Imdiately after Kim Shin-hwa left the Thousand Gold Temple,
Or perhaps it was on a day after an indeterminable amount of ti had passed, or maybe even before Kim Shin-hwa had ever reached the Thousand Gold Temple.
In a dark and bright, quiet and noisy place where even the absolute law of the flow of ti lost its aning.
In the chamber of King Man-geum, there was nothing left that human eyes could see.
Not the platform decorated with golden dragons, nor the shelves filled with countless compartnts. Not even the wooden walls or the sea that took the place of the ceiling.
After all, they were rely visual materials prepared for human comprehension.
Now, only a pulsing, glowing darkness remained. Like a deep dream.
In that darkness, the will of Commander Thousand Gold Seo Cheon-seul created a voice.
“Your Majesty, why have you done this? Such favor is too great for that masked man.”
The will of King Man-geum responded to Seo Cheon-seul.
|I wanted it so.|
“He is rely another of the countless sacrificial victims we have seen at the feast. He will not withstand the attention sent by the beings beyond the veil.”
King Man-geum did not reply.
Feeling anxious, Seo Cheon-seul continued speaking.
“Like others before him, he too will eventually want to know what he does not know and to do what he cannot do.”
|But no one has ever said that they didn’t need it before.|
“That’s just a complacent remark, coming from soone who knows more and can do more than others.”
|Do you think so?|
“If you allow , I will obscure his knowledge and strip him of his power. He will soon be groveling to beings less significant than those beyond the veil and begging them.”
|…….|
Strange vibrations spread in all directions.
It was a provocative wave as if the darkness itself was convulsing.
Having served King Man-geum for a long ti, Seo Cheon-seul knew this was King Man-geum’s laughter and waited for it to end.
|Do you want that?|
“Yes, I do.”
|You may do so.|
“Thank you.”
Now even the will of Commander Thousand Gold Seo Cheon-seul had disappeared.
In this void and dark space, only a single, solitary will remained.
This imnse will, known to many as King Man-geum, briefly turned its head to look at the past, present, and future.
And King Man-geum issued its will again.
|But if you co to desire sothing else, you too can make it so.|
At this mont, there was no one in the residence of King Man-geum. However, this “will” would be used at the most appropriate ti.
The causation was not of great importance.
***
[You have left the mysterious and beautiful Thousand Gold Temple. Along the way, there were various incidents and encounters. In all those scenes, you always displayed a wise attitude. Particularly, the mbers of the Thousand Gold Temple must have been deeply impressed by you.].
The ssage window suddenly started to chatter excitedly.
“Ah, move aside.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“No, nothing.”
While it’s helpful to get information, this thing has a problem with obscuring the view every ti it appears.
Ugh, I’d rather die than suffer.
If it’s not an urgent battle situation asured in seconds, it’s not a big problem.
I stretched out my magical power to form a sense that could replace the blocked view.
“We’ve arrived at the market. Now I can finally catch my breath.”
“That’s true. Be careful, professor. There’s a drain ahead.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you.”
Multitasking was as simple as walking and talking for .
The Geumchon Market which was perceived through extra senses rather than sight had a sowhat gloomy and desolate atmosphere.
I was here for quite a while, but has the night market already ended?
Before entering the ghost path, there had certainly been a bustling night market event, but now, as if such an event had never taken place, only closed shops and tidy stalls remained.
It didn’t matter what had beco of the night market. What was important was that we had escaped from the ghost path.
[You protected the mysterious figure who had introduced himself as the professor to the end. He even promised a future eting with you amidst the dangerous ghost path. There will surely be a chance to et him again soday. But what if? Will the professor then be the person you thought he was?]
Ah, he will be.
The professor is soone I’ve seen over a hundred tis in gas, without any shocking twists, always the sa. He was always kind, always sacrificing himself for others.
[Quest completed!
Reward: 500,000 XP 1,000,000 Won ‘Entrance Ticket to the Thousand Gold Temple’]
[You have defeated the ‘Guardian of Thousand Gold Temple – Jangseung’ (2). Your understanding of goblins has increased.]
[You exerted a strong influence on nurous ‘ghosts’. Your understanding of the undead has increased.]
[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]
[Experience Bonus: You have achieved (2) achievents in the Thousand Gold Temple.]
[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]
Now, I have reached level 33.
Kim Shin-hwa
Class: Mage Gazing into the Abyss
Level: 33
Magic Order: Third Order
ntal Illness: [Mask Obsession], [Ichthyophobia]
Strength: 5( 3) (Ring of Corrupted Fla)
Health: 7( 3) (Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon))
Agility: 8( 2) (Winged Robe of the Night Veil)
Intelligence: 30
ntal Strength: 15( 2) (Body Snatcher’s Necklace )
Charm: 18
I might not know about other things, but obtaining an SSS-rank artifact and an L-rank artifact to significantly boost my stats was undoubtedly the best harvest.
[You gained a lot and learned a lot at the Thousand Gold Temple. These will be of great help to your future plans. However, you must overco the imminent challenge before you. It is the unavoidable fate approaching the owner of the Great Justice Tiger Sword.]
No, I’ll take that slowly.
