A week later.
Actually, it was a problem that didn't require much worry.
A fact that you can understand if you just try to empathize a little.
'I would have made the same choice as Ma Seok-ho.'
It still appears in my dreams.
A collapsing building. A wrecked car. The howling of a monster.
The parents, who were trapped in the car, handed Heejin over to me.
He spoke to me as if he was running away from the spreading fire.
'Please take care of my little brother.'
That's why it doesn't feel like someone else's business.
If I could go back then.
If you can save your parents with the help of others.
Even if the structure fails with a 50/50 chance, it will hang on.
Please, save my parents.
"It was a simple problem, after all."
Shhh. I placed the delivered box on the table.
I opened it and it arrived safely.
Clock and soldering iron set with timer function.
'You're saying that I have to carve an imprint on the doll?'
How can you carve something so soft and fluffy with a carving knife?
So I prepared.
I should just use my mana to engrave the mark while soldering it with a soldering iron.
'It's going to be a long fight.'
At most, it's 6 hours.
You have to find a way out of the curse and engrave it one by one with a mana stat of only 1.
It's so urgent just to imagine it.
I sent a message to Ma Seok-ho.
-would.
-What about the payment?
-As much as you want to give.
Since I had already made up my mind, I had no intention of receiving much.
This is an action born of empathy and compassion.
It was close to a good deed.
-Then, if you send a message saying you are ready, I will send the cursed item right away.
-okay.
Heejin must have gone to school too.
I entered the enchanter's workshop with a pious heart.
My mindset is different than usual.
Is it because my enchantment can cause Heejin's peers to die or live?
I set up the equipment and set the timer for exactly 6 hours.
-I'm ready.
-Sent.
A reply came back at the same time as the signal.
I checked and the cursed object had been sent to me.
[Mr. Ma Seok-ho sent you an item. Would you like to receive it? (Y/N)]
This is a community safety measure to prevent indiscriminate item terrorism.
I pressed yes because I had no reason to refuse.
Then, an ordinary rabbit doll falls down in front of me. However, as soon as he appeared in the workshop, he revealed his true colors.
Saaaa!
It emits a continuous stream of black energy.
But this is the enchanter's workshop.
>>
[Check the cursed item.]
[Activate the workshop. Activate curse immunity.]
>>
Any curse that could harm me is blocked. Thanks to that, I was able to get to work with peace of mind.
'The countdown has begun.'
It's not like I've been worrying about it all week.
The days when I had decided and prepared a long time ago.
The process of identifying and removing curses is engraved in his body like a machine.
Thanks to that, I was able to handle cursed objects that I had never seen before.
'First of all, the location of the nucleus.'
The part where the curse is coagulated. The core of the curse.
Find that place first.
Because it is easier to create a path for the curse to escape, starting from the point where the nucleus sprouts.
however.
'What, what is it?'
This was a form I had never seen before.
Nuclear weapons are everywhere.
When I pulled out mana and stabbed it, it reacted everywhere.
'There are more than one or two.'
This is the first time I've seen something like this.
Even intermediate cursed items only had one curse core.
'High-level. No, this is top-level.'
Even if you haven't seen it, your gut tells you.
This is a top-level curse.
'The curse is of the ideological kind. It is entangled and clumped together everywhere.'
It was truly a terrible curse.
Can I do this for you?
'I have to.'
If you can't do it, a child who hasn't even been able to realize his dreams will die.
I can never let that go.
"We do them one by one."
1 hour.
After engraving one of the Haeju stamps, a variable occurred.
A curse that flowed from another curse's core blocked the passage.
2 hours.
A series of processes that consume and restore 1 mana.
When it got blocked, they kept making their way through.
Before I knew it, the rabbit doll was covered in blackened imprints.
3 hours.
This is a repetition of the first problem.
They are so attached to each other that they have no intention of ever leaving each other.
The curse was entangled and could not be released.
I need more mana.
"Ugh, gasp. Huh...."
4 hours.
5 hours.
My limbs tremble with a deep sense of exhaustion.
I was already on the verge of exhaustion from the sweat pouring down like rain.
It seems like it's useless to just keep recovering and using mana.
Even if you use the highest grade magic stone in a hurry, it will have no effect.
Can you do this...?
"I have to do it. I have to do it."
I muttered as if shaking off the negative thoughts that had occurred to me at that moment.
I will definitely do it.
I am Kim Jinseo.
A man who was called a genius in dexterity and craftsmanship!
What a curse tied to this little cotton ball.
There will definitely be a way out.
So don't give up.
If that doesn't work, I'll just knock on it like an ignorant person.
Yeah, let's see who wins.
"I wonder if it'll be faster for you to get tangled up with each other or for me to clear the way. Let's see."
The momentum has been restored once again.
But time was passing relentlessly.
Beep beep beep!
My heart fluttered at that sound.
It's a timer notification.
'There are already 5 minutes left?'
No, it won't work.
We haven't even cleared a single road yet...!
A feeling of despair came over me.
Does this mean I have to fail like this?
I prepared and decided to go into it with the intention of saving a life.
The result you got back is a failure?
'no.'
That day, I failed to save my parents, but Ma Seok-ho is different.
I was there.
