#242화 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dbgdbw · 1 year

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244.Lanchaea’s Lambda (2)

란체아의 람다 (2)

철컥, the moment he realized Lambda’s identity, Yoohyunie quickly swung the barrel of the rifle in the other direction, and then, slinging it onto his shoulder, fired. The bullet, shot carelessly without proper sighting, ricocheted off of Sigma’s chain with a concussive sound.

Mana bullets that needed no reloading sprayed out in succession. Maybe owing to the rapid rate at which they fired, the overall firepower was relatively low–but as a means of pinning one’s opponent into place for a short period of time, it was plenty. I didn’t just spectate, either; taking a bomb out of my inventory, I lightly tossed it into the air. Without need for an explanation, twisting his body in a half-turn, Yoohyunie whirled around and caught the bomb with the tip of his outstretched foot, kicking it forward.

At terrifying speed, the bomb hurtled through the glowing hail of bullets. And, just when it was about to come into contact with the outstretched end of the chain,

콰아앙!

It went off in an explosion of light and smoke. Rather than destructive force, it was a bomb whose mainstay a poisonous fog. He wouldn’t have been able to avoid a poisonous fog that settled over the area in an instant, and it should have worsened the affliction from his previous poisonings as well.

As that was happening, the Guards that had come with Lambda–Moon Hyuna–began to move.

- 쿠으으.

As though it had sensed the impending danger, the last remaining armor-scaled monster curled its body into a ball. Belying its heavyset appearance, its movements were astonishingly agile. Five sets of bikes sped towards the one that looked to be the most finicky of the three SS-rank monsters, with scales that seemed difficult to even pierce.

Engines revving loudly, the bikes streaked unflinchingly across the messy pavement, without slowing down for a moment. When they entered the monster’s vicinity, simultaneously, each of them fired off a pitch-black cable. The sturdy steel cords tangled together, around the top half of the monster’s body, then.

카가가각!

Swiftly, the bikes drifted around the monster’s perimeter, interweaving the lines together, and in a flash, the armored monster’s body had been tightly bound. Holding onto the ends of the cords, the S-rank Guards jumped off from their bikes and firmly braced themselves on the ground with both feet planted.

- 캬아우!

Though the monster began to struggle, even with SS-rank stats, it couldn’t hope to win against the concurrent force exerted by several S-rank Guards in unison. Once the S-rank Guards–who moved together with a degree of unerring accuracy that seemed to speak to having overcome countless trials together–had managed to restrict the monster’s movement, Moon Hyuna moved.

파파팍, everything caught in the path of the massive bike’s tires were either crushed, or scattered. Moon Hyuna, having arrived at the vicinity of the monster, kicked off her bike and vaulted into the air. In an instant, her body soared up to an incredible height. Being suspended in the air would have made her into a prime target, but right now, the monster was unable to budge at all. Thrashing, it attempted to shoot spine-like projectiles at Moon Hyuna, but the S-rank Guards nullified the attacks immediately.

The giant lance, glowing silver, was aimed downwards. Perhaps because of a Skill, both the lance and Moon Hyuna’s body became enveloped in some kind of white fog.

And then, just like that, an abrupt descent.

Tearing through the air, a blinding white light accelerated straight down.

콰과광–!!

The monster’s armored scales splattered apart, like so much tofu smashed with a hammer. As the mass that was the equivalent in size to five or six large trucks was unresistingly pummeled down, it flattened, becoming smeared into the ground. The resulting shockwave reached even the S-rank Guards, who had quickly made their retreat.

The ground shook and 우르릉, the buildings in the vicinity that had already been half-destroyed ended up collapsing completely. With light steps, Moon Hyuna alighted above the lip of the crater that had been created by the pressure of the impact. Putting the lance away into her inventory, she began to move towards her bike.

‘Hyuna-ssi’s really no joke.’

Two SS-rank monsters had been dismantled in a flash. After a brief moment of silence that settled over the area, the Achates Guards moved to approach Moon Hyuna.

“You’ve arrived exceedingly quickly, sir!”

“Yeah, I’d already departed before the missives arrived.”

“What serendipitous timing, sir. Please assist us in subduing Alpha!”

At the Achates Guard’s words, Moon Hyuna hiked up a brow, as though asking what nonsense they were spouting.

“And why would I?”

“...pardon, sir?”

“And when I’d already sent the rejection, too. Perhaps you hadn’t heard.”

The Achates Guard watched in a stupor as she mounted her bike, before coming back to himself and re-imploring her.

“But–Alpha, right now, isn’t he renegade in front of our very eyes! Though Sigma-nim is preventing his advancement, at the very least, for the safety of Achates’ citizens–”

“What a crock of horseshit. It’s obvious at a glance that those two are romping around happily enough together, so what ‘safety of the citizens’. That’s quite enough–guys!”

