Chapter 115
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Intermission
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Due to my body's balance being thrown way off, I ended up stuck in the hospital for a whole week.
I'd thought I'd be fine with no external injuries, but apparently, I'd overexerted myself far more than expected.
Right after check-in, I was bedridden for two straight days, so hunters with healing skills even came and went from my room to help with my treatment, or so I heard.
My recovery lagged behind the others admitted alongside me, but thankfully, I'm perfectly fine now.
'I've napped so much that I can't sleep anymore.'
Rustle.
I climbed out of bed and pulled back the curtains, and a beautiful night sky filled my view.
Stars were scarce, but a bright crescent moon hung high.
'Ji-ui.'
"Ah."
That's when Ego emerged.
It looked exactly the same as before, but for some reason, it carried a subdued air.
Maybe because we hadn't exchanged a single word inside the Gourmet's fragment, but staring at Ego felt a little awkward.
Still, there was something I wanted to ask Ego more than anything.
'Did you remember everything too, by any chance?'
Ego flinched, then nodded.
'What a total nightmare that regression was.'
Ego murmured as it gazed out the window alongside me.
It was clearly a weapon, but its raspy voice made it feel so human.
'Do you think we can survive this time?'
'Of course.'
I shot back instantly at Ego's anxious words.
It wasn't empty reassurance to comfort it.
'Even if it's impossible, I'll make sure we survive no matter what.'
Thud.
I grasped Ego's hand.
Shimmering specks of pure white light danced around it.
'You've grown up.'
Ego slipped free from my hand and floated aimlessly around the room, fiddling with this and that.
'Somehow, it feels like we always end up plotting in hospital rooms.'
'Yeah.'
'We're going after it right away, right?'
I nodded toward Ego.
No need to spell it out—we both knew exactly what we were hunting for.
From here on out, we had to track down the Apostles for real.
With all the timelines' memories restored, I now knew exactly who they were.
"Mask" Joshua, "Prodigal" Riley, "Spirit" Sen, and "Kumari" Vis.
'Wait, does that mean Joshua approached me on purpose?'
Since I'd rejected the Creator, maybe he'd sent Joshua to take me out.
Sure, he'd recruited strong people into his guild in previous timelines too, but I couldn't afford to be complacent anymore.
'We'll have to change our approach, though.'
'Obviously.'
The 98th me had shown it clearly: killing all the Apostles wasn't the answer.
Thump, thump.
Images flashed in my mind of the Apostles' corpses dropping before me.
My heart pounded as those memories resurfaced.
'Why did we decide to kill them again?'
'To stop them from destroying the fragments themselves. If those vanish, any power or wishes they got from the Creator contract just go poof.'
Even knowing the Creator was trash, they couldn't break the contract because of those wishes.
It was pure selfishness—they wouldn't give up what they'd gained, even if it meant letting the world end.
"...What if I granted their wishes instead?"
'Does that even make sense?'
Ego immediately shot down the idea I'd voiced aloud.
I grabbed its shoulder and turned it to face me.
'No, hear me out—their wishes don't seem all that outrageous.'
'Even so, you think you can actually grant them?'
'I can't fulfill them perfectly, but I could negotiate something feasible!'
'Take back what I said about you growing up, you idiot.'
'Hey, come on!'
Knock knock knock.
We were in the middle of bickering when someone knocked on the door.
'Did I say that out loud?'
'No.'
There hadn't even been audible voices.
Ego and I both glanced at the door before it swiftly reverted to piercing form.
Visiting hours were long over.
The fact that they'd still escorted someone here meant it was someone of considerable status.
'No way it's Kim Kang-hee?'
A twinge of tension gripped me as I quietly turned the doorknob.
Thud.
"Ah."
"Uh, uh...!"
The door only cracked open an inch before hitting something.
Startled by the unexpected collision, I peeked into the hall and spotted a red-crowned head.
"Ch-Choi Min Hunter?"
"...You're still awake, as expected."
He rubbed the spot on his head that had bumped the door, then straightened up and met my eyes.
Clatter.
Now I noticed a basket sitting right in front of the door.
'Did he set that down and then bonk his head?'
I glanced between the basket and Choi Min Hunter, and he picked it up, offering it to me.
"I heard your recovery's been slow, so I packed a few things."
"Th-thank you..."
Peering inside, I saw fruits, a few cookies, and nutritional supplements stamped with the Busan Artifact Research Institute logo.
'But didn't Min-i just say "as expected"?'
'Oh.'
Ego pointed out the key detail amid my flustered daze from the sudden encounter.
