LTTH C44

Chapter 44

 

Judging from the reaction, it was evident that the points I possessed ranked among the higher tier. Yet I had no recollection of having slain nearly as many monsters as Kassie seemed to assume. Where, then, had these points come from?

“Hmm, how should I put this?”

While Kassie was still mulling over the mystery of my points, his expression suddenly brightened, and he lifted a finger as if struck by inspiration.

“Do you remember that dreadful beast that floated in the air the moment you first arrived here?”

The one I had forced back into the sanctuary—its overwhelming presence lingering, undiminished. Impossible to forget.

“Yes. Of course, I remember.”

Even when I departed from Britain, albeit unwillingly, the image of it clung to me like an afterimage. Its colossal size and ominous aura rendered it an adversary that could never be taken lightly.

“Not entirely single-handedly, but Isaac managed to capture it. The points awarded then amounted to just shy of ten thousand.”

“……!”

‘Only ten thousand points for a monster of that magnitude?’

My gaze involuntarily shifted back toward the balance remaining in the shop window.

If slaying nearly a hundred such beasts was required to earn that number of points, Kassie’s example suddenly rendered the scale of it tangible.

But something was amiss. Despite my long years as a healer, I could not recall ever striking down even one such monster. Moreover, as a healer, I had never engaged in combat as directly as other fighters might. Though, in truth, I sometimes longed to cleave through enemies as Isaac did. Yet I was no combatant.

“Hansol’s points are somewhat unusual… but perhaps they reflect just how hard he has worked.”

Kassie, who had been pondering with his head tilted slightly, at last shifted, his expression easing into a bright smile, as though he had reached a conclusion of his own.

‘Work hard, hm.’

Indeed, I had worked hard. Yet this seemed a strange reward.

‘So long as these points are not some cursed form that brings harm when spent.’

The thought unsettled me, though the system had thus far proven flawless, if unrelenting. Surely it would be fine.

“Kassie, then—is this shop usable only here?”

“No, it can be accessed anywhere the system applies. However, one must first register in person, as Hansol has. Whether it can be used in Korea, where Hansol is bound… that, I cannot say. You know well he is tethered here.”

Kassie’s features clouded with a fleeting bitterness, but I responded lightly, perhaps with a smile breaking through the fatigue in his eyes—an expression unfitting his weariness.

“Then I had best make full use of it while I remain.”

“Ppoong…?”

‘Good heavens.’

Until now, Kassie’s Korean had been fluent. Yet the way he now pronounced that particular word, with an odd, foreign accent, startled me into laughter.

“Is that a humorous word?”

Kassie repeated it, seemingly delighted, and my suppressed laughter burst forth. Damn it—this was entirely Kassie’s fault.

I laughed more freely than I had in a long while, before at last calming myself and wiping tears from my eyes.

“‘Croak.’ It means to get your money’s worth, something of that sort.”

“Oh, I have learned a splendid word.”

Splendid? Not quite. I knew full well it was vulgar.

‘Did I just say something foolish?’

I considered urging Kassie to forget the word—it was hardly a decent one. Yet before I could, Kassie nodded with conviction, repeating it again in that odd accent. Truly troublesome. My laughter button had been struck once more.

“I only hope it cannot be used in Korea or anywhere else. That way, Hansol will be obliged to come here more often.”

“No need to worry. He will come.”

“Hmm, there is a saying in Korea, is there not? ‘One may know a thousand fathoms beneath the sea, yet not an inch into a person’s heart.’”

Where on earth had he learned such a proverb? Kassie’s foreign visage combined with his fluent Korean gave rise to an odd dissonance.

“Oh, do not mistake me—I do not doubt Hansol. Somehow, I simply feel it could happen.”

Contrary to Kassie’s hopes, I suspected this shop system would indeed function in Korea.

Although it had first manifested in Britain, it had later become available there as well. Once the system’s favor was granted, it could be wielded across both lands. Such was the nature of things between Britain and Korea.

Still, even if it did work in Korea, I knew I would return here again.

On the road back to the so-called ‘home,’ hidden beneath what resembled a warehouse, I walked with Kassie and Isaac.

Unlike when I had first arrived, the sky was tinged with the hues of sunset, and the tranquil streets themselves were suffused with comfort. If such a place existed—especially one shared with Kassie, Isaac, and the others—there was reason enough to return, without the lure of any shop.

I gazed blankly at the sky flushed in vermilion, clouds drifting lazily as they caught the light.

The world shrouded in darkness had been far gloomier than I had imagined, yet not as dire as I had feared. It might sound like nonsense, but we two felt the truth of it deeply.

When we first arrived, the world was smothered in darkness—so thick that we could scarcely distinguish before from behind. Without each other, we would surely have lost our way and become fodder for monsters.

‘Now, such thoughts are a luxury.’

James lifted his shield, guided by the faint glow conjured by the Tower Lord, who fluttered like a firefly. Choosing a single path had been wise, yet as monster corpses piled, James had unwittingly dug his own grave.

“James! Above, look up!”

“Damn it, they never end.”

Catching a quick breath, James swung his shield at the monsters scrambling upward, climbing over corpses as though they were steps. One, canine in form, gave a pitiful whimper as it was crushed beneath.

Damn it.

James felt a surge of strength envelop him, steadying his footing. How many level-ups had there been? At his rank, such swift ascents were rare, yet here, time and again since their arrival, a radiant glow had encased him.

The mage unleashing fierce elemental magic behind him shared the same fortune. Without such sustained recovery amid this hours-long wave of monsters, their bodies would have littered the ground instead.

This Britain—a hellish Britain—was more dreadful than any vision of hell, yet paradoxically, it served as fertile ground for growth.

Perhaps, upon returning home, I would need to visit the association once again to update my suddenly elevated levels.

‘If only I survive to do so.’

James wiped the filth from his eyes, grateful that it was monster blood and not human, though vigilance was crucial—at any moment, the tide could turn.

Checking his mana, replenished anew through his level-ups, James bathed his shield once more in golden light. Compared to when bolstered by Hansol’s buffs, the addition of that golden glow transformed him entirely.

His slightly faded light-brown hair, contrasted with black eyes like those of a typical East Asian, yet even I, a Westerner, found him strikingly handsome—my Darling.

Moreover, each time he unleashed a skill, the golden light etched fine strokes around him, as though painted by the hand of a master calligrapher—turning his art into something truly transcendent.

‘I miss him.’

I missed my Darling. Enveloped in golden light, brow furrowed, wielding extraordinary skills and still smiling faintly, saying, “It’s nothing.”