At Moon Hyuna’s call, Lanchaea’s S-rank Guards drew near.

“Go ahead and take in these Achates Defense Association guys with your own hands. This isn’t something I should be taking the lead on, after all. Since it’s your home territory, right.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Please leave it to us!”

Four of the S-rank Guards, and the A~B-rank Guards that had been deployed from Lanchaea’s helicopters began to move in unison. It seemed like they were, those kids that had been extricated from Achates. The Achaetes Guards, who had already expended a significant amount of energy during battle, were all subdued without significant opposition. The helicopters that had been stopped loaded up the people, and began heading towards the Achaetes Defense Association.

I was watching the helicopter moving away with the distant sound of propellers, when Yoohyunie turned and approached Moon Hyuna.

“What, not gonna finish the fight?”

Moon Hyuna asked with a chuckle. Like Yoohyunie, her appearance was slightly changed, too. In particular, her height and overall size had definitely grown. At present, she appeared to stand at nearly two meters or so.

“You are Hunter Moon Hyuna, correct?”

“‘Course that’s right, young master. Though, what about hyung-nim? If he ended up separated, that’s gonna be dangerous.”

“I’m over here, please.”

As I hopped outside of the pocket, waving my hand, Moon Hyuna’s eyes grew round.

“Oho, and why’ve you been shrunken down. All cute like, huh.”

As her hand suddenly shot out, Yoohyunie stepped back to dodge her reach.

“It isn’t as though a bit of handling will wear him out. And in any case, he’ll probably be safer staying with me. That guy doesn’t seem like he’s feeling keen on backing off, so isn’t that why you came over here? Hmm, young master?”

Yoohyunie’s expression turned petulant. Ah, so he’d come over here to pass me over for safekeeping. Though he really didn’t need to.

“More importantly–Hyuna-ssi, please assist us in taking down that Sigma bastard as well. To end things quickly.”

“Ehh? Why? Wasn’t it Sung Hyunjae and the young master finally getting a fight in, after such a long time? Since it isn’t their real bodies, I thought they’d decided to go at it with that for peace of mind.”

“That over there isn’t Sung Hyunjae.”

Surprised, Moon Hyuna looked back and forth between Sung Hyunjae standing on the far side, and myself.

“But it’s ‘Ctrl C, Ctrl V’? Just the hair color seems slightly different, and… Hmm, that guy does seem to come off a bit younger, but you’re really telling me that that’s a different guy? With that face?”

“For starters. It really is a different person, and nor does he possess any memories. The moment he saw me, that fucker hauled off and kicked me right in my stomach. I was nearly dragged away by my scalp and… Yoohyun-ah?”

까드득, the sound of teeth grinding together was heard. Damn, I shouldn’t have said so much. Since I was in front of Hyuna-ssi, I’d accidentally let my guard down. Since, whenever she came by the rearing facility, we’d fallen into the habit of talking shit about others together, primarily where the Association was concerned…….

“Hyung, stay here.”

“Hey, Yoohyun-ah! Hold on! I’d said that you’re hardly in decent physical condition right now, hadn’t I? At least take these potions with you!”

Plucking me outside, Yoohyunie handed me over to Moon Hyuna. When I hurriedly dumped out my stash of mana potions, that dongsaeng took them before immediately turning back around. Honestly, we could just work with Hyuna-ssi to take him down together!

“Don’t worry! I brought a healer along, too.”

“Even then, would it be possible for you to give that Sigma bastard a good punch in the back of the head? That son of a bitch tried to Mark me by force, against my will.”

“Really? Though, Director Han, what’s the deal with that? Looks identical to the other guy, doesn’t he.”

I provided a quick overview of my current situation to Moon Hyuna. Beginning from how the disks would need to be installed, all the way to the fact that Sung Hyunjae had ended up System-side as a fluke, somehow or another.

“I see. As far as where Yerimie and Hunter Noah might’ve ended up goes, I can hazard a guess, but no clue for Peace. It might be that he’d been taken out.”

“...surely not.”

In the span it’d taken me to explain the situation, Yoohyunie and Sigma had re-engaged in combat. Having closed the gap in an instant to appear in front of Sigma, Yoohyunie pulled the rifle’s trigger. It was a point-blank shot, made at a distance an ordinary person could never hope to dodge–but Sigma had, of course, not only managed to anticipate Yoohyunie’s movements to dodge in advance, but also launched a counterattack.

Electricity crackled from Sigma’s body. Light flashed sharply, used to obscure sight, rather than as an assault. The chain, crawling along the ground like a snake, struck at his ankle at the same time, when the barrel of the pistol that had appeared in Sigma’s hand at some point came into contact with Yoohyunie’s side.

탕! A gunshot rang out. Yoohyunie’s clothes sustained a tear, but it hadn’t drawn any blood. As though friction had disappeared altogether, the point of Han Yoohyun’s foot had slipped along the top of the chain that had struck at his ankle instead; and, lithely twisting his body, had allowed him to avoid the gunshot.

