Resurrection Chapter 127 - He Didn’t Lie

A few times, I joined random public parties and realized that I had skill. The real-world experience I had gained from running away from monsters as bait for years in the sewers was ingrained in my body.

Although my level was low since I had only recently become an Awakened, I couldn’t be compared to the rookies who had just become hunters. They would get scared just hearing the sound of a monster’s footsteps, but I, being used to monsters, was calm. Later, I didn’t even need to join public parties and just built up my level by hunting monsters alone.

Around that time, I was quite arrogant. I had no doubt that I would quickly become strong and become a hunter whose name appeared on the rankings. Feeling as if I was finally being compensated for the difficult years I had endured, I, a mere D-rank, challenged a C-rank dungeon.

There was a famous spot there called the Pool of Styx. There was a rumor that immersing your body in it would grant you a passive skill that helped with defense.

I went there aiming for that and almost died.

I barely managed to escape and hide my body after a Minotaur nearly smashed my skull in. To avoid letting it smell my blood, I crouched where the tree roots were exposed from the fallen ground and frantically smeared dirt all over myself. My heart was pounding like crazy and cold sweat poured out of me, and I was terrified that the Minotaur might even hear that.

While I was huddled up in fear, someone tapped my shoulder.

‘…!’

Startled, I barely managed to hold back a scream. Calming the goosebumps that had prickled my skin, I looked back and saw a hunter lying half-buried in a pit.

‘H-help me…’

Looking at his state, I realized he was in the same situation as me. He couldn’t handle the Minotaur and had hidden in the pit to escape it, but his injuries were so severe that he couldn’t move an inch.

Seeing him, I was extremely bewildered. If there had been anyone else around, it might have been different, but I was alone and in no position to help anyone. I was on the verge of being killed by the Minotaur myself, so I couldn’t give any answer to his plea for help.

Seeing my reluctance, he cried and begged.

‘Please… I-I won’t ask you to get me out of here…. J-just a sip of a potion…’

I had exactly one bottle of potion left. My plan was to use this potion to stop the blood loss once the Minotaur moved away, and then escape. Even if the situation hadn’t been as urgent as it was, potions were extremely expensive items for a low-level hunter like me. They weren’t something I could just share with a stranger I’d never met before.

The potion, which I had bought with what little money I had, wasn’t much. It was literally just a few drops, gone in a single sip.

My head knew I should say I didn’t have any. But then I remembered that Heesoo hyung had given his potion to his parents, who were going to pass away anyway. That pricked my conscience, and I couldn’t bring myself to ignore the man. With a grim look, I took out the potion and handed it to the man.

‘Thank, thank you. Thank you.’

The man muttered softly and drank the potion. In the meantime, I took a closer look at his condition.

It seemed one of his feet had been crushed by the flail the Minotaur swung. There was no way a few measly drops of a potion could heal that. At best, it would have stopped the bleeding and reduced the pain.

The man squirmed, trying to move somehow. But it seemed the potion wasn’t enough to control the pain, because the moment he put weight on his mangled foot, he screamed, ‘Ugh!’ and fell flat on his back. At that sound, the hair on my head stood on end. It was because the Minotaur, which I thought was moving away, had whipped its head around to look in our direction.

‘Ughhh.’

Without thinking, I clamped my hand over the groaning man’s mouth. The Minotaur started stomping toward us, and my body tensed up automatically.

But the man, unaware that the Minotaur was approaching, struggled. I kept my eyes fixed on the Minotaur and pressed down on the man.

‘Hoo, hoo.’

The Minotaur’s rough breath brushed past the top of my head, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Am I going to die like this? And because of some guy I don’t even know? All sorts of thoughts, ones that could be called a panoramic view of my life, flashed through my mind.

But the struggling man must have noticed the Minotaur, because he finally fell silent. Thanks to that, the Minotaur didn’t notice us either. The creature snorted and looked around before its stomping footsteps faded into the distance again.

Once its figure completely disappeared beyond the forest, I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. I finally removed my hand from the man’s mouth and looked back, calling him, ‘Hey.’

But the man, lying there with his eyes open, didn’t move. He was staring at me with empty pupils, but he was no longer breathing.

