If you’re thinking of sharing my content, please give credit where credit is due! It takes a lot of time and effort to create something, so it’s always appreciated when people respect that and acknowledge the source. Thanks for being a responsible and considerate sharer!
Bibell[dawn department store (8)]
It’s weird.
Really weird.
Eunha scratched his head while dealing with Noname .
After <Century’s End Destruction>, the player’s world experienced three qualitative improvements.
The first period was immediately after <Century’s End Destruction>. With the influx of people who transitioned into players, there was a significant improvement in quality and quantity.
The second period was when «Yumma» Kang Hyun-chul, «Holy Mother» Park Hye-rim, and «Emperor» Lee Do-jin ascended to the Twelve. These names and others laid the foundation for the player world.
The third period was when Eunha graduated from the academy. Later, players referred to her generation as the Golden Generation. With their graduation, South Korea entered a prosperous era of Named players and <The Seed>. This was also the time when the hierarchy of monsters descended by at least one level.
Noname was a player from the first period. Naturally, he was incomparable to Eunha, who became a player in the third period. Even if his player rating during this period was B, the players during Eunha’s time were no more than C-rated players.
But Noname was much weaker than he realized. He couldn’t have imagined that he would be this weak, even if his prime continued beyond this point.
Had I… gotten stronger?
A few months ago, he’d reopened the Gift during a fight against a Hellhound, and he’d been able to kill it in a cross-fire battle.
Since then, the mana in his body has increased.
Suddenly, he found himself possessing mana that accounted for 70% of his nearing death.
Still, his mana was only average compared to other players. It was high for an eight-year-old, but there is a limit to the amount of internal mana a human can take, and it will eventually converge on the amount of internal mana he had at his peak.
So the reason he felt stronger wasn’t the increased mana.
Even though he only used a very small amount of it.
His physical abilities were much higher than they had been a few months ago.
«Oh…»
I had grown taller over the months. They say that muscles get stronger as they are destroyed and repaired, but my physical performance has improved since that day.
And with his mana efficiency improving, he couldn’t help but feel stronger.
Moreover, he was now used to fighting with a child’s body. After his mad rampage against the Hound, he realized that his tactics were more appropriate for his age.
He didn’t need to mimic the tactics of his regression.
«Ugh!»
«Is this all you’ve got?»
Moreover, Noname was not used to dealing with children. Since Eunha was taking advantage of his shorter height than an adult to attack, was unable to respond properly.
«…Come to think of it, it wasn’t a big deal before the regression.»
Others were unable to react properly when used his Gift. Some recognized him as someone else and dropped their weapons, some forgot who they were dealing with, and some swung their weapons in the air.
But Eunha had never done any of those things, and as far as he could see, was simply wrapped in mana.
Even now.
He watched with amusement as Noname manifested the Gift without working.
This isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.
It was like stabbing a knife through tofu. At first, it was fun to stab, but now it wasn’t fun to stab because it was getting stuck every time I moved.
«…The swarms were more fun.»
I felt like I was dealing with a child who couldn’t even wield a sword properly.
«Why…. Why…!»
Noname exclaimed, swinging a sword that couldn’t reach him.
Eunha dodged the flying attack with a slight dodge. Not even a strand of his hair was missed.
«…Well. If the gift doesn’t take effect, it’s over.»
Even snipers change locations after a single shot.
The greatest effect of Noname’s ability was achieved when he carried out assassinations using Disorder.
Unaccustomed to engaging in combat with opponents, including those whose identities had been revealed, he was no better than the other players.
«Haa…, haa….»
He was almost out of mana.
Gasping for breath, looked at him from afar with a fearful gaze.
«Are you done?»
Eunha didn’t break a sweat. By now, he’d discarded his blades and had his hands in his pockets.
From the middle of the match, Eunha used all sorts of tricks against Noname. For the first time in a long time, he was in a position of overwhelming strength, and he was going to use this opportunity to do everything he could.
«Ugh…!»
«Let’s end this quickly then.»
Eunha struck Noname’s leg with a flick. He fell on his ass from the force.
«Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.»
Nonsense!
Noname screamed inwardly. He was already at full strength. He had already been stabbed again and again.
He could have taken his own life at any moment, but instead, as if testing something, he carved himself with knife marks. Now, except for his face, there was no part of his body that was unmarked.
He must have cut some flesh.
Once he’d cut enough flesh, he’d cut the muscles he didn’t normally use, and now he’d cut the tendons in his ankles.
«Ah….»
It was a horror worse than dying.
This was hell.
And the man who had dropped him into it still wanted to try something.
«Let’s take a look at ….»
Stop! Don’t touch that!
Noname tried to shake off the man on top of him.
But his body wouldn’t budge. Even the muscles that moved his arms were now severed.
He was nothing more than a breathing doll.
«My…feet….»
Just kill me instead.
Noname said in a throaty, cracking voice.
Ignoring the sound, Eunha removed his sunglasses.
«…So this is it.»
Eunha frowned when he saw Noname’s bare face.
It was somewhat expected.
His eyes were as small as fish eyes.
Not just small, but why are his eyelashes so long?
And how clear are his irises?
Seeing the face that didn’t match his physique, Eunha pretended to gag. He put the sunglasses back on Noname’s face.
«Ai, go to sleep.»
Noname looked at his face and shed a single tear.
Eunha spat out his saliva and slapped the man’s cheeks hard.
His head spinning, was knocked unconscious.
«Haa, I’ll be indebted to Noona Seo-young again.»
The last thing he saw before he blacked out was him running his hands through his hair and sighing.
Like a child making a mess in his room and then leaving it to his mother to clean it up.
There was no trace of the spunk he had displayed earlier.
☆
Dawn department store terror.
The incident that occurred that day was reported nationwide. The Fairy Government condemned the monster terror committed by <Noname> and announced their position to severely punish it as an act that threatens humanity.
Publicly, the person who suppressed the Dawn Department Store attack was announced as <Shinpung> Shin Seo-young, who organized the Silla Clan and the crime scene.
People were puzzled as to why Shin Seo-young, a member of the Twelve Chairs, was responsible for the Dawn Department Store attack, but some praised her for taking down the mastermind of the attack, Noname.
«You know you owe me, right?»
«…I’ll pay you back, I’ll pay you back.»
«When?»
«Someday.»
Sighing inwardly, Eunha turned his head away from Shin Seo-young.
The two had been meeting for lunch once a month since the events at Mount Bukhansan.
They met at Cafe Happiness, located in the northeastern part of the city. Ever since Eunha had introduced her to the Happiness Potion, she’d picked a time when the cafe was empty.
As a player on the Twelve, she was a media favorite. She usually had a hat and sunglasses ready when she stopped by Happiness, but today she was wearing nothing.
This was because she was trying to get Seok-hoon Jung to agree to a compromise, and she had established a boundary spell that interfered with human perception. People who weren’t used to dealing with mana didn’t even realize the cafe existed.
Impressive.
Building a magic that interfered with human cognitive abilities, unless it was the gift <Disorder>, was a remarkably difficult task. Moreover, her magic targeted a location, not an object.
She wasn’t called the best caster in the country for nothing.
Eunha sipped his plain yogurt, marveling once again at her abilities.
«That’s the first time you’ve ever summoned me, Eunha.»
«Because I owe you a thank you.»
«I don’t think it’s just a thank you.»
Seoyoung looked at him with a meaningful smile.
They were treating each other as players. They were doing business out of necessity, and it was unlikely that he, who was particularly reluctant to make contact with her, would be brought in simply to say thank you.
«…How did it go?»
A question with many implications.
But Seoyoung could guess what he wanted.
«Noname and his gang will receive a death sentence, the first since the establishment of the Fairy Government.»
The question was, who hired them?
«I can’t tell you that.»
Shin Seoyoung didn’t give him any wiggle room. As if she’d been expecting him to ask this, she kept a poker face and spoke firmly.
«…I can’t help it.»
«I’m sorry. Just know that it’s not something I can tell you.»
Shin Seo-young still kept her poker face.
