Trembling Seeds (1)

Han Yuri had returned. Choi Ahyeon welcomed her back with open arms, and the moment Yuri arrived, she challenged the test right away.

Han Yuri, who used to struggle against the Ancient Golem, was now—

—beating the living hell out of it like a dog on a hot summer day. Meteor Showers slammed into its massive body like bullets. The golem staggered backward helplessly against the defense-ignoring meteors.

Choi Ahyeon jumped around excitedly as Yuri dominated the fight. Yuri herself prepared the finishing blow. Meteors and Meteor Showers filled the sky. At her gesture, a carpet-bombing barrage rained down.

"Grrraaa..." The Ancient Golem shattered into pieces. I broke out in a cold sweat at the sight.

Fuck... Maybe I shouldn't have stepped in.

The Blue Flame Festival. There was only one reason this festival stuck in my memory.

Because it's the day an aurora and a meteor shower appear at the same time.

That's why I'd shown her the meteors—to give her a little push as a last-ditch gamble. It worked way better than I expected.

Who would've thought showing her a Meteor Shower and an aurora would actually trigger a skill awakening...?

She really was a monster. Having confirmed her clear, Han Yuri turned around. The same haughty expression from before was back on her face. Choi Ahyeon ran over and hugged her tightly.

Even as she pushed Ahyeon away, she couldn't wipe the smile from her lips. Yuri lifted her head and our eyes met. A soft, gentle smile. That was all. I let out a sigh at that smile and looked away.

I'm so fucked.

We'd gotten too close. This level of familiarity was dangerous.

I need to keep more distance from now on.

When I took the two of them outside, Professor Irena was waiting.

She was talking about the funeral for Yeon Hyoju's group and the investigation into the incident. Irena shifted her gaze to Han Yuri and offered a faint smile.

She tried to act aloof, but the corners of her mouth refused to stay down. It was an uncharacteristically loose smile for Han Yuri. For now, congratulations on her growth had become her smile button. After two years of stagnation, she'd finally cracked the door open.

We followed Irena toward the training grounds. The campus was bustling. Starting today, the academy had officially entered festival mode. Even after the Demon Sect's attack, the academy wanted to show it was still standing strong—appealing to the outside world while giving the students a break.

But in reality, it always ended up turning into guilds setting up booths and promoting themselves.

The training grounds were packed with the entire student body and guild representatives. We stopped there as well. Irena walked up to the podium and took the microphone.

As expected, the usual formalities dragged on. I was yawning while waiting when I overheard the conversations around me.

It looked like her rank had already been updated on the homepage.

The guys glanced around nervously before clamping their mouths shut. After that little incident passed, the final moment finally arrived.

The festival had officially begun.

The three of us took a lap around the academy.

Just like she said, the place was packed like a marketplace with students and civilians mixed together. While we were looking around, Han Yuri poked my arm repeatedly.

Our booth. She meant the one for the Portan Guild.

Am I crazy? Why the hell would I go there?

Besides, I had somewhere to be soon.

Her expression didn't change, but her tone dropped slightly. Sensing the mood about to sour, Choi Ahyeon jumped in.

It was early summer—what was a snowman doing here? When I looked, I saw they'd created an entire ice kingdom. There was a skating rink, ice slides, and gently falling snowflakes. People flocked to the beautiful sight from all directions.

The Korean Hunter Association had taken over a huge chunk of the training grounds, living up to its name.

I took her phone and was about to snap a picture of Ahyeon posing on the slide when the phone started vibrating. Once, twice. I couldn't see the content, but they were all text messages.

She's such a social butterfly.

It was on a completely different level from me and Han Yuri. After taking the picture while the phone kept buzzing, we made our way around all the booths.

It was around ten o'clock. It was about time.

After being rejected again, Han Yuri let out a sigh, probably annoyed.

I left Han Yuri swinging her fist at me and quickly headed for the rooftop of the main building. There, Lee Seol was waiting.

The rooftop garden of the main building. I sat on a bench, enduring an uncomfortable stretch of time.

……

Fuck. So strict.

On the surface she looked angry, but the corners of her mouth kept twitching up and down. This girl. She'd gotten a real taste for teasing me. Normally I would've just played along, but there was the matter of me missing the fireworks yesterday without saying anything. I'd originally planned to wrap up Han Yuri's business and head straight to the festival, but things took longer than expected.

I'd contacted her urgently after the festival ended, but—

That's how we ended up meeting separately like this. Honestly, I felt a bit wronged.

She was the one who got drunk, invited me as an apology, and now she's mad whether I come or not? Isn't that my choice?

But it was also wrong to keep her waiting, so I couldn't exactly complain.

Lee Seol looked straight at me and leaned forward. Her unique scent tickled my nose.

As if she had to say it, Lee Seol took my hand. Her soft hand tightened around mine even more.

……

A promise. Right. One of this girl's berserk buttons was promises. I'd only experienced it once in the previous round and had forgotten.

When I stayed silent for a moment, Lee Seol flinched and pulled back.

Lee Seol stood up, her face bright red.

I started walking around the school with Lee Seol.

She was even more of a social butterfly than Choi Ahyeon. Every guild booth we passed, someone recognized Lee Seol and greeted her. Thanks to that, it took a long time, but we also saved money on food.

They kept piling food on us. Most mid-sized guilds had small booth areas, so they ran food stalls instead, and the food was surprisingly good.

When 'that day' comes, they'll all die anyway. It didn't really bother me.

That aside—

What is this?

This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tingling sensation on my skin. It wasn't quite killing intent, but it felt strangely dirty.

Is it those thugs over there?

In the corner, the Geum Taeyang bastards were sipping soju and leering at Lee Seol with dirty looks. But it wasn't them.

Those guys would die if Lee Seol so much as lifted a finger.

I looked around but couldn't find the source. It was bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough that I even wondered if my senses were broken. When I frowned because it kept bothering me, Lee Seol asked carefully.

Ah… I got it. The identity of this shitty feeling. Every hair on my body stood on end. My heart remained calm, but this was the human body reacting automatically.

When I turned my gaze outward, sure enough, two figures were walking through the crowd. Other people couldn't sense this phenomenon, but I—I could tell immediately.

Dragon Fear. The faint predatory aura radiating from them was what had been bothering me.

The mother-daughter pair of Gold Dragons. It was Yu Cheong and Yu Chel.