Chapter 68 – Haydam

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Although it was strange that my body, which was no different from a rag before I lost consciousness, was only slightly thirsty when I woke up.

What was stranger than anything was the powerful force felt inside me since I opened my eyes.

I believed that force was related to the Snow Giant’s gem that was shoved into my mouth before I lost consciousness.

And the cat of the moonstone that shoved that gem in.

If it was that fellow, it would know about the identity of this force.

However, the fellow remained silent despite my calling.

Since it was a fellow that had revealed itself only when I was right on the verge of death in the first place, it would be funny for it to respond to a call of this level.

‘Can’t be helped. It’s a slightly childish method, but…’

The only one this ring’s NPC usually reacted to was the commander.

When the commander appeared, a somewhat regretful emotion was transmitted, and when the commander fell into danger, a sense of desperation was felt.

The fellow would act as if protesting if I had even a bad thought about the commander, and would scorch my finger as if telling me to snap out of it if I acted unlike ‘Haydam’.

So this fellow would definitely react to my ‘talking to myself’.

“What would happen if I go to the commander and tell him that I am not Haydam?”

[No!]

No sooner did I cast the provocation than a youthful voice was heard from the moonstone, and a white thing popped out with a bright light and sat upon my lap.

A kitten as pure white as snow.

‘I really didn’t see it wrong back then.’

Because it was such a desperate crisis back then, I thought I might have seen a hallucination.

However, the cat in front of my eyes now was completely identical to the one I saw right before losing consciousness.

I had thought an NPC would be inside the ring; I never imagined that something other than a human would be contained in it.

The cat that popped out from the ring began to get angry at me.

[That’s not the promise! You said first, you said first that you would regard him as a father and make sure he doesn’t die!!]

“Finally showing yourself.”

Regard him as a father and make sure he doesn’t die…

That was an oath made at Luna Moon’s grave.

Ah, since it existed in the form of a ring at that time, this fellow must have heard the oath made to Luna Moon as well.

Was its cooperation with me until now also because of that oath?

‘But if so, it’s really strange…’

[Are… are you really going to go tell him that you are not Haydam…?]

Just as it said now, this fellow knows that I am not the ‘real’ Haydam.

If it were an NPC related to Luna Moon, should it not rather consider my pretending to be Haydam offensive?

However, looking at this fellow’s attitude, it seemed it wanted me to pretend to be Haydam… no, beyond that, to ‘perfectly’ become Haydam.

[You shouldn’t do that… Because if you do, he will be very, very sad…]

What on earth is this cat’s identity?

Since the ring reacted in front of the commander, at first I wondered if even Luna Moon’s soul was dwelling in it.

When close to the commander, the emotion transmitted through the ring was by no means an emotion toward a lover.

And if that cat were Luna Moon, there was no reason for it to be uncooperative with me, who was a fellow player.

Well, judging by what it said or did now, it did not seem to be a player at all.

Even so, it must be an NPC clearly related to Luna Moon.

Otherwise, there was no way it would so earnestly tell me not to make the commander sad.

As tears began to well up in the cat’s eyes, I spoke quickly.

“I get it.”

[You get it?]

“I mean I will continue to live as Haydam.”

[Really?!]

“Yes, really.”

If it had been watching from inside the ring all this time, it would know that I also had circumstances where I had to live as Haydam.

It’s a naive fellow, as young as it looks.

[Then, don’t break the promise this time!]

“Did I ever break a promise? I saved him just as you wanted. I actually barely survived while saving the commander, you know.”

[That’s…! That’s why I also gave you the Snow Giant’s gem!]

Ah, did it pop out and help me even right before death because I saved the commander?

‘It seems to have a temper, but it’s cute.’

I brought my head close to the cat and asked.

“So… who are you?”

When I asked so, the returning reply was out of the blue.

[You shouldn’t call me ‘you’!]

I shouldn’t call it ‘you’?

“Since I do not know your name, I have no choice but to call you ‘you’.”

[It’s not ‘you’! I’m the older brother!]

“…In what way?”

To think a fellow who was a kitten in every way claimed to be the older brother.

Ah, did cats have different age standards?

I seemed to recall that a one-year-old cat was about ten years old in human age…

My original body was over thirty, but in its eyes now, I would look like a ten-year-old kid.

But even so, this fellow looked to be only about six months old.

However, the fellow came out with an unexpected answer.

[Since I was born before you, I’m the older brother!]

Did it plan to claim it was born before me?

“Then… does that mean you were born more than ten years ago?”

[Yes! So I’m the older brother!]

Hmm. I thought it was just insisting blindly, but it looked serious.

Indeed, since it was a monster, it might just look young in appearance.

[Call me brother! If you don’t call me brother, I won’t answer you!]

Its mental age definitely looked young…

“I get it, so who is my brother then?”

Since it was not difficult, when I readily called it brother, the fellow was satisfied, puffed out its chest, slightly raised its head, and answered.

[I am the beginning and the end of all things.]

“…What?”

[And your older brother.]

It seemed communication wouldn’t go very well with this fellow.

“Are you… like Luna Moon’s pet or something?”

[I’m not a pet! Nor am I ‘you’!!]

