Chapter 113 - After Ice, Pearls
We succeeded in obtaining the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence in Japan and absorbing it into Arin.
We were able to succeed without much difficulty. That’s fortunate.
‘The difficulty of obtaining the future divine medicines wasn’t that high either. Except for a few.’
The difficulty of obtaining the divine medicines I saw wasn’t that high. Most of them were like that.
However, there’s a place where several of those divine medicines are gathered… I think it won’t be easy to obtain divine medicines there.
Because that place is… another transcendent’s domain. And it’s a transcendent who doesn’t interact much with the world, like the Great Khan used to be.
‘But it will take more time before we get there… so I can think about that later.’
Since it’s expected to be far away and difficult, we plan to visit that place last, so there’s no need to worry about it now.
For now, I should think about the divine medicines that are nearby first.
‘Fortunately, quite a few of the things we need are gathered in Asia?’
Maybe because the names of the divine medicines all have an Oriental feel, quite a few of them were in Asia.
And in Asia… how should I put it, even though I don’t want to think about it deeply, my influence is quite significant…
Isn’t that right? With all these S-rank superhumans gathered around me, and being very close to transcendents based in Asia like Dokma and the Great Khan.
‘Come to think of it… I could just ask them to bring it for me??’
You know, there’s one divine medicine we need to find in Kazakhstan next to Mongolia, and it seems perfect to ask the Great Khan for that one.
There’s one in China too… but since I made a promise with Wei Zhiying, it might be better to go find that one myself…
Then, what’s the next divine medicine we’ll go look for?
It’s the pearl of the Ten Thousand Year Great Shell.
As you might have guessed from the word pearl, this pearl of the Ten Thousand Year Great Shell exists inside an extremely large shell.
In martial arts novels, when you kill some spiritual beast, there’s something like an inner core inside, right? This pearl is that kind of thing.
It’s a precious item among precious items, the essence of power accumulated over the years by a giant shell that has lived long enough to be called the Ten Thousand Year Great Shell.
It contains the power of water and cold air, and its ability surpasses even the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence that Arin just ate.
As such an item, finding it won’t be easy.
To begin with, the place where this Ten Thousand Year Great Shell lives isn’t just on land, but in the sea. And in the deep sea at that.
It’s said to be living and breathing somewhere at the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia up north. We need to go into the sea, find it, subdue this spiritual creature called the Ten Thousand Year Great Shell, and then we can obtain its pearl.
‘I heard it’s quite deep there. Is the water depth over 3000 meters? From what I looked up, it’s shallower than the East Sea but deeper than the Yellow Sea.’
And besides that… the name Sea of Okhotsk should be familiar to Koreans.
It’s because one of the four air masses that affect our country, which we learn about in school, the Okhotsk air mass, originates from this Sea of Okhotsk.
They say it’s also a place where a lot of pollock is caught.
Anyway, we need to go there and catch a super-giant shell sleeping peacefully in the sea… so we’ll need an expert’s help again, right?
There is someone I know, right? A super-strong person who’s said to be unrivaled among S-ranks when it comes to the sea.
One of the Sea Kings and the strongest superhuman in Korea.
S-rank superhuman, Sea Dragon King Wi Jin-taek.
If we need to go to the sea to obtain a divine medicine, wouldn’t he be the most reliable among the superhumans I know?
‘Well, I’ll have to make a phone call and ask first…’
I’ll make the call when I go out.
For now, it would be proper to thank Masanari first for helping us obtain the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence, right?
“Oh, thank you so much for today, Mr. Masanari.”
“Haha! It’s nothing! I didn’t do anything!”
Even though it could be seen as a situation where a divine medicine that could bring significant growth even to an S-rank superhuman disappeared right before his eyes, he didn’t seem to mind much.
“Rather, I had an interesting experience!”
“I’m glad you think so. Thanks to you, we were able to stay comfortably.”
“You said you had many things to obtain, right? Are you planning to leave right away?”
“Yes. I’m planning to think as we move.”
“Then we should say goodbye here! It’s a shame! Shoji-san wanted to meet you too!”
“Hahaha…”
As Masanari extended his hand, I laughed and grasped it.
“We’re planning to stay here a bit longer and go on a date!”
“Haha, I hope you have a good time?”
“And if we become closer later… I might come to see you for an auspicious day! That’s a service for acquaintances, right?”
