Chapter 101
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Tardiness
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Kang Seol stood blankly, dumbfounded.
“Master?”
“If this was going to happen, we should have just started by lighting a fire.”
“R-right?”
He looked up at the sky and sighed.
That sigh contained many emotions.
It released both the irritation from all the wasted effort and the relief that followed.
“Still, we eventually found Chao.”
In the end, it was fortunate that he had found traces of Chao.
The only losses were the nights he had spent staying awake for half a month waiting for Chao and himself, and the time spent running around looking for other adventures.
Of course, even that was enough to make him quite angry.
Anyway, looking only at the result, everything had worked out.
During the remaining time, Kang Seol slept well and replenished ready meals and survival tools.
Five days passed like that.
Ziiiiing—
His body disappeared somewhere.
---
[Starting the next adventure.]
[The fifteenth adventure begins.]
[Adventure 15. Tardiness]
Adventure 15. “Tardiness”
Chao, whom you met after many twists and turns.
You left after receiving a request from her. However, it took far too long for you to resolve the request and return.
You arrived in Nobira much later than the time you had arranged to contact her.
Fortunately, following the arrangements she had left behind, you headed to the next meeting location.
However, you do not know what will happen here. Nor do you know the circumstances surrounding her.
Objective: Break through the Wall of Enlightenment
This adventure is a dangerous adventure.
Remaining time: None
It had been a while since there was an adventure without a time limit.
The place he was transferred to was a deserted forest.
It seemed to be the Great Forest.
“But… what is this smell?”
The smell of a car burning?
No, it felt more like—
“Cigarettes?”
Soon, Chao appeared with a cigarette in her mouth, exhaling smoke.
“Yo! You’re late! Why did you take so long?”
“Chao?”
“Did the task you went for get resolved?”
Kang Seol took out the sleep-inducing drug from his coat.
“It was resolved well. I ran into trouble on the way back, so I arrived in Nobira a month ago.”
“Trouble? Ah, those trolls?”
“Yes. Did you run into the Sulfur Skull?”
“No. I went to meet a junior, and some ugly guys started popping out from everywhere, so I ran away quickly.”
It was strange.
As far as Kang Seol knew, Chao was strong.
Much stronger than ordinary Shadow Summoners.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Ah, are you wondering why I didn’t get involved with what happened in Nobira?”
“Did my expression say that?”
“Yeah, very much.”
Kang Seol was not criticizing her. He was simply curious.
“Well, it has nothing to do with me. Besides, I’m a very busy person.”
She was the same kind of person as Kang Seol.
“Busy?”
“Of course! Otherwise, would I have entrusted work to a junior I just met?”
“You knew about the situation in Mist Village as well?”
“More or less. But that guy hid, so I couldn’t finish it. That girl there… what was her name… Sera? Wasn’t she cute?”
“She was a good person.”
“…She didn’t die, right?”
“She almost did, but fortunately I caught him before that.”
“That’s good. Did he spout some twisted logic?”
“Something like that. He asked why no one had saved him like this. He lamented his own fate.”
“That doesn’t justify destroying other people’s fate. You handled things better than I expected, junior.”
Kang Seol had successfully completed the task Chao gave him.
That meant he now had something he could request from her.
“Then…”
“Wait, that was just the first gate. The real test is—”
Click.
Shing—
“Should I kill this woman, master?”
“Hahaha! So loyal! Very nice to see. So… um… what I mean is… easy there… put the sword away… huh? That sword is interesting. Did you get it recently? Anyway, let’s talk like civilized people. No need to be harsh when we’re in the same line of work.”
Click.
Karen sheathed her sword.
Kang Seol had already expected things might go this way. There was no way an adventure whose objective was simply breaking through the Wall of Enlightenment would be classified as dangerous.
“Ha… So what do we have to do now?”
“Well… it’s not exactly that you have to do something… actually, yes, you do have to do something.”
“What is it?”
“Become my test subject.”
Click—
Shing…
“I said put that sword—”
“What do you mean by test subject?”
“I’ve been researching a topic for a long time, and it’s almost finished.”
“And?”
“The problem is that the test subject must be a Shadow Summoner who has reached a certain level, along with a powerful summon that shares the same will.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?”
“Well… I have some problems. So I’ve been looking for another candidate. And the most suitable one that came to mind is…”
“Me?”
Nod.
Chao nodded with a small smile.
Kang Seol looked at her expression and thought for a moment.
“Is it dangerous?”
“Huh? No, well… yes.”
“…What?”
“Yes.”
“How dangerous?”
“Not physically dangerous. Mentally dangerous.”
“So how dangerous is it?”
“You have to die once.”
“Haha.”
“Hahaha, funny, right?”
What did it mean to die once?
Kang Seol pulled out an old memory.
“Is that why you took the induced death device from Grizz’s laboratory?”
“Oh? You even know that much? That makes it easier to explain. Yes.”
“Do you know how to use it?”
“More or less. At least I confirmed it works.”
“So what does becoming a test subject mean exactly?”
“It’s simple. First, we’ll use the induced death device to let your consciousness drift away. In a sense, you return to your purest state. From there, you escape while keeping your shadow and mind connected. Easy, right?”
— What nonsense.
— Easy, right?
— Click, shing!
— Maybe we shouldn’t have met Chao…
— I guess we’re not meant to be.
“What are the chances of success?”
“That depends on the subject. For you, junior, I’d say about half.”
“That’s a pretty high probability.”
“You either succeed or fail.”
“……”
— Either you die, or you die.
— She’s really something lol
Kang Seol scratched his chin and spoke.
“Alright. If I become the test subject, what reward do I get?”
“As expected! I like straightforward people too. It’s clear that way. Hmm… what should I give you…”
Chao thought for a moment, then struck her fist into her palm.
