episode_0068

I want to live a long, healthy life… and then die of old age without getting sick.

Just a few months ago, Eunha hoped so.

[Self-recovery] You will have the skill, let’s eat well and live well without any minor illnesses.

If possible, I want to leave quietly while asleep… without even knowing that I’m dead.

What everyone thinks.

To enjoy a long life and die of old age.

Because that was the happiest and it seemed like it would hurt less.

“Ugh…! Oh…!”

however…

Dying old isn’t that good either.

Deeng ㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

A time when the pale yellow glow of the sunset caresses the heavens and earth.

With the sound of a bell coming from afar, Eunha’s hands crumble into dust.

She quickly put down the dog she was holding and tried to shake off the old man’s hand.

But the old man is motionless, like a firmly rooted old tree.

A wrinkled face creates a kind smile.

Passyuk…

The hand holding the old man is dying.

Each cell is crushed under the weight of time.

Aging at the cellular level. It’s like sticking your hand into a furnace,

Eunha was bent over in agony, feeling as if one of her hands was burning away.

Deengㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

The bell rings. The sound that announces the end of dusk.

Sunset waves spread out from the huge ‘bell tower’ visible beyond the fog and sweep across the galaxy.

The ‘energy’ she felt for the first time tickled her cheeks, and at the same time, her body began to change.

Deeng ㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

The bell rings.

Time passes.

Eunha’s breasts grow bigger and her hair falls down to her lower back.

An indescribable charm oozes from her curved body, beautifying her as she struggles in pain.

The passage of time. growth. Becoming an adult.

Deeng ㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

Eunha felt the waves of the ‘bell tower’ touching her skin.

Passyuk…

Time passes. The prime of the body was fleeting and disappeared like cherry blossoms.

The cherry tree that has lost its beauty waits for winter to come.

The passage of time. Aging. Dying.

Excited. My heart is pounding. Two… my heart pounding.

The heart, which has become enlarged with age, races to survive somehow. However, the heart also seems to be suffering from dementia, forgetting the beat and pounding randomly.

Eunha gasped and clutched her chest like a drowning person. Wrinkled hands, like those of an elderly person, do not move properly due to damaged joints.

“Whoa…! Whoa… whoa, hehehe… it’s cold…”

Sudden aging. The pain of each cell being torn apart.

Eunha laughed through the pain.

Because I was scared. Because I think I’ll go crazy if I don’t laugh.

She thought she would get used to death and pain if she continued, but instead, the label of trauma was pierced into her brain.

She suffered like a person on fire, suffering from decades of aging.

At the same time, I felt the movement of [self-recovery] repairing my entire body.

Deeng ㅡㅡㅡ.

Time passes.

Darkness gathers in the sky that was full of sunset light.

Darkness comes to the life of the galaxy.

The first was visual.

My eyes become blurry and my eardrums feel dark as if I had been submerged in water.

The world that I can feel through my skin is gradually moving away.

The senses that connect her to the world gradually become thinner, and loneliness fills the void.

“Turn it off…! It hurts so bad…!”

But, the pain…

The pain burning my whole body grew like a spreading fire.

Only the pain survives, burning her brain. As if trying to hold her in this world as she leaves.

All other senses are dying, so why is the pain so vivid?

Eunha looked at the old man with blurred eyes.

『Someone said it. What makes humans stand up is pain and fear.』

“…Who, who… said that…!”

『I forgot.』

The old man laughs.

Like a kind grandfather.

Crazy old man, did you leave only pain on purpose?

Never give me a cake as a gift again.

Deeng ㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

Dusk is ending.

The hand that held the old man’s skin and muscles had crumbled, leaving nothing but white bones.

[Self-recovery] desperately tried to regenerate aged cells, but the cells weathered and disappeared even faster. On the contrary, the rate of death is slowed down and it feels like death.

If this continues, I will die of pain.

… … Ugh.

And the galaxy,

In the feeling of disappearing…

This time, I felt the ‘movement of mana’ that activates [Self-Recovery] even more clearly.

Deengㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

Dusk is over.

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

『Come on, child. Hurry up and eat.』

“………ah?”

… … what.

Eunha suddenly came to her senses and trembled.

Numerous arms massage her body here and there.

I guess I lost my mind for a moment.

At a fortune telling shop she once saw, Eunha was sitting on the lap of a [beast] munching on a strange old cookie.

A food that looks like buckwheat mixed with honey and fried.

Honestly, it has no taste.

Why did you suddenly come here?

Is he dead?

“…….”

Eunha looked back at the feeling from before with a dumb expression on her face.

While the cells of the entire body were weathering and breaking down, [Self-Recovery] was repairing the entire body with ‘unfamiliar energy’.

It’s my first time feeling it, but I vaguely understand it.

It always circulated around her body like blood. It clearly existed, but I didn’t realize it because it was so obvious.

It must be ‘Mana’.

Eunha opened her eyes wide and looked at the [person in black] sitting across from her.

『Why are you doing that?』

“Please send me back. Right now.”

Eunha said as she roughly chewed the snack handed to her by the [Beast] and swallowed it.

The reason she went to see the wise old man.

This is to awaken ‘mana’ for the D-class promotion exam and for future life as a hunter.

