Chapter 369.

Rustle- rustle- I walked through a messy grass path . Weeds that grew abundantly tickled my knees, and the rocks that were littered everywhere stuck to my feet like magnets . Every time the wind blew, countless leaves fell on the ground, and the sun shone its blazing light down on them .

This steep mountain that could never be chosen for a stroll or hike was called ‘Yaksi Mountain’ . This tall mountain located in North Hamgyeong Province revealed the roughness of nature in its entirety .

Due to the ‘Great Change’ that occurred in the past, it had reached a height of 2650 meters, and because of its high magic power density, it was famous for having many herbs grow there .

I thought about the Alps for my first destination, but as I didn’t even have a passport, I decided to come here . I planned to stay here until my passport was issued . Well, that was as long as this mountain’s owner didn’t discover me .

Yaksi Mountain was a private property . To be precise, it belonged to Chae Joochul . Naturally, I had infiltrated this place secretly . Perhaps, a part of me was hoping to be discovered .

However, today marked the seventh day since I have practically been living on this mountain . No one had discovered me yet .

There weren’t even patrols, which private properties often had . Wondering why this was the case, I looked up the reason on my smartwatch . The biggest reason was the war against the devils, but apparently, Chae Joochul had mostly abandoned this mountain .

Once I found out, I happily roamed the mountain and looked for all sorts of herbs .

To harvest a ‘Lion Leaf’ growing on the edge of a cliff, I climbed a steep precipice . To search for a ‘Creon’, I crossed a habitat full of wild beasts . And to protect a ‘Memory Apricot’ I managed to obtain with great difficulty, I fought with monsters .

Although I was physically exhausted, I was able to maintain great mental health . This was because I fell asleep exhausted, and thus could not dream… .

“…Oh?”

While I was roaming the mountain in search of an herb just like always, a shining herb entered my eyes .

I quickly darted in the direction of the light . There, I came across a beautiful flower . A flower emitting blue light with a bud that was surrounded by white petals .

I didn’t know whether this flower was an herb or not . I didn’t even know this flower’s name . However, my smartwatch knew .

I took a photo of the flower with my smartwatch and searched for it on the [herb Encyclopedia] .

===

[Cloud Seeker]

—An ordinary flower . While its appearance might cause one to mistakenly think it is an herb, no detailed effect has been recorded from it . It induces a stomach ache upon consumption .

===

Although this was what was written on the smartwatch, I had to try it to be sure . I changed Aether into the shape of a trowel and dug up the Cloud Seeker from the root . Then, I chomped down on it without hesitation .

“Argh, my stomach . ”

Immediately, I felt a slight pain in my stomach . But when I closed my eyes and savored it, I felt like I knew the hidden effects of this herb .

I opened my notebook .

It was filled with several herbs I found in the mountain .

[Macorong — Memorization Progress: 100% . This herb alone has no effect, but when mixed with other herbs, it has the potential to cure various illnesses . ]

[Creon — Memorization Progress: 60% . An addictive herb . Sharpens the five senses . Helpful for battle . ]

[Sorrowful Sunlight — Memorization Progress: 100% . Can easily cure external injuries . ]

[Lion Leaf — Memorization Progress: 50% . Increases testosterone levels for two hours . I felt like I became a lion, just like the herb’s name suggested . ]

[Magic Power Forget-Me-Not — Memorization Progress: 100% . Has excellent effect in stopping bleeding and piercing wounds . ]

[Memory Apricot — Memorization Progress: 95% . Effective at recovering memories and brain cells . Has a high chance of being used to treat dementia . ]

I added [Cloud Seeker] to the list .

[Cloud Seeker — Memorization Progress: 30% . Has an effect related to ‘purification’ . I would have to eat about three more to be sure . ]

It was then .

Rustle, rustle—

I sensed a presence . I took out my Desert Eagle and aimed it in that direction . Soon, two men and a woman appeared from the bushes underneath the slope . They were teens who were in their late 10s or early 20s .

The moment they saw my gun, they screamed and raised their hands into the air .

