Peering into the Past

"As expected... my guess was right."

The effect of using the Yekyung Orb was described as 'return to the original timeline.' What did that imply? Obviously, it meant the timeline had changed. Just like when I used the Monghwan Orb to come to the past.

The location I was in hadn't changed. This was still inside the scouting area of District 11. Just to be sure, I headed toward the 11th Sector Combat Lodge and easily spotted the building.

But among the people milling around outside, there wasn't a single familiar face. Getting any closer would make me look extremely suspicious, so I couldn't risk it.

Tap, tap, tap!!

"...I should head to the Northern Training Camp first. That way, I can figure out roughly when this is..."

My stats, boosted by skill buffs, had already surpassed Natalia Kaya's—except for her unusually high intelligence stat, of course. What I meant was, if I channeled mana and ran, it wouldn't even take an hour to get from District 11 to the training camp.

Tap, tap, tap!!

...

"...There she is."

I spotted her easily from afar. The woman with the fully orange hair, in the middle of yelling at the trainees. For some reason, a wave of longing hit me.

I wondered what kind of reaction she'd have if she saw me, someone she thought was dead.

"I'll be heading back in three hours anyway... No need to show myself now and cause confusion."

Seeing her confirmed it completely. The red orb, the Yekyung Orb, was one that let you experience the future. Because you directly experience the future . Not precognition (Wisdom) or preview , but Yekyung... What a lame pun.

"..."

She hadn't noticed me since I was suppressing my presence as much as possible while watching. I opened her status window.

"Still... the past of the original timeline."

The first evidence for that judgment was Chris's stats. They hadn't yet reached the level from the future I came from.

Looking at Chris from afar, her appearance didn't suggest any special reason for lowered stats.

"Considering other people's stat growth rates... about two years ago?"

The second piece of evidence was the number of gathered trainees. There looked to be 30 to 40 of them. When Chris was a trainee, there were 20, so it had doubled. That fit perfectly with two years ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prior.

The orb must send you about five years back.

Since I'd come to this timeline anyway, a few things I wanted to check had come to mind.

In the original story, the 'instructor who led the revolution' was said to have been killed. As I'd experienced myself, that person was Gerard. He was probably killed in the original story too.

But something was nagging at a corner of my mind.

In the original timeline, Gerard was alive... Why was that?

In the original story, Gerard was killed just like that. But the name of the one who attacked the training camp was Gerard.

Of course, if I hadn't gone to the past, Gerard would have stayed alive. So when I returned to the original timeline, would the 'Gerard' who attacked the training camp be replaced by someone else?

...No, that wasn't it.

Looking at the one-eyed Baekwonhu, the friction between Lee Kangin and Chris—it was clear the timeline I'd experienced was already influenced by my actions seven years prior.

So why was Gerard still alive? I'd been certain of his death. And the combatants in District 11 had even issued his death notice.

No matter how I thought about it, that death notice didn't seem like a deception to fool me. If Gerard hadn't died, they wouldn't have let him go and chased me down without missing a single one.

One of two things, then. Either this world has a way to revive the dead, or the Gerard who attacked the training camp isn't the one I know.

The latter was possible because I hadn't seen Gerard's face during the training camp attack.

Even in a fantasy world, reviving people easily would be hard, so the latter seemed more likely.

I could investigate the details of the incident three hours from now when I returned to reality. But I decided to head to the training camp.

There was one more thing I wanted to confirm.

I... wanted to properly check on Chris's well-being. Not external wounds, but internal ones.

"...I wonder if Chris resents me?"

Five years had passed, but she surely hadn't forgotten me. I was certain of that. Humans don't forget even their first loves easily.

And us? We hadn't broken up after fighting. We'd confirmed our feelings for each other right up to the day before.

I'd taken Chris's first love, first kiss, first experience. I'd been the stepping stone to overcome the trauma inside her.

When she was exhausted from being summoned to this world and unable to keep up with training, I was the only one who reached out to her.

...And in the end, we hadn't even had a proper goodbye.

"She must think I'm dead... I led her to believe that."

Chris, unprepared for the farewell, must have suffered terribly for a while. If I'd given her a hint that it wasn't a permanent goodbye, it might have been okay... but I hadn't. I couldn't.

Explaining the future to her at that moment would have diverged too far from the original story. Regrettably, I had to avoid that situation.

I had my reasons for faking my death.

If I act recklessly... it could lead to a future where Chris dies.

I absolutely, absolutely could not try to change the future.

This world was one where combatants dropped dead left and right. Surviving seven years as a combatant with all limbs intact wouldn't be common.

And during those seven years, I couldn't intervene. Even if something went terribly wrong in the middle, I couldn't make a move.

Leaving Chris in unpredictable variables for seven long years... would be insane gambling.

I didn't want to abandon the certain future where she was alive.

In the original timeline, Chris thinks Park Chanyoung is dead. If she recalls what I said while grabbing my face right before I went to the past, she could easily figure it out.

And at that time, Chris was alive and well, without a single major injury.

So my choice wasn't wrong. I'd make the same one even if I went back to the past.

Now that I'd decided, it was time to infiltrate the training camp. Using the skill I'd gotten as a reward from the hard mode quest.

