Chapter 389: The Time He Waited and Took (2)

The sky and earth met, facing each other from opposite ends. Both longed for something by their side, so the sky and earth each forged a sword. This time, they had each other, so they didn’t need to cut themselves.

The sky struck his sword down toward the earth, and the earth raised his sword upward. Hundreds of strikes and parries were exchanged. From the wide gaps in the sky, wind poured out, while water gushed from the grand fissures in the earth.

The sky’s fragments were frozen in various moments: spring, summer, autumn, winter, polar night, white night, new moon, and full moon, while the cracked earth formed dozens of continents and tens of thousands of islands, each with their own unique ecosystem.

In honor of the birth of the climate, the sea, the seasons, and life, people named the moment of the second strike the Moon of Sword.

***

An unexpected commotion erupted at Cafe Planetarium, the brunch cafe serving as the Lion Realm’s midway base. A thug with a Mohawk roughly grabbed the wrist of a fragile-looking woman. His tongue, which had a small, glinting piercing at the tip, flicked endlessly.

“

Hehehehehe

, climb the Tower with me, lady~”

The woman, who was wearing glasses, shrank back in fear, her shoulders hunched. “P-please stop...”

The thug laughed. He was relentless. “Don’t be like that. Let’s climb the Tower together~ Don’t just stay here~ Be more ambitious~ Let’s reach the hundredth floor with a strong will to become better.

Mwahahaha~

”

“

Ugh..

. S-someone, please help me..."

Like a worker facing a boss who had assigned an unfair amount of workload, the woman sniffled and cried for help. Tragically, it seemed that no one in this Tower tried to help her. That injustice sparked a rage within a particular young woman, who had just been trying to eat in peace.

“

Phew...

Really? The world will never let me eat in peace.” The young woman, who had been eating with her trowel at her waist, stood up.

What was there to hide? She was the head steward of the Death King Clan, and her power could shake heaven and earth. If she stepped forward, the thug would clearly be unable to withstand a single strike from her. In the end, however, the young woman didn’t have to draw her trowel.

“Stop, Lady Head Steward of the Death King Clan.”

Voices echoed behind the young woman. After all, true justice existed in this world.

“

Hm?

You’re...”

“We’ll handle this.”

The men who stopped her were wearing white martial arts uniforms with a large hanja for “heaven” on their backs.

“Your beautiful hands aren’t meant to deal with such feeble scumbags, don’t you think so?” the man leading the group asked.

The young woman sat down and raised an eyebrow. “

Hmm.

Fine, I’ll leave it to you. I want to have my seafood cream pasta.”

The men in the white martial arts uniforms chuckled and crossed their arms in unison.

“

Hmph...

Understood.”

“That guy is a street thug causing trouble.”

“Stopping guys like him is our job.”

The men stood up and walked away from the young woman. Only one of them had their hood pulled low and said nothing, but they all walked toward the Mohican thug. Their clothes were plain, yet they walked like the elephants once found on the Serengeti grassland.

“

Oi, oi.

That’s enough.”

“

Huh?

What? Who are you?” the Mohican thug asked, baring his teeth.

The man leading the group looked up with a complicated expression that said, “

Oh,

dear. I guess there’s no other choice.”

The Mohican thug grinned. “What? You seemed bold, but you’re just another pretty boy.”

That was right. The leader looked more like a boy than a man. Any onlooker would worry about the boy if he got into a fight with this thug, yet the boy wore a smile that could charm any girl.

The boy said, “My name is Gahaeil.”

“What?”

“As the former heir to the True Heavenly Sword Sect of the Righteous Path, I held the title of Sun-Shooting Sword in

murim

. In the end, I decided to join the OJP Sect. My title is Haruto.” He snapped his fingers. “I’ll leave the rest of my introduction to this. Unlock my Hunter Card.”

Swish.

A card-shaped light glowed in the air.

“

Huh?

A Hunter Card? You’re just a boy, so your Hunter Class would be—

Gyaaaah!

This rank is...!”

The Mohican Hunter yelped. Of course he panicked when he examined the card. What was there to hide? Could anything truly be concealed? The average Hunter Class among the men in martial arts uniform was B. Haruto, who had shown his Hunter Card, was actually—

“C-Class A Hunter?!”

The term “Hunter” referred to those who climbed the Tower, and these men could be considered some of the strongest in this Tower. Moreover, they were highly regarded even within the OJP Sect, one of the Five Guilds. Their power level was quite clear.

The Mohican Hunter dropped to his knees and prostrated. “I-I’m sorry for not recognizing you sooner!”

Looking down at this sad man, Haruto wore a plaintive face and—

“This is very annoying to watch. Can you please drop this bullshit?”

Haruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Why, Junior? You interrupted at the best moment...”

The man in the martial arts uniform who had his hood up pulled it down. Not only that, he flung his hoodie away. “The best moment, my ass! All of this is just a shitshow! All of you, Haruto, or whatever your name is!

Ah,

all of you are just a bunch of cringey sons of bitches!”

The handsome man who had flung his hoodie away had a jet-black ponytail.

Haruto was flustered. “Wait, Junior Yoo Soo-Ha, you shouldn’t...”

“I shouldn’t...? Shouldn’t do what? I think that

you

shouldn’t exist!”

“What did we—”

“What? Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I mean—”

Haruto only said “Wait” or “I mean—” over and over. It looked like a jock bullying a nerd. Perhaps because this was considered normal around here, none of Cafe Planetarium’s guests or staff joined in the commotion. The chief steward of the Death King Clan and the two other clan vassals, who had finished their meal, were nowhere to be seen, probably because they had returned to their holy ground.

