Vol 3 Chapter 65
How could he progress any further when he had arrogantly covered the past with a black cloth and thought nothing remained? It was like trying to build a skyscraper on a hastily laid foundation, praising himself for doing well enough.
As a result, once the building was constructed to a certain height, the invisible underground foundation began to shake, causing construction to halt. And Kapros, who had been trying to keep laying bricks without realizing the construction had stopped, had been complacently indulging in a reality akin to self-gratification until he heard the Master Instructor's words.
"..."
Finally, after finishing that train of thought, Kapros opened his eyes after a long while. It was pitch black in front of him, and he had no sense of how much time had passed.
"...Computer. Time."
His throat was completely locked up. As he asked while coughing lightly, the computer answered as if it had been waiting.
[ The current time is 8:47 PM, Seoul standard time. ]
It had been before sunrise when he returned home, but somehow twelve hours had already passed. However, perhaps because he was too exhausted, he no longer felt any surprise. He had expended so much energy recalling and judging each buried memory one by one that his forehead and back were drenched in cold sweat. He thought that properly looking back at the past must have been that difficult for him.
As soon as he raised his body slightly, he wiped the sweat flowing from his forehead as if it had been waiting and examined himself with eyes now somewhat accustomed to the darkness. Surprisingly, he discovered that he was still wearing his uniform without having changed clothes.
No matter how he thought about it, there was only one conclusion.
He had not overcome the past. No, he had never overcome it. While he seemed to have succeeded in objectively facing his current situation to some extent, that was the only conclusion he could draw.
What had all his actions been up to now? The image of himself repeating foolish acts kept coming to mind, making him feel terribly empty. He wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come even after a long time.
He wondered if taking a sleep inducer might help, but as he was currently designated as a kind of protected support target by the country, there were more restrictions on the medications he could obtain compared to the general public. He vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that most medications required consultation with his attending physician. His chest, which had been full until this morning, now felt completely empty.
So what should he do now? He felt he needed to escape from the past, but he couldn't think of anything beyond that.
He wanted to escape. Wasn't it too painful to realize that what he thought was the outside was still inside a cage? Lying on the floor, he slowly raised both hands to cover his eyes. He felt suffocated.
That's when it happened.
[ Ring ring ring. ]
[ You have a voice call from 03C-212-T625, registered as 'Kion'. Would you like to answer? ]
'Who?'
Kion-hyung?
While he was in a daze, a few more rings were heard. It took a while for his mind, which had been submerged in silence as if underwater, to recognize that the phone ring wasn't an auditory hallucination. Before he could even hesitate whether to answer or not, his mouth moved on its own.
"Connect... it."
Was it because of the relief that it wasn't a video call? He regretted it for a moment after speaking, but a voice quickly rang out brightly in the dark house.
[ Mu-heon, are you not in the game right now? I was surprised you answered so quickly even though I called suddenly. ]
"..."
[ Huh? Mu-heon? ]
He tried to say something, but his voice seemed completely blocked and wouldn't come out.
Because he couldn't speak, hyung's bright voice suddenly changed.
[ Mu-heon? Is there something wrong with the phone? What's going on? Mu-heon! Can you hear me? No, could it be an accident! Who's the bastard! ]
"Hyung."
[ Ah... You should speak up quickly! But why does your voice sound like that? Are you hoarse? ]
As Kapros spoke, hyung scolded him with a relieved tone. Hearing that energetic voice, he wiped his sweaty temple and opened his mouth.
"Why... the call?"
[ Ah... I was just curious how you've been doing lately, so I called to check in. Isn't this something the younger one should do first? Well, it's not like having a handsome and great hyung like me is common. Hahaha. ]
When Kapros skipped over explaining why his voice was hoarse, not wanting to answer, hyung didn't press further and responded immediately. As he listened to those words, suddenly, amidst his pitch-black mind that felt like it had fallen into a dark swamp, one thought popped up.
When he didn't know what to do, there was one thing that the current him could do that the past him couldn't. That was...
"Hyung."
[ And... Huh? Yeah. Go ahead, tell me. ]
"I have something to ask."
[ ... ]
Asking someone around him. In the past, he could have asked anyone among the many people who had been around him, but after shutting himself in, there was no one to share his inner thoughts with or seek answers from. Ju-yeol-hyung, sensing something was off from Kapros's deeply sunken voice, remained silent for a moment before quietly saying,
[ Alright. How could I not answer anything our Kar asks? ]
Although it didn't show in his voice, the fact that hyung, who usually tried to call him Mu-heon in reality, had mistakenly used the other name suggested he might be nervous. Thanks to this, Kapros was able to open his mouth a bit more comfortably.
"Hyung. I need to think of a proper solution to a problem I've been avoiding all this time, but..."
He swallowed hard for a moment, having started speaking without any context. He could feel his Adam's apple bobbing.
"I can't think of anything. I don't know what to do."
[ ... ]
There was no response from the other end to his quietly uttered words.
But even if hyung couldn't understand, just opening his mouth seemed to ease his mind a little. Yes. If there was a difference between then and now, it would be this.
[ I want to ask what problem you're talking about, but... Well... You didn't kill someone and bury them, did you? ]
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
Graduate student Yi-han finds himself reborn in another world as the youngest child of a mage family.
– I’m never attending school, ever again!
‘What do you wish to achieve in life?’
‘I wish to play around and live comforta-‘
‘You must be aware of your talent. Now go attend Einroguard!’
‘Patriarch!’
My future would be guaranteed once I graduate. For my future!
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