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The Sorcerer (2)
“Ah! It was your energy earlier, right? Phew. That was close. I almost ended this 300-year-old life just because I didn’t recognize a Transcendent. Why don’t you show it?”
Kim Bongpal’s expression grew dim. It was partly because of Maya’s gibberish but also because there were a few things that were difficult to just ignore.
“What is a Transcendent? Tell me a little more. About my body, and what is this monster you mentioned earlier?”
This was the second time someone brought up his body, and they both had something in common. First, they used a power that seemed too strange to describe as black magic or sorcery. That was clear with Callinan, who was very different from Johan. While he wasn’t weak, he wasn’t nearly as suspicious as Johan.
Kim Bongpal believed in his own senses. He had benefited from his hunches several times in his life. And now, according to that sense, Johan and Maya were more suspicious than they seemed.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about the monster. Unlike you, that monster couldn’t cross over properly
huh?”
Maya blinked and looked at Kim Bongpal. For a moment, her eyes widened vertically and returned to normal.
“No, you didn’t cross over it either. No, can’t you? Anyway, I was right the first time I saw it.”
This conversation was going in circles just like it had with Johan. But just as he thought so, Maya continued.
“Your body transcends human beings. At first, I thought you were simply full of energy, but now I see it. You
that’s it. Your body transcends humanity, but you’re not in that state yet. I don’t know how you can do that, but
anyway, that’s it.”
“Transcend? Does it have anything to do with crossing the wall you mentioned earlier?”
“It’s similar. Except for God, there are limits that all beings face. Whatever great talent you are born with, no matter how great a genius, the moment you face limitations to overcome your existence will occur without exception. We call it a wall. Is it different in your world?”
“
”
Kim Bongpal didn’t say anything. He was now organizing his thoughts.
If there was anything special about him, who was just a hunter who used a sword, he had a terrifying amount of money left on Earth and was born with a strange special ability called Longevity. Then, what Maya was talking about was probably related to his special ability. The special ability that Kim Bongpal complained about all his life.
He thought he simply didn’t grow old and lived a long time, but there was some hidden secret that he couldn’t ignore.
“Just like me, supernatural beings and Inhumans are a little different, but humans undergo physical changes when you cross the wall. Those who master martial arts are specialized in physical changes. Those who master Zen become legendary hermits, and those who learn magic create a body made wholly of mana. Why? It’s similar to talking about skeletal metamorphosis. Of course, you can’t fully compare it to those lowly things.”
“
And has my body already undergone such changes?”
“Right! You understand it quickly! Is it because I’m good at teaching? Heehee.”
She was an unpredictable opponent. She said she was a supernatural being who lived for more than 300 years, but looking at the way she talked, Kim Bongpal wondered if her mental age was less than one-twentieth of that.
Anyway. As Maya said, it wasn’t difficult to understand. Thanks to this, many problems that arose from his first meeting with Johan were resolved. His special ability, which he thought was useless, was much better than he thought.
Kim Bongpal felt that conclusion was enough.
“And what did you mean earlier? About the monster in the heart of the Evil Alliance?”
“Right! There is the Monstrous Immortal in Evil Alliance right now!”
“Monstrous Immortal?”
“Yeah! That crazy old man! A madman who forcibly opened the wall he couldn’t cross and drains other people’s blood!”
Monstrous Immortal. Combining what they discussed earlier, he must be halfway across the wall, and now he was at the heart of the Evil Alliance. Then, when he saw Kim Bongpal, he would somehow try to absorb his body. That was fine so far.
However.
“
And you said I was going to die to that bastard?”
“Yes! I was confused before, but now I see it.”
He didn’t like that certainty she spoke with. Of course, Kim Bongpal didn’t think of himself as the strongest in the world, but he never felt envious of anyone stronger than him. Still, he was proud of his strength and satisfied with it.
Kim Bongpal boosted his mana beyond what he showed Maya earlier. She startled.
“W-why! I told you everything!”
Kim Bongpal didn’t boost his mana to threaten Maya, but out of curiosity if it might change her opinion.
“How do I compare to that freak right now?”
“How many times do I tell you? No matter how strong you are, you can’t beat those who cross the wall. You’re dead. Even if he crossed the wall by unusual means, he still crossed it.”
Kim Bongpal wasn’t overconfident in his own strength. It wasn’t that he didn’t expect there would be people stronger than him in the Shire.
“It sucks.”
Nevertheless, it felt shitty that Maya said that he was obviously going to die.
“Whew. Great. That old man is stronger than me. Okay. I got it.”
