Half-Dead Return
Clop-clop—
The sound of hooves stirred the morning air.
Slumped in the saddle of the horse carrying him back to Terra, Yujin couldn't even move.
Damn it. Morning already.
He'd rushed as hard as he could, but stumbling across that Flash Crow had cost him the night. On top of that, his entire body felt like it had been torn apart—he couldn't so much as twitch a finger.
I'm screwed.
His original plan had been to eat breakfast and climb to the second floor with the slaves. In this condition, that was a pipe dream. He'd need at least a day of rest—maybe more.
Low level keeps throwing problems I never saw coming.
In the first timeline, once he'd broken past level 100, side effects like this hadn't even registered. Back then his body had transcended anything human. The pressure of a single instant couldn't touch him.
Not anymore. Even taking a single step felt like his flesh was being shredded to ribbons.
I'll have to hold back for a while.
The Flash Crow had been fast—too fast. Catching it in one strike had forced even Yujin to push past his limits. He just hadn't expected the backlash to hit this hard. Until his level climbed a bit higher, he'd have to be careful about using the power of Exterior-Interior Unity [E].
"H-huh?"
A flustered voice cut through his thoughts. One of the guard NPCs stationed at the south gate, by the sound of it.
What was his name again?
Unlike Enand at the east gate, with whom he'd built a decent rapport, Yujin had barely crossed paths with the south gate NPCs. Nothing about them had stuck.
"A-are you all right, sir?"
The guard approached carefully, eyeing the man sprawled across the horse. Yujin managed a rough nod—talking felt like too much effort—and the guard's face went deathly pale. The damage must have looked worse than it was.
"Sh-shall I call a healer?"
Yujin shook his head. He wasn't in great shape, but he didn't need treatment. A little rest in bed would sort him out.
The guard looked unconvinced, but he cleared the way all the same. He'd watched Yujin leave the night before, so there was no need to check his identity. The horse passed through the south gate and into Terra without hesitation.
What is this, Kim Yushin?
Yujin let out a dry snort. Remarkably, the horse he'd taken from Taylon remembered the route perfectly. It even seemed to sense that Yujin wanted to go back, heading straight for the inn without a moment's pause.
He gave me a good one.
He almost felt bad for strong-arming the man. If he'd known the horse was this solid, he would have only taken one of the Coins.
While he was nursing that small regret, the horse stopped in front of the inn.
Starlight Wanderer.
One of Terra's countless ordinary inns—neither high-end nor a dump, just solidly middle of the road. Yujin had chosen it for a single reason: the food wasn't bad. He wouldn't be staying long, but he still wanted decent meals. It had been one of his regular spots in the first timeline, too.
"Huh? Player fella?"
The innkeeper, who'd just come out to sweep the front, spotted Yujin and went wide-eyed.
"Y-you all right?"
Dried blood crusted around his mouth, body hanging limp—he looked every bit the wrecked casualty.
"H-help me…"
Yujin forced the words out. The innkeeper dropped his broom and hauled him up.
"Take you to the room you rented?"
A nod. That was enough.
"Well, I'll be. In all my years, I've never seen a player get hauled in half-dead on a horse this early."
Fair enough. The Tower of Light had only been accepting players for a single day. Most of them were still holed up inside Terra, with no idea what they were supposed to do. And here was someone who'd gone out hunting overnight, come back injured—and on horseback, no less. The gap between him and ordinary players was absurd.
"The folks you came with yesterday still seem to be asleep. Want me to wake 'em?"
Lee Sia and Park Ji-hoo were still out cold, apparently.
Son of a bitch. I spent the whole night busting my ass…
It was strange. He'd fully intended to work those two into the ground until they could pull their own weight—and somehow he was the one getting ground down instead. Something was off about how this was going, but even thinking about it felt like too much effort. Yujin waved the innkeeper off, collapsed onto the bed, and shut his eyes.
"Ahem. Looks like you're gonna sleep. I'll put you down for another night, then."
Do whatever. Yujin didn't answer. He simply let go of consciousness.
"…He passed out?"
Lee Sia blinked at the innkeeper's sudden news. That monster, unconscious? What on earth had happened while she was asleep?
"That's right. Got hauled in on a horse this morning and just checked out completely. Probably won't be waking up for a good while."
Sia turned to look at Park Ji-hoo. His eyes were just as wide, fixed on her. The meaning in them was unmistakable.
Should we run?
One day. No—barely a few hours. That was how long they'd hunted with Yujin. In that short span, the two of them had brushed death dozens of times. The trade-off had been massive level-ups, sure, but…
We can't keep living like this, right?
