Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Finally (Fanart)
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Drip, drip, drip...
Tea spilled down to his chin like rain. A master like Ox God Head perfectly controlled his body in any situation, so even if startled or flustered, it was rare for him to spit out his tea.
In other words, this was an extremely rare occurrence. He couldn't even spit it out; his mouth hung open, letting it stream down. He wasn't even conscious enough to tense his jaw or lips.
"What a filthy mess."
Orca clicked her tongue as she spoke. Only then did Ox God Head snap back to his senses. The tea that had soaked his pant leg evaporated in an instant.
"Uh... uh, uh..."
Ox God Head stammered nonsense while cupping his chin and mouth with his hand. His eyes, wide with shock, trembled faintly.
A possessor?
That guy from half a year ago, the one who kinda looked like Kwon Rang's disciple, was a possessor?
"No way."
He simply couldn't believe it. Ox God Head had seen many possessors up to now. Even those who were confident in hiding their identities couldn't fool him completely. Half of them froze up the moment they saw him, trembled when he pulled off his signature tricks, and burst out laughing when they witnessed his ceremony.
Ox God Head had never been ashamed of his name, appearance, martial arts, or ceremony. Everything was something he genuinely enjoyed, a tribute to the brother he revered with heart and soul—someone who didn't exist in this world.
At the same time, it was all a trap to ferret out other possessors. The reactions from this world's natives and possessors to his appearance were distinctly different.
It was inevitable. The inspiration for his look was a superstar so famous that only a handful worldwide hadn't heard of him, so any possessor from that world had no choice but to react.
Even Raysi Yuzha in this very room had burst into laughter upon seeing his appearance and ceremony.
"That... Yuri guy is a possessor? How could that be?"
Ox God Head just couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Maybe the guy was blind before possessing?"
It was a throwaway line from disbelief, but he thought it had high plausibility. Otherwise, Yuri's reaction made no sense.
"No, maybe he's from some backwater. A remote place where TV, phones, YouTube don't work... Maybe from the Amazon...?"
"Don't talk nonsense. How would someone from such a backwater play the game and come to this world?"
Raysi clicked her tongue in correction, and yeah, that made sense too. Ox God Head pondered for a moment before suddenly jumping to his feet.
"What if... it's vomit?"
"Pardon?"
"No, that can't be. If it was vomit, he'd have reacted even more to my appearance..."
They were both possessors, but Raysi couldn't fully grasp what Ox God Head meant. Their pre-possession countries were different, after all.
"Vomit...? Choked on the tea?"
No matter how shocked or flustered, it seemed unlikely for the Supreme Lord to choke on tea. Raysi and Orca both shot him puzzled looks, but Ox God Head paced back and forth deep in thought without responding.
"..."
As he continued mulling it over, Ox God Head suddenly leaped from his seat.
"Hoo!"
A half-turn in midair, landing, arms spread powerfully like an eagle in flight.
"Pfft..."
Raysi, who had been seriously watching his deliberations, couldn't hold back a laugh. Snap! Ox God Head's thumb and index finger met with a crisp sound.
"That's the proper reaction."
"I wasn't laughing because it was funny."
Raysi quickly composed herself.
"I told you last time too, right? It's not 'Hoo,' it's 'Siu.'"
Raysi pointed demonstratively at her lips and tongue.
"Precisely, it's like 'thwee~,' but when you stretch the pronunciation and mix in the vocalization, it ends up with a 'oo' sound. Thwee~oo. Thwee-oo, shwee-oo."
"Hoo."
"Thwee~oo."
"Hoo~oo."
Ox God Head snorted and wagged his finger.
"Hey, Thor. You think I say 'hoo' because I don't really know it?"
"I'm not Thor."
"The reason I say 'hoo' is because in Korea, unless you're a hardcore soccer fan, 'hoo' is more familiar."
Hoo! Ox God Head shouted again, spreading his arms wide.
"..."
Raysi had no idea why Ox God Head was suddenly pulling this stunt.
"Ah."
After a moment's thought, Raysi figured it out herself. She looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.
"I see... Ox God Head, you're trying to find possessors from your homeland, aren't you?"
"Exactly."
Ox God Head grinned and plopped back down.
"Foreigners won't react to 'hoo.' But they'll react to my appearance. And Koreans? They'll definitely react to both my look and the 'hoo.'"
For Ox God Head, this was matching their level by forgoing the true ceremony of his revered brother.
"But Yuri... that guy didn't react to my hoo..."
