novelA New Episode (1)
| ← Ch.258 | Ch.260 → |
[Orden's Living Quarter]
Deep inside the heart of Orden's kingdom, Orden sat on a throne in front of his loyal subordinates.
"An intruder has entered the Time Barrier." The kneeled servant of the King reported.
"So yet another fly entered the trap."
"Not this time. The intruder seemed to know how the Time Barrier worked. If we let him be and he dismantles the barrier, the souls we have trapped inside will escape. We'll need to do something about him."
Hearing this, the King looked at the servants kneeling in a line in front of him. Kurukuru, Lacor, Veritas, Garimto... If he wanted, he could simply make his loyal servants annihilate the arrogant intruders.
"... I will handle it."
But before the King could say anything, a human spoke up.
The servants of the King glared at the human with discontent. However, the human didn't show any sign of fear. In fact, the human snorted and spoke again in a more confident manner.
"I will strike him down." Jin Sahyuk's words put a smile on Orden's face.
"Will you?" Orden asked.
Jin Sahyuk nodded with confidence, "Of course."
After her fight with Bell not too long ago, she had joined Orden. Of course, that didn't mean she planned on cooperating with him fully.
She just had to embrace a bit of disgust to avoid Bell's hindrance.
"I will make him disappear from your sight."
She wasn't lying. She planned to bring Kim Hajin back to Akatrina's past, so he would disappear from the monsters' sight. Although the opportunity came earlier than she anticipated, she didn't mind it whatsoever. She wanted to get away from this place reeking of humanoid monsters' smell as quickly as possible.
"Good, then you may do so."
Orden gave his approval, and Jin Sahyuk released her magic power with a smile. Her new Gift, [Reality Manipulation], formed a portal.
"I'm leaving then, you sons of bitches."
She cursed at the humanoid monsters and disappeared into the portal. Unsurprisingly, the King's servants became furious.
"... My King, why have you accepted such an impudent human into our ranks?"
"Kill... that... bitch...."
"Kururu, kurururu...."
Orden released his magic power and suppressed his servants' dissatisfaction.
**
[84 days equaling only 12 hours in the real world]
Aileen's party marched forward towards the castle in the distance.
1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours... After walking for a long time, they realized that their surroundings weren't changing in the slightest.
"Something's wrong..."
"Hm... Why don't we split into two teams? We have ways to communicate, so it should be fine."
The team split into two at Jin Seyeon's suggestion. Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak formed the first team, while Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji formed the second. They decided to contact each other the moment they found something.
Time passed by.
One day, two days, three days, four days, ten days... and finally, eighty-four days. The problem was obviously food. The supply they brought with them wasn't enough to last them three months. The lack of water was especially detrimental.
On the sixth day, they decided to give up and return using their Return Scrolls.
"W-Why isn't it working... ?"
Of course, the Return Scrolls didn't work inside the Time Barrier. With their last hope gone, despair set in their hearts. Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak fell on the ground in frustration.
To give an analogy, even a Ferrari couldn't run without fuel. Better cars required better fuel as well. Once exhausted, superhumans were no different than ordinary people.
Even so, death by dehydration and starvation was something they hadn't expected. No one thought they would meet their end by hunger rather than battle...
As time passed and despair grew bigger, their minds collapsed.
... And that's when it happened. As they were about to accept their deaths, they felt an unknown presence approach them. They turned their heads at that direction.
Then, they regained hope.
The man who appeared like the wind wore a coat of armor that shone brighter than anything they've seen before.
"Huh... ?"
"What's... that?"
It was Kim Hajin. Looking at his face, the three people blinked blankly. They barely had the strength to talk.
Kim Hajin walked up to them and said as he handed them bottles of water.
"Get up."
These two words were perhaps the coolest words Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak heard in their lives.
**
I first gave them water.
Gulp— Gulp—
After watching them gulp it down, I began to cook. Because they were starving for a long time, I made soup. Even superhumans would have trouble digesting food in that state.
A few minutes later, the three paupers walked up to me.
"... Done."
"""Ooooh."""
First, I gave a bowl to Shin Jonghak. His usual handsomeness was gone, replaced by the look of a hobo.
"...."
