Chapter 715: The Road I’ve Walked
“If you accept the subordinate contract, I will tell you everything. And once you know as well, honey–”
The Mermaid Queen cut herself off. A teammate switch message popped up in front of everyone. Seong Hyunjae snagged me.
“Honey! The result of the bet has already been decided. This is pointless!”
Her shout faded away and the scene in front of me changed. It was Seong Hyunjae’s room. His former teammates had already been moved over to my room.
Even if I joined his team now, the outcome of the bet wouldn’t change. That was why winning would have been a bit safer, but in the end the difference wouldn’t be that big anyway. What I was aiming for was something else entirely.
“Start the settlement.”
Settlement of a team member’s achievements. The team leader cannot receive settlement. But a teammate can.
I’d received the recruitment message from Seong Hyunjae before the bet started, but I couldn’t accept it during the game. If one team’s leader suddenly became a regular member and ruined the bet, that would count as Seong Hyunjae breaking the contract and put him in danger. It was also because, before the regression, I hadn’t yet been able to fully trust him.
Seong Hyunjae opened his system window. At the same time, I used the system to look at our world.
“…Looks like we’ve got plenty of time. Creating barriers over all of Korea and the US and then summoning monsters is going to take way longer than in London. The US is annoyingly huge, so at least three or four hours?”
The Mermaid Queen had gotten greedy, which actually worked in our favor. At this rate, we’d be able to stop it before the monsters appeared. Even so, it still made my teeth grind.
Korea was a problem, sure, but if America disappeared, the world would be in danger even without dungeons. Even if every single person managed to evacuate safely, what would we do about all those refugees, and all the things that would vanish? The economy would flip over, and food shortages would hit.
If dungeons started bursting on top of that, the world would just be completely screwed. If there hadn’t been another way, I would have had to accept the Mermaid Queen’s offer.
“That’s a relief. Mister Han Yujin’s achievement settlement is going to take quite a while too,” Seong Hyunjae said, peering into the system window.
“Don’t look at my skills!”
“As I said, my memories are mine. They won’t transfer. And this isn’t my world.”
…So that was why Miss Hyunah had agreed to settlement too. Because when the pre–regression Seong Hyunjae disappeared, the skill information would vanish along with him.
“I’ll hand over the settlement authority,” he said, taking his eyes off the system and staring at the far–off ceiling.
“An uninvited guest wants to butt in.”
“Will you be okay with that?”
“I can’t guarantee it.”
After that short answer, he swung one arm wide. The mansion crumbled like a sandcastle. Only the marble floor remained as a wide expanse of white light came into view. Over there, a portion of the farthest wall was faintly trembling.
“Since this is my space, I can keep making walls to block them, but I can’t hold out forever.”
“Fighting, Mister Seong.”
I received achievement settlement authority from him. My mouth was a little dry.
It had taken quite a bit of time to settle Yuhyun and Yerim’s achievements. Mine would be much worse. Normally it would have taken more than half a day, but in the meantime I’d gotten used to handling the system. And I had Seong Hyunjae helping, so it would be ten times faster. Even so, it would take at least thirty minutes, maybe over an hour.
[Connecting directly to the records of Awakener Han Yujin.]
I felt the system reaching toward me. I pulled that connection harder and wider.
So it could check my records faster.
[Checking records…]
The system began to review my achievements. Rrr–rumble, the wall shook more violently. It hadn’t cracked yet, but it didn’t look like it would hold for long.
“Come on, faster, faster.”
Whether it was the Mermaid Queen trying to break in or another Transcendent, or maybe even the King of Predation. Even if they didn’t know my plan in detail, they could at least guess they didn’t want to hand over the pieces of our world.
Still, seeing that Seong Hyunjae was managing to hold out meant that the Transcendent hadn’t descended directly with their full power.
[Now checking…]
Thoom! The wall shuddered as if something had pushed it. A faint line formed between his brows.
…Even if we got caught, would the system settlement keep going?
Then my back suddenly burned hot. It was Seol. The boy with the pupils of a red dragon appeared in front of me.
“Why are you not calling me.”
“…It’s too dangerous.”
The Black Dragon was strong, sure. But even back in ancient times, his original form hadn’t reached a Transcendent’s level. As just a piece, a fragment of his heart, he was even weaker now.
Seol glanced at the wall that was starting to crack, here and there.
“They’re stronger than me, so what? I’m not a little kid anymore.”
He crossed his short arms and looked up at me.
“Even if I lose, I won’t die. Instead I’ll lose all my memories and power. It’ll be like being born all over again. So make a world where I can live safely with my younger brother, when I’m powerless.”
“…You, Black Dragon.”
The kid who’d said he couldn’t trust me and would leave with his brother was saying this now.
Seol’s brows knitted together.
“I still don’t think you’re perfect. But a world that used to have only humans started accepting goblins, so it’ll change even more from here, and if we stop the destruction, then living as an ordinary child in the middle of that wouldn’t be so bad. So call my name. Father.”
