Chapter 311: |
The mage Gondulbor was frozen like a frog in front of a snake when he saw the face of his memory in front of him.
The woman in front of him was so beautiful that any man would fall in love with her at first sight, but Gondulbor could not see her that way.
If he had to describe her, he would say that even a demon from hell would look prettier than her.
To Gondulbor, Kaira’s face was nothing more than a curse.
“Master?”
“Are you talking to me?”
The ones who were surprised by Gondulbor’s outburst were Ringug and Yu-hyun.
“That, that voice! How could I ever forget it!”
Gondulbor trembled with his limbs.
Yu-hyun felt even more strange by his reaction.
That was the kind of reaction that someone who had not seen Kaira’s face for a long time would have.
“Ah.”
Ringug finally remembered something and clapped his hands.
“Sis. I think Grandpa Gondulbor doesn’t know anything about you.”
“About me? Doesn’t everyone here know?”
How many Tellers had come to Guardian before Yu-hyun?
At least dozens. But how could Gondulbor not know that?
“Grandpa never leaves this place, you see.”
The answer that came back was even more absurd.
“Mages are like that, you know. They build their own hideouts in some corner of a room and stay there for decades, quietly. Grandpa Gondulbor is one of those types. And you have something special, sis.”
“Special? Because I’m special?”
“You’re the first one to come to this place, the headquarters.”
Yu-hyun finally understood. Yu-hyun’s previous Tellers did not intend to fight themselves, so they had no reason to come to the headquarters to get their equipment.
According to Bella, most of the predecessors either stayed at the inn or barged into Lean’s residence and caused trouble.
Yu-hyun was the first one to come to the headquarters under the spire.
And Gondulbor, who only stayed in his workshop and made artifacts or repaired magic circles, did not wander around outside and did not know the news.
He was so stubborn that he had no friends, and the others did not bother to tell him this news either.
That’s how it happened.
So from Gondulbor’s point of view, it was as if his master, who he thought had disappeared 32 years ago, had come back alive.
‘But his reaction looks serious.’
He barely stood up, but he was almost like fainting on his feet. Gondulbor actually lowered his head and shook his body as if he was afraid of seeing Yu-hyun.
That reaction meant that he must have suffered something terrible from the real Kaira.
Sigh.
Yu-hyun sighed and Gondulbor shuddered.
“Don’t be afraid, I won’t eat you.”
“M-Master?”
“I’m not your master. I just have this appearance because of some circumstances. I’m not the real one.”
“W-What do you mean…”
Gondulbor could not easily believe that.
He looked just like the master who would appear in his nightmares, but he claimed that he was not his master.
Gondulbor wondered if his master was trying to trick him on purpose, but he shook his head when he remembered her personality.
He did not think that her personality would change even after 32 years.
That meant that the Kaira in front of him was really not his master.
“C-Come in.”
Gondulbor tried to sound strong, but he still could not look at Yu-hyun properly.
The inside of the workshop was so messy that there was no room for his feet.
All kinds of artifacts, test tubes, and herbs were scattered everywhere.
It was amazing where he got those things from in this environment.
After hearing everything from Ringug, Gondulbor asked with an unbelievable voice.
“S-So… You’re saying that this person in front of me is not really my master?”
“Yes. That’s right. Why would we lie to you?”
“Wow. Unbelievable. I knew there were all kinds of strange beings in the world, but I never expected to see a teller like this.”
“You may not believe it, but it’s true.”
“I believe you. Of course I do. How could I not, when you look like that and talk like that? You’re supposed to be my master. I can’t even imagine that in my dreams. It would be more convincing if you were some other being who just took my master’s appearance.”
“By the way, master? Grandpa Gondulbor, were you a disciple of Miss Kaira?”
“That was a long time ago, you brat!”
Gondulbor glared at Ringug as if he hated to recall that time.
“…Who do you think taught me rune magic? The great five sisters, and among them, the most highly praised Kaira master. She was a master of rune magic.”
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
“Amazing my ass.”
Gondulbor blurted out without realizing it and looked at Yu-hyun’s reaction.
He couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his instinct, even though he knew she wasn’t his real master.
“You wouldn’t know. How hellish it was to learn rune magic from her. It was really, really horrible. I wanted to tear my hair out every time I remembered how stupid I was back then.”
“Was it that hard?”
“It was hell on earth. Master didn’t compromise on anything when it came to rune magic. Her almost perfectionist ideology made me suffer so much. I never felt 24 hours a day was so insufficient.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know that. I’m hearing this for the first time.”
“Then, you better remember it from now on!”
To sum up, Gondulbor learned rune magic under Kaira, but the process was so harsh and painful that he developed a trauma that made him have a seizure whenever he saw her face.
“…Of course, thanks to master’s teachings, I survived until now, and also helped feed the people in Guardian, but still, those memories are not easy to forget.”
“What kind of person was Kaira?”
Yu-hyun asked that.
From Gondulbor’s perspective, it was an absurd situation where someone who looked like Kaira asked him how Kaira was like.
He muttered to himself as if to brainwash himself that she was not his real master, and answered without hiding anything.
“She was a cold, rational, and strong person. And she was also kind because she was the eldest sister among the great five sisters.”
“Grandpa is kind too, but you were so scared of her?”
“That kindness didn’t apply when she taught rune magic!”
Gondulbor added an explanation that Kaira could become more cruel than anyone else when she taught rune magic.
Anyway, what he said meant that Kaira was a cold and thoughtful woman who was everyone’s role model, except when she taught rune magic.
“After all, they were the apostles of God who could be called the great five sisters. They were in a different league from us.”
“You mentioned the great five sisters a lot, but what exactly are they?”
This time, Yu-hyun asked.
