Chapter 246 - Memories of Alpha (1)

The helicopter did not approach us but landed at quite a distance. Seeing signs of combat, they probably found it dangerous to approach recklessly. I wouldn't want to get close to that scene either.

"Yoohyun, are you alright?"

I applied potions as best I could where he had gotten hurt again. He didn't have any major wounds, but there were signs of fatigue that he couldn't completely hide. After all, he hadn't eaten or rested well for days and ended up exchanging blows with an SS-ranked guard the moment he was freed, so it would be stranger if he was alright.

"If it had lasted a little longer, I definitely could have caught him."

Yoohyun said, a bit dissatisfied, even as he obediently accepted the treatment.

"Since he's poisoned, you would probably have the advantage if you had more time, but you're not in perfect shape either, you know? You could have been seriously injured."

"I suppose, but now that I've seen him fight up close a few times."

Yoohyun's voice lowered as he continued.

“I don’t think he has much combat experience. He was easier to deal with than the guild leader of Jupiter.”

"Huh? Experience? But Sigma must have awakened a long time ago.”

They said it was five years ago that he became Sigma of Sollemnis.

"You mean having experience fighting people, right?"

Moon Hyuna chimed in.

“With the structure they have here, he would have had few chances to fight against high-ranked guards, especially against SS-ranked awakened people like him. He probably has been dealing mainly with monsters. Even with that, he’s skilled.”

Probably due to combat foresight. It was a cheat skill in many ways. After learning about his lack of experience, Sigma and Sung Hyunjae felt more and more like different people. I was sure he was another person.

“Now that I think about it, young master, you haven't accumulated many points. I've accumulated quite a bit. There are a lot of good things in the store.”

Moon Hyuna spoke with an anticipatory look. She also said that if there wasn't anything more important, she wanted us to take our time installing the disks and leaving. Since, while we were at it, she’d like to get at least one piece of SS-ranked equipment.

"You also caught those two SS-ranked monsters a while ago, so you must have earned over 2 million points."

"Huh? No. The SS soldiers are five hundred or six hundred thousand each, so I have around a million.”

"...What?"

But I had received over a million? Even Yoohyun said he had only gotten about 400,000 for catching the snake. What happened? I caught some with Sigma and got over a million for… Ah.

'The Miracle Rookie title!'

The title that doubled the rewards of items I received in dungeons. But here there were no dungeons; the monsters appeared directly, so it seemed to apply in such a way that I got double points. So that meant that the points for hunting an SS-ranked monster were originally five hundred or six hundred thousand.

'Using the duplication, and Sigma is someone who won’t get points, which means I got them all, so...'

1 million per head. Was that it?! Double the points earned, plus my Points Store has a lot more variety… Wow, this—this—

'If I hunt with Sigma, double the points for me!'

My heart beat a little faster. They said there were many monsters outside the cities; I wanted to sweep them all away with my beloved Sigma-ssi. Just throw a bomb and rake them in, and Sigma could finish them off cleanly, and the points would appear.

"Sigma-ssi, are you feeling alright?"

Can't you spare exactly three days, no more, no less? And I even had the bait right now. If we gathered all the monsters and eliminated them in one go... Ah, the corners of my mouth were curving upwards. I would accumulate hundreds of millions of points in three days and give the kids all the SS-ranked equipment one by one! And skills! And a variety of useful items!

“Can I help you neutralize the poison? As you know, I have Poison Resis—”

"Hyung, what are you doing?"

Yoohyun grabbed me as I tried to approach Sigma. Yoohyun, hyung is doing this for your own good.

"It's a waste to use a detox item, so I'll calm him down and complete the contract."

"Can’t we just kill him? We also have Hunter Moon Hyuna.”

"He's not such a bad person."

Even when I said that, my brother was not happy at all. He had attacked him to take my body, so it was understandable. Still, little brother, that person is super useful.

"Oh, dear, your complexion doesn't look very good. The healers from Lancea will be here soon. Do you want me to hold your hand until then?”

Sigma, who was treating his burns with potions, looked at me with a cold expression. The equipment he was wearing must have been good, but it was badly damaged. I was worried if the hood in particular could be repaired, because most of it was burnt. If it was SS-ranked, what a waste.

“What are you playing at now?”

“What do you mean playing? When have I treated you badly? Compared to your hospitality, I am kindness personified from beginning to end. Let's be good and go over the contract a bit."

“There’s no need to go over it. Can’t you just talk here?

