The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 65

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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 65. The Only Job

Seol Jihoo came to when the sun was high in the sky. Even as awareness crept back, his eyes refused to open—partly because of the dull throb behind his eyes, partly because a dreamy haze still clung to his thoughts.
Fragments of memory flickered through his mind: that tavern work as a porter, the Forest of Negation, the restless dead in the tomb, Samuel and Alex’s deaths, Aden Gorge Fortress, Teresa, Ian, and….
He exhaled slowly, feeling as though he were waking from a long dream. When he finally opened his eyes, sunlight flooded an unfamiliar room—white walls cracked in places, and a bed he’d never seen before.
‘Right.’
The confusion dissolved. They’d welcomed him to the team with rounds of drinks that had made the memory blur out, and someone must have carried him to this room.
The important thing was that he’d joined Carpe Diem. As the only Golden Law team in Haramag, there was no containing his joy.
Seol Jihoo sat up sharply and threw the window open, hoping to enjoy the view of Haramag on a fresh breeze—but he grimaced at the stench drifting up.
He was a sight. Nearly three weeks out on expeditions had left him unwashed and filthy.
Spotting a bathroom and shower attached to the room, he stripped off his clothes without hesitation.

After scrubbing every inch of himself in cold water, he felt refreshed at last.
Once he’d changed into plain clothes and returned to the hallway, he realized the third floor was empty.
He made his way down to the first floor and finally recognized a familiar face—Cho Hong, dressed as she had been the first time he saw her in a sleeveless top and hot pants, was dripping with sweat mid-workout.
When he stepped in carefully, Cho Hong, her long hair bound tightly back, hung from an iron bar and glanced over.
“Oh, you’re up.”
“Just now. What about you?”
“This morning. I thought we could grab some food to shake off the hangover, but you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you.”
Now that he thought about it, there had been two beds in the room—one must have been hers.
“Let’s get some food together then.”
“Food? The best cure for a hangover is exercise. Anyway, your alcohol tolerance is terrible, huh? You went down like a light.”
“…….”
“Don’t worry. You didn’t make a scene or anything. You just fell asleep quietly.”
Cho Hong laughed and returned to her pull-ups. Each time her chest neared the bar, the muscles along her glistening back became sharply defined, and Seol Jihoo found himself captivated by the sight.
Building muscle on a female frame wasn’t easy—she must have put in extraordinary effort. The more he watched, the more he found himself thinking it was both impressive and beautiful.
Without a hint of strain, Cho Hong completed fifty more repetitions, then released the bar and steadied her breathing.
Seol Jihoo looked around with eager interest. Whoever had built this facility, it was excellent. Apparently the entire first floor served as training space, along with areas behind the building and the basement.
‘What should I start with?’
“Let’s head up. It’s getting close to that time anyway.”
“Huh?”
Her sudden words hit him like thunder. Seol Jihoo turned with a reluctant expression. Cho Hong drained her water bottle in long gulps, then let out a breath.
“Dylan said he’d be here by lunchtime at the latest.”
“I don’t see him.”
“He’ll be here soon. Dylan never breaks his word.”
Cho Hong dried her neck with a towel and opened the door.
Seol Jihoo cast a reluctant glance back at the training room, then turned to follow.

