Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Invitation
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Isabelle tried to pry into Lee Si-woo's identity with a barrage of questions, but when he suggested they meet in the audience hall next time, she quietly let him go.
She seemed to want to press him further, but given his connection to the Faceless Lord, she appeared to be taking a more cautious approach.
As soon as he parted ways with her, Lee Si-woo found a quiet motel and went inside.
Their conversation had been tiring, and besides, he had gained a lot and wanted to access Barathrum.
Upon entering Barathrum, Lee Si-woo was welcomed by the white squirrel, Bbi-bbi, as soon as he arrived in the village.
Bbi-i! Bbi-bbi-bbi!
Seeing Bbi-bbi dash over and rub its body against his shoe brought a smile to his face.
Thinking this must be why people on Earth kept pets, Lee Si-woo placed Bbi-bbi on his shoulder and stroked its head with his index finger.
Bbi-bbi-bbi-bbi!
As Lee Si-woo was captivated by the creature's cute display, its tail spinning like a propeller in excitement, the Butler suddenly appeared and bowed.
“Welcome, my Lord. My apologies. I was delayed by a task and was unable to greet you sooner.”
Bbi-bbi~bbi!
Bbi-bbi brushed Lee Si-woo's cheek with its tail before scurrying off somewhere. It seemed to be giving them space to discuss business.
A clever little thing.
Lee Si-woo flicked a bit of Bbi-bbi's fur from his cheek with his index finger and spoke.
“No need for apologies. I’m well aware of how busy you are, Butler. Ah, more importantly, what is Harman doing? I doubt he's taking the news that he was deceived lying down.”
“He was causing such a severe disturbance that I had to suppress him myself. It seems his education will take quite some time.”
“Is there any need for you to go to such trouble, Butler? Bring him here. I'll meet with him myself.”
“…I am loath to burden you, my Lord, but that would indeed be more efficient.”
When the young Butler clapped his hands lightly, Harman appeared beside him, his entire body bound.
He was gagged and couldn't speak, but his glaring eyes made it clear he was beyond furious.
The Butler said in a calm tone.
“As expected of a man forged in battle, he is not as easy to discipline as the bird-folk mage. Despite having been killed by me over twenty times since his arrival, his spirit remains unbroken.”
“Twenty times? He’s died quite a lot already. Heh, and still he won’t yield? Truly, a stubborn old man.”
“It is a cause for celebration. It means he is a man of great talent, and for a Lord who lacks subordinates, he will be like rain in a drought.”
“Well, that’s true. Butler, would you please remove his gag and bindings?”
At Lee Si-woo's request, the Butler clapped, and Harman's gag and bindings came undone.
Freed, Harman spat a wad of phlegm at Lee Si-woo.
Unfortunately for him, the phlegm defied the laws of inertia, swerved mid-air, and stuck right to the bridge of Harman's nose.
Lee Si-woo had grown quite accustomed to wielding his power within Barathrum.
Wiping the phlegm from his nose with the back of his hand, Harman growled.
“Lee Si-woo, what is this place, and why am I here? This isn’t what we agreed upon. You said you’d spare me!”
“And I did spare you, as promised.”
“Do you take me for a fool? This isn’t reality, it’s some kind of cyberspace, isn’t it? Or a virtual reality? That must be why you can kill and revive me at will! Hmph, do you think I’ll submit to such petty tricks? Not a chance!”
He was completely off the mark, unfortunately, but Lee Si-woo felt no need to correct him.
“What does it matter either way? The important thing is that you are now in the palm of my hand.”
“Nonsense, Lee Si-woo. I don't know what you've done to me… but… what is this? You… what are you? This… what is this? It can't be.”
When he first saw Lee Si-woo, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
He still looked insignificant and weak.
But the longer they were together, the more they spoke, something changed.
It was impossible to explain exactly what had changed.
He just… knew.
That Lee Si-woo was a being completely different from himself.
Harman spoke, his voice as dry and cracked as drought-stricken earth.
“…I have seen a god.”
Lee Si-woo tilted his head and asked,
“And?”
Lee Si-woo's voice thundered through Harman's mind.
The voice shattered his very soul, and Harman screamed, covering his ears.
Trembling like an epileptic and rolling on the floor, Harman curled into a fetal position and spoke.
“Different. This isn't a matter of who is superior. It’s completely different. No, it's wrong. Wrong. Yes, they were wrong. What… what are you? Are you a god? No, not even a god. I’ve seen a god. This is different. No, it’s wrong.”
