novelraw Chapter 67 : Gate (2)
Chapter 67 : Gate (2)
"Who actually won between Ji-su and Su-hyeon's sparring match?"
"I heard Su-hyeon won."
"No, I heard Ji-su won."
"Why are the stories different?"
"I don't know. The participants themselves aren't saying anything."
Weekend morning.
News of Su-hyeon and Hwang Ji-su's sparring session from a few days ago was still generating curiosity among the cadets.
"Ji-su must have been pretty upset."
"Understandable. She lost to her rival."
"Honestly, looking at compatibility, I thought Ji-su would win."
"You never know the outcome until you actually fight."
"True. The result could be different next time."
"But what's the deal with Su-hyeon? How does he train that even Yu-jin wasn't enough, and now Ji-su too..."
"From the way he talks, the kid is definitely smart and has a unique perspective."
"Right. Whenever no one can answer the instructors' questions, Su-hyeon always gives the correct answer."
"He's an interesting kid."
Munch, munch.
Kim A-yun, who was quietly eating breakfast with her quiet roommate while listening to the conversation, suddenly recalled Su-hyeon's face.
'If I trained with him too... would I be too much of a burden?'
Kwon Seung-yeon, Lee Yu-jin, and now Hwang Ji-su.
Her confidence plummeted as she thought about these friends who were all more capable, had better personalities, and were prettier than herself.
"A-yun, what are you going to do after breakfast?"
To her friend's question, Kim A-yun cautiously replied.
"Hmm? I was thinking of just taking a walk."
"Going there again?"
"Hmm? Mm-hmm."
"You really are something."
At her roommate's knowing remark, Kim A-yun's cheeks turned red for no reason.
Step, step.
Kim A-yun walked alone to the field she frequently visited every weekend.
"Huff! Huff!"
Rough breathing sounds came from the distance.
The owner of those breaths was Su-hyeon, who had come out even earlier than her and was running at full speed around the field multiple times as if there was no tomorrow.
Su-hyeon, who performed self-torture-like running with the same routine every day after regular hours and weekend mornings, was already something of a local fixture among the nearby cadets.
'Amazing. Working hard today too.'
It wasn't the first or second time she had seen him like this.
To tell the truth, recently she had been timing her walks to match Su-hyeon's schedule every weekend and during maintenance periods.
When had it started?
The decisive moment was when she teamed up with Su-hyeon during the practical class with the "One-Armed Trainer."
But.
In truth, Kim A-yun had been slightly conscious of Su-hyeon's existence even before that.
Nevertheless.
Due to her extremely timid personality, she couldn't even muster the courage to strike up a conversation.
The fear that he might think she was weird was also significant.
That's why she would secretly watch Su-hyeon exercising from a distance, afraid of being noticed.
'He must be thirsty.'
Fidget, fidget.
Kim A-yun's small hands fiddled with an unopened sports drink.
In case Su-hyeon might ask if he could have a sip.
If he asked, she might have the courage to give it to him to drink.
She always carried this sports drink.
And always, after watching Su-hyeon finish his exercise and leave, she would empty the sports drink by herself.
But today was a little different.
"Out for a walk today too."
"U-um?"
Kim A-yun, who was nervously passing by Su-hyeon as he was taking a short break while catching his breath, turned around in surprise.
"I see you often at this time."
"Ah, y-yeah."
Kim A-yun swallowed dryly at Su-hyeon's close proximity.
Jeong Su-hyeon in workout clothes that clearly revealed his muscle lines as they clung to his sweat-soaked body, pushing back his thoroughly wet hair.
'His body seems to have definitely improved compared to a month ago.'
Kim A-yun deliberately lowered her gaze to her toes and said.
"Y-you, you're working out hard."
"I suppose so."
"Isn't it tough doing it like this?"
"If it's not tough, it's not exercise."
"That's impressive."
"The pain is given to the body, so of course it's painful, but if you think of it as the price for getting stronger, it becomes nothing. You also build tolerance."
"...I see."
After hesitating, Kim A-yun mustered a bit of courage here.
"Um, maybe. This is unopened. Would you like to drink it, if you don't mind?"
"?"
Su-hyeon's eyebrows raised at the unexpected offer.
'Oh no, I shouldn't have said anything.'
Just as Kim A-yun was berating herself.
"Thank you. I'll drink it well."
Su-hyeon nodded readily.
"Ah, yes!"
Su-hyeon, flexing his forearm muscles, opened the cap and drank the beverage coolly without putting his lips on the opening.
Gulp, gulp.
Kim A-yun felt strange watching his Adam's apple bob up and down, and she turned her gaze away.
"Thanks. That was refreshing."
"It's nothing."
"Are you training well?"
"Yes. I'm doing it consistently, but..."
"Keep it up. The firepower you showed during the practical was really amazing."
At Su-hyeon's encouragement, Kim A-yun bit her lip.
"Actually, I'm not sure how I did it. Usually..."
"Do you usually restrict your firepower?"
"Y-yeah."
"Is what you fear perhaps 'a situation where your ability causes harm to others'?"
"...!"
Kim A-yun's eyes widened, and her complexion turned slightly pale.
For Su-hyeon, it was merely a setting he already knew well, but.
For Kim A-yun, it was a sharp question that pierced through her inner thoughts.
'This is as far as we go today.'
Su-hyeon caught from her reaction that this wasn't the time to push further.
'She's like a kitten lacking confidence and feeling intimidated.'
A shy and timid kitten that runs away when approached.
Therefore, Su-hyeon took a step back with the mindset of a cat owner who quietly watches and patiently waits for the kitten to approach, trembling.
"Well, I'll get back to my exercise. That was refreshing."
"Y-yes! Thank you for today."