“…Who are you guys?”

“D-Don’t shoot! We’re from a village nearby . Um, we’re here to harvest herbs . ”

“Herbs?”

I furrowed my brows and examined them . The only thing that could be used as a weapon was the shovel and the scythe they hung on their waist belt . Their clothes were ragged and shabby as well .

Although we were only at the foot of Yaksi Mountain, they were nowhere close to ready for climbing this mountain .

“With those weapons?”

“…We, we, uh, we don’t have any weapon like the one you have . ”

The trio trembled in front of the gun .

I continued to investigate without letting my guard down .

“What do you need herbs for?”

“Um, our mother is sick . We’re brother and sister . Our mother got poisoned by demonic energy . The doctor said there is no way to treat her, and Heroes won’t pay attention to small villages like ours . So, we, uh… we wanted to… . ”

Ebebebe— The one who seemed to be the oldest of the group got tongue-tied and paused talking .

I couldn’t blame them . This gun did look quite intimidating, after all .

“…Tsk . ”

I clicked my tongue and lowered my gun . Immediately, the trio plopped down on their butts . It wasn’t as if I fired it . Did they have to be so scared?

“Your mother got demonic energy poisoning?”

“Yes? Ah… yes . ”

This time, the girl spoke .

I fell into thought . Of the medicinal herbs I had memorized so far, the [Cloud Seeker] had a ‘purification’ effect .

“Hm… There was a flower that could purify demonic energy poisoning . ”

“Ah! Really?!”

The trios’ eyes widened .

Feeling a bit guilty, I continued .

“But I ate it . ”

“…Ah… ah… . ”

A hard-to-describe disappointment surfaced on their faces . I chuckled before fixing my posture and staring at them directly .

“But I have a medicine that might help . Do you want to try it?”

“Medicine? Y-You are a doctor?”

“Well, I guess you could call me a pharmacist . ”

“… . ”

The trio fell silent . They exchanged glances with each other, seemingly mulling over what to do .

It should be a pretty easy decision though .

As I kept my eyes on them, I began to ‘assemble’ the medicine effect in my body . Separating and extracting the medicinal effect memorized by my body and creating a medicine by only taking components that helped with ‘demonic energy purification’ .

Next was releasing it outward .

I concentrated the medicinal effect onto my palm and ‘manifested’ it outside of my skin . A stem sprouted up from my palm, which quickly grew and formed a fruit-like pill .

However, this process used up quite a bit of my stamina . Just making two of these pills made me sleepy and making four made me faint .

In any case, my body was now a natural pharmacy . I had developed this method of using my Physique . Since this was my only special ability, I had been thinking a lot about it and came up with different ways to use it .

“Take it . ”

I threw the flat, circular pill at the trio . They jumped in a startle but still caught it before it touched the ground .

“It’s only a prototype, so it’s not perfect . But it will be better than going up this mountain and getting eaten by wild beasts . At least, your mother won’t be left to die alone . ”

“…Ah, yes, thank you . We understand . ”

“Good . By the way, do you guys do social media?”

I asked, suddenly curious .

The trio stood in a daze before quickly nodding their heads .

“Ah, yes, we have our smartwatches, so uh… we do social media . ”

“What’s your ID?”

“…Excuse us?”

“What’s your ID?”

“Ah, yes, yes . ”

I took the Starstagram ID of the trio’s oldest brother, who only knew how to say ‘yes’ .

“Good . I’ll remember this ID . Post something once your mother is cured . I need to know whether the prototype worked . ”

I suddenly remembered the past . Back then, I did something similar to earn ‘SP’ . After all, social media was an excellent source to obtain SP .

“…Oh, a post?”

“Yep . Write this . ”

I continued with a grin .

“That a handsome, mysterious pharmacist helped you . ”

**

The preparation for the revolution was well underway .

Chae Nayun first focused on her Hero work and received ‘evidence’ from Jin Seyeon about the Association executives’ corruption, hired assassination, and other illegal activities .

