Gluttonys trial book 7 o.., p.6
Gluttony's Trial: Book 7 of The Second Coming of Gluttony, page 6
Seol Jihu did a double-take. Now that he thought about it, that was indeed the case. He had just forgotten about it since he personally never used an enhanced item.
Kim Hannah spoke at that moment. “For that mace, +1 doubles its power and +2 quadruples it.”
“Then +3 and +4 would mean…”
“The weapon’s power would be multiplied by 8 or 16. Though, the chance of successfully enhancing an item decreases drastically the more you do it…” Kim Hannah trailed off before pressing her forehead. “But given the size of these gemstones, they must be high-grade enhancement stones at the very least. They might even be pinnacle-grade enhancement stones… And that changes things.”
“Changes things how?” Seol Jihu asked.
Kim Hannah pointed out, “The higher the quality of an enhancement stone, the higher the probability of an enhancement succeeding. For example, with a pinnacle-grade enhancement stone… imagine enhancing Miss Seo Yuhui’s Proof of Chastity just once.”
Seol Jihu gasped inwardly. He had finally realized the value of the stones in front of him. One would be able to quadruple their weapon’s power with just two successful enhancements. He nudged Little Chick. “Hey, hey.”
However, Little Chick was unenthusiastic. “Dream on. I don’t know about the others, but it won’t work for you or that masked woman.”
“What? Why?”
“Idiot, did you forget what your weapon is? The Spear of Purity is a divine spear that has no equal anywhere else in Paradise!” Little Chick declared.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Isn’t that obvious? To enhance a divine spear, you need a power that is on an equal level. In other words, they have to be in the same league.” Little Chick crossed its tiny wings and shook its head. “Well, I see a few pinnacle-grade enhancement stones as that swindler said… but it doesn’t even come close to being able to enhance a divine spear.”
“So it won’t work?”
“Find a divine-grade enhancement stone if you really want to try. Or you can just try using these stones. I can guarantee they’ll just break.” Little Chick looked at Seol Jihu.
Hearing this, everyone glared at Seol Jihu like they wouldn’t forgive him if he dared to try. Seol Jihu regretted greatly. If he could get a ‘+10 Spear of Purity’, defeating the Parasite Queen in one blow might have been possible.
“I’m shocked,” Kim Hannah muttered.
Seeing Kim Hannah place her hand over her chest and take deep breaths, Seol Jihu tilted his head. “I can tell how good these stones are by everyone’s reactions, but is it really something to be so surprised about?”
“Of course. Enhancement stones are a thing of legend to the Dwarven race. They’re a treasure among treasures that rarely enter the market. They were precious even before Earthlings began to enter Paradise. Both the ingredients and the crafting recipes are passed down only to the head of the Dwarven race. Because of it, pretty much nothing is known about them besides their effect… To have so many of them now…”
“Head of the Dwarven race? You mean Mister Vidalif?” Seol Jihu asked.
Kim Hannah blinked in surprise. “You’ve heard of him?”
“Heard of him? I’ve personally met him.” Seol Jihu nodded.
Kim Hannah looked back at Seol Jihu with widened eyes. “You met him?”
“Yep, along with other top echelon members of the Federation. He’s the one who gave me this box. Ah, now that you mention it, he did look like a master craftsman…”
Kim Hannah marveled inwardly. She knew that the head of the dwarves stayed inside his private, secret workshop most of the time and rarely appeared in the outside world. Though it was a long time ago, there was a time when Sung Shihyun visited the Federation to ask them to enhance his weapon and got turned down by Vidalif, who didn’t even come out to see him.
Kim Hannah smiled. “Anyway, I will put these inside the storage as well. I will keep them safe on my honor.”
“Wait! What about us?! Don’t we get any?” Hugo exclaimed.
“Representative Seol will distribute them at a later time. You see that over there? There are already people trying to pocket them secretly.” Kim Hannah smirked. Maria and Urara Hoshino, who were stealthily reaching toward the stones, flinched.
