Chapter 237: Openness (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237: Openness (3)
Last night was a blur.
I’d received an award, and there was a celebratory dinner, so I’d had too much to drink.
Thankfully, I managed to get back safely without going for a second round.
I didn’t head straight for the penthouse, though.
I stayed for a bit at the lodging Kang A-rin often used.
It was the closest place to the Maengju building.
“Hoo…”
There was a reason I’d stayed at a place near the guild.
As soon as I woke up early this morning, I headed for the guild building.
My destination: the training room.
I wanted to properly measure my physical specs and condition.
After the incident, my treatment was complete, and though I hadn't realized it, I’d had a two-week break.
Even so, I needed to check for myself whether my body was truly okay.
I moved quietly, aiming for a time in the morning when no one would be around.
The training rooms at the Maengju building and Gaon were similar in structure.
In the center was a massive hall with sparring areas and equipment for everyone to use. Encircling this hall was a ring of doors leading to private training rooms.
If you enjoyed a public audience or wanted to spar, you used the central hall. If you wanted to focus on your own routine or keep your records private, you went inside one of the rooms.
It was the kind of state-of-the-art infrastructure you’d expect from the number-one guild.
And I, too, preferred the latter.
It didn’t used to matter, but these days, far too many people knew who I was.
Beep.
I pushed the door to the training room open.
As expected, it was empty.
It wasn’t easy to show up at Maengju’s main building at six on a weekend morning just to work out.
I got it.
In that case, there was no need to use a private room.
I started warming up right there in the main hall.
Then I stopped in front of a glass-domed exercise machine, large enough for about three people.
I took off the hoodie I was wearing.
My bare torso was reflected in the glass.
The abdomen that had been pierced by Alexei’s crescent moon blade was smoothly healed.
Not a single scar remained.
I immediately opened the dome’s door and stepped inside.
[Welcome! Hero Jung Hae-in!]
[Welcome to the Gravity Training Room!]
[Your previous best record was 18x gravity….]
An AI guided me with a chipper voice.
18x. I remember almost getting flattened like a pancake back then.
Today was just for rehab, a light warm-up.
I entered ‘10’ and walked toward the center of the dome.
It was then.
Fzzt….
[Hae-in, you’re here?]
“?”
I turned my head to check the control panel again.
Kang A-rin’s face was displayed on the screen.
[Oh… you made it to 18x.]
[Then let’s try 20x!]
Kang A-rin, in what I assumed was a recording, smiled and held up two fingers.
“Why you—!”
Vwooom.
The machine began to react before I could even protest.
A spear flew at me from the other side.
Thwack!
I snatched the spear out of the air.
“Sheesh.”
Guess I’m stuck with some hard training I never asked for.
Crrreak….
When I took a step, the floor, made of a special, shock-absorbent sponge material, began to compress under my weight.
It was only natural, since I effectively weighed 1.5 tons.
On top of that, an immense pressure bore down on my back.
I savored the pressure, gritting my teeth and smiling.
I swung the spear through the empty air.
KABOOM!
An explosive sound erupted.
*
[Good work. Come to my room, wash up, and get some sleep~]
The gravity vanished along with Kang A-rin’s strange message.
The training was over.
“Ah, I’m dead.”
Leaning against the handle, I barely managed to open the door and step out.
And then I collapsed.
Kang A-rin, you’re in for it.
I felt like I’d shrunk by two centimeters.
I might have to get a massage from Yeo-wool to stretch myself back out.
“My whole body is aching…”
I was groaning on the floor when it happened.
Pshhhh….
One of the private training room doors opened.
The current time was 7 a.m. I had arrived at 6 a.m.
That meant someone had been here before me.
What a diligent hero.
I turned over, trying to hide my face as much as possible.
I was panting on the floor.
I must have looked a mess…
I hoped they would just pretend not to see me and walk past.
It was then.
“Hae-in?”
A calm, female voice called my name.
Ah.
Who was that?
Giving up, I moved my arm and turned my head slightly.
“Huh?”
“It’s been a while, Hae-in.”
Standing there, looking down at me, was a woman tucking her sweat-dampened, short black hair behind her ear.
She was dressed in a tight, black training outfit that clung to her form.
It was Yu Serin.
She was…
I thought she was in Busan.
