CH 296

Chi-Woo went in last. The expedition team was quiet. They all looked deep in thought after their conversation with the old dingo except for Ru Amuh, who was staring at the fenrir cub. The white-silver fenrir curled up in the corner, far away from everyone else. This was the child Hurodvitniru had given up her life to give birth to and was the fenrirs’ hope that the team retrieved from the Hala Forest.

Though they brought the baby, they had no idea what to do with them. When they tried to take care of them, the fenrir cub raised their guard and warned others to not come closer. But if they did the opposite and let them be, the cub chased after them. The cub didn’t listen to anyone and moved of their own will. The team understood that it wouldn’t be an easy feat raising the cub, but the cub being obstinate with the way they behaved certainly didn’t help. Why was the cub chasing after them when they could go on their way? In the end, the team simply followed Chi-Woo’s command to not treat the fenrir roughly and let them do what they wanted. And as Ru Amuh stared at the cub from far away, he suddenly felt another presence.

Somebody moved to stand right beside him. Ru Amuh turned around and saw the noble-looking young man of the expedition team.

“I’m Eustitia’s Emmanuel.”

“…I’m Ru Amuh.”

Though Ru Amuh was taken aback by Emmanuel’s sudden self-introduction, he was a polite person by nature and replied accordingly. He realized it was his first time talking to Emmanuel alone.

“I know your name. I have heard about it from time to time.” Emmanuel inhaled deeply. For some reason, he seemed quite stiff. “If it’s alright…I would like to discuss something with you in private.”

It was then Ru Amuh realized that Emmanuel was anxious and nervous. Simultaneously, he looked incredibly determined.

“Could you follow me?” Emmanuel asked. It was a request made out of the blue, and a couple of the other expedition team members even looked back curiously.

Ru Amuh didn’t know why Emmanuel was acting this way, but he felt Emmanuel’s strong determination and answered, “Yes.”

***

Meanwhile, Chi-Woo had a stunned look on his face. What was this dingo talking about? A suitor? But he wasn’t even at the prime age for marrying yet.

“I was planning to quickly go over this issue, but…” The old dingo continued with a slight smile, “There’s room for wider interpretation. It could mean a helper, for example.” The old dingo raised her monocle and looked down at the two flipped cards on the table.

“First of all, I can tell that you aren’t lying when you say that you want to save Liber. And it appears that you have done some grueling work to do so.” The old dingo tapped the card with the man not interested in the pentacle. Then she said while looking up at Chi-Woo, “But that can’t be the only thing. The current situation on Liber is very special even from the perspective of the whole universe.” This was true; an event at a galaxy scale was almost unprecedented.

“It has already passed the stage where one person can save it alone.” This was evident by the fact that the legend, Chi-Hyun, had requested support, and more than ten recruit teams had come to Liber. It was like they had missed the golden hour when dealing with a patient, and it was now harder to save Liber.

“But something…is strange.” The old dingo’s monocle shone as she looked down at the card again. “Only once you collect these helpers will a future you desire open up. But the relationship between you and the helpers is a bit… How should I put it?” The old dingo struggled to come up with the right term. After a pregnant pause, she emphasized, “Extremely, extremely special.”

Their relationships weren’t simply ones where they helped each other out.

“As I said before, they could be your suitors, or they could possibly reach a deeper relationship than that.”

Chi-Woo listened intently and tried not to miss a word.

“One thing is for certain: you and the helpers must meet and build trust between each other. Only then would you and the helpers encounter the opportunity each of you seeks.” Then the old dingo crossed her arms while looking at the card and tilted her head from side to side.

“Hm—that could mean that it is your mission to find them first…and it seems like you’ve found one already.”

It was then something occurred to Chi-Woo.

“Is there anything that comes to your mind?” she asked.

…Yes, there was. It wasn’t his own power, but the unique perk that he got from a desperate and earnest wish: it was the book, 7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent.

“You seemed to have thought of something.” The old dingo smiled, seeing Chi-Woo’s response.

Chi-Woo hadn’t been ignoring that perk completely until now. He helped heroes who stopped progressing and tried to find more stars somehow. Yet no hero really satisfied him. After Ru Amuh, he never met anyone who made him feel they were the one again. It was inevitable since a three-star hero was hard to come by, much less another four-star one. But he hadn’t thought he would have to think about this matter in this place again. If the stars on this card were referring to those like Ru Amuh, then this was an opportunity for him to ask more questions. Thus, Chi-Woo immediately asked:

“By any chance, are the helpers decided beforehand?”

“Hm? What made you think that?”

“I have seen them.”

“?” The old dingo told him to explain in more detail, and Chi-Woo recounted what had happened when he went to the future and saw the two or three people with Emmanuel.

