Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: 23. People Who Have Lost Hope (2)
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Whoosh—
A massive club cleaved through the air.
The red-haired woman, Jessica, hurriedly rolled across the ground.
Boom!
"Ngh."
She bit her lip.
Intense pain surged from her broken ankle, struck just moments ago.
But she couldn't just sit still.
A B-Rank monster, an ogre, loomed before her with bloodshot eyes gleaming, refusing her even a moment to recover as if it meant to devour her right then. And it wasn't alone. Three were in sight, and there was good reason she'd been backed into such a corner.
'This is dangerous.'
She had to escape.
Tear the expensive teleport scroll she'd bought, and she'd be whisked to safety in an instant.
But.
She couldn't.
She mustn't.
She'd entered the Yellow Zone for a special purpose, and she couldn't flee until it was fulfilled—no matter if that massive club pulverized her body completely.
'I won't die.'
Boom!
She kicked off the ground.
She dodged the ogre's attack by a hair's breadth and darted swiftly between its legs.
Whoosh.
Slash—
She sliced its leg.
The ogre roared in fury and attacked, but she evaded nimbly using her speed. Pain shot up from her ankle like lightning. Her limping leg didn't move as she hoped, but with dogged determination, she kept fighting. In moments, one ogre was drenched in blood. As it finally dropped to its knees, Jessica leaped to drive her dagger into its nape.
But.
'...Ah.'
Her jump fell short.
More precisely, the moment her foot hit the ground, pain beyond expectation sapped her strength.
It was the ogre's chance.
Another one stepped forward, swinging its enormous palm before she could react.
Boom—!
Thud.
"Cough."
She slammed into a tree.
As Jessica tumbled down, she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Thud, thud.
The ogre approached.
Its enraged face twisted as it raised its club high.
'Am I going to die like this?'
Last chance.
To survive, she had to tear the teleport scroll.
With a pallid face, she looked up at the ogre.
Her already pale skin seemed even whiter against her red hair.
"...Fuck you."
She didn't use the scroll.
It was her sliver of hope.
Whoosh—
The club fell.
Her eyes widened.
She struggled to move her unresponsive body.
But then.
Boom—
"Are you alright?"
Right in front of her.
A man appeared out of nowhere, blocking the ogre's attack in her stead.
The situation resolved in a flash.
Once Kang San's group joined, the three ogres didn't last long.
Thud—
Before checking the reward, Kang San approached Jessica first.
"What the hell are you doing out here alone?"
It was odd.
Jessica was famous enough in Kitakyushu for people to remember her, so she should know better than anyone how things worked here. For someone who wasn't S-Rank or even A-Rank to wander the Yellow Zone solo was suicide. He'd saved her thanks to the trial, but given their past, Kang San wasn't exactly thrilled to see her.
"Well..."
Jessica hesitated.
She paused.
Under his patient gaze urging her to speak, she seemed to steel herself and finally opened her mouth.
"I came to find my family."
"Your family? Here?"
"Yes."
An unexpected answer.
In truth, Jessica had never told anyone in Kitakyushu why she stayed—except maybe in the early days.
"Three years ago, my little sister came to Kitakyushu on a trip. You might say what kind of trip in this chaotic world, but she was the bright type who clung to her humanity especially then. And then the 'major link' everyone knows about happened. You know? Some come here to exploit it as a monster field, but most who can't leave are like me. They came for family... and can't leave because of them. That's the reality of Kitakyushu."
He couldn't respond easily.
Three years—enough time for a major link event to claim countless lives.
The cruel truth that her sister might be dead.
As if reading his thoughts, Jessica replied.
"I know. After three years, she might be dead. But just now, the 'artifact' I gave her showed a life signal. Right here in the Yellow Zone. What does that mean? My sister's still alive. So."
Swoosh.
He knelt.
A grown woman—no, it clashed with Jessica's sharp image.
From red lips contrasting her ashen face, she uttered words she'd never say normally.
"Please help me. The artifact's signal says my sister's no more than 2km from here. If you do, whether we find her or not, I'll repay you no matter what."
It was desperate.
A heartfelt plea.
Jessica's plight was pitiful, but Kang San couldn't accept.
Someone else's risk.
And he had siblings to protect.
He couldn't endanger himself and his people for a stranger.
But.
A sudden trial.
This was clearly a different pattern from before.
It was an unfamiliar situation.
After the tenth trial, both trials and rewards had grown tougher, yet now the difficulty and reward felt ambiguously weaker, and another trial chained right after like clockwork.
