I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 118: Favorite Disciple (5)

TL: SHW

When was it that I first sensed something was off?

If my memory is correct, it must have been at a dungeon in the south of France. An A-rank dungeon that appeared near a small village close to Toulouse, France.

There’s no way a young Hunter from Asia, who had just reached A-rank, could enter a foreign dungeon without any agreement. The only reason the twenty-something Hong Seok-young was able to participate in that raid was because of the goodwill of the guild master who had formed the raid party at the time.

Just as countless dungeons are constantly being generated, so too is the variety of monsters. At some point, humanity began giving familiar names to the monsters discovered within dungeons. From mythical and legendary creatures like Minotaurs and dragons, to names of long-extinct animals like mammoths and smilodons.

The dungeon that Hong Seok-young entered was no different. The relatively older Hunters in the guild enjoyed explaining the dungeons in their country to the naive young Hunter. They would say things like how fairy-type monsters appeared especially frequently in this area, or that since the dungeon was full of forests, it might be a good idea to just set the place on fire if it came down to it.

“The dungeon here has fairies too. Not the small annoying ones with green skin, but the pretty ones you see in fantasy novels. They really look just like people.”

And on top of that, though they weren’t certain, it was believed that they could communicate among their own kind.

At that point, one couldn’t help but wonder, shouldn’t they be considered people?

“People? Hong, have you ever been in an S-rank or higher dungeon?”

It hadn’t even been a month since he could afford the entrance fee for entering A-rank dungeons.

Th𝐢𝖘 ₡h𝑎p†ɛr 𝒾𝗌 pՕṡ𝖙𝕖𝑑 bʏ 𝓀𝒾𝙩𝑒ηℴ𝘷ꬲ𝓁

“From S-rank upward, it’s practically another world.”

He asked if all dungeons weren’t originally like that.

The guild master gave the young Hunter, who asked so plainly, a pitiful expression.

“You’ll understand in time. Well, each S-rank is different in its own way. Who knows how far you’ll go… Honestly, maybe it’s better if you just settle for your current rank.”

“Master. Don’t say things like that to a budding seedling.”

“He’s in his prime, isn’t he? A-rank.”

“Shut it, you punks.”

Pushing aside the giggling guild members, the guild master chose his words with a serious face.

“Hong. Never forget this. No matter how pretty or harmless they seem, a monster is still a monster. They’re beings that threaten humanity.”

The guild master spoke as he passed through the gate. After the collision of mana that shook their bodies passed, the master’s words continued.

“This place is rare for an A-rank dungeon in that fairies appear. It’ll be a good experience for you.”

“Still, an A-rank dungeon is A-rank for a reason. You don’t need to be too scared. There’s supposed to be only one, at most. Of course, since it’s still a monster, it’s never good to let your guard down!”

From then on, the cautions about fairies continued. Fairy-type monsters are extremely rare in Asia, including Korea. Hong Seok-young had never seen one before either.

They look very similar to humans. With androgynous, beautiful appearances whose gender is unclear. Voices like birds chirping. Wings that sparkle like dragonfly wings.

And a cruel, cunning disposition.

A beautiful face blooming into a bright smile. A smile so enchanting that anyone who sees it would be captivated. However, monsters with high intelligence sometimes turn the tables and hunt the Hunters who came to raid them.

This isn’t just about instinctively repelling intruders in the dungeon. They assess the level of the Hunters and change their hunting methods accordingly. If they’re weaker, they toy with them like squashing bugs. If the Hunters are too strong for a direct attack, they dig traps. They scatter the raid party or take out the weakest ones first…

“There’s a reason why many unexplored dungeons in Europe are fairy dungeons.”

But to the young Hong Seok-young, it all sounded a bit vague and dreamy. Of course, he had no intention of underestimating the monsters in a dungeon, but humanoid monsters? It was hard to imagine beings he had never even encountered.

Still, he listened diligently. These were heartfelt warnings from veteran Hunters. If he didn’t take them to heart, it would only be his loss.

However, the closer they advanced toward the dungeon core, the more a sound kept irritating his nerves. Hong Seok-young looked around and asked the guild master.

The guild master’s face twisted instantly.

“You keep hearing birdsong?”

“There don’t seem to be any small animals in this forest.”

“Birds… Damn it! Fairies! Everyone, battle positions!!”

A beautiful face suddenly popped out from the dense thicket. The shimmering navy-blue hair, reminiscent of the night sky, was distinctly out of place.

The fairy smiled bewitchingly.

Although the mage’s attack had landed, the fairy emerged from the thicket without a single hair harmed. As its lips moved, birdsong could be heard again. The sharp chirping sound stopped and resumed a few times, then the fairy spoke.

“Found you.”

It was human language.

“A monster speaking human language?!”

“Found you. Hong Seok-young.”

The fairy pointed at Hong Seok-young standing behind the guild master.

“So young, so very young. Perfect. At this age, I can kill you. I can finally kill the one I hate. At last!”

The hunt began. The Hunters took on the role of fleeing prey.

The guild master died first.

“Damn it, how is this an A-rank?!”

Next, the mage died.

“Head for the gate!”

There was only one fairy. Every combatant who tried to kill it died.

“The gate? We didn’t even come this far in!”

Just moments ago, Hong Seok-young had been listening to that man’s various warnings. Now, drenched in his blood, he ran toward the gate with the other guild members.

By the time the gate came into sight in the distance, less than a third of the original party remained alive.

The birdsong that had been echoing from behind suddenly stopped. Hong Seok-young instinctively turned. The spot where he had just stood was deeply gouged. Another guild member caught in the attack died.

