Self-Proclaimed Saint: Hyun-sook Said She'd Need My Help
The Self-Proclaimed Saint wrote: Hyun-sook said it seemed like you'd need my help.
It was an unexpected reunion, and we hadn't even talked much yet. But for some reason, the moment I saw the words "Self-Proclaimed Saint" floating in the air, I felt a spark of hope—like I'd already gotten the answer I wanted.
The Self-Proclaimed Saint wrote: When Hyun-sook told me the whole story, it really... tore my heart apart.
Mom must have filled her in on all the details beforehand this time too. So, no need for lengthy explanations—I could cut straight to the chase.
I swallowed hard, feeling my dry throat work.
"Is there... a way to turn those kids back to normal?"
The neatly embroidered strings of text faded, leaving silence in their wake.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart pounded wildly as I waited for the next message. My mouth was parched.
Then—
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Yes, there is.
"Ah...!"
A gasp escaped me involuntarily, and my fist clenched tight.
There is.
Those simple words shone brighter than any gold in my eyes.
How could they not? We desperately needed a miracle from God, and a real one had just arrived.
Self-Proclaimed Saint: But right now, there's no way to restore them all.
"...No way right now?"
My heart sank for a moment, but I quickly steadied myself. If there was truly no method at all, she would've said so from the start.
I stared into the empty air, my eyes demanding more details.
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Every constellation residing in the Honor Hall has their own personal space. We call those— Ah.
This might get censored if I say it. Hyun-sook, you tell him.
[Constellation, 'Sung Hyun-sook' shares 'My Son♡' and 'Keyword' with you!]
[Sanctuary: Personal space where the constellations of the Honor Hall reside.]
Sanctuary... Fancy name, but basically just a private room, huh.
Makes sense. Even constellations need a space for privacy.
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Mine is called "Eden." A beautiful garden teeming with life.
"Eden..."
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Eden has a pond formed from underground springs. I named it "Primordial Water." Anyone who drinks from it returns to their purest form, free of all impurities in body and soul.
"So, if the kids drink that Primordial Water?"
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Exactly. The defilements vanish, and they revert to the purest state they once knew.
Back to normal... It wasn't complicated at all.
The chimeric kids just needed to drink from the pond in Eden. Simple as that.
So why had she said there was no way right now?
Self-Proclaimed Saint: The problem is, there's not enough Primordial Water for five or more kids to get the full effect.
...What the hell.
That's the reason?
Self-Proclaimed Saint: It's called a pond, but it's really more like a puddle... How many kids are there?
"Not sure exactly, but around thirty...?"
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Ugh... Yeah, that won't be nearly enough...
"So what do we do?"
Quit teasing and tell me the solution already.
Self-Proclaimed Saint: There's only one way. Stimulate Eden's ley lines to bring more Primordial Water to the surface.
"How?"
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Infuse the earth with yang energy. You know, the energy some dimensions—including your mortal world—call "mana."
Really? Just mana?
I had more than enough mana overflowing in my body right now.
"Then I can just visit Eden in person and pour my mana in."
Self-Proclaimed Saint: No. Too hard. Even setting aside whether you'd have enough to shake a sanctuary, it has to be extremely pure mana.
[Is my son's mana impure? 'Sung Hyun-sook' bristles!]
Uh, Mom...
Self-Proclaimed Saint: That's not what I meant, Hyun-sook. Goodness... What I mean is, it has to be in its 'raw ore' state.
"Raw ore?"
Self-Proclaimed Saint: From what I hear, in the mortal world, they're called 'cores'?
I knew only one stone called a "core."
The secondary heart inside monsters, a key material for magitech. Cores were everywhere—you could buy them at markets or hunt gates yourself.
Of course...
Self-Proclaimed Saint: Not just any core. Ordinary ones can't hold that level of purity.
"Yeah, figured..."
Nothing in my life ever went smoothly. I hadn't expected a common core to solve this.
Ugh... Damn it.
Self-Proclaimed Saint: To activate Eden's ley lines... Let me see. Ah, yes. A 'purple gemstone' should do it.
...Purple gemstone?
She meant a "purple core."
Hold on.
Purple and violet are the same color, right?
In other words, to make Primordial Water gush from Eden's earth like a fountain, I needed a purple core.
['Sung Hyun-sook' lets out a wry chuckle: Not easy, huh?]
I let out a hollow laugh, echoing Mom.
Core colors match the gate color where the monster appears. Red gates yield red cores, blue gates blue cores, and so on.
