Episode 15
* * *
It’s a gunshot.
A flock of birds took flight at once.
Not far away.
Baek Do-hyeon raised his head.
‘Was there anyone in this class with archer-related traits?’
Of course, it wouldn’t be strange if you didn’t know about it since there was no weapon issuance or anything like that last time.
Anyway, since it is a shooter’s limit, it wouldn’t be very meaningful unless it is a magic-specialized series.
If he had such talent, it would be impossible for him not to remember it.
‘It seemed so powerful… but it might have been an illusion. I’m not the same as before. I must not forget this.
Didn’t even a variable arise?
Checking the still unchanged rankings, Baek Do-hyeon pulled out a sword from the monster’s corpse.
Changes in difficulty and mutations in monsters.
These are all things that would not have happened originally.
The problem is that I don’t know if it’s just a simple butterfly effect due to his regression or if it’s something more than that.
‘First… let’s do what we have to do.’
I had to finish the tutorial as quickly as possible and meet the Covenant again. That was the most urgent task.
Baek Do-hyeon got up from his brief rest.
Special points from being in the same race are gone, and the difficulty is a mess due to mutations.
It was time to change plans.
[Characteristic, ‘Tracker is activated.’
[Your five senses slightly increase.]
‘I need a healer.’
Hoping that he was not dead yet, he retraced his steps from the crossroads where he had parted ways with Najo Yeon.
Did about 30 minutes pass like that?
“Huh? Mr. Dohyun……?”
The ‘Tracker’ trait is not a skill, so it is somewhat lacking in expertise, but it is quite useful.
Not long after, Baek Do-hyeon found Na Jo-yeon at a remote stream.
To be exact, Najoyeon, who has become one with the wild and the water.
“……Mr. Jo Yeon. I searched for a long time. But what did you look like……?”
Najo Yeon, who was fishing like a caveman, hurriedly hid the wooden harpoon behind her.
But Baek Do-hyeon had already witnessed all the fish behind her, slaughtered and strung up on ropes.
Even the internal organs were neatly removed and prepared.
‘What… happened? Why did I suddenly become Bear Grylls?’
“Oh, no. That’s it……”
“No… I’m glad you look okay. Even the tutorial can make you hungry.”
‘It’s only been two and a half hours.’
“Your survival skills are amazing…”
“I, I’m not going to eat it!”
“yes?”
Na Jo-yeon was sobbing. The reaction was quite intense.
Suppressing his embarrassment, Baek Do-hyeon looked at her again carefully.
Messy hair, dirty, blotchy cheeks, tear stains.
Now that I look at it, it doesn’t look like Bear Grylls, it looks different. Like an ancient slave being served…
Baek Do-hyun’s eyes sank.
Since he had been a hunter for a long time, it was not difficult for him to understand the situation. Baek Do-hyeon cautiously took a step closer.
“Ms. Najo Yeon, do you feel threatened?”
“Huh, yes?”
“It’s okay. I’ll help you. I’ve checked that there are no people around. If you’re being forced into unwanted labor, just nod your head.”
“Oh, no! That’s absolutely not true! It’s just……”
The Hunter world is a world where the strong reign supreme.
Ordinary people should not be touched, but there should be a ranking system among the same type.
There was plenty of trash out there that bullied the relatively weak.
But, it’s so blatantly hooliganistic right from the start, the tutorial.
If it’s that much trash, it’s better to nip it in the bud here.
Baek Do-hyeon smiled with a cold smile that was hard to believe given his good looks.
“If not, did Najoyeon-ssi go hunting and prepare the food of her own free will? The water you left over there has even been purified. Did he order you to bring drinking water?”
“Do-hyun, it’s true. It wasn’t forced or compulsory at all. It was just, just!”
“yes.”
“I, I didn’t know. I don’t know. My body just moved on its own.”
Na Jo-yeon, who had been mumbling, suddenly raised her head.
“You’re not trying to hurt him, are you! No! Don’t do that! Leave us alone!”
“……You’re like trash. You’ve been brainwashed thoroughly.’
Is he a mental specialist? He’s not an easy target.
With a hardened face, Baek Do-hyeon pulled away from Na Jo-yeon’s arm that was holding him back.
“Okay, I understand. But since your luggage looks heavy, I’ll share it with you to where you’re going. I’ll also make sure that Jo Yeon-ssi is safe. Would you mind letting me do that?”
Na Jo-yeon nodded reluctantly, looking hesitant.
“……If that’s the case, then yes. Instead, promise me in front of Babel that you won’t harm him.”
“Yes, I promise.”
Even Babel would understand a white lie.
Baek Do-hyeon looked up at the sky for a moment and followed.
The sky is clear and the wind is cool.
Even if you bury a fool deep in the ground, no one will know…
Baek Do-hyeon truly thought so.
The place that Na Jo-yeon, who took the lead, guided us to was an empty space. It was an empty space that looked like the middle of a forest had been cut out with scissors.
And then the sight of someone sitting there was revealed.
Before he could even react, Na Jo-yeon ran out and shouted in the aforementioned voice.
“I’m late! I need to meet someone… Do-Hyeon, say hello!”
“……”
“This is Najojo-sama!”
“……”
“Jo, JoJo-sama. I don’t know if it will suit your taste, but this is my small castle……”
“I don’t really like fish. I’m a diehard meat eater.”
“Ugh! Is that true? What the hell!”
“This house owner is not sincere.”
“Bad supporting actor! Bad supporting actor!”
“Oh, stop it.”
