"It's okay,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he stroked Fenrir’s hair.
In the end, Fenrir quieted down and sat as he called out to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked forward and remarked, “It’s a palace.”
In front of him was another fortress within the stronghold they stood in. It was so huge that it seemed as if it was perennially night as the shadows cast from its walls were blocking out the sun.
Once they had been surrounded by the shadows with the darkness falling around them, Thjazi opened his mouth and stated, “Tell them Thjazi has arrived.”
Giants who stood outside the palace, acting as guards, soon went inside, and in the meantime, Thjazi said to Lee Jun-Kyeong, "Don't be nervous."
Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded.
‘How interesting.’
It had only been two years since the gates had appeared. Although China’s gateization may have progressed rapidly, it should have been less than two years since these giants could have appeared in mainland China.
In that time, they supposedly had built these structures and formed these systems.
‘What a ridiculous tale.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong snorted. These giants hadn’t built their homes on some empty land. To them, humans were the intruders.
"Did you bring another intruder?"
The gates of the majestic and gigantic royal castle opened, and a voice was heard from within.
That being was the enemy that Fenrir was speaking of. Most likely, Fenrir had been injured by it, causing him to head to Mt. Baekdu.
‘There’s something else to that being…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over at the giant who appeared from within the royal palace. It was a giant that looked even bigger than the other colossal giants.
The giant with the long white beard overwhelmed everyone and cast a shadow similar to that of the royal castle.
“The Chieftain has arrived,” Thjazi said as he knelt down on one knee.
As he spoke, the giant who had emerged from the royal palace revealed a distorted expression.
Lee Jun-Kyeong could see why.
‘The way Thjazi referred to him was different from what he wants.’
Obviously, this place was a royal palace, and a royal palace was where a king would reside.
However, Thjazi didn’t refer to the giant as a king.
Instead, he called the giant chieftain.
The uncomfortable feeling they all felt was clearly from that difference.
However, Thjazi continued to speak, ignoring the king’s discomfort, "I brought the Vanaragandr and his companions. The Vanaragandr is completely different from what it was before, and…”
Thjazi’s huge eyes turned over to Lee Jun-Kyeong for a moment.
“It has subordinated itself under this person.”
“...!”
The king’s face contorted again.
"Are you saying that Vanaragandr has become a subordinate?" the king asked.
"That's right, Chieftain."
Things were uncomfortable. They weren’t just simply giving and receiving a report.
There was an invisible fight going on between them.
It was a fight for power.
“Leave the intruders behind and go, ex-leader.”
Thjazi got up and refuted, “I have a request, Chieftain.”
"What is it?" the king snapped.
Thjazi stated, "I made a warrior’s oath with this person.”
"…”
The king was visibly bewildered.
“I made a promise that they wouldn’t be harmed at all while in our company and that I would help them return anytime they wished, Chieftain.”
Even after Thjazi had finished explaining himself, the king’s expression didn’t change.
There was just silence, and Thjazi continued, kneeling down on one knee as he spoke again, “Please preserve my warrior’s oath.”
***
Thjazi had led Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party to the royal palace and left.
“I will call you when it’s time, so please wait here.”
And like that, Lee Jun-Kyeong had been abandoned. He was basically trapped somewhere in the royal palace.
The space they were in was clearly made for humans and not giants. It was decorated in a Chinese style.
However, when Jeong In-Chang tried to open the door, it stayed firmly shut and unmoving. It seemed as though they had placed some sort of magic on the door.
“I mean, if I really tried, then I could probably open it, but…” he grumbled.
Considering his strength, it would have been possible for him to open the door by breaking open the magical barrier on the door.
However, if that happened, then it was likely that they’d have to deal with all of the giants around there. After all, this was still the residence of their king.
Lee Jun-Kyeong shrugged as though he had responded.
“What in the world is going on in your head?” Jeong In-Chang asked in a frustrated manner. “Is this really not dangerous? You also saw the being that they called the king of giants earlier. It definitely doesn’t have any good feelings toward us. More importantly…”
Jeong In-Chang paused and looked over at Fenrir, who was sleeping on a table.
