Translator: Min, Editor: Spade
Proofreaders : Roki, Sapphire
Two more days had passed since then.
Jung Yisun had been sick for nearly five days. He had briefly regained consciousness on the third day and went back home, which probably wasn’t his brightest idea. He even went through the whole funeral process before collapsing again, and it was only on the sixth day that he fully came to his senses.
The fever had gone down a lot, and he was able to walk a bit, so as soon as he made sure his condition was better, Yisun headed to the HN guild. The caregiver said he needed more rest to fully recover but he insisted that he felt fine, and even asked her to tell Sa Hyeon that his condition was all better. Regardless of whether the caregiver listened to him or not, Yisun still arrived at the office building.
Apparently, the number 15 was written on the wooden slate obtained after clearing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon dungeon. The number decreased by one as each day passed, just like the slate obtained in the first dungeon. As a result, Yisun, who had already spent five days lying sick in bed, had to make sure to use his remaining days to prepare.
He’d heard that they had already roughly deduced the next dungeon’s theme by deciphering the letters on the wooden slate. Starting today, he would have to start memorizing the restoration plans. The more plans he memorized, the more detailed his restoration would be. In fact, Yisun had memorized almost all of the Hanging Gardens plans before entering the second dungeon.
While thinking that he had to do a good job in the third dungeon so he could send another one of his friends off, he rushed to the guild office, but as soon as he entered the building, Yisun felt several eyes lock onto him.
“…?”
He sensed stares zeroing in on him from the direction of the first floor lobby. The moment he had decided to join Sa Hyeon, he’d already prepared himself for the attention. Yet, having everyone’s eyes on him still felt overwhelming, especially since he’d spent the past year obsessively avoiding the human gaze.
He shrunk further into his hoodie, and headed towards the elevator. Yet, as he waited for it to arrive, people still stared at him, and when he got on, people inside would also glance at him… Then, just as someone tried to initiate a conversation with him, they reached the 42nd floor and the door opened.
“Yisun-ssi.”
And right there, in front of the door, stood Sa Hyeon. At the sight of him, the people who had been trying to talk to Yisun swiftly stepped back, and Yisun, with his head down, stepped out of the elevator.
Sa Hyeon stared down at Yisun for a moment, then spoke with a sigh, “Yisun-ssi, you’re really stubborn, huh?”
“… The earlier I recover the better, isn’t that right? You’re the one who said you needed my abilities at 100%.”
Yisun felt slightly aggrieved at Sa Hyeon’s disapproving words; after all, he had rushed all the way here just so he wouldn’t miss Chord’s meeting. To hear him call this behavior ‘stubbornness’ when he was the one subtly pressuring him to do well all the time felt unjust. But he also knew that Sa Hyeon valued efficiency over anything else, so he avoided his gaze and said, “I’m feeling better now.”
Sa Hyeon didn’t reply. The silence felt suffocating, so Yisun simply pulled on his hood and sighed as he walked away. He had a feeling that Sa Hyeon already knew he was lying, but he still hoped he would be fooled just this once.
As soon as Yisun followed Hyeon into Chord’s office, he once again found himself in a bewildering situation. The Hunters in the office who didn’t even didn’t bother to greet their leader when he walked in all stood up and greeted Yisun as soon as they saw him.
By now, Yisun could vaguely guess that this reaction had something to do with the second dungeon. It was the only thing that could be attributed to the change in the past hour. He walked into the meeting room, feeling a little overwhelmed by their enthusiastic greetings.
“Wow~ The hero is here.”
The four Chord members were seated in the conference room, Ki Joohyuk welcoming him with warm applause, and Han Arin and Na Gunwoo joining in as well. Each of them said a few words expressing their concern over his health.
“I’m fine now.”
Yisun took his seat after an awkward reply, and the chaotic bustling office only quieted down once Sa Hyeon took his seat, and Shin Jian stood up.
“We have finally received the interpretation of the deciphered wooden slate.”
The TV at the front of the conference room switched on, showing a picture of the wooden slate that was acquired from the second dungeon.
“In ancient Greek, it reads, ‘On the hill of Kronos, you will be judged for your sins.’”
Considering the current raid was a large-scale linked dungeon, it was drawing the attention of not only Koreans, but also people from all around the world. As they worked on interpreting the phrase, countless experts had been working on analyzing and speculating the next dungeon’s theme. Shin Jian briefed them on the results.
“The Hill of Kronos refers to a hill in the Greek province of Ellis, northwest of the Peloponnese Peninsula. There are many temples dedicated to ancient Greek gods on that side, most notably “the, the Temple of Hera, and the Temple of Pelops.”
Hearing that, Yisun’s expression changed subtly. If the theme of the Raid was the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, then the next dungeon had already been decided from the moment the location “Greece” was announced. And just as he expected, Shin Jian continued with the interpretation of the last phrase.
“Of these gods, the one associated with ‘judgment’ is Zeus. He is said to have punished the misdeeds of gods and humans alike with thunderbolts, so we can assume that the judgment in the phrase refers to Zeus.”