“Oh, how merciful you are……”
‘What is mind control?’
Baek Do-hyun looked at the excited pervert with cold eyes.
I forgot about the pervert Dobby for a moment, who looked so happy.
Na Jo-yeon.
To be exact, ‘Fanatic’ Na Jo-yeon.
In the first round, she was a world-famous follower of Joe.
A fanatic who is acknowledged even by diehard fans, who openly tout him as the biggest fandom output.
My body moves without me knowing?
I guess it was just your instincts that told you to do it…
Unfortunately, the heavens did not give her the vision to see through insincere pseudonyms, let alone the instincts of a ghostly fanatic.
Najojo patted Dobi (supporting actor) on the head, and Kenji raised his head.
He raises his hand coolly, chewing on a toothpick of unknown origin like an old Hong Kong actor.
“Oi oi.”
‘Don’t be so cool for no reason……’
“What? Oh, we know each other?”
‘Don’t stare……’
Total chaos.
Baek Do-hyun took a deep breath and walked away. He rebuked her with a stiff face.
“……What the heck, it’s so cold out here, why don’t you light a bonfire? Isn’t the floor too cold to sit on?”
“Okay. I’m fine. Hmm, slurp! Knock knock knock.”
“Jo, Jojo, you’re the best in the world! You have the face of a large, good-breed dog! And you start giving me those harsh criticisms the moment you come here!”
“Okay. That’s the limit of someone who is just meeting for the first time. I, who is an ‘old acquaintance,’ will go get the firewood like an expert. Ms. Na Jo-yeon, who is just meeting for the first time, can rest here. (Uselessly).”
“What, what did you say! What did you just mumble at the end!”
“Huh? What did I… You have quite a violent personality. Indeed…”
Kyeonji-oh yawned as he listened to the conversation between the two people escalating into a campfire war.
Then I thought with fervent hope.
‘I want to lie down……’
It was nice that he was blinded by the chunk of meat in front of him and jumped in bravely.
I forgot to mention that the maximum battery life is 3 minutes.
‘Is it okay if I carry a bed in my inventory?’
Geo began to think seriously.
Three hours of tutorial time.
Even though Babel’s expensive S-class relief pitcher had appeared, the game’s direction was becoming increasingly uncertain.
* * *
/ 1st time.
/ Interview with DI Guild’s AA-class assistant ranker ‘Najo Yeon’.
Long brown hair.
Lightly pigmented eyes.
It’s hard to conjure up the sinister nickname of ‘fanatic’ from a face that would easily be described as an angel or a princess.
In the middle of the interview, the reporter finally couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.
“Najoyeon is a high ranker, ranked 14th. In addition, she is a AA-class, holy power-specialized series that everyone seeks out.
There is no denying that, as a privileged class that has acquired both wealth and fame, it is more fitting to be admired than to be chased.
Even so, is there a reason why you insist on the title of someone’s follower while enduring damage to your image? Of course, I do not intend to disparage that person at all.
“Reporter, why do you think people like Hunter?”
“There is no citizen who hates a hero. Ever since.”
“And the reason why citizens like ‘heroes’ is because they are saviors who sacrifice themselves for no reason.”
“Well, I don’t completely agree with that. I guess you can’t say it’s completely wrong.”
“Think simply.”
Na Jo-yeon smiled.
“To me, he is a hunter. He is not another hunter that I look up to as a hunter, but just a human hunter like Na Jo-yeon. My hunter who saved me without any conditions or reason.”
“……Ah. By any chance! I was wondering if it was really that long, right? Incheon Gate.”
“Wow, you noticed. That’s right. I’m a first-class disaster survivor from Incheon Airport. It wasn’t really a secret, but everyone thought it was a secret and kept it a secret.”
Na Jo-yeon’s eyes softened as she recalled the past.
“Reporter, when people are saved. You don’t remember as many things as you think. Right? It’s chaotic and a mess. But at the moment when you despair that everything is over, a light shines down…
That ray of light, the feeling of it touching my face, is so vivid. I probably won’t forget it even after I die.
So, as a supporting actor, I think I have to see it as something I’m ultimately chasing.”
‘Survivors, there are survivors here!’
‘Oh, Mom… My mom is inside.’
‘Don’t worry. We’re being rescued. It’s over. It’s over……’
‘I thought I was dying…’
When Na Jo-yeon asked what was happening, the agent pointed to the sky.
Unlike the dying darkness, the summer sky is filled with scorching sunlight.
There was a black dragon flying across the sky like a sunspot.
A hero who shines brighter than a movie in a reality more tragic than a movie.
Na Jo-yeon blankly looked up at the sky.
The radio that I had been holding like a treasure in the ruins rang out clearly.
The young announcer shouted powerfully, unable to hide his excitement.
[ Citizens! You can rest assured. The situation is over. The threat is gone. Incheon Gate. The first-class crack, the disaster is over! Don’t forget today. Please remember one name. Everyone, the name of the hero who saved us today is…… ]
There’s no way I could forget it.
My savior. My protagonist.
“Why did the hero come to that place that day?”
“It’s simple.”
Because there are people.
As a human being. For the human being.
“The honor of being a ranker doesn’t really matter. In the grand scheme of things, chasing him is ultimately about leaving the Hunter and looking back at myself as a human being without losing sight of myself.”
“……”
“If I forget that I am human and that I was saved by humans, then that will be the end of my humanity. I want to live ‘humanly’ rather than ‘coolly.’”
That’s it.
A guide to proper living for rankers.
