No More Mistakes
Choi Ahyeon had obtained Wind God. That also meant we were one step closer to D-rank.
"Ugh… hup!" Choi Ahyeon thrust out her hand and let out a spirited shout. But not even a breeze stirred, let alone any wind.
"Hngh… why won’t it work!"
"Did you think an S-rank unique skill would just fall into your lap? It took me half a year just to create a derivative skill."
"If Yuri did it in half a year, maybe I’ll need more than a year…"
"Stop whining and try again."
"Okay…"
At Han Yuri’s sharp command, Choi Ahyeon dragged herself back up and resumed practicing the skill. I shot Han Yuri a meaningful look.
Watch your expression.
The reply that flew back was a middle finger.
The day I told Han Yuri that Choi Ahyeon had acquired an S-rank skill, I saw a crack form across her face. Normally, only one or two students per year ever manifested an S-rank unique skill. The fact that the very same Choi Ahyeon she had dismissed as talentless and defective had obtained one must have been a tremendous shock. Yet the crack lasted only a moment. She immediately began training Choi Ahyeon—behavior completely unlike the way she had ignored her until now.
She’s acknowledged her.
Choi Ahyeon was no longer just a pack mule.
"Focus harder and draw up your mana."
"Nngh! Haaah!"
"Stop just yelling and actually concentrate."
Smack. Han Yuri lightly slapped Choi Ahyeon’s rear.
"Ow! I am concentrating…"
"Concentrate until your consciousness blurs. Only then will you grasp the feeling."
"Hngh… Seonghyun, save me…"
Even while groaning, Choi Ahyeon’s face remained bright. She had finally found stairs she could climb.
The Choi Ahyeon reinforcement project continued after that.
"Golems again today? Wind and golems don’t exactly have good compatibility."
"True. But training while assuming the worst-case scenario helps a lot later on."
"Ah, I see."
Bullshit. The D-rank test monsters were golem-types. Just like when we prepared for the E-rank test, this was essentially a rehearsal.
While Choi Ahyeon practiced Wind God against the golems, Han Yuri didn’t neglect her own training either. If anything, she seemed to be pushing herself twice as hard as usual.
Boom! Boom!
"Haa… haa…"
Dozens of Meteors. Yet she refused to stop there and tried to summon even more. Before long, she coughed up blood.
Lack of control.
Even though her achievements were still insufficient, she kept challenging herself. Watching her overexertion, I spoke up.
"Don’t push yourself. Take it easy. You’re going to collapse at this rate."
"…Busybody. Why don’t you just fuck off?"
"Busybody? Where’d you pick up that word?"
"Ahyeon."
She’d really corrupted the kid.
"Condition management is also part of skill. The test is in three days. If you keep overdoing it like this, you’re putting the cart before the horse."
Grind. I heard the sound of teeth gnashing.
"Shut up. I’ll handle it myself. Mind your own business."
With that single line, she turned on her heel and left.
That day, huh?
Her personality really was a pain in the ass. While I swallowed the curses rising in my throat, the training room door opened.
"So everyone’s here?"
It was Kim Jihun.
"What? What are you doing here?"
"Just felt like it? Thought I’d come take a look at the mugs of the guys who are about to become D-rank."
Excuses. We’d known each other for years. Kim Jihun walked over, slung an arm around my shoulder, and pulled me close.
"Hey. Did you and Seol do it last time?"
"……What the hell are you talking about?"
"Ever since the day after we drank together, Seol’s been completely out of it?"
Out of it?
"She’s making mistakes she never used to make, spacing out while staring at empty air. I’m worried sick, you know?"
"……"
"I wouldn’t have come to you if it wasn’t serious. Got any idea what’s going on?"
Any idea…
Nothing particularly big happened while we were drinking, I thought. Or maybe Yeon Hyoju had tried something?
Nothing came to mind.
"After the test, I’ll try contacting her once."
"Got it. Anyway, congrats on D-rank. You know what comes after, right?"
He grinned suggestively, implying we were already confirmed for D-rank, and made an obscene gesture about going to an adult establishment. I smirked back.
"Yeah, yeah. I’ll treat you."
"Hell yeah! Okay, I’m out. Good luck!"
Even after Kim Jihun left the training room, the special training didn’t stop. One hour, two hours. Time flowed on until evening arrived. I was about to order food when I checked my phone.
[Yoon Seah] Missed Call
What the…
Yoon Seah only contacted me around the end of first year. She was busy attending an overseas academy, so I hadn’t paid her any mind at all…
A brief moment of hesitation. If I didn’t answer now, she would definitely come to Korea. In that case…
Better to call her first.
Having made my decision, I asked the two girls, "You two are staying to practice more, right?"
"Yeah. I’m still full of energy!"
"I’m fine too."
They both wanted to keep going.
"I’ve got plans, so I’ll head out first. Don’t overdo it."
"Okay~"
"Hurry up and go. You’re annoying."
Receiving their less-than-warm send-off, I left the training room. The moment I stepped out of the building—
"Oh? You’re Seonghyun?"
Some sleazy-looking bastard and one lackey were waiting for me.
"Got a minute to talk with hyung?"
***
Third-year B-rank Kim Hoyeong. He was quite the big shot around school. The reason this illustrious senior had come looking for Lee Seonghyun was none other than—
Bang!
"Kugh!"
Intimidation. A single punch from the guy sent Lee Seonghyun crashing into the wall. Lee Seonghyun was only E-rank. He had no experience. On top of that, the guy had layered a debuff skill and a paralysis skill, so resistance was impossible.
"Hyung isn’t asking for anything difficult. Just drop out, yeah? How hard can that be?"
