Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Chapter 15: To the New World (1)
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After finishing his rounds, Jong-hoon returned to the lab and flopped down into his chair with a thud.
It had already been nine days since Hyun-woo had gone off to complete that mission.
Jong-hoon hadn't been able to sleep a single night peacefully during that time.
Even on days he wasn't on duty, he stubbornly stayed at the hospital, pacing around the lab.
His skin had become dry and flaky, dark circles hollowed under his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to leave.
Because Hyun-woo, who had vanished into that white light, still hadn't returned.
Letting out a deep sigh that seemed to come from the depths of the earth, Jong-hoon pulled his phone from his pocket.
He scrolled through the call log to find the unfamiliar name.
「Player」
It was the number that had unilaterally contacted him on the day Hyun-woo started his new mission, which he'd saved.
- The person who entered the game is safe. That's the message they wanted passed on.
The call had ended abruptly after those few short words, with no caller ID shown.
But tracking down the number through the carrier had been quick.
From then on, Jong-hoon had been the one initiating contact more often.
Today was no different.
Unable to bear the anxiety any longer, Jong-hoon dialed the number.
The signal rang only twice before it was picked up.
『What is it this time?』
"Any other news?"
『I told you, if they die in the mission, we'll know right away. I said I'd contact you if anything changes.』
"......Sorry to bother you."
『Tch.』
The response was prickly, laced with irritation, complete with an audible click of the tongue.
And yet, whenever Jong-hoon called first, they always answered promptly.
They never hung up abruptly or raised their voice.
It left him with a strange impression, but he didn't have the mental energy to dwell on it.
Every time he checked on Hyun-woo's status through this stranger, one thought consumed him.
'I've got to stop him.'
The moment Hyun-woo got back, he'd do whatever it took to talk him out of it.
He couldn't let Hyun-woo keep doing this insane thing.
What if he actually died in that mission zone?
What if the day came when he had to deliver Hyun-woo's death notice to the twins, who were waiting patiently with faces full of questions they'd been holding back?
'I have to stop him.'
Hyun-woo was the child of the friend who had changed his own life, nearly ruined by his abusive father and tossed into the gutter.
He couldn't just stand by and watch him dive into potentially deadly situations.
And if something happened to Hyun-woo, what about the twins? He couldn't let siblings who had already lost their parents lose their brother too.
He had to convince them to turn their backs on that bizarre game.
As he resolved this over and over, a now-familiar voice came through the phone.
『You seem clueless, but the guy who entered the game? He's making waves in our circles. Everyone's scrambling to get a connection to him.』
He'd wondered why they always seemed wary despite acting annoyed every time.
'It's because of Hyun-woo.'
Making a name for himself even in this mess.
'He's always been the type to see things through once he starts, but still.'
To stand out in something this dangerous.
Should he be proud, or chew him out for chasing danger?
Jong-hoon had no idea how to approach Hyun-woo anymore.
Everything felt like a total mess.
"......Is that so?"
Letting out a long sigh, Jong-hoon closed his eyes and rubbed his flaky face.
『Yeah, totally. He's still kicking just fine, so quit pacing around like a dog desperate to piss and just wait......』
He was listening intently to the voice on the phone when it happened.
A brilliant light pierced through his closed eyelids.
His eyes snapped open in a flash, and Jong-hoon shot up from his chair.
Thud-!
A heavy thud echoed through the lab.
Jong-hoon froze in place, still on his feet.
Stiff brown fur-covered hide, limp body.
Jaw split into two, hanging slack with joints completely dislocated.
Three daggers embedded where eyes and forehead should be.
Black liquid oozing from where claws should be.
That massive thing, easily over two meters tall.
'Monster......'
No other word fit.
Hyun-woo's calm face from when he'd described monsters from the game flashed in his mind.
How could he have stayed so composed after seeing something like that?
As Jong-hoon stood shocked and rigid, a small mutter reached his ears.
"I was hoping this wouldn't happen......"
It really crossed over.
Hyun-woo, murmuring something incomprehensible, pressed his brow and straightened up.
『Mission just ended. For sure. They'll probably contact you soon...... That yokai or whatever, say they kept in steady touch and really looked out for you......』
Jong-hoon was too dazed to even hear the voice on the phone.
He remained frozen, eyes locked on the monster, for quite a while.
Startled by a rustling sound, Jong-hoon flinched.
Hyun-woo, who had been gripping the monster's neck, was now standing right in front of him.
He smoothly plucked the phone from Jong-hoon's ear.
Their eyes met briefly in the air before Hyun-woo checked the phone.
Jong-hoon unconsciously held his breath.
The eyes of the boy he'd known for over twenty years had changed color.
Meeting those golden eyes, heavy with an inexplicable weight, felt like something intangible pierced straight through him.
In that moment, Jong-hoon truly couldn't move.
"Hello?"
Taking the call in his stead, Hyun-woo exchanged a few words with the other side.
"I heard your code name is Yokai. That right?"
"Yeah, I owe you one. I'll treat you to a meal sometime."
"Hunting? No reason we can't. Just pick a date."
