49. Moon Walk
49. Moon Walk
49. Moon Walk
The next day.
Given free time, I wandered around the Hanok Village with Yu Ha-yeon.
When we kept circling the same spot, Yu Ha-yeon asked impatiently,
"Han Si-jun, what are you doing?"
"Shh, just wait."
"We've already been waiting thirty minutes...?"
Had it been that long?
It was now 11:35.
A cuckoo's cry signaled noon throughout the Hanok Village.
That was the signal flare for the gate opening in V. AGE Episode 2.
About twenty-five minutes remained.
I had positioned myself at a small mill on the outskirts of the Hanok Village to avoid getting caught in the gate's center.
It was frustrating that this was all I could do.
"Yu Ha-yeon, what do you think would happen if I shouted that a gate is opening here?"
"Did you eat something bad yesterday?"
It was a statement even Yu Ha-yeon wouldn't believe.
How could a gate open in Jeonju Hanok Village, where none had appeared for decades?
Even if I shouted, 'A gate is opening! Everyone run!', no one would believe me,
and they'd treat me like a lunatic.
If the Episode 2 gate is cleared quickly, no one gets hurt,
so all I could do was silently clear the gate.
'And to do that, I need Lee Seol-ha.'
The reason I kept circling the same area on the outskirts was to find Lee Seol-ha.
Lee Seol-ha felt inferior to the students who spent money and had fun during free time.
'If I had money, could I have enjoyed myself like that...?'
Lee Seol-ha, from a poor family, barely scraping by on scholarship money and repaying debt.
She envied the carefree students playing around, so she fled to the outskirts where they wouldn't be seen.
Before noon, she should be moving near here.
I asked Yu Ha-yeon,
"Yu Ha-yeon. If someone dislikes you, what would you do?"
"Hmm... I'd just ignore them. If they dislike me, then there must be something wrong with them."
"Where does that confidence come from...?"
"Hehe... And it's okay if others dislike me, as long as you like me enough to make up for it."
She was telling me to like her as much as others disliked her.
That line was seriously powerful.
'That hit me out of nowhere.'
My heart trembled a little at Yu Ha-yeon's words.
After that incident with me, Yu Ha-yeon had charged at me like she'd awakened something.
It seemed the restraint of "family" had come off.
After that.
Yu Ha-yeon and I chatted affectionately while waiting for Lee Seol-ha.
She had no clue I was waiting for Lee Seol-ha.
Ten minutes before the gate opened.
Lee Seol-ha appeared in the distance with a gloomy expression.
When my eyes lit up at the sight of her, Yu Ha-yeon poked me and asked,
"You... don't tell me you were waiting for her...?"
Yu Ha-yeon had heard the rumors and knew.
The rumors that the top-ranked Lee Seol-ha disliked her.
Rumors born from inferiority and jealousy.
It showed just how openly Lee Seol-ha antagonized Yu Ha-yeon.
'First, I need to explain.'
Yu Ha-yeon looked at me with disappointment, so I quickly said,
"I figured she'd come this way and waited. It's a coincidence. Really."
"Right... you can't see the future or anything, so I guess I jumped to conclusions. Sorry about that!"
"Since you apologized quickly, I'll let it slide."
Having received an apology unintentionally, I looked at Lee Seol-ha, who was getting closer.
With her superior senses, she noticed my gaze
and lifted her head, which had been hanging low.
She sharpened her glare and looked at us.
"You two..."
"It's been a while, Lee Seol-ha."
"...Been a while?"
Yu Ha-yeon was a bit puzzled; she didn't know I'd spoken to her before, so she wondered why we were acquainted.
Lee Seol-ha looked back and forth between us with her indigo eyes, then scowled fiercely.
"No wonder you're childhood friends, always stuck together like gum on the ground."
"Why pick a fight? If you've got nothing to say, just get lost."
No, a fight here would be bad.
The gate was about to open, and we needed to cooperate.
The gears were already grinding?
Since Yu Ha-yeon never backed down from a challenge, she was snapping back at Lee Seol-ha's provocation.
"Your way of talking isn't very feminine. I bet your childhood friend is sick of a woman like you. He might be barely tolerating you even now."
"She just told me to fight. Don't stop me, Han Si-jun."
"Anger, huh? Looks like it hit a nerve. Sorry, sorry~ I didn't realize~"
Yu Ha-yeon seemed to be boiling at Lee Seol-ha's snickering and taunts,
radiating an aura like she'd fight right then and there.
I pointed my finger at the sky to stop their quarrel.
The center of the Hanok Village.
That was the spot where the gate was about to open.
"Better save the fight for later. Look at that."
"...?"
Only then did they notice the strange current moving in the sky,
and Lee Seol-ha, with her superior senses, identified what it was.
