Chapter 141: Something More Important
As soon as Sung-Woon saw Ji-Woo’s face, he recalled what Ji-Woo had said before.
“Oppa, I’ll put a curse on you.”
***
Jang-Wan, who was acting as Sung-Woon’s younger sister, collected herself.
‘No. I already knew he was such a jerk. Calm down, Choi Seo-Yoon. The conversation hasn’t even started yet.’
And she was able to tell that Sung-Woon had been throwing glances at her from time to time while looking at his system windows.
‘He’s not ignoring me. He’s just trying to ignore me.’
Additionally, Jang-Wan knew of a way to make Sung-Woon stop.
Jang-Wan used to talk a lot with Choi Ji-Woo, her older cousin and Sung-Woon’s younger sister. Because Sung-Woon’s parents had to work, and Sung-Woon was a pro gamer himself, Choi Seo-Yoon, who lived closeby, used to visit Choi Ji-Woo at the hospital after school. At first, she went because her relatives had asked her to, but then she thought that visiting Ji-Woo and chatting with her wasn’t all that bad.
The majority of their conversations were initiated by Jang-Wan, but some were started by Ji-Woo. Because Ji-Woo stayed in her ward every day, though, there wasn’t really anything for her to talk about. Most of the things she talked about were thus centered around Sung-Woon. In Jang-Wan’s perspective at the time, Sung-Woon actually seemed like a good older sibling. He would call his ill little sister everyday and even came to visit whenever he had the chance.
Jang-Wan then remembered the words that Ji-Woo would half-jokingly and half-seriously say whenever Sung-Woon left.
“Playing games again?”
At those words, Sung-Woon’s fingers slowed, and with a light wave of his hand, the system windows in front of him got pushed to the side and disappeared.
Sung-Woon said, “Right, sorry. I was thrown off a little bit. It was such an unexpected situation that I unconsciously tried to avoid it… Choi Ji-Woo, what happened?”
Jang-Wan felt relieved on the inside.
She couldn’t fight in the battle herself, so now she had no choice but to hope that Crampus and Wisdom would do their best.
Jang-Wan replied, “To be honest, I’m not sure either. I thought I was dead, but when I opened my eyes, I was here. I asked the player called AR because she was the closest to me, and she told me this was a game. I did my best to learn to play it and tried to get used to this somehow.”
“What’s with the lion mask?”
“I was just…looking for something to cover my face with.”
“Did you not know it was me? Nebula was the ID I always used…”
“I did suspect it, but I wasn’t certain.”
“Also…”
“Wait,” Jang-Wan awkwardly smiled and said, “It’s a little scary when you pry like that.”
Sung-Woon paused for a moment before nodding.
“Just one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Why have you appeared now?”
Jang-Wan got a sinking feeling in her chest. It was a sharp and keen question to ask his dead sister.
‘I need to answer well. He was a jerk who played games even until the moment his sister died.’
Jang-Wan asked, “Is gaming…that important?”
Sung-Woon froze.
“I’m here because I was happy to see you again, because I just found out you were really you. There’s no other reason than that. I just wanted to talk to you.”
Jang-Wan believed she had made the right choice when Sung-Woon fell silent. Now she just had to buy time by making small talk or bringing up their memories.
‘...And then what?’
If this effort produced good results, Wisdom and Crampus would lead the game to their victory. However, the cost of that would be digging deep into Sung-Woon’s wounds and causing him defeat. Jang-Wan wondered if her choice was too harsh.
‘No, it’s not. I saw Ji-Woo cry. I saw that he didn’t call her once when he wasn’t even that busy. Isn’t this a reasonable price to pay?’
Jang-Wan clenched her teeth beneath her smile. She just hoped that Sung-Woon would say something in response.
Sung-Woon said, “Let’s talk a bit later then.”
“...Oppa?”
“It won’t take long. To be honest, I don’t think I need to do anything else at this point, but just in case…”
Jang-Wan became anxious when she realized how Sung-Woon saw the situation.
“Then why don’t you just talk to me?”
“There’s something more important than that.”
“...Something more important?”
Sung-Woon scratched his mask as if he was puzzled.
“...You don’t remember?”
This was unexpected. In Jang-Wan’s perspective, it seemed that Sung-Woon didn’t have much affection for Ji-Woo. And thus she never considered that the brother and sister would have had a secret conversation that she didn’t know about.
