Chapter 68 – Three Visits

Chapter 68 – Three Visits

I, who was my former colleague in a Previous Life.

I thought about the Apoin Operator.

‘His nickname was Santa.’

This name came from Christmas carols like ‘You Better Not Cry.’

‘Because he knew who was good and who was bad.’

That’s why he was the one who played the biggest role in identifying and eliminating Looters in his Previous Life.

But there was also a problem.

Because Santa was a very unique individual.

“Sigh.”

It was a feeling that made me sigh involuntarily.

‘He’s still alive and well, isn’t he…?’

That had to be the case. Santa was, in popular terms, a ‘Shut-in’ or ‘Hermit.’ It was clear that he would be holed up again, with no intention of coming out.

Since Santa knew all the information, he must have already known about the invasions of Marauders and others and was avoiding them.

So… I had a headache.

The key was how to bring him here.

It was also one of the biggest reasons I hesitated to bring him until now.

Even in his Previous Life, when everyone realized that Apoin was created with an ability, he became one of the most important Ability Users in all of Humanity.

It was a given.

Even with just him…

Communication was possible without Electricity or telephone exchanges.

Information exchange through bulletin boards, and later, even a Translation Function for other languages was added. And this even included calls and texts.

In other words, his existence allowed people all over the world to unite as one, without language barriers.

Furthermore, when rumors spread that he might be able to spy on other people’s texts and call records… an unspoken war to recruit him spread among everyone.

‘But… it was no use.’

But he didn’t move despite that.

It seemed… he wasn’t a Hermit for nothing.

Apoin diligently managed things at a macro level, because humanity’s survival meant his own. However, he still didn’t want to face other people.

That must have been his mindset.

Since he was that kind of person… it was purely by chance that we were able to recruit him in his previous life.

As we tried to find dwindling resources, we secured the water he lived in… and ‘rescued’ him, as he was living alone inside.

We never imagined he was a Saint at first either.

We just thought he was someone who lived alone and was very wary of others.

Even though he was like that…

He changed a lot while living with us. The strong feelings he developed for me and our other comrades must have been a big part of it.

Especially since he always held me in such high regard. It seemed to be because, having lived in an orphanage, he had a similar tendency to me, where his comrades were like his first family.

The place where we rescued such a person was…

None other than Chuncheon.

In other words… he is currently in the middle of the Taebaek Mountains in Gangwon Province, which are overrun by monsters.

‘Normally, I would have had a hard time clearing the path… ‘

But it wasn’t a big problem for me now.

“Minju, have you ever been to Chuncheon?”

“Oh… the place with the lake, right? When I was little, Minho and I went on a family trip there. It was a really beautiful place -“

“Shall we go now?”

“Huh, what? Now?! Just the two of us?”

“Hmm… it might be good if Seongjae came along too.”

“Yes…”

Because I had Minju.

* * *

Whoosh- Fwoosh!

As soon as I arrived in Chuncheon, I immediately launched an observation probe.

‘Wow… it’s become too convenient.’

After the Harpies appeared, we had to establish air superiority before launching them. But it was different now that the Observation Probe’s Transparency Upgrade was complete.

It was my job to launch that Observation Probe and make it invisible by consuming mana. I would have liked to make the entire Legion invisible, but…

I could manipulate fire with that.

To achieve invisibility without expending a large amount of mana, the material itself had to be inherently invisible, or most of the material had to be Aetherium, which has a high mana sensitivity.

Aetherium was out of the question as I had only secured a small amount.

That was also why all the Observation Probes had been made from transparent PET bottle plastic until now. It would have been quite bothersome if I had to remake all the Observation Probes now.

However, even so, the small Observation Probe didn’t have that much mana storage.

This was also one of the reasons for the existence of the Observation Ship. The Observation Ship also served to replenish the mana of the Observation Probe.

Compared to the Observation Probe, which was small and easy to send indoors or operate from a low angle close to the ground, the Observation Ship had the difference of being easier to see the overall picture from a high vantage point.

It was not a superior version, but rather a kind of complementary relationship.

However, this time I didn’t bring the Observation Ship. It was watching the vicinity from above the Main Base. Instead, the Observation Probes that came with us were receiving mana directly from me.

“Wow! The air is so nice! It would have been great to just come here for a visit!”

“Indeed.”

Unlike Seongjae, who seemed happy, Minju had a somewhat sulky expression.

‘Is something wrong?’

But I decided not to worry about it for now.

The operation came first.

***

The place we were in was a pension near a lake.

Minju said she had been here when she was young, and indeed, it looked like a shabby place that had been out of business for quite some time.

Even that had been severely attacked by Monsters and was now barely recognizable.

“Wow… it ended up like this.”

Minju hid her bitter expression.

‘Her parents even passed away, so she must be upset that her family memories are ruined.’

I thought that, but I didn’t insensitively ask or presumptuously comfort her. I just silently wished for her to get used to it and adapt quickly.

For the man, nothing was as certain as the operation.

“Seongjae, over there.”

I immediately gave Seongjae an order.

“Okay.”

The place where Santa lived was a small studio apartment near the Downtown Area.

I later heard that Santa was a freelance graphic designer who also worked as an operator for various community websites.

He usually ordered food, and when no one was around in the deep hours of the early morning, he would go out to the street to throw out the trash. He said that was all he did, just light exercise.

But now, even that would not be easy for him. Sure enough, when we met him, he was quite emaciated.

Meanwhile, Seongjae was clearing the way using Fire Manipulation…

His speed was incredibly fast.

