Chapter 234: Three (4)
Merit. It referred to the effort and work that was put into completing a job or fulfilling an achievement. In other words, it was the embodiment of one’s self-worth. Merit was based on how much positive impact one made in their work. Thus, the reason why Chi-Woo was able to obtain amazing merits every time was obvious. A good example was the Zepar expedition. At that time, Chi-Woo’s achievements went far beyond the original purpose of just rescuing a comrade in need. They extinguished the 16th-ranked great demon, destroyed the fortress plan that the Demon Empire had been ambitiously preparing, and resurrected a new Saintess. Those results went beyond simply completing an expedition and had a considerable impact on the flow of the world; therefore, Chi-Woo obtained millions of merits thanks to his enormous contribution.
Of course, not all heroes could act like Chi-Woo. The standards of the growth system weren’t overly tough or rigid. If a hero faithfully worked for the desired purpose in an expedition and gave it their all, they could receive a sufficient amount of merit points as well. However, this wasn’t the case for Ru Hiana.
—You did nothing.
Ru Hiana paled. Of course, it wasn’t as if she really had done nothing. First, she had protected Airi and defended against the incoming tentacle attack when they opened the first door. She also battled a thorn wolf by herself in the seventh compartment. But these were the only things she had done. The expedition members were given the task of conquering the first floor of the Narsha Haram. In the process of achieving this goal, did Ru Hiana have a positive influence? The answer was already clear.
—There’s nothing to see. It’s safe to say that you basically did nothing.
Ru Hiana lowered her head as Shanaz continued. Her ears as well as her face were bright red.
—Do you have anything to say for yourself?
Ru Hiana didn't open her mouth.
—Yeah, I didn’t think so. You must have already known it as well.
Shahnaz was correct; Ru Hiana knew it better than anyone. There was no need to mention the merits that Ruahu and Chi-Woo made, and Dalgil always stood at the forefront as the captain and did his best, while Bogle remained faithful to his duties. Even though Hawa wasn’t of much help in battles, she made up for it by using her skills to make significant contributions that everyone acknowledged.
But what about her? Ru Hiana should have participated more actively as a sword fighter even if she had to risk her life. This was especially the case since the god she served was called the conquest queen. However, Ru Hiana couldn’t be of much help—no, it wasn’t that she couldn’t, but she didn’t.
To put it bluntly, she was unnecessary to the expedition. It would’ve succeeded anyway without her, which was the difference between her and the other members.
—…Poor thing. You should have just lived in a peaceful world back home instead of following him…
Shahnaz said in a rather sympathetic voice. Ru Hiana’s experience of becoming a hero was quite special; she was basically a plus one to Ru Amuh, and she became a hero solely because she had supported him as his childhood friend.
—Back home, you were worthy of existence just by being next to that child.
Shahnaz’s voice rang.
—But not now, not here on Liber.
Ru Hiana flinched.
—My child has already found his meaning in this place. As long as that man is alive, the meaning of his existence here won’t be shaken.
—If you stay like this, I won’t feel like it’s worth supporting you anymore.
“…”
—Perhaps it’s too early for you to be at silver tier.
Ru Hiana’s head jerked up. She stared at Shahnaz’ statue with eyes as big as saucers.
—I pity you, but I have to practice what I preach.
Ru Hiana’s mouth twisted at Shahnaz’s stern voice, but she quickly lowered her head. She had nothing to say.
—If you want to survive on Liber, prove your worth on your own. I command you in the name of Shahnaz.
—As of the present time, Ru Hiana’s tier shall be demoted from silver to bronze.
* * *
Hearing that the team was setting out broke Ru Hiana from her reverie. With an empty smile, she looked at the hastily formed team. Considering her current status, she thought even this team might be too good for her. Her smile turned self-deprecating as she stood up. Then she heard a commotion at the front.
“What? Who is it?”
“Ah, wait a minute. That person is…”
“Ru Hiana!”
It was a familiar voice. Ru Hiana looked ahead and was shocked to see Ru Amuh approaching her while making her way through her teammates.
“You’re still in the city. What a relief,” Ru Amuh said.
“Ruahu? How did you…”
“Teacher told me you were here.”
“Senior? Why would he?”
“Let’s first go. Teacher is waiting for us.”
“No. I—”
Ru Amuh grabbed Ru Hiana’s arm and turned around, but stopped when he found a man standing in his way.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but…” The man glanced at the flustered Ru Hiana and crossed his arms. “You can’t take her with you. She already decided to work with our team from today. If you have business with her, you can do that after we come back.”
“I’m sorry, but—”
“I don’t care if you’re sorry.” The man shook his head. “ She’s silver…no, she said she’s bronze tier now but anyway—”
Ru Hiana’s face became strained.
The man continued, “I promoted this adventure and gathered our team members here by using her tier. We’re about to leave, so you’re putting me in a difficult situation by taking her away.” If the heroes didn’t want to live in the streets, they needed to make money as quickly as possible; it was no wonder that they were desperate.
