[Han Yuhyun (S)

Duplicate record exists. Would you like to settle with the current achievement record or the past achievement record?]

Past achievement record. My heart dropped. I’d gone back in time and basically become someone else—so why were the records─

[Park Yerim (S)

Duplicate record exists. Would you like to settle with the current achievement record or the past achievement record?]

At that moment, Yerim and Noah also received messages about duplicate achievements. Could this be because traces of meeting my past and future selves in the Nightmare Dungeon were causing it? There had been no past-North Noah, but since the record said he had met Riet, maybe some record had carried over.

“What’s wrong, hyung?”

Yuhyun, seated next to me on the sofa, asked. Yerim, who was rummaging through Yuhyun’s room, peeked her head in.

“Is something wrong? But apart from some old textbooks and a few books, I don’t think there’s anything. Just Han Yuhyun’s school uniform.”

“They must have been based on my memories. I probably didn’t remember every little thing.”

“As expected, uncle’s room─”

“I said no.”

I haven’t even checked my own room yet. There might not be anything strange, but there could be a household ledger or diary left behind. That would be embarrassing.

“No doodles in the textbooks either. Hey, Han Yuhyun. Did you keep a diary? You didn’t, right?”

“Yuhyun used to write a diary diligently when he was little. I think I was in first grade of elementary school? I haven’t seen one since then, so if there’s a diary here, it’ll be blank.”

He used to do his homework on his own. I don’t think he kept writing after middle school.

“Anyway, we have to choose which achievement record to settle.”

“Choose one?”

“Yes. The China Dungeon was before the regression. So those achievement records seem to have been applied. The achievements themselves are probably more numerous before the regression.”

There’s more than a four-year gap in time... Noah’s achievements would likely be even fewer.

“But I can’t know if all pre-regression achievements will be reflected. They said it’s impossible to check in advance for security reasons. Maybe because it’s the same person but, at the same time, a different person.”

It’s definitely the same person, but we lived more than half a year very differently. If another five years were to pass, the gap would grow even wider.

“I choose now.”

Yerim raised her hand without hesitation.

“I am me now, and that me is someone else. Of course there are more things I did before regression, but those aren’t things I did. I want what I deserve now.”

“Aren’t you disappointed?”

“A little bit. But I’ve done well too.”

Yerim straightened her shoulders. Naturally. She had.

“I’ll choose the current record too. It might not differ much from my pre-regression record.”

“No way it’s that similar. Even if Noah changed from before, he must have done a lot. Before meeting me, Noah was already an outstanding Hunter. No one in France didn’t know him.”

Noah «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» smiled faintly instead of answering. It was good that he’d regained confidence standing on his own after leaving Riet, but he still seemed to look down on his past self. I used to do that too. Who wouldn’t?

“Noah, you saw pre-regression me. Back then I was really just F-rank. So honestly I looked down on pre-regression me too. But now─”

I felt shy saying it myself.

“I think I’ve lived hard. And Noah must have too. The person who made today’s Noah is Noah himself. Even if I helped a bit, in the end it’s one’s own role that matters most.”

No matter how much you give or teach, if they don’t accept it, that’s it. Comforting and coaxing works when they’re young, but when they grow up, their own decisions matter most. Noah’s eyes lowered slightly.

“Yes. But still, I can’t help feeling it was pathetic.”

“I felt that too. If someone asked me to choose, I’d never pick pre-regression me. The gap is big—because it’s me.”

I briefly thought of the Wish Stone but erased it. They said it couldn’t be obtained normally.

“Yuhyun, you’re not pathetic.”

Yuhyun moved closer to me and said softly.

“I used to be weak, didn’t I?”

“Nah, uncle. If you were really weak you wouldn’t have been able to regress. You’d have quit being a Hunter long ago.”

That’s true. In any case, Noah also chose the current achievements.

“Yuhyun, you?”

“...me?”

Yuhyun hesitated and avoided my gaze.

“I don’t know.”

“Han Yuhyun, it must be tough to choose. Uncle, right before regression you said Yuhyun was basically #1 among Hunters?”

“That’s right. Yuhyun was so strong he was eyed by many.”

A bitter taste rose in my mouth. Of the natural S-ranks I knew, Yuhyun was the only one who’d continued to protect the world. They said there were other natural S-ranks besides Seong Hyunjae and Riet, but no standout Hunter appeared. What happened to the rest? Maybe they were too young to have awakened.

“You conquered many S-rank dungeons too. After Director Song died and Seong Hyunjae left, Yuhyun was the most active top-tier Hunter in Korea. Hyunah went overseas after the guild disbanded.”

Many of those skills and titles came from dungeon conquests. If they could all be transferred, it would be tremendous.

“If you get all of them, you’d gain like ten more skills, right?”

“Probably?”

