Chapter 47
Time flew by quickly, and before they knew it, the shooting test day had arrived.
The test for Zone C had already finished, but no one returned to the training ground. This was because of the grumbling comments dropped by Zone B awakened ones as they entered.
“Wow, isn’t this blatant discrimination?”
“Where else do they distribute items based on shooting test scores… and only limited to Zone A?”
“They’re so stingy they even dilute our lower-grade potions with water before giving them to us.”
It’s unfair. Everyone agreed with someone’s muttered voice. Everyone knew that Zone B faced more dangers than Zone C, and Zone A more than Zone B, but it was impossible not to be tempted by the benefits right in front of them.
We know they’re higher-ranked than us, we know they do more dangerous work than us, but still!
“Does anyone not know that shooting is Esper Lee Sangwon’s specialty?”
“Exactly. They’re just putting on a show to take care of the subjugation team…”
As the Zone B awakened ones who had finished their test joined in the grumbling, a heat began to rise that would make it unsurprising if they stormed into the Center Director’s office. If someone gave the signal to go now, they would likely rush in to complain about the unfair treatment.
Just as that heat was about to explode,
“Hello.”
Lee Sangwon appeared.
Although he was wearing the same training uniform as everyone else, Lee Sangwon looked as if he was wearing solid armor. There was an intimidating presence like an impregnable fortress, and also a fear as if a sharp knife was aiming at one’s heart.
Where had all the spirit gone from just moments ago when they were going to confront the Zone A awakened ones about why they were the only ones getting items? Everyone was avoiding Lee Sangwon’s gaze and looking down at the ground.
Yes, that was Lee Sangwon.
An S-class who overwhelmed people with just his presence.
Lee Sangwon, scanning the people, stood in front of the target with a relaxed attitude. He must have heard his name being mentioned, but he smiled as if he hadn’t heard anything. As if he knew that no matter how much they talked behind his back, they wouldn’t be able to say a single word to his face, he even hummed a light tune.
What about Chahun? As Yeonwoo imagined this, he let out a small laugh. He would have asked sarcastically, “Who are you to have my name in your mouth?” And after learning the reason, he would make his own effort to prevent further gossip.
Among the awakened ones following Lee Sangwon, Seon Woogeon spotted Yeonwoo and greeted him. As Yeonwoo waved back, Chahun, who witnessed this scene, approached with a sullen expression, taking large strides. At the same time as people stepped back making “heee” and “huuu” sounds, Chahun stood in front of Yeonwoo.
“Do well.”
When Yeonwoo reached out and patted Chahun’s shoulder, Chahun’s name was called. Chahun grinned, said “I’ll be right back,” and jogged away lightly. As soon as Chahun left, a “Huh?” sound came with stares converging.
“What, are you close with Esper Kang Chahun?”
At the question from an academy classmate, Yeonwoo nodded as if it was no big deal.
“He’s a dongsaeng I knew when I was young. I didn’t know he would awaken.”
After a brief “Ah” of admiration spread, soon whispers tinged with envy followed. To the question “Who is that person?” came the answer “That’s Esper Han Yeonhwa’s brother.” So there are still people who don’t know me. Pretending not to hear that conversation, Yeonwoo waved to Chahun who was glancing this way. When Chahun, who was checking his gun, waved back, all kinds of sighs accumulated.
Unlike the excited surroundings, Yeonwoo’s mouth felt dry, and he swallowed. When practicing mana or abilities, Chahun would frequently call Yeonwoo, whining “look at this, look at that,” but for shooting practice, he wouldn’t let him watch no matter what. Wait, we’re in the same training room, and he’s telling me not to watch?
When Yeonwoo suggested they practice separately if it bothered him that much, Chahun got angry, asking why he would say that. “You said don’t watch,” Yeonwoo had argued, suppressing his anger, to which Chahun retorted angrily, “When did I say don’t watch? I said don’t come.”
Yeonwoo looked at Chahun standing in front of the target. Chahun, spreading his legs to take his stance, aimed the gun at the target. Seeing this, Yeonwoo made a small exclamation of admiration. Since Chahun had absolutely refused to let him see the scoreboard, he thought Chahun might be quite bad at it. So he had half-given up on getting the item…
“Esper Kang Chahun is no joke?”
Exactly. Reflexively nodding, Yeonwoo vaguely heard someone say they could fall for him.
After firing one shot, Chahun, as if he had found his rhythm, began to shoot continuously. While his shoulder shook slightly from the recoil, Chahun pulled the trigger in a straight posture until the end. Then, after shaking his tingling hand, he waved to Yeonwoo.
Although Chahun tried to head straight toward him, he was held back by someone’s hand and stayed in place with an obviously displeased expression. Names were called in order, and when it was Lee Sangwon’s turn, the subjugation team that came forward cheered in unison, shouting “Fighting!”
