novelraw Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Hidden Piece (2)
Ssk-
Han Chulwoon, who had lightly looked around the Dimensional Fault, thought.
‘A bit…… disappointing. It would have been better if it was Goblins. The Goblin's club or invisibility cap are really useful.’
Although there were Korean-style fantasy species like Goblins or Fox spirits, Elves and Orcs were more familiar even in Korea, so their stories were going extinct.
‘Still, forming a connection with Elves isn't bad.’
Elves reinterpreted in Korea were generally a good race.
Sometimes they were arrogant, evil, or even came out as bossy but that was just a variation for fun.
Their essence was close to good.
If they received a favor, they remembered it and did not hesitate to repay it.
If I was lucky…….
The favor I bestowed today might even be passed on to other elves as a rumor.
‘Looking at it long-term, there's no need to make enemies of the Elves.’
Even if there was no such connection, I could obtain things related to [Recovery] from Elves.
‘The weapons Orcs give are also useful.’
On the other hand, Orcs were evil.
Of course, it wasn't that there were no cases of interpreting Orcs as a good race, but it wasn't common.
Rather, that evil aspect……. suited Han Chulwoon's personality well, so I was on good terms with Orcs too, but now was a time when I needed recovery.
‘Let’s help the Elves.’
For that reason, I ran.
The targets were five Orc Nomad Pillagers.
I still hadn't properly recovered my body, so using magic would definitely be a strain, but in this place, I could recover even if I pushed myself a little.
There was no reason not to forcibly squeeze out my power.
“Haste.”
At that.
‘……Ugh!’
My vision flickered red, and my head felt stuffy, as if filled with smoke.
A drop of blood trickled from my nose, and I felt my heart tighten.
A phenomenon called, to name it, ‘Qi Deviation’.
Or Magic Power Rampage.
In the end, that symptom had occurred.
It was because I had continuously applied Magic Power, starting from the ship.
Right now, it was the initial stage of that Qi Deviation.
Kwaak!
The rampaging Magic Power ran wild from within me, gouging my insides.
It felt as if I had swallowed a fish with hard thorns, bones and all, and my throat was being completely torn apart.
‘Keueu…… This really clears my mind!’
Kkadeuk! I clenched my teeth, but the corners of my mouth were raised.
I was smiling.
‘It was a process I had to go through anyway.’
Even if you look at Murim novels, isn't Qi Deviation something that happens more often to the protagonist than to a 3rd-rate villain?
Enduring the Qi Deviation at the end of it, gaining enlightenment, and growing to another dimension.
‘It’s an extremely clichéd thing.’
Pain, trials, hardships.
The essential ingredients that go into a hero’s growth.
The Constellation ‘Ruin of the Gigantes’ wouldn't be able to see Han Chulwoon inside the Dimensional Fault, but the moment I returned to reality, he would know.
That I had overcome yet one more hardship…….
‘That’s how you do it, one by one.’
This is truly creative hardship.
“Co. Co. Co! Come at me, you sons of bitches!”
I shout, drunk on the pain.
Without even needing to endure it, I unleash the habitual violence stuck to my body.
Like a mad dog, drooling, I charged out.
Before long, my body accelerated to a point where it looked bizarre, closing the distance with the horse running far away.
Around then.
In the direction of the Orc Pillagers.
Chwak-!
Splattering Elf blood beaded on the chieftain Orc’s sword.
There was no particular reason for that slaughter.
If I had to attach a reason, it was one.
Because that itself was their way of life.
Killing and taking was a very common thing in the natural world, and Orcs were just faithful to that.
They were a race accustomed to fighting, and had built up such a history.
They were just fighting today as they had done until yesterday, and harvesting its fruits.
“The two on the right, circle to the right and surround them! Block their escape route!”
The Orc chieftain shouted, after killing one of the fleeing Elves.
“……”
But there was no answer.
By now, his subordinates should have answered by imitating a wolf's howl, so it could be heard clearly even in the chaotic battle…….
“Hurry up and surround them!”
Even if the Elves scattered and ran, it wasn't that he couldn't catch them, but it would become troublesome as a result.
Now was the time to hunt them as if herding them.
“What are you doing, you bastards! Not answering……”
But, when there was no answer even to his repeated calls, the Orc chieftain finally looked back.
But…….
Where had the Orcs who were charging with him on horseback gone, and wasn't some human coming on a horse?
Looking at the saddle, that horse was clearly one of his subordinates' horses.
