There is a saying: "Ingan Mansa Saejima". It means that in life, fortune and misfortune are not constant. Good luck can turn into bad, and misfortune can become a blessing. It's a phrase I've been reflecting on quite often lately.
Of course, the place I'm currently in is a completely different space and world called Hall Plain. When I think back to my first life, the saying hardly seemed to apply. My life in Hall Plain felt like a continuous stream of misfortunes, and I experienced hardships that matched that feeling. I can barely remember a single day I spent in peace. Whenever I caught a glimpse of fortune or a moment of happiness, it was inevitably followed by misfortune strong enough to shatter that joy. Or perhaps… maybe the saying does apply in a way. It's just that luck and misfortune weren't evenly split. Looking at the overall flow, misfortune definitely took up a larger share.
Thinking suddenly of my first life left a bitter taste. I wondered what my hyung was doing now. What about Han So-Young? And all the other players I had built connections with—what were they doing?
It's not like I hadn't thought about my hyung and her. When I first entered Hall Plain, I even considered looking for them immediately. Hyung would never have abandoned me, regardless of my abilities as a player. And Han So-Young would never let go of a player like me. She had a strong desire for talent and one of her many strengths was being able to embrace both the virtuous and the wicked.
But there were two reasons I hadn't gone looking for the two of them.
The first reason was that they were already, to some extent, established players—or were in the process of becoming so. Yoo-Hyeon-hyung was probably making a name for himself somewhere in the eastern cities by now. And when I met him later, I heard he hadn't participated in the Golden Lion Clan's Iron Mountain Expedition, so it's highly likely he didn't take part in the Vagrant Eradication Operation either.
The same went for Han So-Young. She was already the Clan Lord of Eastantel Law, the leading clan of the small southern-western city, Monica. As one of the southern region's major clans, they hadn't taken part in expeditions or operations. By now, she was probably caught up in rumors that Eastantel Law would gradually disappear under the animosity of the Golden Lion Clan—but after the Iron Mountain Expedition, Eastantel Law's value skyrocketed.
Given all that, even if I went to them now, while I might be of some help, it'd be difficult to steer things the way I wanted. They already had excellent players surrounding them in droves, so expecting them to follow only my lead was unrealistic.
So, rather than staying stuck in that frustrating position, I figured it would be better to build my own force and then meet them on equal footing. In the latter stages of Hall Plain, alliances between clans were an unavoidable necessity. Combining forces would be far more efficient than going it alone.
The second reason was also somewhat tied to the first. Even without my intervention, hyung and she were the kind of players who could handle things just fine on their own. I knew that just by watching how they navigated things during first life. I didn't want to intervene unnecessarily and disrupt the smooth flow of their future. Of course, this was something I deliberated over a lot—but after obtaining a rare class in Mule and taking down the high-ranking demon Belphegor, I gained confidence in my choice. If I had gone to them right after graduating from the Player Academy, I probably wouldn't have achieved such results.
I felt no regret. But then, what was this heavy pressure weighing on one corner of my heart? A sudden, stifling feeling swept over me, and I let out a deep sigh.
Right now, our group was riding a wave of good fortune. Of course, when you looked beneath the surface, there was the variable of me, but whether on the outside or inside, it was undeniable that luck was on our side. Unexpected rare classes and high-quality equipment. Skilled players and the execution of the high-ranking demon, Belphegor. Things were progressing in a much better direction than I had expected.
Looking back, perhaps because my time in Hall Plain had mostly been filled with misfortune, I was struggling to adapt to this string of good luck now. So, I decided to completely clear away the unease I had been feeling ever since leaving Mule. Misfortune might come. But it could be prepared for. There was no guarantee the future would unfold exactly as it had before, but since I knew the major currents, I could thoroughly prepare and minimize any coming misfortunes. I suddenly thought—maybe the reason I had pushed for the rapid march to wear the group down and keep their arrogance in check stemmed from that exact feeling.
*
I maintained my pace as I closely observed the scenery around us. This road we were walking now was one we were supposed to travel two years later. Compared to then, I couldn't say it was exactly the same, but it still carried a distinctly similar atmosphere.
The Dungeon of the Ancient Alchemist was nestled deep in the Forest Of Midnight, and the Ruined Laboratory was beyond the northern wastelands. But The Cave Of Wailing was hidden away within countless mountain ranges. Perhaps because of that, the land we were walking now, with its gently swaying green grass and upright trees, felt as if we were strolling through a vast grassland. Just like Ha-Yeong had said at the beginning—it really did feel like we were on a picnic.
"Wow. It really feels like we're on a picnic or something."
"Yeah. It'd be pretty nice if it weren't for those monsters popping up just when we start to forget about them."
An-Sol and Vivienne were chatting quietly as they marched. It was Vivienne's own way of being considerate toward An-Sol. While the rest of the group seemed to have adapted to the pace, An-Sol—whose Vitality stat barely reached the low 30s—occasionally showed signs of struggle. Still, she pressed on, only biting her lip and gritting her teeth as she followed along.
Even in the army, marching alone was tough—but if you had a friend to talk to, whether in front or behind you, it helped take your mind off the pain in your legs. Since it wasn't ruining the caravan's atmosphere, I decided to let that level of conversation slide. Honestly, while part of me had been trying to keep the group focused, I also tended to suppress them more than necessary simply because I preferred a quieter environment.
In that sense, Go Yeon-Joo was truly an astute player. She seemed to have a natural talent for reading people's personalities and emotions. That is to say, her way of interacting with people differed greatly depending on the situation.
