episode_0074

I shouldn’t have left Siyolam.

The echo of regret… as soon as I reached the place where it should have been.

It took a lot of time to get here. Precious time wasted. Faced with such a dismal outcome, I couldn’t stop thinking like that.

I was stuck on the train for almost a day. I didn’t just waste time idly. Instead of lying around blankly, I studied my notes and scribbled magic theories.

I couldn’t exercise. Even though the train facilities were good, I couldn’t train my body properly.

I tried to find Hidden Pieces by changing trains frequently.

Even when I applied the original knowledge here, it wasn’t accurate. Therefore, I had to fill the gaps in information with my body.

After wasting all that time, I found the ruins of a dungeon that someone had conquered and the heavily weathered and consumed obelisks.

I stood there blankly for a while. My head was spinning. I even felt the urge to destroy the innocent obelisks.

I turned away as if fleeing. If I stayed there quietly, I felt like my head would start to feel strange.

The journey back was not smooth at all. As it was clearly outside the city, there were monsters roaming around.

In such danger, I returned, keeping my spatial awareness wide open and guarding all directions. Occasionally, I caught monsters rushing towards me and moved on with unsteady steps.

After completing the inspection on the outskirts and entering the city, my legs gave out before reaching the lodging.

I collapsed on a bench in the nearby park, sobbing.

‘Ah…’

The thoughts from earlier replayed in my mind.

I shouldn’t have come here. I should have just stayed stuck in Siyolam. Just wasting time, carrying unnecessary risks, what’s the point of this? Who dares to try and confirm something like this. I should have just stayed in the cradle like a baby, crying…

Regret was overwhelming, but this was a hindsight story. Most people regret like this.

Ah, I should have done this back then.

The reason I regret this schedule is that there was no significant gain.

If I had just found one Hidden Piece, the schedule would have been overflowing with gains compared to the effort.

‘Honestly, I wasn’t completely unprepared…’

It’s not a game, it’s reality.

I kept reminding myself of this. It’s a fact that I should know, but because I’m such a loser, I might start thinking wrong at some point.

So I expected that the element called Hidden Piece might have disappeared, and it actually did.

This time and the case of the Origin Egg were different in many ways.

The Origin Egg was inside a growth tower with restricted access, and even if you found it, without the qualification of special admission, you couldn’t obtain it.

The Hidden Pieces I wanted to find this time… there were no restrictions or conditions. The first person to discover it becomes the owner.

It wasn’t located in a particularly difficult place to find, and there were no special conditions required for acquisition, nor was it in a high difficulty category.

That’s why I tried to touch this Hidden Piece. I still didn’t have the courage to touch the other Hidden Pieces.

I would love to solve the curse of the Damned right away, but as far as I know, there are only two ways.

Consumable artifact, through the gem of the Damned.

The problem is that the dungeon that spits out the gem of the Damned is Grade 1.

The standard hierarchy of the monsters appearing there is 5th rank. If an Alpha specimen appears, the hierarchy becomes 3rd rank.

If such a thing falls in the non-magical area, it would trigger alarms in neighboring countries, and the Association would immediately organize an analysis team and a suppression team.

Stepping foot there… honestly, I doubt if it would be possible even later.

Right now, I’m at a level where I can’t even hand out business cards. The possibility exists since I’m stuck in a remote location, but I’m not sure if even that has been figured out.

The second method is to conquer the Tower to receive a wish ticket.

More accurately, it’s about conquering the Tower that hasn’t been conquered yet to receive the authority of a wish and curse someone…

“That’s insane…”

It’s a crazy method beyond the level of a prison sentence.

I attempted to conquer the Tower as the 8th Thunderer, who finally obtained true strength, and fled with my tail between my legs.

The difficulty is ridiculous. I immediately ran away, shocked by the traps and waves of monsters pouring out as if to show the difference from dungeons.

Depending on the compatibility, the fact that the 8th Thunderer could single-handedly subdue the 3rd rank is that level.

Of course, if I had continued to provoke a long battle, it might have been possible, but in the situation where the main base (Earth) was being exposed, I had no choice but to retreat.

I should conquer it later, but I failed miserably thanks to Baek Arin’s betrayal.

Anyway, apart from the 11th Golden Warrior, there was no other attempt to conquer the Tower.

At least above the 8th Thunderer… If possible, I should reach the level of the 11th Golden Warrior to attempt it…

“…”

I became depressed. The possibility of collapsing suddenly came to mind. My hands and feet trembled.

As if sympathizing with my emotions, even the edge of the sky’s wings trembled.

I took a deep breath and covered my face.

I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to endure something so difficult that it would make me want to die, but because of my beastly nature, dying is even more unbearable…

– Tuk

“?”

I was trying to calm my mind.

While observing the surroundings in real-time through spatial perception, I felt something approaching me step by step.

It was a young child.

The child, with hair neatly tied to one shoulder, walked towards me and grabbed the end of the sky’s wing.

“What’s this?”

There was no hostility.

