Lifeline (1)
Lifeline (1)
[Is there no crazy bastard gonna commentate the Ring Scramble?] [57]
[They say the incoming first-years have record-breaking exam scores] [12]
[You fucks who still haven't finished the 3rd Stage Rift terrain report] [67]
"......Maybe I really should transfer to another department."
Kim Na-hyun, the youngest staffer in the Finance Department, was stuck working a second straight shift. He grumbled quietly at his desk.
His gaze drifted to the small picture frame on the desk.
A photo of the half-bald manager beaming brightly, holding up some unknown fish nearly as big as he was.
Kim Na-hyun stared at the man's grinning face and his balding head, voice dripping with open malice.
"Hope every last hair falls out."
A curse that would've earned him a smack on the skull if the manager had heard it—but who cared? He was alone here.
"Haaah......"
He closed the student community board, out of things to read, and slumped forward onto the desk.
—I-impersonation!! Yeah. It could be an impersonation!!
—The Magic Department professors are all goddamn lunatics anyway!!
—Look. Give it until tomorrow? Na-hyun. Think about it. If it were really an Executor, they'd have demanded it be resolved that same day. Why give you a whole extra day?
—Right? Makes sense even to you, yeah? So, Na-hyun. Just suffer through one day for me.
—Huh? W-w-what's that supposed to mean, you bastard!! I-I'm not telling you to hide it. I'm saying... those impersonators—those crazy professors—who knows what they'll do, so just keep an eye on things for one day.
—A-anyway, just put in the work for one day!! I'll give you something huge!!
"......Better off as fish bait."
If he was going to give him something, he could at least make it cash. What was with offering him a damn fish?
After face-planting on the desk for a good while, he pushed himself back up. No deep reason—he was just hungry.
"Pizza and a beer, maybe."
As befitted an academy packed with every type of Awakened, even the cafeteria felt a long way from ordinary. Dozens of menu options were the baseline, and for an extra fee they delivered anywhere on academy grounds.
The menu did change depending on the day's ingredients, but chicken and pizza were permanent fixtures, so you could order without worry any time.
'Just hold out till midnight, snap a photo as proof, and clock out.'
Today's meal expenses were all coming out of the manager's wallet anyway, so Kim Na-hyun loaded up every topping he could and finalized the order.
Knock, knock—
The pizza and beer arrived in under thirty minutes.
Stuffing down the absurdly luxurious pizza piled with pricey ingredients he couldn't name, Kim Na-hyun logged back into the community and killed time.
And then midnight came, precisely.
"Fuck it. I'm out."
As if he'd been waiting for this exact moment, Kim Na-hyun grabbed the tightly-shut door handle, ready to head back to his warm, cozy home.
Right at that moment.
Beeeeeeep—!!
A shrill alarm blared from the speakers in the ceiling.
A mechanical female voice followed immediately.
[Please be advised: this is not a drill. The barrier that has long protected the academy has ceased functioning. The cause is currently under investigation. All faculty and students remaining on campus—should you spot any suspicious intruder, capture them alive immediately and contact the Academic Affairs Office.]
[We repeat: this is not a drill. The current situation is real.......]
Listening to the broadcast from the ceiling speaker, Kim Na-hyun thought it over carefully.
'......No way.'
He told himself it couldn't be. But an odd intuition insisted his suspicion was correct.
"Oh, fuck......"
He let go of the door handle and dragged a hand roughly down his face.
Even the snooty mages of the Clock Tower had failed to analyze the structure of Arena Academy's barrier—they'd thrown up their hands so completely that they'd officially declared they wouldn't attempt it again.
However exceptional that professor he'd seen yesterday was, Kim Na-hyun never imagined he outstripped the Clock Tower's mages. And yet.
'The timing is too perfect......!!'
The moment the date the professor had warned about passed, the barrier malfunctioned.
It could be coincidence. But was this really just a coincidence?
Of all days, the barrier that hadn't failed once since the academy's founding malfunctioned today?
"......."
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely going on. Should he report this up the chain?
But Kim Na-hyun's hesitation didn't last long.
He grabbed the door handle and shoved the firmly shut door open.
'The hell do I care?'
Arena Academy's defenses weren't so lax that the barrier vanishing meant instant disaster. And even if his guess was right, the root cause of all this would still be that goddamn bald manager.
