Chapter 388. The Outbreak of War (2)

Though the sky was clear without a speck of cloud in sight, Shalyh had been bustling with activity for the past couple of days. It was because of the announcement that Ismile made not long ago. Three factions—the Demon Empire, Abyss, and the Sernitas had formed a coalition and were marching toward Shalyh. Shalyh fell into a great commotion upon receiving this news, but surprisingly, the heroes quickly took decisive actions. Perhaps it was because they had faced crises multiple times before; many of them responded as if only the expected was happening.

Of course, everyone knew that the situation was dire, and the heroes seemed more resigned than excited; but they knew that they had no other choice but to fight. Like how all of them walked onto the stage without hesitation regardless of Laguel’s warning, they had been prepared to die when they first entered Liber.

Of course, Ismile’s eloquence and haste helped settle the situation more quickly too. First, he made an appropriate explanation for the absence of the legend, whom everyone admired. He said that the Sernitas were originally planning to send an enormous army to Shalyh, but Chi-Hyun learned of the situation beforehand and jumped into the battlefield alone to stop them. That was the reason the Sernitas could only send a single troop. And with a little grandiose and extra details here and there, he raised all the heroes’ will to fight.

Furthermore, he also told the heroes that the Cassiubia League had promised to help humanity with all the strength that they could muster. Rather than dying alone, it would be much less lonely and bitter to have someone else to die with. And with news of the legend’s fighting and the Cassiubia League putting their fate on the line, Shalyh quickly regained its calm.

Though they all felt nervous at the thought of participating in a war where they were at a clear strategic disadvantage, they readied their hearts and prepared for war. This was the same for Chi-Woo. He was basically the one who made into reality the current situation. And although Chi-Woo had brought about the best scenario that one could possibly bring, the situation was starkly different from the last time their enemy tried to invade Shalyh.

The scale of the last invasion attempt didn’t even begin to compare to the enemy coalition this time. Furthermore, in the last war, they had basically entered the battle after having already won it. Yet it was the opposite this time, and they would’ve entered a losing battle if it hadn’t been for Chi-Woo’s intervention. Even now, anyone could tell that the three-faction coalition had the upper hand, while humanity and the Cassiubia League had the lower hand. If people had to bet money on who would win, eight or all ten out of ten would bet on the coalition. If they had to bet on their lives instead of money, ten out of ten would choose the coalition.

Even Chi-Woo didn’t feel certain of their victory. Yet he felt a bit expectant. The greater their ordeal, the greater joy they would feel after overcoming it. Even if they ended up wounded or shedding a lot of blood, Chi-Woo couldn’t help but look forward to what would happen after they overcame this hurdle. The more his enemies put on the line, the higher their returns would be.

If Chi-Hyun had been by him, he would’ve told Chi-Woo to not count his eggs before they hatch. But Chi-Woo thought after all his suffering, he had to win this war no matter what. And with that determination in mind, he spent many busy days making preparations. It was during this time, one person came to visit the Seven Stars.

***

The Kobalos’ elder visited the Seven Stars. He was a long-awaited guest, and Chi-Woo welcomed the guest with open arms. Yet the elder didn’t look as joyful. Instead, he looked a bit anxious and worried. Before, Chi-Woo had tried hard to get on the Kobolas tribe’s good side, which was the reason he had given the Kobalos first priority in getting the AI Armor when their supplies were still insufficient. Eval didn’t know his reason, but he followed Chi-Woo’s orders obediently thinking there must be a good cause. And thanks to it, the Kobolas tribe was able to enjoy several privileges the Seven Stars provided them, but they didn’t feel too good about it.

They knew that there were no favors given without strings attached. Thus, they tried to avoid a meeting with Seven Stars’ leader as much as possible, but in the end, they could no longer keep turning away and ended up put in this spot.

“Thank you for looking after insignificant beings like us. As the representative of the Kobalos’ tribe, I express to you our sincere gratitude.” And after finishing his formal greeting, the elder continued, “If you don’t mind, I would like to speak bluntly.” The elder spoke very carefully because of how uncomfortable the situation was.

“Is it our treasure, the magic fire pit, that you want, sir?” If it weren’t for the fire pit, there was no way that they would attract the interest of an influential figure like the Seven Stars leader. Chi-Woo was a bit surprised by the elder’s forwardness, but in the end, he nodded. It seemed like the Kobalos had already guessed what was going on, and he had no need to hide his intention. He didn’t want to keep hiding it either.

“Yes, it is as you say, sir. If that makes you uncomfortable, I apologize in advance.”

“It’s fine. We’re just curious about the reason you would want our fire pit.”

“It has a function that I desperately need, but it’s mainly because I think it would prove to be quite useful in the upcoming war.”

“Useful…in the upcoming war…” The Kobalos’ elder carefully repeated Chi-Woo’s words. He stroked his beard for a while wordlessly and asked in a low voice, “So that must mean you want to rent it for some time instead of using it only once or twice.”

“That’s certainly the case… To be honest, I can’t promise you that we’ll be able to return it to you in one piece.”

