Episode 1307
Jjii- jjii-
A quiet night with the sound of insects echoing.
Simon was waiting at an outdoor table in front of the information center. He had been told that the messenger would return that evening, so he planned to go out to meet him.
Mother, who was weak at sleeping, went to sleep first, and Hamiel was also nodding off, perhaps because she was tired, so Simon went out alone without waking her up.
Now all that was there were Simon, the guide, and a few practitioners who passed by quietly during the night.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve come.”
A dark shadow fell over the face of the guide who spoke like that.
“I’m worried that something might have happened to the messenger.”
Simon tilted his head.
“What could happen? Arok is a peaceful place.”
Arok is a land of peace. Even the monsters that are rampant throughout the continent, those near Arok are said to have lost their aggression and become docile under the influence of the divine. There was no particular problem.
“Yes, of course. But recently, it’s been a little… … .”
The guide trailed off.
“It seems like strange things are happening.”
“What a strange thing?”
“It’s really hard to explain, but that is… … .”
Then Simon spread out his palm.
“Wait a minute, someone is coming this way.”
Sweep.
Sigh.
I hear footsteps crossing the grass.
But if you listen closely, it seems like the person in question isn’t in good condition. It sounds like he’s limping.
‘Are you hurt?’
Simon was listening when suddenly there was a ‘thud!’ sound and the footsteps stopped.
The moment Simon was about to get up from his seat in surprise at the sound.
Sweep.
Sigh.
Footsteps began to be heard again.
‘Something feels strange.’
Sweep sweep.
Sweep sweep.
Irregular footsteps. Simon and the guide held up lanterns to illuminate the road ahead.
After a while, a figure of someone limping towards me was vaguely visible in the darkness.
Thud!
He stumbled and fell to the ground, hitting his forehead hard. But then he suddenly got up, twisting his body at an almost impossible angle, and came at me.
With blood streaming down his forehead, he walked with an extremely unsteady gait.
“Hey, messenger! I’m glad you’re safe!”
The guide ran hurriedly.
“Are you feeling okay? Is there anything that feels uncomfortable… …!”
Snap!
The messenger suddenly grabbed the guide’s shoulders tightly.
The guide was startled and stopped moving. The messenger’s arm, which was holding his shoulder, slowly moved, and a bright bloodstain spread across his uniform.
“me…….”
The messenger’s lips began to tremble.
“I, I… … !”
“What happened? Tell me!”
Black tears of blood poured from the messenger’s eyes.
“I saw… … !”
Keeeeeeeeeeeeek!
And the messenger’s palate split open like a monster’s and his mouth gaped open. Simon, who had been preparing for an emergency, pulled the guide and kicked the messenger hard.
The messenger staggered and took a sharp step back. And then.
Phew!
Bam!
Black blood gushed out from all over his body, and he fell to his knees.
Cheeeeeeeeeee!
Soon his body melted into the black water and disappeared. Simon and the guide were left frozen in place.
“Wh, what’s the fuss!”
“What just happened?”
Hearing the commotion, practitioners rushed in.
Then all they saw was a bunch of clothes hanging off the ground and a puddle of water as black as ink.
“What happened!”
At the shout of another practitioner, the guide answered in a trembling voice.
“The messenger who brought us the news melted and turned black before our eyes.”
There were fearful expressions everywhere.
A practitioner in a dobok squatted down and raised his forehead.
“Is this already the third time?”
When Simon heard those words, he jumped up from his seat.
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“The third time? Then before that too… … .”
“exactly.”
The practitioner said with a stern face.
“Access to Arok is now completely closed, and even the messengers who were supposed to deliver news from the secular world have all gone in and are now in that state.”
Simon strode over and rummaged through his bag.
Various orders and reports remained intact. Documents being passed around within Arok, even a letter from Mother saying she would visit with a sacred object.
‘then.’
The messenger returned without delivering the letter to Asperia, and suffered an unexplained and terrible fate along the way.
Clearly something was wrong inside Arok.* * *
The next morning.
Despite the commotion of the night, the outskirts of Arok were extremely peaceful.
Gentle breezes, flowing rivers and waterfalls, fluttering flower seeds.
