“Cough…”
Sungjin let out a fake cough twice. He was caught off guard by Serin’s sudden change in attitude.
“Ah, as you… I mean okay I’ll avoid formal speech from now on.”
“Please do, Oppa.”
Being called Oppa felt extremely awkward. So Sungjin tried to speak more to conceal his discomfort.
“So earlier… someone called because of emergency. It was another ‘Chosen One’ like you, and she was in danger.”
“Ah yes… I… I saw that too.”
But Serin had a dark expression as she spoke. Sungjin recalled the situation earlier.
‘Hey, Mr Boobs. You said to call for you when I’m in trouble right? I am in trouble.’
He put his hand on his forehead.
‘Oh right…’
No matter how he thought of it, the situation did not paint a good picture for him. Sungjin quickly changed the subject.
“So well… How was it? How did it go for you since the time we split up at the Canyon?”
“I gathered the book like you said, Oppa. All three volumes, and combined them.”
She took a book out of her pocket. The cover read “Thousand and One Nights”.
‘Just as I thought… she was the one who made it.’
He had thought of this possibility. She continued to explain.
“After I got the 2nd part, I gathered more coins. I saved up five thousand coins pretty quickly, but I waited a bit more before buying. And meanwhile when I was checking the auction house…”
Sungjin finished her words for her.
“And you bought a mystery pouch, right?”
“Oh my, how did you know?”
“I was the one who put it up for sale.”
“Really?”
Serin’s eyes grew wide and gathered her lips into an O shape. Sungjin thought
‘So you can make faces like that too’
She had a poker face the entire time Sungjin had seen her before, but now she was acting just like a normal mid-twenties lady.
He had seen her face in posters and advertisements (for makeup or sportswear) giving a charismatic smile, but he got a glimpse of her real self. Sungjin replied as calmly as he could.
“Yes. You can tell by the title of the person who put it up for sale. Wasn’t it Master Hunter?”
“No. I bought it from… Treasure Hunter…”
Sungjin retraced his steps in his memory. He had enough spec and had been using Treasure Hunter title around that time.
“Ah… Yeah, Treasure Hunter is still me. I sometimes switch up my titles.”
“Ahh…”
“So you got a 1st or 3rd part from there.”
“Yes. I was really nervous, but I was lucky enough to overcome the 1/3 chance of getting the same part. I received the 1st part from the pouch, so I bought the 3rd part from the goat merchant to complete the book.”
“Yeah? How is the effect?”
“Good. It’s usually strong enough to beat most bosses with ease. And… if we felt confident we’d attempt hidden bosses.”
“Really? What bosses were you able to defeat?”
“Dark Elf Village and the Magician’s Ivory tower, those two.”
Now that he saw, she was wearing the ‘Chimerao – Ring of Fused Beasts’ on her finger. Seeing her wear the same ring made it feel like they were wearing a couple’s ring.
“I see…”
Sungjin nodded.
“And this raid, I somehow ran into trolls… But once we got to the location with the Hidden Piece…”
“Hidden Piece… What did you do with the Dragon’s Heart?”
“Ah that… I decided to make a quiver. The old Blacksmith man said it’d imbue mana into my arrows…”
Sungjin continued to exchange words with Serin about the raids. It was awkward at first, but he felt his relationship with Serin had grown deeper. Meanwhile, she then asked
“Now that I think of it… Oppa told me then…”
“Mmm? What did I say?”
“That if we meet again, you’ll tell me your real name.”
Sungjin nodded.
“Oh yeah, that’s true.”
“So? What is it, your name?”
Sungjin breathed in, and for the first time since he regressed back in time, he told someone his real name.
“Sungjin.”
“Sungjin?”
“Yes.”
“Last name?”
“That’s…”
Sungjin pursed his lips. When he looked at the wide-eyed Serin, he suddenly remembered why he even bothered to use an alias and hide his identity.
“About that… I’ll tell you once the raids are over.”
“Why?”