Just as Cho Hong had said, the two of them returned to the office while she was showering. Dylan carried a large pack over his shoulder, and Hugo held a long bundle wrapped in blue cloth with his characteristic easy smile.
When Dylan saw Seol Jihoo rise from the sofa, he spoke.
“Oh, Seol. You’re awake.”
“Yes. Just a few minutes ago. Where have you been?”
“According to Ian’s way of putting it, we went to pick up some quail eggs.”
“Quail eggs?”
Dylan sat down on the sofa without answering, fumbling in his pocket. He pulled out a blank expression, then smiled and tossed Seol Jihoo a pack of cigarettes.
“Damn, thanks. Next time I go back to Earth, I’m bringing a truck load of these.”
“Heh. I actually like these cigarettes more than I expected.”
Hugo pilfered one as well, slipping it smoothly from the pack.
“You made it?”
Cho Hong, fresh from the shower with a towel draped over her shoulders, came out and dropped down next to Seol Jihoo.
“You’re late. I thought you’d be here sooner.”
“Couldn’t be helped. Had two places to stop by.”
“We know, so get it out already. Don’t keep us in suspense.”
Cho Hong rubbed her palms together with glee. That was when Seol Jihoo realized it was time to distribute the rewards.
“All right. First off….”
Dylan pulled out a heavy pouch and set it down with a satisfying clink.
“Combined rewards for the Forest of Negation reconnaissance and combat participation come to eight hundred fifty silver coins. Samuel’s team was wiped out so they’re excluded, and splitting among the rest of us including Ian gives each person one hundred seventy silver coins.”
“Wow!”
Cho Hong sprang up from the sofa, crouching on it with exaggerated excitement.
“Is this real? Tell me this is real!”
“The Royal House of Haramag is generous with rewards, but this time they added a bit more.”
“Ah! That princess sure knows how to spend, I’ll give her that!”
“And.”
Dylan produced another small pouch.
“Compensation from Sicily. Clean and simple—one hundred silver coins per person, just as originally contracted.”
“Two hundred seventy silver coins!”
Cho Hong clenched both fists and cheered.
Seol Jihoo, by contrast, wore a lukewarm expression. Kim Hanna had given him one hundred silver coins from the start, so he had no real sense of what two hundred seventy silver coins was worth.
‘They said copper coins and silver coins are the main currency, didn’t they.’
That said, Kim Hanna—who handed out allowances in the hundreds of millions—wouldn’t have given him too little.
In any case, two hundred seventy silver coins converted to copper coins came to two hundred seventy thousand copper coins. He resolved to ask later how much value a single silver coin held, and quietly accepted the money pouch Dylan offered him.
“Shall we get down to the real game?”
Dylan carefully withdrew burial goods from his bag. There were ten items total from the tomb. Cho Hong, who had been drooling at the sight of them, suddenly remembered something.
“What about that old geezer?”
“If you mean Ian, he said he’d pick first and just wanted the remaining two pieces.”
“Huh. A mage showing restraint. That’s something.”
“He’s royal staff, so money probably isn’t exactly tight for him.”
Dylan picked up one of the burial goods—an ornament carved from jewels in the shape of a tree. Browns, deep reds, and jade greens intertwined in a display of brilliance. What really commanded attention was the fruit carved at the very top, small as a thumbnail, which gleamed with a subtle golden light.
“You each get to pick two, but personally, I’d like this one to go to Seol.”
Dylan glanced between them as if seeking approval. Cho Hong let out a sigh.
“Well, he contributed the most. I’m for it.”
“Me too!”
Hugo nodded his assent. Dylan separated the gold from the carved jewel without ceremony and handed it to the young man.
“Congratulations.”
He accepted it, but Seol Jihoo felt awkward. Dylan, reading his expression, shook his head.
“No need to feel burdened. On the expedition or in combat, we’d all be dead without you.”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
