The 31st Piece Turns the Tables - Chapter 124

Episode 124: Kang

Seol felt an emotional turmoil that went beyond embarrassment to something close to astonishment.

‘I mean… he’s alive?’

All the horses he had encountered so far were dead.

When I found them, I was able to control myself even though I was emotionally upset, but this time it was a little different.

“There’s nothing better than that when your stomach is empty. If you’re in doubt, you don’t have to eat it. But is that still okay? “You look like you’re going to die at any moment?”

“….”

“Tsk, tsk… What is that expression? “Are you experiencing mental difficulties?”

Toki was talking about mental contamination in the labyrinth. Kang Seol shook his head and said.

“Thank you for the favor, Toki. “My name is… Snowman.”

“I see. Anyway, nice to meet you.”

“How… in this place…”

Toki did not listen to Kang Seol’s words and looked at the horizon.

“The sun will set soon. “This is not a good place to talk, so let’s go.”

“Where…”

“Where is my house?”

Snowfall could tell that he was riding something as a means of transportation.

Sniff… Sniff…

A large desert boar was hanging nearby.

‘…is it tamed?’

The desert boar was a monster that appeared in Endurance of Penance. It has a vicious temperament and tremendous strength, so if you touch it carelessly, its tusks can hit you and puncture a hole somewhere in your body.

“Tongtong, there are two people today. “You can do it, right?”

Sniff…

“Now get in.”

With a puzzled expression, Kangseol climbed on the back of a desert boar named Tongtong.

‘…is it comfortable?’

– It is said that the ride quality was surprisingly that of a sedan.

– The wide-eyed look is so funny haha

– Something like this! Who knows who will ride… (feels sound asleep)

“Departure.”

Sniff…

doo doo doo…

The speed wasn’t that fast, but I thought this was very good in the desert where my feet were soaking wet.

Whoa…

A warm sand breeze passed by them.

If he had encountered this wind while walking, he would have been annoyed, but now he was heading somewhere on the back of a wild boar.

So, the lingering breeze of the wind remained briefly and made the snowfall pleasant.

‘Why is Toki here?’

There were more than one question that occurred to him now.

Why is Toki still alive and how was he able to survive all this time?

‘I really have to ask…’

But Kang Seol was now cornered both mentally and physically.

As I quietly climbed on Tongtong’s back and crossed the endless desert, the fatigue poured out in an instant.

Normally this would never have happened, but he felt relieved that he had met his horse.

‘A little sleepy…’

Sigh…

I lost consciousness like that.

* * *

“May God look down on all of us who are wandering.”

Someone’s voice resounding softly.

Cracking… crackling…

this sound is familiar.

As the warmth reached her, Kangseol realized that she was lying near the fire.

“hmm? “Are you awake already?”

“Haa…haa…your body….”

“I know, it’s heavy, right?”

For a moment, I felt like something was wrong.

I wonder if Toki did something while he was asleep.

“It’s reassuringly natural. It’s like that for a while when you come to this desert. I did the same…”

“My body… doesn’t move…”

An emergency light turned on in Kang Seol’s head.

‘The body… doesn’t move.’

[Status condition: Exposure to dehydration.]

[Status condition: Exposure to malnutrition.]

[Mental pollution level has reached 50.]

[Status condition: Exposure to mental fatigue.]

Who said misfortune comes in layers.

Kang Seol was now in a situation where he could do nothing in the middle of the labyrinth of penance.

Rattling…

It seemed like Toki was making something.

“Okay, I guess this is enough to eat.”

Good smell.

A fragrant and fragrant smell entered Kangseol’s nose.

Huh… Huh…

Toki put the hot food on the spoon and blew on it. It was an action that made me wonder if it would be too hot.

“Now swallow.”

Kang Seol did not eat food given to him by someone he did not know. Since I wasn’t the type to trust anyone in the first place, I pathologically refused favors.

This time too, I tried to refuse food from someone I didn’t know.

but.

‘I haven’t eaten anything for several days…’

Strong hunger and pain consumed him, and perhaps because of that, his vigilance was much lower than usual.

Moreover, as Kang Seol remembers, Toki was a monk who served God, and his mentality was also very good.

If Kang Seol had met him somewhere else, she would have swallowed the food he offered without much resistance.

‘But here…’

This is a labyrinth.

Moreover, Toki stayed here for a very long time.

