Chapter 70

Uncle Ho-won opened his mouth, seemingly planning to go first.

“I’ll go first.”

“Alright, Uncle Ho-won.”

“Good. Follow me. I’ll guide you to the Room of Records.”

As Ute and Uncle Ho-won left, Song Ha-eun started to speak.

“…Uncle Ho-won… It’s not dangerous, right?”

“It shouldn’t be dangerous. Ute said he wouldn’t harm us.”

“…Right?”

“Don’t worry too much. It seems like it’s just about recording our memories.”

From my perspective, the idea of digging up my memories didn’t feel great, but I went along with it. It was better than going into a dungeon.

“But… what kind of library has a kid? I was so shocked when I first saw him.”

I was so baffled that I spoke to Kang I-seo.

“…Are you stupid?”

“What? Why are you picking a fight?”

“You… you don’t seriously think that Ute guy is really a kid, do you?”

“…He is a kid, right?… Or not?”

“Crazy.”

“No, why? What’s wrong with you?”

“Hey, you blockhead. Common sense says he just looks like a kid. Do you really think there’d be an actual kid in a place like this?”

“Damn, why am I the blockhead? That Ute guy could really be a kid.”

“Wow… damn… I don’t know if you’re dumb or just naive.”

“You’re crazy, talking nonsense.”

Listening to our conversation, Seo Yoo-ju chimed in.

“Yoon Seong is probably right. Judging someone who isn’t a foreigner by their appearance isn’t a good idea. That Ute being is likely not a child, despite his appearance.”

After hearing Seo Yoo-ju, Kang I-seo made a face like she’d eaten something bad and shut her mouth.

“…..”

‘Did I go too far?’

“…Hey, what’s with that face? Relax, it happens. I might have been a bit harsh, sorry.”

“…Are you giving me medicine after poisoning me?”

‘Sigh… she’s sulking.’

Seeing Kang I-seo’s face, it seemed she was really upset. I felt a bit sorry for her since I might have been too harsh.

“Cheer up, I’ll treat you to a meal later.”

“…Damn, I’m gonna make you buy me something expensive, just so you know.”

‘Damn it…’

I messed up with one wrong word, and now my wallet’s gonna take a hit.

‘More importantly, when are they coming back?’

About 20 minutes later, Uncle Ho-won returned.

“Uncle, how was it?”

“…Hmm, nothing special. Just opened a book and… a few past memories came up. It seems like memories that were important or intense to me surfaced, just like the librarian said.”

“Really?”

“Exactly, I saw my past from a third-person perspective. It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, not much time had gone by.”

‘Seeing from a third-person perspective… I can’t quite grasp it.’

According to Uncle Ho-won, it didn’t seem like recalling memories from your head.

“This time, I’ll go.”

“Yoo-ju, you mean?”

“Yes, it’s better to face the music first… though it’s not exactly music, but it’s better to get it over with quickly.”

“Alright, Yoo-ju. Go ahead.”

“Yes, then…”

*****

I entered the Room of Records under Ute’s guidance. This was my first time actually coming here, though I’d heard about it during the first round.

I remember it became a hot topic after a clan discovered it. Even though there was no threat to life, you could get good rewards.

First-time entrants get bonus rewards, and those who enter afterward get lighter rewards.

‘I was too busy to go then.’

During the first round, I was so busy that I never got to visit the Library of Records even after it was discovered.

‘Besides, unless it’s your first time, the rewards aren’t that great, so I didn’t feel the need to go.’

I was a bit nervous, but as I opened the book in front of me, my consciousness blurred, and when I came to, a scene began to unfold before my eyes.

‘…So this is how it is.’

I understood what Uncle Ho-won meant. I was watching myself on Earth.

‘This was… when I was in high school, right?’

Honestly, my memories of Earth were hazy, probably because a lot of time had passed since I came to this world, including the first round.

On Earth, I grew up in a fairly affluent environment. My parents were entrepreneurs, so I wasn’t lacking financially.

My relationships weren’t bad either. I had some friends, but none I could completely open up to. Just friends I kept at a comfortable distance.

‘…What was I thinking back then…’

I remember worrying about the college entrance exam like any other ordinary student. I didn’t study all night, but I didn’t neglect it either, so I got into a mid-tier university in Seoul.

As I spaced out watching my past self, the scene suddenly changed.

‘They didn’t say they’d show all my memories.’

Then… it shifted to after I graduated college and was learning my parents’ business.

Back then, I wasn’t exactly happy, but I wasn’t unhappy either. Being an only child, I received more than enough love from my parents. Neither of them had any problematic personalities.

‘The scene changed again. This is… the tutorial. Are they showing my memories from the first round too?’

“Uh, uh… where, where is this? Excuse me… do you know where this is?”

Watching my past self, who looked quite different from now, felt strange.

“Ahhh! A monster! Run!”

