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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 15 - Become My Disciple (5)
[Look on the bright side. Think about it positively. If it weren't for this, would you have become my disciple?]
"And no thought for all the trouble I went through, trapped in your loop?"
[It was only two days, after all.]
For me, those two days felt like twenty years to him. By sheer numbers, it was undeniable that he had looped far longer and more often than I had.
"What does that matter? You don't even remember being a returner."
The only moment he remembered being a returner was just before he escaped from Nyarlathotep. Compared to that, my memory remained perfectly intact for those two days. Knowing you're a returner and having to repeat the loops endlessly, or remembering everything during those two crazy days of looping — I can say, without a doubt, I'd pick the former any day.
My teacher shook his head, clutching the back of his neck.
[You have no idea, kid. Do you know the frustration of recalling every failed memory every time you realize you're a returner?]
"Rank 1, though."
I pouted.
In my timeline, there was never a moment where Kim Do-Jin wasn't a 9-star ranker. Here was the person every Awakened One envied, claiming his life had been a series of failures. It was honestly ironic.
Only because it was all in the past could both Kim Do-Jin and I even talk about it like this.
[Who would've thought I'd share the same tastes as a snot-nosed brat?]
It seemed my teacher was thoroughly shaken by our similarities. Now that I think about it, shouldn't I be the one shocked?
At any rate, it turned out the reason behind the repeated loops was this simple. Exiting the park, I headed back home.
After a decent jog, I got back home just past lunchtime.
“Wondered where you'd gone since morning.”
Min-Ah, who was in the living room, shook her head when she saw my sweaty state.
"Why didn’t you call if you were so curious?"
"Why would I? You weren’t missing. Save the worry for people who need it."
"So heartless."
After a shower, I changed and came back to the living room. Min-Ah was curled up on the sofa, eating tteokbokki she’d ordered, watching a variety show on the big TV.
It was funny, considering she’d just said she wanted to cook homemade food but ended up ordering delivery in less than a day.
“Enjoying yourself?”
“Yep.”
Min-Ah nodded, tearing a piece of the long, rice cake-like tteokbokki. She was so engrossed that even as she answered, her eyes never left the TV screen.
I stealthily took a pair of chopsticks and stole a piece of tteokbokki. It was insanely spicy. Had they added extra capsaicin? My taste buds felt on fire, and after chugging a whole glass of water, I barely managed to calm down.
Meanwhile, Min-Ah’s lips were only a little flushed.
“What is this? Spicy only for me?”
Or had she somehow spiked just my portion? Just to make sure, I tried again with some fish cake. Same unbearable spiciness.
The receipt confirmed it: spiciest level.
"Isn't it spicy for you?"
"Maybe you just can't handle it?"
"It literally says 'spiciest' on the receipt!"
There was even a warning on the receipt saying it was non-refundable. I gave up trying to steal her tteokbokki.
"I just wanted to try it out. You know, waking up and ordering delivery while watching TV."
"Go ahead. Do it all you want. Do everything you see others doing."
Min-Ah slowly turned her head, sipping her drink. Her eyes did all the talking.
Can someone like me even deserve that?
Why not?
After trying, I realized there’s nothing I can’t do. Even if I fail, it’s better than never trying at all. I replied to Min-Ah’s questioning gaze with my own look.
She pointed toward the dining table behind her, where a card lay.
"Yeon-Su left it here yesterday. I used it to order this. You should take it with you."
“Oh, really?”
I picked up the card and tossed it back to Min-Ah, who was still sitting on the sofa. The card landed on her lap, and she blinked at me.
“Use it yourself. For living expenses or anything you need.”
“Suddenly? What about you?”
“I’ll just make another one. Don’t worry about it.”
For someone in the Cheong-Yeong Guild, getting a new credit card was no big deal. Before the loops and even now, I always felt guilty about not being able to do enough for Min-Ah, who was just hitting her teenage years and spending all her time focused on medications.
Even if it was because of her illness, she still went to a private school. She’d compare herself to her friends, right?
Min-Ah stashed the card away.
“Look at you, taking it without a second thought.”
“They say to grab good opportunities without hesitating.”
“Ha! Just like my sister.”
“Can I stay at home over break? It was always lonely staying in the dorms by myself.”
“Are you sure you won’t get bored at home? I won’t be around much, you know?”
“It’s still more comfortable than the dorm.”
“Suit yourself. But why are you asking for my permission to stay home?”
“Oh… right?”
Min-Ah scratched her cheek, laughing at herself. I waved her off and headed to my room.
---
The days slipped by in a calm, almost dreamlike rhythm, so peaceful I wondered if it was even real.
Each morning, I’d run along the Han River, and in the afternoons, I’d do strength training in a nearby clearing. Occasionally, I’d bring a wooden sword, and my teacher would help me fine-tune my posture.
At first, I wondered why my stamina felt better than usual, but it didn’t take long to figure it out.
“It’s because of those learned memories.”
