Chapter 29: Fragment (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Fragment (5)
Gaon Academy was situated on an artificial island floating near the West Sea.
It was Monday morning, and most students were on their way to school.
-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Just then, a piercing sound cut through the air.
An alarm began to blare.
Ordinarily, alarms rarely went off at Gaon, as it was an artificial island.
Magical phenomena simply couldn't occur there.
Therefore, an alarm at Gaon meant a national alert had been issued.
[Massive Magical Anomaly Detected at Baekdusan's Cheonji Lake]
-Similar to mana wavelengths previously detected in the USA and China...
-Large number of magical beasts in Baekdusan area have gone into hiding... Over 72% of individuals missing.
The students of Gaon checked the articles in real-time on their personal smart devices and hologram news screens.
Conversations mixed with curiosity and excitement filled the classrooms.
Cheon Yeo-wool stared silently at the news screen.
An image of a jade-green pillar of mana soaring toward the sky.
She clasped her hands and prayed earnestly.
“Please…”
Let him rise once more.
*
I opened my eyes.
The ceiling above was still high. A vast cave, so large it was difficult to gauge its end.
A place I had been to once before.
Returning here brought back even the memories I had forgotten with vivid clarity.
A faint sliver of light was seeping in from the far end of the cave.
A light a little stronger than before, but still not enough to completely dispel the darkness.
I instinctively took a step toward that light.
And then, the stairs.
There, leading to the exit, someone was still positioned on the stairs.
He stood perfectly still, watching me.
He was silent and motionless, but the demonic aura flowing from him was still chilling and sharp.
The last time I faced him, I couldn't even move my body properly.
This time is different.
Just then.
“I didn't expect we'd see each other again so soon.”
He spoke.
His voice was calm.
“It's a good thing….”
“Who are you?”
I cut him off.
His face, as he stood on the stairs, was still not visible.
It should have become clearer as the light grew closer, but it was as if a black curtain had been drawn over it.
“The fact that I can't tell you that…”
The silhouette in the darkness began to slowly descend the stairs.
“...is truly a shame.”
I could feel his power.
Is he a Named-class?
I ran through the images of all the Named powerhouses I could think of.
‘He wouldn't lose to them.’
That was my conclusion.
‘He might even be… stronger.’
As he slowly drew his spear, it began to cry out with a piercing scream.
“Kgh.”
I winced, reflexively covering my ears.
A sharp scream that pierced my entire body.
“You can hear this?”
He laughed, gesturing to his spear.
His face was hidden, but for some reason, I could tell he was smiling.
“That's a good sign.”
He slowly raised the tip of his spear and muttered.
“Still… it's a bit too soon for this place. There are a few more things left.”
The figure's face was still unrecognizable.
“Just keep doing what you're doing. Honestly, I'd recommend you stop thinking. Just entrusting your body to them might also… ah, is that a bit too dangerous?”
My vision began to expand.
As if to protect me from an attack.
‘Fragment.’
Expanded vision—one of the Authorities granted by the Fragment.
And at the same time.
I gripped the spear at my waist tightly.
This time, I could feel it. He was surging toward me.
A silhouette approaching from the front.
No.
Not just from the front.
In an instant, my vision distorted.
In front, behind, to the sides—afterimages scattered from every direction.
Dozens of attack routes filled the space.
There was no escape.
I was completely sealed off.
‘Catenaccio.’
He had just effortlessly unleashed the highest-difficulty skill from the game.
Perfect Space Domination, an inescapable net of spear strikes with not a single opening.
“Watch closely.”
His voice rang out.
“At your age, just watching is helpful.”
-Th-th-th-thunk!
The sensation of spears piercing my entire body.
The feeling of being sliced apart.
-...Hang in there.
My vision.
Faded to black once more.
*
I woke up.
-Chirp, chirp.
I was lying in a patch of bushes somewhere on Baekdusan, staring up at the sky.
My mind was blank.
Before me was a clear sky and leaves rustling in the wind.
And then,
====
[Authority: Fragment of Harmony (片鱗)]
① Shatter Evil, Reveal Justice (破邪顯正)
— Shatter that which is wicked.
② ???
③ ???
====
An unfamiliar system window.
A single entry had cleanly taken the place of my Authority.
The Fragment of Harmony.
I didn't know why.
I had clearly absorbed a Fragment.
[Job Ability 『Intuition』 resonates with the Authority 「Fragment of Harmony」 and evolves into 『All-Encompassing Perception (一體知覺)』.]
[Talent 『Whole Person (全人)』 resonates with the Authority 「Fragment of Harmony」 and evolves into 『True Person (眞人)』.]
