Side Story Episode 3 – Coincidence, Inevitability, and Meeting (2)
A being that broke through the dust fog and revealed itself fully.
He followed Seo-joon’s voice and gently turned his gaze.
“······ hmm?”
After a while, I checked Seo-joon’s appearance,
He also seemed to recognize Seo-jun’s face.
“you are···?”
The eyes of the two staring at each other slowly began to widen.
“Why are you here?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask, but why are you here?”
The two looked at each other’s faces blankly, repeating questions in surprise.
Silence fell for a while.
How much time had passed like that?
As if breaking that awkward silence.
I heard the words of a mentor somewhere.
<What, what is it? Do you two know each other?>
Hearing the mentor’s words, Seo-joon gently lowered his gaze.
The mentor twisted his small body around in Seo-jun’s grasp.
After a while, he escaped from his grip, jumped, and landed on the floor.
Then, through the dust fog, I began to carefully examine the being that appeared.
<Umm…?>
However, unlike Seo-jun, the mentor did not recognize the existence in front of him.
<Who are you? From the looks of it, you seem to be a beginner…>
After examining his face, the mentor finally shook his head.
<No matter how you look at it, you don’t seem human… How did Seojun Kim know?>
The mentor constantly tilted his head and expressed his doubts.
Seeing such a mentor, Seo-joon nodded slightly.
Mentor at that time… Wait a minute.
It’s not Kim Seo-joon’s ‘and’,
How do you know Kim Seo-joon’s ‘this’?
<How could Kim Seo-joon find someone with such a great appearance…?>
The mentor was standing with his arms folded and had a very puzzled expression on his face.
How come that figure is ‘Kim Seo-joon can’t have friends…?’ It felt like.
“What does that mean, mentor?”
<Uh… yes? That, that…>
The mentor shuddered and trembled and continued.
<Kim Seo-joon doesn’t have any motivation as a freshman. You don’t have any close freshman friends, and again…>
“Well, that’s true, but… but can’t we get close to each other through the chatter of freshmen?”
Then, as if the mentor was talking about something, he firmly shook his head and replied.
<Ah, Seojun Kim? I hope so. In the first place, Kim Seo-joon couldn’t even leave a post in the beginner community. What did you say when you were bullied as a freshman?>
Freshman bullying?
say that now
Who is the reason why you can’t post in the community in the first place?
“And I’m a bully, so what’s that… phew. no.”
Seo-joon closed his mouth as if to pick up the words he had spit out.
Obviously, it was right to explain things that were different from the facts.
It was because I knew that there would be no use in trying to explain to my mentor based on my experience.
And what…
It was true that I didn’t have close friends.
The only thing I know about is the twisted existence…?
But I couldn’t even say that I was acquainted with the twisted being.
Seojun shrugged once and opened his mouth.
“This is the first-time student I met when I went to another dimension.”
<Yes? Is it another dimension? What do you mean by another dimension…?>
“Haven’t I been to another dimension for 10 months? I want to buy time to complete the lecture.”
<Um…? ah! then!>
The mentor crossed his small palms.
Then he tilted his head and opened his mouth again.
<Then is the person you met in that dimension…?>
“yes. This is the freshman I met then.”
<Oh…>
Then, the mentor pursed his lips and made an admiring expression.
It was as if the fact was strange.
I don’t know what’s so strange about it… anyway.
What did you say your name was then…?
Oh yeah.
“Did you say Aren…?”
“That’s right. You remember.”
Aren gave a small smile.
However, because of the appearance, there was an illusion that there was a slight halo shining from behind.
Seojun stared blankly at Aren.
Aren was a beginner Seojun met when he was in another dimension for 10 months.
I received a lot of help back then.
To be honest, it was no exaggeration to say that thanks to Aren, Seo-jun was able to establish the path of transcendence that he decided to walk.
As much as Aren is a beginner, it is hard to believe.
No, in a sense, he possessed martial arts that surpassed those of transcendental instructors.
Not only his appearance, but also his transcendent powerlessness and gentle personality.
It was the existence that I thought Aren was the one who had everything.
Seojun responded to Aren’s smile and smiled at him.
“I didn’t expect to see you here again. At that time, she received a lot of help in many ways ─.”
for a moment.
Then suddenly, a thought came to Seo-joon, and he cut off the words he had been uttering for a moment.
At the same time, without realizing it, my body stiffened.
A thought just flashed through my mind.
Did he even know what Seojun was thinking?
Aren asked Seo-jun with a questionable expression.
“Anyway, why are you here? You left then and I thought you would have transcended, of course.”
“ah.”
At Aren’s words, Seo-joon let out a small exclamation.
As I said earlier, Aren was the last day.
When Seo-joon visited another dimension, he was a beginner who existed in that dimension.
And let’s briefly summarize the situation from then until now.
Seojun continued training for 10 months in that dimension,
finally returned to Earth.
I had a final battle with such a great voice,
He went to the observer and destroyed the boundary space.
And right after Seo-joon lost consciousness in the boundary space.
I woke up in a place where I didn’t know if it was the earth or what it was.
so now.
There is Aren here, who doesn’t know what the earth is.
