Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Landing
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I came to a week later.
As soon as I opened my eyes, Kain informed me of that fact, and I just thought, Oh, right.
The moment I sat up in bed,
"......Again."
I tried it one more time.
I couldn't accept it.
There must have been some mistake.
So I picked up the dagger again,
held my breath,
and probed my dantian.
"......It's definitely there."
It was still there.
A grain-of-rice-sized, hot proof of my talent.
Carefully, as if handling a baby, I gently coaxed it up through my veins.
Slowly.
Very slowly, so I wouldn't mess up again...
Trickle. The moment a strand of energy loosened from my dantian and flowed into my veins.
Thump! Thump-thump!!
My heart pounded like mad.
As if it would smash through my ribs and burst out.
And then,
Rip. Riiip.
"Gaaahhh!!"
Once again, the agony of my entire body tearing apart.
My body convulsed like a live fish at the sensation of my veins exploding.
"Agh! Guh... Gaaah..."
And then,
just the same. One more time.
"......Urk."
The film cut out.
.....
"Waaah! Daddy! Daddyyy!!"
When my eyelids lifted again,
the first things to greet me were a wet sensation and an ear-piercing wail.
"......Ah, ugh."
A dry voice escaped me involuntarily.
Noy was burying his face in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
Every time he squirmed, my sore muscles screamed in protest.
"Get off... it hurts, you little rascal..."
"Waaah! Daddy! Daaaddy!"
I didn't even have the strength to push him away.
I gave up and weakly patted the back of the snot-and-tear-covered kid.
Creeeak.
The cabin door opened, and two people entered.
Kain and Baekrin.
"......You."
Kain looked down at me with a complicated expression mixing all sorts of emotions.
Pity, anger, or disdain. An inscrutable face.
Feeling awkward, I asked,
"How long... did I lie there this time?"
"......Another week, you idiot."
Kain shook his head.
"You wake up and pull the same stunt again? Are you suicidal?"
"I just... wanted to check..."
"Check my ass. You nearly went to the afterlife, you know that?"
He clicked his tongue and pointed to the empty glass vials rolling on the floor by the bed.
"Wasting precious potions like that."
"......Sorry about that."
"Pull that shit one more time, and I'll leave your corpse behind for real."
Kain issued his threat and left the room briskly, as if there was nothing more to see.
An awkward silence filled the cabin.
Baekrin stood with arms crossed, staring at me with a look of utter disdain.
"......What're you staring at? First time seeing a moron?"
"......Hmph."
She snorted derisively and said,
"Tomorrow, we arrive."
"......Huh?"
"We're arriving. At the Western Continent."
I almost asked, Already? but shut my mouth.
Yeah, the first failure laid me out for a week.
The second attempt failed and another week. Total of two weeks.
That much time had passed, so it made sense.
I stared blankly at the ceiling.
"......I see."
"So listen to Uncle."
Baekrin nodded toward Noy clinging to my chest.
"That little brat didn't eat a bite the whole time you were down. Just cried nonstop.
Do you know how noisy and annoying it was?"
"......"
"If you pass out pulling that crap again, I'll ditch both of you. Not carrying you around."
With that blunt ultimatum, she flicked her cloak and slammed the door on her way out.
Once more, only Noy's sniffling filled the room.
"Hic... Sniff."
Eventually, exhausted, he fell asleep with hiccups.
I slowly stroked his back and
"Haa..."
let out a deep sigh.
Not once, but twice.
And both times, the exact same pattern—failing miserably and collapsing.
What was wrong? Why couldn't I use it?
......I shouldn't be like this.
"Inhale..."
I instinctively tried to hold my breath again.
Thump.
"Phew..."
Fortunately, this time my body reacted first.
Just a slight twitch from the mass in my dantian,
and my heart dropped, triggering rejection.
No wonder. That was pain I'd never experienced in my life,
and going through it twice would create trauma.
My body remembered the fear, regardless of my will.
Gathering works fine.
Holding breath and absorbing through the skin.
