Chapter 156: I Escaped (2)
I pulled my mask up as high as it would go, hailed a taxi in a quiet spot, and headed toward Sadang Station. Conveniently, the E-rank dungeon in question wasn’t far from the station. After getting dropped off in a secluded corner to avoid the crowd, I used my concealment skill again and entered the station to place the phone in a locker.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been in a subway station.’
Before the regression, I had a car, and now I had even fewer reasons to take the subway. With some time left before the meeting, I paused for a moment to watch the flow of people passing by.
If dungeons hadn’t appeared, I’d still be among these crowds. Yuhyun would have been riding the subway’s Line 2, passing through Sadang Station too. Now, he drives a sleek custom car instead.
‘It’s fine this way too. It’s fine.’
From a success standpoint, things were much better. Honestly, Yuhyun probably didn’t find studying all that enjoyable back then. Still, it’d be nice if he at least attended school a bit more often. …Maybe I should try persuading him to go to university with me. Do universities split students into different classes based on year?
‘Those kids look about Yuhyun’s age.’
Were they just back from a vacation? They were carrying loads of luggage. My gaze was drawn to them as if I were under a spell. They looked so cheerful. Trips like that are wonderful.
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice how quickly time flew. Soon, it was time for the meeting. Carefully avoiding bumping into anyone, I left the subway station and headed toward the dungeon. In front of the dungeon building stood four people.
One D-rank and three E-ranks. None of them seemed to possess any particularly threatening early skills. Still, to be cautious, I activated Grace.
‘No one else seems to be around.’
With just a mask to hide my face, I had to be vigilant. These people might be ordinary or even decent folks, but when something as valuable as gold is left unprotected, greed can arise even in the purest hearts. Especially since TV has been broadcasting nonstop about how ridiculously expensive Han Yujin’s “bounty” is.
‘If they decided to change careers to human trafficking, they’d probably manage.’
Of course, I wouldn’t be able to handle it, but Belare would. The small jeweled snake coiled around my wrist blinked her golden eyes and flicked her tongue quietly. She seemed quite pleased with our nighttime outing.
‘I’m counting on you, Bel.’
Low-rank Hunters usually don’t have decent poison resistance skills or items, and an A-rank poison skill could obliterate them. That said, it would be ideal if nothing happened at all.
“Thanks for working so hard, even at this late hour.”
I deactivated my concealment skill and greeted them warmly as I approached. The D-rank Hunter, who seemed to be the leader, gave me a once-over. Since I was wearing short sleeves, I couldn’t hide the Grace bracelet, so I had transformed it into a necklace. They might recognize me from TV broadcasts, after all. Instead, Belare coiled around my wrist, posing as an ornate bracelet. As long as she stayed still, she just looked like a peculiar and dazzling piece of jewelry.
Other than that, I wore only earrings, keeping my attire light and simple.
“Your voice sounds familiar.”
“Really? I get told I have a nice voice pretty often.”
I brushed it off casually and pulled out a bundle of cash. The money was packed into an envelope I had bought earlier, each containing one hundred 50,000-won bills. I handed two envelopes to the D-rank Hunter.
“Please confirm the amount.”
He quickly counted the cash and nodded.
“You mentioned you’d head straight in. Are you alone?”
“Yes. Something came up. I won’t be clearing the dungeon; I’ll be back out in twenty or thirty minutes. I’d appreciate it if you proceed with the raid as planned tomorrow.”
“What a waste of money.”
“Tell me about it. I only need to check something near the entrance… Oh, I probably shouldn’t say that.”
I shrugged deliberately.
“It’s urgent, so could you let me in quickly?”
The D-rank Hunter gave me a suspicious look but didn’t say much as he unlocked the door with a card key.
Once inside the building, I approached the gate and pulled out an outer coat. Wearing winter clothes in the middle of summer, Belare widened her jeweled eyes and shifted to my hand to avoid the flapping sleeves.
-Sssii, shh!
“It’s cold inside.”
After knocking on the gate three times, I stepped through. As always, a snowy forest unfolded before me. Snowflakes danced down softly, and when one landed on my nose, Belare startled and retracted her neck.
-Ssshhshh!
“Is this your first time seeing snow?”
Since she was still a baby and the dungeon she came from was likely a steamy jungle, this must have been new to her. Annoyed, Belare flicked her tail before snapping at a snowflake. When it melted in her mouth and turned into water, she tilted her head in confusion.
-Ssss.
