Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Seol stood in shock. He hadnt expected this.

Master?

If I knew it would be like this, I wouldve burned this room down a long time ago.

R-Right?

Seol sighed, looking up at the sky.

Behind that sigh, Seol released not only his annoyance at the wasted time, but also a sense of relief.

Still, I could find Chao.

It was a relief that Seol could find Chaos traces in the end.

The only things he lost were the sleepless nights waiting for Chao and the time spent investigating other Adventures.

Obviously, even that was frustrating.

However, when Seol looked at it purely in terms of results, it was handled well in the end.

Seol spent the Remaining Time he had left sleeping, eating well, and resupplying.

And like that, five days had passed.

Glooow

And his body began to be transported elsewhere.

* * *

[You begin your next Adventure.]

[Your 15th Adventure is starting.]

[Adventure 15. Tardy]

[Adventure 15. Tardy

Through many twists and turns, you had encountered Chao.

Chao left you with one request before leaving. Unfortunately, you were slow in returning after fulfilling her request.

You have arrived in Nobira far later than the promised time.

Fortunately, you are now on your way to a location she arranged for your next meeting.

However, you are uncertain about what will happen there or the circumstances she may have found herself in.

Objective: Break through the Wall of Awakening.

This Adventure is dangerous.

Remaining Time [N/A]]

For the first time in a while, it was an Adventure without a time limit.

Seol was transported into a forest without any signs of life.

Seol first believed that this was the Great Forest.

But What is this smell?

The smell of a burning car?

No, it was something else Something much more familiar

Cigarettes?

Not too long after, Chao appeared while puffing smoke out of her cigarette.

Yo! Youre late! Why were you so late?

Chao?

Did everything go well?

Seol pulled out the Sleeping Medicine from his inventory.

It went well. There was a problem on the way back, so I only arrived in Nobira about a month ago.

A problem? Ah, those trolls?

Yes. By the way, did you fight with the Sulfur Skull Tribe?

No? Some weird-looking trolls appeared out of nowhere on my way to meet you, so I just left as fast as I could.

It was strange.

To Seols knowledge, Chao was strong.

She was much stronger than any ordinary Shadow Summoner.

Why are you looking at me like that? Ah, are you trying to ask why I didnt help out in Nobira?

Did I make a face like that?

Yeah, very obviously.

Seol wasnt trying to berate her at all. He was simply curious.

Thats because it doesnt involve me at all, no? Not to mention, Im a very busy person.

She was the same type of person as Seol.

Youre busy?

Of course! Why else would I request something from a junior Shadow Summoner I just met?

Then, did you also know what was happening in Wet Fog Town?

Somewhat? But I couldnt solve it because they went into hiding. Uh I think her name was Sarah, right? Wasnt she cute?

She was a good person.

...Shes not dead, right?

She was close to dying, but we managed to catch him before he could.

Thats a relief. What were his final words, though?

He just asked why he couldnt have been saved like the townspeople. He was sad about his fate.

Still, that doesnt justify ruining other peoples lives. Youre better at handling things than I thought, junior?

Seol had handled Chaos request well.

This meant that Seol also had a right to request something from her.

Then

Hold on, that was the first stage. The real test is differ

Click.

Unsheathe

Should I just kill her, Master?

Hahaha! How loyal! Its quite nice to see. So, um what Im trying to say is woah, woah you should put that sword away yeah? Thats a cool sword, though. Is it new? Regardless, lets use our words like intellectuals. Lets not be so cruel between people of the same classes.

Sheathe.

Karen sheathed her sword.

Seol had somewhat expected things to go this way. There was no way an Adventure would be classified as dangerous if all he had to do was break through the Wall of Awakening.

Fuu Do I have to do something else as well?

Yeah. Well, I wouldnt say you have to do it, but well, I guess you do have to do it.

What is it?

Become my test subject.

Click.

Simple, right?

- I cant watch this LMFAO

- Chao = Mike Tyson. Snowman and his summons = Pigeons.

- Now kith.

Why are we doing this training?

How much do you know about your shadows?

My shadows? Well

Seol didnt know much.

Rather, it was more accurate to say that he barely knew anything.

