NOVEL NEXT chapter 36
36 – Lucky or Bad (1)
036
A night of deep moonlight.
Seong Yu-ra is quietly looking up at the night sky.
The soft moonlight and the candle on the desk dimly illuminated the darkness of the dark office.
Seong Yu-ra poured the reddish wine into an empty glass that was caressing the moonlight and took a sip.
After enjoying the astringent and bitter taste of wine for a while, Seong Yu-ra relaxed and cheered.
“…… It is a path of asceticism on Mt. Yooksuk. Hmm. Okay, this is fun.”
Seong Yu-ra smiled.
“Should I call this honest or foolish?”
I have been constantly harassing Roxanne, but you are silently enduring it as if it is an ordeal that you must overcome.
It is truly pathetic to see him praying to God in such a lonesome manner as if nothing is wrong even when people around him turn their backs, betray him, and spit on him.
There is no other way to express it than that you are truly foolish, trying to uphold ancient doctrines, go through suffering and penance, and climb mountains to pray to heaven.
Roxanne, do you believe in the existence of God?
Do you think that if you overcome countless temptations, despair, and adversity and pray to God, salvation will come someday?
It’s really funny, it’s funny.
If God really exists, how can this world be so turbulent?
The sight of you praying to God in a situation where countless malicious things are rampant and strange beings are destroying human bones and flesh is so pitiful and sad that I can’t help but laugh.
If there really was such a thing as God, Seong Yu-ra, who enjoys the power of evil under the name of God, should have ascended to the judgment table first, but why is heaven so indifferent?
They committed numerous evil deeds and trampled and ridiculed the doctrines of the prophets.
A pale light favored by God, it seeks to trample on those with the noblest character.
St. Yura, who deserves to be judged, is a candidate for sainthood and is supported by many church members.
Suje Seong-Yura could only laugh.
So.
“Mateo.”
I glanced into the darkness and called out a man’s name.
“You should go give it a try.”
A man was standing upright in a dark shade where the moonlight did not reach well.
“… ….”
Mateo Evans. He is a villain who used to work as a professional contractor.
He favored using two short dual swords and was famous for killing his targets without anyone noticing them and then quietly disappearing.
Some people were afraid of him, calling him Old Moon.
Active heroes, people with outstanding abnormal abilities, seasoned soldiers, etc. Lost their lives to his blade.
He was an exceptional assassin, and once he targeted his prey, he killed them using any means necessary.
But a few years ago.
He was cruelly defeated by a strange man called Vigilante and almost lost his life.
He was seriously injured and was wandering around the streets when he was accidentally picked up by Seong Yu-ra, and after recovering from her wounds to some extent, he was working faithfully under her.
“I’ll give you a few useful people.”
Roxanne, you foolish woman.
Are you willing to go through hardships to protect your doctrine even though you may have realized that someone is targeting you?
Your straight steps and faithfulness are burying those around you in sticky mud.
“Now let’s go openly without having to hide it too much. “Blatantly.”
“Yes.”
“Roxanne, don’t mess with her, just aim for the guards.”
“Are you going to kill me?”
“Hmm. “I wonder what it would be like.”
Seong Yu-ra bobbed her head left and right.
“Simply causing injury has been enough so far…… Just teasing is no longer fun…… To elicit a dramatic reaction from Roxanne…….”
He then grins.
“After all, it would be better for Roxanne to kill someone in front of her eyes, right?”
Roxanne, I love you so much and I hate you so much.
I hate myself for never being able to be like you, and I love having you in front of me so much.
So I want to destroy it with my own hands.
Slowly, very slowly.
Push your head into the mud where I am, I wonder how far you can struggle.
***
A forest full of rich greenery.
“Haa, haa, hoo…” ….”
I was climbing the mountain again and again, traversing this dense forest, intermittently out of breath.
Reminiscent of a tropical rainforest, the tall trees were as dense as toothbrushes, and the abundant leaves blocked the sun’s rays, creating a gloomy atmosphere.
Although it was bright daylight, it was quite dark and quite creepy.
“Ha, what kind of forest is this…… It’s really spacious, really… ….”
The place where I am now is Yookseongsan Mountain, located in South Chungcheong Province.
It was a mountain that did not exist in Korea in my previous life, and the forest was strangely dense, so I felt like I would get lost if I made a mistake.
If I hadn’t had a map, GPS, and satellite phone, I wouldn’t have dared to climb this mountain.
The deep forest, where no one has ever walked, was as dangerous as the maw of an animal.
“Let’s see…… “How far have you come?”
I slowly looked back at the memories of my past life and at the same time glanced at the map.
The place I am currently looking for is a shallow cave located somewhere on Mt. Yookseong.
There is probably a ‘subspace ring’ sleeping in that cave.
At best, it was only used as an inventory expansion function in games, but games and reality are different.
Because the setting opens up different spaces to store items, it may be possible to use it in a variety of ways.
So, I am climbing the mountain despite all the hardships…….
‘…… But in this forest, a monster lives.’
Yes, this is a forest where monsters live.
Of the monsters that pop out of the cracks, there are quite a few cases where they are not subdued or the monster’s appearance is missed and they run away into the forest out of sight of people.
Korea’s forest rate is ranked 4th in the world and 70% of the area is mountainous, so it is often difficult to find monsters.
In short, there are quite a few monsters that are quietly hiding like endangered wild animals.
And in the cave I was looking for, there was a monster called a big horned warthog.
Of course, it wasn’t an extremely powerful monster, and if I was careful, I could easily hunt it by myself.
There were a few other monsters, but they were not that threatening.
