NOVPUB
Chapter 1020
"What are you doing?" Bi Yeon suddenly appeared and asked Davey while tilting her head.
"Oh... Nothing much. This thing just isn’t adjusting as smoothly as I expected."
He was calibrating the life essence orb over a massive magic circle, while Bi Yeon watched curiously.
"I've also never seen a life essence orb before, so I have no idea how to handle it and can't help."
"Yeah, well, it’s not like someone like you appears with something like this every day.”
She continued to study the orb nonetheless, marveling with fascination at how Davey was manipulating its vitality.
"But... why do you even need to use it? From what I can tell, you already have an insane amount of vitality at your disposal.”
She wasn’t wrong.
In fact, the amount of vitality stored in the orb wasn’t even close to the level of vitality he could freely command.
On top of this, with the divine authority he had inherited, creating something on par with the life essence orb wasn’t difficult for him at all.
However—
"The vitality I wield has too much potential and possibilities. If I try to adjust each and every aspect of it, not only will I never finish on time, but I might also end up screwing myself over in the process."
Bi Yeon looked as if she still didn’t quite get it.
"Well. It still seems like it's missing some energy.”
"Yeah, I think so too. Maybe I need to add another ingredient..."
"Would it hurt to tell me what you’re making? It’s thanks to you that I was able to meet Woochi, so I wouldn’t mind helping out in return."
She seemed genuinely willing to assist.
"If you ever need something, just say it. I'll help."
"Where are you headed next?"
Her tail swayed contentedly as she answered, "I’ll be staying in a mountain rich with vital energy for a while.”
"But aren’t Gumihos supposed to keep their tails hidden, except from their partners?”
“Says who?”
She seemed to say that the culture was different because she was from another world. She didn’t seem to care at all.
With that, Bi Yeon left, and he turned to refocus on his work.
But just as he was about to resume, the space tore open and someone stepped through.
"She’s gone, right?"
‘Why’d he show up all of a sudden?’
"Sorry, I’m closed for the day.”
Davey tried to shove him back the moment he emerged, but he forcefully pushed back, eyes blazing with frustration.
"Hey. You and I have a lot to talk about, don’t we?"
"I said I’m closed for the day. Cya.”
"Closed my ass! You little shit, I’ve been stuck waiting for days until Bi Yeon finally left your side!"
Having successfully materialized his physical form, Woochi lunged at Davey.
Davey had heard about how Woochi had been completely drained, getting to the point he looked like a mummy after meeting Bi Yeon. But seeing him now, he assumed that he had undergone some recovery—now, he simply seemed exhausted.
"Hand it over!"
"Whoa, whoa! Why are you acting like this?!"
He lunged again, eyes bloodshot. Yet, despite his urgency, he wasn’t using any of his sorcery.
Perhaps he was still too drained. But then, Davey thought there could be another reason.
"Hey! You don’t have anything you need to recover! Just give it to me! If I don’t get something soon, I’m gonna die!"
"This is mine."
"How is it completely yours?! You sold me, your master, out to get it!"
Watching him throw a full-blown tantrum on the floor, Daavey nodded to himself.
‘Yep. Of all the heroes of the hall... he’s the least dignified of them all.’
Which, honestly, was why Davey had gotten along with him so well.
Still, he had no intention of backing down from the man sprawled on the ground, sulking like a stubborn child.
Davey sighed, then cast a Silence Barrier around them before speaking.
"I'm using this for Perserque."
Instantly, Woochi stopped flailing about.
His expression hardened, and he slowly sat up.
"You’re not thinking about really doing it, are you?” he asked with a weary face.
"I have to. Not even I am that tactless.”
"Damn it. Shit... Now I can’t even ask for it." Scratching his head, he stood up and placed a hand over the orb.
"It’s no good. It won’t work for you as it is."
Channeling his qi, he examined it closely before muttering, "It’s in a dormant state. If you want to use it properly, you need to add something extra.”
Considering how Davey hadn’t been able to make any progress, the words immediately caught his interest.
"Something extra?”
"Yeah. And it’s something that’ll be pretty damn hard to get—there’s no way you’d have it available." He waved a hand dismissively, smirking as if teasing him.
