novelraw Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22. A Long-Awaited Daily Life (2)
One day, over a week after the day I resolved to undertake hellish training.
While continuing my high-intensity training as usual, I managed to gain a single realization, much like an ascetic attaining enlightenment.
‘This is hopeless.’
This was the realization I gained after undergoing a week of training.
Of course, it was not as if there was no progress at all.
There had been a slight but steady upward trend, after all.
‘But to put it another way, it means there has been no major progress.’
Compared to training until I developed dark circles so severe that it was confusing whether I was a panda or a human, the results were disappointing.
If I were not a Player, it was certain that I would have collapsed without lasting even a few days.
At that, only one thought entered my mind.
‘I need money.’
Effort and talent; of course, it is true that one cannot do without them.
Because without those two, it is a fact that it is difficult to succeed even if you are not a Player.
However, no one would be able to deny that there are also aspects that can be resolved with money.
It is like the difference between a cheap used car and a new sports car, perhaps?
Because even if the same driver drives them, the time it takes to arrive at the destination would be significantly different.
I desperately needed a means to reduce that time.
‘I am going to have to think of a way to get some money soon.’
That way, I would be able to procure either elixirs or high-performance equipment.
It was while I was hitting the wall of reality and coming to a dramatic compromise like that.
Oh Jin-eon and Kim Su-hyeok, perhaps having completely finished their training for the day, were approaching me.
“Yu-seong, we're all done, what about you?”
“I'm done as soon as I finish this.”
“Then we'll be waiting outside. Keep your health in mind while you do it.”
Kim Su-hyeok looked at me, sending me a worried glance.
It felt a bit awkward to retort to those words by telling him not to worry needlessly.
My current state was such that even cadets who did not know me would offer a word of worry as they passed by.
Therefore, I appropriately nodded my head.
At that sight, Kim Su-hyeok, who was about to head outside, suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head.
“Ah, I almost forgot. Yu-seong, do you have time tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. It's the weekend, and although we can't go outside the academy, how about we hang out and take a break for the first time in a while?”
Well, there is no major problem with that.
Resting for about a day is actually better for efficiency.
Because of that, I nodded without thinking much of it.
“Then let's do that.”
“Great, then I'll contact you tomorrow morning!”
With those final words, Kim Su-hyeok went outside looking excited.
I have absolutely no idea what is so enjoyable about just hanging out for a single day.
Then again, it is probably because he has such an active personality that he could become the protagonist.
“Then shall I finish up as well?”
If it were up to my feelings, I would have wanted to follow Kim Su-hyeok and leave right away, but how could I do that?
With such a weak mindset, even things that could work out would fail.
Thus, I burned through the last ten minutes and finished my training.
I ultimately ended up collapsing at the end because my legs gave out, but the fact that I kept it a secret from the guys out of embarrassment was another story entirely.
***
SPLASH-!
“Phew, I finally feel a bit refreshed!”
Having returned to my room after finishing my training, I completed my shower, then flopped onto my bed and soothed my exhausted body.
Furthermore, at the thought of not having training tomorrow, I felt even more lively than usual.
They say it is human nature to want to sit when standing, and to want to lie down when sitting; it seems I am also a human who cannot help it.
Just as I was about to go to sleep right away, a call came in.
“Huh? Who is it?”
At this late hour... Wait, it is not.
Looking at the time, it was not even eleven o'clock yet.
Because I had been going to sleep early lately due to the grueling training, my sense of time had become somewhat altered.
I immediately checked the name displayed on the screen.
“Shin Yu-hwan?”
It was not a call I could not understand the reason for.
After all, I had not exchanged any notable contact with Shin Yu-hwan since that day.
Because my body refused to get up, I answered the incoming call while remaining lying down.
“Hello?”
Ah, boy. It seems you have not fallen asleep yet.
“I was actually just about to go to sleep.”
Is that so? Haha, even so, spare me some time.
