novelraw Chapter 54 : Chapter 54
Chapter 54 : Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Five Days of Time (2)
"...What?"
Three days had passed since I met Oh Jin-eon. It had not been three hours, but a full three days that had simply vanished.
I had not had a single moment of rest, excluding the time I spent eating, washing, and sleeping. So why?
"No, this is really not right."
Feeling deeply wronged, I tried to recall the events of the past three days, but I could not remember a single moment when I had actually rested.
On Friday, the day I met Oh Jin-eon, I arrived at the dormitory and immediately called Shin Yu-hwan to express my gratitude. Then, I meticulously checked the contract with that crazy woman once more for any issues before falling asleep right away.
"And even over the weekend, I feel like I did nothing but work hard without any rest."
The first thing that came to mind was contacting Cha Yu-na. Since I had been summoned so suddenly, I reached out to her, thinking I should at least know the reason.
The problem was that I ultimately did not hear the reason, as she said it was a secret.
"It just ended with me being on the receiving end of another one-sided notification..."
After being told to show up at the guild headquarters at a specific time on Monday, the contact ended right there without me gaining any information.
I wanted to argue and ask her to at least tell me the reason, but how could a mere cadet like me demand such a thing from Lady Cha Yu-na, the Guildmaster of Horizon?
In the end, I could not even open my mouth properly and only received a one-sided notification, failing to gain anything for my efforts.
"I am a person who manipulated an S-Rank villain with words to secure a contract... I am a person who is called 'Brother' by a villain who is in the same league as Shin Yu-hwan..."
But what did any of that matter? In front of Cha Yu-na, I had to be nothing more than an infinitely docile, ordinary cadet.
Of course, things were not much different after that.
I went out for a bit of fresh air and was caught by Kim Su-hyeok. After enjoying high-intensity training to make up for the sessions I had missed, I immediately spent time alone identifying my talents and traits.
The following day, Sunday, followed virtually the same routine.
To put it simply, those three days consisted of training, training, and more training.
'It is unfair. It is so unfair. I am more wronged than anyone else in the world.'
The most frustrating part was that my physical stats barely increased despite the training, yet because my body was not that of a normal person, I did not collapse easily.
For that reason, I had to endure at least several hours of that grueling training just to push myself to the limit.
If I relied too much on talent and acted out, it would be difficult to prepare for unexpected situations, so training was an absolute necessity.
...Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I spent two whole days doing nothing but training. Two days that were more precious to me than gold.
"And I have work scheduled for today as well..."
After burning through three days in the blink of an eye, the date was already Monday. Today was the day I had to visit the Horizon Guild.
Pushing aside my feelings of injustice, I checked the text message on my phone.
[Cha Yu-na: Cadet Choi Yu-seong, please come to the first floor of the Horizon Guild headquarters by 9:00 AM. ^^/]
Ah, just looking at the text made me feel tired already. Moreover, what was with that unfitting formal speech and the smiling emoticon at the end?
Is it strange that I already want this meeting to end before I have even left?
"But I have to go, so what can I do...?"
As I mentioned earlier, this was not a meeting I could realistically refuse. Of course, she said she might be disappointed, but the reality would be much more than that.
To be honest, it feels like badmouthing, but Cha Yu-na is known to hold a grudge for a very long time.
...In the original work, Shin Yu-hwan called it an "old maid's hysteria," and I started to think he might not be wrong.
"Sigh, I should head out instead of spending time thinking about this. Since I have to go anyway, I might as well go early and earn some points."
I am not sure if this is the right expression, but there is a saying that if you have to be hit anyway, it is better to get it over with early.
And if I think about it carefully, it might not be such a bad meeting. Cha Yu-na probably did not call us just because she was bored. Whatever it is, it will likely be helpful.
The only problem was that, knowing Cha Yu-na's personality very well, I suspected this meeting would be suffocating.
"Still, I suppose it is a comfort that I am not going alone."
But unlike me, would the other kids not be happy just to meet Cha Yu-na? While I have no desire to become a great success as a player, that certainly was not the case for the others.
Thinking that way made me feel a bit resentful, but if our heroes are happy, that is all that matters, right? I can handle feeling a bit suffocated in the meantime...
"I should send a text and head out now."
At this hour, I would arrive by 8:30 AM at the latest, so leaving right now was best.
Therefore, I sent a message to Cha Yu-na saying I was departing. I packed only my weapon in my Spatial Storage Bracelet and left the dormitory.
Since I was only wearing my clothes and the bracelet, my body felt quite light.
"The problem is that my heart is heavy."
Still, as long as our heroes can be happy, that is enough for me. If I could have been happy too, it would have been perfect, but that is a bit of a shame.
I continued to have such idle thoughts until the very end as I hurried toward the Horizon Guild headquarters.
I had no idea that I would later regret not having found a way to refuse this meeting.
***
8:20 AM.
Contrary to my expectation of arriving around 8:10 AM, I was a bit late. However, since I arrived earlier than the originally scheduled 9:00 AM, it did not matter much.
"This building is really incredibly tall."
It was a building situated right in the middle of prime real estate in Gangnam, Seoul. Judging by its height, it looked to be at least 70 stories tall.
Looking up at it like this made me feel the majesty of the Horizon Guild all over again. I knew the Horizon Guild was incredible, but I had only felt that through text; this was the first time I saw it in person.
"Thinking about it that way, I really do not understand why she called me."
