ReLife Player

ReLife Player 068

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Bibell

[If you are a player (2)]

After the End of the Century Destruction, the Republic of Korea lost some areas to monsters and left others in ruins.

Thirty years have passed since then, and despite the inauguration of the Fairy Woman, the neglected areas have remained largely unchanged. There is talk of retaking occupied territory and rebuilding shattered cities, but for now, just defending the existing territory is enough.

«It’s about time.»

Eunha brought Euna to a building in an area that had been neglected by the government.

The slightest movement stirred up the dust on the floor. If you looked down at the floor, you could still see their shoe prints.

They both drew on their mana to keep the dust from entering their respiratory systems.

«How did you know her, Eunha?»

«…We’ve been friends since we met in Happiness.»

It was difficult to recover if unnecessary topics were brought up.

Eunha scratched his cheek.

He wasn’t lying. Eunha had met Shin Seo-young at Mount Bukhansan, but he hadn’t gotten to know her since lunch at Happiness.

As it was, he avoided the questions he couldn’t answer and waited for her to arrive.

«…She’s coming.»

«Ah.»

It wasn’t long before the flow of mana was observed.

Euna, who had gotten better at deploying her sensing net, also recognized an abnormal flow.

A wind was blowing. Inside a building that couldn’t be called windy.

«And….»

Euna’s mouth dropped open as she watched the winds from different directions intertwine in the middle of the room.

It was a simple yet methodical technique.

On the surface, it looked like anyone could do it.

But Euna knew how hard it was to imagine the shape of the wind. It was only with the support of her imagination that the rituals came together and became truly magical.

«Great…wow….»

The only time Euna knew of Shin Seo-young’s power was when she unleashed the magic she had constructed in the party hall.

It was the first time she had witnessed the reason why she was called <Golden wind>

«I’m sorry. You’ve been waiting a while, haven’t you?»

«I’ve been waiting a long time, not just a little.»

«You’re really impatient, aren’t you?»

Seoyoung Shin stepped out of the wind. She swept her hair behind her ear and pouted her lips when she saw Eunha, who was giving her a big smile.

«Hello?»

«Oh, hello!»

Euna quickly bent her upper body at a right angle in greeting. Since she’d gotten a glimpse of Shin Seo-young, she’d wanted to learn more magic.

«I’ve introduced myself before, but I’m Shin Seoyoung. Don’t call me Xin Feng or whatever, just call me Sister Seo-young.»

«Yes, Seo-young!»

«Okay.»

Shin Seo-young looked at the sparkling Euna and suppressed a smile inside.

She’d been caught.

This was all according to plan.

In fact, she didn’t even need to use magic to appear. She just wanted to show Euna, her future pupil, a side of herself as a teacher, and she wanted to stimulate Euna’s mind.

Of course, Eunha was unimpressed by her appearance. In fact, when he realized her intentions, he gave her a cold shoulder.

Seo-young wasn’t disappointed by Eunha’s reaction.

Her target today was Euna.

Let’s show her a little more, shall we?

«There’s too much dust in here. Let me air it out a bit.»

She waved her hand lightly.

At that moment, the ripples that spread out from under her palm became wind, blowing away the dust on the floor.

«Wow…!»

Euna exclaimed, as expected,

«Oh, I wish I had one of these in my house.»

Eunha marveled in a different sense.

«Eunha you….»

«What? Why?»

Eunha smiled widely, like an innocent child.

He has become more playful since the last time she saw him, more playful indeed.

It was as if she was dealing with an indifferent person.

«Noona, did you bring it?»

«I brought it as you asked.»

Eunha didn’t pay attention to her tongue-in-cheek reaction. Sighing, she reached into her belt pouch.

What she handed him was a small gemstone.

Eunha looked it over, then walked over to the window to hold it up to the light. The sunlight streaming through the tall building was enough to see its condition.

It was fine.

The gemstone had a smooth cross-section. It was an eighth-ranked gemstone, the highest grade, with not a single flaw in sight.

«Sis, I told you before, being a player is dangerous.»

«Yes.»

Euna replied with a determined face, but she had already heard the explanation before she came here.

«But if you want to become a Player, I’m not against it anymore. I’m not against it, but I’m going to test you to see if you can become one.»

Eunha imbued the small gemstone with mana.

It was only a small amount of mana.

