The Heroine Stole My Regression

25 – Fragments (1)

I received the Camellia Blade first thing after waking.

[Jung Hae-in]: I don’t think I can make it to exercise today.

[Yoo Hana]: Why? Are you feeling ill?

[Jung Hae-in]: Something came up, I have to go somewhere.

[Yoo Hana]: I see… understood.

Thanks to that, morning exercise is skipped.

‘It feels like I’m constantly skipping lately….’

But this is all for your sake, so please understand.

“Ugh, damn, this is heavy.”

It’s probably because it’s not broken in yet, it’s incredibly heavy.

I placed the sword on the ground and prepared to head out again.

Today, it’s Baekdu Mountain.

*

Arriving at the terminal, it was packed with people, just as I’d expected for a weekend.

People heading home to their families, students off to enjoy an outing or an overnight stay.

The terminal was filled with its own unique, bustling atmosphere.

Although, I doubt anyone was heading to Baekdu Mountain for an outing or an overnight stay.

Of course, I wasn’t planning on an overnight stay either.

Well, technically it is, but I’ll be returning home later today.

Assuming there aren’t any major problems.

Baekdu Mountain is officially designated a dangerous zone by the Association.

A direct portal doesn’t exist, naturally, and entry is only possible with the Association’s approval.

Therefore, first I needed to take a portal to Seoul.

A hazy light obscured my vision for a moment, before returning to clarity.

The Seoul terminal was far more chaotic than Gaon.

I made my way not toward the common portals, but to the special portal terminal, overseen by the Association.

The special portal terminal was quieter than the general areas, yet thick with tension.

A clerk, bearing the marks of weariness, stood at the entrance.

I approached and inquired, “I’m headed to Mount Baekdu.”

The clerk glanced at me, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

“Special portals require advance application, or proper qualifications, you see~”

I hesitated a moment, then retrieved my Gaon Academy student ID from my pocket and presented it.

“Will this suffice?”

It was a shot in the dark.

Gaon was a top-tier academy, and the title of exceptional Hero candidate often opened doors.

The clerk took the ID, examining it for a long moment before shaking his head.

“Ah… If you were just a Gaon student, it’d almost be enough… But Baekdu is a bit of an exception. Such a treacherous place…”

No luck, it seemed.

Inwardly, I sighed and prepared to produce my Association-issued identification.

A Hero ID issued under the new alias, Muk-gwi, since the Iano Tomb incident.

“Then, how about this….”

But at that moment, footsteps approached from behind.

“What business does a student have going to Baekdu?”

A strange voice.

I turned to see a group clad in combat gear approaching.

The armor of the one who seemed to be their leader bore the crest of a lotus.

‘The Lotus Guild?’

There was no other guild that used the lotus emblem.

The man leading them scoffed, “What childish bluster… This isn’t a place for games. Step aside, boy.”

I glanced at him, but ignored him, resuming my conversation with the clerk.

“Then, with this….”

I presented my Hero identification.

This should be qualification enough….

-Thwack-

“Am I not being heard?”

Suddenly, my wrist was seized in a powerful grip.

The clerk, even she, flinched, taking a step back at the low, gravelly voice that erupted from behind.

‘Figures.’

Woo Jang-hoon, Vanguard of Lotus Guild, Team 2.

Even usually, he was notorious for a personality like a thug.

An A-Class Hero with undeniable skill, but his name was always dogged by less-than-pleasant rumors.

Woo Jang-hoon glanced at my ID, then let out a derisive snort.

“Where do you think you’re going with fake credentials like these….”

He tightened his grip, sneering.

“I’ve never seen the likes of you. Boy. Don’t you know impersonating a Hero is a serious offense?”

I fell into a brief deliberation.

I wasn’t one to start a fight, but I wasn’t one to avoid one either.

‘Can I win?’

It was ambiguous.

I had a feeling I’d only know if I tried.

Then, the second question.

