Chapter 33 – Day 33

Day 33

“Hoo-.”

Kang Yeseul, who had been wandering inside the abandoned factory, suddenly let out a deep sigh.

The time she had requested from the mercenaries had already passed by.

Although she had told them she would be staying out overnight, Kang Yeseul couldn’t hide her anxiety as the mercenaries hadn’t shown up even though it was well past the promised time.

As Kang Yeseul walked around the abandoned factory with an anxious expression, sighing deeply several times.

“Huh…?”

Kang Yeseul, who had been looking around, suddenly made a puzzled sound and tilted her head.

Soon, Kang Yeseul stared intently at a corner of the abandoned factory, something seemed off.
She was a full-fledged hero working as a sidekick.

And not just any sidekick to a mediocre hero, but the sidekick of Gwanghwi, who was ranked 8th in the hero rankings.

Despite this, Kang Yeseul could only tell that ‘something was strange’.
She couldn’t exactly pinpoint ‘what’ was strange.

Or more precisely, Kang Yeseul knew ‘what’ was strange.
However, the moment she tried to recall that ‘something’, the ‘information’ about what she thought was strange was being erased in real-time, as if there was interference.

Just as Kang Yeseul’s brow furrowed at this discrepancy.

“You have surprisingly sharp senses.”

Startled-!

An innocent voice echoed from the empty space.
At the same time, the space in the corner of the abandoned factory that Kang Yeseul had been staring at distorted, and a young girl walked out from within.

Beautiful appearance, with black hair reaching down to her waist.
Deren was wearing a pitch-black dress, and the two eyes looking at her were devoid of any emotion. No, they were dead eyes that didn’t seem to belong to a living human.

And Kang Yeseul knew all too well who this girl was, with such an appearance, appearing out of nowhere in this distorted space.

“Se, Seoa? Why are you here…?”

“Well, I wonder why I’m here?”

Cheon Seoa answered the question with another question.
Meanwhile, Kang Yeseul’s expression contorted at Cheon Seoa’s sudden appearance.

Now that Cheon Seoa had appeared before her, she realized that the ‘request’ she had made to the mercenaries had failed.

No, considering that Cheon Seoa was the target of the request in the first place.
The fact that the target of such a request appeared here of her own will, rather than in the form of a ‘kidnapping’ as per the request, was proof that the request had failed.

Furthermore, the mercenaries who carried out such a request…

“I killed them all.”

Flinch-!

Kang Yeseul’s body shook violently at Cheon Seoa’s blunt statement.

Cheon Seoa spoke as if she had read Kang Yeseul’s thoughts, even though she hadn’t said anything.

There was also the possibility that those mercenaries had told her everything about the request along with herself.
No, that possibility was quite likely.

But.

“K-Killed? Who?”

Kang Yeseul asked, tilting her head as if she couldn’t understand.

Cheon Seoa smiled slightly at Kang Yeseul’s desperate act.

“I wonder who it could be?”

….

As Cheon Seoa asked with a smirk, Kang Yeseul’s expression hardened.

This confirmed it.
The little kid in front of her knew everything.

That she had requested mercenaries to kidnap the child.

However.

‘How on earth?’

Kang Yeseul couldn’t understand.

The mercenaries she hired were considered ‘villains’ by the Hero Association, known for their poor quality.

But that’s why they had the advantage of being able to take on requests for less money.

‘No, that’s why information could have flowed to the other side in reverse.’

Those bug-like villain bastards.
Shouldn’t mercenaries keep their client’s information secret even at the cost of their lives?

Kang Yeseul gritted her teeth.

However, there was one more thing she couldn’t understand.

No matter how trashy these mercenaries and villains were.

‘That kid shouldn’t be able to handle them.’

The kid’s ability was spatial distortion.

As the name suggests, it’s an ability that distorts space to block or deflect opponents’ attacks.
But its limit was only 8th grade. It couldn’t block attacks from abilities above 7th grade.

That was a fact confirmed through a colleague who had already infiltrated the Hero Association.

Then, does that little one have more colleagues?

It was when Kang Yeseul’s head was becoming complicated with thoughts that kept leading to one another.

