ReLife Player

Unlocked chapter (3/6)

[The difference between man and monster (2)].

The antennae vibrated and shivered. The sight of its myriad hairy antennae pulsating, its long, slender legs flailing about like hooks, was enough to feel repulse.

What, w-hat, what’s going on?

Eunhyuk froze in place as he saw the hooks coming toward him.

He’d gotten over his fear of monsters when he’d dealt with a pack of hounds the year before.

But the monster in front of him, the wingless creature that stood up on its hind legs and moved its front legs, was different.

The monster had been a human just a moment ago.

A human transformed into a monster.

Aaahhhh!

The fly shook its antennae and made a noise. It sounded like it had breathed in helium gas, but it was mixed with the voice of a human man.

I don’t understand how this happened.

The transformation of a human into a monster was a shock that shattered his common sense.

«─What are you doing?»

«Huh? Uh-ah? Hah-uh!!»

«Choi Eunhyuk, wake up and run!»

If Seona hadn’t thrown her swim bag at the creature, he wouldn’t have come to his senses.

Seona grabbed Eunhyuk’s wrist and ran away without looking back.

«Seona, didn’t I see something wrong? He suddenly turned into a monster….»

«It’s not the time to be thinking about such things. Don’t you know that running away is the first step?»

«Guys, be careful!»

Hayang shouted in the distance.

The two people who heard it turned around.

A disoriented monster was trying to get up on legs that were barely able to support itself.

That was not it.

An unpleasant sound, like that of excretion, could be heard, and wings emerged from the monster’s back.

«…Guys, can you run while using mana?»

«Have you come to your senses?»

«How can I not come to my senses after seeing that? Like you said, we should run away first.»

The monster spread its wings. The transparent wings of a fly glistened in the sun.

The monster began flapping its wings at an invisible speed.

The children manifested mana in their bodies to get away from the monster for as long as possible.

«Hayang, are you okay?»

«I’m fine…!»

Hayang’s body mana was incomparable to others.

However, even if she could consume mana to enhance her physical abilities, it would be useless without the support of her basic physical strength.

Sweating profusely, she felt overwhelmed just chasing after the two. She was already out of breath.

Seona and Eunhyuk, on the other hand, were more relaxed. Seona was athletic since she was a child, and Eunhyeok, who was undergoing a lot of training, had a solid base of physical strength.

«…Seona, can you run with Hayang on your back?»

«Yeah, I can.»

«No! I’m fine! I can run…, I can…!»

If we keep going, the monster will catch up to us.

No, that was assuming it caught up.

If so, would he be able to run while consuming mana and block the monster’s attacks at the same time?

Eunhyuk wasn’t sure. It would take all his attention just to pace himself so he wouldn’t run out of mana.

He couldn’t do both at the same time.

Neither could Seona.

Reading Eunhyeok’s thoughts, Seona coldly picked up Hayang, who was following behind, and carried her on her back.

I have no choice but to lead them!

Eunhyuk remembered getting covered in dirt and fighting monsters in the mountains of Bukhansan.

He needed to focus.

He was the only one here who could protect his friends.

«Hayang, I need you to spread a barrier to keep the monsters away from us. Can you do it?»

«I can. I’ll try. …They’re chasing us this way!»

«You do the defense, I’ll do the offense. And you, Seona, you can….»

«I know, I’ll send telepathy to the people around me.»

Seona knew what her role was.

As she ran, she kept her eyes on the road ahead and rehearsed in her mind what she wanted to say.

[«Help! Monsters are chasing me!]

[Someone send a player!]

A telepathic message sent to an unspecified number of people in the immediate area, rather than to a specific person.

Seona shouted over and over again, hoping that someone who received the telepathy would call out for the players.

«Eunhyuk, the monster is stuck on the barrier!»

«Okay!»

[Help, please-!!]

The monster, which flew over in a flash, tried to get closer to the children, but was hit by the barrier deployed by Hayang and fell back.