‘Physical strengthening’ is what hunters say about dogs and sonar.

I wanted to do that.

I continued to think about it as I climbed the park’s walking path.

How do I awaken as a hunter and awaken the ‘mana’ that I have never felt before?

Is that even possible? I somehow managed to twist my body and become an E-level hunter, but I guess I can’t go any higher and end up as an E-level hunter.

The Hunter Academy, which took on the challenge with great determination, was rejected as if it were worth seeing.

Professor Manahak shook his head, saying there was no hope.

But now, Eunha felt mana.

I’m not sure because she felt like she was dying, but… her chance had finally come.

smother. The sound of a bell heard from afar.

A sunset wave containing ‘mana’ radiating from the huge ‘bell tower’.

Maybe that wasn’t the best environment to feel ‘mana’.

As expected, there was a separate instructor.

Hunter academy? You’re funny.

『The body is still recovering. If you go now, you will come back right away.』

“does not matter.”

I want to feel it again.

No matter how many years I searched, there was no news of Mana’s movements.

I want to feel more clearly with a body that hasn’t aged.

『I understand, child. I’ll see you again soon.』

“Thank you. And I’m getting tired of these cookies. Do you have anything else?”

『… … Well, okay?』

The [Black Man]’s dissuasion was ignored.

Soon, the [Beast]’s hand covered Eunha’s eyes.

Darkness, as always,

there was nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

『Hehehe… This is such a poisonous guy.』

“Grandpa. Where are you going? Come play with me.”

Park after dusk.

Eunha grabbed the hand of the old man who was just about to get up from the bench.

The white-skinned hand recovers and becomes covered with muscle and flesh.

The sky was already pitch black at night. A time when the round full moon is dimly visible through thick fog.

The pale yellow glow of the sunset was nowhere to be found.

But it’s okay.

Because they are monsters who deviate from reason.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-1. Twilight is the hour of the wise.

– When the time comes, a wise person will approach you.

– If you observe sufficient manners and conduct, you will be able to borrow his wisdom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight is the time of the wise.

In other words, unless the old man leaves the park, twilight continues.

Because that’s the rule.

“I’m feeling dizzy, so hurry up… ring the bell… I bought you a cake too.”

My heart isn’t beating yet. I can’t breathe.

Even the slightest movement of a body weathered by time causes dizzying pain.

Nevertheless, Eunha held the old man’s hand. With a lazy smile as usual.

Even though my skin, which was barely recovering, fell off like tree bark.

She laughed.

Because it was the ‘mana’ I had wanted so much.

Because I can finally become a proper hunter.

(I am not able to help you with Eunha’s ‘E-Class Hunter Promotion Test in June’. I am truly sorry.)

(It’s hard to move up to E-level, right? Who said that, but there’s nothing more unsightly than holding on to a goal that can’t be achieved.)

(Go back. We can’t make you a hunter.)

​

someone said

She, who has been an F-class hunter for 10,000 years, cannot become a hunter even if she dies and wakes up.

Whose words were they? I don’t know.

But that’s true.

okay,

Even if you die and wake up, you cannot become a hunter.

So, I decided to die and wake up several times.

Let’s think positively

It will happen someday.

Deengㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

The old man snapped his fingers, and a bell rang in the distance.

A long time ago, the solemn sound of a bell that rang with the hope of reaching heaven and earth, carrying the weight of time.

At the same time,

As if time went back, the sun, which had disappeared beyond the horizon, turns its head and illuminates the galaxy.

Dusk has come again.

Eunha felt the waves of sunset light radiating from the huge ‘bell tower’.

Passeuukㅡ.

Her body, which had already reached its limit, collapsed again.

I looked beyond the thick fog with blurry eyes, then clutched my heart and lowered my head.

Life ends.

Deengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

However, the ‘bell tower’ rang a bell.

They say twilight is not over yet.

Pass……

Eunha came to her senses again and raised her head.

He smiles proudly with a cracked face.

“Sweet… Jo, I thought it would be okay if I just did a little more… Grandpa, one more life.”

『Don’t overdo it.』

“Haha… It’s okay. I do it because I like it.”

The old man’s turquoise eyes capture the image of a galaxy.

The bell rang again, and Eunha tried to feel ‘mana’ even as she faced the fear of death.

Whoa…

Mana moves.

I lower my head.

I raised my head again.

she laughs

Eunha’s blurry eyes look at the sunset on the horizon with immeasurable obsession.

『… … I realized it one day. What makes people stand up is pain and fear, but what makes people run is desire and hope.』

『Mang (望). I hope for something… Hehe, I learned something.』

“Oh, shut up. I can’t concentrate.”

『Silent bastard.』

The old man laughed.

Spreading the sound of bells filled with time.

Deeng ㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

like that,

The two beings who became old people,

We sat side by side on a bench in the park and looked at the twilight that never sets.

… … .

… … .

“Phew… I’m really going now. See you later, grandpa. I’ll buy you another cake when you get promoted.”

『When you wake up, you will be home. 』

How much time has passed?

Eunha, whose body had grown more than before, let out a relieved sigh and lowered her head.

Dusk ends and the sun rises anew.

It was dawn.