Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Goddess of War
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Traces left by an ancient being.
Only those who have unsealed all the shelters can follow those traces.
That was why Park Chan-woo, who had single-handedly destroyed twenty shelters, was the only one able to unlock the 'Legendary Quest'.
However, even after unlocking the quest, there was another condition.
They needed to bring along one member of the 'same race'.
It meant Park Chan-woo needed another human like himself.
But why require a 'kinsman' specifically?
The reason became clear once they found the trace.
The moment they arrived at the marked location of the trace.
Rumble!
A massive goddess statue rose from beneath the earth.
In front of the sword-wielding goddess statue sat a single bowl and a dagger.
It wasn't Park Chan-woo progressing the journey who needed to offer a finger, but Lee Hyuk-soo, accompanying and observing it.
"......"
Park Chan-woo panicked inwardly.
He thought he'd endured every kind of trial, but he never imagined the journey would unfold like this.
They'd hit a snag right from the start.
He couldn't force Lee Hyuk-soo to do it.
A swordsman missing one finger? Unthinkable.
He wouldn't grip his sword properly, and even if he did, he couldn't wield its full power.
One-armed swordsmen existed, but regaining their original skill took considerable time—it was obvious.
"The price of walking the path of legend, I suppose."
Lee Hyuk-soo said it nonchalantly.
He immediately gripped the 'Holy Dagger'.
"This settles some of the debt, Prophet."
Stab!
Without hesitation, he severed his own left index finger.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
A decision of unparalleled boldness.
There wasn't even time to stop him.
Ignoring the dripping blood, Lee Hyuk-soo placed the severed finger in the bowl.
"......Lee Hyuk-soo."
All Park Chan-woo could do was call his name.
He never dreamed he'd cut off his own finger without a second thought.
Let alone calling it settling a 'debt'.
Did he think this repaid the favors Park Chan-woo had given him?
He might even misunderstand that Park Chan-woo had brought him along intending this from the start.
"Don't worry. I know you didn't bring me for this."
......Even that wasn't the case.
Instead, Lee Hyuk-soo was defending Park Chan-woo.
He seemed convinced Park Chan-woo had no such intentions.
Yet Lee Hyuk-soo firmly believed Park Chan-woo was the 'Prophet'.
This could even be seen as something the Prophet had foreseen.
He might think Park Chan-woo had orchestrated an irrefusable situation to use him from the beginning.
But whatever the truth, it didn't matter to Lee Hyuk-soo.
'The Prophet is my benefactor.'
If not for the Prophet, his mother wouldn't be alive now.
Becoming the Lion King's prized disciple and growing stronger faster than anyone—all thanks to the Prophet's arrangements.
For that alone, he could gladly give up an index finger.
And besides...... the Prophet had told him to become a 'savior'.
But Lee Hyuk-soo thought differently.
'The true savior isn't me—it's the Prophet.'
The natural enemy of the Creators, endlessly producing miracles.
Walking unpaved paths and forging new ones in turn.
Just accompanying that legend was reward enough.
Above all, he was a pure soul who blushed at a single word of thanks.
Lee Hyuk-soo trusted the man he'd seen.
Whether this situation was intended or not.
Pure or not.
No matter what the world said.
Lee Hyuk-soo believed only what he'd seen and experienced.
And the Prophet he'd known, Park Chan-woo, was a 'good man'.
Without him, the first night would have claimed tens of thousands more lives; he'd have become an orphan; they wouldn't have gathered enough points to clear Dungeon Abyss, unleashing 'Abyss' across Korea.
He'd already saved well over hundreds of thousands.
And behind the scenes, the Prophet had quietly done countless more things no one knew about.
Like right now.
'No one knows how much the Prophet sacrifices himself.'
It's a loneliness beyond imagination.
Lee Hyuk-soo could never do it.
Shouldering tasks no one else would, in secret......
Impossible without extraordinary self-sacrifice.
The Prophet was doing his utmost to save the future.
All alone.
Whoosh!
It was then.
Flames erupted from the bowl.
Swoosh!
The index finger sliced by the holy dagger was reborn in the sacred flames.
Soon, the floating finger reattached to Lee Hyuk-soo's hand, regenerating perfectly.
......An astonishing event.
It seemed like a ritual to select the 'King' and 'Knight'.
Park Chan-woo was the king, and Lee Hyuk-soo had been recognized as the knight serving that king.
'The ancient being was a king of this land.'
A great 'Khan' who stood alongside the 'Goddess of the Battlefield'.
It only piqued his curiosity further.
A being who journeyed with a goddess!
Divine beings rarely intervened in the mortal world.
They never accompanied those they didn't acknowledge.
How extraordinary must he have been for a goddess to guide his path?
"......It's fine."
Lee Hyuk-soo said, flexing his index finger.
To think it would regenerate.
Even stronger than before.
His grip felt firmer.
His stats had risen too, thanks to the goddess's blessing.
Was this all part of the Prophet's plan too?
"So, we just follow this light?"
"Seems like it."
Park Chan-woo nodded at Lee Hyuk-soo's question.
A thin line of light stretched out before them.
Following it should lead to 'Khan's Palace'.
The issue was whether only they could see this path.
Recalling the warning that the road to the palace wouldn't be smooth, Park Chan-woo thought.
'......Now the real challenge begins.'
Han Shin heard Aheta's voice.
The first proper voice he'd heard from Aheta since contracting with him.
It meant Aheta was in quite a hurry.
'The Legendary Quest must be progressing properly.'
A quest he'd thought impossible to complete.
Yet it seemed to be advancing steadily.
Aheta had asked his incarnation, Han Shin, to keep his territory from being stolen.
"I'll do that."
Han Shin nodded.
He didn't like anyone else stealing the spotlight either.
Shoooo!
At the same time, 'Moon's Blessing' was bestowed upon Han Shin.
Aheta had expended his authority and a massive amount of coins to empower him.
Han Shin knew instant blessings like this, unprepared in advance, required even more coins.
And that wasn't all.
Han Shin's qualification, 'King of the Night', evolved.