The monster, which had been hovering around with an angry sound, flickered its eyes and gently landed on the barrier.

The monster had noticed.

Even if it couldn’t get inside the barrier, it could cling to it and wait for a moment of weakness.

With its head-sized squint and antennae pressed against the barrier, it flapped its wings.

«Get away!»

Eunhyuk threw the mana in his hand at the monster.

At that moment, Hayang quickly dismantled the barrier. As soon as the sphere of mana escaped, she deployed the barrier again.

The unexpected attack knocked the monster away from the barrier.

[The monster is chasing me, someone send a player!]

The monster didn’t give up.

As it was about to fall backwards, it flapped its wings with the sound of a flying insect humming in its ears, then straightened up and started chasing again.

Aaahhhhhhhhh!!.

The creature let out a nasal, clogged note.

Zhu Fizz Zhu Zhu Fizz Fizz Shi Fizz Tsip Tsip Shi

«…That’s strange, why is the monster’s mana mixed with human mana, and why did a human suddenly turn into a monster?»

«Don’t think about it, Hayang, just focus on detecting mana!»

Eunhyuk shouted.

Hayang couldn’t seem to completely shake off the questions she’d had earlier.

Clinging to Seona’s back, she shook her head and pondered. With an uneasy gaze, she looked back at the pursuing monster.

Their opposing wavelengths intertwined like a battle.

«Ah…!»

«Kaak-!»

«Jin seona!»

But then she got distracted. She had allowed the monsters to approach.

Reflexively, she released the mana in her body.

The mana that flowed out of her body not only repelled the monster away, but also repelled out Seona, who was running was carrying her.

«Jung Hayang! Snap out of it!?»

«I-I’m sorry! Seona, are you okay?»

«Ouch…, yeah, I’m okay. Don’t cry, I’m fine. There’s something more important right now, isn’t there?»

«…I’m sorry…»

«Come on, up!»

Eunhyuk quickly turned and embraced Seona, preventing her from tumbling.

If he hadn’t done that, she could have been seriously hurt when they collided with the utility pole.

The area around Seona’s knee was stained red with blood.

Seeing that, Hayang’s face noticeably paled.

«It’s okay, I’m fine, don’t cry. You have more important things to do than this right now, don’t you?»

«…I’m, I’m sorry….»

«Come on!»

With a forced smile, Seona stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Finally regaining her composure, she deployed her barrier.

The problem was, she couldn’t carry her anymore.

She tried to pick her up and fell to her knees.

«…Eunhyuk, I’ll carry Seona. Even if our speed slows down, I can still maintain the barrier and run properly!»

Seona’s injury was all her fault.

With her hands outstretched to maintain the barrier, Hayang voiced her opinion to Eunhyuk.

«…Mr. stay away!»

Meanwhile, the monster was cunning.

It had been hit by Eunhyuk’s mana several times and realized that his mana wasn’t a threat.

The monster was trying to get closer to the children, even sticking its head out of its body.

There was no point in holding it back any longer. Only Eunhyuk’s mana was running low.

«…We can’t run away, we have no choice but to stay here! Hayang, you shoot mana at the monster!»

«Yes! Got it!»

Deploying a barrier, releasing it, throwing mana, and then deploying it again.

Even though Hayang said she could do it, her head felt hot.

It was like trying to catch a ball with two hands.

If she could stay calm, she wouldn’t make any mistakes, but the monster would accelerate and close the distance every time the barrier disappeared.

If she misjudged the timing, she could deploy the barrier to include the monster.

And then it would be a one-sided slaughter.

So as soon as she released the barrier, she had to deploy it as soon as she cast her mana.

There was no time to breathe, no time to calmly assess the situation.

Luckily, casting two spells back-to-back wasn’t difficult.

The more she got used to alternating spells, the more she could visualize the next one in her head while her barrier was deployed.

Without realizing it, she was practicing something akin to dual-casting.

Still, she couldn’t stay like this.

She didn’t know how much longer she could hold out.

Seona, who was only protected by the two children, continued to send telepathic messages.

