Chapter 53
“Why…? Did I make a mistake?”
“No.”
Yeonwoo, who had been staring up at Chahun with his arms crossed, sighed and turned his gaze away. Chahun, who until moments ago had been throwing a fit asking why Yeonwoo had left him alone and if he knew how long he’d been waiting, closed his mouth at the sound of the unending sighs and carefully watched Yeonwoo’s expression.
“If not that, then what happened?”
What happened… Yeonwoo extended his senses to check the surrounding cameras and found a blind spot. When he handed the magic stone to Chahun who had followed him, Chahun blinked obediently.
“This feels a bit strange. What is it?”
“It’s a magic stone, the mana core of a magical beast…”
Chahun was nodding his head when he suddenly muttered, “Magic stone?” and raised his eyebrows. So this wasn’t something agreed upon with Chahun either. Yeonwoo massaged his throbbing forehead as he swept his hair up. What should he say? That either the Center Director or Lee Sangwon had inserted a real magical beast to interfere with him? Would Chahun stay at the center if he knew this?
Biting his lip, Yeonwoo looked up at Chahun. Should he just completely change the future that he’d already altered? From the first time he read the book, he’d thought that the center was beyond hope. Begging for a contract wasn’t enough—they were turning an innocent kid into Lee Sangwon’s rival?
No, no. Even if it was despicable and dirty, Chahun needed to become the Center Director. There would be nothing good for Chahun if he strayed from the predetermined future.
For now… Yes, for now, let’s get out and think.
“Hyung. I thought everything appearing here was holographic magical beasts. But why is there a magic stone?”
At Chahun’s question, Yeonwoo shook his head to clear his distracting thoughts and nodded toward the cameras. Chahun also seemed to realize who was behind this as he frowned.
“…Is he a psychopath?”
Chahun muttered quietly, and after that, he couldn’t say anything more. He was just opening and closing his mouth, looking like he was about to explode at any moment. Yeonwoo grabbed Chahun and whispered quickly.
“There’s no point in arguing now. They’ll just dismiss it as a mistake. I have a way to report this properly.”
The entire virtual dungeon training process is recorded. If successful, it becomes reference material for subjugation missions, but if it fails, it’s discarded to protect the Esper’s pride. So to file a report, they needed to succeed and obtain the recording. At Yeonwoo’s words, Chahun nodded with a fierce expression.
“Wow, is there any way we can throw that bastard into a lake somewhere?”
“A lake won’t do.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’d easily evaporate the lake and still have energy left to burn the surroundings.”
As Yeonwoo imagined that scene, he rubbed his arms at the goosebumps rising up his spine.
“What’s wrong? Are you cold?”
“No, it’s not that…”
As Yeonwoo stopped mid-answer and stared into the air, Chahun, standing beside him, created an ice arrow and aimed it. Yeonwoo, who had been surveying the surroundings, covered his mouth at the sight of the misty fog approaching.
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t open your mouth.”
Yeonwoo took a handkerchief from his auxiliary bag to cover his mouth and gave one to Chahun as well. After confirming that Chahun had covered his mouth, Yeonwoo carefully folded space.
Having moved to a nearby stalagmite, Yeonwoo observed the place where they had been standing just moments ago.
As expected.
Spotting a Hiyaru moth fluttering in the air, Yeonwoo took out a potion and dampened the handkerchief. He wiped around Chahun’s lips and eyes, then cleaned his own face before spreading the handkerchief wide to wrap it like a mask.
“Can you see it there, in the air?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about… Wait, what the f**k! What is that!”
At Yeonwoo’s question, Chahun seemed to have just noticed the translucent Hiyaru moth and briefly panicked. Chahun swung his hand while simultaneously hugging Yeonwoo’s waist. As frost rain poured down, the Hiyaru moth became even more clearly visible.
From its plump body with six silver wings, fecal powder was continuously falling. To avoid the powder that causes terrible itching, Yeonwoo folded space and grabbed Chahun who was stomping his feet.
“Ah, hyung, that’s even more disgusting.”
Coaxing and soothing the whining Chahun to make arrows, Chahun couldn’t even look at the Hiyaru moth. Wailing that the furry mouth was too disgusting to bear, asking what the feet were, and how anyone could look at such a thing, Chahun closed his eyes tightly and raised his bow.
The arrow failed to hit anything and fell weakly. Yeonwoo placed his hand on Chahun’s back. After adjusting the angle of his arm so that the arrowhead was pointing at the Hiyaru moth, Yeonwoo took a breath, and Chahun pulled the string.
The flying arrow pierced the Hiyaru moth’s wing. The wing detached from the body and turned into powder, scattering in all directions. Yeonwoo held his breath and moved toward another stalagmite, and each time, Chahun closed his eyes and pulled the string. As they were steadily eliminating the Hiyaru moth this way, Yeonwoo sensed mana from behind.
A Hiyaru moth with six wings attached to its body was flying rapidly toward them. Without time to look around, Yeonwoo folded space to avoid it, but the Hiyaru moth changed its trajectory to chase after them and rushed at Chahun. As Yeonwoo was loading his gun, he snatched a Hiyaru moth flying nearby.
“Why did you catch that!”
The Hiyaru moth caught in Yeonwoo’s hand tried to escape by pulling out tentacles from its pincer-like feet. Firmly gripping the moth, Yeonwoo swung it toward the charging Hiyaru moth. Upon seeing its fellow, the advancing Hiyaru moth slowed down the spread of its wings.
