Chapter 101
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: World-Point (2)
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Having my body controlled by a stranger was irritating enough, but the fact that he’d left it a complete wreck before bolting made my blood boil.
I swung the Sky Sword around, venting my frustration.
[You were a mess to begin with.]
“What is this, kick me then help me up? *Cough, cough*… Ugh… I think my ribs are broken… Oh god, I’m dying!”
[Stop being so dramatic.]
“I have so much to ask you. I don’t even know if I’ll get the chance. *Cough, ugh*… It hurts! It hurts like hell!”
Even without me trying to force it out, I could feel the entity’s presence within me fading.
[Until I return.]
“What? You’re planning to steal my body again?”
[Take good care of my world.]
“He just says what he wants and leaves. Ah, this is really danger—.”
My vision went white, and my consciousness cut out.
* * *
‘The sky is disgustingly clear.’
The warm morning sunlight soaked into my skin.
A shadow fell over me, and Lee Eun-hee’s face appeared.
She stood with her arms crossed, looking down at me.
“You’re blocking the sky.”
“If your eyes are open, then get up!”
I staggered to my feet at Lee Eun-hee’s nagging.
“You know, in situations like this, you’re supposed to offer a lap pillow or something.”
“Seriously? What crazy woman would give you a lap pillow?”
“I’ve had one before, you know.”
“Then go date her!”
“That’s… I think I’d be killed by another person for a different reason.”
I wasn’t sure about Cho-ah, but I didn’t want to get on Park Si-woo’s bad side over something like this.
Not that I was interested anyway.
I stood there blankly, scratching my messy hair.
While that being had taken over my body, I’d managed to overhear bits and pieces of their conversation.
‘A Librarian? That thing is the master of this world?’
I picked up the Sky Sword from the ground.
There was another problem.
The final sword form that being had executed using my body was incredibly similar to one I knew.
Or should I say, it resembled it.
—*I do not know. How its final form comes to be.*
It was similar to what Luciel had shown me, yet on a completely different level.
If I had to say which was the real one, ironically, the one that being displayed through my body felt more authentic.
‘I can’t do it.’
I could distinguish between what I could and couldn't do.
As my unanswerable questions grew, Lee Eun-hee stared intently at me.
“Is there something on my face?”
“You don’t know? What’s with that look?”
“What do you mean, what’s with this look… Ah. How do I look to you right now?”
“Well, you definitely don’t have the face I remember.”
“That damn bastard!”
It seemed he hadn't just inflicted severe injuries; he'd also drawn out every ounce of power he could without my permission.
“I don’t really get it, but that’s your original appearance, right?”
“You could say that.”
“It was strange.”
Leaning on one leg, Lee Eun-hee muttered to herself.
“It didn’t make sense that you didn’t know what happened in the lobby, and it was strange how you just appeared on the 11th floor, which is clearly for three or more people.”
“Ah, haha.”
“At the very least, I know you’re not a challenger from the same server as me.”
“Same server?”
When I tilted my head, Lee Eun-hee narrowed her eyes again.
Then, as if giving up on her suspicion, she sighed.
“I’m not sure, since I only heard about it. But they said there are several other servers like this one. I thought you were from another server, but judging by your reaction, that doesn't seem to be it either.”
It seemed I had misspoken again.
“It’s a bit complicated to explain.”
“I don’t need to hear it.”
“Oh, really? You don’t need me to tell you?”
“Actually, I’m curious.”
Lee Eun-hee, who had turned away, briefly let her eyes sparkle with curiosity.
But that was as far as it went.
“If I said I was curious, would you tell me?”
“No.”
“Then fine. Just tell me one thing instead.”
“If it’s something I can answer, I will.”
“Who are you?”
“A secret.”
Lee Eun-hee’s face scrunched into a deep frown.
“You said you’d answer if you could.”
“It’s not like telling me who you are is some impossible request!”
Lee Eun-hee shouted as if she couldn’t understand.
Sorry, but it was an impossible request.
In a situation where I didn’t even know how I’d met her, I couldn’t reveal my identity to Lee Eun-hee.
Lee Eun-hee’s cheeks puffed out like a balloon.
“I’m sorry, but it’s true. I can’t reveal my identity to you.”
“Fine.”
Fortunately, Lee Eun-hee accepted my words without protest.
I thought the conversation was over, but she hesitated as if she had something more to say.
“What is it? Why are you being so fidgety? If you have something to say, just say it.”
“That… um… My god… he, uh, said thanks!”
Lee Eun-hee’s face turned red.
I could bet my life that she was just using her god as an excuse.
She’s actually kind of cute, now that I look at her.
“Pfft, hahaha!”
“Don’t laugh! I wasn’t the one who said thank you!”
“Right, right.”
I laughed, ruffling her hair.
Lee Eun-hee slapped my hand away and pouted.
“It’s annoying that you got taller!”
“I was always this tall.”
“This is better.”
“Just say they’re both fine.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why!”
“It’s, uh, a matter of taste, I guess… Ahem.”
What is she even talking about?
One of my pockets felt heavy.
‘This is…’
Lee Eun-hee and I both turned our gazes toward the sound of footsteps.
A World-Point was, literally, nothing more than a fragmented piece of history from a certain time.
For a point to become a line, countless points are needed.
This was the process of marking a single point.
*Step, step.*
It was Heath, who had served as Lize’s escort alongside me.
Lee Eun-hee drew her bow, on guard.
“It’s fine.”
“But…”
I stepped in front of Lee Eun-hee and took something out of my pocket.
It was the official seal of the House of Phelia, something that shouldn’t have been in my possession.
