Chapter 96: Experience (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96: Experience (2)
Swoooosh—!
A volley of arrows was fired in rapid succession.
Thwack, thwack, thunk!
With a sound that tore through the air, arrows flew in from all directions.
They sliced through the empty space and plunged downward.
In an instant, the target looked like a porcupine.
In the center of a vast, open, and quiet field, two people stood.
Ha Sion.
And her grandfather, Ha Tae-sung.
“Not bad.”
The old man nodded, satisfied.
It was rare for a compliment to come directly from his lips.
But even hearing those words, Sion showed little reaction.
Instead, she puffed out her cheeks slightly.
“...Why didn't you open it?”
“Hm?”
“The trial. For Vanquisher. You didn’t post a notice at Gaon.”
Her voice was calm, but a subtle pout laced her words.
Because of that, I lost Hae-in completely.
She had thought she would at least have the chance to choose.
Contrary to Sion’s hopes, her grandfather had not posted a recruitment notice.
In the end, her hopes for a trial date were dashed.
Of course, she was overjoyed just to have another day to shoot arrows with her beloved grandfather.
She was always, simply, grateful… but this was a cute, selfish wish of hers.
The old man stared silently at the target before turning his head.
He held out a hand to Sion without a word.
A gesture asking for the bow.
Sion obediently handed it over.
“It’s been a while since I’ve held a bow.”
The old man drew the bowstring.
“Has it been since I taught you… that I last did this?”
With a quiet murmur to himself, Ha Tae-sung drew the bow.
The movement was a perfect, seamless flow without a hint of hesitation.
It was continuous, elegant, and precise.
Sion knew.
These were the movements she had pursued from her past life until now, yet she still couldn't perfectly replicate them.
Thwip!
The loosed arrow flew straight, splitting the arrow Sion had shot earlier, and struck the exact center.
X-10.
“Guess this old back is still good for something,” Ha Tae-sung said nonchalantly, patting his lower back.
He glanced at the target once more, then slowly turned his head.
His gaze fell upon Sion.
“This old man is afraid.”
It was an unexpected thing to say.
Sion blinked.
“The Apostles.”
He said quietly.
“They were beings of a strength that defies comprehension.”
He slowly continued.
“Facing them, I felt it to my very bones. Though we never claimed the title ourselves, the group called humanity’s strongest is still… a long way off.”
His voice was calm, but the weight it carried was anything but light.
“In a situation like this, if we were to accept young and promising children… yes. I would be happy… but I realized it could be too dangerous for them. Vanquisher must always stand on the front lines. That’s why, Sion, you too…”
“No.”
Sion’s answer was firm.
Without a shred of hesitation.
Just like that, she snatched the bow from the old man’s hand.
A bow held tightly in her two hands.
Quietly, but enunciating every word, she spoke.
“Who asked you to protect them, Grandfather?”
As she spoke, she slowly drew the bowstring.
The string pulled taut with a creak.
A heavy weight transferred to her fingertips. It was heavier, stronger, than the bow she usually used.
Thwip!
An arrow tore through the air.
It flew precisely toward the heart of the target.
CRASH!
A heavy impact echoed.
The arrow pierced through the alloy target board and embedded itself in whatever lay beyond.
“Hoo…”
A glint appeared in Ha Tae-sung’s eyes.
The corners of his mouth rose very slowly.
“……”
Sion silently registered his expression.
Then she spoke.
“We can do it, too. So, please, believe in us.”
The old man closed his eyes.
Just then.
Hoo.
A white eagle-owl flew in from the distance.
“Philip?”
The owl held a letter in its beak.
Hoo-hoo.
Philip.
The Mythical Beast that served as Vanquisher’s messenger.
The old man took the letter from the owl’s beak.
A name was written on the envelope in neat handwriting.
[Yoon Chae-ha]
A familiar name.
The female student who had been hanging around with Hae-in lately.
He knew her specialty was magic.
Ha Tae-sung unfolded the paper and began to read quietly.
---
To: Vanquisher
Hello. This is Yoon Chae-ha.
I’m a close friend of Hae-in’s, his mentor-mentee partner, and also just super close with him.
The reason I’m writing is, I was a little curious why you didn’t post a notice for the trial this time.
Honestly, I’m really disappointed.
Because… I wanted to apply.
I really want to join Vanquisher.
It’s a bit weird to say this, but for what it’s worth, I’m…
No, I won’t say it.
Anyway, please make sure you open applications next time.
I’ll be ready.
And this is just a small wish of mine.
Jung Hae-in. You need to hold on to this kid.
It seems like all sorts of people are trying to snatch him up lately—
From what I’ve seen, there’s no other student like him.
I sincerely hope you don’t lose him and regret it later.
Anyway, thank you for reading my long letter.
FROM: Yoon Chae-ha
P.S. I’m serious. About joining, and, well… about Hae-in.
---
“Heh heh.”
Having finished the letter, Ha Tae-sung couldn’t hold back a dry chuckle.