"Oh, hold on. I blocked people because strangers kept requesting adds. I'll send a friend request from my side."
"Yeah, of course. Contact me whenever you're free."
"Thanks."
Hyun-woo, carrying on the not-so-long conversation, felt utterly unfamiliar.
Jong-hoon watched the scene in a stupor, and soon Hyun-woo ended the call.
"I'm back. Sorry it took so long."
He couldn't muster a single response to the casual greeting and smile.
He'd planned to give him a piece of his mind the moment he returned.
To convince him right then to quit this dangerous nonsense.
But his throat was too tight for even a whisper.
Until just before facing Hyun-woo, he'd thought the wait had been agonizingly long.
Nine whole days without a word, burning him up inside.
Yet with Hyun-woo standing there now, his thoughts shifted.
'Only nine days?'
What on earth had happened in that short time?
It was definitely the Hyun-woo he knew, but he felt like a stranger.
"And this number? I'll block it. I'll make sure they can't get anywhere near you, so no more involvement. Better if you change your number too."
Hyun-woo blocked the number he'd just been talking to and handed the phone back.
Then, pointing to the monster left standing there alone, he said.
"Sorry to ask right away again, but could you get something to carry these in? Like, body bags or whatever?"
These? Looking closer, there was a smaller monster next to the big one, not even half its size.
Monsters passed out in a hospital lab.
It felt like a dream, utterly unreal.
"Uncle?"
"......J-just wait a sec, kid."
That day, Jong-hoon left the lab without saying a word of what he'd wanted to.
* * *
While in Bihal, he'd heard from Kim Yul that a player called Yokai had gotten somewhat suspicious.
That their contacts were related to K.
'Made sense, since I was doing the same mission the whole time.'
At the time, he'd let it slide since Yokai needed to keep updating Jong-hoon anyway.
"Hoo."
Still, hearing the word "Yokai" over the phone didn't sit well.
He felt bad that Jong-hoon had been exposed to players because of him.
But it had been the best option at the time.
'It's fine. Plenty of time to clean it up.'
He had no intention of leaving Jong-hoon exposed to players.
'I've got the number memorized, so I can track them down.'
In this day and age, one phone number was enough to lock down someone's info quick.
The other side would know that too.
If they had dirt on Jong-hoon, he'd get dirt on them.
Plenty of ways to handle it, so he wasn't too worried.
But glancing at the call log while memorizing the "Player" entry made his heart sink.
'More outgoing calls than incoming.'
What would Jong-hoon, calling a total stranger first, even ask?
The answer was too obvious, weighing heavy on him.
Seeing Jong-hoon's rigid back as he left the lab only added to the unease.
Stiff expression, pale face—he was clearly shocked in every way.
Sudden eye color change plus an obviously threatening monster in tow; of course.
'The timer was running low, so I had to come then.'
Still, he wondered if he'd burdened Jong-hoon too much, with no other choice.
Heart heavy.
But even if he went back months, he'd make the same call.
Back during level 2 runs, potions couldn't fully heal the frequent injuries.
They weren't severe, but he was always banged up.
Without Jong-hoon's help then, things would've been rough in many ways.
And he'd need his help going forward too.
'Once servers connect, long stays will be the norm.'
At the end of the talk, the system said connecting servers would create official gates for back-and-forth.
'Mission formats will change inevitably too.'
Before, holes dropped you straight into mission zones.
Unspecified locations, smack in the middle of monster-infested contaminated areas.
Now, fixed gates to specific spots for entering Bihal.
Like Habon Castle as a safe zone example.
With safe spots in Bihal, he'd align everything around growth.
Decision made, remove all obstacles and charge toward goals.
Days back on Earth would be few.
With him away, only Jong-hoon to entrust the siblings to.
'Well, for now, stuck waiting till servers connect.'
But he couldn't just idle till then.
He planned to wrap up Earth-side tasks while servers linked.
Bringing the monster was part of that.
"Grk......"
The knocked-out one groaned pitifully, grk grk.
'Visuals are plenty convincing.'
Absorbing the same specimen had netted a whopping 92 mana.
'No catalysts around, so not an evolved one.'
Pure mana from birth for that monster type: 90s.
'The little one's around 50.'
Borrowed Greg's hand a bit to snag those two.
- Mind if I grab some monsters nearby?
- Living proof would help justify extra forces.
He knew Bihal's situation lightly, but Greg knew zilch about Earth's.
So he steered the convo in a way Greg couldn't refuse.
Made things smooth.
Greg called in a space mage one rank above Ahel, who took him to the monster-ridden outskirts.
Took about 30 minutes to find and capture ones matching his specs.
Just in case, yanked all claws, snapped the jaw joints, gouged out eyes for no vision.
Sliced tendons in limbs, knocked out for Earth arrival prep.
Then pressed monster to his body, destroyed catalyst.
Result: monster crossed to Earth with him.
Kept 'em alive over dead for broader utility, despite the hassle.
'No one'll claim it's faked or bullshit now.'
He sorted gains from the monsters while checking the message window.