Chapter 185. The Path of Four Days and One Second (2)
“Cough.”
“Aaaahhh!”
Esther gasps as she sees her companion continuously spitting out blood.
But as always, the chaos doesn’t last long.
The young Guild Master, though trembling, springs into action.
Splash!
Esther swiftly splashes a recovery potion onto her companion’s face.
*
[Divine Tree Sapling].
An epic-level reward that appears at a very low probability in certain gates.
However, this item was referred to as “spy coral” back in her hometown.
Though resembling surface plants, it was treated as a sapling, its true essence rooted in the coral polyp.
Yes, coral. The kind that grows in the sea.
As two years have passed since the item’s appearance, Earthlings have discovered through microscopic observation that the Divine Tree is, in fact, an animal.
Yet, the mysterious abilities hidden within this coral remain undisclosed.
And the danger it poses?
Unless some Alphauri decides to spill the beans, Earthlings won’t unveil the truth for decades.
So how did that alien know the secrets of the Divine Tree branches?
Originally, spy coral was a friend of the ancient Alphauri.
When you peel away the outer layer of the spy coral, its tentacles shine with a beautiful luster, and moreover, its blood allows one to protect their body without spending a single drop of mana.
“Wow! What is this coral?”
“Cutting my arm makes me bleed?”
“And when I inhale it, something protects me? My body feels tougher!”
A useful creature that aids life.
Ancient beings of the ocean planet continuously used the blood of discovered coral.
However, akin to fishermen who first dared to eat pufferfish, this was an act fraught with perilous consequences.
A few days later.
In an Alphauri village, a strange phenomenon occurred. The village’s young, healthy warriors began dying mysteriously from an unknown disease.
Naturally, the ancients were shocked by this mass death and sought to discover the cause. After many studies, the murderer of the warriors was soon revealed.
“No way! It’s that coral magic!”
Spy coral.
In fact, the [Guardian] effect that its bodily fluid produces hidden an insidious secret.
Once a predetermined incubation period ends, it destroys the organs of the blood-soaked target!
What a kindly-faced assassin this is!
This was a form of survival strategy.
As long as the creature is alive, the beneficial effects continuously produced from its blood increase the chances that a predator will protect it.
And if a beast with low intelligence falls into its trap, they would die clueless, never to return to the coral colony.
“Cough.”
In summary, the [Divine Tree Sapling] was a magical creature that recuperates the wounds it inflicted as compound interest.
That is why some alien is currently coughing up blood feverishly.
Sunday.
The date has passed 16 days, and this marks the end of the incubation period.
For reference, when this chaos begins, the guardian effect rapidly wears off. To maintain a certain level of defense, it’s necessary to repeat the previous process to restore the blood’s functions.
The activity of spy coral is affected by temperature, so one must awaken its blood in cooler conditions, take a bath with diluted water, and…
It’s a troublesome, non-permanent sapling situation.
“Indeed, I should have just stayed home today.”
On the first day when its true nature was revealed, internal organs and digestive systems became mush.
Then it goes for the eyes and other major organs.
No matter how much of a foe one considers their own body, inflicting such cruelty on a creature is appalling.
Some may wonder how coral-like beings wield such dangerous magic, but in truth, this isn’t solely an issue of alien planets.
It’s just that the timing hasn’t come yet; Earth’s animals have already been exposed to the magic of Dungeon Shock alongside humanity.
“This place too will eventually resemble the sea… ”
Gi-ryeo briefly imagines a new breed of dolphin hunting sharks with high-pressure water.
“Kim Gi-ryeo! Quickly get your hands away! Here, here! This time it’s the antidote! Drink it! Or, are you in need of divine water…?!”
Splatter.
But such thoughts seem quite inappropriate in the current situation. He was still intensely vomiting blood, and beside him, a bigshot known as the head of the Korean Magic Tower was fixated on him.
“Oh dear.”
Losing his life to a lowly species was merely an event that occurred in ancient times.
Fortunately, modern Alphauri have ceased using spy coral, and even if covered in its blood, they know how to resolve it safely.
