I’m the Only One With Two Towers - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Only I Have Two Towers Episode 078

Life in the Snowy Wilderness

“Boss, what are you going to do with that guy? You’re not planning to keep him here, are you?”

Wudan approached and glared at Jinhyeok.

“No matter how I look at it, he’s suspicious. How can a captured human be so carefree? He couldn’t act like this without having something to rely on. I’m telling you, he’s sent by the government.”

Jinhyeok cautiously raised his hand.

He did have something to rely on, but it had nothing to do with China, not even a speck of dust.

“I’m not related to the Chinese Government. I was living in Korea and this is my first time coming out.”

“Well, everyone would say they’re not involved. What idiot would say ‘I’m a government official!’?”

“That’s true.”

Wudan’s eyes wavered at the quick agreement.

‘What’s with this bastard, really.’

Jinhyeok, who had been stroking his chin and nodding, opened his mouth.

“By any chance, is there a good route to go down the mountain? Since you’re suspicious of me, if you tell me, I’ll leave right away.”

The compass was pointing toward Lijiang Airport.

It’s just that the mountain was large and the blizzard was so fierce that following it alone would turn him into a snowman.

Besides, even if he reached the airport, he was a bit worried about how to board a plane.

Since he had jumped off from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, he was in illegal resident status.

“Boss. We can’t let him go. He’ll definitely tell them our location.”

“I came here blindfolded, so I couldn’t see anything.”

“That doesn’t matter. You might have hidden recording devices or even if you came blindfolded, you could remember the number of steps or directions.”

“Can you do that? I don’t think I could because I’m not smart.”

Wudan’s face turned red.

“Th, that’s…!”

“Hey Wudan! If you’re going to talk nonsense, go to the campfire and eat some soup!”

A sharp voice burst out from behind, sounding frustrated.

It was the girl who had been poking his back telling him to walk properly.

“Ih, Ihwa. That’s not what I meant…”

“Don’t call my name in front of this human of unknown identity.”

“Sorry…”

Jinhyeok swallowed his dry saliva.

Wudan, who had looked incredibly strong, had completely disappeared.

Wudan returned to the campfire with his shoulders drooping.

The men nearby patted Wudan’s shoulders.

“By the way, I don’t have anything either. I was stranded carrying just this one bag.”

Jinhyeok held out the bag he was carrying.

The people acted as if that didn’t matter at all.

‘Are they bandits?’

They were just very wary, but the village atmosphere itself wasn’t that hostile.

“Anyway, the blizzard is too severe right now to go out. You won’t last long and will lose your life. When the snow stops, I’ll take you to where we found you, so go down in the direction we showed you. You should be able to get out to the entrance of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.”

“Boss!”

“Enough.”

Wei raised his hand and stared at Jinhyeok.

A human who possessed no hostility, wariness, or fear.

That made him more suspicious, but keeping him around didn’t seem like it would yield anything more.

Moreover, the voice of the snowy mountain that had first announced Jinhyeok’s appearance had been calm and peaceful, unlike when the government forces came.

Wei pointed to a snowboard placed to one side.

“I’ll give you one.”

“Oh, yes.”

Of course, he didn’t know how to ride it.

He had never even been near a ski resort.

But it wasn’t the atmosphere to say such things, so he nodded.

Might as well try riding it for once.

“Wudan, you stay with him. You at least won’t let your guard down.”

“Boss. Wudan’s best skill is letting his guard down. I’ll stay with him too.”

Wei nodded.

Ihwa, who had just turned nineteen.

With her being meticulous and never missing anything, he could feel at ease.

“Follow me. Don’t do anything foolish.”

Jinhyeok raised both hands to show them and followed Ihwa.

It would be possible to just grab the board and run, but he had become somewhat curious about this place.

“Is the group name bandits?”

“We’re not bandits! We have a proper name called Tzuyu! Ah.”

Ihwa, who had shouted, frowned.

She had unconsciously revealed the group’s name.

“Tzuyu… does that mean snow fox?”

Ihwa, who had been trembling, reluctantly opened her mouth.

“It’s Chinese, Chinese. It means freedom.”

She had ended up giving information, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Given her personality, it was impossible to leave such a misunderstanding alone.

“Sit here.”

She made him sit in a corner by the campfire.

A smile formed at the warm heat transmitted through his body.

A campfire in the snowy mountains – this was quite romantic.

Ihwa, who had disappeared somewhere for a moment, brought back a soup bowl.

“Eat this. It’ll warm your body.”

“Thank you.”

Jinhyeok received the bowl and took a light sip.

‘Oh?’

He thought it was plain water, but it had a deep flavor as if bones had been boiled.

The seasoning was just right too.

After taking a few more sips, Jinhyeok looked around.

And he quietly stared at some discarded bones to one side.

The presence of bones meant there had been meat attached to them.

“Co, could I have some meat too?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

He said while holding out his bowl.

Ihwa was genuinely confused.

Was this really a captured human?

A moment later, Jinhyeok’s eyes sparkled at the meat piled high in his bowl.

“Mmm.”

His cold resistance had greatly increased, but that didn’t mean he had lost the sensation of cold.

He just didn’t shiver, but he still felt the cold.

In such a situation, eating steaming hot soup and meat.

He couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Ihwa. Was it necessary to give him meat too?”

“Mom said not to be stingy when it comes to food.”

