Read Novel Full Chapter 398
Chapter 398: Sunset (2)
“Did you see it?”
My little brother nodded. I quickly tilted my head up to check the sky. The vermillion edges that had been constant were now noticeably darker. Time was moving again. How long did we have before the sun set completely?
“When the dragons appear, what are we supposed to do? Fight them?”
[☆A Brief Dungeon Manual for Honey at Night★]
A new message window popped up. If the Rookie had written this, I wasn’t expecting much, but I read it anyway.
[1. The nightmare grows stronger when the sun sets.
- Going out after sunset is not recommended. If you absolutely must go out, please be accompanied by a raider who can use teleportation or spatial movement.
- If someone who went out alone after sunset returns, ask them a question about after the regression before opening the door.
- The hotel in Gangnam is safe.
- There are no guests or visitors at the hotel. There are also no staff.
- Do not go up to the rooftop. You will get too close to the moon.
- Likewise, do not use the flight skill.
- Post at least two sentries at the main gate. If someone tries to open the door, just hold it so they can’t.
- Close all the windows and, if possible, draw the curtains too.
- If you rest comfortably at the hotel until dawn, breakfast is on the house!]
It was lengthy, but the gist was clear: hole up in a Gangnam hotel and wait for dawn. The nightmare gets stronger at night. It’s already SS-Rank—did that mean it would become SSS-Rank?
“How long until sunset? We need to get to Gangnam. Did you get a message window too, Yuhyun?”
“Go to the Gangnam hotel and wait until dawn. Something like that.”
So the message had reached the others as well. But the Rookie might have made errors, and the detailed precautions might not have been conveyed. I pulled a bomb from my inventory.
“If the Hunters swarm us.”
“I’ll handle it.”
My little brother answered casually. The street Hunters were low-grade, so it should be fine. Among the Hunters in the area, the regular monsters that could leave their zones would be S-Rank or lower.
“Here.”
I handed the bomb to Yuhyun, who tossed it high into the air. When I judged it had reached the right height, I pressed the detonator.
BOOM!
The explosion thundered through the air, flames blooming like a deadly flower. Building windows shattered, raining glass down on us. Yuhyun quickly shielded both versions of me with his arms.
“I have Grace.”
“Still can’t stop minor cuts.”
Yuhyun frowned at the scratch on my cheek from when I’d rolled on the ground earlier.
“Let’s set them off at regular intervals as we move toward Gangnam.”
They’d know it was me when they saw bombs exploding. But still…
“It’s unfortunate we’re both injured in the leg.”
“Why are you hurt? You were fine earlier.”
The other me asked, sounding bewildered. Fair point.
“It just ended up this way.”
“Potions.”
“Ah, I can’t use them right now.”
In terms of overall physical condition, wouldn’t the 29-year-old me be better off than current me? He’d been in dungeons for years, so his stamina would be superior, and his height was… a little taller. I’d grow taller too, though. Why wasn’t I growing? I had an unhealthy diet and drank heavily, but I should still be more intact than the me who’d been physically strained by magic use.
“I can carry both of you.”
Yuhyun offered. What, one under each arm?
“What would you do if we ran into Hunters? You didn’t bring a car, did you?”
“Too loud and inconvenient.”
“That’s true. As expected—”
“There was one parked over there.”
The other me pointed in a direction. Since we were the same person, no lengthy explanations were needed. I immediately summoned the motorcycle. A bike was better than a car with enclosed sides.
“You wear the helmet. That cake…”
My mouth turned bitter seeing him refuse to let go of it.
“Did you buy it together? The store wouldn’t have been open.”
“I left money.”
I could easily picture him refusing when Yuhyun offered to carry it, insisting he was fine. Still, he had the presence of mind to buy a cake. The me from this time would have been quite on edge, so Yuhyun must have been treating him very well.
“But… you. For one thing, you’re here, but you seem to have gotten a little strange.”
“Huh?”
I wondered what he meant, but the pre-regression me was staring at my clothes. The hot pink… this was a misunderstanding!
“No, this is because it’s warm! It’s not my taste—it’s an item, an item! It even goes into inventory, and the warmth option is just good. It’s not winter outside the dungeon, but it was a bit cold inside, so!”
“Simple warming gear is common. But you deliberately chose that color… and put it in your inventory on purpose?”
“Hey, it wasn’t common back then! And what—this was made by the Sesung Guild Leader.”
The other me’s expression grew even more peculiar.
