seol Jihu’s stare was held captive by that mesmerizing sight.
  3526.  
  3527. He heard somewhere that a woman’s body was supposedly much harder to develop muscles, especially to that degree. So, it went without saying that she must’ve worked very hard to get to where she was. The longer he watched, the more impressed he got – at the same time, he even thought it looked quite beautiful to behold, as well.
  3528.  
  3529. Chohong carried on and did 50 more pull-ups, and her posture didn’t stray once. After letting the bar go, she lightly landed back down on the floor and began controlling her breathing.
  3530.  
  3531. Seol Jihu took a closer look at his surroundings with a trembling heart. He had no idea who created this gym, but well, everything here was top class. From what he heard, not only the entirety of the first floor but even the back of the building as well as the basement had been converted into the team’s training facility.
  3532.  
  3533. ‘What should I start with?’
  3534.  
  3535. “Hey, let’s go back upstairs. It’s almost time, too.”
  3536.  
  3537. “Mm?”
  3538.  
  3539. Hearing those words coming out of the blue, Seol Jihu could only look around himself with an unwilling expression. Chohong, meanwhile, emptied out a whole bottle of water in one go and exhaled deeply.
  3540.  
  3541. “Dylan said he’d be back by lunch at the latest.”
  3542.  
  3543. “I didn’t see him upstairs though.”
  3544.  
  3545. “He’ll be here. Dylan’s like a devil, you see.”
  3546.  
  3547. Chohong wiped the sweat off her neck with a towel as she opened the exit door.
  3548.  
  3549. Seol Jihu could only take one last look at the gym with a wistful expression, before turning around to leave as well.
  3550.  
  3551. *
  3552.  
  3553. Just as Chohong said, two boys of Carpe Diem returned to the office while she was taking a shower. Dylan was carrying a huge bag on his back, and Hugo was carrying a lengthy item wrapped in blue fabric, a wide grin seemingly perma-glued to his face.
  3554.  
  3555. Dylan spoke to Seol Jihu as the latter stood up from the couch.
  3556.  
  3557. “Oh, hey, Seol. You’re up.”
  3558.  
  3559. “Ah, yes. Just now. Where are you guys coming from?”
  3560.  
  3561. “If I were to use Master Ian’s analogy, I went to fetch our quail eggs.”
  3562.  
  3563. “….Quail eggs?”
  3564.  
  3565. Dylan didn’t say anything else, and after putting the bag down, plopped down on the couch himself. He rummaged through his pockets, only to stare at Seol Jihu with a somewhat dazed face. The youth chuckled and handed over the packet of cigarettes.
  3566.  
  3567. “D*mn it. Thanks. When I go back to Earth next time, I’m going to buy a truck full of this crap and bring it over.”
  3568.  
  3569. “Hehehe. I’m really beginning to enjoy this brand, you know?”
  3570.  
  3571. Hugo butted in and shamelessly stole a cigarette.
  3572.  
  3573. “Oh, hey. You guys came back.”
  3574.  
  3575. Chohong emerged from the shower then, with a wet towel covering her hair. She then plopped next to Seol Jihu.
  3576.  
  3577. “You guys are late. I thought you’d be quick about it.”
  3578.  
  3579. “There was no helping it. We had to stop by two different places, after all.”
  3580.  
  3581. “I get it, so take them out already. Stop building the suspense, will you?”
  3582.  
  3583. Chohong giggled and rubbed her hands gleefully. Only then did Seol Jihu realize that it was now the time to split the rewards.
  3584.  
  3585. “Alright. First of all….”
  3586.  
  3587. Clang!
  3588.  
  3589. Dylan placed a substantial-looking pouch on the coffee table and it issued a nice-sounding metallic clank.
  3590.  
  3591. “As the reward for going on the recon of the Forest of Denial, as well as participating in the defense of the fortress, we got 850 silver coins. Samuel and his team are gone, so their share is excluded. Including Master Ian’s share, it’s 170 Silver coins per head.”
  3592.  
  3593. “Wow!!”
  3594.  
  3595. Chohong jumped up in surprise before squatting down on the couch. She began raising a great fuss.
  3596.  
  3597. “For real? Is this for real!?”
  3598.  
  3599. “The Haramark Royal Family is known for being generous with their rewards, but they added a little bit extra this time.”
  3600.  
  3601. “Keuh!! That princess sure knows how to treat others!”
  3602.  
  3603. “And, also….”
  3604.  
  3605. Dylan pulled out another pouch, this time smaller than the previous one.
  3606.  
  3607. “This is the reward from Sicilia. Just as the contract stipulated, nice and clean 100 silver coins per head.”
  3608.  
  3609. “270 Silver coins!!”
  3610.  
  3611. Chohong clenched both of her fists and celebrated.
  3612.  
  3613. On the other hand, Seol Jihu was a little bit unimpressed. Kim Hannah gave him 100 silver coins to begin with, so it was a bit hard for him to truly grasp the actual value of these 270 silver coins.
  3614.  
  3615. ‘Right, the main forms of currency in circulation are supposed to be copper and silver coins.’
  3616.  
  3617. Now it made a bit more sense. There was no way Kim Hannah would have given him only a tiny amount when she gave out hundreds of millions of won as pocket money as if it was a small change to her.
  3618.  
  3619. In any case, 270 silver coins converted to 270,000 copper coins. Thinking that he’d ask later how much value a single silver coin possessed, Seol Jihu quietly took the coin pouch Dylan handed over.
  3620.  
  3621. “So, shall we get to the main topic, then?”
  3622.  
  3623. Dylan cautiously pulled out the burial goods one by one from the large bag. There were a total of ten items they managed to bring out from the tomb. Chohong drooled avariciously, before going Oops!
  3624.  
  3625. “What about that geezer?”
  3626.  
  3627. “Master Ian said that we can go ahead and take our pick first. He said he will take whatever two that’s been left behind.”
  3628.  
  3629. “Heh~. A Magician is actually yielding like that? What a surprise.”
  3630.  
  3631. “Well, he’s employed by the royal family. I’m sure he’s not exactly hurting for money.”
  3632.  
  3633. Dylan picked up one of the burial goods. It was a decorative item shaped like a tree and fashioned out of several precious jewels. Brown, red, and green colors harmonized with each other beautifully and displayed a brilliant splendor. Most importantly, though, there was a ‘fruit’ about half the size of an adult’s pinky on top of the item itself that stole everyone’s attention. It was emitting a rather attractive golden luster.
  3634.  
  3635. “We can pick two items each for ourselves, but personally, I’d like Seol to have this one.”
  3636.  
  3637. Dylan looked to his sides as if to ask for the consent from his teammates. Chohong let out a soft groan.
  3638.  
  3639. “Oh, well. Sure. The kid worked hardest, after all. Agreed.”
  3640.  
  3641. “Yup, me too!”
  3642.  
  3643. Hugo agreed quickly, as well. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Dylan separated the gold bit and the jewel tree before handing them both over to Seol Jihu.
  3644.  
  3645. “Congratulations.”
  3646.  
  3647. Although he received them because they were being handed over, Seol Jihu still felt a bit bewildered here. Maybe he read the youth’s expression, Dylan lightly waved his hand about.
  3648.  
  3649. “Don’t worry about it and just take them. Whether it was the expedition or the battle at the fortress, we’d all be dead meat if it wasn’t for you.”
  3650.  
  3651. “Oh, uh… Sure. Thank you.”
  3652.  
  3653. “Oh, right. I did it out of habit, but still. Let me give you an advice for the future. No matter what, it’s better to sell the gold and jewels separately. No, wait. If you can help it, it’d be better to hold onto the gold.”
  3654.  
  3655. “That thing, you should at least get half a gold coin.”
  3656.  
  3657. Hugo stared at the treasure with envious eyes.
  3658.  
  3659. Seol Jihu tilted his head and took a look at the golden fruit decoration. Now that he took another look, even he could tell that the gold bit was the most expensive part of the treasure. But, if gold was so valuable, then why didn’t anyone bring some from Earth?
  3660.  
  3661. ‘I’m sure there’s a reason.’
  3662.  
  3663. Seol Jihu told himself to ask about that later, and for now, he focused on the splitting of the loot.
  3664.  
  3665. It didn’t take long to split the burial goods. Besides the one he got in the beginning, Seol Jihu got another treasure. It was a small sculpture shaped like a flower out of a jewel that boasted five different hues.
  3666.  
  3667. Besides that, everyone agreed Hugo would be the new owner of Kahn’s halberd, while Dylan and Chohong took half of the remaining articles of the deceased for themselves. The expressions of both Chohong and Hugo looked so satisfied that the smiles on their faces didn’t want to fade away for a long time afterwards.
  3668.  
  3669. “Looks like it’s time to hand over the final item.”
  3670.  
  3671. Seol Jihu thought it was the end, but Dylan brought one last thing out. It was none other than the mystery item wrapped in the blue fabric, the one Hugo was carrying not too long ago.
  3672.  
  3673. “Seol, it’s yours.”
  3674.  
  3675. “?”
  3676.  
  3677. “Princess Teresa Hussey tasked us with delivering it, saying it’s for the hero who helped her defend the Arden Fortress. So, please~, accept it.”
  3678.  
  3679. “That crazy bitch.”
  3680.  
  3681. Chohong rubbed her arms as if goosebumps were breaking out there. Seol Jihu unwrapped the blue fabric as if he was under some sort of a spell, and soon, he was greeted by the sight of a two-meter-long spear. His dazed eyes scanned the entirety of the weapon.
  3682.  
  3683. The long, smooth spear shaft glowed in a faint blue hue, and from the sharply-refined blades on the tip, he could physically see the ice-white cold air swirling about. Overall, it was not flashy and pleasingly simple, but he actually liked that the most. It was as if he was looking at a spear expertly carved out of a solid block of ice.
  3684.  
  3685. When he gently grasped the shaft, the cold sensation assaulted his hand, but that lasted only for a moment; he already felt familiar with the weapon, and the cool, refreshing aura immediately rushed into his body. Even his brain felt refreshed then.
