Chapter 72

With a start, Seo-un lifted her head to find Chahaya staring at her intently, seemingly for some time. Worried about the attitude she might have shown in response to the Messenger's words, she had no time to look back.

Where did I put Matahari? Seo-un looked around and then suddenly remembered. She had left the backpack containing the chicken variant of U-gwangseok and Matahari in the first-floor meeting room.

"Chahaya! Hurry! I need to go, go!"

As Seo-un dashed to the front door, Chahaya tilted her head.

"Come here, Seo-un. Let's talk."

She even made a gesture with her hands, as if to say, "Are you trying to run away?"

"Stop joking around! I'm about to be transferred to the Crossroads! I need to get my stuff!"

She kicked the front door repeatedly.

"You still have time left."

"I don't have time, hurry! I need to go to the first floor!"

While pleading for Chahaya's help, Seo-un kept kicking the doorknob with her foot. Thanks to Chahaya breaking the door lock earlier, the doorknob easily pushed out. Seo-un pushed the wobbly door and ran down the corridor.

Given the building's height, the elevator would be much faster than the stairs. Seo-un repeatedly pressed the button to go down, but the light kept turning on and off, delaying her even more. Still, the elevator seemed to be coming up smoothly, perhaps because no one was using it.

There she goes again.

Unlike Seo-un, who was in a hurry, Chahaya calmly followed behind, reflecting on Seo-un's recent behavior. Seo-un had been looking into the air more often and muttering to herself as if talking to someone.

When Seo-un, in a rush, failed to press the button for the first floor, Chahaya did it for her. Turning around, she saw Seo-un's face pale, likely due to the dizziness that occurs just before a gate transfer.

"Chahaya, when you come back, could you please bring my Matahari and the backpack from the first-floor meeting room?"

Just as Chahaya was about to steady Seo-un, who was swaying, she said,

"There's a 6th stage U-gwangseok in there."

A black mass suddenly rose and swallowed Seo-un whole before she could finish her sentence. Chahaya was not surprised; she just clenched her empty hand into a fist.

...She ran away.

Since it wasn't Seo-un's fault that she had to return to the Narakga, maybe she should hold off on the thousand kisses. Chahaya unfolded her empty hand again, annoyed. She clicked her tongue, as it was her left hand. Given that she had already acknowledged herself as a trash kid, there was no point in getting excited about a friend.

"Damn, I don't like guys anyway."

Chahaya muttered to herself. Seo-un shuddered at the slightest touch from anyone who had broken a sweat. Despite feeling so regretful, maybe she should have tried to stay a bit longer. But no, since Seo-un had already crossed over to the Narakga, there was no point in reconsidering.

Seo-un had brought more than ten days' worth of U-gwangseok when she crossed over. Today was not even the fifth day since she used the gate.

The elevator carried both of them, but only Chahaya stepped out on the first floor. She walked to the first-floor meeting room, picked up Matahari and the backpack, and opened the zipper to find the U-gwangseok wrapped in aluminum foil, like onigiri.

She found it quite cute.

Chahaya grabbed the snake handle of Matahari and smoothly drew the blade. Unbeknownst to Seo-un, Matahari was a sword made from biological mining. The handle was crafted from polished U-gwangseok and wrapped in animal skin, while the originally iron blade had transformed into a material not found on Earth due to the influence of U-gwangseok.

In Chahaya's world, this material was called 'Tairan.'

Of course, the original U-gwangseok handle, which had been sucked into the black wall with Yeong-il, was long gone. The current handle was a quick fix made from the bones and skin of a variant, crafted by another manseong in the Narakga, not by Chahaya herself.

Chahaya attached Matahari to her belt and slung the backpack over one shoulder, heading towards Seongsang High School.

A human variant...

It was certainly not a good omen.

Human variants had appeared when her planet was on the brink of destruction.

***

Seo-un, who had been dragged there against her will, had to pay a fine as soon as she arrived at the Crossroads.

The reason was that she had not brought her weapon. She had to hand over 50 ounces of 3rd stage U-gwangseok, not cash. Of course, the U-gwangseok she had brought to Seoul had lost its value as a mineral, so she couldn't pay immediately. The Oseong Guild reassured her, writing it down as a debt, like a loan shark.

The last time she had brought enough for three days, she had to return after just one day. This time, she had reported to the Oseong Guild that she had enough for about ten days, but in reality, she had a bit more in her pocket, enough for about twelve days. However, she had returned after less than five days.