The Hiyaru moth, which had been fluttering around looking for an opportunity to attack, searched for its companion that Yeonwoo had thrown using his ability.
Aiming at the head of the distracted Hiyaru moth, Yeonwoo pulled the trigger and clicked his tongue softly. Although he hit the body instead of the head, at least he’d dealt with it.
“Let me see your hand.”
When Yeonwoo held out his hand to Chahun who approached, Chahun began cleaning Yeonwoo’s hand with a handkerchief soaked in potion. Only after meticulously wiping to ensure no fecal powder remained on his finger joints did Chahun reprimand him, asking what on earth he had done.
“If I hadn’t done that, by now we’d both be covered in Hiyaru moth intestines—”
“Stop.”
Chahun, making a small gagging sound, demanded a new handkerchief. After wiping Yeonwoo’s face and hands again with a clean handkerchief soaked in potion, Chahun examined the magic stone that had fallen to the floor.
“So this is real too?”
“That’s right.”
Nodding, Yeonwoo squatted down to pick up the magic stone. Beyond its value, it could also serve as evidence that they had faced a real magical beast. After diligently collecting them and placing them in Chahun’s auxiliary bag, Yeonwoo headed toward the center of the dungeon, dragging along Chahun who was cursing and swearing that he would kill Lee Sangwon.
“This is the center of the dungeon. The boss will probably appear soon…”
Yeonwoo, pointing at the twisted ceiling, froze in his surveying posture. Chahun looked down at Yeonwoo who had stopped mid-explanation and closed his mouth. Yeonwoo’s face, as he looked up at the air, had turned not just white but a pale blue. Chahun caught Yeonwoo who was staggering as if about to collapse, just like before, and transformed Sili into a spear.
“That, that, that!”
What appeared with a great fluctuation of mana was a spider as tall as Chahun. When he made eye contact with the red-furred spider, Chahun let out a piercing scream and embraced Yeonwoo. The spider, surveying the dungeon with its eight eyes, began climbing up a stone pillar.
“Hyung. Like before, if you aim for me, I’ll shoot.”
Chahun, transforming Sili back into a bow, carefully retreated while calling out to Yeonwoo.
“Hyung?”
Puzzled by the lack of response, Chahun felt a small tremor at his fingertips. When he let go, Yeonwoo collapsed to the ground, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. Yeonwoo was trembling, hugging his shoulders. Chahun cupped Yeonwoo’s cheeks to check his condition.
“I’m… I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Up…”
At Yeonwoo’s word, Chahun looked up to see the spider building its web. When told they needed to disrupt it, Chahun shuddered but created an ice arrow and immediately pulled the string. The spider web hit by the arrow began to freeze. The spider, giving up on building its home, retreated to a corner.
“Hyung!”
Chahun, who had been searching for the spider hidden behind a stalactite, grabbed Yeonwoo’s hand in alarm. Yeonwoo, crouched down, was twisting his own fingers. Looking down at his discolored fingers, Yeonwoo muttered in a weak but clear voice.
“They’re fine.”
Is he out of his mind right now? Chahun, massaging Yeonwoo’s fingers until their color returned, examined Yeonwoo’s unfocused pupils. Looking back and forth between his rounded cheeks, still retaining some baby fat, and his own hands, Chahun hesitated briefly.
Would it hurt if I hit him?
Having heard about the weight class differences according to rank until his ears hurt, he was afraid to give Yeonwoo a slap to bring him back to his senses. But leaving him alone wasn’t an option either, as Yeonwoo’s body was about to fall backward as if he would faint at any moment. After contemplating, Chahun gently patted Yeonwoo’s cheek.
A moment later, Yeonwoo’s eyes regained focus and surveyed the surroundings. Having cleared his mind of distractions, Yeonwoo extended his senses to confirm the spider’s location.
“Its feet are coated with poison, so be careful. And watch out for the spider web too. If you hear a clicking sound, move away immediately.”
Chahun nodded at the quick explanation and pressed a handkerchief firmly against Yeonwoo’s forehead, which was still soaked with cold sweat.
“Are you really okay, hyung?”
“I am, so let’s finish this as quickly as possible.”
No sooner had Yeonwoo finished speaking than a clicking sound was heard. As Yeonwoo took a breath, he felt a wave of heat. Chahun, who had erected an ice wall, spotted the spider clicking its mouth inside the burning spider web.
Is the spider web flammable and the spider’s mouth like a flint? As Chahun tried to deduce this, he pulled the string and released an ice arrow. As soon as it touched the spider web, the ice arrow melted. Watching this, Chahun transformed Sili into a spear.
Wait. If I throw this, how will I retrieve it?
After deliberating, Chahun created a weapon using the method Yeonwoo had explained, instead of using Sili. After confirming its solidity by stamping it on the ground, Chahun threw the spear with all his might.
Every time the spider let out a silent scream, goosebumps rose all over his body, but he couldn’t ask the exhausted Yeonwoo for help. Only after throwing spears for a long time was he able to defeat the spider.
After confirming the spider’s corpse, Chahun turned to Yeonwoo with a mournful expression. Just as he was about to ask if it was really over now, Chahun slowly raised his head instead of asking.
Spider web was dripping down onto Yeonwoo, who was crouched below.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