‘Would it be Alpha’s Skill?’

Yoohyunie didn’t have an evasive Skill of the sort. And in fact, when the chain that had given chase to Yoohyunie managed to reach his ankle, without being able to find proper purchase, it ended up merely glancing off of him instead. It seemed to be a type of Skill that would decrease the traction in a limited area, near the vicinity of his feet.

As Han Yoohyun and Sigma’s positions reversed in tandem, gunfire flashed from the muzzles of their respective firearms. An outstretched chain completely deflected Yoohyunie’s bullet. Sigma’s attack, too, ricocheted off the flat of a blade, leaving a faint scratch.

Though flames and electricity tangled together here and there, neither of the two attempted to deploy any large-scale Skills that required a substantial amount of mana use. It would’ve been a given for Sigma, but Yoohyunie also had reason himself to conserve his mana. Though I had passed along the mana potions, when he was engaged in close-quarters combat, there would’ve hardly been the opportunity for him to sit down and drink them.

카가강, the sword swung, and the chains wound tightly around the blade. With a powerful heave, Yoohyunie jerked the sword back and, having wrapped the chains around further, leapt into the air. Alighting on willow leaves that had been arrayed in a tight formation, he drew his arm back before hurling the sword straight at the floor. 차라락–with the chains dragged along to the ground by the sword, Yoohyunie, having pulled out another longsword, shot towards Sigma.

Though his primary weapon had been detained by the sword, Sigma didn’t appear to be flustered. At the same time as the corner of his lips quirking upwards,

피잉–!

With a pinging noise, the chain dismantled into individual links, then shot towards Yoohyunie like so many bullets. Almost like a golden shower of rain, hanging suspended. Backed into a situation where dodging seemed a near impossible feat, the crimson iryong jumped out to cloak itself around Yoohyunie’s body.

- 크르륵!

Wreathed in flames, Irin used his own body to take on the hail of chains before returning to the form of a salamander.

In that space, Yoohyunie had lunged forward with the point of his sword aimed at Sigma’s chest. Twisting his body to the side, Sigma dodged the sword, a shortsword spinning in the palm of his hand. The dagger–which was made entirely out of metal, even to the handle–floated upwards on its own, and then, without even the need for propulsion, shot towards Yoohyunie of its own volition.

Lacking any preparatory movements, it was, of course, an attack that was difficult to anticipate at all. Rather than attempt to dodge or deflect the dagger, manifesting a concentrated flame for an instant, Han Yoohyun melted it down immediately before it reached his body. Though molten iron splattered, it wasn’t able to affect Yoohyunie in the least.

However–in the brief moment his attention had been caught by the dagger, Sigma had burrowed through his guard to swing his leg through on a kick.

“Kuh!”

The chain, joined together once more, wrapped itself around one of Han Yoohyun’s arms. Swiftly scaling the chains up to the halfway point, Irin bit down on it with superheated fangs to break it; but Sigma’s hard onslaught didn’t falter in the slightest.

A bullet was fired before he even withdrew his foot, aimed at the bound arm; this time, there was a clear draw of blood. Though dark blue flames blossomed forth, golden currents of electricity spread out to meet it head-on in tandem.

So long as he had the battle foresight, a close-quarters engagement that precluded the use of Skills definitely put us at a disadvantage. And on top of that, the difference in stamina use was stark.

“Hyuna-ssi! Are you really only going to keep watching?”

At my urgent shout, Moon Hyuna shrugged her shoulders.

“Since it’s not that Hyunjae guy anyway, perhaps I should get a good hit in for Director Han.”

“Yes, please! Consider it revenge on my behalf, if you will! Do you know how much that bastard tormented me!”

Of course, I didn’t mention the things I had ripped off from him. To be quite honest, as compensation for damages rendered, it was still lacking. Laughing out loud, from inside her inventory, Moon Hyuna pulled out.

“...and what is that, exactly.”

What appeared to be an anti-tank rocket launcher. No, it was far bigger than an ordinary anti-tank rocket launcher. Just from sight, it seemed to be over double the size.

“I’d wanted to try it out at least once, y’see.”

“H-hold on, please. It’s not dangerous, right?”

“Of course it’s dangerous! Director Han, make sure you hang on real tight inside that pocket.”

Placing me inside of her jacket pocket, Moon Hyuna aimed the rocket launcher in the direction of Yoohyunie and Sigma. 우우웅, with a low hum, the rocket launcher began to take in mana. And kept taking it in.

“...the charge time seems to be stretching far too long, are you certain that this won’t end up with a certain someone’s dongsaeng getting caught in the crossfire?!”

“No sweat, the young master’s flame resistance is real fire!”

“Wait, no, even then!”

It wasn’t an ordinary object. It was dangerous.

“Hyuna-ssi, its rank!”

