Chapter 40

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 40

Chapter Title: No Shadow

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Seven colors of brilliant light erupted from the belt, enveloping Kang Seol's body.

Whiiiii...

"Huh, the belt... is it okay?"

Han Seoryeong stared at Kang Seol, unable to shut her mouth.

Suuuuu...

Soon, the light that had adorned the night sky began to fade.

The multicolored glow surrounding Kang Seol vanished as well.

He inspected the transformed belt.

The light emanating from Kang Seol's body had faded, but the belt still shimmered with its seven iridescent colors.

It didn't look like an ordinary belt at all.

Han Seoryeong stared at it with a strange expression for a long while. Kang Seol ignored her gaze and sat back down by the campfire.

Crackle...

Stroke.

As Kang Seol caressed the belt, the flashy glow dimmed.

It made sense—he could control the light, since wandering around shining like that would make him an easy target.

'All stats +15 on a belt...'

Equipment with +15 or higher to a single stat was usually reserved for high-impact items like weapons or armor.

A whopping +15 to all stats? Utterly overpowered.

'At least my Wisdom is plenty now.'

Kang Seol's Wisdom had already surged dramatically.

At this point, his Wisdom stat was on another level compared to other summoners at the same level who balanced their stats evenly.

High Wisdom meant he could handle higher-grade—or more—summons. Fittingly, his Shadow Space was expanding too.

'Might even snag a new summon soon.'

If he kept growing like this, a chance for a new summon would come soon enough.

With spare space in his shadow realm, he could fill it with something worthy.

As Kang Seol gazed into the fire, lost in pleasant daydreams, Han Seoryeong spoke up.

"So, what's your plan now?"

"Hmm... The deadline's noon the day after tomorrow, so I need to think it over."

"Ah... I see."

"By the way, Han Seoryeong."

"Yes?"

"I know it might be rude to ask, but... what happened to the blood on your clothes?"

Kang Seol had been curious about why she'd joined him ever since she staggered to the campfire with that near-death look in her eyes.

Han Seoryeong's expression darkened briefly before she met his gaze with an odd look.

"There were two of us at first. I had a friend."

"Two... and a friend?"

"A girl I met here. Same age, so we decided to stick together. You know how it is—you wanna lean on someone in times like these."

Kang Seol's face remained impassive as he listened.

'So why's she alone now?'

She was solo now, so something must've happened to her companion. And Han Seoryeong's shadowed expression confirmed it.

"We went too deep into the forest. No loot, so we got impatient, I guess."

"And?"

She bit her lip.

"We ran into monsters seeping from the Great Forest depths. We barely took them down, but... she got badly hurt. My fault—I messed up. And... she died."

"......"

An ordinary death.

The kind that's everywhere now.

Pandea was a place where life and death went hand in hand.

"But as she was dying... she tried to tell me something."

"Did you hear it?"

"...No. She died before she could say it."

Crackle... Crackle...

The campfire burned low.

Han Seoryeong asked calmly,

"What do you think she wanted to say? 'It's all your fault'? 'Live with guilt forever'?"

"No way to know now."

Kang Seol offered some clumsy comfort.

"Might as well think positive, though."

"...Positive?"

"You know, something like 'You're a good person' or 'It wasn't your fault'..."

"Pfft... Do I seem like a good person to you?"

"Yeah, I think you were. At least from what I've seen."

"Not anymore?"

"No comment."

"What... seriously. Well, if you're being generous, mister, you seemed like a good guy from the start too."

Han Seoryeong laughed often while talking with Kang Seol.

Maybe that was why she couldn't leave the forest—fear of dying as ordinarily as her friend.

Perked up by the chat, she said to him,

"But did you know?"

"Know what?"

"They say more than eight kinds of spirits might've spilled into the material world from this boundary stone collapse."

"Eight kinds? Not seven?"

"Yeah. Someone spotted a white spirit. It's hiding away, though..."

