Just before Jongryeo was completely swallowed up by the space, he heard another message issued by the System.
[The dungeon’s interior will revert back to its original appearance with the death of….]
The sensation of him falling didn’t last long. Suddenly, the gravity’s direction reversed, and he was now being lifted back up at the same speed as he was being sucked in.
His darkened vision reverted back to the original state in no time at all.
‘Isn’t this place….?’
Jongryeo took a quick look around.
A lantern light that continued to flicker as if the candlelight was about to be extinguished; a hand-pulled wooden cart leaning precariously against a tree; a vast lake in the open space.
He found himself in an isolated area he often go whenever he needed to take a breather.
‘….Hey, this is the forest I bought, isn’t it?’
Somewhat coincidentally, it was also the exact same spot where he issued the soldiers to start patrolling the district, as well.
‘My location really changed.’
Jongryeo felt deeply stunned at the moment, but still, he somehow managed to remain calm as he checked the surroundings. Just like when he summoned his Illuminated Soldiers, he too rose up from the golden dust. He cautiously poked the grassy ground with the tip of his foot.
‘……’
Back when he activated the skill, it felt like the ground caved in as if he was stepping on the surface of water, but the sensation disappeared now. Feeling genuinely impressed, Jongryeo re-checked the Skill Window.
Just as the Skill description had stated, the ‘cool down’ period of three hours was in effect.
[Skill: Sentinel Switch Lv. 1]
Class-specific Skill…
….Can be used again in [02:59:57].
‘….Neat.’
Having witnessed the utility of this skill, Jongryeo’s heart pounded faster and faster.
‘And it was so fast, too….’
He had been maintaining the peak state of concentration the moment he was sucked into the space. Considering the fact that the perceived time would greatly slow down when he was concentrating fully, the transfer to this location did really happen in the blink of an eye.
His saliva nosily slid down his throat.
This skill was called Sentinel Switch – it possessed limitless application, depending on how he used it.
‘Ah, right. This isn’t the right moment.’
Jongryeo calmed his excitement down and withdrew his magic energy. He had finally managed to get his hands on a medicine that could potentially cure his memory loss, so he shouldn’t be wasting time here like this.
Feeling a lot more urgent now, Jongryeo switched his Hunter-issue mobile phone and confirmed the current time.
‘It’s already this late….?’
Jongryeo’s forehead creased up big time.
The touchscreen display showed ten in the evening. Although the visitation hours had long passed now, he didn’t hesitate to summon the Holy Water of Life from his inventory.
His heart was pounding madly now that the time he had been waiting for so long was here.
‘If something goes wrong, I won’t be able to do anything.’
He got to witness plenty of miracles the System caused so far.
If it happened to someone else, he’d never have believed a word of it. One didn’t even have to look far for tangible evidence, either. Wasn’t he the walking proof of those miracles?
All of his achievements, they were due to the System’s powers. He wordlessly stared at his two hands, before raising his head.
He managed to build up enough courage to pull the cork off of the wooden bottle.
His hands which stayed steady during the life-or-death battle against Azhdaha were trembling greatly now. He took a deep, deep breath to calm his mind.
The moment he told himself there could not be any mistake whatsoever, he was able to regain the usual calmness right away. Even his hands stopped shaking.
‘….It’s okay.’
He brought the mouth of the wooden bottle closer to his lips.
Soon, the ‘Holy Water of Life’ slowly trickled into his slightly parted lips. He didn’t rush it and made sure to let only a tiny strand enter his mouth until the very last drop.
He stood quietly to the side as if he was praying to someone while waiting for the result.
Thump, thump, thump!!
His heart pounded so much that his chest actually ached. Nervous saliva traveled down his throat, too.
‘…….’
However, there was no visible change.
Just as a drop of blood from Jongryeo’s tightly clenched fist was about to fall….
Every passing second felt like an hour to him.
How much time did pass like that?
He soon lost strength in his legs and fell to his knees.
His heart nearly fell just then, but he clenched the grass in his hands.
The Holy Water of Life failed.
Three months had passed by already, and he had been living with no idea who he was a lot since then…
He doesn’t know if he has a family.
Did he live a good or bad life?
Does he have any friends?
A loved one?
When he checked the name ‘Park Jongryeo’ in the Korean Hunters Association system.
There was information lacking. Nothing was recorded of anything to his past 25 years of life other than what he did 2 months ago when he woke up.
No childhood.
No History.
Jongryeo is constantly suffering from questions about his identity. All he wanted was a proof that he existed.
He felt like a wandering ghost.
Then again, he had always thought it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Jongryeo tried to stay nonchalant like he had done before. As if nothing of note had happened until then.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that.
All the tears he held back until then traveled down his face, and his lips parted all on their own.
“I’m lonely. It won’t stop hurting”
____________
It was then.
Jin Woo spun his head towards the vast sky, his eyes were narrowed.
“….”
Just now, an astonishing wave of magic power flooded in from a faraway place beyond the city.
Although it only lasted for a brief moment and quickly disappeared from Jin Woo’s perception, he still had felt the full brunt of that.
He didn’t hesitate once as he summoned the shadow of the Sky Dragon.
‘Kaisel.’
Kiiieeehhk-!
Answering the call of his owner, Kaisel yelled out in joy and pushed his head out of the ground. And soon, a huge lizard-like creature the size of a truck with no arms but huge wings revealed itself.
When Kaisel spread open its vast wings, the already narrow alleyway seemed to get filled to the brim in an instant. It was a small mercy that there were no other people nearby, otherwise…..
Jin Woo walked closer, and Kaisel lowered his body to allow ease of mounting. Jin Woo duly did so.
Even though this was his first time, he already felt a sense of familiarity as if he had been riding on Kaisel for a long time. He figured that flying in the air wouldn’t pose any problems since he felt this way.
‘It doesn’t matter if someone tries to stop me.’
He wasn’t talking about the Hunters Association – even if cops or the military tried to block him, he knew he had the power to break past them. And, at least for this moment, he didn’t want anyone to obstruct his path.
“Let’s go.”
Jin Woo formed a serious expression and issued a command. Kaisel began beating his huge wings.
Kiieeehhhkk!!
Kaisel rose up in the air right away and quickly flew in the direction Jin Woo pointed at.
Jin Woo quickly arrived in the isolated forest where he could see an open lake in the center.
He saw the sight of someone sitting on the edge of the lake. Jin Woo uses his Perception to look closely. It was Chief Park Jongryeo.
He looked exactly the same as the last time he saw him.
When Kaisel landed, he silently stepped into the ground. Kaisel had disappeared into his shadow by then.
He soon stood by behind Jongryeo. His shoulders were trembling ever so slightly. Jin Woo first thought that the omega must be shaking due to the cold air. But when he caught a whiff of distress pheromones coming from Jongryeo.
Jin Woo’s chest began to ache.
He approached Jongryeo, as he was near him, he kneeled on one knee, stretched his arms toward the omega, and gently pulled Jongryeo in a tight yet warm hug as he embraced him.
He made sure that the omega was comfortable and that he wasn’t being forceful. Then he felt Jongryeo tugged his shirt and bury his head in Jin Woo’s chest.
Jin Woo took that as a sign of acceptance. He gently releases calming pheromones.
As his shirt get soak from the tears Jongryeo shed. Though Jin Woo wasn’t bothered by it instead, it made him tighten his hold on the omega.
Jin Woo didn’t ask questions and Jongryeo was grateful for that.
The phlegmatic and brave everyday appearance of Park Jongryeo overlapped with the current sobbing one, and that stung Jin Woo.
‘What could possibly happen to turn him into this state?‘
Comment