HACKED 17

A younger brother? Was there an Incarnation that was a younger brother to <The Drum that Sounds on its Own>?

I can’t quite remember. It has been a while since I quit the game, and even when I was playing actively, I usually ground up Incarnations below 3 stars or rarely used them if I kept them.

“You don’t remember. Yes. That is understandable. Since you have returned after a very long time…”

The woman’s tone was calm. Listening to her made me feel like the absolute scum of the earth.

“He was the child called <The Trumpet that Sounds on its Own> here. That child cut me with an ornamental silver dagger. It was as soon as the ‘anomaly’ occurred.”

“Was there a fight with your brother? Were you on such bad terms that he would cut you with a knife?”

“No. I asked him to cut me. That child opposed it until the end, but eventually gave in to my stubbornness.”

“Just why…”

“I did not want to be consumed by corruption, lose my reason, forget who I was, and do something that would harm Master. I judged that it was better to die instead.”

“I’m sorry I don’t remember. But in the list I saw on the terminal earlier, the name <The Trumpet that Sounds on its Own> wasn’t there.”

“That is because… that child died protecting me.”

‘Died protecting?’

Just what is going on. How can game characters kill each other while the player is hacked? And why was I possessed into this damn game world?

If this were a real game, I would have viewed these injuries as mere HP numbers. I wouldn’t have cared whether a virtual character synthesized by AI lived or died. How did I end up witnessing this horrific scene in person? Feeling useless things like guilt…

‘I feel like I’m really going crazy.’

My brain, suffering from extreme stress, lets out a scream. I feel like my non-existent corruption level is filling up. Is this what they call a Sanity Pinch, mental pollution, or something like that?

“For now…”

I should use one of the Crystals of Recovery now. If a person is lying right in front of me with their body split open in a near-death state, and I just coldly run off saying, ‘Uh, thanks for the story and I’ll use the items well. Thanks.’ …then I’d be a real psychopath.

“I’ll heal your wounds with this first.”

“No. Master. You must not.”

“Why? The injury is this severe!”

“Please use the things I gave you on others instead of me. That is why I gave them to you. I am not in a hurry.”

“If you aren’t in a hurry, then who is…”

“He is right next to you.”

I reflexively turned my gaze. San Gun was listening to the conversation with an expressionless face, leaning on his long sword. He didn’t seem particularly hostile toward the woman, but his attitude showed no signs of goodwill either.

“Even if there were ten, no, twenty of me, I would not equal that person alone. As you know.”

“……”

“You must consider priorities. Right now, you need people who will protect Master, people who will fight for Master. I am not specialized for combat, so I cannot be of great help to your forces. Now that I am ‘torn’ like this, I cannot even perform my function. I am not worth keeping alive, but I am also not worth killing. Therefore.”

“……”

“When Master becomes sufficiently safe, then… please stop by again then. That will be enough.”

The woman’s face remained peaceful throughout. As if she knew nothing of pain. She did not look like a patient with an injury where her organs might spill out of her stomach at any moment.

Those words, too. This wasn’t a line full of camaraderie and altruism like ‘I’m okay, so go on ahead!’ that you’d see in a disaster movie. It was a conclusion derived from extremely rational thinking: since her stats and rarity were low, it was more efficient to recover a superior Incarnation to serve as an escort.

Suddenly, I recalled one of the skills of <The Drum that Sounds on its Own> that I had checked on the terminal earlier.

Passive Skill: ‘Physicality (物性)’ : Having obtained a human body but ultimately failing to understand humans, is it because she was originally made as an object? All mental-type buffs and debuffs are reduced by half. Does not easily fall into the fear of death, but finds it difficult to feel the joy of life.

I felt that it was a relief that this ‘Physicality’ existed. This single skill doesn’t make all the pain she experienced vanish, but still.

˙✧˖°🎮 ⋆｡˚

<The Drum that Sounds on its Own>… fine, let’s just call her ‘Ja-myeong-go’ for convenience. Leaving Ja-myeong-go in the recovery room, I locked the door from the outside again.

I wonder how locking the door on a critically ill patient who can’t even move on her own is any different from imprisonment… but I thought this would be better for her safety.

