Plop.
The quill pen weakly fell after placing the last dot on the paper. The feathers on the quill scattered and fell. The only things remaining were a featherless quill pen and a piece of paper with all sorts of resentment and anger roughly scrabbled on it.
“Heeeeick?!”
Grace jumped up and hugged Samuel’s neck, her complexion completely pale. Even he looked completely speechless at the moment. Everyone present quietly stared at the paper for a while.
A bout of sombre silence later, Ian opened his mouth.
“We’d been in a big trouble if we just entered, it seems.” (Ian)
Samuel began chewing his lips, hard. He thought this was a waste. It might not have been a royal tomb, but still, its size was several dozen times bigger than your average tombs. Not only the woman buried here was the last-born daughter of a famed household, she was even canonised as a saint, so the value of burial goods found within would be quite considerable.
However, Seol Ji-Hu had used that quill pen of flowing consciousness or something to create an evidence to back up his claim of ‘It’s dangerous inside the tomb, so we should not enter it’. Of course, it wasn’t as if there were no holes in that argument he could pick on, but the real issue here was that Ian’s hypothesis, which was based on nothing more than the Sorcerer’s intuition, had taken one step closer to becoming a reality.
“Hiya~. And I heard that when a girl bears a grudge, even snow will fall in the middle of a Summer!” (Samuel) (TL note at the end)
Samuel deliberately spoke up in a loud voice and picked the paper up off the ground. He then shook it around as if it meant nothing.
“Don’t be too scared. It’s nothing more than just an angry spirit, no? It can’t possibly be stronger than a Lioner, am I right? I mean, one spell from Alex could end this, you know?” (Samuel)
He wasn’t wrong about that. What Seol Ji-Hu had proved now was nothing than an existence of an enemy inside the tomb. Before fighting it, they had no clue how dangerous it could be. It’d be a d*mn funny joke if they backed off scared sh*tless when the enemy turned out to be a weakling.
“No, I do not agree.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu immediately disagreed. Samuel let out a sigh.
“Can you tell us your reason?” (Samuel)
“Before that, can I ask you a question?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Sure.” (Samuel)
“Dylan, Samuel. By any chance, did you see any traces of other lifeforms besides our team and that of Kahn’s, near this tomb? Such as, monsters or wild animals.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“That is….” (Samuel)
Samuel blurred the ends of his sentence. When he went around the hill-like tomb, he didn’t found anything of note.
“Indeed, you can certainly look at it that way.” (Dylan)
Dylan agreed, perhaps realising what Seol Ji-Hu was trying to say here.
“It’s not only that.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu continued on.
“According to what Master Ian has told us, a famous Sage had apparently came to this place as well.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Oho. An inverse calculation, is it? Indeed, we can deduct the strength of the vengeful spirit from the sheer scale of the defensive magic cast here.” (Ian)
Ian too nodded his head as if he could see the logic.
Samuel was at a loss as two of the core members of the expedition began showing signs of being swayed.
‘Seriously, just who is this guy?’
If it was the issue of morality and all that, Samuel might have understood it. Well, the youth was only a level 1, after all. The kid wouldn’t have known much about how the Paradise operated yet. And, his baseless, ridiculous claim could easily be laughed out of the room, so to speak.
However, each one of the youth’s words carried an undeniably sharp point. It was as if Samuel was looking at a seasoned Earthling who had participated in a dozen-plus expeditions already.
“……I get what you’re saying.” (Samuel)
Samuel licked his lips and opened his mouth.
“Seol, I admit that your claim make some sense. However, it’s just an opinion based on an unproven hypothesis, isn’t it?” (Samuel)
“Samuel.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“What we know for certain right now is that, this tomb is where a woman of high status from the Empire is buried, and that there is an enemy inside. As long as we eliminate that enemy, we can take away all the burial goods found inside and return triumphantly to Haramark. We’re talking about valuables from the ancient era Empire here.” (Samuel)
“………”
“Of course, you could be right. However, I still wish to enter the tomb even after considering that. This is my opinion as the leader of this expedition.” (Samuel)
An expedition would always be accompanied by danger. Seol Ji-Hu was now left speechless after this well-known fact was brought up. Only his innards were burning up, instead.
