âI canât get in touch with Seok-Hyeon,â Hochi said.
âWhat?â I questioned.
âI said I canât get in touch with Seok-Hyeon.â
âWhoâs that?â
It was a name I had never heard of before. Hochi frowned and said to me, âYou know, my friend Seok-Hyeon. We became close in the community.â
Ah. So Hochi was talking about the kid whom he got close to in the community. He couldnât reach him?
âHe could be dead,â I commented. Hochi angrily glared at me.
It was surprising to see him express his anger so openly because usually, even if he was upset, he would reply sarcastically.
âHow could you say such a thing?â
Then what was I supposed to say? If you messaged someone in the Tutorial and they didnât reply, there was a high probability of them being dead. Eight out of ten people were considered dead in such cases.
The mortality rate in the Tutorial had been steadily decreasing for several years, but it hadnât reduced to zero. It went from the probability of getting into a car accident while driving a cheap motorcycle to one while driving a luxury car. In terms of death, it could be said that accidents occurred frequently.
âHey, I canât help it. No matter how low your difficulty level is in the Tutorial, if you get distracted, youâre just courting death. Especially on solo stages where you canât get help from others. Low difficulty levels could be more dangerous on the party stage. There have been countless reports of party members killing each other or dying in an accident. â
Park Jung-ah and the Order of Vigilance tried to stop many from dying, but they could not entirely put a halt to murders or other crimes. Even the Order of Vigilance couldnât impose strict rules and regulations.
âYou...â
Oh no. I glanced at Hochiâs face, and it looked like he was about to explode. I soothed him before he started to sulk again or throw a tantrum.
âGo tell Park Jung-ah. The Order of Vigilance will find him on their own. If there was a wrongful accident, theyâll catch the assailants and lock them up.â I assured him that itâd be fine and that they could find him.
Park Jung-ah seemed to have gotten a little gentler, but she was still a tad too serious when it came to dealing with such things. I thought that if I felt this way even when I was not involved in the Order of Vigilance affairs at all, then the others would still be afraid of Park Jung-ah.
âIf someone is stuck somewhere on a stage, itâs fine to send his information to the Order of Vigilance. Itâd be better than us getting our heads wrapped up among ourselves.â
Hochi looked a little relieved at my words. He seemed to be very close to that friend of his called Seok-Cheon or something. I had assumed he was just a pen pal. Now, Iâd have to find out what kind of friend he was.
I sent a message to Park Jung-ah, and we talked about the entry time and the unit weâd meet at.
âIs Yong-Yong still picking clothes? Letâs get him. We have to leave soon.â
We headed to Yong-yongâs room. My son had a somewhat feminine hobby. He would make his own clothes and spend time trying them on. He would also indulge in making small accessories and decorating his room.
This was different from what I had taught him, and he had probably inherited the trait from the dragon. Recently, I began to wonder if Hochi influenced Yong-Yongâs behaviour. After all, Hochi took care of Yong-Yong more than I did. And although Hochi wasnât particularly feminine, he was more so in many ways compared to me. When I told Hochi this, he burst into laughter.
âYou think youâre so different. You were the guy who got trapped on the sixth floor and knitted a scarf. You even gave it a name. What was it again? Hororong, if I remember right.â
Oh, I did. I had never woven mufflers before, but I found knitting very meditative, and at that time, I had seen some threads in the store, so it had been convenient.
Suddenly I thought of Hororong, and remembering its last appearance made me feel guilty. Hochi laughed and teased me when he saw me like that. Either way, I quietly paid a silent tribute for Hororong.
After chatting, we soon arrived in front of Yong-Yongâs room. For convenience, it was called a âroom,â but in fact, it shouldnât be called one.
I thought it would be too much to call an entire tower, Yong-Yongâs room. The top wasnât even visible when I raised my head. Nevertheless, as the owner of this tower, Yong-Yong declared it as his room, so I had no choice but to follow his decision. From Yong-Yongâs point of view, my house was the entire 60th-floor residential area, and this colossal tower was his personal space.
I knocked on the door of the tower, and soon the door burst open. A cutely dressed Yong-Yong came to sight, giving a warm feeling.
He donned a fur hat, a colorful muffler wrapped around his neck, a thick jumper clinging to his body, and an almost bursting bag hanging to his side filled with god knows what. I was sure it was a bag with a built-in dimensional space, but even then, it was filled to the brim. Someone mightâve thought we were moving.
The warm clothes were a wise choice. It was said that the tournament location was quite cold, so it was right to wear warm clothes.
Of course, Yong-Yong wouldnât feel cold there, but he did dress up in order to match the dress code. Now, Yong-Yong was a bit taller than my waist, but he still looked small and young to me, perhaps because of his thick overcoat and a big bag.
With a bright smile, I hugged Yong-Yong, who rushed at me and said, âNow, letâs go to the square. The portal has shown up.â
I was unsettled by the fact that Hochi and Yong Yong would be sent out, even if it was just for a short period. Hochi, who had been anxious, calmed down, and it felt strange to be the only worried one.
âShould I come too?â I murmured, thinking about it.
