Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Initiation
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‘Why is he coming here?’
Yuri thought as he entered the house, supported by Elena.
Ox God Head, Full Moon Gambit of the Supreme Pole Lord. A madman who didn’t even hide that he was a Possessor from his name alone. And yet, he roamed around like that without getting hunted, rose to the 7th Tier as a martial artist, and became the Supreme Pole Lord.
Padrip Immunity.
Ox God Head.
Cat Panties.
FUCKINGSEXY.
USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎.
Those five names—Yuri and Lee Soo-hyuk included—had banded together in overseas communities, infamous for all the wrong reasons. Lee Soo-hyuk, who had only exchanged wholesome opinions with other players, felt extremely wronged by it, but back when the communities were buzzing, he got lumped in with them and called an idiot just for being associated.
Unlike the aggrieved Lee Soo-hyuk, the other four deserved the idiot label, and among them, USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎ and Ox God Head were the worst offenders in competing for it.
USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎ used a picture of a female character with bunny ears as a meme in every post, and no matter what he said, he’d slap “USA” at the end.
USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎
Isn’t my character cute USA?
USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎
How do I kill this guy USA?
USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎
How do I get in here USA?
At first, no one could figure out what the hell this guy was saying, but once auto-translation was turned off, it finally made sense.
Isn’t my character cute USA?
How do I kill this guy USA?
How do I get in here USA?
Turns out, that “USA” wasn’t even referring to America.
[Why the fuck do you keep slapping USA at the end of every sentence?]
[Because I’m a bunny USA.]
[What bullshit is that?]
[It’s a cute bunny USA.]
Even after switching to one-on-one chat to ask why, Lee Soo-hyuk still couldn’t grasp why USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎ tacked on “USA” to everything. He figured there was no point in understanding anyway, so he let it slide.
If USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎ was an incomprehensible lunatic, Ox God Head was at least somewhat within the realm of understanding. For starters, unlike USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎, actual communication was possible with him.
[You Korean?]
[Padrip Immunity means I can padrip you?]
[You got a mom?]
In fact, Ox God Head was incredibly chatty, always commenting first on Padrip Immunity’s posts to show that thick Korean camaraderie.
But that jovial Korean would occasionally go so berserk that communication broke down completely—usually on days when his favorite soccer player had a match.
[Our bro’s lost his mind lololololololol]
No one knew exactly what was so crazy about it, but on match days, Ox God Head would spam the community hours before kickoff with “commentary practice” nonsense posts.
Once the game actually started, he’d narrate every single action of the player.
Even if the player wasn’t on camera, he’d narrate.
If the player went to the bench, he’d flood the comments with curses instead.
The community had other soccer fans besides Ox God Head. Enraged overseas users would show up with winner’s cups or score screenshots to shut him up, and Ox God Head would counter with bizarre photoshopped images from god-knows-where.
[Tch!!!!!]
That lunatic was coming to Lutran. No exact date, but he’d said within the year.
‘Are we close...?’
Yuri pondered seriously. They were fellow Koreans, after all, and he’d chatted pretty often with Padrip Immunity, Ox God Head, and Cat Panties.
[Padrip bastard, don’t log off till then. I’ll buy you a drink lol]
They’d even made drinking plans that never panned out.
“...”
Truth be told, there was no real dilemma—the answer was already clear. Don’t approach him.
He’d been warned before becoming Yuri: never trust other Possessors. No matter what Ox God Head was really like, there was zero reason for Yuri to out himself as a Possessor first. For all he knew, Ox God Head clung to that name precisely to lure and hunt any Possessors who came sniffing around.
‘Among Possessors, some devour other Possessors to fatten their souls.’
No guarantee Ox God Head wasn’t one of them.
“I can’t make dinner.”
His body still felt like a lump of stone. Sprawled on the sofa, he said that, and Elena shot him an incredulous look.
“I’ll fend for myself, so you just rest!”
“Okay...”
“What about your food? Want me to make something?”
“Eating the young lady’s cooking might kill me.”
“Whoa, you scared me.”
Yuri jolted and whipped his head around at the sudden voice.
“No, when did you get here?”
He hadn’t even noticed her. Ha-ryeong, standing by the window, shrugged with a blank expression.
“That hurts my feelings.”
“Were you hiding on purpose?”
“I was hiding, but not because I did anything wrong.”
“Then why were you hiding?”
“You seem unaware, but watching someone else’s martial arts training is taboo. Bakerd might exchange Cloudflow Fist techniques amiably with you, but I’m not in that position.”
“Hmm... true.”
“You should’ve said something before training. We came back casually, and seeing you lost in a trance swinging your fists—do you know how startled I was? But as a proper assassin, I didn’t keep watching and quietly backed out the front gate again.”
Hearing it out, Ha-ryeong was right. She’d actually been considerate of him. So Yuri blinked a few times, then bowed his head slightly to her.
“Th... thank you.”
“Good, you get it. Anyway, the young lady’s cooking isn’t edible, so just eat whatever bread’s around.”
“I can at least grill bacon.”
