Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 245

– It’s a snow lotus.

“What’s that.”

– What do you mean what. It’s a spiritual medicine. It’s a flower that blooms on snowy mountains. It must’ve been difficult for a human to obtain.

“…That must be why his fingers were red.”

Noyi muttered quietly, “If all that happened while getting a snow lotus was his fingers turning red, is he even human?” but Ara didn’t hear it. With complicated feelings, Ara gently touched the petals of the snow lotus.

“If it was that hard to obtain, he should’ve just eaten it himself…”

– Master already has internal energy at the level of a peak expert, at least in that regard.

“Sorry for only having a lot of internal energy.”

– Your insight is shallow, so you can’t use a large amount of energy at once, but in terms of quantity, that’s true.

“Noyi, you’re pretty arrogant.”

– Thanks to that, it’s easier for me to use my power after contracting with you, Master.

“I’m glad you’re at least comfortable…”

Ara rested her chin on her hand.

The phoenix Noyi was a character who only appeared briefly in passing in the novel.

This world wasn’t only a martial arts setting, it also partially mixed elements of a cultivation world, and spirit beasts and immortals appeared briefly through the Purification Saintess.

Originally, Noyi was discovered by the Purification Saintess shortly before Ara’s death, but at that time, his abilities had not yet awakened, so he ended up dying. He was merely a device to show that spirit creatures existed in the story.

When he was discovered by the Purification Saintess a few years later, he had already been attacked by a fox of the Thousand Mountains and was on the verge of death, and when Ara found him now in this life, he had been in the same condition. He said he had fled from the fox prepared to die.

Ara hesitated for only a moment.

‘Since the female lead won’t be able to save him anyway, wouldn’t it be fine if I try my best?’

The thought came afterward, and before she knew it, Ara was already taking care of Noyi.

Noyi survived with difficulty. Ara hadn’t been able to consume all the spiritual medicines she had received as gifts, so she had stored them carefully. Among them, what she gave to Noyi was the inner core of a carp called Solar Golden Carp.

Thanks to her overflowing internal energy, she suffered no backlash even after forming a contract with a phoenix. She occasionally felt tired, but that level was manageable.

Rather, thanks to Noyi, she was finally able to make an escape plan that felt somewhat realistic.

“Your existence must never be discovered.”

– Then start by talking to yourself less, Master.

“Ack.”

– I’ve already put up a sound barrier. Please be more careful.

“Our Noyi is the best.”

Ara smiled brightly. The chick looked at her as if she were pathetic and shook its head. Even so, it was cute.

* * *

Time passed quickly again.

Ara turned eighteen.

Her internal energy and agility were on par with a peak expert, but her swordsmanship, blade techniques, and fist techniques remained only at the level of a second-rate expert.

Ara was more than satisfied with that. Her father, Joo Gugok, and her mother, Dang Miyeon, also told her that if she didn’t want to train further, she didn’t have to. They said they would protect her, and if something ever happened, she only needed to run far away.

“Wouldn’t it be cowardly if I’m the only one who runs away?”

“Why would that be cowardly?”

“Because it means leaving everyone else to die.”

“We won’t die just because you’re not there.”

That confidence is insane. Ara was momentarily speechless. Her parents were looking at her as if she were a child worried that the sky might fall.

“You should live with your own survival as your top priority. Wherever you are, we’ll come to find you.”

“That is, if something like that even happens. It won’t.”

Ara didn’t want to grow attached to her parents either. But that was impossible.

Then at the very least, she wanted to try not to grow fond of Sa Yihyeon.

“Right, Ara-ya. Wherever you are, I’ll definitely find you and save you, so don’t worry and just run.”

I want to run away from you though. What am I supposed to do if you come looking for me.

Instead of answering, Ara only smiled. Sa Yihyeon, completely oblivious, smiled back brightly like sunlight.

*

At last, the Purification Saintess Jae Nabi appeared.

Sa Yihyeon had gone out to settle a small conflict that had broken out near the border between the Thousand Mountains and the Western Regions, and there he discovered Jae Nabi, the sole survivor in the ruins.

Jae Nabi’s appearance was dirty, her body covered in soot.

Standing behind her father, Ara carefully examined Jae Nabi’s face.

Just as described in the novel, even soot couldn’t hide her beauty. Her glossy black hair and mysterious eyes tinged with violet were striking. She would surely be even prettier when she smiled brightly.

She was so beautiful that it felt like everyone Ara loved wouldn’t be able to help but love her too.

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