Chapter 118 – GOY 118

#118

“Seung-hyuk-ah….”

“Were ​you ​here?”

“Yeah….”

I ​hurriedly ​wiped ​away ​my tears. But ​the ​more ​I ​tried ​to hold them back, ​the ​more the emotions ​surged.

“Why are you ​crying?”

I ​had ​seen ​your ​childhood. ​That past was ​so ​wretched ​that it brought ​me to tears.

I couldn’t ​tell him ​that.

“The book ​is sad….”

I ​made a ​vague ​excuse.

“That’s ​sad?”

Joo Seung-hyuk looked ​at the ​book in my hand ​as if he found ​it absurd.

Since I had ​sobbed while ​reading ​’My Rank is Omega,’ even someone ​like Joo Seung-hyuk couldn’t ​help ​but ​be ​bewildered.

“It ​says the rank ​is Omega.”

I ​felt ​so sorry. I ​had ​no idea Joo Seung-hyuk had ​endured such ​pain.

Until ​now, I had ​blindly ​trusted ​the ​original ​story. In ​the ​original, there ​was no mention at all of Joo ​Seung-hyuk being abused ​as a child.

So, ​I naturally assumed he ​had lived ​in the annex ​of ​the main house. ​I knew he ​faced Chairman ​Joo’s ​coldness and ​Ju ​Tae-han’s bullying, ​but ​I thought ​he ​lived ​in material abundance.

Since ​Chairman ​Joo was ​a ​man ​who ​valued appearances, I figured that even if it wasn’t sincere, he would have treated him well on the surface.

That was the image I saw at the Seong Han Group main house as well. Joo Seung-hyuk wore luxurious clothes and lived in a spacious house, albeit in the annex. That was why I hadn’t doubted the original story.

No, that was nothing more than an excuse. Regardless of the reason, I had let go of Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand.

I had left Joo Seung-hyuk with a father who was a child abuser and escaped the original story alone.

If I had been by Joo Seung-hyuk’s side, if I had at least become his friend, I could have healed the wounds in his heart, even if only a little.

“Is it that sad that the rank is Omega?”

Actually, I had never read that novel. However, I roughly knew the plot of the movie based on the original. I had seen it on a movie introduction show, and since it was cut off in the middle, I didn’t know the ending at all.

“The Alpha protagonist is a bully, but he got beaten up a lot while participating in a gang fight to save his Omega lover. He had surgery, but his life was in danger….”

As I vaguely recounted what I saw on the show, Joo Seung-hyuk replied.

“He doesn’t die. He lives.”

“Don’t spoil it…!”

Because I was trying to force back my tears, my voice came out strongly. Honestly, I wasn’t interested in the rest of the novel, but since I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the real reason I was crying, I used it as a pretext.

‘Don’t cry. What do you have to be so proud of that you’re crying.’

I bit my lip and strained my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up.

“I’m sorry. My mistake. I won’t spoil it, so please don’t cry.”

Joo Seung-hyuk hugged me. I felt it was selfish to be comforted when I was the one who had intended to cause him pain. However, as I was held in his arms, my churning heart finally calmed down.

The boy who had been so small he seemed like he would break had become such a wonderful adult. Is he okay now? Have the wounds from back then healed at least a little?

“By the way, why did you come here?”

“The ring glowed, and my body moved on its own.”

“The ring?”

“Yeah.”

Joo Seung-hyuk looked at the ring on my finger. At that moment, the ring, which had been quiet for a while, began to emit light again.

Amidst the surrounding light, a pitch-black dot, contrasting with the brightness, appeared beneath my feet. The black dot, where mana energy was condensed, gradually spread outward, pulling my feet down like a water ghost.

I knew what this was. The moment I realized the identity of the dark mana, I screamed.

“It’s a gate entrance! We have to avoid—!”

Before I could even finish saying we had to avoid it, Joo Seung-hyuk and I were sucked into the gate.

“Aaagh!”

As soon as we entered the entrance, my body plummeted downward. I screamed in surprise, but Joo Seung-hyuk scooped me up in his arms and landed lightly.

“Are you okay?”

“U-uh… thanks.”

I hated falling from high places. However, perhaps because Joo Seung-hyuk held me, the psychological damage was less than expected. But since I was being held in a princess carry, embarrassment rushed in as soon as the fear faded.

“I-I’ll get down now….”

“Okay.”

He lowered me carefully.

“Seung-hyuk-ah, are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

He gave a thin smile. He really seemed to be unhurt.

“But how do we get out now?”

