Volume 1 - CH 21

Seo Gangrim recalled the day when Yoon Geoul returned as a corpse that was extremely horrifying to look at. If it weren't for the features of the body, one wouldn't have known it was Yoon Geoul.

‘It feels strange to see him alive.’

As Seo Gangrim stared at the two of them in silence, Yoon Geoul tilted his head and said, "Why are you looking at us like that?"

"Both of you look so much alike."

Seo Gangrim lied tactfully, hiding his true thoughts. At that, Yun Geoul's face crumpled as if he'd just heard a harsh insult. He looked at Yoon Bom and said, "You say we look alike but I am better than my sister, right?"

"What are you saying to your sister! Why do you grow your hair? It's confusing because we have a similar height, too."

"Mind your own business. Besides, I'll grow taller soon."

Instead of stopping them, Seo Gangrim just watched as the two started to argue. In their past lives, Seo Gangrim's relationship with these two wasn't bad. Even when Cheon Gunam spread rumors about him stealing Destiny, Shin Sooah and these two people were still willing to hang out with him.

They were twin siblings who said they would keep in touch even after the training, but when Yoon Gyeoul went missing, our connection was cut off and ended.

Yoon Geoul went missing in the Third stage, and his body was found a week later. He was the first casualty of this place.

‘After that, Yoon Bom changed.’

The two of them often worked together. Unfortunately, before Yoon Geoul went missing, they argued over trivial matters and each went their separate ways. And when Yoon Geoul returned as a corpse, Yoon Bom, who’s always wearing a smile, never smiled again. Deep down, Seo Gangrim thought that Yoon Bom would take Yoon Geoul's corpse and leave early; instead she stuck to the training until the end but without her affectionate demeanor. Yoon Bom focused solely on hunting demons, almost as if seeking revenge for Yoon Geoul. In return, she achieved good results. In fact, among the Awakened individuals from Team 2, the three strongest were Shin Sooah, Dok Gojun, and her.

‘Yoon Bom was immediately scouted by Sura Sect.’

After leaving this place, Yoon Bom joined Sura Sect, one of the five major sects. Her specialty was sniping, and due to her, numerous members of Sura Sect's enemies silently disappeared.

═══════════════

[Name] Yoon Bom

[Rank] Dragon First Class

[Element] Gold

▼

[Ability] Perfect Markmanship

[Rank] Spirit First Class

[Description] When using long-range projectiles or abilities, it is possible to always hit the target without fail. However, the amount of mana consumed depends on the target's rank and distance.

═══════════════

═══════════════

[Name] Yoon Geoul

[Rank] Dragon First Class

[Element] Gold

▼

[Ability] One Shot, One Kill

[Rank] Spirit First Class

[Description] When using long-range projectiles or abilities, it is possible to always hit the target without fail. However, the amount of mana consumed depends on the target's rank and distance.

═══════════════

Even by looking at the Destiny Window now, it was evident that both of them were skilled marksmen. Seo Gangrim sighed briefly at the old memories.

‘I suffered a lot because of Yoon Bom. Sura Sect, where Yoon Bom is affiliated with, and Flying Tiger Sect were in a hostile relationship.’

Several members of Flying Tiger Sect were killed because of Yoon Bom. If things continued like this, Yoon Bom would once again become an enemy of Flying Tiger Sect.

In the middle of their sibling fight, Yoon Geoul spoke with an annoyed voice, "Ah, you don’t want to hunt with your sister. Gangrim-oppa, you don't have a party, right? Let's go together."

Seo Gangrim raised his head and looked at Yoon Geoul. He would soon be the one who died.

Seo Gangrim nodded, "Sure, let's go together."

Upon hearing that, Yoon Bom's face showed shock. Seeing Yoon Bom with a frightened expression like a scared puppy, Seo Gangrim added, "You too, Yoon Bom."

"Alright, thank you!"

"Eh, I don't want to go together with her... But it's better than going with my sister alone."

For at least the Third stage, Seo Gangrim decided to accompany them. After all, in this life, he had to save Yoon Geoul.

‘Yoon Geoul's Destiny indicated that he was in danger of losing his life because of the Biho-sal in his Four Pillars of Destiny.’

After the awakening day, the Four Pillars of Destiny had a greater influence than before to humans. Biho-sal was one of many negative influences that appeared in a human's Four Pillars of Destiny, such as Dohwa-sal and Yeokma-sal. Biho-sal was known for causing accidental disasters and was a deadly negative influence that led to a violent death.

Seo Gangrim wondered how far its influence would extend.

‘Can I save someone who is destined to die?’

If that were possible, then it would be possible to prevent the people of Flying Tiger Sect from dying. Furthermore, if Yoon Geoul didn't die, Yoon Bom wouldn't join Sura Sect, and there would be one less enemy of Flying Tiger Sect.

