Chapter 232: Hyung Is Here (1)
A doll that perfectly resembled Han Yujin was seated in a chair. Its limp posture, with closed eyes, made it look as if it had fallen asleep. Its chest rose and fell slightly, making it seem just like a real human at first glance. However, there was no sound of breathing, no heartbeat.
Sigma looked down at the doll and reached out his hand. The way it swayed at his touch was trivial. But the fact that only a fake doll remained here was far from trivial.
“I must have underestimated him.”
A smile spread across his lips.
He hadn’t expected a C-rank to stay put obediently. But still, he hadn’t imagined that the escape would be this clean.
It had been confirmed beyond a doubt that the inventory-sealing necklace could not be unlocked. And yet, somehow, while an A-rank guard stood watch, the necklace had been removed, a dummy doll left in his place, and the real one had vanished.
A thorough body search had been conducted, and the inventory had been disabled, so it wasn’t an item. Nor was it a skill. There had also been no external assistance.
‘I don’t get it.’
The answer was beyond the scope of his knowledge. At least, with the abilities that existed in this world, escape should have been impossible. That realization made his heart beat just a little faster.
A mere C-rank. How?
“These are the items presumed to have been left behind by the C-rank.”
An S-rank guard placed the belongings on the table one by one. A few items below A-rank, and a sleeping bag. Sigma’s eyes narrowed as he looked at them.
“Well, now. If he’s out there camping with nothing but his bare body, he might catch a cold.”
“…Excuse me?”
The S-rank guard was momentarily taken aback by Sigma’s words, as if he were genuinely concerned for the escaped C-rank.
“Hmm, the number of items missing from the S-rank exclusive equipment room is seven in total. Five S-rank, two SS-rank.”
It was only when an S-rank guard, returning from patrol, entered the armory to restock that the missing items were discovered. Sigma smiled as he reviewed the list of stolen items.
In just a few days, the guy had quietly pilfered things piece by piece before making his getaway.
“We’ll issue a new search order. This time, we have a photo—”
“No, you won’t find him anyway.”
The first time, he had practically walked in of his own accord. A search order was meaningless. And he had likely already left Solemnise City.
Sigma reviewed the report on the C-rank’s movements once more.
Shortly after the search order was issued, a report came in stating that the C-rank had shown interest in Achates’ Alpha, a guard with fire-type skills. He had also inquired about Achates City from the watchtower at the barrier. The distance from Solemnise City to Achates City was a two-day drive.
‘A scooter with stealth capabilities, two days’ worth of food.’
These were among the items the C-rank had acquired. Piecing them together, it wasn’t hard to infer his destination.
“He must have headed outside the city.”
“Excuse me? But he’s only C-rank and doesn’t even have an offensive skill. Even if he does have a stealth skill, without mana engraving, a C-rank’s mana reserves wouldn’t last a full day.”
Moreover, it was said to be a stealth skill estimated at least S-rank. The higher the skill rank, the more mana it consumed. For an ordinary C-rank, it would barely last half a day.
Sigma’s smile deepened at the S-rank guard’s remark, which all but labeled the act as suicidal.
“Ordinarily, yes.”
“…Do you believe he has a companion?”
“No.”
“Then how…?”
The S-rank guard’s expression turned baffled. If a mere C-rank had crossed the barrier alone, there was no need to search for him. He wouldn’t survive the night.
But Sigma seemed to think differently. Just as he was about to speak—
Boom! Bang!
A series of explosions erupted not far away. The sound of a building collapsing followed, and tremors reached even their location.
Immediately after, the door swung open, and a guard with an earpiece rushed in with a report.
“There was an explosion in the B-2 building! About ten consecutive blasts were heard… and because the firepower was concentrated on a single floor, the building is now…”
Collapsing. That was what the guard had been about to say, but he trailed off in shock.
Sigma was laughing out loud. Amidst the deafening crash of concrete, a quiet chuckle spread.
“A proper act of retaliation. And quite a painful one at that.”
Had it been an S-rank, or even an A-rank, this wouldn’t have been so amusing.
But a mere C-rank—someone not even acknowledged as a guard—had wreaked havoc and escaped unscathed.
“Contact Achates City. We’ll accept their request to suppress Alpha.”
“Excuse me? Then… are you going to Achates City yourself?”
“Yes. Get ready.”
As much as he wanted to leave immediately, departing from one’s affiliated city wasn’t a simple matter.
Most importantly, mana replenishment through engraving could only be done at the designated mana hall. While mana itself was uniform across all halls, there was always the possibility that the other city would refuse to supply him with fuel cells.