I'd already checked the hard mode quest rewards while running to the training camp. Including the Mana Awakening effect and the new skill.

Seeing this infiltration-optimized skill is what made me plan for sneaking in.

What I needed to obtain: two things. Info on Gerard, and confirmation of Chris's feelings toward me.

If I can talk to Chris, I can learn both at once.

Both pieces of info were the kind that could lead to interrogation if a trainee asked about them—"Where'd you hear that?"

So the person I'd disguise as was decided: Brack, someone close to her.

Brack and I had similar heights. Plus, it was almost time for Brack to go to sleep.

Having gone through hell training with him, I knew exactly when he slept.

In other words, disguising as Brack wouldn't overlap with his alibi.

The issue was the difference in our builds...

"Deceiving."

Whumm.

The skill activated, mana enveloping my body. I examined my changed appearance closely.

"...Perfect."

Fortunately, the skill could mimic things like muscle size. Even the voice.

I waited a bit until it was time for Brack to hit the hay, then headed to the training camp.

*

Knock knock.

Chris opened the door at the sound on her room door. Brack stood there.

A pretty unexpected visit for Chris. This time of night was when Brack, who always said 'regular habits are part of training too,' went to bed.

"Brack?"

"...A quick word. How about the meeting room?"

"Work-related? Got it."

Choosing the meeting room over entering a woman's quarters was just like the Brack she knew. He had that rigid side, as his speech suggested.

Chris didn't suspect a thing. She went inside, threw on an outer coat, and came out.

"Let's go."

Step step.

The two settled into seats in the meeting room and began talking. More precisely, Chris was waiting for Brack to get to the point.

"Gerard's... been the rebel leader for quite a while."

"Ah, that guy? He talked a lot at first. There were a few internal splits, I think."

"Hmm... internal splits..."

"Tch. Should've crushed him completely back then... But we got assigned to District 5, the farthest from 11."

"...We weren't instructors then, were we?"

"Right? We were busting our asses as combatants... Ahem! Building experience to become instructors."

No need to coarsen her speech in front of Brack. Thinking that, Chris corrected her now-habitual rough talk.

Brack's face fell deep into thought at her words. Then he muttered softly toward Chris.

"Wang Ja-gun..."

It was a small, uncertain voice, but Chris caught it. A name she hadn't heard in five years. Gerard was more familiar to her now than Wang Ja-gun.

"Wang Ja-gun... Been a while since I heard that. Gerard's original name, right?"

"...Indeed."

Nod.

Brack nodded deeply in agreement. Chris still hadn't heard his point. He wouldn't have come out of the blue to reminisce about the past...

As her puzzled gaze turned to him, Brack spoke.

"...You still haven't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gotten over it?"

"Huh? Over what?"

"That... thing from five years ago."

Chris realized what Brack was getting at. His troubled expression had already given away the topic.

"...Yeah. Guess you're starting to worry too..."

Brack had never brought this up with her before. A small consideration from the diligent man.

Now Chris understood why he'd come without sleeping. It was too dark a topic for daytime.

"It's been five years, Brack. Five years and 75 days. Of course I've forgotten after all this time. No need to worry about me."

"...You've been counting every day since then."

Flinch.

"You still haven't forgotten?"

Brack looked at Chris with pitying eyes. He was right.

Five years ago, she hadn't forgotten those two months with her lover. She'd counted the days one by one since.

"...It's hot in here. Mind if I open a window?"

"Don't. It might leak outside."

"Yeah... you're right."

The woman called the Crimson Slaughterer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of District 5 wasn't here. Her usual tough facade was all an act.

She'd just gotten mouthier and changed her appearance perfectly to fool everyone. Inside, she was still a soft-hearted woman.

Thud.

Chris felt her strength drain and sank into the chair. No helping it now that it was out.

She actually wanted to talk it out, even if she'd regret it later.

"I tried to forget, but I couldn't. You know? Chanyoung shows up in my dreams sometimes."

"..."

"'Sometimes' is a lie. Truth is, every other day."

"Sigh..."

"Funny thing is, I still can't tell if it's a nightmare or a good dream. Even after five years of dreaming."

Should she hurt over dreaming of a lover she couldn't meet? Or rejoice at meeting him even in dreams?

Waking from the dream was horrific. A massive ache would engulf her chest.

But the dream itself was happy. Like returning to the happiest time of her life.

That's why Chris went to bed knowing it'd hurt—scared, yet anticipating.

"...It's too deep. How about we stop here?"

"Yeah... thanks. Any more and I might've cried."

"I'll erase what I heard today from memory."

"...I'd appreciate that."

"I'll head out first. You rest here a bit before going back to your room."

...Nod.

Creeak... thud!

Brack closed the meeting room door and left. Was it because she'd faced the past head-on after so long? Chris's eyes reddened slightly.

After calming herself briefly, she couldn't stand the stuffy air and opened the window. Brack had left minutes ago, and no one would overhear, so she didn't hesitate.

Rattle!

"Hoo..."

Breathing in the night air steadied her turbulent heart a bit. Then, her sharp ears caught a faint sound.

"Brack snoring? ...Must've gone straight to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bed after our talk."

Serious talk or not, she knew being up at this hour went against Brack's routine—he'd be tired. So Chris paid it no mind.