“There are circumstances, circumstances! I dumped hot pink yarn on the Sesung Guild Leader as a birthday present. No, it was just to mess with him! My mind is sound, so please relax your expression!”
The other me was looking at me like I’d lost my sanity, while my little brother watched us with obvious pleasure. Yuhyun, what are you so happy about? He had the expression of a predator who’d finished a satisfying hunt and was now lounging contentedly.
“It’s not like I lived a normal life either, but it seems your condition has deteriorated after the regression.”
“No, it hasn’t! Just get on quickly.”
The other me climbed on behind me, then made another observation.
“How long have you been awakened? Was I this thin back then?”
“Hey, you’re perfectly healthy!”
“Your arms are soft too.”
“What! This is normal! You’re just nitpicking. Hold onto my clothes—just my clothes!”
Honestly, compared to the average non-awakened person in modern society, I was in decent shape! My stomach was flat, and while I couldn’t hope for a defined six-pack, I had some muscle. Did he have the nerve to compare my body to one that had been clearing dungeons for four additional years?
I was definitely going to work out when I got out of here!
“Hyung, you really do need to cut down on snacks and exercise.”
“I will! I’m going to!”
“No, you won’t. What’s with the snacks again?”
“Because you like sweet things, Hyung.”
“I don’t? Did my taste change as I got older? When did you regress?”
“I did it after turning sixty! I don’t like them either. I just eat them because they’re there.”
A world where even I wouldn’t take my own side. I grumbled and started the engine. Yuhyun sent Iryn to the shoulder of my pre-regression self. I set our course for Gangnam and drove off. There seemed to be few Hunters on the road, but they’d swarm after seeing the explosion, so I picked up speed. I also cast a Teacher skill on Yuhyun for quick reactions.
As expected, we hadn’t gone far before Hunters appeared.
“What—”
SCRAPE! The chain-sword form of the Sword of the Corrupting Sovereign whipped toward the Hunter who’d been startled to see us. It drew a massive circle like a whip, taking down an entire group in one sweep. The chain-sword that had mowed through the Hunters in an arc didn’t stop, continuing with the same momentum to strike the asphalt in a semicircle.
CRUNCH!
Before the asphalt fragments could hit the ground, the sword cut through the air again. The black chunks, struck with tremendous force, flew toward another approaching group like dozens of projectiles.
“Ugh!”
“H-Haeyeon—”
Yuhyun, having bought time by blocking their approach with debris, immediately dove into the Hunter group. Every swing of his sword brought down multiple enemies. He used the terrain to his advantage, hurling fire spears to pin them down while moving swiftly to eliminate threats.
It was clean, efficient combat that didn’t even require slowing the motorcycle. Since he was checking and attacking different groups simultaneously, no enemies could get close to us.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Yuhyun fight monsters in person.”
The other me said quietly.
“He’s incredible.”
“Of course. I bought him that sword.”
“Really?”
“The clothes too—not the traditional outfit underneath, but the robe. I tore it off someone and gave it to him.”
“I remember seeing it in the ranking matches. He was a Japanese Hunter.”
“Yeah, Shishio. We’re sort of close.”
Though that man, me, me… no, let’s not even think about it. If this came to light too, I’d really be treated like a lunatic. I hadn’t intended to make my life—our lives—like this either.
After covering some distance, I set off another bomb. Everyone seemed to be far enough away that no one had appeared yet.
“You don’t have any personal memories of meeting Chief Song either, right?”
“No. Since I’m F-Rank, naturally.”
Even if he was a public official in charge of Hunters, he was S-Rank and head of the management office. There was no reason Song Taewon would personally involve himself in F-Rank Hunter affairs. But was that really the case? Looking back, I had a nagging suspicion. I was the older brother of an S-Rank Hunter, and the guild leader of a rapidly growing major guild at that. I’d even been involved with high-rank Hunters on rare occasions because of him.
If it had been before I awakened, that would be different, but after awakening, wouldn’t I have been treated as someone to be somewhat cautious of?
‘For now, it seems certain that memories related to Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song vanished from the time of Chief Song’s death. The postcard Seong Hyunjae claimed to have sent—he didn’t even recognize it.’
I remembered the watch Yuhyun had prepared to give me. Even though it was in my inventory, I hadn’t recognized it. Was this a similar situation? I glanced back at the me behind me. If the current me met the pre-regression Seong Hyunjae, would I be unable to recognize him properly? What about the current Seong Hyunjae?
