And so, two days, three days, four days passed.
Time flowed by faster than expected.
Our breathing, mine and hers, gradually improved.
We completed the conquest of Baekdu Mountain’s Heaven Lake a day earlier than anticipated.
Today is December 30th.
Now, all that remains is to wait until it becomes January 1st.
“…Not bad.”
A breathtaking view spread out before me.
It felt like we had conquered nature.
Kang Ah-rin stretched her arms high above her head beside me and took a deep breath. Her figure stood out prominently.
‘…’
I lost where to direct my gaze.
Lately, I’ve been increasingly aware of her.
Ever since that lightning-struck day, she started naturally falling asleep next to me without any chance to refuse. She just naturally took her place. Whenever I moved, she followed.
Of course, it wasn’t as close as that night, but it was close enough. As we spent day after day together, that distance became increasingly familiar. What was initially uncomfortable had now… just become natural.
There was a day like this.
Kang Ah-rin went out alone to explore.
She left on her own, declaring that she would collect data on the past Baekdu Mountain ecosystem.
I didn’t stop her and let her go since there were no monsters down below anyway.
As I waited for her by tossing firewood into the bonfire at the cabin, her scent carried by the wind brushed past me.
That familiar smell tickled my nostrils.
‘Almost here, I guess.’
Even without confirming where it was coming from, I could instinctively sense that she was approaching.
Thinking this, I lifted my head.
“What the…?”
I choked momentarily.
Could this be dangerous?
I slowly began to sense us becoming familiar with each other, with her.
Moreover, her attire was gradually becoming more wild.
Or maybe it wasn’t really “wild.”
I turned my head away and firmly declared.
“Hey, tie that up properly.”
She responded vaguely, sounding a bit regretful.
“Yes sir.”
I turned back to see her again.
Kang Ah-rin shrugged lightly and added.
“Now, all we have to do is wait.”
I nodded.
“On the 31st, it seems like it’s best to wait until midnight.”
“Uh-huh.”
She smiled faintly in response.
With Heaven Lake behind us, we descended back towards the cabin.
That evening, the cabin’s bonfire burned quietly.
And our only daily routine remained: staring into the flames. There really was nothing to do in the evening.
She was the one who broke the silence.
“By the way, what are you going to do with the fragment?”
She rested her hand on her knees and leaned on it, gazing at me.
“Anyway, you don’t know how to use it, right?”
Then her expression changed.
It was playful, even devilish.
“Or do you, Mr. Future Glory Guild Recruit? Do you know how to use the fragment?”
After pondering briefly, I answered.
The answer was already decided.
“I’ll use it.”
She suddenly hopped up.
“What? You?”
Her sharp gaze trembled.
I stared at her for a moment before calmly answering.
“What would knowing do?”
She furrowed her brow at my response.
The perfect darkness enveloped the forest and the great lake like it had swallowed them whole.
The night was silent, and there wasn’t even a sound of breathing around us.
We waited silently at the edge of Heaven Lake without even lighting a fire to avoid alerting any monsters.
How much time passed?
The long silence was broken as the ground began to rumble faintly.
The rumbling grew louder, and soon the sky was tinted emerald green.
From the darkness, green streaks of light fell, tearing through the sky, heading towards the center of Heaven Lake.
With a massive roar, the meteor struck the middle of the lake.
In an instant, the surrounding area was bathed in emerald green light.
It was the shard.
“It’s here.”
I muttered quietly.
“Wow…”
Kang Ah-rin gazed at the spectacle with awe.
The green meteor shower descending from the sky seemed to hold an almost supernatural mystical quality.
But I didn’t have time to admire it as she did.
The shard embedded in the lake was emitting a fierce light, gradually illuminating the surroundings. That light, as if alive, was emitting energy and covering the entire mountain.
“Is it over?”
She asked.
“Not yet.”
-Drrrrrr
-Drrrrrrrrk
The ground began to rumble again.
The shaking woke up the land around the lake, growing louder.
Monsters drawn to the shard’s energy appeared through the forest and mountains.
Following their instincts, they were rushing towards Heaven Lake, drawn to the powerful energy.
Monsters recognizing each other’s presence began fighting even before reaching the shard, colliding chaotically.
In the midst of that chaos, the energy was slowly consuming them.
I took a deep breath and leapt out.
“Now.”
Leaving this one word behind, I planted my feet firmly on the slope and slid down, pushing the snow and dirt away to gain speed.
Kang Ah-rin had agreed to open a path from behind.
I briefly looked back to confirm her movements.
However.