Even the animals that came to relieve their thirst and the divine beasts that occasionally appeared and disappeared were peaceful as if nothing had happened.
“… … .”
The practitioners were practicing under the waterfall as usual, getting splashed with water.
Perhaps because they value equanimity and peace of mind as virtues in their training, they did not seem to be very interested in this matter, nor did they seem to want to be.
Of course, not everyone outside of Arok was indifferent to this situation.
“Three! It’s already the third!”
Aggressively spiky hair.
A man with his white dobok sleeves torn to reveal his trained shoulders and knees. A gold necklace gleaming in the sunlight was wrapped around his neck. The worldly objects and the practitioner’s dobok were in dissonant harmony.
He revealed his name as ‘Talrock’.
“All the messengers who entered Arok are in the same state, and the last words of the messenger who died this time were ‘I saw it!’ There are people missing among the practitioners, and even the divine beasts are getting anxious!”
Some practitioners nodded in agreement with Talrock’s words, while others watched with dissatisfied expressions.
“Saint Asperia and Arok aren’t giving us any explanations! We need to take action before Arok gets into bigger trouble… …!”
“What can we do if we move?”
Everyone’s heads turned at those words.
Simon’s head also moved as he listened to the story.
A man with long, beautiful platinum hair that reached down to his waist was approaching, leading a group of practitioners. His skin was spotless and clean, and he exuded a fragrant floral scent. The divine aura that naturally flowed and spread from his body gave a sense of his power.
“Arius.”
Talrock ground his teeth.
A man named Arius looked around at the people, clasping his hands together and saying, “Laus.”
“To the humans of Arok, we are nothing more than mere insignificant beings. They are incomparably wise and intelligent, so even if a problem were to arise, they would have resolved it well. To be more honest… … Even if we stepped in, there would be nothing we could do to help.”
Fiat Lux.
Fiat Lux.
Voices of agreement came from all over the place. On the other hand, Talrock clicked his tongue and made a displeased expression.
Arius continued speaking.
“And Arok is a sacred and inviolable area that no one can enter without the permission of the Saintess. How dare we, as practitioners who follow Arok and wish to belong there, dare to look down on that sacred place where even the Pope of the Sky Island cannot enter?”
“under.”
Talrock chuckled after hearing the story.
“Arok, you go away! I have no business here once I get the divine water! Instead of Arok, I will go up to Sky Island and live a life of luxury!”
“Since you haven’t yet developed your mental skills, aren’t you still unable to gain the approval of even one divine beast?”
“Why are you complaining when we both didn’t get recognized!”
Growl, grumble!
The practitioners stirred as they watched the two people confront each other. Simon and Hamiel, who had been watching from afar, also made eye contact.
“I guess we’re not on very good terms.”
“That’s right.”
Then Arius raised his voice.
“Then I would like to hear Brother Talrock’s plan.”
“what?”
“What exactly do you plan to do? Are you planning to breach the border without any investigation authority and look down on Arok? And what if it turns out that there is nothing wrong with Arok? What will you do if Saint Asperia finds out about this?”
When Asperia’s name was mentioned, some of the practitioners swallowed anxiously.
“To them, we are nothing more than parasites attached to the Arok. What if we, who depend on the fragments of paradise and the divine beasts that flow from Arok, are considered intruders? We could all be driven out of here. Brother Talok is trying to put all of the practitioners at risk.”
that’s right!
Right!
Sympathetic voices came out here and there.
Talrock simply twitched his lips, unable to offer a pointed rebuttal to Arius’ words.
Eventually, Talrock could no longer control his anger and left with his companions.
At the following meeting, the consensus was to send the next messenger as Arius had suggested and wait.
“I am deeply sorry for interfering with your cultivation and causing trouble during the process of discussing the future direction.”
Arius clasped his hands together.
“Let us all be faithful to our own training and work towards the goal of Arok.”* * *
While the practitioners were practicing again, Mother appeared.
“As the saint said, I reported this incident to Sky Island and requested an investigator.”
The mother opened her mouth, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Even if you come quickly, it will take three days.”
“That’s fast.”
The mother lowered her posture and her eyes sparkled.
“How about we just invade Arok? With the strength of the saint and I, it wouldn’t be completely impossible.”
“Wait! Why are there two of you?”
