Ending Maker
chapter-18

Chapter 18 - EPISODE 18 – SACRED ROD (3)

Kwakwang!

A spray of water soared with the lightning strike.

As the water surface broke down, the water that soared upwards poured down like a shower.

Cordelia gasped while she sank to her knees in the water, and afterwards, breathed a sigh of relief.

‘We killed it.’

We defeated the Bicorn.

The level-up effect has not yet emerged, but the situation was different from before. It’s practically finished.

‘We killed it.’

A smile spread across Cordelia’s face. Yellow Storm herself admitted that deep down, she was a simple-minded person. Because of that, she fought with the Bicorn and was very happy with the fact that they killed it.

‘He’s a little bit cool, isn’t he?’

In front of Cordelia.

She could see Jude standing with his fist still in a hitting position.

Just as Cordelia was an absolute beauty, Jude was an incomparably handsome boy. What she had seen was a handsome-looking Jude standing in a cool posture, so it was quite a nice scenery.

‘If he wasn’t Outboxer, my heart would have been pounding.’

Cordelia giggled as she swept up her wet hair because of the water that poured, and then opened her mouth. She was going to ask for help in standing up.

But right after that.

“Kuheok!’

Jude, who had stiffened while still in his punching position, suddenly gasped for air and then collapsed.

“Ou-outboxer?!”

The startled Cordelia hurriedly stood up and forced the drooping Jude to rise.

“Hey, are you okay? Hey?”

“Kuhak…kak…”

Jude was panting heavily as his mouth tried to say something, but it was hard to understand at that moment.

Therefore, Cordelia held and dragged Jude as they got out of the water.

“Kuha…haa…Sun, Sun’s Necklace…”

When she laid him down on the ground, it became more difficult to tell whether his condition slightly improved, or he was squeezing his last breaths.

His right hand, that held on the Sun’s Necklace with strength, was about to droop.

At that moment, Cordelia widely opened her eyes, shook her head and shouted.

“Hey! No! You can’t die! I’m not getting any mementos!”

“Tha..that…kuhak… Che…chest.”

Jude made a gasping sound again and drooped his arm, and Cordelia blinked at that moment as she understood what Jude was trying to say.

Bring the Sun’s Necklace back to his chest.

Cordelia hurriedly unraveled the Sun’s Necklace that Jude was holding and hung it around his neck.

“Don’t die. All right? Huh?”

As she continued talking while using <Heal> and checking if it was effective, Jude’s fast breathing lessened and got calmer.

“Haa…I, I thought…I was dying.”

Jude stuttered as he touched the Sun’s Necklace in his chest and panted.

Lightning Strike Fist.

The principle was really simple, it was quick and powerful like the strike of a lightning.

‘Gather strength in one place and then hit.’

To be exact, it was a simple but powerful technique that gathers strength from all over the body into one place and then strikes the enemy.

Although he was successful in somehow defeating the Bicorn due to the power of the Lightning Strike Fist added to the anti-demon effect of the Sun’s Necklace, the aftermath of using Lightning Strike Fist was not small.

Though Jude had used the footwork skill and mugong, he has yet to fully recover from his Gueumjulmaek.

‘This is what happens if I use the inner Qi.’

I didn’t know exactly what the effect was, but I felt like my heart was going to stop because of the chill in my whole body.

Fortunately, Cordelia was next to me, or I would have died holding the Sun’s Necklace in my hand if there was no one else here.

“Haa, you’re not some Iron Man.”

Understanding the situation at a glance, Cordelia flopped down next to Jude. It was because the rough tension had broken thanks to the fact that Jude was safe now.

But at that exact moment.

Several white rings of light emerged around the bodies of Jude and Cordelia. It was the level-up effect.

“Ah, we killed it.”

Cordelia said absentmindedly and Jude nodded.

Perhaps the Bicorn, which lost consciousness after being hit by Jude, finally stopped breathing due to its injuries and breathing difficulties overlapping.

“Let me see, is it level 14 now? Yours is 15.”

When Cordelia asked, counting her fingers, Jude answered with only a nod. Since there was no status window, it was hard to know the level unless they memorized it or have it measured at the level temple.

‘Anyway…it’s improving a little.’

Levelling up fully restores your health and mana – no, there was no such kind of service, but somehow, the stats have increased.

Whether it was due to a rise in physical strength or a placebo effect, it felt like the recovery was faster.

‘Then next is…’

In the original event, Cordelia protects the fairies and drives out the Bicorn, and the impressed fairies invite Cordelia to the Fairy Queen’s night banquet.

‘Since I was the one who killed it, wouldn’t they more or less give me more rewards?’

It was when I was thinking about it.

“Wow! They killed the Bicorn!”

“I have to report to the queen!”

“But who else is this?”

“Handsome!”

“It’s thrilling, it’s always fresh, and being handsome is the best!”

