Go Get Some Fresh Air (1)

"...Hey. Let's make a promise."

*Swoosh.*

On a buoy tossed by the waves. I was lying on a tiny wooden plank floating in the middle of the vast, open ocean, and the bastard next to me was chattering away.

"Hey. Hey. Hey, you. Are you dead?"

He kept poking my shoulder.

"...Ah, stop fucking around. I'm dying of exhaustion here."

"No, you asshole. We could suddenly kick the bucket just like this time. So let's make a promise."

Seo Ji-hyuk often talked about death. It was as if he wasn't looking for a way to avoid it, but rather contemplating the kind of death he would meet.

"Don't jinx us."

"Just in case, you prick. Just in case. Let's make a promise."

"...What kind of promise?"

*Crash.* A wave washed over the buoy. Seo Ji-hyuk's blue barrier blocked the seawater.

Even back then, I survived thanks to him.

"My sister. You saw her back then, right? You saw her from a distance when she came to visit."

"Yeah. She looked just like you, but with long hair."

"Cut the crap. She's a genius. My spellcaster master took a look at her and said she's practically guaranteed to be selected as a Mage Candidate."

"Is that so?"

I pulled out my satellite terminal. The rescue message had definitely gone through. A helicopter would arrive soon.

"Of all things, getting hit by a torpedo..."

At the time, our ship had been completely wrecked by a torpedo strike. It was a rather novel experience.

In truth, we had been on the brink of death.

"Ah, damn it. Hey, are you listening?"

"I'm listening, so spit it out."

"I'm saying, if—just in case—I go first, she's going to have a really hard time."

"If you know that, then discharge from the military, you dumbass..."

I swallowed the rest of the sentence. Telling him to discharge wasn't easy. Because I needed Seo Ji-hyuk, too.

Seo Ji-hyuk had his own dreams. He loved his sister, but he was someone who knew how to dedicate himself to his dreams.

"Ha-woon, make sure she doesn't stray down a dark path."

I had snorted at his words back then, but Seo Ji-hyuk's prediction turned out to be correct.

Once Seo Ji-woo learned the truth, she lost her way in life, becoming a living corpse. She became a vengeful ghost far worse than I ever was.

She couldn't make it into the debut group of Labyrinth Exploration NaN because she dropped out midway.

And yet, she died even earlier than those who did debut.

The cause of death: killed in action.

"...Fine, I get it, so focus on not dying first."

"What about you?"

Seo Ji-hyuk asked me.

"What do you mean, 'what about me'?"

"Your promise. You have to say yours too."

I pondered.

A promise.

I had never once thought about it.

"...First of all, you be the chief mourner until my funeral is over. Though I doubt many people will show up."

Having no family of my own, I was secretly asking Seo Ji-hyuk to be my family.

"And once the funeral is over, visit my columbarium every year."

Seo Ji-hyuk, sitting cross-legged on the buoy, looked down at me and smiled.

"...That's fucking pathetic. What kind of promise is that?"

Now, just as in the past, the pillar supporting Seo Ji-woo is still Seo Ji-hyuk.

Seo Ji-hyuk's heroic death. The billions of won in compensation, the Medal of Honor awarded to his corpse. His grave in the National Cemetery, and his name appearing whenever you search on Wiki.

I think that place suits you perfectly.

I don't particularly like your sister, and I absolutely despise how she worked herself to the bone without understanding your true intentions...

But to protect you, I will protect her.

Early in the morning, I headed out to the Back Mountain. I couldn't sleep due to the aftermath of yesterday's events, but I used Sequence to force myself to sleep somehow and woke up at my usual time.

My condition was peak.

The skill I obtained from the labyrinth, Dream Bubble, is low-key broken. If I activate it before sleeping, I get a deep, restful sleep every single night.

Now I have to decide how to use this Mana Core. A Mana Core is an enhancement item, but at the same time, it is an equippable, growth-type item.

If nurtured poorly, it ends up as just a mediocre mana battery. But if nurtured well, the Mana Core can become an independent entity.

"Hmm."

I toyed with the Mana Core. Its texture was strange. It felt hard as a rock, yet it softened and shifted along the lines of my palm.

