Haeundae's Secret (1)
Everyone seemed exhausted after eating, and it was already quite late. We all drifted off to sleep.
I was about to follow suit, but then I wondered if anything had appeared on the bulletin board about that egg. I headed over to the one my father had activated.
As expected, there was nothing about the egg.
Well, it was only natural.
‘Huh?’
But what was far more important was the note that had arrived for me.
‘Kang Hyuk sent this?’
I occasionally contacted him through the slime, but this was the first time he’d messaged me directly, so I checked it.
Slimes could only reach out when I wanted them to, so the only way for Hyuk to contact me first was through a note.
-[ID: Strong Man] : Min-seong-ah. There’s something strange happening in Busan right now. I know you’re busy, but please contact me when you see this.
A brief message from Kang Hyuk.
‘What’s going on in Busan?’
Just a few days ago, Hyuk had said everything was fine, but now something had clearly happened.
It was late, but I immediately used the spirit communication skill on the slime in the shelter.
-Hyuk! Hyuk! Wake up. What’s going on?
Even though it was late at night, Hyuk was slumped over his desk in front of the slime, dozing while waiting for my call.
-What? Min-seong-ah!
-Hyuk! What’s the matter? Is this not just the Christmas event?
-Yeah. Chaos has broken out on the Haeundae side.
-Haeundae?
What exactly was happening there that had everyone so worked up?
-Unknown species have appeared on the Haeundae side.
-What? Species? Not monsters?
-Yeah. They don’t seem to be monsters.
Monsters, no. Just unknown species.
It wasn’t strange that other species besides the elves like Elena existed, but I still needed to know why they had appeared.
-What’s the problem with them?
-They’re abducting people.
-What? Why?
-I don’t know either. Why are they doing this? A few of our shelter members were taken while hunting near the area.
Abducting people.
What was this even about?
And with our shelter members being taken, I couldn’t just sit still.
-I’ll go right away. Wait there.
-Sorry. I wanted to handle this myself so you could focus on finding your parents, but I don’t think there’s any way to deal with this.
-No, Hyuk. I already visited my parents today. Don’t worry.
-Really?
-Of course. I’ll explain everything when I get there.
-Okay. Got it.
I ended the call with Hyuk and took a return scroll from my inventory.
‘There are only two registered in Busan…’ Using the return scroll would let me return to Busan easily, but the problem was that only two return scrolls were available to Busan.
That meant I couldn’t take anyone else with me.
Originally there had been only one return scroll, but through a lucky encounter with Hyuk at the auction house where random assignments were given, I had received one designated for Busan and another unregistered one.
A return scroll had appeared in the safe box, but since the probability wasn’t high, it had become difficult to obtain recently.
After all, it was such a necessary item that when others moved, the supply was almost nonexistent, making it nearly impossible to find one.
‘Only two people can go?’
So only two people could return to Busan.
Normally I would have gone with Jin-hwan, but with Elena and Ji-ah there, things were different.
Elena was the key to the hidden temple, and the others might target her, while Jin-hwan needed to stay with Ji-ah to control her viral power.
‘Sigh.’
I woke Jin-hwan, who was still asleep.
“Mmm~ Ah, Ssaem. Why?”
“Jin-hwan. There’s something happening in Busan, so I need to go down there.” “What? Now? What’s going on?”
“An unknown species has appeared on the Haeundae side.” I told Jin-hwan what Hyuk had said.
When I finished, he naturally wanted to go to Busan too.
I was grateful for his willingness, but after explaining my earlier thoughts, Jin-hwan nodded.
“I understand. Then should I and the others come down later?” “No, level up here first. This is a rare opportunity from the blessing. You can’t miss it.” “Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Of course. If I need help, I’ll contact you right away. Don’t worry.” The Christmas blessing we had barely obtained.
It would be a shame to miss the chance to level up properly right now.
The situation in Busan was urgent, but even if we went, it would take a long time to return.
And we might receive a return scroll from the Cheonha Tongil Guild.
I had designated one of mine for Daegu, so if we got one, it would be much faster.
“Then I’ll go. Tell Mom, Dad, and the kids I said goodbye.” “You’re not telling them?”
