Winter's end.
The Sunday night after snow had fallen the previous day, half-melted and mixed with dirt to form a muddy mess. As usual on his road work run, Tae-hyun was jogging slowly along the path around Yeongrang Lake.
The area around the lake was utterly still.
Ever since Green House had been built in Sokcho, the entire Yeongrang Lake district had undergone massive renovations, making it more beautiful than any natural park could hope to compete with.
It was a romantic date spot for couples. Local college students would spread out mats every night and drink while admiring the scenery. The path he was running on would normally be dotted with people out for walks or jogs.
But not that night. No one was in sight.
No matter where he looked around, he was the only person there.
How long had he run in lonely isolation, with only the faint streetlights flickering intermittently along the path?
Spotting a suspicious shadow staggering toward him from afar, Tae-hyun gradually slowed his pace.
As the distance closed, the shadow came into sharper focus.
It was a woman about his age.
But her entire body was caked in mud, and her skin was covered in patches of angry red wounds. Her leg seemed injured; she limped and staggered with every step.
Yet she was desperately heading somewhere, which made Tae-hyun easily guess she had some urgent circumstance.
"Are you okay?"
The woman didn't even respond to Tae-hyun's question, just kept going her own way. He hurried after her.
"You don't look well. Should I call an ambulance?"
"Where are you rushing off to like this...? Do you have some urgent business?"
"If there's anything I can help with, just say the word."
His excessive kindness was strangely over the top. That was just Tae-hyun's nature. He couldn't ignore someone in trouble, couldn't tolerate injustice. That was the man named Ryu Tae-hyun.
"Your wounds look serious. Did you get caught up in some incident? If so, we should call the police first—"
"No police."
For the first time, the woman turned to look at Tae-hyun. Her hollow gaze scanned him from head to toe.
"...You said you'd help with anything, right? Then do me one favor."
The woman pulled a small box from her pocket. It was a luxurious case like the ones used in jewelry stores for rings.
"It's nothing big. Just hold onto this for me. I'll come pick it up tomorrow."
"Hold onto this?"
As Tae-hyun took the case and instinctively started to open it...
"Don't open it."
With that firm command, the woman grabbed his shoulder. Her grip conveyed her desperate urgency.
"Absolutely do not try to find out what's inside. I'm saying this for your sake."
"You just keep it safe and hand it back to me tomorrow."
"Don't show it to anyone else, and absolutely don't give it to anyone. It's small enough to fit in your pocket, so keep it on you at all times."
"Tomorrow, same time, same place. I'll be waiting."
"If I don't show up, get rid of it somewhere inconspicuous. Bury it in the mountains, throw it in this lake—anywhere it won't be seen."
"And if anyone asks about today, don't say a word. Just say you don't know anything."
"You offered to help first. So I'm asking despite the shame."
"But I'm sorry. Really sorry."
"See you tomorrow."
With those final words, the woman turned and walked away. She ignored whatever Tae-hyun said, still limping as she went.
Watching her fade into the distance, Tae-hyun thought to himself.
That woman was definitely caught up in something serious. He wanted to help if he could.
But she had made it clear not to follow, leaving him behind as she vanished into the darkness—with only the ring case half-forcibly thrust into his hand.
Tae-hyun decided: tomorrow, when he met her again, he'd ask properly. Hear her out and help if he could.
That was his resolution.
But the next day, the woman never showed.
-Era of Superhumans Chapter 313: At the End of Winter (Excerpt)-
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Quest information has been updated.] [The incident's progression has greatly deviated from the original plot! Due to uncertain factors, the remaining time until the incident has changed!] [Remaining time until incident: ?? hours ?? minutes ?? seconds.]
The moment I saw that message, I bolted back to my studio apartment like a madman.
"Ji Ye-won!"
Busting through the door, I found Chae So-yeon and Ji Ye-won sitting across from each other at the folding table. A tablet on the table displayed Min Chae-ryeong's face, as if they were on a video call.
"What? Why'd you come running in like that?"
Ignoring Chae So-yeon's question, I quickly pieced together the situation.
"Incident changed due to uncertain factors."
"What uncertain factors? Could it really be the stockings? No, that doesn't make sense."
"Let's think calmly."
"What's different from the original story this time? First off, Ji Ye-won. She's supposed to be at a motel or somewhere else right now, but instead, she's here with me. That has to be the cause."
"What does the timer turning to question marks mean? Is the incident time random now? Or does it depend on what I do from here on out?"
"The quest window still shows the same incident location. So at least we won't get ambushed here."
"But that's not guaranteed. Just like the time changed, the place could change too. Priority one: get Ji Ye-won to a safe house."
Thoughts sorted. Looking at the two stunned women, I shouted urgently.
"The team leader has a safe house ready. Let's move now."
"We were just talking about that."
"What's there to discuss? Time's of the essence. Let's go."
"I'd love to, but there's something we need to do first."
Chae So-yeon glanced at Ji Ye-won.
"What do we need to do?"
"We have to retrieve an item before heading to the safe house."
Retrieve an item. I had a hunch.
"Come to think of it, you said you stole something from Dawn Corps. Is that it?"
"Yeah."
"Is it important?"
"...Very. Extremely."
I nodded toward her as if to say explain. Ji Ye-won continued.
"Explaining everything would take too long, so I'll keep it short."
Ji Ye-won's summary went something like this.
