Confession of the Dead (2)

“Hoo, so it’s like this?” Seo Jun-ho quickly skimmed through the Memory Projection’s functions.

Fast-forward, reverse, volume controls and screen brightness… Huh? There’s a search bar too.

He let out a sigh of relief. People had countless memories, and it would take him days to find the memories he was looking for.

Seo Jun-ho started with the most recent memories.

— Wh-why are you doing this to me?

— I-I’ll give you everything! I’ll give you all my money!

— Gah, urk…

Most of the Memory Projection was filled with countless scenes of murder. Seo Jun-ho furrowed his eyebrows and started to regret his actions.

Shit, it seems that I let them off too easily. He clicked his tongue lightly and put ‘Association’ in the search bar.

In the video, the Shadow Brothers were in America, carrying suits to a laundromat. A man took their clothes and started to press them as he spoke.

— These are orders from above. Check them.

— Orders? We’re preparing for the Las Vegas auction.

— Why are you complaining to me? I’m just a messenger, so I don’t know the details.

Jim’s Cleaners. Seo Jun-ho quickly memorized the name.

It’s where they received their orders… So that’s one of the Fiend Association’s rendezvous points. 

He’d found a better lead. He skimmed through a few other memories and was about to shut it off, when a mysterious man entered the screen.

— Hoo, they’re brothers? I like the look in their eyes.

— I’ll give you power.

— From now on, they’ll be classified as 2nd-grade items.

Throb. 

As soon as he heard the man’s voice, his head exploded in pain.

“Gah!”

[The skill rank is too low. You could not recall the memory completely.]

[The skill has automatically deactivated for the safety of the user.]

Seo Jun-ho massaged his throbbing temples, his face wrinkled.

Ugh… Who was that?

The man who’d offered the Shadow Brothers power. It was obvious that he was a higher-ranking fiend than them.

“It would’ve been nice if I saw his face.” It might have been because his skill rank was too low, but the man’s face was dim, as if covered by static.

Seo Jun-ho huffed in frustration and stood up. He looked through Edvar’s memories this time, but the man’s appearance caused the skill to deactivate again.

If I want to see more useful memories, I should raise my skill rank. 

If you used a skill a lot, your technique would improve and it might raise the rank.

Of course, depending on one’s talent and the amount of effort given, there are people who can’t raise a skill rank their entire lives…

But Seo Jun-ho was extremely talented. He was also a hardened worker who pushed his body to its limits. He rolled his shoulders and looked at the corpse of the Nameless Dragon.

“Now that I look at it, the skill isn’t restricted to human targets.”

Confession of the Dead enabled him to see the memories of dead “beings”, so that meant he could also see the memories of the dragon. Seo Jun-ho walked over to the Nameless Dragon’s corpse.

To be honest, I am a little curious. As to why the dragon had looked at him with such a sad expression, and about its origins.

“If the dragon is this strong, it should have had a name too.” The Cinder Fox didn’t even begin to compare to it.

He was only able to kill it that easily because he’d used the Shadow Brothers as bait. If he hadn’t, he would have had to prepare to take damage. That’s how strong it was.

“Show me what kind of guy you were.”

Seo Jun-ho gently placed his hand on the Nameless Dragon’s forehead.

Wooosh!

Perhaps it was because he’d already done it twice before, but the sight of the screen was familiar. However, unlike the brothers, the Nameless Dragon’s Memory Projection consisted only of one short video.

“…Huh?”

As he started to admire the scenes of the video, Seo Jun-ho’s face gradually softened.

* * *

The king on the throne had a very sickly complexion. He coughed up phlegm and looked down at the empty Royal Palace.

“Beop-sa*,” he said solemnly.

(TN: Means Buddhist priest, also a title.)

“Yes, Your Majesty.” A Buddhist monk wearing a robe bowed his head to the king.

“I don’t have much time left.”

“…I understand.”

“My death is already decided. I should be more focused on more realistic problems at present.”

The king slowly got up from his seat and opened a window, looking up at the painted-blue sky.

“It has only been five years since the long war between the three nations ended.”

“Your peoples’ praises reach the sky.”

“Of course, the people are enjoying this era of peace. But we know that the war is still not over.”

“……”

The king was right. The Great Republic* from the north was still waiting for a chance to invade their land.

(TN: Old Korean name for China.)

They said that an era of peace had begun, but it was as futile as a lamp in a storm.

“I will die soon. Even my peerless generals who once defended this land are getting old.”

“River water always flows from above to below. The junior scholars will not smear the names of their ancestors.”

“Ah, as they should. As they should.”

The king had a proud expression on his face as he looked up at the floating clouds and closed his eyes.

“But talent is not enough. The Great Republic is a nation protected by countless Shin-ryongs* of departed heroes.”

(TN: lit. God-dragon)

“They are simply evil spirits.”

“But what if they are not?” The king’s bright red yong-po* fluttered as he turned around.