Purple cores? From purple gates, obviously.
Simple, right?
Except the process to get one was anything but.
The purple gate was a step above the blue gate where I'd fought the Living Armor recently—rated even higher risk.
In plain terms, it was the second-hardest gate to clear among existing ones.
(Number one was the black gate, but none had appeared since the cataclysm ten years ago, so it was practically extinct.)
In reality, purple gates were the most dangerous now.
Damn, this was depressing.
"At least there's a solution... That's something."
[It's a thorny path—that's the real problem, says 'Sung Hyun-sook', clicking her tongue!]
My steps felt heavy as I left the bathroom and wandered the association hallways aimlessly.
Purple gate. Even top S-rank players wrote their wills before tackling one.
No—think positive.
"I smashed the blue gate record with a smile. A slightly tougher purple one should be doable, right?"
['Sung Hyun-sook' scolds: Don't talk nonsense!]
[The gap between purple and blue is incomparable to blue and red, warns 'Sung Hyun-sook'!]
['Sung Hyun-sook' sighs: Your dad and I shed blood there back in the day too.]
"......"
Did you have to drag your son's optimism into the gutter like that, Mom?
Well, I already knew roughly how dangerous purple gates were.
Real dragons—not fakes like Gift—had appeared there before.
In short, at minimum, a boss monster on par with or stronger than Gift.
"Not sure if my current stats can handle it..."
And it wasn't just clearing it—I had to extract the core myself, right in the middle of a battlefield swarming with insanely strong monsters.
My shoulders slumped.
...What about buying a purple core from the market?
If that were possible, I wouldn't be moping like this.
Blue cores and above were too rare to buy outright. They went straight to national research labs, not markets.
Besides, there were none left.
The only known holder was America's Argon National Lab, but they'd announced a year ago they'd used them all for gear for their high-rankers.
So, my only option was to dive into a purple gate myself.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, who knows...
"If I'm not misremembering, a purple gate appears in Japan three months from now."
[Constellation, 'Sung Hyun-sook' pays close attention to 'My Son♡''s words!]
"Dungeon name... Ah, right. Yeah. <Full Moon Canyon>."
It was barely cleared thanks to high-rankers like Jayden.
How many S-ranks crossed the River Styx in there...?
Experts agreed failure would've caused the worst outbreak since the cataclysm.
That's why I still remembered the dungeon's name from over three years pre-regression.
"...But in this life, I have to go in there."
As an S-rank from my country, I qualified to join.
['My Son♡' can do it, cheers 'Sung Hyun-sook'!]
"Thanks for the warm support, Mom."
But sorry—it was still about 2% short of easing my heavy heart.
Time for some Gift healing.
He wasn't fluffy anymore, but his dragon form had grown on me as pretty cute.
Should've visited yesterday, but I'd been busy beating that trash who tormented the kids.
'Gotta apologize first for being a lousy owner.'
I headed to the Familiar Management Center next to association HQ.
The staff recognized me immediately and gave polite directions.
The elevator to the sixth floor opened to a massive enclosure.
And one other greeter.
- Kyang!
It was Gift, curled up obediently in his spacious, spotless pen.
He spotted me, stood, and barked brightly.
Normally, I'd confirm he was okay, grin ear-to-ear, and rush over for pets...
"Huh...?"
But not today. No time.
"...Perfect timing, you."
Because Jin Soo-hyun was here too, greeting me.
No thanks, you're the awkward one here...
A trial was coming.
For leading a monster horde into downtown without association or government approval.
On one hand, she'd inadvertently helped stop Oh Chae-rin's rampage...
But that was that, and this was this.
The association's official stance: Some things needed addressing, period.
Jin Soo-hyun's reaction?
"They're all talk."
Like brushing off a barking dog.
Trial? "I was just trying to get my familiar back. Why should I get punished?"
An eye for an eye. Natural law.
Though it turned out to be her mistake in the end.
'We searched every inch of the building with transparent summons, but no trace of Cheonrang...'
She'd thought Oh Chae-rin ordered the kidnapping. Wrong.
Not that she felt a speck of sorry for Oh Chae-rin.
That scum killed her precious familiar and experimented on kids. No sympathy.
'So where the hell is Cheonrang? Flew to the heavens?'
A divine beast like that? Totally possible.
Or maybe Kang Tae-sik acted alone, without Oh Chae-rin.
Who knows. The more she thought, the messier it got.
