Possessing Nothing Novel (쥐뿔도 없는 회귀)

Chapter 65 - Heart

"I'm indebted to you."

Lloyd was laying down on a large bed. His depleted mana had recovered to some extent, and his wounds had healed as well, but it wasn't as if his mental fatigue had recovered, so he looked very tired.

"It's fine."

"No, I really am in your debt. If you hadn't helped me... I would have died all alone, deep underground. Nor would I have been able to destroy that heart."

Lloyd spoke with a bitter smile. Hearing that, Sungmin flinched inwardly, taking care not to look suspicious. Didn't Kim Jonghyun say it? That even other mages would not be able to see the heart that he now possesses.

"I heard you were the only survivor."

"Ah... yes. I was lucky."

As Kim Jonghyun had said, Lloyd didn't seem to have realized that Sungmin had acquired the Black Heart. Not only that, he didn't even notice that Sungmin had a soul with a twisted karma. If even the Gold Tower Lord wasn't able to see through this, the only people who should be able to see through his twisted karma would be black mages at an incredible level.

"You indeed were lucky. Prescan, he... is a lunatic. It's an incredible feat to survive under his hand."

"About that... the lich called Prescan. What was he doing inside that dungeon?"

"Hm?"

Lloyd widened his eyes at Sungmin's question. When a doubtful gaze was directed at him, Sungmin immediately controlled his expression. He looked at Lloyd with admiration and a bit of fear.

"If you are the Gold Tower Lord, shouldn't you be at the peak of power even in the mage guild?"

"Uhm. Well, not exactly... I guess I should be in the top 5."

"I can't understand. You fell with heavy injuries even at your level. Just what was Prescan doing in that dungeon?"

"...Well... I guess it isn't really a secret."

Muttering that, Lloyd sighed.

"The ultimate life."

His answer was the same as Kim Jonghyun's.

"It was like that since 10 years ago. Prescan was researching into the ultimate life, and broke the taboo in order to achieve it. Originally, he should have died along with his exile... but thanks to his escape, I was tasked with pursuing him. And I was able to find his dungeon after 10 years of pursuit.

Lloyd paused for a moment and sighed again.

"...During these ten years... Prescan has produced considerable results in his research. Originally, there were two hearts. One of them... transformed into a young girl in front of me... she was terrifyingly strong."

"A young girl, you say?"

"On the outside, she looked to be no more than ten or eleven, but she was... very strange. She dispelled my magic without a single chant, her arms and legs changed shape... but the most terrifying of all, is that the girl cannibalized a heart."

"A heart?"

"Yeah. She said she was hungry... and ate it right in front of me."

Sungmin recalled Xeon's corpse that had a hole in his chest. Listening to Lloyd's story, Sungmin subconsciously pressed down on his chest. The Black Heart was now inside his body, thumping. He was newly made aware that his heart belonged, or belongs, to a monster.

"Due to that Prescan escaped. Without that freakish girl, I would have been able to kill Prescan at least once. Perhaps I would have even been able to track down his phylactery. Whew! No, I guess I should consider myself lucky to be alive right now."