Chapter 989 – 989. Yggdrasil (7)
It’s been a long time since I had a dream.
I had a dream about falling off a cliff and almost dying…
Even though it happened a very long time ago, the pain and fear are vividly felt.
And… A chill that penetrates the flesh and tears the whole body apart.
Midwinter, who was so strong against the cold, became weak against the cold after that incident.
It wasn’t just that he was weak, he was so weak that even the passing of cold chilled his bones.
The end of the dream was always simple.
Fainting.
Although he was rescued later, there was no scene of rescue in his memories of midwinter.
Just opening your eyes and finding yourself in a pure white hospital room?
But this dream was different.
“Hang in there. “I will save you.”
“Hmm…”
An adult man found him and started to save him.
But strangely, every time the man tried to save him, he returned to the bottom of the cliff.
And he rescued himself again from the bottom of the cliff.
Endless repetition.
Nevertheless, a man who does not give up on himself.
But on the other hand, fear began to pile up like snow.
He felt that he could not be saved and was afraid that he would be abandoned.
‘Don’t go.’
Midwinter begged with his eyes in a situation where he was dying to the point where he couldn’t even raise his voice.
And the man who looked into her eyes…
“Even if it’s hard, hold on just a little longer. People will come soon.”
She hugged her with all her might and began to give her warmth.
With the warmth seeping into her body, Midwinter felt the greatest happiness of her life.
And then…
“Hmm…”
I nodded and slowly closed my eyes in the man’s arms.
.
.
I obviously closed my eyes.
But strangely enough, the eyes of midwinter have opened.
“… Huh?”
I looked around with a half-asleep expression.
Cramped tent.
And…
“Wha!?”
A man hugging himself strongly.
No, it was the opposite.
‘Uh, when did this happen…? .’
Rather, Midwinter himself was tightly hugging Seong Su-ho’s chest.
Midwinter was embarrassed but could not move easily.
It was because he thought that if he moved, Seong Su-ho and her Namgung Yu-ha would wake up.
Still, I couldn’t just hug Seong Su-ho like this.
‘If this happens, there will be a strange misunderstanding.’
Midwinter thought so and tried to pull his arm away…
‘Hmm… What? This… ?’
In the middle of winter, I began to feel dazed by the smell that suddenly penetrated my nostrils.
In the middle of winter, I had never known a man’s embrace other than being held in my father’s arms when I was young.
She smelled the scent flowing from Seong Su-ho’s chest…
‘Ha… Phew… This… ‘It’s strange.’
I started to feel dizzy.
With just a little bit of force, she was able to pull her arm away and turn her body to reject the scent.
And if it had been a normal midwinter, it wouldn’t have been difficult.
However, the Seongsuho who protected her in her dream a little while ago and the Seongsuho of reality intersect.
Furthermore, midwinter intoxicated with the scent of Seongsuho…
‘Ha… Hmm… Just a little…’
Rather, she started rubbing her face against Seong Su-ho’s chest.
As if under the influence of drugs…
The embrace and scent of a man I felt for the first time.
Those two things melted my brain and heart in the middle of winter and made me fall into the arms of Seong Su-ho.
‘More…’
In the middle of winter, my eyelids gradually began to close in Seong Su-ho’s arms.
.
.
Rustle, rustle.
“Huh?”
Midwinter opened her eyes in surprise at the rustling noises around her.
When midwinter happened, it was already…
“I woke up.”
“Are you okay?”
Seong Su-ho and Namgung Yu-ha were already preparing to leave outside the tent.
Midwinter was embarrassed and rushed out of the tent.
“Boy, has it already been 3 hours?”
“Yeah, it just finished.”
As Seong Su-ho said, the safe zone disappeared, and the surrounding area was once again immersed in darkness.
Midwinter scratched her head and remembered what happened earlier.
‘Damn… She should have turned around sooner…’
Seong Su-ho must have seen himself being hugged.
Even if you want to ignore reality, the situation is too certain to be ignored.
Midwinter came out in a hurry and started laughing awkwardly.
“Bird, sleeping for three is more manageable than I thought haha…”
Seong Su-ho and Namgung Yu-ha nodded in agreement with the awkward midwinter laugh.
“I know. “It was better than I expected.”
“Thanks to Winter’s consideration, my fatigue was relieved.”
“Eh… Why are you so considerate? .”