Trying to read her emotions, Eunha had no choice but to give up.
…I wonder who hired those guys.
It hadn’t happened before the regression. He wondered who, and for what purpose, had caused an event that had never happened before.
And what had changed the future.
There was a story about how a single butterfly can change the course of the world.
After saving his family, he intervened in events large and small to change the future. He wondered if the world seemed to be unchanged when viewed from a close perspective, but when viewed from a distance, the world had undergone a radical transformation.
He was convinced. The future was still changing, even now.
But he had no intention of standing still. Since he was given the chance to live a second life, he was determined to live happily ever after.
So it’s not scary when the future changes.
And if it tries to put a knife to his throat, he’ll just kill it.
«Are we done?»
«By the way, what happened to Dawn Group?»
He had seen the news yesterday that Dawn Group’s chairwoman, Lee Yoon-hee, was returning to management. Before the regression, the chairman of Dawn Group had left the job to his three sons and did not return to the management of the group.
The three sons fought a succession war for control of Dawn Group, and the eldest son took over the throne. At a crucial moment, a series of scandals broke out against the second son.
«Chairwoman Lee Yoon-hee returned, and her successors decided to step down from everything for the time being and focus on social work.»
Again, the future changed. He was no longer sure how the succession war between the successors to take over Dawn Group would affect society or who would eventually succeed her.
«Well, I’ll leave you to it, I have some business to attend to.»
«Okay, thanks, I’ll see you later.»
«Okay. See you later.»
Seo-young looked surprised as he waved goodbye. Then she smiled softly and disappeared with the wind.
The silence that enveloped the café was gone, too.
«The future has changed.»
The future has changed. Eunha murmured to himself.
The future had changed, but nothing had changed.
If they got in his way, he would kill them.
His policy hadn’t changed.
The year was coming to an end.
He finished the last of the yogurt in his glass, thinking about the future he didn’t know.
And when he went home for dinner-.
«─Mom. Dad. I want to be a player.»
Euna announced her decision in front of her family.
The future had changed.
If you’re thinking of sharing my content, please give credit where credit is due! It takes a lot of time and effort to create something, so it’s always appreciated when people respect that and acknowledge the source. Thanks for being a responsible and considerate sharer!
Bibell[dawn department store (8)]
It’s weird.
Really weird.
Eunha scratched his head while dealing with Noname .
After <Century’s End Destruction>, the player’s world experienced three qualitative improvements.
The first period was immediately after <Century’s End Destruction>. With the influx of people who transitioned into players, there was a significant improvement in quality and quantity.
The second period was when «Yumma» Kang Hyun-chul, «Holy Mother» Park Hye-rim, and «Emperor» Lee Do-jin ascended to the Twelve. These names and others laid the foundation for the player world.
The third period was when Eunha graduated from the academy. Later, players referred to her generation as the Golden Generation. With their graduation, South Korea entered a prosperous era of Named players and <The Seed>. This was also the time when the hierarchy of monsters descended by at least one level.
Noname was a player from the first period. Naturally, he was incomparable to Eunha, who became a player in the third period. Even if his player rating during this period was B, the players during Eunha’s time were no more than C-rated players.
But Noname was much weaker than he realized. He couldn’t have imagined that he would be this weak, even if his prime continued beyond this point.
Had I… gotten stronger?
A few months ago, he’d reopened the Gift during a fight against a Hellhound, and he’d been able to kill it in a cross-fire battle.
Since then, the mana in his body has increased.
Suddenly, he found himself possessing mana that accounted for 70% of his nearing death.
Still, his mana was only average compared to other players. It was high for an eight-year-old, but there is a limit to the amount of internal mana a human can take, and it will eventually converge on the amount of internal mana he had at his peak.
So the reason he felt stronger wasn’t the increased mana.
Even though he only used a very small amount of it.
His physical abilities were much higher than they had been a few months ago.
«Oh…»
I had grown taller over the months. They say that muscles get stronger as they are destroyed and repaired, but my physical performance has improved since that day.
And with his mana efficiency improving, he couldn’t help but feel stronger.
