From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 190: Memory Pt. 4

The Hunters, who by this point can be said to number quite a few, all had their own individual Sponsors.

While a few may have the same Sponsor—no, while dozens or even hundreds of them could be under one Sponsor, it was still undeniable that the number of Sponsors was much higher than anyone could have expected originally.

There were many Hunters and many Sponsors.

[Can you hear me?]

Among them all, how many people could have ever heard the true voice of their Sponsor? However, right now, at this very moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong was surprised by the sound of that bastard, The Sky of the Apocalypse.

He had heard this voice only once before, when he had died before he had come to the Age of Heroes.

‘The contract is executed.’

At that time, things around him had been too pressing for him to pay much attention to, and he had been clueless, so he had thought that it was just some person’s voice. However, it was different now.

Tremble.

He was afraid.

His entire body trembled like a willow in the wind after hearing that voice that descended upon him like the Rhema of a divine being.[1]

It was because of the power contained in that voice and the multiple indescribable meanings behind it.

‘It’s just terrifying.’

To think that such a being could speak to him, the fact such a being could recognize him, was just too terrifying in itself. Lee Jun-Kyeong could tell the true face of Sponsor just by hearing the voice.

‘This… It’s almost like God…’

Wasn’t it like the voice of God who answered prayers? As he trembled at such a terrifying voice, the slightly mischievous voice of that bastard continued to speak.

[How about answering if you can hear me?]

Then the tension eased a little.

[It's difficult to convey my Rhema to you, an insignificant creature.]

The Sky of the Apocalypse seemed to be saying in a roundabout way that there was no time for them to talk.

[The reason why I deigned to deliver this Rhema directly to such an insignificant creature like you is…]

The tension that had only just been released hardened again immediately, manifesting into cold goosebumps that cascaded down Lee Jun-Kyeong’s back.

[Because I deemed it necessary to explain the contents of the contract to you.]

“What?"

Finally, Lee Jun-Kyeong opened his mouth before he realized something.

‘I…’

He had never wondered or thought about the executed contract. All he had done was accept hazily that the contract to send him to the past had been carried out, but he had never questioned it. That was unbelievable in itself.

'How could I not be curious about that at all?’

It wasn’t until now that the Sky of the Apocalypse brought it up that he had thought about the contract.

[Oh, of course, I’m not going to go into all of the details. It would be a waste of a Rhema.]

Then, as Lee Jun-Kyeong was about to let out another sigh and frown, the Sky of the Apocalypse’s next words made him pause.

[There’s been an addendum to the first contract. Someone intervened and became a guarantor.]

‘A guarantor?’

A name crossed Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mind.

[Although it was a guarantor that the contracting party didn’t want, well, I still accepted it because it was beneficial to me. But, as someone that I sponsor, I’m just telling you because I thought you should know.]

Its speech and tone were mischievous. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s fear still didn’t go away.

[As if you die, it’ll be troublesome for me.]

As Lee Jun-Kyeong was about to speak again, the space around him began to distort.

[Well, let’s end it here.]

It was too late for him to ask anything about the contract. Moreover, there was something about the guarantor that caught his eye. The Sky of the Apocalypse was clearly giving him a hint, even if that hint wasn’t conveyed completely.

As he thought to himself, Lee Jun-Kyeong paused again as there was one thing he had wanted to ask.

“What about me?! When am I going to get a title?!” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked, almost screaming at his Sponsor.

[Soon.]

But, there was only a vague answer that lingered in his ears.

***

“…”

Hyeon-Mu moved quickly with Lee Jun-Kyeong on his back. Fortunately, unlike his human-like outer appearance, his body was still the same as his original form, so he didn’t get tired whatsoever, no matter how far he had run with Lee Jun-Kyeong on his back.

“Move it out of the way.”

Moreover, Hyeon-Mu was advancing forward extremely quickly, almost as if he were swimming through the asphalt roads and piles of broken earth. With their strengthened powers, the two moved forward while transmuting the roads like water, traveling through the flow.

“Master. Just a little…”

The two moved quickly as they were concerned about their master’s safety. Fortunately, they had no pursuers.

Whimper.

Odin’s Familiars, the two wolves, were tramped by the giant water monster created by Hyeon-Mu and sunk into the Bukhan River. Hyeon-Mu was very satisfied with the monster that he had created in collaboration with Hel.

–We’ll be arriving soon.

The two could feel a huge wave of mana in front of them. Before them, they could hear droves of screams and cries, even some screams. They were all signs that they were approaching their destination. The two of them knew once they joined the party, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s safety would be guaranteed.

“Ugh…”

“Master?"

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was riding on Hyeon-Mu’s back, sometimes made sounds that sounded like moaning, he still wasn’t able to come to his senses. After continuing forward for a while, the two were finally able to reach their destination.

Clang!!

Boom!!

Accompanied by the constant ringing of metal, explosions created by the rampage of mana were shaking the ground.

“Protect him! Sangun waking up comes first!”

They could hear familiar voices in the distance.

‘Something’s gone wrong.’

However, Hyeon-Mu was worried. He felt that something was wrong. Just like their master, it seemed that Sangun also had an issue. Hence, they moved faster.

Woosh!!

A torrent of water appeared in the sky. As Hyeon-Mu raised his hand and circulated his mana, waves began to form in the air and began to cascade forward. The waves swept over everything like a tsunami.

“What is that?!”

“Agh!!”

Hunters screamed as they were knocked over. However, the army still wasn’t flustered by the oncoming waves, as they knew it was the work of Hyeon-Mu, whom they had already clashed with several times before.

Swish!

The waves soon split into several streams and went straight to the enemy. At the same time, skeleton soldiers were climbing out from within the waves.

