Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Triple-Headed Bird's Advice
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For the first time in a while, unpleasant memories from the past surfaced in my dreams.
The accident where I lost my parents, and the time I spent in the orphanage afterward.
But they were so vivid that I knew it was just a dream, which actually made it peaceful.
I'd already given up on everything. It felt like someone else's story, even though it was mine. I knew the pain would eventually fade...
[Human, wake up. Human!]
[In the end, is this the only way?]
[To survive, this is all there is. Kuek! Kuek!]
"...Huh? Ugh! Damn it! What the hell is this bird? A monster? Ah! It's a bird, so booby trap! Shit! Right, it's a bird-type since it's under the White-Eyed Bird."
I'd fallen back asleep only to be woken by the noise. There, staring down at me, was a massive bird about three meters tall with three heads.
Startled, I grabbed my Titan stake and was about to swing it when the thing suddenly lowered its heads, offered me something, and started chattering.
[Wait, human! I have no intention of fighting!]
[That's right. I don't want to die. No!]
[I've come to show my sincerity and suggest you leave this place!]
"...What?"
A suggestion? What was this about?
I hadn't done anything. Why tell me to leave? I'd just pitched my tent, and I was planning to develop this spot into a place to live. Why kick me out now?
"No, why? Is there some reason I have to go?"
[You don't belong in this dungeon.]
[A dry-hearted one! One who doesn't seek happiness! Trash! A beast of despair! Livestock in human skin! One who lives just because! One who doesn't refuse death!]
[Go outside and live happily.]
"What did I even do? I just want to spend my days peacefully here... Who do you think you are, ordering me around?"
It was telling me to go out and live happily? Absurd.
What was even more ridiculous was why a monster was meddling in someone else's life.
What kind of dungeon was this, and what kind of creature was this guy?
That fired me up.
"I'm not leaving. There's nothing good out there anyway."
[No, human. Living is certainly painful, but there are even more good things.]
[There are! There are!]
[Exactly! Good things have to exist for the pain to grow that big! The gap between hope and despair!]
"First off, can just one head talk? It's hard to follow, and it's giving me a headache."
[Oof, my apologies, human. Anyway, your presence here is no good for any of us. This isn't a hideout or a sanctuary. You already know that much, don't you?]
From the outside, it was a scene that would make anyone freak out.
A human refusing to leave the dungeon, and a monster trying to console him into going back out.
Baek Ga-yeon, who'd shoved him in there, would be stunned if she knew the truth.
"What do I know? People mistake high combat power for high mental fortitude. By that logic, putting a finger on a nuke switch makes you a sage? No way! Look at the personalities of those S-rank hunters under the constellations—monsters have nothing on them. Sigh~"
[Hah! What a ridiculous situation. Is that so? No wonder the ones outside don't come to my dungeon. Tsk tsk~]
"Yeah, definitely more relaxing here. Quiet and all. But what makes it the 'Visible Forest'?"
[That's just a name to spark the imagination. Once the seed of anxiety takes root, humans nurture it wildly on their own.]
"So it's an empty dungeon? You're the only boss mob?"
[Yes, that's right. I stay quiet during the day and mess with their dreams at night to inflict pain, over and over. But you're too rotten—I can't even give you pain! That's the problem!]
"Hey, that's not my fault. The world's a dumpster~ Of course only trash is left. At least here, hmm~ the air's clean and it's a quiet forest."
Of course, this was just Yoo Seongwon's personal opinion.
But for the Tri-Head Bird, who'd lost its constellation and was left alone in the dungeon, cut off from the outside world, it had no choice but to gauge the exterior solely through Yoo Seongwon's words.
[Tsk tsk tsk. So this 'star' is done for? Well, with even worse scum than Lady 'White-Eyed Bird' showing up, maybe it's inevitable.]
"...Like the Slaughter King or something?"
[Pukakakakawk! That lord just enjoys fine dining. Quiet when his belly's full—why call that evil? Pukakakawk! True evil is on another level! Pukakakawk!]
"Ah~ The one in the Pacific?"
[Anyway, if even trash like you flees here, I can guess the rest. If staying here's more peaceful and happy, then yeah, you need to go. Heh heh heh. Who knew the outside would be more painful? Then we have no place on this star.]
Sss...
As it spoke, feathers began falling from the Tri-Head Bird's body, one by one.
They disintegrated into dust before even touching the ground, and its body slowly faded away.
No more humans would come. The one who'd shown up saw this place not as an evil lair, but as a sanctuary. It had truly lost its reason for being.
[Human who sought paradise alone and came here, it's a shame, but this isn't your paradise. No—you're a child of this 'star' after all. Cherish your star. Tend to it. Paradise isn't far away. You must create it and seize it with your own hands.]
"...From consolation by a monster to getting a sermon now."
[Forget it if you want. But know you can't run from it. Shall I plant a seed of 'pain' now?]
Chwararararak!
The Tri-Head Bird flapped its wings in the air, and out poured all sorts of gear, skill books, and magistones.
