, Deurun could not break free from the excitement of the spectacle he had witnessed. He felt he could finally understand why the Captain had taken an interest in him.
"Guns. It's a talent related to guns. Not just anti-demon, but......"
"Return for now. I'll hear the rest later."
But the Captain cut him off decisively.
"...Got it, whatever."
As expected, the Captain was no fun. Deurun grumbled but dissolved into darkness again, and this time sent a message to another team member.
"Junkyeong, how's the Imugi? Did you catch it?"
* * *
Facing the clear sea breeze head-on, O Junhyeok sat cross-legged. He still could not understand what had just happened. There had definitely been an Imugi in this sea......
"O Junhyeok!"
Only long after the situation had ended did Seo Yeongji run over. O Junhyeok turned to look at her.
"What happened? I heard the Imugi appeared."
"And you're only coming now despite knowing that?"
"The plaza over there was chaos too. The research lab suddenly opened and all the monsters poured out...... I was late dealing with that. Anyway, what about the Imugi?"
"I drove it away. To the depths of the sea."
"...Huh?"
The Imugi was of the dragon race. However, that did not make it immensely strong. By rank, it was at best between mid-upper grade 1st class to upper grade 7th class. To begin with, the Imugi was not an aggressive monster, so it did not know how to fight, and because it possessed intelligence, it feared pain.
Of course, if it found a yeouiju and became a dragon, that would change by 180 degrees.
However.
Even so, the scene O Junhyeok had witnessed with his own eyes was surreal enough.
"Someone provoked the Imugi beforehand."
"Provoked?"
"Yeah. Its eyes were bloodshot. It was trying to headbutt everything."
That snake head rushing onto land with its maw wide open was intimidating enough due to its size alone.
"How did you drive away an angry Imugi? It must have incredible defense."
"Well......"
A hollow laugh escaped him at the absurdity.
"You just have to beat it until it comes to its senses."
He recalled what had happened about ten minutes ago.
In front of the Imugi, a giant man equipped with a gauntlet sank his fist into the creature's philtrum as it charged forward. It was merely a simple straight punch. However, the shockwave that spread from that blow was monstrous. A vibration that shook the earth's axis to its core and stripped every leaf from the trees in the area. It pierced through the hard scales, rattled the bones, and struck the muscles.
The bloodshot eyes of the Imugi charging ferociously cleared up and turned blue in that instant.
"...You expect me to believe that?"
"If you don't want to believe it, then don't. Oh, and put out a wanted notice for a guy. I recorded it on my smartwatch. He's a suspect in the police officer murder case."
O Junhyeok sent the related footage to Seo Yeongji's smartwatch. It was the face and physique of the guy he had secretly recorded. Seo Yeongji checked the footage, tilting her head.
"Ah. If you find him, make sure to contact me no matter what."
"...Why's that?"
"Just because. I guess someone I actually want to fight has finally shown up after a long time."
O Junhyeok smirked.
* * *
The 'Cube Monster Incident' that had occurred just yesterday had become a major issue worldwide.
Though the truth regarding the devil remained a strict secret, Cube received considerable criticism due to the fact that two cadets had suffered critical injuries—not dead, as initially believed, but actually in a comatose state—from the invasion of various monsters including the Imugi.
Thus, Cube made a decision.
As a result, the exams were postponed.
The duel exam scores were preserved as they were, the 'Monster War' that had been halted mid-exam would be held later, and the 'Mass Rescue Team Event' scheduled for Friday was canceled in light of the current situation.
It wasn't just the exams. Cube's classes were also suspended until next Thursday.
In other words, there would be no classes for nearly the next ten days.
With the sudden break, the other cadets seemed to be returning to their family estates (or home countries) with their families, or perhaps planning trips abroad, as Cube had provided ample compensation.
Indeed, there were many such posts on Cube's official community. Asking if anyone had been to Japan, Europe, or America because they were planning trips there. Comments like 'A fellow cadet got hurt and you're thinking about traveling? tsk tsk' naturally followed.
But none of that applied to me.
Because even now, I remained at Cube—in my spot in the dormitory.
"...Oh. Did it just eat?"
Evandel's seed. The witch's seed obtained while clearing Garisan's hidden stage had sucked Rachel's blood. The fact that the vividly red gauze had returned to its original white color was proof of that.
If I kept feeding it like this for the next three months, a very kind witch who would become my strength would be born, wouldn't she......
Just then, a sudden pain came.
Its source was my biceps. An excruciating pain I had felt once before. I hurriedly rolled up my short sleeve. On my biceps, which until now had only been a single horizontal line, a stroke was being engraved vertically.
Calm down. Let's think calmly.
This was a pain I had been waiting for, wondering when it would arrive, wasn't it?
There were many advantages to gaining more strokes. First, I could imbue bullets with mana...... a bit more......
The positive thoughts I had been trying to hold onto couldn't continue. My thoughts cut off, and a pain like my brain was about to burst. I couldn't even scream and gritted my teeth.
Before that overwhelming pain, my consciousness slowly faded away.
* * *
"Wow~ It's really been a while."