  3686.  
  3687. “Wow….”
  3688.  
  3689. Dylan gave him a piece of paper, saying that it was the certificate of authenticity, but Seol Jihu couldn’t really pay any mind to that.
  3690.  
  3691. “What the heck?! Isn’t this a magic spear!?”
  3692.  
  3693. Chohong’s brows shot up real high after she read the certificate for herself.
  3694.  
  3695. “I hear that it’s got ‘Freezing’ magic imbued to it. Also, something to purify the wielder’s mind. Although, the effect is a bit on the minor side.”
  3696.  
  3697. “What’s gotten into that princess? No, before that. Isn’t this way too over the top?”
  3698.  
  3699. “She must have found Seol really to her liking. She even complained to me, asking me why I didn’t bring him along.”
  3700.  
  3701. “Even then. A weapon with two separate magics….”
  3702.  
  3703. Chohong pulled her chin back and muttered helplessly, but Dylan simply shrugged his shoulders.
  3704.  
  3705. “Well, thanks to Seol, the kingdom’s elite soldiers were completely unscathed, so there’s that. I’m sure she’s grateful.”
  3706.  
  3707. “I’m so envious~. This kid now won’t have to worry about getting a weapon until he’s at least Level 4….”
  3708.  
  3709. “Stop drooling over someone else’s stuff and focus on your own loot, Chohong. Are you going to sell them?”
  3710.  
  3711. “Of course!”
  3712.  
  3713. Chohong regained her spirit in a matter of seconds and proclaimed loudly.
  3714.  
  3715. “Imma sell them at a really, reaaaally high price!”
  3716.  
  3717. Hugo was also brimming with vigorous spirit, as well.
  3718.  
  3719. “In that case, we should head to Scheherazade. The auction venue is over there, after all.”
  3720.  
  3721. Dylan chuckled as if he expected such a reaction from the two of them, before shifting his gaze to the youth. Seol Jihu was still dazedly staring at the spear.
  3722.  
  3723. “Seol?”
  3724.  
  3725. “….”
  3726.  
  3727. “Seol!”
  3728.  
  3729. “Y-yes??”
  3730.  
  3731. Finally regaining his senses, Seol Jihu blinked his eyes and looked at Dylan.
  3732.  
  3733. “What will you do? Regarding your share of the burial goods, and you also have that Proof of Castitas to think about.”
  3734.  
  3735. “Ah, right.”
  3736.  
  3737. Seol Jihu quickly organized his thoughts and pointed at the tree-shaped jewel sculpture.
  3738.  
  3739. “I’ll sell only this one. I’ll hold on to the rest for the time being.”
  3740.  
  3741. “You made the right call.”
  3742.  
  3743. Dylan nodded his head. The proof of chastity might be a piece of artifact designed for Priests, but even then, Dylan was thinking of strongly dissuading Seol if the youth chose to sell it. Why? Because it was too good of an item to sell to someone else.
  3744.  
  3745. “Alright, then. Are there any other items you need to store away? Besides the ones here.”
  3746.  
  3747. “Well, I do have a couple….”
  3748.  
  3749. He still had the Divine Elixirs and the Divine Stigmata. He wasn’t planning to use either of them now, and without a doubt, they were top treasures in his possession that he needed to guard with his life.
  3750.  
  3751. “Good. Chohong, Hugo, you two get ready. Meanwhile, Seol, bring them out.”
  3752.  
  3753. “You want me to bring them out?”
  3754.  
  3755. Dylan replied simply to Seol Jihu’s question.
  3756.  
  3757. “We have a place we gotta visit first.”
  3758.  
  3759. *
  3760.  
  3761. The place Dylan wanted to take the youth to was, of course, a temple.
  3762.  
  3763. Haramark’s nickname was the city of crime. One never knew what might happen here, said Dylan, so it was far, far safer to leave valuable items in the safekeeping of the temples. Seol Jihu thought that argument was quite logical, so he didn’t say anything else and brought his luggage along.
  3764.  
  3765. Also, he wasn’t just going there to use the storage service, either.
  3766.  
  3767. “How do you level up?”
  3768.  
  3769. Dylan shook his head side to side at Seol Jihu’s question.
  3770.  
  3771. “We don’t raise our levels. A god determines that.”
  3772.  
  3773. “A god determines it…. Like when you get your class?”
  3774.  
  3775. “Right, like that. What kind of an experience you had, how great your achievements are, they play an important role in your leveling up process.”
  3776.  
  3777. Dylan continued on as they walked the streets.
  3778.  
  3779. “That’s why you see such a disparity between people’s speed of leveling up, but…. Well, I can’t tell what’s gonna happen with you. You’re such an Irregular, after all.”
  3780.  
  3781. “It’d be nice if my level jumps up to three in one go.”
  3782.  
  3783. “You shouldn’t get your hopes up too much. Most people won’t reach Level 2 even if they work as a porter for over twenty different expeditions.”
  3784.  
  3785. Dylan chuckled to himself before his steps suddenly came to a halt.
  3786.  
  3787. “Now that I think about it, where should we go?”
  3788.  
  3789. “You mean, which temple?”
  3790.  
  3791. “Mm. To be honest, it doesn’t matter which one you go to until you’re Level 4.”
  3792.  
  3793. “Can we go to Gula’s temple?”
  3794.  
  3795. Seol Jihu quickly made his suggestion as if he was waiting for the chance.
  3796.  
  3797. “Gula, huh. Since that’s one of the gods that look after the Warriors, I guess it’s fine. Alright, let’s go.”
  3798.  
  3799. “Sounds like there are other gods beside Gula if you’re a Warrior.”
  3800.  
  3801. “Yup. Ira is another god in charge of the Warriors. Once you become a High Ranker, you’ll have to choose between Gula and Ira.”
  3802.  
  3803. “Who did you choose, Dylan?”
  3804.  
  3805. “Superbia. Unfortunately, Archers don’t have a choice.”
  3806.  
  3807. While chatting about this and that, they arrived at Gula’s temple.
  3808.  
  3809. As soon as entering the building, he entrusted his items in the storage there. He even felt a bit regretful that he didn’t come here sooner to utilize the services since it was free of charge for all Level 1s.
  3810.  
  3811. When he was going back to Earth, he had to return the storage key back to reception and get a receipt, but this time around, it simply ended with him registering his name only.
  3812.  
  3813. “I’ll wait for you outside. Do your thing.”
  3814.  
  3815. Dylan walked out of the front entrance, and Seol Jihu headed directly towards the main hall. As his steps led him down the darkened hallway, he sensed his nervousness spiking up higher.
  3816.  
  3817. His mind may have changed now, but way back in the beginning, the reason he chose to enter Paradise was because of that ‘dream’. And the one thing that was clearly etched itself in his memory was the god named Gula.
  3818.  
  3819. Just like how it was with the Temple of Luxuria, the main hall here was dark and quiet.
  3820.  
  3821. Soon enough, Seol Jihu spotted a massive ash-grey stone statue and stopped walking not too far from it. There were around dozen or so Earthlings near the statue, and every single one had their heads lowered and their eyes firmly shut.
  3822.  
  3823. As for the statue, it was of a woman wearing a thin gown, and a deep hood was covering her face. Seol Jihu quietly studied the statue for a little while longer, before closing his eyes and slowly lowered his head.
  3824.  
  3825. It happened, then.
  3826.  
  3827. [Come closer, my child.]
  3828.  
  3829. Out of the blue, a warm voice resounded within his head.
  3830.  
  3831. He experienced something like this before, yet he couldn’t help but let his eyes shoot open. He stared at the statue in a slight daze, but eventually, walked closer. For some reason, he thought he could hear Gula’s gentle chuckle.
  3832.  
  3833. “Uhm, I, uh….”
  3834.  
  3835. [You don’t have to speak physically. I can read your thoughts.]
  3836.  
  3837. Thinking that he too had heard of those words from somewhere, Seol Jihu closed his eyes again.
  3838.  
  3839. The ensuing silence lasted for quite a bit of time. Was he too nervous right now? He had a ton of stuff he wanted to ask, but his lips didn’t want to open up at all.
  3840.  
  3841. [Fufu, fufufu.]
  3842.  
  3843. She must have found something rather humorous because Gula gently chuckled for a while.
  3844.  
  3845. [You’ve been doing well, I see. Thanks to your actions, my interests have been rekindled.]
  3846.  
  3847. Her praise came out of nowhere.
  3848.  
  3849. [Stopping the human named Kang Seok and saving the Arden Fortress were the right decision to make. Even though they may seem like small actions, the resulting ripples will not be seen as insignificant in the long run.]
  3850.  
  3851. Was she talking about the ‘butterfly effect’? Seol Jihu began thinking that the god named Gula knew about pretty much everything he had done so far.
  3852.  
  3853. [However, it’s still not enough.]
  3854.  
  3855. ‘Pardon me?’
  3856.  
  3857. [My child, the future cannot be changed that easily. A salmon might be able to swim against the flow of a river, but it can’t reverse the ocean itself.]
  3858.  
  3859. What was she even talking about? Seol Jihu felt confused here, but still, decided to focus on what he could.
  3860.  
  3861. ‘There’s something I’m curious about.’
  3862.  
  3863. [I’m sure you there is.]
  3864.  
  3865. Gula quietly acquiesced.
  3866.  
  3867. [However, I can’t answer most of them at this point in time.]
  3868.  
  3869. ‘But, why not…?’
  3870.  
  3871. [The reasons are simple. Firstly, your qualification falls far too short. And secondly….]
  3872.  
  3873. The ends of Gula’s sentence blurred, which was rather uncharacteristic of her.
  3874.  
  3875. [The things I’ve said, there is no need to tell the present you.]
  3876.  
  3877. She then quietly carried on.
  3878.  
  3879. It looked as if this Q&A session was drawing to a close, so Seol Jihu quickly thought of some things to say.
  3880.  
  3881. ‘Gula-nim, may I ask you a question?’
  3882.  
  3883. [If it’s related to your dream, then I won’t allow it.]
