So This Was the Practical Training?! (2)
So This Was the Practical Training?! (2)
The preparatory assignment for the S-rank Gate was practical Gate clearing.
My first partner was Sia.
[Cadet Yoo Sia will go on Tuesday, and Cadet Alice on Wednesday.]
There was no particular reason for the order.
It did not matter who went first or second.
They would gain roughly the same experience either way.
The Chairwoman had simply picked the order on a whim.
[Hehe. I am first. You truly have excellent judgment, Chairwoman.]
[Why am I second?! I've cleared a Gate with Yujin before, so this time—]
[Tsk. Do not attach so much meaning to a simple order.]
[But no matter how I looked at it, I should obviously be first—]
[Stop whining. I will tell you something good instead....]
...For some reason, Alice became obsessed with the order, leaving the Chairwoman scrambling to placate her.
[A Gate? I'm coming too. My disciple is going, so naturally her master should accompany her.]
[Please, just stay put. I am sending the children to build experience, not on a picnic.]
[No. I'm going. Don't stop me. You're only ranked fourth among S-ranks.]
[I will arrange something for you later as well, so please—please show some restraint....]
There was a minor commotion while the Chairwoman spent ages persuading Master not to follow us by force.
Everything else went smoothly.
A night passed, and Tuesday arrived.
Even the Cheonhwa Clan came to pick us up without incident.
"Young lady. Awakener Seo Yujin. We will escort you."
"Have a safe trip. Yujin, be careful, just in case."
"Are you worried about me? Oh. I'm a little touched."
—Mutter.
"...I'm worried about you getting ahead of yourselves."
"Pardon?"
"It is nothing. Hurry along."
"Okaaay."
Before we left, the Chairwoman muttered something, but...
It was probably just an old woman fretting, as usual.
* * *
In the modern era, Gates were largely divided into two types.
The first was the guerrilla-type Gate, which made up the vast majority.
Like the A+-rank Gate I had cleared before, these would cause tremendous damage unless someone cleared and closed them.
And the second type was,
---
※Restricted Military Area※
A C-rank Gate was located 100 meters beyond this point.
All civilian entry is strictly prohibited.
Unauthorized entry may expose you to serious danger and result in legal punishment.
※Warning※
At night, never follow anyone who tries to lure you away.
You may be experiencing visual or auditory hallucinations caused by the monster known as the “Jangsanbeom.”
The Cheonhwa Clan conducts regular culls to prevent such incidents, but...
---
'Long time no see. Had it been ten years?'
It was an already-cleared Gate that had deliberately been left open.
...Leaving a Gate open might seem strange, but the benefits justified it.
Clearing Gates guaranteed stat growth more reliably than anything else, making them perfect for training rookies.
They even provided real combat experience.
That was why clans deliberately left low-risk Gates in remote areas open.
Without regular culling, the monsters would multiply until a Gate Break occurred, but careful management could keep one stable indefinitely.
The Gate before us was one of those.
"Whew. I never thought I'd be here already...."
"Are you nervous, Sia?"
"Honestly, a little. Maybe it's because I've heard so many rookies complain about it. I'm kind of shaking."
Beside me, Sia took deep breaths, unable to hide her tension.
Her first real battle seemed to have her quite nervous.
She looked so cute that I could not help smiling.
—Grin.
"Oh my, look at you grinning. Are you that happy to be on a date with our young lady?"
"What are you talking about?! This isn't a date, it's a Gate—"
"Only one letter is different. Same thing~."
The Awakeners around us reacted much like I did.
Judging by the way they grinned at Sia, the irresistible scent of a fresh-faced rookie had gone straight to their heads.
'...Most of them were A-ranks. Was this really necessary for one measly C-rank Gate?'
The problem was that these women were senior officers of the Cheonhwa Clan.
The main force of the strongest clan had been mobilized for a mere C-rank Gate. This went beyond using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
I could feel my father-in-law's love for his daughter.
I bowed deeply at the waist.
—Bow.
"I am sorry. You should not have been dragged out to a place like this because of us...."
"Don't be so formal~. If you're our young lady's friend, then you're our friend too. Right, girls?"
"Of course!"
The women laughed cheerfully at my apology.