Midwinter scratched her head and let out an awkward laugh.
Seong Su-ho said with a serious expression while looking at such a scene in the middle of winter.
“It’s a bit weird to leave as soon as you wake up… Let’s wake up and leave.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, yes!”
Midwinter hurriedly came out of the tent at Seongsuho’s words and started stretching.
Midwinter, stretching and glancing at Seongsuho.
‘The man in my dream… ‘It’s him, right?’
Midwinter had a nightmare that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
A shipwreck incident I experienced as a child.
And on the day I had that dream, I was in a bad mood.
But now in the middle of winter…
‘Hmm… Very good!’
Rather, I stretched vividly as if vitality was moving throughout my body.
While stretching like that, I glanced at Seong Su-ho once again.
‘… He acts the same even in his dreams.’
Seong Su-ho saved him during the war.
Even in his dreams, he tried his best to save himself.
It’s human psychology that just seeing someone you weren’t interested in appears in a dream makes you interested in something you didn’t know before.
But a guy I already liked appeared in my dream?
‘Ah… I can’t manage my facial expressions.’
I could feel my heart pounding violently just by looking at Seong Su-ho.
Plus, the embrace and scent of a man I felt for the first time.
‘Don’t you know that sisters experience that every day?’
I was jealous.
I was so jealous of my sisters that I felt jealous.
‘But isn’t the end important in the end? If I have a child first…’
Midwinter muttered to herself as she fell in love with Seong Su-ho.
The problem is…
“… “How many children do you want?”
I accidentally let out my mouth what I should have said to myself.
“Huh? “What?”
“Oh!?”
It was only after seeing Seong Su-ho looking at her that Midwin came to her senses and hurriedly tried to make an excuse.
“I was wondering how many people came before… !”
“There were 200 people… “Wouldn’t they have been divided like us back then?”
“Aha…”
Fortunately, I was able to overcome the mistake.
Midwinter let out a sigh so loud that her soul escaped her.
‘Phew… ‘Thank goodness.’
Midwinter was relieved and laughed inwardly.
‘Haha… I’m out of my mind too. I can’t believe I’m thinking all that…’
I wasn’t interested in marriage.
And of course, the child was not interested.
It was all because of midsummer.
Hatred of men caused by midsummer.
And the celibacy that arose from that man-hating.
However, after meeting Seong Su-ho, all my thoughts changed.
Midwinter placed her hand on her left breast and smiled.
‘Wow… Is this dangerous?’
Just seeing Seong Su-ho made me laugh.
And just thinking about his embrace and scent made my heart race.
When Midwinter smiled heartily and placed her hand on his chest…
“Huh? “Where does it hurt?”
Seong Su-ho suddenly approached and looked closely at Midwinter’s face.
Midwinter was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Seong Su-ho…
“Oh, no! “I was just meditating!!”
He quickly turned around to hide his expression.
Seong Su-ho nodded, even though he was puzzled by such a scene in the middle of winter.
“Okay. “If things are not going well, please tell me.”
“Uh, okay, okay!”
“If you’re ready, shall we leave?”
“Yes, yes!”
So Seong Su-ho and his group started again.
***
The monsters that appeared after the break were no different from the monsters that appeared before the break.
The number of objects is one.
The level is like a boss monster.
But still, something had changed.
I was amazed as I saw the monster dying and disappearing.
“Oh, oh…”
The reason I was impressed was simple.
“How long did it take?”
“One… “I think it took 30 seconds.”
“Oooh!”
This was because the time it took to catch the monster was significantly reduced.
A battle that used to take 3 to 5 minutes was finally reduced to 30 seconds.
“Now you can fight without me.”
After hearing what I said, Namgung Yuha smiled bitterly and bowed her head.
“If it weren’t for Suho, he wouldn’t have been caught in the first place.”
Namgung Yuha, who praises me…
“I think so too! “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have caught a single fish!”
Midwinter, who praises me to the point of embarrassment.
Midwinter did not stop there and continued to pour out praise.
“As expected, it was a good thing I came with you. If it weren’t for you…”
Midwinter clinging to my side and chatting away.
But despite all that chatter, I couldn’t hide the smile on my face.
The attitude has clearly changed from before.
And I had a rough idea why it had changed.
‘Is it because of a dream?’
In fact, there was no particular reason other than that.
A dream I entered simply to find out the cause of the trauma.
