Chapter 252 – 3 Days (3)

He had never cared about nicknames such as, 'glutton,' or, 'cheapskate,' for the ancient powers.
He had felt that they were fitting names for them and that they weren't harming him in any way.

However, this time he felt a bit different.

'Crazy kid?
What kind of crazy are we talking about?'

The Super Rock started to speak as if it knew the question on Cale's mind.

– He was crazy for fights. I've never seen anybody so obsessed with fighting in my life.

Cale started to frown.

"What is it? Is your body in pain?"
"…It's nothing sir."

Cale barely managed to respond to Eruhaben before slowly resolving the complicated mess in his head.

The World Tree had told him to find the Water of Judgment.
Furthermore, he thought about the ancient book he received from the Elf Chief that told the legend of the Super Rock.

The book that described the Super Rock's journey had said some things about his friends.

< The Guardian had another hero that was both a friend and an enemy. This hero was the one who freed the North from the freezing cold. That hero was a cheapskate whose hobby was picking up coins. >
< The Guardian said the following after seeing the money saved by that hero. >
< 'Crazy bastard. You saved and saved without spending and accumulated so much!' >

The one who had freed the North from the freezing cold.

The hero mentioned in that story was definitely the money-crazed Fire of Destruction.
The World Tree that was scared by that fire had the Elf priestess give Cale a bag of money when he went to see it, even though a long time had passed since the Fire of Destruction had last visited.

The question was, who put out that fire?
He naturally thought about the Water of Judgment.

Furthermore, he thought about the divine item watering can that he had found in Guardian Knight Clopeh Sekka's house. Raon had read the words written on that watering can.

'Life ends with nothing. The water will eventually overflow, even if you build a dam. I had created a river for the frozen land, but all of you blocked it from flowing.'
'There is only one conclusion for all of you who chased away my precious child in order to fill your greed.'

The child treasured by a god.
The Paerun Kingdom and the Guardian Knight household had chased him away.
That god then took away the river that he had made for them as punishment.

'This could also be the Water of Judgment.'

No, he was almost certain this was the case.
He had another question once his thoughts reached this point.

'I thought the god treasured this child.
But he is crazy about fighting?
Doesn't something about that sound odd?'

"It would make sense if the god of war treasured him…"

But there was no way that it was like that.
Would a god of war be generous enough to create a lake that does not freeze for the people of the North who suffered every winter from the lakes freezing?
If the god of war cared for people, he would not allow there to be wars.

"…Why are you suddenly talking about the god of war? Are you really okay? Is something wrong?"

The ancient Dragon started to worry after seeing Cale, who only had 3 days to live, suddenly start to frown and mumble to himself.
However, he just looked away after seeing that Cale seemed to not have heard him and just continued to mumble to himself. Cale subconsciously let out a sigh.

"…What the…"

The Super Rock was blabbing on in Cale's mind.
The person who always just said, 'are you going to sacrifice yourself?' had a lot to say this time, maybe because something he knew about came up.

– You're right. The god of war treasured that child. He was different from when he was young. If he did not find tasks associated with power to be annoying, then he could have become the ruler of the entire continent. He would also have become a tyrant who would have never been matched.

'…I'm about to go crazy.'

He was not just at Toonka's level of being crazy for fights.
He was a tyrant and was at the level of an emperor.

"…Life sure is hard."
"Are you really okay?"

Cale ignored Eruhaben's response as he placed Raon on top of some soft grass for a moment before picking up the diary in the ancient Dragon's hand. He then casually added on.

"Ah, by the way, Eruhaben-nim."
"What is it?"
"The Dragon half-blood had black hair and black eyes once the dye magic was removed."

Eruhaben's eyes opened wide. Cale, who was looking at the diary, did not notice this as he continued to speak.

"I heard that all Dragons have their own colors. Are half-bloods different?"

Eruhaben was the only white gold Dragon in the world.
Whether they were Red Dragons, Blue Dragons, or whatever other color Dragon, they were all unique in color.
That was why Dragons did not even have the same color as their parents. For example, it was not abnormal for a situation like a white gold Dragon to be born from a Red Dragon and a Blue Dragon to occur.

Cale looked toward Eruhaben while thinking about the Dragon half-blood who had different colored eyes than Raon but the same black body.
He then flinched.