Jang-Wan said, “No, I do remember. But there’s no way that’s more important than…”
Sung-Woon blankly stared at Jang-Wan.
“Meeting…”
His eyes were cold.
“...Me again.”
Jang-Wan thought to herself, ‘Does he think I’m suspicious?’
And she was right. No, it was more than that.
“Players can change their avatar at will in The Lost World. You must be someone who knows me, has met Ji-Woo, is confident in imitating the way she talks, and knows about our past. My friends would have to be excluded, and I don’t know Ji-Woo’s friends very well. I haven’t seen them many times, so they should be excluded as well. And the adults at home were also pretty indifferent, so they should be excluded too. And someone imitating Ji-Woo to approach me must harbor some kind of ill feelings toward me or Ji-Woo. Ji-Woo was a good kid, though, and she had no enemies. On the other hand, there should be about three people who have a grudge against me. Among them, there’s only one person that fits all the other criteria mentioned before.”
“...Oppa?”
Sung-Woon reopened his system window and said, “Yes, I guess I was an oppa?to you too, Choi Seo-Yoon.”
Jang-Wan bit her lip.
‘No, it’s not over yet.’
Jang-Wan then said, “Answer me.”
Sung-Woon looked up from his screen.
“What promise did I make?”
***
With her big surgery coming up, Ji-Woo said, “It’s painful for me to see you not being able to do what you want to do because of me.”
Sung-Woon said that wasn’t true. He had thought that he had provided enough reasons to explain his position, but Ji-Woo disagreed.
“How often do you worry about me that it has become so easy for you to say those words?”
Sung-Woon kept denying it, but even he himself knew that it sounded like a poor excuse.
“Don’t worry, oppa. I’ll put a curse on you.”
“...What do you mean?’”
“Don’t think about me when you’re playing games. Focus on the game. You’re good at it, so you’ll win as long as you aren’t distracted by something trivial.”
“You’re not something trivial.”
“Anyway.” Ji-Woo said, “From now on, if you lose and you use me as an excuse, I’m going to curse you even after I die, alright? Forget about me completely when you’re gaming and win, Choi Sung-Woon. Don’t ever lose. Ever.”
***
Sung-Woon said to Jang-Wan, “I don’t think there’s a reason for me to tell you.”
If she were really his younger sister, she wouldn’t have ever disturbed him while he was playing a game.
The day Ji-Woo died, Sung-Woon had lost his game. He failed to fulfill his promise to his younger sister and?lost his last chance to talk to her. And after she died, the curse she gave him really held him back. Sung-Woon got demoted after multiple defeats, and then he left his team.
It was pure coincidence that he got into The Lost World, and the only reason he kept playing was because it was in a completely different genre than the game he used to play. And his talent for playing games hadn’t gone anywhere, so he was good at The Lost World too.
After getting back into the game, Sung-Woon recalled what Jang-Wan had said while disguising as his younger sister.
‘Talking to her is more important than gaming?’
At first, Jang-Wan’s imitation of his sister was so accurate that he wasn’t sure either, but she messed up the most important part.
‘The real Ji-Woo would have never said something like that.’
That was what Sung-Woon thought. Perhaps even if Ji-Woo had really said such a thing to him, he still wouldn’t have believed it was her.
When it seemed like Jang-Wan was going to shout something, unable to give up, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
“That’s enough.”
Jang-Wan turned around to see Wisdom and Crampus standing there.
“Why are you guys…? Oh, don’t tell me what I’m thinking is right.”
Jang-Wan looked at Wisdom with a bit of hope.
“It’s over, Jang-Wan,” Wisdom said. “We lost.”
***
“We have occupied the highland!”
“Good work. Everyone must be tired, but we need to set up camp right away.”
“I’ll let the generals know.”
As his adjutant Su-Heon left, Vasen Lak Orazen looked around him. Everything would have been impossible without Night Sky’s miracle, but his younger brother and his king, Kyle Lak Orazen, had offered great help as well.
Kyle was an exceptional tactician, so he had advised Vasen about what to look out for, as well as a specific area to pay attention to when Vasen was going to attack the Asien Fortress. The fact that Black Scale’s army was able to successfully occupy the highland they were at suggested that all of Kyle’s advice was useful.
