Chapter 408 - Original Ryu Min
"Min Juri, what's going on?"
Min Juri looked at Ryu Min with a puzzled expression.
"What on earth are you wearing? And what’s that scythe…?"
"Have you seen it before?"
"No, I mean why are you dressed like a player?"
"Well, I am a player."
"What…?"
Confused, Min Juri soon found herself even more bewildered.
"I'm not the Ryu Min from this world. I'm Ryu Min from another world."
"…What?"
As Ryu Min waved his hand, the scythe disappeared.
Witnessing this almost magical spectacle, Min Juri couldn't believe it.
"Has the power of the players… returned?"
"It never left. I've always had this power. I came from another world."
"What are you even talking about…?"
"I went to the Room of Wishes and touched the Stone of Desire in the final round, remember?"
"!!!"
Surprise crossed Min Juri’s face.
"And you wished for your father's happiness."
"Ho… how…?"
"Let’s go somewhere quiet. It’s too noisy here."
"But, what’s noisy in a quiet place…?"
When Min Juri focused, she heard screams like those from a crowd.
Probably because of people wandering around with a missing arm.
"Give me a moment."
"Ah…!"
Ryu Min wrapped his arms around Min Juri’s waist and spread his wings, taking to the sky.
Thud!
In the blink of an eye, Ryu Min and Min Juri were standing on the rooftop of a building, and Min Juri still had a perplexed expression.
Flying through the skies.
It reminded her of the days when she was a player.
"What the heck is going on? The player's power disappeared, didn’t it?"
"I’ll explain it to you from the beginning so you can understand."
Gradually, Ryu Min narrated the events starting from the 101st round.
While others were making their wishes in the Room of Wishes, Ryu Min encountered Gaia, the culprit behind the survival game.
And with the help of the God of Slaughter, he eliminated both her and the chaos, putting an end to the vicious cycle of the survival game.
"In the process, I killed a god named Chronos and gained the power of time. With the power to manipulate the world lines, I created an ideal world. I was able to see my lost parents, and there was no more survival game. It was a completely peaceful world. I crossed the world lines and came here."
"…"
Though it seemed unbelievable, it was hard not to believe.
The fact that he could still use the player’s power proved it.
"So… you’re not the Ryu Min I know, but another Ryu Min from a different dimension?"
"Yes, I came from another dimension, but the Ryu Min you know is still me."
"Huh?"
"I told you. I met Gaia through a wish and fought against the gods."
"Wait, this is complicated. Let me sort this out a bit."
Hearing a series of absurd things, her mind was overwhelmed.
"So… the Ryu Min who faced and conquered all sorts of trials and rounds with you… is you."
"You got it right. Technically, I’m the original Ryu Min, and the Ryu Min here is more like an imitation of me. Though our memories and personalities are similar."
"Ah…"
Min Juri also understood.
This world was copied based on previous data.
Therefore, she understood why the Ryu Min in this world wouldn’t remember the Room of Wishes.
This was another world created to fulfill her desires.
"Still, it’s fine. Ryu Min’s personality remains the same. But…"
Now there was someone claiming to be the original.
Min Juri’s eyes shook as if they were experiencing an earthquake.
"Min Juri?"
"Huh? Uh…"
"Are you following so far?"
"Yes…"
"Now you must be wondering why I appeared. I’ll explain that too."
Ryu Min explained about the host, the seed, and Deorant.
That was also a hard-to-believe story.
"The destruction of world lines… seriously?"
"Deorant is trying to collapse all the world lines. Some have already collapsed."
"Then this world is also in danger…"
"Yes, that’s why I came."
The reason Ryu Min came was simple.
His goal was to eliminate the host and the seed to prevent the world lines from collapsing.
He also warned her about everything she needed to be aware of.
"They can parasitize the human body, so be careful. They’re cunning and hide among people, waiting for an opportunity."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I came to warn you. This is your world, so I thought you should know."
"Ah… I see."
Suddenly, Min Juri’s shoulders slumped.
"Did I bother you… didn’t you… want to see me?"
"This is a world where your wishes are fulfilled. I can’t interfere if you’ve achieved your wish and are living well."
Though it wasn’t a lie, Min Juri felt an inexplicable sadness.
