Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: The Stolen Egg
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Flinch-
The Lion shuddered at the ominous chill creeping up his spine.
“…What is it?”
He instinctively sensed that something had gone wrong.
“Aier is proceeding according to plan. The Empire’s situation has derailed a bit, but not enough to affect the grand scheme.”
He carefully reviewed each of the tasks he and the Apostles were handling.
But nothing seemed likely to go awry.
Then, one thing suddenly came to mind.
“The Grand Duke headed to Heldein.”
And with that very ‘Gray King’ who had driven him to the brink of death.
The Lion’s brow furrowed slightly.
Recalling that day brought a surge of fear.
“The one who will end everything.”
Neither god nor demon.
A being that was neither, yet could become both.
And ultimately, the King of Chaos who would bring apocalypse to all worlds.
The Lion murmured Seo Woo-jin’s name.
And he pinpointed the source of his unease.
“……Treeview has fallen.”
The magic tree that protected the Dark Elves had met its end.
“I should have realized sooner.”
When he heard that the Grand Duke and Seo Woo-jin had gone to Heldein, he hadn’t paid it much mind.
He hadn’t anticipated their target being Treeview.
He had mistakenly assumed they’d just hunt some outskirts monsters, as the Empire had done before.
“I must have been too distracted by other things.”
A mistake he wouldn’t normally make.
But right now, the Lion’s mind was consumed by one thing alone.
Baek Si-woo.
He had been entirely focused on the task of making him the new king.
And thus, he had neglected everything else.
“Haa-”
A sigh escaped him.
“This is troublesome.”
Honestly, whether Treeview lived or died didn’t matter much.
With Gerald dead, the Dark Elves as a race were no longer significant.
It would have been different if he could have used Mehiamosra.
That powerful familiar’s strength could have been a great asset.
But that was impossible.
The constraint prevented any action beyond protecting the magic tree.
So, losing the Dark Elves or the magic tree was no great loss to the Lion.
But……
“What’s inside it is different.”
The ‘item’ held within the magic tree Treeview.
It was something quite important to followers like himself.
“Should I go retrieve it now?”
It was just a hunch.
Even after reaching the transcendent realm, his premonitions weren’t always accurate.
So, it wouldn’t hurt to check in person.
“If I’m lucky, they might not have found it and just left.”
The Lion decided to head to Heldein.
If the item was truly gone, he’d need to adjust his plans, so confirming directly was best.
The Lion turned away from his path to Baek Si-woo and headed toward the teleportation magic circle.
* * *
“What is this?”
An egg.
Unlike the magic tree blackened by lightning, this one emitted a soft blue glow.
It was about the size of a human head, and its shell seemed incredibly tough.
It had withstood Briana’s power that shattered the magic tree, after all.
“I’ve never seen it before either.”
Briana searched her memories, but nothing about a glowing blue egg came up.
“Is that so?”
Seo Woo-jin approached the egg.
It didn’t seem dangerous at all, so there was no need to raise his guard.
He grabbed it.
“Whoa.”
Seo Woo-jin let out a wry chuckle.
The egg was surprisingly heavy.
It felt like lifting a lump of metal the same size.
“It’s warm?”
He didn’t know what was inside, but it was radiating considerable heat.
“Be careful.”
Briana narrowed her eyes as she warned him.
“It doesn’t look dangerous, but it came from the magic tree. It wouldn’t be strange if something unholy hatched from it.”
Of course, the chances of it harming Seo Woo-jin or Briana were slim.
They were among the strongest on the continent.
But her concern was elsewhere.
“There are many unknown abilities in this world. My own power, and the demonic abilities some demonic beasts possess.”
Alien powers that differed from a mage’s spells or a hero’s skills.
So little was known about them that there were no countermeasures.
What if the creature hatching from the egg wielded such a power?
Could she guarantee none of them would work on Seo Woo-jin?
Briana’s worry wasn’t unfounded.
“It should be fine…….”
Seo Woo-jin chuckled as he turned the egg over.
Far from danger, it gave him a sense of stability.
‘It’s not demonic energy…….’
Seo Woo-jin tilted his head at the energy emanating from the egg, which resembled demonic energy.
“Let’s take it back for now. We can ask the old folks stuck in the Sky Tower.”
Seo Woo-jin nodded at Briana’s suggestion.
They had accomplished everything they came here for.
Briana had eliminated the magic tree, and he had leveled up.
Though it had only raised more questions, giving him a headache.
In any case, there was nothing left to do in Heldein.
“Let’s head back.”
Seo Woo-jin hugged the egg to his chest and turned.
“Hold my hand.”
Briana smiled and extended her hand.
“…Do we have to hold hands?”
“Want me to carry you instead?”
Seo Woo-jin sighed and took her hand.
Briana smirked and activated her ability.
Wooong- Flash-!
