Chapter 771: Adrift (3)
“He’s still alive, at least. But I think Mr. Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song need to get on at the same time. If one side boards first, it might flip.”
Even if it was technically a four-person boat, it was still an inflatable raft meant for playing in the water, so I couldn’t help feeling nervous. The safest setup would be the two of them sitting front and back, with me in the middle.
[I made a private line for Honey. They won’t be able to interfere on this channel!]
“Thanks, Rookie. How are things on your end? Myungwoo must be worried sick.”
[Mr. Blacksmith is trying to make a path to Honey’s world. But it won’t be easy.]
“Can I still not send the kids over?”
[I think most of the dependents have gotten in, but… the instability from the intrusion hasn’t settled yet. And Senior Crescent Moon… is watching. If Honey tries to open a path, she’ll probably block it by sending in dependents or forcing interference into this world.]
Even if I left Seong Hyunjae behind, I doubted Crescent Moon would let me go. Her top priority was probably Seong Hyunjae, the Little Moon, but she seemed interested in me too.
“We still have to get home somehow. This thing won’t sink, right?”
I climbed into the middle of the raft with Peace in his spirit form in my arms. Wedged between Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song, who sat facing each other at the front and back, I felt cramped and weirdly embarrassed. Why wasn’t there an oar in the middle?
“Should I grab an oar too?”
“No. If the difference in strength is too great, the boat will just spin in circles.”
“Chief Song Taewon is more than enough.”
“Don’t freeload. He’s already exhausted, and you’re not even thinking of rowing in his place?”
“How thoughtless of me. Since I’m being given a ride, perhaps I should offer a car in return.”
Obviously not the kind of tea you drank.
“Well, that’s one clean payment~ Right, Chief Song? I’ll fill the inside of the car for you. Ten years’ worth of magic stone fuel included.”
“…That’s all right.”
Chief Song answered briefly and began rowing. I told him where I’d last seen Yerim and Hyunah. The Puppeteer glided over the water alongside the raft.
[If the system were still connected to Honey’s world, it would be easy to go back… but it’s been cut off.]
“It’s not like we could’ve left it connected. Things are already this much of a mess.”
Imagine the dependents invading our actual world instead of a dream. We’d have been completely screwed. Even if going back had gotten harder, this situation was still far better.
[Mr. Blacksmith and I are still looking for a way. First, we’re trying to create a place where Honey can safely connect a path.]
“Can you do that?”
[Yes. The system is connected to the dream world, after all. We’re trying all sorts of things!]
“Thanks. I’m counting on you. Tell Myungwoo too. Tell him not to overdo it and to take care of himself.”
Honestly, Myungwoo these days had no right to nag me. …Though that was my fault. Yeah. I was the one who’d messed up.
[We’re also delaying system application to the dependents as much as we can. But it won’t last long. Complaints have already started coming in…]
“You be careful too, Rookie. Don’t pick fights with other Transcendents for no reason. Your safety comes first.”
Even with Senior Tree around, he had to be careful. If Rookie disappeared too, there’d be no one left to help us through the system.
[Yes~♡ Don’t worry. I’m more worried about Honey. Your group can probably handle the dependents, but a Transcendent might come in directly. You’ve experienced that a few times already, Honey.]
“I have.”
The first had been Diarma. That bastard had dragged me into a mental realm. Technically, it was more like I’d jumped in myself, but still. That method should be fine since it was hard to use unless I synchronized with it. Ru Ga Pheya had used the dungeon space to cut down her own power and barge in. If Gyeol hadn’t been there, getting out unharmed would’ve been hard. This place wasn’t a dungeon, so Ru Ga Pheya’s method would be difficult to use too. But the other methods…
“In the Japanese dungeon, Seong Hyunjae barged in under the excuse of protecting his contractor. And here, the Puppeteer showed up waving my ownership contract around.”
[Yes, Honey. That’s one way a Transcendent can enter another world. Of course, ordinary worlds are heavily protected, so it’s hard to use there. It’s only possible somewhere close to destruction, like the Japanese dungeon, or somewhere with weak protection, like the dream world.]
“There are still limits here.”
The Puppeteer cut in.
“I’ve been weakened too.”
Even weakened, he was probably stronger than most dependents.
“On the other hand, Chatterbox was dangerous.”
A Transcendent who had given up his status as a Transcendent, made his existence known to our world, obtained a new body and existence, and descended. Back then, I really thought I was done for.
[A Transcendent probably won’t use Chatterbox’s method. It’s too dangerous. But entering a dependent’s body and assimilating with them is possible. That’s usually called an avatar.]
…Yuhyun came to mind. No way that Gardener bastard would try to use my brother like that, right?
“How exactly does that work? Can the dependent refuse?”
