"What's going on... Is this really the right place?"
(Chaos World Tongue)
An aged voice sounded from behind the door. A bone-chilling cold, arriving even before the words themselves, coated the room in a fine frost.
'Are they human? People from another country? What are they saying?'
Cha Hae-in was stunned.
For a decade, the ironclad rule had been that gates led to dungeons. But this gate... it seemed like someone had opened it? And... the newcomers didn't feel friendly.
The incomprehensible language led her to assume they were human, but she immediately remembered that magical beasts had their own tongues too.
As her wariness grew, an elderly man with blue skin and long white hair stepped through the gate, followed closely by a towering, burly black-haired man nearly three meters tall.
So strong...
Even without having learned to sense magical power, Cha Hae-in could gauge their immense strength just by their presence.
"We've got the wrong place," the black-haired man noted, his tone dissatisfied as he observed the wary, weak human before him.
"Not entirely wrong," the old man smiled. "Though faint, she carries the same magical scent."
The black-haired man made no comment. Of course he could sense it too, but he didn't see the point.
"Humans are far more complex than you imagine, and their weaknesses are more obvious," the old man continued, not expecting a 'beast' to understand human nature.
Though not human himself, he prided himself on understanding them well.
The black-haired man frowned. "Don't go too far."
"Of course, I merely wish to say hello... hehehe," the old man chuckled.
"Who are you people?!"
Their ongoing, incomprehensible conversation, completely ignoring her, made Cha Hae-in increasingly anxious and worried.
"Who we are is unimportant," the old man had no intention of answering a weakling's question. "What matters is, whose scent is it that clings to you?"
"Scent?"
Hearing the familiar language suddenly threw Cha Hae-in off. Though the question was baffling, her first thought went to Castorice.
"It seems you have an idea," the old man's smile widened slightly. "Tell me their information."
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
Cha Hae-in couldn't be sure they meant Castorice, but even if she were, she'd never sell him out, especially not to people who were clearly trouble.
The old man wasn't surprised by the refusal. He'd seen plenty of this meaningless human resolve. "I'll make you willing to talk."
"Frost Monarch."
The black-haired man's frown deepened.
He'd come with the Frost Monarch upon hearing traces of the Shadow Monarch's aura—the first time it had been exposed in so many cycles.
While the scent wasn't identical to the Shadow Monarch's, that thick aura of death was unmistakable.
Likely, he'd found a fragile vessel, and without taking full control like those foolish fragments of light [the Rulers], it had caused a mutation.
Honestly, he was somewhat wary of the Shadow Monarch, having betrayed him before.
Coming personally was partly to show his remorse, and partly... to gauge the Shadow Monarch's current strength.
If his repentance wasn't accepted, he could decide whether to take a beating or finish him off based on his power.
But for the Frost Monarch to start disciplining the Shadow Monarch's associate before even meeting him...
The Frost Monarch, of course, knew the Fang Monarch's little schemes.
He sneered inwardly but maintained a calm facade. "Just teaching his subordinate what proper respect for a Monarch entails."
With that, a surging tide of cold filled the room in an instant. Cha Hae-in reacted immediately, dodging, but her left arm was still frozen solid by the chill.
'He's too strong!'
Losing part of her combat ability in a single exchange—she'd never faced an opponent like this.
Gritting her teeth, Cha Hae-in raised her sword at the old man with the mocking smile.
On the other side, Castorice, having obtained the bracelet, returned to the apartment and packaged it in a red envelope to send to Amber.
[Castorice: The first piece of equipment I got in this world!]
[Amber: There's equipment too? Feels just like a game.]
[Herta: Nothing special. Equipment is just external tools, like Captain America's shield or Iron Man's armor.]
[Castorice: The important thing is, its craftsmanship principles differ from both the Dragon Maid world and the Magical Mascot world. I can't say which is superior, but the researchers should take a look.]
[Amber: True, it might give our tech department some inspiration.]
[Herta: Send any others you find my way too.]
[Castorice: Huh? Is that okay?]
[Herta: ?]
[Amber: Don't jump to conclusions. Though this is a newly split-off 'me,' she's not from the recent past. She should be from around the time right after fusing with the Spirit of Origin.]
[Herta: Fine, explain it yourself then.]
[Amber: Well, this Herta is the real deal—a 'me' I specifically assigned for learning purposes. She's already been to several different worlds.]
[Castorice: Huh? A 'learning me'?]
The somewhat unfamiliar phrasing made Castorice voice her confusion aloud.
[Herta: Using your past selves as labor. Classic you.]
So that was it. The confidence came from a vast difference in accumulated wisdom... Recalling how this Herta often made un-Amber-like remarks in previous chats, Castorice finally understood.
[Amber: ...Well, I can't trouble Dark Amber with everything.]
Fair enough.
After chatting a bit more and reporting her situation, Castorice shifted her focus away from the chat window and returned to the Underworld.
Compared to before, the Underworld now resembled a tripartite standoff.
Humans, Denizens of Chaos, and the Sea of Flowers formed three points of a triangle across the realm. Both humans and Chaos residents had begun constructing their own dwellings.
The number of the dead was increasing rapidly.
If Sung Jinwoo had to start managing now, even he would be tearing his hair out. Thankfully, he'd arrived earlier and had already built up his own team, so he didn't have to handle everything personally.
Castorice's return wasn't just to pretend she wasn't an irresponsible manager. Her main goal was to borrow some equipment from Sung Jinwoo.
While she could buy equipment outside, and Herta hadn't specified needing anything top-tier, having just rubbed her the wrong way, Castorice felt bad sending just any random piece of gear.
And the good equipment on the market was beyond her budget, so she set her sights on Sung Jinwoo.
She clearly remembered Sung Jinwoo had a system shop and had even asked if she wanted to sell his gear in the outside world.
Not particularly caring about money, Castorice had declined. Besides, those were ultimately Sung Jinwoo's things; she couldn't just take them for free.
But she never imagined she'd one day find herself in the awkward position of needing to apologize with a gift but having no money to buy one.
And the apology was to a version of herself, no less.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.