Chapter 84
The axe was halfway implanted into Koo Hui-seo’s torso, when…
A sound similar to rushing water appeared!
Until a while ago, I could only hear the thuds of logging, but suddenly a different noise joined the cacophony. Black water began to flow down from the place where the axe struck.
Koo Hui-seo lay motionless; similar black water flowed down from his mouth… To be honest, I thought for a moment that Seo Dawon had killed him.
“I-is he okay like this…?
“It’s going well.” Seo Dawon said, telling me to not worry. He took a step back to avoid that black water that had puddled at our feet.
I hurriedly followed him, but, fortunately, the unidentified black liquid stopped pooling. The amount of water that flowed from Koo Hui-seo’s mouth also decreased.
However, as the black liquid filled the small room, a fishy smell–different from the rotting sickly sweet scent–emerged. I asked, grimacing, “What is this smell…This isn’t blood, is it?”
“It’s blood, but it’s not Koo Hui-seo’s.”
“…This is really blood?”
“Curses usually utilize blood.”
When I heard that the liquid coming out was blood used as an offering for the curse, I covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve. ‘No way. It’s not…Human blood, right?’
Of course, I lacked the courage to ask for further details, so I simply stayed silent and waiting for some other change. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Koo Hui-seo’s eyebrows and glabella began to wriggle.
“[Blegh]…” The recently awakened Koo Hui-seo coughed and spat out what remained in his mouth onto the floor.
I thought it would be the opal-colored stone that Seo Dawon pushed into his mouth before chopping him with the axe, but the stone that popped out was completely different from before. What had landed in the pool of rotten blood looked like a lump of clay.
As soon as the stone touched the puddle, it shattered into various pieces; suspicious green smoke leaked out and disappeared into the air.
“…Is that it?” I asked.
“Yeah. We’re almost done.” Seo Dawon closed his eyes and raised his arms out straight, palms facing down.
Soon, there was a twinkling light that surrounded his arms–that light shone from within Koo Hui-seo’s body. When Seo Dawon opened his eyes, the trunk split open, like cracks widening along a plaster.
Creak–
As Koo Hui-seo’s body continued to crack, hazy white dust arose. And, before long, the tree began to fall in the direction of the axe with a creaking sound.
I stood, staring blankly at that sight, and Seo Dawon drew me to his side, protecting me from the falling tree by standing in front. Afterwards, I immediately heard the great crash of the tree’s total collapse.
A great deal of dust stirred up all at once, turning the room foggy. I stared out from behind Seo Dawon’s back, wondering if Koo Hui-seo was fine. I saw a blurry shadow amid the dust cloud…
“W-What?” As soon as I squinted, trying to focus, Seo Dawon covered my eyes with his hands.
“Why are you covering my eyes?” I asked.
“Lee-kyung-ie can’t see such gross things.”
“Huh?”
What could be left behind that was so gross?
Nervous, I held my breath without attempting to free myself from Seo Dawon’s hold. Before long, I could hear the rustling sound of someone approaching us.
“What do you mean, gross…That’s too much.” I heard a young voice, flush with amusement, from nearby. It was an unfamiliar voice, but I was familiar with the speech pattern.
“Koo…… Hui-seo-ssi?”
“Yes. That’s right.” His voice was quite weak, like a man who had been suffering from an illness for a long time. But there was nothing otherworldly–as if he wasn’t human–as it had been before. Should I say that it was like any ordinary man’s voice? Though, I did feel years of experience laden in it…
“Why don’t you search your inventory?” Seo Dawon didn’t remove the hand that was blindfolding my eyes and, instead, spoke to the other in a cold voice, as if he were displeased with him.
“Ahh….” Koo Hui-seo began making a rustling noise. “I should have some hospital scrubs somewhere…Give me a moment.”
Following that, it sounded like he was clothing himself.
Then…Did Seo Dawon cover my eyes because of Koo Hui-seo’s nudity?
