Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Chapter 3: The System (3)
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‘How does this guy know my code name?’
I’d never shown him while inputting it.
And I’d only hunted four monsters right in front of him.
That was a record even the Player with the code name Human had achieved.
Yet Ethan was pinpointing me as K, the one who’d traveled with him.
‘Did he just guess?’
I held onto my doubts and kept replying.
⌎(Secret Reply) Yeah. But I never carried you. I had you slung over my shoulder. How’s your body holding up?
⌎(Secret Reply) You’re the person I thought you were. I’ve been awake for about two hours. The wounds… they’re healing at an unnaturally fast rate. Now answer me. Are you K?
⌎(Secret Reply) Why do you think I’m K? My code name could be Human.
⌎(Secret Reply) I just saw the number 36 and figured it was you.
‘He really just guessed?’
I let out a hollow chuckle in disbelief.
⌎(Secret Reply) That’s narrow-minded. Someone else could’ve done it.
⌎(Secret Reply) So you’re saying you’re not K?
His follow-up made me frown.
‘Why’s he so persistent?’
What does he plan to do if he knows I’m K?
I held off on replying for a while, just watching the comments.
I needed to be cautious. I couldn’t even guess why Ethan was acting like this.
But not even a few minutes passed before Ethan broke the silence first.
⌎(Secret Reply) Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I wasn’t trying to dig into your identity… I was just curious. It doesn’t matter if you say no. I just wanted to tell you to be careful.
Be careful? Of what?
As my eyes narrowed, a new reply appeared.
⌎(Secret Reply) The UK and US governments know about K. From the way they talk, they seem to be looking for you.
My face twisted into a scowl.
* * *
“We’re here.”
Jae-hyuk pulled up in front of my house. I stepped out of the passenger seat and turned to him.
“Thanks.”
“…If anything comes up, let me know. I’ll be on standby.”
“Yeah. And don’t tell the kids about what happened yesterday, no matter what.”
“Got it.”
“See you later.”
After confirming he was driving off, I turned around.
My mind was a mess as I climbed the stairs toward home.
Because of what Ethan had told me in the comments.
He’d been unconscious when the mission ended.
That’s why his real name got registered as his code name.
Thanks to that, the US government learned his name through their Player ‘Lily’ and eventually tracked him down.
⌎(Secret Reply) Lily must be a CIA agent. They figured out my real name through her. The US side looked into the shopping center incident from before and approached me first.
Unlike me, Ethan had been in the shopping center during the first tutorial.
That’s why the government agencies spotted him so quickly.
He added that he was now under surveillance by the UK’s intelligence agency, MI5.
⌎(Secret Reply) On the surface, the US said it was for information exchange. But they mentioned K too. Asked if I knew anything about you. They questioned me as well, but I said I’d never run into you in the mission zone.
A certain level of attention was only natural.
My score was orders of magnitude higher than other Players’.
⌎(Secret Reply) The reason I’m telling you this is because MI5 sees me as both a surveillance target and a test subject. Honestly, my situation right now is no different from a lab rat. When they found out my physical abilities were beyond human, they even tested if bullets could penetrate me.
Just reading that far sent my alertness skyrocketing.
It got even worse when he said they’d deliberately wounded him to observe his recovery.
⌎(Secret Reply) I get it. With modern firearms being neutralized like that, it’s fair to see it as a threat. But it’s not ethical.
⌎(Secret Reply) So if you haven’t made contact with any government agencies yet, stay hidden. We don’t know much about this game ourselves right now. People who haven’t experienced the missions firsthand are even more wary. They’re extremely guarded around me. Guys with guns follow me everywhere. At least until we figure out why this game started, stay out of sight. Don’t underestimate people’s fear of the unknown.
I’d pegged him as a ditzy crybaby from his teary impression.
But Ethan turned out to be surprisingly thoughtful and sharp.
‘Well, that explains how he pulled off the full clear.’
Battling lions and taking down a polar bear were no small feats.
In fact, out of 100 people, only 7 had full-clear scores, right?
Ethan was one of those top performers.
‘Sticking by me shows he’s not a total idiot either.’
He had a clear view of how the 100 Players would be seen by the world.
And I agreed with his judgment.
There were just too many uncertainties right now.
Mana, monsters, Holes, Barriers.
Even we Players, in the thick of the game, didn’t know everything.
On top of that, the number of Players.
Over 100 wasn’t insignificant, but compared to the world population, it was a tiny fraction.
‘Even in an era that claims to value human rights, minorities are always at a disadvantage.’
History proved that.
Stepping into the spotlight in this situation wouldn’t be wise.
I might end up locked away by a government agency like Ethan, getting shot just to test me.
‘They might react mildly, though.’
I’d once seen a meme about government agencies having contingency plans for every crisis.
Including outlandish ones like alien invasions or global economic collapse.
No idea if it was true or just a plausible lie.
But I had no desire to step forward and find out.
I had a family to protect. My safety was their safety.
