Do You Like Dogfights?

"Do you like dogfights?"

I found it. The Rune of Immortality.

Unlike the smog-choked night sky back in Korea, the stars here shone bright. Even though the night was deep, spotting what I wanted wasn't hard. A tree stump in the middle of the forest, its cross-section so clean it looked deliberately cut. Strange characters were carved into it. I pressed my palm against the inscription, and light exploded outward like a hologram. Letters floated in the air.

"Wow… this really feels like playing a VR game."

Back then it still felt like a game. I hadn't tasted real hell yet.

"Huu… So what now? Do I have to strangle myself? Or maybe commit seppuku with a kitchen knife?"

The reason I was muttering this nonsense was simple. The riddle-like characters on the rune hinted at the conditions for obtaining it. For the Rune of Immortality, the right belonged to the one who dies first. It was an ironic trial—if you wanted power that could never die, you had to die first. But now that it was time to actually die, I couldn't think of a good way.

"Seppuku… that's going to hurt like hell. Damn it. Haa… Come to think of it, even if that Leonhart bastard knew how to get the Rune of Immortality, he probably couldn't have done it."

There was no way that coward would commit suicide.

"Can't be helped. I'm not some deeply compassionate monk from who-knows-where. Holding my breath until I ascend is impossible. I'll just have to take the kitchen knife I used for cooking and slit my stomach open. Haa… What kind of fucking bullshit is this?"

Of course it would hurt enough to kill me, but for my little sister who was probably still waiting for me without end, I could endure any amount of pain. The heavy steps as I turned back to find a suicide knife couldn't be helped.

"Kyaaaak! Stop! Stop it! Hic! I-I'll go! I'll go, so stop hitting me… hic!"

"You should've followed quietly from the beginning!"

"…Hm? What the hell?"

As I drew closer to the campsite, I heard a commotion. My stride quickened without me realizing it.

"Hic… hic… It hurts… It hurts, I said."

"Hey! How much do you think we can get selling this to the emperor? About a million shillings?"

"Kihaha! A million shillings? Fuuuck! We've hit the jackpot! Kihahahaha!"

At a glance, the crude bandits had Cynthia in a headlock and were dragging her off somewhere. One of them held a hand axe that looked like a cleaver. Cynthia's face had already been beaten several times—her eyes were horribly swollen. It was the first time I'd ever seen her cry. She was sobbing like a little kid, all traces of her usual arrogant attitude gone.

"Hey. What the hell is going on here?"

"Werther~~ Hic! Uuuugh!"

"Who the fuck is this guy? If you don't want to die, get lost."

One of the bandits pointed his hand axe at me and gestured for me to back off. It was true this area had no monsters. But no one had ever said humans didn't show up. Sometimes wicked humans were far more dangerous than monsters.

…But what the hell was that hero bastard doing?

The tent Leonhart had entered was shut tight. The fire was out and I couldn't hear breathing, but… it didn't feel like the tent was empty. It felt more like someone was desperately erasing their presence.

No way. Is that bastard too scared to come out? No way? Fuck, seriously? He's supposed to be the hero?

While a girl is getting kidnapped by bandits?

Haa… What a piece of shit.

"Look. We're the hero party. We're traveling to save all of humanity—including trash like you. If you're human, you shouldn't get in our way."

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't know what the fuck you're babbling about~ We just need to drag the princess the emperor's looking for back to the palace and collect the bounty. If you get in our way, we'll butcher you."

"We don't mind eating human flesh. Slurp."

These guys were seriously uneducated. By the way, princess? Cynthia? Come to think of it, I'd noticed the ornaments she carried looked expensive, and she couldn't sleep without her own pillow and blanket. I'd figured she'd been raised delicately, but an actual princess? Of course, that didn't change the fact that she was still a bitch.

"H-help me, Werther! I-I don't want to go back! Hic! Hiccup!"

"…It's the imperial palace, right? Isn't that way better than a bandit-infested campsite?"

A forest full of bugs that appeared from nowhere and the constant cries of beasts all night. Honestly, this wasn't a good place to sleep. If anyone had a choice, wouldn't they pick the splendid palace?

"But! But! That place has no… freedom…! Hiccup!"

"Freedom?"

