Chapter 20

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 20

Chapter Title: Mountains Beyond Mountains

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As I ran toward the exit, my body was enveloped in a burst of light, and I was flung out of the Cursed Mountain Lodge.

I tumbled through the air for a while, rolling across the dirt ground several times before finally crashing into a tree trunk and coming to a stop.

"Ugh."

Finally coming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my senses and opening my eyes, I saw the quest completion notice along with a new challenge achievement unlocked.

Claiming rewards wasn't urgent right now, so I dismissed the windows and looked around.

"It's gone."

The Cursed Mountain Lodge had vanished without a trace from the spot I'd emerged from.

In its place lay three people sprawled on the ground: Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk with considerably longer hair and beard, the Oracle Nam Yu-ha looking utterly exhausted, and Woo-hyeon Monk, who had aged dramatically, all unconscious.

Worried they might be dead, I approached to check and found they were simply unconscious, their breathing steady.

Thank goodness. All three had escaped the Cursed Mountain Lodge safely.

"Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk. Please wake up."

"Agh! Ah, where is this?!"

"Outside the lodge. We escaped safely."

"Really..?"

"Yes. All four of us survived."

"Ah ha. Haha. Who would've thought we'd actually make it out alive. I can't quite believe it. Thank you, Fixer. We survived thanks to you."

"No need. We all worked together and survived."

Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk dusted off his clothes and offered a handshake.

I couldn't say it was just me. It was only because of Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk and Nam Yu-ha that we could evacuate Woo-hyeon Monk.

"Oracle. Get up. You need to get to school."

"Ugh.. Huh? Where is..."

"Outside. We escaped the lodge."

"R-Really?! "

True to a high school girl her age, Oracle Nam Yu-ha jumped for joy in excitement, then suddenly rushed over and hugged me.

"Waaah! We survived! We survived! Fixer! It's all thanks to you, Fixer!"

Nam Yu-ha's affinity had risen sharply.

Through this incident, she seemed to have fully opened her heart to me.

Of course, I couldn't reciprocate a high school girl's feelings, so I quickly put some distance between us.

"Um, Oracle. I get that you're happy, but.."

"Ah! Sorry. I got too excited.."

"No, it's fine. For now, let's wake Woo-hyeon Monk and head down."

I gently pushed her away, and Nam Yu-ha blushed in embarrassment. I'd successfully prevented her affinity from rising even further.

"I'd like to call Knight Kang Seong-woo, but my phone battery is dead."

"Mine too. Nothing we can do. Let's walk down."

Having spent so long inside the Cursed Mountain Lodge, our phone batteries were completely drained and wouldn't turn on.

With no way to contact Knight Kang Seong-woo, we had no choice but to hike down to the village at the base of the mountain.

"Sorry. My legs won't hold me. Could someone carry me?"

"I'll carry you. Hop on."

Woo-hyeon Monk was in no condition, physically or stamina-wise, to hike down the mountain path.

He was so frail that he might roll right down the slope, so someone had to piggyback him. But Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk and Nam Yu-ha weren't in great shape either, so I volunteered.

Woo-hyeon Monk's affinity had risen considerably too.

Having contributed greatly to the escape, everyone's affinity toward me had increased significantly.

"Sorry for mistaking you for a villain at first. Thanks for not abandoning us. Yu-ha survived because of you."

"No big deal. It's great we all made it out alive. Glad the spirit is safe too."

Perhaps regretting her initial hostility on the first day, the Five Flower Bell Spirit conveyed her thanks through Nam Yu-ha's body.

Not just the people, but even the Five Flower Bell Spirit possessing Nam Yu-ha's body had warmed up to me.

It wasn't empty words; I could feel their genuine joy from the real-time affinity increases.

'Glad it all worked out.'

Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk strode ahead vigorously, while Woo-hyeon Monk had fallen asleep on my back, snoring softly.

Nam Yu-ha kept glancing at me with a grin, clearly delighted.

The whole situation felt like a dream.

After wandering inside the Cursed Mountain Lodge for over three months, descending the mountain path under the open sky with my companions felt unreal.

"Look! I see the village!"

After nearly two hours of hiking down, we finally reached the village at the base where Knight Kang Seong-woo was waiting.

Kang Seong-woo, who had been waiting near the village entrance, rushed over, took Woo-hyeon Monk off my back, and loaded him into the car. We then headed straight back to Seoul.

According to the knight, it had been four days since we entered the Cursed Mountain Lodge.

We'd spent months inside, but only four days had passed outside.

Though only a week had elapsed since going missing, Woo-hyeon Monk—who had spent a full twenty years inside and lost his friend Yeon-jeong Monk on top of that—quietly wiped away tears.

He seemed unable to hold back his grief over the relentless flow of time and his friend he couldn't save.

"If only Yeon-jeong could've come out with us too. But that's just greed, I suppose."

Woo-hyeon Monk shed endless tears, filled with regret and pity for Yeon-jeong Monk who couldn't escape with them.

