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I trudged through the snowy mountain path. I could feel my feet sinking and the sound of crunching snow could be heard with each step.

Chae Nayun’s voice echoed in this peaceful forest, “There must be a lot of monsters here, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” I replied.

Seo Youngji was fast. She was a high rank hero who specialized in agility and I recalled her title was supersonic something if I wasn’t mistaken. She would come running to us in less than five seconds if we sent a distress call.

“Who says I’m worried? I can easily handle them alone.”

“Did you even bring your weapon?”

“No, I don’t need it.”

“Sure…”

We continued walking while talking about numerous things. I didn’t find this situation particularly bothersome since I had to find out as much as I could about ???.

“Hey! There’s something over there!” Chae Nayun shouted as she stepped in front of me and spread her arms as if she was my bodyguard.

I abruptly stopped thanks to her and looked in front of us.

A creature that resembled a wild boar hid behind a thicket.

“It looks like a wild boar.”

“Oh, really? Will it be tasty if we cook it?”

“I don’t think you’ll be able to eat it…”

Chae Nayun’s taste buds didn’t suit camping since she grew up eating only the best food available, but it was also because of the stress and trauma from her childhood.

However, Chae Nayun puffed her cheeks and retorted, “Why won’t I be able to eat it?”

“What will you do if it has parasites in it?”

“I can just roast it properly.”

“Then suit yourself.”

Chae Nayun glanced at me as I took out my gun without another word. Then I aimed between the wild boar’s eyes, but soon lowered my gun and looked at Chae Nayun.

“You catch it.”

I thought it would be better to kill it with an arrow instead of a gun so the taste wouldn’t be ruined.

“With what?”

“Your bow.”

“You told me not to use it.”

“You can use it in cases like this.”

Chae Nayun scoffed at me before conjuring an arrow with her mana. She placed the mana arrow on her bowstring and pulled it as far back as possible before letting it fly.

Shwiiiish!

The arrow screamed as it pierced through the air and dug into the wild boar’s neck.

“Bullseye.”

We went over to the wild boar, but Chae Nayun suddenly disappeared during that short walk. At the same time, I could hear someone groaning from behind, “Uwaaah!”

“What was that? Hey, Chae Nayun… are you alright?”

It seemed like Chae Nayun tripped and rolled down the mountain.

I knelt on one knee and looked down at her. She fell about fifteen meters back and curled on the ground.

“Ugh…” she replied with a moan when I called her.

In the end, I had no choice but to quickly descend by infusing stigma’s mana into my shoes.

***

“Ah, I think it’s broken.”

Chae Nayun acted like a baby in front of Kim Hajin, who had become a human rickshaw. He sighed as he carried her on his back with a rope tied to the wild boar wrapped around his waist

“I never imagined there would be a hole there… Hey, your back is quite wide,” Chae Nayun blabbered in an upbeat manner.

‘It looks like this guy didn’t laze around with his training. Look at how wide his back has become,’ she thought.

“Hey, did you really get hurt?” he asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

However, she feigned ignorance and replied, “Huh? Ah, sorry. I think I was slacking in my training.”

She found herself acting even more childish as she clung to his back. No, it was more accurate to say that her memories from before the regression were slowly fading away. Those memories sank to the depths of her consciousness like grains of sand, and her memories from this lifetime slowly piled on top of the old ones.

Most likely, the regression caused this phenomenon because it would be impossible for her to live properly in this life with all her memories from before intact.

“Hey, Kim Hajin.”

“What?”

“Last time… you spoke badly about my brother. What made you do that?”

Kim Hajin briefly stopped before he started walking again and replied, “That incident… would you believe me if I said I didn’t know what happened to him?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Huh?” Kim Hajin looked flabbergasted at her unexpected response.

Chae Nayun smirked and repeated, “I said I’ll believe you.”

She already considered Kim Hajin one of the world’s mysteries. How did he know about her brother’s condition? Was it because he was extremely smart?

“Ehem… Is that so? Anyways, your brother is the reason you created this Pharmacy Club, right?”

Chae Nayun didn’t reply and buried her face in Kim Hajin’s shoulder. She recalled the painful memory of when Kim Hajin killed Chae Jinyoon in her previous life. The memory of when he pulled the trigger and blew her brother’s head into pieces.