“Then why were you inside Luna Moon’s ring?”

[That…]

The fellow, who had been arrogant all along, suddenly drooped both ears, turned sullen, and hung its head down.

[I cannot say…]

“You cannot say?”

Seeing it so drooped, it seemed it truly had circumstances it could not speak of, so I decided to let it slide for now.

Anyway, the reason I called it out now was not because I was curious about its identity, but to ask about the mysterious force settled within me.

“Then I will ask something else.”

[Something else…?]

Perhaps it felt bothered in its heart that it could not answer me, as it lifted its head gladly to look at me when I said I would ask something else.

“Why did you feed me the Snow Giant’s gem?”

[I can tell you that!]

The fellow hopped around on my lap, approached me, and pressed my chest with its front paw that had soft jelly pads.

It was right around the area where the unknown force had been felt since a while ago.

[‘You guys’ are vessels that can contain gems.]

“You guys?”

[Kids like you!]

Did ‘you guys’ refer to players?

While I was puzzled, the cat’s words continued.

[The ‘gem’ contains the monster’s power, and if you absorb the gem, you can use that power.]

‘It talks the most like an NPC among the fellas I’ve seen so far.’

By the way, to be able to use a monster’s power by absorbing a gem.

The atmosphere suddenly became that of a supernatural ability battle story.

What on earth is this crazy game genre?

“Then what you’re saying right now is…”

[Meow!]

“…What you mean, brother, is that I absorbed the monster’s power, right?”

[Yes! The reason your body recovered so quickly is also because you absorbed the Snow Giant’s recovery ability as it is.]

Was that why I had no injuries when I was found?

However, to call it simply recovery ability, the force felt inside me was far too massive.

It was a force close to omnipotence, making it feel like I could do whatever I wanted if I just reached out my hand.

[Of course, what you absorbed is not just recovery ability. You inherited the most special thing.]

“The most special thing?”

[The Snow Giant’s supernatural ability. The power to control the weather.]

The power to control the weather.

That power which caused blizzards and struck lightning was inside me now?

‘It wasn’t quite omnipotence.’

However, it was words not easily believed.

Absorbing the monster’s gem to increase recovery ability… was plausible up to that point.

Because players actually possessed the supernatural ability to heal through eating.

But to be able to bring over a monster’s supernatural ability by absorbing its gem…

It was a setting that had never appeared in the game.

Still, it was a situation where the force was actually felt inside me, so I couldn’t just dismiss it as nonsense.

“If that is true, I want to test the force. How do I use this power?”

[How to use it… is hard for me to explain too. A supernatural ability is like limbs. When you are just born, even rolling over is hard, but eventually, you begin to take baby steps. As long as it has become a part of your body, you will be able to handle it someday.]

“Someday… is it.”

[Since even the Snow Giant took several years to become familiar with handling the weather, you, a human, will need time to handle that power.]

It couldn’t be handled right away.

If it was learned naturally over time, it would be fine.

More than that.

‘To think one could obtain power by absorbing a monster’s gem…’

What if I obtained the gem of a suitable large-class monster and fed it to Tae-jeong and CornerHoney?

A legendary-class monster with supernatural abilities was not easily seen, but with the gem of a large-class monster, they could still grow stronger to some extent.

Strengthening the body through gems was a setting that did not appear in the game.

Since it would be information unknown to bastards in other zones, our zone would be able to advance much further.

Thinking so, I suddenly felt this fellow was very cute.

I did not know how it possessed such knowledge, but it had information I did not know.

Most of all, that ability to easily extract gems even from legendary-class monsters.

It would definitely be of help to me.

It would be the icing on the cake if I obtained a flying monster’s gem later and got flight ability too.

“Can I fly if I absorb a flying monster’s gem?”

[Only if it is a monster with flight supernatural ability. You cannot fly just because you ate the gem of a monster with wings. Because humans do not have wings.]

It seemed wings did not sprout just because one absorbed a flying monster’s gem.

Indeed, it would be a problem even if they actually sprouted.

[And even if you ate the gem of a monster with such flight supernatural ability, you couldn’t use it.]

“Why?”

[Because you can only have one gem’s supernatural ability at a time.]

“Ah…”

Listening to the talk, a chill suddenly ran down my spine.

What if, without knowing this fact, I had brought just any monster’s gem to my mouth?

Of course, since I only knew of a monster’s gem as something to destroy, such a thing wouldn’t have happened, but…

‘By the way, is it a coincidence that the first gem I absorbed was that of a legendary-class monster?’

I felt like the board was being set up too advantageously for me.

With the existence of this kid claiming to be my older brother.

“By the way, how do you know all of this?”

[Because I am the beginning and the end of all things.]

What on earth was that guy’s beginning and end?

“Do you not have something like a name?”

[A name… I have one, but it is not mine right now.]

He has one, but it is not his right now?

At those words, a thought flashed through my mind.

Someone related to Luna Moon.

A person who had a name but it became not theirs.

An existence that would have been born slightly before players who start at exactly ten years old.

And family, who wished Commander Hayden would not be sad.

If it was such an NPC, is there not exactly one person?

“Are you, by any chance…”

I asked the fellow in a trembling voice.

“Haydam…?”