Chapter 137 – GOY 137

#137

As ​it ​happened, ​the ​other ​High-rank ​Espers had been ​deployed ​to ​A-Class ​gates ​in Gimpo and Daegu, ​and ​it was said ​that it would ​take ​some ​time ​for ​the ​support team to ​arrive.

If ​things ​went well, he ​might be able to ​raid the ​gate alone ​with Lee ​Yeon-soo.

“Yeon-soo, stay ​here.”

“Are ​you ​going in alone? ​Why don’t ​you wait until the ​others arrive?”

“Time is tight. ​If this place opens, ​all of ​Seoul ​could be in danger.”

“But….”

“It’s only B-Class ​and a micro-gate. I ​can ​handle ​it ​on ​my own.”

These were ​righteous and ​responsible ​words, but in ​truth, ​they weren’t his real intention.

If ​he insisted ​on ​going alone, knowing ​Lee ​Yeon-soo’s ​personality, ​he ​would definitely ​insist ​on coming ​along.

“Yeon-soo, I’ll be back soon then.”

“Park Geon-woo ​Hyung, I’m coming ​with you.”

And just ​as expected, Lee Yeon-soo ​followed Park ​Geon-woo.

He could have ​handled ​a micro B-Class ​gate by himself. ​In fact, ​there ​was no ​need ​to bring ​Lee ​Yeon-soo, but ​he ​wanted ​to use this ​opportunity ​to show ​off ​his ​capabilities.

Furthermore, ​even if they had met often since childhood, it was usually during gate raids or events where everyone participated; opportunities to be alone like this were rare. If he played this card right, he might be able to close the distance between them in one fell swoop.

The gate raid proceeded smoothly. In particular, receiving Lee Yeon-soo’s Guiding immediately after defeating monsters felt incredibly pleasant.

However, that leisure did not last long.

The number of monsters began to increase rapidly, and the monster grade rose from B-Class to A-Class.

“The monsters are increasing. Besides, that ‘Grey-Patterned Bear’ that just appeared was A-Class, right? Something is off. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for support here?”

Lee Yeon-soo was anxious. From the beginning, he had suspected that there might have been an error in the gate’s grade assessment.

“No. It’s probably because of a Gate Break, so the monsters are crowded near the entrance. Besides, monsters one rank higher than the gate grade sometimes appear near the boss room. That means the hard part is over. The boss room is right in front of us. We can’t waste time here.”

But Park Geon-woo ignored his opinion.

To be honest, Park Geon-woo was also a bit uneasy. However, his pride would not allow him to change his words now after having confidently declared it a B-Class gate from the moment they entered.

Moreover, the possibility of an error in the gate measurement was slim. He couldn’t risk being humiliated by Yeon-soo just by playing it safe over a small possibility.

And he was right. The endless swarm of monsters suddenly cut off.

Lee Yeon-soo seemed bothered by the unusually high ceiling of the [visit our site][stolen content]gate, but as the monsters [unauthorized copy]stopped appearing, he gradually relaxed.

In the slightly loosened atmosphere, the two shared a conversation about the Esper Academy.

“The entrance ceremony is next week, right?”

“Yeah.”

Park Geon-woo had made up his mind to go to the Esper Academy.

His father had flown into a rage upon hearing this. He poured out verbal abuse, asking if he intended to waste four years listening to low-level lectures tailored for mid-rank Ability Users. It wasn’t entirely wrong, but for the first time in his life, he defied his father.

He was an adult now. He no longer wanted to be dragged around by his father. He wanted to sign an Exclusive Guide Contract with Yeon-soo, date him, and attend school together.

“You’re coming to the Academy next year too, right?”

“Yes.”

“It would be fun to go together.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

Listening to the soft voice, Park Geon-woo decided. He would confess now.

But before that, he had to clarify what happened on Valentine’s Day. It was possible that Lee Yeon-soo had sensed Park Geon-woo was about to confess and had avoided him.

