< Chapter 116: Turning Point (1) >
Shin Jia was on the phone with Kang Seo-yul in her room.
“So, it was the ancestor who dealt with the gate after all?”
—That’s right.
She suspected it might be because it involved flame magic; it turned out she was right.
“What’s up?”
Ha Si-yeon, who was sitting on the sofa across from her and sipping tea, casually asked.
Shin Jia slightly covered the phone’s microphone with her hand and answered.
“It’s something the ancestor took care of.”
“Wow.”
Ha Si-yeon closed her mouth in admiration.
—Is someone there with you?
“Yes? Ah, yes. It’s Si-yeon. We were planning on training together at my place today.”
—So, she’s staying over tonight?
“Yes.”
The current time was 11:20 p.m. It was too late to go home.
“The situation is hectic because of the gate. I told her it might be dangerous, so she should stay the night.”
—Good job.
At Kang Seo-yul’s warm praise, the corners of Shin Jia’s mouth lifted. If she had a tail, it would be wagging excitedly.
“Jia, ask about the gate opening today.”
“Ah, yes.”
The gray-out and the gate opening. Did Kang Seo-yul know about this situation in advance?
“Ancestor, about this incident… did you know about it in advance?”
She was half-skeptical, half-hopeful. It’s just that since Kang Seo-yul handled this sudden situation, maybe he knew about it.
—Yes, I did.
“Ah…”
Kang Seo-yul straightforwardly confirmed it.
“He knew?”
“…Yes.”
Both women looked perplexed.
“If you knew, why didn’t you tell us…”
It was bitter. In the end, were they of no help in crucial moments? They expressed their disappointment.
—Is Si-yeon pouting right now?
“What?”
—She probably looks disappointed, wondering why I didn’t tell her. Isn’t she?
“Ah… well.”
—You’re probably a bit disappointed too, Jia.
“No! How could I possibly be disappointed with the ancestor…”
Shin Jia raised her voice.
—That’s a relief then. Tell Si-yeon not to feel too disappointed.
“Okay.”
—I should’ve just told you in advance. I held back because it felt unnecessary to say.
Kang Seo-yul didn’t tell Yu Hwa and Maiden or even Shin Jia and Ha Si-yeon in advance, all to gain more firm trust.
The level of trust between telling before and after the gray-out event would differ significantly.
Aside from that, he also felt confident that he could handle the first gate alone.
“Ancestor, I want to make it clear. I could even believe you if you said the world would end tomorrow.”
—Re-really?
Kang Seo-yul’s voice trembled slightly. Jia’s trust weighed heavy.
—Then, trust me on this and I will tell you in advance this time.
“Excuse me?”
—Put it on speaker mode so Si-yeon can hear as well. I don’t want to explain twice.
“Oh, sure. Understood!”
Shin Jia quickly placed her phone on the table and switched it to long-distance mode.
—Can you hear me?
“Yes.”
“I hear you~”
Both replied at the same time.
—I’ll get straight to the point.
Kang Seo-yul spoke in a serious tone.
—In exactly four days, dozens of gates will open simultaneously all over Korea.
Both of their eyes widened in shock.
* * *
After finishing the call with Jia and Si-yeon.
I came back to the living room.
“Are you done with the call?”
“Yes.”
The princess was playing with Goldie.
I bought her some cat toys, and she seems to be playing without noticing the time passing by.
Goldie also genuinely seems to follow the princess. Probably due to the animal affinity that’s unique to the Beastmen tribe. After all, Goldie is also a guardian of the Beastmen tribe.
“Besides that, princess. About the conversation we had earlier.”
“Hmm?”
The princess tilts her head as she looks up at me.
It seemed like she was saying, ‘What conversation did we have?’
I showed the back of my hand to the princess.
“This. You said it’s Adam’s Mark, right?”
“Ah.”
Earlier, the princess looked at the ‘Fire Elemental Tattoo’ on my hand and called it ‘Adam’s Mark’.
I was going to ask what that was, but then I got a call from Jia, so I had to put it off.
