〈 Chapter 14 〉 Trial (2)

*

‘Huh?’

My brain suddenly hit the brakes.

Amidst the silence, a honking sound rang out.

Had I been asleep for ages? My mouth felt like a desert.

I moved my fingers.

They moved just fine.

Next, I turned my neck to check the digital clock on the desk.

It read 3:25 PM. I was momentarily confused by the AM and PM concept, but seeing the bright sunshine pouring in, it must be afternoon.

“Dammit.”

My voice was all cracked.

Cursing unconsciously, I struggled to prop myself up.

My body felt stiff from sitting still for too long.

Clatter!

In that moment, I accidentally nudged a chicken bucket on the bedside table.

Oh no! The bucket tipped over and dumped its contents all over the floor.

Cigarette butts and ashes spilled out from inside the bucket.

“Sigh…”

I couldn’t even think about cleaning up right now.

There was something far more important at hand.

First and foremost, I needed to assess my current situation.

I was back in my original body for the first time in a while.

The musty air in the cramped room.

Feeling those familiar sensations made me realize.

‘Have I returned?’

Suddenly, I noticed a soju bottle with about a quarter left.

I grabbed it and took a swig.

It was lukewarm and bitter.

This was way too real to be a dream.

No, it probably wasn’t. This was reality.

In fact, that other world had felt unrealistically real.

So what in the world happened?

Did I get bitten by a wolf while wandering through the desert…?

Or did I push myself too hard and self-destruct?

One thing was certain.

It seemed I had died in that other world.

I barely stifled a laugh.

Was it really this easy?

So if I died, I could just come back?

“Ha, haha…”

I couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.

I downed the remaining alcohol.

“F*ck.”

So what was all that suffering for?

Fighting wolves, walking through the desert.

Making deals with Gwen…

Oh right, I had completely forgotten about the deal with Gwen.

She hadn’t even asked me about the location of the relic before diving into this trial; it seemed she had forgotten for a moment too.

But that’s no longer relevant.

Nothing means anything now.

Honestly, I was already accustomed to this feeling.

After all, Hundred Braves was that kind of game.

A roguelike. A genre where death meant losing everything and starting over from square one.

Maybe that’s why this feeling of emptiness felt familiar.

Familiar yet… somehow difficult to bear.

“To go back…”

I shook my head.

“I’m finally back.”

I got out of bed and settled in front of the computer.

I entered my password and, with practiced ease, launched the game.

It was a team-based AOS game I’d played for a long time.

There was nothing better to mindlessly play when I had nothing to do.

‘It was somewhat fun too.’

*

“Are you sure you want to exit the game?”

I clicked ‘Yes.’

The reason was simple.

It just wasn’t fun anymore.

‘Our team really sucks.’

Thinking back, it wasn’t like it had been that fun of a game to begin with.

After turning off the game and browsing a few videos on YouTube, I suddenly felt hungry.

Now that I think about it, the food over there wasn’t tasty either.

Thinking about eating modern food for the first time in ages made me excited.

I opened a delivery app and, after a few minutes of contemplation, ordered a chicken.

“…Delicious.”

Of course. There’s no way chicken could taste bad.

But something felt off. I was definitely full, yet no matter how much I ate, I didn’t feel satisfied.

Forcefully shoving dry chicken into my mouth, I eventually set the box down.

Leftover chicken box.

An empty soju bottle.

Spilled cigarette ash.

“What a mess.”

I opened the drawer next to the computer.

Inside was a chunky envelope.

I pulled it out and put it on the desk.

‘I have a rough idea of what this is.’

As I was about to leave the room, I noticed my smartphone tossed on the bed.

I turned it on, but aside from a bunch of random notifications, there wasn’t anything noteworthy.

Well, it’s not like anyone would contact me. No wonder the phone wasn’t charged.

I hadn’t really used my smartphone much lately, since I mostly played mobile games on an app player.

‘Should I leave it behind?’

I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, I grabbed the smartphone and stuffed it into my pocket.

Then I climbed into the wheelchair sitting in a corner of the room.

I exited the room and closed the door.

Lastly, I took one last glance back.

‘It’s the last time; should I have cleaned up a bit?’

*

This feels strange.

This world is strange.

In fact, it had always been like this.

People passing by on the streets.

Cars wildly zipping around.

Could they really exist in the same world as me?

I continued to move through the city that looked no different from the desert.

After rolling my wheelchair for a while, I finally arrived at my destination.

Here, there was actually a destination, which was a stark contrast to the desert.

Even if that destination wasn’t an oasis or the edge of the desert.

Even if it was the dark, turbulent water of the Han River down below.

‘A bit anticlimactic.’

There was some regret.

Allen Pleuk, that pathetic guy.

I wanted to make him a hero and see the ending of his story.

One hundred attempts. That was the limit I had set for myself at the beginning.

If I couldn’t make Allen Pleuk a hero by the hundredth attempt, I was planning to give up.

