Episode 25: Fragment (1)
As soon as I woke up early in the morning, I retrieved the Dongbaek Sword.
[Jung Haein]: I don’t think I can come to training today.
[Yu Hana]: Why? Are you sick?
[Jung Haein]: I have somewhere to go.
[Yu Hana]: Oh, I see… Got it.
And so, I skipped morning training today as well.
‘Feels like I’m skipping a lot these days…’
But it’s all for your sake, so I hope you understand.
“Damn, this is heavy.”
As expected, since I haven’t gotten used to it yet, the sword felt incredibly heavy.
I set it down on the ground and got ready to head out.
Today’s destination: Baekdu Mountain.
***
When I arrived at the terminal, it was packed with people, as expected for a weekend.
Some were heading home, while others—students, most likely—were going out for a day trip or an overnight stay.
The terminal was buzzing with the usual lively atmosphere.
Of course, none of them were heading to Baekdu Mountain.
Not that I was going for an overnight stay either.
Well, technically, it was an overnight trip, but I’d be back home by the end of the day.
Unless something major happened.
Baekdu Mountain was officially classified as a hazardous zone by the Association.
There was no direct portal, and entry required approval from the Association.
So, my first step was to take a portal to Seoul.
A dim light momentarily clouded my vision before clearing again.
The Seoul terminal was far more crowded than the one in Gaon.
I made my way toward the special portal terminal managed by the Association.
Unlike the general area, the special portal terminal was much quieter, yet there was an air of tension.
At the entrance stood a somewhat weary-looking receptionist.
I approached him and asked,
“I’d like to go to Baekdu Mountain.”
The receptionist glanced at me briefly and replied in a disinterested tone,
“You need to have prior approval or the proper qualifications to use the special portal~.”
I hesitated for a moment before pulling out my Gaon Academy student ID and showing it to him.
“Would this work?”
It was just a hopeful attempt.
Gaon was an elite academy, and the title of ‘outstanding hero candidate’ often carried weight in various places.
The receptionist examined my student ID for a while before shaking his head.
“Ah… Gaon students usually qualify for most things, but Baekdu Mountain is an exception. It’s far too dangerous….”
I figured as much.
I sighed inwardly and reached for the ID issued by the Association—
A hero identification card issued after the Iano Tomb incident, now bearing my new alias, “Silent Ghost.”
“How about this, then…?”
But before I could present it, I heard footsteps approaching from behind.
“A student? Going to Baekdu Mountain?”
A stranger’s voice.
Turning around, I saw a group of people in combat gear approaching me.
The man leading them had armor adorned with a lotus-shaped insignia.
‘Lotus Guild?’
There was only one guild that used a lotus symbol.
The man at the front smirked at me and said,
“A kid like you, talking big… This isn’t a place for jokes. Step aside.”
I gave him a glance but ignored him and resumed my conversation with the receptionist.
“Then, How about this….”
I presented my hero identification card.
This should be more than enough proof of my qualifications—
-Clack.
“You deaf or something?”
Suddenly, a firm grip tightened around my wrist.
The low, rough voice behind me made even the receptionist flinch and take a step back.
‘So it’s him.’
Woo Jang-hoon, the vanguard of Lotus Guild’s second team.
He was well-known for his thug-like personality.
An A-rank hero with undeniable skill, but his name always came with bad rumors.
Woo Jang-hoon glanced at my ID, then scoffed.
“You think you can fool us with a fake ID like this…?”
He tightened his grip on my wrist and sneered.
“You look like someone I’ve never seen in my life, kid. Don’t you know that impersonating a hero is a serious crime?”
I fell into a brief moment of thought. I wasn’t the type to pick fights, but I also wasn’t the type to back down when challenged.
‘Can I win?’
It was uncertain. I felt like I’d only know if I tried.
Then, the second question.
‘Is handling the aftermath easy?’
That was a definite yes. Both the justification and the reasoning were on my side.
‘Then, let’s do it.’
I decided that taking action would be the cleanest solution.
That was when—
“Is there a problem here?”
A clear and composed voice sliced through the air.
Everyone turned their heads toward the source of the voice.
Standing there was Kang Arin. She approached with a confident stride, wearing her signature relaxed smile.
“This person is with me for today’s Baekdu Mountain expedition.” she stated calmly.
Kang Arin looked directly at Woo Jang-hoon as she continued, “Of course, I understand that the recent incidents have made things urgent for Lotus as well…”
She stepped forward and stopped in front of him. Her gaze briefly dropped to his arm, and her eyes turned cold.
“A guild like Lotus should be well aware of regulations and procedures, right?”
Woo Jang-hoon’s expression stiffened.
“And you must also know that our affiliated guild, Glory, has primary exploration rights over Lotus in this matter.”
His lips twitched slightly at her words.
“Ah… Kang Arin-nim.”
He quickly forced a smile, hastily adjusting his attitude. But the flustered look in his eyes was undeniable.
“I didn’t realize he was with you. My apologies…”
Before he could finish speaking, Kang Arin briskly brushed his arm aside and spoke firmly.
“Then let go.”
It was a short yet unmistakable command.
She then turned to the attendant and spoke calmly.
“Please process the authorization for Jung Haein and me. We’ve received approval from the Association.”
The attendant hesitated for a moment, looking between Woo Jang-hoon and Kang Arin, before quickly proceeding with the process.
Woo Jang-hoon didn’t say another word and stepped back.
With everything settling down smoothly, Kang Arin turned to me with a smile.
“Shall we go?” she asked gently.
I wasn’t the type to miss the obvious. It was clear she had gone out of her way to help me.
‘But what’s with the formal speech?’
