Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Return to the Lake Park
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And two days later, I was finally discharged.
The doctor in charge of me didn't forget to warn me before I left.
"If you keep living like that, you'll die young, Hunter-nim. Try not to abuse potions as much as possible. It's a relief you don't drink or smoke, so keep it that way."
"Ah, yes."
"And try not to get readmitted if you can help it. Ahaha, haha, hahaha...."
His smiling face wasn't smiling at all.
The medical staff's hard work was deeply etched into my heart.
I recalled the look on Ariadne's face when she slapped my cheeks relentlessly after I nearly died entering a dungeon in winter weather without proper preparation, yelling, 'If you die, I'll kill you!'
Why is she so good at hitting people anyway? Isn't she a priest?
And this had nothing to do with me not wanting to overdo it—the situation just turned out that way.
In the end, it was my fate that was the problem.
I sighed and left the hospital with a lingering unease.
I was worried about not having clothes other than the patient gown, but fortunately, Lee Woo-yeon had quick-delivered my suitcase.
He really had that kind of sensibility, which made things convenient.
Thanks to him, I could check out wearing a comfortable hoodie and jeans without the hassle of buying new clothes.
Then, clutching my suitcase, I caught a commuter bus from the Sinchon bus stop heading to Ilsan.
The reason was simple.
My 'old house' was in Ilsan.
Honestly, it had been over ten years—or five years in Korean time—so I wondered if I'd get lost, but the bus number was still vividly clear in my memory.
I took the 1000 bus, got off at Daewha Station, and followed my memories to the officetel where I used to live.
Standing at the entrance, gripping my suitcase and looking up at the building, a few people coming and going gave me strange looks.
Of course, no familiar faces.
The building was still intact, though. I had wondered if it might have collapsed due to a Dungeon Break.
I gazed at the sturdy structure a bit longer, then found a nearby real estate office.
As expected, the officetel room I used to live in had its lease expired, and someone else was living there now.
"Do you have other rooms available? Do you really want that specific unit?"
When the realtor asked suspiciously, I shook my head.
I just wanted to make sure it wasn't left vacant by any chance and handle it if needed. If it was properly taken care of, no issue.
My new residence would be provided by the government anyway.
After leaving the real estate office, I dragged my suitcase rattling along toward the nearby park. If my memory served, there was a large park about two stations away.
The reason I was heading to that park was nothing special.
In my perception, ten years ago. In Korean time, five years ago.
I had finished my college entrance exams and gotten accepted, probably the only time in Korea when I was truly free as a student.
My routine of going between cram school, home, and classes had ended, but with no friends, I had nothing to do. So I lounged around playing games like MeXpl on the computer I'd bought for lectures.
The last thing I remembered from Korea was stepping out to buy late-night snacks from the convenience store because I got hungry while gaming.
I vaguely recall wandering to the store in a half-asleep state after gaming all night, excitedly showing my newly adult ID to buy canned beer and squid.
Then I thought,
I've been cooped up at home all day—maybe I should go feel the night breeze.
Right next to my officetel back then was a large lake park.
It seemed like a good idea, so I headed to the lake park with the bag dangling, found a decent spot, and cracked open the beer and squid while gazing at the lake....
Before I knew it, I was alone in a dark forest.
If I hadn't stumbled upon mercenaries who had entered the forest for monster extermination, I would've died wandering cluelessly.
In other words, I had moved from Ilsan Lake Park to the abandoned forest in Tartarus.
What the fuck.
No memory of getting hit by an isekai truck, no sudden divine selection turning me into a holy emperor in another world—just cracking beer and squid, and somehow I ended up in Tartarus.
Still, coming around here might jog some memory.
Plus, since I transferred from Korea five—or ten—years ago, doing it again might not be impossible.
If so, I needed to pinpoint exactly how and why I crossed over at that moment.
That was my thinking as I arrived, but...
Standing at the entrance to the lake park, I looked up at the massive sculpture.
Maybe because it was a chilly weekday midday in winter, the plaza had hardly any people. Just some kids on bikes and a few out for walks.
It was a scene of utter peace.
'Nothing's changed here at all.'
Well, it had changed, but not in any meaningful way.
From what I'd checked online, a stationary dungeon had appeared on the artificial island in the middle of the massive man-made lake, which was astonishing considering that.
