Chapter 127

Chapter 127

When he saw those clueless bastards trying to ply him with their half-baked, warm-and-fuzzy version of “concern,” it just pissed him off. And when Kang Mujin had lectured him about it being only natural for an elder to worry, he’d felt nothing much at all.

Hell, back when he was in the military and that one former superior of his had spouted nonsense about worrying for his future and told him to come back under his command, he hadn’t even bothered to think about it.

But when Yoon Seohee showed concern for him, it was somehow different.

Come to think of it, it had been that way from the start. When Yoon Seohee had grabbed his face out of nowhere and said something like, “Jeong Seojin, can you not see?” — how had he reacted? He’d been startled and flustered, sure, but it hadn’t even crossed his mind to shake her hand off right then and there.

It was the same afterward, too. Even when that woman grabbed him by the collar, yelled at him, and screamed at him under the guise of worrying, he might have been flustered or surprised, but he never felt like he disliked it.

Jeong Seojin thought that far and then let out a small groan.

‘Could it be that I actually have that kind of taste? Liking being scolded by an older woman… No, that’s going too far.’

If that were really the case, he would have known long ago. There had been plenty of people who tried to throw their age or authority at him and bully him under the guise of “concern.” Jeong Seojin let out a deep sigh, then let go of the hand that had been gripping his sword hilt.

‘Let’s head back first. Even if I took out the head of the pack, there might still be stragglers, and that would be dangerous.’

Of course, the subject of that “danger” here was naturally Yoon Seohee. From what he could tell, she seemed to be an Awakened who had undergone her own awakening, but he couldn’t understand why she was so frail. Jeong Seojin started walking, thinking that when he got back, he should get her some decent safety gear.

Or rather, he tried to. If something hadn’t suddenly reached out a hand toward him from behind.

“……?!”

Jeong Seojin hastily dodged the hand reaching for him, kicking off the ground and retreating backward. *Riiip.* The hem of his coat, which hadn’t quite escaped “its” attack range, was torn roughly. Jeong Seojin glanced at the deeply torn coat hem along the path where its hand had passed, then immediately lifted his head to look at “it.”

“…….”

First of all, it was pitch black. Not a bit more, not a bit less — just utterly black. And it was huge. At least the size of two or three grown men combined. And…

‘…Fingers?’

Five long, black things resembling human fingers grabbed the torn coat hem that had been ripped off in Jeong Seojin’s place, and slowly, slowly began to sink back into the ground. Jeong Seojin glared at the monster that had attacked from outside his detection range with wary eyes.

Even if he was blind now, his ability to sense his surroundings wasn’t completely diminished. He was constantly spreading his mana around him without a moment’s pause.

And yet, that monster had ambushed him from outside his perception range in a single instant.

‘How the hell?’

There was no time to think further. *Crunch, crunch…* A sound like something being chewed came from underground, and then “it” began to reach its hand up above the ground again. Once more, the black thing rose up from the earth.

This time, it wasn’t just a hand.

Hand, wrist, arm, elbow, and then shoulder. The black thing kept surging up from the ground. Bizarrely, even though that massive thing was rising from below, the ground wasn’t broken or collapsed at all.

‘Does it not have a physical form? No, that can’t be… It definitely tore my coat just now.’

Soon, its entire upper body had emerged above ground. Only then could Jeong Seojin see its true form.

It was entirely black like a shadow, but its overall outline resembled a human’s. But that was it. *Crunch, crunch…* The sound of something being chewed came from somewhere. And the direction that sound came from was none other than its belly.

Right in the center of its pitch-black body, where a human’s navel would be, there was a massive mouth. And not just any mouth. Inside the vertically slit, oval-shaped mouth were hundreds of teeth as sharp as a shark’s.

—Gulp, crunch.

The mouth on its belly swallowed something. There was no need to guess — it must have been the coat hem it had torn from Jeong Seojin just now. Its mouth opened wide once, then chewed as if gnawing on air. And not long after.

—Hun, gry.

It spoke.

In human language, no less.

—I’m, hun, gry.

“……!!”

That thing twitched its pitch-black hand, as if it wanted to grab hold of something to eat right this instant. Jeong Seojin pulled the steel-gray sword from its sheath again and swallowed dryly.

His instincts, sharpened all the more in a combat situation, whispered to him.

That thing is not an enemy you can recklessly charge at just because you want to get stronger. You have to get out of its line of sight. That thing is not something a mere human body can stand against.

