Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Smile in the Portrait
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Before Jun arrived at the cabin, Maya was already there, taking a rest.
Just as Jun had said, no more pursuers showed up once they reached the cabin.
She had no idea why, but she wasn't particularly curious about the details.
While she was soothing her weary body, an incident occurred.
"……."
The knights who entered the cabin started touching this and that, and they discovered a mechanism leading underground.
But betrayal struck immediately.
"Wernaine! I trusted you……!"
"Sorry about that."
Maya, however, felt no particular excitement at the scene. Her interest was drawn to the secret passage revealed beneath the fireplace.
Her enemy was down there.
Her ancestor's spirit was pointing her that way.
As the two hunters' betrayal unfolded, she slipped away quietly and descended the secret passage as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And there, she found the curse shaman.
Cheoncheon Church, was it?
Her ancestor's spirit whispered to her.
These were the culprits who had destroyed their tribe.
In the darkness, two swords were silently drawn.
"Uh…… good work."
Wernaine's charred black corpse lay sprawled on the floor.
"Wh-what the hell is that?"
"Curse shaman. Killed it. Did I do good?"
Aiden, who had just finished the battle and confirmed Jun's safety, barely had time to relax.
He freaked out when Maya emerged from the basement holding some unknown person's severed head.
"Oh, you went to the basement first. Nice job. I was getting worried since that guy hadn't shown up."
The head belonged to the Cheoncheon Church curse shaman.
If the curse shaman had appeared alongside Wernaine, even Jun might have been in mortal danger.
"So, what do we do now?"
"We need to gather the scattered group. Though…… they're probably already heading here on their own by now."
He had ordered the giant soldiers to rendezvous here if they all vanished, so they would gather at the cabin without needing to be told.
And sure enough, Colton and his comrades arrived shortly after.
"Huff! Wh-what the hell happened here!"
Naturally, Colton was thrown into confusion by the chaos inside and outside the cabin.
After a quick rundown of events, Colton clutched his forehead, looking dizzy.
"Y-you killed a noble……?"
Setting aside Wernaine's betrayal, a mere mercenary had killed a baron.
What would happen if word of this got out?
Colton's face drained of color as he imagined the fallout.
"No need to worry that much. He drew his sword first. Plus…… there's evidence he was in contact with the Cheoncheon Church."
Fortunately, Bernard—the one who had been betrayed—hadn't died.
He would serve as a living witness, effectively nullifying the charge of murdering a noble.
And that soon proved to be the case.
"W-Wernaine?! Wh-what happened to you! You there, mercenary! Explain in detail what went down here right now!"
"Wait! Hold on! They're innocent!"
Just as the hunters, who had been scattered throughout the city, arrived and gasped in shock at Wernaine's corpse, Bernard regained consciousness and explained.
The hunters believed Bernard's words without question, almost miraculously.
"It's true……."
Watching the scene, Colton felt his illusions about nobles and knights shatter spectacularly for some reason.
"Looks like everyone's here now. Let's head to the basement."
"Come to think of it, those religious fanatics outside were swarming endlessly. Got a way to hold them off?"
"Now that we've got all the materials, it doesn't matter anymore."
The materials Maya had gathered matched the ones Jun had obtained from the Eternal Slumber.
The clear condition for this hidden dungeon was to bring those materials to the witch's cabin within the time limit.
So, the dungeon was effectively cleared.
Following Maya into the basement, they saw the headless curse shaman's corpse, a cauldron, and scattered books and documents strewn about.
At the same time, a commotion erupted from upstairs.
Colton sensed something wrong and shouted in alarm.
"Uh oh, mage sir! Looks like those bastards are at the cabin now!"
"Calm down. Maya, hand over those materials."
As confusion threatened to build again, Jun calmly asked Maya for the ingredients.
"Here you go."
Just like in the Eternal Slumber, he placed the materials into the cauldron.
Soon, the anomaly began, just as before.
The difference was…….
Wooooooong――!
Unlike before, colorless waves radiated outward multiple times.
The group looked around in awe.
"Is this that thing we've only heard about?"
"I knew clearing a Memorial Dungeon came with phenomena like this…… but it's still amazing."
The clanging of weapons from upstairs suddenly ceased completely.
Dungeon cleared.
As all the memories recorded in the Memorial Dungeon replayed, time within the dungeon came to a complete halt.
Hwaaaaa―
Signaling the end of the long battle, a portal appeared before them.
"Yesss! Finally over!"
"I-I swear, even two hearts wouldn't have been enough……."
"……."
"Wernaine…… why on earth did you make that choice……."
Relieved that the crisis was over, Colton cheered. Aiden recalled the tense moments. Maya's expression was unreadable.
Finally, the hunters gazed at Wernaine's corpse—which they had carefully gathered—with complicated eyes.
'But seriously, why did those guys come here in the end?'
Colton wondered about the grieving hunters but quickly dismissed it.
Thanks to them dealing with the Cheoncheon Church, everyone had survived. He decided to think positively.
"You all go on ahead. I've got some things to grab here."
"Hyung? Then I'll stay too."
"It's nothing big. Go ahead. Just gonna pick up these books. That was our goal anyway. Dungeon's cleared, so no more dangers."
"Mm…… alright."
"Ahem. Mage sir! If you find something valuable, don't you dare keep it quiet! Got it? I trust ya!"
"I'm solid on that front, so don't worry."
With that, everyone except Jun headed outside.
Left alone, Jun cleared his throat unnecessarily.
"Ahem. That Colton guy. Sharp as a tack."
Obviously, Jun staying behind had nothing to do with scholarly curiosity as a mage.
Instead, more varied rewards awaited.
