Chapter 155

[Congratulations to Han Tae-un, son of Guncheon where dreams and nature grow, on awakening as a 1st-grade!]

Isn't the emphasis point a bit off?

But the problematic banner had already been hung. Tae-un stood beneath it, announcing the arrival of a new 1st-grade to numerous reporters. Countless flashes illuminated a face much younger than his accumulated memories.

"What's wrong, Soram? Are you worried about something?"

Park Jae-seon, standing side by side against a wall watching the platform, asked.

"No. I was just wondering why he awakened so suddenly."

He knew he would become an awakener, but why had the timing become so much earlier?

"I think I know."

"Pardon?"

"You had an experience of helplessly losing a friend right before your eyes. Isn't that enough to create quite an earnest wish?"

"...Because of that? No way. I was only there for 3 days."

"At that age, once your heart is captured, the intensity is indescribable. Our kid who has no motivation for anything wouldn't understand though. Ah, it's over."

Park Jae-seon actively gestured towards Tae-un, who was coming down from the platform. Tae-un approached with quick steps. Even that retreating figure was captured by numerous cameras.

It had been a year and a half since overcoming the 2nd Great Rift. Considering that the interval between the 1st and 2nd was 2 years, it was a time when both the headquarters and citizens were all trembling with anxiety. It was natural for a 1st-grade appearing at such a time to receive full attention.

"Your friend is coming, Soram-ah. You should smile on a day like this."

"..."

Park Jae-seon spread his fingers in a V-shape and pushed up both of Soram's cheeks. With his other hand, he lifted Soram's drooping right hand and waved it gently.

"Did I do okay?"

Tae-un asked in an awkward voice. Soram, still feeling unreal about the situation, just nodded.

"Tae-un did well. Though it's not officially announced yet, you'll be assigned to Team 7 with me and Soram. Welcome to Team 7. Our team is good, right?"

"Yes. Please take care of me."

The crown of his head, with hair slightly longer than last year, bobbed down and up.

"Soram, guide Tae-un to the office. I'll be there soon, so you two catch up. Tae-un-ah, ask Soram first if there's anything you don't know, and I'll see you later."

"Yes."

As Park Jae-seon went in another direction, Tae-un gazed at Soram. When their eyes met, he smiled faintly. Now it felt a bit more real that the teenage country boy Han Tae-un had come, not the gruff 20-something Han Tae-un from the headquarters.

"Why are you smiling?"

"You've grown a lot taller."

"Have I? Follow me. We need to take the elevator over there."

"The suit suits you too."

"You'll get tired of wearing them too."

"And you've become prettier."

This time, Soram couldn't give his usual perfunctory answer and turned around.

"You've finally learned how to joke too."

"..."

"It's a good change, but it wasn't funny."

Passing through the long corridor on the 14th floor, the two arrived at the office.

"Come in. This is Team 7's office. The team leader is busy so he doesn't come often, and it's mainly just us two..."

The two of us...

Eye level similar to when they were both 23, the door at the very end of the corridor, an office where only the two of them sat. It was something Soram had experienced to the point of nausea. The unfamiliarity he had felt for a moment was pathetic, as only a little had changed.

Han Tae-un awakens as a 1st-grade, his ability allows flight, he arrives at the headquarters and joins the same team. No matter how much he struggled to do various things afterward, while there might be big and small differences, the conclusion was the same twenty times.

It was all on the same track.

***

However, it wasn't to the extent that he could overlook the small differences.

With Tae-un's arrival, several changes that made Soram blink in surprise came about. One of them was...

'I expected it, but...'

Everyone was half-hearted. No one wanted to use the room next to Soram, who was unsociable and a ticking time bomb that couldn't control his power. The room that had been left empty like that became Tae-un's. Soram was certain that Park Jae-seon's influence had played a strong role.

Tae-un looked at the door connected to Soram's room with somewhat serious eyes.

"I'm sure I said I was your roommate."

"Yeah. That's right."

"Is this how Seoul dormitories are usually built?"

"I don't know. I haven't lived anywhere else."

Answering, Soram flopped down on Tae-un's dormitory sofa. He had completed his assigned task of guiding him to the dormitory. Perhaps because it was a life that had been passing slowly, without undulations, like a lump of clay flowing, he was quite tired even from this small incident. Since his body couldn't handle the power pooled inside, he tended to tire more easily than other 1st-grades even normally.

Soram asked Tae-un, who was still glaring at the door for unknown reasons.

"By the way, why don't you use dialect in front of adults?"

Tae-un's face became slightly smug.

"I practiced."

The 'practiced' part sounded very awkward. Because of that, an incredulous laugh burst out. Even so, it was still a stiff way of speaking that ended with 'danakka'. Could it be that the Han Tae-un from past lives also became stiff in his speech trying to hide his dialect?

Another laugh was about to come but disappeared as if stolen by the air. It was because he thought, what does it matter now?

"If you need furniture, clothes, or snacks to fill the fridge, order them from the administrative department under my name."

"Why under your name?"

Anyway, it seems my influence clearly played a part in you coming to Seoul before you're even twenty.

"A gift to commemorate being roommates. I have a lot of money, you know."

"I'll be earning money now too. I'll decline."

He spoke Seoul dialect again with an awkward intonation. He looked around the dormitory a bit more and then sat on the floor facing Soram.

