Chapter 68

 Haydam

It was strange enough that my body, which had been little more than a ragged wreck before I lost consciousness, felt no worse than a slightly dry throat when I woke up.

But the strangest thing of all was the immense power I had sensed within myself ever since opening my eyes.

I believed that power was connected to the Snow Giant’s jewel that had been shoved into my mouth before I passed out.

And to the kitten that had come out of the ring and forced me to swallow it.

That creature would surely know the nature of this power.

However, it remained silent despite my calling for it.

Then again, it had only revealed itself when I was on the verge of death. It would almost be ridiculous to expect it to answer a simple summons like this.

‘No choice, then. This is a little childish, but…’

The only person the NPC inside this ring normally reacted to was the Commander.

Whenever the Commander appeared, I sensed something like sorrow from it. Whenever he was in danger, I felt its desperation.

If I so much as thought badly of the Commander, it behaved as though protesting. And whenever I acted unlike “Haydam,” it scorched my finger as though telling me to get a grip.

So this creature would definitely react to my “muttering.”

“What would happen if I went to the Commander and told him I’m not Haydam?”

[No!]

The instant I provoked it, a childish voice rang out from the gemstone.

With a burst of brilliant light, something white popped out and landed on my lap.

A tiny kitten as white as snow.

‘So I really didn’t imagine it back then.’

The situation had been so desperate at the time that I had wondered whether I had hallucinated it.

But the kitten before me now was identical to the one I had seen just before losing consciousness.

I had assumed there was an NPC inside the ring. I had never imagined it might contain something that was not human.

The kitten that emerged from the ring immediately began raging at me.

[That’s not what you promised! You were the one who said you’d treat him like your father and make sure he didn’t die!]

“So you finally decided to show yourself.”

Treat him like my father and make sure he did not die…

That was the vow I had made at Lunamoon’s grave.

Ah. Since this creature had existed in the form of the ring back then, it must have heard the vow I made to Lunamoon as well.

Was that why it had cooperated with me until now?

‘But if that’s true, this is really strange…’

[Are you… really going to tell him that you’re not Haydam…?]

Just as it had said, this creature knew that I was not the “real” Haydam.

If it were an NPC connected to Lunamoon, should it not resent me for impersonating him?

But judging by its attitude, it wanted me to continue pretending to be Haydam.

No—it seemed to want something beyond that.

It wanted me to become Haydam perfectly.

[You can’t do that… He’ll be so, so sad…]

What exactly was this kitten?

Because the ring reacted whenever the Commander was near, I had initially wondered whether Lunamoon’s soul might dwell within it.

But the emotions conveyed through the ring whenever I was close to the Commander had never been romantic.

And if this kitten were Lunamoon, there would be no reason for it to be so uncooperative with another player like me.

Well, judging from the way it spoke and acted, it certainly did not seem like a player.

Even so, it had to be an NPC closely connected to Lunamoon.

Otherwise, it would not beg me so desperately not to make the Commander sad.

Tears began welling in the kitten’s eyes, so I quickly spoke.

“Fine.”

[Fine?]

“I mean I’ll keep living as Haydam.”

[Really?!]

“Yes, really.”

If it had been watching me from inside the ring all this time, then it should know that I had my own reasons for needing to live as Haydam.

It was as innocent as it looked young.

[Then don’t break your promise this time!]

“When have I ever broken it? I rescued him exactly as you wanted. I nearly died saving the Commander, you know.”

[That’s…! That’s why I gave you the Snow Giant’s jewel!]

Ah. So it had come out to help me at the last moment because I had saved the Commander?

‘It seems temperamental, but it is cute.’

I leaned closer to the kitten and asked,

“So… who are you?”

Its answer was completely unexpected.

[You shouldn’t call me “you”!]

I should not call it “you”?

“I don’t know your name, so what else am I supposed to call you?”

[I’m not “you”! I’m your big brother!]

“…In what way?”

It looked like a kitten from every possible angle, yet it claimed to be my older brother.

Ah, did cats age differently from humans?

I vaguely remembered hearing that a one-year-old cat was around ten in human years.

My original body was over thirty, but in this creature’s eyes, I probably looked like a ten-year-old child.

Even so, this kitten looked no more than six months old.

Then it gave an unexpected answer.

[I was born before you, so I’m your big brother!]

Was it claiming to have been born earlier than me?

“Then… you were born more than ten years ago?”

[That’s right! So I’m your big brother!]

Hmm.

I had thought it was simply being stubborn, but it seemed serious.

Then again, it might only look young because it was a monster.

[Call me Big Brother! If you don’t, I won’t answer your questions!]

Its mental age certainly seemed young…

“Fine. So who are you, Big Brother?”

Calling it Big Brother was easy enough, so I did so without complaint.

The kitten looked satisfied. It puffed out its chest, raised its chin slightly, and answered.

[I am the beginning and end of all things.]

“…What?”

[And I’m your big brother.]

It seemed conversation with this creature would not be easy.

“What are you, Lunamoon’s pet or something?”

[I’m not a pet! And don’t call me “you” either!]

“Then why were you inside Lunamoon’s ring, Big Brother?”