“I sincerely apologize, but I can’t let you take Ru Hiana.” Ru Amuh also knew that the man was in the right; however, Chi-Woo had stressed that he must bring Ru Hiana back at all costs.
“Ha! Geez, what kind of rotten situation…” Dumbfounded, the man stared at Ru Amuh. “Well, if you so insist, why don’t you join us instead of her?”
“Excuse me?”
“As the substitute. I need a good enough substitute to convince the others.” All the heroes knew who Ru Amuh was. If they had to choose between gold and bronze, they would pick gold without hesitation, and Ru Amuh didn’t think this was a bad idea. Thus, he was going to ask for Teacher’s permission, but he suddenly felt Ru Hiana shake him off forcefully.
“…That’s enough.” Ru Hiana glared at Ru Amuh with an angry expression. Her voice was quiet, but this only made her sound angrier. “Let’s go. Quickly.” Eyes still shooting daggers at Ru Amuh, Ru Hiana marched past him to leave with the man. However, a person had barged through the door to stop them again.
“Senior?” Ru Hiana’s eyes widened as Chi-Woo heaved like he had run all the way here. He looked visibly relieved after seeing her. Eval Sevaru wasn’t boasting when he said he could find Ru Hiana whether she was still inside the city or outside. He utilized all the connections he had made since coming to Shalyh, and a monster from the Dingo Tribe said that they saw a blonde girl with a ponytail heading toward the guild association. As soon as Chi-Woo heard this, he informed Ru Amuh and ran here.
“Geez, this is crazy. For real. Are you seriously joking with me? Who’s this guy…” The man was annoyed as he continued, “Hey, why don’t you buzz off while I’m still asking nicely? If you keep blocking us, we won’t just stay still anymore. I'm going to formally protest to the guild association and—”
Thud! Something hit the table. The man flinched, thinking that Chi-Woo was going to hit him, but seeing that he didn’t, his gaze moved down towards the sound. “!” Then his eyes widened when they found five shining gold coins.
“Is this good enough?” Chi-Woo asked.
The man raised his head slightly, and when he turned around, he saw his teammates all staring at the table. Five hundred royals—it was definitely not a small amount for them. They now had two choices—take Ru Hiana on an adventure that may or may not be fruitful by causing a commotion and making a gold tier hero enemy, or take the money in their hands right now. There was no need to even ponder.
“Wait! Senior!”
When he heard Ru Hiana cry out, the man quickly seized the money and put the coins in his pockets. “I don’t know what’s going on, but…I hope everything works out.” The man coughed and rushed out of the building with his team members before anyone could tell him to return the money.
Ru Hiana’s face was extremely red with fury. For Chi-Woo, 500 royals was cheap to prevent Shalyh’s destruction. However, it was incomprehensible to Ru Hiana why Chi-Woo would go so far as to give away money just to stop her from leaving.
“What in the world—why are you acting like this!” Eventually, she exploded after holding her fury in for so long. “Are you kidding me?!”
Ru Amuh stepped in. “Ru Hiana, calm down.”
“No, is there any reason why I should be calm? ”
“I should be the one asking you—why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Suddenly? Haven’t you seen my message?”
“Do you think one message is enough to make us understand? You should at least tell us—”
“I got demoted!” Ru Hiana shouted.
Ru Amuh slightly gaped. “Demoted…?”
“Yeah, are you feeling better now? Have you satisfied your curiosity?”
“What do you mean by satisfying my curiosity? I didn’t know anything about it. How could you be demoted…”
“Why, I deserved it. You think so too. Don’t deny it, you also think I was useless on the last expedition.” Since her demotion was already out in the open, Ru Hiana decided to reveal what she had been bottling inside. “You should be happy that a useless comrade is leaving on their own!”
“Ru Hiana. You are our comrade.”
“Really?” Ru Hiana laughed. “But Dalgil doesn’t seem to think that, does he?”
Ru Amuh, who was about to ask her what she meant, suddenly shut his mouth when he recalled what had happened during the expedition. Dalgil had thanked each of his comrades throughout the whole expedition and even specifically mentioned their names. While he had thanked Ru Amuh, Chi-Woo, and Hawa, he never called out Ru Hiana’s name. Ru Amuh hadn’t said anything about it, but he could guess Dalgil’s intention—he regarded Ru Hiana as a member of the expedition, but not as a true comrade. And Ru Hiana, who was always quick to notice things, must have figured out Dalgil’s intention as well. That had left a deep scar in her heart, and the demotion only added to the pain. Ru Amuh couldn’t even guess what Ru Hiana was feeling right now.
“I can’t…do it like you or senior.” However, this didn’t mean that she was giving up either. “So I was just going to do work befitting my level separately for a while until I recover my tier, but was that too much to ask?” Ru Hiana had tried to find a way to improve in her own way. “Did you really have to act like this!? If I am really your comrade as you said, couldn’t you have trusted and waited for me?”
Ru Hiana had planned to suppress her anger and quietly pass by him, but in the end, all of her disgrace and embarrassment was revealed in the open. It was an extremely unpleasant experience, and her eyes started to become teary. She clenched her teeth and was about to brush past the now silent Ru Amuh, but Chi-Woo was in her way.