During the loops, there were times I’d run non-stop or push myself to train, all in a desperate attempt to survive, only to die anyway. Each loop reset my strength and endurance, so I eventually gave up on that approach, but apparently, all those efforts had left their mark, accelerating my current progress. I didn’t expect that actions outside the Otherworld would have an effect here.
Thanks to this, my stamina improved quickly, and my form, which my teacher had once critiqued constantly, got a lot better.
Recently, I could even see physical improvement. Exercising had become fun. Is this why people get so into working out?
I met with Oh Yeon-Su once more and signed the contract.
“It’ll take another week?”
“Yes. You’ll be registered in the system, and only then can you access the Otherworld Gates. This is actually the fast track.”
Typically, people kept working for their previous guilds or other jobs for about three months before they could fully transition. For someone like me, itching to enter the Otherworld Gate, this news was rough.
I hesitated but asked her cautiously, “So, does that mean I can’t do any freelance work either?”
“You’re not exactly desperate for money, are you?”
“I can’t just sit around forever. My body’s itching to get back to work.”
I pleaded with her, trying to make my case. Just give me a break; it’s only a week.
“Just don’t mention the Cheong-Yeong Guild anywhere you go.”
“Yes!”
“Just stay away from dangerous places. You don’t have to report every move, but I’ll be able to see which gates you entered afterward.”
“Don’t you think you’re a bit too open about keeping tabs on me?”
“Weren’t you the one who said it’s fine to monitor you down to the minute?”
Oh Yeon-Su set her empty coffee cup down. Despite the sharp words, the mood was noticeably lighter than when we first met.
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Oh, wait! Take this with you.”
Instead of just leaving, I pulled something out of my bag and handed it to her. She looked surprised when she opened the zipper and saw it.
“Are you trying to hit on me?”
“Min-Ah packed it.”
Though I’d said something to her about it, the truth is, I’m not that good at cooking either. When I mentioned I was meeting Yeon-Su the previous night, Min-Ah packed it for me.
“Don’t you think it’s unfair to work on an empty stomach when we’re all just trying to get by?”
“…”
“I swear, there’s no ulterior motive. Just take it; I’ll be in trouble if you don’t.”
“Thank her for me.”
“If you’re really grateful, maybe grab coffee with Min-Ah sometime. She hasn’t left the house all week.”
It surprised me how much of a homebody she’d become. Yeon-Su nodded, as if already aware.
“Well then, take care.”
“Bye, Senior!”
“Who’s the senior here?”
“You will be when I start!”
I waved her off with a grin. She looked back at me before turning and leaving the café in a huff.
Once I was alone, I leaned back against the sofa and took a sip of coffee. Ah, this brings back memories of my regression days. I may not have been stood up by Yeon-Su, but getting left by women was nothing new.
“All set?”
Speaking inwardly, I glanced at the spot where Yeon-Su had been sitting. In her place sat my mini teacher.
[That’s enough.]
“You really think they’ll stop following me now?”
Since day two, my teacher had informed me that a surveillance team had been assigned to me. Though I’d heard about such practices, I was honestly taken aback when it turned out to be true.
I’d been pretending not to know and acting normally, but I couldn’t keep walking around with people on my tail forever.
[They won’t continue. Now that the contract is signed, you’re allowed into the Otherworld Gates, and it’s not like records won’t be kept.]
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Finishing my coffee, I headed home in a taxi. That night, I received word that the surveillance team had indeed withdrawn.
“Phew, finally I can breathe.”
Though my life wasn’t directly in danger, just knowing someone was watching added a layer of mental strain I couldn’t ignore.
I went to a nearby park, bought a coffee at a convenience store, and sat down on a bench. My teacher floated in front of me.
“But really, do I have to go back to manual labor? Can’t I just go into the Otherworld Gates?”
[Didn’t I promise to teach you everything?]
“I don’t really see how this relates to working in a D-grade gate as a laborer.”
My teacher’s first command to me was, surprisingly, to enter an F- to D-grade gate and start mining mana stones.
Mining low-grade mana stones is time-consuming and tedious work, especially compared to killing monsters, which is relatively easy.
Even a single first-tier Awakened could clear a D-grade gate in half a day, meaning that most of the time in the lowest-grade Otherworld gates would be spent mining.
It’s incredibly annoying, but it feels wasteful to leave the stones behind.
“Man, I did a ton of this when I’d just awakened.”
That’s how the whole "bus drivers" and "laborers" system came about.
You’d take a newly awakened person, often without much money or support, into a D-grade gate. The bus driver team would clear out the monsters, leaving the laborers to mine the mana stones.
Naturally, the bus drivers didn’t stick to just one gate; they moved between several Otherworld gates, and F- to D-grade gates have a pretty quick respawn rate.
The problem, of course, was that most bus drivers didn’t compensate the laborers fairly, if at all.
Sometimes, they’d even pull shady tricks to keep everything for themselves.
When I’d just awakened, I was clueless and got exploited so many times.
[You’ll cross into the Otherworld through a D-grade gate.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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