< Traditional Play (1) >
I was originally thinking of looking at Yoohyun’s skills, but to do that, I naturally had to remember the things before the regression. That was a little hard, so with the excuse that I felt a little sick, we just quickly cleared the dungeon and came back. Maybe because we had been in a cold place for quite a long time, I actually felt a little chilly, too.
“Take it with the poison resistance off. It’s a relief at that, that you can turn it off; if you’re a stat F, there isn’t much of a difference in level of immunity compared to Unawakened People.”
My brother, who had pushed me to the bed and held out cough medicine and a cup of water, said. It wasn’t to the point of having to take medicine, but I obediently accepted and swallowed it. So I wouldn’t forget that I had turned off the poison resistance, I put a memo on the first screen of my cell phone. I shouldn’t turn off the fear resistance for a long time even at home. It wasn’t anything like depression resistance, but it should be of help.
“You also caught colds and such when you were young.”
“It should be over five years since the last time I caught a cold?”
I stared blankly at Yoohyun who was getting rid of the cup of water. I had thought that the last 5 years had become nonexistent, since I had regressed. But apparently, it was actually that it had separated into a different world, and was combined with this time’s world.
But that was impossible for my already dead brother. He couldn’t be combined, and disappeared.
‘…There shouldn’t be much of a difference between becoming nonexistent and disappearing.’
Even so, it felt like I had been strongly hit in the back of my head[1]. …Instead of my head, should I say my heart? It might’ve been a problem with the volleyball’s choice in words. Putting aside ‘eliminate’, what was up with ‘cutting out’? It kept on feeling like he was thrown away. It felt like he would stay in that dungeon, the way I laid him down, still the way he was. It was a cold and hard ground. I shouldn’t have regressed that fast. I had gotten poison resistance too. It could’ve been okay to stay a little longer.
-Chirp
Something soft touched my hand. I saw two round and black eyes looking up at me. I raised my hand and petted Chirpie.
I had a lot of thoughts, but the present right now was more important.
“Yoohyun. That cultist religion thing – exactly what is it?”
“I said I don’t really know either.”
“Tell me the parts you know, then.”
Yoohyun tilted his head sideways and looked at me.
“Why suddenly? Did you hear something weird or something?”
“Something weird… should I say it’s that?”
When I regressed, I had planned on living quietly. Somehow, this and that had snowballed, but my basic determination hadn’t changed. Even after the system came in contact, I was still on the relaxed side.
Since I knew the 5 years that wouldn’t have much of a problem as long as I was well-behaved.
“Just that they have a connection with you.”
“Of course there’s a connection. But it’s not to the level that hyung needs to be bothered. Hurry and sleep.”
Saying so, he left. The door was shut and Peace climbed up to the bed. As I petted Peace, I organized my thoughts.
‘That they agreed not to mention each other, probably means that they are at a level similar to the system manufacturers.’
Not just a cultist religion. Those suspicious guys had a connection with Yoohyun. On top of that, they had already interfered. To the point that the system manufacturers could make a dungeon for me.
Above all, the interference that was talked about this time, would be a different progress from before the regression.
In not even two months, a lot of things had changed, but I had thought it was in a positive direction. The obstacle of me had disappeared and was instead being of help, so I had thought that naturally, Yoohyun would grow much faster and easier.
Without any problem. …There should be no problem. This time.
This time.
I held my cell phone. I frowned for a moment, and made a call. Not much time passed before I heard a familiar voice.
[I wonder why you’re calling first for once.]
“There is something I would like to ask.”
Sung Hyunjae. If it was this person, I was certain that there would be something he knew. Even looking at his path before the regression, he was a man with a lot of suspicious points. Suddenly stepping back from Korea, and his whereabouts becoming unknown not long after, too.
If you asked me if he was trustable, I wouldn’t know, but you never know anything unless you try[2].
“Do you know about the cultist religion that is like Confucianism?”
Instead of a reply, there was a low laugh. As soon as I heard that, I thought that I guessed right.
[Did you get invited to a religion or something?]
“No. It is personal curiosity.”
[If it is Han Yoojin-gun’s personal curiosity, it must be related to the young master.]
“Since you know, please do not purposely check, and reply first.”
[You’re more prickly than usual. If I drag his precious hyung-nim into pointless matters, the young master will get angry.]
“It is okay for me to get angry?”
After a short silence, an interested voice spilled out.
[Would that be so? Just leaving alone the things you have strewn about like riverside pebbles, like some wind had blown. Our Han Yoojin-gun is much more dangerous than the youthful young master. Is there any need to say so?]
It was as Sung Hyunjae said. I was letting go of things all the time. More than what this uselessly sharp man thought.