The fact that I came alone like this was proof that it wasn’t too dangerous.
Oh, of course I was definitely not letting my guard down.
No matter how small the number is, would you say I’m crazy and let down my guard when I’ve entered a mountain inhabited by some monsters?
‘Even if something like this happens, I’m saying I was well prepared.’
I brought along various items that I was able to purchase at the request of Yoo Seol-hyeon.
Big monster bow, special arrows, magic scrolls, healing water for healing wounds, sword farmed at Yeongdeungsan Mountain, various tools needed to attack the big horned warthog, items needed for hiking, etc.
I was carrying a large bag, so it was quite a drain on my stamina, but it was better than regretting not having it when I needed it.
‘If you just farm the subspace ring, you won’t have to carry it around like this anymore.’
After all, an inventory is essential if you want to carry around a lot of tools.
‘Anyway, how far have we come? hahahaha, my memory is vague…… ‘Do I still have to go a little further?’
Of course, I can’t remember the exact location.
Of course, if you’re a human being, you probably can’t remember it.
No matter how good my memory is and how big of a fan I was of this game, I don’t even remember the locations of the caves in the sub-quests.
I only vaguely remember the approximate location.
‘Well, that’s enough.’
Because this big horned warthog has a unique setting.
What?
They are very sensitive to the smell of women’s blood.
With a small amount of a woman’s blood, she can smell something from several kilometers away.
Therefore, I decided to use this feature.
‘I’m glad Yoo Seol-hyeon saved the woman’s blood pack without any further questioning.’
For reference, selling blood was illegal in Korea.
‘Anyway, if you use this blood pack to trap her, take her down, and then retrace her steps, you will be able to find out the location of the cave.’
If the incentives work well, it won’t be that difficult.
That was when I was thinking that way.
“Hmm?”
Because I felt a subtle gaze, I slowly raised my head and found a bird sitting on a tree branch in the distance.
A bird of prey tilting its head and looking at us intently.
Does that look like a steel repair, a type of monster?
It is about two to three times the size of an eagle.
It was quite far away, but its claws were large.
If you scratch someone with those claws, it won’t end with a sting.
‘…… Are you coming to attack me?’
I swallowed dryly and slowly took out the recurve bow and armor-pierced arrows that were strapped to my back.
As it was made for large monsters, its killing power and effective range were significantly higher compared to ordinary bows.
The moment when you carefully place the arrow on the string and pull it slowly.
“Kikluk!”
Poof! And the steel repairman flew up. Oh, sh*t.
I quickly shot the arrow, but unfortunately it didn’t hit.
The arrow flew far away in a curved line, and the steel eagle hovered in the sky, targeting my gap.
Because it was in a dense forest, visibility was not good.
I went to a place with a better view and fired arrow after arrow.
Several arrows tore through the air, but unfortunately they did not reach that damn wild animal.
“Kikreuk, kkireuk.”
The steel suri flapped its large wings and then began to descend like a beam of light.
Wow, it’s fast.
I quickly grabbed the arrow and shot it straight away.
Because I was in such a hurry, I couldn’t aim properly and shot.
But was it luck?
Hook! Didn’t it hit the body of the steel repairman accurately with a sound like that? The steel repairman fell helplessly and hit his head on a large tree.
“Kkiru, rreuk.”
“Oh, huh? Oh, you guessed it right?”
The steel repairman flapped his wings a few more times and then died.
As he was a weak monster, he could have been defeated with one arrow, but I never would have thought that he would have been hit by a carelessly fired arrow.
I thought it would be difficult to hit because it keeps gliding so fast…… Is this lucky?
“What is today’s fortune…” … Was it somehow trustworthy?”
Before climbing the mountain, there was a fortune telling that I tried half as a joke.
If we look at the contents of the fortune, it was a fortune telling us that today, things will turn out unexpectedly, so if you have something in mind, you should do it right away.
I don’t really believe in fortune telling, but somehow I had a feeling that things would turn out well today.
Why not sometimes?
A strangely lucky day happens about once every few years.
I felt like that day was today.
What can I say for no reason? Should I say it feels good?
My fortune was good, and I felt pretty good all day long, so I walked forward, hoping that things would work out well.
How much further did he walk, cutting through the grass and using the famous sword he acquired at Yeongdangsan Mountain as a jungle?
Soon, the sound of people murmuring a little distance away struck my ears.
Why are there people in this dangerous forest? With that thought in mind, I slowly took a step forward.
As I walked carefully, I was able to find an empty space beyond the bushes.
And in that vacant lot.
‘Uh, what are those?’
Just looking at it, there was a scene of suspiciously dressed people threatening a man and woman with swords raised upright.
What kind of situation is that? … ?
Judging by the general atmosphere, I don’t think it will end on a good note.
The men’s outfits are also very suspicious, as if they are saying, ‘I am a very dangerous person.’
To put it bluntly, they seemed like evil people, evil people.
‘What should I do with this?’
To be honest, it has nothing to do with me.
If they were evil people, they could be really dangerous, so it was best to avoid them.
But even so, I was one of those aspiring heroes, and the thought that something really bad would happen to me if I left those people alone passed through my mind.
Now that I have various equipment to catch the monster, there is a good chance of winning if I make a surprise attack…….
“Who is there?”
‘No, what?’
It was an unexpected moment.
The man holding the double daggers glared sharply in this direction.
‘What, what, how did you know?’
Did you even sense my presence?
I was trying to hide it, but I felt it…… You may be stronger than you think. Am I really in big trouble?
‘Today’s fortune is…… ‘f*ck, really.’
I told you I was lucky!
It’s not good, but I think I’m screwed right now.