CH 298

Evelyn took the baby fenrir saying that the cub needed a good wash, and Hawa left saying that she needed to unload her luggage. Left alone, Chi-Woo took the goods out of his bag one by one. The first item he took out was the silver and blue ingot that shouldn’t exist in the middle world: the reliquia. Then there was the Canine Fang from the Mad Moon that he got from the surviving member of the fenrir species, Hurodvitniru; next was the Core of Solitude made by sacrificing the five king candidates who held the essence of nature, including the tree, water, fire, and so on; and lastly and most unbelievably, the breath of the dragon that was currently inside his body.

—Oh! Are you finally going to do it?

Philip said enthusiastically.

—How exciting. I wonder what you’ll get. You needed not just one but four unbelievable materials. That must mean something.

It was as Philip said. Each of the materials was a world treasure that would be hard to get even with millions of gold. They expected a weapon of a mythical level to be produced at this rate, or perhaps something even greater.

—I can’t wait any longer. Quickly go see Goddess La Bella! I’m curious.

Philip egged Chi-Woo on. Chi-Woo felt the same as Philip and kneeled on one leg. He gathered his hands together, bowed his head, and prayed with his eyes closed. Some time later, he opened his eyes again and saw a completely white world, occupied only by a lady wearing a gown that covered her entire body.

“Goddess La Bella,” Chi-Woo said in a low voice. “As you told me, I brought the materials.”

La Bell nodded without saying anything and raised the balance forward. The reliquia soon floated into the air and landed on one side of the balance. The balance which had been perfectly leveled soon leaned to one side. La Bella placed the Canine's Fang of the Mad Moon next on the opposite side of the balance. The balance that had been dramatically leaning toward one side then began to lean in the other direction, but it was still heavily leaning toward the reliquia—the weight seemed to be in an imbalance of 3:1.

La Bella placed the Core of Solitude on the same side as the Canine's Fang and added the breath that flowed out of Chi-Woo’s nose on top. And thus, the balance scale soon leaned further toward the other side until it reached a perfect balance.

Shaaaa! A brilliant light burst out of the center of the balance scale. Inside the festival of colorful lights, Chi-Woo saw the Canine's Fang break the reliquia’s metal into pieces and come together with the Core of Solitude in the center. In the end, the dragon’s breath was blown into it, and the restructured reliquia began to wiggle like a living creature. That was the limit to what his eyes could see. Soon, the light became so intense that Chi-Woo had to squint and cover his eyes with his hands.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

—Are you back?

When Chi-Woo opened his eyes again, he heard Philip’s voice and saw his world return to normal.

—What happened? Hm? What?

Chi-Woo didn’t know the result yet either. What could’ve been made? A weapon? An armor? Or perhaps, a décor? Both Chi-Woo and Philip glanced down at the same time. They no longer saw any of the goods—the reliquia, the Canine's Fang of the Mad Moon, or the Core of Solitude. Instead, they saw an item they had never seen before lying on the floor. It was neither a weapon nor a piece of armor.

—…Huh?

Philip murmured. Chi-Woo thought the same and activated Spirit Eye. Though Spirit Eye wasn’t an ability he got from La Bella, Byeok said it didn’t pose much danger and placed it among the first-stage restrictions instead of the second-stage. Then, when Chi-Woo saw the information Spirit Eye revealed, his face stiffened. Philip, who kept asking Chi-Woo to share the information, became quiet.

—Hey…isn’t this…?

Philip’s voice trembled as he opened and closed his mouth wordlessly.

***

That day, Chi-Woo stayed holed up in his room all day long. People around him simply thought he was tired and let him be, but that wasn’t the case. Chi-Woo was struggling and pondering about the new item he acquired all night. He didn’t know what to think no matter how much he agonized over it, so in the end, he jumped out of bed as soon as dawn broke.

He met Ru Amuh on the way outside, but he quickly went off to the streets after a short exchange of greetings. He could only think of one person to consult with a problem like this one. He quickly moved his feet and stopped when he arrived at the center of the square. This was because he spotted a building he had never seen before. It didn’t appear like any normal building.

