Chapter 24: Putting a Bell on a Cat's Neck
After that, a strange trading relationship began.
whirrrrr…….
whirrrrrrr……..
Every meal, canned food wandered between Do-joon and him. When he got a new can of food, he always returned it with Regieum.
“Ah, um… … . Thank you."
“…….”
He tried to talk little by little (of course, without approaching it from afar), but there was no answer.
"Thank you. Thank you."
“…….”
Even if he tried to speak a foreign language that he knew just in case, , the result was 0. He could only feel the awkwardness of being left alone with a friend he didn't know well.
Meanwhile, Do-joon conducted various experiments.
I tried the canned food when it wasn't mealtime, but he sent it back as it was when he was full. He also gave him three to four cans at a time, but he didn't eat anything except one can.
It seemed that just one can was the right amount for the meal time. Only if he could give him more, Do-joon would have piled up a bag of Regieum.….
Once, he tried giving him canned meat, but he didn't open it and just handed it back. It seems to have smelled the meat from the canned food.
What else he learned was that the amount of Regieum return varies depending on the type of canned food.
Among the canned vegetables, there was one that sells best and has a good reputation among hunters. It was a can of sweet corn made from dungeon corn, and when he gave it to him, he could see him eating it with a smile. Of course, the expression was not seen, but inferred by action.
Then, the returning Regieum seemed to be 1.5 times the normal. Does that mean it was that delicious?
Do-joon, who stayed up all night for roughly two days, finally returned home. He still hasn't lost his vigilance. He couldn't fall asleep in front of him because he didn't know when he might change and attack.
Do-joon closed his eyes for a moment when he came back.
The first thing he did after that was to produce a holy potion.
【Holy Potion】
Rank
– Rare
Classification
– Potion
Effect
– A potion with holy properties. It can be used by applying to weapons. However, it is highly volatile and disappears with the passage of time or with one swing.
– Apply Holy attribute to weapon for 10 seconds (1 time)
Before selling, Do-joon first copied the option to his body.
[Copied successfully.]
[The ‘Holy Potion’ used as an ingredient has been destroyed.]
[The copied abilities are adjusted according to the ‘classification’ of the item.]
[Additional Option]
– Skill: Holy attribute enchantment (1 time), duration 10s
However, it was not a very useful option.
There was almost no difference from the potion's effect, so there was no point in copying it. If that's the case, wouldn't it be okay to just carry a potion around?
– Holy Potion x3
Three potions were left after copying one. 3 million won in money. It was a considerable amount for a two-day income.
‘It’s good to make money.’
More importantly, clearing the labyrinth.
After all, in today's age, power is also money. A high-ranking hunter had to count the monthly income in billions, so there was no reason to stop just because he earned 3 million won in two days.
‘It was a strange relationship, but there was still no clue about the name.’
However, it was also difficult to deal with.
There were two paths for clearing, but one was a dark road that could not be seen even an inch ahead, and the other was a road blocked by a large rock like a gatekeeper.
A suffocating situation where neither one can do this nor that.
A week has passed, two weeks have passed.
In the meantime, he has accumulated results by going around low-level dungeons in reality. He has been constantly contacted by guilds who have not yet given up on recruitment, but he has refused them all. The only thing he could think about was clearing the labyrinth.
He entered the labyrinth two more times. He kept observing that guy, but there was no income other than gaining Regieum. He was able to make 10 more bottles of holy potion, but he wasn't very happy.
The guy was constantly fiddling with stones or bone fragments, and did not take any unusual actions.
Do-joon took the time to look around the chapel, and also carefully looked at the murals painted on the wall and the upper floor of the temple.
He looked closely while keeping his senses sharp as much as possible, but nothing came out, let alone books or diaries. In the end, all he had to do was come back to the boss' room and stare at him endlessly.
And after another week, when he entered the labyrinth for the third time.
‘Huh?'
A change has occurred.
He made something out of a stone that he was fiddling with.
‘Bell?'
It looked like a little bell. The bell was hung at the end of a short rod and decorated with other bone fragments or rotten leaves.
He carefully placed the completed rod bell on the altar.
And then.
Started praying.
Do-joon rubbed his eyes. He looked at his actions as if in disbelief.
He didn't see it wrong. The appearance of kneeling and putting his hands together even looked quite reverent. Even though he was a ghoul!
