My Original Self
Of course, Ilwol had never once seen his body sparkle since being summoned.
Agility +9
Still, Ran’s buff ability was rising slowly but steadily.
After Yeonhee’s final arrow attack completed the eight-hundred-kill quota, our bodies began to fade.
This dungeon had the peculiar trait of teleporting you straight outside the gate once the boss was cleared.
A-rin kept cheering in disbelief that they had cleared up to the boss fight in only four hours.
“No way, we’re seriously way too strong! It feels twice as fast as my last party.”
“It’s all thanks to Ilwol and the summons.”
“Hehe…”
Yeonhee looked especially pleased, probably because she had earned results through direct combat for the first time in a while. In the end, a hunter was someone who hunted. That side of her nature was clearly still alive and well.
Uuuuung—
Once we were instantly transported outside the gate, we sat on the ground for a moment, hit by a wave of dizziness.
Hunters who entered the dungeon late stared in surprise as they passed us. They couldn’t hide their shock at seeing a party already finished and outside at this hour.
“Alright then, Yeonhee, how about dinner tonight—”
“S-sorry… I have something important to do.”
“Hngh…”
Once again, A-rin’s dinner invitation was flatly rejected. Who even suggested dinner when the sun was still up…?
We postponed the meal and stopped by a café to discuss tomorrow’s battle.
After the thirty-minute meeting, A-rin’s retreating figure as she walked away with Bae Jua somehow looked lonely. What was so great about dinner anyway…
Yeonhee must have felt bad too, because she called out softly to A-rin, who was dragging her feet.
“I-if it’s okay… let’s eat together tomorrow.”
Even though she had spoken very quietly, A-rin reacted as if she had heard it right beside her. Her ears, which had been drooping, perked straight up and she spun around with a bright expression.
“Ooh?! Really?! Then tomorrow’s our party’s first official dinner!”
“Haa… You really… Fine. Then tomorrow we’ll go to the place Helen runs.”
“Yes, sounds good.”
Yeonhee gave A-rin a bright smile in confirmation, then immediately took my hand and headed home.
[Stealth]
Once we were out of sight, we hid our forms and boarded a hunter-exclusive taxi.
The fare was twice that of a regular taxi, but the vehicle itself was enchanted to reduce damage in case of an attack on the hunter. We were earning plenty, so this much was acceptable.
“…Huu—”
She was incredibly nervous.
Her palms were drenched in sweat. She didn’t even have hyperhidrosis, so sweating this much meant she was truly tense.
After arriving home and washing up, she came straight to me and asked.
“When can we do it?”
……She’s in a hurry.
Since we had returned home about two hours earlier than the abandoned-school dungeon, roughly two hours should still remain on the cooldown.
<02:14:44>
When I showed her the time with my fingers, she took a deep breath and nodded.
Unable to stay still, she wandered restlessly around the house. The other summons had their eyes closed, apparently progressing through Iruma’s quest.
I crafted bombs while quietly observing the peaceful daily life unfolding in the small room. It was an alien yet utterly tranquil scene.
And I recalled the greatest achievement of today’s dungeon run, turning it over in my mind once more.
Fireball Lv.2
Deals 200% of magic attack power as damage.
25% chance to inflict the status ailment [Burn].
Burn: Health recovery effects -30%, Defense -25%
The Fireball that had finally leveled up during the boss fight.
Fifty percent? The damage increase is enormous. That’s strange…
Magic Missile and Fireball. These two spells were known as the most basic magic. Their damage was correspondingly modest for how straightforward they were.
Usually it’s only a 10-20% increase…
That explained why Fireball’s leveling was so slow.
No! I don’t care if the damage increase is small, just level up faster… I want to use Flame Explosion!
Of course, I still hadn’t found a way to reduce the self-damage from Flame Explosion, but who knew? Maybe the first time it broke my body simply because it was the first time.
Pop-pop— pop—
Time passed quickly like that.
Ah, right.
I had already expanded my sensory wave to its maximum range.
The current range exceeded 440 meters. Once my Perception reached the seventies, the expansion range of the wave had increased dramatically.
If I used Mimicry, would I be able to detect another suspicious group within 440 meters?
I should run the moment I activate Mimicry. Today might be difficult, though.
Another hour passed, and the twenty-four-hour cooldown on Mimicry was lifted.
“Haa— haa—”
The already cramped living room was filled only with Yeonhee’s rough breathing. The other summons had already been dismissed at some point, leaving just the two of us and one poop-dog in the small space.
Unable to sit still, she stood and stared straight at me. Her hands, neatly clasped while holding Wangwang, looked as if she were praying for something.
In the end, I had to stand up as well. A summon couldn’t lounge comfortably while its master was standing.
“Huu— haa—”
Her breathing, thick with anxiety and excitement, made me tense up as well.
This… might become a turning point.
The day I first entered a dungeon with Yeonhee and blocked the slime’s acid might have been the biggest turning point of all.
This moment could send out ripples just as large.