The fairies, who fled and ran away, gathered next to Jude and Cordelia and squealed again.

Because Jude was not in a position to speak properly, Cordelia cleared her throat and spoke.

“This is my fiancé. He was keeping watch for any danger while I took a bath.”

The lines were prepared in advance in case he got discovered.

After hearing Cordelia’s explanation, the fairies looked around among themselves and said.

“She’s engaged!”

“You were watching? You didn’t steal a glance?”

“But is she really taking a bath while wearing clothes?”

“Hey, this is not the time. We have to let the Queen know quickly.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Fortunately, there was someone who seemed to be smart.

The one with green butterfly wings flew close to Cordelia’s face and continued to talk.

“Hey, hey, you, what’s your name? I’m Adele.”

“Adele, I’m Yello…Cordelia. This is Jude.”

“Yellocordelia?”

“Cordelia.”

“Okay, Cordelia. Anyway, you and your fiancé killed the Bicorn who was always bothering us. I was going to invite you because you were so pretty, but now I have to absolutely invite you. Come with us to see the Queen. You will be rewarded by the Queen.”

It was the flow we wanted.

Cordelia seemed to be yelling as she pumped her fist and then looked back at Jude, and Jude glanced back with eyes that seemed to be proud of their hard work.

“Are you going with us?”

“Yes, I’ll go with you.”

As Cordelia smiled and answered beautifully, Adele simultaneously smiled, as if she was in a good mood.

“Yes, then follow us with your fiancé. You have to go into the water to get to where the Queen is.”

The fairies were called a race that could be found everywhere and nowhere.

It was because they were beings that crossed the walls of dimension and space.

“Can you go?”

“Roughly.”

When Cordelia asked quietly, Jude nodded his head and raised himself up.

According to the original event, time would not pass so much in the Fairy Queen’s residence, but in any case, this incident caused a little commotion so a group led by Dahlia will soon come. It was good to finish the work before that.

“Grab my hand, I’ll help you up.”

“Thanks.”

Jude entrusted her to help him stand up by holding her hand.

“This way.”

As the laughing fairies got ahead, Cordelia who was diligently chasing them, spoke.

“By the way.”

“Uh.”

“You defeated the Bicorn?”

“I killed it.”

“Then the horns will come out, right?”

“If you pull it out, it will come out.”

In the game, the horn was dropped as soon as I defeated it, but this was reality here.

“One is mine.”

“Yes, the remaining one is mine.”

Fortunately, the Bicorn had two horns.

Like the unicorn’s horn, it had many uses, but the most common use was to smelt it to make a dagger.

The items made from the Bicorn’s horns could cause a variety of status conditions, including confusion, charmed, etc.

After their business with the Fairy Queen is over, she’ll ask Dahlia and the escorts to take care of the Bicorn’s corpse.

Just imagining it made her feel better, and Cordelia smiled.

“It’s so clear.”

“What? The water?”

Instead of answering, Jude just smiled, and Cordelia followed the fairies into the water after tilting her head a few times.

***

I can breathe in the water – something like that did not happen.

I just closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was in a completely different place.

It was a large open space nestled among large and small trees.

It was a place that felt very cozy despite the fact that it was in the woods, because the soft and warm yellow light melted the darkness like the moonlight.

Dozens of fairies were gathered in the open area, and they were dancing, singing, and bustling about, as if the night banquet was already in full swing.

“I feel like I’m in the country of dolls.”

Cordelia blushed slightly and spoke quietly, but Jude decided to ignore her for now. It was because this was not the online chat, and it was kind of hard to make fun of her offline now.

In any case, giants appeared at the place where palm-sized fairies gathered and played, forcing everyone’s eyes to naturally focus on the two.

“What is it, what is it?”

“It’s a human.”

“But she’s pretty. And he’s handsome.”

“Are you today’s invited singer?”

“They’re soaking wet.”

As they were chattering among themselves, Adele stepped forward and shouted to everyone.

“We have to take her to the Queen. They defeated the Bicorn!”

As they stepped forward, a group of four fairies also stepped forward and pushed the other fairies away.

“Come on, let’s go. This way.”

Moving behind Adele, the road opened up among the fairies like the miracle of Moses.

And how far along did we go?

Strangely enough, the surrounding landscape changed little by little every step. The surrounding fairies diminished and became fewer every meter, and the gap between the trees narrowed, as if we were walking on a narrow corridor.

And a few steps again.

When we stopped, Adele, who had taken the lead, was also gone.

We were in a small round room.

Instead of a ceiling, a dark night sky was above, and the moonlight that came down gently lit up the surroundings beautifully.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a human child in person.”

The Fairy Queen was young and beautiful.

She had colorful butterfly wings with various colors, and blue eyes and a brilliant blonde hair as if it was made by melting gold.

With white skin, she was wearing a grass-green dress and holding a cane studded with jewelry in her hand.

