2
02 - Fragments of a Past Life
The scenery around him whooshed past.
Like a racehorse, with all the nerves in his brain focused on a single point, everything except his forward vision became blurred.
If caught, he would die.
Only that thought whipped Jin-woo, causing his adrenaline to explode.
How long had he been running with such bloodshot eyes?
Jin-woo noticed something strange.
'Were my feet this fast?'
Jin-woo was still running. His whole body was cutting through the wind as he ran.
Once he noticed, he realized he was running at an impossible speed.
He hadn't measured it, but he was faster than a decent runner.
Though he had some muscle from years of construction work, he wasn't particularly good at running.
Moreover, this wasn't a track or flat ground. The ground beneath his feet was uneven, and obstacles filled his path.
The rocks blocking his way and the hanging tree branches were chaotically disordered, requiring constant vigilance to avoid them.
Yet he was running this fast, and for this long.
'I'm not as tired as I expected either.'
A full sprint should normally feel agonizing enough to collapse after just one minute.
But how many minutes had he been running so far?
Driven purely by the will to survive, he didn't know how many minutes he had been sprinting at full speed.
Yet he still had some stamina left.
"Huff... Haah... Whoo..."
After running for quite a while longer, Jin-woo finally came to a stop.
Leaning against a large tree trunk, he gasped for breath. The sound of his wildly beating heart echoed like a ship's horn.
Without even a moment to catch his breath, Jin-woo scanned his surroundings.
There was no sign that the Elf had followed him... None.
Perhaps he simply hadn't noticed, but nothing was visible for now.
'If it had followed, an attack would have come immediately.'
The silence meant it hadn't followed.
Perhaps it was never intended to pursue him in the first place.
The civil servant said Elves unconditionally try to kill humans, but there must be individual differences.
While some Elves might chase down fleeing humans with gritted teeth to kill them, others might not bother pursuing.
This Elf seemed to be the latter type.
'Thank goodness.'
Jin-woo brushed his chest in relief.
His breathing was still rough, and his heart was still pumping, but the extreme crisis feeling that triggered adrenaline had disappeared.
Feeling as if all his physical and mental strength were drained, Jin-woo collapsed with a thud.
Even so, he crawled into the bushes for minimal concealment.
'The time... 40 minutes have passed!?'
Checking his wristwatch, he saw that 40 minutes had passed.
He was astounded that he had run like crazy for 40 minutes.
It was clearly running that exceeded his limits.
'Come to think of it, there was some message earlier.'
Now that he had calmed down, he remembered the message that had flashed by earlier.
A message saying that fragments of a past life surfaced, making his feet faster.
'I must have been someone who was good at running in my past life. Maybe I was a track athlete?'
Well, he couldn't know for certain. This was the only ability that had been unlocked so far.
Still, Jin-woo felt much better knowing he had something to rely on.
His heart had been heavy knowing he had to survive alone in this forest, but now he had at least one weapon of his own.
Especially if it was related to running, it couldn't be better.
Whether chasing prey or escaping from dangerous situations, there was no better ability than being fast on your feet.
'Whoo... Let's start moving.'
Though he had sprinted at full speed for 40 minutes, his rest time was less than 5 minutes, and now he had to move.
Though he had run far from the original stream, he couldn't be completely at ease.
He had heard that Elves have an extremely wide range of activity, especially in the First Realm forests, where this was maximized.
Dwarves usually dig holes in the ground or mountains and rarely encounter others, and Orcs chase whatever prey is right in front of them without any fixed activity range.
In contrast, Elves have the habit of using specific points as bases and hunting like they're patrolling the vicinity, and in forests, that radius becomes ridiculously wide.
He didn't think that just 40 minutes of full sprint had gotten him out of that radius.
'Let's be cautious.'
While he had run like crazy earlier, now he was somewhat more cautious.
Thinking about it, during those 40 minutes, he must have made tremendous noise with his breathing and footsteps.
It was fortunate that other races or monsters hadn't discovered him by hearing those sounds.
From now on, let's aim to stay as quiet as possible and get as far away as possible.
He set his direction to get as far away from the stream as possible.
Whether Elves or monsters, they couldn't survive without drinking water. So when hiding like now, the answer was to get away from the stream.
'Good thing I brought some water.'
The water wasn't very clean, but he had brought some anyway. Enough to last a few days.
Jin-woo mobilized all his knowledge, both what he had and didn't have, walking in the direction away from the waterway.
Being still a novice Hunter, it wasn't perfect, but he was roughly heading in the right direction.
For 3 hours like this.
During that time, he hadn't seen a single hair of an Elf.
"Phew..."
Finally feeling a bit relieved, Jin-woo raised his head.
The color of the sky was gradually changing.
Though there seemed to be some time before sunset, he had heard that sunset comes quickly in forests.
He needed to find a place to stay for the night right now.
Perhaps because he had examined the surrounding terrain in great detail to determine direction, he was able to quickly find a suitable cave.
