Chapter 224: Faded
That was close.
Whether it was thanks to my Insightful Eye skill or because Seong Hyunjae underestimated me—or maybe both—I barely managed to perceive his movement in time. But I never expected him to actually attack me.
Activating the earring’s barrier skill had been purely instinctual. My mind hadn’t caught up, but my body had sensed the danger. Five years of experience, combined with my upgraded C-rank stats, allowed me to react just in time. But—
Crack!
A piercing kick shattered the barrier with ease.
Immediately after, his combat boots struck my abdomen. A choked groan escaped me as I was sent rolling across the ground. It was definitely going to leave a nasty bruise, but it wasn’t enough to incapacitate me. Without the barrier, though, I probably would’ve been knocked out on the spot.
So, at least he wasn’t trying to kill me.
‘Damn it, what the hell…?!’
I had been kicked, but my mind was still struggling to process the situation.
This was definitely Seong Hyunjae—wasn’t it? Or was it not? No, there was no way I could mistake that face, no matter how bad my eyesight was. So why—
“Ugh!”
I tried to get up, but before I could, a rough hand grabbed a fistful of my hair. My head was yanked down, forcing me to bow slightly. I felt his gaze on the back of my neck. Then, in a low voice, he spoke.
“No mana engraving. No protection sigil, either.”
The voice was undoubtedly familiar. Yet at the same time, it felt strangely distant.
I knew what mana engraving was, but what the hell was a protection sigil?
I slapped his hand away. He let go without resistance. Stumbling upright, I met the eyes of the man who looked like Seong Hyunjae.
“…What the hell was that for?”
I took a step back, quickly scanning my surroundings before shifting my focus back to him.
He looked exactly the same, yet something was off. How could I describe it?
He felt dry. Lifeless. Bored. Even compared to the detached sense of déjà vu I felt after regressing, this was worse. It was as if there was nothing in the world that interested him.
…Even with all his talk of being tired of everything, I had never seen him this faded.
“Stealth and a barrier. S-rank and B-rank, roughly. But your stats are only C-rank. Interesting.”
He assessed me with a faint trace of curiosity—but it was weak, like he barely cared.
This wasn’t the Seong Hyunjae I knew.
I took another step back.
“By any chance… is your name Seong Hyunjae?”
“You don’t know who I am?”
“I’ve seen your face plenty of times, but I’m not great with names.”
My voice wavered slightly. That answer meant his name wasn’t Seong Hyunjae.
Was he really a different person? Or had I hit my head too hard after landing in this world?
But his behavior wasn’t that of someone who had lost his memories. Checking if I had engravings or sigils—his actions were those of someone familiar with this world.
“…I was just passing through. I assume I’m free to keep going? Getting smacked out of nowhere did piss me off a little, but I know better than to argue when I’m the weaker one. So I’ll be on my way.”
“It’s a dangerous hour for an unregistered awakened to be wandering around.”
He took a step closer. A slow, heavy pressure rolled toward me.
Right now, my Fear Resistance was at S-rank. But his rank was SS. Even with my increased stats, boosting my actual resistance beyond S-rank, it still wasn’t enough to completely shake off the pressure.
A chill ran down my spine. I swallowed dryly.
Noticing how well I was holding up, he raised an eyebrow slightly. For the first time, a flicker of life entered his expression.
“Fear resistance, too?”
“Still just a common C-rank. No need to take interest.”
Things had been going so smoothly, I had actually felt relieved.
Damn it. It was a trap.
Newbie had said they’d sent a message, but this guy clearly had no idea about it. He didn’t even recognize me.
Was he truly someone else? If so, I needed to get the hell out of here. But how?
‘Wasting a life here would be a shame.’
Tap!
I leaped back and pulled out my gun.
Golden eyes narrowed at the sight of the barrel aimed at him.
“A poor choice. A pointless action.”
“Even a C-rank has pride. Why don’t you, an SS-rank, generously take one hit? It won’t even tickle you, right?”
The white gun greedily drained my mana.
The Seong Hyunjae lookalike tilted his head slightly.
If he had Precognition, like the real one, would he be able to predict my next move?
If his personality was similar, he’d at least let me act out of curiosity.
“If I let you fire, what do I gain in return?”
