The Mystery of the Mark

Clang, clang!

Heedo began to drive Mr. Jeong-won back with a speed that blurred the vision. Yet, despite the wooden sword clashing against a steel blade, the wood didn’t splinter; instead, it rang out with the clear resonance of metal hitting metal. A faint shroud of sword-qi protected the wooden surface.

As he retreated, parrying each of Heedo’s strikes, Mr. Jeong-won maintained his effortless smile. It was as if he were simply conducting a test.

“You have an instinctive sense for finding the right movements, Heedo.”

“……!”

However, the test soon reached its end. With those words, Mr. Jeong-won began to swing his arms in graceful, sweeping arcs.

Heedo managed to block the first two strikes easily, but soon his composure broke. He bit his lip hard, his body being forced further and further back as things stopped going his way.

Clatter!

Finally, the sword Heedo had been gripping flew from his hand and tumbled across the floor. Mr. Jeong-won tapped Heedo’s shoulder lightly with his wooden sword before continuing his critique.

“But instinctive movements carry a lot of dead weight. You should practice trimming away the excess.”

“…….”

Heedo fell silent, but his expression was dark. Looking at that scowling face, Mr. Jeong-won asked once more, almost teasingly.

“Do you accept the result?”

Heedo flinched, his brow furrowing deeper, before finally answering.

“……I do. Right now, you’re definitely several levels above me.”

“Hahaha. You’ll be able to catch up soon enough, so don’t be too disheartened.”

“…….”

Perhaps thinking Mr. Jeong-won was mocking him, Heedo’s expression turned fierce for a moment, but he kept his mouth shut.

He didn’t look defeated, though. In young Heedo’s face, I saw a burning competitive spirit. It was a raw, honest expression—one I had never seen on his twenty-four-year-old self.

“You’re practically entranced, aren’t you?”

“……Brother.”

Someone had been watching my gaze closely. Being caught by Seong-hun, of all people, made me feel incredibly embarrassed. He looked at me with a chiding glare.

“Can you finally see your brother now?”

“Ah, stop it……”

“He doesn’t even seem to know who you are, so why are you so desperate, like you haven’t seen each other in years?”

“It—It’s not like that!”

I waved my hand at him, pressing a finger to my lips to signal him to lower his voice. Seong-hun looked back and forth between my desperate face and Heedo standing in the distance, then curled one corner of his mouth upward.

“I think I should drop by often to give some ‘lessons’ myself. Since they’ll be joining our party soon, I ought to see how they handle themselves against me.”

His words made sense, but since he said it while glaring at Heedo, I gave his sleeve a sharp tug. He leaned down toward me obediently.

“Seriously, what is wrong with you!”

“It’s because you’re acting out of character. Are you really not going to tell me?”

“…….”

“I’d like to know where you met him and what happened between you two.”

Realizing that my brother was feeling genuinely hurt, I fell silent.

In truth, I had spent a lot of time debating whether to tell him everything—not just about Heedo, but about the fact that I had traveled back in time. He was the only person I could rely on right now, and he possessed immense power. Most importantly, I didn’t want to lose him pointlessly like I had before.

But what if I speak and something vital changes?

Thinking about how my actions had already shifted relationships and messed up the timeline of the first ’round,’ I hesitated to reach out for help. Furthermore, I had no proof of my time travel. Before, I had the pendant, but now, there was truly nothing.

“……I’m sorry. I can’t say anything right now.”

I decided to keep my words to myself until the ‘Omens’ began. Specifically, considering the events that occurred before his disappearance, I wasn’t sure if telling him early was the right choice. Still, my heart felt heavy at the thought of disappointing him.

“Why are you acting so sorry about it?”

Seeing my darkened expression, he let out a short laugh and comforted me.

“I’ve known you were hiding something. For a while now.”

“……!”

“You must have your reasons, so tell me when you’re ready. I don’t know what you’re hesitating for—it’s not like there’s anything you can’t tell your brother.”

“…….”

Seong-hun ruffled my hair with his large hand and laughed. I stared blankly at his smile.

I really can’t…… Lose him again.

I closed my eyes with that thought. The ‘Omens’ would begin in about a month. The monster population would explode, and the bosses of every dungeon would become far more powerful. Many people lost their lives because of that.

My brother would realize these weren’t just random occurrences and begin investigating with his party. In the midst of that, the Monster Wave would hit…… and then, he would vanish.

I won’t let it happen like that again.

To prevent it, I needed power. At least enough to follow him.

Suddenly, my eyes met Mr. Jeong-won’s. He approached me with a faint smile.

“Han Sol, you mentioned you’re a debuffer who uses curses, right?”

“……Yes.”

“Could you share your skill tree with me?”

“Sure.”

“……Hm, straightforward. I like it.”

Most people were reluctant to share their skills, but I was in a position where I needed Mr. Jeong-won’s help to grow. I showed him my skill tree immediately.

[Player: Han Sol] Level: 80 Class: Debuffer Rank: C Skills: > — Heavy Footsteps (Potency 30/31) — Darkened Pupils (Potency 30/31) — Shrouded Hide (Potency 30/31) — ? (Potency 2/20)

“Hmm…… your level is higher than I expected?”

I flinched at his remark, but luckily, my brother didn’t seem to think much of it. Mr. Jeong-won also didn’t press me on the level.

“Do you know what this question mark at the bottom is?”

“……No.”

He seemed more curious about the question mark in the skill list. But that was a mystery to me as well. Mr. Jeong-won asked in a warm voice:

“I assume this question mark appeared some time after your initial skill tree was formed, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Interesting. I’ve only seen this happen once before……”

“Once?”

“Yes. I suppose brothers really do take after each other, even in this?”

“……Pardon?”

I reflexively looked at Seong-hun. He said nothing, but Mr. Jeong-won continued from behind me.

“Seong-hun had a skill that showed up as a question mark too, and it eventually became his most powerful ability. Right?”

“Right. Sol has a question mark too?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good then.”

I was flustered as the two of them went back and forth, but Mr. Jeong-won tapped my shoulder as if telling me to relax.

“Once the potency reaches 5 or higher, the skill name should reveal itself. I can’t be certain, but that’s how it was for Seong-hun.”

“5 or higher……”

I repeated the number 5, memorizing this unexpected hint. Mr. Jeong-won then asked another question.

“Do you remember what actions you took when that level went up?”

“……No.”

Seeing my expression, Mr. Jeong-won spoke soothingly.

“Oh, don’t look so despairing. People like me exist to help with exactly that.”

“……T—Thank you.”

It was then. Seong-hun narrowed his eyes at Mr. Jeong-won and suddenly yanked me back. I ended up leaning my back against his chest.

“Brother?”

I looked up at him, puzzled, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring intently at Mr. Jeong-won.

“You’re being suspiciously kind, aren’t you?”

Mr. Jeong-won’s eyes went wide. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you dare try your cheap tricks on my brother.”

“What? Pwahahaha!”

Seeing Mr. Jeong-won doubling over with laughter made me feel more embarrassed than my brother seemed to be. I punched Seong-hun’s arm with a red face.

“Wh-what are you even saying, Brother?!”

“Jeong-won is a younger-guy killer.”

“Ahahahahaha.”

“He’s a playboy, too.”

“That’s harsh, man. Truly harsh.”

“Brother, have you actually lost your mind?”

I was caught in the middle, fidgeting with embarrassment at my brother’s over-the-top reaction. But Seong-hun, with a stern expression, warned Mr. Jeong-won one last time.

“My brother is strictly off-limits. Keep that in mind.”