Chapter 1266. Gone with the Wind (6)

I was sure Ahn Ki-Mo had no idea what was going on and where we were at the moment. He only played along because I cast a meaningful gaze at him. I had been feeling this way all this while, but now, I really had to admit that he was quick on the uptake.

He was sharp, capable of staying calm no matter the situation, and he rarely ever lost his composure. While the rest of the party stood frozen with wide eyes, confused by the sudden shift in the setting... he was standing right there with a smile, casually telling stories like it was just another day.

“Wow... that was really amazing, sir. Did you see my acting skills just now?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

‘Of course I did...’

“I was really shocked when you suddenly started rolling around in the dirt... but... I did think that something was strange,” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

“...”

“...”

“What do you think, Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo?” I asked.

“Pardon? What do you mean...” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

“About this place,” I answered.

“I’m not sure about anything else, but this doesn’t seem like the continent I know,” he answered.

“What’s your reason for thinking that?” I asked.

“Is there anyone on the continent who doesn’t know our faces? Setting aside myself and Miss Ah-Young, it doesn’t make sense for someone not to recognize Mr. Rafael, especially if they’re active adventurers.

"The way they kept going on about the brigade and such felt off. Even after seeing Mr. Rafael’s face, they immediately asked which group we were affiliated with... That’s when I started thinking that maybe this isn’t the continent we know.

"That’s also how I was able to keep up with you. It’s all thanks to your quick thinking,” Ahn Ki-Mo explained.

“...”

“Of course, I was a bit slow to react, but...

Ah!

I feel like you’ve been preparing even before they came here... Once again, I was reminded that there’s always someone a step ahead.

Hahahaha!

” Ahn Ki-Mo laughed.

‘He really doesn’t get the gravity of the situation.’

Being anxious would be the natural reaction.

The members of the Friendship Guild clearly looked shaken upon hearing Ahn Ki-Mo's words. Suddenly being pulled into another place and being told that they were no longer on the continent they were familiar with, of course, they would feel shaken about it.

Eventually, one of them finally spoke up, and curiosity was written all over their face.

“Th-Then, Saint of Sacrifice and Revival. Where in the world are we?” they asked.

“I'm not sure,” I replied.

“Pardon?”

“Throughout history, some parts of the continent became dungeons, but I think this is unprecedented. Especially since this isn’t even a dungeon. We can’t rule out the possibility that this might be a parallel world.

"If we treat the hexagram as a kind of gateway linking this world to ours, it all lines up. Rafael’s party was probably pulled into this place,” I explained.

“Excuse me?”

‘It’s a reasonable excuse.’

Rather than saying that it was the past, the future, or some completely different world, it was better to just call it a parallel world and be done with it.

‘I can also see familiar faces.’

It was necessary to cut off any possibilities of impulsive actions right from the start. Of course, I couldn’t explain that we were in our past lives, so calling it a parallel world seemed like a suitable excuse.

“Th-Then... are we not able to return to the continent? If this isn't a dungeon, then we won't be able to clear it...”

“No, we should be able to return the way we came. I have the catalyst to activate the magic circle. We’ve also confirmed that the hexagram is still there. I would like to verify it now, but I don’t have enough catalyst to use immediately. Our mission for this expedition is to find Rafael’s party and return safely,” I informed them.

“I see.”

“Try not to worry too much. Although the environment has changed, if you approach this as you would any regular expedition, there shouldn’t be any major issues. Let’s just assume we’ve entered a somewhat special dungeon,” I said.

“That makes sense.

Haha...

A parallel world... May I ask what led you to that conclusion...” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

“The people just now... they’re familiar faces,” I answered.

“

Ah...

”

“Of course, I can’t say for certain that we’ve entered a parallel world yet... but I don’t think the chances are low,” I added.

“If that’s what you think... then it’s probably a sure thing,” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

‘This is exactly why trust between people is so important.’

“I don’t know the exact situation, but it appears that a pursuit team has been assembled,” I said.

“Yes, I heard that, too. It seemed like they were organized on such a large scale that they couldn’t check each adventurer individually... Fortunately, it looks like they didn’t have time to identify us. Their command structure also appears to be chaotic...” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

‘Of course it is chaotic.’

