Past Life Returner

The New York Airport was a mess last year due to anthrax, but this year, Incheon Airport was in a panic because of SARS[1]. The entire airport was filled with tension as one of the passengers who arrived today had a confirmed positive test. I had to fill out the quarantine questionnaire and take my temperature to enter Korea. Then, I immediately booked two flight tickets to Osaka on site.

I couldn’t reach Joshua as he and Michael were gathered around the spot where an F-class dungeon was located according to my memory palace. They were far away from the mansion.

The dots that indicated the Seventh and Eighth Virtues, who were sisters, were stopped around an F-class dungeon in Osaka. These two dots didn’t move at all on the search map window. They must have been in the dungeon or stuck somewhere to sleep or heal. Anyway, I decided to lure the Awakened who were after me into the F-class dungeon that the Seventh and Eight Virtues were targeting.

The departure of the flight was within two hours.

“We can’t do this. We shouldn’t do this.”

Woo Yeon-Hee had been quiet until now, but it seemed like she couldn’t hold in her emotions anymore. She exploded in anger, turning her face bright red. Then, she looked at me in tears and stared at the innocent floor.

“We’ve probably shed hundreds of gallons of blood in the dungeons so far, and you were the one who had bled the most.”

The people passing by whispered at us, thinking that we were having a lover’s quarrel.

“What was all that for? How could the System call you ‘a threat to everyone?’ Fine. I guess it has its own way, but it shouldn’t have given me the quest. You told me not to think that the System has a personality, but it’s evil. It is trying to alienate us!”

“Maybe… There are two Systems,” I replied calmly.

She asked, “Two?”

I shrugged. “It’s just a hunch for now, so we will see. I should get this prank over first. Don’t waste your energy on this. It’s alright.”

“I believe that you’ll be able to stop it since you’re strong. However, this time, it’s against people like us. What I’m worried about is…”

That was what I was concerned about. If I knew I would end up being caught up in such a prank, I would have distributed some Accomplishment Reward points to Woo Yeon-Hee. She was also growing abnormally fast, though not as much as I was, but didn’t think she would be able to commit a murder.

“Listen carefully as there could be a quest targeting you someday,” I said.

Woo Yeon-Hee looked terrified by just imagining that moment.

“This world is surprisingly simple. I’m just like a monster to others right now, so showing them a little kindness will completely ruin me. Humans are scarier than monsters because they will pretend and approach me with fake smiles.”

“I hope that mindset is real. Whatever happens, don’t take it to heart.”

At least Woo Yeon-Hee knew the gap between the novices and me, and she was certain that those who were after me would die. They thought I would be psychologically stressed when I killed them, but that was a big mistake. I would be fine. Woo Yeon-Hee, on the other hand, would end up with a wound in her heart.

“You can stay here if you don’t want to see it.”

However, Woo Yeon-Hee shook her head before I could even finish my sentence.

***

It was a beautiful place where cherry blossoms were blooming. I saw people through the trees as the Suzuki siblings had hired agents to protect the dungeon entrance just as we had. However, their behavior was different from that of the mercenaries. They were yakuza, Japanese gangsters, as they were wearing casual clothes and equipped with a pistol at their waist.

The dungeon was located on a site that was purchased by an offshore North American real estate corporation established in Japan. Therefore, the Seventh and Eighth Virtues were technically invading private land.

When Woo Yeon-Hee and I walked out, the yakuzas’ attention was all drawn to us. Two of them hurriedly rushed toward us.

“You guys are in big trouble. You shouldn’t come up here.”

He spoke in a strong Osaka dialect as he stopped us threateningly while rolling his eyeballs. Then, he moved his hands above the guns as if he was about to send us back down the hill. There was no need to talk to Woo Yeon-Hee. We exchanged looks for a second, and I passed by them since she could handle them. I heard two short punches in the back.

The guys staring at us at the front didn’t even know what was going on. When they realized that we were attacking and that they needed to take out their guns, they had already fallen to the ground and were losing consciousness. There were nine yakuza in total, and two more were on Woo Yeon-Hee’s shoulders. She hastily came up to me.

“What are you going to do now?” she asked.

I tore off the barrier and pointed at the hidden dungeon entrance, and Woo Yeon-Hee threw the two guys on her shoulder in there like trash. We entered the dungeon after throwing the rest in there.

It was an F-class dungeon that belonged to Grafs. Since they were Woo Yeon-Hee’s least favorite monsters, she frowned. She pointed at the bottom of the slope with eyes full of disgust. There was a spot where the slope became narrower that we had to pass like a door, and there were twelve Awakened lying in ambush.

They must have wondered how I knew they were there as I approached them. We walked toward them, pretending that we didn’t know anything. Then, Woo Yeon-Hee gestured at one spot, then clasped and unclasped her hand. It was a signal that there was a trap, and she looked at me with a question in her eyes.

You know it, right?

Then, I answered silently, Of course.

These low-class trap skills couldn’t deceive my C-class Night Eyes, but I didn’t even have to use the skill. I took out a yen coin and threw it with all my might. When it hit the surface of the wall where the magic trap was installed…

Thud!!

The trap became activated, and the noise of the explosion filled the dungeon. Another one blasted into the ceiling too. Icy energy poured down, but it soon evaporated as there was no one in the activation spot. I saw a face across from me, but he seemed lost in the darkness.

Sheeeek-

I grabbed his neck and sped up.

“Keuk!”

