Ending Maker Chapter 76
Ending Maker Chapter 76
Chapter 24 - Settling Accounts #2
Inside the lodging prepared by the Gentle Snow Breeze tribe.
His face, neck, backs of his hands, and various other places smeared with drool, Yuder stared down at the floor with an expression of enlightenment.
Cordelia, curled up on the blanket, was asleep with a happy face.
"Hoo...... Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Form is not other than emptiness, emptiness is not other than form......."
Having recited the Heart Sutra for the first time in a while, Yuder covered Cordelia with the blanket, then sat back down in the chair and sprawled out.
"I'm exhausted."
Physically and mentally.
Still, in the end, a smile formed on his lips.
Because Cordelia's face, asleep while curled up, looked so very happy.
'She'll throw a fit when she wakes up tomorrow, won't she?'
The side effects of Beast Mode had made her behavior about as docile as a puppy, but her memories weren't going anywhere.
That was a fact already confirmed through several experiments.
A rather wicked smile rose to Yuder's face as he thought of tomorrow's Cordelia.
In fact, Yuder had already even drawn up a plan for how to tease her.
"It's peaceful."
Just a few hours ago, he had been in a life-or-death battle with a mid-grade Demonic Human, but this very moment was peaceful beyond measure.
Smiling faintly once more, Yuder washed his face with the water in the basin, then settled down on the floor with his back to Cordelia.
'The Essence of the Blue Moon.'
Gazing quietly at the blue gem in his hand, Yuder straightened his back and closed his eyes.
Because this was reality, it wasn't completely identical to the game, but this world still had many similarities to the game.
The prime example of that was levels.
As he had told Cordelia, when your level rose, all of your overall stats increased.
As the saying went, level was king. Yuder’s body had been weak from birth, but now that he had passed level 40 and reached 42, his physique was strong enough to surpass most ordinary knights of the Count Bayel Household.
His strength had also increased greatly, allowing him to exert power close to superhuman strength by real-world standards.
'Seriously, it's not like I have built-in muscles or something.'
Yuder had become quite sturdy, but that didn't mean he had become a musclehead like Landius.
But that strength was at a level approaching twice that of an ordinary adult male.
'These days, Cordelia feels like a feather.'
Carrying her on his back, holding her in his arms—all OK.
The fact that he had been picking her up(?) and carrying her around a lot lately was also because of that.
'Well...... I guess there's a bit of love-blindness mixed in too.'
Clearing his throat awkwardly at his own thoughts, Yuder refocused his mind.
Hadn't he sat with his back to Cordelia in the first place to get rid of distracting thoughts?
'Anyway.'
Leveling up was the most certain and fundamental way to become stronger.
'But this alone isn't enough.'
When you leveled up, your body became stronger.
It wasn't simply that your stamina and strength increased—your body itself became stronger, so your durability and defense also went up.
But you didn't gain techniques.
'That's what stings the most.'
In the game, new skills would sprout up just from leveling, but perhaps because this was reality, no matter how much he leveled up, no new skills appeared.
'Cordelia's case is a bit different, though.'
Cordelia had the Witch's Grimoire.
Because it was a mysterious grimoire whose pages she could open increased at certain levels, Cordelia could learn new magic at certain levels just like in a game.
But Yuder himself was not like that.
'In the end, the only means to get stronger right now are leveling up and the Nine Heavens Nine Gates.'
Open a new gate of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates.
And through that, as Landius had said, obtain a special ability.
'I can evolve the Twenty-Four Gale Steps.'
When he opened the first gate, the Thirty-Six World Steps had become the Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
When he opened the second gate, a whirlwind had been added to the Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
At this rate, when he opened the third gate, it was highly likely that the Twenty-Four Gale Steps would advance further as well.
'Good, let's open the third gate.'
The Essence of the Blue Moon contained pure star power. If he absorbed all of it, he should be able to reach the third gate.
Yuder closed his eyes and focused his mind.
The sound of Cordelia's soft breathing from behind him slightly disturbed his concentration, but he soon calmed his mind.
Aiming for the state of a clear, mirror-like mind, he accepted the star energy from the Essence of the Blue Moon.
