CH 185

Leaving behind my shocked self, Koo Hui-seo staggered to his feet. Before leaving my home, he said, “You must come on Sunday, okay?”

I barely managed to see him off; as soon as Hui-seo left, I ran from the front door and blocked Seo Dawon’s way. After all, an important issue had remained.

“Is there really some smell emanating from me?” I asked.

“You can’t smell it either way–what would change if I explained it?”

“Because I’m bothered, of course…!”

“I didn’t know you cared that much about me.” Seo Dawon slyly grabbed my shoulder and gently pushed me along. It seems he was still a little upset about what I had promised Koo Hui-seo a while ago, ignoring the Mage.

At those words, I was struck speechless. Retreating, I hit the sofa and sat right there, dazed. At that moment, Seo Dawon, casting a shadow directly above me, smiled as our eyes met. “I’ll make sure you don’t smell after Kyung-sik-ie is summoned.”

“…Is that possible?”

“I’ll make it so bastards like Koo Hui-seo won’t be able to smell it.”

That nuance… It felt as if the Mage was more upset at the fact that Koo Hui-seo could perceive my scent.

As I was about to say that wasn’t the point, Seo Dawon spoke first, “Reach out your palm.”

“Huh?”

“The contract.”

…Right now?

I was bewildered, but my body followed his order and stuck a hand out. Seo Dawon lightly pressed my palm with his finger and drew a cross, the Chinese character for 12. Exactly the shape that would have been drawn with a dagger.

“Nngh…”

“Does it hurt? It shouldn’t.”

“Ah, it doesn’t hurt… Just surprised.”

After all, how could the gentle touch of a finger break skin? In reality, I was flustered because, just as Seo Dawon said, nothing hurt. Looking closer, his fingertips glowed with a faint light–that was probably a skill.

“Contracts including sacrifices proceed in a slightly different way.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. Here, hold it tightly with both hands.”

During our conversation, a new magic circle, making vibrating sounds, shined beneath the sofa I was sitting on. Seo Dawon handed me the crimson stone comprised of Koo Hui-seo’s compressed blood; as I did as the Mage said, the blood began to flow out of my clasped hands.

‘…Huh?’

When I grabbed the stone, I felt uneasy. It was a bit lukewarm in temperature and, furthermore, the stone seemed to pound and beat as if I was holding a heart. Surprised, my shoulders flinched; Seo Dawon gently pressed my shoulders down and whispered for me to calm down. “His pulse is directly transmitted from this. Breathe deeply and take your time.”

“Whew…” Whenever I slowly exhaled, the stone subtly glowed crimson. It was as if I was holding some red light.

Seo Dawon kept his eyes trained on the light-filled stone and informed me of the correct timing. “It’s now. Take out the [Vengeful Ghost Essence].”

Just as he said, I took out Choi Kyung-sik’s [Vengeful Ghost Essence] from my inventory.

As if the [Essence] was the last piece of the puzzle, the magic circle’s state was drastically transformed as soon as it was taken out of the inventory. Piercing my eyes, the light exploded like a bomb; as soon as the pouring light made me close my eyes, the mechanical ping of the [System Message] rang in my ear.

[You’ve achieved conditions for Vengeful Ghost summoning.]

[Vengeful Ghost Summoning Penalty has been offset by ‘Contaminated Blood.’]

[Certain essential conditions for Vengeful Ghost Summoning have been substituted with ‘Contaminated Blood.’ Summoning difficulty has been increased.]

[New methods of sacrificial summoning have been added to your unique skill.]

[Your Servant ‘Seo Dawon’ has been acknowledged for his outstanding ability, devising auxiliary summoning magic circles and sacrificial summoning methods. As a reward, Servant ‘Seo Dawon’s’ magic power has been increased by 10%]

[A new clause, ‘Control,’ has been added.]

[As the servant, ‘Seo Dawon,’ increases in ability, the amount of control the master, you, can exercise over ‘Seo Dawon’ decreases.]

[If the master’s degree of control falls below a certain threshold, then the Vengeful Ghost cannot be summoned. Please be cautious.]

[Activating memory playback of the deceased, ‘Choi Kyung-sik’.]

‘…What?’

Perhaps because the method used this time was different, new conditions were added instead of the familiar messages that denoted a memory playback. I wanted to check on those additions, but I felt like I was thrown off of a rollercoaster and soon lost consciousness.

