LD - 1. Slave and King (4)
“Your majesty, we will now perform a ritual that interferes with the curse.”
In the middle of the spacious garden, a large magical circle was drawn in gold and silver. At the center of the circle, there were pillars of red gems embedded to form a pentacle. Strips of gold and silver were radiating outwards in all directions.
The king was also present at the center of this magic circle.
Several thousand great mages and high priests were positioned around the magic circle and they all knelt down.
On the outskirts of the formation, the old vassal lifted his staff high with both hands. This staff had a large transparent crystal embedded within it.
The crystal emitted a light that resonated with the magic circle, causing the crystal to be surrounded by a blinding light. The mages and priests assisting in the ritual were surrounded by a white light.
The magic circle shook and the light grew more dense. The light surrounded the king and pressed closer to him. Soon, the web of silver of gold began to crack.
The faces of those present could only grimace in pain and were sweating like bullets. Only the king, with his eyes closed, seemed to be at peace.
“CIARUUDA!”
The old vassal yelled out powerfully as he lowered his staff. Afterwards, the crystal shattered and a golden light quickly traced the lines of the magic circle.
A blue fire erupted, covering the entirety of the circle. Its flames, as if possessed, surged towards the king.
After a brief moment, any traces of the ritual vanished.
Exhausted, those performing the ceremony gasped for oxygen. The magic circle had completely faded away, leaving only the scorch marks behind.
The king opened his eyes.
“Was it successful?”
“... The ritual didn’t seem to fail.”
The tired old vassal replied as he steadied himself with the staff.
“The strength of the blessings and power of your majesty is so great… moving more than a fraction of your power into the dream is impossible for us. Fortunately, we managed to transfer a small portion of your power.
“Which power?”
“That I don’t know.”
The old vassal lowered his head in apology and continued.
“Your majesty can only check yourself.”
***
Han Seo Jin woke up.
His head felt heavy, as a headache thumped from within.
It felt as if he had a dream that he couldn’t remember. Whenever he thought about the contents of the dream, his abdomen throbbed in pain. He rushed to swallow his painkillers with water.
“Oh! I have to go to work!”
He hurriedly stood up, but stopped himself.
Yesterday, he had been dismissed from the company and swore to not file a lawsuit against them.
Han Seo Jin laid back down on his bed and gazed at his narrow studio ceiling.
It was strange.
Until a few days ago, he was angry and feared death. He had felt that it was sad to leave the world alone.
But now, he did not care at all.
‘She will get married next month…’
When he imagined his ex girlfriend, Im Seo Young, his heart was still broken. But this feeling was not as intense as before, there was no longer a searing pain.
Han Seo jin sat up, stretched out his right hand, and repeatedly opened and closed it.
What should he do for the rest of the time?
‘I will go on a trip or eat something delicious, or maybe find my runaway mother.’
‘I do not care about anything right now,’ he realized.
‘I have nothing I want to do, even though I have a limited life span.’
Turning on his phone, he looked for his sister’s number, but then he stopped himself from calling her. He thought to himself, ‘I don’t know how to explain it to her…’
Han Seo Jin washed up and left his house. He walked down the streets in front of his house.
The streets were bustling with people going to work, something he was unable to join again.
He walked expressionlessly, repeating his steps.
At some point, he shivered from the cold temperature and checked the time. It was 10:00 AM, the busy morning congestion had ended.
He entered a nearby convenience store and bought a drink.
“3,500 won please.”
He gave 5,000 won and waited for his change, when suddenly, he saw the lottery tickets. As he continued to look at them, he discovered something strange.
“Why is this one like this?”
“Yes? What do you mean, sir?”
“This lottery ticket, its emitting light…”
“I see? But I don’t see that all…”
The cashier looked at him strangely. Han Seo Jin grabbed the ticket and hesitantly held it.
‘He can’t see it?’
The light wasn’t really bright, but he could definitely see the golden light surrounding the ticket.
“This ticket, please give me this. I’ll buy it.”
Han Seo Jin finished paying and rushed out the convenience store.
He entered an alleyway and took a deep breath, then he looked at the golden lottery ticket.
“Am I imagining things?”
Was this the side effect of the cancer? He never heard of this before, and why is it that only this ticket had the golden light?
‘I bought it on a whim, such stupidity,’ thought Han Seo Jin. He stood around idly and quietly pulled out a coin.
“Once bought, it should be scratched.”
While scratching the ticket, he suddenly stopped and shouted in shock.
Han Seo Jin’s eyes flashed as he held the ticket in his trembling hands. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“5-500million?”
~~~
About 368 million won.
That was the remainder of the winnings after taxes. As he glanced at his bankbook, he couldn’t believe what happened. He felt like this was a dream.
It was odd that the shining lottery ticket he bought was a 500 million won winner. Nobody would believe it if they were in his shoes.
Speechless, he blankly checked the number of zeros.
“If this had happened a few years ago, then I would’ve spent this to my heart’s content. Since I’m about to die, winning the lottery seems much more useless.”
Prior to this, he had been worried about his sister’s dowry. But now he should be able to support a large portion of her marriage fund. The more he thought about this, a bittersweet smile soon appeared.