The reason why he decided to use an alias was simple; using his real name would only make them closer. And watching someone close die made the pain so much worse.
In his previous raid run, Sungjin had told his name to everyone he was friendly with. But most of them
‘Sungjin… this is it for me… Save yourself!’
‘Save me! Sungjin!’
‘Sungjin run!’
Had died while screaming out his name. So this is why he didn’t want to tell anyone his real name at all. There was something strange about names; knowing and calling each other by names had a strange power that brought people closer.
On the other hand, using an alias would keep a certain distance from others. So Sungjin had been avoiding saying his name to others. Until now. Sungjin looked into Serin’s eyes and said
“Well…”
Sungjin thought
‘I don’t want to watch you die while screaming out my name’
But couldn’t say it and instead said
“I have a circumstance.”
“Circumstance?”
“…You’ll find out as you continue through the raids.”
Sungjin didn’t think very deeply as he said this, but Serin picked up on something and said
“…It’s weird though. Oppa always… speaks as if you’ve done all of this before.”
Sungjin’s eyes grew wide
“Me?”
“Yes. Even at the time we first met… and even now…”
Sungjin flinched slightly but
‘Before regression, I was the final remaining hunter and have been given a second chance.’
He couldn’t tell her that. He tried his best not to let his feelings show.
“Well… I guess it could look that way. Since I am strong. But who could have guessed things would have turned out this way?”
But then she added
“Liar.”
“What?”
She pushed her long hair out of the way to show Sungjin her ear. Past her long flowing hair was a purplish earring adorning her lobes.
‘Eye of Jeremiah!’
Sungjin couldn’t help but drop his jaws. The Earring was none other than an item that allows the user to read the minds of the other.
“You know what this is, right? Since Oppa is wearing one as well.”
Sungjin couldn’t respond and froze in place.
“I touched it just before I asked the question. I am sorry for reading your thoughts, Oppa. I didn’t want to use it…”
Sungjin grasped his forehead. She had told him earlier that she had defeated the Dark Elven Village’s hidden boss. If she was able to clear that map so thoroughly, she had a high chance of discovering the hidden piece as well.
“But think of it. Being strong is one thing. You ran forward and killed the boss as soon as the raid started, then knew that a hidden boss was hiding somewhere on the map; it was all too suspicious. And then you even knew about the existence of the mask, the book. And now dimensional travel? You knew far too much for someone going through it the first time.”
“So how far did you read my mind.”
“Until the part where you said you were the final survivor and was given a second chance.”
If she had heard until there, she already knew the most important parts. Sungjin’s ‘regression’ was discovered. She continued to speak while Sungjin kept his hands on his forehead.
“But, I mean… you didn’t need to keep it a secret. It’s not a demerit to say you were the final survivor. You came back and are still doing your best to finish this raid, Oppa.”
Sungjin thought of what she said. Certainly, she was not wrong if the person he was telling his secret was someone he could trust with his life. She brought her pointer finger to her lips and said
“Then that means… in the last raid… I died once already…?”
Sungjin just gave up and told her.
“Yes. You would have died. I don’t know how far you got… but even I died. As the last human to lose.”
“I see…”
She nodded twice. She remained calm despite hearing the truth. Knowing that she had died once, or the fact that this raid was being repeated for the second time did not seem to shock her.
‘Then… I guess I don’t need to keep it a secret.’
The biggest reason why Sungjin had kept the regression a secret was first and foremost because he had thought no one would believe him. Second, he thought everyone would think that he was strange. Third, because hearing that this is not the first time the raid is going on might come as a shock.
But she had believed him 100%; she had already thought he was strange. And she was evidently unaffected by the truth. Sungjin decided to tell her
“Well, please keep it a secret from others. You’re fine… but it could come as a shock to others.”
“Ok, Oppa.”
“And I told you last time, but the number of people in the raid will continue to fall as it progresses. Well, having lots of people would be great… but we can’t save everyone.”
Serin nodded. She should have witnessed many deaths until now.
