Memorize - Episode 27
27 Meeting Familiar People
A total of four people emerged from the dense undergrowth. The gender ratio was three males to one female. All of their hair was disheveled, and their clothes were torn, making them look like beggars. Of course, our appearance wasn't much better, so we weren't in a position to laugh at them.
I quickly observed the characteristics of the four. The man standing on the far left had short sporty hair and was holding a long bow in his right arm. He seemed to be someone who knew how to handle a bow. The way he kept his mouth tightly shut and looked at us with sunken eyes made me think he might have a taciturn personality.
'Hmm...?'
At that moment, I had a strangely familiar feeling. If he was a user I remembered, it meant he had been active in the Hollow Plane. Honestly, he had a somewhat common face, but I decided to move on for now and started turning my gaze clockwise.
Next, the person at the very front had hair grown almost to their waist. Their face was slender and their body was slim, to the point where you might mistake them for a woman from behind. However, the firm jawline and sharp eyes revealed that he was a man.
In the center of their group was a woman who appeared to be protected, with a refined appearance that caught my eye. She was looking at us with an anxious face while also scanning her surroundings. It seemed she was searching for something.
Finally, on the far right was a man spinning a dagger around and showing his teeth. Just by looking at him, I could tell his flippant attitude didn't sit well with me.
After a moment of silence, the man at the front glanced at us. Then he opened his mouth with a hoarse voice.
"Looks like they're survivors similar to us."
"We've met survivors before, so it's nothing surprising."
The man holding the bow answered in a stiff voice. Then the man playing with the dagger looked at us with a smirk and, as expected, started acting cocky.
"Tsk tsk... Looks like early twenties? Just kids... Poor bastards."
At those words, Ahn Hyun seemed to get riled up, raising his shield and taking a step forward. I quickly grabbed his shoulder and quietly shook my head. It was a signal to stay still for now. Fortunately, Ahn Hyun seemed to understand my signal and gritted his teeth before taking a step back. Seeing this, the dagger-spinning troublemaker let out a derisive laugh and widened his eyes.
"Did you see that guy just now? The one who looks like a thug. He got all worked up at what I said. Man, I can't say anything. Scary."
"You provoked them first. Stay out of it and let Jeongmin handle this for now."
"...Tch."
When the man with the bow spoke as if scolding him, he pouted and quietly closed his mouth. However, the faces of our companions had already hardened coldly. Well, it was understandable that they would be upset when these people were talking amongst themselves as if we didn't exist.
As the tension gradually rose, the long-haired man opened his mouth.
"First of all, it's nice to meet you. My name is Woo Jeongmin. As you know, I'm someone who happened to fall into this wretched place."
'Woo Jeongmin. The Red Fang Clan Lord?'
I was startled by the memory that suddenly flashed through my mind. The guy who used twin daggers as his trademark and was called a demon. Could it be that the man standing before me now was Woo Jeongmin...?
I quickly activated my Third Eye.
『 User Information (PLAYER STATUS) 』
Name (NAME) : Woo Jeongmin
Gender (SEX) : Male (26)
Height - Weight : 177.9cm - 65.7kg
Disposition : Neutral - Chaos (True - Chaos)
『Abilities』
[Strength 51] [Endurance 43] [Agility 59] [Vitality 48] [Magic 55] [Luck 36]
Woo Jeongmin's user information easily shattered my thought that there wouldn't be a user surpassing Ahn Hyun in terms of average stats in the Trial of Passage. And the fact that the man before me was Woo Jeongmin, the Lord of the Red Fang Clan who would later become a pillar of the Allied Forces, left me astounded.
"...Ahn Hyun. Et cetera."
As Ahn Hyun replied curtly, a commotion arose from Woo Jeongmin's group. Regardless, I naturally heightened all my senses. If this guy really was Woo Jeongmin, then even if I didn't know about the others, I had a feeling I knew who the man with the bow was. He must be one of the top 10 rankers in the latter half of the Hollow Plane....
