Each of their weapons was diverse.
Three swords, four spears, two axes, three bows, and the rest were assault rifles.
I took out one of the elixirs I had kept in my pocket. It was a ginseng elixir with effects modified to my taste.
[The energy of the elixir invigorates your entire body.]
[For 10 minutes, variable stats excluding mana increase by 1.5.]
The SP consumed to modify the elixir’s settings was a mere 5.
Perhaps because I had changed a permanent stat increase to a ‘temporary’ one, the cost was not very high. Vitality and strength surged through my body.
I activated Under Armour’s Haste and converted Desert Eagle into assault rifle form.
The enemies were chattering among themselves. Since it wasn’t Korean, I couldn’t understand them.
I didn’t want to eavesdrop anyway.
I stood leisurely and aimed my muzzle.
Only then did they charge at me. The warriors kicked up dust in every direction and fiercely rushed forward.
But within ‘Bullet Time’, they merely looked far too slow.
I first shot the ones in the rear who were trying to shoot me with assault rifles.
One shot to the glabella each, six shots in total.
Those who couldn’t even wield a mana barrier couldn’t endure the power of my bullets and disintegrated.
Next were the ones charging with spears and swords.
They had already run up to 200 meters in front of me, but they wouldn’t be able to take another step.
As expected, they were clad in mana barriers.
However, it was different from a self-defense barrier. It was an inferior defense skill that expelled the mana within their bodies haphazardly without special refinement. Piercing such defective work was simple.
I fired three bullets simultaneously into the chest of the one at the very front.
The first bullet rendered the barrier incomplete.
The second bullet shattered part of that incomplete barrier.
The third bullet pierced through the shattered barrier and destroyed the flesh.
A warrior was flung aside by a mere three bullets. Yet the world was still in slow motion, and only I maintained my full speed.
Inside Bullet Time— I did not stop pulling the trigger.
A baptism of bullets that thoroughly slaughtered only the weak.
I aimed as a sharpshooter and fired like a machine.
“······.”
In that manner, thirty bullets were fired.
Exactly three per person, and ten close-combat warriors died.
Probably an instant that wouldn’t even last a minute by the clock.
Now two remained.
Two bastards holding bows.
They mustered their courage and drew their bowstrings, but
unfortunately, I only needed to move my fingers lightly.
Instantly, white flashes erupted from the muzzle.
The two had bullets lodged in their glabella and disintegrated into dust.
“······Hah.”
Time returned to normal.
I walked slowly toward the truck. In the cargo bed of one of the two trucks would be the artifact the leader had ordered me to retrieve.
Of the two trucks, I unlocked the latch and opened the door of the one lodged in the tree on the right.
At that moment.
“Uuaaaah!”
Some man leaped at me, brandishing a sharp dagger.
My mind blanked for a moment.
The man’s eyes gleaming with bloodlust, blue mana clinging eerily to the dagger’s blade, reaching my heart just before—
A gigantic wolf burst from my chest and bit down on the bastard’s neck.
“Aaaack! Ack, aack! A, aaack!”
A gigantic wolf the size of two grown men put together.
While the wolf subdued the mana user, I raised my hand and touched my chest.
There was no wound.
“Ah······ Whew.”
A sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily.
No wound, but I had let my guard down like an absolute fool.
I obviously should have been careful of this sort of thing.
“Kuaaack······.”
Crunch.
The bastard whose neck bone had been crushed by the wolf, as always, disintegrated into dust.
Only then did I look inside the cargo bed.
It was full of people presumed to be sold. Their eyes were drenched with fear and sorrow.
“······.”
[Mission complete.]
After messaging the leader, I threw the watch the mana user had been wearing to the ground.
“The mana users are all dead. Call heroes with that watch, and go home now.”
The wolf that had saved me just now approached me. The wolf panted, seemingly begging for my praise, so I patted its head.
Just then, the leader’s reply came.
[Understood. Leave the cleanup to me.]
* * *
6 AM.
I had stayed up all night with wide eyes in a Beijing hotel, and returned to my lodging around the time Cube’s portal opened.
The lodging I returned to was somehow warm.
