“Are you an angel…?”
‘I must have hit my head or something.’
I came to that conclusion seeing Lee Ji-yeon suddenly calling for an angel after looking at me.
It’s no wonder; she was covered in wounds. Her hair was stained with dried blood, probably from getting hit on the head.
That must be why she was rambling in her dazed state.
“Angel… are you my guardian…?”
‘First, let’s get you treated.’
“Ah… I don’t want to die…”
‘You’re not dead…’
I couldn’t just leave an injured person behind, so I got out of the Lake of Mana.
Lee Ji-yeon was hoisted up, wrapped in the feathers of the sky.
I carefully transported her to avoid worsening her injuries.
I placed her down on a lawn generously infused with purification magic.
“Ah, huh…?”
At that moment, her blurry eyes sharpened.
“What, what…”
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly quivered.
Her eyes trembled as if she didn’t know where to look, rolling around erratically.
Then her face turned beet red.
– Wriggle, wiggle.
She even started squirming like a caterpillar.
Noticing her strange symptoms, I narrowed my brows and gently restrained her squirming with the feathers of the sky.
“Um… no, uh…”
‘Wait, just stay still—’
“Ah, my clothes…”
‘—Wait, clothes?’
My thoughts froze at her sudden realization.
Lee Ji-yeon was covering her eyes with both hands.
…Where did I come from again?
I came out of the lake.
What state was I in upon entering the lake?
For a moment, I gaped, then glanced around.
It wasn’t like I needed to look too hard.
The cool breeze was hitting my bare skin.
‘Ah.’
I’m not wearing any clothes.
I was only draped in the feathers of the sky. No confession necklace, no clothes.
Embarrassed, I scratched my head and retrieved the clothes that were lying on the rock over there.
.
.
.
It didn’t take even a minute to get dressed.
I just had to roughly shake off the water from my body and put the clothes on.
In that brief moment, Lee Ji-yeon seemed to come to her senses and started fanning her face.
‘……’
I wouldn’t be surprised if my face was just as red.
What kind of situation is this for a first meeting? This is beyond embarrassing.
Plus, the ugly burn might have shown too. What if she felt uncomfortable about it…
‘What if my likability just hit rock bottom… I still need Seo-yul’s help, and I’m in enough trouble already…’
What terrible luck.
Of all the places to meet like this…
[Hello]
“Ah! Y-yes! Hello! Um, Lee Ha-yul, junior?”
[Yes]
[Lee Ji-yeon, senior]
“Um, ahem! Thanks for catching me. I almost fell without protection.”
I approached Lee Ji-yeon to smooth out my crumpled expression.
She startled and greeted me back, looking around awkwardly, as if she didn’t know where to place her gaze.
…Judging by her reaction, my first impression must have been completely shattered.
Just as I sighed deeply inside…
“…Ah! This isn’t the time for that…!”
Suddenly, Lee Ji-yeon bolted upright, her eyes wide open. At the same time, her brows furrowed slightly.
It seemed like her injuries had opened a bit.
[You need to rest and take it easy]
[You can’t move around too much]
“There’s no time for that!”
Despite my protests, Lee Ji-yeon looked around in a panic, as if searching for an exit to escape the dungeon.
A sense of dread washed over me.
Thanks to the power of observation, I could accurately assess the severity of her injuries.
Lee Ji-yeon was covered in wounds.
She had gashes that looked like she’d been hit hard and large cuts as if slashed by a great sword, among various other injuries.
They weren’t fatal. Unlike regular folks, extraordinary beings are tough.
Plus, Lee Ji-yeon is the manifestation of Taesan.
The earth she controls moves in unpredictable ways.
If she formed walls by raising the earth, that’s a solid barrier; if wrapped around her body, it’s indestructible armor.
If wielded as a weapon, it’s a club; if thickened into a shield, it’s a barricade.
And that’s not all.
Soil, rocks, miscellaneous plants, living creatures that walk over the earth…
The land is bursting with vitality.
Manifestations of Taesan manipulate the land. Moreover, they can sense and control the life force within the earth.
And life force is the source of all life.
If she reels that energy in and fills her body with it, her recovery would be maximally activated.
Train that intensively and she could even reach super-regeneration.
That’s how potent Taesan’s resistance and recovery are.
Not to mention, Lee Ji-yeon is among the rare talents in her family’s history.
With injuries piling up like this…
Even now, she must be unconsciously pulling in the earth’s vitality to recover, but it’s happening quite slowly.
Above all…
‘Poison?’
It was clear that there was poison seeping into her wounds, not just simple external injuries.
The moment I discerned the poison, a chill ran down my neck.
This isn’t just any ordinary toxin.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed the healing was delayed because the life force was neutralizing the poison.
‘…Poison, huh?’
My instincts suddenly went stiff, sending urgent warnings.
This feels wrong.
A picture floated in the back of my mind that should never come to life…
“The Twinned Poison Dragon.”
That’s the last thing that should happen.
The name of the monster that should not exist passed Lee Ji-yeon’s lips.
“Out there, the Twinned Poison Dragon has been resurrected and is causing havoc.”
