“What? Me?”

But suddenly the arrow came to me.

It seems they will make my decision the turning point.

After pondering for a moment, I decided to share my opinion.

“I……”

[This is the timeline separator]

“Are you that worried?”

“A little. I understand why the man said that. He told us to wait, and we did, so I think he might react that way if he lost his family. Apart from principles……”

“But what can we do? In an era where it’s hard to take care of oneself, worrying about others will only wear me out.”

“……”

An Un stretched with a smile. She offered words of comfort, but the uneasy feeling didn’t go away.

I naturally chose to stay with An Un.

The man who insisted on doing something and moving to a safe place ultimately didn’t change his mind, and the students seemed to have been persuaded in the end.

That’s how the group split up.

An Un, as if she had expected this, handed me some of the luggage and said:

“It’s their choice, Ha Young doesn’t need to feel guilty. Here, take this for now.”

“……There’s more luggage?”

“It’s for survival.”

Regardless, An Un was cold. She handed me a bottle with translucent yellow liquid sloshing inside.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“……If there was an inventory, I could put it in there, but why give it to me.”

“I gave it all to you to eat and use?”

“What?”

“Hmm?”

“……”

“Do I look like someone who uses people as pack mules?”

“Ah, that….. Thank you.”

“I said you don’t have to thank me.”

An Un, who hid the fact that she was an Awakened from the group, showed her abilities in front of me without hesitation. I looked at the yellow liquid with a subtle expression.

“Ah, that’s a stamina potion. Low grade. It’s good as a meal replacement.”

“Oh, ……is it really a stamina potion?”

“Yes. It doesn’t taste good though.”

“……I heard stamina potions only replenish energy.”

“It’s a product I’m developing independently. I originally majored in nutrition.”

“……If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“Oh my, look at these herbs here.”

Avoiding my suspicious gaze, An Un chattered about the grass and flowers on the ground.

“This is quite a rare medicinal herb. If you consume it unprocessed, it causes diarrhea and you’ll have watery stools for 3 days straight, but……”

“I see.”

An alchemist…… I let her words go in one ear and out the other.

A low-grade potion would be much more expensive than preserved food, is it okay to accept this? I carefully took a sip of the liquid.

“Pft, cough, cough. Hack, hack.”

It tasted terribly.

“It doesn’t taste good, right? Well, making a meal replacement stamina potion is easy, but making it taste good is difficult….. That’s why I failed to commercialize it.”

“I see……”

I quietly put away the potion.

Survival activities continued after that. Sometimes there were huge rumbling sounds from far away, and I could hear the trees whispering, but I tried my best to ignore them.

Whether she was naturally sociable or trying to reassure me, An Un talked about quite a few things.

Whether it was luck or for some other reason, time passed safely.

The sun set again, and rose again until morning.

Doesn’t this feel like we’re just camping in the forest?

The tension eased considerably. I even thought that what I saw at the lake might have been an illusion I created.

“……It’s peaceful.”

“Better than being tense. By the way, the gate should have been discovered by now, I wonder when rescue will come.”

“It would be difficult for us to escape on our own, right?”

“Yes, we’d have to defeat the boss monster anyway. It’s okay, we have enough food, so as long as the monsters don’t attack first, there won’t be a problem.”

−Just don’t harm the forest first.

−Do you want to leave the forest? Are you lost?

The now-familiar voices fluttered around An Un and me, chattering.

Should I tell An Un what they’re saying? What if she asks how I know? I pondered as I looked up at the sky turning red.

Even though it was an alien space called a gate, the sky was beautiful.

As we were preparing for the third night in the gate.

……! ……!

A faint scream was heard from somewhere. All my senses were on alert.

It was a human scream. It wasn’t far away. Cold sweat ran down my back.

“……Do you want to go check?”

“……”

This is fear, that’s right. But I’m not afraid of monsters hurting us.

I’m afraid of someone I know dying. Even though it has nothing to do with my life.

“Even if we go, we won’t be able to help. Ha Young isn’t an Awakened like me, we’ll just end up adding to the body count.”

“……I know.”

I know. Even though I know, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the air was eating away at my breath.

‘If we don’t go support them quickly, they’ll all die!’

‘We haven’t received orders yet…..’

‘Are you going to let them all die because of orders?!’

Scenes I had buried in the depths of my memory resurfaced. I don’t want to be unable to do anything anymore.

I stood up.

“……! Ha Young, where are you going!”

“You never know. Wait, I’ll just go nearby and take a look for a moment!”

I left my spot without thinking and headed towards where the screams were coming from.

She’s right. Even if I go, I won’t be of any help, and I might just add to the body count.

But, but you never know. What if I happen to Awaken at this very moment? If there’s even a sliver of possibility, I might be able to save those people.

Yes, this isn’t rushing in like a fool without a plan to save them.

It’s a memory I never want to recall, but Kali’s words weren’t entirely unreasonable. The easiest way to Awaken.