If it was just an ordinary prayer, Do-joon would not have been this surprised. There are plenty of undead that serve evil spirits and demon dragons.
The reason why he was surprised.
Boooosh!
This was because there were blue flames on the praying man's body.
He couldn't believe it even when he saw it with his own eyes. That was definitely the flames of purification that he had seen so far while beating hundreds of ghouls.
“…….”
Do-joon was at a loss for words.
However, even in this absurd situation, his instinct moved quickly and he thought. This was certainly an important clue that should not be overlooked.
His eyes fiercely observed that guy.
First of all, that flame was definitely the flame of purification caused by the holy power. It was certain to see the skin burning with a disgusting smell whenever the flame fluttered and touched his skin.
However, the burned skin quickly regenerated.
Apparently, he seemed to have a regenerative power comparable to the resilience of that of the troll sorcerer. The charred and twisted skin was regenerated in an instant.
But
‘It doesn't look perfect.'
In the process, countless blisters were formed and burst, and dark burn marks formed stains on the skin.
The still dirty skin turned even more hideous.
‘… … But doesn't it hurt?’
Do-joon suddenly saw the face of that ghoul.
But, as always, he couldn't read that expression. It was all the more because it was engulfed in flames now.
However, what was certain was that unlike other ghouls who twisted their bodies around and screamed, there was no change in his movements.
Kneeling quietly and putting his hands together. It was a common prayer posture, but it contained an unknown reverence.
If it was not that it doesn't feel pain, he wondered why, and if that guy was enduring the pain even though it was painful.
‘You're an undead person who self-harms yourself by creating holy power?’
Aside from how it was possible, he couldn't understand it in common sense. Why? And for what?
Do-joon was confused.
In the meantime, his prayers continued.
Even though he was far away, Do-joon could feel a warm energy filling up the chapel.
An idea passed by Do-joon's head as he was staring blankly at the blue flames overflowing.
‘Perhaps?'
Could this be the way to get rid of him?
He doesn't know what has happened, but he suddenly started praying. The sacred power that the prayer evoked was engulfing him, and he covered it with some kind of regenerative power.
What if the regenerative power disappears?
The flame that invades and the regenerative power that blocks it. If one of the two forces forming the antagonism disappeared, the result was obvious.
‘Maybe… … You can self-destruct.’
This was it. This was probably the correct answer.
He felt like everything was fitting perfectly. He thought it was some kind of arrangement that there were non-repairable items in the yard.
But there was only one thing that was bothering him.
‘If I touch it now, won’t he attack me?’
Worried that the boss might be hostile to him when he comes into contact to do the copy.
Do-joon made his body tense. Now he was like a mouse trying to put a bell on a cat's neck. He had to finish his work without waking up the cat somehow.
Prepared to use the return skill at any time, he took out the "cloak of eroded faith" from his inventory.
The reason why it was the cloak was because it looked less aggressive.
He slowly approached him.
He got close, but there was no reaction at all. He couldn't even feel the heat of the blue flames. The flame of purification was a flame that did not work on living creatures.
‘Concentrate. If you see any signs of abnormality, run away immediately. At least you won't die instantly in one hit.'
Do-joon repeated as if he were suggesting himself. And raise his right hand.
Tok.
He touched his shoulder.
‘done!'
Even though he touched it, he didn't stop praying. Whether it couldn't be stopped or if it was just not reacting.
Either way, it was a good thing for him.
But then.
‘Uh… … ?'
Booooooosh-!
The blue flames climbed up with Do-joon’s fingers and spread throughout his body.
He could feel a strange heat all over his body, and his eyes were disturbed like a haze. He felt strange and tried to pull out his hand, but for some reason his body did not move. It was as if he was a robot whose power had been disconnected.
Immediately, an overwhelming drowsiness hit him. He gritted his teeth and tried to endure it, but it was useless. It wasn't the kind of thing he could resist.
Do-joon lost his mind as if he was fainting.
When he eventually woke up, he was…
"Shoot! Shoot!"
He was in the middle of the battlefield.
Even before he could even grasp the situation, someone approached him with a rough momentum. He was an old knight with white hair and clad in full-body armor.
Do-joon tried to avoid the body reflexively. But somehow the old knight passed through him?
