Han Soo-Young has always lived her life using the words of her master, Nam Hyun-Hwa, as a guide.
She was a savior who raised her and Choi Hyun-Woo as if they were her own children from a time when they were too young to remember.She was a parent, a family member, a savior, and always a strict and kind master.
And among her teachings, there was also a teaching that was wary of Han Soo-Young's talent.She told her to never use her abilities to find out people's secrets or weaknesses.Never use it for criminal activities...… and so on.
And now she was going to break both of them at the same time of her own volition.She knelt down as if in prayer, clasped her hands together, and muttered.
"I'm sorry, master…… But this time it's for a friend, so it's safe...… ."
Han Soo-Young could feel something strange.
No matter what, Han Soo-Young acknowledged Jin Ye-Seul.She didn't know the details of why she intentionally pretended to be like that at the academy, but she just thought that there must be a reason, and she never thought she was weaker than her.
And today, she was lying down with mana exhaustion.When she asked Choi Hyun-Woo, he replied that she was fine and that it was Yoo Ji-Hyuk who was hurt.
Something was wrong.She knew instinctively that he was hiding something.She also knew well that the Yoo Ji-Hyuk she knew would never tell her.
Jin Ye-Seul is...… .Well, there's no way she'd tell me anything about Ji-Hyuk, so that's out of the question.
Han Soo-Young felt the need to get some information.It was in the name of helping her friend in case he went to a dangerous place.
‘… Okay.'
The more she went, the more she felt her sense of control over space increasing.She headed to Yoo Ji-Hyuk's dorm room, which she had heard from Choi Hyun-Woo beforehand.The reason why she didn't go in openly, only peeked out from the ceiling is probably because of the last conscience and reluctance remaining in her.
'Huh?'
But no one was in the room.As she wondered if he was still not back, she heard the sound of water.
He's in the shower.Han Soo-Young, who noticed it, could feel her face get hot in an instant.Then, the door suddenly opened and Yoo Ji-Hyuk, dressed in simple clothes, walked out.
‘Hmm, hmm.'
She told herself that this was just for work.Then she opened her eyes and looked around, looking for something that might give her some information.
Like Hyun-Woo, why don't all the boys dry their hair properly?Oh, I thought his hair is straight, but it's slightly curly.I didn't know because Hyun-Woo has a good physique and is muscular, but Jihyuk has quite a lot of muscles, too...… .
'Huh?'
As she was thinking that, Yoo Ji-Hyuk lifted something and placed it on the bed.Han Soo-Young knew what that was.It was because whenever something was delivered to the dormitory, it always came in a box like that.
Yoo Ji-Hyuk took something out of the box that was already open.When Han Soo-Young saw what he had taken out, she could not help but be surprised.It was the first time she had actually seen it, but it was something she knew very well what it was.It was a pistol.
Why on earth?She thought.There were several other items in the box.It was a thick black vest and a magazine, etc.
'Ah.'
In the midst of it all, she could feel the world being distorted.She knew instinctively that the time was running out.
When she came to, Han Soo-Young was lying on the bed in her dormitory.
As she sluggishly got up, she began to think about the scene she had just seen.
"…… ."
The need for a pistol is no ordinary thing.Even more so if it is needed by an academy student.
"… You're going to leave me alone and go off on your own again? Even after making that promise?"
A cold voice came out of Han Soo-Young's mouth that even surprised herself.
Jin Ye-Seul can do it, but I can't?That can't be.
Han Soo-Young mumbled quietly and lifted her cell phone.Unlike Jin Ye-Seul, she had an absolute and reliable ally.
And Choi Hyun-Woo, who received Han Soo-Young's text message during his training, sighed deeply.
* * *
The next day.
The method to supply mana to Jin Ye-Seul was surprisingly easy to solve.The branch of the World Tree that resided in my body did indeed have the ability to absorb others' mana and energy.That meant that the opposite was also possible.
Branch of the World Tree (Bonded / Parasitic / Legendary)
[Effect][Active]
― Part of the World Tree can be extracted from the body. Currently, that's a bit lacking.―You can absorb the energy of a target that comes into contact with a branch of the World Tree. However, if the opponent's overall stats are significantly higher, the energy may be taken away. For targets with an absolute advantage, energy can be absorbed unconditionally. You can share energy with the connected person.— ???— ???
While using the skill, Jin Ye-Seul cannot move at all.So, she couldn't even take a way to recover her depleting mana, like drinking a potion to replenish her mana.
But that was of no concern to me.I spent a lot of money and bought a huge number of mana potions.On top of that, I also had collected spare mana as much I could, since it was possible to store with Electricity Storage.
"Sit comfortably."
"Oh, okay."
