Chapter 307
Chapter 307
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 307
>Chapter Title: Small Thousand World
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"Small Thousand World?"
It was Do Yeok-si-ni's response upon hearing Ha Mun's words at the gathering of all the Do Yeok-si-ni.
"That's right."
"Haah... Teacher Cha, isn't there another way?"
"All the other methods take time."
"Time? How much?"
"The shortest one would be about half a year."
"...How did things end up like this, where we have to borrow the hand of that old monster?"
Jin Ryeo looked at Do Yeok-si-ni with sparkling eyes.
"Do you have a connection with Lord Shin-yo's master?"
"Huh? That old geezer teaching someone?"
Do Yeok-si-ni wore an amused expression after hearing Jin Ryeo's explanation.
"What kind of relationship do you have with him?"
"Just the usual kind you find everywhere. Hmm... Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I last saw him."
Kang Seol asked Do Yeok-si-ni.
"Is entry from the Ghost Realm to the Small Thousand World possible?"
"Of course. No, it should actually be easier than coming from the Present World. It's closer, after all."
Do Yeok-si-ni seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
"What's wrong?"
"Entry is straightforward, but... I can't bring the ghost souls there."
The ghost souls were valuable assets even to Do Yeok-si-ni.
She said they couldn't be taken to the Small Thousand World.
"Why not?"
"The inhabitants there hate ghosts. If you use ghost energy, swarms of massive monsters called phantasmal beasts will come from all directions."
"...Ah."
Kang Seol recalled an incident from long ago.
The time a massive whale had appeared and driven their party to the brink of death.
'It definitely seemed to appear because of the ghost energy.'
If they had been just a bit weaker, or delayed just a little, they would have been incinerated by the beam of light shot by Baekkyung.
The Small Thousand World remained an intensely memorable place.
"Why do they hate ghosts?"
"They've disliked each other since before Hwagmu appeared. They've only ever brought harm to one another."
"It's a long-standing relationship."
"Then when the ghosts sided with Hwagmu, they became completely irreconcilable. Hwagmu had many enemies."
"Are all the phantasmal beasts of the Small Thousand World special beings like dragons?"
"Not necessarily. That old man is the special one."
Hoo...
After letting out a sigh, Do Yeok-si-ni continued her explanation.
"Dragons don't originally live in the Small Thousand World. So that old man and Hwagmu, who lusted after the Present World, are unusual ones."
Kang Seol had known this to some extent, but hearing it directly from the Ghost King felt strange.
"Why does that dragon remain in the Small Heaven...?"
"Kukuku... Curious, eh? Well... Some say it's lingering attachment, others say it's to bestow mercy... Honestly, I don't know. Though, it might be to witness Hwagmu's end..."
"......"
"That's a bit sentimental speculation. Anyway, it's probably fortunate that the Do-hyang or whatever ended up in that old man's hands."
It didn't fit with the sighs and laments she'd been letting out until moments ago, so Kang Seol was curious about the reason.
"If we have to go to the Small Thousand World, at least that old man is someone you can reason with. He won't threaten us or take our lives until after we've talked. The problem is..."
Do Yeok-si-ni's eyes foreshadowed ominousness.
"The other ones."
Nod...
Kang Seol agreed.
If there were hordes of beings like that Baekkyung from back then, the situation would be dire.
"We'll leave the ghost souls behind. I say it again: this contact is dangerous. If something goes wrong, you'll each have to fend for yourselves to survive. So..."
Do Yeok-si-ni scanned the party's expressions.
Aside from Jin Ryeo, no one seemed particularly frightened.
* * *
Kang Seol's party returned to the Palace of Revelry with Do Yeok-si-ni. Ha Mun was with them for this trip as well.
"Teacher Cha, do you really need to come along?"
"I need to be by your side."
"Urgh... It'd be nice if I could move the ghost souls at a time like this. Anyway, let's go."
Kang Seol and his group headed underground in the Palace of Revelry.
"Where are we going?"
Do Yeok-si-ni said nonchalantly.
"Didn't the Yaksha devour a boundary stone?"
"Yes."
"There's another boundary stone managed by the Palace of Revelry. We'll use that to cross into the Small Thousand World."
"Isn't the Yaksha targeting this boundary stone too?"
"Opening the gate to Small Heaven recklessly would get you all killed. Even the Yaksha couldn't withstand the assault of those monsters. And even if that hole gets punched through, the monsters can seal it right up with their power."
Kkiiigik...
Kuuuung...
A door deep underground in the Revelry Castle opened.
"That's... the boundary stone..."
A large fragment emitting various lights asserted its presence.
"Teacher Cha, is this really the only way?"
Ha Mun smiled faintly.
That was his answer.
"Tch..."
Zzzzt...
Do Yeok-si-ni activated the boundary stone.
The twelve ghost souls lent their power.
Zzzzzzt...
Piiing-!
A suspicious energy enveloped the party.
