31The second word overturns the game board (Episode 124)
Kang Seol felt an emotional turmoil that went beyond embarrassment to something close to astonishment..
‘I know yeah… It's alive?’
All the horses he had met so far were dead..
When I found them, I was able to control myself even if I was emotionally upset, but this time it was a little different..
“There's nothing better than that when your stomach is empty, so if you're in doubt, you don't have to eat it. But, is it still okay? It looks like I'm going to die at any moment?”
“…….”
“Tsk tsk… What is that expression? Are you experiencing mental difficulties??”
Toki was talking about mental contamination in the labyrinth. Kang Seol shook his head and said,.
“Thanks for the favor, Torquay. I am… It's called Snowman.”
“I see, anyway, nice to meet you..”
“how… Here….”
Toki did not listen to Snowfall's words and looked at the horizon..
“The sun will set soon. This isn't the right place to talk, so let's go..”
“where….”
“Where is it, it's my home.”
Snowfall could tell that he was riding something as a means of transportation..
Sniff… sniff…
A large desert boar was hanging nearby..
‘…Have you tamed it??’
The desert boar was a monster that appeared in Endurance of Penance. It had a vicious temperament and possessed tremendous strength, so if you touched it carelessly, its tusks could hit you and puncture a hole somewhere in your body..
“Tongtong, there are two people today. You can do it?”
sniff…
“Come on, get on..”
Snowfall climbed on the back of a desert boar named Tongtong with a puzzled expression..
‘…It's comfortable?’
- It is said that the ride quality was surprisingly that of a sedan..
- The wide-eyed look is so funny haha
- Something like this! Who knows how to ride... (I sleep soundly.)
“depart.”
sniff…
Doo doo doo…
The speed wasn't that fast, but I thought this was very good in the desert where your feet get wet..
Whoa whoa…
A warm sand breeze passed by them..
If he had encountered this wind while walking, he would have been annoyed, but now he was heading somewhere on the back of a wild boar..
So, the lingering breeze of the wind remained briefly and made the snowfall pleasant..
‘Why is Toki here??’
There were more than one question that came to him now..
Why is Toki still alive, and how was he able to survive all this time?.
‘I really have to ask…’
But Snowfall was now cornered both mentally and physically..
As I quietly climbed on Tongtong's back and crossed the endless desert, the fatigue poured in in an instant..
Normally he would never have done that, but he felt relieved that he had met his horse..
‘a little sleepy….’
Sigh…
I lost my mind like that..
* * *
“May God look down on all of us who are wandering..”
Someone's voice resounding softly.
Crack… Cracking…
This sound is familiar.
As the warmth reached her, Snow Seol realized that she was lying down near the fire..
“hmm? Have you already woken up??”
“ha… ha… body….”
“I know, it's heavy.?”
For a moment, I suddenly felt like something was wrong..
I wonder if Toki did something while he was asleep..
“Rest assured, it’s natural. It's like that for a while when you come to this desert. I did that too….”
“body… Don't move….”
Emergency lights turned on on Snowfall's head..
‘body… not moving.’
[Condition: Exposure to dehydration.]
[Abnormal condition: exposed to malnutrition.]
[Mental taint level has reached 50.]
[Status ailment: You are exposed to mental exhaustion.]
Who said misfortune comes at the same time?.
Snowfall was now in a situation where she could do nothing in the middle of the labyrinth of penance..
Less and less…
It seemed like Toki was making something..
“Okay, this should be enough to eat..”
Good smell.
A fragrant and fragrant smell entered Kangseol’s nose..
after… Whoa whoa…
Toki put hot food on his spoon and blew on it. It was an action that made me wonder if it would be too hot..
“Now, swallow it..”
Kang Seol did not eat food given to him by someone he did not know. Since he was not the type to trust anyone in the first place, he pathologically refused favors..
This time too, I tried to refuse food from someone I didn't know..
but.
‘I haven't eaten anything for days….’
Strong hunger and suffering consumed him, and perhaps because of that, his vigilance was much lower than usual..
Moreover, as Kang Seol remembers, Toki was a monk who served God and his mentality was also very good..
If Kangseol had met him somewhere else, she would have swallowed the food he offered without much resistance..
‘But here….’
This is a labyrinth.
Moreover, Toki stayed here for a very long time..