Only then did I realize that I hadn’t just covered the man’s mouth, but completely cut off his airway. In my terror, I hadn’t been able to calm the man and had just killed him instead.

Direct emotions like guilt or anguish did not wash over me. I just stared blankly at the man.

As my body grew ice-cold, the thought that I had to get out of there before the Minotaur came back struck me. I staggered to my feet and left that place, leaving the man’s corpse behind.

Fortunately, the Minotaur did not reappear, and I escaped the dungeon by the skin of my teeth. It was only after I reached safety that the fact that I had committed murder slowly began to feel real.

I wasn’t a good enough person to writhe in guilt over it. I convinced myself that it couldn’t be helped, that I had originally tried to save him and it was just an accident.

But for a long time, that incident stuck stubbornly in a corner of my heart and was never forgotten. After that, whenever I faced a similar situation, I never showed kindness, thinking it was not my place to do so. I thoroughly looked after only my own life and ignored others. If necessary, I did not hesitate to harm others. Because that was the only way to survive in this world.

Sometimes, when I was camping out or hiding alone in a dungeon, I would feel as if I were with that man. His labored breathing, which I had blocked with my palm as he struggled in pain, came back to me vividly.

It wasn’t scary. Unless there was a necromancer, even if the man’s vengeful spirit was attached to me, a spirit couldn’t harm me anyway. The ones who could harm me weren’t ghosts, but the fierce and vicious monsters out there.

Time passed, leaving the memory behind. The world officially declared the dawn of the Dungeon Era and celebrated the safe passing of the first year of the New Divine Calendar. In the second new year since the new world began, the Church of the White Goddess held a large event.

At that time, the Church of the White Goddess was not very powerful. It was just around the time Heesoo hyung’s fame began to spread widely. Back then, Heesoo hyung was often mobilized for events to increase the church’s influence, and that time was no different.

It was a fan-signing event where Heesoo hyung would personally listen to the worries of hunters who made a living in dungeons and give them his blessing. I didn’t even know such an event was happening until I happened to see it on my way to a hunt.

The line was unbelievably long, but I really wanted to see Heesoo hyung again. So I emptied my pockets and bought a spot from someone near the front.

While standing in line waiting to meet Heesoo hyung, I thought about what I would say to him. I just wanted to say thank you, that he had helped me once before, but suddenly, the thought of standing before him as a fellow Awakened brought a wave of embarrassment.

To be precise, it was shame.

As I was about to face Heesoo hyung, who was like a beacon in my heart, all my past transgressions came to mind. From the man I had accidentally killed to the countless people I had pretended not to see, their faces flashed through my mind. It’s not like Heesoo hyung could read minds, but I was scared he would somehow notice the things I had done.

No, he would definitely notice. Then he would be disappointed that the child he had saved when he was young had grown up to be just another hunter who only cared about money.

Just then, it was my turn.

I suddenly thought I had to hide my face. Like a thief, I pulled the hood of my clothes down low and covered my face with a bandana. Only then did I stand before him.

Heesoo hyung seemed puzzled to see me with my face covered. When our eyes met his clear ones, I panicked, not knowing what to do. A wave of regret for wanting to see him washed over me, but then he asked a question.

‘What is troubling you?’

Feeling that I had to say something, my mouth opened on its own.

When I came to my senses, words I never thought I would say were flowing out.

‘…I once killed a person by accident.’

At the sudden confession of murder, Heesoo hyung’s eyes widened. I knew I wasn’t just seeking advice but confessing to a crime, but I couldn’t stop talking.

‘I was originally trying to save him, but I ended up killing him instead. Since then, there have been many times I pretended not to see people I could have saved. I was scared that if I tried to save them, I would die too.’

Heesoo hyung listened to my story with a blank expression. I couldn’t understand what I wanted to hear from him that made me confess such a thing. I should have just talked about what everyone else was talking about, gotten my blessing, and left. Why did I have to say something so unnecessary?

Regretting my foolishness, I clenched my jaw. I stood there motionlessly with my fists clenched. Instead of answering me, Heesoo hyung signed the paper on the table. He handed it to me, took my hand, and said.