Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Blue Tiger's Salvation
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Thanks to Greed's incessant nagging, I managed to rein in my twisted impulses.
If that bastard likes something, it always feels off somehow.
"Yeah."
Leaving Cheongho to die felt wrong.
He wasn't some scourge—he'd guarded half of Geumgang Mountain for nearly five hundred years.
Besides, saving him would power up Jua-rin.
More precisely, it would help Haerin grow.
Haerin was set to play a big role going forward, so creating variables for short-term gains might just spawn more variables.
I'd learned the hard way from the Han Su-hyuk incident just how dangerous variables could be.
Hmm.
Still, I couldn't help but stroke Cheongho's hide a few more times, feeling a pang of regret.
His body twitched at that moment.
"......"
Did he notice? Nah, no way.
Probably just uncomfortable and squirming in his sleep.
I smacked my lips and stepped back, turning to Jua-rin.
"We need to hurry. Or he'll die."
My voice came out calmer than intended, despite the urgency.
['Greed' says that staying true to your instincts is the surest path to happiness......]
Shut up.
Anyway, oblivious to my inner turmoil, Jua-rin approached Haerin and whispered softly.
"You can do it, right?"
Haerin nodded vigorously, then headed toward the sprawled Cheongho after being released from her restraints.
Grrrrowl—
Grrowl.
On the brink of life and death, the divine beast and spiritual beast met.
In truth, the distinction was merely one of origin—both were otherworldly beings brimming with mystical energy, and a brief exchange of glances seemed to convey mutual understanding.
Grrrowl.
Cheongho weakly tucked his head between his front paws.
He'd realized that pride would get him nowhere and permitted the approach.
Haerin let out a soft cry as if to say not to worry, then moved toward Cheongho's nape—three times her own size.
She opened her mouth wide and began sucking out the lingering corrupted mana and malevolent energies from his body.
Something only Haerin could do.
"As expected of Haetae's direct descendant."
The Joo Family's founding patriarch had bonded with the first divine beast: Haetae.
It was a guardian beast that condemned evil and descended to the human realm to right the world's wrongs.
As Haetae's true-blooded heir, Haerin unleashed her abilities without restraint.
Soon, peace began to settle on Cheongho's pain-twisted face.
Grrowl?
This act of benevolence became a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Haerin as well.
Purified mana didn't just vanish—it fully integrated into her body.
Their natures aligned perfectly, leaving no energy to discard.
Her body swelled larger than before, now the size of a real lion, with scales extending from her chest down to her belly.
"Ah......"
Jua-rin, watching the astonishing growth in real time, let out a shallow gasp as emotions welled up.
I fully shared her profound sentiment.
Haerin had been Jua-rin's sore spot all this time.
In truth, she doted on her now more than anyone—second only to Joo Seol-hwa.
But as a child, Jua-rin hadn't been able to.
She'd viewed Haerin unfavorably compared to other heirs' divine beasts, who grew faster and stronger.
For a child terrified of a life on the run, waiting was an even greater torment.
She pushed Haerin to her limits daily in training, and in the end, Haerin was gravely injured.
Jua-rin blamed herself belatedly and shifted her path toward ice arts.
In the Joo Family, a weak summoner meant half-baked status, but she vowed to bridge the gap through her own efforts and devoted herself solely to cryomancy.
So this moment, with emotions surging, was only natural.
It was the resurrection both summoner and beast had desperately wished for.
"Must be the good deed paying off big time. Congrats."
I didn't make a fuss, but my congratulations were sincere.
"This is thanks to you....... Isn't it?"
"Of course not. I had no idea. Must be your good karma."
Even though I could've claimed it for my own specialization, I didn't.
That was the truth.
All I'd done was steer things back to the original story's flow.
Moderation in all things.
Changing the subject and wrapping up, I said to Jua-rin,
"If you want the points, scan it with your watch before the purification finishes."
"Oh."
Jua-rin carefully approached Cheongho and recorded the remnants of the spirit beast.
Having captured the strongest thought-form, she'd get at least 15 points.
All in all, I'd thought this episode wrapped up smoothly.
Grrrowl—
If Haerin hadn't suddenly staggered backward.
"What's wrong? You okay?"
Spotting Haerin's anomaly, Jua-rin rushed over.
"What the hell."
I was just as flustered.
Stopping before full purification wasn't part of the plan.
Examining Haerin, Jua-rin turned to me with a troubled look.
"This is too much for her. She absorbed too much mana in too short a time."
"......Too much?"
What the—.
A hollow laugh escaped me as a hypothesis hit me.
The thought-form was stronger than in the original. If that meant more corrupted mana too?
It made sense.
Even in the original, the final purification had been a grueling slog......
"Sheesh."
Things had gone sideways again.
I gave a wry smile, gazing at Cheongho's face—hope flickering then fading.
He'd recovered somewhat, looking better than before, but expecting him to heal on his own was a stretch.
Corrupted mana was like cancer cells—if not fully eradicated, it'd regrow.
And only Haerin could purify it—no one else could help......
['Greed' asks what you're agonizing over. You've raised a cub lion already—let's just finish it off quick.']
