Kim Song-cheol was sitting cross-legged in the center of the living room with his eyes closed.
Inside his body, two Circles were rotating.
As of yet, the outer Circle was still wobbling precariously.
It wavered as if a plate were being spun at a tilt on a dining table.
The second outer Circle was wobbling so much that it was even affecting the inner Circle.
“Whew…”
Kim Song-cheol let out a long breath.
He did not think it was impossible.
He simply had not had enough time to correct it.
From Ser Gang-jin’s injury to the heated atmosphere following the deletion of the C-rank Gate.
Kim Song-cheol had only just managed to escape that chaotic scene where sorrow and joy were intertwined.
Quiet and calm.
He needed time entirely for himself.
Swaaaa…
- Interest
As the Circles gained rotational force, the Mana around Kim Song-cheol began to react.
Drawn by the rotational power of the Circles, the Mana formed a steady flow and gently wrapped around him.
At some point, the Circles expanded, and the two Circles moved outside of Kim Song-cheol’s body.
Kim Song-cheol’s Circles were large.
They expanded beyond the living room, passing through the walls of the master bedroom and the small room as they rotated.
Mana is not heavily affected by physical matter anyway.
The walls could not interfere with the rotation of the Mana.
The Circles boasted their presence, glowing with a proud blue light.
A thick inner Circle, and a thread-like outer Circle.
The outer Circle was vibrating very finely.
It looked like it was wavering because it couldn’t fix its axis of rotation.
It was at a level that was difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.
However, this phenomenon was practically a death sentence for a Mage.
This was because it was almost impossible to correct a misaligned axis of rotation.
But that did not apply to Kim Song-cheol.
Kim Song-cheol firmly pressed down on the Circles from above and below.
It was an image created by his incredible Mana control and Kim Song-cheol’s ‘will’.
Faced with control that could almost be called tyrannical, the slender second Circle could not offer any proper resistance and gradually began to align its axis of rotation with the first Circle.
After about five minutes, the second Circle began to rotate smoothly as if nothing had ever been wrong.
The rotation axis had snapped perfectly into place.
“Whew….”
Kim Song-cheol let out another long breath.
The Circles contracted rapidly and disappeared back into his body.
‘From now on, I should only create Circles in safe situations.’
Kim Song-cheol made a vow.
A phenomenon that would have been a death sentence for any other Mage had merely left Kim Song-cheol with a small lesson.
Kim Song-cheol stood up and took a belated shower.
While standing under the hot water, what happened in the Dungeon suddenly flashed through his mind.
‘It certainly was strange.’
The Lightning Spear had twisted its trajectory.
The problem was that he didn’t remember that moment very well.
Things were so urgent that his mind was a blur.
Furthermore, after that, he had to move the injured Ser Gang-jin and briefly participate in the festive atmosphere after the C-rank Gate was deleted.
And in every one of those moments, he had to keep focusing his mind to hold his unstable Circles in place.
It was a series of situations where even if he had remembered, he likely would have forgotten.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘I’ll have to ask a higher-ranking Mage about it when I get the chance.’
Kim Song-cheol reached that conclusion for now.
The next day.
Kim Song-cheol visited Ser Gang-jin together with Oh Song-hui and Mun Gi-jeong.
Ser Gang-jin was currently hospitalized in the medical facility attached to the Training Academy.
Ser Gang-jin, who was lying alone in a private room watching a movie with his phone mounted on a stand, turned his head sharply at Oh Song-hui’s energetic greeting.
“Are you feeling alive?”
“I feel like I’m going to die of boredom.”
Ser Gang-jin was currently recuperating from spinal and rib fractures, various internal organ contusions, and a concussion.
Simply put, his entire body was battered, but compared to the variety of injured areas, his condition wasn’t bad.
Even though there were fractures, they were mostly micro-fractures except for a few ribs, and the internal organ contusions—that is, organ bruising—were not that severe, and the concussion was mild.
This was possible because his physical durability had increased while training his Aura.
“How long do you have to be hospitalized?
How many weeks did they say for recovery?”
Mun Gi-jeong asked.
“Three weeks?
Four weeks?
That’s what they’re looking at.”
“That’s all?”
Kim Song-cheol asked as if surprised.