“SS! And in the upper range, at that!”

What? And if it had sucked in that much mana, too–hey! Moon Hyuna! Before I could stop her, not that I probably would’ve been able to stop her to begin with,

구오오오–

Accompanied by the heavy hum of energy dischargement, the rocket launcher fired. Even though the one using the weapon was automatically granted immunity to its effects, the light and heat given off was scorching. 콰과과과, an enormous mass of mana, a veritable vortex whirling together, shot outwards, destroying all in its vicinity and sweeping everything away.

The pressure in my ears increased to a deafening level, and the air rang as.

콰아아앙!!!

An explosion containing incredible force went off. Fucking hell, Yoohyun-ah!

“Aigo, my dongsaeng!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!”

Though I was able to confirm that he was okay because we were connected through the Teacher Skill! That had most definitely been overkill!

“Yoohyun-ah!”

As it so happened, because the effects of the Cookie had almost worn off as well, I threw myself out of the pocket. When I immediately attempted to run to him, Moon Hyuna plucked me up.

“You’ll get hurt like that, y’know. Said you were a C-rank, didn’t you. I’ll go with you.”

With the clouds of dust that had been kicked up as a result of the detonation having scattered in the interim, a giant crater had come into view. Inside of the pit, here and there, pockets of melted land abounded. The earth at the center, where flames still flickered, yet bubbled. Though Yoohyunie was far better off, comparatively speaking, that wasn’t the case for Sigma, whose flame resistance would’ve been weak or nonexistent, and seemed to have sustained significant damage as a result.

“Hey! Sigma! I’ll grant you the use of a healer, so why don’t you quietly give up!”

At Moon Hyuna’s shout, Sigma lifted his shoulders in a shrug. Though he didn’t answer, it seemed his desire to fight had settled. It was true that continuing on like this would fail to yield chances of winning, in any case.

Though Yoohyunie’s expression spoke of wanting to break Sigma’s neck still, he withdrew for the time being and, after drinking a mana potion, turned to look back at us as we approached. Moon Hyuna contacted somewhere, and in short order, a Lanchaean helicopter arrived.

-----

^^♡

#242화 #the s classes that i raised #tsctir #sctir

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tenaciouscheesecakemaker · 3 years

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hae-yeon · 1 year

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242.Designated Administrator-ssi (2)

전용 관리자 씨 (2)

“To begin, how did this happen, sir? At first, I assumed that Sigma was Sung Hyunjae-ssi–”

좌라락, once again, the events that had transpired after I’d entered this world rapidly flickered across my mind. Reflexively, I snatched up the woolen bundle rolling around in my vicinity and vigorously shook it back and forth in a hard grip.

“From what point did you start watching!”

[ If you insist on shaking me so, it does make me a tad dizzy. ]

“If you don’t answer honestly, sir, I'll unravel this completely.”

I threatened, holding onto the end of the skein. 도로록, as I pulled a single loop of thread from its place, the emoticon that had been displayed over the lump of yarn changed into ‘ㅠㅠ’.

[ I’ve been threatened in various ways over the years, but this is the first time someone’s proposed to use stripping as– ]

“The hell are you saying! Why would this be your clothes, sir?!”

[ Then what else would it be. ]

…well, even if you asked me that. For starters, he was a ball of yarn, so was there something like a core inside? Then, that would be his body, and the yarn itself… I felt slightly revulsed. Let’s not imagine it. I decided to pretend the events from just now had never happened.

[ The first moment I became able to observe young Han Yoojin was immediately prior to the initial shake-up. I’d merely lightly tinkered with the System, prior to that point. ]

By the ‘initial shake-up’, did he mean following the installation of the Disk. Then, at the very least, it meant that he hadn’t been able to see my status window. …though he would’ve been able to see everything afterwards. I wanted to hurl the mass of yarn clutched in my hand away from me at maximum strength. If I struck him in the back of the head, shouldn’t he lose at least some of his memory.

When I asked him directly about the status window, just in case, the answer that returned to me was that it was unviewable.

[ Neither is operating the quest window an easy feat. Having entered in his original body, young Han Yoojin is imbued with a strong level of outside interference; as such, even I was able to approach, but others would be unable to pinpoint my location altogether. ]

That was why, until now, when I had called out to Sung Hyunjae, this liminal space hadn’t existed; he mentioned that the messages to Yoohyunie had only been made possible through myself, as well.

[ The view I am privy to is about a hundred meters or so, around young Han Yoojin? It appears that is the limit. ]

“To say that, though, hadn’t you conveyed a plethora of this and that info via quests, sir.”

[ That was because I ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐– Ah-, so it doesn’t work, after all. ]

Sung Hyunjae shook his head to and fr…o. The ball of yarn rocked side to side, was what it was closer to, but, well.

