Huge thanks to Lepsy is Lost, Gadorach, and Phantom Phoenix for sponsoring 6 chapters of Possessing Nothing! (1/6)
“Ahhhhhh!”
Baek Sogo screamed and twisted, trying to get free. She wanted to run away as soon as possible, but the blood that bound her body also took away her freedom of movement. Jang Deuksu felt restless just watching her while Chwigeol stared at Baek Sogo with a gloomy expression.
“Tell me why!”
Baek Sogo shouted with a hoarse voice. She glared at him with eyes full of venom. Chwigeol sighed a little at her poisonous glare. Before he could say anything, Baek Sogo spat out impatiently.
“Just why did you bring me out?!”
The frantic screaming and shouting did not bear the slightest resemblance to the usual Baek Sogo.
“Sungmin, my Sungmin. My only… My one and only Sungmin. I need to go get him. He took on the monster on my behalf! Sungmin, my Lee Sungmin… He was fighting the monster to save me. I said that I wo-would go with you to sa-save him, I sh-should be there right n-now…!”
Baek Sogo stuttered her words in a confusing mess. However, what she meant was clear, and her raging emotions were evident. Especially her resentment. Even the tactless Jang Deuksu, knew and kept silent. Instead of making excuses, he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Still, he knew to be ashamed.
But not Chwigeol. It wasn’t that he was shameless, but he did not avoid Baek Sogo’s gaze because he could not avoid it. He should not.
It was Chwigeol who chose to run away, and Chwigeol who persuaded Jang Deuksu to surprise attack Baek Sogo, and escape the dungeon using the scroll taken from Crimson Elder’s dead body. The scroll was excellent in its use. They managed to traverse a very long distance and succeeded in reaching the Wandering Sect’s headquarters in the city of Cron.
Cron was a city far away from the dungeon. It was home: not only to Wandering Sect’s headquarters but also to various Murim factions. This kind of Long-Distance Teleportation Magic was impossible for humans to replicate. Even those who are regarded as expert mages could not teleport through several cities. However, since the scroll obtained from the dungeon was far from normal, it made teleporting a vast distance possible.
“First of all, you need to calm down.”
Chwigeol said with a sigh. As he said this, he knew that Baek Sogo would not remain calm. He was right. Hearing his words, Baek Sogo opened her eyes and glared at Chwigeol.
“You need to consider the reality of the situation. We are at the Wandering Sect’s headquarters in Cron. Even if you go all out, it will take a full month for you to reach the dungeon from here.”
“Magic…”
“It was thanks to the scroll in the dungeon that we were able to move here quickly. No matter what kind of magic you use, you will not be able to reach the dungeon on time.”
“Why did you run away…?!”
Baek Sogo said through clenched teeth. If her meridians weren’t sealed right then, Baek Sogo would have run out toward the dungeon or have combed through all of Cron’s wizard guilds, inquiring about teleportation magic no matter what else happened.
“Didn’t I just tell you? You need to consider the reality of the situation.”
Chwigeol said with a melancholy voice.
“There was no guarantee we could defeat Wijihoyeon’s Doppelganger even if the three of us joined hands with Ghost Gun, your Sungmin.”
“You didn’t even try it… !”
“We are still alive because we haven’t tried it. I…Baek Sogo, I could not bear to die. I couldn’t die there. It was the same for Jang Deuksu.”
“Then why didn’t you leave me behind?”
Baek Sogo glared at him. Chwigeol could sense the pain in her eyes. All this time, he had known Baek Sogo and followed her around. During that time, he had never seen her look like that. But he had to endure. The past was past.
“I couldn’t do that.”
“… Why?”
“I didn’t want you to die.”
Baek Sogo couldn’t say anything to that remark. She looked at Chwigeol for a moment and chuckled softly. After a while, she smiled bitterly and said with a hoarse voice.
“It’s cowardly.”
She sighed.
“Cowardly, so cowardly… It’s so… cowardly. Is this representative of the Murim? Is this our righteousness? I kept watch on Wijihoyeon and even followed her into the dungeon to stop her. It was all to keep her from gaining strength in the dungeon and becoming a truly uncontrollable monster. But we couldn’t stop it. No, I didn’t stop it.”
“We did what we could. Are you saying that it would be righteous to die while fighting Wijihoyeon there?”
“At least, it would have been more righteous than running away.”
(T/N: translated 俠義 as righteous. If y’all have a better tl for the word, let us know.)
