Chapter 47 – LV.Fourteen Warrior Oh Haengbok – [Six]

After the welcoming ceremony, Oh Haengbok approached Seo Yun and asked.

“Seo Yun, you can use more first-tier spells now that you’ve leveled up, right?”

Seo Yun nodded.

“Yes. I can use three more, but with the ring and the gown, I have to multiply that by three, so I can use nine more times.”

“Wow, that’s really generous! As expected, having 9 Spirit points is truly superior. It’s perfect since we need to cast fireballs for each family that came to the village this time. And with this, we’ve gained six more village players? When you think about it, it’s all thanks to you… You’re really a treasure, a treasure.”

Oh Haengbok chuckled and patted Seo Yun’s shoulder, making her flinch.

Oh Haengbok continued in a suggestive voice.

“It seems we might even be able to add two more if things go well. Your friends are here too, right?”

He seemed to be referring to the chimpanzee and Han Siwoo. For a moment, Seo Yun suspected that the orc might want to bring the pretty-faced Gaeulbi into the village because he liked her, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

He hasn’t even touched the angel with 10 Charm points yet, so he probably wouldn’t go after the chimpanzee, who’s inferior to her. Trusting that, she replied.

“Yes. They’re a warrior and a martial artist.”

Oh Haengbok’s expression stiffened for a moment upon hearing the dreadful words. He asked in a hesitant voice.

“Level 4, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, they must have some know-how then? As a Taekwondo Master, I have no idea how they fight monsters…”

“They don’t use fists; they only shoot crossbows. But they fight well. They definitely pull their weight.”

Come to think of it, they lost almost all their exploding arrows. Could the chimpanzee still pull his weight in the future? It seemed doubtful, but she decided not to mention it now.

“Anyway, according to Oh Haengun, he hasn’t been able to persuade them to stay in the village yet. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Then… I’d like to try persuading them.”

“So, that Mister Oh Haengbok wants to meet us?”

At Gaeulbi’s question, Seo Yun replied.

“He said he wants to persuade you two to stay here himself. But if a 2.2-meter-tall orc tries to persuade you, you might agree out of intimidation rather than the content of the conversation, right? So I told him I’d first ask you if you even want to meet.”

Gaeulbi muttered with an uneasy expression.

“It might be better to refuse…”

Then Han Siwoo said with a firm expression.

“Let’s at least hear him out.”

Gaeulbi looked at Han Siwoo with wide eyes.

Seo Yun also looked at Han Siwoo and thought. Unlike the chimpanzee, it seems this guy wants to stay here? Well, those two don’t even have a proper way to make a living right now.

“Would it be okay, though…?”

Gaeulbi still seemed hesitant, but she didn’t outright oppose it either.

In the end, Seo Yun took the two of them to Oh Haengbok’s tent.

Inside the large tent, Oh Haengbok was seated with Oh Haengun by his side. Once again, Oh Haengbok personally poured tea and got to the point.

If you stay in the village, you won’t have problems making a living. It’s fine if you decide to retire as a player midway… After bringing up various topics, he said this.

“I heard you two have many valuable items. If you’re leaving because you’re afraid those items might be taken, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Then Han Siwoo shook his head.

“That’s not what we’re worried about… But it is related to those items.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Before answering, Han Siwoo looked at Gaeulbi. He seemed to gauge the girl’s reaction, then spoke.

“It’s because those items aren’t things we obtained ourselves; they’re stolen.”

Han Siwoo said it as if making a major confession, but Seo Yun wasn’t particularly surprised. Stolen? It was the first time she’d heard it, but she had expected as much. There was no other way those two could have obtained all those items.

“If they’re stolen, from whom?”

At Oh Haengbok’s question, Han Siwoo hesitated to answer again. Oh Haengbok, perhaps frustrated by the slow pace of the conversation, frowned and was about to say something, but he took a deep breath to calm himself.

Whether sensing the uncomfortable mood or having made a decision, Han Siwoo opened his mouth.

“There’s a troll mage in Gyeonggi Province.”

This was an even more peculiar race than an orc.

“A troll mage?”

“Yes. That troll was the leader of the village I lived in. We stole from him. And that guy… he’s high-level.”

“How high-level?”

“I don’t know. But he seemed to be at least level 15.”

At the unimaginable number, Seo Yun raised an eyebrow. Oh Haengbok and Oh Haengun also seemed shocked.

“Level 15?”

Han Siwoo nodded.

“Yes. I saw that troll mage open a dimensional gate. According to the rulebook, Dimensional Gate is an 8th-tier mage spell. To cast an 8th-tier spell, you need to be level 15.”

“Does reaching level 15 even make sense? I fought like hell and I’m only 14…”

Oh Haengbok muttered, and Oh Haengun responded in a dazed voice.

“It seems impossible according to the experience point table. The monsters that came down from above—haven’t the Incheon players hunted about half of them so far? Then players from other regions would have had to hunt the rest. There’s no way he could be higher level than you, Chief.”

Han Siwoo explained.

