Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Reunion
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“I thought something would go *bam!* or *boom!* or *crash!*, but nothing happened. We didn't even run into any Players on the road.”
Choi Yu-ra, who had grown quite accustomed to riding, muttered as she hugged the neck of her beloved horse, ‘Adamas’.
Adamas snorted as if to say its owner was heavy, but Choi Yu-ra wasn't one to back down.
Riding beside her, Kang-seok clicked his tongue.
“If things like that happened all the time, how would anyone in this world survive?”
Fortunately, the group had encountered neither Players nor monsters on this journey.
Until now, they had faced monsters, few or many, when traveling between towns, so this trip was an exception. But in the grand scheme of things, this journey was probably the norm.
Encountering monsters every time you travel between towns?
For that to happen, this world would have to be teeming with them.
It would mean that towns were essentially isolated, making the concept of a nation difficult to establish.
Choi Yu-ra knew this intuitively, but she puffed out her cheeks and looked up at Kang-seok as if pouting.
“Still, think of how many Players were summoned.”
According to the information they'd heard before, there were about seven thousand.
They said the final number of Players to pass the tutorial would be around ten thousand, which meant a good three thousand more would appear in this world.
This time, Seong Yu-jin answered instead of Kang-seok.
“There are a lot of summoned Players, but this world is also vast. There are over five fairly large countries, right? If you figure about a thousand Players were summoned per country, haven't we already met plenty?”
The Kingdom of Briton, where the party was currently staying, boasted a territory several times larger than Korea.
No matter how many Players there were, it was unrealistic to expect to run into them on the road every time they went somewhere.
“We're in the Kingdom of Briton... and the ones to the south are Avalon and Shangri-La, right?”
To be precise, both were to the southwest, but either way, they were in the south.
Seong Yu-jin added.
“And there are countries in the north and east, too.”
That wasn't all. Across the western sea, there was said to be a land too large to be called an island.
“It's so big.”
Muttering in a slightly weary tone, Choi Yu-ra suddenly grinned. She straightened her posture and pointed ahead.
“Anyway, looks like we found the right place, doesn't it?”
The sight of a long, wide bridge built over a flowing river, and the city that lay beyond it.
“Aachen.”
The city where Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong were.
* * *
Though not as large as the commercial city of Roselburg, Aachen was still a sizable city.
It had four entrances, and at each one, properly uniformed guards conducted simple checks on people coming and going.
“Roselburg is bigger, but the security check here is tighter, huh?”
It was just a matter of asking for their names, the purpose of their visit, and checking for identification, but this was the first time Choi Yu-ra had undergone such a check.
Kang-seok, who was adjusting his horse's reins next to her, answered immediately.
“That place is a commercial city. With so many people coming and going, the checks would have to be simplified.”
Aachen was a city famous for its various textiles. Unlike Roselburg, it was a direct royal domain, a kind of industrial complex focused on production rather than direct market trade.
Riding horses was also forbidden inside Aachen. Seong Yu-jin, walking slightly behind Kang-seok and Choi Yu-ra, quickened her pace to catch up and spoke.
“Still, it's a relief that they don't restrict entry to the city just because we're Players.”
“Well, there were some towns where people gave us strange looks.”
The gods' oracle concerning the Great Summoning.
The Players' strength, which was helpful in exterminating monsters.
And the generally good-natured disposition of the Players.
Thanks to these three factors, Players were not ostracized by the people of this world.
However, not everyone viewed them positively.
Just as Locksley had said, there were certainly Players who, overconfident in their power, committed crimes as they pleased.
There were also quite a few people who were jealous and fearful of these superhumans who had suddenly appeared.
People who stared in wonder.
People who showed curiosity.
People who showed their displeasure, as if they didn't even want to speak to them.
In one town they had visited before, someone had even spat at Kang-seok's group.
The guards in Aachen had reacted with some stiffness at the word 'Player', but they hadn't shown any displeasure. When they heard the group belonged to the Adventurer's Guild, they even seemed somewhat relieved.
‘If I had to describe it, it's more like the wariness one feels when meeting a stranger.’
All in all, it wasn't a bad reaction.
“Anyway, let's hurry. I got a map this time, too.”
Seong Yu-jin had been radiating joy the entire way to Aachen. She now waved the map she had received from the guards, her smile as bright as the sun.
‘It seems none of that wariness affects Yu-jin.’
Kang-seok gave a wry smile, recalling the face of the guard who had drawn the map with a silly grin. Choi Yu-ra watched Seong Yu-jin's backside as she took the lead, passing them, and muttered.
“She's got a real talent for it. Is she naturally charming, or is she a fox hiding her tail? I'm a beauty, too, so why do the guards melt only for Yu-jin?”
She looked at Kang-seok at the end, and Kang-seok, who had followed her gaze to Seong Yu-jin's backside, let out a dry cough. He reached out and patted Choi Yu-ra's shoulder.
“Stop talking nonsense and let's go.”
“I've been thinking this for a while, but you need to treat me more preciously, Kang-seok.”
“Yes, yes, I'll keep that in mind.”
Letting Choi Yu-ra's grumbling go in one ear and out the other, Kang-seok followed Seong Yu-jin.
And when they were about halfway across the city?
Seong Yu-jin, who had been leading the way without a single glance back, finally stopped. She stood before a three-story building with a sign identical to the one they had seen in Roselburg.
“We're here.”
Seong Yu-jin spun around to face Kang-seok and Choi Yu-ra. Seeing her flushed cheeks, Choi Yu-ra let out a hollow laugh.