But Shin Jonghak only stared at me without taking the bowl of soup. He was smacking his lips, but he seemed to be too embarrassed to take it.
"What are you waiting for? If you don't want it, shove it."
When Aileen tried to shove him away, he finally took the bowl. I then gave Aileen and Jin Seyeon their bowls as well.
Three minutes later, they returned their empty bowls.
"Aah... Kuhum, so, how did you know to come save us?"
Aileen, who licked everything off the bowl, stared at me with a look of regret. I told her the excuse I prepared beforehand.
"I've been here for a while."
"Oh..."
"As expected of the famous Fenrir. I admire you, Senior."
Aileen and Jin Seyeon reacted. They signaled for me to refill their bowls.
"... Senior?"
"Didn't you say you were here before us? That makes you our senior. Thank you, Senior, thank you."
Jin Seyeon's eyes were full of emotions. She seemed ready to kowtow and kiss my feet. It seemed they had it harder than I thought.
I looked at Shin Jonghak to see if he wanted another bowl as well.
"hrp, hrp... "
He was licking his bowl. He had his back facing me, but I could tell by the sound he was making and the way his shoulders jumped up and down.
I snatched the bowl out of his hands.
"A-Ah! W-What do you want!? Give it back!"
"You finished it, geez. You can have seconds."
I filled all three bowls and returned them.
"... I don't need your help."
But Shin Jonghak was obstinate. His eyes were fixed on the bowl of soup, but his mouth rejected me.
Whoosh, whoosh.
I tried shaking the bowl in front of him. Shin Jonghak's eyes followed the bowl as though he was enchanted.
"... Ssp, ssp, sssssp."
"Are you sure you don't want it? I can see you salivating."
When I asked again, Shin Jonghak murmured quietly.
—... Today, just for today, I need you to be my cook.
I smiled and handed him the bowl. Afterwards, I cooked some meat and even provided them with potions that boosted their vitality.
"Ah... you saved us. By the way... do you have any dessert~? I'm just feeling a bit dizzy... ah, I'm gonna fall... I, I think I need a chocolate to heal me...."
"Thank you, I owe you my life. Take my kowtow...."
"... How did you know to find us here? You won't be able to leave either."
Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak said respectively.
They really had quite unique personalities.
With a wry smile, I gave a chocolate to Aileen.
"Thanks... nyam."
Seeing the chocolate, Aileen blushed and smiled bashfully.
I asked her, "How did you fall into a trap the moment you arrived?"
Aileen's expression contorted to a frown, "I don't know. I'm wondering the same thing. I just teleported to the coordinates I got from the higher-ups."
Coordinates from higher-ups. I could sense where the trouble was.
"... Who came up with the plan?"
"Hm? Oh, our hairy leader discussed things with the Association for the plan."
"Leader?"
"Yep, his name is Park Hanho. You've heard of him, right? He's the chairman of the Temple of Justice. You should have seen his name in textbooks."
I realized who the traitor was.
Park Hanho. His name was mentioned in the original story and although he never played an important role, he wasn't the chairman of the Temple of Justice for nothing.
In the [Potential List] I created to jot down the power levels of characters, Park Hanho was at...
[Park Hanho 9. 45/9. 45]
A maxed-out potential score.
This number was slightly higher than the [9. 4/9. 55] rating I gave to Aileen.
"...."
My expression stiffened. Seeing this, the other three could surmise what happened.
"You mean, Park Hanho betrayed us?" Aileen asked.
I nodded calmly, "If the ones who carried out the plan didn't do any wrong, then it must be the person who formed the plan who did."
"But Park Hanho doesn't have a motive. I know him well, and he—"
"No."
Aileen interrupted Jin Seyeon. Her face was more serious than ever before.
"Now that I think about it... That old man, his daughter died recently."
"Pardon?"
"I've seen something too."
Aileen recalled Park Hanho talking to the Association's upper echelon. He was shouting at them, saying that his daughter needed the Authority of Healing, but the upper echelon didn't grant his wish.
Park Hanho had a frightening face when he hung up the call, and his daughter died a month later from her illness.
"It's said that Orden pokes at people's weaknesses. His daughter died, so... his motive is clear."
