Chapter 166 – Unintended Luck (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The Spear Saint, acting as guide, rambled on and on.

“The Association’s Seoul branch is the second largest in the world. Why? Because Korea plays a central role in the hero world, doesn’t it. The land itself isn’t especially large, but its influence is by no means small. And I also have a lot of affection for Korea. Wasn’t I too a cadet of Hoakin. Anyway, befitting its scale, the Seoul branch keeps nearly half of all the artifacts in storage. One of them is the Monolith you’re looking for.”

Watching his back, Kang Geom-ma thought that for a man built like a mountain, his tongue sure was long. He talked more than most teenage girls.

At first, Media had been sick of the Spear Saint’s chatter, but soon gave up. She just let him keep yapping. Even so, this was an improvement compared to before.

“We’ve arrived.”

Soon they reached a door. It was a gigantic door large enough in both height and width to occupy an entire wall. It had been made by processing titanium, to block unauthorized access.

The Spear Saint gave a short jerk of his chin toward one of the agents accompanying him. The agent quickly placed his thumb on the fingerprint recognition device.

Chiiik.

The titanium gate opened as though it were being split in two. The Spear Saint ordered the agents who had been trailing after him.

“You lot wait outside.”

As he trudged along, Kang Geom-ma looked around inside. There were countless things enshrined in glass cases. At a glance, he could tell they were precious objects.

‘The atmosphere is insanely sci-fi.’

Smoke mixed with a chemical smell hung thick over the floor. The Spear Saint explained that it was specially processed oxygen sprayed to prevent even minimal damage to the treasures.

Kang Geom-ma nodded half-heartedly at the Spear Saint, who puffed himself up proudly. Smiling with satisfaction, the Spear Saint continued guiding him.

After walking for five minutes, there was a dolmen-like stone sitting there.

‘…That’s the Monolith?’

For a stone, it was certainly enormous and imposing. But that was all. Kang Geom-ma couldn’t hide his bewilderment, and noticing that, the Spear Saint added.

“Hahaha, just the reaction I expected. Didn’t Manager Seong tell you? That outwardly it looks like nothing more than a lump of stone.”

“He did. I thought it was a figure of speech… but it’s literally a stone, so it’s a little unsettling. To the point where it almost doesn’t even seem like an artifact.”

At Kang Geom-ma’s words, the Spear Saint answered.

“Don’t worry, it’s certainly an artifact. The Association’s researchers examined it steadily for years and came to the conclusion that it was an artifact. Don’t be too disappointed. Here, take a look, can you see these charcoal drawings? Don’t they preserve exactly how our ancestors lived.”

Sure enough, when he looked closer, there were patterns carved into it. They were drawings depicting primitive daily life.

“And that isn’t all. The one who drew this was the only surviving ancient….”

Stopping in the middle of speaking, the Spear Saint furtively checked Media’s expression. Her cold green eyes were fixed on him.

Media stood there with her arms crossed and said nothing. The Spear Saint cleared his throat loudly. Then he suddenly thumped Kang Geom-ma on the back.

“Anyway, this is as far as my guidance goes. Media and I will head up to the reception room. If you need anything, use the intercom over there and call an agent.”

Kang Geom-ma found this ready goodwill strange. It wasn’t that he disliked it. If anything, it was the opposite.

Even so, strange was still strange. Why was the Spear Saint showing him such kindness?

Was it, just as Media had said, because he wanted to sweet-talk him into coming to the Association? That wasn’t quite how it looked to Kang Geom-ma.

Even when he tried to read what was inside by looking at his face, the Spear Saint only laughed heartily.

Come to think of it, the Spear Saint hadn’t even asked why he wanted access to the Monolith. Even though it was something one would normally be curious about.

No matter that it was supposedly compensation, how could he leave him alone in a room packed full of treasures without concern for what he might ? He might turn greedy and pocket something, after all.

Before the two of them disappeared, Kang Geom-ma asked toward the Spear Saint’s broad back.

“Why are you doing this much for me when we’ve only just met? Even if it’s compensation, how can you leave me here alone when you don’t know what I might do?”

The Spear Saint turned only half of his head. The corners of his mouth lifted high like a great hero’s.