Once the youth shut his mouth, Ian sneakily took a step forward.
“So he says. But, what do you think?” (Ian)
“Pardon?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Samuel’s stance is that, we should take the risk and defeat the vengeful spirit. However, if you’re thinking of another, a different solution, then I’d like to hear it.” (Ian)
‘Is he trying to give me a chance?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
For some reason, it was as if Ian was agreeing with his opinion. Just that, he was doing it in a roundabout way in consideration of Samuel, who had invoked the authority of the leader.
‘D*mn it, it’s still black colour, you know. If we enter it, we’ll all die right away.’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol had experienced the ‘Escape Immediately’ only once, back in the Neutral Zone. Thinking about how close he was to dying back then still gave him a nasty case of chills.
If he stood around like this doing nothing, then without a doubt, he’d have to enter the tomb. No, hang on – entering the tomb was already set in stone. Now that Samuel had strongly expressed his determination to enter, Seol had no right to stop him anymore.
‘What do you want from me?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
As the last ditch attempt, he alone could resolutely refuse to enter, but then… Thinking about the aftermath, that also wasn’t a very smart idea, either.
What should he do here, then?
The best thing would be them taking away the burial goods without incurring the wrath of the vengeful spirit. However, he couldn’t think of a good way to achieve this.
‘A different solution, a solution….’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
[“You see, women are creatures of emotions. See? They are different from us males.”]
‘What the hell. Why am I suddenly recalling what Mister Hao Win said….?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
It was here that a certain possibility popped up in his head.
“I’d like to approach this problem from a different direction.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu’s once tumultuous eyes became calm once more, Seeing this, Ian’s own eyes began sparkling.
“She is someone who, never mind being sold off to a political marriage, got buried alive when she didn’t do anything wrong. This is no longer on the level of us saying we’re sympathetic or it’s unfair.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Sure, most likely so.” (Ian)
“Not only that, she had been trapped in there for hundreds of years, so I can’t even begin to imagine how strong her unresolved resentment is by now. If we enter the tomb like this, that resentment with no places to go would all be directed to us. It’d be like her trying to kill everyone, including herself.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Ho-oh. So?” (Ian)
Seol Ji-Hu swallowed his saliva.
Even he knew this was a laughable notion, a nonsensical thought. But, without it, he had nothing. He couldn’t think of any other way.
However, his life was precious, and in order to survive, he’d clutch a straw if he must.
Now determined, Seol Ji-Hu carried on.
“So, rather than trying to fight the spirit, how about appeasing it, instead…..” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“What? Whaaat?” (Samuel)
Samuel emitted a high-pitched shriek. Ian raised his hand and signalled him to be quiet.
“You want to appease the spirit? In other words, you want to obtain its consent, is that it?” (Ian)
“Something like that, yes. From the perspective of the woman, we’re the grave robbers and tresspassers, after all.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Hmm, I wonder. Not sure the house owner would be so understanding when a bunch of thieves try to obtain her consent.” (Ian)
“Well, the woman is already dead, anyway. What I’m saying is, let us at least show her a minimum of sincerity.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Ian slowly stroked his beard. It looked like he needed a bit of time to organise his thoughts regarding this strange concept.
“Hmm. Appeasing the spirit, is it….” (Ian)
“Master Ian, I have heard of a similar story before.” (Dylan)
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Surprisingly, Dylan came out in support of Seol Ji-Hu.
“I think, Seol is referring to an exorcism here. I’ve heard that, in reality, exorcists don’t exterminate the soul during the exorcism ceremony, but most of the time, converse with the dead and resolve any lingering attachment they have with the world.” (Dylan)
“Right, I’ve heard of something like that, too.” (Hugo)
Hugo suddenly butted in as well.