“That’s just blind bravery. Baek Sogo, I don’t think righteousness means challenging Wijihoyeon and dying. Only if you are alive can you can seek more righteousness.”
“… Sungmin.”
Baek Sogo muttered in a low voice.
“Standing by and watching as Sungmin dies… Is that righteousness?”
“… I think it was necessary.”
That’s ridiculous. What hypocrisy. Baek Sogo muttered in a small voice. Jang Deuksu bit on his lower lip and did not answer.
“Ghost Gun was a hero.”
“Don’t say that.”
“… Then what should I say?”
“… Please unseal my meridians.”
Baek Sogo stared at him.
“I can’t stay with you. I don’t want to. You… Don’t you realize how hypocritical your words are?”
“I’m just talking about the reality of the situation.”
“I joined the Murim to live out my ideals.”
“What more can your ideals do? This world, where people of all ideas, from all sorts of places, are summoned over every day. Do you want to eradicate all evil here? That’s impossible.”
Baek Sogo did not answer. She just glared at Chwigeol with tear-stains running down her face. Despite feeling pained by that gaze, Chwigeol continued to speak. He had to say it.
“Everyone has their own ideals, but it’s impossible to fully achieve them. We have to compromise. That’s reality.”
“I will quit.”
She knew. She knew that she could not truly achieve her ideals. The reality was too harsh to uphold her ideals. So she had no choice but to compromise.
“I know it too, that the ideals I have are absurd. Nevertheless, I joined the Murim because I felt this was a place that would fit my ideals. However… Not anymore.”
“… My ideals and the Murim factions’ ideals no longer align.”
“Please unseal my meridians.”
Baek Sogo said once again. Chwigeol approached Baek Sogo silently and released her. Baek Sogo staggered up and looked down at her body, exhaling deeply. Then, without any hesitation, she clenched her fist and swung it at Chwigeol’s cheeks. Chwigeol’s head flew back with a loud bang.
“Uh, where are you going?”
“Anywhere but here.”
Baek Sogo spat out.
“Being here is disgusting.”
Chwigeol didn’t catch Baek Sogo leaving the room. He raised his hand and touched his throbbing cheek. It was too painful to call it a mere slap. Chwigeol asked while laughing.
“Did I get dumped?”
Tension left his body as his voice escaped him like a deflating balloon.
* * *
The dungeon completely closed up after Wijihoyeon passed through the treasure room. Lee Sungmin also exited the dungeon in her wake. Although it was a pity that he couldn’t talk more with her, he couldn’t linger anymore. One year was not a very long time.
Lee Sungmin sat down on the bed after entering the nearby village inn.
It hurt.
Lee Sungmin pressed down on his arms while taking deep breaths. It seemed like he would have to lie down like a dead rat for a few days. He looked up at the old ceiling and reflected on what had happened. Baek Sogo’s death was prevented. However, he still needed to confirm it. Lee Sungmin looked at the shadows and called out to Neville.
(E/N: ly tl’ed as Nevel. Sungmin’s Manager for Erebrisa.)
“Yes?”
Neville appeared. He seemed a little concerned, looking at Lee Sungmin’s tired face, but he did not ask. Lee Sungmin looked at him and said.
“Please get me information about Silent Flare Baek Sogo.”
“What information do you want?”
“Her location.”
“Okay. I’ll inquire through the information guild. Other than that… Any other requests?”
Neville’s gaze turned to the spear next to the bed. It hadn’t been long since he got a new one, but it had already been damaged beyond repair. Neville sighed and said.
“About this… Selgerus will be very angry. I didn’t know a weapon crafted by a Meister could be destroyed like that. Did you catch a dragon?”
“Of course not.”
“I was joking. If your opponent were a dragon, you would have died already. I can connect you with Selgerus now if you’d like.”
“Oh, before that. Do you know what this is?”
Lee Sungmin reached into his interdimensional pocket. What he took out was a fist-sized ore that he had obtained by defeating Wijihoyeon’s Doppelganger. Upon seeing it, Neville’s eyes flew open.
“One moment… Can I take a look at it?”
He asked carefully. It was not a difficult request, so Lee Sungmin handed the ore to him. Neville, who was watching the ore with careful eyes, burst out in admiration.
“My God. Just where did you get this?”
“… What is it?”
“This is Orichalcum.”
He said with shining eyes. At this, Lee Sungmin could not hide his surprise and opened his mouth. Lee Sungmin knew about Orichalcum. It was a rare mineral among the myriad of minerals to be found in Eria.
