"Do you also know what's going to happen in the near future?" I asked the shaman.
"No, I can't see any of that. However, be wary of those who hold grudges at any time and in any place. Your destiny attracts that kind of person."
"Easier."
"If you can free yourself from their pain, it will be a blessing, and if you cannot resolve it, it will become something bad."
Didn't you know what "easier" meant?
"I'm hungry, so you can leave now."
"I will do that."
After the shaman ordered me to leave, I left the tent. Then, with a body drained of energy, I walked toward the city. As I walked, my energy slowly returned.
Is it because of the Soul's Imprint?
In the first stage of Immortality's Imprint, natural regeneration power increased, and in the second stage, stamina and mana resistance increased. Mana resistance was, literally, resistance to magical attacks, and stamina affected maximum stamina and regeneration speed. In other words, unlike physical stats such as strength and agility, these weren't particularly prominent values.
It wasn't bad.
However, without these boosters, the character wouldn't function properly later on. Not only that, but to unlock the six-step engraving, which was key to my cultivation method, I needed to build it up slowly from now on.
From the third stage of engraving onwards, it is quite useful on its own.
Originally, I planned to go straight to phase 3, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
So, since I had some time today-
"Bjorn!" As I went over my plans for the day again, I heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere, a shout that sounded more like a whisper. For a moment I wondered if I'd misheard, but... "Bjorn!" As soon as I checked the direction the sound was coming from, a face emerged from a rustling bush.
"...Ainar?"
"Silence! If they catch me, I'll be in big trouble!"
At Ainar's urgent request, I squatted down in front of the bushes and lowered my voice. "...Why are you here?"
"I heard from the old man that you had come to the Holy Land, so I came to visit you. You have to cross this road to get to the city, right?"
Hmm, I see. But did you know when it was going to happen?
"I'm glad you came early, though. My legs were going numb." I suppose he was planning to wait here until I arrived. Very Ainar-esque. "Anyway, we don't know who's going to come by, so come on in."
Not only was his face welcome, but I was curious about his current situation, so I crossed into the thick bush and squatted down inside. Only then did I get a good look at Ainar's body. I asked him with genuine concern, "Why are you so thin?"
Due to the Bone Knight's essence, his height had decreased to around 1.70 meters. She didn't seem so small then because of her muscles, but now? Ainar smiled bitterly. «Hahaha, don't look at me too much, otherwise I'll be embarrassed. I know I seem unattractive».
In just one month, the tough warrior's body had transformed into a slender and muscular one. «Doesn't the old man feed you?».
«Not like that, but since I've been compressing my muscles every day, I ended up like this».
«¿Comprimir?»
«It's a long story. I don't know much about the subject either, so don't ask me for details.»
«I see...» Whatever it was, what kind of training turned a healthy boy into this? I couldn't help but feel bad and kept my mouth shut.
Ainar then smiled and changed the subject. «I've heard the oldest talk about you. You earned the nickname Little Balkan, right? You're amazing, Bjorn».
«No es nada.»
«What happened there? I'm curious about your story». Ainar looked at me with bright eyes. I must have been curious about the outside world from training so much every day.
I felt bad for her, so I sat down and started telling her the story seriously.
«Oh, are you on the same team as Hikurod? What a relief. I was nervous leaving you, but I can trust him».
I told him about teaming up with Hikurod and many of the events that occurred in the Labyrinth. But just as the story was about to end, a roar erupted from afar.
«Ainar, Fenelin's second daughter! Have you run away again?»
«E-this is bad. I think the old man has realized that I'm not here». Ainar hurriedly stood up before the roar that sounded in our ears.
I asked worriedly: «Are you going to be okay?».
«Nothing happens. It's just that my training today will double. Don't worry too much, I'll have to forget to sleep».
No, that only worried me more...
«I was about to die of boredom, but it was nice to hear an exciting story from you. So please come back next time».
«Okay.»
«Then I'll leave now!» Soon, Ainar turned around and started running in the direction of the sound. When I was about to leave too, suddenly, Ainar turned around and called me. «Ah yeah! Bjorn!» He said something unexpected. «I didn't say it before, but I'm glad to see your face looks good!»
«¿Mi cara?»
«In the past, I was, I suppose, full of malice? Well, that wasn't bad either, but...! Now she seems more relaxed! Maybe because your new colleagues are trustworthy people!»
Hmm, really? I'm not sure about that...
«Ainar! Come here!!!»
«Ugh, see you later! I will continue training hard and become a more reliable warrior!»
Soon, Ainar's figure disappeared from my sight. I kept looking in that direction for a moment, lost in thought.
Malice is over, huh?
Could it be a positive or negative change? I still couldn't be sure.
***
Since the Soul Impression had ended soon, I had plenty of time left, so I visited the magic tower to meet this week's research quota.
Raven asked: «Oh? Mr. Yandel? Why... wasn't he coming tomorrow?».
«I'm here today because I have things to do tomorrow».
«If you had a previous commitment, shouldn't you have moved it to another date?».
...It was a reasonable argument. However, I was a great barbarian, not subject to public manners and customs. «What is a prior commitment?»
«Ugh, only at times like this... Okay. Wait here. I'll finish what I'm doing and we can get started».
«Clear.»
After waiting a while, today's test preparations were complete. He told me that today's experiment was to test how the vampire's mana resistance affected psychological magic, and to measure the exact threshold of solar resistance reduction...
«Enough explanations. Just do it».
«Okay, then, I'll start.»
¡Zzzzzzz!
The experiment ended sooner than I thought, as I was absorbed in the brutal tools of experimentation. Just as I was about to run out of there, Raven hurriedly called me. «Wait, Mr. Yandel!» I wondered if it was related to the investigation, but she asked: «So when are you going to tell me?».
