novelraw Chapter 69 : Bulgarutu (4)
Chapter 69 : Bulgarutu (4)
Chapter 69: Bulgarutu (4)
Cock-a-doodle-doo—!!
I opened my eyes to the crowing of a rooster. So they really did raise chickens and cows in the front yard. Thanks to that, I managed to wake up early in the morning.
After washing up lightly, I sat down cross-legged.
‘As expected, my growth rate is fast.’
Ever since I had reached the realm of divinity,
I had been recalling the sensations of that time through movement. As a result, my achievements deepened day by day.
‘At this rate, I might be able to wield Force within a few years.’
It was something worthy of pride. In terms of the Martial Alliance, my age would be that of someone who had just passed adolescence. There were countless people who could not even manifest Sword Qi even after reaching their thirties.
Had anyone else heard that, they would have been unable to hide their envy and jealousy.
But I could not be satisfied.
After my fight with Ira, I realized something. To stand against those who had entered the ranks of the strong, Force was indispensable.
‘It’s not just because Force is powerful. Ira used some strange technique that ordinary attacks couldn’t even reach. But even that became useless once I used the power similar to Force. I’m certain more people like him will appear in the future. To face them, I must awaken Force.’
Of course, even when I hadn’t yet awakened Force, I had still been able to reach Ira. Back then, I hadn’t known why. But now I did.
Wuuung—!!
A red aura surged throughout my body. It was the red mana permitted only to the warriors of Elphrel.
‘Over time, I’ve learned several things about this red mana.’
First—
Red mana was a completely different power from the Four Seasons Star Cloud Technique. In simple terms, two different energies coexisted within one body.
‘Just like the Yin-Yang Body spoken of in legends.’
The crucial part came after that.
The red mana and the energy of the Four Seasons Star Cloud Technique possessed such an incredible affinity that they naturally mixed on their own.
‘To be precise, the Four Seasons Star Cloud Technique is digesting the Warrior’s Mana—as if it were its own power from the start.’
That was the second piece of information I discovered.
When the Four Seasons Star Cloud Technique absorbed the red mana, its nature changed. It transformed—into something like Force.
Like inner strength compressed over and over again into Gang-gi, the inner power of the Four Seasons Star Cloud Technique that had absorbed the red mana possessed overwhelming might.
‘Just releasing the energy slightly was enough to subtly alter the surrounding terrain.’
I still remembered how shocked I had been when I first discovered that. Even now, I still felt somewhat dazed about it.
Anyway, that was why I had been able to reach Ira.
Ordinarily, two types of energy could never coexist in one body.
But my body had accepted both. Because of that, I could wield a power on par with Force.
Perhaps that was why—
I had been deeply troubled lately.
‘Thanks to my peculiar constitution, I gained tremendous strength. That’s exactly why I’m troubled. Should I nurture this power, or should I focus on awakening Force instead?’
The new power I had acquired was more than enough to replace Force. In fact, it even felt more advanced than Force itself. But it had its drawbacks.
I had only recently awakened the Warrior’s Mana—and even that awakening was incomplete. As a result, I could only use it for a short period of time.
That was the problem.
‘If I had great talent, I wouldn’t hesitate to develop this new power further.’
But my comprehension was that of an ordinary man. I’d heard that the realm of Force could only be reached by those chosen by the heavens. Could I really develop such power with my level of talent?
‘To refine this new power into something greater, I’d need the aptitude of a Grandmaster. But there’s no way I have that kind of talent.’
I shook my head from side to side.
It was a useless worry. I couldn’t even wield Force yet, so what was the point?
One could only make a choice if one was qualified to. To think about such things without the proper qualifications—it was nothing more than arrogance.
‘Anyway, it’s certain that this power can substitute for Force. There will surely be others who use the same strange techniques as Ira. For now, I should be satisfied that I have the means to counter them.’
Just before noon, I left the inn. On my way, I bought some chicken skewers from a street vendor.
A day should always begin with a full stomach.
As I ate in front of the stall, I felt a gaze on me.
“……”
The source was a young child. The smell suggested the child hadn’t bathed in a long time.
I asked, “Do you want some?”
“……”
The child silently nodded.
I nodded back and handed over several skewers—exactly five.
“If you’re hungry, you can’t do anything. Always make sure your stomach’s full.”
The child bowed deeply while holding the skewers, still silent. Their lips moved faintly, as if they wanted to speak but couldn’t.
After the child left—
Just as I was about to eat my remaining skewers—
“Customer, we’ve run out of meat,” said the vendor with a bright smile.
“Thanks to you, I can close shop for the day. Much appreciated!”
“……”
Hmm. Maybe I should’ve given four instead. I felt like one more would’ve filled me up.
I nodded regretfully and headed toward the city center.
The streets grew busier.
“Do you think Lady Solar hid treasure underground?”
“Why would she do that?”
Most of the people were curious about the entrance to the labyrinth. Even if they couldn’t enter, they couldn’t suppress their curiosity.
They wouldn’t be able to get inside anyway. Why waste their time here?
I shook my head and headed deeper inside.
After pushing through the crowd, I spotted Garan right ahead.
“Captain.”
“You’re the last one to arrive. What, were you late ‘cause you wanted to spar with me?”
“I was late because of chicken skewers.”
“I’ll allow it. Bulgarutu’s chicken skewers are top-tier. Anyway, soon some high-ranking people from the Holy Kingdom will be arriving. Don’t act rashly.”
“The Holy Kingdom? Why are they coming to a place like this?”
“They discovered that there’s a labyrinth the size of a city beneath Solar’s statue. Naturally, the Holy Kingdom would send a scouting party. I heard that even the Saintess herself came in person.”
