# Chapter 49
[Kang Chahun / 20 years old / S-class Offensive type – Ice Freezing]
The Center Director rubbed his temple as he reviewed the report. Should I have pressured him more…? He pondered while flipping through the pages and let out a heavy sigh.
When they first met, Kang Chahun was truly a novice who knew nothing. Like other offensive Espers who had injured someone during their awakening, Chahun was also extremely afraid of his own ability. From the moment the Center Director persuaded Chahun to come to the Center, he had been affiliated with them.
Nevertheless, some unscrupulous guilds tried to contact Chahun with various excuses: “He hasn’t even stamped the contract yet, what are you talking about?”, “If the contract was finalized, why isn’t it registered with the Association?”, “When your contract with the Center ends, consider our guild.” They were just trying to promote themselves.
The problem was that Chahun viewed these meetings positively. How could the Center Director just hand Chahun over to those people after going through the trouble of bringing him to the Center?
He had been waiting for an Esper who was incompatible with Lee Sangwon for a long time, and he expected to finally see the fruits of his long-held dream through Chahun.
To achieve that dream, Chahun needed to obediently follow his orders, so the Center Director waited for Chahun to make a mistake. His plan was to cover up the mistake, comfort and coax Chahun, and use him as a pawn—just as he had done with Yoon Seokhyun.
However, contrary to expectations, Chahun’s frequency of mistakes decreased, and now he could freely control his ability. The Center Director clicked his tongue and tossed the document down. He hadn’t even provided proper training, just waiting for Chahun to make a mistake.
“Center Director. Round Guild’s master has contacted us. What should we do?”
A headache formed immediately upon hearing the message in his mind. He couldn’t just let them take Kang Chahun away so easily. The Center Director instructed to say he was unavailable and to have them call later. Not long after, another report came through. The Center Director sighed and told them to send the person in as he looked toward the door.
“Good afternoon, Center Director.”
Lee Sangwon looked around the office and settled into a relaxed posture. He then pointed to the seat across from him as if asking why the Center Director wasn’t sitting.
Arrogant bastard. The Center Director gritted his teeth as he sat down, and Sangwon immediately got to the point.
“Why was Esper Kang Chahun excluded from the virtual dungeon training?”
“He only awakened recently and is still in training.”
“That’s strange. I believe I started virtual dungeon training immediately after joining the Center. I was 17 at the time… Isn’t it beneficial for the Center to have more members in the subjugation teams? It would also be advantageous for Esper Kang Chahun to gain field experience.”
The Center Director silently picked up his teacup as he observed Sangwon subtly lowering his tone. Anyone watching might think he was a senior looking after his junior, but Sangwon was among those who most wanted Chahun to fail his training.
Virtual dungeon? The Center Director had been rejecting all meetings for Chahun, claiming his ability was unstable. If Chahun were to participate in virtual dungeon training, the Center Director’s lie would be exposed. So he had planned to put Chahun in briefly toward the end of training and make him fail.
An Esper who failed training would have to wait until next year’s recruits arrived to receive further training, which would allow the Center Director to keep Chahun until then.
But… The Center Director looked at Sangwon.
If a gate was discovered in the meantime, Sangwon would clearly pressure Chahun. He would delay subjugations that he could normally handle easily, or cause someone to get injured and then put on a sad face. Afterward, he would redirect blame toward Chahun saying, “If we had that weapon, no one would have gotten hurt.”
Sangwon’s instigation would create public opinion questioning why an Esper who never goes into dungeons would need a weapon, and it wouldn’t be the first time Espers had handed over their weapons unable to withstand such pressure. The Center Director couldn’t entrust the Center to Sangwon, who obtained everything he wanted in such a manner.
If he said he had no plans to train Chahun, Sangwon would surely ask why he gave him a weapon and suggest that Chahun was receiving special privileges, creating strange rumors. In that case, Chahun would undoubtedly give up his weapon without hesitation, eliminating the Center Director’s last hope of keeping him.
“…I was concerned it might be too early, but since Esper Lee Sangwon recommends it, trying once wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
The Center Director nodded and immediately summoned Chahun.
A moment later, Chahun entered with Yeonwoo, looking openly annoyed as he stared at the Center Director. When Chahun asked why he was called, the Center Director suggested he try virtual dungeon training since all his other training was complete.
“Virtual dungeon training recreates a dungeon-like environment to adapt to dungeon mana and learn how to deal with magical beasts—”
“I know what it is.”
Cutting off Sangwon’s explanation, Chahun sank into the sofa and crossed his legs. The Center Director, wondering if he had been too lenient, knocked his teacup down with a thud when Sangwon suggested entering the dungeon together with Chahun as his guide.
It seemed Sangwon was subtly trying to bring Chahun into his team, which couldn’t be allowed. What Chahun needed wasn’t Sangwon’s subjugation team, but his own. As the Center Director mentally worked through different combinations, he looked at Yeonwoo, who was fidgeting with his hands. Seeing how Chahun looked after Yeonwoo both previously and now, they were clearly close, and Chahun seemed to depend on him like a guardian.