Anyways, he only had half a year left to live. Nothing would change if his bank account have 300 million or 3 billion won.
Han Seo Jin threw his bankbook and laid down on his bed. He looked up at the ceiling and his mind wandered.
‘But what was that?’
A single lottery ticket was golden, and that happened to be a 500 million won winner. Could this be a coincidence?
Was the light a temporary hallucination, or could he have transcended his abilities and obtained some powers? His head throbbed and felt as if it will explode.
“Maybe…”
Han Seo Jin stood up and observed his room. From this action, he thought he should be able to see the golden light again.
However, no matter how much he looked around the room, there was no golden light shining on anything. He pondered over the thought that the light might only occur with lottery tickets, when he felt a stab of pain in his abdomen.
From his bag, he took out some painkillers and got ready to swallow the medicine with water.
“Huh? What is this?”
He grabbed the pill and looked at it. There was nothing special about the pill, it was not glowing like the lottery ticket.
Instead, he saw a strange symbol on the pill. He could see shapes, such as pentagons and hexagons, attached together by thermal energy. Moreover, there were alphabets attached to the figures, as if attached to a line.
“N… H… F…. OH…. What is this?”
Although he was confused, Han Seo Jin carefully observed the letters. Afterwards, the symbols began to blur away and he suddenly came to his senses. Immediately, he searched for notary utensils and drew the exact figures he saw earlier.
As soon as he began jotting down his observations, the symbols on the pill completely vanished.
Finished with his notes, he paced around nervously and decided to go to a nearby pharmacy to ask about the painkiller and the strange symbols.
“Welcome.”
The young male pharmacist greeted him with a smile. Due to its small size, the pharmacy was void of any customers. Han Seo Jin showed the pill and paper, and then stated.
“This… This is the painkiller that I take.”
“Yes, is something wrong with it?”
“I’m not sure, but do you know what these symbols have to do with the painkiller?”
“Pictures?”
The pharmacist checked the contents of the paper and looked at the pill.
“Oh, this is the chemical structure of the drug,” he replied.
“The chemical structure? What is that?”
“Basically, the chemical structure is the composition of the drug. It shows how the atoms in the drugs bond together and how they are arranged. If you look at it as a compound blueprint, it is much easier to comprehend. In fact, if you know the drug’s name, then you can look up the information on the internet. Why do you want to know about this?”
Lost in thought, Han Seo Jin returned home.
He sat at the edge of his bed and stared at the two items in his hands, the pill and the drawing of the chemical structure.
“What is… What in the world is happening?”
LD - 1. Slave and King (4)
“Your majesty, we will now perform a ritual that interferes with the curse.”
In the middle of the spacious garden, a large magical circle was drawn in gold and silver. At the center of the circle, there were pillars of red gems embedded to form a pentacle. Strips of gold and silver were radiating outwards in all directions.
The king was also present at the center of this magic circle.
Several thousand great mages and high priests were positioned around the magic circle and they all knelt down.
On the outskirts of the formation, the old vassal lifted his staff high with both hands. This staff had a large transparent crystal embedded within it.
The crystal emitted a light that resonated with the magic circle, causing the crystal to be surrounded by a blinding light. The mages and priests assisting in the ritual were surrounded by a white light.
The magic circle shook and the light grew more dense. The light surrounded the king and pressed closer to him. Soon, the web of silver of gold began to crack.
The faces of those present could only grimace in pain and were sweating like bullets. Only the king, with his eyes closed, seemed to be at peace.
“CIARUUDA!”
The old vassal yelled out powerfully as he lowered his staff. Afterwards, the crystal shattered and a golden light quickly traced the lines of the magic circle.
A blue fire erupted, covering the entirety of the circle. Its flames, as if possessed, surged towards the king.
After a brief moment, any traces of the ritual vanished.
Exhausted, those performing the ceremony gasped for oxygen. The magic circle had completely faded away, leaving only the scorch marks behind.
The king opened his eyes.
“Was it successful?”
“... The ritual didn’t seem to fail.”
The tired old vassal replied as he steadied himself with the staff.
“The strength of the blessings and power of your majesty is so great… moving more than a fraction of your power into the dream is impossible for us. Fortunately, we managed to transfer a small portion of your power.
“Which power?”
“That I don’t know.”
The old vassal lowered his head in apology and continued.
“Your majesty can only check yourself.”
***
Han Seo Jin woke up.
His head felt heavy, as a headache thumped from within.
It felt as if he had a dream that he couldn’t remember. Whenever he thought about the contents of the dream, his abdomen throbbed in pain. He rushed to swallow his painkillers with water.
“Oh! I have to go to work!”
He hurriedly stood up, but stopped himself.
Yesterday, he had been dismissed from the company and swore to not file a lawsuit against them.
Han Seo Jin laid back down on his bed and gazed at his narrow studio ceiling.
It was strange.
Until a few days ago, he was angry and feared death. He had felt that it was sad to leave the world alone.
But now, he did not care at all.
‘She will get married next month…’
When he imagined his ex girlfriend, Im Seo Young, his heart was still broken. But this feeling was not as intense as before, there was no longer a searing pain.
