Chapter 510: Childhood Friend (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 510: Childhood Friend (4)
Conversation.
The act of facing each other and exchanging words.
From the moment puberty came a little early for her, making her realize she was different, she had never truly felt empathy in her conversations with others.
Parents.
The love, abundance, and security that came from them.
Stories from those who took for granted the things she never had.
To her, it all sounded like the whining of the well-fed.
For a time, she despaired at the thought that she might have to spend her entire life hiding this cynicism while living among others.
Perhaps that was why.
“I understand how you feel. No matter how well they treat you, you can’t help but walk on eggshells.”
No matter how kind they were, they were still outsiders.
Her heart pounded at his words, which showed he understood to his very bones how she felt living under their roof.
‘That’s right. Sunbae-nim was an orphan, just like me.’
She, too, had made the same mistake as others. Dazzled by Kim Do-jin’s glamorous exterior, she had forgotten that he was an orphan, just like her.
Her perception of him shifted slightly.
From someone who would give her wings to change this wretched life…
To perhaps the first person who could truly and completely understand it.
So she asked, as if testing him.
“Please tell me honestly. What did you think when you heard him say that, Sunbae-nim?”
Yoon Si-hoo.
Her childhood friend, who was different from her in every single way.
What had Kim Do-jin thought upon hearing the boy’s daydream?
The answer was fantastic.
“I think I thought something like, He’s still young, so he really doesn’t know how the world works…?”
It was as if he had reached into her heart and pulled out the exact answer she wanted to hear.
“Ah.”
She sighed.
And at the same time, she felt a sense of relief.
‘I wasn’t the strange one.’
She had been anxious, wondering if maybe, just maybe, she was the one who was strange.
Calling his justice-filled actions meddlesome.
Swallowing the irritation that welled up inside her while everyone else praised him.
Was it not because she had long since realized the cold, hard wall of reality, but simply because she herself was twisted?
The anxiety and doubt that had been creeping up on her vanished without a trace.
‘There’s no way Sunbae-nim is a twisted person, right.’
It wasn’t just anyone; it was Kim Do-jin who had agreed with her.
That fact alone was enough.
His single word carried more weight and value than the opinions of a hundred, or even a thousand, nobodies.
Her thirst was quenched, and a refreshing feeling spread through her entire body.
Her facial muscles relaxed.
Instead of the fake smile she always had to carefully maintain, a bright, silly grin appeared on its own.
“Ah… I have some regrets.”
“……?”
“If I’d known we’d get along this well, I would have talked to you more often, Sunbae-nim.”
“…I, I see.”
Watching her laugh, looking as relieved as if a ten-year burden had been lifted, Kim Do-jin thought to himself.
‘This girl is completely twisted.’
* * *
After exchanging a few words, I got it.
She wasn’t just twisted; she was seriously twisted.
I’d believe it if you told me she wasn’t a person but a human-shaped pretzel.
Jin Ha-rin is constantly rationalizing her behavior.
It’s because I’m an orphan.
It’s because I learned the harshness of reality first that I can’t accept Yoon Si-hoo’s actions.
But she’s wrong.
That’s not the reason Jin Ha-rin can’t accept his actions.
She’s just that kind of person.
Her personality is cynical and self-centered, so she just doesn’t mesh with the altruistic Yoon Si-hoo.
So, does that make me the same kind of person as her, since I gave the same answer?
That’s a different matter entirely.
I genuinely understand that ‘harshness of reality’ she speaks of, and I reject it.
Jin Ha-rin, on the other hand, only thinks she understands it, using that as a rationalization for her negativity.
There’s a fundamental difference between us, too. Jin Ha-rin despises Yoon Si-hoo’s altruism. I, however, don’t reject or despise altruism itself.
I just find it regrettable because there’s a high chance it’ll be blocked by the wall of reality.
Still, if that’s what he wants to do… it’s his life. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.
“Sunbae-nim. I’ll be honest with you.”
