novelraw Chapter 75 : Chapter 75
Chapter 75 : Chapter 75
Chapter 75. Territory of the Mountain God (2)
Of course, there was something dangerous in this mountain.
The Eye-opening Flower colony, that is.
But it was a story of a distant land to the general public.
Because ordinary people couldn't even enter the colony in the first place, so they couldn't be in danger.
Riman asked.
"A Mountain God, who said such a thing?"
"The Mansin said so. So we also hold regular rituals for the Mountain God."
Mansin.
A word referring to a shaman.
Coming this far, Riman felt like he roughly understood the situation.
‘She hid something in the mountain.’
This mountain was a place where it didn't really matter if ordinary people came and went anyway.
To forbid entry to such a place even using the excuse of a Mountain God?
Riman sensed something fishy from there.
Riman said.
"Could I perhaps see that Mansin?"
"No, why that?"
"I absolutely have to enter this mountain."
"No, we clearly just……."
"Please."
"Good grief……."
Eventually, the man who first caught Riman guided him.
The shaman's house was located on the outskirts of the village.
As soon as he raised his hand to knock on the main gate, a voice flowed from inside.
"Just open it and come in."
A husky woman's voice.
Riman and the man opened the door and entered the yard.
There, a woman was sweeping the yard.
Outwardly, she looked to be in her mid to late 60s.
Her clothes were ordinary attire, wearing a T-shirt and tracksuit pants.
She asked.
"What's the matter?"
"No, this young man insists he must enter the mountain."
The shaman turned her gaze and stared intently at Riman.
A gaze that felt sharp yet weighty.
Even though mass couldn't possibly exist in a gaze, a certain heaviness was felt in her stare.
Like that, a few seconds later.
The shaman said.
"Let him in."
"Yes?"
"Someone stronger than the Mountain God has arrived, so there's no reason to stop him."
The man immediately had a blank expression.
On the other hand, faint interest hovered on Riman's face.
The shaman said.
"Go on."
"Ah, yes."
"Ah, you stay."
The shaman sent the man out while keeping Riman behind.
Like that, the two left in the yard.
Riman thought while looking at the shaman.
‘She’s the real deal.’
Earlier, he had suspected just in case she might be a fake.
But seeing as she recognized Riman's power immediately, her ability at least was real.
‘Well, it’s not strange.’
In the first place, this world is a world where Superhumans or Mages wielding supernatural powers run rampant.
Even a magic lineage called Necromancy that interferes with souls existed.
It wasn't strange at all that spiritual ability users like shamans actually existed.
The shaman asked.
"Why are you trying to enter that mountain?"
"Because I need the Fruit of the Eye-opening Flower. I will just pick the fruit and leave without causing much trouble."
"I wish you wouldn't do that."
"Yes?"
"Would you come inside for a moment?"
Riman followed the shaman into the room.
On one side, an altar was set up, and portraits in traditional style were hung on the wall.
The two sat facing each other in the place where the scent of incense faintly lingered.
The one who opened her mouth first was the shaman.
"That a Mountain God lives in that mountain is half a lie."
"I thought so."
"It means half is the truth."
"…So something is indeed in that mountain."
"Correct."
"What on earth is it?"
"Young man, do you know the operating principle of faith?"
A sudden change of topic.
Riman shook his head.
"God creates faith, but faith binds God. The more the people here strongly believe it to be a Mountain God, the more it is forced to define itself within the yoke of a Mountain God."
"So that's why you hold Mountain God rituals regularly. Whatever it is, so that it cannot come out of the mountain."
"But now even that is at its limit. I can no longer keep it confined in the mountain. The bastard keeps expanding its territory little by little, and I no longer have the energy to stop it."
The shaman let out a sigh with slightly trembling breath and said.
"Please kill the Mountain God."
"……!"
The shaman's voice said that it was trembling minutely.
Riman fell into thought for a moment.
Actually, there was no reason to grant this request.
Riman didn't come here to fight, but strictly to gather.