With a beep, the screen changed.
“Therefore, it can be inferred that the third dungeon is themed after “the in Olympia.”
Images of the Temple of Zeus ruins in Athens, Greece, flashed before Yisun’s eyes, along with the estimated restoration plans. Although the Temple of Zeus was the largest structure of the Roman era with 104 columns, it was a single-story building and would be easier to restore than the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. However, it was destroyed during the Roman Empire’s persecution of paganism under Theodosius II.
Technically, what was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was not the Temple of Zeus but the Statue of Zeus, which was completely lost due to several earthquakes and river flooding. Looking at the restoration of the 13-meter tall statue, Yisun silently sighed. Although only the statue was a wonder, he still needed to restore the entire temple.
However, he wasn’t the only one sighing at the revealed dungeon information. Ki Joohyuk and Na Gunwoo sighed at the same time and shook their heads uneasily. They had probably realized that the state of the ruins wouldn’t be the only problem they would have to face, given their experiences in the past two dungeons.
“With all the lightning strikes, wouldn’t it be hard for the leader to use his Shadow Trace ability?”
“That’s right, it would be too bright and unpredictable…”
“Wow, now we’re even fighting Zeus.”
Han Arin slammed her hands on the desk in irritation. In the first dungeon, King Khufu’s Pyramid, they’d fought mummy-shaped monsters, and in the second, the Hanging Gardens Dungeon, they’d fought plant-shaped monsters, so it was obvious what they’d have to deal with in the third dungeon.
“Why don’t we do a sacrificial offering ritual? I heard there was a Zeus altar over there.”
“And sacrifice what? Your own life?”
Han Arin coldly retorted Ki Joohyuk’s words. The plant monsters were pretty tricky to deal with, but the fact that the boss monster might even use the power of a god looked like it gave her a headache. Moreover, if it really did use lightning like the Zeus from the Greek Mythology, it would be a huge hindrance to Sa Hyeon’s abilities. Yisun raised his hand and spoke up. “What if I don’t restore the god’s statue…?”
“The boss monster will still be there regardless of whether or not you use your Restoration ability on the statue, so it’s the dungeon domain itself that poses a problem… If the Zeus statue is the boss monster, and it’s using a lightning bolt skill, then it’s better to restore the temple, because if the path is collapsed, it will be trickier to dodge.”
Sa Hyeon tapped the desk with the tip of his index finger as he pondered for a moment. “I’d rather you only restore the temple roughly, yet do so several times. Because even if you were to restore it perfectly, the lightning strikes would still break it again.”
“Ah, that’s right! In the dungeon we entered before, the boss monster’s energy would always linger for a while in the area it attacked,” Na Gunwoo resolutely exclaimed. Perhaps this dungeon would also have residual electricity for a few minutes wherever Zeus’ lightning would strike, and it would be more efficient to rebuild the ground anew. The other Hunters nodded in agreement, each recounting their own experiences with magic-type boss monsters.
“As soon as we enter, you’ll use your hidden ability to restore the temple, and then we’ll use your normal Restoration ability to rewind time wherever the lightning strikes, which should eliminate any residual electricity,” Sa Hyeon summarized briefly, explaining to Yisun how he should go about restoring the temple.
As he listened to the explanation, Yisun once again confirmed that, his dislike for him aside, Sa Hyeon was exceptionally good at analyzing abilities. Perhaps his understanding of his Restoration abilities far surpassed his own.
After telling him he didn’t need to bother with memorizing the details of the Zeus Temple restoration plans this time, Sa Hyeon stood up.
“Hunter Han Arin, I need to talk to you privately.”
“Huh, seriously…?”
“Yes.”
“My gems…” Han Arin replied in a pitiful tone and followed Sa Hyeon out of the room. Jung Yisun didn’t understand the flow of their short conversation at all, but the other Hunters in the room just laughed. Even Shin Jian gave her a brief pitying glance, so he was naturally curious.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Why did she suddenly mention gems?”
“Oh, right! Restorer-nim doesn’t know about that.”
Ki Joohyuk in front of him was about to say something, but suddenly closed his mouth and chuckled.
“As for her ability, it’s better to see it for yourself later… Anyway, Han Arin’s ability requires the use of minerals.”
“Minerals?”
“Yep. As if performing a ritual, she has to embed a mineral into the ground to use her hidden ability. The better its quality, the better the effect, so she’ll probably have to use some expensive gems in this third dungeon, breaking her precious collection.”
Han Arin used an elongated stick because it had good striking power, but she actually had an S-class magic ability called Earthquake. As the name implied, it bent and distorted earth, but the conditions for its use were quite demanding: since it was an earth-bending ability, she could only use it if she sacrificed high-quality minerals that came from the ground. Yisun suddenly understood why she had been so sensitive to the word ‘sacrifice’ earlier.
S-class Awakeners all had different abilities and conditions, and they didn’t reveal them or ask each other about them. It was tacitly kept secret because it could become their weakness, but Sa Hyeon had been a Hunter since he was eight years old, so the conditions for activating his ability were publicly known, and so was Han Arin’s conspicuous condition of embedding minerals into the ground.
