Companion I

Let's talk about Dang Seo-rin, the guild leader of Samcheon World.

Theres venom in her eyes.

......

You mean her? The almost sole survivor at Busan Station. Shes known for asking bizarre questions to everyone.

I first met Dang Seo-rin in my fourth run.

Regrettably, I had not yet acquired the [Complete Memory] ability at that time; that came in the fifth run.

Thus, there might be some inaccuracies in my recollection of our first meeting. No, Id rather not admit it, but there are definitely errors.

Its a past that's already more than a millennium old.

Your name?

...Undertaker. Its an alias.

You bury people? Not bad. The depth of a person is determined by how many corpses they have buried in their heart.

Perhaps Dang Seo-rin didnt say venom in her eyes but fire in her eyes. She might have used your instead of her.

It might have rained that day, or not. I think I heard the sound of water, but perhaps it was just the sound flowing from my heart.

Nevertheless, I can vividly recall the atmosphere and the contour of the air from that time.

To live, one must breathe not only the oxygen drifting before their eyes but also the air from the past that has already flowed by.

How about it? Wont you join our guild?

Whats the guild's name?

Samcheon World. Abbreviated as Samcheon. Its my personal ambition to someday truly gather three thousand Awakeners.[1] Undertaker, I need your strength to subdue the [Ten Legs].

A person who made up a fair share of my breaths smiled and extended their hand.

At that time, I had no reason or leeway not to take that hand.

Ah, but everyone in our guild must wear a cone hat, no matter where they are.

...A cone hat?

Yeah, you know, the hats witches wear in fairy tales? Thats our guild symbol. You have to carry a broomstick too. Havent eaten lunch yet, right? I know a great place; Ill take you there to celebrate your joining.

I withdraw my application.

It was irrevocable.

Later, changing the broomstick to a sword was the best I could do.

Dang Seo-rin was cunning and stubborn. And she knew the local eateries well. People called her the Witch of the Train Station and the Witch of the Cursed Song.

Upon reflection, maybe I was the only one who called her by that last nickname.

Of course, I had a different nickname that I used more frequently.

Why hide it?

Once, she was my guild leader.

Now, looking back, it might seem like a jest from the past, but in the very early days of my regressor lifesay around the 10th runthere was a boss monster that stood like the Wailing Wall, blocking the path of all Korean Awakeners.

Wait. What is that?

Oh, oh... it's coming this way!

[Ten Legs].

According to the classification system established by the Library Association, a wiki group, it was a city-class (Polis) hazard. Its identifier was Baby Cthulhu.

Crazy! How can it move so fast?

Its Cthulhu! Its Cthulhu!

What the fuck... Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm, dammit!

Opinions were divided on how Ten Legs came to be known as such.

Where there should have been legs, there werent any, and instead, hundreds of tentacles waved like human armshence the name.

But personally, I subscribe to the theory that those fucking pieces of shit somehow morphed into 'Ten Legs'.

That first boss monster of the Korean peninsula brought us great despair.

We need to capture it to reclaim everything south of the Han River and push the double-fronted battle line into a ceasefire.

Dang Seo-rin did not despair.

More precisely, she rallied the despairing Awakeners into a guild alliance and was promoted to its leader.

Lets call it the Anti-Ten Legs Coalition.

The difference from the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition in Romance of the Three Kingdoms was that unlike Yuan Shao, Dang Seo-rin was exceedingly competent.

Undertaker, you will lead the elite of other guilds at the front and block Ten Legs as long as possible.

Understood.

After I learned about Old Man Scho, he took over leading the vanguard, but until then, I was regrettably the best we had. That gives you a sense of how lackluster the Awakeners were at the time.

Ah, by the way, when I was a member of Samcheon, I naturally spoke formally to Dang Seo-rin.

My deputy died yesterday, so Im a bit under the weather... But Ill try. How many minutes should I hold out?

Just hold out for 30 minutes. I will set up a grand magic to back up the suicide squad.

Understood.

I nodded.

It sounds easy.

It was not.

-The Ten Legs roared.

Within exactly two minutes of the combat starting, one of its tentacles had bored another hole in my head. What can you do? If an expressway is laid right through the middle of the brain, even a regressor has to die gracefully.

I did well to last those two minutes. Other Awakeners were harvested almost instantaneously. Had any autumn farmers seen it, they would have drooled over the scythe skills. I managed to hold out until the end with Dang Seo-rin, becoming just another head of grain.

That was the end of the fourth run.

Start of the fifth.