It wasn't deeply carved, just a small cave about the size of two rooms.
The entrance was also naturally split into a long, narrow opening that was perfect for hiding.
'Traps first.'
Jin-woo took out a wire from his inventory and set it up around the area.
These weren't lethal traps, but essentially just alarms.
He attached empty cans he had prepared beforehand so they would make noise when the wire was tripped. He laid these traps all around the cave.
After finishing the work, he entered the cave.
Jin-woo gathered dry branches and fallen leaves, entered the cave, and struck his fire stick to light a campfire.
Chik, chik, the flying sparks lit the thin vines and soon began burning the firewood.
Of course, he didn't forget to cover the entrance with several layers of large leaves so the firelight wouldn't be visible from outside.
There was nothing he could do about the smoke leaking out... Only hope it won't be easily visible at night.
'The fish are a waste.'
Warming himself by the lit fire, Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
To put fish in his inventory, he had to kill them and turn them into corpses, but trying to catch and process them all at once, he ended up throwing them all away.
If he had known this would happen, he should have caught them one by one, killed them, and put them in his inventory, even if it was troublesome.
'But there's still plenty to eat.'
It wasn't that he had no food. He had about a basket each of fruits and mushrooms.
He decided to take the mushrooms to the Management Bureau in case they were poisonous, and set aside the suspiciously colorful fruits too.
Fortunately, there were many fruits that looked like apples and pears that Jin-woo recognized, so he could eat those.
Jin-woo took out several apples and stuck them one by one on tree branches.
He didn't bother peeling them; just brushed off the dirt and mud.
He stuck the apple skewers he made near the campfire and slowly roasted them.
One bite of the well-roasted apple.
"Mmm."
Perhaps because it was roasted, the flesh became soft and the sweetness intensified.
The skin interfered a bit with the texture, but this was also nutrition that couldn't be wasted.
You know, there's that saying that fruits have the most nutrients in their skin.
'Roasted apples are excellent too.'
The refreshing taste had disappeared, but the richer, lingering sweetness in his mouth was impressive.
Savoring the roasted apple, Jin-woo also took out a few blocks to eat together.
Since it would be difficult to get all the necessary nutrients from just fruit, it couldn't be helped.
"Ugh."
The blocks that he had eaten fairly just yesterday were tasting different now.
How could they be this tasteless?
Even though it was a product famous for being relatively delicious among block foods, it tasted so bad his mouth felt like it would rot.
It felt like cardboard with a nice scent.
'But the nutrition is definite...'
Though he grimaced terribly, he somehow managed to eat several blocks.
After eating several roasted apples as well, a moderate feeling of fullness came over him.
He could eat more if he wanted to, but excessive eating was poison in this situation.
Jin-woo ate only until he felt 'slightly full?', then cleaned up and rested.
'Where's the blanket...'
The Management Bureau had supplied various items, including a blanket.
He wrapped the olive-colored blanket that wouldn't be easily spotted around his body, crouched like a shrimp, and closed his eyes.
The crackling sound of the nearby campfire sounded like a lullaby.
Perhaps because so much had happened both physically and mentally, he fell asleep quickly.
And the next day.
"Yaaaawn."
Jin-woo opened his bleary eyes and got up with a big stretch and yawn.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Jin-woo cautiously approached the cave entrance.
He slightly opened the leaves that had covered the entrance to check the situation outside.
Nothing, just quiet.
Since he hadn't heard any cans clinking during the night, it meant no one had approached the vicinity.
'Good.'
Relieved, Jin-woo came out of the cave.
But then.
"...Huh?"
On the ground next to the entrance.
He could see about ten dead fish piled up.
Jin-woo was momentarily flustered, but when he saw the object next to them, he went completely pale.
'Crazy!'
The net he had left by the stream was leaning against the wall.
***
There was no need to think about who the culprit was.
It was yesterday's Elf.
'What does this mean?'
His head was full of confusion.
Coming all the way here and just leaving the net and fish - what was it trying to do?
He immediately thought of leaving this place.
He put all the nets and fish into his inventory, and the blanket too. He stamped out the remaining embers in the campfire with his foot and scattered them inside the cave.
Coming outside, Jin-woo checked the wires he had installed nearby.
He had installed them at every path that could lead to the cave entrance, but not a single one was damaged.
It had approached like a ghost, avoiding them all despite his attempts to hide them.
'Damn.'
With a chilling sensation down his spine, Jin-woo began walking hurriedly.
Moving for over 3 hours yesterday wasn't enough. He had to go further, longer.
Jin-woo took out his compass to check the direction and set the same direction he had moved yesterday.
It was around 6 AM now. Today, he planned to keep walking in a straight line until just before sunset.
'I have to get away.'
He didn't know what it was thinking by just leaving fish and the net, but it seemed to have no intention of killing him immediately.
Was it just quietly observing, or perhaps a momentary whim?
Anyway, that Elf must have its own purpose for entering the Gate. It wouldn't spend all day monitoring him.