Unlike Chahun, who had shot continuously, Lee Sangwon carefully fired one shot at a time, then put the gun away. After giving a light greeting to the training center director, Lee Sangwon, on his way back, looked at the Center Director. Then he smiled. He seemed confident that he would be the owner of the item.
But,
“Well, we’ll need a retest, won’t we?”
Lee Sangwon wasn’t the only one with a perfect score. All eleven scorecards the training center director held up had holes in the center of the concentric circles.
“Of course we should. We can’t divide one item, and a precise judgment would make everyone satisfied, wouldn’t it?”
When the Deputy Director called the names of those with perfect scores, some Espers who had been watching nervously voluntarily withdrew from the retest. Seeing this, Lee Sangwon tilted his head in confusion, and Yeonwoo couldn’t help but snort. Most of the retreating Espers were from the subjugation team. Despite the obvious deal that had been made, Lee Sangwon was looking at the retreating Espers with a clueless expression.
“Count me out too.”
The one who raised his hand was Yoon Seokhyun. After stepping back, Yoon Seokhyun gestured dramatically toward Kang Chahun and Lee Sangwon.
“What would a mental-type do with a weapon-form item? Even if I got it, mental-type Espers don’t need weapons, so people would obviously ask me to lend it or give it up, so why bother?”
Saying “You two attack-types can split it or figure it out yourselves,” he stepped back and hugged his fingers to his chest.
“So please exclude me from these competitions in the future. How hard is it to shoot a gun? My fingers hurt so much.”
Ah, poor delicate me. Stretching out his arms to hug himself, Yoon Seokhyun gestured to Chahun, asking if he hadn’t heard the call for a retest. Chahun looked at Yoon Seokhyun with an expression that said “What the hell is this guy doing?” before immediately turning around to check his gun.
Yeonwoo watched Yoon Seokhyun’s back as he greeted everyone and withdrew, then turned his gaze to the Center Director. The Center Director was applauding as if he found it very impressive that Yoon Seokhyun recognized his limitations and stepped back, but Yoon Seokhyun was also an S-class Esper.
Yoon Seokhyun was known to have the ability to read the memories of objects, but he could handle a much more sophisticated ability than that. He could not only read memories from objects but also peek at people’s memories.
Only Yeonhwa understood why Yoon Seokhyun was hiding his abilities while being treated like an ordinary Esper. The reason was simple: because it was bothersome.
Living like a layabout, Yoon Seokhyun eventually met a guide whose wavelength matched his and learned to perfectly control his ability. Thanks to that, for a very brief moment, he pushed Yeonhwa aside and reached the top of the mental-type rankings.
Unaware of this, the Center, which had dismissed Yoon Seokhyun and didn’t even offer a re-contract, would later cling to his pants leg in tears, but well, that was just their karma.
With only Kang Chahun and Lee Sangwon left, the Center Director opened a storage box and lifted up a slender bracelet. The silver-shining bracelet absorbed the Center Director’s mana and transformed into a large greatsword. Following the Center Director’s gestures, the bracelet changed from a greatsword to a spear, from a spear to a shield, and from a shield back to a bracelet. The transformable weapon captivated everyone’s attention and then some.
When Chahun, who had been checking his gun with an indifferent expression the whole time, showed interest, the Center Director smiled broadly and resumed the competition.
Yeonwoo unconsciously clasped his hands together as he watched Chahun’s back as he took his stance. This morning, although he had told Chahun not to feel too pressured and to just go comfortably, Chahun had to be the owner of that bracelet. If he lost to Lee Sangwon, Sangwon would hold onto his pride and cling to Chahun, preventing him from leaving the Center.
Since Lee Sangwon cared so much about people’s perceptions, he would only let Chahun go after taking the bracelet in a way everyone accepted. In the meantime, the Center Director, not one to stay idle, would use all sorts of annoying methods to make Chahun contract with the Center.
After that, Yeonwoo could gradually push away Lee Sangwon and the Center Director with the information he knew, making it easy to envision Chahun becoming the Center Director in the not-too-distant future. However, Yeonwoo would be hit by the boomerang before then, so it was a sight he wouldn’t actually get to see.
Letting out a light sigh, Yeonwoo looked up at the sound of a bang. Just as Lee Sangwon pulled the trigger, the door to the shooting range opened.
“What is everyone doing here?”
The person who appeared behind the door was the Zone C training center director. Checking his watch, the training center director gave a long, incredulous look at the gathered people.
“Come out. Aren’t you going to train?”
“Ah, Training Center Director. Please.”
“We’ll come in after checking just this!”
When the Zone B training center director also appeared, the spectators pleaded that they just wanted to check the results. After hearing the situation, the Zone B training center director nodded as if it couldn’t be helped, but not the Zone C training center director.
“I’ll take attendance in two minutes. If you’re not in your place by then—”
Seeing his clearly serious expression, Yeonwoo went to look for his team members. Lee Sangwon was retreating, having apparently fired all six shots. After confirming that Chahun was standing in front of the target, Yeonwoo folded space.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
