Chapter 41
“Huh!”
Yeonwoo woke up with a rough exhale and blinked to clear his hazy vision. Something was bothering his eyelashes, and when he wiped them, teardrops came away on his fingertips. As he roughly wiped the tears streaming down his cheeks, a hand reached out from beside him.
“Use this to wipe.”
It was Chahun. Staring blankly, Yeonwoo blinked, and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. Chahun wiped the tears firmly for Yeonwoo, who still hadn’t fully emerged from his dream. The clumsy but gentle gesture made drowsiness wash over him. Just before falling back into slumber, Yeonwoo saw an unfamiliar ceiling and sat up.
“Where, ahem, where am I?”
Startled by his hoarse voice, Yeonwoo clutched his throat. His throat was dry. The unbearable thirst made his tongue feel parched.
“…This is the treatment room. Is it because of that… what… anyway, that training you did today?”
Chahun’s question didn’t even register. Feeling like he’d been abandoned in the middle of a desert, Yeonwoo clutched his throat, wheezing, and looked around.
“What’s wrong? Are you thirsty?”
No sooner had Yeonwoo nodded than Chahun jumped up and rushed out of the treatment room. Watching Chahun’s back as he left, Yeonwoo swallowed dryly and looked up at the ceiling.
Why am I here? I remember talking with Kang Chahun, but…
“Ugh…”
Yeonwoo grabbed his head and curled up. He felt unbearable pain as if someone was digging into his brain with an awl. Writhing in agony, Yeonwoo covered his mouth and dry-heaved. Cold sweat poured down as if he were trapped in a furnace, then his entire body trembled as though he had fallen into ice water. This cycle repeated until—
Ting.
A familiar sound pierced Yeonwoo’s ears. Taking harsh breaths, Yeonwoo pulled back the curtain.
The sound was coming from the bedside table. On the small table was a transparent water bottle and a cup, with a familiar jewel snake poking at the bottle.
Wait, how does the magical beast research lab manage their creatures?
Frowning deeply, Yeonwoo pulled a dagger from his thigh belt. This was the second time today. They’re the ones who let it escape, but they’ll make a fuss if I kill it. While he was contemplating how to capture it alive, the jewel snake circled the water bottle with its mouth slightly open, repeatedly tapping it.
Is it… thirsty? Does it want water?
As soon as he thought of the word “water,” his throat felt completely parched. When he picked up the water bottle, the jewel snake, startled by the movement, hid behind the cup. He didn’t need the cup. While drinking straight from the bottle, Yeonwoo noticed the jewel snake peering at him and poured some water into the tray with a splash.
A moment later, the jewel snake cautiously crept out and hurriedly moistened its throat. As he kept alternating between drinking water himself and pouring water into the tray for the snake, the door opened and Chahun entered.
“What? There was water here?”
Chahun’s hands were full of water bottles from wherever he had gone. He pouted, saying he’d gone out for nothing, but Yeonwoo gladly accepted the bottles since his thirst couldn’t be quenched with just one bottle of water.
As Yeonwoo kept sipping water even though his throat was already full, Chahun reached out to brush back his disheveled hair. Watching Chahun even removing the hair stuck to his cheek with cold sweat, Yeonwoo glared at the bedside table.
“What’s wrong?”
It disappeared again. As he was searching for the jewel snake that had quickly vanished after getting what it wanted, there was movement at the door.
“Are you awake?”
“Ah! Change your clothes before coming in!”
“No! There are spare clothes here!”
When the medical staff member entered the treatment room, ignoring Chahun’s warning, Chahun raised his hand to cover Yeonwoo’s eyes. Only after the medical staff had thrown off their blood-soaked gown and changed into a new one did Chahun lower his hand.
“Now, let’s take a look.”
The medical staff approached with the smell of acrid smoke and took Yeonwoo’s hand to use their ability. The mana that instantly spread from their touching hands to his entire body gave him chills as if he’d been doused with cold water.
“Hmm? Is there a problem with your mana core?”
When the medical staff asked with a tilted head, Yeonwoo immediately checked his mana core. There doesn’t seem to be any problem? When Yeonwoo shook his head, the medical staff frowned briefly before releasing his hand with a “Well, whatever.”
“I heard you did virtual dungeon training today? It seems like mana sickness, so walk a lot and talk a lot. You can leave if you feel okay… Oh, and take your knife with you when you go.”
The medical staff gestured to the dagger on the bed. As Yeonwoo picked up the dagger, he mentioned that there was a jewel snake that had escaped from the magical beast research lab and asked what to do about it. Instead of answering, the medical staff twisted their lips into a crooked smile.
“Just leave it. Even if we tell them, they’ll just guilt-trip us, asking why we didn’t catch it when they were the ones who couldn’t manage it properly, and then they’ll subtly shift the responsibility to us.”
When Yeonwoo cautiously agreed, the medical staff snorted, saying “Right?” and turned around. Chahun, who approached asking if they were done, checked Yeonwoo’s complexion by touching his forehead.
“Are you really okay? What were you doing to collapse so suddenly?”
“Collapsing would be the least of your worries.”
Chahun frowned at the medical staff’s words.
“Because of dungeon mana, many Espers go nearly into seizures. Don’t take the sickness lightly and go out for a walk.”
At this dismissal, Chahun helped Yeonwoo up as he gathered his dagger and led him toward the exit. The way they were looking down at him was ominous, as if they were ready to whip them from behind and urge them to walk.
“Ah. Esper Kang Chahun.”
