“It might hurt a teeny bit. Is that okay?”
When Lea asked kindly in Korean through a translator, Geuru nodded her head vigorously.
“Good. Then hold on just a little.”
Lea carefully wiped away the bloodstain on Geuru’s knee and slowly poured a potion over the wound.
The injury healed cleanly right away, but a sharp pain flashed briefly.
Geuru endured it, though she furrowed her brow slightly.
“Oh, you held out so well.”
Geuru burst out laughing with a proud grin, hee-hee.
Lea cupped Geuru’s face with both hands and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek.
“So cute.”
Receiving the pretty unni’s peck, Geuru melted, her face turning bright red.
As her embarrassment was plainly obvious, the German team members gathered around focused their gazes on her one by one, murmuring, “Cute,” and “So cute.”
Under the sudden flood of attention, Geuru smiled, but her body stiffened up.
It was because she suddenly realized she was being showered with affection in the middle of the enemy team.
‘I-is this okay?!’
Just then, a girl reached out her hand to touch Geuru’s cheek.
Mephisto flapped his wings furiously, pushing the girl’s hand away while issuing a strong warning.
Finding the sight amusing, the girl burst into giggles.
And she playfully stroked Mephisto’s tiny face between her thumb and index finger.
[“Is this a chick?”]
[“It’s white. Chicks should be yellow.”]
[“It kind of looks like a penguin too.”]
[“It’s not a penguin, it’s just chubby.”]
The German team players observed Mephisto and exchanged remarks, everyone kneading his chubby flesh and wings with one hand.
“Cheep! Cheep!”
As Mephisto made strange noises and caused a commotion, Bellark and Lucifer poked their faces out from Geuru’s bag to survey the situation.
[“What the. Why does this kid have so many animal friends?”]
[“Is she a Disney princess or something?”]
At someone’s words, everyone burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, unable to understand a word, Geuru opened her eyes anxiously. Noticing this, Lea gently stroked Geuru’s head and spoke kindly.
“They aren’t saying bad things. Everyone’s doing it because you’re cute.”
Geuru rolled her eyes around before lowering her gaze.
Nod, nod.
If unni said so, it must be so.
Then, after hesitating for a moment as if about to speak, Lea finally opened her mouth.
“Did someone do something bad to you?”
“Something bad?”
“Yeah. Don’t tell me it was Hyeonak?”
Asked all of a sudden if she had been wronged by Hyeonak, Geuru startled and shook her head quickly.
“That never happened.”
“You can tell me honestly. Because unni is the same as you.”
She had no idea what she was supposed to talk about. But what did she mean by “the same”?
Geuru met Lea’s eyes in confusion.
Could it be…….
“My eyes?”
“Yeah. Our eyes are the same. See?”
“Yeah…….”
“So it’s okay to tell me.”
“Hm?”
What on earth?
It was then, while Geuru blinked her eyes with a blank face, still unable to understand.
One of the German team students who had been on the phone met eyes with Lea and pointed downward.
[“Rea, they want you down in the training room.”]
[“Already?”]
[“They said to loosen up a bit.”]
[“Okay. I was feeling stiff.”]
Lea clenched her fist and stood up.
Geuru, who had been sitting on the sofa, got up as well.
Since the wound was treated, was it time to go now?
Among those preparing to leave, Geuru rolled her eyes and pouted.
She had come to find weaknesses but gained nothing.
Aside from the absurd misunderstanding about being wronged by Hyeonak, she had only received heaps of affection.
Then, noticing the awkward Geuru, Lea made a proposal.
“Want to watch us train before you go?”
Training?!
There was no reason to refuse. Geuru nodded energetically.
*
A special training room for Awakened located in the basement of the dormitory.
A team member approached Lea, who was lightly jogging after finishing her stretches, and spoke.
[“By the way, is it okay to show the little friend our training? That princess is from Hyeonak.”]
[“You knew?”]
[“Everyone knows that much. Fool.”]
[“Still, it’s fine. We have the confidence to win, don’t we?”]
[“Rea, why are you so serious all of a sudden?”]
Lea glanced at Geuru.
The team members listening in all followed Lea’s gaze to look at Geuru sitting on the bench.
[“Because I’m a bit fired up.”]