“By the way, Yeon-soo, about Valentine’s Day….”

“Yes.”

“Why did you leave first?”

“What? Leave first?”

Lee Yeon-soo looked bewildered. Park Geon-woo was also flustered by the unexpected reaction.

“Did you forget that I asked you to wait?”

“I did wait…. Didn’t you leave first, Hyung?”

“What?”

Park Geon-woo looked straight into Lee Yeon-soo’s eyes. It wasn’t a lie to escape an awkward situation.

Was there some kind of misunderstanding?

“Hyung….”

Just then, a black object appeared in the sky. Park Geon-woo grabbed Lee Yeon-soo’s arm and pulled him close, shielding him. At that moment, a massive fireball crashed down where they had just been standing.

Park Geon-woo looked up at the ceiling. A Black Wyvern, an S-Class monster, was looking down at them with glinting black eyes.

The appearance of a Black Wyvern meant that this was an S-Class gate.

The blood in his entire body [Read on Read BL Novels]ran cold. [unauthorized copy][Read on Read BL Novels]Was it really as Yeon-soo said—that there had been an error in the gate grade measurement…?

The first to snap out of it was Lee Yeon-soo.

“Let’s get out of here! We have to report this and request support immediately!”

“Yeah. We should.”

If it was an S-Class gate, it was impossible for even Park Geon-woo to raid it alone. He grabbed Lee Yeon-soo’s hand and tried to exit the gate together. But at that moment, with a sound that sliced through the air, the Black Wyvern snatched Lee Yeon-soo.

“Uh…?”

“Yeon-soo!”

Before he could even grab him, the Black Wyvern flew up into the air with Lee Yeon-soo in its grasp.

‘I have to save Yeon-soo. I have to save him. There’s no one else. I have to do it.’

But contrary to his thoughts, visit our sitehis body wouldn’t move. The Black Wyvern’s [stolen content]gaze was fixed on Park Geon-woo.

As if Park Geon-woo was its real target.

The Black Wyvern was among the highest ranks of S-Class monsters. Its basic abilities were comparable to an A-Class Boss Monster, and it was a difficult-to-deal-with flying type.

It was impossible for Park Geon-woo to face it alone.

Screeech!

And as if to prove Park Geon-woo’s thoughts correct, the Black Wyvern threw Lee Yeon-soo aside and flew straight toward Park Geon-woo.

‘I have to save Yeon-soo.’

If he fell to the ground from this height, he wouldn’t survive. But even knowing that, his body was moving in the opposite direction. Screaming, Park Geon-woo ran in the exact opposite direction of where Lee Yeon-soo was falling.

Faced with a life-threatening crisis, the mask of the ‘perfect S-Class Esper Park Geon-woo’ that he had built up until now was hollowly stripped away. Even the long-held one-sided love could not overcome the instinct to survive.

At that moment, as if space-time had stopped, the [visit our site]flow stolen contentof time in the gate slowed down, [unauthorized copy]and a man leaped inside.

It was Joo Seung-hyuk.

Park Geon-woo’s legs stopped moving. The Wyvern flying toward him stopped with its massive maw wide open, and Lee Yeon-soo’s body hung suspended in mid-air.

In a situation where everyone was frozen as if time within the gate had completely stopped, only Joo Seung-hyuk moved freely.

‘Did he use the power of a treasure? Or Dark-type magic?’

Joo Seung-hyuk was said to be a dual-attribute Ability User. However, during gate raids, he only used his primary attribute, Flame-type magic, and had almost never used Dark-type abilities. Thus, Park Geon-woo thought it was a nominal attribute that had manifested but couldn’t actually be used.

Had he been hiding his abilities until now…?

Joo Seung-hyuk immediately ran inward and carefully caught Lee Yeon-soo’s body just before he hit the ground.

At that moment, the mana that had constrained their bodies vanished.