I had the confidence that I could raise my power as much as I wanted as long I was determined to. I had already established myself. Once I grew Blue, even if I excluded Peace, there were two S-Ranks affiliated to me. On top of that, there was the sole item producer, Myeongwoo. And it wouldn’t be hard to formally bring over another S-Rank, Yoon Yoon.
Would just that be it? I also had an overflowing amount of information on other S-Rank Hunters. And I could raise special skill Hunters any time, too. It was easy to bind Hunters to me whether through contracts or something else. Information about dungeons, and items, and a lot of other things besides that. I had a lot of weapons I could swing around. On top of that, couldn’t I request it of the system manufacturers, and match the dungeon appearance times favorably?
But I just.
I wanted to see Yoohyun grow. Once again, my 5 years later brother. And past that.
This time I would be able to watch over him, purely proud and admiring.
“Then please tell me.”
[I can’t explain with words, but it seems like I can show you.]
He couldn’t with words, he said. It seemed that the cultist religion, like the system side, also imposed restrictions so that information wouldn’t leak. It might be that Yoohyun didn’t not know well, but that his mouth was shut for him.
“That is not bad either. How will you show me?”
[Prepare that bracelet from last time and sharing the doubling the attack skill effect. And Noah, too.]
“Consider that all of it is prepared – and next?”
[In order to take the bait, we have to go into an S-Rank dungeon. Though before that, you’ll have to calm the young master down from running wild.]
……An S-Rank dungeon of all things? If it was A-Rank, then I would be able to persuade him, but S-Rank was a little. That it was a dungeon, was also uneasy.
“Can’t it be an A-Rank or lower? And I also wonder if my safety can be guaranteed.”
[Don’t worry. That side doesn’t plan on harming you either. I’m sure of that.]
So that meant he could take care of my life. I should tell Yoohyun about Do Hamin and Yoon Yoon, too. It was a problem whether Yoon Yoon could be contacted right away, but they were consistently updating their social media even after going to China, so it should be fine. Did they go to find subordinates, or to sightsee? China should have the social media blocked, but they sure were nicely leaving a sightseeing record.
I asked him the reason why he was confident they didn’t plan on harming me, but I didn’t get a proper answer this time either. The system was like that too – did they sew their mouths; everyone was vague.
[For the dungeon, there needs to be an excuse to change it. A reason to purposely take Han Yoojin-gun to an A-Rank or lower dungeon…… I guess I will have to ask for a date.]
…Why was he running away to a weird direction? This person, really. As I suppressed wanting to just hang up, and listened, it was a plausible excuse.
[Didn’t you show quite a lot of interest in the ruins in the A-Rank dungeon last time? I know a good place to explore. It’s a low grade A-Rank dungeon’s lakeside castle. There are several high towers raised up, and the largest tower in the middle is hardly damaged. The weather is good, and there aren’t any flight monsters. As long as you forget about the monsters underwater for a moment, it’s scenery that isn’t inferior to tourist sites.]
“To think an S-Rank Hunter is a tourist guide – it is extravagant.”
[So isn’t the sincerity impressive? I can do this much for Han Yoojin-gun.]
You sure are amazing, really.
Anyways, if I was slightly insistent, it was at a level where I could say ‘I’ll go on vacation for two to three days’. Even though it was an A-Rank, it was low grade and there was flight-capable Noah, so if it was fast, we would be able to come out in two days. If the underwater monsters were in crowds, it would be even faster. Electricity and poison. They were attributes exactly perfect for causing a disturbance underwater.
“I supposed we cannot increase the headcount.”
[It’s okay with a few A-Rank Hunters, but not the young master. We have to seem handleable for them to prod us, right? It is also uneasy with Noah, but there’s no helping it for safety.]
Did he mean that if we went in with a reasonable headcount, that side would contact us? Just roughly looking at it, it was a dangerous method. And there was no way to be sure Sung Hyunjae wasn’t in collusion with that side. Looking at the contents of what he said, it was certain that he had a deeper connection than Yoohyun.
‘I wouldn’t have wanted to rush in, if Yoon Yoon hadn’t become the Dokkaebi King.’
As long as I was alive, he would probably save me. If he happened to be thinking of killing me, there was no need to work this hard. There was a limit to a tiger giving its best in hunting a rabbit – would it put in a lot of effort to make a trap? It would die with just being hit once.
“Then I will look forward to it.”
I ended the call and threw my cell phone down. Once I knew, what should I do next? If it was threatening, unlike the volleyball’s words.
I opened my status window, and scrutinized the list of titles, of skills.
