Chapter 175 …
I double-checked the text, thinking I might have misread it, but nothing had changed.
It was exactly as I had seen.
“…So if it’s a hidden raid boss, that means it’s a hidden raid boss, right?”
Not only was it a hidden piece, but it was also a hidden raid boss.
Do-hyun couldn’t even imagine that the Hero Guild was recruiting an entire raid party to tackle it. His mouth fell open at the information.
“But now, I feel a bit relieved. Luriel brought you, the prophesied Apostle, after all.”
“…What exactly is this ‘prophesied Apostle’?”
“…Hmm?”
Do-hyun, irritated by the strange things being muttered earlier, asked again.
Gilberun’s eyebrows twitched.
He then looked at Luriel expectantly, as if asking for an explanation, and Luriel smiled faintly.
“Haha, now that I think about it, I never explained, did I?”
“…Luriel.”
“Sorry, sorry. I was a bit distracted, checking things here and there. I can explain now.”
“Phew…”
Gilberun let out a sigh of relief and looked at Do-hyun before speaking.
“Apologies. I thought we had already talked about this, but I didn’t realize we hadn’t. May I explain now?”
“That’s fine.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Gilberun smiled faintly, lifting the corner of his mouth, and continued.
“We are in a predicament. Not caused by someone else’s threat or interference, but purely by my own fault. And the only ones who can resolve it are the Apostles.”
“….”
“But we cannot rely on just any Apostle.”
A trustworthy person who could keep information from spreading.
At the same time, someone with enough strength to help them.
Gilberun desperately wanted such an Apostle, and according to the prophet Luriel, one would appear within a few years.
“And you have appeared. Together with Luriel.”
Charlie clapped at the concise explanation.
Indeed…! The prophet recognized our lord’s heroism!
…Heroism? Eliza, what did he just say?
Riza?
Jihad couldn’t hide his astonishment at Charlie’s sparkling eyes and nodding in agreement.
Do-hyun also found it amusing. Hearing it like this, it really sounded like a classic heroic tale.
“You are the Knight of the prophesied Apostle, that’s correct. Well, it’s a few years earlier than originally predicted, but…”
“…People’s fates change, so being a few years early is nothing.”
Luriel pouted slightly, and Gilberun nodded.
“I do not blame you. For me, it is a good thing.”
“Then then. Why are you looking at me like that? Curious about something?”
“What does it mean that you guaranteed me, Luriel?”
“It’s nothing special. I simply guarantee that you are fully qualified as a prophesied Apostle.”
Do-hyun nodded, finally understanding the question.
“So that grinding quest was a kind of test, huh?”
No wonder a simple quest seemed absurdly difficult. It was as if they had done everything possible in Fratel’s fields.
He had been wondering quietly if it was really just a rare-level quest. Now it seemed the quest had a testing purpose as well.
“Could finishing it in a week have mattered?”
Even if it took longer, it wouldn’t prevent them from receiving the follow-up quest, but it likely had some influence.
By now, their purpose was clear: they wanted him to defeat the hidden raid boss, Ruidra.
But before that, he had many questions—most of all about the Sleeping Queen of the Forest.
“So who is Angela? Why is she asleep in the forest?”
“….”
At the mention of Angela, Gilberun’s face stiffened.
Just for a moment.
Then, with a bitter sigh, he exhaled.
“I see… Have you been there?”
“Well… I was looking for Angela. I had to, since we promised to talk about her and it was part of the test. Is that okay?”
“It’s fine. These are things you should know anyway. You need to understand what happened here and the situation we are in now.”
Gilberun paused, thinking carefully, stroking his beard.
“Hmm… Where should I start?”
His eyes reflective, he began calmly:
“I was born with a natural mana control disorder.”
“I already told him that,” Luriel noted.
“I see. Then you must know about Angela’s abilities too.”
Luriel nodded, and Gilberun closed his eyes, slowly retracing the past step by step.
After organizing his thoughts, he spoke again.
“Right. I should start from when I first met her. Though we were young, the word ‘destiny’ somehow came to mind at that moment.”
And so, the story of Gilberun and Angela began.
Summary of the Story
Gilberun was about sixteen, and Angela fifteen.
Back then, unlike now, they were going through difficult times.
