“Uh… Is it a technique that shouldn’t be learned?”
“Not really. The technique itself is quite excellent.”
It’s a defensive skill similar to Gapwoo’s shell, making it highly efficient for him.
It’s impossible for Gapwoo to learn any other techniques aside from this book.
I returned the book to Gapwoo.
“Master it well. Let me know if there’s any issue.”
“You said earlier it was the same person…”
“That’s right.”
“Then isn’t it dangerous?”
It’s a book given to me by someone who keeps pulling tricks on me.
The sage mentioned it was one of the elders of Extreme Defense, and even at this moment, they must be plotting something.
Sending the book to me and Gapwoo was likely because I moved a bit sluggishly.
“It’s true we were pushed to the brink of death… but the actual purpose doesn’t seem to be to make us enemies.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. So there shouldn’t be any great malice in this technique.”
“Hmm…”
“Even if it’s a bad trick, it doesn’t matter.”
After all, it provides a justification for moving actively.
Either way, there’s no loss for me.
[Hahaha]
[Ah, go ahead and hit me]
[Suspicious]
[Let’s go catch the Elder]
[???: If you pull tricks, I’ll kill you openly]
[Are you touching Leal?!]
Gapwoo nodded, saying he understood.
Gapwoo insisted on continuing the fight with Karabus, while I headed straight for the Management Gate as planned.
It’s definitely the Elder pulling tricks on me.
It seems like they are plotting something using the Child of God like the sage, and neither I nor Gapwoo is the target.
If they wanted to kill us, they would’ve tampered with the Magic Array during the previous incident or staged an accident to intentionally attack.
But someone just pointed out the road and didn’t touch anything.
“They didn’t sanction Minja, saying it violated a life…”
Rather, they are showing kindness by revealing the truth behind this incident or giving Gapwoo a technique to learn.
“For them, actually releasing the monster is the goal. Is the reason to cause chaos? Or is it a form of offering?”
Whatever it is, they are showing kindness to us ‘for now.’
And I plan to take full advantage of this part.
“Good things are good, after all.”
[What’s good?]
[?]
[Good thing?]
“You’ll know when you see it.”
I chatted with the viewers as I arrived at a beautifully adorned building.
I arrived at a beautifully decorated building while chatting with the viewers.
Management Gate.
Ah, this is the place for managing upper-ranked disciples and operates like a sort of public service where various opinions or stories are filtered and received.
On the first day of enrollment, Minja had mentioned the Management Gate and told me to come here if something happened.
Of course, she warned that if I came for something trivial, I should be ready to be beaten up, but I confidently stood in front of the Management Gate.
There were two doors at the Management Gate; one was a pretty long large door that was closed, and next to it was a small door.
The size difference between the doors was nearly double.
“It looks like some castle gate.”
[LOL]
[Isn’t it for giants?]
[This seems like the main gate?]
[What’s that next to it?]
Knock knock knock.
Creeeak… As the door opened, a splendid view greeted me.
It was filled with expensive decorations and sculptures, with the interior beautifully landscaped as if meticulously managed.
In front of me stood a short woman dressed in white and brown clothing, looking up at me with tired eyes that sparkled with light.
She certainly had a rather exhausted face.
“Ah, hello…”
“…Intermediate? What? You can’t enter here unless you’re an upper-ranked disciple?!”
“Isn’t this the main gate?”
“Tsk. No, go to the side!”
Thud!
[?]
[Let’s break it]
[LOL???]
[I mean, anyone can see this is the main gate]
[Isn’t that a bit much?]
[Wasn’t this the main gate???]
[Crossing the line…]
[Unbelievable]
[Looks tidy inside! Is it a garden?]
[Let’s kill the arrogant one]
…Clearly, this is the main gate.
I felt a strange inconsistency, but since I was only here to check in, I knocked on the small door next to it.
Knock knock knock.
─Come in.
The side door didn’t even open.
I felt a strange absurdity as I opened the door, revealing a manor that looked a bit less than ordinary.
The grass was poorly maintained, and the pond’s water quality seemed off, with here and there faded and worn grayish stone floors.
There were only a few trees planted on the lawn, and in front of me was a creaky hall where four or five people were bustling about.
The space was distinctly different.
I wondered why they placed the large and small doors next to each other, and it was because the succeeding spaces were different.
One side was well managed and luxuriously decorated.
The other side was less cared for and ordinary.
The only somewhat impressive element was the hall, but it too was neglected.
While I was idly observing, the guy who looked the lowest-ranked came over.