“So, we’re using Hunter Han Arin’s hidden ability in the third dungeon?”
“That’s right, and if you haven’t seen it before… Don’t spoil it for yourself by watching a video. There aren’t even that many anyway, but you seriously have to see it for yourself,” Ki Joohyuk repeated enthusiastically, and even Na Gunwoo beside him nodded in agreement. Only when he saw Yisun nodding shakily did Ki Joohyuk smile and stand up. As he grabbed his bag, which was hanging on the back of his chair, Yisun asked him curiously, “Where are you going?”
“Me? I’m going to school. I have to submit an absence slip to my professor. He’s so hard to find even when I go to his lab, so I’ll go to class and submit an excuse for my absence to—”
Once he noticed the subtle change in Yisun’s expression, Joohyuk said in a dumbfounded tone, “I’m in college… You didn’t know? Wow, I didn’t think you’d be this uninterested in me…….”
Yisun was left speechless by Ki Joohyuk’s shocked reaction. He knew they were the same age, but he had no idea the other attended university… In fact, he only knew his name, age, and basic information about him as a Hunter.
“I’m so hurt~ So you have to come to school with me! I’m a big fan of yours, so I even know where you went to middle school and high school, it’s only fair you get to know me as well!”
Na Gunwoo, who was listening to Ki Joohyuk’s words, reacted gravely. “You sound more like a stalker than a fan though?”
“Ah, hyung!”
Jung Yisun could only watch on dully as they talked. There was someone else he thought of as soon as he heard the word ‘stalker’. Yisun hesitated for a moment before nodding. For the past ten days, he had only moved under Sa Hyeon’s watch, and he wanted to act on his own will for once.
“If Hunter Ki Joohyuk doesn’t mind, then I’ll go with you. It’ll be my first time at a university, so I’m a bit curious…”
Yisun’s decision wasn’t just based on his resentment towards Sa Hyeon. As someone who had once dreamed about attending university but couldn’t afford it in order to settle his debts ever since he was 17 years old, he hadn’t been anywhere near a university because he’d been so busy these past four years.
And so, he just said “let’s go” impulsively. Yisun thought that Ki Joohyuk might have been joking, but the Hunter immediately turned red, grabbed Yisun’s arm, and led him out.
***
Yisun was on his way to university with Ki Joohyuk when he heard an incredible piece of information.
“… You’re studying fine arts?”
“Is it that surprising? I totally look like a fine arts student though…”
“…….”
“Wow. Restorer-nim’s silence speaks more than words.”
Yisun didn’t know how to react to Ki Joohyuk’s comment about his major. It was already impressive enough that he was a dual element wielding A-class Mage and a college student, but the fact that he also majored in fine arts was even more surprising… Although Ki Joohyuk was a bit shorter than him, he wasn’t thin, and his slightly tanned skin and lively personality made Yisun unable to associate him with the field of arts at all.
“Then what kind of major did you think it was?”
“…… Sports?”
“Wow, I’m total gym trash, I spent all my high school years preparing for practical exams, so I’m in bad shape… and as a long-range Hunter, my body is still as frail as a paper doll. The only person who’s really strong physically as a mage is Arin-.”
Yisun awkwardly looked away as Ki Joohyuk muttered that he didn’t know why that noona was running around with a staff when she was a Mage Hunter. He thought that maybe he was lying to fool him until they arrived at Gwang-gik University, which was well known for its fine arts department.
Hunters belonging to the HN Guild were provided with a private car, and a chauffeur would drive them if they applied for one. After a comfortable ride, they arrived at the university. Yisun looked around in awe.
The flowering trees lining the path behind the wide main entrance were in full bloom, announcing the early spring. Yisun had been extremely reluctant to go out for the past year, and since joining Chord, he’d only ever been to the Guild’s office or abandoned buildings, so it was refreshing to see such beautifully maintained roads.
However, Ki Joohyuk, who was in a bit of a hurry, started running immediately, and Yisun, realizing he was urgently rushing, stopped looking around and ran after him. True to his words, Ki Joohyuk seemed to have low stamina and was panting after only a few minutes of running. While supporting himself using a nearby tree, he screamed at the top of his lungs that universities should conscientiously make all their paths flat.
When Yisun asked him why he didn’t have the car drive him straight to the lecture hall, he embarrassedly admitted that his physical strength was so bad, Shin Jian had told the chauffeur to only take him to the front gate. Yisun nodded, remembering how he had also struggled to climb the stairs inside the Hanging Gardens dungeon. Ki Joohyuk’s physical strength had to be so far in the negatives that even the serious-looking Shin Jian did something like that.
He finally made it to the lecture hall to submit his justification to the professor. However, the class was already over and the professor was on his way out, so before the out-of-breath Ki Joohyuk collapsed, he handed his absence justification note to Yisun, who had to catch up to the professor and submit it on his behalf.
“Ahh, I see. The reason is the… Raid, Ki Joohyuk?”
“Hah, hah… Professor, I’m here.”