Without saying a word, I nodded and followed her into the portal.
***
Kang Arin and I arrived at the entrance of Baekdu Mountain.
Since Lotus’s second team had been right behind us, we naturally ended up traveling together. However, they seemed to have their own designated route and soon disappeared from sight.
“Should we split up now?”
Kang Arin spoke first.
The moment the Lotus team left, she immediately dropped the formal speech and returned to her usual way of speaking.
Honestly, that was more comfortable for me too.
“Yeah. I’ll go first. Thanks for earlier.”
“Mm.”
I was curious why she had helped me, but she didn’t seem like she’d explain even if I asked.
Likewise, she didn’t ask why I had come to Baekdu Mountain.
Without prying into each other’s reasons, we naturally went our separate ways.
Besides, the way I planned to climb the mountain wasn’t something I wanted others to see.
‘It’s high.’
Baekdu Mountain was one of the most difficult zones in the original story.
And the Fragment of Harmony I was searching for was the most powerful among the four.
Thus, it naturally became Sung Siwoo’s task.
The fragment buried deep within Cheonji.
But the problem was that the process of retrieving that fragment was far from realistic.
The recent abnormal waves appearing in Baekdu Mountain.
It was highly likely that these were caused by the energy emitted from the fragment.
Naturally, various guilds would be sending raiding teams, and Kang Arin and Lotus were among them.
‘It’s probably impossible.’
There was a reason why this place was considered a hazardous zone.
At this point, it was nearly impossible for any of the current teams to break through the swarming beasts and reach Cheonji.
Even in the original story, only teams with endgame-level specs could barely clear it.
So then, how was I going to get there?
At some point, I had arrived at the area where monsters started to appear.
A large sign stood ahead, with a warning message written in red letters.
“I’ll go to the past.”
Baekdu Mountain became this hazardous fifty years ago, in 1979.
That was when the fragment of Harmony first formed in Cheonji.
The high-dimensional energy emitted by the fragment distorted the environment,
And the beasts that fed on that energy grew even stronger.
So I planned to travel to the past, right after the fragment was created,
And retrieve it before it became inaccessible.
This was the only way to reach the fragment with minimal effort.
Of course, if I obtained the fragment in the past, it would naturally disappear from the present as well.
There was a hidden trick to this plan.
A secret location that only the first player to successfully conquer Baekdu Mountain in the original story could discover.
‘The old mountain lodge.’
For players who suffered through their first playthrough to obtain the fragment,
This lodge was a mechanism designed to make subsequent runs easier—
Like a save point.
That was why I needed to find the lodge.
I knew its approximate location.
Near the altitude where monsters started appearing,
In a relatively low-risk area.
So I thought it wouldn’t take long to find.
But my expectations were completely off.
“Fuck.”
The problem was that the “approximate” information wasn’t precise enough.
The lodge, which I thought I’d find quickly, was still nowhere to be seen even after nightfall.
The sun had set, and now rain was pouring down.
The wind and rain lashed against me, and I was already drenched.
Before I realized it, I was aimlessly wandering the mountain, unsure of where I was heading.
‘Maybe not today….’
Just as I was about to give up and try again another day—
I spotted it.
In the distance, barely standing, was the shape of a decrepit old lodge.
‘Found it.’
I silently cheered and ran through the rain toward the lodge.
As I pushed the door open and stepped inside, the scent of old wood filled my nose.
The interior was covered in dust, as if it hadn’t been touched for years.
But one thing stood out as strange.
A calendar hanging on the wall.
I walked closer and examined it.
Unlike the rest of the furniture, which was covered in dust,
The calendar was the only thing that looked nearly new.
And then—
“March 20, 2029.”
To my surprise, today’s date was written there.
A lodge untouched for years, located in an isolated, desolate area—
Yet the calendar was updated to the latest date.
“It’s real.”
I had finally found it.
I collapsed onto the spot and turned on my watch.
[10:20 PM]
Before I knew it, a lot of time had passed.
‘Midnight. 12:00 AM.’
At midnight, this lodge would activate.
And it would send me to the exact moment right after the Fragment of Harmony was created.
Listening to the ticking of the old clock on the wall, I quietly waited for time to pass.
I wasn’t sure how long had gone by when I finally opened my eyes to check the time.
[11:58 PM]
Only a few minutes left.
The ticking of the clock grew louder, heightening the tension.
And at that moment—
—Bang!
The door burst open, and a gust of cold air rushed into the lodge.
“What the—?!”
Startled, I turned around—
And saw a familiar face.
“Kang Arin…?”
It was her.
She walked in confidently, wringing out her rain-soaked shirt.
“Hey! Hey, it’s dangerous! Get out!”
I shouted in alarm.
This lodge was designed to send only one person to the past.
No one knew what would happen if more than one person entered.
“That’s mean. You’re really telling me to go back out in this weather?”
Kang Arin replied nonchalantly and shut the door behind her.
—Click.
Then, she locked it.
Her drenched shirt clung tightly to her body, revealing her curves without restraint.
“I even helped you earlier. Kind of rude, don’t you think?”
“No, that’s not the issue… You need to get out right now—!”
—Tick, tick.
The ticking of the old clock rang eerily loud in the silence of the lodge.
—Cuckoo, cuckoo.
And finally—
The old cuckoo clock on the wall announced midnight.
“Oh my.”
Kang Arin tilted her head slightly and looked at me.
Her red eyes gleamed softly as she smiled.
“It’s already twelve?”
At that moment, the air inside the lodge began to twist and distort.
“Ah, fuck….”
It was too late.
I bit my lip and turned to look at her—
But Kang Arin just stood there, completely unfazed.
And soon, a blinding light swallowed everything.