Chapter 206
Chapter 206
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 206
>Chapter Title: No Absolutes in the World
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the adventure ended, Kang Seol and his group returned to the vicinity of the base.
"Thank you."
It was what Philia said to Kang Seol.
"I thought I was pretty capable, but it seems that was just wishful thinking on my part."
"Philia."
Han Yeo-myung seemed to share the same sentiment, nodding as she spoke.
"Seriously, how do you get so strong? I thought I was working hard too... but I can't even touch your toes, brother."
No matter what trials they had faced, none could compare to the ordeals Kang Seol had endured.
'He went through that much, after all.'
Pushing your body to the limit at low levels yields greater returns as you level up.
Kang Seol could feel it clearly.
"I should get going now. I've got somewhere to be right away. Thanks, Snowman."
"I'll... go see Marie too, brother. Thank you so much."
They all left soon after.
Kang Seol couldn't know their true feelings, but he suspected being around him felt burdensome.
- Heh heh... the strong are destined to be lonely.
- I was just thinking that lololol.
- Honestly, Snowman did everything by himself lol.
- Why is this happening! Han Yeo-myung at least opened the door!
- The gap is bigger than I thought.
Upon entering the base, the city was abuzz not long after.
"Did you see? The scores."
"14 million? Yeah, I saw."
"How is that even possible?"
"They must hand them out later. No other way."
Kang Seol had found it burdensome to come and go from the city even before the point wall appeared.
'All this attention because of the points...'
The eyes of influential figures were one thing, but the Transmigrators had gone even further, hunting him down everywhere.
There was one time they recognized him, and the aftermath was a spectacle.
Some begged to be taken as disciples, others demanded he share the info he monopolized, and some shamelessly asked to borrow money.
- I'll pay you back!
He couldn't forget the faces of that neurotic, rude man and woman.
They say the mad will ask a tiger for a loan right in its face, and he'd met exactly those types.
'It's annoying when Transmigrators recognize me...'
Unlike in the Eternal World, since they were here in person, there had to be ways to deal with this hassle.
'I need to sort this out soon... Hm?'
Kang Seol suddenly felt a strange texture while stroking his chin and looked at his hand in surprise.
"Oh, right. This."
It was the item he'd literally stolen from Yahum and was now using.
If Yahum hadn't been beaten so thoroughly by Kang Seol, these gloves would have caused him major trouble.
'Still, the point wall did its part.'
He'd headed to the Ghost Gate intending to clash with Yahum from the start.
The point wall activating there had let him snag new gear out of nowhere, so credit where it's due.
'Life really is unpredictable...'
The point wall, which usually targeted innocent wallets, had spotted this valuable item and zeroed in on it this time. Why?
'Even so, no guarantee it'll go this well next time. Gotta be careful.'
Kang Seol read the gloves' info.
"Let's see..."
[Ghost (鬼) - Once-in-a-Lifetime (不世出): Yahum's Goblin Gloves]
Rank: Once-in-a-Lifetime
Appropriate Level: 35–43
Defense: 130(+35)
Durability: 120/120
Weight: 0.1kg
Gloves woven by Yahum himself.
Having absorbed his ghostly energy, they exhibit mystical properties.
Base Stats: Intelligence +30(+10), Wisdom +27(+10), Stamina +32(+10)
Special Abilities: Flash of Insight! (Unique) active, Everyday Learning (Unique) active, Veteran Newbie (Unique) active, Ghost (鬼) - Yahum's Ghostly Energy (Unique) active.
[Flash of Insight! (Unique)]
- Greatly increases the probability of gaining enlightenment during combat.
[Everyday Learning (Unique)]
- Enlightenment probability does not decrease even against foes of lower caliber.
[Veteran Newbie (Unique)]
- Proficiency accumulation for new abilities derived from enlightenment starts at 'Skilled.'
[Ghost (鬼) - Yahum's Ghostly Energy (Unique)]
- Allows handling ghostly energy to a certain extent.
'Unique options.'
Beyond that, he'd gained a bunch of ghostly energy-related options alongside titles.
