You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿-Chapter 201

There is heaven in the sky, and there are Hangzhou and Suzhou on the ground.

These cities have been famous for their beauty for thousands of years in China.

However, what we see now is not the beautiful city resembling heaven, but only rusted ruins.

Han Jaeyoung clicked his tongue.

"China’s internal situation is almost unknown... it seems that dungeon hazard management is worse than expected."

"Yeah."

A giant bat rested on a power line, and flocks of crows circling in the sky would frequently hunt monsters swimming in the canal.

At this point, it was less about monsters and more like an ecosystem forming.

How long had they left the dungeon break unchecked for things to have gotten to this state?

‘Though, this isn’t just a phenomenon specific to China.’

In fact, this kind of monster settlement was happening globally.

South Korea, with its smaller land and high population density, managed its dungeons well, but many countries were facing significant issues with their dungeon management.

Of course, if a country finds it hard to handle internally, the World Hunter Association would send hunters, but China probably wouldn’t be open to receiving that kind of help.

Though outwardly it might seem like a transnational organization, the World Hunter Association’s headquarters is in New York, so it’s natural for them to become sensitive.

‘But it’s ridiculous that they’ve left it to ruin out of pride.’

Moreover, this information from James Chen was starting to seem off.

‘James Chen said the person named Hyunam was based in Suzhou and had significant influence in Jiangsu Province...’

Surely, he didn’t establish a base in a city that had turned into ruins.

The system is guiding towards the direction where the "fragment of humanity's enemy" is located.

Since the system is guiding us toward the "fragment," there must definitely be someone around here in Suzhou, even if it appears to be in ruins.

We continued walking, following the system's guidance, scanning the surroundings.

However, after walking for more than half a day, we were forced to stop.

"This... No matter how I think about it, it feels like there’s some sort of barrier, doesn’t it?"

It was Han Jaeyoung who spoke first.

It was an obvious deduction.

During our walk for more than half a day, the view of the canal never seemed to end.

Looking at the map we had prepared, we should have already passed the point where the canal was visible.

Also, the GPS signal showed one location, but the landscape we actually saw was completely different.

Yuhanul nodded.

"It seems like we’re just going in circles."

"That’s a common phenomenon when you can’t enter a barrier..."

"...The problem is, it doesn’t feel like anything is there."

Even I, who was much more sensitive to magical power than Han Jaeyoung and Yuhanul, couldn’t feel the trace of a barrier.

Yuhanul turned to me with a question.

"Could it be that we need a keyword, like last time in Count Burk’s domain?"

Right, in Count Burk’s domain, there was a powerful illusion barrier that couldn’t be entered without the correct keyword.

But I shook my head.

"While it's true that very intricate magical barriers can be hard to detect with just the flow of mana... This area is too large for such an intricate barrier."

It’s not just a castle with a barrier.

The land size in China is on a different scale.

Moreover, there was another problem.

"And this is different from Count Burk’s domain. That one essentially trapped the dead inside the barrier."

The greatest flaw of illusionary magical barriers is that once they’re set up, it’s hard for anyone inside to leave without breaking the barrier.

In Count Burk’s domain, the residents were like ghosts, having lost their bodies, so they couldn’t leave the barrier which was artificially maintained.

That’s why the barrier lasted so long and remained so solid.

"But living humans are harder to control."

Looking at Margarita, she could only create a barrier to control and strengthen her dominance over living people, limiting her ability to do much else.

Han Jaeyoung agreed, nodding.

"Yeah, that’s true. Even in the dungeon where we went to find Yuhanul, we eventually found people lurking near the barrier... Hm, then I’ll check from above to see if there are people around."

Soon, Han Jaeyoung quickly soared into the sky and climbed high until he became a small dot in the distance.

I still can’t get used to that.

‘...Though, I don’t think that’s going to solve anything.’

I crossed my arms and stared at the scene in front of me.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been this puzzled.’

How could they have placed a barrier over such a large city without using magic?

"Hmm..."

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

Honestly, as a grand mage, it stung my pride, but I had to admit it.

No matter how much I knew about magic, I couldn’t guess what was happening here.

After a while, Yuhanul, who had been watching me, awkwardly spoke up.

"I don’t know much about magic... so should I just try swinging my sword like last time? It might help in breaking through."

"That’s not breaking the barrier; it’s just mindless destruction. Do you want to make things worse by touching it recklessly?"

"Hmm..."