So, she planned to teleport back to Wild Island for now and deal with it later.
But first, a quick detour.
"My god..."
Jin Soo-hyun chuckled, having sneaked into the association pens with Stealth, evading staff.
A mix of awe, gratitude, admiration, affection.
- Grrr?
The dragon eyed her warily through the bars.
"A real dragon..."
She'd scoffed when she heard a dragon fought Oh Chae-rin while she was out cold.
But it was true.
'Back then, even a hatchling was immune to <Absolute Taming>.'
Before Wild Island's name, a hatchling—dragon kin—ruled the island among monsters.
Unlike others, no taming worked on it. Had to kill it.
Not a level gap issue.
[This species cannot be tamed by any skill!]
The pinnacle taming skill, Absolute Taming, was outright immune.
That was dragons.
Yet...
"How the hell did Hwang Jae-min tame a dragon...?"
[Observer of the Law of the Jungle is shocked: Impossible!]
[Observer of the Law of the Jungle adds: Dragons bow to no one but their own lord—a proud race!]
Even her sponsor was floored. How much more her, the Taming Master?
The man who tamed a dragon she'd given up on.
Shivers ran down Jin Soo-hyun's spine at Hwang Jae-min's unfathomable nature.
[Observer of the Law of the Jungle suspects polymorph!]
"Polymorph? Oh, right!"
How hadn't she thought of that?
Polymorph to a dragon's appearance? Easy enough—
"—Wait, hold on. Even with polymorph, there are limits, right? From what I know, you can't transform into something way above your class."
Usually only equals or lower.
No chick familiar could polymorph into a high orc, for example.
[At minimum, it's a familiar on par with a dragon, shudders Observer of the Law of the Jungle!]
"Yeah, that tracks... Wait."
Then, a hypothesis flashed through Jin Soo-hyun's mind like lightning.
"...Could Cheonrang have polymorphed into a dragon?"
Maybe the real culprit wasn't Oh Chae-rin, but Hwang Jae-min.
But soon...
"...Nah, that's me being overly suspicious."
She snorted.
Hwang Jae-min polymorphing into Kang Tae-sik to invade Wild Island? Possible.
Monsters could polymorph; why not people?
But starting down that road led to endless paranoia.
More importantly, this dragon's aura was completely different from Cheonrang's.
'As a master tamer with keen senses, I can tell.'
Cheonrang's energy had felt unpleasant and turbid.
This dragon's was pure, clear—180 degrees opposite.
Different at the soul's root.
[No taming skill can alter a soul's essence, says Observer of the Law of the Jungle, dropping suspicions.]
"Yeah. Unless it dies and reincarnates fresh."
Case closed.
This was a real dragon.
But that didn't solve the core mystery: How did Hwang Jae-min tame it?
The more she pondered, the more wondrous it seemed.
[Observer of the Law of the Jungle claps, lightbulb moment!]
[Observer of the Law of the Jungle is overcome with emotion!]
[Maybe time to fulfill that long promise, wipes tears Observer of the Law of the Jungle!]
"Ugh, why's she like this again."
Figuring it out solo, getting emotional solo, crying solo... All kinds.
She was about to demand her sponsor share when—
[If that Hwang Jae-min's sponsor is my master's student, taming a dragon isn't impossible! Observer of the Law of the Jungle excitedly speculates!]
"Master? Who?"
The answer came instantly.
Jin Soo-hyun scoffed at first—"No way"—but then...
"Wait... Huh?"
Thinking it over, nothing else explained Hwang Jae-min taming a dragon.
She gulped.
- Ding!
The sixth-floor elevator opened right then.
Jin Soo-hyun turned from her thoughts—and there was Hwang Jae-min.
- Kyang!
Perfect timing.
She hardened her expression deadly serious and spoke slowly.
"...Perfect timing, you."
Why was she here?
She didn't know it, but to Jin Soo-hyun, I was public enemy number one.
Just eye contact felt like transparent blades stabbing my heart.
Unsure how to react, I stood blankly—then
Thud, thud!
She closed the distance fast.
And thrust her face close!
Our lips nearly brushed. I stammered, voice shaky.
"Wh-what're you...?"
Her eyes were terrifying, glaring.
...Did she figure it out?
A bad premonition hit. I eyed her lips warily.
Finally, they moved.
"Hey, is your sponsor an ancient dragon by any chance?"
"?"
['Sung Hyun-sook' tilts her head: Did she take her meds?]
What? Some new diss?