...I could not get used to this. Before my regression, they had treated me like a thief, and it had taken years to befriend them.
Was this the effect of grinding achievements?
'The past two weeks of hard work had paid off.'
"Thank you. Then shall we get going?"
In that warm atmosphere, we set out to clear the Gate...
"Oh, Yujin? You have to hold the young lady's hand when you enter."
"...Pardon?"
"What?"
...Or at least, we had been about to.
I heard something strange.
"Our rule is that a man and woman entering their first Gate do so hand in hand."
"No, there is no such rule—"
"It's an industry custom, so naturally the young lady would not know~. Come on, hold hands tightly! Hurry!"
"......."
I could not help sighing.
The reason for such an absurd claim was obvious.
Newbie hazing.
If I fell for it, they would spend the next several years teasing me with, "Remember what this guy did back then?"
At this, I...
—Grab.
"Then I suppose it can't be helped. Sia, hold my hand tight."
"......Yu, Yujin?"
Please. I was grateful for the excuse. Legal physical contact for free.
I even interlaced our fingers.
—Murmur, murmur.
"Oh my. He really took her hand."
"He's even denser than I expected."
"This might make him worth pushing along...."
The women grinned, apparently delighted by my behavior, but...
They could tease me all day. I was the only one profiting. Absolutely.
* * *
After we entered the Gate...
The two cadets cut through the monsters one after another.
They worked together so well that no one would have guessed it was their first time fighting as a pair.
"Sia, behind you!"
"I know!!"
"I'll cover everything at close range, so...."
Sia overwhelmed the monsters with her shadow-manipulation ability.
Yujin handled the front line while watching every direction in case his wife was hurt.
It was textbook party coordination.
Enough to leave the observers deeply satisfied.
"Yujin, you and our young lady really do get along~."
"And look how perfectly they move together. They really are made for each other, are they not?"
"Should we give them a push?"
...Though the source of their satisfaction was somewhat different.
Every one of them had been with Cheonhwa for at least ten years.
It took a long time to rise as far as A-rank, after all.
And the Cheonhwa Clan had always had one particular little presence.
An angel who scampered around the clan building proclaiming, "I'm a Cheonhwa Clan officer!" That angel was Sia.
To them, Sia was like a niece they'd watched grow up.
She was their "young lady."
And now that young lady had brought home a man?
A handsome, capable man with a good character at that?
'We couldn't let this chance pass. Absolutely not.'
'It was our young lady's first love. We had to support her, right?'
That was why a crowd of A-rank Awakeners had volunteered for a mere C-rank Gate escort mission.
We fully supported our young lady's romantic endeavors.
Just leave it to us.
"Whew. That should be all the monsters here...."
"Yujin~? Once the battle is over, rest with your partner! Rehydrate and wipe the sweat off each other!"
"What have you been saying this whole time?! I can do that myself...."
"This is how Awakeners build trust with one another~."
And so they lied with great enthusiasm.
You fought together? Then naturally you should wipe off each other's sweat.
Why was there only one water bottle? Drinking water was hard to find inside a Gate, so the two of them could just share it~.
Because an ambush was possible, scouts had to stay pressed close together~.
What? Was she embarrassed?
All Awakeners did this~.
Lie after lie like that.
Thanks to them, Sia alone felt as though she were dying.
"You want me to drink this? He already drank from it...?"
"Sorry, Sia. I assumed there was one for each of us and put my mouth on it. Wait here. I'll ask them for another—"
"N-No. We have to conserve drinking water inside a Gate. I should drink it...."
—Gulp.
'Wasn't this an indirect kiss? And I knew exactly what I was doing!? I was only drinking because I had no choice, but what if he got the wrong idea....'
Unbeknownst to her, their matchmaking kept forcing more physical contact between them.
Each time, her heart inexplicably pounded.
Her face grew hot, and saliva pooled until her mouth felt sticky.
The lips that had touched the bottle kept curling into a foolish smile.
Eventually, Sia's reason reached its limit.
She became incapable of thinking about anything except combat.
She fought purely on the instincts born of danger.
All her mind could do was scream, "What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to do?"
—KABOOM!
"Whew. We've reached the boss room, so that's the end, right?"
"Yes. The dungeon boss doesn't respawn. Good work, both of you."