Gondulbor, who had somewhat adapted to Yu-hyun’s appearance, didn’t flinch or panic anymore.
“They are the apostles of God as I said. To be precise, they are the agents who lead the new God.”
“The new God?”
“Hmm. That is, our world originally had one God. In other words of other worlds, they called it the Divine Spirit? Usually, the Divine Spirits are called eternal beings. But our world’s Divine Spirit was different.”
“Different in what way?”
“Usually, the Divine Spirits are known to live forever, but our world’s God didn’t. He wanted to pass on his power to the next generation.”
“He passed on his power?”
Yu-hyun wondered if it was possible for the Divine Spirit to do such a thing, but he thought it wasn’t impossible.
The Divine Spirits were definitely very long-lived beings. Strictly speaking, they didn’t have a lifespan.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t die.
Maybe this world’s Divine Spirit was dying for some reason and wanted to entrust his power to a new successor.
“The ones who chose and taught the successors who would inherit his power. They were the great five sisters.”
Each of the five sisters selected one candidate each.
They chose five candidates and taught them diligently and selected the last one.
That’s why the great five sisters were called the apostles of God and also the heralds of the new God’s birth.
And Yu-hyun’s body’s owner, Kaira, was one of them.
“Then what happened to the five sisters?”
“…I don’t know that either. I just heard a rumor that they went out to solve the curse of frost that engulfed the world 32 years ago.”
But they didn’t come back.
That meant that the great five sisters also failed to solve the curse of frost.
‘Then why did I get this body? What was the reason?’
The five sisters failed. But after that, the tellers who were exiled to this world all took on Kaira’s appearance.
‘Kaira. She made some kind of deal with the system.’
If they couldn’t solve the curse of frost and left it as it was, this world would be destroyed.
There, Kaira made a trade with something through the system.
‘The system told me to show a story in this world. And it put Kaira’s body on the tellers. Kaira failed to stop the curse of frost. That means… as long as I have this body, there is only one goal I have to prioritize.’
Finding and solving the cause of the curse of the frozen land.
It was a practically impossible task. Even if I could find the cause of this huge curse that froze the world itself, I had to solve the curse that was known to have failed even by the great five sisters.
It was then that Yu-hyun realized that this story was what made up his flesh.
He found out that Kaira’s last fragment was what she left behind in this world at the very last moment.
‘Does Lean know that?’
Should I tell him if he doesn’t? Yu-hyun thought he needed to think about it a little.
“Anyway, that’s all I know.”
“That’s enough for an answer. Thank you.”
“Hmm. To receive a thank you in that scary teacher’s face. This is something I’ll see if I live long enough.”
Gondulbor got up from his seat, patting his waist.
“Ringug. Get your equipment ready. The reason you came looking for me in the first place was to get some equipment to use as an explorer, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“I have something new that I just repaired. Take that. The size is, probably just right. Don’t forget to take your weapons and pockets too.”
Gondulbor politely asked Yu-hyun to leave, saying that this was all he could do for him, and he was tired today.
Yu-hyun nodded his head, as he had also come to get some equipment, and listening to his story was an unintended thing.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got some good equipment.”
“Hey. What are you talking about? It was just something I had to do naturally.”
“Still, it would have been harder and longer without you. I don’t have much time given to me, so it’s enough to be grateful that I finished everything in one day today.”
“If you put it that way, I guess we both helped each other out. I heard an amazing story from my grandfather thanks to my sister. So what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean? What do you think I came here for?”
“Oh, then when are you going out?”
Yu-hyun’s answer to that question was enough to shock Ringug.
“Tomorrow morning.”
***
The next morning.
Yu-hyun left the inn and looked around outside.
This place had no distinction between day and night.
The city built inside the ice mountain where light did not pass through could not see the sunlight.
Even if they were outside, they would not be able to see the sun because of the snowstorm that raged without rest.
Was it because of that?
The morning of the city where light did not reach was still heavy and gloomy.
The air that touched the skin was warm, but people did not feel it. They were just desperately living today because they could not die.
“That’s…”
“Yesterday’s…”
As Yu-hyun passed by, the Gardians who recognized him either glanced at him or avoided his gaze.
Did it benefit him to knock down Pricen? The hostility that was like the old days had noticeably decreased.
Even so, the minus favorability had only barely approached zero.
‘To go further, it depends on how well I do today.’
When he arrived at the square at the promised time, there were explorers who were dressed in leather armor and checking their weapons.
They had already received a briefing from Yu-hyun, so they only gave him a brief glance and did not try to do anything more.
As soon as Yu-hyun arrived, Lean, the leader of the explorers, showed up.
Lean spotted Yu-hyun and frowned slightly as if he didn’t expect him to really participate here.
Yu-hyun waved his hand slightly, but Lean deliberately ignored it.
“Are you all here?”
“Yes. We’re all here.”
“Any missing members… Is that so? You must have taken care of their belongings well.”
“As always.”
At Rahian’s words, Lean nodded his head with a blunt face.
“As I’ve said many times, our top priority is our own safety. I value the lives of my members more than finding out why the curse of the frozen land spread. So please don’t overdo it and come back safely today.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t worry!”
All the members shouted with enthusiasm.
“Okay. Then let’s go.”
At Lean’s words, everyone moved in unison.
Yu-hyun followed them.
As soon as they crossed the magic circle that bordered the wall, the warmth disappeared and the cold came in.
The explorers walked on a narrow ice road.
The road out was narrower and bumpier than the road in.
They walked in a line on that winding ice road.
Even though they went out to the outside where death lurked, their footsteps did not stop.
They never stopped, even if each step was heavy.
This was the nth exploration.
They prayed that this grand journey, which had no end in sight, would end today.
They stepped out into the outside where the white snowstorm was swirling.
