Chapter 277

Chapter 277. Palao’s Arrangement (3)

On Saturday morning, I volunteered to take out the recycling and left the house.

With my family appearing in front of my eyes, I couldn’t help but find my thoughts scattered. I needed some time alone to sort things out.

‘It’s already the sixth day.’

The moment of choice had really approached right before my eyes.

As I realized this fact, my thoughts became increasingly concrete.

‘What if I could prevent the accident happening tomorrow?’

And thereby save my parents from death.

‘What exactly happens after that?’

The best-case scenario would be that everything starts anew from the current point in time where I am.

‘That would be absolutely perfect.’

Both the Earth, along with myself, would gain more time to prepare more perfectly for the war set to start seven years later.

‘I may not be able to save the Biharin, but I could protect Earth more securely.’

The largest issue in that scenario would be explaining and persuading others about this out-of-the-ordinary invasion.

‘It’s not like there’s no way.’

I clutched the bag of recycling tightly in my left hand and raised my right hand. A red smoke flickered and rose above my palm. The player’s abilities were restricted, but my memories were not lost.

Thanks to that, I vividly remembered the techniques to handle mana. I had successfully materialized mana just before dawn yesterday.

I was practicing for the next steps of condensation and concentration… but…

“Whew.”

There was too little usable mana at the moment, so progress was slow.

‘My originally innate mana is 12.’

Just a few days ago, I had so much mana that it easily surpassed 20 billion.

Now it was merely 12. I could suffer from mana depletion after just one materialization.

In fact, I miscalculated once and collapsed, scaring my parents half to death.

I missed the body of the platinum rank that housed inexhaustible mana like a treasure trove.

‘At least being able to use mana at this point is a good sign.’

Although it would be difficult to make others believe in the war happening in another dimension, they couldn’t ignore what they see with their own eyes.

‘Moreover, there’s also the system.’

I didn’t know what it was doing at this present point, but if I could get its attention, things might get easier.

‘To get the government involved, I need to meet with the right people.’

I had two major considerations to think about here.

Who to meet and how to meet them.

The answer to the first consideration was already clear.

‘I should meet and recruit Yang Jochul, head of the Unit.’

He was not someone who would cling to common sense and unconditionally deny reality.

Therefore, establishing a connection with him even in this time frame would be helpful.

‘How can someone like me, who is neither a player nor anything else, meet a high-ranking official like him?’

Blindly approaching him could lead to huge misunderstandings.

‘Perhaps through my parents’ help, or by entering the National Intelligence Service myself.’

The latter would require at least 6 years, considering education and military duties had to be resolved.

If I take the college entrance exam this year and advance the university admission, as well as graduate early, the timeline can be expedited a bit.

By then, gates would be closed, and the system would be struggling alone.

‘Until then, it’s not a bad idea to secure funds using the information I know.’

Building it up gradually, starting with the things that take the longest.

I began to devise medium to long-term plans while seriously considering my options.

Of course, all of this was based on the assumption that I would continue my life from this time point.

‘If, however, when the past changes, I’m returned to the point of starting my trials?’

If 26-year-old Kang Hyunwoo was to fight the war with the altered past, there was no guarantee that the changed past me would retain the future memories.

In that case, as soon as the choice ends, I might forget all the situations.

In preparation for such an eventuality, I needed to make sure my past self would follow the instructions given by my future self.

‘… Could I really do that?’

Other dimensions, out-of-the-ordinary beings, war.

With my personality, I wouldn’t believe such nonsense without definitive evidence.

‘Should I record videos?’

That way, at least it wouldn’t be dismissed as nonsense.

What would be the best and most effective method?

All my thoughts were premised on giving up on the Biharin and saving my parents.

It was proof that my mind had already tilted quite significantly.

Frankly, how many could pass up such an opportunity right in front of them?

It was only natural for my parents’ lives to feel heavier than the countless lives in Biharin and Earth combined.

‘Isn’t thinking of loved ones first perfectly normal?’

I had reached the point of rationalizing my own thoughts.

Had it been waiting for just this?

Sudden noise severed my reverie.

“What?”

“Oh no!”

“Ah!”

Instinctively, I turned towards the source of the sound.

Children, each holding an ice cream and heading for the playground, were running in panic.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

“Kyaaa!”

A dog’s barking could be heard and, in the blink of an eye, things unfolded.

A child tripped and fell while trying to run away.

A dog that appeared from out of sight suddenly pounced on the fallen child.

Seeing that brought back memories of being bitten by a kangal during the first round of the tutorial.

Among the videos I watched back then, there was one that explained how to deal with ferocious dogs.

That information rapidly flashed through my mind.

“Damn it!”

Without a second thought, I ran towards the fallen child.

But by that point, the large black dog was already biting the neck of the child, who seemed to be around ten years old, and shaking viciously.

“Ughhh!”

“Jihwan!”

“Mommy!”

“Help us!”

The other children with the bitten child had already scattered.

Ignoring the terrified kids, I reached the scene and immediately threw the recycling bag I was holding.

The bag flipped in the air and disgorged various PET bottles.

The dog, distracted by the falling objects, leaped up.

Fortunately, this caused it to release its grip on the child’s neck.

Although I wanted to check on the child’s condition immediately, I couldn’t afford to at that moment.

The dog hadn’t completely fled.

‘This isn’t good.’

The reflexes of a human and a dog are different by design.