While I was deep in thought, Han Jaeyoung, who had been flying around rapidly, returned.

He landed and folded his wings, then said,

"Wow, incredibly, I didn’t see anything."

"What? You even spread your wings, and it didn’t help at all."

"Well, is that my fault...?"

Though Han Jaeyoung was grumbling, the fact was that it didn’t help.

In this already annoying quest, the last thing I needed was useless companions...

But instead of me, Yuhanul offered a polite compliment.

"Still, thank you for your effort. It looks like you flew pretty high."

"Well, if I wanted to see farther, there was no choice. But what’s strange is that even though I went so high, it felt strangely easy to breathe."

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Han Jaeyoung, looking around, suddenly spoke with a tone of admiration.

"Ah, is it because the plants are growing in the abandoned houses? Honestly, this feels much more comfortable than the city. Don’t you think?"

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"Huh? I don’t know... I feel pretty uncomfortable here, actually."

"Ha, I see you’re still a typical human. You need to appreciate and protect nature more..."

"Wait a second."

I interrupted the conversation between the two. Han Jaeyoung looked at me, wide-eyed.

"Huh? What’s wrong?"

"What did you just say?"

"Huh? Protect nature and appreciate it more..."

"No, not that. The part before—‘feels comfortable’?"

"Hm? Yeah, that’s right. As a fairy hybrid, I feel better when there’s more natural energy around."

"...That’s it."

Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

Han Jaeyoung, being a fairy hybrid, felt comfortable in this place, while Yuhanul felt uneasy.

"Leo."

I carefully set Leo, who had been curled up in my arms, down on the ground.

Leo landed gracefully, looking up at me as if asking what was going on.

"Meow?"

-Why?

"Catch one of the monsters over there. Not the ones swimming, the ones crawling on the ground."

"Mya!"

-Okay!

Bored with being in my arms, Leo excitedly jumped into the canal.

The water looked dirty, so I hadn’t allowed him before, but it couldn’t be helped now.

Han Jaeyoung looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"Oh, our grand mage seems to have had an idea. Care to share?"

"Wait."

Leo soon returned with a monster, resembling a mud worm.

"Meow!"

-How’s that?

Leo, eager for praise, nudged his head toward me, but I ignored him as the muddy monster was handed back to Yuhanul.

"Give me your sword."

"Mya?!"

"..."

Though Yuhanul looked reluctant, he handed me his sword. I took it and sliced open the monster’s belly.

Inside the monster, I saw some reddish soil.

"Leo, did you see this colored dirt under the water?"

"Mya!"

-Yes!

Leo responded happily.

After hearing Leo’s answer, I handed back the dirty sword to Yuhanul, then reached out for Han Jaeyoung.

"Han Jaeyoung, give me the gem you have."

"Daon, if someone hears that, they’ll think I’m a thief. And honestly, I don’t think a hunter like you would carry around gems..."

"I think it’s more like I’m robbing you. But yes, there is a gem."

"Why would you carry something like that?"

"Ah, last time Daon showed a pretty impressive spell. So I wanted to experiment... but why the gem?"

"I want to check what kind of barrier the opponent set up."

Han Jaeyoung’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Oh, did you have an idea of what magic barrier it might be as a grand mage?"

"It’s not really based ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) on my knowledge as a mage. And it’s not a magic barrier either."

It was obvious I couldn’t understand this as a mage.

After all, it wasn’t magic.

I smiled and asked,

"Have you ever heard of the Qi Men Dun Jia?"

Qi Men Dun Jia.

A method to unfold the harmony of the heavens on earth, said to be mastered by those who understand the harmony of all things...

I interpreted it that way.

‘If this Hyunam person is based in Mount Mo, then using Qi Men Dun Jia wouldn’t be strange.’

Since Qi Men Dun Jia is based on the I Ching, it makes sense that someone who studied Taoism would also be skilled in it.

Now that I thought about it, when I heard the name Mo Mountain Sect, I should have suspected it was related to Qi Men Dun Jia, but I realized that too late.

Han Jaeyoung spoke with admiration.

"Really... you’re far more knowledgeable than I thought, Daon."

"You, as a mage, should be prepared to read all the knowledge of the world."

Since I was born in Korea, one thing I really liked was how easy it was to access knowledge.

You could find high-level books at schools or local libraries.

And out of curiosity, I had read the I Ching a few times.

At that time, I had no idea I would awaken as a special ability user, so I only read it as an interesting piece of knowledge.

