55
055 ― Spirit Realm
Jin-woo was sitting across from Mahiri, eating chicken. Thanks to putting the freshly fried boneless fried chicken directly into his inventory, it was still crispy and juicy even now.
Eating it together with rice balls simply made with seaweed powder and sesame oil was salty and savory, making for a simple yet satisfying meal.
If it seemed too greasy, he could sprinkle some lemon juice on it or eat salad.
He wasn't sure about the nutritional balance, but it was certainly abundant for one meal.
"Why don't you try some fried food?"
"No, thank you. It's not very good for the body."
Mahiri, sitting across from him, was only crunch crunch chewing on block food.
Naturally, it wasn't Mahiri herself but part of Kalesian's consciousness moving her to consume nutrition.
So it was purely about nutrition rather than taste. Even with crispy fried chicken and savory rice balls in front of her, she was happily eating block food that seemed like chewing cardboard.
"Your ability is amazing. The main body is devoted to research while part of your consciousness is transferred here."
"It's not particularly difficult. Jin-woo, you can multitask too, can't you?"
"I understand that normal multitasking is rapidly processing tasks in succession..."
As far as Jin-woo knew, multitasking wasn't about doing multiple tasks simultaneously. He understood it as rapidly processing multiple tasks in succession to make it appear as if working on them simultaneously.
But Kalesian was different. The young dragon's main body was completely devoted to research, while only part of his consciousness was controlling Mahiri's body. He was truly processing two tasks simultaneously.
It was fascinating yet understandable since he was a dragon.
"By the way, when will you let me into the treasure vault? You haven't forgotten about the 2 treasures and one small elixir, have you?"
"Sigh... Even though we made such a promise, the divine artifact ended up becoming Jin-woo's possession in the end... What did I gain?"
"You're getting cooperation with research."
"Tch. When you return to Earth later, come to New Delhi. The treasure vault is in my mansion."
It seemed that Kalesian's treasure vault, where he hoarded treasures, wasn't in a subspace but on Earth.
"You'll be surprised when you come, won't you? I'll show you my golden mansion."
"Golden mansion? Don't tell me it's actually painted with real gold?"
"Of course, I didn't paint everything with gold, but I designed it with that theme. Anyway, you'll be amazed when you see it."
Mahiri giggled, giggle giggle as if looking forward to it.
"Don't thieves break in when you have it like that?"
"Occasionally, some crazy bastards do come in. But they can't get out."
"...The security seems solid."
Just how luxuriously was he living in New Delhi? The daily life of a dragon, serious about treasures, working as an S-rank Hunter on Earth.
At this point, even Jin-woo became curious. When he returned, he'd definitely have to visit New Delhi.
"Thank you for the meal."
After finishing all the rice balls and chicken, Jin-woo disposed of the trash.
It had already been 3 days since he came to Kalesian's workshop.
During that time, Kalesian had been devoted to research without rest, and Jin-woo hadn't just been playing around either.
"Then I'll go train."
"Yes, go ahead with your work. I'll guard well so no one can enter."
In the room prepared for him, Jin-woo spent time in meditation all day from dawn to night.
The topic filling his mind these days was his body and mind which had changed due to the golden apple's energy.
'I can tell something has changed. Does this mean I've gotten a bit closer to the soul's level?'
Both his physical abilities and mental state were incomparable to before.
The time when he had grown the most in the past was when he fought Johan.
Due to his promise with God, he couldn't absorb Johan's soul, but instead absorbed a dragon's soul. Not only that, he obtained the Dragon Sword and absorbed most of its Magi too.
There had been no moment when he had grown as explosively as then, but the golden apple's power was even greater.
'But it doesn't seem like I've reached the same level as my soul yet.'
However, he wasn't yet at the stage of achieving the trinity that Kalesian had mentioned.
Both his body and mind had definitely risen, but they hadn't reached the level that his soul possessed.
Even though he had absorbed all the golden apple's power completely, he was still far from his soul's level. Jin-woo could quickly realize the reason.
'...My soul is growing too.'
Just as Jin-woo's body and mind were growing, his soul was also growing.
The blue flame quietly burning within him.
Compared to the flame he had seen when he first awakened his ability, the current flame had vastly different quality and intensity.
Every time Jin-woo absorbed monsters' blue flames, or especially the black flames of Erosion, his flame continued to grow.
'The trinity achieving unity... But I can't deliberately lower my soul's level for that.'
He didn't know the method, and even if he knew, that wasn't right.
If achieving the trinity was done by lowering his high soul level, would that really be the 6th floor that Kalesian spoke of?
Even Jin-woo knew well that wasn't it.
The soul should grow as a soul while making his body and mind grow more steeply to catch up. That was the correct way to raise one's realm.
And for that.
'Elixirs would be perfect.'
There seemed to be no surer method than elixirs.
Even if not as much as the golden apple, if he consumed precious elixirs and endlessly explored, both his body and mind would grow together.
'When I enter Kalesian's treasure vault, let me look mainly for elixirs.'
That was what he needed most right now.
So Jin-woo meditated, ate meals when it was time, and occasionally participated in experiments using the scabbard when Kalesian requested it.
Meanwhile, Kalesian's first investigation was completed.
"I've extracted all the data I need immediately. You can go back now."
"How did it go? Did you find out anything about the Spirit Realm?"
When Jin-woo asked, Kalesian shook his head with a tired expression.
