Memorize

The transmission was nothing special. Having experienced it hundreds of times, it felt just like that. After completing the transmission to the Inn of Beginnings, I stepped out into the second-floor corridor and noticed that the downstairs was quite noisy. For now, it was time to wait while anticipating the guidance from the players who had entered the Hall Plain ahead of me. It was unusual for there to be such commotion; usually, everyone was quiet, tense, and waiting.

Once the new players completed their setups, the transmission barrier surrounding the inn would dissolve. As soon as the barrier was lifted, the existing players would open the doors and enter to guide the new players. In the past, I had quite disliked the existing players who took on the guiding role.

Their attitude was rather arrogant. It was like the gaze of a private who had just completed their military training looking down on new recruits. Of course, they were survivors from the earlier trial and had gone through a time similar to the new players. I acknowledged that they had worked hard to survive after that.

Listening to their ('guiding players') remarks was quite a sight. As they adapted to the Hall Plain, they would often think, "I was just like that." Just for the record, the player who said that to me ended up dead three months later.

Anyway, I was not pleased, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. Listening to their explanations and quietly entering the Player Academy was the best option I had for now.

Speaking of which, I think the Player Academy is a truly revolutionary idea. I don't know who proposed its establishment, but it must have been someone with a clever mind. Unlike the old days when things were done haphazardly, the establishment of the academy has significantly reduced the chances of new players losing their lives in ridiculous ways at the beginning.

Regardless, meeting the kids and sharing greetings was one thing, but I was contemplating what to say. As I walked down the second-floor corridor while lost in various thoughts, I found myself nearing the end. Just as I thought I only needed to open the door in front of me, I heard a voice.

"Crap!"

Wanting to resolve any misunderstandings after meeting the kids, I had no choice but to stop my hand, which was about to push the door open. Through the crack of the door, voices I distinctly recognized were drifting in from near the first-floor stairs. And they were continuous.

"Shut your mouth! You bastard!"

"What the hell, you bitch? Didn't I tell you? I saw it with my own two eyes!"

"Your eyes must be messed up! Who do you think you are, running your mouth like that?"

"You crazy bitch. Am I the only one who saw it? Am I? Bo-Rim said she saw it too! Huh? She said she saw the crossbow split in half!"

Hearing the name Bo-Rim, I could guess who the owners of the foul-mouthed voices were. Trouble-maker Park Dong-Gul. I never expected him to survive and enter the Hall Plain. To be honest, after parting ways with them, I had almost completely lost interest; my inner thoughts were to not care whether they lived or died. Still, I decided to think positively. Since I remembered them being a pain in the ass early on, it seemed likely I'd have a chance to deal with them later.

I could instantly recognize the other high-pitched voice. Whenever I saw Yun-Jung getting into it with Park Dong-Gul, I felt they both had quite the bad history. I clicked my tongue and quietly opened the door.

"Shut…!?"

As soon as the creaking door opened, a crowd of people came into view. Yun-Jung, who was about to tell Park Dong-Gul to shut up, stopped speaking and looked up when she heard the door open. I awkwardly smiled at her.

As expected, I seemed to be the last one to transmit among all the players. The moment I stepped inside, I could feel a tremendous amount of attention turning towards me. Counting roughly, there were over forty people in the inn, bustling with survivors. In the past, we barely managed to exceed twenty. It seemed that defeating the boss monster on the sixth day had a significant impact, aside from the players' overall strength. If things had gone as usual, more than half of the people present would have died by now.

I descended the stairs one step at a time and casually greeted everyone.

"Looks like everyone's alive. I'm glad to see you all safe."

Of course, they would be alive. They were sent through the warp gate as if they were treasures. Even though I gave a fairly standard greeting, there was no reaction. Just as I was starting to feel embarrassed, Yun-Jung stumbled over to me.

"Oppa...?"

"Yeah."

She raised her hand and gently placed it on my face, softly feeling both my cheeks. Her eyes and lips quivered as if she were overwhelmed, astonished, and emotional. It wasn't just Yun-Jung feeling that way. The faint hope they had clung to had materialized before their eyes. Even Wu Jung-Min, who seemed to have grasped the situation involving An Hyun's group, was staring at me in disbelief.

With a voice that trembled, Yun-Jung continued.

"Oppa... You're really Su-Hyeon oppa, right? Not someone else?"

"Do I look like a doppelgänger? Ouch, stop pulling so hard. That hurts."

"Welcome back. I never imagined you'd survive... Impressive."

As I barely managed to remove Yun-Jung's hands while still touching my face, a husky voice sounded from beside me. I turned my head, and as expected, I saw Wu Jung-Min and his group, who had survived. He looked like he wanted to say more, but I subtly shook my head. His mouth, which was about to speak, closed again as if he understood my signal.

I briefly made eye contact with Won Hye-Soo, who was also looking at me with a surprised expression. She quickly turned her head away, giving a sharp response to our silent exchange.

