Chapter 385 – Decision (2)

'Sacrifice.'

Cale started to speak instead of responding to the Super Rock.

"What are you doing?"
"Ah."

Choi Han snapped back to his senses. He noticed that he was just blankly staring at the open book while crouching down.

"N, nothing, Cale-nim."

Choi Han could not control his shaking voice.
He quickly picked up the record book on the floor. The open book closed once again.

"Choi Han! Are you okay?"

Choi Han smiled and nodded at Raon's question. He then took a deep breath.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Choi Han's heart was beating wildly.

It was beating wildly for a different reason than before.
He looked at the cover of the book.

< The Birth of a Hero. >

Choi Han could not get himself to open the book.

'What did I just read?'

He did not need to ask that question. The information that he had quickly seen was clear on his mind.
He started to think about what he had just read.

Monopolize the earth attribute ancient powers to defeat the person with the sky attribute.
The person who monopolized those powers should fight against the person with the sky attribute.

'…Sacrifice them.'

The book was saying that they should sacrifice that person.
Even if they might not die, the book was telling that person to fight in the vanguard where they had the highest chance of getting hurt.

Choi Han felt that his hands were getting sweaty. However, he didn't have the time to leisurely wipe his hands and calm himself.

'Raon and Cale-nim are looking at me right now.'

He could not show them that he was shaking. Choi Han slowly started to open the book.

'Right, let's read through first. I will read it first and then think about it.'

He could not make any decisions based on a quick skim of a single page.
Choi Han slowly started to read the words that Choi Jung Gun had left behind in Korean.

< It happened while I was playing with my friends by a creek. I, Choi Jung Gun, became unconscious after feeling something wrap around me and suck me in. I opened my eyes to see that I was no longer in Korea. >
< I had appeared in a place called the Forest of Darkness. >

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Choi Han's heart was beating wildly.

This really was his uncle.
His youngest uncle had also disappeared while playing with his friends by the creek.

'But he fell into the Forest of Darkness as well.'

Choi Jung Gun had opened his eyes in the Forest of Darkness.
Although there was a difference of 10,000 years between the ancient times and now, Choi Han was certain that it was the same Forest of Darkness that he had lived in.
It was because of the words written after that.

< The Forest of Darkness is located on the Western continent and is a vibrant forest in a land filled with boulders. There is a mister with a terrible attitude who serves as a guardian of sorts in that location. >

A place on the Western continent with a lot of boulders.
That was the Henituse territory in the Roan Kingdom.
The mister with a terrible attitude was probably the person who created the Super Rock Villa.

'…Just what the hell happened to my family that something is playing with our lives like-'

Choi Han had no way of knowing whether it was a coincidence that both Choi Jung Gun and he ended up in this world or if there was a greater reason behind it.

< I was a foreigner in this world. Nature tried to reject me. But I found people to call my family. >
< Mr. Super Rock created the foundation for me to live in this world. Although I am living my life in the Castle of Light now, my hometown could be called the land of boulder with the Forest of Darkness. >

Choi Han couldn't help but notice something.

Choi Jung Gun. His uncle's life was similar to his own.

Choi Han had also felt the loneliness and despair of being thrown into the Forest of Darkness alone. He had truly been out of his mind after seeing what happened to Harris Village.

Who had he met at that moment?
Who was the one who fed him even as he stared daggers and gave him the opportunity to find a home and family members to return to?

That person had carried on the power of Mr. Super Rock in this book.

Cale Henituse.
It all started with that name.

Raon, On, Hong, Ron, Beacrox, Rosalyn, Lock, Mary...
The names of the people he met in this world filled his mind.

He suddenly started to feel fear.

Choi Jung Gun's life was similar to his own.

…And Choi Jung Gun was the only survivor of the final battle against the ancient White Star.

'If, if that happens to me as well-'

Choi Han shook his head.
That will not happen.
That could not happen.

'Living alone while everybody dies.
If that's going to be the case-'

Choi Han turned the page.

