CH 323

Although the team’s goal was still the same, the expedition structure completely changed. Accordingly, Chi-Woo also changed the expedition’s priorities. First of all, their most urgent task was treatment. Yunael’s remaining companion, the male hero, needed to endure until the team confirmed whether the other two heroes were alive. Though the male hero had lost consciousness, fortunately, his internal injuries weren’t critical. Furthermore, when they were about to pour medicine over him, Steam Bun bounced on the male hero’s back and opened its mouth wide.

“Blergh—” A white, softly-glowing liquid poured out. As soon as this substance touched the male hero’s back, he stopped bleeding, and his injuries gradually healed.

Jin-Cheon’s eyes turned wide, and he pointed at Steam Bun, asking for an explanation. “I thought you said this guy was a bag. Is it a healer too?”

Chi-Woo also looked at Steam Bun curiously. He didn’t know the details, but it appeared that Steam Bun had gained some new abilities after combining with Balal. It made sense. Even though she was an artificial creature, she was a priestess and would have inherited some special abilities. And thanks to Steam Bun, the male hero’s condition became noticeably better. He didn’t struggle to take every breath now, and it seemed things would be all right for a while. Still, the male hero didn’t wake up, and the youngest of Jin Cheon’s team, Aric, decided to carry him around.

Chi-Woo got a general sense of this place on his way in, and he became sure of what he needed to do when he saw the cluster of semi-transparent monsters that had attacked Yunael’s expedition team.

“Then with this—” With everyone’s eyes focused on him, Chi-Woo announced, “Let’s eat first.” Everyone looked confused, so Chi-Woo continued, “Please light up our surroundings with torches. Don’t try to save on items. Make this area as bright as possible.”

“No, what?” Yunael stepped forward. “Is it even time to eat right now?” Then Yunael caught themselves when Chi-Woo looked intently at them.

“Hm. I don’t really feel hungry right now, either.” Fortunately, Jin-Cheon also agreed with them.

“No,” Chi-Woo said as he shook his head. “We have to eat. As fast as possible while standing.”

Jin-Cheon looked at Chi-Woo curiously. As someone who had gone on the Zepar expedition with him, Jin-Cheon knew Chi-Woo wasn’t the type to force his thoughts onto other people. Instead, he was the type to listen to everyone on his team and then come to a conclusion; and it was the first time he saw Chi-Woo give out an order without consulting others. But rather than making him rebellious, Chi-Woo’s action simply made Jin-Cheon more curious. He believed Chi-Woo must have a good reason for acting in this manner.

“We need to eat to minimize the effects our enemies have on us,” Chi-Woo said in a slightly calmer voice. “I’m sure you all realized what kind of place this was.”

Everyone nodded.

“Our enemies aren’t living creatures. Ordinary physical attacks don’t work on them unless we use mana. On the contrary, they can rip our flesh apart and drink our blood. Furthermore, they can even eat away at our mentality. In the world that I used to live in, we called such beings ‘spirits’.” Chi-Woo explained in a calm voice. “Of course, I can’t tell if they’re simple spirits or evil ones with a specific purpose, but…”

It seemed clear that they were in a place with strong spiritual energy. And thus, they needed to keep in mind two points. The first was that Kobalos’ ritual was still ongoing even after all this time, and they needed to consider how things could’ve changed over time. The second was the mysterious and ominous feeling Chi-Woo felt as soon as he entered this structure. If he had to describe it, he would say there was something blasphemous about this whole place. That Chi-Woo kept to himself since he wasn’t certain yet.

“For us to reach our destination safely, we need to equip our physical body properly. Haven’t you heard that a strong physical body leads to a healthy mental state?”

Strong mental fortitude was difficult to maintain without being shielded by stamina—it was a quote from some famous drama.

“We usually don’t have to be scared of spirits. Some of them seek to take the lives of the living, but the majority of them are indifferent. They know that they can’t rashly bother the living, so they instinctively fear those with great vitality and run away from them.” Of course, this rule wasn’t absolute. Even those that feared life would sometimes attack the living, especially at times when a living creature was weakened and losing their vitality.

“Think about it. Didn’t you notice the enemies’ attacks growing more frequent at some point?”

