RMS 10

Chapter 10

 

The Corrupted Bulbegar was a monster that had once been a fairy.

But even though it had fallen into corruption, its unique fairy-like abilities had not disappeared.

Suddenly appearing from a corner or attacking from behind without warning.

Those were traits possessed by fairy-type monsters.

-Kyahaha!

At the distinctive laughter of the Bulbegar coming from behind him, Han Si-woo immediately turned around.

At the same time, he drew the sword at his waist and struck with a lightning-fast attack.

Slash-!

The Bulbegar did not have particularly high attack power or exceptional defense.

But it kept launching surprise attacks without warning.

Even the smallest attacks would become fatal if they continued to pile up.

‘But the fact that one appeared means all the Bulbegars are aware of me. That’s going to be annoying.’

That was the troublesome part about fairy-type monsters.

After taking a short breath, Han Si-woo started walking.

But perhaps cutting down one Bulbegar in a single strike had been a mistake.

It seemed they had realized that half-hearted ambushes were meaningless, because no more of them appeared.

‘They must be gathered near the boss room. Well, I can just wipe them all out at once.’

In fact, it was not bad. They had saved him the trouble of fighting along the way.

Just as he was thinking that he could increase his movement speed a little more,

[Another person has entered the Corrupted Bulbegar Dungeon.]

Freeze-!

Was this day cursed or something?

Annoyance suddenly surged through him as he started walking.

‘Damn it. I’m not letting this one slide.’

His generosity today had ended with politely throwing a jab at an unregistered Awakened.

Now, all that remained were a heavy hook and a straight punch.

As he strode toward the entrance, he heard footsteps.

He abruptly turned around the corner and said,

“Hey, someone else entered this dungeon first, so……”

At that moment, Han Si-woo stopped speaking.

Three men and one woman.

They were the people he had encountered at the Center earlier.

Then the woman was……

‘……Jang Su-yeon?’

Why was she in this dungeon?

The question immediately came to mind, but there was nothing strange about it.

The undiscovered dungeons in Peace Park were targets for countless Awakened, and at this point in time, before his regression, Han Si-woo and Jang Su-yeon were not traveling together.

“What’s this? His level is really low.”

“Did he enter the wrong dungeon?”

Leaving Han Si-woo lost in thought for a moment, two of the men whispered to each other.

But that lasted only a moment.

The man who seemed to be the party leader approached Han Si-woo.

However, Han Si-woo was staring intently at Jang Su-yeon, who stood behind him.

“This dungeon is dangerous for someone at Level 60. Why don’t you just leave?”

Han Si-woo had clearly seen it right before the man came forward.

Jang Su-yeon pushing the man’s back as if encouraging him.

‘……Jang Su-yeon.’

The moment he saw a side of her that he had never known, his feelings toward her went cold.

Han Si-woo looked at the man in front of him with an expressionless face and casually said,

“You’re talking pretty casually. Do I know you?”

“I don’t know you either. You looked about my age, so I spoke casually. Is that a problem?”

Han Si-woo stared at the man without expression and crooked one finger.

Toward the area behind him.

“Dark Knight.”

Clank-!

At those words, the Dark Knight appeared from around the corner.

Its gray eyes shone as it emerged from the darkness.

The man facing Han Si-woo flinched badly at the sudden appearance.

-You called, my lord.

“Two at Level 97, and one each at 95 and 81. Can you handle them?”

-If you give the order.

The Dark Knight drew its sword and stood firmly beside Han Si-woo.

Overwhelmed by its presence, all four of them immediately became wary.

It was not pleasant to see a summon showing hostility toward them.

But at that moment,

“Oppa, apologize.”

“Huh? Y-Yeah?”

“We were the ones who were rude first.”

At Jang Su-yeon’s words, the man facing Han Si-woo looked flustered.

He had two choices.

Get kicked out, or apologize.

The man’s choice was……

“……I’m sorry for being rude when we just met.”

He seemed to have decided that apologizing after being persuaded by his companion was better than being forcibly thrown out.

But Han Si-woo was looking at Jang Su-yeon with cold eyes.

‘You encouraged him and now you’re playing mediator. Right. You did have a sly side.’

Back then, Han Si-woo had been in too much pain.

He had lost his family and then one companion and friend after another.

In that situation, the only thing supporting him had been Jang Su-yeon, the woman he loved.

But looking at it calmly now……

‘So this was your true self.’

There was no guarantee that a relationship from the past would continue into the present.

So Han Si-woo decided to let go of his feelings for Jang Su-yeon.

“Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you could leave.”

At Han Si-woo’s words, Jang Su-yeon stepped forward.

She wore an extremely desperate expression.