Finally feeling the chill, she wriggled her way into my sleeve, fully tucking her body inside while peeking her head out cautiously. Her actions were oddly adorable.
[Hoooo~ Neeey~]
From a distance, a volleyball came bouncing toward me.
[You’re alone today? What’s the occasion?]
Belare was with me, though.
“I snuck out.”
[Honey! You shouldn’t wander around alone! It’s dangerous!]
Even the volleyball is nagging me now. I held up Grace, showing off the necklace. From the simple blue gem, a little bluebird fluttered out. Grace chirped and landed lightly on top of the volleyball.
“Grace is with me, so it’s fine—”
[Ah, Sharlos!]
The volleyball suddenly bounced high in the air.
[Was the item crafted using Sharlos’s magic stone? It looks just like Sharlos did when they were younger! Though, I’m younger than Sharlos, so I never saw them in person.]
“Looks like they did when they were younger? Wasn’t that person a dragon?”
The item’s description window clearly labeled them as a Dragon Lord.
[In that world, every creature that reaches a certain stage of growth becomes a dragon. It’s like ascending to dragonhood. Sharlos was originally a bird. Because of that, they often hung out with the White Bird.]
“…The Bird that Counts the Stars?”
I instinctively grabbed the volleyball. Grace, the little bluebird, flitted off and landed on my shoulder.
[We still haven’t found them! We don’t know where they are!]
“…So you are looking.”
[Of course, we’re searching! But if they go into hiding, there’s nothing we can do. They’re a foresight species, after all. Honestly, unless they come out on their own, they’re impossible to track.]
…They took my little brother and disappeared. Where the hell are they? Yelling at Rookie wouldn’t change anything, so I swallowed my rising frustration.
“Well, Diarma’s successor came looking for me.”
[Really? Nothing bad happened, right?]
“They offered me a deal. If I formed a contract with them, they’d save the people most important to me.”
The volleyball trembled violently.
[No! Absolutely not, Honey! You’re not going to make that contract, right? Promise me!]
“I don’t know. If things get too hard, what choice would I have? At least I could save my kids.”
I spoke in a deliberately resigned tone. The face drawn on the volleyball twisted into a desperate grimace.
[You can’t trust them! Don’t do it, please!]
“I mean, honestly, I’m worried. Before the regression, we could barely manage dungeon control, and many burst open. This time, they said the difficulty would increase even faster. Can we really keep the dungeons under control until the end? To be honest, I don’t have much confidence.”
[That’s why we’re here to help, Honey! Things are different from before your regression!]
“Then prove it. Show me something concrete so I can feel reassured.”
Specifically, give me a skill or weapon that would be useful for my little brother. Items that would accelerate his growth would be great too. How about something to counter those damn fire-based brats? Just give me something. Enough with the talk.
[Uh… even if you say that…]
“Maybe I should just go ahead and make a deal with that jellyfish. So what if the world collapses a bit? As long as my kids are safe, I’d be satisfied.”
[Hooooney! 8ㅂ8]
“A deal with them is more reliable than empty promises. At least they’re upfront about the cost.”
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
Don’t spam the message window with nonsense. It’s giving me a headache. The flustered Rookie fell silent for a moment before starting up again.
[We need some preparation time! We’ll try to get the items or skills you want, so, um… about a month? Please come back then!]
“That’s too long. Do you really think the jellyfish will wait that long?”
[Th-then three weeks!]
Feigning hesitation, I finally nodded in agreement. With this, I could also try bargaining with the jellyfish. If those brats were trying to bribe me to prevent a contract, I might as well ask what more they could offer.
“How long would it take for the jellyfish to make a serious move?”
[That depends on the lizard’s master. If there aren’t many viable contract targets, they’ll need to rebuild their connections from scratch, so it could take a while. Still, it’s a relief that the chain was severed.]
Speaking of contracts, MKC’s Choi Seokwon came to mind. That guy was probably still under contract. I’d been too busy to address it, but now that I remembered, I should at least get him out of it. I needed to figure out a way to meet him.
“By the way, the jellyfish seemed to recognize Crescent Moon. Is Crescent Moon still asleep?”
[Yes. Um, I don’t know much about Crescent Moon myself. Hold on, I’ll call Senior Tree for you.]
A moment later, green text appeared in the message window.
[Hello, Honey. Don’t be too hard on Rookie.]
“I haven’t been hard on them.”