In the end, I decided to heed Ethan’s warning and keep my existence hidden as much as possible.
‘The medical records are the problem, though…’
I might need to talk to Jong-hoon soon.
“Whew… Things are gonna get busy.”
Of course, being careful didn’t mean cowering indefinitely.
‘The Main Server will activate, and the game will start again.’
I had to prepare as much as I could before then.
Ethan mentioned he was already under agency watch and receiving professional military training.
I was a bit envious of that.
But I had no intention of walking into a government office myself for help.
‘Fear of the unknown.’
Just like Ethan said, I couldn’t take that lightly.
‘Maybe I should check out a dojo.’
There were places teaching dagger techniques or combat styles used by real soldiers these days. I’d look into it.
As I mulled over what lay ahead, I reached the top of the stairs.
I stopped in front of the front door, about to punch in the door lock code, when my phone rang.
I answered without thinking.
“Yes, this is Kang Hyun-woo.”
With my other hand, I flipped open the old door lock cover. It beeped.
Then an unfamiliar woman’s voice came through the phone.
“Who is this?”
I froze mid-entry on the code.
『This is Lieutenant Han Ji-hye of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.』
My heartbeat began to rise slowly.
‘Why is the police calling me…?’
My thoughts naturally linked to the game.
It hadn’t been long since my chat with Ethan.
‘No way.’
Had my identity already been exposed? My cheek twitched as I gritted my teeth.
* * *
Three weeks had passed since the System entered my life, and March had arrived.
Today, the twins’ high school entrance ceremony had ended, and I stood before a barrage of flashing cameras.
The nonstop flashes made my eyes sting.
“Citation.”
Unlike my rigid stance, the voice of the person standing behind the Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief was calm.
“…For capturing the perpetrator and contributing greatly to community safety.”
As he finished, the Chief across from him handed me the citation.
Two days ago, the police had called me.
They wanted to hold a commendation ceremony related to the attempted kidnapping.
I’d tensed up, wondering if it was System-related.
Thankfully, I’d been way off base.
Unrelated to that relief, I’d originally planned to decline.
It was a hassle, and things were complicated with the System.
I didn’t want media attention either.
But here I was, receiving the citation. The reason was simple.
- Hyung! The police called!
Jin-woo had answered another call from the police, changing the situation.
He’d been visibly excited upon learning it was about the ceremony.
Even Yeon-woo, who’d scolded me for doing something dangerous, wasn’t much different.
She’d nagged out of worry, but deep down, she was proud of what I’d done.
So I changed my mind.
Wouldn’t the kids feel a bit smug among their friends knowing they had a brother like this?
Maybe it’d be a good memory for their school days.
If it made the two of them happy, I’d do anything.
Fortunately, the ceremony wrapped up quicker than expected.
The twins came over and each held one—the citation and the plaque.
Their faces were beaming.
‘Good call accepting it.’
The hassle had been worth it.
I turned to leave, thinking it was time to head home.
“Hyung!”
A child and a young couple approached me.
‘Kim Yu-min, right?’
The kid who’d nearly been kidnapped, and his parents.
At the station, they’d gone on about it being their first time and all, sobbing through tearful thanks like a melodrama.
Uncomfortable with it, I’d just nodded lightly.
Before they could speak, I looked down at Yu-min, who barely reached my thigh.
“Long time no see, kiddo.”
“Here, take this!”
Yu-min held out the bouquet he’d brought.
I accepted it, and he clasped his hands behind his back, bowing deeply.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Seeing that brought a smile to my face.
I ruffled his hair.
“Yeah.”
I could’ve left right then.
But for some reason, my feet wouldn’t move, so I crouched down.
I’d only learned after getting involved with Yu-min, but apparently most child abductions are by acquaintances.
The attempted kidnapper they caught was even the guy running a small supermarket nearby.
He’d targeted the kid for ransom to pay off gambling debts.
So I added one more thing.
“Next time, don’t go off with any grown-up when Mom and Dad aren’t around. Even if you know them.”
“Okay!”
Yu-min replied with a bright smile.
Watching him head back sparked a sudden thought.
What if I’d been a normal person without mana that day?
If I hadn’t overheard the parents’ conversation as they walked away.
If I’d ignored that sense of wrongness.
If I hadn’t stopped the kidnapper even after getting stabbed.
Would I be seeing this kid smile like this now?
My feelings were complicated.
‘Lucky, I guess.’
Everything since the first tutorial had been nightmarish.
If I’d had a choice, I never would’ve gotten involved.
Yet here I was, thinking it was a good thing.
Because I had mana, I’d been able to prevent the worst.
As I exchanged greetings with Yu-min and his parents and headed home, I asked myself a question.
‘Why the hell did the System give me this power?’
Of course, no answer came.
The only change was a slight uptick in the number at the bottom of my vision.
「Main Server (Earth) Stabilization 9.157%」
Would filling that bar answer all the questions piling up?
Damn System