—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘What?’
My thoughts screeched to a halt.
The blare of car horns pierced the silence.
My mouth felt dry and stale, as if I hadn’t spoken in ages.
I wiggled my fingers.
They moved flawlessly.
Next, I turned my head to check the digital clock on my desk.
It blinked back at me: 3:25. The familiar concepts of AM and PM seemed muddled after my time away, but judging by the warm sunlight streaming through the window, it had to be afternoon.
“Damn it.”
My voice rasped, dry as sandpaper.
An unconscious curse escaped my lips as I pushed myself into a sitting position.
Muscles screamed in protest, stiff from disuse.
Thud.
My elbow bumped against something on the nightstand, sending it tumbling to the floor.
It was an empty chicken bucket. Cigarette butts and ashes spilled across the floor.
“Ugh…”
Cleaning could wait.
Something far more important demanded my attention: figuring out what the hell was happening.
My own body, back in my own world.
The stale air of my cramped room.
Taking it all in, a realization dawned on me.
‘Am I…back?’
A half-empty bottle of soju caught my eye.
I took a swig.
Lukewarm and bitter.
This was far too real to be a dream.
No, perhaps it was the other way around. This was reality.
It was that other world that had felt so real.
But…how did I get back?
Did I collapse from exhaustion in the desert? Did the wolves get me?
One thing was certain: I had died in that world.
A humorless laugh caught in my throat.
Was it really this easy?
Did dying just…send me back?
“Ha…haha…”
I couldn’t hold back the dry chuckle.
Downing the rest of the soju, a bitter taste filled my mouth.
“Damn it.”
What was the point of all that suffering?
Battling wolves, trudging through the desert…
Making that deal with Gwen…
…Gwen. I’d almost forgotten about our agreement.
It seemed she had forgotten as well, since she hadn’t questioned me about the relic’s location before entering the trial herself.
But none of that mattered now.
Nothing mattered anymore.
It was a familiar feeling, a bitter pill I’d swallowed countless times before.
Hundred Braves was, after all, just a game.
A roguelike, where death meant losing everything and starting over from scratch.
Perhaps that was why this hollow feeling was so familiar.
Familiar, yet…still unbearable.
“To think I’d be back…”
I shook my head.
“But since I am…”
I peeled myself off the bed and slumped into my computer chair.
Fingers danced across the keyboard, entering my password, launching the game with practiced ease.
It was the same team-based AOS game I’d been playing before.
The perfect mindless distraction for when I had nothing better to do.
‘It’s somewhat fun.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Are you sure you want to exit the game?]
I clicked “Yes.”
The reason was simple: I wasn’t enjoying myself.
‘My team’s hopeless.’
Come to think of it, I never really found this game that fun to begin with.
I closed the game and switched over to YouTube, clicking through a few videos. A wave of hunger hit me.
The food in that world was awful.
The thought of finally eating decent food again made my stomach growl.
I opened a food delivery app and, after a few minutes of browsing, ordered myself fried chicken.
“…Delicious.”
Of course it was. Fried chicken was a gift from the heavens.
And yet…something felt off. I was full, my stomach content, but a deeper hunger lingered.
Pushing another bite of chicken into my mouth, I suddenly lost my appetite.
The half-eaten box of chicken.
The empty soju bottle.
The scattered cigarette butts.
“What a mess…”
I pulled open a drawer in my desk.
Inside lay a thick envelope.
Taking it out, I placed it on the desk.
‘You know what this is about.’
As I turned to leave, my gaze fell on my phone, lying abandoned on the bed.
I checked the screen. Nothing but a bunch of useless notifications.
No one to contact me, no one who cared. That’s why my phone was practically dead.
Lately, I had been playing mobile games exclusively on my computer, so my phone had become nothing more than a useless brick.
‘Should I just leave it?’
After a moment’s hesitation, I picked it up and shoved it into my pocket.
Then, I lowered myself onto the wheelchair parked in the corner of my room.
I left the room, closing the door behind me.
One last glance back…
‘I should have at least cleaned up.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Strange.
This world was strange.
Or perhaps it had always been this way.
The people passing by.
The cars rushing through the streets.
Did they truly belong to the same world as me?
This concrete jungle, no different from that barren desert, stretched before me.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached my destination.
Having a destination was another difference from the desert.
Even if that destination wasn’t an oasis or the edge of the desert…
But rather, the dark, churning waters of the Han River below.
‘How pathetic…’
A tinge of regret lingered.
Allen Blake, that useless boy.
I’d wanted to make him a hero, see his story through to the end.
100 playthroughs. That was the limit I’d set for myself.
