Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
61. Rival (6)
‘The first move on the stage where the druid’s majesty and coolness should’ve become known was stolen! It’s so frustrating…!’
The moment Gu Seulbi saw Phantom Thief Neon’s notice letter, she felt anger.
How could she not think of sending a notice letter?
The grand druidess, who would leave her name in history after Merlin, fell behind some unknown phantom thief in reputation.
‘No, that phantom thief didn’t steal the ‘Work of a genius, who couldn’t become a dragon’, which he revealed plans to steal in the notice letter yet!’
She made a mistake of not sending a notice letter, but the game wasn’t over.
The phantom thief wasn’t able to achieve his goal he mentioned in the notice letter yet.
But Gu Seulbi was the same, unable to achieve the task given to her by Merlin.
‘Why did master Merlin-nim give me such a task?’
It wasn’t a day or two when Merlin gave her tasks of which cause she couldn’t understand.
Even so, she didn’t know the reason for this one.
‘It’s not a recapture, it’s a search…?’
The task given by Merlin to Gu Seulbi was to search for Danu gods tribe’s divine treasure, which entered the hands of Fomori Demons.
Not robbery, nor recapture.
Merlin, who appeared in her dream, said, while showing her the location of the castle, where the target of the task was located and the appearance of the divine treasure.
— Search for the divine treasure in their auction venue and then come back.
— You wish for me to bring the divine treasure back? Understoo…
— No, that won’t be necessary. There is no need for you to overexert yourself to bring it back.
Merlin flapped the long, flowing sleeves of his robe, as he erased the illusion of the divine treasure he floated up in the air.
Because of the deep hood covering his face, his face wasn’t clearly visible, but Gu Seulbi was certain that Merlin was smiling right now.
— The castle is set in a picturesque location. Go, get some fresh air, and have a look at the divine treasure.
Merlin gave a task that was so very simple, easy and suspicious.
Gu Seulbi didn’t think of stopping on just that.
‘He didn’t say not to bring it, so I will retrieve it the moment I find it! Master-nim has a connection with Tuatha dé Danann, so he will be happy if I bring back the divine treasure.’
Gu Seulbi didn’t express it outwardly, but Merlin seemed to have noticed the risky plans she was having.
Even though he knew that, he didn’t say anything, worthy of Merlin.
Instead, Merlin gave her a piece of advice.
— In case something happens, there is no need to dodge and hide into a dream. There will be less complicated and safer option than escaping into the dream.
— You mean there will be a safer place than in a dream?
— In that situation.
While Gu Seulbi recalled the suggestion Merlin gave her, the Phantom Thief Neon beside her continued to mumble.
The Phantom Thief Neon, who was expressing his inner suffering with a dramatic monologue for a while, made a determined face.
He ended the long monologue with the words that sounded like self-hypnosis.
“… Okay, this is one of the trials to be reborn as a true phantom thief, right? I can overcome it!”
True phantom thief? Trial?
Gu Seulbi had difficulty understanding what the Phantom Thief Neon was saying.
‘Something even I, the amazing and cool druidess, can’t understand?!… That bastard is really strange!’
She tried to ignore the Phantom Thief Neon’s words, but it wasn’t easy.
But the thing that was really hard for Gu Seulbi to hold back on was that Phantom Thief Neon said that entire absurd monologue in Korean.
“What are you talking about? You’re mumbling in the Korean language, but I can’t understand you. Are you perhaps a Korea hater, pretending to be Korean?”
Antis sometimes disguised themselves to draw aggro and build hostility towards the target they hated.
Gu Seulbi thought if the Phantom Thief Neon by chance wasn’t Korean, but that idea was immediately crushed.
“I’m Korean. If the other party can’t understand Korean, it’s probably because their language ability is insufficient. I guess it’s not only grace that you’re lacking, eh?”
“It’s because you’re being a national shame, just speak English like before.”
