The Start of Her Return (6)

Go Hae-Yoon’s eyes widened after he heard my answer.

“Although crossing the bridge is much more dangerous, we can’t carry a large amount of baggage with us for an hour. It might be possible for us since we’re in our 20s, but most of the people here are middle-aged and older.”

“What if we try to reduce our baggage as much as possible…”

“Do you think you could just stroll into the indoor sports stadium so easily? There should be a huge mess right now due to a lack of resources. If we don’t pack enough, we’ll most likely be rejected at the door.”

It seemed that Go Hae-Yoon had more to say, but kept quiet instead. Even though the risks were extremely high, there was no other choice. If they chose to not bring any supplies, they would be rejected at the indoor sports stadium’s entrance and would wait for death.

“Mr. Seol. How far can you see with Reconnaissance?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I can see as far as my sight covers.”

That was sufficient.

“Please use Reconnaissance and scout the area as near to the bridge as possible. At least we’ll know whether the bridge would crumble while crossing it.”

He frowned, seemingly uncomfortable at my commanding tone, but still nodded in acknowledgment. I had no time to care nor entertain their little discontents.

“But… The others may have more complaints as well, since there are still risks when crossing the bridge.” Kim Tae-Byeong cautiously asked, but I was resolute.

“I’ll only bring along those who are willing to join. I don’t care about those who wish to stay here.” I made it clear that I would leave people without hesitation. Everyone seemed to have understood the underlying meaning as they stiffened at my words.

I firmly declared my stance.“Regardless of how many of you come along, I will definitely leave here and head to the indoor sports stadium.”

***

The night sky could be seen clearly through the now crumbled wall. As usual, the night sky was littered with either stars or satellites that twinkled occasionally.

After the whole uproar from before, as I looked up at the lonely night sky, a few thoughts regarding this current situation came to mind.

Firstly, is this reality or just a delusion?

It was too ridiculous to call it a reality, but there were too many strangers to call it a delusion. Was I this imaginative before? Otherwise, did I subconsciously have lingering feelings during this period? Something like, how would things have turned out if I chose to do it in this manner instead?

And secondly, if this was reality… why did I return to the past?

It was ridiculous to even say that I had traveled through time and came back into the past. If all of this was real, what was the reason for my return into the past?

It became much more difficult to guess as I recalled the time before I transmigrated.

I had spent three miserable years in this cherished gate. During that period, I met countless hunters who came in an attempt to clear the gate, and forged strong relationships with them while we cleared the gate. I even knew truths to things that I did not wish to know… and I put an end to everything as I made the final sacrifice.

As soon as I made my escape, I had received so many countless love calls from various large-scale guilds, it came to the point where I had gotten tired of them. My value had skyrocketed as a secondhand rookie who had just proved her abilities in a gate. However, I rejected all the calls, and made my way into an average guild.

The Defiants.

Well… It was the guild which the hunter, Pyo Hye-Won, was a guild leader of. Though she did not make it out, she had taught me a lot. After her death, her younger brother took over the guild, and I chose to stay with The Defiants to help him, and continue Pyo Hye-Won’s volition.

I knew instinctively who the enemies were in the gate, as they furtively casted their shadows on me.

Just how hard did we fight…?

Just when I started to become attached to that pointy-eared guy after numerous battles as nemeses, we decided to bet everything we had on the final battle and I stood alongside them at the forefront.