Normally, options like these clustered together would spawn related abilities, but nothing.
'Not enough ghostly energy imbued in the item?'
Currently, the extent of Kang Seol's ghostly energy handling was just containing what leaked from items.
In other words, preventing it from spilling out.
'Well, I'll understand it eventually.'
Now entering base rest, it was time to decide the next destination.
Nothing set in stone yet, so he could choose carefully, but drifting without a plan felt uneasy.
Naturally, Kang Seol headed to the community.
More people than usual were hanging around.
"Wahahahahaha!"
"You should've seen that Kaiyo bastard's end! He got squished flat like a pancake."
"Good riddance. Adelin's ruthless in these matters."
Come to think of it, the atmosphere in the base had shifted since the Goat Cartel was wiped out.
'For the better... I hope?'
Kang Seol first searched post-cartel takedown opinions.
(New) [Post by 'BrenFanClub']
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: You Dumbass Transmigrator Bastards lololol]
All this peace was achieved because Sir Bren, the King God Emperor of Imperial Loyalty and the Lightbringer, performed major surgery on them with the intent to carve out their living flesh!
You did jack shit in the war on Adelin crime—pray for Sir Bren's future!
- We get it, teacher did nothing.
- Ehh?! Busted—★
- Bren is f*** lolololol laughed so hard I spat water. Has Bren ever taken down a named? Named were mostly handled by Transmigrators.
- That pure-hearted guy charging on horseback into urban combat... don't tease him too much.
- Still, kid's got a good heart.
- They say the crow was a total monster. Though it's just rumors...
(New) [Post by 'NationalPride']
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: Current hilarious fact about myself.]
Why do I feel national pride swelling in Adelin when I never did as a Korean citizen? From Marcelo to Kaiyo—a straight line of bases... We'll call it the 'Path of Freedom'...
- Human? lolololol Same here tbh.
- Only Adelin stands up for usㅠㅠ
- Look at Nevenia lololol Adelin's Miss Fairy Jin.
- Neighbor's screw-up makes us look better lol.
- Yeah~ Just wandering adventurers, not nation-affiliated~
- Yeah~ Nevenia's borders fully sealed due to civil war, can't even enter~
Cartel dissolution opinions were fortunately positive. His involvement seemed unexposed too.
But amid checking opinions, Nevenia mentions caught his eye.
'Is it that bad?'
Nevenia was a place he'd passed through, so it drew his interest.
(New) [Post by 'BorderSpectator']
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: Nevenia's turning hilarious lol]
Heard the latest?
- Nah
- Spill?
- Yeah
- King Hein III dead.
- Wtf crazy lololol
- Prince announces major reforms and ascends throne. Hein IV now.
- F*** what about the princess?
- That's... the funny part.
- Huh?
- Country's a mess with local rebellions and whatnot, right?
- Yeah. Borders sealed for that.
- They pinned it on the princess.
- Insane;; Does that stick?
- It did.
(New) [Post by 'LongTimeNoSee']
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: Detailed Nevenia Situation Summary]
Hey, this is Buriking LongTimeNoSee.
Someone below explained, Nevenia stuff?
Specific cause: Hein IV's trash personality, and corrupt officials sticking to him.
Princess was from the concubine side, unluckily. Lacking legitimacy, with power-hungry corrupt officials all backing the prince, she had no strength.
Prince seems to be using ascension to eliminate the thorn-in-side princess. Some loyalists tried following her.
- O f*** exciting! So? What happened?
- Princess TO'd, prince hunting her. Transmigrators targeting her too.
- Huh? Why her!
- Hein IV ascended and made policies cozying up to Transmigrators. Pinned past crimes on princess.
- Wtf insane... They don't know what we know?
- They know. But swept up. They just need a target for anger.
- From Transmigrators' view, obvious choice. Hein IV's a lion even toothless. Princess is a leaf in the storm lol. Follow the power or bleed for princess.
- Think justice exists? lololol If Hein IV drops items, hordes will pants-off rush.
- He declared national treasure-level reward for capturing princess alive. Total chaos lol.
- Pigs... rustle...