“I thought I was suffocating when it looked over at him.”
Jeong In-Chang then looked over at the smiling Lee Jun-Kyeong and sighed.
“At least tell me what the plan is.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong cheekily responded, “It must be a big deal seeing as you’re this curious, Mr. Jeong.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong got up from his seat and checked their surroundings with his mana stream.
Although there were several surveillance devices around them, Lee Jun-Kyeong just grabbed Merlin’s necklace and silently gave it a command.
‘Deceive them.’
Soon, the flow of mana he could see through his mana stream reversed.
Furthermore, a sound rang out in the background.
Thunk.
"Huh?"
Behind Jeong In-Chang rang out the sound of the firmly locked door opening.
“We can open the door at any time. We can get out any time if we want,” Lee Jun-Kyeong explained.
Jeong In-Chang nodded.
Lee Jun-Kyeong continued, “If you think about it, can’t we consider this as the first break in a long while? Let’s relax completely. We’ll be spending quite some time here.”
Jeong In-Chang sighed. “Whew. Understood. Princess, you should relax too.”
“Goongje!”
Jeong In-Chang went over to the chair despondently and sat down with a thump.
Still, his expression was good, as if the chair’s softness was appealing to him.
Lee Jun-Kyeong turned away from Jeong In-Chang.
‘We have to be careful.’
He looked around with an even more serious gaze. Things were more different now than they ever had been. But, unlike how he had been able to make detailed plans for what was going on based on the information he had known, everything would have to be improvised in the city of giants.
These giants were strong.
‘That king…’
He was a strong being that was difficult even for him to gauge.
However, something was strange.
‘Compared to humans, their level of combat ability is not what it should be.’
Although their individual abilities may be excellent, they had an insufficient number of extremely strong beings.
At the current level, they would never have been able to drive away the humans of this era. Yet, Gigantomachia had been the worst war ever.
‘I don’t understand it.’
How had they been able to slaughter so many Hunters?
As Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around and thought to himself, a knock sounded.
Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly canceled his magic.
Thunk.
***
The sound of the water entering a teacup trickled melodically.
“Is… is this… is this enough…?”
A weak-looking girl poured tea into the teacup with trembling hands. She was the same person who had knocked on the door from before, and was a child who was sent by the giants to serve them.
"Do you treat everyone who comes here this way?" Lee Jun-Kyeong said in a calm and warm voice as if he was trying to calm the trembling child.
The child's expression brightened.
“That’s not it…”
They were speaking in Cantonese as the little girl was Chinese. She likely was a child who had survived by chance within this area.
‘You must be a lucky child.’
The fact that this child could have survived in China, which was becoming a land of death, meant that she really was really lucky.
“Then why are you treating us like this?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
“That’s…”
The child hesitated for a moment and closed her mouth.
‘Does she know about the watching eyes?’
The child seemed to be well aware of how they had treated the humans who had come to the royal palace so far and what the situation was like in this room.
The child’s face had turned bright red, so Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke to her while stroking her hair.
"It's okay. No one can see you."
Lee Jun-Kyeong pointed toward an area on one of the walls.
“...how!” the child shouted in surprise.
The place that Lee Jun-Kyeong had pointed to was exactly where the magic circle that watched over the room had been placed.
“There hasn’t been anyone who has ever noticed that until now…” the girl mumbled.
Of course, even with just his own strength, Lee Jun-Kyeong would have been able to sense the watching eyes. The only issue was that he wouldn’t have been able to resolve it or determine the exact location on his own.
However, there were other factors involved.
‘After all, she is one of the strongest wizards.’
She was an archmage who ranked among the top three of all mage-type Hunters.
The necklace that Merlin had given him in return for Excalibur’s information contained incredible power. Furthermore, the magic level of the giants was incredibly low compared to their fighting prowess.
In any case, as if the child had been surprised by Lee Jun-Kyeong's ability, she had started to calm down a bit.
“Yi… er… san… si…”
Of course, there was still Jeong In-Chang lamenting his plight of not being able to understand anyone again.