"First things first."
He reached into the cauldron, which had expelled all its waves, and something caught in his hand.
It was a tear-shaped gem glowing with purple light.
"Eternal Oblivion Gem……."
The clear reward for this dungeon.
It would be needed for a certain hidden piece later…….
"But not anymore."
Jun already knew that his actions had derailed that hidden piece.
With a sigh, he gathered all the books and worn documents scattered in the basement.
Memorial Dungeons like this were one-time content.
Now that Jun and the group had cleared it, the Witch's Forest would never appear in the world again.
Thus, all traces of the witch here held value as artifacts.
Auctioning them off would surely draw interest from many Mage Towers.
Documents left by an ancient witch. Who wouldn't salivate?
'Not that there are many, though.'
He also scooped up the numerous papers on the floor and headed out of the basement.
"But what exactly was the Cheoncheon Church after here?"
The Witch's Forest had zero connection to the Cheoncheon Church originally.
In other words, this was a variable created after Jun fell into this world.
"Eh, whatever. I can guess to some extent."
Now it was time to uncover the real reason he stayed.
Emerging from the basement and stepping outside the cabin, he saw the Erbonak Order's forces surging toward them like a tidal wave.
But like the world frozen in time, they showed no movement whatsoever.
Jun's gaze shifted to the figure at their forefront.
"Ahraham."
The guy whose heart had been destroyed in the surprise attack was alive and well.
Beside him was the pursuer who had chased Maya relentlessly.
The Erbonak Order's forces were now fully assembled.
If they had arrived even a little sooner, clearing the dungeon wouldn't have been guaranteed.
"But that's all in the past now."
In the end, Jun was the victor—and he had survived once more.
With the leisure of a winner, he looked upon the defeated Ahraham.
The man was frozen mid-motion, his eyes wide with desperate fury.
"……."
Jun placed the Eternal Oblivion Gem into the man's open mouth.
Then, the waves from before emanated from the gem.
But the color was different this time.
The purple-tinged waves didn't spread outward—they resonated solely within Ahraham's body.
"……Done."
A kind of hidden piece.
One not mentioned in any community guides—known only to him.
In the completely halted world, another living being besides Jun began to move.
"Gahk, heok……!"
The man collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
Ahraham. The Erbonak Order's traitor and bishop who dreamed of eternal life.
He clutched his throat with both hands, gasping as if suffocating.
"H-how…… n-no…… no……!!"
In truth, the Eternal Oblivion Gem was a consumable item with devastating effects on undead or spirit-type monsters.
And according to the game's lore, this old man before him sustained his life with children's blood in pursuit of immortality—half-undead already.
That's why he had mobilized his forces upon hearing rumors of the eternally living witch.
Never knowing what the witch truly desired.
"Aaaah…… my…… my eternal life…… my glory……!"
Ahraham died with eyes full of resentment.
Jun's expression remained ice-cold. The man wasn't truly alive—he was just a monster recreated by the dungeon.
As he finally breathed his last, the dungeon began to change.
Sarrr―
Like torn paper burning away, the surroundings vanished.
The forest disappeared, the sky disappeared, the earth disappeared.
Finally, the entire Erbonak Order except Ahraham vanished.
What remained was a world of pure white.
Suddenly, a woman appeared atop the sole remaining corpse of Ahraham.
As if she had been there all along, she gazed down at his agonized, dead face.
Her appearance matched exactly the woman in the portrait in the witch's cabin.
Unlike the portrait, however, there was no trace of a smile—just a blank expression.
-Why?
Her voice echoed throughout the space.
It was an abrupt question, but Jun knew what she meant.
Why had he used the Eternal Oblivion Gem on Ahraham?
Jun closed his mouth for a moment.
In the game, how had he responded?
'Ah.'
From memory, the choices were roughly:
[To stop the Erbonak Order's atrocities.]
[Couldn't leave a dangerous item like the Eternal Oblivion Gem behind.]
And the very last choice:
"Just because."
-…….
There was that absurd answer.
And as reward for that response, 'Lee Jung-jun' had received a unique reward unobtainable elsewhere.
But it wasn't just for the reward that he chose it.
"Pisses me off. Tormenting innocent people for his own eternal life. Right?"
He didn't know why she had gained eternal life.
Yet she desired death.
But was that death truly her wish?
Jun recalled a portrait in the witch's cabin.
The witch in it was smiling.
But the woman before him wasn't the type to smile like that.
Who could have imagined such a smile on a witch? She must have had a warm heart.
A passing painter?
Or an innocent village youth?
Whoever it was, the artist must have thought:
May the witch before me find happiness.
But in the original history, the witch never would have smiled.
However.
-…….
After countless ages, the witch's lingering spirit in this dungeon.
Faintly, yet remarkably similar to the portrait, she smiled ever so slightly before fading like mist.
With that, even Ahraham's corpse vanished, replaced by a warp gate.
Somehow, an earring that had adorned the witch's ear now lay in Jun's hand.
His first artifact acquisition—a fortuitous one.
The old crone spoke in a voice like scraping metal.
"Took your comrades pretending there was no connection to us. And you still failed? Against some second-tier mercenaries, no less?"
In response to the crone's irritation, the massive monk beside her replied.
"That's what happened."
"Wernaine, that worthless scum not even fit as ritual material!"
"But what were you after there?"
"Lost the vessel to open the heavens in the Black Forest for nothing. The materials to recreate a similar environment were there. All gone to waste!"
"I see. So what's your plan now?"
"Kekeke…… What else? Find another way. Time to harvest the seeds we sowed in the Church of Healing."
"I'm in."
With the report concluded, the two rose from their seats.