# 16
016
Quests are all finished.
Daesung sat at the top of the tree and leisurely looked at the bright red sky as if it were filled with fireworks.
‘…but it’s not the time to relax.’
About an hour had passed since I passed through the Pantheon and entered the Forest of Predators.
There was no way to know whether real time actually passed the same way until I went out and checked for myself.
’80 years in hell were 10 years on earth.’
If an hour passed the same way on Earth, it would be a bit difficult.
If an hour had passed since then, there was a high possibility that either Hyejeong or Jisoo would have returned home.
However, you will be quite surprised when you come home and realize that Daesung, who was discharged from the hospital this morning, is not there.
‘Rotten. ‘Give me some quickly.’
As was the case with the Advent quest at the hospital, there was some delay in the payment of rewards or progress in the implementation work.
That was when Daesung became impatient and stamped his feet.
[Loading of the materialization item ‘Subspace Pocket’ has been completed!]
[2000pt of merit points has been paid!] [
Loading of the reward item ‘Dagger of Judgment’ has been completed!] [
Now, in the world of any dimension, The item can be used!]
The messages continued.
‘Sometime…’
He reached out his hand to the side after being ‘conscious’ of using the subspace pocket.
Then the empty space rippled like ripples on the surface of the water.
Daesung’s hand was deeply immersed in the ripples.
‘Dagger of Judgment.’
And the moment I became aware of the dagger of judgment I had just received as a reward, my hand buried in the ripples caught something.
When he pulled back his hand, which was wrapped up to his wrist, he suddenly found a dagger in his hand.
‘The subspace pocket is working fine… Is this the dagger of judgment?’
Daesung looked closely at the referee’s dagger he took out of his pocket.
A silver dagger with a mysterious character engraved on its sharp blade.
I want to check the information on this, but I’ll do that later…
‘Let’s go out quickly first.’
A black crack was floating in the air next to Daesung.
[Would you like to exit the area and return to the Pantheon? Yes / No]
[Do you want to leave the Pantheon? Yes / No]
‘There is no reason to stop by the Pantheon.’
Of course, the one he chose was the latter.
Soon Daesung’s body was sucked into the crack.
The time has come to collect 500 million won.
***
“…Okay.”
Daesung,
who returned to Earth through the crack, relaxed the tense muscles in his shoulders.
Now all you have to do is go back to the loan sharks’ office and sweep out all the money in the safe.
Then, Daesung suddenly looked up at the sky and realized that the sun was slowly setting.
Even before entering the Pantheon, the sky that had been sunset was slowly becoming dark.
Daesung clicked the tip of his tongue.
‘…It seems like an hour has passed on Earth as well.’
If so, you should hurry.
Daesung arrived at the entrance of the building and took the elevator to the office.
I passed over the corpses of the large men still lying around and approached the safe.
Daesung grabbed the bundle of yellow Shin Saimdang bundles of 20 and stretched his arm to the side.
Then, the bundle of money in my hand was sucked in as if it were disappearing into subspace.
Swoosh, swoosh –
His hand as he moved the money was unstoppable.
As the size of the pile of money gradually decreased, the amount of money stored inside the pocket increased.
“Viewing subspace information.”
As I spoke the command, a list window appeared in front of me.
[List of treasures]
Weapon: Dagger of Judgment
Other: Korean currency (100000000)
I earned 100 million in less than 2 minutes.
Of course, Daesung was more satisfied with the fact that the subspace pocket was functioning properly than with the fact that he had earned 100 million.
“It’s okay here…”
Daesung, who had completely taken out a safe, headed to the next office.
And similarly, he put the 100 million won in the safe into his pocket.
So 100 million became 200 million and 200 million became 300 million…
About 5 minutes passed?
In this way, a total of 500 million won in cash came into Daesung’s hands.
‘…At this level, Mom and Jisoo will have less trouble.’
Suddenly, as Daesung was thinking about his family, something he had forgotten flashed through his mind.
The food my mother made.
I was wondering why I was so hungry earlier, and I couldn’t eat.
“Damn bastards.”
Daesung looked back at the corpses of the dead loan sharks, giving off a strong bloody smell, and after saying that, he left the building.
***
Daesung arrived home soon.
When he opened the front door and entered the living room, Hyejeong greeted him.
She had just gotten home from work and was changing her clothes.
“Oh son!”
“mom.”
“Where are you coming from? “No, I was surprised when I came home and you weren’t there.”
“….”
I can’t honestly tell you what happened.
Daesung came up with a plausible excuse.
“Take a short walk.”
“Not even eating? “I prepared it for you… but it didn’t taste good?”
“No, I don’t have much of an appetite. “I’m hungry after walking for a while.”
“Yes.”
Hyejeong smiled with relief on her face.
It seems that he was secretly worried that the rice he made might not suit his son’s taste.
“Oh, but a walk is worth a walk. “The rice is all cold.”
“sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
Hyejeong burst into laughter again and put on her apron.
“It went well anyway. “Jisoo will be home soon, so we can eat this all at once.”
“uh.”
Hyejeong cleaned up the table filled with cold food.
Daesung looked at it with a slightly regretful look.
I had been planning to eat it since a while ago, but I thought it was a bit of a waste since there was a lot of food on the table.
‘…Let’s just wait until Jisu comes.’