Perhaps thanks to Hayang lying on the sofa, and Evangel’s ghost sparrows perched in a row atop the TV.
I smiled faintly and went into the master bedroom.
Evangel was asleep on the bed. I sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Evangel’s head.
While brushing aside soft blonde hair, I felt it anew.
This child had become a great comfort to me before I knew it.
At the same time, a slight doubt arose.
Since when had I become so weak as to rely on such a young child?
“Sigh.”
A sigh suddenly escaped me.
It had only been a year since I fell into this world.
In just a year, I had come to this state.
But after spending over ten years like this, and then returning to Earth—
Would I be able to return to my original self?
Would the events that happened here, the worn emotions, the engraved scars, heal cleanly as if nothing had happened?
“Haam~”
Then Evangel yawned and opened her eyes.
Evangel, just awakened, stared at me blearily, then soon smiled bashfully and came into my embrace.
“It’s Hajinnie, Hajin Hajin······.”
Rubbing both cheeks against my chest, she murmured.
“Ah, right. Evangel, you know. I survived today thanks to you.”
“I’m shleepy······.”
But it seemed the current Evangel didn’t care about such things at all.
“······Let’s eat something delicious tomorrow.”
I said while patting Evangel’s back.
*
Three hours later, inside Cube campus.
I was exhausted and lying face down on the desk, when someone sat in the seat next to me and tapped my shoulder.
“Hey~ Kim Hajin~”
At this point I could tell just by the voice.
It was Chae Nayun.
While lying face down, I turned only my head to look up at Chae Nayun.
She looked very happy.
What’s got her so happy. She looks incredibly happy.
“······What.”
“You didn’t forget the promise for tomorrow, right?”
“What promise.”
Just then, Kim Suho butted in.
“We agreed to eat together, didn’t we.”
“What?”
I finally raised my head.
“What. I thought I was eating with just you, Kim Suho.”
“Uh······ Ah, did I not say it was all of us?”
“I’m here too.”
Yu Yeonha appeared beside Chae Nayun.
“For your information, Jonghak and Yi Yeonghan are coming too.”
“Yeah. We said the members from the past trip would eat together.”
Chae Nayun said that while placing her hand on my head. Startled, my body stiffened.
Chae Nayun tidied up my slightly disheveled hair.
“There.”
Then she smiled softly, seemingly satisfied.
For a moment I was so dumbfounded and suffocated that I glared at Chae Nayun sharply.
“Anyway, you better come, okay? We’re going to karaoke too.”
“I don’t have time that day—”
“If you don’t come, I’ll invite you to the group chat, you know?”
“Ah, come on.”
My brow furrowed deeply.
Anything but the group chat······.
End
The undersea cave near the Bristol Channel, England.
Wisaekdan had established a new nest here. As the Guild Expedition’s schedule had been set around the abandoned factory district in Suwon, and since it was time to change hideouts anyway, they had moved entirely to a new base.
Today, Wisaekdan had gathered here to settle their third-quarter profits and to evaluate the martial prowess of the ‘Vacancy Candidate.’
Or rather, they had tried to gather.
However, everyone was busy with missions and pleasure, so the attendees of today’s meeting numbered only five. The Leader played the mission footage of the candidate, Kim Hajin, before those five.
“Ooh....... So that’s a gun? He took care of twenty of them in 21 seconds?”
It was Jin Yohan, a handsome man with a somewhat gentle impression and the ‘Green’ of Wisaekdan, who spoke with mixed admiration.
“How is a gun so suppressed? What a fascinating talent indeed.”
“Enough. What do you think?”
Jain urged an assessment rather than admiration, her eyes sparkling.
“Hmm. Well. Going by hero class, wouldn’t he be at least intermediate-high rank?”
“What? That high?”
“Mm? What’s so high about it?”
At Jin Yohan’s nonchalant words, Jain furrowed her brow. People who are somewhat capable are the problem. They look down far too severely on realms below their own.
“Ten intermediate-high rank heroes could beat you, you know?”
“Ehh~ that’s not true. Maybe if there were a hundred.”
Jin Yohan shook his head with a generous smile.
