Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Intruder's Bluff
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Kuh...! Kill me!
I reported the suspicious person to the instructor, but the training schedule proceeded as planned.
According to Instructor Jo's explanation, this place might look rundown at first glance, but it's guarded by all sorts of artifacts and Awakeners.
He said even mid-level villains, not to mention dangerous materials, could never be brought in.
Sure enough, just as Instructor Jo had boasted, the first day of training ended without a hitch.
'Come to think of it, Yoo Na-yeon asked to meet briefly during dinner time.'
"Hey, mister. Where are you going? We should eat together."
"I'm just stepping out for some air."
"Tch. B-Ranks really have no sense of camaraderie."
Leaving behind the White Tiger Trio, who looked somehow disappointed, I headed to the instructors' smoking area.
Under the moonlight, a familiar profile came into view.
Yoo Na-yeon was sitting on a bench, gazing up at the night sky.
Her expression was unusually serious.
"You came?"
Yoo Na-yeon turned to me with a smile.
"What's up? Is it about that suspicious guy I reported earlier?"
Yoo Na-yeon patted the spot next to her on the bench, as if inviting me to sit.
"Nah. Just... We haven't had time to talk alone."
"We met pretty often, though."
"No backtalk! I still haven't heard your thank-you yet?"
Thank-you?
Ah. I showed her one of the photos I'd taken on my smartphone.
"What's this? A meal voucher?"
"Yep. Got two. Wanna go together?"
I'd snapped a photo of the restaurant meal voucher on a whim, thinking maybe I'd use it for a Galbi date or something, but who knew it'd come in handy here.
Well, preparing ahead never hurts.
"I was gonna give it to you anyway. As a thank-you."
"This... Isn't this that place all the NewTubers have been raving about lately? For real!? I heard it's super expensive."
"Psh. We can both afford a place like this, right?"
Of course, this was a complimentary voucher, but no need to mention that.
"Got it. This is that one from Han Yoo-jung's stream, the prize she won."
"......"
"Figures it'd be you."
Yoo Na-yeon let out a deep sigh and pulled two small cans of beer from her pocket.
"Here, drink up. It's my favorite."
"Alcohol during training?"
"Non-alcoholic. Non-alcoholic."
The White Tiger Trio aside, this girl too.
The higher the Awakening rank, the more they tend to do whatever they want.
The stronger and richer you are, the freer you become—maybe that's just the natural order.
Pssht!
We sat side by side and cracked open the cans.
Gulp, gulp.
The cool beer slid down my throat.
Drinking on the sly made it taste even sweeter.
"Sang-hyuk."
"Yeah?"
"Are you... gonna keep hiding forever? Your power."
Yoo Na-yeon's voice was serious.
"Running S-Rank errands for request fees. Is that how you wanna live? You could be a hero."
"How many guys who got called heroes are still alive today?"
"......Yeah. I used to think like you."
Yoo Na-yeon spoke as if reminiscing, taking a sip of her beer.
"I planned to just earn enough, marry some hot guy, have kids, and live easy."
Yoo Na-yeon turned away so I couldn't see her face, let out a refreshing burp, and tossed the empty can into the trash.
"Goal~"
"What are you, in elementary school?"
"Pfft. Quit nagging..."
Yoo Na-yeon slowly stood up.
Instructors passed by occasionally, so this wasn't a spot for long talks.
"I'm not saying change your mind right now. Just think about it slowly. What you can do with your power. What you want to do."
"What do you wanna do?"
"Save lots of people and live happily myself?"
I fiddled with the empty can in silence.
Then why'd she feed me that weird stuff and make me Awaken?
I had a feeling I knew the answer, but I wasn't ready to respond to Yoo Na-yeon yet.
"I'm good like this. Got time to chill and drink canned beer with you."
At my words, Yoo Na-yeon's shoulders twitched.
She turned and stared at me.
Even in the dark, her ears were visibly red.
"Where do you learn lines like that? You're a pro now."
"I'm serious. Heroes don't get this freedom. I saw the Association Chairman once—buried in approval papers all day."
"Ugh, how does he even breathe hiding from all that hassle?"
Yoo Na-yeon chuckled and stretched.
We stood there quietly, feeling the night breeze.
My tomboy childhood friend had become an S-Rank Hunter, and now I had the power to stand on the same stage.
In the strange atmosphere, Yoo Na-yeon mumbled.
