Chapter 100
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Precious Comrade
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"Do-yun-i, such a good boy, ahaha... What a dutiful son."
After chasing the fork for a good while, the nightmare shifted to the next scene.
Cameras clutched by reporters swarmed around me, their lenses all trained on Hunter Cha Do-yun and his parents. I turned my head back toward Hunter Cha Do-yun, and he was staring blankly into the camera lens with hollow eyes.
"You've become the youngest S-Rank Awakener in the country. Cha Do-yun, what's your take on this?"
"......"
"Ahaha! My kid's a bit shy."
'Ah, Se-bin-i awakened after this, so he must've been the youngest S-Rank back then.'
Hunter Cha Do-yun's mother smiled innocently, while his father beside her covered his mouth with a broad grin. But the subtle tremble in his eyes betrayed his anxiety.
Kiiing.
At that moment, the Gourmet's Fork reacted fiercely toward Hunter Cha Do-yun, who was sitting on the sofa.
Found it.
I shoved the fork into my pocket and pushed through the crowd of reporters to stand before Hunter Cha Do-yun. He looked up at me with dazed eyes, tilting his head and mumbling something.
"Um... there are cameras behind you."
"Hunter Cha Do-yun. Get up."
"Pardon?"
He furrowed his brow, and only then did his face become the one I recognized. He stared at my face for a long moment, still clueless, before finally dropping his head again.
"It was tough, wasn't it."
"......"
"Tormented by your parents, dragged to places you didn't want to go, in pain."
[Eloquence Increased]
[Awakener 'Cha Do-yun' wavers at the words of Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui'.]
I knelt on one knee before the young Hunter Cha Do-yun and looked at him. His much younger face was visibly holding back tears.
"You know what?"
"...What."
"Future Hunter Cha Do-yun will leave this house."
Hunter Cha Do-yun lifted his head. His reddened eyes from holding back sobs tugged at my heart.
"You'll live well on your own. And you'll make comrades."
"...Comrades?"
At the word "comrades," his tear-filled eyes sparkled.
Almost there.
"And I'm a comrade of future Hunter Cha Do-yun."
"......"
"So get up now."
[Speech Result: Realization]
Hunter Cha Do-yun's eyes widened. I'd planted the seed related to comrades, so I deliberately used that word—and luckily, it worked.
He sprang up from the sofa and stared straight down at me, then pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Haaaaah......"
He let out a deep sigh, as if the ground itself were crumbling. Having fully realized it was a nightmare, his dazed eyes had returned to normal.
"How the hell did you get in here?"
"Take this first."
I handed him the Gourmet's Fork, and he took it, examining it from every angle.
"Stab the root of your nightmare with this, and you'll escape."
"The root of my nightmare...?"
"You know it."
Hunter Cha Do-yun glanced at me, then turned toward his mother. She was now completely shrouded in black dust, indistinguishable as human or monster.
"...Yeah, I do."
He bit his lip until it turned pale white.
He'd seemed resolute when telling them to leave the house, but now he hesitated to thrust the fork.
"Hoo......"
He squeezed his eyes shut and stood before his mother.
"Do-yun-ah, what's wrong? Come sit down."
His mother tapped her son's leg while still fixated on the cameras.
Hunter Cha Do-yun drew a deep breath, as if steeling himself, and brought the Gourmet's Fork forward.
Peeing—
As the fork touched her body, it made a sound like an arrow slicing through the air. His mother disintegrated into snowflake-like particles that scattered across the sofa.
['Cha Do-yun' has escaped the 'Nightmare of Greed'.]
[Remaining Ingredients: 2]
[Time Remaining Until the Gourmet's Table: 14 hours 8 minutes]
Greed, huh. Hunter Cha Do-yun had endured this horrific nightmare because of his parents' greed.
The scenery around us began to shake violently.
"After leaving that house, I decided not to trust anyone but Chairman Kim."
He muttered while watching the house's landscape melt away like running paint.
Even in the previous timeline, Hunter Cha Do-yun had always kept a proper distance from people. He wasn't cold, but he wasn't easy to approach either.
"So when Hunter Shin Ji-ui called me a comrade, honestly, I couldn't believe it."
The house's interior fully dissolved away. For once, Hunter Cha Do-yun kept talking.
"I couldn't understand why you'd come to save me."
"Was that so?"
"Every time that doubt crept in, your words kept echoing in my head."
He grumbled like always, then looked me straight in the eye.
"The part about me being a precious comrade."
[The seed of 'precious comrade' in Awakener 'Cha Do-yun' has bloomed.]
[Awakener 'Cha Do-yun' is influenced by the words of Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui'.]
[Destructive power of unique skill 'Command Like a Mountain' has increased.]
[Command Tower]
[Bloom 'Word Seeds' to make comrades.]
[Progress Increased]
[Progress: 40%]
[Savior of the World]
[Protect the world from its end.]
[Progress Greatly Increased]
[Progress: 62%]
It bloomed!
I could feel Hunter Cha Do-yun's serious gaze through the status window. He'd changed from his school uniform back to his current appearance.
"Now I believe that Hunter Shin Ji-ui sees me as a comrade."
"Hunter Cha Do-yun...!"
"...And I'll think of Hunter Shin Ji-ui as a true comrade too."
With that, he whipped his head away. His neck flushed red, and a chuckle escaped through my teeth.
Tap.
I patted his shoulder in reply, and he rolled his eyes to look at me.
Our clear gazes met, and it finally felt like he was my true comrade.
