The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 264:

The group returned to their hideout and discussed how to escape from this place.

“But no matter how I look at it, I don’t think we can satisfy the clear condition by defeating the phantoms.”

“I agree with that. In this case, the system should guide us on what to do, but the system is also malfunctioning.”

“This is a problem.”

They had to advance the story of this Mental Realm to find a clue for clearing it.

But in this place that was created from someone’s memory, it was hard to even grasp the clear condition.

The Genesis system, which had been a guide for them, was also blocked now.

Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned to Yu-hyun.

This place was created from his memory, so they hoped that he would know something.

“Yes. This Mental Realm was created based on my memory. If I had to guess the clear condition, it would be overcoming the source of the nightmare.”

Then what is overcoming the source of the nightmare? What is the fundamental cause of Yu-hyun’s nightmare in this realm?

“Eliminating the source of the nightmare is practically impossible. My nightmare was this realm itself. We don’t have enough power to erase the whole realm.”

No one disagreed with that.

They all felt that this Mental Realm was not easy after seeing today’s fight.

It was a realm where even a seemingly insignificant vagrant had a power comparable to a high-level collector.

Fighting against this realm was nothing but suicide.

“Then what should we do?”

“There are other ways to overcome it than eliminating the source of the nightmare.”

“Then…”

“Yes. We just have to stay still, survive in this realm and pass the time. Surviving without dying is also enough to overcome it.

And if my guess is right, this fruit harvesting and the subsequent ordeal will be over soon.”

Doing nothing and just enduring it.

It sounded easy, but considering the situation they were living in, it was not an easy task at all.

If someone who didn’t know anything dropped into this place, they would die in a few hours.

‘But I know everything. What kind of place this is. What will happen next. And who are around here.’

Yu-hyun’s role in the apocalypse was collecting information and obtaining materials. He always ran around meeting people and contacting them to gather information.

Ironically, this place that was closer to death than his hometown was more familiar to him.

“The 98th ordeal itself is not bad if you don’t get involved. The Exodus tellers will be quiet at this time, and people will be obsessed with finding the fruit. We just have to stay still.”

“Is that so?”

“And soon the sun will set. It’s time for the monsters to roam outside more ferociously at night. You have to be careful if you don’t have a skill to hide your body. Even a high-level collector can become a meal for them.”

At that, Kang Hye-rim shivered.

She was proud of herself for being strong enough, but according to Yu-hyun, her level was common in this realm.

She felt helpless when she realized that there were still higher realms above her head.

It was the same for Kwon Jia.

She didn’t like experiencing someone else’s past that she couldn’t reach in her own ordeal.

“Let’s go to sleep for today. The real story of the ordeal will start tomorrow.”

The group ended their conversation and went to their respective beds.

Having traveled through different realms, they had naturally experienced sleeping in places they did not want to.

They had gotten used to that, so they all fell asleep without much discomfort.

That was how the first night of the nightmare passed.

***

The next morning.

The sky was full of dark clouds, so the sun’s rising and setting were not visible, but everyone knew that it was morning.

Because they could see the shapes of things under the sky.

Clear meant daytime. Blurry meant night.

That was the only criterion for the survivors to distinguish time.

Yu-hyun and his companions had a light breakfast with the food they had, and they planned to spend some time leisurely, but that plan was ruined by an unexpected visitor.

“Nice to meet you.”

A man who smiled kindly at them.

As soon as he saw him, Yu-hyun’s face hardened, and Kang Hye-rim, Kwon Jia, and Seo Sumin had strange expressions.

That was because the man in front of them was none other than Kang Yu-hyun, who existed in this realm.

He had a darker and sharper impression than the current Yu-hyun.

[That smile, I thought I had seen it a lot somewhere…]

Baekryeon muttered to herself without realizing it.

[It was the smile he made when he was plotting something evil.]

Baekryeon expected Yu-hyun to say something in response, but he had no chance to do so right now.

‘Why is my past self here?’

This was a flow of events that did not exist before, but Yu-hyun soon realized why things were going this way.

‘Well, if that’s my past self, he wouldn’t just ignore us after seeing our group.’

His past self had tried hard to find out everything, believing that he should not be ignorant of anything.

So when he saw himself, who should not exist in his eyes, contact between the two was inevitable.

“What is your name, the leader of your group?”

“I am…”

Yu-hyun did not lose his composure even in this bizarre situation where he felt like he was talking to himself in a mirror.

“My name is Kang Jisu. Nice to meet you.”

“Jisu? Where are you from? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here much.”

“We came up from the lower regions.”

“Hmm. Why did you come to Seoul?”

At his blatant suspicion, Yu-hyun felt a sense of nostalgia for his past self.

“What reason would there be? We just moved naturally trying to survive, and then we heard rumors about the Savior and came here.”

“…”

His past self’s expression hardened at the word Savior.

Of course, it was only for a moment, but there was no way that the real Yu-hyun would miss it.

‘I know what my past self is thinking.’

The Savior that Yu-hyun mentioned was none other than Choi Do-yoon.

The rumor of a man who easily solved any ordeal even in the apocalypse had spread all over the realm.