"I liked Mt. Baekdu…"
He sat in the chair despondently, reminiscing as if he had missed his bed from home.
"What is your name?" Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
"My name is Jang Si-Eon.”
“Okay, Si-Eon. You can speak comfortably while you’re here,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded.
“But…”
He covered his lips with his finger. “It’s a secret when you leave.”
Jang Si-Eon nodded.
The kid was smart.
She seemed to know that the person who would suffer the most would be herself if she told those outside of what they talked about here.
“Okay. Then how long have you been here?" he asked.
She responded, “It… it’s been about a year.”
“One year?”
"Yes."
The child spoke without any hesitation, seemingly completely relaxed.
“I’ve been here for about a year, and most of the other uncles and aunts have been here for about a year and a half.”
"It's been a year and a half…" Lee Jun-Kyeong muttered.
That meant that Utgard had been here from that point on.
“Okay. Then why are we getting special treatment here?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong took out candy from his inventory and handed it to the child.
"Because you are strong,” she responded as she took the candy with an excited expression. “The giants like strong people. Also, over there…”
The child pointed over with trembling hands again to Fenrir, who was sleeping on the desk.
“I heard them say that you are the owner of a special being.”
“Someone special?”
“There was a raid on Utgard a little while ago. It was an attack by the Nar, but all of a sudden, them over there… that…”
“You can respond comfortably,” Lee Jun-Kyeong interjected.
“That kid turned into a monster and killed a lot of giants.”
A clue.
Finally, Lee Jun-Kyeong was finding out things that weren’t in the Book of the Demon King.
He was acquiring clues that hadn’t even been found in the future.
“So?”
The girl continued, “At that time, the king and the monster fought! The king fought with his warrior giants and won, and… the monster ran away.”
“I see.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong took out another piece of candy again.
Fenrir must have appeared on this land as suddenly as Utgard did.
He had also collided with the giants for some reason, and it was clear that the king of giants had wounded him. It looked like Fenrir had run away and hid in Mt. Baekdu.
Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself that he would have to ask Fenrir when he woke up.
Of course, as they couldn’t have a proper conversation, it should be enough for him to see if he could get a nod of some sort with this sort of a clue, as a master wouldn’t be omnipotent regarding what a Familiar had to say.
“Then.” Lee Jun-Kyeong looked directly at Jang Si-Eon’s face and said, “I can give you a lot of candy and chocolates if you can do me just one favor. Do you think you can do it?”
She shook her head."I don't need something like that."
"What?"
“If you have anything made of iron, then give me that. My mom is sick. If you have iron, then I could sell…”
“I’ll give it to you.”
Lee Jun-Kyung's eyes twinkled. However, it wasn’t for any nefarious reasons.
‘The child’s mother must be sick.’
What she had told him wasn’t good news, but it meant that she would do it.
“Find one person for me. Their name is Won-Hwa.”
The child blinked. “Huh?"
As soon as she heard the name Won-Hwa, her eyes lit up.
“Are you talking about Hua Tuo?” she responded excitedly as if she knew the name.
1. The name Won-Hwa seems to refer to the spiritual leader Won-Hwa. Back in the 6th century, there was a caste of female warriors loyal specifically to the King of Korea called the Wonhwa. These female warriors were chosen for both their beauty and skill and were deemed by some as the King's playthings and by others as terrifying martial masters. However, due to a case of murder among their ranks, they were quickly disbanded and replaced by the Hwarang, a group of elite warrior male youths. The Hwarang were similarly famous for their beauty and skill, often called Hyangdo (the fragrant ones). Their spiritual leaders were later called the Won-Hwa, possibly in reference to the caste of warriors that preceded them.
2. The original Korean, Hwa-Ta, means talented doctor. However, it comes from the word Hua Tuo, which is the name of a famous Chinese Physician from the second century. This doctor was the creator of the Wuqinxi, or the Exercise of the Five Animals, an exercise commonly referred to in many foundational techniques in wuxia and xianxia. Because it’s referring to a Chinese Healer, we’ve decided to keep the Chinese name rather than use the Korean title.
