Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 003
Chapter Title: Meeting the Pure White Saintess
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Anyway, how hard did she run here at full speed?
The woman arrived right in front of me and immediately bent at the waist, gasping for breath without being able to speak properly.
“Huff…. Huff….”
“What’s the matter?”
At my question, she barely lifted her head to look at me.
“Are you okay? Not hurt anywhere?”
“I don’t think so, but did the explosion bring you here?”
“Yes. Lee Han went this way, and right after, there was an explosion. So I came running. Huff…. Huff….”
Good grief.
I’m not family, and we just met today.
‘She’s unbelievably kind. She must have been scared herself.’
If it weren’t for me, this woman probably would have fled in the opposite direction the moment she saw the explosion.
In the first place, I had never faced the Goblin King together with this woman.
“By any chance, your name?”
“You’re asking for my name in this situation!”
I was extremely curious.
I needed to figure out why this insanely kind woman looked so familiar.
“Sigh! It’s Jeong Sia! Jeong Sia! But what’s going on? Uh, skeleton? Uh, is that person dead? Uh uh—even the Goblin King’s child?”
She finally looked around me and shouted in surprise after revealing her name.
‘So that’s why she looked familiar.’
The memory resurfaced the moment I heard her name.
She was the person who had joined me on my first Utopia hunt and made headlines in the media, which I had watched with interest back then.
‘Pure White Saintess. Jeong Sia.’
She was a Legendary trait holder, no less. A healing-type trait, which occurred in one out of a hundred, and Korea’s first Legendary healer.
But she would soon be found as a cold corpse.
‘She was murdered.’
The cause of death and the culprit remained unknown.
“Lee Han. That skeleton—is it your skill? Weren’t you traitless? What happened? Where did the skeleton come from? The corpse is intact.”
Jeong Sia kept firing questions nonstop, struggling to grasp the situation. Leaning against a tree pillar, I pointed at the dead man.
“This guy kidnapped the Goblin King’s offspring and died while fleeing. So the Goblin King is pretty pissed right now.”
Jeong Sia frowned slightly at the man’s wretched state.
“Why kidnap the Goblin King’s child…”
There was no need to explain the reason.
“And the trait just awakened. So I tested the skill, and it summons only the skeleton while leaving the corpse intact.”
Jeong Sia nodded at my clear explanation and offered congratulations.
“First off, congrats on getting a trait.”
Then, with a serious expression, she continued.
“But if the Goblin King’s child is here, won’t it smash everything around until it finds it?”
“Probably.”
“Then people will die! This place is full of beginners!”
I could feel her concern for people’s lives in her voice.
“We need to quickly take that child back to the Goblin King.”
Jeong Sia moved toward the offspring, ready to head straight to the Goblin King.
I stepped forward to block her path.
“Why? It’s urgent.”
“Calm down.”
I couldn’t let Jeong Sia die a dog’s death. I planned to handle the Goblin King anyway.
And soon, she would gain a Legendary trait.
“Do you think the Goblin King will let Sia live?”
I needed to gauge what kind of person she was.
“At your level—traitless and only able to hunt goblins in a team—you’d just die.”
Despite my cold words, Jeong Sia met my eyes with an unshaken gaze.
‘Not bad.’
Then she slowly parted her lips.
“I know. It’s dangerous. But someone has to do it.”
That single sentence told me everything about Jeong Sia as a person.
“To save people, someone has to return that child to the king. And to rescue Lee Han, who just entered Utopia, from danger, someone has to lend a hand.”
“Why does it have to be you?”
“Because I heard it, saw it, and I’m here now.”
She was the type satisfied if her sacrifice made someone else happy.
“In short, you’re sacrificing yourself? Even if it means death?”
Jeong Sia answered without the slightest hesitation.
“What a frustrating and foolish way of thinking.”
She frowned at my words.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I understand your conviction, but haven’t you considered this?”
I had roughly gauged her personality through our brief exchange.
Now it was time to stir ripples in Jeong Sia’s convictions.
One final check.
“What idea?”
“That someday you gain tremendous power and can save even more people.”
“Save even more people?”
“Yes. Awaken your trait, level up, grow strong—then rescue more people in danger. You can look away for now. It’d be a waste to die in a place like this.”
