“Yunseong…”
Lately, my heart has been in turmoil.
Conquering the Swamp of Oblivion? Since we succeeded in the first round, I’m not too worried about that.
The reason my heart is troubled is something else entirely.
It’s because of this man named Yunseong.
‘…That man is someone precious to me?’
I realized I had lost my memory while talking with the clan members.
During the conversation, they mentioned this man named Yunseong, and I was baffled because I didn’t know who he was.
Naturally, I asked Hyeonjin and Yoorim about him.
Seeing my reaction, the clan members realized I had lost my memory.
I figured out that I had lost my memory due to the characteristics of the Swamp of Oblivion.
And one more thing.
I took out a small piece of paper from my pocket.
It had my handwriting on it.
『Yunseong is someone precious to me. He’s the reason I regressed. If I lose my memory, remember this…』
‘…….’
It seems I left this note in case I lost my memory, but…
The problem is, even after reading it and talking to Yunseong, he still feels like a stranger to me.
It’s impossible to cherish someone when you have no memories or feelings for them.
‘Sigh…’
Yunseong has been trying to get closer to me, but I feel nothing for him.
If anything, I feel wary and annoyed.
Of course, I don’t openly avoid or distrust him.
Because I might regret it once I regain my memory.
‘Right now, I should focus on Priest Komer, not Yunseong.’
In the first round, I participated in the second area’s conquest, and the expedition trusted Priest Komer.
It was only later that I realized Priest Komer was being controlled by the White Devourer.
This time, taking the left path instead of the right is a good outcome.
In the first round, taking the right path led to many people losing their senses, causing massive damage.
I don’t know the reason, but going right leads to a large tree, and the number of people losing their senses increases significantly.
But the White Devourer isn’t there.
It looks like a whale and lives in a vast lake-like body of water at the end of the left path.
So, how do we catch it?
Surprisingly, it can swim in the air.
During battle, it comes out of the lake, and if severely injured, it retreats back into the lake.
‘That’s why it was so hard to deal with. Once it escapes into the lake, players have no way to catch it.’
The solution is fire magic.
Using fire magic to evaporate the lake’s water is the strategy.
Then, it has nowhere to run.
Since the vast lake is its home, it manipulated Priest Komer to prevent players from reaching its lair.
‘If we defeat it, my lost memories might return…’
Then everything will be fine.
Defeating the White and Black Devourers means the Swamp of Oblivion conquest is 90% successful.
But what bothers me is Priest Komer.
In the first round, Priest Komer didn’t disappear.
He only caused confusion with his words, but this situation is new.
‘Sigh…’
The White Devourer, Black Devourer—essential targets to eliminate for the Swamp of Oblivion conquest.
We’ve located the Black Devourer and fought it once, so it’s only a matter of time before the third area expedition defeats it.
But the problem is the White Devourer.
We don’t know its location, and the communication issues with Yoo Ju are frustrating.
‘Damn it… How am I supposed to figure out her intentions when she avoids conversation?’
Priest Komer just disappeared.
From my perspective, it’s natural to think he’s up to something.
‘Of all times, why now with Yoo Ju…’
What terrible timing.
The expedition is moving deeper now.
With the enemy’s identity clear, the expedition’s next move is straightforward.
We’ve had a few battles, but so far, only Shapes and Big Shapes have appeared.
While moving, Wi Ho-yeon cautiously spoke to me.
“…Yunseong.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Are things okay with the Master? You… seem to be in a bad mood lately.”
It seems Wi Ho-yeon is worried about my relationship with Yoo Ju because she lost her memory.
“Haha… It’s fine. But there’s definitely more distance between us now.”
“Don’t be too disheartened. The Master lost her memory, after all…”
“I know. It’s just… bittersweet. It feels like all the memories and bonds we had are gone.”
I was surprised at myself. I didn’t expect to vent to Wi Ho-yeon like this.
She looked surprised at first but seemed happy that I confided in her.
“Even though she’s lost her memory for now, that’s not her true feelings, so please don’t be too hurt.”
“…..”
“I’ve also consulted with the Master a few times. She seemed very confused, so if you wait patiently, she’ll open up.”
“…Thank you, Ho-yeon.”
“Not at all. If you ever have worries, feel free to share them. If I can help in any way, it’s more than enough for me.”
I was genuinely grateful to Ho-yeon.
Her words were a great comfort to me.
Even if it didn’t work out, I could feel that she was genuinely worried about me.
But then, Charis, standing beside me, opened her mouth with a look that screamed, “What a show-off.”
