Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Similar People
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As soon as Yi Hyun entered the gate with Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon, the rain began to fall.
The downpour quickly thickened.
"Let's find shelter from the rain first."
"Yes."
Unlike Seoul, which had been growing hotter by the day, the temperature here was quite low.
On top of that, it was evening, with the sun setting.
It would get even colder at night, so they had to avoid the rain at all costs to preserve body heat.
"Which way should we go?"
They had crossed through the gate and ended up alone in the middle of a forest.
To be precise, it wasn't a forest—it was a mountain.
He pointed to the peak visible in the distance.
"We'll head that way."
"Uh... okay."
To find people, it would be more likely to head in the opposite direction from the peak.
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon had seemed about to suggest that herself.
But there was no guarantee of settlements nearby.
Yi Hyun recalled the system message.
There was only one mission.
No mention of meeting anyone, no time to scout the surroundings.
So they headed for the visible peak.
Thud thud thud thud splatter
The rain pounding on the leaves was fierce.
The mountain was thick with trees, so they weren't completely soaked yet.
'Gotta find it quick.'
Yi Hyun took the lead, pushing through the pathless wilds of the mountain.
The forest was so dense it limited visibility.
Walking was naturally grueling.
Vines snagging at his feet.
Branches at eye level.
Some even had thorns.
"Ah!"
"What?"
"It's nothing. Don't worry, just keep going."
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon, following close behind, got smacked in the face by a branch.
There was no helping it.
They had no bladed weapons.
After trudging on a bit longer like that.
"Hoo... It's getting dark too fast, isn't it?"
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon, who had been walking silently, spoke in a worried tone.
Night in the mountains came faster than expected.
'Our clothes are soaked through...'
The inner lining made from monster hide offered some waterproofing.
But after prolonged exposure to the rain, even the inside was wet.
It was form-fitting with good elasticity, but the sleeves weren't fully constricted.
And he'd sweated too.
"No choice. If we have to, we can gather leaves or something..."
It would soon be too dark to see an inch ahead.
He needed to decide before then.
The moment he resolved to dig a hole or break branches for a makeshift shelter.
Rumble crack
Lightning struck.
"Huh?"
"No, nothing. Follow me."
Yi Hyun grabbed Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon's hand and strode forward.
In the brief flash of lightning, he'd spotted an especially massive tree.
He found an ancient tree whose trunk would take several arm spans to encircle.
There was a narrow gap between its roots.
He widened the entrance just enough for himself to crawl in and checked the interior.
Fortunately, the space between the roots was wider than it appeared from outside.
Grrr drag
He dragged over a fallen log.
"This way. Over here."
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon guided him by voice from between the roots.
He visualized it in his mind.
Recalling the surroundings and her position, he moved accordingly.
"Going in."
"Okay."
He inserted his feet first into the gap between the roots.
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon pressed tight against a root acting as a wall on the side.
Even so, their bodies touched.
"I need to pull the log over, but I can't get the leverage in this position."
They'd squeezed into the narrow space somehow.
He planned to drag the log to block the entrance, but she was in the way.
"I can't move any further. I'm already as squished as I can get."
"Want to come inside me? We can pull together."
"Ah, yes. Hold on."
He spread his arms.
Soon Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon slipped into his embrace.
"Got it?"
"Yeah. Give the signal."
"One, two!"
Thud
Together they pulled the log, successfully blocking the entrance.
Of course, small gaps remained.
"Hooo. Lucky. No leaks here."
"Yeah. And no water coming in... We got fortunate."
He leaned back against the broad wall of tree roots.
The tangled roots seemed to act as a drain, keeping water out of this little den.
Thanks to that, the ground was relatively dry compared to outside.
If luck had been bad, they'd have spent a sleepless night in the mud.
The floor was fairly flat too.
"Glad we found this place. It's cozier than I thought."
"Yeah. Oh, lean on me. We have to last the night, so might as well get comfortable."
"Okay. If you insist."
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon leaned her body against him.
Her hair was damp.
The space was too tight for anything else.
To sit side by side, they'd both have to huddle uncomfortably.
Better to overlap like this.
'She's not resisting at all since earlier.'
And it was surprising how readily she followed his lead.
She must have her own thoughts.
This position being more comfortable was his judgment.
Earlier, when choosing direction, she'd seemed about to suggest otherwise.
But Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon had pondered briefly and gone along.
Now she'd accepted even faster.
"It's night, but... I can't sleep at all."
"Yeah. It's morning for us."
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon shifted a bit before fully resting her weight on him.