Even in the game’s tutorial, a dog always appears.

Yet, fewer than half of the players manage to win against the dog and succeed in the mission.

At this moment, I had lost all of the player’s abilities.

If that thing decided to bite a person again, it would be hard to dodge.

Even if I could, what if it went after the child again?

Completely unphased, the dog charged at me once more, seemingly unfazed by the larger threat of me standing in front of the child.

Changing its focus from the child to another object was impossible in this scenario.

So, I offered my left forearm to the direction the dog was coming from.

“Ugh!”

As soon as I felt the heat of pain in my arm, I embraced the dog and crushed it under my weight.

Even then, the dog bit furiously into my arm as if it wouldn’t let go.

But with its movement restricted, I shifted my attention to the child.

The child, bitten in the neck, lay limp, bleeding profusely.

“Hey! Can you hear me?”

I shouted to check for any signs of consciousness, and the child twitched.

Then he attempted to roll over.

But then he sagged again, trying to crawl only to collapse once more.

I was momentarily torn between holding on or killing the dog.

The dilemma was short-lived. Many adults were watching from nearby after hearing the children’s screams, but none were close by.

‘Delay in stopping the bleeding could be dangerous!’

Feeling the pressure under my right arm as I pressed down on the dog’s neck, a cracking sound ensued.

Soon, the grip on my left arm loosened and I managed to free it.

Immediately, I rushed to the child.

The child, who had struggled to stand, was on the verge of toppling headfirst.

Desperately taking hold of the child’s torso, I could see blood flowing profusely from the wound on his neck.

If an artery had been severed, blood would have spurted out with a burst.

Convinced it was a small blessing amid misfortune, I shouted loudly.

“Call 911! We need an ambulance!”

Unfortunately, I hadn’t brought my smartphone out with me.

“Here! I’m calling, I’m calling!”

Thankfully, a person on the second floor of a nearby apartment complex was seen making a call.

“A boy around 10 years old, bitten by a dog on the neck, there’s a lot of bleeding!”

While relaying the child’s condition and attempting hemostasis, the child, with his eyes completely unfocused, continued to move weakly.

“Save, sa-save……me……!”

Time seemed to slow as the child, clutching my arm, continued mumbling incoherent words.

Soon the child’s parents arrived, and it was another few minutes before the ambulance entered the complex.

It wasn’t until the paramedics approached that I was able to relax and step back.

It was at this point that I caught sight of my hands.

‘Blood…’

Though I had long become accustomed to it, today the blood seemed especially vivid.

Staring blankly at the blood-stained hands as if under a magic, a swirl of indescribable complex emotions welled up.

From a certain moment, these began to weigh on my blood-stained hands, enveloping me in an all-too-familiar feeling.

Briefly immersed in this sensation,

“Hyunwoo!”

A panicked voice called out.

Turning my head, I saw my father running toward me, pale with worry.

As my father approached me, I noticed he was barefoot.

“What is this, what happened! Are, are you injured?!”

Shocked by the thought that his child might be hurt, his words were hesitant.

Perhaps due to the weight I felt on my hands?

I couldn’t meet my father’s eyes directly.

* * *

“Hyunwoo?”

Despite the cautious knock, there was no response.

At that, the two people standing by the door exchanged glances.

After the sudden dog-bite incident, Hyunwoo had returned from the hospital and locked himself in his room.

It was something that had never happened once throughout the child’s upbringing.

Hyunwoo had always been the type to resolve issues head-on rather than avoid them.

The unfamiliarity of the situation was unsettling, and their worry grew.

Since last week, Hyunwoo had behaved slightly differently from usual.

Was he deeply shocked by yesterday’s incident? Should they offer comfort and support somehow?

Unshakable worry brought back memories of the tears Hyunwoo had shown days ago.

Thus, they knocked on the unresponsive door once more.

“If you don’t want to talk, that’s okay.”

“We should at least apply a dressing. We need to look at your wound, right?”

Luckily enough, this time there was movement from the inside.

Soon after, the door, which had been closed since the previous day, opened.

Hyunwoo, who emerged, looked a bit gaunt after just one day.

They had to suppress their rising concern that was lodged in their throats.

As promised, they checked the wound that remained on Hyunwoo’s arm.

Seeing a gash deep enough to need stitches made their hearts skip a beat.

But they couldn’t scold Hyunwoo, who threw himself to protect a young child.

Regardless of anything, what Hyunwoo did was praiseworthy.

Not that they could praise him for being hurt, either.

What parent would take joy in their child being injured?

Two ordinary parents, to whom the wound on their child’s arm seemed to dwarf that of the child bitten in the neck.

Therefore, they could neither scold him for acting rashly nor cheer him for his bravery.

Their complex emotions were the same today.

Eventually, after re-disinfecting Hyunwoo’s wound, the two simply held his hands.

In response, Hyunwoo clasped their hands with strength in return.

Then, taking a breath, he spoke.

“I’m okay.”

His response, made with his usual spirited voice, was the Hyunwoo they knew well.

The son who was both loved and made them proud.

Seeing that comforted their worried hearts to some extent.

Something was clearly going on, but if it was hard to speak about,

As parents, they could wait endlessly.

Having resolved to think so, they cautiously tried to bring it up.

“Do the two of you have plans to go out today?”

Hyunwoo’s voice seemed to waver slightly as he asked.