Chapter 100 – Time (2)

The cave Sun-woo had opened widened considerably so more than one person could walk on both sides of the central waterway.

“Our ability users worked very hard.”

When Sun-woo looked around the cave with fascination, Seer Sylvia opened her mouth with a cloudy face.

“Explosive ability users broke rocks, and telekinesis and human hands carried the broken stones. Everyone united their strength to meet the time I saw.”

She seemed to have seen in advance through prophecy the time Sun-woo would come.

“Prophecy was far more tricky than expected. If circumstances don’t all align, prophecy is like glass that shatters. Seeing the future, no, fixing the future is truly difficult work.”

Sylvia’s expression different from before contained an exhausted appearance.

“How did that person fight through such times for a lifetime…”

She seemed to be slightly revealing to Sun-woo, an outsider, what had accumulated. Well, saying such things to people here depending on her would look difficult.

Sylvia’s story ended there. Soon she composed herself and guided Sun-woo with a calm expression, and shortly the two people could arrive at the cave’s end.

The people who had been working earlier all seemed to have left as the two entered. Only glowing mosses and torches, broken rocks and rolling equipment remained at the cave’s end.

The cave had a rock wall blocking ahead where digging had stopped, and clear water was spouting from between the walls.

And behind the rock wall, sounds of rapids flowing were heard. Behind this wall flowed the groundwater main stream Sun-woo had found before.

“We can’t touch behind here anymore. In a situation where we don’t know how large and how the waterway flows, if we drill a hole, the entire underground city might be submerged.”

“Then wasn’t this too hasty? Looking at this place, there still seems to be tremendous distance even from the surface.”

At Sun-woo’s question, Sylvia shook her head, and at her appearance, Sun-woo had no choice but to recall her ability again.

“Ah, you can see the future.”

Sun-woo tapped his head with his finger then placed his hand beside the rock wall where water spouted.

“It’s dangerous so avoid… No. Do as you please.”

Sun-woo tried to warn her then only let out a sigh. As expected, talking with a prophet who knew the future was tiring work.

Shortly after, Sun-woo who confirmed the situation behind the wall with sorcery and water magic could understand why Sylvia exploded the passage leading to the sewer.

When checking before, the distance was far so he could barely confirm only groundwater, but the groundwater behind the wall consisted of a tremendously large cave.

Groundwater flowing for a long time clearly carved rock to create a giant cave.

Sun-woo who confirmed the cave structure made his powerful internal energy flow through his hand. Soon Sun-woo’s hand shone brightly and sounds similar to spirit shouts flowed from his mouth.

“Explode (Pok)!”

The absolute-level martial artist’s Sword Energy Shield technique used at the lord’s mansion lobby recently was displayed here once again.

Thud!

Simultaneously, the light in Sun-woo’s hand seemed to be absorbed into the rock wall, then a shockwave spewed from his hand blowing away surrounding objects.

“Ouch!”

From behind, sounds of Sylvia screaming small and falling were heard, but Sun-woo cleanly ignored it and concentrated on the rock wall.

Unlike before when he smashed the entire floor, this time he had to destroy quite delicately. Because if he broke it wrong, he could cause a disaster of the underground city being submerged.

His Sword Energy Shield shook the rock wall splitting it in all directions, and Sun-woo’s sorcery moved the split stones fitting them together so they wouldn’t be destroyed more than necessary.

And Sun-woo summoned Earth Spirit and began pulling out the split stones one by one.

From small stones to large rocks as big as people were pulled out smoothly from the rock wall.

Like that, quite many stones and rocks were pulled out piling on the floor, and soon a cave where one person could pass was newly created at a spot slightly away from the hole where water spouted.

Sun-woo first stepped into the new cave pierced diagonally upward. And Sylvia who dusted off her bottom followed with steps.

“Looks like prophecy doesn’t tell everything?”

Sun-woo caught and passed over that Sylvia had just fallen.

“Can’t know everything. If that were possible, should be called god. After seeing only the most important content, just prevent that content from changing to something else. This time too, only know things like Sun-woo-ssi opening the way and we two people safely returning.”

Sun-woo clicked his tongue at Sylvia’s words. He was going to tell her to wait thinking it seemed dangerous, but she preemptively struck first.

Eventually, the two people passed through the passage Sun-woo made and entered the giant cave where underground water, no, an underground river flowed.

“It really existed. The giant underground river said in rumors to cross the Empire reaching the sea.”

Though she already would have seen it with her ability, Sylvia burst into admiration seeing the river before her eyes.

A giant river with diameter seeming dozens of meters was flowing along a tremendously wide underground cave.

The underground river’s beginning and end curved flowing so the end wasn’t visible, and the giant underground cave had small caves pierced through where small waters flowed in, those waters gathering seemed to make this large river.

This river and giant cave were deep underground so seemed uncontaminated like the underground city. Fish were even visible in the river, looking like they could become another food source.

The two people entered a nearby small cave where water flowed out and began going up against the cave. According to Sun-woo’s sorcery detection, it seemed like a cave directly connected to the surface.

After climbing like that through the complex narrow underground cave for about an hour, the two people came to see the surface dyed in murky color.

The cave the two people exited was one natural cave in the mountain range surrounding Stuttgart from far away. This cave positioned in one corner of the mountain valley was located in rock crevices where valley water flowed, so would be almost unnoticeable from outside.

Moreover, the complex cave structure clearly meant finding the underground river wouldn’t be easy for anyone except someone like Sun-woo who could understand water and earth.