Park Geon-woo, whose body had frozen while running, unauthorized copycollapsed instantly Read on Read BL Novelswhen the magic was suddenly released.

“Ack! Ah!”

His arm was pierced by a protruding piece of rock, and blood flowed from his right arm. But there was no time to leisurely check the wound.

The Black Wyvern, which had paused for a moment due to the aftermath of the magic, began to move again.

Park Geon-woo hurriedly fired his mana. However, because he used his power hastily while fallen, he made a mistake, and as a result, he missed ridiculously.

Even in such a desperate situation, Joo Seung-hyuk simply held Lee Yeon-soo tightly.

Park Geon-woo was worried about Lee Yeon-soo, but he was more afraid of the monster in front of him.

“Joo Seung-hyuk, what are you doing! You have to take this thing down right now…!”

“Shut up.”

Joo Seung-hyuk snapped coldly.

“Ugh….”

At the same time, a sound escaped Lee Yeon-soo’s lips—whether it was a groan or a tremble of fear, it was unclear.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid of something like that. I’m here.”

Joo Seung-hyuk comforted Lee Yeon-soo. It was a voice so tender that it was hard to believe it came from him.

‘That guy… he likes Lee Yeon-soo.’

Even in a desperate situation, that thought came first.

It wasn’t out of a grudge from the past or to keep an eye on Lee Yeon-soo to check Park Geon-woo; he actually liked Lee Yeon-soo. A cold-blooded guy like Joo Seung-hyuk….

But there was no time to be in shock. The Black Wyvern breathed fire at Park Geon-woo. The moment he hurriedly dodged, he heard the sound of wind slicing from above.

Feeling an instinctive sense of dread, Park Geon-woo looked up.

Five Black Wyverns were flying toward them. An S-Class monster, which was overwhelming even as a single unit, had increased to six. No matter how outstanding an Esper was, this was a situation that could never be resolved alone.

Yet, even in this emergency, Joo Seung-hyuk just continued to hold Lee Yeon-soo.

“Joo Seung-hyuk!”

“I told you to shut up!”

“…….”

Park Geon-woo shut his mouth, overwhelmed by Joo Seung-hyuk’s killing intent.

“Hyung, just stay here for a moment.”

Joo Seung-hyuk spoke again in a tender voice and carefully set Lee Yeon-soo down. Then, he cast a protective shield around him.

Even while Joo Seung-hyuk was lingering, the Black Wyverns were flying toward them. But unlike the anxious Park Geon-woo, Joo Seung-hyuk visit our sitewas overflowing with composure. He [visit our site]walked with large strides and stood before the Black Wyverns.

Was he seriously planning to fight alone without cooperating? There was a limit to being reckless.

“Joo Seung-hyuk, what are you doing without even setting a strategy? If you use that magic again to stop time, I’ll freeze those things in the meantime….”

Park Geon-woo hurriedly explained the strategy, but Joo Seung-hyuk didn’t even pretend to listen and reached out toward the Black Wyvern. Simultaneously, a scorching blaze engulfed the Black Wyvern. It was an immense heat that felt as if not only the monster but even Park Geon-woo beside it would melt away. Enveloped in black flames, the Black Wyvern let out a bizarre scream and crashed to the ground.

‘Was Joo Seung-hyuk’s power this great…?’

While Park Geon-woo was immersed in shock, Joo Seung-hyuk plunged a long sword into the Black Wyvern’s neck.

As he channeled mana into the sword, the monster’s neck, which had been struggling within the flames, snapped powerlessly.

Though he had taken down an S-Class monster alone, Joo Seung-hyuk’s expression remained unchanged. He immediately turned and attacked the other Black Wyverns. A Black Wyvern’s wing was broken, and another’s neck was severed. In an instant, Joo Seung-hyuk wiped out all six S-Class monsters.

During all of this, Park Geon-woo could do nothing. He simply watched Joo Seung-hyuk’s feat, frozen in place.