Chapter 183. A Benevolent Mindset
We set out for the ancient ruins around midday.
“Fate guides me!”
Demian let out a solemn shout for the adventure that had finally begun, but contrary to that momentum, the journey was boring.
At the start, it still felt like an “adventure,” in its own way.
“As you experienced yesterday, it’s fine to breathe comfortably. Talking won’t be a problem either.”
Inside the lake we entered, following Myserln sunbae.
Thanks to Myserln sunbae’s spirit arts, we could breathe even underwater, and the scenery beneath the surface was so incredible it made you forget to breathe.
It felt like stepping into another world.
You know how it is—the underwater kingdom that shows up so often in fairy tales.
Schools of fish, big and small, swam in groups, and the sight of them was just like the Black and White Zone vagrant brats heading out for a gang brawl.
And the nameless aquatic plants swaying around us were like trash rolling along the roadside.
As I was taking in that childlike, wonder-stirring view, Myserln sunbae’s voice came right then.
“Alright, we’ll move now. Chenbi, don’t be too startled.”
After taking careful care of Chenbi, Myserln sunbae called Aiki right away.
A powerful current swallowed us whole.
Of course, it only looked violent—our “ride comfort”(?) wasn’t bad at all. No, it was excellent. It felt like letting your body go limp and letting the wind carry you.
And that was how we entered the waterway (水路).
From there on, it was a nonstop string of boredom.
At least in the lake, there was scenery to look at, but in the waterway where not a speck of light entered, everything was simply dark in every direction, and the only sound brushing past our ears was the gurgle-gurgle of the current.
If it weren’t for the water brushing and tickling my skin, I might have mistaken it for perfect emptiness (空虛). Still, this much was tolerable.
No—if anything, I was enjoying myself.
‘So this must be what a trainer with a performing bear feels like.’
I have nothing to do.
Just let my body drift with the flow.
Compared to the old days when I had to run on my own two feet, it was honestly a blissful way to travel—but unfortunately, Demian couldn’t enjoy it.
So, what did he say again?
“Friend, can I feed the fish?”
At first, I had no idea what he meant.
‘Fish food all of a sudden?’
He’d been waving a carrot earlier—did he bring something specifically to feed the fish?
But at Demian’s next words, I realized it wasn’t that.
“I think I’m gonna throw up.”
So… he was getting motion sick.
Well, that made sense.
Even if moving with the current was comfortable, the flow was different from anything on land.
It wasn’t strange for his sense of balance to get thrown off.
But was it that bad?
“I feel like I’m gonna die.”
Demian’s voice sounded like it was dying, exactly as he said, and I stiffened slightly at how miserable it was.
‘Was he in front of me? Or behind me?’
If we were on land, I could’ve judged his position by his voice, but right now I couldn’t.
Still, thanks to my not-bad memory, I didn’t agonize long.
“Feed the fish.”
“Fish… time to eat…!”
For once, I was grateful the waterway was pitch-dark.
If things went even slightly wrong, I might’ve had to watch the fish’s meal with my own eyes.
Anyway, I was happy, Demian was suffering, and Chenbi was silent as we moved along.
I was savoring the rare moment of not working, soaking in the darkness with all my might—but unfortunately, it didn’t last long.
“We’ve arrived.”
Myserln sunbae’s low voice came from the dark.
Right after that, the current calmed, and the light from the luminous stone Myserln sunbae lifted brightened the darkness.
We were standing at the mouth of an underwater cave, and at the edge where the luminous stone’s light barely reached, a massive iron door stood.
‘Is this it?’
As I stared at the iron door, Myserln sunbae’s voice came right then.
“Just a moment—would you look this way?”
“……?”
At his voice, I turned my head.
And then—why was it?
The world that had been pure black suddenly became bright.
It was because Myserln sunbae had laid out dozens of luminous stones. Set at regular intervals, they illuminated a gigantic cavern.
And the sight was… how should I put it….
‘…Incredible.’
A cavern so vast you could only describe it as overwhelming.
In the darkness where I’d thought it was just us, countless fish swam in schools, and I silently took in the scene as if entranced.
It felt like I myself was shrinking to nothing.
But was I the only one who felt that way?
“Woooow….”
“Ah.”
Even Demian, who’d been suffering from motion sickness, and Chenbi of the twisted silence, let out exclamations.
As we kept marveling together with one heart and one mind, it wasn’t long before Myserln sunbae spoke again.
“Before entering the ruins, I wanted to show you this sight. Well? Isn’t it quite something?”
Quite something?
This wasn’t on the level of “quite something.”
With luminous stones that bright, the selling price would be—ha!
But there were dozens of them?
After briefly admiring Myserln sunbae’s wealth, we huddled together in front of the underwater cave.
“Puri, Aiki.”
Using the two spirits, Myserln sunbae formed a dome-shaped air barrier, but I was still floundering in the shock from a moment ago.
Honestly, I’d seen plenty of wealth-flexing.
‘Dragging around a flashy, sparkling carriage… guys who smear gold all over their scabbards or set jewels into them, too.’
And that’s not all—clothes threaded with gold, accessories, countless ways to show off wealth.
But this was a first.
‘Using luminous stones for this?’
To be honest, jewels or gold are more straightforward.
You can tell at a glance.