It’s only when your life is in danger.

[This is the timeline separator]

There was a pungent smell. After running for a while, I came to a swamp. A swamp where your feet sink with each step. And there was a giant flower there.

A giant flower emitting a pungent odor.

“Hng, huung. Huuungheunghung, Se Min, Se Min. Se Min……”

A male student covered in sticky liquid was being eaten by the flower. Next to it was a corpse, presumed to be already dead.

There was a small tremor from the ground. A not-so-large tree was about to swing a huge club at a girl who was sitting and crying.

“Watch out!”

I don’t know where such strength came from. Stepping on the swamp that gripped my ankles, I ran and rolled with that student without realizing it. The small thorn tree swung its club at empty air.

“El, elder sister. Se Min, Se Min. My, my younger brother……”

They were family? No wonder they looked alike.

Thanks to my right shoulder being buried in the ground when we rolled, a tingling sensation rose.

The ringing in my ears was severe. The small thorn tree had stopped, and the giant flower was still holding its prey.

“Run away.”

“What?”

“We need to run away now.”

I grabbed the sitting hand and pulled her up. She cried out as if screaming.

“Bu, but Se Min, Se Min…!”

The panicked girl spoke tearfully. In the direction of her gaze, I could see a boy with closed eyes, as if asleep, being eaten. Very, very slowly.

He seems to still be alive. The constant crying sound and the ringing in my ears reverberated in my head. Liquid flowed from my nose.

We have to give up on that boy. Even if he’s still breathing, we can’t save him. I need to at least drag this girl away.

That way, at least this girl can survive.

“Alright.”

This is clearly madness.

“Okay, I’ll save him.”

After wiping away the tears of the still crying child, I stood up.

“Hey! Smelly flower! Want to stop eating that tasteless thing and look over here?!”

I’m not sure if it can understand. It doesn’t seem like the type you can communicate with.

Nevertheless, the flower turned towards the source of the sound. Tentacles oozing with slippery liquid swayed.

“Why don’t you clean up a bit! The smell is really terrible!”

This is utter madness. There’s no way we can save him by doing this.

The flower threateningly swung its tentacles at me. With a thud, the boy was spat out and discarded lifelessly on the ground.

“Now’s the time! While I’m drawing its attention, take him and run!”

“El, elder sister.”

We just need to run away with him before the thorn tree pounces. The giant flower, Rafflesia, swung its tentacles again.

“Hurry!”

She seemed to have weak legs and couldn’t get up easily. At this rate, we’ll all die.

The tentacles swelled enormously. At the same time, the thorn tree, having come to its senses, rushed towards me.

At that moment, I caught a faint scent of fire.

“Yes, that’s the spirit. I like it. I really like it!”

It was clearly a voice I knew. Then, my vision turned red.

It wasn’t the red light of the sunset. Dancing flames began to devour everything around, starting to swallow it all.

The world slowed down. Fire swung along with the blade. The Rafflesia’s tentacles were cut. With a horrible sound of “Keeek,” the tentacles flailed wildly. As if bothered to dodge, Kali burned all those tentacles.

“Tch. These poisonous weeds, they’re so troublesome it’s annoying.”

The burning Rafflesia twisted its body and stood up. I’m not sure if “stood up” is the right expression for it, but anyway, it stood up.

“Kali, behind you!”

The Rafflesia extended its half-burned tentacles. The burning tentacles swung threateningly like a whip.

At the same time, the thorn tree standing behind Kali raised its club.

A singing voice echoed from somewhere. As swirling winds swept away the flames, Kali threw her body backward and swung her spear horizontally.

The Rafflesia’s leg tentacles were cut, and the flower hit by the club was crushed.

Kali, who had done a back tumble, got up lightly, dusting herself off. All of this happened within 2 seconds.

“Ah, it’s annoying, so I’ll take care of it all at once.”

The flames rose, swirling.

For a moment, I had the illusion of making eye contact with golden pupils through the flames.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Damn that Silence bastard. If you’re going to prophesy, do it properly. Senile old man.”

The entire situation was resolved in an instant. This was because as part of the forest burned, she simultaneously sliced through the monsters that came running as if cutting radishes.

Kali, brushing off the ashes on her body, stood askew with an expression full of irritation.

“Ugh, sob. Sniff, hic. Se Min, Se Min.”

“Hey, that one’s not dead yet.”

“Really, really?”

“Well, we’ll need to treat him right away. Stop crying, it’s noisy. My ears are ringing.”

“Se Min, huuung. Uhuk uhung.”

“I said it’s noisy!”

It was nothing short of chaos. I quietly sighed and helped to sort out the situation.

With an S-rank Hunter here, it should be fine now. That belief was shattered within 2 minutes of the situation being resolved.

“Huh? I can’t clear this on my own. Maybe if Dan were here.”

Kali, her red hair tied up carelessly, scratched her head.