Seol Jihu swallowed his regret and reached toward the box, while Chohong, Hugo, and the other Warriors beat the two hopeful thieves down. Three compartments had been opened, and now, there was one remaining.
Drrk. When Seol Jihu opened the bottom compartment, a flat box could be seen inside. The rectangular box was made of crystal, making it see through. What’s this? I don’t see anything inside. Is the box itself a treasure?
His eyes lit up after examining the box. He thought it was empty, but that wasn’t true. A transparent liquid swished around inside it. He became sure when he tilted the box, and a thin, water-colored liquid formed a pool.
When he opened the box and carefully picked up the content, the liquid flowed down like a waterfall and spread open. Looking at it this way, it looked like a cape. Am I really holding this? He tilted his head and activated General Observation.
[Ego Te Defendere]
Threads weaved with the leaves of the ash tree containing the World Tree’s will to protect someone. A masterpiece of the ages crafted by the legendary craftsman, Vidalif. Though it usually has the shape of a cape, it transforms into an armor that protects the user’s body upon being infused with mana.
It is hard to see unless it is from an up-close distance, and it does not hinder its user’s movements due to its comfy fit. It has a high resistance to physical attacks and ‘all’ types of magic, and it can cure its user of ‘any’ status effect under the league of divinity. It has a self-repairing effect and has a disguise function that changes the user’s clothes based on the environment.
Lastly, it is infused with ‘Blessing of the World Tree’, which allows the user’s body and soul to travel to the Spirit Realm for one second, once a day.
“Wow!” Seol Jihu exclaimed in awe. He had been worried about not being able to find defensive equipment on the same level as the Spear of Purity. But now, he had an almost omnipotent piece of armor.
There was no need to hesitate. He immediately infused his mana into the cape, and it instantly wrapped itself around Seol Jihu’s body. He moved his arms left and right but didn’t feel even the slightest resistance.
“This thing is no joke,” Seol Jihu exclaimed once more and gave the Spear of Purity a little swing. The thin water-colored cloth was cut like tofu. He was taken aback.
“Do you finally see what an amazing weapon that spear is?” Little Chick snorted from the side. “It could even injure the Parasite Queen, so how could it not cut a little piece of cloth? Now if you understand that, go train some more rather than thinking about enhancing your equipment.”
Seol Jihu scratched his head as he watched the severed cloth slowly repair itself. Despite the armor not quite reaching the league of the weapon, he was still satisfied with it. He especially liked its last effect, sending his body and soul to the Spirit Realm for one second. Though it was limited to once a day, it would surely save his life at a critical moment.
“Blessing of the World Tree…” Seol Jihu examined his body until his thoughts strayed off. Now that he thought about it, he also had the fruit given to him by the World Tree and the divinity of Temperance.
However, there was no way for him to find out what these two items did exactly, since not even General Observation could see through them. He held the two things in his hands and asked, “Does anyone know anything about these two items?”
But as expected, nobody knew anything about them.
「Un~ The World Tree is a god of sorts, right? The fruit is the essence of the World Tree and Temperance’s divinity is exactly that. Since they’re both related to gods, wouldn’t it be better for you to ask the gods about them?」
Agreeing with what Flone said, Seol Jihu clapped and gathered everyone’s attention. “Okay, we will keep the box in the organization’s storage as Kim Hannah suggested. We’ll distribute the items at a later time, so don’t worry about it. Now, about the divinity and this fruit…”
The members who were beating Maria and Urara Hoshino all stopped and turned. With everyone’s attention on him, Seol Jihu announced, “I will go to the temple and ask Gula-nim about them. We can decide on what to do with them after we know their effects. Everyone’s going to the temples soon anyway, right?”
Everyone nodded. At that moment, Oh Rahee raised her hand. “Speaking of which, I have something to say. I leveled up. I went to the temple last night.”
“Huh?” Chohong blinked.
“I got promoted. From Imperial Chevalier to Imperial Knight. I’m a full-fledged Level 6 now.”
“Right away? What about the promotion exam?” Phi Sora asked urgently.
