The Great Rift (3)
The air really was different. That wasn’t an exaggeration. It was saturated with mana, carrying a completely alien atmosphere unlike anything on Earth.
In the first place, unless you were an Awakened, survival inside this place was difficult. Mana poisoning set in too quickly.
Still, once you got used to it, it wasn’t a big deal. Even a D-class hunter could adapt, if he was an Awakened; time solved most things. Unless you were one of those gothic types, anyway.
With the subspace bag slung over my shoulder, I walked along the starter base line. It was like a street where people heading out and people on their way back had all mixed together.
From that alone, you’d never guess you were inside a gate, in an alien world. It felt more like some rural backwater on ordinary Earth.
But because it was like that, this place could serve as the “starting point” of the Great Rift. It was relatively safe.
“For now, let’s get outside the base. There’s no point hanging around here.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Relax. Monsters don’t even show up near the base, and if they do, they get taken down fast. See all those hunters? If some half-baked monster did appear, they’d probably kill it together just to make a little money.”
“Hah... huff... right. I understand.”
Was he really okay?
I led Kang Juhyuk toward the exit of the initial base.
The camp was ringed on three sides, leaving only a single entrance. More like a makeshift wall than a real fortification, since even a wall would be torn apart by one charge from a monster; it had been built low enough that the surrounding area could still be seen clearly. So it was hard to call it a true single entrance.
In any case, the very fact that you were here meant you’d entered through the Association, so human identity security wasn’t exactly strict in a place like this.
Even if you escaped through here, your identity would still be checked outside through your Association ID.
In a sense, it was a lawless zone. But maybe because it wasn’t Earth, and the only thing you could really trust was the hunter standing beside you, nobody seemed to care all that much.
Even the so-called “base” was just a few huge tents blocking the wind.
Once we stepped beyond it, the wind carried mana with it.
You could go in any direction, 360 degrees, but there was no way to know where it would lead.
Professional miners figured out what kind of alien world they were in by reading the type of mana riding each wind, then headed off to hunt whatever monster they wanted.
That had nothing to do with me. I hadn’t come here to farm mana stones.
I looked up. Blue.
That meant it was still daytime. Even the stars and the moon were visible despite the sun being up.
The Great Rift’s sun was on the weak side. Or rather, it depended on which alien world you were standing over. For now, the sun hanging above the initial base was like that.
Walking through a place where dimensions were tangled together meant exactly that.
One place looked like a wasteland, another like a collapsed city, another like a swamp, another like a forest.
The Great Rift was still the same as ever.
Three years ago, I’d come here constantly. If there was no work, I had to go in even if it was dangerous.
Now... I was searching for a path.
Across this land, where even I didn’t know where I was supposed to go.
But I couldn’t show that unease to Kang Juhyuk.
I couldn’t share my fear with the idiot who had trusted me enough to come all the way here.
“So... this is our first task. Before we set off, I’ll tell you this: all you have to do is follow behind me when I walk ahead. Moving, fighting if we run into monsters, and resting when I say it’s getting late.”
“Should I learn how to dismantle monsters too? Or something like that?”
“No need. We didn’t come here to do miner work. I’ll give you money, so don’t waste your time or energy on that.”
If you can’t stay true to your role as my dildo when it matters, we’ll end up stranded inside the Great Rift.
Unlike a gate, a high-depth Rift didn’t get dismantled for an escape, and there was no rescue team coming for you either.
Conserving stamina came first. We had to save our own lives ourselves.
“Probably... even if I don’t stir your desire, it’ll fill up in four or five days. If we don’t have sex on that cycle, it’ll become a problem. So for this trial trip, three days is safe.”
“Three days... that’s longer than I expected. Is a Great Rift survey usually like this?”
“Well, it depends on the goal. Ours is to go as deep as we can and come back. One day to push in, one day to return. The remaining day is... a buffer, in case something goes wrong. I also packed three days’ worth of preserved food and camping gear in the bag.”
