11
* * *
‘What kind of strength is this…’
Doun eventually gave up on the guy clinging to his side and refusing to let go. Even though it was a physical struggle between two S-rank hunters, Samin was an active hunter who didn’t neglect his bulk-up training.
If he used skills it might be different, but for Doun, who went on walks maybe once every three days, winning through pure strength against such an opponent was somewhat unreasonable.
Of course, he could have used skills, but Doun didn’t. It was true that he got goosebumps from this bear-sized disgusting bastard throwing himself at him asking to date, but he couldn’t heartlessly unleash skills on someone who had been restlessly trying to comfort him when he was crying.
“Hey… It’s hot, so move away a bit. People are looking at us strangely.”
“There’s no one passing by though.”
“……”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll move away.”
Samin subtly separated his body that had been pressed close. An evening with the sound of insects chirping and warm air brushing against their cheeks. Two men sat close together on a bench in the quiet park.
“Hyung. I’ve been thinking about it carefully.”
“…About what.”
“Does Magnetic really, truly want to quit being a hunter?”
His voice had lost all traces of laughter. Doun turned his head to look at Samin sitting beside him with his arms crossed.
“At first, when I saw that hyung didn’t even check Veritas and didn’t know your own ranking, I thought, ‘Ah, this hyung really was planning to quit being a hunter.'”
“……”
“I can only speculate based on what’s been revealed about what happened to hyung.”
“So what do you want to say.”
“This is only the second time hyung and I are seeing each other face to face, right? Sure, we’ve exchanged texts a few times, but hyung doesn’t talk much about yourself, so I don’t really know much. The replies you send are just things like ‘Are you crazy?’ or ‘hamburger.'”
“……”
“But hyung, do you know? When you got a drink from me at our guild office.”
“What about that day?”
“I talked about all sorts of things, but hyung’s expression was exactly like this.”
“What was my expression like…”
“This crazy bastard dragged me here and what kind of nonsense is he spouting?”
“……”
“Hyung’s expression was exactly like that.”
Doun hesitated. Because it was half right. There had been many rambling conversations he’d found tiresome, listening with one ear and letting it go out the other. He hadn’t realized it showed on his face.
“Hit the mark, didn’t I?”
“…No.”
“You’re totally hit. Anyway, it was the first time I’d seen someone whose expression gave away so much. So I was panicking inside and just saying whatever came to mind, then I brought up the tower…”
Samin leaned his crossed-arm torso forward and met Doun’s eyes.
“Hyung’s expression completely changed.”
“……”
“An expression like you were dying to hear more stories.”
“What. That must be a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding my ass. Absolutely not. When hyung answered other topics, you were indifferent, but whenever potion or skill talk, or magical beast talk came up, your eyes sparkled, you know? That’s why I thought hyung was just saying you’d quit being a hunter as empty words. Like you had some circumstances and were just taking a break for a while. Something… like that.”
“……”
“Hyung. Do you really want to quit being a hunter?”
Doun turned his head at Samin’s question. It would be nice if he could answer with yes or no. Even though he absolutely didn’t want to go near towers, there were many times when he felt doubtful about why he had to live so powerlessly and depressingly.
“I don’t know.”
Doun could only give an ambiguous answer in the end. Because he really didn’t know how he wanted to live.
He wanted to get better, so he regularly visited psychiatrists to get medication and struggled, but hunters still made him uncomfortable. All the hunters he’d encountered were terrible people.
“If you’re not sure, how about closing your eyes and trying to go to the tower once?”
“What? I don’t want to.”
“Listen to the end. I’m not asking you to clear the 55th floor with our guild, but since the 50th floor was unlocked, a training floor was created.”
“…Training?”
It was a term he’d never heard before.
“It makes sense you wouldn’t know since you haven’t accessed Veritas. It’s an additional space that was added when the 50th floor was unlocked. Unlike private training facilities, it’s a separate floor added inside the tower, so there are no skill usage grade restrictions. Monster summoning is also possible, but only those that appear on floors you’ve unlocked.”
Many things had changed in the span of a year. Doun blinked and stared blankly into space.
“And private training facilities, no matter how sophisticated, are measured by machines, right? There would be margins of error too. I’ve used them a few times and there were lots of glitches.”
“There are lots of glitches?”
Doun showed interest. It was a face completely opposite to when he’d been crying and getting angry just moments before.
‘See. Whenever tower talk comes up, he doesn’t know what to do with himself…’
The reason this person wanted to retire from being a hunter was probably all because he’d met shitty guild members. Because the time spent with them had been so terrible that he’d deliberately distance himself from his favorite interests.
‘If only he’d met me a little earlier…’
When Doun was actively working, Samin was a newbie who had only awakened a few months ago. Even though he was rising through the rankings at a fast pace, the two of them had a vast difference in the floors they were conquering. At that time, contact was also managed by that shitty former guild master.
‘Thinking about it makes me angry again. If it wasn’t for that bastard, our hyung could have been happier.’
Armed with a bit of fan feelings and a lot of affection, Samin burned with rage toward Timer.