My head involuntarily tilted at the sudden action. Wondering what it was, I turned my head in that direction.

The child also tilted their head towards me.

Their neatly braided yellow hair slid down from their shoulder. It was a familiar… chick-like color of hair.

But unlike the person I knew, their eyes looked rough.

What are they trying to do? As I thought about it, the child in front of me tapped the smartwatch on my wrist.

It had a familiar appearance.

[Are you okay? Do you need help?]

It was a familiar hologram. Just like I use it, the text was displayed on the hologram.

I hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the child.

People communicate. Of course, speaking is more convenient in most situations.

If they don’t speak? There must be a reason.

Like me.

“Hello. I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

The child stared at the hologram I displayed and nodded. They didn’t speak either.

“…Complicated.”

I made a strange expression at the child’s appearance.

Grateful for the kindness the child showed, I felt stupid enough to seem like I needed help from the child.

…When I think about it, it doesn’t seem like I should feel stupid. Maybe I overestimated myself?

Mentally, I was probably similar to this child. We both had few things we could do alone.

Considering the kindness they showed, maybe this child is a better person than me.

Suddenly, my thoughts turned self-deprecating. I shook my head and tapped the smartwatch behind it.

The child nodded and looked around before plopping down on a nearby bench.

…Why aren’t they coming?

‘Where are my parents…’

She was about to ask, but stopped midway. It was because of the possibility of them not being there.

If her parents weren’t around, asking that question would be rude…

After a moment of contemplation, I realized it wasn’t my place to interfere. The child’s demeanor didn’t seem lost and she remained calm.

At least it didn’t seem like a difficult situation.

Just in case, I fastened the bracelet hanging on the smartwatch on my wrist.

It was a bracelet with an interference function.

Top-grade quality, capable of maintaining the tricky interference of recognition for a week without recharging.

It was the skill of the Vice-Chancellor. Plus, with basic identity protection from Siyolam, no one here would recognize me.

I sighed as I leaned back against the bench, watching the child swing her legs.

‘Let’s go back…’

I had booked a train ticket for the afternoon.

It was an earlier return than I had expected. If I had entered the Echo of the Requiem, it would have been a tight schedule.

Despite the quick return, the results were practically non-existent… It was a bitter outcome.

I cursed in vain. The only information I gained was that the easily accessible Hidden Pieces were all gone.

From now on, I shouldn’t make any unnecessary moves outside of Yoram… Ah……

…

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. My scattered senses snapped back to attention in disbelief.

It was a feeling I had experienced before. I raised my hand and ran it over my neck.

Cold sweat broke out. This was also an action I had taken before in a similar situation.

‘…This.’

The day before coming to this world. The premonition I felt right before creating the 13th character.

Dizziness washed over me.

– Bang!

“…?!

I stood up from the bench abruptly. The child sitting nearby was startled, but I couldn’t afford to care about that.

‘What’s going on, what’s happening.’

It felt dangerous, but I couldn’t understand why. Frustrated by the confusing yet certain sensation, my heart felt like it was about to burst.

I gritted my teeth.

My mind was not functioning properly. Not knowing what to do, a sudden thought crossed my mind and I urgently tapped on my smartwatch.

Request for help. Even if I didn’t think it would work, I thought I should at least try to ask for help in case this premonition was a mistake.

The hologram changed. It went to the most recent contact.

[Professor Atra]

▶Me: Yes, I’ll be careful (Yesterday, 6:21 PM)

▶Me: Professor… (Now)

– Beep!

‘Click…!’

Before I could even finish typing the message, a sudden massive impact struck my head. It was more like a collision on my mind.

As my mind was reeling, the hologram blinked and then disappeared.

Spatial perception shook wildly. It felt like seeing through the eyes of someone hit by a dump truck.

‘Ugh…’

I held onto my dizzy mind. Remembering the near-miss experience with spatial perception on the first day, this was nothing.

As I tried to withstand the collision, this time a pervasive pressure came from all directions.

It felt like my spatial perception was slowly shrinking, as if buried in a giant pile of dirt. It was a sensation I had felt somewhere before.

– Crash!

Before I could fully grasp it, a loud noise echoed in my ears. Unending crashes reverberated through the city without warning.

– Ah, aaaaah─!

– Why is the dungeon appearing without any warning…!

Protection spell recipe!? Where did all the magic go?!

Soon after, various sounds filled his ears. There was not a single positive aspect.

Fear, agony, pain, confusion… a festival of negative emotions.

‘……’

The sudden surge in magical concentration around him, the smartwatch that isolated space and cut off connections, monsters popping out from everywhere.

Not even a curse came out.

His face turned an unprecedentedly pale white.

* * *

[The curse of “Beauty Park Myung” brings misfortune and unhappiness]

[Life is consumed by the curse of “Beauty Park Myung”]

…

[Player adjustment system: Exploration]

[Detecting adversity approaching the player]

…

[Quest “Dungeon Chain Explosion” has occurred]

…

[Ability “■■ and □□” is growing]