142 – Jin…Jeon? (3)
“Loria, yesterday’s incident… wasn’t a dream, was it?”
[If the Absolute of Darkness invaded the realm, it is not a dream.]
Hearing Loria’s words, Kim Hyun-woo made a very peculiar expression.
Of course, he was clearly aware that what happened yesterday was real, but no matter how much he thought about it, the situation was very strange.
‘And on top of that, it ended… with a huge misunderstanding.’
Kim Hyun-woo recalled the scene from last night.
After confirming that the menstrual phenomenon had not occurred, he seemed to realize something, with a shocked expression, and then ran away, leaving behind Lynn.
‘…Seems like a huge misunderstanding.’
Of course, he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what the misunderstanding was, but it was clear to anyone that he had definitely misunderstood something.
‘But even if I were to clear up the misunderstanding… the situation seems a bit odd.’
In fact, dealing with the Absolute of Darkness and clearing up a misunderstanding was surprisingly easy.
Right now, if the parties had just talked properly instead of running away yesterday, there would have been enough time to explain this mental issue.
Even at this point, there was a way to clear up the misunderstanding.
Originally, since she belonged to the Kalan Kingdom, a brief visit to the Kalan Kingdom to meet her and have a conversation could resolve the misunderstanding.
The only question was whether one should go there to clear up the misunderstanding.
If this misunderstanding was significant, Kim Hyunwoo would have seriously considered it.
However, at this moment, the misunderstanding between Lin and Kim Hyunwoo was quite subtle to warrant a trip all the way to the Kalan Kingdom to resolve it.
“…It might be a bit awkward to explain my menstrual issue all the way to the Kalan Kingdom.”
Kim Hyunwoo imagined going to the Kalan Kingdom and calmly explaining the reason why his menstrual issue didn’t occur when he visited the Dark Sovereign a few nights ago.
…
…
“…Indeed.”
Deciding that it would probably be better for both Lin and himself not to pursue it further, Kim Hyunwoo soon recalled what she had said.
[“Well, isn’t that obvious?”]
[“Obvious…thing?”]
[To be honest, it’s too embarrassing, so I hope you won’t ask anymore… And-]
[Doesn’t this answer your question?]
When Kim Hyunwoo asked, the Dark Sovereign, blushing, talking about it seemed more like a girl in love to anyone who saw her.
In other words, just by hearing that, it implied that the Dark Sovereign liked him.
However, instead of taking that at face value, Kim Hyunwoo had some doubts about whether Lin really liked him.
The reason being the heart-shaped pupils drawn in Lin’s eyes.
“That’s probably an effect that appears during an enchantment.”
Kim Hyunwoo knew that the red heart shapes in Lin’s pupils were external factors that appeared when under an enchantment.
And when enchanted, one could be attracted to someone regardless of whether they actually liked them.
…Of course, why Lin, who should be in the Kalan Kingdom, was in such an enchanted state all the way to the Viscount’s residence, Kim Hyunwoo wasn’t sure.
“Lin likes me…as for this part…I’m not sure.”
In reality, Kim Hyunwoo, when his limits were released, had thought he would be so thrilled as to do three consecutive somersaults on the study desk, but now he didn’t particularly feel any excitement.
It felt more like listening to an experience of someone he had no interest in, which seemed to be a more appropriate assessment.
＜p class=”a”＞From Noble mtl dot com“Well, this part will be resolved soon.”
Kim Hyunwoo concluded, thinking about the problem that would be resolved once Adria and Shadra returned.
In the end, this problem would be properly understood the moment the limits were lifted.
“Phew-“
So, with a light sigh, Kim Hyunwoo decided to focus on something else and gazed at the inventory window.
[Red Stone: 5,200] [Blue Stone: 232] [Gold Coins: 395,422] [Magic Stones: 382,222]
Currently, except for the Blue Stone, the inventory window Kim Hyunwoo was looking at showed that the Gold Coins and Magic Stones were fluctuating in real-time.
The issue was that while the Magic Stones were rapidly increasing, the Gold Coins were gradually decreasing and not following the upward trend as before.
Of course, in a way, this was quite a positive trend.