Meanwhile, Chae Nayun had returned to her family estate for the first time in a long while. Her family estate followed traditional Korean architecture with tiled roofs and eaves, but that was only on the outside. Its interior structure and size were as splendid and massive as a Western castle.
"Young miss, welcome back."
A butler appeared in front of the main gate. The butler welcomed his young miss, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, with a benevolent smile.
"Yeah. It's been a while, Grandpa."
"I was very worried this time. I'm glad you're safe."
"Nothing much happened aside from two people getting hurt. There were no civilian casualties either."
Chae Nayun handed her bow to the butler who had watched over the family for nearly 30 years.
"Ah. Right. What about the item I asked for?"
"It arrived yesterday."
"Oh, yes!"
"Ah, and a written document was delivered from Cube as well."
"A written document?"
The butler nodded.
"Yes. They said it was an exam report. A total of 24 pages arrived."
"Ah, that—send it back to my Cube dorm. I don't want to think about that stuff at home...... Wait, no."
Chae Nayun suddenly recalled. The martial prowess she had shown against the Cheonlima that day.
Just how much did they admire her to send so many reports? And 24 pages at that. That was a huge number. Didn't that mean a whopping 25% had praised her?
"Hehe. Send them to my room. I'll read them."
Wondering what praises awaited, Chae Nayun spoke thus.
"Yes. Understood."
The butler bowed his head respectfully.
> End
>
A spacious room.
Inside, it was divided into a living room and a bedroom, with a bathroom—the kind that was practically a bathhouse—and an annexed game room optimized for virtual reality games. Yet, in that space still strictly defined as a 'room', Chae Nayun tore open the envelope containing the reports.
"Ooh. Look at the thickness."
The stack of 24 sheets on the desk was quite thick.
She first checked the name on the very top sheet.
Keanu Jin.
A Spearman ranked around 100th among the cadets.
[Chae Nayun's bowmanship was amazing, and her magic power evoked my admiration.
A Cheonlima is usually considered a difficult opponent for an archer. Its fast speed and strong defense directly target the archer's weaknesses.
However, Chae Nayun not only dodged the Cheonlima's charge with agile movements......]
"Hehe. You rascal."
His Korean was clumsy but readable. She especially liked the phrase 'rapid-fire like watching a passing rain shower'.
Starting with Keanu Jin's report, Chae Nayun slowly read through the rest.
Some reports were composed of calm analyses, while others contained praise that was almost embarrassing to read. However, since both affirmed that there had been no shortcomings in her martial prowess, the corners of Chae Nayun's mouth gradually rose to touch her cheekbones.
"Phew, no."
Chae Nayun reined in her heart, which had momentarily soared. Surely some of them had written this just to flatter her. It's not good to let joy and sorrow sway you so easily. She calmly moved on to the next report.
This time, it was a very familiar name.
[Examination Cadet—Gim Suho]
"......"
Her heart trembled at that name, but Chae Nayun nonchalantly narrowed her brows in a cool act. Then she silently read the contents written in the report.
[It was a victory of self-confidence.
Truthfully, until now, Chae Nayun had seemed troubled by many worries. Defeat in her rivalry. Someone's rebuke. They seemed to have chipped away at her confidence.
However, Chae Nayun was indeed a born archer and a talented cadet.
Against the Cheonlima, Chae Nayun had shown a confident battle. There was no hesitation in her rapid-fire, and her handling of siksal was perfect as well.
I believe Chae Nayun has already reached a certain level as an archer cadet. Someone I do not know may have said her talent is lacking, but that is not true. What Chae Nayun lacks is not talent, but faith in herself......]
......(Omitted)
[If she can believe in herself as she did today, if she can believe in her own abilities and talent and advance without wavering, I am at least certain that she will surely become the greatest hero]
"......Hoo."
Letting out a shallow breath, Chae Nayun gently stroked his report. Gim Suho's encouragement, delivered through writing, touched her heart with quiet emotion. A smile formed at her lips, and the worries and unease she had harbored until now settled.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she renewed her resolve.
As expected, I am the bow.
No matter what anyone says, the bow suits me.
Chae Nayun carefully placed the report on her bed.
Only two pages remained now. One was anonymous, and the last was Sin Jonghak.
Since she had come this far, Chae Nayun decided to read to the end.
First, the anonymous one.
"Hmm."
She picked up the report without much thought.
"......"
Before long, the hand holding the report crumpled it with a crack. Beyond the crumpled report, Chae Nayun's contorted face was revealed.
"Eek, eek, eeeeek......"
Unlike the other reports, the one written by an anonymous someone was full of harsh criticism. Those malicious sentences seemed to strike her bones directly, and her body trembled from rage.
"......Which bastard is this."
The report's tone appeared solemn on the surface, but its content was simple.
'You have no sense, no talent, and you're stupid; you just won thanks to your mana.'
It was definitely anonymous. However, Chae Nayun somehow felt she knew who he was.
"Gim Hajin, Gim Hajin, Gim Hajin......!"
She spewed out her fury and raised her smartwatch.
* * *
A clear afternoon. Rachel and I had come out after being investigated by Cube's investigators.