Elena glared at Ha-ryeong, eyes fierce.
“Grilling bacon hardly counts as cooking—that’s news to me.”
“Ha-ryeong, aren’t you heading back?”
Normally, when Elena returned home, Ha-ryeong wouldn’t enter the mansion itself. But today, unusually, she came all the way to the living room and sat on the sofa.
“There’s something bothering me, so I’ll chat a bit before I go.”
“What?”
“Is Full Moon Gambit really coming to Lutran?”
“Well... no exact date, but he said within the year.”
“Why?”
“How should we know?”
“You didn’t know either, Ha-ryeong?”
“No. I just heard today that Full Moon Gambit is coming to Lutran.”
Ha-ryeong crossed her arms, frowning openly. She rarely showed emotion through her expression, so for her to furrow her brows like that meant Ox God Head’s visit wasn’t a light matter.
“Maybe he’s just visiting for fun.”
“That’d be nice, but he tipped off Bakerd ahead of time, so he might have business planned in Lutran.”
“Business...”
Elena tilted her head, drawing a blank. Ha-ryeong thought for a moment before speaking.
“The Rseun Auction House incident was suspicious too. A 7th Tier mage, Flame Bead Master Harabel Usia, personally put up the Scorching Cataclysm ritual.”
“Yeah.”
“There might’ve been some deal between Flame Bead Master and the Ascard Family. And Full Moon Gambit’s visit to Lutran could be related to the Ascard Family too.”
Ha-ryeong’s dark eyes fixed intently on Elena. Under that viscous gaze, Elena blinked and pointed at herself.
“Me? Why?”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“About... what?”
“Why is Full Moon Gambit coming to Lutran? Why did Harabel put the Scorching Cataclysm ritual up at Rseun Auction House?”
“...”
“The Derusia Magic Tower Lord and the Ascard Family head are old friends, so she probably knows the story.”
“You want me to ask her directly?”
“You’re curious too, aren’t you?”
Elena rolled her eyes, unable to answer right away. She was curious, sure. But more than Full Moon Gambit’s visit, she wondered why Flame Bead Master had put one of her unique magic rituals up for auction at Rseun.
“Maybe it’s because of the Namgung Clan.”
Yuri, who’d been listening silently, spoke up.
“Orca mentioned it last time. The Ascard Family doesn’t like the Namgung Clan.”
“So you’re saying the Ascard Family invited Full Moon Gambit to check the Namgung Clan?”
“Yes.”
“Not impossible, but... really? That’s my thought.”
Ha-ryeong shook her head.
“No need to invite outsiders—the Ascard Family has enough power to crush the Namgung Clan on their own. They’re just leaving them be because it’s not worth the effort.”
“The Ascard Family’s that strong?”
“Yes, that strong. Martial might might fall short of the Namgung Clan, but Lutran City itself is the Ascard Family’s power base. And they can borrow any lacking force from the Derusia Magic Tower.”
With that, Ha-ryeong stood from the sofa.
“No point staying if you don’t know. I’ll head out.”
“Gonna look into it yourself?”
“Seems necessary. Even if Full Moon Gambit’s a bizarre lunatic, he probably won’t visit Lutran for nefarious reasons and cause havoc... but he’s unpredictable. If he decides to rampage in the city, it’ll make protecting you a real headache.”
Bizarre, unpredictable lunatic... what the hell had he been up to since possessing to earn that rep? Apparently more than just flashing his name.
“Challenging a lunatic like that to a duel. Bakerd’s no slouch in the crazy department either.”
“He could win, right?”
“6th Tier and 7th Tier are worlds apart. Anything’s possible, but if the duel happens, I bet Bakerd loses for sure. Anyway, Yuri, fighting starting tomorrow.”
“What’s with the fighting talk.”
“Overheard you sounding all fired up. Bakerd won’t guide you as gently as I would.”
Leaving that taunt behind, Ha-ryeong left the mansion.
‘Fired up, huh...’
Today, he’d seen the Cloudflow Fist manual firsthand and tried out the forms, feeling all sorts of things.
He could probably manage alone somehow, but learning the basics properly from Bakerd—a true martial artist of high realm—was a golden opportunity.
He felt the need for external training too. A whole month of guidance—if he played it right, he might get advice beyond just Cloudflow Fist.
“You’re eating, right?”
Elena glanced back at Yuri with a bright smile as she headed to the kitchen.
“Let’s just grill bacon.”
Tomorrow’s training sounded brutal; he didn’t want to risk an upset stomach from weird food.
*
Derusia Magic Tower. The tower lord’s room, occupying the entire top floor.
“What the hell do you want to say that has you hemming and hawing like this, eyeing me awkwardly?”
Perched on the sunlit windowsill railing, Orca dangled her teacup from her finger and sneered.
“Or are you planning to muddle my mind with this poison and wring an answer out of me? Won’t work if so. The lord of Derusia Magic Tower doesn’t bend to torture.”
“You’re so harsh.”
Elena stopped tidying the cluttered desk of books and papers, shooting Orca a glare.
