Chapter 78: Request (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: Request (2)
"Do you know what is going to happen in the near future, too?" I asked the shaman.
"No, I can't see anything like that. However, be wary of those who harbor resentment toward you at any time, anywhere. Your destiny attracts gatherings of such people."
"Easier."
"If you can fix their pain, that would be a blessing, and if you can't resolve it, it will become an issue."
Did he not know what "easier" meant?
"I'm hungry, so you can leave now."
"I will."
After the shaman ordered me to leave, I exited the tent. Then, with a body that had been utterly drained of energy, I trudged toward the city. As I was walking, however, energy slowly returned to me.
Is it because of the Spirit Imprint?
In the first stage of the Immortality Imprint, your natural healing factor increased, and in the second stage, endurance and mana resistance increased. Mana resistance was literally resistance to magic spells, and endurance affected your maximum stamina and regeneration speed. In other words, unlike physical stats such as strength and agility, these weren't values that stood out.
Not bad.
However, if you didn't dedicate time to supporting these boosts, too, your character would not be able to function properly later. Not only that, but in order to unlock the six-step imprint, which was the core of my training method, I needed to slowly build it up starting now.
The imprint is already quite useful on its own from the third phase onward.
Originally, I had planned to go straight through to phase three, but I left that for tomorrow. So, since I had some time today—
"Bjorn!" As I was reevaluating my plans for the day, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere nearby, a call that sounded like a whisper. I wondered for a moment if I'd heard wrong, but... "Bjorn!" As soon as I looked in the direction the sound was coming from, a face popped out of a rustling bush.
"...Ainar?"
"Be quiet! If I get caught, I'll be in big trouble!"
At Ainar's urgent request, I squatted down in front of the bushes and lowered my voice. "...Why are you here?"
"I heard from the elder that you had come to the Holy Land, so I came to visit. You have to cross this road to get to the city, right?"
Hmm, I see. But did you know when I would be passing by?
"I'm glad you came early, though. My legs were getting numb!" I guess she had been planning on waiting here until I did. Very Ainar-like. "Anyway, we don't know who will walk by, so get in."
Not only was she a welcome sight, but I was curious about how things were going for her, so I walked over to the thick bush and squatted inside. Only then did I get a proper look at Ainar's body. "Why are you so skinny?" I asked with genuine concern.
Due to the essence of the Bone Knight, her height had decreased to around 5'7". Back then, she hadn't seemed so small because of her muscles, but now? Ainar smiled bitterly. "Hahaha, don't look too closely, otherwise I'll get embarrassed. I know I look unattractive."
In just one month, her rugged warrior's body had been transformed into a slender, muscular one. "Doesn't the elder feed you?"
"It's not like that, but because I've been compressing my muscles every day, I ended up like this."
"Compress?"
"It's a long story. I don't know much about it, either, so don't ask for details."
"I see..." Whatever it was, what kind of training turned a healthy kid into this? I couldn't help feeling bad and kept my mouth shut.
Ainar then smiled and changed the subject. "I heard about you from the elder. You earned the nickname of Little Balkan, right? You're amazing, Bjorn!"
"It's nothing."
"What happened out there? I'm curious what your story is." Ainar looked at me with shining eyes. After training day in and day out, she must have been curious about the outside world.
I felt bad for her, so I sat down and started telling her the story in earnest.
"Oh, you're in the same team as Hikurod? That's a relief. I was nervous about leaving you, but I can trust him."
I told her about teaming up with Hikurod and many of the events that happened in the labyrinth. But just when the story was about to end, we heard a roar in the distance.
"Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin! Did you run away again!?"
Ainar hurriedly got up at the roar that made our ears ring. "Th-this is bad. I think the elder noticed that I'm not there."
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked worriedly.
"It's okay. It's just that my training for today will be doubled. Don't worry too much, I'll just have to forget about sleeping."
No, that only worried me more...
"I was about to die of boredom, but it was nice hearing an exciting story from you. So please come again soon."
"Okay."
"Then I'll get going now!" Soon, Ainar turned around and started running in the direction of the shout. When I was just about to leave as well, however, Ainar suddenly turned around and called out something unexpected. "Oh, right! Bjorn! I didn't say it earlier, but it's nice to see your face is looking well!"