Even if only some remained, they might exceed current achievement rewards. But I couldn’t immediately urge him to bring pre-regression records. To me, it was like having two younger brothers. I didn’t want to impose on just one. It felt wrong to both of them.

Yuhyun clenched and unclenched his fist. His normally bright eyes seemed darker today.

“I’m sure pre-regression me is stronger than current me.”

“That’s true, but you’ll soon surpass that.”

“Even if soon, time isn’t abundant.”

Anxiety tinged my brother’s voice. Given the situation, it made sense he hesitated more. I stretched out my arm and patted his shoulder.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, Yuhyun. You’re strong enough, and you don’t need to face Transcendents right now. Or would you like more time? There’s no hard deadline.”

“...Okay.”

Yuhyun nodded heavily. He’d asked if something was up with me, if I looked strange—but he looked strange too. Ever since my birthday, it felt a bit odd... With him waiting for me, I felt awkward rushing him.

Maybe I should grab him and just lay it all out. What on earth is he worrying about?

“Then first, Hunter Park Yerim~”

I deliberately raised my voice cheerfully. Yerim jumped up with a “Yes!”

“I’ll check the settlement details~”

Outside the dungeon, the achievements scrolled up. First, the minor monsters eliminated in Japan and China were listed one by one. Yuhyun had taken down all the S-rank monsters in Japan, but Yerim had also killed many minor ones. They said monsters spawning from dungeon breaks didn’t count as conquests, but these had appeared because of Lu’s seal, so they counted.

China was similar. Oh, the ones tossed into the lake—the achievement rank is pretty high. The Demon King was lower, perhaps because it was a group battle. There were no pure Hunter-versus-Hunter fights, but the Chatterbox party fight counted as Transcendent-related, so it was treated as an achievement. Thanks to Yerim’s active role, the party’s combined achievement rank was SS—huh?

“This is......”

“What’s wrong? Something strange?”

Yerim pressed close to me and asked. There was one achievement I hadn’t expected. The last one—the highest rank.

[Illusion of the Mermaid Queen (SSS) – Conquest Success (L)]

“That time in the Lake Dungeon when the Mermaid Queen appeared. That achievement rank is L!”

“L rank? Wow!”

We hadn’t received any special conquest reward back then. I’d assumed the reward had been Yerim gaining the Mermaid Queen’s power.

“You essentially defeated her alone. Maybe that’s why the illusion is SSS but the achievement is L!”

“Woa woa woa! What do they give you? An L-rank skill? L-rank weapon?”

“Even in an S-rank dungeon, S-rank skills are rare and weapons barely drop. But L-rank gear is something. Actually, any SSS-rank is a first!”

“Uncle, you favor me. So among S-rank Hunters, I’m the first!”

Yerim and I cheered at once. We should pop some champagne—but non-alcoholic, of course.

“Let’s settle the lower ranks first. Luckily, unlike year-end taxes, we don’t have to return anything─”

[Achievement reward excess deduction]

...Huh? Wait a minute. Excess deduction? What does this mean? I asked, and a message arrived from Myungwoo.

[If you settle system achievements, rewards previously granted at the discretion of rookies or other Transcendents may be deducted.]

“What? Is this really like year-end taxes?”

[We’re almost done preparing here. Call the last person in within thirty minutes.]

The message cut off. He seemed busy.

“...Yerim, you didn’t receive much over time, right?”

“The biggest things were the Jewel of Water’s Master and the Spirit Egg.”

“The egg was bought with points, so that should be okay. They wouldn’t deduct the L-rank reward as a jewel, would they?”

No way they’d do that. But the achievements started being deducted one by one. Why deduct the toad-killing reward! It had been customized as Mermaid Queen earrings. Usually customization is rare...but they even deducted some Spirit Eggs! That dungeon itself was created because they pressured for rewards. We’d torn out a lot. Gradually, they kept reducing until...

“Please please please, let the L-rank......”

[Excess deduction complete]

At last!

“I’m safe! Yerim, the L-rank remains!”

“We made it!”

One S-rank, one SS-rank, and the L-rank remained as achievements to claim. The Mermaid Queen’s power wasn’t deducted—perhaps because we paid the price by allowing the water droplets to slumber. In any case, thank goodness! I was shaking at the thought of having to return it.

“S-rank, SS-rank, and L-rank—do you want to claim them together or separately?”

“Hmm, what should I do?”

“Yerim, since you have few skills types, claiming separately might be fine. Adding S to L won’t make a huge difference.”

“Then separately! With the Chatterbox vault, S and SS will definitely give skills, right?”

“Of course. But......”

[Achievement Reward (S)

Random reward according to the Awakened’s achievements and stats

※Can designate reward by dropping two ranks]

Upon settling, a random box popped out. Yerim frowned as she held the box.

“I’ve seen this in so many games. Better to roll randomly than get a B. They say it’s related to my stats.”