If she can’t get out from the inside, it means no one can enter from the outside either. With this, I blocked any possibility of an ambush. Since she isn’t human, she won’t need to go in and out for meals or baths.

“I’m worried. Her condition was so bad.”

Even after confirming the door was securely locked, my heart didn’t feel right. Should I have used one of the crystals over there after all?

“She won’t die, she won’t die.”

An insincere response flew in from the side.

“What are you going to do if she’s dead when we go back?”

“If they were the type to die from that much, everyone here would have been dead a long time ago.”

“……”

Using an unblockable argument at this timing? Not easy.

“First, take this.”

I can’t stand walking around using a guy missing an arm like a bodyguard anymore. Since San Gun doesn’t seem to be my enemy for now, I should give him a recovery item. I pulled out a Crystal of Recovery from my pocket and held it out. But how do I use this? Do I have to do something? Or is it enough just to hand it over?

“Sure.”

He responded readily and tucked the long sword he was holding diagonally into his belt. Since he only has one hand, he’d have no choice if he wanted to receive the crystal.

Thud!

The moment I was about to place the gem on his palm, my body was pushed hard by him.

“Gah…!”

Even after being pushed, I couldn’t grasp the situation for a short time. Part of it was because I couldn’t breathe after being hit squarely in the solar plexus by a solid forearm.

As soon as I regained my senses, what I noticed was blood. An additional wound had been added to San Gun’s already tattered body. The clothes from his shoulder leading to his back were torn long and horizontally, revealing red flesh.

And a single arrow embedded in the opposite wall. It was noticeably shorter in length compared to a typical arrow.

It was a Pyeon-jeon, an arrow also called an Aegi-sal. Contrary to the cute name ‘Aegi’ (Baby), its lethality is vicious.

‘Hey, you…!’

Realization came a beat late.

‘That crazy archer bastard, did he follow us after all? Even changing his arrows…’

It was an incredible tenacity and murderous intent. It made me look back at myself, wondering if I had somehow become the sworn enemy of that guy’s parents without knowing.

San Gun pulled his sword from the scabbard tucked in his belt. It was a fluid and elegant drawing motion. And holding the sword in one hand, he walked without hesitation toward the other end of the hallway where the arrow had flown from.

Sword versus bow. Melee versus Ranged.

As long as the distance is close, the sword is absolutely advantageous. With a blade about to take your head off, when are you going to find the time to hook an arrow to the bowstring and aim?

However, if the distance is this far, the situation becomes the exact opposite. In terms of modern warfare, it’s no different from acting out in the open when an enemy sniper is lurking in a trench with only the muzzle showing.

“Wait a minute!”

“Wait for what.”

Swish!

It was the blink of an eye. Something like a flash of light glittered, and an arrow cut in half fell into the hallway. San Gun slowly shook his sword once and increased his walking speed.

“……”

I watched the scene with my mouth hanging open stupidly. Cutting down a flying arrow with a sword—was that physically possible? Wasn’t that a direction only seen in martial arts novels or action movies?

Meanwhile, San Gun kindly looked back at me and even offered advice.

“Hide quietly. Don’t go sticking your head out and getting an arrow stuck in your eye.”

“Yes.”

I immediately squeezed my body behind a corner and pressed my head against the wall. What might be happening over there… I didn’t even want to imagine, and I wanted to see it even less. A fight between two post-human-level lunatics. My heart becomes solemn. Um, do I really need to know that?

“Guh-ark!”

However, the moment someone let out a desperate groan as if they were dying, all my nerves were drawn there in spite of myself.

Since my vision was cut off, my hearing became extremely sensitive. That just now, who was it? It was a groan close to a scream, so I only know it was a man.

‘Did San Gun take down Hwarang? Or—I really hope it isn’t—the opposite?’

That wasn’t all. Something else happened that stimulated my auditory nerves, which were strained to the limit.

A growl like spreading fog filled the hallway. It was an extremely low bass mixed with a rough metallic sound, as if heavy metals were rubbing together or an engine was slowly starting up.

Goosebumps ran all the way down my spine. At the same time, I became incredibly anxious and unpleasant. It was an instinct engraved in my genes.

Beep!

The user falls into ‘Fear’.