Chapter 553: Eternal Spire[R-18] (72)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 553: Eternal Spire[R-18] (72)
Most of the trainees left at the training center were from Groups A, B, and C. The majority of those from Groups F, E, and D had already left, so the number of people was noticeably smaller than before.
The guilds paid them no mind. There was never any reason to waste interest on those who were untalented and utterly lacking in ability.
I grinned at the two new members, a man and a woman, who had joined our party.
“Welcome to the party, you two!”
“Ah, yes…”
Park Min-jun smiled awkwardly, glancing around. His eyes briefly landed on Seo Eun-ha and Han So-young, and he quickly lowered his head, his face turning red.
Beside him, Ryu Seol shot him a look that was a mixture of pity and contempt.
“Hey, hey, let’s all introduce ourselves!”
“Welcome. I’m Seo Eun-ha.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m Han So-young!”
Seo Eun-ha and Han So-young greeted them in turn. Han So-young waved with her characteristically bright smile, while Seo Eun-ha offered a calm but warm one.
Ryu Seol hesitated for a moment before nodding cautiously and speaking.
“My name is Ryu Seol. It’s a pleasure to be working with you.”
“I’m Park Min-jun. I look forward to working with you all!”
Park Min-jun also bowed politely.
Just then, Seo Eun-ha sidled up to me and asked in a low voice.
“How do you know them?”
“Ah, I helped them out with something on the road.”
“I can tell you helped because of the girl. And that’s why you let them in the party, too…”
“Hehe, Eunha-chan, you know me so well~”
At my words, she let out a deep sigh and turned her gaze toward Park Min-jun and Ryu Seol.
“Both of you… I heard you were in Group F.”
“Yes…”
“That’s right…”
Instantly, both of their shoulders slumped. The mere mention of being from Group F seemed to make them feel small.
Seo Eun-ha crossed her arms and remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Let me be frank. The leader of this party is Tae-yang, so I have no intention of opposing his decision. But I have to say my piece.”
The air grew strangely heavy.
“Gulp…”
Park Min-jun swallowed hard.
“……”
Ryu Seol clasped her hands tightly, her eyes fixed on the floor.
“There’s something I despise more than a lack of skill: people who don’t do their best at their assigned tasks. No matter how weak or incapable you are, everyone has a role to play. If you can’t even handle that small part, you should leave the party immediately.”
Her cold, firm voice pierced their hearts.
“Hey, hey~ Eunha-chan, don’t you think you’re putting on too much pressure?”
When I spoke playfully, she shook her head.
“No. This is necessary. You remember all those people we brought on as porters… We thought they were good people just because they were weak, but you know as well as I do that wasn’t the case. We’ve learned from experience how they plotted betrayal behind our backs and tried to use your power for their own gain.”
I shrugged. She was right. If I really wanted to, I could have asked Austin to fill the party with anyone I desired.
But the reason I didn’t was simple.
‘I need to be able to ditch them later. It’d be a problem if I start acting like a member of the Holy Cross Knights now.’
I had agreed to join the Holy Cross Knights upon graduating from the training center, but there was no need to advertise that I was close with them.
And it wouldn’t help my plans at all.
‘Hehe… what I’m ultimately aiming for is the image of a hero who stands against Night Bloom.’
Austin was a villain who was meant to be eliminated partway through. His existence was nothing more than a backdrop to make my heroic tale shine brighter. For now, I had to use him thoroughly, then crush him at the decisive moment.
I smiled inwardly and looked at the two newcomers. Just then, Ryu Seol lifted her head, looked Seo Eun-ha straight in the eye, and spoke.
“……I understand. I’ll do my best.”
“Me too… I’ll work hard, too!”
Park Min-jun exclaimed, clenching his fists.
Seo Eun-ha studied their expressions for a moment before giving a small nod.
“Good. It seems you have the will, at least. However, if we’re going to move as a party, we need to know each other’s abilities precisely. Please share your status and unique abilities.”
“Okay…”
Ryu Seol answered, glancing at me for a moment. Park Min-jun, on the other hand, seemed a bit discouraged by her words.
“Umm… well…”
“What is it? Are you hiding something?”
As Seo Eun-ha’s gaze sharpened, Park Min-jun frantically shook his head.
“No, not at all. I’ll tell you.”
He then cautiously began to write down his status.
Name: Park Min-jun
Level: 6
Gender: Male
Alignment: Good
Stats
Strength: 16
Stamina: 13
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 8
Luck: 5
“And… I have one unique ability.”
At his words, Seo Eun-ha’s eyes widened.
“What? You have a unique ability? How were you still in Group F?”
“Well… the ability is a little…”
Park Min-jun averted his gaze and hesitated before finally writing his unique ability on the paper.
[Born Porter]
Seo Eun-ha furrowed her brow.
“Porter…?”
Park Min-jun’s face flushed as he stammered out an explanation.
“I can carry… several times more items and equipment than a normal person. There’s practically no weight limit… so I used to hold onto equipment and supplies while other party members fought. I also have a small subspace, so it’s convenient for storing things like food for long periods. But… I have no combat skills, so…”
He trailed off, his head hanging low.
To his surprise, Seo Eun-ha replied calmly.
“That’s still impressive. It means you can do the work of several people by yourself.”
At her words, Park Min-jun’s face lit up. It was obvious he’d been dismissed for having a useless ability until now. He looked so happy to be acknowledged that his eyes even grew misty.
I chuckled to myself.
‘This bastard has no idea how good his ability is.’
Of course, all participants had a basic inventory function, but it was limited in capacity and the number of items it could hold. This ‘Born Porter’ ability was different. It had almost no limits, and more importantly—
‘It’s a growth-type ability. The subspace expands in proportion to his Strength and Stamina stats.’
