HG Ch 41

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[SYSTEM] You have defeated the fallen Baekho!

Baekho, whose fur had turned pitch-black from corruption, collapsed.

Thud.

As the massive body toppled over, a heavy sound reverberated through the air. The dark energy that had been swirling around Baekho slowly faded, and it gradually transformed into a tiger with dazzlingly white fur.

The corrupt energy vanished without a trace, replaced by the pure aura of the Guardian of Jirisan.

When Baekho opened its eyes, bright yellow irises appeared. Baekho shook its head a couple of times as if regaining its senses, then fixed a gaze solely on Joo Eunho. It murmured.

[Ah… So in the end… This is what I have become.]

The voice echoing in their heads was different from the turbid tone it had when it was corrupted. The noble voice of the Absolute resonated once more.

[Thank you for helping me.]

At that moment, Eunho was having a completely different thought.

I love meta characters so much. The whole “you don’t even need to roleplay because I already know everything” setting is so good…

Unable to know what was going on in Eunho’s head, Baekho rose and slowly approached him. When it had been the corrupted black tiger, simply standing before Baekho had been suffocating because killing intent radiated from every inch of its body. But now, Eunho felt only a gentle aura from Baekho, and even with an enormous tiger approaching him step by step, he felt no fear at all.

He simply stood there, dazed, drunk on the wonders of nature.

[Thus, I too shall repay you.]

Baekho, who had approached Eunho, lowered its head and touched the tip of its nose to Eunho’s forehead.

At the same time, a low voice echoed only in Eunho’s mind.

[Child, there is a burden far too great upon your shoulders.]

A warm energy wrapped around Eunho. Baekho’s voice continued.

[The reason life and death repeat endlessly is because of the turmoil of your heart. But your turmoil will disappear the moment your story reaches its conclusion, and then…]

[You may face a perfect end.]

[May that become deep rest for you, child.]

Ding!

[SYSTEM] What do you think it perceived within you? [SYSTEM] The noble Absolute purifies the ruined mountain and rivers.

Having finished speaking, Baekho stepped back. A pure white light began radiating from the tiger’s body. Soon, Jirisan, which had lost its vitality, regained its original bluish life force. The soil that had turned pitch-black like grime returned to its natural color, and the blackened, withered leaves regained their original greenery.

After purifying Jirisan, Baekho quietly looked at Eunho and Yoon Iseo, then turned into the wind and vanished.

[SYSTEM] Thanks to the guardian returning to its rightful place, Jirisan has regained its original form. Future generations will remember only this restored appearance. [Main Quest: Guardian of Jirisan (Completed)] [SYSTEM] You have completed the prerequisite quest. The new main quest, “Guardian of Seoraksan,” has begun.

It’s over… right?

It seems like the quest cleared properly.

And yet, something still felt strangely unsettling.

A perfect end?

No, if this were just a PC game, I could simply say the meta character is cool and move on. But I am trapped in a virtual reality game right now. I saved it, yet it feels like I got cursed instead, so I’m really freaked out here.

A perfect end, the moment the story concludes?

He had no way of knowing whether that meant escape or if it truly meant “the end.”

What if he cleared all the main quests later and waited, heart pounding, wondering, Can I finally go home? and then the system said…

[SYSTEM] The main quest has been completed. In 10 seconds, the service will automatically shut down.

“No!”

As Eunho shouted, a large hand lightly stroked his forehead. A familiar voice came from right behind him.

“The killing intent effect is gone, so why are you even more out of it now?”

Only then did Joo Eunho realize he was still in Yoon Iseo’s arms, and he screamed, “Aaaagh!” as he tore himself away. He scrambled out of his embrace and rolled across the ground, immediately feeling Yoon Iseo’s exasperated gaze.

“Are you actually out of your mind?”

Seriously, do you not have any self-awareness? We literally looked like protagonists from a romance novel just now.

With that thought, he looked at Yoon Iseo, but Yoon Iseo only stood there with his arms crossed. He wasn’t the type to be oblivious, so he was blatantly pretending not to notice.

…Is he doing this because he’s trying to flirt with me?

Come to think of it, he had been touching him casually these days.

With trembling fingers, Eunho quietly pulled up Yoon Iseo’s status window.

[Vow of a Hundred Years: d20524] [SYSTEM] Status Message: Status cannot be viewed due to insufficient affection level. [SYSTEM] Affection level: F*cking 18

After checking Yoon Iseo’s affection level, Eunho felt relieved at the unwavering “F*cking 18,” yet also strangely unsettled.