[ This location, here, is ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ and so, ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐. ]

^^; the mass of yarn showed what appeared to be a troubled expression. So there wasn’t much that he could speak freely about, huh.

[ Even so–thanks to the second shake-up, it became possible for me to approach you like this, Han Yoojin, lad. The disks are something you’ll need to continue installing, then? ]

“There are three still remaining, sir. I was informed that, once all of them were installed, Newcomer would then convey the conditions needed to complete the raid. Are you able to communicate with Newcomer–the volleyball–perhaps, sir?”

[ Not at all. The notification I received informed me that ‘this current body and world are not real, and that, through quests and hunts, points could be collected, whereupon they are able to be redeemed at the prize store’, and left it at that. ]

Newcomer, do your job right.

[ Once all the disks have been installed, I should be able to divulge more information to you as well. Though, at present, I’m quite soundly incapacitated. ]

I’d have to hurry and install the rest of the disks, I supposed. At least now that I wasn’t alone, it should be finished quickly. Rather than the amount of time spent installing the disks, it was probably the travel time between cities that would become more of an issue. What if, instead of two days, it took longer than a week each even by car. Could I possibly extort a helicopter from Sigma.

At present, there wasn’t much information I could glean from Sung Hyunjae. When I tried to delve in a bit further, I would be met with ‘☐’s floating around. Even so, that he was currently integrated with this world’s System was certain.

‘Is it that installing all the disks will confer info about the System as well.’

This should be something even Newcomer shouldn’t have been able to anticipate. Since, if things had proceeded as normal, in the world of his choosing, Sung Hyunjae would’ve been put into the body of a target he’d chosen. At least in this respect, I felt thankful towards the Filiality Addict that had interfered with the Dungeon. It was enough to make me feel motivated.

“Don’t lose your memories again or whatever, please, and keep a good hold of them.”

[ ☐☐☐☐☐☐ doing ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐. ]

What was he going on about. Cupping the mass of yarn in both hands, I turned my gaze back to the screen. At some point, the top levels of the building had been obliterated. Dark blue flames lapped across the night sky like waves. With the lights of the Defense Association building having gone dark, under the pure white glow of moonlight, flames that had grown a deeper cerulean in hue surged up high.

Beautiful. Even as I admired the sight, simultaneously, I felt embittered.

The fire which bloomed for Han Yoohyun, within my memories, was a noxious black–blackened to the point of having become suffused with the poisonous miasma that pervaded it; it was that kind of thing. From the scattered drops of blood, had blossomed forth a 'black-blood flame'. It had received admiration, certainly. It was even capable of slowing his opponent’s recovery, while simultaneously being an attack Skill of unparalleled destructive potential.

“...the bluish light that’s mixed in, sir, that should be because of Alpha’s Skill, correct?”

[ No–it should become clear immediately, after verification upon returning, but that the flames wielded by Alpha was an ordinary one ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐. ]

“...come again?”

[ Though the flesh may be different, as the one acting as a conduit for the mana is still Han Yoohyun. That strength is the young master’s own. ]

The tenuous hope that I’d had, became resolutely dashed with Sung Hyunjae’s response. The back of my throat prickled.

…how should I explain it, this feeling. That, with Yoohyunie… That Yoohyunie, was changing, was something I’d realized. I hadn’t been given a choice in that, in some respects. Since, when so much around him was changing, remaining just as he was by himself was an impossibility.

Because of that, I knew, but.

“Before, there was a time that you’d mentioned that Yoohyunie was acting in a way unsuited to his original nature, sir.”

That it was fascinating to see him gathering people together, establish a guild, and lead it. That, originally, he would’ve wrought even more wanton violence than Liette with his temperament.

“That’s, for my dongsaeng… was it a bad thing, do you think, sir. Was it, perhaps, the wrong thing to do, to tell him to get along with people.”

[ That would depend on one’s perspective. ]

The hot pink ball of yarn twirled around in my hands.

[ When viewed in light of ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐, had it not been for Han Yoojin, Han Yoohyun would have continued to remain alone. Without the ability to approach anyone, nor the desire to, burning alone to the end until he finally burns himself up, too, at the last. ]

“‘Himself’ as well?”

[ Just so; no matter how outstanding one might be, it’s a difficult world to survive in on one’s own, is it not. Despite the lack of a guild, or dedicated team, even Liette will forgo attacking an S-rank Dungeon on her lonesome. She brings with her either temporary teammates, or her dongsaeng. However–Han Yoohyun would have remained on his own to the end; and had he reached the limits of his abilities, he would have met his end alone in a Dungeon. Without retreating, or evading. ]

That kind of temperament, Sung Hyunjae said.

[ ‘A life that burns brief but brilliant, as the spray of fireworks(1) do’, as it’s oft referred. And Han Yoohyun would have burned all the more intensely. Although he would have gained accolades for his single-handed undertakings of such great dangers, he would toppled before long. ]

Unable to formulate words, I looked down at the yarn. My insides prickled. When a sigh inadvertently slipped out, ＾▽＾, the ball of yarn smiled. I wanted to kick the shit out of him once.