“The same goes for you, senior!” Ru Hiana gritted her teeth. She was embarrassed, but she was even more upset that Chi-Woo had spent so much money because of her. “What do you think of me that—!”
“Ms. Ru Hiana.” Chi-Woo reached out and held her shoulders. Then he quickly said, “We just changed the future.”
Ru Hiana, who was about to rapidly fire her complaints, stopped. “…What, what did you say?”
Chi-Woo continued in a low voice, “We may have just prevented Shalyh’s destruction.”
Ru Hiana looked at him with an indescribable gaze. Chi-Woo sighed. “I know. I sound crazy, right?”
Ru Hiana nodded with a dumbfounded expression.
“Please give me a chance. I don’t mind if it’s just once. I’ll explain why I’m going so far to stop you. I’ll explain everything.” Ru Hiana suddenly frowned. Chi-Woo had tightened his grip on her shoulders as if he was never going to let her go. He asked once more, “…Please.”
Moreover, Ru Hiana felt a strange pressure coming from his gaze. Weighed down by the pressure, Ru Hiana eventually shut her mouth and nodded.
* * *
After moving to a mansion in their zone, Chi-Woo slowly began to explain. He thought it was better to explain and ask for cooperation than create misunderstandings. Of course, he didn’t reveal everything. He glossed over the existence of World’s Milestone by saying that he had a future-telling ability, and it sometimes came in the form of dreams. After Chi-Woo finished his explanations, Ru Amuh and Ru Hiana looked dumbfounded; they looked like they had a hard time believing his story.
“Teacher, if what you said is really true, this is a very serious matter.” But Ru Amuh, who would have still believed Chi-Woo if he said a stone was a piece of bread, continued with a serious face, “The fall of Shalyh…if it’s an event of this magnitude, have you tried consulting with the legend?”
“I’ve already told him about it.”
“What?”
“Hyu…hmm. Sir Chi-Hyun has already left the city to investigate. And he told me to investigate the internal affairs of the city. He was the one who told me to stop you from leaving, Ms. Ru Hiana.” Chi-Woo was impressed by Chi-Hyun’s influence once again because judging from their expression, the reality of his words seemed to finally sink in for them at the mention of Chi-Hyun’s name.
“I see…if even the legend is saying that, there must be something suspicious about it.” Ru Amuh’s eyes sharpened.
“I…I don’t understand…” Ru Hiana still looked somewhat doubtful. “What am I that…how could Shalyh collapse because of me…”
“Even if Shalyh doesn’t fall because of you, I think your departure could be the beginning of a chain of events,” Ru Amuh said. “Well, you know the butterfly effect. Something trivial could be connected to many other events to bring about something great.” As Ru Amuh said, even a butterfly’s wing could trigger a huge storm, and a small cigarette could cause a forest fire.
Ru Hiana quietly nodded. Then Chi-Woo heard a notification; it was not a message, but a call. Chi-Woo excused himself and stepped away.
“Yeah, Chi-Hyun.”
—How did it go?
As soon as Chi-Woo clicked the receive button, he heard his brother’s voice. Chi-Hyun was right; it was possible to call each other in a holy territory.
Chi-Woo answered, “I stopped her, and I just brought her here.”
—Good job.
Chi-Woo suddenly heard a strange sound during the call. It sounded like Chi-Hyun was moving through the atmosphere at supersonic speed. He even heard the sounds of a thunderstorm and explosions.
“What are you doing right now?”
—I’ll explain later. Anyway, I’m busy right now. I called you because I don’t even have time to read messages.
“Wait…”
—Anyway, I’m glad you stopped her, but don’t let your guard down.
Amid the cacophony of ambient noises, Chi-Hyun continued.
—I told you before, a set future doesn’t change easily. It usually tries to go back to the way it was.
“What are you talking about?”
—Let me give an example. Let’s say that Ru Hiana leaves and disappears. Then what will you do?
“I’ll go look for her with Mr. Ru Amuh.”
—Yeah, that’s what you’ll do. But what if you go outside and also get swept into a dangerous incident?
Chi-Woo closed his mouth.
—And what if something happens to Shalyh while I go out to save you?
Chi-Woo’s expression became cold. The chain of events was completely plausible.
—You successfully stopped that from happening, but sooner or later, a similar event will happen. A situation that will affect your surroundings.
“…”
—You know what you have to do without me telling you, right?
Chi-Woo nodded with a stiff expression. He knew that this work was far from over.
—I’ll contact you again soon. Call me right away if something happens.
With this, the call immediately ended. Chi-Woo returned to his place, and using his brother’s words, he succeeded in obtaining a pledge from both Ru Amuh and Ru Hiana to never leave the city for the time being. It would have been great if his work was done with this, but as expected, changing a definite future was not easy. In the end, Chi-Hyun’s prediction became reality. A few days after Chi-Woo successfully stopped Ru Hiana, a new incident occurred.