The labyrinth is a place that erodes the spirit of an ascetic.
I didn't know that his mind might have been distorted by some kind of change..
However, while Kang-seol was thinking about this, Toki's spoon slid into Kang-seol's mouth..
“Whoop…….”
“It's an unfamiliar taste?”
“ha… ha… what….”
Pleasant taste. There's even just the right amount of warmth..
Kang-seol realized as she saw Toki's face smiling with his teeth showing..
‘what should i do now….’
Even though I was the one who put him in this labyrinth, I was suspicious of him for that reason..
The comfort felt from him soon became Kang Seol’s trust..
‘It hasn't changed, Toki.….’
Torquay has been experiencing snowfall for quite some time..
Snowfall couldn't understand his actions now..
Why do we act like this for others in this barren land?.
“Your stomach must have been very surprised. sleep more.”
“……why.”
“hmm?”
“Why me... Are you being nice to me??”
“Right. Were you curious about that, young man??”
Toki smiled, showing his sparse teeth..
“Because I was lonely all along….”
Kang Seol fell asleep again after hearing that answer..
The next day, my body recovered a little..
However, I still had to lie down because it was several times more difficult to move than usual, like soaked cotton..
Toki took good care of him..
Another day passed, another day passed.
- Is this a hospital bed simulation??
- Could it be that the penance of patience is fighting illness??
- So, Toki is the main character.?
In that way, Kangseol’s physical condition completely recovered..
“You woke up.”
“I feel a little better now.”
“Haha, thank goodness. If I had to lie down today, I would have just left it behind..”
“…….”
“Just kidding. Don't take it too seriously.”
I woke up, but that didn't mean it was daytime. It was still dark in the son-in-law, and Kangseol and Toki were looking at something cooking in the bonfire..
“Is it meat??”
It was only meat for a few days..
“Yes, in order for your body to recover, you need something like this in your stomach..”
It was natural that my mouth was watering, but the question was where I got this meat..
‘Well, it won't be a big problem..’
In a very short period of time, Snowfall came to trust Toki..
If Toki had been mean-spirited, he would have targeted the time when Kang-seol was lying sick..
It was Toki who took care of him while he was fighting his illness, so it didn't make sense that Kang Seol still didn't trust him..
“Toki, I have a question..”
“Tsk tsk… Is this a question as soon as you recover? What a busy young man. Come on, let me lift it..”
- How did you know??
- ㄹㅇ Busy hahaha
Kang Seol carefully took over the piece of meat Toki cut and asked..
“Here… How did you come here??”
“Oh my, was that what you were talking about??”
“I wonder.”
Actually, I already knew the story..
That's because the world of eternity comes with a detailed story of that character from the moment of character creation..
From how he lives and why he does this.
“I don't like talking about the past... This is a real person I haven't seen in a long time, so there's no reason to hide it. It would be difficult to spread the word anywhere anyway. Isn't it??”
“…Well, this place is a labyrinth..”
“haha… okay.”
Toki put a piece of meat in his mouth and started talking about the past..
“I was an abandoned orphan in a remote village during the epidemic. The village people must have taken pity on the baby, so they took it in and raised it. At that time, it was not uncommon to kill and eat children, and it was truly a miracle..”
Snowfall nodded..
The past history that was coming out now was the same as the Toki setting he knew..
“I always tried to be thankful. Even a country like this had to repay the people and God who allowed it to live in the world. Hope… Because I believed that you would save me.”
However, that trust was soon broken..
As Kangseol expected, sadness appeared in Toki’s eyes..
“One day, my wife, daughter, and most of the villagers died..”
- Wait a minute, I'm leaving this room..
- I can't get out, it's a labyrinth..
Regardless of the shocking content, he seemed very calm throughout his speech..
“This happened while I was away from home for a while. Our village was quite remote, and at that time of year, wild bandits would occasionally come looking for food. The problem was that I mistakenly went out thinking that the year would pass safely..”
“Is this the work of wild thieves??”
“Yeah, it was them..”
“…….”
“I have lived my whole life for the God I believe in. The reason he started a happy family was to get closer to him. It was also to protect what I believed in..”
There was a reason he spoke like this..
Kang Seol nodded and made a gesture to tell her to move on..
“I chased them.”
“And?”
