Chapter 149
Chapter 149. Accident
“You’re Min Yu-ri, right?”
“Ah! Hello!”
“I heard about you from a party member who went for the Hero Academy interview last time.”
Min Yu-ri greeted the hero named Jin Yong-hak among the people gathered at Yongsan Station.
He was a hero affiliated with Red Hole and a tamer who carried Goe-buki, a monster that had transformed from a turtle.
He belonged to the category of famous heroes within Red Hole.
“Click…”
“Chirp.”
Chilla gazed down at Goe-buki, which had the name ‘Bu-gi.’
Bu-gi was wearing armor that covered its entire hard shell.
Thanks to the sharp blades hidden inside the armor, once it tucked its limbs into the shell and spun around, no one could stop it.
“Chirp chirp!”
“Chirp chirp.”
The two pets seemed to be having a conversation through their sounds.
Monsters tamed by humans tend to make more noise than ordinary animals.
Despite being completely different creatures, interestingly, they often managed to communicate to some extent in that manner.
“Can you communicate well with your pet?”
“Yes. Recently, it seems like Bu-gi understands me much better.”
“That’s a good sign. If you keep showing affection like this, its communication skills will improve dramatically.”
Jin Yong-hak patted Bu-gi’s head.
Bu-gi was one of the pets that succeeded in understanding over 95% of casual Korean.
It was a remarkable monster that even made it onto the list of the smartest pets in the world.
“I heard you’re preparing for Bu-gi to be able to speak.”
“That’s right. You might not know, but turtles don’t have vocal cords in their necks, so I’m trying to create a device to replace that.”
“I hope you succeed.”
“I’m already halfway there! Look at this.”
Jin Yong-hak showed his mobile phone screen to Min Yu-ri.
An application that translated Bu-gi’s sounds into human language was running.
“Currently, the translation accuracy is about 80%.”
“Wow…”
“If I attach a speaker to Bu-gi, it can also output voices in real-time.”
Jin Yong-hak was planning for seamless communication with Bu-gi.
Min Yu-ri looked at Chilla in awe, thinking that if such technology progressed, she might someday be able to converse with Chilla too.
While Min Yu-ri was chatting with other tamers.
At the same time, Yoo Ji-han was quietly observing the heroes gathered around.
‘Why do those faces look familiar?’
Yoo Ji-han noticed several faces he had often encountered in past events.
They were heroes he had brushed past several times from Kim Hyun-tae’s party.
“It’s nice to meet you for the first time, Yoo Ji-han.”
“I was really impressed by the Goe-buki movie.”
“You should immediately take the Rank 2 title, you know?”
“Ahaha, thank you.”
The noticeable difference from the past was that the heroes around were recognizing him and greeting him first.
Even several Rank 2 heroes came up to him first, often showing quite a favorable response.
Yoo Ji-han had gained enough recognition that people he didn’t know could recognize him.
With that, there were also many who envied him.
“Such a fuss over something trivial…”
“To get ahead, you have to put on a show, right?”
“Those guys will be exposed for their lack of skills in an instant.”
The leader and spirit master representing the rising Rank 3 party.
He had enough conditions for people outside to envy or be jealous of him.
Heroes who had spent a considerable amount of time reaching their current position felt uncomfortable watching him gain fame so quickly.
‘Such things are the highest praise.’
Yoo Ji-han inwardly smiled at those openly showing their discontent.
Instead of feeling bad, it was a moment filled with joy for him.
“Aqua, say hello.”
—Hello!
The nearby water spirit also approached Yoo Ji-han to greet him.
The water spirit, resembling a small bird, looked refreshing just by being seen.
—Huh?
However, the spirit named Aqua made a strange sound while looking at Yoo Ji-han.
It sounded like it was pondering something.
—Something feels strange!
“What do you find strange?”
—It’s not an unpleasant feeling, but… it’s just weird!
“…….”
At Aqua’s words, Yoo Ji-han scratched his head.
It was similar to when he first met Yoon Do-ha’s Mumu.
Every time he met another spirit, they showed strange reactions toward him.
—Are you the new spirit?
Aqua, particularly skilled at conversing with humans, flew over to Sylph and splashed water droplets.
It was a unique way of extending its first greeting.
Whoosh!
But Sylph blew air around the water droplets, bouncing them away.
Aqua, now slightly pouty, shouted.
—That one is so prickly!
Thump thump thump!
Sylph trembled in response to Aqua’s shouts.
Yoo Ji-han chuckled at Sylph’s antics.
Aside from the contractor and their acquaintances, the other spirits were unexpectedly finicky.
“I’m about to start.”
As the train boarding time approached, the heroes gathered in one spot moved to the platform.
Soon, with the melody announcing the train’s arrival, the high-speed train approached.
It was a Magic Levitation Train that floated in the air using magic instead of rolling on wheels.
“That’s really amazing…”
Nam Ho-yeol exclaimed, looking at the approaching train with admiration.
The magic engineering technology used to build the train was a topic of interest even to blacksmiths creating new things.
“Everyone should board there.”
They entered the last carriage of the long train, where a particularly large entrance was located.
“Looks like it can hear us.”
“Click!”
Chilla’s ears brushed lightly against the entrance but faced no significant issues.