Luckily, perhaps because he wanted to avoid specifying his identity, or perhaps he listened to Gu Seulbi, the Phantom Thief Neon started to speak English.
“… I have something I wanted to ask.”
“What?”
The Phantom Thief Neon took a wide step towards Gu Seulbi.
As much as he talked about clothing and grace of a phantom thief, the Phantom Thief Neon cared a lot about attire.
The art-like, adorned with jewels swan mask, and traje de luces delicately embroidered with silver thread and crystal beads, dazzled the eyes.
Gu Seulbi even thought for a moment ‘He looks like a lunatic, but is eye-catching and cool. He really, really, seems like a lunatic, but…’
The Phantom Thief Neon’s eyes met with Gu Seulbi’s.
The eyes of the Phantom Thief Neon behind the mask were wet with grief.
“Why are you covering your face with a piece of lumber?”
The Phantom Thief’s gaze was on the oak mask Gu Seulbi wore.
The eyes, which Gu Seulbi thought were wet with emotions for a moment, were in fact just a gaze looking at something pitiful.
Gu Seulbi said, losing her temper:
“What are you calling a piece of lumber?! Isn’t it a party with masks? I even have eye holes!”
“On the world…. You mean it’s not that you peeled a tree bark from a piece of firewood and wore it, but you personally made it?”
She felt like crying, but there was nothing wrong with the Phantom Thief Neon’s words.
If one compared the swan mask the Phantom Thief Neon was wearing and Gu Seulbi’s oak mask side by side, such expression was an obvious thing.
Even then, Gu Seulbi wasn’t ashamed of her mask and spoke proudly.
“This is an oak mask. It’s a mask that suits a druidess well. Because ‘druid’ means ‘one who knows oak trees’!”
“It seems that the big problem is not with the material but with the manufacture process…”
“I know that you can’t judge the true awesomeness based on outer appearance, so there are no problems.”
The Phantom Thief Neon, who heard Gu Seulbi’s words, took another step closer.
They were now standing close enough that if the two stretched out their hands, they would touch.
Out of wariness, Gu Seulbi tried to step back, but behind her was a wall.
Backed against the wall, Gu Seulbi grasped a druidess’ cane made from oak wood, which was personally made by Merlin for her.
“What? If you want to fight, I’ll accept.”
“Phantom Thieves don’t hurt people and don’t fight without reason.”
Pop!
Brilliant superpower wave burst from the Phantom Thief Neon’s fingertips.
While her gaze was stolen by the small superpower wave fireworks, the Phantom Thief Neon instantly took out a pack of poker cards.
The movement was like that of a magician.
‘Those poker cards are instilled with superpower wave. They’re not simple cards. They’re weapon items!’
It seemed that the Phantom Thief Neon’s weapons were in a shape of poker cards.
Though he said that he didn’t hurt people and didn’t fight without reason, she couldn’t trust him.
Gu Seulbi’s parents also said that they wouldn’t beat her if she behaved well, but didn’t they in the end find all kinds of faults with her and beat her?
Looking at Phantom Thief Neon presumably holding a weapon, Gu Seulbi stiffened in alert.
The moment he makes a cocky move, she planned to introduce him to druidess’ secret laws.
Swish!
The Phantom Thief Neon shuffled poker cards with white-gloved hands.
After quickly mixing cards in the air, the Phantom Thief Neon plucked out one poker card between his index finger and middle finger with a cool gesture.
“Adorn with grace and prettiness, the light shines even more lavishly.”
Pang!
When her gaze was momentarily stolen by the hand skills using cards, the spades ace card exploded.
The exploded card changed into a white rose.
The Phantom Thief Neon nimbly put the white rose in a gap behind the oak mask Gu Seulbi wore.
“Regretfully, I didn’t prepared oak flowers. But even so, this is much better!”
Everything he said and did was cringy, but when he suddenly gave a magic show and gifted her a white rose, he was a just a bit cool.
That would be the case if not for his last words.