“We attacked the main base. When I came to, I saw that all the other bandits were dead and that one very scared bandit was being held in my hands. Do you know what he said while shaking??”
“…….”
To him, the situation must have been very new..
“God, save me from despair.”
“…The thief found God.”
“At that moment, I felt like everything inside me was twisted. It felt like my internal organs were being squeezed and my bones were breaking. Everything I have believed and done... I was denied.”
The thief who wiped out the village found God..
From that sight, he must have felt as if his faith had been tainted..
“Of course, it would have been difficult for them to survive the winter because they ran out of food. And because he couldn't let go of his lazy temper, he probably chose the easier path than working for a year. There is a reason for everything, even if it is small. Like why they targeted my village.”
“talkie….”
“With the martial arts I practiced while believing in God, I smashed the thieves' heads and ripped off their arms and legs. I tried to approach God, but it became increasingly difficult for me to understand his intentions, and gradually… It's gone far away.”
“The last thief….”
“I missed it. At that moment, the thought of killing him disappeared from me. Did the God I believed in save him? then….”
Toki said with a sombre expression..
“why. Why on earth have I been left in despair? Why am I… I mean, didn't you ask for it?.”
“…….”
“From that day on, I went out and wandered the world. To find out why the god who answered the thief's call turned a blind eye to mine..”
he grinned.
“Then it ended up here..”
“…How long have you been here??”
“well… How long has it been? I can't even remember the last time I counted time..”
It's probably been about 10 years.
No, since you've forgotten the date, you might feel like you've been gone longer..
‘Nonsense… You endured the penance of patience for over 10 years? Then how can you be sane?….’
Toki asked after looking at Snowfall..
“why but?”
“…no.”
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. haha… After being alone for a long time, I realized that conversation is an important part of life..”
Kang Seol asked one more question in response to those words..
“Do you know anything about the penance of pain??”
“hmm… That penance that requires intertwining with those statues..”
“Yes, somehow it’s a bit different from other penances… I feel foreign.”
This was a question that not even the Blood Saint could figure out. If it's Toki, you might know.
“Well, you don't need to know that right now..”
“yes?”
“When you reach the end of the labyrinth, you will naturally find out. Even if you find out the answer now, it won't do you any good. rather… It will break.”
“It's broken….”
“Are there any other questions??”
- (I'm not going to answer, I'm just going to gloss over it) but do you have any other questions??
- (Are there any other questions that I can appropriately answer and show off??
Well, there's only one question left.
snowfall asked him.
“How did you survive here??”
“Tsk tsk… You were out of luck. That's why I ended up in a barren land and didn't encounter anything. In fact, if you look around this desert, there is no shortage of food to eat. The barren land you've landed in has no food at all..”
“There is so much to eat, what is that?….”
The blood saint also had to endure hunger with superhuman mental strength, and the only thing he could do was fill his stomach with the occasional dragon fruit or small lizard..
It was a torment of patience to have to fight for survival every day on a schedule that would never end..
“That meat you just ate, where do you think it came from??”
“Where did you come from... Isn’t it an animal that lives in the desert??”
“Those things can only be seen if you are really lucky. And even if we could find it, the two of us wouldn't have been able to eat this abundantly. Well, guess what?.”
Jiang Xue's knowledge allowed him to reach the answer in an instant..
“…No way, plump?”
- no!!!!!
- Leave Tongtong alone.!
- these demons!
“…No way.”
“then… Oh my god, this… It was a monster..”
“okay.”
“But the monster's meat is poisonous….”
something was strange.
‘I didn't feel that way when I just ate it.?’
Instead of feeling that way, I only felt that the flavor was good..
“Tsk tsk… My secret secret that I had no choice but to learn to survive in the desert.”
“Biggie?”
“It's called a monster recipe. What is it like? Are you interested??”
-Bigi cooking? I can't stand this lol
- My mouth is watering haha.
A choice occurred to Kang Seol..
[A monster recipe that Toki learned to survive in the desert. He asks you, are you interested in this recipe?…]
Before all the options came to mind, Kangseol answered..
“Of course there is.”
“Okay, I feel like I have a master disciple. As you learn, it will probably be quite a different experience..”
[Found a suitable teacher for my talent ‘cooking’.]
[The hidden promotion process for the talent ‘Cooking’, ‘Monster Cooking’, is in progress..]
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