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Chapter 203: Abyss (5)

Now that he thought about it, it was strange.

He had lived for over 30 years.

But for the past seven months, he hadn’t been able to recall memories related to his true self, ‘Kim Woojin’.

‘My reality couldn’t have been that bad…’

His parents had died in an accident.

Even so, it wasn’t like he had nothing to hold onto in reality.

He had inherited quite a large inheritance.

He was a pretty successful streamer.

If he remembered correctly, he even had a girlfriend.

It was a pretty enjoyable life.

It would have been normal to think about it once or twice, even if not often, and express longing.

‘Strange.’

It was definitely strange.

It still was.

Even now, when he tried to think about Kim Woojin, the memories were too hazy.

Both his supporters and his girlfriend… He didn’t know their faces.

He couldn’t even remember their names.

Before he knew it, his memories of Kim Woojin had become very faint.

Even if the past seven months had been intense, was this really possible?

This wasn’t just a matter of personality.

‘I forgot about it. No, someone made me forget. And intentionally left only some memories vivid.’

The only vivid memories left were those related to the game.

What the ingredients of the recipe were.

Where the gates appeared.

What strategies the users left behind.

The backstories of the main characters, and so on.

He remembered these things incredibly well.

Without missing a single word.

‘It’s not like I have selective amnesia.’

Gate Hunter.

Only knowledge about this game remained vivid. That’s why the game became everything in his life.

Rank 1.

The only shining trophy left in the blurred memory of Kim Woojin.

Perhaps this was the main memory that had sustained him until now.

He suddenly became afraid.

What if he really forgot everything about reality?

It was already happening.

Even when he tried to remember, the memories kept fading.

Ananke’s words suddenly came to mind.

She said someone intervened in this body.

She said they forcefully combined the soul and body like a chimera.

They combined things that couldn’t be combined.

That was Ananke’s assessment.

The fading of Kim Woojin’s memories might be a side effect of that.

“…”

He took out a piece of paper.

He silently wrote down the contents with a pen.

[Kim Woojin, 30 years old, Streamer, Gate Hunter, Possession, Patron, Girlfriend.]

He wrote down what he could remember about his past life.

It was a memory he barely squeezed out.

Nothing more came to mind.

‘If I write it down, even if I forget, I’ll look it up again someday.’

Besides, there was one more way to recall memories related to his past life.

—Coo.

“Cute little thing.”

—Coo Coo.

He gently stroked the fur of Hayang, who was perched on his shoulder. It was also because of Hayang that he felt something strange about his patron.

The fact that he was able to recall Kim Woojin’s memories was all due to the Abyss attribute.

The attribute stimulated his memories.

When his parents passed away and he felt great loneliness, he was able to recall a little bit of that memory, and by clinging to it, he was able to think of people whose faces he couldn’t remember.

‘If the attribute grows stronger…’

Perhaps he would remember more about his past life. After comforting Siwoo, he went to look for Seo Yerim.

When his Abyss attribute exceeded 30%, both Park Siwoo and Seo Yerim went wild.

They were sweating profusely and went into a kind of groggy state. He was able to take care of Park Siwoo to some extent.

He wondered how Seo Yerim was doing.

He looked around for Han Siah.

“Have you seen Yerim by any chance?”

“She went into the tent. That one.”

He looked at the tent she had entered. It was shaking back and forth, making him wonder what she was doing inside.

He knocked on the tent door.

“Are you alright?”

Seo Yerim came out.

For a moment, she stared at Kim Minwoo with hollow eyes.

Then she turned her head away.

Her face was flushed.

[Seo Yerim’s Favorability has increased…]

“Huh?”

Kim Minwoo tilted his head in confusion.

* * *

Hayang dealt with attributes.

Seo Yerim also knew this. She had absorbed the Abyss attribute, and Kim Minwoo wanted to spar. He wanted to check the effects of the attribute.

She readily agreed.

This kind of help was only natural. Besides, sparring with Kim Minwoo would be helpful to her as well.

She had heard the shocking news that he had no talent.

It all seemed like a lie.

Because Kim Minwoo fought so well.

So there was no reason to refuse.

‘I want to check it out myself too…’

It wasn’t just Kim Minwoo who had grown.

Seo Yerim had also become accustomed to the Divine Bow and had leveled up a lot.

She was a proper archer now.

A competitive spirit also took root in her heart.

The spar began.

There had been no problems when the Abyss attribute was low.

Trauma trigger?

The only bad memory that came to mind was falling down as a child. It didn’t affect combat at all, and he even had the leisure to smile at the lighthearted memory.

That’s how it was until then.

The anomaly occurred when Hayang greedily absorbed the Abyss attribute, exceeding 30%.

Park Siwoo was immediately retired.

She saw Siwoo’s mentality crumble to dust after a single clash of swords.

He was a kind and cheerful younger brother. However, his words and actions were quite lighthearted.

He was always kind.

That’s why Seo Yerim inwardly considered him to be inferior. She didn’t show it outwardly, but inwardly, she did.

Perhaps that’s why.

She seemed to have laughed inwardly at that time.

She thought he was pathetic.

That she was different.

That he couldn’t even overcome a single mental attack.

She thought to herself.

And soon, she regretted her complacency.

The moment the pitch-black energy stimulated her mind, Seo Yerim stopped abruptly.

Because a memory she thought she had forgotten came to mind.

Before she knew it, a sword was in her hand instead of a bow, and her body had become very small. It was a childhood memory.

Her grandfather was looking at her with cold eyes.

She could hear the whispers around her.

She, who wasn’t growing.

The inadequate granddaughter who always failed to meet expectations.

It was strange.

She thought she had overcome her trauma.

Because she had picked up a bow.