"My face?"
"In the past, it was, I guess, full of hostility? Well, there wasn't a problem with that, but! Now it looks more relaxed! Maybe because your new teammates are trustworthy people!"
Hmm, really? I'm not sure about that...
"Ainar! Get over here!"
"Ugh, see you later! I will continue to train hard and return a more reliable warrior!"
Soon, Ainar's figure disappeared from sight. I continued to look in that direction for a moment, lost in thought.
No more hostility, huh?
Could this be a positive change or a negative one? I couldn't be sure yet.
***
Since the Spirit Imprint session had ended early, I had quite a bit of time left, so I visited the Magic Tower to meet this week's research quota.
"Oh? Mr. Yandel?" Raven asked. "Why...? Weren't you coming tomorrow?"
"I'm here today because I have things to do tomorrow."
"If you had a previous engagement, shouldn't you have moved it to another date?"
...That was a reasonable argument. However, I was a noble barbarian, not bound to society's manners and customs. "What is a previous engagement?"
"Ugh, only in times like these... All right. Wait here. I'll just finish what I'm doing, and we can start."
"Sure."
"Compress?"
"It's a long story. I don't know much about it, either, so don't ask for details."
"I see..." Whatever it was, what kind of training turned a healthy kid into this? I couldn't help feeling bad and kept my mouth shut.
Ainar then smiled and changed the subject. "I heard about you from the elder. You earned the nickname of Little Balkan, right? You're amazing, Bjorn!"
"It's nothing."
"What happened out there? I'm curious what your story is." Ainar looked at me with shining eyes. After training day in and day out, she must have been curious about the outside world.
I felt bad for her, so I sat down and started telling her the story in earnest.
"Oh, you're in the same team as Hikurod? That's a relief. I was nervous about leaving you, but I can trust him."
I told her about teaming up with Hikurod and many of the events that happened in the labyrinth. But just when the story was about to end, we heard a roar in the distance.
"Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin! Did you run away again!?"
Ainar hurriedly got up at the roar that made our ears ring. "Th-this is bad. I think the elder noticed that I'm not there."
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked worriedly.
"It's okay. It's just that my training for today will be doubled. Don't worry too much, I'll just have to forget about sleeping."
No, that only worried me more...
"I was about to die of boredom, but it was nice hearing an exciting story from you. So please come again soon."
"Okay."
"Then I'll get going now!" Soon, Ainar turned around and started running in the direction of the shout. When I was just about to leave as well, however, Ainar suddenly turned around and called out something unexpected. "Oh, right! Bjorn! I didn't say it earlier, but it's nice to see your face is looking well!"
"My face?"
"In the past, it was, I guess, full of hostility? Well, there wasn't a problem with that, but! Now it looks more relaxed! Maybe because your new teammates are trustworthy people!"
Hmm, really? I'm not sure about that...
"Ainar! Get over here!"
"Ugh, see you later! I will continue to train hard and return a more reliable warrior!"
Soon, Ainar's figure disappeared from sight. I continued to look in that direction for a moment, lost in thought.
No more hostility, huh?
Could this be a positive change or a negative one? I couldn't be sure yet.
***
Since the Spirit Imprint session had ended early, I had quite a bit of time left, so I visited the Magic Tower to meet this week's research quota.
"Oh? Mr. Yandel?" Raven asked. "Why...? Weren't you coming tomorrow?"
"I'm here today because I have things to do tomorrow."
"If you had a previous engagement, shouldn't you have moved it to another date?"
...That was a reasonable argument. However, I was a noble barbarian, not bound to society's manners and customs. "What is a previous engagement?"
"Ugh, only in times like these... All right. Wait here. I'll just finish what I'm doing, and we can start."
"Sure."
After I had waited for a while, preparations for today's experiments were complete. She told me that the goal of today's tests was to check how the vampire's mana resistance affected psychological magic, and to measure the exact threshold of reduced solar resistance...
"Enough explaining. Just do it."
"Okay, then, I'll begin."
Zzzzzz!
The tests were over sooner than I expected, as I had been fixated on the brutal experimentation tools. Just as I was about to bolt out of there, Raven hastily called out to me. "Wait, Mr. Yandel!" I wondered if this was about something related to the research, but she instead asked, "So, when are you going to tell me?"