Ki Joohyuk, who had crawled over with trembling legs, greeted the professor while gasping. The two of them chatted amiably, and they seemed familiar with each other.
“I saw it in the news… if it’s that Raid, you’ll end up missing a whole semester. Why don’t you just take a break instead?”
“I’m graduating this year!”
“Well, with such a good reason, you can’t be blamed for not having enough attendance… Have you decided on a direction for your senior project?”
“Well, I always go to places that inspire me.”
When Ki Joohyuk shrugged his shoulders and spoke confidently, the professor patted him on the shoulder as if he had heard enough of his silliness. Then, he glanced at Yisun, who was standing still beside him, before turning back to Ki Joohyuk.
“Ah, is this student, by any chance…?”
“That’s right! The hero of this era, the human cultural asset, and a walking UNESCO world heritage site.”
“Oh my, I’m a fan. My grandson was so excited when he saw you on the broadcast video.”
Before Yisun could react to Ki Joohyuk’s words, the professor greeted him. He put everything he was carrying aside and reached out to Yisun for a handshake, which the latter did very awkwardly. Afterwards, the professor scrambled to get his autograph, only to be interrupted by an assistant who told him he was late for his next class.
Yisun was stunned for a while after getting called a ‘student’, before eventually pulling his hood down. He had thought that everyone in the HN Guild only recognized him because they were all Hunters, but it was overwhelming to think that even ordinary people knew him. Considering the interest people had in raids nowadays, it was only natural, but to be put in such a situation was still very embarrassing. On the other hand, it also made him feel uncomfortable to be admired for ‘his’ ability.
However, Ki Joohyuk was so excited to be in school along with Yisun that he dragged him to his studio to show him some of his old paintings, at which point Yisun thought about telling him he’d rather turn around and leave. But once they got there, something unexpected happened.
The students who recognized Joohyuk all jumped up excitedly up while letting out “ooh”s and “aah”s and, one by one, they approached him with buckets of water.
“Ki Joohyuk Hunter-nim~, we need some water.”
“There’s tap water outside!”
“Come on, just give us some A-class water! I’ve heard that if you rinse your brushes with A-class water, your paintings will come out better!”
“You can get arrested for spreading false information, you know?”
“Ahh, if I don’t have A-class water, I can’t paint, and I can’t do my assignment… I’ll get an F for sure…”
“You just don’t want to do the assignment, do you need to make such excuses? You’ll get an A if you use my water? Huh, how come even I can’t get one!”
Ki Joohyuk, an A-class Hunter at Chord, was also teased by students who thought of him just as another classmate or senior. After a while, he finally stood up on a chair and shouted, “Alright, alright, the painting department’s water shuttle is here!”
The students burst into laughter and lined up in front of him. Such minor magic spells could be used without a rod, and large drops of water appeared at his fingertips. One by one, the students stored them in their buckets as if they were being given rations. When it was all over, Ki Joohyuk whined grimly that there was no other Hunter who would be taken advantage of so easily like him.
“Tell me the truth. I’m only famous as a water shuttle, right?”
“What are you talking about? Our Kijoo is so popular.”
“That’s right, an A-class Hunter!”
“He’s in Chord.”
“He even gives us water.”
At the last “compliment” Ki Joohyuk screamed again, demanding whoever it was to turn themselves in. Throughout the entire process, Yisun, who was standing in the distance, watched the scene in disbelief, until one by one, the eyes of the students turned to him. When someone said, “Oh, that person…”, they all gasped while looking at him.
As he took a step back in embarrassment, all hell broke loose as the students ran around, scrambling for pens and papers to get his autograph. But Ki Joohyuk, who felt that Yisun was uncomfortable with all the attention, jumped out of his chair, grabbed him, and ran out of the room.
“Oh, no. I went in there to show you the soul of my art, and all I showed you was my embarrassing side.”
“……No, it was fun, you’re really close with your friends.”
“I was literally being bullied?”
Ki Joohyuk’s eyes widened in grievance, but then he smiled and shook his head.
“They’re just pitiful kids, spirits perpetually trapped in the studio, so I let them vent occasionally.”
Yisun nodded slowly as Ki Joohyuk laughed playfully, and soon they walked out of the building, saying that he could show him around the school now that he handed in his justification note. Yisun had mentioned that he was curious as it was his first time at university, so he planned to show him everything he knew. In fact, he wasn’t the most diligent student, as he was often absent from classes, but he knew all the best spots to see.
Yisun followed him around the school, looking around in awe. Gwang-gik University was famous for its beautiful campus. As they walked through the lecture halls and passed by students chatting in front of the library with books in their hands, Yisun couldn’t help but ask Ki Joohyuk a question he’d wanted to ask ever since the moment Ki Joohyuk told him he went to university.
“But isn’t it the case that if you have an ability of C-class or higher, you don’t lead an ordinary life as a civilian?”
In South Korea, one could take the ability test on the 1st of January on the year they reached the age of 20. It was not an exaggeration to say that one’s life changed from that point on, and people made different plans for their lives, one for when they were an Awakener and one for when they were not an Awakener.
