Chapter 72
After entering the system, Han Chasu used his body without thinking for the first time in a while. What that meant was this.
[ Warning! ]
[ Penalties will be imposed for actions that do not match your cover identity! ]
[ The penalty will be determined at random. ]
[ You have been afflicted with the status abnormality “Tinnitus”! ]
So what.
It meant that training with Gi Taeyeon was more enjoyable than expected, so he lightly ignored things like penalties.
Kiiiiiing—!
Gritting his teeth against the tinnitus ringing through his head, Han Chasu kicked off the floor.
He had thought it would be fine since his pain synchronization rate was only 20%, but it seemed penalties were applied as normal.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind rushed in from behind as if it had been waiting. At the same time, something dropped down over his head.
“Ugh…!”
No sooner had he rolled aside and raised one knee than a voice pierced his eardrums.
“Your shoulders are a bit stiff, but you’re quite good, Hunter Han Chasu.”
A dull impact slammed into his right shoulder. Damn it, earlier it was his thigh. Han Chasu’s face twisted.
Was he planning to make him thoroughly experience what he called training and treatment? Gi Taeyeon had no mercy.
At the spot where he had been struck, a fierce force surged in like a raging current. A cold, impatient energy that resembled Gi Taeyeon. It raced violently through his blood vessels, then slipped away in an instant.
“Ha….”
It was still a sensation he was not used to. Still, it was not unpleasant.
Because though he kept getting hit one-sidedly, he did not feel any pain.
It was thanks to the training system matching Gi Taeyeon’s muscle strength and power to the same level as his own.
On the other hand, Gi Taeyeon’s pain synchronization rate was 200%. In other words, if he got hit, it would hurt twice as much. It was probably some trick by the development office, but… it did not mean much.
Because Gi Taeyeon never let himself get caught by Han Chasu’s hands.
“Hoo….”
“How long are you planning to stay like that?”
As he corrected his broken stance and waited for the right timing, he sensed a presence nearby. Wind from the right.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a trajectory like a streak of light. Something black at the edge of his vision. Lightning flashed through Han Chasu’s eyes.
Gi Taeyeon was passing by him with a leisurely expression. It was the bearing of the strong.
But.
‘His side is open.’
His opponent had not withdrawn the arm he had struck him with. He could see the elbow drawn all the way back.
‘Now!’
Seizing the opportunity, Han Chasu quickly planted his right foot into the ground. He was using his collapsed posture in reverse to aim for his opponent’s opening.
From below to above, not in a straight line, but diagonally upward.
What he held in his hand was not a blade but a telescopic baton, but that was fine. If rotational force was added, its destructive power would be no less.
The moment Han Chasu tightened his grip—
Tang!
“Well, look at you.”
“Tsk.”
Out of disappointment, he clicked his tongue without realizing it. A powerful recoil ran through his fingertips. His move had been read.
Without missing the moment, the penalty came flying in.
[ Warning! ]
[ Penalties will be imposed for actions that do not match your cover identity! ]
[ The penalty will be determined at random. ]
[ You have been afflicted with the status abnormality “Spasms”! ]
“Ugh…!”
Han Chasu endured, putting strength into all four limbs.
‘I knew this would happen, so I brought potions.’
With trembling hands, he emptied ten bottles of physical enhancement potion. Stamina potions were a bonus.
“Haa….”
Once he could breathe a little easier, he saw Gi Taeyeon standing across from him.
“You’re pretty good, Hunter Han Chasu.”
Five steps away, Gi Taeyeon smiled lightly. His blue eyes glittered like sunlit water.
At the pure heat contained within them, Han Chasu unconsciously let out a small laugh.
‘I thought I was the only one enjoying this, but I guess not.’
What a relief. Clenching his still-trembling arm, Han Chasu said,
“It’s thanks to you going easy on me, Chief.”
“That is true, but… Maybe because I’ve never even heard that from a subordinate before, it feels a bit awkward.”
Instead of answering, Han Chasu shrugged. Whether Gi Taeyeon felt awkward or not, he was in high spirits.
‘This is the best day I’ve had since transmigrating into this world.’
The stinging pain in his palm. The opponent’s hostility felt against his skin. The sound of air being cut and muscles hardened with tension.
How much he had missed these vivid sensations, these stimuli that awakened instinct.
“Hoo….”
Standing in place, Han Chasu clenched and unclenched his hand. He could feel his heated blood spreading through his entire body. The heat that warmed his head tickled all the way down to his toes.
There was surely no moment when he could feel more clearly that he was alive.
“Shall we take a short break?”
“Let’s.”
When he nodded, something flew toward him. It was a sports drink.
“Let’s sit.”
Gi Taeyeon had clearly been more than five steps away, yet his voice was already by Han Chasu’s ear. Enjoying the coldness of the drink can, Han Chasu subtly turned his head.
Gi Taeyeon was looking down at him. He had not sensed his presence at all.