“I’ll carry it.”
“No.”
I was using my mana instead of the mana stone attached to the bag, so I was the one carrying it. Better to save that stone for emergencies. If the mana ran dry, everything inside would spill out.
Since today’s plan was only for three days, I hadn’t brought any spare stones. If this turned into a long-term project, I’d have to keep backup stones inside as well.
And even though it was light, it was still luggage. I needed to keep Juhyuk’s body as unburdened as possible so he wouldn’t waste energy.
“Then... there isn’t any set destination, or direction? For this trip, I mean.”
“...”
At Juhyuk’s question, I couldn’t answer right away.
Honestly, if you didn’t know the direction, this was nothing more than a walk.
You had to know where to go, or at least the road itself, before progress meant anything at all.
I’d probably have to gather information about the thing they called the Void by talking to nearby hunters and sending Ha Yujeong on errands...
But I decided to push that to the next trip. For today, the priority was getting Juhyuk used to the air of the Great Rift and making him understand what it meant to walk all day.
One step at a time. That was enough.
That was what I told myself.
Still, where exactly was the place they called the Void?
Where was “it” sleeping?
Could I really find out?
To be honest, I’d dragged Juhyuk into this and come here because I couldn’t give up... but I was lost, that much was true.
Follow the star.
...What?
Follow the blue dot shining in the sky, the blue star. It’s pointing toward Mother’s location.
...Chae Haeun.
What kind of wind had gotten into you all of a sudden?
No, was this another trap?
I didn’t think I’d ever had a good experience listening to her.
Mother is waiting for me. Mother noticed that I came into the Great Rift. Do you hear her? Chae Eunha. She’s calling to you. She’s calling to me.
Calling...?
It. Me? Chae Eunha? Chae Haeun?
I don’t know. How am I supposed to know something like that?
Following Chae Haeun’s voice, I looked for the blue star in the sky.
Not a star hanging in this shallow layer of the sky... but a blue star that seemed to be shining from some other dimension.
It looked like it was burning, and hot, and cold, and fog-like all at once.
Small. Almost like a dot.
And yet unmistakable.
A pale blue point.
It closed its eyes once, then opened them again.
A chill ran down my spine.
No, had I felt relieved?
No... maybe. What was that?
“...Kang Juhyuk, that. Can you see it?”
“Huh? Uh... no? What is it? I don’t see anything.”
“Over there... right in the middle. That star that’s shining a little brighter than the rest.”
“...No, I don’t know. Is there even a star?”
He couldn’t see it?
That thing.
It was shining, wasn’t it?
It was looking at me, wasn’t it?
It was... opening its eyes in the sky and...
It was looking down at me, at me, wasn’t it?
It’s Mother. Mother is watching us. She’s lighting the way for me to go meet Her...!
Chae Haeun was trembling with emotion.
Filial devotion, gratitude toward a motherly presence, longing, joy, praise—an emotion so intense it was almost worship.
Chae Haeun’s feelings flowed into me as well. Right. We had always been able to sense each other’s emotions, at least halfway.
They often seeped into me like a contagion, and I’d only ever pushed them away because they bothered me.
But even so, I could tell exactly what she was feeling.
Complicated. Delicate.
That thing was truly waiting for me, looking down at me with a warm gaze.
Thrilled by the fact that its one and only daughter was coming to find it.
Like a mother waiting back home, calling to ask when her daughter was coming by.
Like a signal flare shot into the sky, waiting as a star that looked down from above.
This journey was so I could ask that thing to return me to my original body.
In a sense, it was no different from asking to erase the fact that we’d ever become family.
Whether it understood that or not...
That sponsor, that god... through the blue star visible only to me,
was handing me an invitation that could reach it.
I couldn’t hide the complicated, subtle mess of emotions stirring in my chest.
“...Fortunately, I think I’ve found the way.”