Eruhaben had a serious frown on his face.

"No. Half-bloods are the same as Dragons in that way."

Dragon half-bloods were born with Dragon blood as well. That is why the human body cannot handle it.
It was impossible for a human to handle the instincts of their Dragon's blood to be unique.
Eruhaben heard Cale continuing to speak.

"Witira said that it seemed as if the Dragon half-blood had finished his second growth phase as well."

The ancient Dragon had expected that the Dragon half-blood had completed his first growth phase.
However, he could only think about one thing after hearing that it had survived the second growth phase as well. Eruhaben continued to frown as Cale quietly observed him.

The ancient Dragon and the human then made eye contact. The human could see fear in the ancient Dragon's eyes.

"…Is that bastard really a half-blood?"

That fear soon changed into anger. Cale subconsciously answered back, thinking that Eruhaben's eyes were showing the wisdom that he had gained from living so long.

"I presume he is a half-blood because he has both Dragon blood and human blood?"
"I will need to see him myself."

Eruhaben turned away from Cale and looked at the forest.

Olienne.
The area belonging to the deceased Dragon had a vibrant green fragrance to it. However, his mind was in a mess.

"Something is weird."

A murdered Dragon.
A fake Dragon Slayer.
And a Dragon half-blood.

"Raon is a real Dragon. This child's color is his own. We will get to find out his attribute once he finishes his first growth phase as well."

Raon was definitely a real Dragon.
He might be a bit peculiar, but this little kid was still an amazing Dragon. But the half-blood was the same color as Raon?

Arm.
That word repeated itself in Eruhaben's mind.
The ancient Dragon sighed as he commented.

"…Something that goes against the laws of nature is happening."

The good thing was that they had the opportunity to fix these things that were going against the laws of nature.

Eruhaben looked toward the unlucky bastard.
Everything was happening with this guy at the center.

If Raon had died, then the real Black Dragon would have disappeared from this world.
Furthermore, this guy was also the one who had told them about the true identities of the Dragon half-blood and the Dragon Slayer.

'It's still a long way away for the little kid to grow up. And I only have one year left.'

A Dragon Lord.
He wouldn't need to worry about this if the Dragon Lord was here.
However, nature had not assigned a Dragon Lord since long before Eruhaben was born.

"Eruhaben-nim, how about we tackle things one at a time?"

"Ha."

Eruhaben let out a chuckle. In some aspects, the guy with only 3 days left to live was the calmest.

"You're so calm even after hearing that you only have 3 days left."
"Isn't it all just a part of life?"

Cale Henituse, no, Kim Rok Soo was not really affected by the current situation. In fact, he was hopeful since he had learned that there was a clue that would help him resolve this issue.

Squirm, squirm.
The hidden front paw of the Black Dragon who was in a bundle of blankets on top of the soft grass was squirming. He was shaking, similar to a baby who was trying to flip over for the first time. However, Raon soon started to frown before his body became limp again.

The ancient Dragon settled his thoughts as he listened to the human who was saying that was just a part of life.

"Go ahead and read what it says."

They needed to take care of the most pressing issues first.
Cale started to read the diary again after seeing Eruhaben point to it. It was the only page that was written in the language of the Western continent.

Cale's expression slowly turned odd as he read through the page.

< The monsters in the Leeb-An region are starting to disappear. I went to take a look because I was concerned that something might be happening. >

It was talking about the region with Mount Leeb and Leeb-An City.
There had always been a lot of monsters there, however, the monsters started to disappear one day. Cale and Eruhaben had come here in order to figure out the reason as well.

The Dragon, Olienne, had been curious about that reason as well.

< As a result, I found a lake. >

'A lake?'

Cale was certain that this location was where the Water of Judgment was located. His face stiffened up after reading what was written after that.

< That lake was judging the monsters. >

'Judging the monsters?'
He recalled how the owner had been obsessed with fighting.

< It judged humans as well. >

'How did the lake judge the monsters and humans? What was the criteria of the lake? And how did it do it?'

He was full of questions. It was hard to imagine what could have happened.

< It was an arrogant power. However, there must be a reason that nature left behind such a power. I created a barrier around the area in order to prevent any further damage and then left the lake alone. >

Cale recalled the bandit leader he had looted in Mount Leeb. He had indicated that there were still monsters around Leeb-An City but that the number had decreased, allowing mercenaries and merchants to be active in the area.