"Fool. How long have I been waiting for you? And now you show up?"
Even though he read her thoughts, Ryu Min prepared to leave as if he knew nothing.
"I’ll drop you off somewhere suitable. Hold on tight."
"Okay…"
Like two people flying through the sky, they descended into a secluded alley from the scene of the incident.
"Are you leaving now?"
"Yes, I need to find the host and the seed."
"I have a question."
"What?"
After hesitating a bit, Min Juri gathered the courage to speak.
"Why didn’t you show up earlier? Didn’t you… want to see me?"
"This is your world based on your wish. I can’t interfere."
He wasn’t lying, but Min Juri felt a strange melancholy.
"He’s gone…"
It was a shocking experience.
Meeting another Ryu Min from a different world.
"My heart… it’s pounding like crazy."
Min Juri thought as she felt the frantic beats of her heart.
Min Juri’s heart raced.
And then, she understood the reason.
"The real Ryu Min… My first love isn’t the Ryu Min I knew, but the Ryu Min I just met…"
A presence she had fought alongside and trusted since high school.
That was precisely the real Ryu Min she had just encountered.
Not the fake Ryu Min who moved with data copied from the world line.
"Minah… you have to be safe."
Min Juri wanted to see her first love once more.
She wanted to talk a little more with him, like she did before.
And she wanted to confidently tell him how she felt.
That she liked him.
That she always liked him.
But soon, she realized that wasn’t necessary.
"By the way… didn’t you mention something about a Rune of True Feelings?"
He had told her he already knew for a long time by reading her mind.
"Wait a minute. Does that mean… you also heard my earlier thoughts…?"
Min Juri felt overwhelmed with embarrassment and covered her face with her hands.
If there had been a hole, she would have hidden in it.
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"He’ll definitely reach out soon. In no time."
Around midnight.
The Ryu Min of this world nervously checked his phone.
There were ten minutes left until midnight.
But he hadn’t received any call, text, or anything from Min Juri.
"I feel as tense as when we were playing the survival game."
When they played, he was always tense like a veteran going into battle at midnight.
But now he was nervous for a different reason.
"She won’t leave me hanging, right…?"
Ryu Min looked at the clock on his phone.
There were only five minutes left now.
"Are you still hesitating? Will she agree to go out with me?"
He had confessed first and gave her time to respond.
He asked for an answer before midnight.
It might seem impatient, but he had no choice but to be firm. If he didn’t do it this way, things wouldn’t go well with Min Juri.
"If she still feels something for me… Min Juri will accept my proposal."
Three minutes left…
Two minutes…
One minute…
Midnight.
Contrary to his expectations, he didn’t receive any communication from Min Juri.
Ryu Min let out a long sigh of disappointment.
"So that’s how you feel. I get it. It’ll be hard to just be friends with you from now on."
The Ryu Min of this world tried to forget about Min Juri.
But it wasn’t an easy task.
The power of wishes could change the world’s fate.
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"The Rune of Speed."
The original Ryu Min moved faster than anyone else in a frozen world.
Although he had already read Min Juri’s true feelings and tried to gather more information about this world, nothing significant seemed to have happened.
"It seems the host and the seed haven’t activated yet."
If that were true, he would have to search for them with his own eyes.
Sometimes, he saw hosts moving like black shadows.
When he saw them, he took pride in being able to chase them down and find them.
"But why can’t I find them no matter how much I search?"
Even after checking South Korea and the entire world, he couldn’t find those suspected of being hosts.
Enough time had passed for the hosts to take action.
"They might not be here yet. The hosts and the seeds."
It wouldn’t be possible for Deorant to send all his servants to every world line at the same time.
If he did, Min Juri’s world line wouldn’t be as peaceful as it is now.
"Are they planting the seeds sequentially? Is Min Juri’s world line not ready yet?"
Then, could Deorant know when he would plant the hosts and the seeds?
"Hmm."
For a moment, he felt as if the world was tearing apart.
As if someone was watching through a hole.
It was a sensation that only those with the power of time could feel.
"Someone… is observing the world."
Ryu Min closed his eyes and focused on that feeling.
He made an effort to find the source of the observation.
"I’ve got you. Who are you?"
A being with a beard like morning dew.
It was the being he had been searching for, Deorant.