His tone was brusque, but I met that straight gaze, in which a small thread of trust shone, and opened my mouth.
“Han Seol. Seola.”
The red dragon eyes closed deep, then opened again. His small body sprang toward the wall like a shot. Flames wrapped around him, and then exploded outward, swelling in an instant as pitch–black scales rippled through the white space.
Thoom–
The enormous Black Dragon rammed into the shaking wall. He held up the space with his whole body, blocking it. Becoming a gatekeeper, he pushed back hard against the invading power.
“Please, be quick!”
So Seol wouldn’t get hurt. Time passed, every second making my nerves crawl.
[Additional achievement update complete.]
Finally, the achievement updates finished. But we were only halfway.
[Han Yujin (?)
Duplicate records exist. Which records do you wish to be settled: current achievement records or past achievement records?]
A question mark for my rank? Because of that existence–value whatever? I had no time to think it through.
“Current achievement records!”
Everything that had started in late spring, just before summer. Skrreeek, I heard something scratching against the wall. Seol let out a deep growl.
[Achievement settlement list]
[Wolf Worshippers (SS) – Clear (SSS) ×3]
The most recent achievement appeared. Cho Hwawoon and his men. They were Awakeners, but treated as monsters under a Transcendent, so it had gone in as an achievement. Their rank had been SS–rank, but my stats were F–rank and I’d basically taken them down by myself. Maybe that was why it had been treated as one tier higher, an SSS–rank achievement.
I swallowed a dry gulp. Starting right off with SSS–rank. And that was just the beginning.
[Daernix (SSS) – Clear (SS)]
Daernix, the SSS–rank monster in London. Yuhyun’s contribution had been much bigger, so it was only an SS–rank achievement. Various small monster hunting support achievements followed in a line.
And then–
[Chatterbox (L) – Clear (Mythic)]
Chatterbox.
My jaw clenched for a moment. A tangle of emotions surged up, but the closest was joy.
The Transcendent who had tried to take me and turn me into a fake King of Harmless. But he had died at my hands, not as the Transcendent Gi Os Sanus, but as Chatterbox.
‘Just L–rank.’
If he’d stayed a Transcendent, it would’ve been Mythic–grade or higher, but he’d fallen and died by his own hand.
[Hound of the Maze (A) – Clear (A)]
The dogs Chatterbox had summoned. I’d killed one of them. I’d thought I was completely caught and going to be dragged off, but I never imagined Ru Ga Pheya would help me like that.
Memories from the party event surfaced. Standing in front of people, getting recognized while tangling with high–rank hunters. People who trusted me began to appear, even beyond the ones closest by my side.
[Desert Funty (A) – Clear (C)]
‘That one was fun, honestly.’
Maybe the reward was low because I’d had the lizards fight each other. The chat window had been going wild. There’d been… a lot of people saying they liked me too. It was still a bit embarrassing even now.
Thoom! The space shook again. I bit my lip hard. I tapped at the system window like a broken computer, but the speed didn’t change. Small achievements rolled past. The giant turtle we’d killed in Japan; the corrupted zombie hunters in China. Even Yun Yun, who’d turned into a Demon King, was in there.
[Sealed Black Dragon (L) – Resealed (SS)]
And the Black Dragon, Seol. Since Yuhyun’s role had been big, my achievement rank was lower.
I looked at Seol, braced in front of the wall. The first time we’d met, he’d been downright terrifying.
The monsters in Japan came up one after another. Of course that made me think of Shishio. Then the dungeon in Japan–
[▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒]
The system window suddenly glitched. It stuttered, then displayed a new message.
[Ru Ga Pheya]
A Transcendent. King of Harmless.
[Clear (Unmeasurable)]
[Estimated calculation: Mythic–grade or higher]
My stats had been F–rank.
This was something impossible.
An achievement that went beyond the system’s ability to measure. The system window trembled under the excessive achievement value.
Even in the urgent situation, my chest swelled.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The monsters inside the Japanese dungeon’s virtual reality appeared: the swarm, the werewolves.
[Clan of Harmless (SSS) – Clear (S)]
Choi Seokwon. Since the finishing blow had been dealt by the newbie’s puppet, the rank was low.
The system window warped heavily again. The letters broke into pieces and reformed as new achievement messages. I stared straight through them.
[Diarma]
The cause of my regression and another Transcendent. The master of the Venom and Curse Dragonkin who had taken my little brother from me.
A short breath burst out of me. That bastard too–
[Clear (Unmeasurable)]
I had killed him.
The list ended with the Kraken in Hong Kong. I looked at the densely packed records.
I had regressed, taken revenge, and then kept running because even after that I couldn’t stop. To bring Yuhyun back, to protect the people I treasured.
Those times, those signs of struggle had piled up, layer upon layer, into a mountain. A mountain so tall that even with my head craned back, I could barely fit the peak into my sight.