Davey’s brows furrowed in frustration.
"Okay, what is it?"
"Mermaid scales."
"You mean something like this?" he said while pulling out the scale So-Ya the mermaid had given him.
Woochi’s eyes widened. With trembling hands, he picked up the shimmering scale.
"Davey."
His face turned serious as he looked at him.
"Got... any spares?"
Davey sighed.
"No, you greedy bastard. Even now, all you can think about is your own recovery?"
* * *
Davey never expected that the mermaid scale So-Ya gave him would end up being used so soon, and in such a way.
Reacting to Woochi’s qi, the scale shimmered before dissolving like glowing dust and merging into the life essence orb.
There was a legend that a mermaid’s body was an elixir of immortality.
While that wasn’t entirely true, the scales from So-Ya’s tail fin certainly contained immense power.
"Why do you think humans age and have a limited lifespan?" Woochi asked.
"Because there’s a limit to the body’s ability to regenerate."
Death occurs when the body reaches the threshold of its regeneration.
"A mermaid’s scale possesses incredible power when it comes to regeneration. We’ll be using that power to awaken the life essence orb.”
With a flick of his fingers, Woochi sent a pulse of qi into the orb. It flared brightly, and the blue light inside rippled like waves.
Compared to how it was at the beginning, such activity was a huge improvement.
"Do we need any more of them?”
"Mermaid scales aren’t something you can just get whenever you want. The one who gave this to you probably sacrificed at least a hundred years of their vitality.”
Davey felt a surge of deep gratitude toward So-Ya.
"And actually, we still need one more ingredient."
After attaching talismans to the surroundings to stabilize the orb, Woochi turned to him. "But Davey. Are you really going through with this? If you fail, it’ll be an irreversible disaster. Your relationship with her could shatter in an instant."
"I won’t fail. No matter what."
Hearing the firm response, Woochi sighed.
"Bi Yeon. Once every three years."
"Three years? No way. One year."
"Two," Woochi countered.
"Hold on, what kind of couple only meets once every two years? Even a year is too long."
"You say that because you don’t know that bitch. If you don’t agree, I won’t help you."
He hesitated, clearly unsatisfied with how stubborn Woochi was being. But in the end, he nodded.
"Two years. Not a day less."
"Fine. We’ll settle on two years."
He felt a little bad for Bi Yeon, but for now, this matter took priority.
"Also... your younger sister’s condition is a complete mess."
"Yeah, I seriously didn’t think it’d be that bad.”
At the current rate, she was going to spend her entire life buried in research and never get married.
"So? What did you do to help?"
"I locked her in a room and made her play video games all day. She seems mildly interested."
“That’s... not that great.” Muttering to himself, Woochi rose from his seat.
"Follow me. I know where the final ingredient is."
"Well, first of all, what is it?”
Woochi casually shrugged.
"Wraith Frost.”
* * *
The Wraith Frost was the condensation of the energy of spirits who had died but failed to reincarnate, accumulated over a long period of time.
It was a dangerous power, but when combined with the life essence orb, it triggered a neutralization reaction that resulted in a powerful synergy.
Woochi was already waiting for Davey—dressed in a sleek black suit with black sunglasses on. He was exuding every ounce of style he could muster.
"Sigh. I can’t even pretend not to know this guy."
As Davey approached, the man waved enthusiastically.
"What’s with the outfit?
"Gotta keep up with the times, you know." He removed his sunglasses and gestured toward the Lamborghini parked nearby.
"This one’s yours, right? Just cast a face blindness spell on us before starting the engine. No need to attract too much attention."
"And where exactly are we going?"
"Gangwon Province. Apparently, some of my descendants there still perform ancestral rites for me."
"Hold on. Let me at least tell Aeonitia before we go."
He went back to the villa and found her completely immersed in her game, Olden Ring.
"Argh!! You cheating bastards!! How did that even hit?!" she screamed, nearly throwing her controller before stopping herself at the last second.
‘Nevermind, she’ll be fine on her own.’
Without saying a word, he turned back and got back in the car with Woochi.
Vroom!!
Following his directions and the GPS, Davey sped down the highway. Despite their insane speed, they faced no obstructions, as other vehicles instinctively kept their distance.