For a moment, the thought "Should I kill them?" crossed my mind. But I immediately shook it off. If I had been here alone, I would have killed them without hesitation, but it was impossible with the kids present. By now, our group and Woo Jeongmin's group had naturally drawn their weapons and were facing off. The troublemaker sneered at Ahn Hyun with an unpleasant voice.
"This is why you shouldn't be nice to young punks. Ahn Hyun, was it? If you don't want to die, you'd better watch your tone."
"Oppa. We don't have time to fight now."
"This isn't the first time. Killing them would be quick. You just wait quietly."
The woman in the center spoke for the first time, but the troublemaker immediately retorted. At his response, she began to glare at him with a frightening gaze. Receiving the woman's intense stare, the troublemaker smacked his lips and then nodded compliantly before continuing.
"Ah~. Alright, alright. So stop glaring at me. Before I eat you up. Ah. Just kidding, just kidding. She can't take a joke... Anyway, fine. Hey, you youngsters. This elder is called Cheon Seung-hyun. There's something I'd like to ask you, about these five monkeys. Did you guys kill them?"
"What if we did?"
Cheon Seung-hyun, huh. You'd be dead if I met you in the Hollow Plane. Just as I thought this, a clear voice rang out, cutting through the air. And that voice was full of sharp thorns. I had hoped and prayed that Lee Yoo-jung wouldn't step forward, but of course she did. Given her strong pride to begin with, and seeing Cheon Seung-hyun who looked like an upgraded version of Park Dong-geol, there was no way she would let it slide. At Lee Yoo-jung's words, he blinked his eyes and then burst into laughter.
"Puhahaha~. Oh my... Let's calm down, calm down, calm down. Kuk kuk, you damn little bitch. I'll let it slide just this once. And we're not in a very generous mood right now. We're also very, very, very busy. Hmm? So just answer our questions sincerely and let's say bye-bye quickly. Oh, and speak nicely. Well, you don't have to if you don't want to. I won't warn you again after this."
After listening to Cheon Seung-hyun's speech, Lee Yoo-jung's face instantly turned into her characteristic sneering expression.
"You crazy bastard. This fucking idiot. What are you going to do if you don't warn us? Look at him acting all high and mighty. Pathetic asshole."
As expected, Lee Yoo-jung's sharp tongue was refreshing. Cheon Seung-hyun was, in a way, very similar to Park Dong-geol's type. As Lee Yoo-jung spat out her harsh words with a vicious face, he unexpectedly stared at us blankly, then sighed deeply as he picked up his dagger. I tensed my left hand.
"Kids and women always need a beating to listen. Anyway, farewell."
Cheon Seung-hyun, who had been muttering, suddenly raised his right hand and swung it down towards Lee Yoo-jung with all his might. At the same time, I could see one of the daggers he had been playing with flying towards her forehead at lightning speed. Just as I was about to pull Lee Yoo-jung away, I saw Ahn Hyun moving quickly with his shield raised. He must have been wary of that man from the start, as Ahn Hyun stood in front of Yoo-jung with his shield firmly gripped. And I...
Clang!
Ping! Thud.
"Aaaaargh!"
The dagger fell after hitting the shield with a loud metallic sound. At the same time, Cheon Seung-hyun collapsed, clutching his right hand which now had an arrow stuck in it. The situation was simple. While Ahn Hyun blocked the dagger, I had adjusted my aim and shot an arrow at that guy.
Of course, I didn't think the others would just stand still. In an instant, I sensed the man with the bow nocking an arrow and aiming at me, so I also tried to shoot an arrow first, but I heard only the sound of an empty bowstring twanging. In a hurry, this time I drew on my true power to instantly load three arrows and turned the crossbow towards his forehead. And simultaneously, I activated my Third Eye.
『 User Information (PLAYER STATUS) 』
Name (NAME) : Seon Yu-un
Gender (SEX) : Male (25)
Height - Weight : 180.9cm - 78.4kg
Disposition : Neutral - Moderation (True - Neutral)
『Abilities』
[Strength 45] [Endurance 48] [Agility 62] [Vitality 54] [Magic 50] [Luck 50]
Click! Clack!
