Episode 77
077. The Scent of the Desert
golden hand, too, resigned himself.
In that moment of preparing for death, an unexpected message appeared.
[The effect of ‘Desert’s Problem Solver’ is activated.]
[Effect 2: You gain significant favor with all NPCs in the desert.]
[The Archmage ‘Astrid’ feels a slight fondness toward you.]
Astrid’s hand stopped just before Gold-hands’ forehead.
Her eyebrows twitched subtly.
“…How strange. I smell a familiar scent of the desert on you.”
For the first time, Astrid showed a different expression.
A faint trace of something like nostalgia passed through her eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly accepted the letter of introduction Geumson held out.
“Master! I’m sorryyy! I couldn’t succeed because of a strange outsider. I’m really sorry.”
In the ‘Library of Lingering Scents,’ where the boundaries of time and space were blurred, the fireplace light softly illuminated the room filled with tens of thousands of ancient books covering the walls.
Mel, a little girl with small horns on her forehead, bowed her head, looking as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
In front of her sat a person knitting in a rocking chair.
A figure who seemed both masculine and feminine, possessing a neutrally ambiguous charm.
Without stopping the knitting needles, the person spoke while listening to Mel’s story.
“It’s alright, Mel. Even your failure must be part of the greater flow.”
Contrary to Mel’s expectation of being severely scolded for failing, the person’s voice was warm and gentle.
They reached out and softly patted Mel’s head.
Under that affectionate touch, Mel finally burst into tears.
“Waaah! B-but! That bad outsider tore the book you gave me!”
Sniffling, Mel pulled out an old book from her embrace. One of its pages was roughly torn out.
At that moment, the gentle aura surrounding the person wavered slightly for the first time.
“The book… was torn? …How?”
Astonishment tinged the person’s voice for the first time.
Mel showed the ‘Book of Forgotten Records’ and spoke as if aggrieved.
“He just… tore it!”
“Just tore it? This? That shouldn’t be… possible.”
The person fell into thought for a moment.
The ‘Book of Forgotten Records’ was no ordinary book. It was an ancient relic recording all the forgettings and absences of the world, impervious to any physical force.
Of course, there was one exception.
‘The Unremembered One.’
Only those who existed outside the world’s flow and wrote new records could lay hands on that book.
Watching the person’s reaction, Mel added, still sounding wronged.
“It’s true! And then he fed the torn page to Wukongjo… no, to Elementia!”
“Did you just say… Elementia?”
The person’s knitting hands stopped. Their gaze fixed on a point in the air, their expression turning serious.
They weren’t surprised by Elementia’s existence itself.
They were astonished by the fact that such a legendary being was following someone as its ‘master’—and that this master happened to be one capable of tearing the ‘Book of Forgotten Records.’
“The meeting of a being that devours even the world’s flow and a being that denies that flow… How interesting. Perhaps… this could become a variable.”
The person smiled brightly, as if something deeply intriguing had occurred.
Patting Mel’s head again, they said:
“Alright, Mel. It would be best to keep your distance from that outsider.”
“Really? It’s okay if you don’t scold me? But he’s a bad outsider who even tore the book you gave me!”
“It’s fine. See, the book is perfectly intact, isn’t it?”
The book the person held out—the torn page of the Book of Forgotten Records—had already been restored in their hand, as if it had never been torn, perfectly returned to its original state.
“Oh! Master! The book is moving!”
Perfectly restored, the Book of Forgotten Records began to move on its own, flipping its pages.
Flutter—flutter—
Flllurrrk—
The book flipped through its pages by itself and then stopped.
Reading the revealed record, the person spoke to Mel.
“Mel, go find another child now. They’re probably lost and wandering in the northern ice forest.”
“The northern ice forest? What kind of child is that?”
“A child who sculpts. One who will sculpt even the hardest ice, above all else.”
“Yes! This time, I’ll definitely succeed, Master!”
Mel turned around energetically.
From behind her, the person’s low voice followed.
“By the way… what was that outsider’s name?”
“Gold-hands! Gold-hands! The hammer warrior and blacksmith. That’s what was written!”
“Gold-hands…”
The person repeated the name.
