Chapter 82.

“Ehew . ”

After returning to the magicians’ dorm, Tomer let out a deep sigh .

[Tomer, why is the mission being delayed? Are there other variables?]

Her boss sent her a grumpy message .

Tomer’s mission was to injure or weaken Rachel . She only had to make Rachel take a break from her usual daily life for a bit .

With the cooperation from Djinns acting as spies in Cube’s executives, she thought she could quickly take care of this mission and go back, but there was a constant heckler obstructing her .

“Do I have to take care of him first…?”

Nowadays, she felt sour just seeing Kim Hajin’s face . Every time she tried to do something, he seemingly appeared out of nowhere and foiled her plans . Whether it was before class, during class, or after class, Kim Hajin refused to leave Rachel’s side .

“Tsk, can’t he know his place?”

Tomer simply couldn’t understand how a rank 334 cadet had the gall to act so straightforward . She already investigated his background, and he didn’t even have parents, much less a proper backing . Did he really believe that he could win a beauty’s heart just with courage?

“…Wait . ”

A flash of insight sparked in Tomer’s head .

Kim Hajin had strong feelings for Rachel . Tomer was sure of it . However, although she didn’t openly show it, Rachel was undoubtedly uncomfortable with his advances .

He was trying to make a move one-sidedly .

There were many ways to spread malicious rumors . You could bad-mouth someone behind their back, or you could exaggerate rumors that were already present .

But for now, there was no need for such complicated schemes .

She just had to say things as she saw them, albeit exaggerating things a little .

To do that… she would have to first get close to Kim Hajin and Rachel… no, to the entire team .

Tomer messaged her boss .

[Is the mission really just to separate this girl?]

[That’s right . Afterward, the agent we dispatched will take care of the rest . ]

‘Good, it’s time for a change of plans . ’ Tomer laughed maniacally .

It was then .

Her smartwatch vibrated . The especially intense vibration signaled that it was from Violet Banquet . Tomer quickly turned on her smartwatch .

[Truth Agency]

[We have accepted Jamie Jamer-ssi’s request . ]

“They’re replying now?”

She had forgotten about Truth Agency because it was 2~3 weeks ago that she put in a request . She had assumed they were unreliable since they didn’t answer .

Did they just have too many clients?

In any case, she was satisfied .

As long as she could find out where that bastard was, she was happy to wait .

**

“Next week, each team will select a small-scale Dungeon and do a presentation on the best way to conquer it . ”

Friday’s theory class – ‘Phenomenon Realm Analysis II’ .

Just before the class ended, the professor gave the cadets their team assignments . Cadets immediately broke out into groans . However, Jin Hoseung and Yi Bokgyu, who were sitting in front of me, didn’t seem all that worried . They turned around, looking at me happily .

“We believe in you, Hajin . ”

It wasn’t just them .

Other cadets were also looking this way with envious eyes .

“Have a good weekend . ”

With that, the professor left the classroom . Members of Team Rachel, including myself, got up .

“Guys, there’s a team leader meeting next Wednesday . Don’t forget to come to the auditorium if you’re a team leader . ”

At that moment, the class president, Yi Yeonghan, loudly shouted . I looked at Rachel, who was putting her writing utensils away, and our eyes met .

I spoke .

“For today, let’s go to the café and just divide up the work . ”

“Alright . ”

This wasn’t Rachel’s voice . I turned my gaze to the side . It was Tomer .

“Let’s go to the café . ”

Tomer had a very bright face .

“…What’s up with you?”

“What do you mean? Everyone, Rachel-ssi, let’s go . We don’t have time . ”

Tomer stepped in and began to urge other team members . I stared at her with a daze . What was she scheming this time? Did she have a nuclear bomb set up at the café?

…10 minutes later .

We arrived at the café .

I tried peering through the roof and ground, but I couldn’t find any traps in the café . Although I was still suspicious, I started dividing up the work among others .

“Hoseung and Bokgyu can look up the data on the Dungeon . Jamer and Rachel-ssi can calculate the mana density . ”

That was the result of our 30-minute discussion .

They would send their results to me, then I would assemble everything together into a presentable PowerPoint .