[Last Repayment(L)]
The skill where the I got all of the target’s skills and abilities doubled upon the death of a keyword influenced target. That it was repayment; it was a name that was dumbfounding anew. If you were going to call it a repayment, take out the memory transfer or something. They said that Deer guy named the Perfect Caregiver title and skills, but I thought it wasn’t so for this one. It also seemed like they had just changed it slightly from the Caregiver title’s skill, Last Repayment[3].
‘……It should be enough with A-Rank, too, right?’
Since there was also the doubled attack skill effect. And if it was applied to about A-Rank, I could save up to S-Rank. I remembered the special isolation center that Song Taewon mentioned. Society was sweet for high rank Hunters, but criminals who needed special handling. They would be usable. Though if you thought of the skill names, the keyword, it was irony that really wasn’t funny at all.
-Chirp cheep
When I stared at just the status window for a long time, Chirpie on my lap tilted its head. I suddenly closed the status window and looked down at Chirpie.
“It’s okay.”
-Chirp
“Chirpie, you’ll be okay, too. And don’t go into a dungeon even as a mistake.”
-Chirp chirp!
The lovably opening yellow beak, and the soft round body were incredibly endearing. How was it born this cutely, our Chirpie. I really didn’t like the volleyball, that bastard, in various ways.
“Would dad not be able to protect just one you?”
Of course, the other kids, too. Whatever I had to do.
At me saying I would be going on a date with the Seseong Guild Leader… or not that, but going sightseeing, Yoohyun obviously opposed it. If that guy had passively said that it was okay, I would’ve been more surprised.
I had to list that there were no flying monsters and that there was Noah and that there were poison skills and my poison resistance and even the bead, before ‘then it’s okay’ came out, but with a natural sequence, it was followed with the words that he would go as well. I had to work hard again to refuse that with nice words.
“So if I go missing or something, you can just contact Do Hamin and the Dokkaebi. You can find and extract me right away, so stop worrying.”
[Even so, aren’t you being too easygoing? Who knows what could happen to you in the meantime. I know that hyung’s resistance skills are good, but they’re not omnipotent.]
“If my state is weird, then take me and go to any dungeon gate, knock three times, and go inside. The system administrators will help.”
Since they said there wasn’t anybody who could work instead of me, they would probably use whatever move they had to. If it was this much, it was nearly perfect preparation. Of course, if I died, then that was the end.
I persuaded Yoohyun, and told Myeongwoo, and left the kids to others. I finished arranging this and that, and left the facility with Noah. Of course, I had to add that it wasn’t because of him, to Noah, too.
“This is my personal matter. It has no relation to Noah-ssi. Rather, I am making things inconvenient for Noah-ssi, so I am sorry.”
“No, not at all.”
Noah, who was restless at the words that we would be going into a dungeon with the Seseong Guild Leader, finally calmed down. Then, I explained to him about the effect of the necklace that the Shalos’ Bead was hanging on, and passed it over. He could be swept up in my matters and face danger, so I should prepare things for him.
“You said that you have a gate stone, right? If you happen to think it is dangerous, use this, and go to the exit and escape.”
“What about Han Yoojin-ssi?”
“I have mine, too. Here.”
There was one extra in my inventory in the same necklace form. When I said I was going into an A-Rank dungeon, Myeongwoo made them into necklaces for easy use.
When we went to the parking lot, Sung Hyunjae had arrived first and was waiting. Unlike the usual him, he seemed excited. It also seemed like he was having fun. He even personally opened the car door for me and smiled with his eyes.
“Don’t you think it’ll be a fun time?”
“I hope it isn’t optional sightseeing that is piled on with additional charges.”
“I’ll just accept a tip.”
What tip to someone who should be overflowing with wealth? It was my first overseas(?) sightseeing, so I wanted no-tip, no-options.
Grumbling, I got into the car. The destination was the A-Rank dungeon, Lake’s Castle. It was a place managed by Soodam Guild, which had the country’s S-Rank Hunter that I hadn’t met yet, Yoon Kyeongsoo, as the guild leader.
[1] it’s similar to ‘being stabbed in the back’, i.e. betrayed, but it’s used more variably than the eng phrase, for ex. to mean when you’ve come across sth unexpected and shocking. unless he means he feels betrayed that the system ppl tricked him into regressing, but i thought in this case, it would be better to use the lit. tl
[2] lit. ‘you have to go into a tiger’s den to try touching the remaining fur’, where ‘you have to go into a tiger’s den to catch the baby tiger’ is an idiom that means ‘you have to do the required actions or put in the effort if you want a certain result’. The word for fur here is also used metaphorically to mean ‘small (amount), trivial’, so maybe he’s saying that you have to make an effort to see even a tiny bit of success
[3] just a reminder, the current skill is 보은 (repayment for kindess) and the prev skill was 보답 (just ‘repayment’)