Kim Bongpal blew those worries away with one sigh.
“Didn’t you say that the kid I was looking for is in the Celestial Demon Cult?”
“Yes! But you can’t go through the Evil Alliance! If you do, you will die, and I won’t be able to get my magic tool back!”
“Is this so precious?”
Kim Bongpal asked, shaking the compass back and forth. Maya’s gaze followed his hand.
“Of course! Do you know how precious it is? This great Arch Sorcerer Maya has had it since her birth!”
“And you are going to get it back no matter what?”
“Yes!”
“Then you find a way.”
“What?”
“Because I have to go no matter what. I want you to find a way to the Celestial Demon Cult’s territory so I don’t get caught by this crazy old man. Didn’t you say you were a skilled Sorcerer?”
Maya’s expression changed. At first, she seemed angry, but then she fell deep into thought. Finally, she nodded.
“All right. But there are conditions. First of all, I have to accompany you.”
“You?”
“The Monstrous Immortal isn’t just a strong old man. The way he handles spells is also bizarre. It’s impossible to hide from him without a great Arch Sorcerer like me.”
“
Great?”
Maya glared at Kim Bongpal’s self-talk.
“Then let’s do it. Is that all?”
“No! You have to guarantee my safety too. If I leave this city
well, some annoying guys are going to chase me. But if it’s you, it’ll be easy to deal with them. Protect me.”
“You
you said you were an Arch Sorcerer, but you must be weaker than I thought, huh?”
“Power isn’t everything in sorcery! And do you know how weak a sorcerer outside their domain is? I used to be so strong that I didn’t care about that! I’m weak now, but
.”
Saying so, Maya complained with a suddenly depressed look. Kim Bongpal ignored her and said.
“All right, I’ll meet all those conditions. Let’s start right away.”
“Wait!”
“
?”
“Last condition!”
“What?”
“Your blood. Can’t I just try it once? Hehe.”
* * *
When he first entered the city, Kim Bongpal rode on the Phantom Horse, but now the two of them were leaving the city together.
“That’s mean.”
Kim Bongpal, and one talkative supernatural being.
“You even ride a nice horse
I still feel bad about your blood.”
Maya kept blabbering as they walked. Of course, Kim Bongpal completely ignored her.
“If it had been in the old days, I wouldn’t have coveted human blood. No. Was your blood different? Nope! This great Maya still has her pride!”
In fact, although he had only met Maya a few hours ago, Kim Bongpal knew quite a bit about her. First of all, she was talkative, and that was pretty much all of it.
“Aah! The kid, oh my bad! I mean Shi Wu-yuan! He borrowed the compass in exchange for Spirit Beast’s blood. Then Shi Wu-yuan died, and the compass was stolen. Sob.”
And all, no, just most of the things she spoke about were stuff that didn’t need to be answered. Therefore, Kim Bongpal focused on re-reading martial arts books. Still, she wasn’t a useless conversation partner.
Maybe it was because she had lived in Moorim, but Maya had some knowledge of martial arts. In particular, she was of great help in interpreting some of the commonsense topics, such as the five elements and Yin and Yang. With her help, Kim Bongpal learned how to use the Black Shot Energy Technique. Its power was poor, but it was still enough to shake a branch a few meters away. If anyone else had seen this change, they would have been shocked, but neither Kim Bongpal nor Maya, who had only really met top Masters, felt it strange.
It was then.
Tap-
Kim Bongpal stopped the Phantom Horse.
“This is good enough.”
“Uhm?”
Kim Bongpal felt a group chasing after them when they left the city. They hadn’t lagged behind, so they must have a similar method of transport.
Kim Bongpal waited until there were no other people around to watch, which was now.
“I think you have guests.”
Apparently, they were after her.
Kim Bongpal got off the Phantom Horse and looked back. They had to go through a dense forest to get to the next city, unlike before. And a group of people exuding strong auras appeared in that forest. The one with the strongest mana was a silver-haired man at the front.
Kim Bongpal fixed his gaze on that man.
“Fuck. What are you guys doing?”
“
Are you Sword Phantom?”
Sword Phantom. It was still an old-fashioned nickname.
Kim Bongpal asked his opponent.
“Choose.”
“What?”
“Either you’re going to get beaten up here and just go back, or are you going to get beaten up here and just die?”
Neither of the two options seemed to be a good choice.
“Ha! You have become arrogant just because you got a foolish alias. You’d better think it over. If you know who we serve
.”
They chose the latter.
Tap-!
Kim Bongpal shot forward.