< To be honest, I don't want to call that place a lake. >

Cale slowly read the information that was written in the back.

< I'd rather call it an, 'arrogant power that resembles a god.' >

'Resembles a god?
Did it resemble the god of war?'

Cale felt as if he had a headache.
He had already needed to use his shield, the pillar of water, and even the stone spears. So if, and really just if, he ever had to use this power after gaining it…

'Just thinking about it is terrible.'

Then forget a slacker life, he would need to figure out a way to lay low and live in seclusion.
But it wasn't like he could easily find any other water-type ancient powers in the next three days.

Eruhaben, who did not know about what Cale was thinking, gently consoled him.

"I think that the barrier around the lake prevented people from seeing it. The coordinates for the barrier are listed here, so we can just teleport there and enter the barrier."

Eruhaben then stopped for a moment before he continued to speak in a concerned tone.

"However, even if I get rid of the barrier for you, you will need to earn the ancient power on your own as you've done with the others. You need to overcome the trial that the power gives you."
"…Those were all trials?"
"Yes?"
"…I see."

Cale blankly recalled the trials where he had to deliver bread to the tree, destroy the stone tower, dig underwater in order to free the top, throw money into lava, and finally, chew rocks.

Cale could not even fathom what kind of extraordinary thing he would have to do this time. However, he was not too worried as it was still better than fighting and getting bloody.
Cale held Raon back up as he continued to speak.

"It looks like Leeb-An City is nearby based on the coordinates, so let's stop by there first."
"Sure."

* * *

Screeeech.

Hope and Adventure Loving Inn.
The people in the inn with quite the long name were still working hard in order to fix up the place before the grand opening.

The door to that inn slowly opened.
A bandit who was making a tablecloth continued to look at the tablecloth as he shouted in a blunt voice.

"Hey! Ditching will result in one glove! Why do you even try when you know you'll get caught? Unless you run fast enough to make the dust fly up, no, there is no dust here. Do you wish to be the dust of the world?"
"No."
"Then shut up and just do your-"

The bandit suddenly stopped.
There were five bandits in the hall including him.
However, the others were all being too quiet when one of them was running away.
And the voice that just responded was very familiar.

Plop.
The tablecloth in the bandit's hand fell to the ground.
The tablecloth fluttered like a butterfly as it fell and the person who came in picked it up.

"We can't let it get dirty. Am I right?"

The bandit could see the person's red hair.
It was the person who was scarier than the white glove and the old man!
He subconsciously started to speak.

"That is right, sir! Dust is evil! We must get rid of it! Tablecloths must be completely white!"

Cale tilted his head to the side after seeing the bandit receiving the tablecloth from him with shaking hands.

'…Why is he acting like this?
Why is he so scared?'
Cale had told the team to make sure that the bandits were well fed and well clothed. It was because he was going to make them be the servers.
And Beacrox had followed his orders properly and fed them well. It was just that the kitchen assistant bandit who had seen the way Beacrox used his kitchen knife had told the others about it, making them all scared to the point that they couldn't tell whether the food was going into their noses or mouths.

Cale looked at the five bandits who were quietly working with a weird expression before someone suddenly started to speak from behind him.

"You're here, young master-nim. You returned earlier than I expected."

'Aigoo, so scary.'

Cale was shocked at Ron, who approached without making any noises before signaling him with his eyes to say let's go to the second floor.

Cale headed to the second floor with Ron as Eruhaben following behind them. Beacrox came out of the kitchen to follow them as well. There were some footsteps coming to greet Cale when he got to the second floor.

"You're here! You came back fast!"
"I wanted to see you! Looks like our youngest is sleeping!"

On and Hong were excited as they came to greet Cale.

However, their expressions changed once Cale went into one of the rooms and opened up the blankets in order to lay Raon down on the bed.

"Meeeeeow."
"Meeow."

On and Hong must have been shocked as they meowed like cats instead of speaking like humans before curling up next to either side of Raon. Cale informed the group of Raon's current situation.

"He's in his first growth phase. Raon is fighting against himself right now. His eyes are closed, but he can hear everything that we are saying."

