Chapter 56
Yoon Seokhyun looked around at Chahun, who was breathing roughly, and whistled softly. It would be faster to rebuild this place than to repair it.
“You know that noise between walls can be murder, right? Whether we like it or not, we’re neighbors now, so let’s show some manners to each other, okay?”
“Excuse me.”
Yoon Seokhyun, who was about to return to his own training ground, spun around as if he’d been waiting.
“When you join the Center, do you have to do whatever the Center tells you to?”
“Of course! Did you think making money off someone else would be easy? And doing what I’m told makes my future more comfortable. Right?”
Chahun nodded at Seokhyun’s words while rubbing the calluses on his fingertips. The coaching staff had trained Chahun, who originally thought he just needed to pull the bowstring for the arrow to fly. When he practiced as the coaches instructed, the wobbling bowstring stabilized, and arrows that used to fly wildly found their correct path. The only time he suffered from not listening to them was during courage training when he got stung by bees.
So he thought if he listened to the Center, he would eventually be able to control his ability. Some hazing was nothing. He was used to enduring and persevering.
‘That’s not how it works.’
Would Yeonwoo know what emotion Chahun felt at that moment? Not only did he rescue Chahun from shrinking further into his sticky self-deprecation, but he also tried to guide him onto the right path. Today, because of him, that person had undergone unwanted training, and because of his stubbornness, he nearly went berserk without receiving Guiding.
“Still, we can refuse if we don’t like something, but I guess that’s not an option for lower ranks, right?”
Yoon Seokhyun blew at the flying ice crystals and whispered with narrowed eyes.
“Well, if you don’t like this or that, but you want to protect your person…”
Seokhyun trailed off, then suddenly rummaged through his pocket and threw something. Chahun caught it and saw it was a potion bottle. He could see the purple contents rippling inside the transparent bottle.
“That’s a bribe. Good for mana seasick—”
“If I want to protect them?”
“Oh my, no need for thanks. Start a guild.”
It was a resolute voice, unlike his usually casual tone. Seokhyun gestured to Chahun and smiled with crossed arms.
“Let’s summarize this together, shall we? First, did you know that Han Yeonwoo Esper has been classified as an ability instability case? Other ability users get kicked out immediately if their abilities fluctuate even slightly, so why is Han Yeonwoo Esper still active in the Center?”
“Because his ability isn’t fluctuating now.”
“Well, that’s just Kang Chahun Esper’s opinion. Think from the Center’s perspective.”
At those words, Chahun, who was carefully stowing away the potion, answered bluntly.
“Because of that amazing sister, I guess.”
“Correct. They don’t dare touch Han Yeonwoo Esper because he’s Han Yeonhwa Esper’s family. They’re trying to somehow bring Han Yeonhwa Esper to the Center, but what are the chances Han Yeonhwa Esper, who adores her brother, would contract with the Center that expelled him?”
After waiting a moment and seeing no sign of Chahun responding, Seokhyun quickly continued.
“The Center doesn’t care whether Han Yeonwoo Esper’s ability is fine or not. Sorry to him, but he’s just bait to lure in Han Yeonhwa Esper, nothing more, nothing less. But what do you think would happen if it became known that Han Yeonwoo Esper’s ability was unstable? There would be an uproar about why someone with ability instability is active in the Center. Did you know that if classified as ability unstable, you have to wear mana control devices for life and live as an ordinary person?”
“Then—”
“One moment, student. I’ll take questions after the explanation. Think about it. Are only awakened people interested in knowing the future? Absolutely not. As soon as Han Yeonwoo Esper’s situation becomes known, people will rush in like carp finding a feeding trough, saying they’ll be his monitor. Now, question time. What should Kang Chahun Esper do?”
Yoon Seokhyun waved his hand from side to side before Chahun could answer.
“Beep beep, time’s up. I’ll explain for this poor student. Start a guild.”
Seokhyun’s eyes had a strange gleam as he looked at Chahun. He flashed his purple pupils and whispered rapidly.
“Guild Masters have the obligation to protect and monitor ability instability cases to cooperate with peace. Let’s recap. Kang Chahun Esper successfully conquered the virtual dungeon today, so he’s qualified to receive a dungeon subjugation right. An S-rank Esper can qualify to establish a guild with just three dungeon subjugation certificates. You also need a guarantor and a diploma, and the Center Director promised to give you the diploma this time, right?”
When Chahun nodded, Seokhyun smiled with his eyes. Having moved closer at some point, Seokhyun suddenly sighed.
“I deliberately tried not to stand out…”
Seokhyun patted Chahun’s shoulder, saying it’s best to live a normal life, then suddenly stared blankly into space. Chahun shook off his hand in displeasure, but Seokhyun continued to stare into space for a while before slowly nodding. So that’s what it was. Muttering in a voice full of ecstasy, Seokhyun stared at Chahun with a meaningful expression.
“What is it?”
“You don’t need to know. Anyway, if you need a guarantor, I could do it, but since I’m from the mental realm, it won’t be easily recognized. And from the moment Kang Chahun Esper resolves to create a guild, there will be a filthy amount of interference. But if you succeed?”