Yong-Yong, who heard me, said yes because he didnât mind it, and Hochi asked if that would be fine. But it was already decided that I couldnât go. There was a clear reason for me to stay, and it wasnât something that I could change because of my mood. I was both sad and distressed, but it was time for Yong-Yong and Hochi to leave.
* * * * * *
[Hochi]
Look at that restless piece of shit!
Ho-Jae, who had teased me before like a child, was visibly stressed when Yong-Yong and I went up to the portal. I bit back a smile at that sight. He was a respectable man but strange, so if you laughed recklessly, you might end up laughing for a very long time.
âYong-Yong, say bye to your dad.â
At my words, Yong-Yong, who had been standing next to me and holding my hand tightly, bid farewell Ho-Jae.
âIâll return soon, Dad. Iâll be sure to have a good time by myself.â I had to hold back my laughter once again at Yong-yongâs words.
Yong-yongâs farewell was no different than what Ho-Jae used to say to Yong-Yong, who kept clinging to him whenever he went to the 61st floor. He was having fun. Did Yong-Yong think thatâs what one had to say whenever someone was leaving? It seemed necessary to correct this thought at another time.
We ran to the portal, ignoring Ho-Jaeâs face, which had a concerned expression.
As our bodies floated, I could feel Yong-Yong and I get moved somewhere.
It was quite different from when we moved from the 60th floor to the 61st floor. Ho-Jae explained the difference between the two portals in theory, but I couldnât understand what he meant. I knew quite a bit about magic, but not as much as Ho-Jae or Yong-Yong. At the very least, I knew this portal was unlike other ones.
We were not teleported to any crowded areas, and I thought that it was an excellent choice, since it prevented congestion. Anyone would have been embarrassed if they had suddenly fallen into a crowded square after entering the portal.
The place where Yong-Yong and I moved to was a quiet mountain road. The sign ahead showed which way to go. I tried to go the other way, but a transparent wall blocked the path. Having no other option, I followed the sign as indicated.
An excited Yong-Yong tried to break the transparent wall and go through it, saying that he wanted to chase a flying butterfly. Luckily, I somehow managed to stop him.
* * * * * *
âHello. My name is Baek Sung-Woong.â
âOh, hello.â
We were able to reach a gathering of people after walking for a while. There were several mountain cabinets, and people were entering and leaving frequently. Some people continued to walk alone, but most had flocked into a group. From what I could make out, they were all members of the Order of Vigilance.
Just as Yong-Yong and I were wondering if we should join them, a tall, scary-looking man approached and greeted us. The sunlight reflected on his bald head.
âThis way.â
The bald guy guided us as if it were natural. I assumed he was the guide in charge of us. He had said nothing but greetings, so I couldnât confirm whether I thought it was right. He was quite blunt.
âItâs a human!â
Yong-Yong wasnât scared of the bald man, so he approached him and pointed at him. I hurriedly hugged Yong-Yong in surprise, to hold him back.
âIâm sorry!â I apologised to the bald man.
âNo, itâs fine. By the way, you havenât changed at all.â
âWhat?â
Did Ho-Jae know this bald guy? As far as I knew, I hadnât ever heard of this guy.
âIâve seen you on TV before. Itâs an honor to be able to guide you.â
âAh, yes.â I felt like I missed the time to say no to him being our guide.
âCute!â Yong-Yong, who was in my arms, looked at the bald man and exclaimed.
âNo. Donât say anything, Yong-Yong. Excuse us.â I directed the last sentence at the bald head.
He wasnât cute. Not at all.
âCute, cute.â
Yong-Yong wasnât listening to me. Usually, he was very obedient, but when he got hooked on something, he wouldnât stop being stubborn, even if he was in a good mood. Yong-Yong stretched out his hands towards the bald man, attempting to touch his bald head.
âIâm so sorry. Itâs his first time seeing someone like you,â I apologised.
âIs this the hatchling?â
âYes, yes. Iâm so sorry. Heâs usually not this disobedient.â
âOh, thatâs all right. Children are like that. I used to have a kid this big on Earth. I donât know how much he has grown now since itâs been two years.â
The bald manâs initially serene face turned sad. Wistfulness and sorrow were apparent as he thought about his own child. Even though he looked like a no-nonsense kind of man, he seemed to be softer than I thought. Seeing Yong-Yong seemed to ease his anxiety little by little. I thought we could get along easily over time.
âAhaha. Cute.â Yong-Yong, who was seated on the bald headâs back, smacked his head.
Oh no, that little punk. He didnât realize how dangerous it was to do that to a bald person.
The bald head seemed a little embarrassed and upset, and I didnât know what to do. Come to think of it, it was my first time meeting people and holding a conversation with a bald guy.
âIâm terribly sorry, bald head.â Ah no, his name wasnât bald head. His name was Baek Sung-Woong.
Perhaps I had been around Ho-Jae for too long, so I just blurted out whatever I had thought like he usually did.
The bald man raised his hand and said, âItâs fine.â
It was such a kind and gentle gesture that I couldnât help but feel sheepish. I had missed the best time to correct my words.
End