'If that really is the case...... he can take responsibility for it himself.'
What could he, a non-Awakened bottom-rung staffer, possibly do about it? He was just going home.
—Incoming call from Kim. Seong. Won.
Kim Na-hyun glanced briefly at his flickering smartwatch before reaching out.
The light died, and the smartwatch went dark.
He promptly pulled out his phone and powered it off too.
"By the time school starts again, it'll be sorted out."
On the way home,
he figured he might as well take a short trip somewhere.
**
Six hours had passed since the academy's barrier stopped working.
Because of it, the campus, which should have been quiet, had been in chaos from the early hours until now.
The sun still hadn't fully risen, casting a bluish tint over the grounds as professors and security guards swept across the campus and its surrounding property.
On top of that, holy knights and priests from every temple had been mobilized, relentlessly searching every corner for any possible intruder.
In the midst of all that commotion, there was only one quiet place.
And Claire was walking through it.
"Mm."
Claire still remembered the first time she'd set foot in the Infinite Labyrinth—a space that scrambled all your senses and scattered both mana and holy power.
Now it was different.
She could touch the overgrown thickets without concern, and the pure white flowers would surrender a few fragile petals if she held out her hand.
Most importantly, her mana and holy power no longer dispersed.
All of it had changed after she met the man called Baek Woo-jin.
'A stroll.......'
The Infinite Labyrinth no longer stretched on forever for her, nor did it present a confusing maze.
Whichever path she took was fine. She only had to walk, and the labyrinth would deliver her to its end on its own.
Just like now.
A small house with a design that felt warm and inviting, out of step with the modern world.
At the end of the maze, there was no artifact brimming with immense power, no elixir imbued with extraordinary strength.
Only a home where a man and a child lived.
A place that held a slightly special warmth for someone.
That was the secret hidden at the labyrinth's end.
She stood in front of the door and hesitated a moment.
The sun still hadn't fully risen.
It had only been two days, but Claire already understood just how precious the child the man had taken in from the underground auction was to Baek Woo-jin.
And children that age need a lot of sleep. It's good for them to sleep plenty, too.
'Better to wait a little longer.'
If only they'd exchanged contact information, she wouldn't have to worry like this. But Claire had no intention of exchanging contacts with Baek Woo-jin.
A quiet space where she could walk calmly.
A place beyond the temple walls where she didn't have to be conscious of others' gazes.
She'd grown quite fond of this secret place.
That was why she wouldn't trade contact info with Baek Woo-jin.
If she did, she'd lose her excuse to come here.
Of course, once the Ring Scramble ended, she was supposed to return to England. Originally, at least.
【(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ It seems he likes Claire!】
【(*´∇｀*) So, Claire, please stay by his side and look after him for a while.】
A message that had arrived yesterday after she parted ways with Baek Woo-jin.
Claire accepted the will of the god she served and resolved to remain at the Arena Academy branch for the time being.
"Likes...... me...."
"What exactly does he like?"
"......?!"
Claire jolted in shock at Baek Woo-jin's voice right in front of her, springing backward before she knew it. And then—
Crunch—
She landed straight into a tall thicket.
Dressed the same as yesterday, with a drowsy Baek Ha-na cradled in his arms, Baek Woo-jin adjusted his signature large glasses and approached the Claire-shaped hole in the bushes.
"Are you o—"
"I'm fine."
Claire cut Baek Woo-jin off for the first time. But the man himself didn't seem to register it at all.
Crunch, rustle.
The moment she extricated herself from the thicket, Claire bowed her head politely toward him.
"The Finance Department manager has come looking for you."
"......I see."
"I'll escort you."
Claire turned with crisp efficiency and walked on ahead.
Baek Woo-jin watched her for a moment, then gave a small motion with his hand.
Whoosh—
A brief gust of wind swept past, lifting the stray leaves from Claire's shoulders and ear.
"She might actually be all right after all."
The tip of her ear, faintly but unmistakably red.
Seeing this unexpectedly human side of Claire made Baek Woo-jin feel somewhat more positive about entrusting Baek Ha-na's education to her.
"Well...... somewhat."
Claire had said she'd guide him but had already vanished from sight. Baek Woo-jin slowly started walking after her.