Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: A Different Breed
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Abruptly, suddenly, unexpectedly, out of nowhere, without rhyme or reason…
All were words used to describe something completely unforeseen.
It was after he had parted ways with Glacia, having spent some unexpected time with her. Now, training late into the night, Cheon-seong was struck by just such a feeling.
Swoosh…!
A distinct spiral of energy bloomed around his spear. Even as he felt the endlessly circulating mana, an eerie sensation sent shivers down his spine.
“What is this…?”
As he muttered blankly, his heart seemed to plummet with a chilling dread.
Flick.
He glanced around, but there were hardly any students left in the C-Class training ground.
Only a precious few. Just a handful of students, including myself, and the C-Class training instructor, Ludmina.
“……”
He blinked, his eyes continuously scanning his surroundings.
Nothing seemed out of place.
And nothing had changed. Everything was normal, just like any other day, and yet…
Gulp.
He swallowed hard as the spiral of energy enveloping his spear slowly dissipated.
‘That feeling just now, what on earth was it…?’
He swallowed the words he couldn't speak aloud, feeling as though his instincts were screaming a warning at him.
The uncanny sensation he’d felt for a fleeting moment. It was dreadfully gloomy and strange.
The mere feeling of it made the fine hairs on his body stand on end, clearing his mind of all other thoughts. And he understood what kind of feeling it was.
—An Apostle.
The distinct, alien sensation of an Apostle.
Yet, its nature was entirely different from before. It felt fundamental… a danger he was facing for the first time.
It was a bizarre sensation that set his instincts on edge.
Shhhk.
He slowly lowered his spear, his eyes narrowing.
“……”
Even so, he could tell that the presence was incredibly far away.
It wasn't close, like the last time, nor was it at a distance he could hope to reach.
It was at least an immense distance away. So far, he couldn't even begin to guess. Yet the Apostle's unique, alien aura was unmistakable.
‘This is no ordinary Apostle.’
During the Beast’s Madness episode, he had come to believe he had a special ability to sense the presence of Apostles.
But compared to when he had tracked the apostle in the form of a black lion, this strange sensation was… on a completely different level. He tried to feel that energy again, but now, it was gone without a trace.
“...”
He steadied his breathing, then a thought came to him unbidden.
‘Status Window.’
The status window instantly appeared in the air. He checked his path forward, but nothing had changed.
The path ‘Mana Awakening’ was still there. And below it, only the line about earning Ariya's affection.
Just looking at it made his chest feel tight.
It wasn't a tightness born from uncertainty about his next actions.
“Should I have been the one to go to her?”
He had been preparing himself, waiting for her to come to him, but that feeling moments ago had made him realize something.
In that instant, all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind.
-Shouldn't I have gone to the Mage Tower to find Ariya?
-Just focusing on training like this isn't enough.
-I won't be able to handle a fundamental crisis.
Above all, I… was now sensing a great danger.
And for the first time, he felt he was facing an ‘unknown danger.’
He had always known of the dangers and planned events that would come his way, so he could at least prepare and respond to them.
He could do something on his own.
But now.
The dangers and incidents he had to face were no longer foretold.
A crisis completely different from the future he knew from the story existed.
A far more perilous danger, one that brushed against death itself…
‘The Nine Apostles…’
They were beings that never appeared in the original story. It was a term he was hearing for the first time.
Perhaps they were the most fundamental danger of this world, and perhaps they were the greatest challenge he would have to overcome.
He now understood that not knowing the dangers to come was far more perilous than he had ever imagined.
Thud.
His heart sank as he slowly left the training ground.
‘I can't just wait around.’
He shouldn't have been waiting for Ariya.
He was the one in urgent need, and his life was the one on the line.
Even if he was emotionally distraught and confused by his relationships with several women, he couldn't forget the essential truth: his life was under threat.
“…Haa.”
He let out a breath and nodded blankly.
Clank.
Leaving his training behind, he walked through the academy’s night streets, his vision dark.
The pitch-black night sky, the stars shining through it—even they seemed fewer in number tonight.
It felt like a reflection of his own situation.
…Why had he decided to change his values, to change his very way of thinking? He knew all that, and yet he had simply tried to wait.
He had to realize that this was not the time for that.
“I… have to go see her.”
To seduce Ariya, he had to be the one to go.
***
The next day, Wednesday afternoon.
At the academy.
Swish.
David, who was moving his quill to organize his lecture notes, suddenly blinked. He glanced to his side.
“You. Are you really worried about something?”
“No, I’m not… Why all of a sudden?”
