Chapter 97 (2/2)
“There is something I would like to ask you.”
“Tell me.”
“I want to touch your body.”
“W-What?”
I raised my hands reflexively and covered my body.
[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is fl.u.s.tered by the sudden confession.]
[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is showing strange curiosity.]
[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is wondering how he will touch.]
“My body? W-Why?”
“I want to put Mudur’s blood in your body.”
...Ah, this was what he meant.
I coughed. “Cough. Why do you want to do this?”
“Recently, I was looking for a way to strengthen the frost orcs by putting Mudur’s blood into the body of the frost orcs. This is to eliminate the weaknesses of us orcs but I eventually failed. Still, I think it might be possible if it is you. Chwiiik.”
Was this brat angry because he lost the duel? I really had this thought. It was hard to understand Sven in front of me. It was true that a genius was eccentric.
“What do I get from it?”
“Chwik. You’ll be able to gain strength.”
“Hrmm, strength...”
I was troubled for a moment. Could I trust Sven? In a movie, there would usually be a development where the entire body was modified to become an artificial human. What should I do?
Sven told me, “I won’t overdo it.”
“Really?”
I couldn’t believe it. It was due to the message that appeared in front of my eyes.
[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ has an ominous feeling.]
Nothing good had ever happened whenever I saw this message. The moment I was about to turn down Sven’s offer, Camille’s message stopped me.
[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is saying it isn’t ominous all the time.]
“Eh? No, he has been feeling something ominous all day.”
[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ says that his prophecy ability is now incomplete.]
“I think I have heard that before...”
The first time I had heard this was when I met Prometheus at the Star Coffee House. Didn’t he say that his prophetic ability wasn’t the same as before because he was missing one arm? Finally, Prometheus’ message came up.
[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is nodding.]
Did this jerk make an uncertain prophecy? Suddenly, I felt some distrust toward him. I couldn’t help pouting and glaring and I could feel Prometheus’ emotions.
[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is coughing and shifting his gaze.]
This bad guy.
“Why are you speaking to yourself? Chwiik.” Sven was staring at me.
I was embarrassed for a moment and couldn’t help coughing. “Cough, it isn’t a big deal. Can I believe you?”
“Chwiiik. Of course.” Sven licked his lips.
* * *
After splitting up with the group, I wandered through the labyrinth again. Gyeonso Dragon said he wanted to test the performance of his newly acquired gloves by hunting nearby monsters and Kim Sujeong said she would follow along. Now there was Drain next to me. “It has been a long since I’ve been alone with Buroder.”
“That's right. Isn’t this the first time since Mulan?”
“Yes, it seems like yesterday when you wanted to learn English from me.”
“Haven’t I made progress in my English?”
“No, you still have a long way to go.”
“Damn you. What’s wrong with telling me that I’ve improved?”
Drain replied, “However, that isn’t the case.”
Sven was walking in front of us and looked back as we talked. Maybe we were too noisy.
I spoke to Drain in a quiet voice, “Hey, I have a question.”
“What is this...?”
“At that time, I mean. The time I first applied for a party with you.”
“Ah! I remember. How surprised was I at that time? It was really good.”
“Yes. Do you remember what you said when you were surprised?”
“Ah, that... hahaha.” Drain laughed with embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.
I asked him, “What does it mean? I wanted to ask for a long time but I forgot.”
I heard a detailed explanation from Drain. It turned out that ‘Wat da park’ was considered a swear word. It was a Western swearing used when something very absurd happened. Drain told me, “I was sorry at the time. It came out habitually without my knowledge.”
“It’s okay. In fact, there was nothing wrong. Still, what is the pronunciation? Wat-da-park?”
It was pronounced in a manner similar to ‘hamburger.’ Damn. Suddenly, I was hungry.
“No, you need to make your last pronunciation stronger. Now follow me. Ppark!”
“Ppark!”
“Gut job! That’s how you say it. Gut, gut!”
Drain had just raised his thumb when the scenery around us suddenly changed. I felt something dismal and creepy.
“We’re nearly there. Over here. Guruk.” Sven was pointing to another cave.
I could see a staircase leading down to endless darkness. It was deeper than I thought and I couldn’t help gulping. Damn, this was obviously sinister... So I have to come here?
[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is praying for you.]
...This son of a bitch. He didn’t send a message that it was ominous anymore. Prometheus was calm despite sending that message a few times. I sighed deeply and followed Sven into the cave. How far did we go down? We were finally able to reach the bottom.
“This is the blood of the primordial orc, Mudur. Chwiiik.”
My eyes followed Sven’s fingers and I saw a huge pool of blood. No, the blood flow was enough to call it a river of blood. I looked at it and shouted, “Wat-da-pa...”