Chapter 50
“Well… I suppose there’s no choice if it’s the Center Director’s orders.”
When first told the news, Park Seohyun made a sullen face but nodded. She consoled Yeonwoo, saying that since Esper Han Yeonwoo and Esper Kang Chahun were quite close, and Chahun didn’t have a designated team, they could go together. Besides, since the Center Director personally designated it, what power did Yeonwoo have to refuse?
However, as time passed, Seohyun began to ostracize Yeonwoo.
During every training session, she treated Yeonwoo as if he didn’t exist and exchanged mana balls only with Choi Dongwon. When Yeonwoo tried to participate, Seohyun openly mocked him, saying what was the point of training with them when he would be training with Esper Kang Chahun anyway. Dongwon, who caught the mana ball thrown by Seohyun, never gave Yeonwoo even an accidental glance.
He wasn’t sarcastic like Seohyun, but he flatly ignored Yeonwoo, saying what was the point of being teammates if he was going to train with Esper Kang Chahun instead of them.
“You haven’t decided on a Guide to train with yet, right? You’re going with me, right?”
The only teammate who approached him was Jo Heeseo. Unlike the C-zone’s virtual dungeon training, the A-zone trained in environments identical to real dungeons. Since teams composed of Guides and Espers had to participate as in actual missions, Guides without assignments would approach Yeonwoo, asking him to recommend them. The teammates of those Guides glared at Yeonwoo with fire in their eyes, as if he had stolen their Guides.
Having anticipated this situation to some extent, Yeonwoo yawned slightly instead of stressing and settled in a corner, setting down his pins. If his ability fluctuated in the virtual dungeon—though such a thing should never happen—it would be disastrous. Given that Heeseo was already spreading rumors about Yeonwoo’s unstable ability, if it fluctuated even once, he might have to wear mana restraints and live as an ordinary person.
While practicing moving objects to predetermined coordinates to check if his ability was fluctuating, Bae Jaeyoung approached and took a seat beside Yeonwoo.
“People are so petty, aren’t they?”
Jaeyoung, who had arranged small ice pieces next to Yeonwoo, whispered not to mind them.
“They seem to have forgotten all the things they did to catch Esper Kang Chahun’s eye. This might sound bad, but even your teammates who thought they were going with you when you were selected, then cut ties the moment they found out they weren’t, are the same.”
Yeonwoo remained silent at Jaeyoung’s words, only fiddling with the ice pieces. Seeing this, Jaeyoung stacked more ice pieces for him to play with and softly snorted.
“Don’t worry too much about what Esper Jung Eunyoung says either. As if they wouldn’t take advantage if they had capable family or friends. There’s even a saying about blood ties, regional ties, and school ties.”
“True.”
When Yeonwoo finally agreed quietly, Jaeyoung grinned, looked around, and whispered.
“I’ve heard endlessly that I live off my capable older sister. What benefit from my sister? I grew up on my own.”
Pouting, Jaeyoung grabbed Yeonwoo’s hand and dropped an item while pretending to sprinkle ice pieces.
“That bracelet, it’s not an item, is it?”
Nodding at the black chain bracelet, Jaeyoung patted Yeonwoo’s shoulder as he fiddled with the ring that had fallen to the floor.
“I don’t feel any mana from it, but if it’s an item, I’m concerned about potential conflicts. This is a cold resistance item.”
At those words, Yeonwoo’s mouth fell open. As Yeonwoo declined, saying he couldn’t accept it, Jaeyoung stood up and smiled, telling him to try it on. Yeonwoo hesitated, looking down at the blue-tinged ring. Then Jaeyoung waved her hand, scattering ice pieces.
“When I saw him earlier, Esper Kang Chahun’s ability seemed a bit, well, not inexperienced, but anyway, it seemed that way. What if you get hurt? It’s not a consumable, so wear it and return it later.”
At Jaeyoung’s words to not feel burdened, Yeonwoo carefully slipped the ring onto his left index finger. Jaeyoung nodded with satisfaction after testing whether he felt nauseated, felt resistance, or if his mana core rebelled when using his ability.
“Do well out there.”
It was a greeting he hadn’t received from his classmates or teammates. Watching the backs of his teammates who rushed out as soon as the end-of-training bell rang, Yeonwoo bowed his head to Jaeyoung.
* * *
“What is this?”
Chahun, who had come to meet Yeonwoo, immediately frowned when he saw the ring glittering on Yeonwoo’s finger. The mana imbued in the blue-tinged ring irritated Chahun’s senses. Just as he thought he had felt it somewhere before, he remembered the ice flower Yeonwoo had brought.
“Ah, someone lent this to me.”
“To you, hyung? Why?”
“Where’s Silli?”
“Here.”
As Chahun lightly waved his hand, the silver bracelet jingled.
“By the way, can’t we just call it an ‘item’? Calling an object by a name feels so awkward…”
“No.”
Yeonwoo firmly shook his head and placed his hand with the ring over Silli. Since there was no rejection reaction between the items, it seemed safe to use.
“Want to try using your ability?”