Still, it doesn’t feel too bad.
A meal with family for the first time in 80 years.
I could wait for this level of hunger and disappointment.
***
“Whoa! “What kind of feast is this?”
After a while.
Jisoo returned home from work and was amazed when she saw the food on the table.
“I guess you put in some effort because it was the day your brother was discharged from the hospital? “Where is my mom who always nags me to eat well?”
“Stop talking nonsense, Jisoo, wash your hands quickly and sit down. “It’s almost done.”
“Yes yes.”
Jisoo giggled and went into the bathroom.
Then he stuck his head out through the crack in the door and suddenly raised his thumb towards Daesung.
“Congratulations on your discharge, brother.”
“uh.”
“Ha, what can I do with that dull reaction? “It will take another thousand years for me to regain my sense of humor.”
After a while.
The whole family started eating around the table on the floor.
A large bowl of kimchi stew, stir-fried pork, and various side dishes of various vegetables and kimchi.
Even fluffy cooked rice with warm steam rising from it.
As Jisoo just said, it was quite a grand menu, considering that not a single penny was a thing of the past.
It was all prepared for Daesung.
The colorful side dishes seemed to be condescending, asking when would they eat like this if not on this day.
Slurp –
Daesung lifted his spoon and took a sip of the stew soup.
There was no need for long words.
Any rhetoric was unnecessary.
When I was in hell, I would roast and eat the flesh of the demon beasts I had just killed.
It didn’t have any seasoning or seasoning, and it didn’t taste like beef, pork, or chicken.
It was bland and tough…
and I got sick several times.
“….”
As he continued to eat like that, his sense of taste changed strangely at some point.
The tongue organ, which mainly senses pungent tastes, may have degenerated.
But now…
“How does it taste, son?”
“….”
The moment the well-boiled red soup touches my tongue.
I felt like my eyes were sparkling.
It was a thrill that could not be compared to when a memory chip restored my memory.
Dead taste cells survived 80 years and came back to life.
Daesung nodded.
“delicious.”
“Eat a lot, son. Because there is a lot of rice. “Do you need anything else?”
“This is enough.”
Daesung’s hand moving the spoon gradually became faster.
‘This is it.’
The food my mom cooked.
This was enough.
Than when I completed the Embodiment quest in the Predator’s Forest and got the reward.
Compared to when I swept 500 million won in cash into my subspace pocket.
He thought that his mother’s meal was more important now.
No, even comparing them would be a terrible example.
“…sniff.”
It was Hyejeong who suddenly started crying.
Jisoo, who saw that, chewed her rice and wiped away her tears.
“Oh mom. “Why are you crying so that the food tastes bad?”
“But… that.”
Hyejeong realized that she had no choice and hurriedly calmed down her emotions.
“It’s been 10 years… right? “This is how the whole family gets together and eats together.”
Daesung wasn’t the only one who missed this moment.
Every time she saw the empty living room, Hyejeong swallowed her sadness and thought.
How nice it would be to see my son sit there and eat.
I thought about how happy I would be if I talked to my daughter, Jisoo.
That wish was becoming a reality at this moment.
After Hyejeong tried to stop her tears, she looked back at Daesung and said in a voice full of despair.
“I love you, son.”
“me too.”
Although it may not seem like there was any soul in it, Daesung was also sincere in his own way.
It’s just that I’m not good at expressing myself.
“….”
Daesung
and Hyejeong’s gaze naturally turned to Jisoo.
Jisoo hiccuped and opened her eyes.
“Why are you both looking at me all of a sudden? what. “You don’t want to hear me say you love me, do you?”
“….”
Daesung did not answer.
He just stares at her with eyes that show no emotion at all.
Actually, no one knew what he was thinking right now.
The corners of Jisoo’s mouth trembled.
“Seed. “I cringe while eating…”
She sighed and placed a piece of pork on Daesung’s rice bowl.
“ruler. “It’s my heart.”
“….”
Daesung tilted his head.
Hyejeong, who was watching from the side, burst into laughter.
***
Dawn.
After eating, Hyejeong and Jisoo fell into a deep sleep.
“….”
On the other hand, Daesung could not fall asleep easily.
There is also a reason why the rhythm of life has not yet significantly escaped the time in hell.
But it wasn’t just because of that.
A lot of thoughts came to mind. I needed some time to organize my thoughts.
“….”
He looked at the faces of his family members sleeping on the bedding.
The whole family has to sleep in a narrow, one-room room.
Still, both Hyejeong and Jisoo’s sleeping faces were full of happiness.
Daesung looked at that expression and made a low promise.
‘I must protect this happiness.’
He realized little by little.
Life in hell was harsh.
If you let your guard down even a little, you will lose your life to merciless demon beasts.
That means that it is enough to just take care of your own life.
There was nothing else to think about other than that, so my head didn’t get complicated.
But Earth is different.
Here, there is a ‘family’ that must be protected other than oneself.
Of course, it’s not like there are magic beasts threatening your life all the time.
But happiness, even if it wasn’t such a monster, was like a mirage that could disappear overnight.
‘That has to be stopped.’
If those who do not know the subject dare to threaten their families –
‘Then, like today, I will slaughter them even with the help of the Pantheon.’
With firm determination.
Daesung quietly clenched his fists.