Even if there was an Earthbound Spirit, he could just avoid it and pick the fruit.
Furthermore, it hadn't been that long since he fought a fierce battle.
Above all, the Eye-opening Flower colony wasn't only here.
If she really acted like this here, he could just go to another colony.
…Was what he was thinking at that moment.
"If you do so, I will naturally pay a corresponding price."
The shaman placed something on the table.
An object with small bells hanging like a bunch of grapes at the end of a short metal rod.
A shaman's rattle (Muryeong), a shamanic tool commonly called a shaman's bell.
However, it was different from an ordinary Muryeong.
Unlike other Muryeong which generally had a brass color, this one had bells painted pitch black.
At that moment, Riman felt it instinctively.
That it was by no means an object of ordinary value.
‘What is this……?’
Furthermore, even though it was definitely an object he was seeing for the first time, the visual was strangely familiar.
‘Where did I see this……?’
The shaman said.
"Kill the Mountain God and bring me the necklace the Mountain God is wearing as proof. Then I will give you this Black Seed Bell (Heukjaryeong)……."
"Wait, did you say Heukjaryeong?"
"Yes."
"Good, I accept that request."
He changed his mind.
Riman accepted her request immediately without hesitation.
He had to.
Because Riman knew the identity of that black shaman bell.
‘To think it’s a Heukjaryeong in perfect condition……!’
There was a reason it was familiar despite seeing it for the first time.
Riman had seen this item in the game in the past.
However, in an incomplete state.
The Heukjaryeong he saw in the game was a broken version with only three bells attached.
The classification of Heukjaryeong is a consumable offensive item.
Fragments of evil spirits are sealed in each bell, and every time a bell is rung, a fragment is released to inflict a powerful attack on the enemy.
If there was a downside, it was that the fragment used that way could never be used again.
However…….
‘It’s a waste to just consume it and be done with it.’
Riman was confident he could handle the Heukjaryeong in a much more powerful and effective way than this.
By utilizing the knowledge gained from the ‘Sanhae Magic Tower’ and the magical talent of this body.
Furthermore, what was placed in front of him now was the complete version with all 11 bells attached.
So he had to get his hands on this unconditionally.
Because there was no reason to miss an item where the method to enhance it was plainly visible.
Therefore, the moment Riman heard the word Heukjaryeong, he accepted the request without hesitation.
‘I tried to avoid combat for a while but… if it’s a job with this much reward, I should endure the hardship.’
So Riman got straight to the point.
"First, please tell me about the identity of that thing called the Mountain God."
"Have you heard of Earthbound Spirits?"
Riman nodded.
"It refers to a spiritual existence bound to a specific place. But asking me that means… the identity of the Mountain God is actually an Earthbound Spirit."
The shaman nodded.
Riman asked.
"If it's an Earthbound Spirit, there must be a range of possible activity. Is the entire mountain perhaps the territory of that Earthbound Spirit?"
"No. For now, only the place you intend to go is his territory."
"…You mean the Eye-opening Flower colony."
"That is correct. If you enter the colony, you will naturally encounter him."
The shaman sighed for a moment and continued.
"…The biggest problem is that the bastard's territory is gradually expanding beyond the colony. If we fail to stop this, not only this mountain but also other mountains connected by the mountain range will be spiritually polluted."
"Then… the problem will certainly become big."
"Correct. But I can neither exorcise that child nor send him to the afterlife. It just had to be the Eye-opening Flower colony where he settled down……."
Riman nodded.
It made sense.
Exorcising an Earthbound Spirit itself isn't an easy task, but the place where the spirit settled is the Eye-opening Flower colony.
A situation where a dangerous thing is coiled in an already dangerous place.
Certainly, it was an exorcism task impossible for a shaman whose main profession wasn't combat.
Riman said.
"Then shall we depart right now?"
"I will go too. Since I have to remove the taboo rope. Go out first."
Riman came out to the yard first with Saya.