"Father… is locking me up…"

"Shut your mouth! Stop talking nonsense and just follow!"

"Ow!"

The bandit bastard punched Cynthia's already swollen eyes again. Watching the bitch get beaten should have felt satisfying… but it didn't. This pissed me off too, somehow.

"Hey, low-IQ bandit. Are you stupid? The emperor is willing to pay a fortune to see his daughter again. What are you doing injuring her? Are you insane? One look at that face and instead of a reward, he'll want to kill you."

"Kihahat! You don't know shit, so shut up. The emperor clearly wrote in the proclamation to bring her back even if you have to use violent methods! Kihahaha!"

"Why are you even wasting time talking to that guy? Let's hurry up and go collect our million shillings!"

"Good idea!"

What the hell. That emperor bastard. No—that father bastard. He's openly ordering his own daughter to be exposed to this kind of violence?

Damn it. An irritating memory surfaced.

Our father had been exactly that kind of human trash.

My little sister Jiwon had a weak constitution, but she hadn't suffered from any serious illness at first. In fact, when she was young she showed talent for swimming and was energetic enough to join the city swimming team.

But everything went to hell when our damn father pushed her relentlessly. Rest is more important than training for athletes, yet he dragged a child who hadn't even finished growing out day and night, forcing unprofessional training on her until her body broke.

The doctor called it decompression sickness.

"Why didn't you train today! If you want to win gold at the Olympics, this level of training isn't nearly enough!"

"What training?! Jiwon is sick right now—she can't even get in the water!"

"If you can't endure even that, how do you expect to win gold!"

"When did Jiwon ever say she wanted to win gold?! It's all your greed!"

"You little shit—how dare you talk to your father like that!"

An incompetent father who had worked as a civil servant but lost the entire family fortune on stocks. He probably wanted to erase his inferiority complex through his daughter's success, but he chose the wrong method. He also had the nasty habit of swinging his fists whenever he got angry.

That day, another round of domestic violence we had long since lost count of crashed down on us siblings.

"I made you two! So do what your father tells you!"

"Don't hit my brother!"

"Ah…"

—The problem was that my sister jumped in and took the full-force punch from a grown man in my place.

She had already needed absolute rest because of the decompression sickness. After that incident, she could never regain her healthy self.

…She's probably still lying in bed, waiting for me. Believing I got annoyed with her and abandoned her, drowning in despair.

"Haa… Fuck. This is bullshit."

"Hm? What did that bastard just say?"

"Pretty sure he cursed at us."

The worst memory had resurfaced at the worst possible time. Of all things, overlapping that bitch Cynthia with the most lovable little sister in the world. When I get home, I need to apologize to Jiwon.

"Let your daughter do what she wants… Is it okay for a father to order her kidnapping just because he feels like it? Huh?"

"What the hell? You got a problem with us?"

"Yeah, you fucker. That bitch is our party's mage. If you want to take her, kill me first."

"Sure. Die, you retard."

"No! Werther!"

Fighting for someone else wasn't always a bad thing. At least I got to see that arrogant bitch's face twisted with worry for me.

The memories after that are hazy. Right after I coolly spat out my line, the axe blade flying across my vision like a fly probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠severed my neck.

I think I saw Cynthia's face, twisted with despair and guilt. Her expression looked so pitiful that I must have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said something to her at the very end.

Probably… I absolutely won't die.

The moment my precious neck was severed by the axe blade, the Rune of Immortality that had found its master somewhere ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the forest must have released its seal. In exchange for enduring the pain of having my head cut off for the first time in my life, I gained a body that would never die.

"Agh! This hurts way fucking more than I thought! Aaaaagh! Leonhart would never have endured it. Good thing I ate it. Agh…"

"? W-what the hell? Why isn't he dead?"

"Did you cut wrong?"

"N-no. I definitely chopped his neck clean off."

The bandits stood there stupidly panicking. Cynthia stared at me with wide eyes, tear tracks clear on her face. Leonhart was probably trembling inside the tent. And the Rune of Immortality now spread throughout my body.

From this moment on, I shed the casual feeling that this was just a game and began to take this world far more seriously.

"Hey, bandits. Do you like dogfights?"

—Was this the day I first saved a party member? I did similar things a few times afterward, but if we're talking order, this was definitely the first.