Chapter 1333. First Life Ha-Yan (16)

‘Damn, I really might just be Young Death.’

I couldn't help but think that way.

“...”

“...”

‘If my suspicions are correct, what should I do?’

If this whole journey, just like with Jung Jin-Ho, was leading Jung Ha-Yan to a predetermined death, what choice was I supposed to make? Still, nothing was certain, but my head was full of painful thoughts.

In truth, the answer was already decided. That was why I was even more troubled.

There was no other option.

‘I have to lead her.’

The important thing wasn't the first life but the second life. I was more aware of that more than anyone. Whoever was going to die in the first life wasn't as important as those in the second life. If Jung Ha-Yan had to die for the puzzle to fit, then it would be best for her to meet her destined death.

When I thought about it rationally, there was almost no other choice.

Even if I somehow kept Jung Ha-Yan alive and brought her to that continent stained by the sunset, she would drown along with the broken first life, along with everything else.

At best, we would search for other survivors with Kim Hyun-Sung and waste time. No, Jung Ha-Yan would probably not do anything aside from looking up at the sky in the ruined Magic Tower.

Moving on would be harder for her than anyone else by then.

I knew better than anyone that the frantic attempts to keep her alive would be pointless. Of course, I couldn't really make any decisions here. I couldn’t decide how the next hexagram would open, after all.

‘This damned system.’

I put my name on the higher-ups’ list, as I hated being controlled, but I wasn't free at the moment. I didn't want to get angry at the law maintaining the balance of dimensions, but I felt sick at the idea that I had to go through all this.

“I have to move for now...” I muttered to myself.

It was unusual, but I began moving with no concrete plan. I wanted to start something, but I could only act passively. For now, the best I could do to stop Jung Ha-Yan’s death was to find the magic circle and enter it once more.

‘A magic circle.’

Of course, I hurried my steps. The circle I had originally used to travel was still there. I quietly approached it and pushed my palm on it. The scenery shifted instantly—no, it certainly shifted, but it didn't feel like it did.

I thought I would be able to move straight into the second life, but...

‘This is the first run.’

Just looking at the filthy Magic Tower made it obvious. I began moving. Without even a moment to check through my Telescope, I rushed straight to Jung Ha-Yan’s door and knocked.

I couldn’t tell exactly at what point in time I had returned, but there were no other mages around her room, so I became certain that I had come back to the past before her death.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan!”

"..."

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan!”

Thump! Thump thum

p

!

I pounded on the door but heard no answer.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan! Miss... Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I shouted.

As usual, she peeked at me from behind the door.

“...”

“...”

‘She’s alive.’

I looked closely at her face. Her eyes were swollen as if she had just wiped away her tears. Her face was flushed, and faint marks were on her neck. Jung Ha-Yan tried to hide her face as much as possible.

Her voice was still mixed with sobs as she asked, “W-what is it? At... at such a late hour."

“May I come in for a moment?” I asked.

“

Huh?

Ah

... no...” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“It’s urgent, Miss Jung Ha-Yan! Really urgent!” I shouted.

“J-just a moment, please. I’ll... I’ll tidy up my room first...” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

‘Was it right before?’

“Sure,” I replied.

A cacophony of noises echoed behind the door. Eventually, the door opened. No matter how one looked at it, she had clearly shoved everything aside. When I scanned the room with Mind’s Eye, I saw signs of

that

drawer being opened.

Whether she had read a letter or had been toying with a rope, I couldn’t tell for sure, but she was forcing an awkward smile as if nothing had happened.

“W-what is it?” she asked.

“I’m sorry for coming so late at night. S-some formulas suddenly came to mind...” I answered.

“...”

“...”

‘Yeah. Silly, isn’t it?’

'But what else could I do? There was no other way. Still, you would understand, wouldn’t you? Geniuses like us often get caught up in random thoughts just as we’re about to sleep.'

I muttered fragments of formulas that came to mind and scribbled them down in a notebook. I could see her quietly focusing on my words.

“

Ah

... s-so, for this one,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

The way she continued speaking was still full of passion. I, too, had to show the same kind of passion, pretending to be deeply excited and blurting out anything that came to mind.

“This could be a huge breakthrough in enchantment magic. It might even make warp gates a reality one day!” I shouted excitedly.

“Well... I-I’m not so sure. My opinion is a little different... n-not that your formulas are poorly constructed. Please don’t misunderstand me. I just think this might be technology far beyond what current magic engineers can handle. According to some materials found in a dungeon... it was said that such artifacts truly existed in the ancient cities.

"C-could you take a look at this? The so-called Rift Guardians... If you read the texts attributed especially to someone named Metel...” Jung Ha-Yan explained.

“

Ahh...

”

“Wait a moment...”

I could feel that she was enjoying herself. Whenever we talked about things like this, I could feel her happiness.

“Was the concentration of mana richer in ancient times? Were there mana stones capable of sustaining a warp gate? Of course, it would be nice if mages could supply that much mana continuously, but just operating a warp gate once would leave over a hundred mages completely drained.