Jin Ye-Seul and I rented a sparring room in the name of sparring.Normally, it would be impossible to close the door of a Sparring Room, which is not a Training Room, but as soon as Jin Ye-Seul touched something lightly, the door of the Sparring Room closed.
This way, other people wouldn't be able to interfere with us.Jin Ye-Seul took off her shoes and hugged the cushion she had brought beforehand, and sat down comfortably in a suitable position.She had changed into simple exercise clothes in case she got wet with cold sweat like last time.
In the meantime, I opened all the bottles of mana potions and gathered them in one place.Then, I pulled out branches of the World Tree and sent them to each bottle as if I were inserting a straw.
If I run out of mana, he'll start sucking on his own.the problem is…… .
"Why?"
The problem was how to connect the branches of the World Tree.Jin Ye-Seul, who noticed my gaze, tilted her head as if asking why.
"I think I'm going to have to hurt you a bit."
"Oh, that's what it was."
Jin Ye-Seul nodded and suddenly opened her mouth again.Then she grinned and said.
"Wouldn't it be more efficient if it's close to the body?"
"I'm afraid you'll bite me, so I will decline."
"Chi…… ."
I extended a branch of the World Tree and meticulously pushed it into her arm, as if I were sticking an IV needle in there.Soon after, I could feel that I was connected to her.And it seemed that Jin Ye-Seul felt the same way.
"I can feel Ji-Hyuk's thing inside my body…… ."
"Stop talking nonsense."
I dismissed her like that and handed the pendant.She carefully took it and held it in her hands.
"… If you feel like you can't, you can stop at any time."
"Yes."
"It's real. I'm not just saying it."
"Okay."
Jin Ye-Seul exclaimed, oh, and said to me.
"If I do this perfectly, can you listen to my one request?"
"What is it?"
"Well…… If you promise, I'll tell you."
Then, Jin Ye-Seul suddenly began to nod as if whining.
"Ah, it really makes me feel sick and very tired."
I had no choice but to nod as if I understood.
"But if it's something weird, I'll pretend it didn't happen."
"Yes, it's okay. It's nothing big."
Jin Ye-Seul immediately grabbed the pendant with both hands and said.
"I'm going to ask you for a date~"
"What?"
Jin Ye-Seul immediately closed her eyes instead of answering.Soon after, I could see the mana raising around her, just like the last time.
It was a start.I shut my mouth and let the mana flow into her limitlessly through the branches of the World Tree.Almost instantly, I could feel the mana that I had collected with Electricity Storage, being depleted.
The branches of the World Tree were constantly devouring the mana potions and sending them to Jin Ye-Seul.I had bought so many mana potions that I thought I had overdone it, but Jin Ye-Seul demanded a huge amount of mana from me, to the point where I thought I didn't have enough.
"Agggh…… ."
At that moment, a moan came out of my mouth.Even though I simply served as a connection passage, I could not stand the huge amount of mana moving violently.
Only about a third of the mana potions I bought were left.I glanced, but there was no sign of Jin Ye-Seul opening her eyes.Do I have no choice but to grit my teeth and be patient?
While I was thinking like that, I heard a strangely refreshing sound.It was the sound when the notification window popped up.
[The branches of the World Tree have come into contact with an enormous amount of mana for an extended period of time.]
[One of the hidden conditions has been achieved!]
I realized without difficulty that this was one of Lee Ye-Nun's final awakening conditions, but I didn't have the time to pay attention to it right now.
How much time has passed?Before I knew it, my whole body was drenched in a cold sweat, to the point where I felt like I should have come dressed in simple clothes instead of Jin Ye-Seul.Should I give up, such thoughts were gradually taking over my mind.
"… Do, ne."
Jin Ye-Seul muttered in an equally tired voice.At the same time as she said that, I collapsed on the ground as if I were falling down.It was the same with Jin Ye-Seul, who was exhausted.
Jin Ye-Seul had two pendants in her hands.
"This is the real one and this is the fake one."
Jin Ye-Seul handed me the real one and the one replicated with her skill and I stored them in the shadow.She and I were lying on the floor in almost the same position, but Jin Ye-Seul turned her head and looked at me.
"You'll keep your promise, right?"
"… You're so persistent. Persistent."
I muttered quietly as I put my face on the floor.
"Yeah, let's go, go…… ."
"Yay…… ."
Jin Ye-Seul, who was waving her hand with a dying voice, threw something at me.The note she threw had a phone number written on it.
"I've got someone. You can call there."
I held the note in my hand without saying a word.At just the right moment, my phone rang, and it was clear that Esmeralda and Lydia, who had promised to contact me beforehand, contacted me.
With all the preparations done, it was time to move now.
* * *
I, Esmeralda, and Lydia moved immediately at dawn the next day.
