The White Mask
Yoo Dahui struck the dark elf with far greater precision than I could manage. Her shots lacked power, but her accuracy was exceptional. The distance felt both near and impossibly far. This could work.
I shifted position. There was no need for me to play the hero when a solid vantage point already existed. Simply keeping the post intact was enough to fulfill my role.
“I’ll block the arrows. Try to bring that bitch down.”
“…I’ll do my best.”
“Hand over the shield.”
Yoo Dahui frowned but passed me the shield. Since I had come without a sword, one hand had been empty; now that it was filled, I felt oddly reassured. Dual shields instead of dual blades. Suddenly mocking the glasses guy felt ridiculous.
“How dare mere humans…!”
The dark elf nocked an arrow, but it was pointless. Whoosh!Thud! I deflected the shot aimed at Yoo Dahui. It was laughably easy. Too easy. All I had to do was cover my upper and lower body with the two shields and stand in front of her. Because of our height difference, any arrow that didn’t curve would have a harder time hitting her than missing.
“Hup!”
Yoo Dahui hurled a stone gripped tightly in both hands. Her posture looked awkward, yet the throw was sharper than any sling. Crack…! The rock struck the dark elf’s jaw in a strange arc. The dark elf staggered, then collapsed unconscious.
“Whoa.”
“Hmph!”
I ignored Yoo Dahui’s smug shrug and sprinted toward the fallen dark elf. Up close, her chest looked even more impressive. It was almost comical that she wore nothing but a scrap of cloth. Kill her. I had to finish it while the chance existed. Taking out a player always yielded better rewards than killing monsters.
“Wait. Why don’t we just run? If her companions show up while we’re standing here…”
Yoo Dahui tried to stop me. She still hesitated at the thought of PK. Even though this was the fourth tutorial, barely a month had passed in real time. I could understand her reluctance.
Whoosh—! Thud!
“Shit…”
An arrow had already buried itself in my shoulder. It had pierced straight through Hardened Skin. My worst fear had come true. Another dark elf had appeared.
Blood poured out in a hot rush. The pain wasn’t too bad, but the arrow felt unbearably intrusive. I wanted to yank it out, yet I lacked the courage. The adrenaline still hadn’t fully kicked in.
“Wow, I underestimated you humans… You’re pretty good.”
The second dark elf stood at a distance, bow trained on me. She hadn’t climbed a tree; instead she watched me warily. Her words were bold, but her expression betrayed clear anxiety. I planted my foot on the unconscious dark elf’s chest.
“Scared?”
“Get your foot off her!”
“Shoot if you want, idiot.”
“Kgh…!”
The bowstring trembled. The dark elf couldn’t bring herself to release it. The chance of her firing was extremely low.
“If my friend gets hurt… none of you will leave here alive!”
“What are you even saying? You were all gung-ho about hunting earlier. Now you’re backing down?”
The dark elf could only scream in frustration, unable to act. She couldn’t bear to lose the only member of her race she had met inside the Tower of Struggle. Regressors, on the other hand, had a very different relationship with death. Even if I was only a fake one, I had regressed alongside Yoo Dahui. Her threats meant nothing to me.
“Ugh… ugh…”
The unconscious dark elf stirred. I stomped on the back of her neck.
“Kkhh…!”
“You bastard!”
The standing dark elf finally loosed her arrow. I raised the shield and blocked it easily; I had been ready. She immediately swung her aim toward Yoo Dahui.
“If you don’t move your foot…!”
“Okay.”
I lifted my foot and retreated, quickly returning to Yoo Dahui’s side. The dark elf rushed to her fallen companion. A two-on-two standoff formed—though they still only had one conscious fighter.
“Let’s just go.”
“No…”
Yoo Dahui tugged at my collar. The dark elves glared at us, bows half-drawn, but they didn’t look ready to shoot. They wanted to retreat. Why? Their hearts were far too soft. Because Yoo Dahui was a regressor, she lacked the raw fury that came from nearly dying. In that regard, we were completely different. Good thing I had brought the mask. Time to fill her with the anger she was missing.
“Next time, I won’t let you go.”
I flipped the dark elf off, then slowly backed away like someone retreating from a bear. I kept my guard up until they disappeared from sight.
“I’m sorry. I was being stubborn.”
Yoo Dahui apologized first. Her suspicion toward me seemed to have thinned considerably.
“It’s fine. By the way, you’re not planning to keep hunting today, are you?”
“No. I’d like to rest.”
I handed one shield back to her and started walking toward Beginner Village. With the Korean party effectively wiped out, there was no reason to continue. Inhale… Where should I look for an angle…
First run, second run, third run… I had crossed paths with Yoo Dahui before. In the first run we had been in the Korean party together and died on the third day. In the second I led the Korean party while she played solo. In the third she rejoined us and we survived the third day thanks to her strength—then I disbanded the party and slept with her while she was solo. Throughout every regression I had worked hard to keep my existence hidden, mimicking my previous self as closely as possible while making tiny adjustments to get what I wanted.
But the fourth run had changed everything.
Yoo Dahui followed me with a thoughtful expression. She was probably trying to figure out what had caused this divergence. There was only one variable. Herself. If she had simply run when we first encountered the reinforced Deadman, none of this would have happened. Someone might still have died, but the overall flow would have remained the same. I had no idea what she had been trying to accomplish with the Korean party. She had messed everything up by trying to force something.
She might as well just kill herself and start over.
Yoo Dahui had been searching for the masked man inside the Korean party. Now that everyone except me was dead, what was the point? The moment she stopped suspecting me, she would have no reason to continue this run. She could erase the Korean party from her list of suspects and keep going, but… Why bother? Starting fresh or continuing from here made little difference. Beginning again would be simpler; she wouldn’t have to wonder why things had gone wrong.
Should I just hand this run over…?
I could die today and regress immediately. The moment we entered Beginner Village, my chance to sleep with Yoo Dahui would vanish.
“We’re almost there.”
Beginner Village was visible in the distance. Yoo Dahui spoke slowly.
“Wait. Jinwoo, come with me for a second.”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the quiet woods where no one would notice us. I had no idea what she was planning. Honestly, ever since I had slept with her, her personality had probably diverged from the version I knew in the novel. After all, the Yoo Dahui in the story had never been raped.
An eerie atmosphere wrapped around us. Her expression was filled with unease. Her eyes held not even a shred of lingering attachment. She intended to say something, then regress.
“Before we go into the village, can you do me one favor?”
“…What kind of favor…?”
Something felt off. My mind began flashing warnings. Yoo Dahui took a mask out of her inventory. A plain white mask with no decorations. It looked similar to the one I had worn.
“Could you put this on for me?”
“…Sure. It’s not difficult.”
“And… could you take all your clothes off while wearing it?”
I forgot how to speak. It was obvious now. She planned to end this run and start over. Whether I granted her request or not, only she would remember this timeline. Unless I regressed with her.
“Wait… You want me to take everything off…?”
I slowly stepped backward. Knowing her true intention made it impossible to comply.
“Jinwoo, I want to trust you. This is necessary for me to believe. Just once. Please take them off.”
She spoke with such sincerity that I couldn’t find any words. “Even just the top would be enough.”