Chapter 6: The Angel Caught in a Test (3)

Episode 6: The Angel Caught in a Test (3)

Heroes are a kind of celebrity.

Naturally, there were heroes who didn’t gain fame and weren’t even recognized in their hometowns, and there were heroes who were so famous that they were adored not just in Korea but all over the world.

Among them, Yumari was a particularly famous hero. Coming from the renowned awakener family, the Seocheon Yu, being a half-dragon, and her beautiful appearance and strength… it was impossible for her not to be famous.

Even though she wore clothes purely for practicality, they looked stylish on her, and her beauty stood out even without any accessories or makeup. And the small horn on her forehead, a symbol of her dragon lineage.

That Yumari was looking at him.

The top graduate of the Central Superhuman Academy. A hero who earned the infamous title of ‘Dragon Lady’ due to her dragon blood, but even that infamy was turned into praise due to her exceptional heroism. The hero who single-handedly stopped the rainbow-colored gate.

Leffrey remembered his room in his past life.

The biggest decoration in that room was a poster of her. In the corner of his bookshelf, there was always a scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings about her.

That’s right.

Leffrey in his past life was that much of a fan of Yumari.

“Hello.”

But for that Yumari to be talking to him now…

“I’m Yumari. I don’t mean to boast, but I think I’m somewhat well-known… have you heard of me?”

That Yumari was talking to him in a friendly manner. That Yumari was smiling at him.

“I’ve heard of you. The Dragon Lady of the Seocheon Yu… I know a lot about you.”

“Then…”

She reached out her hand.

But Leffrey couldn’t take it.

Why? Because Yumari in his past life betrayed humanity. She sold humanity’s most important fortress, the Mariana Camp, to the demon army and in return became a fully fledged dragon, and flew away to another dimension.

As she soared with her wings spread as a dragon, she never once looked back at the world she had abandoned.

Recalling the miserable past, Leffrey

He made up his mind once again.

‘I have to stop that from happening…’

Why did Yumari betray humanity? To understand that, he needed to know about Yumari’s past.

There was an incident where The head of the Seocheon Yu once kidnapped the Sky Dragon, Lumari, and made her his concubine. And the Sky Dragon, Lumari, gave birth to a lovely daughter named Yumari.

A prodigy who possessed both the abilities of the Seocheon Yu and that of the dragon.

The people of the Seocheon Yu both tried to exploit Yumari’s exceptional abilities and feared her, trying to eliminate her. Simply put, they were divided into factions.

And both of those factions…

Were the ones that tormented Yumari.

In the end, the Sky Dragon was fully captured and exploited by the Seocheon Yu until she died, and even her half-siblings targeted her life, fearing that she, an illegitimate child, would aim for the next head position.

For her to survive,

she had to prove she was useful.

If she was perceived as unnecessary, she could be eliminated at any time.

The reason she showed such a perfect attitude as a hero was just an act to survive.
And Leffrey in his past life was simply fooled by it.

Leffrey lowered his head in bitterness.

Even if there was a reason, the fact that she betrayed them didn’t disappear. Even if she betrayed humanity to find her own freedom, too many people died because of it.

“You… won’t shake my hand?”

Look at that. She was reaching out her hand, pretending to be a good person. But Leffrey wasn’t fooled anymore. Now, he knew it was all an act.

Leffrey sighed and said,

“Yumari, use your dragon senses right now. There’s a trap targeting you.”

“…What?”

Leffrey knew about the trap set here. How? Because after Yumari in his past life betrayed humanity and ran away… a huge hearing was held.

Various truths were revealed at that hearing. One of them was Seocheon Yu’s scheme against Yumari… and the first one was related to the entrance exam.

“Ha… what is this…”

Dragons are exceptional creatures.

Their horns, which are responsible for their senses, can detect all sorts of things, from traps behind walls to the state of the atmosphere and even people’s emotions.

Her horns grew slightly larger.

She was enhancing her dragon senses.

She didn’t want to show her competitors that she could enhance her dragon senses, so she had been deliberately hiding them…

While Yumari revealed her senses like this, Leffrey organized his thoughts.

‘Even if I feel betrayed, Yumari is a hero humanity needs. If I can prevent the Seocheon Yu from messing with Yumari…’

Then maybe she wouldn’t betray humanity.

More than that…

‘Anyway, the Seocheon Yu’s schemes will only help Yumari grow her hostility towards humanity, it won’t kill her. In that case, it’s better to stop them and try to get Angelic Power from her.’

[You have saved a future hero from a trap!]

[Saving a future hero is truly an angelic deed!]

[You have acquired a large amount of Angelic Power]

Angelic Power is essential for the upcoming tests. If he could gain such precious Angelic Power, he could momentarily forget his past grudge and help her a little.

‘Damn it… damn it…’

Meanwhile, Yumari’s sharpened senses,

detected dangers aimed at her from all around.

Talismans related to dragon slaying… even for someone like herself, these were powerful enough to harm her body. It was probably a scheme by those within her family who wanted to get rid of her.