‘A tower? Is there always a tower? No, I’m sure it wasn’t there before.’ The tower was taller than most skyscrapers and stood in the vicinity of the square. It was also quite wide and was comparable to the Narsha Haram tower that Chi-Woo visited in a past expedition. He wondered for a bit what kind of place it was, but since he had other urgent matters to attend to, he quickly went on his way. He strode past the official residence’s guards as they cried out he couldn’t just enter. Then he dashed to the upper floor’s office. There, he saw his brother conversing with Noel.

“Young Master?” Noel asked with wide eyes.

Chi-Hyun also looked taken aback. Though he had planned to call Chi-Woo in later in the day, he didn’t expect Chi-Woo to visit him first.

“Why are you…?” Besides that, it was surprising how serious Chi-Woo looked. It didn’t appear that Chi-Woo visited him out of pure boredom, and Chi-Hyun quickly asked, “Why, what is it?”

“Could you take a look at this—” Chi-Woo ran to his brother’s desk and was about to pull out something, but managed to stop himself.

“Noel, let’s continue the conversation next time.” Chi-Hyun immediately gave this order seeing his brother hesitate, and Noel quickly left. As soon as she was out of the office, she closed the door firmly and looked around to see if anyone was nearby. It seemed like she wasn’t going to let anyone eavesdrop on the two brothers’ conversation.

“Go ahead,” Chi-Hyun said with his hands clasped. He wondered what kind of trouble his brother had stirred up this time and looked slightly nervous, unlike his usual calm self.

“Look at this first.” Chi-Woo placed the item in his hand on the desk, and Chi-Hyun glanced at it.

“A chain…?” No, it was too small and thin to be called a chain. It looked more like a bracelet that was made out of a small chain, and its size and length was just perfect to wear on a wrist and carry around. Nevertheless, it was clear how extraordinary it was at first glance. It was a bracelet of silverish gold that glowed a sky-blue light. There weren’t some fancy symbols or gems decorating it, but its simple appearance didn’t obscure the indescribable elegance it possessed; it was pure, beautiful, and graceful, and the more one looked at it, the more it entranced its viewers with its mysterious charm; even Chi-Hyun fell victim to this.

“Reliquia.” After observing it for some time, Chi-Hyun spoke like he just recalled its existence. “You offered it to a god.”

“I didn’t only offer the reliquia.”

“Then what else?”

And thus, Chi-Hyun explained all the events that had led him to the materials for reliquia’s restructuring. Chi-Hyun was surprised to hear Chi-Woo’s story and fixed his posture to listen more intently.

“Give me the information about this item,” Chi-Hyun requested, and Chi-Woo shared the information he got with his Spirit Eye.

[The Power to Rule the World]

It was the first relic belonging to the heavenly king. Its possession alone would allow one to own and rule the world. Once certain conditions are fulfilled, the owner of the item could awaken the untapped potential of another person according to the user’s wishes.

The description wasn’t long or complicated. It was simply two sentences, but they were so shocking that Chi-Hyun got up from his chair and exclaimed.

“This is insane!” He rubbed his eyes multiple times, and his mouth gaped open after reading the short description again and again. “How could this be… La Bella must’ve really gone all out…!” Chi-Hyun said in astonishment and glared at Chi-Woo.

“Have you tried using it yet?”

“I only checked it when I left home today,” Chi-Woo answered, but he still couldn’t forget the shock he had felt. When he saw Ru Amuh this morning while going outside, he had used the item a bit, and a window popped up:

[Ru Amuh—Page(1/1)]

1. ‘7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent’: Reach at least 80% trust (Complete)

2. Use at least 5 and at most 7 points of ‘Blessed Luck’ (Incomplete)

Chi-Woo relayed what he saw, while Chi-Hyun rubbed at his temples. He murmured that this was unbelievable many times, and Chi-Woo asked, “Why? What is it?”

Chi-Hyun let out a long sigh and answered after putting both his hands down.

