Chapter 77.1 – Unexpected Encounter (1/2)
This is the longest chapter up to date, as it’s twice the length of a normal chapter, so I split it in half again.
Terms used in this chapter:
Female sage – Also known as Taoist fairy, female immortal, and angel/fairy but in the Korean traditional style. I’ll use ‘female sage’ to differentiate it from the fairies and fairy queens of the series.
Multi-class – It means having multiple classes or jobs in games.
Gaël and Adelia tried to leave for the Gentle Snow Breeze village, but things didn’t go as planned.
Because the terrain of the wild lands could be compared with the vast ocean.
“Even if there’s a map, outsiders are likely to get lost. Please wait a little longer. I will send messengers to the Gentle Snow Breeze tribe, so go with them…yes.”
Violent Avalanche said, tapping its stomach as it leaned its body in a comfortable-looking leather chair.
Next to Violent Avalanche was Red Gale, the chieftain of the Great Storm tribe.
“Jude and Cordelia. Our benefactors and friends. You, their brothers and sisters, are also our friends. So we’ll help. But wait.”
When Red Gale awkwardly spoke in the continent’s language, Adelia frowned and looked back at Gaël, and he appeased Adelia with a smile as they couldn’t help it.
“Red Gale, can you tell us when the messengers will leave?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“I understand. We will wait until tomorrow morning then.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Gaël responded with a smile to Red Gale before he left with Adelia, who still had a slightly dissatisfied expression on her face.
“Lord Gaël, would it be all right?”
“I’m also very worried…but one way or another, this is the land of the barbarians. We know little of this place, so it would be nice to receive their help. We’ll arrive there sooner if we’re with them.”
“Eh…it would be nice if we could leave this afternoon.”
“They’re already doing us a favor. At this point, it would be better if we concede and let them be.”
Gaël gently spoke again, and Adelia nodded her head.
It was quite strange. If her aide, Oron, or her fellow Magic Corps head, Catan, had said something like that, she would have opposed it.
But when Gaël spoke, she felt like following him.
“For now, let’s go to our tent and relieve our fatigue from travel. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? I’ll brew you some tea that’s good for recovery from fatigue.”
“Yes, Lord Gaël.”
Adelia replied with a broad smile unconsciously but was soon embarrassed, and Gaël who saw Adelia’s bright smile for the first time was also embarrassed.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
‘Beau…tiful.’
And then.
Violent Avalanche clicked its tongue after it saw Gaël and Adelia came to a halt outside the door because of their embarrassment.
“They’re just alike. They’re similar.”
Violent Avalanche clicked its tongue again as it remembered the crazy couple.
The siblings resembled each other as Violent Avalanche expected.
***
In a place where the white snowfield spread out endlessly…
Cordelia was sending Jude a gaze that resembled Violent Avalanche rather than Adelia.
“Sometimes, I don’t know if you’re smart or stupid.”
“Huhu…”
Jude and Cordelia were trudging along the snowfield.
Rather than specifically going somewhere, they were moving to find a place to rest for the day.
“This is really tough, so tough.”
The reason for her criticism was simple.
Because Jude, who used the Black Wind’s Advent while carrying Cordelia, was too excited.
As he focused only on running, they went off their initial route for a long time, and their problem now was that they weren’t sure how far off they were from the original route.
Even if he had a compass and map, the scale of the map wasn’t accurate in the first place, so they couldn’t find their way back easily.
Fortunately, constellations appeared at night, and how to use the constellations to go to Raptor Canyon was a fact that he learned from the Gentle Snow Breeze tribe.
‘If you go straight in the direction of the Big Axe, you’ll eventually find it.’
It was the teaching of Fine Snow.
“But Jude.”
“Stop blaming me, please.”
“It’s not that. It’s just because I suddenly have a question.”
“What is it?”
When Jude turned around and asked, Cordelia naturally stretched her arms forward.
Jude’s eyes narrowed at once, since he knew what that posture meant.
“Hey, you said you have a question.”
“My legs hurt too.”
“My princess, haven’t you been walking less on your own feet lately?”
“But I have a Daddy who became stronger from leveling up.”
“My princess should be independent too. Until when will you be carried in your Daddy’s arms?”
“Then Cordelia will be a kangaroo.”
“…I’m not even your real dad, but I feel terrible. I suddenly miss father-in-law.”
T/N: Jude is calling Count Chase as father-in-law even if he’s still not married to Cordelia. Don’t ask me why…that’s just how it was written in the series. I’m not sure if Koreans call their future wife’s father as father-in-law already if they’re still engaged.
“Anyway, just give me a piggyback ride. Good job getting lost, this is your blunder, right?”
“It is.”
“Then quickly.”
Jude eventually handed the backpack to Cordelia, and Cordelia carried the backpack before she got on Jude’s back.
“So what are you curious about?”
When Jude asked as he adjusted Cordelia’s position, she grabbed his shoulder and said.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to lift me up if I added a handle here?”
“Hey, were you really curious about something?”
“Yes, I am. First of all, the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors. You said you saw a female sage?”
“I saw one.”
It was the woman that he saw in that world in his mind.
Jude was able to learn two skills from her, the Black Dragon’s Ascent, and the Black Wind’s Advent.
“Will the female sage appear and teach you new skills whenever you open a door in the future?”
“Perhaps?”
“Good, good. You finally have a proper skill/tech tree. I like it.”
Unlike Cordelia whose chosen skill tree lets her instantly learn new magic after leveling up, Jude’s growth route had been somewhat vague so far.
“I feel more certain now.”
Every time he raised the level of Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors, he would be able to learn new martial arts.
His existing martial arts would also be strengthened.
“But Jude. Did Landius not tell you this?”
“Master…maybe he didn’t see her.”
“The female sage?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Because the female sage hates macho men?”
“You don’t truly mean that, right?”
“No. Is it because of Cheonmujiche then?”
“Maybe.”
Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors was a divine skill that only those with Cheonmujiche can fully master it.
Therefore, Landius could not fully learn the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors even though he awakened the power of giants through the Ancestral Regression technique.
‘He was able to reach the seventh door because he awakened the power of the giants.’
When he opened the third door at that time, Jude realized it.
Even though Jude had Cheonmujiche, his body needed to be stronger in order to open a new door.
That need became higher as new doors were opened, so someone who didn’t have Cheonmujiche would need a far more powerful body in order to learn Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors.
‘When I think about it, he’s really amazing.’
It meant that he opened up to the seventh door through force.
It had indeed become possible for him because of the support of his tremendous physical abilities.
‘It must be the reason why he talked about muscle loss.’
Without those colossal muscles, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors.
“Hohoho, but my Jude has Cheonmujiche. Good, good. I like it.”
Cordelia happily laughed and said as she ruffled Jude’s hair.
“But Jude.”
“Yes.”