As her expression softened, her words began to flow more freely.
Toward me, who understood her different inner self, she showed a considerable amount of trust, and even subtly revealed the coldness lurking behind her pretty mask.
“I… I don’t want to lose to Si-hoo.”
A fiery fighting spirit, the complete opposite of her cold interior, blazed in her eyes.
She wants to protect it.
Her twisted core.
Beyond right and wrong, it’s the only thing she, a girl who started with nothing, has left.
In her face, I see a reflection of my past self. The me from back then, who had jack shit, who struggled desperately to protect a sharp-edged pride forged from lingering resentment and spite, covering my whole body in thorns.
“So please, help me.”
Her desperate plea squeezed through the cracks in my resolute heart.
Was it because I felt sorry for her?
No.
I had just realized it belatedly.
Jin Ha-rin and Yoon Si-hoo.
These two were polar opposites.
And because of that, they would provoke each other even more, which in turn would serve as a direct stepping stone for their growth.
Childhood friends, rivals, and pacemakers.
Isn’t that a fascinating relationship?
“Alright, fine.”
“Sunbae-nim…!”
Jin Ha-rin looked so happy she could leap into the air.
But it was too early to celebrate.
I wasn’t finished talking.
“On one condition.”
“A condition…?”
I stated my condition to her as she awkwardly sat back down.
“You will not harbor any complaints or doubts about the training I give you. Well… you can think them, but don’t ever let me find out.”
She fell into thought, her lips pressed tightly together. Her face paled slightly; she must have been recalling the training Yoon Si-hoo was doing.
After a moment, she finished thinking and her gaze cautiously met mine.
“…What if you do find out?”
“Then the training ends, right then and there.”
After a moment of hesitation, she nodded.
“I understand. I’ll do as you say, Sunbae-nim.”
Her answer was just as I’d expected.
In fact, she probably would have accepted even harsher conditions.
Because right now, there was no one who could replace me for her.
This was a kind of restraint, a whip.
Because of this promise, she now had to do whatever I told her to, even if she didn’t want to.
Ah, limited to training, of course.
I’d used the whip, so naturally, it was time for the carrot.
“As you’ve seen, the training will be grueling and difficult. But in return, your skills will improve for sure. And as your skills increase, so will your treatment within the guild.”
Her eyes lit up again as she asked.
“In what way, exactly…?”
Her materialistic nature subtly revealed itself.
Well, I get it.
I jumped into this industry for the money, too.
That’s why I know it well.
The desire she has right now.
And how to stimulate and handle it.
“We don’t need specifics.”
“……?”
“Because if you have the skills to back it up, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
A smile bloomed on her lips.
Of course, that’s only if she can endure all the hellish training.
…I decided to bury that last part deep in my heart.
* * *
She should have thought about it more deeply.
—“You will not harbor any complaints or doubts about the training I give you.”
Why he had stated such a condition.
Of course, she had thought about it. She’d figured she would also have to do very difficult training, just like Yoon Si-hoo.
But she never imagined this.
“Hah, hah…!”
“Ha-rin, isn’t it tough? How about running a little slower?”
She never imagined she’d be running around the training ground just like Yoon Si-hoo.
And for hundreds of laps already.
“I’m fine… ugh, ah.”
He had said it.
Without stamina to back you up, whether it’s a sword or magic, it’s all useless.
He was right.
The process of drawing a magic circle and manifesting it as a spell consumed not only mana but stamina as well.
But still.
‘Even so, is this right?!’
Surely a mage, a ranged dealer, and a swordsman, a melee dealer, shouldn’t be doing the same amount of running every day, right?
But she couldn’t ask.
Whenever she tried to bring it up, he would smile and say, “Are you complaining about the training?”
“N-no…”
The moment she voiced a complaint, it would all be over.
“Huuuk, haah, haaak…!”
Thanks to that, half of her training time was spent running.
