Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Act 48. Cha Eun-ha (1)
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“That’s our Eun-ha!”
“I heard you got first place again?”
Cha Eun-ha was a promising kendo prospect.
What began as a simple interest blossomed into a talent, making her a provincial representative just two years after she started.
With her parents’ full support, she became skilled enough to compete in the national tournament three years later.
“Do your best.”
“We’ll be cheering for you.”
That day was the day of the final match.
Her opponent was last year’s winner.
A defending champion hailed as an even greater prodigy than herself.
He was a formidable foe, showcasing an overwhelming performance, with predictions giving him a 70% chance of winning.
Nevertheless, Cha Eun-ha was not intimidated.
She firmly believed she could win with her skills.
And on that day, she was in particularly good condition.
‘I’m overflowing with energy.’
She saw her opponent’s face beyond the headgear.
Unlike his initial composure, his eyes were now tense and rigid.
In contrast, Cha Eun-ha’s breathing was calm, and she felt as if her surroundings had slowed down.
“……”
A breathtaking standoff continued.
The referee glanced at the clock, noting the few seconds that remained.
The score was tied.
The first person to land a successful strike would be the winner of the finals.
“Hyaaaah!!”
It was her opponent who moved.
With his signature kiai, he launched a quick, clean attack aimed at her head.
However, to Cha Eun-ha, it felt endlessly slow.
The moment she dodged with a flawless motion she couldn’t even explain herself, Cha Eun-ha was certain.
I’ve won.
Cha Eun-ha smiled brightly and swung her bamboo sword toward her opponent’s wrist.
KABOOM!
What went wrong?
Was it because she put too much force into her swing, fueled by the euphoria of victory?
Or was it…
[You have awakened as a ‘Player’.]
[Welcome, Cha Eun-ha-nim.]
…because of the blue window that had suddenly appeared?
“Medic! Medic!”
“Call an ambulance, quickly!”
Cha Eun-ha stood there in a daze, unable to process the scene before her.
Her opponent, with whom she had just been crossing swords, was now unconscious from shock, his left arm twisted at an unnatural angle.
Why?
She was only a first-year in high school.
No matter how hard she struck with a bamboo sword, it shouldn’t have been enough to break a person’s arm.
And yet, why?
“She hid the fact that she’d awakened as a Player and used that power to get this far! This is unacceptable!”
Her victory was nullified.
Judged to have hidden her Player abilities, she was permanently banned from competitions.
To prevent that fact from becoming public, it was officially announced as ‘use of illegal equipment’.
Those who had praised her as a prospect, a once-in-a-generation genius, now hurled insults at her, asking if she was that desperate to win, calling her dirty and despicable.
“Fix my daughter, you damned bitch!! Oh, my daughter. My daughter…!”
She would never be able to do kendo again.
Even if she fully recovered, she would face lifelong discomfort in her daily life.
When Cha Eun-ha heard the doctor’s diagnosis, her heart sank.
‘I… have to… apologize…’
Even if there was no such intention.
What happened, happened.
After repeatedly saying she wanted to apologize, Cha Eun-ha was finally allowed into the hospital room.
“Get out.”
But Cha Eun-ha couldn’t even offer her apology; she could only lower her head and leave the room behind.
From that day on, she was in debt.
She had to pay a substantial settlement, given that she could have killed her opponent, and the fine for a Player using their powers to harm a civilian was also enormous.
She returned home and packed her things.
She could no longer go to the kendo club or the dojo.
At school, she was called a cheater, and on the streets, the whispers never ceased.
Those she thought were friends were not.
Before she knew it, Cha Eun-ha was all alone.
‘It’s okay.’
She had lost everything in an instant, but Cha Eun-ha pulled herself together.
She couldn’t turn her back on her parents, who believed in her.
Cha Eun-ha quickly got back on her feet.
She still had her Player powers, so she could earn money with them.
Her parents had opposed it, calling it dangerous, but Cha Eun-ha persuaded them.
Whether it was a blessing in disguise or not, Cha Eun-ha had a talent for being a Player and was able to grow quickly.
“Good work, everyone!”
“You too~”
After successfully clearing the gate, Cha Eun-ha let out a short sigh.
It was a C-rank gate, a step up from the D-ranks she usually frequented.
There were a few dangerous moments, but she had formed a party with good people and cleared it without a single injury.
‘The difference of a single rank is huge.’
After clearing a gate, the guild provided a performance bonus.
Cha Eun-ha smiled faintly as she looked at the money deposited in her account.
As of today, she had paid off all her debts and could finally start saving.
Tomorrow, they had planned a rare family trip.
Wanting to repay her parents for taking precious time off for her, she had pushed herself to treat them to a better meal, but it seemed she had also grown stronger as a result.
“Let’s keep working hard.”
On her way home, Cha Eun-ha happened to see an advertisement for an ice cream sale.
She used to eat it often with her friends in school, but at some point, she had stopped eating it altogether.
Come to think of it, her parents liked ice cream sandwiches.
Remembering this, Cha Eun-ha briefly changed her course.
“That’ll be 6,000 won.”
“Yes, here you go…”
The moment she handed over her phone to pay, a new message notification popped up, displaying its contents largely on the screen.
[Emergency Alert. Unexpected Gate appearance. Location is xx-ro xxx……. Nearby Players are requested to proceed to the location immediately to assist with civilian evacuation and monster suppression.]
This had been happening occasionally for some time now.
Usually, the signs of a gate could be detected before it appeared, but these would just pop into existence without any warning.
Cha Eun-ha took back her phone after the payment was complete and properly checked the address.