Undertaker, you will lead the elite of other guilds at the front and block Ten Legs as long as possible.

Its going to be damn difficult.

This time, instead of pretending in front of my guild leader, I decided to be more honest. Dang Seo-rin's eyes widened.

Difficult?

Yes.

I thought with the combined forces we currently have, plus you, we could manage a delaying action. Is there something wrong with the data?

The data isnt wrong. Ten Legs, that bastard, is hiding its strength.

It was disheartening to see how the world was turning out. The meta of power-hoarding should be my role as a regressor, but a damn boss mob was doing it.

Usually, the legs it shows arent all it has. It can sprout more anytime from inside its body like tentacles. Honestly, even 5 minutes is tough, let alone 30.

...Vice guild leader, if thats true, we might have to abandon the campaign entirely.

Yes. Lets give up.

Yeah. Lets do that. Should we run away to Busan?

Sounds good. Its a place of tradition and trust, isnt it?

Lots of good food?

We retreated to Busan. It was a region that could sufficiently satisfy Dang Seo-rin's taste, which always sought out local eateries first. It was originally our guilds home base anyway.

The problem was that Ten Legs wasnt just stuck to a gate but roamed freely, a truly liberated spirit. Not unlike Dang Seo-rin, it toured various regions seeking out local flavors. Its menu was consistently one item: human meat.

After laying waste to Seoul, it zigzagged across the country, proving itself to be a lone gourmet who could have appeared on a culinary show.

This creature originally targeted areas densely packed with humans. Apparently, it could sense human life. Thanks to that, the cities of the Korean peninsula were devastated, and Ten Legs achieved a feat no politician had ever accomplished.

It took just five years.

-The Ten Legs roared.

Fuck this.

We laid our final line of defense at the Nakdong River, and in harmony, became Awakeners roasted on skewers.

Even if we had given up on subduing it, as long as Ten Legs was alive, we were all merely living on borrowed time.

That was the end of the fifth run.

Start of the sixth.

Is there really no answer to this?

The fifth run ended in annihilation by Ten Legs, but looking at my entire life as a regressor, it was tremendously significant.

It was then that I acquired the [Complete Memory] ability.

From that point on, I knew exactly what I was pondering, who I met, and what conversations we had.

Vice guild leader, do you have a moment?

Hm? What is it?

Just when I was brooding over how the world was messing with humanity, the breakthrough came from an unexpected quarter.

A guest from outside has come to see you, vice guild leader.

A guild member with pretty silver hair opened the sliding door of the KTX train and spoke to me.

Yu Ji-won, a talent I had scouted from the fifth run to serve as my deputy. She had quite a crazy psychic streak.

But let's mention that later.

An outside guest? Where are they?

Theyve come all the way to our train platform.

Whats the security team doing?

They tried to stop them, but this guest was so strong they couldnt properly do it. Waiting at the platform was the best they could manage.

Hmm.

Why were we discussing this on a KTX train? Well... Samcheon Worlds base of operations was always on a train.

It wasnt because the members of Samcheon, including myself, found metaphysical beauty in a heap of immovable scrap metal. We were not railroad otakus.

It was entirely due to our boss, Dang Seo-rin Highnesss taste.

Dang Seo-rin had a peculiar habit of making the most intact luxury train her base every time she moved the guild to a different region.

In her own words, Doesnt it have a certain romance, staying on a train if youre a witch?

As you can tell from her wearing a cone hat, her mind was not exactly normal.

Anyway, back to the main story.

So, whats the guest's name?

Yes, the name is... Emit... Schopenhauer? Ah, Schopenhauer.

Crackle.

Listening to the noise from the radio, my deputy tilted his head.

Seems German?

Emit Schopenhauer.

Swordmaster. Sword Star.

A man cloaked in numerous nicknames and who had sliced more monster heads than those nicknames.

But to me, he was simply known as Old Man Scho.

Um... Hello? What brings you here?

Old Man Scho quietly looked at me.

Honestly, my first impression was he seems like a nasty character.

It was still only the sixth run.

A German old man who had followed his wife to Korea only to get caught up in the gate crisis. He hadnt learned Korean, so he tried to communicate using a mix of English, body language, and a smartphone translator.

If only I had been good at English, communication wouldnt have been an issue, but unfortunately, I had no talent for languages.

Fucking monster.

Fucking monster... You mean Ten Legs? The Lurker? Tentacles, flapping around?

Yes.

Oh. Sorry, I can't speak English.

Old Man Scho grimaced.

He looked very frustrated.

Its different. Strategy.

?