Whether she was someone who could help in the war against the Demon Realm.
If not.
Whether having her become one of my skeletons would be helpful.
‘Selfish people are trouble, but those with convictions like hers are a huge problem too.’
I’d seen plenty in the future. People whose misguided beliefs put those around them in danger.
‘If she’s a negative factor, better to exclude her.’
There was no reason to go through the hassle of saving someone carrying that kind of risk.
I didn’t want to fight Solomon with a ticking time bomb inside.
So if her answer showed willingness to back off, I’d save her somehow. If she insisted on meddling, I’d stand by and watch her die.
From the closest vantage point.
“I get what you’re saying, but my mind hasn’t changed. I can’t ignore the danger right in front of me just because I lack power. Think of how much that person wants help. Just like you.”
I hadn’t wanted help at all, but unfortunately, Jeong Sia’s response fell into the latter category.
“Understood. I respect your conviction, Sia.”
No need for a second confirmation.
I nodded and pulled my phone from my pocket.
“Let’s exchange numbers.”
You couldn’t make calls in Utopia, but entering numbers was possible.
Jeong Sia looked flustered as I held out my phone.
“Suddenly asking for my number? Weren’t you uninterested in me?”
What kind of life had she lived, assuming any personal question meant interest?
“Not because I like you, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
I cut her off bluntly.
“Later, when you get your trait, hunt with me. You came to save me, after all—I’ll repay the favor.”
“You’re the one who just said I’d die? And now you want to hunt together?”
Jeong Sia said that, but she inputted her number into my phone and handed me hers in return.
“I doubt you’ll die today.”
“Why?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ After acquiring the Skeleton Expert trait, I realized something. Interfering needlessly only changes the future. “Anyway, if we get out safely today, just live your normal life.”
I planned to wait quietly until she awakened her trait.
“You can handle it with the trait you just got?”
I’d thought she was just stupidly kind, but she could think for herself too. I entered my number into her phone and handed it back.
“Exactly.”
“For real?”
Her face lit up at my response.
“Aren’t you a bit too happy? Weren’t you prepared to die just now?”
“Saving people and surviving myself? Perfect. Why overthink it? But you’re so sure I’ll get a trait? It’s been almost ten months.”
“I got mine suddenly too. And you know what they say—good people get blessings. You’ll get yours soon.”
As long as I didn’t interfere further, her future wouldn’t change.
“Isn’t that super illogical?”
Jeong Sia eyed me suspiciously without letting up.
Whatever.
“Do you risk your life for people after logical calculations? No, right?”
“Is that the same thing?”
No arguing with the stubborn.
“Good grief! Fine, just hurry up and calm that Goblin King.”
“Sure. Whatever.”
I turned to Kkaebi and issued the order.
“Kkaebi. Grab that goblin offspring and follow.”
Time to quell the Goblin King’s rage.
Jeong Sia asked me.
“You’re having the skeleton deliver the goblin child?”
I nodded and scanned for the Goblin King’s position.
‘There.’
12 o’clock direction.
Red flames and black smoke rising.
“Kkaebi. Head that way.”
Before approaching the Goblin King, there was something to confirm.
At my command, Kkaebi put about five meters of distance between us.
“Dismiss summon. Kkaebi.”
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Distance from user exceeds limit.] Failure.
“What are you doing?”
Jeong Sia tilted her head at my sudden action.
“Was gonna have it toss the goblin offspring and dismiss the summon to retrieve Kkaebi. Guess distance is a no-go.”
“Then what now?”
The safest method had failed, so frontal assault it was.
“Follow me.”
Confirmation complete, I urged Jeong Sia to follow and headed toward the Goblin King.
‘First, get her safely back to Earth.’
Her future had changed the moment she arrived here.
I worried she might die to some stray blade if left alone.
“Got it. But what’s the trait called?”
Jeong Sia caught up and soon walked abreast with me.
“Skeleton Expert.”
“Skeleton Expert? So even if you level up, no other summons—just skeletons?”
“Probably.”
“A bit different from Necromancer types.”
Skeletons, zombies, ghouls, dullahan, and even death knights.
Other Necromancer traits could summon a variety of undead.
