Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: Han River Recapture (5)
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The sea swelled.
The water that had risen like a mountain scattered all at once, and Leviathan's massive form revealed itself once more.
[Human.]
Leviathan, one of its horns now gone, stared at me silently.
“What's your deal, sea serpent? If you mess with my little brother, I won't stand by idly. Should I make that asymmetrical horn of yours symmetrical?”
[How vulgar. If you are a king, it would be wise to choose your words with more dignity. O, Dokkaebi.]
“Let's see if you can still talk about dignity after I beat you down, you bastard.”
“Calm down. I don't sense any hostility.”
“Hostility? Hostilityyyy?? He's openly picking a fight with his words, and you say there's no hostility? You punk. Little brother. There's a saying passed down through generations of dokkaebi. If someone picks a fight, you must smash their head with a club. It's called a 'manner injector.' Once they get a taste of this, anyone becomes docile.”
“...If you behave, I'll treat you to some other liquor.”
“That sounds great!”
As if nothing had happened, Cheon-ryang chuckled and completely changed his tune.
Still, he didn't forget to give Leviathan one last glare.
When my eyes met Leviathan's, I couldn't help but smile wryly.
“Looks like you've regained your senses.”
[Indeed. Thanks to you... though the price I paid is far too great. You seem to already know the meaning behind my horn, so I suppose I don't need to explain.]
Of course, I knew.
Leviathan was a demonic beast that had ruled the oceans since ancient times.
It takes 5,000 years for one of its horns to fully grow.
With one such horn severed, Leviathan's power would inevitably plummet, which could have a significant impact in various ways.
After all, Leviathan was essentially the guardian of the oceans.
It wasn't a being that would indiscriminately slaughter humans and try to destroy the Earth.
“Still, it was the only way.”
[I know. That is why I am not angry with you. Had we delayed any longer searching for another method, I don't know what I might have done. Had we been a moment later, this entire land might have sunk beneath the sea.]
Leviathan's eyes turned toward the land.
I naturally followed its gaze, then looked down at the boat.
The sea was calm, as if the storm had never happened, but Jo Min-woo was retching from seasickness, with Jo Min-ah patting his back.
Despite being soaked by the rain, their clothes were perfectly dry.
Had the power they possessed dried the moisture in an instant?
“First, get the rampaging demonic beasts back under control. Stop them from running wild.”
[Of course. By the time you return, the gates will be closed. You need not worry about that. However...]
“However?”
[I have lost much of my power. Those who threatened me before may try to kill me at any moment. When that time comes, there will be nothing more I can do.]
“It's fine. That won't happen.”
As I said it with a confident smile, Leviathan's eyes widened, if only slightly.
[A strange human. You have no basis for your words, yet somehow, I find myself wanting to believe you.]
“Of course! Whose little brother do you think he is!”
Cheon-ryang laughed boisterously.
I really can't keep up with the dokkaebis' personalities.
I shook my head slightly.
[Human. There is one thing I wish to ask.]
“What is it?”
[Where did you get that tooth?]
It was talking about Behemoth's tooth.
Leviathan's eyes were filled with suspicion.
Naturally, possessing such an item would make it suspicious that I had harmed Behemoth.
“It's not what you think. I bought it from someone. But why do you ask?”
[...I have been unable to contact Behemoth for some time now.]
Leviathan's voice grew stern.
[Behemoth and I were originally one. Thus, even now that we are separated, we can sense each other and communicate. But suddenly, the connection was severed. After several days passed without knowing why, I decided I couldn't let it be and was about to make a move when a strange energy pierced my body, causing me to lose my senses.]
Behemoth?
It wandered the skies aimlessly, so while the distance between them could become immense, as long as it was on Earth, it should have been able to communicate with Leviathan.
‘Just as I thought.’
Some faction had intervened.
I didn't know the full story, but I was certain Behemoth was not in a good state.
[If you happen to find Behemoth, please give this to it.]
[You have obtained the item, 'Dragon Horn Bead (龍刻珠)'.]
[Dragon Horn Bead (龍刻珠)]
A bead containing the power of a sea dragon.
Merely possessing it nullifies harmful status effects on the body, such as poison.
[Gasp!? W-What? You're just giving that away!? The Dragon Horn Bead!?]
Besial was aghast.
In contrast, a wide smile spread across my face.
[This is cheating!!]
‘I can't believe I got it like this.’
There were two ways to get the Dragon Horn Bead from Leviathan.
Kill it and get it as a drop, or raise its trust level to receive it.
Both methods required overcoming extremely difficult conditions.
The former had a very low drop rate, and the latter's cost in time and resources wasn't worth it.
By the time you built up enough trust to get the bead, you'd likely be at a stage where you no longer needed it.
And it was worth every bit of that effort.
An item that worked just by being in your inventory was significant enough on its own, but its effect was the nullification of all harmful status effects.
Leviathan told me to give it to Behemoth, but depending on the situation, I could just keep it for myself.
[Still, you received it to deliver it. You're not actually thinking of keeping it, are you?]
“Well, our business here is done. Shall we get going?”
[You crazy bastard... I can already see the balance of the main quests crumbling.]
Besial tore at his hair.
Well, since he was also a sort of administrator, it would be troublesome for him if I so easily obtained an item that made progressing through the story this much easier.
Not that I cared.
[I will open an exit. If you go through there, you can return to where you were.]
A large gate, about three meters tall, opened near the boat.
A gate in the middle of the ocean really gave the feeling of a passage to another world.
“Thanks.”
[I wish you good fortune.]
Leviathan blinked once, then vanished into the sea in an instant.
“So, is it all over?”
Cheon-ryang asked.
“I suppose so. You can go back now, Cheon-ryang-nim.”