“One of my friends specialise in robbing graves, you see.” (Hugo)
Cho Hong sniggered.
“You should be sooo proud of yourself there, buddy.” (Cho Hong)
“Eii, come on now, listen till the end, will ya? In any case, before he digs into a grave, he always holds a little ceremony first.” (Hugo)
“A ceremony?” (Cho Hong)
“Yup. He offers up a couple of plates of food and some booze, and asks the owners of the graves to not get to angry and stuff. Tells the owners, he’d use the burial goods real well. And, once he’s done, he even makes sure to put the burial mounds and whatever back to how they were, too. He says that’s the only way the dead don’t get angry or something.” (Hugo)
With Hugo following up after Dylan, Ian now displayed signs of being convinced. Seol Ji-Hu seized this opportunity.
“The quill pen can be used one more time. So, let us perform the repose of souls first, and then, find out what the woman’s consciousness has to say.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Samuel stood there licking his lips for a while, before opening his mouth.
“How long will this repose of souls take?” (Samuel)
“If we perform a simple ceremony, ten minutes should be sufficient.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“….Okay. We’ll do it this way.” (Samuel)
Samuel continued on.
“Let’s do what you have proposed. Ten minutes, well, that’s nothing at all. But, even if the end result isn’t so good…. Then, I’d like you to follow my idea.” (Samuel)
That was how far Samuel would concede. Seol Ji-Hu didn’t say anything else and stood back up.
“Okay, so. How do we do this repose of souls ceremony?” (Samuel)
“We’re going to hold a ‘Jesa’.” (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL note at the end)
“A Jesa?”
“Yes. Alex? Can I borrow your altar for a little while? And, if you have any offerings on you, that as well.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Well, uh, I do have an altar, but….” (Alex)
Alex began mumbling something to himself. Actually, he was rather sceptical about this repose of souls thing. From his point of view, it’d be a terrible waste of offerings for something that wouldn’t even work anyway.
“Of course, as I’m walking on the path to become a Chief Priest, I make sure to be ready all the time, but, what should I say here…. I’m still an Investigation Priest.” (Alex)
“Alex, just give it up, will you. Once the expedition is over, I’ll pay you back.” (Samuel)
“God d*mn it. Fine.” (Alex)
Alex complained bitterly and took his bag from one of the porters before opening it.
“Do we really have to go this far?” (Klara)
Klara shot a pointed question, her voice full of dissatisfaction.
“What the hell are we doing? Resolving attachments? Are you f*cking kidding me?” (Klara)
“Klara, please keep quiet.” (Samuel)
“Let me be. I still gotta say what needs to be said here. Hey, you. Do you know that once you use up the offerings, they lose all their value? Don’t you have any sympathy for Alex? He even lost his important artefact too, you know?” (Klara)
“Klara!” (Samuel)
Samuel’s voice became louder.
“If you come out that way, then Seol too lost his magic weapon. He even resorted to using that quill pen, too.” (Samuel)
“B-but, that….” (Klara)
“Stop whining like a baby. I have consented to this, don’t forget.” (Samuel)
Samuel spoke decisively and turned to look at Seol Ji-Hu.
“My bad. Let me apologise on her behalf.” (Samuel)
At a casual glance, it might look like Samuel was taking Seo Ji-Hu’s side, but actually, there was an ulterior motive for doing so. By conceding properly on things he had to concede, he’d get the other party to do the same, as well. If the ceremony worked, great. If not, Samuel would be able to silence the youth for good.
‘I only have to wait ten more minutes, anyway.’ (Samuel)
That wasn’t all, either. Both Cho Hong and Hugo were glaring with sharp eyes at the breathless Klara as she tried calm herself down. If Samuel didn’t intervene, those two might have stepped forward, instead. As the leader of this expedition, he had to stay alert to division forming within his team.
