HDAAD Chapter 162

“A name, you say. To be precise, it’s not a name but a ‘species’. Just like Salt is a bird of purification.”

“So you’re still an immortal bird, right?”

“No. Of course, I can die too. I just have better survival abilities than the others. After all, fire is something that can always ignite again.”

So it’s not a phoenix because it doesn’t die, but because it’s actually on fire.

But if it was born through alchemy, isn’t a phoenix not a living being…?

After tilting my head for a moment, I asked,

“You’re a phoenix, but why do you have a human form?”

“Hmm. For me to exist in this world, I need a medium to bind my soul. Hae-ah, you provided that medium in exchange for contracting with me.”

“Contract?”

Taeju frowned at the word ‘contract’.

But I couldn’t understand.

A contract? I had no memory of making such a thing. I just created it because I was told to, and used the skill because I was told to use it.

Suddenly, the ingredients used in the final job quest flashed through my mind.

“Blood.”

“That’s correct.”

The phoenix stroked my head as if proud of me.

“Yes. That allowed me to be bound to this place.”

“Then the similar face is…”

“While blood is a substance that makes up the body, it’s because it contains the soul.”

‘It contains the soul.’

If what the phoenix said was true, the blood contained the soul of Kim Hae-ah, not Seo Go-woon, which is why the face was identical to mine.

“Wait! Blood? What on earth are you talking about?”

Taeju looked at me with a shocked face.

“Don’t tell me you got hurt?”

“No. You just be quiet for a bit.”

“Fuck. What nonsense is this about blood coming from our brother’s body?!”

I spread my palm and shoved it in Taeju’s face.

“It’s healed! Hey! Look! Is there a scar?! Is there?!”

Taeju closed his mouth at the sight of my palm, which had been treated with a healing potion and didn’t even have a callus, let alone a scar.

But in the midst of getting angry at Taeju, I momentarily forgot all the things I was curious about.

“I forgot everything because of you!”

“How is that my fault? You’re just stupid.”

“Damn it.”

If only he wasn’t an S-rank hunter, I would have hit him.

As I was suppressing my boiling anger, the bird tapped my hand with its wing.

“You can ask me anything you’re curious about anytime. I can answer even if it’s not now.”

I nodded.

Since we were bound by a contract, there was no need to ask urgently.

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll change back to my original form.”

As it clapped its wings together, the bird changed back into a child’s form.

The phoenix, still seeming awkward in its own form, looked at me while wiggling its hands.

“Then, won’t you give me more mana?”

“Sure.”

As I transferred the mana that had filled up in the meantime to the child, the phoenix’s cheeks turned red like a child satisfied after a full meal.

“What? Isn’t low-power mode more comfortable?”

Right. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to stay as a bird rather than in a child’s form?

As I looked at it curiously, the phoenix answered with a bright smile.

“Because a bird can’t be held like this.”

As the phoenix hugged my waist, Taeju’s brow furrowed mercilessly.

“Who said you could be held?”

“That’s up to me, isn’t it? You insolent human. I want to be held by Hae-a.”

“That body belongs to our brother, you know?”

“The soul is Kim Hae-ah’s. So I’m not hugging your brother’s body, but Hae-a.”

“What nonsense is that.”

“Excuse me.”

Haegeum interjected between the voices of the two who were growling as if about to fight at any moment.

“Haegeum, what is it?”

“Senior is scared?”

By senior, does he mean Salt?

I turned my head to look towards the pillow where Salt was.

Salt, who usually slept on his belly as if he couldn’t care less about the world, was trembling and looking at us, just as Haegeum said.

Salt, who had never been afraid and always caused trouble confidently anywhere, why was he acting like this?

“Salt?”

“Beep.”

Even his response of ‘yes’ was so faint, as if he was scared, that I reached out my hand to Salt.

“Salt, what’s wrong?”

“Beep.”

‘He’s saying no?’

I was slightly shocked by Salt’s rejection, who had never refused my hand before.

Why is Salt suddenly so scared? Could it be because of the phoenix?

As I looked down at the child, the child was glaring at Salt with one corner of its mouth raised.