“But in that manual.”
The other me hesitated before continuing.
“Shouldn’t I be unable to enter the hotel? The part about nightmares getting stronger at night—it probably refers to the monsters in this dungeon.”
“It would be troublesome if they were S-Rank or at least A-Rank, but what’s the point of us getting stronger? At best, we’d be mid-rank.”
“That’s true. Though if we exclude items, I’d be stronger than you.”
Good grief.
“We’re the same person anyway, so why split hairs? And I have more experience.”
“You’re just soft, and your abs are—”
“Don’t touch me! You bastard!”
Yeah, you’re the great one. No, we’re the same person anyway! Just then, Iryn crawled out from between the black padded jacket and moved to my shoulder.
– He really is different, Hyung!
“I-Iryn?”
– This Hyung has these bumps on his stomach! Of course, he’s much worse than Yuhyun! Yuhyun’s are much clearer and harder, and even his sides are like this!
“I get it, really.”
S-Ranks were S-Ranks, so I could accept that, but being compared to myself was depressing. The pre-regression me made a disgusted face, asking if this lizard would even fit inside his clothes.
Meanwhile, Yuhyun was sweeping away the swarming Hunters like a whirlwind. The way he sent them flying was like leaves in a storm.
“Mister!”
A cheerful voice called out. It was Yerim, with Yun Yun’s figure visible beside her. Wait, weren’t goblins banned from entering dungeons?
“Huh? There are two Misters! Is one of them the Mister from the dungeon?”
“Right, Yerim. Say hello. This is the 29-year-old me.”
“Hello!”
“Hello! The more seasoned Boss Kim Seobang!”
As soon as Yerim appeared, Yuhyun kicked the last remaining Hunter and approached us. I stopped the motorcycle for now.
“Mister, did you get taller? You look bigger too—is it because of the padded jacket?”
It was only a small difference. Since I was on the motorcycle, it really was minimal, but her observation skills were sharp. The pre-regression me gave Yerim a slightly awkward smile.
“Um, hello.”
“I’m Park Yerim, an S-Rank Hunter from Haeyeon Guild.”
“Haeyeon? You’re S-Rank? That’s amazing.”
“I’m Yun Yun, and I’m the Goblin King! I’m amazing too, right?”
“Yeah, you’re amazing.”
It was a relief that these two were the first to join us. Yerim knew about the regression, and Yun Yun didn’t seem to care if there were three or four of me. As for Seong Hyunjae, he was sharp enough to handle it well, but Noah and Chief Song would be problems. Noah should be fine if I explained properly. But Chief Song… he was a monster, but the other me wouldn’t treat him like one, would he? He was kind to the weak, but could also be sharp as a blade.
“Uh, Hunters. Aren’t you going, Han—Guild Leader?”
“It’s your turn.”
“See? This is what he does. I’m definitely taking over Haeyeon. I’ll take it over faster than Soyeong unni.”
Despite her grumbling, Yerim teleported to the Hunter group. They were monsters, but they seemed no different from people, so I was hesitant to leave it to Yerim. But thick mist spread out and she simply froze them cleanly. It would only last a moment, but that was enough.
I started the motorcycle again toward Gangnam. Yerim flew low, monitoring our surroundings, while Yuhyun stayed close and protected us. Yun Yun, on the other hand…
“Wow, look at this! This ice cream has a new flavor! Oh, what’s this? It’s a Di○ney logo, but it’s a character doll I’ve never seen before!”
She was popping in and out of eye-catching shops using spatial movement.
“The books don’t have a single word. The phones won’t turn on either.”
The pre-regression information was partially materialized, but many functions were blocked. In a normal dungeon, such products wouldn’t even remain. Still, there were all sorts of things… ah.
“Yun Yun, can you find something like paint?”
“Okay!”
Yun Yun soon reappeared with an armful of paint cans, having selected only one color. Did she like green?
“Yerim, break open a fire hydrant and mix the paint.”
“Should I leave a message?”
“Yeah. To the Gangnam hotel—no, to Gangnam Station Exit 1. Make it tall and big. It’s cold, so it won’t melt quickly.”
It would be a hassle to gather all the Hunters at the hotel. Soon—BANG!—water shot high into the air. The water, mixed with plenty of green paint, rose into the sky and began to solidify. CRACKLE! With the sound of a massive amount of water freezing, a long pillar supporting the message was also erected.
With that, it should be clearly visible even from a distance. Since they all had S-Rank vision.