  3884.  
  3885. As if she knew what was coming, Gula decisively said no. Seol Jihu formed a tearful expression.
  3886.  
  3887. ‘But, that’s unfair.’
  3888.  
  3889. [I’ve said this to you before.]
  3890.  
  3891. He suddenly felt a sensation of something soft gently stroking his head.
  3892.  
  3893. [I understand you’re curious. However, that knowledge can’t be given to you, and just as importantly, you don’t have to know them. Not yet, at least.]
  3894.  
  3895. ‘If I meet the sufficient qualifications, will you tell me everything?’
  3896.  
  3897. [If that is your wish.]
  3898.  
  3899. ‘May I know what that qualification is?’
  3900.  
  3901. [It will be when the star shines again.]
  3902.  
  3903. Gula clearly stated the ‘requirement’.
  3904.  
  3905. [For a star of fate that lost its luster to regain its brightness – it will not be achieved by simply working hard. You must put in double the effort.]
  3906.  
  3907. Seol Jihu still couldn’t understand a single thing.
  3908.  
  3909. ‘I don’t get it. Then, can you at least tell me something about the gold stamp?’
  3910.  
  3911. [Just a little bit.]
  3912.  
  3913. Gula answered more willingly this time.
  3914.  
  3915. [The reason you were able to receive the gold stamp was that there had been a few remnants left behind from the deal made when the ‘Royal Oath’ had been invoked.]
  3916.  
  3917. ‘The Royal Oath?’
  3918.  
  3919. [That is as far as I can tell you. I do not wish to burden you with more baggage than this.]
  3920.  
  3921. Gula stopped talking there.
  3922.  
  3923. Seol Jihu inwardly complained. It was like he was being spoken to in Greek, or as if he was trying to catch the distant floating clouds. However, he thought that he’d get scolded if he insisted for more clarity, so he was unsure of what to do next.
  3924.  
  3925. [Let us stop grumbling now and commence with determining what your new level will be.]
  3926.  
  3927. ‘….Okay.’
  3928.  
  3929. [Hmm. Let’s see. Certainly, it is incorrect to think of your current abilities as a Level 1 Warrior.]
  3930.  
  3931. Seol Jihu’s ears perked up.
  3932.  
  3933. [Now normally, it would be possible for you to leapfrog Level 2 and become a Level 3 Lancer straight away.]
  3934.  
  3935. ‘Really?’
  3936.  
  3937. He was hoping against hoping, but could he really leap up to Level 3 in one breath?
  3938.  
  3939. [If that’s what you want, I can change your class right now.]
  3940.  
  3941. ‘I do….’
  3942.  
  3943. [However.]
  3944.  
  3945. Even before he had the chance to finish saying ‘I do want it, thank you’, Gula cut him off.
  3946.  
  3947. [I am thinking of giving you two other paths to choose from.]
  3948.  
  3949. ‘??’
  3950.  
  3951. [Now that I have taken a closer look, I see that you utilize your mana quite brilliantly during the battles.]
  3952.  
  3953. That was true. The real reason Seol Jihu could display abilities exceeding a Level 1 Warrior was all thanks to his freakish high mana reserve.
  3954.  
  3955. [So, after some deliberation, I’ve come to the conclusion that changing your class to Level 2 ‘Mana Spearman’ might be in order. I judged that it would be a waste of your mana for you to walk the same path as others have taken.]
  3956.  
  3957. ‘A Mana… Spearman? But, I heard that it’s already hard digging one well….’
  3958.  
  3959. [Indeed, there was a talk of you potentially becoming a Magic Spearman. Although rare, there have been precedents before. However, what I am talking about is Mana Spearman.]
  3960.  
  3961. Gula cleared up the confusion.
  3962.  
  3963. [Normally, one would go through Level 2 Spearman before becoming Level 3 Lancer. In fact, many spear-wielding Warriors choose this path.]
  3964.  
  3965. If Seol Jihu chose this path, he would immediately jump up to Level 3.
  3966.  
  3967. [Becoming a Magic Spearman isn’t a bad idea, either. If you take into account your starting mana, then you can easily handle ‘digging two wells’. However, as you have to walk two separate roads, the current experience points you earned are only enough to reach Level 2.]
  3968.  
  3969. It was also fine for him to combine magic into his actions. Honestly, didn’t he almost end up as a Magician back in the Neutral Zone?
  3970.  
  3971. [And similarly, you will only reach Level 2 as a Mana Spearman with your current achievements. However, this is a path none have walked before – a true one-of-a-kind class.]
  3972.  
  3973. The ‘Mana Spearman’ class was created in consideration of Seol Jihu’s unique characteristics. However, that also meant he would become a trailblazer of the unknown.
  3974.  
  3975. [Originally, it is our duty to choose the right class for you. However, we also have agreed to respect your opinion, ever since you requested the path of a Warrior back in the Awakening Chamber.]
  3976.  
  3977. Gula’s voice became lower.
  3978.  
  3979. [And now…. You must choose.]
  3980.  
  3981. And, so…
  3982.  
  3983. [Which path will you walk on?]
  3984.  
  3985. He was now greeted with three differing choices.
  3986.  
  3987.  
  3988.  
  3989.  
  3990.  
  3991. Chapter 66. Encounter (1)
  3992.  
  3993.  
  3994.  
  3995.  
  3996. * * *
  3997.  
  3998.  
  3999.  
  4000. All Seol Jihu could think about during his trip to the temple was his level.
  4001.  
  4002. There were three ‘benefits’ he’d get to enjoy after going through a level up. First, he could earn ‘points’ to increase the status of his physical body.
  4003.  
  4004. He received 1 point when he rose from Level 0 to Level 1, and he would receive 2 points when he becomes Level 2. Similarly, he would receive 3 points when leveling up to Level 3.
  4005.  
  4006. In other words, by choosing to become a Level 3 Lancer, Seol Jihu would immediately find himself with 6 points to use.
  4007.  
  4008. The second benefit had to do with learning abilities reserved for each level, and the third one would be that his future activities in Paradise would become that much easier to carry out. A Warrior had to be at least Level 3 if he wanted to enter an expedition. Of course, the equipment was equally important, but that was another story.
  4009.  
  4010. Those were the benefits in a nutshell.
  4011.  
  4012. Having heard the new choices laid out before him, Seol Jihu inexplicably recalled the days back in the Neutral Zone. He remembered seeing the item list of the VIP store and then, in order to gather a lot of Survival Points as soon as possible, he disregarded everything and tried his hand at a ‘Hard’ difficulty mission. As a result, he nearly died.
  4013.  
  4014. And now, he was utterly blinded by the notion of leveling up quickly.
  4015.  
  4016. He couldn’t help but question himself as he felt a strong sense of deja vu when comparing the past and the current him.
  4017.  
  4018. ‘I can’t rush this.’
  4019.  
  4020. Indeed, he needed to be thoughtful about it. The future direction of his growth depended on the choice he makes right here, right now.
  4021.  
  4022. Seol Jihu tightly grasped the spear Teresa Hussey gifted him. The cold energy seeping into his flesh quickly cooled off his body that had been heated up from nervous tension and agitation. Eventually, he was able to calmly fire up the calculator in his head.
  4023.  
  4024. ‘….The points.’
  4025.  
  4026. If he was so eager to raise the current status of his physical body, then he would have consumed the Divine Elixirs already. However, he hadn’t done so yet, all because Agnes dissuaded him. She told him that there was room to improve himself through training, so there was no reason to waste his potential by raising his powers through the usage of potions, or for that matter, points given through leveling up.
  4027.  
  4028. Also, one needed progressively more points to increase the front grade of one’s stats.
  4029.  
  4030. For instance, trying to raise a stat from ‘Extreme’ to ‘Low’ required a single point, ‘Low’ to ‘Intermediate’ required two points, ‘Intermediate’ to ‘High’ required three points, and ‘High’ to ‘Highest’ required four points.
  4031.  
  4032. However, the Divine Elixirs possessed a special property of ignoring what that front ‘grade’ was and raised the Stat a realm higher with no limitations. Thus, it made more of a logical sense to use them once his physical stats gone up much higher.
  4033.  
  4034. The reason Agnes said ‘The differences would become even starker as time wears on’ was precisely this.
  4035.  
  4036. ‘New abilities…?’
  4037.  
  4038. This was also the same story. Agnes recommended that he learn them through practice, rather than spending his hard-earned ‘achievement points’ to acquire them.
  4039.  
  4040. ‘….Then, what about working in Paradise?’
  4041.  
  4042. Since he was now a part of Carpe Diem, he was no longer as worried as before regarding that topic.
  4043.  
  4044. [Fufu. Fufufufu.]
  4045.  
  4046. Gula began to laugh.
  4047.  
  4048. Seol Jihu felt embarrassed because it was as if his private thoughts were laid bare. But he didn’t feel too bad either. After all, he had been feeling a soft hand gently stroking his head from a while ago. It was like he was getting praised for being so meticulous and thoughtful.
  4049.  
  4050. ‘Gula-nim.’
  4051.  
  4052. [Hm?]
  4053.  
  4054. ‘I’d like to know the difference between a Magic Spearman and an Mana Spearman.’
  4055.  
  4056. [It will be better to see it once than hearing it hundreds of times. Now, open your eyes.]
  4057.  
  4058. He did, and right at that moment, the surroundings suddenly blackened out, before something weird happened in front of his eyes. A giant ‘screen’ suddenly appeared there. Although he couldn’t hear any sound, it was kinda similar to being in a cinema.
  4059.  
  4060. The person standing tall in the middle of the screen was none other than Seol Jihu himself. He was standing on top of a tall hill with a haughty expression on his face as he glared at the hundreds of enemies rushing up from below.
  4061.  
  4062. He opened his mouth and lazily raised his left hand up. Four magic circles suddenly formed in the surrounding air and began rotating as they grew larger and larger.
  4063.  
  4064. Shortly thereafter, the Seol Jihu of the screen lowered his left arm with some vigor. Dozens upon dozens of electrified spears rained out of the magic circles to cause a colorful cacophony of explosions down below.