***Read at novelworldtranslations.com***

They’re not all the reasons why Seo Gangrim wanted to help them, though; it was also because they were the ones who showed kindness to him in my past life. He didn't feel like letting him die just like that.

"Then let's go first. Since it's the first day, it's better to get a feel of the atmosphere and come back."

"Yes, hyung."

Yoon Bom also nodded beside them. After Dok Gojun entered, a few others followed him into the Third stage.

The door of that room had a mountain drawn on it.

[Confirming the entrance of ‘Seo Gangrim’, ‘Yoon Bom’ and ‘Yoon Geoul’.]

[Entered the Ice Valley.]

As soon as they opened the door, a cold wind rushed in. The place was completely covered in ice and snow, and cold penetrated deep into their bones. This stage was in stark contrast to the Second stage.

[The Ice Vally stage is beginning.]

[The energy of water is circulating in this area.]

[The energy of water is influencing Seo Gangrim.]

When the cold wind blew, Seo Gangrim could already feel his shoulders getting stiff. His body right now wasn’t nearly as warm when he was in the Fire Hell just a moment ago. Yoon Bom was also shivering, feeling the cold.

[Hunt at least one monster type that appears in the Ice Valley.]

[Number of monster types hunted: 0/10]

[Time limit: 2 weeks]

Yoon Geoul looked at the task and said with excitement, "Oh, this is interesting. Let's go catch them quickly. Should we split up and search?"

"Let's not go too far today. It's only the first day."

Also, they had many preparations to make here, as they not only had to deal with demons in this stage. Seo Gangrim led the two of them to search the nearby area, and soon enough, they could see something moving on the snowy field.

"Wait here for a moment."

What Seo Gangrim was looking at was a monster that appeared in various places in this place, the Snow Rabbit.

- Chwak!

The rabbit's neck was swiftly cut off. Its movement stopped, and warm blood fell on the snow, making a hole. Seo Gangrim then spoke towards the two people waiting behind him, "I caught it."

The two approached while brushing off the snow from their eyes.

Seo Gangrim pulled out spirit pearls from the Snow Rabbit's mouth, and he stood up.

"This looks like the spirit pearl that Annaby mentioned."

"Is it really?"

"Probably. When you touch it, the shop window appears. You should try touching it, too."

After cleaning the spirit pearls with his hand, Seo Gangrim handed it to Yoon Bom, and Yoon Bom's eyes immediately widened.

"Oh? The shop window opened!"

When Yoon Bom made contact with the spirit pearls, the shop system window opened for her. When Yoon Geoul saw her concentrating on the shop window, Seo Gangrim handed him another spirit pearl, which made Yoon Geoul have a curious expression on his face.

Seo Gangrim lightly shook off the snow on his clothes and said, "I looked at the shop window for a moment. There are protective gear available. It's better to buy warm protective gear first."

The clothes provided by the Destiny Protection Bureau was quite good, but it was not suitable for extreme cold regions like this. It couldn't prevent the cold, and the shoes weren't waterproof and didn’t have thermal insulation. Wandering around in such an attire would lead to frostbite in no time.

‘Moreover, there are no safe resting areas from the third stage onward.’

The First and Second stages had resting areas prepared, but not here. Hence, if they went far and couldn't return, they would be stranded and die.

"For now, let's hunt Snow Rabbits that appear nearby to gather spirit pearls and aim to buy equipment at the shop."

After saying that, Seo Gangrim activated Flame Radiance and stuck it on the hands and feet of the two people. Since they were recognized as Seo Gangrim's companions, they wouldn't be harmed by the flames.

Yoon Bom looked with grateful eyes and said, "It's warm! Thank you..."

"How do you know all this so well? Have you played a lot of games?"

"I just roamed around a lot."

Seo Gangrim casually answered and glanced at Yoon Geoul, who was pondering with a slightly pouty expression while look at the item shop. There were no categorizations in the item shop. The thousands of items within the shop were mixed together, so anyone seeing it for the first time would be bewildered.

Although Seo Gangrim had been using the shop window for several years, he pretended not to know and asked them, "A bow? Can you shoot arrows?"

"Yes. I'm an archer. My sister is good at shooting."

Yoon Geoul pointed at Yoon Bom with his finger. Yoon Bom, the older sister, was a shooting athlete, while Yoon Geoul, the younger brother, was an archer. Together, they were known as the Divine Archery Siblings. And at a young age, they became national representatives. The surviving Yoon Bom made use of her skills and became an unparalleled sniper that no one could stand against.

‘If I prevent Yoon Geoul from dying, there will be no reason for Yoon Bom to go to Sura Sect.’

Though Flying Tiger Sect had many powerful members, they lacked a sniper of a Dragon Rank or higher.

If Seo Gangrim could recruit both Yoon Bom and Yoon Geoul...

‘I should try to guide them both to Flying Tiger Sect if possible.’