Muels who were not chosen by nobles in their youth could receive the nobles’ protection and work under them.
Why else would they place themselves under the nobility?
“You want to become a noble, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
Heath approached, his hand on his sword.
What mattered to him wasn't his employer, Lize, nor Duke Cadiel.
If the deceased Izeph had served the name of House Phelia, Heath coveted the noble title of ‘Phelia’ itself.
After all, this world wasn’t bound by blood ties.
“You didn’t seem interested in the nobility. When did you steal the seal?”
“I didn’t steal it. I just received it from a certain meddler.”
“What?”
“Here, take it.”
I tossed the seal of the House of Phelia to Heath.
After sheathing his sword and confirming the seal’s authenticity, Heath stared at me in disbelief.
“I’ve handed over the seal. You can forge a will, can’t you?”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. It’ll be a tough road, protecting a ruined house. But you’re a noble now, so try to do right by them.”
Power was always harder to maintain than to acquire.
It was certain that anyone, not just Heath, would have coveted the Phelia seal.
Whether he would rebuild the fallen house and carry on the Phelia name, or meet his end at the hands of another rival, no one could say.
“Strange fellow.”
Tucking the seal away, Heath quietly turned his back.
[Due to the Librarian’s intervention, the 11th floor has been cleared.]
That being was rushing me to get lost.
“I’m leaving first.”
“W-wait!”
A flustered Lee Eun-hee grabbed my hand.
“Before… when I said thanks, it wasn’t my god. It was me.”
“I know.”
“Will I… be able to see you again?”
“Probably.”
I had a feeling that I would meet Lee Eun-hee again someday.
“Oh, right.”
“You still haven’t disappeared?”
“Let me talk! When you get back to the lobby, please take good care of Yoo Ji-han.”
“Who asks someone to take care of themselves… Who are you, really—!”
Unfortunately, Lee Eun-hee’s final words didn’t reach me.
Not that I would have told her even if they had.
* * *
*BOOOOOM!*
A massive explosion swept away all the monsters.
The view from atop the castle wall was nothing short of spectacular.
*Waaaaah!*
The cheers of the people erupted, and the army’s morale soared in an instant.
A man in a neat uniform approached from behind.
“I think this every time, but the Leader’s Meteor Shower is really incredible. If you got hit by that, I bet there wouldn’t even be bones left to find.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“Dramatic? I’m serious.”
Lee Eun-hee gazed down at the scene below the wall.
From the 11th floor to the 27th.
It had taken three years to climb this far.
“It was even more incredible the first time. This… is just a pale imitation.”
Yoo Ji-han.
No.
‘That son of a bitch.’
How could a person do that?
Lee Eun-hee regretted not grabbing that bastard by the collar that day and demanding to know who he was.
The moment she had entered the lobby, his features had blurred in her mind as if she’d been bewitched.
The only thing she remembered clearly was the name Yoo Ji-han.
—*When you get back to the lobby, please take good care of Yoo Ji-han.*
When she first heard those words, she’d had her doubts.
After realizing he hadn't been talking about himself but about someone else, she had seethed with anger.
To make matters worse, the Yoo Ji-han he mentioned wasn’t even a challenger in the lobby.
At least, not until a few months ago.
Just as the Central Guild’s influence was steadily rising in the lobby, a rumor spread that a challenger who had cleared up to the 4th floor alone had killed one of their members.
The name of that man, called a madman and a psychopath, was Yoo Ji-han.
‘He’s not the Yoo Ji-han I knew.’
A brand-new challenger couldn’t possibly know what happened on the 11th floor.
There was a chance it was someone with the same name.
Despite that, Lee Eun-hee couldn’t erase the words of the man who had cheerfully asked her to take care of Yoo Ji-han.
To Lee Eun-hee, the experience on the 11th floor felt like a mirage.
After that day, when she had been practically forced out, she no longer hesitated to use her power.
She decided to accept and acknowledge her own strength.
But no matter how many dozens or hundreds of times she unleashed Meteor Shower, it was impossible to replicate the beautiful symphony of arrows she had witnessed pouring from the sky on the 11th floor.
The man standing behind Lee Eun-hee muttered in a troubled tone.
“I don’t know if it’s okay for me to just get carried by you like this, Leader.”
“When did I say I’d carry you?”
“…”
“Get down there.”
“Wait…! Leaderrrrr!”
“Go get the sacred relic, now!”
Lee Eun-hee grabbed the man by the collar and threw him from the wall into the battlefield below.
“I’ll cover you.”
As Lee Eun-hee fired an arrow, the young man’s scream echoed from below.
“This is team-killing, not cover!”
Grumbling, he drew his sword and charged forward.
* * *
[Moving to the Lobby.]
After the settlement, Lee Eun-hee returned to the lobby with her companion.
“*Sob, sniffle*… That was so mean, Leader.”
“Shut up.”
Two men who had been waiting for their return approached.
One of them whispered something to Lee Eun-hee.
“What should we do?”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in Sector C-19. Should I call him?”
“It’s fine. I’ll go.”
Lee Eun-hee turned to the man who had just come out of the dungeon with her.
“I’ll be right back. Take care of things here.”
“Yessir!”
“Stop with the nonsense.”
“Be careful on your way!”
Lee Eun-hee’s figure vanished in an instant.
Appearing in another sector, she walked up to a small, wooden shack.
The men loitering nearby saw her and bowed their heads slightly.
Lee Eun-hee opened the door and went inside.
Sensing her presence, Ji-han turned around.
“Hey, Choco-songi. You the leader of the Liberation Army?”
“Who are you calling Choco-songi!”
On that day, the time of another world began to move again.