Fwaaah.
My vision went pure white as we escaped his nightmare.
Tadak.
"Wh-whoa!"
The moment we emerged from Hunter Cha Do-yun's nightmare, Hunter Han Jin-woo's voice rang out. He rushed over from in front of Se-bin-i's door and slapped on layers of 'Healing Hand'.
"Ah, I'm not hurt......"
"Still, keep 'em on! They help restore stamina too!"
Hunter Han Jin-woo planted his hands on his hips and declared firmly at Hunter Cha Do-yun's protest.
It really does clear the mind.
The cool sensation seeping into my skin felt just like being in a forest.
"Now all that's left are Hunter Kang Se-bin and Hunter Choi Min."
Hunter Cha Do-yun turned to look at the door labeled with Se-bin-i's name.
Fourteen hours remaining. With no clue how long the last two nightmares would be, we needed to split into teams.
"I'll take Se-bin-i. You two head into Hunter Choi Min's nightmare."
They both nodded. I raised the Gourmet's Fork and opened the door to Hunter Choi Min's nightmare for them.
"Without this fork, you won't pinpoint the root, but you can at least let Hunter Choi Min know it's a nightmare."
"Leave it to us!"
Hunter Han Jin-woo clenched his fists with a resolute expression. Hunter Cha Do-yun nodded firmly beside him, lips pressed tight.
Kkiiik, thud.
After sending them into Hunter Choi Min's nightmare, I stood before Se-bin-i's entrance.
Just wait a bit longer.
Click.
I unlocked Se-bin-i's nightmare with the Gourmet's Fork.
Squelch.
"...Haa."
As Se-bin-i released her grip, the corpse dropped to the floor with a wet splat. The body, slammed down, stared blankly at its killer—Se-bin-i—with eyes that hadn't registered its death. She met its black gaze before scanning her surroundings.
The entire world was dyed pitch black and empty. The boundary between sky and earth had long vanished. She was the only one breathing in this space.
Se-bin-i wiped the blood splattered on her face with her sleeve and tilted her head toward the sky.
"Even knowing it's a nightmare, I can't get out."
Lowering her head again, the corpse she'd just killed was alive and whole before her. It stared silently at Se-bin-i without a word.
"Ji-ui has to come for this to resolve."
"......"
"Just sit tight and wait for her to save you."
Slash.
Se-bin-i gripped her sword and cleaved the corpse in half again. It exhaled raggedly, went limp, and gazed at her with half-lidded eyes.
Thud!
She drove 'Yeong' into the top of the corpse's head, then bent down to meet its eyes.
"Ji-ui must never see me like this."
"You know how ugly you are."
Crunch.
A massive shadowy hand seized the corpse and crushed it in one go. Se-bin-i pulled Yeong out, readjusted her grip, and rubbed her dry face with one hand. Blood from the splatter had smeared her face.
She already knew this space was a nightmare. She'd relived every horrific past event. She'd killed this damn corpse that tormented her with words hundreds of times.
But why can't I leave?
She'd thought up dozens of clear conditions and tried everything possible. But she couldn't escape.
"I told you it's pointless."
"......"
"There's nothing you can do here."
Se-bin-i turned around. Her own face—the one she'd killed countless times—stared back at her. She raised Yeong toward it.
"Shut up with the nonsense and tell me how to get out."
"Wait for Ji-ui."
Se-bin-i's brow furrowed. Even this version before her eyes was just part of the nightmare created by that mysterious monster, the Gourmet—yet it seemed to know her better than she knew herself.
What she was thinking, and what kind of person she was.
"How do you know about Ji-ui."
"Because I'm you."
Se-bin-i's shadow rippled. Then it looked straight at her and spoke.
"For a meticulously mimicked nightmare."
"Who knows. I'm a bit too complex to dismiss as just a nightmare."
The nightmare Se-bin-i smirked, lifting one corner of her mouth. The chill that raced up Se-bin-i's spine the moment she saw that expression came from seeing her own face like that for the first time.
Tap.
"Aren't you scared."
The nightmare Se-bin-i tapped Yeong against her cheek. A gash opened, black blood trickling down. She walked slowly toward Se-bin-i with the blade still pressed to her cheek.
"Scared that Ji-ui will see your nightmare and be disappointed in you."
"......"
"Scared that even Ji-ui will eventually leave your side."
Shwaaak—
Se-bin-i slashed at it once more. The nightmare Se-bin-i scattered into black ash.
The silence didn't last. One of the piled-up Se-bin-i corpses rose and approached her again.
"But deep down, you already know."
"Know what."
"That everything you love will leave you someday."
Thud!
Se-bin-i's vision shook violently for a moment. She had no rebuttal to the nightmare's words. Everything she loved had indeed left her, just as it said.
Her parents, who loved her more than anyone, were taken by a dungeon. The chance for a peaceful, stable life vanished with her awakening.
All that remained for Se-bin-i now was her childhood friend.
If even Ji-ui leaves me, then I'll...
Click.
It was then. A square of light pierced the pitch-black space. Se-bin-i turned to look, and the silhouette she least wanted to see appeared. The figure, yet to spot Se-bin-i, just glanced around.
"Ji...ui? Ugh!"
The moment Se-bin-i mumbled her name and tried to hide with a skill, the nightmare Se-bin-i grabbed her throat.
"Perfect timing."
"Guh, ugh!"
"You want Ji-ui to save us quick, right."
Black shadowy hands wrapped around Se-bin-i's body, dragging her into the endless darkness.