9 – instant death(1)

The morning was bright.

“Chaewon-ah, shall we eat out for the first time in a while?”

I said to Chaewon while putting on my T-shirt.

“No thanks. Eat with those part-timers. Because I will starve.”

“… … .”

‘Didn’t you take Tylenol?’

It was a little cute when he pouted, but it’s a pity to see him look sensitive. How bad was your menstrual cramps? …

“I was going to go to a pork belly restaurant… It’s a pity, I’ll have to bake it all by myself.”

“Triple… fat?”

“Even strawberry parfait for dessert.”

“… … .”

My brother is weak to eat.

Appetite is great. One of the achievements of mankind, the all-purpose medicine, loses its effectiveness in front of this.

“I don’t want to eat alone, what should I do? It would be nice to have someone to eat with.”

Glance.

I looked at Chaewon.

She had her head bowed like Rodin’s The Thinker.

“I’ll prepare it, so come if you change your mind.”

‘Chaewon. You’re still too early for me.’

It’s my little brother, it’s in the palm of my hand.

I told her as if notified and came out.

“Eye?”

The first snow was falling outside.

Since when did it come, it was quite piled up.

‘Stop, no way. Was it today?’

Seeing the snow falling from the sky brought back memories of the past.

-Brother, how did this happen?

Chaewon slumped down in the snow.

A half-closed pupil. In disbelief, she stared at one spot.

– Oh, what should I do?

A faintly trembling voice. I stretched out my hand, but there was nothing there.

Tears formed in Chaewon’s eyes.

-Huh, huh. aaa!

In front of a collapsed store.

Chaewon sobbed and shed tears.

I’m out of memory.

His expression hardened.

I opened my smartphone.

– January 13th.

I have something important to do today.

**

Roulette Gate.

It refers to a phenomenon that appears without any notice in the middle of the city.

The ranks of the monsters are very different.

Goblins could have appeared, or boss-level monsters could have appeared.

But what is certain is that it inflicts enormous damage regardless of the level of the monster.

Because no one could have predicted it.

“I almost got into trouble.”

In this life, I vowed not to shed tears for my younger brother. Even if it’s a bit cheesy, I’m going to keep it until the end.

In the past, that is, in the original history.

On this day when the first snow fell, a roulette gate appears in the middle of Seoul.

There were quite a few casualties, and in the process, the noodle house that had been handed down from generation to generation since my parents collapsed.

For Chaewon, the noodle house had many meanings. So did I. Because it was also a legacy from our parents, which was not much left for us.

So, it should be blocked.

‘Artifact. Use Search.’

[Please tell me which gate to explore.]

‘Disaster. Neculus Snake.’

[Searching for the destination you set. However, if the area is too far away, it will not be explored.]

[Search is complete. We guide you to your destination.]

I looked at the artifact that looked like a compass.

The compass was clearly pointing in one direction.

I walked in the direction the compass pointed.

how long did it take The needle of the compass kept turning round and round in a certain section.

‘It’s here.’

A quiet alley. Plain asphalt floor.

After taking a quick look around, I confirmed that no one was there.

I hit it with all my might with my fist.

-bang!

A large hole pierced the floor with a loud sound.

Through the cracks in the holes, a gloomy feeling passed through the body.

And without hesitation, he threw himself into the hole.

**

“Hmm, so far nothing is wrong.”

Roulette gates occur in dungeons.

The cause is that if you don’t subdue the dungeon for a long time, oversaturated monsters will jump out.

The problem is that there seemed to be nothing wrong with this gate, which is called ‘the disaster of Seoul’.

‘There are no monsters.’

I looked around, but I didn’t see a single goblin.

To say that these gates are oversaturated… It is nonsense.

‘done. Anyway, I’m sure it’s here.’

Dungeons are naturally generated all over the world.

So when a dungeon appears, the country or guild thoroughly manages it.

If you jump out of the oversaturated state, you will see devastating damage.

If it was a dungeon in the metropolitan area, the management was even more thorough.

In the metropolitan area with a large population, it is not a matter of killing four people even if one goblin leaks out.

This place, aka ‘Snake Dungeon’, is an accident that originated from that method.

No one thought there was a dungeon under the sewers.

“It’s too quiet for that. Just like someone subjugated it.”

Since he came from the future, of course he knew the cause. That’s why I found the exact dungeon using artifacts.

… Even though this place was certain, the monster did not even show its nose.

I decided to walk more first. I checked the time. 9:38 a.m., if I remember correctly, the gate explodes in another 12 minutes.

‘I shouldn’t be late.’

I couldn’t forget the image of my younger brother sobbing in front of the collapsed store.

Had I arrived a little sooner, the future would have been different.

Today is the time to set things right.

-Surely.

An eerie sound came from far away.

It was a dark sewer, so I couldn’t see it closely, but I could see a huge shape blurry.

I slowly approached, holding my breath.

100 meters, 50 meters.

and soon.

I saw the face of the hideous bastard I had seen in my previous life.

“I see you again.”

As if the snake had found me, it raised its huge body to its feet.

Then, it rode the floor and came towards me at high speed.

It was so huge that the entire sewer shook.

I looked at him with a cold, downcast expression.

“How much I wanted to bring this moment back.”

What happened in the past passed by like a kaleidoscope.

I had gone to subjugate another area the day before.

The day I regretted to death for not arriving on time.

Even me, who submitted a letter of resignation the next day and emerged as the top hunter.

-Quaaa!

The snake opened its huge mouth and tried to swallow me in one bite.

“die.”

