Chapter 533: Mirror Lake (3) |
The upcoming darkness that Benigoa had been talking about at the sanctuary was etched not only on the guild members’ heads but on the heads of the Sacred Democratic Country’s denizens as well.
Obviously, the denizens had no idea that Light Ki-Young was capable of turning into Doom Ki-Young on his own, but the party members and a few close comrades seemed to have caught on.
To be exact, it was more like someone leaked it or something.
It wasn’t like I said—I can become Doom Ki-Young, let me show you—and then summoned a mask. I simply told them—I think I can change into Doom Ki-Young without losing my mind.
Obviously, Kim Hyun-Sung and the party members frowned.
Things proceeded smoothly afterward. I couldn’t guarantee anything, so they came up with their own theories. They gathered everyone’s opinion and came up with a few conclusions.
1. Lee Ki-Young is capable of changing his job into Dark Plaguelord from Alchemist of Light.
2. The job change side effect is a deluge of negative emotions that can easily break his mind.
3. Only Benigoa can turn his job back to Alchemist of Light.
5. It is a curse with no cure, and there is only one preventative measure—taking care of his mental health.
That was all…
Of course, it was what I had been hoping for, and it was really cliched. Theory number four seemed more realistic, and it would also be a suppressor for Jung Ha-Yan and the other troublemakers.
Negative emotions would make me lose my mind, and they prepared many events to take care of and improve my mental health.
One of those events was this picnic event.
It was an event that coincided with Kim Hyun-Sung’s wish to let the members take a break, but I felt like the event wouldn’t really help me.
I looked behind me and saw a large ship. Yes, a ship rather than a boat. I was shocked when I saw that they managed to attach a large ship to the back of our carriage. I thought I would get used to it soon, but I still couldn’t get used to it, even though it had already been a few hours since we embarked on our journey to Mirror Lake.
Park Deok-Gu had to have noticed that because he started talking to me with confidence. However, it wasn’t my first time hearing his story.
“I was slowly constructing that thing whenever I’m free. Can you still remember how we built a boat near the tutorial dungeon?”
“I do remember… Wasn’t it just a small boat back then? Wait, it can’t even be called a boat.” I pointed out.
“Yeah. I also didn’t expect it to become so big. I borrowed a large underground cathedral in Lindel, and I built it there. For some reason, it kept on getting bigger and bigger. Ah, our Ah-Young helped me, and she was a huge help,” said Park Deok-Gu.
“But still…”
“You have no idea how much money I poured into building that ship,” he continued.
‘Of course, I don’t, you pig.’
“Miss Jung-Yeon helped me out in many ways, and she took care of the finer details. I’m sure you’ll be surprised once you discover the functions we’ve installed in that boat as well as its facilities,” he added.
‘You’re right, damn it. I understand
Yoo Ah-Young was the Sacred Democratic Country’s best blacksmith, while Hwang Jung-Yeon was an unrivaled magic scholar.
Park Deok-Gu was clearly a boat expert, and he had poured everything he had into building that ship, so it wasn’t strange that they ended up creating a masterpiece.
[Checking the information of the Legendary item, Nice Boat.]
[Nice Boat - Legendary]
[It is a masterpiece of the century created by the Blacksmith of Steel, a magic scholar, and the Shield of Faith. This ship was created with dragon bones, demon bones, magic beast leather, and light magic. This is a precious and special work of art that is not just a means of transportation. Each and every material is imbued with magic, and they are strong enough to endure tempestuous winds and massive waves. Its Endurance is high enough to withstand a Dragon Breath, and it provides buffs and vitality to the crew members. It can submerge for a certain period of time, and…]
I didn’t need to read the entire description because Park Deok-Gu had indeed created something great. I could see that he used Salit, demon corpses, and even Dialugia’s scales and bones as materials, along with many high-quality catalysts and items. It wasn’t strange that it became such a powerful item, but my jaw still dropped at its absurdity. Who wouldn’t be surprised? The creators were definitely satisfied with it.
