Chapter 118: Shaman (1)

“How does it feel to fly high in the sky?”

“It feels good, Hee-ra.”

It was a little scary, but it didn’t feel bad. It certainly felt like a privilege to be able to see the vast continent all at once.

Unlike other public transportation methods, it had the disadvantage of discomfort, but the view made it all worth it. In particular, what stood out was the magnificent, natural environment, the huge waterfalls, trees, forests, and large cliffs.

I don’t remember seeing all of the tourist attractions on Earth, but I bet the things I’m seeing up here are incomparable to those on Earth.

“It’s magnificent.”

“Because this is where the monsters are. It’s not an environment where you can develop things like on Earth, right? Without the monsters, the trees below would have been cut down and cleared immediately. It’s a valuable resource.”

Cha Hee-ra was right.

It must be because of the ecosystem that the area had maintained its astonishing beauty. In short, these monsters were the protectors of nature.

I’ve heard once that a writer compared humans to cancer cells on Earth. If you think of it as a sympathetic statement, the monsters living here are vaccines that eradicate cancer cells. Without them, I would never have been able to witness this.

‘Is the tourism business worth doing?’

I felt embarrassed by my line of thoughts.

“Oppa…”

It was then that Jung Hayan spoke. She must have felt alienated during my time spent talking with Cha Hee-ra.

Since I’m proud that she was patient thus far, I lightly stroked her hand.

I half-expected her to act similarly as to how she did back in the Cursed Shrine, so it pleased me when she didn’t.

It was not clear as to why she was behaving, but I had a hunch.

‘Is it because Cha Hee-ra saved my life?’

Probably so. This was all dangerous, after all.

The danger was doubled - even tripled - once you stepped out of the city. Jung Hayan knew this, as she had already been the victim of such an attack.

Either way, I was glad that we had gone past her plans of isolating us in the dungeon forever.

‘A woman she could be anxious about, yet still, protect her man at the same time…’

This was probably how Jung Hayan saw Cha Hee-ra now. As a result, I could feel Jung Hayan evolving. On another hand, however, I still felt uneasy.

As I busied myself with my thoughts, the time passed us by. After flying for over half a day, a landscape that was entirely different from Lindel’s presented itself to us.

“Wow!”

Jung Hayan couldn’t help but squeal, and I couldn’t help but join her.

“Wow…”

“You’ve never seen it before, have you?”

At Cha Hee-ra’s question, it was only natural for me to nod.

The whole area displayed gothic architecture, with a huge temple reflecting in the glow of the sunset, and even though I had only seen it from a distance, its grandeur was visible.

“Huh. That’s great.”

I could see some griffons flying in the air to see if other people were coming here besides us. Perhaps Guild Masters that were not from Korea were also coming.

Looking down, I could see the inhabitants of the Holy Empire Benigore, dressed up in style more sophisticated than I would have imagined. None of them looked dirty or unsanitary.

“The civilization here is not as backward as we think it is. Rather, it has a long history and tradition. Residents and nobles alike are proud of their culture, and they have the power and intelligence to match that pride. In fact, in the Holy Empire, there are strong people like me who stand out.”

“It definitely looks like that…”

“You better not look at them too stupidly, baby. There aren’t too many players looking down at the imperialists.”

“Thanks for the advice, Hee-ra.”

Cha Hee-ra was right. Even when I checked the soldier’s stats with my ability, I realized that their stats overpowered Lindel’s every time.

Of course, when we compared individuals, the power we had was better, but the comparison was inevitable since there was a vast population difference.

I knew that they had power, but I didn’t imagine it to be to this extent.

‘If you had the same power as Cha Hee-ra…’

There would be no madman who would dare invade the Holy Empire. Sure, there were some in the past, but they were all dead now.

“The restaurant over there is pretty good. The food they serve is delicious. There are also a lot of quality goods in the blacksmithing shop over there. Sometimes, weapons that are of heroic-class come out, and their price is lower than Lindel’s. Oh, some players also have roots in the capital. Getting permission is a bit tricky, but once you get a seat, you could believe that you’ll enjoy the empire more.”

“People live the same wherever they live.”

“That’s right.”

Cha Hee-ra was more talkative than I initially thought.

Of course, it wasn’t because she was simply with me. She must’ve felt excited to be able to tour the capital after a long time, considering her spontaneous personality.

“And that’s what we’ll be doing for the time being, since staying indoors would become very boring.”

Our griffon continued to fly towards the castle as Cha Hee-ra continued explaining her capital tour plan in great detail. I alternated between listening to her and assessing the stats of the people below me.

When the griffon landed in what seemed to be the landing site, some of the imperial soldiers on standby came to greet us.