“The villagers speculated that the troll was either from a foreign country or an NPC. He spoke Korean, but his speech was awkward, as if he hadn’t learned it long ago.”

Oh Haengbok muttered again.

“He couldn’t have come from abroad. The sea and sky are filled with monsters…”

“He might have come using a dimensional gate. Or, as I mentioned, he might really be an NPC.”

Oh Haengbok clicked his tongue and asked.

“So, you’re afraid that troll mage, level 15, will attack you if he finds you?”

“Yes. And the village might suffer damage in the process. If we cause trouble like that…”

“Was there a reason you stole the items?”

At Oh Haengbok’s question, Gaeulbi answered.

“Yes, well…”

Oh Haengbok groaned. He seemed to be pondering, taking his time. Everyone watched, waiting for him to speak, and after a while, he finally said.”I… really can’t promise that when that troll comes, I’ll lead the entire village to fight to protect you two. I can’t endanger everyone just to protect the two of you.”

“That makes sense.”

As Han Siwoo nodded with a gloomy expression, Oh Haengbok continued.

“But I can promise you one thing.”

“A promise?”

Oh Haengbok nodded.

“At the very least, I can make sure you can escape then. As an adult’s duty, I can do that much.”

Han Siwoo cautiously asked.

“Even if the village suffers damage?”

Oh Haengbok nodded.

“Honestly, I can’t judge whether stealing the items was the right thing or not… but aren’t we trying to bring two Players into the village for profit now? I think we should accept that level of risk.”

Seeming to like that decision, Oh Haengun grinned. Han Siwoo’s feelings also seemed to ease a bit.

Han Siwoo bowed his head to express gratitude and then said this.

“Then… I’ll think about it.”

The next day, Seo Yun took Han Siwoo and Gaeulbi to find Oh Haengbok again.

And Han Siwoo expressed his intention to join the village and then said.

“Seo Yun said that kid should donate one-third of the items. If you wish, we’ll do that.”

Oh Haengbok furrowed his brow and asked.

“Wouldn’t we need to carefully store and return them to appease that troll gentleman when he comes, whether he’s an NPC or a foreigner?”

Han Siwoo answered vaguely, seeming unsure of his own words.

“To return them carefully… we’ve already lost them all… Besides, I think that troll might consider us detestable and try to kill us, but he probably won’t think the items themselves are that precious.”

“You said they were precious items, so why?”

“The truly precious items were kept by the troll in his own Bag of Infinity. What we took were some of the things the troll had roughly stored in a warehouse, probably because they weren’t very useful. And the Bag of Infinity was one of four he had.”

Seo Yun was shocked. That was just a part?

On the other hand, Oh Haengbok, who had never seen the items himself, didn’t seem to grasp the reality. He scratched his head and asked.

“Then we’ll think later about whether to return them or not… Hmm, can I at least see what kind of items there are?”

“Yes. Shall I take them out now?”

When Oh Haengbok said to go ahead, Han Siwoo poured out the contents of the Bag of Infinity to show them. He also explained that they had little way to identify the magical properties of these items, so they hardly knew what most of them were.

“Is that so? Then we can find out now.”

The village Mage, Oh Haengun, identified the items with an Appraisal Spell and then opened his eyes wide. With a face that didn’t hide his surprise, he looked at Oh Haengbok.

“Most are Magic Items, but a few are Artifacts.”

Oh Haengbok frowned.

“Artifacts? Like my hammer?”

“Yes. This really doesn’t make sense. It’s only been three years since the world changed; no matter how capable, there’s no way someone could obtain several items like this in that time…”

“That troll must have really been an NPC. So, roughly what kind of items are they?”

Oh Haengun pointed to each item and explained, then, pointing to a brass-colored lamp, he trailed off.

“This is the Lamp of Prophecy…”

“What’s that?”

“This, um. I remember it from the Rulebook.”

Oh Haengun took out the Rulebook, opened it, and showed a page to everyone. Oh Haengbok read that entry.

“Lamp of Prophecy… After a terrible meteorite fell, the Goddess of Beauty, angered that the result was not properly told, imprisoned a famous Prophet Angel in this item…”

There was no illustration of the item, but the description was detailed. The explanation was long-winded, but in summary, it was as follows.

“So, it’s an item that summons a Prophet Angel?”

“That’s right.”

To Seo Yun, it didn’t feel real how amazing that was. Not because it was trivial, but because it felt unrealistically incredible.

No matter how amazing the meteorite was, could it even implement something that sees the future?

“Prophecy… I’d definitely like to hear it once.”

At Oh Haengbok’s words, Oh Haengun nodded.

“Right?”

“It’s not an item that wears out with use, is it?”

“If you recharge it with Soul, you can use it as many times as you want.”

“In that case… Hey, can we try using this? I don’t mean I want to keep it, I just want to try using it…”

When Han Siwoo gave permission, Oh Haengbok had people bring Soul bottles.

They poured Soul into the lamp. Then the lamp’s spout glowed, and a great light formed a figure before their eyes…

An Angel appeared before them.

Truly, it was a form that could only be called an Angel.