If one’s ability was ranked F-class, most people would never become an Awakener, and if it was D-class, they had a 50/50 chance of becoming a Hunter. This was because Hunter activities guaranteed high profits, but also entailed high risk to one’s own life. However, anyone C-class or above would surely become a Hunter, so Yisun found it strange that Ki Joohyuk, who was an A-class, was attending university.
Occasionally, Hunters who were interested in guild management would study related subjects separately, but an arts school was completely unexpected. In response to Yisun’s question, Ki Joohyuk laughed.
“First of all, I spent all three years of high school preparing for the art school entrance exam. The Awakening test on January 1st? I didn’t take it until the end of February because I was too busy preparing for the practical exam.”
Everyone assumed that they would become an Awakener, but with the practical test right around the corner, Ki Joohyuk lamented about how there was no time to think about it. “But suddenly, it turns out I was an A-class Mage. Honestly, can you just accept that your life would change overnight? And I’d been going through all those hardships for three years and even passed the entrance exam, and suddenly, I’m a Hunter? It didn’t even feel real, and not attending the university I studied so hard for felt like a waste, so I came to university. But…”
“…But?”
“As soon as I came to art school, oh… I felt like I was going to die from the amount of assignments. Just when I just submit one assignment, another one appears… I clearly stayed up all night to finish the assignment, so I should be able to sleep now, but somehow there’s still another assignment!”
Suddenly, Ki Joohyuk bursted into tears, complaining about how all the professors thought they were the only class the students took… and Yisun could only look at him with concern.
“Dying in a dungeon was cooler than dying because of too many assignments, and so I immediately switched to becoming a Hunter. And besides, at least if you die in a dungeon, the government gives you a death benefit.”
Ki Joohyuk laughed mischievously, saying that his classmates were most envious of that part. When Yisun sighed at the news that dying in a studio was not covered by worker’s compensation, Ki Joohyuk just laughed harder, holding his stomach.
They had been strolling around the university premises for over an hour now. Ki Joohyuk wasn’t wearing a hat, so there were a few people glancing towards him in recognition, but no one ever approached him directly.
However, the last of the winter wind was quite chilly, causing Yisun to shiver quite a few times. He wished he’d packed an extra layer of clothing, but he’d been in a hurry to leave, and didn’t think he would be going anywhere after leaving the Chord meeting room anyway.
But even with the cold, he quite enjoyed his current outing. He had more free time since he didn’t have to restore the third dungeon’s Temple perfectly, and it just happened that Ki Joohyuk was going to university, so he followed him. Maybe it was partially out of resentment towards Sa Hyeon who had him under close surveillance all the time, but he also felt curiosity towards the university.
And maybe, a little, just a little … envy.
“What do you want for lunch? I heard there’s hamburger steak in the cafeteria today, and the rice here is really good, so if you don’t mind, do you want to go? I’ll pay.”
It was almost lunchtime, and Ki Joohyuk was fussing about how hungry he was. Some students passing by also talked about the school meals. Yisun stared at them for a moment in silence.
Ki Joohyuk seemed so used to going to university, chatting with professors, and joking around with his classmates. The more Yisun watched him enjoy this life so freely and naturally, the more bitter he felt. At first, he thought it was envy for the university life he had never gotten to experience, but when he opened the lid of his simmering emotions, what he found was a form of self-pity.
He realized that even if he had gone to university, he wouldn’t have been able to live like Ki Joohyuk, but his friends would have. It was more of a conviction than a guess. Where he was quiet and introverted, his friends were the opposite.
If they hadn’t been in debt and… hadn’t died.
Would they have lived like Ki Joohyuk?
“Oh, right. By the way, did you ever want to be a Restorer? I know you went straight to work at the age of 20 with S-class Restoration skills, but did you have any other aspirations when you were in high school?”
“Um…”
“Come to think of it, as a Restorer, you could’ve still had a normal life. You’re not a Hunter, so there’s less danger. If it wasn’t for that trashy guild, you could’ve gone to school…”
Ki Joohyuk’s words of complaint made Yisun feel a bit stunned. He knew that his being caught by the Honshin Guild in a fraudulent contract had been well-publicized, and although Honshin was dismantled after most of its members were killed in the Second Great Dungeon… it was still refreshing to hear another Hunter cursing the guild as well.
Yisun made a contemplative sound as he reminisced about the past, but nothing came to mind.
“I didn’t really… have a specific place I wanted to go to, I was just trying to get my grades up.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Oh, my friends said art school would be good for me.”
“Wow, that’s ridiculous. Who told you something like that? They’re totally trying to ruin your life, and I’m going to have to scold them, huh?”
Yisun burst out laughing at the sight of Ki Joohyuk getting so angry that he couldn’t stand it as an art student. His anger was hilarious, and the only people who had recommended art school to him were his friends… They were the only friends he had.
The clear sound of Yisun’s hearty laughter came as a surprise to Joohyuk, who was standing in front of him.
“Oh…this is the first time I’ve seen you smile.”
