EP.116 Self-Introduction in the Abyss
“Haa.”
I let out a deep sigh. That alone drew the attention of everyone in the training room.
It’s different from Tir’s natural charisma.
The skill of reading and calculating everything—the gaze, gestures, interests, and even their current thoughts—to capture the audience’s attention. A form of misdirection.
“I suppose I have no choice. For all of you, I shall reveal my true identity.”
I cupped my face with my hand, adding weight to the moment. My lowered eyes were visible between my fingers.
I don’t reveal everything. Only the necessary parts. They can fill in the rest themselves.
Alright, shall I try reading their thoughts?
‘Finally deciding to come clean? Yeah, hurry up and confess! I want to graduate from the Abyss already!’
The regressor: anticipation.
‘True identity? Whatever, probably dragged here like me! We’re all trapped anyway, what’s the point of figuring out identities! Young one, for your strength, you lack boldness!’
The immortal: indifference.
‘…This is serious. I still don’t know what’s what. Even if I want to know more about Hugh, will I even understand his words…!’
Tir… what is this. What do I call that? Generation gap?
“Woof….”
When did you even get here?
Anyway, now that everyone who needs to hear is gathered, shall I start?
“Now, I am.”
Tap.
As I spoke, I pulled my hand out of my pocket.
My naturally extended hand held a deck of cards. I instantly split it into five, stretched them out like a spring for a moment, then swiftly combined them back.
Then, putting my hands together, I said earnestly and pitifully.
“I’m a petty criminal caught for card gambling…. Really.”
“Hey, you! To the very end!”
“I swear by the Heavenly God Jimo-shin and myself. If that’s not enough, I’ll stake the mother I’ve never even seen. How’s that, enough proof?”
“Like hell it is! A card gambler?”
“No, look. This hand movement, isn’t it unusual?”
I showed the regressor diamonds in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Then, with a wave and shake of my hand, they had changed into spades of the same numbers.
‘What? He changed the card suits?’
Even the regressor momentarily lost track of my movements. Her suspicion shifted direction for a moment, focusing on the cards.
‘One of the Seven Colors Eyes, Second Color, the Overlooking Crimson Eye!’
The regressor’s eyes briefly tinged orange. I was so dumbfounded I stopped the magic.
Honestly, using the Seven Colors Eyes to see through a trick is cheating.
I showed magic to divert attention, but I shouldn’t perform magic in front of her anymore. She’ll expose all my secrets.
‘They weren’t changed. From the start, two cards were stuck back to back! To think it even fooled my eyes for a moment!’
I’m proud that she acknowledges it, but I’m not doing magic anymore. For a magician, the trick is life.
I slid the doubled cards apart, spreading them as I continued my explanation.
“But, I’m no ordinary petty criminal.”
When I flipped those spread cards again, the spades had turned into clubs. I only swapped one card hidden in my hand each time I flipped, but this trick was so shocking that everyone sitting readjusted their posture.
‘Wait, what trick is this? Third Color of the Seven Colors Eyes, the Piercing Green Eye!’
No way!
Before the trick could be exposed, I knocked over the podium and scattered the cards in all directions. Crash— the podium tumbled with a clatter. While Azi, startled, looked around, I gathered the cards I’d pretended to throw everywhere and tapped them into a neat stack.
“In my own way, I’m a legendary competitor in the back alleys of the military state. A gambler who may lose a round but never loses a game. A one-way path for stakes. A magician on the card table. That is my true identity.”
I packaged myself grandiosely, but it ultimately meant one thing.
“…A gambler?”
“Summarizing me that simply stings a bit, but yes, that’s part of me! A back-alley magician who reads minds, strikes unexpectedly, and dazzles enemies with fluid sleight of hand. I am Hughe’s!”
I stepped one foot back, pretended to grab a non-existent hat with one hand, and spread the other hand gracefully as I bowed. If it had just been that, it would’ve been a normal greeting.
If it hadn’t been for the cascade of white cards flowing from my left hand to my right, stopping like a slide.
In my hands, the cards were one and fifty-two, object and group, a harmony, yet each fluttering separately like doves—an orchestra.
The audience was only three, but I showed off my dexterity, captivating everyone.
Finishing my short performance, I snapped my fingers and said.
“How about it? Do you believe me now?”
Even after my full performance, the regressor was still half-doubting.
“A gambler? Not an assassin or something?”
“I told you, it’s true.”
“Lies! The way you handled the colonel was clean enough to call you an assassin. Yet you’ve never killed anyone?”
“Uh….”
Well, I need to correct that a little.
I scratched my chin ambiguously and replied.
“Hey. There’s a misunderstanding. I was arrested for fraudulent gambling. So, I was caught for petty crimes.”
“I heard that.”