“Hmm… how about I voluntarily go with you? In one piece.”
“That’s already possible.”
“My teeth wouldn’t even scratch your throat, but they’d sink into mine just fine.”
Picking a fight with the guy who just kicked me across the ground? I’d rather bite my own neck first.
Ridiculous as it sounded, he didn’t step closer.
…That reaction was like Seong Hyunjae.
And yet, he still felt completely different.
I poured as much mana as possible into the gun.
My head throbbed from the rapid depletion of energy.
Just enough to avoid passing out—just before I ran out completely.
Would he have Precognition?
Could he predict what I was about to do?
I had no idea.
But there was only one way to find out.
“My deepest gratitude to the ever-so-patient gentleman.”
I pulled the trigger.
At the same time, rather than bracing for the recoil, I kicked off the ground and launched myself into the air.
A handgun, by nature, is small and generally lacks power. But what erupted from the white barrel was no mere bullet—it was nothing short of a raging storm of magic.
A massive surge of energy roared forward, far beyond what could be called a “projectile.” The force of the shot didn’t just send me backward—it propelled me through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow.
BOOOOM—!
A blinding white explosion tore through the area, hurling debris skyward. The chaotic dance of shattered buildings and swirling dust blurred behind me as I twisted in midair.
Ahead, the five-story building I had scouted earlier rapidly approached.
I drew a dagger and hurled it at the building’s wall.
Thunk!
The blade embedded itself into the exterior. Almost immediately, I stepped onto the protruding hilt and kicked off again.
Screeeech!
The force of my step dragged the dagger down, carving a deep gash into the wall before it finally lost its hold and plummeted to the ground.
Unlike the dagger, my hand barely managed to grasp the rooftop’s ledge.
With a strained grunt, I hauled myself over the edge and landed on the roof.
‘…Ugh.’
Pain flared through my abdomen from where I had been kicked. Gritting my teeth, I turned back to where I had been standing—to where he was.
The area was utterly wrecked, as if a massive beast had rampaged through it.
Yet Seong Hyunjae—or whatever he was—remained unscathed.
Well, almost.
A portion of his sleeve had been torn away. Whether he had actually been injured or not, I couldn’t tell through the fluttering fabric.
And he was smiling.
Even from this distance, I knew he could close the gap in an instant.
I needed to run.
But first—
“You bastard.”
Frustrated beyond belief, I raised my middle finger.
Would the gesture mean the same thing here? Who knew.
Then, without wasting another second, I turned and sprinted.
Crossing the rooftop, I reached the opposite edge and secured a wire around the railing. Without hesitation, I leaped over the side.
Tack, tack—!
Gripping the wire tightly, I ran along the building’s exterior, descending rapidly. When I yanked on the wire, part of the railing snapped off and tumbled down with me. I quickly reeled it in and stashed it back into my inventory.
Downing a mana potion, I activated my stealth skill.
…Damn it. My bike was on the other side of the battlefield.
‘Seong Hyunjae, you asshole.’
I wasn’t even sure if it was really him. Maybe it was just some random guy who happened to look exactly like him. They say there are at least three people in the world who look alike, after all.
…But damn it, his personality was way too similar. His skillset was the same, too.
Was it just a coincidence that lightning had struck? Did this world naturally have lightning in clear skies?
Even if it wasn’t him, somehow, this was still Seong Hyunjae’s fault.
Stealth was practically useless against an SS-rank opponent, so I forced my aching body to move. My stomach still throbbed, and my head felt light. Even after drinking a mana potion, the aftereffects of rapid depletion didn’t just vanish instantly.
‘You swore you’d protect me without a scratch, and now you’re kicking me?!’
Sure, I had rejected his proposal, but still! The sheer audacity!
If, by some miserable twist of fate, this really was the same person, then I didn’t care what excuse he came up with—he was dead to me.
Not that I could do anything to him. Which only made it more infuriating.
Lower-ranked monsters occasionally appeared in my path, but none of them noticed me.
I ran for a long time before ducking into a narrow alleyway between buildings. Pressing myself into a shadowed corner, I finally let my body sag against the wall.
Lifting my shirt, I confirmed what I already knew—a deep, ugly bruise had formed over my abdomen.
I poured a healing potion over it, then drank a small amount to be safe, in case of internal injuries.