I tilted my head back to look at the ceiling. The gate entrance was floating at a height that would be about the second floor of a building. No matter how strong Joo Seung-hyuk was, it seemed impossible to go back out through that entrance.

“Usually, there’s only one gate entrance, but it seems this one has separate entry and exit points. It’s a bit unusual, but not a very rare case. In these instances, once the boss is defeated, a new exit will be created over there.”

He explained in a light tone. Honestly, I had been terrified after seeing the gate entrance on the ceiling, but since Joo Seung-hyuk spoke so nonchalantly, I felt relieved.

“I want to send Hyung out of the gate first, but the layout is really poor.”

“No. I’ll go with you.”

It wasn’t that I was avoiding the gate itself; I just didn’t want to hold back an Esper. Moreover, since I had already entered, I wanted to be of help to Joo Seung-hyuk.

“Wait a second.”

I took out the Pistol of Horaitron from the ring.

The Pistol of Horaitron not only enhanced attack power but also had the ability to create an S-Class shield for 24 hours.

As soon as I gripped the gun and activated the shield, a transparent membrane enveloped the two of us.

“You’re good at this.”

Joo Seung-hyuk gave a proud smile and stroked my hair.

“I’m not a child; I can at least do this much.”

My lips naturally pouted as I was treated like a child. However, Joo Seung-hyuk, looking pleased for some reason, poked my cheek with a grin.

“I know.”

Do you really know…? I feel like you’re treating me completely like a kid….

“But why did the gate suddenly open?”

“It’s a Linked Gate.”

“A Linked Gate?”

“Yes. It seems the boss is related to this ring.”

Ordinary gates are created at unspecified times in unspecified locations. However, in rare cases, gates related to specific treasures open.

These are called ‘Linked Gates.’

If you defeat the boss of a Linked Gate, a treasure related to it appears.

For example, if it were a Linked Gate for the ‘Pistol of Horaitron,’ items like Horaitron bullets or the Horaitron ring would appear as treasures.

Using these ‘linked treasures’ together could produce an enormous synergy. The abilities of the existing treasure could be doubled, special abilities could manifest, and the mere fact that a ‘linked treasure’ existed caused the value of the treasure to skyrocket.

Because of this, there were Espers who specialized in hunting ‘linked treasures.’ However, in reality, there were very few treasures that had ‘linked treasures’ to begin with, and even if they did, finding a Linked Gate was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

So, discovering a Linked Gate was very lucky. But I couldn’t just be happy.

“Judging by the mana energy, it looks like it’ll be at least A-Class.”

The mana currently swirling around this gate was by no means inferior to the Horaitron Gate. It was at least A-Class, and there was a possibility it was S-Class. If it were S-Class, it would be difficult for Joo Seung-hyuk to handle it alone.

However, I couldn’t sense a hint of tension from him.

“Don’t worry. Linked Gates are small in size.”

“But you didn’t bring a weapon. Do you want to use the pistol?”

“I’m fine.”

Joo Seung-hyuk laughed lightly and pulled a black handkerchief from his pocket. The moment he gripped it, the handkerchief transformed into a black longsword.

‘That was a weapon?’

I thought he just carried a black handkerchief because of his taste. But he had been carrying a weapon all along….

Before I could even be surprised, monsters swarmed in. The number was immense, surpassing even the Horaitron Gate.

“Hyung, stay here.”

However, Joo Seung-hyuk spoke in a relaxed tone as if he were going for a stroll, and then he launched mana toward the monsters.

“…….”

Then, half of the monsters vanished in an instant. It was truly overwhelming power.

But why does this look so familiar? This is the first time I’ve seen Joo Seung-hyuk fight in a real battle today…. Is it because I saw him in the mock battles?

Regardless, it was amazing.

Every week during the mock battles, I had been amazed by Joo Seung-hyuk’s skill. He was always relentless. But I had thought that was only because he was fighting holograms.

I thought that in actual reality, no matter how strong Joo Seung-hyuk was, he would inevitably encounter various obstacles.

But I was mistaken. He dispatched the monsters at a speed similar to the mock battles.

Being with him made me feel as relaxed as if I had come to an E-Class gate. Since this was my first time participating since the Horaitron Gate, I was honestly worried, but as I absentmindedly admired Joo Seung-hyuk’s combat, other thoughts were quickly forgotten.

“Seung-hyuk-ah, I’ll give you some Guiding.”

I intended to provide Guiding before we moved to the next room after defeating all the monsters. However, Joo Seung-hyuk shook his head.

“I’m fine. I should finish this quickly.”

“But you used a lot of mana.”

“Just having Hyung by my side is enough.”

He gave a clear smile and immediately moved forward.