[They’re going ‘What do I do, what do I do?’ while spinning in circles. Crescent Moon, the successor, and the jellyfish, huh? Those two do know each other. They share similar attributes and even worked together at one point. They’ve split ways since, though.]
“So, if Crescent Moon wakes up, they could give us detailed information about the jellyfish’s weaknesses and skills?”
[If Crescent Moon wakes up, yes. I don’t know much about the jellyfish either. But… the fact that they’ve taken an interest in you is worrying. Honey, please think carefully. Don’t make a contract.]
“I’ll decide based on how you all perform.”
[Don’t be like that. You’ll make Rookie cry~.]
What does it matter if they cry? My life is on the line here. If a few tears could solve this, I’d gladly collect bucketfuls of them.
“And about Seong Hyunjae, regarding the chain. When he regressed, he apparently rejected his pre-regression self? That’s why his memories seem to remain intact.”
I didn’t mention anything about the fragments. There was no need to lay all my cards on the table.
[The chain? That’s incredibly rare. It’s difficult for something like that to happen. Usually, they don’t retain any memories, and only a small number even sense that something’s wrong… Maybe it’s related to Crescent Moon. I wonder when that fellow will wake up.]
It would be nice if Crescent Moon woke up soon. From what I’d heard so far, the most active of the troublemakers before my regression seemed to have been none other than Crescent Moon. If they woke up, there would be a wealth of information to gain.
[I’ll look into it for you. Honey, please don’t get involved with the jellyfish and always stay safe.]
After asking a few more questions, I said I’d be leaving. Soon, the environment shifted. The scenery changed to a slightly humid, arid forest. I took off my outerwear and stashed it in my inventory before turning back toward the gate.
Not much time had passed—probably around 9 p.m. If I headed straight back, I’d easily make it home before 10. Surely I hadn’t been discovered yet, right?
“Well, this is awkward.”
As I stepped out of the gate, I was greeted by a group of people surrounding me. It was the same D-rank and E-rank Hunters from earlier.
“What’s this? Why are you all waiting here? Don’t worry, I can get home just fine on my own.”
Despite my reassurance that I hadn’t even gotten a scratch, the D-rank Hunter stepped forward and approached me.
“I wasn’t sure at first, but you’re Han Yujin, aren’t you?”
Then, without hesitation, he yanked off my mask. Great, just what I needed.
“What time is it right now?” I asked.
“You’ve got some nerve wandering around alone.”
So, even after Bel and the volleyball, here we are again with someone underestimating me. I could hear someone muttering, “It really is Han Yujin,” as though they were marveling at some rare exhibit. I could feel their curious stares as if I were some kind of spectacle. Yes, yes, tickets are 10,000 won for adults, 5,000 for teens. Free admission for national merit recipients.
“I’m not sure why you’re blocking my way like this, but let’s keep this quick and peaceful. Surely you’re not planning to do something as vile as selling me off, right?”
“Judging by how you’re hiding your face, you’re obviously doing something you don’t want anyone to know about. I’m sure we can work something out.”
At least it didn’t seem like they were planning to kill me. I was about to ask how much money they wanted when a sudden alarm blared loudly. The Hunters all pulled out their phones simultaneously.
“A dungeon break?”
“…No reports of a break. Maybe it’s a Hunter-related incident.”
One of them answered reflexively, and at that moment, my little brother came to mind. If it wasn’t a dungeon break but an emergency alert was still sent out, then it had to be an incident involving high-ranking Hunters. It could be related to the S-rank Hunter from Sesung who had just finished a raid, but…
I had a gut feeling that Yuhyun was involved. Hadn’t he practically been forecasting trouble for days? Looks like it finally happened.
I reached out and grabbed the D-rank Hunter’s wrist. He stared at me in confusion, probably because he knew my stats were F.
“You have a car, right?”
“What?”
“And since I don’t have a driver’s license, I’ll need you to drive.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
Before he could protest further, Belare slithered swiftly onto his wrist and bared her fangs. I followed up quickly.
“This is a snake with an A-rank poison skill.”
A-rank poison. The man froze, and the E-rank Hunters behind him staggered back in alarm. Sure, they could try to force me to detoxify them, but I had a B-rank barrier skill item as well. It was more than enough to hold out while they melted away under the poison.
“W-wait…”
“If you quietly agree to be my chauffeur, I’ll let you keep your life and even pay you generously for your trouble.”
So please, take me to my little brother. I smiled as I made the request, and the D-rank Hunter nodded stiffly, his face pale. Thank you so much.
–TL Notes–
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