Chapter 86 – GOY 86
#86
This was a typical cave-type gate. As soon as we entered, B-Class monsters appeared. Although they were numerous, it was no trouble for Park Geon-woo to handle them alone.
“I’ll give you some Guiding.”
“Thanks.”
Once Park Geon-woo finished off the monsters, I provided Guiding, and then we moved to the next room.
“I’m glad I came in with you, Yeon-soo. Your Guiding always feels great.”
As we went deeper into the gate, the number of monsters increased rapidly. No matter [stolen content]how strong Park [unauthorized copy]Geon-woo was as an S-Class, it was becoming overwhelming for him to handle alone, and his mana was depleting quickly.
At first, I thought it was a good thing that I had come along. But gradually, my thoughts began to change.
“I feel like I’m just holding you back.”
In the beginning, the benefits of me providing Guiding outweighed the drawbacks. However, once the number of monsters passed a certain threshold, Park Geon-woo began to struggle. In the midst of that, having to protect me as well caused his mana consumption to accelerate even further.
“That’s not true. If you hadn’t provided Guiding, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“The monsters are getting more numerous. Besides, that ‘Ash-Patterned Bear’ that just appeared was A-Class, right? Something feels off. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for backup here?”
“Since it’s a Gate Break, monsters are probably swarming the entrance. Also, near the boss room, monsters a rank higher than the gate’s grade sometimes appear. That means the hardest part is almost over. The boss room is right in front of us. We can’t afford to waste time here.”
Park Geon-woo’s words made sense. But if only the boss monster remained, wouldn’t it be safer to take things more slowly?
Thanks to our rapid progress, we still [visit our site]unauthorized copyhad some time to spare. Since unauthorized copywe had cleared out the monsters, the support unit should arrive quickly.
Therefore, I felt it would be better to rest and wait for backup.
“Let’s get up.”
“Okay…”
However, since I had almost no actual experience participating in gates, I followed Park Geon-woo’s lead.
Moreover, it was difficult to argue when an S-Class Esper spoke with such conviction.
“The ceiling in this gate is high.”
“It is.”
Since it was a micro-gate, the distance to the boss room was short, visit our sitebut the ceiling [unauthorized copy]was exceptionally high. It looked to be at least 30 meters.
At first, I thought it was a gate where flying monsters appeared. But since only ground-based monsters like wolves and bears kept appearing, the high ceiling actually made me more uneasy.
“It’s strange that there are no flying monsters. Do you think the boss is a flying type?”
“The terrain of a gate and the types of monsters aren’t always proportional. Based on the monsters we’ve seen so far, the probability is low.”
“I see.”
As he said, the path to the boss room was smooth. It seemed the monsters had indeed been concentrated near the entrance due to the impending Gate Break.
Is this what they call experience? This was something I couldn’t have learned just by reading books.
“The entrance ceremony is next week, right?”
“Yeah.”
Starting next week, Park Geon-woo would become a student at the Esper Academy.
“…Are you going to enroll?”
Hearing my question, Park Geon-woo let out a small, bewildered laugh.
“Of course. Any ability user in Korea has to enter the Academy.”
“…Right.”
Of course, he was correct. However, in the original story, Park Geon-woo claims there is nothing left for him to learn at the Academy and volunteers for deployment to Africa, a place everyone avoids. So, I naturally expected him to do the same this time.
“You’re coming to the Academy next year too, right?”
“Yes.”
“It would be fun to attend together.”
I was somewhat surprised by his words. Between this and Valentine’s Day, I thought he was subtly avoiding me… Or was he just saying it out of courtesy?
“Yes. I think so.”
Then, silence fell.
Was my answer too short?
But we weren’t the kind of friends who chatted comfortably. Park Geon-woo was kind to everyone, but he maintained a strange distance from me, and I had noticed it.
An awkward atmosphere enveloped us. In the deep silence, Park Geon-woo was the first to speak.
“By the way, Yeon-soo, about Valentine’s Day…”
“Yes.”
His voice was very cautious. Was he trying to apologize for what happened then?
“Why did you leave first?”
“What? Leave first?”
I asked back, bewildered. Park Geon-woo looked equally confused.
“Did you forget that I asked you to wait?”
“I did wait… Didn’t you leave first, Hyung?”
“What?”
We looked at each other. Had there been some kind of misunderstanding?
“Hyung…”
Just as I was about to ask about that day, Park Geon-woo suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me into an embrace.
Boom!
At that exact moment, a massive fireball crashed down behind me.
Startled, I looked up.
“A Black Wyvern…”
It was a Black Wyvern, an S-Class monster.
Why was an S-Class monster here? Even if there was a chance for a monster higher than the gate’s rank to appear, this was a B-Class gate. There was no way an S-Class monster would appear in a B-Class gate.
S-Class monsters only appear in S-Class gates…
In other words, this place was an S-Class gate. The grade assessment had been an error.
Park Geon-woo seemed to realize the same thing, as his face turned pale.
“Let’s get out of here! We have to report this and request backup immediately!”
