118
118 ― A Long Day
As they went further north, the trees became fewer and changed into snow-covered plains. Going even further from there, the appearance of snow-capped mountains gradually began to reveal itself.
The days were getting longer and longer. Daytime increased and nighttime decreased accordingly.
'I think I heard about this phenomenon in the Arctic.'
He remembered something he had vaguely heard in class long ago. Was it called the polar day? In the Arctic regions of Earth, there's a phenomenon where the sun doesn't go below the horizon, so the sun rises even at night.
Seeing a similar phenomenon appear in the Spirit Realm as well, does that mean the structure or position of this planet is similar to Earth?
"We haven't found a portal."
Kalesian spoke with a slightly furrowed expression.
"It's good to explore the Spirit Realm, but if we run into someone like Silvern again, it'll be dangerous..."
"I felt this before, too, but blue portals don't seem to appear much in the Spirit Realm."
Even when exploring around Fermue's Tower before, they had quite a hard time finding blue portals.
The frequency of discovery was clearly lower than when finding portals in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd floors.
He inevitably felt a bit more of a sense of crisis.
"Hah, this is the first time I've been this nervous. Is it because even I could die?"
Kalesian's tone seemed somewhat more excited than when he was on Earth.
Being born on the 5th floor by nature, he never felt tension wherever he went in the Gate. It was natural on the 4th floor and below, and even on the 5th floor, though there might be danger, he didn't feel this level of tension.
But the Spirit Realm was clearly a land where beings superior to him roamed.
Moreover, he had the weakness of being incomplete, having failed to undergo molting, making it even more so. If he had come to the Spirit Realm alone without Jin-woo, he would have died unable to handle Silvern.
Thinking about it that way, Jin-woo's existence couldn't help but seem mysterious.
'Where did such a human come from?'
Of course, he knew his birthplace. What he was curious about was his more fundamental origin.
At first, he simply thought of him as a strong Hunter who had acquired a god's divine artifacts and further developed his abilities... That kind of feeling.
But the more he looked, especially after he had shown Erosion in the Lair, he began to see him differently.
'The Lords of Erosion.'
Jin-woo's existence began to overlap with theirs.
Not someone who coincidentally obtained the power of a divine artifact and wielded it fairly well, but as if his very origin was connected to Erosion.
"Kalesian. I can see people."
"Hm? Where?"
He awoke from his deep contemplation about Jin-woo's origin at his call. Looking where Jin-woo was pointing, he could see several people.
Though he said several people, they weren't clustered together like one group. The sparsely scattered houses seemed to be individual dwellings rather than a village, and there was no visible interaction between them.
There was no sight of them talking to each other or working together. They didn't even make eye contact.
What they were all doing was just one thing. They dug the ground and scooped out snow-mixed soil and rocks to put in carts.
They dragged these with great effort and disappeared toward the snow-capped mountains. They were mechanically repeating only that action.
"...Are they carrying construction materials?"
"It seems so. They're building something on the mountain side."
Jin-woo approached one of them. He was a man with a half-balding head and deep wrinkles carved on his face.
"Excuse me."
There was no answer. He called several more times and even tried poking him, but he didn't look this way at all.
The eyes he was forced to meet had no light at all and were empty. He seemed to be looking at something completely different from Jin-woo.
"What is this?"
"I don't see any traces of magic either."
Jin-woo and Kalesian tilted their heads in puzzlement. The man left, dragging his cart, and Jin-woo grabbed another person and spoke to them in the same way. And received the same lack of response.
"Hmm, how about kidnapping one and interrogating them?"
Kalesian made a disturbing suggestion. While he didn't intend to go as far as kidnapping, he did want to try tying one up and observing. If they tied their feet so they couldn't pull the cart, wouldn't there be a change in their machine-like movements?
Then Jin-woo spotted a familiar face and spoke in a surprised tone.
"It's someone I know."
"You know someone? Is it someone you saw when you came to the Spirit Realm before?"
"No. It's a Hunter."
"What!?"
A Hunter from Earth is in the Spirit Realm? Does that mean there's an S-rank other than themselves who has reached the Spirit Realm!
That's not it, Jin-woo shook his head.
"The black mage from New York. I encountered and fought him on the 2nd floor."
S-rank black mage Johan. The man he had killed with a sword borrowed from the God of Ice Valley and dropped into a hell-like bottom was there.
***
He briefly explained to Kalesian. That he was a black mage who came to kill him under David's orders, and that he had encountered and killed him on the 2nd floor.
At that time, Jin-woo was far too lacking to fight an S-rank, so he borrowed the power of the God's Altar. The one he borrowed power from then was the God of Ice Valley, and Johan's corpse and soul that Jin-woo killed were handed over to it as payment.
Then this place is...
"You're saying it's that god's territory."
"That would be right."
The domain is managed by the God of Ice Valley. Whether it was a place called the Spirit Realm where the Lord itself resides, or just one of several territories, he didn't know.
However, either way, it was certain that this place was connected to the God of Ice Valley.
"This is trouble. We already had such a hard time with just Silvern, and now it's a Lord's land."
It was as Kalesian worried. It hadn't been long since they had gotten through that arduous forest battle, and now, another dangerous place.