I could understand her calling Kim Su-hyeok or Ryu Jin-oh. Those two were highly promising talents who ranked first and second in Glory.
However, I could not understand why she called Oh Jin-eon, Do Gang-ho, or even me.
While Oh Jin-eon was in the upper ranks, he was not a talent that Horizon would specifically seek out. Furthermore, although Do Gang-ho is a hero I admire, he is currently in an ambiguous position.
...And as for me, being in 899th place, there was not much to say.
"Well, I will find out soon enough."
Once I met her and talked, I would eventually learn the reason whether I liked it or not.
Therefore, I opened the doors of the magnificent building and walked inside slowly.
What I saw was...
'Ryu Jin-oh and Cha Yu-na?'
There were other people there, though I could not tell if they were staff or players, but those two stood out the most. I did not see the other guys; perhaps they had not arrived yet.
Well, since she said to be here by 9:00 AM, that made sense.
Just as I was thinking that, Cha Yu-na spotted me and began walking toward me.
CLACK CLACK.
When she finally stood before me, she spoke first with a smile.
"I believe this is the first time we are meeting without Yu-hwan."
"It seems so. It is a pleasure to see you again."
"Hoho, you do not need to flatter me so much. Hmm... what would be a comfortable way to address you? Cadet Yu-seong? Yu-seong-kun? Or would it be better to just call you Yu-seong?"
"You may call me whatever you find comfortable."
"Then I will just call you Yu-seong. Since that fool also calls you by your name, I think that will be easier."
By "that fool," she must have meant Shin Yu-hwan. I should just pretend I did not hear that and move on.
"By the way, have the others not arrived yet?"
"Hmm? Oh, right. I have not told you yet. the others will be coming later."
"...Pardon?"
I could not help but let out a flustered voice at Cha Yu-na's sudden announcement. I clearly remembered that we were supposed to meet together, yet the others were coming later.
At Cha Yu-na's following explanation, I realized that something had gone wrong.
"First, I called you and Jin-oh over there separately and earlier than the others."
"......"
"There are things I want to discuss with the two of you first. It is a waste of time to just stand here, so let us head up."
If it is a waste of time to stand here, you should not have called me in the first place.
...Those words reached my throat, but regardless, I had no choice but to nod submissively to Cha Yu-na's words. I had already entered the tiger's den; at this point, keeping my mouth shut and listening to Cha Yu-na was the best course of action for my own well-being.
However, the walk to her office following her guidance was quite an ordeal for me. I do not mean it was physically difficult. I would not get tired even if I walked up and down this building several times.
When I say ordeal, I am referring to the mental aspect.
"......"
"......"
As such, a cold atmosphere where not a single word was exchanged continued as we headed toward her office.
'I have no idea what to say.'
I knew from the last time at the restaurant that Ryu Jin-oh did not view me poorly, but that was a separate issue from this. Since the two of us had no real connection, it would actually be strange for us to be talking.
I considered trying to say anything at all, but I immediately dismissed the thought. Given Ryu Jin-oh's personality, it was much better to keep my mouth shut rather than spout useless words. They say that if you just stay still, you are already halfway there.
We finally arrived at her office while I was stealing glances at Ryu Jin-oh. As soon as we arrived, Cha Yu-na turned to us with a bright smile.
"Sit wherever you like. If there is anything you want to drink or eat, let me know immediately."
"Yes, understood."
I responded to her while maintaining a calm demeanor, but inside, I was quite surprised. Cha Yu-na's office felt much more modest than I had expected.
How should I put it? It felt a bit meager for the leader of a guild that represents South Korea. Of course, I do not mean the office looked like a cramped single room. Based on its size alone, it was roughly the size of a classroom at Glory.
The modesty I am referring to is more about the items filling the office.
'She really only kept the bare essentials in here.'
Usually, for the sake of vain formalities, people would set up display cases or hang expensive paintings. However, I saw absolutely none of that in Cha Yu-na's office.
All I saw were piles of documents and numerous books related to gates or player talents. There were other miscellaneous items, but they all seemed related to her work.
I was subtly checking out her office without being too obvious when I noticed that Cha Yu-na had taken the seat of honor and Ryu Jin-oh had sat beside her.
Seeing that, I quickly took a seat opposite Ryu Jin-oh. It would look strange if we all sat in a line like sausages.
Once she confirmed that Ryu Jin-oh and I were seated, Cha Yu-na slowly began to speak.
"The two of you do not need to be so tense. I am not planning to do anything incredible."
No one there relaxed at those words. How many people can actually feel comfortable just because a superior tells them to? It was only natural.
In that quiet silence, Cha Yu-na eventually opened the conversation as if she had no choice.
"Hehe, the reason I called the two of you first is..."
Yes, I was extremely curious about that reason. For what reason did she call the two of us first? Ryu Jin-oh and me, two people who had absolutely no connection to each other.
I looked at Cha Yu-na with a serious expression, but I could not help but let go of that seriousness at her following words. It was difficult to maintain any sense of seriousness or tension after what I just heard.
"It is nothing much, I just want the two of you to get along. So, I called you both early to have a little chat."
"...Eh?"
"...What?"
The bewildered voices came not only from me but also from Ryu Jin-oh. It was surprising that Ryu Jin-oh reacted that much, but I had no time to respond to that.
Naturally, these were words I could not believe were coming from the mouth of the calculating Cha Yu-na.
...It felt like the start of a meeting that would flow in a direction very different from the helpful advice I had anticipated.