< I thought to myself. >
< If I knew it would be like this. >
< If I knew I would be the only one to survive. >
< I would have rather sacrificed myself to save the others. >

Choi Han stopped for a moment before turning the page again. He continued to turn page after page.
Choi Han was quiet as he read through the book as still as a calm lake.

However, Choi Jung Gun's memoir was not calm at all.
His emotions were roaring like a storm.

Although the information about the ancient White Star and other information were written rationally, his emotions were visible at different spots throughout the book.

< ...Everybody else died. I wish I died with them at that time...>
< ...I was not in a normal state of mind at first. I was alive, but I did not feel alive. I could see the dying faces of my friends, my family in this world, each and every night. >

The same words or similar content continued to appear here and there.
Choi Jung Gun's despair and regret pierced deep into Choi Han's heart. This was not a story to just read and forget.
Choi Han scrunched his eyes to make himself focus.

< But I came back to my senses. I had to fulfill the request Mr. Super Rock asked me to do. This was what he had told me. He said that we should make sure that something like this never happened again. If another White Star, if another person with the sky attribute appeared, we needed to stop them while not losing so many people. Those words made me continue to live. >

The truth slowly started to appear little by little.

< However, everyone who was evaluated to be strong died with the White Star. Chaos instead of peace filled the world. >
< There were still many members of the White Star's Forest of Darkness who remained alive, as well as many evil people who tried to fulfill their evil greed without the White Star and the strong individuals present. >
< Another chaos, another war was about to break out. >

The ancient times ended with the death of the ancient White Star.
A transitional period appeared after that.
Choi Jung Gun had made up his mind about something at that time.

< That is why a weakling like me had to trick the world. The one to help me with this was Sheritt, my forever close friend. >

One human and one Dragon moved to the Eastern continent's Castle of Light.

< People called me a hero for surviving the final battle. They also thought I was strong. It was only natural. I was the only one to survive. Everybody else had died. >

< But that was not the case. >

< I only had a power that could make me seem strong. However, having an aura similar to a Dragon and the title of the sole surviving hero was enough to gather people around me. Of course, those around me who were helping me knew the truth about my power. >

The young man that the Guardian of Boulder protected because he was the weakest had suddenly turned into the strongest individual in the human world.
He had tricked the world.

< But I had no intention of ending it there after tricking the world. >

Choi Jung Gun wanted to turn the lie into a reality.
That was why he put his long lifespan on the line.

< I wrote earlier than I poured my strength into creating the Sword of Disasters. >

It was a power created by offering close to 1,000 years of his life that was almost as long as a Dragon's life.

< I put my entire lifeline other than six months to write this memoir to create that power. >

Choi Han bit down on his lips.

The Sword of Disasters.
He knew about this power as well.

< This power would probably be carried on by the Dragon Slayers who come after me. >

As Choi Jung Gun mentioned, that power was carried on by future generations of Dragon Slayers and was in the current White Star's hands who created a fake Sword of Disasters with half his powers to give to Syrem, the fake Dragon Slayer.
And Syrem was currently imprisoned in the Roan Kingdom's underground prison.

Choi Han's pupils started to shake at that moment.

< My fellow foreigner who is reading this right now. This village is a place where the strongest individual becomes the next generation's Dragon Slayer. I hope that you can become the Dragon Slayer and possess this Sword of Disasters. >

Flip. Flip.

Choi Han's hand did not shake at all as he turned the pages.

< The Sword of Disasters. This power that possesses disasters as mentioned in the name is something that can only show its true powers when it is in the hands of a foreigner who is rejected by nature. >

But Choi Han's heart was beating wildly.

< I can imagine it now. >
< If someone possesses the Sword of Disasters, the crown, and both earth attribute ancient powers... >
< Then they may be able to defeat the sky. >

The crown and one earth attribute ancient power.
Cale currently possessed the two of those.

< My fellow foreigner. Don't you have precious relationships in this world as well? >

He was right.
They were precious.
Extremely, extremely precious.

They were people he finally met after an uncountable number of years alone in the Forest of Darkness.

