Chapter 29: Why Are You Doing This?
Chapter 29: Why Are You Doing This?
'I'm saying this just in case, but are you all heading for the Warp Gate in the very center?'
'You won't make it.'
'I'm not just saying that. Don't go. We managed to get near the Warp Gate just two days ago. But we failed. With only 300 meters left to go.'
'Why? Because we just paced around anxiously before finally deciding to retreat. If only we had made that decision a little sooner… Jintae…'
'You know the conditions for survival, right? It would be better to just endure for seven days. You can't face that thing. Absolutely not. If it hadn't been for Jintae back then, we all would've been killed by that monster, trapped and helpless. Even though we were quite a distance away, that monster stared right at where we were.'
'That monster is…'
*
A Boss Monster appeared if someone remained at a Point beyond its designated time limit. There was also a random-appearance condition, but that could not be predicted. Honestly, I was more surprised that Woo Jungmin’s group had reached the vicinity of the Warp Gate in only three days than by the news that a Boss Monster had appeared there.
Then again, Woo Jungmin and Seon Yuun would later become famous throughout the Hall Plain, so it was not entirely incomprehensible. Won Hyesoo’s wailing face suddenly came to mind. She had cursed me, but it did not particularly bother me.
I knew all too well the grief of losing someone precious. I had been the same. After losing my brother and her, I had gone mad for a time. If all the blood I got on my hands during that period were gathered together, it could have filled several puddles.
“Ahn Hyun.”
As we were walking, I heard Lee Yoojung call out to Ahn Hyun. When Ahn Hyun looked up, she spoke to him in an unusually quiet voice.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“…For saving me earlier. Thank you.”
Ahn Hyun tilted his head, then seemed to remember and nodded with an “Aha.”
“Anyway, that temper of yours is the problem. You need to learn to control it. It’s a good thing I was wary of that guy from the start, otherwise you would’ve taken a dagger to the forehead, no questions asked.”
“But he was so infuriating!”
“Even so. Try treating other people with half the kindness you show Soohyun-hyung. Or try being even half as good-natured as Hanbyul. What good is a pretty face when your personality is complete garbage?”
“Pr-pretty? Really…? Ah… H-hmph! Soohyun-oppa works hard because of us, so that’s different. Anyway, when I hate something, I hate it.”
Yoojung blushed at Ahn Hyun’s comment about her being pretty and whipped her head away so sharply it almost made a sound. Ahn Hyun’s eyes widened at her unexpectedly girlish(?) behavior. Even this was considerable progress. I had worried that they would start another argument, but fortunately the moment passed without one.
Just then, Ahn Sol, who had been listening to their conversation, gripped Ahn Hyun’s sleeve tightly. Ahn Hyun automatically reached out and gently stroked her hair. As Ahn Sol beamed, Lee Yoojung’s eyes narrowed. Only the dense Ahn Hyun, oblivious to the subtle power struggle surrounding him, continued to diligently scan our surroundings as we moved forward. Seriously, why are all popular guys so damn dense? Tsk, tsk.
After walking diligently for some time, we found a Save Point near sunset. We hadn’t encountered a single monster on the way. The others celebrated our good luck, but it wasn’t entirely good news.
Ever since leaving the forest, aside from our brief stay in the city, we had been constantly plagued by monster attacks. It was so bad that Ahn Sol didn't even scream at the sight of the Mangki corpses anymore. Of course, I had intentionally led us into encounters with monsters, but in any case, the party was now getting a reward for all their hardship.
The territory surrounding the Warp Gate was inhabited by monsters with a certain degree of intelligence. Our defeat of five Mangki, among the strongest monsters in the Rite of Passage, supported that. Those creatures would know that our party had killed countless monsters; their keen noses would detect the metallic smell of blood clinging to us.
That was what I had thought, at least. But after speaking with Woo Jungmin, I changed my mind. If a Boss Monster had appeared and was roaming near the Warp Gate, no ordinary monster would be bold enough to operate beside the apex predator of the food chain.
In other words, if we encountered no monsters the next day either, there was a high chance that we, like Woo Jungmin’s party, would meet a Boss Monster before reaching the Warp Gate. The irony was obvious. We had left the city specifically to avoid a Boss Monster, only to risk meeting another.
Of course, there was a difference between the two situations. If we had stayed in the city, we would have encountered it 100% of the time, but if we went now, the probability was unpredictable.
After thinking for a while, another question occurred to me. A Boss Monster had definite appearance conditions, and we were not the only survivors in the Rite of Passage. Multiple groups could surely satisfy those conditions at the same time. What would happen then? Adding the assumption that a Boss Monster was highly likely to appear near the Warp Gate made the situation even more complicated.
It struck me that I knew almost nothing about the Rite of Passage. I had spent ten years struggling through the Hall Plain and had researched nearly everything there, but the Rite was different. I retained only fragments of things Users had occasionally mentioned as jokes. It was not enough to make my chest feel tight, but the nagging unease would not go away.
How much time had passed? After walking for a while, we finally found a Point.
“It has a yellow roof. It looks like a cabin.”
“Thank goodness we found one today, too. It’s a bit early, but let’s rest here for the night. That’s okay, right, Hyung?”
“‘Do not stay for more than one day.’ The warning is here, too. Anyway, it looks better than the last place. Right, Oppa?”
“I’m going in first. I want to wash up quickly. And change my clothes. Hehe.”
