novelraw Chapter 67 : Bulgarutu (2)
Chapter 67 : Bulgarutu (2)
Chapter 67: Bulgarutu (2)
‘So this is what he meant by wanting to talk out of earshot of the others?’
I felt puzzled. Everyone knew I was the son of the Conqueror. Even Rahan, who was just talking to me, could have told him that.
I stared silently at Frey. As our eyes met, I noticed a flicker of confusion spread across his face.
“Brother, it’s true that my question was difficult,” he said carefully. “But I assure you, I had no ill intent in asking it.”
“I know that,” I replied. “That’s why I’m wondering—why did you ask about my father?”
Frey fell silent. His eyes trembled slightly. Was the fact that I was the Conqueror’s son really that shocking to him?
‘Then why ask that question at all?’
A question rose within me. Soon after, I shook my head inwardly.
‘No, the monk I met in my past life also had his eccentricities. Perhaps there’s something about religious people that I still don’t understand.’
I trusted my intuition. Even what looked like foolishness might be something else entirely for someone who had reached enlightenment.
‘Though I have no faith in gods and cannot grasp the intentions of a priest, knowledge widens perception. An ignorant man like me could hardly be expected to comprehend the priest’s purpose.’
I looked at Frey with a serious expression.
Meeting my gaze, Frey thought to himself awkwardly,
‘So he wasn’t hiding that he’s the Conqueror’s son… I made the atmosphere heavy for no reason. How embarrassing.’
“Then my assumption was correct,” he said aloud, his tone steady.
Despite his embarrassment, Frey continued speaking. There were still things he needed to say.
“Brother, Lord Solar once said there are no coincidences in fate. Our meeting today is no mere chance—it is destiny in disguise. I have something important to tell you.”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“The Blessing of Growth Suppression you bear should be regarded as a treasure—one that exists nowhere else in the world.”
“I’d like to hear more.”
My gaze sharpened. Frey seemed to understand my state of mind. The Blessing of Growth Suppression, as its name implied, suppressed growth.
For a warrior who must grow day by day, it would have felt like a heavy shackle.
With faint pity in his eyes, Frey began to explain.
“Brother, do you know of the Grand Warrior who defeated the Evil God a thousand years ago? His name has been forgotten, but his deeds are still recorded within the temple. And with him lies a piece of history the world has forgotten.”
“A forgotten past?” I asked.
“To defeat the Evil God Jeozudin, Lord Solar bestowed His power upon a human.”
At that, I suddenly recalled the World Tree’s memory—the one that said it would entrust a fragment of its power to the Grand Warrior of the North.
My face brightened. Of course. The very reason I had welcomed the journey to the Ancient Temple was because I wished to uncover more about that memory.
And now, I was gaining information without any effort.
“He bestowed His power, you say?” I asked eagerly.
“Yes. Even our temple does not fully understand the nature of that power. However, one thing is certain. Your Blessing was not given to restrain your body. It was likely meant to suppress the Blessing of Lord Solar already coiled within you.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying I have two blessings?”
“Lord Solar never reclaimed the power He granted to the Grand Warrior. That divine strength must have lingered, passed down through the Grand Warrior’s descendants, appearing faintly within their bloodlines.”
“I don’t understand. If others also inherited that power, shouldn’t they have received the Blessing of Growth Suppression as I did?”
“Have you ever heard the term genetic reversion? Perhaps, for generations, the descendants of the Grand Warrior were unable to awaken Lord Solar’s power. They were merely stronger and developed faster than ordinary people. But through countless generations, that power has finally manifested in you.”
Genetic reversion. I remembered hearing of such a thing—when a long-dormant trait of an ancestor suddenly reappears after centuries.
‘There was even a couple who nearly separated because of that. Their child was born with blue eyes like those of a Westerner—only to learn that a distant ancestor had once been one.’
“So your situation is the same,” Frey continued. “Lord Solar’s Blessing holds a power that only a Grand Warrior could endure. Compared to him, your body is still fragile. So the deity must have set things in balance. The side effect, of course, was the suppression of your growth.”
I nodded slowly. Now it made sense.
Since childhood, I had worried over my inability to grow stronger. Had I not awakened my past life and learned the Four Seasons Star Cloud Technique, I would still be languishing at the bottom.
‘Rationally speaking, the god could simply take back the Blessing… but it seems that’s easier said than done.’
Otherwise, He wouldn’t have maintained equilibrium by giving me a suppressing Blessing.
“Then why tell me all this?” I asked.
Nothing in this world came free. Even if I had no memories of my past life, that truth remained constant.
“Priest, I’ve done nothing for you. Why share such sacred knowledge known only to the temple?”
“It is because of divine providence,” Frey replied with a gentle smile.
“For centuries, the divine power that lay dormant has begun to awaken again—though now, it exists only as a fragile seed that could fade at any moment. And the Lord has not ignored it. The Blessing of Growth Suppression engraved upon your body is proof of that. Lord Solar sought to protect your strength. As His servant, it is only right that I offer you my help.”
