I Transferred to the SSS-rank Crafting Field - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

08 – The call of the Sea (1)

Eidolon was quite different from the other capitals on different floors.

The biggest difference was the Player population. Since the main quest unfolded in Sheila, located in the southern region of the Empire, few Players played in Eidolon. This disparity was exacerbated by the lack of decent hunting grounds around the capital.

Occasionally, there were times when Eidolon would become lively. During the Dandelion Festival week, which celebrated the Sun God Helium, people from all floors would gather in Eidolon.

In particular, on the last day of the festival–the longest day of the year–the city was crowded to the point where one might think the city would burst. This was because of the large-scale miracles that would be performed at the Helium Temple.

“The festival! We came just at the right time!”

“We’ll see.”

Han Cha-hyun and Lee Kangto arrived in Eidolon on the first day of the festival.

The festival hadn’t even begun in earnest, but the streets were already crowded. Excited, Lee Kangto tried to dash out, but Han Cha-hyun grabbed his hood. “Where are you going?”

“It said ‘Mysterious Magic Stall’ over there! I have to go! Can’t you see it? Don’t you see those brilliant waves of mana?”

“Shall I contact Guildmaster Gyun?”

When Han Cha-hyun pulled up Gyun Jiwoon’s contact information on the Hunter Watch, Lee Kangto’s shoulders drooped. Although he muttered, ‘Tsk, cheap,’ he followed Han Cha-hyun obediently.

‘I’m glad I saved his number.’ 

Gyun Jiwoon was impressed by Han Cha-hyun’s performance on the 76th floor and forced his contact information on the Wastelands guild member. Han Cha-hyun didn’t think he’d use that number at a time like this.

Lee Kangto didn’t seem like the type to obey just because someone mentioned his guild leader, but strangely, he seemed obedient when Gyun Jiwoon’s name was mentioned.

‘Compared to wrangling professors, this is a piece of cake.’

If he hadn’t had graduate school experience, Han Cha-hyun might have avoided Lee Kangto as well.

Han Cha-hyun chuckled as he recalled the look Yoon Gaho had given him: a look of sympathy that emanated from deep within the heart. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if she were assigned to a group with Lee Kangto.

Lately, he had been seeing Yoon Gaho often; she was the type to wear her emotions on her sleeves.

‘It felt like she’s trying to control her facial expression in her own way, but…’

When he first saw her, he thought she was cold-hearted because of her raised eyebrows, and the way she drew a line between personal and professional relations. But, she unexpectedly had a soft side.

“Lee Kangto-ssi. Come here.” Thinking that he had entertained his thoughts long enough, Han Cha-hyun called Lee Kangto, who couldn’t wait and was trying to wander, to his side.

Clicking his tongue, Han Cha-hyun gave Lee Kangto a string he had pulled out from his inventory; he took the other end in his own hand. “Please walk without releasing the string.”

“Honestly, I’m not a dog being walked…”

“If Lee Kangto-ssi was just a bit smaller, I would have carried him around.”

“T-too mean!”

Han Cha-hyun casually ignored Lee Kangto’s complaints.

They had already wasted time being accosted by street hustlers. To save time, it would be better for them to move separately, but that felt too risky. Han Cha-hyun scrutinized Lee Kangto with a calculating eye.

“Hey, there are a lot of people gathered over there!” Lee Kangto exclaimed.

Han Cha-hyun turned his head.

Under a towering tree in the center of the square, people had gathered in a huddle. A man in a comically tall hat sprinkled pollen around and called out to passersby, “The tale of the Sun God, Helium, is about to begin! Ladies and Gentlemen! Come over here and listen to the story!”

“The Sun God?” Han Cha-hyun, who had a keen interest in mythology, stopped in his tracks, and at that moment, Lee Kangto took the opportunity to cling to him eagerly.

With the Hunter’s instincts ablaze, Han Cha-hyun had no choice but to squeeze into the crowd of onlookers.

“Once upon a time, long long ago, the sky and the ground, which were tightly attached like one body, fell apart. The sky cried every day–it experienced a sadness not unlike breaking up with a beloved lover. Medea, the ocean’s goddess, was born from the gathering of those tears.”

The storyteller shook a doll with a head full of dark-blue yarn hair. “The greedy Medea swelled her body every day. Just before the whole of earth could be covered with water, the sky, who noticed Medea’s misdeeds, plucked out its own eyes and made the sun.”

“It’s Helium!” The children shouted before the storyteller could even take out his doll. 

With a peculiar laugh, the storyteller brandished his doll, adorned with golden yarn, “Helium, the sun god born from the eyes of the sky, shot an arrow to drive Medea away. The sea disappeared everywhere the arrow passed; various forms of life grew out of the spots where the arrow embedded into the ground.”

A sun god who shoots an arrow–Han Cha-hyun, who recalled similar myths, narrowed his eyes.

“Helium and Medea wagered a bet on who would rule the world.”

The subject of the bet was who would be the first to make a flower bloom from seeds that fell from the sky and the earth.

Helium wanted a small dandelion, while the greedy Medea wished for a large and beautiful flower that had never been seen beneath the sky. The seeds chose the humble and friendly Helium.

But the important part came next.

Following the gods, humans also divided themselves according to the bet. Those who supported Medea did not accept their loss even after the bet was over.

Eventually, Helium raised his bow again and banished them from the land.