(TN: Kingly robes, usually red with golden embroidery and dragon symbolism.)

“If there really are dragons that protect their land, do you think my people and soldiers will be able to face them?”

“……” The beop-sa closed his mouth. From his Buddhist perspective, he did not understand the king’s concern.

The king looked at him for a second and slowly opened his mouth. “…When I die, cremate my body and release my ashes in the Eastern Sea.”

“Your Majesty!” The beop-sa’s voice cracked in surprise. He was supposed to be laid to rest with his ancestors in the tomb. Why did he suddenly want to be cremated?

But the king spoke firmly with an unbreakable resolution.

“I shall become the Guardian Dragon of the Nation and protect this country.”

“Your Majesty, a dragon is but a dragon. Even though we reside in the human realm, we are no different than the animals below us. Why must you reject reincarnation and carry the karma of an asura?*”

(TN: These are all Buddhist concepts. In Korean Buddhism, an asura is a violent spirit that is always fighting with Sakra, a ruler of one of the heavens. Because the king will not die as a dragon, he will not be reincarnated.)

“Beop-sa, I have already experienced all the luxuries the world has to offer. If I lose myself and become a beast, that will be my destiny.”

The Memory Projection zoomed out of an image of the laughing king as it ended. Seo Jun-ho took a second to process this and forced a laugh.

“…Hah?”

He’d started to realize who the Nameless Dragon was.

The person who called himself a Guardian Dragon of the Nation…

It was a name that anyone in Korea would have heard at least once in their history class: the person who brought an end to the Three Kingdoms Era through unification, King Munmu of Silla.

“Wow, I never expected this. What just happened?” Seo Jun-ho muttered to himself as he scratched the back of his head.

Then, a new message popped up in front of him.

[You have witnessed a portion of history through the confession of the dead.]

[Your skill proficiency has increased drastically.]

Huh? I didn’t expect this either. Today was full of surprises, it seemed.

Seo Jun-ho looked wearily at the Nameless Dragon’s corpse. He’d killed him, but wasn’t he an ancestor who had protected this land from foreign invasion?

“……”

Seo Jun-ho took a moment to sort his thoughts. He slowly brought his hands politely together in prayer. “…O King, this land is now safe. I bid you a good rest.”

A white light started to peek between the Nameless Dragon’s pitch-black scales. The tumorous scales melted against the light, and a transparent, holy dragon looked down at him from the sky.

Is that… his spirit? A soul without a body.

He heard a clear voice in his head.

– “You prayed… for me… Thank you… I can now… ascend…”

The dragon looked down at Seo Jun-ho once more before it pierced through the pitch-black clouds and ascended above the sky.

[You have cleared the hidden quest of ⟪Forgotten Dragon’s Island⟫, ‘Dragon’s Ascension’.]

[You have received the item, 「Flute of Tidal Breath」.]

[You have received the title, ⟬Helper of Ascension⟭.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All stats have increased by 1.]

[You have regained 3 Speed stats.]

[You have regained 1 Strength stat.]

[You have regained 2 Stamina stats.]

“This was a hidden quest?” He’d even reached level 20 as an additional reward. Seo Jun-ho scratched his head and let out another laugh.

“…Well, sometimes surprises are good.” His perfect clear was completely different from what he expected, but it wasn’t bad.

His eyes lingered on the evening glow against the ocean before he left the Gate.

* * *

“Th-the Gate’s color changed! It’s green! They did it!”

“They’ll come out soon! Keep the doctors on standby!”

“Hey, reporters at the front! Stand behind the line!”

Ilsan Beach was full of commotion. The Association had sent a medical team just in case, keeping them on standby while the reporters were being blocked from the front.

A man walked out of the Gate and into an air full of anxiety and anticipation.

“Seo Jun-ho! It’s Korea’s player Seo Jun-ho!”

“But why does he look so dark?”

“Huh? Wait, the Gate is… closing?”

“Then the Shadow Brothers…” The people fell into chaos.

If someone died in the Gate, they expected it to be Seo Jun-ho. They’d never imagined that it would be the Shadow Brothers.

Shim Deok-gu walked up to Seo Jun-ho with a forlorn expression and patted his shoulder.

“…You’ve worked very hard, player Seo Jun-ho.” It was a charged statement.

The fact that he came out alone meant that the Shadow Brothers had indeed been fiends. It also meant that he’d taken care of them.

Click, click!

Detached from the scene, the reporters took two-shots of them. A grieving player who’d lost two teammates, and the Association President who was consoling him. It was the perfect composition.

A moment later, he was cleared of any major injuries and went up to the interview podium.

“…It was an accident.” Fat tears spilled from his eyes, convincing enough to make Shim Deok-gu squint from a distance.

After spending plenty of time sniffling, Seo Jun-ho finally continued.

“I will not forget the Shadow Brothers and their heroic sacrifice.”

He was thoroughly making them into heroes.

(PR: Someone give this guy an Oscar.)