Chapter 356: Return to the Origin (1)
The mage, The Staff of Time Immemorial, sighed.
“…I can’t remember the last time I felt such astonishment, Sword Emperor. Though I can’t see you nor have you spoken to me directly, I must tell you, there is a reason you failed to conquer the Zenith of Heaven.”
The mage massaged his forehead, clearly exasperated.
It was unusual for her to show such strong emotions, given her normally stoic nature. The impact of the Sword Essence demonstrated by the Guardian Spirit must have been quite profound.
“Hmm. What exactly happened…?”
I shook my head, trying to clear it. The aftereffects of transitioning back from the flat world to the original world had not yet dissipated. A wave of nausea clung to my throat.
“What happened? Oh, something monumental.”
At my question, the Staff of Time Immemorial frowned.
“The stage almost collapsed.”
“Collapsed, you say…?”
“Literally. Some stages are Constellations in themselves. If a stage is destroyed, the Constellation suffers as well. The ghost you’ve been carting around… it nearly sliced through the stage.”
“Excuse me? Mr. Gong-Ja has a ghost following him around?”
The Apothecary blinked in surprise, hearing this for the first time. However, the Staff of Time Immemorial seemed too irritated to address her confusion.
“Had we left it as is, the wound inflicted by your ghost would have widened, expanding rapidly. The Heaven of Truth would have been cut like paper! While there are several worlds that could substitute for the 75th floor, what a shock it must have been for the souls resting in the Heaven of Truth, akin to a bolt from the blue!”
The mage glared into the void, as if she would slap the Guardian Spirit if it were in front of him.
“I can’t fathom what was going through your mind to do such a thing.”
-Not at all. I was merely placing my trust in you.
The Guardian Spirit crossed its arms, chuckling.
-Even if the world were to crumble, I believed you would do your utmost to prevent it. Yes, you might say I trusted in your goodness. In fact, you should be thanking me for acknowledging your virtue, coming from someone like me.
“What’s your ghost saying?”
“Ah.”
Kim Gong-Ja, a moment of contemplation in a split second.
“It says it swung the sword thoughtlessly and apologizes.”
“At least it knows shame, that’s a relief.”
The mage clicked his tongue.
Watching him, a twinge of guilt pricked at my conscience for having relayed the Guardian Spirit’s nonsensical words and offloading the stress onto him… But, wait. Upon reflection, wasn’t conveying the Guardian Spirit’s absurdities directly, thus transferring the stress onto someone else, the epitome of a guilt-free conscience?
“…….”
While we conversed, the Apothecary seemed lost in thought. Hearing about the existence of a ghost accompanying me might have plunged her into contemplation, so I inquired.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, really. Hmm. Just wondering why I was selected as the judge for the 75th floor. It’s been bothering me.”
Fortunately, her concerns weren’t related to the Guardian Spirit.
“By the way, Mr. Gong-Ja. Could you tell me about the judges before me and what their stages were like?”
It wasn’t a difficult request, so I explained it to her in detail. Listening to my story, the Apothecary’s eyes, even behind thick glasses, darkened noticeably.
“…As I thought.”
The Apothecary murmured.
“Mr. Gong-Ja, if I were to die, I’d end up in the Heaven of Truth.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s the criterion for the judges, the heaven they would go in the afterlife.”
My eyes widened in surprise, while the Apothecary narrowed hers.
“Think about it. The world judged by the Paladin was the Heaven of Music, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct, but…”
“The Paladin is, of course, an expert in music. So, it makes sense she was in charge of the Heaven of Music. Yes, but if that’s the case, shouldn’t I have been summoned to the Heaven of Medicine? After all, my expertise lies in medicine.”
The Apothecary spoke in a hushed tone.
“But instead, I was summoned to the Heaven of Truth. Completely unrelated to my field of expertise. I’m certainly not known for [not lying] or having specialized knowledge in [2D planes].”
“…….”
“So, who becomes a judge isn’t determined by whether they’re an expert or not. Absolutely not.”
Indeed.
I found myself mimicking the Apothecary’s narrowed gaze.
“If the Paladin were to die, she would be reborn in the Heaven of Music. If the Countess were to die, she’d go to the Heaven of Gold. If Viper dies, he’d go to the Heaven of Martial Arts, and if the Heretic Inquisitor dies, he’d end up in the Heaven of Laws. And…”
“Yes, if I were to die, I’d be in the Heaven of Truth.”
The Apothecary nodded.
“While you were challenging the stage, Mr. Gong-Ja, I pondered what afterlife I’d desire if I were to die and reach the other side. It was hard to imagine, but… Hmm. I concluded I’d want to be in a world where [I wouldn’t have to worry about what others truly thought].”
“…I see.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought. Therefore, the Heaven of Truth is the afterlife I desire.”
I shifted my gaze. The Apothecary also looked in the direction I turned.
There, the Staff of Time Immemorial was silently enduring our stares.
“Is that true?”
“…Yes. Correct. You’ve hit the mark.”
The mage responded rather refreshingly.
[The Staff of Time Immemorial acknowledges the accuracy of your interrogation.]
[You have unveiled a secret that The Staff of Time Immemorial had concealed.]
The message popped up, confirming it for me. How considerate.
“Originally, I planned to reveal [all the heavens you’ve experienced so far are such and such] when you reached the 79th floor, to give off a final boss vibe.”
The mage looked as though she had lost a cherished hidden toy.
“But you figured it out much sooner than I expected. Ah. There goes the element of surprise.”
“…Is the heaven I’d go to after dying also predetermined?”
“Hmm.”
The mage smiled enigmatically.
