Chapter 251: Medsang’s Myu (1)
Little Moon, huh. Was that some kind of childhood nickname? He also said he couldn’t remember his real name.
“When you were a kid? Your parents?”
It’s a cute nickname. I bet it suited him well. Honestly, he must have been ridiculously adorable as a child. His face would have been rounder than now, his cheeks plumper. With his fair skin, his blush would have stood out even more. And with those big, beautiful golden eyes? Yeah, calling him ‘our Little Moon’ made sense.
“…Do you have any childhood photos?”
“I don’t.”
Oh. That’s a shame. Even for Yuhyun, all we had was a kindergarten group photo. And we don’t even have that anymore. Maybe I should put up a reward or something. There might still be someone from his kindergarten days who kept an album.
“Then, Little Moon, is there anything else you remember besides the nickname?”
“…”
“Brother Moon.”
“Call me properly.”
“Alright, hyung. It doesn’t even suit you.”
For once, the two of them agreed. Sigma spoke with a sulky expression.
“My memories from before I awakened are vague. I only have a few blurry ones.”
“All of your childhood memories?”
Sigma nodded, then tilted his head slightly.
“Now that I think about it… that’s strange.”
“You never thought it was odd before?”
“…Maybe not.”
He seemed unsettled as he spoke. Could this be related to the fact that this world wasn’t real? Maybe there was too much information to carry over, so his childhood memories got deleted? Asking others might give me some answers.
A brief silence passed. Sigma looked deep in thought, and I had a lot on my mind too. Isn’t the main quest’s story explanation way too flimsy? If this were a game, I’d just rant about it and move on. But to me, he doesn’t feel any different from a real, living person. I can’t just brush this off.
Hunter Seong Hyunjae, I need one more meeting with you. It’s going to be full of □ anyway, but still.
“If I ask about the future, I won’t get an answer, will I?”
“Well, uh… no. Eventually, we’ll leave this place. After that, I don’t know what will happen to this world. If Sigma really becomes real, maybe he can leave with us. But if that’s impossible…”
“Then I’ll be left behind.”
Sigma said it calmly. But the words weighed heavily in my ears. If he were left behind, what would happen to him? In a world that rejects him? Maybe it would reset like a dungeon. Maybe a new, real Sigma would appear in this world. In that case, the current Sigma would remain a fake, unable to blend in anywhere…
That’s not right. No matter how self-sufficient he is, it’s still not okay. It’d be like the whole world denying his existence. And unlike now, there wouldn’t even be people like me, who were less affected by the system’s influence.
“I can’t promise not to worry, but I’ll take responsibility somehow. I’m not just going to leave you behind.”
“Why the hell would you take responsibility!”
Yuhyun shouted angrily, his face filled with displeasure. Wait…
“…What about the doll?”
“It’s in my inventory.”
Oh, it fits in there? Well, it is an item, so I guess that makes sense. But did he really need to bring it along?
“…Do you want me to get you a Doppelganger Doll item when we go back? You might be able to take that with you, so I can make you a new one.”
“No, I don’t need it. I only took it because it was already made. There’s no point when the real hyung is right here.”
Yuhyun said that as he scooted closer to me, practically pressing against my side. His gaze toward Sigma was as cold as ice.
“He’s not a kid. He can handle himself. And why do you even care about that guy? He attacked you, didn’t he?”
“Well, you know, familiarity breeds fondness… More importantly, we need him to clear the main quest.”
“The Sesung Guild Leader was the one who sent the quest, right? Maybe he just made up a fake quest to protect Sigma because they look alike.”
“I doubt it. He did tell me to protect him, but…”
I quickly shut my mouth. But the red eyes staring at me were already filled with suspicion.
“What exactly were the conditions?”
“Hey, do you really think Seong Hyunjae would care about someone just because they have the same face as him?”
“You said no more secrets.”
That… Right, I did say that. I had no choice but to spill everything honestly. When I mentioned that the only condition was to keep Sigma alive, Yuhyun’s eyes gleamed with a strange light.
“Hyung, SS-ranks are tough.”
“Still, it’s better to protect yourself. Do you really want to see me carrying Sigma around like a baby to keep him safe?”
“That’s…”
After a moment of hesitation, Yuhyun reluctantly backed down.
“Anyway, the quest doesn’t even have a time limit. Forget everything else—this is something we need to do.”
It would be ridiculous for me to say I’m protecting Sigma. I might have been caught off guard by the situation, but he’s not someone who can’t take care of himself.
