Ch.5Victory Report 5

The last scene of my life is my dead sister’s face.

The last sound is the pouring rain.

I definitely died.

But the loud sound of rain was still pounding in my ears.

I want to get up and escape this rain.

But my body doesn’t listen, as if it’s melting away.

Just like my dead comrades…

Perhaps I too have died like them and already arrived in another world.

Then is this heaven or hell?

If it’s one of the two, I hope it’s the latter.

Because I tried to abandon my sister and run away.

I even sacrificed my entire life trying to peek into her dying heart.

So when I open my eyes again, the world I should see should be filled with gray skies and lava.

It must be.

“…”

But the world unfolding before my eyes wasn’t hell.

Far from being dry, it’s a damp room filled with humidity.

The acrid air automatically triggers a coughing fit.

Though it may not be hell, it’s equally difficult to breathe.

I moved my pupils, wondering how such an unpleasant smell could come from a human dwelling.

And soon I realize that this place is neither hell nor heaven, but reality.

A musty studio apartment bed.

Garbage scattered across the floor.

“—.”

The source of the rain sound that had been tormenting me was television noise.

I turn off the TV with the remote placed by the bedside.

Only then does the world become quiet again.

Left alone in the silent room, I examined myself.

Short hair touching my shoulders.

Small, thin limbs.

A t-shirt clinging to my chest and shorts.

One thing was certain—this wasn’t my body.

I wonder if this is reincarnation or possession, like something from a movie.

The sense of weight from my body keeps drawing my gaze downward.

Perhaps due to that unfamiliar feeling, my entire body feels hypersensitive.

“A new life…”

I muttered with a cracking voice.

The sound of my voice, which I’ve never heard before, snaps me back to reality.

A husky girl’s voice.

I’ve definitely completely departed from my past self.

But I’m not happy.

My eyes just burn with tears.

Because all the memories and shameful acts from my past remain intact in my head.

Even though my body has changed, I still tremble with fear of death.

The images of my dying comrades are still vivid.

Hyunsu hyung and Gyuseon, melting away like slime.

Noona Jisu, mutilated like a toy.

And the crazy rankers who played with her.

Their images repeat madly in my head.

A new beginning that everyone wanted.

I couldn’t be that “everyone.”

Clutching my aching chest, I lean against the bed wall.

I experienced the first day of my glorious possession with a terrible ringing in my head.

On the second day, tears finally began to flow.

My soul was finally beginning to connect with this body.

They don’t flow much.

Just a single tear rolling down my cheek.

This body allowed me only that much sorrow.

On the third day, I feel the sensation of dying for the first time.

It’s because I’ve sat in one place for three days without eating or drinking.

Exhausted, I look around the floor.

A medicine bottle is rolling on the floor.

White pills spill out from between the lid.

I could immediately tell they were sleeping pills.

Even after three days, my body still felt hazy and lethargic.

To obtain this kind of medication, the person must have had a prescription.

At minimum, they must have been a patient with depression or schizophrenia.

If that’s the case, I’d prefer schizophrenia.

Then all the memories I experienced and this pathetic self would all be fiction created by the illness.

I reach out and grab a handful of pills.

My faint heartbeat grows louder.

Has this arrogant body, which has remained indifferent to everything until now, finally responded?

Now it’s my turn to ignore it.

I stuff the pills into my mouth.

I don’t want to live my whole life with this guilt.

Rather than living like that, I’ll fulfill the wish of this body’s owner who wanted to die.

“!!!”

The moment the round pills touched my throat, my body twisted violently.

The pills I had barely swallowed spill out along with bright red blood.

Experiencing pain like never before, I rolled off the bed.

Sprawled on top of a black garbage bag, I gasp for breath.

“I can’t even die on my own terms.”

I muttered with a cracking voice.

“This is the worst.”

The worst.

Suddenly, that familiar phrase makes me laugh bitterly.

To think I’d say these words with my own mouth.

It’s ridiculous how I’m laughing after crying.

But strangely, that laughter had the power to calm a person.

I stretch out fully on the pile of garbage.

And take a deep breath.

An old studio apartment where outside sounds can be heard.

With my senses awakened, I listen to those sounds.

The sound of someone climbing stairs.

Loud car horns.

Even the sound of my heart pounding in shock from the suicide attempt.

That sound seems to whisper to me, begging me to live.

Does it mean I should live a life of atonement rather than die?

Remembering them.

“…”

Maybe I’ll try living.

Deeply and for a long time.

So that I won’t be ashamed when I meet my comrades again after death.

“System…”

I mutter toward the empty air.

Soon, a blue hologram window appears in the air.

「Welcome, Siho.」

The AI, perhaps as abnormal as this body’s owner, was faded in color and had subtle noise.

「Did you sleep well?」

“Sleep…?”

「You said you would take a long sleep and that I should wait until you called again.」

A long sleep.

Knowing what that means makes my heart heavy.

The AI feels like an abandoned pet dog.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not the Siho you know.”

「Are you saying you’ve become a different person from who you were yesterday?」

“No… I mean a completely different person. The one in here now isn’t that girl.”

I sound stupid even to myself.

The AI must feel the same way, as it doesn’t respond for a while, as if lagging.

Eventually, it writes “searching for route” on the system window.

“What route all of a sudden?”

