Chapter 187. Love and Obsession (2)
Chi-Woo’s eyes met with the arrogant-looking woman’s. His brows furrowed of their own accord when he took a good look.
“Hm?”
The woman reacted similarly.
‘Huh…what? But there’s no way?’ It was the first time they were meeting, but for some reason, she seemed familiar. It was as if he had seen her long ago before he could remember. The two stared at each other, heads tilting as they recollected themselves.
“Hmph.” The platinum-blonde woman, Apoline, cleared her throat. “Who are you?”
“Ah, he is—” The man hurriedly got up to explain, but Apoline interjected, “I didn’t ask you.”
“…Ah, yes.” And the man sat back down.
“Tell me your name, including your last name if you have a family,” she said in a commanding tone like she was intent on getting the answer out of him. Chi-Woo didn’t speak.
[You must not tell her. You must keep your identity a secret at all costs.]
Mimi suddenly broke her long-lasting silence to give him a warning. Chi-Woo wondered who this woman was that he needed to do that. Chi-Woo squinted and then widened his eyes again in surprise. After awakening his powers at Evalaya Mountain, he had gained some new abilities, including the Spirit Eye. Thus, he could see a person’s aura if he looked hard enough. For example, Hawa’s was an ashy color. Shimmer! And this woman’s aura was a dazzling, eye-blindingly bright gold.
<User Information>
1. Name & Rank: Apoline Yelodi Afrilith (☆☆☆)
2. Sex & Age: Female & 19
3. Height & Weight: 164.8cm & 48kg
4. Denomination: —
5. Tier: —
6. Class: —
7. Heavenly Title: Princess of Waiting
8. Disposition: Lawful Neutral
<Physical Attributes>
[Strength E]
[Durability E]
[Agility D]
[Stamina D]
[Mental Fortitude C]
[Mana B+]
<Basic Ability (2)>
1. [Order of Creation C] – the ability to create by controlling mana. It’s an ability that has bloomed through the user’s blood, sweat, and tears, and she had amassed mana so enormous that it even threatened her life. Besides freely handling mana, the user can create things with imagination.
2. [Disaster Caused by Fire B+] – the ability to induct or blast out fire among the natural elements. It’s a specialized ability the user has awakened while adapting to her surroundings, and with it, the user’s inherently ample mana always radiates heat. If the user wishes to, she can bring a calamity of fire upon her surroundings.
<Class Ability (0)>
<Innate Ability (2)>
1. [Blood Legacy A] —The user is a glorious product of her family, who heavily values bloodlines. Born in a mage family that obsesses over pure bloodlines, descendants of the Afrilith are gifted with the optimal body for magic use generation after generation. The user is judged to have the best bloodline among all members of her family and is born with the greatest amount of mana her species is known to have. Although the user received full back-up when coming to Liber, the destruction of the World caused a slight drop in her rank.
2. [Mana Ring A] —A unique constitution awakened by the ability, ‘Order of Creation’. Several rings of energy bring endless mana and circulate it throughout her body continuously. As long as her mana doesn’t disappear, the user always maintains youth and retains her peak physique according to her growth speed.
‘Wow,’ Chi-Woo’s mouth gaped open. A mana rank at B+? Furthermore, each of her basic and innate abilities was impressive. It was simply crazy, and this was all before she even chose a denomination or went into a contract with a god to use the growth system.
‘It’s a cheat! A total cheat!’ This was the family perks Chi-Woo had dreamed of, and he felt envious for the first time in a long time. He couldn’t believe someone could be born at rank B, while he had to train rigorously every day to reach rank C.
[…Do you even have a conscience?]
Mimi sounded baffled after reading Chi-Woo’s thoughts. On the other hand, Apoline’s eyebrow was rising higher and higher.
“Hmph!” She fake-coughed and tapped her crossed arms. Although it hurt her pride that the person she addressed didn’t answer her immediately, she looked like she was willing to let it go. “I am Apoline Yelodi Afrilith.” Apoline emphasized ‘Afrilith’ like she was very proud of her family. Then she crossed her arms again.
When her addressee didn’t answer no matter how much she waited, however, her patience soon reached its limit. She couldn’t believe someone would be silent after she introduced herself and even revealed that she was an Afrilith. That was beyond rude; this man seemed to look down on her family. Her sharp eyes became even sharper.
“Ah.” Chi-Woo finally took his eyes off her user information and quickly bowed. “Hello. Sorry, I was just surprised.”
Apoline seemed to relax after seeing how unsettled Chi-Woo appeared. Chi-Woo had been staring at her with his mouth wide open in a daze. Not knowing that he was actually admiring her user information, Apoline was peeved, but hearing his response, she raised her head arrogantly again.