An Hyun gazed at me with a face full of joy, Yun-Jung looked torn between happiness and sorrow, and Sol had a teary expression as she stared at me. For a moment, An Hyun's group and I simply stood there, looking at one another. They seemed like they wanted to say something, their lips constantly parting, but no words seemed to come out as they struggled to express their emotions.

Even though they wanted to speak, the words just wouldn't come out. I didn't mind too much, but I really wanted to escape the attention I was getting. It was already overwhelming, and if Sol started crying in such a crowded place, I would truly feel embarrassed.

I tried to comfort Sol, who looked like she was about to burst into tears, and intentionally moved to a corner of the room. Meanwhile, Park Dong-Gul, who had been thoroughly excluded, saw us sitting at the table and quickly took Lee Bo-Rim with him to the opposite side.

After a little while, as the eyes of the people around us lessened, it seemed like the others had somewhat composed themselves. The only one who was still bothering me was An Sol, who sat right next to me and tightly gripped my clothing.

I sent a pleading glance toward An Hyun for help, and he gave a sheepish smile before speaking.

"Hyung, I still can't believe it. It's like seeing an immortal."

"Haha, calling me immortal is a bit much. I was just lucky, that's all."

At my words, An Hyun shook his head. More importantly, someone needed to do something about Sol. She wasn't just a little kid; why was she holding onto my clothes like that? Whether she realized how I felt or not, An Sol responded in a trembling voice.

"No, it's not that. I feel like I'm witnessing a miracle. I kept thinking about what could happen while waiting at the bottom of the stairs... and every time, you... "

As she spoke, her grip on my clothes tightened. Seeing An Sol, who couldn't finish her sentence and was about to cry again, filled me with a complicated emotion. Yet the fact that I had to lie from here on out made me smile bitterly inside.

"Anyway, it's a relief to see everyone alive again."

"If you were alive, you should have come earlier! Always making us worry... No, I'm sorry, Oppa. It's not like you wanted that to happen..."

Seeing Yun-Jung showing a mix of nagging, apology, and tears, I tilted my head. I didn't expect the kids to care about me this much, but it also made me feel a sense of pride. Yun-Jung clenched her fist, wiped away the remnants of tears from her eyes, and continued speaking.

"Oppa, tell me. That bastard earlier said that your crossbow was found broken in half near the warp gate. But you were nowhere to be seen, and that monster was gone too."

Hmm. So, it has come. I was glad that I had burned the body of the boss monster in preparation for this moment. However, not being able to deal with the crossbow properly was my fault. I wanted to brush it off, but I felt a cold gaze on me. The owner of that gaze was Kim Han-Byeol. If I let this slide, I had a feeling that something would go wrong with her later.

Kim Han-Byeol hadn't said a word since I arrived at the inn. Aside from the first time she saw me, her expression hadn't changed at all. I turned my head and stared into her eyes for a moment. And as soon as I read the emotions reflected in her eyes, I felt a slight pang of discomfort.

Overall, it felt like a relief, but I could sense a faint mix of distrust and suspicion in her gaze. Han-Byeol was certainly not an ordinary girl. In some ways, she seemed to have a personality quite similar to mine. She didn't let herself be swayed by the situations or emotions around her and always left room for rational thought to intervene. I might never fully grasp her essence, but one thing was certain: she had begun to harbor doubts about me.

The inn wasn't as chaotic as it had been at the beginning, nor was it completely silent. The whispers of the surviving group could be heard simultaneously. I let out a sigh internally. Lately, I had felt like I was sighing a lot. Ultimately, I decided it was better to pretend I didn't remember much than to fabricate a clumsy story.

"Yeah, that's right. I was trying to dodge the monster's attack, but... it seemed like it was targeting the crossbow from the start. It got split in half right away. It was pretty bleak at that moment. Hahaha."

"Is your left arm okay?"

At my words, Kim Han-Byeol immediately spoke up. Although she sounded concerned on the surface, I heard her ask, "Wasn't the crossbow mounted on your left arm?" After smacking my lips, I immediately replied.

"I was attacked with its tail. Without realizing it, I raised my left arm, and it seemed to just barely graze the crossbow."

"...So, what happened next?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't really know. I guess I should say I don't remember. At that moment, I truly thought I was going to die; I didn't have any thoughts at all. It felt like it was stomping around, and I was rolling on the ground like crazy…."

In a quiet voice, I began to explain while significantly altering the original experience, speaking in circles. The conclusion was that I had desperately run and rolled toward the lower ground of the forest, taking advantage of the dust. Everyone nodded in agreement. Of course, except for Kim Han-Byeol. Anyone who had faced the boss monster head-on for more than three minutes would quickly realize that my words were full of lies and inconsistencies.

Kim Han-Byeol seemed lost in thought and didn't ask any more questions. Perhaps it was because she hadn't experienced that situation, and the atmosphere was mainly focused on celebrating my survival, so she kept silent. However, the suspicious look in her eyes still seemed to linger. I decided to keep my words to a minimum at this point. After all, the reason I was speaking in circles was to buy some time.

Before I knew it, the barrier outside the window had become quite faint.

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