FLIA 71

<5> Underground

Yohan only fully recovered his strength after sleeping deeply for an entire day. Maybe it was because he’d collapsed with a nosebleed, but his teammates began treating him with even greater care afterward, especially Seo Yakrin, who was the most attentive by far. Whenever she had a chance, she would look at Yohan with a pleased expression.

“Our Yohan, do you want some of this too? I went out and hunted while you were sleeping. Do you like venison? Turtle? But why are you so scrawny, like you’re all bones? A person should be strong and healthy. You’ve got to eat well and rest well. Don’t nibble, eat up! I’ll tell Yoon Seungryong to boil the bones down for you too, so drink that as well. Come on now, eat even if you’re full. I’m saying this because I care about you!”

Yohan had to admit, he was starting to understand why Yoon Seungryong called Seo Yakrin a nag. Still, to Yohan, she seemed more like a well-meaning one, so he accepted her kindness gratefully and quietly ate everything she gave him. Lee Hyunmook watched Seo Yakrin fussing happily over Yohan and asked, slightly amused,

“Yakrin-ah, did you get some good rest too?”

“Oh, of course! I haven’t felt this good since we fell into the Abyss!”

“Then, can you take a look at our weapons?”

It wasn’t just Yohan who had gotten some rest. Seo Yakrin and Yoon Seungryong had also been pushed to their limits during the previous battle, suffering deep and severe wounds.

As Seo Yakrin readily nodded, everyone began gathering the weapons they’d set aside. The first one she picked up was Yohan’s chipped stone weapon. She chuckled as she touched the gleaming Eternal Stone embedded in it.

“Someone just shoved a raw Eternal Stone in here, huh?”

Even so, her gaze as she examined the Eternal Stone was careful and focused. She stared at it intently, like she was locked in a staring contest, then tapped it gently with her fingertips. Yohan, who had never seen Eternal Stone refining before, watched with wide-eyed curiosity, careful not to get in her way.

She caressed the stone for nearly an hour, and then suddenly murmured with admiration.

“This might be the highest quality I’ve ever seen…”

Tilting her head slightly, she glanced at Lee Hyunmook, then returned her focus to the Eternal Stone.

It wasn’t quite what Yohan had expected of the refining process. He’d imagined fire for tempering and hammering for shaping, but no physical force was applied. Seo Yakrin only stared, stroked, and occasionally moved her lips as if whispering to it. That was all it took, and the once rock-hard Eternal Stone began to soften.

Yohan’s eyes widened. The jagged obsidian-like Eternal Stone, as if crudely chipped off a boulder, was gradually being smoothed into a rounder shape. After a while, Seo Yakrin applied pressure for the first time, and the softened stone yielded like clay, exposing its interior.

“It’s not black inside?”

Beneath the shiny black exterior, a brilliant white ore was revealed. Without touching the center, Seo Yakrin kept her hands on the dark part and asked Yohan,

“What do you want out of this?”

“What do I want…?”

“Would you rather be able to control your power with precision? Or increase the output? Or maybe make it last longer?”

Yohan paused to think. When refining Eternal Stone into Absolute Steel, it was said you could draw out energy in the direction you wanted. Lee Hyunmook had chosen precise control. Yoon Seungryong wanted longer duration. Ju Hoyoung had chosen raw strength. All three were tempting, but for Yohan, the choice was clear.

“I want to become stronger.”

Receiving Ju Hoyoung’s buff earlier had made it even more obvious. His purification ability was the kind that needed to grow stronger.

‘If the Flood comes again, I want to be able to stand and fight instead of running.’

Especially after learning that the Flood wasn’t just a ground-level threat but could fall from the sky like radioactive fallout, his resolve had solidified. He didn’t want another day like that day, where they all suffered or were scattered.

Lee Hyunmook and the others, hearing Yohan’s choice, were certain that he would only grow stronger from here.

‘Your powers grow the more you use them, and you’re a purifier, Yohan. In a place like the Abyss, where everything is saturated with contamination, you’re basically using your ability nonstop. That’s why you’re growing so fast. There’s no need to rush.’

That’s what Lee Hyunmook had told him. But Yohan still wanted to grow as fast as he could. He wanted to put everyone he cared about in a safe, clean, and peaceful place. As he thought that, he found himself constantly remembering the cozy haven they had in the Japan zone.

“You’re right. Getting stronger is best,” Seo Yakrin said, smiling as she stroked the Eternal Stone. Golden energy flowed from her fingertips, wrapping around the stone. The inside and outside seemed to invert, the white part coming to the surface, only to be swallowed again by the black. After flipping back and forth several times, the colors intertwined into a striking black-and-white pattern, coiling around each other like tails. The result was a single sharp spearhead.