"What do you mean?"
"The holy relic you used to kill the vampire! How did you know? That the Tears of a Goddess was there?"
Oh, this again? We had this conversation every time I came to this place. "Again, I told you I don't even know what that is."
"That again, huh?" Raven crossed her arms and glared at me. Did she know? With that small stature of hers, that pose just made her look huffy.
"Arua Raven, what is this Tears of a Goddess, and why are you so obsessed with it?" I asked bluntly.
At first, I had wondered if she suspected I was an evil spirit. However, judging by her behavior since then, it seemed that was not the case. Just look at when I asked her about the pill and letter. If she had been suspicious of me, it would've been revealed in some way or another during that conversation.
"...It's not because of the relic," she finally answered.
If you're not suspicious of me, then what is it?
The answer I received was something I never really considered. "It's because of the book that contains information about the relic."
"Book?"
"The Complete Book of Rifts. You're not going to deny knowing about it, are you?"
No, even if you look at me like that, I've really never heard of it...
"I understand you want to keep the existence of the book a secret because I did too. Knowledge becomes more valuable the fewer people know it, right?"
"...So what is it that you want to say?"
"If you have the book or know its contents, I want to buy it from you. Mine wasn't properly stored, so many sections of it are unreadable."
As I looked into those zealous eyes, I didn't get the impression that she was trying to use a lie to feel me out. This was really all because of a book? "If that was your goal, you could've just asked me without beating around the bush."
"But the one who seems desperate is the one who loses the negotiation." That was true. As I nodded absentmindedly, she frankly confessed what her aim was. "If you admitted that you found the relic, then I was considering acting like it wasn't anything special so I could negotiate with you. The fact that you seem to know the value doesn't help, though..."
"So you chose the straightforward tactic."
"Yes. So, can't you please tell me the truth now?"
I pondered this for a moment. At the time, I had been completely confident that the item I was using was a holy relic, so it didn't seem like a good idea to lie here. It was probably better to admit it. "I got the Tears of a Goddess or whatever by breaking the statue in front of the fountain."
"Of course! I knew it!"
"But that's it."
"...Pardon?"
After I had waited for a while, preparations for today's experiments were complete. She told me that the goal of today's tests was to check how the vampire's mana resistance affected psychological magic, and to measure the exact threshold of reduced solar resistance...
"Enough explaining. Just do it."
"Okay, then, I'll begin."
Zzzzzz!
The tests were over sooner than I expected, as I had been fixated on the brutal experimentation tools. Just as I was about to bolt out of there, Raven hastily called out to me. "Wait, Mr. Yandel!" I wondered if this was about something related to the research, but she instead asked, "So, when are you going to tell me?"
"What do you mean?"
"The holy relic you used to kill the vampire! How did you know? That the Tears of a Goddess was there?"
Oh, this again? We had this conversation every time I came to this place. "Again, I told you I don't even know what that is."
"That again, huh?" Raven crossed her arms and glared at me. Did she know? With that small stature of hers, that pose just made her look huffy.
"Arua Raven, what is this Tears of a Goddess, and why are you so obsessed with it?" I asked bluntly.
At first, I had wondered if she suspected I was an evil spirit. However, judging by her behavior since then, it seemed that was not the case. Just look at when I asked her about the pill and letter. If she had been suspicious of me, it would've been revealed in some way or another during that conversation.
"...It's not because of the relic," she finally answered.
If you're not suspicious of me, then what is it?
The answer I received was something I never really considered. "It's because of the book that contains information about the relic."
"Book?"
"The Complete Book of Rifts. You're not going to deny knowing about it, are you?"
No, even if you look at me like that, I've really never heard of it...
"I understand you want to keep the existence of the book a secret because I did too. Knowledge becomes more valuable the fewer people know it, right?"
"...So what is it that you want to say?"
"If you have the book or know its contents, I want to buy it from you. Mine wasn't properly stored, so many sections of it are unreadable."
As I looked into those zealous eyes, I didn't get the impression that she was trying to use a lie to feel me out. This was really all because of a book? "If that was your goal, you could've just asked me without beating around the bush."
