episode_0006

Arriving at Songnisan National Park just yesterday, I spent the night at a nearby accommodation and set out as soon as dawn broke the next morning.

It goes without saying, but punctuality is important even among awakened individuals.

Well, there’s no situation where it isn’t, but even if it’s a prejudice, there are so many eccentric people among awakened individuals that it’s better to be careful if possible.

The awakened individual I met last summer and cleared a gate with was a man in his 40s…

Even though he spoke casually, calling me a student, his respectful attitude towards me as an awakened individual was so impressive that I still remember it.

‘I wonder what that man is doing these days.’

Even though he was A-rank, he wasn’t S-rank, nor was he an uncle belonging to a famous guild, so I never saw his face in the news.

We had exchanged contact information, but well, there wasn’t much actual use for it…

His messenger app profile picture occasionally changing suggested he hadn’t died in a gate somewhere. Many awakened individuals disappear without a trace, after all.

Recalling his profile picture, where he was beaming with two young children who seemed to be his own, I soon chuckled and pulled out my smartphone.

[11:58]

…The appointment time was almost here, and I’d arrived a bit early anyway. Even if they were a few minutes late, I wouldn’t be too bothered.

However, I had heard many so-called ‘horror stories’ from academy seniors.

‘Hopefully, they’re a good person.’

I finished my brief prayer and stretched, extending my arms. The temperature at the misty base of the mountain was quite cool, but…

That was irrelevant to me.

I was loosening up, hoping my partner would be dressed appropriately for the mountain’s chill, when suddenly…

“Excuse me, are you perhaps Lee Hyunjin… the student?”

A hand lightly tapped my shoulder, accompanied by a clear, resonant voice. I instantly felt a chill and swiftly dodged.

I suppose I instinctively created distance. I realized I had overreacted just a beat too late.

“…Oh.”

Naturally, the person who had touched me was more flustered than I was. When I looked up, a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties stood there.

Frozen in a rather awkward posture.

An unnecessarily awkward atmosphere lingered. I scratched my cheek and bowed my head first.

“I am Lee Hyunjin. I apologize for my rude reaction.”

“Oh, no. It was my fault for approaching you from behind so suddenly.”

She waved her hands, flustered and unsure what to do.

According to the profile, her name was probably…

“Are you Kim Jiwoo, by any chance?”

“…Huh? Oh, yes. I’m Kim Jiwoo, the one you’re supposed to meet today.”

She quickly nodded at my words. She was so flustered that she immediately started rattling off things I hadn’t even asked.

“I renewed my A-rank three months ago, I’m twenty-seven, I’m currently active in the Blue Butterfly Guild, and my measurements from top to bottom are 89, 66, 80. My, my eyesight is 2.0 in both eyes!”

“…Ah, yes…”

Her expression seemed to betray a sense of urgency, as if she thought she’d been treated as a suspicious person because she had suppressed her presence when approaching.

But why did she tell me her measurements? I had no way of verifying them even if she did.

Still, she seemed to come to her senses, letting out a ‘Huh’ and fumbling to pull a document from her pocket, which she then handed to me.

I checked it and confirmed it was the same content as mine. In other words, she was indeed the awakened individual from the academy-affiliated guild assigned to me today.

I nodded, returning the document. As I was thinking she seemed a bit ditzy, she fiddled with her hands and apologized to me again.

“Oh, I’m sorry? My position requires me to move around cloaked, so it’s a habit. I thought it would be fine since ordinary people usually don’t notice my presence at all…”

She hesitated for a moment, then gave up on her excuse and let out a deep sigh.

Then, she peeked up at me and let out an awkward chuckle, ‘Hehehe’.

“Hmm, Hyunjin student, your presence detection seems excellent.”

As I remained silently unenthusiastic, Kim Jiwoo repeatedly curled and uncurled her fingers with an even more despondent expression.

She’d laugh to herself, then slump, making me think she was quite an amusing person.

