Chapter 164

Two years later.

In the basement of the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, there was a training ground built much larger than the identical facility on the ground floor. It was a place that could only be used by those among the Field Operations Bureau hunters who stood on the front lines against rifts and had their years of experience and skills recognized.

The facility, which would never be disclosed to the outside, was managed somewhat roughly. It was understandable that they couldn't repair it every time, given that intense training always took place there. So, marks from sword cuts or parts broken by abilities remained here and there.

The third and last room there always had designated hunters who used it. Although it was a situation of monopolizing a large training room, there was no one who complained among those who had seen the person diligently filling the allocated time every day and focusing intensely.

Soram stood in front of the room with the same user name written on it today as well.

"Field Operations Bureau Team 7 Senior Hunter Han Tae-un"

"..."

After glaring at the letters for a moment with his arms crossed, he opened the door and went in. The brightly lit lights, bright enough to dazzle the eyes, elongated the shadow of the person standing in the center. Soram approached him. The wet T-shirt stretched tightly along his back, which was heaving with breaths.

"Will you spar with me for a round?"

Tae-un turned to look at him. The twenty-two-year-old Han Tae-un's face had completely lost its youthful air. His jawline had become sharper, and his eyes and nose bridge had also become more defined. As an inevitable side effect of this, sometimes his appearance received more attention than his activities as a hunter.

"Is the time alright with you?"

"Yes. Though I can't do it for long."

"Then I'll be in your care."

His voice had also become lower and firmer. The teenage Han Tae-un had had somewhat lively aspects, but that appearance had disappeared without a trace. Soram had thought the personality he had seen in previous lives was due to the military, but seeing that he naturally became like this even now when he was exempted as a hunter, it seemed his taciturn nature was just innate.

Perhaps, this time he had matured a little faster.

Tae-un and Soram stood facing each other. When Tae-un first came to the headquarters, Soram could face him while standing still. But now he had to properly take a stance.

"Start?"

"Yes."

After the casual signal, blue mist rose from his fingertips at a terrifying speed. It filled the surroundings hazily and at some point stopped, then rushed towards Tae-un.

Shiiik―

"..."

Tae-un, who had been following the scene with his eyes, soon wrapped white light clusters around his sword and swung it down in a long arc. The trajectory of the sword deflected the blue mist, and the white light clusters that spread out in that shape gradually eliminated the blue mist.

Tat!

Tae-un kicked his foot forward and raised his sword again. While getting closer to Soram, who was the target, wide attacks like the first one continued, and the blue mist gradually faded.

Watching the approaching opponent, Soram gathered mist into a long spear shape in his right hand and threw it forcefully. The attack flying towards Tae-un split into multiple streams like rapidly fired arrows the moment it reached him.

Kang! Kakang! Kang! Kang, kang!

Tae-un's sword swam through the air, deflecting the rain of blue mist. It was a smooth and swift movement, completely opposite to the rough attacks mainly focused on innate power he had used in previous lives.

For two years, Tae-un had abandoned all other techniques and focused only on developing wide-range attack techniques. He received suggestions from the research lab to pay attention to attacks on single targets as well, but he didn't listen.

The training was focused solely on facing the Great Rift. That's why Soram also helped him go in the direction he wanted.

Pat!

He stepped on the air and instantly flew behind Tae-un.

"Wide-range is all good, but it's useless if you can't defend up close."

"I know."

"Really?"

Kaang!!!

A heavy attack came down on Tae-un's sword blade. Soram, who had gathered the surrounding blue mist, grinned. The sword that had retreated for a moment came striking in again, drawing a large trajectory. Tae-un's sword immediately followed Soram, who was changing directions this way and that in the air.

Kang! Kaang!!!

The sparks from the sword and white light clusters flashed.

Soram recalled the past versions of Tae-un who had awakened around this age. Indeed, the Han Tae-un in front of him now was overwhelmingly strong.

Gigik―!

