Chapter 107
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: You've Got Guts
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Rustle, rustle-
Small leaves rustled.
No, they weren't just rustling—the entire stem was shaking.
Crunch-
The leaves and stems were torn apart to the left and right.
"Oh, there's one here too."
A face far larger than the leaves appeared in the sky.
Sky reached a hand through the split leaves and inserted a tiny pin into the small device hidden in the flowerpot.
Now, this surveillance camera would become a fool endlessly broadcasting the same footage.
"Whew, just as Master said, these old fogeys are filthy and shady. Spy cams in this day and age."
Sky muttered to herself.
Gone was the bubbly tone she used with Su-hyeon; now she spoke like some outdated soldier.
"Still, if all the cameras vanished, they'd get suspicious, so we have no choice but to use this hassle… da!"
Sky hopped lightly, and all the cameras hidden in the ceiling corners became useless.
It was a movement clearly beyond C-rank physical prowess. Even Ga-eun, the highest-ranked participant with body enhancement abilities, couldn't match it.
Her teammates would have been shocked if they'd seen this.
After all, she'd introduced herself as a C-rank sprinter.
"So, Agent Sis over there, could you stop smashing the cameras and come over? Oh, and I've already taken care of this side."
Sky nodded toward the opposite hallway, and someone emerged silently.
"Is that you? The hunter sent by Camellia Guild?"
It was Brüel.
This was the "business" she'd mentioned to Ga-eun.
Dealing with the surveillance cameras hidden throughout the camp.
And confirming participants hiding their true ranks.
"Yessum. You already heard, right?"
Brüel seemed to already know of Sky's existence, judging by her attitude. Sky acted the same way.
"That's why you separated Ga-eun and Su-hyeon, huh."
"Ahh, Master's just super cautious like that. Ga-eun's amazing and all, but isn't it better to have a pro around?"
Sky proudly thumped her chest.
It suited her middle-schooler-like appearance perfectly when she bragged.
"…A pro, you say."
"…!"
Shhk!-
Brüel suddenly swung her arm, and startled Sky retreated a beat too late.
If Brüel had been aiming to take her down, Sky would've been done for without knowing what hit her.
"Still too green to call yourself a pro."
Tiny devices were wedged between the fingers of Brüel's swung hand.
They were the same type as the surveillance cameras Sky had been disabling moments ago.
"…"
Sky shut her mouth at the sight.
…She hadn't seen the movement at all.
'They said even an A-rank wouldn't be able to resist her takedown… for real?'
Sky swallowed hard, and Brüel spoke as if her interest had waned.
"Four. The ones you missed. Sloppy."
Unlike Sky, who wanted to blind the council's eyes, Brüel had no such intention.
Crackle-
Brüel squeezed her fingers, and the tiny devices shattered and fell.
"…Haven't found the rest yet. And I said don't break them."
Sky grumbled petulantly, and Brüel scoffed.
"This is our way. We warn them first. If they still come at us, we eliminate them."
Sky scratched her head at the brutal talk.
"Uh… interrogating folks is illegal in Korea anyway… And beating up old people feels kinda wrong emotionally. Plus, we're in their debt here."
"That has nothing to do with us."
They weren't bound by laws anyway, and she was older than them to boot.
Though being called an old lady irked her.
"Sigh, still, going this far… Nah, it's got nothing to do with me then. Busty Sis, you heard we gotta wait till the last day, ri… Huh…?"
Mid-mutter, Sky made a weird noise.
Because Brüel was staring intently out the window.
"Whassup?"
Brüel's head was turned nearly ninety degrees, standing stock-still.
Sky peered out the window too, but saw only dense forest.
"…Nothing. I'll head out first then."
"Yessum, yessum."
"…By the way, you missed one even on the path you already passed."
"…Huh?"
"A camera."
Sky followed Brüel's pointing hand and looked back.
It was a spot she'd already checked on her way back.
She looked forward again, but Brüel was already gone.
"Hey, at least tell me before you…!"
In the end, Sky combed through the path again meticulously and found the missed surveillance camera.
Its position made sense why she'd overlooked it.
A bench and vending machine already blocked the front, for whatever reason.
Even if she'd tampered with it, only the back of the vending machine would've been visible anyway.
Leaving it untouched wouldn't have caused issues.
"…Argh!"
Sky stomped her feet in frustration over the wasted effort.
The disheveled Su-hyeon and Ga-eun emerged from the bushes to find a steep slope.
"Thought we'd gone super far, but it was right here."
Ga-eun spoke as if she'd dreamed the whole thing.
Had they really just gone in circles?
"Let's go up that way."
"Okay."
Instead of climbing the slope directly, they skirted around the side, revealing an uphill path to the parking lot.
It was still elevated, but not impossible to climb.
Ga-eun hoisted Su-hyeon up first, then followed herself.
She brushed the asphalt dust from her hands after pulling herself up.
"Let's just grab our clothes and shower right away."
The two headed straight for the showers.
The forest had long since regained its lush greenery.
Ugh…….
Naked Su-hyeon thrust out her butt and grunted, pushing against the glass door.
"Hold on a sec."
Ga-eun approached, pushed the handle, and it swung open.
Tap, tap, tap.
The rough texture of the shower room floor met their feet.
"Feels like we rented the whole place out."
Su-hyeon's voice echoed.
"Yeah, it's huge."
As Ga-eun said upon entering behind her, the shower room was surprisingly spacious.
Big enough for all the female participants to wash up together.
"Apparently, this is where Camellia hosts newbie training or visiting foreign guilds."
Su-hyeon chattered knowingly, reciting info she'd gotten from Jun-hyeok.