The master promised that he would do it.
So, you must do it.
>>
[Interpreting the highest level curse, the symbol of death (100%)]
[Translation complete. Registered in the history of the slaughter.]
>>
'This is....'
I had forgotten about it because the interpretation rate increased too slowly.
The highest curse, the glyph of death.
That is registered in the truth of the reverse slaughter.
'Why is the curse registered there?'
They have contradictory meanings.
Why would such power be mixed with opposing abilities?
I quickly confirmed the change while still having doubts.
>>
Effect: Always activated when in a workshop. Absorbs, amplifies, and returns curses and abnormal statuses targeting the user. Increases the purity of the spell.
Registered Curse -Glyph of Death (maximizes the ability to cast curses related to thoughts)
>>
"ah!"
A way out has opened up.
I think he was called Admiral Yi Dok.
Even the curse was particularly effective.
A structure where a greater curse is offset by a similar curse.
The symbol of death played just that role.
'It's definitely different.'
This is the Haeju stamp that was attempted again.
The completely tangled thoughts were slowly unraveling.
The symbol of death was scattering thoughts.
'Please, please...!'
Even things you like are fleeting.
Now there really was no time.
'think!'
Near the top of the rabbit doll.
A perfect passage for the curse to escape, including all the cores.
Use the ability immediately after extracting and capturing mana.
One of the Haeju engravings was engraved without breathing.
"Phuha! Gasp!"
It is a concentration that has reached its limit.
The pupils, which had been greatly constricted, dilated.
A sharp headache is creeping in.
I glanced at the warmth flowing down my nose and saw blood.
'It's not time to fall.'
Does that mean I can just sit and rest?
I frowned at the massive black aura emanating from the doll.
Success or failure.
A notification window notified the results.
>>
[Extreme success! A clump of vicious thoughts has been unleashed!]
[The rising effect of the truth of the reverse slaughter! Items are purified and transformed into divine items!]
[Skill experience points increase significantly!]
[The level of Haeju's seal has increased.]
>>
Whatever it was, we did it.
I quickly cleared the notification window and checked the item information.
>>
[Memory of the Sacred Wish]
Grade: A++
Description: Hundreds of grudges from the dead were released at once. The pure divinity born in this way seeped in purely, leaving behind only someone's memories. Honey, let's raise Jiyoon happily together?
Effect: 1. Continuously restores the holder's vitality.
2. Protects the holder from up to the highest level of curses.
>>
The doll was no longer a cursed object.
It had been transformed into an incredible item that would restore and protect the child.
"Okay, it's over."
The timer is showing 5 hours and 59 minutes.
I took a deep breath and it rang loudly.
'It was really a one-point difference.'
What if the Death Symbol hadn't been interpreted at that time? It's terrifying to even imagine.
I barely managed to catch my breath and moisten my throat with cold water.
I almost collapsed from dehydration.
'The child will be okay.'
After a short break, I opened a community.
A message from Ma Seok-ho that looks as expected.
-Thank you very much, Master.
-Jiyoon. She's still alive even after 6 hours.
Why do I feel a deep emotion that cannot be conveyed through words? One side of my heart feels heavy.
I sent a reply with the corners of my lips curled up for no reason.
- I succeeded in doing it. I'll send you the results. Your wife's memories still remain.
The last sentence of the description.
It must have been soaked with memories of his wife.
I sent the doll away and lay down on the mat.
Now it was difficult to even stand.
Tiring.
'hmm?'
I have the community turned on and my eyes are closed.
When I woke up to the sound of the notification, it was a reply from Ma Seok-ho.
-Meister. I admit it. You are the best hunter.
-And I am the first man that Ma Seok-ho acknowledges.
What is a man doing when he doesn't even know whether he is a man or a woman? I read the following message with a smirk.
-If there's anything you want me to do, just tell me. If you ask for a guild, I'll give it to you. From now on, you're my one and only brother. My benefactor and my nobleman.
The guild takeover is a bit....
Even if I accept it, it's obvious that it'll only cause trouble.
'Still, we achieved our goal.'
The 50 billion won sent by Ma Seok-ho.
The absolute trust of the 6th place winner of the top 100 is more valuable than that.
There was only one thing I had to do for him right now.
-For now, spend some quality time with your family.
This is something I want to see again but can't.
Thank you. This favor. I will repay it until I die.
I closed the community after seeing his thanks.
Oh, I miss my parents.
If I buy a car, I must first stop by Bongandang.
I need to tell you about recent events and show you how Heejin is doing.
[Conditions met.]
[A quest is created.]
"huh?"
What is this all of a sudden?
This is the second time since the tutorial quest.
I don't know what it was, but it seems that the highest level curse was effective.
I opened the quest window.
>>
[Enchanter's Qualifications]
Content: You are on the path of a true enchanter. Now is the time to perfect your qualifications and move towards the ultimate. Create the best with the given materials.
Objective: Enchant a masterpiece item (0/1)
Reward: Knowledge of the previous enchanter.
Carving knife of the previous enchanter.
>>
Thump, thump.
When you open the quest window, something falls.
It rolls over next to me and lands on my side.
'It's a ball, right?'
It was a rusty iron ball that the quest gave me as material.