Chapter 224: Misunderstanding Breeds Misunderstanding
Chapter 224: Misunderstanding Breeds Misunderstanding
“Right. The Summoning Room… I suppose that is what you would call it. After waking there, the angels guided us into the Rite of Passage. When I came to my senses, I saw Yuna, and several others were sitting in a circle in a clearing.”
Baek Hangyul began to speak in a quiet voice. Though he stumbled over his words slightly, I listened to his clear account and pictured the scene in my head.
“There were several people there. Even though we’d been given an explanation, everyone was confused and anxious. But among them, there was one man who was unusually calm. He stepped into the center of the trembling crowd and instantly drew everyone’s attention. That was my first meeting with Park Hwanhee.”
Baek Hangyul gritted his teeth as he mentioned Park Hwanhee’s name, then let out a small breath.
“And…”
To be honest, his story of the first and second days was nothing special. It was just about Park Hwanhee leading the people, escaping the forest, finding a point, and meeting other survivors to team up with them. The only notable part was how Park Hwanhee’s leadership had shone through it all.
“That was how we survived the second day. Until then, everyone, including me, trusted Park Hwanhee completely. We believed he could lead us to safety. Even in that hell, while everyone was mentally unstable, we endured because we wanted to live and still had hope that we could. Park Hwanhee stood at the center of that hope. Then, after those two hellish days, Day 3 began.”
From what he said next, it seemed they had encountered a total of three groups of survivors after their initial one in the clearing. Park Hwanhee had managed to absorb all of them into his team. The justification he gave was likely that they should join forces to survive, and his unique ability, Charisma, must have played a part.
As long as you could manage any discord, increasing your numbers wasn’t a bad idea. After all, every additional person meant more combat power.
However, setting aside the issue of discord, there was a more critical problem in the Rite of Passage: the food shortage. It might have been manageable with one or two teams, but with four teams combined, the food at a single point would have barely covered one or two meals, let alone a full day.
“At the time, our team had a very high ratio of men. We saved as much food as we could, but it was barely enough for everyone to get by. Strangely, we met a lot of survivors during the second day. But on the other hand, we had only found a single point by then. We tried to hold out, but on the third day, we finally ran out of food.”
“Then you would have needed to find more food.”
“Yes. Until then, Park Hwanhee had always prioritized safety, except when we had to venture deeper inside, but even he finally said we had to search for food, even if it meant going far. He called for volunteers to go out and search. But with monsters crawling all over the place, who would have wanted to volunteer? Even I was reluctant at first. But then, something surprising happened.”
“Surprising?”
Baek Hangyul nodded at my question and immediately spoke. The surprising thing he mentioned was none other than Park Hwanhee being the first to volunteer.
“Everyone was unhappy about the food, but they still trusted Park Hwanhee. He had been an excellent leader, and the results had not been bad. Moved by his willingness to sacrifice himself, people began volunteering one by one. Yuna and I were among them.”
“So you volunteered to go gather food.”
“Yes. I was one of the younger men, and Yuna was one of the few women. It is embarrassing, but we were practically dead weight. I was conscious of how the others saw us, and I wanted to help somehow.”
Baek Hangyul’s response was, in its own way, appropriate. When a large group of people gathers in a place where survival is paramount, like the Rite of Passage, some kind of complaint is bound to erupt at some point. And the arrows of that discontent tend to be aimed at those who contribute the least to the team. I organized my thoughts and continued to focus on his words.
With Park Hwanhee volunteering first, they were able to form a search party. Nearly ten people, heavily armed with the weapons they had acquired, set out to find food. Fortunately, after exploring for half a day, they found a new point. There, Baek Hangyul said, they found enough food to last a day, though it wasn't much.
“We decided to remember that location. The save point we found on the second day had a rule that you couldn't stay for more than a day. We considered leaving a few people behind, but we thought it would be better to move together, so we divided the food among us and decided to head back to where we came from.”
“Ah. A save point. You were lucky to figure out a rule like that.”
“Yes. Park Hwanhee had checked all those details meticulously. Anyway, on our way back, someone raised a question. The safety of a save point only lasts for a day. Since it took us half a day to find food, they must have thought that considering the time we spent in the morning, the people waiting for us could be in danger. Park Hwanhee thought it made sense, and after much deliberation, he decided to change course.”
“Changed course… hmm.”
“We had gone around the mountain on the way there, but we decided to cross straight over it on the way back. That would significantly shorten the half-day journey.”
He’s insane. No, if they’d experienced the forest, they should have wanted to avoid a route like that at all costs.
As if answering my unspoken question, Baek Hangyul continued.
“Of course, the people who started in the forest were reluctant to enter. They argued that we should retrace our steps, even if it took a little longer… But there was no guarantee that path would be safe either, and everyone’s nerves were on edge and we were all a bit exhausted. We were also reasonably well-armed, and we figured we could hold out with the food we had in a worst-case scenario. In the end, we entered the mountain. And it turned out to be the worst possible choice.”