Was that all?
‘What? This human was walking?’
He had grasped the human's location with the developed vision unique to nomads, and he was far away.
So far that it was difficult to reach on two feet.
But why?
‘This human…….’
Thinking up to this point, 1 second.
It was an extremely fast judgment, but not fast enough.
It was when the chieftain felt a sense of crisis and put strength into the hand holding his sword.
Even before he could draw that sword…….
Pak!
……and then.
His vision went dark.
The last thing he saw was the human with a dagger leaping from the horse.
The Eye Poker had pierced his eye in an instant.
[You have acquired 17 coin.]
***
“Keolleok. Twet.”
I spat out the bloody water.
After that, I checked the price tag of what I had killed.
A total of five Orc Nomads.
‘73 coin combined, huh.’
It was a small profit compared to the achievement.
‘Well, it’s still the first scenario.’
The reason was that this was a Hidden Piece with insignificant influence, so the amount of reward was adjusted, and it was also because it was the first scenario.
‘It’s not something to think deeply about.’
The fleeing Elves stopped and looked back at Han Chulwoon.
[Hidden Quest]
[Nameless Story]
[You have succeeded in helping the Elves.]
[Reward : Elf's Favor]
The clear reward appeared.
I, who saw the message that said 'clear', thought.
‘……I see. This was as far as it went.’
A story, by its nature, should have an unclear end.
There shouldn't be such a thing as a 'clear'.
But, if it was a scenario with such a clear 'clear'.
‘It’s a world that will disappear soon.’
Like an illusion.
Like a bluff.
It was a Hidden Piece whose composition was poor, with no driving force to continue on.
Indeed, horse-riding nomad Orcs.
Isn't this subtly heterogeneous?
It meant it was not a famous story.
The Hidden Piece had, in effect, unraveled all the story it had, and had given itself an ending.
‘Hmm.’
It was simple, but the death of a world was right before my nose.
[You have discovered a Dimensional Fault and concluded its story.]
[You have acquired the Title ‘Seeker of Hidden Stories’.]
[Your reputation spreads slightly within Dimensional Faults.]
‘But the reward isn’t bad.’
There was also a reward that only a Dimensional Fault with a clear 'clear' could provide.
The performance of the newly acquired title seemed a bit vague, but I like this kind of effect.
‘Reputation…….’
It meant that in a completely different Dimensional Fault, someone might appear who recognized Han Chulwoon.
Or, a character in a Dimensional Fault might, without knowing why, hold favor or animosity toward Han Chulwoon.
It meant it influenced the so-called ‘first impression’.
‘It’s the desperate struggle of a story that doesn't want to end just like this.’
This place would end soon.
After receiving the Elf's Favor, this Dimensional Fault here would walk one of two paths.
It would either vanish, or it would repeat the same story.
That was why it wanted to leave at least one thing behind.
‘Since the important element in a story is the character.’
Han Chulwoon was a character here.
Even if this Dimensional Fault disappeared, it wanted Han Chulwoon, who was its character, to influence other places.
It was revealing its presence, even if just in that way.
……Probably.
That was likely the reason why the Hidden Piece showered various bonuses on the person who participated.
If the character survived and could influence other stories, then that story would not be completely dead.
In the end, everything was just a story of people living.
“But, you found the wrong person.”
The problem was that Han Chulwoon's personality was so solid that there was no room for a trivial story like this to leave a trace.
Because no matter how many Hidden Pieces he went through, Han Chulwoon would just be Han Chulwoon.
Even I myself would soon forget what happened here.
Among the numerous Dimensional Faults I remembered, it would just remain as something mundane.
‘Still, I’ll try to remember.’
Because the acquired title itself was to Han Chulwoon's taste.
***
An Elf who came closer spoke.
“Thank you. I don't know how I can repay this favor.”
In Han Chulwoon's reddened vision, the Elf's skin looked as red as a drunken Dwarf's.
It was because of the Qi Deviation.
I had controlled my mind and suppressed the pain, but it was just a temporary measure.
“Herbs will be enough.”
“Ah, I see! Of course, I must give them to you. I have some on me right now.”
The Elf untied his bundle and laid out herbs.
The other Elf behind him buried the dead Elf in the ground, and then planted a seed on top of it.
It was an Elven funeral method similar to the method called a tree burial.
It was while I was watching that for a moment, the Elf held out an herb to show me.