"But the one who seems desperate is the one who loses the negotiation." That was true. As I nodded absentmindedly, she frankly confessed what her aim was. "If you admitted that you found the relic, then I was considering acting like it wasn't anything special so I could negotiate with you. The fact that you seem to know the value doesn't help, though..."
"So you chose the straightforward tactic."
"Yes. So, can't you please tell me the truth now?"
I pondered this for a moment. At the time, I had been completely confident that the item I was using was a holy relic, so it didn't seem like a good idea to lie here. It was probably better to admit it. "I got the Tears of a Goddess or whatever by breaking the statue in front of the fountain."
"Of course! I knew it!"
"But that's it."
"...Pardon?"
At her bewildered look, I quickly added, "While you guys were looking around, I broke it because I was bored, and that's what came out."
"Then... you don't know about the book?" she mumbled with a blank expression on her face. But then she quickly gathered her wits and shot back, "Wait. There's a contradiction here. If that's true, how did you think to use the item in that situation when you didn't know what it was?"
Quite an astute question. However, since I had already anticipated it, it didn't at all obstruct my answer. "There was a symbol of a goddess on the box, so I figured it was that kind of item. And it actually worked."
"...Really?"
"On my honor as a warrior, everything I just said is true."
Raven's expression turned into a gloomy one as soon as I made the vow of a modern barbarian, which was little more than a cheat code at this point. "Then... what have I been doing this whole time?"
When she realized that she had been shadowboxing on her own for weeks, she felt ashamed.
Although I felt sorry for her, at the same time, I also thought of the community of players, the Ghost Busters. I thought that the greatest strength of that community was its ability to exchange information, but...
For someone else, maybe it wouldn't be.
I was a player to some, and an evil spirit to others.
"I'm hungry, so I'm going to go!" Like a barbarian, I flung the door open and left.
Missha, who followed me like a savior; Hikurod, who treated me like a friend; even Ainar, who always told me that I would become a great warrior one day and looked up to me... they were all the same. Bjorn, son of Yandel. I could not be honest with anyone while I was in this body.
Well, I didn't think Hansu Lee's body would be any different.
***
After leaving the Magic Tower, I headed straight to the market district and picked up the finished magic panties. The time was 5 p.m. It was a little early to end the day here, so I dragged my weary body to the library. That would be more productive than going to get some rest.
"Parsytiev."
After getting enchanted by the librarian, I headed straight for the bookshelves. Even if I tried to say hello, she wasn't going to acknowledge it, and I didn't have the energy to deal with that today.
"...I heard you're famous now." However, the librarian, who usually couldn't be bothered to even talk to me, came up to me for some reason.
"It's a long story," I replied vaguely before walking away. I used to think that, with her being a wizard, it would be beneficial to me if we were on friendly terms.
Actually, it's funny to even entertain that kind of thought now.
I was a rank-six adventurer and even had the moniker of Little Balkan. Not only were my specs sufficient enough to join a team with a wizard, but my current team already had one, although he may not have been from the Magic Tower.
Seeing as this one is working as a librarian, she must be the same.
The thought made me smile. I knew that no matter what the reason was, it was just an attempt at rationalization, just a way of legitimizing my decision.
Step.
In the end, my intentions were different. I just didn't want to. I didn't want to try to win the favor of others by calculating every single action I took—at least for today. Which was why I was a little tired.
Step.
Therefore, I stopped walking toward the bookshelf and faced the problem I had been neglecting head-on.
It's only natural that Ainar said my hostility is gone.
I had a problem, a mental problem. The emotions that I had assumed ran dry a long time ago were rearing their heads now that my body was doing well. That was bad news for me, for whom survival came first. So what was the solution?
I don't know, so let's do what we have to do.
I turned around and walked up to the librarian. "Don't stare blankly. If you have something you want to say, say it quickly," I said.
"...How did you know I had something to say?"
"From your eyes." There were several clues, actually, but they were too annoying to explain.
As I stared at her with sentiments like that in my eyes, the sharp-witted librarian succinctly explained, "I have a friend who works at the administrative office. She is looking for an adventurer to entrust with a request, so I recommended you."
"You recommended me?"
