Chapter 103 (1/2)

Chapter 103. The Threads of Bonds Coming Together (5)

[Well done.]

Gula spoke in a rare, upbeat voice.

[Not only did you stop the Parasites' plan, but you also dealt their forces a considerable blow. Even the Parasite Queen should have no choice but to falter because of that.]

It sounded like she was praising him. To confirm this, Seol Jihu bowed down and immediately felt a gentle touch stroking his hair. Was it because it was the hand of a G.o.ddess? He liked how warm it was.

[Well done. You earned us a lot of time.]

'Time?'

[Yes, this event will serve as a st.u.r.dy breakwater for when you fully jump into the flow of fate in the future.]

He was happy to be praised but not so much with her riddles.

'G.o.ddess Gula, I may sound impertinent, but can you be a bit more straightforward?'

[What do you mean?]

'Straightforward. You always seem to say things in a roundabout way.'

'For example, the five Ws — who, what, when, where, why. If you could at least explain things this way, won't it be easier for both of us?'

His bold question stopped Gula's hand, and Seol Jihu felt a tapping on his head; almost as if Gula was contemplating, 'What should I do with this child?'

[Didn't I tell you before? Revealing profound secrets would greatly affect the law of causality.]

'Is it that important to not affect the law of causality?'

[Of course, it is. You can bring about a desired effect by interfering with the cause. But the law of causality is always impartial.]

The gentle and consoling voice continued.

[Even if you can make the scale tip on one side, the law of causality will always balance it back.]

'Do you mean to say if you affect the cause to bring about a favorable effect, the other side will be given a similar cause and effect?'

[That's right. And if we are not careful, it might nullify everything we have done until now.]

'Then I guess, I can't pester you about that….'

Seol Jihu acquiesced quietly. Gula must have felt bad seeing his dejected look. Her voice rang out.

[It's not that I don't have things I want to say. Thankfully there are some possibilities ahead of us, so for the time being, be patient and focus on your growth. Worrying too much about this now would be the same as putting the cart before the horse.]

Seol Jihu's ears perked up after hearing that there was a method to avoid the balancing effect of the law of causality. However, he didn't press for an explanation any further than he needed.

Gula's serious tone made him feel that he shouldn't investigate the matter any further. Although his curiosity hadn't been satisfied, he decided to move along and finish what he came to do.

The situation with his level was exactly as he expected it to be. By partic.i.p.ating in the rescue mission, he had ama.s.sed quite a bit of experience and merit. His indirect involvement in the destruction of the laboratory and his subsequent survival against all odds gave him a large amount of contribution points.

It was so much that….

[In the name of Gula, I shall henceforth bestow Seol Jihu the t.i.tle of Level 3 Mana Lancer! I expect great feats befitting the one-of-kind cla.s.s from you!]

…He had experience points left over after he leveled up.

'What?'

Seol Jihu quickly raised his head, his excitement disappearing as a look of horror appeared on his face.

[What's wrong?]

'T-The cla.s.s name.'

[It's Mana Lancer.]

Seol Jihu's jaw dropped at Gula's firm answer, and then he quickly became depressed. After hesitating for a moment, he opened his eyes and muttered in his head, 'That's too harsh.'

'What the heck is a Mana Lancer….'

[What do you mean?]

'I mean, don't you have cooler cla.s.s names? I'm embarra.s.sed to tell people my cla.s.s name.'

[You little brat.]

Seol Jihu felt more strength entering the hand stroking his head. He quickly asked before he got smacked.

'Gulnim, there's something I want to ask.'

[Speak.]

'Would it be possible for you to awaken just one of the colors of the right side?'

[Not even remotely possible.]

Just as he expected, Gula refused flatly. Seol Jihu was rubbing his hands together with a pleading smile, but as soon as he heard Gula's answer, his expression turned cold.

[Don't even dream about it. The three colors of the right side are tied together and need to be awakened simultaneously. As I told you the last time, this takes a large amount of contribution points.]

Hearing this reply, Seol Jihu grumbled inwardly, 'You're a G.o.ddess, so do you have to be so stingy? At the very least, can't you change my cla.s.s name? Your naming sense sucks.' He complained in all possible ways.

[Impertinent!]

Thwack. In the end, Gula smacked him.

'Che!'

Seol Jihu rubbed his steaming head and snorted.

'Wait and see!'

He remembered hearing that Luxuria, the G.o.ddess of l.u.s.t, was like a kind older sister, who would give you a warm embrace. Furthermore, her voice was said to be sensual.

Seol Jihu vowed to start going to Luxuria's temple henceforth, instead of going here.

[Whew….]

While Gula sighed like she was disappointed, Seol Jihu confirmed the new abilities he could awaken. Mana Spear could evolve into 'Mana Spear – Multiple', but he pa.s.sed on it for now since he planned to learn this himself.

There was also the 'Aura', which amplified the cutting power and the destructive power of his spear. When he thought about how he learned this skill under Jang Maldong's training, a dumbfounded laugh escaped his mouth. Aura was a skill that could be learned at Level 3 and was extremely difficult to learn at Level 2.