“Save me, save me! Please… please send me home!”

“Fight! Everyone, grab your weapons! Damn it! Don’t run! Fight! Da… ugh… gah…!”

The scene before my eyes was chaos. People were being slaughtered by monsters, becoming meals.

‘….’

But in the end…





I was pretty numb while watching. I had come too far to be deeply affected by such scenes.

Back then, I barely managed to grab my spear and some food before scrambling to run away. Just like everyone else.

As the scene shifted again, I could feel my emotions stirring.

“Oh… You’re a survivor. Please calm down. Nice to meet you, my name is Jo Byeong-ok.”

“Ah… I, I’m… Seo, Seo Yoo-ju.”

‘… Jo Chan-ho.’

And then,

‘Yoon Seong.’

Jo Chan-ho, Yoon Seong, Yoo Rim, Yoo Hyun, and a few others—that’s who I met in the past.

“Haha… We were just gathering survivors… How about joining us? As you can see, monsters keep popping up, so we all need to work together, right?”

“Yes, yes… I’m fine with that…”

At that time… I remember everyone being fooled by Jo Chan-ho. He had a kind face and a fake, caring voice, so everyone fell for his act.

In fact, when we found out he was using a fake name, we all later guessed that he must have been a murderer or criminal back on Earth.

‘Later, Yoon Seong told me he didn’t know either.’

A perfect backstabber. It turned out he had been secretly killing people during the tutorial, something we only found out after he became an outlaw in Eras.

“You seem to be using a spear… Have you changed your job?”

Jo Chan-ho asked with a meaningful look.

“Ah… Yes. Well, I ended up killing some monsters… and got the job of Intermediate Spearman…”

‘… What an idiot.’

Seeing my past self blurt out my job title without being asked made me feel a bit frustrated, but I kept my cool.

‘… Actually, saying that back then was a good thing.’

Sure enough, everyone, including Jo Chan-ho, widened their eyes at the mention of “Intermediate Spearman.”

“… Intermediate Spearman, you say?”

“Yes, yes… That’s what it says in my status window…”

“Good. You must be quite talented.”

And so, my past self, being quite skilled with the spear, became a key member of the party.

After a few scenes passed, a frown-inducing scene began to unfold. It was three days after we discovered the dungeon.

Jo Chan-ho’s ugly face appeared as he opened his mouth.

“I have… a plan.”

At the word “plan,” everyone, including my past self, turned to look at him. The situation back then wasn’t great, and everyone looked uneasy, with tension in the air.

An old man asked Jo Chan-ho, “So… Byeong-ok, young man. What’s the plan?”

“… Please don’t be shocked. We need to use the useless people as bait.”

“… What?”

‘You crazy bastard…’

“W-what are you talking about?”

“There’s no food. If we keep going like this, we’ll all die—either from starvation or from the monsters.”

My past self hesitantly spoke up.

“But… how can you… do that? No matter what…”

“If there’s no alternative, then I won’t listen. You might think I’m a scumbag, but you all know the situation isn’t great, right?”

“……”

The first tutorial run was horrifying. The second time, I managed to set up a camp and gather food, but the first time? There was no camp, nothing.

Food was scarce, and people started killing each other. Murder, theft, rape—it was a hellhole where every crime imaginable ran rampant.

“My plan is this: First, we use those who can’t fight as bait. If that’s still not enough…”

Someone gulped audibly.

“Then those without combat skills will have to sacrifice themselves.”

A man stood up, furious.

“Y-you bastard! How can you say that?! Then I’ll be the first to—”

*Slash*

“Gurgle… Ugh!”

*Thud*

In an instant, the man who had spoken up was killed by Jo Chan-ho. Everyone in the room was stunned, unable to process what had just happened.

“This is a warning. Everyone, choose carefully. Throw away your conscience—your lives are on the line. Of course, for those with combat skills, it’s a different story. If you choose your conscience, you’ll just end up dead at the hands of the monsters.”

For a while, everyone was in shock, but soon, those with combat skills began to voice their agreement.

“… I, I agree, Byeong-ok.”

“Me too.”

“I… I also agree…”

‘… Of course, those with combat skills wouldn’t want to be used as bait.’

A necessary choice for survival.

Everyone knew that in such an inhumane place, you had to shed some of your humanity to survive. It’s just that Jo Chan-ho was the one who took the first step, when no one else dared to.

“… I, I…”

I saw my past self hesitating. I closed my eyes tightly because I knew what was coming next.

“I, I… agree…”

A choice made to survive. If I had said anything else back then, I would’ve been killed on the spot.

“Good. Everyone made the right choice. Lastly, Yoon Seong… You agree too, right?”

Jo Chan-ho smiled with a meaningful look as he asked Yoon Seong.

“… Of course, Byeong-ok.”

And so, to survive, to clear the tutorial, we became monsters ourselves.