The Kobalos’ elder closed his eyes. Chi-Woo made a bitter smile. He had expected the Kobalos to be baffled to hear what he wanted. Not only was he asking for his tribe’s lifeline, Chi-Woo just admitted that they might not be able to return the item fully functional. Chi-Woo would have no room to protest even if the elder called him tyrannical or selfish.

Still, Chi-Woo believed there were no other options. They needed the Kobalos’ magic fire pit in preparation for the upcoming war. They had to have it. But Chi-Woo wasn’t the kind of person to forcefully take the item either, and he knew that would only lead to further troubles down the road.

“…There’s one thing I’m curious about.” After some time, the Kobalos’ elder opened his eyes. “I am going to ask you a question. Can I expect you to answer with complete honesty?”

“Of course. I swear on Goddess La Bella’s name that I'll only tell the truth.”

“I didn’t expect you to go that far, but that’s fine. It happened some time ago. We were unable to secure our fire pit while moving from the Cassiubia Mountain Range to this city. After coming to Shalyh, we managed to find it again after requesting a hero for help, but the fire pit returned to us was not in good shape.”

Chi-Woo flinched. The fire pit had lost its functions because of the rescue team who went to save Yunael. They didn’t expect to consume so much of its energy in the exchange process.

“Because it was so thoroughly damaged, my tribe and I thought there would be no way to restore it…yet it was suddenly returned to its original state one day, completely out of the blue.” A glint passed through Chi-Woo’s eyes. “So, let me ask you this. Is it you who is behind the recovery of the fire pit?”

“Before I answer your question, can you tell me why you think it’s me?”

“I never said we were certain you were behind it. It’s just that I thought it could be you after hearing what you said.”

“And if it was me…”

“If it isn’t something I can’t understand, there’s no other explanation than a god’s will was carried out.” Though the elder gave a vague answer, Chi-Woo nodded readily.

“Yes, it was me, although I didn’t intend for it to happen.” It wasn’t a lie. Before he went to the past, Chi-Woo had thrown the World’s Milestone multiple times and, in that process, the Kobalos’ magic fire pit was suddenly restored as one of the results. He had quickly dropped the matter to throw the die again at that time; he didn’t realize it would come up again like this.

The Kobalos’ elder looked intently at Chi-Woo for a bit and let out a deep sigh. He confirmed that his addressee was speaking the truth. An oath a hero made in the name of their god was not to be taken lightly. Thus, if this man had been lying, his god would have already laid down her punishment against the hero. Yet Chi-Woo was completely fine, meaning that he was speaking the truth.

“To think you didn’t even intend it… I have nothing more to say,” the Kobalos ’elder lamented and hung his head.

It was too much of a coincidence. Though Chi-Woo didn’t intend it, it was strange that everything fit perfectly into place. It was such an astonishing series of events that it made him wonder if the fire pit was trying to leave and come to Seven Stars of its own accord so that it could be used for a greater purpose.

Chi-Woo chewed on his lip as he watched the Kobalos’ elder sigh. Considering the mood, it seemed the elder was planning to hand over the fire pit. Yet it left a bitter taste in Chi-Woo’s mouth because it felt as if the elder was giving away the pot not willingly, but because he had no other choice. Chi-Woo didn’t feel good about that.

“I’m not saying that we want it for free. If I could, I would pay the maximum price for it.”

“…I thank you for that thought, but the price we want will probably surpass the maximum you can afford.”

“Who knows? It could be within our limit,” Chi-Woo encouraged the elder to at least name the price, and the elder laughed humorlessly. Then he pulled up his sleeve and extended his arm. There was a deep purplish symbol on his tree branch-like forearm.

“Do you know about the misfortunate tribe whose fate was to be hated since birth?”

Chi-Woo nodded in response to the unexpected question.

“I heard a little about it.” He remembered what Dulia had told him when they went to save Yunael. It was the Kobalos tribe’s open secret. Some god cast a powerful curse on the Kobalos’ tribe, and the tribe had to go through all sorts of suffering and humiliation until they were destined for extinction. After wandering across the world listlessly, they were able to make a contract with a god and escape complete doom; yet the powerful curse remained and was still ongoing.

“I wish for our success in this war more than anyone else. It’s because I know we will only survive if we win,” the elder continued, “But if we hand over the fire pit, our survival will be threatened again. Then, we will be doomed whether we win this war or not. That truth makes me despair more than anything.”

Chi-Woo understood what the elder was saying, and a solution came to mind. Fortunately, it wasn’t a very difficult task to do.

“Then, you can find a new god and serve them,” Chi-Woo said.

“If only we could do that…” the elder trailed off. Chi-Woo then excused himself and closed his eyes. It was so that he could visit La Bella. After some time, Chi-Woo opened his eyes, a little taken aback. He had asked La Bella if she could take in the Kobalos tribe, but she refused immediately. She said it wasn’t that she didn’t want to do it, but she couldn’t. The curse that the ancient god had placed on the Kobalos tribe was too powerful and ancient that even she couldn’t do anything about it at the moment.

