Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: What Happened at the Hospital (3)
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Yoon Seo-rin, who had been plucking grapes one by one from the bunch for a while, seemed to have sorted out all her thoughts.
She looked at me with eyes that were somehow more serious than usual.
"Grapes... want some?"
"Uh... yeah, if you're offering."
Yoon Seo-rin stood up, passed in front of Amelia, and came right next to me before popping a few grapes into my mouth.
Amelia, watching from behind, let out a strange sound and wore a slightly perverted smile.
I was caught off guard by the sudden situation and just ate the grapes.
Only afterward, as I chewed them slowly, did I regain my senses and speak.
"Um... my arm can move, did you have to feed me...?"
"......"
"No, thanks for feeding me. It's nice not having to move."
Seeing Yoon Seo-rin's expression change in an instant, my survival instincts told me there was no point in saying more.
So I just kept eating the grapes she fed me one by one, like a baby bird taking food from its mother.
After about three minutes of awkward silence with just the grapes, Yoon Seo-rin wore another inscrutable expression and cautiously spoke.
"I heard everything about the situation back then from Jin Tae-hoon, the leader of the second raiding team on site. They said if you'd escaped even 30 seconds—no, a minute later, the demonic energy would have completely taken over your body and killed you."
"But I survived..."
"Why did you make that choice? If the demon had descended as is, there would have been dozens or hundreds of casualties in the area. I can understand throwing yourself in to prevent the gate break."
"......"
I wanted to make some excuse... but her voice and expression were too serious, so I just listened quietly.
It seemed like she had something she wanted to say.
"But according to Choi Eun-ha's testimony from the dungeon raid with you, it sounded like you planned to go in alone even without her... Did you really not know it would just be a meaningless death?"
"...I knew."
"Then why go in, knowing it meant death, knowing it was a pointless sacrifice?"
After staring for a moment at Yoon Seo-rin, who still looked serious and troubled, I turned my gaze to the ceiling of the hospital room and sank into thought.
'Yeah... even thinking about it now, it's a mystery. Why did I try to go in knowing I'd die?'
Recalling the situation back then, the right choice wasn't entering the dungeon.
It was to quickly evacuate, get as many civilians out as possible.
Then request backup and fight the monsters while retreating.
That was the correct answer.
If I had S-Rank hunter talent or Kim Do-yoon's level, maybe not, but I was weak.
Yet even with those two options clear, I couldn't stomach the idea of dozens of casualties and decided to stop the gate break alone.
I did something idiotic that even most S-Rank hunters wouldn't attempt.
Even as I entered the dungeon, even while fighting the monsters, I kept questioning it...
But recalling fragments of this body's original owner, Kang Hyun-sols past memories, made it understandable why I chose that.
'This is a kind of trauma... something like that.'
Even though it was just a brief fragment of the disaster back then.
My chest ached faintly, and an indescribable rage surged—the kind that said I never wanted to see people dying to demons again.
I suspected that Kang Hyun-sol's anger and his deep-seated wish for no more deaths had unconsciously driven me to that choice.
Of course, no one knows the exact truth.
I'm just leaving it as a possibility.
It could just be that I panicked in the chaos and made a dumb choice.
'Whatever it was, I survived in the end, saved people, so it's fine... but how do I explain it...'
Turning my head, the two were still staring at me, demanding an explanation.
I could brush it off vaguely... but for some reason, now.
Having learned a bit about the unclear past of this extra, Kang Hyun-sol.
If I used this wisely, maybe I could reduce some of the misunderstandings I'd been getting.
So I swallowed dryly and slowly opened my mouth.
"I just... didn't want to see innocent people dying to those demon bastards. Even if it was just one person."
"..."
"..."
The two stayed silent, listening intently without reacting.
"Ten years ago, during the Apostle Descent, my mom and dad died right in front of me at the hands of demons... Because of that memory, I just unconsciously jumped in, not wanting more people to die to them."
Amelia and Yoon Seo-rin didn't say a word for a long time after hearing that.
Really, nothing.
I don't know if the silence lasted seconds or minutes, but the air in the room suddenly felt heavy.
And after a long silence, Yoon Seo-rin was the first to speak.
"......I see."
Her expression hadn't changed, but her eyes softened just a little.
A subtle shift, not pity or sympathy, but leaning toward understanding.
"I get why you made that choice—not to die, but to stop someone else from dying."
"...Yeah."
"It was still reckless, though."
Yoon Seo-rin lowered her head slightly and said it very quietly, but firmly.
"I understand why you're desperately trying to get stronger, and why you made such a foolishly stubborn choice... but please be more careful from now on. Someone who knows the pain of loss..."
"......"
Her words stabbed right into my chest, so I just nodded without speaking.
Then Amelia leaned forward slightly and placed her hand on the back of mine.
This time, without hiding it.
"Hyun-sol has such a sad past. Is that why you've been training so hard without rest to get stronger?"
"Well... something like that."
"Now I feel a little sorry too! Requesting taste tests all the time without knowing your circumstances! Sorry!"