So—
“Please let me protect you, Sigma.”
The one being protected was actually helping. That’s why I asked. Sigma looked at me in silence.
“A mere C-rank.”
“So, do you hate it?”
His golden eyes curved slightly.
“There’s no way I would. You’re mine, after all. I suppose I should call you admirable for offering to protect your owner?”
“Listen to this brat talk to an adult.”
“The one next to you doesn’t seem to like it, though.”
As Sigma said, Yuhyun was absolutely furious. I had a hard time calming him down as he kept growling about killing him as soon as we finished clearing the dungeon. To make things worse, Sigma kept provoking him, saying he welcomed the idea, which only made it harder.
Honestly, those two match each other perfectly in moments like this.
“I’ll keep the contract for now, but I’m never getting the imprint.”
Sigma claimed that once the contract penalties were lifted, he wouldn’t need my protection, so I told him outright that I wouldn’t do it. Honestly, even without that, he’d probably just follow me around anyway. There was no need to make things harder for someone who already had nowhere else to go.
“If you try to imprint me, I’ll break the contract immediately.”
That’s what I said, but… that full-spinal imprint thing was actually kind of tempting. If I carved it in as a protective mark without linking to someone else, wouldn’t it be really useful? My low magic stat made it hard for me to control mana properly.
If I could handle mana more precisely, my skill usage would improve too. Even my resistance skills could be adjusted better.
‘Maybe I could lower my resistance to SS-rank and expand its range instead.’
That way, my resistance to poison and curses could extend over a set area around me. There had to be other ways to apply it too. Losing one life to gain mana control… it didn’t sound like a bad trade.
‘The biggest problem would be convincing Yuhyun.’
I looked at my brother, who was practically glued to my side, glaring daggers at Sigma like a furious beast. If I explained properly that it would make me safer, would he accept it? It’s not like I’d really die, and they’d use anesthesia properly. Ah, right, I also needed to modify Yuhyun’s imprint. He might have to deal with monsters or guards that had mana absorption skills.
“Alright then, Yuhyun, tell the Solemnise guards that you took care of the monster that killed Sigma. Also, request their immediate removal from the city.”
“Okay. But we’ll need solid proof. If we cut off an arm or a leg, they’ll believe it more.”
“…Just say we burned the body and send them off. By the way, an SS-rank guard suddenly disappearing—is it safe for them to return?”
I was worried about the city too. Sigma explained that even if the guards were only S-rank, as long as they were numerous and skilled, it wouldn’t be too hard for them to escape from an SS-rank monster. Now that I thought about it, the drama did mention that Solemnise had S-rank guards.
“The city has countermeasures in place. It’s not like an SS-rank guard has never gone missing before.”
If an SS-rank monster appeared while there was no SS-rank guard available, instead of fighting it, they would evacuate to shelters and lure it outside the city. Of course, the city’s economy would take a huge hit, but they had several years’ worth of supplies stocked up. At the same time, they would seek assistance from other cities and allocate most of the mana hall’s energy to producing S-rank or higher Awakened individuals.
Even if it was just data, I was relieved to know they had a plan.
“You stay here, and I’ll go with hyung.”
Yuhyun grabbed me and stood up, and Sigma also got to his feet.
“You said you’d protect me, and now you’re leaving?”
“Did you seriously expect to be protected? Look at your own rank. Have some self-awareness.”
“The C-rank said it first. And besides, aren’t you, an SS-rank guard, just clinging to a C-rank and acting spoiled?”
“He’s my hyung, and I’m his younger brother. It’s only natural.”
Yuhyun said it smugly, and Sigma hesitated for some reason before speaking again.
“Is it natural? The siblings I’ve seen didn’t get along that well.”
“It’s weird for siblings to not get along.”
…Yuhyun, I don’t think you should be teaching a guy with no memories the wrong idea. There are plenty of families that don’t get along.
In the end, we left Sigma behind and headed outside. Surprisingly, the Solemnise guards accepted Yuhyun’s words without much question. Maybe Sigma’s existence had already been altered? Everyone was completely convinced that he was dead.
The guards even thanked us for avenging their fallen SS-rank monster and hurried to prepare for departure. Since they needed to return quickly to fortify the city’s defenses, helicopters were readied immediately, and they left Achates.
“This whole real and fake thing feels off to me.”
Moon Hyunah crossed her arms loosely after I gave her a rough explanation.
