Chapter 1299. The Magic Tower (12)

It was practically a rule that a character like me couldn't have a real name. Regardless of what anyone was going to say, the one who ought to name the sickly boy was Kim Hyun-Sung. At the very least, I deserved a nickname.

‘You’ll give me one, won't you? You will, right?’

His expression was tinged with surprise. Perhaps it was because I carried more than one burden. In addition to being sickly, I was both mute and nameless. Naturally, anyone would go quiet upon realizing that. He probably believed that his own life was filled with suffering, yet the world was large, and countless stories existed within it.

And even I, a little brat, whose life was impossible to grasp in full, had somehow managed to keep my bright smile while struggling through all sorts of hardships.

Of course, pain couldn't really be weighed or compared, and no matter where one stood, each person had their own hardships. At the very least, objectively, my life was more miserable than his life.

Since the moment I was born, I had been worrying about every meal, enduring the disgust of others, and living a life of constant battle against existence.

It was inevitable, yet...

“Do you have family...” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

[I don’t know.]

I really had no family. At this young age, I was forced to start living on my own. How I even knew how to read was a mystery, but such trivial details weren’t worth focusing on. What mattered was simply that I could communicate with Kim Hyun-Sung.

‘At the very least, when you were my age, you grew up in a warm house with a full stomach, and you were wrapped in your parents’ love. You were the pampered son of a successful mid-sized company, weren’t you?’

“Where do you live?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

[Heren.]

“...”

[The square.]

After saying that, I once again put on that bright, foolish smile.

A silly "

heh

" slipped out from my lips. Of course, Kim Hyun-Sung said nothing. Or rather, perhaps it was more accurate to say he couldn’t say anything. He let out a self-deprecating chuckle, as though embarrassed.

Perhaps he thought his own situation was better than mine, or perhaps it was a sneer directed at himself, for abandoning his people and running away.

Whatever the case, Kim Hyun-Sung averted his eyes from my radiant smile.

[Thank you for saving me.]

“I didn’t do it because I wanted to save you,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

[Still... thank you.]

“It’s not like I wanted to be kind to you either,” Kim Hyun-Sung added.

“...”

“Go back and don’t ever come looking for me again,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

‘Look at this guy, snapping out all of a sudden. Weren’t we just about to be best buddies a moment ago?’

'What? You can’t endure my radiant smile? You seriously can’t take it?'

‘It’s because you feel disgusted with yourself, right? You can’t bear it, can you?’

I couldn’t read his mind with the

Regressor Instruction Manual

, but his thoughts were obvious. He had to be reeling from the ugliness of his own heart.

“This isn’t the place for you. Go back, now,” he said.

Shaking off that sense of clumsiness and rottenness to the core wasn’t easy. On the surface, it seemed like he had only turned his back on the Blue Guild and Lindel, but in truth, he had turned his back on kids like me as well.

Running away from the battle and responsibility in this insane place meant abandoning people like the bread boy before him. He had just realized that fact. And perhaps that smile, which was so blissfully unaware of his pitiful circumstances, was gnawing at Kim Hyun-Sung's heart.

I felt like the way I kept handing him bread made it even worse.

“Why are you just smiling without saying anything?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

‘Because I can’t talk, you idiot.’

“Get lost!” Kim Hyun-Sung shouted.

Of course, I flinched in surprise and bolted away in a panic. The next day, and the day after that, Kim Hyun-Sung still found the sick boy standing there, smiling foolishly and holding out bread for him to take.

“I told you not to come back,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“...”

“Get lost. Do you not hear me?” Kim Hyun-Sung questioned.

“...”

And the day after that, too...

“

Whoo...

damn it...” Kim Hyun-Sung muttered.

The following day, the brat didn’t even leave his hut.

“...”

“...”

After leaving bread by the door and darting away, the door creaked open, and through the Telescope, I saw Kim Hyun-Sung appear, take the bread, and disappear again.

He chuckled at the absurd situation... but had he realized it yet?

‘He’s smiling.’

Little by little, his mind was recovering, regardless of whether it was by his will or by chance. This was why human connection matters. It was still too soon to say that Kim Hyun-Sung had rekindled his will to live, but even so, a small stimulus in his monotonous life was important.

Knowing there was a kid who came to see him every day made him smile and gave him more to think about. Sure, it annoyed him, but still, he was

living.

Whether it was the right way or not didn’t matter at all.

What mattered was that someone had stepped into

that

empty void.

‘Of course, I can’t get too close.’

Otherwise, he could throw a fit in the second life and insist on locating that bread boy. I was an important character who would influence Kim Hyun-Sung’s life, but I had to be someone who couldn't be sought out.

Like being a bread hyung he would encounter during the tutorial dungeon. Our meeting had to end as nothing more than a fleeting encounter. That way, I could serve

only

as a catalyst for Hyun-Sung’s awakening.

‘The old warrior worked, but... a sickly little kid is just as effective.’

I hadn’t acted on it out of conscience, but if the subject was myself, there wouldn’t be any issue.

The next day, Kim Hyun-Sung was the one to speak first.

“Why do you keep coming here?” he asked.

I only giggled silently like a fool.