“But…… this is my first time in a fairy-type dungeon. That’s why Oppa brought me all the way here so I could gain some experience. Couldn’t you let us stay? We met by chance like this, so maybe we could form a party and hunt together……”

Her words were extremely polite.

But after seeing what she had done earlier, they only looked fake to him.

“……Ha.”

Han Si-woo tightly closed his eyes.

At least one thing was true.

He had genuinely loved her.

Because of that, the small piece of affection that still remained in his heart made him nod.

“Wow! Thank you!”

As soon as he nodded, Jang Su-yeon jumped with joy.

Han Si-woo stared at her face for a moment, then turned around and gave a small laugh.

‘Yeah, I’m thankful too. I got to cut one person out of my life.’

He could have chosen to leave the dungeon right then.

But he needed an item that the boss of this dungeon dropped.

So he decided to stay with them until the dungeon was cleared.

---

“I’m Kang Seong-hyeok. This guy is Jeong Dae-gang, and she’s my girlfriend, Jang Su-yeon.”

“I’m Han Si-woo.”

Han Si-woo looked at the remaining person.

It was a small man wearing a mask and pulling his hood deeply over his head.

“What about him?”

At Han Si-woo’s question, the others fell silent with strange expressions.

Jang Su-yeon even pretended to be distracted by something else.

‘This is getting tiring.’

Han Si-woo stood up without a care.

There was no need to force everyone to introduce themselves.

At that moment,

“Ha-yeon…… nice to meet……”

An unnatural voice, like metal being scraped, came out.

The voice sounded as though it had been forced out.

Han Si-woo nodded.

“Nice to meet you.”

They first checked each other’s types.

Although balanced-type Awakened were favored in this world, everyone had their own preferred specialties.

Kang Seong-hyeok was a typical tank-type, using a sword and shield.

Jeong Dae-gang used a bow, while Jang Su-yeon was a mage-type.

Ha-yeon was a swordsman like Han Si-woo, using a single sword.

“I’m a tamer-type who uses summons. I use the Dark Knight as a shield and put the rest of my strength into a single attack. That should be enough of an explanation. You all know what Bulbegars are, so let’s get moving.”

There was no need to explain himself in detail, so Han Si-woo gave them a rough explanation.

The hastily formed party then began exploring the dungeon.

The fortunate thing for Han Si-woo was that the Bulbegars, which had hidden away when he was alone, had begun launching surprise attacks now that there were more people around.

‘There are openings everywhere. It’s easy for them to attack.’

Thanks to that, the experience he gained was substantial.

“Su-yeon, hide behind me! Oppa will protect you!”

It was the classic combination of a knight-type and a mage.

But with the two being lovers, the scene was rather unpleasant to watch.

‘……They’re fighting pretty well for their levels. Though I don’t think they’ll improve much beyond this.’

There was another person worth keeping an eye on.

‘More importantly, was his name Ha-yeon? That guy would be incredible if he just fixed those slightly awkward movements. He has a good chance of surviving all the way to the final battle. But I’ve never heard of anyone named Ha-yeon…….’

While lost in thought, Han Si-woo cut down another Bulbegar.

Then his eyes suddenly widened.

Kang Seong-hyeok was standing in front of Jang Su-yeon, who was casting magic against the wall.

He had formed a tight defense, but Bulbegars were monsters that were not restricted by space.

Before they knew it, one of them had emerged from the wall and was aiming for Jang Su-yeon’s back.

‘Damn.’

Even though his feelings for her had disappeared, he did not want to watch her die again.

Having made up his mind, Han Si-woo instantly threw himself forward.

Whoosh-!

Craack-!

The Bulbegar was cut in half along with the wall by Han Si-woo’s sword.

Jang Su-yeon saw its corpse slowly slide down and spoke in a flustered voice.

“T-Thank you.”

Jang Su-yeon thanked him, but Han Si-woo casually brushed it aside.

Not long after, the battle ended.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted. It feels like we’ve been fighting for almost an hour straight.”

Jeong Dae-gang complained as he sat down on the ground.

But no one responded to him.

From the beginning, Ha-yeon seemed to be excluded by the others. Although he was part of the group, he did not really fit in.

On top of that, Jang Su-yeon was staring intently at Han Si-woo, who was standing some distance away, while Kang Seong-hyeok sat there with a hardened expression as he watched her.

‘What a terrible atmosphere.’

Unable to endure the awkward silence, Jeong Dae-gang stood up.

Then he approached Han Si-woo, who was standing alone.

“Oof. What are you doing all by yourself?”

“……?”

He was the man who had stood behind Kang Seong-hyeok when they first met.

But what was his intention in suddenly talking to him now?

“Do you need something?”

“Hehehe. It’s not really that I need anything. But……”

Jeong Dae-gang grinned and lowered his voice.