‘What?'
He opened his eyes wide and looked at his body. His body was 180 degrees different from usual. It was translucent like a ghost.
‘Is it a hallucination?’
It was only then that he realized the situation.
The place where he stood was on top of a grand wall, and soldiers were firing arrows like crazy.
Below the wall where the arrows headed, a dark figure was rushing in, and there was a familiar building somewhere inside.
‘That’s… … .'
It was the temple.
However, it was not the rusty and crumbling structure, but was an intact and majestic figure.
‘Is this how it looked in the past?’
Do-joon remembered his last memory before he lost consciousness.
Obviously, he touched the praying boss ghoul. Then, the flame of purification moved to him through his arm.
It seemed that the flames had a strange effect, or that not only the flames but also the other things flowed in together.
If not all, then maybe he was just dreaming while fainting.
"Shoot! Don't aim and just shoot first!"
"Hey, recruit! Don't just shoot! Dip it in holy water and then shoot! Without that it's just a normal arrow, don't you know!"
"So-, sorry!”
He was distracted by the sound of screaming from all directions. Do-joon, who barely managed to understand the word holy water, looked down at the wall.
There was a huge army of thousands of ghouls that seemed to be pouring in.
‘… … Crazy.'
Then something naturally came to his mind.
An undead immortal who encroached on all kingdoms and human territory. The mad believers of the moon.
And the last temple of Laoha, the god of the sun and life, who opposes him.
Originally, it was an unfamiliar knowledge that cannot be known.
But was it the effect of this hallucination? Such knowledge began to enter Do-joon’s mind.
"Hang in there! Wait a little bit, and Saint will receive a revelation! You just have to endure it until then!"
"Yeah!"
"I'll protect you even if I die!"
"Who was that just now? Don't die, idiots! If you die, you'll be their soldier!"
"Sorry! I'll keep that in mind!"
An angry old knight screaming with veins on his neck. And the brave soldiers who responded to it.
A sense of mission to protect mankind's last shelter.
Desire for survival.
The families that need to be protected inside the wall.
They each had their own will, and for this moment, they seemed like an invincible army.
But.
“Lord Paulman! It's a catapult! They brought catapults!”
"What?!"
At the lieutenant's words, the old knight was greatly surprised. That's absurd. Obviously, the geography of the mountains means no one can bring in a large weapon like a catapult, right?
“What the hell happened!”
“That, that… … .”
"Give it to me!"
The angry old knight took away the telescope that the lieutenant was using to look at the enemy and looked through it himself. Soon his eyes widened as if they were about to tear apart.
Ogre Zombie!
Dozens of those ferocious and huge rotten corpses were attached to each other and were carrying catapults.
‘… … Quite outnumbered.’
In fact, they were not just inferior in number.
Even Do-joon, an outsider in the war, knew. That this was really the end.
“Don’t be afraid! Yes, they are a bunch of immoral people! But it will be nothing when the saint comes here!"
"Waaaahhh!"
But the old knight shouted. The soldiers also cheered and made as much noise as they could.
Saint. The existence of that one person who had not yet arrived was firmly supporting their morale.
Ting!
Whoooosh!
Soon the catapults were activated.
But it wasn't a stone that flew in.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
It would have been better if it was a stone.
Groups of ghouls that were lumped and crushed like balls flew in chunks.
"Cra-, crazy!"
"Hold them off! Drop them outside the wall!"
Some hit straight against the wall and became blood clots. Some, however, landed on the heads of the soldiers.
The soldiers couldn't pull themselves together in the rain of the dead bodies falling from the sky.
Commander-level knights, including the old knight, who were still coming to their senses.
Soon, small close battles broke out on the wall around them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
On the one hand, giant ogre zombies were knocking on the gate.
There were no ladders, merely ghouls stepping on each other's shoulders and climbing in.
Even in the midst of this, the rain of corpses did not stop.
"No… We lost……. We're all going to die…….”
Morale dropped like a rock, and now the fall of the wall seemed unstoppable.
And then…
"Chanting to the flowing blood."
A foreigner in a white robe embroidered with gold thread.
A girl loved by God, favored by the whole world.
Silence lingers in her clear voice.
“… … Amarf Hresvelg, shine upon heaven and earth."
A dazzling curtain of light covered the battlefield.