“Then what do you think, Jain?”
“Me......... I’m shocked. Similar to Kim Suho, I’d say intermediate rank, grade 5~6? I don’t know about one-on-one against the strong, but I think he’d be quite helpful when facing multiple opponents.”
Jain had grasped the core from Kim Hajin’s combat footage, but her evaluation was an excessive compliment that would surprise the person himself if he heard it.
“What, only intermediate rank?”
“That’s already a huge compliment. With that kind of potential at age 17, just wait five years. He’ll become an incredibly useful weapon.”
Jain had in fact half-concluded her assessment. Kim Hajin’s talent would be an ‘Armed Concept’ that strengthened weapons using mana, and his constitution would be an ‘Anti-magic Body,’ where all mana within his body possessed anti-magic properties.
“Shouldn’t Gyeongi be here for this kind of assessment? I heard she’s still in the Demon Realm.”
“Yeah. That boar doesn’t seem to have any intention of coming out once she goes in~?”
The Demon Realm.
It was slang for the place called Pandemonium, or Bokmajeon.
Humans kept it hush-hush, but that world was filled with things even more luxurious and hedonistic than Las Vegas, and even non-mana users could freely enter and exit—provided they could get past the swarms of monsters surrounding it.
Cheok Jun-gyeong was enjoying pleasure, luxury, and combat there.
“More importantly. What does the Leader think?”
Jain turned her question to the supreme authority. However, no answer came. Jain turned her head that way. The Leader was pressing buttons with both hands, engrossed in some game console.
“.........Leader, are you gaming?”
“Hmm? Ah......... it’s nothing.”
When Jain asked, the Leader fixed her pitch-black eyes on her while keeping her gaze on the console.
It was quite a cute sight.
“Did you develop a taste for electronics after texting with Kim Hajin a few times?”
Beep—a sound effect like a game over.
Afterward, the Leader turned off the console and fixed her jet-black eyes on Jain.
“Jain, you’re being impudent.”
At those words, Jain subtly averted her gaze. She had been so gentle when texting with Kim Hajin,
Feeling oddly jealous for no reason, she turned the conversation to Deurun.
“More importantly. Deurun, you did the cleanup properly, right?”
“Yeah, I rescued the hostages, and everything else was devoured without a trace. Both people and bullets.”
Deurun said with a bright smile. Jain let out a low sigh.
“......You should say ‘was fed,’ kid. You’re giving me goosebumps. And, did you find out the identity of that wolf?”
“Yeah. It’s probably Kim Hajin’s pet.”
“No, that’s not what I meant......”
She knew everything clearly, but one thing remained unclear. The unidentified ‘wolf’ that had suddenly burst from Kim Hajin’s chest.
“Don’t worry about that.”
The Leader stepped in then.
“I’ll ask him directly. Kim Hajin seems to trust me completely.”
“.......Really?”
“He’d believe me even if I told him red beans could make soybeans.”
“Well, if you say so, Leader.......”
Jain nodded for the time being.
* * *
The next day,
As promised, we gathered in front of the Korean restaurant Chae Nayun had invited us to.
‘Hanjeonggak,’ a place famous for its reputation as a Michelin 3-star.
It was originally a seat for five people to gather, but somehow I ended up joining too.
“You guys here? Come on in, come on in.”
Chae Nayun, who had enjoyed dining at Hanjeonggak since she was young, familiarly guided the group.
The interior of Hanjeonggak, modeled after the appearance of a traditional hanok, was clean and traditional.
We followed Chae Nayun to the reserved seats.
Six chairs lined up at the long dining table. I took the innermost seat.
Beside me sat Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan in that order; across from me sat Chae Nayun.
“Hey. The food here is amazing. You can look forward to it.”
Chae Nayun looked into my eyes as she spoke. The eye contact felt burdensome, so I lowered my head as if nodding.
Chae Nayun opened the conversation in a lively voice.
“Ah, but still. Being gathered like this reminds me of the old days.”
“The old days?”
“1972. We were there for almost seven weeks, remember? I seriously improved a ton back then. Ever since I came back, I’ve been on an undefeated streak.”