‘Is the cleanup going to be easy?’

That was definitively easy.

I had the justification and the reason squarely on my side.

‘Then, I’ll do it.’

I came to the conclusion that getting it over with cleanly was the best course of action.

Just then.

“Is there a problem here?”

A clear, composed voice cut through the air.

Everyone turned towards the direction of the sound.

There stood Kang Ah-rin.

She strode forward with an unyielding air, wearing her characteristic, relaxed smile.

“That person is with me today, for an expedition to Mt. Baekdu.”

Kang Arin, gazing at Woo Jang-hoon, spoke with an unruffled composure.

“Of course, I understand Lotus is in a hurry due to the recent surge….”

She stepped closer, halting before Woo Jang-hoon.

Then, letting her gaze linger briefly on his arm, her eyes flashed with a cold light.

“A guild the size of Lotus, I would imagine, is well-versed in regulations and procedure, wouldn’t you say?”

Woo Jang-hoon’s expression hardened.

“Furthermore, you are aware that Glory, being a guild under our umbrella, fundamentally possesses the right of first conquest over Lotus, yes?”

At her words, the corner of Woo Jang-hoon’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

“Ah… Miss Kang Arin.”

He forced a strained smile, hastily shifting his demeanor.

But his eyes betrayed a palpable sense of discomposure.

“I wasn’t aware you were with Miss Arin. I apologize for my intrusion….”

Before he could finish his sentence, Kang Arin brushed his arm away, speaking with sharp resolve.

“Then, release him.”

A single phrase, short and to the point.

She turned back to the guide, speaking with tranquil composure.

“Process Jeong Hae-in and myself as having received authorization from the association.”

The guide, caught between Woo Jang-hoon and Kang Arin, shifted nervously before hurrying to begin the work.

Woo Jang-hoon, rendered speechless, could only retreat.

As things progressed smoothly, Kang Arin turned to me, a smile gracing her lips.

“Shall we go?”

She inquired softly.

I wasn’t exactly oblivious.

From any angle, it was clear she was trying to help me.

‘But why the formality?’

Without a word, I nodded and followed her into the portal.

*

Kang Arin and I arrived at the base of Mount Baekdu.

Inevitably, Team 2 from Lotus trailed closely behind, resulting in a somewhat forced companionship.

However, whether they had a separate route prepared, they soon vanished.

“Think we should split off now?”

Kang Arin spoke.

After being so formal the entire time, the moment Lotus’s team left, she reverted to her familiar self.

Frankly, I found that more comfortable too.

“Yeah. I’ll head out first. Thanks for earlier.”

“Mm.”

I was curious about why she’d helped me, but the atmosphere didn’t exactly invite questions.

Similarly, she didn’t ask about my reason for being at Baekdu Mountain.

And so, without explicitly stating our objectives, we naturally parted ways.

Besides, the way I intended to climb the mountain was best kept hidden.

‘High.’

Baekdu Mountain was set as one of the most difficult areas in the original work.

And the Fragment of Harmony I was seeking now possessed the strongest attribute of the four.

Therefore, it naturally belonged to Seong Siwoo.

A Fragment buried deep within Cheonji Lake.

But the problem was that the process of getting to that Fragment was just too unreal.

The strange energy fluctuations recently detected at Baekdu Mountain.

These were likely caused by the Fragment’s emanating energy.

Naturally, numerous guilds would be sending raid teams, and Kang Arin and Lotus were likely among them.

‘Probably impossible.’

There’s a reason it’s such treacherous terrain.

For teams at this stage to break through the hordes of monsters all the way to Cheonji was nearly impossible.

Even in the original story, only teams with the stats of the final chapters could barely manage it.

So how would I get there?

Before I knew it, I’d arrived at the area where monsters started appearing.

A large sign stood ahead, with a warning written in red letters.

“I’ll go to the past.”

Baekdu Mountain became so treacherous 50 years ago, in 1979.

