SSS-Class Revival Hunter-Chapter 195: Unintentional (3)

We were ready to enter the next floor. In the last stage, everyone completed their quest, so it was difficult to determine who deserved to be eliminated. However, one of my colleagues volunteered to step back from the competition.

“If you have to pick one person, let it be me.”

The person who raised her hand was the Paladin. I wondered if that was even necessary, but she shook her head.

“It’s okay. I need to go down the first floor to create the Black Paladin King anyway. I don’t feel comfortable being away from the Watchmen League for long too. And since I mentioned that... I don’t really want the Fingills to be the dominating species of the continent. It’ll be enough if they can earn a living for themselves.”

Typical of the Paladin, who donated most of the money she earned to orphanages.

The Black Witch seemed to know something more. “Hmm. Is that really the only reason?”

“What are you talking about?”

The Black Witch was as smug as a cat sitting by a sunny window. “It’s just that I too would feel lonely once you’re gone. Anyway, I’ll leave the establishment of the Black Paladin King to you. If anyone from my guild bothers you, tell them ‘The cafe run by the witch is in the semi-basement level of the alley past the three-way intersection.’ When they ask you what is on the menu, say ‘pumpkin latte without ice.’”

“Is this the Black Dragon Guild’s countersign?”

“Yes, it’s this month’s countersign. They probably haven’t updated it yet.”

“You still have unique tastes...” The Paladin looked at me with a bitter smile. “First of all, I’m sorry for leaving the team, Death King. I’ll build a good foundation for our guild to make up for it. By the time you clear the fortieth floor and come back, it’ll be ready.”

“Well, if you’re really sorry, can you do me a favor?”

“Of course, what is it?”

“After this expedition, please teach me music,” I replied with a smile.

The Paladin squinted at me and said, “Ah, yes. I remember. You want to play music for the Duke of Ivansia, right?”

“Yes, I do. When I confessed my love, I promised I’d do this for her.”

“Good. Jazz is love.” The Paladin smiled brighter, feeling better. “Since you have the most romantic lover in the world, you’ll need to play music for her. Although I’m not good at teaching others, I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll be looking forward to our lessons, Teacher.”

We shook hands.

“I’ll leave the rest to you, Death King.”

The light faded the Paladin’s smile away.

[The Paladin has been eliminated from the stage!]

[The Mirage-Walking Princess has settled the points.]

[You have received 1,510 species points!]

[You now have 7,112 species points.]

The Paladin’s points were distributed to us. If we considered our species to be our children, these points were basically child support. It would be better to use them for all the species, not just the Terras.

But what is urgent right now isn’t about the Terras’ safety.

I clenched my fists. One of my children had been waiting hundreds of years just to meet me. Light enveloped me when I was sent to the thirty-fifth floor.

Just hold on, Uburka. Daddy is coming home!

***

Immediately after arriving on the thirty-fifth floor, I pestered the Black Witch to travel together with me.

“Quickly! We have to go to the highest mountain on the continent as soon as possible!”

“Do you think of me as a taxi driver by any chance?”

“I respect you from the bottom of my heart!”

“If only you weren’t a smooth talker...”

The Black Witch sighed but she helped me. It was much faster to use her Teleportation than to move around in our spirit forms.

She asked, “Over there?”

After using the clouds as stepping stones across the sky for a while, an old mountain range spread out below us. The deeper we ventured, the whiter the heads of the mountain range became.

The Black Witch looked around the mountains, shocked. “I think this is higher than the Himalayas. Just looking at it makes me feel cold. Gong-Ja, is your apostle really here? It doesn’t make sense.”

“The princess showed this location to me briefly using her ability.”

I was certain that I was at the right place, so I kept looking around.

“He must be nearby...”

Suddenly, an ominous feeling came over me. There was a gap of about a hundred and fifty years between the last stage and this one. Perhaps Uburka had not survived an additional a hundred and fifty years. If so, then I missed my last chance to reunite with him. The wick of my heart began to turn black. When I thought of Uburka, who had endured being alone for over three hundred years, my jaw clenched.

It’s okay.

I instinctively smoothed my jacket. In my chest pocket was a handkerchief that smelled of lilies.

I can regress if necessary.

The Black Witch and I set foot on the snowy peak. While thinking about ways to get permission to regress from Raviel, I scanned the peak, scattering my aura everywhere, but I didn’t detect any signs of life.

“Death King, over there...”

However, something caught my eye. In the direction the Black Witch pointed with her finger, a mummy was sitting in the lotus position.

I held my breath. The mummy was so dry that only the skin remained. It was like a cicada that had died and fallen on concrete in the middle of summer. There was no sign of life coming from it.

It’s too late.

My heart churned.

I’m too late.

The mummy’s face was severely wrinkled, but I could find Uburka’s traces in it. He couldn’t have looked calmer. His few remaining strands of hair swayed in the blizzard. He looked so light and free as if he had thrown away all the burdens of this world. I couldn’t even bring myself to shed tears.

I’m sorry.

The moment I reached out my hand to stroke Uburka’s head, a familiar voice made me pause.

“Daddy? Ugor.”