.
.
.
And several others.
Notifications of growth popped up haphazardly before my eyes.
But more than joy, I felt bewildered.
“Where am I?”
I looked around.
The mountain lodge? No, this wasn't it.
In fact, judging by how I was slightly out of breath, the altitude was considerable.
I was clearly near the summit, close to Cheonji.
I wondered how I would get down, but it would be fine.
As the Fragment of the past was absorbed by me, the Fragment of the present vanished.
The magical beasts of this era would be instantly weakened now that the energy emitted by the Fragment was gone. They would either weaken or go into hiding.
Therefore, they were no longer a threat.
And Kang A-rin...
She was nowhere to be seen.
Did that mean we didn't fall together?
It seemed we had been separated.
I recalled the last thing I heard her say.
-Actually, I'm... yours, too.
My head grew hot.
It was true that we had shared an emotional connection over the past seven days.
It was also true that she had a tendency to cherish her own people.
But was it to that extent?
Our bond was deep, it's true, but...
I slowly closed my eyes.
And organized my thoughts.
Death Regression was gone.
After that, the flow of the original story as I knew it began to deviate more and more.
The main characters were different from their established settings. And even their reactions had subtly changed.
And above all, the Fragment.
Only those chosen by the System could absorb a Fragment.
In other words, the option for me to absorb it shouldn't have existed in the first place.
And yet, I had absorbed a Fragment.
I lightly opened my hand.
I gently channeled mana to my fingertips.
When I slowly opened my eyes to check, the color of my mana was ash-gray, as always.
But the faint, jade-green light mixed within it made me realize that I had truly absorbed the Fragment.
I let out a soft breath and got to my feet.
All the plans I had made up to this point had become meaningless.
I would have to admit I was wrong.
“Time to make a new plan.”
The moment I made my decision.
*
Team 2 of the Lotus Guild had been stranded on Baekdusan for two days.
They were originally a reconnaissance team sent to investigate the Baekdusan area.
But thanks to the greed of their leader, Woo Jang-hun, the situation had gone awry.
'We continue the exploration. Descending is a lower priority.'
Under the pretext of further analyzing the discharged energy, he kept delaying their descent.
As a result, their path down the mountain was completely cut off.
Their food had run out, and their stamina was depleted.
Even their distress signals were blocked by the energy radiating from Cheonji.
In the end, they were slowly becoming a part of the mountain itself.
The light in some of the members' eyes grew dim.
The number of glares that looked ready to tear Woo Jang-hun apart increased.
It was then.
-Fwoooosh!
Baekdusan's Cheonji.
A massive, jade-green pillar erupted from it.
A tremendous wave of mana, powerful enough to shake the entire mountain, swept over the area.
At that very moment.
-Bzzzt-bzt!
The radio crackled to life.
Woo Jang-hun reflexively snatched the radio.
“This is Team 2!”
It was a call from headquarters.
And the person on the other end immediately started shouting.
"Hey, don't you dare try to crawl back down! Get up to Cheonji right now! Immediately!"
“Sir…?”
"The magical beasts are all gone! Hurry up!“
They looked at each other.
Then, all at once, they grabbed their gear and started running.
They didn't know it, but while being chased by the magical beasts, they had already reached the vicinity of Cheonji.
Thus, they arrived at Cheonji much faster than expected.
And there—
by the clear waters of the lake.
A single person was standing right in its center.
“Huh?”
An unconscious exclamation escaped Woo Jang-hun's lips.
It was the young punk he had seen at the terminal just a few days ago, before climbing Baekdusan.
Back then, he had looked like a greenhorn who couldn't hide his youthfulness.
But now.
He was a completely different person.
His presence, his entire aura—it was all completely different.
It felt like looking at a saint (聖人) who had achieved enlightenment after a long period of ascetic training.
'What in the world happened in two days...'
Woo Jang-hun was more than a little flustered.
“Wow…”
A female team member behind him breathed out in awe.
In contrast, Jung Hae-in, standing in Cheonji, grasped the situation at once.
‘They're stranded.’
Seeing their haggard appearances, the situation was obvious.
Their gear was torn, and their faces were etched with deep fatigue.
Their hunger and exhaustion were plain to see.
Jung Hae-in had come up to Cheonji to solar-charge his Watch before heading down.
It was about two days after his first day climbing Baekdusan.
Which meant they had been trapped here for those two days.
Jung Hae-in watched them in silence. Woo Jang-hun avoided his gaze.
Then, Jung Hae-in soon opened his mouth, a calm smile on his face.
“Are you all okay?”
His voice was filled with composure.