However, Chae Nayun also recalled Kim Hajin’s life story. He lost his parents in the Kwang-Oh Incident and had to face life all alone at a young age.

How difficult and lonely had he felt all these years? He always carried all the burdens and faced everything alone.

Chae Nayun’s heart ached the more she thought about it. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears welling up.

She composed herself and made a resolution, ‘I’m not going to let my brother die in this world and I’m not going to let Kim Hajin kill him… I’m not going to let Kim Hajin carry such a huge burden by himself.’

“Huh? Nayun is here.” Someone from the campsite spoke. It turned out to be Yoo Yeonha.

Shin Jonghak sat next to her and stood up with his spear when he saw Chae Nayun on Kim Hajin’s back.

“Ah, thanks for the ride,” Chae Nayun nonchalantly said before hopping off his back.

She limped towards the campfire like nothing happened and left Kim Hajin with a look of disbelief on his face.

“Oh, it’s a wild boar. Then… who’s going to cook it?” Seo Youngji asked.

Kim Hajin cleared his throat and raised his hand. He volunteered to test out his new gift, [Dazzling Dexterity]. Everyone else, except for Chae Nayun, looked at him with skeptical eyes.

However, it took exactly forty-five minutes for their skepticism to turn into songs of praise.

Kim Suho expressed his sincere gratitude towards the chef. Shin Jonghak, who probably had the biggest ego among them, quickly ate two portions. Yoo Yeonha, who was secretly a glutton, suppressed her tears of joy while eating the food.

***

“That’s the New Alliance. Can you see it?” Seo Youngji said while pointing at a city.

We looked at the neutral state through the car window.

“Wow… What is that? Is it a city? Isn’t it just a mountain?” That was Chae Nayun’s first impression of it.

Most people would probably wonder if the city was built on a mountain or if the entire mountain had been used as a city whenever they saw the New Alliance for the first time.

Her words probably weren’t the best way to describe it, but that was the impression the city gave.

“A lot of retired heroes live here,” Seo Youngji added.

The New Alliance was roughly six times the size of Yeouido and it had an estimated population of four hundred thousand people.

Unfortunately, a tall wall blocked off the mountain city’s entrance.

Their SUV slowed as they approached the city. A man in full armor, probably a member of the city’s self-defense force, blocked the vehicle’s path.

“Vehicle entry is restricted from this point onwards,” the man said.

“You heard him, right?” Seo Youngji turned around to them and they all got off the SUV.

“Do you have any IDs?” the man asked with a stern look.

Seo Youngji took out her hero license and gave it to him.

He compared the face on the license with hers before nodding, “Hero Seo Youngji’s seventh visit has been confirmed.”

Creak… Creak… Creak…

The sound of gears turning could be heard as the tall wall slowly opened. We stared at it opening like a theater curtain with our jaws dropped and our faces flushed with excitement and anticipation.

“Wow…”

“What the hell? Isn’t this just a rural province?”

The New Alliance gave off a very lively, yet cozy first impression.

Smoke rose from chimneys and filled the place with the scrumptious scent of delicious food. Horses and carriages transporting people and goods filled the streets. Quite a lot of people busily went about their daily lives.

“Follow me. We’ll be heading to an inn first,” Seo Youngji said.

We followed her while looking around the city.

I somewhat expected this when the man told us our vehicle wasn’t allowed, but the entire city was basically analog. Even the streetlamps didn’t have electricity and they purely ran on mana instead.

[Inn – Peaceful Day]

We arrived at a five-story building beautifully built with logs. A bell rang out as we entered. A western man with a thick, long beard who looked like the owner greeted us from the counter.

“Two rooms, please,” Seo Youngji said as she paid in cash.

The inn owner inspected us from head to toe before handing over two keys with 201 and 301 written on them respectively.

“Oh, they accept Korean won here?” Shin Jonghak muttered before stepping towards the counter, “Please give me the best room in the house.”

He opened his wallet with at least two million won inside.

Seo Youngji’s eyes sparkled and the inn owner’s brow went up at the sight of the rich kid’s wallet. Then the inn owner threw him a key while grumbling something under his breath.