Therefore, he needed to bring ample fuel from his side and ensure that their forces were properly equipped.
Especially since Achates City was not a place that welcomed guards, extra caution was necessary.
“It’s been a while since you last left your post. Barring another anomalous event like the one at Goldberg Park, we have about a week of leeway.”
“Request support from Lanchea’s Lambda. Let them know I’ll be heading to Achates personally.”
“…To be honest, I don’t quite understand why you’re going this far.”
Despite his puzzlement, the S-rank guard followed the order. Both guards exited the room. In the meantime, the building had presumably collapsed entirely, as the surroundings had fallen silent.
In that stillness, Sigma’s gaze drifted to the doll seated in the chair. A gleam flickered in his previously dulled eyes.
— Piiik!
A bird’s cry rang out. A flock of birds took flight with a loud flutter above the forest, illuminated by the faint glow of dawn.
‘It should have gone off by now.’
Ten timed bombs, each worth a whopping 20,000 points. I had hidden them well and set them to detonate around sunrise. Hopefully, they functioned properly. Each one wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful on its own, but since I had packed them all onto a single floor, there was a good chance the whole building had caved in.
Hopefully, they were too busy cleaning up to chase me right away.
I pulled a canned meal from my backpack and popped it open. Using the fork attached to the lid, I scooped up something that resembled meatballs.
The meat in this place was surprisingly decent. Even unheated, it was pretty edible.
‘Daytime is definitely safer than night.’
Contrary to my initial fears of risking my life, the area outside the barrier was unexpectedly secure. My stealth skill, temporarily boosted to S-rank by item buffs, ensured that monsters couldn’t detect me. Meanwhile, high-tier monsters were too busy hunting mid— and low-tier ones to care about me.
The scooter’s stealth effect was only B-rank, and even with compatibility with my skill, it was at best A-rank. That had worried me, but in reality, hardly any monsters paid attention to a small scooter. A couple of S-rank monsters had glanced my way, but they quickly lost interest and resumed chasing weaker prey.
Luckily, I hadn’t run into any SS-rank monsters.
‘By day, low-tier monsters disappear, and high-tier monsters, having filled their bellies, will likely be resting or sleeping. Seems like there’s an established ecosystem here.’
After finishing my meal, I tossed the empty can and drink bottle onto the roadside. Littering wasn’t ideal, but this world was fake, so it didn’t really matter.
At that moment, a message window popped up.
[☆★ Hidden Quest Achieved!! ☆★]
Oh, come on. Again?
Escaping the Solemnise Defense Bureau and looting their armory had also triggered hidden quests. Now, blowing up the building counted too?
‘…Rookie, are you just making up quests on the spot based on my actions?’
I was suspicious. After all, they had mentioned skill names and descriptions were added retroactively. It was highly likely that hidden quests worked the same way. Like how they had conveniently given me the wildcat boots as a full set.
Well, it was better than getting nothing. Accepting the Rookie’s efforts in good faith, I opened the quest completion window.
[Daring Demolitionist!
You blew up a building belonging to the Solemnise Defense Bureau, teeming with high-ranking guards. That level of audacity is practically reckless!
Reward: 100,000P, Dragon’s Breath Bomb (SS) x3]
Dragon’s Breath Bomb?
An SS-rank item, no less. Since it was a bomb, it was obviously single-use, but they were giving me three? Were they expecting me to blow up more stuff?
I know this isn’t the real world, but ever since I came here, I’ve been living way too recklessly… and now they’re encouraging it.
[Dragon’s Breath Bomb — SS-rank
A bomb replicating the power of a top-tier dragon’s breath. Can be set on a timer or remotely detonated.
Single-use.]
Too valuable to use carelessly.
I’d hold onto them for now. If they didn’t let me take game items back with me, I’d cry.
I carefully stored the bombs in my inventory and restarted the scooter.
After staying up all night, I let out a slight yawn.
Whether day or night, getting proper rest was impossible. I’d just have to push through and ride nonstop for two days straight. It was a good thing my stats were C-rank.
If I had still been F-rank, I would’ve been too scared of dozing off and crashing to avoid taking a break.
The rough terrain made handling the scooter physically draining.
I hoped that when I arrived in Achates, Yuhyun would be there to greet me with a “Hyung, take a good rest.”
‘I miss them. I really, really miss them.’
It had been a long time since I’d been alone for this long.
Ever since my regression, I had always had someone by my side.
At least here, my companions weren’t real bodies, so I didn’t have to worry about them dying. Otherwise, with my lowered resistance to fear, I probably would’ve been a nervous wreck by now.
