Chapter 14

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 14

Chapter Title: 별스러운 성기사-14화

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 14

Chapter Title: Have You Made Your Resolve?

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Just from the voice alone, it was impossible to tell the gender. It sounded almost like a baby's.

In hindsight, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the girl had kept clumsily clapping along at every turn, which had nearly driven me to despair from the sheer humiliation.

'I've endured this far. I can't pass out now.'

Fortunately, I hadn't reached the point of blacking out. Though my head was still spinning a bit.

'Focus. I can't let myself explode into pieces like this.'

Suuup—, whoooo—.

That's when it happened, after taking deep breaths in and out twice with fierce determination.

A small vortex formed above my palm, and the blood throughout my body began to writhe.

"Ngh!"

The energy surging wildly, as if it would tear my body apart, suddenly raced toward my heart all at once.

Toolsep wasn't a poison that harmed the body, so there was no need to rely on the liver for detoxification. In other words, it didn't strain the body.

I could feel it directly with my own body, even without the info Luke had given me.

The problem was that my current physical state wasn't perfect.

'My judgment was off too.'

In a state where the assimilation wasn't fully complete, I'd rushed around because the pain had lessened, and scarfed down food like crazy because I was hungry.

Thud—.

I'd gotten smarter, but my actions were still dumb.

Some habits never change, it seemed.

But it wasn't a hopeless situation.

Silver Star's innocent, utterly tension-free voice proved it.

The swelling subsided in time with the rhythm of the song Silver Star was singing.

The first stage of mana cultivation involved condensing the vitality from inside and outside the body into the heart.

Once you gathered the vitality and successfully compressed it into a tiny point, that point became the mana core. Any leftover vitality would then dissipate.

You repeated the process to grow that point bigger.

Grain of sand, bean, small ball. Like that.

The only vitality I could draw on right now was from the Toolsep.

I didn't know if its effects had weakened like expired medicine, but judging by the swelling, it still had some potency.

"Whooo—."

I regulated my breathing and cracked my eyes open just a sliver.

After keeping them shut so long, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Times like this called for activating Blue Eye.

As soon as I opened Blue Eye, a cool sensation washed over my eyes, and my vision sharpened.

'Oh?'

My eyes widened at the unfamiliar sight.

Tiny orbs of light resembling starlight floated scattered in the air.

They were far larger than the dust-like specks from the Toolsep.

I rolled my eyes, searching for the source of the light orbs.

Drip drip drip—.

'Water?'

Ah, I recalled what Luke had said about mana cultivation.

- "The source of all power is life. Mana, divine power—it's all the same. They just take different forms based on faith, wisdom, and will."

The pure water trickling from the top of the rocky mountain was brimming with vitality.

The stream had responded to my cultivation, sending over its vitality.

Whoooosh—.

The light orbs flowed into my nostrils with every inhale.

When I closed Blue Eye, the lights vanished from view.

'Silver Star.'

That baby voice with such an archaic tone... please, no...

Sigh—.

I let out a light sigh and asked my question.

'The mana isn't accumulating in my heart.'

Oh dear, yeah. Must've lived a long time.

'I didn't ask about your strengths right now...'

To escape, I needed mana.

Luke had amplified his strength with mana and supplemented his stamina.

Those memories were etched into my body.

In other words, without mana, I couldn't do a damn thing. I'd just be producing shit from all the Toolsep I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crammed in. Goat turds shaped like Toolsep, maybe.

'What's the problem?'

I wasn't despondent, but I was pretty disappointed.

'Figured something out?'

'Hmm...'

So, eating too much was the issue after all.

'Still weird, though. Why isn't the Toolsep turning into mana? It's made from vitality.'

Brag much.

Maybe it was such an ancient elixir that it had no mana left to extract. Sigh, knowledge is power, they say.

Not knowing for sure left me feeling drained.

'Anyway, if you hadn't helped, I might've exploded into bits.'

True, but still.

It was meant as praise, but the kid had no tact at times like this.

Anyway, to gather even a little mana, I tried various things with Silver Star's help.

Expel the Toolsep energy.

'Damn it...'

Maybe it was more righteous to expel this brat first before trying to expel the Toolsep energy?

Anyway.

My abilities were far too lacking to drive out the Toolsep energy.

To expel it, I needed mana or divine power, and I had none, so it was an obvious outcome.

I even accelerated my consciousness to speed up the mana cultivation.

A faint sigh escaped me.

In the end, it meant I had to head out to the living world full of lifeforms to fill up on mana.