“When Lindel got destroyed, I honestly thought the ship got destroyed as well. I’m glad that it was still intact,” Yoo Ah-Young said.
‘Ah-Young, damn it. It says that it was created to withstand a dragon’s Breath. It’s covered with magic beasts’ leather, and it’s stored underground, so it’ll naturally be safe.’
“It was still incomplete and wasn’t even considered an item back then. When you woke up, Mr. Deok-Gu started working on it, and he eventually finished it. He said he wanted to finish it before we went to Mirror Lake,” Hwang Jung-Yeon said.
“I honestly didn’t do much. We were able to complete this thanks to you, Miss Jung-Yeon. If we hadn’t used your magic to build the shipyard, it would have been impossible to build a ship that big,” Park Deok-Gu chimed in.
“Well, you worked hard as well. Sub Guild Master, you have no idea how meticulous he was even when he just had to hammer a single nail,” Hwang Jung-Yeon informed me.
‘Okay, I get it. Stop showing off your boyfriend.’
“Wow…” I gasped.
“With this, we can sail on any sea or lake. Actually…”
‘It’s actually not something you’d place on a lake.’
“I felt like it grew too big to be considered just a product of a hobby, but I started liking it once it was done. At first, I was just going to let you and noonim ride it, but it somehow ended up looking like that,” he explained.
Ahn Ki-Mo, Park Deok-Gu’s friend and partner, joined the process.
“I’m sure we’re the only guild in the Sacred Democratic Country with a ship. I heard a few nations under the developed Union of Kingdoms don’t even have ships like this. I heard you received calls from a few shipbuilders and magazines… Is that true?”
“I did, but I can’t share the Blue Guild’s assets just like that. Except for an art magazine that was interested in the design, I declined the remaining calls. There were shipbuilders and people asking me to sell it to them, but it’s like my baby, so I didn’t want to sell it,” he replied.
“You would have been rich…” Kim Ye-Ri commented.
“She’s right. To be honest, the item is priceless, so it’s going to be hard to find the right price to sell it, and—”
“Ahem! I have already decided on this ship’s owner,” Park Deok-Gu said.
“...”
“...”
“I built it to give Ha-Yan noonim and hyung-nim a ride. That had always been my goal, so I decided to give it to them,” Park Deok-Gu explained.
As always, Jung Ha-Yan was glued to me like a cicada stuck to a tree, and she immediately reacted to Park Deok-Gu’s words. Her eyes widened as rabbit eyes, and she grinned.
However, her grin felt ominous for some reason.
“To be honest… Ahem… I wasn’t planning on telling you like this, but since everyone is here, I thought it’s best to tell you here. Here’s the master key, hyung-nim,” Park Deok-Gu announced.
“Ah, yeah… thanks,” I mumbled.
“I’m sure you’re a bit dissatisfied that you’re not alone with noonim for the ship’s maiden voyage, but you should ride it often with noonim whenever you’re free in the future,” he suggested.
Jung Ha-Yan nodded more aggressively than me and muttered, “W-We can use it for our h-honeymoon. We can go far away.”
‘You can use Teleport…’’
“Clap, everyone! Clap!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.
“Congratulations, Sub Guild Master.”
“C-Congratulations, Miss Jung Ha-Yan.”
“Congratulations, Mr. Ki-Young.”
Lee Chang-Ryeol, the assassin, Han Sora, the black mage, and even Kim Hyun-Sung started clapping in that order. The others reacted the same. I knew this would happen, but they seemed surprised by Park Deok-Gu’s big decision. I wasn’t sure why Kim Hyun-Sung looked as if he could do better, but he still seemed happy overall.
Honestly, it had been a while since we gathered, talked, and laughed with each other. I could still remember that we had spent many days like this whenever we were capturing a dungeon.