The survivors hoped that they could survive in this realm by following him and idolized him excessively.

So Choi Do-yoon unintentionally got the title of Savior.

‘It’s ridiculous. How can that guy be a Savior?’

He was someone who did not see other humans as humans, but only as values.

He did not care about good or evil.

He only cared about usefulness or uselessness.

There was only a binary choice.

How could such a man get the title of Savior, which implied altruism?

It would be more understandable if Huang Se-eun, who was next to him, got that title.

His past self also had a lot of resentment for that.

So when he deliberately mentioned the Savior, he must have been quite upset.

‘My past self had a lot of inferiority complex.’

He did not show it outwardly, but it was obvious.

Especially since he knew himself better than anyone else.

His past self changed his expression to a bright one and said while managing his expression.

“Ha, haha. I see. Well, you might think so.”

“By the way, I heard that you were in the same party as that Savior.”

“The same party… No. I’m just hanging on to them. That’s all.”

“Is that so?”

Seeing himself smile self-deprecatingly was not a very pleasant feeling for Yu-hyun either.

They exchanged some light conversation like that.

It was more like his past self asking questions to probe their intentions, but Yu-hyun did not fall for it and strongly expressed that he had no ulterior motives.

“It was nice meeting you.”

“Yes. I’m glad to meet someone who can communicate like this in the apocalypse.”

Having realized that they were not a threat, his past self left the shelter.

His companions who had been quietly watching the situation came closer.

Kang Hye-rim spoke in an excited voice.

“Wow. So this is what Yu-hyun was like in the past. He was sharper, but also had something that stirred up a protective instinct.”

“Hmm. He does seem more mature now, compared to his naive self back then.”

“I can sense some impatience in him. It’s a fresh sight from this man who never shows it.”

Most of them were commenting on Yu-hyun’s past self.

Yu-hyun felt awkward and looked away.

“Why are you bringing up how I was in that situation?”

“Huh? We’re curious, that’s why. When else would we get a chance like this?”

“I agree. It’s a rare opportunity.”

“To be honest, I want to record it and keep it for posterity.”

“…Enough. Anyway, things didn’t go as I planned, but it’s not too bad now. Let’s go.”

Yu-hyun urged his companions to get ready to leave.

Kwon Jia frowned.

“Leave? Didn’t you say we had to stay put?”

“That was yesterday. Today is a different story. I said we had to stay still, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay in one place. Staying still here means not getting involved in any fights.”

“Huh, isn’t it safe here? I don’t think we need to move.”

“You probably don’t know this, but look at this wall.”

Yu-hyun pointed to one side of the underground parking lot wall.

There were cracks like spider webs on it.

They were definitely not there yesterday.

“See these cracks? The reason we have to move is because of this. There is no such thing as a permanent hideout in this realm. If we stay here for a day, this place will collapse and disappear.”

It was an extreme measure that the Exodus Tellers came up with to deal with humans who ignored the trials and stayed in safe places.

If they stayed in one place for more than 24 hours, the hideout would crumble and a large phantasm would appear.

And this large phantasm was a monster that could make even a high-ranking collector fall prey.

It meant that if they tried to settle down in one place without moving around, they would surely die.

The three people’s expressions hardened when they heard the explanation.

“That’s too much. We have to keep moving without resting.”

“A place where even a moment of rest is not allowed, truly a dreadful place.”

“That’s why we’re moving. And aren’t you curious too? What I was like in the past.”

Yu-hyun took the lead and spoke, and everyone looked at him with bewilderment.

He was the last person they expected to say that in this situation.

“I understand your reaction, but I told you, right? This Nightmare Realm is about overcoming nightmares.”

“That nightmare has something to do with seeing your past self… oh.”

Overcoming the nightmare of the past meant facing the failures and mistakes he had made.

There was a reason why the 98th trial out of countless trials was chosen as the Nightmare Realm.

This trial was the most painful and horrible memory in Yu-hyun’s life.

Knowing that, no one could say anything rashly to Yu-hyun.

“Let’s go. I said it before, right? My past self was very fast. If we don’t move now, we’ll miss him.”

“Yu-hyun. You are…”

Kwon Jia tried to say something, but stopped.

She wanted to ask him how he could be so calm.

She couldn’t believe he could face his past self with a clear mind.

It was something she couldn’t do herself.

Kang Hye-rim and Seo Sumin felt the same way.

When Shamat used Buddhist flowersari on them, they all faced their past selves.

The pain they felt then was still suffocating when they recalled it now.

But this man had no hesitation in confronting his past self.

“It’s necessary.”

Yu-hyun ended all their worries with one word.

“Necessary…?”

“It’s hard for anyone. I’m not saying I’m not having a hard time either. But I’m moving because I know I have to do it even if it’s hard. I learned that in this realm. How to do what I hate and move on even if it hurts.”

He surely didn’t want that.

The realm had pushed him to the edge and made him like that.

But Yu-hyun didn’t deny his past self.

Rather, he felt the need to face it properly at least once.

He couldn’t leave his nightmare as a nightmare forever.

“So let’s go. To chase after my foolish self.”

He had to overcome his nightmare, no matter what.