Although it was the weekend, it was impossible to go out without a word, so we used Esmeralda's ability to prepare a substitute for me.But just in case I told her to stay only in my dorm without doing anything else.
"Then, I'll outline the operation again."
Lydia looked at me and Esmeralda and said.She looked at me first.
"I've told the leader of the Killer team that I've succeeded in contacting you and persuading you, and I've lured you by trying to settle the grudge instead of handing over the pendant. And he said he would raid you in person when we met like that. Do you understand so far?"
"Yes"
"I'll be there with you, but it's better not to expect much help. Because I have almost no combat capabilities. Since his abilities are unknown...… ."
"More than that, the meeting place must have been exactly what I asked for, right?"
Lydia nodded.
"Yes. You said you wanted to meet on the rooftop of a high-rise building, right? I did as you said. He seemed rather pleased with the fact that the retreat has disappeared."
"That's enough."
She looked at Esmeralda this time.
"Your role is important, too. Es. If we succeed in killing him as planned, you will have to take over his role and destroy it from within."
"Yes."
"And if the plan fails…… ."
Lydia hesitated for a moment.
"It will be difficult for both me and this man to survive. If that happens, I want you to take over my will and plan and destroy the Red Case."
She added as if she was sorry.
"I'm sorry, I feel like I'm putting a heavy burden on you."
"That won't happen, so don't worry, leader. I'm sure you'll succeed."
Esmeralda reassured her as she skillfully placed her hand on Lydia's shoulder.I watched the two of them for a moment, and then quickly raised my hand.
"What if the plan succeeds?"
"I'll have to move while looking at the situation, but the basics are the same. Leak the information to both sides that the pendant was stolen by Red Case, and then instigate from inside to attack them."
She nodded.
"I don't know why, but both sides are very obsessed with the pendant, the chances are good."
At that, I nodded.In fact, I had sent an e-mail to Dmitry, an executive of the Big Watch, whom I had met before, saying that it was difficult to transfer the pendant, and he had persistently emailed me asking me to contact him.
"Then, let's go now. Es. I'll leave the rest to you. If you don't hear from me even though it's time, please don't wait for no reason and start the next plan right away."
"… Yes."
Esmeralda nodded heavily.
Lydia and I headed straight to the building, the meeting point.From what I'd heard, it was a stock company building, but I'd never been here before, not even in the world where I originally lived.
The two of us immediately took the elevator and headed to the rooftop.There were too many people there for anyone to pay much attention to us, but we were able to enter without any restraint, even in the areas where only the relevant people could enter and where the guards kept watch.
I knew that it was Lydia's ability, so I wasn't surprised.We were able to reach the rooftop shortly after.
Perhaps because it was such a high place, the wind blew strongly, which made me a little worried.Meanwhile, Lydia, who was pretending to be talking to me, mumbled that he had arrived.
When I turned my head to look, I saw a man with an ordinary, good-natured impression that could be anywhere, looking at us.
"Hi?"
He looked at me with a wistful smile.
"You're the one named Yoo Ji-Hyuk?"
"…… ."
Lydia looked at him nervously.
"Why are you here? I was supposed to be the only one at the meeting point. This is against the promise...… ."
"Don't be too tight. You know he killed half of my kids, right? I wanted to see his face once and make sure he brought the right item."
Saying so, he looked at me.
"What about the item?"
"I've brought it well. Of course."
I drew his attention by showing the duplicated pendant.Lydia's fingers moved quickly along the way.I thought it wouldn't be long before she would realize it was of no use.
"Oh, but you really came?"
He muttered admiringly.
"It's nice to see that an as*hole like you has come here without knowing that you're gonna die."
"… Why?"
Lydia muttered in a dazed voice.She was naturally questioning why her ability wasn't working.As I looked at her calmly, I trembled and put on the same panicked expression as her.
"Why, why isn't it working...?"
The man giggled and laughed at that appearance as if it were just funny.
"I already knew you'd betray me, Lydia."
Well, if you hadn't, I would have killed you along with him.With that murmur, the leader of the Killer team pulled a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Lydia.
"You can't use your ability, can you? I think your body has gotten really weak. Should we check it out together?"
"Wai, wait!"
He pointed his gun at me at my shout.
"Why? Do you want to beg for your life? Hmm...… but, that's not possible."
He spoke to me in a cold voice for the first time.
"I'll work hard to mop you up for the sake of those guys who've fallen into your hands. Oh, should I drop the body from here?"
"N, not like that…… ."
I said to him, trembling.
"You should've shot that gun before speaking that shit."
You crazy d***head.At the same time, his hand burst like a balloon.
It was due to the bullet of the sniper who was watching us from afar.
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