“And have you heard this saying? If you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime?”
“I know it, but… wait. Don’t tell me….”
The regressor, understanding belatedly, pointed at me with a horrified face.
“You committed murder, but since you weren’t caught, you’re not a murderer…?”
“Correct! Ahaha. It’s embarrassing you guessed so easily.”
At my clumsy smile, the regressor shot up and shouted.
“No, that’s not something to be embarrassed about! You did kill! How is that a petty criminal!”
“I wasn’t caught for a felony, so I’m a petty criminal. Oh, and don’t misunderstand. Normally, even when I kill, I don’t do it with my own hands.”
“That’s even worse!”
Groaning, the regressor held her head, but still seemed slightly less confused than before as she muttered.
“In short, the military state caught a swindler gambler and accidentally snagged a big fish like you?”
“I’m no big fish. I’m just a gambler. It’s just that sometimes when the stakes get high, many people try to settle it with blades rather than cards… so I learned a bit of self-defense.”
“Self-defense, my foot. It’s assassination skills.”
“You’re making me sound like a villain. I’m a kind person! Normally, I walk the back alleys, putting smiles on the faces of gloomy children!”
“I’d be lucky if the kids just don’t cry….”
Watching the regressor mutter blankly, I kept my smile and inwardly sighed with relief.
Good. I’ve crossed a major hurdle.
“Then, at first, pretending to be an instructor…”
“Who reveals their identity right away? Though I didn’t expect blades to fly at me.”
“How did you deflect Celestial Shards?”
“I’m used to these ambushes. Still, deflecting the side was half luck. My card-flicking skill came in handy.”
“How you figured out my stealth technique.”
“Honestly, I didn’t figure out the stealth. I figured out your personality, Shei. Mr. Shei, your inner thoughts are plain to see.”
“Kuh!”
As the regressor was momentarily hit where it hurt, I sighed and muttered with a melancholy look.
“Hoo. Still, I was hiding it because I’m not proud of offing people… but it’s come to this. It can’t be helped. The past can only be forgotten with effort, it can’t be erased.”
Outwardly, I play the criminal who wants to deny his past. This gives plausibility to why I’ve been hiding my identity until now.
As I lamented like that, Tir carefully comforted me.
“Do not blame yourself, Hugh. All who survive stand atop corpses. I do not care how many you have killed.”
I appreciate it, but hearing that from someone who’s killed over five digits feels odd. It feels like being recognized by a greater criminal.
“That’s nothing! I’m not boasting, but I have a history of tearing two people to death! Stop grumbling and let’s get along comfortably!”
The immortal, in his case, is just scary. How can you tear a person like paper? What if I’m torn too if I mess with him?
The regressor, who had roughly accepted things by then, suddenly asked as if remembering.
“Then, how did you know about the Abyss?”
“Just bits picked up here and there, plus information I found here to figure it out. Petty criminals like us daydream about those things when bored. What structure Tartarus has, how to escape.”
“…So you knew you were a big enough fish to be dragged to Tartarus.”
“Oh come on! I’m telling you I’m not! Keep calling me a big fish and you’ll jinx me!”
The mood was much more relaxed than before. The regressor seemed sufficiently satisfied with my answers.
‘A big fish unluckily caught. That explains it.’
Suspicion is an emotion with poor fuel efficiency. You have to pour in enormous energy to maintain that sharp tension.
So, the regressor, who had been on high alert, wanted to let go of her wariness after this ambush. That’s why she demanded an explanation from me, and forced herself to be content with an imperfect one.
‘Though, what I still don’t understand is Tirkanjyaka….’
To prevent her from going into more suspicious territory, I changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’m more curious about you, Mr. Shei.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. I really was caught, but you infiltrated on purpose, right? With all sorts of treasures, and someone coming to rescue you later.”
I sat on the toppled podium and said meaningfully.
“Aren’t you the real big fish? I’ve never heard of such a young and strong swordsman like you, Mr. Shei.”
“Big fish? Kuh.”
Chuckling, the regressor replied casually.
“Big fish, sure. You could call me that.”
“And I hear a priestess of the Earth Mother is coming to save you.”
“She’s not exactly a colleague. Just an acquaintance. But how did you know she’s a priestess of Earth Mother?”
Now, even her counter-questions held no real suspicion.
At least for the remaining time, she’ll be at ease.
Good, that’s good.
I replied with a lighter heart as well.
“I heard she’s someone who can eliminate the Abyss? Considering the Abyss’s origins, it’d be stranger not to know.”
“The Abyss’s origin…? Isn’t it a land cursed by the Earth Mother?”
“Everyone knows that. I mean why the Earth Mother cursed it.”
The regressor still looked puzzled.
Don’t tell me they came here without even knowing that? I looked at the regressor and held my forehead.