Chapter 102 : Trace

Chapter 102: Trace

I took all my younger siblings and headed for Rundna’s uninhabited island.

Before I knew it, it was night; starlight filled the sky and Asha’s magical sparks filled the sea.

Yellow lights fluttered and flew, illuminating the black sea as they wrapped around the ship we were on, and the cool autumn wind soaked us.

“Honestly, I was a little annoyed they said we had to go all the way to Rundna, but now that we’re here it’s nice. Feels like we’re traveling.”

Zaltran leaned against his shield and grinned.

I teased him.

“You said ‘annoyed’? How dare you? We’re going to eat Dracium, you know?”

“Ah, big brother. The way a warrior grows strong is through diligent training, isn’t it? Being obsessed with potions is something for small men.”

“Zaltran. You’ve grown up, huh? You’re willing to give up Dracium for your siblings. I was moved by your magnanimity.”

“Hyung.”

The big guy, who had once blocked a Swordmaster’s mounted charge with his heavy shield, smiled guilelessly like a child.

Well, even if he tried to act like an adult, he had only just turned twenty.

“I love you. So go easy on him.”

I smirked and flicked his forehead. He laughed as he rubbed his brow.

He had been right. It really felt like a trip. How long had it been since I’d spent time like this with my siblings?

And it wasn’t just any trip — it was the sort where the Heavenly Elixir we all wanted was waiting for us.

Even Mika, a terminal sufferer of fifteen-year-old syndrome, couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Hohohoho. Is the time finally here? The time to trigger the potential I’ve been nurturing in the darkness...!”

I’d heard she’d undergone a change in mindset after Rundna was conquered and had been practicing swordsmanship even by herself....

Be that as it may, she remained as absorbed in something as ever.

Katrina clicked her tongue at Mika.

“Mika. This is what you say at that moment. Repeat after me. Ah, Dracium! I’m so happy I can eat such a Heavenly Elixir!”

“...Such vulgar and trivial words. I wanted to die.”

“Oho? You want to die?”

When Katrina suddenly stood up from her seat, Mika went pale and hid behind me.

Katrina approached with a bleak smile.

“Why are you hiding? Face me proudly like a knight.”

“Ah, why! Ransen oppa. Unni keeps bullying me!”

Of course Katrina. Just by standing up, Mika’s incurable sickness was temporarily cured. I felt deeply moved to hear her speak normally after so long.

I snorted and mediated between Mika and Katrina.

“Is everyone nervous?”

At my words, Mika and Katrina — and all the younger siblings — laughed awkwardly.

How could I not understand that feeling? I was more nervous than anyone.

The elixir that had only ever been heard of in legends — soon it would fall into our mouths.

Everyone was making silly little jokes, trying to relieve the tension and excitement.

Our senses had become sharp, as if we were walking barefoot with our skin exposed.

With pounding hearts, we cut through the night sea and at last reached the uninhabited island.

The place where the Dracium was buried had already been confirmed through <Ea>’s scan.

All that was left was digging.

During this time travel, I had ordered the loyal Holy Knight Louis to bury the hearts of the Monstrous Anomalies safely away.

Louis had obeyed that command faithfully.

According to <Ea>’s scan, no less than thirty-six pieces of Dracium were buried here.

I had only brought seven of the Monstrous Anomalies’ hearts, and yet they had multiplied into thirty-six!

I felt that all the trouble of defeating those countless monstrosities had been worth it.

Thud! Thud!

As I dug with my younger siblings, the shovel cutting into the ground, I couldn’t help but hum.

“Oppa. This really feels like treasure hunting. Like gold and silver pouring out of ancient ruins!”

Jia Hennessy. Twenty-two years old.

She really loved gold.

Always dangling shiny necklaces and bracelets, she tossed those cherished trinkets into a Subspace Artifact and rolled up her sleeves.

A Subspace Artifact, huh. When had she even gotten such a rare thing? Truly, she had a real knack for making money.

Varen clicked his tongue at the sight of the overexcited Jia.