“I’ll be sleeping alone,” Shin Jonghak said after receiving the key and heading upstairs.

We made our way up the stairs as well.

Seo Youngji gathered us after we reached the second floor and said, “You guys are on the third floor. Unpack your things and do whatever you want. It’ll be free time until I call you. Oh right, they also have an underground hot spring here.”

“Oh, really? Okay.”

The three girls went to room 201 while the three guys went to room 301.

“Ah, Shin Jonghak that sly bastard… booking his own room…” Yi Yeonghan grumbled.

I ignored him and looked around the room. Our cozy room had three beds, a fireplace, and a carpet made of animal hide. It resembled more of a mountain cabin or a lodge than an inn.

“Hey, Hajin. Do you want to take a dip at the hot spring?” Kim Suho asked after changing his clothes.

I shook my head no, but Yi Yeonghan reacted the exact opposite.

“Oh! A hot spring? Sounds good to me! Let’s go!”

“Okay, then shall we go?”

“You guys go ahead.”

Yi Yeonghan and Kim Suho left. I remained all alone and looked out the window.

Today was Friday, so it would be the evening of that day once we left on Sunday. The timing would be tight.

I called up the system.

? [Precise Hacking] [Intermediate Rank] [No Attribute]

— Hacking: Break through an object’s security system and take control of it. The amount of stigma consumed will vary based on the strength of the security system.

— Precise: The hacking efficiency and result will be affected by luck.

The new gift I added last time, [Hacking], received a bonus called, [Precise], after my luck triggered.

“Let’s see…”

This gift seemed useless in a place with no electronics, but such an assumption would be a mistake.

I looked at the light bulb illuminating the room. This magical lamp ran on neither oil nor electricity, but it was technically electronic equipment in a sense.

I used [Precise Hacking] on it.

[Hacking Target Identified – Magic Lamp]

[Loading…]

[Connection Established – You have taken over the target.]

It required a bit of stigma, but I successfully hacked it.

I tried changing the lamp’s color to blue, red, yellow, etc. ‘Not bad.’ I returned the lamp to its original color and looked out the window again.

I spotted a luxurious leather carriage on the street.

“I wonder if it’ll work on that too…” I wasn’t sure as I tried connecting to the carriage’s rear wheel.

[Hacking Target Identified – Carriage Rear Wheel]

[Loading…]

[Connection Established – You have taken over the target.]

The wheel I hacked suddenly locked itself as if clamped by something. The horse also stopped, which made the entire carriage stop in its tracks.

A person wearing a robe as luxurious as the carriage stepped out from it. That person looked around and almost spotted me when he looked up.

“…!” I immediately ducked and hid.

I had no reason to hide, but I just felt like it.

***

We went out after I took a refreshing shower.

Seo Youngji divided us into two teams. She took all the guys, except for me, into her team. I ended up with Chae Nayun and Yoo Yeonha.

“Let’s go! Just follow President Chae!” Chae Nayun exclaimed as she confidently led the way.

Yoo Yeonha looked a bit tired and disappointed because she didn’t get to be with Shin Jonghak.

“Are you tired?” I asked.

Yoo Yeonha glanced at me and replied, “Not really.”

“Work hard and I’ll cook you tasty food. I’m good at making ramyeon too, you know?”

“What? Do I look like someone who would eat crappy junk food?”

“Forget it then if you don’t want to.”

Yoo Yeonha scoffed at me and walked ahead, but she seemed much more energetic now for some reason.

Our first destination for today was the apothecary.

“Huh? Hey, Kim Hajin. Look over there.” Chae Nayun stopped in the middle of the street and pointed at a merchant peddler on the street.

The merchant sold a variety of things like food, tools, and medicinal plants. What caught my eye wasn’t the wares, but the merchant herself. She had long pointy ears and wore a tattered robe. In short, she was an elf.

“What is this?” Chae Nayun asked.

“It’s a necklace made from the branch of a spirit tree that has expended all of its life force.”

“Oh.” Chae Nayun continued looking at the merchant’s wares while Yoo Yeonha became distracted by the different food on sale.

I suddenly felt someone observing me.

“…?”

It definitely came from somewhere nearby. I turned and saw the person wearing the luxurious robe looking at me.