“It’s not like we didn’t try to make things right this whole time either,” the Kobalos elder smiled sadly as if he hadn’t expected anything to change anyways. “When we moved to the Cassiubia Mountain Range, we sought every god we could find, and we did the same at Shalyh. Every time a new god was found, we went to them and asked for help…but not one of them could take us in.” If the Kobalos tribe’s problem could be fixed with a solution that anyone could think of, the tribe wouldn’t have suffered for so long. But it was still surprising that even La Bella couldn’t do anything about it.

“I will give you the fire pit if you want it. I don’t think we can prevent it in the current situation.” The elder’s voice sounded half-resigned. The only choice he had right now was to depend on Chi-Woo’s mercy. Chi-Woo let out a deep sigh. He didn’t think he would have to go so far, but it seemed he had to.

“I was planning to introduce you to a new god…but that doesn’t really seem to be an option,” Chi-Woo said. “So, how about this?”

The elder’s body flinched.

“How about erasing the curse on the Kobalos tribe altogether?”

The elder thought he heard wrong. If it had been possible to remove the curse, he would’ve done that ages ago. But even a god couldn’t do anything about the curse but tweak a small part of it. Thus, how could Chi-Woo propose to erase a curse that has been passed down since the Age of the Gods? Something that no god could do?

“Are you making fun of me?” the elder asked, and Chi-Woo shook his head. There was no need to explain everything since he could just demonstrate it.

“Asha!” Chi-Woo called out, and soon afterward, the door burst open. A jelly-like thing bounced into the room.

“Could you perhaps activate Deterrence and erase this curse?” Chi-Woo pointed at the symbol on the elder’s forearm and asked. Asha tilted their head, and what happened after that was very simple.

With user Asha’s will, Innate ability Blessed Luck 5 points consumed (80 → 75)

Activating ‘Deterrence’ against Kobalos tribe’s curse.

Not long after this message floated into the sky, the Kobalos tribe’s elder’s eyes opened so wide that the corners looked ready to rip.

“W-w-w-wha….!” The purplish symbol on his forearm faded until it was completely wiped away.

“Haaaaa!”

When Chi-Woo confirmed that the mark was gone, his lips curved into a satisfied smile. Usually, he would’ve had to suffer all sorts of hardships to solve this problem, but he needn’t worry about that after awakening Asha as part of the World. The Kobalos’ elder looked shocked beyond belief and didn’t move for a while. Then, he rubbed his forearm madly and looked back and forth between his and Chi-Woo’s arm. The symbol that the Kobalos had been unable to erase no matter what they did disappeared without a trace. The curse that tormented the Kobalos for so long was gone.

“Uh…uh…” The elder was too stunned to speak. Then he collapsed onto the ground like his legs had given out.

“It’s simple,” Chi-Woo smiled brightly as the elder looked at him speechlessly.

“Even though a god was behind your curse, they are still nothing more than an existence that had been created through the World’s will and a part of Liber. Even Liber’s main god, Elephthalia, would be no exception.”

Elephthalia called the World mother. In other words, the World was above a god.

“No matter how powerful a god’s curse is, they are all equal in the face of the World’s will.”

Though the elder got what Chi-Woo was saying, he couldn’t accept it easily.

“Then…what are you…?”

“Excuse me?”

“Who could you be…you who controls the World’s will however you want, when the World’s will is above all gods on Liber?” The elder asked in a trembling voice, and Chi-Woo’s eyes widened.

“Uh…well…you can just call me Chi-Woo,” Chi-Woo responded while scratching his head, and the Kobalos’ elder looked even more astounded. What he was asking for wasn’t Chi-Woo’s name, but Chi-Woo simply shrugged and crossed his fingers.

“Anyway, how about it now?” Chi-Woo glanced at the elder’s now mark-free forearm and asked, “Do you think you can lend us the fire pit?”

The elder didn’t answer and simply sat in a daze for a while. Then, he suddenly got up and whirled around. Chi-Woo blinked rapidly seeing the elder kick the door open and run out. The elder came back not long later. He still looked bedazzled and stunned, and his eyes were all red like he had cried a good deal. It seemed that he had gone to see his tribemates. Of course, he didn’t return empty-handed and was holding the magic firepot with both hands.

“We will never forget the miracle you’ve shown us today, nor the mercy and grace you granted us,” The elder sounded extremely grateful. “You saved our tribe’s future. Since our future has been promised to us, we no longer have any reason to hesitate or fear.” Then, the elder said that they would offer their lives to Chi-Woo with a deferential bow and handed the fire pit over.

As soon as he received the fire pit, Chi-Woo felt the burden of preparing for the war lessened a little bit. The upcoming war wouldn’t be easy by any means, and they would certainly face many crises and hardships one after another. But for some unknown reason, Chi-Woo got a strong feeling that this fire pit would surely mitigate at least one of these many hardships that would come their way. And because Chi-Woo was too focused on the fire pit, he didn’t realize that the Kobalos tribe’s elder had gotten a bit taller after the disappearance of his curse. Furthermore, his face no longer looked like that of a hideous monster, but more like a human’s. Little did Chi-Woo realize that he had received something greater than even this firepit today.