Oh Rahee grinned and went, “Hnng~”
“Don’t Hnng~ me and speak!” Phi Sora snapped.
Oh Rahee smirked, before saying, “So pushy. I didn’t have to take the promotion exam.”
“Really?” Hugo asked.
“That’s what I was told.” Oh Rahee shrugged while twirling her hair. “Since I had participated in the expedition to save the Spirit Realm and contributed toward the revival of the World Tree, Gula said she’d count that as the test.”
There was no first or second. The moment Oh Rahee said this, everyone dashed out of the meeting room like they all made a promise to do just that beforehand. They knew class promotion was practically guaranteed given what Oh Rahee said.
Everyone had to go to their respective temples, so Seol Jihu went to Gula’s temple with Flone. He ran excitedly and stopped as soon as he saw the familiar stone statue. Gula-nim!
「You’re finally here.」A benevolent voice rang out in his head.「What took you so long? I’ve been waiting since yesterday.」
Contribution points! Contribution points!
「Yes, yes, you did well. What you achieved this time is—」
Oh right, and tell me what this divinity and fruit does!
「Sure, sure. But before that—」
Thank you! Anyway, tell me about my contribution points first! Seol Jihu shouted with a twinkle in his eyes.
「...」Gula sighed quietly.
1 Reference to a famous line in the Korean movie, Tazza: The High Rollers.
3
Settlement of Accounts
Pestering Gula for a report on the current state of his contribution points, Seol Jihu felt someone gently pulling on his body. A statue of a beautiful goddess approached him. “Uup.” The gentle pulling stopped at the same time that his body fell onto the statue. He then felt a warm pair of hands gently embrace him.
Seol Jihu, who ended up in the statue’s embrace before he noticed, looked up in a daze.
「You’re too excited.」
Though he might be mistaken, he felt like the statue was looking down at him and smiling. Now that he thought about it, this was his first time seeing Gula up close. It was a bit difficult to read her expression from a statue, but the neat hair that stretched all the way to the ground came off as exceedingly beautiful.
「I understand you’re happy, but you should calm down a bit.」
Seol Jihu let out a low, quiet sound as a soft hand stroked his back. Ah… I’m sorry. I was too excited.
「Good boy.」
Okay, I’ll calm down, so can you do something about this… Seol Jihu twisted and turned, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and Gula let go of him with a chuckle. Seol Jihu took a couple of steps back with a flushed face. He then lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Gula’s relaxed voice rang out as if she just finished preparing everything.「Let’s see. This is going to take some time with everything you’ve accomplished… Alright, we can start with your contribution points.」
Seol Jihu’s ears perked up.
「First, let’s go over your achievements.」
Gula cleared her throat.
「Forcing the Parasites’ Fourth Army Commander into defecting, being a direct cause of his perishing, and successfully retrieving the divinity of Temperance.
「Forcing the Parasites’ Seventh Army Commander into releasing her divinity and defeating her.
「And finally, planning the revival of the World Tree and saving the Spirit Realm that was in an unprecedented threat of extinction. These achievements are more than enough to prove that you are qualified to advance to the next step.」
A faint smile emerged on Seol Jihu’s face. It was just like Oh Rahee said. Everything they did, whether small or big, was counted as a contribution, and the promotion exam had been more or less waived.
「Furthermore, requesting the Spirit Kings to forget the resentment that has continued for thousands of years, helping the Cave Fairies regain the power of Spirits, and thereby freeing the Spirit Lords of Light and Darkness should also be counted as achievements.」
Gula cleared up what he had been secretly wondering. Seol Jihu yelled in delight, but this wasn’t the end.
「Overturning the tide of war at Tigol Fortress by saving the Spirit Realm.
「Forcing Unsightly Humility, Abhorrent Charity, Exploding Patience, and Vulgar Chastity—the Second, Third, Fifth, and Sixth Army Commanders—into releasing their divinities and directly being responsible for their retreat.
