70
070 ― Found It
Jin-woo went out to pick up Shartia in the off-road SUV he had recently bought. Considering the balance in his bank account, he could have bought something like a sleek sports car, but low-chassis vehicles were inconvenient to drive outside the city. The places where he could drive them were very limited, which didn't suit Jin-woo's purposes. Still, it was thrilling enough. There was something about the angular chassis and robust wheels that stirred a man's heart.
For a novice driver, Jin-woo drove quite skillfully, picking up Shartia and heading out of the city.
"You're more skilled than I expected. Wasn't today your first time driving?"
"Not exactly, I've been going out at dawn for the past few days and driving around a lot. I spent quite a while going around and around on quiet roads."
Though it wasn't quite familiar yet, Shartia complimented his rather impressive appearance as a driver.
"At this level, you should be able to take turns driving without any problem. That takes a lot of burden off me."
"Paved roads are fine, but I'm not sure how it'll be outside."
"Everything is experience. I'm here too if anything happens, so practice comfortably."
The car carrying the two passed through the checkpoint and exited beyond the barrier. Now they were no longer in an area protected by monsters. An attack could come from anywhere at any time. Shartia wore a slightly tense expression, but Jin-woo was relatively at ease.
'There are none nearby.'
He had the ability to sense blue flames, so he could always notice when monsters were approaching. Unless they suddenly used spatial movement to approach like Keron, whom he had met before, there would be no problem. There was no way such a monster would be near the city anyway. Rather, the rattling car was more concerning.
As soon as they left the city, broken asphalt greeted them, and maneuvering the car through it was harder than expected. He remembered when Shartia had taken out a motorcycle despite having a car when they explored outside the city together before.
"Back then, you didn't ride the motorcycle for nothing."
"You mean before? Motorcycles are more convenient. Though they're more dangerous."
Being more dangerous didn't matter much by the standards of an S-rank Hunter like her, so it made sense that she preferred motorcycles. Jin-woo also considered putting away the car and taking out a motorcycle right now. When he bought this car, he had similarly purchased an off-road motorcycle and put it in his inventory. Of course, he had a license and had practiced a little. But he soon dismissed that thought.
'Anyway, if I go farther from the city, I won't be able to drive a car even if I want to. Let me practice while I can drive now.'
The farther from Seoul, the more destroyed cities lined up, and the road conditions became more miserable. When that time came, he would have to ride a motorcycle whether he liked it or not. It felt right to practice driving to his heart's content now while he could still travel by car.
"Where are we going?"
"Nothing's decided, but I'm thinking of going down aimlessly for now while checking if any Erosion cores are detected."
"Are you using your detection ability right now?"
"Yes. I don't sense any cores yet."
Though Jin-woo's main objective was Erosion's minions, he had been told that minions weren't that numerous. While searching for minions, if he discovered any remaining Erosion cores, he would cut and absorb them. That was sufficient as a wandering goal for the time being.
"Doesn't this bring back old memories?"
Shartia spoke while enjoying the breeze through the wide-open window. Her bright blonde hair fluttered and scattered in the wind.
"For me too. When I think about it, it wasn't even that long ago, but it feels like something from very long ago."
"A lot happened in between..."
Shartia glanced at Jin-woo with a renewed look. When she had come outside the city with him in the past. Even then, she had been surprised to see Jin-woo's sword. The beautiful swordplay that easily dealt with monsters and found Erosion cores to cut them down in one stroke.
'The airplane incident not long ago was similar.'
She had seen Jin-woo's sword during the airplane accident, too. Even then, she had thought it was beautiful. Though Shartia had only ever held kitchen knives or jungle knives, strangely, her eyes were drawn to that sword. Jin-woo's sword, which she saw on the airplane, had developed considerably compared to the sword that had cut Erosion cores in the past. She could see the arduous discipline and training. But on the other hand, it also seemed not to have changed much.
'When I think about it, it doesn't make sense. That Jin-woo from back then has now developed to the point where he's almost certainly designated as S-rank.'
It was an impossible growth rate. There had been various trials in between, and he had gained strength by overcoming them, but even considering that, it wasn't logical. But strangely, Shartia didn't find this strange.
'Mayor Ma Du-sik said the greatest Hunter in history was born, a talent who would save Seoul, and was so amazed.'
