Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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12.

Calisia nodded her head, saying she knew this would happen, and spat out the dirt in her mouth.

It was said that earth was the parent that sprouted life and the source of all things. Therefore, this earth was bound to contain the memories of time.

So much so that its taste and scent varied tremendously according to the history that had passed. However, she felt nothing from the soil of this mountain.

And this phenomenon mainly appeared in ghost paintings—paintings inhabited by souls.

The world within paintings created by the powerful desires of ghosts. It was an illusion yet not an illusion, real yet not real at the same time.

Perhaps this mountain was of a similar kind.

***

“Stop that and let’s go!”

Calisia shouted at Ian, who had been stuck to the ground for an hour now, conducting mana detection. He remained motionless in the same spot as if he wasn’t bored at all.

“Quiet.”

Ian, who had gathered his energy, warned quietly lest his concentration be disturbed. His plan was to find the flow of mana and obtain a clue to break through the illusion.

“Let’s go already! There’s nothing more to find here anyway!”

The problem was that he was looking for that clue in the wrong place. Ghost paintings were usually worlds created to resolve the resentment from a ghost’s lifetime.

Therefore, the methods to escape this space could be roughly divided into two types.

The first was to understand the creator’s intention and follow the correct answer.

[ QUEST ]

You are trapped in a ghost painting. Immediately become a character, complete the story, and resolve the spirit’s resentment!

※ Warning ※

> Character assignment is the spirit’s exclusive right. You cannot choose or change it arbitrarily.

> Penalties such as injury or death may be imposed depending on your assigned role.

ex) Playing Lee Mongryong’s role in Byeon Magistrate’s success story

The second was to directly find the creator and extort the correct answer. It required considerable force but had the advantage of quick escape.

Of course, this was only possible when you figured out who the protagonist was.

“Come on! Let’s go down!”

To do that, they needed to escape this mountain as quickly as possible and advance the story.

“If you’re not going to help, keep your mouth shut. I’ll be able to find traces soon.”

“What traces! This isn’t magic, it’s a ‘ghost’s trick’!”

Calisia, unable to bear it any longer, burst out shouting. No matter how much she explained, it was like playing music to a cow’s ears, so her frustration was bound to explode.

“That sophistry again. No sage in the Empire has ever spoken of magic called ghost paintings.”

“I’ve told you twenty times already that it’s not magic.”

Calisia ground her teeth and secretly clenched her fists tight.

“That means you’ve failed twenty times to convince me with that pathetic logic of yours.”

“….”

Calisia closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. What a blockhead.

Originally, shamanism was a transcendent realm beyond reason and science. It meant you couldn’t measure it precisely like taking measurements and define it.

Therefore, she couldn’t understand Ian’s attitude even more. Ghosts, superstitions, transcendent phenomena, mysteries—these were words inseparable from Ghost Gate Observation.

But why was he being so stubborn?

“Fine. Let’s just give up on everything. Let’s see if we can become beast food or ghost food together.”

Ah, since this was a romance fantasy, add monsters too. Calisia, who instantly equipped dead fish eyes, lay down using the ground as a bed.

‘Ah… I should have looked at the book title earlier. Why did it have to be a ghost painting?’

She sighed while recalling the book that had led her to this world. Whatever it was, she needed to finish the story quickly to escape the ghost painting.

‘This is troublesome whether I’m the lead or supporting character. Why on earth… Hah, is there Dragon’s Blood hidden here or something? Or do you get some reward if you perform your role well?’

Calisia’s expression darkened. The more she thought about it, the more questions arose. In such cases, there was one solution.

Don’t look at the forest, look at the trees—.

It meant to focus only on the immediate problem at hand. For instance, escaping the ghost painting. Therefore, what she needed to do now was advance the story.

“But what kind of monsters usually appear in mountains like this? Are there specialties that differ by region?”

She clasped her hands behind her head and yawned lazily. She didn’t forget to scratch her belly either.

“This is…”

A faint bewilderment seeped from Ian’s voice. It was because Calisia’s vigorous belly scratching had caused the hem of her dress to ride up considerably.

Round anklebones, pink-tinted protruding ankles, and slender white legs. Ian sighed and squeezed his eyes shut.