“…Ugh. Tastes awful.”
Unlike mana potions, which were designed to be consumed, health potions were primarily meant for external use. There were drinkable versions with added flavoring, but I didn’t have any with me.
I rinsed my mouth out with water and popped a piece of dried fruit into my mouth. The sweetness made me feel slightly better.
‘…I should’ve searched for Yuhyun first.’
I missed my little brother.
I missed Yerim, Peace, Noah, Hyunah.
It hadn’t even been a full day since we were separated, but I already longed to see them again.
I just hoped they were all safe.
Was my Seong Hyunjae even here?
‘…What if the others ended up like him?’
Newbie, did you actually do your job right? Did you really send the messages?
I had no way to check. No way to contact anyone.
Give me a damn customer support center. I need to report a bug.
Leaning against the wall, exhaustion crept up on me. My head was still spinning, and I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and lie down.
The ground was cold, but I hadn’t brought a tent. An A-rank dungeon cleared by S-rank hunters would barely take a day—why would I have needed a tent?
After days of hot springs and sleeping on soft beds, suddenly finding myself back in this kind of environment felt miserable.
Even before my regression, at least I had some kind of home.
Now, I was broke, too.
Even with the There’s Someone Here quest rewards, I only had 1,000L.
God, what if that was literally just 1,000 won? Even if it was 10,000 won, I still wouldn’t be able to afford a place to stay.
‘…Is there no beginner’s welcome package? What a trash game.’
Most systems at least gave you some starting funds.
A few new sub quests had appeared, but I was too exhausted to check them.
I just needed a quick nap. Then, I’d figure out how to find the others.
…Seong Hyunjae, you bastard.
He gazed at the rooftop where the unfamiliar C-rank had disappeared.
C-ranks were common. However, a C-rank wandering alone was a rare sight. Normally, they belonged to a guard unit, either as support or as a fuel source. A C-rank awakened moving around without an affiliation was practically asking to be captured.
But that C-rank had been different.
Skills that exceeded his stats, a high-grade weapon. And—
‘His reaction wasn’t that of a Newbie.’
A high-rank stealth skill was valuable. That was why he had intended to subdue him immediately. The attack had been precise, calculated to render the C-rank unconscious without causing fatal injury. He had expected no resistance—no counterattack, no proper defense.
Yet, the C-rank had raised a barrier in time.
Even with Precognition deactivated and his guard down, he—a SS-rank guard—had failed to incapacitate a mere C-rank in one strike.
Then, rather than cowering, the C-rank had aimed a gun at him, using its recoil to flee.
For a C-rank to act with such decisiveness, he would have needed at least two or three years of experience among the guards. And yet, he had never seen that face, those skills, or that weapon before.
Everything about him was strange, but one thing stood out above all.
‘…Was he disappointed in me?’
Shock and fear were expected. Feeling wronged or indignant was natural.
But disappointment?
What had he expected from an SS-rank?
“Master! The sweep of 5-B Residential Zone is complete. 3-A has just been secured as well.”
A group of people approached. The leading pair—a man and a woman, both S-rank guards—stepped forward.
“Did something happen?”
“I encountered something unusual.”
The woman’s eyes widened. She nudged the man beside her with her elbow, her expression asking, Isn’t that surprising?
Someone who mastered everything effortlessly, grew bored of everything just as easily—he had seen something unusual.
And more than that, there was a faint trace of amusement in his expression.
A man who had gradually faded, losing interest in nearly everything aside from his obligatory monster hunts.
“That’s great news. Where is this unusual thing now?”
“He ran.”
“Shall we track him down?”
No response.
Instead, the man of the pair spoke up.
“Akates City’s Alpha went berserk a few days ago. The entire Second Commercial District burned down. The local Defense Agency has requested standby support for a subjugation mission.”
“Decline subjugation. Accept if it’s an execution order.”
“So, a rejection in all but name. Understood.”
No Defense Agency would dispose of a valuable SS-rank guard simply for causing damage to a city—unless he had lost all reason and become no different from an SS-rank monster.
“There are no further high-rank monster alerts. We should return now.”
“You really don’t want us to go after him? Whatever he was?”
Instead of answering, he glanced toward the rooftop once more before turning away.