Chapter 791: Fog and Sea and Memory (5)
“…Get behind me. Now.”
The present Han Yujin lowered his voice and motioned to Seong Hyunjae. If that Han Yujin noticed another Seong Hyunjae, he would wake from the dream. Seong Hyunjae obediently moved behind Han Yujin and rested his chin on the crown of his head.
“I made an effort, in my own way, but I still stand out quite a bit.”
“Cover your head before I cut it off. Put a laundry basket over it or something.”
While they were whispering, the Han Yujin from before the regression stepped into the portal. The scenery around them shifted in an instant, and a long corridor appeared.
“Looks like you changed the interior.”
The present Han Yujin murmured as he followed the sound of crutches tapping against the floor. He looked faintly tense. By contrast, the Han Yujin in the memory wore a cold expression. He walked one step at a time with his teeth clenched, as though holding down emotions trying to claw their way up.
Before long, a broad hall opened up. The top of the long, curving staircase was dark, and so were the entrances to the branching corridors. The only light came from the arched doorway at the far center of the hall, as if beckoning him to come closer.
Han Yujin stopped for a moment, then began walking again. Beyond the arch was a reception room with a ceiling so high it disappeared into shadow. One wall had been decorated with rocks, trees, and grass, as if a piece of a mountain had been carved out and brought indoors. Pebbles had been spread out in front of it, forming a small indoor garden. On the other side were a spacious sofa and a table. The lighting was soft, dim, and subdued.
“You refused every other time. Yet today, you came quite readily.”
Crunch.
Pebbles slipped beneath a dress shoe with a faint sound. Han Yujin stopped just outside the boundary of the indoor garden and looked at Seong Hyunjae. His body was trembling faintly. A heavy pressure rolled off Seong Hyunjae, pricking against the skin with a force that would have made an ordinary person stumble backward without realizing it.
“…Chief Song Taewon.”
Han Yujin opened his mouth. His voice shook too, but it did not stop.
“What happened to him?”
“Are you slow to hear the news?”
Seong Hyunjae took out his phone. His finger moved lazily across the screen.
“It comes up right away.”
He turned the phone around, showing the article on the site’s main page. The two Han Yujins looked at it.
Chief Song Taewon of the Awakening Management Office Dead.
The present Han Yujin sucked in a short, empty breath. This was that memory. Right after Song Taewon had lost his life. Seong Hyunjae turned the phone back around and scrolled down the screen.
“Presumed to have died in an accident inside a dungeon. There are no articles connecting it to me yet.”
“…Guild Leader Seong!”
Han Yujin shouted. The phone was flung from Seong Hyunjae’s hand as if discarded. It hit the trunk of a tree and clattered over the pebbles. Golden eyes curved gently.
“He died.”
Crunch.
Every step Seong Hyunjae took made pebble strike pebble. Han Yujin flinched instinctively. He stood his ground, forcing down the urge to run.
“Not even a body was left behind.”
Crunch.
The crushed pebbles sounded underfoot. Han Yujin’s body jerked more visibly. The sound stopped inside the pebbled boundary. One step away.
“Except for this.”
Seong Hyunjae lifted one hand. Han Yujin’s gaze moved to it.
“I’m still unskilled with it.”
His other hand caught the end of his glove and slowly pulled it off. Over the skin revealed in white, a black shadow began to gather faintly. It was far paler and weaker than the one Han Yujin knew. It wavered uncertainly, as though it might vanish at any moment.
“Do you recognize it?”
Plunder.
Han Yujin’s eyes shook. He had never heard of anyone stealing someone else’s skill. Temporarily weakening it, or copying the ability, was supposed to be the limit. Then surely…
“It is an inheritance. What was left to me.”
“…Seong Hyunjae!”
Han Yujin’s foot crossed the boundary. His crutch was thrown aside, and his hand, filled with fury, shot toward Seong Hyunjae. Those golden eyes were calm to the point of indifference. Just before Han Yujin’s hand could touch him, a long leg rose.
Thud.
Without so much as swaying, he lightly kicked away the body lunging at him.
“Ghk!”
Han Yujin rolled across the reception room floor. He slid all the way to the sofa before finally stopping. Seong Hyunjae watched him rise upright, as though nothing had happened.
“What did you do to Chief Song Taewon!”
“You’re far too agitated.”
Dragging his leg, Han Yujin approached Seong Hyunjae again.
“Why do you have that–!”
The toe of his sneaker crossed the garden boundary once more. The result was the same. Han Yujin’s body tumbled over the floor as if he had been thrown.
“Should I apologize on his behalf?”
Seong Hyunjae, standing behind the present Han Yujin, whispered softly. Instead of answering, Han Yujin stepped on the top of his foot.