The labyrinth is a place that erodes the spirit of an ascetic.

I didn’t know that his mind might have been distorted by some kind of change.

However, while Kang-seol was thinking about this, Toki’s spoon slid into Kang-seol’s mouth.

“Wow….”

“It’s an unfamiliar taste, isn’t it?”

“Haa…haa…what….”

Pleasant taste. There’s even just the right amount of warmth.

Kangseol realized as he saw Toki’s face smiling with his teeth showing.

‘What have I done now…’

Even though I was the one who put him in this labyrinth, I doubted him for that reason.

The comfort felt from him soon became Kang Seol’s trust.

‘It hasn’t changed, Toki…’

Toki listened to Snowfall like that for quite some time.

Kang Seol couldn’t understand his actions just now.

Why do people act like this for others in this barren land?

“Your stomach must have been very surprised. “Get some more sleep.”

“… why.”

“hmm?”

“Why are you… so nice to me?”

“Right. “Have you ever wondered about that, young man?”

Toki smiled, revealing his sparse teeth.

“Because I was lonely the whole time…”

Kang Seol fell asleep again after hearing that answer.

The next day, my body recovered a little.

However, it was still several times more difficult to move than usual, like soaked cotton, so I had to lie down.

Toki took good care of him.

Another day passed and another day passed.

– Is this by any chance a hospital bed simulation?

– Is it possible that the penance of patience is fighting illness?

– So Toki is the main character, right?

In this way, Kang Seol’s physical condition completely recovered.

“You’re awake.”

“I feel better now.”

“Haha, I’m glad. “If I had to lie down today, I would have just left you.”

“….”

“I’m just kidding. “Don’t take it too seriously.”

I woke up, but that didn’t mean it was daytime. It was still dark in the son-in-law, and Kangseol and Toki were looking at something cooking in the campfire.

“Is it meat?”

It was only meat for a few days.

“Yes, in order for your body to recover, you need to get something like this into your stomach.”

It was natural that my mouth was watering, but I was wondering where I got this meat.

‘Well, it won’t be a big problem.’

Snowfall came to trust Toki in a very short period of time.

If Toki had been mean-spirited, he would have targeted Kang-seol when she was sick.

It was Toki who took care of him while he was fighting his illness, so it didn’t make sense that Kang Seol still didn’t trust him.

“Toki, I have a question.”

“Tsk… Is this a question as soon as you recover? What a busy young man. “Listen.”

– How did you know?

– ㄹㅇ Busy haha

Kangseol carefully took over the piece of meat Toki cut for him and asked.

“Here… how did you come to be?”

“Is this what you were talking about?”

“I wonder.”

Actually, I already knew the story.

That’s because the world of eternity comes with a detailed story of that character from the moment of character creation.

From how he lives and why he does what he does.

“I don’t like talking about the past, but… this is a real person I haven’t seen in a long time, so there’s no reason to hide it. It would be difficult to spread the word anywhere anyway. “Isn’t that right?”

“… That’s because this place is a labyrinth.”

“Haha… okay.”

Toki put a piece of meat in his mouth and started talking about the past.

“I was an abandoned orphan in a remote village during the epidemic. The village people must have felt sorry for the baby, so they took it in and raised it. “At that time, it was not uncommon to kill and eat children, and it was truly a miracle.”

Kang Seol nodded.

The past history that was being played out now was the same as the Toki setting he knew.

“I always tried to be grateful. Even a country like this had to repay the people and God who allowed it to live in the world. “Because I believed that hope… would save me.”

But that trust was soon broken.

As Kangseol expected, sadness formed in Toki’s eyes.

“One day, my wife, daughter, and most of the village people died.”

– Wait a minute. I’m leaving this room.

– You can’t get out. It’s a labyrinth.

Regardless of the shocking content, he seemed very calm throughout his speech.

“It happened while I was away from home for a while. Our village was quite remote, and at that time of year, wild bandits would occasionally come looking for food. “The problem was that I went out under the illusion that the year would pass safely.”

“Is this the work of wild thieves?”

“Yes, it was them.”

“….”

“I have lived my whole life for the God I believe in. Raising a happy family was also to get closer to Him. “It was also to protect what I believed in.”

There was a reason why he spoke like this.

Kang Seol nodded and made a gesture to tell them to move on.

“I chased them.”

“And?”

