I sensed Hanbyeol flinch. I was a little startled too, but quickly composed myself and looked at Ansol. She looked dazed, as if she had just woken up.
But something about her seemed off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was as if Ansol didn’t quite look like herself. Her eyes were blurry and vacant, and her tightly pressed lips gave off a heavy, unsettling vibe.
For a moment, I felt a strange unfamiliarity, yet at the same time, it wasn’t entirely new. I’d seen this contradictory side of Ansol a few times before—rarely, but it wasn’t the first time.
Time passed. We said nothing, just stared at each other. When Hanbyeol slowly withdrew her hand, sensing something was amiss, Ansol finally broke the silence.
“Ora-beoni….”
“……?”
“Our oppa… he should be at the User Academy by now, right?”
“Anhyun? Yeah, that’s right.”
I didn’t know why she suddenly brought up Anhyun, but I tuned in carefully. Having been through this a few times, my body instinctively reacted. When Ansol awakened like this, it was best not to miss a single word.
After a moment, Ansol nodded and mumbled, then let out a big yawn.
“Yeah… that’s enough… hyaaawn~.”
“Huh?”
“No matter how foolish or clueless our oppa is… maybe trusting him just once… wouldn’t be so bad…”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I mean… depending on what choice oppa makes… Ora-beoni’s nightmare… hyaaaawn~. Mmnya mmnya….”
“Ansol? Ansol!”
Just as she was about to continue, Ansol suddenly dropped her head. I jabbed her side, wanting her to keep going, and she shrieked and flailed. But when she lifted her face again, the awakened look was gone. Her vacant eyes had turned glassy, and her tightly pressed lips now pouted.
Watching Ansol break down into tears, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of helplessness.
The next day.
After breaking camp and eating, I announced an early morning march. We were mostly past the mountain of delirium, but the next area—the Hallucination Gorge—was still nearly a day’s journey from the city.
Still, by giving plenty of rest breaks and pushing steadily, we finally reached the ancient magical city of Magia well past noon, through afternoon, and even long after dusk. (We’d already done several thorough cleanings, so there were no monster attacks, and the field effects had been lifted, which shortened the travel time.)
“Huff, huff…”
“I really hate these stairs…”
Some clan members were sprawled out on the ground, exhausted. The city was built in a gorge, and the long staircase leading in was mandatory to climb. It took a while to get all the way up. Those with higher stamina looked okay, but the weaker or resident members were gasping for breath.
Anyway, we’d made it to the city, but the timing was awkward. If we’d arrived in the afternoon, it would have been better. Now, it was too late to get much done.
Still, I decided to push forward. I clapped my hands a couple of times to gather attention and looked at Helena. She was examining the city with a very intrigued expression. The one unusual thing was that her eyes were glowing green with a fiery intensity.
“Helena?”
“Ho. This is truly incredible. The layout of the buildings forms a massive magical structure, and the countless runes inscribed on the ground… Wait. This structure? Could it be… that humans have dared to challenge the realm of the gods?”
“Helena Lu Eiyens.”
“Foolish! But pure. Yes, so pure. Only humans with a pure passion for magic… Ah, did you call me?”
Lost in her own thoughts, Helena muttered to herself before snapping back to me with a dazed look. But those blazing eyes revealed how eager she was to enter the city as soon as possible.
I spoke quietly.
“How long will it take to set up the warp gate?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Will it take a long time?”
“…Didn’t I show you last time?”
Helena looked puzzled, then pulled out a Memoria Stone from her pocket. Tapping it lightly, she continued.
“Finding such a refined Memoria Stone is like reaching for the stars, but now that we have it, activating the warp gate isn’t too difficult. Of course, since I’m the one starting it up, that helps.”
“So, what you’re saying is…”
“If you pick a suitable spot, the estimated time is 17 minutes and 27 seconds. We have to connect the calculated coordinates and space, and the gate will be larger than before.”
“Hmm.”
I thought the precise timing was a bit unnecessary but nodded in understanding. Then I turned my gaze to the two residents who were finally catching their breath.
“How about you two?”
“Uh, yes?”
The one who answered was a burly man with a thick beard.
“If you prefer, you don’t have to push yourselves. You could wait until the warp gate is activated and come back tomorrow morning.”
The two residents blinked and exchanged looks. After a moment, the bearded man shook his head quietly. It seemed he was the decision-maker.
“Hmm. We appreciate the offer, but if that’s the case, there’s no point in coming all this way. It’s not that hard to look around the buildings. And didn’t you say it’s best to start construction as soon as possible?”
“That’s true, but as you can see, the timing is awkward. It might be a bit difficult for you two to inspect the buildings.”
Actually, it was more than a bit difficult. Users could just boost their mana even in the dark, but the residents couldn’t. Unless they had abilities like Mavolo.
Still, the bearded man didn’t seem bothered.
“We’d like some help from the people here. Please light up the city.”
“Light up the whole city? That’s…”
“That would be ideal, but probably impossible. Haha. Actually, I had an idea on the way here… May I make a suggestion? If it works out, it could shorten the construction period considerably.”
“An idea? Yes, please go ahead.”
The bearded man stepped forward and looked around the city. His gaze settled faintly on a towering fortress visible even from the outskirts.
He kept his eyes fixed on the fortress as he spoke.
“Is there a central building in this city? Or a stronghold, something you’d call a base?”
Two weeks had passed since the Inn of Beginnings was activated and the User Academy started.
