We both crashed at the motel, and when I woke up, the sun was high in the sky.
"Ugh... I'm tired."
No matter how high my Stamina Stat is, I can't help but feel mentally exhausted.
Shi-hyun-nim must feel the same, because he's still asleep.
"I'm hungry...."
What time did we get to the motel yesterday...? I don't really remember.
I left Shi-hyun-nim and got up. Shi-hyun-nim tried to hold me back, but I managed to slip away.
"Hmm...."
I went to the window, slightly opened the curtains, and looked outside. To be honest, I was so tired yesterday that I didn't even remember how I got to the motel, so I didn't know where I was.
"Something feels familiar...."
Looking outside, I felt a sense of déjà vu. It felt like I had been here before.
"Well, I might have been here before."
How much did I travel around the country when I was younger? It might be natural.
"More than that, I'm hungry."
Should I buy a lunch box or something? Considering it's lunchtime, it might be better to just go out and eat...?
"Should I wait a bit for Shi-hyun-nim to wake up?"
I used my phone and waited for Shi-hyun-nim to wake up. Shi-hyun-nim woke up after a whole two hours.
"Are you awake?"
"Uh...."
He didn't seem fully awake yet.
"Aren't you hungry?"
Actually, I was hungry, so I asked.
"Now that you mention it, I think I am hungry."
Shi-hyun-nim answered while stretching. Ugh, look at those abs! Aren't they too cool?!
"Then shall we head out?"
"Yeah."
I had already organized my equipment, so we could move right away.
As we left the motel and started walking to find a restaurant, the sense of déjà vu grew stronger.
"Shi-hyun-ah, have we been here before?"
Shi-hyun-nim looked at me as if I was talking nonsense. Was it just my imagination...?
"Don't you remember?"
Huh...? Shi-hyun-nim's words were different from what I expected. So, we have been here before?
"Well, it was 35 years ago."
It was natural that I had a sense of déjà vu but couldn't remember well.
"That's where we experienced the first Gate Break."
"Ah, ah...."
I remembered a little when Shi-hyun-nim told me.
"The destination is that Gate too."
"Didn't skeletons come out there?"
"Yeah, they said the Breaks happen so often here that they're begging us to go."
Breaks happen often?! What the hell... what are the Hunters around here doing?
"What are the Hunters doing?"
"There are no young people in these rural areas."
Ah... come to think of it, I heard on the internet that cities are disappearing in rural areas because there are no people....
After hearing Shi-hyun-nim's words, I could see the surroundings better. The buildings were desolate, and I could see dusty appliances.
Even the open stores had worn-out signs and buildings, and there were no signs of repairs.
"...There are no people."
Looking around, the buildings were eerie.
To think I'm only noticing this now....
Come to think of it, the motel facilities were also quite old.
"Well, it's nothing to do with us."
Shi-hyun-nim walked on with an indifferent expression. That's right... if it weren't for the request, there would be no reason to come this far.
"Still, it's a bit scary."
I looked at the fishing store next to me, and the abandoned products inside were covered in dust. Usually, people would take those things because they're too good to waste, but it was strange that they were still there.
We walked around for a while, but I couldn't see any restaurants.
When I came here before, I think there were people fishing at the docks... but I couldn't see anyone like that either.
"I only see convenience stores."
Even that convenience store didn't look too good.
"I guess we have no choice."
After looking at the surrounding situation, it was amazing that the motel was still operating. Shi-hyun-nim and I went into the convenience store and looked at the items.
"Umm...."
There were shockingly few products. I couldn't see any of the various instant foods that come to mind when I think of convenience stores, and there were hardly any cup noodles or snacks, and there were almost no types of drinks or water.
"I guess we have no choice."
I was going to pick out some cup noodles to eat, but an alert popped up saying that I couldn't pay because the expiration date had passed.
"...What the...."
Even the noodles are expired? Aren't these things supposed to be able to be stored for a long time?!
The expiration date of these things has passed? How much do things not sell?
It's a self-service convenience store, but isn't this too much?
"What should we do?"
"Let's look for something that hasn't expired yet."
Shi-hyun-nim checked each of the products on display and brought the ones that still had an expiration date.
I roughly finished the calculation and tried to eat the noodles, but I was dumbfounded because there was no water heater.
"Haha... I'm speechless."
"Let's go out and see if there's a place to get water."
I nodded. I didn't think there would be... but staying here wouldn't create a solution either.
As expected, there was no way to get warm water, and we chewed on the noodles raw.
"I think I smell something musty."
"I guess it's because it's old."
Is it because we chewed it like a snack? I didn't feel full either.
"Sigh..., I really miss the camper van...."
If I had a camper van, I could have made warm water!
