Chapter 14 Golden Sun
Golden Sun
Chapter 15
『8 days remaining... until the Tower appears.』
"Phew."
I finished my workout and looked at myself in the mirror.
The boyish face from three years ago was gone.
Now, I was a transcendentally handsome man—sharp features, hot, sexy, and effortlessly cool.
Without a doubt, I'd surpassed the top rankings in the province and reached the level of the most handsome man in the entire world setting.
Sigh... If only I'd gone to America, I would've conquered Hollywood by now. But of course, Park Ha-rin and Park Se-eun had fiercely opposed the idea.
—There's nothing good about getting famous. Look at me. I have to wear sunglasses in crowded places. It's annoying.
—Personal note: 3 million followers on Stargram. People act like they know me every single day. It's exhausting.
...Then just delete your damn Stargram, you bitch.
Over the past three years, I'd shot up to 185 cm, and thanks to my inhuman training regimen (three major lifts totaling 1100 kg), my muscles had condensed into perfect form.
All thanks to 『Optimal Progression』. My muscular physique had been fully sculpted within just half a year of starting my training.
A body perfectly designed to steal women's souls.
A clear, smooth baritone voice. Ideal body proportions. Rock-solid muscles. And a flawless face to top it all off.
In other words, I was...
'A walking sex machine. A pheromone dispenser.'
Even my sweat smelled good. After workouts, Ha-rin would often cling to me, shamelessly inhaling my scent. Did she really think I didn't notice? Her obsession was starting to show.
Lately, Se-eun had been behaving strangely, too.
I caught her staring at me from across the room.
She looked away at once, cheeks flushing, only to steal another glance when she thought I wasn't watching.
"...What are you doing?"
"W-what? What's your problem now...?"
"Shouldn't you be working out instead of staring at me?"
"...Just thought you looked like a piece of shit, so I figured I'd take a good look. Dear big brother~."
"Ugh, fuck! That's creepy! Stop doing that crap!"
"Hayase told me to call you that."
"...Yeah, right. Bullshit."
She'd grown far more comfortable teasing me over the years. At least that was a good sign.
'If she's this happy, maybe she won't try to murder me after all...?'
Then why did I still feel uneasy?
'Whatever. I've done everything I can.'
How much did a really good stab-proof suit cost, anyway?
* * *
Sometimes I could hardly believe how much I'd managed to accomplish in three years, considering how lazy I'd once been.
I'd studied survival techniques for the coming apocalypse and practiced parkour so I could clear obstacles and move through difficult terrain.
Ha-rin objected at first, but agreed once I promised to wear protective gear. She even joined me for some of the training.
The trouble was that every tutor who came to the mansion seemed to be overflowing with testosterone.
They invariably lost their heads over Ha-rin and Se-eun, behaving like animals.
—Ms. Ha-rin? How about a drink after class?
—Ha-rin-nim. Ah, your hips are so wide, you can't get past here. Need some help?
—Se-eun, dear. Lower your waist a bit more and lift your chest, please.
At times like those, I got to see Ha-rin's face go completely expressionless—more than ever before. Se-eun, too, looked like she wanted to murder them all.
The next day, those men would vanish without a trace. Not that I cared where they went. They probably didn't meet a peaceful end. I could only hope it was quick.
After that, our instructors arrived looking as though the household itself terrified them.
I trained in special-forces techniques, mixed martial arts, and defenses against armed assailants. Whether every instructor possessed legitimate credentials was another matter.
Their advice about guns was refreshingly practical: "If someone's pointing one at you, raise your hands. After that, pray."
Beyond combat, I trained in marksmanship, Archery, Spear Art, swimming, climbing, team sports, ice skating, first aid, chemistry, and mechanical repairs. If a skill might help me survive, I wanted to learn it.
Ha-rin sometimes looked at me suspiciously, but she never hesitated to pay for the lessons. Being rich really was convenient. I'd never have managed this training in my old life.
'At this point, I could survive on a deserted island. Give me the parts, and I could probably build a generator.'
Once the Tower appeared, all I'd need to do was slip away from Ha-rin and...
"...?"
The thought stopped me cold.
'Wait. Do I actually need to run away anymore?'
Even with all my newfound abilities, reaching the Tower's summit was uncertain. But if I had Ha-rin's help—the strongest talent in the world—wouldn't my odds improve?