«What do you mean?»
«The sacred relic you used to kill the vampire! How did you know? That the Tears of a Goddess were there?»
Again? We had this conversation every time he came to this place. «Again, I already told you I don't even know what that is».
«It's like that again, huh?». Raven crossed her arms and glared at me. Did you know? With that small stature, she just seemed conceited in that pose.
I asked him bluntly: «Arua Raven, what are the Tears of a Goddess that obsess you so much?».
At first, I wondered if he suspected me of being an evil spirit. However, judging by his behavior since then, it seemed that was not the case. Look when I asked him about the pill and the letter. If he had suspected me, he would have revealed it one way or another in the conversation.
«...It's not because of that relic», he finally responded.
If you don't suspect me, then why?
The answer was something I had never thought about. «It is because of the book that contains information about the relic».
«¿Book?»
«The Complete Book of Cracks». You're not going to deny that you know him, are you?».
No, the truth is that I don't know, even if you look at me like that...
«I understand that you want to keep the existence of the book a secret, because I wanted it too. Knowledge becomes more valuable the fewer people know about it, right?».
«...So what do you mean?»
«If you have the book or know its contents, I want to buy it. There are many parts that I can't read because mine wasn't stored properly».
Looking into those jealous eyes, it didn't seem like he was probing me with made-up words. Was it really because of a book? «If that was your goal, you could have asked me without beating around the bush».
«But it is the one who seems desperate who loses the negotiation». That was true. As I nodded unconsciously, she candidly confessed her intentions. «If you admitted that you had found the relic, then I planned to act as if nothing had happened to negotiate with you. Although it didn't help that you seemed to know its value...»
«So you chose the direct tactic».
«Yeah. So you can't tell me the truth now?».
I thought about it for a moment. At the time, I was completely convinced that the item I used was a sacred relic, so it didn't seem like a good idea to lie again. It was probably better to admit it. «I got the Tears of a Goddess or whatever by breaking the statue in front of the fountain».
«Of course! I knew.
«But that's all.»
«... Sorry?»
Seeing her bewildered, I quickly added: «When you were looking around, I broke it because I was bored and that's what came out.»
«So... Don't you know about the book?». Murmuring with a deadpan expression on his face, he quickly found the reason and shot: «Wait. There is a contradiction here. If that's true, how did it occur to you to use something you didn't know about in that situation?».
A pretty sharp question. However, as expected, there was no block in my response. «There was a goddess symbol on the box, so I assumed it was that kind of object. And the truth is that it worked well».
«... In series?»
«For the honor of a warrior, everything I just said is true».
Raven's expression turned gloomy as soon as I made the vow of a modern man, who was nothing more than a trick key at this moment. «So... what have I been doing all this time?».
When she discovered that she had been boxing in the shadows on her own, she felt embarrassed.
Although he felt sorry for her, at the same time he also thought this: a community of players, the Ghostbusters. I thought the greatest strength of that community was the exchange of information, but...
Maybe it's not, for someone else.
I am a gambler to some, and an evil spirit to others.
«I'm hungry, so I'm leaving!» Like a barbarian, I slammed the door open and left.
Missha, who followed me as her savior; Hikurod, who treated me like a friend; even Ainar, who always told me that one day I would become a great warrior and admired me; everyone was equal. Bjorn, son of Yandel. I couldn't be faithful to anyone with this body.
Well, I didn't think Hansu Lee's body would be any different.
***
After leaving the magic tower, I went straight to the shopping district and picked up the finished magic panties. It was 5 in the afternoon. It was a little early to end the day here, so I headed to the library with my body tired. It would be more productive than going to rest.
«Parsetiev ».
After being delighted by the librarian, I headed straight to the shelves. Even if I tried to greet her, I wasn't going to accept it, and today I didn't have the energy to do so.
«...I heard you're famous now». However, the librarian, who was normally too upset to even talk to me, approached me for some reason.
«It's a long story». I gave a rough answer and left. I used to think that being a magician, it would be beneficial for us to get along.
Actually, it's funny to even think about that kind of thing now.
I was a level 6 explorer and even had the nickname Little Balkan. Not only were my specs enough to enter a team with a mage, but my current team already had one, even if it wasn't from the magic tower.
Seeing that he works as a librarian, he must be the same.
Thinking this, I smiled. He knew that, whatever the reason, it was nothing more than a rationalization, a reason only for legitimacy.
Step.
In the end, the intention was different. I just didn't want to. I didn't want to try to curry favor with others by calculating every action, at least today. That's why I was a little tired.
Step.
Therefore, I stopped walking towards the bookshelf and faced the problem that I had been neglecting without avoiding it.
It is natural that Ainar said that my malice had disappeared.
I had a problem, a mental problem. The emotions that I thought were dry were rearing their heads now that my body was fine. It was bad news for me, for whom survival came first. So what was the solution?
I don't know, let's do what we have to do.
I turned around and approached the librarian. «Don't look without doing anything. If you have something to say, say it quickly», I told him.
«... How did you know I had something to say?».
«Through your eyes». There were several clues, but they were too cumbersome to explain.
As I stared at her with so much emotion in my eyes, the quick-witted librarian succinctly explained to me: «I have a friend who works in the administrative office. He's looking for an explorer to entrust with an assignment, so I recommended you».
«¿Has I recommended it?»
«Strictly speaking, it is not a recommendation. Your name came up during the conversation, and when my friend heard it, she asked to meet you. Of course, if you're busy or don't want to, you can say no-«.
«Okay. Let me listen to it».
The librarian, who seemed surprised by my response, nodded slightly. «Then I'll pass it on to my friend».
A request, huh? It was time for an event like this.
Is there a way to make money in the city now?
It was a good idea to listen to it.