Chapter 021
[Chapter 021]
< Gorani's Secret Place >
So-ye was looking at the food placed on the temporary dining table on the bed with sparkling eyes, as if she were looking at jewels.
Freshly steamed carrots and potatoes, and a clear vegetable soup.
They were magical dishes sent by her brother.
Poke!
So-ye pricked a carrot with a small fork and took a bite.
Then she exclaimed with a happy expression.
“Auntie, did you spray honey here?”
No salt was particularly sprinkled, but the vegetables tasted sweet and savory like honey.
There was no burden at all even for a child who dislikes bitter tastes.
Lately, So-ye’s mealtime had become the most enjoyable time of the day.
“Oh my, you finished it all already?”
“Yes!”
Before she knew it, So-ye finished a bowl and proudly held out the empty bowl.
A healthy flush began to appear on her pale cheeks.
The red spots on her arms, which she used to scratch all the time, now only had faint traces left.
“Auntie, can I bask in the sun?”
“The sun? Will you be okay?”
“Yes!”
Previously, she was afraid of even going to the window.
Because she would cry, saying her skin tingled even from the faint mana penetrating the window.
“Hup.”
So-ye bravely got off the bed and walked to the window herself.
The warm sunlight poured down on So-ye’s face.
“Mmm~”
So-ye closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun she hadn't felt in a long time.
And very carefully, she opened the gap of the window slightly.
Whoosh-
The fresh outside air flowed into the hospital room.
So-ye took a deep breath.
It didn't tingle.
It didn't itch either.
Rather, a smile naturally formed from the refreshing feeling.
“So-ye, are you really okay?”
“Yes! I want to see the bird sitting on the tree over there.”
‘...Amazing.’
So-ye’s caregiver couldn't believe it even while witnessing that miracle-like change before her eyes.
Until only a few weeks ago, So-ye spent most of the day lying on the bed groaning.
She would often lose sleep all night due to pain like needles pricking the nerves of her whole body and itching like her skin was burning.
Even the attending physician shook his head, saying it was a disease she would have to carry for life.
“Auntie, there's a cat over there!”
Above all, So-ye’s expression became very bright.
The smile she used to show only when her brother visited, trying hard to look bright, hadn't left her all day lately.
If it continues like this, couldn't she really get better?
The miracle that even the doctor said was impossible was happening.
* * *
Lately, the daily routine is very simple.
Waking up in the morning to look after the herb garden, cooking with newly grown crops for lunch, and running around the village while looking at the sunset in the evening.
It was my own training to fully make the body tempered with Golden Bone Grass and the Internal Energy (Naegong) built with Fleeceflower (Hasuo) my own.
It was a daily life that could be boring, but every day was enjoyable.
It was largely because it was rewarding to see what the things I built with my own hands created.
“Let's see, what should I send today?”
Early in the morning, I fell into thought in front of the enticingly grown crops.
The carrots that just sprouted yesterday had grown to the size of an adult's forearm overnight.
The spinach leaves were larger than a palm, and the hanging cucumbers were a fresh green color.
Pluck!
I pulled out one of the sturdiest-looking carrots.
And I focused my consciousness on the carrot.
[Item: Sun-kissed Carrot]
[Rank: Low-Rank Spiritual Herb]
[Description: Grown in the Absolute's Herb Garden while receiving plenty of sun energy. It contains pure Yang Qi, enhancing physical vitality and strengthening immunity.]
[Caution: No rejection reaction to mana. Safe for all constitutions.]
“Done.”
Instead of a general system window, information came to mind naturally as part of my skill.
This ability was something I naturally obtained as I continued my Internal Energy (Naegong) training.
As the Internal Energy (Naegong) deepened, it seemed I gained the power to see through the essence of things.
Now, I could grasp the value of an object at a glance without having to eat it or rely on the system.
Scrape, scrape-
I harvested well-ripened vegetables while cutting the soil with a hand hoe.
Carrots, spinach, and even radishes that had grown plump.
A judgment of being safe appeared for all crops.
Washing the harvested vegetables clean and packing them neatly in an icebox to send to So-ye was my most important daily routine lately.
And one more thing.
After returning from the Tower, a heavy sack had appeared in my inventory.
“Did they say it's a sack where mana stones are automatically contained?”
The size and number of mana stones obtained from the Tower vary depending on the raid grade, and can be checked with the sack upon return.
Perhaps thanks to clearing all sections up to the 10th floor with an EX-Rank, there were hundreds of fist-sized mana stones in my sack.
An enormous amount just by weight.
If converted to money, it was a huge sum reaching hundreds of millions of won.
Mana stone.
It was very basic common sense that they could be exchanged for money.
Their uses were endless; high-purity mana stones were used as power sources for artifacts or as catalysts to strengthen equipment.
They even acted as emergency potions for Awakeners to recover mana by absorbing them directly.
Literally, it was the gold and oil of this era.
“I can change them for money if needed, and for now....”
Looking around, the Gorani’s empty neck caught my eye.
“Gorani, did you lose the one I gave you last time because it was too small?”
“...Kkwing.”
The Gorani had an aggrieved expression for some reason, but I didn't care.
“Here, this is heavy so you won't lose it easily.”