Han Seo jin sat up, stretched out his right hand, and repeatedly opened and closed it.
What should he do for the rest of the time?
‘I will go on a trip or eat something delicious, or maybe find my runaway mother.’
‘I do not care about anything right now,’ he realized.
‘I have nothing I want to do, even though I have a limited life span.’
Turning on his phone, he looked for his sister’s number, but then he stopped himself from calling her. He thought to himself, ‘I don’t know how to explain it to her…’
Han Seo Jin washed up and left his house. He walked down the streets in front of his house.
The streets were bustling with people going to work, something he was unable to join again.
He walked expressionlessly, repeating his steps.
At some point, he shivered from the cold temperature and checked the time. It was 10:00 AM, the busy morning congestion had ended.
He entered a nearby convenience store and bought a drink.
“3,500 won please.”
He gave 5,000 won and waited for his change, when suddenly, he saw the lottery tickets. As he continued to look at them, he discovered something strange.
“Why is this one like this?”
“Yes? What do you mean, sir?”
“This lottery ticket, its emitting light…”
“I see? But I don’t see that all…”
The cashier looked at him strangely. Han Seo Jin grabbed the ticket and hesitantly held it.
‘He can’t see it?’
The light wasn’t really bright, but he could definitely see the golden light surrounding the ticket.
“This ticket, please give me this. I’ll buy it.”
Han Seo Jin finished paying and rushed out the convenience store.
He entered an alleyway and took a deep breath, then he looked at the golden lottery ticket.
“Am I imagining things?”
Was this the side effect of the cancer? He never heard of this before, and why is it that only this ticket had the golden light?
‘I bought it on a whim, such stupidity,’ thought Han Seo Jin. He stood around idly and quietly pulled out a coin.
“Once bought, it should be scratched.”
While scratching the ticket, he suddenly stopped and shouted in shock.
Han Seo Jin’s eyes flashed as he held the ticket in his trembling hands. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“5-500million?”
~~~
About 368 million won.
That was the remainder of the winnings after taxes. As he glanced at his bankbook, he couldn’t believe what happened. He felt like this was a dream.
It was odd that the shining lottery ticket he bought was a 500 million won winner. Nobody would believe it if they were in his shoes.
Speechless, he blankly checked the number of zeros.
“If this had happened a few years ago, then I would’ve spent this to my heart’s content. Since I’m about to die, winning the lottery seems much more useless.”
Prior to this, he had been worried about his sister’s dowry. But now he should be able to support a large portion of her marriage fund. The more he thought about this, a bittersweet smile soon appeared.
Anyways, he only had half a year left to live. Nothing would change if his bank account have 300 million or 3 billion won.
Han Seo Jin threw his bankbook and laid down on his bed. He looked up at the ceiling and his mind wandered.
‘But what was that?’
A single lottery ticket was golden, and that happened to be a 500 million won winner. Could this be a coincidence?
Was the light a temporary hallucination, or could he have transcended his abilities and obtained some powers? His head throbbed and felt as if it will explode.
“Maybe…”
Han Seo Jin stood up and observed his room. From this action, he thought he should be able to see the golden light again.
However, no matter how much he looked around the room, there was no golden light shining on anything. He pondered over the thought that the light might only occur with lottery tickets, when he felt a stab of pain in his abdomen.
From his bag, he took out some painkillers and got ready to swallow the medicine with water.
“Huh? What is this?”
He grabbed the pill and looked at it. There was nothing special about the pill, it was not glowing like the lottery ticket.
Instead, he saw a strange symbol on the pill. He could see shapes, such as pentagons and hexagons, attached together by thermal energy. Moreover, there were alphabets attached to the figures, as if attached to a line.
“N… H… F…. OH…. What is this?”
Although he was confused, Han Seo Jin carefully observed the letters. Afterwards, the symbols began to blur away and he suddenly came to his senses. Immediately, he searched for notary utensils and drew the exact figures he saw earlier.
As soon as he began jotting down his observations, the symbols on the pill completely vanished.
Finished with his notes, he paced around nervously and decided to go to a nearby pharmacy to ask about the painkiller and the strange symbols.
“Welcome.”
The young male pharmacist greeted him with a smile. Due to its small size, the pharmacy was void of any customers. Han Seo Jin showed the pill and paper, and then stated.
“This… This is the painkiller that I take.”
“Yes, is something wrong with it?”
“I’m not sure, but do you know what these symbols have to do with the painkiller?”
“Pictures?”
The pharmacist checked the contents of the paper and looked at the pill.
“Oh, this is the chemical structure of the drug,” he replied.
“The chemical structure? What is that?”
“Basically, the chemical structure is the composition of the drug. It shows how the atoms in the drugs bond together and how they are arranged. If you look at it as a compound blueprint, it is much easier to comprehend. In fact, if you know the drug’s name, then you can look up the information on the internet. Why do you want to know about this?”
Lost in thought, Han Seo Jin returned home.
He sat at the edge of his bed and stared at the two items in his hands, the pill and the drawing of the chemical structure.
“What is… What in the world is happening?”