"Hey, why are you here? Isn't it your turn for the next raid?"
"Don't rush me. I was planning to eat this and head in anyway."
"You're gonna be late again, aren't you? While the others are already entering? You'll get beat up by the other hunters."
Passing a fast-food joint, I overheard their rough conversation and glanced over to see two people dressed unmistakably as hunters.
They wore necklaces similar to the one Choi Min-hyuk had, so probably government-affiliated hunters.
They were probably raiding dungeons regularly like that, managing saturation levels to prevent Dungeon Breaks.
Starting next month, I'd have to do the same, raiding dungeons ten times a month or so.
The dungeon on the artificial island in this lake park was classified as low-grade, but even low-grade dungeons had basic clear conditions to meet.
Even if it was just defeating 30 slimes, the labor was grueling.
Seeing office workers barely managing to eat hamburgers out of exhaustion made me wonder if I'd made a bad choice.
And if Lee Woo-yeon was right, as an S-rank hunter, I'd have to clear fairly high-level dungeons.
Ugh, I could already foresee the hardship.
But for now...
"Green tea frappuccino and espresso whipped cream ready~."
I bit into the whipped cream blending bitter and sweet.
Frappuccinos in winter were the best. My body thrilled as if screaming from the sugar rush. Even Mount Geumgang tastes better after a meal—gotta recharge the sugar to think straight.
Truth be told, aside from hospital food these past few days, all I'd eaten was the sweet potato latte and beef seaweed soup Lee Woo-yeon brought early on, so I craved worldly flavors.
Alright, for dinner, hit up a local eatery. Now that I'm back in Korea, enjoy everything I can.
With that mindset, as I stepped deeper into the lake park, I ran into an unexpected obstruction.
"Ah, you can't come in here~."
Huh?
Someone suddenly blocked my path. I'd been happily sipping my frappuccino and tilted my head.
"What's the matter?"
Surely not a Dungeon Break.
"Sorry. We're filming a program in this plaza right now~. We're on break, though."
Now that they mentioned it, I could see cameras set up in front of the main lake park plaza and people gathered on temporary chairs.
What, nothing serious after all.
I got tense for no reason.
"Ah, got it. I'll go somewhere else."
My business wasn't only with the main plaza anyway.
From memory, five years ago, I'd just plopped on some random bench to drink my beer. So I readily agreed and turned to go another way.
That's when a man sitting in the last row of the temporary chairs turned his head toward me.
Our eyes met.
Oh no.
"Hey, Kang Ye-na!"
The moment I thought that, he called my name.
I blinked in surprise, while a staff member, struck like lightning from a clear sky, dashed to the audience seats in shock.
"If you speak that loudly, it'll pick up on the mic!"
"S-Sorry!"
The audience member getting scolded by the staff was...
...What was his name again?
"Woo Seong-yeon! It's Woo Seong-yeon!"
Right, Woo Seong-yeon.
He shouted energetically.
Rummaging through my memories of him, the first thing that came to mind slipped out.
"Unemployed, my ass—you're doing part-time?"
"Hey, why do you stab a guy in the heart right off the bat? Yeah! Audience clapping gig. Taking a breather from studying."
Right, I figured it was a part-time job since he was clapping so enthusiastically from the audience seats.
Fortunately, they were about to take a break when he spoke to me, so Woo Seong-yeon didn't get too much flak.
He was subtly lucky as always.
And now it was full break time, so Woo Seong-yeon had slipped out of his seat to sit with me on the nearby bench I'd found.
"But seriously, what a coincidence. How do we meet like this? I was looking for you anyway."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? To return your item!"
Oh, right—I'd lent him an item. It wasn't anything great, so I'd forgotten. I didn't need it anymore anyway.
Woo Seong-yeon glanced around cautiously before carefully summoning and pulling out the item.
"I should've returned it when we parted, sorry. I was out of it...."
"...It's fine."
Honestly, even if we'd met again, I would've forgotten if he hadn't brought it up first. He had a conscience.
A bit slow and dumb, but a good kid type.
"And that old guy at the dungeon entrance? Total scumbag. Turns out there were dozens of missing persons reports linked to him."
I even got some unexpected follow-up.
Since he'd reported it himself, Woo Seong-yeon had received some investigation results and shared quite a few details.