Pure star energy surged in.
It was energy so clear and pure that it seemed it would actually be harmful to ordinary people.
But not to Yuder.
Through the meeting of extreme yin and extreme yang energy, Yuder already possessed pure energy.
When clarity met clarity, they became one without difficulty.
Yuder slowly regulated his breathing.
Reciting the incantation of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates, he guided the energies inside and outside his body into one.
Yuder forgot time.
He became detached from the flow.
He accepted the clear, clear star energy, the power of the moon, and spread it throughout his entire body.
He gathered it with his breath, and distributed it with his breath.
Yuder felt it.
The last major meridian that had been blocked by the Nine Yin Meridian Blockage was opened.
As the star energy spread evenly throughout Yuder's entire body, the minor meridians also began to open.
The complete opening of all the body's meridians.
The free circulation of qi.
A single gate appeared in Yuder's mind's eye.
The third gate.
The third gate of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates.
Yuder slowly opened that gate.
He established the Third Gate and opened it at the same time.
It was something he had already done twice.
The opening of the third gate, just like opening the first and second gates.
It wasn't.
It was different from before.
Yuder could feel it.
Everything was pitch black.
In that deep blackness, a white light appeared.
It covered the sky and covered the earth.
In the white world spread over the pitch black, there stood a lone figure.
He or she.
He couldn't tell yet.
It was not an existence that could be discerned at the level of the third gate.
But he—she—looked at Yuder.
And smiled.
The person standing in the white world.
A silhouette of a person that looked as if drawn with rough ink strokes.
He began to move.
She moved slowly, as if telling him to watch carefully, but with clear movements.
And it was at that very moment.
A new incantation surfaced in his mind.
A clear voice resounded in his head.
He could see a little more clearly.
It was a woman.
The figure of a woman drawn with rough ink strokes taught Yuder.
A new movement, a new incantation, a new technique.
Black Dragon Emerges.
The woman spoke. She thrust out a palm. At that moment, a massive black dragon surged up from her palm and shook the white world.
WHOOOM—!
The black dragon roared. The surging thing shattered and broke the white world.
The woman looked back at Yuder.
She laughed clearly once more, then raised her hand and pointed at Yuder. She made a light gesture of extending a palm.
Try it once.
You can do it too.
Nine Heavens Nine Gates, Black Dragon Emerges.
Yuder recited the incantation.
His qi moved on its own. The Heavenly Martial Body responded. He could naturally understand what to do and how.
"Black Dragon Emerges."
Yuder spoke.
He thrust out a palm.
* * *
The next morning.
Seen off by the Gentle Snow Breeze Tribe, Yuder and Cordelia left the basin and set out for Bladebeak Canyon.
But the two's expressions were quite different.
Yuder was smiling from ear to ear, while Cordelia kept glancing at Yuder with an awkward face.
"Hm hm~ Hm hm hm~"
When Yuder, uncharacteristically, even hummed a tune, Cordelia flinched without realizing it.
And then she glanced at Yuder again.
Why was he so excited?
Why was he smiling so brightly?
Hmm, at times like this, shouldn't she act like nothing had happened?
'Right! Let's pretend I don't remember!'
Having steeled herself, Cordelia cleared her throat and put on a brazen expression, and Yuder laughed like a villain before speaking in a small voice.
"Lick lick."
Cordelia's face turned red.
But Cordelia had not given up yet.
"What kind of bullshit is that all of a sudden?"
"Lick lick."
"You bastard! You damn bastard!"
In the end, Cordelia gave up and began beating Yuder's back wildly, and Yuder just laughed refreshingly.
"Eek! Hey! You—my hits don't hurt you anymore, do they? All those times you said it hurt were lies too, weren't they?"
"No, it hurts a lot. Ow, it hurts. Ow, it hurts."
"I really hate you to death!"
Cordelia, red all the way to her neck, began squeezing harder and harder.
"Ack! Hey! Hey! It hurts! It really hurts!"
"It doesn't hurt!"
"It does! It really hurts! You're high level too, you know?"