At that moment, Tae-un drew close, pressing his body tightly against his sword. His handsome face came right up to Soram's nose. In that instant, Soram felt a sensation as if something had been suddenly pulled out of his body.

"Huk!"

Immediately after, his toes that had been floating in the air dropped straight to the floor.

Tadak!

Soram quickly leaped backward to avoid the attack. The sudden fall was caused by Tae-un temporarily erasing his ability.

"Wow, this surprised me quite a bit. You're properly using your special ability now."

It was a shame to abandon the attack method focused on power that he had been using with his innate strength. But Tae-un with various techniques added was no pushover either. He had also completely settled this method into his body through painstaking effort.

Kaang, kang! Kang!

Kuung! Kwadeudeudeuk―!!!

The attacks of the two people spread over a wide range sometimes collided with each other, but often missed or bounced off to hit the walls or ceiling of the training ground. This was why various parts of Training Room 3 were particularly damaged.

Kwadeuk, deuk, deuk―...

Jjeojjeok.

"Oh?"

At some point, an ominous sound was heard from above. They both stopped their actions.

Jjeojjeok, jjeok, jjeojeojeojeok.

The crack in the ceiling that couldn't withstand the continuous impacts gradually spread.

Jjeojjeok, wudeudeudeudeudeuk―!!!

A large chunk of concrete broke off and fell.

Soram stretched his hand upward. A square blue barrier spread above their heads, and then white light clusters flew in, mixing into the gaps.

Kuung!

The grayish-white concrete chunk that seemed like it would easily pass through was blocked by the wall of mist and light clusters, stopping in mid-air.

Soram and Tae-un flew up and approached the concrete chunk. Tae-un pressed down on it firmly. The concrete chunk couldn't penetrate the wall created in mid-air.

"The performance is pretty good."

In his gruff voice, Soram detected a slight boastfulness. This was a technique Tae-un had devised, after all.

The barrier worked on the principle of Tae-un's ability stealing the power of any approaching attack, while Soram's ability physically blocked it.

"Hmm..."

"If we set it up like a defensive wall, we can block attacks coming from the front, and if we create it above, we can also press down on mutants."

"We'll have to use it depending on the situation. Because it consumes too much energy."

Soram gestured for Tae-un to step back as he cleared away the blue mist. When the wall disappeared, the chunk fell to the floor at a somewhat slow speed.

Guung―

Tuk.

Soram and Tae-un also landed on the floor right after. Soram looked back at the chunk that had made a heavy impact on the floor.

"It's innovative. Until now, there's never been such a wide-range defense technique."

It would have been good if I had known earlier that I could create such a technique with you.

"Han Tae-un."

"Yeah."

Around the third or fourth life...

"You've gone back to informal speech again."

"...Ah, right."

"Well, it's not like there's anyone monitoring us here."

Soram patted Tae-un's shoulder as he passed by him. He could feel the body temperature elevated from the training followed by sparring.

"Wash up and come out. I'll go put in the repair request for this place."

Tae-un, who had returned to his impeccable suit, was waiting in front of Soram when he came out from the facility management department. Soram smiled languidly.

"You changed your clothes for nothing. Team 7 has the early morning dispatch duty today, so they said to go up and rest in advance."

"Ah."

"Work hours are over. Let's go."

They naturally walked side by side and stood in front of the elevator. By now, the sight of the only two members of Team 7 going around together had become quite familiar at the headquarters.

And someone who had come out of another office pressed the button for the adjacent elevator. It was a rare sight at the headquarters to see someone in a school uniform. A white puppy was cradled in their arms. Eight eyes met as Soram and Tae-un looked to the right, and the girl and the puppy looked to the left.

"Heup, Chief Jin Soram, Deputy Chief Han Tae-un, hello!"

"Yes. Hello, Hunter Lee Ayoung."

"Hello."

Soram and Tae-un also bowed their heads as Ayoung bowed deeply. In a direction Ayoung couldn't see, Soram's fingertips stiffened slightly.

"Are you coming to work after finishing school now? On your way to the office?"