“What’s going on?”

Taeju, having noticed the strange atmosphere, gestured at me with his chin, but I had no idea what the problem was either.

“Salt? What’s wrong?”

Just as I was about to separate the child, who seemed strange with Salt so terrified, the child called out to me first.

“Hae-a. Would it be alright if I talked to Salt first?”

“With Salt?”

“Yes.”

I looked back and forth between Salt and the child.

‘It seems like Salt is afraid of this kid?’

“I’ll talk to him well. Trust me a little. Salt, wouldn’t it be better for you to talk with me?”

“Beep.”

Salt flinched and answered yes.

‘It seems like he’s just answering out of fear?’

As I was worrying about whether it was really okay to leave Salt alone, the child said with a kind smile,

“Then, could you give us some space so Salt and I can talk alone?”

“Yeah. You need to talk with me too.”

Taeju pulled on my arm. I wonder what he has to say after hearing everything.

I clicked my tongue and said to the child,

“Then we’ll be outside, so come out when you’re done talking.”

“Alright. I understand.”

“Haegeum, let’s go out too.”

Haegeum, who I thought would naturally follow me, bounced his body and said,

“Can’t I stay here?”

“Hae-a. I had something to say to Haegeum anyway, so it’s fine to leave him here.”

At the child’s words, I nodded and left the room.

‘What are the three of them going to talk about? And why is Salt so scared?’

Although I had just completed a quest, I was left with even more questions.

“Sigh.”

As I sat down on the sofa in the center of the living room and sighed, Taeju, who had followed with a sullen face, said,

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean, what?”

“What’s the deal with that kid?”

“Are you deaf?”

At my words, Taeju roughly scratched his head.

“That’s not what I’m asking about right now.”

“I don’t know either, you punk. I really don’t know what’s going on.”

I leaned back on the sofa, speaking in a tired voice. Since bringing the child, I had been taking short naps not knowing when the child would wake up, so just sitting on the sofa made fatigue wash over me.

“Are you going to take that kid around with you?”

“Isn’t that obvious? It uses fire.”

Even though I didn’t know exactly what it was, since it had fire attributes, I thought it could be useful in dungeons.

I had been considering recruiting another fire hunter anyway, so the phoenix’s appearance was perfect timing.

“What fire? It didn’t even burn a blanket.”

“It must have controlled it. When Haegeum summons water pillars, nothing else gets wet either.”

Though his expression was full of discontent, Taeju kept his mouth shut, seemingly without a comeback.

“Hey. Let’s stop talking about this. Have you been to the research institute?”

“Yeah. I stopped by.”

“How are the kids doing?”

“Their condition has improved, but it looks like they won’t be able to participate in this tower raid.”

A groan escaped me without realizing it.

Tomorrow was the day the 18th floor of the tower would open.

Yet they still haven’t recovered.

“What about Shin Sooha?”

“He should be on his way back to the country now.”

I leaned my head against the sofa headrest and thought.

It was true that we needed to clear the tower quickly to get the buff, but it wasn’t so important that we should forcibly bring injured party members.

Moreover, as long as the tower was cleared, regardless of who did it, my ultimate goal of opening the Cradle would be achieved, so it wasn’t a big problem.

The issue was that I felt a bit disappointed thinking that our winning streak, which had been in competition with other countries since we started clearing the tower, would be broken.

“I guess I’m more competitive than I thought.”

During my school days, I studied hard for scholarships, and for the police exam, I studied to pass, but I never thought I had to win in competitions or had any particular greed, so I didn’t know.

That I was someone who cared so much about victory.

Thinking it was a shame, I really wanted to clear at least the 18th floor myself.

‘With Shin Sooha and Taeju, if we form a good party, it should be possible. We’ve got Salt, Haegeum, and now the phoenix too, so if we do well, it might work.’

“What kind of dungeon was the 18th floor again? Ah.”

Suddenly, I remembered.

The 18th floor wasn’t a dungeon with monsters. It was a dungeon where you just had to clear missions.

To be precise, it was a story-type dungeon.