"Especially you, young lady! You fought amazingly well! You were completely in the zone. Even I cannot match that concentration!"
Thanks to Sia's extreme focus, they cleared the Gate quickly.
Before long, the Return Portal stood directly before the party.
Once they stepped through it, the practical exercise would be over.
'I-It was finally overrr... My head felt like it was going strange. I needed fresh air, quickly.'
—Whip. Grab.
"What is that book?"
"Since you finished early, why not spend some quality time doing your homework together before you leave?"
"......Huh?"
They had thought it was over.
The other Awakeners made the unexpected suggestion.
By then, they could no longer hide the smiles tugging at their lips.
'We did something huge today. We really did.'
'It was adorable how obvious our young lady's feelings were~.'
'We'd make ourselves scarce, so the two of them could enjoy some time alone before coming out.'
"Nothing will respawn for another month, so take your time, talk, and rest before coming back~."
—Shimmer.
With that, they stepped straight through the Return Portal.
Sia and Yujin could only blink in disbelief.
It might have been a C-rank Gate, and they might have exterminated every monster, but...
Was it really acceptable to leave cadets inside a Gate and clock out first?
"What on earth...."
"Homework? What even is it?"
Their eyes settled on the book.
What had the woman tossed them and called homework?
They looked at it with intense curiosity.
[48 Ways to Subdue Mutants (Villains) — Written by Seol Hayeon]
'How old was this thing?'
The book was a manual on subduing villains.
It was a decades-old, hopelessly outdated manual.
The women had tossed them an ancient book and told them to practice from it.
Yujin tried to dismiss it and leave, but...
"Come on, Sia. Let us go. What use would learning any of this be?"
"No. It is homework. Let us practice a little before we leave."
"...Sia?"
Sia was relying on instinct for nearly half her actions by then.
Her heart, still racing from all the physical contact with Yujin, blurted out its wishes before her mind could filter them.
She wanted to stay with Yujin even a little longer.
Just as she had at the amusement park.
"Just a little. Okay?"
"Whew. Fine. But I can't bring myself to subdue you, so I'll play the villain."
"Okay. Then the first is...."
Afterward, the two began practicing the restraint techniques.
Secretly, inside a Gate where they were completely alone.
"First, kick the shin and knock them down...."
—Thump. Flop.
"Gah. You got me~."
"Pfft. Then next is...."
[Once the target falls, immediately mount them and strike the face. Teeth are dangerous weapons, so destroy them if possible. Targeting the temple to induce a concussion is also effective.]
"Damn. That's brutal."
"...I'll only pretend to hit you for this one."
"Okaaay~."
Playing the villain, Yujin flopped onto his back.
Sia climbed on top of him.
And then...
—Plop.
"......!!!!? S-Sia?"
"This is practice. It is only practice...."
———Sia planted herself squarely on top of Yujin.
She crushed him beneath her ass with impressive force.
She rationalized that it was fine because this was practice.
Yujin panicked.
'W-Wait, we were touching. Sia, we were touching!!?'
—Ding.
[The skill 'Complete Hypnosis' activates.]
His face turned bright red as well.
Given Sia's outfit and their position, how could it not?
Inappropriate contact was inevitable.
Even hypnosis that removed his libido could not eliminate embarrassment.
"Sia, wait. Wait!! If you sit there—"
"It is practice, so it is fine. This is only practice."
"I am telling you it is not fine!!?"
But Sia didn't stop.
She only repeated that it was fine over and over.
'Seriously, Sia was far too innocent. I had no choice. Even if it cost me affection points....'
—Clench.
"Y-You're sitting on my... you know? It's not because I have any strange intentions, but when this happens to a man, his body naturally—"
"It's okay."
"......What?"
"I said it's okay. If it's you, Yujin."
She had lost control to the point that she no longer knew what she was saying.
The words escaped without passing through the filter of conscious thought.
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"If you liked me, then, I mean...."
—Slide.
"I-It's okay. Anything is fine."
".........!!!!!!!?"
'What was this!? She was practically asking me to do it. Unless Sia liked me, there was no way she'd say that.'
—Ding!
[The skill "Complete Hypnosis" screams in shock!!!]
This happened only three minutes before Complete Hypnosis was due to wear off.