SSSCE Chapter 23

Chapter 2374e58d584728b168

✦✦✦3b1bad9be7031b95

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“I can tell just by looking. You resemble him a lot.”f66c6046b9269eb8

Why did those b13343502c words feel like 9e9ada0e4e an insult?291c4b1307cda6f3

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After biting my d6a5443d9b lip, I hesitated 524a1b6282 for a moment 6c2881540f before asking.957e15625944caed

“…Do you know that man?”9f4398b1e14e893a

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“Of course I do. We shared a cell for quite a while. He and I both got life sentences. Haha!”cca007c23ca8f3b3

How amusing.ea905aee4d47fceb

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I looked down 7146402534 at him with ef22f92951 cold eyes.f52597a47608a654

But the old man didn’t flinch at all. Instead, he grinned up at me.a97c7c579d39e38c

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“You must’ve come here because you’re curious, right? After all, he’s your father.”5d52b25df09b9d80

“……”4c596d20d7726b90

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I hesitated for a moment at the old man’s question.75ea465f5d843312

Curious? Was that really 31d92f19da why I came ab6fe5620c here?e8058c8bb401d876

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These prisoners had bdc2bc7ecd been trapped in bfbad700a8 the basement the 820cf8d4f0 whole time—they had bedf6a63ac no idea what fb59d8dc48 happened in the 8361b856b8 yard.6c3e3b24d3e699a2

But it’s not like I could go on explaining everything that had taken place.a7180a6b07dcd632

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“…No, forget it.”d6254183de158fc0

I turned to leave, but the old man’s voice stopped me in my tracks.fea2bc7f1e461fc1

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“It was strange, though. That man…”12471ba845ba2607

“….”7b158f3c6abe2332

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I hesitated for a 56cd4f653b moment, then slowly turned 965864bc83 back.5e607b14d7ccb518

“What about him?”883fe3830ab3c007

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“On April 1st—so the day before all this hell broke loose—he told me to run.”67830cf1d975047e

“…!”4ff85e8693bce48a

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“But this is a prison, isn’t it? I laughed and said, ‘If you can escape, why don’t you go first?’ But wouldn’t you know it—he really was gone the next day.”cc3e1b592ac3139d

I stood there in silence, listening to the old man’s story.9cc6be81de5a8778

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“A prisoner, and a serial killer at that, just vanished—of course the prison went into an uproar. And then monsters suddenly started appearing. Well, you know the rest, young miss.”9511c4944765ba64

He rubbed his ribs, 1a93e9c93f which were protruding beneath 561cc3d588 his thin shirt, and 24e1df981f gave a crooked smile.ba14b741adfe9e91

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“He disappeared… Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”aacbfbe81a59bb5d

“Hmm… Ah!”1ac78d7bc1ebc032

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The old man scratched ef6d493db2 at his thick beard 06a2a18bdf as he spoke.3bd8105f971402cf

“Back when he was first brought here, he told me—one day, he was going to Mount Baekdu.”04961d9e402d7fac

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“Mount Baekdu…”2c3041104354c2aa

I repeated dc4855a24e the word 65b2352408 to myself, fe43146d4b then gave 9d67f7ac4f the old 74da45ad51 man a 633a6fc7c8 polite bow 2976b327c3 and turned 6c57243083 to leave 4c6ad1220b again.b2525e665aae960c

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“Do you hate him?”5258bc712c4592e1

This time, I didn’t turn around.323a6fea256434b4

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Standing still, 4a2ee6faed I heard c20614c499 the old 52d5d16021 man speak d54d943856 once more e536bce65d from behind 974e061e0f me.0b440c62eb7478d6

“He was a strange man. I’ve spent my life rotting in back alleys, seen every kind of criminal scum you can imagine—but he was different.”583029434c286438

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“….”714568c882071613

“He wasn’t some lowlife thug. And he definitely wasn’t some lunatic demon worshiper like the media claimed… So don’t hate him too much.”483e571507679b8b

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Without turning, I tilted 93c669b5b0 my head slightly and 1503623978 asked with a blank a446f52a2c expression.92ba64d3e7357583

“In the last fourteen years, did he ever mention having a daughter?”7d9c78c8d1b7175a

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For the first time, the old man’s smug expression faltered.5a7b87257ecb47dd

With that, I turned bab0478e65 and walked away without 63fbf98be0 a trace of hesitation.2520e1ab2f496afb