Ihwa gave a casual answer to Wudan and let out a deep sigh.

‘He’s eating really well.’

Jinhyeok was diligently tearing into the meat, as if he had been starving all day.

After devouring the meat in an instant, he cleanly downed the remaining broth in one shot.

“Whew!”

Hot breath escaped from his mouth.

Indeed, galbitang is perfect when it’s cold.

“How long have you been here?”

“Like we’d tell you…”

“Two years for me. Six months for him.”

Wudan, who was about to shout, swallowed his words.

Ihwa was known for being prickly even within Tzuyu, so why?

Ihwa, who had swept back her hair, looked at Jinhyeok.

He felt more harmless and pure than any human she’d encountered so far.

She had no intention of letting her guard down, but conversation seemed fine enough.

“Do you know the Hunter x Hunter manga?”

“I do.”

“Did it finish?”

“It’s still on hiatus.”

“Damn it! Still on hiatus? Does he plan to finish it or not!”

Seeing Ihwa’s indignation, Jinhyeok realized one fact.

This girl was one of his kind.

“One Piece is almost at its conclusion.”

“What? They found the One Piece? What was it in the end?”

“Is it okay to tell you? If you get spoiled, it won’t be fun when you watch it later.”

Ihwa, who was about to say something, hung her head low.

“Who doesn’t know that? I’m asking because I don’t think I’ll get to see it.”

Ihwa was around the same age as Jinhyeok’s younger sister Yoo Jin-hee.

She was at an age where she should be on social media and having fun, but she’d lived for two years in a place with no internet, let alone modern conveniences.

She had no choice but to endure it, but that didn’t mean Ihwa didn’t miss those things.

Ihwa drew a bitter smile and looked around.

“It might look like we’re living freely, but this place is a prison. Once you come in, you can never leave, so it’s basically a life sentence.”

“Ihwa.”

“Wudan, aren’t you frustrated? Just six months ago, you were gaming and ordering delivery food.”

Wudan lowered his head.

Beautiful natural scenery and a leisurely life like camping.

It wasn’t bad at first, but that only lasted a day or two.

Before long, terrible boredom set in.

“Time flows much slower here than outside. You have to find something to do every single day or you can’t live with your sanity intact.”

Ihwa actually envied Jinhyeok.

Once he left this Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, he could go anywhere and live freely.

“Will you return to Korea when you go down the mountain?”

“I should. That’s where my home is.”

“I’m jealous. If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have awakened.”

Ihwa pulled out a large hammer from her inventory.

“Who knew I’d awaken with something like this.”

Ihwa had awakened as a blacksmith, a production-type class.

Jinhyeok looked at Ihwa’s hammer.

‘A blacksmith.’

He’d seen them on the Tower Site.

Production classes could level up through production activities without climbing the Tower.

But he’d heard that didn’t mean they completely gave up on climbing.

They would either equip the gear they made themselves or give it to Tower residents they fought alongside, somehow climbing little by little.

“Players with hidden classes or those who climb the Tower quickly receive enthusiastic welcome and support from the Chinese Government. But we don’t. We have to be locked in workshops for over 14 hours of labor every day for the top few percent who are doing the best.”

“Then everyone in this village is a production class player?”

“No, there are some mediocre combat classes mixed in too. Their situation isn’t much different. The government’s policy is clear. If you can’t belong to the top tier, they make you gather monster parts day in and day out on designated floors. You can’t even climb the Tower freely.”

‘Wow.’

This wasn’t even North Korea, yet it was this extreme.

It felt like players were treated as some kind of accessories.

‘Naturalization would be difficult too.’

He could understand why Ihwa called this place a prison.

Having escaped, their identities would already be on the blacklist.

Getting caught the moment they left the mountain was just a matter of time.

As he was wiggling his fingers, Ihwa got up.

“I got all gloomy for nothing. I’m going to get some air. I’m going to gather firewood, so you’ll earn your meal, right?”

Her tone was much softer than before.

Jinhyeok, who nodded, also got up from his seat.

He was confident when it came to physical work.

A position overlooking the surrounding snowy mountains at a glance.

Breath escaped from the outpost hidden in the blizzard.

“Don’t see anything, do you?”

“No. Nothing. The blizzard is so severe.”

An outpost positioned by Tzuyu members to monitor government forces and outsiders.

“Let’s relax a bit. In weather like this, even government forces wouldn’t dare to climb up. But why aren’t the guys who went on patrol coming back?”

“Aren’t they somewhere lighting another campfire and slacking off?”

“Would they do that again after getting chewed out like that?”

The village itself was protected by a barrier, but this place wasn’t.

Lighting a campfire would be like telling the enemy their location.

“Just in case, I’ll go check. If they lit one, I’ll know right away.”

“Alright. Thanks for the trouble.”

He put on his clothes and opened the outpost door.

And he couldn’t help but freeze.

“S-Squad Leader.”

“It’s cold, why aren’t you closing the door quickly…?”

The squad leader who got up from his seat also opened his mouth.

Dozens of people had gathered in front of the door.

Ryugai, who had pushed through them and walked to the very front, spoke.

“No need to be scared. I have no business with cowards who ran away from their country. I’m looking for a rat that entered Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.”

“A r-rat, what do you mean by that…”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. Find it.”

Ryugai looked around and raised the corner of his mouth.

“Before I kill you all.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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