She was enjoying the exploration as if she were genuinely out on a leisure trip. Usually, players who had reached the level of the Top 10 carried a certain pride in their skills and tended to have a sense of authority. But Go Yeon-Joo didn't have any of that stiffness. After we left the city, she began watching my actions closely and started taking better care of the others with kind and thoughtful behavior. (Though, to be honest, it just looked like a calculated push-and-pull to me. Outside the city, she and I had basically swapped roles from how we acted inside it, and I couldn't shake the feeling that her approach was full of intentional maneuvering.) The way she behaved, it was almost like she was playing the supportive wife.
Go Yeon-Joo occasionally joined in the conversation between Vivienne and An-Sol, matching their tone and rhythm, and sometimes shared useful information about Hall Plain. Being a fifth-year player, she had plenty of stories to tell, and the group found her words soothing enough to ease the burden of the intense forced march. I, too, led the group while occasionally listening to her talk, feeling fairly content.
Now that we had moved a good distance away from Mule, we weren't as lucky as we had been at the start of the expedition. Encounters with monsters were becoming increasingly frequent. Just today alone, although it wasn't yet time to set up camp, this was already our fourth encounter with a monster group.
The group we had just faced was one the others were encountering for the first time—Mud Gargoyles. You could think of Gargoyles as a type of golem monster. Their bodies were made of mud and solid stone, and they had sinister, humanoid faces. While they had no magical attack abilities, they possessed terrifying strength and a natural regeneration ability, making them particularly troublesome enemies.
However, they had a critical weakness—their slow movements and sluggish bodies. To exploit that, I had ordered the mages to launch a preemptive attack. And they responded to my command brilliantly.
Ha-Yeong, this time, didn't cast a direct attack spell. Perhaps she had prior experience dealing with gargoyles, because she used a large-scale water spell with Overlap, soaking the gargoyles and allowing the water to thoroughly seep into their bodies. By softening the mud, she created a much more favorable environment for our melee fighters to engage in close combat.
Shin Sang-Yong used the Chain Lightning spell to further slow the heavy-footed advance of the charging Gargoyles, and Vivienne also succeeded in summoning her beast, to wrap around the Gargoyles' bodies. In particular, Vivienne's performance during this battle was absolutely outstanding.
She entangled all ten or so of the creatures, manipulating their limbs like a puppeteer pulling the strings of marionettes—it was quite a ridiculous sight. Especially when she flailed their arms and legs so violently that one or two of them would rip off, it was hard not to let out a laugh. These monsters were by no means pushovers, yet thanks to the players' well-timed and well-placed abilities, the battle was unfolding far too easily.
"Hoho. An-Hyun, you look way too bored."
Yun-Jung chattered again, looking at An-Hyun, who was just standing still holding his spear with a blank expression. Having made a strong impression early on, Yun-Jung was now using that to keep pressing An-Hyun.
But instead of snapping back at her provocation, An-Hyun turned his gaze toward me and said,
"Hehe, right? Looks like Su-Hyeon-hyung and I don't have much to do. Yeah, you're right. I bet hyung's bored too."
The moment An-Hyun brought me into it, Yun-Jung shut her mouth. She stared at him for a moment, then shot back, "That's so cheap. How can you compare yourself to oppa? Don't drag him into this." and then stormed back to her spot.
An-Hyun watched Yun-Jung walk away, her firm hips swaying, then let out a quiet chuckle and turned his head back around. I closely observed his face. In his eyes was a hidden confidence—something subtle, but definitely there. It felt like he was holding a hidden card. Something that made him feel he had the upper hand over Yun-Jung, some concrete reason for believing so.
Anyway, by the time the ten or so Mud Gargoyles had reached us, their numbers had already dropped to less than half. And not a single one of them was in good shape—most had lost a limb or were otherwise damaged. In the end, Yeon-Joo, An-Hyun, Yun-Jung, and I each took one and neatly finished them off, bringing the Gargoyle battle to a close.
After that, we continued our march deeper into the mountain peaks ahead, and before long, early evening had arrived. Technically, we could have kept going a bit longer, but since we were in the mountains, darkness seemed to be falling faster than usual. Just then, we came across a spot that seemed perfect for setting up camp, and I paused for a moment, thinking it over. The pace had been faster than expected, and we had pretty much covered the planned distance for the day. I began to wonder—was there really a need to push any further?
Though night was approaching, I ultimately decided we should continue marching a bit more. Since we had already come this far, it felt smarter to make as much progress as we could while things were going smoothly. Just as I was about to declare the end of our break and resume the march, Go Yeon-Joo quietly stood up and approached me.
"Player Kim Su-Hyeon. I have something I'm curious about."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Would it be possible to know how far we are from our current destination?"
"Hm. Just a moment."
At her question, I quickly unfolded the map and calculated the distance we had covered so far. Once today passed, it would mark a full week since we left Mule. That meant we had covered about 70% of the journey. When I gave her a rough estimate of the distance remaining, she gave me a meaningful smile and stepped in even closer. After briefly glancing around at the other members of the group, Go Yeon-Joo leaned in, bringing her lips close to my ear, and whispered in a low, sultry voice:
"Then... there's one more thing I'm curious about."
"You could just ask normally, you know."
I grumbled slightly as I responded, but she simply smiled again and opened her mouth to speak:
"Are you planning to keep the tail on? Or... are you going to cut it off?"
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
200 Power Stones for 1 extra chapter.
5 New reviews for 1 extra chapter.
Goal refresh every week.