  4065.  
  4066. About half of the original number managed to break past the explosions. However, even before they could reach the summit, the magic circles came down from the sky to surround Seol Jihu. Their colors changed from yellow to blue, and as if to protect him, they began spinning around his vicinity.
  4067.  
  4068. These magic circles defended him from the attacks of the approaching enemies, all the while continuously spitting out ice-cold frost.
  4069.  
  4070. Frost gradually covered up the bodies of the enemies, and it was at this point that Seol Jihu stopped concentrating on his defense with the spinning magic circles, immediately switching over to the attack mode. Using a physical spear, he then began stabbing the enemies that had their movements dulled significantly. He killed all of his opponents in no time.
  4071.  
  4072. [You can say that the ‘Magic Spearman’ is a hybrid class that aims to synergistically combine two disparate abilities.]
  4073.  
  4074. Gula’s voice resounded out.
  4075.  
  4076. [Meaning, by adding the advantages of wielding magic to your foundation as a Warrior, you’d be able to enjoy a good balance of long-distance and close-quarter combat capabilities.]
  4077.  
  4078. ‘So, what I saw just now was the Magic Spearman….’
  4079.  
  4080. Seol Jihu swallowed his saliva and quickly nodded his head.
  4081.  
  4082. [And then…]
  4083.  
  4084. The scene on the screen changed. Now, a horde of creatures was running on a grassy plain.
  4085.  
  4086. There was one thing noticeably different from this footage compared to the previous one, and that would be Seol Jihu – he wasn’t standing still anymore. He was still alone, but at the moment, he was dashing rapidly on the same grassy plain as the horde, but from the opposite side, instead.
  4087.  
  4088. He resembled a furious lion with that angry scowl and the fearsome glare on his face. His aura was so strong that Seol Jihu the viewer almost mistakenly thought that a powerful storm was being kicked up around the Seol Jihu in the screen.
  4089.  
  4090. The two sides violently crashed into each other. Seol Jihu had been paying the utmost attention until then, and his shoulders instinctively shrunk back from that scarcely believable impact force. But then, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor from the ensuing spectacle.
  4091.  
  4092. Centered around the point of contact, dozens of enemies were thrown up high in the air. Digging into the enemy ranks like a hungry tiger, Seol Jihu of the screen danced and darted about among the confused and hapless opponents. An overwhelming, many-meters-long aura exploded out from the sharp blades of his weapon as he swung his spear around valiantly.
  4093.  
  4094. And when that brilliant light of destruction flashed past twice, every single enemy standing straight was split cleanly in half. That wasn’t all, though. One enemy got lucky and somehow managed to survive that. It tried to attack from the blind spot, but….
  4095.  
  4096. ‘!!’
  4097.  
  4098. Seol Jihu of the screen disappeared. No, actually, he was already airborne. Seol Jihu the viewer never even blinked once, yet he failed to capture that movement.
  4099.  
  4100. The Seol Jihu of the screen pierced forward with his spear mid-air and killed the last one, and he gently landed back on the corpse-filled grassy plain. In the literal blink of an eye, the battleground had been swept clean. Now that was a battle prowess reaching the level of godhood.
  4101.  
  4102. [Back in the Chamber of Awakening, you wished to tread on the Warrior’s path.]
  4103.  
  4104. The screen disappeared then, and his vision was restored.
  4105.  
  4106. [Greatly enhancing the combat capabilities of a Warrior, which are based off on one’s own physical attributes, with the fundamental amplifying effect of the mana – that is the Mana Spearman.]
  4107.  
  4108. Seol Jihu sucked in cold breaths.
  4109.  
  4110. [I shall mention this once more. Your current mana is a realm higher than many High Ranker Warriors. When you reach their league with this class, you will be able to produce superhuman feats that normal Warriors can’t even dream about achieving.]
  4111.  
  4112. So, then. The main topic was here. Aim towards the perfect synergy of two disparate sources of power and try to catch two birds at once, or simply choose to dig one well, but dig it deep enough to break past what is considered the accepted norm….
  4113.  
  4114. ‘….I’ve made up my mind, Gula-nim.’
  4115.  
  4116. After a long deliberation, Seol Jihu finally made his decision.
  4117.  
  4118. [Indeed, I suspected as much.]
  4119.  
  4120. She must have read his mind because Gula responded to him immediately.
  4121.  
  4122. [I must ask you this. Will you not regret your decision later on?]
  4123.  
  4124. ‘No. I won’t.’
  4125.  
  4126. His own reply was just as immediate, too.
  4127.  
  4128. [In that case, it shall be so.]
  4129.  
  4130. The gentle hand brushing his head withdrew.
  4131.  
  4132. A short moment of stillness later, Gula’s voice continued on.
  4133.  
  4134. [In the name of Gula, I shall henceforth bestow the title of Level 2 Mana Spearman to Seol Jihu. I expect great feats befitting the one-of-a-kind class from you.]
  4135.  
  4136. *
  4137.  
  4138. Dylan was leaning against one of the support pillars of the temple, a cigarette burning on the end of his lips. He spotted Seol Jihu staggering out of the entrance and quickly pushed off from the pillar.
  4139.  
  4140. “Are you done?”
  4141.  
  4142. “Yes. Sorry, I kinda got delayed.”
  4143.  
  4144. “Well, the longer you take, the better your…. What’s the matter?”
  4145.  
  4146. Dylan gazed on with a questioning look. Seol Jihu rubbed the top of his head for a bit, before opening his mouth to grumble a bit.
  4147.  
  4148. “I got smacked on the head.”
  4149.  
  4150. “By who?”
  4151.  
  4152. “Gula-nim.”
  4153.  
  4154. “…What?”
  4155.  
  4156. Seol Jihu could only lick his lower lip at Dylan’s confused reply.
  4157.  
  4158. After his new class had been decided, he didn’t immediately leave the side of Gula’s statue. Nope. He decided to throw two more questions, just in case.
  4159.  
  4160. The first one was regarding his ‘Nine Eyes’.
  4161.  
  4162. He politely inquired if he could ‘unlock’ the remaining direction of his Innate Ability with the achievement points he had earned from participating in the battle of the Arden Valley. The answer he got in return was resoundingly simple – not even nearly enough.
  4163.  
  4164. He then unwisely went on a complaining spree, asking what she could possibly mean by ‘not even enough’ when he was able to unlock other directions just fine back in the Tutorial or back in the Neutral Zone.
  4165.  
  4166. However, those were from the special benefit of the Gold Mark as well as the effect of the Ambrosia. What he got in return for his complaints was Gula chiding him in no uncertain terms, telling him that it was no easy feat to evolve one’s abilities that didn’t fall under the category of those learned through leveling up.
  4167.  
  4168. Then, she even added that the right direction of his ‘Nine Eyes’ contained the powers of all three directions overlapping with one another, so he better stop dreaming about unlocking it with one or two simple achievements.
  4169.  
  4170. He’d have been fine if he stopped there. But no – he cautiously asked her again if it was possible to rename his class because the current name seemed a bit too… uncool. He ended up getting smacked on the top of his head for being ungrateful.
  4171.  
  4172. “I’m not sure what exactly happened in there, but…. In any case, don’t worry about it. It’s not that easy to level up.”
  4173.  
  4174. Dylan came up with an explanation on his own and lightly patted the youth on his back. Seol Jihu stopped being dejected and opened his eyes wider.
  4175.  
  4176. “Ah, but I did level up, though.”
  4177.  
  4178. Dylan’s patting hand came to an abrupt stop.
  4179.  
  4180. *
  4181.  
  4182. As soon as returning from the temple, they packed up their luggage and climbed aboard the carriage. The team of Carpe Diem was now heading to Scheherazade. It would’ve been fine to dispose of their loot in Haramark if they were dealing with simple treasures, but well, jewelry this intricate and finely crafted would only fetch their correct prices back in the capital city.
  4183.  
  4184. “Level 2?!”
  4185.  
  4186. After the carriage left the gates of Haramark, Chohong finally asked him about the results and naturally began freaking out.
  4187.  
  4188. [Your current Status Window]
  4189.  
  4190. [1. General Information]
  4191.  
  4192. Class: LV 2. Mana Spearman
  4193.  
  4194. Affiliation: Carpe Diem
  4195.  
  4196. [3. Physical Level]
  4197.  
  4198. Strength: High-Low
  4199.  
  4200. Endurance: High-Low
  4201.  
  4202. Agility: Low-Intermediate
  4203.  
  4204. Stamina: High-Low
  4205.  
  4206. Magic: High-Intermediate
  4207.  
  4208. Luck: Low-Intermediate
  4209.  
  4210. Remaining ability points: 3
  4211.  
  4212. Seol Jihu grinned after taking a good look at his Status Window.
  4213.  
  4214. “Wow…. I can’t believe it.”
  4215.  
  4216. Hugo formed a shocked face. Dylan heard it beforehand, so he at least could manage a nonplussed expression.
  4217.  
  4218. “Although rare, there have been other cases before.”
  4219.  
  4220. “Even then…”
  4221.  
  4222. “I heard a couple of pretty interesting things from Sicilia.”
  4223.  
  4224. Dylan continued on.
  4225.  
  4226. “First of all. I hear that there’s a brand new star rising up in Scheherazade. Signed up with Sinyoung and also a March graduate, just like Seol.”
  4227.  
  4228. Seol Jihu’s brows shot up. Chohong snorted unhappily as if all of her enthusiasm had dissipated in an instant.
  4229.  
  4230. “If it’s Sinyoung, then it’s no surprise. They probably dumped a crap tooooon of support on that rookie, right? Totally different from our Seol here, who’s basically headbutting the ground naked.”
  4231.  
  4232. “I agree 100%.”
  4233.  
  4234. Hugo nodded his head in an exaggerated manner. Not minding them, Seol Jihu hurriedly asked Dylan.
  4235.  
  4236. “Do you know who this super rookie is?”
  4237.  
  4238. “No, not really. I didn’t get to hear the name.”
