< Greeting (2) >
Seeing the dangling head speak felt bizarre. I did see undead in dungeons, but there weren’t any that spoke.
“Is that possibly one of those well-known zombies? The ones you get infected by if you get bit?”
“I don’t know what it is, so hyung, stay back.”
Yoohyun said, stepping one foot forward. Just then, the zombie or whatever flapped its mouth again.
“The appearance is absurd, everyone. Wait a moment.”
And then, Yoon Kyeongsoo’s appearance changed.
“Ah, limited edition Bunny Bunny Bear!”
“…Hyung?”
Yerim shouted happily, and Yoohyun mumbled, taken aback. In the meantime, I couldn’t say anything.
A bit away, between the collapsed building wreckage, Yoohyun was standing there. My younger brother who was a little older, his outline a little clearer, and his height a little taller. Without even me knowing, I stretched out my hand, and grabbed the arm of the Yoohyun in front of me. The twenty-five-year-old younger brother smiled.
I didn’t know who they were but it was a bad hobby. Or was I the problem? Since it seemed like the appearance that each person saw was different.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Yoohyun asked worriedly, but I couldn’t turn my gaze away. Yoohyun slowly came over. He came closer to about ten steps away.
That thing was fake. I knew that better than anyone else. I couldn’t help but know.
“…Should I, get rid if it?”
Yoohyun said, turning his eyes away to do his utmost to not look at Yoohyun… no, that thing.
“……No.”
Even though it wasn’t real, how could I watch something like that, fuck. I didn’t know what Bunny Bear was, but it didn’t seem to be a person, so should I ask Yerim… shit, rather I should…
“Is it not an appearance comfortable for talking?”
That thing said. On top of that, the voice was the same, too. Next to me, Yerim shouted that ‘it cried bba-oo, how cute!’.
“If you know, then change right now.”
Yoon Kyeongsoo with his head dangling was much better. When I replied, grinding my teeth, Yoohyun, shit, that thing gave a small laugh.
“You’ve probably guessed, but it’s not an appearance that I want. It’s hyung who wanted to see it.”
“…Don’t laugh with that face.”
It was slowly getting harder to endure, but thankfully, that guy’s appearance changed. The size became much smaller. It became smaller, but the target that it molded itself after wasn’t different. It was still Yoohyun. This time, I would go crazy for a different reason.
“Ah, really, crap…”
How cute. My younger brother who was around six or seven smiled big. He had soft hair like a puppy’s, and the round cheeks were pearly. Small hands, and obviously, small fingers, and his feet were small, too. If it was now, a Yoohyun who I could really easily pick up and hold…
“Yoo-Yoohyun. Grab onto me.”
“What?”
“I want to run out, wow, really, seriously……”
I wanted to pet his head. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to touch his cheek. Even though I knew it was actually a corpse, I wanted to run over right now. How could he be so lovable and cute?
“Ahjussi, exactly what are you seeing?”
“…Yoohyun when he was younger.”
“Oh, I want to see it, too! I also want to see when ahjussi was younger! Change, Bunny Bunny Bear! It’s not changing. Then, dance!”
I flexed my hand, and then took out my cell phone. Just in case, I tried taking a photo, but I got the zombie. Shit. A video didn’t work either, as expected, shit.
“Yoohyuuun.”
“Hyung, I’m here.”
At the slightly sullen voice, I turned to look at my brother. When I saw the twenty-year-old after looking at the six-to-seven-year-old, the reminiscence felt new. He was that small, but now he had grown this big.
“Our Yoohyun really grew a lot.”
“Please get a hold of yourself, ahjussi. You have a completely vacant face.”
“The kid is cute.”
Just in case, just once, couldn’t I try petting just his head once? Of course I couldn’t. I didn’t know what that was. I should get a hold of myself.
“Is this also hard for us to talk, hyung-ah[1]?”
“Yoohyuuun!”
“Hyung!”
“Ahjussi!”
Yoohyun and Yerim grabbed me at the same time. Shit, let’s calm down. But I couldn’t calm down. Should I close my eyes instead? But there weren’t any photos left of when he was at that age, so it was a waste. And he was moving, and blinking, and speaking.
