Chapter 43 :

Episode 10 : A Calling (3)

‘I got so many ‘Numbers’ from those weaklings.’ I thought while picking up a longsword.

Behind me, I could sense HwanGi-ssi sneaking up on me.

"You can take some of these loot, since I don't need this much." I talked to him without turning around to look at him.

HwanGi asked me, staring at my back with his blue eyes. "JoonChul. Why did you kill them?"

"Why? If I keep them alive, they'll just come back to kill us."

"But still.. killing them is too much."

I turned around to glance at him. "They were trying to kill you, and you think killing them is too much?"

"..."

"In this world, it is killed or be killed. Keep that in mind." I threw the longsword at him before walking to Raiden.

HwanGi caught the longsword, looking at the blade. The reflection showed how much perplexed he was just from his expression.

"Everyone. Are you hungry?" I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention.

Alaine raised her hand, exclaiming nervously. "O-Oh! Yes..! I'm hungry!"

"Okay, let's find a pleasant place to eat." I spoke while leaving the bloody area filled with corpses.

"Yes, Sensei." Raiden nodded before following behind me.

———

After finally finding a place to eat, I took out the bag of apples from my inventory.

"Here. Have these for now." I tossed one apple to each and everyone.

Then, I placed an apple on my lap which led to Mirai to climb down from my head to my lap to eat the apple.

I smiled, munching on my own apple. But as I was eating, I kept thinking about my future plans.

‘After Mirai, Behemoth, and Raiden became players, I got to imitate their skills.’

I mused. ‘And thanks to that, I imitated Raiden's ‘Invisible Lightning’ and Mirai's ‘Silk Threads’ when I fought, making it easy for me to kill the enemies.’

I stopped biting on the apple as I was thinking. ‘And as expected, my strength is just too high that it could easily one shot every player.’

‘Even if I'm strong right now, will it be enough on Stage 10? Even though I have my comrades, their powers are limited by those stupid angels.’

I rubbed my temple with a sigh. ‘I can't risk losing my comrades.. if only I knew where ‘she’ is, then it would be a lot less difficult in Stage 10.’

"Captain! Captain!" Mirai called out to me but since I was too focused on thinking, she stabbed her tiny spider leg into my leg.

"Mirai. You know that tickled.." I responded back to tease her after snapping out of my thoughts.

She pouted, saying. "You should eat your apple!"

"Oh, right." I chuckled before munching on the apple again.

As I was eating, I found HwanGi-ssi walking up to me.

When he got closer to me, he stood in front of me, looking down on me to say. "JoonChul, what you are doing is wrong."

"You mean killing?" I continued eating without having any eye contact with HwanGi.

"Yes. I have been thinking and I think you shouldn't kill people like that."

"People have different ways of doing things, including you and me."

"Even so, killing is sinful."

I stopped eating, dropping the apple in the process. "..."

"Sinful? Haha. Give me a break." I stood up to glare at him with my black katana on his neck.

"You don't know what hell I live in and now.. you sounded like those angels." With my katana inching closer to his neck, blood started to appear, bleeding on my katana.

"H-hey! Are you guys fighting?!" Alaine barged in between us and pushed us far apart from each other.

"Tsk." I scowled at HwanGi and left the area to have some peace and quiet.

———

After that moment, HwanGi sat down next to Alaine.

HwanGi remembered JoonChul's glare directing toward him, like a glare seeking for his demise, he could only become terrified by that.

What's more, he felt like shivering to fear after having a glance at JoonChul's angered face.

"But why did he say I'm like those angels?" HwanGi spoke out loud, causing Alaine to overhear.

Alaine while biting on her apple, she asked HwanGi with a mouthful of apple. "What angels?"

"Nothing.." HwanGi sighed, looking over his status.

"Why did you fight anyway?" With how curious Alaine was, she couldn't resist asking HwanGi.

"I was telling him not to kill."

"Ohh. So that's why you fight?"

"Yes.."

"You know, you shouldn't demand anyone to change just so you told them to." Alaine patted HwanGi's shoulder, presuming her talk. "Well, I'm against JoonChul killing, but he must have a reason right?"

"A reason?"

"Maybe he had a hard time while surviving alone. I mean, we don't even know where and how JoonChul has been doing after Stage 1."

"Yes, you're right." Now that HwanGi thought about it, was he being rude toward JoonChul-ssi?

HwanGi said before standing up. "I'll go apologize to JoonChul-ssi."

However...

Something horrible was about to happen..

Completely forgetting about it, HwanGi finally realized something that was far too late.

..The hidden quest's time limit has passed..

‘..You failed to do the simplest thing..’ The voice whispered to HwanGi's ear, like a thunderstorm occurring inside his ears.

‘.. You'll be cursed..’

And with that, a curse has befallen on HwanGi..

With how long Alaine had waited to see HwanGi leave, she looked over to HwanGi who was just standing there, asking him. "By the way, HwanGi. Didn't you say you would apologize to JoonChul? Why are you still here?"

No response from HwanGi even after a minute, so Alaine stood up to have a look...

What she laid her eyes on was a grayish mist covering his face.

"What the?! HwanGi?!" Alaine gasped while grabbing onto his arms, shaking him to snap him out.

And a moment later, the mist that was covering his face, expanded throughout his body, forcing Alaine to let go of HwanGi's arms and stepped a few steps backwards.

"What is going on..?" Alaine, horrified to see this sight, rushed in to get HwanGi out of the mist.

On the other hand, Mirai in her human form, stopped Alaine from approaching inside the mist.

Mirai frowned, looking at the mist. "You can't go in."

"But HwanGi is inside! We need to save him!" Alaine exclaimed at the top of her lungs.

"Do you know what that mist is?" Mirai clenched onto Alaine's shoulders, staring into her eyes.