The voice belonged to a Terra who had surpassed the need for all worldly matters, someone who always held a ripple of laughter in the corner of his heart. I could feel the ripple in the air of the snowy mountain as he chuckled.

Uburka stood tall on the pure white snow field. “It really is you.”

The rugged mountain range stretched behind him. This was the highest altitude on the continent, so no one else in the world would have been able to stand at the same altitude as me and the Black Witch.

I finally managed to say, “U-Uburka?”

“Good to see you again, Daddy. It’s been roughly three hundred and sixty-three years and seven months. Hmm, I’ve never seen the guest beside you before.”

“Oh my god.” I looked back and forth between Uburka and the mummy to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. “W-What happened? I thought you died and became a mummy...”

“Oh, you’re talking about this?” Uburka casually strode toward the mummy. “This is my shell, not my actual body. You know, for a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it must first endure the prison of a cocoon. This is my cocoon.”

Uburka tapped the mummy with his large index finger. It lost its balance and melted. My mouth was agape as I watched it sink into the snow.

“A shell?”

“After immersing myself in meditation for sixty days, I reached enlightenment, ugor. A dream-like vision came before me, and when I took a step, I found myself living in the dream.”

Uburka was talking about a level of martial arts I had never heard of.

“In that dream, I was the son of a prestigious martial family. However, I was born unable to use aura. I was disregarded and treated for my inability to use aura despite being the eldest son. Uger, in the end, I earned my position as the patriarch by manipulating politics and scheming.”

“That’s really detailed for just a dream,” I commented.

“I think that was maybe my past life. I was sick, so I died at the age of twenty-six. When I woke up from the dream, I found my original body falling off like molt.” Uburka grinned, baring his fangs. “Originally, I was planning on leaving this here as a souvenir, but it doesn’t matter since you’re back. I waited all this time just to see you again. Now that we have met again, I’m happy that I waited for so long.”

“Uburka...”

I was choking on my words. I couldn’t believe how awesome my child had become.

The Black Witch tapped me on my shoulder. “Death King, I don’t mind you acting like a fool in front of your family, but didn’t you notice something strange?”

“What?”

The Black Witch was looking at Uburka with thoughtful eyes. “We didn’t use Animal Possession or Person Possession, so we’re still in our spirit forms. Everyone else in this world would be unable to see us in these forms, so can he not have any issues perceiving us?”

Only then did I notice it.

She’s right.

In our spirit forms, no one could notice us. It was the ironclad rule that had been proven time and time again from the thirty-first to the thirty-fourth floor. However, Uburka talked to me as if this was normal, and even recognized the Black Witch.

On top of that, I didn’t sense any life when I searched the surroundings with my aura earlier.

It was strange. I met Uburka’s eyes. “Uburka, how did you...”

“Ugor.” Uburka stretched his neck in all directions, his bones cracking loudly. “When I reached enlightenment and transcended my previous state of living, I began to see things I could never see before. The world is the ultimate alter ego. If I’m able to recognize the world as one lump, I can also say that I’ve become a being comparable to the world itself.”

“Uuuuh.”

What was he talking about? My brain had a tendency to lag behind when bombarded with difficult-to-understand sentences. I did not understand a word of what Uburka said.

“Child, what are you talking about?”

“To put it simply, this is what I mean, Daddy.”

Uburka snapped his fingers.

[Constellation: Immorality-Dreaming Muscle Pig is looking at you!]

What?

[The Immorality-Dreaming Muscle Pig is happy he reunited with you.]

Oh my god. I looked blankly at Uburka, feeling as if someone had hit me in the back of my head with a shovel.

“Y-You...”

Uburka’s smile became even wider. “There are truly a lot of exquisite principles in the universe. Looking at your goofy face, I can’t help but think that I made a good decision to train hard. What do you think? As far as I know, no one in this world has reached a higher level than me. I’m undeniably the strongest warrior of all time.”

“Huh.”

A hobgoblin completed Ascension and became a Constellation. I knew Uburka was a genius, but I had no idea he was this exceptional.

My Constellation son laughed heartily. “Anyhow, I can always tell you my entire story later, Daddy. Today is the auspicious day that we met again. Shouldn’t we share the sorrow of three hundred and fifty years?"

“Ah, ah. Yes, you’re right.”

For me, not much time had passed at all, but it was different for Uburka. The joy that a parent and a child had to share in a long reunion was supposed to be expressed through gestures, not words.

I opened my arms wide. “Come here, Uburka. Even though I’m tiny compared to you, I’ll happily hug—”

“Ugor, then I’ll gladly start.”

[The Immorality-Dreaming Muscle Pig has challenged you to a duel!]

Huh?

Uburka clenched his fists. “Get ready, Daddy. I’ve been waiting so long for this day to come!”

He charged at me. Whenever he took a step, the entire mountain range shook. The snow on the peak fell down the slope. The direction of the blizzard changed and the snowflakes soared into the sky.

“Now, wait a minute, my son. Wait a damn minute—”

“I suffered a pathetic defeat three hundred and fifty years ago, but today will be different!”

[The Immorality-Dreaming Muscle Pig roars.]

When Uburka threw his punch, heaven and earth shook.