Because,

that thing was similar to the “one” he had faced on the day he first met Princeps.

—That’s, why.

Then it raised its hand.

—Give, to me, to me.

The mouth of the massive monster — entirely black, its only bodily component a crudely attached mouth — split wide open.

—Your, memories.

The “Beggar Who Devours Memories,” born from hundreds and thousands of abandoned worlds gestating over an immeasurably long time, began to move.

Its purpose was clear without needing to be said.

The one who, in a human body, had dared to see, hear, and experience what should not be seen.

Jeong Seojin.

—I, will, eat, well.

It stretched its mouth corners wide and smiled, leaving a polite greeting before the most delicious delicacy in the world.

* * *

Jeong Seojin had won completely against the bone centipede. And without a single wound, at that.

“…Was I… butting in a little too much?”

After watching the entire series of battles unfold on the sharply jutting peak beyond the dense spread of trees from far away, I was deep in a moment of self-reflection.

“I thought he might struggle this time too, like he did against that hedgehog-looking bastard last time.”

But that wasn’t the case. Jeong Seojin had dispatched the bone centipede with an impeccably clean, flawless skill. So much so that I felt embarrassed for having meddled and told him not to put himself in danger just moments before.

“Let’s just think of it as a relief… It’s way better than if Jeong Seojin had gotten seriously hurt.”

Besides, even now, I had no intention of taking back what I’d said to him. This time, luck had worked out, but there was no guarantee it would happen again. I really didn’t want to just let Jeong Seojin push himself recklessly, relying only on his recovery ability.

“Right, when Jeong Seojin comes back, I’ll just be honest. Say I guess I didn’t trust your skills enough, I’m sorry, but I don’t plan to take back what I said—”

*Ding!*

Just as I was thinking about what to say when Jeong Seojin returned, a familiar notification window appeared before my eyes. I narrowed my brows slightly at the translucent “Tutorial Quest Notification” floating right in front of me.

“…Why is this showing up now…”

Of all times, an alarm related to the Tutorial Quest had to appear when I was separated from Jeong Seojin. The timing felt as if someone had deliberately planned it. Feeling a chill run down my spine from unease, I immediately tapped the notification window.

And the moment I saw the contents, I was so startled I couldn’t even breathe.

<Beggar Who Devours Memories Appears>

*Crunch, rustle.* The sounds of grass and wind followed my hurried steps. As soon as the notification that the “Beggar Who Devours Memories” had appeared flashed before my eyes, I manipulated the signal flare in my hand once and then immediately ran toward where Jeong Seojin would be.

[Tutorial 3. The Strong Prey on the Weak (new!)]

As if mocking me — running nonstop, filled with worry, anxiety, and urgency for Jeong Seojin — the quest guide window, which Nostalgier must have sent directly, glittered before my eyes.

[Tutorial 3. The Strong Prey on the Weak]

Quest Progress (2/3)

Save your “strong one,” “Jeong Seojin.”

*Hint!

The “Beggar Who Devours Memories” has begun to move in earnest.

How long do you think he can hold out against an ancient being far too early for humanity to face?

Let’s not expect too much from him. After all, no matter what, he’s just a insignificant human.

Success: Jeong Seojin’s safety

Failure: Jeong Seojin’s existence erasure

Time limit: (Due to Jeong Seojin’s crisis) ? hours

‘Hey, you… shameless…’

It was supposedly just a quest window update for hints, but it was obvious it was drenched in her personal spite. Even the fact that the time limit, which had clearly been written as one week, had changed to ‘?’ hours was ridiculous enough, and then what? Insignificant human?

I ground my teeth in rising irritation but didn’t say it out loud. If I had the energy to say something out loud, I needed to use it for running.

How long did I run like that?

*Kiiiiing!*

A resonant hum, the kind that rang out when massive mana moved in complex patterns, swept past me. I stopped in my tracks for just a moment, struck by the strange sensation passing through my entire body.

‘A barrier?’

The sound of mana activation, and that odd sense of déjà vu washing over me. With those two combined, the conclusion was obvious without needing to say more. This was a barrier. But who in the world had set it up? And why? …Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to think about it any further.

“Jeong Seojin?!”

“…Why are you here, ugh…!”

Had he sustained a fatal injury in that brief moment? Jeong Seojin was bent over, one hand clutching his waist. And looming over him, a faceless white giant stared down with a blank, innocent face where features should have been.

‘What the hell!’