“Yeah. If I told them, they’d worry. The kids would too.” Jin-hwan nodded at that.
No parent would let their child go to a dangerous place without protest.
“I understand.”
“Yeah. I’ll leave one slime here. If anything happens, send a note right away.” “Okay.”
I told Jin-hwan that and then woke Elena. We slipped out of the house together.
“So we’re going to Busan?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I suddenly moved like this.” “It’s fine. Actually, maybe there’s a hint about where I should go.” Elena accepted the sudden move with a smile.
She really was a heavenly being.
“Let’s go.”
-[Return Scroll activated?] Y/N
-[Current destination: Busan XX.]
A bright light enveloped me and Elena as the return scroll was used.
In an instant, we were no longer in Daegu but in Busan.
We had returned to the school where the shelter was located.
‘This is really convenient.’
The convenience of the return scroll.
After all, that was why everyone was hoarding them tightly, making the market empty.
“Hyuk!”
“Min-seong-ah!”
Because of the Haeundae incident, Hyuk’s face looked quite haggard lately, though I hadn’t noticed it through the slime.
“What’s this person beside him?”
“Hello. My name is Elena.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Hyuk.” Hyuk greeted Elena lightly.
But when he noticed Elena’s ears…
Hyuk, realizing she wasn’t human, turned to me with a question.
“Is this person a different race?”
“Yeah. An elf.”
“An elf…”
Hyuk’s expression turned slightly uncomfortable when he learned Elena was a different race.
After all, he was probably having a hard time because of the different races right now, so his reaction was only natural.
“No, what’s going on? Where have the people been taken?” “I can’t figure it out either. They’re being taken to the sea, so I can’t investigate.” “Taken to the sea?”
“Yeah. They said they were from the Merfolk tribe.”
Merfolk.
It was indeed a strange species.
But Elena seemed to know something about them.
“If they’re Merfolk, they’re usually kind-hearted. They wouldn’t abduct people…” “Do you know about the Merfolk?” “Yes. We’ve had many interactions with them. They wouldn’t abduct people.” Elena’s expression showed she couldn’t believe the Merfolk were doing such a thing.
But it was hard to believe Hyuk was lying about the current situation.
“What about the Cheonha Tongil Guild? Are they okay?” “They’re in chaos too. It seems their key member was taken.” “Key member?”
“Yeah. That Kim Ha-jin, you know?”
“That person?”
The one who used the invisibility skill.
Someone who should never be abducted.
‘That side must be in serious trouble too.’ Geum Bit-na-ra was also probably having a hard time.
“So what’s the situation on our side?”
“Right now there are two missing. Min-cheol and a few others are investigating and heading to Haeundae.” “Any progress?”
“No. Those guys are really cunning. It’s hard to find a lead.” In the end, I probably needed to go to the Haeundae beach myself.
‘Before I go, I should contact them.’ The Cheonha Tongil Guild seemed to be in a bad situation too, so we might need to cooperate to resolve this.
And if we could get a return scroll, that would be even better.
But when I tried to contact Geum Bit-na-ra through the slime, there was no one in the room.
It was late, and even if she was awake, given the serious situation, it was unlikely she’d answer immediately.
“Hyuk. I’m going to Haeundae right now.” “Be careful.”
“Of course.”
I prepared to head to Haeundae to assess the situation.
‘What about Elena?’
She seemed skilled enough from the Christmas event, but it was still a dangerous place.
But my thoughts had already been noticed.
“I’ll come with you too. If they’re Merfolk, I might be able to persuade them.” “It might be dangerous. Are you sure?” “Of course.”
Elena said she would follow first.
With Elena and Hyuk, we rode the motorcycle he had prepared and sped toward Haeundae.
‘I haven’t been to Haeundae in a long time.’ When I first arrived in Busan, I had come here once but hadn’t been back since.
I didn’t like crowded places, so I rarely visited, but now it had become completely desolate.
‘Where are Min-cheol and the others?’
Min-cheol was checking the area around Haeundae.
While I was searching for him, I heard a familiar sound from somewhere.
Bang!
Min-cheol’s gunshot.
Using a gun meant something serious had happened.
“Damn it! That way!”
I rushed toward the direction of the shot and saw Min-cheol confronting the Merfolk.