Looking back, during my first run—when I didn’t have any user information—I faced countless life-threatening situations. Even now, recalling those moments makes my head spin. Yet, the fact that I’m standing here today is nothing short of a miracle, a product of sheer chance.
Anyway, having crossed so many near-death experiences, I’ve been through all kinds of situations. But if I had to pick the most miserable one, without hesitation, I’d say it was when I nearly starved to death.
There were only two times I came close to dying of hunger: once in the Fairy Forest, and once right after returning from Hell.
Just like now.
Between the two, the latter was definitely more extraordinary. The Fairy Forest was simply a matter of food scarcity.
But the case after returning from Hell was completely different.
No, not just different—entirely unlike anything else.
Come to think of it, Kim Hanbyul and I did manage to sleep regularly in Hell, but we never once ate a meal. Yet, strangely, we didn’t feel anything unusual. That was true even during my first run. The real oddity only hit when I noticed changes happening inside my body.
After returning to the human world, I felt an intense hunger and weakness within less than an hour. It didn’t come all at once, but the hunger grew relentlessly over time.
And this wasn’t just ordinary hunger. As the hunger intensified, the weakness deepened, until eventually, the sky itself seemed to turn a sickly yellow. That’s why I thought it was best not to linger too long on the first day after waking from Hell.
Honestly, I can’t fully explain why this happens. I can only vaguely guess it has something to do with dimensional laws, but I don’t know the details.
If we assume Hell is a place where eating isn’t necessary, then maybe the body briefly adapted to those dimensional rules, and when returning to the original dimension, that adaptation unraveled. Perhaps this backlash caused the symptoms.
Either way, it’s definitely not a good sign. I barely survived that time, but it took me almost a month to restore my body’s balance.
“When the hunger hasn’t fully hit yet, I have to move as fast as possible.”
That was exactly right. Now was no time to leisurely celebrate our return. I didn’t know exactly how long we’d been in Hell, but it certainly wasn’t short, so my urgency only grew.
I looked around, hoping to scavenge something nearby, but as expected, there was nothing. Honestly, expecting anything in this wasteland was a mistake from the start.
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly, a pained groan reached my ears.
Kim Hanbyul was grimacing more severely, biting her lower lip. The first signs of hunger were hitting her. She must have just felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen.
It was a bit early, but considering her user stats, it made sense. As a mage, her endurance and stamina were significantly lower than mine. So it was natural that the symptoms would come on faster.
“Th-this is strange… It’s not supposed to be that time yet…”
Hearing her mutter something incomprehensible, I made up my mind. Since scavenging was impossible, the only option was to reach the city as quickly as possible. Once there, we could figure out other solutions.
Without hesitation, I approached and helped Kim Hanbyul to her feet.
“O-oppah?”
“It’s okay. Just get on my back.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Come on, get on.”
“W-why all of a sudden? Until just a moment ago…”
“I want to get to the city quickly.”
At first, she resisted, but eventually gave in and climbed onto my back. She’s smart enough to know something’s wrong with her body. Or maybe she just trusted me and wanted to get to the city fast.
“Oppa, then I’ll carry the sack… No, I’m really confident I can walk.”
She offered to carry the sack we brought from Hell, but I took it from her. Not just her—most mages have pretty low physical stats. (Well, except for my brother.)
Even if I could still manage, Kim Hanbyul needed to conserve her strength from now on.
After quickly getting ready, I glanced up at the sky to get my bearings. The pitch-black night was lit only by a solitary, noble moon.
I spoke quietly.
“…Let’s go.”
Under the moonlight in the wasteland, I started running toward Atlanta, one hand holding the sack, the other supporting the starving woman on my back. I pushed myself to run as fast as I could.
As the scenery began to blur past, the arm wrapped around my neck tightened painfully.
“Ah! Oppa, why are you running so fast?”
“I told you—I want to get to the city as soon as possible.”
“B-but this is too much!”
“Because you’re sick.”
It wasn’t a carefully thought-out answer. In fact, I barely paid attention to her complaints, focusing all my energy on spotting the city. This wasn’t a time to indulge her whining.
Strangely, Kim Hanbyul suddenly fell silent. I heard nothing more. Her body stiffened slightly against my back, and for a moment, I worried she might have passed out. But the shallow breaths at my neck reassured me she was still alive.
After a while, I felt her bury her head deeper into my back.
“B-but my butt…”
Then, a shy whisper tickled my ear.
I immediately spoke up.
“Huh? Your butt?”