Two Transcendents. One quasi–Transcendent. And the other monsters.
Even if an S–rank had done it, it would have been an absurd list of achievements.
And I was an F–rank.
[Excess achievement reward being deducted.]
A deduction message came up, but I didn’t feel nervous. There hadn’t been much reward from killing Transcendents or from the Unfilial Children. As expected, only a few minor monster hunting achievements vanished; most of the big ones remained.
Cra–aack–
A huge fracture split the white wall. Just a little more!
‘The rewards were fitting for the achievements.’
It was random, but the system was accurate.
For Yerim, whose biggest achievement had been clearing the Mermaid Queen’s illusion, it had given water–related titles, skills, and equipment. For Yuhyun, whose greatest achievement was sealing the Black Dragon with a fire attribute, it had given him a fragment of the First Flame. Noah didn’t have any single outstanding achievement, and got equipment that suited his skills.
[Excess deduction complete.]
“All together!”
So for an F–rank who had defeated Transcendents, beings overwhelmingly high above–
[Achievement reward (Unmeasurable, Mythic–grade or higher)
Random reward according to the Awakener’s achievements and stats
※You may designate a reward with a two–grade drop.]
“Random.”
–it would grant power to stand against Transcendents.
The box was suffused with light.
“…Hkk.”
Seong Hyunjae staggered. His face was pale as he gulped down another mana potion – I’d lost count of how many. The cracks in the wall spread out wider than the Black Dragon’s body.
Crash, fragments fell away and holes began to open.
“Just a little more, hold on a little!”
Why isn’t it coming, damn it!
The box warped. The system window kept darkening and brightening again.
[Calculating…]
[Measuring, measuring, measuring]
[Reward– creating–]
Wait, don’t tell me…
‘Is it actually making a new reward just for me?!’
They’d said the rewards the system gave Awakeners were mostly items Transcendents owned or had made.
When there wasn’t anything suitable, the system would make one.
‘…Of course there wouldn’t be any reward that matches my achievements!’
Damn it, the achievement calculation itself had gone faster than I’d thought, but there was a hidden snag.
Ruuuumble– the entire space shook, not just the wall. The black holes running along the cracks widened rapidly, and Seol pulled back.
– Be careful!
Clatter, clatter! Shards of the wall poured down like rain. Beyond them, a massive head appeared.
– Ssssss.
It was a snake. A monstrous thing with blue scales slowly drew its body inside. Poisonous miasma spread around the snake; Seol answered by spewing fire and smoke from his mouth.
I hurriedly used the Promising Talent skill.
[King of Predation’s Kin ? Radmirun of the Blue Poison Marsh
Current stat grade ? L]
L–rank. It was a monster sent by the King of Predation.
Young Chaos had said the Black Dragon had probably been around L–rank. Now he was weaker than that, so it would be hard for him to face this snake.
Even so, Seol stood firm in front of it.
– I probably can’t worry about what’s around us, so avoid it on your own.
The Black Dragon bared his fangs. The snake coiled its body and flicked its tongue.
The reward wasn’t finished yet.
Maybe from the shock of the space being invaded, but Seong Hyunjae coughed up blood, his face white as paper.
“Come here! With Grace I can at least block the spillover.”
I pulled him in behind me, telling him to hide there.
He gave me a pale smile.
“I never imagined I’d be crouching behind Mister Han Yujin’s back.”
“The current you insisted on hiding first, you know. I’m going to borrow Battle Precognition for a bit, so don’t resist.”
Drawing on the last of his strength, he threw a transparent barrier around us. The Black Dragon’s claws scraped the floor. The blue snake’s head bristled with raised scales.
Poison and fire clashed and the two huge bodies slammed into each other in an instant!
KWA–BOOM!
The entire space rocked. The dragon’s teeth grazed its scales, and the snake’s tail whipped through the air. Claws imbued with flame grabbed the descending tail – but it was obviously outmatched in raw strength. The Black Dragon was hurled to the ground and another tremor shook the world.
“Seola!”
System! Please!
Even if he wouldn’t die, I didn’t want Seol to be seriously hurt.
But contrary to my desperation, the reward showed no sign of being completed.
The Black Dragon got up. At least the snake had no weapon other than its tail and fangs. Or it might have attack skills too.
Seol grabbed the lunging snake’s head with both forepaws, barely holding it back. The snake twisted its body hard, tongue flicking between its jaws.
Thoom! The Black Dragon went tumbling again.
All I could do watching it right in front of me was stomp my feet in frustration.
The snake was relaxed. It wagged the end of its tail in tiny motions as it glanced our way.
Seol stood up again. This time the poison coiling around the snake’s body grew even stronger, as if it intended to finish this for sure. Drops of venom fell from the tips of its long fangs.
“…Seola.”
It meant to bite down and inject its poison in one go and kill him.
Seol raised flames as well, but the difference in force was obvious. A suffocating moment where the frustration was so intense it was hard to breathe–
– Pwiit!
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt