M E M O R I Z E (MEMORIZE)

85      瀉千里  ( 3 )

I charged toward Jung Ha Yeon and swung my sword with an immense force. My sword pierced the ground, and I pushed it even deeper and injected magic from my sword and into the ground. With a loud rumbling sound, the ground around my sword rumbled and crumbled open.

Jung Ha Yeon watched me with surprise, and she sighed in relief when she saw blood spurt out from the ground where my sword had pierced through.

“Pheew. Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

I twisted the sword once and pulled it out of the ground. With a ‘Shik’ sound, I raised my sword up, and a small stream of blood leaked out of the hole. Shin Sang Yong was equally surprised and walked towards us with a gentle smile.

Meanwhile, An Hyun and Yoo-Jung were working hard, competing to see who could rack up more kills, and I didn’t know who was currently leading in the massacre.

“I got twelve.”

“I got fourteen, so I win.”

“Shit.”

I watched Ah Hyun thrust both his hands into the air and cheer loudly, while beads of sweat dripped down Yoo-Jung’s face as she laughed.

This was a battle that was correct for the present count of the players in caravan. Of course, it was a little difficult to see the land moles because of barren land. At least in my point of view, Jung Ha Yeon and Shin Sang Yong had a lot of hands-on experience and showed level headedness while battling.

**In the meantime, these kids who always fought with their hands, were looking at them with shocked eyes, as they were unfamiliar with this style of battle. At the same time, I could see a burning feel inside the eyes of An Hyun. It was a dispute. I guessed why and patted him on the shoulders**.

Other monsters refused to live here, and I could guess why. The only monsters that could thrive here were the ones that lived underground-the Land moles.

The biggest battle we faced was against 100 land moles in one go. We had been killing a couple of Land moles and will be killing more for some time because we were still in the middle of nowhere.

However, no player was aware of this, I also activated the detection continuously. As the day passed, it was getting dark, all the people, Jung Ha Yeon and Shin Sang Yong included had difficulty because of it. I could handle it if I wanted to, I had to be careful because my vision is limited too.

In the meantime, my kids (…..) showed their strength. As a result, I didn’t think that they were a player in the 0th year. They have demonstrated their outstanding abilities to combat, and to protect magicians and priests in a flash. Perhaps they were feeling inferior at what happened in the day.

Of course, with Chimera alchemist Vivian in the back, and Hyun and Yoo-Jung in the front, the range to defense was narrowed, but it was great. Wizards and priest were able to memorize the spells more comfortably as we progressed.

“It’s amazing. Are they really 0 years players?”

After the battle was over, Jung Ha Yeon was the first to say. she couldn’t understand, because it was difficult to see these kids as a players of 0 years. As for the title, which is that they had done a successful exploration with regard to their ability level and experience, they could be called as medium-level players.

“Great. It’s not an easy task to create and maintain a shield……. ”

And it seemed to have got a high score even though I built the vibration prevention in an instant, and connected effectively with each ones place. The compliments of Jung Ha Yeon seemed to lighten the kids. Especially, An Hyun was very gallant.

Still. Though they were a little compliments, I still felt pretty good. However, like the licorice in the drug store, Yoo-Jung came in and interrupted.

“Unnie. Our father taught us.”

“Huh? Father?”

Yoo-Jung looked at me quietly and soon turned around. Jung Ha Yeon looked at me with a gentle face and sighed and shook her head. But after that, I strangely caught unhappy look in her eyes.

“Why are you seeing like that?”

“…… you’ve been going fast.”

“…….”

“Ho ho. It was just a joke.”

We thought that it was unfortunate that we should sleep in the place that was filled with corpse. The kids were muttering that they couldn’t sleep there, but I forced them to, so that it would not interfere with their activities from tomorrow.

I slept behind Yoo-Jung who was lay her head on her hand and was nagging and crying about this place. When I went to bed, the sound of crying stopped soon and I heard the sound of a tongue click “shit.”

And the next day. So it was the third day. We had arrived to the place that I had a vague idea about. And of course, the laboratory of the ruins couldn’t be seen. I have activated the 3rd eye to see if there was some kind of ambiguity, but there wasn’t any illusion this time. If so, it meant that the place was still hiding and couldn’t be reached.

In the end I decided to go a little further, and I was thinking about where else I needed to go and the various roads that will be divided into the future.

“An Sol. Where to?”

Suddenly I heard the voice of Yoo-Jung , and saw Sol who was carry a backpack and moving. Sol was just moving ahead with a blank face, and turned her head with a face that lost its senses.

“Uh?”

“Uh? What uh? Uh?”

“Ah, ah. Hurts.”

“You’ll get lost this way. What will you do then?”