And so, under Seol Ji-Hu’s guidance, the preparation for this ‘Jesa’ got under way. The altar was set before the tomb, and various offerings were placed on top. Not only that, food were placed neatly on top of each plate, and Hugo even pulled out the bottle of booze he had been saving for a rainy day.
If there was a silver lining among the dark clouds, it’d be the fact that Seol Ji-Hu possessed somewhat okay level of knowledge on performing Jesa. The experience was supposedly the best teacher there was – he had been participating in ‘Jesa’ three times a year, so he was more or less familiar with the whole thing.
Once the preparation were over, Ian approached the youth and asked him.
“Perchance, are there anything we must be keep in mind during the ceremony?” (Ian)
Seol Ji-Hu thought for a little while, before opening his mouth.
“There is something my father used to tell me all the time. He said that one’s sincere heart is half of the ceremony itself.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“One’s sincere heart is half the ceremony….. They are meaningful words.” (Ian)
“Thank you. I know it’s kind of annoying, but please, do your utmost to wholeheartedly participate in the Jesa. The ceremony itself isn’t difficult, anyway. It’s fine if you wish to console her in your mind, or beg for her forgiveness, as long as you don’t do it half-heartedly.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
In all honestly, even Seol Ji-Hu wasn’t confident of this thing working. However, since they were going to do it anyway, he wanted them to do it properly.
“Well, then. I shall start the ceremony with ‘Chohon’ first.” (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL note at the end. Y’know what, there will be a lot of notes at the end….)
“Chohon?” (Ian)
“It means calling for the soul of the departed…. Well, just think of it as a part of the ceremony, please.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu smiled wryly and stood before the altar.
And then, the Jesa finally went underway. There were Jobs of Priests and Chief Priests in Paradise so such a sight wasn’t as rare as one would think, but considering the fact that the their opponent this time was a vengeful spirit, this event would surely qualify as somewhat bizarre and uncommon even in this world.
Just as Seol Ji-Hu had said, the shortened Jesa didn’t last that long. Next up was ‘Sejan’ – washing of the cup with alcohol before filling it back up three times, kowtowing before the tomb, and in between all that, moving the utensils to different dishes of food on the altar.
After that was ‘Yushik’, and followed by ‘Sashin’. The final step in the ceremony, ‘Bunchook’, had to be satisfied with burning of the paper with the woman’s consciousness written on.
“Here I am, doing something really unexpected.” (Cho Hong)
When the Jesa was over, Cho Hong softly muttered to herself.
“Hey, Seol. Can I eat those?” (Hugo)
Hugo spoke while pointing at the food on the altar. Now that he mentioned it, the lunch hour had flew past them a long time ago.
“Yes. With the ceremony over, you can.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Oh, so that’s how it was. I hope the ceremony worked, though.” (Hugo)
Hugo spoke as if in passing, and reached out towards the altar.
Now that the whole thing was over, the pressure Seol Ji-Hu felt increased by a hundred fold.
‘What should I do if it doesn’t work?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
Would the kings of the past have felt this way after performing the rain-calling rituals? While trying to calm his palpitating heart, Seol Ji-Hu activated his ‘Nine Eyes’.
‘….Ah.’
The tomb remained jet-black. Nothing had changed. But, it happened then.
“Argh, ptooi! Pttooi!!” (Hugo)
Hugo frowned deeply and spat to the ground. Cho Hong had been standing next to him and freaked out immediately.
“Hey, you dumba*s!! Watch it!” (Cho Hong)
“W-what the hell is going on here? Why do they taste like crappy?” (Hugo)
Hugo looked at the dried meat in his hand and angrily spat out.
“What’s wrong with the taste?” (Cho Hong)
“Well, uh, how should I say this, it’s like chewing sand, you know?” (Hugo)
“What?” (Cho Hong)
With a somewhat unconvinced expression, Cho Hong lightly bit into the same dried meat – and began grandly frowning as well.
