The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 110

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 110. The Reason She Came

Cho Hong arrived at Big Stone Rock Mountain around noon.
Though she’d missed this familiar place, unease dogged her every step up the slope.
With nothing but memories of rolling around like a dog in this cursed place, even the deep green scent brought her no nostalgia—only a sour mood.
‘At least I got out of acting as leader…’
Reaching the location Jang Maldong had pointed out, Cho Hong heaved a long breath and craned her neck, scanning the terrain ahead. A dark shape zigzagged back and forth across the ridge peaks.
“Hey!”
She waited for him to draw closer, then waved. Hugo, who’d just descended the ridge, stopped running. Catching sight of Cho Hong, he wiped the sweat dripping from his jaw.
“You made it?”
“Rejoice. A messiah has descended to rescue you wretches from your plight.”
“A messiah… Right. Why didn’t you come a little sooner?”
“Don’t say such things. This mountain is demon territory to the bone—even a messiah risks being swept away.”
“Damn. Some savior you are, looking out for yourself first.”
Hugo grumbled, and Cho Hong burst into laughter.
“Seems like you managed well enough, at least. You’re standing here in one piece.”
“That’s not it.”
Hugo shook his head and let out a cocky grin.
“I’ve been training hard. Unlike some people who laze around without a care in the world.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“You bet. Just wait and see. Intensive training isn’t called intensive for nothing. Hehehehe!”
At Hugo’s boast, Cho Hong’s face twitched. She cupped a hand to her ear and leaned forward slowly.
“What?”
“You didn’t need to hear that.”
“What did you say?”
“You deaf?”
“No—I just can’t hear much when it’s coming from a complete nobody who hasn’t even climbed the upper ranks~?”
Hugo’s face went rigid.
“Y-You fake upper-rank trash.”
“Right. And you’re a forever-Level-Four who’ll never even fake his way to the next rank.”
“Damn woman!”
Hugo lunged forward, then jerked back just as quickly. Cho Hong had spat and drawn her +2 Steel Thorn.
“Beautiful. No matter how many times I see it, it never gets old. Isn’t it magnificent?”
“Hey. You. Lee.”
“My body’s been itching for a fight. Haven’t seen a single one on the way up here.”
Cho Hong squinted sidelong at him, and Hugo’s frustration boiled over.
“You just got lucky!”
“That’s rich coming from you. You had that Halberd Kahn used during the Forest of Negation expedition, didn’t you?”
“That’s different from this!”
“So what—should I complain that Seol likes me more? If you’re unhappy, go impress him yourself~.”
Cho Hong, drawing out her words deliberately, let out a scoff.
“Besides, you’re hardly in a position to worry about others. You lost all your weapons and armor when you got captured last time, didn’t you?”
Cho Hong struck where it hurt, and Hugo’s face twisted in agony. At last, he let out a pitiful wail—”Argh!”—and bolted away.
“There he goes, being an idiot.”
Cho Hong snorted and strolled at her leisure.
Suddenly, a grotesque gnarled tree caught her eye. It was the Ancient Tree—its leaves completely fallen, leaving only bare branches.
‘Another strange training session, I see.’
The way this particular tree had withered so dramatically could only mean one thing.
After a moment.
Upon finding the hideout, Cho Hong spotted Jang Maldong standing atop the Hill and gave a slight nod. Jang Maldong spoke without looking.
“You’ve come.”
“I’m here.”
“You look well.”
“How can you tell without looking?”
“I can tell from your voice alone.”
“If you’re thinking of putting me through training too, forget it. I have things to do back there.”
Cho Hong stopped short. Jang Maldong had raised his hand. His eyes, dark and penetrating, were focused intently on one point.
Following his gaze, Cho Hong caught sight of a young man beneath a massive tree, thrusting and slashing a spear into empty air, weaving through a dozen rolling logs that hurtled at him from all directions.
“Already putting him through that?”
“Stay quiet.”
Jang Maldong, arms crossed, tapped his forearm with his index finger.
“Impressive.”
As Seol Jihoo dodged better than expected, Cho Hong gasped in admiration.
“How many was that?”
“Over a hundred.”
Cho Hong watched with leisurely ease at first, but not for long. After he surpassed two hundred dodges and succeeded in evading three hundred, she couldn’t help but be astonished.
“This is his first training, isn’t it?”
The moment she asked, Seol Jihoo collapsed. By cruel chance, logs came at him from all directions in staggered timing, and miscalculating the sequence, he failed to dodge the final one, taking a hit to his ribs.
Jang Maldong’s index finger stopped moving.
“Three hundred and twelve.”
The corners of his weathered mouth curled upward in satisfaction.
“He broke through three hundred after all. A new record.”
Cho Hong let out a sharp whistle.
“Impressive. Though my personal best is one thousand and eight.”
“That was only once, though.”
“A record’s still a record.”
“True enough. Though it took me over a year to break the thousand mark.”
“…Tch.”
Cho Hong turned her head away. Jang Maldong, who had been smiling as he watched Seol Jihoo beat the ground in frustration, soon averted his gaze and looked at her instead.
“What’s the urgent matter?”
“More than one thing. There’s also a major incident, and then…”
“Speak.”
“I’ll tell you on the way. The driver is incredibly anxious.”
“Worried we’ll put him through more training, is he?”
“That’s not it! Anyway, we need to hurry.”
Cho Hong, visibly irritated, descended the hill swiftly and vanished from sight. With a light chuckle, Jang Maldong called an end to training, and both Seol Jihoo and Hugo immediately fell into line.
Since the luggage was already packed that morning, there wasn’t much time needed before departure.
“Right then.”
Seol Jihoo, shouldering his pack, glanced back over his shoulder. Seeing the cave where he’d eaten and slept for a month, bittersweet emotion crossed his face.
‘I can always come back.’
He turned around with a light smile.