“Huh…?”
I momentarily lost my words.
Kang Ah-rin wasn’t in the agreed-upon position but had already passed me.
No, to be precise, she was racing ahead of me.
She hadn’t slid down the slope but ran straight towards the lake fearlessly.
‘Is she insane…?’
I gaped at her back.
It was already too late. She was quickly approaching the shard.
I immediately emitted mana for her.
Releasing mana to create a path through the water, I secured her route.
The light illuminating the lake suddenly went out.
Not long after, Kang Ah-rin emerged from the lake and extended her hand to me.
“Here.”
She presented an ordinary-looking rock with a satisfied expression.
“Didn’t we agree you’d give it to me?”
I instantly recognized it as the shard.
The complete darkness enveloped us as the surrounding space began to shatter like fragments.
Starting from Heaven Lake, cracks were gradually forming.
“Why is this happening?”
As soon as the shard, the temporal axis constructing this timeline, disappeared, the cracks spread uncontrollably.
Before long, even the cabin would crumble, sending us back to our original era.
“Just because it’s fun, you know?”
Her sudden action had left me bewildered.
However, she smiled innocently and handed over the shard to my hand as if it was nothing.
We headed toward the cabin as the world gradually crumbled.
Opening the door and entering, we waited to return to the present.
I sat down and gazed at the shard, which looked like an ordinary rock.
The surface, glowing emerald, clearly revealed the system’s markings.
It was indeed the shard.
‘Alright.’
I nodded.
After all, as long as I obtained it, doesn’t that resolve everything?
Even after entering the cabin, Kang Ah-rin continued to wander around.
It seemed she felt some lingering attachment, gently brushing her fingertips over the walls and furniture as she looked around.
“I don’t want to go~”
“Why not?”
She turned to me with a playful smile.
“Because it’s been so relaxing and enjoyable.”
I chuckled slightly.
“That could happen, I guess.”
Since Kang Yu-seong’s death, she had taken on most of the responsibilities.
Her recent busy schedule was apparent.
Suddenly, her gaze brightened as she approached me.
“Hey, you’re really not going to tell me how to use that?”
I pondered for a moment.
Anyway, she would need to use the shard in the future.
Of course, it was currently hidden deep within the Pentagon basement, securely locked away, but someday.
Perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt to teach her the method now in case she might have to use it alone later.
“Watch carefully.”
I held up the shard for her to see.
“Grab the shard firmly with your left hand.”
It’s the hand closer to your heart.
I demonstrated personally, performing the same action.
“Then, close your eyes and summon the system. Do you know what I mean?”
When you summon the system, your list of abilities will appear.
I actually called the system.
===
[Abilities: ]
===
‘Hmph.’
It was bitter.
Now that Death Regression was gone, my abilities list was entirely empty.
“Next, just silently repeat it in your mind. ‘I accept the system’… like this.”
“The shard will emit light afterward.”
I concluded my explanation while maintaining steady eye contact with her.
Her face was filled with joy.
“Wow… like that?”
“Yes, exactly like that.”
‘Like that?’
I quickly turned my head.
At that moment, a frantic vibration passed through the hand holding the shard.
Emerald green light seeped through my fingers, emitting a fierce glow.
‘Shit?’
Instinctively, I tried to release the shard.
But that moment, Kang Ah-rin placed her hand over mine.
‘Gyaak’
She tightly gripped my hand, intertwining her fingers firmly as if afraid I’d let go.
“Ah~ so this is how it’s done.”
This was no longer a joke.
A clear sign of perfect absorption began, and confusion filled my mind.
“Hey, let go… this!”
I cried out in confusion, but she paid it no heed.
I gathered all my mana to try to detach her, but Kang Ah-rin forcefully summoned her mana to resist.
And then.
-Thunk
She wrapped her legs around my body and locked them around my waist while tightly embracing with her arms.
There was no way to escape her intense grip despite my twisting.
I couldn’t move.
She adjusted her hips and met my gaze.
“Didn’t I tell you?”
Her eyes burned deeply and intensely.
“The shard might be yours…”
A soft voice like melting drifted through the space.
“But from now on, you’re mine too.”
A glance out the window showed that the crumbling world had finally reached near the cabin.
Time was running out.
She smiled alluringly and slowly brought her lips close to my ear.
“But… do you know what?”
Her soft, low voice brushed past my ear, whispering.
“Actually, I’m already yours, too.”
At the end of her whisper, the air rippled.
A sign of time travel.
Simultaneously, the shard emitted a burst of light.
And my vision was once again bathed in white.