“Well, people who aren’t confident in their normal detection usually don’t get that startled. Y-you’re amazing, even for a mage…”

I was curious how deep she would dig herself into a hole if I just left her alone. I’d probably see quite a few more funny reactions.

“…No. I was the one who reacted sensitively, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

However, it would be a bit rude to tease someone like that on a first meeting.

I offered a harmless smile to show her it was fine.

“As for presence detection, well, I learned a specific spell from my master. He always said awakened individuals should be wary of what’s behind them… I’ve kept it active constantly ever since I learned it as a child.”

“…”

I was scratching my cheek like that, but this time, no answer came from her.

I blinked and looked at Kim Jiwoo; her expression seemed somewhat dazed.

“Kim Jiwoo?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Only when I called her name with an embarrassed voice did her eyes regain focus.

It’s a bit rude to say, but her impression changes so many times. She’s a very lively person.

Kim Jiwoo slightly covered her mouth and muttered in a small voice.

“…Hyunjin student, you must be enchanting the female students at the academy.”

“?”

I suddenly received a compliment.

No, was it even a compliment?

I blinked in bewilderment, but Kim Jiwoo said no more, merely fanning herself with her hand and turning around.

“So, shall we go? It’s a task that will take about two days to handle, so there’s no need to rush, but it’s probably better to get a head start on reducing the workload if possible.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Uh-huh, and you can speak informally…”

“Ah, alright.”

Our first step began in a rather awkward atmosphere for both of us. Even as I wondered if this would be okay, I calmly checked the mana within my body.

And so, we entered the foothills of Songnisan.

*****

Like the countless mountains scattered across South Korea, Songnisan was also a land half-occupied by monsters due to the initial gate outbreaks. In other words, a habitat.

Naturally, general public entry was restricted, but awakened individuals were an exception.

Well, it wasn’t like places such as Jirisan or Seoraksan, which teamed with high-risk monsters, so it wasn’t particularly dangerous.

Considering that an A-rank awakened individual and an academy student, just these two, could enter without much preparation, the difficulty level was clear.

The creatures that appeared were mostly mutated slimes, goblins, or orcs. There were occasional reports of tentacle spiders or vampire mantises being sighted.

Even so, they were creatures that an A-rank awakened individual could handle sufficiently, so there was nothing to fear.

The only thing I was concerned about was that Kim Jiwoo, the A-rank awakened individual I met today, seemed a little clumsy.

Still, she wouldn’t have earned her A-rank title through a card game, so she must have at least some skill.

If things got dire, I thought I should minimize the risk by joining the battle more actively. It’s not a boast, but I was a fairly capable mage, after all.

Slice!!!

…I wanted to say that I, too, once had such arrogant thoughts.

It was a single sword stroke.

And blood burst forth.

It was clearly a dagger, its blade short, not long in reach.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of monsters in front were slaughtered.

Gulp-

I swallowed hard. And I had to admit it. Being lauded as a rookie mage, I seemed to have become a bit conceited.

I couldn’t follow her movements with my eyes. Before I even saw the dagger swing, Kim Jiwoo was already a distance away.

And *thwack*. The monsters’ necks flew through the air with a *snip*, and Kim Jiwoo didn’t get a single drop of their foul bodily fluids on her.

Very occasionally, a stray drop of blood would splatter, but…

“How dirty.”

Even the way she casually wiped it off with her sleeve exuded a certain wild charm.

I stared blankly for a moment as Kim Jiwoo shook her dagger clean with a *whoosh*, then belatedly came to my senses and let out a hollow laugh.

At this rate, I wouldn’t have anything to do.

“Hmm, shall we take a short break?”

It was then that Kim Jiwoo turned to me with a fresh smile.

I replied with a hollow laugh.

“…Yes, let’s do that.”

At my reply, Kim Jiwoo smiled even more brightly and pulled me to one side.