Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Similar Person
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Kang Hye-seon pointed her sword at me.
But I felt no hostility.
'Why...'
Instead of hostility, two emotions from her were confusing me.
Affection and sorrow.
There was another person who had expressed those two clear emotions toward me at the same time.
'Mom.'
Before she passed, my mother had clearly expressed her feelings toward me in words.
She would tell me she was sad when I did certain things, yet whisper that she still loved me.
Of course, the affection and sorrow I felt from Kang Hye-seon were different from my mother's.
But it was strange that those two mismatched emotions were coming at me simultaneously.
"Yi Hyun, you're a wonderful person."
Unaware of my confusion, Kang Hye-seon began saying what she wanted to say.
"Because you've saved so many people."
Kang Hye-seon lowered the sword she had pointed at me.
"I wanted to learn from you, Yi Hyun. I'm such an anxious and imperfect person that I waver several times a day."
Was it sincere?
Her eyes, staring straight at me, showed no hesitation.
"I know it too. I know I look like a fool right now. I asked you for help, and you're the leader now."
That was why she had set aside her own thoughts after crossing through the gate.
She had followed my words faithfully until now.
I nodded.
Meaning that since she knew that, she shouldn't argue like this and should just listen to me this time too.
"So I'm sorry. Please. I can't turn a blind eye. At least not to what happened right in front of me..."
Kang Hye-seon understood the meaning in my nod.
Yet she continued with her frustrating words.
"No. What if the gate assault fails because of that and all your people die? Wouldn't you regret it?"
"Yes. I would regret it. So... please help. You go do the assault, Yi Hyun, and I'll stay here. This is the best I can think of."
The best she mentioned was her own best.
Not mine.
So I planned to drag her along by force.
I was even thinking of other measures if she resisted this time.
'If it really doesn't work, it's a shame, but...'
There were plenty of ways to absorb her faction.
The people left on Earth had no way of knowing what happened inside the gate.
In that brief moment, I considered various possibilities and made a decision.
"Yi Hyun."
I had clearly made a decision.
But for some reason, I hesitated for a moment, and in that gap, Kang Hye-seon called me again.
"What do you live for, Yi Hyun?"
Then she threw an absurd question at me.
"This is why I live. I hope you find your answer too, Yi Hyun."
Kang Hye-seon turned and ran off.
At a speed that even I could see was very fast.
There wasn't the slightest waver in her retreating figure.
After Kang Hye-seon left, I forced my feet to move.
This time, questioning myself.
Why had I hesitated even after making a decision?
Why hadn't I grabbed Kang Hye-seon?
And finally.
'What do you live for?'
Why was I keep mulling over the question she left behind?
'What nonsense.'
I decided to put the thought aside.
I must have paid too much attention because the emotions she showed reminded me of my mom's.
With that conclusion, I tried to start running.
'I wonder if Kang Hye-seon can win.'
Then I suddenly looked back.
I was a bit surprised that the wooden fence of the mountain village was still visible.
I had been walking very slowly.
And I felt no ill will toward Kang Hye-seon at all.
'I need to talk to her more.'
So this was to satisfy my curiosity.
To have a bit more conversation with Kang Hye-seon.
'EXP is a waste too.'
The man I saw earlier was around Kang Hye-seon's level.
I was stuck at level 39 right now.
'And he spoke like a total Korean.'
That was why Kang Hye-seon and I had concluded the fire was arson the moment we spotted that man.
The man had crossed through the gate just like us.
He seemed to have attacked that mountain village.
So if I just went up the mountain peak and completed the mission, I'd have to share the man and the EXP.
'Right. It wasn't something to just pass by.'
This was a rational decision.
I turned direction and ran toward the mountain village.
Boom
I quickly reached the fence and kicked the gate open.
"You bitch!"
The man I had seen earlier swung his hand, and flames engulfed Kang Hye-seon.
Kang Hye-seon rolled on the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing! Can't you catch her properly?"
"S-sorry. That woman is too fast."
And the man had companions.
Both were blatantly exposing their dangling bits.
'Rape?'
I saw women huddled in one spot.
They weren't in good shape.
A few houses were also burning.
But the flames weren't spreading; they were dying down.
Thud
I quickly assessed the situation and charged at the nearest man.
"Watch out!"
The man farther away spotted me first and warned the fire handler.
"Fuck."
The man turned his body and reached toward me.
Then the flames that had been burning the house writhed toward me.
Bang!
I didn't slow down, charging in and smashing the man's head.
I was much faster.
"Idiot."
Why hadn't he even thought to dodge?
I easily killed the fire handler and charged at the next man.
He reached toward me too, but nothing happened due to my magic resistance.
Thud
I took out the second man and looked around.
I focused on Target Detection.
No energy signatures larger than a certain size were felt.
"Yi Hyun."
Kang Hye-seon approached me.
I scanned her up and down, then turned my back.
It was a shame, but I didn't use Mana Stone Extraction.
"Over there..."
The fight ended quickly.
One of the villagers in the corner approached Kang Hye-seon.
"Yes."
"Thank you for helping us."
"No. It wasn't me, but..."
The two women conversed.
The villager seemed to be explaining what had happened here to Kang Hye-seon.
I wondered what they would talk about next.
'The men seem all dead.'
I cut off their conversation.
Whatever it was, it was over, and I could guess what request the village woman would make in the end.
"Kang Hye-seon."
"Ah, yes!"
"Come quickly. Let's go."
Kang Hye-seon hesitated, seeing the villager's desperate expression.
I just kept walking.
"I'm sorry. I have to go quickly."