Come to think of it, all those versions of "me" from the nightmare had said everyone has their own mission.
I'd chalked up Choi Min Hunter always saving me to his fate or whatever, but maybe his mission was tied to me.
That could explain how he knew my condition.
"You came to talk, right?"
Choi Min Hunter nodded at my words.
I carried the basket to the sofa in the room, and he followed behind me.
Click.
After closing the door, he sat across from me.
We didn't turn on the lights, but moonlight from the window and streetlamps outside provided plenty of illumination—it wasn't too dark.
"Do you remember everything from my nightmare?"
"Yes."
"Were all those words you said to me sincere?"
Moonlight glinted in his eyes.
Shadows traced his sharp facial lines.
'What is he getting at?'
I nodded in agreement for now.
From awakening him to firing the karma bullet—every word I'd spoken to him had been genuine.
"Of course."
"...Haa."
He dragged a dry hand down his face.
Then, peering at me through his fingers, he spoke again.
"This might sound strange."
"It won't."
"I think I awakened to save Hunter Shin Ji-ui."
'Looks like it's true.'
Choi Min Hunter's mission really was connected to me.
I stared at him wide-eyed, and he added more.
"Have you ever seen the word 'mission' in your status window?"
"......"
"If it's uncomfortable, you don't have to say. It's just me unilaterally trusting you..."
"I have."
Choi Min Hunter's shoulders twitched at my reply.
'I can't keep dodging forever, not after forcibly breaking a contract with the Balancer.'
I couldn't hide the powers I currently held—not the full regression truth, but I had to share this much.
"Savior of the World."
"Savior..."
"That's my mission."
Choi Min Hunter leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"So that's why..."
"What's your mission, Choi Min Hunter?"
"...The One Who Saves the Savior."
Straightforward as could be.
Him saving me in the first timeline was coincidence, but with it repeating, it must've solidified into a mission this time around.
Choi Min Hunter stared into space as if checking his status window, then slowly parted his lips.
"Save the Savior. As always."
"As always...? What?"
"That's the mission description."
'He's straight-up admitting the regression.'
His gaze turned to me.
I said nothing, just wet my lips with my tongue.
"You said what I saw was a dream."
"......"
"I trust you, so I'll believe that too."
He smiled faintly.
"Someday, when Hunter Shin Ji-ui's heart feels at ease, tell me."
"Choi Min Hunter..."
It frustrated me that even someone who trusted me completely made it hard to spill everything.
Part of me wanted to confess the whole regression, recount all that happened in past timelines.
But not knowing what impulsive words might unleash, I just nodded at his.
"...I can't say much."
"That's fine."
"But I can tell you for sure about the world's end."
I shared the intel on the apocalypse I'd gathered across regressed timelines: Hell Path's existence, the Creator's fragments, and the true identities of the Apostles and the Traitor.
He listened with wide eyes, then nodded slowly, as if sorting it out in his head.
"The Chairman is one of the Creator's people..."
"I don't know if he made an Apostle contract."
I remembered Kim Kang-hee not having a fragment.
He just had the ability to open any dungeon.
'He might be something beyond even an Apostle.'
"Speaking of Apostles."
Choi Min Hunter spoke up again then.
"How did you destroy the contract between me and the Balancer?"
Another tough one, right after regression.
Explaining the karma bullet meant starting with my linked passive, "Words Become Seeds."
Thud.
My heart sank.
Learning the person he trusted had used a skill on him would hit hard.
'He'll be disappointed. Won't trust me anymore.'
"Hunter Shin Ji-ui?"
"...I got it through my mission. A bullet that can destroy the Absolute's contracts."
"You really are the Savior."
Every time his gentle voice reached my ears, it felt like a knife twisting in my chest.
Now I understood Se-bin's fear of disappointing me.
'Someday, I'll tell him everything.'
For now, I was just postponing it.
Screeech.
Suddenly, metal grinding against metal echoed.
I turned, thinking a branch had scraped the window, but nothing had changed.
'Something's coming.'
I gripped Ego tightly, senses on high alert.
"So here you are."
"Gasp...!"
A low, clear voice rang out, and in an instant, the hospital room vanished.
All around turned into a vast white expanse.
I looked at Choi Min Hunter—he scowled, staring into empty space.
"Pleased to meet you."
Crackle.
A rift tore open in the air, and a massive sheep emerged from it.
The exact same sheep from Choi Min Hunter's nightmare.
"I am the being responsible for the balance and maintenance of this world, the Balancer."