Chapter 5: They Met (2)

Chapter 5: They Met (2) Translator: miraclerifle Editor: Borderline Masochist ‘He gets chased away from the gate early in the morning.’ Choi Han headed in the direction he remembered hearing about from the villagers after he finished burying all of his beloved villagers. He was heading toward Western City. Choi Han had been transported to this world when he was a freshman in high school, but he had lived here for tens of years already. Of course, the fact that most of that life was spent trying to survive in the Forest of Darkness made him mature in a slightly twisted way, and, as such, he was more rational than anybody would expect after such an incident. ‘I need to go report this to the lord at the castle.’ Harris Village may have been a remote village, but it was still under Count Henituse’s jurisdiction. That was why Choi Han headed to Western City, hoping to at least prepare a small funeral for the villagers. He was also planning on looking for information regarding the assassins he had killed when he had lost his calm, as he was unable to ask them any questions. However, sending the dead off properly came before revenge. ‘If you think about it, he really is an affectionate person.’ But losing all of the first people who showed him love after tens of years in the Forest of Darkness at once made it impossible for Choi Han’s mind to not become twisted. In the novel, that was when Cale messes with Choi Han and touches a nerve. He remembered what the Cale in the novel said to Choi Han. [“Why should my father care whether or not some useless villagers are dead? This cup of alcohol in my hand is worth more than all of your useless lives combined.”] Choi Han starts to laugh at Cale’s words as he asks back. [“What an interesting thought. I am very curious to know whether you will change your mind or not.”] [‘Shall we test it out?’] That test was beating Cale to a pulp so that he was almost dead. The amazing thing was that Cale never changed his mind even after he was beaten to a pulp. “Ah, I’m getting the chills.” Cale started to rub his arm after seeing the goosebumps that were developing. He quickly took a sip of the tea that Billos had brought for him. He then looked out the window once again, only to get the chills right back. ‘It’s that punk.’ The moment the gates opened for the morning, a young man wearing clothes with black marks everywhere, such that it made it seem like the clothes were burnt in multiple places, approached the gate. It was Choi Han. Cale did not get up from his seat as he observed Choi Han. His speed was admirable, as he ran like a lunatic through a distance that would normally take a carriage a week to travel, but, as a result, he looked like a mess. Of course, the events in the village were responsible for a bit of his messy look as well. The guard blocked Choi Han’s path as he walked in with his head down, looking completely exhausted. Cale didn’t know what they were saying, but he could see Choi Han shake his head at the guard’s question. ‘I’m sure they’re asking if he has any identification.’ The guards of Western City were generally gentle, but they were strict when it came to the rules. They replicated their liege, Count Deruth’s personality. “They kicked him out.” As expected, Choi Han walked back out of the gate. He did not even throw a fit. After continuously running for a day, his slightly recovered conscience told him not to kill an innocent man. ‘Choi Han will now wait until night time before he stealthily jumps over the city wall to enter.’ He then runs into Cale who was busy drinking away. Screech. Since Cale was alone, the sound of the chair being pushed as he stood up sounded pretty loud. He went downstairs and informed Billos who was at the counter. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t clear my spot.” “Yes, young master. I look forward to your return.” Cale ignored the smile on Billos’s chubby face as he walked out of the tea shop. “He didn’t break anything!” Cale could hear someone’s voice coming from inside the shop, but he did not care. He needed to set the foundation to earn that Indestructible Shield today. The Indestructible Shield. It is not talking about a physical item. The best comparison might be a mage’s mana shield. Something that does not actually have a physical form. However, it was very different from a mana shield, as it was closer to superpower than magic. The funny thing was that the human who created the power, but ended up dying, was someone who served a god but ended up being excommunicated. ‘All sorts of weird things are in this novel.’ As with the history of any fantasy world, this world also had its ancient history. During that ancient time, neither magic nor weaponry was developed. Instead, it was a society where your own innate talent or talents gathered from supernatural occurrences played a pivotal role. The strongest powers in that society were superpowers, divine powers, and natural forces. It was a very primitive time. Some of those powers have lasted all the way until now, staying hidden in certain locations or items. It was possible to take those powers for yourself if you meet the right conditions. Ancient powers. The heroes would find these powers, however, these powers were all supporting powers, not strong enough to be used as a hero’s mainstay. These were the powers that Cale was looking to find. ‘Everything but the divine powers.’ Whether it be god or angels or devils, Cale did not want to get involved with any of them. That was why Cale was looking for the powers that people naturally developed or came from nature. ‘That is the way to make sure I don’t need to put in any effort.’ Those were the types of powers he was looking for. Something like sword art or magic would require him to put in effort to practice. He didn’t want to do something like that. Unlike other books, the ancient civilization in the novel, [The Birth of a Hero], was not that strong. As civilization developed, the magic and summoning skills that were developed outshined the natural powers left behind by the ancient civilization. Superpowers were the same way. Most subtle superpowers would be blown away by a single hit from the, ‘Aura,’ that was used in present day. It wasn’t like the heroes just used these powers sparingly for no reason. ‘And my goal is to collect these subtle superpowers to become decently strong.’ It was a satisfying goal. Especially because he also knew the ancient power that could strengthen these subtle super powers. In order to take the first step in his plan, Cale started to look for the ancient power that was hidden in Western City. He knew the requirement to earn that power. “Youn, young master. Welcome.” Cale just nodded his head at the baker, who bowed so low that it looked like his head might touch the ground, to respond. Gasp. He could hear the baker gasping, but Cale pretended not to hear it. He felt bad about how his trash reputation was making this baker so fearful. “Give me some bread.” “Excuse me?” Cale pointed at all of the bread in the bakery and sternly responded. “Everything from here to there.” Clang. The gold coin that Cale took out started to spin on the counter. “Pack it all up.” The baker seemed to be frozen in place as Cale continued to speak. “Two or three more gold coins should be enough for a week’s worth of bread, right?” The baker’s gaze, which had been on the gold coin, moved to Cale. It was too much money to pay for the bread. Cale just stoically responded to the baker’s shaking eyes. “I can go somewhere else if you don’t want it.” “No, it is nothing like that! Young master! I will pack it as fast as possible!” The baker was extremely respectful for a different reason than before as he moved around quickly. After a few minutes, Cale left the bakery with a bag full of bread over his shoulder. Even though it was just bread, it weighed quite a bit. The weight made Cale start to frown, and he ignored the baker who was watching him leave as he stepped into the street. Cale leisurely walked down the street, noticing that anybody who made eye contact with him would quickly turn and walk away. The majority of the people even ran away to avoid eye contact with him. ‘It really is different than Korea. It is truly a fantasy world.’ Cale looked around as he wandered around this market that gave off the typical fantasy feel. “Mm.” “Mmph.” Any time he made eye contact with a merchant, they became shocked and avoided his gaze. Tsk tsk. Cale really must have lived up to his title of trash in the past. Cale was talking shit about himself as he walked past the market and toward the western part of Western City.