The carriage carrying the four of them began racing toward Haramag at full speed.
“What exactly is this major incident?”
Once the pace steadied, Jang Maldong asked. Cho Hong, who had been grumbling about the sweat smell radiating from Seol Jihoo and Hugo, spat out the side of the carriage and spoke.
“Well, first—hundreds of residents from Raman Village have relocated to the city.”
“Is that so?”
Jang Maldong, who harbored sympathy, compassion, and some sense of obligation toward Paradise, showed interest.
“True enough. It should’ve happened sooner. Given its proximity to the border region… though there must have been complaints. Housing allocation alone should’ve been an issue.”
“It wasn’t as major a problem as expected.”
“No problems? There’s no way the land speculators here would sit idle.”
“When the landowners offered up their property, what choice was there? Besides, the Haramag Royal Family itself volunteered to allocate half their reserves. More than that, Rushuria Temple publicly endorsed the Haramag Royal Family’s decision.”
“Rushuria Temple?”
Jang Maldong, who had been regarding the young man beside him warmly, expressed surprise.
“It wasn’t just words either—they pledged to aid the relocation with all their resources.”
Cho Hong continued.
“In fact, only days after the declaration, the Daughter of Rushuria appeared in Haramag.”
“What?”
Jang Maldong’s eyes went wide as saucers. Hugo’s jaw dropped too, and he made a sound like his breath had been knocked out of him.
“The leader herself? No—did she herself make the endorsement declaration?”
“Hey. Did you see? Did you?”
When Jang Maldong and Hugo asked simultaneously, Cho Hong cleared her throat.
“The declaration was made by Rushuria Temple’s headquarters, but most people think she was the one behind it. I do too.”
“Makes sense. Hasn’t she saved Paradise from crisis more than once? She must’ve put her weight behind the relocation to prevent any gossip.”
Jang Maldong even used an honorific as he mused aloud. Though they had no direct connection, he’d heard rumors of her deeds at one point and had grown quite fond of her from afar.
“If it’s her, it would make sense. She probably came to Haramag to directly aid the relocation effort.”
“And here’s where the major incident comes in.”
Cho Hong paused for effect, drawing things out. Jang Maldong furrowed his brow.
“Come on, don’t keep us in suspense. Spill it already!”
“I’m telling you, I saw it!”
Hugo let out a sharp cry as well. Cho Hong giggled.
“You know that building construction going on in front of our office?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah, things did change.”
“The owner of that building is the Daughter of Rushuria.”
“…What, what?”
“Pretty shocking, right? That woman moved in right next to us?”
“For real?”
When Jang Maldong’s eyes lit up with frank disbelief, Cho Hong bounced in her seat.
“You got fooled! I saw her tending the flower beds with my own eyes just this morning!”
Her reaction didn’t sound like a lie.
“Anyway, these past few days have been absolute chaos. Swarms of people have been showing up constantly.”
“Hm… I wonder what brought her to Haramag…”
Jang Maldong leaned his back against the wooden chair, clearly puzzled.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“This is definitely a major development.”
“More like a bragging point—neighbors with the Daughter of Rushuria, no less.”
“Spare us the nonsense. What about Kazuki?”
“He’s taking quite a beating right now.”
Cho Hong clicked her tongue.
“He seems to be making all-out efforts, but it does look like there’s outside interference happening.”
Jang Maldong’s brow furrowed.
“You could’ve helped him out.”
“I’d love to, but you know—without priests or warriors, I’m useless. I don’t have any priest connections.”
When Cho Hong shrugged, Jang Maldong’s expression darkened.
“Damn. Gyeongdanryeon’s really…”
“That’s just how Tsuyoshi Yuuki is. Give it time. We’ve still got plenty of days left, and I don’t think Kazuki will sit idle either.”
The conversation ended there, as Jang Maldong fell silent and wore the look of someone lost in deep thought.
Cho Hong, who had been stretching hard just moments before, quietly leaned toward Seol Jihoo, who had been staring blankly into empty space.
“Hey.”
“…Yeah?”
“Checking your Status Window? How’s it looking? Any progress?”
True to Cho Hong’s words, Seol Jihoo was absorbed in examining his Status Window.
“Well…”