‘Hmph.’ It was only natural. Her beauty and her family made most heroes stand in awe, and although she received such a response often, she never got sick of it. Apoline generously excused Chi-Woo.
‘Yes, there’s no way this ditzy guy can be him. How could I have been so silly?’ Apoline thought, shifting her attention away from Chi-Woo and looking around at the others.
“Who is this man that he can barge in like this?” Apoline asked.
“He’s the one I told you before, Apoline. The one who told us Abis’ exact condition,” the man answered.
Apoline’s eyes snapped to the man. Taken aback by her sharp gaze, the man scratched his head and asked, “Um…what is it?”
“Can you refrain from talking to me so familiarly?”
“Ah.”
“I thought I told you before. We aren’t on such friendly terms that we can talk informally with each other.”
“Ah, yeah, you did. Sorry, man. I mean, I apologize. Excuse me, it’s a habit.”
“It’s Miss Afrilith for you. Remember that.” Apoline scolded the man and turned around while the man clicked his tongue. Then she scanned Chi-Woo from head to toe. Although most felt positive emotions toward Chi-Woo at first sight because of his Halo, it had no effect on Apoline, who was born with a strong resistance to such abilities. Furthermore, she was extremely predisposed to look down on others rather than looking up to them.
“What is your rank, sir?”
“Sorry?”
“Your rank. Rank. Why don’t you settle your surprise now and answer my questions properly?” Apoline said while jerking her head. “Don’t tell me you didn’t even choose your denomination yet.”
“That’s not it, Miss.”
“Then?”
“My rank is Iron IV.”
Apoline’s face stiffened. “That’s a bit…unsettling.” She looked disapprovingly at Chi-Woo and let out a long sigh. Then she continued, “I decided to help them out after hearing how pitiful their situation was. Now that I have decided to participate, I have no intention of forming a team with just any members.”
Ru Hiana looked irked, while the man looked shocked. It seemed he hadn’t expected Chi-Woo to be in the lowest rank, either. Chi-Woo didn’t feel too good about the reaction he was getting. He came all this way to help them, but was getting treated as some baggage, and now this princess was telling him off without a lick of respect. Chi-Woo wanted to ask her ‘Haven’t you not even picked a denomination yet?’ but held his tongue; he knew this woman’s user information far surpassed most heroes who had a denomination.
—Yes, who can you blame?
Philip said.
—This woman is completely in the right. It’s dangerous to go beyond the border. It’s not wrong for her to want a proper, skilled companion who can do their share.
‘…’
—Of course, your skills aren’t bad, but there’s no way she will know that.
Then Philip continued.
—Why? Isn’t this the treatment you wanted? You’ve tried hard to remain unknown, and you should accept situations like this willingly.
It was true. If Chi-Woo had revealed the number of merits he had collected or increased his rank, the treatment he received would’ve been far different. But knowing that, Chi-Woo hid those facts because the attention he would get would be too burdensome.
—Heh…
Nevertheless, Philip’s words still aggravated Chi-Woo. It was then Ru Amuh said in a low voice, “He isn’t just any hero. We must get his help to finish this mission safely.” Chi-Woo felt touched by Ru Amuh’s words. He was like the eldest child who helped his father stand with pride.
“…Is that so?” Surprisingly, Apoline didn’t respond negatively to Ru Amuh’s comment. Although she wasn’t pleased, it seemed she was taking a step back. “What is your class? Are you a priest or something?”
“Something like that.”
“Aha.” Apoline nodded. That would change things. Even more than a holy knight, a priest was a very rare class among the heroes. After all, a saintess usually acted as a hero’s helper rather than a hero. Furthermore, Apoline knew there wasn’t yet a god established in this world that fit a priest. Thus, the fact that Chi-Woo managed to get a denomination and even reach the lowest rank was an impressive feat; and it meant the god must have placed many great conditions to get the deal with him.
“Hm…” Still, Apoline continued to ponder about the matter when she suddenly noticed a bluish, small lump near Chi-Woo. Unable to overcome its boredom, Steam Bun had leapt out of Chi-Woo’s pocket and fell to the chair.
Apoline blinked. Slide— She unconsciously reached out towards Steam Bun, and Steam Bun froze. It crouched down as if it was guarding itself against Apoline.
“…Pyu?” It leaned forward and tapped the end of her index finger.
Apoline asked, “W-What is this?”
“Ah, it’s my bag. Hey. When did you come out?”
“Your bag?”
“Yes. Its capacity is quite good.”
