Like a curtain woven into a spider’s web, the fabric that had bound me was stretching as I touched the ground.
“You were the one who granted strength to the god in the Four Seasons of Chaos.”
Cheonma said.
Looking around, I saw people dressed in suffocating black clothing. Their bodies concealed and faces covered with white cloth.
The wizards of this world.
I suppose they want to consume light and possess skills too.
But moving like that here doesn’t seem like a good idea.
The cultures and worlds are different, and I have a hunch that if I do nothing like I did in the first world, it will lead to a block.
Contracts need a guarantor.
To avoid being scammed, a force to destroy the opponent if the contract is broken is necessary. That’s the minimum condition.
A contract lacking that is fundamentally not a real contract.
There are only the deceived and deceivers.
A contract made solely with one party’s goodwill?
That’s not a contract at all.
It means it can vanish whenever someone changes their mind, right?
Isn’t that so?
In other words, the minimum condition is that breaking the contract should result in greater loss.
“Those who accept me are strong, right?”
So first, let’s talk about benefits.
Of course, I won’t say ‘blessing’ out loud at this moment. In the future, someone will state it as a fact that it was called a blessing.
Even if it’s eventually discovered that warmth was taken away, I can proudly say I simply spoke the truth.
At my words, Cheonma frowned.
He is appraising me. This question could mean he’s accepting if he likes the person I empowered, or it could sound like I’m saying I know nothing while sealed.
I spoke without context like that.
Make your choice.
Whichever direction you choose, I hope it aligns with my expectations. That way, I can make you move as I wish.
“Did you give Cheonma Martial Art to the god?”
Cheonma Martial Art?
Wait a minute, I don’t know what that is, but let’s assume it’s a method of manipulating Qi. I implanted the memory of manipulating Qi into three people through Eunjai.
This can be interpreted as I’ve transferred the method of Qi manipulation, right?
If I answer that here…
No, that won’t do. It would become a lie. If they ask for the verses like they do, I can’t tell them.
I can’t make it complicated like that.
“No, he used that to pull me.”
Yes. In my mind… Phew, fine! A faded gray man is shouting, so I’ll use familiar expressions.
He pulled me through the Sangdanjeon.
“Indeed. So there was a verse about drawing power from chaos. Cheonma Martial Art could only be used by those who received your blessing.”
I can’t help but chuckle. Cheonma recognized what I offer as a blessing. I guided him to that conclusion, but finally, he says it’s a blessing. Blessing has a nuance of being a gift.
It seems more beneficial than a loss.
Hehe.
Really good.
But from what he’s saying, it seems Eunjai left some documents behind?
After double-checking Eunjai’s life, there’s something he wrote near the end.
It’s not an easily understandable sentence but rather written in a twisted manner like a codex called an occult book. No wonder I didn’t remember; even then, I glanced over it thinking what the hell this means.
Ciphering is troublesome.
If it were simple sentences, only one person could understand from memories, but processing it differently is a bit…
That’s my weakness. I should keep that in mind.
So what is Cheonma really thinking?
“There’s someone who can grant you blessings.”
As expected!
So that’s it. Then I need to explain again what I can gain from this harvesting period!
“Alright. Bring them. Whether they have lost limbs or are suffering from a serious illness, they will heal.”
While acquiring abilities suitable for granting wishes, but that’s still a secret.
Of course, this is something I can sell, but I don’t know the precise principles. Especially with Tisah’s regeneration.
I won’t sell what I don’t know.
“Will the wounds heal?”
“Eunjai healed.”
So he didn’t know everything. At the time, he was in a state being stabbed all over while trying to escape from those trying to capture him.
Even the Sangdanjeon was damaged but healed as soon as the harvesting period began.
So are they just expecting me to bless them based on just getting stronger alone?
To whom exactly are they giving that?
I doubt he has children.
“Follow me.”
Cheonma said, releasing Qi from his body. Something is swirling around.
I don’t know what it is, but I can hear people gasping or collapsing to the ground. Is this the murderous aura I’ve heard of?
Why are you staring at me?
“Aren’t you coming?”
Oh.
For a moment, a look of confusion crossed Cheonma’s face. From the situation, it seems he intended to assert pressure over me to gain the initiative. But it backfired, and now he’s flustered?
Even if a person’s energy is strong, it only goes so far.
Cheonma has that “I understood something” expression before walking ahead.
I followed him.
But being almost naked, is that alright? There’s a bit of bandage left, but Ichi’s height makes it rather provocative, doesn’t it?
