Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Dream Room (2)
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Ricardo grinned and waved his hand dismissively.
Shu didn't need to be asked twice. She poured mineral water and lemonade into clean glasses before heading back to the gaming zone.
She handed the mineral water to her partner and gripped her own lemonade glass, then inserted the game chip into the machine.
She plopped down a short distance from the screen.
"Is sitting on the floor uncomfortable?"
"A bit~?"
"There's a chair over there."
Seeing her senior, who wasn't used to floor seating, she stretched out her arm.
"Drag it over and sit, Senior."
Once Ricardo had dragged the chair over and sat, Shu started the game.
A familiar title appeared on the screen and faded away. Even after playing it countless times, her heart raced every time she saw it. She loved this game series because the backgrounds and story had an eerie plausibility.
It had repetitive action patterns and low freedom, so it only appealed to a niche group of fans.
Shu smiled and began playing.
She had no intention of explaining the game to Ricardo, who was watching from the side. But she planned to replay it from the start all the way to the point about the Easter egg.
She quickly became immersed in the game.
Ricardo's voice startled her badly.
"Who made this game?"
It was a sudden remark from the man who had been silently watching the gameplay.
Shu turned her head.
"No one knows."
"No one?"
"Yeah. Some people tried looking into it, but they couldn't find anything."
"You know the release year, though~?"
Her senior's eyebrow arched.
Shu nodded.
"Yeah. The release date is listed, but there's zero info on the developer."
Except for the letters "Eve."
After answering, she dove back into the game.
The game character Hildebert Talib leaped across the rooftops. Ricardo watched in silence for a long while. Shu swung the greatsword said to have been found in the "Withered Pit" and successfully cleared the third floor of the high-rise.
The sword's durability was dropping, so maybe head back to town, reinforce it with black starstone, and come back.
Clearing the fourth floor in one go with this durability would be tough.
She let go of the controller and pondered for a moment when Ricardo suddenly broke the silence.
"He's touching his neck."
"Pardon?"
What was that supposed to mean?
She turned her head and saw the man staring fixedly at the character on the screen.
"That's the kid's habit~."
Shu arched her brow and looked back at the screen.
Then she understood what he meant. With the controller untouched, the character Hilde on screen stood blankly.
He was stroking the back of his neck with his right hand.
In that instant, the image of the real Hilde stroking his neck flashed in Shu's mind and vanished. It was one of his habitual gestures that anyone could clearly recognize.
She unwittingly opened her mouth.
"You lent this to the kid, didn't you~?"
"Yeah. He was so shocked and amazed, so I let him borrow it to try."
"What'd he say after playing~?"
"He just gave his thoughts on the game. Short playtime, low freedom, repetitive combat, but still a good indie game. He wanted to keep it a bit longer to find all the Easter eggs."
Shu hadn't asked Hilde many questions.
Because it wasn't good when seniors talked too much. And whenever she asked about his past, a faint sadness would gather in Hilde's eyes. He probably wasn't aware of it himself.
A sadness wrapped in a faint smile.
She didn't know if it stemmed from lost memories or recovered ones.
Ricardo asked slowly.
"You got it back because he said he found all the Easter eggs~?"
"No. I took it back to check out a newly discovered one he mentioned."
After explaining, Shu added, guessing this man wouldn't get bored of the game easily.
"If you're gonna keep watching, should I order dinner?"
"Ah~. I'll pay…."
By saying that, Ricardo indicated he planned to stay a while.
Shu didn't argue. She had no complaints.
She just thought that this picky senior was showing quite a bit of interest in Hilde.
She resumed playing the game.
***
Kudo kept checking his feet even as he dragged the woman down.
I'd had to forcibly pull him along when he wanted to scour the second floor. Fortunately, he agreed with my desperate plea of "Let's get the civilian out first." Once he agreed, he headed straight for the building's entrance, but his face was still pale as a ghost.
The moment Kudo pushed open the stuck door and stepped outside, he said,
"Go on ahead."
I wasn't particularly surprised.
"What about you, Senior?"
"…I'll handle it, so take her and go."
"Haha."
Instead of replying, I let out a laugh.
Seeing my senior turn to leave, I chuckled louder.
I knew he'd pull something like this.
"Just go together and come back together."
Even if I promised to handle it and retrieve the ring, he clearly wouldn't accept.
So instead of pointless persuasion, I offered a compromise.
"This creature is way safer to face with two people anyway. You know that."
Kudo twisted around, glaring at me with irritation. He didn't like my proposal.
But I didn't want to hear news of my senior getting mesmerized by an illusion while hunting for the ring and falling to his death.
Sarah, clinging tightly to Kudo's arm and wailing endlessly without tiring.
Amid her pleas and the howling wind, I said,
"I'm pretty stubborn too."
"…Then hurry up."
Kudo relented grudgingly.
We raced through the fog. Toward where it thinned and visibility cleared. We had to run until the hysterically thrashing woman finally calmed.
Sarah Perry only came to her senses after reaching the main road.
Kudo carefully sat her on a bench.
Freed from his arm at last, she listened to my explanation with a dazed expression.
"You get it? Police will be here soon, so absolutely do not move from this spot."
"Yes…."
The woman responded blankly.
Every time I repeated the explanation, she nodded like she'd just woken up.
After pouring out instructions for a while, I glanced over and saw my senior's ashen face. He looked like he was suppressing his impatience with effort.
Time to head back to the building for real.
As I thought that, a shrill scream rang out.
"Jonathan!"