It was because, for a brief moment, he involuntarily recalled the sweet fragrance emanating from Calisia.

“…Hah.”

He kept moving only his lips as if he couldn’t believe this situation.

“Orcs? Ogres? Come to think of it, I only know things starting with ‘O’.”

“…Stop talking nonsense and get up.”

Ian pressed his temples firmly against the overwhelming fatigue.

“If they’re both ‘O’s, they probably have the same clan origin too. No matter how I think about it, those two look similar…”

“Valus.”

Ian urged Calisia with a cold attitude. When they needed to combine their strength, he couldn’t tolerate such a playful attitude.

“Ian Lakies. You know that if you die in a ghost painting, you go straight to the afterlife, right?”

“That’s just unproven information.”

“Right, right. But if the sun sets like this, it’ll be quite a sight. I don’t know for sure, but most of these ghosts and beasts are nocturnal.”

Calisia omitted further explanation. It was due to the geographical characteristics of the Northern Region with its many high mountains.

The dangers of nighttime mountain hiking—Ian himself would know this best without needing emphasis.

“For reference, this body has no mana and even less physical strength.”

Calisia hummed with a shameless smile on her lips.

“Oh, right. I’m pretty good at song and dance. How about a cheer song?”

***

After a heated argument, the two decided to go down the mountain. Ian, who had been walking through the trees, stopped for a moment.

It was because of the winding dirt path connected to the mountain foothills. Sparse weeds and small stones. He carefully examined the narrow side path and pressed the ground firmly with his foot.

‘…It’s solid.’

It was to check the texture of the ground. Places where people had walked for a long time naturally became compacted. Just like this side path.

“It’s not a properly maintained road, but it’s definitely a path people used to travel.”

Ian’s eyes sharpened at the first meaningful clue they had discovered.

After walking along the side path for a while, they reached flatland overgrown with weeds. What could be seen among the man-high weeds were moss-covered rocks scattered about.

○○Village

Calisia’s gaze lingered there for a moment before falling away. A marker stone indicating the village entrance. Due to the corroded surface, she couldn’t tell the exact shape, but it was certain.

“Valus, over here.”

Ian, who had entered the village entrance, gestured after discovering two large statues. Thick wooden bodies and fierce features that looked ready to shout at any moment.

Heavenly Great General

Earthly Great General

And strange markings carved on their bodies. Ian quietly took a defensive stance. Though not in common form, those objects resembled wood golems.

Though they were damaged here and there, making him wonder if they would function properly.

“There must be something here. Considering they brought golems to such a mountain village.”

“…Uh-huh.”

Calisia, who halfheartedly agreed with Ian’s words, stared blankly in a daze. If her eyes weren’t mistaken, those objects were definitely wooden guardian posts.

“Valus.”

Calisia stood with her arms crossed, her eyes alternately clouding and brightening. Marker stones and guardian posts. They were all too familiar objects.

Was this really a ghost painting? If so, was this world created based on the General’s memories?

If cross-dimensional intervention was possible, why hadn’t he answered her calls until now?

In the first place—.

“Calisia Valus!”

“Ah, yeah. What is it.”

She had been calculating every possible scenario when Ian’s call snapped her back to attention.

“Seeing that there’s a golem here, it seems like there must be some important clue in this place.”

Calisia’s face crumpled at his unexpected wrong answer. The priorities that had been momentarily blurred seemed to become clear again. Dimensional intervention or whatever—first, she needed to return to reality with this airheaded young master.

“It’s not a golem, it’s a guardian post.”

“Guardian post?”

“It’s a tree that houses a god. A kind of sacred tree, so it’s like a sacred object. You know, like how you guys make divine statues in temples.”

Originally, guardian posts were protective deities that guarded villages from evil spirits and disasters. They were gods with such high status that shamans would be called to hold rituals for them.

Therefore, people of old never treated guardian posts carelessly.

“But this one…”

Calisia made a displeased sound as she carefully examined the wooden guardian post. From the sharply carved marks to the wounds chopped by an axe. The malice that was determined to bring harm to this village was clearly evident.

“The god has already left its place. It’s just an empty shell.”

The eyes of the guardian post, having lost its divine energy and become completely hollow, stared into empty space.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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