Chapter 28

Seo-un left Chahaya, who was looking for her backpack, behind and headed home. She first looked for the frame, thinking it might be a mistake, but there was no trace of it, as if it had been caught up in her cosmos. The desk where the frame had been placed was almost reduced to powder.

Unable to resolve her doubts, she turned to leave, and Chahaya happened to come out with her backpack. Or rather, it was so small it could be called a bag. The reason Seo-un couldn't help but frown was the color.

"Is that the only one you have?"

"Why not? It's a pretty purple."

Chahaya shook the purple bag.

"If it's pretty, you carry it. Is there anything to eat in the fridge?"

"Frozen pizza."

Seo-un, who had been about to speak, returned home with several protein drinks and a bag of snacks.

"Has it been about three days since the landmark was reset?"

Maybe? Chahaya seemed to be indifferent and didn't know.

Since the Narakga itself was an unusual place, various strange phenomena occurred. One of them was that grocery stores reset every seven days.

Of course, not all grocery stores were restored, but there were landmarks called landmarks in each area. Only the food in those landmarks was reset. The northwest landmark was the largest, a department store food section, while the southeast was the smallest. Guilds fought over areas to monopolize the landmarks.

"Seo-un, take this!"

Abdulraziz on the second floor raised his voice.

"Just a moment!"

Seo-un handed the bag to Chahaya's shoulder and tore a long piece of fabric from a blanket. She wrapped her sword in the fabric and slung it diagonally across her back. It was too heavy to carry in her hands, so this was the best option.

"Let's go."

Seo-un pushed Chahaya, who was teasing her for looking like a peddler. As they went down the stairs, Abdulraziz waved a convenience store bag. The southeast landmark was a measly 100-square-foot convenience store.

"Here's some bread and baked eggs. Don't go hungry."

"Thank you."

Seo-un opened the bag Chahaya had slung over one shoulder and took out a cream bun, tossing the rest back in.

"See you in two days."

"Be careful."

"Don't worry, if we need to be careful, it's the day Narakga collapses."

Seo-un answered with a smile.

"Right, Chahaya."

"Yes, hyung."

Abdulraziz's tone was still stiff, as if he still didn't like Chahaya.

"Seo-un, take care. We owe you a lot, don't we? Right, we need to pay you back."

Perhaps Abdulraziz had guessed that Seo-un wasn't the same as before.

"Actually, I owe you."

He called her like Abdulraziz.

"Hyung, it's fine. Chahaya, he looks tough but takes good care of me. I'll be back."

"Right, that's right."

Abdulraziz waved until Seo-un and Chahaya got into the car in front of the hideout. They decided to drive to the northwest border and then walk. Since Chahaya knew the southeast roads better, there was no objection to her driving. Seo-un loosened the Matador on her back and placed it between her legs.

"Hey, isn't it unusual for one person to rent all the two-room apartments on the same floor?"

"Unusual to rent them like that?"

"Who said me? It's just a bit strange... The owner of our place and your place is the same person."

"How do you know if you've never met them?"

Chahaya retorted as if asking her to make sense. She had never seen anyone in Narakga.

"I saw a photo, and the owner of the two-room apartment on the third floor had the same face."

"They must be twins."

Ah! Why didn't I think of that?

Seo-un was impressed by the shift in thinking. Then she turned her head curiously and looked at Chahaya. She was about to say something, but the driver looked unfamiliar. It felt like she was facing Chahaya, who had suddenly grown up after riding a time machine from high school. For some reason, her stomach felt ticklish.

"Even the dogs are the same? Do twin sisters raise twin dogs?"

Chahaya met Seo-un's eyes.

"See, isn't it surprising?"

"It's so surprising that I've digested everything I ate this morning. Let's eat some bread."

Chahaya pointed to the cream bun in Seo-un's hand. When Seo-un squeezed it, the contents oozed out like a dead salamander.

"Really not strange?"

Seo-un tore open the bag and split the stale bread in half, giving the slightly larger piece to Chahaya.

"The dog could be one."

Chahaya ate half in one bite. He ate so cleanly that no bread crumbs or cream stuck to his lips.

Well, the twins could have raised a similar-looking dog or taken turns caring for one dog. If so, could the dog tell them apart? Seo-un chewed the bread to clear her mind.

As they passed, the convenience store, the southeast landmark, was in disarray, with no food left on the shelves.