A deep, lonely smile lingered on their lips—one they hadn’t shown to Mel.
While Astrid read the letter, Gold-hands swallowed nervously, observing her reaction.
Astrid showed no change in expression. Unable to read her thoughts at all, Gold-hands grew increasingly anxious.
Astrid silently looked down at the letter in her hand for a long time.
The handwriting on the parchment meant nothing to her in terms of content, but the penmanship itself stirred her memory.
“This handwriting… Ah, I see. It’s that child. The greedy little one. Now I remember.”
Muttering quietly, Astrid folded the letter.
Though she didn’t remember Calix’s name, she remembered his distinctive handwriting—the bold little prince who, over a decade ago, had sneaked into her laboratory trying to steal an ancient magical artifact and got caught.
She released the magical restraints holding Gold-hands.
“It’s rare for that greedy fellow to recommend someone… How curious. And it says you resolved Kratum’s crisis?”
The letter seemed to briefly mention Geumson’s’ deeds in Kratum. Thanks to that, Astrid’s expression softened slightly.
“I misunderstood unnecessarily. My apologies.”
Astrid bowed her head. Despite being an overwhelming powerhouse, she deeply bowed to Gold-hands. Only then did Geumson let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he thought of Moiran.
‘So the reason Moiran failed… was because of Astrid.’
If it hadn’t been for Gold-hands, Moiran would likely have been captured by Astrid and turned to dust by now. That was why nothing had happened in Aertos in his past life.
‘Damn, I ended up suffering in their place. Can I consider the debt from my past life repaid?’
Gold-hands’ own peculiar calculus. While Geumson grumbled internally, Astrid seemed to ponder something briefly.
Dawn was already breaking. The murmuring of people began to drift from beyond the alleyway. Aertos was stretching awake.
“Child, this isn’t a suitable place for conversation. Since that little Calix made a request… close your eyes for a moment.”
Gold-hands felt inexplicably uneasy. Yet, he couldn’t refuse her. The moment Geumson closed his eyes, a strange sensation, as if the surrounding space were warping, washed over him.
‘What in the world…’
In that instant, a new message appeared.
[Archmage ‘Astrid’ uses ‘Mass Teleport.’]
‘Mass Teleport? She can use that?’
An ultimate spatial magic that transported not only the caster but others to a desired coordinate. Even in his past life, not a single player wizard had been able to use this spell.
‘If we had this magic back then… so many lives could have been saved…’
During the Age of Ruin, evacuating civilians and the wounded was the most dangerous and difficult task. If even one wizard like this had existed then, the situation might have changed. No, this magic held such high strategic value that it could have shifted the tide of battle.
As Gold-hands was lost in regret, his feet touched solid ground. When he opened his eyes, the scenery before him was far from Aertos’ splendor.
Among Aertos’ many floating islands, this was a small, remote one. Notably, people missing body parts or clearly ill were easily seen throughout the island. It seemed to be a place where those with little hope of survival gathered to live arduous lives—a shabby floating island starkly contrasting with Aertos’ otherwise glamorous atmosphere.
At the island’s center stood a worn but tidy hut alongside an herb garden. This was Astrid’s dwelling.
‘Why would she live in a place like this…?’
Gold-hands couldn’t understand Astrid. The power she had displayed was overwhelming. He had never seen a wizard of her caliber, even in his past life. With such skill, she could have claimed the summit of the wizards Tower, the pinnacle of Aertos’ high mages. Yet, she was here, in this dilapidated floating island where no one would come looking.
‘No wonder players never found Astrid…’
Now he understood why Jeong Harin had been Astrid’s only disciple in the past. But that thought didn’t last long, as Astrid, who had guided him to the hut, handed him a cup of tea and asked:
“You said you want to learn magic?”
Gold-hands nodded. However, Astrid sighed softly and shook her head. It seemed she had no intention of taking Geumson as his disciple.
“I’m sorry, but that might be difficult.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Aren’t you an outsider as well?”
‘Outsider’ again. Gold-hands hadn’t expected the widespread discrimination against outsiders among Lepyon‘s NPCs to come from Astrid’s mouth. But listening to her, it didn’t seem to be merely about discrimination.