This thing usually fuses with equipment. Among my current gear...

"...You."

The Mysterious Staff I had been using since the very first day of my regression.

Of course, there were probably plenty of staves better than this in the world. Staves made from centuries-old saplings, found in fantasy labyrinths, or crafted by master artisans pouring their very souls into them—carrying grand titles like Epic, Legendary, or Mystic.

"Want to stick with me for the long haul?"

However, reality is different from a game.

Now that this has become my reality, I understand. I don't particularly like the cold, ruthless efficiency of immediately swapping out gear just because its stats are a mere 0.1 higher.

In the first place, I hadn't even known about the Cherished Item system.

Looking back, MoMo had quite a few mechanics related to emotional attachment. If you didn't give up on a trash-tier explorer and stubbornly raised them, they would achieve a grand awakening at a critical moment to buy you time. Or if you cherished a low-grade pet without discarding it, it would sacrifice its life for its master in the labyrinth.

Back when I read posts about those things, I used to think, If they had just scrapped them and raised a different character or pet instead of wasting time, they wouldn't have even ended up in that desperate situation.

If you only looked at raw efficiency, that might have been correct. But now, I felt it was okay to be a little different.

There are values in this world more important than pure efficiency.

Because this isn't a game—it's reality.

"Let's go the distance."

I embedded the Mana Core into the staff.

*Whirrr!* The entire staff flashed with a brilliant blue light. I could feel the staff's mana circuits grasping the Mana Core.

The connection between a core searching for the circuits that would become its roots, and the circuits opening up to receive the core.

*Crackle!*

Sparks of mana erupted. Streaks of light, like lightning bolts, spread across the early morning sky.

*Zap—crackle!*

Once the turbulence had subsided to a manageable level, I opened my status window.

Synchronization.

It was always like this. It would probably take a day or two.

"...The name is a bit plain."

I didn't really like the item name. "Mysterious" was accurate, and "Mana Staff" was also accurate, but...

We decided to go the distance together, didn't we?

"Your name is..."

A combination immediately came to mind.

"AC-0308."

AC for Arcane Cane, and March 8th, the day we first met.

"Got it, AC-0308?"

Caressing the staff, I opened the information window.

The name had changed. At least for me, this naming was much more comfortable, familiar, and affectionate.

I leaned the staff against my shoulder. Stroking the shaft, I pulled out my smartphone.

The broadcasting station's profile voting rankings. How did they change after the main broadcast?

"In the twenties."

I had climbed from the middle of the twenties to the very top of the twenties.

I was reasonably satisfied, but people on the internet were saying, "His rank isn't as high as his impact." According to a columnist who wrote an in-depth analysis, it was because I was still only people's fifth or sixth pick—neither their ultimate favorite nor their second favorite.

It's only the sixth episode. There is plenty of time to turn things around.

Might as well drink some black tea.

I pulled out my thermos. I poured the tea into the cap.

*Slurp. Slurp.*

I savored the taste of the black tea in my mouth as if it were wine. Fortunately, it tasted exactly the same as it did in the NaN World. There was no spoilage or contamination.

"Approved."

I nodded with satisfaction.

I laid out my other spoils on the ground.

A gas mask, a sack of tea leaves, a book on implants, snake wine, the Pony Projector, a box of snacks, a black cotton robe, a business card, and three leftover drones.

I had brought them back by packing my WP to the brim.

Ah, I was saving the snake wine for now. I didn't need a random box immediately, and who knows when I might need a boost of luck.

If possible, I wanted to link this luck with a lottery or a casino. It would be nice to make some money.

I had always been clueless about investing. In the military, quite a few people invested to prepare for their discharge, but I had zero interest in money itself back then.

Because back then, I thought being a soldier was a lifelong career.

"Damn it. I should've at least looked up some stocks."

*Ding-dong—*

"Huh?"

A distinct sound. It was an SNS notification I had intentionally set to sound different from other messages.

It was a fairly famous underground account related to Labyrinth Exploration NaN that I followed using a burner account.