“This holy relic allows you to assume the role of a god.”

“What?”

“In other words, it’s an item that basically makes you a god.”

Chi-Woo furrowed. ‘Make me a god?’

“You know the way heroes use the growth system, right?”

“Yes… They offer merits, and in exchange, they get…” Chi-Woo gasped.

“A god raises the ranks and physical abilities of the hero they oversee. They can also strengthen the class abilities the heroes have or create a new one for them.” Chi-Hyun tapped on the item and continued, “The Power to Rule the World is like that.”

Chi-Woo still looked confused. He didn’t know whether this was good or bad. Yet Chi-Hyun’s focus was completely elsewhere.

“This isn’t something you judge to be good or bad. The reliquia alone is a holy relic that shouldn’t exist in the middle world…” Thinking of something else, Chi-Hyun quickly asked, “Is there any other person who knows about this item’s existence?”

“No one yet,” Chi-Woo said and stopped to look above him. Philip stood hovering in the air and warily raised his arms, looking quite intimidated. Chi-Hyun frowned and said, “I’m talking about living people.”

—Hey…

And while Philip was feeling hurt, Chi-Hyun continued, “Anyway, hide that thing at all costs. Don’t tell anyone about it no matter how much you trust them.”

“Not even Mr. Ru Amuh or Lady Evelyn?”

“No exceptions. If I could, I would also erase my memories.”

“That bad?” Chi-Woo asked if they had to go so far, and Chi-Hyun answered, “It’s not something you can take lightly.”

This was a power that shouldn’t exist in a mortal’s hands, but the reason why Chi-Woo was able to bring it about was because of his innate ability, ‘Blessed Luck’. It turned an impossibility into a possibility. One could easily see its effects through the World’s Milestone. Until now, Chi-Woo had shown unbelievable results by rolling this die, and with it, he had saved lives, gone to the future, and accomplished other improbable deeds. Furthermore, he had done things so influential that it could even redirect Liber’s flow multiple times, and every time he did that, he consumed a specific number of Blessed Luck. This item worked on the same logic and consumed the same resource—Blessed Luck—which could even change the flow of the world at every use.

“The moment people find out about this item, there would be a bloodbath—especially in a situation like this.”

The majority of the heroes entered Liber after losing their powers, and they were starving for strength. Once they heard that there was someone who could forcefully drag out their dormant potential, they would run to Chi-Woo crazy-eyed.

“Since you already got the item, I won’t tell you not to use it, but…you should use it carefully,” Chi-Hyun warned, and Chi-Woo nodded.

“There are no restrictions besides those two conditions… Ha, this is too crazy,” Chi-Hyun murmured. Chi-Woo felt the same. He had wanted a weapon or armor at most, and didn’t imagine getting something like this. It felt like something he couldn’t handle… No, this wasn’t the time for him to dwell on such things. Since it was already in his hands, he needed to use it to the best of his abilities. Besides, there were positives to think about.

In the Medieval Ages, nobles bought knights’ loyalty with money. Chi-Woo had only received from Ru Amuh through the sharing effect, but now, there was something he could give Ru Amuh in return. Not only could he lead Ru Amuh to the right path, Chi-Woo could also give him things that he could realistically use. Of course, Chi-Woo couldn’t rashly use the item since Blessed Luck wasn’t an infinite resource, and the means available to him to replenish it was limited. Though it wasn’t impossible and it happened once before, it was hard to expect a place like the former Salem Academy to pop out again somewhere. As his brother said, he needed to be very careful and selective about when he used this item.

‘There’s no rule that I must use this item only on the seven stars. Though one of the conditions is to gain trust, I can meet that without choosing the person as my star. That must mean that I could use it on anyone…’ Chi-Woo thought while stroking the chain.

“Well, I can’t deny that it came at the perfect timing.” Chi-Woo heard his brother talk to himself.

“What do you mean?” Chi-Woo asked.

“Hm? Didn’t you see it on your way here?” Chi-Hyun looked outside the window. “The newly built tower near the square.”