  4239.  
  4240. Dylan scratched the side of his head.
  4241.  
  4242. “But apparently, the public perception of this person isn’t so good. In fact, I heard that this rookie can sometimes be a bit psychotic at times. Her nickname is supposedly the Crimson-Eyed Amazoness or something close to that.”
  4243.  
  4244. Chohong snorted derisively.
  4245.  
  4246. “What the hell? What’s up with that cringey name? Is she supposed to be a Berserker or something?”
  4247.  
  4248. “That’s the funny thing. I hear that she’s walking around with these bloodshot eyes all the time because she has trouble going to sleep. Maybe she’s got insomnia or something.”
  4249.  
  4250. “….You sure you got correct info?”
  4251.  
  4252. “Cinzia was the one who told me.”
  4253.  
  4254. Dylan shrugged his shoulders.
  4255.  
  4256. Seol Jihu wasn’t feeling sure now. Initially, he thought that the super rookie had to be Yun Seora, but now that he heard the description, it couldn’t have been her. She wasn’t someone with a tendency to have psychotic breakdowns, after all. At least, not according to his memories, anyway.
  4257.  
  4258. ‘Well, this person might have been newly scouted by Sinyoung.’
  4259.  
  4260. Seol Jihu thought like so, but out of the blue, he felt something weighty on his thighs. He looked down to find Chohong resting her head there.
  4261.  
  4262. “….You’re heavy.”
  4263.  
  4264. “Eiii, come on now, be still…. Whew, this is really comfortable, you know. Anyways. I’m guessing that it’s a bit noisy in Scheherazade right now.”
  4265.  
  4266. She stretched her legs while speaking up.
  4267.  
  4268. “Yeah, it’s pretty noisy over there. But with something else, actually.”
  4269.  
  4270. “About what? Did you hear something else from Noonim?”
  4271.  
  4272. Dylan hesitated somewhat when Chohong asked him in a hurry.
  4273.  
  4274. “Mm…. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s really happening, either.”
  4275.  
  4276. “What’s going on? Cinzia Noonim isn’t the type to bullshit around, right?”
  4277.  
  4278. Dylan nodded in agreement and opened his mouth.
  4279.  
  4280. “She said the Temple of Luxuria’s movements have been suspicious.”
  4281.  
  4282. “Really? What did she say?”
  4283.  
  4284. Dylan mulled over his words before quietly opening his mouth.
  4285.  
  4286. “Cinzia thinks that, just maybe, the Daughter of Luxuria is coming back.”
  4287.  
  4288. Chohong shot right up from the lap pillow.
  4289.  
  4290. “What did you say?!”
  4291.  
  4292. “It’s not confirmed, but Cinzia seemed almost convinced.”
  4293.  
  4294. By then, even Hugo looked utterly stunned by this revelation. Which left Seol Jihu with a feeling that he was observing this discussion from very far away. So, he sneaked closer to Hugo and his still-open jaw.
  4295.  
  4296. “Hugo, what’s going on here?”
  4297.  
  4298. “Hap.”
  4299.  
  4300. Hugo quickly shut his mouth up and blinked his eyes.
  4301.  
  4302. “Oh, that. It’s about the apostle of god. We’re talking about the Executor.”
  4303.  
  4304. “The Executor?”
  4305.  
  4306. “Yup. You see, Luxuria is the god in charge of looking after the Priests. She’s the best when it comes to the power of healing.”
  4307.  
  4308. “…Okay.”
  4309.  
  4310. “You can think of this Executor as the end boss among the healing-type Priests. She’s a Unique Ranker, and that’s enough to show how amazing she is.”
  4311.  
  4312. Seol Jihu tilted his head. This explanation was somewhat lacking.
  4313.  
  4314. “Do you know who she is?”
  4315.  
  4316. “I obviously don’t know her personally, but I’ve seen her a few times from afar. She showed up in Haramark a bunch of times to do some volunteer work and stuff.”
  4317.  
  4318. Hugo then suddenly poked Chohong on the side.
  4319.  
  4320. “Hey, now that I think about it, isn’t she also from Area 1?”
  4321.  
  4322. “Yeah, you’re right.”
  4323.  
  4324. Hearing Chohong’s reply, Seol Jihu began forming a look of curiosity. Stuff about her that’s been mentioned so far painted this unknown person to be an absolutely amazing Earthling. Naturally, his curiosity had been stoked now.
  4325.  
  4326. “Can you tell me more, please?”
  4327.  
  4328. “Argh, he’s starting again.”
  4329.  
  4330. Chohong formed a fed-up face and quickly distanced herself, but as he had done always, Hugo replied earnestly.
  4331.  
  4332. “Hmm, okay. First of all.”
  4333.  
  4334. “First of all?”
  4335.  
  4336. Seol Jihu’s eyes sparkled in anticipation. Hugo enjoyed that reaction for a second or two, before speaking in a rare, weighty, and grave tone of voice.
  4337.  
  4338. “She’s got a huge rack.”
  4339.  
  4340. “…Hugo.”
  4341.  
  4342. Seol Jihu had been seriously paying attention, so understandably, his expression gradually hardened. Hugo was smiling relaxedly, and he quickly waved his hand about.
  4343.  
  4344. “N-no, hang on! I’m telling you the truth! I told you that I saw her, right? She’s definitely a 65G…!”
  4345.  
  4346. “….”
  4347.  
  4348. “Uh… and… oh, she’s a real knockout too. So much so that some people even call her the physical manifestation of Luxuria.”
  4349.  
  4350. Hugo took a bit of pause in between his words, and Chohong burst out in laughter when he was done.
  4351.  
  4352. “Eiii, you know that ain’t true. Everyone knows that Luxuria is a goddess of lust. And that woman is as far removed from being a bitch in heat as you can get.”
  4353.  
  4354. “That’s only because you don’t know the truth. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a guy or a chick, those who look prim and proper are the nastiest in bed, you know.”
  4355.  
  4356. “Don’t you remember what the nickname of that woman is? It’s the Steel Wall. THE Steel Wall. I mean, even the famous Sung Shihyun tried to woo her for a long time only to get rejected by her outright. Yup, that woman’s as far removed from being a lusty slut as you can possibly get.”
  4357.  
  4358. “I’m telling you, you gotta take a deeper look inside the person first.”
  4359.  
  4360. They were casually exchanging their opinions in the beginning, but eventually, the whole thing morphed into a full-on debate in no time. Seol Jihu could only shake his head while looking at the two arguing over something completely inconsequential. Dylan chuckled from the side.
  4361.  
  4362. “Here’s the reason I scouted you, Seol.”
  4363.  
  4364. *
  4365.  
  4366. Their carriage arrived in Scheherazade exactly four days later.
  4367.  
  4368. As soon as they set foot on the soils of the capital city, they decided to go their separate ways. There was no real reason to act together, and besides that, disposing of their individual share of loot depended on each person’s tastes, anyway.
  4369.  
  4370. For instance, both Chohong and Hugo were thinking of utilizing the services of the auction house, but on the other hand, Dylan was going to see his connections in the city for a private sale.
  4371.  
  4372. Dylan suggested that, since he knew a guy who’d name a fair price, he and Seol Jihu should travel together, but the youth declined the invite, at least for the time being. He knew way too little of the way of this world, so he wanted to use this opportunity to wander around here and there to personally experience things.
  4373.  
  4374. Also, he already had someone who’d buy his things anyway. And, his desire to relaxedly sightsee what the capital city had to offer played a pretty big part in that decision making, as well.
  4375.  
  4376. The four of them settled on which inn to stay and dispersed after promising to meet up later that evening.
  4377.  
  4378. Haramark was a pretty large city in its own right, but compared to Scheherazade, it was definitely lacking in many areas. No matter where he went, he found a large crowd of people walking on the avenues, and when he looked at all the tall buildings and the straight roads, he could definitely feel that, yes, he was now inside the capital city.
  4379.  
  4380. A short while later….
  4381.  
  4382. ‘Wow.’
  4383.  
  4384. Seol Jihu asked around and found his way to Sinyoung’s HQ. Once he felt the impressive splendor coming from the entrance of the building, he couldn’t help but let out a stunned gasp. He was expecting to be awed somewhat already since Sinyoung was supposed to be the biggest organization in Paradise, but well, this was the case of ‘seeing is believing’.
  4385.  
  4386. ‘It’s like I’ve come to the Taj Mahal or something.’
  4387.  
  4388. He was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight, but he quickly reined in his emotions. Originally, he wasn’t supposed to come here, but his situation had changed rather greatly compared to before.
  4389.  
  4390. Kim Hannah told him not to show up here until he had built up a sufficient reputation for himself to prevent Sinyoung from trying to entrap him. And if she needed him for something, she’d personally come seeking him out. That’s what she said.
  4391.  
  4392. Well, Seol Jihu believed that he already met all the prerequisites. Carpe Diem was one of the top-ranked teams in Haramark, and its leader Dylan was an Earthling with deep ties to both the Triads and Sicilia. Not only that, he was on speaking terms with Princess Teresa Hussey and was also a friend to Ian Denzel the famed Alchemist, so Sinyoung wouldn’t try something rash now, he thought.
  4393.  
  4394. ‘It’s not like I’ve done something wrong, either.’
  4395.  
  4396. He just came here to meet Kim Hannah, that was all.
  4397.  
  4398. Because of the massive size of the organization, there were plenty of people going in and out of the front entrance, so Seol Jihu was successful in his attempt to slip in among the crowd unnoticed.
  4399.  
  4400. He began glancing around, wondering if he could spot any familiar faces. Soon, his steps took him past the front entrance.
  4401.  
  4402.  
  4403.  
  4404.  
  4405.  
  4406. Chapter 67. Encounter (2)
  4407.  
  4408.  
  4409.  
  4410.  
  4411. * * *
  4412.  
  4413.  
  4414.  
  4415. The interior of Sinyoung’s headquarters was even more luxurious than the building’s exterior. Adding to the fact that there was quite a throng of people coming in and out, Seol Jihu couldn’t immediately tell whether he had set foot inside a top-class department store or a top corporation’s lobby.