Sarah stared at her fourth finger in horror.
"Your wife's ring!"
What the hell?
But I didn't dwell on it. I couldn't.
Those words made Kudo spin around and bolt back toward the building.
So that's why he'd been holding back so well.
I sighed and chased right after him.
***
It had been fine while searching for the ring.
All our desires and attention were focused on it. The moment we entered the abandoned building, the door slammed shut again and the interior rippled, but nothing unusual happened. We split up and meticulously scanned the dusty floors for a while.
This creature could be survived unscathed if you kept your wits about you.
But that wasn't as easy as it sounded.
I was on the first floor, Jonathan Kudo on the second, searching for the ring.
Suddenly, the space rippled.
The abandoned building faded away, replaced by a smooth dojo floor. Neatly arranged wooden swords and protective gear.
I instantly knew I was screwed.
The ring must be on the second floor.
"…I have no intention of apologizing."
A resonant voice echoed.
A student in a dobok was glaring at someone. Young face, but the distinctive suppressed resentment in his eyes made him recognizable.
From the darkness opposite came a buzzing voice.
"You must not be right in the head. Don't you know what this is?"
"I'm talking about violence justified by discipline!"
The murmurs grew louder.
"Didn't I tell you you'd regret it?"
A scoff mixed in.
"You get a little burned and think you're a national representative already?"
"Guess you think you're the only clean one here."
Jeers and mockery. Shouts to keep quiet.
I frowned, watching the boy standing in the center of the criticism. The mixed noises battered the student in the middle of the dojo.
I could roughly guess the situation.
The whispers grew louder.
Soon, in the center of the malicious whispers filling the space, Jonathan Kudo shouted,
"How does a teaching to 'treat it like a real sword' become justification for beating a junior with one?"
His fist clenched, trembling violently.
He's afraid.
The moment the boy's emotion hit me, the wooden swords hanging everywhere clattered to the floor. Dozens of them covered the dojo floor.
I stepped over them and rushed up to the second floor.
"Senior!"
Kudo was climbing the stairs to the third floor.
Fortunately, he wasn't running—he was staggering along, gripping the railing. Just another reaction from someone mesmerized by the dream voice.
I bounded up the stairs three at a time and caught up quickly.
"Snap out of it!"
Whoosh!
A wind grazed my neck.
It was an attack flying at me as I tried to grab his shoulder. If I hadn't dodged reflexively, my throat would've been slit.
I widened my eyes and watched him draw a dagger.
Nice speed.
Light, fluid trajectory.
Not the time to admire it, though.
Kudo aimed the blade at my throat, wary of my unmoving stance.
I didn't move. I watched the piled wooden swords vanish, replaced by white pavement blocks.
A tidy suburban street bathed in warm spring sunlight enveloped us.
People strolled peacefully along the white road. A couple walking their dog. Kids blowing bubbles and running. A green Cooper minicar slowly passing a signal.
In the midst, sharper than anything, stood a flower shop.
Ding-a-ling!
The bell on the flower shop door rang.
My senior whipped around.
In that instant, I lunged at him.
Clang!
The dagger fell onto the stairs.
His hand was empty. The hand strike had worked.
Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem.
"Senior!"
He resisted fiercely.
A brutal struggle broke out on the stairs. Far more desperate than with Sarah Perry. I took solid punches but tried to pin my senior in place as he lunged upward.
Subduing an Enhanced Body user who'd lost his reason wasn't easy.
Just stay put, please!
The moment I thought that, our feet tangled.
Each hooked the other's, and our entangled bodies lost balance.
Oh no.
We're falling.
Thud!
A heavy pain slammed into me.
I let out a small groan.
Worried he'd hit his head, I cradled the back of his with my hand—it stung badly. Not just my hand; the fall's pain throbbed through my whole body.
If he weren't an elite Badger, I could've subdued him easily.
His recovery was even better than mine.
Despite falling together, he sprang up and headed for the stairs.
"Ah, Senior."
I couldn't move from the floor, my voice choked.
"Please don't go."
Of course, he didn't hear me.
The sound of his footsteps fading.
"Tulips bulbs again this time?"
As I struggled to rise from my immobile body, an unfamiliar woman's voice echoed in the air.
"Oh my, really? The last ones died too?"
I didn't want to hear someone else's past like this.
I mustered my strength and stood. Staggering up, I dragged my wobbly body toward the stairs.
My senior was climbing again.
Good thing he was a Badger. The creature would lure him higher.
Gripping the stair railing, I pursued Kudo.
With my free hand, I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out my phone. Calling him wouldn't work—I knew that. Someone mesmerized by the dream voice needed a familiar live voice.
Without hesitation, I called Ricardo.
I climbed the stairs listening to the ringtone.
Pick up.
Or I'll have to swing at your comrade.
***
Ricardo stared silently at his phone screen.
[Hildebert Talib]
An unexpected name.
He'd thought the guy at least had the decency not to call first. Indeed, the rookie hadn't contacted him since that day.
But a sudden call?
At this hour? He knew it wasn't work time. The mystery man was working with his comrade and partner. Plenty of time to finish the day's tasks and switch with the overtime crew.
Ricardo furrowed his brow slightly.
He glared at the screen for a while.
Then he flipped the phone face down.
"Huh."
At the same time, Shu raised her voice.
"This must be it!"
He had no intention of forgiving.
No words he wanted to say or hear right now. What was there to talk about at this point?
Nothing would change anyway.
Ricardo set the phone on the chair and walked toward his blue-haired junior.