“…Intermediate Nameplate. So you’re an Intermediate Disciple. What brings you here?”
“Am I an Intermediate Disciple?”
“No. You’re a Lower-ranked Disciple. This place, High Officials Hall, is where we receive and categorize petitions and complaints from disciples below Intermediate rank. If you need anything, please go over there and fill it out. Thank you.”
Following the guidance of the Lower-ranked Disciple, I entered the hall where four men and women were busy reading and sorting papers.
They moved like machines, too busy to even blink.
It felt strangely nostalgic, like watching Besk and Black Cloud.
[So busy, so busy]
[Lol]
[Look at this, no one cares that a person just walked in]
[I’m feeling ‘playful’ lol]
[How sad]
[Why is Lily looking so pleased?]
[Lil, stop!!]
[This feels familiar]
[Administrative tasks are a chore no matter where you go lol]
[Isn’t that the girl from earlier?]
[There she is]
Swish swish!
Countless papers floating in the air are swiftly sorted by one woman and sucked into the desk connected to the earth.
She sits at the most important seat in the hall, ironically looking the most lowly.
The short woman who chased me away earlier glances at me with her tired eyes.
“What are you doing? If you’ve come, take that paper over there and fill it out.”
“Do I just write on it?”
“Yeah. As you can see, I’m a bit busy, so processing will take at least two weeks, just so you know.”
“Two weeks is a bit long, though?”
“For lower-ranked disciples, it usually starts at two months. You’re Intermediate with good skills, so I’m giving you the short end. Don’t complain.”
“What about for upper-ranked?”
“For upper-ranked, at most three days.”
The woman then seemed to dismiss me, turning her gaze back to the countless papers.
I examined the paper sitting next to the youngest of the five seats.
There were various petitions in disarray.
Fields for one’s identity and name, along with reasons for being there and what was needed.
I wrote my name and what I wanted.
[Is this gonna work?]
[???]
[? lol]
[I doubt it’ll get approved]
[If it does, that’d be legendary]
[Seems unlikely though]
“It will work. Probably.”
That Elder who seems to be flirting with me is at least showing some goodwill for now.
They must have some plans to use me, so they’re likely to accept it as a way to keep their favor.
And from the Elder’s perspective, this is nothing much.
[I’ve written quite an important request.]
I finished filling out the form and handed it to the youngest one sitting next to me.
The youngest mechanically skimmed through the document, then froze with wide eyes, shocked as they tried to classify it as ‘Pending’.
She froze in place, staring.
A while later, another disciple watching the still youngest one asked,
“What are you doing, youngest?”
“Umm, this… is it going to work?”
“What? What did you do?”
“Well, I’m not sure?”
Another disciple, glancing at me, took the documents and began reading.
And then froze.
After repeating this about two more times, Sangseok’s woman sighed as if to say, “What foolishness is this?”
“Don’t you all want to rest? What have you been doing?”
“Umm… I think you need to read this.”
“What… Hey! What did you write?!”
“I had to ask for something important. I hope you can accommodate me…”
“You’ve just written nonsense.”
Bang!
The woman held my paper in her hands.
“…I met the ‘Sage’ through a book and had many conversations… According to the Elder’s words, there’s something important. I hope to have a direct conversation… Also, please elevate it to a higher level and create a safe pathway to the Inner Hall, and grant access to Elder Seogo’s readings…”
Hahaha…
Kwaaang!!!
The papers scattered in the air.
The destructive power shook the entire Hall.
I could almost hear the sound of tears flowing from the hearts of the four disciples sitting under her wrath.
How much time would it take to sort all that out?
I lowered my head, understanding their pain.
“Are you crazy? Do you think the Outsider can take Extreme Defense lightly?!”
“I’ve never taken it lightly…”
“How dare you think you could talk about important matters with the Elder? Did you really think you’d be safe writing this nonsense?”
“Everything has been discussed. Besides, it’s true.”
Of course, it’s one-sided, but it doesn’t matter since they were the ones being one-sided first.
“It’s commonly referred to as Samsam.”
“…A division of space.”
Kwarrrrok!!
The Earth split the space where the woman and I stood.
In the blink of an eye, I found myself trapped in a prison filled with the energy of the earth.
[???]
[What the hell?]
[Lily, why are you trapped in prison?]
[I knew this would happen.]
[Well, you should’ve stopped doing evil things, lol.]
[Lily has become a criminalㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[LOL]
[Lily the prisoner;;]
[Oh my!]
[Woah]
[?]
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