The Returned, Round Two

The capsule was delivered the very next day, and a technician came to install it.

"All done! Full option packages take a while, but we got there."

"Thank you."

I handed the technician a coffee to see him off, then returned to the study where the capsule sat.

With nothing but the dome missing from the top, it looked exactly like a massage chair.

'Fascinating.'

Ten years was both a short and a long time.

I opened the dome and climbed inside. The moment I put on the headgear and closed my eyes, a weightless, floating sensation began to wash over me.

And when I opened them again, the familiar blue window was hovering before me.

I opened my mouth carefully.

"Yu Seolhwa."

I watched the bar slowly fill before my eyes. One percent, two percent. It climbed, unhurried.

And at last, when it reached one hundred percent, a mirror appeared.

In the mirror stood a woman with a windswept silver bob, dark circles that refused to hide themselves — and glimmering blue eyes.

Beside the mirror bloomed an endless cascade of customization presets and sliders — far too many to count.

But I touched none of them and simply pressed Complete. This body was already the one I knew best. More than that — it was the face I'd worn when I met those people.

The blue windows vanished, and light flooded my vision. What lay beyond that brightened view was an empty, endless white space.

'So this is the Guest Room?'

As I looked around, bewildered, a system window popped up.

'Ah, that's why it's empty.'

It didn't matter. None of that was important right now.

"Menu."

At my word, the menu window unfolded. Familiar icons floated before my eyes — Shop, Library, Community. Without a moment's hesitation, I pressed Shop.

Then I searched for Last Promise. The logo I'd seen in yesterday's video appeared on screen.

With trembling fingers, I pressed Purchase & Install.

"Phew…."

I took a deep breath and pressed Play.

The screen darkened once more. After the Last Promise logo flashed past, it shifted to the character creation screen.

'This part hasn't changed at all.'

It reminded me of the openings of all those games I'd only dabbled in — never seriously, but lightly enjoyed.

1. Generate a recommended character

2. Create manually

3. Import physical data

I pressed 3. Immediately, the black void of my limbs began fading back into my real-world appearance. As a final confirmation, a mirror popped up — a nice touch, that.

I closed all the windows again and pressed the character creation button.

I chose 1 without hesitation.

Countless windows ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bloomed before my eyes once more. Normally I would have brushed them aside without a glance — but this time I couldn't. The reflection in the mirror was far too familiar.

A black field jacket and crop top. Long leather pants and combat boots. And even the mask that covered my face.

Identical to the clothes the goddess had forced onto me.

'Was it always like this?'

Suspicious, but I pressed Confirm Selection anyway.

"Don't care."

That wasn't what mattered to me right now. I wasn't meeting them face to face, and from what I'd seen in the video, there didn't seem to be any chat either.

'And there's no way anyone would actually be watching this, anyway.'

I closed my eyes, opened them — and saw the Seoul of ten years ago, familiar as an old scar.

Then another blue window rose before me.

'Should be the same, right?'

I willed Inventory in my head, and the blue window bloomed just as it had back then. I'd had to open it at a moment's notice in every fight, so the motion came naturally.

And without thinking, I pulled out the item at the very top.

A silver bow limb and a string that shimmered blue. A grip that fit my hand perfectly.

And a name I knew far too well.

'Miss Seolhwa, take this. It is the one and only bow made just for you.'

This weapon was the one the goddess had given me.

'Why is it here?'

'Even this is exactly the same?'

The familiar feel of the bow tingled at my fingertips.

'If this really is Aurora…'

Then it would change its form.

I focused my mind, willing the transformation.

'SMG first.'

The bow's shape began to shift, condensing into a submachine gun with a short barrel — the Vector I'd used so often before.

"Ha… so it's real."

"They even bothered with the fine details. Pointless ones."

I stowed Aurora in my inventory and thought. And then I decided to believe it — that this really was the world I had returned from.

That was when it happened.