Honestly, after going through all that hardship together, couldn’t he at least give me 19 points? I even carried him through the final party wipe mechanic, so shouldn’t it at least go up to 20? Man, he’s so stingy. Really stingy.

Eunho pouted and then brushed the dirt off his knees as he stood up.

“No, it just feels like Baekho told only me something, and it’s really unsettling.”

“What?”

“It said that once the story concludes, my turmoil will end, and then I’ll be able to face a perfect end.”

Wow. Saying it out loud made it sound even more ominous. After suffering to clear the main quest, he felt like he’d just get hit with a disappearance ending.

As Eunho trembled in fear, Yoon Iseo responded in disbelief, “It is just a script. Why are you getting so immersed?”

Eunho snapped, “What do you mean by ‘just a script’? Every single one of these words can be a clue that affects the ending.”

“Think simply. Once we clear the raid, everything will be solved. We only have Hyeonmu and Jujak left.”

“It’s not just raid clearing! Do you have any idea how many times I’ve seen people fall into ruin because they carelessly talked to an NPC and picked the wrong ending branch?”

As Eunho kept worrying like someone who genuinely believed in doomsday prophecies, Yoon Iseo didn’t even bother to hide his annoyed expression as he replied.

“It’s fine.”

“How can you say it is fine when I’m heading straight for ruin?”

“If you really end up falling into ruin, I’ll go in your place. Okay?”

Of course, that didn’t comfort him at all, so Eunho naturally ignored it.

“I think we should look for clues about the end in the village. I know you’re good at analyzing raid mechanics, but honestly, this part is my area of expertise.”

“Well, we do need to go to the village anyway.”

“Since we’re going, just trust me. I’ve already thought everything through.”

Yoon Iseo tilted his head. At some point, Eunho’s way of addressing him had shifted from hyung-nim to hyung… It probably happened during the raid when things got hectic, and Eunho kept shouting, “Hyung! Hyuuung!” until it stuck.

After briefly thinking it over, Yoon Iseo looked at Joo Eunho, who was staring daggers at him and simply decided to ignore it. He had tried to stop him several times anyway, and in the end, the one who would feel embarrassed later would be Joo Eunho.

Facing Yoon Iseo, who was very obviously lost in his own thoughts, Eunho made a frustrated expression.

This was exactly why it was impossible to hold a proper conversation with someone obsessed only with shortening skill cooldowns and clearing raids efficiently. If that guy kept living drunk on his own brilliance like that, he would trigger the destruction ending and get erased. Someone here had to stay alert, and that someone was Eunho.  

Because in the end, the heart of a game lies in its scripts and its story.

* * *

After escaping Jirisan through a teleportation spell, they climbed onto the Cheollima that Yoon Iseo summoned again. They could have ridden their own mounts separately, but…

Yoon Iseo riding a white horse while I sit in a cart.

Just imagining it was humiliating. Being carried like luggage behind Yoon Iseo was a hundred times better. With that calculation in mind, Eunho stuck close behind Yoon Iseo, and a memory of their trip to Jeju Island suddenly surfaced.

Eunho glanced at Yoon Iseo holding the reins.

Meanwhile, Yoon Iseo looked exactly like an emotionally dry middle-aged man, appearing to have absolutely no thoughts at all. Whether the lush forest bathed the surroundings in a refreshing glow or not, his indifference practically oozed from the back of his head. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

…Is he playing this game alone in god-view mode? Or does he have eyes in the back of his head?

“Wasn’t looking at Hyung.”

Flustered, Eunho answered a bit sharply.

“Mmh, now I’m missing half my face.”

Why was he childishly imitating someone else’s way of speaking^[1]?

Eunho poked Yoon Iseo’s back repeatedly. Yoon Iseo leaned back as if to say, ‘Cut it out,’ shifting his weight onto Eunho.

The moment Eunho whined, saying, “You’re so heavy,” the body pressed against his trembled. Eunho froze.

When he turned, Yoon Iseo’s eyes were curved softly, filled with playful mischief.

What was that?

It felt like coming face-to-face with something he had longed for so desperately. His stomach twisted as if he might get motion sickness.

“What’s wrong?”

“I said you’re heavy. Heavy, okay?”

Eunho pushed Yoon Iseo away and forced an awkward smile. To hide his flustered heartbeat, he grabbed handfuls of Yoon Iseo’s robe like they were reins, smacking them rhythmically.

“What are you doing? Look forward. Let’s go, let’s go. Hurry!”

Not knowing what kind of expression he was making, Yoon Iseo tilted his head slightly and sped up.