But mana has a way of attracting mana. Even though it was only a small amount of mana, the mana dissolved in the air began to flow around the stone.

«Noona Seoyoung, please.»

«Sure.»

Eunha tossed the gemstone onto the floor, and as if it had been waiting for this moment, the mana rushed in.

Seo-young immediately formed a barrier around the entire floor.

«Seo-young, where’s the player device?»

«It’s here.»

«Here, sister.»

Seo-young pulled out the player device, which was a knife that a child could wield.

Eunha checked the device for any problems and handed it to Euna.

«…Yeah.»

It was her first time holding the device. She ran her hand over the sharpened blade.

It was cold. Very cold.

A knife without a hint of warmth. She knew what she had to do with it.

«…I’ll begin.»

The stage was already set.

Eunha pointed to the monster that was born from omnipresence.

«…Huh?»

The monster shook off the mana on its body and looked around.

Euna, who had been carefully holding her sword, made eye contact with the monster and panicked.

It was a blue squirrel the size of her palm.

«Porori, an eighth-ranked monster. That’s your enemy.»

Eunha said calmly.

Euna couldn’t understand anymore.

«This is… a monster…?»

She thought monsters were dangerous beings that harmed people.

The monsters she faced as a child and the monsters at the Dawn Department Store were like that.

But this monster was so small and cute.

It was hard to think that they could harm people.

«…Don’t let your guard down.»

Eunha’s advice fell on deaf ears.

Porori cautiously approached, her tiny head cocked.

Are you going to hit me?

Her round eyes seemed to ask just that.

He’s so cute…!

I wanted to run over and hug him right then and there, and rub his face.

By the time I thought about it, I had already given Porori full access.

«…Huh?»

Porori’s head popped up, and she opened her mouth with a toothy grin.

«Poro..ri?»

Where did a head that could swallow one whole come from such a small body?

It was a sudden and unexpected turn of events.

There was no time to think.

I’m going to die.

«That’s why I told you not to let your guard down.»

If Eunha hadn’t kicked Porori, her head would have been ripped off.

«Eighth-tier monster, Porori. A monster that catches its opponents off guard with its cute behavior and then shoves anything into its mouth.»

«Ah….»

Suddenly, she remembered what Eunha had told her earlier.

Humans and monsters could not coexist.

Monsters born of omnipresence kill humans for mana.

«Don’t judge by appearances. If you’re a player, you shouldn’t hesitate against monsters. It’s you, sister, who dies.»

If you’re a player, you exist to kill monsters.

But just a moment before, she had thought that maybe there were monsters that were harmless.

Her complacency was her undoing.

Monsters were monsters. Monsters and humans could not coexist.

Still, still….

She looked down at the knife on the floor. She hesitated when she looked up and saw Porori standing guard, keeping her distance.

She was supposed to…kill him?

Porori was now frightened and running away as soon as he made eye contact. After realizing that the entire floor was surrounded by barriers, the monster cowered in the corner.

It looked like a frightened puppy. I wanted to run over and reassure it that it was okay.

Even if Porori recognized it as a monster, she felt resistance to killing such a small creature.

«Ah….»

It was a knife.

Even if it was a device, it was still a weapon that could kill.

From the moment I realized it, my hand trembled as I held the knife.

Suddenly, she remembered the incident at the department store at dawn. Even then, she had failed to kill the man, even when she could have.

This time, she must.

She’d made a promise to Eunha. If she wanted to be a player, she had to at least be able to kill monsters.

Still, it was better than before.

Monsters, not people.

«Can you do it?»

Eunha asked her, barely able to hold her sword.

Euna nodded, even if it was forced.

I still want to be a player.

I never wanted to be a player from the beginning.

That day, I watched Eunha run to face the Kraken alone.

That day, listening to stories of him taking down goblins to save his friends.

That day, watching him sleep in his hospital bed.

That day, watching Julieta being taken away by the men, feeling helpless.

That day, I watched Bruno turn one hellish moment around in an instant.

It’s not wrong to be weak.

It’s not wrong to be left behind.

It’s not wrong to be protected.

But she didn’t want to stand by and watch helplessly.

She didn’t want to let her beloved brother do it all alone. She wanted to be the one who could stand beside him.

She needed strength to defend the people she loved. She wanted to be the one who could protect them.

So, so….

Euna tightened her grip on the knife.

The trembling didn’t stop.

But she had to get through it.