'She's still unsettling sometimes, but she isn't as dangerous as she used to be...'
Ever since I had struck her, Ha-rin had acted almost like an angel.
For instance—
─Big sis, water.
─Here.
─Big sis, knee.
─Here.
She granted every request with a smile. In many ways, she'd become the older sister I'd always wished for.
'Ha-rin isn't the same person she was in the game. And neither am I.'
My memories had gradually mingled with the original protagonist's, and treating Ha-rin like family no longer required an effort.
Three years under the same roof had lowered my guard. I hated admitting it, but it was true.
"...Damn it."
To be fair, she seemed to recognize how unstable her emotions could become and was trying to keep them under control.
─Big sis is fine. All she has to do is take her medicine, and she'll get better.
Whenever she sat pale and exhausted on the sofa, I couldn't help worrying about her.
"......."
Fine. I'd admit it.
After three years together, my fear and revulsion had faded somewhere along the way.
"No. Fuck."
No matter what, Park Ha-rin is still not like that. That girl is obsessed with incest.
I wanted to believe the last three years meant she'd never cross that line. But the Ha-rin I remembered from the game could become dangerous without warning. I couldn't assume the threat had disappeared.
Which meant there was only one sensible answer.
"I'm escaping."
Ha-rin was dangerous. If she could manage on her own now, I had no reason to stay close enough to risk stirring her obsession again.
Besides, I didn't have to clear the Tower alone. People could work together. I deserved a life where I wasn't constantly looking over my shoulder.
I celebrated that rosy vision of my future with a long drink of soda.
'No one can stop me.'
#
After showering, I headed for the dining room.
Ha-rin stood in the mansion's enormous kitchen, an extravagance I still hadn't grown used to.
She'd braided up her silver hair so it wouldn't fall into the food.
Her pale hands moved without haste, every step perfectly timed. She seemed to have planned the entire meal in advance.
I caught myself watching her profile.
'She really is ridiculously beautiful.'
Whatever else I thought about Ha-rin, her appearance was extraordinary. There was an almost untouchable elegance about her.
It was the kind of beauty that inspired awe before anything else. Even compared with the other heroines, she stood apart.
Then she glanced at me.
A chill ran down my spine. For an instant she looked at me like a predator. Then the expression vanished.
"Want to sit and wait for a bit?"
The warmth returned to her smile immediately. Perhaps I'd imagined that look. After three years, surely I had no reason to be afraid anymore.
"No. I'll help."
"You don't have to...?"
My offer seemed to take her by surprise—and to please her.
Just then, something whispered at the edge of my awareness.
-...Love you.
"Hm?"
I turned toward Ha-rin. She looked back at me.
"Why?"
"Oh, n-nothing."
'What was that?'
I frowned, trying to grasp the strange sensation, but it slipped away before I could make sense of it.
A few moments later,
'It must have been my imagination.'
I stopped thinking about it.
『Ability 「.........」 Blossoming』
『Ability 「.........」 Blossoming』
#
I sped down the road in the limited-edition X-Gati La X-Atur Noir, the hypercar Ha-rin had given me when I came of age.
I'd believed there was only one in existence. Even pictures of its sleek exterior had made my heart race. Then Ha-rin had asked an absurd question.
─Want to ride it?
She'd gone overseas and come back with the car—somehow fitted with rear seats.
I still didn't know how she'd done it. When I asked, she gave one of her cryptic replies.
─There are lots of ways for a person to become mysterious, you know.
Park Ha-rin only whispered with a sexy expression.
Whatever the circumstances, I was now driving an extraordinary black hypercar. It might make me a kidnapping target, but...
'Yeah. I've got skills.'
I was confident I could handle an ordinary robber.
So I enjoyed my drive.
"Yo!"
By the roadside stood Kang Yu-seong—that bastard I'd nicknamed Golden Sun. A girl with a gyaru-inspired look clung to his arm.
'Again? He's brought her along again?'
I'd kept a close eye on Yu-seong, and we'd ended up in the same first-semester classes. Carpooling was convenient; dealing with him was less so.
"This car looks awesome no matter when I see it. Hey. Did you eat lunch yet, siscon?"
"Yeah, with my sister."
"Figures, siscon. How are you supposed to live without your sister?"
"I'll manage."