[That’s…]

The kitten, which had been acting arrogant the entire time, suddenly drooped its ears and lowered its head dejectedly.

[I can’t tell you…]

“You can’t tell me?”

Judging by how dispirited it looked, there really seemed to be some reason it could not explain.

I decided to let the matter go for now.

After all, I had not summoned it because I was curious about its identity.

I wanted to ask about the mysterious power residing within me.

“Then I’ll ask something else.”

[Something else…?]

Perhaps it felt guilty for being unable to answer me, because the moment I said I would ask something different, it happily raised its head and looked at me.

“Why did you make me eat the Snow Giant’s jewel?”

[I can tell you that!]

The kitten bounced up and down on my lap, then moved closer and pressed one soft paw against my chest.

It was the exact area where I had sensed that mysterious power ever since waking up.

[“You people” are vessels capable of containing jewels.]

“You people?”

[People like you!]

Did “you people” mean players?

While I was still puzzled, the kitten continued.

[A monster’s power is contained within its jewel. If you absorb the jewel, you can use that power.]

‘This is the most NPC-like thing any of them has said so far.’

In any case, absorbing a jewel allowed one to use a monster’s power.

The atmosphere had suddenly turned into a supernatural battle story.

What genre was this insane game supposed to be?

“So what you’re saying is…”

[Nyaaang!]

“…What Big Brother is saying is that I absorbed the monster’s power?”

[That’s right! The reason your body recovered so quickly was because you absorbed the Snow Giant’s regenerative ability exactly as it was.]

So that was why I had been found without a single injury?

But the force I sensed inside me felt far too vast to be mere regeneration.

It was almost like omnipotence—the sense that if I reached out my hand, I could make anything happen exactly as I wished.

[Of course, regeneration wasn’t the only thing you absorbed. You inherited its most special power.]

“Its most special power?”

[The Snow Giant’s supernatural ability. The power to control the weather.]

The power to control the weather.

The same power that had created a blizzard and summoned lightning was now inside me?

‘So it wasn’t quite omnipotence.’

Still, it was difficult to believe.

Absorbing a monster’s jewel to improve my regenerative ability sounded plausible enough.

Players already possessed the supernatural ability to heal themselves through food.

But absorbing a jewel and taking a monster’s supernatural power…

That had never appeared in the game.

Yet I could not dismiss it as nonsense when I could truly feel that power inside me.

“If that’s true, I want to test it. How do I use this power?”

[Asking how to use it… is difficult for me to explain too. A supernatural ability is like an arm or a leg. When you’re first born, even rolling over is difficult, but eventually you learn how to walk. Now that it has become part of your body, you’ll eventually learn to control it.]

“Eventually…”

[Even a Snow Giant takes several years to grow accustomed to controlling the weather. Since you’re human, you’ll need time before you can use the power properly.]

So I could not use it immediately.

If I would naturally learn with time, that was acceptable.

More importantly…

‘So players can grow stronger by absorbing monster jewels…’

What if I obtained the jewels of suitable large-class monsters and fed them to Taejeong and Stay-at-Home Wifey?

Legendary-class monsters with supernatural abilities were not easy to find, but even large-class monster jewels should strengthen them to some extent.

The fact that jewels could be used to enhance one’s body had never appeared in the game.

The people from the other sectors would not know about it.

That meant our sector could gain an overwhelming advantage.

As soon as I thought of that, the kitten suddenly looked extremely adorable.

I had no idea how it possessed knowledge even I lacked.

More importantly, it had the ability to remove the jewel from even a legendary-class monster with ease.

It would definitely be useful to me.

It would be even better if I could later obtain the jewel of a flying monster and gain the ability to fly.

“If I absorb the jewel of a flying monster, will I be able to fly?”

[Only if the monster possesses a supernatural ability specifically related to flight. You won’t be able to fly just because you eat the jewel of a monster with wings. Humans don’t have wings.]

So absorbing the jewel of a flying monster would not cause wings to grow from my back.

Then again, it would be a problem if they actually did.

[And even if you ate the jewel of a monster with a flight-related supernatural ability, you still wouldn’t be able to use it.]

“Why not?”

[Because you can only possess one jewel-derived supernatural ability.]

“I see…”

A chill suddenly ran down my spine as I listened.

What if I had brought some random monster jewel to my mouth without knowing that?

Of course, since I had only known monster jewels as things meant to be destroyed, that probably would never have happened…

‘But was it really a coincidence that the first jewel I absorbed belonged to a legendary-class monster?’

It felt as though the board was being arranged far too conveniently in my favor.

The same went for the existence of this little creature claiming to be my big brother.

“How do you know all of this?”

[Because I am the beginning and end of all things.]

What was that “beginning and end” nonsense supposed to mean?

“Don’t you have a name?”

[I have a name… but it isn’t mine right now.]

It had a name, but that name was no longer its own?

An idea flashed through my mind.

Someone connected to Lunamoon.

Someone who had a name, but could no longer claim it as their own.

Someone born slightly earlier than the player, who always began at the age of ten.

And a member of Commander Hayden’s family who desperately wished for him not to be sad.

There was only one NPC who fit all of those conditions.

“Don’t tell me…”

I asked the creature in a trembling voice.

“Are you… Haydam?”