“The Saintess?”
“Sibelte Appel. She was once a noble lady of the Empire. After leaving her house, she devoted herself to the Holy Kingdom.”
“A former noble becoming a Saintess… Is the Holy Kingdom that short on talent?”
“The Holy Kingdom usually has only one Saint in a generation. But this time, they have both a Saint and a Saintess. Do you understand what that means?”
“That the Saintess’s achievements must be extraordinary.”
It was said that even one Saint could hardly be born in an entire generation. But now there were two.
‘For the Holy Kingdom, that must be nothing short of a miracle.’
Leon thought.
He’d heard that Saints spent their entire lives within the Holy Kingdom—and that was only natural. Saints were those personally blessed and loved by God Himself.
Moreover, possessing a Blessing alone did not make one a Saint.
Only those who achieved universally acknowledged feats and unmatched wisdom could be granted that title.
And such Saints were coming here?
‘It seems the Captain’s assumption is becoming reality.’
There was no way a Saintess would spare her precious time for something as trivial as a labyrinth.
Perhaps there truly was something beneath the ground—something even Demon Beasts desired.
Leon sharpened his senses. The task was merely to guard the entrance, yet since Demon Beasts were involved, the responsibility felt heavier than ever.
Just then—
“Ah, you’ve arrived, Brother.”
Frey approached Leon and spoke.
“Have you heard from Garan? The Saintess will be visiting soon.”
“I’ve heard. But what is it?”
“I consider my Eye Technique to be of a fairly high level, but it’s nothing compared to the Saintess’s. The moment she lays eyes on you, she’ll recognize the existence of your Blessing. So I just wanted to tell you not to be too surprised.”
Now that he mentioned it, that was true.
Frey had sensed his Blessing just by observing him once. And the Saintess was a Blessing-bearer herself.
The kind recognize their kind.
It wouldn’t be strange if she reacted sensitively to the presence of another Blessing.
“Thank you for the warning.”
“I only did what anyone should. She said she’d come after her meal, so she should be arriving soon.”
“Will you also be entering the labyrinth, Priest?”
“Haha, technically we don’t have to take on missions during a pilgrimage… but how could I ignore something this fascinating? I just told the Saintess that I’d accompany her.”
Frey smiled brightly—an expression filled with pure curiosity and goodwill.
It was the kind of smile that lifted one’s mood just by looking at it.
Without realizing, Leon smiled faintly in return.
As they chatted, time passed quickly.
“She’s a bit late. She said she’d come right after eating. Did something happen?”
“Indeed…”
At that moment—
“You’ve waited longer than expected. My apologies.”
A woman emerged from the crowd. She had violet hair reminiscent of a wild violet blossom, and sharp, striking features.
“Some of our people weren’t feeling well. Did I keep you waiting, Frey?”
“Haha, not at all. I was just chatting with a new Brother here, and time flew by before I knew it.”
As Frey turned toward Leon, the woman followed his gaze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“This is…”
Then she softened her expression and offered a graceful smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Silberte Appel. May I know your name?”
“My name is Leon.”
“Leon, Leon…”
Silberte repeated his name softly, as if engraving it into her memory.
“I’ll remember it. After we return from the labyrinth, could we have a brief talk?”
“I’ve taken on the request to guard the labyrinth’s entrance. I’ll be here when you return.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to reward you properly.”
Afterward, several people appeared—each wearing armor engraved with the Holy Kingdom’s emblem and carrying swords at their waists. They were Holy Knights.
“We’re ready, Saintess.”
“Good. Let’s depart.”
Silberte took the lead, descending into the underground. Even as a Blessing-bearer, she wasn’t necessarily a powerful warrior, yet her decisiveness was bold.
“I’ll be off as well, Brother,” said Frey, following after her.
He and the Holy Knights disappeared into the darkness.
As Frey’s back vanished completely into the shadows, Garan spoke.
“We’ll split into two teams. One will guard the labyrinth entrance, and the other will search for the traces of the Demon Beast Leon mentioned.”
“How will we divide the teams?”
“I’ll stay here. We can’t afford to fail this request. The remaining six, form your own pairs and go.”
Leon nodded.
Just as they were organizing the teams—
“Has the Saintess already gone inside?”
Some Holy Knights approached the entrance to the labyrinth.
Garan looked slightly troubled.
“You are Holy Knights?”
“That’s right. We weren’t feeling well, so we stayed back for a bit. But we suddenly recovered and returned.”
One of the knights scratched his head awkwardly, looking somewhat embarrassed even as he spoke.
“Would you let us in? If we stay idle out here, we’ll lose face with our comrades.”
He had a point. They hadn’t entered the labyrinth because they’d felt ill—but what would their returning comrades think when they saw them perfectly fine?
They’d surely assume the knights had feigned illness out of fear.
Garan exhaled quietly. Unexpected variables were part of any mission. This was no different.
‘Normally, I shouldn’t let them in. But I can’t exactly make enemies of Holy Knights either.’
Though the knight sounded polite, Garan could tell.
If things didn’t go their way, they’d likely cause trouble.
If they truly respected him, they wouldn’t have spoken down to him from the start. They clearly looked down on him for being a mere mercenary.
‘The armor’s genuine… so they’re not impersonators.’
Suppressing a sigh so the knight wouldn’t notice, Garan finally spoke.
“Just this once. Go on in.”
“Much obliged.”
No sooner had he spoken than the knight immediately entered the labyrinth, followed by three or four others.
Garan could only hope the Saintess wouldn’t find fault with this later.