Chapter 130

“Was our joke a little unfunny? Well, I guess there are not many people who have a sense of humor in this town, so we decided to entertain ourselves for a little bit. Our world… you said it's Episode 285, right? No one in that Episode tried to make others laugh. We didn’t really need it. The world itself was funny. Alright, enough with the jokes… tell us how to get back,” San said.

“Do you want to go back?”

“Truly…!”

“Don’t you want to know the truth about this world?”

“Truth…? What would be different if we knew the truth?”

“The other humans I’ve come across usually craved it. Don’t your beings sacrifice your life to know the truth? You both don’t want to know?”

“Truth? I wouldn’t want to know even if it was slapping my face!” San adamantly answered. Senun’s expression was subtly distorted.

“Aren’t you wise adventurers? The search for the Absolute Truth, the search for the hidden truth that unlocks the world, and the exhilarating adventures that would follow… Among these pursuits, the dream and goal of all human beings through all ages is to meet the ‘Creator’ of the world in person… isn’t this something that is universally sought amongst your kind? If not, you both are quite the exception. What other reason do you have to come to this dangerous place?” Senun said as he stroked his beard.

Senun observed the man with a bitter expression on his face and a sense of boredom in his eyes. From the woman, he recognized a sense of sadness. He couldn’t understand their emotional state. He thought, ‘Why is there sadness in her eyes?’

“The things that you state are for people born with a golden spoon up their asses or those who don’t value their lives. Ordinary people like us don’t wonder about the truth as much as I care to know the weight of rat shit. Right now, there’s only one piece of information I want to obtain here,” San huffed.

“What is it?”

“We want to know whether we can go back to our original world or if we should expect to be stumbling around here for a while… If we can’t go back, then I want to know why we can’t go back… Wouldn’t anyone go crazy if they didn’t know why they were brought to this place? Or is even this not allowed to be explained?”

San’s two shapely eyes stared with vicious intent at Senun.

“I’m sorry. I am not in a position to give you an answer to those questions,” Senun replied as he averted his eyes from San’s piercing gaze.

“Then, the reason for our visit here is over. We will leave. Will you stop us?” San said while shaking his head and getting up slowly from his seat.

“The Original Being can answer your questions,” Senun said as he slowly stood up.

“When is he coming? How long must we wait here?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Yeah? I hope he doesn’t take his sweet time. Also, based on how things are like here, I guess there’s no need to visit that place called A-Pian.”

“You will have to wait a little longer by human time standards. Is this information all you want?”

Senun looked at San and awaited his next words. San’s face had the most serious expression of desire among the human faces Senun had ever come across. Senun felt a strong sense of duty to hear San’s words.

“Please, continue,” Senun stated.

“Actually, it’s a very realistic request rather than the truth or anything like that. If you accept our request, then we’ll do anything in return. Will you listen?”

“If not universal honor and respect, then what? Do you want wealth and glory in this world?” Senun asked as he smiled. The corners of his lips were slightly raised. He felt that the two would finally act like all the other visitors that had come to him in the past.

“No, we don’t need that. I heard real dragons possessed something. Something that we urgently want.”

“What?” Senun asked with narrowed eyes.

“Give us your race’s medicine. This little girl is sick, so we’ll need a lot… the medicine that can delay ‘termination’.”

***

This wasn’t their first time being treated as lab specimens, so they took the procedure in stride. They also felt that they could obtain some newfound knowledge themselves through diagnostics and analysis.

‘A world where all time and history coexist…’

At the same time, the other party members were safely passing through the octagonal building. Since it was dark outside, Senun had provided a guide for the party to move towards their sleeping quarters.

The party members were especially anxious because their actual leaders, San and Biyeon were not present, but they calmed themselves after reiterating the commonly known declaration that Sages were beings who did not lie.

The Absolute warrior and the merchants were deeply immersed in their own thoughts. Although they were also at the scene of the conversation between Senun and their leaders, they could not comprehend the conversation.

The only consolation was that they felt they could safely get out of here and that they would have a proper adventure in the future.

Within all of them was a hidden joy of having looked upon a piece of the world’s mystery. It was something that people of this world had dreamed of as a child. To glimpse inside the world of gods, dragons, and heroes… they felt as if they had stepped into a thrilling tale of legends and myths…

***

“How do you feel?” Senun asked.

“Honestly… I have to admit that I’m very impressed. Indeed, I think the name ‘Sacred Machine Forest’ is a very apt description,” San answered. The landscape San observed outside the elevator was testing the limits of his imagination. It was most similar to a scene from a movie with space fleets and robots moving around chaotically.

“There are many things in the world that people do not know of. This is one of them.”

“The machines you use are very busy… Why are they moving so busily in such a quiet place? Haven’t you disconnected communication with the outside world?” Biyeon asked.

“What is done here is very important. Would it make sense if I said this was all needed to protect this world? That is the true reason for the existence of Sages.”

“Sages protect this world?” Biyeon asked as her eyes gleamed.

“This is one of the five pillars that maintain the Original Being’s worlds. For over fifty million years, it has never stopped operating. Also, this place is constantly evolving. It’s the Sage’s duty to protect and operate this place.”