Shartia was also amazed, but not to Ma Du-sik's extent. Rather than being so surprised, she had a groundless premonition that this would happen. From when she saw Jin-woo's sword back then, no, from before that, when she first met him inside the Erosion and witnessed his sword, she seemed to have had such conviction. Deep inside her, in a place even she didn't know about, there was something that was certain of Jin-woo's growth. She had only become aware of it through the airplane incident.
'There's definitely something there. He definitely wasn't just an ordinary Elf in his previous life.'
Shartia thought Jin-woo's previous life was an Elf. She was speculating whether he might have been an Elf knight or mercenary. But now she saw that he probably wasn't a simple knight. Something greater, perhaps an existence that would have remained in Elven history. Wasn't there a way to learn more about Elven history? The history remaining in her memory was just fragmentary information listing only the major flows.
'Hmm... I guess the only way is to recall more memories of my previous life?'
After thinking about it, there was no other method. If she had to find another way, it would be something like entering a Gate and befriending Elves to hear their history. But she didn't want to enter Gates, and above all, she didn't think she could build friendships even if she met Elves. Elves were obsessed with killing other races and recovering their souls when they discovered them.
"Hm?"
Then Jin-woo made a sound, and Shartia looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
"A core has been detected."
"Already?"
"Let's go check it out."
Not much time had passed since they left the city. But a core was already being sensed. Jin-woo turned the steering wheel toward the direction where the core was sensed, wearing a slightly disappointed expression.
'It's not a minion.'
It was a little disappointing, but it wasn't something he could pass by. Erosion cores were also excellent black flames.
***
The place where the core was located was a temple situated on Gwanggyosan Mountain. On a signboard that had fallen to the ground and was broken, Chinese characters reading Gwaniksa were written. The interior was also a mess—all the temple buildings were half-destroyed, and Goblin-like monsters that moved on all fours were roaming around.
"Let's clean up first."
Such low-level monsters were no match for Jin-woo or Shartia. With the feeling of doing some cleaning, they sought out and killed all the monsters inside the temple. Even such monsters, magic stones, and blue flames could be absorbed, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
"Whew, this side is finished. How about your side, Jin-woo?"
"I'm all done, too. Now that we've killed them all, it's become quite quiet."
With all the growling monsters gone, the temple became very quiet. Collapsed tile roofs and red pillars broken cleanly in half. Even the Buddha statues that had once compassionately watched over sentient beings were all damaged. Perhaps because the sun was setting, the atmosphere was quite eerie. Even more so since it was a temple in the mountains.
"Where's the core?"
"This way."
The place where the Erosion core was located was a small well behind the temple. It was built where mountain groundwater sprang up, so it would be fine to call it a mineral spring rather than a well. The rock that had been soaked in that water for 24 hours was the Erosion core. It would have been a bit uncomfortable if it had been something like a Buddha statue, but should this be considered fortunate?
"I'll cut it out."
Since there was no reason to leave it as it was, Jin-woo immediately cut the rock. Black flames seeped in, making his soul slightly more solid. He didn't gain any abilities, probably because he had already obtained Rock Sword before.
"Jin-woo, shall we sleep here tonight?"
"Hmm... No. We have a car, so let's go down a bit more. Wouldn't downtown areas be safer?"
"Alright."
Shartia readily agreed, and the two left the temple and went further down.
"Hm?"
"What?"
"There's another core."
Going down a bit toward the downtown area, another Erosion core was sensed. It happened to be in the direction of the downtown area they were heading toward. When they went to find it, this time it was some clothing store. Like the temple, the interior was completely collapsed, filled with torn clothes and broken mannequins.
"Fortunately, there are no monsters."
Shartia was pleased with that fact. No matter how easy they were to clean up, having monsters around wasn't a pleasant thing. Seeing blood itself couldn't be a pleasant affair.
"Convenience stores and marts have all been looted, but since this is a clothing store, all the items are still here."
"Who would take clothes while evacuating in a hurry?"
Though people living in this city was a thing of the past, somehow Jin-woo could clearly picture that scene. An era when barriers weren't properly installed yet, and Erosion spread indiscriminately. The sight of people running from attacking monsters, looting convenience stores, and barricading themselves in marts, somehow managing to hold out.
Jin-woo cut the Erosion core. This time's core was a mannequin that had been half-broken on one side of the store.
"Let's find a place to sleep."