[Personal Status Window]
[1. Information]
Summoning Date · Month · Day: 2017. 03. 16
Mark Grade: Gold
Gender · Age: Male · 26
Height · Weight: 180.5cm · 70.2kg
Condition: Stable
Class: LV 3. Mana Spear Master
Nationality: Republic of Korea (Area 1)
Organization: Carpe Diem
Aliases: Chief, First Star, Dead Weight, Crybaby, Troublemaker, Training Enthusiast

[2. Traits]
①Temperament
Self-mastery (suppressing emotion, desire, and impulse through rational will), Perseverance (deep-rooted nature of enduring pain and hardship), Quick-tempered (prone to hasty reaction)
②Aptitude
Diligence (exhausting body and mind to achieve a purpose), Ordinariness (lacking distinction or particularity in any notable way)

[3. Physical Grade]
Strength: Middle-Low ↑1
Endurance: Low-Middle
Agility: Middle-Low
Stamina: Middle-Low ↑1
Mana: Middle-High
Luck: Medium-Low
Remaining Physical Grade points: 6.

[4. Abilities]
①Innate Abilities (2)
Future Consciousness (Unranked)
Nine Eyes (Unranked)
②Job Abilities (4)
Basic Spear Technique: Thrust (Advanced), Parry (High-Intermediate), Sweep (High-Intermediate)
Mana Thrown Spear Barrage (Low-Intermediate)
Aura (Intermediate)
Qi Circulation Technique (High-Intermediate)
③Other Abilities (2)
Reinforcement Circuit (Advanced)
Intuition (Low)

[5. Consciousness Level]
Prudent (thoughts and actions are rational and sound) / Driven / Chaotic (tangled and incomprehensible)

“You had some growth?”
When Cho Hong asked again, Seol Jihoo slowly smiled while stroking his stubbled chin.
“A bit. I wouldn’t be embarrassed calling myself Level 3 somewhere else.”
Cho Hong countered that no one would ever call him Level 3, but Seol Jihoo merely smiled quietly in response.
If he spoke his mind, it wasn’t half bad. First, raising his Physical Grade from Low to Medium required 2 points, so he’d gained 4 points total.
His abilities had also developed remarkably. Acquiring Intuition in particular was one of the greatest achievements of that hellish training. Though his proficiency was low, the mere fact of having learned it filled him with satisfaction.
‘A foundation to correct my mind-spirit…’
That was when it struck him—while absorbed in Physical Grade and characteristics, he suddenly noticed his epithet had grown longer.
Tilting his head in confusion, Seol Jihoo opened the detailed information and

[First Star: Foremost of the three New Stars from the Neutral Zone in March 2017]

“Oh.”
He let out a small exclamation, then

[Troublemaker: One who causes others great distress]

could not hide his bewilderment.

