Chapter 59
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: A Trick of Perspective (2)
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I slowly shook my head.
Breaking a Taboo doesn't kill you.
It just makes you an existence outside of causality the moment you break it.
“But you have a Taboo too?”
“All Transcendents have a Taboo.”
A Transcendent, as the name implies, is someone who has obtained transcendent power.
Depending on the circumstances, a single Transcendent could do the work of a thousand Hunters or even possess enough power to destroy a nation.
Of course, such power isn't given to just anyone.
In exchange for their transcendent power, a Transcendent is given a ‘Taboo.’
Great power comes with a price.
The first price a Transcendent must pay is none other than their ‘Taboo.’
“So you’re saying a Thought-Form is a being that has broken a Taboo? Then why did you say breaking one means death?”
Meanwhile, I had a vague idea of the reason.
The S-rank Hunters who were Transcendents, including Park Si-woo, all served a god.
“It’s because of corrosion.”
“Corrosion?”
“Yes. Taboos aren't something only Transcendents like you possess.”
I didn't know which god Park Si-woo served, but it was clear he trusted me quite a bit.
‘He must be someone who knows a lot about me.’
As expected of someone with a quick mind, he immediately grasped the meaning.
Though he did seem a little surprised.
“Does that mean gods have Taboos as well?”
“That’s right. You know the saying, ‘one bad apple spoils the bunch’?”
It might have been a hierarchical relationship at first, but once you reach a certain level, the relationship between a god and their follower becomes less of a vertical one and more of a cooperative partnership.
The corrosion of a follower also affects their god.
It’s the same as how humans consider life their greatest value and pay the price of sacrifice to preserve it.
A god, too, simply does what is necessary to protect their own existence.
“When a follower becomes a Thought-Form, it affects the god in some way. That’s corrosion.”
“So, in the end, if you break a Taboo, you’re killed by the god you serve before you become fully corrupted.”
That was the correct answer.
Park Si-woo pushed his chair back and crossed one leg over his thigh.
He must have figured it out.
When a Transcendent breaks a Taboo, an act of corrosion occurs, where that thought affects their god.
Gods also have Taboos. So what about the reverse?
“It’s not absolutely impossible.”
“Then this incident…”
“It’s still too early to conclude that it’s the work of a god who broke a Taboo and their follower, but I can’t say it’s not a possibility.”
“The Hunters who were used all served different gods. Are you saying all of those gods broke their Taboos?”
“That’s ridiculous. I think we need to pay more attention to the process in between.”
The Hunters who received the offer were promised better guilds, recommendations to other gods, and other benefits. All they had to do was insert an item that looked like a glass shard into the body of a boss monster in a dungeon.
“If they used that glass shard as a medium to corrode the monster, it’s certainly possible.”
As a result, the boss began to turn into a Thought-Form, the difficulty spiked, and most of the teams of the Hunters who accepted the offer failed their dungeon expeditions.
Since they were low-difficulty dungeons, either a dungeon break occurred, or a second attempt was made.
“In the former case, the dungeon vanished due to the rift, so no traces were left. In the latter case…”
“The raid proceeds without a hitch, but most of them were dungeons without a boss, is that it?”
Not every failed dungeon was due to becoming a Thought-Form, so a second attempt didn't necessarily mean the dungeon had been one of the affected ones.
“Though it's rare, there are cases where a team has enough strength to clear the dungeon even after the transformation into a Thought-Form has begun.”
The Hunters who survived those encounters would then report it as an irregular or a variant.
“So, let’s assume that shard was the medium for creating a Thought-Form. Do you think there’s a reason it was given only to specific Hunters?”
“A Thought-Form is the negation of existence.”
This negation encompassed both the meaning of being incorrect and the opposite of affirmation.
Hunters who weren't Transcendents didn't have Taboos.
“But they have things they can negate.”
“The god they serve. Or a negation of themselves, is that it?”
“In effect, that’s the condition for being able to use the medium that creates a Thought-Form.”
Exactly ten minutes later, the office door opened, and Jeong Cho-ah peeked her head in.
Our eyes met, and Cho-ah opened the door and came out.
Flitting around the treatment room, she looked just like a butterfly.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“I’ll hear you out.”
This guy.
I gave him some good information, and this is how he draws the line?
I was starting to feel a little hurt, but I tried not to show it.
It wasn't a huge favor anyway.
“While I’m in the dungeon, please look after Eun-young.”
“That female Hunter you brought? I heard she’s been hitting the dungeons hard lately. Is something wrong?”
“No. Nothing’s wrong, I just want you to keep an eye on her. You can do that much, can’t you?”
Yoo Ji-han knew about Eun-young.
Even if it was him, I wouldn't stand by if he laid a hand on her.
‘Though I don’t think anything that serious will happen.’
But it didn't hurt to be careful.
“Alright. I’ll keep a close watch on her.”
Having received Park Si-woo’s promise, I felt a little more at ease.
Park Si-woo handed me a burner phone.
It was a slightly older model, but it looked serviceable enough.
“Don’t make any unnecessary calls, and return it after you get out of the dungeon.”
“Eun-young and Choi Soo-hyun should be okay, right?”
“That’s fine. I’ve also booked a hotel for you.”
Already?
The phone, the hotel—he worked incredibly fast.
Is he just impatient?
The hotel Park Si-woo mentioned was a five-star hotel, a five-minute walk from the guild.
After checking the location on the phone, I stood up.
“Do you know what ‘impossible’ and ‘unthinkable’ mean?”
“No, why?”
How was I supposed to understand without a subject?
When I tilted my head, Park Si-woo cut me off, saying it was nothing.
“Never mind. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
“Oh, by the way, is Ms. Cho-ah’s arm really okay?”