…If only our world had been implemented as a virtual reality too.
That thought made me clench my teeth.
Even if virtual reality had its dangers, still—so much would have been different.
Maybe I was just coveting what I couldn’t have.
‘…For now, I should focus on taking everything I can from this place.’
Reuniting with Yuhyun, finding the others, racking up as many points as possible.
At the very least, I should get new weapons for Yuhyun and Yerim before heading back. Maybe some skills, too.
Ah, I miss them. Even Hyunah. Hell, I might even miss Seong Hyunjae. I feel lonely.
A towering barrier, similar to the one in Solemnise, came into view ahead.
Not only was the wall just as tall, but the watchtowers stationed at regular intervals were nearly identical in design. Had all the cities been built around the same time?
Without deactivating my stealth skill, I gazed at the barrier bathed in the morning sunlight.
They had said the trip from Solemnise to Achates took two days by car.
Even though the scooter was high-performance, it was still slower than a car.
In the end, it had taken me two and a half days.
Since I had left at night, that meant I had gone three full days without sleep.
My eyelids felt heavy, and I kept sighing.
‘Should I climb over the wall or go through the front gate?’
In Solemnise, daytime sentries were primarily B-rank guards, while at night, when new monsters frequently appeared, they were replaced by A-rank guards. Since monster spawning patterns were the same everywhere, Achates was probably no different.
‘If it’s just B-ranks, escaping won’t be too difficult.’
I retrieved the ID I had kept safe and, while hidden behind a tree, deactivated my stealth skill. To conceal the fact that I lacked an engraving, I pulled a scarf from my backpack and wrapped it around my neck.
There was a chance Yuhyun had already informed the guards at the city entrance about me. Maybe he had told them that if someone named Han Yujin showed up, they should welcome me and escort me inside. Maybe he had even ordered them to notify him personally so he could come meet me.
Yuhyun, hyung’s here.
With an excited heart, I approached the small gate in the massive wall. It was barely wide enough for a vehicle to squeeze through.
“Excuse me! Please open the gate!”
I waved toward the watchtower and called out. It didn’t take long before the gate creaked open. A well-armed B-rank guard approached cautiously, maintaining his guard.
“I’m Han Yujin from Medsang City. Here’s my ID and travel permit.”
“Ah, you came from Medsang.”
At my words, the guard’s expression visibly relaxed.
Medsang seemed to be known for its abundance of healers and support-type guards—maybe that’s why other cities were quick to accept people from there. Looks like the Rookie did a good job setting up my identity.
The guard ran my ID and permit through a scanner, then stepped aside with a welcoming smile.
So Yuhyun… didn’t tell them in advance.
Well, considering my safety, it made sense. If an SS-rank guard highly valued someone, that person could easily be targeted and taken hostage.
“You must have had a tough journey, but we’re happy to welcome you. Thank you for all your efforts in protecting the city.”
Smiling warmly, I pulled a drink from my backpack and handed it to him. The guard accepted it gratefully.
“You’re registered as a C-rank support-type. I can escort you to the city center. The outskirts and slums can be dangerous. Since you’re on a scooter instead of a car, there’s a high chance you could be targeted by looters.”
“Thank you. I’d really appreciate that.”
“It’s just about shift change, so don’t worry about it.”
How nice.
The guard brought over a military jeep with a cargo bed in the back. I loaded my scooter into the back and took the seat beside the driver.
“Judging by the fact that you made it here alone, I assume your scooter has a high-tier stealth skill?”
“Yes, it was expensive. I wouldn’t have made it here without stealth.”
Ah. So that’s why he’s being so nice. He smells money.
Well, as long as he guides me properly, I don’t mind tipping him well. I don’t have much cash, but I’ve got plenty of items. Just selling a single A-rank piece of equipment would bring in a decent amount. And my little brother? He’s probably even richer than I am.
If they treated me well, I could put in a good word for them.
“So, about Achates’ Alpha…”
After chatting idly for a bit, I brought up the topic I was most curious about.
The moment I said Alpha, the guard’s face hardened.
“You’ve already heard the news, I see.”
News? I hadn’t heard anything, but I played along.
“Ah, yes. Of course. I don’t know all the details as an outsider, though.”
“It was a huge incident, so it’s not surprising that word got out. But don’t worry—although Alpha went on a rampage, they’ve been successfully subdued and are now under the Defense Bureau’s control.”
…A rampage? Subdued?
What the hell kind of bullshit was this?
–TL Notes–
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