“Oh, I separated the pieces without thinking about it, but let me give you some advice: selling the gold and jewels separately will always be better. Actually, if possible, you should hold onto them.”
“That’s got to be worth at least half a gold coin, right?”
Hugo gazed at it with obvious envy.
Seol Jihoo tilted his head, studying the gold. The piece seemed to be the most valuable of all the burial goods. But if it was that precious, why didn’t anyone bring it from Earth?
‘There must be a reason.’
Making a mental note to ask about it later, Seol Jihoo threw himself into the distribution.
Before long, the burial goods had been divided. Beyond what he’d already received, he was able to claim one more item—an ornament carved into the shape of a flower, glinting with five colors of jewels.
Hugo took Khan’s halberd in the bargain, while Dylan and Cho Hong agreed to split the remaining items equally. Cho Hong and Hugo in particular couldn’t stop smiling, thoroughly satisfied with their haul.
“Now we just need to hand over the last item.”
Dylan produced one more thing, just when they thought they were finished. It was the object wrapped in blue cloth that Hugo had brought.
“Seol. This one’s yours.”
“?”
“Princess Teresa Hasse asked me to pass it on. For the hero who protected Aden Gorge Fortress. She’s asking that you please accept it.”
“Crazy woman.”
Cho Hong rubbed her arms as if chilled. When Seol Jihoo unwrapped the cloth as if entranced, a spear spanning nearly two meters came into view. He stared at it with vacant eyes.
The long, sleek shaft gleamed with a bluish hue, while the keen blade exhaled a white, frigid chill. The overall form was simple and unpretentious, yet somehow captivating. It looked as though ice itself had been tempered into the shape of a spear.
The moment he gripped it lightly, a cold sensation enveloped his hand, though it quickly settled into familiarity. A crisp, refreshing energy flooded through his entire body, cool enough to clear even his mind.
“Wow….”
Dylan held out a sheet of paper, saying it was the appraisal report, but he had no mind to look at it yet.
“Damn! This is a magic spear, isn’t it?”
Cho Hong’s eyes widened as she read the appraisal report.
“It’s got Freezing magic on it, apparently. Minor details aside, it also has a mental purification effect.”
“What’s gotten into the princess? Isn’t this too much?”
“Seol seems to have really impressed her. She even grumbled about why he hadn’t come along.”
“Even so. A weapon with two spells cast on it….”
Cho Hong muttered while tilting her chin, and Dylan gave a small shrug.
“Well, thanks to Seol, the kingdom’s elite soldiers were preserved. She’s probably grateful for that.”
“Lucky bastard. You won’t have to worry about gearing up until level four.”
“Don’t covet what belongs to others, Cho Hong. Are you going to sell your burial goods?”
“Of course I am!”
Cho Hong regained her spirits and called out immediately.
“I’ll sell high. Whatever it takes, I’m selling dear.”
Hugo’s resolve burned brighter still.
“Then we’d do better heading to Scheherazade. The auction house there is superior.”
Dylan chuckled as if he’d expected exactly that, then turned his gaze elsewhere. Seol Jihoo remained motionless, his attention still fixed entirely on the spear.
“Jihoo?”
……
“Jihoo!”
“Ah, yes?”
Seol Jihoo blinked, his mind finally catching up to the present.
“What are you going to do? You’ve got the Burial Goods and the Proof of Purity, don’t you?”
“Oh.”
Seol Jihoo collected his thoughts and pointed to the Jeweled Tree Ornament.
“I’ll sell just this. Everything else I’d like to keep.”
“A wise choice.”
Dylan nodded approvingly. The Proof of Purity was priest-exclusive equipment, and if Seol Jihoo had suggested selling it, Dylan would have argued against it without hesitation. It was far too valuable to part with.
“And there’s nothing else you need to deposit? Nothing beyond what’s here?”
“Well, there is something…”
The Seonak and the Sacred Mark. He couldn’t use them immediately, but these two items were the greatest treasures Seol Jihoo had to guard with his very life.
“Fine. Cho Hong and Hugo, get ready. Jihoo, bring everything with you.”
“Bring everything?”
Dylan answered Seol Jihoo’s question calmly.
“We’re going somewhere.”