[Herb (Unidentified)]
[This is a currently unknown herb. Its efficacy and side effects cannot be known.]
[Effect Unknown]
“How about this one? It is an excellent item for relieving fatigue and healing wounds. Its effect improves if you brew it once with hot water.”
As the Elf explained.
[Herb (For Recovery)]
[An herb effective for fatigue recovery and wound treatment. Its efficacy increases if brewed in hot water.]
[There are still unconfirmed effects remaining.]
I didn't bother to read it.
They were things I knew anyway.
It was an item helpful for treating external wounds, but it was not very efficient for healing the mind.
“I’ll take it.”
As if he had become a goat, he tore at the received grass, chewing it raw.
Ajik.
Ajik.
My vision, reddened from the burst blood vessels in my eyes, was quietly returning, and there was also a minor effect of suppressing the Magic Power Rampage.
But what I really needed was something else.
“It would be good if you have something like an awakening agent.”
Elves tended to carry a good variety of herbs, so they would have at least one.
“If it’s an awakening effect……”
Buseureok.
Buseureok.
“How about this one?”
[Capenlis Root]
[An herb with detoxification efficacy. Also has an awakening effect. The effect is minor on its own, so it is mainly used as a supplement.]
[Detoxification D]
[Awakening D]
It was a root plant.
It wasn't that precious, but it was useful for now.
Because it possessed an ‘Awakening’ effect one step higher than the Goblin's Blue Orb.
“Three roots would be good.”
“Of course, I must give them. Here you go.”
Tuuk.
I received them.
“Forget the favor. We’ll call it even.”
As I, who was now about to leave, turned my back, the Elf cautiously spoke to me.
“If you are perhaps a mercenary, on our journey……”
However, I, who had already lost interest, refused without looking back.
“Not really.”
“Then your name at least!”
“It’s Han Chulwoon.”
After that, the Elf tried to introduce himself, but I didn't listen.
He was a disappearing human, of a disappearing world, anyway.
If today's rumor spread to other worlds, I'd be lucky, and if not, so be it.
***
The way back to the exit.
It was quick when I was chasing the nomads with magic, but the way back, walking slowly, was truly long.
Thus, I had time to look around leisurely.
But.
“It truly is a boring landscape.”
A space made from fragments of legends or folktales was even artificial.
Originally, on a plain, there should be small beasts if you look at the ground, there should be birds if you look at the sky, and the crying of insects should not cease.
In contrast to such a natural landscape, this place was too quiet.
Even the grass that grew wildly on the ground was of only one kind.
Neither tough weeds nor flowers to add elegance could be seen.
Only, there was one tree and a well near the starting point.
This land felt desolate even though it was green.
Other than the Orcs and Elves from a moment ago, it was a world where everything was obvious.
This was proof that this world was not reality, but a space created by borrowing only the image of reality, as a stage to tell a legend.
‘That’s why fragments of stories mix in.’
A fragment of a story that had broken off with only a part, was bound to covet other stories to piece together its own lost parts.
The more incomplete a story, the more easily it mixes with other stories.
Even if, at the end of mixing, it forgot even its own essence…….
‘Lost its essence at the end of mixing…….’
I ruminated on that concept.
Perhaps because the taste of the herb was still in my mouth, it was bitter.
‘Jjeop.’
At the place I arrived at after walking like that, there was the child, lying in the same state as ever, and the woman, standing on two feet.
‘The woman?’
It was before I had even fed her the herb.
‘To think she can already stand up.’
I was also a little surprised.
Because the Star Ash was not something that could be easily recovered from with just a Blue Orb.
‘It’s a good sign.’
She was still bone-thin and not normal, but she had at least become what one could call a human shape.
“Are you alright?”
“……Yes.”
Even as I was approaching, she was leaning weakly against the tree.
She might have been expected to ask something, but there was no sign of that at all.
“Take this.”
“……Yes.”
Surprisingly, the answer came obediently.
For someone who had regained consciousness, her reaction was peculiar, so I thought her personality might be strange, too.
“It’s an herb. It helps detoxification. Chew it, drink the juice, and spit out the rest.”
“……Yes.”
“Feed the remaining one to the kid as soon as he regains his energy.”
“Yes.”
While hearing her answers, I examined the woman's complexion.
Although she was bone-thin like a mummy, her blood color, at least, had become human-like.
Amidst that, only her two eyes were clear.
Odok.
Odok.
I asked her.
“So, how is it?”