Since she was a mage, the increase was smaller than for a martial artist like Yuder, but Cordelia’s physical abilities had also risen every time she leveled up.
When Yuder shouted desperately, Cordelia reflexively stopped her hands and asked.
"Does it really hurt?"
"It really hurts."
"Good!"
"Ow! Ow! Hey! Hey!"
"Hurt more! Hurt more!"
"Lick lick!"
"Eek! It doesn't hurt, does it? It actually doesn't hurt, right?"
"It hurts, but still, lick lick!"
"Die!"
And so, a few minutes of violence mixed with teasing that refused to yield.
When Cordelia, exhausted from her own efforts, began panting, Yuder said.
"It's fine, because you were incredibly cute."
"You f**king bastard. Just watch if I ever use Beast Mode again."
Glaring fiercely, Cordelia decided to change the subject instead of hitting Yuder more.
"Anyway!"
"Anyway."
"We're going to Bladebeak Canyon now, right?"
"Yeah, since it seems like Lena is connected to the elves' magic kingdom that was said to be in Bladebeak Canyon."
"Ruins of a magic kingdom...... There'll be lots of rare items, right?"
"Tsk tsk...... All you have is greed."
"Look who's talking."
When Cordelia glared again, Yuder laughed pleasantly and said.
"Well, I'm looking forward to it too, for various reasons. Since it's a magic kingdom, there should be a lot of things you can use, Cordelia."
"Moonlight is still usable, so I hope a lot of other stuff comes out. Armor or accessories."
"Since you're going the witch's sorcery route, items that increase mana recovery speed would be good, right?"
"Yeah, or increasing the mana pool itself would be good too. The witch's sorceries being strong is nice, but they all consume a lot of mana."
Having said that much, Cordelia suddenly stopped in place and looked back at Yuder.
"Come to think of it, did you eat the Essence of the Blue Moon well?"
"I ate it well."
"Really? Then did you open the third gate too? Did you get stronger?"
Cordelia came right up to Yuder and asked with sparkling eyes.
Yuder impulsively pinched Cordelia's cheek as he answered.
"I opened it."
Normally, Cordelia would have gotten angry and asked why he was pinching her, but this time, she opened her already large eyes even wider and smiled brightly.
"Wow! The third gate! The third gate! What happened? Did something change? Did you learn something like a new skill?"
"Want me to show you?"
"Yeah, show me. I want to see. Cordelia wants to see."
Perhaps because she had rabbit ears on, Cordelia was even hopping in place. Smiling anew at the sight, Yuder suddenly wrapped one arm around Cordelia's waist and pulled her close.
"I'll show you."
Because Black Dragon Emerges wasn't the only thing he had learned.
The Twenty-Four Gale Steps had also undergone a new change.
'Nine Heavens Nine Gates.'
Nine worlds and nine gates.
The divine art of the Immortal who had defeated an Infernal Lord that descended upon the earth long ago.
"Twenty-Four Gale Steps, Black Wind Arrival."
Yuder spoke quietly and lifted Cordelia with both hands. Pulling Cordelia, who naturally clung to him, close, he stirred up the wind.
What arose were dozens of strands of golden whirlwind.
And between them, a pitch-black wind arose.
"Eep?"
Yuder laughed at Cordelia's scream, which came a beat late.
He stepped forward refreshingly and became the wind itself.
WHOOSH—!
What burst out instead of a roar was the sound of air being split.
A pitch-black wind wrapped in golden whirlwind blew. It became a gale and crossed the white snowfield.
* * *
At the time Yuder and Cordelia headed for Bladebeak Canyon.
Gale and Adelia were facing Red Wind.
"Uh...... So, you're saying Cordelia bought you?"
"That’s right. Cordelia bought me. To save me from the auction house."
Red Wind earnestly expressed her affection for Cordelia, even in her clumsy common tongue.
Gale, who had been quietly listening to her story, asked.
"But Miss Red Wind, did you happen to hear where Yuder and Cordelia got the money?"
Gale had never been involved in the slave trade, but that didn't mean he was completely ignorant of it.