Together with Shartia, who nodded, they wandered around the ruined city looking for a building suitable to stay the night. Fortunately, there was a motel that retained a decent shape. They passed the empty reception desk and entered an appropriate room. The door was broken in half and the bed was split, so it wasn't an intact room. Electricity naturally didn't work and water didn't come out either.
They pushed the broken furniture to one side and pitched a tent. With the door and windows broken, unable to block the draft, a tent was necessary to sleep comfortably. Even though they were inside a building, they set up as if they had come camping and ate dinner together. After taking off their coats and finishing their meal in comfortable clothes, it had become dark outside.
Shartia boiled water and made a cup of warm coffee.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
He lightly clinked glasses with her, grinning face and moistened his throat with coffee. It had become quite chilly at night, but drinking coffee in front of the campfire instantly warmed his body.
[ Today is... ]
Then the voice of the God of Moonlit Forest was heard. Come to think of it, was today still remaining? He hadn't noticed while driving all day and cutting monsters and cores.
"Shartia, sorry, but can I watch something for a moment?"
"Hm? Go ahead."
After asking his companion's understanding, Jin-woo took out a tablet. He set it up on the table where it could be seen well and played the animation that the God of Moonlit Forest was so eagerly demanding. It was episode 3 of season 2, and he was already rewatching this season for the third time.
"..."
Somehow, Shartia's gaze bothered him. He had never been this conscious of her gaze before. Jin-woo coughed awkwardly and spoke.
"Three episodes a day is the promise... Though I did mention that while we're outside, it might be two episodes or even one if necessary."
"A promise? With whom?"
"Well..."
He couldn't say it was with the World Tree. If he told her, who had the previous life of an Elf, that the World Tree was actually enjoying watching things like this, how would she react? She would definitely be dumbfounded first. There was also a possibility she wouldn't believe the story itself.
[ The God of Moonlit Forest claps hands ]
Contrary to Jin-woo's uncomfortable feelings, the World Tree, the God of Moonlit Forest, was giggling and enjoying the animation. Just then, on the screen, a scene was showing the protagonist defeating an enemy fairy and saving a companion. Kids really had it easy with their simple hearts—enviable.
'Wait, who's calling whom a kid? The World Tree must have lived dozens or hundreds of times longer than me.'
While he was thinking that, a chair was placed next to him. Shartia, who had been sitting facing him, had moved her chair right next to his.
"Can I watch together too?"
"Go ahead. It's for kids, so I'm not sure if it'll be interesting."
"Are you watching it even though it's not interesting?"
"Well... It does have some watchable aspects."
"What do you mean, it's interesting then?"
Shartia giggled and sat next to him, sipping her coffee. While watching, she asked Jin-woo various things. Since she was skipping season 1 and watching from the middle, there were bound to be many things she was curious about. However, soon the anime talk ended and the topic shifted toward monsters, Gates, affairs in the 3rd floor, or stories about exploring the 4th floor, which was said to be necessary to become S-rank.
Though Jin-woo's eyes were fixed on the screen, his head and mouth were focused on the conversation with Shartia.
[ The God of Moonlit Forest jumps up and down ]
[ Next episode... Quickly...! ]
'Yeah, yeah, I got it.'
Regardless of what conversation the adults were having, the child was busy watching the screen. Somehow it felt cozy. The crackling sound of the campfire. In his hands was sweet and warm coffee, and he could feel human warmth beside him. Shartia's Korean pronunciation, uncharacteristic for a foreigner, was smooth and gentle without rough edges, and on the other hand, the God of Moonlit Forest was jumping up and down while watching the animation. Even the clattering sounds of that animation were one element decorating this atmosphere.
That night, Jin-woo was able to get a long, sound sleep without dreaming a single dream.
***
The next day, too, the two continued going down while finding and dealing with Erosion cores. On average, cores were discovered at a rate of one to two per day. It was quite a lot was found, all thanks to Jin-woo's detection ability. However, just because they destroyed cores didn't mean the car's route curved here and there, so they weren't extremely far from Seoul. Though several days had passed, they were still wandering around the nearby area.
Then.
"Found it!"
"Hm? You found it?"
"I found an Erosion. It's a moving one."
He detected a black flame that was moving. It was a minion. But.
"There seem to be other people too."
Several blue flames surrounding that black flame were also detected together.