“When everyone is pretty inside and outside, they will be able to become true phantom thieves.”
That bastard’s phantom thief nonsense.
Pissed, Gu Seulbi shouted.
“I told you I’m not a phantom thief.”
“You don’t have to deny it. You can make as excellent phantom thief as me!”
Grrr….!
While the two had a meaningless conversation, the Enemies approached.
It seemed they came here, reacting to Phantom Thief Neon’s superpower wave.
“Enemies came, because you exploded a superpower wave-like things. Why did you suddenly do a card show and took out a rose?!”
“The job of the phantom thief has to be a secret, but they can sidetrack to teach elegance and style.”
“I’m not a phantom thief! And druidesses are cooler and more graceful than phantom thieves!”
While Gu Seulbi and the Phantom Thief Neon were arguing to no gains, the Enemies were approaching towards them.
The Enemies’ rarity didn’t seem that high, but their numbers weren’t few.
But Gu Seulbi and Phantom Thief Neon didn’t seem very flustered.
Because the two were overflowing with confidence enough to infiltrate the Demons’ castle.
“It’s a good opportunity to elucidate druidesses’ coolness.”
Gu Seulbi moved her oak staff.
Each time Gu Seulbi engraved a magic circle on the ground with a tip of her staff, superpower wave swirled.
Gu Seulbi stood in the center of the circle, the superpower wave’s pressure bearing on her.
“I’ll show you magic that can’t compare to the phantom thief’s card magic shows!”
In Gu Seulbi’s head, the incantation and formula that Merlin personally taught her, unfolded in a complicated manner.
The basic process to activate magic, casting, had 3 steps.
First, understanding of mana operation formula.
Second, movement of a rod or staff according to that understanding.
Third, change of flow of mana caused by superpower wave.
Once this casting process was finished, caster would usually shout the incantation in a promised language, but druids and druidesses’ magic was different.
“No incantation? There is such a magic!?”
The Phantom Thief Neon spoke with an amazed voice.
In contrast to that the druids and druidesses’ secret laws were passed down only an oral way, the complication of the magic necessitated writing an elaborate magic circle, rather than saying an incantation.
Because it was close to almost impossible to convey the appearance of the magic circle with language only, their magic, though powerful, was extremely difficult to master.
Paaaat!
As an intense light gushed out from the magic circle unfolded by Gu Seulbi, an enormous tree appeared.
Each time the Enemies touched the seeds of light spread by the tree, they gradually melted.
The light seeds summoned by Gu Seulbi seemed to be clearly differentiating between a friend and foe, because if the seeds touched the Phantom Thief Neon or Gu Seulbi, they just felt warm air, and didn’t suffer any kind of damage.
Seeing the Enemies quietly melt into nothingness without even being able to scream, the Phantom Thief Neon was amazed.
“That’s the druidic magic…!? It’s more than enough to be a phantom thief, eh?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not a phantom thief! You’re making such sounds even after seeing the druidess’ majestic magic?”
“I’ll personally deal with the next Enemy. To show you the power of a true phantom thief’s card magic show.”
“Are you deliberately pretending you don’t understand?”
When the Phantom Thief Neon and Gu Seulbi started to bicker and argue again.
They suddenly felt a chilly feeling.
They felt heavy pressure that couldn’t compare to the time when this space was first otherworldzied.
“What is that…?!”
“Something is coming. Prepare.”
Gu Seulbi prepared to cast the most powerful magic she knew, and the Phantom Thief Neon took the supernatural poker cards into his hands.
In the meantime the pressure gradually grew.
At that moment.
Kieeeek! Craaaack…!
A wall started to move.
Looking in the direction the sound was coming from, a pulley was lifting the wall, letting out a creak.
Each time the wall raised a little further, the pressure on them became much stronger.
In that moment.
“Close your eyes!”
Someone in a crow mask blocked the way in front of the two.
*~*~*
Translator’s note: Three musketeers, assemble!
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