[“What?”]
She alternately pointed at her own eyes and Geuru.
The team members who knew Lea’s history furrowed their brows.
[“Don’t tell me she was artificially awakened too?”]
[“Probably. That’s why…….”]
[Skill: Blessing of Victory (SS) activated.]
Suddenly, six massive wings appeared and enveloped the German team.
At the same time, the air in the training ground grew heavy and an enormous power spread outward.
It was as if a giant shield were protecting all the team members.
[“Let’s show her that we’re strong enough to protect the baby.”]
Along with whistling sounds, explosions filled the training ground.
BOOM!
The German team members instantly destroyed the training equipment in one go, proving their strength.
“Hup!”
Geuru inhaled sharply.
Even though she watched training scenes every day in Hyeonak, she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by their skill.
Because each and every one of them seemed to possess S-Rank ability.
She had clearly heard that except for the S-Rank supporter, they were all A-Rank?
Then Bellark, who had transformed into human form and sat beside her, spoke.
“An S-Rank Support-class. It seems she’s specialized in reinforcement.”
At those words, Geuru’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Bellark.
“Support class? Aren’t those the Hunters who heal hurt people?”
“That’s true too. From healers to buffers, debuffers, and those with CC skills, they’re all included. The ‘class’ is just a category humans arbitrarily divided them into.”
“Mmhmm…….”
Bellark glanced at Geuru, whose expression showed she understood none of it, and added.
“She seems to be an S-Rank Awakened specialized in reinforcement buffs.”
“Ah-huh.”
So that was it. Buffs!
So there was a way to become that strong.
To Geuru, who had only seen Support-class Hunters focused on healing until now, it was like a new world had opened up.
Now she finally understood why various articles pointed to the weakness of the support line as Hyeonak’s problem.
To think there was someone in Germany who could grant buffs to that extent.
‘They got as strong as if they’d eaten power-up snacks.’
But unlike those snacks, there probably wasn’t a debuff.
‘Amazing…….’
Having finally witnessed with her own eyes how much of an impact the Support-class had on a team, Geuru opened her mouth in awe.
‘There are so many strong people in the world.’
Geuru took out her chick drone and hugged it tight.
And she recalled the interviews of Jurim and Kazuki.
Their overflowing confidence and the gazes of respect directed at them.
And she thought of Gidan and Serhi clearing dungeons with ease.
The S-Ranks she had taken for granted until now felt like people from an entirely different world.
Geuru turned her gaze back to the German team in the middle of training.
They moved as if they had become one.
All these experiences felt as if they were stimulating her entire body.
As her horizons broadened more and more, her heart pounded.
‘Geuru wants to get stronger too.’
It felt as if hot blood were swirling through her whole body.
Intense heat reached her fingertips, and her resolve grew even firmer.
*
“Auntie!”
Geuru spotted Sitter and waved her hand.
Sitter smiled brightly at Geuru, then bowed deeply upon seeing Lea standing beside her.
“I heard you helped Geuru when she was hurt. Thank you.”
“It was nothing.”
“Geuru. You should say thank you.”
“Yes! Thank you for helping Geuru!”
Lea chuckled and spoke as if making a declaration.
“Send my regards to Hyeonak. Because we’re definitely going to win.”
Geuru opened her mouth in a small triangle. Had she known Geuru was from Hyeonak?
Geuru soon clenched both fists and spoke.
“G-Geuru won’t lose either!”
Lea flashed a grin.
“When the match is over, make sure to tell me honestly.”
About what?
As Geuru tilted her head in confusion, Lea smiled faintly and stroked Geuru’s head.
“Let’s talk about that again after the exchange tournament ends.”
Nod, nod.
Though she didn’t know what it was, she felt it would be best to talk properly later.
After saying their goodbyes like that.
Holding Sitter’s hand and toddling toward the parking lot while replaying the day’s events in her head, Geuru felt as if the world were spinning before her eyes.
‘They were a strong team.’
Once buffed, their firepower looked like it wouldn’t fall behind even Gidan and Serhi, who were S-Rank.
But could Hyeonak, burdened with dead weight like herself, win against them?
‘Geuru’s drone needs more modifications.’
Geuru steeled her resolve, raising the ends of her eyebrows sharply.