If you succeed.
Muttering after Seokhyun’s words, Chahun looked toward where the armory had been. In the spot where Chahun’s gaze landed, there was a small ice nest, and inside it were the training tools Yeonwoo often used.
“You know I’m not telling you this for free, right? If you start a guild, take me with you. Everyone dislikes the mental realm because they say it’s unstable.”
* * *
He was tired. Even though it felt like he had slept well, his weary body still demanded sleep. What time is it? Even as he tried to look around, his heavy eyelids wouldn’t budge. Like that, Yeonwoo drifted in and out of sleep, trying to focus on the familiar mana.
He sensed Chahun entering the treatment room and coming straight to him. Standing next to him, Chahun reached out and cupped Yeonwoo’s cheek. The warm, cozy touch made the sleep he had been fighting rush in. After a small yawn, just as he was about to sink into deep slumber, a hard, cold object touched his lips.
What is this thing?
Yeonwoo tried to avoid it by pursing his lips, but the hand holding his cheek blocked his retreat. He struggled against the fingers carefully opening his mouth, but stopped all resistance and opened wide when a rich liquid touched the tip of his tongue.
When the fantastically sweet liquid touched the tip of his tongue, a thrill ran through his entire body. When the sweetness disappeared instantly like cotton candy touching water, Yeonwoo flicked the tip of his tongue in disappointment. Wanting to taste that wonderful flavor again, he moved his tongue dully, and along with the pain of something hard pressing hard against his lips, liquid flowed into his mouth.
Delicious. He unknowingly murmured, and Chahun, who was supporting his neck, asked if he wanted more. Of course. When he nodded, the bottle touched his lips. The moment he opened his mouth wide, the bottle fell away from his lips.
“The potion is too concentrated compared to the mana core. It’s not good to feed you too much.”
Since he couldn’t have more, he licked the potion left on his lips. Meanwhile, Chahun put away the bottle and covered him with the blanket all the way to his neck.
“Sleep a bit more.”
Drowsiness rushed in at the touch of the hand tidying his disheveled hair.
Yeonwoo, who had fallen helplessly asleep as if the potion contained a sleeping pill, slowly opened his eyes. Though his eyes were still full of sleep, Yeonwoo stretched to drive away the sleepiness and looked down at his palm.
His palm was full of crescent-shaped nail marks, and his mouth also stung. Perhaps from pressing down with all his strength, determined not to faint, there were even small bruises.
But what’s the point when I ended up fainting anyway.
Yeonwoo clicked his tongue and stared blankly at the ceiling. When will I be able to escape from those memories? And what is this? Yeonwoo lifted his wrist and looked at the sloshing bracelet.
Not only had he died and come back to life, but he had even returned to the past. With the bracelet, no, the jewel snake on his wrist, incomprehensible things were happening.
But that’s secondary. Having changed Chahun’s future properly, he needed to prepare for the boomerang effect. The futures of all the main characters in the book, including Kang Chahun, Lee Sangwon, and Center Director Jung Yeonghwan, had changed. Due to the butterfly effect, the boomerang would grow increasingly larger.
The worst case would be death, but living as an ordinary person after just losing his ability didn’t seem too bad either. When that time came, he would live off the money Han Yeonhwa earned. Or he hoped it would be as painless and quick as possible. As he was thinking this and pulling at the bracelet, he sensed Chahun’s mana.
Shortly after, the curtain opened and Chahun appeared.
“You’re awake?”
When Yeonwoo nodded, Chahun tidied his fluffy hair and gently pulled his hand as if telling him to get up.
“They said you should walk as soon as you wake up.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Get up quickly. Lee Sangwon will be here soon.”
At those words, Yeonwoo shot up. While the medical staff was away, he should escape—at this suggestion, Yeonwoo diligently moved his trembling legs. With Chahun’s support, Yeonwoo escaped the treatment room and unconsciously checked Chahun’s mood.
Why is he so quiet today?
Normally, Chahun would have stuck close beside him, asking if he knew what had happened while he was asleep and going on and on. He should have been cursing with words too crude to mention and grinding his teeth, swearing to kill the bastard who released bugs in the dungeon. Instead, he was walking in silence.
Yeonwoo, who had been observing Chahun with white eyes, clutched his stomach.
“What’s wrong? Does it hurt?”
“No, no. It’s not that.”
A moment later, a gurgling sound came from Yeonwoo’s stomach. He had vomited everything he ate in the dungeon and had only slept afterward, so he felt hunger to the point where his stomach ached. At that sound, Chahun didn’t even laugh, just sighed. It felt strange. Normally, Chahun would have urged him about what he wanted to eat before Yeonwoo could even ask.
Chahun, who would rush over at mealtimes even in the middle of training, determined to stuff one more bite into Yeonwoo’s mouth—now just sighing? Scratching his eyebrow, Yeonwoo grabbed Chahun who was walking ahead.
“Food… Have you eaten? Want to go eat?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