Unfortunately, the war wasn’t over yet. The nearby Asbestos army was running away from the highland, but Black Scale’s army no longer had the strength to chase after them. And Asbestos’s army would surely come back after regrouping. The victory was thus far from perfect, but nothing could be done about that.
As a reconnaissance soldier came up to him, Vasen asked, “What is it?”
The soldier couldn’t hide his joyful expression and replied, “Red Fruit’s army is approaching from the east.”
“Are they here already?”
“Yes.”
They had arrived earlier than Vasen expected. In many cases, this kind of favorable condition was intended by gods.
Vasen estimated the amount of Asbestos troops there were between Black Scale’s army and Red Fruit’s army.
‘Ultimately, Red Fruit’s army would win, but Asbestos’s army will put up a strong resistance. All of their defense troops will be concentrated on the east front though, where Red Fruit’s army is approaching. And even a slight disruption to their rear end will significantly help Red Fruit.’?
Vasen said, “Prepare those among the cavalry who are still good to go. We’re going to help Red Fruit’s army.”
***
Sratis’s claw penetrated deep into Ostro’s chest.
The giant gorilla tried to take it out, but Sratis forcefully pushed it further in. Unfitting for its appearance, Ostro then staggered backward, grabbed onto the stone structures within the Asien fortress, and fell backward. The claw got pulled out then, but it wasn’t exactly a good development for Ostro. Its giant heart pumped blood throughout its 40-meter-tall body through its sturdy blood vessels, and both had been severely torn by the attack. The next moment, as the heart squeezed itself, blood gushed out through the torn vessels, muscles, and ribs, splattering over Sratis’s head and scattering like mist in the air before falling in droplets like rain.
Sratis looked at the three arms that had been broken off and were now lying on the ground. Even though the pain meant nothing and it could quickly regenerate its arms with Night Sky’s powers, it was still angry.
-How dare you…! Do you know who it was that created my body?
Sratis then swung its last remaining arm down at Ostro. Every time it hit Ostro, blood, flesh, and bones flew above the Asien Fortress and fell back down. And it rained blood.
***
Lakrak heard the small snake in his hand screaming.
“What’s this?”
-Let go of me! My name is Ool!
The snake continuously wriggled.
“Ool?”
-Yes! I am the creation of Binding God and Overflowing God!
“Then you are my enemy.”
-No, you can’t!
Lakrak tore off the snake’s head and chewed on it.
‘It tastes bad.’
Lakrak spat out the snake’s head and threw its lifeless body away.
The apostle, Redin BR Oser, calculated correctly. The power of order building up in Lakrak’s arm had left a big wound. As if hit by a bomb, scales had been torn off of his right arm, and blood dripped down. Lakrak groaned in pain and belatedly tried to deal with the wound, but as the pain continued, he decided to simply ignore it.
‘It’ll heal one way or another, so there’s no need to touch it.’
And Redin was right in another way. Even until the end, Lakrak wasn’t able to escape the phalanx that Redin and the Holy Knights following him had made. Lakrak had a feeling that if he forced himself out of the phalanx, he would get severely injured, so he had no choice but to keep fighting from the inside. However, Lakrak had made a different calculation.
‘At the end of the day, the enemy’s greatest asset is the apostle and the knights. If I were to deal with them, victory would be ours.’
So Lakrak did so. He endured the pain and didn’t run away from the enemy. And he won.
Lakrak looked down and said, “Binding God’s apostle, Redin. I see why you were so confident. You were an outstanding warrior.”
Lakrak nodded with a look of relief.
“It’s been a long time since I had such an intense fight after becoming an apostle. Rest in peace.”
Lakrak pulled out the spear which had pierced through Redin BR Oser’s mouth, esophagus, and heart. Redin coughed up blood, but it was simply the blood remaining in his heart. Redin was already dead.
As blood dripped down Lakrak’s face and covered his left eye, he lightly brushed it off. And then he made his way through the piles of dead knights scattered everywhere, leaving barely any space to step on actual ground, and trudged to his mount, Anakse. As Lakrak approached, Anaske, who had been eating the dead knights, shrieked with joy.
Quuueeeck!
Lakrak got onto Anakse’s back with practiced ease.
And when he looked around, the tide of war had already been turned.
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