“You dodged it? Still the same as ever. But your luck ends here. I came back all this way just to kill you…!”

Every guild member who had entered with him died from the fairy’s attacks. Hong Seok-young saw the blood dripping steadily from his abdomen. Even pressing it with his hand was not enough. At this rate, he would die.

The fairy beamed.

Its wings trembled in joy. Seeing that reminded him of the dragonfly he had once naively caught and torn apart as a child. It felt like a rather trivial thought for someone to have just before death…

He didn’t want to die thinking such a thing.

“What, what are you doing!”

So, Hong Seok-young tore the fairy’s wings off.

“Why! Why!!”

The fairy still babbled in human language.

“Even after returning like this, I still wasn’t strong enough to kill you?!”

The fairy screamed.

“Hateful one! Don’t think this is the end, we’ll keep coming back to kill you…!”

A spear pierced through the fairy’s throat.

Hong Seok-young destroyed the dungeon core and recovered the corpses of the fallen guild members before leaving the dungeon.

This incident made Hong Seok-young famous. Upon his return to Korea, there was talk of him being the hope of Korean Hunters and such, but Hong Seok-young didn’t pay any attention.

That monster had been targeting him. It knew his name and had come for him specifically.

How?

Just how could something like that be possible?

It was the beginning of a mystery that Hong Seok-young would spend decades trying to unravel.

***

“Since then…”

Hong Seok-young spoke slowly.

“Every so often, one shows up. Saying they were waiting for me.”

He folded his fingers one by one, listing dungeon names.

The dungeon in Toulouse. The dungeon in Göttingen. Trendelburg. Blautopf. Kefalonia… Mostly concentrated in Europe, but not entirely absent from other continents. One each in China, New Zealand, and America.

Around ten dungeons scattered across the globe.

“Mostly fairies. Maybe because they’re humanoid, they always blab on with their own mouths.”

Hong Seok-young unfolded his fingers and shook his hand.

“There could be more. I only tracked the ones that could at least mimic human speech.”

If creatures like Arachne growl, there’s no way for us to understand, right?

I didn’t have the presence of mind to point out that Arachne don’t originally have organs capable of making sounds, in response to Hong Seok-young’s casual addition.

It was hard enough just to comprehend what Hong Seok-young was saying.

Monsters from the future?

“I was confused at first, but killing the rest wasn’t that hard. Some of them were a hassle, though…”

Not knowing what to say, I just opened and closed my mouth silently. When Hong Seok-young saw my face, he let out a short laugh. It annoyed me.

“After seeing all those monsters babbling about how I’m a hindrance, the enemy of their race, and so on- finally, a Hunter came back from the future. A human came! How do you think I felt?”

“……”

“Come on, tell me. How did you come back to the past? What happened in the future? Why did you end up here? How far into the future did you come from?!”

Hong Seok-young asked, agitated, as if he might pounce on me at any moment.

I just stared blankly at him.

How far into the future did I come from?

Exactly twenty years.

Why did I come here?

I don’t know. It wasn’t my choice.

What happened in the future?

Destruction.

How did I come back to the past?

Using the item that appeared after the centipede’s corpse vanished.

Right. That item. The mysterious item that looked like a watch.

After I came to the past, I vaguely thought it might have disappeared.

If an item capable of sending a person whole into the past isn’t a single-use one, wouldn’t that be even more troublesome? At least in the city office in Myeong-dong, where I regained consciousness, there was nothing that looked like that item.

Yeah. Unless we start factoring in things like time paradoxes, it’s possible that the item exists at this point in time. Forget all those complicated theories about parallel worlds or whatever. I decided I wasn’t going to think about that.

If the item that sent me to the past exists, someone else could have gotten their hands on it and used it. Maybe that centipede was one of them. At least, the centipede in the Bangi-dong Dungeon at this point in time is still small and cute. It’s not the monstrous size that once contaminated Seoul.

“And… actually, this is the most important part.”

There’s more?

“You really are my disciple, right?”

“……”

Hong Seok-young scratched his chin. Somehow I felt drained.

You’re convinced I came from the future but still curious about that? Seeing my expression, Hong Seok-young coughed awkwardly.

“Don’t look at me like that. It would be embarrassing if I was certain you were my disciple but you weren’t.”

“How many disciples do you even have to say that kind of thing?”

“How many disciples do you think I’ve taken?”

Hong Seok-young opened his eyes wide as he asked back. I was dumbfounded.

“How many Pilot High School graduates are there?”

“Ah, Pilot High? That’s more like students than disciples. I mean, sure, you could call them disciples too. But what I’m talking about is…”

He trailed off mid-sentence. I shrugged my shoulders.

“You really did come from the future, right?”

“Yes.”

There was no point denying it now. If I was going to do that, I should’ve responded like he was spouting nonsense the moment he mentioned the word ‘future’.

And… it’s not bad. Really. It’s surprising that monsters used that item, but it also means I don’t have to keep hiding my future knowledge anymore.

I can prevent the destruction.

“Thought so. And you’re my disciple? No, I mean what I’m trying to say is…”

Hong Seok-young furrowed his brow. He seemed to be rolling a few words around in his mouth, then, having finally found the right one, continued speaking.

“You’re my successor, is what I’m saying.”

“…Successor?”

“I do teach the kids a few things. During classes. Things like how it would be better to move. But the kids also have their own styles. I don’t go so far as to change that.”

“……”

“But the way you move is different. From beginning to end, you move just like I do. Didn’t Han Tae-kyung say that too? That you looked like a sped-up version of me?”

“…That’s…”

Hong Seok-young smiled faintly, but his eyes were more serious than I had ever seen before.

“Let’s talk honestly now.”

***

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