"It's okay,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he stroked Fenrir’s hair.
In the end, Fenrir quieted down and sat as he called out to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked forward and remarked, “It’s a palace.”
In front of him was another fortress within the stronghold they stood in. It was so huge that it seemed as if it was perennially night as the shadows cast from its walls were blocking out the sun.
Once they had been surrounded by the shadows with the darkness falling around them, Thjazi opened his mouth and stated, “Tell them Thjazi has arrived.”
Giants who stood outside the palace, acting as guards, soon went inside, and in the meantime, Thjazi said to Lee Jun-Kyeong, "Don't be nervous."
Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded.
‘How interesting.’
It had only been two years since the gates had appeared. Although China’s gateization may have progressed rapidly, it should have been less than two years since these giants could have appeared in mainland China.
In that time, they supposedly had built these structures and formed these systems.
‘What a ridiculous tale.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong snorted. These giants hadn’t built their homes on some empty land. To them, humans were the intruders.
"Did you bring another intruder?"
The gates of the majestic and gigantic royal castle opened, and a voice was heard from within.
That being was the enemy that Fenrir was speaking of. Most likely, Fenrir had been injured by it, causing him to head to Mt. Baekdu.
‘There’s something else to that being…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over at the giant who appeared from within the royal palace. It was a giant that looked even bigger than the other colossal giants.
The giant with the long white beard overwhelmed everyone and cast a shadow similar to that of the royal castle.
“The Chieftain has arrived,” Thjazi said as he knelt down on one knee.
As he spoke, the giant who had emerged from the royal palace revealed a distorted expression.
Lee Jun-Kyeong could see why.
‘The way Thjazi referred to him was different from what he wants.’
Obviously, this place was a royal palace, and a royal palace was where a king would reside.
However, Thjazi didn’t refer to the giant as a king.
Instead, he called the giant chieftain.
The uncomfortable feeling they all felt was clearly from that difference.
However, Thjazi continued to speak, ignoring the king’s discomfort, "I brought the Vanaragandr and his companions. The Vanaragandr is completely different from what it was before, and…”
Thjazi’s huge eyes turned over to Lee Jun-Kyeong for a moment.
“It has subordinated itself under this person.”
“...!”
The king’s face contorted again.
"Are you saying that Vanaragandr has become a subordinate?" the king asked.
"That's right, Chieftain."
Things were uncomfortable. They weren’t just simply giving and receiving a report.
There was an invisible fight going on between them.
It was a fight for power.
“Leave the intruders behind and go, ex-leader.”
Thjazi got up and refuted, “I have a request, Chieftain.”
"What is it?" the king snapped.
Thjazi stated, "I made a warrior’s oath with this person.”
"…”
The king was visibly bewildered.
“I made a promise that they wouldn’t be harmed at all while in our company and that I would help them return anytime they wished, Chieftain.”
Even after Thjazi had finished explaining himself, the king’s expression didn’t change.
There was just silence, and Thjazi continued, kneeling down on one knee as he spoke again, “Please preserve my warrior’s oath.”
***
Thjazi had led Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party to the royal palace and left.
“I will call you when it’s time, so please wait here.”
And like that, Lee Jun-Kyeong had been abandoned. He was basically trapped somewhere in the royal palace.
The space they were in was clearly made for humans and not giants. It was decorated in a Chinese style.
However, when Jeong In-Chang tried to open the door, it stayed firmly shut and unmoving. It seemed as though they had placed some sort of magic on the door.
“I mean, if I really tried, then I could probably open it, but…” he grumbled.
Considering his strength, it would have been possible for him to open the door by breaking open the magical barrier on the door.
However, if that happened, then it was likely that they’d have to deal with all of the giants around there. After all, this was still the residence of their king.
Lee Jun-Kyeong shrugged as though he had responded.
“What in the world is going on in your head?” Jeong In-Chang asked in a frustrated manner. “Is this really not dangerous? You also saw the being that they called the king of giants earlier. It definitely doesn’t have any good feelings toward us. More importantly…”
Jeong In-Chang paused and looked over at Fenrir, who was sleeping on a table.