“But that uniqueness means high grade, right? What grade is it?”
Jeong Sia hit the sore spot.
“…Common.”
Sympathy briefly crossed her face at my answer.
“Having a trait at all is something. Common or not, there’s variance between people. I don’t even have one.”
No. You’ll get one soon.
A Legendary one, at that.
As we traveled amid her half-hearted consolation from a trait holder, we arrived before we knew it.
“There it is.”
The gray Goblin King, still glancing around in search of its offspring, came into view.
It wasn’t far.
I ducked behind a tree, and Jeong Sia naturally settled beside me before asking.
“Naming it means you’re attached to your first skeleton. Time to part ways.”
As Jeong Sia said, a normal skeleton had no chance of surviving the Goblin King’s attacks.
“Kkaebi’s a bit special. Dangerous, but it’ll come back.”
But this one could return safely.
‘Once it delivers the offspring, it won’t bother chasing.’
Dodge the initial attacks, and it’d be safely resolved.
“Kkaebi. Use Wind Step to deliver the offspring to the Goblin King you see and come back.”
Kkaebi nodded at my words.
At the same time, wind rippled at its feet, kicking up dirt.
“Huh? A skill?”
Ignoring Jeong Sia’s surprised voice, Kkaebi dashed toward the Goblin King.
‘Fast.’
Faster than anticipated.
To the point where I wanted to test ‘Acceleration’—one of the core abilities, alongside Undying Lord, that had sustained my life in the Demon Realm war.
‘Without Undying Lord and at level 1, Acceleration would shatter my body.’
I remembered it being around age eight.
A bright spring day.
Playing with the brothers in the orphanage front yard when a baseball flew toward my face.
That instant.
My heart pounded, and I first encountered a slowed world.
A gray-tinted world, everything crawling like maggots.
I don’t know the reason. Why I had such an ability. Probably from the lightning strike around age six, I suppose.
Perhaps the signs of the Great Cataclysm and Utopia had been present long before, just unknown.
After the system and Utopia appeared, secret organizations handling superpowers like the Vatican Knight Order surfaced as if waiting.
Anyway, I barely moved my head to dodge the ball and returned to the normal world.
The problem came after.
Intense pain wracked me as my entire body went numb, collapsing immobile on the ground.
Luckily, I could move again after a day, but the phenomenon recurred in short cycles thereafter.
After some time suffering, I learned a few rules of this ability.
First, the slowed world was merely perceived as ‘accelerated cognition.’ I couldn’t actually move any faster than normal within it.
Second, it activated when I got excited. Probably tied to adrenaline secretion.
From then on, I naturally trained to maintain composure in any situation.
But then Earth faced a situation where composure was impossible.
The system and Utopia.
To make money, I had to risk my life fighting in Utopia, and this ability gradually proved its worth.
Stamina stats heavily invested for prolonged ma stone mining on level-ups.
As stamina rose, I felt the aftermath of the slowed world lessen. Likely the boosted natural healing extended to my overloaded brain.
At stamina 50, paralysis vanished, leaving only limb numbness and splitting headaches.
Of course, maintaining it too long still brought paralysis.
Time passed, I acquired [Undying Lord], and the slowed world became fully mine.
In other words, using ‘Acceleration’ now would knock me out for nearly a day—but Kkaebi’s ‘Wind Step’ was so impressive I almost risked it to watch.
‘That man. Did he slow down because he exhausted his mana while fleeing?’
Kkaebi far surpassed the speed of its original trait owner.
‘This is unexpected?’
Even more astonishing was Kkaebi’s next move.
“Kuruk?”
The moment Kkaebi locked eyes with the Goblin King, who whipped around at the sudden presence.
Plop!
It set the Goblin King’s offspring down on the ground. Probably lacked the strength to throw it.
Up to that point, fine.
The surprise came next.
It bolted away—and astonishingly, in the direction opposite from me.
‘Using its head?’
Without any prior instruction.
Kkaebi’s choice, for my safety.
The Goblin King hurled a rage-filled fireball at Kkaebi while rushing to its offspring.
But Kkaebi had already vacated the spot.
“A skeleton using skills and even thinking. Really Common grade?”
Jeong Sia whispered while peering toward the Goblin King.
