Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Face Collector
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The horrific incident in Dusk Village.
The villagers there, lost in twisted faith, had captured outsiders and offered them as sacrifices to their god.
Kang Seol's party had wiped out the village in the process, and Karen had been temporarily traumatized, unable to respond to external threats.
Afterward, the man behind Dusk Village—the true mastermind—appeared and pursued Kang Seol. Left to face him alone with only Jamad, Kang Seol chose to flee, eventually washing up in Mist Village.
'He's here.'
A demon straight out of hell.
His power wasn't all that impressive compared to the foes Kang Seol had faced so far, but the fact that one man's corrupt influence had tainted an entire village demanded caution.
His malice was the worst kind.
'How did he track me? I left no traces.'
Following the river made no sense. If he'd used some sinister tracking spell, Kang Seol would have noticed it ages ago.
"Giiiive... it... baaack..."
The severed monster head at Kang Seol's feet kept mumbling something.
The body was slimy like rags slathered in mucus, but the human-like face on the head made it all the more repulsive.
Kang Seol paused, staring at it.
"...Hold on."
"What?"
Shhk.
Kang Seol unrolled Cha-o's scroll.
The face drawn there.
And the face of the monster now at his feet.
"...They look alike."
"What? Show me!"
Karen hurried over and peered at the scroll with him. She nodded in agreement.
"You're right. They really do!"
"Was this monster our target?"
Whoa; you burned the whole body, now what about the potion!
The potion got torched too lol gg
But where'd he hide the potion?
Pocket!
No pockets tho?
'No, something's off.'
The face definitely resembled the drawing on the scroll the more he looked.
But the odds of this Mist Wraith having the sleep-inducing potion seemed vanishingly low.
"Giiiive... it... baaack..."
"What's this head keep saying?"
"Shh, listen."
Kang Seol knelt down and leaned close to the severed head. The words came through clearly now.
"Give it baaack..."
Kang Seol's expression hardened.
"What'd it say?"
"It wants it back."
"What?"
The head had already stiffened, motionless.
Kang Seol relayed exactly what he'd heard to Karen.
"It wants its face back."
"...Damn."
The main details of 'Sleep-Inducing Potion' have changed.
'Sleep-Inducing Potion' has changed to 'Face Collector'.
Adventure 12-1. 'Face Collector'
You've arrived in Mist Village to complete Cha-o's request. It seemed like you'd just need to find the man and retrieve the potion, but what started smoothly has only grown more tangled.
The fog plague spreading through nearby villages has claimed another victim here, and the monster you fought in Dusk Village before coming to Mist Village has appeared near the village.
This monster's face matches the one on the scroll exactly, and it spoke like a human. Even as it died, it uttered one complete sentence.
'Give me back my face.'
To uncover the truth, you must find the one who stole this monster's face.
📍 Goal: Fulfill the objective on Cha-o's scroll.
⏰ Failure Penalty: Cha-o's favorability decreases.
⏰ Time Remaining: About 10 days
The adventure goal of retrieving the sleep-inducing potion listed on Cha-o's scroll hadn't changed, but nearly everything else had.
From the moment they encountered the monster until nightfall the next day—a full day later—Kang Seol's worries persisted.
"Stealing faces? You think it's real?"
"Probably. We haven't found the person on the scroll so far, after all."
"Damn... how the hell are we supposed to track him down?"
Scraaape.
Karen kicked her chair in frustration.
"No, we've actually learned something."
"Like what?"
Kang Seol crossed his arms and laid out his thoughts.
"Remember our initial assumption?"
"That the guy with the potion spread the plague? That the potion itself might be the cause...?"
"And if he made the plague, he'd naturally have the antidote too."
"Makes sense. Guys who treat others' lives like dirt always cherish their own."
"Exactly. Finding him could calm this whole mess down a bit."
Karen nodded in agreement at Kang Seol's reasoning.
He continued.
"The problem is how to find the bastard. Luckily, I've got the face Cha-o drew."
"But that monster from earlier had..."
"It said, 'Give me back my face.' Even though it had one."
"Right."
"Why say that? If it already had a face..."
"He swapped them!"
"Or forced an exchange. Something like that."
Karen nodded vigorously, getting excited as she followed Kang Seol's explanation.
"And? What else?"
"Let's review what else Cha-o wrote. She specifically told us to come to Mist Village and pointed out this face as the target."
"So he's definitely here in Mist Village."
"Yeah. And we got the scroll from her just one or two months ago. She would've seen him well before handing it over."
"Meaning when Cha-o saw him, he had that face!"
"Exactly."
Bam! Karen slammed the table.
She shot to her feet and faced Kang Seol.
"Our first hunch was right! He could still be here, just with a new face."
"Yeah."
"But wouldn't the villagers notice if he swapped faces?"
"Who knows? Maybe illusion magic, necromancy... or some other knowledge. Basic mind magic has tons of ways to cause perception blocks."
In all the time they'd spent in the village, Kang Seol's Insight had never triggered once.
