The Diverging Path

Having struggled and crawled through the mud in Yu Se-rim’s party, I had learned that even low-rankers could achieve incremental growth.

At the time, Yu Se-rim had offered his congratulations, but his attitude was that of someone who already knew it would happen. Of course, he hadn’t been particularly thrilled by my progress either. After all, even “grown,” I was still just a C-rank.

Right… anyway, it’s a relief my abilities stayed the same. Even if it’s a nightmare that I have to run into that son of a b*tch Yu Se-rim again.

Thinking this, I glared at one of the Wyverns circling in the air, targeting the fleeing villagers, and chanted my skill.

“[Shrouded Hide]!”

The targeted Wyvern flinched. It stopped its pursuit of a villager and turned its head toward me.

[Shrouded Hide] is a skill that makes a monster perceive me as an ally.

Soon, a look of curiosity began to creep into the Wyvern’s hideous eyes. It almost looked as if it were asking, ‘Why are you standing there?’

[Success.]

The skill took hold, as expected. Before the regression, my skills had worked on dungeon monsters, which meant a mere field Wyvern was something I could handle alone now.

I watched the Wyvern waddle toward me as it landed, and I smiled, reaching to turn the ring on my finger—but then…

Oh, damn it!

I suddenly remembered that while irritably stripping off the soaked party uniform earlier, I had thrown away all my accessories too. Those items had also been given to me by Yu Se-rim.

…What do I do now?

I didn’t have the physical strength to take down a Wyvern with my bare hands. Just as I was weighing my options—

Whir— Snap!

From behind me, I heard the faintly whistle of a whip—a sound now far too familiar. I froze in place, unable to even think of turning around.

Thump.

At the mere thought of Yu Se-rim, my heart reacted first. But it wasn’t the fluttering of affection I had felt before.

The memory of the gaze he gave me as he turned away, leaving me to drown in the icy water—the expression he wore as he looked at something worthless and contemptible—shattered my already broken heart once more.

[Grrrrr…]

But now was not the time to be paralyzed by his entrance. As the skill began to wear off, the Wyvern started shaking its head.

I bit my lip, steeled my resolve, and turned around. I shouted out loud.

“Over here—!”

Crunch—! [Munch, munch.]

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—unlike a year ago, it was Ahn Hwa-young, a member of his party, who appeared first instead of Yu Se-rim.

The pink summon that Ahn Hwa-young rode every day acted “cute” while aggressively crunching down on the Wyvern. Perched on top of it, Ahn Hwa-young looked down at me with a sullen expression.

[Buuuuuurp~~!]

Soon, the summon let out a belch that reeked of raw blood. I wanted to cover my nose at the disgusting stench, but knowing the kind of person Ahn Hwa-young was, I refrained.

Ahn Hwa-young. S-Rank Summoner. Her quirk… she speaks through her summons. Meaning, she doesn’t open her own mouth to talk; she lets her creatures voice her thoughts.

[Hwa-young says she has discovered an interesting Shaman-yoi.]

Just like that. Even though the summon was speaking, those were Ahn Hwa-young’s thoughts.

Having spent a year adapting to this incomprehensible behavior, I wasn’t distracted by the talking monster and could look Ahn Hwa-young straight in the eye.

Ahn Hwa-young looked down, scanning me thoroughly. Of course, the moment our eyes met, she flinched and turned her head as if she hadn’t been looking.

[Hwa-young says she is curious about your rank-yoi.]

“…I’m C-Rank.”

[Hwa-young says she finds that hard to believe-yoi. She thinks the spell you just used showed a very high level of proficiency-yoi!]

“Believe it or not, that’s your choice.”

I said only that and turned my body away completely. I had no desire to get entangled with these party members ever again.

…Sigh.

However, the moment I turned around, I felt like biting my tongue. Standing there were Pyo Yu-jeong, wearing a frigid expression, and Yu Se-rim, looking at me with a faint, intrigued smile.