“To explain Adam’s Mark, I have to start with the world’s creation myth… Do you know about the creation myth?”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
‘What is that?’
“Then I’ll have to explain it slowly.”
“Meow?”
The princess puts down her toy, hugs Goldie, and completely turns her body toward me.
“In this world, close to nothingness, the first god revealed himself.”
Like explaining a folk tale to a grandchild, the princess continued her story softly.
“He first created the source of life, the sea. Then he created the land and the sky. He breathed life into the world.”
The beginning seemed like the usual start to any myth.
“After laying the foundation, the god decided to create living beings. After several trials and errors, he successfully established various life forms on the planet.”
Plants, animals, insects. The world began to teem with life.
“The next thing God started to make were sentient beings. Social beings that could think and act like him.”
The princess played with Goldie’s front paws as she spoke.
“But it was not easy.”
Creating ordinary life forms and creating sentient beings with thinking ability. Naturally, the latter was harder.
“He failed many times after dozens of trials. And after a hundred attempts, he found a way.”
The way God found.
“He decided to detach fragments of his own power to create forms.”
The princess took my hand.
“Those powers soon formed dozens of shapes. Some became dragons, some became dwarfs, and some took the form of animals.”
And then she lightly touched the tattoo on the back of my hand.
“Including the four primary elements.”
Fire, water, air, earth. The four great elementals.
“That’s how ‘Adam’s Mark’ was born.”
The princess gently let go of my hand.
“Unshaped power, in other words, the origin of that particular race.”
* * *
That dawn.
After checking once on the princess, who had fallen asleep hugging Goldie and White tiger in the next room,
I walked through the living room and came out to the terrace.
“Mark of Adam…”
I raised the back of my hand high towards the sky and looked.
A tattoo of the spirit race with a background of countless stars. Even though it’s a fire spirit, it’s green, which is quite unbalanced.
“Why is such a mark from myths on my body…”
My head throbs painfully.
The princess said,
Even she mumbled it without realizing it because the forms are similar, but it’s probably not Adam’s mark. After all, it’s just a tale that appears in myths.
She’s right.
Most of these myths are fictitious.
“But…”
What if this really is Adam’s mark?
The princess said,
Adam’s mark is made by a ‘god’ who tore off his own power to create it.
And the one who sent me to this world is none other than Kim ‘God,’ a supernatural being with enough power to actually send me to another world.
“It makes sense.”
The god who sent me to this world, if he is the Creator, then engraving the ‘Mark of Adam (The Creator’s Power)’ on my body makes perfect sense.
Furthermore, if ‘Adam’s Mark’ is the origin of all races,
It’s not strange to acquire the characteristics of that race from this mark.
Acquiring the mark after getting a race-restricted item is a bit strange, but I think it’s possible.
Everything falls into place one by one.
However, questions still remain.
“…What is his real purpose?”
What’s the reason why God, my brother, sent me to the world of his own novel?
I think about it dozens of times a day, but I can’t figure it out.
* * *
The next day.
I received a message telling me not to come to school until the issue with the ‘Grey Out’ is resolved.
“Good.”
Although the reason is different, a break from school has been issued like in the original work.
Right now, the government and industry leaders are probably holding a meeting.
The first meeting may declare a national emergency, but that probably won’t happen.
The government is unlikely to make the extreme decision of evacuating 50 million citizens just because a single gate opened.
Because the damage wasn’t that severe, regardless of whether the alarm rang or the communication network was cut off.
If the damage was severe like in the original work, that would be a different story.
Right now, they’re probably engaging in theoretical discussions. I can vividly imagine Yu Hwa enduring her irritation as she sits through the meeting.
If a second gate opens today and ignores the alarm, the government will have to act, so it doesn’t matter.
— My dear, do you plan on ignoring the gate that opens today?
— Ah, it’s small so other superhumans will handle it without my involvement.
There will probably continue to be gates that aren’t caught by alarms tonight, but there’s no need to worry.