The wyvern wasn’t the only problem. If it was an S-Class gate, the boss monster would also be S-Class. Park Geon-woo couldn’t handle it alone.
We had to report the situation as quickly as possible and mobilize all available ability users. If things went wrong, an S-Class Gate Break could occur in the middle of Seoul.
“Yeah. We should.”
Park Geon-woo reached out his hand. I took it and tried to run with him, but suddenly, my body floated up into the air.
“Uh…?”
“Yeon-soo!”
As I was swept upward, Park Geon-woo’s figure grew smaller. He screamed, but the distance between us continued to widen.
The Black Wyvern had snatched me. I realized it a beat too late.
“……”
The terror of death instantly constricted my entire body. I was so terrified that I couldn’t even scream.
Drowned in panic and fear, I squeezed my eyes shut.
At that moment, with a bizarre, screeching cry, the Black Wyvern threw me away.
My body plummeted straight toward the ground.
‘I’m going to die.’
With that thought, I lost consciousness.
And then, I woke up in a VIP private room at the National Ability User Hospital.
“Yeon-soo!”
“Mom…”
“Yeon-soo, are you awake!”
“Director, Guide Lee Yeon-soo has regained consciousness!”
As I woke up, the room was in total chaos.
While I was bewildered about what had happened, the center staff explained the situation. The new Director, in particular, spoke loudly.
“Esper Park Geon-woo risked his life fighting a Black Wyvern to save Guide Lee Yeon-soo!”
They said Park Geon-woo saved me as I was falling to the ground and defeated the Black Wyvern. He suffered severe injuries while protecting me, but the Gimpo Gate team joined in and managed to prevent the worst-case scenario.
The gate’s boss was ‘Horaitron.’ As befitting an S-Class gate boss, Horaitron apparently boasted overwhelming majesty and strength.
“It could have been a disaster. If it weren’t for Esper Joo Seung-hyuk, the Gate Break would have…!”
As Team Leader Seo from the center explained the situation, the Director shouted.
“Team Leader Seo, your exaggeration is severe! Did Seong Han pay you off or something?”
“N-no, sir. That’s not possible. I was simply stating the facts…”
“Isn’t it only possible because Esper Park Geon-woo had already cleared out all the monsters in advance! If he hadn’t been injured trying to save Guide Lee Yeon-soo, our Park Geon-woo would have been the one to take down Horaitron or whatever it was!”
The new Director didn’t seem to like corporate guilds. However, from what he said, Joo Seung-hyuk of Seong Han was part of the Gimpo Gate team, and it seemed he was the one who defeated the S-Class boss monster.
What would have happened if Joo Seung-hyuk, the strongest person in the story, hadn’t been there…? The mere thought was terrifying.
“Anyway, the important thing is that Esper Park Geon-woo risked his life to save Guide Lee Yeon-soo, isn’t it? It would be ingratitude not to bond with such an Esper. Don’t you agree, Guide Yeon-soo?”
Did this man come to visit me? Or did he come to threaten me into bonding with Park Geon-woo?
When visiting hours ended, my family and the center staff left the room.
Once everyone was gone, silence returned to the room. Then, the thoughts ‘I really survived’ and ‘I can finally rest’ hit me simultaneously.
The moment I took a deep breath, a tearing pain shot through my lungs. I hadn’t realized it then because I was so shocked, but they said the monster’s sharp claws had pierced my skin when the wyvern grabbed me. They mentioned that if things had gone slightly wrong, my internal organs might have been punctured.
I was told to be careful for a while because the injuries were severe, but this was too painful…
As I writhed in pain, another wave of agony followed. I couldn’t even scream and could only breathe shallowly when the door opened.
Since visiting hours were over, I thought it would be a doctor or a nurse.
“U-um, some painkillers, please…”
“Yeon-soo, does it hurt a lot?”
Someone rushed toward me. I struggled stolen contentto turn my head and saw Park Geon-woo with a cast on one of his arms.
“Hyung…”
“Yeah. Yeon-soo.”
“Are you badly hurt?”
“……”
“I’m sorry.”
“…Why are you apologizing?”
“I heard from the Director. He said you were injured while trying to save me.”
The Director had repeated the demand for me to bond with Park Geon-woo until the moment he left.
Since Park Geon-woo was certain to go to the center, the Director wanted to make me his imprinted guide and bring me to the center as well. That way, it would become the new Director’s achievement.
But regardless of that, it was a fact that Park Geon-woo had been put in danger because of me.
If the ability users who went to the Gimpo Gate hadn’t returned just in time, we all would have lost our lives.
Park Geon-woo said nothing. Nor was he looking at me.
After a long silence, as if lost in thought, he finally spoke.
“…I’m okay.”
“But your arm…”
“…It’s almost healed.”
The intermittent silences made me anxious. Was he really okay? Was he pretending to be fine so I wouldn’t worry?
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t think about that and focus on your treatment. You should get a potion or some painkillers. I’ll call the doctor.”
Park Geon-woo said that and left the room.
That was the last time I saw Park Geon-woo.
A few days later, I saw the news in my hospital room that instead of enrolling in the Esper Academy, Park Geon-woo had left for Africa.
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