"Name?"

"No idea."

Her words reminded Kang Seol of Grizz's note.

'Flash Spirit Venta.'

A spirit nearly impossible to encounter casually.

And it targeted humans, so anyone else would've prayed to never cross paths.

But Kang Seol wanted Venta more than anyone.

'Capturing Venta would upgrade the Rainbow too.'

His belt, Rainbow, wielded immense power from seven spirits.

Its special effect—"Evolves with each absorbed spirit"—hadn't vanished.

Meaning he could absorb more.

'What if we add Venta?'

Mid-conversation, a suspicion arose, and he asked,

"How'd you learn about it?"

"...She saw it."

"Sorry."

"No, I just thought you'd be interested."

"I am."

Kang Seol nodded solemnly, and Han Seoryeong slowly continued.

"Probably... not far from here."

The white spirit in her tale had to be Flash Spirit Venta.

Kang Seol's heart pounded at the thought of tracking it down.

Han Seoryeong eyed him cautiously.

"Wanna... go see?"

"You remember the spot?"

"Not perfectly, but roughly..."

"Let's check it out."

Kang Seol nodded.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of footsteps on leaves came from ahead.

"It's a bit far, huh?"

"No, it's fine."

"Is this the way? Uh... maybe not?"

"This path right?"

"Hold on, I'm trying to remember..."

"Take your time. Spirits are leisurely by nature—they don't stray from their territory lightly."

"You say that, but you're rushing me..."

"Just your imagination."

"Really?"

"Really."

Han Seoryeong chuckled and scanned around for the path.

As an archer, she had tracking skills, so she'd pinpoint the spot soon. If not, she'd botched her class choice big time.

After surveying the terrain for a while, she approached quietly.

"Found it. I remember now—it was around here. She said a colony was a bit further in."

"Close by, then."

"Yeah... that way? Probably."

"Let's head there first."

Kang Seol followed her lead through the woods.

Soon, the dense thicket opened to a wide hillside.

"Whoa? There, you see it?"

"I see it."

"It really... is here."

Suuuuu...

A majestic scene unfolded, with pure white beings frolicking amid it, radiating light.

'Found you, Venta!'

He confirmed the Flash Spirit Venta's form from hiding. Grizz's words echoed in his mind meanwhile.

"Huh? Aren't those people over there?"

"Hm?"

"You know them? Why are they just sitting there?"

A group of three men sat at the hill's edge, backs turned, huddled as if peering down below.

'Those guys whispering behind me earlier.'

First impressions weren't great, but they didn't seem like backstabbing hyenas from Predator Guild.

Just ordinary folk.

Spotting people, Han Seoryeong deemed the hill safe and crept forward slowly.

Her most proactive since teaming up.

"Mister, should I scout ahead?"

"Ahead?"

"Yeah, you're slower than me at running. I'll check it out—if it's dangerous, I'll bolt. But if it looks really bad, back me up?"

Kang Seol nodded.

Her earnest face made it a reasonable ask.

Slither...

Crunch...

Han Seoryeong approached the Venta group in a low crouch. She was stealthy—no issues expected.

Swish. Swish swish.

Snap!

Han Seoryeong stepped on a twig.

Despite caution, a slip-up.

"Eek..."

Yet the Venta group didn't approach, even with her odd noise.

She reached the people at the hill's edge.

She seemed to chat with them.

From Kang Seol's view, only their backs and her face were visible, but her occasional laughs suggested as much.

"Kang Seol! Come on over. Seems safe! These white spirits aren't aggressive!"

"No."

Halt.

Han Seoryeong froze mid-wave at his reply.

"Huh? Why..."

"Too dangerous."

"What do you..."

"And I just realized I should ask..."

"......"

Kang Seol's golden eyes pierced her.

A heavy question slipped from his lips.

"Why don't you have a shadow?"

Han Seoryeong cast no shadow.