Moreover, he was now used to fighting with a child’s body. After his mad rampage against the Hound, he realized that his tactics were more appropriate for his age.
He didn’t need to mimic the tactics of his regression.
«Ugh!»
«Is this all you’ve got?»
Moreover, Noname was not used to dealing with children. Since Eunha was taking advantage of his shorter height than an adult to attack, was unable to respond properly.
«…Come to think of it, it wasn’t a big deal before the regression.»
Others were unable to react properly when used his Gift. Some recognized him as someone else and dropped their weapons, some forgot who they were dealing with, and some swung their weapons in the air.
But Eunha had never done any of those things, and as far as he could see, was simply wrapped in mana.
Even now.
He watched with amusement as Noname manifested the Gift without working.
This isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.
It was like stabbing a knife through tofu. At first, it was fun to stab, but now it wasn’t fun to stab because it was getting stuck every time I moved.
«…The swarms were more fun.»
I felt like I was dealing with a child who couldn’t even wield a sword properly.
«Why…. Why…!»
Noname exclaimed, swinging a sword that couldn’t reach him.
Eunha dodged the flying attack with a slight dodge. Not even a strand of his hair was missed.
«…Well. If the gift doesn’t take effect, it’s over.»
Even snipers change locations after a single shot.
The greatest effect of Noname’s ability was achieved when he carried out assassinations using Disorder.
Unaccustomed to engaging in combat with opponents, including those whose identities had been revealed, he was no better than the other players.
«Haa…, haa….»
He was almost out of mana.
Gasping for breath, looked at him from afar with a fearful gaze.
«Are you done?»
Eunha didn’t break a sweat. By now, he’d discarded his blades and had his hands in his pockets.
From the middle of the match, Eunha used all sorts of tricks against Noname. For the first time in a long time, he was in a position of overwhelming strength, and he was going to use this opportunity to do everything he could.
«Ugh…!»
«Let’s end this quickly then.»
Eunha struck Noname’s leg with a flick. He fell on his ass from the force.
«Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.»
Nonsense!
Noname screamed inwardly. He was already at full strength. He had already been stabbed again and again.
He could have taken his own life at any moment, but instead, as if testing something, he carved himself with knife marks. Now, except for his face, there was no part of his body that was unmarked.
He must have cut some flesh.
Once he’d cut enough flesh, he’d cut the muscles he didn’t normally use, and now he’d cut the tendons in his ankles.
«Ah….»
It was a horror worse than dying.
This was hell.
And the man who had dropped him into it still wanted to try something.
«Let’s take a look at ….»
Stop! Don’t touch that!
Noname tried to shake off the man on top of him.
But his body wouldn’t budge. Even the muscles that moved his arms were now severed.
He was nothing more than a breathing doll.
«My…feet….»
Just kill me instead.
Noname said in a throaty, cracking voice.
Ignoring the sound, Eunha removed his sunglasses.
«…So this is it.»
Eunha frowned when he saw Noname’s bare face.
It was somewhat expected.
His eyes were as small as fish eyes.
Not just small, but why are his eyelashes so long?
And how clear are his irises?
Seeing the face that didn’t match his physique, Eunha pretended to gag. He put the sunglasses back on Noname’s face.
«Ai, go to sleep.»
Noname looked at his face and shed a single tear.
Eunha spat out his saliva and slapped the man’s cheeks hard.
His head spinning, was knocked unconscious.
«Haa, I’ll be indebted to Noona Seo-young again.»
The last thing he saw before he blacked out was him running his hands through his hair and sighing.
Like a child making a mess in his room and then leaving it to his mother to clean it up.
There was no trace of the spunk he had displayed earlier.
☆
Dawn department store terror.
The incident that occurred that day was reported nationwide. The Fairy Government condemned the monster terror committed by <Noname> and announced their position to severely punish it as an act that threatens humanity.
Publicly, the person who suppressed the Dawn Department Store attack was announced as <Shinpung> Shin Seo-young, who organized the Silla Clan and the crime scene.