In essence, Gi-ryeo can handle the side effects he’s experiencing.
Nonetheless, this process takes a lot of time, and there was no immediate way to stop the coughing up of blood. Of all times, how embarrassing to be caught in this state by others.
Drip. Drop.
Fresh blood flows from his mouth, where he couldn’t block it in time.
Gi-ryeo didn’t want to show this weakness to Earth’s sorceress and was discontent with the current situation. But he couldn’t erase the witness’s memory—what could he do now?
“Huff, huff…”
He quickly caught his breath, seizing the moment when the bleeding briefly stopped.
And clearly conveyed what he wanted to say to Esther.
“I’m fine.”
It seems the first button has failed, but if he doesn’t stop now, he would surely get slapped on the other cheek by that person.
“It’s fine, just put down the potion, Esther. It won’t help anyway…!”
…
…
In the dark cave.
A storm had passed.
“Mmm.”
There was a brief chaos, but now, following a rational discussion, everything has concluded.
Having reached an agreement, we leaned against the cave wall, taking a moment to recuperate and regain our composure.
“Tsk.”
Still, the blood was rising within me, and Choi Jin-hee had somehow liked this iron-tasting fluid.
As I adjusted my posture, short and aimless thoughts crossed my mind.
At this moment, however, a certain gaze was directed at me.
I wondered if people could see right through me.
“Of all people, it had to be an S-Class Hunter…”
Her light-colored eyelids covered bloodshot eyes.
I quietly closed my eyes and thought.
As for the Divine Tree Sapling… well, managing it isn’t that complicated.
This side effect is only threatening for the first few hours, after which the symptoms sharply decline.
“If I endure for two days while regenerating my damaged organs every twelve hours, it will be over.”
It’s somewhat similar to Earth’s Vibrio cholera.
Once a bacterium that could kill quickly, now it’s just a matter of getting a saline solution right, and everything is peachy, right?
So, I just need to wait for the side effects to diminish from now on.
But the problem was that I had showcased all this mess to a colleague in the industry.
“Gi-ryeo.”
At that moment, a woman’s voice broke through the tranquil air.
“Yeah.”
I answered with my eyes still closed.
Esther cautiously led the conversation with her gentle voice.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“By the way, how can blood loss not be controlled even with such an expensive potion…?”
If the representative of a large guild is calling it ‘expensive,’ then that says it all.
Esther had previously used one healing potion to treat me. However, it produced no results.
As long as the blood of the Divine Tree is glowing, no matter how many times I heal, it’s like pouring water into a bottomless well.
I was about to explain something but fell silent again. Then I rose and took a few steps away to spit out more blood.
Plop.
Spitting bodily fluids on the ground doesn’t make for a pretty sight.
When I returned to my spot after tidying up my disheveled clothes, Esther was staring at the ground in silence.
“For the record, I’m not moving, so don’t worry…”
“-Since when have you been unwell?”
A momentarily peaceful silence filled the air before the awkward waiting sparked another conversation.
“Why are you hurting?”
“……”
“If healing potions haven’t helped, that means it’s probably not a serious injury, yet you seem fine on the surface.”
“……”
“Or could it be a curse? Something like that ring stuck to the skin, not the skill I use? There are plenty of bizarre phenomena in gates. It must be from your duties as a Hunter, right?”
Once Esther opened her mouth, she couldn’t stop firing questions.
Her quickfire inquiries seemed like an alternate expression of the anxiety she currently felt.
I took a breath and delved into thought.
Since when has my body been… unwell?
At any rate, I must conceal as much information related to the Alphauri as possible, so I could only dodge such questions.
But as I desperately crafted excuses, I found it amusing at some point.
A Great Mage trapped in a food box made of a lowly existence he had mercilessly slaughtered, receiving a brutal treatment now.
After a brief while.
Having completed my reflection, I leaned back against the cave wall and shared a short story.
“Yeah. It happened while working.”
Had it not been for that overwork, I would never have sought reincarnation, so in essence, I wasn’t wrong.