  4416.  
  4417. He stood there looking around and a while later, discovered the reception desk. When he walked closer, a young woman wearing a tidy uniform greeted him with a smile.
  4418.  
  4419. “How may I be of assistance?”
  4420.  
  4421. “I’d like to speak to someone working here.”
  4422.  
  4423. “Please provide me the name of the person you’ve made an appointment with.”
  4424.  
  4425. “Oh, no. I don’t have an appointment. Can you call Miss Kim Hannah down here for me, please?”
  4426.  
  4427. After hearing his rather forthright demand, the reception lady’s eyes went round.
  4428.  
  4429. “You mean, Director Kim?”
  4430.  
  4431. “Yes, her. Tell her that it’s Seol. She’ll know right away.”
  4432.  
  4433. The reception lady didn’t say anything, but simply blinked her eyes a couple of times. She looked at the youth’s attire and tilted her head for a moment or two before her gaze shifted over to the ice-colored spear emitting chilling air behind him and nodded her head slightly.
  4434.  
  4435. “Please wait for a moment.”
  4436.  
  4437. He was worried about not being able to meet Kim Hannah without an appointment, but let off a huge sigh of relief inwardly when the reception lady took out a communication crystal.
  4438.  
  4439. “It’s Park Ahrah from the reception desk. By any chance, is Director Kim in her office today? Oh, actually, there is….”
  4440.  
  4441. The reception girl sneaked a glance at Seol Jihu, and then…..
  4442.  
  4443. “He said he’s Mister Seol…. Pardon?”
  4444.  
  4445. ….She was clearly startled by something as she quickly shifted her gaze over to the stairs in the distance. Seol Jihu followed after her gaze and looked over yonder, and not too long after that, spotted a woman kitted out in a smart business suit quickly walking down the stairs with a small bag in her hand. It was, of course, Kim Hannah.
  4446.  
  4447. ‘That was quick!’
  4448.  
  4449. Regardless, Seol Jihu waved his hand, feeling happy to see her.
  4450.  
  4451. “Hey, Kim Hannah!”
  4452.  
  4453. “Hey, you. Been a while.”
  4454.  
  4455. She smiled refreshingly and replied.
  4456.  
  4457. “What brings you here? Coming to see me all of a sudden like this.”
  4458.  
  4459. “Well, I wanted to see you.”
  4460.  
  4461. “You craz…. Well, should we get out of here to have a chat then? As you can see, it’s a bit of a madhouse here.”
  4462.  
  4463. Kim Hannah spoke really quickly. She even grabbed Seol Jihu’s arm and pulled at him before he had a chance to reply. As soon as her back was turned towards the reception desk, the smile on her face evaporated in an instant.
  4464.  
  4465. “Come with me.”
  4466.  
  4467. She whispered to him and yanked him by his arm. Seol Jihu could only open and shut his mouth like a goldfish and got helplessly dragged outside by her.
  4468.  
  4469. By the time Kim Hannah stopped walking like a possessed person, they were in a comparatively deserted side street.
  4470.  
  4471. She uncrossed her arms and planted her hands on her waist. She glared at the heavens above in total silence, before letting a long, long sigh escape from her mouth.
  4472.  
  4473. Meanwhile, Seol Jihu just stood there, staring. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like he had done something naughty here for some reason.
  4474.  
  4475. “Okay, so.”
  4476.  
  4477. Kim Hannah spun around to glare at him with narrowed eyes.
  4478.  
  4479. “Since you showed up in the capital and even dared to shove your head inside the jaw of a tiger, I guess you got yourself some sort of a safety net behind you.”
  4480.  
  4481. What with her facial muscles twitching like that, if he jokingly said “Nope” here, she might really cause him some bodily harm.
  4482.  
  4483. “Yeah, I think I’m pretty well covered.”
  4484.  
  4485. “…Really?”
  4486.  
  4487. Kim Hannah’s barely-contained self, looking as if she’d blow her top at any moment, seemed to ease up a little. Seol Jihu seized upon this opening and quickly followed up.
  4488.  
  4489. “I entered a team.”
  4490.  
  4491. “A team? Which one?”
  4492.  
  4493. “Carpe Diem.”
  4494.  
  4495. Kim Hannah’s eyes became small dots like a rabbit’s. She wordlessly stared at him, before her lips parted slightly.
  4496.  
  4497. “Heh~eh. That’s a surprise. I thought the requirements to join Carpe Diem were supposed to be pretty strict. So, how did you find yourself in a team famed for their close-mindedness?”
  4498.  
  4499. “You know about them?”
  4500.  
  4501. “Do I ‘know’ about them? C’mon, it’s a team containing Edward Dylan, A High Ranker. He’s a Level 5 Arch Shooter, for crying out loud. Both Chung Chohong and Richard Hugo are known as skillful fighters, too.”
  4502.  
  4503. This time, it was Seol Jihu’s turn to be surprised.
  4504.  
  4505. “Chohong’s surname was ‘Chung’?”
  4506.  
  4507. “Yeah. She’s from Area 7, the so-called Independent League. She’s from Hong Kong and is famous for walking on the path of a Warrior, even though she’s supposed to be a Priest. People see her as a success story for someone with a dual class.”
  4508.  
  4509. Kim Hannah recited the info in her head before asking him again.
  4510.  
  4511. “Never mind that. So, you fearlessly showed up in Sinyoung all because of Carpe Diem, is it?”
  4512.  
  4513. “Well, there are others.”
  4514.  
  4515. “?”
  4516.  
  4517. “I built up some connections with the Haramark Royal Family. I also got to know the royal family’s Magician, Master Ian.”
  4518.  
  4519. One of Kim Hannah’s brows shot up.
  4520.  
  4521. “Are you talking about Ian Denzel, by any chance?”
  4522.  
  4523. “Wow, you really do know everything.”
  4524.  
  4525. Seol Jihu was genuinely impressed.
  4526.  
  4527. “You, you are only saying that because….”
  4528.  
  4529. Kim Hannah was about to finish the rest of that sentence with “…Because you don’t want to get scolded by me, right?”, but she promptly shut her mouth up after the youth smiled brightly and swung the spear around while saying, “Look, look! Princess gave this to me.”
  4530.  
  4531. Even with a casual look, she could tell that the spear wasn’t a simple weapon. At the very least, it wasn’t something a newbie Warrior should be walking around with.
  4532.  
  4533. “So, how about it?”
  4534.  
  4535. Seol Jihu straightened his back proudly. Kim Hannah stared at him with narrowed, probing eyes before slowly crossing her arms with a smirk on her lips.
  4536.  
  4537. “Hmph. Trying to show off. Oh, well. I’ll say that you managed to get yourself a helmet, at least.”
  4538.  
  4539. “Only that?”
  4540.  
  4541. “It’s not ‘only that’, okay?”
  4542.  
  4543. Kim Hannah’s voice suddenly became rather small. Even though there was no one around, she was being even more cautious.
  4544.  
  4545. “I mean, seriously, you just had to show up on the same day that the First Lady decided to come back…”
  4546.  
  4547. ‘First Lady?’
  4548.  
  4549. Seol Jihu asked.
  4550.  
  4551. “Are you talking about Miss Yun Seora?”
  4552.  
  4553. “No.”
  4554.  
  4555. Kim Hannah quickly shook her head.
  4556.  
  4557. “We can count Lady Yun Seora as your ally in this case. If the First Lady takes a full-on interest in you and reaches out, then Youngest Lady Yun Seora is the only person currently in Sinyoung who can shield you from her. She has the necessary drive to do so, and that’s after not taking into account her abilities, too.”
  4558.  
  4559. Seol Jihu had no idea what was going on here. But even then, he could sense something like a political machination was taking place behind the scenes.
  4560.  
  4561. It was at this point that Kim Hannah flinched somewhat and pulled out a communication crystal from her small bag. She then formed a deep frown.
  4562.  
  4563. “Look. They are calling me already.”
  4564.  
  4565. “Did I do something wrong?”
  4566.  
  4567. “Well, not exactly, but….”
  4568.  
  4569. Kim Hannah massaged her forehead as if she was suffering from a migraine. She then told him to stay here and wait for her and hurriedly walked away.
  4570.  
  4571. She didn’t look like she’d be back in a jiffy, though. Seol Jihu fished out a packet of smokes and scanned his surroundings for a bit. He had no problem smoking anywhere back in Haramark, but well, having seen how neat and clean the streets of Scheherazade were, he thought that smoking publicly might not be an accepted practice in this city.
  4572.  
  4573. Seol Jihu continued to look for a suitable place and eventually settled on a small alleyway next to a building with a signboard that proclaimed it to be the ‘Teahouse of the Winds and Fairies’. When he got there, he found a flowerbed in the alleyway filled with small but beautiful flowers.
  4574.  
  4575. ‘….Well, this sucks.’
  4576.  
  4577. He felt this quite often, but well, his current situation came across as a big unfair slap on his face. Seriously now, he helped Sinyoung out, not wronged them in any shape or form, so why were they so dead-set on swallowing him up like a greedy predator?
  4578.  
  4579. ‘Really now, I gotta get stronger soon and make them stop this bullshit….’
  4580.  
  4581. He figured that things would change the moment he reached the realms of High Rankers. For one, he’d consume his Divine Elixirs, use up all the accumulated points, and, most importantly, use the ‘Divine Stigmata’.
  4582.  
  4583. Of course, all those things were far, far away….
  4584.  
  4585. Seol Jihu sucked on the cigarette before unhappily spitting the smoke out.
  4586.  
  4587. “….Excuse me.”
  4588.  
  4589. It was then, he was greeted by a warm, soothing voice.
  4590.  
  4591. “My apologies, but it is forbidden to smoke here.”
  4592.  
  4593. Seol Jihu’s brows shot up, and he quickly looked to his sides. Where did that voice come from?!
  4594.  
  4595. “This is private property, but at the same time, the flowers in the garden are especially sensitive towards cigarette smoke, you see.”