"Knowledge shouldn’t be treated unequally. Every field of study is just another way to reach the truth... though, I still believe magic is the most efficient study."

Han Jaeyoung was wide-eyed.

"That sounds like something a grand mage would say..."

"Because I really was a great mage."

"Yuhanul, you sound like you’ve seen it all."

I left the two of them bickering and examined the insides of the monster I had gutted.

The intestines of the monster that had been crawling on the canal floor were, of course, covered in the dirt from the canal bed.

And the color of that dirt was strangely reddish.

Fwoosh!

I set fire to the dirt.

Normally, the wet dirt would burn...

"Ah."

Sizzle!

The dirt, which had been solid under the cold water, crumbled easily in the fire.

And when I extinguished the flames, what was revealed was a silvery liquid that rippled like waves.

Han Jaeyoung wrinkled his face.

"That... Could it be...?"

"Yeah, it's exactly what you’re thinking."

But with everything in this situation, certainty is always a good thing.

I took the gold dust I had received from Han Jaeyoung and sprinkled it over the silvery liquid.

The silver liquid that touched the gold bubbled oddly and reacted.

"Mercury."

"Exactly. To be more precise, it seems like it's crushed cinnabar, which contains a lot of mercury."

"So, this canal bed is covered in mercury... and they used it to set up Qi Men Dun Jia here?"

"Yes."

Cinnabar.

A red mineral that contains mercury.

"Among the materials on this earth, gold is the most perfect, while... mercury is one of the most unstable."

It’s known to be highly toxic to the human body and causes illness...

"So, it’s a material that can twist the flow of mana in the air just by existing."

While it’s an unstable substance, its ability to disturb the flow of mana is similar to gold’s usefulness.

It seems that Hyunam, the person in charge here, used cinnabar to perform Qi Men Dun Jia on the whole of Suzhou.

"Qi Men Dun Jia doesn't go against the natural order of the world. It just slightly alters things to suit the user’s intent... so they twisted the flow of mana with earthly materials."

A mage is someone who controls the power of mana, using it as a language to create miracles and twist the world.

Magic, in essence, is like chiseling stones into sculptures, but Qi Men Dun Jia is more about subtly changing the position of things to shift the flow of mana.

So, it’s only natural that a fairy hybrid like Han Jaeyoung would feel comfortable here, attuned to nature.

But for Yuhanul, a swordsman with a heightened sense of instinct, the feeling of unease was inevitable.

Because, after all, there’s something in this canal that is highly toxic to humans.

I couldn’t help but smile.

‘Hyunam... what kind of person is he?’

If this guy is not just a fragment of Orbis but the main body, I wouldn’t be surprised anymore.

Hearing my words, Yuhanul looked at the canal with a pale face.

"...Oh my god. Then, the canal..."

"Yeah, this is really interesting."

That was an honest assessment.

As a mage, exploring new knowledge is always fun.

I never expected to encounter such a large-scale formation.

Was it cost-effective to use cinnabar instead of gold? If it’s cheaper than gold and works just as well, there’s no reason not to use it, assuming the toxicity is the only drawback.

The system reminds the user, ‘Jeong Da-on’, of their quest.

‘...’

Ah, did I just think like a devil again?

"But now that I know it’s Qi Men Dun Jia, what should we do next?"

"We need to find the birth door."

Although it’s a very intense formation, if it’s Qi Men Dun Jia, there must be a birth door or an opening.

That means there is a way to enter this formation.

The problem is...

"Then, can Daon really break this formation and find the birth door?"

"No, honestly, I don’t carry around the I Ching to recite it by heart to find a birth door in a formation I’ve never seen before. I did it just out of curiosity."

I had an interest in minerals and happened to be following a similar theory, so I read up on it out of boredom.

The hope I found felt useless, and the faces of both Yuhanul and Han Jaeyoung grew dark.

"So, what should we do...?"

"Maybe we should ask Master about it..."

Everyone’s so impatient.

I shook my head.

"No, I can’t break the formation, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find the birth door."

"Huh? Then just tell us quickly."

"It’s just that... it might require a bit of sacrifice on your part."

"Me?"

Han Jaeyoung blinked in surprise when I pointed at him.

"Sacrifice? What do you mean?"

"Money."

I waved my finger.

"About 1.2 billion won worth of gold."

What? Does it sound like I’m a thief?

Impossible.

This is all for the sake of good deeds.