Chapter 8: DUNGEON BOOK (1)

The amount of martial arts terminologies in the first half of this chapter drove me crazy. I feel like I went to a crash course of Korean martial arts with all the terms. Because of that, I ended up making some changes to the previous chapters to correct several mistakes or clarify some ambiguous words. Here are the changes:

Heavenly Body is now Heavenly Martial Body – Cheonmujiche (천무지체 or 天武肢體) is made up of heaven (천, cheon), martial (무, mu), and body (지체, jiche), so it's now Heavenly Martial Body. Solar Flower is now Sunfire Carp – The Chinese characters are 太陽火鯉, which means Sun (太陽)Fire (火) Carp (鯉). In hindsight, the fact that it mentioned it was a carp in the next paragraph should've been a clue to me that it was a fish and not a flower, hahaha. I chose Sunfire Carp over Sun's Fire Carp because most carp names are one word only if you exclude the carp word.

I've also edited phrases related to extreme power, as it actually meant extreme/powerful Yang energy. The previous ones were quite ambiguous as you may wonder what kind of power it was referring too. There's also the fact that the sun is associated with yang energy, so the Sunfire Carp and Sun's Necklace having lots of yang energy to cure/combat Gueumjulmaek's excessive yin energy makes sense, as yin and yang are dual opposites.

And if you're curious what Gueumjulmaek (구음절맥, 九陰絶脈) means, it's Nine Yin Severed Meridians. The name is too long, so I'll still call it Gueumjulmaek in the following chapters.

Count Bayer.

The Bayer family is one of the 12 northern families that defend the northern part of the Sälen Kingdom and is famous for producing powerful knights for generations.

Victor Cromwell, a long-time vassal of the Count and now a retired knight, reddened his eyes with tears at the sight in front of him.

“Haa…. Kuhaa…. Kuhaa…”

Jude Bayer, who was called the anguish of Count Bayer because of his Gueumjulmaek disease that even disrupted his daily life, was now running in the training courtyard.

Though he gasped for breath as if he was going to die soon.

“It is indeed a gift of the heavens…”

During Jude's and his fiancée's tryst… no, their “daytime escape”, they got the sun god Solari's divine item, which helped in the treatment of his Gueumjulmaek.

A literal eccentricity that is too coincidental to be seen as a coincidence but can only be seen as a coincidence.

“O Askantor, thank you for watching over the Bayer family.”

Victor, who prayed to Askantor, the god of war, looked back at the training courtyard with a smile.

A red-faced Jude was turning around the corner to complete the last lap.

10 laps around the training field.

For ordinary knights, it was only a warm-up and a barely possible amount of exercise, but for Jude, it was simply a great development.

Just a week ago, he couldn't even properly run a lap around the training field.

“Haa… Haa… Kuhaa…”

Jude, who managed to keep the running form itself, collapsed in place almost as soon as he finished the last lap.

“Kuhaa…”

The sky seemed to be spinning.

I didn't think of anything as if my head were empty.

“Kuhaa…”

I ended up lying down. I sweated so much that my whole body was wet as if I were drowning.

“Haa…”

How long has it been since I laid down?

When my breath calmed down to some extent, I was able to think.

'I'm dying.'

10 laps around the training field.

Considering the distance, it is just over 1 kilometer?

It wasn't that short, but it wasn't that long either.

'Still.'

A smile began to spread on Jude's face.

I could clearly feel that I was getting better little by little.

'Sun's Necklace.'

The necklace of the sun god, Solari, was still hung on Jude's neck.

Unlike the Sunfire Carp, which injects an enormous amount of Yang energy at once, the Sun's Necklace slowly but continuously supplied Yang energy.

Gueumjulmaek meant a blockage of the meridians due to the immense Yin energy.

The Yang energy little by little had melted the excessive Yin energy, thus the symptoms of Gueumjulmaek began to ease.

Moreover, that was not the only effect of the Sun's Necklace.

As the energies of Yin and Yang met to covet each other, the result was the creation of a clear and pure energy.

Right now, the mana training method – in other words, the inner Qi cultivation method, was something that Jude couldn't properly train yet so he couldn't use the pure energy that was created, but that didn't mean the energy disappeared.

All these pure energies remained in Jude's body, so if he fully absorbs them later, he could achieve great achievements at once.

“Young master.”

As I rolled my eyes at the call, I could see Victor with a face full of smiles.

Having retired after reaching the age of sixty, he didn't follow Count Bayer's expedition, but his will to continuously reform/train himself knows no bounds.