“That happened last time. 1000 remained, then a 100, then 50, and so on, the number of people kept on dropping until the final 10. There were only 10 of us left… but there was an internal friction, and we ended up failing.”
Serin listened to Sungjin silently.
“So, my plans are as follows. Find strong and trustworthy teammates to form the final 10 and breakthrough the last raid. In other words, pick those who are to become the ‘Chosen Ones’, like how I have chosen you.”
Listening to Sungjin, Serin pointed to the title above her head.
“Well, this title is amazing for sure. Thanks to Oppa’s stats being so high, with this… I don’t think I’ll have to worry about dying for a long time. As long as I am not extremely unlucky.”
“If you are unlucky, you can just call me.”
“Ah, right. I see.”
“Yes. And as you saw… there are two more Chosen Ones other than you. I would like for all of us to meet if possible but…”
Sungjin thought of Darker Than Black for a moment. There he might find a solution to his problem.
“I’ll try to find that out on my end. Anyway, I’ll be continuing to looking for people to pick; People who are strong and dependable so that we can finish the raid together.”
Serin suddenly said
“I see. I think that’s a wonderful idea, Oppa.”
Sungjin took a sip of coffee and said
“I mean… well… this was the best that I could come up with.”
“I see. Is there anything I could be helping you with?”
“First, become strong. The stronger you are, the stronger our team will be.”
“Okay, and?”
What Sungjin just said was something very obvious, as even her survival depended on it. Sungjin tried to think deeper. Something she could help him with. Then, Besgoro who had been silent all this time finally spoke up.
‘What do you say, Kei? Ask her to summon you at night. You need a way to destress after the raid…”
Sungjin immediately took him off. Sungjin had forgotten about him due to his long silence. He must have been waiting for this kind of timing.
‘Haa… I let my guard down.’
Sungjin let out a sigh and told her
“Something you could help me…”
Now that he thought of it, he recalled that he wanted others to purchase Blood Vengeance on his behalf.
“Last Edge… I have something to take care of there. Let’s move first.”
“Okay, Oppa.”
Serin followed suit and stood up. Sungjin walked into the Black Market with Serin. Then Sungjin remembered
“Oh yeah, Serin. By the way…”
Serin looked up towards Sungjin.
“If you ever see someone by the name Adrian or Ed, even if you have to resort to shooting him in the back and become a troll for a round, please kill him. He’s blonde and uses magic. His title is probably… Spell Master.”
“Spell Master Ed… But why?”
Sungjin’s face became rigid as he said
“That guy… fired magic on his allies’ back at the last second.”
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Yes! You go, girl! A chapter of reveals.
He say Ed fired magic on his allies back at the last second,but he didn’t tell us what kind of magic it is(or he didn’t know)it could very well be the magic that send him back to the past
I agree
For someone who’s a running a New Game+, MC is waaay too trusting
He’s personally choosing the 9 most reliable people of all of humanity, and if that is mutual, then they will have a bigger chance at beating the final raid.
If my best friend mind read me, it would be a looooong time before I call him friend again. if any other person did it, there would be no trust, for a very very long time. It is disappointing that the author just lets it slide… even making the mc say its his fault for not guarding against it… fuck that
I know a lot will defend her, and I think in her shoes I would have done so too. but his reaction is just… Well, its what I have come to expect from a person who claims over and over that he only needs to work towards beating the final raid, then goes around trying to save everyone he can, even knowing they won’t make it to the end.
Uh… that’s hypocritical. He mindreads a lot of people and he is trustworthy. Why couldn’t someone else you trust mindread you for an equally good reason. I disagree with the sentiment that you are inherently more trustworthy than other people. That’s just egocentric.
Also, this was an amazing chapter. I hope this trend continues.
No, the reasons he’s read minds so far is to discover trolls and that’s it. She read his mind purely out of curiosity, which is an invasion of privacy and something only a THOT would do.