“You have that!”
“Did I not tell you it was an inheritance?”
“Inheritance?”
Han Yujin got up again. He was staggering, but his spirit had not broken. Even trembling instinctively before an S–Rank Hunter, he gritted his teeth and attacked. This time, Seong Hyunjae’s hand seized Han Yujin by the throat.
“Hhk, khh!”
“Calm down, Han Yujin.”
His thumb pressed down slowly on Han Yujin’s windpipe before he threw him loose. Outside the indoor garden, Han Yujin swayed violently and finally collapsed to the floor. He coughed painfully, again and again.
“It isn’t a skill I could have taken by force.”
“Then, cough, Chief… Song Taewon…”
“So that I might remain myself. It is both an inheritance and a gift.”
Han Yujin’s shoulders heaved. His eyes reddened, but did not grow wet. Though he could have stayed sitting, he stubbornly forced himself back onto his feet. From outside the boundary, he looked straight up at Seong Hyunjae.
“What happened?”
An ungloved hand reached toward him. The fear that surged in unbidden made him flinch, but Han Yujin did not avoid it. Seong Hyunjae’s fingertips lightly touched the marks left on his neck.
“Will you hear it?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation in his answer. Seong Hyunjae slowly moved his lips.
“It is an old story.”
Once upon a time.
Crescent Moon took a white child into her cradle. She erased his memories, sent him into a new world, waited until he had suitably filled himself, then brought him back, erased him again, and sent him away once more.
Because he had clashed directly with Crescent Moon in the dungeon, Seong Hyunjae had learned a great deal of the truth. The unpleasantness he had only vaguely sensed about his own position had become clear. Seong Hyunjae explained it to Han Yujin.
“Song Taewon said the lunar eclipse was the only power capable of leading me to a complete death.”
Two pairs of eyes, no, four, looked at the hand where a faint shadow lingered.
“But it failed, and remained as a small, fragile hope.”
“Guild Leader Seong…”
Han Yujin spoke with a bewildered expression.
“Then with Chief Song Taewon’s Plunder, you intend to… do that to yourself?”
“Who knows. First, I intend to try sorting through the things piled up inside me.”
Seong Hyunjae smiled. It was the first expression with any real life in it since they had entered this room. Even so, it was still cast beneath the dense shadow of lethargy.
“I heard him say he wanted me to live, after all. I should at least make an effort.”
Han Yujin looked at Seong Hyunjae, then lowered his gaze. He turned his head slightly. His eyes slowly welled, and he blinked several times. He had seen the article saying Song Taewon was dead. Of course he had not believed it, and he had come here. Even after hearing Seong Hyunjae’s words, he had not been able to accept it easily. But now, it was real.
“…I see.”
“Shall I look away?”
“It is not… the first time. I’m used to it.”
Han Yujin always acted strong in front of other people. Some even called him cold. But when he was alone, he fell apart.
“So.”
After rubbing the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, Han Yujin looked up at Seong Hyunjae again.
“Why are you telling me this? I’m an ordinary F–Rank.”
Seong Hyunjae would never reveal such personal circumstances without a reason. Han Yujin worried at his lip for a moment.
“I’ve told you several times, but I will not get involved with anything related to Haeyeon.”
“That won’t be necessary. All I need is you, Han Yujin.”
Han Yujin’s eyes widened slightly.
“…Me?”
I’m an F–Rank with no real ability.
As he watched Han Yujin grow flustered, Seong Hyunjae put the glove he had removed back on.
“The Nurturer title.”
“That title isn’t very useful. You know that.”
There were several titles in the Nurturer series, and aside from the S–Rank one that only Han Yujin had, they were widely known. Except for Final Recompense, the ability values did not differ by much.
“My title’s rank is high, but all it does is give an additional ten percent growth buff for one day.”
“Do not trust the system.”
“Excuse me?”
“A considerable amount of time has passed since dungeons and Awakeners appeared. Titles and skills, especially those rooted in a person’s own qualities, sometimes exert influence even when they are not activated.”
“Even when they aren’t used?”
Not only the Han Yujin of the past, but the Han Yujin of the present as well, listened closely.
“The same was true for you, Han Yujin.”
“For me…”
“It was rather difficult to confirm, but those whom you recognize as under your protection receive a growth buff even when you do not use the skill.”
“R–Really?”
“The range does not seem wide, so they have to be right beside you for it to take effect. And not only that, it also helps raise Awakening rank.”
“Awakening rank?”
Han Yujin was startled again, his eyes going round.