'Insight isn't omnipotent yet.'
Since its awakening wasn't complete, it couldn't catch everything.
He could pierce simple spells easily now, but higher-level ones—especially disguises—might slip by.
'How do I find him? Time's running short.'
They'd already wasted about half a month, so no room for complacency. Still, they'd zeroed in on the core issue; they just needed answers.
'Should I round up the whole village and interrogate them one by one...?'
Thud, thud, thud!
Kang Seol's deliberations were interrupted by sounds from outside.
A voice called from beyond the door.
"...It's Gunt. Are you in?"
"Teacher Gunt. What brings you...?"
Creeeak...
Kang Seol opened the door to find Gunt standing there, his face etched with despair. The raw grief in his expression unsettled both Kang Seol and Karen.
"Sera... has fallen into slumber."
"Slumber... you mean?"
"Her condition has worsened."
"Then..."
"There's no cure left. Sera will spend whatever life she has left in sleep. And even that... won't be long. Please, follow me."
Kang Seol and Karen followed him to Sera's bedside.
She lay there, still as death.
The healthy villagers had all gathered to witness her final moments.
"Sera, how could such a bright child..."
"The gods are heartless, taking away this poor soul."
"No family to care for her... it's heartbreaking, sob..."
Gunt sat beside the peacefully sleeping Sera.
And began to speak.
"Sera, forgive my cowardice in confessing this now, but seeing you gave me so much strength."
The villagers listened from a distance to Gunt's tearful confession.
"I was an orphan like you. I hated the world and cursed my fate. I thought it was natural. Like my tragic birth gave me the right to complain."
Gunt shook his head.
"But you were different. Just your presence made so many happy, and you endured misfortune with unbreakable spirit. You taught me everything through your actions alone."
Kang Seol and Karen felt the sincerity in Gunt's sobs—a doctor's care for a patient transcended into pure affection for another being.
Scritch... scratch...
Beside him, the youngest girl in Mist Village was drawing.
It was Gunt and Sera.
"Drawing something?"
"Yeah, big brother."
"Why? What's it for?"
"To keep the memory. Whenever someone gets the sleep plague, I draw them."
"That's sweet."
"Uh-huh. This way, even if I never see them again, I remember. My house is full of these already. Come visit, I'll show you."
Piles of drawings meant piles of victims. Kang Seol felt a pang hearing the village child speak so casually.
Scritch... scraaatch...
"Huh?"
"What?"
"No... it's just... ugh... not drawing right."
The girl tilted her head, chewed her brush, pondered, then resumed.
The sight drew Kang Seol in; he watched her finish.
"You're good."
"Thanks! Mom's saving up to send me to Audenin. Says I can learn properly there."
"Wonderful mom."
"Yeah! Done! Wanna see?"
"Let me."
Kang Seol took the drawing.
Sera sleeping soundly, Gunt weeping—rendered plainly.
Even uncolored, it stirred complex feelings in him.
Pure awe at the skill—could this really be a child's work?
The disconnect: Sera looked merely asleep in the drawing, yet in reality, she was slipping toward death.
And something off.
"...Huh?"
"What? Let me see."
Karen, tired of the gloom, snatched the drawing from Kang Seol's hand.
"...Huh?"
She reacted just like him.
Insight has activated.
This is an incongruous drawing.
On cue, Insight triggered, confirming the feeling wasn't imagination.
The face was wrong.
Gunt's face wasn't Gunt's—it was the one from Cha-o's scroll.
Kang Seol calmly set the drawing down and asked the girl.
"This Gunt, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Why'd you draw Teacher Gunt like this?"
"Huh? Like what?"
She pointed at the still-sniffling Gunt.
"That's what he looks like."
Kang Seol stroked the girl's head with a stiff expression, then handed back the drawing.
He murmured to Karen.
"Sometimes luck swings our way."
"Tell me about it. Thought our luck was cursed."
They approached Sera's bed where Gunt sat.
He was still sobbing, tears streaming.
"Sera, please next time... sob..."
"...Teacher Gunt."
"Sending Sera awa—sob... it's not easy. Sorry. Just a bit longer..."
"Teacher Gunt. I have a question."
"Sob... sob... Not now. Why are you being so rude?"
Gunt lifted his head in anger at the insolent Kang Seol—and met his icy glare.
"Why the face?"
"What...?"
"Karen."
Whoosh!
Karen swept up the cloth over Sera and cradled her, gently setting her aside.
The villagers gasped at the inexplicable aggression.
"Kyaaah! What are you doing to Sera?!"
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Gunt stared blankly at Kang Seol.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
"Why'd you do that to Sera? To the villagers?"
"Sob... you suspect me now?"
"Answer."
Gunt bowed his head and wept.
"Hic-sob... sob... sob... Why... sob...?"
Then the sobs grew eerie.
"Sob... hic... heeheeheeheehee! Why?!"
He sprang up, glaring at Kang Seol.
Gunt's eyes turned red.
"How'd you figure it out?"