To put this together in a nutshell…
“Why did you come back to my dimension? no, how?”
also.
Hearing Aren’s words again, Seojun nodded once.
and no worries.
Fortunately, this place didn’t seem to be Earth.
Is it pure, is it chaos, what is it?
I thought the earth was messed up…
“ha···.”
Seo-joon let out a sigh of relief without even realizing it.
But I couldn’t help but feel relieved.
‘Then how should I return to Earth now?’
Likewise, this place wasn’t Earth.
Seo-joon is relieved and worried.
He slowly opened his mouth with Shim Jung, who was in the middle of it.
“That’s… what actually happened—”
Right then.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung…!
In an instant, Aren’s whole body started to explode with tremendous mana.
The magic of Samdanjeon (三丹田) possessed by Seojun before he lost his power.
It was slightly less than that, but it was almost comparable in power.
A moment of embarrassment.
Before long, a translucent yellow film wrapped around Seo-jun.
And almost at the same time.
Whoops!
There was a terrible crash as something hit the translucent membrane heavily.
Seo-jun slowly turned around and looked at him with a bewildered feeling.
and looked at it.
Weiyiyiing—!!
There, something unknown was covering the sky in pitch black.
At first glance, a spider…?
It was as if a swarm of hairy spiders were covering the entire sky.
Shu Shu Shu Shu Shu Shuuk!!
And even while shooting strange long awl-like poison needles!
“What is that…”
Seo-jun unknowingly twisted his eyebrows.
The outward appearance is also an outward appearance,
Because the momentum I felt was not at the level of a normal monster.
With a bit of exaggeration, he seemed to be on the same level as the Demogorgon he had met in Italy.
Whew——Oh!
Poison darts pouring from the monstrous creatures that covered the sky hit the translucent membrane around them fiercely.
Damn it!
It began to pound the curtain ceaselessly, like black rain pouring down from the sky.
<Hee hee hee…!!!>
The mentor was frightened and quickly came back into Seo-jun’s grasp.
I could clearly feel the movement of the trembling mentor in Seo-jun’s grip.
On the other hand.
Aren stood there with a nonchalant expression.
It’s okay to get tired of the pouring rain.
Aren didn’t blink an eye.
“Let’s change seats.”
He just spoke calmly to Seo-joon.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
At the same time, Aren’s whole body began to explode with mana.
It wrapped around Seo-joon and mentor for an instant,
Soon, Seo-jun’s vision reversed in an instant.
#
The vision reversed again.
Eventually, the first thing Seo-jun saw was a certain room.
“You can rest assured that this is where I live. Just like before, we’ve sorted out dangerous things in advance.”
Eventually, when I gently turned my head at the sudden voice, Aren was looking at Seo-jun with a small smile.
“You can sit where you feel comfortable. It’s a bit shabby, but please understand.”
At the same time, Aren seemed to show an example.
He quietly sat down in the nearest chair.
Seojun slowly looked around.
Overall, the room is spacious, clean, and has a warm atmosphere.
It was a room that felt like the house of a great sage living alone away from the world.
The last time we met, we had met by chance, so this was the first time we had come to Aren’s residence.
Looking around Aren’s room like that,
Suddenly, the mentor pushed his head out of Seo-jun’s grip.
And look around.
After confirming that it was safe, I leapt and jumped down.
He then smiled brightly at Aren.
<Unlike anyone else, you really have good manners! I wish someone would learn!>
Somehow, it sounded like someone was telling me to listen…
As if he didn’t know anything, the mentor raised his hand on his waist and shouted again with a very confident expression.
<Late introduction! I am Seojun Kim’s mentor, mentor here! Thank you for saving me!>
“Mentor…?”
Aren tilted his head slightly at the powerful mentor’s words.
I wanted to keep thinking a little like that.
Suddenly, as if realizing it, Aren shouted.
“ah! He was the one who supervised the mentors of the Transcendent Academy. nice to meet you My name is Aren.”
<Huh? do you know me?>
“sure. You are a legend in the mentor world. The word mentor itself is named after the mentor, so how could you not know that?”
At the same time, Aren opened his eyes wide, as if he was really surprised.
And Seo-joon couldn’t help but be slightly surprised by Aren’s reaction.
Was the mentor this famous…? It was because I wanted to.
But what…
When I heard that, I thought it might be.
First of all, the mentor had the authority to meet directly with the director.
A transcendent academy that nurtures beginners across all dimensions.
Being able to meet directly with the head of such a transcendent academy was something that no one could do.
It was taken for granted at the time, but
After hearing this, the mentor seems different.
<Hahahahaha! I’m a little too famous! Umhahahahaha!>
It is not.
Where on earth do you think that is a legend in the mentor world?
It is certain that all mentors in the world are dead.
<Didn’t you say Aren is also a student at our academy? Has there ever been such a perfect person in our academy? I’m really different from anyone.>
“I wanted to ask you earlier, but who the hell is that…”
<Yes! A very unscrupulous person who sold manners to causality!>
The mentor yelled and shouted.
Seeing such a mentor, Seo-joon was about to say something… but just shut his mouth.
It was because he knew that there would be no point in talking anyway.
