Chapter 58
News of a Gate that had appeared in Incheon had come in.
The first thought that came to mind when I saw it was, 'Why?'
'I've moved to Seoul ages ago… Ah, I never changed the area where I receive disaster alerts.'
Come to think of it, I hadn't received any disaster alerts lately.
I hadn't even realized it because the news arrived faster in Seoul.
'Incheon, huh… Well, it doesn't really matter.'
Of course, it didn't make much of an impression on me.
It wasn't an Acute Break, and ordinary Gates appeared all the time.
If it was manageable, the guilds in Incheon would deal with it, and if they couldn't handle it, someone like Cheonghwa would probably send a team over.
In the latter case, it would take at least half a day, but still.
[Two civilians currently trapped…]
'It's unfortunate, but that's just how life is.'
I couldn't save everyone.
It wasn't a burden I was meant to bear alone in the first place.
So I should leave it to the other Awakeners.
I was about to ignore it with that thought in mind, but…
-Hesitate.
'…Isn't this the neighborhood where the old man lives?'
The name of the neighborhood sounded familiar.
Hmm, I had a bad feeling about this.
'No way. It couldn't be.'
Of course, the odds of something happening to the old man were low.
After all, to get caught up in a Gate, you had to be at the exact spot when the portal appeared unless you entered it deliberately.
You were more likely to be struck by lightning.
Besides, the construction work should have ended long ago.
The old man should definitely be at home too.
I called him without worrying too much.
-Brrring….
"……."
'He's not picking up.'
The call didn't connect.
Normally, I would have assumed he was in the shower and moved on, but that ringing sound felt especially ominous today.
'Incheon….'
Even by bus, it would take two hours round trip.
Serin would be starving the whole time.
Was I really going to go just because I felt uneasy?
There was a 99 percent chance it was nothing.
I thought briefly, then acted quickly.
'I can just make a quick trip.'
Ten minutes there, ten minutes back.
Another ten minutes to assess the situation.
It should take about thirty minutes total.
That is, if I flew there myself.
-Brrring.
[Oppaaa? Are you almost home~?]
"Sorry, Serin. Something came up, so I think I'll be about thirty minutes late. Is that okay?"
[Mmm~ No, that might be perfect? The tofu hasn't absorbed the seasoning yet, so it tastes bland~.]
"Thanks. I'll be there as soon as I can."
After telling my sister I'd be a little late,
I turned around and headed toward an alley.
'It probably won't be anything, but just in case. I'll take a quick look and come right back.'
Swoop.
I pulled the Invisibility Hat down low over my head.
Then I picked up a cape.
It was a Japanese national treasure I'd obtained as the lawful compensation for… well, stealing it. For rescuing someone, I mean.
[Black Wing (Legendary)]
When equipped, greatly increases jumping power.
Allows the wearer to glide through the air and accelerate by consuming mana.
'Thanks, you idiot.'
This thing was quite the item.
Not only could I jump incredibly high, it also came with a function that let me descend slowly like a parachute.
I could even accelerate in whatever direction I wanted by using mana.
Just how useful it was was all laid out in the countless strategy videos Renya had left behind.
'Incheon is that way… Well, shall we go?'
"Hup!!"
After checking the direction with GPS,
I leaped at a 45-degree angle.
Then—whooooosh!!!
My body shot forward like a pinball.
It felt as if I had springs attached to the soles of my feet.
'Gliding, and acceleration on top of that!!'
I poured in additional mana as well.
My body soared almost to the top of a building, then immediately began flying in one direction.
My speed was at least 300 kilometers per hour.
At least three times faster than the cars on the expressway.
That was thanks to being able to go all out without holding back.
And since my route was a straight line,
I arrived even sooner than I'd expected.
-Ding.
[The Trait 'Dragon Eyes'….]
'There it is!'
Whoosh, smack.
By the time I finished gliding and landed,
I was already standing in a busy district of Incheon.
When I checked the time, it had taken just over five minutes.
'I flew twenty-five kilometers in a single jump? I'm practically a human KTX!'
Thank you, Thumbs-Up Renya.
As a reward, I'll keep your being a furry a secret.
'Now then, where's the Gate….'
After only a brief moment of thought,
I hurriedly surveyed the scene.
It was incredibly chaotic.
-Bustle bustle.
"We're the police!! Everyone, move back!!"
"Damn it, there goes tonight's business."
"Can't somebody get here already?"
Hmm, I must have been the first one here.
They usually responded as guilds, so nobody could beat me when I'd dashed over in five minutes.
Now then, shall I check the estimate?
-Ding.
[Gate Portal]
Average monster level: 551
Boss level: 632
'Cute.'
A level that even a small- or mid-sized guild could handle.