A cheerful voice, no different from the last time we met.
It was a voice fitting of Shin Yu-hwan, as expected.
“What is the reason for your call?”
I contacted you wondering if things were handled well on your end. Because I handled my end cleanly.
“Handled... Ah! Now that you mention it, I just thought of something I wanted to ask.”
Hmm? What is it?
After hearing Shin Yu-hwan's words just now, a few things came to mind that I had been curious about but had not been able to ask.
“From what I heard, it seems Villains were involved, but how exactly did you handle it?”
Somehow, I feel like you would already have a rough guess, boy?
Shin Yu-hwan answered a question with another question.
However, even just that immediately resolved my first curiosity.
‘He killed them.’
Shin Yu-hwan usually has a playful and refreshing personality, but he does a complete 180-degree turn when tangled up with Villains.
He most likely killed every single person who was there without exception.
It was unlikely that any particular problems had arisen because of that.
If it were related to Villains, it would be fine even if he killed the president, let alone the owner of a reasonably sized company.
Because this is that kind of world, after all.
“Then, may I ask the next thing I am curious about?”
What, you already guessed it? Haha! You are amazing, boy.
“Because it was easy.”
Is that so? Well, if you say so, it must be. So, what is your next question?
“What is your relationship with Instructor Im Seong-cheol?”
The thing I was curious about this time was a purely personal question.
This time, Shin Yu-hwan did not ask back either, and answered honestly.
It is nothing special. He was a senior of mine back when I first joined the Villain Response Team.
An answer that came out so quickly it made everything I had been curious about thus far feel anticlimactic.
However, the content was not anticlimactic.
‘He was on the Villain Response Team before he became an instructor.’
It was information I would have never known forever if I had not personally entered this world.
Because Im Seong-cheol had died before any details about that kind of past were revealed.
‘Then that personality of Im Seong-cheol's makes sense too.’
Although he is an instructor, he still has a truly blunt atmosphere.
It is a personality that is understandable if he had been on the Villain Response Team in the past.
Shin Yu-hwan is the peculiar one; most people who typically dealt with Villains possessed dark personalities.
‘But why did he quit the Villain Response Team?’
I doubt it was for some trivial reason like enjoying an instructor's work more.
However, I did not go out of my way to ask Shin Yu-hwan about this part.
Since it would also be rude to ask Shin Yu-hwan about Im Seong-cheol's personal history.
Thus, I set aside my curiosity about his personal history and, thinking about tomorrow's plans, decided to slowly wrap up the call.
“Thank you for the good information. But I have plans tomorrow, so may I go to sleep now?”
Huh? Yeah, well... If you have plans, you should sleep. It's not like I can say anything about it...
Why is he suddenly putting on a sorrowful act again?
As I thought about the reason for a moment, something came to mind.
Clearly, considering Shin Yu-hwan's personality, what he wants at this timing is...
“It is a bit late, but thank you truly for helping me back then. It probably would have been impossible if it were not for you, Mr. Shin Yu-hwan.”
Hahaha! Do you think so, boy? Well, there are indeed few guys on my level! If you need anything later on, just give me a call.
What a truly exhausting personality.
There were even rumors that the hair loss of the Villain Response Team Leader was caused by Shin Yu-hwan, and it seemed like that might actually be true.
“Then I will really go to sleep now.”
Yeah, yeah, how could I hold back the boy who will lead the future of Players? Hurry up and get some rest.
“Yes, take care, Shin Yu-hwan.”
With that, the phone call, which felt long, came to an end.
At the same time, my eyelids also slowly began to close.
“I really should go to sleep now...”
I cannot break a promise made with Kim Su-hyeok of all people.
With that, I fell asleep, looking forward to the first plans I had made outside of training.
***
“Hey, Choi Yu-seong~! We're over here.”
Having fortunately not overslept and arriving on time for our plans, I could not help but make a bewildered expression.