“Oh, of course~. You’re always welcome, Mr. Masanari.”
My goodness, he really seems to like her. What’s this about coming to see an auspicious day… Is he already thinking about marriage? They’re moving fast…
Anyway, after saying goodbye to Masanari and his lover Koharu, we parted ways.
“Is it because we came out from there, or because we absorbed the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence…”
It feels like the temperature has risen a bit. Quite warm?
“Ah, and Soha… what do you want to do? The matter with the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence is over.”
“If it’s not rude, I’d like to continue tagging along. The experiences we’ll have from now on seem quite interesting too.”
“Is that okay?”
“Thanks to Teacher Hanul, there’s nothing particularly special to do in Korea. Since an appropriate balance has been achieved, there’s nothing urgent for me to handle. I’ve already taken care of what needed to be done. So there’s no problem.”
“Oh… if you’re okay with it, I welcome it.”
Who wouldn’t welcome the addition of another S-rank force?
Still, it’s fortunate that he’s staying of his own accord. I thought Soha’s power of handling cold air might be quite necessary if we can’t recruit Wi Jin-taek.
“By the way, where are we moving to now?”
“For now… Russia. There’s a target near the Sea of Okhotsk.”
“Okhotsk… you mean near Sakhalin? The place where our sisters and teacher first met.”
Oh, come to think of it, that’s right. We first met the Lee Suyeon and Lee Sujin sisters somewhere in Sakhalin.
At the same time, it was also the beginning of a brief connection with the now-dead cult leader Icardi Marduk.
Hmm, when I first met him, he was quite shocking and terrifying… but now that feeling has quite diluted.
It’s probably because I’ve met several stronger ones since then? The most decisive one would be Aria, who made an even more shocking entrance by bringing the cult leader’s head…
“Anyway, before we go, I need to make a phone call first.”
It’s not like we’re stirring up the ocean, but we still need to turn over a sea to find it. As such, wouldn’t it be better to recruit a superhuman known as the king of the sea if we have one as an acquaintance?
Therefore, I immediately called Wi Jin-taek. We’ve been keeping in touch regularly.
“Hello? Brother Wi Jin-taek?”
[Is that Hanul! It’s been a while!]
“Is it possible to talk now, brother?”
We’ve been in touch and met a few times, so we’ve become close enough to call each other brother…
Looking at it this way, I might be quite a networking king too?
[If it’s your call, Hanul, I should make time even if I don’t have any! It’s a call from the great fortune-teller who gets everything right! Uhahaha!!]
Haha, he’s still as cheerful as ever.
“Actually, there’s something I need to find near the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia, and I was wondering if I could get some help. Is that possible?”
[It’s a request from my lifesaver, of course I should accept this much! But Okhotsk? What are you trying to find there?]
The occasional Jeju dialect still pops out too.
“There’s a… terrifyingly large shell called the Ten Thousand Year Great Shell there? I need the pearl inside it! It’s an amazing divine medicine!”
[Divine medicine? Are you going to eat it, Hanul?]
“No, not that, it’s for my crystal ball?”
[Ah, you mean that crystal ball called Arin?? I see… Alright! Of course I should accept this much! By the way, where are you? We should meet first.]
“Ah, we’re in Japan now. The location is…”
After I told him the location, Brother Jin-taek said to wait by the seaside there.
[Rather than bothering with boats or planes, it’ll be faster if I move you! Anyway, wait outside! I’ll be there soon!]
“Alright. Then I’ll see you soon, brother!”
I succeeded in recruiting the Sea Dragon King more easily than I thought!
“It seems to have gone well?”
“Yeah. Brother Jin-taek says he’ll be here soon? He told us to wait by the seaside.”
“Nyaha! The Sea Dragon King! The work will become quite easy!”
“Right? There are extremely few superhumans who can match brother in the sea.”
Anyway, since this city is not too far from the seaside… we should move quickly.
“I don’t know where brother was, but he’ll be here soon… let’s hurry!”
So we quickly packed our things and hurried to the nearby coast, and sure enough, befitting one of the Sea Kings, brother appeared in an instant.
[Little brother! I’m here! Uhahaha!!]
He made a grand entrance, leaping up as if ascending to heaven in the form of a dragon made of seawater.
As expected of Sea Dragon King Brother Wi Jin-taek… even his entrance is extraordinary!