“…Ah!” Dulia exclaimed. Now that she thought about it, their enemies hadn’t attacked much when they first entered this place, and that was how they had reached the heart of this underground structure more easily than they had expected. It was the same for Yunael. They encountered significantly more enemies after their head, Dulia, left them. Yunael thought that they had screwed something up, and it never occurred to them that they were attracting more spirits because their mind and body were weakening.

“Oho, I see.” Jin-Cheon clapped. “Then just by eating and sleeping well, we will be able to withstand their attacks like wearing hard armor.”

“Exactly.” It might sound cliché, but that was the answer. There was no other method as effective, and it was one that his previous master used frequently. For the vast majority of people who came to seek help, his master didn’t prepare a special solution for them, but simply sent them off after giving them a hot meal and going on a walk with them under a sunlit place. He recalled his master saying many times:

[Make sure they eat and sleep well. Then let them run and play under the sunlight. That’s the best way.]

None came back with problems after receiving instructions like that. Eventually, all of the expedition team’s members nodded in understanding. It was persuasive, especially coming from the leader of Seven Stars, and Emmanuel was already lighting up the torches one by one. Chi-Woo immediately started his preparations. He decided to make porridge in consideration of the injured.

First, he chopped up the meat and vegetables. Then he boiled rice in water and deepened its taste with his own recipe of soy sauce and rice wine. Finally, he seasoned it with salt, and a tasty porridge was complete in an instant. Yunael hesitated when offered the meal. They asked what kind of pig food it was, but quickly changed their mind after taking one spoonful of it.

“Umph. Yum, yum. Munch.” Slightly salty and easy to swallow, Yunael soon found themselves furiously using their spoons. Though Yunael hadn’t completely starved themselves, they hadn’t had a proper meal since they started this expedition. And now that they were finally having hearty, warm food, their stomach kept crying out for more.

“Owww!” In the end, they burned their tongue while trying to gulp down their whole bowl like a drink. “It stings—” Yunael stretched their tongue out and soon, a water bottle was placed before them.

“You should slow down.”

Yunael raised their head and saw Chi-Woo tilt the water bottle.

“Does it suit your taste?” Chi-Woo asked.

Yunael didn’t answer. They simply accepted the bottle warily and nodded slowly.

“It’s fine if you sleep a bit after you are done eating. Even a 15-minute nap would make a huge difference, and I will wake you up before we have to start moving,” Chi-Woo said and turned around. Yunael didn’t know what to think.

‘What? Why is he suddenly…?’ They were wondering when a ladle filled with porridge came in their direction.

“Do you want more?” Dulia asked. She tilted the ladle around and smirked. “It’s nice seeing you eat so well. You should eat more. I’m sure you missed it terribly.” And before Yunael could answer, Dulia poured more porridge into Yunael’s bowl and chuckled. Yunael’s eyes narrowed. They didn’t get what Dulia was going on about, but seeing the way she cackled, Yunael could tell that she was making fun of them.

“Not really,” Yunael replied tartly and placed their bowl down, and Dulia smirked.

“Really? It looks like you still want more.”

“That’s not true.”

“Fufu. You don’t have to deny it. Eat some more,” Dulia said while tapping on the bowl that Yunael placed down.

“I’m thankful for your concern, but there’s no need. I will take care of myself.”

“I was going to, but my heart hurts seeing you go so hungry,” Dulia casually responded to Yunael’s sharp retort and placed her hand on her chest with dramatic pity. “I mean look at you. You left Shalyh so confidently like a leader, and now, you are gulping down food like some beggar….”

Yunael laughed humorlessly inside their mind. It was clear that Dulia was still peeved by their previous comment that ‘she came crawling back’. This could be their second round of battle, and Yunael welcomed it.

“…But would I be able to compare to you? You were struggling to survive before, but now that you are next to a bigger guy, you are acting all cocky and confident.”

Dulia’s face turned stiff.

Yunael continued, “You should’ve acted like that from the beginning. If you had, we might have been able to return to Shalyh victorious many times over.” Yunael pointed out brazenly that Dulia had gone against them when they were a team, but they were listening to everything Chi-Woo said and now showing a completely different attitude.

“Isn’t it only natural that I’m behaving this way?” Dulia soon regained her composure and responded to Yunael’s provocation with a smile. “How can you even compare yourself to Mr. Chi-Woo? Can’t you just tell after seeing him in person?”

“What?”