But thanks to what I did in that dream, Midwinter’s heart seemed to be a little more open.
And thanks to that…
‘The chill level is much lower than before?’
The rise in chilliness levels, which had been rising steadily before, has clearly decreased.
I haven’t completely overcome the trauma, but thanks to my dreams, I feel a little… No, it seemed to have improved a lot.
I said, placing my hand on Midwinter’s shoulder as she chattered.
“I’m glad that my condition is better than before.”
“Uh… That…”
“If it gets worse, tell me right away. “Don’t groan inside for no reason.”
“Oh, okay.”
Fortunately, Midwinter’s mouth, which had been constantly spouting words, quietly closed.
I spoke while looking at Midwinter, who was hesitant, and Namgung Yuha, who was standing calmly.
“Let’s hurry a little more. Also, there is no guarantee that there will be a place nearby to rest.”
Two people nodding their heads at what I said.
I led those two people and took a step toward the darkness again.
.
.
Namgung Yuha, who was next to the fallen monster, spoke carefully to me.
“Shall we rest here?”
“…”
I couldn’t answer easily.
About 8 hours have already passed since we left again.
It takes less than 30 seconds to catch a monster, and the movement speed is even doubled.
Nevertheless, no safe zone was found.
‘What about Hayeon?’
[Same goes for that one.]
Min Ha-yeon and her group have not yet found a place to rest.
I turned my head and checked the state of midwinter.
“Hmm…”
Midwinter, standing at attention and shivering.
Although the chill level did not rise as steeply as before, it was gradually accumulating.
Perhaps it was because of the middle of winter that Namgung Yuha suggested taking a break.
‘I brought a tent because I could, but…’
The problem was that we did not know when the safe zone would emerge.
If you take a break here and soon reach a safe zone, you won’t be as disappointed as that.
‘Should we proceed further, or should we rest here? .’
After such a short period of thought…
“Eat this first.”
“This… ?”
It was the food I had received earlier.
They say it’s food for one person, but…
“This… “Is this the food you received earlier?”
All I had in my hand was an energy bar.
I nodded and answered.
“Huh. Let’s eat this first and then proceed further.”
While saying that, I cut it in half and handed it to Midwinter and Namgung Yuha.
“It’s still worth the price for one serving. Eat it.”
“… “And you?”
Midwinter looking up at me with an expression full of dissatisfaction.
I answered with a shrug.
“Because I’m fine. Let’s eat together.”
“… “I don’t like it?”
For some reason, I thought you would say something like that.
And it was the same for Namgung Yuha.
“I can’t eat either. At least divide it into thirds…”
“Because I’m fine. Eat.”
I had my own way of eating.
‘Armonia, can you make me one just like it?’
[It is possible.]
Just make it with Enel and eat it.
Actually, I want to make the same thing and give it to Midwinter and Namgung Yuha…
‘For now, let’s hide it as much as possible.’
We decided that it was important to hide as much as possible the fact that we could use external power.
‘If it doesn’t work out, just go ahead and lie about it.’
While I was thinking that, Midwinter and Namgung Yuha looked at each other…
“I don’t like it.”
“I will refuse too.”
He held out a half-eaten energy bar to me.
I spoke in a stern voice unlike usual.
“Eat first. When the next turn comes, I will eat it then.”
“Still…”
“But…”
As I looked at the two people trying to refuse, I hardened my expression and lowered my voice.
“Come on.”
“Tsk…”
Only when I hardened my expression did the two people flinch and pull their arms again.
“I made this decision not just for the sake of these two people.”
As if nagging, I emphasized the importance of orders to the two people.
Midwinter and Namgung Yuha, who listened to my nagging, ended up…
“Ha… Okay. Next time, I will definitely not give in.”
“… Me too.”
He looked at me and started eating energy bars.
The two people ate the energy bar in an instant…
“Ah… “This is more filling than I expected.”
“I guess so.”
I nodded, surprisingly satisfied.
Then he spoke to me as if warning me.
“Next time I will never give in.”
“Me too.”
I smiled and nodded at the sight of the two people.
I said that, reassured the two people, and started to proceed again.
It wasn’t long before we started moving forward again…
“It’s a building.”
The existence of the building was confirmed with Namgung Yuha’s Balcheonbo.
The thing that appeared in front of us as we hurriedly ran…
“… Hot spring?”
It was a hot spring building with steam rising out of it.