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't a recommendation. Your name came up during the conversation, and when my friend heard it, she asked to meet you. Of course, if you're busy or don't want to, you can say no—"
"All right. Let me hear her out."
The librarian, who looked surprised at my answer, nodded slightly. "I'll pass that information on to my friend, then."
A request, huh? It was about time for an event like that to happen.
Do I now have a way to earn money in the city?
It was a good idea to hear this out.
At her bewildered look, I quickly added, "While you guys were looking around, I broke it because I was bored, and that's what came out."
"Then... you don't know about the book?" she mumbled with a blank expression on her face. But then she quickly gathered her wits and shot back, "Wait. There's a contradiction here. If that's true, how did you think to use the item in that situation when you didn't know what it was?"
Quite an astute question. However, since I had already anticipated it, it didn't at all obstruct my answer. "There was a symbol of a goddess on the box, so I figured it was that kind of item. And it actually worked."
"...Really?"
"On my honor as a warrior, everything I just said is true."
Raven's expression turned into a gloomy one as soon as I made the vow of a modern barbarian, which was little more than a cheat code at this point. "Then... what have I been doing this whole time?"
When she realized that she had been shadowboxing on her own for weeks, she felt ashamed.
Although I felt sorry for her, at the same time, I also thought of the community of players, the Ghost Busters. I thought that the greatest strength of that community was its ability to exchange information, but...
For someone else, maybe it wouldn't be.
I was a player to some, and an evil spirit to others.
"I'm hungry, so I'm going to go!" Like a barbarian, I flung the door open and left.
Missha, who followed me like a savior; Hikurod, who treated me like a friend; even Ainar, who always told me that I would become a great warrior one day and looked up to me... they were all the same. Bjorn, son of Yandel. I could not be honest with anyone while I was in this body.
Well, I didn't think Hansu Lee's body would be any different.
***
After leaving the Magic Tower, I headed straight to the market district and picked up the finished magic panties. The time was 5 p.m. It was a little early to end the day here, so I dragged my weary body to the library. That would be more productive than going to get some rest.
"Parsytiev."
After getting enchanted by the librarian, I headed straight for the bookshelves. Even if I tried to say hello, she wasn't going to acknowledge it, and I didn't have the energy to deal with that today.
"...I heard you're famous now." However, the librarian, who usually couldn't be bothered to even talk to me, came up to me for some reason.
"It's a long story," I replied vaguely before walking away. I used to think that, with her being a wizard, it would be beneficial to me if we were on friendly terms.
Actually, it's funny to even entertain that kind of thought now.
I was a rank-six adventurer and even had the moniker of Little Balkan. Not only were my specs sufficient enough to join a team with a wizard, but my current team already had one, although he may not have been from the Magic Tower.
Seeing as this one is working as a librarian, she must be the same.
The thought made me smile. I knew that no matter what the reason was, it was just an attempt at rationalization, just a way of legitimizing my decision.
Step.
In the end, my intentions were different. I just didn't want to. I didn't want to try to win the favor of others by calculating every single action I took—at least for today. Which was why I was a little tired.
Step.
Therefore, I stopped walking toward the bookshelf and faced the problem I had been neglecting head-on.
It's only natural that Ainar said my hostility is gone.
I had a problem, a mental problem. The emotions that I had assumed ran dry a long time ago were rearing their heads now that my body was doing well. That was bad news for me, for whom survival came first. So what was the solution?
I don't know, so let's do what we have to do.
I turned around and walked up to the librarian. "Don't stare blankly. If you have something you want to say, say it quickly," I said.
"...How did you know I had something to say?"
"From your eyes." There were several clues, actually, but they were too annoying to explain.
As I stared at her with sentiments like that in my eyes, the sharp-witted librarian succinctly explained, "I have a friend who works at the administrative office. She is looking for an adventurer to entrust with a request, so I recommended you."
"You recommended me?"
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't a recommendation. Your name came up during the conversation, and when my friend heard it, she asked to meet you. Of course, if you're busy or don't want to, you can say no—"
"All right. Let me hear her out."
The librarian, who looked surprised at my answer, nodded slightly. "I'll pass that information on to my friend, then."
A request, huh? It was about time for an event like that to happen.
Do I now have a way to earn money in the city?
It was a good idea to hear this out.