He lowered the paper from his chin and shook his head.
Even in a letter of barely ten lines, he could feel it.
How audacious and full of confidence this child was.
He carefully placed the paper back in the envelope.
A smile bloomed on his face, as if he’d thought of something amusing.
“How interesting.”
The corners of his lips curled up slowly.
The thought that his granddaughter might be right crossed his mind.
There were successors this bold, this confident.
He tilted his head back slightly and looked at the shattered archery range.
Maybe… I don’t need to worry so much.
There were, indeed, children to whom he could entrust the future.
“…Who is it from?”
Sion, who had sensed something was up, asked cautiously from the side.
Ha Tae-sung turned his head slightly and smiled slowly.
“Sion.”
“Yes?”
“Jung Hae-in… is it going well with that boy?”
“W-What?!”
Sion’s face instantly flushed red.
Flustered, she couldn’t even meet his eyes as she covered her cheeks.
Judging by her reaction…
Ha Tae-sung could tell.
His granddaughter had, since long ago and even now, clearly had feelings for him.
Which meant the problem was Jung Hae-in.
Ha Tae-sung shook his head slightly.
Lately, he’d been getting questions about Jung Hae-in from all over.
Yu Mujin of the Yu Family.
And even Kang Yun-hyeok of the Glory Group’s Kang family.
Looks like she’ll have to work hard.
It seemed there were more girls after Jung Hae-in than he had thought.
*
A lecture hall, in the middle of class.
“Therefore, in deploying a Barrier, environmental factors are certainly an important…”
The professor’s passionate lecture continued.
However, it was a safe bet that the students weren’t focusing on the class.
In five minutes.
The trial rosters for each organization would be announced.
The class was scheduled to end in exactly five minutes as well.
The timing was perfect.
“…Then, we will conclude today’s class here.”
With those words, the professor left the lecture hall.
But no one moved.
They all just remained in their seats.
“I’m as nervous now as I was when I first got into Gaon.”
“Deep breaths, deep breaths.”
Only quiet breathing and a tense silence filled the room.
Yoon Chae-ha and Cheon Yeo-wool, sitting next to me, were calm.
Neither of them had applied.
Cheon Yeo-wool had to go to The Cult on weekends anyway, and Yoon Chae-ha had no intention of going anywhere but Vanquisher.
It would have been ridiculous for either of them to apply for the trials.
Yu Hana, on the other hand, had said she applied to the Cheongpung Sect.
She’d mentioned it casually this morning during our run, drenched in sweat.
As for Sion… well, she’s probably doing just fine on her own.
“About a minute left, I guess,” I muttered.
“I hope you don’t get in,” Yoon Chae-ha retorted, her head down on her desk.
I thought she was sprawled out sleeping, but she was awake enough to talk back.
Then, a moment later.
“…I’m kidding. Go and do well.”
She added, as if she suddenly felt a little bad.
“What’s with you?”
“…What.”
“You’re kinda cute.”
Her behavior was somehow endearing.
Was this her character all along?
“………Whatever.”
Yoon Chae-ha shifted and buried her head in her arms.
“Anyway, Maengju won’t pick first-years, right? They’ve only ever picked second and third-years.”
“Right, it’s tradition…”
“Figured as much, so I applied to everything but Maengju.”
He had a point.
The Maengju rarely ever chose first-years.
The reason was that they were ‘unproven rookies.’
They seemed to believe you had to be at least a second-year before they could tell who was truly promising.
Besides, whether they were second or third-years, if Maengju called, they had no choice but to come.
Still, my case was a little different.
I had a feeling they might pick me… but I was also a little nervous.
The students’ chatter was reaching its peak.
And at that moment.
Ding.
[Gaon Trial Activity Rosters by Organization Released.]
My Watch chimed.
“It’s uuuuup!”
“Whoa, you scared me.”
A few students shouted.
I checked my smartwatch as well.
[Maengju]
I immediately checked Maengju’s roster.
[4th Year]
Empty.
As expected.
[3rd Year]
[Yoon Du-jun] Ranking 6
[Jang Hyunsu] Ranking 11
…
[2nd Year]
A long list of names.
Most of them were high-ranking students.
And finally, the first-years.
[1st Year]
[Kang A-rin] Ranking 1
[Jung Hae-in] Unranked
“Well, damn.”
There were only two first-years.
Just two.
Me and Kang A-rin.
It looked like I’d be doing the trial with the upperclassmen.
A short description was attached below my name.
[Jung Hae-in]: Demonstrated combat prowess, situational judgment, and qualifications of a team leader in the previous battle with Medusa. Though unranked, he is judged to be at the highest level.
I lifted my head slightly.
Only then did I realize.
Every single student was staring at me.
It was an unprecedented event, and besides, Kang A-rin and I were the only first-years on the list.
And among them, Kang A-rin was…
with the corners of her lips slightly raised.
Smiling, she gave a gentle little wave.