Jeong Cho-ah was sitting on a chair, swinging her body with her arm propped up.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh. Really? Then never mind.”
I waved, saying I’d be in touch, and left the treatment room.
***
A silence fell over the treatment room after Kang Han-gyeol left.
Park Si-woo stood up and picked up a black tea bag that had fallen on the floor.
Jeong Cho-ah spun around in her chair.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I didn’t say anything either.”
“You were suspicious.”
Cho-ah’s expression twisted strangely.
Pouting her red lips, Cho-ah got down from the chair.
Cho-ah rolled up her sleeve.
Her wrist was swollen.
It was the exact same spot where Han-gyeol had been injured.
She casually poked her own broken arm with her left hand.
Due to Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis, she couldn't feel any pain inflicted on her body.
It was a rare genetic disorder known as CIPA.
Park Si-woo placed the box of tea bags on a shelf.
“He’s sharp.”
“Kang Han-gyeol?”
“Yeah. Good intuition, and his senses don’t seem half-bad either. Most of all, he’s cute. And peculiar.”
“Peculiar how?”
“I don’t know, but he’s peculiar.”
Cho-ah kept repeating the same thing.
It wasn't that Park Si-woo disagreed that Kang Han-gyeol was peculiar.
He was peculiar, yes, but he wanted to know *how* he was peculiar.
Judging from Cho-ah's reaction, it seemed she really didn't know anything beyond the fact that he was peculiar.
In truth, Cho-ah's ability was less ‘healing’ and more akin to ‘transference’—taking on another's injuries.
“But it does seem like he got hurt fighting some guy.”
“The one called Kim Yoo-han?”
Cho-ah nodded again.
“Leave it be.”
“Why?”
“Hmm, I don’t know the details either. It seemed like a purely personal grudge.”
“So at least he wasn’t lying.”
Cho-ah's skill went beyond simply taking on injuries; she could also read the memories entwined with them.
Han-gyeol’s injuries were mostly minor aside from the broken arm, so she couldn't glimpse many memories, but comparing what she did see, it was clear he hadn't lied.
“Are you sure he fought Kim Yoo-han?”
“Want to see?”
Cho-ah held out her palm to Si-woo.
At the sight, Si-woo recoiled in disgust.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“A broken arm doesn’t hurt as much as you’d think.”
Taking out his phone, Si-woo showed her a picture.
It was a photo of Kim Yoo-han that Choi Soo-hyun had sent.
Cho-ah pointed a finger at the phone screen.
“That’s the face.”
“Then that’s settled.”
“Aww, no fun.”
Turning away, Cho-ah plopped back down on the chair.
***
[Moving to the space between 5 and 6.]
The 5th floor was an escort mission for a merchant caravan run by a noble.
The difficulty wasn't exactly low compared to what I’d faced so far.
The monsters were one thing, but the guys who attacked us intermittently were a real headache.
The reason was simple.
This wasn't just any merchant caravan.
In this world, there existed a race called the ‘Muel,’ who inherited the divine factor.
The Muel, who possessed mana, were first-class citizens.
Among them, those with superior abilities became nobles.
Those who were not Muel were divided by their living environment and whom they served.
Those who worked under nobles or held city residency rights were second-class citizens. All other commoners were third-class citizens.
Finally, there was the fourth class.
They didn't even need to be numbered. Fourth-class citizens were no different from slaves.
And the mission for the 5th floor, ‘Escort the Noble’s Caravan,’ was a mission to escort fourth-class citizens to a certain noble.
‘Even if the system is making me do it…’
It wasn’t a floor that sat well with me.
After getting completely blindsided by the Ria assassination incident last time, I told them everything, including about the Muel and the fourth-class citizens the caravan was escorting.
After hearing my entire story, Ji-han fell silent, his arms crossed.
A long silence filled the spacious classroom.
‘He’s a dead ringer for the guy outside the Tower. But something’s different.’
I needed time to think as well.
After realizing that Kim Yoo-han was Yoo Ji-han, I had been debating whether I should keep bringing this guy along.
‘Is he from the future?’
Does that mean my future self does something to earn this guy’s grudge?
That was a headache in its own right.
But leaving behind a guy who didn't know anything felt wrong at this point.
‘I don’t even know what I did wrong.’
Even if I had a means of control, knowingly bringing along a tiger cub that would grow up to be a threat didn't seem right.
‘Wait a minute. A means of control?’
I checked Yoo Ji-han’s status window.
This guy wasn't the Yoo Ji-han from outside the Tower yet.
The reason I was able to survive against the Yoo Ji-han outside the Tower in Kang Han-gyeol’s body was because of the ‘Oath of Pledge.’
Yoo Ji-han’s growth rate was abnormal.
Unlike the Transcendent Yoo Ji-han, the one before me now was a clueless rookie.
This also meant that now was the only time I could control him.
The problem was how to trick Yoo Ji-han into making the Oath of Pledge.
“...Hey, hey!”
[My ears are gonna fall off. What?]
“When someone talks to you, answer them. It’s frustrating sometimes not knowing where you are.”
Ji-han sighed and scratched the back of his neck.
Bringing up the oath out of the blue would make him wary, so for now, I decided to continue the conversation as naturally as possible.
Come to think of it, his expression had soured ever since I told him about the Muel and the fourth-class citizens.
It was less discomfort and more like he was disgusted by something.
Well, no matter if the system ordered it, escorting a slave caravan was unlikely to feel good.
It was also a truth that would be hard for someone born in the 21st century to accept.
[Wipe that look off your face. Does it bother you that much?]
“It’s not that.”
[What isn’t it?]
“Those bastards from the Central Guild… so this is where they got their idea for a class system.”