Ox God Head's eyes narrowed.
"For me, the only explanations are that he was blind before possessing or from some backwater."
"Blind or backwater folks couldn't play that game. Think simpler—he just has great mental control, not getting rattled by your appearance."
"Is that possible? A possessor not reacting to me? That's a psychopath."
Ox God Head said it with a straight face. Raysi couldn't help but feel a chill deep down. Full Moon Night Revelry Ox God Head. It was clear the man wasn't right in the head, but Raysi knew well that his appearance wasn't just the product of pure innocence and madness.
Now his look was widely known, and his feats had elevated him to Supreme Lord status, but he hadn't started out strong.
In the past, that appearance must have been a disguise for the weak. Many possessors had seen it and judged him as a madman whose mind broke after possessing, approaching him with contempt.
And Ox God Head had survived to this day. Raysi knew his tricks weren't limited to smashing demon heads. The cunning of sticking to that look, knowing it invited possessors to approach, gave her goosebumps every time she thought about it.
"It's not confirmed that Yuri's a possessor."
Orca spoke up.
"It's just speculation."
"What? You didn't confirm it?"
"I asked, but didn't get an answer. Circumstantially, high chance he's one, but no confirmation."
"What happened?"
"Two years ago in Logos, Elena, her guard assassin, and Yuri were ambushed by the Blood Evil Ghost."
Blood Evil Ghost. At the name, Ox God Head's eyebrow twitched. He had bad blood with the Demonic Cult. The reason the confirmed possessor Ox God Head was treated as an honored guest by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was his consistent antagonism toward the Demonic Cult.
"Blood Evil Ghost... I know the old fart. Never met him personally. Isn't he the old dog who lost to Lone Eye Wanderer about ten years ago and went into hiding?"
Blood Evil Ghost was a disgraceful loser from the previous generation. He begged for his life to survive but fled into seclusion, fearing the Demonic Cult's punishment.
"Your disciple faced the Blood Evil Ghost? How the hell did they survive?"
Ox God Head had to wonder. Even as a has-been from the old generation, he couldn't be dismissed as total trash. This was a world where nursing-home geezers were far stronger than fresh young punks.
"They weren't in good shape, apparently."
Orca shrugged as she replied.
"Ten years ago, his dantian was sliced open, right? Never recovered his internal energy since, and overexertion led to qi deviation. His tier plummeted; couldn't even maintain his youthful form."
"Hmm."
Ox God Head tilted his head seriously.
"Still doesn't add up. Internal injuries, qi deviation, tier drop. Even so, Blood Evil Ghost was one of the Seven Evils ten years ago. Your disciple was 4th tier two years back, and the guard assassin—what tier?"
"Probably 5th tier. Yuri had less than half a year in martial arts at the time."
"Hahaha! And that combo survived meeting Blood Evil Ghost? No way that's possible."
"Not just survived. The three of them teamed up and killed him."
"No kidding! Totally impossible. Which means he has to be a possessor."
Ox God Head's face lit up. Sure, Blood Evil Ghost had a pile of debuffs, but no way he'd lose to a 4th-tier mage and 5th-tier assassin. Ambush? Maybe, but from the story, it didn't sound like one.
Faced him head-on and killed him. For that to happen, there had to be some absurd, out-of-the-norm variable.
"Two years ago when I saw him, I never imagined Yuri was a possessor. He seemed talented in martial arts, but mana affinity was average."
"Same here. I even checked the internal energy built up in Yuri's body once."
Not just once, either. Once when Namgung Jin snuck into Elena's mansion. And once after meeting Yuri and deploying Thunder God Illusion to come see Ox God Head.
"The internal energy I checked was Full Moon Night Revelry level—just decent, nothing special or lacking, average talent."
Meaning he'd completely fooled both Orca and Ox God Head.
"Is that even possible?"
"Not impossible."
"Some special martial art?"
"Who knows. I roughly know what Yuri trained in, but there could be more I missed."
"What did he learn? If it's not some big secret, spill."
"Trying to take without giving, huh."
Orca chuckled but didn't refuse.
"Heart method: Pure Sound Void Heart Method. Fist art: Languid Heaven Drift Fist. Plus, I gave him Revolving Thunder Flash Strike."
Ox God Head pondered the answer.
"Not anything special."
He furrowed his brow in response.
'Languid Heaven Drift Fist...?'
He didn't show it outright, but Ox God Head was inwardly shocked.
Ox God Head knew about Languid Heaven Drift Fist.