She had a mission, yes, but I’d also heard Kang A-rin had given her some time off to rest…
Did she come up for the weekend?
“It has been a while.”
Soothing my aching muscles, I managed to push myself into a sitting position.
It was an unexpected meeting, but I couldn’t deny I was happy to see her.
“It has.”
Yu Serin smiled and, without any hesitation, plopped down on the cold floor right next to me.
“Uh, I probably smell like sweat right now.”
I gave a wry smile and, out of courtesy, tried to shift away to give her some space.
“I probably smell worse.”
Yu Serin paid it no mind, instead smiling and scooting even closer to me.
The heat radiating from her body mingled with mine.
It was a sign of a fierce workout.
I felt a slight sense of kinship.
For a moment, only the sound of our breathing filled the air.
“…I saw you. On TV.”
Yu Serin was the first to speak, her gaze fixed on the empty space in front of us.
“How embarrassing.”
“You were amazing.”
I turned my head to look at Yu Serin.
She was looking at me.
“You’re too kind.”
“I mean it.”
Yu Serin shook her head and hugged her knees.
“While I was holed up in my room, resting… you were out there, accomplishing something again.”
I could see her fists tightening.
“……I realized something.”
While she had been standing still, licking her wounds… I had been relentlessly moving forward.
It seemed to have become a catalyst for her.
It certainly wasn't despair.
The eyes meeting mine were shimmering with fervor.
“Hae-in.”
Yu Serin placed her damp hand over the back of mine.
“I also…”
She hesitated for a moment.
Then, she slowly opened her mouth.
“I want to… do it with you.”
“The path you’re walking… I want to walk it with you.”
I listened to her words in silence.
I simply gazed at the fire burning in her eyes.
“Would you… allow me?”
Yu Serin asked me, her expression pleading.
‘I want to walk the same path as you.’
This, surprisingly, was not a matter I could choose or force.
There was one thing I needed to address.
Let’s think about it.
What does a hero truly gain from defeating an Apostle?
A vast fortune? Soaring fame? A fancy medal or some other glamorous reward?
Then let’s take it a step further. What if a hero miraculously won a direct battle against the Evil God?
If they eradicated the Demonic Force blanketing the world, what would their true reward be?
In truth…
To put it coldly…
There’s nothing.
Just one thing: ‘I saved humanity.’
That’s it.
But the risks one must bear in exchange are horrific.
They’ll most likely die… or have to live with scars that will never heal.
In other words, for the top-tier heroes who have already reached the pinnacle, there’s no need to do something so insane. Simply living their own comfortable lives is more than enough.
Evil is far away.
A sweet reality is right before their eyes.
The world’s number-one guild, Maengju.
Its members are humanity’s finest, but they are also the ones who have the most right and ability to enjoy that comfort.
What if I declared war on the Evil God right now and tried to recruit people?
They’d call me crazy.
The only ones who would readily agree would be Team 1, or maybe Team 0.
That’s how it is.
There is a vast distance between the path that top-tier heroes pursue and the one I intend to walk.
Even if I were to instill my ideals in them, even if I were to simply help them.
It would mean nothing if they themselves didn’t resolve to face the Evil God.
Which meant…
What Yu Serin was saying to me now, with those pleading eyes…
‘Would you allow me?’
Her words were based on a completely flawed premise.
She wasn’t the one asking me for a favor.
I was the one who should be asking her.
I was the one who should be begging…
‘Please, risk your precious life and fight with me for the sake of humanity.’
That’s what I should have been pleading.
I squeezed the hand she had placed on mine.
Because I was so happy.
“!”
Because I was so happy to hear her say that.
I met Yu Serin’s gaze and let the corners of my mouth lift into a smile.
“Serin.”
“……Yes?”
“From now on.”
At my sudden words, Yu Serin tilted her head slightly, as if she didn’t understand.
Her sweat-dampened bob cut swayed.
I tightened my grip on her hand, pulling her slightly toward me.
“I’ll be counting on you.”
“Ah……”
Yu Serin’s lips parted in a daze.
“Likewise…”
Yu Serin squeezed my hand back with equal force.
“I’m counting on you.”
We sat there on the training room floor.
Gripping each other’s hands tightly.
Feeling the beat of our hearts through our palms.