“Ha, why are you worrying about something like that? I can’t understand how someone with your personality would worry about relationships.”
‘Damn, that’s too harsh.’
“Well… I’m human too, so isn’t it possible for me to worry about things like this?”
“Seriously…”
At Charis’s attitude, Wi Ho-yeon’s face stiffened as she spoke up.
“Charis, didn’t I tell you before not to use such rude language? What kind of tone is that to your superior?”
Even though I’ve been around Wi Ho-yeon and Charis, and Charis has talked to Wi Ho-yeon like crap a few times, she’s never acted like this before.
I guess she can tolerate being disrespected herself, but she can’t stand it when someone is rude to me.
“You’re funny too. You stay quiet when people badmouth you, but the moment someone says something to that guy, you flare up…”
“He’s the person I serve. It’s only natural. Unlike you, I have respect and manners toward my superior.”
“Must be nice to overflow with respect and manners. You’d do anything that guy tells you to, huh?”
“Of course. I’ll do anything my superior asks. Unlike you.”
For a moment, Charis’s eyebrow twitched, and she smirked, finding an opening.
“Ha… you’d do anything he says?”
“Of course.”
“You said it yourself, right? That you’d do anything he says. So, even if he gives you an order, you’d have to do it, right? Even if it’s an order to offer your body.”
“…What?”
Wi Ho-yeon’s face instantly turned flustered.
Of course, she knew exactly what Charis was implying, which is why she made that face.
“What? Are you going to take back your words?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Ha, see? In the end, you have to take care of your own freedom. You treat yourself like a tool, so of course, this is bound to happen.”
“……”
“Looks like it was all talk. Well, I don’t mean to criticize. I just wonder how noble your loyalty is, since you’re giving me advice.”
At this point, I thought Charis’s teasing had gone far enough and was about to intervene when Wi Ho-yeon, with her face red, lowered her head and spoke.
“…I’ll do it.”
“…What did you say?”
“…I’ll do anything my superior says. Th-that’s… what a subordinate is supposed to do.”
“Ha, are you insane? I knew you were stupid, but I didn’t know you were this stupid. I’m speechless…”
I was also speechless at the situation.
I never expected Wi Ho-yeon to give such an answer, and the fact that she might actually do it scared me.
“Uh… Ho-yeon, even if it’s a joke, saying something like that… isn’t good for you.”
“……”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it, so let’s just stop this…”
“It’s… not a joke. I’m serious.”
‘What the hell is this woman saying?’
Her face was bright red as she avoided eye contact and answered.
Seeing that, I was at a loss for words, and Charis laughed as she spoke.
“You’re lucky. Having such a foolishly loyal subordinate.”
“……”
“Why don’t you just grab her and take her somewhere private? She probably won’t resist. I’ll keep watch for you.”
“…Enough. I’ve got a headache, so let’s just stop.”
I genuinely felt a headache coming on.
“Why are you acting like this? You were quiet for a while, and now…”
“I told you. Either get rid of me or get rid of her. Choose one. That woman and I really don’t get along.”
‘Yeah, I can see that.’
From Wi Ho-yeon’s perspective, Charis, who breaks the rules, is a thorn in her side.
From Charis’s perspective, she dislikes Wi Ho-yeon, who is the complete opposite of her values.
Whenever I have these two together, something like this always happens.
The problem is, I can’t separate them.
‘What can I do? I’ll just have to get used to it.’
It’s all my karma. Who else can I blame?
‘We’ve been moving for a while now. Isn’t something going to happen?’
Just as I was getting bored of moving, we reached an enormous lake.
“Wow…”
Everyone gasped and stared. The lake’s appearance was incredibly mysterious and beautiful.
The white lake, with what looked like snow piling up, resembled a scattering of stardust, enough to draw everyone’s admiration.
If this lake were in a city, it would undoubtedly be a world-class tourist attraction.
But I was only briefly captivated by the lake’s appearance. Seeing no further path, I looked around.
‘Is there no other way? Yoo Ju…”
The moment I glanced at Yoo Ju, I noticed her tense expression.
‘…She’s nervous?’
Just as I wondered what there was to be nervous about in this beautiful lake, a sound like a whale’s cry echoed from the lake.
The sound was so loud that everyone covered their ears.
A massive shadow began to rise from beneath the water.
“Uh… what is that…”
“Something’s coming up from the lake!”
Soon, a white whale emerged from the lake.
‘…Is that size normal?’
It was an unbelievably gigantic whale.