[ He would have been free, certainly. Because he would have been able to live as he wished, he wouldn’t have had regrets. And as such, there are people who may consider that to have been the preferred outcome. Then, on the other hand, there would be those who believe, despite the self-repression involved, living in accordance with people to be the better choice. And, as for myself. ]

…’myself’? Suddenly, he fell silent. The smiling expression had disappeared as well.

“Sung Hyunjae-ssi?”

The hell, did the connection get cut or something. Just as I was about to call out for him again, a hand shot out from behind my shoulder. The hand grabbed the ball of yarn in a fist. Just when I’d been wondering, whether he’d used the overcoat and gloves to create a ‘body’ again.

“You brought him up well.”

A voice sounded. Reflexively, I turned around. My sight climbed up the hand that held the lump of yarn, to a body clad in a suit, along a neck that went up to a head. The face, irritatingly welcome, smiled at me.

“It is my opinion that Han Yoojin performed admirably, bringing up Han Yoohyun.”

“...because it’s ended up being more fun for you, as a result?”

“Because the transformation had only been made possible due to his being ‘Han Yoohyun, who was raised by Han Yoojin’.”

Sung Hyunjae lightly tossed the yarn into the air and caught it again.

“His temperament is not one that would have him stay his hand, merely because he was instructed to. Were he such a simple mark, I would have hardly felt such a level of interest towards him. However, Han Yoohyun accepted Han Yoojin. A prospective weaker than himself, and lacking besides. For the strong to convince the weak is an easy feat, but the opposite proves difficult.”

My heart pounded. It felt like I was a bit aflutter, too. Like I was a small child, waiting to be praised.

“So, you’ve brought him up well. Diligently, too. Had it not been for you, Han Yoojin, my boy, it would have been an impossible transformation. Though I cannot profess that it was perfect, I will express admiration. Truth be told–there’s no such thing as perfection, when it comes to raising an individual. All one can put forth is one’s utmost, and it is my view that this requisite, at least, was certainly met.”

My face burned crimson. Even as I felt embarrassed, at the same time, I felt pleased as well. Something warm spread throughout my chest, bringing a lump to my throat.

“...thank you, sir.”

“Rather than being the one expressing thanks, it’s my view that young Han Yoojin should be the one receiving it.”

“Even so. At least as far as this time is concerned–genuinely, thank you, sir.”

And I did feel glad, in truth. The fact that it was none other than Sung Hyunjae telling me so, made it more touching.

I didn’t think of myself as having been perfect, either. The end Yoohyunie had met, was something that could never be labeled a desired outcome. But even so–and though Sung Hyunjae had no way of knowing what had happened pre-regression, even then–the words telling me that I had done my best, and raised him well, felt comforting to me.

I felt thankful that he had given acknowledgement of it.

“It seems about time for you to slowly awaken.”

“Yes, sir–I’ll quickly install the rest of the disks, so we can conduct a proper discussion outsi–”

Just then, the detail I had overlooked registered in my eyes. The side that wasn’t holding onto the yarn–one of Sung Hyunjae’s arms was missing. There was only cloth, draped over the empty space.

“A-arm, what happened to your arm, sir?!”

“To intervene to this extent in person, for there to be no backlash is unlikely. Even so, as this body belongs to another, as an admission fee, it’s quite a bargain.”

“That’s, even if it’s not the real body!”

“If you would oblige to look upon my eye as well, in that case. Now, then.”

Before I could say anything else, my vision bled to black. When I opened my eyes again, the bluish glow from the vast expanse of the Hole filled my entire field of view. Hurriedly, I examined my surroundings. Yoohyunie, holding my body in his arms, was close by.

[ Would you like to resurrect? ]

Along with the message, the remaining respawn time appeared. After immediately opting to resurrect, 스윽, I was pulled back into my body. Just like an actual video game character resurrecting, the body that I was returned to was in pristine condition, without anything injured. What method had I been revived with, I wondered.

“...Yoohyun-ah.”

“...hyung?”

- Hyung!

Yoohyunie and Irinie cried out simultaneously.

“H-hyung. Are you okay…?”

“I’m okay. Honestly. I’m perfectly alright.”

Upon being told that he could set me down, the flames that had been surrounding Yoohyunie’s vicinity retreated. But, immediately after he’d set me down from his arms, this time, Yoohyunie suddenly crumpled down to the floor from where he’d been standing.

“Yoohyun-ah!”

- Yoohyun-ah!

“Are you perhaps hur… Of course you’re hurt, shit! Hold on, a potion–”

“It’s not, hic, it’s not like that, hyung–”

뚝뚝, as tears that had ceased resumed once more, Yoohyunie stumbled for words.