“I’ll pass down a Secret Technique.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Hahaha! I knew you’d understand.”
— You’ll die? I refuse.
— Secret Technique? I’ll do it.
— No way anyone can resist that lol
— Who could resist a Secret Technique lol
A Secret Technique.
Like Sunset Painting that Karen had recently obtained, it was vastly different from ordinary abilities.
Power, efficiency, uniqueness, originality—abilities that overwhelmed normal skills in every aspect.
That was a Secret Technique.
They were extremely difficult to learn, and only a very small number of people shared their techniques with others.
That was why a Secret Technique often became a person’s identity.
If someone obtained one early during adventures, it could sustain them through the later parts of the game.
“Is it Gregory’s technique?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Did you create it yourself?”
“Of course.”
A person capable of creating Secret Techniques.
Kang Seol began to see Chao differently.
Not just a master of one field, but a tremendous master.
“The induced death device is at my hideout, so let’s talk while we go there, junior.”
“Is it far?”
“Not that far.”
“Then why did you build a hideout? Are you being chased by someone?”
“Well… I’ll explain that on the way. For now, let’s start with some simple training.”
“Training? Sounds good.”
If it was training to obtain a Secret Technique, he would do anything.
— A monster born for Secret Techniques;;
— Secret Technique monster shocked
“Come here. Summon all your summons.”
The surroundings had already grown dark, and Chao led them to the campfire where she had been staying.
“Now, it’s time to share your inner thoughts. Or old stories!”
“…What? That’s training?”
“How is it? Easy, right?”
— I can’t watch this lol
— Chao smells like a scammer from here lol
— Alright everyone, kiss!
— Teacher!
“Why are we doing this kind of training?”
“How much do you know about your shadows?”
“My shadows? Well…”
Not much.
More precisely, he knew almost nothing.
“If you don’t want to lose your way in the death state, you need to know everything about your shadows. Regrets, grudges, life stories, everything. If you hide secrets from each other, you might never wake up.”
“Wait…”
Clap!
She clapped her hands and slowly stepped away.
“Alright then, I’ll step back so you can enjoy your time.”
After she left, an awkward silence filled the air.
Being suddenly told to share stories naturally created this kind of atmosphere.
— Scratch scratch…
— Hey guys…
— Shouldn’t we talk about something…
Karen spoke first.
“Then how about that story?”
“What story?”
“The one Jamad started telling Mael before but didn’t finish. Why don’t we start with that?”
— My father was conscripted into war and died, and my mother didn’t live long either. The funny thing is, our tribe’s elders offered my mother’s corpse as a snack to a dragon.
— Silence…
— No tact…
— Karen has no sense of timing lol
Jamad thought for a moment, then nodded.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Right?”
“It’s been a long time since I spoke about this in detail. No… perhaps the first time since I ruled the tribe.”
Jamad suddenly began his story.
“I was already an orphan by the time I began to develop reason. My father had already died in war before I could even walk, and my mother died from illness.”
“…Can we stop listening?”
“You can. But if we want to get through this annoying situation, we should know a little about each other.”
“You’re right. Go on.”
“Did you know? Trolls often offer the dead as sacrifices to the object of their worship.”
Jamad continued calmly.
“My mother was offered to the Earth Dragon Tancred. That was how I became alone. No siblings, no parents.”
“……”
“I knew about our traditions, but I could never understand them. Our ancestors left the rule of the Old Gods long ago and settled in Pointed Rock Mountain, yet the only thing that changed was that our object of worship shifted from the Old Gods to dragons. Our roots remained pathetic. A race that must endlessly serve someone.”
Kang Seol had only known fragments about trolls.
So all of this was new to him.
“When I was still young, Tancred visited the tribe before going into slumber.”
— Get out! Get out!
— Jamad! You idiot!
— Stop! No!
— Do you want the entire tribe slaughtered?!
“I threw a stone at Tancred. While everyone else bowed their heads, I raised mine and threw a stone at her scales.”
“That’s insane.”
— Forgive him! Lady Tancred! The child still doesn’t understand—
— Kill him! Drag him away!
“I shouted for her to bring my mother back. I probably called her a barbaric lizard or something like that. I don’t remember exactly.”
“How did you survive?”
— I see. You are her child.
“She carried me on her back and flew away. Then she landed somewhere and set me down.”
— This is…
— I remember your mother, little life.
Young Jamad stood before a grave decorated with a flower crown.
“It was my mother’s grave. The tribe had offered her as a sacrifice, but Tancred buried her. I cried from misery. That was the first and last time Jamad ever shed tears.”
“Why did you cry?”
“Because of inferiority. I cried in shame at the inferiority of myself and my race. She was far more noble and beautiful than I imagined. I was a low creature who tried to insult such a noble dragon.”
“……”
“Tancred said this to me.”
— You have good eyes.
— I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Lady Tancred…
— The world is vast, child. Right now you suffer and struggle. You are small and weak. But…
“She became the goal of my life.”
— Someday, your era will come. When you learn the reason for your life and the reason for all life. Then you will reach the truth. Strive tirelessly, little life.
That was why Jamad rejected the power of the Old Gods and tried to stand on his own.
Kang Seol understood him a little better.
“Anyway, that is how Jamad was born. From that day, I accepted my brothers’ curses as fate. The results were not good, though. Well, that’s enough about me. Now I would like to hear your story.”
But before Kang Seol could respond, Chao rushed over.
Whoosh!
“Haa… haa…”
She shouted urgently.
“They’re coming! We have to leave immediately!”
The first threat of this adventure had arrived.
[The main content of “Tardiness” has been changed.]
[“Tardiness” has been changed to “Those Who Chase Shadows.”]