Even so.
There was no choice.
Beyond Jessica now, it was a problem Kang San had to solve.
'The issue is I can't predict how dangerous a spot 2km from here will be. Yellow Zone means B-Rank monsters, with occasional A-Ranks. I can't put my group at risk because of me.'
Leaving Jessica behind.
He approached his party.
To their confused looks, Kang San spoke calmly.
"You guys head back first. I'll help her and catch up."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"What I'm about to do is really dangerous. Woo-bin, Han-byeol, Chan-woo too. Remember what our families said when we left for Japan? 'Take care of our precious son/brother, please keep him safe.' So let's split here for a bit. I'll solve it quick and come back."
The recurring dilemma.
Every trial forced the question: how much danger should his party share?
His siblings always said they needed him, but he tried to balance it with his secret. They moved together when variables were manageable. But if it meant pushing them too far, against their own goals, he tried to exclude them.
Guilt.
Unable to reveal the truth, he could only sugarcoat it.
But an unexpected voice snapped angrily.
"No."
It was Yeon Woo-bin.
Yeon Woo-bin stared at Kang San with unwavering eyes.
"We're a party. None of us plans to let anyone face danger alone. I became a hunter to not lose anyone precious. If you're helping her, take me too."
"Same for me."
"Bro. If you're playing hero, make room for me."
A bewildering situation.
They misunderstood.
Thinking Kang San was sacrificing for his own justice, they refused to back down.
Especially Yeon Woo-bin, haunted by past trauma.
Memories of losing his mother—he couldn't abandon Kang San for his own safety. A brief argument ensued. Kang San tried persuading them to go, but his spirited siblings wouldn't yield. It wasn't from experiencing true near-death, but Kang San appreciated their resolve.
Time was tight.
No more arguing.
"Fine. Let's go together."
He vowed inwardly.
If things went south, he'd protect them even if it killed him.
They moved out.
He could check the artifact's location via the system, but no need to reveal it.
To Jessica, he said.
"Lead us to the artifact."
Jessica took point.
Turned out she was a B-Rank assassin-type, perfect for scouting. Explained going solo into the Yellow Zone. She'd gotten unlucky with the ogres, but figured her stealth and agility would let her rescue her sister undetected.
"Two ogres ahead."
When Jessica signaled.
Kang San charged.
As he engaged, arrows and spells felled the two ogres in a blink.
Boom—!
Rumble—
'...Better than expected?'
Jessica was impressed inside.
Kang San synced well with Jeong Chan-woo and Jo Han-byeol, but Yeon Woo-bin's firepower incinerating even ogres was stunning. Tougher party than she thought. Doubts from their youthful looks vanished after a couple fights.
Her broken ankle healed with potion.
Not perfect condition, but with her sister so close, Jessica pressed on.
2km passed quicker than expected.
Luckily few monster encounters, they reached the artifact's spot.
"It should be right here."
The signal blinked.
Jessica stood at its center, scanning around for the artifact.
An ominous feeling crept up.
If her sister was here, she'd see a person, not just a signal.
That moment.
"Huh?"
She spotted something.
A small burrow, barely visible.
A child huddled inside, trembling.
Despair washed over Jessica's face.
Her eyes fixed on the necklace artifact the child wore.
"You, where'd you get that? Why do you have it!?"
Her voice rose.
Knowing monsters might hear, but Jessica couldn't compose herself.
Three years.
Shed endured in Kitakyushu because of fleeting life signals from the artifact. She patrolled the Yellow Zone daily, risking it all on hope. But now, a strange kid with it meant two things: her sister might be dead, or alive but unfindable by artifact.
Her hope crumbled.
Her pale face grew paler.
"This isn't it. This really isn't."
Tears welled.
Unable to press the child more, Jessica sank to the ground, clutching her face.
Kang San watched.
Unlike shattered Jessica, he heard a hopeful message.
Trial cleared.
Bit anticlimactic, but the fourteenth only required finding the artifact, not the sister. So it ended. Without the compulsion, Kang San had no intent to help more, so he didn't console her.
Maybe sensing no threat.
The wide-eyed child spoke cautiously.
"...Eileen sister gave it to me."
"What?"
Jessica jolted.
Tears streaking her face, she gazed desperately at the child.
"What does that mean? Eileen gave it?"
"Eileen sister said if I'm scared, hold this tight. So I have it."
Then.
Watching, Kang San faced another bewildering twist.
'...What the.'
Third trial in a row.
This was.
Thoroughly bewildering and unfamiliar.