Apoline was no longer listening to Chi-Woo. She carefully rubbed Steam Bun as if she was touching an extremely fragile object.
“Can you reconsider? I want this man’s help as well. Please?” The man spoke awkwardly and appealed to Apoline for Chi-Woo to join.
“You’re really making an effort…ah!” While she was talking, Steam Bun quickly turned and went back to hiding in Chi-Woo’s pocket. She stared in disappointment for a moment and said, “Fine.” She returned to her regal stance and continued, “It feels like I’m volunteering for some reason, but I’ll trust you since Mr. Ru Amuh vouched for you. Even if you don’t meet my expectations, I can more than make up for a couple deadweights.”
Chi-Woo clicked his tongue. It was truly a talent to talk so irritatingly.
“Good. We have five people now, right?” The man counted with his fingers and got a stinging look from Apoline for dropping his honorifics again. He quickly shook his head and added, “No! I was talking to myself!”
Chi-Woo tilted his head. “Did you say five people?”
“Yep. Since Abis can’t fight, I excluded her from the count, and there’s Ms. Apoline, Mr. Ru Amuh, uh…you, my brother, and me.”
Chi-Woo turned around to look at Ru Hiana. She put her hands together with a conflicted look on her face. “Sorry, senior. I’m going on a separate mission soon. I’m the captain of the team, so I can’t leave.” It seemed there was an expedition or mission she already agreed to participate in.
The man said, “Hmm. With these numbers, I think we can immediately go.”
“No, not at all.” Apoline shot the man down again. “Since I’m the mage and we have a priest, we’re fine on the magic front. We have a lot of warriors as well, but we don’t have a scout.” A scout was essential to detect enemies in advance and guide the team in the right direction when they were lost. “Moreover, if we get a native who knows the geography well, it’ll be even better.”
Apoline wasn’t wrong, but the man and Ru Amuh looked troubled. Ru Amuh had decided to help the man, but he had run into problems from the very start. It was very difficult to gather people and form a team. Heroes were not idiots. They knew they wouldn’t be part of a large rescue team like last time. No one would be foolish enough to cross the border with such a small party of heroes. No matter how desperate a hero was to earn merits, it was not worth dying for.
After getting rejected so many times, Ru Amuh and the man had gone to the lights of the Celestial Realm for help; surprisingly, Apoline, who was the first person they asked, agreed to be part of their team. Thanks to that, they became hopeful. Ru Amuh might not have been enough, but with her reputation, some heroes would want to join them.
Apoline was also fully aware of this fact. She knew it so well that a slight smile formed on her face. Apoline had agreed to be part of the team for a specific reason, and to reach her goal, she needed to take the lead in this party. Of course, she could come forward and bring a scout, but Apoline refrained on purpose; the others had to ask her for help first. Then she could fulfill their request. Her authority in the team would be established naturally then.
“Uh…we tried to talk to the others, but no one wanted to join.” The man continued awkwardly, “So even if it’s a bit bothersome, would you be—” The man was about to finally say what Apoline had been wanting him to say when—
“I’ll try to get us a scout.”
Apoline, who had been preparing to sigh and say ‘I guess I have to step in’ and get up from her seat, was startled; she awkwardly sat back down and looked at Chi-Woo, who had gotten to his feet before she did. “You’ll bring us a scout?”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t think anyone will follow the words of a hero at the lowest tier.”
“There’s a hero I’m personally acquainted with. I’ll ask him.”
“I don’t want a half-baked scout.”
“He’s not half-baked. He’s skilled.”
Apoline couldn’t argue with that. She closed her mouth, deciding to wait and see who he would bring, but her true feeling was clear in the way her lower lip stuck out.
“I’ll be back soon,” said Chi-Woo.
True to his words, Chi-Woo came back before a cup of hot drink could cool down. Next to him was a cat.
“Sir Nangnang?” Ru Amuh rose from his seat with a startled look on his face.
“Oh, you’re still here.” Nangnang raised his hand and waved.
“But you told me you didn’t intend to participate…”
“Yes, that’s what I told you, but I’m indebted to Boss.” Nangnang nonchalantly continued, “And I have to take a promotion test soon. With the help of Boss, I’ll probably pass it this time as well, don’t you think so?” Nangnang chuckled and rubbed his body against Chi-Woo’s calves. This was how different heroes who knew about Chi-Woo’s merits and those who didn’t treat him. Even though Nangnang flatly refused Ru Amuh’s offer, he decided that it was worth taking the risk to participate in the mission after finding out Chi-Woo was also joining—because he trusted Chi-Woo’s skills.