If you dont want to lose your way while under false death, you have to know everything about your shadows. Their regrets, grudges, lives, etc. You might never wake up again if youre hiding secrets from each other, alright?

Hold on

Clap!

Chao clapped her hands once, then started to drift away.

Now, Ill give you guys room to share some quality time.

After Chao left, the only thing that followed was an awkward silence.

This was simply a natural reaction to suddenly being asked to talk about oneself.

- Scratch Scratch

- Uh guys

- Could anyone say something

The first to break the silence was Karen.

Then what about starting with that?

With what?

The thing Jamad mentioned last time when we were with Mael. He never got into the specifics. What about starting with that?

- My father was drafted into a war and croaked there, while my mother died young. The funny part was that the previous generation offered my mothers corpse to the dragon as a snack.

- Silence

- Fucking Karen

- Karens cant read the room LMFAOOO

Jamad thought for a second, then nodded.

Not a bad idea.

Right?

Its been a while since I talked about the specifics of this. In fact this might be the first time after becoming chief of the Rock Molar Tribe.

Jamad quickly began talking about himself like he was excited.

"Even in my earliest memories, I was an orphan. My father died after being drafted into the war before I could walk, and my mother succumbed to a chronic illness."

...Could I take back what I said?

I dont mind, but I think learning about each other, even if it's just a little, is the best way to get out of this annoying situation.

Thats true. You can keep going.

Did you know this? Trolls offer their dead to whoever they worship as a sacrifice.

Jamad calmly continued.

My mother was offered as a sacrifice to Tancreed, the Earth Dragon. And like that, I was alone. I had no brothers, no parents.

......

I knew about the tradition, but I couldnt understand it. My ancestors left and established themselves in the Pointy Mountains because they couldnt stand being ruled by the Old Gods anymore. However, the only thing thats changed was the object of worship, from the Old Gods to a dragon. We were still the same, worthless. We were a contradictory race who had to endlessly serve others.

Seol only had bits and pieces of information about the trolls. As such, this was also his first time learning about this.

When I was still young So, before Tancreed entered her slumber, she visited the tribe once.

- Go away! Get out of here!

- J-Jamad, that stupid fool!

- Stop it! N-No!

- Are you trying to kill our tribe?!

I threw a stone at Tancreed. While everyone bowed down to her, I was the sole troll who held his head high and threw a stone at her scales.

Thats incredible.

- Please forgive us, Tancreed! Hes just a young child, he has yet to learn about your

- K-Kill him! Drag him out of here!

I told her to bring back my mother. I called her a barbaric lizard Im sure I said something like that, but I dont remember what exactly I said back then anymore.

How did you manage to survive?

- Youre I see. So you are her child.

She let me onto her back and took off with her wings. And then, she took me somewhere before letting me off.

- This is

- I remember your mother, little life.

The young Jamad stood in front of a tomb covered in wreaths.

It was my mothers grave. Though my tribe offered her to Tancreed as a sacrifice, Tancreed buried her. I cried in misery. That was my first, and will probably be my last time crying.

Why did you cry, though?

A sense of inferiority. I cried because of how inferior myself and my race were. She was a much more noble and beautiful existence than I had ever imagined. I was a member of an inferior race who lost control after losing his mother and tried to injure that noble dragon I was an inferior life form.

......

Then, Tancreed told me this.

- You have good eyes.

- I-I apologize, Tancreed.

- Its a big world, child. Right now, everything will be painful and difficult. After all, you are still small and weak. However

And like that, she had become my lifes goal.

- One day, your time will come. You will later learn about the reason for your life, the reason for all life. And through that, you will reach the truth. Work hard, little life.

That was why Jamad despised the Old Gods powers and tried to do things by himself.

Seol learned a bit more about Jamad through that today.

Regardless, that was how I was born. After that, I was given the Curse of Brothers and accepted it as my fate. I guess the results of that arent too good, though. Still, Ill finish my story there. I want to hear about your stories now.

Before Seol could even respond to Jamad, Chao abruptly appeared.

Thump!

Gasp Gasp

And then, she shouted in urgency.

Theyre coming! We have to leave here, immediately!

The Adventures first danger had arrived.

[The main contents of Tardy have changed.]

[Tardy has changed to Those Who Chase the Shadows.]