Chapter 304
Chapter 304
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 305
Chapter Title: Death
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Death.
Death, demise, end.
I couldn’t know the exact interpretation contained in this card, but since I knew the meaning of that English word, a negative feeling hit me first.
“A fun card has come up.”
The goblin with its eyes covered by a black cloth looked down at the card and said.
Then Lee Seo-jun asked with a hardened face.
“…What does this card mean?”
“It means death literally. It means there’s a high chance a crisis of death will occur five or six months from now, as I mentioned earlier.”
At those words, Choi Seo-yoon furrowed her brow.
“Isn’t this just like tarot cards? I’ve done it before, so I know, but it feels like you’re interpreting based on just one card.”
“This is different from that. The interpretation method is different, and as I said earlier, these cards contain special power.”
The goblin turned its head toward me.
A strange gaze felt from between the black cloth covering its two eyes, giving me an odd sensation.
As if it were piercing right through my inner thoughts.
“To be honest, with anyone else, I would check a few more cards… but this is a special case, so I can judge with just one.”
“A special case? What kind of special case?”
Choi Seo-yoon shot back.
“There are such cases. I can’t explain them to you.”
“…What the hell.”
Choi Seo-yoon looked back at me.
“Sunbae-nim, looks like I dragged you here for nothing. Don’t mind this stuff. Let’s go.”
Choi Seo-yoon, who seemed somewhat angry, tried to get up from her seat. At that moment, I grabbed her hand and made her sit back down.
“Wait.”
“Sunbae-nim.”
I calmly asked the goblin.
“Is it true that this card reads the flow of causality?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
“Then what’s the probability?”
“It varies from person to person. Under the laws of the world, each person accumulates different causality. Normally, it’s less than 40% probability.”
The goblin stared straight at me and opened its mouth again.
“But you right now have an astonishing amount of causality accumulated.
Several times more than others. And the fact that you’ve accumulated this much causality probably…”
The goblin, mumbling, glanced at Choi Seo-yoon and Lee Seo-jun and shut its mouth. Sensing something suspicious from those words, the two wore puzzled expressions.
“To put it simply so you understand, the probability is quite high by your standards. My guess is probably over 90%.”
“......90%?”
This time, Lee Seo-jun repeated the question.
“Yes. But don’t worry too much.
This card doesn’t necessarily mean death. The Death card can also signify failure, great change, this star… or a new beginning after conclusion.”
The goblin smiled at me.
“I don’t know which of these will happen in your future. You might part with someone precious, or undergo a great life change you’ve never experienced before. Or perhaps this star and change could signify your death. Heh heh.”
As the goblin chuckled lowly, Lee Seo-jun let out a sigh.
“…Forget it. It’s just ruining the mood. Let’s go.”
This time, Lee Seo-jun got up from his seat. Choi Seo-yoon also jumped up following him.
“Sunbae-nim, let’s go.”
It seemed both were quite pissed.
Seeing them react like that because of my fortune made me a bit touched.
Involuntarily swept up in the mood, I also got up from my seat unable to help it.
Pretending to leave together, I said to the two.
“Wait. You guys go ahead.”
“Huh?”
Lee Seo-jun turned to look at me.
“I have something to ask. I’ll be quick.”
“Then let’s go together.”
“No, it’s something personal I want to ask. Go ahead.”
At my words, Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon stared at me blankly before nodding.
“......Okay.”
With that, Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon went outside. Left alone, I turned back to the goblin.
Seeing me return, the goblin said.
“You came back. More to talk about?”
“Hey. What the hell are you?”
I shot at it bluntly with informal speech.
The space of the tower is a kind of dungeon, a reality that’s not a virtual world.
In other words, the majority of living beings residing in the tower
are real living creatures, not NPCs.
And the goblin in front of me was also a real living goblin.
But this guy knows too much for a goblin.
The meaning of causality is an area even humans don’t understand.
“Heh heh. I figured you’d be curious about that.”
The goblin chuckled lowly once more.
“Cut it. What are you? How do you know about causality?”
“......My identity? Very well.
I’ll tell you. I am an Eye Opener.”
“Eye Opener?”
The goblin removed the black cloth covering its eyes.