Because she had found a new talent.

Because her grandfather had acknowledged her.

But, no.

At least, that’s how it was at the moment the memory came to mind.

She was still a child, her grandfather’s eyes were cold, and the people around her didn’t even show any expectations of her.

It was a memory she didn’t want to recall.

‘Ah!’

Her neck stung.

Kim Minwoo’s sword was already touching her neck.

Whether it was carelessness or something else.

The result was an absurdly pathetic defeat. The unsettling memory made her heart heavy.

It was a terrifying ability.

She couldn’t look Kim Minwoo in the eye. With such a weak mind, how could she have been so confident in sparring and even laughed at Park Siwoo…?

“…I’m going to rest for a bit.”

She entered the tent.

“Sigh… idiot, stupid, fool, sea cucumber, sea anemone. Who do you think you are to be so cocky…”

She mumbled.

Of course, it wasn’t just her, Siwoo’s mentality was also shaken, so it couldn’t be called her own disgrace alone…

No, from the moment the same result came out, it was a disgrace.

Their awakening times were vastly different.

The time they spent training was vastly different.

The number of gates they raided was vastly different.

But the results were the same.

So she couldn’t help but feel depressed.

“Come to think of it, that’s right…”

The sword was a talent that didn’t suit her. The memory of suffering for nearly half her life because of her lack of growth at some point was vivid.

She seemed to have forgotten about it at some point.

Exactly… when was it?

When she met Kim Minwoo.

No, to be precise, it was when she raided the gate with Kim Minwoo. They entered a gate that unfolded a world of martial arts, and by raiding it together, she was able to discover her true talent.

She changed her class, was hailed as the Divine Archer, and now she was ranked in the world rankings, albeit in the lower ranks.

765th in the overall rankings.

43rd in the archer individual rankings.

Would she have been able to achieve this ranking if she had held a sword?

‘Absolutely not…’

It wasn’t that she had no talent as a swordsman, but compared to an archer, it was like a firefly in front of the full moon.

Her swordsman ranking was around 700th individually.

Overall ranking across all classes?

She would probably easily surpass 3,000th place. It was only because Korea was a weak country in terms of awakening that her name had value; if it were the US, she wouldn’t have even gained fame as just another swordsman.

It had only been less than half a year, but she had already forgotten everything.

Intoxicated by her current power.

Intoxicated by fame.

Intoxicated by growth.

If it weren’t for the past that surfaced due to the Abyss, she wouldn’t have remembered it at all. No, she wouldn’t have even tried to remember.

No one would enjoy remembering their embarrassing past.

‘Looking back…’

Kim Minwoo was a very grateful person.

“He kept his promise too…”

She looked at the sponsorship ticket.

Diamond rank.

She had heard it was a very difficult item to obtain.

Kim Minwoo had kept his word, a promise made casually just a few months ago.

She didn’t know exactly what kind of place the Heavenly City was, but it would probably be of great help to her growth.

Nevertheless, she had given Kim Minwoo nothing but formal thanks.

Of course, they were in the same guild.

They were colleagues.

She planned to repay the favor someday.

It was okay to receive it like that.

But what bothered her was the fact that despite receiving so much, she and Kim Minwoo were nothing more than formal colleagues.

Did she have the same kind of human and close relationship as Park Siwoo?

No.

That was something she could tell just by looking at the simple issue of how they addressed each other.

Older brother and younger brother.

But what about her?

Unlike Han Siah, who joined recently, she was still “Ms. Seo Yerim” and “Mr. Kim Minwoo,” even though she was the second guild member.

The other title was “Guild Master.”

That was… how would she put it…

“We weren’t very close…”

There was a clear line between them.

It was the same for both Kim Minwoo and Seo Yerim. For her, it was a very familiar format. She was born and raised in the Sword Sect, where the hierarchy was clear.

Master, Teacher, Disciple.

In her environment, titles were always a clear-cut issue.

Perhaps that’s why she took it for granted.

Gratitude, guilt, and other complex emotions welled up.

So the conclusion was…

‘Mr. Kim Minwoo or Guild Master is a bit…’

How to put it, wouldn’t it seem too impersonal?

She thought they had become quite close.

Then what should she call him?

“Hey, Mr. Kim, I can’t do that either.”

That would make her not close, but crazy.

A title that could express friendliness.

A title that could close the distance between them.

Only one came to mind.

“Th-then… should I call you… o-oppa…?”

[TL/N: ]

Goosebumps suddenly rose on her arms.

Wasn’t that a really awkward title? Who had she ever called that in her life? Even the older members of the Sword Sect, she had always addressed them with clear titles like instructor or senior disciple.

But oppa?

Oppa!

Seo Yerim didn’t know anything about that.

No, she didn’t want to know.

“Ugh!”

She rolled around in the tent for a while.

“Are you alright?”

A familiar voice came from outside the tent. The inevitable person had arrived.

Seo Yerim slightly lowered the zipper and opened the entrance, looking at him.

‘Should I really call Kim Minwoo oppa? Wouldn’t it be better to bite my tongue and call him Mr. Kim instead? Do I even have to change the way I address him? Can’t we just have a normal conversation…?’

“Ms. Yerim?”

“Ah, that… well… o…”

“O?”

“What’s the schedule for today? I’m worried the Abyss Lord might attack soon. It’s already been four days, and it’s a bit strange that he’s staying still.”

“We’ll keep going in. He probably won’t stay still either. He won’t be able to breathe if this continues.”

As Kim Minwoo responded to the conversation, Seo Yerim’s heart felt at ease. As expected, it was much more comfortable to talk about work-related matters. As the burden eased, a smile naturally formed on her lips.

Han Siah, who was standing a little distance away, stared at her intently.