“I’m not a blacksmith, so I can’t tell you much, but this Orichalcum seems to be incredibly clear with barely any impurities, it is of very high quality. If you sell it, you might be able to purchase some citadels with the money.”
“Is that right?”
He was surprised, but only for a moment. Lee Sungmin calmed himself down. It was a mineral that he had only heard of in rumors in his previous life, but now it belonged to him. It was nothing to be too surprised about.
“It worked out for the best then. I can’t use my old spear anymore. I’m going to give this Orichalcum to Selgerus and ask her to make me a weapon.”
“Can I connect you right away?”
“Yes.”
In response to Lee Sungmin, Neville immediately disappeared. Soon after, the space in front of Lee Sungmin suddenly shattered and connected to Selgerus’ workshop.
“Orichalcum?!”
As soon as she saw his face, Selgerus screamed. There was none of the usual boredom left on her face. She was brimming with excitement as she looked at Lee Sungmin.
“Really? Orichalcum, and it’s still unrefined?”
“Oh… Yes. I’m sorry, the spear… ”
“It doesn’t matter!”
Selgerus exclaimed with a loud voice. Lee Sungmin was surprised that such a loud voice could come out of her.
“Give it to me. I need to see it for myself first.”
“Ah… Yes.”
Lee Sungmin handed the Orichalcum ore to Neville, who appeared next to him. Selgerus took the ore through Neville and looked at it with her eyes wide open, exclaiming continuously.
“So… I would like to ask you to make a new spear with it. Although I don’t know if it’s big enough…”
“What do you mean it’s not big enough?”
Selgerus laughed at Lee Sungmin’s words. She grabbed the Orichalcum Ore with both hands and infused mana into it. Then the fist-sized Orichalcum swelled greatly.
“With this much pure Orichalcum, one spear is nothing. Rather, there will still be much of it remaining.”
“Then, I’ll pay for it with the remaining Orichalcum.”
When Lee Sungmin said so without much thought, Selgerus opened her eyes wide and looked at Lee Sungmin.
“Are you crazy?”
“… Huh?”
“Pay for it with what’s left? What nonsense…! You wouldn’t know, but with this much Orichalcum, any blacksmith would seek you out to just let them use it for production without any payment. Orichalcum is just that rare of a metal.”
“But to ask for it for free…”
“No, it’s alright. There’s no payment required. This is my first time dealing with Orichalcum and unrefined Orichalcum at that. How about making an auxiliary weapon rather than just a spear? With this much of Orichalcum, I can make a few more daggers.”
“In that case… I’ll have some of those plea-”
[No. Rather than a dagger, you should get this armor repaired.]
Heoju interrupted just as Lee Sungmin was about to answer.
[I can use this armor as a medium, but it’s not built to handle all of my power. Orichalcum is an excellent conductor of magic, so I can exert my strength even more efficiently than before.]
“… Could I get this armor repaired with Orichalcum instead of a dagger?”
“It’s not possible to do the whole thing, though?”
[Say it doesn’t matter.]
“That doesn’t matter.”
He had no use for a dagger made of Orichalcum. Rather than getting some useless daggers made, as Heoju said, it would be better to repair the armor using Orichalcum.
‘By the way. Is it okay to smelt the armor while you are inside it?’
[I can move temporarily. That broken spear is made of Truesilver. It can hold my soul for a while.]
Lee Sungmin asked Selgerus for her understanding and grabbed the spear. The armor shook, and a haze of smoke stretched into the spear.
[Done.]
The spear was vibrating. Lee Sungmin took off his armor and handed it to Neville.
“… You are serving quite the strange existence.”
[Serving?! Bastard. I’m going to kill you.]
Heoju growled, but Neville did not hear it. Suddenly, something came to his mind, and Lee Sungmin asked Neville to do him a favor.
“I would also like information about Heoju.”
“Heoju…?”
“Yeah. They say there was a ghost like that a few hundred years ago.”
“Okay. I’ll give you the information about Silent Flare as well.”
That concluded the deal with Erebrisa. Lee Sungmin laid down the spear and went over to lay down on the bed.
“… I’m tired.”
He muttered and closed his eyes.
(T/N: I truly never thought my useless knowledge of the Roman Empire would ever come in handy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orichalcum
Tldr: orichalcum is golden copper – also spelt as ‘aurichalcum’. It frequently appears alongside Mythril/Truesilver and Adamantium in fantasy stories.)