"Monk, we have a long way to go. Rest your eyes for a bit."

"I suppose I should.. Sorry about this."

After weeping quietly for a while, Woo-hyeon Monk closed his eyes and fell asleep, clutching the bag containing Yeon-jeong Monk's ashes tightly. He must have been exhausted, as he started snoring.

Soon, the car entered Seoul via the highway, dropping me off first at the office.

"Fixer, go home and rest well today. I'll visit again tomorrow or the day after. We can talk properly then and discuss compensation for this job."

"Yes. You worked hard too, Flame Rock Hye-ryeong Monk. Yu-ha, you did well tagging along with us old guys."

"No, it's.. See you next time, mister."

"Yeah. I'll head in first."

"Yes. I'll contact you separately later, Fixer."

They suggested discussing the Cursed Mountain Lodge events later, so I could go home and rest today.

I bid farewell to Knight Kang Seong-woo as well and returned to the office.

The long commission had finally ended today.

Back at the office, I unpacked lightly, charged my phone, and checked the quest rewards and challenge I'd skipped earlier.

Claiming the quest reward gave a substantial sum of money and three paper talismans.

Collecting the money scattered on the office floor came to nearly 2 million won. The talismans, yellow paper covered in red script, were quite unusual items.

'A reward that's Caution-level danger and unknown effect.'

Still, the fact that it produces "whatever effect is needed now" made it seem far from useless.

If used right, it'd be perfect for creating variables.

Suits the Fixer profession perfectly.

"What is this..!"

As I picked up a talisman and examined it closely, my Fixer-exclusive skill activated, and the script on it started making sense on its own.

Skills work like this too?

The densely packed characters on the talisman flooded into my mind effortlessly. But there were a lot of them.

The "unknown effect" meant this tiny slip of paper contained "expedients" for every possible effect—thirty-five in total.

Along with knowledge of those thirty-five effects, an overwhelming amount of information on the talisman's language poured in.

"Ugh..!"

My head throbbed from the massive influx of data, so I quickly looked away from the talisman.

With my Intelligence stat at a whopping 50, the fact that it still hurt meant this was no ordinary item.

"Who the hell made this?"

It was infused with such precise, intricate technique and wisdom that it went beyond typical shamans' commonplace talismans.

Just understanding and reading the script wouldn't let me replicate it exactly.

'Still, I could mimic a few characters.'

Out of the thirty-five effects embedded in the talisman, I figured I could replicate about three.

Thanks to Ancient Text Deciphering, I'd fully comprehended three long-lost dead languages. Overlaying them onto modern hanja should produce similar effects.

'Seal, Bind, Open seem appropriate.'

They could seal something away, draw lines to form barriers, or unlock sealed things.

I could use the Nameless Talismans as-is, and the extracted Seal, Bind, and Open as standalone characters or pre-written on paper.

Having gained spells for sealing, barriers, and unlocking meant this single talisman had effectively taught me three new incantations.

'Next up, the challenge?'

There had definitely been one cleared alongside the quest.

Apparently, simply escaping the Cursed Mountain Lodge alive was an achievement in itself.

Given its extremely low survival rate, yeah, making it out alive was indeed noteworthy.

I examined the tattered journal that appeared on my desk.

This was my first challenge achievement since hitting 90+ affinity with the White-Faced Bride, so I was a bit excited about the reward quality.

Back then, it had been the Token of Pure Love.

That was a crucial item tied to the White-Faced Bride. What could this tattered journal be?

This was like a back-world strategy guide.

Open it when trapped somewhere or unsure of the way out for hints.

In other words, like how I figured out the escape from Woo-hyeon Monk's memo in the Cursed Mountain Lodge, it's for hintless situations or spaces.

Scored a great item.

True to a challenge reward, it looks incredibly useful.

"Worth all the hard work."

Nameless Talismans, Seal/Bind/Open incantations, and the Tattered Journal—a solid haul.

The three months wandering the estate paid off. Rewards are reliable.

-You look happy, dear husband..

"Do I? Sowol, since we're both in a good mood, want some hangwa?"

-Yes!

Sowol worked hard this time too.

She toiled alongside me in the Cursed Mountain Lodge, so we should share some Lotus Sect Handmade Hangwa and relax.

My legs ached from all the walking inside the estate, so I started preparing to unwind comfortably.

Knock knock knock.

Someone visited the office.

"...."

"Hello. Um.. long time no see.."

Standing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the office entrance was none other than Inquisitor Joanna.

You know, Shin Seo-hyeon the nun who once suspected me of being the Antichrist, showed up, and got fleeced for cash.

"Um, well.. I have a commission. I need some help..."

Mountains beyond mountains, indeed.

This Fixer Office never runs out of work.

Actually, great. Sorry, Sowol, but tea time's on hold.

"If it's a commission, you're welcome. Come on in."

I smiled and ushered Sister Shin Seo-hyeon inside.

Hey, it's all money—I can't just turn her away.

Let's hear what it's about.