It had been more than ten days since they met, and he had never seen him smile even once, so when Ki Joohyuk said that he must be similar to Hunter Shin Jian, Yisun felt awkward. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and tried to change the subject, but then he heard a very familiar voice come from right beside him. It was a voice he hadn’t expected to hear in this place.
“Right? I see Yisun-ssi quite enjoys walking around in that condition. I didn’t peg you as the type to enjoy pain.”
Sa Hyeon was walking towards them. It seemed he’d finally finished talking to Han Arin, but then rushed here the moment he noticed that Yisun wasn’t in the building. Yisun tried to hide his surprise, feeling slightly offended by his sarcastic remark when they’d just met.
“What’s the problem with me walking around when I’m feeling better?”
“Hmm, the first problem is the fact that you are not feeling fine at all, and you wandering around without telling me is the second.”
“Since when was I supposed to report my every move to—”
Clearly, Yisun had things he wanted to unload on Sa Hyeon, but before he could finish his sentence, his body collapsed. Suddenly, he felt dizzy, his eyes were spinning, his knees gave out, and he fell forward. After walking outside for more than an hour, his body finally gave out.
And then Sa Hyeon gently caught his body. He took a step forward and grabbed Yisun’s arm, leaning him against himself.
“If you’re saying you’re fine, you’re not.”
Yisun wanted to refute Sa Hyeon’s words, which were falling on top of his head, but the sudden pounding headache prevented him from uttering a single word. Sa Hyeon placed his hand on Yisun’s forehead and stared at Ki Joohyuk wordlessly for a moment. Joohyuk immediately straightened up at the sight of his black eyes that held no hint of a smile or amusement this time.
“Hunter Ki Joohyuk. The person right next to you is already in this condition, how can you be so insensitive, what are your eyes even there for? Decoration?”
“S-sorry…”
“I’m sure I told the four of you that Yisun-ssi’s penalty was going to last for a week. If you can’t remember even that… I can’t help but wonder what use your head is.”
“He said he was feeling fine now…”
“Oh, so this wasn’t your fault?”
“No, it is. I apologize.”
Ki Joohyuk winced at the sound of Sa Hyeon’s cold voice and lowered his head. Yisun was both embarrassed and aggrieved at his sudden deteriorating condition, but for now he had to make sure that Sa Hyeon knew Ki Joohyuk was innocent, and barely managed to tell him that it was him who had decided to go out. And when he got no response, Yisun patted his arm and tried to get up, but Hyeon was already leading him towards the car.
He leaned Yisun against the back seat and said with a sigh, “Yisun-ssi. You can’t think that the pain from the penalty for using your hidden ability would be as simple as a common cold.”
As the door closed and Sa Hyeon turned around to sit on the other side, Yisun was plagued by a very complicated feeling. His head was hurting, and he couldn’t think clearly, but there was something weighing down heavily on him. He finally spoke up when Sa Hyeon sat down next to him. It was better to say it out loud than to let the uneasy feelings twist around in his body.
“…I’m sorry. I thought It would be okay since my fever had dropped this morning.”
Yisun admitted that he had gone out impulsively because of Sa Hyeon, who seemed to be monitoring him. Maybe he acted in retaliation to the manipulative way he’d been pushed around by this person. Still, he was in no position to complain when he was feverish again after just an hour or two of being exposed to the cold.
Especially since Sa Hyeon had provided him with a care-giver and would even come to check on him. Yisun apologized, recalling that he obligingly sent his friend off when he had insisted two days ago.
“I didn’t come all the way here to receive an apology from you.”
Sa Hyeon’s monotonous answer only made Yisun feel even more uncomfortable. Even after the car started and they drove away from the school, he couldn’t find anything to say, so he kept his mouth shut.
“You should have stayed home and rested more.”
“…The meeting for the third dungeon…”
“I was going to let you know about it when your condition got better anyway.”
“I wanted to start memorizing the restoration plans as soon as possible, although in the end we decided not to do it in detail… I got ahead of myself and insisted.”
Once again, Yisun apologized and insisted that Ki Joohyuk hadn’t done anything wrong, and Sa Hyeon laughed softly.
“Surprisingly, you admit to being stubborn in this regard.”
His tone was light, as if he didn’t mean to sour the mood. Sa Hyeon handed Yisun a recovery potion, and he found himself increasingly at a loss for words since he’d even brought it with him. He stared at the transparent vial, smaller than his hand, before unscrewing the lid and downing it in one gulp.
In truth, the potion wouldn’t completely cure the pain caused by the penalty, only relieve it slightly for a couple of hours, but given his current state, it was better to drink it. He was frowning slightly at the fact that it was a potion but tasted more like herbal medicine when a hand came into his line of sight. Sa Hyeon had held out his hand to him, and when Yisun blinked, unable to understand what he meant by this gesture, he spoke kindly.
“Give me your hand.”
“Is this… a punishment?”
“How is it a punishment?”
“…….”
“I’m trying to check your temperature, so just give me your hand first.”
