NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1013
<1013 – Eastern Experience Log (12)>
The Mini Noddy Sisters were clearly not normal creatures; they were more like bizarre life forms with immense power.
However, this was the first time any being had approached us for a friendly conversation in this hellish land, so the warriors looked back at the head of the family to wait for a decision.
The family heads pretended to be contemplative in silence, while inwardly, they connected spiritually with the wizard or took part themselves in mental discussions.
– Can we trust them?
– Contract-type weird creatures are usually stronger than ordinary ones. If we fall for a trap contract…
– Even we would not be able to escape disaster.
– Generally, ignoring them is the answer, but…
– The losses are too great.
In the end, a friendly decision was made.
“How many emotions do you want? Can the emotions taken be restored?”
Myung Gwi, head of the prestigious Myung family, asked questions that needed careful consideration.
The Mini Noddies, disheartened by the meticulousness of the middle-aged man, replied.
“I want fear!”
“I want despair.”
“Anything! But give me a lot!”
“Emotion recovery? It depends on how much you eat!”
“Recovering from multiple emotions at once is generally faster than from a single emotion, right?”
“Yup, that’s right!”
“Ambition was tasty. Can I have that?”
“I want young love. Partners, come to me!”
The specialized emotion handlers, the Mini Noddies, seemed reasonable to listen to.
“By any chance, what help can you provide?”
“I’ll find you a safe residence.”
“I’ll give you experience potion filled with the residents’ experiences.”
“I have a skill book filled with advanced techniques!”
“…!”
The Mini Noddy Sisters had a suspiciously enticing list of products.
The secret lay with the residents and weird creatures they had traded with first.
They were beings born from the Dark Mana of Oknodie.
As the Demon King Noddy awakened, having penetrated the depths of the unconscious with dark mana, their dark mana seeped with various game knowledge.
Thus, the knowledge of veteran players, item crafting abilities, and negotiation skills emerged.
The Mini Noddies had become NPCs for repeat quests, exchanging emotional gifts for rewards.
– Can they communicate with both humans and weird creatures?
– This could be a growth opportunity.
– Having already decided to become a Dark Sorcerer, it’s too late for me to pull back now.
The mental assembly concluded that each would make individual trades based on the emotions they were willing to sacrifice.
This was soon shared with the ordinary warriors, and trades based on free will were determined.
“I want to ensure safety first.”
“Me too.”
“Please take us along as well.”
The Mini Noddies skillfully guided people like tour guides taking tourists around.
Among them, Myung Gwi, head of the Myung family, displayed somewhat peculiar behavior; all the warriors of his sect followed one Mini Noddy under his command.
“Is it possible for one person to pay the cost while many benefit?”
“Of course! But you can only contract with me! You can’t trade with other Mini Noddies!”
“Any amount is fine.”
“Then I’ll collect the fee for a safe communal residence. Give me the hopes of ten warriors!”
The Mini Noddy they chose was the Mini Noddy of Hope.
Each sister wore different colored badges for easy identification, and the Mini Noddy drawing hope had a white cloth wrapped around its arm.
White is a long and holy color.
With the wizard’s insights added, the White Mini Noddy successfully attracted attention in the Myungwol Yudo Association.
‘Is it such a big deal to take away a bit of hope?’
‘Many live their lives without hope.’
Carelessly offering up warriors as sacrifices, the Myungwol Yudo Association.
As the hope emotions were extracted from the warriors, they drew their swords with lifeless eyes and, without hesitation, stabbed their own chests to commit seppuku.
“Huh!”
“W-What’s wrong with those guys?!”
“Could it be… they committed suicide because they had lost hope?!”
Even if the emotions were consumed, they would revive with time.
There was no lie in that statement.
What was overlooked was how to endure until the lost emotions were refilled.
A person who has completely lost hope could die at any time.
The hot and unpleasant wind might drive someone to throw away their hope.
If a pessimistic future is predicted because the happiness circuit isn’t running, one might just end their life.
Even a little unpleasant event or lack of change in the environment could make one a highly volatile bomb, ready to lean into suicidal impulses.
“If you stay here, you won’t be discovered for the next 24 hours. What shall we trade next?”
“Wait, 24 hours?!”
“The Spirit Vein shifts, making safe lands change constantly. Finding a safe spot for 24 hours is quite a feat!”
The wizard who had been communicating secretly with Myung Gwi confirmed that this was true.
When a massive force of magical territory descends to the ground, the Spirit Vein, a pathway for magical energy, must also change.
It’s like placing a heavy bead on a fabric lightly sprinkled with sand; the fabric sinks, and the sand gathers toward it.
The bead represents the Magical Territory’s Avatar.
The sand represents the Spirit Energy.
The point where the handkerchief sank is the Spirit Vein.
However, there was already a tremendously powerful monster, the Dark Tentacle Bird, residing in this Spirit Vein.
‘If we cling to a contract with that small malicious creature, we’ll be stripped of all our emotions and face ruin!’
The wizard regretted being greedy too late.
“How much hope do we need to sacrifice to escape from the Avatar?”
“Hmm… One hundred!”
One hundred.
This essentially meant sacrificing the elite warriors they had brought from the Myungwol Yudo Association.
– Do it.
“That’s impossible.”