“Tsk. I haven't even warmed up yet. It's a bit anticlimactic to end like this without doing much. When I get back, I'll have to grab someone for a sparring match.”
[I've been thinking this for a while, but he's a dokkaebi who's really good with foreign words.]
“Ah, little brother! When you have time later, introduce me to those kids! I can't just ignore my little brother's little brothers!”
“They're minors, so they can't drink.”
“What are you talking about? Back in my day, we started drinking as soon as we could walk!”
[Is that true?]
“As if.”
It seemed that was the dokkaebi standard.
Though even by dokkaebi standards, it was hard to understand.
Cheon-ryang laughed heartily and disappeared through the door he had used to appear.
The door shrank back into the shape of a key and fell toward my hand...
[As the distance from the 'Dokkaebi Club' increases, the summoned object will disappear.]
“Ah.”
*Swoosh.*
The wooden plank that had served as a foothold vanished without a word, and my body began to fall.
“That damn blockhead dokkaebi...!!”
Leaving behind those last words, I plunged into the sea.
***
“By the way, Hyung. Why didn't you kill it? Since its power was weakened, I thought you could have won if you attacked it with that dokkaebi mister.”
Not long after we exited the gate, Jo Min-woo suddenly asked a question.
I answered, frowning as the salty smell still lingered in my nose.
“Killing isn't the solution to everything. Until we deal with the cause of... the ruin, our objective is survival. Getting stronger is a means to that end. Keeping Leviathan alive is more beneficial.”
“I see...”
With this, the safety of the seas was secured for the time being.
But as Leviathan had said, it wasn't a perfect solution.
The danger level had only been reduced from 100 to around 40 or 50; it hadn't become zero.
Sea routes would still be a life-or-death gamble.
‘In any case, the original goal was to secure the Han River basin.’
I looked around.
As the gates began to disappear one by one, the players who had been in the midst of fierce battles cheered.
My eyes met with Choi Dae-han, who was wiping the sweat from his brow.
A smile bloomed on his face.
“You did it. You did it, my friend!”
“Didn't I say I'd be back?”
“Still, to think you'd return without a single scratch...! You truly are amazing! You should be more proud of yourself!”
Choi Dae-han patted my shoulder.
“It doesn't look like you defeated that monster, so isn't it a bit much to be praised like that?”
On the other hand, Kim Hyo-jong glared at me with a tired face.
He must have seen a part of it with his 'eye'.
“What are you talking about? All the gates are closing, and the demonic beasts' assault has subsided. It's been resolved well, hasn't it?”
“That's true, but it's also true that the monster spewing that ferocious mana is still alive and well. If you focus your mana sense on a gate that hasn't disappeared yet, you'll feel it.”
“...Is what he's saying true?”
Choi Dae-han asked, as if interrogating me.
However, before I could even open my mouth, he retracted his words.
“No, never mind. That's not what's important. In any case, they have retreated, and the situation is resolved. I can tell just by looking at your expression. Besides, if you could have killed the monster but chose to spare it, you must have had a good reason. I trust you.”
“Since when did you trust him that much...”
“It's precisely because I once failed to trust him due to my shallow experience that I trust him more now.”
Choi Dae-han gave a warm smile.
At that, Kim Hyo-jong scratched his head as if displeased and turned to me.
“Hey, Kim Se-hyeon. That, uh... that... Dammit. It's not even a difficult word, but it just won't come out. Don't look at me like that. Stop with the warm eyes.”
“Why are you putting on a one-man show?”
“You son of a... Phew. Never mind. Um. Thanks. Right. That's it!”
“He's made a lot of progress, too. Please be understanding.”
“I understand.”
“Old man!!”
“I'm not so old that I can only hear you if you shout, so speak quietly.”
Even without Choi Dae-han saying anything, I could already feel it.
Their attitudes had changed distinctly.
In fact, they were showing me more trust now than in the beginning when they were somewhat wary.
The corners of my mouth lifted unconsciously.
Having someone who originally didn't trust me come to trust me was a better feeling than I had expected.
“By the way, if you leave now, you'll arrive in Busan late, won't you? What are you going to do? Get help from that teleporter?”
“No, Jun Bo-ra has other things to do, so I can't get her help.”
“Hongryeon has Lee Tae-hyeon. Ah, right, they all left to deal with the remnants. Dammit. There's not much I can do to help in that regard.”
“It's fine. I appreciate the thought.”
“That's right! Hyung already came prepared!”
“Kid. The adults are talking.”
“I told you not to call me a kid! Everyone calls me a kid!”
Jo Min-woo was fed up.
I think he was like this with Choi Yeon-soo, too.
Jo Min-woo hated being called a kid, but to everyone else, he was undoubtedly a kid.
“It's true. Oppa told me when we were coming here.”
“Really? Well then, I guess there's nothing to worry about.”
“Why do you listen to what she says!”
“Unlike you, she's mature. She can join the adults' conversation.”
“Grr!!”
“Heh heh. Come at me when you're a little older, kid.”
Kim Hyo-jong blocked Jo Min-woo's approach by pressing on his head with a single finger.
His face red and blue with anger, Jo Min-woo suddenly turned around.
“Hyung! Let's go! Let's go get stronger! To Busan!! I'm going to get strong fast and beat that mister!”
Well, if that was his motivation, so be it.
I chuckled and took out Hong Gildong's Nationwide Shrinking Map.
As expected, Besial screamed once again.
[When did you get that!? You crazy bastard! Do you have a secret warehouse somewhere!? Are you using a private DLC shop or something!?]
I smiled lightly and pointed to a part of the map.
Using an item that was several tiers ahead of the curve was always a thrill.