Yisun’s silence caused Sa Hyeon to shoot him a puzzled glance, but he held out his hand again, urging him to take it. He wasn’t sure why he was taking his temperature with his hand, and he had a nagging suspicion that it wasn’t the case since he had just touched his forehead earlier, but he held his hand anyway. He had already shown his resentment, and so he suppressed his feelings after the incident earlier.
This time, his hand felt quite lukewarm, perhaps due to his own high temperature caused by the fever. But in the end, the warmth of a living person was still there, and it still made Yisun uncomfortable.
“I didn’t think you’d wander around so I didn’t mark you, but I didn’t expect you’d slip away.”
“What mark…?”
It was a very low whisper, like he was muttering to himself, but Yisun still caught the strange words. When he turned to look at him curiously, Sa Hyeon raised his eyebrows and smiled. Yisun had learned from past experience that whenever Sa Hyeon smiled that way, it meant that he wouldn’t be getting an answer.
“Nothing that Yisun-ssi needs to worry about.”
In the end, he didn’t pursue the subject any further, but he vaguely recalled Na Gunwoo’s words after they had just cleared the second dungeon, when he had blurted out in annoyance that he didn’t understand why Sa Hyeon liked to shake hands so much. Na Gunwoo looked terribly awkward and avoided answering.
“Oh, that’s right, that’s because when the leader comes into contact with someone he…. Ah—I mean, it’s… nothing.”
Then, Yisun realized that Sa Hyeon had been insisting on shaking hands ever since their first meeting. Just as Yisun’s gaze drifted to his hand with a hint of suspicion, Sa Hyeon asked, “Did you enjoy your outing?”
“…Yes?”
“You were smiling, and you even laughed out loud.”
Sa Hyeon’s calm words caught him off guard. Although he hadn’t laughed much ever since that day, when both Ki Joohyuk and Sa Hyeon mentioned it, it made him wonder, did he walk around with a frown on his face? As Yisun entered a state of subtle confusion, Sa Hyeon spoke up.
“I thought you didn’t like to go out much because you’ve been so withdrawn for the past year, and since you didn’t move around much even in the new apartment, I just assumed you preferred to stay still.”
The words made Yisun feel like he was being treated like an extremely lethargic person. This was especially true when Sa Hyeon insisted on leading him on walks whenever they trained his abilities in the abandoned building. Maybe he thought that walking was the minimum exercise he needed to survive.
In fact, it was true that Yisun was a fairly inactive person, but he wasn’t completely averse to going out; for the past year, it had been because of his sleeping, and lately, he’d been confined to his bedroom in the new apartment because he was conscious of his caregiver outside. Or, to put it more honestly…
“…The apartment is too large.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, the place I lived before was small, and there were seven of us, so…”
He barely managed to put the brakes on the Freudian slip that came out of nowhere. He hadn’t meant to say any of this to Sa Hyeon, but whether it was because of the headache preventing him from thinking clearly, or because he wanted to clear the misunderstanding, the words he would have normally swallowed back spilled out.
Yisun hesitated, before adding that it was his first time in such a large apartment, so it just felt unfamiliar. Sa Hyeon responded calmly to the defensive excuse, “Ah, you’re lonely.”
It was a fairly dry answer. Then, as if examining his condition, Sa Hyeon glanced at Yisun and spoke slowly, “Come to think of it, you’ve probably been eating nothing but porridge at home for the last five days, so let’s go home after getting lunch.”
“Together?”
“Yeah. Yisun-ssi feels lonely, so I need to take care of you.”
Yisun didn’t know what to make of Sa Hyeon’s words about how he also needed to take care of his mental state, since the limit of progress in his ability to restore through training seemed to stagnate once it reached 70%. He remained silent, hoping he didn’t reflexively grimace.
When they had eaten together during training, it was due to his own lack of nutrition. This time the focus was on his loneliness, which was strangely uncomfortable. Last time, he ate as if it were part of his job, but now he wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle it…
While he was feeling burdened, Sa Hyeon asked if there was anything in particular he wanted to eat. Yisun was about to answer that there wasn’t anything in particular, but then he remembered Ki Joohyuk’s suggestion and hesitated.
“… Hamburger steak.”
“Can you chew it?”
“I’m not that weak…” Yisun replied nervously. He couldn’t tell if Sa Hyeon was being overprotective or if he was just mocking him. Besides, it wasn’t just any steak, it was hamburger steak, which was tender, so he should have no problem eating it.
The problem came from an unexpected place.
“…….”
Yisun went to a nearby restaurant with Sa Hyeon. Although Yisun told him that there was no need to rent the whole restaurant, Hyeon firmly replied that nothing good would come from the penalty for his hidden ability being known. Hyeon also added that he felt bad for making him feel lonely, so Yisun thought he was definitely making fun of him.
Still, since the restaurant was already rented, he figured he should at least finish his meal as quickly as possible. By the time they had reached the restaurant, his head was pounding, and after refusing Sa Hyeon’s hand reaching out to support him, he sat down at the table on his own. He would eat quickly and sleep as soon as he got home.
But when a steak was placed in front of him, and Yisun sliced it with a knife, there seemed to be a problem.