Staring for a moment at Cheon-seong, who answered more awkwardly than usual, David nodded nonchalantly.
“Never mind. If you say so.”
He picked up his quill again, deciding to just let it be.
Han Cheon-seong was acting strangely today, but sometimes people had worries they couldn't talk about.
Then, a small laugh escaped him.
‘With relationships as complicated as his, how could he not have worries?’
Lately, he seemed to be entangled in all sorts of incidents, and for me, a mere observer, there was no better topic of conversation.
My best friend was always at the center of some major drama, and it wasn't something I could interfere with.
It was all for Han Cheon-seong to handle. I would just watch and enjoy the show.
Swish, swish.
As he was organizing his notes, he felt a strange gaze.
He now knew for sure that it wasn't directed at him. He had often felt such things just by being next to Han Cheon-seong.
‘It’s a good thing my trait reached level 3, though.’
Still, he didn't think his senses had become *that* sharp.
“……”
He gently raised his head and saw a woman looking their way.
She was a rather surprising person to see.
A woman who didn't seem to have much of a connection to Han Cheon-seong. Nevertheless, she was a student who received a fair bit of attention.
‘Millia Ebelon.’
In fact, she had spoken to him warmly once, so he remembered her name perfectly and had naturally started paying attention to her.
Glance.
A strange feeling washed over him as he took in the sight of Han Cheon-seong, who was calmly organizing his notes beside him.
Because Millia was the ideal type for this guy, who was already caught in such a complex web of relationships.
Recently, Millia had also started looking at Han Cheon-seong much more frequently, and even that seemed like some kind of signal to him.
‘At this point, is this guy an incubus or something?’
For a man, it would be an incubus, but looking at Cheon-seong, the thought just came to him naturally.
He bewitched so many women, it was uncanny.
From my perspective, watching him up close, he didn't seem like he approached women with ulterior motives like the rumors said. It was more like women were just drawn to him as naturally as he breathed.
‘I have to admit, I’m jealous.’
Being in relationships with many attractive women was the dream of countless men. The instinctive desire to ensnare alluring women and possess them.
In the current meritocratic society of the Empire, it wasn't impossible even for a commoner.
‘Well, I’ve cleared the first hurdle by getting into the academy.’
It meant that, depending on what I did, building a harem wasn't just a dream.
But now, facing the reality of it, my feelings were starting to change.
“Haa…”
He glanced at the guy beside him, who had stopped moving his quill to let out a sigh, and subtly shook his head.
‘Maybe a harem isn't all it's cracked up to be.’
Watching him lately, my perspective had certainly shifted. I had a vague sense of it.
Which women Han Cheon-seong was in a strange relationship with. It was just a guess, but I didn't think I was far off the mark.
Swish.
As he moved his quill again to organize his notes, he felt as though he was seeing reality for what it was.
‘Just dating a lot of women must be difficult.’
And there was a world of difference between being the one in control of the relationships and being unavoidably entangled in them.
The Han Cheon-seong I saw was by no means a weak-willed person, and yet this was his situation.
Even so, he had to be considered the latter.
Even without looking down on Han Cheon-seong in any objective sense, I could feel that he was overwhelmed right now.
The lineup of women he was bewitching…
Just one of them seemed like she would be difficult to handle. There was the matter of their families, and their current positions.
“Alright, let’s take a short break. We’ll rest for about twenty minutes and then continue the lecture.”
At Instructor Kalli’s words, the silence that had filled the lecture hall was immediately broken.
Rustle, clatter.
While many students were getting up from their seats, I stretched my arms wide to relieve the stiffness.
“Haaah.”
I was shaking off various stray thoughts with a big yawn when…
“Hey, David.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I have a problem, sort of… Can you listen?”
“Of course, I can always listen.”
As I answered, I was simply curious what this problem could be.
Who on earth was he agonizing over now, looking so troubled?
And who had he made the most progress with? It was all so intriguing.
…
And so, here we were, sitting on a nearby bench after leaving the lecture hall.
I wondered if it was a problem serious enough to require leaving the classroom, but I waited patiently.
“So, Han Cheon-seong. What’s your problem? Go on, you can tell me now.”
When I spoke a little more casually, I saw his eyes narrow slightly.
“First, I hope you don't misunderstand. But hypothetically, have you ever tried to seduce someone you don't even like?”
Hearing the question, I blinked blankly.
This guy is really…
‘Is his way of thinking completely different from mine?’
Was he seriously trying to add another woman to the mix in this situation? I could only feel a sense of pure awe.