“Hmm.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
In every land, religion was absolute—and Frey was a High Priest. It made sense that he would not ignore the vessel touched by his god.
‘Either way, this works in my favor.’
A connection with a High Priest. That would certainly prove useful in the future.
Leon accepted Frey’s goodwill without suspicion.
“Ah, come to think of it—didn’t you say my father also descended from the Grand Warrior’s bloodline? Does that mean he, too, awakened the power of the gods?”
“Haha, one might think so. Indeed, the Conqueror’s strength surpassed the limits of humanity. However, I’m afraid I cannot give you the answer you expect.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Conqueror reached the transcendent realm through his own power alone.”
“…….”
A chill ran down my spine. I rubbed my forearm.
‘As expected, Father always exceeds my imagination.’
To reach such heights through his own strength alone—terror and reverence welled up inside me at once.
After their conversation ended, Leon returned to the campsite.
No one asked what he and Frey had discussed. Even among mercenaries, personal matters were off-limits.
Perhaps a third-rate corps would pry, but the Black Dragon Mercenary Corps was strict about such things.
Frey also kept quiet, letting the matter pass smoothly—until Leon spoke first.
“He said I possess the power of a god. What do you all think of that?”
His calm tone cast a stillness over the space. Then Garan burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! What a fool! Listen up, everyone—don’t tell Leon any secrets from now on. He might end up blurting them out!”
Leon frowned. It wasn’t even something worth hiding, so why say it like that?
‘Bald bastard.’
Truly, it seemed that those with abundant hearts were blessed with abundant hair as well.
The others each reacted differently to Leon’s words. Most were surprised.
Ryan, for instance, asked again and again in disbelief, while Rahan’s eyes gleamed as if he had already suspected it.
“I knew it! Leon is the son of a god…!”
“That’s not true,” Leon replied curtly.
He nearly found himself caught up in a troublesome misunderstanding.
“I can’t believe it,” Kazan muttered. He was the first to recover from the shock.
“You said the blessing was given to suppress divine power? Then what purpose does the god have, to bestow yet another blessing?”
“According to the records,” Frey explained, “when the Grand Warrior accepted the god’s power, he had already reached the pinnacle of martial arts. It’s said he could shatter mountains and split the sea. Even so, he barely managed to withstand the power. This is only speculation, but I believe there are minimum conditions for accepting divine power. Perhaps only one who attains the same realm as the Grand Warrior a thousand years ago could fully understand them.”
A reasonable question, met with a sound answer.
And Leon understood Kazan’s thoughts.
‘Even I can’t fathom the god’s intent. If it weren’t happening to me, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.’
Once, in the Empire, the Emperor had hinted that Leon possessed the power to slay gods.
At the time, he had dismissed it as nonsense—but after enduring the power of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, he realized the Emperor’s words weren’t entirely baseless.
Moreover, Leon was aware of those beings called the Outside—the ones even the Evil God, the World Tree, and Lord Solar all feared.
A thousand years ago, the Grand Warrior had received Solar’s power to defeat the Evil God Jeozudin. And now, the circumstances were not so different.
‘The Seven Apostles could unseal the Demon King at any time.’
Not long ago, Leon had clashed with one of them—Ira. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t face the others in the future.
After the Evil God’s defeat, five hundred years of peace had followed. The same happened after the Demon King’s fall.
And now, after another five centuries, omens of war loomed once more—coinciding with the reappearance of divine power.
Could this truly be coincidence?
‘No. Impossible.’
There was no way all of this was mere chance.
Perhaps even his awakening to his past life had been influenced by divine intervention.
‘Disgusting. It feels like someone’s pulling my strings.’
The thought that he had lived his life under another’s control filled him with revulsion.
Leon thought deeply.
‘Is it truly right to live on in ignorance?’
After pondering for a long time, he came to a conclusion.
‘It doesn’t matter. My goal has always been the same.’
So what if the gods were using him in preparation for something? So what if even the beings feared by the Evil God—the ones from the Outside—were involved?
What did it matter?
Time was passing, and there was nothing he could do right now—except train.
‘Anything that stands in my way—I’ll simply destroy it.’
Even if that obstacle were the Evil God’s feared existence.
Even if it were Lord Solar, the father of mankind himself.
‘The only problem would be if my power isn’t truly mine.’
He didn’t know what kind of power the gods had given the Grand Warrior, but if that power was something that forcibly elevated one’s realm…
‘Then I’ll discard it.’
Even if abandoning it meant becoming weaker.
But that too posed a problem. How could a human possibly cast away a power granted by a god?
To do so, one would need to reach a realm of immense mastery. Both receiving and rejecting divine power required a certain degree of enlightenment.
To abandon the power of Lord Solar, Leon would have to reach the very realm he aimed for.
‘How exciting.’
What would happen after he cast off the god’s power? How would he regain the strength he lost?
Just imagining his future self filled Leon with exhilaration.