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Master of the Forest (2)
When the name ‘Pyro’ was mentioned, the bear couldn’t attack.
Even so, it was hard for the bear to believe Jamie’s words.
"You aren't from the church. The power I cut off earlier didn't come from the Goddess at all."
“Right. I don’t follow any God.”
“But you just used the name of the Goddess?”
“I made a deal with the Goddess.”
The bear narrowed its eyes.
Originally it would have squashed anyone for speaking such nonsense.
Especially so since this was Apton where the power of the Goddess Pyro was the strongest.
If the words said were 'a lie to live,' then the Goddess would surely punish them.
“Even a beast like you should also know to fear the name of God?”
The bear didn't answer.
“What is this… kuk!”
“Master!”
Jamie fell down.
Venna checked his condition.
“You might die if this goes on.”
“It is okay. I am just in shock.”
Although his recovery was slow, the orb of life hadn’t lost its strength yet.
“It is hard to believe.”
The bear, too, sat down.
“But I can’t help but believe it.”
The pride of the 12 Gods was so high that they didn’t care about races.
The bear sighed and then introduced itself.
“My name is Theberon.”
“… I see that bears also have names.”
“It is ridiculous for a low-level human being like you to say such things.”
Jamie’s eyes twitched.
Jamie had fought against the Gods for the sake of the human race, so he couldn’t ignore that remark.
“What are we supposed to do if you ignore us first and then attack later?”
“Whose side are you on?”
Jamie clicked his tongue at Venna’s words.
She got up and went close to Theberon.
"Please get us out. We can't stay here for long."
It was unknown how many hours had passed since they fell into the ruins.
And as they were sneaking out at night, they had to quickly get out of the forest and return.
But Theberon had no intention of letting them go.
“Young Valkyrie. You won’t be able to get out of here if you can’t convince me.”
Seeing that Theberon could recognize a Valkyrie, Jamie asked.
“What are you? How could you recognize a Valkyrie?”
Valkyries had disappeared a long time ago.
It was just recently that Jamie met Venna and realized that some Valkyrie had escaped extinction.
He knew that the bear wasn’t normal, but to think the bear could recognize a Valkyrie.
"Because there is no human who can have such physical strength. Above all, no matter where they live, the smell of Valkyrie doesn't disappear."
“Y-you know about my race?”
“We were together when we were young.”
Jamie and Venna looked at each other.
They never thought that they would get information about Venna’s race.
“Where do they all live? Where should I go to meet my people?”
She felt no such thing like a connection to her race.
But she had never heard of them nor seen them, so she wanted to see another living Valkyrie.
And know why she was sent into the human world.
Venna wanted to know why she was abandoned for that hellish decade.
“It is unfortunate. And I don’t know why you were sent to the human world, but with your skills, you will die before reaching the place where the Valkyries live.”
"That is a horrible thing to say when you were the one trying to kill me yourself a little while ago."
“That is a different matter.”
"So, where is that place?"
“The deepest part of the Ariazad Great Forest. There are Valkyries in the ‘Fountain of Time’.”
Jamie narrowed his eyes.
As Theberon said, with her current skills, Venna could surely not go there.
‘When I asked where they lived, I was taken there.’
Jamie remembered the queen of Valkyrie who led him there when he was Diablo Volfir.
The lady who burned like the red flames, after being defeated by the 12 Gods, she led the Valkyries and disappeared somewhere.
And that place was now the Great Forest.
‘With the amount of time that passed, this change isn’t too shocking.’
It was just nice that the Valkyrie were still there.
“Fountain of time…”
Venna repeated the name over and over again as if she didn’t want to forget it.
Jamie put his hand on her pink hair.
Slightly startled, she looked at Jamie.
“We appreciate this information.”
Jamie said as he got up.
It was difficult to stand up straight, but he was able to hold his balance.
“You have amazing resilience for a human.”
“Stop with the nonsense. And get to the point.”
“About the demons and your power?”
“Right.”
Jamie could understand what the bear meant to say.
It was ‘Demon’s Egg’, and the followers of the Devil King were [Daemons], and this seemed to be entwined.
However, what he couldn't understand was how his power was related to the egg.
“My power?”
“Yes. It is definitely your power.”
“Like I said before, this is the first time that I am here.”
“If you hadn’t mentioned the Goddess, I would have ignored your lies and killed you.”
“I would have taken one of your limbs to the underworld with me.”