Keep going through the same thing and eventually they'd actually die. They'd scraped by yesterday, but a single mistake could end them. Honestly, the odds favored it. Growth was nice, but if it meant getting worked to death, running away didn't sound so bad.
So he passed out, huh?
If Yujin had been at full strength, the idea wouldn't have even crossed their minds. With the monstrous ability he'd shown yesterday, getting caught would only be a matter of time. But unconscious? That changed things. Terra was huge, and the first floor was even bigger. If they ran now and hid well enough, he might never find them.
For a brief moment, Sia and Ji-hoo held that entire conversation with their eyes.
But—
"W-we should wait, right?"
"…Yes."
They didn't have the courage. One chance in a thousand—one in ten thousand. What if they ran and got caught? Just imagining the consequences that would follow made their skin crawl. Better for their mental health to stick close to that lunatic than live under that kind of dread. And honestly, as brutal as it was, watching their levels climb was kind of addictive.
After that silent agreement, the two of them sat down to breakfast. The lunatic would be footing the bill anyway, so they ordered without restraint.
"This is good."
"Right? I didn't expect it to taste this good."
It held its own against anything they'd eaten outside the Tower. They ended up eating far too much for breakfast before finally setting their utensils down.
"He's probably going to be out for a while. Want to go look around outside?"
"Is that okay? What if Hyeong wakes up and starts looking for us?"
"We'll just tell the innkeeper before we leave. We're not running away—no need to be scared."
She had a point. If they weren't planning to disappear for good, there was no reason to fear a short outing. And weren't they a little curious? Yesterday had been too chaotic to take in their surroundings properly. After a night to settle in, a quick tour of the city didn't sound half bad.
"All right, then."
Ji-hoo nodded, and Sia rose from her seat with a bright little smile.
"Terra, was it? The city's bigger than I thought. There's got to be plenty to see."
While they were at it, she wanted to check on the other players—especially the ones they'd been with yesterday.
With a flicker of anticipation, the two of them stepped out of the Starlight Wanderer.
"Whoa…"
It was lively. Even this far from Terra's center, the streets thronged with people.
These don't look like players.
The faces alone made the distinction clear. The people packing the streets wore expressions of long familiarity—they hadn't spent just a day or two here.
Sia took Ji-hoo's hand and guided them through the crowd. There were markets, cafés, restaurants. Aside from the difference in era, the scene wasn't so different from the real world outside the Tower. The sight left a hollow ache in her chest.
Can we even go back?
Didascalia had said they could return to reality for a week every five floors they climbed. But to escape completely, they'd have to fully clear the Tower. She wasn't sure that was possible. They were already suffering this much on the first floor alone.
"Haa—"
A sigh slipped out before she could stop it. She turned her head with a bitter expression—and froze.
"Oh. A player."
She could tell at a glance. His face was full of anxiety, worry, and despair—as if darkness had settled over him alone.
Sia approached carefully. There was no particular reason. She just wanted to talk to someone from the real world, not one of the Tower's natives.
But—
"H-hiiiik!"
The moment he spotted Sia and Ji-hoo, he recoiled and dropped to the ground, clearly terrified out of his mind.
"A-are you okay?"
Startled, Sia held out a hand. He didn't take it. He actually scooted backward on his rear to put more distance between them.
What's wrong with him?
She'd seen plenty of frightened players yesterday. But someone this terrified of a young woman and a teenage boy? That was a first.
"Th-they're all dead! All of them!"
"…What are you talking about?"
All dead? Who?
"You're going to die too. No—everyone's going to die. Nobody gets out. Nobody gets out of this goddamn Tower!"
He didn't seem fully sane. The rambling, the drool sliding from the corner of his mouth—something terrible had clearly happened to him yesterday.
"You! I remember you! You went out hunting yesterday, didn't you?"
"Huh? You saw us?"
So he'd watched them leave with their party.
"But you came back alive? You made it back? Just the two of you survived. No—you're going to die now. You'll die. You're going to die!"
"Look, I have no idea what you're talking about."
Being told out of nowhere that she was going to die sent a spike of irritation through her. But the next words out of his mouth froze her solid.
"Kim Jin-ho! Lee Se-young! Gu Dong-hyuk!"
Familiar names. Of course they were—the shield guy, the healer, and the spearman.
"The people who went out with you are all dead! Torn to pieces, every last one of them eaten! By those things that aren't even animals!"
Spittle flew. She didn't even think to dodge. They were all dead? At whose hands? How?
Sia's eyes went cold and dark as she asked,
"Where?"