First of all, the Goddess’s Hand Mirror was nonexistent here. This place hadn't entered the age of computers at all. To verify identities or affiliations, they’d probably have to communicate with the main force and dig through notebooks.

The common structure was likely makeshift at best.

In the first life, wars were happening almost daily, so the alliances between nations or groups were probably loose. Naturally, communication between those groups wouldn’t be smooth.

The Republic folks would only talk among themselves, the Democratic Country, or rather, the empire here, would certainly stick to their own people, and the Federation or Union would keep their fragile alliances going by talking among themselves.

Although they had banded together to catch the brigade, they likely only shared basic information and their camps. I could guarantee nothing else really happened. It was probably less about the incompetence of the people in the first life and was more like...

‘It’s because of First Life Lee Ki-Young and First Life Lee Ji-Hye.’

They probably escalated conflicts between nations in an organized way and achieved some results. Even Lindel and Celia—these cities belonged to the same empire, but they weren't really getting along.

“Then, sir... what should we do now? Should we enter the camp? Or would it be better to operate independently?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

‘That’s the problem.’

“I’m not sure. Ideally, it would be good to get some support from the camp...” I answered.

“So you feel a bit hesitant about going inside the camp,” Ahn Ki-Mo commented.

“That’s right. They probably won’t skip the identity checks entirely... so there could be issues even after entering. It’d be better if we were at least registered with the Adventurer’s Guild... Well, for now, let’s just head inside,” I suggested.

“Pardon? So how...”

‘What do you mean how? We just go for it.’

“Miss Ah-Young, can you pretend that you’re hurt?” I requested.

“Pardon?

Ah...

well...”

Yoo Ah-Young nodded absentmindedly in confusion. Just like that, our course of action was set.

Ahn Ki-Mo standing before the large camp hurriedly dashed inside while holding Yoo Ah-Young. The others followed suit. Rafael looked the most awkward among them, but this was a mission he was never meant to handle, so his role was minimized.

Gook Minji from the Friendship Guild seemed relatively calm. I was slightly anxious because it was just Ahn Ki-Mo, but with backup, things were looking up.

Naturally, they ran forward, and I heard Ahn Ki-Mo shouting, “Priest! Priest!! Shit! Open the door!”

Gook Minji also shouted.

“Help! Please help! My comrade!” Ahn Ki-Mo shouted once more.

“Shit! Move it!” Gook Minji shouted.

‘It’s seriously intense...’

It seemed like his acting career back on Earth wasn’t just for show. The guards stationed at the temporary barricade instantly turned pale with shock. In Ahn Ki-Mo’s arms was Yoo Ah-Young, covered in blood, and her breathing was so ragged it looked like she could die at any moment.

“Open the door right now! Shit! Aren’t there any priests? Bring a priest!” Ahn Ki-Mo shouted.

“W-We need to check-”

“We’re with the Free Mercenary Group!” Lee Chul-Woo quickly chimed in.

Of course, his voice was drowned out by Ahn Ki-Mo’s angry shout.

“Open the door, damn it!”

Ahn Ki-Mo shoved the guards aside roughly. One of the startled men pointed his spear at Ahn Ki-Mo, but the moment he saw Yoo Ah-Young coughing up blood, he lowered it without thinking.

“K-Ki-Mo oppa... am I-I going to die?” Yoo Ah-Young asked.

“Y-You won’t die! S-Stop talking nonsense... and don’t fall asleep either. Ah-Young... don’t fall asleep no matter what... Just wait a little longer, and someone will come to help you. Just hold out a little longer...” Ahn Ki-Mo told her.

“O-Oppa... I... actually...”

“Don’t talk! Ah-Young! Shit! Move out of the way!” he shouted.

The guards, who seemed vaguely familiar to me, appeared to be rather soft-hearted.

“We first need to confirm your affiliation...” a soldier mumbled.

“Let’s call for a priest first... Kennen...”

“What? Alex... are you crazy?”