"It's too meaningful. I’d like to have some time to answer your questions quietly and privately. Don’t frown. Are you upset? People nearing forty shouldn't have a narrow mindset.”

At my words, Sigma's expression became even more disgusted.

“Do I look that old?”

“No, you’re young on the outside… Wait a second.”

Now that I think about it, how old was this guy? I unconsciously assumed he would be the same as Sung Hyunjae, but as Moon Hyuna said, he looked a bit younger. His default expression was stern, but if he looked relaxed like a certain person did, then he probably looked quite young.

“…You… are in your thirties, right?”

There was no response. Hey, wait a second. No way.

“…Are you in your twenties? Really?”

"That’s what people generally think."

Sigma said as if my surprise was strange. Oh no, of course, his face was smooth and youthful. Wow, shit, he’s in his twenties. Really?

"I'm the hyung!"

"…What?"

“I’m in my thirties!”

“No way,” murmured Sigma. Next to me, Yoohyun's eyes also widened.

“Hyung, your age…”

"Yoohyun, how many years older am I than you?"

"Five years."

“And how old are you now?”

“Twenty…”

“Twenty-six, right. So my current self is 31 years old. Call me hyung, Sigma.”

Moon Hyuna, looking at us with intrigue, burst into laughter. On the other hand, Sigma and Yoohyun were frowning. Ah, well, if he didn't want to. I was really in my thirties inside. Thinking about how the guy with Sung Hyunjae's face was younger than me didn't feel so bad.

Yes, in this kind of environment, the kids grow up and become a bit arrogant, it happens.

“We should first review the contract. Let’s see; first, we need a break from each other, so we will meet privately tomorrow afternoon and talk. Is that okay? Don't run away like you did before and listen to me carefully, and in exchange for answering three questions in addition to the information I give you, remove Alpha from the terms. There will probably be many things you want to ask, but accept this, Sigma.”

While we’re at it, I should convince him to hunt monsters with me. My precious lancer, wouldn’t you be kind enough to give me just three days of your time?

Staring at me, Sigma accepted the contract revisions. Just in time, the healers and guards from Lancea arrived along with the guards from Sollemnis. The guards from Sollemnis kept us under control with suspicious looks and took care of their leader. The looks directed at me in particular weren’t very pleasant.

I did many things, but I'm not a bad person, really.

When we returned to the Akates Defense Agency, the chaotic atmosphere had significantly calmed down.

Most of the top officials and guards of the Defense Agency had been detained. Of the five S-rank guards, Vitera’s unni had suffered severe injuries and was captured alive after a battle with her younger sister.

One of the remaining four was captured by the Lancea guards, but the last three were missing. They had been put on a wanted list by dawn, but there was also a high possibility that they had fled the city.

"We have more S-rank guards on our side, so they won't be able to attack easily."

Vitera said with a smile. She didn’t seem to know that Gnosi had planned to kill me. Gnosi and the guards who had been with him still hadn’t regained consciousness. I would clear up the misunderstanding when they came around.

“Thanks to Alpha, I was just observing the situation; I didn't think it would work out so well.”

There were up to four S-rank guards among the insurgents who had been entrusted to Lancea. Including Vitera, that made five. That wasn’t a small number, but it was half the number the Defense Agency had, not to mention the SS-rank Alpha, so it had been impossible for them to do anything other than smuggle out children until now.

Saying that she could only hope that someday a child with SS-rank talents would appear, she thanked me. Her words made me feel a powerless frustration. When in truth, this world was… Trying not to think too deeply about it, I gave an acceptable response and left.

Moon Hyuna also seemed to have something to say to me, but using the excuse of being tired, I went up to my room with Yoohyun. I was actually tired. Because I still hadn’t been able to rest properly.

“Don’t worry about anything and rest well, Yoohyun.”

The Lancea guards looked at us and grumbled as we settled into a two-person room on the top floor. Ah, what’s your problem? Our Yoohyun is also an SS-rank guard. And we’re in Akates. Honestly, isn’t my brother the one who deserves the best treatment? If it had been up to me, I would have filed a complaint against the Akates Defense Agency.

“You should eat something first. Wait a bit, I’ll ask them to prepare a meal right away.”

"...I don't want to eat."

"Huh? Why? Aren't you hungry?”

While talking, it clicked in my mind. The ordinary staff, including those in the cafeteria, were still the same, so he must have felt aversion towards them. And we couldn’t replace everyone all at once because it would be a problem if the Defense Agency became completely inoperative. Still, I had to feed him.

