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Kim Hajun stared at the wooden tablet in front of himself before taking in a deep breath. He was just going to see Vur and Tafel, so why was he feeling so uneasy? They had sent him a message through his root bracelet to come to their residence because they had a few questions; it was obvious what they were going to ask him. The only thing separating him from another person was his knowledge of the future. Kim Hajun exhaled before placing his hand on the tablet; perhaps, this was a chance to seize an unexpected gain.
Upon entering the residence, a strong scent of alcohol assaulted his sense of smell. He took in a deep breath, breathing in the familiar scent. It was a bit odd he couldn’t smell any other fragrance like roasted meat or steamed vegetables, but he didn’t question it. Though, he did question the presence of the white-haired woman holding a dog while standing not too far away from him. “Light Lord Ashley?”
A second later, a black-haired woman with green highlights appeared in the region near Ashley and Kim Hajun. The Wind Lord, Jasmine, blinked as her vision returned to normal, and she smiled upon seeing the Light Lord and the prophet. “Hey, guys!” she said. “Did they ask you to come over as well?” She sniffed the air and frowned. “What’s with the booze smell?”
Ashley glanced at Kim Hajun before turning her head towards Jasmine. “Did they tell you why they called us here?” the Light Lord asked and shrugged her shoulders, raising the dog she was holding close to her body a little higher off the ground. “All they said was to bring Puddles with me.”
Jasmine shrugged. “Well, with our root bracelets, we’re prepared for anything,” she said and grabbed Ashley’s elbow before walking forward, bringing the Light Lord along. “No point in waiting around, let’s go!”
Kim Hajun’s brow wrinkled as he watched the two lords go on ahead without him. His expression returned to normal as he followed after them, taking a deep breath as he did. Even though he had obtained the hidden piece from the thirtieth floor and used it to retrieve the myriad insect armor by hunting the shapeshifting mantis on the seventeenth floor, he was still uneasy. The armor was strong but not strong enough to defend him if Vur and Tafel decided to turn hostile.
Not long after, Kim Hajun arrived in a familiar clearing; how could he forget it after almost dying repeatedly to Mary’s hand here? A flash of yellow caught his eye, and he turned his head to the side. A grown, yellow dragon was staring at him, and not too far away from that dragon, there was a stunning phoenix and an armored dragon that, for some reason, resembled Volearden, the Tyrannical Dragon Monarch…. The armored dragon’s head turned towards Kim Hajun, and it felt like a stone had formed inside of his stomach.
“Hey, you’re all here,” Tafel said.
Kim Hajun turned his head. He hadn’t even noticed the demon and Vur thanks to the presence of the three, large magical beasts.
“Friends of yours?” Ashley asked Tafel, looking up at Fern and Volearden.
“And relatives,” Tafel said.
“I might be reading into this wrong,” Jasmine said as she glanced up at the dragons before looking at Vur and Tafel, “but why does it look like your friends and relatives are scared of Vur?”
Vur blinked at the Wind Lord before turning his head to look at Volearden, Fern, and Malvina. The three magical beasts turned their heads to the side, avoiding his gaze. Vur blinked before looking at Tafel, and the demon cleared her throat. “You’re wrong,” Tafel said. “They’re just feeling shy around strangers.”
Jasmine raised an eyebrow but didn’t question Tafel’s explanation. “Alright,” the Wind Lord said, “so, why’d you call us over? What’d you want to discuss?”
“Before you start,” Volearden said and cleared his throat. A bottle appeared in his paw, the container larger than a full-grown human. “I need to do something first.” He turned towards Kim Hajun, the armored dragon’s helmet flickering with red lights. “Your subject smells quite offensive.”
Kim Hajun gulped. In his prophetic dream, he had never figured out why the Tyrannical Dragon Monarch had found his smell so offensive that it had locked him up. As such, what happened next shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but Kim Hajun was still stunned. The armored dragon raised the bottle in its paw and added an attachment to the top. Then, Volearden squeezed on the attachment, spraying Kim Hajun with whatever noxious chemical was in the bottle. By the time the Tyrannical Dragon Monarch was done, Kim Hajun looked as if he had walked through a thunderstorm without an umbrella. In his prophetic dream, he had been imprisoned. In this life, he was doused with a cleaning agent. He knew one was clearly better to experience than the other, but he still hated both.
Tafel shrugged her shoulders at Kim Hajun with an apologetic expression on her face. Who was she to stop a dragon if it wanted to spray a human with disinfectant? The demon turned her head away and looked at Ashley and Jasmine. “We’re ready to deal with the Oebu Sin.”
The two lords exchanged glances with one another. “What about the rest of the lords?” Jasmine asked. “Shouldn’t we call them over to discuss as well?”
“I didn’t think they’d be that helpful, so I didn’t invite them,” Tafel said and shrugged.
“Excuse me for interrupting,” Kim Hajun said. Everyone turned to look at him, and a few people had to shift their gazes away upon seeing the soaked man. “Please don’t underestimate the Oebu Sin. Even if it seems like the other lords won’t be of help because they’re weaker than you, we’ll need all the assistance we can get to defeat the Oebu Sin.” He coughed, his throat burning from the fumes he was inhaling. “There’s still some time before the Oebu Sin attack the tower; perhaps, you should consider waiting a bit before engaging them for people to get stronger first.”
Tafel frowned, and Kim Hajun stared at her, hoping she’d see logically. He might’ve failed to stop the Oebu Sin in his prophetic dream, but he was given a second chance. Who knew he wouldn’t even be able to finish the tutorial floors before the regulatory structure of the tower collapsed and the threat of Oebu Sin had directly shown its head? Maybe a miracle would happen, and he’d get a third shot at saving the tower without odd variables.