I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

5 – Reunion (2)

Entering the game that had been neglected for ten years.

Episode 6

Reunion (2)

Knight Alto was aware of the Lhang race.

No, from his perspective, he couldn’t afford to be unaware of the Lhang race.

He looked at the figure with blood-like eyes and white hair, who seemed ready to tear him to pieces at any moment.

Despite being a Lhang who despised wearing accessories, the red earring hanging on their right ear resembled the appearance of the renowned crimson-eyed figure that Alto had heard about.

While observing it, Alto couldn’t help but become curious.

Why was she, who had originally set foot in the northern part of the South Continent, where the Norba Kingdom was located, here?

To the best of Alto’s knowledge, the distance between the Norba Kingdom and this place was very far.

Yet, the crimson eyes appeared before the knight.

‘What on earth?’

Unbeknownst to himself, fear and endless questions filled Alto’s mind.

■■■■■■■-!

“Gasp-! Cough-!”

As the monster horde prepared to charge again, letting out a scream, Alto turned his gaze away from her to meet the eyes of the crimson figure, his breath becoming erratic.

Facing hundreds of monsters alone, she stood as their opponent.

Simultaneously, the echoes of the crimson eyes resounded in Alto’s mind.

The emotionless slayer.

The hero killer.

The mad wolf.

Each of them represented her powerlessness, while also embodying reverence and fear towards her.

Naturally, even though Alto had not witnessed her fighting, he believed that those echoes were not in vain.

If those echoes were baseless, then stories of the small gathering formed in a distant place, the Norba Kingdom, would not have reached his ears after crossing such a long distance.

Moreover, the appearance of the red eyes before him was more than fitting for those echoes.

Alto realized just by meeting its eyes.

The monster, who was venting his anger toward him, was an opponent who could easily kill him, perhaps as powerful as one of Kallan’s five swords.

However, the reason Alto could maintain some sanity and continue his thoughts even in the midst of the terror of being targeted by such a powerful foe was only one.

“I can’t stop that myself.”

For some reason, the red eyes seemed to appear to protect the lord of this empty territory, but the labyrinth break that she had to stop could not be stopped with just her strength.

There were hundreds of monsters that he could see right now, and among them were demons that even heroes would find it difficult to face.

That’s why he needed troops and a large number of heroes to block the labyrinth break.

In the end, this was not just a single battle fought alone, but a war with monsters.

He never thought he could stop it alone.

“…!”

Until he personally witnessed what was happening in front of him.

What the first knight saw in his eyes was the sight of the red-eyed figure’s body bending over the monster’s corpse.

Her legs were spread apart, tearing through the wasteland. Her left hand was wide-open, reaching towards the barren land, and her right hand was similarly spread wide, now aiming at the ogre, who was about to swing a giant club down.

“-Wolf”

Chk-!

She disappeared with a small murmur.

As if she hadn’t been there in the first place.

And.

Thump-!

The movements of the monsters stopped.

The Greenskin, who was about to start marching again any minute now.

The ogre, who swung the giant club toward the red eyes.

The demon, who oozed corrosive bodily fluids and made eerie sounds.

They all stopped.

As if time had frozen.

And. In the next moment.

Tsuuuuuu-!

A powerful gust of wind-like sound reached the knight’s ears.

Kwaaaaaang-!!

With a loud explosion, the ground on which she stood erupted, and the bodies of the monsters began to explode in unison.

Hundreds of monster bodies burst open in an instant, splattering blood in all directions.

The head of an orc, revealing its fangs, caught in a frenzy.

The hand of an ogre, swung down to strike its crimson eyes.

The leg of a gnoll, rolling uncontrollably as if unable to contain its ferocity.

Monsters, their corpses, raining down from the sky.

And then,

Kim Hyunwoo, like the motionless knight with an agape mouth, was gazing at the scene, just as

Thud-! Thududududuk!

The corpses of monsters fell to the ground.

[Quest Event ‘Labyrinth Break’ has been successfully prevented!]

[Territory is maintained!]

[Quest rewards will be distributed!]

With the notification window appearing before him, Kim Hyunwoo, drenched in blood, could see Merilda standing there.

####

“Uh, ugh…!”

As if witnessing something that shouldn’t be seen.

Kim Hyunwoo, who had been watching knights and soldiers retreating in panic, turned his head quietly and saw Merilda looking at him, just like himself, quietly turning away from the fleeing knights.

“…”

Kim Hyunwoo had a rough idea of how strong the 5-star hero he had raised was.

He couldn’t see them fighting in the game right now, but he could see the heroes’ stats instead.

So, he thought that even with just one 5-star hero, this situation could be resolved.

Kim Hyunwoo knew the strength of the heroes he had raised with passion, even working part-time jobs illegally from his student days, not even earning the minimum wage, pushing in payments, and handling loading and unloading.

But honestly, he didn’t expect it to be this much.

Even though the in-game stats were high, they were expressed in a simple message and only appeared as characters attacking a few times.

So, for Kim Hyunwoo, that sight was quite shocking.