“We attacked the main base. When I came to, I saw that all the other bandits were dead and that one very scared bandit was being held in my hands. “Do you know what he said while shaking?”

“….”

The situation must have been very new to him.

“God, save me from despair.”

“… The thief found God.”

“At that moment, I felt like everything inside me was twisted. It felt like my internal organs were being squeezed and my bones were breaking. “Everything I believed in and did… was denied.”

The bandits who wiped out the village found God.

From that sight, he must have felt as if his faith had been tainted.

“Of course, it would have been difficult for them to survive the winter because they ran out of food. And because he couldn’t let go of his lazy temper, he probably chose the easier path than working for a year. There is a reason for everything, even if it is small. “Like why they targeted my village.”

“Toki…”

“With the martial arts I practiced while believing in God, I smashed the thieves’ heads and ripped off their arms and legs. “I tried to approach God, but it became more and more difficult for me to understand his intentions, and gradually… I became distant.”

“The last thief….”

“I missed it. At that moment, the thought of killing him disappeared from me. Did the God I believed in save him? Then…”

Toki said with a sombre expression.

“why. Why on earth have I been left in despair? Why am I… “I mean, didn’t you ask for it?”

“….”

“From that day on, I went out and wandered the world. “To find out why the god who answered the thief’s call turned a blind eye to mine.”

He grinned.

“And then it ended up flowing in here.”

“… How long have you been staying here?”

“Well… how long has it been? “I can’t even remember the last time I counted time.”

It must have been about 10 years.

No, since you forgot the date, you might feel like it’s been a while longer.

‘That’s ridiculous… You endured the penance of patience for over 10 years? Then, how could he possibly be of sound mind?…’

Toki asked, looking at Kangseol’s gaze.

“Why but?”

“… no.”

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Hehe… After living alone for a long time, I realized that conversation is an important part of living.”

Kang Seol asked one more question after those words.

“Do you know anything about the penance of pain?”

“Hmm… the penance of having to be tangled up with those statues.”

“Yes, it feels a bit… foreign compared to other penances.”

This was a question that not even the Blood Saint could figure out. If it’s Toki, you might know.

“I don’t need to know that right now.”

“yes?”

“When you reach the end of the labyrinth, you will naturally find out. Even if you find out the answer now, it won’t do you any good. Rather… it will break.”

“It’s broken…”

“Are there any other questions?”

– (I’m not going to answer, I’m just going to gloss over it) Are there any other questions?

– Are there any other questions (that I can appropriately answer and brag about)?

Then there is only one question left.

Kang Seol asked him.

“How did you survive here?”

“Tsk… you were unlucky. That’s why I ended up in a barren land and didn’t encounter anything. In fact, if you look around this desert, there is no shortage of food to eat. “There is nothing that can be considered food in the barren land you have landed in.”

“There is so much to eat, what does it mean…”

The Blood Saint also had to endure hunger with superhuman mental strength, and the only thing he could do was fill his stomach with the occasional dragon fruit or small lizard.

It was a torment of patience to have to fight for survival every day on a schedule that could never end.

“Where do you think that meat you just ate came from?”

“Where did you come from? Aren’t you an animal that lives in the desert?”

“You have to be really lucky to see such things. And even if we could find it, the two of us wouldn’t have been able to eat this abundantly. Now, let’s guess.”

Kang Seol’s knowledge allowed him to reach the answer in an instant.

“…is it really plump?”

– no!!!!!

– Leave Tongtong alone!

– These demons!

“… No way.”

“Then… my god, this… was a monster.”

“okay.”

“But the monster’s meat is poisonous…”

Something was strange.

‘I didn’t feel that way when I just ate it?’

Instead of feeling that way, I just felt that the flavor was good.

“Tsk tsk… This is my secret secret that I had no choice but to learn in order to survive in the desert.”

“Biggy?”

“It’s called Monster Recipe. What is it like? Are you interested?”

-Bigi cooking? I can’t stand this haha

– my mouth is watering haha

A choice came to Kang Seol’s mind.

[The monster recipe that Toki learned to survive in the desert. He asks you if you are interested in this recipe…]

Kang Seol answered before all the options could come to mind.

“Of course there is.”

“Good, I feel like I have become a master student. It will probably be quite a unique experience while learning.”

[A suitable teacher for the talent ‘Cooking’ has been found.]

[The hidden promotion process for the talent ‘Cooking’, ‘Demon Cooking’, is in progress.]