‘I sense dragon-slaying energy from several doors. Can the Seocheon Yu interfere with the entrance exam as well? That was close. Then it’s highly likely that our family’s eyes and ears are hidden in this exam.’

And her enhanced dragon senses even read the emotions of the boy beside her.

The boy felt deep sadness from her. And even a strong sense of betrayal. This boy, whom she had met for the first time today, why did he have such deep emotions towards her…?

And the boy smelled like the sky.

‘The smell of my mother…’

Sky Dragons were Dragons that considered the sky their friend. That refreshing and fragrant scent emanating from her mother, it was said that only a race that truly belonged to the heavens, like dragons, could have such a scent.

“First of all, thank you for telling me about the trap. But you… do you hate me?”

“…I can’t say I don’t.”

“Then why did you help me?”

“I can’t say that either.”

“You…”

“Stop, I don’t want to talk anymore.”

He had saved her once, that was enough.

That was what Leffrey thought.

No matter how innocent Yumari was at this point in time, Leffrey wasn’t emotionally strong enough to consider such things.

So Leffrey refused to talk any further. He sat down in a corner and decided to think about where to use the Angelic Power he had gained earlier.

‘If I accumulate just a little more Angelic Power, I think I can raise a stat…’

The Angelic Power that had been empty after raising a stat last time had almost reached the threshold due to him having saved Yumari earlier.

‘But considering that I’ll be using divine powers in the tests from now on, I should keep some Angelic Power.’

So Leffrey decided,

‘Let’s save this Angelic Power.’

As Leffrey crouched in a corner of the hall thinking about Angelic Power. Yumari seeing him like that, couldn’t help but think to herself.

‘He really resembles my mother.’

The Sky Dragon, Lumari, was like that too. She smelled like the sky because she belonged to the heavens, and her beauty was incomparable to ordinary people. She also possessed a foolish kindness that made her save even those she hated if their lives were in danger. Just like this boy had saved her, even though he hated her.

‘His appearance, his scent, his personality… there’s nothing he doesn’t resemble.’

And in this world, people with such personalities were always exploited and died. Miserably, to the point that those left behind by such a person couldn’t bear to remember.

Yumari can’t help but bite her lip.

‘…He really resembles my mother.’

Because of the rising sadness and longing,

Yumari couldn’t bring herself to talk to Leffrey either.

This awkwardness continued for a whole day.

Fortunately, this awkwardness didn’t last more than two days. As the day came to an end and the next day approached, a trainee from a large guild entered as the third, and someone from another family as the fourth. Yumari greeted them immediately.

Their guard was instantly lowered.

As if they had forgotten that they would soon be competing.

Of course, as soon as the conversation ended, Yumari turned cold…

They didn’t notice.

‘If there’s a teamwork test, this level of socializing will be necessary.’

Looking at Leffrey sitting sullenly, Yumari felt an emotion she couldn’t quite name as a fellow candidate.

‘He hates me, yet he showed compassion. I can use that boy. Others will probably try to use him too. Others…’

Just like how her mother was used…

She found herself worrying about Leffrey.

Leffrey, her competitor.

That’s why she couldn’t show her feelings.

And she muttered excuses to herself.

‘Why am I worried about him? He hates me. He’s my enemy.’

Yumari smiled and responded to another candidate’s joke while thinking,

‘Yumari… what exactly do you want to do?’

The tenth person to complete the application process was a truly beautiful beast folk with pink hair. With her funky attire and the shape of her ears and tail, it was clear she was a cat beast folk.

Yumari recognized her instantly.

‘The next chief of the Mooncat tribe, Hongwol…!’

The Mooncat tribe, known for their top assassins and thieves, and among them, the one considered a genius was this Hongwol. She was known for being cunning and cruel, typical of the Mooncat tribe…

And so, she was someone to watch out for. However, Yumari naturally hid such feelings and tried to greet her as she had done with the others. However, Hongwol ignored her completely and approached a boy sitting in the corner.

“Hello.”

The moment she saw Leffrey, Hongwol’s pink tail stood up and twitched.

Yumari thought,

What’s going on? Could it be that Hongwol and the boy know each other?

Yumari erased her fake smile and watched the scene intently. As Yumari’s smile disappeared, the man who had been talking to her earlier was surprised.

“…Who are you?”

“Hmm? Ah, in this form, it’s our first time meeting, right.”

As expected, the boy seemed to be seeing Hongwol for the first time.

Then why was Hongwol acting like that?

Could it be…?

“Boy, I’m Hongwol of the Mooncat tribe.”

“Ah, Hongwol…?”

“Have you heard of me?”

Yumari bit her lip.

As I said earlier, Hongwol was known for her cruelty. Moreover, as a member of the Mooncat tribe, known for their thievery, she wouldn’t bat an eye at using and discarding others.

Her mother was exploited and killed by such people. Because of cruel beings like Hongwol…!

‘Hongwol, what are you trying to do? Are you… trying to use that boy?’

Yumari unknowingly took a step forward.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Boy, let’s team up.”

However, Hongwol was much closer to the boy.