Yu-seong pulled his girlfriend of two months into the conversation.
"Hi! Si-hyun."
Her name was Yu Hye-na. She had a bright, lively face. When we'd met a month earlier she'd been fair-skinned, but she'd since developed a tan, perhaps from spending time outdoors with Yu-seong.
Her dark-blond hair and cheerful, bold makeup suited her animated expression.
'This bastard Kang Yu-seong... Now he's openly riding the Golden Sun tree.'
When she had first started dating Kang Yu-seong, she had been a bright, friendly girl. But now she wore low-cut tops and short skirts and oozed sex appeal.
"Hey, hey. Big bro always says it, right? Don't go flaunting that you're rich for no reason. Girls hate that. The only ones who get hooked on a car like this are pure airheads, man."
Kang Yu-seong, who had climbed into the back seat with Yu Hye-na, put on airs.
"Huh?? You started dating me when you were driving this car too, right? Does that make me an airhead too?"
When Yu Hye-na's eyes welled up as if she'd been hurt, Kang Yu-seong snickered.
"Did you start dating me for my money? I don't think so. Probably for some other reason?"
Kang Yu-seong, groping Yu Hye-na's bare legs, laughed vilely. Then he patted his crotch as if to show it off. Yu Hye-na's face flushed red.
"...."
'Goddamn these two sons of bitches. What a bumper harvest of lunacy.'
"Last night was super hot, wasn't it♡"
"You sounded like you were really feeling it, though."
"That's because you're so good at it♡"
"...."
In no time, Kang Yu-seong and Yu Hye-na were already sharing a sticky kiss.
'Haa, fucking bastards. I just wanted to wreck it with a ninety-degree drift, slam sideways into a telephone pole, and send both of those sons of bitches, who weren't even buckled in, straight to the grave.'
But with the Tower's summoning only a short while away, I couldn't have Kang Yu-seong safely hospitalized.
'Fuck you, I'm definitely going to wreck you.'
Annoyed, I turned up the music. But the two of them only kept sucking on each other, groping, and making an even bigger scene.
Just then, Kang Yu-seong, who was openly groping Yu Hye-na's breasts, thrust his head forward.
"Hey. How are things with Kang So-eun lately? Did you knock her flat and finally lose your virginity?"
"What virginity? I told you, I believe in premarital chastity."
"Cut the crap, man."
Yu-seong had a delinquent's gaze, the sort that made me worry he'd set his sights on the heroines. One of them was Kang So-eun, a heroine in Journey of the Eastern Tower whom I'd met at university.
Kang So-eun had the stern, disciplined air of a manga student-council president. She was our class representative at university, while I served as her deputy.
She demanded as much of herself as of everyone else. Behind the cool, stubborn exterior, though, she was surprisingly sensitive.
She'd worked as a child actress and model before growing tired of show business. After concentrating on her studies in high school, she'd entered Korea University's business administration program at the top of her class.
Given how famous So-eun already was for her looks, Yu-seong's interest wasn't surprising.
But the bastard needed to know his limits.
I was about to tell him so when—
"What?! Si-hyun, you're still a virgin?!"
Hye-na cut in before I could answer. Yu-seong grinned and repeatedly slapped my shoulder.
"Right. He's surprisingly shy, so he's still a virgin."
"...."
I saw no reason to respond. Yes, despite my face and physique, I was still a virgin. There was a very good reason for that.
『Quest』
「Maintain your chastity for the next six months!」
「Reward - Sub-class (Sage)」
Because an insanely awesome reward was at stake.
Rumor had it that the Sage class could be obtained only by remaining a virgin until fifty—or through reaching the very pinnacle of magical mastery.
Thanks to a protagonist-only advantage, I could apparently unlock it by remaining chaste for six months after coming of age. Less than a month remained.
'And it's a subclass, too.'
Normally, subclasses were reserved for occupations like blacksmithing and equipment repair. In my case, however...
'I can equip a combat class in my subclass slot.'
According to the quest, it would be 「Sage - Power 40%」. Even at reduced strength, the class would be incredibly useful.
'So that means I have no choice but to keep my virginity. And if Park Ha-rin found out I'd lost mine, her mental illness could become serious, too.'
Still, something bothered me.
Hye-na was looking at me differently now.
"Hmm, I see. So Si-hyun was a virgin."