Accumulation. That part succeeds.
And spectacularly well, at that.
Now I didn't even need lotus position;
just lying here like this,
"......"
my skin opens, and energy flows in.
Just by holding my breath and focusing my mind a bit.
Shhh.
I could feel the mana floating in the air passing through my skin,
gathering in my lower abdomen like iron filings drawn to a magnet.
And sticking to the mass.
The small seed at the center of my dantian.
New energy layered onto its surface,
and I vividly sensed its volume growing, ever so slightly but unmistakably.
This required no effort at all.
So I thought I was a genius.
But,
"......I can't use it."
What's the point?
Gathering is flawless, but using it? Impossible.
The moment I try to draw it out, my heart freaks and my veins burst.
Right now, I'm like
a piggy bank with an inlet but no outlet.
I can stuff money in,
but to get it out, I have to smash the bank—
in other words, blow up my body—to use the mana.
Or maybe it just can't be used at all?
I've never succeeded, so who knows.
No desire to try again.
"......Hah."
My mouth felt parched and bitter.
Like having a pot of seolleongtang in front of you but unable to eat it.
I gather energy, but can't use it and just vomit blood.
"......Fuck, of course."
Genius, my ass.
As if my life would ever have a rosy path.
In the end, I'm just a cursed sack of flesh doomed to wallow in the sewers of life.
Bloodline or circumstances.
Past life or this one.
Neither amounts to shit.
I got cocky for a moment.
Time to acknowledge I'm vermin again.
Swallowing the bitterness, I patted Noy's back as he breathed softly in my arms.
"Grow up. We arrive tomorrow, they say."
And I should sleep too. Recover as much as I can,
so tomorrow when I step on land, I can walk around looking as decent as possible.
I forced my eyes shut.
Hoping for deep sleep without dreams.
Hoping never to chase vain dreams again.
.....
"Agh! My eyes!!"
"Hold still."
"It got in my eyes! Pour it gently, you crazy old geezer!!"
I shuddered at the stinging, cold sensation.
Kain ignored me and chuckled as he dumped thick black liquid over my crown.
That's right.
Dyeing again.
"The smell... this is way worse than last time. Isn't this actually rotten?"
"Rotten? This is the real deal."
He continued while roughly scrubbing my hair with his callused hands.
"Unlike that cheap crap last time. This won't wash off even in seawater."
"......But why black again?"
"Black's cheap. Nobody wants it much."
"Damn cheapskate."
Smack!
"You little shit, what? Cheapskate?
Do you know how much those potions I shoved down your trap cost... Tsk!"
"I said sorry how many times!"
He wasn't wrong, so
I silently endured the old man's rough handling.
"Whoa! Daddy! Hair! Hair!"
Noy, watching from the side, clapped in fascination.
He seemed to find my hair turning jet-black endlessly amusing,
grinning and tugging my clothes.
"Black! Daddy's hair black!"
"Yeah, it's black. So back off. You'll get it on you."
As I pushed Noy's forehead away,
"Hey! Slave!"
Baekrin's shrill shout came from outside the cabin.
"Get out! We're here!"
At that, Kain gave my head a final towel-dry and said,
"Looks like we've arrived. Let's go."
We pulled our shabby cloak hoods low,
grabbed our bags, and stepped out of the cabin.
.....
The moment we stepped onto the deck, the sight that greeted us was a bit different from what I'd expected.
I'd heard it was the gateway to the Western Continent,
so I imagined something grand and massive like the ports run by those Kaintrea bastards.
"......Shabby."
Honest impression.
The port was smaller and cruder than I'd thought.
No proper stone piers;
just rickety wooden planks haphazardly pieced together, extending precariously.
The docked ships were all battered hulks, massive and worn,
and the people milling between them looked ragged beyond belief.
"It's always like this."
Kain read my expression and explained flatly.
"Compared to the Central Continent, most places here are underdeveloped.
Unless it's where the royals or nobles live."
"Hmm, I get the picture."
Smaller population,
and since human hands only recently reached this continent,
it had a strong developing-country vibe all around.