* * *

“Gasp!” When I woke up from this endless nightmare of continuously falling, I was laying in some unfamiliar bedroom. The air was cold–but not exactly refreshing. Recoiling from the cold, I stood up from the bed and looked around; it was such a huge room that I could only describe it as ‘grand.’

“…Where am I now?”

Furthermore, I felt a similar dissonance to when I had summoned Woo Ragi. That feeling was comparable to when, in Woo Ragi’s [Vengeful Ghost Memory], I experienced the incongruity of returning to my younger self.

“I-Is anyone there…?”

This time around, without Seo Dawon sitting in the seat behind me, I was literally alone inside a spacious bedroom.

After I stopped shyly and awkwardly looking for people, I looked around the room; the interior was incredibly luxurious and simultaneously intimidating in its opulence.  The duvet was made of orange silk, detailed with one tiger in all of its majesty; all the furniture in the room was splendidly flashy.

The painting hanging beside the bed also seemed to be some modern art… At least it seemed to be modern art, but, even to an outsider like me, the aura emanating from the black and red painting was unusual.

‘If I slept with this above my head, I’m worried I’d get sleep paralysis…’

My eyes grew exhausted looking at the painting, so I crossed the marble floor and headed towards the door. I had a strong feeling that I had to exit this room. If my premonitions were correct and this was similar to Woo Ragi’s [Vengeful Ghost Memory], then I might be placed in a tough situation if the room’s owner were to enter.

‘Maybe… Is this room Seo Dawon’s room back in his Red Lotus days?’

As I had that thought, before I opened the door, I glanced around the bedroom again. I had remembered that, following the pattern from before, Seo Dawon appeared shortly after I woke up.

I began to think that it was plausible for this to be Seo Dawon’s room. Rather than some common person, this room suited a person like Seo Dawon…

‘Though, it’s a bit too much…’

However, I felt no other presence while I was lost in contemplation.

Eventually, I cautiously opened the door and exited the bedroom. The hallway walls and floor were similar to the bedroom and lined with marble. Large and small paintings hung uniformly on the wall. And, when I finally came to the living room of this spacious house…

“Hnngh!”

“Oh my, have you woken?”

Some lady was cleaning up. I was so surprised I inhaled my breath, but she simply smiled and greeted me. It was as if she knew me well.

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“I’ve just finished cleaning now. Should I prepare breakfast for you?” She said.

“Ah. A-About that…” Flustered, I stood straight. A puzzled look overtook the lady’s kind face. “No… ma’am.” I continued. 1

“Understood. I’ll come again tomorrow morning.”

“Yes…” I was nervous because I didn’t know what variables would change with my actions, and, because I didn’t want to raise her suspicions, I refused her offer. After a polite parting greeting, the lady disappeared into the hallway, and I was left alone in this clean and luxurious living room.

“What on earth…”

A lush forest and lake could be seen from the living room’s open window.

‘The view is good, everything’s good, but… Where the heck am I supposed to find Choi Kyung-sik?’

Faced with a helpless situation, I suddenly suffered a headache; I grabbed my head in reaction. Suddenly, a strange dissonant feeling passed through me–my own appearance, reflected in the window, was a stranger to me.

Startled, I immediately lowered my gaze and observed my hands. It was pale and beautiful, but… It was clearly different from the hands I remembered.

“These aren’t… my hands?” I mumbled dumbly. For a while, I couldn’t come to my senses; goosebumps crawling up, I ran to any random doors and opened them.

The second door I opened contained a shower; I ran inside the bathroom and looked into the mirror. The man I saw when I looked into the mirror shocked me so much I couldn’t even shout.

“How did this…Why?”

The face in the mirror–the wide eyes staring back at me–surprisingly belonged to Jung Garam.

TL: Seo Dawon’s dislike of Koo Hui-seo being able to smell Lee-kyung’s scent gives credence to some of the reader’s comments in the previous chapter!

Also >.< Welcome to the next arc you guys! Chapter 200 is coming up at some point. Once again, I wanted to do a poll for who’s your fave (human) character. I feel like if I put up Lackey, the skeleboi would win. This is just an advance notice–the actual poll will come later, after you meet a few more characters!

FootnotesMa’am isn’t actually used here, but the ma’am would be replaced by a signifier to show respect in the original. There’s no equivalence, so I just used ma’am to show formality and respect.