Since another stroke of stigma had been added just yesterday, my whole body was sore, but I still did my best. It was thanks to Rachel standing beside me with impeccable posture.
"Thank you."
Outside the investigation room, on the way to the portal customs office.
I expressed my gratitude to Rachel. As promised, Rachel had matched her words with mine. Perhaps it was because the words of royalty exuded an untouchable trust and dignity, but even the investigators who had doubted me believed Rachel's words without the slightest suspicion.
"No. I'm the one who should be more grateful."
Rachel said so without any change in expression, then raised her own wrist. Thanks to the early treatment, her wrist had healed without a scar.
"Does it move well?"
"Yes."
She rotated that wrist 360 degrees. A very fluid movement.
"That's a relief. But, where are you going now?"
"To my home country."
"Aha. England. The UK."
"Yes."
So she's going to England. Well, England was certainly much safer than Korea. The Queen's residence was a fortress that even a devil would have trouble infiltrating.
"Ah, and I'm about to go hunting now......"
I was unnecessarily answering things Rachel hadn't even asked, since we were walking the same way, when suddenly my smartwatch rang.
It wasn't a text, but a call.
The caller: Chae Nayun.
I felt I shouldn't answer, so I declined for now.
"I'm also going to take the Cube portal......"
The call came again. I rejected it immediately.
Then, this time, a text arrived.
[Hey.Youwrotethereport,right?]
[No what Idontget is what the hell do you think is so great about you that you do this to me?]
[What Ihavenosenseasanarcher? Have you even tried using a bow? Fuckingridiculous]
[AndImstupid? Areyoubraggingjustbecauseyoustudyabitwell?]
[Wannaactuallygoatit? Make a bet? Want me to make your whole body realize how hard archery is?]
“……What is this, a bomb?”
Five texts came pouring in—ratatatat—in ten seconds.
But among them, the last one stood out a little.
‘A bet.’
I recalled the proficiency grade of my talent. It was definitely around Grade 7, 67%.
But would that be enough to beat Chae Nayun with a bow?
Of course, during the last exam I had deliberately given her a harsh review by picking out her flaws, but Chae Nayun’s archery skills were undoubtedly among the best of the cadets.
It was just that her talent with the sword was even greater, not that she had no talent with the bow. And since she had been learning since childhood, she already had ten years of experience, so it was only natural……
[Fine. Let’s go at it. Let’s bet. I’ll use a bow instead of a gun too.]
But at this point, it was about time I let her feel the difference between a prodigy and a genius.
Even if Grade 7 wasn’t enough, I had luck on my side. If the bet used ordinary arrows rather than magic-power arrows, I couldn’t imagine losing.
……Still, just in case, I should ask for about a month to train specially.
“…Why isn’t she replying?”
However, Chae Nayun’s messages stopped there. It seemed she thought making a bet with someone who wasn’t even an archer was meaningless.
I hurriedly ran over to Rachel, who had already gone far ahead.
Rachel glanced at me when I reappeared.
“Haha. I’m going to use the portal too. I’m heading to Wonju.”
“……Ah, yes.”
We walked down the path to the portal without speaking.
Before long, we arrived at Cube’s portal customs office, which was quiet. Cube had asked the cadets to leave campus so the investigation could proceed smoothly, so everyone who was going to leave had already left.
Now I would probably take the portal to Wonju, while Rachel would go through Seoul and on to England.
“If it’s not rude of me to ask, that weapon you used back then…… may I ask what it was?”
But before we parted, Rachel asked me.
From her perspective, it was probably something impossible to understand no matter how much she thought about it. The assassin who had threatened her had been sent straight to his grave by only two shotgun blasts.
“……It’s an incredibly expensive weapon, and cadets each have at least one special ability of their own.”
But that was all I could tell her.
Rachel gazed at me for a moment, then nodded.
“Then, thank you. I’ll bring your repayment from England.”
With those words as her last, Rachel headed toward the Seoul portal.
* * *
I arrived in Wonju, Gangwon-do. Perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, the inside of the portal customs office was packed so tightly with people there was no room to step.
I forced my way through the crowd and came out of the customs office.
“Hajin~ Over here!”
Once I had fully made it outside, a man called out to me. It was Park Suhyuk, neatly dressed in sunglasses and a suit. Next to him was an older model, but still perfectly respectable, HUV.
He’s practically been reborn.
I smiled and walked toward him.
“Well, well, look who it is. You’ve been using my money for personal gain, huh? This is embezzlement and breach of trust.”
“Haha. This is a legitimate business expense, sir. Anyway, let’s go. Get in.”
Park Suhyuk opened the back door with a very practiced motion.
I got into the car.
“Only up to the one-kilometer point again today?”
“Yeah. But I’m going to hunt quite a lot today.”
“Good, good. We’re off~”
The unlimited magazine supply Yoo Yeonha had promised me was still valid. And since I’d given the Desert Eagle a setting where it grew the more monsters it hunted, I needed to hunt as much as possible whenever I had time, like this week.
“By the way, how’s business been lately?”
“Thanks to you, it’s much better than before. Still, once I had a car, I could actually do sales.”
In truth, when it came to business, a car was…