Hamiel screamed.
Simon opened his mouth with a bitter laugh.
“It’s reckless. I can’t use the power of the Legion, so I can’t show off my power like I did in the Rune League.”
Of course, if the power of the legion was used here, it would immediately lead to war.
“And let me remind you again that our purpose is not war.”
In this case, it seems like we need to seek the cooperation of the hardliner saint, Asperia.
If you think about how Simon obtained the ‘Essence of the Saint’ up to now, the essences lent their power when Simon’s goals were aligned with theirs. If he faced the Saint as an enemy, the essences would likely ignore Simon.
“Help the saint.”
Simon clasped his hands together.
“That’s a start, that’s the basic guideline.”
“Yes. You can tell just by looking at Arok’s history.”
Hamiel also nodded vigorously in agreement.
“The essence of the saint here has always been in the girls of Arok. Since we have a deep connection to this area, we must be on the saint’s side, whether we like it or not, in order to obtain the remnants of the essence. How can you not even calculate this much! Your reputation as a candidate for the Pope will be a shame!”
“What? How dare a commoner like me judge me?”
“Yes! I evaluated it, but what!”
Simon stretched out both arms and stopped the two growling men.
“Then let’s do this. Until the investigators arrive, each of us will work in Arok and gather as much information as we can. If we can find out what’s going on, we’ll be able to find a solution quickly.”
The two nodded at Simon’s words. Finding out the mystery and problem of Arok was the top priority.* * *
Simon went to the guide and told him that he too would like to try ‘training’.
The guide nodded willingly. He said that anyone can practice, and that even if they can’t obtain the divine water here and go to Arok, it is definitely a practice that will help the priests. He also said that there are priests who work at the cathedral and come here regularly to practice.
So the guide asked a practitioner to put him in touch with Simon.
He is none other than.
“Laus, may the grace of the goddess be with you, my brother. My name is Arius Ceola.”
It was Arius who refuted Talrock’s logic in front of everyone.
Simon greeted them with his hands clasped together, sweat dripping down his face.
“I heard you’re going to guide me personally. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
Arius smiled broadly.
“I am the one teaching the brothers and sisters who are practicing for the first time. And since Arok is equal to everyone, you can speak comfortably.”
“Oh, I understand.”
“How much do you know about Shinsoo?”
Simon spoke with a moderate mix of true and false information.
I have attended lectures on new mathematics from Professor Epnell, but other than that, I studied mostly on my own.
I use three divine beings, and I have also learned a little bit about spirit studies.
Arius nodded with shining eyes.
“You are ready.”
“…Is that so?”
“For practitioners, patience, a deep understanding of the divine water, and the effort to drive away afflictions are most important. Recently, people who want to get their hands on the divine water of Arok and make a fortune come here without any preparation.”
He smiled brightly.
“Of course, they won’t last a week and will be kicked out. You might be able to gain Arok’s approval sooner than you think, brother.”
The place Simon arrived at, guided by Arius, was in the middle of a vast lake.
“Ohhh!”
Simon couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. He wondered where the practitioners were, and they were all here.
Splash splash!
There were images of practitioners spreading out divine magic circles on shallow lakes, or sitting in their seats, immersed in the water with only their faces exposed, concentrating on their training. Birds such as egrets and flamingos that had come to rest on the lake were scurrying around without any fear of the practitioners.
It was impressive to see hundreds of practitioners practicing in different ways on this vast lake.
-Crunch!
-Kikikiki.
Some practitioners were showing off their divine beasts. I noticed a white duck sitting on their arm, or a white leopard walking beside them.
‘They say it’s the holy land of mathematics. It wasn’t an exaggeration.’
Simon turned his head around and looked at the divine beings with amazement. He even saw a divine being emitting divine breath.
“Are these all Arok’s divine beasts?”
“No. They are ordinary gods.”
Arius smiled.
“The reason practitioners carry around ordinary divine beasts is to increase their understanding of divine beasts and practice harmony. However, their ultimate goal is to obtain the ‘Arok divine beast,’ the best of the best.”
Visit visit visit.
Arius, who had entered the shallow lake, soon turned his back and his eyes sparkled as if to test Simon.
“Then, shall we go and see what your skills are, brother?”