At Theberon’s words, Jamie didn't step back.
They were both throwing snarky comments at each other.
“Master. We need to talk calmly.”
“Tch.”
He didn’t like the bear.
Perhaps Theberon too, didn't like Jamie.
Venna, who felt that, tried to mediate the situation to keep the conversation going.
“Please keep talking.”
“About a month ago, that filth appeared in my forest.”
Theberon was sleeping as usual.
As the Master of Mirinae Forest and for the mission he was assigned to, he had waited for a long time.
As the Mirinae Forest was part of the Great Forest, monsters had territorial battles from time to time.
And he thought it was the same that particular day too.
Theberon went up to the ground to destroy the loser before the forest was ruined.
Most monsters in the Great Forest weren’t worthy enough to be his opponents.
The losers that came from the Great Forest were nothing more than prey to him.
And with his highly developed sense of smell, finding the target wasn't tough.
And when he got there, Theberon realized that he was wrong.
“It wasn’t a place where a monster lost a battle. It was an evil, disgusting demon's egg. And the aura which covered it blocked my access."
Theberon frowned as he recalled that day.
No attack could break that barrier.
It was impossible to break it.
Theberon had the strength to crush a small mountain.
Even a Sword Master couldn’t stand in front of Theberon’s power.
And such an attack didn’t work.
“I came back here that day. And I did one thing.”
That was to block the power which was coming from the demon’s egg.
“How did you block it? You have no mana.”
As they were in a battle, he didn’t bring it up, but Jamie couldn’t feel any mana from Theberon.
And it wasn't just him; even the giant they met in the first hall didn't have mana, still they all worked.
“The power of artifacts.”
“You mean this ruin has power?”
“Yes.”
“So, the entire space is an artifact.”
Jamie looked around.
The huge space where Theberon stayed was more than 50 meters higher. Aside from this room, the other ones were of huge sizes too.
In terms of size, this entire site was larger than the mansion of the Welton household.
To create an artifact of this size, you would have to be one of the world’s most leading mage engineers.
“Woah- the entire ruins is an artifact. It must have been so expensive.”
Ignoring Venna’s nonsense, Jamie continued to ask.
“Who made this? Why did they make this underground in the forest? And how did the person know the ancient language?”
From the moment Jamie entered the ruins, he wondered about it.
“I think the ruins were built around 600 years ago. I don’t even know where my Master came from. I only know that he was the one who raised me as a child, and he was a magician of great skill.”
600 years meant 100 years after Canon's death.
“Master was a great magician, but he was also great at creating artifacts. He was particularly great at constructing large-scale buildings.”
“Then you mean you don’t know anything about the ancient language written on the ruins?”
“Yes.”
“What was the purpose of creating this place?"
“I can’t tell you.”
At those words, Jamie tried to ask more.
Because he knew that the bear wasn’t going to speak so easily.
Jamie got back to the point and asked.
“So, you got back here and used the power of ruins to stop the demon egg’s power.”
“Right.”
Jamie looked at Venna.
And then, pointing at her, he asked.
“Can’t you feel her?”
“The power of the Valkyries is different.”
“No. You mean it is another power.”
Theberon looked at Venna. His eyes twitched.
“There is another power within.”
“The ruins don't show you all the powers, so I guess it is annoying.”
“It is still pretty great.”
Jamie clicked his tongue at the words from the bear.
“I didn’t feel it as it was so small, but it is similar to you. But different. There is a difference in it.”
“Her power has been cut off too.”
“Right. Different but similar. But it isn’t just that. Your power. Your power is the same as it. It makes no sense. How can they be so similar?"
Theberon mumbled those words, but Jamie was the most disturbed one.
Why was a power that was similar to his protecting a demon's egg, and how did one find a similar power?
‘My strength has always belonged to me.’
He remembered what Ricky said.
‘The Goddess said that if you are carrying his legacy, then you will know.’
At first, he didn’t understand what it meant.
Even now, he wasn’t too sure about it.
So, he had to check it out with his own eyes.
“Get us out.”
“…”
“I want to see it with my own eyes.”
“And are there any possibilities?”
“If my strength is back, then I can definitely check it right.”
As he said that, Jamie’s eyes turned purple.
His emerald hair fluttered with the flowing black mana.
Jamie clenched his fists at the power which flowed around his body and smiled as he spread out his arm.
“You!”