At the same time, I was startled.
The goblin’s two eyes were a deep black like the universe itself. And I sensed an aura similar to mystery from those two eyes.
“Eye Opening. In human language, it’s called a trait. I have the power to read the flow of causality. No matter what demon it was, it’s a curse bestowed only on a tiny few existences along with the trait of prophecy.”
“Why call it a curse?”
“Because you end up knowing secrets of the world you didn’t want to know.”
“Secrets of the world you didn’t want to know?”
“Things like the laws of the world. I think you already know without explanation.”
Since I vaguely knew what the goblin meant to say, I quietly nodded.
From the conversation, it seemed this guy really had a special ability.
“......So that means something really will happen to me five or six months from now?”
Muttering gravely to myself, the goblin nodded.
“Yes. Causality… no, the flow of unavoidable fate is concentrating on you. The point where it explodes is probably the five or six months you mentioned.”
Then it spoke again in a firm voice.
“Be careful. In the near future, a great change unlike anything you’ve experienced will come to you.”
At the same time, a message appeared before my eyes.
[The change in the future has been detected.]
[Causality increases by 1.5.]
After the conversation with the goblin, I went outside.
The heavy summer night air felt thick. Lee Seo-jun and Choi
Seo-yoon, waiting outside, turned to look at me.
“What did you talk about in there?”
“Whether it’s believable or not. That kind of thing.”
Shrugging nonchalantly as I spoke, Lee Seo-jun said.
“You said earlier you don’t believe in fortunes… guess it got to you anyway.”
“Who wouldn’t care if someone said to your face that you’re gonna die?”
“......True. But don’t overthink it. It’s just a fortune.”
“Yeah. No fortune in the world gets judged by one card.”
Since they didn’t know concepts like the laws of the world, they saw it as just a simple fortune.
Seeing our contrasting attitudes before the fortune, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Burying the uncomfortable doubt deep in my chest, I flashed them a light reassuring smile.
“I’m not worried.”
“Good, but…”
“Hey, kids~ Ah! Found you.”
A familiar voice came from behind.
Turning around, Yoon Ha-young, Yoo Ah-ra, and Shin Young-jun holding skewers in their hands were approaching us.
And Black was with them.
“Here, eat this. I bought some for you guys too.”
Yoon Ha-young took skewers out of the bag and handed them to us. Vegetables and meat. Coated with sweet-smelling sauce.
She wasted essence shards on this.
“Wow. Looks tasty. Thanks.”
Lee Seo-jun, receiving the skewer, turned his gaze to Black.
“But Black’s here too. You disappeared midway, where’d you go?”
[Oh, I had some business. Should I say I went to see my main body?]
“Main body?”
[I’m like an avatar or incarnation of this ‘Will of the Tower,’ you see. I have to do things like situation reports.]
“......Ah.”
Lee Seo-jun nodded. Then Choi Seo-yoon asked.
“But were you looking for us?”
At Lee Seo-jun’s question, Yoon Ha-young nodded.
“Yeah, Black said we have to get up early tomorrow. We kept wandering because we couldn’t see you. Where the hell were you?”
At that moment, Black looked at the building next to it and said.
[Did you perhaps go to the goblin fortune-telling?]
“......Yeah. Right.”
Then Black’s eyes narrowed into creepy half-moons.
[Wow~ How did you know goblin fortune-telling is actually this village’s hidden gem~ That place is super accurate. Probably better than any fortune house in the human world?]
“Accurate my ass…”
Choi Seo-yoon muttered under her breath. Not hearing that, Yoon Ha-young reacted.
“Accurate? Then let’s go see ours too!”
Yoon Ha-young turned her head and shouted to Yoo Ah-ra and Shin Young-jun. Then Yoo Ah-ra shook her head seriously.
“No way. I don’t believe in that stuff.”
“Come on~ Don’t be like that.”
“I said I don’t believe.”
Somehow it felt like watching Choi Seo-yoon and my conversation from earlier.
Then Black turned its gaze toward me.
[So what did the goblin fortune-telling say to you?]
At the same time, everyone’s gazes turned to me. I met their gazes calmly and shook my head.
“You don’t need to know.”