“I thought I was suffocating when it looked over at him.”
Jeong In-Chang then looked over at the smiling Lee Jun-Kyeong and sighed.
“At least tell me what the plan is.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong cheekily responded, “It must be a big deal seeing as you’re this curious, Mr. Jeong.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong got up from his seat and checked their surroundings with his mana stream.
Although there were several surveillance devices around them, Lee Jun-Kyeong just grabbed Merlin’s necklace and silently gave it a command.
‘Deceive them.’
Soon, the flow of mana he could see through his mana stream reversed.
Furthermore, a sound rang out in the background.
Thunk.
"Huh?"
Behind Jeong In-Chang rang out the sound of the firmly locked door opening.
“We can open the door at any time. We can get out any time if we want,” Lee Jun-Kyeong explained.
Jeong In-Chang nodded.
Lee Jun-Kyeong continued, “If you think about it, can’t we consider this as the first break in a long while? Let’s relax completely. We’ll be spending quite some time here.”
Jeong In-Chang sighed. “Whew. Understood. Princess, you should relax too.”
“Goongje!”
Jeong In-Chang went over to the chair despondently and sat down with a thump.
Still, his expression was good, as if the chair’s softness was appealing to him.
Lee Jun-Kyeong turned away from Jeong In-Chang.
‘We have to be careful.’
He looked around with an even more serious gaze. Things were more different now than they ever had been. But, unlike how he had been able to make detailed plans for what was going on based on the information he had known, everything would have to be improvised in the city of giants.
These giants were strong.
‘That king…’
He was a strong being that was difficult even for him to gauge.
However, something was strange.
‘Compared to humans, their level of combat ability is not what it should be.’
Although their individual abilities may be excellent, they had an insufficient number of extremely strong beings.
At the current level, they would never have been able to drive away the humans of this era. Yet, Gigantomachia had been the worst war ever.
‘I don’t understand it.’
How had they been able to slaughter so many Hunters?
As Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around and thought to himself, a knock sounded.
Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly canceled his magic.
Thunk.
***
The sound of the water entering a teacup trickled melodically.
“Is… is this… is this enough…?”
A weak-looking girl poured tea into the teacup with trembling hands. She was the same person who had knocked on the door from before, and was a child who was sent by the giants to serve them.
"Do you treat everyone who comes here this way?" Lee Jun-Kyeong said in a calm and warm voice as if he was trying to calm the trembling child.
The child's expression brightened.
“That’s not it…”
They were speaking in Cantonese as the little girl was Chinese. She likely was a child who had survived by chance within this area.
‘You must be a lucky child.’
The fact that this child could have survived in China, which was becoming a land of death, meant that she really was really lucky.
“Then why are you treating us like this?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
“That’s…”
The child hesitated for a moment and closed her mouth.
‘Does she know about the watching eyes?’
The child seemed to be well aware of how they had treated the humans who had come to the royal palace so far and what the situation was like in this room.
The child’s face had turned bright red, so Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke to her while stroking her hair.
"It's okay. No one can see you."
Lee Jun-Kyeong pointed toward an area on one of the walls.
“...how!” the child shouted in surprise.
The place that Lee Jun-Kyeong had pointed to was exactly where the magic circle that watched over the room had been placed.
“There hasn’t been anyone who has ever noticed that until now…” the girl mumbled.
Of course, even with just his own strength, Lee Jun-Kyeong would have been able to sense the watching eyes. The only issue was that he wouldn’t have been able to resolve it or determine the exact location on his own.
However, there were other factors involved.
‘After all, she is one of the strongest wizards.’
She was an archmage who ranked among the top three of all mage-type Hunters.
The necklace that Merlin had given him in return for Excalibur’s information contained incredible power. Furthermore, the magic level of the giants was incredibly low compared to their fighting prowess.
In any case, as if the child had been surprised by Lee Jun-Kyeong's ability, she had started to calm down a bit.
“Yi… er… san… si…”
Of course, there was still Jeong In-Chang lamenting his plight of not being able to understand anyone again.