☆

He’s scary, really.

Seo-young, who had lunch with Eunha every month, knew how important his sister was to him.

So it was surprising.

The way he treated her so coldly.

«What? Did I get something on my face?»

Eunha asked without taking his eyes off Euna, who was struggling with Porori

«You’re more composed than I thought.»

«…I have no reason to be composed.»

She realized now that Eunha was suppressing the urge to kill Porori right now. If she touched him in the slightest, his mana would explode with the power to harm people.

«But we have to do this.»

«Because players are dangerous?»

Eunha nodded steadily.

Players didn’t kill monsters that threatened humanity.

Players were the most greedy, selfish, and self-serving of all.

She was well aware of the fate of those who entered the Academy with a sense of righteousness to become defenders of humanity.

Some gave up along the way.

Some resigned themselves to reality.

Some would eventually be culled.

Only a small percentage of players would go on to become defenders of humanity.

Which one am I?

It occurred to her, and she smiled bitterly.

She was the one who had adapted to reality. Wearing the mask of a defender of humanity.

«…I need her to be just my sister, so I don’t want her to be a player.»

For the umpteenth time.

Even when she could have killed Porori, Euna didn’t dare to swing her sword.

It was the reason for this long, tedious battle.

«But if she wants to be a player, I have to help her become the player she wants to be.»

«Is that what you’re doing, making a child who’s still in elementary school kill monsters?»

Seoyoung was dumbfounded.

Normal humans have a resistance to killing creatures.

Even the Player Academy doesn’t do crazy things like ask new students to kill monsters.

Yes, this was crazy. Now he’s doing the crazy thing of ‘asking you to kill monsters if you want to be a player.’

Ah, this kid’s mind is messed up.

«What were you thinking just now?»

«Oh, nothing. I just thought maybe you’re too sensitive. I don’t think it’s too late for you to enter the academy.»

«I originally wanted to tell you to kill people, but I decided to lower it to monsters because I didn’t want to hear that I’m a crazy person.»

I have to pretend I didn’t hear that.

Seoyoung didn’t reply. She felt like if she did, she would find out just how crazy this world was.

«There are two reasons for this test: I want her to give up, and I want her to realize that saving someone is no different than killing someone.»

Seo-Young couldn’t agree more.

Saving someone means killing someone.

At least in the player’s world. Sometimes players had to sacrifice someone to save someone, and sometimes they could only save someone by killing someone.

And the other reason?

«The other one is… if my sister is going to be a player, I want her to be a strong player, so at least she won’t have anything bad happen to her.»

Seoyoung couldn’t agree more.

The world of players was ruled by the logic of strength.

It was wrong to be weak. You had to kill before you were killed.

It was wrong to be left behind. It was wrong to be culled before being culled.

It was wrong to be protected. It was wrong to betray before you were betrayed.

She had suffered unspeakable indignities to get to this point.

Those who caused that tragedy are no longer here.

If she’d had unrivaled power from the start, she might not have had to go through such a difficult time. Maybe I wouldn’t have gone through the painful and complicated emotions.

No, wait.

She looked down at Eunha.

How did this child know about the player’s world?

Above all, it seemed like he was warning against trusting anyone. Not to entrust one’s heart to anyone.

«If you’re a player, you should at least be able to kill monsters.»

That’s the ideal player’s life.

Players are human beings after all, and they can’t help but trust someone.

To completely deny that notion.

Is it because he’s still young?

Or is it because he had some experiences at that age that led him to such thoughts?

Seoyoung wanted to believe it was the former.

☆

Euna had 14 chances to kill Porori.

And it wasn’t until number 15 that she was able to cut off the monster’s breathing.

Amidst the ruins, even though they had engaged in such a fierce battle, there was no trace to be found.

Just a thud, with the sound echoing through the floor as the lifeless jade stone fell.

«Ah…»

Euna sank to the ground.

Her grip on her sword had stopped trembling.

As she stared at her bloodied hand, the sensation of slaying the monster she’d been struggling with returned.

«Aah….»

Something gurgled inside her throat. She ducked down to avoid spitting it out. She clamped her hand over her mouth.

She held it in, barely.

Then a single tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away with her bloody hand. Until blood smeared across her face, which was a mixture of sweat, tears, and dust.

«…Well done. You did well.»

Quietly, Eunha wiped the dirt from her face.

She embraced him silently, sobbing softly.