Accident
“Ms. Hae-yeong?”
“Yes, Ms. Jihye. I’m listening.”
“Go see Kiyoung.”
“Pardon?”
“I think it’d be best to make things a little easier for people like Kiyoung, in a few different ways. Not just today, but in the future too.”
“I’m not sure what you mean….”
“That part’s up to you, Ms. Hae-yeong. Just do whatever you think you’re capable of doing. It’s fine if you just keep him company. Oh! Being his maid wouldn’t be such a bad idea either.”
“……”
“That last part was a joke. Still, it might not be a bad idea to think seriously about it. Things aren’t exactly great on this side right now. We don’t have any edible resources, and the number of people who can go hunting is limited. Hyunsung does clear out the nearby monsters regularly, but you never know when something unexpected might happen. That’s just the reality of it. We have to think about the possibility that the hunters won’t come back alive, and prepare for all the things that could happen from here on out, don’t we?”
“……”
“I’m saying it wouldn’t hurt to create a connection with a capable man. People like us should always have at least one insurance policy, don’t you think? If things go well, you never know. You might even get special treatment, just like Ms. Hayan….”
“I think I understand what you’re getting at.”
“Ah! And I heard there’s talk of taking Ms. Hayan along on the next hunt. It wouldn’t hurt for you to give it a try, would it?”
“I appreciate you telling me all this, but… is there a particular reason you’re being so kind to me?”
“Well. It’s just simple goodwill. I’d only asked that if things work out, you might keep me in mind as well. I’m not the type who enjoys gambling, you see.”
* * *
Bitch.
That fucking Lee Jihye.
She kept hurling curses at Lee Jihye in her head, but nothing changed.
It had been her mistake in the first place. No, everything had been her choice from the very beginning.
Agreeing to Lee Jihye’s words, following Lee Kiyoung out here—those had all been decisions made while fully expecting to become a lab rat.
She had done something stupid at the start, then tried to steady herself to make up for it.
Waving that spear around recklessly, just to prove she was useful, had been a huge mistake.
The scream that burst from her mouth before she even realized it had been even worse.
Up ahead, Lee Kiyoung and Park Deokgu were still in sight.
Lee Kiyoung kept muttering something under his breath, over and over, while Park Deokgu shoved back the monsters charging at them with his massive shield.
Her legs were trembling from the terror of earlier, but of course she couldn’t sit down and give up.
I’ll die.
If she stopped running, she would die. She knew that much.
When she glanced to the side, she saw Jung Hayan too, trailing behind while murmuring to herself.
What an idiot….
She’d gotten lucky and caught Lee Kiyoung’s eye somehow, then gotten lucky again and joined this group.
There probably wasn’t anyone else here as fortunate as that woman.
Even if she made it back alive after committing a huge blunder, it was obvious she’d be shoved aside and forgotten.
When she thought of herself as nothing more than a teaching aid for Jung Hayan, a bitter taste spread through her mouth.
And besides…
She couldn’t understand how anyone could stay so composed.
Of course Kim Hyunsung, Lee Kiyoung, and Park Deokgu were impressive—each of them drove their blades and spears into monsters without flinching.
As for her, she hadn’t been able to overcome the feel of blood on her hands, or the fear that she might die any second.
She was ridiculous for having thought this might be easy.
But Jung Hayan was different.
That girl had probably never set foot outside either, and this would have been her first time facing monsters directly.
Yet the eyes that quietly watched her had not the slightest trace of fear in them.
She’d wondered if Jung Hayan had gone crazy, given the way she kept talking to herself, but there wasn’t even the slightest sign of confusion.
I can’t fall apart like this.
In this reality they called the tutorial, she had to grow stronger in order to survive. She knew it was impossible to do that alone, which was why she had used Lee Kiyoung and Kim Hyunsung.
If she was branded as someone who couldn’t leave this place, she’d be unable to match their strength and would obviously be treated like trash.
There was only one thing left to do.
I have to cling to them somehow.
If she made it back alive, she’d have to find some way to build a tie to Lee Kiyoung, no matter what it took.
She would use every means available to stick close to him.
Of course, Jung Hayan’s presence beside her was annoying, but given enough time, Kiyoung would surely recognize her worth.
Anyone could see that she was a little better than that stupid woman.
She bit her lip and kept running, and that was when she realized that Park Deokgu and Lee Kiyoung, who had been heading left, were gone.
Huh?
It felt as though she’d been bewitched by a ghost. She couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Since when?
She had clearly been following only their backs the whole time.
It was the sort of situation that could only be described as outrageous.
She couldn’t remember when, or why, their figures had vanished from view, no matter how hard she searched her memory.
Jung Hayan was also silently staring at the wall blocking the way ahead.
“Do you know where Kiyoung and Deokgu went?”
She asked carefully, but got no answer.
Honestly, even asking was a mistake.
What a useless idiot….
Even she had lost them in an instant.
There was no way that foolish woman standing beside her would know where they’d gone.
Most likely, she’d just been following her around too.
“Gyaaaaah.”
Some monster’s cry came from farther away.
