Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Died and Came Back to Life
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"Don't just stand there gawking!"
No matter how I looked at it, she seemed dead serious.
'She wants me to strip here? That's ridiculous.'
"What? You think I can just strip on command? If you're so eager, why don't you go first?"
"Fine... You're the one who told me to."
With a smirk, she immediately dropped her pants.
"There. Happy now?"
I couldn't help but panic at the sight of her stripping.
'Damn... This is that kind of world, huh? This is insane.'
Of course, her body was stunning, so in any normal situation, I'd have stared in awe. But things were different right now.
The overwhelming pressure that made me feel like my head could fly off at any second.
I'd tried to play it cool and adapt, acting like everything was fine, but it wasn't easy.
'Maybe... I should just strip once and get it over with...'
My hands and feet were shaking.
Part of it was the cold air, but mostly it was sheer terror.
'Okay, just close my eyes and pull them down. Pride isn't worth dying over.'
The moment I placed my hands on my waistband...
"Hah, forget it. This is boring."
She sighed and stopped me from what I was about to do.
"I did want to see, but watching you shake like that makes it no fun. I'm supposed to be a model prisoner, after all."
Not entirely convinced she meant it, I kept staring into her eyes.
"Hurry up and stop that. Stand at attention. You wanna die?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
I yanked my hands away from my waistband.
"You're weird. How do they assign someone without any power to guard me? Makes me suspicious."
"W-what's suspicious about it?"
"Never mind. Just my own thoughts."
Once I confirmed the tension had eased, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
'Still, we'll be seeing each other a lot. Better introduce ourselves properly now.'
Thinking it was the perfect moment, I offered a handshake to break the ice.
"Well, let's get along... Urk!"
That was the moment.
Countless chains burst out from behind her.
They wrapped around my neck in an instant.
"Guh... Ack... What... the hell... why..."
"Knew it. You were plotting something, huh?"
Her expression darkened further.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Not twice. You're wide open this time—no energy at all."
"What... are you..."
The chains tightened around my neck even more.
"Hah! Still playing innocent? Let's see if you can hide your true nature after this."
This time, the chains began wrapping around my limbs one by one.
And they squeezed hard.
Hard enough to snap them.
"P-please... stop..."
'My... consciousness... is... fading...'
I blacked out and collapsed.
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-Thud
-Thud thud
-Thud thud thud
"Hey."
"Get up..."
A voice pierced my hazy consciousness.
"Get up!!!"
"Gasp..."
I barely came to on the corridor floor, jolted by the shout.
I quickly checked my body.
'I'm fine...'
"Uh... I'm alive, right?"
She gave me a look of utter disbelief.
"No... I mean... whatever. Fine."
She used her chains to hoist me up.
"I'm not exactly sorry, but I might've jumped to conclusions."
'An apology? What's going on?'
I couldn't make sense of the situation.
Her face was flushing deeper by the second.
"But seriously, this is partly your fault. A guard with zero energy? How could that not seem suspicious? This is on you."
"F-fine, call it my fault. But can you explain what just happened? My head's a mess..."
She scratched the back of her head with a chain like it was her hand and continued.
"The last guard did the same—offered a handshake. Then bam, fire magic from his palm."
"Fire magic?"
"Yeah. My right hand was half useless for a while because of that bastard."
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Guards are allowed to do that?"
Her eyes sharpened.
"Hey, you seem confused. I'm the criminal here. A serious one."
"Sure, but still, is that okay for a guard?"
-Plop
She seemed to relax a bit and sat on the floor to keep talking.
"What was I supposed to do? No CCTV here, and if I retaliate, my model prisoner status is toast."
"You sure tried to kill me for it..."
"Shut it. I have my pride. Not falling for the same trick twice. And you."
"Yes?"
Her chain pointed at my stomach.
"While you were out, I checked you myself—touched you directly. Can't hide energy that way."
"Ah... okay."
"Completely empty. Nothing there. Your body's trained, sure, but without powers? Worse than a 1st Circle mage."
I was floored. Was this a criminal?
Her distrust had nearly killed me, ramping up my fear.
"Anyway, not sorry, but it was my mistake... You wanted a handshake, right? Here."
A pale white hand slipped through the bars.
She looked incredibly embarrassed.
Her other hand futilely tried to hide her flushed face—it was almost funny.
"Great. I'm Yoo Seohyun, and as I said, I'm a guy!"
"Got it. I'm Park Seorin. You've probably seen my file, but I'm a 6th Circle mage. Main ability: chains, like you saw."
Her hand was soft and warm.
Hard to believe it belonged to someone in prison.
"Mind if I ask one thing? How strong is a 6th Circle mage?"
"You're a weird one. No energy in your body, and you don't even know that?"
Truth be told, it wasn't a huge curiosity.
Circle levels and strength? Lifelong irrelevant to me.
'But after nearly dying...'
I could've Googled it later, but with her right here, I wanted to ask directly.
"So, how strong?"
"6th Circle? Sword Expert level. I'm strong for one—near Sword Master. That explain it?"
Still gibberish to me.
"No idea what Sword Expert or Sword Master means."
"Sigh..."
Her pitiful gaze made me oddly embarrassed.
"You know nothing. Okay... um..."
'Cute...'
Chains swirled behind her as she pondered.
Like a cat swishing its tail—adorable.
"Top 1 percent? Nah... 6th Circle isn't quite that, but I'm around there."
'Top 1 percent.'
One in a thousand.
Hearing the number hit home: she was on the fourth floor out of five in this prison.
"Anyway, introductions done. Back to your room and monitor me casually. I'll play along."
"Got it."
I turned toward the front cell, leaving her climbing into bed.
"Wait..."
Her voice stopped me again.
"Yes?"
"Don't you hate me? Asking questions, acting all normal..."
She seemed serious.
Glancing sideways like a wary cat.
"Kinda scary, but I don't hate you."
"Why? You almost died."
Remembering earlier, I felt like teasing her.
"You're the prettiest person I've ever seen."
-Bang!
Her chains slammed the wall before I finished.
"Why... why?!"
"Shut up... Don't talk to me..."
She yanked the blanket over her head. Angry? But her exposed foot peeked out, beet red against her pale skin.
'Embarrassed?'
She stayed silent after that.
I sat quietly and started reading my book.
'So peaceful...'
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About three days passed like that.
Commuting went smoothly, work wasn't tough—no real issues.
The only problem...
'No one to talk to. It's so lonely...'
Only me handling the fourth-floor solitary cells. No encounters.
Lunch even delivered—no chit-chat.
'Man... When's the last time I had a real conversation?'
Park Seorin hadn't spoken since that day. Frustrating.
Maybe that's why I started glancing her way first.
I approached the bars slowly from the ice room.
She just lay in bed—a criminal, but I needed someone to talk to.
I spoke up at the bars.
"Hey... Park Seorin... You asleep?"
The blanket twitched slightly.
"Sleeping."
"How do you answer if you're asleep?"
"Don't talk... You're messing me up..."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Shut it! Every time I hear your voice, my nipples get hard!"
