Necromancer Survival

Chapter 170

Looking back, I could see ‘Seo Dawon’ standing there.

His summer uniform shirt, which had been white before, was stained dark red, and he carried a bat that he scrounged from who knows where–what had happened? Furthermore, the baseball bat was drenched in dark red liquid, roughly illuminating all that he must have suffered to get here.

However, coincidentally, he arrived right after [Seo Dawon] had turned into a monster; the delight at his appearance was overshadowed by tension. I stepped in front of [Seo Dawon], hoping that ‘Seo Dawon’ wouldn’t come any closer.

[This place has some fun things, huh?]

However, [Seo Dawon] was already staring at the other’s location with an interested look on his face. As soon as the monster finished speaking; I could hear ‘Seo Dawon’s’ footsteps running up behind my back.

“Wait…!” I hastily turned around, trying to warn ‘Seo Dawon’ to not come closer, but ‘Seo Dawon’ was much faster than I had expected. Without slowing down, he swung the bat my way. Surprised, I dodged to the side–I thought I might have been hit if I hadn’t avoided the swing.

However, it didn’t seem like ‘Seo Dawon’ was aiming for me directly and, instead, was aiming for the [Seo Dawon] behind me. The bat swung hard enough to create a whooshing, windy sound and stopped right before [Seo Dawon]’s right cheek.

The problem was… It didn’t seem like ‘Seo Dawon’ had stopped his bat’s momentum and merely attempted to intimidate the other. I don’t think most people could have stopped inertia right at that position. [Seo Dawon]’s powers must have intervened.

‘Seo Dawon’ held his bat, nervous; the veins in the back of his hands popped. [Seo Dawon]’s eyes glowed with fascination as he observed the boy who looked exactly like him. The tug-of-war between them ended when ‘Seo Dawon’ fell backwards from a sudden gust of wind.

“Dawon-ah!” I cried.

[Who are you calling Dawon?]

“……Ngh!”

I wanted to help the fallen ‘Seo Dawon,’ but the other was faster in grabbing my arm from behind.

Meanwhile, ‘Seo Dawon’ righted himself. Just as I felt relieved that he wasn’t hurt too badly…Something zipped past his cheek, scratching it and slicing it open; the younger man fell to his feet.

[Will this help to distinguish between us?]

“Don’t do that!”

[Seo Dawon] had inflicted that wound.

‘Seo Dawon’ had also perceived who caused him that injury. Holding a hand against his bloody cheek, he glared at the other with a fierce expression.

[I don’t think I’ve ever worn a cute uniform like that?] [Seo Dawon] mockingly whispered from behind.

“Don’t touch him…Please.”

[Why? Because he looks like me?]

At the monster’s question, I looked at the ‘Seo Dawon’ that had fallen some distance away. An appearance and voice that fit what I imagined of the young mage…Furthermore, the same name…

However, even before this [Seo Dawon] had appeared, the other had numerous differences from the real Seo Dawon.

First, he couldn’t use skills. Second, the real Seo Dawon and I were never high school classmates. This, I was certain.

Still, I was only half-confident until I saw the cross-shaped scar on his palm. After seeing that scar, I had already mentally processed that the ‘Seo Dawon,’ here, wasn’t real.

However…

“Don’t scoff at him… You also merely resemble Seo Dawon.”

However, this monster that suddenly appeared and, like a demon king, began destroying the world couldn’t have been Seo Dawon either. Like ‘Seo Dawon,’ he was simply another person that looked like the original.

[Seo Dawon] must not have expected my response; he was struck speechless. I turned around to look at him, matching [Seo Dawon]’s gaze with a firm expression. “You’re also not the Seo Dawon I know. He…Even though that person died, he waited around for 3 years in the dungeon.”

[What…?]

“He waited for me to arrive.”

[What are you…]

“He’s not someone who would fall into ruin just because I’m gone, like you did.” As soon as I spat those words out, the world around us grew silent. And, confidence growing at the monster’s reaction, I unleashed [Seo Dawon]’s grip on my arm and ran towards the other ‘Seo Dawon.’

As I expected, [Seo Dawon] didn’t hold onto me. Rather, it was more accurate to say that he froze in place and didn’t move.

The monsters that disgustingly crawled out of the pit didn’t move either. The soaring sulfuric smoke, the ringing sound of sirens, the burning city… Suddenly everything stopped, as if time was frozen. All that my eyes could see remained still.