「The nearest mental hospital from your current location is ‘Hope Hospital.’ It’s a 10-minute walk away…」

Right…

Even an AI wouldn’t be able to understand this situation.

“My name is Kwon Dohyun. Your owner committed suicide with sleeping pills, and as I was being killed, the timing aligned, and I seem to have possessed her.”

「Searching for information on Kwon Dohyun.」

<Kwon Dohyun>

Age: 28

Occupation: F-rank Hunter

Ability: Angelic Hand

Can read the happy memories of the target.

When used on someone, the target can see their happy memories as visions.

Information: Recently deceased during a wyvern raid.

「Are you saying you’re this person?」

“That’s right.”

「There are no reported successful cases of soul transfer in any publicly available information online.」

How do I make this stupid AI understand?

Is there a way to prove that I’m Kwon Dohyun?

I read the information about myself again.

Suddenly, my eyes stop at Angelic Hand.

Yes, this will work.

“Here, look.”

I extend my palm.

If my soul remembers, I should definitely be able to use it.

As I concentrate all my power on my fingertips, a soft light begins to wrap around them.

It’s working…!

Very faintly, but the skill is manifesting.

「Angelic Hand.」

“Yeah, do you believe me now? There’s no way this girl could use a healer skill.”

「Then is Siho really dead…?」

“You, as the system, would know better than me.”

「She was such a quiet and timid person that I’m not sure.」

If even the system doesn’t know, who could possibly know?

I heaved a deep sigh.

Still, for now, let’s find out what kind of person this ‘Siho’ was.

I can gradually learn why she committed suicide later.

I gesture to browse through the personal information about “me.”

<Han Siho>

Age: 21

Occupation: Moment Inn employee

Ability: None. (Recently, Angelic Hand was transferred but not registered in the system.)

“A non-ability user…?”

I can’t help but exclaim loudly when I see the “None” status.

The sudden outburst causes me to cough.

I’ve heard that non-ability users exist, but this is my first time seeing one.

They’re not particularly rare, but it’s still surprising to actually become one.

“Ha.”

A laugh escapes me involuntarily.

I don’t feel too bad about it.

In this world overrun by monsters, could there be a more terrible punishment than living again with just one healing skill?

It actually feels like my guilt is lessened, which is a relief.

After reading the rest of the personal information, I get up.

First, I need to clean up this blood and smell.

I go to the bathroom and stand in front of the full-length mirror.

Then I called the AI.

“System.”

「Yes, Siho.」

Siho?

It’s the first time in my life being called by a different name.

“Tell me about this girl’s past.”

「Should I tell you from her memories at age 1?」

“Not that far back. Start from five years ago when the gates opened.”

「I will list Siho’s past starting with major events.」

「On the day the gates opened, her parents died from an 8th-grade monster species, Werewolf. Her older sister was an army officer but went missing.」

「Due to that shock, she lived as a hikikomori for several years.」

「Recently, she spent all her inherited assets and started working part-time at a nearby inn.」

「But even that, she ran away from.」

「With the remaining money, she bought illegal sleeping pills in bulk from the night market.」

It’s bleak.

I also lost my family when the gates opened.

They disappeared without a trace after being hit by the breath of a 5th-grade monster species, Black Wyvern.

I was in the military at the time and didn’t even have a chance to see their final moments.

It didn’t feel real, as if I had been living in this world alone from the beginning.

This girl must have felt the same…

I look down at Siho’s hands.

On her wrist, there’s a long red wound.

She had mutilated her wrist so badly that the skin was torn and healed in an ugly way.

“How foolish…”

I stroke that bumpy scar with my finger.

Still, at 21, she’s in the prime of her life.

It’s too early to give up on life.

I stare blankly at the mirror.

Bright eyes, with a small mole under the right eye.

She looks decent too…

Her long hair is bothersome, but I can deal with that.

To trim that annoyance, I opened the bathroom cabinet.

“Ugh…”

There are cobwebs all over the compartments, making me hesitant to reach in.

I took out a hairbrush and roughly cleared away the cobwebs.

Then I pulled out a pair of scissors with a blade that had turned black with rust.

「What are you doing now?」

“Going to cut my hair.”

「Siho doesn’t have any hairstyling skills.」

I ignore the AI’s cold words.

I just plug the sink and turn on the hot water.

“Don’t worry.”

Warm steam caresses the mirror.

“Humans weren’t beings who only relied on skills.”

It’s something someone I knew used to say often.

Suddenly remembering her makes my chest ache.

“—?”

But the world didn’t give me time for such contemplation.

The water that had been flowing well suddenly stopped.

“What’s this, why is it like this…?”

「The water was cut off because the bill wasn’t paid.」

The system says firmly.

The water’s been cut off?

It’s not common for water to be cut off even if management fees are significantly overdue…

I quickly check Siho’s financial status with a gesture.

Instead of an amount, several savage red notices were attached to her balance.

It stated that she had already missed 5 months of rent and needed to pay 4.5 million won including management fees.

Revenge against the rankers who killed me.

Rebuilding through this new life I’ve gained.

None of that mattered.

What’s important right now is savoring this air.

And to do that.

It seems I need to gather this damn money first.

Let’s go to the inn for now.

In reality, that’s all I can do as a non-ability user.