The criminal organization Dawn Corps was plotting something horrific, and she and her colleague Kim Min-ah had betrayed them to stop it. According to her, even as a member, it was too insane.
Anyway. While Ji Ye-won caused a distraction, Kim Min-ah stole the "item" central to the plan from the organization.
Kim Min-ah tried to flee overseas with it, but the pursuit was faster than expected, so the escape failed. As the organization's hunters closed in, she hid the item somewhere—even if she got caught, they wouldn't get it.
"She contacted me at dawn yesterday. Said she'd hidden it without being detected. But..."
No contact since.
Ji Ye-won said it with an anxious expression. There was no innocent reason for the silence. Kim Min-ah was probably captured or dead by now. That's what Ji Ye-won seemed to think.
If Kim Min-ah was in Dawn Corps' hands, even a well-hidden item wasn't safe.
Torture could make her talk, and even if she didn't, superpowers existed to force the truth out.
"I get the story. Tell us the hiding spot. You head to the safe house, and So-yeon or I will retrieve it."
"...I can't. I have to go myself to get it."
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a small key-shaped tattoo on her inner arm.
"My colleague's superpower is 'Spatial Storage.' She can freely store or retrieve items in a sub-space she tears open in reality."
Like a game's inventory, she added.
"Normally, only the user can access the sub-space. But she can give a 'key' beforehand to let someone else retrieve items."
"That tattoo is the key?"
"Right. It's fused with my body, as you see. I have to go myself."
"Any limit on giving keys?"
"No. That's why we need to hurry."
If Kim Min-ah was caught, they could force her to use her power and take the key.
"...Where's the hiding spot?"
From the story so far, I had a good guess.
"Here."
Ji Ye-won opened a map app and showed us.
"As expected."
The marked spot was an abandoned building in Yeongrang-dong.
The exact incident location from the quest window.
"Now I get it. That's how it happened."
I finally understood why the quest timer had turned to question marks.
In the original story, Ji Ye-won would visit that spot around midnight tomorrow—that was the time shown on the original timer.
But contacting us had changed that future. Hence the question marks. Unlike if she went alone, when we headed to the abandoned building would involve me and Chae So-yeon's input too.
"Better to go sooner than later. Dawn Corps might not have spotted her yet."
"Team Leader Min Chae-ryeong."
Min Chae-ryeong, who had been silent, responded to my call.
-What?
"I think we should head straight to the abandoned building. If Ye-won's telling the truth, delaying won't help."
-I agree. I don't know Dawn Corps' plan, but it's definitely harmful to society.
"Then we head out now?"
Min Chae-ryeong nodded at Chae So-yeon's question. With her final warning to be careful, the three of us quickly geared up to leave.
As I donned and checked the coat and gear from earlier, Ji Ye-won approached me.
"Something wrong?"
"The stockings."
Oh, right—I'd forgotten. I grabbed the convenience store bag from beside the shoe rack and handed it to her.
"Here."
"Thanks. Now turn around. I won't make you leave."
My gaze naturally drifted to her lower body. That's when I finally saw what Chae So-yeon meant by "fashion even women in that line of work wouldn't wear."
Ji Ye-won wore a navy tennis skirt with white accents.
As Chae So-yeon said, it was shockingly short—the exposed skirt length below her tucked-out shirt hem was less than half a handspan.
"Definitely."
From above, it wasn't visible, but from a slight distance, it teasingly revealed not just her thighs but the underside of her butt.
"Oops."
I'd stared too openly without thinking. When I belatedly looked up, my eyes met Ji Ye-won's.
"...".
No light novel heroine shriek of "Kyaa! Pervert! What are you looking at? Scum! Beast! Take responsibility!"
She just glared at me with the contemptuous eyes one might give a trash bag on the roadside.
"Uh, by the way, what exactly is the item we're retrieving?"
An awkward pivot. Ji Ye-won sighed deeply.
"Right! I've been wondering too! You said it's key to the plan—what the hell is it?"
Ji Ye-won hesitated at Chae So-yeon's question, then said quietly, as if decided.
"...A Talisman."
"Talisman?"
Chae So-yeon tilted her head. She clearly had no idea what it was.
"One of the artifacts found in dungeons."
Artifacts. Special items with unique effects, only found inside dungeons.
Among them, Talismans were extremely rare even in high-rank dungeons. Their effect: awakening a new superpower in the wearer.
Chae So-yeon was visibly shocked as Ji Ye-won explained.
"Awakens a new superpower? That's totally a cheat item!"
Cheat item. Spot on.
In a world where people awakened only one superpower, a Talisman's value was priceless. In a world where superpower strength defined a superhuman's power, it was the only way to buy strength.
"Well, its value ultimately depends on the ability inside."
"Oh? So what ability is in the one we're getting?"
"A superpower that lets you use superpowers infinitely."
Wait, what?
I doubted my ears at Ji Ye-won's answer.
What? What ability did she say?
"Whoa. Total cheat."
"Yeah. Powerful but short-duration superpowers lose their penalty with this. Take the Royal Knights guild master, for example—"
Their conversation felt distant.
My mind endlessly replayed Ji Ye-won's words.
A superpower that lets you use superpowers infinitely.
I'd heard of it before. It was familiar. It had to be.
Because that power was the one the original protagonist, Ryu Tae-hyun, had from the start of the story.
"But why is it here?"
Something was seriously wrong.
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