This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 582

The necklace I received as a graduation gift, along with the mysterious stone attached to it.

Realizing its extraordinary nature was almost coincidental.

It must have been around the time I was in the midst of a cold war with Dogun.

Despite my feelings that had been kept since long ago going unrecognized, and being lured by my sister’s temptations, I thought I couldn’t carelessly treat the necklace personally handed to me by my future mother, or rather, my auntie, so I made sure to wear it at that time.

Given that we had spent time together for years, the chain, which initially appeared sturdy enough that it seemed unlikely to break, ultimately couldn’t withstand the weight of time.

Just moments ago, the chain, which had been perfectly intact, suddenly snapped at an unexpected moment.

Thanks to that, what had been neatly hanging around my neck began to slip down my body and roll across the floor.

The problem was that this incident happened right as I returned to the association after finishing a mission.

And as luck would have it, it was exactly at the entrance where the crowd was thickest, causing me quite a bit of trouble as I chased after it, rolling around on the floor and getting stepped on by people.

The shocking fact was that, despite it clattering harshly against the floor, the stone, which was the necklace’s centerpiece, showed not even a tiny scratch.

So, thinking that it must indeed be something extraordinary, considering it was a gift from my auntie, I brushed it off as a memory.

Who would have guessed that memory, a year and more later, would lead to this situation?

I couldn’t help but admire it while keeping my eyes calmly fixed on the person sitting across from me.

And the conclusion I reached from my careful observation was that the necklace my auntie gave me, or more specifically, the mysterious stone attached to it, seemed to hold importance far beyond what I had imagined.

What made me so certain, you ask?

Well, if it weren’t significant, there wouldn’t be any reason for that self-centered person to show such a reaction.

In that sense, how could I possibly express that expression?

Was it a look that felt like getting slapped on the back of the head but not feeling particularly bad about it? Or could it be described as the expression of someone encountering a pleasant surprise?

It was probably during that time of internal pondering.

I had shown a rare reaction, yet I wondered if it was now seen as a sort of spectacle.

“This is quite… astonishing,”

Miss Almighty, finally managing to gather her emotions, spoke in a voice that felt unusually sincere.

“I would have never guessed Yoonseo had a Seed.”

Seed.

Could that be the official name for that stone?

Seeing that it’s called that by no one other than her, it seems very likely.

Seed, huh.

The name oddly reminded me of sunflower seeds.

But the stone, bundled neatly at the end of the chain, looked a million light-years away from the image of a seed.

How could a sprout possibly grow through such a hard exterior?

Yet it was dubbed ‘Seed.’

How in the world did it come by that name?

I was about to find out soon.

After staring vacantly at the table for a moment, Miss Almighty finally spoke.

“So… you asked what exactly this item is for?”

“… Yes.”

“Um, where do I even begin explaining this…?”

Since her reaction had already been so unusual, I thought she might take a different approach and dodge the question.

Yet, by the serious expression on her face while carefully selecting her words, it seemed she didn’t intend to break her own set rules.

It was hard to believe she wouldn’t realize that, even if she opted to avoid a direct answer, I wouldn’t really have anything to say.

But she really seemed hell-bent on adhering to her own rules nonetheless.

Was this merely a matter of maintaining her minimal sense of conscience like a so-called Hero?

Or was there perhaps another reason behind it?

Maybe it had to do with Talent…

Admittedly, the possibilities were there, even if it wasn’t something frequently encountered. Some talents required certain conditions to be met for their use.

Especially peculiar and powerful talents, which sometimes had requirements like that. In a way, Bora’s talent could be seen as one of those.

After all, she could only demonstrate her talent if she drew something first.

Likewise, if Miss Almighty’s puzzling actions were due to some conditions tied to her talent…?

‘I don’t completely lack a hunch about it…’

Based on her recent actions, it seemed there was a condition not to break the rules she’d set for herself, no matter what happened.

Unlike poker, where you could only use a limited number of cards, in the game called reality, it was better to have as many cards as possible in hand.

That was perhaps the line of thought I was having at that moment.

It looked like she was deep in thought for a while but had finally arrived at a decision.

Clearing her throat briefly, Miss Almighty began her explanation.

Though it was labeled as an explanation, what came out first was practically a question.

“Have you ever been to the Mirror World? I mean, the realm of the Another Ones.”

The Mirror World.

In cultural contexts including Korea, the realm where the Another Ones reside is referred to as Heogye, meaning false or fake world. It seems in the West, they refer to Heogye as the Mirror World.

Not quite sure why it’s called that.

Anyway, what does that imply?

Despite the fact that exploration of Heogye and expedition teams were classified to some degree, my curiosity couldn’t be suppressed so I nodded earnestly.

Then, another question followed.

“Then you must have seen it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

As the thought crossed my mind, the answer was provided.

“The massive tree located at the center of Heogye.”

“… Ah.”

Now that I think about it, that was a thing.

When I first entered Heogye, I was indeed overwhelmed by its colossal size, but afterward, I didn’t have any particular stories about it, so it faded from my memory.

Yet she pinpointed that specific detail.

So, what’s the big deal about that?

“Surely you don’t think that tree is just an ordinary tree lying around everywhere, do you?”

“Uh, um…”

If I were to be honest, while I didn’t think of it quite like that, I had thought similarly.

Of course, I had learned about Heogye through my sister, so I knew that the tree wasn’t just an ordinary tree; it actually kept people trapped inside and extracted nutrients from them. But I thought that was merely a result of the harsh environment in Heogye.

So aside from its slightly larger size, I didn’t think it was anything special.

“Ordinary trees can’t grow that large. They die well before that.”

Who would have guessed I’d get called out on such a lazy assumption?

“Moreover, truly ordinary trees do not consume humans as nutrients.”

Perhaps that’s why my face felt flushed.

“So? What does that have to do with the question I asked?”

My tone somewhat roughened due to her remarks.

Honestly, I shouldn’t have said that.

“What does that have to do with the question you asked? Of course, it has everything to do with it.”

Before I knew it, a slender, delicate hand reached across the table and picked up the circular, glowing stone that lay there.

I tried to stop her before her hand could reach it, but it was in vain.

Naturally, the movements on her side far surpassed mine.

And successfully holding the stone in her hand, Miss Almighty spoke.

“This is one of the few fruits and seeds borne by that tree.”