“You have?”
“The thing residing in my body... well, the thing I told you was a curse... it seems to be pointing me toward where its source is. I can tell by the star... though more accurately, it’s showing it to me.”
“I don’t really get it, but that means you’ve got a compass now, right? That’s a relief!”
“Yeah... it is.”
If I’d kept wandering through the Great Rift without knowing where to go, honestly, even after years I still wouldn’t have known when it would end.
As long as I knew the direction... it was fine. I could do this.
So there really was an answer hidden inside the Great Rift after all.
...In the end, I was relying on that thing’s mercy.
Let’s go meet Mother.
Right.
Whatever you want, Chae Haeun.
I’m going to wipe you out anyway...
So accept it.
I’m going to meet the mother you want so badly, and I’ll ask Her to erase you for me.
Just keep that in mind.
.
“Huff... huff... huff.”
“Tired? Want to rest?”
“No... no! I’m fine. Still fine.”
Even as he puffed out rough breaths, Kang Juhyuk answered with a smile in his voice.
He was walking a little ahead, but never too far away.
The woman with fluttering silver-white hair stood there, waiting and watching Kang Juhyuk with concern.
Just looking at that face gave me strength on its own.
Thump, thump.
Thump... thump.
For Kang Juhyuk, this trip felt a little like a date.
Just the two of them walking across the grasslands. Nothing else was around.
Even if it was the Great Rift, that didn’t mean it was a field of monsters. It might grow more dangerous the deeper they went, but for now, it was safe.
So the two of them walked. Just the two of them.
Though, in truth, they might not have been alone.
When they’d first left the base, a number of other parties had asked if they wanted to travel together since they seemed to be headed in the same direction.
“Looks like we’re going the same way. Want to stick together?”
“I know a good spot. Hunt there and you’ll hit your target in no time.”
“Aren’t you worried about traveling just the two of you?”
Most of them were men, and they all looked at Chae Eunha with greasy, lingering eyes.
“No need. You guys go on without us. This one is enough baggage for me.”
Chae Eunha had only cut them off sharply, with obvious irritation.
“What the hell...?”
“Look at his mana output. It’s way worse than a woman’s...”
“Hey, didn’t you notice what she’s wearing? She’s L-class. Probably some rich young master playing hunter as a hobby. Looks like that woman’s his girlfriend and bodyguard, so let’s go.”
Jealous looks followed him as he departed with Chae Eunha.
Kang Juhyuk found the feeling strange.
He’d never once in his life been looked at with eyes that carried even a shred of envy.
Those hunters hadn’t seemed that low-level, either, but she’d brushed them off without a second thought...
And kept only him at her side.
Not only that, but if the situation was right, she even let him have her body...
A woman who felt like she’d been sent down from heaven.
But well.
Kang Juhyuk shook his head.
Don’t get cocky over something weird like this. It’s pathetic.
He knew it wasn’t realistic. Nuna Eunha just... needed a dildo. That was all. He’d simply been in the right place at the right time. It wasn’t as if he was special, and it wasn’t as if he could monopolize her.
She just seemed to keep one dildo at a time. If he fell out of favor... he could be replaced at any moment.
As proof, she had never once agreed when he asked her to do this kind of thing just for him.
For now, it was best to be satisfied with the present.
Still... it’s kind of thrilling. It’s similar to that time, but also completely different.
Kang Juhyuk remembered the first time he’d met her inside the gate.
More precisely, the first time the two of them had wandered around inside together.
Even while walking, Chae Eunha had gone on far ahead, then stopped and sighed while waiting for him to catch up.
How many times had she not said a word to him, or clearly looked like she was holding back curses?
But now?
She matched his stride. Chae Eunha didn’t go on ahead and leave him behind. Even when he broke into a jog, she kept pace with him and never went too far, maintaining just enough distance to stay close.
When he looked tired, she told him to rest. She didn’t swear at him, either, and quietly handed him a water bottle.
