Chapter 151

After acquiring the Emergency Evasion Trait, I seized the momentum and finished acquiring the C+-Rank Hawk’s Eye Trait as well.

As a single item, it was difficult to expect a significant effect, but it was to add at least a little more power to the Emergency Evasion Trait.

‘I’ll need to give the remaining two slots a bit more thought.’

Not only had I not yet decided on a clear combination that felt right, but there were also far too many Traits that were difficult to acquire because I couldn’t meet the conditions immediately.

Therefore, I decided to first handle the other tasks that had piled up for a while.

‘Time isn’t that plentiful.’

Acquiring Traits isn’t as easy as it looks.

It was practically a specialized field, so I did finish acquiring them at a remarkably fast pace, but even so, a full three weeks had passed.

The current exact date is April 26th, and now June, the month I promised Shin Noeul, isn’t that far off either.

‘…There’s too much to do.’

I have to complete several tasks by June, and after the Cat-Head Serpent incident is over, the second summer vacation, when the game’s main story truly kicks into gear, finally arrives.

If I let my guard down even slightly, that entire flow could get tangled beyond repair.

‘The most urgent matter right now is…’

Finding the Azure Dragon’s Yeoijoo.

No matter how I thought about it, I needed to finish that first.

Fortunately, the steady exploration I had been conducting through club activities and such had somewhat narrowed down the candidate locations.

If I focused on the target for a short period, I was sure I could search the remaining locations as well.

As soon as class ended, I went to find Cheong Joohwa and immediately conveyed my plan.

In response, Cheong Joohwa nodded, and of course, the Azure Dragon also showed a pleased expression.

It was only natural to be happy when someone says they’ll find the promised item you’ve been waiting for so long.

“But how did you find it so soon? I heard it would take several more months.”

“Progress was faster than expected. Many candidate locations were eliminated in the middle.”

While conducting the club’s field trip activities and exploring nearby candidate locations, I was able to exclude all areas among the other candidates that I thought had a low probability based on the experience gained during that process.

Thus, the current most promising locations are a total of three.

I can’t guarantee one hundred percent, but if my guess is correct, the answer is probably among those three places.

‘All three fit the conditions I had in mind.’

As mentioned before, in the original work, the Azure Dragon also met a tragic end, so the location of the Yeoijoo wasn’t specifically revealed.

However, it was possible to infer its location through various hints hidden among the numerous Exorcism Academy Series installments.

Among them were speculations circulating among users, and there were also clues I personally analyzed and discovered.

First, the Imoogi Gangcheol.

This creature, which appeared in Exorcism Academy 2 and blocked the protagonist’s party, consistently showed movement heading northwest from its first appearance site, Ulsan.

The reason wasn’t revealed in the story, but since it was a being that fell from grace because it couldn’t become a dragon from the start, the established theory is that it reacted to the Yeoijoo, which is practically a symbol of a dragon.

‘In fact, it was described as being drawn as if bewitched towards the northwest, trying to burn everything that blocked its path.’

If so, in an instant, over half of the areas on the map of South Korea would be eliminated from the candidates.

And among the remaining regions, I narrowed down the candidates to three areas: Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangwon Province.

I had already checked all areas near Chungcheongbuk-do when I previously visited the Ondal Fortress, and while there were other possible regions, the areas with the highest probability were those three.

‘All three have strange commonalities.’

Throughout the series, there were several cases where a Specter that had once appeared grew rapidly and threatened the protagonist’s party.

In a way, Kongsami in the original work is a similar type. Unlike its initial B-Rank assessment, just a few months later, it became an A+-Rank monster and confronted Yoo Haon’s party.

And among such cases, there exist creatures that achieved a power-up in an unbelievably short period.

At the time, it was criticized as forced balance adjustment for the game’s fun, but if the existence of the Yeoijoo was behind it, it would be perfectly understandable.

‘The promising ones are the appearance sites of Specters possessing attributes related to the Yeoijoo.’

Water, wind, and even lightning.

If they handled powers of the same lineage, it would have been easier for them to be influenced by the Yeoijoo.

Those were precisely specific areas in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangwon Province.

‘Yongmasan Mountain in Jungnang-gu, Seoul; Hantangang River in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province; and Ayajin Beach in Sokcho, Gangwon Province.’

If my prediction is correct, there should be a space hidden near these three areas where the Yeoijoo is concealed, areas where the rapidly grown Specters ran rampant.

Having reached that judgment, I finally sought understanding from Cheong Joohwa and the Azure Dragon.

Because to find the Yeoijoo, there was one more absolutely necessary person.

“…This weekend? I think I can somehow make time.”

That person was none other than Seo Jian.

Her S-Rank Water God Trait would undoubtedly be of considerable help in finding the Yeoijoo.

It was a somewhat sensitive matter because the Azure Dragon, a Divine Beast of the Cheong Family, was involved, but Seo Jian probably wouldn’t speak carelessly.

Ultimately, with the agreement of Cheong Joohwa and the Azure Dragon, the three of us formed a team and, taking advantage of the weekend, gathered and headed to the designated promising candidate locations.

The first target was the closest, Yongmasan Mountain in Seoul.