Her body trembled violently at the sound, and that was only natural.
She thought they should head somewhere, but her feet wouldn’t move easily.
She had no idea where they were supposed to go.
Maybe, by now, Kiyoung had realized that they’d gotten lost.
If they just held out here a little longer, or waited, he would surely come looking for them.
He would. He absolutely would.
Watching Jung Hayan mutter nonsense to herself in a situation like this was so absurd it actually made her laugh in disbelief.
“Power to protect, from those who would take it away, my enemy.”
It sounded like she was praying to someone, but it was completely incomprehensible behavior.
If you thought about it, Lee Kiyoung keeping an eye on a girl like that was almost enough to make him seem insane too.
“Wind Blade.”
Whoosh—
She heard the sound of air being ripped apart.
“Shut up, you idiot. Can’t you hear the monsters?”
It was just as she started to move a little.
Huh?
Her balance suddenly began to collapse.
Without her consent, her body pitched violently toward the ground.
At the same time, an unbearable agony surged through her left leg.
Her body slammed into the blood-red floor with a wet smack that rang in her ears, and she saw her left leg lying far away, torn clean off from her body.
Wha— what… is…
Before she could even make sense of it, a scream ripped out of her throat.
“Aaaaaaagh! S-someone! Someone please! S-save me, please. S-save me!”
“I-It won’t, won’t, won’t help, Ms. Hae-yeong.”
“My, my leg… my leg….”
“I-I sealed your voice with mana. It probably won’t reach anyone. A-and there’s no need to worry about monsters coming here either. Y-you can relax.”
“Please, h-help me, please….”
“Y-you’re more stupid than I expected, Ms. Hae-yeong…. You caused trouble for Oppa… and ruined our outing too.”
“Shut up! Damn it! It hurts… it hurts! Can’t you see my leg? Go get Kiyoung right now, or else….”
She clutched the burning stump with both hands.
Blood kept gushing out in heavy spurts, making it impossible to think straight.
She yanked off her outer coat and hastily wrapped it around the wound, but she couldn’t even tell whether that counted as proper first aid or not.
Her jaw rattled.
Her whole body shook uncontrollably, as if that needed saying.
She still couldn’t understand why her leg had been cut off.
Truthfully, she didn’t even want to understand.
What mattered most was figuring out whether this was a dream or reality.
The pain kept going, as if she’d been seared by fire.
Her vision blurred with tears.
When she looked up slightly, the first thing she saw was Jung Hayan smiling brightly down at her.
Huh?
In her hand, she held something shaped by an alien force.
Wind Blade.
The words suddenly stabbed into her mind.
There was no way. And yet she could clearly see green wind whipping violently around one hand.
Why? Why? How could that woman?
Before she could even finish the thought, instinctive terror flooded through her.
“H-Hayan….”
“Yes, Ms. Hae-yeong.”
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“I-I didn’t want to do this e-either. B-but I had no choice. It’s because you keep trying to take away o-our Oppa. I-I had no choice. It’s not like I like doing this.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“I hate it when you pretend not to know…. You, y-you were the one who started flirting with our Oppa first, weren’t you? You were t-trying to take him away, weren’t you? You said you were going to take him away, didn’t you?”
She’s… crazy.
She was not sane.
She was startled that she hadn’t realized it sooner.
The girl standing before her was definitely insane. The slight lift at the corners of her mouth made her look almost feverishly possessed.
“Th-that was just something I said.”
“Lies.”
“It’s true….”
“It’s a lie. D-do you have any idea how much it hurt? E-even when you talked to Oppa, or held his hand, or leaned on him, it felt like my heart was being torn apart. You probably can’t even imagine it.”
“I-I can understand. Y-yes… I can understand. So please, help me. I-I won’t go anywhere near your Oppa again.”
“S-sorry. No matter how I think about it, I still can’t let that happen. Ms. Hae-yeong has to hurt like I did. I can’t forgive you for trying to take Oppa away. And if you’re alive, I’ll just keep feeling uneasy….”
“Aaaagh!”
With another sharp, slicing sound, one of her arms was severed as well.
Agony exploded through her.
She thrashed helplessly, but nothing changed. All she could think was that she had to get out of here somehow.
She tried to crawl away, scrabbling with all her strength, but fear and pain made even that impossible.
“P-please save me. Please… I’m sorry for everything. Please save me. Please… ahhh, ahhh….”
“I-I can’t do that. I’d, I’d get soft….”
“Please, I was wrong. I was wrong about everything! So please. Uggh! Uggh!”
“M-magic can do things like this too, apparently. Since you’re being noisy, I think it’d be best to cover your mouth.”
Her voice vanished.
Something alien tightened around her throat, choking her. Tears kept pouring from her eyes. She thrashed again and again at the pain raging through her body, but nothing changed.
“Uggh… uggh! Uggh!”
“S-so… I’m s-sorry.”
As she continued to twitch helplessly, she suddenly heard a voice from somewhere nearby.
“Hayan?”
“O-Oppa.”
Lee Kiyoung—the man who could be said to be the source of all this—had appeared.