"Nothing at all! I haven't discovered anything yet. At best, just that the scabbard is made of materials completely different from those of the lower realm and that it's connected to the Spirit Realm in a way whose principle I can't understand."
"If you discovered the connection, wouldn't it be fine to just unravel that?"
"It's not as easy as it sounds. Originally, the Spirit Realm is a world that can't be ascended to unless you're at the level of an ancient dragon who has lived 8,000 years. I don't know if I can properly figure it out through such backdoor methods."
The unit of lifespan was extraordinary. He had been surprised when he heard about Elves' lifespans, but dragons were on another level entirely.
He had heard that Kalesian wasn't even 3,000 years old yet. To Jin-woo, it seemed like an immeasurable age, but he apparently still thought of himself as young.
"Still, I have plenty of time. I'm not one to give up with just this."
Perhaps because he was young, his fighting spirit wasn't dead at all. Even though he said it was completely unclear without a single clue, he didn't seem to have any intention of giving up.
"Hang in there. I'll come again next time."
"I'm counting on you."
Leaving words of encouragement, Jin-woo took the God of Sky's Scabbard.
He sheathed Bulkar's Sky Sword as usual and put it directly into his inventory. Then he left Kalesian's workshop.
After parting with Kalesian, he recalled the conversation he had with the God of Moonlit Forest not long ago.
[ Please come to the temple with that scabbard. ]
The story about bringing the God of Sky's Scabbard to the temple if he wanted to know about the Spirit Realm.
Jin-woo headed alone to the Moonlit Forest's temple.
***
He crossed the city heading for the forest. It was quite a distance from Kalesian's workshop to the Moonlit Forest's temple.
As he went, he noticed that Pandemonium's scenery had changed somewhat compared to before.
'Tree trunks are extending to support the sky islands.'
Just that alone had quite changed the city's impression. Originally, it had been a city chaotic with all kinds of buildings, but with tree trunks taking up most of the view, it somehow seemed to have unity.
Of course, if you looked closely, it was still a mess.
'That's this city's character.'
Even if it was chaotic, that was this city called Pandemonium. With 13, no 12 temples of different gods, it couldn't help but be chaotic.
Even those wandering the city were diverse - humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, all different. There was even a dragon coiled up somewhere.
"Hey, human. Got any meat on you?"
Then, with a growling sound, Jin-woo's shoulder was grabbed.
Looking back, he saw a green-skinned giant glaring at Jin-woo with threatening eyes.
Orcs are full of innate fighting instinct. Some called them a warrior race, others called them a barbaric race. Either way, the meaning wasn't much different.
"Hey, hey. This human is Kang Jin-woo!"
"What? Kang Jin-woo?"
Then another Orc nearby poked his companion's side and whispered.
The Orc who had boldly grabbed Jin-woo's shoulder turned pale, and his proud fighting instinct completely cooled.
"So, sorry!"
Leaving only those words, the Orcs departed anticlimactically. Jin-woo shook his head and headed back toward the temple.
'This happens a lot.'
Provocations like this were common in Pandemonium.
Not just for Jin-woo, but others would provoke each other, fight, and ultimately even die - that was this city.
However, all provocations against Jin-woo ended quickly because Jin-woo's name was deeply rooted throughout the city.
'It's convenient though.'
It was convenient that they avoided him on their own, but the pouring gazes were also uncomfortable.
Just walking through the city like this brought observation from all sorts of places.
Gazes trying to find the secret of Jin-woo's strength, tips for accumulating contribution points, or even weaknesses.
'Well, they'll fade away on their own as time passes.'
The gazes were just uncomfortable; they weren't directly harmful.
Dismissing it lightly, Jin-woo thought about more important matters.
About the message sent by the God of Moonlit Forest.
[ The God of Moonlight Forest welcomes your visit. ]
Upon arriving at the temple, he heard the welcoming words as expected.
Every time he came to the temple, such messages always appeared, making him feel as if someone was always coming out to greet him.
"I brought the scabbard."
The temple's interior had also changed significantly compared to before. The tree trunks supporting the sky islands were extending inside the temple as well.
The trunks covering the walls and ceiling looked like seeing the inside of a living creature's belly.
These trunks were precisely the God of Moonlit Forest's divine artifact.
[ Two divine artifacts should be enough. ]
The God's voice still seemed hazy as if shrouded in mist.
At the same time, the tree trunks covering the ceiling and the scabbard Jin-woo was holding resonated.
[ The God of Moonlit Forest guides you. ]
[ Flow according to the natural order. ]
'Huh?'
The next moment, Jin-woo's vision suddenly changed, and he found himself thrown into a place covered with light mist.
The mist wasn't thick enough to obstruct vision. It was a strange mist that was neither unpleasant nor damp.
'Magi?'
That mist giving off such familiar energy was Magi dense enough to be visible to the eye.
And beyond the mist, he could see a white tower rising high.
A tower that looked familiar somehow. That was...
'That's the tower the World Tree showed me in Belen Village!'
It was a tower that looked exactly like the one built in the depths of the Elves' royal palace.
But this wasn't the royal palace. Looking around, there were no other buildings, just one tower standing alone on a vast grassland.
And most importantly.
[ 6th floor: Spirit Realm ]
[ Find the blue portal. If you want to return. ]
This wasn't the same world where Belen Village was located.