Chapter 85
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Visit
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Eventually, that day was spent entirely immersed in terrarium preservation work, and I didn't even notice time flying by.
When I snapped out of it, the day was already over.
My plan...
"Tch."
It was way too optimistic after all.
As if it'd be that easy, right?
Even if I figured it out, there were still huge problems.
Why had she ended up looking like this? How was the identity issue handled? Why had she suddenly gone into hiding? I had zero explanations ready for any of it.
"Still hung up on that?"
The transparent barrier separating the bench from the interior vanished, and Ga-eun approached after wrapping up her mock test.
This place was some training ground on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
Renting it out right after midterms to prep for the Awakener exam.
She was seriously diligent.
I shook my head and replied.
"Nah, not really. What about you? I was so out of it, I have no clue."
"What, because your physical stats are so good? It really wasn't a big deal. I could probably take the exam next week."
Ga-eun said it without a single drop of sweat.
"But prepping already? I figured you'd wait till break."
As I'd mentioned before, Ga-eun's enlistment wasn't urgent.
No real need to rush.
"The viewers are all hyped about it right now. They're expecting Hunter exam content... If I drag it out, the buzz'll die."
The tide was coming in, so time to row.
That's why Ga-eun had started studying for the Awakener qualification exam.
But the test wasn't that tough, from what I'd heard.
The written part was basic common sense, the practical just required minimal fitness for her rank—easy as pie for her.
The interview was pretty much for show, so barring any disasters, she'd pass no problem.
"It's not that the info was off—there really wasn't much to it."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Well, there were E-rank Hunters out there. No way a B-rank like Ga-eun would flunk.
"Ga-eun-ssi, you'll ace it, no doubt."
Chan-seong approached, leaning on Da-hye for support.
He'd looked half-dead earlier, but he was already back to normal.
"You good? Like a zombie."
"Thanks. Feels like I recover faster because of you."
I'd called him in to give Ga-eun some pointers, but after digging in, there wasn't much real advice to offer.
Still, the reason I'd brought Chan-seong into it was my trait.
I figured my mana-gathering ability could help boost his growth.
Ga-eun had leveled up after taking down that stalker at the theater and crashing together overnight.
Chan-seong had taken heavy damage from all those glass shards at the exhibition hall, pushing his ability to the limit to heal up—and he'd jumped a rank too.
So that's where this idea came from.
Chan-seong couldn't exactly eat big meals, hit the sauna, or crash like Ga-eun could, so we trained him by straight-up overtaxing his stamina like this.
"Glad to hear it. Was starting to feel bad."
"You worked hard. Chan-seong-ssi, you're definitely quicker and more flexible than before."
"Hitting me like that softens the muscles or something? You little punk."
Da-hye shot him a death glare.
"Sis, is Chan-seong some pork cutlet...? You think beating it tenderizes it? And I barely even grazed him."
Ga-eun looked utterly baffled.
I had Ga-eun—who was great at sparring—keep things right at his limit, but Da-hye's sense of justice apparently made it look brutal to her.
Couldn't blame her; rolling around all day did look rough.
"I'm fine. It's great to test my limits safely like this. No opportunities like that in real fights."
Exactly.
People often forgot because of his looks, but Chan-seong was a rear-support healer.
The best practice was on actual casualties, but it wasn't easy for an unaffiliated Hunter to dive into gates solo.
And we sure as hell couldn't go around forcing injuries.
"Still, I'm no pro coach, and I might end up teaching bad habits. Probably better to learn the details once you're in a guild."
"I see. Then we'll stick to evasion drills for now."
The group kept at the training until their rental time ran out.
Su-hyeon was waiting in the lobby.
Chan-seong approached as she sat there blankly on the bench.
"Su-hyeon."
"Oh, you're out quick."
Su-hyeon had been seriously debating whether Chan-seong or the girls would finish first.
Sure, girls took longer to wash up, but Chan-seong's sheer bulk probably balanced out Da-hye and Ga-eun combined.
"Must be the hair?"
"What're you talking about?"
"Nothing."
From there, conversation flowed naturally under Su-hyeon's lead.