The empty train seats quickly filled with heroes.
Yoon Do-ha’s party, including Park Jae-kyung, also approached near Yoo Ji-han’s party.
“Yoo Ji-han’s party will be moving with us for a while.”
“Understood.”
Thanks to Yoo Ji-han knowing the people from another world who caused the incident, the two parties would be acting together even after descending to Yeosu.
As soon as the voice announcing the departure of the train was heard, the open doors closed.
The wheel-less Magic Levitation Train accelerated without even a slight shake.
“I’ll keep the camera running.”
“Do that.”
Min Yu-ri attached a drone to the ceiling of the train.
It was one of the functions equipped on the new drone.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I rode a train.’
Yoo Ji-han had rarely gone on personal trips, nor did he have family or acquaintances living in the countryside.
The only times he had ridden a train were probably during special occasions with Kim Hyun-tae’s party.
Having last taken the train several years ago, he stared out the window at the swiftly flowing scenery for a while.
*
As the summoned heroes descended to the countryside in their respective ways.
People from another world were observing them remotely.
Small dots slowly moved over the large map painted across the entire wall.
They were markers indicating the current positions of several heroes.
“They’re moving so predictably.”
“We just need to follow the plan.”
The dots visible over the Korean Peninsula were gradually moving away from areas like Seoul and Gyeonggi-do.
The observers from another world appeared particularly relaxed as they watched.
“What about those moving separately?”
“That can be ignored. They won’t be many. Right, Im Min-soo?”
“Minor heroes can easily be managed with just our members.”
The sole Earthling among the people from another world.
Im Min-soo, the head of IUPC, smiled while looking at them.
“What did the IUPC overseas headquarters say?”
“They said they would judge based on the results in Korea.”
“Hmm, for now, I guess that will have to suffice.”
“Once we take control of Korea, talking will be much easier. Imagining the heroes suffering fills me with excitement already…”
Im Min-soo swept his chilling arms over his smiling face.
It was odd how much he disliked the heroes, though the reasons for his grudge were unknown.
The otherworlders felt slightly disgusted looking at him.
“It was unexpected that our identity was revealed.”
“How did the information leak?”
“Hmph! This is well within the expected range. Just hurry up and prepare.”
“I know.”
A man picked up a piece of paper from the desk.
It was a magical scroll inscribed with a gorgeous magic circle on one side.
“I’m starting.”
He gazed at the map, gripping the scroll with both hands.
Then, just as many heroes were about to cross over a specific area on the map.
Zzzz!
He roughly tore the magic scroll apart.
*
Chilla lay sprawled on the train floor with a big belly.
“Click…”
His eyes fluttered open and shut repeatedly, indicating he was feeling drowsy.
Soon, as the peaceful time continued, people around began pointing their phone cameras at the now fully closed-eyed Chilla.
With a calm atmosphere settling in, Kim Si-hu, who was sitting next to Yoo Ji-han, spoke up.
“It feels like we’re going on a trip.”
“Yeah.”
Yoo Ji-han smiled at seeing Chilla genuinely napping.
“Is anyone in need of a drink?”
“Could I have orange juice, please?”
Someone wheeled over a cart filled with snacks.
The heroes, a bit hungry, flocked toward the cart.
Yoo Ji-han thought as he accepted the cola Kim Si-hu brought.
‘Sometimes, this isn’t so bad.’
Rest.
Yes. It was rest.
How could a person live their life only working all the time?
Even heroes, who repeatedly engaged in rough battles, needed to learn how to enjoy such leisure at times.
Ka-ching!
He popped the cola can open and took a swig.
It was as cool as if it had just been taken out of the refrigerator.
Yoo Ji-han closed his eyes, savoring the refreshing sensation rising from within him.
‘But… why did I ride the train today?’
What was the reason for boarding the train with the other heroes today?
The moment that question arose in his mind, it vanished as if he had erased it with an eraser.
‘What does it matter?’
The purpose for boarding the train wasn’t particularly important.
For Yoo Ji-han now, simply taking a break was far more crucial.
“Is that true?”
“It’s true!”
“Hahaha!”
Park Jae-kyung from the Dice party also wore a bright smile while listening to the stories of her party members.
Even the hero, who had recently been unable to sleep a wink, found rest.
Indeed, there was nothing as important as taking a break.
No matter how much they had lost their guild master…
Thud!
“……?!”
As Yoo Ji-han, lost in various thoughts, recalled the missing Yoon Do-ha,
He suddenly felt as if the whole world was shaking.
It felt similar to when Sylph had devoured the magic stone.
He rushed to find Sylph, but it was comfortably resting on Chilla’s back.
Thud.
A moment later, the can of cola he was holding slipped from his hand and fell beneath the chair.
Seeing the floor becoming soaked with cola, Min Yu-ri said.
“Oops, do you need a tissue?”
Yoo Ji-han didn’t respond to her offer of tissues.
Instead, he called out her name and said,
“Yu-ri.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know where the train is right now?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you remember where the destination was?”
“Well, is that important?”
“…….”
Among the approximately 1,000 heroes currently aboard the Magic Levitation Train,
Only Yoo Ji-han realized that the same scenery outside the window kept repeating.