“The weak don’t question the actions of the strong. You’re far stronger than I am. So I’m only following my own convictions.”

“……”

“I know what you’re thinking when you ask me that. You’re probably wondering how I can trust you and just leave you here in this treasure vault. But what of it? Compared to the thousands of lives you saved, these precious objects are worthless things. So go ahead and do what you came to do. We old folks will step back now, hahaha!”

The laughter that had echoed from the titanium finally ceased only after his retreating figure disappeared into the shadows.

After the two members of the Seven Stars vanished, Kang Geom-ma blankly looked in that direction for a while. Then he approached the Monolith again. As he carefully examined the drawings etched into the stone, he muttered.

“Ancient wall paintings depicting hunting….”

Kang Geom-ma frowned. The more he observed the drawings, the less they seemed like simple wall art.

The figures of the human hunter and the hunted resembled each other. The only difference was that the hunter had wings growing from his back, while the prey did not. It was an immensely disturbing picture.

Kang Geom-ma hesitated a moment, then reached out his hand. Separate from the unease, expectation was shining in his eyes.

Would a status window appear again this time, like it had during `The Sword Saint’s Long-Held Wish`? Thinking that, the instant his palm touched the cold, rough stone surface.

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[NEW! Sudden Quest Generated.]

View the memory of someone from the mythic age.

[※ It is possible to obtain the second memory fragment of 【???】. Total obtained (1/7).]

[※ This quest can be cleared simply by watching.]

[※ However, if you move your body, additional rewards cannot be obtained.]

== ==

Would you like to accept the quest? (Y/N)

[🕛 Time remaining until acceptance – 0:03]

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He stared blankly at the status window that appeared. Cleared simply by watching? Back then, he’d crossed blades with himself, so compared to that, this was an unexpected stroke of luck. In vulgar terms, it was a complete jackpot.

Grrrrraaaaaaah….

But immediately after that, a piercing emotion seeped into his ears through his fingertips. A sound like a bitter wail, maddened with resentment.

In that instant, Kang Geom-ma’s startled head shook on reflex. Because those grief-stricken emotions were stabbing at his spine like needles.

……!

Kang Geom-ma nearly jerked his hand away in shock. But before the speed of his thoughts could catch up, his mind dimmed first.

(Y/N)

▲

* * *

Seoul Branch reception room.

“For now, on our academy side, we’ll organize things like this and release it to the press… and the fact that the reporters probably won’t have to worry about material for a while irritates me to death.”

“Then the Hero Association will handle everything else. Please work hard until then.”

The Spear Saint accepted Media’s words with a solemn expression.

Placing the stack of documents on the table, Media let out a short laugh.

“Hey, gorilla, when did you get this smart? Are you really that same guy who used to hover around in the back ranks during your cadet days?”

“A human brain is also a muscle. If you keep training the body steadily, intelligence rises of its own accord!”

Media shook her head. She was too exhausted from staying awake day and night for several days to bother responding properly.

“…I was wrong for even saying anything. Putting that aside, back there… you were about to say something about my predecessors, weren’t you?”

“I do feel sorry about that. I was trying to watch my tongue, but it slipped. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Forget it. It wasn’t like I planned to keep it a secret forever. After all, most of the people around me already know anyway. Even so, I wanted to tell Geom-ma about it with my own mouth.”

“……”

“That I’m a descendant of humanity that was struck with divine punishment.”

* * *

Whoooosh.

A cool breeze blew by. The ears of grain rippled like golden waves.

People wearing tanned animal hides were hard at work harvesting them.

With crude tools clasped in their hands, they cut down the stalks. Those implements made of iron were swords.

Though by modern standards they were somewhere between a sword and a sickle, the ancients simply called them swords.

The sword brought convenience to the ancients. It helped them harvest crops with ease, and it improved the quality of their hunting. Thanks to it, the burden of survival had been eased.

All of this progress had been a gift from the sword. Only a few years before, the ancients had bowed reverently toward the sky and prayed over and over. Revering heavenly beings while wishing for even the smallest rain. Their lived had been a chain that began in prayer and ended in prayer.

The sword freed the ancients from those worldly shackles. They became able to build a gentle life with their own hands. And so there wasn’t a day when proud smiles left their lips.

Now they no longer needed to beg the heavens. Their passive attitude toward life had changed into something active.