  4596.  
  4597. A friendly voice that spoke as if to pacify a crying child continued to enter his ears. Seol Jihu hurriedly killed the cigarette.
  4598.  
  4599. “I, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
  4600.  
  4601. He then spun around and saw the face of the woman who had emerged from the side exit of the building. At the same time…
  4602.  
  4603. “Oh, no, it’s fine. There’s no need for you to kill the cigarette, though. If you walk a little away from here, you can find a pla….?!”
  4604.  
  4605. …The woman suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence roughly at the same time as well.
  4606.  
  4607. “Oh, my goodness.”
  4608.  
  4609. The woman covered her mouth up with her slender hand.
  4610.  
  4611. Out of the blue, he picked up on a familiar scent. When he looked into her gradually-widening, elegantly shaped and pure eyes….
  4612.  
  4613. “….”
  4614.  
  4615. Seol Jihu was overcome with a feeling that he was facing a calm yet infinitely wide ocean.
  4616.  
  4617. ‘…Yoo Seonhwa?!’
  4618.  
  4619. No, it wasn’t her. The quiet and soothing aura was eerily similar, but when he took a closer look, it was also somewhat different. Should he say that this woman’s aura felt a bit more mature?
  4620.  
  4621. From her long, smoothly-arching eyelashes; from her hair that cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall; from her scarlet lips that sported the inviting colour of a well-ripened fruit; from her slender shoulders and straight collar bones; and even from her skin glowing in the pale hues of a ripe apricot, as well as her white dress that perfectly suited her….
  4622.  
  4623. Most importantly, a wonderful fragrance wafted off from her direction. It was reminiscent of the warm rays of Spring that made one close their eyes and deeply savor the moment.
  4624.  
  4625. Just as his thought arrived at this point….
  4626.  
  4627. [Let us meet again, little prince.]
  4628.  
  4629. …He forgot to breathe then.
  4630.  
  4631. “…Ah.”
  4632.  
  4633. Unconsciously, he dropped the cigarette in his hand. The childhood memories that he had completely forgotten about rushed back in.
  4634.  
  4635. But why? Why did he suddenly remember the events of that day?
  4636.  
  4637. As the unknown stimulated his brain, Seol Jihu followed his instincts and activated his ‘Nine Eyes’. Then, he freaked out again.
  4638.  
  4639. ‘W-Why?’
  4640.  
  4641. When he saw no visible spectrum of color coming off from her, he simply chalked that up to yet another case of her being colorless. However, even the special ability of the green color, the ‘General Observation’, failed to activate. No matter how hard he tried, this woman’s Status Window didn’t want to show up. This was the first time something like this happened.
  4642.  
  4643. It was then.
  4644.  
  4645. “If it’s okay with you….”
  4646.  
  4647. The woman slowly lowered her hand from her face and pointed to the side entrance of the building.
  4648.  
  4649. “We do have a separate smoking area inside. Would you like to use that instead?”
  4650.  
  4651. A suggestion made with her elegant yet gentle-sounding voice made Seol Jihu nod his head almost out of pure instinct. But then….
  4652.  
  4653. “Hey, you! What do you think you’re doi….??”
  4654.  
  4655. Kim Hannah ended her call and entered the alleyway to look for Seol Jihu, only for her eyes to grow as wide as bulbs on a lamp post.
  4656.  
  4657. “You, you are….”
  4658.  
  4659. The woman softly turned her head towards Kim Hannah, prompting the latter to hurriedly open her mouth.
  4660.  
  4661. “M-my apologies.”
  4662.  
  4663. For the first time ever, Seol Jihu witnessed Kim Hannah hurriedly lower her head like that.
  4664.  
  4665. “This kid only entered Paradise in March this year, so…. He still doesn’t know anything….”
  4666.  
  4667. A certain light flickered in the woman’s eyes.
  4668.  
  4669. “Is that so.”
  4670.  
  4671. She then formed a gentle, inviting smile.
  4672.  
  4673. “If you need a quiet place to talk, then you can come inside.”
  4674.  
  4675. “….E-Excuse me?”
  4676.  
  4677. Kim Hannah quickly asked back with a dazed face.
  4678.  
  4679. “B-But, what about the restraining order?”
  4680.  
  4681. “I’ll always welcome you if you wish to visit me as a customer.”
  4682.  
  4683. The woman answered with a gentle smile, politely gathered her hands in front, and turned around. She then stepped into the side entrance without saying anything else. Her white dress was cut low and exposed almost all of her back, but rather than looking cheap or too risqué, she came across as refined and dignified from the way she walked and carried herself.
  4684.  
  4685. “Puha!”
  4686.  
  4687. Seol Jihu stared at that back like a man bewitched, before regaining his senses the moment Kim Hannah spat out her breath.
  4688.  
  4689. “You…. Just what happened here?”
  4690.  
  4691. Now that was the question he wanted to ask her, instead. No, he had a crap ton of other things to ask her, too.
  4692.  
  4693. “Who is she?”
  4694.  
  4695. When he replied to her with a question of his own, Kim Hannah spat out a long, heavy sigh as if to say, “I thought as much.”
  4696.  
  4697. “Yup, there was no way you’d know each other.”
  4698.  
  4699. “Also, what was that about the restraining order, too?”
  4700.  
  4701. “You don’t need to know.”
  4702.  
  4703. Kim Hannah cut the conversation short right there while licking her lower lip. Her face looked as if she couldn’t figure out whether she was dreaming or not.
  4704.  
  4705. “Okay, for the time being, let’s go inside.”
  4706.  
  4707. “You want to go in?”
  4708.  
  4709. “I mean, she invited us in, so we must go inside. You think such an opportunity comes around every day?”
  4710.  
  4711. Slap!
  4712.  
  4713. She slapped her own cheeks and recovered her usual demeanor right away.
  4714.  
  4715. “And besides, we’ll be able to talk without worry if it’s in there.”
  4716.  
  4717. “….Is that somehow related to the restraining order you’ve been talking about?”
  4718.  
  4719. “Yup. What a surprising turn of events this is. I even get to enter this place all thanks to you.”
  4720.  
  4721. She said that while cautiously entering the side entrance. Seol Jihu also hurried after her.
  4722.  
  4723. *
  4724.  
  4725. The interior turned out to be unexpectedly empty. There should have been a number of tables and chairs here, but there were none.
  4726.  
  4727. “I see that you’re almost finished with the preparation to leave, ma’am.”
  4728.  
  4729. Kim Hannah mouthed “Excuse us” with her trademark business smile and entered.
  4730.  
  4731. “Yes. The only thing remaining is choosing where to go.”
  4732.  
  4733. The woman grinned and lightly patted a long table attached to the counter. There were two chairs nearby; she must’ve brought them out just now.
  4734.  
  4735. Kim Hannah cautiously settled down on one of the chairs and opened her mouth.
  4736.  
  4737. “Although it is regrettable, it’s also an honor for me. I’d never have guessed that I am going to drink the very last tea made by you, Lady Seo Yuhui….”
  4738.  
  4739. ‘Seo Yuhui?’
  4740.  
  4741. While taking a seat next to Kim Hannah, Seol Jihu swallowed his saliva. Seo Yuhui, Seo Yuhui…. Fearing that he might forget this name, he continued to repeat it in his head.
  4742.  
  4743. Seo Yuhui gently chuckled before speaking up.
  4744.  
  4745. “Which tea would you like to have?”
  4746.  
  4747. “Oh, I’m fine with anything, actually.”
  4748.  
  4749. “How about you?”
  4750.  
  4751. “Ah, well, I….”
  4752.  
  4753. Seol Jihu was thinking of initiating a conversation with this mystery woman through this opening, but Kim Hannah was one step faster; she reached out with her hand and covered his mouth.
  4754.  
  4755. “This kid doesn’t mind whatever it is.”
  4756.  
  4757. Seol Jihu tried to pry her hand away but to no avail. Meanwhile, Seo Yuhui simply formed an enigmatic smile.
  4758.  
  4759. “He must be your lover.”
  4760.  
  4761. “Eeeehh?? No, of course not!!!”
  4762.  
  4763. Kim Hannah jumped up from her seat.
  4764.  
  4765. “Who would want to go out with this guy?! No, our relationship is simply one of a contractor and a contractee. Nothing more.”
  4766.  
  4767. She laughed out loud and quite strongly denied it.
  4768.  
  4769. “Oh, I see. It’s just that, you two seemed very familiar with each other.”
  4770.  
  4771. Seo Yuhui tilted her head slightly as if she was somewhat confused. When her gaze met Seol Jihu’s, she smiled brightly.
  4772.  
  4773. No matter how many times he saw it, her smile suited her fantastically. Not only that, but her voice reading out each of the syllables, her smooth and silky hand gestures, and the graceful air about her, easily caused his heart to flutter almost uncontrollably.
  4774.  
  4775. She wasn’t exactly his ideal type, but…
  4776.  
  4777. If he were to describe the feeling he got when meeting Teresa Hussey for the first time as a type of ‘strong attraction’, then from Seo Yuhui, he felt a deep sense of familiarity.
  4778.  
  4779. An atmosphere that was kinda like, she’d gracefully accept whatever prank he’d pull, and shelter him from the storm, that sort of things.
  4780.  
  4781. ‘Wait. Aren’t I putting all the carts in front of a horse here?’
  4782.  
  4783. Nothing had been confirmed so far. Seol Jihu could only form a wry smile after finally waking up from his deep dive into the sea of imagination.
  4784.  
  4785. “Please wait for a moment. I’ll bring them out very soon.”
  4786.  
  4787. Seo Yuhui turned around and began wringing out tea water.
  4788.  
  4789. “You can take your time. There’s no rush.”
  4790.  
  4791. Kim Hannah politely explained and then poked Seol Jihu on the side as the youth sat there rigidly and stared his front in a daze.
  4792.  
  4793. “Speak up.”
  4794.  
  4795. “M-mm??”
  4796.  
  4797. “Not ‘m-mm’, I want you to start telling me what happened.”