“But you seem to know a lot more about the system than I expected. You were the only one who knew how to clear this place.”
“Ah… well…”
Now that I thought about it, Hyunah had never met Rookie before. Taking this opportunity, I told her about the Unfilial Children. About the powerful beings outside this world who controlled the system and supported Awakened individuals to prevent its destruction.
“I appreciate the help, but they sound seriously suspicious.”
“You think they’re suspicious?”
I hadn’t even explained in detail yet, but Moon Hyunah nodded firmly.
“Of course. Nothing is more suspicious than someone offering free labor. And you said there’s more than one of them, right? If it were just one, I’d think, ‘Wow, what a rare, selfless person.’ But if there are several, it’s definitely fishy.”
Her blunt reasoning made me instinctively agree. Yeah, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Maybe they’re just really passionate about saving the world, but these beings were transcendents who had lived for ages.
Could they really have no ulterior motives? Was it truly just about saving the world?
“At least knowing that we can prevent destruction if we try hard enough is good news. I guess I should start collecting points even more diligently.”
Moon Hyunah’s energetic words left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. The world was full of ridiculously strong, untrustworthy beings. Of course, I would still do my best.
“Before we leave tomorrow, let’s modify your imprint first, Yuhyun.”
And for myself… I should at least get a consultation about the imprint. Achates was known for its poor treatment of combat-type guards, which led to advanced development in imprint procedures. It would be best to get it done here. Just as I was about to open my mouth to start persuading Yuhyun—
—Grrrrr.
A monster’s growl echoed through the air. It came from the direction of the mana hall. All three of us quickly turned our eyes beyond the railing toward it.
A lion with two heads stood proudly, and immediately after—
—Krrrk, krrrk!
A monster resembling a praying mantis emerged from the mana hall.
Both were SS-rank monsters.
For a brief moment, we were speechless.
“…Shit. Achates is done for. What about you, Young Master?”
“That’s none of my concern. Hyung, be careful.”
One of the lion’s heads, the one with a blue mane, lifted its gaze. Its piercing eyes locked onto a specific spot—directly across from us, on the rooftop where Sigma was.
The mouths of both lion heads opened wide. White and blue light gathered and intertwined. Then, in a concentrated beam, the energy blasted toward Sigma’s room like a laser.
Kwaaang!!
The top floor of the building was completely obliterated. Even after that, the beam continued, cutting a long streak through the sky.
“Well, damn. Think he’s still alive?”
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to kill him.”
“Instead of just standing there, go take them down! Yuhyun, you too!”
At my urging, Moon Hyunah was the first to leap down. She brandished her Great Spear, charging straight at the lion. Faced with such overwhelming force, the lion didn’t even attempt to resist—it leaped away to dodge instead. The Great Spear, missing its target, tore a deep scar into the ground.
Her attack power was incredible, but the problem was that her attack paths were too straightforward.
‘If only we had a teammate to keep the target in place, it’d be perfect.’
Yerim went without saying, but Evelyn would also be a good match. In terms of combat compatibility, that is. Their personalities… not so much. If someone could restrain the enemy from a distance, it would make attacking much easier.
Just as Yuhyun was about to jump over the railing to join the fight—
Kuuurung!
A bolt of lightning struck.
The mantis monster, hit directly, screeched and thrashed in pain. It tried to spread its wings and take off, but golden chains shot out, wrapping around its body. The chains extended endlessly, entangling the lion as well.
Kwa-gagak!
As if waiting for this moment, Moon Hyunah charged again. The bodies of both monsters were pierced by massive holes, and electric currents ripped through their flesh, finishing them off.
It was over in an instant.
“Hyung, look.”
Beyond the mana hall, the shadows of new monsters flickered.
This time, dozens of S-rank monsters, perhaps even more, emerged one after another.
“…This won’t end. We should clear out the entire area around the mana hall.”
Was this because of Sigma too? The monsters definitely seemed to be targeting him. Yuhyun and I moved to join Moon Hyunah and Sigma. Moon Hyunah frowned slightly as she spoke.
“Other than the Young Master, the mana situation is going to be a problem.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s call Myu.”
“Myu?”
“Yeah. Medsang’s Myu. I don’t have perfect memories of what I received, but if Myu is here, half the problem is solved.”
Moon Hyunah spoke confidently.
“They’re a support-type guard with a special ability— they can manipulate space.”
–TL Notes–
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