The eldest soldier was the most striking as he was adorned in luxurious, heavy armor. Seeing him smile at Cha Hee-ra made me guess that they had a good relationship.

“It’s been a long time.”

“It definitely has! You look more refined now. Are you still working?”

“Of course. There are more rumors than that… Let’s see. This is the man who is reputed to be the Gigolo of the Mercenary Queen.”

“I am Lee Kiyoung.”

I immediately activated my abilities to assess him.

‘Victor Hart, 74 years old, his abilities…’

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He was even more powerful than Cha Hee-ra. No wonder Cha Hee-ra liked him. With just one strike of his palm, he could probably behead me.

Once he was done assessing me, Victor’s eyes landed on Jung Hayan.

“And that…”

“That is his lover.”

Jung Hayan bit her lips. Although she looked uncomfortable, she bowed her head and introduced herself.

“Hello, I am Jung Hayan.”

‘Well done, Hayan.’

“The young man looks more capable than I thought…”

“That’s exactly why I brought him here. My baby, I’ll explain more to you later on. Grandpa, how about a fight?”

“Sure. I have no intention of making the royal palace noisy, however. If you have time later, please come to me. Tsu. You never change.”

“I haven’t been able to get any exercise. By the way, are we the first ones to arrive?”

“No, unfortunately, you’re the second ones. Those from the Free City of Celia have been waiting for a long time.”

“Who?”

“Kasugano Yuno.”

“The shaman?”

“Yes, I don’t know why…”

“For a woman who always came late, this is a first…”

The two seemed very invested in their conversation. The old man Victor doesn’t seem to pay much attention here.

Actually, this was better.

Getting attention just for being the lover of the Mercenary Queen can make it annoying to move around.

As they continued to talk, Jung Hayan slipped by my side, seemingly excited.

I wanted to say something, but I was more interested in trying to hear what Victor and Cha Hee-ra were saying. The insignificant conversations of those in power proved to be very good information for people like me.

Kasugano Yuno?

Perhaps she was the person who ran a large guild in Japan. At least, it does not seem to be the Yamato guild, as Cha Hee-ra did not show much hostility. As I decided to store this information in my head, a woman in a modest outfit showed up.

‘Is she Japanese?’

No, she looked neat, not modest. Several people followed closely behind her, as if ready to assist her at any given time. After all, the woman herself was walking with her eyes closed. Her long, braided hair reached the ground, and the calm way she presented herself was very impressive.

[Check player Kasugano Yuno’s status window and potential.]

[An eye that sees through the essence and the past and future resists the ability.]

‘Sh*t…’

I instantly lowered my head. I had never expected to come across such a case.

However, the status window changed as soon as I felt scared about being caught red-handed in stealing information.

[Player Yuno Kasugano opens her status window and potential ability by herself.]

‘What is this?

[Check player Kasugano Yuno’s status window and potential.]

[Name-Yuno Kasugano]

[Title-Quiet Shaman]

[Age-20]

[ALIGNMENT-Fallen Seeker]

[Occupation-Shaman-Legendary Grade]

[Job Effect-Basic Magic Knowledge Acquisition]

[Job Effect-Intermediate Magic Knowledge Acquisition]

[Job Effect-Advanced Magic Knowledge Acquisition]

[Occupational Effects-Advanced Magic Knowledge Acquisition]

[Job Effect-Acquisition of Advanced Astrology Knowledge]

[Capacity]

[Strength - 13/Growth Limit: Less than normal]

[Agility-20/Growth Limit: Normal growth limit or less]

[Health - 17/Growth Limit: Less than normal]

[Intellect-89/Growth Limit: Heroic or higher]

[Durability-15/Growth Limit: Less than normal]

[Luck-00/Growth Limit: Legendary or higher]

[Magic-96/Growth Limit: Legendary or higher]

[Equipment-None]

[Talent-Essence and eyes that see through the past and future-Legendary grade]

[General review-This is a legendary shaman. She has a terrible level of strength, agility, stamina, and durability, but her luck, intelligence, and magical potential are high, so she has very good stats for the rear. Just because she has less than normal stats, please don’t think you are similar. She’s essentially a different kind of person from player Lee Kiyoung. It can be said that the efficiency of the legendary trait and her occupation is good, but her condition doesn’t look good because of contamination from something. I wouldn’t recommend being too close.]

Only

‘What…’

Legendary traits, legendary jobs, and legendary potential stats. She was the kind of person that could easily be classified as the strongest out of everyone.

It was the first time I had seen a person with such a high luck potential, yet I was very worried about her other stats.

Of course, what was more worrying than that was…

‘What…’

She was facing my direction, even with her eyes closed.

‘What?

Tears fell down those shut eyes.