Choi Han continued to turn the pages until he stopped on the last page.
He could first see the part that was written in the Eastern continent's common language.

< The person who wished to become a god died. >
< All of the heroes died as well. >

Choi Han started to smile.
His gaze started to read through the other language on the last page.

Choi Jung Gun's last record written in Korean.

< However, heroes will once again appear during times of trouble. >
< Heroes will always be born. >

Tap.

Choi Han closed the book.
He had a smile on his face as he lifted his head. He could see Cale looking at him.
Cale, who had his usual stoic expression on his face, patted Raon's head as he started to speak.

"How did it go?"

Cale's voice was as calm as usual as well.
However, Choi Han could not easily speak even though there was a smile on his face.
Raon moved away from Cale's hand and flew toward Choi Han.

"Human! I knew our Choi Han would be able to read all of it! Our Choi Han really is super smart! He's much better than that clueless Mercenary King!"

Choi Han was looking at Cale even as Raon said that.
Cale spoke in his normal tone.

"Yes. Choi Han is smart."

Cale walked toward Choi Han.
He then took the book from Choi Han and started to quickly turn the pages.
Choi Han quietly watched.
He then flinched.

"Choi Han, do you know which part of this book was the most memorable to me?"

Cale's hand stopped on the last page.
Cale touched the words written in the Eastern continent's common language on the last page.

"The last page."

Choi Han could see the words Cale's fingers were touching.

< The person who wished to become a god died. >
< All of the heroes died as well. >

Cale continued to speak.

"I don't like the last sentence."

Choi Han started to think.
The last sentence Cale was talking about was the one about how all of the heroes died.

However, Cale was pointing at two sentences.
One in the Eastern continent's common language. One written in Korean.

< All of the heroes died as well. >
< Heroes will always be born. >

Cale didn't like either of these sentences.
This was the case even though he was considered a hero on the Western continent. It was quite inconsistent.

"Choi Han, do you remember something I told you in the past?"

Cale reminded Choi Han of something he told him in the past.

"I said you would be writing your history."

Cale had said that to Choi Han in the battle at the Henituse territory.

'It is your history that you will write here.'

Choi Han recalled those words. He then thought about this moment.
This was a different time, 10,000 years later than the ancient times.

"Raon and I are also writing our histories as well. We are not writing the history of heroes."

Cale's calm voice reached Choi Han's ears.
Choi Han quickly made a decision.
No, he became certain about a decision he already made.

He knew this was the right direction.

"What do you think? Did you read all of it?"
"Yes, Cale-nim."

Choi Han answered Cale's question without any hesitation.
Cale then asked him a question.

"So then, what do you have to tell me?"

Cale was waiting for Choi Han to speak.

Choi Han should understand what Cale was getting at.
He was a smart guy after all.
It was also because Cale trusted Choi Han. They had spent a long time together.

– Are you going to sacrifice yourself?

Cale answered internally after hearing the Super Rock ask that question again.

'No. We are not going to sacrifice anyone.'

Choi Han responded at that moment.

"I will become the Dragon Slayer."

Raon flinched.
However, Choi Han continued to speak.

He had been afraid and uncomfortable about the thought of losing his precious friends as he read through Choi Jung Gun's memoir.
However, Choi Han was different than Choi Jung Gun, and there was something he had learned as he lived.
They had their own methods.

"And it looks like you will need to become the guardian, Cale-nim."

Choi Han calmly continued to speak to Cale who was looking at him.

"Please be the shield."

He then added on without any hesitation.

"I will stand next to you and be the sword."

Choi Han had made up his mind.

He would not let anybody die.
Not himself nor the others.

He then looked toward Raon.

"Raon, you will need to thoroughly support Cale-nim from behind."

Cale, Choi Han, and Raon were not the only ones.

"It looks like we will need the others to join us as well. This is something we need to do together."

The corners of Cale's lips slowly went up.

'Yes. This is it.
Choi Han knows our methods now.'

"Cale-nim, everybody needs to work together."

Cale started to smile.

The original story was gone.
This was their history now.

***

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]