"No need to apologize. Eating helps recover stamina anyway."
"Really?"
Amelia smiled faintly.
"Then from now on, don't make dangerous choices and value your life more! You have to keep evaluating my food!"
"......"
Her words weren't too light or too heavy.
Just stated plainly as fact.
Yoon Seo-rin nodded naturally as well.
"Yeah, throwing yourself in recklessly at 20, consumed by revenge, isn't good to watch or for the people around you."
"...Why do you two look so cool today?"
As I clapped weakly, both chuckled briefly at the same time.
The tension and staredown eased a bit.
After that, they shared trivial stories since they'd come to visit.
Sophia had been chatting with news reporters in front of the dorm again today.
Rumors at the academy had already shifted from Kang Hyun-sol death rumors to hero awakening rumors to just hospitalized rumors.
They both said their piece, neatly sorted the fruit basket, and carefully stood.
"Well, we'll head out. If I have time tomorrow or the day after, I'll visit again."
"I'll swing by as soon as I finish my personal schedule~"
I nodded.
"Take care~"
"Have a good night."
The door closed quietly.
The room was empty again.
I lay back slowly and exhaled.
The ceiling blurred faintly.
Thoughts converged on one thing.
Rakmael, the Lord-class demon who killed Kang Hyun-sol's—no, my parents, seen in the rift of memories.
That form giggling as it tore my family like toys.
The emotions boiling in that moment.
My throat tightened, strength gathering unconsciously in my fingertips.
"...I'll definitely find and kill you."
I vowed it in a whisper, with a firm, unshaken voice.
Star Mana responded to my will, beginning to glow slowly... faintly from deep in my heart.
And thanks to Star Mana making its presence known, I remembered something I'd forgotten.
"Right. Gotta buy Accumulation Tenacity."
With the 40,000 SP windfall, I could buy Accumulation Tenacity without issue, letting me use Holy Magic up to 6th Circle right away.
Without hesitation, I opened the shop and purchased the trait.
[You have acquired a new trait.]
A persistent tenacity trait that allows mana, stamina, and willpower consumption not to deplete entirely at once, but to accumulate slowly within the body → maintain → utilize in a cycle.
Even in combat, it stabilizes breathing, heartbeat, and mana flow on its own, managing power by accumulating it gradually instead of exploding it all at once.
It doesn't make you noticeably stronger, but it forms a basic framework to endure until the very end even on the brink of collapse, specialized for long battles where output loss decreases over time.
In other words, it's not a trait that amplifies power greatly, but one that maintains it stably, for longer, without breaking.
"Nice... this is it."
Having used this trait hundreds of times already, I practically had the description memorized, but I skimmed it lightly anyway.
Letting out a big exclamation, I closed the window.
Then, lifting my trembling hand with effort toward my throbbing heart, I drew a tiny amount of mana from the circle.
And formed a small orb of only Star Mana in my palm.
"...The feeling's definitely different."
I drew mana from the circle just like when casting spells normally, but the consumption felt different.
How to describe it?
Normally, casting a 1st Circle spell would drain a baseball-sized chunk of mana at once.
With Accumulation Tenacity, it's the same drain, but about 20-30% gets refined and reabsorbed into the body?
I used mana, but some got replenished.
With Star Mana, no less.
After experimenting with Accumulation Tenacity for nearly 30 minutes, I suddenly passed out into sleep.
The next morning.
My eyelids slowly opened.
The ceiling looked the same as yesterday, but the air smelled a bit different.
"......? What's this incredibly warm, hug-forever feeling? Like mom's embrace..."
At the same time, a soft sensation enveloped me, so I tidied my messy hair and slowly sat up.
And discovered thin, snow-white arms wrapped around me.
Tilting my head further to follow the arm, at the end was lemon-colored hair...
"Choi... Eun-ha?"
"...Huh? Hyun-sol!!"
An extremely bright, energetic voice hit my ears.
"Hey, hey man?! Wait—Choi Eun-ha, just a sec—!"
Choi Eun-ha's face was right in front of mine, clinging to me with her whole body, shaking me while gripping my arm.
Her lemon bob gleamed like morning sunlight, and her visible left sky-blue eye glistened moistly.
"Really glad...! You finally woke up!! Sniff, I... I thought you actually died..."
"That's... appreciated, but... could you back off a bit first?"
This felt really dangerous.
Her body heat and sensations were too close; one slip and instinct might stir.
So I tried to calm her quickly and get her off before anyone saw... but perfect timing.
Click—
The hospital room door opened smoothly again, just like yesterday.
And an utterly unexpected pair appeared.
The ever-energetic research girl Sophia Litwell and the munchkin girl Wol Ha-yeon had come to see me at the same time.
Of course, seeing me, they both froze at the entrance.
"......"
"......"
"Waaahhh!!"
Choi Eun-ha was still hanging on my neck, sobbing.
'Fuck, this Oath of Indulgence bastard!!!'
I barely got through yesterday, but today felt like I'd be torn limb from limb.