The place Dylan mentioned was the Temple.
Haramag earned its nickname as Crime City for good reason—you never knew what might happen or when. The safest course was to leave valuables in the Temple’s care, Dylan explained. Seol Jihoo, finding the logic sound, asked no further questions and shouldered his bag.
Though depositing items wasn’t their only purpose in going.
“How exactly do you raise your Level?”
Dylan shook his head at Seol Jihoo’s question.
“You don’t raise your Level—the divine judges it.”
“Judges… like how a Class is determined?”
“Exactly. It depends on what experiences you’ve accumulated, and how significantly you’ve contributed. Those factors matter.”
Dylan continued.
“That said, the speed at which people level up varies wildly. But you…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “You’re such an Irregular, I honestly have no idea.”
“I wish I could jump straight to Level 3.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. As a Porter, you’d need to join twenty Expeditions just to scrape by at Level 2.”
Dylan chuckled, then suddenly stopped walking.
“So where should we go?”
“To the Temple?”
“Right. Though up to Level 4, it barely matters where you go.”
“Could we go to the Temple of Gulla, perhaps?”
Seol Jihoo posed the question as though he’d been waiting for the chance.
“Gulla, hm. She’s one of the gods who watches over warriors, so that works. Let’s go.”
“There are others besides Gulla?”
“There are. Ira is another god overseeing warriors. When you reach higher ranks, you’ll have to choose between Gulla and Ira.”
“Who did you choose, Dylan?”
“Superbia. Archers don’t get a choice, unfortunately.”
As they continued their conversation, the Temple of Gulla came into view.
The moment they stepped inside, Seol Jihoo deposited his items in a locker. Being Level 1, he could use the service for free—he wondered now why he hadn’t come sooner.
When he’d left for Earth, he’d returned a key and received a slip of paper; this time, he simply wrote his name and was done.
“I’ll wait outside. Go ahead.”
Dylan walked toward the entrance, and Seol Jihoo proceeded inward alone. As he walked through the darkened hall, he felt his anxiety mounting.
His thoughts had changed since then, but the reason he’d first decided to enter Paradise was a dream. And the thing he remembered most vividly from that dream was the god called Gulla.
Like the Temple of Lusuria before it, this hall was dark and silent.
Soon Seol Jihoo spotted a colossal ashen statue and stopped. Around it stood perhaps a dozen Earthians, all with their heads bowed and eyes closed.
The statue showed a woman in a simple robe, her face hidden beneath a hood. Seol Jihoo gazed at it intently, then slowly closed his eyes and bowed his head.
[Come closer to me, my child.]
Suddenly a warm voice resonated through his mind.
Though he’d experienced it once before, Seol Jihoo’s eyes snapped open in surprise. As he hesitantly approached the statue, he heard what seemed to be Gulla laughing softly.
“I…”
[There is no need to open your mouth. I can read your thoughts.]
Seol Jihoo sensed that he’d heard something like this before, and closed his eyes once more.
Silence stretched across a considerable span of time. Was he nervous? He had mountains of things he wanted to ask, yet the words wouldn’t come easily to his lips.
[Hehe, hehehehe.]
Whatever amused her so, Gulla continued to laugh.
[You’re doing well. Thanks to you, I’m truly experiencing interest for the first time in ages.]
It was praise that came out of nowhere.
[Stopping that man Kang Seok and saving Aden Gorge Fortress—those were the right choices. Even if they seem small now, their consequences cannot be dismissed as insignificant.]
So she was speaking of the Butterfly Effect. Seol Jihoo realized that this goddess called Gulla must see through everything he’d done.
[But it is insufficient.]
‘What do you mean?’
[Child, the future does not change easily. A salmon can swim upstream against the current, but it cannot swim against the sea itself.]
Seol Jihoo, confused by this cryptic utterance, decided to focus his thoughts.
‘I have something I’m curious about.’
[Of course you do.]
Gulla acknowledged him quietly.
[But most of it cannot be answered now.]
‘Why is that…?’
[The reason is simple. First, your qualifications fall far short. Second….]
Rarely, Gulla hesitated,
[the words I just spoke to you—they were not necessary for you to hear at this moment.]
and continued gently.
It seemed she would end the exchange there, so Seol Jihoo spoke up quickly.
‘Gulla. May I ask a question?’
[If it concerns the dream, I cannot permit it.]
Gulla refused flatly, as if she already knew. Seol Jihoo’s face fell.
‘That’s too much.’
[Did I not say so?]
Suddenly, he felt a soft touch caressing the crown of his head.
[I understand your curiosity. But that information cannot be disclosed to you now, nor do you need to know it.]
‘Does that mean you’ll tell me once I’m qualified?’
[If you wish it.]
‘I don’t understand what qualifications you’re referring to.’
[When the star shines again.]
Gulla spoke clearly.
[For a star of destiny once dulled to regain its light is an impossible feat without extraordinary effort. Work hard.]
To Seol Jihoo, these words were utterly incomprehensible.
‘I don’t understand. Then can you at least tell me about the Golden Seal?’
[A little, perhaps.]
Gulla answered readily.
[You were able to receive the Golden Seal because a residue remained from a transaction that included the Royal Covenant.]
‘The Royal Covenant?’
[Enough. That is all. I do not wish to burden you with anything more.]
Gulla said no more after that.
Seol Jihoo grumbled inwardly. It had felt like a riddle-game, grasping at clouds. But the thought of being scolded if he pressed further kept him silent.
[You’ve complained enough. Now let me assess your Level.]
‘…Yes.’
[Hmm. Let me see. It’s hardly fitting to evaluate your current state as merely a Level 1 Warrior.]
Seol Jihoo’s ears perked up.
[By the proper reckoning, you might even be ready to skip Level 2 and advance to Level 3 Lancer.]
‘Is that truly possible?’
He’d thought as much, but could he really jump to Level 3 all at once?
[If you wish it, I can update your status immediately.]
‘I wish it.’
[However.]
Before he could even finish, Gulla cut him off.
[I intend to give you two additional options.]
‘?’
[It seems your tactical use of mana during combat is quite considerable.]
That was true. In fact, the reason he’d performed beyond Level 1 capability was thanks to his anomalous mana reserves.
[So I’ve given it thought, and wondered if updating you to Level 2 Mana Lancer might be better. That was my conclusion. Your mana is too precious to waste on the path everyone else walks.]
‘A mana Lancer… is that so? But even focusing on one well leaves you falling short.’
[Magic Lancer has been discussed before. Rare, perhaps, but not without precedent. What I speak of, however, is a mana Lancer.]
Gulla corrected herself.
[Ordinarily, the standard path leads through Level 2 Spear Master to Level 3 Lancer. Most spear-wielders follow this progression, and it remains the most common route.]
Choosing this path would elevate you directly to Level 3.
[Magic Lancer is not without merit. Given your foundational mana reserves, you might manage two wells simultaneously. But pursuing both roads at once means Level 2 would be your ceiling with your current experience.]
Combining magic has its appeal. You nearly became a Mage in the Neutral Zone, did you not?
[Similarly, the mana Lancer path would cap you at Level 2. This is a Class no one has yet walked—a singular, untrodden way.]
The mana Lancer, forged with Seol Jihoo’s uniqueness in mind. Yet you must not forget the burden of being a pioneer.
[Ordinarily, we would decide this for you. But we have chosen to honor the will you yourself expressed in the Awakening Chamber, when you requested the path of the warrior.]
Gulla’s voice lowered.
[So choose, then.]
And so the moment came.
[Which path will you walk?]
A three-way choice stood before him.

(To be continued)

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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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