Two weeks—a short time, or a long one, depending on how you looked at it. But it was enough time for someone to adapt to their new environment. Anhyun was no exception. After months of living almost like a non-combat user, he felt awkward the first time he put on his gear.
But the awkwardness didn’t last long. These days, Anhyun was spending each day in good spirits. Though he couldn’t follow Kim Suhyun into the front lines like before, just wearing the gear and being an active combat user made him happy. Losing what he once took for granted made him realize how precious what he had now really was.
Anhyun also knew this opportunity was thanks to Ansol and Hayun. As human as he was, he had pride. Even if Ansol was his sister, if he messed up again, he wouldn’t be able to face Hayun anymore.
With that thought, Anhyun clenched his fists and spoke with determination.
“From now on, it’s all about studying. No, not just studying—I’m going to stay sharp from now on.”
“Studying? Staying sharp? Well, that’s some spirit.”
Just then, as he was burning with the will to return to being a mercenary, a clear voice came from behind him. Startled, Anhyun turned around. Hayun stood by the door, elegantly covering her mouth as she yawned.
Anhyun scratched his cheek and chuckled nervously. The sudden embarrassment caught him off guard.
“Oh, Hayun noona’s here.”
“Mm~. Just finished training.”
Hayun looked very tired, rubbing her neck and stretching with all her might.
“You finished later than I thought. The others went to dinner a while ago.”
“Yeah, after training, I was stuck answering questions for almost two hours.”
“Two hours?!”
“Yeah. These rookies who just joined are strange. They don’t seem like typical new users. They adapt incredibly fast and are so curious.”
Anhyun nodded.
“Now that you mention it, I heard these rookies even took down a boss monster.”
“Probably true. And we even got a secret class this time. There’s no reason they couldn’t.”
“Heh. You mean the Soul Commander?”
“Yeah. Oh, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Let’s talk on the way. I have something to ask you.”
Without any intention to keep chatting, Ha-yeon pointed her thumb toward the door—signaling it was time to leave. Since she had already declined the earlier invitation to eat together, Ahn-hyun took the cue and moved along as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
After enjoying a delicious dinner, Ahn-hyun returned to his lodging to prepare for the training scheduled for the next day.
By then, darkness had settled thickly on the window frame. Time had slipped away as he meticulously reviewed and organized everything.
But he didn’t fall asleep right away. Instead, he glanced once toward the window, then tidied the scattered notes on his desk with a sharp tap before standing up. Grabbing his trusted black spear, he stepped out the door.
“Well, shall I head out now? I think I just need to check the Academic Information Center and the storage area, right?”
The reason Ahn-hyun was going out at this hour was because of a request Ha-yeon had made during dinner. She had asked him to patrol certain parts of the User Academy at midnight. Normally, such patrols were the responsibility of the life instructors, but occasionally assistants like him would join in.
Truthfully, while patrolling inside the dorms offered a chance to bond with the rookies, external patrols with no direct connection felt more like security duty. Still, humming a light tune, Ahn-hyun stepped out. He wasn’t one to fuss over such things, and he figured a gentle stroll before bed wouldn’t hurt.
“Let’s see… The Academic Information Center is all clear. Heh, still the same as ever.”
After checking the quietly standing building, Ahn-hyun locked the door firmly behind him. Suddenly, a memory from three years ago flickered through his mind—when four of them had secretly gathered here for drinks. He looked up at the building with a faintly nostalgic gaze, then chuckled softly before leisurely heading toward the storage area for his next patrol.
“Ah—!”
It happened then.
In the dead of night.
As the twilight shadows deepened over the buildings, and large boxes and old containers slowly came into view, a strange, faint noise drifted on the wind toward Ahn-hyun. But just as quickly, the sound was swallowed by the breeze, vanishing without a trace.
Ahn-hyun instinctively stopped in his tracks.
‘When you need to hide your presence, the most important thing is to stay calm.’
At that moment, Kim Soo-hyun’s words suddenly came to mind, and Ahn-hyun’s body reacted automatically.
His humming stopped abruptly, and the excitement in his eyes faded instantly. Clutching his black spear tightly, he began to quietly spread a wide-range magical detection. Though not as precise or fast as Kim Soo-hyun’s, Ahn-hyun’s instincts faithfully followed what he had learned.
Closing his eyes gently, he started analyzing the information picked up by his magic.
‘Inside the third container from the left. Number of people… four, no, five.’
Opening his eyes immediately, Ahn-hyun scanned the surroundings before quickly moving toward the container. The door was firmly shut. Rather than barging in blindly, he decided to assess the situation first, carefully minimizing his footsteps as he circled along the container’s wall.
Eventually, as he moved along the left side, he found a small hole just big enough to fit two thumbs. The container was old and used as storage, so it had a few scattered holes here and there.
Ahn-hyun took a slow, steady breath. Calmly, he summoned his magic, increasing the pressure in his eyes, then held his breath and pressed his eye to the hole.
At that moment, a warm breath brushed gently against his eye.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Sorry for the delay. (__) I was so exhausted today that I just couldn’t focus on writing by 8 p.m. I thought about taking the day off, but then I remembered all the kind congratulations from yesterday and just couldn’t bring myself to do that. Hehe. Thankfully, I started feeling a bit more awake around midnight, so I managed to post this now. ㅜ.ㅠ
Oh, dear readers, I know many of you have eagle eyes on Memoraize. I’m sure some of you have already noticed something from the last chapter and this one, but since some might not have caught it yet, I’d really appreciate it if you could be considerate and keep it a surprise for them. :D