A crack formed between the wizard and head Myung Gwi for the first time.
– Why?
“These warriors are practically everything from Myungwol Yudo. Even if I return alone, losing all the core warriors means we can’t manage the disputes with other families or deal with the creatures. The Myung family’s territory would shrink to a tenth, no, even more!”
– So you plan for everyone to die happily here, huh?
Myung Gwi came up with a different answer.
“Hey, strange creature.”
“Call me White Mini Noddy!”
“White. Do you forcibly extract emotions from beings who refuse to offer them?”
“Forcibly taking them is inefficient. I can’t get the Bellocashio-style contract magic boost. But I can still eat them!”
“Bellocashio…?”
Thinking it was merely the name of the wicked Dark Sorcerer and the Mini Noddy using contract magic retrieved from the unconscious, Myung Gwi moved on.
Yet at the end of their mutual understanding, there was someone who could not pass silently.
“Then I’ll offer the hope of the Dark Shadow wizard, Cheong Woo, who revived the Myungwol Yudo Association.”
– You fool… you’ve made a foolish move. Our cooperation ends here.
The wizard Cheong Woo revealed his true form, wrapped in darkness, having ended his long partnership with Myung Gwi.
– White evil spirit. Sacrifice the hopes of all except me. Let me out of here using them as sacrifices.
“I was the first to form a sacrificial contract!”
– The total amount of recoverable hope is larger under my contract. In case of unspecified contracts, a choice is possible. Take whichever you desire!
Suddenly, Myung Gwi and Cheong Woo, eager to sacrifice each other, grew frustrated.
In front of the division of the two trash rats who had utilized each other, the White Mini Noddy tilted its head.
“Why do I have to choose just one?”
“What?”
– Huh?
“I’ll accept both. Now, let’s escape.”
“Wait—”
– Oh no…!
They were naturally led outside the Avatar by the powers of the White Noddy.
However, according to the contract, the ones who had their emotions taken stood at the entrance of the Avatar, reflecting.
‘Once the connection with the inspection and the wizard was severed, we were clearly at a disadvantage compared to other inspectors or wizards. In the wake of the Magical Territory’s arrival, it’s inevitable that we’ll face a desperate future in this intense competition.’
Pessimistic despair about the future.
Unable to bear it, Myung Gwi twisted his impulse to commit suicide.
‘I have no hope, but I have a desire not to perish alone. If I lack hope, I can just give others a future devoid of it!’
This was malice of a different caliber than that of an ordinary warrior who would hastily end their life upon losing hope!
Only with malice, Myung Gwi led the few remaining warriors toward their home, Myungju.
“Not buying us a drink as you return home means you think a drink for us isn’t worth it. What’s the point in living any longer!”
Suddenly witnessing a warrior who committed suicide due to lack of hope, the head hurriedly stopped at a nearby tavern.
“Oh, we have a group of guests. Just a moment.”
Myung Gwi, who stopped by to keep the warriors, lacking ambition and selfishness, from suddenly committing suicide.
Yet the rapid descent of hopeless warriors had only just begun.
As the tavern’s woman brought drinks in accordance with Myung Gwi’s order, those who hadn’t received their mugs due to a miscalculation suddenly drew their swords.
“How dare the tavern woman not even serve our drink! A wandering warrior such as I can no longer live to enjoy glory without acing accomplishments! What’s the point in living longer!”
“Ahh! P-Person died!”
After calming the startled tavern owner and requesting the food to be brought out, the warriors at a table who received their meals late drew their swords yet again.
“Why do the 13th swordsmen get preferential treatment over us 7th swordsmen? It’s impossible to endure the humiliation of being treated like a dullard! What’s the point in living longer!”
Like deadly flies dropping like a lemming!
After the dining hour of fear for everyone in the tavern had ended, only the seven remaining warriors sharing drinks with Myung Gwi were left.
“… From now on, we’re leaving for home day and night without stopping.”
Myung Gwi earnestly hoped.
He wished that even the wizard, who had become his enemy, would perish like this.
Of course, the Dark Shadow Cheong Woo, who was even more ambitious than Myung Gwi, had no intention of committing suicide.
‘My situation is desperate and I see no hope, but if I die, many will rejoice. I cannot do anyone any favors, so I’ll fight tooth and nail to survive.’
With that determination, Cheong Woo let Myung Gwi and the Myung family off while plotting to eradicate them.
When danger approached them, those unaware of the circumstances might conclude that Cheong Woo had grown weaker.
Now that the wizards hadn’t escaped from the Magical Territory, he would hurriedly return to Myungju.
And gather what he had left in Myungju.
While lacking hope, he would retain the ability to hinder others from succeeding.
With that will, Cheong Woo arrived in Myungju and felt it all over.
– The Spirit Vein… has disappeared?
– My Spirit Herbs.
– My creatures!
– I’ve lost everything… even my plot is unobtainable.
– What’s the point in living longer!
Before departing, he had lost all the remaining Spirit Veins and creatures because of the Oknodie.
What a great act of the Spirit Herb thief!
Big Noddy and Small Noddy.
Having received a blow from each and lost even the hope of revenge, Cheong Woo dissipated his spirit and became an idiot.
An Oknodie who unknowingly took down two Dark Sorcerers of the Eastern Empire!