“........ Didn’t you lose to Rachel?”
“It was a draw, okay?”
The group chatted happily among themselves. They shared the things that had happened in the past as if they were memories, and also voiced their worries about the upcoming finals and their grades.
While waiting for the food and quietly listening, I suddenly noticed one strange person.
It was Shin Jonghak.
“Hey, Kim Suho, are you preparing well for the final exam?”
“I’ve done enough. What about you?”
“Have you ever seen me prepare for something as trivial as an exam? I’m different from you.”
“Ah... is that so?”
“Yeah. My birth, my bloodline—this body is different from the very start. You, whose life has been paved with effort, wouldn’t understand.”
Shin Jonghak was only showing a sense of rivalry toward Kim Suho, without expressing any particular hostility.
If this were the original, things should have been quite bloody, but instead, Shin Jonghak’s words and actions now were beyond funny and even felt oddly friendly.
Of course, it was a good thing, but... it was puzzling.
Chae Nayun aside, why had Shin Jonghak changed like that?
“Your meal is here.”
The employee who appeared just then cut off my doubts.
Clatter, clatter. The sound of dishes rang out as the food was placed on the table.
Galbijjim, gejang, kimchi, dolsot rice, and the like—it was a typical Korean meal.
Among the countless side dishes, I reached first for the tteokgalbi that had been allotted one per person. Tteokgalbi had been my favorite food since long ago.
“Wow, what is this? It’s delicious.”
It melted the moment I put it in my mouth, and the taste was truly nothing short of bliss, so I muttered without realizing it.
“You’re right. It’s good.”
Kim Suho beside me was also impressed.
Kim Suho seemed to be the type to savor delicious food, as he only tore off and ate a small corner of his tteokgalbi. But I wasn’t that type. I swallowed almost the entire tteokgalbi in one go.
“Hey, hey, is it good? It’s good, right? See? I told you it’d be delicious.”
As I chewed on the tteokgalbi, Chae Nayun made a fuss in front of me.
“It’s super good, right~?”
“I get it, so be quiet.”
“Hehe.”
I swallowed the tteokgalbi and, feeling a slight sense of regret, looked over at Shin Jonghak again.
Shin Jonghak was observing Kim Suho with hawk-like eyes. It seemed as though he was waiting to attack him over any breach of table manners, but soon gave up and focused on his own food.
I looked back down at my plate as well.
“...... What the?”
But on my plate, a new tteokgalbi had appeared.
What was this? Had I spat it out without realizing it?
I examined the tteokgalbi, then slowly raised my head. At that moment, my eyes met Chae Nayun’s. Chae Nayun was looking at me and smiling for some reason, looking proud.
Was this your doing?
When I pointed at the tteokgalbi with my chopsticks, Chae Nayun moved only her lips without making a sound.
Eat a lot.
“........”
This kind of kindness was burdensome.
But its savory, delicious scent tickled the tip of my nose.
Gulp.
My Adam’s apple bobbed. In the end, I surrendered to the tteokgalbi, and just as I was halfway through chewing it, something flashed through my head like a crackle of electricity.
I looked at Chae Nayun, who was mixing her bibimbap, then shifted my gaze to Shin Jonghak.
Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Chae Nayun.
In the relationship between these three, the most decisive reason Shin Jonghak went astray was........
Chae Nayun.
I stared intently at Chae Nayun in front of me. No way, right?
Could giving her that time capsule back then really have been that big of a deal?
No, that couldn’t be. Chae Nayun definitely liked handsome people.
At that moment, I heard Chae Nayun’s small laugh.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Want me to order more?”
“Huh? No.”
“Excuse me, auntie~!”
Before I could stop her, Chae Nayun called the server.
“Two more tteokgalbi, please.”
I watched Chae Nayun cheerfully place the order amid a vivid bitterness and an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
* * *
The next course after the Korean set meal was karaoke. At a high-end karaoke place near Hanjeonggak, the group took turns singing.
Chae Nayun was unexpectedly good at singing, and Kim Suho and Lee Yeonghan were quite good as well. Shin Jonghak, whom Yu Yeonha had secretly been looking forward to, also seemed to be above average.