Mental Illness
“Please… save me.”
As I approached the woman who had collapsed to the ground, her first words to me were a plea for help. I looked down at An So-yeon with indifferent eyes for a moment, then slowly knelt, letting my sword hang loosely by my side. When our eyes met at the same level, she flinched and retreated slightly. Watching the terrified archer, I spoke in a calm voice.
“Do you want to live?”
“Yes…”
She nodded weakly, but her voice carried a strong desire to survive. I had intended to leave one alive from the start, curious about the actions of these vagrants. With a gentle smile, I continued.
“I have a few questions. Will you answer them?”
“Anything… I’ll answer everything.”
“Good. Smart girl. So, tell me, how did the vagrants end up here? And why go through all this trouble instead of attacking directly?”
“Well…”
I watched her throat bob as she swallowed nervously, then she began to answer, her voice trembling.
“Hmm.”
After hearing her explanation, I pondered for a moment. She didn’t seem to be lying.
These weren’t complete vagrants. They were straddling the line between users and vagrants. They acted like regular users but resorted to vagrant activities when needed. They hadn’t been caught yet, which meant they were either very resourceful or extremely malicious.
Her answer to my second question was even more revealing. They had been watching us for longer than I expected. They knew we were first-year users and had recently graduated from the user academy. They decided to make their move after seeing us upgrade our equipment following a couple of caravan expeditions.
“They wanted to find out if there was a special skill or method we used to succeed in our expeditions. That’s why they targeted Joo-hyun…”
“So, if I had some special exploration skill, you would have killed everyone but me?”
”…”
An So-yeon averted her gaze, answering with silence. I sighed deeply and stood up. She looked up at me with a pleading expression.
“Does this mean… you’ll let me live?”
I hesitated, contemplating how to kill her. I never intended to let her live. But then, a good idea struck me, and I nodded. Pointing in one direction, I spoke.
“Since you answered honestly, drop your weapon and run that way. You’ll have to run for your life. Otherwise…”
I deliberately trailed off, and a spark of hope flickered in her eyes. She seemed to instinctively know what she needed to do to survive. Before I could change my mind, she stood up, placed her weapon on the ground, and started moving in the direction I indicated, her legs trembling.
Even as she left, she kept glancing back at me. Seeing I hadn’t moved, she broke into a run, disappearing into the dark underbrush. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it, deciding to finish it before following her.
Sss. Ssssss.
Screams echoed faintly from somewhere ahead. No need to follow after all. As the cigarette burned, a shadow emerged from the bushes, holding a severed head by the hair. It was An So-yeon’s, cleanly severed. I chuckled and took another drag. In the end, she didn’t survive. Not that I ever intended for her to.
“Did you do that on purpose? So I’d kill her?”
When I didn’t respond, a grumbling voice reached me. It was Go Yeon-ju. I shrugged at her question and closed my eyes, feeling a strange sense of relief. The burden that had been weighing on me was gone, leaving only the satisfaction of dealing with the vagrants.
After a moment of silence, I spoke cheerfully.
“At least I left one for you to enjoy.”
“Whatever. I didn’t expect it to be this messy.”
She glanced around, taking in the scene. I followed her gaze to the scattered bodies of the vagrants. The most striking was the mage, limbs severed and an arrow through the neck. Go Yeon-ju’s eyes lingered there for a while. After a brief silence, she smiled and spoke to me.
“Did you really have to go that far? And she looked so young. Though I did kill her, it felt like you wanted me to.”
“Something like that. One of my principles is ‘never compromise with vagrants.’ If you hadn’t killed her, I would have.”
“That’s true. But your behavior with the kids and now is so different.”
I laughed softly and spoke quietly.
“Disappointed?”
Go Yeon-ju fell silent, her expression complex as she looked at me. I met her gaze calmly, flicking ash from my cigarette.
Eventually, a smile spread across her face, and her lips parted to speak.
The next morning, I instructed the group to pack up camp and calmly studied the map. In two or three days, we would reach the “Cave of Screams.” As I hummed a tune, planning our route, I sensed someone approaching.
“Su-hyun, something good happen?”
“Hmm? Oh, Ha-yeon. Why do you ask?”
It was Jung Ha-yeon, who slipped her arm through mine, though it was more of a light touch on my elbow. She studied my face for a moment, then squeezed my arm with curiosity.
“You seem so relaxed today, like when we first met.”
“Haha. Did I look different until yesterday?”
“Yes. I was worried. You seemed tense and anxious since we started this expedition.”
I kept a calm expression, but her words struck a chord. Women seemed to have a radar for men’s emotions. How did she notice so accurately? Maybe someone in the group knew about my relationship with Ha-yeon. At least one person, perhaps. The thought made me break into a cold sweat, but then Vivian’s grumbling voice interrupted.
“Ugh! Why is my bag so heavy?”
”…”
“Ugh, it was lighter yesterday.”
Vivian adjusted her backpack, still complaining, while Go Yeon-ju gave me a knowing smile. After dealing with the vagrants last night, we stripped them of their gear. The undamaged equipment was all stuffed into Vivian’s bag.