“Tsk, this finish is awful.”

Clicking her tongue, Seo Yakrin removed the crude metal rod Lee Hyunmook had attached. Using her telekinesis, she smoothed the rod and neatly attached it to the newly forged Absolute Steel head.

‘So that’s it. Ms. Yakrin doesn’t need any other tools…’

With her telekinesis, she didn’t need hands or hammers, everything could be done without physical contact. As she handed the cleanly refined weapon to Yohan, she said

“I’ll reinforce the spear shaft once we find the right materials.”

“Thank you!”

Yohan took the weapon into his hands with excitement. The moment he gripped it, a warm energy surged through him. It was nothing like the days when the Eternal Stone had just been clumsily tied on like a crude chipped rock. He channeled a bit of power into it, and the result was astonishing.

“Ah!”

Yohan’s eyes widened. All he had done was make it glow slightly, yet the Absolute Steel scattered an incredibly bright light. It was definitely a spear, yet holding it felt more like wielding a mage’s staff. He could already imagine how powerful his purification would be once Ju Hoyoung’s buff was added.

“With this, I could definitely fend off a small-scale Flood!”

Cheeks flushed with excitement, Yohan exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. The others, drawn in as if by a spell, quietly approached to bask in the glow.

“This might be the most satisfying weapon I’ve ever made.”

Seo Yakrin spoke with pride as she stretched out her hand, catching the cascading light. The sharpness in her eyes softened under the warm glow. Yoon Seungryong came over and glanced at the weapon, murmuring,

“This is incredible. Ms. Seo Yakrin, you…”

“It’s ‘noona.’”

With a gentle smile like an older sister or aunt looking fondly at her youngest nephew, Seo Yakrin pinched Yohan’s cheek softly. Though the youngest was technically Hoyoung, Yohan still blushed in embarrassment and answered obediently,

“Yakrin noona…”

“There you go.”

“Can you… talk to Eternal Stones?”

Watching her ‘refining’ process had reminded Yohan of the time he hallucinated in the jungle. The more he thought about it, the more it felt like those weren’t mere illusions, maybe the weapons of Hyunmook and Seungryong really did have a will of their own. After all, Absolute Steel came from Eternal Stones, and those stones originated from something that had once lived.

“Well… I would’ve said no in the past. But now… maybe.”

“Huh? Really?”

Ju Hoyoung asked back in surprise. The others seemed just as taken aback, reacting with the same curiosity. Seo Yakrin tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand as she considered.

“Talk? Not quite. It’s more like… if a will is passed on, I can kind of sense it. It’s like communicating with a lump of clay shaped by intention. But I wouldn’t know how to explain it properly. It’s a sensation you only understand once you’ve done a refinement yourself.”

Yohan looked down at his weapon in wonder. The Eternal Stone that Hyunmook had found somewhere and given him now felt more precious than ever. As Lee Hyunmook gently rubbed Yohan’s flushed cheek with the back of his finger, he said,

“Now that we’ve made Yohan’s weapon, how about heading back to our base?”

“Oh! Yes, let’s go back!”

Yohan jumped up and readily agreed. It had already been nearly a month since they’d been wandering through this gloomy, damp, bone-chilling Reed Sea to retrieve Seo Yakrin. He wanted to leave this place and return to the ancient tree that had become their temporary shelter.

“How many days do you think it’ll take us to get back?”

“Days? As if.”

Seo Yakrin smirked confidently as she dragged over a nearby bundle of reeds. She used her telekinesis to beat it into the shape of a boat, then leapt aboard in one fluid motion. Yohan, confused, followed along with the others and climbed onto the reed boat. From Seo Yakrin’s fingertips, golden mist-like energy flowed and lifted the boat into the air.

“Wow!”

Yohan gasped in awe. He had never imagined Seo Yakrin’s telekinesis could be used like this. The reed boat soared high, high enough to see the dark crimson sky, then shot across the waves of the Reed Sea.

“…Ah!”

A surprised breath slipped through his parted lips. Yohan instinctively moved to the edge of the boat. It felt like they were flying over a golden, rippling sea at sunset. It was one of the most beautiful sights he had seen since falling into the Abyss. Birds burst from the reeds as the boat skimmed past them.

The bone birds screeched with eerie, hag-like cries, chasing after the boat. Watching them closely, Yohan raised his weapon and channeled his purification power. As brilliant light spread around the boat, the grotesque shrieks turned into the melodic chirps of birds. White, blue, red, and yellow birds flew along with the light, leaving a trail of blue behind like ripples cutting through the sea.

Yohan laughed out loud, truly happy for the first time since falling into the Abyss. And in that moment, he realized something.

Even the most terrifying places might not be so bad… as long as he was with these people.