Is the cost-effectiveness of using the gate different for each person?

If that were the case, it would have been a topic of discussion long ago. Confusingly, it seemed to be a phenomenon that only affected her. In short, she could only stay for about a third of the time she originally had.

Fortunately, no one at the Crossroads found it strange that she had returned before her stay was up. They probably thought she had used the gate at Seongsang High School to return.

Before moving to Nam-dong, Seo-un informed an Oseong Guild officer of her intention to attend a joint meeting.

The officer said he would inform the Nam-dong hideout after getting permission from the alliance. Seo-un, who planned to stay in the Narakga for at least 3-4 days, only asked for a response within that time.

Abdulraziz would be at the Nam-dong hideout. I should have brought a gift. Seo-un, who hadn't expected to return so quickly, awkwardly stuffed her empty hands into her pockets.

It seemed that the alliance was indeed using Nam-dong as a lower-level territory, as there were more lower-levels than before. There were also signs pointing to '<<<Cafeteria' where food was being distributed.

Seo-un only removed her hood after arriving at the hideout. She leaped up to the second floor and knocked on Abdulraziz's front door, but there was no sign of anyone inside.

After pacing a bit, she called out, "Brother," and turned the doorknob. The hideout's front door was locked with a key, not a door lock, but the doorknob turned smoothly.

"Brother Abdulraziz?"

Seo-un stepped inside and looked around. The structure was the same as Chahaya's or her own home, but there were no traces of the previous occupant. There were no photos or bills lying around, as if Abdulraziz had cleaned everything up.

After thoroughly checking the room and the bathroom, Seo-un confirmed that her brother was not there. She suddenly remembered a nightmare she had had before, wondering if this was still a dream, but she could hear other people's voices outside. It seemed that the lower-levels were fighting over food. The Tachun hideout was empty, but as it was a notorious guild, no lower-levels dared to enter freely.

Seo-un headed towards her own home but had to turn back when she saw the broken window. She ended up at Chahaya's place, where she sprawled out on a single-person sofa. Her gaze naturally fell on the table, where she noticed something new.

A note with Korean written in a wobbly hand.

[The U-gwangseok in Yeong-il's hand is crumbling, causing his body to rot. I can't just leave it. I'm burying him in the mountains. I'm going to the northwest. -Abdulraziz-]

The note was taped to the table. Seo-un peeled it off and read it again.

Yeong-il's body is starting to rot...

'U-gwangseok came out of Yeong-il's body. It's tiny but incredibly heavy. Chahaya said it might be the condensed energy of Yeong-il's cosmos.'

'I held it in his hand, just in case, and it seeped into his palm.'

If the U-gwangseok embedded in his hand crumbled and caused the body to rot, did it mean that the U-gwangseok had been trying to restore Yeong-il's body? And then, did it run out of energy and disappear?

Seo-un, the sub-leader of Tachun, was familiar with Abdulraziz's handwriting. The handwriting seemed correct, but she wondered if someone else had harmed her brother.

If the body was starting to rot, wouldn't he have waited for us to arrive? No, I'm not sure. Abdulraziz always gave positive answers and took good care of his subordinates, even if he wasn't particularly attentive. That was all she knew about him.

Seo-un felt a bit embarrassed. She knew less about Abdulraziz compared to other guild members. If she could speak Uzbek, would she have known more about her brother? He probably wouldn't have confided in her or other guild members about his troubles. The language barrier always existed.

Seo-un stood up but couldn't go to the northwest where her brother had gone. Chahaya might come through the gate at Seongsang High School to look for her, so it wouldn't be too late to move after she arrived. It would only waste more time if they scattered.

Why did he go to the northwest? The mountains are mostly in the northwest, and it's an area where variants haven't appeared for a while. Seo-un stuck the note back on the table.

In fact, she was more concerned about herself than about the upper-level Abdulraziz. Realizing she was alone in the hideout, Seo-un quickly secured the door. She turned the lock and fixed the safety chain hanging from the top. She could hear the occasional fights of lower-levels outside.

Will Chahaya come? Maybe she will stay the full duration to avoid wasting U-gwangseok. Seo-un chuckled. If I know Chahaya, she will definitely come back through the gate at Seongsang High School, probably making a joke about needing to protect her variant alarm.

But why did she ask if I had a crush?

"Hey, Messenger."

<Yes.>

"!"

She had called out without thinking, but the Messenger appeared, forcing her to sit up.