And thus the heavenly beings were quickly forgotten in humanity’s mind.

And it didn’t take very long for them to realize that this was the seed of the end.

·

·

·

A little girl wove flower blossoms together. She braided them closely into a crown. It was a wreath she had made for her father, who would return from the hunt.

“At this level, Daddy will like it, right?!”

Having finished preparing her surprise gift, the little girl looked broadly around. The harvest was in full swing. The adults were each gathering the cut stalks with their own tools.

“Hehe. Rice and meat side dishes again today~”

Just looking at it made her feel full already. A smile slipped from the little girl’s lips.

…Kooong.

At that moment, thunder rang once through a clear sky. The little girl suddenly lifted her eyes. And her bright, sparkling eyes widened to the fullest.

“Huh?”

There was a person standing in the cloudless sky. How were they floating so gently in the air? On top of that, she noticed something else. The figure was stepping proudly through the air while trailing feathers behind.

The person high above had wings on their back. A pair made of pure white feathers. Suddenly she remembered something her grandmother had once told her.

That back when Grandma had been her age, there had been beings people used to seek, and their代理 had sometimes shown themselves….

“An angel!”

The realization struck her and she clapped her hands.

To think she would actually get to see an angel! To the little girl, still far too young to discern the truth of things, the unreal sight was simply fascinating.

She decided to widen her eyes and commit the angel’s appearance to memory.

“Wow, it’s really pretty.”

The little girl let out a gasp of admiration without realizing it. The more she looked, the more she was left entranced by that beautiful form.

But then, suddenly.

Sssssh.

The one angel began to multiply into twos and threes. Five, six, seven. The little girl gave up counting once the number went beyond the number of fingers on her hand. She only stared blankly at the points that kept multiplying infinitely.

At last, the shadows cast by the angels covered the entire plain. Only once the sky had been filled to the brim did the adults finally tilt their heads up.

“Th-those are…!”

The elder of the village cried out. His face had turned a sickly blue, and he was terrified. Fear seeped into the staff he held.

Why was he reacting like that? Just as the little girl tilted her head in confusion, a voice rang out inside her head. At the sudden headache, she clutched her head.

「How pitiful.」

The sound came in finely fragmented pieces. The agents of the stars. Their voice was one and all.

「So this generation too ended in failure, and sinks into evil in the end.」

Bwooooooo.

A war horn rang out. The angels lowered their stances.

「O stars.」

Countless wings beat as if they had all made the same promise.

「We shall carry out the divine punishment.」

The ivory feathers drew in light, then immediately burst apart. They flew across the earth at a speed that couldn’t be captured by the eye. The yellow field of grain being dyed dark crimson happened in an instant.

The little girl looked frantically around in shock.

The heads of the women harvesting grain fell lightly like rice seeds. The men who had gone hunting had their sides torn open, spilling out their entrails. The angels flew heavily, their wings drenched in human blood.

She too, watching this sight, would surely meet the same fate.

“……”

A blood-red wing cast a shadow over her. The little girl dropped the flower crown she had been clutching. The winged monster opened its mouth.

「You were young. But be at ease. The stars had promised that from your next generation onward, they would no longer lay a hand upon you.」

The angel raised a hand tangled with entrails and blood.

「So close your eyes in peace, little failure.」

The little girl did not cry. Only her eyes gleamed with the lifeless shine of pottery.

Tch.

At that very moment, the sound of someone clicking their tongue came from behind. Her gaze shifted there naturally.

“How am I supposed to just sit still through this. Even if it’s only an illusion, you want me to tolerate some brat getting hurt?”

A person with black hair and very unfamiliar clothes. He was the only black thing in the middle of that white hell. He drew out a short blade to its full length.

“And angels, my ass. At best, aren’t these just pigeon bastards pretending to be God’s agents.”

Kiring, metal rang. At that moment all of the angels twitched their brows. Every gaze turned toward Kang Geom-ma.

Kiiing, the blade rang louder, filled with anger. Kang Geom-ma closed his eyes and opened them.

A sword was the would to live forged of steel, the human tool that holds the spirit of opening one’s own path.

[The Blessing of the Sword God is activated.]

And it was also a weapon for killing the enemy.