Yoo Soo-Ha pointed at two people seated at a nearby table to vent his frustration. “You’re all the same! What are you sitting there for?!”

An elderly man and a boy were sitting where he was pointing, cupping their chins like tulips as they watched everything unfold.

“You know what? When you first see Surströmming, you might wonder why that kind of food exists, but once you try it, you’ll understand the exquisite taste,” the boy[1] said.

The elderly man[2] added, “

Hmph

. Why would I intervene? At my age, watching things like this is entertaining.”

“You’re harsh! That’s why people call you an old water flea!” the woman in glasses, who had been harassed by the Mohican thug, snapped at the elderly man.

The elderly man, however, flew into a rage. “What are you even doing? You’re now the Master Alchemist of the Alchemist Office Master, but you’re now here acting as if that street thug actually intimidates you! What kind of roleplaying is this?!”

This remark startled the Mohican thug even more. The woman, the Master Alchemist, pointed at the thug and protested her innocence.

“R-roleplaying?! Look at his face! He’s terrifying!”

“

Please

, you

are

the walking terror! Do you know how much your student complains to me whenever he gets the chance? ‘Teacher is too scary. When I go back, my teacher will scold me again. Professor McCalister, please tutor me just a little more...’ and so on.”

“What?” The Master Alchemist adjusted her glasses firmly with her thin fingers.

This brunch cafe, Cafe Planetarium, was made from the Great Library of All Life. The great library gathered fragments of many worlds under the name of apocalyptic books, so the cafe drew in the essence of many worlds from just beyond a thin sheet of paper.

Perhaps because of this, even though the ambiance of any place was usually decided by how people at that place behaved and what they said, the ambiance of Cafe Planetarium changed drastically every time there was a commotion.

When the Mohican thug was being loud, the cafe felt like a cheap bar. After the OJP Sect members showed up, it gained a bizarre edge for some reason. Yoo Soo-Ha’s yelling almost caused a conflict to break out, while the Master Alchemist’s simple gesture just now brought a winter night in the cafe.

“

Ahaaaaaaa

, so that is how it is. I see... How should I scold my rude student? I suppose I should head back first...”

Feeling a strong sense of duty, the Master Alchemist stepped outside the cafe. The boy stared at the elderly man.

“What?” the elderly man asked.

“Don’t you feel sorry for Miss Chemist’s student?”

“No one told him to become her student. That’s his fault.”

The boy nodded. “You know what? I’m starting to like your character[3]...”

The elderly man snorted. Meanwhile, the Mohican Hunter slipped away, almost crawling on the floor.

Yoo Soo-Ha, who had watched it all, held his forehead with his palms. “All of you are nuts...”

The OJP Sect members, dispirited, looked at Yoo Soo-Ha, feeling as if they were walking on eggshells around him. That only poured oil on his anger since they were still his seniors.

Yoo Soo-Ha pounded his chest in frustration. “

Ah

, seriously. Gong-Ja, you bastard! Do you see this? Do you?! This is the world you created!”

“It doesn’t seem like a bad world...”

“Senior, please shut it before I do it for you. You have three seconds. One, two, three...”

Haruto closed his mouth.

Seeing this, Yoo Soo-Ha’s anger rose again. He took a deep breath before exhaling. “I shouldn’t have let him go when he suddenly started dancing the hopak... I should have made him dance more and put him in a dark space where no one can see him so he can dance there alone forever...”

[The Void-Dancing God expresses serious concern and mild regret.]

Yoo Soo-Ha couldn’t hear the Tower’s words. He pulled his hood down, walked to the elderly man, and said, “Hey, old man... Pack me some food."

“What kind?”

“

Ah

, the usual. You know what the other old man in my sect likes. What was it? Risotto? Yeah, that one.”

“You really show no respect to your elders... You’re just like me when I was young.

Ugh.

”

The elderly man took the order and skillfully lit the stove. Then he took out some water bottles, which was way better than Avian, and began to cook.

Watching this, Yoo Soo-Ha turned back to his seniors. “Hey, what are you guys doing? Hurry and get ready to go up. Lunch break is almost over, you know?”

“But we haven’t even finished eating yet...”

“Then eat while you walk! Act like seniors for once!”

“But...”

Despite their flustered looks, they were still the Righteous Path’s elites. They held their bowls and chopsticks and finished their meal without difficulty.

Yoo Soo-Ha glanced back at the elderly man. “And... you know, my sect’s old man wants you to take a break and come visit sometime. Bring Sword Star, too.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? I guess he misses you guys because you’re all old. Why don’t you go play Go with him or something?”

“That Buwolseon...”

Though he complained, the elderly man finished cooking with a somewhat satisfied look. Yoo Soo-Ha took the packed food and turned to his seniors.

“Let’s go.”

The OJP Sect members laughed softly as they gathered their bowls and chopsticks.

“Right, Junior.”

“Let’s return to our castle.”

“To the peak of the Righteous Path, the OJP Martial Alliance—”

Yoo Soo-Ha sighed. “Kim Gong-Ja, if you’re really a god, please realize your grave sin by now...”

From somewhere, the Tower’s voice rang out again.

[One of the Nine Keys has been forged.]

[All the apostles you recruited have offered you their heartfelt prayers.]

[The ninety-second floor has been cleared!]

Once again, Yoo Soo-Ha couldn’t hear the Tower’s announcements. He just uttered curses and complaints before leading his seniors out of the cafe. Behind them, someone who heard the Tower’s voice followed.

[Entering the ninety-third floor.]

1. Hamustra. ☜

2. The Medicine King. ☜

3. Hamustra is saying that he likes the Medicine King’s personality while also seeing him as if he’s a fictional character in a story. ☜