Escape, Yay
The words were school ties, regional ties, blood ties, right?
For a brief moment, I was actually happy to hear we went to the same school.
But I never even made it to orientation. Does that still count as being alumni?
Dating in college, drinking in college, pulling all-nighters in college.
There were so many things I was supposed to do once I got to university.
I got accepted, but never attended a single class. All I bought was that damn varsity jacket, and ten years slipped away just like that.
‘I really hate this….’
Is there seriously no skill that lets you turn back time?
If there was, I’d give up everything I have without hesitation.
While I was lost in those bitter thoughts, regretting every choice that led me here—
“Excuse me. Can you understand what we’re saying?”
A perfectly layered cut that wouldn’t get in the way during combat. Her face matched her arrogant tone perfectly—haughty and cold. A suit that looked like it had zero intention of actually protecting her body.
The woman who seemed to be the leader of this hunter team spoke to me.
You literally just saw me react to your words, didn’t you?
You’ve got two eyes the size of your whole face and you still can’t figure out something that simple?
‘If I yell right now, they’ll probably take it as a challenge to fight.’
All of this was because I’d been alone for so long. I’d completely forgotten how to talk to people.
I swallowed the words I actually wanted to say and simply nodded.
“Yu-ra. Check if his mana wavelength matches the one you mentioned earlier.”
“Y-yeah!”
At the arrogant rice bowl’s command, the shaman—who had been sneaking glances at me through her fingers while calling it shameless—stepped forward. Now that she was closer, I could see she was covered in all sorts of dangling charms.
Her steps were so tiny it took forever for her to reach me.
While I was watching her pathetic approach with a bored expression, she finally stopped at what must have been a suitable distance and unfurled a talisman, focusing hard.
She was probably trying to confirm that “mana wavelength” thing she’d mentioned.
But did I even have mana? I doubt it.
“Uhh…?”
“What’s wrong?”
“T-this person… has no mana at all?”
Yeah, exactly what I thought. A warrior with only 4 Intelligence wouldn’t have something like that.
I only watched Yu-ra’s flustered reaction for a second before something else caught my eye. Those black things stuck all over her body had been bothering me since earlier. What the hell were they even touching?
‘Shoo. Get lost. Begone.’
It was just a light wave of my hand.
The moment the tiniest breeze touched them—
KIIIEEEEEEK!
They turned to ash and scattered on the wind.
If you’re gonna go, at least do it quietly.
“H-huh? What the—? Do I smell something burning…?”
So she could smell when those things detached from her body. The arrogant rice bowl must not have seen her rushing over in a panic.
“Lee Yu-ra!”
She marched right up and slapped a hand on Yu-ra’s shoulder. Wow, another polar bear loses its home today.
“I-I just got a message.”
“A message?”
“Yeah. I… I just got released.”
I had no idea how she ended up carrying around those annoying pests, but if it was resolved, that was probably a good thing.
That’s what I thought as I gave a small nod.
“…Did you do this?”
After listening to Yu-ra, the woman whose sharp gaze had softened asked me. Her voice was calmer than before. It looked like some of her wariness had finally eased.
“Thank you so much.”
The human who had been keeping her distance and watching me with suspicion suddenly bowed deeply. The others followed her lead and did the same.
I still had no clue what was going on, but it seemed like things had worked out. I gave them a light round of applause.
“…By any chance, are you a survivor of the 1st Great Cataclysm?”
What the hell is a Great Cataclysm? Sounds terrifying.
The fact that it’s called the “first” means there was more than one, doesn’t it?
“U-unnie. Hold on a second.”
The two of them stepped aside to have a private conversation. I thought about eavesdropping, but the atmosphere looked too serious, so I temporarily shut off my hearing. After a while, they seemed to finish talking and their lips parted again.
“For now, please come with us, sir.”
In hunter stories, that obviously meant returning to the outside world. It seemed like the reason they came to this gate was probably because of me.
On the way back to where they had started from, everyone was chatting away. I couldn’t join in.
They looked way too close. I didn’t feel like I could butt in.
More importantly, back when I was trapped in that cave…
I thought all my training had made me forget how to feel emotions. But maybe I just didn’t have anyone to share them with.
I’m actually pretty good at expressing emotions, huh?
Guess humans really are social creatures after all.
“Um…”
While I was quietly reflecting on what little I had left, Lee Yu-ra—who had been walking a short distance away—spoke up.
“How long have you been here, sir?”
How long? Ten years, obviously.
But there was something I’d been curious about since earlier.
Why the hell did these people suddenly start calling me “sir”?
“Why are you calling me sir?”
I’d been holding back from speaking much until now in case I said something wrong, but this was something I just couldn’t let slide.
The moment those words left my mouth—
The entire area froze.
Not literally. They all just stopped walking at once.
“Y-you can talk? And in Korean?”
“I’m Korean, aren’t I?”
What, did they think I was Chinese? Racists much?
“T-then why didn’t you answer any of our questions earlier…”
“It’s been ten years since I last saw another person. What do you expect?”