「Making the Parasite Queen descend to the battlefield, inducing the destruction of the Nests and the Parasites’ forces, and damaging a portion of the Goddess of Parasitism’s divinity.
「And thereby defeating the Parasites and saving Tigol Fortress from destruction. All of these things mean that you have proven yourself to be qualified to advance to the next step.」
Seol Jihu clenched his fists. It sounded like he could skip the promotion exam twice.
「Furthermore.」Gula continued.「Forcing the First Army Commander to reveal himself in Tigol Fortress… shall also be counted as a contribution.」
Seol Jihu could feel a slight hesitation from Gula’s voice when she mentioned the First Army Commander. This naturally referred to Sung Shihyun. As far as Seol Jihu was aware, Sung Shihyun was the past Executor of Gula, the Star of Gluttony.
Seol Jihu thought about something, then emptied his mind. Someone who used to be her apostle had betrayed her. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling at the moment.
「Fufu.」However, having read Seol Jihu’s mind, Gula chuckled quietly and stroked his head.「It’s very interesting. The two of you are very similar in the way you act, so why is that child so hateful while you are so cute?」
Come again?
「No, it’s nothing. Anyway, using a Divine Wish ate up a lot of your contribution points, but if we add the contribution points you amassed this time with what was left over from before…」
Seol Jihu strained his ears with a beating heart.
「You will be able to advance to Level 6 and then Level 7 at once.」
Level 7. It was the realm of Unique Rankers, of which there were not even ten in the whole of Paradise. With the level that he had always dreamed of right in front of his eyes, Seol Jihu cheered inwardly.
However, a man’s greed knew no bounds. Seol Jihu began to thirst the realm of Level 8. Gula-nim, what about Level 8…?
「Purely in terms of contribution points, you have already passed what is needed to become a Level 8.」
Seol Jihu’s eyes widened.
「But on top of needing to take a promotion exam, your experience is far too lacking to advance to Level 8. That is my opinion.」
Seol Jihu smacked his lips after hearing that he had enough contribution points but lacked experience points. However, he accepted the reasoning.
It was just like Gula said. Seol Jihu clearly felt his lack of experience in this war. And it wasn’t just once or twice that I felt it. In fact, he was surprised that he was even standing here in one piece. And so, he decided to be content with the fact that he could jump two levels higher.
「Now that we’ve gone over your level, we can move on to the next topic. The Yggdrasil Essence and the divinity of Temperance.」
Seol Jihu immediately took out the red fruit and the shining orb.
「The World Tree is a tree that lies between the realm of immortality and mortality. It can live much longer than a Dragon, but its lifespan is not infinite. When its true body runs out of lifeforce, it immediately plants a new seed and blooms anew, continuing its existence through a cycle of rebirth.」
Gula first brought up the fruit of the World Tree.「Do you know what the World Tree does first when it comes into being?」
No, not at all.
「It’s simple. It prepares nutrients for the World Tree that will be born next.」
Nutrients?
「Yes. Normally, it takes a very long time for the World Tree to grow to adulthood without external help. With a human’s lifespan, they will not be able to see the World Tree evolve to adulthood even if they live for thirty generations. It is far too inefficient.」
Gula continued，「So, the World Tree separates a portion of its energy when it fully evolves and stores it for the next World Tree. If you haven’t guessed already, the fruit you are holding in your hand is exactly that.」
Seol Jihu widened his eyes as he fiddled with the fruit. Wait, that means…
「You don’t have to worry about the World Tree that will be born next.」Gula said softly.「Didn’t you give it several sedges? Five, to be exact. They should have given the World Tree enough reserve energy. Consider that fruit a gift for your hard work.」
I sure hope so.
「You can visit the Spirit realm later when you have time. The same fruit as the one in your hand will be hanging on the World Tree.」
Seol Jihu nodded. He’d been wanting to go there again, with how beautiful the Spirit Realm was with the World Tree alive. There probably wouldn’t be a better location for a honeymoon.
「As you might expect, you can use the Yggdrasil Essence simply by consuming it.」