“That sounds good . ”

“I agree . ”

The team members agreed with a bright face .

When I was about to grab my bag and leave, Rachel suddenly grabbed my sleeve .

“Um, Hajin-ssi . ”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t the English Royal Court contact you?”

“Eh? …Um, what contact?”

At that moment, Rachel slightly furrowed her brows .

“Um, the English Royal Court guild…”

“?”

I tilted my head . Although I didn’t remember something like that, I checked my email just in case . There were 1097 unread emails . I tried searching for the phrase ‘royal court’ .

I found one email .

“Ah, they emailed me . Sorry, I don’t check my email that often . ”

“They… emailed you?”

I didn’t know why, but Rachel seemed to be a bit angry as her lips stuck out in a pout .

“Try reading it when you go home . ”

“I’ll just read it now . ”

I clicked on the email . Just like Rachel said, the English Royal Court guild had contacted me . It was written in Korean, so I had no trouble reading it .

A 100 million won salary with additional benefits .

It wasn’t a particularly good condition for a pre-contract .

“Can I take a look?”

“Sure . ”

Rachel peeked her head in and checked the content of the email . Her eyes moved around busily, then she frowned strongly .

“What kind of a contract is… nevermind, don’t read this . ”

Rachel stood up, fuming . Then, she hurriedly rushed out of the café . She had the angriest face I’ve seen since I entered Cube .

“…What, why is she so mad?”

The rest of the team members watched her leave in a daze .

**

Sunday night, a time I set out for the sake of my sanity .

I was currently focused on playing a game .

[Victory]

I won once again .

[Yes?]

[How did you do that combo just now?]

The loser, Nayunjajangman, messaged me .

We became friends since we played on Wednesday . Because we were logged on around the same time, we’ve been playing against each other often . Thankfully, Random Consolidation System gave me numbers like 37, 40, 39, so I haven’t lost a single game .

[You must stay calm . ]

[How are you so good? Are you an active Hero??]

[No, not at all . ]

Strengthening of concept . It increased understanding of what combo to use and what combo was most efficient, boosting even the sense of time and movement within the game . Although my skills would vary depending on what number I rolled, I was undoubtedly worthy to be called an expert .

[By the way, why is your ranked match stats 43 wins and 43 losses?? Did you lose on purpose?]

[Yes, because I didn’t want to be someone who was intensely attached to mere numbers . ]

I lied without even batting an eye .

[Ah… I see . You’re amazing . I can’t sleep properly if I lose a ranked match . Do you log on around this time every day?]

[Yes . ]

[Can I ask you to teach me a move or two around this time?]

I couldn’t help but smile . He was surprisingly polite .

[Gladly . But I’ll be going offline now . I must go work out . ]

[Oh! ㅋㅋ I was about to go work out too ㅋㅋ Jinx!]

I didn’t reply to him and just put my helmet down .

I carefully opened the door so as to not awake Evandel .

Then, I headed to the Fitness Center .

After about five minutes of walking, I arrived .

When I came out of the changing room in my sportswear, I ran into Chae Nayun who was also entering the Fitness Center .

“What, you’re here to work out too?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah . ”

“…Alright, work hard . ”

Chae Nayun walked past me into the girl’s changing room . I then headed to the treadmill without much thought . Suddenly, a thought flashed through my head .

Nayunjajangman .

Nayun . Chae Nayun .

“Mm… no way, right?”

Beep—

I set the treadmill speed to 20km . I wouldn’t have even imagined it in the past, but now it wasn’t so difficult .

For the next 30 minutes, I ran on the treadmill . By the time I got off, I was soaked with my own sweat .

“Huu… . ”

I took out a sports drink from the fridge .

Chae Nayun, who just got out of the gravitation room, slowly came up next to me .

“Hey . ”

I stared at Chae Nayun silently . She fidgeted around, trying to buy time .

“What? Say something . ”

“…You see, my team got the Hongcheon Mantis Dungeon . ”

It seemed Chae Nayun was worried about her team challenge . A Mantis Dungeon… . She ended up taking an insect Dungeon, which was one of the trickiest out of all Dungeons .