The same Gate Break where Yuri and I had first met had opened.

'What should I say to her?'

I started running for Gangnam Station.

I wanted to see you.Are you okay?

Countless words flickered through my mind. But one thing was certain: this was the place where Yuri and I had first met.

And before my eyes, an overwhelming tide of monsters was crawling out of the gate.

While Seolhwa was playing the game, a massive log dropped onto the community.

And just like that, people began flocking to Seolhwa's stream.

The first thing the viewers who entered the broadcast saw was Seolhwa's weapon and her appearance — a figure sprinting forward, silver hair flashing in the wind.

Last Promise's tutorial was not a kind one. A Gate Break would open without warning, and the player would simply be swept into it. That was exactly why people delighted in watching clueless newbies panic.

That was when it happened.

Watching the swarm of monsters close in, Seolhwa — who until then had said nothing and done nothing — finally spoke.

"Goblins and orcs. Same as back then."

With those words, she plunged straight into the heart of the battlefield.

Everyone watching the stream was thinking the same thing.

She's going to die in about thirty seconds.

And though they'd never say it aloud, they were all getting their teasing remarks ready for the moment it happened.

But the silver-haired archer on screen began to move in ways no one could believe.

"Move. All of you."

Seolhwa took aim at the goblins charging toward her.

Ping—!

It wasn't even the sound of a string being drawn. The instant she aimed, a silver flash bloomed from the bow.

Wha…?

A silver arrow was already buried in the brow of the lead goblin.

Seolhwa kept moving. Every step she took came wrapped in the whistle of flying arrows, and with each stride, the heads of three or four goblins burst simultaneously.

"Goblins really do come in ridiculous numbers."

Saying that, she tapped the bow twice with her finger. The bow reshaped itself into the short-barreled Vector.

"When it comes to volume, nothing beats this."

She flicked the fire selector to full auto and pulled the trigger. Sweeping the ground ahead with a single hand as if painting a picture, she let the vicious rate of fire grind the goblins into paste.

"Been a while…. And it's still disgusting."

Between strands of hair trembling with the recoil, narrowed eyes glinted with open contempt.

While the viewers were still reeling from the spectacle, Seolhwa kept advancing. Checking her remaining rounds, she drove single bullets through two, three skulls at a time.

'Back to arrows.'

The endlessly replenishing tide of goblins began, at last, to thin. Then a new sound rose from the direction of the gate.

Thud—!Thud—!

Footsteps that shook the earth. Heights over two meters tall. And green skin.

Orcs.

Seolhwa tapped Aurora lightly with her finger again.

"Mode save. Shotgun."

At her word, Aurora's form began to shift — its slender frame swelling into a thick, heavy barrel.

"Shall we have a little chat?"

UWOOOOOOH—!!!

The orcs bellowed and began their charge.

Click.BOOM!

The roaring orc's head erupted in a single shot. Green blood began to soak into the asphalt.

While the viewers voiced their confusion, Seolhwa was lazily fanning away the smoke rising from the muzzle with her hand.

"Inconvenient."

She shifted Aurora ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back into its bow form.

"The ammo's far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too scarce. I'll need to raise the cap soon. The slots too."

At that one remark, the already-burning chat froze for a heartbeat — then exploded back to life.

Seolhwa went right back to hunting the oncoming orc horde.

BOOM—!

With that sound, one step forward.

BOOM—!

Another step. The line the orcs had been holding was pushed steadily back with every stride of the silver-haired hunter.

Seolhwa kept pushing forward — toward the gate spewing out monsters. Not to defend, but to hunt. She stepped over orc corpses and drove the line back until the very last one emerged.

And then the last orc's head gained a brand-new skylight.

"Phew…."

Seolhwa pulled down the mask covering her face and took a deep breath.

Then, beyond the mound of orc corpses, a woman's silhouette came into view.

And the moment Seolhwa spotted her, she raised her gun in wary caution.

"Are you all right?"