“It was full of glitches. I also thought it was strange because my damage came out too low there. Just in case, I went into the tower and tried again, and bullshit. It was just that the measurement wasn’t working properly.”
Private training facilities had a somewhat crude system instead of not leaving tower entry records. Although they were built with special minerals that could handle hunters’ skills, there were restrictions on skills that could be used inside, and the measurement accuracy was considerably poor.
It was a place for getting the feel of using skills into your body, nothing more, nothing less. Hunters’ health conditions were still an unknown field being researched in the medical world. The tower was a place where mysterious phenomena occurred, like severed legs being reattached with top-grade potions.
In the first place, in a state where the phenomenon of humans breathing fire, emitting electricity, and creating ice couldn’t be scientifically explained, doctors’ opinions were only for reference.
“Uh…”
Doun pondered at Samin’s words. The area around towers was a bustling district always crowded with hunters. Also, the moment you entered a tower, entry records were kept and all actions were recorded. Doun’s choice had naturally been private training facilities, afraid of being pointed at by everyone. It was a place he’d sought out to at least try using skills because of the faint attachment that remained.
He’d been frustrated by the results from the private training facility he’d sought out because he was afraid of hunters who would watch and gossip about his videos, and had despaired at the doctor’s ambiguous diagnosis.
‘There could be errors?’
What if it was an error? What if the doctor’s diagnosis was wrong?
The moment Doun’s eyes wavered, Samin subtly added:
“The training floor, entry records will remain but videos won’t. How about it. Are you thinking of going?”
Samin’s eyes narrowed. At the end of his gaze was the #1 ranker shining with determined eyes.
He wanted to go.
His eyes spoke for his heart.
* * *
They say to strike while the iron is hot, so they decided to head straight to the tower before Doun’s mind changed. But Doun insisted he needed a mask and stopped by a convenience store. Understanding his feelings, Samin quietly waited outside the convenience store.
“Geez. Anyone would think you’re a suspicious person.”
“…Your face is more suspicious.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Our hyung is good at jokes anyway.”
Samin brushed it off with laughter, but after getting in the taxi, he kept touching his face reflected in the dark window glass. Wondering if his face really looked that bad.
And now, having arrived by taxi at where the tower was located, Doun was backing away.
“This won’t work. I think I came for nothing.”
“Ah, hyung. Here you go again.”
Samin pulled at Doun, who was wearing a hat and mask. When was it that his eyes were shining on the park bench, but now that they were near the tower, Doun kept hesitating like a cow being dragged to slaughter.
“A man, you know? Eh? If you’ve drawn a sword, you have to cut something.”
“I didn’t draw a sword. There’s nothing to cut. I’m going home. Let go of my shoulder and get lost quickly… Before I hit you…!”
When Doun struggled, Samin, who couldn’t stand it anymore, decided to tell the lie of his lifetime.
“Wow, I’m really being generous here. Even after hyung goes into the training floor, if you really want to quit, I won’t contact you anymore either. No texts, no calls. I’ll give up coolly. For real.”
“…What?”
“What can I do when hyung says no. I’ll have to give up with sadness in my heart. What, should I write a written agreement?”
Samin grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. It was a shameless lie. Even if by any chance Doun was measured as having reduced skill power on the training floor and said he’d retire from hunter life, he had no intention of letting him go. Because he liked the human Lee Doun, not just the hunter Magnetic.
‘I think I’ll win 100%.’
Samin trusted his instincts. He’d never made wrong choices at important moments. And Doun was secretly disappointed by Samin’s declaration that he’d cleanly give up contact, but answered without showing it.
“Fine.”
Doun, clenching his fists, caught his breath and stood before the entrance carved with strange patterns. In Korea, it was called the ‘Sculpture of Wailing.’ This place where the tower naturally appeared was originally where a middle school had been located.
The moment he moved his reluctant feet to enter the entrance, he felt the presence of someone following behind.
“Hyung. You have to invite me to the party…! You don’t know how to use it!”
“Ah.”
Doun hesitated then belatedly invited Samin.
[Alert: You are inviting ‘Slope’ as a member of your group. Waiting for the other party’s acceptance.]
Less than a second after the popup appeared, a new popup came up.
[Alert: ‘Slope’ has joined your group. You are currently the leader of this group. After entering Veritas Tower, you cannot expel the other party.]
After confirming the message, he entered the tower together with Samin, whose lips were pressed tight with a somewhat moved expression. At the warm sensation that swept over his entire body and made his spine tingle, Doun realized he had returned to the tower.
And some time later.
Looking at Doun standing alone in the desolate scene of blood clots falling to the floor, Samin unconsciously muttered:
“Are you kidding me…? How is this reduced in any way…”
While a deep sense of defeat cast over Samin’s face, which always wore a sly smile, a new post went up on the Veritas anonymous board.
[Chat┃Magnetic currently using training floor with Slope ㅋㅋ (132)]
Isn’t this a comeback angle? He’s really joining Yeoun…?
In just a few minutes after the post went up, comments began multiplying.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