‘So just now, he really was matching himself to me.’
Well, even if his abilities were sealed and his stats adjusted to match Han Chasu’s, he was still S-rank.
It meant he could not hide the combat instincts carved into his body, nor the skill that was close to instinct itself.
‘He’s perfect as a sparring partner.’
After quitting the guild and going into hiding, it would be hard to find someone like this.
Draining the peach-flavored sports drink in one go, Han Chasu felt regret.
At that very moment, Gi Taeyeon was thinking something similar.
‘For a production type, his movements are quite good. It’s a shame he isn’t combat-type.’
Eyes filled with unmistakable curiosity stared at Han Chasu.
It had been roughly fifteen minutes since they entered the training system. Even if their stats had been set to the same level, he had not expected a contest this close.
‘I feel like I’ve heard that at major guilds, even office workers participate in quarterly mock training….’
He was not sure whether Cheonryeong Guild was one of them. Judging by the guild’s atmosphere, which did not seem coercive, there was a high chance it was not.
‘Then is he really just born with it?’
If so, it was no different from having missed out on a regrettable talent.
The composure not to be startled even when attacked. The quick situational judgment to respond immediately without panicking even when his posture collapsed.
On top of that, a fighting spirit that did not go out easily.
Did he not possess every trait Gi Taeyeon would want in a subordinate under him?
“Ah, if only he didn’t hurt so much….”
“Pardon?”
“Just talking to myself. To myself.”
With Han Chasu’s level of talent, he would be perfect to pass the chief’s position on to. Was there really no way?
Putting aside his regret, Gi Taeyeon lightly placed a hand on Han Chasu’s shoulder.
Unlike a few days ago, almost no trace of Gi Taeyeon’s energy clung to him.
‘So it does have an effect.’
He had forcefully pushed his energy into every corner of Han Chasu’s body and withdrawn it several times. Each time, the remnants left by his blood had disappeared without a trace. It would not be an exaggeration to say there was almost nothing left now.
He was frowning at a sense of inexplicable disappointment when it happened.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, something dropped from the air at high speed.
“Hm?”
“What is that now….”
At first, he thought it was a blue dot. Next, a flat notebook. Then, he abruptly realized what it was.
“A mattress?”
“It seems to be falling exactly over your head, Chief.”
“Who the hell do they think they’re sending to the grave?”
With a laugh of disbelief, Gi Taeyeon rose. At some point, a telescopic baton was in his hand.
The instant Han Chasu belatedly realized his weapon had been taken—
Baaang!
The telescopic baton scattered a flash of light as it struck the side of the mattress with perfect accuracy.
“That’s a home run.”
Just as he said, the mattress flew in a perfect arc. As if that were not enough, it rolled five times across the floor before finally stopping.
Then voices burst from the band on his wrist.
—No, why did you send it flying? We sent it so Han Chasu could sit on it!
—Han Chasu, fighting! Send Chief Gi straight into the abyss!
—And who are you to be asking favors? Weren’t you the one who set the item trajectory? Where did your conscience go?
—Oh, cut me some slack. I need these little pleasures too!
—Hunter Han Chasu, if you need a recovery potion, make a circle over your heaaad!
At the voices ringing loudly in his ears, Han Chasu cut off the communication at once. As he cupped his tingling ear, a teasing voice reached him.
“They’re even worrying about your butt getting cold. Wow. The kids at the medical center are truly devoted. Truly devoted.”
“…
It’s because I get hurt often.”
“I’m not saying this because I don’t know you’re a patient, Hunter Han Chasu.”
Gi Taeyeon handed him an energy bar and glanced toward the mattress.
“If you’re tired, I can escort you back.”
“No, thank you.”
“Your face is still pale, though. Your lips seem to be trembling too.”
A cool hand brushed past the corner of his mouth.
“There was dust on your chin, so I was taking it off. Don’t look at me like that. Now, give me your arm this way.”
Gi Taeyeon extended his hand as if telling him to lean on him. Han Chasu frowned.
If he accepted Gi Taeyeon’s help here, it was obvious what the medical staff would think. If he was hurting, they would make a fuss and tell him to come out at once.
“I’m not so exhausted that I need that.”
After firmly refusing, Han Chasu drank a potion. He was in a position where the medical staff could not see.
It was then.
“…!”
A sharp killing intent that sliced at his skin. Goosebumps rose along his spine, and veins bulged on the back of the hand gripping his weapon.
‘What, all of a sudden?’
Had they made a high-rank monster appear in the control room?
But unless the development office had gone insane, there was no way. Not unless they wanted to die at Gi Taeyeon’s hands….
The next instant, Han Chasu saw Gi Taeyeon reaching an arm toward him.
“Duck!”
Beeeeeeep——!
At the same time, a terrible warning sound rang in his ears.
And the world changed violently.
The pure white space tore apart, and in an instant, black currents surged up from below.
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(72)
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