Chapter 27: An Encounter with Familiar Faces |
Four people emerged from the dense bushes. Three men and one woman. Their hair was disheveled, and their clothes were so tattered they looked like beggars. Of course, we looked just as bad, so I was in no position to laugh.
I quickly assessed the four of them. The man on the far left had short, cropped hair and held a longbow in his right arm. He seemed to be an archer. From the way he stared at us with deep-set eyes and a tightly closed mouth, I figured he was the quiet type.
'Huh...?'
For some reason, he looked incredibly familiar. If I remembered him, it meant he was active in Hall Plain. His face was admittedly quite common, but I decided to move on for now and shifted my gaze clockwise.
Next, the person at the forefront had hair that reached nearly to his waist. His face was slender and his build was slim, enough that one might mistake him for a woman from behind. However, his strong jawline and sharp eyes revealed he was a man.
In the center of their group stood a woman who appeared to be under their protection. Her elegant appearance caught my eye. She was staring at us with an anxious expression while also scanning the surroundings. It seemed she was looking for something.
Lastly, on the far right, was a man spinning a dagger and grinning. Just one look told me he was a troublemaker, and I didn't like it.
A moment of silence passed before the man at the front glanced at us. Then, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"They seem to be survivors, just like us."
The man who had been tossing and catching his dagger shot us a smirk and, just as I expected, started acting cocky.
"Tsk, tsk... Look at them. Early twenties? Just kids... Poor bastards."
Provoked by his words, An Hyeon raised his shield and took a step forward. I quickly grabbed his shoulder and quietly shook my head, signaling him to stand down for now. Thankfully, he understood my signal, gritted his teeth, and stepped back. At this, the cocky dagger-wielder's eyes widened as he let out a disbelieving scoff.
"Did you see that guy? The thuggish-looking one. He just got pissed off at what I said. Jeez, I can't say anything. How scary."
"You started it. Just stay out of it and let Jeong-min handle this."
"...Tch."
When the man with the bow chided him, he pouted and fell silent. But my companions' faces had already turned cold. It was understandable; they were being treated as if they weren't even there, with the other group talking amongst themselves.
Just as the tension was slowly mounting, the long-haired man spoke up.
"Well, it's good to meet you. My name is Woo Jeong-min. As you can see, I'm just another person who happened to fall into this godforsaken place."
'Woo Jeong-min. The Lord of the Red Fang Clan?'
A memory flashed through my mind, and I was startled. The man known as the Demon, famous for his trademark dual daggers. Could the man standing before me truly be Woo Jeong-min...?
I quickly activated The Third Eye.
⚔ PLAYER STATUS ⚔
Name: Woo Jeong-min
Sex: Male (26)
Height/Weight: 177.9cm • 65.7kg
Disposition: True • Chaos
⚡ Strength: 51
💨 Agility: 59
✨ Magic Power: 55
💪 Stamina: 48
🍀 Luck: 36
🛡️ Endurance: 43
Woo Jeong-min's stats completely shattered my assumption that no one in the Rite of Passage could surpass An Hyeon's average. And the fact that the man before me was Woo Jeong-min, the future lord of the Red Fang Clan—a central pillar of the Allied Forces—left me utterly astounded.
"...An Hyeon. Same here."
An Hyeon's blunt reply caused a stir among Woo Jeong-min's group. Ignoring them, I naturally heightened all my senses. If that man really was Woo Jeong-min, then even if I didn't know the others, I had a good idea who the archer was. He had to be one of the 10 Strongest in the later stages of Hall Plain...
For a moment, I considered killing him. But I quickly dismissed the thought. If I were alone, I would have done it without hesitation, but with my party here, it was impossible. Before I knew it, our two groups had drawn our weapons and were facing off. The cocky man sneered at An Hyeon in a grating voice.
"This is why you can't be nice to kids. An Hyeon, was it? You'd better watch your tone if you don't want to die."
"Oppa, we don't have time to fight right now."
"Is this the first or second time? Killing him will be quick. You just wait quietly."
The woman in the center spoke for the first time, but the cocky man immediately shot back. In response, she began to glare at him with a terrifying intensity. Receiving her chilling gaze, the man smacked his lips before reluctantly nodding and continuing.
"Aah~. Fine, fine. Just stop glaring at me before I decide to eat you alive. Ah, kidding. Kidding. She can't take a joke... Anyway, fine. Listen up, you brats. This elder's name is Cheon Seung-hyeon. I've got something to ask you about these five monkeys. Did you guys catch them?"
"What if we did?"
Cheon Seung-hyeon, huh. The moment I see you in Hall Plain, you're dead. Just as I thought that, a clear voice cut through the air, laced with sharp thorns. I had hoped and prayed that Lee Yu-jeong wouldn't step up, but of course, she did. With her strong pride, there was no way she would let Cheon Seung-hyeon, who seemed like an upgraded version of Park Dong-geol, get away with his attitude. At her words, he blinked a few times before bursting into loud laughter.
"Puhahaha~! Oh, man... Calm down, calm down, calm down. Hehe, you damn little brat. I'll let it slide this once. And you see, we're not in a very generous mood right now. We're also ve~ry, ex~treme~ly, bu~sy. Got it? So just answer our questions honestly, and let's say our goodbyes. Oh, and watch your mouth. Or don't. I won't be giving any more warnings."
Listening to Cheon Seung-hyeon's long-winded speech, Lee Yu-jeong's face twisted into her characteristic sneer.
"Crazy bastard. You goddamn idiot. What are you going to do if you don't warn me? Look at you, acting like you're hot shit. You pathetic loser."