"... He joined Orden to bring the dead back to life? How foolish." Shin Jonghak commented coldly.
I didn't disagree with him.
"Anyways..." I gave them my bag, which was full of food."Stay here until we know for sure what's going on. It might be dangerous to go out."
Now that I knew who the suspect was, I could ask the [Book of Truth] to confirm it. [Who is the traitor?] was too broad a question to work with just five streaks of Stigma, but [did Park Hanho join Orden?] should work.
Aileen grumbled unhappily, "It's not like we have a choice. There's no way out of this place."
"That's fine. I'll weaken the barrier."
The first assassination team was destined to fail. The most important thing was finding out who the traitor was.
"Weaken? How?"
"I'll tell you about that later. For now, we have to find Yi Yongha-ssi and Seo Youngji-ssi."
It was then.
Guooo—
Magic power flickered from a distance. We quickly got up and put up our guard.
In the empty air, magic power gathered together and formed an oval portal. Soon, a person walked out of it.
No, it was one person who was holding on to two people.
The person was Jin Sahyuk, and the two people in her hands were Seo Youngji and Yi Yongha.
"... !"
Our eyes widened. Jin Sahyuk sneered as she held up the half-dead Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji.
"Yo."
"...."
"Y-You crazy bitch! Let go of them!"
"Who are you!? Reveal your identity!"
I remained silent, but Aileen and Jin Seyeon reacted strongly. They seemed ready to charge at Jin Sahyuk at any moment.
"I'll kill them if you get any closer. Especially you, dwarf girl. I'll kill them the moment you open your mouth."
But Jin Sahyuk stopped them with a single sentence. She formed a blade with her magic power and pointed it at Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji.
"You bitch... who did you call a dwarf... ?"
"I have no business with you fools, so screw off. Oi, Kim Hajin."
Jin Sahyuk called me out, and I glared at her silently. I employed Stigma's magic power into my Thousand-Mile Eyes' sharp gaze.
"Kuek." Jin Sahyuk flinched. At the same time, cold sweat formed on her forehead. I was evoking the trauma inside her. If I continued for a bit longer, she might even faint on her own.
"Ah, fuck... !"
Did she achieve growth in her state of existence without me knowing? Jin Sahyuk released her magic power and overcame my gaze.
"You son of a bitch, if you don't want these two to die, stop that glaring—!"
That's what Jin Sahyuk said, but I knew she wasn't the type to kill hostages. Cowardly victories went against her principles.
I smiled and said teasingly, "You're taking hostages now? You really hit rock bottom. I thought you could become at least somewhat of a human being. I guess I should have killed you back then after all."
Immediately, blood vessels popped up on Jin Sahyuk's face. She became genuinely furious. She glared at me who mocked her principles.
Of course, her hostility did nothing to make me cower.
"Shut up and come here before I kill them."
"Why, you can't kill me?"
"... Shut up before I rip your mouth apart."
"Well, alright, I'll go over so try ripping it."
I walked over to her in a relaxed manner, all the while prepared to activate my unique skill at any moment.
One step, two steps, three steps...
When only three steps were left between us, Jin Sahyuk suddenly took something out of her pocket. At first, I thought it was a bomb.
"What... !"
Scared, I activated [Fate].
However, what she took out wasn't a bomb but a crystal radiating blue light.
My eyes, which now had the function of my laptop, showed me the description of the item.
===
[Continental Fragment]
—You can use this fragment to return to the Recorded Past - Akatrina during the time of Continental Year 555.
===
"Ah, wait, that's—"
I tried to stop her, but it was too late. Jin Sahyuk infused her magic power into the blue crystal, and the crystal blew up.
KWANG—!
The magic power condensed inside the crystal flooded out. The huge torrent engulfed both Jin Sahyuk and me, as well as everyone else in the area.
**
"Ah...."
Jin Sahyuk opened her eyes. She felt dizzy and somewhat groggy. She looked up at the familiar sky. Two moons and gem-like stars were laid out beautifully across the blank canvas.
"Where are we... ?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
A voice answered her. Startled, she shot up. A man was sitting on the grass.
"The recorded past."
Inside the darkness, his somewhat sorrowful eyes looked up at the sky.
"Continental Year 555, March 8th."