Seon Yu-un. It was indeed him. The user who occupied one of the top positions in the Hollow Plane with the profession of Archer. I had fired an arrow at another person and there was a time difference while reloading. However, even though my ability score points should be incomparably higher, Seon Yu-un had aimed at my head almost simultaneously with me. If I had to say, I was marginally faster. Seon Yu-un seemed to realize this too, as his eyes, unlike the initial blank stare, were now wavering.
A chilly atmosphere enveloped the groups. Silence hung for a while, but I could feel Ahn Hyun, Lee Yoo-jung, and Kim Han-byeol tightly gripping their weapons. Seeing them still burning with the will to fight if necessary, even in this situation, I felt inwardly proud. And amidst all this, Cheon Seung-hyun was still rolling on the ground, making a ruckus.
"Aaah, aaaaargh! Kill him! Hey! Kill that fucking bastard right now! Kill him!"
"...You threw the dagger first. Seung-hyun. So please shut up. You idiot."
Cheon Seung-hyun, who had been causing a commotion, whimpered and cradled his right hand at Woo Jeongmin's stern words. Glancing at Lee Yoo-jung, I saw her body trembling slightly, probably because she hadn't expected him to actually throw the dagger. Woo Jeongmin, who had been silently observing the situation from the beginning, looked at Cheon Seung-hyun pitifully for a moment before turning his head towards us.
"First, I apologize. Anyway, shall we stop here? It doesn't seem like continuing this will benefit either of us."
"I'd like to, but the guy next to you isn't lowering his bow."
"Seon Yu-un. You stop too. Release the string and lower your bow."
Hearing my words, Woo Jeongmin raised his hand and forcibly lowered Seon Yu-un's bow. Fortunately, Seon Yu-un also looked at me for a moment before obediently lowering his bow. After confirming they had lowered their weapons, I slowly lowered my left arm. However, neither I nor Seon Yu-un had unloaded our weapons yet. Woo Jeongmin looked at our group, raised both hands, took a step forward, and spoke in a tired voice.
"I'm sorry. They're not usually like this, but we've had some difficult times recently, so they've unintentionally become rough. Anyway, there's something I'd like to ask... Time is short. Can we get straight to the point?"
Everyone in our group looked at me. Even Ahn Hyun. I nodded slightly.
"That's what we want."
"These monkeys are ones we've been tracking since yesterday. Due to certain circumstances, we left our spot for a very brief moment... During that time, one of our companions was kidnapped by these creatures. We're grateful that you dealt with them for us, but have you by any chance seen a woman around here?"
A female user... Could it be?
I recalled the woman we had seen at the entrance who had been raped by Mankis and taken her own life.
"Oppa. Could they be talking about that woman with the yellow clothing scraps left? The one with long hair down to her back? Huh?"
I sighed and covered my face with both hands. Does she ever think at all? How can someone be this stupid? I inwardly clicked my tongue at Lee Yoo-jung for blurting out without thinking. Upon hearing Lee Yoo-jung's words, the faces of the other group instantly brightened, and they immediately asked us. The one who spoke with the loudest voice was the woman who had said they didn't have time earlier.
"Yes! That's right! Yellow clothes and long straight hair! Do you know where she is?"
"Ah... Well..."
Lee Yoo-jung trailed off with a flustered voice. The others also just looked at each other without answering. It seemed certain that it was the woman we had seen at the entrance of the Manki-infested area, but there was an apologetic atmosphere about telling them she had died after being raped by monsters. As we all just looked at each other, the men's expressions hardened. They seemed to have guessed the general content that would follow. However, the woman still kept urging us with a pleading voice.
"Did you perhaps pass by her? Or maybe just caught a glimpse?"
"..."
"Please. I'm begging you. Just tell us where you saw her. That girl, she's my younger sister. She's really kind... and innocent... Sob..."
As the woman finally showed tears, our companions turned their heads to me again. These guys who were fighting so well earlier were now passing all the difficult situations to me. I let out a complicated sigh inwardly and slowly opened my mouth.