Chapter 25
"You're here again!"
There was a middle-aged man's voice and Dohyuk stopped . It was right about where the cave was funneling into a giant room . There was a man in rags kneeling down .
"C-come, you trash!"
The voice was shaking .
"D-Don't hesitate! are you af-afraid of me? COME!"
Something was weird . It seemed like the man wasn't strong or anything . Dohyuk walked up and the man turned back . When the man faced Dohyuk, he gasped .
"Yoo- Yoo Dohyuk?"
Dohyuk would've attacked right at that moment since everyone knew him, but-
"D-don't come to me!"
The man shouted, "Y-you'll die! NO!"
It was a warning . The man was worried about Dohyuk as he then pulled his rags off . Dohyuk gasped . It was the most saddening and terrifying sight . The man was covered by a green being . It was devouring the man's flesh .
"This… this is called 'Waving Jade'… . If this touches a living being… it eats and increases in number…"
That's when Dohyuk realized what happened to those who went in .
"Then how did you…?"
"I have a Nature… regeneration and… resistance against such thing…"
The man then knelt down again . The green thing was moving toward the man's chest and face . The right eye was already whitened and puss was coming out from it .
"L-long time n-no see… B-but it's… good that . . I got to se-see you be-before I died…"
"Do you know…"
Me? Dohyuk wasn't able to ask the last part . It was a foolish question .
"Of-of course . Y-you saved… my ddaughter and m-myself . "
"Me?" Dohyuk mumbled .
"Of course- of- of course . "
The man began telling the story of a hero that he remembered .
The man's name was Jo Mingu . On his 8th day, he met Dohyuk . This was when he and the others realized they had to kill each other to survive . But they were still being put off by the moral standards . That's when Dohyuk met them . It was when the stronger people were forming a group .
"Y-you were… g-great even then… Yo-you didn't oppress . . an-any one . "
Dohyuk was a logical leader .
-This is not a world you can survive with just power . There's no weak Nature . If we help each other, we can increase our chances of survival .
Mingu was a weak-minded man from the beginning .
"If-if it wasn't- for you… I would-would have died . "
It was Dohyuk who gave Mingu a job to do . He was able to utilize his Nature to determine which food was safe to eat .
"I-it was going to be okay… if- if it wasn't- for those-those d-dogs…"
Dohyuk's group grew and they acquired safe shelter and food to survive . However, they became a target . A few of the other groups joined forces to attack Dohyuk's group, but Dohyuk did not fail .
"I… I saw-saw it for the first time . Wh-when you killed others- with anger . "
Dohyuk was victorious, but there were some who died . Many who fought against the attackers died, mostly those young ones who did not have enough power .
-Assh*les .
That was what Dohyuk said, and when night came again, Dohyuk spoke to his friends .
-I'll be back . I need to do this .
He came back the next day covered in blood . None of it was his . Dohyuk then said,
-We'll live here . I won't force you to follow me .
There weren't many who followed him, but Mingu wasn't one of them .
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"I-It wasn't be-because I didn't trust you… I just-just… didn't have a reason… to l-live…"
His daughter died in the ambush . She fought against the enemy to save her father and died fighting . It was enough of a motive for suicide . That was why Mingu came to this place, to the Mine of the Green .
It was the cavern that everyone avoided due to the human-eating monster .
"I… I was fool… so I didn't have courage… to kill myself… in power enough to … my regeneration Nature . "
He threw himself against the green monsters . But even these green monsters couldn't overcome Mingu's nature as he spent his time in agony . That's when he touched the core of these monsters . The gem that was within this mine . When absorbed, the monsters became silent . That's when Mingu earned his second Nature .
[Man of the Green]
It was a unique nature that could be obtained without killing others .
Mingu earned his second life .
"I… I am a f-fool… survived because of luck…"
Even with the 'power' from the second Nature, he lived in guilt until he died .
Dohyuk looked behind . There was a small area that the green monsters did not dare to go near . There was the figure of human lying down .
"It's… it's my daughter…"
It was his everything . Just like last time, Mingu came to this place the first and gave the core gem to his daughter . He would not come out of this cave alive as the green was eating away most of his body parts . When his daughter woke up, he would be dead . But that was okay . That was why he stood, blocking the entryway from any invaders to protect his daughter . The pain of being eaten alive did not matter to him .
Mingu kneeled against Dohyuk .
"I-I'm sorry… But-… even-even for you… I-I can't let you… go I n…"
"B-but, you can stay until ni-night comes…"
Dohyuk didn't move . It was not good to go in, other than risking the danger of being attacked by those monsters . It was a wiser choice to stay here until night . He couldn't speak .
"Dohyuk…?"
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Dohyuk quietly moved to the wall at the corridor and sat down . Maybe he was just relieved . Mingu was first 'human' he had met after the world changed . Kill, lie, steal, and fight… all who faced him had those intentions .
"I-I'm not sure if-if it will …"
Mingu mentioned, "I-I heard that you-you do not re-remember anything . "
"…Yes . " Dohyuk looked up .
"I-I don't know everything about y-you . . but…"
Mingu had survived alone after he got his second Nature and died when Dohyuk began earning the name of the Great Emperor .
"Wait, you don't have any memories after you died?"
"N-no . "
Mingu shook his head .
"It-it feels like I was in l-long slumber… and I he-heard a voice . "
"Voice?"
"V-voice of a god . "
Mingu did not know how he knew; he just knew .
"I-it said it would give us a s-second chance… all o-others th-than Phenomenal N-Nine would get the 2nd c-chance . "
And he was back .
"I h-had to hide wi-with my daughter . But e-even if I had time… I doubt we w-would have spoken to the o-others . "
Dohyuk nodded .
"anyway… g-go find Han Jaehun . "
"…Han Jaehun?"
It was a name he did not recognize . Mingu then became confused .
"I-It's weird… t-two of you were l-like o-old friends . "
Han Jaehun was always with Dohyuk, and he was very powerful .
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"and I-I heard rumor… after I left… that J-Jaehun had died in b-battle… to s-save you . "
"H-he should be around… if h-he's alive . And…"
Mingu frowned . Maybe it was because of the pain? Or maybe he was just making up the memory .
"G-gaiter…"
"Gaiter? You mean the one you put up on the legs?"
"Y-Yes," Mingu nodded . Then, his one ear that had been damaged by the green dropped to the ground .
"Only… AA Item… within… th-this region… You had it… . And…"
Dohyuk felt the vibration from his pocket . It wasn't the compass . It was the bag he got from Kim Eunho . It was vibrating . Dohyuk took out whatever was inside .
-Durability : 7/10
[Like married couples, these shells choose their lifetime mates . It was used as a magical communication tool that allowed carriers to talk across long distances . Durability goes down when the message distance is farther . It cannot work when it reaches a certain range . ]
Dohyuk then placed it against his ear .
"It's me . "
There was a grainy, distorted voice . It was hard to make out the gender .
"What happened," the voice asked . Dohyuk then read the description and thought about what Eunho said and spoke .
"I'm in the cave . "
"Did you get it? What about the disposables? If it's not enough, stay there . I'll go to you . "
He couldn't stay quiet so Dohyuk decided to ask something else .
"Everything okay there?"
"I have good news . "
Even through the distorted sound, it was easy to tell that the person on the other side was excited .
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