[What the hell]
“Pardon?”
[My mistake]
Lee Ji-yeon blinked dumbly, surprised as her panic search for an exit changed to confusion.
“Just now…”
[We should hurry outside]
“Uh… Yes, let’s do that.”
Even with a puzzled expression, Lee Ji-yeon stood up.
If her words are true, then this situation is anything but normal.
Now is not the time to just hang around and relax.
We need to get outside and assess the situation.
“I definitely fell from the sky…”
Bending my neck back to look at the sky, I expected to find an exit, but sadly, there was none.
The entrance and exit of the Lake of Mana open randomly, with a cycle of about three to four days.
I just heard about her situation. She jumped into what looked like the dungeon’s entrance while being chased by the Twinned Poison Dragon.
Putting her guts aside, I was puzzled about how she could end up in the Lake of Mana.
‘…The entrance must have opened for a moment.’
Thanks to my power over space, I could perceive the nature of space… in this case, the dungeon.
Just before, the entrance to the dungeon had opened.
Lee Ji-yeon fell through it right as the entrance closed.
That raises one question.
According to Lee Ji-yeon, the Twinned Poison Dragon followed her, but why hadn’t it entered the dungeon?
Did it assume she fell after witnessing her jump into the ravine?
Or did it follow her in but got lucky when the entrance closed behind?
That thought made my face turn pale.
What if the Twinned Poison Dragon, which had followed her from the sky, was about to fall?
If that happened… I shuddered at the thought.
[I know where the exit is]
[Follow me]
Lee Ji-yeon’s face lit up at my words.
It wasn’t wrong to say I could open the exit.
I turned my body and started walking, with Lee Ji-yeon following behind me.
Our destination is the cave behind the waterfall.
‘I need to grab the proof of protection too, just in case.’
We circled around the lake to reach the waterfall.
Since the fall of the waterfall was gentle, it didn’t splash around.
But to get over that, we had to face the waterfall head-on.
I used wind magic to…
– Whoosh…!
[Um…]
[Thank you]
…Before I could execute the wind magic, the water spirit altered the trajectory of the water flow.
A massive hole opened in the waterfall, revealing the cave within.
The water spirit playfully waved near my fingers. I chuckled at its cute intention and gently patted it with my fingertip.
The water spirit happily sparkled and disappeared after a moment.
I jumped into the cave.
“What’s that…?”
Lee Ji-yeon tilted her head at a solitary object inside.
In the cave stood a Stone Altar.
With geometric patterns on its surface, it held a cube that resembled a six-sided die.
It appeared transparent, like glass.
It glowed warmly, saturated with warm yellow light.
This was one of the main objectives for my outing: the unactivated Proof of Protection.
I wore a puzzled expression.
‘…Will it activate?’
It is ‘the unactivated Proof of Protection.’
I’ve managed to acquire it, but whether I can use it is another matter.
The Proof of Protection is selective about its user.
The artifact recognizes users based on their inherent nature. If don’t recognize you? It becomes merely an art piece or a far-off dream.
From what I remember, it was based on alignment.
It recognizes those that align with good, based on strict criteria described in its status window.
In the original story, I first acquired the Proof of Protection in the ninth round, during the chapter named “Agyo.”
That was when I beautifully paved a malicious route while abandoning good deeds.
Of course, I could never use the Proof of Protection since it checks for a good alignment. Thus, I ended up selling it in the black market during that chapter.
‘…Will I make it?’
I had no confidence.
I merely read that it is based on good alignment, but I don’t know if it will actually accept me or how much good alignment I possess.
Most of all, I wondered if I fit into the realm of good at all.
Honestly, I wasn’t exactly a kind person.
I couldn’t just throw myself into others’ troubles without a second thought for my own loss, unlike genuinely good people.
‘…For now, I’ll just hold onto it.’
Anyway, acquisition is still acquisition.
Approaching the cube with a complex expression, I picked it up.
‘If I can’t use it… then it can either return my arm for regeneration or I could sell it at auction, or give it to someone else—’
– Woosh!
The moment I grabbed hold of it,
The cube trembled.
‘What the…? ‘
Suddenly, thoughts went haywire. Memories flashed past like a panorama in my mind.
It felt like someone was peering into those memories.
Childhood, fire, orphanage, bullying, fire, expulsion, society, convenience store, car accident, legs…
Hmm…
This world, curses, Shio-ram, growth, precious people.
Huh…?
Sifnah, Aelus, civilians, injustice, resolve, action, death, relief…
…oh…
– Click
It felt like a lock was turning open.
It wasn’t a sound; it was just a sensation.
As I had that feeling, the cube started to melt away.
The cube transformed into countless glowing particles.
Yellow particles drifted down and clung to my bare left shoulder.
The mass of light began elongating downwards.
It looked like a swarm of fireflies sticking to my left arm.
Soon the glowing particles scattered.
In their place, a sensation arose.
There was something now attached to the empty space where my arm used to be.
A white and sturdy prosthetic limb…
‘…Did it really activate?’
Just like that?
With a baffled expression, I tapped on the prosthetic that was now in place of my left arm.
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