Muttering to himself like a madman whose reason had been paralyzed, Harman lifted his head to look up at Lee Si-woo.
By then, blood was trickling from the corners of his eyes.
“What are you? I, who have seen a god and served a summoner, can tell. You are not just different from them, you are wrong. Yes, you are the wrong answer. That's right. It has to be.”
Having said that much, Harman wiped his face with both hands.
The bloody tears smeared by his palms left brush-like strokes on his face.
The sight of him blinded me, the sound of his voice deafened me.
Harman was a 4th Circle Master and a summoner's direct subordinate mage; he was a step closer to the essence of this world than any ordinary person.
That was why he could tell.
That the being before him stood outside the established order.
Lee Si-woo spoke to Harman, who lay wretchedly prostrate at his feet.
“At this point, I don’t know either. I don't know who I am, or why I came to this world with this Soul Treasure. But there is one thing I do know.”
Lee Si-woo lightly rubbed his thumb and index finger together. Harman’s bloody tears stopped, and his vacant eyes regained their focus.
Looking down at Harman, who had recovered in the blink of an eye, Lee Si-woo continued.
“That sometimes, certain things cannot be coincidence. So there must be a reason why I obtained Barathrum and came to this world.”
Lee Si-woo knelt on one knee, gently cupped the back of Harman's head, and looked him straight in the eyes.
“So I want you to help me find that reason, Harman.”
The voice that had been like thunder now seeped into Harman's heart, as gentle as the spring sunlight that melts the snow.
His mind was a tangled mess.
He was so confused he couldn't tell truth from falsehood.
But the more chaotic his thoughts became, the clearer one fact emerged.
That he must not, could not, defy this voice.
Overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of awe, clear tears streamed down Harman's cheeks.
Harman prostrated himself flat on the floor like a subject greeting his king and declared,
“I will do so gladly.”
The old stalwart, as steadfast as a pine tree that had weathered countless storms.
The old monster, born of sinewy stubbornness, ego, and desire.
Just a day ago, Lee Si-woo had lost sleep over this man.
But what about now?
The back of the old man sobbing at his feet looked not just pathetic, but utterly fragile.
Was that why?
Lee Si-woo felt a sense of unease.
Because he was certain there had to be a reason he was given such immense power and opportunity.
* * *
Back in the Castle's audience hall, the Butler spoke at Lee Si-woo's side.
“Congratulations on acquiring Harman. And frankly, I am surprised. I had faith in you, my Lord, but I did not expect you to achieve something so great it could only be called a monumental feat.”
“You flatter me.”
“Which is why I must correct what I said before. I previously assured you that no new core facilities would be built for the time being… but that may change depending on your choice, my Lord.”
“Depending on my choice?”
“Yes. The energy of a 4th Circle Master is immense enough to upgrade two tiers, allowing Barathrum to ascend to a whole new level… but you have another option, my Lord. ‘Invitation.’”
“So depending on my choice, the energy will be focused on either upgrading or inviting.”
“Correct. It is more efficient than splitting it.”
“Hmm, this is quite the dilemma.”
“You must be prudent. To be blunt, devouring Harman was only possible because luck was on your side.”
“Blunt? It’s the plain truth. That’s right; it was hardly my own ability. Hmm, anyway, what you’re saying is that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I should use it wisely.”
“Yes, precisely.”
“Alright. Let’s weigh the options. If I can upgrade two tiers with this energy, what kind of core facilities would I get?”
“My apologies. The only advance information Barathrum has permitted me concerns the Castle and the Sky Corridor. The rest cannot be known until the facilities are constructed.”
“You don’t know? Tsk, that complicates things… Hmm, what if I choose invitation? How many people can I invite?”
“There are currently three individuals with whom you have formed a bond. You can invite and contract all of them.”
“Three of them?”
“It is a testament to the sheer amount of energy a 4th Circle Master possesses.”
“May I see the list?”
As if he had been waiting, the Butler took out three cards and handed them to Lee Si-woo.
「Deposed Prince」 ★★★★★☆☆☆
Race: Orc
A forsaken prince, a wandering explorer.
A sailboat drifting on the great sea, waiting for the wind.
A coward who feigns having lost his dream, holding back his choice.
The easiest to obtain, yet the hardest to handle.
To obtain him, pay with courage.
「Plunderer」 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Race: Human
A wealthy pauper, a thief who steals so as not to lose.
One who came from another place, yet works for this one.
A killer who slays to protect, a demon who slays for change.