Gilberun had just discovered his natural mana control disorder and was experiencing turbulent adolescence. Angela’s family was in decline.
It was a moment later remembered as extremely difficult.
“I foolishly argued with my worried parents and ran to the edge of the forest. It was steep, so one should not enter carelessly, but I liked watching the moon from the cliff edge there.”
A place too tough for a young boy to climb, yet Gilberun often went there.
Standing on the cliff, the moonlight bathed him gently, as if offering comfort.
“That day, I needed comfort.”
With a father eager to pass the throne to him, knights expecting great things, and a stepmother and household displeased with his mana disorder, he was exhausted. He burst out, shouting, and ran away.
But unexpectedly, for the first time, an uninvited guest arrived at his usual spot.
He rose, wary, but needn’t have been.
She was still youthful, delicate, like a small rabbit. Fifteen-year-old Angela.
She had fled because she could not bear her family’s downfall. Lost and wandering, she ended up at the cliff.
“Isn’t it remarkable? At moments when we needed comfort, we first met at the cliff edge. Perhaps our hearts were already pushed to the edge.”
Their chance meeting changed their fate entirely.
They could complement each other’s weaknesses perfectly, things they could not overcome alone.
There, under the moonlight on the cliff, they found solace and hope in each other, and naturally, love began to bloom.
They were perfectly compatible.
The hardships that had tormented them vanished, and their once-dry emotions ignited uncontrollably.
“Thus, I became king, and often walked the forest with her, dreaming of the future.”
They thought they would live happily, finding peace in each other, forever.
“Until we found that necklace.”
“Could it be… that necklace?”
“Yes. The necklace you discovered in one go. The true necklace that changed our fate and gave birth to Ruidra.”
[The truth about Gilberun and Angela has been revealed.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
[Quest ‘Angela’s Secret’ completed.]
[Reward: 300 Gold, Large Experience Gain.]
[Level Up.]
‘My goodness.’
He had expected something like this, but indeed, a piece of destiny was the culprit.
This piece caused trouble wherever it went—it seemed almost like a troublemaker.
“No, the sword is innocent. The problem is with the person wielding it.”
People who gain great power and lose control are the problem.
Unfortunately, Gilberun and Angela were such people—but in different ways.
“Have you ever seen the Lantern Festival?”
“Yes, about twice.”
“It was never a light festival. It was closer to a ritual.”
“Ritual…?”
“Hmm. How much do you know about the necklace? Nothing?”
Do-hyun nodded.
Even though he collected the pieces of destiny, he didn’t really know what each looked like.
“The necklace was half-broken and faint, but inside it held a powerful flame of purification.”
“….”
Do-hyun listened carefully.
The Flame of Purification.
It purified anything it touched. Even the broken fragment held incredible purifying power.
“Just wearing it calmed the mind and purified any contamination.”
At first glance, it seemed like a beneficial necklace, but Angela’s ability was the real issue.
The eye that could see mana flows.
She detected the purifying flame within the necklace and understood its true power.
“The Flame of Purification could cleanse not just external things, but internal ones as well.”
Even wounded hearts and mental suffering.
They thought:
“Could this power create a society without suffering? A country filled with hope?”
A place where no one suffers, living happily with loved ones until the end. A paradise.
And they had the means to do it.
The ‘necklace’ with immense purifying power despite being broken.
Angela’s eyes, which could see mana flows and the source of souls to purify.
Gilberun’s overwhelming mana, capable of spreading the flame throughout the city.
It was like a divine revelation—all pieces fit perfectly.
“Could it be…”
“…Yes. We began lighting the purification flame at the Lantern Festival to comfort those who had lost dreams and become exhausted. A ritual to make everyone happy simply by living. That was the previous Lantern Festival… no, the Purification Ritual.”
Ding~
[The hidden secret of Fratel has been revealed.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
‘My goodness.’
He had just learned the story behind the creation of the dream city Fratel.
At that moment, outside the castle, the city was unusually lively.
“It’s time. Recruitment for the Ruidra raid begins! Those who wish to join, come here!”
“Me, me first!”
“Come on, brat!”
“Waaah!”
The Hero Guild had begun recruiting 100 members for the Ruidra raid.
