Chapter 146: Mental Illness
Chapter 146: Mental Illness
“Please… save me.”
As I approached the female User who had collapsed to the ground, the first words she said to me were a plea to be saved. For a moment, I looked down at Ahn Soyeon with indifferent eyes. Then, letting my sword hang loosely, I slowly bent my knees. When our eyes met at the same level, I saw her flinch and shrink back once more. Looking at the terrified archer, I spoke in a calm voice.
“Do you want to live?”
“Yes…”
Though she gave a weak nod, her voice seemed to carry a strong desire for survival. I had planned to leave one of them alive from the start, as I had a few questions about the Vagabonds’ actions. With that in mind, I even offered a faint smile and continued speaking slowly.
“I have a few things I’d like to ask. Will you answer them?”
“What things…? I’ll answer everything.”
“Good. You’re smart. Then I’ll ask. How are the Vagabonds here right now? And why go through all this trouble instead of just attacking us directly?”
“That’s…”
At my question, I saw Ahn Soyeon swallow hard. Soon after, she moistened her lips and began to answer my questions one by one in a trembling voice.
“Hmm.”
After hearing Ahn Soyeon’s answers, I fell into thought for a moment. It didn’t seem like she was lying.
First, they weren’t entirely Vagabonds. To be precise, they were people with one foot in the world of Users and the other in the world of Vagabonds. They usually acted like regular Users, but when necessary, they would resort to acting like Vagabonds. It seemed a warrant for their arrest hadn't been issued yet. In the best light, they were resourceful; in the worst, they were utterly vicious.
The answer to my second question was even more absurd. These people had been watching us for much longer than I’d expected. They had even found out that we were Year 0 Users who had recently graduated from the User Academy. They decided to make their move after seeing us upgrade our equipment each time we returned from a couple of caravan expeditions.
“We were trying to find out if you had any special ability or method for making the caravan trips so successful. That’s why we went for Joohyun-unni…”
“So you’re saying if I did have an expedition-related ability, you would have killed everyone but me?”
“……”
Ahn Soyeon answered by avoiding my gaze. I let out a deep sigh and stood up. At that, she looked up at me again, her expression pleading.
“So… are you going to let me live?”
I paused for a moment, pondering. How should I kill her? I never had any intention of letting her live. In that instant, a good idea came to mind, and I nodded. I raised a finger, pointed in one direction, and spoke.
“Well, you answered my questions faithfully. But you have to leave your weapon and run in that direction. You’ll probably have to run for your life. Otherwise…”
I intentionally trailed off, and a flicker of life returned to Ahn Soyeon’s eyes. Her movements were indeed quite agile. It seemed she instinctively knew what she had to do to survive. The moment I said something positive, she immediately got to her feet, as if afraid I might change my mind. Just as I’d instructed, she gently placed her weapon on the ground, then steadied her trembling legs and started moving in the direction I had pointed.
Ahn Soyeon kept glancing back at me as she went, but as soon as she saw that I was still standing in the same spot, she broke into a light jog. Watching her disappear into the dark undergrowth, I took a cigarette from my pocket and placed it between my lips. I’ll follow after I finish this one.
Ssss. Sssss.
Aack. Aaaack.
It seemed I wouldn’t need to follow after all. Just as the tip of my cigarette began to burn, a faint scream echoed from somewhere up ahead. After taking a couple of drags and exhaling the smoke, I saw a single, ink-black silhouette push through the bushes and re-enter the clearing. The figure casually held up a dangling head, then dropped it onto the ground with a thud. A quick glance revealed Ahn Soyeon’s cleanly severed neck. I let out a dry laugh and took another satisfying drag of my cigarette. So she didn’t make it after all. Not that I ever planned on letting her live.
“Seriously. Did you do that on purpose? So I’d have to kill her?”
When I said nothing, a grumbling voice cut through the air. The speaker was Ko Yeonju. I just shrugged at her question and calmly closed my eyes. The slight dizziness from the cigarette felt surprisingly good. The frustration that had been weighing on my mind, whether I realized it or not, completely vanished, leaving only the refreshing feeling of having dealt with the Vagabonds.
After savoring the afterglow for a moment, I finally spoke in a cheerful voice.
“I left one for you, didn’t I? You should at least get a taste.”
“Whatever. Anyway, you really made a scene. I never thought you’d go this far…”
After her curt reply, she looked around and let out a deep breath. I followed her gaze and saw the Vagabonds scattered across the ground. The highlight was, without a doubt, the mage User, his limbs severed and an arrow embedded in his neck. Ko Yeonju’s eyes lingered there for a long time. An awkward silence fell between us, but soon she broke it with a faint smile.
“Did you really have to go that far? And that girl looked so young, too. Oh, of course, I’m the one who killed her, but it felt like you were telling me to do it.”
“Something like that. For the record, I have a few mottos I live by, and one of them is, ‘Under no circumstances do you compromise with Vagabonds.’ In any case, if you hadn’t killed her, I would have done it myself.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. Still, there’s such a disconnect between how you are now and how you usually treat the others.”
At her words, I let out a small laugh and spoke softly.
“Heh. Are you disappointed?”
Ko Yeonju fell silent for a moment. She gazed at me intently, her expression unreadable. I met her stare calmly, then removed the cigarette from my lips and tapped the ash off with my fingertips.
A moment later, a deep smile spread across her face as her lips slowly parted.
*
The next morning, I ordered the group to pack up camp and calmly unfolded the map. It looked like we could reach the Cave of Screams in another two or three days. As I hummed a tune and studied the route, I sensed someone approaching me from the side.
“Soohyun. Did something good happen?”
“Hm? Oh, Hayeon. What do you mean, something good?”