“That makes sense. It’s not A, so B isn’t the worst. And there’s no junk.”

“Yes, hope for something good!”

Yerim opened the box. And then—

“Phantasm of the Abyss! S-rank! Kyaaa!”

Cheering erupted. Phantasm of the Abyss? Seems like a skill.

“Is it a skill?”

“Yes! Uh... uh?”

“Why?”

“Mental type and summoning type? And... it can combine with the White Corpse.”

White Corpse is the skill to read a dead person’s memories. Useful, but not combat-related, and I’d hesitate to have Yerim use it.

“If combined, the skill effect will usually change.”

“White Corpse... well, I don’t really need it.”

“Then let’s combine.”

Yerim combined the skills. She said she now had White Abyssal Phantasm (S).

“The rank didn’t go up.”

“It’s probably an S-rank upper skill. Since it’s an S-rank reward, the base skill was likely lower S. With a bit of growth it’ll be SS.”

“It says it lowers the opponent’s willpower, shows illusions from their memories, and draws out abyssal power. I want to try it.”

Then she opened the SS-rank box. This time it was an item, a bracelet. Its deep-blue waves shimmered, and at their intersections was set a white gem.

“Waves of the Night Sea. Enhances all skill effects in darkness, increases movement skill speed, Night Owl’s Eyes—an A-rank vision support skill. It even applies to stealth.”

“That’s nice. With A-rank vision support, you’re S-rank, so my stealth skills won’t work on you.”

“And once a day, summons Night Waves. Summoning water sounds good, right? It’d be disadvantageous in dry terrain.”

Yerim liked it. Though skill boosts apply only in darkness, it’s still fitting of SS-rank with good stat options. Finally, she carefully held the last L-rank box. We both swallowed hard.

“Weapons are nice but skills... oh gods, Buddha, Confucius, Allah—please grant skills!”

Yerim prayed as she opened the box. Her closed eyes snapped open.

“...A title?”

“A title? What is it?”

A title! Titles are usually better than skills!

“It’s L-rank: Successor of the Mermaid Queen.”

“Successor of the Mermaid Queen? Because you defeated the illusion? Does the title include a skill?”

To be a Transcendent’s successor... Even the Dragon Slayer from slaying Lauchitas gave three L-ranks and one SS. The Mermaid Queen should be even greater. But Yerim’s expression was strange.

“There’s no skill.”

“...What?”

“No, really. It just says ‘Successor recognized by the Mermaid Queen’ and ends.”

“Really nothing? Not even one?”

“Really nothing.”

...What is this? It’s a scam! An L-rank title in name only! I ground my teeth, but Yerim blinked. A message arrived.

“The Mermaid Queen invites me.”

“...Is she going to give you something directly? It says to go immediately?”

“No time limit.”

“Then let’s ask Myungwoo or the rookies before going. Being a successor isn’t bad, but......”

Setting that unease aside, I settled Noah’s achievements. He was similar to Yerim, but had no Mermaid Queen–class L-rank. Instead, almost nothing was deducted. I, Yuhyun, and Yerim had claimed the most separately. Noah hadn’t been there for the toad kill either.

“Two S-ranks and one SS. How do you want them?”

“I’ll take them together. I got more than I thought.”

Noah smiled shyly. He underestimates himself. He held an SS-rank box combining two S and one SS. “Hope it’s good,” I thought.

“Since Myungwoo has the gear, you’d want a skill, right?”

“An offensive skill would be nice.”

Even support types need self-defense skills. Not poison or curses, but a direct attack. Noah used the box. His silvery-gray eyes blinked.

“Veil of the Radiant Dragonkin.”

A golden-aura-like veil flowed over Noah’s hand.

“Is it gear?”

“Yes. They say it’s the veil inherited by royalty of the Radiant Dragonkin. When wrapped around your body—”

The veil that had wrapped Noah faded. He emitted a faint light. It wasn’t dazzling, just a gentle glow.

“It seeps in, and whether partially or fully worn it’s fine. Myungwoo said he’s only good with metal gear and is poor with cloth, so it seems well-made.”

“How are its options?”

“It has various buffs—strengthens Radiant Dragonkin skills and halves their cooldown.”

Whoa, that’s insane. It would reduce Nest skill cooldown and strengthen it? That’s ridiculous.

“Wow, we should do a team battle sometime.”

“With Noah’s skill added, we’d definitely win! Tell Song uncle he can throw down anytime!”

Yerim shouted enthusiastically.

“With you two, it won’t creak like when we fought Bella! Of course, we’ll keep practicing coordinated attacks.”

“You two don’t need to worry.”

Only Riet...I wonder if she’ll accept the teacher’s skill well. I summoned Riet. Soon she appeared in the middle of the living room.

“Hello, my brother! Sweeties!”

“Take off your shoes first.”

I wish we could adjust the teleport location.