But if you asked which one looked more “impressive,” there was no question—it was the luminous stones.
What? Luminous stones are practical goods?
You don’t know anything.
If you were going to use luminous stones as practical goods, you’d set them somewhere. You wouldn’t carry them around like this.
What? Myserln sunbae can’t use magic, so he carries them?
It’s a plausible guess, but I’ll say it clearly.
That’s not it.
‘What kind of person carries dozens of these around as “practical goods”?’
So this was a deliberate twist.
A refined, elegant method—showing off subtly instead of boasting outright.
“Sunbae, you’re amazing.”
“……? Thank you.”
Anyway, that surprise didn’t last long.
Soon, we spread out and ate a simple meal with the jerky and bread we’d brought.
How much time passed like that?
By the time Demian—who’d been suffering from motion sickness—had fully recovered and finished eating,
we could finally move on to our true purpose.
The one who opened the conversation was Myserln sunbae.
“As you can see, that’s the entrance that leads to the ancient ruins. Do you feel anything?”
Feel anything?
Sitting in a spot where the iron door was clearly visible, I quietly took in its imposing form, and there was one thing I felt immediately.
“First off, there’s a barrier.”
“And?”
“That door… it’s expensive, isn’t it?”
It probably was.
True to ancient ruins, its surface was carved with ancient characters, and if you hauled it outside, you could name your price.
Even if there wasn’t anything magical inside it, ancient relics had enormous archaeological value.
But why was it?
“…….”
Myserln sunbae looked at me with eyes gone flat and cold.
Only then did I realize I’d missed the point of the conversation, and I gave an awkward cough.
“Ahem. Ahem. May I take a closer look for a moment?”
“Me too! Me too!”
“…….”
Demian rushed up beside me as if he refused to lose, and even Chenbi of the twisted silence seemed interested and drifted closer.
With the two of them at my sides, I examined the iron door up close, and along the way, I learned a few things.
“It doesn’t open.”
Just in case, I shoved with all my strength, but the iron door didn’t budge.
Of course, it might have rusted with age or the hinges might be stiff, but the sensation I felt wasn’t that.
It felt like the force wasn’t transmitting into the door at all.
“It seems to be because of the barrier.”
“Mm.”
I nodded faintly and examined the iron door again, calmly.
Next, I looked at the ancient script embossed into the door’s surface.
Judging by the format and arrangement, it didn’t look like something carved for magical use—it seemed like it was written to convey something….
‘…Yeah. Still can’t read this either.’
Pass.
As I continued inspecting the door, before long, Demian and Chenbi’s voices rang in my ears.
“Mana doesn’t go through.”
“The metal… doesn’t seem like ordinary steel either. It feels like an alloy.”
“Even if I pour in a lot of mana, it won’t go through!”
“Mm… I wondered if we could break the wall, but I don’t think that’ll work. The barrier continues into the inside of the wall, too.”
Demian was just dumping mana into it blindly, and Chenbi was applying earth-type magic in his own way to check the surroundings.
Meanwhile, I kept analyzing in my own way too, but to be honest, it was frustrating.
‘I thought if we came here, at least something would come into view.’
I felt nothing at all.
Maybe it was a pull door, not a push door? I tried pulling, and even tried forcing it sideways like a sliding door, but the result was the same.
How long did we examine the iron door like that?
Right then, Myserln sunbae stepped forward.
“Mm… you still don’t feel anything in particular?”
“Yes. Well. Not yet.”
“Ggh—really? Truly nothing at all? Not even one thing?”
“Yes. Unfortunately.”
Myserln sunbae let out a low “Mm,” as if feeling at a loss, and this time, I asked.
“Sunbae, did you figure anything out?”
“Me? Nothing in particular. If I had to say I learned something… then perhaps that the barrier is unstable. But that isn’t exactly special information either. The fact that the spirits could send mana and will to the outside must have been possible because the barrier is unstable.”
Then in the end, even sunbae had no meaningful result….
And then Myserln sunbae’s voice came again, right then.
“This is just my personal thought, but I suspect the answer lies with you, one way or another. However, my guess is that the ‘answer’ won’t be from a ‘magic’ or ‘knowledge’ angle.”
What did he mean by that?
As I listened in silence, what Myserln sunbae was saying was this:
If a skilled mage could open the iron door, then the spirits would’ve asked a mage better than me for help.
And why wasn’t it “knowledge”… because the spirits’ insight didn’t pierce through knowledge to that extent.
Which meant that something only I possessed was the answer to opening the iron door.
“Think carefully. Is there something only you have? Even something very small is fine.”
I thought hard, then suddenly spoke.
“Could it be a benevolent mindset?”
“…….”
Myserln sunbae’s eyes went flat again.
…Of course, it was a joke.
I do have a benevolent heart more than anyone, but there’s no world where you solve things with kindness alone—except in fairy tales.
In truth, I had a guess about the “answer.”
The moment I first heard Myserln sunbae’s explanation, I thought, ‘What if…’
Just as he said, if it had been any normal condition, someone would’ve found this place long ago, and the spirits would’ve already come out into the world.
So what was the answer?
‘…Yeokcheon (逆天).’
Yes. Yeokcheon (逆天).
Because the only special things I had compared to others were a benevolent mindset and Yeokcheon (逆天)—just those two.