......Hold on.
That's when a solid idea struck.
Purification or whatever—the key was expelling the malevolent energy.
Didn't I have an item—or pet—that could do something similar?
Sure, the hide tempted me, and devouring it whole was an option.
But courtesy demanded one last try, so I told Greed,
"Hey. Suck that thing dry."
['Greed' asks what nonsense you're spouting. It only absorbs demonic energy as the sovereign of—......']
No, don't actually eat it—just suck it out and spit it back up.
Demonic energy or corrupted mana—both filthy the same.
['Greed' insists it's a sublime being and won't touch such lowly—......']
Enough chatter.
Can you do it? Just say that.
My pet back home does it fine. You can't?
['Greed' calls comparing it to some divine beast an insult. Fine, it can—but......']
Good. That's all I needed.
Just in case—do it right.
Don't half-ass it and bail midway.
[......]
"What now?"
"I'll give it a shot."
"You? But if something......"
"Just expel it. No problem."
Ignoring Jua-rin's protests, I approached Cheongho.
Misinterpreting my advance, he squeezed his eyes shut in resignation.
"What spiritual beast gives up this fast? Lived too long and bored of the world?"
I tossed out a lame joke with a chuckle, then placed my hand on his back.
['Subsidiary Authority 1' activated.]
Ignoring the soft fur, I triggered it without hesitation.
Suuuuck.
['Absorbing the remaining corrupted mana from Cheongho's body.']
A tickling suction pulled at my palm, carrying a flood of negative emotions.
Melancholy and loneliness. Impatience and anxiety. Rage.
Just brushing them soured my mood, wrinkling my brow.
[Ueeek.]
Come on, not puke-worthy, man.
Get it together—might as well do it right.
I gritted my teeth, staring at the blackened veins bulging on my right arm.
About three minutes passed?
Thanks to Haerin's prior work, it didn't take long.
['Fully purified the corrupted mana dwelling in Cheongho's body.']
I yanked my hand away at the message.
Immediately, I thrust it back and activated Subsidiary Authority 2 to release the buildup.
Krrrackle—
The murky energy streaked across the field into the sea.
['Greed' says it's the worst thing it's ever tasted and spits repeatedly.]
Hey, you saved a person. Er, tiger.
I stroked my right hand soothingly and checked on Cheongho.
Grrrowl!
Like getting hit by a truck, maybe?
A blue blur flashed in my vision, and Cheongho vanished.
Something slammed into me—I couldn't withstand the weight and toppled backward.
Then a rough, sandpaper-like tongue, slathered in sticky saliva, scraped across my face.
Slurp slurp—
Cheongho, overcome with gratitude, had pounced to lick my face.
"What the—no dog, a spiritual beast......"
I flailed in resistance, but his strength overwhelmed me—I endured it for quite a while.
Afterward, he rubbed against Haerin too, expressing thanks.
"You're popular."
Jua-rin watched silently, then glanced my way with a sly chuckle.
I nearly said it might be her turn soon, but my vision swam.
Messages poured like rain—I stared into the air.
[Main Quest #7: Jua-rin's Encounter with the Mountain Lord - Achieved]
[Reward: +25 days to remaining time.]
[Reward: 40 SP provided.]
[Achievement -496: The First Human to Earn Cheongho's Favor]
[Reward: +3 days to remaining time.]
[Reward: 10 SP granted.]
[Achievement -819: Ally to the Protagonists]
[You aided Baek Sa-young, Jua-rin, and Cheon Seo-yoon despite the derailed plot.]
[Reward: +15 days to remaining time.]
[Reward: 20 SP granted.]
[Remaining Time: 92 days 19 hours 54 minutes]
[Remaining SP: 230]
So many messages at once dizzied me.
But each was the fruit of sweat and anguish......
A smile of deep satisfaction formed.
[Reached 200 SP.]
[The boundary of causality softens momentarily.]
[Special reward granted.]
"......Huh?"
A small hole tore in the air, dropping a tiny note.
Shaking off the eerie déjà vu, I snatched it.
A plain white paper, unremarkable—the first I'd held in ages.
Around the territory conquest war, right after hitting 100 SP......
I'd rushed off thinking it was Yoo So-young intel, ended up in a pawnshop, and got Greed.
......
Honestly, I'd ignored SP since.
Too busy surviving to farm it.
With the original plot twisted enough, I worried about dragging in weird events and shelved it.
But this time, no avoiding it.
75 SP in one go—caught off guard.
"This is......"
"Something wrong?"
"Nah. Time to head out—get ready. I'll rest a bit."
Acting casual, I put distance between me and Jua-rin.
Planned to check the note quietly.
Wonder what it'd say this time.
Half anticipation, half dread, I unfolded it.
"Hm?"
No words.
Just dozens of vertical black lines in a row on white.
"A barcode?"
Exactly like a barcode.
That's when I sensed it.
[Acquired a fragment of the Akashic Record, the Worldview's Memory Repository.]
[You've gained a chance to step closer to hidden truths.]
[Moving to view in 5 seconds.]
[5]
[4]
.
.
"......Now?"