Just as they were about to leave the treatment room, the medical staff called Chahun and gestured toward their forehead.
“Make sure to check that. It’s a burn from your ability, so it could get worse if you’re not careful.”
A burn?
Yeonwoo looked up at Chahun’s scar and grabbed him as he was closing the door. Without time to organize his thoughts, the words burst out.
“Is it Esper Lee Sangwon?”
“Yes. Yes? Huh? Yes.”
Chahun’s face instantly turned grim as he answered.
“How did you know it was Lee Sangwon? Did that bastard hit you too?”
“No, no.”
Yeonwoo grabbed Chahun, who looked like he was about to rush out, and touched his forehead. He’s never hit me, but… Biting the tip of his tongue, Yeonwoo looked down at his feet.
He probably died because of Lee Sangwon.
The exact cause was a dragon’s breath, but the Center couldn’t subjugate a high-rank dungeon that could produce a dragon by itself. They would have formed a joint team with at least three or four guilds, and since it was a fire-attribute dragon, Lee Sangwon probably became the captain of the joint team. Or perhaps the Guild Master Muyeong with water-attribute abilities took the captain role.
Strategies that relied on numerical advantage rarely failed. Even if the subjugation team was annihilated, there would be attack teams following, so it would be fair to say the possibility of total annihilation was almost non-existent. But since Chahun was the only survivor, it meant the joint team’s strategy had failed.
The failure of the strategy could only mean someone had betrayed them or had been greedy for items. And that “someone” was most likely Lee Sangwon.
Yeonwoo, watching the rising ice, reached out and pulled Chahun, who was standing in the middle of the ice vortex. He didn’t need to think about where to go with Chahun, who was staring at the floor without saying anything. As they stood in front of the portal heading to Zone A, the snorting Chahun deactivated the security.
“Let’s go.”
As Yeonwoo walked through Zone A’s corridor holding Chahun’s hand, a question flashed through his mind.
“Earlier, was it Esper Kang Chahun who brought me to that treatment room?”
“Yes.”
“How did I end up collapsing?”
At Yeonwoo’s question, Chahun’s mouth clamped shut.
“I don’t know either.”
When Chahun suddenly quickened his pace, Yeonwoo opened his eyes wide. What’s this? Why is he acting like that? Blinking, Yeonwoo folded space to catch up. Chahun shouted loudly in response.
“Ah! Didn’t you hear that you shouldn’t use your ability after that training?”
I did… hear it. But there wasn’t any particular problem with his mana core, and he didn’t feel any mana sickness, so he thought this level of ability usage would be fine. In reality, he had only moved a few steps.
Did I collapse because of mana sickness? Chahun, watching Yeonwoo look down at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists, secretly let out a relieved sigh. Right before Yeonwoo collapsed, he had been glaring at him, making Chahun think he had done something terribly wrong. He had been shocked when Yeonwoo pushed him away for the first time, feeling his heart drop.
And then Yeonwoo suddenly collapsed, giving him such a fright. His heart had been racing wildly then. The entire time he carried Yeonwoo to the treatment room, he felt like his heart would give out.
Despite the medical staff’s explanation that it was due to mana sickness causing a rejection reaction to S-class mana, he had been anxious the whole time. Afraid that hyung would push him away again.
But when Yeonwoo opened his eyes, he showed no signs of rejection and even came to Zone A with Chahun.
So he should feel relieved, but he didn’t. As Chahun stared at the door, he moved his fingers and ice flowers bloomed beneath his feet. Just as rose vines were climbing up the doorknob, there was a crashing sound, and Chahun’s shoulders jerked upward.
“Ah, I was trying not to move. Sorry.”
Yeonwoo, who had tried to brush off the ice flowers climbing up his calf but ended up stepping on and breaking the ice flowers beneath his feet, stood awkwardly. The room was full of ice flowers, making it impossible to get his bearings, so he had to walk carefully. Watching him, Chahun recalled the ice.
“Hyung, sit down too.”
Chahun pointed to a chair in one corner of the training room and frowned deeply as he sat down on the floor. Seemingly uncomfortable with his lower back, Chahun fumbled around his back and eventually cursed under his breath.
“Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”
“I used the wrong falling technique during sparring yesterday.”
“Oh dear. I told you to raise your legs when falling.”
At those words, Chahun’s expression grew even grimmer as he moved his lips before asking:
“Did Lee Sangwon do that to you too?”
“No. Not that,”
“Then it’s fine.”
Chahun composed his expression and rested his chin on his arms, which were placed on his knees, pretending to be calm, but ice was swirling all around. That’s all wasting mana. Somehow misinterpreting Yeonwoo’s narrowed eyes, Chahun’s ears turned red. Then, as if annoyed by the swirling ice crystals, he waved his hand.
“Ha. I really didn’t want to say anything because it’s so embarrassing.”
Just as Chahun opened his mouth, there was a knock at the door. Reflexively extending his senses, Yeonwoo bit his lip at the mana reaction that felt more intense than Chahun’s.
“Ah. Does he think he’s a tiger or what?”
Chahun quietly grumbled and sighed through his nose. Yeonwoo shook his head slightly at Chahun, who gestured toward the inner part of the break room. The other person wasn’t an ordinary person but an S-class Esper. Hiding would be like playing peek-a-boo.
At the sound of another knock, Chahun walked over with an obvious sigh and opened the door. A familiar voice was heard from behind the opened door.
“Ah. Esper Kang Chahun. I thought you weren’t here.”
It was Lee Sangwon.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