Just right and manageable.
'They said two people were trapped, right? Since I'm here anyway, I should rescue them if they're still alive.'
I immediately stepped forward.
The odds that the old man had been caught up in it were close to zero, but since I'd come all this way, I planned to take care of it anyway.
But just as I was about to enter the Gate,
"Please call someone quickly!!"
"Ma'am, I understand how you feel, but…."
"But!!"
At that moment, I heard a voice.
I looked to the side to see what was going on.
A police officer was trying to calm a woman down.
"One Awakener has already entered. He'll hold out until another guild arrives."
"But that man only has one arm!"
"……!!!?"
And then she said something I could never ignore.
'A man so meddlesome that he'd jump into a place like this despite having only one arm….'
"……Tsk."
The old man was just too kind for his own good.
* * *
A little while earlier, in a busy district of Incheon.
A middle-aged man was drinking alone.
The man Ryu Hwi-min called the old man, and once his foreman. His name was Namgung Min.
'That Hwi-min kid… His voice has gotten so much brighter since I last saw him.'
He was in a good mood today.
Having lived a lonely life without any children, he was delighted to hear from Hwi-min.
'Even the fact that he plans to go to the Tower of the Pathetic Man after awakening is just like me. Though his reason is different from mine.'
As he thought about it,
Ryu Hwi-min. A young man who had come to the labor agency one day and bowed deeply, begging to be given work.
At first, he had ignored him too.
People who came looking for quick money only to quit after a day or two were a dime a dozen.
But Hwi-min was different.
[—Oh, I look forward to working with you again today!]
'It must have been hard for a sheltered kid like him.'
He came again the next day, and the day after that.
Even while reeking of pain-relief patches from head to toe, he never gave up.
How could someone who had barely turned twenty be so stubborn?
When Namgung Min heard his story, it was quite tragic.
[—I need to earn money for my little sister's hospital bills.]
It had only been a month since he lost his adoptive parents.
And on top of that, he had a little sister in a vegetative state.
Even so, he never gave up and kept working.
He had risen to his feet to protect his family.
The moment he heard that, Namgung Min decided to become his foreman.
-Gulp.
'Unlike me, I hope he can protect them….'
After finishing his last sip of beer,
he planned to go straight home and spend another lonely night, but…
-KABOOOOOM!!!
"……Hmm?"
A sound rang out at that moment.
Everyone inside the shop looked outside.
A black light was shooting up into the sky.
"A Gate? That's near Homeplus, isn't it?"
"Wow, it's right in front of us."
"We almost got caught up in it~."
Even after seeing that, people remained calm.
Gates were natural disasters like lightning.
They might be a little startled, but as long as it didn't happen to them, they had no reason to care.
Namgung Min was no exception.
'Not an Acute Break….'
"Here you go."
After paying without making much of it,
he began heading toward the Gate.
There was no particular reason. His house was in that direction.
He had intended to go straight home, but…
"Ma'am, please calm down!!"
"But my children!!!"
"There's nothing you can do by going in there!? I've reported it to the Administration and the police, so just wait here!!"
"……."
As he passed by, glancing at the Gate,
a woman's wailing brushed against his ears.
Whoosh.
His footsteps toward home changed direction as if he were bewitched.
"How old are your children?"
He approached the woman and asked.
Her tear-filled gaze turned toward him.
"Five and six… I was taking a picture of them when…."
"Ah."
'How unlucky.'
Namgung Min lamented inwardly.
The odds were low enough to compare to being struck by lightning, but someone was always struck by lightning.
That was something he knew better than anyone.
'Since it isn't an Acute Break, it'll take ten minutes for a guild to arrive. Someone has to go.'
And Namgung Min
couldn't simply stand by and watch.
"Please rest assured. I am…."
Swish.
He pulled out a 500-won coin.
Then he gripped it between his thumb and index finger.
In one motion,
he bent it.
-Crack.
"I'm Namgung Min, a C-rank Awakener."
He folded the coin in half.
It was something no one but an Awakener could do.
The gazes around him immediately changed.
The woman's did too.
"An Awakener… But if you're C-rank…."
"It'll take ten minutes for the guild to arrive. I'll take the children inside and hide until then."
"…Please!!!"
The woman bowed her head.
A C-rank was either one of the few people from the Beginner's Tower with good Traits or someone who had climbed halfway through the Challenger's Tower, but
that was still about ten thousand times better than being five or six years old.
"Yes."
Namgung Min immediately hurled himself forward.
Whoosh—!!
Black light filled his vision.
When he opened his eyes again, he was inside a dark cave.
Fortunately, there were no monsters nearby yet.
'The children… There!!'
"Hup!!"
He jumped again.
