Chapter 123: 123

Episode 123. The Great Legacy (2)

I, Jeong Si-woo, lived an ordinary life.

I was neither exceptionally rich nor exceptionally poor.

I had no special family history, and my childhood was the same as other children’s. Someone you could see anywhere in Korea. The epitome of normalcy that no one was interested in. Ordinariness itself. That was who Jeong Si-woo was.

“You got full scores in Math by cramming? Really?”

“Yeah.”

If I had to pick something that characterized me, I was remarkably good at memorizing, reading comprehension, and deducing results from small clues compared to my peers.

But that couldn’t make Jeong Si-woo special. While those merits distinguished him, they didn’t make him stand out noticeably.

There were people similar to him who were much more talented.

There were Mensa members, prodigies, and geniuses everywhere in the world.

And Jeong Si-woo was just a student who was a bit clever and ingenious. That was how people viewed him.

“What are you doing staring at your cell phone?”

“It’s none of your business. It’s not like I’m bothering you.”

“===.”

In the narrow and packed cafeteria, Jeong Si-woo didn’t let go of his cell phone while eating lunch. A website introducing interesting animals was displayed on the screen.

It was one of his few hobbies. Distinguishing extinct dinosaurs or mysterious animals that couldn’t be found in Korea. It was an interest of his that was a little unusual among his peers.

“Are you looking at those things again? You’re such a kid.”

“I said, bug off.”

Jeong Si-woo typed on his cell phone. He had found something interesting while searching, and he was writing about it.

On the website, Jeong Si-woo’s username was famous. Jeong Si-woo was known as an expert among enthusiasts because he observed from a different perspective and derived new facts from small details.

“I’m heading out first. I need to have dinner with my family today.”

“Hey, hey! We were supposed to go to the PC bang today!”

“Next time. I don’t have any money.”

That day was no different. After breaking up his annoying plans with his friends, he headed to his comfortable home. He held onto his cell phone while walking down the street and put in his earphones.

The calm music obscured the noise of modern society, and Jeong Si-woo was engulfed in the sea of information displayed on the screen.

“Oh, excuse me.”

“…You should watch where you’re going, kid.”

He bumped into people and apologized and almost fell when he tripped. But Jeong Si-woo couldn’t take his eyes off his cell phone. He could concentrate extraordinarily. When he was rolling around in his world, he usually became a completely different person.

“You’re here.”

“Yes.”

It was the same that day. Jeong Si-woo slipped out of his shoes and jacket as if he were shedding his skin. Time passed quickly as he focused on the Internet, and it quickly became dark outside.

The day went as usual. His father sat down at the table first, and then, Jeong Si-woo sat down. His mother was late because she had to bring the stew, some side dishes, and cutlery. She only sat down when Jeong Si-woo had already eaten about two spoonfuls of rice.

“Oh, I told you to stop looking at your phone when you’re eating.”

“Just leave me alone. I’m doing something important.”

Along with a small sigh, dinner continued. His mother tried to admonish him, but the three were already used to it. Although she wasn’t particularly happy with her son focusing on his cell phone during family dinner time, she was happy enough to refrain from scolding him.

She was, until…

-Breaking news. A Giant Rift has formed in the sky above Seoul. Evacuate immediately……!

No one in the house ever imagined that their comfortable and cozy daily routine would collapse in a moment.

Booom!

The ceiling collapsed. The debris poured down and swept away the table. Clouds of dust filled the house, and food splattered from the dishes. The hot stew wet Jeong Si-woo’s t-shirt. He felt a sharp pain.

“Argh! Mom, Mom……?”

It was the first time he suffered a burn. In a panic, Jeong Si-woo lifted his head and called his mother. And he froze instantly.

“Ah… Ugh….”

Debris was not the only thing that fell from the ceiling. Two bodies were sticking out in between. They were the couple that moved in three years ago. They had handed out rice cakes as a move-in gift.

Jeong Si-woo retched. He threw up the food he just ate. It was the first dead body he saw in his life. The smell of dead bodies, blood, and kimchi stew mixed, creating a disgusting aroma.

“Si-woo… Run away…….”

“Huh… Huh… Hwahh─!”

His mother and father spoke to him. They were in the center of the rubble.

Jeong Si-woo crawled without looking back, gripping the floor with his hands. Although he tore his palm and got stuck with splinters, he did not stop. The fear that engulfed his entire body was much more intense than the courage to save his lifelong family.

It was different from movies and animations. In the face of unexpected events, humans could be so reprehensible. Ordinary people in this modern society couldn’t suddenly become heroes.

“Ugh…Ah ah ah Ahhh….”

Shrill screams erupted all around. It meant that terrible things like this were happening throughout the entire apartment.

Jeong Si-woo glanced outside the window. A horrible scar-like fissure had appeared in the blue sky. From the crack, bizarre creatures poured out. They were monsters. Invaders that had begun to appear in the world at some point due to Dimensional Distortion Phenomenon.

“Grrr… Krraek?”

A strange-looking creature crawled out of the dust. It was one of the creatures that were pouring out outside the window. Jeong Si-woo felt dizzy.

