Chapter 189 – Demons’ Forest (4)
Yeon-woo stopped after he was far away from the De Roy Lake.
Did he go overboard with his Magic Circuit? He could feel his Cores and his body heat up.
“They won’t be able to chase us if we’re here.”
“I suppose so.”
Galliard lightly landed on the ground.
He looked at Yeon-woo with strange eyes.
When he saw the explosions and the sword technique, he had wondered if this was the same child he knew.
But when Yeon-woo spoke, he realized that he was right.
“It’s been a while, Galliard.”
“So it was you. Cain.”
“Yes.”
“I heard that you did a lot of impressive things. But you changed more than I expected. And you seem to use Shunpo pretty well.”
Galliard didn’t miss Yeon-woo’s steps when he was using Blink.
It was skilled. Using magic with this seemed to work. He was a bit proud that Yeon-woo was using the skill he gave him well.
However, he also had a few questions.
Galliard circulated his magic power so he could immediately use his Shunpo if needed, and spoke.
“But do you know why I’m here?”
“It was a coincidence.”
“Coincidence.”
“Yes. I was looking for Brahm to ask him something, and instead, you and the Elohim people were fighting.”
Galliard nodded his head.
The place Galliard had been in was where Brahm had stayed for the last 6 months. Although, it was completely gone because of the explosion.
“I see. So is that why you helped me?”
“Since Brahm being kicked away from Elohim is pretty famous. And since you’re Brahm’s friend, I thought something had happened.”
“That makes sense. But there’s still a lot that you didn’t say.”
Galliard narrowed his eyes.
“You don’t seem to know Brahm, contrary to what you said in the Tutorial. How are you going to explain that?”
Yeon-woo closed his mouth. This was a completely unexpected question.
When he first met Galliard, he had asked who led Yeon-woo here, and Yeon-woo had said that he was introduced by Brahm.
Of course, it was a lie.
He had made it up because he didn’t plan on meeting Brahm inside the Tower.
No, even if he didn’t meet Brahm, he thought that it wouldn’t have anything to do with Galliard.
Since the two hadn’t met in a long time, he thought they wouldn’t have time to discuss him.
But Galliard had climbed the Tower like this, and he had met Brahm.
They two seemed sensitive. If there was anything suspicious about him, he wouldn’t be able to get near Brahm.
“Don’t think I’m scolding you. It’s because there’s a bunch of sensitive stuff going on.”
Galliard put his hand on his dagger. Even though Yeon-woo had saved him, the gesture showed that he didn’t trust him. It was clear he would use the blade if needed.
Yeon-woo tried to think of an excuse that would work.
In times like this, excuses had to be mixed with 90% truth.
“Actually, I lied because I needed Shunpo and Undine’s Goblet in the Tutorial. I heard that I wouldn’t be able to get those if I didn’t say that.”
“Where did you hear about Brahm?”
“I heard about him from a returner on my planet.”
“A returner?”
Galliard frowned.
A returner. They were people who gave up climbing the Tower and returned back to their homes.
People who lived in the outer sections were people who didn’t give up hope on climbing the Tower, but returners were those who completely gave up.
And these players could never return to the Tower because they didn’t have the rights anymore.
So if he used a returner as his excuse, it would be hard to tell if it was the truth or not.
“Who is it? That person?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s a person who doesn’t want their name to be referenced here.”
“…..”
Galliard quietly examined Yeon-woo for a moment. Doubt filled his eyes, then vanished.
A skill of the Superior species, <Fairy Eyes>. They were eyes of elves that could differentiate from lies and the truth.
Elves and Dark Elves were split from a long time ago, but the basic traits of their species weren’t that different.
“…..I see it’s the truth.”
And Galliard judged that Yeon-woo wasn’t lying with his Fairy Eyes.
But he judged that there was still some deception mixed in.
Actually, what Yeon-woo had said wasn’t a complete lie. Since ‘returner’ was a term used for those who came back to Earth from the Tower, his brother was also a returner. And it was also obvious that he wouldn’t want his name to be mentioned.
Galliard obsessively asked Yeon-woo several things, and Yeon-woo replied with things that wouldn’t be caught by the Fairy Eyes.
What he said was all true.
“So long story short, you came because you need to borrow Brahm’s strength, and you ended up participating in the fight.”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“Does that make sense? What you just did right now made you into an enemy of Elohim.”
In the fight, Yeon-woo had revealed himself. Even if they didn’t know him, they would be able to find out who it was by using his traits and outfit.
It meant that he had turned his back on the Large Clans. But Yeon-woo shook his head like it was nothing.
“The rumors won’t spread.”
“Why do you think that?”
Yeon-woo didn’t reply. He couldn’t say that he knew Aether’s personality, and there wasn’t a need to reply either.
Aether is a very prideful guy. He always had to be the leader, and in the center. It was probably his habit because he had lived as a noble in the Tower for a long time.
So he was the type of person that made the people around him tired, but that also meant that as much as he was picky with others, he was picky with himself. He knew how to control himself.
And he didn’t speak badly about others anywhere, and he didn’t easily let others know how he was feeling.
The reason why my relationship with him became twisted. It might’ve been because of this.