As expected, Lee Yu-jeong's retort was refreshing. Cheon Seung-hyeon was, in a way, just like Park Dong-geol. As Lee Yu-jeong spat her venomous words with a fierce expression, he unexpectedly just stared at us blankly, then sighed deeply and picked up his dagger. I tensed my left hand.
"Kids and girls, they never listen unless you beat them. Anyway, farewell."
Muttering to himself, Cheon Seung-hyeon raised his right hand and swung it down with all his might towards Lee Yu-jeong. At the same time, I saw one of the daggers he'd been playing with shoot like an arrow, aimed right between her eyes. Just as I was about to pull her back, I saw An Hyeon move swiftly with his shield raised. He must have been wary of the man from the start, as he firmly gripped his shield and stepped in front of Yu-jeong. And as for me...
Clang!
Fwing! Thud.
"Aaaaargh!"
The dagger struck the shield with a loud metallic clang and fell to the ground. Simultaneously, Cheon Seung-hyeon collapsed, clutching his right hand where an arrow was now embedded. It was simple. While An Hyeon blocked the dagger, I had adjusted my aim and shot an arrow at the man.
Of course, I didn't expect the others to stand by idly. I sensed the archer instantly drawing his bowstring to aim at me. I tried to fire another arrow first, but all I heard was the *twang* of an empty string. In a hurry, I drew upon my own power, instantly nocked three arrows, and aimed my crossbow at his forehead. At the same moment, I activated The Third Eye.
⚔ PLAYER STATUS ⚔
Name: Seon Yu-un
Sex: Male (25)
Height/Weight: 180.9cm • 78.4kg
Disposition: True • Neutral
⚡ Strength: 45
💨 Agility: 62
✨ Magic Power: 50
💪 Stamina: 54
🍀 Luck: 50
🛡️ Endurance: 48
Click! Clack!
Seon Yu-un. It was him, indeed. The user who, as an Archer, had claimed a spot among the 10 Strongest in Hall Plain. There was a time difference since I had fired at someone else and was reloading. But my stats should have been incomparably higher, yet Seon Yu-un had managed to aim at my head almost at the same time as me. If I had to be precise, I was marginally faster. Seon Yu-un seemed to realize this too, as his eyes, which had been vacant at first, were now wavering.
A chilling silence fell over our groups. For a while, no one spoke, but I could feel An Hyeon, Lee Yu-jeong, and Kim Han-byeol gripping their weapons tightly. Even in this situation, their willingness to fight made me feel a little proud. Meanwhile, Cheon Seung-hyeon was rolling around on the ground, making a scene.
"Aaargh, aaaaaargh! Kill him! Hey! Kill that fucking bastard right now! Kill him!"
"...You were the one who threw the dagger first, Seung-hyeon. So please, shut your mouth, you embarrassing fool."
At Woo Jeong-min's cold, sharp words, the rampaging Cheon Seung-hyeon started whimpering as he cradled his right hand. I glanced over at Lee Yu-jeong and saw her trembling slightly; it seemed she hadn't expected him to actually throw the dagger. Woo Jeong-min, who had been silently observing the situation from the start, gave Cheon Seung-hyeon a pathetic look before turning his head back to us.
"First, I'll apologize. In any case, shouldn't we stop here? There doesn't seem to be any benefit for either of us to continue this."
"I'd like to, but your friend over there hasn't lowered his bow."
"Seon Yu-un. You too, stop. Unstring your bow and lower it."
Hearing my words, Woo Jeong-min raised his hand and forced Seon Yu-un's bow down. Fortunately, Seon Yu-un glanced at me for a moment before obediently lowering his weapon. After confirming they had stood down, I slowly lowered my left arm. However, neither I nor Seon Yu-un had unloaded our weapons yet. Woo Jeong-min looked at our party, raised both hands, and took a step forward, speaking in a weary voice.
"I'm sorry. They're not normally like this, but we've had a tough time lately, so they've unintentionally become a bit rough. Anyway, there's something I want to ask... We're short on time. Can we get straight to the point?"
My party members all looked at me. Even An Hyeon. I gave a small nod.
"That's what I wanted."
"We've been tracking these monkeys since yesterday. Due to certain circumstances, we had to leave for a very short time... and during that time, one of our party members was kidnapped by them. We're grateful that you took care of them for us, but have you seen a woman anywhere around here?"
A female user... Could it be?
The image of the woman who had killed herself after being raped by the Manky at the entrance flashed through my mind.
"Oppa. Could it be that woman with the piece of yellow clothing? The one with long hair down to her back. Huh?"
I sighed and covered my face with my hands. Does this girl even think? How can she be so stupid? I inwardly clicked my tongue at Lee Yu-jeong for blurting it out without a thought. Hearing her words, the other group's faces instantly brightened, and they immediately questioned us. The woman who had initially said they were out of time spoke the loudest.
"Yes! That's right! Yellow clothes and long, straight hair! Do you know where she is?"
"Ah... well..."
Lee Yu-jeong trailed off, her voice flustered. The others just exchanged glances, remaining silent. It seemed certain that it was the woman we saw at the entrance of the Manky territory, but it felt wrong to tell them she had died after being raped by monsters. As we stood there glancing at each other, the men's expressions hardened. They probably had a rough idea of what was coming next. But the woman continued to plead with us.
"Did you happen to pass by her? Or maybe just catch a glimpse?"
"......"
"Please. I'm begging you. Just tell me where you saw her. That girl... she's my younger sister. She's so kind... and innocent... *Sob*..."
Seeing the woman finally break down in tears, my party members turned their heads to me again. They were all so eager to fight a moment ago, but now they were dumping this difficult task on me. I let out a weary sigh internally and slowly began to speak.
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Author's Note
1. Corrected typos and refined context.
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