As someone who would inherit one of the Twelve Northern Houses, he had to grasp how the world worked.
Red Wind, who carried the blood of a winter elf, was an extremely beautiful girl, and given the nature of the Lankebust slave auction house, her price was highly likely to be beyond imagination.
And yet Yuder and Cordelia had purchased her through a normal transaction?
At Gale's question, Adelia also wore a newly impressed expression.
"Now that I think about it, that's true. It's not a level that could be reached by saving up allowance."
Moreover, looking back at their journey so far, Yuder and Cordelia had secretly spent quite a lot of money.
It was a mystery where the money to buy an expensive slave had come from.
"Uh... Cordelia said they gambled."
"Gambled? Uh, don't tell me—a casino?"
"That’s right. She said it was a casino. She said they made money there and bought me. She said Yuder suggested going to the casino to earn the money to buy me."
When Red Wind smiled brightly, Gale and Adelia looked at each other again, and soon anger rose on Adelia's face.
'He was a gambler?!'
Not just going to a casino for fun, but saying to go earn money to buy a slave?
This was one of two things.
Either he was excessively naive and pure-hearted, or he was a gambling addict!
"Uh...... Hmm...... Anyway, it seems they won."
When Gale cleared his throat and spoke, Adelia's eyes narrowed.
And then Red Wind spoke again.
"That’s right. Cordelia said she won a lot. She bragged that she was good at gambling."
"Wait, Miss Cordelia won?"
"Cordelia is really good at gambling. She said she’ll take me with her next time too."
At Red Wind's innocent remark, Gale's gaze returned to Adelia, and Adelia flinched before speaking with a cough.
"Ahem, she must have been...... lucky. Yes."
"......I see."
Anyway, instead of ruining the family, they had won a lot of money and saved Red Wind, so good was good, right?
"Miss Red Wind, may I ask you to continue the story?"
"Understood. I will tell you."
Red Wind also recounted the things she had experienced after crossing the border.
"Sword Demon Kamael......."
"To think Yuder became Master Landius's disciple."
It was the appearance of unexpected big names.
Sword Demon Kamael and Iron Man Landius.
Swordsmen at the absolute peak of the continent that no one could deny.
"Hmm...... I'm sorry. I couldn't properly understand what kind of conversation they had with the person called Kamael."
"No, this much is enough. Thank you for telling us."
When Gale gave a bright smile, Red Wind blushed without realizing it, laughed "hehehe," and left the room. Adelia cleared her throat at some inexplicable discomfort and said.
"It certainly doesn't seem like an ordinary matter."
"Yes, it doesn’t seem like they simply got entangled with demon worshippers. Crossing the border also seems to have been due to a significant mission rather than an elopement. Perhaps... we may need to change the purpose of our journey as well."
From retrieving runaway, immature young men and women, to helping the two and resolving the current problem.
"Haa...... Cordelia......."
Adelia bit her lip and let out a pained voice.
If only it were a simple runaway.
According to the current story, Cordelia was running toward an even greater danger.
"Don't worry too much. We'll be able to join the two soon."
"Yes...... We should. Thank you, Lord Gale. I'm glad you're here."
"I'm the one who's glad you're here, Miss Adelia."
Gale and Adelia looked at each other.
An exchange of gazes that would have made Rough Avalanche wear a truly uncomfortable expression if he had been there.
It was Adelia who turned her head away first.
"Ahem. Anyway, it seems there's no time to delay. Let's depart for where the Gentle Snow Breeze tribe is."
"Understood. That seems best."
Gale smiled leisurely, rose from his seat, and extended his hand to Adelia.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Lord Gale."
Taking Gale's hand and rising somewhat more demurely than usual, Adelia suddenly stopped in place before leaving the room. Something had suddenly occurred to her.
"Um, but Lord Gale."
"Yes, Miss Adelia."
"Um...... You don't do things like gambling, do you, Lord Gale?"
"No, I don't. And...... Miss Adelia...... you don't either, do you?"
"No, me neither."
"That's good."
"It is."
What exactly was good about it?
Anyway, the two, relieved by the fact that neither of them gambled, stepped forward with small smiles.