Rattle. Rattle.

A new army of skeleton soldiers had joined the battle.

“Aghhh!”

All of the enemy soldiers that were blocking the path of Hyeon-Mu and the others were either swept away or pushed far back.

“Hyeon-Mu!”

From a distance, figures welcomed the appearance of Hyeon-Mu: Jeong In-Chang and Won-Hwa.

“Sangun…!”

At the same time, Hyeon-Mu saw that Sangun was in a similar situation to Lee Jun-Kyeong. Sangun was intertwined with a green raven, and the Hunters hand surrounded them, protecting Sangun.

Hyeon-Mu quickly advanced forward to join his companions. For now, most of their enemies were still Hunters. There must have been Hero-Level Hunters in the enemy army as the state of the battlefield was still tense.

“Mr. Lee!”

Hyeon-Mu had finally joined his companions as Jeong In-Chang, and Won-Hwa shouted at Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was still draped over Hyeon-Mu’s back.

“How did he…”

“It’s the same as what happened to Sangun.”

Hyeon-Mu quickly explained the situation as he reinforced the formation. Their most important forces, the two strongest, had lost consciousness.

“If Odin shows up when we’re like this, it’s over.”

No one could relax because they knew that their most terrifying enemy was still alive.

“You’re right. Although I can’t tell why Odin hasn’t shown up yet…”

As they spoke, they looked over toward the buildings in Yangpyeong. They could definitely feel it, an enormous aura. They were all looking toward the place where Odin, yet to show himself, was.

***

It was a dark space, similar to the one where Lee Jun-Kyeong was in.

“Grr.”

Sangun was trapped within it. Unlike Lee Jun-Kyeong, who knew of Muninn’s Authority and its relation to memories, Sangun, unaware of anything, just rampaged relentlessly as he tried to destroy the space.

Crash!

The more he rampaged without rest, the more anxious he became.

“Gasp. Gasp…”

There was a battle going on outside. They wouldn’t be able to hold on without him. Because he wasn’t there, people would die.

“ROAR!

They were people he wanted to protect. However, he was just confined to this space. So, he ran nonstop, throwing all of his might into his efforts.

Rumble.

However, the space only gave off a grotesque echo in response. With every pace, every step that he made as he rampaged and exerted all of his strength, Sangun longed for more power.

‘A little more…! A little more!’

He thought that the reason he wasn’t able to break through the space was because his own strength was lacking. The more he moved, the more his appearance changed.

Tremble. Tremble.

Although Sangun didn’t realize it, his appearance, which had been half man, half beast, had begun to transform more toward the original beast he had been somewhere along the line.

He was back to being a huge tiger. In the darkness, a white tiger swung forward with both paws.

Ssssh.

Although his swinging paws cut through the darkness, leaving traces of light, darkness soon overtook the void once again.

‘Power…’

Had there ever been a time when he had ever needed more strength? Sangun had lived for centuries as the king of Mt. Baekdu. For him, the feeling of a lack of strength was a completely unknown feeling. But now, new emotions were awakening in Sangun.

–Desire.

His heart thundered in his chest as he heard a voice speak to him.

–Desire.

He craved the power to break through this space and achieve what he wanted.

“I want power!”

CRACK!

A disquieting sound began to echo through the darkness. Although Sangun may not have been able to see himself, the darkness could. He was growing bigger and more monstrous and transforming back to his original appearance.

–Become.

–A Ruler.

He was back to the form of a Ruler.

***

“Ha-a-eup!”

The addition of Hyeon-Mu and Hel was a great help in the tense confrontation. Little by little, the Hunters of Mt. Cheonma were gaining the upper hand. They fought to protect Sangun and Lee Jun-Kyeong. Although things were developing differently than they had expected, they still thought they were on the right track.

“Mr. Lee!”

“Sangun!”

As he continued shouting to wake the two up, Won-Hwa continued to move his hands.

Thwack! Thwack!

Boom!

However, then, a huge explosion distorted before them–a green explosion that engulfed the Hunters and created a storm.

“Damn it…”

Jeong In-Chang cursed under his breath as he looked over at the owner of the power that he was sensing.

Although they had expected it to happen, it was still horrible timing.

“You finally showed up…”

Odin.

A man was floating in the green hurricane as if he had become the eye of the storm. There was no way that they wouldn’t have recognized him. The eyepatch on one eye was synonymous with his symbol.

Shhh.

Odin was looking down upon them from his green storm, looking down at everything as if he were a god. He revealed his strength as he stared down at them.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Then, green light emitted from his body and began to explode forth in all directions. They were seeing Odin’s power for the first time.

“A Hunter who is said to be the strongest in the world…”

Tremble.

They were witnessing his power and unknowingly clenched their trembling hands. Jeong In-Chang, Won-Hwa, Hyeon-Mu, and Hel nodded at each other and moved forward. They couldn’t allow Odin to reach this area.

“We have to somehow buy time until Lee Jun-Kyeong and Sangun wake up.”

Even if they would have to pay for that time with their lives. However, someone had to protect the two unconscious figures.

“I…will protect them,” Kim Su-Yeong said.

He, who had followed the party this far without having been able to properly play any active parts, set out to protect his companions. He, and many Hunters, stood forward to protect where the two lay.

.

“We’ll leave it to you.”

With a simple greeting, Jeong In-Chang and Won-Hwa started to run forward, working to protect the Hunters from the indiscriminate green explosions.

“Princess!”

Jeong In-Chang called out the princess, who had been gathering strength while biding her time.

Boom! Boom!

Loud footsteps began to shake the earth.

1. The word Rhema refers to the word of God. Specifically, the word of God spoken to one in a revelation. For more reference, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhema. ????