Home Sweet Home (6)

I was teleported back to the waiting room. The space was sparsely furnished with a bed, a desk, a desktop computer, and some exercise equipment.

I was too exhausted to even look at any of it.

For the next twelve hours, two weeks of time would pass in the town. After that, the offense and defense teams would enter simultaneously.

"Ah, my leg..."

It felt like my knee was splitting open. My head throbbed as if it were about to burst, too.

At times like this, a sudden wave of resentment toward the world washed over me.

There were numerous messages from other explorers coming through the NaN system.

I didn't even have the energy to check them, let alone reply. One look in the mirror showed dark circles deep enough to rival a panda's.

"Let's just sleep..."

I activated Dream Bubble. I lay down as the gentle glow bathed the waiting room. Using Sequence, I flipped the switch in my brain to off.

Click.

The open world, NaN World.

Seol Ha-woon walked into a tavern called the Chrome Oasis. Thud. Thud. Leaning on his cane, he took a seat at the counter.

"Barkeep. Got any work?" Seol Ha-woon asked.

"There's no work for a cripple," the barkeep grunted.

"What?"

His mouth was quite foul.

Lee Si-ah's brow furrowed, while Seol Ha-woon's lips curled into a smirk.

"Shall I prove myself by putting a hole in your neck?" Seol Ha-woon asked calmly.

It was a very mercenary-like attitude, completely different from the usual Seol Ha-woon.

"Not bad," the barkeep said.

Fzzzt.

Seol Ha-woon manifested a Magic Bullet in the air. The barkeep's mustache twitched.

He was scared.

"A new face," the barkeep muttered. "An aspiring runner? You can't even run with that leg of yours."

"Try thinking about why I might not need to run," Seol Ha-woon replied.

"...Actually, I do have one job perfect for a newbie. A job where you don't need to run."

The barkeep slid a wanted poster forward.

"Some bastard killed an orphan playing in a playground and ran. It's a request from the orphanage, so the payout is meager even if you finish it."

Seol Ha-woon snatched it up the moment the barkeep finished speaking, barely glancing at the details. The reason was likely...

It meant his fandom was growing. The side effect of cringey fanboying, which even fellow fans found hard to watch, was inevitable.

"See you around, then," Seol Ha-woon said.

"If you can make it back, my one-legged runner friend," the barkeep replied.

In an instant, Seol Ha-woon fired the Magic Bullet. The raw magic grazed the barkeep's neck.

Crash!

A liquor bottle shattered. The sound echoed in surround sound.

"I have two legs," Seol Ha-woon said. "So I'm not one-legged."

A gaze as cold as shattered glass glared at the barkeep.

"...My mistake," the barkeep muttered.

Meanwhile, Seol Ha-woon arrived at the orphanage.

"Yes. That day... it was evening, before the sun had even fully set..." the Orphanage Director explained.

The director recounted the incident. A child had been attacked and killed at the playground.

"I managed to graze his shoulder with a bullet, so he left some blood behind..." the director added.

"Which way is the playground?" Seol Ha-woon asked.

"I will show you the way."

Seol Ha-woon and the director walked out to the playground. The culprit's bloodstains were still there.

"I wonder if there is anything you can do..." the director murmured anxiously.

"Could you bring me a glass vial?" Seol Ha-woon requested.

"Yes."

Seol Ha-woon drew a dagger, scraped off the asphalt stained with the target's blood, mixed it with his mana, and dissolved it inside the reagent vial.

This was the downside of the live chat. While a massive number of viewers could react and exchange thoughts in real-time, their knowledge was shallow. Even when an expert occasionally chimed in, they were either buried or mocked for writing essays.

Lee Si-ah opened an online community forum.

"I knew it."

Lee Si-ah smiled warmly as she read the comments.

"Yes. Please... stay safe," the Orphanage Director said.

Having finished his preparations, Seol Ha-woon limped away from the orphanage.

But then...

"Excuse me! You're here to avenge Ra-on, right?"

A group of small children suddenly appeared from somewhere, blocking his path.

"We... we saved up some things too! We'll give them to you if you avenge him!"

Dirty, worn coins were held out in cupped hands. Seol Ha-woon stared at them in silence, then slowly shook his head.

"It's not revenge. It's just a job," Seol Ha-woon said.

With those brief words, he walked away. Neither warm nor cold.

Behind his back, a cute shout echoed.

"Good luck! You can do it!"

Suddenly, a faint smile played on Seol Ha-woon's lips. It was gone in a fleeting moment.

Soon, his expression froze colder than ever before. Walking through the darkness, his eyes flashed with a brilliant blue light.

It was a fluctuation of mana.

A phenomenon where a spellcaster's intense emotions caused mana tremors to reach their eyes. It was also proof of the massive amplitude of Seol Ha-woon's innate mana—its sheer "power."

Having acquired a gas mask from somewhere, Seol Ha-woon began his pursuit. Swirling the reagent vial containing the Blood Magic, he navigated through the trash-heap of a city. The moment he reached a more civilized street—

Whir.

The vial resonated.

Seol Ha-woon looked in that direction. A man was standing there. A massive giant, easily two meters tall. He had the kind of intimidating look that would make anyone avert their eyes immediately, but not Seol Ha-woon. He turned and followed him.

The target soon seemed to notice Seol Ha-woon, changing his path into an alleyway. Seol Ha-woon followed him in.

Thud.

Entering the alley, Seol Ha-woon planted his cane and looked ahead. However, there was no enemy in his line of sight.

A gruff voice echoed from behind.

"Who the hell are you?" the assailant growled.

Seol Ha-woon turned around. A bald assailant covered in tattoos stood there.

"I asked who the hell you are," the assailant repeated.

He didn't bother replying. As if the man wasn't even worth speaking to, he simply pointed a finger and fired ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a Magic Bullet.

Bang!

The battle began.

The opponent dodged to the side with a glitching noise, then lunged back toward Seol Ha-woon, throwing a punch. He was fast enough to leave afterimages.

Clang!

The giant's fist slammed into Seol Ha-woon's barrier. If Seol Ha-woon had been an ordinary spellcaster, this sequence would have ended with him barely managing to defend against the attack.

But immediately after, a fountain of blood erupted from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠giant instead. Magic Bullets were embedded all over his body.

"...Huh?"

Multiple bullets had materialized in the blink of an eye. An awl-like trajectory piercing every vital spot.

Lee Si-ah was dumbfounded.

"What..." the assailant gasped.

Naturally, the opponent who had just been struck by Seol Ha-woon seemed equally bewildered.

"...What kind of monster—"

Seol Ha-woon placed a finger right between the eyes of the coughing, blood-spitting man.

And then...

Boom!

The exact details of the death were edited out. But given the shotgun-like blast, his head had likely exploded entirely.

It was different. From this scene onward, something was fundamentally different.

Lee Si-ah's heart trembled. It was a gut feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

Suddenly, memories of Seol Ha-woon's beginning flashed through her mind.

96th out of 96 participants. Dead last.

Then, the typical villain of a survival show.

And finally, the meme known as Je-Mal-Olh.

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