“Wow… but Seongjae. Your firepower is no joke. Don’t you run out of mana?”

Minju seemed to be admiring Seongjae.

As the time they spent together as colleagues grew, Minju became more comfortable with Seongjae. On the other hand, Seongjae was definitely keeping his distance and being careful with Minju.

“Ah… it’s nothing much.”

He was so stiff, he was visibly awkward.

‘It seems like he’s trying to be careful this time after making a mistake with Sua…’

Moreover, I heard that Minju had told him last time that she was uncomfortable with him spreading rumors about the Scarf Woman.

‘Sigh… Seongjae… ‘

It seemed Seongjae was still very awkward around women.

‘What will he do this time…’

Although I was a little worried about Santa.

Basically, neither of them were bad people, and in their previous lives, they used to bicker and get along quite well, so I thought things would be fine.

Meanwhile, Minju was asking Seongjae more questions about his firepower. It seemed she was asking more persistently because it was related to combat.

“No… I don’t think so? How do you do it, exactly?”

Seongjae then began to explain carefully.

“Hmm… Minju, remember when I explained the Adamantite Dart to you? I said the best way to apply Spatial Teleportation in combat is to utilize the changing potential energy.”

The idea of flying a dart into the air with teleportation for a simple ambush from behind, then letting gravity pull it down.

This was Seongjae’s contribution.

“Yes, you said that.”

Minju nodded in agreement.

“This is similar. My Fire Manipulation is just the beginning. The core is how I spread the fire and what I burn to attack. In other words, I’m using chemical energy.”

“Ah… So you’re not just using Fire Manipulation as is, but you’re starting and utilizing something to burn?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Just like Seongjae, he seemed to have thoroughly considered how to use his Loyalty ability. It was a completely different appearance from his Previous Life, where he was passive in combat.

‘Indeed… It’s good to see, Seongjae!’

Thanks to Seongjae, we were able to quickly advance to the Downtown Area. While doing so, we passed through shopping streets and markets a few times-

“Oh! Chuncheon Dakgalbi!”

“But all the stores are closed.”

Of course, there was no way any place would be open.

But Seongjae kept saying he wanted to eat Chuncheon Dakgalbi, practically singing about it, so I suggested we try making dakgalbi when we returned.

After the Worker Bug was granted the Plant Growth Ability.

Coincidentally, crops like green onions, onions, and garlic had started to grow. Chili powder and gochujang, which have a long expiration date, were still common.

Furthermore, chickens were growing rapidly and their numbers were increasing, so we could certainly make dakgalbi.

Meanwhile, as we gradually made our way to the Chuncheon Downtown Area.

Seongjae also asked another question.

“But how did you know about the person in this corner? Did you check with an Observation Probe? Or Precog?”

“It’s a Precog Friend. They say a person who will be very helpful to us lives here.”

“So that person even told you the specific address?”

“Yes.”

“That’s… a convenient setup.”

As if it didn’t make any sense.

Seongjae tilted his head several times, but…

“Even if it’s The Man, I trust you because it’s you.”

In the end, he was the guy who trusted me.

To The Man’s reaction, I just smiled broadly.

‘Will the day ever come when I can tell them about my Previous Life?’

It was something I had thought about for a long time.

It was no longer a question of whether or not I could trust them.

They already trusted me completely.

Even if I just told them, would they believe me?

Perhaps this was actually easier. Because we all live in a world where we’ve become Ability Users. They would probably accept the existence of an Artifact called the Seed of Regression without much difficulty.

‘Then what am I hesitating about?’

Is it perhaps because I’m afraid they’ll dislike me?

As I was thinking that…

“This is it, right?”

“Yes, we’ve arrived.”

We were able to reach the Studio Apartment.

* * *

“Wow, does someone really live here?”

Minju had a surprised expression.

Perhaps it was natural. The building was half-destroyed, and it was a place that even Monsters didn’t seem to care much about, let alone people.

It was a building that even we in our Previous Life might have just left alone if we hadn’t struggled so much with Water.

‘That’s probably why it survived until the end.’

Perhaps it was good fortune for that Santa fellow.

I ordered the Worker Bugs who came with us to clear away the collapsed concrete debris piled up on the stairs of that building.

I slowly began to enter The Man.

‘Like The Man… how exactly do I take this one?’

Forcing her to come was one way, but…

Apoin was not just anything; it was The Man’s ability. If I forcefully activated her ability, I didn’t know how The Man would react.

‘Should I just sell The Man’s Precog?’

It pricked my conscience a little, but…

Maybe this was the best option.

‘Or should I try The Man, like last time… to do it normally?’

Last time, the situation was much more serious; if she didn’t come with us, her life was immediately in danger. But this time, it was clearly unfolding differently.

‘Even so, will she come with us? This… in the worst case, shouldn’t I have to make three visits to persuade her?’

I was pondering various things in front of the studio apartment door when…

Click-

The Man opened the door first.

“Ah, uh, The Man… I…”

It was the moment I was surprised and wondered how to start speaking. The Man couldn’t even meet my eyes amidst all that. Her pink hair, half-covering her face, was striking.

‘Ah… this one, she said cosplay was her hobby.’

Last time I met her, most of the water had drained, but it didn’t seem to be the case this time. As we hesitated for a while like that…

The Man spoke first.

“S-S-Siwoo, big brother, right? Did you come to pick me up?”

It seemed, contrary to my worries…

The Man was ready to go with me.