“Do, do you know anything about it?”

“…How did you choose the most difficult one?”

“I know right? The annoying magician in my team kept telling me to choose it . ”

The magician in Chae Nayun’s team was Oh Junsik . He was recorded in my settings book . Although he was skilled, he was a bit of an ass . Because his aunt was a 7-star magician, he probably wouldn’t bend down to Chae Nayun either .

“He probably thought that he could get bonus points with a difficult assignment . But he’s probably going to be sloppy in his presentation . He’s going to stutter and make you facepalm . ”

“I know, I was willing to overlook it, but now… Ehew, I’ve never met someone who is more headstrong than me . ”

At least she knew she was headstrong .

“If possible, let someone else do the presentation . Unexpectedly, Hazuki seems to be a good choice . ”

“I want to, but I doubt that bastard will agree… Kuhum . ”

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned awkward . We both distanced ourselves as though we remembered our relationship . After all, we weren’t friends who could chat so amicably .

“…H-Have fun exercising . I’m going back to the gravitation room . ”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll go lift some weights . ”

**

August 12th, Tuesday, dusk .

In an empty park, a sharp sword swinging sound resonated through the area .

“Hey, didn’t I get better?”

Chae Nayun, who was just wielding a sword, asked with a bright face . Kim Suho nodded with a laugh .

“Yeah, you stopped closing your eyes . ”

Only seven days had passed since Kim Suho started acting as Chae Nayun’s teacher .

Chae Nayun was certainly growing at an incredible pace . Her biggest achievement was that she stopped fearing close ranged attacks to a certain extent .

“I think playing that game really helped me . ”

“Game?”

Kim Suho asked as he tilted his head .

“Yeah, I met someone who’s even better than you . A super expert who only does close ranged combat . ”

“Ah~ Gladiator of the Century? But you don’t move your body in that game . ”

Gladiator of the Century used brainwaves and iris-movements as control . Of course, you could play it with a keyboard and a mouse, but that would significantly slow down your reaction time .

“Yeah, but an ordinary person would never be able to do what he does . He’s my mentor!”

“Oh, he must really be an expert then . ”

Chae Nayun’s mentor . It meant that the prideful Chae Nayun had acknowledged him to be superior .

“Yeah, he has a great personality too . He apparently matches his win-loss ratio because he doesn’t want to be intensely attached to mere numbers . Isn’t that cool?”

Most people played ranked matches to win, resulting in a rather boring match . Each side would first test out the waters with small maneuvers, and the outcome of the battle would end up being determined by which side dealt more effective blows . It was kind of like a boxing match, except that it was rare for one side to be KO’ed .

However, Extra7 was different . He charged at you directly and almost recklessly . Each of his movements were potentially lethal, helping Chae Nayun get over her fear of close ranged combat .

“If he’s that good, he must be an active Hero, right?”

“No, I asked him, and he said… Eh?”

It was then .

A man appeared in the distance wearing flip-flops .

It was Kim Hajin .

“Oh look, Kim Hajin’s here . ”

This didn’t surprise Chae Nayun . Kim Suho had already told her that Kim Hajin was coming to talk to him and that he could only teach her until Kim Hajin came .

“Hm? Oh, you’re right . Then I’ll be going now . ”

Kim Suho got up .

“Yeah, take care . ”

“Don’t overwork yourself either, okay?”

Chae Nayun watched Kim Suho walking up to Kim Hajin .

It felt like they had gotten close recently . But how?

‘Now that I think about it, Kim Suho jokingly said they talked about me . Was it because of me…?’

Kim Suho and Kim Hajin walked off, chatting together . Chae Nayun strained her ears .

—How’s your condition?

This was Kim Hajin’s voice .

—Pretty good .

That was Kim Suho’s .

—Don’t overwork yourself . Friday’s right around the corner .

—Of course .

—Oh, and how’s Chae Nayun?

At that moment, Chae Nayun’s heart dropped a beat .

This was the most important part, but they were now too far for her to listen in .

“…The heck . ”

Chae Nayun stared at them with a complex mix of emotions in her eyes .

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