And the instant I wasted that hundred attempts, the opportunity came. An opportunity that couldn’t have been better.

But that opportunity too, ultimately slipped through my fingers.

It’s really over now.

I couldn’t make Allen Pleuk a hero.

I… couldn’t do anything.

‘It’s time to end this, huh.’

I’ve dragged this on for far too long.

Without any meaning.

Without being able to do anything at all.

I rolled the wheelchair forward.

Now that I was here, the railing felt higher than I’d expected.

But I thought I might be able to lift myself over with some arm strength.

Just then, as I grabbed the railing with both hands…

My pocket vibrated.

‘What the?’

I pulled my smartphone out of my pocket.

There shouldn’t be anyone who would contact me.

After clearing a low battery alert, a message popped up.

[Sender ID Restricted]

– If it’s not over yet?

I shot back a reply.

– Who is this?

The reply came instantly.

[Sender ID Restricted]

– Log into Hundred Braves.

What could that mean?

I hesitated and then accessed the Hundred Braves app from my home screen.

After a brief loading period, a window popped up in the game.

[Training in Progress. Do you want to continue? Yes / No]

At that moment, I realized.

Allen Pleuk was still alive in the game.

‘It’s not over yet?’

But no matter how many times I clicked the ‘Yes’ button, the training wouldn’t resume.

Just as I was about to turn the game off and back on again…

[Sender ID Restricted]

– You won’t be able to go back just by clicking a button.

I texted the guy back.

– Send me back.

[Sender ID Restricted]

– Why do you want to go back? Ordinary people would want the opposite.

I hurriedly typed my response.

– I have a reason to make Allen Pleuk a hero.

Making him a hero was a form of proof.

Unless I completed that proof, I had no worth in this world.

But this time, the message came before I finished typing.

Another response arrived.

[Sender ID Restricted]

– But it’s just a game.

Yeah, Hundred Braves was just a game.

And at one time, I was just trying to prove something through that mere game.

But now I realized it was more than that.

The people I met there were all real.

Especially…

‘I haven’t fulfilled my promise to Gwen yet.’

I needed to tell Gwen the location of the relic.

I recalled Gwen fighting against golems to protect me.

I wanted to keep the promise as much as I could.

– Please send me back. I beg you.

A moment later, my phone vibrated again.

This reply took a bit longer.

[Sender ID Restricted]

– But… do you really think going back will let you stand up again?

I recalled my situation as I read his words.

I had no motivation to reach the next sand dune. Wolves were closing in all around.

Even if I went back, could I really stand?

Even if I stood up, would I make it to the next dune?

Nothing was certain.

But getting back was the priority.

– I can stand, so send me…

Before I could finish typing, a reply came back.

[Sender ID Restricted]

– I doubt you’ll not give up again.

I found his mockish tone a bit irritating.

– What do you mean?

[Sender ID Restricted]

– You know better than anyone, but if you don’t remember, seeing it for yourself will be better.

Suddenly, my vision started to twist again.

The Han River before my eyes vanished, and I found myself staring at a white wall.

‘What is this? More importantly…’

I looked down at my legs.

They were completely healed.

And I was wearing the school uniform pants from my high school days.

Only then did I remember where this place was.

‘Is this school?’

No wonder it felt familiar.

I was standing in the hallway of my old high school.

Thinking back, my body seemed to have reverted to that time as well.

‘Did I go back to the past?’

The sudden change in situation caught me off guard.

It felt like someone was completely toying with me.

Just as I was about to argue with someone using the smartphone still in my hand…

“Are you Sung Yoo-rang?”

A small voice came from behind me.

I turned around to see a door that read “Faculty Room.”

Sung Yoo-rang… my name.

“You failed to place in this tournament as well. You certainly don’t seem lacking, so what could it be?”

And I recognized that conversation immediately.

‘Of all times…’

This memory, of all memories.

I felt like yelling at them to open the faculty room door, but my body wouldn’t obey.

While that conversation continued inside…

“In my opinion, I think it’s better to switch to a long-distance category. The impact of talent is too tremendous in the middle distance you are currently running.”

“Mr. Jo, as an educator, using the term ‘talent’…”

“As the head coach of the athletics club, I think that’s a fair judgment. You can’t dismiss the existence of talent in sports.”

Suddenly, I realized I was clenching my fists tightly.

My nails were digging into my palms, to the point they were nearly drawing blood.

Little did they know, the conversation continued.

“If you can’t dismiss the existence of talent, does that mean there’s talent in long-distance running?”

“That’s unsure. However, given Sung Yoo-rang’s work ethic and determination, it is certainly possible.”

“Well then… I’ll leave it to you, teacher.”

The conversation ended, and I could hear them getting up.

I heard the scuff of slippers approaching, and at the moment the door swung open…

The scene switched again.

Instinctively, a warning rang in my head.

No, not this memory.

‘Damn it.’

I was sitting in the wheelchair.

*