“How can you keep smiling like that? Why do you show up every single day?” Kim Hyun-Sung complained.

[Because you were kind to me.]

‘That’s right, idiot. I have never once been loved by anyone. That’s why even the smallest kindness makes me act as though I’d give my life for you.’

“I told you that was a mistake!” Kim Hyun-Sung shouted.

‘But you like talking to me too, don’t you? Doesn’t it stir something in you? I’m turning you into a sociable person.’

“Don’t ever appear in front of me again. I’m not the person you think I am,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

[But you’re kind, hyung.]

“I’m not nice. I don’t even know what that means... The number of people who died by my hands alone is in the thousands. Do you understand what kind of person I am now? Do you get it now?” Kim Hyun-Sung questioned.

‘Oh wow, is that so? Should I be scared now?’

Flinch.

“If you came from Heren, then you should know Heren’s rules,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“...”

“Don’t take too much interest in others... not unless you want to die,” Kim Hyun-Sung reminded me.

‘So this is how you push people away?’

“You won't benefit from getting involved with me. I don’t know how you stumbled on this place, but I’m not the type who’ll look after you. Got it?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

‘Big Boy said the exact same thing, you know. But the difference is, right now, it’s me looking after you.’

“I’m not your family, and in fact, I’m dangerous,” Kim Hyun-Sung warned.

Kim Hyun-Sung slowly released his killing intent. For him, this was a firm warning. To unleash murderous intent on a powerless kid was no different than telling him to die.

Naturally, my breath caught in my throat.

The man who looked like a fool only moments ago now appeared terrifying.

‘Damn... it...’

Instinctively, I shrank back. The cold thing that once pierced my stomach came rushing back to mind, and I instinctively shielded my belly. HIs appearance seemed demonic, his eyes feral like a beast’s. It was almost impossible to look him in the eye.

Without realizing it, I found myself stepping backward. He was unlike the Kim Hyun-Sung familiar to me. Could it just be my imagination that, despite being weaker than he was in the second life, his murderous intent felt far heavier?

Even compared to that psychopathic murderer, Jung Jin-Ho, there was little difference between them. Kim Hyun-Sung’s bloodlust, honed and eroded by countless wars, was on an entirely different caliber from that worthless trash.

‘This murderous bastard...’

If I hadn’t been brainwashing myself, I would have peed myself. The suffocating pressure gripping me disappeared as quickly as it appeared, but there was no way I could stop what I had just been doing.

After all, it was absurd to expect a sickly boy like me to withstand the bloodthirst radiating from Kim Hyun-Sung, so I inevitably ended up collapsing backward.

“

Ugh... ugh...

” I groaned and crawled backward nonstop.

“Get out of here right now—if you don’t want to die,” Kim Hyun-Sung threatened.

“...”

“Right now!” he yelled.

Not looking back and running away was the only correct action here. I scrambled backward recklessly, as I had to act terrified. Even after seeing me collapse, this cold bastard didn’t let up on his bloodlust. Crawling desperately, I tried to distance myself as much as possible from Kim Hyun-Sung while tears dripped down my face.

‘You’re going to be heartbroken. You have to be heartbroken.’

I stumbled over roots, tripped on branches, even dropped the bread I forgot to give him, thinking only about putting as much distance as possible between myself and Kim Hyun-Sung—that was all I could do.

‘Turning the Telescope on.’

And...

I saw Kim Hyun-Sung with his head bowed deeply. His face seemed to be full of regret, and naturally... from the next day onward, I didn’t show my face. Not just the next day, but the day after that as well. Of course, I kept observing Kim Hyun-Sung’s reactions through the Telescope.

‘You can’t hide that bitter feeling.’

'He’s sad, isn’t he?'

"..."

"..."

He hadn't made a big show of it, nor had he openly expressed his sorrow.

Kim Hyun-Sung’s life went on unchanged as if he had never met the sickly boy. He stared blankly at the sky, killing time that way without eating anything.

Somewhere in his eyes, however, I saw regret and longing. Was that really the right choice? Was scaring me away truly the best thing to do? It seemed like he was asking himself that. Day after day passed by, yet Kim Hyun-Sung remained the same.

Exactly thirteen days later...

‘You really thought I wouldn’t come back?’

The sickly boy carefully pushed aside the bushes, and I caught him looking my way. I looked fragile, clearly unwell. It wasn’t fear that kept me from coming.

It was something else; something had happened, forcing me to stay away. Was I beaten by some thugs in the square? Or was I caught stealing some bread? I was limping, and my arms were barely working.

My face was swollen enough to see clearly even without looking closely.

‘I couldn’t come because something came up... That’s why...’

Hesitant and clearly nervous, I forced a silly little smile.

Naturally, I offered a piece of bread for him to eat.

“

Heh...

”

Tears welled up in Kim Hyun-Sung’s eyes. However, it wasn't because I had given him bread, but because all the feelings that had been accumulating inside him had finally erupted.

“

Heuk... heuuuk...

” Kim Hyun-Sung sobbed.

“B-Bread...” I mumbled.

“

Heuk... heuuuuuuk...

”

‘This is really moving, damn it!’