The person who had come to my side was Jung Hayeon. With the same bright face as always, she lightly took my arm. (Though she linked her arm with mine, it was more like a gentle hold on my elbow.) She studied my face for a moment before squeezing my arm a couple of times, her tone curious.
“You look so relaxed and at ease today. Just like when I first met you.”
“Haha. I guess I looked a little different until yesterday?”
“Yes. I debated whether I should say anything. Ever since we left on the expedition, you seemed frustrated about something, and a little anxious and uneasy.”
I maintained a calm expression on the outside, but I winced internally. I’d been realizing it lately, but it was as if women had some kind of radar for reading a man’s mind. How did they notice these things so uncannily? It was possible someone in the group already knew that Hayeon and I had slept together and made love. At least one of them might. As a cold sweat was about to break out on my back at the sudden thought, I heard Vivian grumbling beside me.
“Ugh?! What the heck? Why is my bag so heavy!”
“……”
“Heave-ho… Dammit. This is weird. I swear it was light yesterday.”
Vivian kept grumbling as she readjusted her backpack, while Ko Yeonju shot me a subtle smile. There was no reason to leave the Vagabonds’ bodies as they were after dealing with them last night. Some of them had been wearing decent-quality gear, so we stripped them of everything but the damaged equipment. And all of that gear had been shoved into Vivian’s bag.
Yesterday… no, should I say early this morning? It’s confusing. In any case, I thought of the girl named Ahn Soyeon. Normally, one would think, she’s a girl who should have been spending her beautiful high school days in the modern world. But no such thoughts crossed my mind. I only weighed and measured her stats, her abilities, and her chances of survival.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a little disappointed. Her stats were one thing, but she had a unique ability and other skills that made her a natural-born archer. Her tracking skills also seemed quite decent, and above all, the fact that our caravan currently lacked an archer was probably the biggest factor in my regret.
But in the end, I chose to kill her. That’s why I deliberately sent her toward the spot where Ko Yeonju was hiding, confident that she would kill her. Even if, by some chance, she didn’t, I was planning to follow and kill her myself. If she hadn’t been a Vagabond, I might have tried to recruit her somehow.
In any case, it was no longer my concern, so I cleanly put aside any lingering feelings and turned my attention back to the map. Of course, I didn’t forget to add one more thing to Hayeon.
“I was feeling a bit frustrated lately. But I’ve resolved it, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“I see. But what if I want to worry?”
“Hmm. In that case, you could give me a lap pillow later.”
“Hoho. You’re being naughty.”
“Hm? I was just asking for a lap pillow. What’s so naughty about that?”
“Oh my. Would you still say that if you were thinking about the lap pillow at the laboratory?”
Hayeon poked me in the side and gave me a playful glare. At a loss for words, I just looked more closely at the map with an awkward expression. But I could tell that Jung Hayeon was smiling brightly beside me. She always maintained a calm and cool demeanor, but the fact that she only showed this pleasant smile to me gave me a strange feeling. It was a contradictory and incomprehensible emotion—a sense of relief mixed with a renewed stuffiness in a corner of my heart. I couldn’t shake the thought that it didn’t suit me.
“Orabeoniiii. We’ve finished packing up camp.”
“Hey! I was going to be the one to report that. Where does a pipsqueak like you get off stealing my line?”
“Waaah. Whoever says it first gets to report it!”
“Agh. You always know how to leave me speechless. In that case, take this!”
Watching Yoojung-ah pinch both of Sol’s cheeks and Ahn Sol flail her arms, I could finally let out a sigh. I folded the map and calmly ordered the group to fall into formation. The others didn’t know about my battle with the Vagabonds last night. They had simply slept soundly. And I had no intention of telling them we were being tailed.
The Rite of Passage set by the angels may have ended, but my own Rite of Passage was not over. Now, all that was left was to go to the Cave of Screams, and this would likely be the final practice run.
*
Before crossing the last mountain peak, we came face to face with a pack of monsters. They had several horns on their heads, the form of an ostrich, and powerful leg muscles. They were Radolofs. A single Radolof wasn’t a particularly difficult monster. However, considering our current mountainous terrain, the fact that they lived in groups, and their high mobility, they were not to be taken lightly.
The Radolofs before us had all three of these conditions met. Back in the first run, some Users had tried to tame and ride Radolofs, but they were so wary of humans that it was nearly impossible. These Radolofs, in particular, were on high alert at our sudden appearance.
A Radolof can have anywhere from one to four horns. The fewer the horns, the younger the creature. Several three- and four-horned adults were circling a single one-horned juvenile at the center. This was a fight we could not avoid—and had no intention of avoiding. I immediately raised my hand, signaling everyone to prepare for battle.
“They’re Radolofs. They probably think we’ve invaded their territory. I see a few young ones, so they might be much rougher than usual. Be careful; the impact will be significant if they charge and ram you with their horns. And this time, we’re absolutely using a defensive formation. Please don’t act rashly.”
That last part was aimed at Yoojung-ah. At my command, I heard the sound of everyone quickly drawing their weapons, and I gave Hayeon an additional order.
“Hayeon. Can you use Spear-type magic with Rapid Fire?”
At my question, she tilted her head but answered readily.
“Rapid Fire? It’s a fairly high-level applied spell, but it’s possible. However, it’s mostly used for a one-hit kill. It’s powerful, but it puts a huge strain on both stamina and magic power.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Just do as much as you can. Use the element you’re most confident with.”
Hayeon nodded at my words. As she began to chant, she started forming hand signs with one hand. A blue light began to glow from her staff, and her necklace also shimmered. It seemed she was planning to do something big this time.
No, you don’t have to go that far.