The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 42

Vol 1 Chapter 42

"Ulterior motive? I just wanted to treat him to something delicious out of a feeling of apology. And well... It's not a crime that I wanted to see him again."

"...Kap, let's leave right now."

Kapros shook his head at Yu-wan, who was growling sensitively at such innocuous words.

"No. It's my first time eating in the game, so I want to try drinking."

Since he had hardly ever drunk alcohol in real life, he was curious. And he didn't really dislike that Kratos guy anymore, so it didn't matter. At this, Kratos's face brightened, while Yu-wan's face frowned.

"I could buy that for you..."

"Why? It's fun watching you two. Keep going."

As Kapros turned his attention to the employee bringing the drinks, he didn't properly see Yu-wan and Kratos's expressions change to look like they had bitten into something sour.

"Here you go! Three glasses of our shop's special draft beer, boasting the best size, quality, and grade! Enjoy it cold."

The three men's gazes converged on the three glasses of beer placed on the table with a thud, dripping with condensation. Kapros remembered the atmosphere becoming quite convivial after some drinks, but he didn't have a chance to check what his drinking habits were like. His memory became hazy as his body started to feel hot.

He didn't know what happened after that, but in any case, when he opened his eyes with a splitting headache, he was on a bed.

"..."

...His head hurt.

Kapros realized for the first time that one could pass out from drinking even in the game, not just from being knocked out in combat. Somehow his eyes felt swollen and sore, but there was no mirror to check. While he was pondering where he was, with a dry throat, the door clicked open and Yu-wan entered with a glass of water.

"Here."

Yu-wan, who hadn't changed color even before Kapros passed out, was still walking around fine as if nothing had happened. Kapros silently accepted the water he offered and drank it. Checking, he found that his health had dropped by half, but drinking the water made him feel somewhat recovered.

Yu-wan was staring at Kapros drinking water to the point of embarrassment. Then he suddenly stopped Kapros's movement to wipe the water that had flowed down his mouth and wiped it himself. When Kapros stared blankly, wondering what was going on, Yu-wan rarely averted his gaze and muttered.

"Just..."

"Uh, okay."

Somehow Yu-wan's low voice seemed to sound a bit hoarse and husky, but Kapros just nodded and then asked about Kratos.

"What about Kratos?"

"That bastard woke up first and went downstairs."

Yu-wan said, returning with a somewhat dissatisfied look. Was Kapros the last to wake up?

"How long was I out?"

"About 20 minutes in G.T (Game Time)."

20 minutes... Not that long.

"I can't remember, was there anything that happened?"

Feeling that his attitude was strangely hesitant, Kapros asked, and Yu-wan smiled a bit awkwardly.

"You don't remember..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing happened. You just collapsed in the middle of drinking. Let's go downstairs."

Yu-wan said this while placing his large hand on Kapros's head as he sat on the bed, then removed it.

Kapros's hands tended to look smaller than their actual size due to lack of flesh, but Yu-wan's hands, covered in black gloves, were the opposite - large and firm.

'Is that really it?'

Feeling somewhat uneasy, Kapros just stood up and went downstairs. Kratos was waiting in front of the counter with a polite smile.

"Kap, you're awake."

When did I start speaking informally with that guy? Seeming to notice Kapros's confusion, Kratos smirked and placed his hand on Kapros's back, just as Yu-wan had placed his hand on his head earlier.

"We started speaking informally while drinking earlier. So you can speak informally too..."

Behind Kratos, who was smiling confidently to the point of shamelessness, Yu-wan's eyes were gleaming with murderous intent. What a situation. How could Kapros say anything when he couldn't remember how it had come to this?

"You..."

"Ah. You can call me Kran for short. Kran. Got it?"

Kapros stared at him in disbelief. Now that he looked, Kran's height matched Yu-wan's. What on earth had these perfectly built guys eaten to act like this?

"Hand..."

"Ah, sorry. I got carried away because I like you."

Like... What?

"Take your hand off right now."

Yu-wan grabbed Kran's hand lightning-fast and lifted it. Under the trembling hand, Yu-wan's coldly gleaming gaze clashed with Kran's, who was smiling but not hiding his sharp look. It seemed these guys had somehow become close enough to speak rudely to each other.

What on earth had happened in that hour or so? Life sure made him hear all sorts of things from people he'd just met. If Kran had been a complete stranger, Kapros would have roasted him, but his weakness, both then and now, was that he became soft towards people he knew even a little.

Kapros staggered out of the tavern, affected by the 'hangover' status. The topic he had asked Kran about before losing his memory was about what dungeons were in this city. There wasn't much time to prepare if he wanted to go to the place he had heard about then. He had to leave for his part-time job soon. He thought it would be better to quickly find somewhere to hole up and at least grasp some magic images from now on.

He could sense Yu-wan and Kran competitively following behind him. Somehow, it felt like he had been cursed to keep meeting strange people.

Above Kapros and the two men who were disappearing, a man suddenly appeared out of thin air where there had been nothing before. Although his appearance was very suspicious, the users and NPCs passing by on the street didn't seem to notice him, laughing and chattering as they passed.

"What a headache... Telling me to keep special watch when there's nothing to see, when am I supposed to do my actual work, damn branch manager."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a notification sound came from the information window that popped up in front of him, as if it had heard him.

Beep.

- GM.Mugeon. Mr. Yoon Seok-ho has invited you to Mist internal port number 25450. Do you accept the invitation?

Mugeon narrowed his eyes for a moment, but soon had no choice but to nod with a sigh.

"Ah, yes. Yes. I'm coming, I'm... Connect me."

– Connecting now.

Whoosh!