“I greet the Fairy Queen.”

When Jude bowed and greeted, Cordelia was flustered and greeted too, and the Fairy Queen seemed to smile cutely.

Like all fairies, she was only the size of a palm, but the Queen is still a queen.

You could feel the aura unique to those who are leaders of a group.

“I heard the story from Adele.”

For the fairies that could even freely cross space, even time was not a completely forbidden realm.

At a time when Jude and Cordelia were taking a few steps, the Fairy Queen had met Adele and talked to her in a gap of time.

“The Bicorn has been one of our oldest troubles. I can’t help but award you for taking care of it.”

At the Fairy Queen’s words, Jude was slightly nervous.

In the original event, the focus was on the fact that Cordelia devotedly protected the fairies, rather than the fact that she kicked out the Bicorn.

‘What if she gives her something else?’

Because what Jude and Cordelia needed right now was the Sacred Rod, Moonlight.

However, unlike Jude, Cordelia’s eyes were glistening with anticipation without thinking of anything else.

“Cordelia, I think this would be good for you, the wizard.”

When the Fairy Queen shook her hand elegantly, the roots of the trees covering the floor opened, and a wooden stick with silver jewels, short to be called a rod, but long enough to be a cane, came out.

‘Moonlight!’

Jude and Cordelia cheered almost simultaneously in their hearts.

“It’s an unusual item, but it’s too big for us to use. It would be better to be in the hands of those who have good hearts than to be left in a place like this. Take it.”

Fortunately, it was a line similar to the original event.

Jude was relieved, and Cordelia smiled and reached out to the Moonlight.

“And Jude, I will reward you too.”

By the time Cordelia was happy to hold the Moonlight tightly in her hands, the Fairy Queen looked back at Jude and spoke.

From this point on, it was not in the original event, but Jude had more expectations than worries.

‘If I get anything, it’s a plus.’

It is different from Moonlight. Originally, I shouldn’t have received anything, but honestly, it was a profit no matter what I will receive.

‘What will the fairies give me? Fairy Stone? Fairy Whispers?’

It was the time to think of these and other items in my head.

“Take it.”

When the Fairy Queen waved her hand gracefully again, this time, a branch automatically moved and held out a silver ring to Jude.

Soon after, Jude’s eyes opened wide.

‘Don’t tell me?’

The identity of the ring.

Cordelia was also surprised.

If Moonlight was a B-rank item, the item in front of us was actually an A-rank, but in a sense, closer to an S-rank.

‘Fairy Steps!’

The effect was simple.

The number of daily uses varies from one to three depending on the user’s ability, but the user can jump over space.

In fact, from the game’s perspective, it was a rather vague explanation.

However, the walkthrough site, Legend of Heroes Wall, summarized the Fairy Steps as follows.

Ignore enemy attacks.

The moment the attack comes in, you will be temporarily moved to another space to completely avoid the attack.

What was different from normal evasion was the fact that there was no need at all to move on the spot.

It was indeed a tremendous effect, even if there was a daily limit in the number of uses.

‘You’re giving me this?!’

Of course, defeating the Bicorn was not an easy task.

Maybe the Bicorn caused more trouble to the fairies than I could have imagined.

But even so, the reward felt a bit excessive.

“This has the same reason as the Moonlight. Moreover, the Fairy Steps were originally made to be used by other races.”

And it wasn’t just that.

The Fairy Queen, who can transcend space and even time, felt a strong fate from Jude and Cordelia, though it was limited.

‘It’s touching.’

The fate of the world.

The fate of these two wasn’t going to just end with an individual’s destiny.

‘If I had been a little stronger, I would have known more.’

The Fairy Queen in this world wasn’t just one, and she was still a young Fairy Queen.

But she was definitely a queen, and it was also true that she felt a strong fate.

Therefore, the Fairy Queen did not hesitate to pass on the Fairy Steps and Moonlight to Jude and Cordelia.

“Thank you.”

When Jude carefully accepted the ring and bowed to her, the Fairy Queen smiled gracefully and then looked at Cordelia.

I’m happy to get an unexpected high-end item, but in a word, I was envious and slightly upset because Jude received a higher-than-expected item.

Though her appearance was cute, but the Fairy Queen made a deeper smile.

“There’s a reason why this is the reward.”

Cordelia flinched at the Fairy Queen’s words, but soon nodded.

In fact, Cordelia roughly knew the reason.

She was a wizard, and Jude was a warrior.

It was only natural to give a wizard a magic wand, and an evasive item to a close-combat warrior.

But the Fairy Queen suddenly shook her head.

She knew what Jude and Cordelia were thinking, and it wasn’t wrong, but there was actually one more reason.

“I like a handsome man more than a pretty woman.”

The Fairy Queen was a fairy after all.

The Fairy Queen wore an elegant smile in front of Jude and Cordelia who looked at her with a blank expression.