"The World Tree's branch is still glowing."
"At least the direction is definitely this way."
"Probably so."
It was certain that the direction the World Tree was guiding was this way. But wouldn't they necessarily have to cross the snow-capped mountains?
"It would be better to take a detour even if it's a bit farther."
"I agree."
If they crossed the snow-capped mountains trying to go quickly and ended up clashing with the God of Ice Valley, that would be a bigger problem.
Going around a mountain wasn't an easy task, but it would be right to choose the safe path. They might discover a blue portal along the way, too.
Then.
"You..."
Johan spotted them. Was it an S-rank black mage's detection ability, or was it hatred toward Jin-woo, who killed him?
Though he originally had lightless eyes like the others, he gradually came to his senses while looking at Jin-woo. And then.
"Kang Jin-woo, you bastaaaaard!"
Having completely come to his senses, he spread his hands and began pouring out magic. Skeletons and corpses rose from the spreading shadows, and sharp darkness was shot to pierce through Jin-woo.
What instantly covered the surroundings was indeed S-rank level power, but it didn't work on the current Jin-woo at all.
Jin-woo, who unhesitatingly plunged through the rampaging magic, cut through all of it and grabbed Johan's throat.
He threw him to the ground and thrust his sword deep into his chest. In an instant, Johan was pinned to the floor like an insect specimen.
'Was this all he amounted to?'
Looking at the struggling Johan, Jin-woo blinked. The dragon's soul that had been his trump card was gone.
But even considering that, he was strangely weak. Had he become weaker than before after being exploited by the God of Ice Valley?
'No...'
Rather, he himself had become much stronger. Incomparably stronger than before.
Johan seemed to feel the same thing, as his eyes shook with shock.
"How, how is there such a difference..."
Johan was speaking English as when he was alive on Earth, but Jin-woo could hear it all. Probably because this was the Spirit Realm. His voice wasn't just air vibrations but was being transmitted from soul to soul.
"How did such a difference occur in just one day!"
Looking at Johan, wrapped in shock, Jin-woo was also surprised. What did he just say?
'In one day?'
He couldn't understand what he meant. His fight with Johan was something that had to go back not months but years.
***
Jin-woo dragged Johan to a nearby house and tied him up. He was just tied to a wooden pillar with a rope, so he wasn't sure if it was properly restrained. An S-rank black mage could easily break through this and escape.
But Johan didn't seem to have any intention of resisting right away. He just kept his mouth tightly shut and glared at them.
The preparations for the conversation were in place.
"This place is... The land of Lord Belkarim, the Lord of Snow and Ice."
"Belkarim?"
Is that the name of the God of Ice Valley?
"Remember it well, Jin-woo. Knowing names is a very important matter."
At Kalesian's whisper from beside him, Jin-woo nodded. Seeing that a dragon was attached to Jin-woo, Johan shrank back even more.
"What are you and the other people doing? Are you moving materials to build a temple?"
"We are building a mountain."
"Building a mountain?"
When Jin-woo asked in surprise, Johan raised the corners of his mouth and made a triumphant expression.
"Do you see that snow-capped mountain ahead? My compatriots and I built it. It's a masterpiece."
He didn't know why he was speaking so proudly, but at least he understood what they were doing.
Building a mountain - he had heard the story of Yugong moving mountains, but this was the first time he'd seen someone actually doing such a thing.
"I had planned to repay you someday for killing me, but on one hand, I'm also grateful. Thanks to you, I was able to assist under that person like this."
Looking at Johan giggling, it seemed he was quite satisfied with where he was now. He seemed to like his new workplace and new boss.
"So what did you mean by what you said earlier? In one day."
"What?"
"Didn't you express surprise that such a difference occurred in one day?"
"Tsk! What meaning or what - it's exactly what I said, so what are you asking? I don't understand the intent of the question."
At Jin-woo's question, Johan rather frowned. Their perceptions didn't match.
Jin-woo reviewed Johan's earlier statement and current attitude again. Then, with a ‘could it be’ feeling, he asked again.
"Johan. When did you die?"
"When?"
What kind of question is that, Johan frowned and answered.
"Yesterday."
In his perception, only one day's worth of time had passed in the world.
***
After several rounds of questions and answers, they released Johan. Though Johan was grinding his teeth, unable to attack, when he left the house and grabbed a cart, the light in his eyes disappeared again.
Leaving him to go back to work, Jin-woo and Kalesian remained in the house.
"Is it some kind of mental magic? You said there's no magic cast, but there might be a similar kind of authority."
"Hmm..."
Jin-woo's words were natural, but Kalesian couldn't easily nod his head.
Kalesian looked at the sky, and Jin-woo also raised his head following him. At the end of their gazes was the sun, illuminating the day.
The sun wasn't just setting - it wasn't moving at all.
"There's certainly some kind of authority, but it might not be something that acts on the mind."
"No way..."
Jin-woo seemed to understand what Kalesian was thinking. But it was such an unconventional matter that he couldn't help but doubt it.
"The days here seem to be very long. Very, very long."
Kalesian's words were like this. This place might be a place where time itself was frozen.