“He respects the head of the team and listens to everyone’s opinions. Furthermore, whenever he decides to do something, he tries to convince his team with explanations and sound persuasions—unlike some other idiot. Can’t believe you even brought this up.”

Seeing Dulia chuckle in response, Yunael felt a blood vessel pop out of their forehead.

“What did you say?”

It was then Chi-Woo intervened. “I get that the two of you don’t have good feelings for each other, but we are on the same team,” he said in a soft voice. “I want to only focus on the rescue, so would you both set your feelings aside until we return to Shalyh? I won’t ask you to act friendly with one another, so please.” Chi-Woo spoke as if he was appeasing children in an argument.

“No! She’s the one who started it!” Yunael pointed at Dulia and looked as if they thought the whole situation was unfair.

“Please, Ms. Dulia,” Chi-Woo smiled bitterly. “In the world that I used to live in, there’s a saying that ‘you shouldn’t bother even a dog when they are eating’.”

Dulia tucked her hair behind her ears and lowered her head quietly. And after confirming that the two had settled down, Chi-Woo took his eyes off them. But as soon as he turned away, the two glared at each other with metaphorical sparks sputtering between them.

“I’m sorry,” Dulia smirked while twirling her rolled-up hair. “Yes, it will be my loss to bother a mad dog. My loss.”

Thud! Yunael placed their spoon audibly on the ground.

“…Hey,” they lowered their voice threateningly, “Do you really want to die?”

“Can you even kill—” Dulia was about to retort, but stopped. Then she quickly looked in one direction; Yunael also became quiet after seeing who she was looking at. Chi-Woo, who they thought had lost interest in them, was looking intently at them. He looked a bit downcast unlike before.

After a brief pause, he spoke again. “You two, just now, you definitely began—” It seemed he was about to say something decisively, but closed his mouth again. Then he inhaled deeply and murmured to himself, “…That’s the second time.” That was all. Chi-Woo again turned his back to them and focused on pouring porridge into the male hero’s mouth. The male hero didn’t say anything, but simply groaned. Dulia and Yunael didn’t say a word during all that. An awkward silence flowed between them.

Soon afterward, Dulia moved away from Yunael’s side like she was running away. Her instincts as a guide warned her that if she got mixed up with Yunael any more than this, she would truly be in trouble.

“…Hey.” On the other hand, Abis called out to Jin-Cheon. She had finished her bowl while Jin-Cheon was still gulping down his food.

“You should lay low from now on.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act out like before and keep your mouth shut for a while.”

Jin-Cheon looked at Abis for explanations, but Abis had already sealed her own lips. She glanced at Chi-Woo warily. She didn’t know why, but she felt all her senses heighten.

***

“You punks! How dare you mess with us!”

Meanwhile, Ru Hiana was pointing at a group of people running away. The commission work of Seven Stars’ first team was going smoothly as usual. As they continued to take on jobs, they accumulated a good amount of money, battle experiences, and merits. Yet this didn’t mean that they faced no problems.

Like how tasty fruits attracted more bugs, they sometimes attracted attention that they didn’t want. For example, there were those who sneakily trailed after them like a pack of hyenas, trying to snatch up whatever was left behind; or there were those who deliberately tried to overlap the territories they worked in with the first team. Of course, Seven Stars didn’t simply let this be. Though they were able to resolve most issues without many problems, there were occasions when they had to showcase their abilities.

“How can they even compare? How dare…” Ru Hiana heaved, and Evelyn tried to calm her.

“Don’t get so upset about it. I’m sure those people were desperate.”

“But they crossed the line this time!” Ru Hiana shouted. “That’s not all. There’s someone from the group who has benefitted from Senior.”

“Oh my, is that so?”

“Yes! You know how kind Senior is. It seems they came to take advantage of that fact, but too bad for them that Senior isn’t here right now.” Ru Hiana snorted and then smacked her lips. “It’s good that he isn’t here. If he were, he would’ve helped them out again.”

Evelyn smiled faintly as Ru Hiana complained. Then there was a ‘keh’ coming from elsewhere. Hawa was chuckling while covering her mouth with a hand. Since Hawa rarely showed her emotions, Ru Hiana looked at her with surprise.

“Are you laughing?” Ru Hiana asked.