"Yes. Not the office, but Ga-eul unni, oh, no. Chief Kim Ga-eul said she'd buy me something at a cafe..."

"Chief Kim is treating you well. Enjoy your food before going in."

"Yes!"

Ayoung bowed her head once more when the elevator Soram and Tae-un were to take arrived. Just before the elevator with only the two of them closed, an excited voice passed through the gap in the door.

"Wow, he's really super handsome. Aila, should we ask if we can take a picture next time?"

"Woof!"

Tak―

After the door closed, the awkwardness was left to those remaining.

"Was that kid originally in Team 7?"

"It's true. Originally she awakens at eighteen, but I guess she awakened early because the rift phenomena accelerated rapidly."

This time too, Ayoung was a hunter capable of self-flight by summoning her dog Aila. However, the headquarters judged it unreasonable to add a middle school girl between Jin Soram and Han Tae-un, two adult men who had somehow completely synchronized at some point. Lee Ayoung was assigned to Team 1.

"I couldn't imagine her using terms like unni and dongsaeng. She seems much more comfortable than when she was under me."

I never thought she could be someone who walks around the headquarters smiling.

"I should have sent her to Ga-eul's team earlier..."

"It's not that you didn't try, you would have done well too if you had tried."

Soram smiled in a way that didn't seem to show much agreement. Meanwhile, the elevator arrived at the dormitory floor.

***

They each went into their own rooms. But soon, Tae-un, who had only left his outer clothes and tie in his room, came over to Soram's room. He naturally sat down and opened the laptop on the table. It was his, which he had brought and left there in the first place.

After logging in with the deputy chief's account, he could see the list of rifts resolved today. While Tae-un was taking in the list with his eyes, Soram came and sat in the seat across from him with an e-cigarette in his mouth. When Tae-un sent him a sullen look, he frowned back.

"It's because of you that I didn't smoke tobacco in this life."

"Since you're quitting anyway, why not quit that too."

"Mmm."

It meant he would let it go in one ear. After watching the smoke come out between his red lips, Tae-un just turned his head back to the screen.

Soram put down the finished cigarette and picked up the book lying next to him. It was something Tae-un had treated as weird food when he first saw the title.

<Falling in Love Isn't a Sin, But You Need to Get a Grip>

The book he had been reading whenever he had time for the past few days was now past the middle to latter part. The gaze that had been on the screen glanced at the spine of the book and then went back down. But at this point, he couldn't help but ask.

"...What on earth is it about?"

"A romance novel. Right now, one of them deliberately went out to the seaside to make the other one pine."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I've never understood it when reading. But the man's way of speaking here is exactly like yours?"

"? What does he say?"

"'Why are you out alone? Did you run away?'"

"That's a thriller line. Is it really a romance novel?"

"Yeah. It's a conversation at the seaside. 'Run away? I just... found it fascinating. Don't misunderstand. Sob.'"

"..."

"'Ha, if you knew how anxious I get when you're not in front of me, let's not play such games.'"

Soram's voice, which had been reading casually, became more and more animated as Tae-un's eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth lengthened into a straight line.

"'Alright. Since we're out anyway, let's touch the seawater. It's different from just dipping your feet in.'"

"How is that exactly like me?"

"It's exactly like when you pretend to use formal speech with me. Oh, wow. 'No. I've seen enough now. Let's go back to the hotel. I... prefer touching other things.'"

Tae-un's hands, which had been typing on the keyboard, stopped.

"'What other things do you mean?', 'You know...'"

"...What's that?"

"The man said, 'Is there really a need to go inside to touch that?' Ah, this is a private beach where no one else is around. Only the starlight could see the two people. Before they knew it, skin whiter than the sandy beach was revealed..."

"Stop it."

Tae-un's hand reached out to snatch the book away. Soram dodged upward with a whoosh.

"Even after being exposed to the sea breeze for a long time, lips still moist showed red flesh like forbidden fruit. It was an irresistible temptation for any descendant of Adam and Eve..."

"Hey!"