"A gate...? Why is that..."
She had seen a gate form before,
so she recognized it instantly.
Afterward, Yu Ha-yeon also read the current, and she grabbed my hand tightly.
"R-run! Han Si-jun!"
"It's too late."
A black space was gradually growing in the clear sky.
A gate connecting another dimension.
It opened bit by bit, spreading magic power and covering the sky.
"Ah..."
Yu Ha-yeon seemed to decide that running was no longer an option and stood still, looking at me.
Then she said,
"This time, I'll definitely protect you."
"...Thanks."
All I could do, as the one being protected, was offer thanks and provide information to clear the gate.
It was fair to say my life was in Yu Ha-yeon's hands.
I spoke to Lee Seol-ha, who was staring blankly at the sky.
"You know what's happening, right? We're about to be pulled into the gate."
"...So?"
"Let's go together. Three is safer than alone, right?"
I extended my hand, inviting her to come along.
Hero Academy Gate Response Protocol.
If you get caught in a gate incident, hold onto the hand of the person next to you.
Then you won't be separated from them.
It was basic gate response protocol, and Lee Seol-ha, who studied harder than anyone, knew it well.
But because of her misandry, she seemed unable to take my hand, and she kept hesitating.
'No choice.'
I signaled her with my eyes.
A signal to take Yu Ha-yeon's hand next to me.
When her eyes met Yu Ha-yeon's, she grimaced as if she'd seen something unpleasant.
"Ugh... I don't want to hold her hand..."
"Who said you could? Ridiculous..."
Left with no choice, Lee Seol-ha grabbed Yu Ha-yeon's hand.
She made a face like she'd eaten something sour.
Thus, to avoid being left behind, we held each other's hands.
The black space covered the blue sky,
emitting ominous magic power.
And before long,
we were pulled by a fierce magic storm and sucked into the black gate.
***
The interior of the gate was incredibly eerie.
White moonlight illuminated the area,
and everywhere, old building debris was mixed with broken roof tiles from hanok houses.
'Seeing it in person, it's even more ominous.'
The white moonlight stared down at us,
and it felt as though the ruined world of V. AGE was on display through the building rubble.
I approached Yu Ha-yeon, who was hanging her head.
"Are you okay now?"
"W- wait... urk...!"
Yu Ha-yeon turned her head away so I wouldn't see and looked like she was going to vomit.
She was prone to motion sickness, and with her high mana, she couldn't pull herself together.
I patted Yu Ha-yeon's back, then approached Lee Seol-ha, who was kneeling in the distance.
"Want me to rub your back too?"
"N- no... don't touch me... I'll die..."
She also couldn't regain her senses.
I mean, who told everyone to have a mana core?
It was pretty sad being the only one fine right now.
'First, Blue Stone.'
I changed the Golem Core to Blue Stone and supplied magic to my body.
Having no mana here would be quite troublesome, so I had to keep the Blue Stone active at all times.
After some time, when Yu Ha-yeon and Lee Seol-ha finally came to,
I quickly said to them,
"Hey, we don't have time. Let's hurry."
The key members of the party struggled to their feet.
Yu Ha-yeon noticed that my eyes had turned blue because of the Blue Stone,
but I brushed it off by saying, "It's because of the gate's influence," and
I guided them toward the shade as much as possible so the moonlight wouldn't shine on us.
"Lee Seol-ha."
"...What."
"Can you use your ability right now? If not, then as soon as possible."
"...For what reason."
Lee Seol-ha looked at me with distrust and asked.
She seemed to think she didn't need to obey me because I didn't look strong.
'Frustrating...'
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance and told her,
"We're not alone here. Try using your ability."
"...?"
A look that said, "How do you know what I can't sense?"
Of course I didn't feel anything; I'd just experienced Episode 2 in advance.
Lee Seol-ha decided to listen to me for now and used her unique ability.
[Beast]
An ability that grants beast-like senses and corresponding strength.
She focused and listened carefully to the sounds around her.
"People...? Crawling... walking... what... what is it?"
From the sounds, they were like people,
but they were creatures similar to humans, like Magic Beasts.
Seeing her reaction, they didn't seem to be nearby.
"Keep it up as much as you can. If they get near, it'll be trouble."
"A...alright..."
She looked stunned that I had noticed those things before her.
Her unique ability was unparalleled in tracking and detection, so I understood her reaction.
Yu Ha-yeon looked at me as if I were amazing,
then noticed something odd about my body and asked innocently,
"Han Si-jun, were your clothes always that big...?"
'Already that noticeable?'
Since my mana was lower than theirs, it seemed only my progression had been fast.
My regular-fit clothes had turned oversized.
"It's nothing. Let's go."
I put on a smile as if it were nothing and hurried my steps.