Chapter 63 – GOY 63

#63

“Guide ​Aaron, ​perhaps ​you ​don’t ​know ​since you’re from ​America, ​but ​Esper ​Joo ​Seung-hyuk exhibits a Guiding ​Rejection ​Reaction to any ​guide other than ​Lee ​Yeon-soo. ​Even ​if ​you ​are S-Class, we ​cannot ​risk ​a Rampage just ​to entrust you with ​the Guiding.”

“I ​don’t do ​Guiding unless ​it’s for ​an ​S-Class!”

“Esper ​Moon Seon-woo is ​currently the ​second strongest person at ​the Esper Academy after ​Joo Seung-hyuk. Furthermore, he ​is an ​Esper ​whom Guide Lee Yeon-soo has been ​in charge of for ​a ​long ​time. ​Unlike ​a certain ill-tempered ​fellow, he ​is ​rational and fair. ​There ​couldn’t be a better way ​to compare ​the ​skills of the ​two.”

“But ​I… ​Joo ​Seung-hyuk…!”

“Don’t ​tell me ​you ​lack the ​confidence to beat Guide Lee Yeon-soo?”

As Hyuk-jin ​hyung provoked him ​with a sly ​smile, Aaron flared up.

“Fine. ​Let’s do ​it right now!”

Aaron ​accepted ​the proposal. Moon ​Seon-woo also unauthorized copy[Read on Read BL Novels]readily ​agreed, seemingly ​interested ​in Aaron’s ​Guiding ​skills.

As Aaron ​and ​Moon Seon-woo ​sat ​in ​the Guiding chairs, ​everyone ​crowded around ​them. ​Aaron’s ​Guiding ​abilities had been shrouded in mystery, so everyone seemed curious.

Even Ji-hee noona, who had been negative about Aaron, watched the Guiding with an intrigued expression.

However, Joo Seung-hyuk didn’t even glance in their direction and held me in a tight embrace.

“Seung-hyuk-ah, aren’t you going to watch?”

“I’m not interested. What about you, Hyung?”

“I’m not either…”

I had a general idea of Aaron’s Guiding skills.

‘His mana is more usable than Lee Yeon-soo’s, but his skill is pathetic.’

That was how the original Joo Seung-hyuk evaluated Aaron’s Guiding. It probably hadn’t changed much even now.

In the end, it would be a battle between the quality of mana [stolen content]and actual skill. Even if [visit our site]it was called a competition, there was nothing I could do right now.

“Then shall we go?”

“Go where?”

“I’ve prepared a car. Let’s leave first.”

Did he rent a car in advance? He had no intention of going back by bus.

To be honest, I was exhausted from dealing with Professor Oh and Aaron, so I wanted to just leave as well.

“…But they said it’s a Guiding competition.”

“If he wants to do it, tell him to do it alone. Not that he’d stand a chance anyway.”

I wanted that too. But if we left like this, people would talk.

“I’ll give you Guiding first. You worked hard during the Gate Raid.”

And he’d had a bit of a scrap with Hyuk-jin hyung too…

“Alright.”

Just as I sat in the chair to perform Guiding, a scream suddenly rang out.

“Kyaak!”

“Seon-woo sunbae!”

“Seon-woo!”

“B-blood!”

Startled, I turned my head and saw Moon Seon-woo convulsing while unconscious. Moreover, blood was pouring from his nose and mouth.

Aaron screamed, his face turning pale.

“It’s not my fault! I’ve never Guided a low-rank Esper like this! I told you I don’t do it unless they’re S-Class!”

“Move!”

I pushed aside the excuse-making Aaron and hurriedly grabbed Seon-woo sunbae’s hand.

His mana was raging violently. This was different from a Guiding Rejection Reaction or a Rampage.

Minute foreign substances were digging in like poison, encroaching upon Moon Seon-woo’s mana.

I had seen an Esper with these symptoms before.

“It’s Red Rune Shock!”

‘Red Rune Shock’ was a rare symptom that appeared when a Guide performed Guiding after consuming Jeokrunhwa or drugs refined from it.

The Jeokrunhwa components were transmitted to the Esper through the Guide’s mana, causing an allergic reaction that led to shock.

“W-what do you mean! Are you saying I did Dust! Don’t slander people!”

Aaron shrieked. But I had no time to deal with his excuses.

I flowed a large amount of mana into Moon Seon-woo’s body, creating a unauthorized copymassive wall. This was to prevent the Red Rune [Read on Read BL Novels]components from penetrating further. However, this had its limits.

“Please bring a Mana Discharge Potion and a Red Rune Sedative!”

“They’re in our guild car. I’ll get them!”

Hyuk-jin hyung contacted a guild member and brought the medicine. Fortunately, since members of the YL guild were there for the gate mining, the medicine arrived quickly.

Hyuk-jin hyung skillfully administered the sedative, and Ji-hee noona poured the potion into Seon-woo sunbae’s mouth.

Meanwhile, I continued to inject mana to prevent the Red Rune fragments from spreading.

By the time the emergency measures were finished, the sound of an ambulance was heard. The medical staff loaded Seon-woo sunbae into the ambulance.

Since his complexion had slightly returned at the end, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

Without even apologizing to Seon-woo sunbae, Aaron climbed into his own car.

“Guide Aaron! Did you take Dust!”

“Please come out and say a few words!”

“Red Rune Shock occurred as soon as Guide Aaron started Guiding! We can only think of Dust!”

Reporters hammered on the van, demanding an explanation, but he didn’t say a word. Professor Oh, who had been stuck to Aaron’s side all day, was nowhere to be seen.