“Sometimes it’s good to think simply. For example…”

‘What if I was actually a strong person hiding my power… something like that.’

Cheon Seoa said that with a grin.
Kang Yeseul felt a chilling fear at Cheon Seoa’s smile.

“Damn it-!”

Kang Yeseul started to run away while cursing.

It didn’t matter whether that statement was true or just a bluff.

Even this escape was just an action based on pure instinct.

However, her master had said.

Sometimes for people like them…

“For a Repairer, instinct is a kind of foresight. Not a bad thing to say.”

Shudder-!

When did she catch up?

Kang Yeseul, who had been advancing several meters with each step, felt fear creeping up her spine as Cheon Seoa spoke, clinging tightly to her back.

No, more than that.

“You, you know about Repairers?”

“Of course. I’m a Repairer too. And not just any…”

Woong-.

Faint magical energy leaks from Cheon Seoa’s entire body.
Seeing such magical energy, Kang Yeseul.

“Oh shit-!”

Cursing once again, she began to run away more desperately.

Of all things, that little kid had to be a Repairer.
And a Repairer who had learned magic techniques at that!

The master said.

Among the techniques Repairers learn, there exists something called magic techniques, and Repairers who master it are called Mages.

And, magic techniques are trained in ways so vicious, bizarre, eerie, and ugly that ordinary people can’t even imagine.

Even the famous Nine Worst Villains were actually Mages who trained in magic techniques.
Among them, the most famous Heart Devourer, as the name suggests, was said to gain power by eating the hearts of others.

Of course, that little kid wouldn’t be at that level, but a Repairer who had learned magic techniques might have some connection with the Nine Villains.

With such thoughts, Kang Yeseul desperately moved her feet, trying to escape from Cheon Seoa somehow.

But.

“Wh-What-!”

Kang Yeseul, who had been running at full speed, cried out in surprise.

At some point, when she came to her senses, wasn’t she in an abandoned factory?

At first, she thought it was a coincidence.
In her fear that seemed to paralyze even her reason, she had unknowingly chosen the wrong direction to escape.

But, it wasn’t.

No matter which direction I ran, at some point I would find myself back inside the abandoned factory.

Is it a formation?
Or is it the effect of that kid’s learned magic technique?

I don’t know.

However, what’s important is….

“That’s right. You can’t escape this abandoned factory.”

“Did you learn mind reading too!”

“Well, I picked up a few minor skills here and there.”

“Ha, shit.”

Kang Yeseul cursed at Cheon Seoa, who was still smiling innocently in front of her.

That kid’s level was higher than she had anticipated.

Come to think of it, it was obvious.

She hadn’t even considered that the kid in front of her could be a ‘Repairer’ like herself until the word ‘Repairer’ was mentioned.

There were only two possible explanations for this.

One was that the kid was literally an ordinary person who hadn’t learned any techniques.
The other was that the kid had to be a Repairer of an even higher level than herself.

Thud.

Kang Yeseul sat down with a dejected expression.

The master had said.
“For repairers like us, the level is absolute.”

“No matter how many Yeongi-gi repairers come at us, they’ll be swept away with a single gesture of a Chukgi-gi repairer.”

In other words, the little one in front of him was someone who could crush the likes of him with a single finger, regardless of age.

No, from the beginning.

“Is that really a kid?”

“Well, I don’t think that’s what’s important right now, is it?”

“I guess you’re right. We’re going to die anyway, so what does it matter at this point?”

Something about Kang Yeseul’s manner of speaking had subtly changed.
Cheon Seoa stared at Kang Yeseul and said.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“What?”

If you’ve learned mind-reading in the first place, couldn’t you just see right through it?
No, rather, is it really because that monster learned mind-reading that it can read my thoughts? Was mind-reading such an effective technique?

“It’s true that I learned mind-reading. But whether I used it or not is another story. More importantly, what’s your relationship with Yuri unni?”

“Ha, why are you curious about that?”

“Well, because you’re a repairer, and Yuri unni is an ability user.”

“What’s with all this ‘unni’ business?”

Kang Yeseul smirked at Cheon Seoa’s words.