Since virtual dungeons were still dungeons, going through one together would likely strengthen their bond. What were the chances of Kang Chahun staying at the Center if Han Yeonwoo was assigned to his team? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to provide a guide so Chahun could feel connected with Center-affiliated guides. Somehow, the Center Director needed to make Chahun sign a contract with the Center.
“How about going with Esper Han Yeonwoo?”
At the Center Director’s words, Chahun stood up as if he didn’t need to hear any more, while Yeonwoo looked at the Center Director with an expression that said “What are you talking about?”
“It’s just a light test, so the difficulty won’t be high. I saw you received a good score in virtual dungeon training recently, so think of it as training you’d have to take anyway and go lightly. Like a picnic.”
“If you don’t like that, you could come with me instead.”
“No thanks.”
Chahun promptly rejected the offer and glared at the training director with folded arms.
“I don’t have to do that, right? What do I get out of it?”
Chahun snorted and reached his hand out to Yeonwoo. Seeing that Chahun was about to leave, the training director made one final offer. Though it would clearly be disadvantageous for him, he couldn’t let Chahun go.
“If you pass this training, I’ll issue you a military academy diploma.”
* * *
“Seriously, hyung, what are you?”
Chahun, who had kept his mouth shut until they left the central district, asked Yeonwoo as soon as they passed through the portal. Since Lee Sangwon’s contemptuous looks at his bracelet had become a daily annoyance, Chahun kept the bracelet hidden, and each time, Yeonwoo would roll up Chahun’s training uniform sleeve.
When Chahun mentioned feeling uncomfortable with people’s stares, Yeonwoo persuaded him by suggesting he endure if he wanted the military academy diploma. Even then, Chahun didn’t understand the connection between the bracelet and the military academy diploma, and now he found it even harder to comprehend how completing some training would earn him a military academy diploma.
Yeonwoo gestured for Chahun to be quiet and, after arriving at the training ground, expanded his senses to check the surroundings. Only after confirming no one was around did Yeonwoo begin to speak.
“Esper Lee Sangwon is someone who’s only satisfied when he gets everything he wants, and the Center Director doesn’t approve of him. But since there was no Esper as exceptional as Sangwon, he tolerated him—until tada! Esper Kang Chahun appeared.”
“Chahun.”
“Hm. Right, Chahun, you appeared.”
Finally satisfied with the correction, Chahun nodded as he listened to the rest of the explanation. He understood that his back was being used in the fight between Sangwon and the Center Director.
“But why are you involved too, hyung?”
“Because you and I are close, not ‘Esper Kang Chahun’ and me.”
Hearing this, Chahun lifted the corners of his mouth before lowering them again. He was calling him by name as requested and even speaking informally, so he didn’t understand what more Yeonwoo wanted.
Leaving the grumbling Chahun alone, Yeonwoo stretched long. Everything was going according to Yeonwoo’s plan so far. Now Chahun just needed to pass the virtual dungeon training. Once he passed, Chahun would remain at the Center following the book’s flow without Yeonwoo needing to intervene.
“I mean, I’m happy to go with you, hyung, but are you okay? You suffered terribly from that mana motion sickness, right? Last time, I really thought you had collapsed.”
At Chahun’s words, Yeonwoo scratched his eyebrow. Whether because of Jo Heeseo, Jung Eunyoung, and a few others grating on his nerves, he hadn’t been sleeping well. Even when he finally fell asleep, nightmares would wake him. Getting only two or three hours of sleep per day left him looking barely human.
In that state, trying to keep up with the training regimen Park Seohyun demanded meant he had no energy to talk with Chahun—after dinner, he would immediately fall asleep, which had become his routine lately.
After waking up from such sleep, he was startled when Chahun suddenly said it was about time they spoke informally. Having already lied about being childhood friends, and considering how close they had become, Chahun asked to be addressed more casually, which Yeonwoo found difficult to refuse.
Immediately after refusing, Chahun had made a sulky face and started referring to himself in the third person whenever Yeonwoo called him “Chahun-i.” Watching that behavior seemed worse than just speaking casually.
“Everyone usually experiences motion sickness during their first training, but you don’t seem to have that issue. I suppose that’s because you’re S-class, unlike me.”
As Yeonwoo said, when Chahun entered the structure filled with dungeon mana for a pre-training test, he walked out with a puzzled expression. Looking up at the structure with disappointment, he asked, “Is that it? I didn’t feel anything special. Are those guys playing a prank?” while glaring at the staff before an Esper from Zone A approached him.
“Good work.”
The Esper bowed politely and hesitantly approached to offer tips for the next training. A guide who had been waiting also subtly performed radiation guiding while approaching Chahun.
With the news that Chahun would enter the virtual dungeon, rumors of a new subjugation team forming began to spread. Hearing this, the ability users from Zone A shamelessly approached as if they had never ignored him before, offering all kinds of advice.
As Yeonwoo had predicted, Chahun was beginning to blend into Zone A.
“Doesn’t Esper Han Yeonwoo need training too?”
But Yeonwoo was another story. As news spread that he would enter the virtual dungeon with Kang Chahun, starting with Jung Eunyoung and ending with Park Seohyun, they began to ostracize Yeonwoo.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