“Are you just going to let her die? They’re with a child as well. Damn it... come in for now,” the man named Alex said.

“Alex!” Kennen shouted.

“Thank you! Thank you! Th-Thank you!” Ahn Ki-Mo shouted.

“Do you have an identification tag to prove your affiliation?” he asked.

“H-Here you go,” Lee Chul-Woo answered.

Since the brigade scums had likely gone around killing people for fun, it wouldn’t have been hard for Park Lian to pick up ID tags from the area.

After checking the tag that Lee Chul-Woo had handed over, the guard nodded and led us inside before saying,” You should head straight to the infirmary.”

Naturally, we rushed toward the infirmary in a hurry.

‘They’re clearly still underdeveloped.’

It wasn't so bad that I could call them uncivilized. It was more like they never had the time to develop. They had to have gone through war after war, and once things had calmed down, there’d be some kind of terror attack...

There was no way the adventurers of the first life could build a solid foundation when the world was so chaotic. The gear worn by the nearby adventurers looked like items looted from dungeons, and the occasional handcrafted pieces weren’t anything special.

I was sure Yoo Ah-Young could forge far better equipment even with just her pinky toe.

The camp itself looked like a bunch of rundown huts. Unlike the second life, where mass-produced, quality camping gear made decent tents possible, these guys were far more primitive. It was hard to tell whether this was an expedition camp or a slum.

‘It’s the same for the infirmary.’

Everyone knew that hygiene was vital, but they probably lacked the time and resources to put it into practice. The space was surrounded by tents that looked like they were straight out of the Middle Ages, and just being in the same place as them seemed enough for someone to catch an infectious disease.

There weren’t many priests either. The shortage of personnel was painfully obvious.

‘No wonder they failed.’

It was a miracle that they were still holding out. Forget all the internal fights and madness. How the hell did they hold out against the Outer Gods?

‘Are they like... individually strong?’

“

Ahhhhhhh...

I...”

“

Ack...

It hurts... Mom...”

“Help me... help...”

Cries of agony fill the air. People were dying right beside us, but without a single priest, we were helpless.

“Priest! Prieeest!!" Ahn Ki-Mo shouted with desperation. At last, one came rushing over, and he was drenched in blood from head to toe. He immediately checked Yoo Ah-Young, asking, “What are her symptoms?”

“I-I’m not sure either. She started vomiting all of a sudden...” Ahn Ki-Mo answered.

“Is it poison?” they asked.

“I’m not sure. Ah-Young. Are you okay? Y-You’re okay, right?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

“

Haa... haa...

”

“This doesn't appear to be any known plague. There are symptoms I don’t recognize, but I’ll start with a detoxification spell. If she doesn’t recover, I’m afraid the only option is to head to the Vatican... If the brigade really set a trap—Still... I’m glad that it’s not a plague,” the priest explained.

‘What kind of nonsense is that? Cast a spell, and if it fails, we'll head to the empire? Are you serious right now?’

“Priest... is there really... no other way?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

“There’s nothing we can do right now. Please step aside. I’ll cast the spell,” the priest instructed.

‘They’re just winging it.’

“Please... please...”

After leaving Ahn Ki-Mo and Yoo Ah-Young, who seemed to be in the middle of a melodrama, I slipped out of the unsanitary room. And by chance, I caught sight of a familiar figure.

A woman with untamed red hair walked past me.

Her familiar scent lingered at the tip of my nose, but this smell of blood coming from her was much stronger than I was used to.

No, there were more differences beyond that. Two fingers were missing on her hand, which was brushing back her hair. Her face was marked with scars that weren’t there before, and she was actually covered in scars, which were a testament to her harsh life.

A particularly prominent scar ran across one of her eyes.

Her stride looked as confident as usual, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea.

She was emanating an air that made one want to flatter her unknowingly, and she was radiating an overwhelming presence that instinctively forced everyone to bow their head toward her. Her eyes resembled a predator’s eyes, and the sight would make anyone want to surrender in her arms and pour her a drink.

‘Calm down, my restless heart.’

I saw Cha Hee-Ra—First Life Cha Hee-Ra.