Chae Nayun stored them away safely . Her job was to amass all the evidence and bring them to Chae Joochul .

However… Chae Nayun was eventually found out .

Not to a stranger, but her close friend and guild superior, ‘Yoo Yeonha’ .

Not even Chae Nayun knew how she was discovered . Only Yoo Yeonha knew .

“…That’s why I’m here with Yeonha . ”

In the Chameleon Troupe’s cabin, Chae Nayun finished explaining why she brought Yoo Yeonha there . Of course, the explanation really was ‘I don’t know . She just knew . ’

Jain and Jin Seyeon stared at Yoo Yeonha with dumbfounded expressions .

Yoo Yeonha spoke while sipping on a cup of coffee .

“You don’t have to rob Essential Pharmacy . After all, I am in a similar situation as you all . But there’s just one problem . Copying the side-effect cure is too difficult . Unfortunately, many of our researchers have been lost during the previous war . ”

The recent great war had caused 1 . 5 million casualties in Korea . A huge wave of sorrow had swept the peninsula .

“So you can’t make the side-effect cure?”

Jin Seyeon asked .

“We’re not sure . We are looking for talented individuals, but that will take a while . Making Chae Joochul regret his misdeeds might take a while, so I suggest toppling Kim Sukho first . He already knows about our plans to attack . ”

Yoo Yeonha used the word ‘our plans’ . This meant she was seeing herself as a part of the Chameleon Troupe . This made Jain tilt her head .

“Our plans?”

“Yes . Kim Sukho is also trying to bring me down with you . Something about Essence of the Strait getting too over its head . It’s a good thing we secretly recorded him . Anyways, he will attack us soon . ”

Yoo Yeonha smirked as if he found Kim Sukho’s attempt laughable .

Cheok Jungyeong asked .

“Attack, you say . When?”

“I can’t be sure, but it will be soon . Kim Sukho will put out irresistible rewards that will attract guilds and even the New Evils . ”

At that moment… . Sploosh— Something swayed like water .

Startled, Yoo Yeonha turned around . The man who introduced himself as Cheok Jungyeong was making a frighteningly sinister smile, as his muscles twitched crazily .

Yoo Yeonha couldn’t imagine a more perverted scene .

She fell into a momentary daze, but soon, she realized that his excitement was caused by a competitive spirit .

“…But remember this . You can not kill the Heroes . The New Evils, fine . But you cannot do anything that might make you look like the villain . Only then can we bring Kim Sukho down . ”

“Ha, really . Why is everyone telling me not to kill? Don’t you guys know that the real fun of a fight is—”

Jin Seyeon blocked Cheok Jungyeong’s mouth .

Cheok Jungyeong barely held himself back from biting Jin Seyeon’s hand, while Jin Seyeon bowed her head politely .

“We think the same way . There’s no reason to kill Heroes who are oblivious to the truth . ”

Cheok Jungyeong looked dissatisfied, but when Jin Seyeon added, ‘You can fight the New Evils as much as you want’, he finally nodded his head in satisfaction .

**

Korea’s capital — Seoul — the home of the world’s most famous guilds and the center of Hero business and state-of-the-art magic engineering . This place, which was the ultimate destination for the richest and the most powerful men on Earth, was currently focusing on reconstruction .

—We are finished with repairs here .

—How are things developing?

—The restoration process is going smoothly, but the architecture is lacking . We need time to rebuild the structural magic functionality .

Devils and demons had practically destroyed Seoul’s numerous skyscrapers, but the restoration process was satisfactory and quick . It was thanks to magicians and Agents joining hands to use Gifts related to construction and restoration .

“…Where is that guy?”

On the other hand, Jin Sahyuk was floating in Seoul’s sky, looking down on the city . She wasn’t watching the restoration process but scouring the streets for someone .

The one she was searching for was, of course, ‘that man’ .

She hasn’t seen him in recent days . As if he vanished into thin air, she couldn’t find a single hair that belonged to him even when she followed the people he was close to . What was worse was that they acted like they didn’t know him . Almost like he didn’t exist in the first place .