“Yes, it’s Common grade. But it has a fatal weakness.”
“What weakness?”
I hadn’t expected her to ask such questions with those innocent eyes.
Pure? Or stupid?
‘Probably the former.’
“Asking for my weakness? The world’s gotten harsh these days.”
“Feels unfair. You said we’d hunt together later.”
She actually looked sulky, furrowing her brows behind her glasses and pouting her lips.
“Then, once we’re closer, I’ll tell you everything. I don’t even have the power to protect myself yet. Noona.”
“Noona?”
My last word must have caught her off guard.
Her eyes sparkled behind her glasses, as if the pout had never happened.
“Yeah. You’re noona, right?”
Since I’d decided to intervene somehow.
Maintaining some closeness from now on made sense.
‘If there’s no contact after she gets her trait, it’ll be trouble. I don’t remember the exact time of your death.’
“True enough. Wanna drop the formal speech while we’re at it?”
Unaware of my thoughts, Jeong Sia drew closer, clearly pleased.
“Yeah, Noona. Treat me like a close little brother.”
“Sure, huh? Your skeleton’s coming back.”
And just like that, Kkaebi returned to my side after a wide detour.
“Good job, Kkaebi.”
It gave a slight nod at my words.
“Noona, let’s head to Earth.”
“Yeah. I got separated from my team members, so I need to regroup.”
I dismissed Kkaebi’s summon and started walking toward the portal city.
On the way back with Jeong Sia.
“Both parents still around?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“Anyone you borrowed money from, or people around who dislike you?”
“Never borrowed money, people who dislike me? Hmm, not sure.”
I subtly probed about her one by one. Partly to check for potential grudges.
“Got a boyfriend now?”
“Boyfriend? Nope.”
“Any exes you broke up with badly?”
“No ex-boyfriends?”
“Huh? Broke up ages ago?”
“No. Never dated a guy.”
“Ah?”
That explained why she fixated on me asking her name and number.
“Maiden solo?”
“Yeah.”
Jeong Sia had never dated.
‘Some issue?’
Pretty face, decent personality—who knew.
“Don’t stare weirdly. Just no interest in guys.”
“No messy relationship drama, then?”
“Yeah. Why ask all this?”
I answered promptly to dispel her suspicion.
“Just worried ‘cause you’re too kind. World’s chaotic with all these villain crimes lately.”
“I’ve lived fine so far.”
“World changed. Be careful anywhere, anytime, Noona.”
“Well, thanks for worrying.”
That’s enough.
Chatting idly, we arrived at the portal city before we knew it.
“I’ll escort you to the portal.”
“I can just walk from here?”
No chance.
Utopia was a true lawless zone. Even inside the city, I needed to see her safely off to Earth.
‘After that, she’ll get her trait on her own.’
That’s how she’d become the [Pure White Saintess].
“You never know.”
I stood with Jeong Sia in front of the central portal.
“Alright. Head to Earth and form a team. Call if anything comes up.”
“Yeah. What about you? Really not teaming up?”
“Gotta get strong first so I can help when you awaken your trait. I’ll be grinding hard.”
“Appreciate it, but how do you know when I’ll get one?”
I didn’t remember the exact time.
“Soon.”
Just that it was in 2023.
“Gotcha. Hit me up when you’re back on Earth.”
Jeong Sia looked reluctant.
Did she like me that much?
My default fierce impression hadn’t exactly been popular in my past life.
“Yeah. Definitely. Be careful.”
Final goodbye with Jeong Sia, and I sent her to Earth. Heading back out of the city, I spotted a shop.
‘No real need, right?’
Considered arming Kkaebi but gave up. Its strength couldn’t kill monsters anyway.
Armor? Would weigh it down, slowing it and exposing it to attacks.
In short, until Kkaebi could pull its weight solo, I’d have to keep moving.
I bought a single dagger for myself and some goblin poison.
Goblin poison wasn’t lethal, but useful in low-level zones with negligible poison resistance.
Stuffed my backpack full of food, then passed through the city gates and out.
I’d be holing up in the hunting grounds for days.
‘Orc zone’s south, I think.’
I’d already planned my destination on the way here.
‘Been a while since I grinded like this.’
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