- Wait... you aiming for princess too...?
- Woof! Honey!
- Isn't that too much? Like cartel, Transmigrators won't step up?
- Cartel was Transmigrators, Hein's king. Rebel? lololol Post-Hein III death, civil war embers dying—who's crazy enough lololol
Justice or faith.
Or other noble values.
Since Transmigrators appeared in Pandea, all had plummeted in worth.
A world spinning on efficiency and violence.
Kang Seol sighed.
"Poor thing."
Above all, he pitied the princess whose life hung by this vile scheme.
But what could he do? Everyone trapped in efficiency and violence's yoke.
- Sad but whatever...
- Can't be helped.
- As long as it's not meee~
Kang Seol checked letters next.
Piles from Jo Kyung-taek and Han So-mi, with whom he exchanged regular updates.
Mostly sharing their news while asking how he was.
And.
'Who's this?'
One anonymous letter.
Kang Seol checked surroundings and read on.
- It's Count Brispin.
Identity upfront.
'Count Brispin. But why...'
Why send him a letter?
Kang Seol owed him several times. Arranged meeting with now-ally Franen, smoothed over messing up Team Brian noble Gatif family.
'Come to think, helped each other vs. Black Knight too...'
Closer ties than thought. Anyway, Kang Seol read on.
- You haven't forgotten our promise, have you?
Promise... promise...
Kang Seol tilted his head, recalling the past. Brispin's face surfaced.
- I said it before—this is an investment for the future. Later, in a real pinch, just hear me out once. That's enough.
Words etched in memory; he scanned for promise mention.
- This is it. Better to meet and talk, but situation urgent, so letter it is.
Kang Seol panicked reading further.
- I'm with Princess Liona now.
'Liona... Princess?'
Only one princess named Liona he knew.
- Help us escape Hein IV's clutches. Rendezvous at...
Rejection.
Absolute rejection.
'Mess up and it's treason. No way... no way in hell. Even for me, too risky. Absolutely, never accept.'
- Obviously need good reason to risk it. We have the black statue from the kingdom's secret vault.
'Black... statue?'
Dozens of statue infos flashed in Kang Seol's mind instantly.
Only he could recall exact names from features, no matter how long ago.
- Statue of a woman with bandaged face hugging herself. Don't know exact name, but no ordinary item.
"Damn... damn..."
Bandaged face, self-hugging woman. Black statue—confirmed.
Origin first.
'Church of Eternal Life's... item.'
- It came from a place called Church of Eternal Life...
'No choice. That item...'
- Rumor says Immortal carried it once.
'Mine.'
The black statue was Immortal's old item.
Name:
'Fallen's Ecstasy.'
Kang Seol's pupils dilated.
"Absolutely... absolute, but."
Viewers startled by his reaction.
- No way? lololol You're going, right?
- Yeah, Brispin die alone~ Snowman lives lololol
- Hurry west lololol We're going west anyway.
- Their problem, they handle it! Grown adults lol
- What you doing lololol Delete the letter lol?
- Someone sponsor. Sponsor to say no!
- Won't hear anyway?
- Ah... that face... that resolute face.
It all began with this one letter.
* * *
Time passed. Near the border between Adelin and Nevenia.
"Huuu... Always tense in moments like this."
"……."
"Don't pry too much about me, Mashu. Ordinary folk learning my identity get hurt."
A man with unkempt beard asked the man walking beside him.
"But you have unusual guts too. Got a lover or something?"
"……."
"Agh, answer me. No need to hide from me."
"……."
"Sheesh, frustrating... Am I working with a golem?"
- As long as not meeeee...
- Just meee!
- Only I f***ed uuuup!
Stroking beard, the man flared nostrils.
"Listen up, prepare. Change into the prepared clothes, all of you."
"Yes!"
Those in the carriage began changing.
"Huuu..."
"I've sent many across borders, but your case is new."
"……."
"Going from Adelin to Nevenia amid this? Usually opposite. Princess rebellion plotting chaos now? Curious, very curious."
Kang Seol, in bizarre mask, said to the border broker.
"...There are no absolutes in the world."