Chapter 60
Chapter 60
[Wow, this place really looks like a ghost could pop out, the Lord of Chaos whispers in your ear.]
“Be quiet…!”
In the dim dawn, as Nari wandered between the silent temples after slipping through the bamboo grove, she hugged her shoulders.
There hadn’t been any presence that seemed like an S-rank in the temple stay grounds, so climbing down the bamboo outside the window had gone smoothly.
But the temple, utterly deserted as if dead quiet, gave off the appearance that a ghost in white mourning clothes might appear at any moment.
Even though she was the number one ranked illusionist who feared nothing in the world, if she didn’t keep herself in check, Nari’s imagination often turned into raw reality.
[Nari! The scarier it gets, the more you should think of something fun, something fun! the Lord of Chaos said, breaking into a cute idol dance at your side.]
“Ugh! Don’t make me think of something even worse!”
Rubbing her eyes hard as if they’d been dirtied, Nari suddenly froze. She had sensed something strange.
“…Huh?”
She stepped back, then slowly moved forward again. It felt like the dimension had been minutely sliced open around one stone pagoda. Nari raised one eyebrow.
“This isn't an ordinary skill.”
[If it weren’t for your level of ability, you wouldn’t even have noticed, the Lord of Chaos nodded.]
Nari walked forward, tapped the stone pagoda with her fingertip, but nothing happened.
[So what are you going to do? The Lord of Chaos asks, staring at you.]
“What else? I’ll go in.”
After a brief pause to think, Nari rested her chin in her hand, then wrapped spirit energy around one palm. The black energy whirred, swirling around her right hand. Nari pressed her palm against the pagoda.
The black energy seeped quietly into the stone pagoda. Once it absorbed a certain level of energy, a dimensional gate began to form.
[Ooooh, Nari using a method that isn’t violent? You’ve really grown, the Lord of Chaos applauds.]
“Ahem, cough…”
Receiving praise for her more restrained behavior, Nari felt a faint sense of pride and stepped forward. Beyond the dimensional gate stretched a corridor made of jade, with jade signs lining its sides. She read the inscription on the nearest one.
<Memorial Hall>
“Memorial? Is it for the first guild leader?”
Perplexed, Nari looked ahead. Frames hung all along the jade corridor.
She stopped in front of one frame to examine it. It showed the gentle figure of an elderly woman. A simple date was written beneath it.
<20XX. 10. 25>
As soon as she realized it was from eighteen years ago, the photograph in the frame began to move.
“…So, you’re worried about your son?”
“Good lord!” Nari shouted in surprise.
Though she hadn’t done anything, the person in the frame moved, and Nari jumped back, staring at it. The elderly woman in the picture sighed, gazing outside the frame.
‘Yes, he roams around so much I can’t help but worry. He’s grown old enough, but every day he’s still brawling with his fists.’
It felt as though someone’s gaze had been directly preserved inside the frame. Nari blinked. Again, a voice spoke.
‘Eh, that’s the kind of thing young people full of spirit always go through. He has wonderful parents. He’ll turn out fine soon. Don’t worry too much~’
The laughter of a woman, apparently the speaker, rang out. The grandmother sighed again.
‘…He’s five years older than you.’
‘Oh my. That must make it even more worrying…’
The woman’s tone quickly shifted into concern. A sound of exertion followed, and the perspective lifted, as if she had stood up. Her cheerful laugh came again.
Nari reached toward the frame. The laugh and voice were familiar. She knew who this was.
‘Well… don’t worry. I’ll go tell him myself.’
‘You think it’ll work? He doesn’t even listen to his own mother…’
‘I hear he keeps picking fights, right? Then I’ll beat him myself. Maybe showing him the logic of strength will help. After all, who in Korea could be stronger than me?’
At her lighthearted words, the grandmother added a warning.
‘…Avoid his face please. That’s the only part of him that’s worth something.’
“Don’t worry. I know handsome men are an endangered species~”
‘Thank you as always, Hana.’
With a sliding sound, the young woman opened a paper door with her small hand. At the same time, the frame reverted back to the original still image of the grandmother. Absent-mindedly, Nari touched the corner of the frame.
“…Mom.”
It was her mother’s memorial. This place contained the records of her mother’s life. The world as seen through her mother’s eyes.
Spellbound, Nari turned. More frames stretched down the corridor. She said nothing as she stepped to the next one.
<20XX. 11. 15>
The date was about three weeks later than the first. This frame began with a hospital room. As Nari stopped in front of it, the image moved again.
‘How are you? Feeling a bit better?’
With a rustle, her mother drew open the curtains. At once, a man’s fierce glare shot across the room. With unkempt black hair and sharp black eyes, it was Nan, whom Nari had met the day before. He snapped irritably.
‘How dare you play with me…! Can’t you see I’m bedridden and in pain?’
‘For someone like that, you’re recovering awfully well. Is this some new kind of tsundere?’
