Chapter 238
Chapter 238
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: The Blood Oath
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“……What the hell are you saying? You think we’d accept such an absurd condition?”
Bert glared at me with murderous eyes as she spoke.
Meeting her gaze made it hard to breathe.
It felt like the intense mana radiating from her body was choking my throat.
But I didn’t cower or feel afraid.
The Hero’s Valor was filling me with courage.
“If you don’t like it, oh well.”
I strongly drew up the mana in my hand.
……Right as I was about to infuse it into the crystal I held.
“Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Stop! Stop it!”
Jaun’s group shouted desperately.
I released the power from my hand
and smiled inwardly.
The reaction I expected.
What I was doing wasn’t a life-or-death gamble.
Having read the original story, I knew.
They absolutely couldn’t refuse my proposal.
Jaun was a religious organization worshiping the god Jin Cheon-woo.
They were the type who’d sacrifice their lives without hesitation if it meant getting closer to their god.
And the Demon of Observation’s future prophecy was essential for meeting their god, so I knew they wouldn’t throw it away over pointless pride.
“……Fine, we accept your condition. But we have one too. Contracts are supposed to consider both sides’ opinions, right?”
At Bert’s words, I nodded as if to say go ahead.
“The moment we judge this to be even slightly threatening to us, we can break the oath.”
“That won’t work. And it’s too vague.”
“We can kill anyone who seems like they’d interfere with our plans.”
“The scope is too broad. Narrow it down clearly.”
“……We can exclude anyone directly interfering with our plans from the above condition.”
This wasn’t bad. At least I’d be safe until I directly harmed them.
My life was guaranteed.
Of course, their wording slyly allowed them to target ‘Lee Seo-jun’ for their plans, but I had no intention of correcting that.
They wouldn’t agree even if I asked.
“Fine. And promise you won’t touch my other allies not present here. Also, I know you’ll return Daria’s sister safely?”
At my words, Daria looked at me, then turned her gaze to Jaun.
Bert stared blankly at Daria
before nodding.
“Deal. We’ll send your sister back safely by today. Per the oath’s conditions, we won’t harm her in any way going forward. Same for my allies not here.”
“Good. First condition established. Now the second.”
At my words, Bert narrowed her eyes again.
Her pupils trembled with suspicion and anger as she looked at me.
“I want the Mystery Rental Ticket you have.”
It was an unexpected condition—even Lee Seo-jun beside me looked at me in surprise.
Bert blinked in bewilderment too.
Unable to stand it, Baek Eunsung stepped forward.
“Hey! You’re asking to rent a Mystery? Are you kidding? …No, seriously, ease up on that grip?”
Baek Eunsung raised both hands to calm me. It was pretty funny.
For the famously prideful Jaun to show such a humiliating sight.
A rare scene you’d never see in a lifetime.
Even in front of Chairman Kim Jin-cheol, they wouldn’t act like this.
“I’m not asking for it for free. It’s a rental, just like it says. Rental period: one day.”
“What do you plan to use it for?”
The Mystery I wanted to rent was the ‘Mana Core.’
Using this infinitely mana-rich Mystery, I planned to supply the mana needed for the causality ability, ‘Dimensional Observation.’
“Can’t tell you. Personal matter.”
“……You. Don’t push it.”
Bert ground her teeth, displeased with my answer.
I smiled at her as if to say calm down.
“I’ll give you a firm answer on this: I won’t use it to harm you.”
“Then swear a blood oath too. One to return the rented Mystery, and one not to use it against us.”
“Fine. I’ll do that. But the blood oath happens on the day of the rental.”
“Alright, then what’s the final third condition?”
Truthfully, I hadn’t thought of a third condition.
So I came up with one on the spot.
“Third is a Wish Ticket.”
“……A Wish Ticket?”
“Yeah, grant one request of mine. Simple, right?”
My condition was so ridiculous that Baek Eunsung and Natasha beside Bert let out hollow laughs.
“Hey. What’s this guy even saying?”
“Know your place.”
The mood soured.
Did I go too far?
They looked ready to blow up the crystal—and my head—so I hurriedly corrected.
“I won’t ask for anything unreasonable. Just something within what you can grant. Obviously, nothing harmful to you.”
“Scope’s too broad.”
“The scope is up to your conscience.”
I said that, but the ‘conscience’ in a blood oath held pretty broad and strong power.
No, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say it covered a wider range than more specific conditions.
If they did anything even slightly against their conscience, they’d lose their life for breaching the contract that instant.
“……Fine. Whether we can grant your wish is up to our ‘conscience.’”
But Jaun seemed confident in the ‘conscience’ condition too.
They accepted surprisingly readily.
Thus, all ‘oath conditions’ were established. A satisfactory result.
Worth the risk.
“……Then let’s proceed with the contract.”
Jaun’s entire group swung their hands through the air.
Golden mana floated up, and they used it to lightly slice their wrists.