“You’re touching my butt right now.”
“Oh, but I’m holding this sack in one hand. I have no choice but to support you with the other.”
“That’s true, but you’re bouncing too much… C-can’t you slow down a bit…?”
I lifted the sack slightly, and she stammered in a tiny voice.
‘This is bad.’
I understood what she meant, but I didn’t slow down.
Of course, Kim Hanbyul didn’t know the full situation. But slowing down now would be almost suicidal. She might think she can endure it for now, but the hunger would soon grow exponentially. Once it hits a certain point, it flares uncontrollably in no time.
“Don’t worry. I’m not interested in your butt. If you want, you can just hang onto my neck.”
“…You’re so annoying.”
Huh? I thought I heard something else, but the rush of wind drowned it out.
After that, Kim Hanbyul didn’t say another word. Occasionally, I felt her tighten her grip around my neck, but I dismissed it as my imagination and prayed the city would appear soon.
After running for some time—
‘What’s this…?’
Even while running, I kept scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, I spotted countless traces etched into the wasteland.
They were signs of a campsite. In other words, the expedition party had found the city but didn’t enter immediately. Instead, they set up camp and waited for a while.
‘Good.’
Atlanta. No matter how magically fortified and sturdy the city was, it had been abandoned for at least hundreds of years. Plus, there might be unknown dangers inside. No sensible commander would rush in right away.
Considering all that, finding signs of a camp was definitely good news. I wasn’t going to get lost here, but it was proof the city was close. We were almost there.
Sure enough, the monotonous landscape began to change. What had been just barren land now showed patches of weeds here and there. My steps grew stronger with renewed hope.
And then, a moment later—
“Ah…!”
I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.
Though still some distance away, a massive city slowly came into view straight ahead. Maybe because it was night, the towering walls stretched endlessly left and right, glowing with a pale white light that made them stand out even more.
Finally, finally, Atlanta was visible.
“Hanbyul, it’s Atlanta. Atlanta…!”
The city seemed to draw closer in an instant. Encouraged by the thought that we were almost there, I raised my voice while carrying Kim Hanbyul on my back.
“…Hanbyul?”
But despite seeing Atlanta, she showed no reaction. Now that I thought about it, she’d been strangely quiet for the past 20 or 30 minutes…
‘Could it be?’
A strange feeling washed over me. The arm around my neck, which had been tightening occasionally, was now loose. Her breathing was faint.
I felt uneasy. Frantically, I searched with my hands, then suddenly poked between her buttocks with my middle finger.
For a moment, there was no response.
But exactly three seconds later—
“…Hik?!”
Kim Hanbyul jerked and reacted.
“W-what are you doing right now?!”
She started thrashing on my back. At first, she probably didn’t realize what was happening, but then she sensed something was off.
“Hanbyul, stay still. It’s hard for me.”
“Do I look like I can stay still? You didn’t care earlier… No, why are you suddenly like this? Are you some kind of… maiden…!”
“…Maiden? Finish your sentence.”
“E… Ik! Oppa!”
Kim Hanbyul suddenly shouted, pounding on my back with what seemed like genuine frustration. I felt a wave of relief in my chest and quickly apologized.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But you didn’t respond at all…”
“That’s because I’m exhausted! How could I respond?”
“I was just worried… Anyway, are you feeling that bad?”
“Worried…?”
At that moment, Kim Hanbyul fell silent again. She let out a pained groan, gripping both her shoulders tightly before collapsing weakly against me, as if clinging for support.
“I can still manage for now. And honestly, you’re probably having a harder time than I am…”
Her voice dropped to a faint whisper, drained of energy. I couldn’t help but smile bitterly inside.
She said she was holding up okay, but I knew that wasn’t true. I was already feeling a sharp hunger gnawing at me. With my endurance at 94 and stamina at 101, I could only imagine how much emptiness and weakness Kim Hanbyul must be feeling. She was probably downplaying it just to avoid worrying me.
As we bickered quietly like that, Atlanta suddenly loomed right before us. Luckily, we didn’t have to search for an entrance. Just ahead, beneath the city walls, a wide-open gate came into view.
I encouraged Kim Hanbyul to stay strong despite her groans, then we passed through the tunnel-like entrance.
And finally, we had arrived—at last stepping into the Atlanta we had dreamed of.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Heh. I should get some sleep now. I’ll read your comments when I wake up. :)
It’s Friday today. To all the students and office workers out there—have a wonderful day looking forward to a happy weekend!