He might just be a porter at first, but over time, he would gain an absurdly large storage space. He could even be utilized in combat by instantly summoning equipment to change the entire party’s loadout.
‘In the original story, this ability was only recognized late in the game. It was treated like trash, but it turned out to be an S-rank support ability.’
I smirked and glanced at Park Min-jun.
‘Well, for now, he’s just a fucking scrub of a porter.’
Next, Ryu Seol cautiously picked up a pen and began to write her stats on a piece of paper.
‘I wonder… is she going to reveal she’s the Purple Star now?’
I watched her with a mix of anticipation and curiosity.
A moment later, the paper she handed over was filled with neat handwriting.
Name: Ryu Seol
Level: 6
Gender: Female
Alignment: Neutral
Stats
Strength: 15
Stamina: 12
Agility: 16
Intelligence: 11
Luck: 10
And then came the most important part. Ryu Seol hesitated, then quietly moistened her lips.
“…I have unique abilities, too.”
Instantly, the eyes of Seo Eun-ha and Han So-young widened in shock. Unique abilities were rare enough, but for two people from Group F to both have them was unheard of.
Ryu Seol held out the paper and said in a small voice.
[Indomitable Spirit]
[Master of Martial Arts]
[Veil of Secrecy]
[Mind’s Eye]
“Four… unique abilities?”
This time, even my eyes went wide. I couldn’t believe she had four unique abilities on top of being the Purple Star.
“Wait, Ms. Ryu Seol… with stats like these and four unique abilities… how were you still in Group F?”
Han So-young asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.
Just as Ryu Seol’s lips parted as if to make an excuse—
“Actually… it’s because of me.”
Park Min-jun suddenly interjected.
“Seol and I… we’ve been childhood friends since kindergarten. We were suddenly dragged here… and I was assigned to Group F. Seol… she deliberately hid her abilities to stay by my side. She used her ability, ‘Veil of Secrecy,’ to disguise her own status.”
“…Veil of Secrecy?”
As I muttered the words, Ryu Seol cautiously nodded and explained.
“It has no combat application. Instead, if someone tries to check or peek at my status… it shows them false information.”
Everyone was impressed by her words.
“That’s amazing. Four unique abilities. What are the others? Can you explain them?”
“Yes. [Indomitable Spirit] is an ability that protects my mind, and [Master of Martial Arts] enhances my basic physical movements. And [Mind’s Eye]… is an ability that allows me to intuitively read an opponent’s movements.”
I nodded as she continued her explanation, but my thoughts were elsewhere.
‘This is just a guess… but I bet she’s hiding more than just the Purple Star… probably a few other things, too.’
Even the stats written on this paper were a lie.
‘But… the interesting thing is, she’s hiding the Purple Star from this childhood friend of hers, too.’
I looked at Ryu Seol. The fact that she was so thoroughly hiding her true abilities, even from someone she was close to, showed she was more calculating than she appeared.
‘More importantly… what are these crazy bastards thinking? Just how many unique abilities did they dump on her to screw with me?’
It was absurd that they had given one person so many unique abilities.
‘Well… now that she’s in my hands, Ryu Seol is as good as mine.’
Just then, Ryu Seol cautiously spoke to me.
“Um… Tae-yang-ssi?”
“Just call me Tae-yang Oppa.”
“O-Oppa?”
“Yeah. You guys are twenty, right? I’m older, so call me Oppa.”
“…Ah, okay.”
“So, what did you call me for?”
“Well… I wanted to talk to you alone.”
“Ooh-la-la~ A secret chat with a super-hot girl!”
“N-No! That’s not what I meant!”
“Eunha-chan, I’m gonna go have a little secret chat!”
“Don’t you dare try anything weird with Ms. Ryu Seol.”
“W-Weird things…?! Seol!”
Park Min-jun cried out, his face flushing, but I quickly led Ryu Seol outside to a suitable spot.
“Hehehe. So, what did you want to talk to your Oppa about in private?”
Ryu Seol hesitated for a moment before speaking in a small voice.
“Um… Oppa… you’re one of the ‘Chosen Ones’ too, right?”
“Chosen One?”
“Yes. If so… you must have received their message, too?”
I narrowed my eyes. The ‘they’ Ryu Seol was referring to had to be the gods.
‘Has she been communicating directly with them?’
Just then, Ryu Seol cautiously called my name again.
“Oppa?”
“Ah, sorry. By ‘them’… you mean Zeus and the others, right?”
“That’s right! But… were you chosen by Zeus?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I take it you weren’t?”
“No. I… was chosen by Lady Hera.”
I knew instantly that she had just lied.
‘Every time she lies… her ears twitch slightly.’
I smirked to myself. I was curious to see just how far she would take her lies.
“Is that all you wanted to ask?”
“Ah, I just wanted to confirm… if you were real. And…”
She hesitated for a moment, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red.
“…Could you lean down a little?”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“Yes… the truth is…”
She shyly lowered her gaze and whispered in a trembling voice.
“Ever since that day… when you saved me… I’ve had feelings for you, Oppa.”
‘A lie.’
On the outside, I feigned surprise.
“Ooh-la-la! A surprise confession from a beautiful girl! Don’t tell me… next is a k-k-kiss…?!”
“I-It’s embarrassing… please don’t say it so bluntly…”
She slowly approached and wrapped her arms around my neck. As her hot, soft breath touched my skin, our faces naturally drew closer. Our lips were an inch away, almost brushing.
And then she whispered.
“Oppa… please look… into my eyes.”
At her words, I lowered my head to meet her gaze. In that instant, her pink eyes began to glow.
Zzzzing—!
A whisper echoed, seeming to bore directly into my mind.
[From now on, Oppa, you will be my slave.]