“Ptooi! What the f*ck is this?” (Cho Hong)
“What’s going on?” (Dylan)
After hearing this commotion, Dylan and the rest of the expedition team got closer, and they put various food items in their mouths as well. And all of their reactions were roughly the same. The food was not spoiled at all, yet they had lost all flavour, so much so that it was impossible to eat any of them now.
Seol Ji-Hu stared at the unfolding situation with a pair of dazed eyes, before hurriedly shifting them back to the tomb. And then, almost out of reflex, he held his breath.
The colour of the tomb began to change slowly. From pitch-black to red, from red to orange, and finally, from orange to yellow.
‘It’s the Attention Required!’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu clenched his fist real tightly and shouted out.
“Master Ian!” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Ian had already pulled out a paper and was in waiting. Dylan was also quick on the uptake, so he hurriedly yanked out a blade of weed growing on the tomb and brought it to Seol. The youth tightly wrapped the weed around the quill pen and placed it on the blank paper.
A short while after, the quill pen suddenly stood upright.
Was it being confused? It seemed to hesitate for a long time, before it began inscribing words rather cautiously.
If there was one noticeable difference from before, the pen didn’t swish around like a madman and instead it moved slowly and carefully, as if the writer was hesitant over something.
Not too long after, the pen fell down. Even then, the quill pen continued to scratch at the paper as if it wanted to write something else. However, it suddenly stopped moving and turned to a handful of dust.
‘Please….’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu had confirmed with his ‘Nine Eyes’, but he couldn’t rest easy just because it was the yellow colour. As his throat dried up, Seol Ji-Hu swallowed his saliva and began reading the words written on the paper.
– A first time in a long time I ate food first time my stomach is full
Really? You understand me? Really? Really, really?
Right those b*stards they are bad I angry I resent I want to be consoled totally unfair
You know me grateful first black haired man thank you Really what should I do now
You can come inside it fine take things I don’t need anyway
Ah and don’t touch around my coffin keepsakes please my favour
The paper had nearly-illegible letters scribbled on it. It was like reading a rambling of a drunk. However, they still did their job and conveyed the underlying message.
“What the………” (Samuel)
Samuel’s jaw dropped to the floor.
“….I really can’t believe it.” (Samuel)
This whole thing only had a fifty-fifty shot. Even for someone like Ian who had experienced all sorts of hardships and crazy events, the current situation was something he hadn’t run into yet.
“An event like this is worthy of making a report to the Magic Tower. Truly, my man. Just who are you really?” (Ian)
Ian gazed at the youth with eyes that had went past being marvelled and straight into sheer respect.
“Seol, there is something I’m really curious about.” (Hugo)
Hugo chuckled and stared at Seol Ji-Hu.
“Just who were you back on Earth?” (Hugo)
Seol Ji-Hu pretended to not hear anything. Obviously he couldn’t tell them anything at all.
“This expedition is full of surprises, one after the other. I’m learning a lot here.” (Dylan)
Dylan shook his head wryly.
Seol Ji-Hu looked at the tomb with sympathetic eyes. After the method he didn’t hold much hope for actually worked, he was feeling rather happy, but at the same time, he also felt sorry for the spirit.
‘Just how lonely and scared must she been….’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
….For her anger to soften so much with nothing but a simple little appeasement ceremony? It was her circumstances, her surroundings that forced her fragile young soul into darkness. Could it be that her personality before her untimely death had been gentle and kind?
‘If I ever find an opportunity….’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
He even thought about coming here once or twice every year to perform Jesa if he could.
Thinking like this, Seol Ji-Hu began to slowly put away the altar.
The owner had consented. So the only remaining thing was to enter.
*
Creak…
After opening the front gate, the expedition carefully entered the interior of the tomb. Although it was dark inside, Ian used ‘light’ magic to illuminate the way.
Unexpectedly, the interior layout wasn’t complicated. They continued down a corridor and encountered another door, and beyond that, there was a large room resembling a cavity.