“We’re childhood friends. We grew up in the same orphanage since we were young.”

“I see. Thank you for answering.”

Cheon Seoa said with a gentle smile.
At that, Kang Yeseul closed her eyes.

It was time to die now.

‘What was that secret wish that made him think of using such a monster?’

She regretted it.
She regretted it so much.

No, beyond regret, she now even resented her deceased master.

Why did he leave her with such a secret wish?

Moreover, Kang Yeseul blamed herself.

What was that secret wish that made her dedicate her entire life to it?

She also felt regretful.

At least, she wanted to see with her own eyes what was inside that ‘box’.

As such, even though she had accepted death, Kang Yeseul couldn’t hide her complex emotions, and Cheon Seoa tilted her head.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh…?”

As her chaotic thoughts began to settle, Kang Yeseul was startled by Cheon Seoa’s sudden voice and opened her eyes.

Come to think of it, why wasn’t this monster killing her?
If it wanted to, it could kill someone like her at any time.

“Why would I kill you, unni?”

“Umm…? Why, you ask? Well, I’m….”

“Of course, even if you’re at the 10th level of acting, it’s still just acting. It’s not like I have some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder that makes me unable to bear not cleaning up dust in front of my eyes. Really, what do you take me for?”

Ah…
I see.
From the beginning, to this monster, I was neither an enemy nor anything else.

I was just an existence no different from dust floating in front of her eyes.

“Ha, haha. Ahaha-.”

I don’t have to die.
There’s no need to die.

With that thought, Kang Yeseul, whose tension had dissipated, let out a hollow laugh.

“And if I kill you, Yuri unnie will be sad. Losing a childhood friend… I’ve never experienced it, so I don’t know, but it must be quite sad, right?”

“I, I guess so…?”

“So, stop being pathetic and get up and take that out.”

“Huh? What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“That necklace, it’s a storage artifact, isn’t it? Well, calling it a sacred treasure would be an insult to sacred treasures, given how poor it is.”

At Cheon Seoa’s words, Kang Yeseul unconsciously touched the necklace around her neck.

Indeed, this necklace was a storage artifact.
Like an inventory in a game, it was an artifact that allowed one to store various items in a subspace.

And this storage artifact was not only passed down by her master but also the object where ‘Biwon’ was sleeping.

But could it be…

‘Can she even see through what’s inside the storage artifact?’

What kind of level could it be?

Even her own deceased master couldn’t do such a thing.

While Kang Yeseul was thinking with a blank expression, Cheon Seoa urged her.

“Hurry and take it out.”

“Okay.”

At Cheon Seoa’s urging, Kang Yeseul took out a jade box from her storage ring.

The jade box, which looked luxurious at a glance, was definitely not ordinary.

However.

“This is why I tried to kidnap you. I thought you could break the seal engraved on this jade box…!”

“Ah, I thought it seemed strangely familiar.”

Hmm.

Kang Yeseul, who was saying something, looked bewildered at Cheon Seoa muttering to herself.

Does that monster know what this jade box is?

To be honest, Kang Yeseul doesn’t know what this jade box is.
She only knows that her master happened to obtain it a long time ago.

Meanwhile, Cheon Seoa.

“By the way, I wonder why this is on Earth. It was definitely distributed for the magic practitioners in the lower realm. Could it have accidentally flowed into Earth during that process?”

Kang Yeseul couldn’t understand Cheon Seoa’s muttering.
Cheon Seoa also had no intention of forcibly making Kang Yeseul understand.

Just.

“Is it a magical artifact? Or a weapon? Or maybe a technique? I should check what I put in here.”

Click.

As she finished speaking, Cheon Seoa effortlessly opened the jade box.
Kang Yeseul widened her eyes in disbelief.

“Ah, this. I remember. I think I completely refined it by melting down one of the final techniques of teleportation. It brings back memories.”

Saying that, Cheon Seoa took out ‘something’ that had been sleeping in the jade box.

What Cheon Seoa held in her hand was a dark-colored spear that exuded an ominous, evil, chilling, and bizarre aura just by looking at it.

How could such a long and large spear have been contained in that small jade box?

Kang Yeseul found herself pondering this question.