[Crybaby: A child who weeps at the slightest provocation]
[Prankster: A thoughtless child given to mischief]
[Training Fanatic: One obsessed with training]

‘What?’

Well, the crybaby, prankster, and training fanatic—he could accept those.
‘Troublemaker?’
But troublemaker barely resonated with him at all.
‘Who was it? Who gave me that?’
As Seol Jihoo cycled through suspects one by one, it suddenly struck him. Something he’d completely forgotten flashed into his mind.
‘I almost missed it.’
The silver lining was that it wasn’t too late yet. Having aged a decade in an instant, Seol Jihoo resolved firmly that he’d handle it the moment he returned to Haramag.

Seven days remained until the Gate opened.
As all of Haramag hummed with anticipation, Seol Jihoo too had to move swiftly upon his return.
First, since he knew almost nothing about banquets, he needed to gather basic information. It would be simple enough to ask someone, but he decided to make time for the library instead. He wanted to cultivate the habit of learning things on his own.
Moreover, procuring armor was an urgent matter. The rescue operation had left his armor, protective gear, and boots all unusable.
‘I can’t just buy anything.’
He could handle it in a day at the blacksmiths in Haramag, but having sharpened his eye on Ice Spears and accessories like earrings and bracelets, Seol Jihoo wanted to acquire equipment of higher quality.
‘And it’s not like I lack funds.’
It was common sense that a warrior needed quality gauntlets. This was as good a time as any to outfit himself entirely anew.
But no matter what, the most urgent matter to address was,
– Hey. So you’ve become human after all?
getting in touch with Kim Hanna.
“Ha ha.”
– That’s funny. Honestly, I figured it was one of two things. Either you’d forgotten again, or you weren’t going to participate.
Beyond the crystal, Kim Hanna leaned back in her chair with a yawn wide enough to split her face, her arms draped limply at her sides and one leg propped casually on the desk—a posture that looked remarkably comfortable.
– But since I decided to trust you, I figured the latter was more likely.
Seol Jihoo felt a pang of guilt.
– So you’ve been restraining yourself, have you? I thought that was commendable, but…?
Kim Hanna’s murmuring voice suddenly rose.
– Hey. What’s wrong with your face?
“My face?”
Seol Jihoo touched his cheek.
– You didn’t even trim your beard. Did you spend a few months living in the mountains or something?
Only then did Seol Jihoo realize his appearance was a complete mess.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Bang.
The moment he was about to explain, the sound of the door opening cut him off.
“Seol-ah. Are you here?”
In that instant, Kim Hanna’s face drained of color, but Seol Jihoo was turning around and didn’t see it.
“Sir?”
Jang Maldong paused as he stepped inside.
“Are you in the middle of a call? I’ll come back later.”
“Oh. No, it’s fine. Just a moment, please.”
And when Seol Jihoo turned back to the crystal.
“?”
He found himself leaning his face closer to it almost unconsciously.
The hairstyle, the clothes, the posture….
‘Wait, what?’
There were any number of things he wanted to point out. Yet for some reason, he couldn’t find his voice.
– So that’s it. You want to participate in the Banquet….
Her previously tousled hair had been neatly bound into a sleek ponytail. Seol Jihoo stared at it blankly, then rubbed his eyes with his clenched fists.
– What’s wrong? Are your eyes bothering you?
A gentle tone of voice? Was Kim Hanna’s voice always this gentle?
“Mm.”
While Seol Jihoo struggled with confusion, Jang Maldong let out a small cough.
– My.
Kim Hanna’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s, and she covered her mouth with an elegant gesture.
– Who… might that be?
“…….”
Seol Jihoo was at a loss for words.

(To be continued in the next installment)

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