At first she’d said things like, This is just how I am, or, The goal of this trip is just for you to get used to this air.
The atmosphere was far kinder and warmer than before...
“What are you doing? Standing there. Are you tired?”
“Ah, no... I just thought the view below the cliff here was pretty good.”
“Hah... don’t talk nonsense. Seriously. Did you come here to go hiking? ...Well, it isn’t bad.”
When Kang Juhyuk said the scenery was nice, she’d tell him not to talk nonsense, but still stop and look with him for a moment.
“Um... But are we really just moving forward like this? Isn’t there something we should be careful about?”
“It depends on the area. This is the entrance, and I’m taking us along a route I know, so I’m deliberately avoiding the monster-heavy areas. If we run into a monster, make sure to position yourself so I’m caught between you and it.”
When he asked what he should watch out for in the Great Rift, she answered more kindly than he expected.
She seems to be taking even better care of me today.
Maybe because they were inside the Great Rift, and Kang Juhyuk’s life was effectively in Chae Eunha’s hands.
So she was worrying more than usual. He had no way of knowing that her maternal instincts grew stronger during her cycle.
However you looked at it, that soft side hidden behind her sharp attitude... it drove Kang Juhyuk crazy.
Even if she probably had no feelings for him at all, she was still like this.
What would she look like with someone she actually loved?
Chae Haeun... that seemed to be the side of her driven by lust, if he remembered right.
It would probably be different from the version Chae Haeun showed him.
That must have just been an act for seducing men.
That was why he was curious.
Still, he already knew a little.
Yet Kang Juhyuk still knew far too little about Chae Eunha.
And that made it even more exciting.
“Forget it. Are you going to give it to someone else or what?”
I want it. I want you to do it for me.
Chae Eunha hadn’t answered him that way, but...
She had still opened her heart to him a little.
So maybe, someday... there might be a chance for him too? That kind of hope.
Maybe not now. But if he did well. If he showed her even better sides of himself. Maybe someday.
With that feeling in his chest, Kang Juhyuk was enjoying the thrill of the present.
“Here. Drink this and rest a little. I’ll go look around the area.”
“Ah... yes. Thank you.”
A black tumbler.
After climbing to the higher ground atop a cliff, Chae Eunha handed the container full of water to Kang Juhyuk, who was sitting on a rock while she said she’d check the surroundings.
He’d been walking for hours, so he was a little drained and accepted the tumbler immediately.
Then he opened the lid... and took a sip.
...Huh?
There was a smell.
Inside the tumbler, there was a smell.
A strangely sweet smell... the kind that water definitely shouldn’t have.
Was it a drink?
Gulp.
He took one swallow.
It was a little thick. There was also a faint fishy taste.
Sweet, but... this wasn’t exactly... a drink.
No, it didn’t seem like something you’d buy from a store.
“What is this? It’s a little... white, kind of like milk, but not milk...”
“...W-wait! Wait!!”
“Ah, Nu, nuna?!”
While he was muttering to himself, Chae Eunha suddenly came running back and snatched the black tumbler from his hand.
Her face was bright red, and she seemed strangely excited.
Flustered, stunned... a little aroused, and also embarrassed.
Her expression was a knot of utterly complicated emotions.
“W-what, what, what... what the hell is this? Why is this here? Why is this... ah, shit, Chae Haeun!”
“W-what’s wrong, nuna? What is it?”
“That’s breast milk. When did I even put that in there... ah.”
...What.
What did she just say?
...Breast milk?
“Breast milk?”
“Ah... no. It’s milk. This isn’t breast milk.”
“I already heard you. You said breast milk.”
Chae Eunha shook her head in panic.
But it wasn’t convincing. Kang Juhyuk had already heard the word.
It had gone in through his ears and slammed straight into his brain.
Breast milk.
Nuna Eunha’s breast milk.
Gulp.