Chapter 271
Chapter 271
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 272
Chapter Title: The Boundary World
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“What do you plan to do now that you’ve followed us all the way here?”
Lee Seo-jun asked Choi Seo-yoon.
“……Seeing the two of you, I suddenly felt this competitive spirit boiling up inside me. I thought if I didn’t come, I might regret it later, especially since I might never get another chance……”
Choi Seo-yoon mumbled, glancing at my eyes.
But I wasn’t particularly surprised by the situation.
I had anticipated it to some extent.
This was part of the original story’s flow, after all.
The one change was that Lee Hyun-joo, who was supposed to be here originally, had been replaced by me.
“……Sigh. What can we do now that you’re already here? Still, your father’s going to worry a lot.”
“I can just go back. I’ll probably get scolded, though.”
Choi Seo-yoon gave another awkward smile.
Lee Seo-jun looked bewildered for a moment, then glanced up at the sky.
“By the way, where is this place?”
I followed her gaze upward.
It was a twilight scene, common even in the modern world, where deep darkness overlaid a red sunset.
But the mana and atmosphere felt from nature were slightly different from our original world.
Alien, perhaps?
“……This doesn’t seem like Korea, does it?”
“Yeah, I felt that too.”
As we were taking in our surroundings and assessing the situation,
“It’s been a while since we’ve had visitors.”
A middle-aged man with a wrinkled face appeared before us.
His clothes were shabby, and he was Caucasian, not Korean.
Lee Seo-jun looked taken aback, having assumed he was Korean from his fluent Korean.
“……Who are you?”
“I am Russen.”
“..!”
Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon both looked shocked.
Russen.
The name of the mysterious scholar we’d learned about while investigating his immortality research.
“I heard Russen went missing around 30 years ago……”
“You know of me?”
“……Yes, you’re one of the modern mysterious scholars, so I know of you.”
“Is that so?”
Russen didn’t seem particularly surprised.
Probably because others who visited this virtual world had reacted the same way upon seeing him.
“……But if three seconds in reality equals a week here, doesn’t that mean you’ve spent decades here for those 30 years?”
“Sorry, but I’ve been here for 40 years.”
“Is that possible?”
“To explain simply, the timelines of reality and this place are complicatedly intertwined. For reference, someone from 2010 once arrived later than someone from 2020. Well, with such a long history, the records of this world have become quite distorted too.”
Russen mumbled, then looked up at the sky before speaking.
“Anyway, it’s getting late, so follow me. When night falls, the monsters awaken from their slumber.”
“……Monsters? There are monsters here too?”
“Yes, this is a virtual world, but it contains everything ‘Kwak Moo-jin’ experienced.”
With that, Russen started walking somewhere.
We exchanged glances, then followed him. We crossed a barren wasteland and arrived at a small meadow.
When Russen placed his hand on the ground, a magic circle appeared, the ground opened, and a space formed.
“Whoa.”
And so we descended underground.
A cozy living space came into view.
It looked like he’d been here quite a while, with plenty of worn traces of daily life.
Whoosh!
Russen lit the fireplace with magic and sat in a chair.
That’s when Choi Seo-yoon, who was looking around, tugged at my sleeve.
“Sunbae, what monster do you think those bones are from?”
Choi Seo-yoon pointed to a massive bone mounted on the wall. Having studied monster anatomy and seen countless bones, this was a shape I’d never encountered before.
“Probably from a monster that doesn’t exist in the real world.”
“......Pardon?”
Choi Seo-yoon blinked. Her face said she didn’t understand.
Just as I was about to explain simply, Lee Seo-jun asked Russen,
“Where is this place?”
“What do you mean? This is obviously my home.”
“……No, I mean this world. Since it’s the world Kwak Moo-jin experienced, it should be a real place.”
Russen stared at Lee Seo-jun, then gave a eerie smile.
“Heh heh. Just kidding. This place is the underworld.”
“......Pardon?”
“To be precise, it’s the boundary between the living world and the underworld. So, you could call it the ‘Boundary World.’”
Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon looked flustered as Russen spoke in a serious tone.
It was a reaction of complete surprise.
But I calmly sorted through the situation in my mind.
The Boundary World.
As the name suggests, it’s the boundary between the living realm and the underworld.
A place impossible to enter by normal means, but one we had to visit someday for the story’s progression.
Because another material needed to turn the Cup of Life into the holy relic ‘Holy Grail’—the ‘Seed of Origin’—was here.
That’s when Russen glanced at me and asked,
“You don’t seem surprised. Do you think I’m joking?”
I shook my head.
“I expected it to some degree. If you figured out immortality, you must have had experiences like this.”
Russen looked bewildered at my words.
“And I’ve met the soul of someone who died before.”
At my words, Lee Seo-jun turned to look at me.
She was probably recalling when I summoned her mother, Lee Yun-kyung’s soul.
Choi Seo-yoon, unaware of the circumstances, gave me a strange look.
“Haha. You look young, but interesting folks have come visiting.”
Russen laughed.
“Now it’s my turn to ask. Who are you all?”
Russen looked at me as he asked.
“We’re students at the Korean Wizard Academy.”
“……Korean Wizard Academy?”
As Russen mumbled, Lee Seo-jun asked,
“Do you know something about our school?”
“No, but I once met a rather peculiar fellow here. He was from that school too.”
Lee Seo-jun’s eyes widened in surprise as she asked,
“Was that person Heuk-si Jin Cheon-woo?”
“Huh? How did you know? That’s right. He was a man with mysterious insight beyond his years, just like you all.”
Lee Seo-jun pondered for a moment before speaking.
“……Can you tell us about him?”