My heart hurt. He was really cute. Look how small his shoes are. I wanted to buy him something tasty. Though he wasn’t real, though he was fake. Shit, at any rate, it was the same that photos and videos weren’t the real thing either. Did I not have anything to feed him with?
“Looks like it won’t work. We’ll just have to talk with the original appearance for hyung-ah.”
“What? Wait!”
Young Yoohyun disappeared, and Yoon Kyeongsoo’s creaking corpse took his place instead. To think that this would happen. My younger brother.
“I’ll greet you again, everyone. I’m a type of replacement for the lizard’s owner.”
The corpse said. Yoohyun frowned, and Yerim tilted her head.
“It’s going ‘bba-oo bba-oo’ but I can’t tell what it’s saying.”
Did it not sound like human words to Yerim? It seemed like it only transmitted words to people who knew about the filial duty addicts.
“You sure appeared fast. It looks like there wasn’t much to do for the transfer of duties.”
“The reason why there wasn’t, was that he went and died. At any rate, there’s someone whose contract was maintained, so I came to greet you for a moment like this. Could you let me know how and who killed the lizard?”
“Would I tell you that?”
“It’s like this, as expected. There isn’t much I know about this side either… Clumsily lunging doesn’t suit my disposition. So, should we simply make a bet?”
It was welcome that Diarma hadn’t sent proper information. It was especially a relief that they didn’t know much about before the regression, and about me.
But it seemed like the contracts that were made before were continued over to that zombie as they were. I should also get rid of Choi Sukwon, or at the least, make him get de-cursed. Would there be other people who had contracted?
“What kind of bet are you talking about?”
“I didn’t chose yet. I have to look around here first.”
“It seems like there’s no reason for us to accept the bet.”
The zombie shrugged its shoulders.
“Or, do you want to keep on being disrupted? I’m not the type that takes it easy like that, either. But the lizard owner died and I don’t know those circumstances either, so even the preparation is lacking. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t do anything.”
Yoon Kyeongsoo’s head let out a sigh. At the same time, it dangled a lot to the point of it being admirable that it didn’t just fall off. It was disgusting to look at, really.
“I don’t have any intention of risking my life, so let’s just each go safely. Hm? It’s ending it with just once. Whether it’s rock-paper-scissors or solving mazes or a duel or whatever. Then I’ll consider it as having done all I should to do and draw back, and everyone can diligently block dungeons. How about it, it’s good, right?”
The zombie’s hand lifted up and gestured to around my chest. And then it spoke.
“Diarma’s successor-nim.”
“You’re saying annoying things.”
I glanced at Yoohyun, but he didn’t show any particular reaction. It seemed like the contents that he heard were also different from mine, like with Yerim.
“The lizard owner was a bit dumb. But his ability was usable. He was a guy whose skill in combining curse and poison dragon types was pretty good. Though I don’t know how you learned that ability.”
Looking at how that zombie talked, it seemed like it was higher up than Diarma. Of course, it could be a bluff, or the relationship between the two could’ve been bad so it was putting him down, but it was better to overestimate an enemy’s abilities rather than underestimate.
‘And it’s certain that it has a hallucination-like mind-related skill.’
The lizard bastard also used that type of skill when he was pulling me over. Did the filial duty addicts have a lot of guys with mind-related skills? I should ask Myeongwoo for mind-related resistance items. Couldn’t I extort items from the immoral people?
“Obviously it wouldn’t be good to be disrupted in the middle of the busy mess of blocking dungeons, but I’ll give a reply after I hear the conditions for the bet.”
“Alright, good. Convey it to the immoral people, too. You’re in contact with them, right?”
I hesitated for a moment and then nodded my head. If I said no while having Diarma’s ability, it would sound too much like an obvious lie.
“As expected. But I wonder why it’s you. There’s even an appetizing kid right next to you. His talents are outstanding and he also has an elemental. I like him. What about staking him on the bet?”
“Don’t say something crazy and if you’re done with your business, get lost.”
Why did these bastards keep on aiming for someone’s younger brother? The zombie smiled and collapsed. At the same time, Yoohyun and Yerim turned to look at me.
“I only heard it going ‘bba-oo’. Ahjussi, it seems like you talked with it – what did it say? Will a zombie infection start from now?”