[It depends on the contract. A world’s rejection force is proportional to the intruder’s stats. That’s why they send in a weak dependent first and enter that body. Since a dependent can’t withstand a Transcendent’s power, it’s practically single-use… so they don’t do it often.]
“Then the dependents must hate it too.”
The problem was how much control the Gardener could exert over Yuhyun. Still, Yuhyun seemed to have a strong sense of self, so forcing his way in would probably be hard…
‘…Yuhyun might agree to it.’
If he thought there was no other way to protect me. My brother was the kind of person who could sacrifice himself without hesitation. On top of that, he was calling himself fake, saying he was already dead. Of course he’d act even more recklessly.
“Rookie, did you find out anything else about the Gardener?”
[Senior Tree says he doesn’t know the details either. But Senior Tree and other Transcendents similar to him all seem to avoid the Gardener.]
“Really? They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Think they’d help us?”
[Wouldn’t they, if we offered a pseudo-source in exchange?]
I glanced at Seong Hyunjae. He looked as relaxed as if he were riding a sightseeing gondola. The sound of Chief Song rowing came in steady splashes.
“What a passionate look.”
“I was wondering whether you felt like swimming.”
At my words, Seong Hyunjae smiled with a soft ah.
“You always did enjoy stripping me, Han Yujin.”
“What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”
“When the two of us were alone in the Japanese dungeon. You said you’d strip me completely—”
What? No, when the hell did I ever? This was unfair. I’d… Ah.
“That was because of the yarn! If you were going to blow away your emotions, you should’ve blown away the memories too. Now you keep spouting useless crap!”
“It was too radical an experience for me to forget.”
I wanted to smack the back of Seong Hyunjae’s head. Unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly throw him overboard either.
[As long as you hold on to Chain, Honey, I’ll try persuading the other Transcendents.]
“No. No, don’t. Besides, there’s a Transcendent right beside us who needs to protect that man.”
For Sigma’s sake, we had to protect Seong Hyunjae. Sigma hadn’t done anything wrong. Seong Hyunjae hadn’t exactly done anything wrong to end up like this either. Same went for me and Yuhyun. Thinking about it again made me feel wronged. It wasn’t like we’d committed some terrible crime, so why were we suffering like this? Sure, we’d killed a few people and Transcendents, but that had been self-defense.
“How are Noah and Liette? You can contact them, can’t you, Rookie?”
[About that… it looks like they made contact with another Transcendent. Probably a dependent, or maybe an avatar.]
“An avatar? Already?”
[I’m not certain. I can’t send them system messages.]
Hayul had said they seemed blurred and hidden too. That worried me. Once we found Yerim and Hyunah, we’d have to look for Noah and Liette as well.
“Can you send messages to Yuhyun and Hyunah?”
[Hmm, I’ll make Honey’s administrator mode available again. They’re both still under Honey, after all. System application is complete now, so you should be able to use it.]
“Yeah, thanks!”
A system administrator window appeared in front of me. I immediately sent messages to Yuhyun and Hyunah.
[Yuhyun, it’s me.]
[Hyunah, where are you?]
Not long after, Hyunah replied. She said she was on the roof of a building near Gubanpo Station. I quickly gave Chief Song the direction.
[Yerim’s sleeping soundly too. She won’t wake up.]
[She must still be with Park Hayul. I’ll come over and check.]
The raft turned. It cut through the water at high speed. Even by the time we nearly reached Gubanpo Station, Yuhyun still hadn’t replied.
[Yuhyun, just listen to me for a second. That’s not what I meant.]
I was about to try explaining, even if only through messages.
[Connection to Han Yuhyun(S) has been severed.]
Yuhyun rejected the system message.
“…Hey, Han Yuhyun!”
“Looks like the brothers’ quarrel will be a long one.”
You could reject those? Had he met the Yuhyun from before the regression? Had that Yuhyun helped him? The fact that he was marked as Han Yuhyun(S) bothered me too. Why a rank all of a sudden? Was it for distinction? For no good reason, I glared at Seong Hyunjae.
“If Yuhyun and Yuhyun join forces, the person who should be most worried is you. They have the same attribute, so the buff will be doubled.”
My twenty-five-year-old brother had probably had an area skill like Melted Last Gate too. Not all his skills had been publicly revealed, and when I’d been transferred as compensation… I hadn’t had time to examine things carefully. But they shared the same attribute, and their very existence was identical. If one used a combat support skill, there was a good chance the other could receive it.
“Don’t worry. I’ll hide very carefully behind Han Yujin.”
“What— Ah, right. You also promised not to mess with Yuhyun. I should cancel that now, can— can…”
Canceling it felt like a waste. It wasn’t a binding contract, just a promise, but still.