“J-just suddenly, my legs couldn’t… I-I can’t, remember how, to even stand… so…….”

“Yoohyun-ah–”

Taking out a potion first, I treated the wounds that remained on his shoulder and back. As I was doing so, my dongsaeng, who had been quietly hiccuping the whole while, reached out his arms to pull me into a tight hug.

“...hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Me too–I can wait, too.”

Swallowing back tears, Yoohyunie continued on.

“I can trust in hyung too, and wait if I need to. Because I can wait for as long as it takes. So, don’t come on your own. Arrive together with Peace, or Bak Yerim. Without rushing, come and collect me safely. I’ll wait for you until then.”

“...yeah, sorry. I’m sorry, Yoohyun-ah.”

Because I’d felt so panicked. After telling my dongsaeng not to rush, I’d gone and made the very mistake myself.

“You’re not hurt anywhere else? Is your body alright? Damn bastards probably didn’t even bother feeding you properly.”

Even just thinking about it was enough to piss me off. For now, I brought out the water bottle and dried fruit I’d kept in my inventory and fed them to him. I should’ve packed some more things to eat to bring with me. Since the building that contained the cafeteria hadn’t been destroyed yet, should we head in that direction. No, since the dormitories had both a fridge and basic foods stocked, too, if we took the best room… Was there a way I could evict Sigma.

I picked up my dongsaeng, who was still trembling faintly. Flustered, Yoohyunie hastily clutched at me.

“Hyung! But I’m heavy!”

“I’m a C-rank right now, ‘kay. You’re not heavy at all. And I could pick you up before, too.”

Probably. Crossing over to me to clamber up my arm, Irin circled around on top of my shoulder.

- Hyung, Hyung! Should Rinie show you how I can transform?

“I saw. You were amazing.”

- Right?

“But how did that happen? And you’re talking, too.”

- That blue thingy. Near the Blue Hole, Rinie can talk too! Since there’s a whooole lot of mana! And it meshes really well with Rinie, too!

Was it due to the Mana Hole’s power. Maybe when it came to elemental spirits, even without a Mark, they were capable of quickly absorbing the Mana Hole’s mana. As Irin was chattering on, for some reason, Yoohyunie was looking at him with a reproachful expression.

“Why are you calling him hyung, when he’s my hyung.”

- Because he’s Yoohyunie’s Hyung!

At Rinie’s response, Yoohyunie’s expression shifted into one that seemed to convey a sort of acceptance. Hmmm, I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed like they had come to a tacit understanding.

“Is this the time for applause, then?”

Just then, Sigma’s voice rang out. I turned back to look at the man who stood surrounded by the remnants of dying flames.

“Then do see yourself right out, sir, once you've had your fill of applauding.”

“I’d planned to call out for an encore.”

“If you’ll surrender your personal chambers, it’ll be brought under consideration. Or a room of similar quality, really. My dongsaeng requires rest, you see.”

“A dongsaeng, you say.”

Sigma’s gaze flicked back and forth between me and Yoohyunie, with the look of someone who was finding the proceedings to be immensely entertaining.

“Alpha certainly never had a male sibling. It doesn’t appear to be the work of a cognition-modifying Skill, so, what could have transpired, I wonder.”

“I’ll make a formal introduction, sir. This is my one and only dongsaeng, Han Yoohyun. Who I most definitely warned you not to touch. When I told you to quietly sit back and watch while shoving some tteok powder in your mouth or whatever, why the fuck did you think you could wade in here and make a mess of shit, huh.”

Was it because this place didn’t have rice cakes, that he hadn’t understood.

“The terms of the contract merely extended to the point ‘until Alpha is released’.”

“Contract, schmontract–how dare you lay your hands on someone else’s dongsaeng, you son of a bitch.”

[ ◑▽◑ Let’s introduce your Partner as well! ]

…and you could just stay out of it. Someone take Sung Hyunjae’s ability to assign quests from him. But apparently neither Sigma, nor Sung Hyunjae, had any intention of meekly complying.

- - - - -

(1) 불꽃(fireworks); the kr word for fireworks comprise of 불(fire) + 꽃(flower), which evokes the ‘blooming/blossoming’ effect firework displays have. yoohyunie gets a lot of fire and flower motifs, and this is a good example of how they can ‘naturally’ flow/entwine together in kr.

大人's proofreader here! there are plenty of instances of this blooming/flowering/blossoming language being used in regard to yoohyunie’s skills—”black flames, which bloom forth from blood”, “Han Yoohyun called forth an endless wave of blossoming flames”, “the flames that bloomed”, and so forth. rather than just straightforwardly burning by itself, then, this fire unfurls from its source; it blossoms into being ^^ speculatively, it’s also a testament to his strength and nature—not limited by its fuel, continuously growing, and a flame which consumes everything, even itself in the end—but that’s late-game content ;) ! of course the visual impact is also different, then: gently flowering, but not without heat or force.

there are other ways to describe fire in kr which aren’t quite so poetic, so these are meant to adhere to the flower symbolism that geunseo’s attached to yoohyunie; don’t forget, too, the plum blossoms which bloom from winter leading into spring—from yoohyunie to yoojin.

irin ↔ yh | informal casual

irin → yj | informal polite

yj → irin | informal casual

+(Q&A)

Q) is there a plot-related reason that yoojinie is unable to use the seedling Skill to look at his own stat window?