“Oh, the future.” The old dingo looked curious, yet she responded negatively to Chi-Woo’s question. “As I said before, the future or destiny isn’t set in stone. The future is a fickle one that changes continuously because of very menial matters. Thus, it’s hard to be sure.” The old dingo answered that there was the possibility that his helpers could change and then licked her lips. “But well, if you want to know more specifically…”

She looked toward the table and trailed off. Chi-Woo understood that now was the time for them to check the last remaining card. Chi-Woo flipped it from left to right without hesitation, revealing neither a man nor a pentacle. A hand extending from a cloud was clutching a large staff and, in the background, there was a small castle.

“Seizing a momentary opportunity,” the old dingo murmured after seeing the picture. “Creativity, bravery, and…a new beginning.” She said to herself while stroking her chin. “But individualistic…no, in this case…” Like she wasn’t satisfied with her own interpretation, she frowned and clicked her tongue. Chi-Woo looked intently at her and waited for her response. He needed to hear her answer at all costs to properly use the book. Some time later, the old dingo said, “It says that it’s already decided.”

“Ah,” Chi-Woo gasped.

“But not decided.”

Chi-Woo thought he heard wrong. Decided but not decided?

“Decided and then not decided. Beware of the order since that’s important.”

Chi-Woo felt more confused hearing her reply. It didn’t appear that the old dingo was pulling some wordplay.

“…I don’t really get what you are saying.” In the end, he confessed truthfully. “Please teach me what it means.”

The old dingo stared intently at Chi-Woo and asked, “Do you like marble games?”

“?”

“I want to play some marble games with you.”

Chi-Woo was too taken aback to answer, and the old dingo pulled out a pouch. She flipped it from the bottom and emptied it over the table. Pebbles the size of fingernails spilled out.

“Could you pick out ones round enough to play a marble game? Seven would be good.”

Although he didn’t know what was going on, Chi-Woo believed she must have her reason and did what he was told. The marbles needed to be round for them to play, yet the pebbles were all in different shapes. He passed over the sharp and bumpy ones. Eventually, Chi-Woo picked out seven pebbles closest to a spherical shape.

“Yes.” The old dingo nodded while observing the pebbles that Chi-Woo took out. “With a little touch-up, these will be perfect for marble games.” She nodded and picked out a pebble that Chi-Woo didn’t choose.

“Why did you not choose this one?”

“It’s too thin. Even if we trim it to make it more circular, it wouldn’t be big enough to play marble games with.”

The old dingo picked up another pebble and asked, “What about this one?”

“That one looked like it would take too much effort to trim.”

“Do you mean that rather than trimming this one, trimming the ones you picked would be more efficient?”

“Yes.”

“Then—” The old dinger fumbled through the pebbles and raised her hand again. “What about this one?”

Chi-Woo didn’t respond immediately this time. It was because this pebble was fitting to play a marble game, but he had simply not picked it.

“I didn’t notice that one—ah!” It was then Chi-Woo realized what the old dingo was trying to tell him.

“I told you to pick seven pebbles, and you did exactly as I told you.” The old dingo removed the pebbles knowing that Chi-Woo got it. “Yet as you can see, there are more pebbles similar to the seven you’ve picked. They might be lacking in some ways, but superior in other ways.”

This meant something simple. To become a helper to save Liber, one needed to fulfill a specific set of conditions. For example, they needed a certain level of potential or talent. But as long they fulfilled these conditions, it didn’t matter who they were; it was up to Chi-Woo to hone and train them. This was why the helpers were and weren’t decided at the same time.

Chi-Woo closed his eyes. He recalled the conversation he had had with his master Byeok before leaving for the Hala Forest. She told him that he couldn’t do everything on his own and needed other people’s help too. Besides his brother, there needed to be seven other heroes who could be considered legends. Only then would they be able to seriously think about saving Liber.

“So did I answer your question?” the old dingo asked. “Even if you aren’t satisfied, it can’t be helped. Didn’t I tell you from the beginning that it’s going to be a waste of time to expect that?”

Chi-Woo’s eyes opened wide. “No, you gave me an answer beyond what I expected.” He looked much more relieved and assured of his future than before. The old dingo told him what he needed to do from now on. Now that he thought about it, it seemed he had been too unsettled by what happened at the Hala Forest when all he needed to do was put in more effort when he found himself lacking in any way.

“…Is that so?” The old dingo smiled, seeing Chi-Woo’s eyes shine. “Then let’s end things here.”

She pushed off the table and stretched out her arms. “Ah, that was hard. It’s tiring to do this prophesizing business after twenty years… Furthermore, there are seven individuals’ fates mixed in with this…” When Chi-Woo saw the old dingo tap her own back, he fixed his posture and carefully spoke again.