Even though the children were giving their best, it didn’t do much damage to the monster.

It was just a stalling tactic.

At this rate, she could see herself running out of mana soon and being eaten by the monster without being able to resist.

«─It’s okay.»

«Huh?»

As if he had read their worries.

Gathering the last of his strength, Eunhyuk cast his mana at the monster’s single eye.

Only when he was out of mana it made it react.

It hummed, its wings fluttered, and its slender legs clutched at its head.

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Hayang chased the monster away and unleashed a thick barrier.

«…Three layers.»

Sweat trickled down her cheeks.

It wasn’t from the heat. It was because she had deployed three barriers in a row.

For a player, stacking barriers shouldn’t be a difficult skill, but she was only an elementary school student.

Nevertheless, she had demonstrated the skill of deploying and maintaining the same kind of magic in succession with her young body.

[Help!]

[There’s a monster here!]

«It’s okay.»

Hayang, who had deployed a barrier with her hands, also answered Seona’s concern.

«You still don’t get it?»

Eunhyuk had no more mana left in him.

He was merely guarding Hayang, ready to target the monster if necessary, in case she fell.

What? What don’t I understand?

Even amidst the urgent situation where they were focused solely on defense, Seona couldn’t comprehend the kids’ cheerful attitudes.

What was okay?

«…Ah.»

Then, from far away, the sound of running footsteps reached their ears.

Now, as they realized, they had been so focused on sending telepathic messages that they didn’t notice.

«Isn’t the captain supposed to show up at times like this?»

The reason Eunhyuk stated so confidently,

«I believed he would come.»

And the reason Hayang, with teary eyes, put in all her effort became clear.

«That’s right.»

Seona stopped sending telepathic messages.

As she held onto the utility pole and stood up, she gazed at the boy who had leaped a visible distance.

«Huh, Eunha wouldn’t miss this opportunity.»

She smiled gently.

All the kids grinned.

«Captain, why are you so late?»

«We waited!»

«Why did you come now?»

The monster turned its head.

Something was casting a shadow over its side glance, blocking the sun.

It was a boy.

Kie-e-ek.

The boy kicked the ground and leaped up.

«Why are you so badly timed?»

☆

Meanwhile, the residents who heard Seona’s telepathy were in a frenzy.

They all put their smartphones to their ears.

«So it’s a monster! There’s a monster in the residential area right now!»

«I saw it! Please come here!»

«You lunatic, why don’t you believe me, children are being chased by monsters right now, you should see for yourself!»

The residents who received the telepathic message didn’t go outside. Instead, they leaned their heads slightly out of their balconies or opened their windows, peering out at the street.

And that’s what they were still doing now.

The kids were being chased by a monster with a repulsive appearance.

[Help! Is anyone there!?]

[A monster appeared! Can someone please call a player!]

The kids were under attack.

The residents looked at the fleeing kids with heavy hearts.

They had to do something.

As the number of households they passed increased, the number of people with smartphones increased.

«We’re near the Olympic Memorial Community Center, and there’s a-«

«Marronier Knights, right? There’s a monster in the residential area right now.»

«Seonggyun-gwan Road! Please contact the clan near that area!»

«Why can’t you understand what I’m saying? A monster has appeared!»

The people moving around in a Busan-like frenzy weren’t just these few.

For the Marronier Knights who answered their phones, the nearby clans, and the Mana Management Bureau’s Seongbuk-gu branch, the sound of phones ringing didn’t stop for even a moment.

After finishing one call, as if waiting, the next call would immediately connect, and people reported the same thing over and over.

«Thank you. This is the Maronia Knights. How can we assist you?»

«Yes, we’re the Seonggyun-gwan Cadet Clan, steeped in Joseon history. Yes, yes, what is your location?»

«Mr. Branch Leader! We have a report that a monster has appeared near the Olympic Memorial Community Center!»

«I’m on the phone right now! Quickly relay the information to the nearby clans!»