In martial arts novels, they always talk about closed-door training.
But I’ve never read one where someone did it for ten whole years.
Plus, those characters always had people bringing them food.
Wow, I’m so fucking jealous. There were times I couldn’t even catch fish and had to eat bugs.
The arrogant rice bowl walking ahead must have been listening to our conversation, because she slowly turned her head and looked back at me.
“…For now, I think it would be best if we talk after we return.”
I didn’t know what was going on, but it didn’t seem like it would cause me any problems. That’s just how it felt.
Like how I had been certain I could reach transcendence from my current state.
Maybe it was because of all the trials I endured while trapped in that cave, but I was confident my instincts were ridiculously sharp.
And right now, those instincts were kicking in again.
Nobody’s going to open their mouth until we get out of here.
Of course. They’d been treating me like some mute who could understand language but couldn’t speak. Then suddenly it turns out I can talk?
It must feel like they’d been stripping and dancing in front of a blind man, only to find out he wasn’t blind at all.
Or maybe not. Whatever.
“This is it. Once you pass through here, you’ll be able to return to Seoul.”
So this is what a rift feels like.
It’s my first time actually seeing one in person.
While she was explaining, the rest of the team had already gathered their gear and started crossing through the rift.
Even the team leader who had been explaining it to me went through.
Now I was the only one left.
It was pretty fascinating. You could see the outside from in here.
I didn’t know all of Seoul, but even at a glance I could tell a lot had changed.
[F-rank Rift - Field Type (Mutated)]
And of course that damn rock-like message appeared too.
Wondering if there was more to it, I gently placed my hand on it.
Your abilities are not compatible with the current Earth.
You cannot pass through the rift.
The world instantly turned red, as if it had been waiting for this.
It wasn’t just a color change.
‘It’s interfering until the very end.’
The plain that had once felt like paradise was now engulfed in flames.
“Are you not coming?”
Someone was waiting for me on the other side of the entrance since I hadn’t come through.
Wasn’t it about time I stopped being alone?
“Step away from the entrance.”
That’s why, for the first time in a while, I set down the tree branch I’d been carrying.
You must not leave.
“I clearly told you before.”
Your existence is too vast.
“Fuck you. I’m definitely going to kill you.”
You cannot leave.
Click—!
The thing I hadn’t held in a long time let out a welcoming sound as it settled into my grip.
When spring leaves, winter comes. That is the natural order.
The sword I drew became the cause, and the result of cutting came forth.
A vertical arc.
Not a single afterimage remained where the blade had passed.
There was no grand explosion. No shockwave lingered.
The same was true for the unpleasant message that had been blocking me.
The rift, dyed red, split cleanly in two and slid down into the void.
Shatter—!
Fragments formed like shattering glass.
[■-rank Rift - Field Type, ■■ has been cleared.]
[May your journey from here be without misfortune.]
The red turned to ash and wove itself into a single string.
###
Beep!
“Making a big deal out of nothing.”
Did they really have nothing else to put on the news?
The outside world I had longed for so desperately wasn’t nearly as interesting as I’d hoped.
The Seoul I faced with such determination was nothing like the one I remembered.
‘Thank god.’
At least the reality of getting into college but never paying tuition didn’t exist here.
“Mr. Gong Yul, you can wait while drinking this.”
I had been dragged to the Korean Awakened Association.
Along with the people I had to give a report to about this incident.
I also needed to clear my missing person status.
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
What Lee Yu-ra handed me was a warm mix coffee.
Man, when you haven’t had something in forever, it really hits different.
With that lighthearted thought, I took a small sip.
“Cough!”
The sweetness of the mortal world after so long made me choke.
Who sent this assassin?
“A-are you okay?”
I’d learned a few things since arriving here.
First, Lee Yu-ra was more timid than I expected.
Second, Lee Yu-ra and that rice bowl—no, Lee Yu-jin—were sisters.
On top of that, both of them were daughters of a chaebol family, and they had a reason for leading their team into the mutated rift.
“So, did you get what you wanted?”
I asked while blowing on the steaming coffee to cool it down.
I didn’t know what precious thing they were after, but they hadn’t taken anything out of that rift.
‘Well, technically they did get one human. Me.’
After I forcibly tore the rift open.
“What I wanted? I already got it.”
“What was it?”
What could possibly be worth coming all the way to an F-rank rift for?
Lee Yu-ra gave me a fresh, bright smile and slowly stepped closer. Every step she took made something sway in a way that was hard to ignore.
Her eyes held a different charm from Lee Yu-jin’s. Those eyes curved gently like a bright full moon.
“What was it, you ask? Well, it’s—”
Her hand gently settled on top of the one holding my coffee.
The sudden skinship made me feel a little overwhelmed.
“It’s you, Mr. Gong Yul.”
Lee Yu-ra drove the nail in deep.
Hey, if you do that I’m going to misunderstand?
Man… I still haven’t even thought of a name for our kid yet.