People were puzzled as to why Shin Seo-young, a member of the Twelve Chairs, was responsible for the Dawn Department Store attack, but some praised her for taking down the mastermind of the attack, Noname.
«You know you owe me, right?»
«…I’ll pay you back, I’ll pay you back.»
«When?»
«Someday.»
Sighing inwardly, Eunha turned his head away from Shin Seo-young.
The two had been meeting for lunch once a month since the events at Mount Bukhansan.
They met at Cafe Happiness, located in the northeastern part of the city. Ever since Eunha had introduced her to the Happiness Potion, she’d picked a time when the cafe was empty.
As a player on the Twelve, she was a media favorite. She usually had a hat and sunglasses ready when she stopped by Happiness, but today she was wearing nothing.
This was because she was trying to get Seok-hoon Jung to agree to a compromise, and she had established a boundary spell that interfered with human perception. People who weren’t used to dealing with mana didn’t even realize the cafe existed.
Impressive.
Building a magic that interfered with human cognitive abilities, unless it was the gift <Disorder>, was a remarkably difficult task. Moreover, her magic targeted a location, not an object.
She wasn’t called the best caster in the country for nothing.
Eunha sipped his plain yogurt, marveling once again at her abilities.
«That’s the first time you’ve ever summoned me, Eunha.»
«Because I owe you a thank you.»
«I don’t think it’s just a thank you.»
Seoyoung looked at him with a meaningful smile.
They were treating each other as players. They were doing business out of necessity, and it was unlikely that he, who was particularly reluctant to make contact with her, would be brought in simply to say thank you.
«…How did it go?»
A question with many implications.
But Seoyoung could guess what he wanted.
«Noname and his gang will receive a death sentence, the first since the establishment of the Fairy Government.»
The question was, who hired them?
«I can’t tell you that.»
Shin Seoyoung didn’t give him any wiggle room. As if she’d been expecting him to ask this, she kept a poker face and spoke firmly.
«…I can’t help it.»
«I’m sorry. Just know that it’s not something I can tell you.»
Shin Seo-young still kept her poker face.
Trying to read her emotions, Eunha had no choice but to give up.
…I wonder who hired those guys.
It hadn’t happened before the regression. He wondered who, and for what purpose, had caused an event that had never happened before.
And what had changed the future.
There was a story about how a single butterfly can change the course of the world.
After saving his family, he intervened in events large and small to change the future. He wondered if the world seemed to be unchanged when viewed from a close perspective, but when viewed from a distance, the world had undergone a radical transformation.
He was convinced. The future was still changing, even now.
But he had no intention of standing still. Since he was given the chance to live a second life, he was determined to live happily ever after.
So it’s not scary when the future changes.
And if it tries to put a knife to his throat, he’ll just kill it.
«Are we done?»
«By the way, what happened to Dawn Group?»
He had seen the news yesterday that Dawn Group’s chairwoman, Lee Yoon-hee, was returning to management. Before the regression, the chairman of Dawn Group had left the job to his three sons and did not return to the management of the group.
The three sons fought a succession war for control of Dawn Group, and the eldest son took over the throne. At a crucial moment, a series of scandals broke out against the second son.
«Chairwoman Lee Yoon-hee returned, and her successors decided to step down from everything for the time being and focus on social work.»
Again, the future changed. He was no longer sure how the succession war between the successors to take over Dawn Group would affect society or who would eventually succeed her.
«Well, I’ll leave you to it, I have some business to attend to.»
«Okay, thanks, I’ll see you later.»
«Okay. See you later.»
Seo-young looked surprised as he waved goodbye. Then she smiled softly and disappeared with the wind.
The silence that enveloped the café was gone, too.
«The future has changed.»
The future has changed. Eunha murmured to himself.
The future had changed, but nothing had changed.
If they got in his way, he would kill them.
His policy hadn’t changed.
The year was coming to an end.
He finished the last of the yogurt in his glass, thinking about the future he didn’t know.
And when he went home for dinner-.
«─Mom. Dad. I want to be a player.»
Euna announced her decision in front of her family.
The future had changed.