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✦✦✦88a913c1d5e19ae5

The stew was 4d9d592e38 ready in no 7b9077b098 time.a80ea14913e4a968

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Over the burnt and 5d70c578e0 ruined prison courtyard, the 74c6afdf05 rich aroma of meaty 825c40a52e broth began to spread.b5fdccb52dfabd51

People gathered around 890a1688a0 the pot, taking e1275c5f8c their portions and be1777dfac devouring the food c0e4d43add hungrily.285ac0886398a730

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I sat slightly apart b258aae1d3 from them, perched on 56b69f5bd0 a piece of broken 39aead9599 stone from the collapsed 7eeb635e51 wall.5777b35971146349

Then I whispered 9c237bf8cd softly.12cb15fa2e8fd4ca

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“Access ‘Yoo Hyun-min’ personal information.”443175e5b64aa094

“…Thought so.”5e6fd0aa3eb24ce2

I quietly closed my 412b8d6a00 eyes.6a8655ea0f9ff772

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A notorious psychopath. A demon worshiper. A grotesque 7c5326a389 serial killer.e1ef7d658cc42e7c

If that man had survived, it wouldn’t be surprising if he became an avatar of an evil god.1d5b9458ba0195e6

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But then there was TOAA in his study…344c23a5bd8881ac

The fact that eadc612795 he knew about 0534ed02db and tried to 815c50c806 destroy the survivor e90fdb908a camp in advance.89d272831d1ab9fb

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And that unbelievable power, gained in just two weeks after the Gate Outbreak…3fbc065dfd54b989

How could any 5665a830d7 of that be deb4bd3499 explained?f1c6f92a711a89b7

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“Mount Baekdu, Baekdu…”910ac4bb962c23d1

After the Gate Outbreak, 9717b78945 the North Korean region—having 7b2c661c4f lost its leadership—was completely e5c6558b9a devastated in a single 0e154a6ddc day.352b4e07c703697a

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And at Mount 6c5d89195b Baekdu, the highest afffa873bc and most sacred 1d6a2e0433 mountain on the ff61d5f118 Korean peninsula, an e7c54c78b5 evil dragon took 1ac89aadf8 up residence in f169479d0e the crater lake.7db6e2ecbace0aac

I remembered that part—midway through the novel, the protagonist travels to the dragon’s lair to retrieve an item and ends up becoming a dragon slayer.3852d3014751c8f1

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Right now, I 987fe216a7 was standing at c101617388 a crossroads.e856d197b8e94791

“Noah.”ce1fcf213746a16a

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A soft, low voice 41a0556802 calling my name made f9d258f118 me open my eyes.866e24311be740bc

A man nearly 190 centimeters tall stood in front of me—his body firm and muscular with not an ounce of fat, pale skin that didn’t quite match his build, and cold, sharp eyes.8f66e542a3fde8e4

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“Noah. The stew is ready.”30e3292f5c7ca2c4

“….”5e62cb5fdc11e665

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I looked up f7047dd72f at him silently.252b49f44f44bfb3

After hesitating for a 46a65036e9 moment, he finally opened 593e427b3c his mouth slowly.0d57628cf7ec20fa

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“Are you… alright?”9d376a8994257584

Such a stiff, awkward fe43f9e665 way of speaking.2b232e2b7114a978

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That giant man must’ve chosen those words with great care—and the sheer effort behind it made me let out a small laugh.93e48c876c8a8a2b

“Was he your father?”b5cb08079064384e

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It was in past 866d89764c tense.27a756fc52716dcb

And I 29a440f8f5 answered in f925a545a3 past tense, f4b01a383e too.d14e6bfb09377512

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“Yes. He was my father.”c5a9c6bc8bc2a088

After a c361019439 moment of 3dc14f23a2 silence, he c06b9b5ac4 spoke again.a247469c72afe344

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“That man seemed to know something about this situation.”30145c125d8db599

I nodded in agreement.8137649225ecb526

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He had witnessed everything by my side—he would’ve picked up on something.497fd34d459109a9

“Noah. Do you… know something too?”3a04cf9a52a2c327

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Baek Yi-heon, the protagonist of the novel I’d read, asked me that.0bf9ea3426228be0

Just then, a a939f639c2 breeze from somewhere 6543d8c3cc blew through and 2383e6c158 tossed my black 8355d2abf2 hair.998783da6046d72a

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It was e0c244afde a relief.f3968448013e21d4

It would help c795713be5 hide my expression.6188f219ebff1a4a

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“No.”da176df72e8e27fe

I answered.e019f533b95a19ce

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Tucking the strands behind 85931594f5 my ear, I spoke c3bdf43ec2 once more.b6235489c4132ce2

