Chapter 228
Even trying not to think about it, the thoughts kept creeping back in. Han Yaseong was drowning in extreme stress and sexual frustration—his cock twitching insistently. But there wasn't a woman with a pussy anywhere nearby.
"Maybe I should just bring Senior Choi Yujin here."
With her around, he could fuck anytime. Even out in the open like this, or in the woods. The idea of dragging her to this world started to appeal to him. After dying and coming back to life, this place didn't feel all that precious anymore. What was the point if he ended up dead? Whether it got colonized, destroyed—it was all the same to him. He'd only fight to protect it if he was still breathing; if he died, he couldn't care less if the whole world went up in flames.
To Han Yaseong, this world was worth less than his own life. His survival came first, always.
"But what the hell happened to that bastard Yadong?"
Back at the shelter, he still wasn't there. Had he really gotten eaten by something? The thought left a bitter taste. If he was truly gone, Han Yaseong would be friendless in this place. Yadong had at least kept things from getting too boring. He might have to find a new Yadong.
For now, Han Yaseong grabbed a cream bun and a drink for breakfast, then wandered around the temple ruins. He was too lazy to dig today. Unraveling the gold bar's secret could wait—who knew when that would happen anyway? It was just tedious.
Then he froze.
"Oh shit, the gold bar!"
He frantically patted himself down, but of course it wasn't there. It had been in the pocket of yesterday's clothes. Han Yaseong bolted back to the shelter and rummaged through everything. Yesterday, he'd collected the real sword, crossbow, dagger—all of it. But the gold bar was missing. He must have left it on that clearing or dropped it somewhere.
His heart raced. Without it, exploring this world was over. Sooner or later, he'd have to hand the planet over to the colonizers.
He hurriedly geared up with weapons, but then his legs locked up. The terror from yesterday had seared itself into him—the shock still lingered in his body. He was scared to head back to that clearing in Forest 3. He'd died and come back... or had he? He still wasn't sure if he was truly alive or dead.
After agonizing over it, he decided to go anyway. He needed that gold bar. Without it, there was no escaping this world. No matter what happened—as long as he didn't die—he had to retrieve it.
"Damn it, fuck, shit..."
Grimacing, Han Yaseong grabbed his weapons and reluctantly sprinted toward Forest 3. He crept cautiously to the edge of the grass, peering at the clearing. Massive beasts roamed about. The monster bird's torn corpse was gone—scavengers like hyenas had picked it clean, leaving only bloodstains and feathers.
He hid in the brush for ages, scanning the area, but no gold bar. Maybe some beast had carried it off, or it got kicked away underfoot. Han Yaseong waited, crouched low, until the giant creatures finally wandered elsewhere. He glanced at the sky—no monster birds—then dashed out, scouring every inch of the ground.
"Where the hell is it?"
He started at the spot where the bird's body had been, sifting through feathers and bloodstains by hand. Nothing. He checked everywhere, but the gold bar was nowhere to be found.
"Fuck... shit!"
It felt like he'd lost it forever. Han Yaseong's frustration boiled over. He'd combed the whole area—nothing but empty air. He stood there on the clearing, dazed and lost. Without the gold bar, it was all over. His connection to this world was severed. Once the colonizers arrived, there'd be no stopping them.
How had things come to this? Rage simmered inside him—he could barely contain it. All because of that damned monster bird. It had ruined everything.
Motivation drained, Han Yaseong trudged back toward the brush, limp and defeated. Without the gold bar to unlock the giants' mystery, there was nothing left to do here. Too dangerous to explore. He'd be stuck wandering Forest 0 and Forest 1 for the rest of his life. The vast clearing of Forest 3 was off-limits.
He felt the greatest opportunity of his life slipping away, and depression settled in heavy.
Back at the Forest 0 shelter, he collapsed onto the bedding, utterly spent. It was done. No more exploring, no more anything. One monster bird, and now he didn't even know if he was dead or alive— venturing elsewhere was out of the question. There were probably countless threats as deadly as that bird. Without extra lives, it was suicide.
All drive vanished, leaving him hollow. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. So close, so unfair.
That night, he lay there without eating or drinking, staring blankly.
He had no idea what to do next. Digging was pointless now. Even if he unearthed something without the gold bar, it was useless. To think everything could crumble in an instant—it was unbelievable.
"Yeah, that's just how the world works..."
Things had gone too smoothly. He'd felt like the protagonist in some sci-fi flick, everything falling into place. But that overconfidence had backfired, costing him the one thing that mattered.
Why had he gone hunting yesterday? Why hadn't he spotted the monster bird in the sky? Why carry the gold bar in his pocket? Regrets piled up.
His chest ached—he wanted a drink. Night fell, and the portal appeared, but he had no urge to go back. Even sex sounded unappealing. The shock of losing the gold bar had killed every ounce of motivation.
"Oh, right... Yadong..."
He must've been devoured by some carnivore. No way he'd still be missing otherwise. Gold bar gone, Yadong eaten... everything lost. Despair crushed him.
Exhausted, Han Yaseong drifted into sleep.
He dreamed. Suddenly a giant, he grabbed the monster bird with both hands and tore it apart. The dream shifted: as he lay broken from the bird's attack, golden armor-like substance formed over his body. Then another change—something floated before his eyes. An unknown material. He felt confused, unable to identify it, when he jolted awake.
"Huh?"
He opened his eyes to the shelter. He'd been dreaming, that much was clear. But why such a weird dream? Had something like that actually happened? No clue.
It was just a dream, probably. Him turning giant and shredding the bird, golden armor appearing out of nowhere, some mysterious substance floating around—total nonsense.
But something nagged at him. It was unlikely, but his current situation was inexplicable too. He'd taken a fatal blow from the monster bird, yet no death, no wounds. How to explain that? That's why he still wasn't sure if he was alive or dead.
He had no idea how the injuries had healed. If he wasn't dead, maybe a forest fairy had saved him, or some mystical power. But both seemed improbable. If fairies existed, he'd have seen them by now. And if there was mystical power, why wait until the brink of death?
A slim possibility: the gold bar did it. But that lacked realism too—especially since he didn't have it anymore.
Maybe it absorbed into him at the last moment, granting superhuman strength and healing. Pure speculation, though, with little basis.
"What the hell is going on..."
Han Yaseong felt exhausted, head throbbing. Not knowing what happened back then was maddening. He stepped out to the stream, drank deeply. His bowels loosened—toxins purged. Watching that, he knew one thing: he was alive.
"You don't shit yourself after dying, right?"
And he was hungry. Dead people don't get hungry. Whatever the reason, he felt alive, not dead.
For now, being alive was enough. As long as he didn't die, the rest didn't matter. He just needed to get back to the other world. He'd never return here. Grab the remaining gems and leave forever.
He'd nearly died—miraculously survived. No desire to come back.
"Yeah, let's go. Never coming back."
Tonight, through the portal, back home—and done. No more Yadong anyway... no point sticking around in boredom. He had plans to meet Reina next Monday, but whatever. No interest in exploring anymore. Whether she brought friends or an investigation team, he didn't care. She didn't have his address or number anyway—she couldn't track him down.
Feeling strangely relieved in his resignation, Han Yaseong returned to the shelter. He dumped instant foods into the pot and boiled them vigorously. No coming back, so he loaded it up with the good stuff. He even heated rice packs with hot water.
He sat there blankly, staring at the stew bubbling over the campfire, when something rustled at the shelter entrance. He looked—and there was Yadong.