“Hey, hyung-nim!”
Hyunah’s voice rang out from the roof of a building in the distance. She was waving Shishio’s coat like a flag.
“Hyunah!”
“What’s with the flood? I did hear Yerim’s voice.”
“This was Yerim’s doing, all right!”
The raft reached the building wall. I grabbed Hyunah’s outstretched hand and climbed up to the roof. I could see Yerim asleep off to one side.
“This water is what the Mermaid Queen laid down as the foundation of the dream world. Since it’s a Transcendent’s power, Yerim probably couldn’t control it properly.”
“Yeah? But where’s your little shadow, hyung-nim?”
Right. Hyunah didn’t know. I tried to answer, but the words wouldn’t come easily.
“It’s, well. Yuhyun…”
My brother.
“…The brother I lost before the regression.”
The brother I was supposed to go bring back had returned. My gaze dropped to my feet. Things I’d been holding down because I had to keep moving surged up inside me. Moon Hyunah waited in silence. I could feel her kind gaze resting on the top of my lowered head.
“He was torn away and stayed near the source… and I was trying to get him back somehow…”
I stumbled through the explanation. Yuhyun had returned. Even if he claimed he was dead, even if he said so himself, he was within reach now. Somehow, I managed to finish explaining. Hyunah gave a small nod.
“You met him.”
“…Yes.”
“Then, anyway, that’s good.”
“…Yes.”
Her words came without any long, heavy addition, and I nodded too. Right. It was good. Whatever else had happened, I’d met him. That was what mattered most. The rest — the Gardener or whatever — could be dealt with somehow. It was much better than being able to do nothing but watch him from far away.
“But Yuhyun is ridiculously strong, and the current Yuhyun went with him too. Saying he was going to protect me. Anyway, those two are still exactly the same about that… Seriously…”
“Even if he changed, he’s still the same person. No matter how much Han Yuhyun changes, you really think the way he loves his hyung-nim would change too? If that changed, he’d be a whole different person. Yerim would probably get mad and ask who the hell he was.”
I felt a light hand pat my shoulder. I roughly wiped my face with my sleeve and lifted my head. My eyes met Chief Song’s troubled ones.
“I’m sorry. I failed to consider your feelings, Han Yujin. About your brother, please accept my…”
Chief Song trailed off. He looked like he had no idea what to say. Well, I’d be at a loss too, in his position. It was an awkward situation to simply offer condolences.
“It’s okay. Like Hyunah said, things are much better now. Before this, it really felt hopeless. Even if both my brothers did run away from home, uh.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“Thank you, Chief Song.”
Then I glowered at Seong Hyunjae. Normally, he would’ve been the first to notice and say something, at least. He must have noticed. But was this his way of saying he didn’t need to comfort me like before anymore? The fact that he was still quiet made me feel pointlessly disappointed.
“Don’t you need my help? You could at least pretend. It’s not like you can’t act.”
“This is my own form of consideration. Han Yujin is far too easily swayed by me.”
“Full of confidence, aren’t you? Wouldn’t that be good for you, then?”
Instead of answering, he looked at me like I was a child. Ah, sure. That kind of thing wasn’t his taste. Even with his life on the line.
“So do we have to fight your brothers, hyung-nim? If they’re coming to kill Seong Hyunjae, wouldn’t it be better to hold out here? They won’t be able to burn all this water away.”
“That’s true, but we can’t leave the other dependents alone either. We have to deal with the dependents before the system finishes applying to them. The best-case scenario is Yerim learning to handle the Mermaid Queen’s water skillfully, and if that doesn’t work, we should split into teams.”
Seong Hyunjae would stay in the middle of the water under Yerim’s protection, and the other team would attack the dependents. That would also stop Seong Hyunjae from consuming magic stones. Whether he’d sit quietly was the problem.
“One more thing.”
The Puppeteer spoke, raising one hand. His gaze turned toward Moon Hyunah.
“Moon Hyunah, will you go meet my child?”
“Uh, sorry? You mean Sigma?”
Hyunah sounded reluctant.
“That’s right. I want you to protect Sigma in Hwang Rim’s place. I think I can trust you.”
The Puppeteer wore a gentle expression. It looked fairly mature and plausible, but because his face resembled mine, it felt strange. Hyunah seemed to feel the same way. She sent me a look that said, What am I supposed to do with that? Even if she asked me, what could I say?
“So, uh, where is Sigma… exactly?”
“We couldn’t capture the Gardener’s dependent, but the middle of the water should be relatively safe.”
This time, the Puppeteer’s gaze shifted toward Yerim.
“If that child has the ability to maintain the water, I’ll bring Sigma here.”
–TL Notes–
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