Chapter 318: Reunion & Return
Chapter 318: Reunion & Return
On the way back, I occasionally checked on the state of the Vagabonds. A cold air now flowed between the seven who remained.
The potion I had given Baek Seoyeon contained exactly enough to save two people. The Users she chose were her confidants, Lee Gain and Lee Haein.
I wondered what Jung Hyunwoo and Shin Ayoung were thinking as they died. And I wondered what the remaining Vagabonds felt as they watched.
The answer was clear. After that night, every one of them, except for Baek Seoyeon and the two she saved, expressed their wish to change their allegiance. And with that, Baek Seoyeon’s spirit was definitively broken. As vicious as she was, the memory of that day’s game seemed to linger, for she wore a dark expression from beginning to end.
At first, the other Users seemed to find it strange that the number of Vagabonds had decreased. But the priest must have explained things well, because they soon began to act as I’d wanted.
If one thing changed after that, it was that the Users’ harassment became focused on Baek Seoyeon and her confidants. It was hard to say the other four were treated well, but the bullying they endured lessened considerably, and they were given their normal rations of food and water.
And now, we were walking along the road, maintaining a loose formation. We had left the forest and the subsequent prairie three days ago. The region that followed the overgrown grasslands was a barren wasteland. In contrast to the prairie, a rough and desolate landscape with not a single blade of grass unfolded before our eyes.
The wide-open space was no different from the prairie, but I was able to relax a little after entering the sandy plains. This was a place I clearly remembered, so I could navigate with the same old familiarity. Thus, I pushed us onward, marching relentlessly except for essential rests. As a result, we reached the midpoint of the wasteland, a place called the ‘King’s Tomb,’ faster than expected.
“Whoa.”
“Woooow. Wow.”
Ahn Sol and the young assassin Koo Yeji let out cries of admiration as they gazed upon the excavated ruins. The King’s Tomb was fundamentally structured like a Pentagram (a five-pointed star shape symbolizing holiness), and the sanctuary rising in its center possessed a grandeur reminiscent of a pyramid.
Ahn Sol whispered with Koo Yeji for a while before scurrying over to me. With a question mark practically floating over her head, she asked me a question.
“Orabeoni. Orabeoni. I have a question.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“This is the King’s Tomb that your older brother discovered, right? But… how come something so huge was never found before?”
“Ah. That’s simple. Do you remember when we discovered Vivian’s dungeon?”
I threw the question back at her, and Ahn Sol blinked for a moment. But soon, the question mark seemed to turn into an exclamation point, a sign she had found the answer. She clapped her hands together with a sharp sound and replied.
“Ah! A Path Barrier!”
“That’s right. You’re so smart. But how did you know my brother discovered the King’s Tomb?”
I asked as I stroked her hair, and Ahn Sol squirmed, a bashful grin on her face.
“Hehe. S-Smart…? I just happened to read about it in a record I found when I snuck into Orabeoni’s room before… Hehehe.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
Come to think of it, things in my office had occasionally gone missing for a while now. But I hadn’t thought much of it. Honestly, the only things that disappeared were used teacups and the like, so I’d just assumed Ko Yeonju had cleaned them up.
I glanced over and saw Ahn Sol frozen stiff. Her face clearly read, “I’m panicking.”
“Uh, uh-buh-buh-buh.”
“Ahn Sol. You little…”
As I spoke in a stern voice, Ahn Sol clamped her mouth shut like a clam. It was a gesture that showed her resolute will to exercise her right to remain silent. In any case, I was about to take a step forward, intending to take this opportunity to teach her a firm lesson and fix her bad habit.
“Soohyun.”
It was then. I heard Ko Yeonju’s voice calling me. She had stopped walking and was turning her head this way and that.
“What is it?”
“W-Wait a moment.”
Ko Yeonju’s expression was uncharacteristically serious. She signaled for everyone to halt, then stared in one direction, her nervousness palpable. I immediately raised my magic power to sharpen my senses and activated both Sensing and Occupy in the direction she was looking.
Zing!
Hm?
At that moment, I felt the presence of an immense magical power within the range I had spread my senses as wide as possible. It was radiating its aura so explosively that I could feel a faint tingling in my body despite the distance.
“Ko Yeonju. Direction and distance.”
“The direction seems to be approaching from slightly to the east… No, it’s almost the same. It’s not a perfect match, but if we follow this road, we’ll definitely run into it. I can’t gauge the exact distance yet, but with magic this powerful… probably soon…”
“…”
“What should we do? The killing intent is too thick to just take this lightly.”
I fell into thought at Ko Yeonju’s words. I had chosen this path because it was the fastest way to Eden. Moreover, I knew that the King’s Tomb had already been cleared and had undergone a degree of stabilization. I had assumed it wouldn’t be very dangerous, but my prediction had been completely off.
Of course, other Users could be using this road, but the current state of affairs was chaotic, and the killing intent we felt was too thick to simply dismiss.
No, wait a minute. This magic is…
I had been about to order everyone to prepare for battle just in case, but I lowered my hand upon recognizing the familiar magic. Silently praying that I was wrong, I opened my mouth to address the Users.
“For now, we will move in the direction of the magic. I’ll take the lead, but you should all prepare yourselves in case something happens.”
After saying that, I quickened my pace in the direction of the magical presence.
“Unni. Thank you…”
“H-Huh?”
From behind me, I heard Ahn Sol let out a sigh of relief.
We walked at a brisk pace for about twenty minutes. It was around the time I felt the intensity of the magic and killing intent on my skin gradually strengthening.