Old Man Maldong was only trying to help him learn how to materialize his mana. But one thing Jang Maldong had overlooked was Seol Jihu's abnormally high Mana stat, which easily contended with the 'High Rankers'. He was able to learn Aura quickly with the help of Mana Circulation, which boasted a higher proficiency rank compared to his level, and the effect of Psychi's Tears.

The old man's face at the time was quite a sight to behold.

In any case, the remaining skill was the 'Flash Step', which sounded vaguely familiar.

'Some sort of a movement technique….?'

He felt like he'd seen it before in martial arts novels, but that was it. A worried look appeared on his face. He was obviously thinking, 'Just how the heck am I supposed to learn this?'

[I see that you're worried.]

'No, it's just….'

Seol Jihu shook his head, but upon realizing that Gula could read his mind, he laughed feebly.

[Fufu, you are worried over nothing.]

'Worried over nothing?'

[You don't have to worry about what is to come. That is, as long as you don't choose to run away or do nothing. After all, you've been weaving the threads of bonds one by one.]

'Ah, here she goes again with her enigmatic riddles.'

[The threads tied to you are trying to bind new bonds. So just be patient and wait.]

He had no clue what she meant by threads or bonds. He also didn't like the word 'bind', since it sounded like he was forcing people. But the message as a whole seemed to be a good one.

Seol Jihu nodded his head. He knew that talking back would only end up with him getting smacked. More importantly, his mind was currently filled with thoughts about Flash Step.

Jang Maldong must have been exhausted, as he lay sprawled on the couch. He had already met everyone he needed to, and wanted to head back. But people kept visiting him nonstop.

It wasn't that he disliked it. In fact, he was rather grateful that they remembered him. But even good things needed to be in moderation.

Plus, there were more than a few people who were expecting him to come out of retirement and return to Paradise. Also, it was a ch.o.r.e to have deep conversations.

And that wasn't all. If there was one topic he heard more than his retirement, it was the newbie. Everyone who visited him brought up the newbie, so much so that he was starting to get annoyed. But then again, his interest was piqued.

'Wait, what was that guy's name again…? Ah, no!'

He didn't finish his thought. He was retired. He didn't want to involve himself any further.

“I'll need to go back soon. If I stay any longer than this….”

Jang Maldong picked up his tie and coat before anyone else could come to bother him. But the heavens weren't so kind.

Knock, knock. Before he could even put on his tie, knocks rang out on the door. Jang Maldong let out a groan before plopping down on the couch and pressing his temples.

“…Come in, the door is open.”

The door opened. Who was it this time? Jang Maldong narrowed his eyes and turned to the door, only to be surprised.

“Is anyone here?”

An old voice rang out. The visitor looked just as old as Jang Maldong. The important thing was that he was someone Jang Maldong had never seen before. The old visitor looked at Jang Maldong and asked quietly.

“Excuse me, is there an Earthling named Seol here?”

'Right, it was Seol…. Wait, Earthling?'

People from Earth rarely referred to themselves as Earthlings. In the first place, the word was coined to distinguish between Earthlings and Paradisians, so it was often used by Paradisians.

“He seems to be out…. Ah, come in.”

“I see. Excuse me then, I'll be troubling you for a bit.”

The old visitor walked in and sat down on the couch across from Jang Maldong. Because the old visitor seemed to be the same age as him, Jang Maldong spoke politely, “Would you like to drink some tea while you wait?”

The old visitor did the same.

“No, I'm fine. Plus, I am not an Earthling.”

“Does it matter whether you are an Earthling or a Paradisian? Haha.”

Jang Maldong chuckled before brewing two cups of tea and handing one to the old visitor.

“T-Thank you.”

“No problem. That's a traditional Korean tea made from tea leaves found on Earth. It's sweet even though it doesn't have any sugar in it.”

The old visitor carefully took a sip before nodding his head.

“It tastes wonderful!”

“I'm happy that you like it. If you'd like, I can bring some for you to take back home.”

Seeing Jang Maldong roar with laughter, the old visitor was slightly taken aback. It seemed like he didn't know what to make of the unexpected treatment.

After taking a few more sips, Jang Maldong finally asked what he was wondering.

“Pardon me, but who might you be? Why are you trying to find that young man?” He asked politely.

As the old visitor was used to being treated as an NPC, he couldn't help but see Jang Maldong in a different light. He quickly fixed his posture to look like a gentleman before finally opening his mouth.

“I'm the village head of Ramman Village. I came to thank him on behalf of the village.”

“Excuse me?”

Jang Maldong was taken by surprise at the old visitor's unexpected reason for stopping by. It was then. Kiik. The door creaked open. Two pairs of eyes turned to the side simultaneously and found a young man walking in dejectedly.

“Huh?”

Seol Jihu must have seen the village head as he let out a surprised voice.

“Village head?”

Only then did the village head reveal a gentle smile.

“It's been a while.”

Seol Jihu and the village head conversed cordially for a long time. The atmosphere was quite decent, which was to be expected, given how much help they had given each other.

After being relegated to a spectator, Jang Maldong carefully listened to their conversation.

“You must be a fool, telling the king to use the gold bar you earned for our village. Do you know how surprised I was hearing that?”