“I saw you achieve your goal without giving until the end. The Count will be very pleased when he comes back.”

What he said wasn't just flattery.

Jude had managed to finish running 10 laps around the field even though he suffered and had a hard time breathing.

Even though Jude's body was still in the process of being restored, Victor appreciated his strong will.

'As expected, Jude is also a Bayer.'

Gueumjulmaek was no different from a curse when it was appeared, but the spirit of Count Bayer, the master of the warriors, was also continuing to Jude.

“If you recover a little more, you'll also be able to master the family's martial arts. Young master, I do you think you'll be able to unfold the Bayer family's martial arts… Hoho, I may be old, but it gets my heart pounding.

It was Victor who was not very eloquent.

But what he said was good, so Jude ended up smiling.

'Count Bayer's Mugong (martial arts).'

Like a playable character, Jude was also given his own growth points.

One of them was Count Bayer's Mugong.

The Bayer family now barely occupies the lowest level among the 12 northern families, but at one time, Count Bayer was the head of the 12 families and held the margrave position.

The Mugong that have been passed down through generations never declined.

'It's Mugong.'

It was not just a martial art, but something superhuman that uses inner Qi, that it is not an exaggeration to say it is magic in a sense.

There was nothing strange about the world where not only angels and demons but also magic existed, but I felt amazed every time I felt it again.

“Now, young master. That's enough for today. It's not good if you overdo it. Don't forget that getting enough rest is part of the training.”

After Victor helped him stand up by holding him with his giant-like hands, Jude nodded and took another breath.

'One week.'

It had been a week since I got the Sun's Necklace from the Red Moon's Leisegang.

In the next three days, the ban on going out would end, so it was time to prepare for the next step.

'If I were alone, I wouldn't have dreamed of it.'

Attempting to get it after the Sun's Necklace.

The ultimate goal of Jude and Cordelia was to protect the world from the armageddon of angels and demons by stopping the Great Summons, but they haven't made any progress yet.

'We're still powerless.'

It was obvious to say that it was impossible with the combination of a 1-star wizard and a guy who can barely run 10 laps.

For now, they had to suppress their impatience and lay the foundations for growth.

'We can do it together.'

I hadn't intended to do so, but I had leveled up thanks to Leisegang, and so with Cordelia, I'll be able to proceed to the next step right away.

'But…'

How to contact Cordelia.

It was not that he hadn't had a means of communication.

It was just a burden.

'Maja would like it…'

After last week's flight, she was happy with her eyes even though she scolded me.

'Dearest Yellow… No, Lady Cordelia.'

Recalling the first verse of the letter to his fiancée, Jude became a face of misery without realizing it.

The next morning, at Count Chase's.

Cordelia, who was training in meditation to raise mana hearts, suddenly opened her eyes shaking.

Because I had an ominous feeling.

'What, what is it?'

Since her time as Yellow Storm, her senses were good enough to beat Outboxer's.

I can't believe it's so sinister that I can't help but wake up in meditation.

However, there was no need to worry for a long time.

This is because I saw someone who is believed to be one of the causes of her premonition.

“Miss.”

Dahlia Ale, Cordelia's escort.

She was approaching with a suspicious, no – rather, an ominous smile.

“Dah…lia?”

Why?

Why is she smiling like that?

In fact, she had a rough idea for the reason.

I've seen her several times in the past week, and the name 'Jude Bayer' always came out when she looked like that.

'It wasn't the act of a chaste maiden, but I support your love.'

Dahlia came up to her and said it to her, who had received a restraining order.

Her words were creepy enough that I could remember it without a mistake.

'Why, why are you laughing like that again?'

You're going to say something strange this time again.

When the anxious Cordelia smiled awkwardly, Dahlia nodded as if she understood everything and said in a soft tone.

“Miss, you have half a face. I understand.”

T/N: Half a face came from the Korean idiom, 얼굴이 반쪽이 되다, which literally means, to become half faced. It means to look very haggard from sickness or pain.

Source:

“I'm telling you. I've been training hard. It's not for any other reason.”

“Haha…if you insist.”

She said she understands it, but her eyes say otherwise.

It was clear that she was thinking completely different things.

'Oh, really.'

This was all because of Jude.

If it wasn't for that day, or those shameful lines and dialogue, Dahlia wouldn't have misunderstood this much.

In fact, Cordelia wasn't the only who got punished for her weekly run with Jude.

Dahlia was also given a pay cut for failing to escort her properly, but she was still taking the same attitude.

'That… she's like a sister.'