I took my first step into the expanded area of the corridor while still holding him by his neck. Everyone looked terrible as only their faces were clean and unscathed. Most of them were hiding behind the wall, and they were very slow. I easily snatched an arrow that flew at me in the air. It was so easy that there was no need for me to use the guy in my hand as a defensive shield. Then, I threw the arrow at the shooter’s thigh. The shaft was slightly bent in the middle, but the arrowhead pierced his thigh and disappeared deep into the darkness.

“Aaargh!”

The scream was a beat late. Although screaming noise had been added to the loud magic trap, I couldn’t feel Graf’s movement from nearby. It seemed like they had cleared the beginning part of the dungeon. They must have fought against Grafs right before I arrived as they were quite experienced, and the blood on their clothes was still wet.

I also returned another arrow back to its shooter and threw the guy in my hand to the ground. When he collapsed, a cloud of dust filled the space. They began to have a hard time distinguishing between friends and foe. I punched a tall guy’s chest, and he bent forward and bounced off. I smacked the shaggy guy in his chin, so he flew up and crashed into the ceiling, then fell like autumn leaves. That was my style, and Woo Yeon-Hee quickly attacked the next target by knocking them down one by one.

I made eye contact with a Japanese girl, then she sprinted toward me with a dagger in each hand. She was quite fast. Her black hair was tangled with blood and plastered against her face, but her eyes looked familiar. She was attacking me with well-balanced Agility and Strength, and it looked like she was flying toward me. I was certain that she was the Seventh Virtue!

She dropped two venom teeth right above me as if she was trying to stab my chest with them. However, Woo Yeon-Hee rose behind her, pulled the Seventh Virtue’s hair, and threw her down on the ground.

Thud!

Woo Yeon-Hee took away the daggers from the Seventh Virtue, then aimed one at her neck and threw the other at an Awakened who was rushing toward them. The dagger thrust into the guy, but he slammed back as if a steel hammer had smashed him. Everything happened within the blink of an eye, and there were only three left standing.

One of them shot a fireball at me, but by the time it disappeared into sparks in the area where I had been, I was already behind his back. He slowly turned around with a frightened face. I kicked him immediately, and he was sent flying to the pile of dirt where he had first tried to ambush me.

Sheeek-

Woo Yeon-Hee’s dagger targeted another one, and only one Awakened left. She was shivering behind a rock, and she was the Eighth Virtue, the twin sister of the Seventh Virtue. She was known as the best healer in the past, but she was still a novice now.

“So what now! Kill me now if you are planning to do so! Cut me! Cut me!”

I heard the Seventh Virtue making a frantic last-ditch effort in the back. Woo Yeon-Hee and I weren’t the only ones who reacted to her as the Eighth Virtue began trembling more. When I pushed away the rock, the Eighth Virtue was also blown away. However, she somehow stood up as if she was proving that she had E-class stats.

“You are… Mr. Na… Seon… Hu… right?”

She looked at me as if she was looking at a boss monster.

“You are Suzuki Chiharu,” I replied.

The Seventh Virtue screamed, “Chiharu! Chiharu! If you touch her, I’ll kill you! Kaaaaaaargh!”

It seemed like I could have a better conversation with the Eighth Virtue than that hot-tempered cat.

“Shut her up,” I said.

Woo Yeon-Hee covered the Seventh Virtue’s mouth with one hand, and the Seventh Virtue wasn’t able to shake it off. However, her muffled shrieks grew louder as she struggled more aggressively.

“Ririka, I can’t do much if you continue to act like this. You’ll keep bleeding.”

Woo Yeon-Hee sounded like she was asking for a favor although she was speaking in Korean, not Japanese. The Suzuki sisters must have felt intimidated when they realized that we knew their names. The Seventh Virtue’s resistance continued.

“Leave my sister alone!” the Eighth Virtue shouted loudly as if she felt something ominous from me, but it was too late.

Bang!

I had already kicked the Seventh Virtue’s face. I controlled my Strength, so she didn’t die instantly, but half of her face was dented by that attack. Woo Yeon-Hee turned her head away from the scene and shook her head.

I sat on a rock beside the Seventh Virtue, and now the only person in her right mind was her sister. When Woo Yeon-Hee got up from the Seventh Virtue, the Eighth Virtue jumped right into the spot. Then, she glared at me with tears in her eyes.

“Why…”

“Do you think we attacked you without reason? No. If you had given up on the quest, I wouldn’t have done this, Suzuki Chiharu. It’s too early to look at me like that because no one has died yet,” I replied bluntly.

“If… If that’s the reason… We were overwhelmed by just conquesting the dungeon. We didn’t think much of the quest.”

“We will see,” I responded and nodded to Woo Yeon-Hee.

Sigh-

Woo Yeon-Hee exhaled deeply.

“What… What are you doing? No, Stop…!”

The Eighth Virtue’s body stiffened in an instant. Then, her arms that were wrapped around her sister fell off coldly. She stood up rigidly in agony after hesitating for a few seconds.

“We… Japanese sisters… planned… attack you… after we conquered the dungeon…”

That was bullshit because they couldn't defeat the Graf with their current abilities. Nevertheless, she mentioned that they were about to attack me…

Did they get their major items?

Other than that, there was no way to explain their fast growth. I flipped the Seventh Virtue over, who had collapsed on the ground, with one foot, then I found an item in her clothes.

[Hermes' Almighty Anklet (Item)]

The defensive barrier of the accessory that was named after a God had already been used.

“Ah, I knew it was because of this.”

1. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms. The spread of SARS was most severe in early 2000 and killed a total of 774 people in the world. ☜