Chapter 334
Though there was an unexpected happening at the end, the rescue team got out with the fire pit. The magic circle under the fire pit went dim after Chi-Woo used it for the last time and stopped responding, so there was nothing more they could do with it. Overall, the expedition could be seen as a success. Even though they hadn’t expected anything, Dulia and Abis each got a piece of magic equipment as they wished. And above all, they survived. All this seemed to be grounds for a celebration, but the team’s mood was quite grim as they made their way back to the city. This was because Chi-Woo was pouring out murderous intent from all over his body as he stomped forward.
The team thought Chi-Woo had received a great final reward and didn’t know why he was acting this way, but they kept their mouths sealed. It was their first time seeing Chi-Woo this angry.
—I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.
Philip had been apologizing with clasped hands ever since they came out of the ritual site.
—It’s not Steam Bun’s fault. It’s mine. I secretly changed your order when you weren’t looking.
‘Don’t lie,’ Chi-Woo gritted his teeth. ‘Can that guy even see you in the first place?’
—It can and even hear me.
‘What?’
—It"s carrying Balal, who has Kabal sleeping inside her. Did you not notice its changes after that?
Chi-Woo became speechless. After hearing Philip’s explanation, he realized that Steam Bun could’ve really not acted on its own. Still, that didn’t mean his anger had subsided; it simply changed directions.
‘Then is it you who I should blame?’
—Hm. I get that I was in the wrong…but is this something for you to get so upset about?
‘What?’
—No, I mean, think about it.
‘Ah, is it that you want to return to nothingness? You should’ve told me that sooner. That’s my area of expertise.’
—No, no! Hear me out!
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Philip quickly changed his att.i.tude seeing Chi-Woo’s eyes flicker.
—No matter how precious an item is, the owner has to be alive in the end. This is Liber we’re talking about. You must know what kind of world it is.
—Why wouldn’t you increase your chance of survival when such a good opportunity comes by? Are you going to hug your club and celebrate that you are able to salvage your memories when death comes knocking at your door?
—Memories are important in the end only because you are alive.
Philip desperately tried to convince Chi-Woo.
—Furthermore, it’s not as if the club has completely disappeared. And see what happened at the end. Like I said you would, you hit the jackpot! A foreign G.o.d, a G.o.d of blacksmiths personally made that item for you.
—I understand that you are mad right now, but I’m sure you will be thankful to me in the future. I swear! I bet this glove would be much more helpful to you than that club in returning home with your brother.
Chi-Woo was wondering how he could extinguish Philip with the utmost pain possible when the mention of his brother stopped his train of thought. He knew that Philip wasn’t wrong. In fact, he knew Philip was exactly right in that this glove would be helpful to him in accomplis.h.i.+ng his goal on Liber. But he still couldn’t calm down because the club had been pa.s.sed down to him by his precious mentor.
What would his mentor have said if he was with them right now? Based on his personality, there was a high chance he would side with Philip. Furthermore, he would probably curse at Chi-Woo for being an idiot.
—Why don’t you look at what it is first? If you still don’t like it then, you can yell at me.
Philip pleaded as Chi-Woo smacked his lips. Chi-Woo fumbled around with his white glove. It really was an interesting item. He could see that he was touching it, but he didn’t feel anything. It was as if the glove was made of something between a material and a nonmaterial. In other words, it seemed like a G.o.dly item that didn’t belong to this world like the World’s Milestone. Chi-Woo sighed deeply and activated his Spirit Eye.
[Armed with the Sixth Element—It is a masterpiece that Vulca.n.u.s betted his own name in creating. It creates and materializes a mental image based on what the user is thinking, and this whole process is conducted using the user’s mana.]
The explanation was short, but not simple at all. In Buddhism, the essence of all living things could be divided into eighteen building blocks of the physical body, which combined the six channels of perception with the twelve sense spheres. The six channels of perception was the way one could understand oneself and the world and included the following: the eye element, ear element, nose element, tongue element, body element, and mind element. The mind element was the sixth element that this item’s description referred to.
In short, this glove allowed him to discern and perceive any item and bring it into reality. He could conjure a club then change it to bow and arrow, then to a sword and then to a spear. All at a mere thought. Chi-Woo stared at the light that kept changing shape according to his will and gulped. At this point, Chi-Woo had to admit the item was perfect.
After training under Byeok, Chi-Woo realized the importance of weapons and developed a skill called ‘Martial Arts’. It allowed him to show masterful skills with whatever weapon he held as long as he got a good sense of using it. With an ability like that, this glove was truly a perfect fit for him since he could form a weapon appropriate for the situation. Furthermore, he had control beyond just the choice of the weapon. The reach of his mind element was quite far, and he could also change the length, intensity, and weight of the weapon. In other words, he could wield the weapon like the Staff that Obeys One’s Will that the Monkey King used in the legends.
Its flexibility and adaptability had basically no compet.i.tion, but Chi-Woo wouldn’t say the item was omnipotent. One could tell that just by the conditions it came with. The item would match the level of his mana, and he had to be able to wield the weapon he conjured. That meant its versatility was still limited in some ways. Yet as someone who had wanted a weapon, it appeared that he hit the jackpot as Philip said. As long as he used his exorcism mana and armed himself with the glove, he could pull out a weapon at will.