“That’s a question I can’t recklessly answer. It’s not up to me to decide. Anyway, Apothecary, was it? You’ve done well. You may go now.”
With a tap of his staff on the ground, the Apothecary’s feet began to undulate like a swamp. A forced summoning had begun. The Apothecary flailed as she sank into the ground.
“Ah! Go, Mr. Gong-Ja! Fighting! Though I heard I’d forget about this incident, you’ll remember…”
“That’s right.”
I smiled and saw the Apothecary off.
“I look forward to the special potions you’ll develop next.”
Plonk-
In an instant, the Apothecary’s figure vanished below the surface. Only a ripple remained where she had disappeared, quickly settling down.
After a moment’s delay, the 70th-floor lobby was enveloped in a chilling white hue.
‘Only I will remember these stages.’
It wasn’t a new realization.
I shrugged and turned to the mage.
“Alright then. Who’s the next judge? Anastasia? Sir Marcus? Considering only the top hunters have been summoned so far, the ranking must play a part in the selection criteria.”
“More precisely, it’s chosen among those deeply connected to you.”
“Then is it Uburka? Or perhaps, Raviel?”
“Both are deeply connected to you, indeed. But neither desires an afterlife. King of Death.”
The mage tapped the ground again with his staff.
“This time, the judge evaluating you might be a bit more troublesome.”
Whoosh!
A light blossomed around the tip of his staff. If you looked closely, the blooming pattern resembled a lotus. As the neatly arranged lotus petals parted, a figure flickered through the beams of light.
“Uh— What’s this?”
Like the previous judges, this newly summoned figure was all too familiar. Among the few people I hoped never to forget even in death, he was one.
And not in a good way.
“A summoning? Is this the famed summoning I’ve only heard about? What kind of unprincipled bastard summons a working man? The nerve! At least have the decency to greet me.”
“…….”
“What? Is something wrong? Have my eyes deceived me? It seems the very paragon of virtue, a name synonymous with the learned scholar, stands before me. Well, who else but you would summon me? I was naive to think otherwise. Why? What’s your purpose this time? Shall I dance again?”
I muttered the name of the newly summoned judge, covering my forehead with my palm.
“Yoo Soo-Ha…”
“That is my name.”
Of all people, why him?
My head throbbed.
He was indeed “deeply connected to me,” making him a fitting choice.
“Why are you here…?”
“What? You’re asking me? You summoned me.”
Yoo Soo-Ha narrowed his eyes, his thin but pronounced brows furrowing elegantly.
“Wait a minute. Hey, I thought my days living in your shadow were over. Can I still be summoned by you? Is this even legal?”
Yoo Soo-Ha had long shed the status of a summoned ghoul from Ghoul Summoning. Through the skill Earth Bone Dragon’s Skull I acquired from the Tower Master, he had obtained a new body.
He probably thought the days of being summoned at my whim, possibly to perform something as ludicrous as the Cossack dance, were over. The desperation in his voice as he explained his pitiable situation hinted at his fear of such an outcome.
“You bastard. Stop exploiting me. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf and live diligently! Don’t you see what I’m wearing? This is my part-time uniform. I was working at the planetarium before you summoned me, part-timing!”
Yoo Soo-Ha seemed to think I had performed the summoning.
Perhaps he feared being ordered to perform another dance. He began to fervently explain his unfortunate circumstances.
“I have to rush to the Celestial Martial Guild after my shift! Because of you, I have to slog away as a disciple there, huh? Do you have any idea how much I’m suffering, you heartless…”
“Scared?”
“What?”
“Are you scared I’ll make you do something weird?”
“That bastard…”
Yoo Soo-Ha’s expression soured.
“Now that you’re the 2nd ranked hunter, have a top hunter as a personal bodyguard, are friends with all the major guild leaders, and married the most beautiful person in the world, do you see me as just dogwater?”
“Yep.”
“Damn it.”
Yoo Soo-Ha seemed to reluctantly accept that he could indeed be seen as H2O.
“Anyway, I didn’t summon you this time.”
“Then who did?”
“It’s a long story.”
I delved into the lengthy explanation.
About how I’m currently trying to conquer floors 70 through 79. To advance, it’s not enough for me to excel; approval from the chosen judge is necessary. And this time, unfortunately, it’s him.
“……Hmm.”
Yoo Soo-Ha crossed his arms.
Before hearing the story, a slight unease fluttered between his brows, but now it had vanished.
His dark eyes, inscrutable, scanned me from head to toe.
“So, to sum up. To move on to the next floor, I absolutely have to approve, right?”
“Correct.”
“No matter if it takes ten years or a hundred, I can just sit here and watch you stumble through the stage.”
“That’s right.”
“And the flow of time differs between the stage and here, so if I wish, I can speed through long periods swiftly?”
Yoo Soo-Ha’s probing made me feel uneasy, but I couldn’t lie when the Staff of Time Immemorial would just explain everything anyway.
“…Yes.”
“Figures. I’ve got my answer.”
Yoo Soo-Ha smirked.
It was a devilish smile.
“Let’s start with a dance, Gong-Ja.”
What?
“Of course, by dance, I mean the one I performed. That dance. The Cognac Dance or whatever… You know it best since you were the one who ordered it. Let’s assess your dancing skills first. We can talk about the stage afterward.”
Hold on.
“Why? Won’t dance? If you don’t want to, fine. Let’s just start with a hundred years. Even a monster like you would eventually feel like dancing after being stuck on the same stage for a hundred or two hundred years, right?”
Hold on.
“Of course, I don’t plan to stop at just one dance. That would be too lenient. Ah, we have so many unresolved feelings between us, don’t we, Mr. Gong-Ja?”
You damn bastard.