[★★★★★☆Hero ‘King of Beasts,’ would you like to make an acquisition offer? Y/N]

Facing a new notification window that appeared before him, Kim Hyunwoo reached for the Y without hesitation.

Of course, the King of Beasts hadn’t sent a message in the game, and Kim Hyunwoo didn’t know why he had come to this territory.

Considering Arteil’s characteristic of having all favorability drop to zero unless various actions are consumed or favorability is maintained using gift payments, there was no reason for the King of Beasts, whose favorability could be close to zero, to come here.

‘Maybe it’s even in the negatives.’

Ten years ago, as Kim Hyunwoo watched the affinity of the departing hero character, who didn’t bother with Arteil, plummet, he considered that it might be possible, yet he didn’t stop his hand.

Ultimately, the fact that the King of Suin received a message and came here meant there would be some conversation with her.

And so, as Kim Hyunwoo moved his hand…

Trickle…

“…”

At that moment, faced with a new notification window appearing before Kim Hyunwoo, he couldn’t help but pause unconsciously.

####

Merilda, the wolf with crimson eyes, or rather, looked at the lord standing in front of her.

At the lord who was staring blankly at her.

At her master.

“Ah.”

She, inadvertently, let out a dry sigh while looking at him.

The appearance of the lord hadn’t changed at all from ten years ago.

Though ten years had matured to some extent along the passage of time, the image of the lord reflected in Merilda’s crimson pupils was just as she had seen ten years ago.

“…”

With that realization, tears began to well up in the corners of Merilda’s eyes.

It wasn’t because she was sad.

Rather, she was joyful.

Because she could once again see that blurred face she had only seen in dreams.

Because the opportunity to regain the happiness she had cast away ten years ago had arrived.

Because the moment had come to ask for forgiveness from her master.

As if the emotions that had dulled until now were lies, within Merilda, a whirlwind of complex feelings began to stir.

‘I must ask for forgiveness.’

As that thought fleetingly passed through her mind, Merilda’s hands trembled.

The heart that had been unperturbed while dealing with hundreds of monsters began to beat fiercely.

The tail, once strong, now sagged weakly around her waist involuntarily.

Simultaneously, a thought flashed through Merilda’s mind.

The thought of being scared.

Thud…

Merilda was aware of her mistake.

She knew very well what absurd things she had done to upset the lord.

So, she was afraid.

She was afraid whether the lord would grant her forgiveness.

She was afraid of what words might come out of the lord’s mouth.

…She was afraid that her master might reject her.

Yet, Merilda took another step forward.

Yearning surpassed fear.

Thud—

She missed the hand that always used to stroke her head.

Thud—!

She longed to see the awkward smile on her master’s face as he looked at her.

So, Merilda took small steps until she stood in front of Kim Hyunwoo.

At that moment, a peculiar detail about the forgotten lord popped into Merilda’s mind.

‘My master is taller than I thought.’

Without a word, Merilda looked up at the lord, her eyes trembling.

“Th-“

A voice escaped her lips.

“I-“

But it didn’t continue.

Merilda was confused.

She couldn’t grasp what she should say in this moment.

The sentences and words that she would have naturally uttered until now didn’t come together properly.

It felt as if her mind had broken.

In the midst of it, tears welled up at the thought of upsetting the lord.

And then, in that moment.

Thud—

Merilda realized a warm hand had landed on her head.

Something she hadn’t felt in 10 years.

An unexpected sensation she hadn’t dared to hope for, she felt it.

As she felt it, tears welled up in Merilda’s eyes, sliding down her cheeks.

At the same time, as if tears were about to well up, the bowed head lifted upward. The tail that had been wrapped around the waist moved subtly.

Simultaneously, a sense of joy was felt.

“Thank you.”

Because Youngju said those words.

At the same time, as Youngju affectionately stroked herself, her heart slowly began to beat with a different meaning.

However.

“Still, it’s over now.”

Following Kim Hyunwoo’s words.

“…Over?”

Merilda’s time stopped.

And Kim Hyunwoo.

[★★★★★☆Would you like to make a recruitment offer to the hero ‘King of Beasts’? Y/N]

[※Caution: Recruiting this hero to your territory will result in the emergence of hostile nations and territories.]

[Norba Kingdom Relations –282]

[Kallan Kingdom Relations –162]

[Eastern Union Clan Relations –132]

[Sertova Territory Relations –112]

[Hallansia Territory Relations –332]

[Altronia Territory Relations –273]

[Kamia Territory Relations –442]

[Ebroa Territory Relations –263]

[Chelba Territory Relations –213]

[Andelum Territory Relations –733]

[Kehalam Territory Relations –633]

…

…

.

[Norba Kingdom considers you an archenemy in the Steel Sky War!]

[The Kalan Kingdom designates you as an evil that must be eliminated unconditionally!]

[The Eastern Union may offer a bounty to engulf your territory!]

[Sertova-

[Hallasia-]

….

…

..

.

[※ You can become a continent-wide hero!]

‘This is a bit…’

As he looked at the notification window, filled with information, Kim Hyunwoo broke into a cold sweat.