I hung a large and flashy necklace made by stringing twelve mana stones around the Gorani’s neck.
Like a wealthy rapper, the mana stones sparkled from the Gorani’s neck.
“Here, this is for the root.”
I strung small mana stones on a thin fishing line and wrapped them perfectly around the Hasuo root's arms and legs.
It was as if it were wearing sparkling guards.
“This is for Muryong.”
And finally, I picked the smallest and most brilliantly glowing mana stone.
I lightly placed the mana stone between Muryong’s cute horns.
Then, the mana stone stuck firmly to the horns.
“Pwa-aeng!”
-Hmyoot!
Hasuo ran around the field waving its arms and legs, and Muryong reflected its face in the water, showing off to its heart's content.
“...Kking.”
While watching them play, the Gorani bit my pant leg and pulled.
“What's wrong? You want to go somewhere?”
“Kkiyot!”
“Over there, the back mountain?”
The Gorani seemed to want to go to the back mountain.
“Good. My body was itching anyway, shall we run?”
Thus, I began to run toward the back mountain with the Gorani.
But this fellow's stamina is truly unusual.
Thump! Bang!
Every time the Gorani stamped its front hooves, its giant body shot forward while causing dust to explode from the ground.
“No, its stamina is this good?”
It dashed through the steep mountain path using its four legs to kick the ground without a single sign of tiring.
It lightly jumped over giant rocks and passed through thick trees at high speed.
It had already far surpassed the category of an ordinary wild animal.
“Is it because of the herb garden crops?”
No, that alone was suspicious.
It even felt as if a mysterious energy was imbued in every single movement.
There was definitely something more that I didn't know.
But, I was also not the old me.
‘Circulating energy (Wun-gi).’
I led the Internal Energy (Naegong) from deep within my dantian to my toes.
My body became as light as a feather.
“Hook!”
With the sound of wind, I kicked the ground and overtook the Gorani at an overwhelming speed using trees and rocks as footholds.
“Heh, heh! Kking....”
I was the first to arrive at the mountain summit.
The Gorani, who followed, sat on the ground with its tongue hanging out.
“You’re still amazing, though.”
We reached the summit from the mountain entrance, a rugged path, in less than 20 minutes.
I was about to take a seat while stroking the Gorani’s head.
“Kking, kking!”
The Gorani was acting strange.
It led me to a large rock at the summit and even tapped the rock surface with its front hoof.
“You want me to follow?”
The Gorani squeezed its body into a narrow crevice behind the rock, and I followed behind it.
Then, an unbelievable sight unfolded at the end of the path that continued like a cave.
“!”
Inside the cave hidden by vines.
I carefully scanned the surroundings.
There were absolutely no traces of human touch.
Mossy rocks, damp soil walls.
Everything kept the appearance of nature as it was.
No matter how rural it is, it's impossible for such a mysterious place not to have been discovered yet.
I looked again at the narrow crevice the Gorani entered.
“A barrier?”
A transparent film invisible to the eye was set at the cave entrance.
A powerful mana barrier that perfectly blocked the outside and inside.
‘I wondered why its power was abnormally strong.’
Probably, the Gorani didn't know about this place from the beginning.
It must have gained the qualification to pass through this barrier only after becoming strong with the energy of my herb garden.
And it had become even stronger by drinking the energy here.
“Kking!”
When the Gorani cried once, a new system message appeared before my eyes.
[The ‘Special Gorani’, who possessed the qualification of ‘Master of the Mountain’, relinquishes ownership of the cave.]
[Verifying your qualification, the owner of the ‘Absolute's Herb Garden’.]
[....]
[Verification complete. You possess the greatest talent in history.]
[Would you like to register this cave as your Territory?]
[Upon registration, no one else but you can enter this space.]
Relinquishing ownership?
Looking at the Gorani, its black eyes contained the air of having finally made a big decision.
Mysteriousy, that seriousness was fully transmitted to me.
“...I just have to select yes, right?”
As soon as the words fell, the transparent barrier blocking the cave entrance disappeared with a soft light.
“Kking, kking!”
And, the Gorani gestured toward the hidden place, urging me.
As if saying, "Master, look at this!"
“You wanted to show me this?”
The Gorani was probably constantly timing when to show this.
Like a loyal subject offering his most precious secret to a trusted master.
“But what on earth is this?”
A certain liquid gathered like spring water.
I closed my eyes and tried to read the essence of what that liquid held by operating my Internal Energy (Naegong).
‘Powerful but not violent. Clear but not light. A power that heals and purifies everything and returns it to the source....’
Numerous data I read at the Bureau flashed through my mind.
A rare elixir found only on the high floors of the Tower?
An S-Rank healer's highest recovery skill?
But it couldn't be compared with anything.
This was a fundamental life power that far surpassed all of that.
“!”
And finally, a single word surfaced from the deepest part of my memory.
A legendary substance mentioned only in ancient documents.
“No way.”
That name surfaced in my head on its own.
A legendary spiritual liquid said to form one drop every ten thousand years, capable of even reviving the dead.
“...Gong-cheong-seok-yu (Stalactite Petroleum)?”
That was flowing before my eyes.
< Gorani's Secret Place > END