Baek Hangyul, who had been speaking nonstop, finally paused. His face was filled with gloom, as if he still hadn’t shaken off the trauma from that time. I took the opportunity to make him another one of the drinks I’d made earlier. When I handed him the cup overflowing with foam, Baek Hangyul took it with a slightly brighter expression.
After taking a sip of the drink, he spoke in a low voice.
“I still don’t know how all those monsters gathered. Suddenly, some monkey-like creatures started chasing us, and then they started snatching us away one by one, as if they were playing with us. Three people were taken by the monsters in a row, and only then did we grasp the situation and start running for our lives. The screams from behind us as we fled… were truly horrifying.”
“You didn’t think to fight?”
“I don’t know. No, honestly, I don’t think we could have. The moment Park Hwanhee, who was at the very front, started running, we all followed him frantically. That was the first time I saw him look so desperate. He kept muttering to himself as he ran forward; thinking back now, I think it might have been curses. We kept running like that, but our comrades disappeared one by one. Some were caught by those monkeys, and others must have fallen while running in a panic. By the time we were halfway over the mountain, our group, which had started with ten people, was down to just five.”
“And three of them were Park Hwanhee, you, and your girlfriend?”
“Yes. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Yuna and I were in the middle of the group under the pretext of protection, so we survived to the end. The Mangkis had already taken more than five people, but they remained relentless. Once we crossed the summit and started downhill, however, we finally began to gain speed.”
“Still, it would have been hard to shake off the Mangkis. They’re really good at navigating mountains.”
At the word “Mangkis,” Baek Hangyul tilted his head for a moment. But then, as if something clicked, his expression changed to one of understanding.
“Mangkis? Oh, those monkeys. Yes. They no longer toyed with us as before, but I could feel them steadily closing the distance. Yuna had poor stamina and kept falling behind. I pulled her along and barely kept up with Park Hwanhee ahead of us. As she slowed us down, I shouted for him to wait and help. He must have heard, because he gradually slowed. I thought he truly was a leader and felt enormously grateful. Then something unbelievable happened.”
“Unbelievable?”
At my question, Baek Hangyul paused again. He repeatedly squeezed his eyes shut and opened them, as if forcing himself to recall the moment precisely. After the third or fourth time, he spoke each word clearly through gritted teeth.
“Yes. Park Hwanhee slowed down, came alongside me, and stuck out a foot to trip me while I was running—so subtly that no one else could notice.”
“What… did you say?”
“I fell reflexively, and Yuna crashed to the ground and rolled with me. Naturally, the Mangkis turned their attention to us. Park Hwanhee used the opening to accelerate and race ahead like an arrow.”
“What about the other people?”
“Despicably, the moment our screams drew everyone’s attention, Park Hwanhee reached an arm toward us. He pretended to look conflicted, then turned and ran. But I still remember the mocking eyes with which he looked at me one last time.”
Baek Hangyul finished and calmly drank. Perhaps the repeated drinks had helped, because his voice remained composed even while recounting the crucial moment. His eyes, however, blazed with anger.
I watched Baek Hangyul for a moment and decided to gently probe him. This wasn’t a question I asked because I truly wanted to know, but rather a kind of test. However, before I could even open my mouth, a cold voice shot toward Baek Hangyul from my side.
“I have a question.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Kim Hanbyul was staring at Baek Hangyul with her usual sharp eyes. It was as if her old personality had resurfaced for a moment; she seemed to have realized something didn’t add up.
“Assuming what you said is true, how did you survive among those monsters? If you fell, the pursuing Mangkis should have targeted you first.”
“Th-that’s…”
Baek Hangyul’s gaze dropped from Kim Hanbyul’s face to her chest. The moment he saw the golden lion emblem shining above her beautifully formed breasts, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
“It was just a stroke of luck… We barely made it out alive. I don’t remember it well.”
Hah. So Kim Hanbyul doesn’t believe him? Well, it doesn’t matter to me.
Kim Hanbyul frowned slightly at Baek Hangyul’s answer, then looked at me. Baek Hangyul also turned to me, apparently unsettled by her question. His gaze carried an unmistakable plea for me to believe him.
Kim Hanbyul spoke once more.
“It’s hard to just take your word for it, you know? You could be lying.”
“I-I’m not lying!”
“Then. Would you be willing to have a three-way meeting with this new User, Park Hwanhee? Are you confident enough?”
“I can! B-but…”
“Enough.”
What’s with her today?
For some reason, Kim Hanbyul’s tone suggested that she disliked Baek Hangyul. I did not know why, but I stopped their argument and signaled Hanbyul to watch her mouth and stay out of it.
After receiving my signal, Kim Hanbyul fell silent, a subtly frustrated look on her face. When I turned my gaze back to Baek Hangyul, he was biting his lip, his eyes welling up with tears. He looked back and forth between me and Kim Hanbyul, then took a deep breath and opened his mouth.