I lifted my head from the sofa and said to Taeju,

“Hey. Let’s go to the 18th floor.”

“Are you crazy? You want the three of us to clear the tower without party members?”

I replied confidently,

“Hey, I’ll clear it all for you. Don’t worry!”

Just then, with the sound of the door opening, Shin Sooha entered.

“Do you have a method to clear the 18th floor?”

“Yes. I have a very good method. Let’s get ready to go.”

Shin Sooha smirked, his face so clean it was hard to believe he had just returned from a dungeon.

“Before that, please tell me about the child.”

‘Ugh. To have to explain again what I’ve already explained.’

I looked at Taeju with eyes pleading for help.

But Taeju just snorted and turned his head away, not helping me at all.

‘Damn him.’

***

Unlike the 17th floor, the front of the tower was quiet even though it was time for the 18th floor to be cleared.

The site of the terrorist attack was full of police tape marking it as off-limits, and in one place, there were chrysanthemums and post-it notes with messages, perhaps as a memorial.

“Is it really okay to go like this?”

Despite my explanation about the 18th floor, Taeju was still anxious and raised objections again.

‘If you’re not going to trust me anyway, why did you insist on coming when I said I’d bring someone else?’

“If you’re scared, you can leave now.”

“Watch your mouth.”

“You’re the one.”

Ignoring Taeju, I gestured to Shin Sooha.

“Let’s go. Myeong-ah, come here.”

When the phoenix came out of the room yesterday after finishing its conversation with Salt and Haegeum, Shin Sooha had asked if we shouldn’t give it a name.

Unlike Salt and Haegeum who looked like animals, it had a human form, so if it was going to be with me, its name would inevitably be mentioned.

Moreover, we couldn’t keep calling it ‘child’ forever.

So I was going to give it a name ending with ‘geum’ like Salt and Haegeum.

If only Taeju hadn’t sneered.

“Do you have no conscience? How can you use ‘geum’ in the name?”

“What’s wrong with Salt and Haegeum?”

“You really have no thought.”

So I was going to just name it ‘Sajo’ since it was a phoenix, but-

“You really have no thought. That’s just the species name, you idiot! What’s the point of naming it that!”

“Even I don’t think that’s right.”

Not only Taeju, but even Shin Sooha objected, so ‘Sajo’ was also rejected.

The child wanted me to name it, and while I was worrying because I couldn’t think of a suitable name, I remembered the name of a celebrity I had seen on TV in a restaurant before.

“How about Myeong-ah? Since I’m Hae-ah, let’s call you Myeong-ah.”

It was a name I blurted out remembering a celebrity, but when I gave it meaning, it sounded plausible.

And the child seemed to like the name too, nodding its head.

So the child, now named Myeong-ah, held my hand tightly with Salt on its head and Haegeum on its shoulder.

I got into the elevator with Shin Sooha, Taeju, and Myeong-ah and moved to the 18th floor.

The door to the 18th floor was not visible inside, even though it wasn’t made of opaque glass.

“What do we need to do here?”

I turned around and said to the three people,

“Listen carefully. When we open this door, we’ll be transported to the Joseon Dynasty era.”

“The Joseon Dynasty?”

I nodded.

Story-type dungeons were cleared by either following the predetermined story in the dungeon or reaching the set conclusion by providing plausibility.

The problem was that if you followed the story, there were tricky conditions like someone having to die or become disabled.

Even in the Cradle, story elements like the tower appeared, and there was talk of difficulties in clearing it because of conditions like only the last person surviving.

After I briefly explained about story dungeons, Shin Sooha tilted his head.

“Then shouldn’t we understand the whole story before going in?”

“The story branches into several paths depending on what choices you make. If everyone doesn’t make the same choices, it will only get more complicated.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Since everyone needs to gather and make the same choices, first, when we enter, stay still. Don’t move at all. Just stay still and I’ll find you on my own.”

The three nodded as if they understood.

“Then we’re going in.”

When I opened the glass door, light poured out.

When I opened my eyes after closing them briefly due to the brightness, what I saw was the scene of a marketplace in the Joseon Dynasty.