“You’re the one who said you miss my tea sometimes.”
“I did say that. But I drank yours a few days ago. My mouth still remembers that hell, so I’m not missing it now.”
“How bad can it be...”
“Elena, your tea is exquisitely bad. The steeping method, timing, water temperature—even the choice of leaves and cup is disastrously off.”
“You’re too much.”
“Fortunately for you, what you lack in that gets poured into your magic talent. That’s why you’re here. On the top floor of Derusia Magic Tower, no less.”
Orca chuckled, releasing the teacup from her finger. It floated up via magic without falling, landing on the desk Elena was sorting.
“Your talent lets you be here and even ask me personal questions. So quit beating around the bush and ask.”
“The Scorching Cataclysm ritual showed up at Rseun Auction House.”
Elena sighed deeply and perched on the desk.
“They say Flame Bead Master Harabel Usia sold it herself. Do you know why?”
“Debt.”
Orca wasn’t surprised by the Scorching Cataclysm ritual’s appearance. She already knew about the deal between Flame Bead Master and the Ascard Family.
“Flame Bead Master once ruined one of the Ascard Family’s ventures. The Burning Old Tree on Surtr Volcano bears fruit infused with fire essence once every century. The Ascard Family had watched it for years and finally claimed the fruit.”
Elena perked up her ears at the story, unknown to the public. Orca eyed her wide-eyed, curious apprentice-to-be with fondness and continued.
“But the burning fruit never reached the Ascard Family. Flame Bead Master, not yet at 7th Tier then, crashed in, snatched it, and fled while taking Delaya Ascard—present there—as hostage.”
“Lady Delaya?”
Elena’s eyes went wide. Delaya Ascard was the current family head’s direct granddaughter.
“Even Flame Bead Master probably didn’t plan to demand ransom. She meant to release her after securing the fruit, but Alfreon came to me over his kidnapped granddaughter. So I tracked down Flame Bead Master.”
Orca recalled the memory and laughed lowly.
“I secured Delaya’s safety, subdued Flame Bead Master, and dragged her to Alfreon. But get this—Alfreon forgave the kidnapping, gifted the burning fruit, and slapped two conditions on Flame Bead Master.”
“What?”
“One: when she reached 7th Tier, put one of her unique magic rituals up at Rseun Auction House. Two: grant the Ascard Family one favor. Not adding ‘unconditionally’ was mercy enough from Alfreon. I figured he’d kill her outright.”
Orca laughed again, staring at Elena.
“He even let Flame Bead Master choose the ritual. Naturally, she picked one she could spare, but a 7th Tier mage’s unique ritual holds huge value. Hitting a public auction instead of secret only boosted Rseun’s name. Probably added dozens of VIPs, and the next secret auction’ll draw big shots in droves.”
“Big shots...”
Elena murmured softly, entranced by the tale.
“Is Full Moon Gambit coming to Lutran for the secret auction too?”
Orca’s smile vanished at that. She stared at Elena with round eyes.
“Full Moon Gambit? You mean the Supreme Pole Lord’s chronicle?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s coming to Lutran? Who told you that?”
Orca—who seemed to know everything—asking back like that flustered Elena. She blinked, then recounted the auction house and yesterday’s events to Orca.
“Kwon-rang Bakerd...”
Orca rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
“Probably visiting as a guest of the Ascard Family.”
“Figured as much?”
“No need for you to worry. He’s a famous lunatic, but the well-behaved kind.”
“Well-behaved crazy? What’s that?”
“Means he doesn’t do truly insane things. Honestly, your childhood friend interests me more than Full Moon Gambit.”
Orca smirked mischievously, staring at Elena.
“I glimpsed him before and pegged him as talented, but more than I thought, huh? Guess my eyes aren’t perfect. Should’ve snatched him up with you ten years ago.”
“His magic talent was just okay, though.”
“You absorbed half the Azure Heaven Pill? Not bad at all. With proper training from ten years back, he’d be something by now.”
Orca wasn’t stingy with praise. But praising someone outside Derusia Magic Tower—and not even a mage—was rare. Elena’s lips and cheeks twitched unconsciously at Yuri getting recognized.
“Uh, um. Yuri said he wants to try learning magic later. I’ll teach him then.”
“Martial artists differ from mages.”
Orca turned her gaze to the window.
“Mages can train solo to a point. Get used to rituals, focus on casting. But martial artists are different.”
“...”
“My eyes may not be perfect, but this I swear: Elena. Your childhood friend isn’t suited as an ornamental pet or lapdog. He’s the type that thrives hunting prey, not kibble.”
“Yes...”
Elena answered softly.
“Actually, next time... I’m thinking of taking Yuri on an adventurer guild quest.”
“No plans to send him alone, huh.”
“J-just the first time.”
Mumbling that excuse last, Elena left the room. Orca, still perched on the windowsill gazing out, shook her head with a short sigh.
“This isn’t good.”
Kwon-rang’s training ends in a month, she’d said.
‘Guess I’ll have to see him once.’