Kim Hajin turned his gaze back down. His eyes, dyed in magic power, sparkled like gems. Jin Sahyuk's figure reflected off his blue retina.
"It's your kingdom."
"...."
His words instantly organized Jin Sahyuk's chaotic thoughts.
She shot up. Two moons, countless stars, and icicles hanging on every tree. This place was undoubtedly....
"... Akatrina." Jin Sahyuk murmured in a daze.
The home she wanted to return to. Memories of the time she ruled Plerion as its king resurfaced in her mind.
"If you remember, get up." Kim Hajin sighed and got up. He really seemed to be familiar with this world.
"... What?"
"I said, get up."
He seemed to have a destination in mind, and Jin Sahyuk stared at him intensely.
"Kim Hajin, isn't it time that you reveal your identi—"
"Shut up and follow me."
"... What?"
"It's nothing much."
Kim Hajin scratched his neck. Although he was at a similar distance to the crystal that exploded in Jin Sahyuk's hand, he was able to wake up earlier thanks to the Orb of Regeneration he kept in his pocket.
Jin Sahyuk was still unconscious when Kim Hajin woke up, and he had three hours to think for himself.
"... We have to clear the quest."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"What you broke was a Tower Crystal. Before we clear the quest, we can't get out of here."
Kim Hajin looked up at the sky with a troubled expression. In front of his eyes hung rather complicated information.
===
[Problem]
—Jin Sahyuk and Kim Suho's home world, Akatrina, isn't mentioned enough.
[Changes]
—Greatly strengthened the power of Continental Fragment.
—Added a new Akatrina episode to fill the rushed story.
—Rewards added to the new episode.
[Reward List]
—Items that can be found by progressing through the story.
1. Mysterious Magnifying Glass
2. Omnipotent Magic Pen
3. Purifying Crystal
4. ???
[Failure Condition - Jin Sahyuk's death]
===
Jin Sahyuk's voice cut off Kim Hajin's thoughts.
"What are you talking about?"
"...."
But Kim Hajin ignored her. He entered the field of grass to his right. Jin Sahyuk watched him blankly.
"That guy...."
Kim Hajin walked forward as if he knew where he was going. He wasn't confused or flustered. He simply went on his way like he was taking a walk in his neighborhood park.
Seeing this, Jin Sahyuk became sure of her suspicions.
Regardless of who he really was, Kim Hajin had to be from Plerion. In other words, he had to be hers, as she was Plerion's king.
When she thought about this, her expression stiffened.
... However, Kim Hajin's thoughts were a little different.
[Book of Truth - Akatrina Continent Map]
"Mm."
He had created a map using the Book of Truth. This map was more trustworthy than some of the maps that Akatrina had.
"Kuhum."
Jin Sahyuk chased after Kim Hajin.
The two walked for a long time silently.
Jin Sahyuk became sentimental seeing her home world and sad knowing that it was only an illusion.
The two walked through the field in silence.
Kim Hajin had zero hesitation about where he was going, and Jin Sahyuk followed him in confusion.
"... Ah, there it is—!'
Soon, they found a castle.
Jin Sahyuk shouted in surprise.
"The Royal Palace!"
Kim Hajin stopped and stared at it. Soon, he smiled coldly.
"Royal Palace my ass."
"... What?"
"That's the Schupert Castle. We're far from the Royal Palace."
"... Hah?"
Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows and looked at the castle once again.
Indeed, it was different than the Royal Palace in her memories. It was far smaller even at a glance.
"... Kuhum."
Jin Sahyuk shut her mouth and followed after Kim Hajin. His usually narrow shoulders looked wide today for some reason.
'Haa... ' Jin Sahyuk sighed inwardly and pondered, 'I was right. Kim Hajin was a citizen of Plerion. Even if he wasn't Kindspring, he was undoubtedly one of my men.... '
At that moment, Kim Hajin turned around and faced Jin Sahyuk. Jin Sahyuk froze in surprise.
Kim Hajin spoke, "Hurry up, idiot. Stop being such a nuisance. Tsk, so useless."
"Uh... Huh?"
Kim Hajin's murmuring rang out in Jin Sahyuk's heart.
| ← Ch. 258 | Ch. 260 → |