  4798.  
  4799. Seo Yuhui softly giggled as if she found Kim Hannah’s impersonation rather funny.
  4800.  
  4801. “If I’m honest, I still can’t figure it out. It hasn’t been that long since you left the Neutral Zone, yet you’re already a member of Carpe Diem, you got a damn spear as a gift from Princess Teresa Hussey, and became friends with Ian Denzel? What the hell?”
  4802.  
  4803. “Mm…. Well, it’s a long story.”
  4804.  
  4805. “Start from the beginning. Don’t you dare leave anything out, too. Don’t worry, you can speak freely in this place.”
  4806.  
  4807. Seol Jihu nodded his head and slowly recounted his experiences so far. He started from when he arrived at Haramark, in full detail. He gradually grew excited after seeing Kim Hannah respond at the right time, meaning that she was concentrating fully on his story.
  4808.  
  4809. “So, I went over to the inn with them, thinking that being a porter would be better than nothing. But, like a lie, I found Carpe Diem waiting for us there. We discussed the scouting mission of the Forest of Denial, and…..”
  4810.  
  4811. “What did you just say?!”
  4812.  
  4813. Right at that point, Kim Hannah abruptly cut him off even before he could finish his sentence. She had been listening quietly until then, so Seol Jihu had been left flustered by her sudden burst of fury.
  4814.  
  4815. “Forest of Denial?!?!”
  4816.  
  4817. “….Uh, yeah.”
  4818.  
  4819. “Y-You…. THE Forest of Denial?? FOREST of DENIAL?!?!”
  4820.  
  4821. When Seol Jihu nodded his head, Kim Hannah’s eyes opened super wide, before she…
  4822.  
  4823. “You idiot!!”
  4824.  
  4825. ….She loudly yelled at him.
  4826.  
  4827. “Are you out of your mind?! You actually entered the Forest of Denial?!”
  4828.  
  4829. Kim Hannah’s expression crumpled unsightly. Her lips bobbed up and down non-stop, and even her neck trembled visibly. Her reaction easily exceeded his expectations.
  4830.  
  4831. “You, you…. You promised me not to go any further south than….”
  4832.  
  4833. She couldn’t even finish what she wanted to say as if she was far too shocked for that.
  4834.  
  4835. “Do you have any idea what kind of a place that forest is?!”
  4836.  
  4837. Yup, here it was.
  4838.  
  4839. Her explosive nagging landed hot and heavy on Seol Jihu, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment there.
  4840.  
  4841. “That’s the border region!! The damn border region! Not only that, it’s where the Federation and the Parasites meet!!”
  4842.  
  4843. “I know, but they don’t invade through there because of the forest’s effects.”
  4844.  
  4845. “Oh, really now?! So, you’re saying you did a smart thing, is that it?”
  4846.  
  4847. “….No, not necessarily….”
  4848.  
  4849. “Gimme a break. Christ on a pogo stick, somebody just shoot me, please! Don’t you know how terrifying that place is?! Also, a group of Lioners including a leader and a female was found there, too…..?!”
  4850.  
  4851. Kim Hannah fired out many words like a machine gun, before abruptly stopping there, her brows visibly tightening.
  4852.  
  4853. “W-wait a minute. I remember now, the guy who compiled the report on the Forest of Denial was Ian Denzel…. No way.”
  4854.  
  4855. Kim Hannah muttered to herself before glaring at him with eyes that could almost definitely kill somebody.
  4856.  
  4857. “L-Listen. We encountered a Lioner horde, but you see, I….”
  4858.  
  4859. “Keep quiet!!”
  4860.  
  4861. Her loud roar reverberated within the interior.
  4862.  
  4863. Seol Jihu went ‘Oops’ and quickly shifted his gaze over to Seo Yuhui. She was standing without moving in the slightest. Just a moment ago, she had been wringing out tea water with great care, but now, she wasn’t moving an inch.
  4864.  
  4865. “You crazy fool! You deranged idiot! You really wanna kill yourself that badly?!”
  4866.  
  4867. “….”
  4868.  
  4869. “Hey, you dumbass! Those are creatures that not even High Rankers can….!”
  4870.  
  4871. Tak.
  4872.  
  4873. Just before Kim Hannah completely blew her top, two teacups were placed on the table. It was Seo Yuhui.
  4874.  
  4875. “Please, calm yourself. Here, drink this.”
  4876.  
  4877. Kim Hannah grabbed the teacup and took an unhesitating gulp out of her sheer enraged state. She probably didn’t find the tea hot because she was drinking it with seemingly no problem.
  4878.  
  4879. “Fuu-woo! Fuu-woo!! I, I’m sorry for the d-disturbance….!!”
  4880.  
  4881. Kim Hannah panted heavily like an angry bull. Meanwhile, Seo Yuhui was carrying an unreadable expression. There was even a hint of anger somewhere in there, too. The issue with that being, she wasn’t looking at Kim Hannah, but she was glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.
  4882.  
  4883. ‘But, why?’
  4884.  
  4885. Seo Yuhui lightly bit her lip.
  4886.  
  4887. “….Would you like a cup of iced water?”
  4888.  
  4889. “P-Please!! I’m feeling really, really… this…”
  4890.  
  4891. “Of course. Please wait for a moment.”
  4892.  
  4893. Seo Yuhui spoke as if she completely agreed with Kim Hannah and turned around. Meanwhile, the latter somehow managed to get a grip on her rage and spoke in a relatively calmer voice.
  4894.  
  4895. “Okay, so. You were able to get this and that all thanks to the meritorious deeds of surviving the Forest of Denial, is that it?”
  4896.  
  4897. “Well….. Not exactly.”
  4898.  
  4899. “There’s more?!”
  4900.  
  4901. Seol Jihu avoided her glare.
  4902.  
  4903. “Y-you. You better look at me and tell me everything, you hear? Don’t think you can hide anything from me because with Sinyoung’s information network, I can find out pretty much everything you wanna hide, okay?”
  4904.  
  4905. “….”
  4906.  
  4907. “You still not saying anything??”
  4908.  
  4909. “….Only when you promise not to get angry.”
  4910.  
  4911. When he unwillingly replied, Kim Hannah formed eyes of an axe murderer ready to strike. She slapped the table, hard.
  4912.  
  4913. “You better speak up now, while I’m still being nice. Besides, I don’t think I can get any angrier than I am now.”
  4914.  
  4915. “Well, I, uh……. When we were coming out of the Forest of Denial, there was a sudden communication from the royal family.”
  4916.  
  4917. “I don’t care about that. Get to the point!”
  4918.  
  4919. Kim Hannah coughed once and gulped down the remaining half of the tea still left in the cup.
  4920.  
  4921. “….Well, the Parasites attacked the Arden Fortress, so our team met up with the army led by the Princess midway and joined them so we could head to the Arden Valley…..”
  4922.  
  4923. “Phuwoooo!!”
  4924.  
  4925. Kim Hannah grandly spewed out the tea water out of her mouth. Thanks to that, he was now showered with a mixture of liquids containing her spit, but that wasn’t really important at the moment.
  4926.  
  4927. Kim Hannah was now staring at him with a dazed expression.
  4928.  
  4929. “….You also participated in that?”
  4930.  
  4931. Nod.
  4932.  
  4933. “A Level 1 Warrior did what? No, no, no. Wait a minute.”
  4934.  
  4935. If there was one thing Seol Jihu hadn’t been aware of, that would be the small fact that Kim Hannah had already heard of everything regarding the defense of the Arden Fortress.
  4936.  
  4937. To be more specific, all the related stories regarding the unexpected victory were some of the most hotly discussed topics among Earthlings for the past few days. Everyone expected the Haramark Royal Family to abandon the fortress, yet them achieving a resounding victory took almost all who heard the news by surprise. And they were facing off against Parasites too.
  4938.  
  4939. “A low-level Warrior volunteered as bait and successfully lured in the Parasite army, and at a certain ravine……”
  4940.  
  4941. Hoping that it wasn’t so, Kim Hannah carefully remembered the contents of the report she read, but then….
  4942.  
  4943. “Aha, hahaha… I, uh, those chasing Cockroaches were pretty scary.”
  4944.  
  4945. Seol Jihu awkwardly laughed out.
  4946.  
  4947. “You crazy bastard…!!”
  4948.  
  4949. She swung her hand rather powerfully. SLAP!! Seol Jihu spat out a pained moan when her palm landed his back.
  4950.  
  4951. “You’re insane! Have you lost your mind?! Have you??!”
  4952.  
  4953. Slap! Slap!! Slap!!!
  4954.  
  4955. She slapped him on the back multiple times, but maybe that wasn’t enough, because she then began panting out breathlessly as if no air was entering her lungs. She pounded on her chest and grabbed the back of her neck, which in turn, made Seol Jihu enter a flustered state.
  4956.  
  4957. He was about to ask for that promised cup of iced water, but then…
  4958.  
  4959. “…??”
  4960.  
  4961. He spotted Seo Yuhui’s unmoving back once more. As if she was also dazed out of her mind, her arms lay limp on her side and her head was leaning back, her eyes obviously staring at the ceiling above.
  4962.  
  4963. She then grasped the cup of water with enough force to almost shatter it and gulped the cold liquid down in one go. When she slammed the empty cup down, Seol Jihu felt a certain sense of power from her, which he hadn’t sensed before.
  4964.  
  4965. “…Fuu-woo….”
  4966.  
  4967. She then even spat out a long sigh, too.
  4968.  
  4969. Guessing that she was angry at all the noise, Seol Jihu tried his best to calm Kim Hannah down before things could get worse.
  4970.  
  4971. A short while later…..
  4972.  
  4973. “You moron….”
  4974.  
  4975. Kim Hannah hid her face with her hands and began to tearfully mutter to herself.
  4976.  
  4977. Seol Jihu sheepishly scratched his cheek and flinched somewhat when he realized that Seo Yuhui was staring straight at him.
  4978.  
  4979. ‘And why is she looking at me like that now….?’
  4980.  
  4981.  
  4982.