10 Chapter 9 (1/2)
”Maybe, you hurt your head really bad?”
The younger sister stood at a distance away and asked Jin-Woo, prompting him to shake his head vigorously.
”No, that's not it.”
Even though he denied it, Jin-Woo's younger sibling, Seong Jin-Ah's eyes remained suspicious.
”Are you really okay?”
”Yes, I'm telling you the truth.”
Jin-Ah blankly swept her gaze all over Jin-Woo, before she came closer while her breathing became uneven, angry. And then, as soon as Jin-Woo assumed a defensive posture, she began punching him in all the unguarded parts.
”I told you to stop getting hurt!! You have any idea how worried I was?!”
”.....I'm sorry.”
”Other people walk away fine, but how come it's only you who gets hurt all the time?!”
”....Sorry.”
The strength behind Jin-Ah's punches gradually seeped away. She soon stopped, and as her head fell, began crying. Jin-Woo slowly patted the back of his sobbing sister.
His own nostrils stung quite a bit then.
'I was thinking of leaving behind this kid alone and dying, wasn't I....'
What a relief that he made it out alive.
When he looked back, there had been way too many brushes with death for comfort back then.
It was as if he had experienced one hell of a terrifying nightmare.
Jin-Woo's gaze shifted ever so slightly towards the words floating in the air.
[You have several unread messages.]
'It still feels like I haven't completely woken up from that nightmare just yet, doesn't it?'
There were so many things he couldn't understand.
But, so what?
The most important thing was that he came back alive, and he got to see his little sister again.
”Sniff.”
Thankfully, his strong-willed sister stopped crying after a short while. Unfortunately for him, though, her nagging continued on for over one hour afterwards.
”Do you hear me? If you get hurt one more time, I'm going to give up on studying, find a job, and make sure you don't work as a Hunter ever again.”
Jin-Ah's sharp glare didn't really suit her pretty face, but that was a biological trait she had shared with her older brother.
”Okay, okay. I hear you.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head as if he'd given up.
Only after she was able to extract his assurance several times more did she display a hint of satisfaction, and stood up from the seat.
”You going somewhere?”
”Yeah. To school. I got permission to leave so I could check up on you. So I gotta go back.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head.
”Right, the university entrance exams are next year.”
She might never have received a private tutoring nor did she ever attend extra classes, but she always got ranked within the top ten in her school until now.
Jin-Ah dreamed of becoming a doctor.
Only until a few years ago, she just loved to waste time on video games and stuff like that, but then, after their mother fell ill, she swore to become a doctor and never stopped studying since.
Jin-Woo dearly wished to make her dream come true, no matter what.
Hang on a minute.... playing video games?
Suddenly, Jin-Woo's eyes gleamed a bit dangerously.
”Okay, I'm going now.”
Just as Jin-Ah was leaving his room, Jin-Woo urgently called out to her.
”Hey, Jin-Ah?”
”Yeah?”
”When you are playing video games....”
Jin-Ah smirked softly.
”I don't play games anymore. The third year of high school is only a few days away, you know.”
”I know, I know. There's something I want to ask you, though.”
”Oh, really? Like? I didn't know Oppa played video games, though?”
Jin-Ah suddenly displayed an intense interest as a subject she was deeply intimate with once upon a time was brought up.
Jin-Woo sneaked a glance at the still-floating 'message' in the air and asked her.
”When there are unread messages in a game, what should I do access them?”
”You gotta open the mailbox first.”
”I gotta 'open' the mailbox?”
Tti-ring!
As soon as Jin-Woo said the word 'open', a clear beep entered his head and the hidden messages revealed themselves.
[There are two unread messages.]
- Congratulations on becoming a [Player] (unread)
- [Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong] is now available. (unread)
Jin-Woo smiled brightly.
'Finally!'
Seeing her older brother's complexion suddenly brighten like that, Jin-Ah felt something was wrong and quickly asked him.
”What's up? What game is it? You need my help?”
Jin-Woo firmly shook his head.
”Nope, no need. I'll do it alone.”
How would his younger sibling react if he told her what had been happening to him right now?
'I really don't want to be labelled as a loon by her.'
Jin-Woo swallowed back the things he wanted to say for the time being.
***
While pretending to see her out, Jin-Woo confirmed her getting on the elevator, and quickly returned to his room.
'I can't repeat the same mistake again.'
Click.
To prevent eyewitnesses intruding on him, he even locked the door. Finishing with his preparations, Jin-Woo sat on the bed and read the titles of the messages available to read.
- Congratulations on becoming a [Player] (unread)
- [Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong] is now available. (unread)
He thought that the first message sounded familiar, as if he heard it before from somewhere.
'Where have I heard it from? I know I have.'
So, the first message, then.
- Congratulations on becoming a [Player] (unread)
'Confirm.'
Tti-ring!
[This System will support the growth of the 'Player.']
[Failing to comply with the System's instructions will result in potential penalties.]
[Your rewards have been delivered.]
”Ahh.”
He belatedly remembered this.
He heard those words just before he lost his consciousness.
'Back then, it was talking about a Player this and that, no?'
Of course, back then or even now, he still couldn't really understand what on earth was going here.
The 'System', 'growth', 'penalties', and finally, 'rewards'.
The words with unknown meanings fell on his lap one after the other.
'Just what will it help grow, and what will it reward me with?'
Seeing the words that could only be found in a video game appearing before his eyes without any prior explanations, only served to confound him even further.
He decided to worry about the confusing words later and calmly opened the next message.
- [Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong] is now available. (unread)
Gulp.
Jin-Woo unconsciously swallowed his saliva after reading that rather suggestive title. His heart began to beat faster in anticipation.
'Confirm.'
Tti-ring.