“You never talk or do anything most of the time, but the moment treasure shows up, you come alive, don’t you?”

“What’s with you, Varen oppa? If you want to be rich, you’ve got to step up when it counts.”

Jia tied back her long hair tightly and dug with all her strength, getting herself covered in dirt.

Luccrancer, a year younger than Jia, chuckled and teased her.

“Noona, you should be like that all the time. Every moment is worth gold. If you don’t want to miss any of them, you’ve got to always stay awake.”

“Spare me. I don’t want to live as boringly as you. Work when it’s time to work, play when it’s time to play. That’s the best.”

Jia grimaced and snapped at Luccrancer.

Well, Luccrancer was a relentless training fanatic. He didn’t have great talent. He was closer to a dullard. But he never gave up, and he never despaired.

If a genius realized something after swinging a spear a hundred times, he would realize it after ten thousand swings. And even then, he would grin and say, “Well, I got it in the end, didn’t I?”

Seeing Luccrancer smiling so brightly, unlike his usual self, I asked casually.

“Are you happy?”

Luccrancer’s eyes shone. The boy who was always as heavy as a rock — it had been a long time since I’d seen him this excited.

“Hyung. I like running. But if I could fly, that would be even better. I could reach places I never could while running. Just like the others.”

Luccrancer expressed his dull talent as “running,” and his siblings’ talents as “flying.”

He had always been a laid-back, optimistic boy, but there was no way he had been free of pain. Watching his siblings and his older brother and sisters always leap ahead of him so quickly, even when they all did the same things.

Yes. Dracium would be the best gift for him.

It wasn’t just an elixir that increased aura — it was said to ignite one’s very potential.

My heart pounded.

To be able to give my siblings something like this — the best of gifts — made me happy.

“Oppa.”

At that moment, Seah called out to me.

“Mm?”

“What kind of adventure did you have this time?”

“Well, I just fought like always.”

“Don’t say it like that. Tell us in detail.”

“What’s the point of—”

I had been about to laugh it off, but when I raised my head, all of my siblings were looking at me.

With an expressionless face, Seah said,

“Tell us. We’re drinking the elixir thanks to you. At the very least, we should hear what kind of adventures you went through. Tell us a hundred times if you must. We’ll listen every time.”

What was this feeling?

This tug at my chest.

I realized I had been wrong.

Not telling them my hardships.

Not showing them my pain.

I had thought that was what it meant to be grown-up and manly....

But Seah was telling me otherwise.

That it wasn’t a good thing.

That she wanted to know just how hard it had been for me to give them such a gift.

That she would listen to it over and over and remember it.

Ah, so this was what a good feeling was.

I had learned yet another thing from Seah.

I chuckled softly, scooped the earth with my shovel, and continued my tale.

From the little girl Sheneril, who had been about to burn her parents’ letters and clothes, to the orc Urgulak, who had shown me the true form of a warrior.

My siblings, sometimes gasping in awe, sometimes asking questions, listened to my story with joy.

We kept digging for quite a while.

The secluded cave where the Dracium had been buried had been completely filled over by the passage of ten thousand years, and there was a great deal of soil to clear away.

Of course, if we had used magic, we could have finished quickly — but we didn’t. We chatted leisurely, digging the earth little by little, for a long time.

Until a single line of magical message reached my ears.

[Approach to the Temple of the Saint has been detected. Only those who give the correct answer to the question may enter.]

‘A question? The Temple of the Saint?’

There hadn’t been anything like this before. Back then, Louis had only led me to a secluded cave where I buried the Monstrous Anomalies’ hearts.

I supposed, since I had emphasized security, he must have laid protective magic over the site.

But… a question? I had never heard of anything like this....

Soon, the question came.

[What was the item that little girl had tried to burn?]

Huh?

This…?

It was a question I could not possibly get wrong.

“Her parents’ letters and clothes?”

[Correct. Welcome to the Temple of the Saint.]

Ssshh—

The thick mound of earth slid away like water, splitting to either side.