The distance you can reach if you stretch out your hand.

right in front of me.

It stopped with its huge mouth open.

After a while.

– Perok!

There was a twisting sound and the snake’s head exploded like a firecracker.

His blood fell from the sky like rain.

I covered my nose.

“In the next life, brush your teeth.”

I don’t think I can smell his breath twice.

[Congratulations. You have defeated Neculus Snake for the first time.]

A familiar message caught my eye.

[Reward will be given after a while.]

‘reward!?’

Due to the unexpected gift, wearing clothes did not come down.

It was a laborious task, but it was a monster to be killed anyway.

But do you even get a reward?

‘This is completely, dog profit.’

[Compensation measurement is complete.]

[Congratulations. An Absolute Shield is given as a reward.]

– Took.

Something fell out of thin air.

It was an unusually shaped bundle of lights.

I checked the item information.

[S: Absolute Shield]

[It blocks a fatal attack once a day.]

I rubbed my eyes and checked the status message.

‘Absolute shield?’

His eyes widened at the unexpected reward.

Besides, the effect is ridiculously deceptive.

‘It can prevent my instant death.’

Of course, it won’t have much effect.

Because my traits can be reused without any risk.

However, the fact that it is a very fraudulent artifact remains unchanged.

I felt good for a while, but then I felt bad.

“That means there was someone who got this in a previous life.”

It’s a nice artifact. Artifacts that have this value are worth calling. At least one building will be worth it. No, the panda family itself was absurd. Who would sell an artifact that is no different from a ‘spare life’?

The problem was originally the Hunter who obtained the ‘Absolute Shield’ in history.

‘History can be twisted. What’s more, I’m not going to step out recklessly in this life.’

It doesn’t matter if it was a previous life. After all, if there was a monster that was dangerous, it was easy to get rid of it.

However, I decided not to go out like that in this life.

In other words, I don’t need this awesome item. I don’t care if I don’t have any of this.

‘… Who was it? Originally, the hunter who gets this.’

I recalled vague memories.

Roulette Gate. The name of the hunter who collected it.

Fortunately, I was able to recall it clearly shortly after.

“Yusia.”

Chaewon’s only friend.

Even in my previous life, she was the second strongest after me.

It was Yusia.

‘Yeah, when I think about it, I started getting attention from people around this time and showed my strength.’

At the time when I had just acquired my abilities, I was immature and was wandering around in the name of testing.

When I returned after hearing the news of the collapse belatedly, everything was over.

The store had collapsed, and the situation had been completely settled.

The roulette gate was cleared by Yusia.

Until then, he had lived hiding most of his abilities, but he did not just ignore his friend’s misfortune.

“Then this.”

Originally, I was going to give it to my younger brother.

It was once a day, but being able to block a fatal attack was the most reliable weapon for the Hunter.

For me, who tried to push my younger brother to do what he wanted to do, to become a hunter, there was no gift like this.

“You have to give it back to Shia.”

but gave up

Because Yusia is… …

‘At that time, I wondered how he miraculously came back alive, but it was thanks to this.’

Because once in a lifetime, you go through a very serious crisis.

[The raid on the day when it was a miracle to come back alive.]

[Miraculously returned alive, S-class hunter Yusia.]

[Attention to overseas media. “It is impossible.”]

It was past news articles that passed by.

Yushia participated in a certain raid, and a disaster struck in that raid.

I didn’t know the details because I wasn’t interested, but a new type of boss monster appeared.

Because of that monster, the raiding party was wiped out, and it was Yusia Hana who came back alive.

“That doesn’t work. He’s my brother’s friend.”

Most important of all was my brother. However, she couldn’t let Chaewon’s only friend die.

I made up my mind to return this artifact to her.

**

-Shoot it!

When I got home, I went straight to the bathroom.

‘It won’t smell anymore, right?’

I took a shower 3 times.

Because the sewer smell doesn’t go away.

Cleanliness is the life of the chef.

I turned off the shower head and got out of the bathroom.

After that, I dried my hair moderately and put on dry clothes.

‘I have to go to work.’

I made my way to the store with light steps.

The store is not too far from home.

About 5 minutes on foot.

It’s quick when you walk.

How long had I walked, the store was visible.

In front of me, two part-timers were waiting for me.

‘You’re so sincere.’

Although a little flimsy, the enthusiasm when working was admissible.

“Everyone, did you come first? How long have you been waiting?”

I waved my hand happily.

However, their expression is not very good.

“… Time.”

Saerom said in a low voice.

I questioned.

“Yes?”

“… 3 hours. I waited for 3 hours. Where the hell have you been!”

I looked at them with bewildered eyes.

Somehow, he was on the verge of becoming a snowman.

“Why are you waiting like an idiot for that? Is your cell phone a form?”

Shake your smartphone. I thought it was sloppy, but isn’t it ignorant at this level?

when you look at it with pitiful eyes.

Eugene bit his molar and said in a slightly suppressed voice.

“…there.”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“?”

“You didn’t give me your number.”

“ah.”

I was scratching my head.

If that’s the case, I’m just trash.

“sorry. Please do not report it to the Human Rights Commission.”

“… I don’t report it. More than that, Mr. Sung Hoon.”

Yujin sighed and held out her phone.

“Give me your number.”

“ah.”

I shook my head as if in trouble.

“My number is a bit expensive. I’m sorry.”

– With my daughter.

And overturned the sign on the doorknob.

-OPEN.

‘How many guests will come today?’

It’s lunch soon. I prepared for the opening with a smile on my face.