I kept thinking about it while getting out of the ghost path, but no matter how much I thought about it, now wasn’t the ti to go searching for the rival of this tiger sword.
After all, there seed to be over 500 days left on the ti limit, so why rush it now?
[Now, please continue to enjoy the chaotic future.]
Finally, the ssage window disappeared, and my view cleared.
“We’ve made it to the café. You’ve worked hard.”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
It was late at night, but as always, Vasilisa was open for business.
The atmosphere was sowhat quieter than before I left, and Tudor who had been giving instructions to Orb at the counter greeted cheerfully until,
“Why did you bring that back!?”
“Back? Oh, this?”
I casually pushed my waist forward to show the Great Justice Tiger Sword.
“Kyaaah! Don’t co any closer!”
Tudor ran to the opposite end of the hall in sheer terror.
“Hey, Tudor. It’s been purified.”
“No, I hate it! Leave the sword with Orb and co in. Or, actually, you don’t have to co in at all! Professor, please co this way!”
Then she disappeared into the office.
I think she’s acting up because of the curse of premature death.
The professor looked at with a bewildered expression before wheeling towards the office.
“I’ll go in first and settle the request. Leave it to and take your ti.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
While the professor headed to the office, I approached Orb to greet him.
“Hello? Orb. Did you hear what Tudor was saying earlier? Could you hold onto this for ?”
“Hel-Lo? Kim-Shin-hwa. It’s been-two-weeks.”
“Huh? Two weeks?”
“Ye-s. A two weeks. Kim-Shin-hwa. You-left. And-returned. After-two-weeks.”
On the monitor that replaced Orb’s head, a dot image displayed the ssage “2 WEEKS”.
“Tsk, so it is. No, that’s how it turned out.”
It’s like the saying goes, you don’t know the handle is rotting when you’re lost in playing hermit.
Ti flowed differently in reality than in the ghost path.
There’s often a discrepancy between perceived ti and actual ti.
But usually, it’s only a matter of a few hours’ difference.
Apparently, sothing was distorted due to my encounter with King Man-geum.
In fact, the scale of the incident at Thousand Gold Temple was such that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d returned to reality only to find that hundreds of years had passed. To a divine being living in infinite ti, there is no noticeable difference between two weeks and several centuries.
Ugh, I did ntion this could happen before I left, but to actually spend two weeks there…
Would the mansion be alright?
Instead of dawdling here, I might need to hurry back to the mansion. What if so random person has taken it over by now?
No, I must at least say goodbye to the professor.
We might not et again.
“Oh dear, you’re back?”
Tudor who had previously run away in disgust now greeted with a bright smile.
“Actually, I’ve just finished up with the professor.”
“Ah, that was quick.”
Well, the professor isn’t the client after all. It seems that Jeong Eun-taek, that old man from the Geumchon Pawnshop will be handling the paynt so I’ll leave the detailed settlent to him.
With a gentle smile, the professor bid farewell.
“I’m very grateful. It was a rare spectacle thanks to you.”
“It was an uncommon experience for as well. Are you heading back now?”
“I hear it’s been two weeks. I’ve been away longer than I thought, so I really should head back to school.”
“That’s true.”
“Honestly, I can’t see why a mage of your caliber would bother with these matters in Paju. Perhaps you have your own plans?”
Tudor who was standing nearby us made a face where the professor couldn’t see and mouthed “Why is he doing this?” But the professor who was unaware peacefully continued his thought.
“However, if other plans arise, do tell . Our school has plenty of opportunities fit for you.”
Didn’t he talk about sothing similar on the way to the Thousand Gold Temple? Maybe he really is suggesting I beco a graduate student.
“Thank you for the offer, but I have no plans to quit this job anyti soon.”
“Ah, I may have spoken out of turn. My apologies. It’s just a habit of professors to encourage talented individuals to pursue academia.”
Ah, so he was really suggesting I beco a grad student?
The professor gave an awkward smile, then pulled out a business card and handed it to .
“Just like we discussed in the ghost path, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to visit. If there’s any support you need from the university, I’ll do my best to help.”
“That’s very good news.”
The school that the professor belonged to was as much of a devil’s den as Paju.
Thanks to that, there were plenty of useful quests and artifacts hidden away. It wasn’t a place worth making a special trip for, but if it was on the way, it might be worth stopping by.
“Then, let’s et again.”
With those words, the professor left Vasilisa. As soon as the formal farewells and other formalities were over, Tudor latched on to .
“Dear, how was the Thousand Gold Temple? Did you get the entry ticket?”
“Thousand Gold Temple? It was fun.”
“Is that all?”
“I managed to get the entry ticket as well.”
“Kyah! Great, you did it. You’re our ace!”
She was as excited as if she was about to jump out of joy. I repeat, this is the sa Tudor who seed about to start a race and flee earlier.
Perhaps sensing my gaze hidden beneath my mask, Tudor coughed awkwardly a few tis before continuing.
“Ahem, ahem. dear, what are you going to do now?”
“Huh? What next?”
“Have you thought about going into business with ?”
“……?”
After I had turned down an unexpected graduate school proposal, now soone else was suggesting a business offer?
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