[Come on, tell us~]
Black floated around me dizzyingly in circles.
“Fine, what’s the big deal. What’d it say?”
Yoon Ha-young asked with sparkling eyes. Afraid she’d keep asking endlessly, I had no choice but to say.
“It said I die five or six months from now.”
“......What?”
Suddenly the atmosphere turned icy.
Yoon Ha-young furrowed her brow and sharply turned her gaze to Black.
“Accurate? What accurate. Total scam.”
She wouldn’t even look at Black this morning saying it looked scary, but now she’s glaring properly.
Such a strong reaction left even me a bit flustered.
Then a small tentacle-like hand extended from Black and scratched above its head.
[Heh heh… it is accurate, but
looks like you got a bad fortune.]
Then its eyes narrowed into half-moons once more.
[But it said death? …This is interesting. Kekeke.]
Two days had passed since entering the tower.
In that time, we’d gone through quite a lot. We cleared various stages and collected essence shards, the tower’s currency.
We also arrived at the mid-village and enjoyed touristy things fitting its reputation as a sightseeing tower, like watching fantastic fireworks or riding rides at ‘Dream Land,’ a massive amusement park like Disneyland.
Luxurious meals were a bonus.
In the process, the essence shards I’d collected had surpassed 100.
[Tower of Four Seasons 18th Floor 6th Stage, ‘Summer’s Conclusion’ cleared!]
[You have cleared the 18th floor entirely, so the stairs to the 19th floor open!]
[As reward, 50 essence shards are given!]
[The team leader ‘Kim Sun-woo’ receives an additional 30 essence shards!]
“......Whew. Finally the 19th floor.”
Lee Seo-jun said after pulling the sword embedded in the body of the 18th floor boss, the Summer Guardian clad in iron armor.
We succeeded in clearing it through everyone’s combined assault.
Its raw power wasn’t that strong, but its patterns were tricky, eating up quite a bit of time.
Fortunately, the Summer Guardian was a guy that appeared in the original Tower of Four Seasons episode, so we could easily grasp the patterns and clear it.
“Wow. But it gave 50 essence shards this time.”
“Yeah. Seo-jun, how many do you have now?”
At Yoon Ha-young’s question, Lee Seo-jun checked his essence pouch and answered.
“I have 134.”
“Really? I have 107.”
“I have 112. They give extras for MVP or other contributions in between, so that’s why the difference.”
“......Hmm. Still a big gap. I even saved on purpose.”
Then Yoo Ah-ra sighed.
“Saved what. I told you not to buy food at Dream Land.”
“......I only had two hot dogs. Even that’s just 4 essence shards.”
At their words, I casually checked my own essence pouch.
Hmm. Feels heavier than expected.
Counting, it was 186.
[The 18th floor special shop opens!]
At the same time, the Will of the Tower’s voice.
A special time only available in the Tower of Four Seasons had arrived.
And in the center of the white space, something rumbled up.
There was a huge display board, with various items exhibited in front of it.
“Oh? Shop! Let’s go check it out quick!”
We moved to the special shop.
“Hmm. More stuff for sale than I thought.”
“Yeah. Price tags and performance charts below too. What to buy?”
“Kids, don’t spend essence shards recklessly. Might need them on the 19th floor too.”
At Yoon Ha-young’s words, I shook my head.
“It’s fine. My hunch says saving here might screw us.”
If my memory’s right, moving to the next floor doesn’t suddenly increase places to spend essence shards.
Better to spend them in advance on opportunities like this.
Of course, it might differ slightly from the original flow, but better than regretting.
Yoon Ha-young pondered my words briefly before nodding and saying to everyone.
“Sun-woo says so. Then let’s spend freely!”
“......I didn’t say spend freely.”
Anyway, we each started shopping.
Looking around, I saw a few items from the original.
[Spring Cloak (A)]
[Grasp of the Endless Winter (B)]
[Autumn Rain (C)]
[Summer’s Wrath (C)]
“Hmm……”
More than expected. Lots of innovative items too.
Then a few items caught my eye.
［Magic Enchant Scroll: Guardian of Winter (S)］
［Price: 180 essence shards］
What. There’s S-rank too?