"Yosh!"
Sinex landed on the standing wood, her arms spread apart as she balanced herself.
In front of her was a thick forest, dark even though the sun was out.
Ha Joon, with his hand in his pocket, walked forward, "Why did you drag me all the way here? You know I have to supervise the reconstruction of the main capital. Yukio is waiting for me there."
"It will be quick, promise." Sinex leaped down from the wood and pointed towards the forest, "It's just in there."
Ha Joon looked towards the forest, the darkness within really unsettling.
'I don't even need my perception skill to tell it's a total no-go area. It's still in Camelot regardless, meaning my responsibility.'
He sighed, "Alright, fine. Just hurry up."
"Haiiii!"
Sinex grabbed him by the hand and began to lead him towards the forest.
The moment he stepped foot into the darkness—
[Your perception skill is spiking up. I advise retreating to reassess the situation.]
Even Ha Joon could tell this; the expression on his face was proof of it.
He immediately pulled his hand away from Sinex's grasp, "Sinex, what exactly did you see?"
Sinex looked at him, "Oh? I saw a bunch of kids playing around here, but they went missing when I chased them in, so I wanted to show you..."
'Kids?'
Ding!
[You have a new side quest.]
[Side quest: Helping the lost children.]
[Objective: The children of the woods are lonely, the children of the woods are crying. You have the ability to help, so do it.]
[Reward: None!]
'Wait! Screw the quest, you're telling me there are children lost in these woods? Open up the map, let's track them down.'
[....]
'Ciel?'
A truck was speeding towards his position.
Ha Joon's eyes widened. The kid he was once holding was no longer there, and somehow he was in the middle of the road—his instinct telling him to move... move... move.
He jumped to the side, his body rolling on the sidewalk as the truck sped past him, the driver yelling in anger.
It took Ha Joon a minute to finally realize it.
'Cemented ground... truck...'
Shock was written on his face as he looked up, only to see people dressed in modern outfits, cars speeding on the road, and tall skyscrapers with characters on billboards.
Things that could never exist in Camelot.
There was no doubt about it.
"I'm... back in Korea?"
"Young man, are you alright?"
A woman who had just walked out of the store closest to Ha Joon asked, clearly noticing how weirdly Ha Joon was dressed.
In fact, everyone who could see him was surprised. They thought he was simply a cosplayer being way too serious about his job.
"Yeah, sure... I'm fine," Ha Joon stood up, shock still glued to his face.
How? He had just stepped out of the forest, so how did he end up in Korea? Was he sent back? Or perhaps he was just imagining the whole thing.
Ring! Ring!
His phone vibrated in his grasp.
Slowly, he turned the screen, only to see the person calling him.
{Mom 2 calling...}
'W...what the hell is this?'
Ha Joon looked around again one last time, taking in every detail, but yet, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
Gulp~
He swallowed his saliva and gently placed the phone to his ear after picking it up.
"Hello?"
(Honey? Thank goodness I was able to reach you. Hurry back home, Rachel is looking for you. She said you left your apartment, and she couldn't find you. Don't make the poor girl worry about you like that... come home.)
"Holy shit, I've finally gone insane, haven't I?"