Aether was someone who was excommunicated from his species because of something his family had done, and he was able to go back thanks to what he had contributed.
The contribution, of course, was the betrayal of Arthia.
Anyways, that was how strong his pride was. Because he was thrown everything away, he didn’t do things that could harm his reputation.
The same went for this case.
If rumors spread that he had lost to a lower floor player who wasn’t even a semi ranker, the person who would be hurt the most was Aether.
He would try to hide this fact as much as possible, and it was clear he would try to get revenge on Yeon-woo.
Galliard lightly tsked and asked a final question.
“Then, what’s that help you need?”
Of course, Yeon-woo couldn’t tell him about the Philosopher’s stone. So he was trying to use an excuse that he had prepared, when Galliard suddenly lifted his hand and slightly bowed his head.
He looked like he was communicating with someone. It seemed like Brahm was listening from far away.
Then after he finished his conversation, he looked at Yeon-woo with strange eyes. Unbelievingly.
“The house owner is asking. Why there’s a dragon smell on you.”
“…..!”
This time, Yeon-woo was surprised. The Dragon’s Blessing wouldn’t be revealed outside until it was awakened.
How had Brahm read something that the Summer Queen hadn’t?
Yeon-woo tried not to show his emotions and shook his head. It was nice wearing a mask during times like these.
“…..I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You can tell that to the house owner. He wants me to bring you. Follow me.”
Galliard turned around and began to lead Yeon-woo.
Watching Galliard walk away, he sighed, and began to follow him.
He didn’t want to do what they wanted, but since he was here to ask for a favor, the control of the situation had gone over to him.
And he also had a thought.
How had Brahm really been able to read the Dragon’s Blessing?
***
Where Galliard moved was a hill in the north beyond the Demon Tree Forest.
It looked simply like part of a forest where ghosts moved around, but once you passed a certain point, his surroundings quickly changed.
Instead of the creepy red sky, there was a clear blue sky, and there was a refreshing breeze blowing from somewhere.
There was a stream coming from somewhere.
‘Illusion Barrier.’
Yeon-woo realized what he had just passed through and had a slightly strange look in his eyes.
Illusion Barrier. It was a barrier that created an imaginary world.
It was a more specific version of the territory that Yeon-woo could make.
This was called a ‘fortress’ and it was purely Brahm’s.
It required a lot of effort and time.
But the fact that he had set this up regardless of that fact meant one thing.
It meant that Brahm had lived here on the 23rd floor longer than what was known.
‘Just what would make him stay here?’
Galliard spoke.
“You can never speak about what you see here. No, you might be forced to stay here because of the current situation, so if you don’t want to, you can leave right now.”
Yeon-woo didn’t plan on leaving anyway. After Yeon-woo said it was okay, he asked a question.
“What he’s protecting here. Does it have to do with what the Elohim is chasing after?”
“Right.”
Galliard nodded his head and shut his mouth. A pitiful expression slightly flashed by his face. Yeon-woo didn’t miss it.
Soon, they arrived at the center of the Illusion Barrier.
It was a large field where there weren’t any trees growing. It looked similar to the cottage that Brahm used to live in.
And in the front yard, there was a man who looked like a scholar wearing glasses playing with a little girl.
They must’ve been playing hide and seek. The girl had been running around, giggling, when she suddenly stopped, feeling other presences.
Seeing that there was someone other than Galliard, she quickly hid behind the man.
‘Dragon Human?’
At the same time, Yeon-woo’s eyes also became bigger.
The girl looked similar to when Yeon-woo had awakened his Dragon Body.
Overall, she was human, but her upper body was covered with scales, and under her dress, there was a long dragon tail. She had sharp canines, and there were even small wings on his back.
She was a Dragon Human. A being that came into existence once every hundred, even thousands years. A being that overcame the limits of Superior species.
They were also called half human half dragon.
‘But after Ananta, there shouldn’t have been any Dragon Humans.’
After the ancient dragon Kalatus became extinct, there were only three humans related to dragons in the Tower.
The last dragon, the Summer Queen.
Half Human Half Dragon, Ananta.
Successor of the ancient dragon, Cha Jeong-woo.
But since Cha Jeong-woo was dead, there were only two.
Of them, the Summer Queen was the leader of the Red Dragon, and Ananta had suddenly gone into hiding.
And Yeon-woo knew the reason why Anata had disappeared through the diary. It was because the last person Ananta met was his brother.
But there was a new Dragon Human?
Of course, there were a few descendants of Dragon Humans who awakened their Dragons Blessing, but this was only a potential power. Also, they didn’t have clear traits of dragons.
So Yeon-woo felt his gaze being pulled that way.
He understood why the Elohim were interested. Capturing the Draconic species was a long standing tradition of the Elohim.
The girl must’ve felt uncomfortable feeling the gaze, because she hid herself behind the man even more. Her thin hands tightened their grasp on his clothes.
The man stroked the girl’s head as if saying it was okay, and he fixed his glasses to look at Yeon-woo. Unlike when he was looking at the girl, his gaze was cold.
It was Brahm.
Someone who was proud of being kicked out of Elohim and pursued freedom.
An incarnation of the high god Brahma, who wanted to descend from the 98th floor.
“So you’re the guy with the power of a dragon.”