At Yeonwoo’s words, ice formed in midair. When he carefully touched it, he didn’t feel the coldness that would have frozen his fingertips like before. While Yeonwoo made small sounds of admiration, the furrow between Chahun’s brows deepened.
“It feels strange. It’s like you’re surrounded by a thin membrane… I can’t feel your mana.”
“Maybe because it’s a cold resistance item?”
At those words, Chahun’s mouth fell open. He fidgeted with his hands and then glared at the ring.
“Why do you need that? Are you afraid I’ll hurt you? But you’ve never been hurt when sparring with me!”
“Just in case.”
At the calm voice, Chahun’s face contorted. Since he was clearly making a mountain out of a molehill, Yeonwoo waved his hand to catch his attention.
“It’s not because of Esper Kang Chahun, but because I might make a mistake.”
“Chahun.”
“Hmm. Yes, Chahun. It’s not because of you, but because I might make a mistake. I’m already worried about losing my sense of direction due to mana sickness, and what if I interfere with you?”
Chahun flatly said that wouldn’t happen, but Yeonwoo’s position was different. Chahun was extremely averse to his ability hurting someone. Until now, he had obediently followed Yeonwoo, saying if he listened well, rice cakes would appear even while sleeping, but what if Yeonwoo got hurt? Would he still follow Yeonwoo’s words afterward?
To prepare for that possibility, Yeonwoo had planned to ask Jeon Dohyun if he had any spare armor, but thankfully, Jaeyoung had lent him the cold resistance item. Now, as long as Yeonwoo didn’t jump into Chahun’s line of attack, he wouldn’t get seriously injured.
After all these preparations, nothing should go wrong.
In the book, Chahun got badly hurt the first time he entered a virtual dungeon. It wasn’t life-threatening, but serious enough that he had to spend several weeks in the infirmary. It was probably due to the uncomfortable training uniform. Now that reason was gone, so it should be fine, but Yeonwoo couldn’t help worrying about Chahun getting hurt.
Chahun, who was looking down at Yeonwoo with a sullen expression, breathed mana into a magical beast bead. A werewolf walked out from the instantly swollen bead. Chahun transformed his bracelet into a bow by moving his wrist and aimed an invisible string at the air. The werewolf, dodging the incoming ice arrows, made a growling sound as it regarded Chahun warily.
After easily subduing the werewolf, Chahun transformed Silli and faced each new magical beast that appeared. The item, glowing sky blue with Chahun’s mana, faithfully changed its form according to his will.
To think he wanted to name such a cool weapon “Slime.”
Biting the tip of his tongue, Yeonwoo recalled Chahun’s proud attitude, asking what was wrong with “Slime.” When told they had to name the item for resonance, Chahun had named it “Slime” without a moment’s hesitation. Apparently, the way it wobbled reminded him of slime.
Yeonwoo, who stopped him, tried to persuade him that the name should make people go “Oh!” when they heard it, and “Slime” was more like “Oh…?” After hesitating briefly, Chahun spat out all sorts of combinations—Sla? Slim? Slsl? Lime?—and the bracelet’s light faded to black. Then when he said “Silli?” it suddenly flashed.
Perhaps because he had given it a name it liked, their coordination was perfect without needing separate resonance training. Hopefully, Chahun would contract with the Center later, if only because he missed Silli.
Stretching broadly, Yeonwoo joined the training by breathing mana into a magical beast bead. After defeating a warty bear, Yeonwoo checked his mana core and tilted his head. Even though it was well past the time when his mana core should request rest, it remained calm without any reaction.
“Shall we stop here?”
It might be quiet now but could trigger some kind of seizure later. At Yeonwoo’s words, Chahun glanced at the magical beast bead, looking like he wanted to train more, but he nodded after checking the time.
After showering first, Yeonwoo lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Until now, the future had been changing as Yeonwoo wanted, but he couldn’t guarantee tomorrow’s outcome.
Given the situation, tomorrow’s training had to succeed. In the book, Chahun had failed to receive proper training due to interference from the A-zone, but now many things had changed due to Yeonwoo’s intervention. If the training failed exactly like in the book despite facing the causality boomerang, he wouldn’t be able to bear the frustration.
“Tomorrow must succeed.”
As Chahun entered the lounge, Yeonwoo muttered this, and Chahun responded with a disgusted expression.
“Are you mumbling in your sleep that we have to succeed? It’s becoming ingrained in my ears, so please stop now.”
Really, stop. Making a gesture like zipping his mouth shut, Chahun lay down but tossed and turned for a long time, seemingly unable to fall asleep easily.
If tomorrow’s training succeeded, he could escape this damn Center. Despite the Center’s desperate efforts to stop him, there were still many guilds sending love calls to Chahun. Picking any one of them would be better than here, and there wouldn’t be bastards like Sangwon.
Sighing, Chahun turned to his side and looked at Yeonwoo’s sleeping face. Watching Yeonwoo sleeping with steady breathing made his thoughts complicated. What would happen to hyung if I left the Center? His team’s Guide is really strange, should I insist on taking hyung with me when I contract with another place? As Chahun’s thoughts continued to link one after another, he dozed off.
A moment later, golden eyes flashed in the darkness.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