So during that time, he needed to think about escaping from that creature's territory.
'It's a waste to lose a whole day, though.'
How much fruit could he pick during this day? If he were lucky, he might even find a rabbit and get some meat.
But no matter how good food and money were, life came first.
As for meat, he had the dozen or so fish the Elf had brought, so he'd be satisfied with those.
Jin-woo spent the entire day purely on moving.
He didn't even eat lunch separately, continuing to walk and taking out blocks to eat when hungry.
He didn't have the luxury now to have impressions like 'this tastes bad' or 'this is terrible'.
He didn't know how long he'd have to keep walking, whether the Elf's surveillance had disappeared or continued. He couldn't even know that.
It felt like his mind was constantly being gnawed at by the presence of an invisible enemy.
Perhaps because he had been frantically fleeing, at some point the sun suddenly set, and it became dark.
'Oh no! I couldn't find a place to sleep.'
The forest after sunset was insanely dark.
The shantytown near Jin-woo's house also became pitch black at night without proper streetlights, but the forest at night was even worse.
Without turning on a flashlight, he could barely see 30cm properly.
'But the flashlight...'
He had brought it, but couldn't use it.
Turning on a flashlight in darkness without a single point of light would only expose his location to enemies.
Even if not that Elf, there were plenty of other danger factors like wild beasts, monsters, or other races.
In the end, Jin-woo relied on a single staff, groping and walking silently through the darkness.
Then.
-Grrrowwwl...
At the low growling sound, Jin-woo stopped abruptly.
It was a very small sound, but fortunately, he didn't miss it. Since he couldn't see ahead, he had his ears wide open.
Looking toward where the sound came from, there was a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness.
'It's a beast. A wolf?'
Since only the glowing eyes were visible, he couldn't be certain, but it was probably a wolf or similar beast.
Perhaps realizing that Jin-woo had noticed, the creature that had been showing aggression hesitated for a moment.
Holding his breath, Jin-woo raised the staff he had been using as a walking stick.
It wasn't just any staff, but a supply-type weapon issued by the Management Bureau - a sturdy staff that could rupture a thigh with one hit.
Jin-woo and the pair of eyes in the darkness faced off quietly.
The position of the eyes dropped slightly. Had it lowered its posture?
Just as Jin-woo was tensing his grip on the staff, feeling like it might charge at any moment.
Movement came from behind.
There wasn't just one!
-Kuhwong!
"!"
Jin-woo hastily turned and swung his staff.
No time to see what was there. He just swung blindly first.
Thwack-!
-Kyaing!
Fortunately, it hit, as the wolf that had been pouncing from behind went flying with a yelp.
Without time to savor that hit, Jin-woo immediately turned to the front.
The wolf he had been having a staring contest with was just jumping up to pounce on Jin-woo.
If he had spent even one more second on the wolf behind him, this wolf would have bitten his neck.
Clang-!
After striking down the front wolf, too, this time Jin-woo didn't stop there.
His instincts screamed desperately. In this unfavorable 2-on-1 fight, when an opportunity came, he had to completely destroy one side.
'The staff is too slow!'
Beating it to death with this club would certainly kill it, but it was too slow.
What he needed was a weapon that could sever a life in one strike.
Fortunately, he had the knife he used to split firewood or cut through the bushes.
Drawing it, Jin-woo rushed toward the wolf that was struggling after getting hit in the jaw.
Seeing the movement of the glowing eyes in the darkness, he instantly pictured the creature's form in his head.
His target was the neck. Aiming there in one swift motion-
[ Fragments of a past life surface. That sword shall be swift. ]
'...!'
Stab-
The dagger struck faster and more accurately than Jin-woo had imagined.
Even though he had stabbed expecting to hit bone, the sensation in his hand was like stabbing tofu.
The knife slid so smoothly into the wolf's neck, cleanly severing vital blood vessels and the neck bone.
-Wang wang!
No time to be impressed. The wolf behind had already recovered and was charging toward Jin-woo.
'What is this?'
It was strange.
Certainly, he still couldn't see anything but the glowing eyes.
Yet somehow the wolf's form was drawn in his head.
Something like a faint flame shimmered and imprinted the wolf's image in Jin-woo's mind.
'A sword!'
A sword. He knew instinctively. A knife was good, but a longer one would be better.
Fortunately, among the Management Bureau's supplies was an iron sword.
Iron sword, staff, bow, and arrows. These were the weapons the Management Bureau had issued.
Jin-woo drew the iron sword instead of the knife and swung it toward the pouncing wolf, twisting his waist like he was wringing it out.
[ Fragments of a past life surface. That too shall be a sword. ]
Jin-woo was even more surprised by the sensation of the sword cutting through space.
The sword cutting through darkness sliced through the wolf's body without a single obstruction, spilling hot streams of blood.
Breathing even more roughly than when he had sprinted at full speed for 40 minutes, Jin-woo was shocked at what he had accomplished.