“…” “…” “…”

In that brief standoff, I didn’t even dare to project my hatred toward Yu Se-rim.

If I did, I’d be killed before I could even collect my bones. Yu Se-rim acts like he’s refined, but he has never let anyone who harbors murderous intent toward him live.

Thus, I simply clenched my fists and gave a small nod of my head. Acting as though I was merely silenced by shock was the best performance I could give right now.

“Se-rim nim! Thank you!” “Thank you! We’re alive because of you…” “Thank you!” “Yu Se-rim nim…”

Fortunately, a crowd of villagers rushed in, filling the space between Yu Se-rim and me. I tried to use the opportunity to escape the scene quickly, but…

“Wait a moment. You, the Shaman over there. What is your name?”

Suddenly, Yu Se-rim was addressing me. My heart hammered against my ribs, and my body turned to ice.

“W-what is it…?”

Did he notice something?

I glared at him warily, but Yu Se-rim merely maintained that inscrutable smile.

But then…

“Sol! Why are you hesitating? His name is Han Sol. He’s Han Seong-hun’s younger brother!”

Kim Ji-woo suddenly jumped out and blurted out not just my name, but my brother’s name as well.

This guy… he didn’t die?

The fact that Kim Ji-woo was alive was one thing, but hearing him babble about me to Yu Se-rim felt like a cruel joke of fate.

From Kim Ji-woo’s perspective, he probably wanted to help me or just have a chance to speak with Yu Se-rim, but for me, it felt like a bizarre repetition of the past.

‘I am Han Sol… the younger brother of Han Seong-hun.’ ‘Ah.’

Unknowingly, I flinched and took a step back. But contrary to the indifference he showed when I had spoken those words myself in the past, Yu Se-rim showed a vastly different attitude this time.

“Ah, Han Seong-hun-ssi… I received a great deal of help from Seong-hun-ssi as well.”

The bastard smiled hypocritically as he spoke to me.

Why is he acting so friendly?

Seeing that business-like smile only heightened my guard.

“…Ah, yes.”

After I squeezed out that curt response, the atmosphere turned icy, as if the onlookers were thinking, ‘How dare he act that way to Yu Se-rim?’ I felt a poke in my side and turned to see Kim Ji-woo.

Even in front of Yu Se-rim, who had incredibly sharp ears, Kim Ji-woo whispered a reproach to me.

“Hey! This is a great chance. You said you had to find your brother. Ask Se-rim nim for a favor.”

“No, that’s…”

He was right, but my current mindset was that I could never, ever party with a piece of trash like Yu Se-rim again.

Yu Se-rim had pretended to help me find my brother but had never actually lifted a finger. Furthermore, after being so miserably abandoned, the idea of joining his party again was unthinkable.

Besides, I…

From the very beginning, I fell for him and acted like a dog. I lived and died by his every word… f*ck.

Remembering those “dark history” moments made me want to distance myself from him even more.

However, Yu Se-rim must have heard Kim Ji-woo’s whispering, as the smile on his lips deepened. I knew by now that when he smiled like that, he intended to get his way. And so, despite my dread…

“You are looking for Han Seong-hun-ssi?”

“Yes.”

“It must be hard to search on your own. How about looking for him with us?”

“…What?”

He made a ridiculous proposal.

“Se-rim nim!”

Pyo Yu-jeong called out to him, clearly flabbergasted by this nonsensical suggestion, but Yu Se-rim ignored her and kept his eyes fixed on me.

What the hell is going on? Why is this playing out differently than before?

I looked at Yu Se-rim, stunned. But the man even reached out a hand, as if to show he was serious.

“I am asking how you would feel about joining our party.”

“…”

“W-wow…”

Kim Ji-woo looked back and forth between us, unable to hide his envy.

The other party members who had gathered felt the same. Some looked on with interest, others with scowls, watching our confrontation.

Naturally, upon hearing Yu Se-rim’s proposal, I couldn’t help but think one thing.