Uh he claims that he needs to beat the final raid but in order to do so..he has to have a team. It is impossible to solo it. I suppose he could try with just him and his pets but if the qualification is that there needs to be a set amount of hunters to even start it. Then he auto fails the raid…and bye bye all his work for the 2nd time.
Choose 9 and kill the rest is the way to go
Thanks!
Yeah put a kill order on traitors lol. Good job. And destress!
Would’ve thought he’d tell her to summon him when she sees him , finish him with his own hands, not to mention becoming a troll is risky for her.
Should just cheat the f*ck out of the final raid, chain summoning each other with ‘Chosen one’ titles, each summoned summons another, end up with a hundred people, LEZGO!
Did you miss the part where it says that the people with the ‘Chosen one’ title can only summon the person who chose them, and once a day at that. The can’t really chain summon, they’d just end up throwing the one who chose them back and forth.
Who says Chosen can’t have Chosen of their own? It’d take a specific order but theoretically it could work, i summon the one that chose me, he summons the one that chose him etc. either way , it’d be doable to get more than 10 in a raid if it’s not administrated properly, but i suspect you can’t be summoned if your raid isn’t finished yet and various other limiting factors.
That makes no sense. If they’re in the final raid then almost all of humanity has already died. There will probably only be 10 or so people alive.
That would depend, is there a raid until there’s only 10 left, or did there only happen to be 10 left when the final raid started. He can alter the present and people that should’ve died are surviving due to his anti-trolling, even the girl he spoke to would’ve been raped and killed a long time ago without him.
I’m pretty sure they all died before the final raid. The missions become increasingly difficult to the point that only ridiculously talented people live.
I somehow thought that in order to start the final raid there could only be 10 remaining survivor
yayyy boobs
F*ck, my name is Adrian!!
rip your life
H-holy shiiiiit!! I know the name of life! Oh god, I must contact the nearest media station immediately!
Did real life kidnap you? It’s been a while since I last saw you on comment section. Death is gone too.
I forgot the others who is following CD.xD
Wait, if he’s asking her to turn troll to kill that Spellmaster guy, doesn’t that mean she’d have to kill every other surviving non-troll before the raid is over? That’s not cool, unless she and Spellmaster are the only ones left. Would be better if she summoned K to do the trolling – though I don’t know what the affect of the trollhunter killing non-trolls might be.
It only means that she can’t leave the raid early with 100% completion.
Are you sure that they’re not forced to stay in the raid until either the Trolls or the Non-Trolls are dead?
Ah, nevernmind, I see that you’re correct – “Raid reward will be postponed until the troll, or the other members are eliminated
or if the timer runs out.”
Thanks for the chapter.
I guess it mean that the final 10 Might have succeeded, if that Ed wasn’t a Troll at the last moment.
Thanks for the chapter.
Ah we missed 4 lines and have just added it in the chapter. They are the starting 4 lines
‘Cough….. Please do Oppa’
Sorry about it!!!
Good idea, that guy seems like a tough nut, we might have a tragedy if he isn’t dealt with properly.
Thanks for the chapter. You might’ve known about an item that could connect summons if you bought the damn item list, MC.
Thank you for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter OppaTL and Shelwyn! Looks like Spell Master Ed is why they failed last time. Wonder what his motives were for sinking the ship. Also, it’s nice to see that he trusts her strength enough to let her take on such a task.
I’m honestly supprised that our mc hasn’t even questioned the fact that the raids could get bigger than 10 man later on. Like he seems to think that 10 is the highest for some reason even though it has already increased once already.
and know opinion about her stutter “Spell Master Ed… But why?” she knows him. friend relative or whatever… =_=
A wife knows with her husband is hiding stuff
Hopefull he dident forget about getting a white coin from her and telling her to buy the ring to negate the penality.
What a bitch. She just rudely read his mind purely out of curiosity.
And before any of you simps start defending her with “That’s hipocrisy, he does it too”, stop being retarded and think for a second. The MC has only ever used to find trolls and to recruit people, there was not even a single point in time where he did it to be a nosey asshole and find out someone’s secret/circumstances just for the sake of it.