If Maja was like a sister for Jude, for Cordelia, Dahlia was like a sister she had grown up with since childhood.

'No, come to think of it, isn't this an act of revenge?'

While Cordelia was doubting her, Dahlia spoke again.

“Anyway, miss. There is good news for the troubled lady.”

“Good news?”

“Yes, good news.”

“What, what is it?”

“Ufufu…it's news from Mr. Jude Bayer.”

Dahlia smiled briskly, took out a letter from her arms and held it out.

“It's a letter full of warmth from Mr. Jude Bayer.”

Letter.

Love letter.

The moment she heard it, Cordelia got goosebumps all over her body, but she also felt glad.

It was because she received news from Boxer after a week.

“Come on and read it.”

When Dahlia urged her with shining eyes, Cordelia had a complex and subtle expression as she opened the letter.

To my Dear Lady Cordelia whom I truly yearn for.

I couldn't stand it from just the first line.

But still, Cordelia swallowed her breath and firmly prepared herself.

I had to read anyway.

Moreover, it couldn't have been just a letter. There could be some hidden message.

'Is it a vertical drip?'

Or a diagonal drip.

T/N: Vertical drip (세로드립) is the Korean version of an acrostic cipher. An acrostic cipher or code is when the first letter or syllable of every word, line, or paragraph spells out a secret message. Vertical means that the message is hidden vertically. A variation of it is diagonal drip, meaning the message is hidden diagonally.

Source:

Cordelia, who painfully read a letter full of sweet sentences from Maja's corrections, widened her eyes suddenly.

It wasn't because she found a vertical or diagonal drip.

At the end of the letter full of words of love.

One line of Hangul that is written honestly, without any finesse.

Two days later, let's meet at the temple of Varuna at 2pm.

'Oh, you've used your brain?'

The only ones who can recognize Hangul in Pleiades are Yellow Storm and Outboxer.

At this rate, it was almost a perfect code.

'More than that, Varuna's Temple?'

It was two days later, when the ban on going out was over, so I understood the date itself, but the temple of Varuna was on my mind.

Varuna, the god of the mirror wall.

A guardian and watcher of secrets.

There was a temple of Varuna in the border city where Count Bayer and Count Chase lived.

It wasn't that big, but as the god that governs 'secrets', people visited the temple to make confessions.

'Is there anything there?'

If you're asking me to see you there, there must be something.

Cordelia traced her memories for a moment, but nothing came to mind.

'Anyway, the problem is…'

Cordelia, who folded the letter after reading everything, glanced slightly towards Dahlia.

And as expected.

Dahlia's brightly shining eyes greeted Cordelia.

'I hate to say it. I really hate to say it.'

But I still had to.

I had to take Dahlia with me to go out in broad daylight, whether the ban is over or not.

“Dahlia.”

“Yes, miss.”

“That… two days later.”

“Yes, miss. Are you going to have a secret love affair with Mr. Jude Bayer a day after the ban ends two days later?”

“Eh…huh? Se-secret love affair?”

“Haa…Mr. Bayer must have been very sweet. I can't believe he's asking you out as soon as the ban ends.”

At that moment, Cordelia's mind went blank, but she nodded her head for now.

I had to go anyway.

The misunderstanding was a bit annoying, but I couldn't help it.

“Ah, anyway. I'm going to the temple of Varuna in two days.”

“Oh, even the place looks pretty good. Having a secret love affair at the temple of the god of secrets. Don't run away this time. I'll make time for you two.”

Dahlia, who finished talking with a smile, even winked.

What should I say?

It's definitely a helpful story, but I feel like I'm strangled.

Cordelia closed her eyes once and took a very long breath. It was for her peace of mind.

But Dahlia's views on it was different.

'You're very relieved.'

The fact that I can finally meet my beloved Jude.

Didn't Cordelia focused on training for the past week to suppress the pain of not being able to meet him?

It is not known when love has become so deep, but in nature, instant communion was more important than absolute time between men and women.

'Miss, I'll help you a lot. Fighting!'

Dahlia looked at Cordelia with warm eyes, and Cordelia who had just opened her eyes, thought with astonishment.

'What, what's wrong with her? What are you delusional about!'

But I didn't ask out loud.

Because I was afraid of what to say.

“Ah, anyway. Two days later. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes, miss. Two days is not short but hang in there. Okay?”

She said it cutely, but it wasn't cute.

Why do I have to endure this?

'I'd rather die than suffer.'

With a dry nod, Cordelia drooped her shoulders.