Fundamentally, in Larthania, most of the Gold Coins were currently being used to exchange for Magic Stones.
Since Kim Hyunwoo had postponed additional building constructions after the Magic Engineering Research Institute, this was the situation.
In other words, the current decrease in Gold Coins was purely due to the overwhelming number of mercenaries, which couldn’t keep up with the influx of Magic Stones.
That meant, at this point, Larutania was developing well like a maze city, but it was a time when territorial advancement should also progress simultaneously, so development-wise, it wasn’t that great.
“…In other words, it’s about time to introduce the reinforcement system.”
With a light smile, Kim Hyun-woo opened his mouth amid such muttering.
“Loria.”
[Yes, my lord.]
“Are the items being crafted well in the underground workshop?”
[Yes, the skeleton scroll provided by Tynus from the top floor is doing its job.]
“That’s fortunate.”
“Do you plan to start soon?”
Nodding in response to Loria’s question, Kim Hyun-woo said, “It’s about time to start. Along with that, we need to make progress slowly… Also, consider using the red stones elsewhere a bit.”
Kim Hyun-woo smiled as he looked at the gathered red stones.
####
The Norba Kingdom.
No, what used to be the Norba Kingdom, now so ruined that besides the outer walls, there was nothing but a black blood film. No one existed in that place.
Knowing that even their kingdom was under a seal that couldn’t be easily tampered with for over ten years, the realm lords of Norba, who were trying to recover from the loss of Rania in the Tesnoka territory, had lost interest and left.
Therefore, no one remained inside that black blood film.
“Hu… Hu…”
The Hero King was quietly breathing.
Despite the bright sun shining outside the black blood film, inside, everything seemed hazy as if a sandstorm had arisen.
While the sun illuminated the world with its warmth, inside the black blood film, it only cast a red light, foretelling ominous doom to the eyes of the Hero King.
In that place, she was alone, struggling to breathe.
“…”
Her body was far from normal.
Having used more strength than necessary to kill the legion commander, the battle with Kelba had essentially resulted in a permanent loss of most of her strength, leaving her body in a weakened state beyond imagination.
“Kk-“
In reality, it was almost strange that she was not dead.
Her limbs were intact for now, but inside her body, the aftermath of battling Kelba had left her in a dire state.
Yet, despite all this, the reason she couldn’t easily let go of life was because of Kelba’s final words.
“Do you think I would let you see the outside world for four years!? Ridiculous! I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it means sacrificing some of my strength, to prevent you from seeing the outside world!!”
For her, those words were not pleasant.
In the end, Kelba vanished from the intermediate realm by confining her in this seal.
Nevertheless, she didn’t take Kelba’s words as entirely negative.
Ultimately, his words hinted to the Hero King that he was truly back in this place.
For the Hero King, despite the continuous dreadful suffering, that reason alone was more than enough to keep her going.
No, rather, Kelba’s words breathed vitality into her life.
Just like now.
“Hoo…!”
The Hero King took out one of the only five weapons left in her personal space, a dagger.
The dagger was named ‘Gluttony of Sacrifice,’ originally designed to convert magic into mana and transfer it to the user.
Naturally, Gluttony of Sacrifice came with penalties.
The penalty was none other than the user’s suffering.
Although the mana absorbed by Gluttony of Sacrifice could undoubtedly be reused, the pain felt during absorption far outweighed the benefits.
Some heroes were shocked by the misuse of Gluttony of Sacrifice.
However, the Hero King, without hesitation, plunged the dagger into the portal and amplified its power by more than tenfold with Mojalla’s abilities.
He judged that absorbing even a small amount of Kelba’s overflowing mana was the only way to recover his body quickly and eliminate the portal itself.
“Screaaam-!”
The moment the dagger pierced the portal, the Hero King involuntarily screamed in unimaginable agony.
Although she suppressed the penalties with her abilities, the amplified effects brought excruciating pain upon her.
Nevertheless, she did not stop absorbing mana.
Rather, she gripped the dagger tightly, knowing she had no intention of staying in this place for ten years.
To recover quickly.
To escape from this place.
She had to go.
She had to go meet him.
“Definitely…”
The Hero King, with bloodshot eyes, stared straight ahead and then tightly shut his eyes.