The ensuing conversation might sound like an excuse to conceal an item’s abilities, but half of it was a sincere piece of advice directed at primitive sorcerers.
“So if you, Seo Esther, don’t want to end up like me, take it easy beforehand.”
“Take it easy?”
“There was a time when I worked hard to achieve my desires.”
I cast a glance at the bloodstains on my sleeve, continuing my words.
“Focusing all my energy on my goals brought great results, but now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve actually failed the most.”
“Failure.”
“Sleeping through the afternoon, leisurely dining for two hours—surprisingly, that wasted time is more important in life. Achievements fail to bring joy, so…”
Just a moment of happiness followed by emptiness.
Muttering for a while, I let a smile creep onto my lips. I didn’t bother to withhold the rising expressions of emotion.
Eventually, a sound of someone’s hollow laughter streamed out.
“Anyway, I’m worried. Looking at it, Esther Hunter seems to overwork. Managing a guild, hunting, and among S-Class, you have the most interviews.”
“…Did you watch my interview?”
“No matter how I look at it, your schedule seems a bit excessive.”
Ever since regaining my body’s memories, expressing emotions has become more natural.
I spoke with a lopsided smile that the former Gi-ryeo might never have dared to muster, causing Esther to flinch and stiffen her shoulders. Apparently, she was unaccustomed as she usually maintained a neutral expression.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but you don’t need to worry.”
However, I hadn’t expected her to reply like that.
“I’ve already lazed around enough in my life. It’s about time to slowly wrap things up.”
“Excuse me?”
“Kim Gi-ryeo, did you know? I was like that before. You know, that sort of person.”
A slacker.
At the mention of such words, Esther curled up on the ground, hugging her knees. With only two speakers present, it was easy to focus on her words.
“If I had a fitting prey, it would’ve been better. But in this place, only F-Class trivial foes appear, so I probably felt quite bored. So I began to spill my backstory…”
Dropping out of high school.
Taking the GED.
Rejecting university admission.
And living off the backs of her family as an unemployed person.
“Unfortunately, my family was relatively well-off. Not to mention, all my family members were overly kind, so they took care of their pathetic youngest daughter, and I ended up living quite well.”
Though she narrated it in an exaggerated tone as if recounting a grand event, I grew increasingly indifferent as the conversation continued.
“As expected.”
Curses are born from the power of resentment.
Being able to naturally awaken such sorcery suggests an innate sensitivity and frustration. She must have always found something bothersome and uncomfortable, especially in places like school where she had to mingle with undesired conditions.
So how could I be surprised by her childhood being alienated from society?
“……”
As I tolerated her dark past, Esther unexpectedly changed her expression. Her drowsy-looking eyes expanded slightly and then fell silent once more.
Since she was an Earthling with sharp features, subtle shifts in her emotions were easily visible. The sorceress, with her eyelashes heavily lowered, quickly shifted to a new topic.
“By the way, how was your childhood, Gi-ryeo?”
Esther had regained her smile.
“Now that I think about it, I’m curious. I want to hear about your past, especially when you were very young.”
But as soon as she began to speak again, her gentle smile rapidly disappeared.
“Childhood? If I dig into that, I won’t have much to say.”
“Why?”
“Because I am an orphan, so I don’t have diverse experiences.”
An icy atmosphere settled.
The Curse Mage soon wore an expression of awkwardness and apologized, but her apology affected me not at all.
I didn’t think it was something worth apologizing for.
“I see, even here orphans face similar treatment…”
From my previous ambiguous answer, it was clear that this particular alien had no definitive family in its previous life. Much like someone else.
Yet, unlike Kim Gi-ryeo, I didn’t feel ashamed about this fact.
Not knowing my origins felt extraordinary to me, akin to being a miraculous figure like Park Hyuk-geose.
I took pride in my birth. I lived with the assurance that my process of being born was unlike the common folks scattered on the streets.
Perhaps that’s precisely why I arrived at my current state.
Earlier, I had claimed my body was suffering from work, but when I dig deeper into the root of all causes, it was ultimately that creature’s arrogance that led to its downfall.