“What—what’s this? A cat?” Apoline made a shrill sound. Her intentions to nitpick anybody Chi-Woo brought completely evaporated.
Nangnang replied, “What do you mean a cat? How rude of you to address me like that when this is our first time meeting. Who are you?”
“I was the one who asked first.”
“I’m Nangnang from the second recruits. My tier is Silver I.”
Apoline and the man were surprised. The tier system was the only way to measure a hero’s position and ability. Since there was only one gold tier hero on Liber, Nangnang must have participated in almost every big event to be silver tier.
Nangnang asked again, “So who are you?”
“…I’m Apoline Yelodi Afrilith.”
“Apoline…Afrilith?” Nangnang, who had his fur raised, widened his eyes. His long tail also quickly went straight up. “Oh wow, Afrilith. Woah.” Nangnang moved towards Apoline and circled around her. “I can’t believe I’m seeing one of the Celestial Realm’s lights here. What an honor!”
Apoline’s eyes followed his movement. She couldn’t believe that a gray cat was circling around her. Even though he had a scar on his eye and a rough-looking face, his tail was fluttering from side to side!
Nangnang continued, “It’s an honor to form a team with one of the Celestial Realm’s lights that I’ve heard so much about. It’ll be fun. As expected of Boss. Haha.” Nangnang licked his paw, and his eyes brightened.
“Y-You flatter me.” Apoline barely managed to answer because she had to try extremely hard to not reach out to pet him.
Chi-Woo asked, “Are you satisfied?”
Apoline was slightly annoyed, but Nangnang’s skills were confirmed, and he perfectly fitted her tastes. “It’s really goo…alright.” She had no choice but to give in.
“Now we depart. We can’t delay it any longer.”
Everyone nodded at Ru Amuh’s words.
“Since we’ve formed a team, there’s no reason for us to linger here any longer. Good, let’s get ready today and meet at the gate early tomorrow morning.” After saying this, Apoline rose from her seat and quickly exited the room.
Once she left, the man smacked his lips and said, “She’s quite hard to please. Don’t you think so?”
Everyone nodded, much more vehemently than before.
* * *
As soon as Chi-Woo left Ru Amuh’s house, he went to find Noel. Noel was surprised; he had found a team sooner than she expected. “Nangnang, Ru Amuh…”
Noel listened quietly and was pleasantly surprised by his team members—until Chi-Woo mentioned Apoline. Noel frowned and said, “…Who did you say? Apoline? From Afrilith…?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh…”
Chi-Woo asked, “What is it? Is there something wrong?”
“No, that’s not the case but…” It wasn’t a problem with ability. She was an Afrilith, and one of the Celestial Realm’s lights. Moreover, Apoline was known as the most promising child of the family. The Afrilith’s love for their youngest daughter was so famous that Noel wondered how Apoline managed to get permission to come to Liber. But one thing was clear: they couldn’t have sent her here empty-handed. She must have gotten a massive backup at the cost of almost all the family’s wealth. Noel had to admit she was an extremely rare asset to have at this time.
However, Noel said, “At least the Nahlas are skilled. But the Afriliths are fucking idiots whose only strength is their bloodline, yet they’re always arrogantly showing off without realizing how scary the world is. Honestly, they’re lower than fucking dogs. That family got dumped over and over again to hell, but are too fucking stupid to get out of their delusions…”
Chi-Woo spat out the water he had been drinking as he listened. She was being uncharacteristically blunt. “Ms. N-Noel?”
“Oh my, I’m sorry. But I didn’t say anything wrong.”
Chi-Woo replied, “I-I’m sorry. But the team’s already been decided, so we can’t change the members.”
“Sigh…I guess it can’t be helped.” Noel clicked her tongue. “Well, I’m a little curious if she’ll still be able to bark as loudly in this world. Maybe it’s a good thing. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take this opportunity to put them back in their place again.” Noel snorted, twisting her neck left and right and wringing her hands. Chi-Woo shuddered; Noel seemed to be getting ready for a fight.
Then she said, “Anyway, I got it. The first condition has been resolved somewhat, but you haven’t forgotten the second condition, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, when are you leaving?”
Chi-Woo replied, “Tomorrow. We’re meeting early in the morning at the gate.”
Noel said, “Then you don’t have much time. Young master, you should rest well for now. I’ll pack for you.”
Bidding Noel farewell, Chi-Woo left the palace. After making a stop at the Shahnaz temple, he stayed there for a while and returned to his home. For the rest of the day, he didn’t do anything, but moved his energy around and went to bed. Then the next day arrived, and the sun began to rise.