"See that? Everyone's backing off in fear of my presence."
"No, it’s just that no one wants to risk getting into an accident with a multi-million-dollar car."
He wasn’t particularly fond of expensive vehicles, but he had to admit that using one made driving surprisingly convenient.
After an unintended high-speed joyride, they finally reached Gangwon Province.
"This place is where I once purified a special wraith," Woochi explained. "But back then, I was still a rookie, so I didn’t do a thorough job of it."
"This is just an apartment complex."
They were in front of a run-down apartment building, in a small town surrounded by mountains.
"Things change over time, obviously. Just follow me."
He stepped inside the building.
"The evil desires of the wraith still linger here. The more intense the Wraith Frost, the more compatible it is with the life essence orb. We’ll clean up the remaining evil desires while we get our hands on what you need.”
Pulling out a talisman, he carefully examined his surroundings before pointing at a specific apartment.
"This is the one. I guarantee the people living here have been suffering because of the ghost."
Davey quietly took out his smartphone and looked up information about the apartment complex.
“Ghost Apartment, huh...”
The moment he searched the name, a flood of urban legends popped up. He was now ready to listen to Woochi’s claims with all ears.
"Looks like people have been talking about this place for a long time," he muttered. "Suicides, mysterious deaths... There’s even a rumor about a couple who hacked each other to death, despite their reputation of being the sweetest couple. Because of them, the property value had plummeted even further.”
"Those aren’t things we need to worry about. What's important is getting the needed cooperation from the residents. Watch closely. I’ll show you how a real sorcery master handles things."
Hypnotizing the residents was one method, but if he wanted to handle them his way, Davey wasn’t going to stop him.
Striding forward with complete confidence, he knocked on the door.
"This is the place. Hello, excuse me!!"
‘If someone told me this man was a god-level being, I wouldn’t believe them either.’
Ignoring his antics, Davey scanned the area. He saw faint traces of sinister energy lingering around the complex.
The process of purifying a place wasn’t complicated. The problem was that Davey was so powerful that if he wasn’t careful, he’d erase the Wraith Frost along with the inhabitants too.
That was why Woochi took the lead.
Finally, a voice answered from inside. "Who is it?"
Woochi turned to Davey with a smug look.
"Watch and learn, Davey. If you’re going to manage middle earth, you’ll need to learn how to handle things like this."
"Isn’t Neltarid taking care of Earth?"
"That god only serves to maintain balance across worlds. They don’t deal with stuff like this."
Clearing his throat, he waited for the person inside to come out.
‘Fine. Let’s see what the so-called greatest sorcerer of his time can do.’
Following a period of slience, the door finally creaked open.
A woman peeked out, eyeing him warily.
Then, with a slow, confident grin, Woochi dropped the single most effective line that would guarantee her cooperation.
"Do you know the way?”
Bam!!!
The metal door slammed shut in an instant.
Silence followed.
“Wow. That was smooth. Worked like a charm.”
Woochi then shouted with a reddened face, "Shut the hell up!"
"Move aside. I'll just hypnotize her to make her cooperate."
"Hey, you bastard! Are you even human?! If someone’s been tormented by a wraith, their mental fortitude is already weakened! If you mess up the hypnosis, it'll only make things even worse!"
"Well then, hurry up and fix this mess yourself! And if their mental fortitude is weak, I can just stabilize it with holy magic."
"Forget it! Just watch and learn!"
Frustrated, he scowled and took another approach.
"Okay, maybe that wasn’t the right line... Ahem! Ma’am! We’re here to deliver a message of great wisdom!!"
Bang, bang, bang!!
He pounded on the door, raising his voice.
No response.
Instead, the sound of sirens approaching soon filled the air.
The police had arrived.
"I was a fucking idiot for trusting you."
Davey shot a look of pure disdain as Woochi groaned, rubbing his temples.
Meanwhile, Davey eyes narrowed, sensing an eerie energy that filled the entire apartment complex.
"Well, at least we know one thing for sure—the wraith’s presence here is real."
"Tch. Back in the day, there was just a small shaman’s shrine here. Then some idiot just had to decide to build a damn apartment on top of it."
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