I felt an unexplainable sense of anxiety creeping on my skin. My instincts rang like an alarm as my anxiety grew and cold sweat broke out on my back.

I noticed a smartwatch on the robed person’s wrist.

[Hacking Target Identified – E013 Unidentified Smartwatch]

I immediately activated [Precise Hacking] and felt a large amount of mana leaving my body. I had no idea why so much mana left my body, but I suddenly felt weak. My instincts and luck definitely weren’t lying to me. That robed person was dangerous.

[Loading…]

[Connection Established – You have taken over the target.]

My smartwatch successfully connected to the robed person’s smartwatch. The first thing I did was check for their name.

[Jin Sahyuk]

It felt as if the ground beneath me caved in and my heart sank along with it.

“Here we go.”

Someone placed something on my neck. I flinched in surprise and instantly grabbed the hand inches away. It turned out to be Chae Nayun. I seemed to have scared her as she also flinched and backed away.

“…”

“W-What?” Chae Nayun asked with her eyes wide in surprise.

“He doesn’t like it,” Yoo Yeonha said from next to me.

She went on a monologue as if casting some sporting event or narrating a show, “You can say it’s a habit. A person who’s had a close call with death is bound to have a habit or two whenever they sense danger. They usually hate being touched by someone else without their permission and tend to be especially sensitive with their necks.”

“Oh, right…” Chae Nayun muttered.

‘What bullshit logic is that?’ I grumbled inwardly before looking back at Jin Sahyuk, but she had already disappeared.

Well, at least I successfully managed to hack her smartwatch.

“Ah, sorry. You don’t like wearing necklaces?” Chae Nayun asked, but I ignored her and focused on wiretapping the hacked smartwatch.

Step… Step…

I could hear someone’s footsteps followed by a conversation.

— Huh? Why are you back so soon?

— The carriage broke, so I sent it for repair.

— Ah, what? That sturdy carriage broke?

It seemed like the carriage I hacked earlier belonged to this person.

I intently eavesdropped on the conversation when Chae Nayun came close to my ear and whispered, “Hey, Kim Hajin. What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

She glared at my smartwatch and seemed pissed off for some reason.

“Who are you talking to?”

“It’s nothing… More importantly… medicinal plants. Yeah, let’s go look for medicinal plants. I’m sure the apothecary is around here somewhere.”

I feigned ignorance and looked around for the store. Lo and behold, it wasn’t far off from where we stood and I pointed it out.

Chae Nayun didn’t even bother looking as she glared at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

“You look suspicious…”

“Alright, let’s go!” I completely ignored her and led the way to the apothecary.

Truth be told, my heart still pounded from the earlier anxiety for some inexplicable reason.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the apothecary and I immediately rushed in after opening the door.

My heart sank once again.

“Some bastard did something to my carriage’s wheel, but I haven’t found out who.”

I was sure my luck exceeded nine… so could this chain of events be considered lucky or unlucky?

“Sigh, what brave bastard would dare to try that on you?”

The conversation I eavesdropped on continued in front of me.

Jin Sahyuk wore a hood that covered his face as he spoke to the apothecary’s owner.

“I’ll kill them if I ever catch them.”

“Hoho… Ho… I wonder which brave bastard it is… that person is in a world of trouble now… Oh! It’s a customer!”

I immediately turned off my smartwatch.

The apothecary owner greeted us with a big smile while Jin Sahyuk observed us from the counter.

Chae Nayun stole a glance at Jin Sahyuk before asking the owner, “What’s your best seller here?”

Meanwhile, I looked at Jin Sahyuk and my eyes peered through the hood covering his face.

“What the…?”

However, something was strange. I couldn’t understand when I saw Jin Sahyuk’s face.

Jin Sahyuk was supposed to be a man, but a woman’s face appeared underneath the hood. I looked from all sorts of angles just in case, but nothing changed.

What in the world happened? Why did he suddenly change into a woman? Did he just look feminine? No, I could also make out the curves in his body…

I furrowed my brows at the unexpected turn of events.

On the other hand, Jin Sahyuk’s eyes suddenly formed into crescents as she smiled for some reason.

At the same time, an alarm regarding Jin Sahyuk popped up on my smartwatch.

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