I looked at Seo Dawon in disbelief, but he looked straight ahead and, a while later, dropped his hand. Only then was I able to properly confirm what Koo Hui-seo looked like as a ‘human.’
When I first saw Koo Hui-seo, I thought he was an old man in his twilight years.
His figure was very small, and his hair had white patches here and there. The baggy hospital scrubs didn’t fit him at all. Even his silhouette, reflected through the hospital gown, was so thin. I wondered if it was okay for him to stand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Koo Hui-seo.”
“Ah, yes. My name is… Choi Lee-kyung.”
However, when he approached me with an outstretched hand, that impression was completely blown away when I looked into his eyes.
Even though he looked quite shabby at first, his eyes contained a sparkle that could not be hidden. That sparkle was a little different from the ordinary joy of a person that had been released after a long imprisonment.
‘Rather than that, it’s….’
It’s more like the euphoria exuded by a prisoner that had clawed his own way to freedom, escaping from his jail? I don’t know why I felt such a savage feeling from a man that spoke so gentlemanly and was so skinny–almost on the verge of death…
Even his short handshake gave me goosebumps. In the end, as if shaking him off, I let go of his hands and retreated a few steps.
Koo Hui-seo, giving little notice to my attitude, said with a smile, “Now that the curse has been lifted, my mother will probably come here soon. You two…It would be too troublesome if you met her, yes?”
I was blatantly staring at the man. His words brought me back to my senses, and I looked at Seo Dawon. The mage replied with a nod, “Get yourself settled as soon as possible. Start preparing to brief us on Koo Kyungman starting today.”
“I understand. How should I contact you?”
“I’ll give you Lee-kyung-ie’s phone number.” Koo Hui-seo nodded politely, called up his status window, and wrote down my cell phone number.
After he finished his business, Seo Dawon and I turned towards the door. However, a strange sound that I presumed to be Koo Hui-seo, passed through my ears.
[Please, Don’t be too wary of me.]
“…..?”
What is this?
I turned back towards him; Koo Hui-seo was still looking at us with a temperate smile. Seo Dawon simply walked ahead as if he had not heard Koo Hui-seo’s voice.
I hesitated for a while because I didn’t know how to react. Koo Hui-seo’s lips did not budge one inch, but I could hear his low voice once again at my ears.
[…Next time, I’d like to show you a better impression of me]
Afterwards, as if noise-canceling earphones had been removed, all of a sudden I could hear all sorts of small sounds.
I looked at Koo Hui-seo, subconsciously fiddling at my ears. Perhaps I wasn’t following my ghostly servant well, distracted by the new compatriot. Seo Dawon came to my side after walking a distance away from me.
“I-I’m coming.” I was a bit concerned about Koo Hui-seo’s presence behind me, but I decided to keep quiet for now. I decided it wouldn’t be too late to slowly digest all that had happened after we left this area.
* * *
After that, we safely returned to our room and shared all that had happened with Jung Garam, who had already arrived.
The treasure hunter’s party seemed to have bought time quite smoothly. As we had expected, when Bae Jaemin and Moon Issak met, neither cared about Kim Sangyoon as they ripped into each other.
“Moon Issak, that bastard, asked Kim Sangyoon, who returned from a bathroom break, to immediately bring some wine.”
“Everything’s fine, right?”
“Yeah. That means no one cared about him.”
Furthermore, Jung Garam said that he gained a sense of the current situation as he eavesdropped on their dinner conversation. “Jaemin seems to be anxious about his guild certification. In order to qualify for tax benefits, your guild’s grade must be at least an A-, but I guess they aren’t willing to hand that out. Moon Issak says that new guilds can’t be admitted without proper verification of official institutional quests. He goaded Bae Jaemin, saying how guild members of that level definitely needed official verifications on their quests…”
“I guess he wants to act as he did with the Red Lotus.” Seo Dawon said without hiding his amusement while listening. Jung Garam nodded. I blinked, ignorant of their references. Fortunately, Jung Garam clarified for me.
TL: How do you guys feel about mister chimera? We’ll be seeing more of him in the following chapters.
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