“Um, Miss, I have one more—”

“Stop it,” the old dingo immediately cut him off. It seemed like she knew what he was going to say. “Your time is already up… Stop bothering an old woman who is just counting down her last days on earth.”

Chi-Woo failed to respond further. “Then, can I at least get your name please…?”

“Why in the world would you need to know the name of someone who is going to die soon?” the old dingo snorted. Her soft voice became coarser again. Noting how firm she sounded, Chi-Woo held back his tongue. It appeared that she had her own circumstances preventing her from revealing more, and it didn’t seem polite for him to push any further. Besides, he had gained quite a bit of important information from their conversation already.

“Thank you very much.” Chi-Woo expressed his gratitude with a deep bow and got up. The old dingo watched as Chi-Woo turned around and left the room through the door. Chi-Woo’s shoulders still looked too small to bear the weight of the whole world, and her eyes filled with pity as she saw this. Thus, when he was about to leave, she shouted:

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“Tenth! I don’t know about the others, but on the tenth time, don’t let go of the first person you meet in the tower.”

Chi-Woo stopped when he was about to close the door. He thought about what the old dingo just said and looked back in surprise.

“Of course, it depends on your decision in the end, but that child is the exception. That Is what my intuition says.”

Chi-Woo saw the old dingo sitting comfortably on her chair while leaning against the wall. His jaw dropped involuntarily.

“If you tell me this, doesn’t that mean… Why would you…!”

“Oh. It seems you’ve heard and seen quite a bit,” the old dingo said in slight surprise. “I just told you…because you made me remember the old days. Also, you looked a bit pitiful.” At that moment, the old dingo looked like a grandma caring for her grandson. She smiled, seeing the look on Chi-Woo’s face.

“Don’t look at me like that. Who are you pitying? I was about to die any day now anyways.” Then she let out a long sigh. Though her sigh was heavy, she looked relieved.

“Anyways, if you happen to meet the dragon, tell her I’m grateful for the meeting she had set up for my last time of prophesying.”

“But—”

“Don’t look down on me, kid.” The old dingo’s voice became sharp as Chi-Woo tried to go back in. “It’s fine, so get out already if you’ve got everything you need. It seems like I would need my rest now,” the old dingo shouted and waved him away like she was swatting flies. She had a pained look on her face.

“Go on! Are you not even going to let me rest?”

Egged on by her, Chi-Woo had no choice but to leave. He stood outside the door a bit, but eventually walked forward, step by step. His face looked completely blank. The ‘tenth time’ and the ‘first one inside a tower’—such specific descriptions for a prophecy. That was not how a prophecy was meant to be; they needed to be so vague that it would be hard to understand the first time. This was because one of the greatest crimes that a mortal could commit was leaking heaven’s secrets, and the punishment for doing so was one’s life. That was what Shersha told him.

Therefore, Chi-Woo had a hard time understanding the old dingo’s actions. They had just met today and shared only a little bit of conversation. What did she see in him that she gave up her life to give him this piece of advice? Chi-Woo’s feet slowed. He recalled the people who had willingly given up their lives as sacrifices for the future inside the forest.

“Is it over?” And as he walked, he eventually heard Evelyn’s voice. Chi-Woo didn’t answer immediately, but since everyone had looked shaken after consulting the old dingo, no one thought his behavior was strange. They simply looked curiously at him. Chi-Woo considered going back to check up on the old dingo now, but he thought he would only get scolded if he did that. Furthermore, her life was basically over the moment she revealed heaven’s secrets—especially if the old dingo was similar to his old master.

Sometime later, Chi-Woo broke out of his reverie and looked around, realizing that one person was missing.

“Where is Mr. Emmanuel?”

“Uh…he went somewhere for a bit but he still didn’t come back…” Yeriel glanced at Ru Amuh, who stood alone, and replied. They had gone somewhere together, but only Ru Amuh came back.

“Do you perhaps…know where he—”

“Teacher.” It was then Ru Amuh approached Chi-Woo and clutched his arm. “Could you wait for him a bit longer?”

Ru Amuh spoke in the same tone as he usually did, but for some reason, it held more weight than usual. Chi-Woo didn’t know what was going on, but he thought Emmanuel must have his own reasons and decided to wait. Fortunately, it didn’t take much longer for Emmanuel to come back. Seeing that there wasn’t any serious problem with him, Chi-Woo decided to head down, and when he reached the bottom of the mountain, Hawa sensed something was off and turned around. She gasped when she saw firelight suddenly shoot up from the top of the mountain. The path of fire let out heavy, black smoke and wavered like it was dancing. Everyone looked stunned by the sudden turn of events.

“…Let’s go.” Only Chi-Woo looked forward. “Let’s return to Shalyh.” Though his feet felt heavy, he pushed himself forward while clenching his teeth. He thought that was what he needed to do right now.