Not this world's version, but the one from the 'game.'
[Padrip you bastard, grinding Languid Heaven Drift Fist again? lol]
[No seriously that shit's total garbage why obsess?? Dodge is just luck-based anyway]
[Quit showboating in-game and swap builds. Fucked-up-heaven-chew-cloud-fist is legit trash]
[Bro I found this insane OP skill lately?? Call me bro and I'll share the build]
[ㄴㄱㅁ]
No doubt.
"Hmm... Pure Sound Void Heart Method sounds lame just from the name, and Languid Heaven Drift Fist has no function to hide internal energy."
[Hey, you get Veil of Deception?]
[Damn why won't Veil of Deception drop for me??? Fucking bugged?]
Yuri was Padrip Immunity.
Ox God Head was convinced.
'Finally here...!'
Pulling back from the flood of past memories in his head, Ox God Head stared at Orca.
"Revolving Thunder Flash Strike... Sounds like a thunder qi art from the name. Is it?"
"Yeah. No real use for it, so I gave it to Yuri."
"From the arts he's learned, I can't figure how he hid his internal energy. You said he left two years ago? Why'd he leave?"
"Seemed like he was planning to leave Logos anyway, and they parted after killing Blood Evil Ghost. Didn't hear details. Didn't ask."
But Ox God Head could easily guess the reason. As a possessor himself, how could he not know the struggles? His identity as a possessor got exposed unavoidably—and it wrecked his relationship with Orca's disciple.
'Lucky neither died, I guess.'
Ox God Head crossed his arms and eyed Orca.
"If he really was a possessor, that means he deceived and used your disciple. Doesn't that bother you?"
"If it led to Elena dying or becoming crippled, I'd have held him accountable."
Orca smiled faintly as she continued.
"Instead, I see meeting Yuri as a major turning point for Elena. In fact, she reached 5th tier in just two years."
"What a twisted personality."
"As a master, how can I not be pleased by my disciple's growth? I'm even grateful to Yuri. Whether he's really a possessor or not doesn't matter now. What about you, Full Moon Night Revelry?"
"Intriguing, yeah."
Ox God Head snorted and shrugged.
"Orca Derusia. If he weren't your disciple, I'd have tracked him down for interrogation by now. Shame I can't."
"If you're that curious about Yuri, why not go see him yourself?"
This whole conversation was laced with intent. Ox God Head was sure Orca was testing him. He didn't care if Raysi was really Thor or not, but she knew about 'Ox God Head.' She knew about the users he was close with in the community before coming to this world.
Thanks to keeping this appearance, Ox God Head had bonded with many possessors. Plenty were enemies, too. But he hadn't met every possessor in this world. Especially among the friends he really wanted to meet, only one—FUCKINGSEXY—he'd encountered here.
Cat Panties.
USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎.
Padrip Immunity.
He hadn't met those three yet.
But he knew Cat Panties and USAUSAMI₍ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎ had come to this world. Maybe they were dead already... but he didn't want to think that. They had to be alive.
And Padrip Immunity.
As far as Ox God Head knew, that bastard hadn't come yet.
If Yuri was a possessor.
And had learned Languid Heaven Drift Fist.
'Padrip, it's you.'
Ox God Head was convinced inwardly. But he couldn't reveal it in front of Orca. He knew Padrip Immunity's notoriety among possessors who'd arrived in the last ten years.
He didn't know Orca's stance. But if Raysi was Thor—the Thor123 who'd been Padrip Immunity's punching bag daily—there was no way she'd be friendly.
"He hid his possessor identity from me. If he really is one, he probably doesn't want to meet me. Plus, I'm a busy guy. Gotta leave Lutran soon."
Padrip Immunity must have his own plans, not revealing himself two years ago. Ox God Head had tons prepared for him, but decided to shelve it for now.
"Maybe we'll cross paths someday, but no need for me to seek him out."
He'd say that in front of Orca, then search discreetly. That was his conclusion.
'Also curious how he'll grow without my help.'
He wanted to teach him Full Moon Ox Slaughter Fame and Hoo, but if his current arts were solid, he'd respect that.
'...'
There were other things he wanted to ask, too...
"Food tastes better when you let it simmer."
"What?"
"A Korean meal."
Ox God Head muttered, leaning back in his chair.
"Talking possessors makes me crave spicy pork stir-fry and soybean paste stew today..."
Over twenty years since coming to this world.
Ox God Head could barely remember the taste of the spicy pork stir-fry from back then...