“I didn’t know him long, so I don’t know much. But……”
“But?”
“Unlike others who came chasing Kwak Moo-jin’s research materials, he seemed to have entered the virtual world with a firm purpose.”
“A firm purpose?”
“Yes, he said he was looking for the ‘price’ of mystery or something? Anyway, he was peculiar in many ways. He was even ridiculously good at magic. The boundary monsters are ferociously vicious, so most wizards avoid them. But he dispatched them cleanly. I still dream about the monster massacre he put on that day. Heh heh.”
That’s when it happened.
Kieeeek—
A bizarre, ear-piercing cry came from above ground.
Russen glanced up at the ceiling.
“The Boundary Predator has begun its hunt.”
Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon looked puzzled, so Russen explained.
“It’s the resident that rules the Boundary World. When it encounters living beings like us, it goes berserk and tries to devour them.”
Russen chuckled.
“You probably can’t understand. I was shocked too when I first came here. I don’t know how Kwak Moo-jin ended up with such experiences.”
Perhaps enjoying the long-overdue conversation, Russen’s stories went on endlessly.
Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon listened intently, needing to understand the situation.
“Oh, right, aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes, we ate before coming here.”
“I see. Then I’ll eat alone.”
With that, Russen prepared a meal. He lit a fire on the floor and placed a pot of meat on it.
Choi Seo-yoon watched curiously and asked,
“What kind of meat is this?”
“It’s from animals living in the boundary. Not monsters, but livestock, so the taste is pretty similar.”
“Ah.”
Choi Seo-yoon looked on with fascination.
As time passed, the smell of meat wafted through. It wasn’t particularly appetizing, but not bad either.
While eating, Russen asked,
“But why are you here? You must have come for some purpose, right?”
“We’re after the secret of immortality and chasing Jin Cheon-woo’s trail.”
“……Heh heh. Even knowing there’s no way out once you enter this place?”
“Jin Cheon-woo left here, didn’t he?”
“I don’t know what method he used, but that guy was an anomaly. You’re all too reckless.”
Lee Seo-jun smiled faintly and said,
“By the way, do you know anything about Jin Cheon-woo’s movements here?”
“Roughly, yes.”
Lee Seo-jun’s face brightened at Russen’s answer.
“Where did he go?”
“North. There’s a city of the living there. He went that way to gather information.”
“……There’s a city?”
“Yes, a city made by living souls sucked into the boundary.”
The next morning.
The second day in the virtual world dawned.
Being an unfamiliar place, I didn’t sleep soundly.
The ground was uncomfortable, and the weather was chilly.
Of course, with my cold resistance, it wasn’t unbearable, but it wasn’t perfect either.
Maybe I should’ve brought the sleeping bag from my subspace.
“Yawn......”
Then Choi Seo-yoon woke up, yawning and blinking her sleepy eyes. She slowly untangled her messy hair with drowsy movements.
“Sunbae, did you sleep well?”
“There were too many discomforts, so no. You?”
“Me too... It was so cold.”
Still feeling the chill, Choi Seo-yoon hugged her arms.
I poured water from the kettle over the fire into a cup and handed it to her.
“Ah, thank you.”
Then I turned to Lee Seo-jun.
“When are we leaving?”
“Who knows. Early, I suppose.”
Lee Seo-jun said as she packed her things.
Just then, Russen came out of the room, brushing his teeth, and asked us,
“Heading north?”
“Yes, to follow Jin Cheon-woo’s trail.”
“I see. Not sure if he’s still there, but if you reach the city, look for a place called ‘Moon Heaven Inn.’ I hear that’s where the Jin Cheon-woo you’re looking for stopped by, so check it out.”
“Moon Heaven Inn…… Thank you.”
Lee Seo-jun bowed her head.
We quickly washed up and finished breakfast.
It was a soup with small pieces of meat.
Honestly, it wasn’t to my taste and wasn’t filling, so I boiled some instant ramen I’d brought.
Lee Seo-jun looked at me curiously, wondering why I’d brought something like that, while Choi Seo-yoon beamed at the thought of ramen.
……And Russen.
“Guhk, guh uhk…… Uhehung.”
[Character ‘Russen’ feels deep gratitude toward you.]
[You acquire 500 points as a reward.]
He shed tears. It was his first ramen in 40 years.
Feeling sorry for him, I gave him a pack to eat later. I had plenty in my subspace.
“This precious thing…… I’ll never forget this kindness……”
Russen bowed repeatedly to me in thanks.
[You have achieved the ‘Helping the Less Fortunate’ accomplishment.]
[You acquire 3,000 points as a reward.]
“……You’re welcome.”
After finishing our meal, we returned to the surface.
Unlike the cold night, the morning weather was scorching like a desert.
No, looking at the landscape, it was a desert.
“But wasn’t there a bone there too?”
Lee Seo-jun pointed to somewhere in the desert after spotting something.
Overnight, a massive bone we hadn’t seen before had appeared.
Russen looked at it and said,
“It’s the bone of a Boundary Desert Lizard. Known as an A-Rank monster, so it seems the predator hunted and left it.”
“……How strong is the predator?”
Lee Seo-jun asked.
“Well, according to that Jin Cheon-woo fellow, at least B…… and up to S-Rank.”
At the mention of S-Rank, Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon’s expressions darkened briefly.
“So if you want to live, avoid the predators at all costs. They travel in packs but are also highly intelligent. Especially, never wander at night.”
Lee Seo-jun nodded.
“Then go carefully. Not sure if you’ll find a way out of this world……”
“Yes, thank you. We’ll be off then.”
We bowed to Russen and set off.
Our destination was the city of the living in the north.