“……”
“Hyung?”
“Oppa?”
“Huh? Oh, right. Let’s do that.”
As I hastily nodded, everyone looked at me with strange expressions. I shook my head, signaling that it was nothing.
I watched the others chatter again after briefly studying my face and sighed inwardly. Immature brats. This was why moving in a group was inconvenient. If I had traveled alone, I would already have entered the Hall Plain. Worrying now would not produce a brilliant solution, so I set the issue aside. At the same time, I realized how much I had relaxed.
Back when I knew nothing, if a problem directly related to survival arose, I couldn't sit still for a moment and would desperately try to come up with a plan. But not now. The mindset that if things went south, I'd just cut down anything in my way was now deeply ingrained in me.
“Oppa, what are you doing? We’re going in first!”
“…I’m coming.”
I walked forward calmly as Yoojung waved at me with a bright smile. For the moment, I wanted to leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow.
*
The night deepened. I was sitting on the steps leading up to the cabin entrance, standing watch. The night watch was no longer just Ahn Hyun and me. The four of us—me, Ahn Hyun, Kim Hanbyul, and Lee Yoojung—took turns. We didn't have an exact rotation schedule; when someone felt enough time had passed, they would switch with the next person.
Lee Yoojung had taken the first watch, followed by me. Hanbyul was third and Ahn Hyun last. Each person was supposed to stand watch for roughly two hours, yet less than an hour had passed by my estimation when Lee Yoojung began pestering me to switch. The way she repeatedly avoided my eyes while speaking showed that even she knew how shameless the request was.
When I habitually slipped a hand into my pocket, I found a chocolate bar. I decided to humor her and was about to go outside when Yoojung, apparently feeling guilty, shoved it into my hand. She must have secretly set it aside. We had no shortage of food or drinks, so I said nothing. It was almost time to trade places with Hanbyul anyway, and eating the bar before going inside seemed reasonable.
Just as I was about to tear open the wrapper, a can of coffee was suddenly thrust toward my right cheek. I turned my head to see Kim Hanbyul leaning over, staring at me intently.
“Hiding something like that and eating it all by yourself.”
“…Yoojung gave it to me.”
“That unni doesn’t usually share her sweets, especially chocolate.”
“She didn’t keep to her watch time. I guess she felt bad for whining and gave it to me.”
At my words, Kim Hanbyul gave a wry smile and sat down next to me. I broke the chocolate bar in half and offered it to her, and she readily accepted it.
“Thank you for the food.”
“And thank you for the drink.”
Kim Hanbyul was also treating me much more comfortably than before. She wasn't as bubbly as Lee Yoojung, and there was still some distance between us, but it felt like it had lessened a bit. However, among the group, we were still the only ones who used formal speech with each other. It had been that way from the beginning, and now it felt like an unspoken agreement between us.
“What were you thinking about so deeply that you had such a look on your face? You didn’t even seem to notice I was here.”
I knew. I was only pretending not to. I kept that to myself, took a sip of coffee, and answered.
“Haha, I must have been spacing out. But you said I had a look on my face?”
“Yes. After you spoke with that man this afternoon, you seemed to become a bit stiff. Or am I wrong….”
Was that so? I thought I had kept my expression calm. As I unconsciously touched my face, Kim Hanbyul added in her usual composed tone.
“By the way, what did you talk about back then?”
“…It was nothing important.”
“I’m not the only one who noticed. Hyun-oppa, Yoojung-unni, and Sol are all quietly worried. You’ve barely spoken since then.”
“I was just lost in thought. Everything will work out. I’m sure of it. And even if something does happen, it will be resolved. So don’t worry too much.”
With that, I finished the chocolate bar and the rest of the coffee in one go. For some reason, the more I talked with her, the more strongly memories of her surfaced. I wanted to get away quickly. So I told her to take care of the watch and was just about to turn and climb the stairs.
“Wait a moment. There’s still something I want to ask.”
In novels, comics, and dramas, the other person usually lets the male protagonist leave without a fuss in situations like this. Why wouldn’t she? Sensing that another of Kim Hanbyul’s interrogations was about to begin, I screamed inwardly. Ahn Hyun had originally been scheduled after me, and I had felt something strange when Hanbyul insisted on taking the watch instead. I opened my mouth with the gentlest expression I could manage.
“I’m a bit tired. If you don’t mind, could we do this tomorrow? I’d like to go in and get some sleep.”
“I want to hear it now.”
“I’m not going to run away, you know.”
The atmosphere grew steadily more serious. I tried to defuse it with a joke, but it had no effect. Kim Hanbyul once again wore the cold expression from when we first met as she stared at me. Once more, the other woman’s face overlapped hers. I unconsciously looked away.
“I have a feeling that if I don’t ask today, I’ll never be able to ask again.”
“Ah, you mean what we talked about then? It was really nothing. What it was, was…”
“Oppa.”
I shut my mouth instantly. Was it simply because she called me Oppa? No. I'm not some pervert who gets excited just from hearing the word Oppa.
“Soohyun-oppa. That isn’t what I want to ask.”
Kim Hanbyul’s face was still cold and serene, but it gave off a different impression than usual. She was angry. She stared me straight in the eyes, her aura demanding that I not run away, that I stay right here. I realized then that she was being completely serious. In response, my own expression hardened, and I met her gaze with calm eyes. Only then did she begin to speak.