"Do you remember the promise you made with me?"

Is this an AI created by Guncheon-gun, not Han Tae-un?

"That's not how you speak. You learned Seoul dialect wrong. Stop it."

"...You said when we meet again, you'd tell me how you knew I would awaken."

Ah, I did say that, didn't I?

"Well. What was it? I don't remember."

"How could you forget after such a short time?"

"I have a bad memory."

"Don't lie."

"Actually, I was temporarily possessed by a spirit then and saw it."

"Then call that spirit again and see."

"I don't want to."

"Hey. Do you know how much I've been curious about that since you left..."

"I don't want to, I don't want to."

Ah, forget it. I don't know what it is, but don't say it. He didn't particularly want to know how much more influence he had on the young Han Tae-un.

Tae-un scratched the back of his head while looking at Soram who had flopped down, then suddenly chuckled. When Soram looked at him asking why he was laughing, he answered right away.

"Every time I saw you on TV, you seemed like a different person, so I thought you'd changed after going to Seoul. But you're exactly the same."

"What's the same?"

"Your whining."

"When did I whine?"

"You did it in Guncheon too, and you're whining now. When there's something you don't like, you lie down, and you pretend not to hear unfavorable things."

It was a completely incomprehensible statement. Soram had never lived his life as comfortably as he described.

'Forget it. He's a child himself, so he might see it that way.'

A slight change came to the days he wished would end quickly.

And Soram thought. In the next life, I shouldn't go find Han Tae-un.

***

Sssss―

Blue mist surged towards Tae-un's eyes. Behind it stood Soram.

Chwak!

Tae-un slashed at the mist with his sword. The gathering mist was scratched, but a great impact also came to Tae-un's wrist.

"Ugh...!"

"..."

The mist split into two streams following Soram's hand gesture. Tae-un blocked the larger of the two approaching streams with his sword while reaching out towards the smaller one.

Please, work.

White light clusters wrapped around his wrist and mixed into the gaps between the mist. A very small portion of it made the blue mist's color slightly hazy. More precisely, it made the mist disperse a little.

"!"

The joy of success was very brief; that space was filled with new mist. Kang! With the sound of metal clashing, Tae-un was pushed back, his shoe soles scraping the ground. While Tae-un regained his posture, Soram tightly gripped his own arm. Throughout the sparring, he hadn't moved a single step from his spot, but his breathing had become rapid.

Tae-un sprang forward, using his firmly planted back foot as support. Blue mist spread out in front of him again. When Soram raised his fingertips to his arm, the approaching speed slowed a little.

Kaang!!!

The sword collided with the mass of mist. Soram's mist could be a sharp blade, a heavy blunt weapon, or become a huge wall like now.

Deudeuk― deuk―...

The sword and the mist wall began a battle of strength. Along with this, white light clusters started to infiltrate again from the point Tae-un was glaring at. As he poured all his power into his ability, an extremely small part of the wall showed slightly different movement.

Just like before, it seemed like he might grasp something, but a clear answer wouldn't come. Tae-un put even more strength into his grip and added weight to his sword.

"Han Tae-un! Back off!"

"!"

Tae-un, who had been in a standoff, heard Soram's shout and quickly leaped backward. As if counterattacking, the mist changed shape, gathered, and struck the spot where Tae-un had been standing.

Kuung―!!!

The mist that seemed to disperse for a moment instantly gathered again and pursued Tae-un.

Kaang, kang!

After blocking several attacks with his sword, Tae-un finally flew up to avoid. In response, Soram also gritted his teeth and pulled the blue mist in the opposite direction from Tae-un.

Kwang!!!

He had only lost control for a very brief moment while hurriedly changing direction, but the power became dozens of times stronger than when attacking Tae-un. The mist that fell like a tidal wave split the ground as it advanced, breaking the fence on one side of the arena. Soram's expression turned paler than Tae-un's, who had almost been swept away by it.

Piing―

"Ugh..."

The ability that had run wild immediately presented Soram with an overload. Along with a strong headache, his vision went black and then returned. In that brief moment, the blue mist lost control once again.

"Run away!"

The mist that had broken through the wall rose in multiple streams like vines towards the person floating in the air.

Kaang!

With a harsh metallic sound, the sword barely deflected the mist. But the attack didn't end there.

Kaang, deudeuk! Kang! Kaang! Kang―

Now Tae-un couldn't afford to have arrogant thoughts about experimenting with his ability; he had to focus all his attention on blocking the mist.

"Ugh, ...!"

Tae-un's back rose and fell rapidly as he painfully deflected the attacks. He didn't know how he was managing to block this. He just felt that if he took his eyes off for a moment and lost the flow, he would be pierced through.

However, relying on luck and moving reflexively couldn't last long.

"Ah!"

Taengang―

The sword that had been hit by the blue mist slipped from his hand. As the sword fell through the air, before Tae-un could reach out, blue mist covered it. Mist poured towards the now defenseless Tae-un as if seizing the opportunity.

Ssaaa―

At that moment, someone jumped into the arena that had only contained the two of them.

"Utcha-cha."

Kuung―!

Taeng, taeng, taeng, taeng, taeng!

The mist flying towards Tae-un was blocked by ice walls that rose into the air.