Kang Hye-seon shook off the villager and ran to me.
This time, I liked her choice.
We walked in silence.
We arrived at the mountain peak before sunset and found the Goblin Shaman at the summit.
'Why is it in there?'
Absurdly, the Goblin Shaman was wedged between deep rock crevices.
No other goblins around.
The Goblin Shaman looked like it would starve to death soon even if I didn't kill it.
"Um... Yi Hyun."
Kang Hye-seon, realizing the gate assault was nearly over, called me.
"Thank you. For coming back because of me... And thanks to this inner armor, I didn't get burned."
"I didn't go back to help you, Kang Hye-seon."
"Pardon?"
"I turned back because I didn't want to share those guys and the EXP."
"Ah... Pfft. Yes. Still, thank you."
I looked around to kill the Goblin Shaman.
Seemed like I could pick up a stone and throw it.
"Are you mad?"
"No."
But Kang Hye-seon grabbed my arm.
"Then let's talk for a bit."
"Speak."
Kang Hye-seon came in front of me.
She locked eyes with me like when she had pointed the branch at me.
"What you said at dawn..."
"Yes."
"You want to absorb our faction, right? What happens if I accept your proposal, Yi Hyun?"
As expected, Kang Hye-seon hadn't taken my words as a love confession.
She had figured out what I wanted and asked.
I explained briefly.
They would each work for Samira in positions suited to them.
"Hye-seon, you'll go around assaulting gates with me."
"I see... People's lives will get better than now, right?"
"Yes."
Kang Hye-seon pondered.
She seemed to have made up her mind.
"What about those who don't have suitable roles?"
"They'll do simple labor."
"What about those who can't even do that?"
What was she trying to ask?
As my response delayed, Kang Hye-seon spoke again.
"Yi Hyun."
"Yes."
"If something in your way while you're going somewhere... Um..."
Kang Hye-seon picked up the stone I was about to grab.
Then she stepped back a bit and placed the stone between us.
"Your goal is me, Yi Hyun. But this stone is in the way."
"Yes."
"You can step on the stone and cross. Or go around it."
I immediately lifted my foot and stepped on the stone.
"What if that stone was a person? Going around wouldn't be hard for you, Yi Hyun."
I understood what Kang Hye-seon wanted to ask.
Her grasp on me was astonishingly quick.
Not even something I had deliberately shown, like with Jang Ho-seop.
"I'd judge considering various situations."
"Is that so? Good..."
I answered evasively.
But strangely, I felt joy from Kang Hye-seon.
Her muttering "good" was odd too.
"Thank you. For giving me a chance."
Kang Hye-seon had made her decision.
I felt it intuitively.
"And... for seeing me in a good light. Right?"
"Yes. That's right."
She smiled at me.
"I'll decline the proposal."
Her unexpected answer made my grip tighten on the stick.
Kang Hye-seon confused me again.
She should know her answer was set if she understood me.
"Think again. If you refuse..."
"How about we become friends instead?"
Kang Hye-seon rejected my proposal with a smile and created another option.
We exited the gate.
Kang Hye-seon's faction members were waiting.
In front of everyone else, Kang Hye-seon and I shook hands.
Kang Hye-seon discarded the attitude, expression, and voice she had shown inside the gate and saw me off as 'Swordswoman Kang Hye-seon.'
In the end, it was as if I had accepted her proposal.
"Yi Hyun! Good work!"
We returned to Samira's land.
The woman on guard duty greeted me warmly.
Normally, I would have just nodded and passed by.
But I stopped and asked her.
"That... what is it?"
"Our headquarters chief?"
I knew the person I was pointing at was Jang Ho-seop.
"No. What Jang Ho-seop is holding... that's not a torch, right?"
"Ah, yes! It's a new mana lantern we developed. I don't know the details."
It was early morning here when we exited the gate.
Even in the clear daylight, the light from what Jang Ho-seop held was bright.
Surprised inwardly by the mana lantern answer, I went to Jang Ho-seop.
He was preparing for outdoor activities with the interns.
"Ho-seop."
"Brother!"
Jang Ho-seop smiled brightly at me.
While swinging the mana lantern around.
"You're going out today?"
"Yep!"
"Hold off a bit. Come to the meeting first."
I planned to head back to Yongsan Station in the afternoon.
To wrap up the talk with Kang Hye-seon.
Before that, I needed a meeting with the group.
"What's that? Did you already succeed in developing it?"
"Yes! Uncle Jang-su made a prototype, but..."
Jang Ho-seop turned off the mana lantern.
It used a mana stone as an energy source and could be turned on and off.
"It has the property of blocking mana. If we refine it a bit, we can use it more conveniently than now."
"The light... it's back."
"Yes. That's the idea."
I headed to the main building while listening to the explanation of the mana lantern.
It was large and crude-looking now.
"So you can make a mana converter now?"
"Yep. Shaping it nicely is no big deal now."
Jang Ho-seop chattered excitedly.
I hadn't expected results this fast.
"Look. If I remove this metal plate... Lumos!"
The prototype mana lantern looked like a large flashlight.
And its light was very strong.
Jang Ho-seop demonstrated and handed it to me.
"You just remove this?"
"Yes, exactly."
"That... Lu... what? Why do that?"
"Because it looks cool?"
The guy wasn't that young.
But his innocent smile made him look much younger than his age.
So I suddenly wondered.
How was Jang Ho-seop so happy every day?
"Why do you live?"
It was the question Kang Hye-seon had asked me.
I couldn't answer.
"Huh?"
Jang Ho-seop looked at me with a blank expression.
It seemed like a difficult question for him too.