On top of that, a portion of the remaining half was spent collapsed on the ground recovering her stamina, leaving her with less than half the time to learn the magic she so desperately wanted.
His teaching was incredible, in many ways.
“No. You’ve gathered too much mana. You can reduce it by about ten percent.”
“L-like this…?”
“You reduced it too much. Raise it a little. More, more, more… that’s it. Remember this exact feeling.”
He pinpointed the amount of mana as if he could see right into another person’s reserves.
“Hmm… that magic circle is a bit inefficient.”
“…But this is a spell directly improved by the Magic Tower.”
“Exactly. See, this part here and this part here are actually unnecessary. Here, look.”
He would arbitrarily add or remove parts of a spell formula that was already considered to be at peak efficiency, noticeably increasing its power.
“Sunbae-nim, just what are you…”
Every time, it felt like her common sense was being shattered.
Magic that she had to memorize and understand until her head hurt when learning on her own or from others…
To Kim Do-jin, such magic seemed to be nothing more than a game or a toy.
“Alright, that’s it for individual training.”
After the number of trainees increased to two, the training sessions always concluded in the same way around midnight.
“To your positions.”
“To my position!”
“To my position.”
The two stood at opposite ends of the spacious training ground.
The method was simple.
Jin Ha-rin would unleash her magic, and Yoon Si-hoo would either block or evade it to close the distance.
If Yoon Si-hoo managed to reach her side, she lost.
Conversely, if she stopped his charge with her magic, she won.
Watching him grip his sword tightly and switch his stance, she gritted her teeth and gathered her mana.
‘I absolutely cannot lose.’
She didn’t want to lose to anyone.
Especially not to Yoon Si-hoo.
“Begin!”
At the signal, Yoon Si-hoo dashed forward.
She took careful aim at him with the spell she had prepared.
「Ice Spike.」
Kwadedeuk!
Clear, transparent spikes erupted from the training ground floor.
As he performed evasive maneuvers to avoid them, the distance between them naturally widened.
This time, she raised a wall.
「Ice Wall.」
Ppadeudeuk!
Ppadeuk!
A pure white, frost-covered wall shot up, blocking his path. It combined with the previously created spikes, exquisitely trapping Yoon Si-hoo’s feet.
But he didn’t give up.
“Haaat!”
He swung his sword in a long, horizontal arc toward the thick wall blocking his way.
Sguk!
The ice wall was sliced clean through where the sword passed, and it crumbled. He spurred himself forward along the path that opened up beyond it.
But she already knew.
She knew that he, with his rapidly improving skills, would cut through her ice wall.
The wall was only ever meant to block his vision.
The real attack was the spell she had prepared in the meantime.
「Ice Cannon!」
Pure, formless chilling energy shot out, drawing a long line between them.
Its speed and wide range were truly reminiscent of a cannon.
Unable to dodge in time, Yoon Si-hoo’s body was pushed back by the direct hit. At the same time, the arm he’d raised to protect his face and chest slowly began to freeze over.
“Okay, that’s enough.”
Kim Do-jin’s voice rang out.
Yoon Si-hoo, not even halfway there and on the verge of freezing solid, and Jin Ha-rin, who hadn’t moved a single step.
The outcome was as clear as day. He declared it.
“Jin-hubae wins again today. You did very well.”
“…Thank you.”
The winner, who didn’t look particularly pleased.
“Si-hoo, you… yeah, you did well too. You made it one step further than yesterday.”
“Hehe, ch-ch-ch, yes.”
The loser, shivering from the cold but smiling happily.
It was just as he’d said.
‘I got one step closer again.’
Yesterday was closer than the day before, and today was closer than yesterday.
The distance between him and her was gradually shrinking.
That single, insignificant step sent a danger signal to her.
Warning her to be careful, that her opponent was getting closer and closer.
Telling her to pull further away.
Watching him laugh with relief despite his crushing defeat, the look in her eyes deepened.