"Commercial use... would be nearly impossible. The amount that can be transported would also be limited to this extent. And if an accident were to happen...” Jung Ha-Yan paused.

“

Ah

...”

“You could even become a wanderer between dimensions. In the worst case, you’d get sucked into the rift...” Jung Ha-Yan continued.

“Then how about this?” I asked.

I brought out bits of future knowledge to excite her. The way she immediately started drawing a magic circle showed just how thrilled she was.

“S-still, these kinds of attempts are great. I’ve thought of something similar before, too.

Hehehe

...” Jung Ha-Yan said, giggling.

‘Of course. Because you’re the one who made it.’

“It’s really late now, so it would be better to stop here,” Jung Ha-Yan suggested.

“Would you... be able to talk with me again tomorrow?” I asked.

“...”

“...”

“O-of course... of course I will,” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

And a week later, she hanged herself again...

‘Damn it.’

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan! Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I called out.

“Y-yes?” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“...”

“...”

“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly. I came because I had something I was curious about!” I told her.

“...”

“What brings you here today?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“I personally looked into that place you mentioned before, the rift!” I answered.

“

Ah

...”

“Have you ever heard of the Rift Museum?” I asked.

“Yes! I’m sure it was a restricted area...” Jung Ha-Yan replied.

“If you read through the dungeon records, the name Metel from the Rift Museum appears! The very person you spoke about before! To protect the rift, together with the Rift Guardians, they sealed it and later established the museum to warn people about the dangers of the rift!

"I heard that the museum is managed by Max, and he is the administrator of the rift at the moment.”

“

Ah!

” Jung Ha-Yan exclaimed.

“The hint will be there. If we can bring back ancient artifact technology, then building a warp gate will no longer just be a dream,” I suggested.

“Th-that’s true. But that place has been designated as a dangerous dungeon... It’s been deemed impossible to clear. Even major guilds tried one after another, but the survival rate wasn’t even one percent...” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“

Ahh

... then for now... there’s nothing we can really do,” I said.

“P-please don’t be too disheartened. Still... it’s not like no artifacts have ever come out of the Rift Museum. Let’s try asking around for survivors first. There might be some kind of hint. If we’re lucky, maybe someone managed to escape with an artifact. Should we also check the auction house?” Jung Ha-Yan suggested.

“Then, we can talk about it again tomorrow, right?” I asked.

“Yes, of course, little mage,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“...”

“...”

Two weeks later, Jung Ha-Yan hanged herself again.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan! Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I called out.

“P-please wait a moment!” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“Okay.”

“Y-you’ve been visiting often lately,” Jung Ha-Yan said, pointing it out.

“Have I... been bothering you?” I asked.

“No, of course not. Never. I enjoy your company,” Jung Ha-Yan replied.

“But there hasn’t been much progress in your research... I feel like I’m just troubling you for nothing...” I said.

“Even if there’s no progress, you must never give up. K-knowledge is like that. It'll keep piling up until it gives you the answer,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

‘Yeah. I want to know the answer, too.’

“...”

“...”

Three days later, Jung Ha-Yan hanged herself again.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan! Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I called out.

“...”

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I called out again.

“Y-yes?” Jung Ha-Yan answered. Her face peeked out from behind the door.

“Today I...” I paused.

“Yes?”

“Today I wanted to have a meal together, that’s why I came,” I told her.

“...”

“...”

“

Heh

...

hehe

... I’m sorry,” I giggled.

“N-no, not at all. Please come in. Thank you for coming,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

Two days later, Jung Ha-Yan hanged herself again.

It wasn’t that I did nothing. I tried, subtly attempting to persuade her against doing what she was about to do. I tried to give her strength, but the outcome remained the same. The timing and intervals had changed, but she would always end up dying.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan,” I said.

“...”

“...”

Creak, creak...

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan?” I called out again.

Creak

...

creak

...

creak

...

I forced situations to build a bond with Grandma Giena, and I even tried to set her up with Park Joo-Hwa to give her a friend.

I tried to look for First Ki-Young and even attempted to steal their letters. The problem was that I never had enough time to do all of this.

I couldn’t be stuck with Jung Ha-Yan twenty-four hours a day under the name of a research assistant. I pushed her to go out more often with Kim Ah-Young, just in case, but... Jung Ha-Yan's figure hanging in her room would always greet me one day without fail.

‘Damn it.’

I had no idea how long it had been since I started doing this. I kept traveling back in time through the magic circle, knocking on Jung Ha-Yan’s door, and traveling back in time through the magic circle again. I would comfort her whenever she cried, and i would always approach her whenever she was alone.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan,” I called out.

“Yes?” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“Stay strong,” I told her.

“Okay...”

As usual, she greeted me with a smile, but it felt like her face was growing more exhausted with each passing day.

Finally, when rumors spread that angels had appeared in the North and a war had broken out, Jung Ha-Yan no longer hanged herself.

I wasn’t sure if this was considered a better situation, but she headed toward the battlefield as if she was being pushed toward it.

I knew this would happen. This would sound ridiculous, but it was exactly as I had expected. The one who had been keeping her alive until this very moment was none other than me.