He kicked the floor with his toes and crawled to hide under the bed. He was knowledgeable about unusual animals and liked dinosaurs. But he didn’t even think about looking up monsters because he instinctively felt reluctant when he saw them. He didn’t know how to deal with monsters, and he didn’t have the strength, either.

It was because he wasn’t a hunter or an Awakener that he sometimes saw on TV.

Amid a natural disaster-like crisis, Jeong Si-woo was someone who had to wait for help. He couldn’t come forward and save his family. All he could do was close his eyes, cover his ears, and try not to cry or imagine the horrible things that were happening.

“Huuh… Hwaaah”

His mother’s and father’s voices mixed into the screams he could hear. Clothes that belonged to his family flew under the bed, torn to pieces. The ripped bits of cloth was soaked in blood.

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Jeong Si-woo covered his mouth and screamed silently. It felt like a thousand daggers were piercing his heart. The pit of his stomach was in a knot as if something was stuck inside, and he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was about to suffocate.

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If only he had the strength.

No, if only he had been interested in monsters.

Instead of being interested in useless animals or dinosaurs, he should have given more attention to monsters. Then, he could have protected them.

If he had learned even a little bit more about -Phenomenon Analysis- at school, and if he had studied -Dimensional Distortion Phenomenon-, he could have foreseen this.

Everything felt like his fault. The air that entered his throat and filled his lungs smelled strongly of blood. He could hear the monsters tearing flesh with their claws and teeth and swallowing it.

It was worse than death.

He was so despicable and pathetic, hiding under the bed, keeping quiet as he cried because he was terrified of pain and death. He wanted to jump out at any moment.

But his hands and feet were already out of his control. It was as if his whole body was frozen. Cold sweat pouring down, and he couldn’t budge.

* * *

I talked to Seol Ah-rin, who was watching my memory together.

“It’s difficult remembering this after a long time. I feel like I’m about to go mad, experiencing this trauma so clearly again. I think I might lose my mind.”

“But you can’t stop. You have to know for sure. You have to wake up what is sleeping inside of you.”

The memories faded away.

It was painful to look at them.

Is this not enough?

This incident was why I wanted to be a hunter. This is why I wanted to extinguish all monsters and put an end to this disaster. What more do I have to see?

Seol Ah-rin spoke as if she had read my mind.

“This is just fear. There must be something you think of as a ‘Great Legacy’ that helped you overcome this fear.”

Even in this situation, terrible emotions constantly poured into my head. I was going crazy. It felt like my skull was broken, and a sharp, needle-like object was stabbing my brain. My heated face turned redder and redder.

And then.

Rattle-

The Jeong Si-woo in my memory, my past-self, saw a bright light. The darkness under the bed lifted. Instead of the stench, cool air poured in. It was refreshing. It felt like I was set free after being tied up.

What could it be?

Was it all a dream?

“Are you all right?”

No, it wasn’t. At that moment, I saw the most vivid sight ever. A man who jumped into the mess to turn the bed upside down and save me. A hunter who risked his life to save a complete stranger when I couldn’t do anything for my family.

Seol Ah-rin looked at me.

“You found it.”

It felt like someone grabbed my hair and pulled me out of the water just before I drowned. The hazy sensation left me. As soon as I woke up from my dream and saw reality, another dream began.

“Oh….”

That day, everything about me began.

-The Great Legacy-

It wasn’t the moment when monsters appeared and destroyed my daily life. What made me who I am today was the appearance of the man who dragged me up and made me live again.

[Your past has been registered in ‘The Great Legacy’.]

.

.

.

[The ‘Akashic Records’ strengthens the ability.]

[The ‘Akashic Records’ have been linked.]

[The name of the ability has been determined.]

The young Jeong Si-woo disappeared. And my numerous pasts were layered upon it—the image of a man who never gave in to hardships and constantly sought information whenever he failed.

An acute Analyst who built up knowledge with countless studies, who could break down an individual like a puzzle with the slightest glance to determine their essence, and who took apart and analyzed information about monsters.

The image of a person who fought bravely in the face of terror and never collapsed under any circumstances.

Yes, disasters didn’t make me who I am.

“That’s a lot better than me. This ability suits you better. You could… You could also use it this way.”

Seol Ah-rin’s faint voice became clear. My mind that had been lost in memory came back up to the surface. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The ability had already been activated. What hovered around me wasn’t powerful modern firearms or a hoard of monsters pouring out.

– ‘The Great Legacy: Hero’-

Hero.

A lonely man who stands tall in front of waves and storms and protects humankind, and a boy who manages to break through them with courage alone even though everyone calls him reckless. All of my puzzle pieces came together.

[A hero is not born in times of crisis.]

[Times of crisis are what cause a hero to be born.]

The Great Legacy that was asleep in me was a hero.

[You’ve grown a great deal again.]

The Traveler’s voice rang in my head.

[As usual, you’re always so interesting to watch.]

It felt like I skipped not a single stair step but a few floors at once.

The moment I opened my eyes, something inside of me had changed.

A little; a lot.

“… I’d like to go to the training facility for a minute.”

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