Thinking back to An So-yeon, I realized she should have been in high school, enjoying her youth. But I felt no such sentiment. I only considered her skills, abilities, and survival potential.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed. Her skills were impressive, and she was a specialized archer, which our caravan lacked. But I chose to have her killed. I sent her to where Go Yeon-ju was hiding, knowing she would do it. If not, I would have followed and done it myself. If she hadn’t been a vagrant, I might have tried to recruit her.
But that was no longer my concern. I turned my attention back to the map, dismissing any lingering thoughts. I added a final comment to Ha-yeon.
“I was feeling a bit stifled, but it’s resolved now. No need to worry.”
“I see. But what if I want to worry?”
“Hmm. Well, I wouldn’t mind a lap pillow later.”
“Oh my, how cheeky.”
“Huh? I was just asking for a lap pillow. What’s so cheeky about that?”
“Really? Would you say the same if you thought about a lap pillow at the lab?”
Hayeon poked my side playfully, giving me a teasing look. Left speechless, I awkwardly focused on the map in front of me. Yet, I could sense the bright smile on Jeong Hayeon’s face beside me. Normally so composed and cool, it was a rare sight to see her smile like this, and it was reserved just for me. It left me with a strange mix of feelings—lighthearted yet somehow stifled, a contradiction that didn’t quite sit right with me.
“Brother! We’ve finished packing up the camp!”
“Hey, I told you I’d report that. Where do you get off jumping the gun, you little rascal?”
“Hehe, whoever reports first gets the credit!”
“Ugh, you leave me speechless. Fine, you win.”
Watching Yujeong stretch Sol’s cheeks while Sol flailed her arms, I finally let out a sigh. Folding the map, I calmly instructed the group to line up. They had no idea about the skirmish I had with the vagrants last night. They just slept soundly, unaware. And I had no intention of telling them about the tail we picked up.
The angels’ trial might be over, but my own was far from finished. Now, all that remained was to head to the
Before we could cross the last mountain peak, we encountered a group of monsters. They had several horns on their heads, the body of an ostrich, and strong leg muscles. They were LadolRofs. A single LadolRof wasn’t particularly troublesome, but given the mountainous terrain, their pack mentality, and their agility, they weren’t to be underestimated.
The LadolRofs before us had all three advantages. In the first round, some users tried to tame them for riding, but their wariness of humans made it nearly impossible. These LadolRofs were especially on edge, wary of our sudden appearance.
LadolRofs can have anywhere from one to four horns. Fewer horns mean they’re still immature, and the ones with a single horn in the center were surrounded by those with three or four. It was an unavoidable battle, and I had no intention of avoiding it. I raised my hand to signal for battle readiness.
“They’re LadolRofs. They likely see us as intruders in their territory. There are a few young ones, so they might be more aggressive than usual. Be careful of their charging horns; the impact can be severe. We’ll form a defensive line this time. Don’t act recklessly.”
The last part was directed at Yujeong. I heard the sound of weapons being drawn quickly in response to my order, and I gave Hayeon an additional command.
“Hayeon, can you use rapid-fire spear-type magic?”
She tilted her head, then answered calmly.
“Rapid-fire? It’s a high-level spell, but I can manage. It’s usually used for a decisive blow. It’s powerful but drains a lot of energy and mana.”
“Don’t overdo it. Just do what you can with your strongest spell.”
Hayeon nodded, beginning to chant while forming a seal with one hand. Her staff glowed blue, and her necklace shimmered, indicating she was preparing something significant.
Though, it wasn’t necessary to go that far.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Hello, this is Royujin.
Yes, many of you wanted an archer to join, but unfortunately, I had planned to kill off Ansoyeon. Some of you might have guessed from the hints in episode 145. She had rare abilities, but they weren’t enough to change Suhyeon’s stance on the vagrants. :)
With this, the weekend marathon is complete! Now, I need to study before writing the midnight release. ’~’
『 Reader Comments 』
Kuroshion: Congratulations on being first! Haha. I’ll stock up on chapters until you get your Noblesse subscription! :)
Saramin: Well done! Your health is the most important thing, so don’t overdo it!
Cheongeop Hyeol Sin Cheon Mu Jon: I’m so sorry, but I love you. (?!)
Musahihan: Thank you for your understanding, and for the coupon. (__)
Broken Fan: Yes, that’s correct. Suhyeon knew from the start that Goyeonju was watching him there. Hohoho.
Hmm Hmm;;: It depends on training and personal growth. However, you can distinguish the degree of improvement in the order of Unique > Special > Potential abilities.
Off to Love 19: Eh, an erotic scene? OTL. Hmm. The After section in this episode follows the part where
Trickster: Yes, I almost fainted. I won’t be going to Gangnam Station again. -_-a
Gaekgi: I hope this episode answered many of your questions. :)
Juan: Haha, congratulations again. Did you investigate using MBTI? You could say both have developed their mentalities from over a decade of activity in the whole plane, leading to conflicting emotions.
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