This Universe Needs Old People - Chapter 68



Only Noblemtl

Apocalypse Needs Old People Episode 068

59. Haydam

It was strange that my body, which was as bad as rags before I lost consciousness, was only a little thirsty when I woke up.

The strangest thing of all is the powerful force I feel inside me since I opened my eyes.

I figured the power had to do with the Snow Giant’s jewel that was shoved into my mouth before I lost consciousness.

And the cat of the moon rock that put the jewel in.

If he’s the guy, he must know about the true nature of this power.

But the guy remained silent even when I called him.

In the first place, this guy only showed up when I was about to die, so it’s kind of funny that he’s responding to a call like this.

‘I guess there’s no choice. It’s a bit childish, but… … .’

The only NPC in this ring that normally reacts is the Commander.

When the Commander appears, a feeling of pity is conveyed, and when the Commander is in danger, a feeling of desperation is felt.

A guy who acts like he’s protesting whenever I have a bad thought about the commander, and points his finger at me as if to tell me to come to my senses whenever I act in a way that’s not ‘Haydam’-like.

So this guy will definitely react to my ‘monologue’.

“What if I go to the commander and tell him I’m not Haytham?”

[no!]

As soon as I cast the taunt, a young voice was heard from the moonstone, and a white thing popped out with a bright light and landed on my lap.

A kitten as white as snow.

‘I guess I was right when I saw things that time.’

Because it was such a life-or-death crisis at the time, I thought I might have just seen something.

But the cat in front of me now was exactly the same as the one I saw just before I lost consciousness.

I thought there would be an NPC inside the ring, I never thought it would contain something other than a person.

The cat that jumped out of the ring started getting angry at me.

[You broke your promise! You said you would treat me like a father and not let me die!!]

“You finally got it.”

I will treat you like a father and not let you die… … .

That’s the oath I made at Luna Moon’s tomb.

Ah, since it existed in the form of a ring at that time, this guy must have heard the oath I made to Luna Moon too.

Is it because of that oath that you have been cooperating with me up until now?

‘But then it’s really strange… … .’

[You… you’re really going to tell me you’re not Haytham… …?]

As I said, this guy knows I’m not the ‘real’ Haytham.

If I were an NPC related to Luna Moon, shouldn’t I be annoyed at the fact that I’m pretending to be Haytham?

But looking at this guy’s attitude, it seemed like he wanted me to act like Haydam… no, more than that, he wanted me to become Haydam ‘perfectly’.

[You can’t do that… … . Then you’ll be very sad… … .]

What on earth is this cat?

At first, I thought that maybe Luna Moon’s spirit was in it, as the ring reacted in front of the commander.

When I was close to the Commander, the feelings that were conveyed through the ring were never those of a lover.

And if that cat is Lunamoon, there’s no reason for it to be uncooperative with me, a fellow player.

Well, from what he’s saying and doing right now, he definitely doesn’t seem like a player.

Even so, it is clear that this NPC is related to Luna Moon.

Otherwise, there would be no way I could have asked you so earnestly not to make the Commander sad.

Tears began to well up in the cat’s eyes, so I quickly spoke.

“okay.”

[You understand?]

“I mean, I’ll continue living as Haydam.”

[really?!]

“Yeah, really.”

If you’ve been watching me from the ring up until now, you’ll know that I too have circumstances that make it necessary for me to live as Haydam.

He’s as innocent as he looks.

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

“Have I ever broken a promise? I saved you just as you wanted. I almost died saving the Commander, but I.”

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

Oh, did you jump out and help me right before I died because I saved the commander?

‘He may seem like he has a bad temper, but he’s actually cute.’

I brought my head close to the cat and asked.

“So… who are you?”

When I asked like that, the answer I got was unexpected.

[You shouldn’t say ‘you’!]

You’re saying I shouldn’t say ‘you’?

“I don’t know your name, so I can only call you ‘you.’”

[It’s not ‘you’! I’m the older brother!]

“… Where are you looking?”

How can a kitten who looks like a kitten claim to be his older brother?

Oh, is there a different age standard for cats?

I think it was said that a 1-year-old cat is equivalent to about 10 human years… … .

My body is over thirty years old, but in the eyes of that guy right now, I probably look like a ten-year-old kid.

But even so, this guy only looks like he’s about 6 months old.

But the guy gave an unexpected answer.

[I’m the older brother because I was born before you!]

Are you going to claim that you were born before me?

“So… you were born 10 years ago?”

[Yeah! So I’m the older brother!]

Hmm. I thought you were just joking, but you seem serious.

Well, since it’s a monster, it might just look young.

[Call me hyung! If you don’t call me hyung, I won’t answer!]

The mental age definitely looks young… … .

“Okay, so who are you, hyung?”

It wasn’t that hard, so I called him hyung without any hesitation. He looked satisfied, straightened his chest, slightly raised his head, and answered.

[I am the beginning and the end of everything.]

“…what?”

[And your brother.]

I don’t think I’ll be able to communicate well with this guy.

“Are you… Luna Moon’s pet or something?”

[Not a pet! Not you!!]

“Then why was my brother in the Luna Moon ring?”