Yoo Seongwon tilted his head in disbelief, staring at the vanishing bird and the piled-up loot.
These were things he should have earned by fighting and defeating it, but the bird, having lost all interest in this 'star,' was discarding them like they were worthless.
[Kawk! Kawk! He likes it! Yes! Even trash has greed! Riches and treasures! So lovable!]
[The more despairing the world, the more depraved the world, the greater their value!]
[And that's why this becomes a seed of 'pain.' It will breed even greater hatred. Child of the star! Live in that painful world, make it more painful, and see it through to the end! Kawk! Kyaaak!]
"I don't get it."
Yoo Seongwon stared at the departed Tri-Head Bird and the items it left behind, feeling an odd unease.
In the end, he'd cleared a B-rank dungeon without lifting a finger—boss monster defeated and all.
Yet its words kept circling in his mind.
'Monster talks like a flowing river. Hah~'
[Sometimes a stronger enemy makes a better advisor than allies. Mull over today's memories and realizations, knight.]
'...This guy's at it again. Hah~ Still, gotta collect it.'
The magistones, gear, and skill books from the dungeon were all useful, so despite the unease, he gathered every last one.
A moment later, as the dungeon fully vanished, the forest reappeared much as before—but right away, he spotted the old hag who'd shoved him in, along with Shin So-mi and Ayoung.
"Oh, you cleared it in the end? Took quite a while, but since you came out, it must've gone well..."
"It was a real shitshow. Let's head back for now."
Yoo Seongwon, still wearing an unsettled expression, returned to the trailer and stripped off his armor in the built-in shower, washing up.
The sweat rinsed away, but the Tri-Head Bird's words kept swirling in his head.
"Am I really like what that bastard said?"
The info he'd gleaned about stars and constellations lingered, unconsciously drawing his thoughts to the world's crises.
Constellations so vile they made even the Slaughter King seem tame?
Even if indifferent, his fate was tied to living on this star?
The fear that loomed largest was, 'What if the world ends before I even get to live fully?'
"I want to believe it won't... Ah!"
He tried to reassure himself, but the incident he'd caused in Shin-gang-nam came to mind.
It was clearly self-defense, and he felt no guilt, but the fallout had undeniably harmed this shitty country.
With Shin-gang-nam—a major city bolstering national credit—collapsed, everything that followed was dragging Korea down.
"This kind of worrying is a first for me."
Before, he'd brushed it off with 'Whatever happens, happens. Someone else will handle it.' But after this dungeon, it gnawed at him seriously.
In the end, though, people stick to their ways.
"Well, can't clean up everyone else's shit. Hmm~ Just gotta think more about building a proper sanctuary. Whew~ Feels good anyway."
"What're you mumbling about while bathing?"
As soon as he stepped out, Ayoung, who'd been waiting, greeted him at the door.
They'd planned to talk about the dungeon after he washed up and ate something, but her waiting like this made him wonder if something was up.
"What? Got something to say?"
"Just worried you might be in bad shape. Anyone would be concerned seeing that terrifying look after clearing a dungeon. You came out ready to throw down—boom!—right away."
"Yeah, that old hag's stunt pissed me off for sure. Never thought she'd shove an inexperienced guy solo into a B-rank out of nowhere."
The anger from that betrayal surged back up.
Recalling the old hag's smiling face as she pushed him into the unknown B-rank made his fists itch.
"Ah~ Truth is, I wanted to go. Facing trials alone? That's romance too, y'know."
"If you want it that bad, I'll shove you in next time."
"Really? Promise?"
"Nah, just said it. Don't get your hopes up. I'd have no face left for your mom."
With that, Yoo Seongwon headed into the trailer's meeting room.
Inside, to celebrate his clear of a tough B-rank dungeon, there was a cake and a pretty lavish spread.
"We eating in the trailer?"
"What, you wanna advertise it neighborhood-wide? 'E+-rank Hunter Yoo Seongwon Solo Clears B-rank Dungeon!' With a big placard and all."
"This is all that old hag's fault! Should I build her a grave where the dungeon was?"
"I've already got my burial plot. Heh heh. Anyway, eat before it gets cold. The guild master made it herself."
At the old hag's words, Yoo Seongwon flinched and glanced at Guild Master Shin So-mi. She abruptly turned her head away, looking either embarrassed or anxious.
Faced with her girlish reaction, he lost the will to get mad and reluctantly sat down to eat. To his surprise, it was delicious.
"Hmm, finally eating that promised meal after so long... insanely good. Thought it'd be a fail..."
"That's manga stuff. With Mom's personality, you think she'd serve something bad? She practiced bloody every night, of course..."
*Ahem!* "Ayoung, eat quietly."
"O~ Is this the famed Cheonseokjeong flavor? Ooh, great recreation. And with scarce ingredients too..."
With just four people, it naturally turned into lively chatter over the meal, and since it tasted great, it couldn't get any better.
'......'
For Yoo Seongwon, who rarely shared meals with others outside work extensions or the Academia cafeteria, this warm table felt so foreign—but a little nice.