Or actively promote bowel movements until the Toolsep was gone. Not sure if it was even excret-able.

'I'll starve to death first.'

Round and round, back to square one.

'I need to get out. I can't keep starving forever.'

The fierce swelling that had felt like it would burst me open had thankfully subsided quickly.

Silver Star said I could've solved it myself even without its guidance, but I didn't see it that way.

Even if I had figured something out, I wouldn't have stabilized this fast.

It was possible because the thing had spread throughout my body, observing and controlling everywhere.

'Lucky charm.'

'I said starlight terrorist.'

It had even picked up on tact now—sulking bashfully at the praise.

I brushed the dirt off my butt as I stepped down from the altar.

If not for Luke's temperament, I would've jumped in shock and fallen over.

'You can see it too?'

'Should I turn off Blue Eye?'

'Turn it on.'

Pick one thing and stick to it.

Still, thanks to Silver Star, I wasn't lonely.

I chuckled and took a step forward.

Toward the stone wall, clearly visible even from the altar dominating the sanctuary's center.

The stone wall was covered in countless marks. At a glance, they resembled a grid pattern, but there was no regularity to them.

No telling when or by whom they were carved.

'The whole sanctuary must be preserved by mana, making it look freshly carved.'

Could a beast with steel claws leave scratches like these?

Sharp, deep gouges densely filled the stone wall.

The entire massive sanctuary was like that.

The marks weren't too wide vertically.

From my chest height up to about head level.

'That's why I didn't notice when I just groped around. Would Blue Eye have shown them back then too?'

I'd only skimmed it roughly looking for the door.

'Did I? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Then why didn't I see it?'

'Wait, that's weird?'

Has my Blue Eye ability improved?

'Hey, you. If you say it like that, who am I supposed to trust—.'

Ah, right.

It had always been subordinated before.

'Sorry.'

Sigh—. I shook my head with a sigh.

Either way, the expired Toolsep hadn't only brought negatives.

'My body feels much lighter.'

'Yeah.'

Even while chatting with Silver Star, my hands kept exploring the marks without rest.

Upon closer inspection with my fingers, something suspicious stood out.

'Oho, check this out?'

Pressing my cheek against the wall made it clear.

'And it's not random clawing.'

A plausible idea struck me, so I turned off Blue Eye and closed my eyes.

I traced my fingers along the sharp remnants.

"Do you recognize this?"

"I have a rough idea too."

My heart pounded with excitement at this new world, new discovery.

It wasn't random claw marks—it was writing.

Very different from the language we used now, but...

"It's ancient Hellite script. Old writing."

Silver Star seemed to thump its chest confidently.

I could decipher it too, but it would take ages.

So I left it to the kid and carefully traced each character with my fingers.

That's what I said.

Yeah, you're a genius.

"Not quite..."

"No, I said no."

Leave it alone for a second, and it turns into a wuxia nutjob.

'Said I spouted nonsense when I was a kid too.'

Still, I grinned happily.

Thanks to Silver Star, I could get real-time translations.

'Got it.'

My stomach growled soon enough, so I carried the Toolsep basket around while continuing to trace the wall.

The sanctuary was so vast that checking every character by feel took forever.

"Sigh—."

"Gotta eat something when I'm hungry. Wonder if it's 'cause they're old and vitality-poor, but my stomach empties way too fast."

Like the difference between cabbage salad and boiled cabbage? Wait, isn't that the same?

"Nope. You're handling it."

"Once we're out, we'll tour the world together."

"Told you it's not demonic arts."

Still, I finished reading it all before the outside grew dark.

'Good job, Silver Star.'

Emptied one more basket.

But thanks to Silver Star, my body didn't swell up anymore.

A subtle fever rose, resisting the chill in my heart just enough, and strength welled up in my limbs.

I slung the now-empty basket over my shoulder and headed for the altar.

My body felt light, but my heart was heavy.

Even Silver Star had struggled with the decryption.

But for it, it was like solving a one-second puzzle in two seconds.

"Some kind of poem, maybe?"

"How's 'a star brushes the cheek' an incantation?"

Its tone was so serious I couldn't question it right away.

The phrase "up to the practitioner" stuck in my throat like a lump.

I had no choice but to nod.

It was an insane nutjob, but the world's greatest ability.

"Yeah. If it means getting out of here."

"Why say it with such intensity?"

My face nearly burst from rage, and my grip tightened, crunching the basket on my shoulder to pieces.

The kid was always pulling stunts like this whenever it got the chance.

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