If I couldn’t make Allen Blake a hero by the 100th playthrough, I’d give up.
And the moment I failed that 100th playthrough, the opportunity arose. The perfect opportunity.
But in the end, I’d squandered that too.
It was truly over now.
I had failed to make Allen Blake a hero.
I…was useless.
‘Time to end it all.’
I’d dragged it out for far too long.
Pointlessly clinging on.
When I was nothing but a failure.
I wheeled myself closer to the railing.
It was higher than I’d expected.
But with enough force, I could probably swing myself over.
As I gripped the railing, about to heave myself up…
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
‘What?’
Who could possibly be contacting me?
I swiped away the low battery notification.
A new message.
[Unknown Number]: What if it’s not over yet?
I typed back.
: Who is this?
The reply was instant.
[Unknown Number]: Try logging into Hundred Braves.
What did they mean?
Skeptical, I tapped the Hundred Braves icon on my phone.
After a brief loading screen, a message popped up.
『A playthrough is in progress. Would you like to continue?』
›Yes / No
That’s when it hit me.
Allen Blake was still alive, within the game.
‘It’s not over?’
But no matter how many times I tapped “Yes,” the game refused to load.
Just as I was about to restart the app…
[Unknown Number]: Simply pressing a button won’t take you back.
I quickly typed a reply.
: Send me back.
[Unknown Number]: Why would you want to go back? Most people would be begging to escape.
My fingers flew across the keyboard.
I have to make Allen Blake a hero.
Making him a hero was a way for me to prove myself.
And until then, I was nothing but a failure in this life too.
But before I could hit send…
Another message arrived.
[Unknown Number]: It’s just a game.
Yes, Hundred Braves was just a game.
And once, I had foolishly tried to find meaning, to prove myself, through it.
But not anymore.
The people I met there, they were real.
Especially…
‘I haven’t kept my promise to Gwen.’
I had to tell her the location of the relic.
The image of Gwen, bravely facing those golems to protect me, flashed in my mind.
I had to repay her kindness, keep my word.
: Send me back. Please.
A moment passed.
The reply, when it came, was hesitant.
[Unknown Number]: But…do you really think you’ll be able to get up again?
The words sent a chill down my spine. I remembered my final moments.
Too exhausted to take another step, surrounded by those wolves…
Would I truly be able to get up, even if I was sent back?
Would I be able to reach that next dune?
There were no guarantees.
But I had to try.
I can do it. Just send me…
Once again, before I could finish typing…
Another message popped up.
[Unknown Number]: Really? I doubt you’ll be able to resist giving up again.
The mocking tone irritated me.
What’s that supposed to mean?
[Unknown Number]: You know better than anyone. But if you don’t remember…seeing it for yourself might be better.
The world around me dissolved.
The Han River below vanished, replaced by white walls.
‘What…? And…’
I looked down at my legs.
They were completely healed.
And I was wearing my high school uniform pants.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
‘Am I…at school?’
No wonder it looked familiar.
I was standing in the hallway of my old high school.
And it seemed my body had reverted back to its teenage state as well.
‘I’m…back in the past?’
The abrupt change left me reeling.
It felt like someone was messing with me, toying with my life.
I reached for my phone, intending to demand answers from whoever was behind this…
“Are you Sung Yoo-rang?”
A hushed voice came from behind me.
I turned to see a door with a nameplate: Staff Room.
Sung Yoo-rang…That was my name.
“You weren’t able to place in the competition this time either. It seems like you’re lacking nothing, but why…”
I’d definitely heard this conversation before.
‘Of all the memories…’
Why this one?
Part of me wanted to storm into the staff room and scream, but my body refused to obey.
Meanwhile, the voices inside continued.
“I think switching to long distance might be good. The current mid-distance event relies too much on talent.”
“Mr. Jo, as educators, using the word ‘talent’…”
“This is my professional judgment as a track and field coach. In sports, you can’t deny the existence of talent.”
I realized I was clenching my fists so tightly that my nails were digging into my palms.
But the people inside, oblivious to my turmoil, continued their conversation.
“If you can’t deny the existence of talent, are you saying there’s talent in long-distance running?”
“That’s uncertain. But considering Sung Yoo-rang’s training and dedication, I believe he has potential.”
“Then…I’ll leave it to you.”
The conversation ended, and I heard the sound of chairs scraping against the floor.
Footsteps approached, and just as the door creaked open…
The scene shifted once more.
A sense of dread washed over me.
No. Not this memory.
‘Damn it.’
And just like that, I was back in my wheelchair.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
( ；∀；)
why he chose to suicide when he come back ?