Samuel cautiously entered first, before his steps came to an abrupt halt, a loud exclamation escaping from his mouth.
“Wow!!” (Samuel)
“W-what now! What?!” (Alex)
Alex also formed a shocked expression.
The room was dome-shaped with diameter of around 20 metres. At the highest point of the arched ceiling, it was at least 4-5 metres high.
But, what shocked the expedition most were all the valuables displayed on the walls.
Many decorative items were hanging on the circular wall, and every single one of them were adorned with priceless jewels. Some of them even shone in the distinct dull red lustre of gold, too.
However, the highlight were the two sarcophagi located on top of the altar in the middle of the room. The one on the right didn’t have any distinguishing features, but the one on the left was truly eye-catchingly incredulous.
Not only was it made out of top-quality marble that could accept intricate, metaphysical carvings, it was draped with a red fabric with gold embroidery. And on top of all these, a beautiful longsword and a sleek shield rested there, too.
That wasn’t all.
Many accessories that emitted a quite attractive lustre even from a casual glance were arranged neatly all around the sarcophagus, as well as on top of it. They were earrings, rings, as well as some things that looked like coins or tokens, and some others that on one had seen before.
All of them boasted the most beautiful appearance imaginable yet they also emitted rather strong magical energy as well – those had to be the artefacts from the ancient Empire that Samuel had been dearly wishing for.
“This is incredible! Hey, hey man! Just how much do you think this will sell for??” (Samuel)
Samuel asked while picking up a flower from the wall. At a deeper inspection, it was a small sculpture fashioned out of several jewels, a gentle rainbow of colours emitting from it.
“It’s really rare to find a jewel sculpture carved with such precision nowadays. Hell, I can name any price I want to an enthusiast, probably.” (Dylan)
Dylan smiled in satisfaction and replied.
“That, that, that is….” (Alex)
Ever since entering this chamber, Alex couldn’t take his eyes off from the left sarcophagus. To be more precise, he was staring with wide open eyes at palm-sized item, probably a keepsake, on top of the lid.
“Alex?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
When Seol Ji-Hu lightly tapped Alex, the latter’s neck trembled as he opened his mouth.
“Seol, Seol. Can, can you see that?” (Alex)
“What’s the matter?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
“Y-you know, that thing? If that thing’s what I think is…. Then, that’s unbelievably rare, and unbelievably expensive item, that. That’s the equipment of dreams for a priest, right there.” (Alex)
He even closed his eyes and began shuddering in excitement as well.
“Fufu. You’re rather knowledgable for a Priest, Alex.” (Ian)
Ian grinned and came closer.
“You’re most likely be correct. Most of the items on the left sarcophagus are probably related to Priest profession.” (Ian)
“As I thought.” (Alex)
“The burial goods found in tombs are usually the things the dead used during their lifetime. But, this lady was not only the daughter of a famed household, she had been canonised as well. So, it’d only make sense that they prepare the goods accordingly. That is the reason why there is a noticeable difference between the two sarcophagi here.” (Ian)
While listening to Ian’s explanation, Alex nodded his head like a madman. It was as if nothing else could hold his interest at the moment.
The way he avariciously stared at them, there was little doubt they were amazing items, but what a regretful thing it was, they were just pies in the sky. The spirit of the woman said it was fine to take the others, but asked them not to touch those found around her coffin, after all. They had appeased her somehow, so they shouldn’t to anything to betray her.
‘It’ll be more than enough to take the things on the walls.’ (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu spotted Cho Hong and Hugo checking out things on the right sarcophagus, but he didn’t stop them. At the moment, he had left ‘Nine Eyes’ on. With the exception of items on the left coffin, everything else was in varying shades of green.
Seol Ji-Hu gathered his hands and offered a prayer towards the sarcophagus containing the woman, before turning around to head towards one of the walls. Other expedition members were too busy packing in the burial goods at the moment.
And so, some amount of time had passed by, and most of the goods on the walls had been taken away – that’s when it happened.
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