“Huu… I’m ready, Ilwol.”
Nod—
Guide… Mimic as Yun Han-gyeol.
— You have briefly stepped onto the path of the Guide, Yun Han-gyeol.
The effect was different from when I mimicked Yeonhee.
Well, it makes sense. I’m stepping onto the path of a future Yun Han-gyeol, after all.
A small door emitting a blue light, seemingly tailored exactly to my body, opened—similar to the door that usually led into the Dark Space—and I was instantly sucked inside.
Memories of my past life flashed by rapidly. There weren’t many happy memories from childhood, but after becoming an adult, I had lived a fairly enjoyable life.
Unlike Yeonhee, I stopped far fewer times in the middle. That meant I had fewer painful memories.
It was ironic.
That I, who had grown up as an orphan, had fewer moments of misfortune than Yeonhee, who had been born into a family with proper parents.
That’s just how life is…
Before I knew it, the flow of memories reached its end, and Jo Giman’s twisted smile greeted me in the vision where I had become one with Yun Han-gyeol.
Shit.
“You think I didn’t know?”
“……”
Wind seeped into my empty eye socket. My body trembled from the horrific pain.
Jo Giman walked leisurely past me with my eyeball still impaled on his dagger.
“Han-gyeol-ah— The ability I revealed to the world is only the tip of the iceberg. The moment you entered my house, you were caught in the trap I had set and your location was traced in reverse.”
“Even barrier arts… Is it possible for one person to hold so many abilities?”
“Nothing suits me less than the word ‘impossible.’ This regression will be the one where I defeat those damned bastards and become the king of this world.”
“You crazy bastard…”
“Kang Yeonsu.”
Flinch—!
“I know that bitch likes you. I contacted her, so she’ll be here soon. Unfortunately, you won’t get to see her wailing over your corpse turned into a rag.”
“…Kang Yeonsu hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Wrong? She hasn’t done anything wrong? That bitch who always dreams of rebelling against me, the one who will become the Absolute, has no sin? Ha! Ridiculous. Besides, that bitch Kang Yeonsu has done plenty of dirty things herself. She has more than enough reasons to die.”
“…… You insane bastard. Go to hell.”
“Kukukuku—”
After that, the bastard kept rambling for a long time.
Then, some time later, Kang Yeonsu arrived. The moment our eyes met, his dagger pierced through my empty eye and into my head.
The look in Kang Yeonsu’s eyes at that moment couldn’t be described with the single word “despair.”
……
That was the final page of Yun Han-gyeol’s memories.
Still makes me sick no matter how many times I see it. Haa…
Uuuuung—
I took one step after another out of the door I had entered. My eye level wasn’t much different from when I was a skeleton, but my senses themselves felt distinctly different.
“……”
Yet my mood had sunk to the bottom. I hadn’t received the full status-abnormality gift set like when I mimicked Yeonhee, but I was reminded once again that forgotten memories were better left forgotten.
Huu…
Swish—
I raised my hand into view.
Slim, long fingers that looked as though they had never known hardship caught my eye.
I had always been dissatisfied with these hands.
Because to me, who had lived a rather rough life, they seemed to say that the things I had gone through were nothing.
If you look closely, there are plenty of calluses and scars…
Still, I hadn’t done any physically harder work than most combat-type hunters, so I had no right to complain about others living comfortably.
As expected, I’m in a suit…
Except when entering dungeons, I had always worn suits. The reason was simple: choosing clothes was a hassle. Wearing a suit meant I would be treated with respect wherever I went, and it never caused offense.
Out of habit, I slipped my hand into my pants pocket. The door I had been sucked into had transformed into countless small and large particles of pale blue light and disappeared.
At that moment, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall—the image I had once thought looked rather decent.
Thud—!
Hm?
Yeonhee had dropped Wangwang, whom she had been holding. The dog flattened on the floor like half-kneaded dough.
“Uh… uhuhuh?”
“……”
Right. I had been so caught up in the flood of memories that I had momentarily forgotten the situation.
This was the important moment where I was showing Yeonhee my original appearance. Only then did tension return.
Yeonhee was clearly very shocked by my changed appearance. Not only had she dropped Wangwang, but she was also slowly backing away while shaking her head.
“N-no… Th-this…”
She scanned me up and down in disbelief, and eventually our eyes met.
“Y-Yeonhee—”
“Kyaaaaah—!”
Crash——!!
“Ah……”
Well. This was a mess.
The moment our eyes met, Yeonhee dashed into her room and slammed the door shut.
“Auu…”
This was troublesome. I hadn’t expected her to run away and lock herself in her room…
— Mimicry as Guide Yun Han-gyeol has succeeded.
— All stats except Perception have decreased by 50.
— Time remaining <00:29:23>
— The nearest suspicious group has been identified. Their location will be tracked for the remaining duration.
…The distance this time is a bit ambiguous.
Five hundred meters in the northeast direction. The target kept entering and exiting the range of my sensory wave at high speed.