“My father was taken away when I was seven. I don’t remember anything.”efc896d192dd507c

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“…I see.”c2f8df5b63c39733

Two paths lay before 0b1107b17b me.fa72700d81c2f8bd

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The truth about my 3c8cef4ff7 father. The mystery of TOAA, 7dc4356226 the book that sat 2c34d1aae3 in his study.9f045b372ba159a5

The path to Mount 6b1b026630 Baekdu to uncover all de89853d35 that.9e92b6a3df56ce8e

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And the other—turning my 03e08dfd96 back on everything and bf80db8301 heading to the shelter 5eff99732b to survive on my 49962f093d own.408e02a3ba305781

The decision, surprisingly, dd7aae63b1 was easy.394f6a49d90a5e1a

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I’d been abandoned by both my mother and father.2442c1b68ea62f4c

In a world where I don’t even know why I was born, I have no desire to save anyone.2a6b747066397b8b

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Some people are just 5381c7ec3a like that.8c4cbcef26ef6d04

Not everyone can live 8f1afcf122 like that man, like 9a650d4ff1 the protagonist.192d6973ea862988

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There are people like b9965606b3 me, cowardly extras who 1f2c876515 only think of themselves.4010dd06d2b026b7

…And for an extra like me, survival still required the male lead.caced9a3e90a9f86

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Because divine power could only be borrowed when used for humanity’s salvation.00c6a1165d03a220

“So in the end, the camp is gone. Are you going back to Gangnam, Baek Yi-heon-ssi?”692706d06fda6fb1

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Baek Yi-heon hesitated for 79deca14ab a moment at my 627696fe34 question before answering.8029be35cdb5082a

“That man and woman… something was off about them. And they were powerful.”6422931f7d4b7ef3

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His cool face 25678d8594 remained composed as d4b06c50b7 always, but his f6990f849a clenched fist was 5eb41d8b4f so tight that 0d45fde6ab his veins stood aebdcee9be out.e711bd78521e941e

“I realized that going to the Tower now wouldn’t make much of a difference with my current strength. I’ll go after them first.”58ad2e2c101a971f

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There wasn’t a hint of hesitation or doubt in his voice.df6d4108f2be0a77

Firm eyes. A conviction always 4ec4ebe2ce aligned with the 0661928fff weak and with 0136cb3716 good.f808cde0923ab6e7

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And a resolve willing b0863abceb to die for that 56c369047c conviction.8d96684d9b83aaa9

The image 9b771bbe66 of the 999605e2ca protagonist was 23765902d9 so radiant 2be43ee66d that I 24087fe3f8 had to 190356e583 swallow a af49d55c83 bitter smile.266f6ac41cac1ac0

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Too dazzling in contrast 3f62f9606e to someone like me, 183787c210 a cowardly extra.d33f8028c88d53f8

But only for 36ecbd001d a moment.5481b04f622fcfbd

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I quickly d97d0fa690 returned to e1cf950c75 my usual af1af73cdb calm and 2cad8457ab said to 9c299446fc Baek Yi-heon,555cdf4bc6667774

“I met one of the prisoners who used to know that man… my father. He says he has an idea where he might be.”ca3eb13d1b62a36a

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“Really? Where?”dba9588a4f56511c

I looked at 9b35cea35e him and answered 2ba271e1e2 without batting an 4ffd2e39a0 eye.5459944483899ff7

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“Busan.”5af26ead9e896208

A lie, of course.2298dff6192caf70

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There’s an old saying,If you have 33f5d44ee9 no teeth, use ce539d8336 your gums.b33d27b76eebc86e

The survivor camp is gone, and it’s too late to wait around for someone to invent a monster-slaying god-tier item.d8b20ff45f085280

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And another 025615d00c old saying,The thirsty one digs 25c9d75321 the well.90599d2920786024

If that god-tier item doesn’t exist yet—then I’ll just have to make it!cb04517222eaa7e6

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Somewhere around 20641fb060 the middle e3a962ab4e of the 688cd98d80 novel, if 4c6b6b0f92 I recall fd74dcb544 correctly—ab94e83f808df4c6

The protagonist, traveling 38b743745c without a healer, c1a31b85b0 gets seriously injured 6af8d10bd9 and ends up 82d429fad5 meeting a companion 0900bddab6 in Busan.64c73dcfd06472e9

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An awakened being blessed c0272ce5ba with the powers of beff1137d4 healing and item crafting!f97bdd2d3dfb0599

✦✦✦e569f0297df32b25

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