Theberon cried out, but it was too late.
Black mana touched the walls of the ruins and began to seep into them.
Theberon felt the system in ruins shake.
“What have you done?”
Theberon cried and rushed to Jamie.
“Master! What are you trying to do?!”
Venna too was shocked at Jamie’s sudden actions.
Jamie looked at Theberon who was rushing at him and said.
“Nobody!”
Black lightning ran throughout the black mana.
“Can control me!”
Flash!
Information began to seep into his mind. The information about the mana circuit and the system of ruins was all being calculated at tremendous speed.
The structure of ruins began to form a picture in his mind.
Jamie laughed as he saw the amazing structure.
He saw everything.
About the ruins!
‘Amazing!’
The man who made the ruins was truly astounding.
He wanted to take a clear look around, but he didn’t have the time.
He never knew when the bear would trample on him, so he had to take control.
‘What is this?’
A space beyond the left wall of the room of the third hall.
Jamie sent his mana there, and a warehouse appeared. The place was empty, but there was one thing there.
A ring.
‘That ring…’
An ordinary ring, but the power he felt was telling Jamie that it was an artifact.
It must have been a pretty powerful weapon.
Suddenly, he thought of Venna.
The ring went well with Venna. Aside from the beauty, it fit her perfectly. His long experience said so.
‘I should see to that later.’
He couldn’t take this ring now.
First, take control of the ruins and then retrieve the ring.
Thinking, Jamie widened his consciousness. So that he could see the ruins at a glance and reach for the core.
And then he found it.
If only the core was dyed with black mana, the ruins would be his.
At that moment, an old man appeared. The old man’s face was hazy all over, but the man was clearly smiling.
At the same time, his consciousness bounced back.
“Kuk!”
Jamie flinched, grabbed his head and knelt on one knee.
“You! What're you doing to the ruins…?!”
Theberon was enraged.
“Stay there. Otherwise, the entire ruins will be destroyed.”
Jamie warned him.
“What did you do?”
“I will let you know later, so shut up. My head hurts.”
The old man he saw was the guardian of the core.
‘I don’t know the secret of the ruins, but I can use it later.’
The huge bear only looked after the ruins but didn’t know about the system within.
Theberon frowned and tried to neutralize the black mana.
But the ruins didn’t change.
“Why isn’t it working?!”
“You will no longer be able to block my power.”
“What?”
Seeing the bewildered Theberon, Jamie smiled.
“You set me up as a ‘Vice-master', and unfortunately for you, my authority seems higher."
It was a pity he couldn’t take over the ruins, but this still was amazing.
“Your master isn’t only one who’s versed in artifacts.”
It was none other than Diablo Volfir who created artifacts.
It was true that the creator of these ruins was talented, but Jamie was confident that he could break down the core if he was in his former state.
“Well, everything I said was true.”
“I don’t believe you.”
"You don't have to believe me. Venna, hold on to me."
“Y-yes!”
Venna hugged Jamie by his neck.
Jamie tried to tell her to not hold him like that, but as it was urgent, he didn't care.
"Don't bother chasing me."
“You!”
“Even if you want to, you can't, right?”
At Jamie’s ridicule, Theberon swung his palm.
“Damn it!”
The two of them disappeared.
They were moved to the ground using the power of ruins.
Being alone, Theberon felt helpless and sat down and grinned.
“Master. What do you think of this? Was that the guy you have been waiting for?”
Although there was no way to hear an answer. Theberon mumbled and lay still.
“If that is true, he’ll come back one day to devour these ruins.”
“I am fine.”
“But I am not…”
Jamie pulled Venna to the side as she was dangling from his neck.
Although spatial movement was messy, the coordinates were easy to set, so they could effortlessly get aboveground.
‘It would be nice if I could use this ability to block.’
Unfortunately, that power could only be used if the person was inside the ruins controlling it.
So even Theberon couldn't use the entire function.
Still, thinking that there were no other obstacles, he felt more at ease.
‘Arrogant bastard disabling someone else’s power?’
In the past, he would have made the person responsible suffer.
“More than that… he definitely hit the right spot." ⁽¹⁾
“Master. This energy is…”
Jamie smiled bitterly at the aura he felt not far away.
“Right. It really is my power.”
The black mana which couldn't exist without him, was present.
Editor’s Note
⁽š⁞ He's talking about the bear being right in saying that the mana the egg gave out was the same as Jamie's.