"Oh yeah? How'd you know that?"
"Hee."
Su-hyeon grinned happily as Ga-eun ruffled her hair.
The two grabbed the provided toiletries and took positions in front of a showerhead.
Whoooosh—-
Ga-eun touched the switch, and water poured from above.
She flicked the stream with her hand to check the temperature.
"Good thing we came before the crowd."
"Yeah. Hmm…."
Su-hyeon tried mimicking Ga-eun by hanging the cleanser pouch on the faucet but gave up and set it on the floor.
Even if Ga-eun helped hang it, it'd be a pain to take down later anyway.
But the troubles didn't end there.
"…Huh?"
"…Yeah? Pfft."
Su-hyeon, reaching for the switch like Ga-eun, let out a dumb noise.
The showers were unisex. And Awakeners tended to be tall as baseline.
Fine for them—the switch was chest-to-shoulder height—but pint-sized Su-hyeon couldn't reach it no matter how she stretched.
"Urgh, wanna shower together?"
"…."
Ga-eun sidestepped, but pride-wounded Su-hyeon silently scanned for a regular faucet instead.
Ga-eun caught sight of her slightly pouted lower lip.
Then.
Gulp-
The sealed space's air shifted abruptly as the door flew open.
"!"
"!?"
"Shower time's after dinner, isn't it?"
It was Carmen, the orientation leader.
A hiccup burst from Su-hyeon's throat too.
"Hic-."
Swoooosh— Clunk.
Even the showerhead seemed crushed by the tension and stopped spitting water.
Quick on the uptake, that showerhead.
"Not content with skipping class and sneaking out? Trainee Kim Su-hyeon, Trainee Lee Ga-eun."
Carmen's eyes roved over their naked forms.
"Eep."
Su-hyeon clapped her tiny hands over her mouth, but her startled diaphragm wouldn't cooperate.
"And you, Trainee Lee Ga-eun. Thought you were the diligent type, but you've got some real guts. Might be worth grooming after all."
"Uh, um… that is…."
Unlike her bold earlier talk of ditching class no biggie, now with Carmen right there, Ga-eun was speechless.
Same height, but three times the bulk.
Ga-eun had a solid build herself, but next to Carmen, she was a fledgling.
"Pushing back the schedule didn't mean free rein to do whatever."
"Huh, it got pushed back? …Oops."
Su-hyeon blurted a question before clapping her hand over her mouth.
Carmen, unfazed with hands on hips, answered.
"You didn't know? Makes sense—you weren't in the auditorium. Participants are reporting odd symptoms, so everything's on hold while we investigate."
"Ah, haha… eep!"
"Odd symptoms…?"
Ga-eun recalled So-yeon's complaints of fatigue and gloom.
"Not just participants—even staff with mana resistance below C-rank, meaning low internal mana reserves, are showing similar signs. The instructors halted to find the cause."
"…."
"Unexpected that a B-rank like Trainee Lee Ga-eun is fine, but even E-rank you pulling through? Trainee Kim Su-hyeon."
Carmen's bulging eyes fixed on Su-hyeon.
"How are you unscathed?"
"Th-that's… hic."
Was it the hiccups, or something else…?
Su-hyeon couldn't answer easily.
Ga-eun jumped to her defense.
"Isn't it her constitution? Or maybe low reserves but small size helps."
Carmen's gaze clashed with Ga-eun's.
Ga-eun was instantly overwhelmed by those tigerish eyes.
Gulp-
'What kind of glare is that….'
"…."
Sweat or water trailed down her back—who could tell.
But Ga-eun held her gaze to the end.
The staring contest ended seconds later as Carmen nodded.
"…Talking unit mana and density, huh. Could be. Gates prove it—smaller MU often means higher risk."
Carmen backed off surprisingly easily.
"Anyway, warning this time. And stick with groups as much as possible—don't leave camp. Safety agents and instructors might miss anomalies."
"Thank you."
"Hic, thanks ma'am."
Clatter.
Step. Step. Step
The glass door rattled shut, heavy footsteps fading.
Her utter lack of stealth screamed confidence.
…We live?
The two, frozen, rolled their eyes to meet gazes.
"…Lighter scolding than expected?"
"…Maybe 'cause we joined voluntarily? Not a boot camp or anything."
"Could be."
With Carmen gone, they took turns at one spot.
Precisely, Ga-eun washed first, then brushed teeth while hitting the switch intermittently for Su-hyeon.
Considering drying area too, most efficient.
Whoooosh— Clunk.
"Those symptoms, though—probably my fault."
Water cut off after ages; Su-hyeon muttered gloomily.
Mana-gathering pull.
And emotional syncing.
Apparently bidirectional, not just one way.
"Why's it your fault? If anything, even if you have that power, I'm the one who made you feel that way. So no self-blame."
Ga-eun plopped pre-made shampoo foam atop Su-hyeon's head.
With a bubble the size of her own head, Su-hyeon gloomily repeated.
"No, it's me with all the negative thoughts, and my power's still weak."
"Tut, hey, no it's not?"
"…But."
"Stop that. Chin up, foam's dripping."
Ga-eun cupped Su-hyeon's cheek, lifting her drooping head.
And as always, stroked it tenderly with her long thumb.
"Yeah… huh?"
But Ga-eun forgot one thing for a split second.
Shampoo foam still on her hands.
"NyaAaAaAh!!! My, my eyeeeS!!"
Su-hyeon's back arched like a bow.
"Ahh! Sorry, sorry! Water! I'll turn it on—just close your eyes!"
Whoooosh—-
They nearly triggered a second Cold War.