The two vanished in an instant.
Using her space-manipulating power, she had teleported straight to the Empire’s capital.
Silence fell over Heldein after Seo Woo-jin and Briana departed.
The lush forest had become a barren plain, and the surrounding monsters and demonic beasts were wiped out.
Even the Dark Elves who ruled the area were nowhere to be seen.
All that remained were the shattered remnants of the blackened tree.
A chilling wind blew.
A gray, ashen wind.
“…Treeview has indeed fallen.”
The Lion appeared with the gray wind and sighed.
He slowly approached and began sifting through Treeview’s lifeless remains.
“Damn it.”
Rarely, a curse slipped from his lips.
As he had feared, the item the magic tree held was gone.
“Tch, useless fools.”
He irrationally vented his frustration at the innocent Dark Elves.
Even though no one could have stopped Seo Woo-jin and the Grand Duke together.
“He mustn’t learn what it is.”
But there was still a chance.
Only a handful knew the egg’s true nature.
Even among the 13 Apostles, only two had known.
No, with Gerald dead, just one now.
Even the Empire would need considerable time to uncover the egg’s identity.
He had to retrieve it before then, no matter what.
“Let’s think.”
Seo Woo-jin was a hero summoned to this world.
Naturally, he lacked common knowledge.
The Grand Duke was the same.
She rarely concerned herself with anything beyond her own territory.
To uncover the egg’s identity, they would surely seek help from others.
“…The Sky Tower.”
It could be Crusiel, but the Lion was certain they’d go to the Sky Tower.
Everyone on the continent knew of the Grand Duke’s good relations with the Magic Duke.
“I need to make preparations.”
Even as an Apostle, the Sky Tower was a tricky place to tangle with.
It was home to the Empire’s most powerful force: the mages.
Starting trouble there would require significant effort.
“But no choice.”
The egg vanished from the magic tree was important enough to warrant the risk.
The Lion grimaced and turned away.
First, he needed to meet one of the Apostles.
“I should go to Aier.”
The gray wind blew.
And silence returned to Heldein once more.
* * *
“Huu-”
Seo Woo-jin let out a deep sigh.
Things had gone well, yet not quite.
He had achieved his goals, but his mind was more tangled than ever, bordering on a headache.
“I wonder what that egg is.”
The mysterious egg radiating warm heat.
Seo Woo-jin had left it with Briana for now.
It seemed things would be handled faster and cleaner if she took it to the Sky Tower instead of him.
Briana had headed straight to the imperial palace to report upon arriving in the capital, so he returned to the academy alone.
“Thank you for your service.”
Seo Woo-jin greeted the knight guarding the main gate as casually as greeting an apartment security guard, then entered.
“Hm?”
He spotted a familiar face ahead.
‘Kim Da-hye?’
It was Kim Da-hye, walking blankly with a large sketchbook hugged to her chest.
“Where’s she headed?”
Normally, Lee Ji-ah would be stuck to her like glue, but she was alone.
Feeling both glad and curious, he unconsciously followed her.
“This direction leads to the training grounds.”
A different training ground from where his comrades usually gathered.
Smaller in size, it was typically used for personal training.
“Is she training alone?”
He felt a proud swell in his chest.
Kim Da-hye had a unique personality that always made him keep an eye on her……
To think she was sneaking out for solo training.
She seemed to have grown in many ways.
Smiling, Seo Woo-jin closed the distance.
“Heading to train?”
He asked.
Despite the sudden voice from behind, Kim Da-hye turned her head to look at him without a flicker of expression.
“Yeah.”
Her natural response, as if they’d been together all along, drew a wry chuckle from Seo Woo-jin.
She was definitely peculiar.
“What kind of training? Why go alone?”
“A new weapon.”
“Weapon?”
Seo Woo-jin’s eyes lit up at her words.
With a bit of his advice, she was steadily walking the path of a military otaku.
From the K-2 to the Tomahawk.
Just imagining what Kim Da-hye would produce next filled him with excitement.
But instead of answering, she beckoned him to follow and walked ahead.
Moments later, at the training ground, Kim Da-hye opened her sketchbook.
“Mind stepping back a bit?”
When Seo Woo-jin asked, she waved him off.
Meaning to stay far away.
Without a word, Seo Woo-jin moved to the corner and watched her.
“Hmm…….”
Kim Da-hye stared blankly at her sketchbook with her usual dazed expression, then picked up her pen.
One stroke.
Like writing without pause, she began drawing in a single unbroken flow.
Just 3 minutes.
The time it took her to finish the drawing.
The skill’s influence helped, but the speed was astonishing.
But what surprised Seo Woo-jin wasn’t the speed.
Fwaaaah-!
With a brilliant light, the drawing Kim Da-hye had made was ‘summoned’ into the training ground.
“Th-this is?”
Seo Woo-jin’s eyes widened.