[that…….]

The guy who had been so arrogant and haughty suddenly lowered his ears, became sullen, and lowered his head.

[I can’t say… … .]

“You can’t say it?”

Looking at the drooping appearance, it seemed like there really was an unspeakable reason, so I decided to move on for now.

Anyway, the reason I called him out now is not because I was curious about his identity, but to ask about the unknown power that had taken hold within me.

“Then let me ask you something else.”

[Something else… …?]

The guy seemed to be secretly concerned that he couldn’t answer me, so when I said I would ask something else, he looked up at me with a happy look on his face.

“Why did you feed me the snow giant’s jewel?”

[I can tell you that!]

He hopped on my lap, then came over to me and pressed his soft, jelly-covered front paws against my chest.

It was the exact area where an unknown force had been felt a little while ago.

[‘You’ are a vessel that can hold jewels.]

“you guys?”

[Kids like you!]

Does ‘you’ refer to the players?

While Arisong was talking, the cat continued talking.

[The ‘gem’ contains the power of a monster, and if you absorb the gem, you can use that power.]

‘Of all the guys I’ve seen so far, this one speaks the most like an NPC.’

By the way, if you absorb a jewel, you can use the monster’s power.

The atmosphere suddenly turns into a battle between supernatural powers.

What the heck is this crazy game genre?

“Then what you’re saying now is… … .”

[Meow!]

“… So what you’re saying is that I absorbed the monster’s power?”

[Yes! The reason your body recovered quickly was because you absorbed the Snow Giant’s healing power.]

So you’re saying there were no wounds when they were found?

But the strength I felt inside me was too great to be simply called resilience.

It was a power close to omnipotence, as if one could do whatever one wanted if one stretched out one’s hand.

[Of course, it’s not just resilience that you’ve absorbed. You’ve inherited something very special.]

“What’s the most special thing?”

[This is the power of the snow giant. It is the power to control the weather.]

The power to control the weather.

The power that caused blizzards and struck lightning is now within me?

‘It wasn’t omnipotent.’

But it was something I couldn’t readily believe.

Absorbing monster gems to increase recovery power… that seemed plausible.

Because players actually had the ability to heal through eating.

But you can absorb the jewels and gain the monster’s ability…

It was a setting that had never appeared in a game before.

It’s too much to dismiss as a pointless story, but it’s a situation where I actually feel strength within myself.

“If that’s true, I’d like to test its power. How do I use this power?”

[How to use it… It’s hard for me to explain. A power is like an arm or leg. When you’re just born, it’s hard to even roll over, but eventually, you’ll start walking. Since it’s become a part of your body, you’ll eventually be able to handle it.]

“Someday… maybe.”

[It takes a few years for even a snow giant to become accustomed to controlling the weather, so it will take time for you, a human, to be able to control that power.]

It wasn’t something I could deal with right away.

If it’s something you learn naturally over time, then it’s okay.

Than that.

‘I can gain power by absorbing the monster’s jewel… … .’

How about getting some jewels from a moderately large monster and feeding them to Taejung and Banggu Seok Yeobo?

It’s not easy to find a legendary monster with a special ability, but you can still become somewhat stronger with the jewel of a large monster.

The fact that you can strengthen your body through jewels is a setting that does not appear in the game.

Since this information may not be known to the other districts, our district will be able to get far ahead.

Thinking about it that way, I suddenly found this guy really cute.

I don’t know how you have this knowledge, but you have information that I don’t know.

Above all, it has the ability to easily extract jewels from even legendary monsters.

I’m sure it will help me.

If you later obtain the flying monster’s jewel and gain the ability to fly, it would be the icing on the cake.

“If I absorb the flying monster’s jewel, can I fly?”

[If it’s a monster with the ability to fly, it won’t be able to fly just because it ate the jewel of a winged monster. Humans don’t have wings.]

I guess absorbing a flying monster’s jewel doesn’t make it grow wings.

Well, even if it actually stands out, it would be a problem.

[And even if you eat the jewel of a monster with such flying ability, you can’t use it.]

“why?”

[You can only have one gem’s ability.]

“aha…….”

As I listened to the story, a chill ran down my spine.

What if you didn’t know this fact and put a monster’s jewel in your mouth?

Of course, since I only knew that monster jewels were meant to be used for breaking, that wouldn’t have happened… … .

‘But is it a coincidence that the first jewel I absorbed was that of a legendary monster?’

I felt like the tables were stacked too heavily in my favor.

Oh, and there’s also the existence of a kid who claims to be his older brother.

“But how do you know all this?”

[Because I am the beginning and the end of everything.]

What the hell does this whole beginning and end thing mean?

“Isn’t there anything like a name?”

[I have a name… but it’s not mine right now.]

But it’s not yours now?

A thought crossed my mind at those words.

Someone related to Luna Moon.

A person who has a name but is no longer his own.

A being born slightly earlier than the player who starts at exactly ten years old.

And I hope Commander Hayden isn’t sad, his family.

Isn’t there just one NPC like that?

“You really… … .”

I asked the guy in a trembling voice.

“Heydam… is that you?”