“Um, Captain…” And while Chi-Woo was experimenting with his new item, he heard Abis’ voice. She was cautiously extending out both hands.
“It has been in this state…after what happened…” On her palms was Steam Bun, who was trembling fervently and weeping without a sound. It seemed it was shocked after seeing Chi-Woo get so enraged for the first time. And seeing it cry so pitifully, Chi-Woo began to feel a little bit bad. If what Philip said was true, Steam Bun did nothing wrong. It just did what it was told to do, and it was understandable that it would feel so wronged. Chi-Woo reached out to it, and Steam Bun hesitated while sniffling.
“Come here,” Chi-Woo said again, and Steam Bun jumped over this time. “I’m sorry. I thought you got excited and just did that on your own.” Chi-Woo stroked and whispered to Steam Bun as it stayed put in his hands.
“But you didn’t listen to me properly that time, right? That’s how it looked.”
“Ppyu…”
“You can’t do that next time. You don’t have to listen to other people, but you have to listen to me. Alright?”
“…Ppyu!” It sounded more energetic than before; Steam Bun seemed to be saying yes.
Chi-Woo made a bitter smile. Steam Bun didn’t used to be like this. It was hard to say the current Steam Bun was exactly the same as the being that just came out of the cave under the Evelaya Volcano. Perhaps, as Philip had said, it was because it was holding Balal, within whom Kabal lay in slumber. Thinking this, Chi-Woo felt sorry to continue calling it ‘bag’ or ‘steam bun’.
‘I should give it a new name when I return. And the fenrir cub too..’
Seeing that Chi-Woo seemed to have calmed down, Philip secretly approached Chi-Woo.
—Heheh. How is it? Are you not angry at me anymore?
‘Shut up,’ Chi-Woo replied coldly. Though Philip was able to avoid extinguis.h.i.+ng, Chi-Woo didn’t plan on forgiving him just yet.
***
After leaving the bas.e.m.e.nt and arriving back to the surface, the rescue team immediately went on their way to return home. Their path to Shalyh went smoothly, and they marched nonstop. Surprisingly, Yunael didn’t say a single word throughout the entire march, and they looked a bit down.
“That is the fate of a genius,” Jin-Cheon said, spotting Abis comforting Yunael while he was surveying the area.
“A genius?” Chi-Woo tilted his head and asked. Yunael was a genius?
“Yes. If you don’t consider their personality, you have to admit that they have skills. When they were acting on their own…ah,” Jin-Cheon caught himself and quickly added, “Hm. Well, how should I describe it? Just because we are all heroes, we aren’t all the same. Not everyone can be like you, or that guy named Ru Amuh. Otherwise, we would’ve already sorted out Liber by now and returned to the Celestial Realm,” Jin-Cheon made a bitter smile and cleared his throat.
“Anyways, just because a person is a genius, it doesn’t mean that they can resolve all situations. There will eventually come a time when they hit a wall. I bet you can’t even count the number of heroes in the universe who can’t move on after hitting that wall.”
“It’s understandable considering it"s Yunael we’re talking about,” Jin-Cheon’s brother, Aric, also pitched in. “Although Tania isn’t part of the twelve Celestial Lights, they are a prestigious family… Furthermore, Yunael has only achieved great success ever since they came here from the Celestial Realm. I’m sure they feel shocked and disappointed.” Thus, Aric explained that Yunael was having difficulty accepting defeat after a series of successes.
“Good for them,” Dulia said in a mocking tone. “They acted like they were all that because of their family, but they got a sweet taste of reality. They thought they were superior to everyone else, but they were smacked to their senses. I’m sure it hit them hard.”
Though Dulia spoke harshly, it appeared as if everyone agreed with her. The skills Chi-Woo showed in this expedition were on another level. No one could compare or even attempt to replicate what he did. If Chi-Woo hadn’t been on this expedition, they wouldn’t all be returning home peacefully like this.
“There’s that too, but…I’m sure they are also suffering from guilt,” the male hero who had been part of Yunael’s expedition team said in a low voice.
“You sure are nice,” Dulia said scornfully. “After suffering through all that, you still want to s.h.i.+eld them?”
“Those two were also my companions. I knew one of them before I even came to Liber,” the male hero retorted with distaste. “Yunael wanted to save the two more than anybody else. Even I, who was close to them, wanted to give up in the end, but Yunael alone didn’t give up till the end.”
He wasn’t saying that Yunael was good. Yunael definitely had problems with their leaders.h.i.+p. Yet Yunael never ran away from their responsibilities even when the situation turned for the worst. They pushed their whole body beyond their limits and endured as the expedition team’s leader. The male hero valued that highly. Not everyone had the same mind, and a hero might focus on points different from other people.