“In the same environment, Group A, which was not influenced by you, had an optimized Awakening rate of five percent. Group B, which was influenced by you, had an optimized Awakening rate of fifteen percent. Roughly three times higher. It is still low, but the difference is meaningful.”
“When on earth did you run that kind of experiment… Wait, was it back then?”
Han Yujin frowned, apparently remembering something. Meanwhile, the present Han Yujin, who had no memory of it, merely tilted his head.
“Optimized Awakening was possible from the title’s indirect effect alone…”
The present Han Yujin murmured quietly. From everything he had experienced so far, he already knew that titles and skills were not limited to the abilities the system displayed. But even he had never imagined this.
“It was difficult to investigate the period before I approached you in detail, but the title’s effect has probably grown stronger compared to the past. Titles, like skills, grow the more they are used and the more influence they exert.”
“…So you’re planning to recruit me? If I can increase the chance of optimized Awakening by another ten percent, I suppose I’d be a useful totem.”
Even then, it was not some incredible ability. Especially for high–rank Hunters who had already Awakened, it was meaningless.
“On a guild level, maybe it would help.”
Han Yujin’s gaze dropped. He seemed to have thought of the Haeyeon Guild. Of Han Yuhyun.
“To me as well.”
A faint smile formed on Seong Hyunjae’s lips.
“You are the power to help others grow itself. You should be helpful in growing my Plunder skill and dealing with what has accumulated.”
“I… I suppose that could be possible.”
“Of course, it is still weak right now. But going forward, if you focus solely on raising various Awakeners and increase the rank of the Nurturer title, it will become useful.”
Han Yujin fell silent, apparently confused. The present Han Yujin was startled as well and glanced back at Seong Hyunjae behind him.
“But I’m sure the Seong Hyunjae from before the regression left me behind. Did I refuse?”
In the Nightmare Dungeon in China, Seong Hyunjae had even cut him off, saying it had nothing to do with Han Yujin.
“However.”
The Seong Hyunjae from before the regression continued, still smiling.
“After the Nurturer title grows, you will need to focus on me.”
“Focus?”
“The Guild Leader of Haeyeon has acquired a pomegranate seed.”
A pomegranate seed. The present Han Yujin flinched, while the Han Yujin in the memory tilted his head.
“It is an item that can erase up to one quarter of a person’s memories, as much as the user desires. For now, there is only one seed, but if all four are gathered, complete erasure becomes possible.”
“That kind of item… Don’t tell me…”
Han Yujin clenched his teeth hard. Deep anger and grief filled his eyes.
“He was going to… erase my memories entirely… Han Yuhyun. After all that I…”
Seong Hyunjae did not bother correcting Han Yujin’s misunderstanding. He merely watched. Han Yujin swallowed down his fury for a long while, then unclenched the fist he had been holding so tightly his nails had dug into his palm.
“…So. What about it?”
“You are far too obsessed with your younger brother, are you not, Han Yujin? At this rate, it would be difficult for me to properly benefit from your growth effect.”
“…What are you saying right now?”
“After growing the Nurturer title enough, erase your memories.”
Golden eyes, arrogant and high above, looked down at Han Yujin.
“I will take responsibility for what follows.”
“That’s ridiculous–!”
Seong Hyunjae’s hand caught Han Yujin’s arm. He dragged him straight into the garden. Han Yujin staggered badly and stayed on his feet only by relying on the hand holding him.
“Will you concern yourself with me?”
Han Yujin swallowed dryly. Once he stepped beyond the line, that would be the end. It would no longer have anything to do with Han Yujin.
But his hesitation did not last long.
Smack.
Han Yujin shook off the hand holding him and stepped over the pebbles, walking back outside the boundary. He turned around with a limp and looked at Seong Hyunjae.
“Memories or anything else, I will never give up what belongs to me by my own choice.”
“Is that so.”
“I will work to grow the title. If you ask for my help, Guild Leader Seong, I will help however much you need. But I am Han Yujin. And.”
Han Yujin let out a short breath.
“No matter what Yuhyun says, I have no intention of erasing my memories of my younger brother. Whether he gets sick of me or not, I’ll cling on until the day I die.”
He spoke as if biting down on every word. Seong Hyunjae laughed.
“Then this is as far as we go.”
“One day, in the future–”
“No. This is it.”
Seong Hyunjae took one step forward. In an instant, he left the indoor garden and moved close to Han Yujin. Han Yujin felt a bad premonition and tried to avoid him, but he was caught all too easily.
“The lunar eclipse devours. And so do I.”
The smile on Seong Hyunjae’s lips turned bitter.
“For I am also one who devours in order to fill myself.”
“Let go of me!”
“It means I can devour that power of yours as well.”
Han Yujin and Han Yujin both froze.
–TL Notes–
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