“Thank you so much. Now we can rescue people without them knowing.”

In the valley where only water sounds were heard amid silence, Sylvia thanked Sun-woo.

Thanks to contaminated ability users and summoners who ultimately seized Stuttgart recently, underground city people could no longer come outside. The entrance to the underground city was quickly discovered too, and underground city ability users were limited to barely buying time before the entrance.

That was when Seer Sylvia barely found a method of expanding the waterway Sun-woo made, and now they barely succeeded at that.

Of course, though they proceeded seeing the future, gratitude toward Sun-woo didn’t diminish. If he had refused, the future Sylvia saw would all just become shattered mirror fragments.

“Making this cave the basic entrance, searching the river flowing underground, we can find passages leading to other places too.”

At the thought of making hidden exits throughout the Empire centered on the underground river, Sylvia’s eyes sparkled. Certainly unlike the former prophet, thoughts in her head were plainly visible.

“Then shall we return since we confirmed? And you must draw a map too.”

To Sylvia thinking to exploit, no, utilize Sun-woo maximally, Sun-woo showed the in his pocket.

While Sun-woo and Sylvia returned to the underground city, Sun-woo explained what happened so far to Sylvia.

Having decided to go together with the underground city’s scavengers now, it wasn’t something to keep secret.

“You’re saying that thing called neidan seems to have contaminated our world.”

“Yes, can’t you know what happened with Sylvia-ssi’s prophecy power?”

“But there’s no way to know by seeing that neidan’s future. However…”

Sun-woo who was disappointed at the words saying no method looked back at Sylvia at the word ‘however.’ It meant there wasn’t no method at all.

After descending the cave for quite a while, Sylvia plopped down sitting on the floor.

“Please protect me briefly.”

She seemed about to do something. Sun-woo pulled out his sword from the phone and began guarding the surroundings.

“Can’t know by seeing the future, but what’s called prophecy ability isn’t only seeing the future. No, others call it prophecy ability but this ability is peeking at time’s flow. Of course the future, the present, and even the past.”

After saying up to there, she held the neidan in her hand and closed her eyes. Simultaneously, faint light began spewing from her hand.

That light dyed her surroundings and flowed to where Sun-woo was. And when light shone on Sun-woo’s body, strange visions began appearing in his eyes.

At first, a scene of a giant long-necked turtle and contaminated summoners fighting appeared before his eyes.

The giant long-necked turtle soon had its neck cut by summoners and died, and with taking out the neidan from below the turtle’s shell armor, the first vision faded.

Not knowing what was happening, Sun-woo who was touched by Sylvia’s light seemed to also see the past scenes she was seeing.

The vision continued again. The second vision’s background was the lord’s mansion basement where this neidan was installed.

[Whew, if I just strengthen contamination with this neidan, is it finished?]

An Eastern woman wearing saint robes like Yeonhwa was sighing while looking at the neidan and amplification stones installed in the basement center.

[Right, this finishes it. If you just finish that, you can rest.]

[Understood.]

The woman wearing saint robes nodded at the words of the man standing behind, but Sun-woo watching the vision couldn’t. Sun-woo’s face contorted and his hand clenched so tight it turned white.

Because the face of the man who spoke made him angry. He wearing jeans and a worn jumper holding an antique sword in his hand was exactly the man who killed Sun-woo’s family.

But this was only a past scene, Sun-woo held his sword more firmly and glared at the vision.

[You thought up such a method well. Using that some dragon or whatever contaminates the entire region to bring out the murim world’s spiritual creature neidan and have a brainwashed saint strengthen contamination… On top of that. Utilizing contaminated amplification stones to increase contamination more. Not something an ordinary person would think of.]

While he muttered like that, the saint grasped the neidan and began concentrating, and soon after the neidan and amplification stones emitted light floating in the air.

When some time passed, the saint and man’s appearances weren’t visible. Instead, the neidan heated red dyeing the world red, and soon the world seen as vision became murky.

“So that’s how it happened.”

Thanks to the man’s muttering, Sun-woo could understand how things happened.

While Sun-woo was immersed in thought with a serious expression, Sylvia looked at Sun-woo with strange eyes.

“That man who killed your parents is right?”

At Sylvia’s words brought up suddenly, Sun-woo frowned.

“Don’t tell me you saw my past too?”

At Sun-woo’s words, Sylvia apologized with a sorry expression.

“Shouldn’t have been visible but came to see it. Moreover, only I can see visions but Sun-woo-ssi saw together too. Sorry. This is my first time with such a thing too.”

At her words, Sun-woo made a puzzled expression. That’s when it happened. The phone began vibrating.

When Sun-woo opened the phone, the skill window opened immediately and new text was added below.

<Earth Spirit. Rank 7> Rank Up: 400p

<Illusion Technique. Rank 5> Rank Up: 200p

<Wheel-Turning Divine Demonic Art. 8 Stars> Rank Up: 1,000p

<Wheel-Turning Sword Technique. 8 Stars> Rank Up: 800p

<Wheel-Turning Divine Technique. 8 Stars> Rank Up: 800p

<Physical Enhancement. 3 Stars> Rank Up: 100p

<Water Magic. 3 Circles> Rank Up: 200p

<Fire Magic. 1 Circle> Rank Up: 200p

[An error occurred. Linked to skill in uncontrolled situation. Starting readjustment. Time remaining 24:00]

Sun-woo looked back and forth between the phone and Sylvia with an absurd expression.