If Cheonma is okay with it, then it should be fine. Or perhaps, he doesn’t treat me as a person? The girl named Choseol was never treated as a person.
While judging the situation, I followed Cheonma.
Passing through a long wooden corridor and opening a door, it changed to stone walls untouched by human hands.
I thought it was a building, but it was a cave.
Huh? From the three people’s perspective, we seemed to have gone the other way than the current direction.
Back then, I went inside a building. And there stood a really tall and magnificent Eastern-style structure, but now a cave?
Maybe this place is a building designed like a maze? A hiding spot to escape?
At least the floor is well-kept, and as soon as Cheonma came out, two men with lanterns walked beside us.
After walking a bit, we reached a pool of water in the middle of the cave. We followed the water for a while, and after some walking, the stream widened, but the path ended. However, there was a small dock, and a small ship was waiting there.
Cheonma pointed to the ship and boarded it.
It’s swaying violently, making me feel queasy.
Seeing me like this, are they trying to observe what I can do?
Now, what should I do?
I thought for a moment.
Would it be advantageous to continue acting like a fearsome monster or to show a more human side?
For instance, acting hungry. That would express a vulnerability.
Those who understand might let their guard down. I did that in the first world to hunt my prey.
But here, if I do that, the chances of obtaining what I want are higher. The society seems too force-centric.
Here, I’ll hold back.
I need to maintain the initiative. I can confirm who Cheonma is bringing me to before making a move.
The boatman moved the boat. But we didn’t go for long. As we emerged from the cave, a place with rocks rising like columns came into view.
Surrounding the rocky mountain, remarkably grand buildings are hanging around.
Buildings sit atop a rocky hill that rises like wooden pillars, interconnected by passages.
Thinking of the water below, this place is nothing less than a fortress. A fortress difficult for anyone to invade.
Then, the boat stopped at a location under the building.
As I followed Cheonma off the boat, it returned to its original spot. And surprisingly, there’s an elevator in front of us.
As I boarded, the elevator quickly shot upwards.
Surprisingly, it’s not human-powered but mechanical. From the sounds of devices moving here and there, it’s indeed a mechanical device.
In my mind, the technological level of this world just skyrocketed.
A term called “mechanical propulsion” shined in my memory.
The elevator reached the upper level. However, it was cramped all around. What are they planning to do here? While looking around, Cheonma approached a wall and reached out.
With a clunk like a latch catching, the wall opened into a non-linear form, revealing a passage.
How fascinating.
As I walked through, looking around, I followed Cheonma into a quite intricately twisted building. Moreover, the directions are purposely distorted, making it an easy place to lose your way if you’re not familiar with it.
And then, we arrived at a certain room.
Upon entering, a large muscular man was swinging a sword, sweating profusely.
As soon as he saw Cheonma, he put down his sword and jumped forward.
“Jeongha-nim!”
He bowed his head. Judging by calling him Jeongha towards Cheonma, it seems that’s Cheonma’s name? As I’ve heard a bit about Cheonma’s lineage, it looks like they inherited the name. In other words, it means there’s another name apart from this.
And I just realized that now.
“Jeonyang, stand up. I’ve brought someone who can make you strong.”
With a gentle tone, Cheonma spoke softer than before as he held Jeonyang’s shoulder.
Oh?
Indeed.
In love, are they?
Faded gray man behind seems shaken by this revelation; isn’t it a good scene for people to love each other?
The same gender?
Does that matter? And love with critical flaws tends to twist itself. In that process, people die.
Which means the warmth will also diminish.
That’s enough for me.
I stepped closer to the two and pointed at Jeonyang.
“Should I do it on him?”
Jeonyang looked startled and glanced at me. Then he cautiously looked at Cheonma while releasing his grip.
“Jeongha-nim, who is this girl…?”
“Jeonyang. She will help you complete the Cheonma Martial Art, so make a contract with her.”
Cheonma said with an unusually high voice, gently like a girl.
Uncertain, Jeonyang seems not to understand what Cheonma is saying.
So I simply stated, “The contract document says, ‘I will give myself to you. In return, once you wrap everything up later, I’ll receive everything you have. How about that?’”
Jeonyang turned his gaze to Cheonma. When Cheonma nodded, Jeonyang stepped forward toward me. Cheonma’s discomfort was quite amusing.
Anyway, he answered me.
“I will do that.”
As soon as he said that, his hair turned purple, and the skin on the outside cracked revealing white skin underneath.
One harvesting period completed.