From the moment the Fragment of Harmony formed in Cheonji.

The high-dimensional energy emanating from the Fragment warped the environment, and the monsters grew stronger by feeding on that energy.

So, my plan is to return to the past, just after the fragment was created, and take possession of it there, buried in the earth and sky.

It was the only way to approach the fragment with minimal effort.

Of course, if I acquire the fragment in the past, it will naturally disappear in the present.

There’s a hidden gimmick to this plan.

A secret location only discoverable by the player who first conquered Mount Baekdu in the original game.

‘The Old Cabin.’

For players who suffered immensely to obtain the fragment in their first playthrough,

it was a feature designed to allow easier access from the next round onward. Like a kind of save point.

And so, I had to find that cabin.

I knew its approximate location.

Near the altitude where monsters began to appear, in a relatively low-risk area.

Therefore, I thought I could find it quickly.

But my expectations were completely off.

“Shit.”

That ‘approximate’ information was the problem.

The cabin I thought I’d find quickly remained elusive, even as the sun began to set.

The sun had gone down, and rain started pouring, but the cabin was nowhere to be seen.

The wind and rain enveloped my entire body, and I was already soaked to the bone.

Before I knew it, I was wandering deeper into the mountain, increasingly unsure of where I was headed.

‘Not today, huh…’

I was about to concede and try again another day when.

In the distance, the dilapidated form of an old, crumbling cabin came into view.

‘Found it.’

I cheered inwardly and dashed through the wind and rain toward the cabin.

Opening the door and stepping inside, the scent of old wood assaulted my nostrils.

The interior was covered in dust, as if untouched by human hands for a long time.

But one thing was strange.

The calendar hanging on the wall.

I approached and examined it.

Unlike the other furniture covered in dust, it was uniquely close to new.

Moreover.

“March 20th, 2029.”

Astonishingly, today’s date was marked.

In a mountain cabin, untouched by human hands for what felt like ages, and in such a desolate location.

A calendar updated with the most current date.

“It’s real.”

Finally, I found it.

I collapsed right there, slumped to the floor and activated my watch.

[PM 10:20]

Before I knew it, so much time had passed.

‘Midnight, 12:00 AM.’

At midnight, this cabin activates.

And it will send me to the point in time immediately after the Fragment of Harmony is created.

Listening intently to the ticking of the old clock on the wall, I slowly waited for the moment.

How long had it been?

I opened my eyes to check the time.

[PM 11:58]

The moment was just around the corner.

The sound of the clock’s second hand grew louder, amplifying the tension.

But then, in that instant.

-BANG!

The door was flung open violently, sending a gust of frigid air into the cabin.

“What?!”

As I hastily turned, a familiar face entered.

“Kang Arin…?”

It was her.

Wringing out her rain-soaked shirt, she confidently strode into the cabin.

“Hey! Hey, it’s dangerous! Get out!”

I yelled in shock.

This cabin is a device configured to send only one person into the past.

No one knows what happens when more than two enter.

“That’s harsh. Asking me to leave in this weather?”

Kang Arin answered nonchalantly, closing the door.

-Click.

And locked it.

Her wet t-shirt clung to her body, revealing her curves with stark clarity.

“I helped you earlier, I’m a little disappointed.”

“No, it’s not that… I have to leave right now…”

-Tick, tock.

The ticking of the old clock’s second hand echoed particularly loudly within the cabin’s silence.

-Cuckoo, cuckoo.

And finally, the old cuckoo clock on the wall,

with an eerie resonance, announced midnight.

“Oh my.”

Kang Arin tilted her head slightly, looking at me.

Red eyes gleaming softly, a smile playing on her lips.

“Already twelve o’clock?”

At that moment, the air within the cabin began to distort.

“Ah, fuck…”

Too late.

I bit my lip, staring at her, but Kang Arin simply stood there, innocently.

And soon, a dazzling light filled the space, swallowing everything.