Civilization advances where population density is high, right?
No internet, shitty transport in this primitive world.
No reason this should be better than the Central Continent.
Especially with those monster-like things swarming everywhere.
Thud.
The ship roughly bumped against the dilapidated pier and stopped.
Finally, land.
"Thanks, Jack old-timer. Made it safe thanks to you."
"Hoho, no problem. Live well."
Captain Jack waved at empty air with his hollow eyes.
He said he'd load up supplies here and head straight back to the Central Continent.
No point lingering in this hellhole;
wise choice for an old man to preserve his life.
"Live long. Until you can shit-paint the walls."
I left a curt farewell, hoisted Noy on my back, and descended to the pier.
The moment my feet touched solid ground,
an exotic scene jumped into view.
The pier packed with laborers.
Day workers were common in any port, but
"......?"
their attire was bizarre, every one of them.
Rags open at the back.
And between them, red-and-black burn scars of brands.
In this world's script,
[Slave]
"......Slaves?"
And the way they were treated was even worse.
Crash!
An old laborer tripped, maybe twisted his ankle.
A pudgy, mean-faced man approached and
Crack!
lashed mercilessly at the already torn, oozing back.
"Move it! You sluggish worm!"
Seemed like a slave overseer.
Crack! Whap!
Shouts and whips echoed everywhere.
...Talk about a brutal place.
Not exactly ideal for raising a daughter.
"Eyes down. Don't pick fights."
Kain warned lowly and took the lead.
We kept our heads low and slipped through the grotesque procession.
As we kept walking,
"Hey! You there!"
Rough-looking thugs blocking the pier entrance called us out.
Obviously not proper officials—pure gangsters.
"Gotta pay docking fees. Per head."
One spat out his tobacco stub and held out his hand.
No baggage checks,
no demands to remove hoods or show papers.
Straight to demanding cash.
This alone painted a picture of the continent.
"How much."
"50 silver per person."
"......What?"
I doubted my ears. 50 silver?
The Kaintrea bastards—who love money—charge 5 silver.
And this rundown pier demands ten times that?
"You thieving bastards. There's a limit to scams."
"Don't like it? Fuck off back to sea."
The guy snickered and shoved my shoulder.
With Noy watching openly on my back,
I couldn't look like daddy's pushover chow.
About to smash his shin,
Grip.
Shake-shake.
Kain placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head.
Then he rummaged in his pouch and
"Here. 2 gold."
handed over two gold coins without fuss.
"Ooh, straightforward. You're good to go."
Now their tone changed,
"Welcome to the Western Continent.
Everything costs here except breathing. Keep that in mind."
They stepped aside with a welcoming line and friendly advice.
How nice of them.
Dogshit bastards.
We left them behind and moved on.
Laughter cackled from their retreating backs.
Thrilled at scamming suckers.
Stomach churning, I nudged Kain walking silently beside me.
"Why let them scam you?"
"......"
"Obvious lowlifes. Could've just stomped them."
Kain halted abruptly.
He slowly turned to look at me.
"......Shut up."
His voice was low and heavy.
No trace of his usual leisure or playfulness.
"Just walk quietly."
"......?"
"Unless you want to end up like those slaves."
Kain's gaze swept the surroundings.
I followed his eyes and looked around.
And saw it.
Eyes fixed on us everywhere on the pier.
Not just overseers watching the back-exposed slaves.
Sticky, hyena-like stares lurking in the shadows clung to us.
"This ain't the Central Continent you know."
Kain growled a warning.
"Bicker over a few coins, and you could lose your whole life."
The grim weight in his words.
"I'll explain everything somewhere safe...
For now, just walk. Head down."
I didn't know the details,
but if the old man was this serious, there was reason.
"......Got it."
I readjusted Noy on my back and nodded.
And clamped my mouth shut.
Baekrin read the mood too and followed wordlessly.
Thus, our first landing on the Western Continent
began not with cheers or excitement,
but in suffocating tension and silence.
.....