“No. That kind of thing would…n’t happen? Probably.”
I couldn’t be sure. Even dungeons appeared, so there was no reason zombies couldn’t show up.
“Yoohyun, what did you hear?”
“Things like it’s those guys’ replacement, and questions like how did I get free of the contract. It asked if I didn’t have any intention of making a new contract, so I just refused. What about hyung?”
“I…”
I trailed off, looking at Yerim who was looking at me with eyes sparkling with curiosity. I did have to tell Yerim, too. But I was caught in the mermaid queen’s words that the more it was known, the bigger the influence became. It would be better to ask the immoral people specifically about sharing the information.
“Let’s go back first and talk-.”
“Right!”
The corpse jumped up again. The head that dangled at the rough movement finally fell off and rolled on the floor. Whether it did or not, the voice continued.
“I forgot I was going to give a present before going. This body’s owner’s value is considerably big, so you’ll be able to get a good present. Do well.”
Right afterwards, Yoon Kyeongsoo’s corpse melted down. And above that, a gate appeared. A supersaturated dungeon gate that was right before bursting. I quickly grabbed Yoohyun, who was about to go in as soon as he saw it, and spoke.
“Hey! You don’t even know what’s inside!”
“I have a gate stone, so if I think it’s dangerous, I’ll come out immediately.”
“Then me going in would be better instead! I have an item that Myeongwoo gave me.”
“Hunter Bak Yerim, I will leave hyung to you.”
That younger brother didn’t even pretend he didn’t hear and pulled me off. Then, Yerim grabbed my shoulder from behind.
“Even if you use a damage nullification item, if you just go in, then it’s the end. See, you can’t even move if you’re grabbed.”
…That was true. Yoohyun placed his hand on the gate. But as if he was touching a wall, he was blocked.
“Even though it looks like supersaturated gate?”
“It looks like it was deactivated. Is there somebody inside?”
Would there be cause for it to be so? Anyways, you couldn’t go in.
“First, let’s draw back, and prepare for a dungeon break.”
At my words, the two of them nodded their heads. I had drawn back while I took out my cell phone in order to convey the situation to Song Taewon, who should be nearby.
Kooreureung
The gate shook. Then, what poured out from inside it was deep blue water.
Yoohyun snatched me up and jumped into the air. Yerim also immediately used her flight skill. Kwakwakwa, along with the noisy sound, the water that poured out without end swallowed up the isolation center building in an instant. A whirlpool formed where the gate was and the ground became dug up.
In the space of a blink, a small lake formed. The gate was in the middle of that, like an eye. No, was it really an actual dungeon gate? The gate that was floating on top of the water soon sank down underneath.
Within the confusion, we got out of the lake, first.
“What has happened?”
Kang Soyoung, who was standing at the edges of the lake, where the water was barely touching, saw us and asked. It seemed like the people who were near the barricade were swept up by the water. Thankfully, it was normal water, so we saw them swim out without having gotten much damage.
“I would like to explain, but I do not know very well either.”
It seemed like there weren’t any monsters, and I hadn’t seen a dungeon break where only water poured out, even before the regression. Normally, only monsters poured out.
Song Taewon also appeared and asked for the complete story, but there were very few things we could explain. It felt wrong to just leave it alone, but even so, there wasn’t anything we could do about the lake. While we were all at a loss wondering if we had to take out the water at least, Kang Soyoung spoke.
“Doesn’t it seem like it became larger than before? The lake.”
It was as she said. The lake was slowly, but without stopping, getting bigger. It was a slow speed, but if we left it like this, we couldn’t know how far the water would go..
“…It would have been better instead if monsters had come out, like normal.”
Song Taewon’s expression was rigidly stiff. The other people also had similar faces, as expected. In the middle of that, Yerim shot her hand up.
“Since water came out, couldn’t we go inside the gate now? I will go check. I have my earrings. The one that has the effect where I can move freely in water.”
I mean, Yerim. Still, it wouldn’t do for it to be you alone.
[1] ‘hyung-ah’ is a childish way of saying ‘hyung’
t/n: apparently the author has recently done revisions to ch 1~75 and is planning on revisions to ch 76~100, but i will not be redoing any translations as of now.