On and Hong stopped meowing like cats once they heard that. Then they started to mumble while still remaining by Raon's side.

"Beast people are said to be in pain during their first berserk transformation as well. We can't have our youngest being in pain."
"Our youngest is great and mighty, even without growing up!"

Cale watched On and Hong say all of that while sticking next to Raon before turning his head. He could see Ron and Beacrox's expressions.
The two of them had vicious occupations, but were also very emotional people.
Cale left the children averaging nine-years-old with Eruhaben before heading out of the room. He signaled Ron with his eyes to follow him.

Click.
The door opened and closed.
Cale and Ron made eye contact in the empty hallway.

"Young master-nim, is something wrong? I'm guessing that the war is not over yet?"

'He really is like a ghost.'

Cale knew that the sharp Ron would understand that something was weird. That was why he had called him out separately.

"Ron."
"Yes, young master-nim."

He was a scary old man, but in some aspects, he was his most trustworthy person.
Cale was not very worried because he thought that this situation was quite hopeful right now.

He had a feeling that things would work out.
His instincts that he had developed over the years were telling him that he would not die.

However, you always had to prepare for the worst.

Cale had told crown prince Alberu the truth.
Although he didn't know whether Alberu would tell the others about his situation, they were currently in the middle of a war.
There was no way to tell what might happen.

He needed to prepare for the others in the group learning about his situation, as well as if the war suddenly turned for the worse.

Cale did not hesitate to pick Ron Molan as one of those people to help him prepare for the worst possible scenario. Although he was not the eldest in their group, he was the eldest human, as well as someone who knew how to guide the rest of their group.

He was the first person Kim Rok Soo saw when he opened his eyes in this world, as well as the person he had spent the most time with since entering this world.
That was why Cale calmly informed Ron about his current condition.

"3 days, no, 2 days and 8 hours."
"What are you counting down?"

Ron could see Cale starting to smile. His calm voice filled the hallway.

"That's the remaining time for the bomb inside my body."

Ron's cold eyes shook for a moment. However, Ron could see that Cale's pupils did not shake at all. That calm gaze made Ron calm down as well.
Cale continued to speak without any hesitation.

"I will come back after removing the bomb."

Cale asked Ron for a favor.

"That is why I need you to take care of business as usual, please."

As usual.
As if nothing had happened.
Ron hesitated in front of Cale for the first time before closing his eyes. Cale, who was waiting for a response, heard the Super Rock's voice in his head.

– Are you trying to become stronger?

'No, I don't want to do that at all.'

It was the moment Cale was about to oppose the statement.
He heard someone else start to speak in his mind.

– Are you good at cussing?

'…What?'

It was a familiar voice.
It was the voice of the money-crazed owner of the fiery thunderbolt.
He was suddenly speaking. He was the one who had created that sea of fire that Cale believed the Water of Judgment had put out.

The parchment paper inside the ancient Dragon Olienne's diary had something written about the fiery thunderbolt as well.

< I will go cause trouble just like the fiery thunderbolt cheapskate! Just watch! >

The owner of the Water of Judgment and the Fire of Destruction seemed to be pretty close to each other.
The fiery thunderbolt continued to speak.

– The first hit has to be a straight. To defeat him, cussing at the start is the best.

Cale brushed his eyes with his hands.

– Or try to convince him that you will cause trouble. Then he might follow you. He wrote his letter of resignation with me.

'You wrote that crazy letter of resignation together?'

– That is why I know him a bit. We developed a bond while fighting after realizing that we both have similar values. It was easier to talk to him than that stuffy old man World Tree.

'…These crazy owners of ancient powers.
None of them are normal.'

"…Young master-nim?"
"Haaaaa. Life is so hard, Ron."

Ron's face that usually had a benign smile or a cold gaze had a new expression after seeing Cale sincerely looking tired.
Cale did not manage to see that expression as he had to deal with the cheapskate fire that had suddenly popped out.

– I will help you. By the way, do you have some money? Don't you want to strengthen the fiery thunderbolt? Aren't you curious about the strength of the fiery thunderbolt that could burn up the entire northern region of the Western continent? Don't you want to have the fire that made even old man World Tree faint?

'Absolutely not.'

He did not want to get the cheapskate's help at all.

"So hard."

Ron's face ended up in a frown after hearing Cale's mumblings.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]