Yi Hyun liked that about her.
Regardless of gender, she acted rationally.
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon seemed to know what mattered.
"By the way... why'd you pick the mountain earlier?"
"That peak is the one the system mentioned."
"I see. I get choosing the direction favorable for the mission. All other options were unclear."
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon asked quietly.
She said she'd gone through a similar thought process.
"I'm talking specifically about yellow gates."
"Okay."
"The missions the system gives are intuitive in how to approach them. Locations too."
He felt her turn her head.
Probably trying to look at him.
Then she faced forward again.
"So... the peak we see is the one the system means. Right?"
"Yes. If we had to carry out a mission at Yongsan Station, we'd spawn nearby. Not somewhere confusing with other stations around."
"I see. So this mission too..."
She seized the moment, asking actively.
Which was fine—he'd come to share gate knowledge.
He answered step by step.
"Wow, that happened? Gotta watch out for people."
"Yes. Might be best to kill anyone from other gates first."
"You think that way, huh..."
The conversation paused briefly.
She was sorting her thoughts alone.
"Yi Hyun."
"Yes, Swordswoman?"
"Um... we've come through the gate together, but 'Swordswoman' feels off, doesn't it? I'm not even officially one yet."
Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon spoke again.
People in her group all called her Swordswoman.
"I'll call you Hye-seon, then."
"Sure, whatever... How's the situation in Samira? Be honest. You know the rough state we're in, so you can share that much, right?"
Kang Hye-seon asked with a playful tone.
Turning her head toward him again.
Even though it was too dark to see properly.
"Better than your group's."
"Well... food and all. Seemed like you have plenty of mana stones too."
"Yes. We do."
"Even so, Jang Ho-seop writes way too much."
Kang Hye-seon chuckled softly.
"Does he? Should I rein him in?"
"Oh, no. Not that it's bad. The plaza's atmosphere improved a lot thanks to Jang Ho-seop."
An unexpectedly positive review.
Before, the plaza had been full of gloomy posts.
After Jang Ho-seop started posting, those dwindled sharply.
"It's a bit burdensome checking them all, though."
"You read Ho-seop's posts?"
"Yes. Have to, for the info."
Kang Hye-seon said she'd never planned to settle at Yongsan Station originally.
She'd intended to move to the countryside for farming.
That's why handling the gate had been delayed.
"Figured it out from plaza posts. Not that easy."
Some plaza posts were from people in provincial small cities.
They were probably all dead by now.
Humanity had been pushed back by monsters.
"Even if we find a spot to settle and migrate, gates would pop up everywhere by then..."
Kang Hye-seon quietly shared her story.
How she'd made her decisions.
How hard it was coordinating people's opinions.
"What about you, Yi Hyun? No such troubles when making decisions?"
"No. We move with a shared goal in mind."
Anyone with differing aims was dead.
"We're kinda like that too, but..."
Kang Hye-seon said even rushing toward the same goal, people thought differently.
Yi Hyun just nodded.
"And people have varying abilities. Coldly speaking."
This time, she asked about role division.
Who did what and how much.
"Samira isn't equal. Treatment varies by how much and what you do."
"Treatment varies? A lot?"
"Yes. Motivates them to work hard."
There were no slackers in Samira.
Everyone gave their all for him.
"Uh... I see. Efficient? And there's criteria for it?"
"Yes. We prioritize efficiency. There are standards, of course."
"Some people have circumstances..."
The standards were his.
His original companions evaluated people subjectively against those.
"Hard to picture. Samira already seems fully systematized."
"Very different from your group's operations."
"Maybe I'm doing it wrong."
Kang Hye-seon asked a few more questions.
Yi Hyun answered honestly but held back.
Many answers stayed in his head.
"Hm... still the same."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
Kang Hye-seon sank into her thoughts again.
They'd talked quite a bit, but little time had passed.
And their bodies were gradually cooling.
'Thought it'd be fine.'
At first, he'd planned to tough out the night in wet clothes.
Better response time in emergencies.
But as time dragged, it felt untenable.
Even with his strengthened body, maintaining condition seemed impossible.
"Hye-seon."
"Ah, was reminiscing a bit."
"Excuse me for a sec."
He pressed the back of his hand to her cheek.
Cold.
Plan changed immediately.
"We need to take off our clothes."
"Pardon?"
He bent down to remove her shoes first.
Kang Hye-seon squirmed under him.
"Wait! Hold on... I'll take them off for you."
Once again, she quickly went along.
She bent at the waist and removed his shoes first.