‘That’s probably…’

The storyteller shook the Medea doll as he vividly narrated how the foolish humans that followed Medea were driven into the sea.

Lee Kangto poked Han Cha-hyun in the back with his tail, “Hunter Han Cha-hyun, is this…?”

“Yes–this seems to be the link.”

The story of the humans that were driven to the ocean did not come up again in the performance; as the Helium-centered-narrative continued, Han Cha-hyun and Lee Kangto rose from their seats.

“We need a more in-depth investigation, but it seems highly likely that Medea’s followers in that myth are the merpeople.”

“A Hunter’s intuition is always right!” Lee Kangto exclaimed as he twirled around in a circle.

‘He probably just wanted to hear the story and is now making excuses.’ While hiding his thoughts, Han Cha-hyun praised Lee Kangto without much enthusiasm.

The two decided to disperse and collect information on Medea. Han Cha-hyun used his skills to search through antique book stores and shops of curiosities, and Lee Kangto gathered rumors on the street. 

However, even if they wore out their feet until the sun set, the two weren’t able to rustle up much useful information.

“How frustrating–except for Helium’s myth, there’s nothing.”

“The NPCs don’t know anything either. They just vaguely think of her as some evil goddess.”

“That’s suspicious.”

There was too much hidden information–didn’t their suspicion start with the lack of information about merpeople as well?

“What’s the point of knowing that it’s suspicious? We don’t have any information,” Lee Kangto quipped.

Just as Han Cha-hyun was about to reply, his Hunter Watch vibrated. Yoon Gaho had sent a message.

Han Cha-hyun read the message and pushed up his glasses, clearly interested. “Let’s change our direction–Let’s investigate Helium rather than Medea.”

“What? Do we have to?”

“I happen to have seen just the right thing for this line of inquiry.” Han Cha-hyun shared a photo he took with his Hunter Watch. 

After seeing the screen, Lee Kangto jumped up, “You want us to do this?”

***

“It’d be faster to find a needle on the sandy beach!”

It had been a long while since I had left behind yesterday’s triumphant attitude.

Exhausted, I slumped to the ground. It was harder than I had thought to pry an answer out of the tight-lipped NPCs of Sheila.

Time passed relentlessly, seemingly without notice.

“It’s been this long already…”

Due to the lack of any substantial clues, we aimlessly roamed the streets.

Cha Taeyang and I ran aimlessly about the city to find a place that could feasibly hide or store the seafolk. Choi Kwon-young moved separately and tracked traces around the spire Atera said she used to live in.

“It won’t work out like this,” I said. We had been searching through Sheila since early morning, but, after several hours, we had no results.

If they’ve managed to hide this plot from Players all this while, our random inquiry wouldn’t be able to penetrate through their meticulous efforts.

‘Think, Yoon Gaho. How can we locate the envoy? If only I could somehow communicate with the seafolk…’

“Echolocation!”

The sounds the seafolk use while undersea! Can’t we take advantage of that?

Determined and desperate–as if I was clinging onto a lifeline dropped from the heavens–I ran to the house where Atera was. “Can you make it so that only those your chosen audience can hear echolocation?”

“It’s possible.”

It works! I saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

However, that light was quickly extinguished.

“I’m sorry. That’s too hard for me.” Atera said

“What? Is there a problem?”

“It’s possible to use the echolocation the way Player-nim wants. That’s what Farran said, at least. The seafolks use it to locate each other underwater.”

‘Then…what’s the problem?’ I thought.

Atera hesitated to answer, “It’s… all because of me.”

“Because of you?”

“I’m half-blooded, so I’m much weaker than ordinary seafolk. The length of my sound waves  is from here to about there. It’d be hard for me to make a sound that could span the entirety of Sheila.” Atera pointed to the door of the house–a distance that ranged about five meters. As she pointed out, it would be difficult for her to extend her range to cover the city.

“I see. I’m sorry for asking too much from you.”

“Ah–no. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”

Just as I was about to open the door and leave, I heard Atera mumble in a quiet voice, “I could help the Player-nim if I just had a conch shell…”

“What did you say?”

“I-I said nothing!”

“Didn’t you just say something like, ‘If I just had a conch shell,’ or something similar?”

Atera slowly dodged my insistent gaze. I bowed down and looked her in the eye, “Is there a way?”

“It’s practically impossible…”

“Atera, please. Even a small clue is fine. You know, right? Sheila is a big city and we currently have no leads. Grasping at straws would be an improvement to our current situation.”

“You can’t have any big expectations, alright?” Atera said. 

Apparently, there used to be an outstanding alchemist, the ‘sage of the deep sea,’ who used to live in Oceanbloom. The circular barrier surrounding Oceanbloom was created by that sage.

The roaring conch shell was a magic tool he had made.

“Before the guardian barrier was created, a garrison defense unit scouted around Oceanbloom. The conch shell was created so that those folks could use it when they found danger from afar. The shell amplifies the sound waves.”

“Where is that conch now?”

“The workshop–the sage’s workshop. I was told that they kept unused tools there. But…” Atera’s lips snapped shut, as if she had thought better of continuing to speak. After a long time, she finally spoke.

My hands rubbed down my exhausted face. ‘What on earth is wrong with the ocean here–is there nothing normal about it?’

TL: As a weary grad student, Han Cha-hyun is my current fave.