“…Not really.” Hawa stopped laughing and raised her head. She said, “But I don’t think he would.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s not as kind as you think he is,” Hawa said. Because Ru Hiana looked like she didn’t really understand, Hawa explained, “The one you call Senior.”

Ru Hiana’s expression immediately soured. She finally got who Hawa was talking about. Though Ru Hiana could endure other people insulting her if she tried her best, she couldn’t hold back when Chi-Woo was subject to such comments.

“What do you know?” Though Ru Hiana’s voice turned aggressive, Hawa didn’t change her attitude.

“It’s not from me,” Hawa said.

“Then who? Who dares to blabber something like that?” Ru Hiana clenched her fists tightly, and Hawa replied indifferently.

“The legend.”

Ru Hiana’s fist unclenched in an instant. Her eyes turned wide.

“Did Brother-in-law really say that?” Evelyn also looked interested in the conversation then. Soon, Hawa found herself under the scrutiny of two pairs of keen eyes.

“Well…” There was a saying that even if you knew the depths of a thirty feet deep lake, you wouldn’t know the inside of a six-foot human. Every human lived with a mask on their face. The personality that a person showed when interacting with another person was nothing more than acting, and only the person in question knew their true, hidden character. At least this was what Hawa thought.

And in Hawa’s perspective, Chi-Woo was a bit…strange. In a positive light, he was consistent, and in a bad light, he was someone hard to decipher. It was hard to describe him. Though it didn’t seem like it, it felt like he put up a wall around others. Most people wouldn’t have sensed this wall, but Hawa occasionally felt it with her keen senses. In her entire life, she had never met someone who distanced themselves from others more severely than herself until she met Chi-Woo. She was sure of this from her observation of him and based on one particular thing Chi-Woo did. It was his manner of speech.

Besides his family, he always used formal and polite speech when talking to other people. He didn’t differentiate between genders and spoke to everyone the same way. He had only temporarily dropped it with Hawa because of a bet he made with her, but he quickly resumed his normal way of talking after that.

[You don’t have to talk to me so politely. I thought you decided not to.]

She even told him that one time, but Chi-Woo didn’t change. He insisted on addressing her politely till the end. And Hawa felt that this was his way of putting a barrier around others. But what was the reason? One might think he would talk casually to at least one person, but even Ru Amuh wasn’t an exception. Thus, Hawa became curious about what kind of person Chi-Woo was behind those walls. What was he hiding?

This was the reason why she had asked the sole person with whom Chi-Woo didn’t maintain a polite demeanor as he did with the others. It was his brother, who knew Chi-Woo better than anyone else.

[My brother?]

She hadn’t expected much from Chi-Hyun’s response. It was just a question that resurfaced her mind while they were unpacking their lunchboxes on break from training.

[He has a strong sense of responsibility. And thus, he dislikes having to pay attention to things that he doesn’t necessarily have to be responsible for.]

Hawa had half-expected Chi-Hyun to tell her to eat her meal quietly instead of asking useless questions, yet Chi-Hyun continued.

[More than things being unjust, he can’t take personal losses. He seems to really hate getting stressed over useless things too. There’s this and that…but who knows? I can’t be sure. In some ways, he’s experienced more things than me.]

Hawa thought even this man called the legend was strange. Even though he was disinterested about everything else, he showed enormous interest whenever the topic of his brother came up. But it was also the same for Chi-Woo. In this way, they made it apparent that they really were brothers.

[And I don’t know how all those experiences would’ve shaped his character. It’s not something that I can guess. So, I can’t even be certain that he’s someone who acts however he sees fit… but I will give you a useful tip to survive while working under him.]

At this, Hawa craned her ears toward Chi-Hyun. She had hardly been listening to Chi-Hyun until then. What did he say? To survive?

[If you do something that leads to that guy’s losses, don’t do it more than twice.]

The legend emphasized this point.

[Keep that in mind. There are only two chances.]

Hawa still looked at Chi-Hyun perplexedly, and Chi-Hyun explained.

[One time is okay. He’s human, so he would politely ask you to change your ways.]

[The second time…you should not do that if you can help it, but it will probably be alright. The mood might become a bit tense though.]

Then the third time?

[I’m not certain. I only got to the second time and never to the third. I don’t really want to think about it though.]

[Why, you asked?]

[It’s because I was scared.]

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The legend didn’t sound like he was joking at all then.