A woman with literally perfect appearance had materialized before their eyes. Every part of her face, which showed no trace of makeup, was excellent, and their combination was also perfect; her eyes were closed, but even the eyelashes visible there were beautiful.

And above all, the glowing Halo behind her head acted like a spotlight, drawing everyone’s gaze. According to the Rulebook, an Angel’s Halo has the effect of increasing Charisma by 1 point beyond the biological limit of 10 points, and it seemed to be serving that role now. So would that Charisma be around 11 points?

The people who had brought the Soul bottles were staring blankly, even forgetting to leave. And the Angel’s mouth opened. Her voice transcended language, entering their minds and being understood immediately.

「The Fallen Angel has answered the call.」

Meanwhile, drawn by the light? A few villagers passing by approached the tent, peered inside, saw the Angel, and stopped in their tracks. In an instant, nearly thirty people were watching this situation.

Oh Haengbok couldn’t take his eyes off the Angel’s face for a while, then asked.

“Now… will you give a prophecy?”

「If you offer a price.」

“A price? Ah, um. Soul, right?”

When Oh Haengun held out a Soul bottle, the Angel, with eyes still closed, turned her face toward it. Then the contents of the bottle disappeared.

“Uh…”

Oh Haengun was startled, then carefully placed the Soul bottle on the ground. Then he looked at Gaeulbi and Han Siwoo and asked.

“Do you want to try first?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah. The item’s owner should go first.”

Gaeulbi cautiously approached the Angel.Then the angel seemed to take the girl as the subject of her prophecy.

When the angel opened her eyes, her pupils shone.

That gleaming gaze seemed to look not at the girl before her, but somewhere far beyond. Soon, the angel spoke.

「You shall find the kin you have longed for.」

Gaeulbi’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

The angel did not answer, but Gaeulbi turned away and blinked her eyes as if pondering what she had just heard. Then, soon after, with a beaming smile at the corners of her mouth, she shouted to everyone.

“She’s a kind Unni!”

Seo Yun also smiled faintly. As is often the case with fantasy prophets, she had expected some eccentric prophecy, but surprisingly, it was a good one. It might be unfriendly to speak of her own accord before being asked to reveal something from this side…

Next was Han Siwoo’s turn.

“I…”

This time too, before Siwoo could even ask for information, the angel offered her prophecy.

「Your love shall be only half-fulfilled.」

This time, it was the kind of prophecy one might give to an adolescent boy, so the people around merely laughed it off and didn’t seem particularly moved.

However, the next turn, Oh Haengbok’s turn, was different.

To Oh Haengbok standing before her, the angel said.

「The sun shall kill you.」

Oh Haengun’s eyes widened.

As the watching onlookers gaped with their mouths agape, Oh Haengbok asked in a dazed voice.

“Me dying… is that confirmed, that?”

This time, an answer came.

「Fate can, of course, be altered. If your luck is good.」

Was she referring to the Luck Ability Score? If so, it wasn’t very hopeful. Seo Yun groaned inwardly.

‘Perhaps because the Meteorite found it bothersome to set each individual’s luck, everyone in the entire world’s luck was uniformly set at 3 points…’

Silence flowed. Everyone looked at Oh Haengbok, unable to say anything.

Oh Haengbok seemed to feel their gazes. As if sensing an obligation to say something, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“Anyway, so… the sun will rise, right? Someday?”

This time, the angel did not answer, but suddenly, Oh Haengbok laughed.

“That’s… good!”

Seo Yun silently stared at Oh Haengbok. Oh Haengbok looked at the people gathered here and continued.

“Go tell the people! That someday the sun will rise!”

Was that bluster to salvage the mood? Or was it a splendid statement he could make because the foretold death felt so far in the future that it didn’t seem real?

Whichever it was, at this very moment, even to Seo Yun, who didn’t particularly like him, Oh Haengbok seemed Leader-like. He even looked a bit cool.

‘About half as much as me.’

Meanwhile, the angel stood again with her eyes closed, as if waiting for the next question. However, likely unsettled by the recent death sentence, no one dared to approach.

“Can I go this time too?”

At Seo Yun’s question, Oh Haengun answered roughly with a complicated expression—one that seemed unsure whether to grieve for the future of the Chief he respected or be moved by the Chief’s recent statement.

“Huh? Yeah…”

And Seo Yun thought while looking at the angel. I’ve become an Angel Race now too; will she be glad as a fellow kin?

Without any great expectations, merely harboring a bit of curiosity, she approached the angel.

She must have heard the footsteps. The angel opened her eyes and looked at Seo Yun before her.

And the next moment, for a different reason than before, silence flowed among the onlookers. The angel, who had been standing straight, knelt on one knee and, with her head slightly bowed, said.

「Are you at peace, Goddess?」

Immediately, the onlookers’ gazes converged, but there was no time to mind that now. Seo Yun answered in a voice that even she herself felt was foolish.

“Goddess… I’m not.”

The Angel replied. With utmost politeness.

「Not at present, that is. But do creatures like me need to strictly distinguish between the present and the future?」