“What, are those Players, Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong, coated in honey or something?”
If Seong Yu-jin truly had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.
Though Choi Yu-ra's words were close to a rebuke, Seong Yu-jin just smiled happily. As always, Kang-seok stepped in between the two.
“Alright, alright, let's go in…”
“Aaaaaah!”
An ear-splitting scream made Kang-seok snap his head up. The people on the street were just as startled by the sound.
It was as if time had stopped. Everyone froze in place, turning with bewildered faces toward the source of the scream.
It was the Adventurer's Guild.
What should they do?
There was little time to hesitate. After a quick exchange of glances, the three of them ran toward the Adventurer's Guild.
The scene inside the guild wasn't much different from outside. Adventurers standing throughout the hall were staring at one spot with shocked eyes. It seemed one of them had been the one to scream.
A woman lay collapsed in the middle of the guild hall. Her hair was disheveled, and her entire body was covered in blood.
“Sh-she just appeared out of thin air.”
Someone in the hall muttered under their breath. As if that were a signal, the adventurers began to move. A man in priest's robes ran toward the bloodied woman, and a guild employee vaulted over the counter to control the situation.
“Everyone, please calm down!”
The guild employee hardly needed to shout. The adventurers had already regained their composure. A few of them even cast curious glances at the bloodied woman.
The adventurers of this world were no different from mercenaries. For those whose daily lives involved life-or-death battles, their reactions were bound to be different from those of ordinary people.
The one who screamed must have been a rookie adventurer or a Player still unaccustomed to such things.
The man in priest's robes laid the woman flat on her back and hurriedly removed her outer clothing.
The woman was wearing a short, small purple outfit that left her arms and legs exposed. Not just her limbs, but her entire body was covered in wounds.
Seeing her condition was far more critical than he'd thought, the priest swallowed hard. He placed both hands on her abdomen, where the wounds were most severe, and began to cast a divine spell.
A warm yellow light, one that felt like it could heal wounds just by looking at it, enveloped her injuries.
But the priest's expression was grim. The guild employee, who was examining the woman alongside him, shouted.
“She's lost too much blood! Does anyone have a potion?”
Besides doctors and potion merchants, adventurers were the ones most familiar with potions. Yet no one stepped forward. Potions were too expensive to give away to a stranger.
The guild employee looked around at the adventurers once more. Just then, Seong Yu-jin stepped forward. She unhesitatingly pulled out a potion she had kept hidden inside her coat and offered it.
“Will this be enough?”
“Pour it into her mouth. It would be good to sprinkle some on her wounds, too.”
The priest said urgently. Seong Yu-jin nodded quickly and took out another potion. She handed one bottle to Kang-seok, who was now beside her, and personally poured the potion into the woman's mouth.
Choi Yu-ra watched Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin, her brow furrowed.
Helping an injured person was admirable, and to be honest, the group could certainly afford it, but the two of them were still acting so recklessly.
Choi Yu-ra quickly scanned the surrounding adventurers. She was worried that scammers, like flies, might be drawn to Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin's altruistic act.
But Choi Yu-ra's concern was somewhat misplaced.
There was a reason Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had acted more boldly than usual.
Kang-seok hadn't recognized her at first glance.
Seong Yu-jin, too, was only certain after seeing her face up close.
Park Han-yeong.
The ninja Player whose specialty was stealth.
She was different from how she'd been in Labyrinthos, where she had worn a hood that covered most of her face, making it hard to tell if she was a man or a woman.
She was wearing the typical outfit of a kunoichi—a female ninja—often seen in Japanese manga or anime. Without the hood, her slender face was fully visible. Her long black hair, tied back in a single tail, was also very feminine.
Kang-seok, having poured an entire bottle of potion on her wounds, swallowed hard.
Despite the fact that Park Han-yeong, whom she had been so eager to see, had appeared on the brink of death, Seong Yu-jin remained surprisingly calm. She placed a hand on Park Han-yeong's arm and spoke to the priest.
“I'll help, too.”
No answer was needed. As soon as she finished speaking, a pure white light emanated from her fingertips.
It was ‘Healing’, a skill considered basic for the Paladin build.
Although she was on the Paladin path, Seong Yu-jin wasn't a proper Paladin yet, so her Healing skill was less effective than an intermediate potion. But no one would fault her for focusing on the spell, beads of cold sweat running down her face.
Kang-seok licked his now parched lips and looked around.
He could hear the murmurs of the adventurers who had recognized the near-dead woman as Park Han-yeong.
“Oh, my god. No wonder she hadn't returned.”
“So the rumors were true?”
“Then the entire expedition team…”
“No way! It was led by none other than Lady Abigail herself!”
There was too little information to grasp the context.
Expedition team.
Abigail.
Hadn't returned.
Rumors.
A story formed amidst the chaos.
An expedition team that included Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong.
It hadn't returned after a considerable time. And now, Park Han-yeong had appeared, on the verge of death.
He couldn't deduce what kind of quest it was, or what the situation had been. But from the reactions of the surrounding adventurers, he could guess what they were thinking.
Only Park Han-yeong had managed to escape.
The expedition had failed.
“She's past the critical stage. Let's move her to the infirmary.”
The priest's voice broke Kang-seok from his thoughts. He snapped back to reality and glanced to his side, where Seong Yu-jin was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong.
What in the world had happened to them?
Kang-seok gathered his thoughts. He carefully lifted Park Han-yeong into his arms.