A) as a supporting aspect of the Caregiver title, the seedling Skill can only be used on others who hold the potential to become a candidate for ‘caregiving’. to be precise, it is a limit imposed by the System; and, should Han Yoojin make the decision to protect and look after himself as well, he would be able to overcome the bounds of the System and use it on himself, too.

+(Q&A)

Q) considering that, aside from han yoojin, seok shimyoung was at han yoohyun’s side for a very long time–then, does he have an understanding re:han yoohyun’s original nature, to an extent?

A) seok shimyoung considers han yoohyun to be an incomprehensible entity. from when they had first met, he’d quickly picked up on the fact that han yoohyun’s social sensibilities were less ‘human’, and closer to being a different ‘kind’ altogether; and having judged that, rather than attempting to teach and change han yoohyun, it would be more efficient to leverage that point instead, he structured haeyeon guild to follow after its guild leader. though he does not understand han yoohyun’s true nature, he registers him as a being with the prerogative to move differently from ordinary humans. of course, had han yoohyun attempted to incinerate everything the way his original nature had dictated, then seok shimyoung, too, would have rejected him, and viewed him as a threat; but, as han yoohyun was able to at least mimic basic social conventions through han yoojin’s influence, seok shimyoung thought that that much would suffice. as he’s the kind of person who puts little stock in the true nature of humans, even–rather than a human who would make a blunder of things, it’s his opinion that the intelligent monster who knows how to pretend to be human is the better alternative ^^ only, due to this, he misjudged the weight of the value that han yoojin’s existence holds to han yoohyun. if seok shimyoung had been able to understand han yoohyun a little better, then things would probably have been considerably different, whether for good or ill.

+(Q&A)

Q) the small yoojinie that sung hyunjae took with him in the epilogue, how does his culinary preferences pan out? in contrast to the yoojinie who refused to acknowledge his preference for sweets, will he come to like sugary/sweet foods as well? or, does he end up taking after sung hyunjae and/or the elder’s food preferences? does he eat bread crusts? if he happens to show signs of 편식(picky eating), how would the elder and sung hyunjae respond??

A) he’s still in his early years yet, and possesses an ordinary preference for snacks ^^ considering his state as a child, there should be a high possibility that he will learn to like the kinds of foods that he becomes exposed to in his environment. it may be that he comes to like some foods that don’t even exist on earth. from the perspective of a young child, sung hyunjae would likely come off as an immensely cool and strong adult. when he sees that kind of grownup avoiding eating bread crusts, wouldn’t he end up thinking so you shouldn’t eat that part, huh. it might be that he ends up assuming that cutting off the bread crusts is a grown-up thing to do. assuming the young chaos doesn’t intervene, that is. both of them veer towards thinking if i don’t eat the things i don’t like, so what. as the young chaos had lived according to his whims as well, he’s the type to just leave things be so long as there’s no outstanding problems, and sung hyunjae would probably either locate or create various ingredients and foods with a similar enough nutritional value. but, of course, since there’s no substitute [for one’s diet], if it began to affect his health, then they would endeavor to address his picky eating.

+(Q&A)

Q) i was curious whether the reason sung hyunjae doesn’t eat bread crusts is because it’s a metaphor as it relates to sung hyunjae’s narrative, or if it’s simply a trait of sung hyunjae’s pickiness!

A) typically, the trait goes hand-in-hand with the intended metaphor. it’s a longstanding habit of his ^^

> geunseo’s afterword - han yoohyun excerpts

‘...to briefly touch on the story of the novel, the ending was formulated alongside the first half of the series in a synopsis, before writing ever started. ‘if, as he develops, han yoojin becomes able to accept han yoohyun as he is, and, as his relationship with sung hyunjae evolves into a reciprocal ‘caretaker’ relationship, he is finally able to come to terms with himself, it will in turn facilitates a happy ending where, even as he must send off the 25-y.o. han yoohyun, he is simultaneously able to reunite with him’, is how it went. and they happen to save the world as a bonus ^^

[...]

han yoohyun was designed to be han yoojin’s destination(목표), as the lingering regret of his life(삶의 미련), while sung hyunjae was developed to be the path(과정) to that goal, as a self-assured embodiment of [han yoojin’s] ‘ideal self’. without even names assigned back then, that was their foundational framework…’

#242화 #the s classes that i raised #tsctir #sctir

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