Someone was rushing forward using wind magic, and I could see a rough cloud of dust swirling up ahead with my naked eyes. I stopped walking and quietly observed the center of the dust cloud. And just as I expected, I could confirm that someone was running toward us at an incredible speed.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I enhanced my vision to identify ‘someone’ and let out a deep sigh. I had prayed so hard that I was wrong…
The moment the person who had kicked up the dust cloud entered the vicinity, I quietly raised my hand. He glanced at me once and then shot past, leaving a trail of wind in his wake. I counted exactly three seconds in my head, and then the sound of magic and earth grinding against each other echoed all around.
“S-Soohyun?”
“…Haa.”
In that instant, the killing intent that had been pricking my skin just a moment ago vanished completely.
“Soohyun? Soohyun!”
“…Yeah.”
The one who had kicked up the dust was none other than my brother, Kim Yoohyun. I had prayed it wasn’t him, but he had mercilessly shattered my hopes.
“Soohyun…!”
“Hyung, wait a second.”
He looked like he was about to run over and hug me at any moment, so I stopped him in advance.
“I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere. So first, put down your outstretched arms.”
“Huh? O-Oh.”
There were too many eyes watching. I wanted to prevent the rumor, “Kim Yoohyun and Kim Soohyun have a brother complex,” from spreading. My brother hesitated for a moment before obediently lowering his left arm.
“Your right arm, too.”
“…”
Did you think I wouldn’t know you were about to pat my head again?
Perhaps feeling awkward at my cold reaction, my brother slowly lowered his right arm. But the way he stared at my head with such deep longing in his eyes made me wonder if it was coated in honey.
Finally, in front of everyone, my brother and I slowly closed the distance between us.
“Soohyun. Are you hurt anywhere? Huh?”
“Yeah. Besides being a little tired, I’m fine.”
“Phew… That’s a relief. Are you coming from Mule, then?”
“That’s right. But what are you doing here, Hyung?”
I wasn’t really expecting an answer. I already had a good idea, so I shot him a sharp glare. Sensing the thorns in my words, my brother quickly averted his gaze and cleared his throat.
“Soohyun. Why would you say that? That hurts. You said you were going to Mule… Then the incident happened, and I was worried about my little brother…”
“Hah… So, you think it was a good idea to come here all by yourself with no plan?”
“No. That’s not it…”
“Will you be quiet?”
Frustrated, I raised my voice, and my brother scratched his head with an embarrassed look.
What in the world was he thinking?
What if Ko Yeonju hadn’t noticed his magic? What if I hadn’t known he was coming, our paths had crossed, and he had entered Mule just like that?
The thought alone was horrifying. It was possible I could have lost my brother just like that, making my return to the 2nd playthrough meaningless.
I glared at him for a while before closing my eyes with a deep sigh. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. I felt like it was all my fault. If I had at least prepared a long-distance communication crystal, none of this would have happened.
“Are you in your right mind or not? Do you have any idea how many thousands of people are in there? What were you going to do, coming here all by yourself…?”
“Haha… Soohyun. I didn’t come alone.”
Wondering what he was talking about, I opened my eyes to see my brother pointing in one direction.
There, a group of Users was running toward us, out of breath.
*
“Gasp, pant, gasp, pant!”
“Hah, hah, hah, hah!”
The Users who had successfully escaped stared awkwardly at the newcomers who had collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. They must have run incredibly fast, as some of their faces were pale. Anyone who didn’t know the situation would have thought we were the rescue team.
I was just as bewildered. My brother hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t come alone. Just from a glance, I could see most of the Mercenary Clan members, the Haemil Clan members, and even Sung Hyunmin, the lord of the Han Clan.
“O-Oppa?”
“Pant, pant! S-Sol! H-Hyung! Gasp, pant!”
Ahn Sol’s eyes widened as she ran over, and Ahn Hyun barely managed to respond before he started gasping for breath again. I shot my brother another glare, but he was already looking at a distant mountain.
I sighed again and approached the clan members who were leaning on the ground. There were many Users, but the first people I noticed after my brother were my own clan members.
I walked over to a woman with faint blue-tinged hair who was bent over, politely spitting on the ground. Sensing my approach, she quickly wiped her mouth and looked up. It was Jung Hayeon.
“…Are you alright?”
“Hah, hah! I’m, I’m fine. Hah, hah!”
“…”
“Hah! But, why, does it, feel like, the question, is, backwards? Hah!”
Even as they were all catching their breath, they must have heard Jung Hayeon’s words, as light laughter erupted here and there.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I looked around at the clan members. I could see everyone’s faces except for Baek Hangyul and the baby unicorn.
Though exhaustion was written on all their faces, they also showed expressions of relief upon seeing me. Lee Yoojung, in particular, kept moving her lips as if she had something to say. But her throat seemed to be choked up, so she just kept rubbing her innocent eyes and making sniffling sounds.
Honestly, there were some things I didn’t quite understand. It made sense for my brother to come, since he doted on me, but I hadn’t expected all of them to rush here to save me.
In any case, the reason they looked so exhausted now was likely due to the sudden release of all their pent-up tension. I wondered what I should say to them, but in the end, I just blurted out a single, blunt sentence.
“Everyone… why did you come? It must have been a hassle.”
“Soohyun. How can you say that? You’re our Clan Lord, and our clan member. We came because we were worried. Once we confirmed you were alive, we couldn’t just sit around and wait.”
“…You confirmed I was alive?”
“Yes. We found out thanks to Vivian.”
Jung Hayeon had finally caught her breath and her voice had returned to normal. I looked over at Vivian and saw a single female alchemist lying on the ground in a starfish pose, as if the cells that feel shame had degenerated.
Vivian must have heard her name being mentioned, because she turned her head slightly to the side while still lying down. Her eyes met mine, and she gave a cocky nod before rummaging inside her clothes and pulling out an A4-sized document.
It was the (subordinate slave) contract between me and Vivian.