Blood beaded on their wrists. But their expressions showed no pain whatsoever.
“With the above conditions, we swear the blood oath.”
Woooong!
Soon, the blood on their wrists transformed into a red ritual formula.
The formula etched long into their left wrists.
I read the contents of the formula on their wrists.
All the conditions we’d discussed were properly inscribed. Proof that a fully effective ‘blood oath’ was complete.
Moments later, the formula on their left wrists glowed and vanished.
Bert looked down at her left wrist, then raised her right one to show me.
The hidden formula on her right wrist surfaced.
“This formula on the right was made for us long ago by ‘Him.’”
I stared at it blankly. The conditions within the formula came into view.
Do not betray Jaun.
Do not harm Jaun.
Obey Jin Cheon-woo, follow Jin Cheon-woo.
“And here, on the left wrist, your formula is etched. It’s the first oath we’ve inscribed since Him. Kim Sun-woo. Consider it an honor to have your formula on my body alongside His.”
I didn’t bother replying.
Bert extended her hand to me.
“Now hand over the key.”
The contract was done. Safety guaranteed, so no issue handing it over.
Right as I stepped toward Bert.
“Kim Sun-woo.”
Lee Seo-jun’s voice came from behind. I stopped and turned to him.
He seemed worried about me going to them.
“It’s fine. The blood oath ensures safety now.”
Lee Seo-jun stared at me before nodding.
“……Yeah. Go ahead.”
I gave a light smile and walked toward Jaun again.
Soon, I reached them.
All of Jaun’s gazes turned to me.
Knowing they couldn’t harm me, I met their eyes calmly.
I handed the crystal to Bert, and she said to me,
“Kim Sun-woo.”
“Want to join Jaun?”
The unexpected offer startled me slightly.
……Join Jaun?
I looked up into Bert’s eyes.
She met my gaze with relaxed confidence.
“I really like you. What do you say?”
“……Sorry, but I’m not into terrorism.”
“Think it over. This chance won’t come again. It’s now or never to join our great journey.”
Bert chuckled.
“To you, we might look like terrorists disrupting the world, but what we do is a noble sacrifice for the world.”
“Terrorists always say that.”
Hit a nerve—Baek Eunsung and Ska watching from behind snickered.
I turned and walked back toward where Lee Seo-jun stood.
Then a voice came from behind.
“Kim Sun-woo, someday I’ll kill you with my own hands.”
Ignoring it, I returned to Lee Seo-jun.
“Kim Sun-woo. You okay?”
“Yeah, no need to worry now. It’ll be fine.”
Lee Seo-jun gave me an odd look.
I smiled faintly and turned back to Bert.
Bert was talking with her comrades.
Then, briefly, she took out the [Mana Core] from her bosom.
All preparations complete—she was about to attempt ‘future observation.’
Intense light poured from the Mana Core.
Incredibly potent mana
began filling the ‘Ego Crystal.’
Paaaaang—
At the same time, a powerful mana wave spread out in a circular form.
The mana wave swept through the surroundings, soon engulfing us.
“Urk!”
The mana aura was so intense it choked the breath.
Like being attacked by mana itself, the tangible wave shoved my body back hard.
Daria couldn’t withstand the mana wave and collapsed unconscious.
Lee Seo-jun was the same, gritting his teeth and dropping to one knee against the wave.
I too felt pain from the overloaded mana surging through my body, my breath catching.
Like force-feeding food to a full stomach?
In the original, Lee Seo-jun used his ‘genius’ trait to assimilate this mana and grow,
but without that, for me it was just agonizing torment.
Then the space where Bert stood distorted.
“……Is it starting?”
Seeing that, I recalled the future I’d seen in the Apostle of Observation’s room via the formula.
That is, this exact moment.
Space twisting as Bert vanishes.
And about 10 seconds later, space twists again as she returns, saying:
—I saw the future.
—‘He’ has returned.
In the original, Lee Seo-jun heard that and lost control of the rampaging mana in his body, blacking out.
I don’t know what conversation followed.
That was when.
Woooong!
Just like in the original, Bert’s body distorted with space and vanished.
She’d moved to another world briefly to observe the future.
The mana wave continued unabated.
And about 10 seconds passed.
As in the future I saw, the space where Bert vanished distorted again.
Bert, having observed the future, returned.
Swoooo...
Her hair fluttered long in the mana wave upon return.
With dazed eyes, she looked at the crystal atop her hand.
At that moment, a crack formed in the Ego Crystal
and it shattered completely.
Fragments of the crystal scattered beautifully through the air.
It differed slightly from the formula’s future.
In the formula, Bert immediately shared what she’d seen.
“Bert, what did you see?”
Natasha asked.
Bert stared at the crystal that had vanished from her hand entirely before speaking.
“Nothing.”
At once, Jaun’s entire group jolted in shock.
“That means……”
“Yeah. ‘He’ succeeded.”