We would set up a large camp, create a bonfire, exchange many conversations, and enjoy each other’s company with a camping vibe. It was true that we no longer had the luxury to do that because of the guild’s expansion, so no one was frowning right now.
Elena and Sun Hee-Young were playing chess on the table in the carriage, while Lee Chang-Ryeol was reading in a corner like always.
Han Sora was also enjoying a board game with Ahn Ki-Mo and Kim Ye-Ri while sitting as far away as possible from Jung Ha-Yan.
Kim Hyun-Sung and Jo Hye-Jin were drinking wine in the minibar while laughing together. It had been a while since we relaxed like this, and I couldn’t help but smile at the Nice Boat that Park Deok-Gu gifted to me. It felt like we had gathered at a neighborhood pub and were spending time in our own way.
‘It’s peaceful.’
I did have a useless thought that perhaps this was the calm before the storm, but it was really fun. The scenery outside the window was beautiful, and it was fun to be with people whom I could relax with.
The carriage wasn’t moving that fast, but we were getting close to the city that Baron Nabot–-no, Senator Nabot was managing. The thought of reaching our destination soon made everyone excited.
Even Jo Hye-Jin was excited, which was unlike her.
The conversation changed, and we ended up talking about Nice Boat again because we were approaching our destination.
It was the hottest topic today, so it wasn’t that they were talking about it again, but it seemed like there were others—aside from the three creators—who were interested in it.
The icebreaker this time was the chatterbox—Ahn Ki-Mo.
“Hm, It’ll be great to go to the ocean with that ship if there’s a chance.”
“It kind of makes me sad as well, but I’m sure Mirror Lake isn’t all that different. It’s pretty big, so people often mistake it for an ocean..”
“Still, I think it’ll be more fun to enjoy the sea breeze. I do get seasick, so I’m not really that sad about it. Anyway, I had this dream while I was still young, and it’s about becoming a sailor fighting against the harsh waves of the boundless ocean or becoming a pirate with no destination…
”There aren’t that many undiscovered places or islands here, so I don’t think going on an adventurous sail will be productive, but…” Ahn Ki-Mo trailed off.
“Hm…”
“If I could, I’d like to use this ship to enter a dungeon,” he continued.
“Can we do that?” Park Deok- Gu asked.
“I’ve heard about how a few dungeons could change locations on the map. The Garden of Horror in the Blue Guild’s journal was that kind of a dungeon. Apparently, a submerged dungeon was discovered just a few years ago,” said Ahn Ki-Mo.
“That’s crazy,” remarked Park Deok-Gu.
“It took them many lives and certain items as well as half a year to conquer that dungeon, but with that ship, we should be able to conquer a dungeon like that, right? I think we might even discover a similar dungeon at Mirror Lake,” said Ahn Ki-Mo.
“That’s nice and all, but we’re on vacation. And Mirror Lake is frequented by tourists and adventurers, so it doesn’t make sense that we’ll discover a dungeon there. Anyway, I’m sure hyung-nim will take you out to the sea in the future, Ki-Mo,” Park Deok-Gu said.
“Hahaha, yeah, what I had said was pretty absurd. I’m looking forward to it, though, Sub Guild Master,” Ahn Ki-Mo chuckled.
‘That pig actually said something reasonable for once.’
I couldn’t help but be curious about how he managed to make a reasonable statement.
In addition, his serious expression when he spoke didn’t suit him as well.
‘Ahn Ki-Mo… he really knows how to brag about his dreams.’
A pirate and going on a sailing adventure, seriously? Kim Ye-Ri looked as if she was looking forward to it, but the majority of the adults looked as if they couldn’t understand Ahn Ki-Mo’s dreams.
An undiscovered dungeon in Mirror Lake? I smirked because his idea sounded adorable, which betrayed his sleazy appearance.
However, my mind changed a few hours later.
“Hyung-nim, I think we’re in a dungeon…” Park Deok-Gu said.
“...”
“...” Kim Hyun-Sung looked like he wasn’t aware of it as well.
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