Ranker Who Lives Twice

Chapter 300 – Poseidon (12)

Team: HH, thursdays, Yahiko (300(0)/12)

Yeon-woo stopped looking at the bracelet and the sabaton. Of course, it wouldn’t give him any answers no matter how much he looked at it.

He had to look for the answer himself or leave it as a puzzle forever.

Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea either.

It was convenient to borrow Authorities, but there were also many discomforts that came with it.

Because the Channeling would be strengthened, it was easier to read his will and thoughts. It was extremely unpleasant for his thoughts to be revealed since his actions were already visible to them too.

Also, Azrael was the worst.

He could leave out Agares, who was actually just simple without his obsessive nature, Hermes and Athena, who had goodwill towards him, and the silent Hondon.

However, Azrael had always watched over him mysteriously. While he showed his greed occasionally, he would pretend to be caring sometimes. It was hard to guess what went on in his mind.

Yeon-woo was always on edge because he didn’t know what Azrael was going to do.

Azrael was almost like the representative of the gods and demons of death.

Such a being had suddenly disappeared, leaving him with an even greater Authority. He had also unlocked the seal.

It wasn’t bad for Yeon-woo at all. Rather, he was grateful.

‘He’s the Giving Tree.’

Yeon-woo grinned and checked the last option.

The other options had all been useful, but this was what popped out the most.

[Summon of the Dead]

It would use up a part of the souls in his collection and forcefully summon the souls that were resting in the Beyond.

You had to have met the soul while they were alive or have something related to them to summon them. The length of time was limited to the level of the souls consumed.

However, the summoned souls would have free will.

‘The dead souls are forcefully summoned?’

He wouldn’t be able to make the souls do what he wanted, but many things would become possible.

‘I can make a deal to learn skills or Authorities. Or I can ask for advice.’

Yeon-woo used a part of the souls in his collection and gathered Black Evil to activate Summon of the Dead.

[‘Summon of the Dead’ has been activated.]

[Who would you like to summon?]

Yeon-woo said the name that first came to mind.

“Benteke.”

Hwaak!

A black whirlwind blew around him and scattered.

[You have failed the summoning.]

[The person you are trying to summon cannot be found.]

‘As I thought.’

Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes. He had tried it on the off chance that it would work, but he couldn’t summon him.

‘So Benteke’s soul couldn’t move onto the Beyond and was swallowed by Poseidon?’

Benteke had been crushed by Poseidon’s forced descent.

Yeon-woo had thought his soul may have been absorbed or destroyed, and it turned out he was correct.

Also, he found a new condition for Summon of the Dead.

‘I can’t call for a soul that’s not here or in the Beyond.’

It was a tiny but important detail.

‘Alright. Now…..’

Yeon-woo gathered Black Evil once more and activated the option.

[Who would you like to summon?]

“Lana.”

Hwaak!

This time, the message didn’t show up.

The black whirlwind took the form of a human. Long arms and legs were created, and a small head appeared.

It was exactly like the image Yeon-woo had seen in the diary.

「Interesting.」

Shanon, who had been watching from next to him, exclaimed in amazement. Hanryeong nodded his head.

They had seen shamans summon souls into their bodies for a short while, but it was their first time seeing souls as they had been when they were alive. It looked as if Yeon-woo had moved someone from the Beyond to the living world.

「Who are you?」

Lana glared at Yeon-woo with a wary face. The aura around her was intense.

It was probably the anger she still had towards her old lover. Instead of answering her, Yeon-woo slowly took off his mask.

Click—

「Y, You……!」

Lana’s eyes widened. She walked heavily towards him and kneeled, stroking his face. Her hands were trembling.

「You were alive. You were alive……!」

Tears were brimming in her eyes.

「Yes. So that’s why I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I tried. Ah, my precious child. My son…..」

Lana was now stroking Yeon-woo’s face with both her hands.

She was grateful that she was seeing her disciple who she had only dreamed of meeting again.

「How scared you must have been. How lonely you must have felt…….」

Lana’s tears continued to fall as she touched Yeon-woo’s face. Yeon-woo just stood still and didn’t say anything.

And after a while, Lana took her hands off of Yeon-woo’s face. Then, she stepped back and sighed. She seemed to have moved past her grudges and regrets.

「You’re…… not that child.」

Only after Lana got herself together did she really look at Yeon-woo. He had the same face, but he wasn’t whom she was looking for.

Yeon-woo nodded his head heavily and spoke.

“Hello. I’m Jeong-woo’s older brother, Cha Yeon-woo.”

「Ahh!」

Lana covered her face with her hands. Tears dripped down again. However, the tears of her soul didn’t reach the ground and scattered in the air.

Then, she slowly lifted her hands. Her eyes were hard.

「So in the end, even now, the revenge is currently under way.」

Yeon-woo silently nodded.

「There’s a lot to talk about.」

Lana crossed her legs.

「Do you have any alcohol?」

* * *

All people were curious about useless things sometimes. Yeon-woo was no exception. And today, one of them was resolved.

‘Souls drink alcohol too.’

Like what his brother said about Lana being an alcoholic, she was drinking the wine that Yeon-woo pulled out from Intrenian by the bottle. He understood why his brother followed her around.

‘Although, she spilled half of it on the ground.’

He didn’t enjoy alcohol anyway, and he had only kept it in the subspace for Brahm and Galliard, so he didn’t think it was a waste.