“You helped Jang Su-yeon earlier, didn’t you?”

At that, Han Si-woo gave a small nod.

He had not had any particular intention behind it.

But Jeong Dae-gang continued with a very serious expression.

“She tends to cling to people who look strong. It’ll be pretty annoying.”

“……What?”

“I helped her once earlier too. That’s why I’m telling you.”

Jeong Dae-gang grinned, stood up, dusted off his backside, and walked back to his original spot.

Watching him, Han Si-woo let out a hollow laugh.

“……Ha!”

Now he understood.

In the past, he had been the strongest among all the Awakened.

Was that why Jang Su-yeon had loved him?

And now she had attached herself to Kang Seong-hyeok because he showed promise?

“Pfft, hahahahaha!”

Han Si-woo burst out laughing and wiped away his tears.

It was so ridiculous that he actually started crying from laughter.

‘I never even imagined that.’

Those had been such difficult times that he had never thought about it.

He had never imagined there could be a reason like this.

Stand-

“Come on. We’ve rested enough. Let’s get moving.”

“Huh? A-Already? We just……”

“We’ve rested enough, haven’t we? What’s so tiring about fighting Bulbegars?”

“W-What? I’m exhausted……”

---

Some time passed after that.

During every break, she gradually moved closer to him, and by now she was practically glued to his side, asking him this and that. It was driving him crazy.

Who could he possibly be talking about?

‘Jang Su-yeon. I wish she’d stop already.’

Clicking his tongue, Han Si-woo stood up and said,

“Let’s stop resting and move. The attacks have become less frequent, so their numbers must have dropped considerably. The ones remaining are probably fortifying their defenses near the boss.”

“Let’s rest a little longer. I’m tired.”

“Dark Knight, stay beside Mr. Jeong Dae-gang. Cover his left, right, and rear when he fires his arrows.”

-Yes, my lord.

Han Si-woo ignored Jang Su-yeon’s words.

She continued clinging to him, but he simply kept walking.

He did not want to give her even the slightest bit of attention anymore.

As Han Si-woo walked away without a care, Jang Su-yeon clenched her fists tightly.

“……Su-yeon, over there.”

“What?”

When Kang Seong-hyeok spoke to her, Jang Su-yeon answered in an irritated voice.

Kang Seong-hyeok flinched at her reaction.

“N-Never mind.”

At that moment,

Han Si-woo stopped walking and let out a small sigh.

“Ms. Jang Su-yeon?”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

When Han Si-woo spoke to her, Jang Su-yeon smiled brightly.

As if responding to her smile, Han Si-woo smiled gently and raised his hand.

“There’s something on your forehead.”

“Huh? Oh, really?”

“I’ll get it off for you.”

Jang Su-yeon smiled shyly and leaned her forehead toward him.

At that moment, Han Si-woo’s fingers curled inward……

Ping-!

Baaam-!

“Kyaaaah!?”

Could that really be the sound of a flick to the forehead?

Jang Su-yeon’s body was sent flying from the blow to her forehead and rolled across the ground.

Thud-

“Argh! Ah! Ah!”

As she lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain, Han Si-woo smiled coldly.

Standing in front of her, he said,

“Ms. Jang Su-yeon, let’s stop this nonsense.”

“Y-You, crazy…… bastard……! Aagh!”

As she screamed almost like a shriek, Han Si-woo smiled.

Then he spoke in a low, heavy voice.

“Draw your sword and you’re dead.”

Kang Seong-hyeok’s face had gone pale at the unexpected turn of events.

He tightly gripped the hilt of the sword he had not even managed to draw and said,

“W-What are you doing right now……?”

Han Si-woo looked completely relieved as he answered,

“She is openly causing trouble. Why would I take someone like that with me?”

“What……”

“Take your girlfriend and get out. Eat well, live well, and if possible, make it all the way to marriage. Please.”

“You f-fucking bastard……”

Kang Seong-hyeok hesitated for a moment before quickly helping Jang Su-yeon to her feet.

Then, as the two hurried toward the exit,

“Uh…… M-Me too?”

Jeong Dae-gang asked in confusion.

Han Si-woo answered indifferently,

“If you want to keep your loyalty, leave.”

“……”

“If you want to benefit, stay.”

“……That’s a pretty good rhyme. I don’t really have any loyalty to keep, so I can stay, right?”

This time, Han Si-woo looked at Ha-yeon.

Ha-yeon hesitated slightly before finally forcing the words out.

“I…… too……”

Ha-yeon’s words showed that he wanted to stay with them.

With the relieved expression of a man who had finally put down a heavy burden, Han Si-woo said,

“As someone said, this is fate too. Let’s keep going.”