Thud.
And she dropped the bag containing the ice cream she had just received.
“Mom, Dad…!”
The address written was none other than the one right near her house.
“Huh? Miss! You have to take this! My, where is she going in such a hurry…? Is she a national athlete?”
She ran until she was gasping for breath.
She couldn’t think of anything.
Only that she wouldn’t be too late.
That a Player passing by had quickly resolved the situation.
“Haa… haa…”
A half-collapsed villa came into Cha Eun-ha’s view.
It had always been old and shabby, but it had never been shattered like this.
Perhaps it was because the gate was right next to the building.
The monsters slithering out of the gate moved first toward the villa.
Gritting her teeth, Cha Eun-ha leaped to the third floor in a single bound, shattered a window, and landed in front of her apartment.
An ominous smell wafted from the open door.
And then, a scream rang out.
“S-stay back, you beast!”
“Honey!!”
It was her parents’ voices.
They’re still alive. Still.
CRASH!
She deliberately stomped loudly as she entered to draw attention.
A monster was tilting its head this way and that, as if deciding how to begin its meal, maintaining a pouncing distance.
“Eun-ha!?”
“What? Eun-ha!?”
Only then did the monster turn to look at Cha Eun-ha.
Dozens of sharp teeth.
And monstrous arms with blades instead of hands.
The drool that dripped from its mouth sizzled as it melted the floor.
‘A Man-Eater…!’
A low-tier, but still C-rank monster.
An opponent that Cha Eun-ha, a mere D-rank, would struggle to defeat one-on-one.
Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
“Ugh!?”
The monster’s attack came in an instant.
She managed to block it by a hair’s breadth, but a chilling sensation of near-death settled on the back of her neck.
“Eun-ha! Run! It’s dangerous here!”
“How can I run and leave Mom and Dad behind?!”
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous.
Still, Cha Eun-ha steeled herself.
‘It’s okay. I can do this. I have to save my parents.’
CRASH!
However, the reality was devastating.
Without landing a single proper attack, she was battered and thrown to the ground after a one-sided fight.
‘My sword… it’s not working…’
The monster’s face was directly above her head.
A drop of drool fell between her legs, and the sizzling smoke that rose was clearly visible to her.
The Man-Eater raised its arm high, and Cha Eun-ha squeezed her eyes shut.
But the monster’s attack never came.
When she peeked open her eyes, her father, his face pale with fear, was hitting the Man-Eater’s body with a wooden sword.
Her mother was swinging a frying pan at the Man-Eater’s leg.
“Look over here, you monster! Leave our daughter alone!”
No.
“Eun-ha! Now! Run! Run and get help!”
No.
“Eun-ha…!”
Shlick.
A gruesome sound echoed.
In an instant, the world was stained red.
‘Ah.’
Things that shouldn’t have been detached were rolling on the floor.
The monster seemed to be smiling.
Like a hunter satisfied with a successful hunt.
[You are awakening a unique ability.]
“Aah.”
Crackle!!
Sky-blue currents of electricity gathered on Cha Eun-ha’s sword.
The moment the Man-Eater, about to begin its meal, sensed something was wrong and turned its head, the sword was already upon it.
[You have acquired the unique ability, ‘Lightning (D)’.]
“Dieeeee!!”
A flash of light streaked past.
The monster’s body, which had been impervious to her attacks, was split apart, and it let out a cry like a dying insect.
Before she could even figure out how she had gained this power, the first thing Cha Eun-ha did was check on her parents.
“Dad! Mom!”
Their condition was critical to anyone’s eyes.
Her father’s arm was severed from the shoulder, and her mother was impaled through the stomach.
The pool of blood on the floor alone suggested they could die at any moment.
“A-a potion. If I use a potion to heal them…!”
Cha Eun-ha’s body froze as she frantically opened the coin shop.
400 coins remaining.
She had converted most of her coins into money to pay off her debt, leaving her without enough to even buy a potion.
Cha Eun-ha’s fingers trembled.
Why. Just why.
“……Eun-ha……”
“Mom!?”
Cha Eun-ha’s head snapped up as she moved closer.
Even while continuously coughing up blood, her mother managed a faint smile.
“You’re alive… I’m so glad.”
“Don’t talk! Don’t talk! Please…! Help… help will be here soon…!”
“Our proud daughter……. Don’t feel too guilty……”
A blood-stained hand barely touched her cheek before falling away.
In that moment, Cha Eun-ha’s vision blurred.
If only she hadn’t converted all her coins to pay off the debt.
No, if only she hadn’t taken a detour to buy ice cream.
No.
If only I had been stronger.
“Aah, aaaaaah…!!!”
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood, and wailed her heart out.
Endlessly, endlessly.
Reinforcements arrived not even a few minutes later.
“……”
After that, Cha Eun-ha wandered the streets.
She roamed aimlessly, and when she ran out of money, she cleared gates alone to convert coins.
For months, she lived without proper meals or proper sleep, feeling she didn’t deserve them.
“……Why are you sitting there like that?”
On a day when a steady rain was falling.
As Cha Eun-ha sat blankly in the corner of an alley, someone approached her.
Normally, she would have ignored them.
But the moment she saw the light gone from his eyes, she found herself answering without thinking.
“I… couldn’t protect my parents.”
“What a coincidence. I couldn’t protect my daughter, either.”
“……Is that so.”
An umbrella was held over her.
When Cha Eun-ha cast a questioning gaze, he replied with a sad smile.
“Would you like to talk?”
That was the first meeting between Jeon Do-jin and Cha Eun-ha.