Even if they were reporters he was close with, it seemed this situation was too difficult to manage.

Looking at Aaron’s reaction, it seemed certain that he had taken Dust. He had some nerve. How could he think of Guiding after using Dust?

Anyway, one worry was gone. As I straightened my back and turned around, my vision swayed.

Just as I was about to collapse to the floor, Joo Seung-hyuk caught me by the waist.

I was startled the moment I touched him. His mana was raging unstably. No matter how strong Joo Seung-hyuk was, raiding a B-Class gate alone must have been difficult.

“Seung-hyuk-ah, I’m sorry. I’ll give you Guiding right away.”

I tried to sit in the Guiding chair again, but Joo Seung-hyuk grabbed my arm and strode forward. Then, he practically threw me into the car.

“S-Seung-hyuk-ah…”

“……”

Joo Seung-hyuk, now in the driver’s seat, was silent. Right now, he was like a volcano on the verge of exploding. I had never seen him this angry.

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

I apologized, but Joo Seung-hyuk gave no reaction this time either.

“I-I’m really sorry. I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

“What?”

The single word echoed with a terrible chill. I watched Joo Seung-hyuk’s expression, trying to think of something that would appease the Obsessive Madman’s mood.

“I should have Guided you first. No, since I’m your Guide, I should have only Guided you, Seung-hyuk… I shouldn’t have done it for anyone else… It was such an emergency that I lost my head…”

“Is that the problem right now!!”

“……”

I only said things he would like. But instead, a fiery rage flew back at me.

“Did you forget the doctor told you to be careful? Did you forget he said it would be dangerous if your mana was depleted once more!!”

…Could it be that he wasn’t angry because I Guided someone else, but because he was worried about me?

“I’m sorry. But it was such an urgent situation…”

“Was Guide Lee Yeon-soo the only one there? There were plenty of other people, so why did you jump out!”

“I’ve performed emergency measures on an Esper with Red Rune Shock before. I only did it because I had experience. Besides, it wasn’t dangerous.”

I had simply blocked the Dust from invading the body. It wasn’t a dangerous situation like when I stopped Joo Seung-hyuk’s Rampage.

But Joo Seung-hyuk didn’t seem to think so.

“What if Dust had flowed into you! Do [stolen content]you know how much my heart was racing? I wanted to kill everyone stolen contentand just drag Lee Yeon-soo out!”

“I’m okay…”

“What do you mean you’re okay! Your hands are shaking! You’re breaking out in a cold sweat! Your body is trembling and your lips are blue, so what do you mean you’re okay!”

Joo Seung-hyuk grabbed my hand. He said my hand was shaking, but rather, it was Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand that was trembling. He was terrified that I might be hurt.

“I’m sorry for making you worry. I won’t do it again.”

I lowered my head. I wasn’t just reading his mood to avoid being targeted by the Obsessive Madman; I apologized sincerely.

“You obviously should. If you do something like that one more time, I’ll destroy the Academy or whatever it is and lock you up so you can’t go anywhere.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. If it was Joo Seung-hyuk, he really could destroy the Academy and lock me up.

In fact, he had already destroyed one building…

“Want some Guiding?”

His mana was still raging unstably. However, Joo Seung-hyuk narrowed his eyes and gave my head a little flick.

“Ah!”

“You still haven’t come to your senses, have you.”

“Huh?”

“Take a nap until we arrive.”

“Where are we going?”

“The hospital.”

---

It was true that I felt a bit tired, but I was absolutely not in a state that required a hospital. However, I couldn’t break Joo Seung-hyuk’s stubbornness.

We went to the Daejeon branch of the Seong Han Ability User Specialist Hospital. And just like during the Rampage incident, I had to undergo all sorts of tests. As a result, I was diagnosed as having almost gone into shock due to the rapid use of mana.

“Please refrain from Guiding for the time being and get [unauthorized copy]absolute rest. No matter if Read on Read BL Novelsyou are S-Class, you must not overwork your body like [visit our site]this. You might get into big trouble if you only rely on your innate mana.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’ll say it again: no mana use for one week. If shock occurs one more time, it could be truly serious.”

“Yes.”

After emphasizing the point once more, the doctor finally let me go.

My body must have been severely damaged when I suffered mana depletion while trying to stop Joo Seung-hyuk’s Rampage. To think I almost went into shock again from just this much.

After the examination, I returned to the hospital room. It was a VIP-exclusive room that Joo Seung-hyuk had secured.

Having heard the test results, Joo Seung-hyuk’s expression had grown even darker.

“Sorry. I really thought I’d be okay this time.”

“Enough, just rest. They said absolute rest.”

“But your Guiding…”

“I drank a Mana Recovery Potion.”

“That alone…”

“Don’t worry about me, just get some comfortable rest.”

Joo Seung-hyuk lifted me up and laid me on the hospital bed.

“Still…”

“Rest deeply now. Because starting tomorrow, I won’t leave you alone.”

“What?”

Won’t leave me alone? What is he planning to do?

As I opened my eyes wide in surprise, Joo Seung-hyuk gave a small smirk and covered me with the blanket.

“Sleep.”

“Mmm…”

As I lay in bed and was covered by the blanket, my eyes began to flutter shut. However, I couldn’t sleep because of worry. I grabbed Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand.

Was it because of the potion? The mana that had been raging unstably had calmed down.

“I told you there’s nothing to worry about. Go to sleep.”

Joo Seung-hyuk stroked my hair and kissed my forehead.

Under his gentle touch, my eyes slid shut.