“There’s also a kitchen here. Hyung will make something simple for you. Go wash up. Do you want me to wash your hair? It’s been so long since I last did that.”

"But you must be tired too."

“Now that I’m rank C, even if I’m a bit tired, I feel much better than when I was rank F and I’m perfectly fine. Ah, I hope my stats stay like this even when we leave.”

Smiling, I pushed my brother into the bathroom. It would be really great if I could actually take my stats with me. Even if I was only rank C, so what? It would be much easier to raise the kids.

The refrigerator in the spacious kitchen was filled with a variety of ingredients. But now that I was about to start cooking, I didn’t know which ingredients to choose. I wanted to make juk… or maybe soup or stew, but what should I pick?

[★Let’s Cook Together☆]

“What, you know how to cook in this world too?”

Grateful for the help, I opened the quest window.

[Take the pot hanging on the right wall and fill it 1/3 with water ~ Take the meat from the second shelf of the refrigerator. There are also vegetables on the first shelf.

Start by cutting the meat into cubes to complete the first mission! ^∇^

Rewards: Ingredient guide with kindly included photos, apron for my partner]

That was really very kind. But I felt embarrassed thinking he was watching. As I cut the meat into cubes according to the instructions, I received the rewards. The ingredient guide was helpful, but the apron… why was it bright pink? Was this revenge? I wasn’t going to wear it, but the conditions of the next mission that would teach me how to cook were to put on the apron. That bastard Sung Hyunjae. As I thought, this was obviously revenge for throwing pink wool all over as a birthday present. He really held grudges for years.

Under the guidance of a certain person, since he was standing right behind me, I completed a decent stew. Why was he also good at cooking in this world?

[Enjoy your meal!

It's important to take care of your family. But you also need to take care of yourself! Finish one full serving, made with a spoonful of your partner’s love♡

Rewards: 10,000P, handmade bright pink wool gloves]

Why did the quest window messages end up so cheesy? I wanted to know who created this system. What’s up with the bright pink wool gloves? Just give me the points.

Setting the table, I called my brother, who had finished his bath.

Fortunately, Yoohyun emptied an entire bowl of stew. When I was full, I automatically yawned. Now that I had relaxed, knowing my brother was safe and sound, I was about to fall asleep.

“I figured out Alpha’s abilities, can we leave? There aren’t many abilities relative to his Awakening rank, but there are a couple I can use.”

Yoohyun said as we lay next to each other in bed.

“It won’t be easy. Still, if you get used to them, it’s not impossible. Is there any equipment or skill in the Point Store that interests you?”

“There are many things that look good, but I don’t have the points for them.”

“We can accumulate points, so don’t worry about that and pick some.”

Hyung will get them from Sigma, not to mention that ball of yarn in the system, and buy them for you.

“First, we should find Yerim, Peace, and Noah-ssi. Fortunately, Hyuna-ssi said she thinks she knows where they are. Once we set up the disks and Newcomer tells us how to attack, we can judge the situation and rack up a bunch of points.”

When I contact Newcomer, I’ll ask him how much time has passed and request him to reduce the time here as much as possible. Not much time should have passed out there. I said I would check the condition of the monsters for training, so even if the raid took a few days, it shouldn’t seem strange.

“…Hyung.”

“Yes?”

“You said this world… really existed, right?”

“Yes. I don’t know exactly how long ago, but apparently it’s a world that came to an end in the past.”

“And everything that happened here really happened?”

“That’s how it was, but don’t worry too much. We’ll be fine.”

Yoohyun closed his mouth without responding. My brother had known long before me that our world was going to end, but it seemed that seeing a lost world had put him in a complicated mood. Would Yerim and Noah-ssi be okay?

“As I thought, I should take this opportunity to gather as much information as possible.”

Newcomer-ssi, I’ll ask for your kind support. Please check the system diligently.

With my body already asleep from the chin down, my eyes closed, and my consciousness faded shortly after. When I woke up from a good night's sleep,

“…Yoohyun?”

My brother had disappeared. Only vague traces of him lying there remained. I had dealt with all the bastards linked to his engraving and he had physically recovered, so there shouldn’t be any danger, but where exactly had he gone without saying a word?

I quickly got up from the bed and, as if waiting for that, a quest message appeared.

[Morning exercise on the rooftop!]

So, fortunately, he hadn’t gone far. The rooftop should be within a 100-meter range, so Sung Hyunjae probably saw him. He would become really useful. I put on some clothes and headed to the rooftop.