You died here in the past.

KTX dining car. Used as our guild's reception room, a map of South Korea was spread out on the table here.

Thud. Old Man Scho pointed his finger at the center of the map.

The line from Seoul to Gwacheon. In the fourth run, I didnt know anything and tried to beat Ten Legs but got beaten instead.

But you didnt die.

Swoosh.

Old Man Schos finger pointed downwards, precisely indicating the Nakdong River.

!

Five years. Too big a difference.

Old Man Schos grey gaze was directed straight at me.

Perhaps. No, surely?

My heart churned. We looked into each others eyes across the table for a long time and realized that the flow of time was the same for both of us.

Old Man Schos mouth slowly opened.

Return?

Even though I was hard of hearing, I couldnt miss the intent behind that question.

Silently, I drew a number on the table with my finger.

6.

Old Man Scho finally relaxed his expression and smiled. It was the number of times he had repeated his life.

Perhaps out of consideration that I didnt understand English, Old Man Schos sentences were not long. The old German swordsman knew how to convey emotions succinctly.

My friend.

With Old Man Schos joining, the dynamics on the battlefield changed.

If you asked me to name the most powerful Awakener among all I knew, I would always mention Old Man Scho.

Not just as a rocket of power, but even now, after more than 1000 runs, if you asked me to evaluate, Old Man Schos potential was insane.

Are you sure we should put this man on the front line?

Yes, guild leader. Im certain.

Hmm. Doesnt look that reliable just from his appearance, but if the vice guild leader insists so strongly... Guess we should test his skills, right?

Certainly.

50 minutes later.

Make this man a key resource for this campaign immediately.

Again, Dang Seo-rin was a competent leader.

Even amid the chaos of notable Awakeners being carried out on stretchers, she was completely unperturbed. She even went as far as to hire an interpreter to stick by Old Man Schos side.

Interpreter, could you ask him what he thinks about cone hats?

It wasnt long before the interpreters expression darkened.

Im really sorry, but he says he has no interest in joining the guild. He prefers to travel alone.

Is that so? Thats a pity. But did he just say Alohomora? Did I hear that wrong?

Oh, I think he might have made a joke there, but I didnt catch it. Sorry, haha.

That happens. Vice guild leader, isnt there a good pork soup place nearby? Germans like soup, right?

Unless it's turnip, I guess hed eat it.

I saw it. The interpreter smiling faintly at my side.

He was indeed a wise man.

Back then, I didnt understand German, so I just let it go, but actually, Old Man Scho's remark was, What kind of stupid shit is that? You mean that Harry Potter knock-off hat you wear? If I stay any longer, you'll probably start keeping owls too, huh? Alohomora, you moron! Even my dog wouldnt wear that.

And for the record, I agreed with him.

From the seventh run, I decided not to join the Samcheon Guild and instead began moving around with Old Man Scho, significantly because of those ridiculous cone hats. That fashion... well, it wasnt even fashion. The only person who could pull off a witch cosplay was Dang Seo-rin.

It was as expected.

Dang Seo-rin wasnt just playing witch; she was a grand sorceress and a multi-talented Awakener who genuinely claimed to be a witch.

Undertaker, Sword Star. I need you to hold out for 25 minutes no, make it 30.

South of the Han River. A cursed land where countless civilians evaporated in an instant, unaware of their fate.

There, along with Old Man Scho and guild leader Dang Seo-rin, a total of fifteen hundred Awakeners assembled. If you included the military units and civilian volunteers, the number was even larger.

We stood on the frontline where almost all available forces in Korea were concentrated.

-The familiar roar echoed.

From afar, the massive body of Ten Legs began to reveal itself. The horizon trembled. Buildings, turned to ruins, couldnt withstand the creatures thrashing and crumbled like dry reeds.

25 minutes. Can you hold out?

Its difficult.

I spoke on behalf of the strike team.

But there was a difference from previous cycles; now I could add something more to my statement.

But its manageable.

Dang Seo-rin nodded.

After this, lets go find some good places to eat. By the way, whats the signature dish of Seoul anyway?

Hmm, I'm not sure theres anything particularly famous.

Really?

Dang Seo-rin hummed, staring at the horizon.

Tentacles resembling human arms writhed in abundance.

After today, it'll probably be octopus sashimi.

Ah, marinated octopus isnt bad.

Right. All troops to battle stations. Today, we reclaim Seoul.

Combat ensued.

Footnotes:

[1] Samcheon means Three Thousand in Korean.

[2] KTX trains are the subway trains of Korea.