"I liked Mt. Baekdu…"
He sat in the chair despondently, reminiscing as if he had missed his bed from home.
"What is your name?" Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
"My name is Jang Si-Eon.”
“Okay, Si-Eon. You can speak comfortably while you’re here,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded.
“But…”
He covered his lips with his finger. “It’s a secret when you leave.”
Jang Si-Eon nodded.
The kid was smart.
She seemed to know that the person who would suffer the most would be herself if she told those outside of what they talked about here.
“Okay. Then how long have you been here?" he asked.
She responded, “It… it’s been about a year.”
“One year?”
"Yes."
The child spoke without any hesitation, seemingly completely relaxed.
“I’ve been here for about a year, and most of the other uncles and aunts have been here for about a year and a half.”
"It's been a year and a half…" Lee Jun-Kyeong muttered.
That meant that Utgard had been here from that point on.
“Okay. Then why are we getting special treatment here?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong took out candy from his inventory and handed it to the child.
"Because you are strong,” she responded as she took the candy with an excited expression. “The giants like strong people. Also, over there…”
The child pointed over with trembling hands again to Fenrir, who was sleeping on the desk.
“I heard them say that you are the owner of a special being.”
“Someone special?”
“There was a raid on Utgard a little while ago. It was an attack by the Nar, but all of a sudden, them over there… that…”
“You can respond comfortably,” Lee Jun-Kyeong interjected.
“That kid turned into a monster and killed a lot of giants.”
A clue.
Finally, Lee Jun-Kyeong was finding out things that weren’t in the Book of the Demon King.
He was acquiring clues that hadn’t even been found in the future.
“So?”
The girl continued, “At that time, the king and the monster fought! The king fought with his warrior giants and won, and… the monster ran away.”
“I see.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong took out another piece of candy again.
Fenrir must have appeared on this land as suddenly as Utgard did.
He had also collided with the giants for some reason, and it was clear that the king of giants had wounded him. It looked like Fenrir had run away and hid in Mt. Baekdu.
Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself that he would have to ask Fenrir when he woke up.
Of course, as they couldn’t have a proper conversation, it should be enough for him to see if he could get a nod of some sort with this sort of a clue, as a master wouldn’t be omnipotent regarding what a Familiar had to say.
“Then.” Lee Jun-Kyeong looked directly at Jang Si-Eon’s face and said, “I can give you a lot of candy and chocolates if you can do me just one favor. Do you think you can do it?”
She shook her head."I don't need something like that."
"What?"
“If you have anything made of iron, then give me that. My mom is sick. If you have iron, then I could sell…”
“I’ll give it to you.”
Lee Jun-Kyung's eyes twinkled. However, it wasn’t for any nefarious reasons.
‘The child’s mother must be sick.’
What she had told him wasn’t good news, but it meant that she would do it.
“Find one person for me. Their name is Won-Hwa.”
The child blinked. “Huh?"
As soon as she heard the name Won-Hwa, her eyes lit up.
“Are you talking about Hua Tuo?” she responded excitedly as if she knew the name.
1. The name Won-Hwa seems to refer to the spiritual leader Won-Hwa. Back in the 6th century, there was a caste of female warriors loyal specifically to the King of Korea called the Wonhwa. These female warriors were chosen for both their beauty and skill and were deemed by some as the King's playthings and by others as terrifying martial masters. However, due to a case of murder among their ranks, they were quickly disbanded and replaced by the Hwarang, a group of elite warrior male youths. The Hwarang were similarly famous for their beauty and skill, often called Hyangdo (the fragrant ones). Their spiritual leaders were later called the Won-Hwa, possibly in reference to the caste of warriors that preceded them.
2. The original Korean, Hwa-Ta, means talented doctor. However, it comes from the word Hua Tuo, which is the name of a famous Chinese Physician from the second century. This doctor was the creator of the Wuqinxi, or the Exercise of the Five Animals, an exercise commonly referred to in many foundational techniques in wuxia and xianxia. Because it’s referring to a Chinese Healer, we’ve decided to keep the Chinese name rather than use the Korean title.