Yisun, “…….”
Sa Hyeon, “…….”
Almost instantly, the tender meat regenerated, and the steak was intact all over again. For the first time, Yisun realized that his penalty also caused a loss of control over his abilities. Perhaps it was the result of using his hidden ability multiple times in a short period of time. He knew that his Restoration ability did not require direct contact, but he never thought he would see it in such a situation.
He tried stabbing again, but the steak kept regenerating every time. After about the third time, he became too embarrassed and put down the knife.
Sa Hyeon, who had been staring at the plate, slowly looked up at him and smiled. “You’re quite a handful, aren’t you, Yisun-ssi?”
Yisun wanted to reject the fork hovering in front of his lips, to say that he didn’t want to eat because he’d lost his appetite, but he couldn’t resist the way Sa Hyeon was staring at him, so he just opened his mouth and took it.
He felt a little, no, extremely embarrassed.
I hope Yisun can attend to college one day D:
He deserves a break ;-; thank you for reading~~💞
wait,wait, what would happen if he activated the restoration ability and he already swallowed a part of the steak? …thats a disgusting thought
I was thinking the same…
Thanks for the chapter!
not youu too omg azdsahj Thank you for reading~~ <3
sweats Uhhh I don’t even wanna imagine that (´ཀ`」)”’ … Thank you for reading~~<3
Omg banish the thought! Quickly!
The hamburger was kind of funny-sad…bad burger! Thanks for the update ❤️
LMAOXJAOSA bad burger indeed, but wait till you hear about Han Arin’s penalty oof- Thank you for reading~~ <3
(Not me making an account just for this novel lmao) On the main note tho, thank you translator for translating this novel- I love both sides(definitely regret on not finding this later because I can’t wait dkdgsjsns) and how it have an interesting trope and actually think of the damage ahead of these stuff happening. (I see your artem profile and I see you’re a man of culture aswell). Thought a pity I can’t pay simply because I’m broke (I’m sorry)
Alsoo aahh~~ waiting for chapters can be pretty hard i’ve been there hehe, i’ll probably pick up the pace once i graduate in a few months though so hang in there~~ Also no need to apologiize, support comes in all kind of ways, comments are definitely on of them ;-; i love to read yalls thoughts
(Glad to see a fellow cultures ToT enjoyer hehe)
Main note : Oh my- didn’t expect another college student aswell. Don’t worry about translating- as much as I’m not a patience person- I am more grateful that someone actually translates the novel (I don’t understand korean and also even if I did I have no idea where I could read this novel because in the official site you need a korean citizen some sort TT), Good luck on your study and take care of yourself because as always health comes first (really need to tell that to myself aswell lmao). Again, thank you very much for translating this novel and making me see this gem^^
(Everytime I see someone with artem /ToT pfp I get slightly happier at the fact people also like the game and I found someone like me(but then again most people here is like me enjoying novels sooooo) (Btw is there spoiler on whether this is HE or SE because I don’t think I can handle it if it’s SE honestly) (forgive my bad english- I read too many mtl and it’s definitely- well making some of my writing don’t make senses so sorry (if there’s any that’s unclear feel free to ask)
-Yay for another college survivor!!! mental and physical health ? what’s that?? neverheard of it… no but srsly thank you ;-; you take care of yourself too and don’t stress too much~~! and your english is fine! i understood perfectly, istg mtl is the bane of all of us webnovel readers
And it is a HE so dw too much haha
btw who’s your favorite in ToT? mine’s unexpectedly Marius LMAOO
MTL is a knife honestly- in one way it kills your english but in another, it helps you quench your thirst of novels that you don’t understand the language
Thank God it’s HE I genuinely can’t if it’s a SE especially knowing that these two will probably be together (For ToT my fav character is artem lmao- Marius and Vyn is kinda a close second tho especially marius simply because he is a CEO (tho I don’t really like his personality and not into younger fella (there’s a reason I like artem after all lmao- and also because the moment I saw him I just fall and ended up playing from start to this day))side note : the notification symbol is honestly distracting lmao- I was reading other novel and the notification not dissapearing is- something else (I don’t like deleting notif because they kinda feel like memories you see haha)- tho main topic talking with you using comment section is honestly very enjoyable and I’m not complaining if this at the end of the day is a very long comment section haha
So marking… with his power?
(´∀`)ゞ That’s far better than a wild wolf ‘marking’ his territory. And I guess in this case for tracking a lost lamb?
I like that metaphor sm (ꈍ꒙ꈍ) thank you for reading ~~<3🌸
This chapter is so true that it hurts me to read it! If you have read this chapter and think that student artists are exaggerating, then imagine that you are given a new calculation paper every week, which you need to write by hand from beginning to end and you cannot use a calculator. That’s how tedious it really is.
Thank you very much for the translation 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
Riiight~? I may not be an art student but i felt that assignments part sm ;-;
Also tyyy for reading ~~<3
🌸
Of course, it is difficult for everyone to study at the university and everyone has a lot of tasks! (crying sounds) But it’s just that such specialties are often underestimated!