That was because I had not expected the girl in front of me to come as well.
“Ha Eun-ha?”
“What's with that expression? Could it be you don't like that I'm here?”
“No, it's not like that.”
It was just that I thought I was only meeting Oh Jin-eon and Kim Su-hyeok today.
Still, it was not a bad thing.
Since I had barely had any chances to talk with Ha Eun-ha lately, spending time like this was good in many ways.
Fortunately, Ha Eun-ha also seemed to recognize that my words were not a lie.
“I was almost going to be sad~ I even specifically asked Kim Su-hyeok to let me tag along.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, since you've been walking around looking like a Skeleton lately, it felt a bit awkward to talk to you.”
Hey, a Skeleton? Calling a person a Skeleton?
“But it's not like we're just acquaintances, right? So I came out to see you! That's what I'm saying~.”
We are just acquaintances, so what exactly is our relationship supposed to be then?
There were overflowing parts I wanted to point out and retort to in many ways, but I held it in.
Because she has always been that kind of person.
However, because it felt like I would have to keep listening to strange remarks at this rate, I naturally changed the subject.
“By the way, where are Kim Su-hyeok and Oh Jin-eon?”
“Ah, those two said they were going to the restaurant first to grab a seat. And I stayed behind to wait for you!”
“...Thanks. Let's get going too.”
The restaurant we arrived at together like that.
It was a place that served Korean food and was very popular among the cadets as well.
There, I was able to spot the two of them seated in a corner.
Ha Eun-ha and I immediately moved toward their seats.
At that, Oh Jin-eon, who spotted us before Kim Su-hyeok did, waved his hand.
“You arrived right on time. It has not been long since the food came out.”
“You should have started eating first.”
“It is tastier when we eat together.”
I replied to Oh Jin-eon's words and took a seat.
After that, just like I usually did when eating, I tried a spoonful of the broth first.
‘It definitely tastes good.’
Even though it was my first time coming here, the taste made it obvious why it was so popular among the cadets.
Starting with that, we all began to fill our hungry stomachs together.
Several tens of minutes passed as we focused on our meal without a word.
Having finished eating enough to fully satisfy our stomachs, we took some time for trivial small talk.
“...So after seeing Choi Yu-seong collapse yesterday, I think Kim Su-hyeok and I just laughed for several minutes.”
“Kyahahaha! Did you really fall over looking that pathetic?”
“...You guys were watching all of that?”
The topic was my embarrassing story from yesterday.
I thought I had not been caught, but it seemed they had been watching everything.
It was a bit embarrassing, but it was not unpleasant or anything.
‘Because moments like this are not common.’
A place where a highly dangerous and busy daily life continues every day.
In such a place, these small things were very precious.
While we were enjoying the small things and continuing our conversation, Oh Jin-eon brought up a different topic.
“Come to think of it, has everyone checked the notice?”
“Notice?”
I was the only one who asked back.
It seemed like all the other kids already knew.
Still, Oh Jin-eon did not ostracize the minority and kindly began to explain.
“I heard that regular classes will resume starting this coming Monday.”
“Really?”
It seemed the academy had also finished all of its internal reorganizing.
Seeing how the internal reorganizing ended this quickly, did the Principal step up personally?
Since Glory's Principal is an S-Rank Player, that could be possible.
Well, putting the internal reorganizing aside...
‘Why do they all have such tense expressions?’
Not just Oh Jin-eon, but Kim Su-hyeok and Ha Eun-ha also gave off a somewhat tense atmosphere.
I eventually could not hold back my curiosity and asked Oh Jin-eon.
“Just what kind of class is it for everyone's expressions to be so dark?”
“Ah, since you didn't know about the notice, you wouldn't know what kind of class it is either.”
Oh Jin-eon said so, his face stiffening slightly.
And then, he spoke quietly in a serious tone.
“They say they will be conducting the first practical class for the Year 1 cadets.”