As you can see, this guy was a rumor-monger. The reason I bothered to follow him was because I suspected this account belonged to Kim Du-gyeom.

Why? Because...

...posts about "S" (Seol Ha-woon) took up a disproportionately large share of the account's content.

Come to think of it, it should be about time for the incident involving Ryu Yeon-hwa to blow up.

I visited a community forum dedicated to Labyrinth Exploration NaN.

"...Oh."

The timing was perfect. Right there on the front page, an anonymous post immediately caught my eye.

It was out.

The scandal surrounding the noble spellcaster, Ryu Yeon-hwa.

It was probably a club promoter who dealt drugs. They likely tried to extort money from Ryu Yeon-hwa, got ignored, and posted this out of pure spite.

"The flies are starting to swarm."

Just then, a message arrived from NaN.

A special mentor lesson. For me, there was nothing to even think about.

Because I was absolutely certain she was a Mage.

The reply came instantly.

It was supposed to be a lesson with a mentor, but the location was an amusement park. Apparently, it was some kind of amusement park product placement.

Regardless, I arrived at the filming location.

"You're here."

Yu Yul spotted me. Both of us were dressed exactly as the production crew's stylists had directed.

This was product placement, too. Showing a single outfit on screen probably cost tens of millions of won.

Couldn't they share some of that cash with us?

"Yes, I'm here."

"..."

Yu Yul said nothing.

"Shall we ride the merry-go-round?"

Feeling a bit awkward, I pointed to the nearest carousel.

"You performed quite well in the World."

"Ah... Yes."

"Do you have any concerns?"

Yu Yul was sticking strictly to the script.

I answered.

"I have no concerns."

"What do you want from me? This is a mentor lesson. If there is something you want, I can do my best to provide it."

"...Nothing."

"Nothing?"

I smiled.

"Yes. What more could I possibly ask for? Thanks to you, Mentor Yu Yul, I was able to stand tall as a spellcaster."

I spoke with sincere gratitude. There was no falsehood in my heart.

"Thanks to you, I was able to take my first steps and learn about Refinement. If not for you, Mentor, I would still be wandering in the dark."

I wasn't worried that she might see through my ulterior motives. No magic in the world could read a person's mind.

Above all, my gratitude was genuine.

"The day you first came to find me in the library is still vivid in my mind."

I intended to stick as close as possible to Yu Yul—or rather, Tae-yul. I would play the role of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠devoted disciple until she got sick of me and kicked me out.

In the meantime, I would act like a mosquito, sucking up her magic formulas, her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠training methods, and anything else I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could get my hands on.

"...So, you really have nothing you want?"

Yu Yul asked again. It seemed the script required me to want something for the scene to work.

I spoke in a quiet voice.

"The 3rd Refining... To be honest, I don't think I'm ready for it yet."

The 3rd Refining still required more growth. Especially regarding my nervous system.

Although I had two of the Absolutely Precious Candy left, if the rate of destruction exceeded my recovery speed, my entire body would tear apart, leaving me crippled.

The risk was simply too high.

"Today..."

Come to think of it, I had never been to an amusement park. I had never ridden an amusement park ride. Not once in my life, which spanned over thirty years including my regression.

"...Please ride that with me."

I pointed to a truly monstrous ride. A cliff-like roller coaster that strongly resembled El Capitan.

"Let's go ride it, then."

"Yes."

Yu Yul ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and I took our seats in the very front row of the roller coaster. Numerous cameras tracked our every move.

"...I'm actually a bit nervous."

Only the two of us were on this long train.

*Hiss.* The safety bars locked over our bodies, and the roller coaster set off.

*Clack. Clack. Clack.* It ascended the rails, making ominous noises. Beside me, Yu Yul's face remained completely expressionless.

"Whew."

The moment I took a deep breath—

*Whoosh—!*

A vertical drop reminiscent of skydiving.

"Whoa!"

My hair and Yu Yul's hair whipped wildly in the wind, our bodies fluttering like paper dolls, yet Yu Yul's expression didn't budge.

There was absolutely no change. Not even a single wrinkle creased her face.

I was terrified.

Far more than the roller coaster, this utterly hollow, dry human being frightened me.