From between the soil appeared a secret place buried deep underground.

“Wow… what is this?”

Daisy murmured in a dazed voice.

I swallowed hard.

‘What? This is that cave?’

The neatly cut stone. The massive door. The richly embossed walls.

It was less a cave now, more a temple. Yes. The Temple of the Saint.

Grrrk—

The entrance opened on its own, and bright light spilled out from within.

Step, step—

Conversation vanished among us. Enchanted by the mystery of ancient times, we entered the temple as if spellbound.

Thump.

Thump.

The deeper I walked, the more rapidly my heart pounded.

Until now, my heart had been racing from the anticipation of drinking the elixir — but now, it was beating for a different reason.

“Ah…”

A long sigh slipped unbidden between my lips.

The secluded cave I remembered was gone. The interior of the shrine was finished in pristine marble.

The moment I stepped forward, a fresh fragrance and faint, wistful music reached my ears.

My younger siblings had fallen silent. Ten thousand years ago, in the ancient age — they looked upon the place that had been crafted with all the people’s devotion, their eyes filled with reverence.

At the end of the hall stood a massive monument, inscribed clearly with the words:

<In honor of Saint Ransen Banroa>  

Daisy turned to me, her eyes saying, “Were you truly a Saint?”

Of course I had been a Saint. What else would I have been?

I ruffled her hair roughly and read the monument.

It recorded in detail my feats in that great battle of the day.

All around it, baskets overflowed with fruits and flowers, their freshness preserved as though newly picked, surely by magic.

And in another section lay piles of gold coins and countless ancient treasures, arranged neatly as if offerings to a god.

I passed by those offerings and came to stand before a box set naturally at the center of everyone’s gaze.

Opening the beautifully decorated box, I found a single letter.

“Sheneril.”

That was a letter Sheneril had written for me. She had decorated this place into a shrine before sealing it, after I had asked Louis to bury the Monstrous Anomalies’ hearts here.

Inside, the letter recorded the time that had passed since I left.

“So she became a Saintess….”

The little silver-haired girl, who had once smelled like a rain-drenched puppy, had gone on living her life.

The miracle I had shown her that day became a milestone in her life. Through years of hardship, she had finally become a Saintess.

“Thank you, truly thank you.” That was what the letter said.

For some reason, the bridge of my nose stung.

There was a heavy thump in my chest.

To me, it had only been another time-traveling journey.

I had only thought of burying the Dracium to gain profit, only of completing the mission of time travel.

But they had remembered me, leaving behind traces like this.

Traces that would not disappear, even after ten thousand years.

I glanced down at the transparent flower hanging from my chest.

The Eternal Blossom Sheneril had given me as a charm for my fortune. Somehow, it felt warm.

Looking around, I saw my siblings reading the monument and gazing at the carvings on the shrine’s walls that honored my deeds.

They all looked serious and quiet, as if weighed down by something unseen.

The ancient magical civilization seemed to have vanished completely… yet some traces remained like this.

Would we also be able to leave traces in this world?

With that thought, I carefully folded the letter and placed it inside my Subspace Necklace before moving forward.

Within the shrine, polished clean with marble, there was one place where bare earth still showed.

That had to be where the Dracium was buried.

I didn’t use a shovel; instead, I carefully dug it out with my hands until finally, the Dracium revealed itself.

Ssshhh—

The golden sphere exhaled a dense vapor.

When I touched it, it felt soft and pulsed like a beating heart.

“Thank you, Oppa.”

Seah had quietly come to stand by my side.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I answered reflexively.

But Seah shook her head.

“Something like this has to be said properly. We never knew what you went through in those unknown times. Now, we can finally feel it for real.”

Looking all around the shrine filled with gratitude toward me, Seah met my gaze and said,

“This chance you created for us — I’ll never waste it.”

Though Seah was the one to say it, I could tell my siblings all shared the same feeling as they silently watched me.

I had always thought making a show of family bonds was rather distasteful.

But once again, Seah was right.

This feeling — ticklish, yet not bad at all.