'What?'

Jang Maldong was listening with his chin on his hand when he heard what the village head said and raised his head.

He earned what and used it how?

“I remembered you saying that you wanted to move to the city. I don't really like carrying debts on my shoulders, you see.”

“That's quite the way of paying back your debts. How did you manage to convince the king? I doubt he agreed easily.”

“He was troubled at first, so I had to tell him about your invaluable contribution on making the rescue mission a success. Ah, I also made sure to explain your circ.u.mstances, so you won't have to worry about being bothered by him.”

“Please! He already came to see me personally and indirectly asked if I would lend the royal family a hand.”

“Huuh?”

“Well, don't worry about it too much. He said he wouldn't mention my past, and I told him that I'd think about it.”

Despite what he was saying, the village head seemed happy that the king personally came to recruit him. At that moment, Seol Jihu was suddenly reminded of Gula's words about 'binding' others with bonds. But he quickly forgot about it and congratulated the old man.

The village head let out a dry cough. That was when he saw Jang Maldong sitting there in a daze and went, “Ah.” He realized he had gotten swept away by the atmosphere and ended up talking too much.

“Ah, he is….”

When Seol Jihu tried to introduce him, Jang Maldong opened his mouth, “I'm Jang Maldong, an insignificant villager.”

“Jang Maldong?”

The village head showed signs of being startled.

“Could you be Haramark's famous martial arts master…?”

“It's a false reputation.”

The village head shook his head.

“False reputation? I see that you're humble. Even among Paradisians, there are few who have not heard of the name Jang Maldong.”

After saying that, the village head held out his hand, “This insignificant villager is named Arbor Muto. May I have the honor?”

“I'm embarra.s.sed to take your hand.”

“Don't be. I know full well just how much you've done for Paradise until now. Since even the Head of a remote village knows about you, what more is there to say?”

Once the village head put it that way, Jang Maldong found it harder to refuse. Seol Jihu watched the two old men shake hands and smiled in awe.

'Old Man Maldong really is amazing!'

After shaking hands, the village head, no, Arbor Muto got up. Jang Maldong followed him in a hurry.

“Why don't you stay a little longer?”

“It's fine. You see, the entire village has been quite busy preparing for the migration.”

Jang Maldong couldn't say much once he heard this. Arbor Muto looked back and forth between Jang Maldong and Seol Jihu before smiling happily.

“I was thinking that this man was different…. It seems it's all thanks to you. Mm, it is normal for a courageous master to nurture a courageous disciple.”

“N-No….”

“Then I must thank you as well. You helped save the lives of hundreds of villagers.”

Jang Maldong was fl.u.s.tered. This old man in front of him seemed to be mistaken about something. However, Arbor Muto continued unfazed.

“You have an excellent disciple. I'm envious.”

At that moment, Jang Maldong's eyes opened wide. He looked dazed as if he had just been struck in the head with a hammer.

“I'll see you off.”

“Please, don't. I'll be uncomfortable if you do.”

Arbor Muto walked towards the door before suddenly stopping.

“Ah… there's actually one thing I forgot to mention. Well, it's more of a request.”

“Please, go ahead.”

Arbor Muto rummaged through his pockets before taking out a folded piece of paper.

“Have you heard of 'Big Boulder Stone' Mountain?”

Seol Jihu tilted his head. He had no clue, but this was a place Jang Maldong was familiar with. After all, this was where countless memories from when he was in his prime were buried. Then again, it was a place of nightmares for Chohong and Hugo.

Seol Jihu took the folded paper and asked.

“What's this?”

“It's a map to my hideout in that mountain.”

“Pardon?”

“What's there to be so surprised of?”

“…Just how many hideouts do you have?”

Arbor Muto paused for a moment before replying, “Twenty-two?”

“The smart ones are always digging tunnels to escape for when they need to.”

After snickering like a child, he continued, “Anyways, it's close to Haramark. It will only take a day by carriage.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing much. There should be a few worn-down equipment and books lying around. All you have to do is bring them to me.”

“That sounds easy.”

“It should be. But, I recommend you to be careful. It's been a while since anyone's visited that place, and because I built the hideout in a cave, I don't know what might be dwelling in it now.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Seol Jihu nodded his head slowly.

“When do you need them?”

“You can take your time. As you know, I've been a bit busy lately. You can go when you're bored and want a fresh breath of air.”

“So it looks like I have time.” Seol Jihu smiled brightly.

“Also….”

Arbor Muto made a furtive smile.

“I plan on paying with what's inside the hideout. Is that okay?”

“With what's inside the hideout?”

“Yes, there should be items and potions inside. They're nothing great, so I understand if you'd rather take money.”

“No, that's fine with me.” Seol Jihu agreed immediately, remembering that the village head was a distinguished Mage back in the day.

“Anyways, you can go when you have time.” With that, Arbor Muto left the office.

“What kind of person is he?” Jang Maldong finally snapped out of his daze and asked as soon as the door closed shut. Seol Jihu hesitated as if he found it difficult to answer him.

“He doesn't seem like the kind of man who belongs in a remote village.”

“How did you know?”