JIn Sahyuk tried to search for him using private investigators and the Violet Banquet, but all records related to him had been purged mysteriously . Nothing . Not a single trace remained as if one threw hundreds of disinfectants to wipe the record clean .

Although Jin Sahyuk caused a scene, asking them to find him, the professionals in this field only refused her request .

In truth, the problem was with Jin Sahyuk .

Thinking about it now, she didn’t know a thing about him other than his name . She had never tried to find out . She didn’t know what kind of a life he led, where he lived, and what background he had .

That was why she couldn’t do anything . Because she was bad with words, she couldn’t even draw a portrait for investigators . There was a person who could look into her head using Psychometry or something, but she refused to let someone like that into her brain .

“Son of a bitch . You hid because you really thought I was going to kidnap you and bring you back? What a coward . ”

“…Who are you searching for so much?”

At that moment, a red-haired magician floating next to her asked .

It was Shimurin .

Rather than going back to her homeworld, this master of dimensional magic had stayed in this world .

According to Shimurin, she was traveling ‘simply out of curiosity’ .

Jin Sahyuk had hired her, thinking ‘Perfect!’ After all, Shimurin’s dimensional travel magic would be of great help to Akatrina .

Jin Sahyuk glanced at Shimurin and twisted up the corner of her mouth .

“There’s this guy . ”

“Do you have to meet him?”

“I don’t have to, but I want to before I leave . You see, he taught me a valuable lesson I can never forget . ”

With the humiliation of a thorough defeat, this man had broken a ‘wall’ that stood fixedly in her heart . This was the most important lesson in Jin Sahyuk’s life, and one she never would have learned without him .

As such, Jin Sahyuk wanted to say something before she left .

A conversation without ulterior motives… wouldn’t be the right way to put it . To be honest, she wanted to hear everything there was about ‘Kindspring’ .

If Kindspring was within Kim Hajin’s inner mind just like Puharen was inside Morax, she wanted to take Kindspring with her and live the rest of her life with him .

“A man who taught a valuable lesson to a tyrant… . I’m curious too . Then are you saying you’ll wait until you find him?”

“No, I won’t delay the plan just because of him . ”

The time for her to return to her homeworld was approaching .

Puharen was still scratching her heart, and the Dimension Stone Baal gave her was nearing its expiration date .

Once the time came, Jin Sahyuk would return to Akatrina with the food and weapons she had amassed . There would not be a shred of hesitation . She would not look back .

“…Hm, but Shimurin, weren’t you related to him too? Don’t you have to talk to him too?”

At that moment, Jin Sahyuk suddenly remembered something .

She had heard about Shimurin’s relationship with that guy . To be precise, she heard that Kim Hajin played a pivotal role in completing the dimensional magic .

“Hm?”

However, this Shimurin woman seemed to want to claim the achievement for herself, as she didn’t mention a thing about him .

“Who are you talking about?”

Like so, she only fiddled with her hair and pretended not to know .

“About Kim Hajin . ”

Jin Sahyuk muttered his name as if she was dumbfounded . But Shimurin still looked confused .

“…Kim Hajin? Did I meet someone by that name?”

“What are you talking about? Kim Hajin is the one who completed your dimensional magic… . ”

Suddenly, Jin Sahyuk stopped talking .

A bolt of lightning seemed to strike her head .

Jin Sahyuk stared at Shimurin, then looked down at Seoul from the sky .

In the next moment, she became convinced . What had been a faint, fog-like thought became a hard brick that filled her head .

Kim Hajin had not hidden from her . Thus, Kim Hajin’s friends weren’t pretending to not know either .

This entire world had forgotten about the existence known as ‘Kim Hajin’ .

When she realized this, Jin Sahyuk naturally found out why she wasn’t affected by this .

It was a simple reason .

It was because of Kim Hajin’s secret that only she knew .

Another existence who was the same yet different from Kim Hajin .

She was the only person who knew both ‘Kindspring’ and ‘Kim Hajin’… .

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