“And who knows? Perhaps…if we had done a better job, the results might have been different,” the male hero said. This was what he had thought after seeing Chi-Woo. Perhaps if they had provided Yunael with the perfect environment for them to show their skills, they wouldn’t have lost their companions. And the male hero felt as if he had been the one to hold Yunael back, and thus, rather than feeling resentful, the male hero only felt regret and sadness. In the end, it was an expedition they shouldn’t have joined in the first place.
Of course, Dulia didn’t agree with any of his points, but she turned away without arguing any further. It was because she thought it hadn’t been right for her to leave in the middle of the expedition, either. And as this conversation went on between the heroes, Chi-Woo suddenly got a weird feeling. There was Dulia…but the remaining three heroes were all in only their underwear. That was the price of their greed in front of the fire pit. And now, the three were discussing serious topics with solemn expressions while basically naked. Aric on one hand had the rags he got as an exchange for his underwear taken by Abis, so he walked around with their bedding tied around his waist. It was truly a tear-jerking sight.
***
Yunael finally broke their silence the day before they arrived at Shalyh. While Chi-Woo was on night-watch duty, he got a long text that Yunael forwarded to him, which described everything that had happened in their expedition without missing a thing. No exaggeration, nothing conveniently left out. Every event was described as it happened.
“Did you read it all?” He heard Yunael’s voice from the other side of the camp.
“Yes,” Chi-Woo replied, and the message disappeared.
“I just sent it to Ho Lactea’s leader too,” Yunael said. “I don’t know if the message reached her yet, but she will probably read it as soon as we arrive at Shalyh. And I’m sure she will dispose of me then.”
Chi-Woo didn’t know how to respond. Yunael talked nonchalantly about their future as if they were talking about someone else’s. But besides that, Chi-Woo wondered why they were telling him all this.
“If you want…you can be the one to return the fire pit,” Yunael said, and Chi-Woo realized their intention.
“No, it’s fine,” Chi-Woo replied without thinking much. “The only mission I was a.s.signed was to rescue you.”
Yunael didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, after a moment of silence, they said with a slight chuckle in their voice, “You think I’m pathetic right? You can laugh. I bet you think I got what I deserved.” Though Yunael was saying these words lightly, it was clear they were beating themselves down.
Chi-Woo then wondered how they would respond if he really replied, ‘Ah, is that so? Then I will laugh my heart out. Ehehehehe.’ But in the end, he didn’t do that and said, “Not really.”
“Then, what?”
“Um…” Chi-Woo didn’t know why Yunael was telling him all this, but he spoke after organizing his thoughts. “Well…I think there’s a side to you that can be a bit too much, but I don’t think you are bad.”
“How am I not bad?”
“I think you aren’t a giver, but at least a matcher.”
“A giver and a…matcher…?” Yunael tilted their head in confusion. Giver, matcher, and taker were the three categories of people Chi-Woo saw on the internet.
“Do you feel conflicted to be only on the receiving side?” Chi-Woo then asked.
“What? What are you suddenly asking—” Yunael was even more confused by Chi-Woo’s question, but he continued.
“Are you the type of person who must return a favor even if it’s something like receiving a sheet of toilet paper?”
Yunael flinched. This was true. No matter how small it was, Yunael didn’t like feeling indebted to others, as evident by what they did just now. Thanks to the rescue team, they were able to succeed in an expedition that almost failed. If they wanted to, they could’ve asked Chi-Woo to not reveal what happened and wrapped up the expedition as a success for a price. Yet they didn’t do that.
The moment Yunael sent the message they forwarded to Chi-Woo to Ho Lactea’s leader, their future was decided. First of all, Ho Lactea would lose all faith in Yunael since the expedition Yunael started after much protest met such an end; and their status and authority inside the organization would be diminished significantly. Furthermore, if rumors of their actions spread, their reputation would be knocked down greatly. They would be tainting the name of Tania that they had strived so hard to uplift. Nevertheless, Yunael still decided to bear all these consequences.
“Whether it’s a gift or a loss, you return everything you receive… You treat others like how they treat you…” Chi-Woo continued his a.n.a.lysis. Yunael had accepted that since they didn’t properly support their teammates with their own power, they couldn’t get their teammates’ support. Likewise, with Chi-Woo, they thought they needed to pay back Chi-Woo somehow for saving their life.
“I can’t say that’s the right way to think, but…I can’t laugh at or reprimand you for that,” Chi-Woo said. He felt Yunael stare at him from behind, but Chi-Woo continued to face forward. “Because my personality is a bit similar to yours.” Then he murmured to himself that laughing at Yunael for this trait would be like insulting himself.
Yunael didn’t respond immediately. There was a period of silence longer than before, and when Chi-Woo felt the gaze on him lift, Yunael spoke.
“…Whatever,” Yunael said in a very quiet voice.
Chi-Woo smirked and turned around. Yunael had turned away then and was busily trying to occupy themselves by looking at the night sky. Though Chi-Woo couldn’t see their face, he thought Yunael would be biting their lower lip by now. Chi-Woo smiled warily and shrugged.
“If I’m wrong, it’s fine,” Chi-Woo said and also looked up at the night sky. The stars seemed to s.h.i.+ne brighter than usual.