Like that, I was able to reach ‘Seo Dawon’s’ side without any interference. There, in front of ‘Seo Dawon,’ I raised his face–looking like he would cry at any moment–to meet my gaze.

“Lee-kyung-ah.”

“……Yeah.”

“Are you returning?”

“……”

As expected…My assumptions were correct; this ‘Seo Dawon’ was fake.

He tried to deceive me–he succeeded in making me doubt my own memories, something crucial went wrong. That was probably why so many strange events that went against the laws of this world had manifested, breaking down this illusion of a peaceful daily life and causing this sweet dream to fly away.

Perhaps that was why I could feel some hasty impatience in this ‘Seo Dawon’s’ tone. “The ‘bug’ can be fixed quickly.”

“……”

“I can also modify it to match anything you want.”

“……”

“Fine. Let’s stop this ‘high school first love’ scenario… How about becoming lovers before ‘Seo Dawon’ dies? You can return to three years before, when Bae Jaemin betrays him, and save him.”

‘Seo Dawon’ dangled tempting bait before me, enticing me to stay. I looked at him quietly as he continued to speak.

My high school first love did not work out. His name was still foggy to me right now, but, nevertheless, this ‘Seo Dawon’ must have utilized those memories. This place that instilled so much ‘deja-vu’ within me was crafted through ‘Seo Dawon’s’ imitation.

However, I had also imagined what it would have been like to have met Seo Dawon in high school. What he would have been like back then, if we had attended school together. Those kinds of thoughts.

As ‘Seo Dawon’ had proposed, I had also entertained the idea of going back in time to save Seo Dawon in my dreams. As I grew to like him, I wanted to let him forget the wounds he had received. If that were possible, I would’ve done anything for that goal. Return to the past and persuade ‘you’… It would have been nice if it had been Bae Jaemin, not ‘you,’ that was roughly shoved onto that sandy dungeon floor…

However, none of that was real. Even if I saved ‘Seo Dawon’ hundreds of times here, I wouldn’t be able to save him back in reality. Rather, the longer I stay in this world, the more difficult it will become for him.

After steeling my resolve, I walked closer and grabbed ‘Seo Dawon’s’ hand. I held both hands together, covering the cross-shaped scar on his palms with my own.

‘Seo Dawon’ stopped talking and looked at me desperately–begging. I burst into laughter at the sight of such a pleading expression on the face of someone I liked.

‘Will there ever be a day where Seo Dawon will plead to me with that kind of face?’

So, I wasn’t upset. Also, I… roughly perceived the real identity of this ‘Seo Dawon.’

I rejected his offer with a gentle tone. “I wanted to do that before.”

“Lee-kyung-ah…”

“If it were back when we released Koo Hui-seo… I would probably have lost myself, deeply, here.”

“……”

“Sorry. I have to return.”

“……”

“There are people waiting for me.” Then, without a chance for me to react, ‘Seo Dawon’s’ visage shattered, starting from the hands I held.

Subsequently, it felt as if small windows were encapsulating my view; as ‘Seo Dawon’ shattered into small pieces, the ‘real’ space beyond was soon revealed.

A thin, feeble ray of light shone down from the ceiling into this dark, black space. The light illuminated a butterfly with black wings.

Because I had experienced this kind of space and its strange air a couple of times, I was able to retain some calmness. This was the space where the ‘real’ Vengeful Ghost Memory would unfold. And, probably, the butterfly with palm-sized black wings was Woo Ragi.

Woo Ragi lightly flew around as if he were swimming midair. His first words, after he landed lightly on my chest, was…

–You’re homo?

That.

TL: Not gonna lie, it was mega confusing, when translating, to distinguish between the two Seo Dawons. But, I think the novel did something interesting. Now that Lee-kyung knew Seo Dawon became a monster, all of his dialogue showed up in brackets, like other boss monsters within the game. His name was perpetually in brackets as well!

As for theories…I wonder what you all think?

For me, ‘Seo Dawon’ probably was the system (guided by Woo Ragi?? Unguided?) testing Choi Lee-kyung. [Seo Dawon], the monster, though, was an anomaly the system definitely didn’t expect. Does that mean that this possibility of a [Seo Dawon] is real…somewhere out there? In parallel worlds? Who knows. You’ll also probably get explanations for why this happened in a few chaps as well.

: Woo Ragi. Whew. He’s…interesting.