Holding the two frightened little girls in his arms, he pressed himself tightly against a wall in the corner.
Then, slap.
He placed his hand against the wall.
-Ding.
[Builder (Rare)]
Allows you to alter the shape of earth, rock, and similar materials.
The difficulty of manipulation is proportional to hardness.
'Fortunately, it's soft rock. That's more than enough!'
Crackle—!!
The stones in the wall melted and flowed down his forearm like lava.
Before long, they became an oval dome.
From outside, it would look like nothing more than a rock.
Only then did Namgung Min let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry, girls. Is it dark?"
"Mister…."
"I'm just an Awakener who happened to be passing by."
Then he comforted the children.
They had been caught up in a Gate, but it was all right.
If they stayed still with him like this, another guild would soon come to rescue them.
"It'll be all right as long as you don't make any loud noises. Good girls, okay?"
Monsters were often lured by sound, so all they had to do was stay as quiet as dead mice.
The two girls, now understanding, nodded.
One of them even clapped a small hand over her mouth.
They looked incredibly cute in the light shining through the tiny air hole,
and Namgung Min almost couldn't hold back a smile, but…
-Ding-dong!!!
"……!!!!?"
An alert sounded at that moment.
The inside of the dark stone dome suddenly lit up as well.
The phone in one of the girls' hands was shining brightly.
'There is internet inside a Gate…? Was that a game notification? Or something else?!'
"Quickly, put it on silent—."
He hurriedly reached out.
He intended to switch the phone to silent mode.
But before he could,
Thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
"……."
'It hasn't even been two minutes, damn it.'
Namgung Min realized what had happened.
The monster had noticed them.
It had sensed that they were here.
He withdrew the hand reaching for the phone and gently stroked the two girls' heads.
"Let's put the phone on silent mode. You can do it, right?"
"Y-yes."
"Good. Then stay right here. Don't make a sound, and don't move a muscle. When you hear other people's voices, shout that you're here."
Then, crack.
The side of the stone dome split open slightly.
The gap began closing again as soon as Namgung Min slipped his body through it.
'…It'll take at least five more minutes for the guild to arrive. The enemy will be here in thirty seconds.'
"Keep your eyes shut tight, and cover your ears too."
Snap.
The crack sealed itself in accordance with Namgung Min's touch.
Even if he died, the stone he'd already altered would not revert.
Since the rock was soft enough for him to manipulate himself, another Awakener should be able to rescue them easily.
Now there was only one thing left for him to do.
So that the monster would be satisfied and leave…
he had to let himself be discovered and die quietly.
'Ah, I was planning to run if things looked too bad.'
In fact, he could still survive even now.
How would the monster find him if he dug into the ground?
He had given up only because he couldn't take the girls with him. Taking care of just one of them would have been easy.
But if he did that, the children would be in danger.
The monster had sensed a presence here, and it would soon realize that one of the rocks was suspicious.
It was only a matter of time before the soft rock crushed the tender flesh along with it.
He couldn't stand by and watch that happen.
"…Ye-eun."
He quietly repeated the name.
The name of the daughter he'd lost long ago along with his arm.
The most precious thing he had failed to protect on the day of the Acute Break.
How much had he regretted it after that?
How often had he lamented that he could have protected her if he had gone to the Challenger's Tower instead of the Beginner's Tower?
After his family had fallen apart and he divorced his wife,
even after he quit the life of an Awakener, the regret remained.
Even now, with the end of his life before his eyes, it was still the same.
'Still, I have no regrets.'
Perhaps it was the light buzz from the alcohol.
He wasn't afraid.
He had no regrets about his life.
The two children were around the same age as the daughter he had lost.
He was doing this to protect young lives, but also,
'Hwi-min, you protect them.'
Ryu Hwi-min.
He had seen something of himself in Hwi-min.
Someone who worked hard to protect his family.
He was the person Namgung Min had dreamed of becoming.
That was why he treated him like his own son.
When Hwi-min said he would go to the Beginner's Tower after awakening, Namgung Min had advised him against it without even realizing it.
But when Hwi-min called today,
his voice had sounded incredibly bright.
His little sister must have shown signs of improvement.
Namgung Min took comfort in that.
-Thud, thud!! Thud!!!
"And Ye-eun."
One last time, he repeated the name.
A one-eyed giant was beginning to come into view.
A mighty monster that even the Elf Lord couldn't face stood before him.
He smirked.
He smiled as if there were nothing he could do about it.
"Even this useless dad is going now."
Then, with a leap,
Namgung Min jumped to draw the monster's attention, and…
-Whisper.
"Dohwa, Giantification."
"Keng."
From behind him, at a speed faster than his own,
a pink fluffball rushed forward.