A memory suddenly surfaced in his mind of Galliard saying it was expensive, but he just decided not to remember it.

「I can’t get drunk in this condition. What a shame.」

Lana put the bottle down as she clicked her tongue. She could only feel the taste of the wine with the senses that were barely there, and she couldn’t get drunk.

Even if she couldn’t get drunk, she wanted to feel like she could.

Yeon-woo and Lana spoke for a long time.

They were sharing stories about his brother.

‘All those people threw you away, but there are still many people who long for you and cherish you.’

Yeon-woo thought it was a relief. Brahm, Galliard, and Lana. He was relieved that his brother’s death and traces of his past weren’t for nothing.

「There’s not much time. I want to stay longer, though.」

Lana looked down at her fading hands. The time a spirit could be summoned wasn’t set in stone. It was influenced by the level of the soul, but the will of the soul was important as well. If they wanted to return, the time of the summoning was shorter, or if they wanted to stay longer, they could stay as long as possible.

It was now time for Lana to return.

“I’ll call you again next time.”

「I’ll be grateful if you do. I was happy to breathe the air of the living world for the first time in a while. And I met the brother of my disciple. But use it carefully. If you use up all the times I can come here, I’ll be bored after that too.」

“Yes, ma’am. Understood.”

「Alright. I’ll give you a present before I leave. Our god keeps on rushing me to give it to you.」

Lana grinned and held her hands out.

「Would you give me the necklace you have for a moment?」

Yeon-woo handed over the Sea Water Charm around his neck.

Lana accepted it and stroked it. It was like she was reminiscing about old times. The present that his brother had given to her on Teacher’s Day.

Then, the Sea Water Charm flashed. The worn out sections were restored, and it turned into a beautiful holy artifact.

[You have completed the sudden quest (Ceto’s Resentment).]

[You have accomplished something that is not easily achieved. Additional Karma is being rewarded.]

[You have earned 10,000 Karma.]

[You have earned an additional 15,000 Karma.]

[As a reward, you have earned ‘Ceto’s Holy Artifact (Sea Water Charm), ‘Ceto’s Blessing (Sea King Chronicles)’, and ‘Ceto’s Authority (Sea King Stone)’.]

「Take it.」

Yeon-woo took the Sea Water Charm Lana was holding and hung it around his neck. As he did, the holy power entered his body. The Divine Blessings began to move more actively than before.

「So long story short, I picked what you need the most. Since you have the Divine Blessings, you’ll have to use holy power too. It won’t be easy to use holy power without being an apostle. This holy artifact will help you from now on, so use it well.」

“Thank you.”

「There’s also affinity for the water property and things like that…..but you can check that later. The most important thing is that Ceto likes you. She’ll probably lend you power that is equivalent to an apostle’s.」

Ceto lost most of her power to Poseidon when Lana died. Yeon-woo had paid some of it back, so Ceto probably regained some of her power. Of course she would cherish Yeon-woo.

It was a good thing for Yeon-woo. With Azrael’s spot empty, it was better to have the Blessing of a god who had goodwill towards him than a scheming god.

Hwaaa—

Lana’s body started to become clear.

「I guess it’s almost over now. What a shame. I have things I want to eat and drink. Next time, I hope you call me in front of a feast.」

“I will.”

「Good. And be careful to look carefully around you. The Tower is filled with evil people.」

Lana knew everything that Yeon-woo had done for his brother’s revenge, but she didn’t stop nagging him.

She wanted to give him everything she could. She knew that Yeon-woo wasn’t powerless, but she still felt worried and concerned. They had only met for a short while, but she felt close to him.

‘I see why Jeong-woo said she was his teacher.’

「And…….」

Right before she disappeared, she asked in a weak voice that was unlike herself.

「Let me just ask you one more thing.」

“Yes?”

「How was…..Benteke’s end?」

Was it longing for her lover, or was it resentment? He couldn’t tell.

When Lana got herself together, she could understand why Benteke had made those kinds of choices. She was half-crazy back then.

“He…..”

Yeon-woo couldn’t forget the look in Benteke’s eyes before Poseidon descended.

There was exhaustion in his eyes, but there was also a spark that couldn’t be extinguished. He didn’t crumble at the pressure the god he served gave him. And in the end…..

“He was laughing..”

Kehalhal. Yeon-woo remembered that strange laughter. It was a rambunctious and confident laugh.

「I see. He was like himself until the end. Unlike me.」

Lana chuckled and quietly disappeared. She looked like she had moved on from her last regrets and resentment.

* * *

“…….”

A heavy silence fell.

Yeon-woo rubbed the necklace Lana gave him for a while and pulled out the pocket watch.

There was a faint ‘J. W. CAH’ on the worn cover.

Click—

When he opened the cover, the hands of the clocks were trembling. No matter how much he learned about alchemy or magic, the pocket watch was still a puzzle he couldn’t solve.

‘How much longer will it take for me to get to where you reached?’

Muttering to himself, he blew Black Evil inside of the pocket watch.

The condition of Summon of the Dead was to know the soul or have something from when they were alive. Here, he had his brother’s item.

And in his head, he had memories.

Yeon-woo closed his eyes and activated the option.

[‘Summon of the Dead’ has been activated.]

[Who would you like to summon?]

Yeon-woo spoke in a trembling voice.

“Cha Jeong-woo.”