"Hey... If I ever get in danger... You'll drop the civilian cosplay and scaredy-cat act, right? Come like a hero."
"Sure~ Just pay the request fee later."
"No romance at all! You capitalist monster!"
Just as Yoo Na-yeon reached to pinch my arm.
"Who's there!"
It was sudden.
Yoo Na-yeon jumped, eyes wide, and thrust her palm toward a nearby tree.
I faced the same direction.
I sensed nothing, but she had picked up on something.
"I know you're hiding there, so come out. If you don't by the count of three, you're toast."
Hot flames flickered at her fingertips.
"One. Two."
A man stepped out from behind the tree.
He wore a trainee name tag, but a sinister smile played on his face.
Not one of the students training with us.
It was that bastard who'd been openly watching us from outside the barbed wire.
Hadn't been caught yet?
"Even the artifact he lent me couldn't hide me from an S-Rank's senses. Impressive. Sorry for interrupting your date."
The man cackled.
"But thanks to this, I got good intel. Who'd have thought the Witch of Fire had a boyfriend."
He eyed me up like appraising meat.
Then snickered mockingly.
"A trainee not affiliated with the Big Three Guilds. No prior training from your moves... Probably just a B-Rank Awakener at best. Easy to take hostage."
Yoo Na-yeon stepped in front of me, growling.
"What'd you say? Wanna die right now?"
"Whoa, calm down and take a look at this."
The man pulled a remote switch from his pocket and waved it ostentatiously.
"The cafeteria’s swarming with trainees right now, right?"
"So?"
"What if a mana bomb went off there? At least those B-Rank nobodies would take heavy damage."
"Bullshit. You think something that dangerous could get into the training grounds?"
"Deny reality all you want, but a lowly villain infiltrated the grounds—that's fact."
Yoo Na-yeon's face hardened.
A hostage situation. One involving at least a hundred lives.
Even if the bomb talk was bluff, she couldn't act rashly.
"Ms. Yoo Na-yeon. Stand down. Any funny moves, and I blow it."
The villain pulled a pair of cuffs from his pocket.
Just like the ones Han Yoo-jung had worn before.
"Mana Suppression Cuffs. Put these on nicely, and I'll hand the detonator to your boyfriend."
"Detonator like this?"
"Wha—no, what!?"
In that moment of panic.
Yoo Na-yeon bound the villain tight with a flaming whip.
Fast.
It happened in 0.5 seconds.
Even with his torso tied, the villain desperately clung to the toy remote I'd slipped him.
"You dare play me after I talked!? Fine! Die, all of you!!"
"......"
"......"
The cheap childish voice from the toy echoed through the smoking area.
The crickets chirped extra loud.
Yoo Na-yeon stared at the villain in disbelief, still gripping the flaming rope, while his eyes shook like there was an earthquake.
"Th-this... No way. How did you... When...?"
He frantically pressed the toy switch over and over, unwilling to believe.
"Arrrgh!!"
The villain lost it and hurled the toy to the ground.
It cost a whole fifteen thousand won, you know.
Depending on how you fiddle with the buttons, it could be a flashlight or a strobe light.
"A terrorist carrying a justice walkie-talkie? Unique taste."
I pulled out the real detonator—with its batteries removed—and lightly tossed it to Yoo Na-yeon.
"You bastard...!! Where'd you get that!?"
"Don't mess with a man's meal, punk. Trying to blow up my sweet-and-sour pork? I haven't even eaten it yet."
I slowly turned to leave.
I didn't want to get dragged into the hassle.
Instead, I'd leave the rest to her.
As if understanding without me saying, Yoo Na-yeon let me go.
"Hey. Spill everything you were planning."
"Kuh... Kill me. Just fucking kill me!"
"Yeah?"
Yoo Na-yeon's voice dropped low.
Each time her grip tightened, the flaming ropes binding the villain glowed brighter.
The smell of burning flesh reached even here.
"Gaaah! Hot! It's hot! Fuck, I'm really gonna die!!"
"Didn't you beg to die?"
Sizzle—
The sound of cooking meat mixed with screams, drawing instructors fast.
"Gaaaaah! I get it! Stop, you bitch!!"
Within seconds, the villain was rolling on the ground, begging for mercy.
And we hadn't even started proper torture.
Burn pain wasn't something human willpower could endure.
Especially for a villain with no convictions—just itching to vent on someone.