Originally, the mountain terrain wasn’t rugged and was level, so these days it’s used as a walking path by nearby residents.

However, the eastern slope is quite steep, and a rocky waterfall, rare in Korea, is formed nearby.

It’s a very dangerous area, so it’s off-limits to civilians, and halfway up, there exists a natural cave with two entrances.

If the Yeoijoo exists here, the most likely location would be near there.

“…You want to go down here?”

Finally reaching the summit.

Seo Jian, looking at the cliff on the eastern slope, showed a slightly flustered look in her eyes, unlike her usual self.

Despite having abundant combat experience, having lived mostly within a fixed range of activity, she probably wasn’t very familiar with this kind of situation.

In front of her, Cheong Joohwa began descending the cliff, demonstrating by using Art Formulas like Clear Chain Binding, but Seo Jian still wore a troubled expression.

“As you know, I’m not familiar with ordinary Art Formulas. Moving like that…”

Come to think of it, there isn’t exactly a water source nearby the current mountain summit that Seo Jian can utilize.

Of course, given Seo Jian’s current level, it wasn’t impossible to draw water from below or create it directly, but it didn’t seem necessary to expend energy like that already.

In response, I summoned several Black Yins and Black Birds in succession and said to Seo Jian.

“Want to go together?”

In the end, she had no choice but to obediently get on my back and hang onto the creatures’ feet as we headed down the cliff.

“…I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem to have any particularly special terrain either.”

I expected it from Seo Jian’s reaction, but indeed, I found no particular clues near the cliff.

The only thing left was the natural cave halfway up the cliff, said to be naturally formed.

Upon entering, a cool air different from the outside instantly envelops my entire body.

Perhaps due to the nature of being a cave, for some reason, it feels like my breath is getting stifled.

“How is it? Do you feel anything?”

“No, not at all yet.”

Since it wasn’t a very large cave to begin with, it didn’t take long to look around the entire place.

However, during that process, I, surprisingly not Seo Jian, was able to discover one point of doubt.

‘Why is the flow of Spiritual Power like this?’

A strange sensation that definitely couldn’t be felt on the cliff side or at the cave entrance.

It was a very subtle difference that I wouldn’t have noticed without the help of the Phantom Body Trait either.

“What’s wrong? Is there something strange?”

“Let me check for a moment.”

I immediately settled into position and deployed a Detection Art, but couldn’t find any meaningful reaction.

In a situation that somehow felt like déjà vu, I summoned Sahwanje from the shadows and had it investigate all the spaces near the cave.

Slither.

Whoosh!

[Kyaak. Kiiik.]

And as expected, a response came to Sahwanje’s senses.

It seemed that something hidden in this cave had concealed itself in a manner similar to the Hwang Family’s Solitary Shadow Cave last time.

We moved to the point indicated by Sahwanje and, through various Art Formulas, finally discovered a new space.

It was a kind of secret passage leading further underground from inside the cave.

“I’ll go first.”

I took the lead and positioned myself at the front of the party, then took out a few low-level Shikigami and had them advance about a meter ahead. There might be traps or special Art Formulas set up.

In the deep part of the cave we reached, a mysterious stalactite hung from the ceiling, emitting a considerable aura.

‘Appraisal.’

Ding!*

【Deep Storm Stone】

▶A mysterious raw stone formed over long years by the gathering of Natural Qi. It is filled with pure power.

It seemed that the item hidden in this cave was a treasure akin to a naturally formed Spiritual Elixir.

‘The possibility of being influenced by the Yeoijoo…’

Unfortunately, none. It’s clearly a mysterious object, but it has no relation whatsoever to the Azure Dragon’s Yeoijoo. The Azure Dragon itself said it felt no connection, so it’s confirmed information.

“So, this wasn’t the place after all.”

“I guess we have no choice but to go look for the next location.”

I had hoped to find the answer in one go, but reality, as always, isn’t that easy.

‘…Still, this is quite interesting.’

I carefully stored the Deep Storm Stone in the Formless Pouch and sank into thought.

Even if it wasn’t a fact I knew from in-game information, this world is filled with numerous treasures and opportunities.

It felt like I had personally confirmed with my own body a fact I had only speculated about until now.

‘But I can’t just see this as entirely good news right now.’

While it was like opening new possibilities for me, in the current situation of searching for the Azure Dragon’s Yeoijoo, it had to be seen as bad news.

It meant that the possibility was also high that the other two candidate locations similarly held other strange artifacts instead of the Yeoijoo.

“Where do we go now?”

“The remaining ones are Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province. It’ll probably be easier to check the Gyeonggi Province side first and then confirm the last location.”

Since the Hantangang River stretches all the way from Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province to Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, we can head towards the final destination while checking the nearby areas.

However, the areas near our target have rugged terrain and many military zones.

Although I could make various excuses by citing Specter tracking due to having an Exorcist license, investigating wouldn’t be that easy.

“I can handle that part. I know a lot of people on that side.”

Seo Jian’s words, spoken with calm confidence; if she asserts it to that degree, there probably won’t be any real problem.

Cheong Joohwa and I, reminded anew that she is one of the successors of Daejin Industries, nodded blankly.

And so, we set off for Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, once again in search of the Yeoijoo.