A pretty surprising situation.
"Ever been to a class reunion or anything?"
"Class reunion..."
Chan-seong's face turned deadly serious.
Like a killing machine pondering its target's location.
"Uh... or run into an old friend after ages?"
"Nope. Not really the friend type."
"Ah."
Su-hyeon's tiny palm patted the vast expanse of his back.
"Why the sudden question?"
His deep voice rumbled, vibrating right through her from his back.
Sounded kinda resentful from the tone, but surprisingly, it wasn't.
The killing machine had morphed into a counselor bot.
"Hm, just... got to thinking about old connections versus the ones now?"
"Hm. So, choosing between past and present?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Profound."
And that was it.
Not brushing it off—he genuinely thought so.
Way too deep a topic for two hardcore loners to unpack.
"......"
No one passing by, so things stayed quiet for a good while before Chan-seong spoke up again.
"Don't know the full story, but if it were me, I'd prioritize the present."
"Yeah?"
"Picking the now doesn't make the past stuff vanish."
"Oh..."
Pretty slick line—Su-hyeon let out an impressed murmur.
"Dunno if that's just 'cause I never had any good old connections."
"Ah."
Turned out it was just him having no friends back in the day.
The next day.
Su-hyeon craned her neck all the way back to gaze up at the building.
Her head tilted back so far her mouth fell wide open on reflex.
"So tall..."
This was the headquarters of Korea's top guild...
The shuttle bus had dropped her off here, and it felt like a whole little town.
Even on a weekend, plenty of people milling about.
'Jun-hyuk, that guy... he became the Black Chairman, huh.'
Some side effect of that dark evolution?
"Tsk tsk."
Su-hyeon couldn't hold back a sigh at her transformed friend.
Actually a misunderstanding—Hunters didn't really have "weekends" to begin with.
Camellia running on skeleton crew holidays actually marked them as one of the better outfits.
Only feasible for a behemoth like Camellia, though—smaller guilds trying it would grind ops to a halt.
Anyway, Su-hyeon had come to Camellia for one reason.
To hash out the elves' true identities and sign an NDA on what went down in the mountains that day.
Not her doing it—Jun-hyuk.
The terms were already set; she just had to show up and sign her name.
He'd said they'd cleared it with the entrance folks, so she could just head in...
But standing there frozen at the front steps, she heard snickers from people spotting her.
Superhumans spitting fire from their hands or eyes? Dime a dozen here. A kid like Su-hyeon? Rare sight.
"Hmph. Zoned out without realizing."
Su-hyeon shot a glare toward the laughter and started up the stairs.
The steps were shallow, but there were so damn many she climbed forever.
The office ladies started giggling again at her little butt wiggling as she went.
"No escalator? What the hell?"
As Su-hyeon grumbled her way up, another obstacle loomed ahead.
"...?"
A massive wall of glass panels blocking the path.
Figured it was an auto-door and got close—no dice, it didn't budge.
"What gives."
She knocked on it, stepped back and jumped waving her hands.
"No switch or anything?"
Maybe a swing door? She planted both hands and shoved with all her might—nothing.
"Huff-."
She was getting dizzy from the strain when...
Tap tap—
A light knock echoed from above.
She looked up to see a guy in a suit beyond the glass, gesturing and talking.
His getup screamed guide or security.
Built like a tank, probably security.
Maybe he pulled double duty.
"...?"
Su-hyeon tilted her head, and the guy slowly opened his mouth wide again.
'Go'
'Side'
'Way'
He finished and circled his hand.
'No way...'
Following his finger, Su-hyeon whipped her head around—and spotted people coming and going on the building's side.
A few even paused to stare curiously at the kid gawking at their guild wall.
Made sense it'd look weird—a little girl playing by herself against the side of the building.
"Ah."
'This isn't the entrance?'
The bus had dropped her right here, so she'd assumed.
Face burning, Su-hyeon bolted sideways.
Of course, she didn't forget to wave thanks to the guy who'd tipped her off.
Round the corner, and there it was: the actual main entrance, complete with a pair of fancy escalators.