"Don't mention it. I'm the one who should be thankful."
Kim A-yun quietly watched Su-hyeon's back for quite a while as he turned and ran off again.
Meanwhile.
Kwon Seung-yeon and Hwang Ji-su, who were heading to a café for the weekend, were watching the two from a distance.
"Isn't that A-yun?"
Seung-yeon narrowed her eyes to recognize Kim A-yun's face.
'Small in stature too, definitely A-yun.'
"...Looks like he's teaching her something?"
Ji-su said.
"Wow, he's practically a mentor. First me and Yu-jin, then Ji-su, and now A-yun too?"
Seung-yeon stuck out her tongue.
"I saw Kang Geon-woo asking him various things the other day."
"Jun-seong seems to ask him occasionally too. In-hyeon as well."
"Hmm."
Ji-su crossed her arms as she looked at the scene.
"But doesn't he worry about competition? Everyone getting stronger after listening to his advice just makes the competition fiercer."
"That's true."
Seung-yeon murmured, looking at Su-hyeon.
"Sometimes, it feels like his goal is to make all of us stronger."
Su-hyeon's behavior pattern of trying to develop the named characters for scenario clearing.
It was a surprisingly accurate insight.
"Come on, wouldn't that make him too much of a noble person?"
"Right? He also has a bit of a commander mindset."
Seung-yeon laughed as if she found her own thoughts somewhat strange.
"Anyway. I get the feeling he's looking at something far ahead."
"Hmm."
Ji-su narrowed her eyes as she watched Su-hyeon.
'He gets stranger the more I look at him.'
But she didn't dislike it.
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
The weekend passed quickly, and Monday returned.
Today was finally the day for the performance evaluation that accounts for 10% of the first semester grade.
Thanks to this, there was a long class extending from morning to afternoon.
"Good to see you all. Did you have a good weekend?"
"Yes!"
The cadets, who had enthusiastically completed morning exercises since the morning roll call, were gathered in the virtual combat training room with high spirits.
"Listen. Facing the gate wave phenomenon is primarily the responsibility of hunters who are drafted and dispatched. The Execution Force is a reserve force to prepare for situations that exceed their control."
Kim Cheol-han continued his explanation.
"More fundamentally, it's to observe whether Ma-in transformation occurs due to unforeseen circumstances during life-or-death struggles or escapes in an environment full of magical energy, and to immediately subdue them if necessary."
The emergence of a Ma-in within a battlefield situation could instantly drive that party to annihilation.
"If comrades you trusted to watch your back suddenly transform into Ma-in and stab you in the back, the formation that was maintained could collapse, leading to a terrible tragedy."
Hong In-hyeon, who was listening to Kim Cheol-han's explanation, raised his hand.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"What happens to those who become Ma-in in such cases? If they're subdued in advance, doesn't that mean they're innocent?"
"In fact, there was fierce debate about this in the past."
Kim Cheol-han nodded.
"Since they underwent Ma-in transformation without guilt, they are provided with humanitarian treatment as much as possible in an isolation facility commonly known as 'White Castle.'"
White Castle.
A 'white prison' for Ma-in who are evaluated as not having committed crimes or having low risk.
"Although they cannot enjoy unlimited freedom like when they were human, the concept of White Castle is an isolation facility that does not impose unnecessary restrictions as long as their killing impulses do not harm others."
"......"
I pretended not to notice Nam Tae-hoon, whose expression darkened at this point.
It was a major event that would be a crucial branching point after the White Castle scenario.
"Of course, a prison is still a prison. It's only natural that hunters who shoulder such risks receive good compensation and treatment."
Kim Cheol-han concluded his story with those words, but.
'This is why there will always be hunters who'd rather flee and join Ma-in groups than spend the rest of their lives with such treatment.'
I thought.
"Then let's return to the main point. What is a gate? It's a two-dimensional door that discharges demonic beasts. Once this gate forms at a random point, a gate wave phenomenon occurs, discharging an enormous number of demonic beasts."
Kim Cheol-han displayed a PowerPoint presentation on the screen.
"If a gate wave occurs in a city, the damage is truly astronomical. That's why when signs of gate formation are detected, the Hunter Management Bureau immediately mobilizes hunters and establishes a containment line. The Execution Force also receives cooperation requests at this time and is dispatched, with the mechanism as follows..."
First. Hunters with appropriate ranks are requested for mobilization according to the danger level.
Second. Hunters respond to the mobilization according to the mandatory mobilization authority allocated to license holders each year.
Third. Mobilized hunters establish containment lines and block the wave. Depending on the gate size, so-called unofficial hunters who don't have licenses but are basically allowed to participate in wave defense may also participate to a limited extent. (Of course, they must accept being rejected or observed by the Execution Force.)
Fourth. While the hunters defend the containment line, dispatched Execution Force members stand by outside the containment line. They intercept demonic beasts that breach the containment line or observe the occurrence of Ma-in transformation inside.
"And from the fifth step, it's an emergency situation. Usually, it doesn't get to this level."
Fifth. If the hunters' battle situation becomes unfavorable or Ma-in emerge, the Execution Force intervenes. Ma-in basically emit the same smell as demonic beasts, so they show behavioral patterns of instinctively cooperating toward humans without attacking each other.
"The problem is that beings who awaken as Ma-in lose their reason and become closer to berserkers who gain strength. And yet they still retain human-specific cunning, making them truly troublesome existences."
"That's why we need the Execution Force, which specializes in fighting against Ma-in."
Kim Cheol-han nodded at Su-hyeon's words.
"Correct. And..."
At this point, Kim Cheol-han smiled somewhat wickedly.
"The test you must take today is to demonstrate your ability to respond from this fifth stage onward."