«All of the nearby clans are overwhelmed with reports and can’t answer their phones!»

The head of the Seonggyun-gwan branch of the Mana Management Bureau had to doubt his ears.

He personally called the nearby clans, but none of them were able to connect to his call.

☆

A few years ago, with the inauguration of Seonnyeo Im Gaeul, several administrative districts in Jongno-gu were absorbed into neighboring wards.

Just like Hyehwa-dong became Seongbuk-gu.

The Seonnyeo government aimed to reorganize Jongno-gu to make it a major city for mana ubiquity and player management.

«Hmm… reports are coming in from all over the place?»

However, people still thought of Hyehwa-dong as an administrative district of Jongno-gu.

As the head of Seongbuk-gu, he wanted to clarify that Seongbuk-gu was an administrative district that had been incorporated into Jongno-gu.

«Yes, there are currently a lot of players from nearby clans.»

«An ain kid used telepathy to move the residents….»

The incident happened unexpectedly.

The mayor was lost in thought.

Although it was troubling that the child was an ain, she and other children who were still young had gathered their strength and survived the monster safely.

It was a great opportunity to show off the fact that Seongbuk-gu has children with outstanding qualities as players, and to let them know that Hyehwa-dong is under the jurisdiction of Seongbuk-gu office by giving them a prize.

«…A brave child award would be appropriate.»

The mayor of Seongbuk-gu remembered something that happened a few years ago.

He had given a brave child award to a kindergarten student who had defeated a goblin to accomplish the same goal.

Although the story of the child defeating the goblin was not credible because it was only the testimony of the kindergarten children.

This time was different.

The little girl sent a telepathic message to her neighbors.

«I want you to find out more about the incident and make sure the children survived unharmed.»

«Yes, sir.»

The district chief, who gave instructions, bit his lip.

A strategy needed to be devised.

How to use this incident to their advantage.

Lost in thought, he tapped his finger on the armrest of his chair.

«I…Mr. Mayor.»

«What is it? What’s the matter?»

The mayor grimaced at the employee who stuck his head out the half-open door.

«The children’s teacher has come to see you, sir. He’d like to see you …»

«What?»

He was disconcerted.

Why would the children’s teacher need to see me?

But he had already escorted him to his office.

The mayor couldn’t help but feel bad and ordered him in.

«It’s been a while.»

«You, Player Im Dohon!?»

He jumped out of his seat when he saw the man who introduced himself as the children’s teacher.

A player who had once served as a sub lord for the Regulus Clan.

He was said to have retired after an injury, but he didn’t expect him to come to him as the children’s homeroom teacher.

Moreover, he was favored by the Alice Group.

«─Do you understand?»

«…Yes, I understand, I’ll try to keep things as quiet as possible.»

The mayor was well aware that he was able to be in this position because of the sponsorship from the Alice Group.

He nodded silently at Im Do-hon’s words.

«But, by the way, what’s the Chairman’s relationship with those kids?»

«…….»

There was only one thing he was curious about.

Why was the Alice Group trying to protect the children?

The mayor met Im Do-hon’s gaze and stiffened.

Whether back when he was a Sub Lord in Regulus or now.

The gaze of the player who had always carried out his given missions coldly hadn’t changed.

He spoke without thinking.

The mayor regretted it inwardly.

But what was he thinking?

Im Do-hon, who had been watching him, spoke up.

«…Would you understand if I told you that one of the children is the chairman’s granddaughter?»

«…I’ll try to keep things as quiet as possible.»

The mayor didn’t need to ask any more questions.

There was no need to show emotion.

He skillfully changed the subject and said he would handle it as smoothly as possible.

He even left his office and politely escorted Im Do-hon out the door.

«Mr. I heard that little Ain kid used telepathy!»

«The players are out in force!»

«We’re going to win something big for the first time in a long time!»

Im Do-hon stopped walking when he heard the reporters running around.

Among them were reporters wearing collars from a prominent newspaper in Korea.

«…I can’t stop them all.»

Im Do-hon sighed.