Whoooong...
Kwaaaaa-!
With a pillar of light, Kang Seol's party vanished somewhere.
......
"Urgh..."
"Ow ow..."
"D-Did we arrive? This is..."
[Sudden Adventure 'Small Thousand World' has occurred.]
[This adventure is extremely dangerous.]
Adventure 33-(Special) ‘Small Thousand World’
You are searching for a way to defeat the Yaksha, the culprit disrupting the Ghost Realm and Present World.
The situation has improved with the addition of Ha Mun, a descendant of the excellent ally Orgo.
With his help, you succeeded in learning a method and tool to counter the Yaksha from the Library of All Phenomena.
However, a few more steps remain. Here in the Small Thousand World, you must meet the legendary dragon and reclaim Orgo's sword.
Goal: Obtain Do-hyang.
Caution: This adventure is extremely dangerous.
Caution: This adventure's situation changes moment by moment.
Remaining time 「Unknown」
"Everyone, conceal your ghost energy."
Rustle...
This wasn't the Ghost Realm, so Seolhong, Chiwu, and Jin Ryeo had returned to their original forms.
"I can't help you here, so if something happens, survive on your own."
Do Yeok-si-ni wrapped herself in sackcloth to conceal her ghost energy.
She now just looked like a pretty child.
Kang Seol suppressed his ghost energy as much as possible.
He didn't have much to begin with, so it wasn't much of an inconvenience.
"Fortunately, we landed nearby. We just need to climb this mountain."
At Do Yeok-si-ni's words, everyone looked up at the mountain ahead. Was there such a mountain in the world?
It wasn't particularly rugged, but it was tall.
The dragon they sought seemed to simply live in an extremely high place.
They had no choice but to climb.
After climbing until their mouths tasted sweet, they broke the silence and conversed.
Rustle...
Rustle...
"...Does he really live here?"
"Yeah, he was living here the last time I saw him."
"When was that last time?"
Do Yeok-si-ni tilted her head at Chiwu's question.
"...Before Hwagmu came looking for him?"
"That's over 300 years ago!"
"No one who lives here would call 300 years long."
"Ugh..."
For now, they had to trust Do Yeok-si-ni and press on.
Whoooong...
The higher the altitude, the more labored their breathing became, but the scenery grew ever more spectacular.
"The view is really overwhelming..."
"For you humans, Small Heaven is practically the paradise you've dreamed of."
Do Yeok-si-ni counted off the reasons on her fingers.
"Fruits ripen every day, streams never run dry. Nights are warm, seasons change distinctly but mildly. Moreover, the inhabitants have no interest in conflict, so fights never break out."
"That's... paradise."
"Of course, humans couldn't blend in here."
"Why not?"
"Because there are natives living here."
Do Yeok-si-ni, gazing into the distance, said.
"Lower your heads, everyone."
Swish...
Everyone bowed without question.
"Shh..."
A moment later.
Whoooooooong-!
An enormous flapping sound accompanied the appearance of a gigantic怪鳥.
Kkiiieeeek!
Kkiiieeeeeek!
The怪鳥 flew around the area for a while, emitting strange cries, then left the mountain upon finding nothing unusual.
'It must be dozens of times bigger than Kupa.'
Kupa was big, but this怪鳥 dwarfed it.
The怪鳥 was so massive it felt unreal. Like arriving in a place with different oxygen levels.
"Did it not see us?"
"If it did, it wasn't hungry."
"......"
"Let's move again."
They resumed climbing at Do Yeok-si-ni's words.
The party climbed the mountain for a full two days. They took regular breaks, but the mountain's height was enough to tire even their superhuman stamina.
"Haa... haa..."
"Huu... Doesn't he live too high up?"
"How should I know? The old man has this hobby. And..."
Do Yeok-si-ni warned.
"Flatten yourselves to the ground."
Pop-!
Everyone swiftly plastered themselves to the ground in unison.
They weren't wearing flashy clothes, so they blended right into the underbrush.
Wooooooong...
Woooong...
Seolhong, Chiwu, and Kang Seol covered their mouths upon seeing the floating monster in the air.
'Baekkyung.'
Wooong...
'It's that one from back then.'
Emitting sounds like it belonged in the deep sea, Baekkyung vanished into the distance. It soon soared past the clouds.
"Baekkyung. Monstrous thing..."
"We've seen it before. Dangerous?"
"Yeah, a real blockhead. Be careful not to catch its eye. It's arrogant enough to appoint itself enforcer of Small Heaven's order, and unfortunately, it's skilled."
Sorry to Do Yeok-si-ni, but Kang Seol had already been spotted by Baekkyung once.
'No way it remembers...'
They climbed again.
"Huff... huff..."
"Haaa... haa..."
Fatigue intensified as the summit neared.
Especially Do Yeok-si-ni, who unlike her initial nonchalance, was struggling greatly.