“haha. You two are really good.”
Aren, who watched the two of them, smiled calmly.
Seo-joon had nothing to say and just shook his head.
“First of all, thank you very much for your help. Aren.”
“no. You don’t even know each other.”
Aren responded to Seo-joon’s greeting with a bright smile again.
“And there’s something I’d like to ask…”
Seo-joon asked Aren with a slight slur.
“Is this really Aren’s dimension?”
“yes. That’s right.”
Aren calmly nodded.
And Seo-jun heard Aren’s answer.
“ha···.”
Seo-jun let out a small sigh of relief without even realizing it.
To be precise, relief and worry.
It was a sigh mixed with those two emotions.
First of all, it was fortunate that this place was not Earth.
However, now Seo-joon has lost all his strength.
It’s not enough that he fell into an unfamiliar dimension in that situation.
being chased by a moneyworm tree,
I almost died from a flying spider,
Now, thanks to Aren, I was safe, but
It was a stage to worry about from the immediate future.
Above all, there is no way to return to Earth.
Maybe I should be stuck in this dimension for the rest of my life.
‘Time passes quickly in this dimension, but…’
To be precise, there was a difference of 20:1.
20 days here is equivalent to one day on Earth.
Is there any way to transcendence academy?
Come to think of it, why was Mentor here?
“Mentor. Come to think of it, why are you here, Mentor?”
<Yes? me?>
“yes.”
The mentor answered Seo-joon’s question with a slight surprise.
And then I put my chin on my chin and thought.
<Uh… that’s right?>
I tilted my head.
“yes? What do you mean?”
<That, that’s the only thing that came to Kim Seo-joon because the director suddenly told him to go to Kim Seo-joon. And when I opened my eyes, what strange trees…>
The mentor only tilted his head as if he was really confused.
Seo-joon was about to ask something more, but he just kept his mouth shut.
Because that’s not what’s important right now.
Seojun took out his smartphone from his pocket and held it out to his mentor.
“Then can you go to the transcendent academy and call the director?”
<Ah, yes! Hold on!>
The mentor accepted Seo-jun’s smartphone without questioning anything else.
And then, as usual, he tried to disappear with Seo-jun’s smartphone.
Goong!
<Ako!>
Suddenly, a loud shock sound was heard.
Where I looked, my mentor was rubbing his forehead, complaining of pain.
<Uh…ra?>
The mentor was greatly embarrassed and rubbed his forehead.
And it seems that this can’t be the case.
It went on and on to the smartphone screen.
Goong! Goong!
However, only the troubled head is stuck in the smartphone.
The mentor was finally able to stop the behavior only after a small bump developed.
<Why is this…?>
Mentor manipulated the smartphone for a while.
And a pop-up notification window.
“error! The connection to the system has been lost.》
<·······?>
The mentor’s expression contorted.
And then head up!
He raised his head towards Seo-joon and shouted.
<What is this!>
What if you ask me about it?
“For some reason, the transcendent academy is not connected. It’s not just Kim Seo-joon, it’s the same for me.”
Aren’s words followed.
Seo-joon let out a deep sigh without even realizing it.
“If this…”
haha, damn
Just when I want to do this…
“Are you thinking of going back to the original dimension again?”
Aren’s cautious question was heard.
Seo-joon shook his head for a while and nodded weakly.
“yes. If only I could go.”
“hmm···.”
At Seo-jun’s words, Aren thought for a moment.
So little time passed.
“I think I can help.”
Aren cautiously opened his mouth again.
“······ yes?”
Unknowingly, Seo-joon suddenly opened his eyes.
“Instead, there is one condition.”
“what···?”
Aren continued to speak with a serious look in his eyes.
“Could you please do one favor of me?”
“Please…?”
“yes.”
Aren nodded calmly and continued.
“In fact… as you know from looking at it earlier, the state of the dimension is strange these days. Suddenly, monsters that did not exist began to appear, and in recent years, bizarre phenomena that cannot even be identified have begun to occur.”
It is said that it happened suddenly recently…
Aren added that it was around this time that the connection with the Transcendent Academy was severed.
Seo-joon couldn’t hide his burning feelings.
Somehow, it seemed to be a change that occurred when the observer was expelled.
“Because… people’s hardships are not words. I’m blocking it somehow… but it seems there is a limit. Besides, since we are continuing to investigate the cause… it seems that it is too much for me to handle everything by myself.”
The fact that I was able to run into Seojun just now,
It is said that he was dispatched to investigate a strange phenomenon.
Seojun let out a deep sigh.
To be honest, it wasn’t difficult to do Aren’s request.
No, if I could return to Earth, I had to listen unconditionally.
but.
“But this is how I feel right now…”
It was the fact that none other than Seo-joon had lost all his strength.
In its current state, it was quite unreasonable.
“ah···.”
Aren nodded slightly with an expression of regret.
As expected, Aren seemed to know that Seo-joon had lost his strength.
So even if I wanted to do Aren’s request, it was difficult to do so,
For some reason, Aren seemed to think differently.
And that thought fits.
“then···.”
Aren looked at Seo-joon again and slowly opened his mouth.
“What if I could get my lost power back?”