I knew he was scum, but I didn't expect he'd indirectly killed that many people.
If I'd known, I wouldn't have just beaten him a few times—I should've thrown him into a dungeon for real. Prison felt insufficient.
"But how'd they make him confess? He didn't suddenly reform and spill it himself, right?"
"There's a famous cop in Gangwon Province who uses a Confession skill. He interrogated him."
No idea who that famous person was, but good that a cop awakened such a skill. Otherwise, with victims dying undiscovered in dungeons, it could've been the perfect crime.
"So he'll get proper punishment. The detective said even the prosecutor is gearing up."
"Good, glad to hear it."
"It's all thanks to you. I'd be dead otherwise. It woke me up, so now I'm focusing on studies."
That was truly fortunate for him.
Abandoning the unrealistic dream of becoming a hunter and doing honest part-time work was a positive change.
Anyone entering a dungeon could open the system window and develop their stats, but it wasn't always good for them.
Don't do what doesn't suit you.
Especially in modern society, how many people are cut out for slashing monsters with swords or massacring them with magic?
Woo Seong-yeon was thrilled at the chance encounter and kept chattering without me asking.
"Still, being a hunter is amazing! Baek Sa-hyeon Hunter being interviewed today looks even cooler in person. Rumors really aren't reliable."
Huh.
That name rang a bell.
Baek Sa-hyeon, Baek Sa-hyeon...
As I dredged my memory, Woo Seong-yeon excitedly asked—fitting his Charging Warrior trait perfectly.
"Come to think of it, you're super strong too, Ye-na. You two know each other or something?!"
"...No, not at all."
"Oh, it's a secret identity thing? Anyway, so cool~."
He interpreted it positively on his own, so nothing to add. I just finished my remaining green tea frappuccino.
That's when I noticed the man.
With the sparkling lakeside as backdrop under the sunlight, a platinum blond man—dyed to look artificial—was smiling at the camera.
Tall, well-built, bastard sword slung on his back.
That must be Baek Sa-hyeon. Obvious even without introduction.
Even without the bastard sword, his flashy appearance screamed protagonist.
Platinum hair nearly white, blue eyes from lenses.
Seeing that jogged my memory of why I knew Baek Sa-hyeon.
"Ah, that celebrity disease guy...?"
"Hey, hey!"
Woo Seong-yeon grabbed my arm in alarm.
"What if someone hears? Don't say that."
Ah, true.
I shut my mouth immediately.
Anyway, that was why Baek Sa-hyeon was famous lately.
A attention-seeker with celebrity disease.
While top-10 rankers were the hottest topic in Korea recently, separately, Baek Sa-hyeon had been stirring up online communities.
In terms of buzz, similar to Lee Woo-yeon.
Even I knew his name, so yeah.
The gist of the trending posts, summed up: Baek Sa-hyeon was obnoxious.
Pretending to be top-rank without the skills, and it got exposed.
Something like that, I vaguely recalled.
But honestly, I didn't really sympathize.
Seemed like he was around 30th rank—pretty impressive. How many humans are there in Korea?
If people hated his showboating, fine, but otherwise, no agreement.
Probably the same future awaited me if my info got dug up.
I didn't care what faceless netizens said about me, but I didn't want to see my name everywhere on communities.
Already annoyed that 'Wandering Pilgrim''s search-block name was '=3'—maybe request the government to change it?
"Whoa, filming's starting again. Gotta go!"
"Yeah, go ahead."
Woo Seong-yeon said that but hesitated, ignoring the staff's calls, then spoke again.
"Uh, your number... no chance, huh."
"Nope, bye."
"...Yessir."
Woo Seong-yeon trudged away.
I slurped the last of my frappuccino.
Hm, no memories surfaced after all. What now...
"Excuse me."
How the hell did I end up in Tartarus, and how? No CCTV from back then, probably... or maybe ask the government.
"Excuse me."
Either way, nothing I could do right now.
Find a trash can, toss the empty cup, get another frappuccino. Chocolate this time, not green tea. Need the sugar.
"Excuse me!"
Who the hell's yelling that loud? Even in public, with filming going on?
Wondering who it was, I turned.
And locked eyes with Baek Sa-hyeon, who'd approached surprisingly close.
"Yes, you."
"...Hm?"
Me?