‘Wh-What nonsense are you… ah, mfgh…!’
‘I said moving would hurt. You’re to stay in isolation here for at least a month.’
Nan tried to spring up but clutched his right shoulder tightly, the same spot he always fiddled with when talking to Nari.
‘Anyway, I’ll be staying here for a few weeks too.’
‘What? Don’t you usually stay for just a few hours?’
He blinked, staring at her mother. Without glasses, his sharp eyes were bare, yet they didn’t feel unpleasant.
‘Well~ my husband and kids don’t like it when I just pop in and out, so we all came together this time. Since the kids are on kindergarten break, we’ll stay.’
‘…I see.’
For some reason, he looked a little disappointed, sinking back into bed. Her mother chuckled and pulled out a few books from her inventory.
‘What? You don’t like kids?’
‘I do.’
‘Then why the disappointed face…?’
Muttering, she removed the book covers and set up a laptop. With a sliding sound, she pulled out the hospital desk, placed the laptop and books on it.
‘…What’s this?’
[Understanding Guild Management] [Master Financial Statements in 30 Days]
Finishing the setup, she powered on the laptop. Dozens of purchased online lectures popped up.
‘You know the way things are now is dangerous, right? This isn’t a fight you can win with strength alone. I’ll connect you with people who know.’
‘You mean you want me to study this? At my age? Me?’
‘Why not? My husband gave up his old work to be a househusband right after we married. Back then he even burned fried eggs, but now he prepares twelve side dishes for every meal. Just a few days ago, he even won first place in a home decorating contest. He’s so cute I could die….’
‘...’
Annoyed by her bragging, Nan sat up and started clicking at the laptop. The lecturer’s greeting began.
Seeing this, her mother turned toward the curtain, about to step out, when his voice called her back.
.…Miss Kang Hana..
He tore his eyes from the computer and looked at her, then glanced away. With a sigh, he brushed his hair aside and spoke softly.
‘Why are you doing all this for me?’
‘Because you were standing right in front of me at that time?’
‘Not a very convincing answer.’
Her low hum followed. A light tapping, as if with a fan, sounded against his nape. After a moment, she continued.
‘You didn’t fight for selfish reasons, did you? You ran into an unavoidable wall and lost what you had. That’s why I want to take the side of people like you.’
‘…If you wanted, you could take anything you want. You could monopolize these gates with the Hunters I’m fighting.’
‘Well, hearing that, I don’t have much to say. But I still think it’s ugly when wealthy people stretch their hands into gate items just to squeeze out more gain, when the people here rely on them to live.’
‘So it’s based on sympathy in the end. Understood.’
Nan frowned, brushing his bangs aside. Her cheerful laugh rang out again.
‘I just want the people I see to be happy. They say even a brush of sleeves is fate, right? Then surely keeping someone in your sight is fate too.’
At that, he looked at her directly. Her warm voice continued.
‘I saw you. I kept you in my eyes. That’s really all there is.’
The frame ended. Just as Nari moved toward the next one, a dark system message appeared.
[Nari, behind you! the Lord of Chaos snaps, on edge again.]
“What?! Ugh…!!”
With a crash, something shot down beside her. The corridor shook violently, jade fragments tumbling from the ceiling.
“You came here uninvited. Not just anyone may enter this place.”
In front of her stood an elderly woman with tightly bound hair, settling into a barehanded fighting stance. Nari recognized her. The same woman she’d seen in the first frame. It was Nahan. Nari clenched her teeth and whispered.
“What the, I thought I couldn’t be detected…! I used Perception Interference….”
[She must have extremely sharp senses, the Lord of Chaos says tensely.]
Nari had concealed herself to nearly transparent levels, yet this woman still sensed the minute shifts in space.
Nahan released green spiritual power into the air and her green eyes gleamed.
“You think you can escape my gaze? That’s a grave mistake. You wield spirit energy, so your weakness must be wind.”
[Priest Exclusive High Tier Skill :: Attribute Conversion]
[Spiritual power shifts to Wind attribute!]
Bang! The energy she’d scattered detonated, transforming into green wind that coiled tightly around Nari. On the verge of being exposed, Nari spread out her energy, but at that moment, a condition activated.
[Status Effect :: Social Aversion is activating! All skill ranks are temporarily reduced! S -> B rank]
‘Damn it! Now of all times!’
Her downgraded B-rank energy scattered uselessly, swept up in Nahan’s S-rank wind. Within the wind, Nahan’s voice pursued her.
“Mid 150cm in height. Female, mid-twenties. Uses spirit energy, and also…”
‘What do I do? No, I need to tear open a dimensional rift now…!’
As Nari struggled to think of a plan, Nahan suddenly stopped muttering her deductions. The wind restraining her slowly eased.
“You there. Could you be perhaps,”
Staring ahead, Nari heard her finish.
“Nari?”