No, if I had filled the refrigerator with ingredients from the beginning, I wouldn't have had to boil ramen.
"I have to buy one next time."
Shi-hyun-nim just laughed. After roughly filling our stomachs, we took the car to the island where the Gate was located.
"The bridge seems to be very old too."
It must be an important bridge connecting the island and the mainland, but aren't they repairing it?
"They say those bridges are made to last about a hundred years."
"Really?"
"So, you don't have to worry."
"I'm not worried?"
On the way to the Gate, we passed through a small village, and those places were all in ruins and looked eerie.
At least there was a public official in front of the Gate.
"Ah, you're here for the request?"
When I went to record the entry and exit, the public official greeted me with a bright smile.
"Yes, well...."
"Wow, I can rest assured for a month with this."
A month....
"Monsters popped out two months ago, and I was terrified."
The elderly public official spoke with a smile. It's definitely a serious matter, but the reaction is....
"Please take care of it."
Ignoring the public official's words, I went to the Gate.
The inside of the Gate was a gloomy graveyard.
"It looks like undead are going to come out."
"At least it's not hot?"
Rather, I felt chilly because of the eerie atmosphere.
"Have you been here?"
"It's not the first time."
We chatted casually and defeated the monsters. Honestly, the monsters were too weak for our level, so I couldn't feel any tension.
"The equipment is good."
I said, looking at my arm that had taken a monster's attack. There were almost no traces of the attack on the equipment.
"Avoid it if possible."
"I guess I wasn't tense enough."
Even the gloomy graveyard didn't feel like anything after looking at it for a while. When I moved a little, the dirt on the floor stirred, and skeletons began to rise from below.
"They're coming out slowly."
Shi-hyun-nim smiled and stomped his foot on the floor.
"Then you can't recover the magic stones."
"It's not like we're short on money."
That's true....
"Still, throwing money on the ground is a bit...."
"I'll be careful."
The floor didn't move because Shi-hyun-nim's stomp annihilated the skeletons.
I didn't feel like I had walked around much, but I had defeated a considerable number of monsters.
"Something's comfortable."
It was easy to walk around in the otherworld environment, but it was also good that the otherworld wasn't too big.
The jungle I went to right before was so damn big that I had to walk around for 10 or 15 minutes to find a monster....
Here, the next monster area existed even if I walked for only 2-3 minutes.
"Let's see...."
I took out my phone from my luggage and checked the time, and it had been 12 hours since I entered the Gate.
"It's been 12 hours."
"Really? Was the pace faster than I thought?"
Fast...? Did I catch almost all the monsters?
"Did you already catch them all?"
"Yeah, it feels like I've cleaned up almost everything."
"Re, really?"
There's this difference because the otherworld environment is different.... I knew it, but it felt new.
"Then let's clean up quickly, get out of the Gate, and sleep."
"Let's do that."
Even if I go out early, it will be dawn... but I wanted to go out as soon as possible.
I wandered around the otherworld for about 2 more hours and came out of the Gate.
"I guess it's okay since I caught about 2,300."
"You caught a lot."
"It's strange that they accumulate like that in the first place."
Well... Hunters can't catch monsters of this size in Gates that many Hunters go to.
They can catch 100 at most...? If it's a Gate with a lot of monsters, it's possible to catch 3-400... but usually, the number of monsters isn't that high, so it's difficult.
After finishing the entry and exit records, we immediately prepared to leave.
Since the opponent was a skeleton, the equipment didn't get too dirty, so it was easy to organize my clothes.
"Are you going to the next area?"
"I don't know...."
"Let's go far away if possible."
Honestly, I didn't want to spend another day in this place without proper facilities.
"Okay."
I took the car and left the island. The road was not properly maintained and was bumpy, and the abandoned abandoned houses were eerie to look at.
Even after leaving the island and coming to the mainland, the situation around the docks was similar.
Even though it was dawn, the only place with lights on was a self-service convenience store.
"Is this the situation in other rural areas?"
"Probably."
It wasn't just that people didn't live there because there was no infrastructure.
"It's natural to go to a place with a lot of people for safety."
"That's right."
Everyone wanted to live in the city because of the dangerous existence of the Gate.
The more people there are, the more Hunters there are, so it's safer.
"Breaks happened from time to time anyway."
I nodded at Shi-hyun-nim's words. Anyone who has experienced a Gate Break even once had no choice but to become more sensitive to safety.
"No matter how much the country tries to revive the provinces, it's impossible."
The government is said to have given up on reviving the provinces and is focusing on growing satellite cities around major areas with large populations.
"If I had a camper van, this wouldn't be a place I couldn't come to...."
"I wasn't planning on pushing Shi-hyun-nim...."
"Okay, let's buy one for sure."
I want to travel with my mom, and I think I need a camper van after all.