Narakga was like a city where war had broken out and supplies were cut off, so the food was gone by the first day of the reset. A homeless person, clearly a low-level manseong, sat slumped in front of the convenience store, his eyes sunken from hunger, watching the passing car.

"You need to be at least mid-level to cross to Korea, right?"

Wugwangseok only appeared from at least the third stage. The homeless people in Narakga had given up on returning and were barely surviving.

If I weren't Chahaya...

"Let's not monopolize even if we get a lot of Wugwangseok."

"Chaseun."

Seo-un flinched, and the bread in her hand cracked.

"Stop monopolizing the bread. If you're not going to eat it, give it to me."

It was as if he was saying, "Your nose is three feet long, so who are you sympathizing with?"

Well, he wasn't wrong.

"I'm going to eat it."

Seo-un swallowed the bread along with her meager sympathy.

***

"Move."

That crazy guy...

Seo-un gripped two leafy branches in her hands.

They had left the car at the border between the southwest and northwest and walked for about two hours. Until they reached the road connected to the tunnel through the mountain, they were just ordinary pedestrians.

When the tunnel was in sight, Seo-un suggested climbing the mountain to Chahaya. Chahaya seemed reluctant but followed.

Seo-un easily found the spot she had hidden and observed before. The tunnel was entirely covered by the mountain, so lying flat made it hard to be seen from below.

There were seven DK guild members guarding the tunnel entrance. Their eye colors weren't visible, so it was hard to tell which faction they belonged to. Chahaya, like Seo-un, seemed to be scouting and was looking down. Hey! Lie down. Seo-un gestured and whispered to Chahaya, who was standing. Before she could pull him down by the sleeve, Chahaya suddenly jumped down from the top of the tunnel.

Bang! The ground shook, and the DK guild members all drew their swords. Chahaya told them to move.

The leaves above Seo-un's head, who was camouflaged with the branches, rustled.

"The northwest is our DK territory! We have separated it as a dangerous area, so please leave!"

They quickly recognized Chahaya as a top-tier being and raised their voices.

"Even if you are Chahaya, illegal entry is not allowed!"

A woman who seemed to be of higher rank whispered to a man, who quickly got into a parked car. The man, who had started the engine, turned the car away from the tunnel. He was probably leaving to inform a DK officer.

What now...

Crack! Seo-un, watching the car drive away, touched her forehead. The crazy Chahaya launched a cosmos, destroying the car. The driver, fortunately, didn't die and stumbled out of the crumpled door. A fire show erupted behind him as he escaped.

A healer, easily recognizable by the way she ran to the bleeding driver, was a face Seo-un had seen before when she was spying.

It wasn't a good method, but thanks to it, she could identify the guild members. Five were combat types, one was a mental healer, and the last was an elemental earth mage.

Earth mages were commonly called dirt mages. He blocked the tunnel entrance with clumped earth, probably to prevent them from noticing the tunnel's secret, but they should have recognized Chahaya the moment they saw him. The probability of Chahaya passing by here by chance was almost zero.

They were talking to each other, but their voices were drowned out by the burning car. Seo-un tried to focus her senses to eavesdrop, but an elephant shrew couldn't have such abilities.

<Can I report to the upper ranks that Tachun Guild has declared war on us DK? >

<If you return to the southeast now, we will consider this a simple incident.>

The messenger mimicked different people's voices, starting a ridiculous performance. It seemed to be reciting the conversation happening below. It was a helpful act, but why wasn't it appreciated? It must be because it felt like hearing her own bad acting.

<Each guild can only have one area! Guilds managing areas can prohibit the entry of other manseongs if necessary! Are you going to violate the rules agreed upon by all Narakga guilds? Tachun doesn't own the southeast, does it? >

<Like our elephant shrew said, is there something in there? They're barking a lot.>

Chahaya walked toward the tunnel entrance, now blocked by an earthen mound.

The five DK guild members quickly reformed their ranks and blocked Chahaya's path.

<We told you to retreat because it's a dangerous area. If you don't, we will mobilize all our members to stop you, Chahaya. We will announce your illegal actions to all Narakga guilds.>

<You look like a Chihuahua.>

<What did you say?!>

<I like dogs, so I'll let you bark. But am I eating here?>

<Hey, Chahaya!>

Just as Chahaya was about to release a sword aura at the guild members blocking his path and the earthen mound,