While waiting for the shaman, Riman looked around the yard.
At that moment, something caught Riman's eye.
A pure white bowl placed on the lid of a crock pot.
Clear water was filled to the brim in there.
Clear water that the shaman drew early at dawn.
It was what was called Jeonghwasu, or Jeong-an-su.
A shamanic medium usually used when offering prayers to supernatural beings like spirits.
However…….
Slurp.
For some reason, Saya was swallowing saliva while looking at that water.
Riman was dumbfounded and said.
"That? Why? Hey, that's not for drinking."
Just as he said that and was about to turn his gaze elsewhere.
"…No, wait a minute."
A dragon took interest in water.
A Dragon, a Phantom Beast governing water and climate.
Such a dragon showed interest in exactly that Jeonghwasu among all the water.
‘There is something.’
Riman approached the Jeonghwasu and reached out his hand.
However, he neither touched the bowl nor dipped his hand in the water.
He just emitted a [Detection] field with his palm and lightly scanned the Jeonghwasu.
After the scan ended like that.
‘Aha, so this is why…….’
Riman felt like he knew why Saya coveted this Jeonghwasu.
Extremely pure mana was subtly dissolved in the water.
This Jeonghwasu was probably used when the shaman offered prayers.
It seemed refined mana flowing from the shaman during the ritual process had soaked into the water.
From the perspective of Saya who likes clean mana, she had no choice but to smack her lips.
Creak-
The shaman opened the door and came out.
She had changed into outdoor clothes before he knew it.
She said.
"Let's go."
"May I ask one favor?"
"What is it?"
"Can I take some of this water?"
Saying so, Riman pointed at the Jeonghwasu.
* * *
The entrance of the mountain.
Riman and the shaman went and stood in front of the taboo rope strung at the entrance.
The shaman rolled up her sleeves and started the work of removing the taboo rope.
It was merely a task of removing a straw rope, but a certain reverence was felt in her extremely restrained movements.
While she was removing the taboo rope, Riman said to Saya.
"You go back to the motorcycle."
"Shaha?"
"I have to enter the Eye-opening Flower colony alone. Rest until I come back."
Saya, hesitating as if slightly disappointed, soon moved as instructed.
Whoosh!
By the time Saya cut through the air and flew toward the motorcycle.
The taboo rope removal work was finished.
"Now you can enter."
"What would have happened if I had removed the taboo rope on my own and entered?"
"You'd get tainted by impurity. It differs for each person, but usually, you would be sick for half a day."
"Aha."
Anyway, with this, preparation for entry was complete.
Riman took out a black cloth strip from his pocket.
And-
Tight.
He tied the strip around his head to cover his eyes like a blindfold.
So that he couldn't see anything even if he opened his eyes.
Seeing that, the shaman asked.
"What are you doing……?"
"You know the characteristics of the Eye-opening Flower colony, right? This is most effective to break through that."
"No, then you won't be able to see ahead at all……?"
"Because the world isn't seen only with eyes."
[Detection]
Sseung!
Riman spread the detection field wide around him.
From now on, he had to move forward relying only on [Detection] magic, not vision.
"Then I'll be back."
Riman stepped into the mountain.
And in the shaman's eyes watching such Riman, a certain bitterness was passing by.
* * *
"Haa, haa……."
He had forgotten one very obvious fact.
That hiking is also exercise.
It was still a bit hard exercise for Riman's weak stamina.
Furthermore, since he kept [Detection] on continuously, it also affected his stamina unknowingly.
Still, repeating going and resting, he was at the halfway point before he knew it.
"Hmm……."
Riman spread [Detection] wider and scanned the surroundings.
Then Riman turned his head toward one direction.
A place blocked by thorn vines and rocks.
Riman took steps toward that place without hesitation.
"Found it."
Sssng-
Surprisingly, Riman's body passed right through the vines and rocks.
This scenery itself was an illusion.
An illusion created by the Eye-opening Flower colony.
Like that, Riman entered the colony.