It was hard to fathom the Ghost King looking this worn out.
"Why are you struggling so much?"
"That's what I'm saying—why does my body feel so heavy...?"
"You were fine on the way here."
"That's why it's weird... Ah, I get it."
"......"
Do Yeok-si-ni stopped dead in her tracks.
As she halted, everyone had to look at her. And they realized why she'd been struggling so much.
Someone was standing on her head.
"Someone get this bastard off my head?"
"Pfft... You only just noticed? I've been riding up here for quite a while."
"You damn old fart! You must've pulled some trick!"
The sight of an old man with long beard and eyebrows perched atop a child's head was anything but common.
Their size difference was nearly twofold; her neck should've snapped ages ago.
'I didn't notice at all...'
Even without Karuna to activate Asura, he should've sensed the old man's presence.
The old man had a hazy impression, eyes half-open or closed. Do Yeok-si-ni had acted as if a feather, not an old man, sat on her head.
"Eek! Eeee!"
"Heh heh heh... Don't mind it and hurry up. We're almost there."
"We're here to meet you, old man—why climb more?"
"Hm? Me? Whatever. I'm hungry, so let's talk up top."
"...Damn it."
"Heh heh! I said we're here. Haven't you been once before?"
He was right.
Soon, an open vista appeared alongside a shabby hut.
A picture-perfect landscape with a picture-perfectly shabby house.
"You still live in a place like this?"
"...You come after ages, and all you do is nag?"
"......"
"I already knew you were coming."
Flinch!
Everyone except Do Yeok-si-ni jolted.
The old man might've noticed them from the start of the climb.
Do Yeok-si-ni elaborated.
"The old man doesn't meddle in the present but sees the future more clearly instead."
"A guy who knows that intervenes in the Present World..."
"Can't be helped with the Yaksha. It's rampaging in my domain."
"Kukuku... That mask drunk on power, eh."
Mask.
The old man called it a mask, not a sword.
People usually lumped the Yaksha's sword and mask together, but the old man saw it differently.
'...Is the mask the main body?'
As Kang Seol pieced together the conversation fragments, Do Yeok-si-ni and the old man's talk continued.
"So, that guy. Can't you do something?"
"Why should I sweep snow from someone else's yard?"
"Ha... Yeah, you're the kind of old coot who doesn't care about snow in your own yard."
"Heh heh heh..."
From his appearance alone, no one would guess he was a dragon. Nothing emanated from him.
Colorless, odorless.
The phrase seemed made for him.
"Well... You're not here asking me to intervene, so two purposes, I suppose."
"......"
"Giving you the sword to strike him down, and..."
Swish...
He pointed at Kang Seol.
"Waking the wandering demon spirit."
The old man accurately hit the reason Kang Seol's party had come to the Small Thousand World.
"Possible?"
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
This ordinary-looking old man was a dragon.
One on the same level as Hwagmu, who once dyed the East in blood.
He didn't seem to have Hwagmu's vicious hobby of wantonly killing humans, though. Which was more normal for dragons was anyone's guess.
'Good that he listens.'
As Kang Seol thought that.
"But the sword isn't with me right now."
"...You're kidding!? You tossed it?"
"Listen to the end. I have no greed for possessions, but I'm not heartless enough to discard something I fancy. It's within reach."
"You mean..."
"I lent it. To someone, temporarily."
Why did "lent" sound so terrifying?
The party seemed to share the sentiment.
"...No way?"
"Hmm... Do Yeok-si-ni."
"What?"
"You, hide now."
"Damn... you old bastard!"
Pop-!
Do Yeok-si-ni dashed into the house.
"Heh heh... Still as scatterbrained as ever."
Even the Ghost King who ruled the Ghost Realm felt like a granddaughter to the dragon.
Whoooong...
The party couldn't move.
A shadow fell over the mountaintop.
As everyone looked up.
"My god..."
The source of the shadow was the massive whale, Baekkyung.
Sssslip...
Baekkyung shrank its body.
Tap-!
It landed lightly, transformed into a woman.
Her eyes were fierce, but ornate decorations made her stunningly beautiful.
"Master."
"Kyung, you've come."
"...I told you not to call me that. Who are they?"
"Acquaintances of Yo-a."
"Oh, humans. No wonder..."
Baekkyung covered her nose.
"They reek so badly..."
"Heh heh heh... No need to say it so loudly."
"Sorry, but I really can't stand it, so..."
The woman glared.
"Yeah... They smell like ghosts..."
As the party stiffened at her words, Baekkyung grew more suspicious.
She circled the party, spinning.
This was bad.
Things had gone seriously awry.
"Things have gotten messy..."
Ha Mun's mutter was spot on.
Yes, things had gone wrong.
What Ha Mun had seen was probably just like what Kang Seol saw now.
The sword hanging at Baekkyung's waist.
It was unmistakably the Do-hyang.
The Do-hyang was in her hands, not the dragon's.