A riderless wild horse, galloping toward death.
To obtain this one, pay with hope.
「Glutton」 ★★★★★★☆☆☆
Race: Dragon
A waddling fatty, a glutton obsessed with food.
A lazy and slothful being, one who lives to eat.
A good-natured soul who laughs even when precious things are taken, a disaster who flies into a rage if you take their candy.
The dumbest, yet wisest dragon.
To obtain it, pay with delicious food.
After examining all three cards, Lee Si-woo scratched his forehead.
“How should I put this… all three of them feel like trap cards.”
“Will you pivot to upgrading, then?”
Lee Si-woo shook his head.
“No. I think it's still better to go with the invitations.”
“Is there a particular reason you choose the invitations?”
“No matter what core facility I get from this upgrade, I don’t think I’ll become strong enough overnight to face the likes of Isabelle, Kenyon, or Harman on my own. Am I right?”
“It is difficult to say for certain, but that is likely the case. You are indeed developing faster than anyone, my Lord, but the penalty for your late start is considerable.”
“Connections, on the other hand, are different. Depending on how I manage and utilize them, they can be of great help to me right now. Just like how I used the noble lady to defeat Harman.”
“So you would rather invest in the future than take a small, immediate gain.”
“Yes, that’s right. So please proceed with the invitations. Ah, and there’s one other problem.”
“A problem, you say?”
Lee Si-woo activated his inventory ring, and the Omazzi grimoire materialized on the wooden table.
Lee Si-woo spoke, his tone clearly troubled.
“I’ve tried reading the grimoire… but I can’t understand a single thing. Mana patterns, formulas… Ugh, no matter how I look at it, I can’t make heads or tails of it. Phew, it’s on a completely different level of difficulty from Magic Arrow and Mana Shield, which were so intuitive.”
It was only natural.
The discipline of magic itself was an advanced field of study permitted only to a select few geniuses.
Lee Si-woo, on the other hand, while clever, was only exceptional compared to the average person. He could hardly be called a genius.
Of course, Lee Si-woo had his own genius-like qualities, such as his incredibly sharp intuition and ability to improvise.
It was simply in a different field.
The Butler spoke nonchalantly, as if it were nothing to worry about.
“Sometimes, my Lord, you have a tendency to overthink things. Do not forget, you are not the one who performs the task, but the one who commands it. So, why not simply delegate the difficult parts to your underlings?”
“Delegate… Ah, of course! I didn't think of the Library. I can apply that concept.”
“Yes, precisely. For someone with Harman’s brilliant mind and abilities, deciphering and mastering 2nd Circle magic is a simple task. Then, once you acquire his knowledge of Omazzi from the Library after he has fully mastered it, will it not become entirely yours?”
Lee Si-woo’s face brightened for a moment, but then he remembered that this didn’t solve everything, and his expression soured.
“That’s true, but… the fundamental problem remains unsolved. First, there's the limited capacity of my brain. Second, even if I know the formulas and the answers, calculating the mana pattern formulas and deriving the solutions based on the situation is not easy for my brain.”
“Time will solve that issue. There are races with traits that amplify brain function. Though your grade is not yet high enough to acquire one immediately… with a little more effort, my Lord, you will possess a mind that surpasses that of other mages—no, even greater.”
Lee Si-woo smiled in satisfaction. He was pleased with the young Butler's solution.
“Such a race exists? It seems I was worrying for nothing. Thank you. I am in your debt once again, Butler.”
“It is an honor to have been of some small assistance to you, my Lord.”
Just then, the white squirrel Bbi-bbi appeared in the center of the audience hall with a *pop*, excitedly turning several somersaults in the air.
Then it began to thrust its adorable little paws forward, making *yap yap* sounds, and the Butler watched its gestures and nodded as if he understood.
Strangely, they seemed to be communicating.
When Bbi-bbi finished its body language, the Butler spoke.
“My Lord, I have some good news.”
“Good news?”
“You may look forward to it. Harman, moved by your grace, has already accomplished something major right after starting his work. As expected of a 4th Circle Master. To achieve in less than ten minutes what all the other underlings couldn't do even when they worked together.”
“In ten minutes? I don’t know what it is, but that’s incredible.”
“It would be better for you to see it for yourself rather than hearing it from me. It would also be a good opportunity to encourage Harman, who has achieved so much so soon after his arrival.”
Lee Si-woo smiled brightly.
“It would be rude not to go, especially with you recommending it so highly. Alright, let’s go.”