All of them are small emission gates with magic levels between 10,000 and 20,000.
I don’t even need to get involved.
— So, will we spend all day together today?
The princess’s ears perked up.
Her eyes seemed to spill over with starlight, showing a radiant image.
— Well, I think I have to go out for a bit.
— …I see. That can’t be helped, then.
Her ears drooped instantly.
Anyone could see her disappointed expression.
— It won’t take long.
— If it won’t take long, are you talking about…10 minutes?
That’s too short even if it’s short.
— Roughly 2-3 hours?
The princess stroked Goldie in her arms and smiled sadly.
— …So, I’ll have to eat lunch alone.
The current time is 11:30 a.m.
Three hours later would be well past lunchtime. This princess really hates eating alone.
— Anyway, I understand. Go and come back safely.
The princess returned to a stern expression. Anyone could see it was a forced expression.
Although it’s a bit heartbreaking, I can’t help it. The matter is that important.
— I’ll be back soon.
I headed toward the entrance.
The princess and the two tigers followed to see me off.
— Hmmm… Ha Si-yeon said there’s a phrase to use for times like this…
While I was putting on my shoes, the princess seemed lost in thought. Si-yeon apparently had told her something useful.
— Ah!
The princess let out an exclamation as if she had realized something.
“See you later, Melona!”
“…”
See you later, Melona.
The princess had learned a unique Korean greeting way too early.
* * *
Seated on a bench in a nearby park with no set appointment, I quietly waited.
The expectation lingered that she would show up if I simply remained there.
“Hello.”
She’s here.
I turned my head toward the direction of the voice.
Shirakawa Ai.
Lust looked at me and grinned.
“Is it a coincidence today as well?”
“Yes, it’s quite interesting that you are always here when I go for a walk. It’s almost like fate.”
I came to this park today to eliminate variables in dealing with the recent Gate Explosion incident.
“If it’s really a coincidence, then it must be fate.”
Of course, that variable is Lust.
And furthermore, it means interference by the Saviors of Truth.
If I don’t resolve this, I can’t act properly due to anxiety.
“Ah? You don’t believe me? It’s really a coincidence.”
Lust looked at me with an ‘unjustly accused’ expression.
I chuckled inside.
Believable words should be believed.
Can it really be a coincidence meeting like this?
“…I really mean it.”
Lust’s expression turned sad.
“Yes, I believe you.”
“Your face says you don’t.”
Her expression looked as if she couldn’t be more wronged.
Even acting would be fine.
“Do you see me as a bad person who stalks you?”
That’s how it looks.
If she’s a high-ranking member of the Saviors of Truth, then that says it all.
I plan to deal with Lust today.
Although I don’t know what actions the Saviors of Truth will take after dealing with Vagabond and Lust, I have no choice.
I can’t keep an element of uncertainty right before me when facing this significant episode.
Nearby, Maiden and others like Yu Hwa, Jia, and Si-yeon are waiting. All I have to do is lure Lust there.
I was about to start acting when—
Thump.
Lust grabbed my hand.
She brought her face close to mine, looking desperate.
“I really didn’t do anything wrong! Please believe me!”
Her eyes were moist as she asserted her innocence.
My eyes widened at that moment.
I wasn’t impressed by Lust’s acting skills.
My eyes widened because a newly acquired racial trait of the Spirit Race activated.
The trait of the Fire Spirit, ‘Light of the Soul.’
It allows you to see the soul of the person you hold hands with, in color.
An innocent soul is white, while a sinful soul gets darker. If someone has committed murder even once, their soul becomes gray.
In other words, Lust’s soul should be pitch-black, given that she’s a high-ranking member of the Saviors of Truth.
“White?”
“Yes?”
Yet, the light emanating from Lust’s soul was white.
It was almost pure white, not even gray.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
Meaning, that Lust has never committed murder in her life.
“Seo-yul? What’s wrong?”
Or even committed a sin a handful of times…
“…”
“Seo-yul?”
She was completely good.
< Chapter 116: Turning Point (1) > End