"……"
When Lee Seonghyun stayed silent, Kim Hoyeong forcibly slung an arm around his shoulders.
"Seonghyun-ah. Hyung wants to get along with you. In this world, you never know when you’ll run into someone again. It’d be a shame if we had to keep glaring at each other like this every time, wouldn’t it?"
"……"
"Honestly, we’ve been pretty patient so far, haven’t we? We get that our Hyoju likes you, but you’ve been getting way too cocky because of that. We’ve been busting our asses for years just to get a taste of Hyoju, and then you suddenly cut in line. Don’t you think that’s unfair from our perspective?"
Even after Kim Hoyeong’s words, Lee Seonghyun maintained his silence to the end. The lackey behind him grew angry.
"This bastard, when hyung-nim is talking—!"
"Hey, hey. You’re scaring our Seonghyun. Aigoo, look at that. Isn’t that piss in his pants? Hey, Minseok, lift this guy’s pants and check."
"Eugh, hyung-nim, even so, making us look at bug underwear is a bit…"
"Kekekek. Is that so!"
The two of them laughed while staring at Lee Seonghyun’s pants. Even in this humiliating situation, Lee Seonghyun’s heartbeat remained steady.
"Seonghyun-ah. Hyung is a nice guy. If you just listen to hyung… I won’t touch that Jihun friend of yours or that Ahyeon girl either."
"……"
"Tsk. Still no answer. If you keep this up, our relationship’s gonna get awkward, you know that, Seonghyun-ah? This isn’t because hyung dislikes you, okay? It’s all for your own good. Hup!"
Boom!
A fist glowing blue buried itself in his solar plexus. A punch that far exceeded human reaction speed. His ribs shattered into pieces from the overwhelming force. Like a puppet with its strings cut, Lee Seonghyun lay motionless on the floor. He had passed out.
"Whew. Let’s stop here for today, Seonghyun-ah. Be waiting here at the same time tomorrow, yeah? And you know what happens if you tell anyone else, right? Things’ll get real unfun from then on."
With those final words, Kim Hoyeong left with his lackeys.
***
Hall of Challenge lobby. Yeon Hyoju stood with her arms crossed.
"Did it go well? You didn’t hit him, right?"
"Of course not. You know our personalities. We’re the type who can live without laws. Isn’t that right, Minseok?"
"Kekek! Of course!"
At their words, the corner of Yeon Hyoju’s lips curled upward.
It’d be nice if he just came over easily.
She didn’t want to socially destroy him by posting on SNS. That was truly the last resort. Yeon Hyoju hoped that if she just scared him enough, Lee Seonghyun would come under her wing.
"Then let’s head in."
"Sounds good~"
The three of them tore a post-it note to do their assignment. White light enveloped them, and they were soon transported to a blue sea.
"Then let’s finish this quickly and go home…"
"Huh? Hey, Hyoju!"
"What?"
"Over there! Up there!"
When Yeon Hyoju hurriedly looked up, a gate was opening.
"Th-that’s a gate, right?! Why is a gate opening inside a dungeon…!"
Along with Yeon Hyoju’s horrified scream, something began emerging from the gate. A woman whose robe covered her from head to toe. She stepped on empty air and descended to the ground. In that instant, the air in the area compressed. No—space itself wavered.
"A… Witch?"
An overwhelming presence. It was a transcendent aura that even those who didn’t know what a Witch was would instinctively recognize as such.
"Kyaak!"
"Minseok!"
One of the lackeys grabbed his own neck and thrashed about.
"H-Hyoju! Hurry!"
"O-okay! Forfeit!"
The leader’s declaration of forfeit. Normally, the three of them should have returned to the Hall. But—
"It’s… not working?"
No response.
"Kyaak!"
One lackey’s body twisted grotesquely before his spine folded in half and he dropped to the floor. Thud. Like a doll, a cold corpse fell to the ground.
"Kyaaaah! P-please spare me! I-I’ll do anything!"
Her panties were turning yellow. Yeon Hyoju, unaware, could only desperately rub her hands together.
"What’s your name?"
A mechanical voice. It was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
"Y-yes? Y-Yeon Hyoju."
"No, not you. Who’s the person closest to you?"
"……"
When Yeon Hyoju glanced at the remaining man, the Witch’s lips curved into a smile.
"I’ll let one of you two live. So choose—will you live, or will your subordinate live?"
"……"
Kim Hoyeong looked at Yeon Hyoju with desperate eyes. But soon blood vessels bulged in his eyes as he shouted.
"I-I’ll live!"
"H-Hyoju, how could you…!"
"Shut up! After everything I’ve given you, you can at least sacrifice this much!"
"You fucking bitch…! After all the years I licked your ass, this is how you repay me?!"
"What?! Are you done talking?!"
Division. The Witch’s lips curved even higher.
"Yes. This is all low-tier trash amounts to."
"Kyaaaah!"
"Kuhak!"
Both of them grabbed their necks and floated into the air. Watching them, the Witch spread both arms wide.
"The most beautiful moment in human relationships is when they break."
Their bodies twisted.
"When the trust they’ve built crumbles,"
their eyes bulged out,
"and their faith in each other hits rock bottom."
The Witch’s eyes filled with ecstasy.
"That is when humans shine the brightest."
Pop!
Blood rained down, and two corpses scattered as chunks of flesh in the air. The Witch savored the remains with closed eyes.
"That’s why memories shine."
Even if relationships break, memories remain. Beautiful pasts weathered and sculpted by time. Memories were treasures that couldn’t be bought even with a fortune.
"This time, I’ll make it perfect."
So he wouldn’t have to suffer again. So he wouldn’t choose suicide again.
"There will be no more mistakes."
Madness rippled in the Witch’s eyes.