“Haoo… It isn’t that…….”

When Yoo-Jung caught hold of Sol, that is when Sol opened her mouth with a tangled face. Sol’s words were very simple. In other words, she was moving without even knowing that she was.

Most people laughed at her words, but An Hyun and I didn’t. An Hyun turned towards me with euphoric eyes.

“Hyung.”

“Okay.”

Of course, I thought that it would be nice to move in the way that I felt was right. But I moved in the direction that Sol picked, because luck was one of her obvious stats. It is possible that she had already received the hunch. So it would be better to trust 100 points of luck than to follow my own discretion. At least, I thought that it would be good if I could get close to my target.

Fights went on frequently. But they weren’t tired with fights at all. It was not because they weren’t lacking in the supplies or taking rest in the middle. Most of all, after fighting with 100 land moles, it seemed like the kids abilities increased. Everyone was getting better and better.

We were getting out of the barren and entering the rusty ground. But this wasn’t something that I liked. In barrens in was only land mole, but here there could be other monsters too.

From here on now, it was literally an unexplored area. Of course, if you look up the map, the unexplored area are marked up even further, and traces that other players have come to the place where we are.

However, they seemed to have come but that was it, they only came, and land had no such specific marks either. It had only been two months since the Mule was pioneered, so it could be considered as the unexplored area.

Suddenly, Sol was walking in the same level with me. There wasn’t a single sense of insecurity in her, but what was so unexpected was that Sol was handling this expedition very well. I set up Sol in front of me every time we encountered a diverging roads, and she used to point towards one direction.

Shin Sang Yong had a good expression and Jung Ha Yeon seemed a little uncertain. However, when An Hyun mentioned about the sense of An Sol and how she helped us, she looked at An Sol  with a fresh eyes. Anyway, we had to be careful not to lose the road as this was an unexplored area, but it looked the same everywhere.

I didn’t know that I would use Sol’s ability for this purpose, but it was worth it if I found the lab in the ruins, then I could come up with any explanation. it wasn’t me leading the road, it was Sol. Even if I didn’t have high point of luck, it was a good excuse to move around with the luck of the novice player.

By the end, I could see the entrance to the forest. Honestly, it was a shame to call it a forest. Since, it was already a barren land, the surroundings were a little green. It was a sign of nature that this land wasn’t in the hands of human beings of the modern time.

However, I felt a sense of discomfort at the entrance. Of course, there was a trail that was heading to another direction, but Sol continued to want to go inside the entrance. I saw it when I activated the 3rd eye and quickly got rid of the magic.

And at that moment I could see the identity of the feeling of discomfort felt at the entrance. The entrance to this forest was artificially created entrance, not a natural one. I walked in with excited colors.

The road showed up for a while. It wasn’t rugged earth that we walked on before, but a trace of someone’s hand was left. They were from the monkeys that we came across in the rite of passage. The kids were happy to see these monkeys after a long time, but took care of them in an instant.

Previously, we marched at a normal speed, but this time we kept the pace fast. And Sol who was in front of me held my hand and stopped my pace.

I just looked forward with silent eyes. And there it was, the ruined research institute that was sought after by many players. The old and rusty parts were covered by the bushes, but the building still maintained its structure even though these years have passed.

If the light was dull, it would take three days away from the small city Mule. I wonder why it has not been found for a long time. But I thought about the feeling that I felt at the entrance before, and it was great.

When I saw the entrance I thought that the research building couldn’t possibly be here. Perhaps the entrance caused a miscommunication, or it was possible that we wouldn’t enter or go away. If they built this kind of building in the woods, the ancient inhabitants were certainly great people.

“The laboratory of ruins had been found.”

I opened my mouth to the party with a quiet voice.

The color of the faces of the people in the party was lost as they watched institute reveal it magnificent structure in front of them. Especially, Shin Sang Yong and Jung Ha Yeon. It seemed like it was difficult for them to accept the current situation so soon.

“It…. It makes no sense. Even if it is beginners luck. This, this……”

“Ha. Little….. I’m surprised.”

Soon Jung Ha Yeon turned towards An Sol with a blank face. I laughed and approached sol and put both hands on her waist.

“Our Sol is a gangster.”

Even though me hands reached her, she didn’t show any rejection. She turned towards me with a naïve look of her face.

“I’m a gangster?”

“Ah. Yes. Our Sol is really the best.”

It was then she knew that I was complimenting and a smile crept her face. I picked her up like a airplane by waving her up and down a few times.

“Wow. Wow.”

She also shook her hands in excitement and shouted cheerfully. I put Sol on the floor for a while and turned around again. On the third after leaving Mule, we were able to find the ruins of Laboratory.