“Hey, aren’t I a Hunter?”
Ser Gang-jin lifted his arm as if to show off, but then grimaced and lowered it again.
Rough movements were still too much.
“Take good care of yourself.
Don’t move around for no reason.”
Kim Song-cheol tucked Ser Gang-jin’s blanket back in and then filled the empty water bottle.
The water bottle attached to the side of the bed had a long straw fixed near Ser Gang-jin’s mouth.
Kim Song-cheol opened a few snacks he had brought and set them by the bed as he spoke.
“Aren’t your parents coming?
Did you tell them?”
“Ah, that’s, I don’t have parents…”
“…What?”
For the first time in a very long time, Kim Song-cheol felt his hair stand on end.
The eloquence he thought he had cultivated over many years failed him at this moment.
He could only gape with his mouth open.
“Hey, he has parents.
They’re just abroad.
Why are you setting him up for such a misunderstanding?”
At Oh Song-hui’s following explanation, Kim Song-cheol finally breathed a sigh of relief.
For a brief moment, he had been overcome with self-reproach for ‘assuming everyone would have parents’.
“Ah, right.
But did you see Big Brother’s face just now?
Even right before I got Chokeslammed by the Golem, he didn’t have that expression, haha, ack!
Urgh!”
Ser Gang-jin, who tried to laugh as usual, felt pain throughout his whole body and screwed up his face.
Applying any strength to the body translated into pain.
It was the fate of an injured person.
“It’s karma.”
Of course, Kim Song-cheol watched that sight with great satisfaction.
“It’s karma.”
“Total karma.”
Mun Gi-jeong and Oh Song-hui also nodded and chipped in.
Kim Myung-joo took the tea set out of the display cabinet for the first time in a long while.
It had always been left abandoned like a decoration in a corner of the Director’s office.
The tea ceremony was an old hobby of his, but he could only enjoy it very occasionally.
The reason was simple.
It was not easy to find the time or the mental leeway to brew tea.
Kim Myung-joo waited leisurely for the water to boil and put a few tea leaves into the teapot.
It was the best tea he owned.
Kim Myung-joo poured boiling water into the tea set and neatly arranged the teacups.
Just looking at the tea set placed in the perfect spots filled his heart with a strange sense of satisfaction.
It could be said that this was why he enjoyed the tea ceremony.
‘It should be about now….’
The tea leaves would have steeped well.
Just as Kim Myung-joo was about to pour the tea into the cup.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door.
Kim Myung-joo’s expression brightened even further.
Because it would be even better if there was someone to enjoy it with.
“Come in.”
Kim Myung-joo replied joyfully and turned over one of the teacups he had kept face down.
The door opened, and Kim Song-cheol entered.
Kim Myung-joo broke into a wide grin.
Since he was his most precious Trainee, a smile naturally came to his face just by looking at him.
“Oh, you must be tired, what brings you all the way here?”
“Ah, well…”
“First, have a seat.
Haha.”
Kim Song-cheol seemed to hesitate for a moment, but seeing the tea set spread out on the table, he sat down in front of Kim Myung-joo.
“Have a cup of tea.”
Kim Myung-joo poured the tea into the cup.
His movements looked very practiced.
After filling the two teacups, Kim Myung-joo set the teapot down and picked up his cup.
“The aroma will be good.
But what did you say you were here for?”
“Ah, I’d like to apply for an outing.”
At Kim Song-cheol’s answer, Kim Myung-joo, who was bringing the teacup to his lips, froze in place.
An outing application.
It was a Trainee’s right guaranteed by the Training Academy’s regulations.
But to Kim Myung-joo, Kim Song-cheol’s application for an outing was like a bolt from the blue.
Kim Song-cheol going outside the Training Academy?
He could clearly see what would happen.
Agents from other countries currently in the Republic of Korea would use every possible method to contact Kim Song-cheol.
Having lost his appetite for tea, Kim Myung-joo set the teacup back down without even wetting his lips.
“But what is the reason for the outing…?”
“I want to see some friends and also visit my parents.”
“Friends…
parents…
You should see them.
You definitely should.
It’s only right that you see them.”
“Is it not allowed?”
“Of course it’s allowed.”
Kim Myung-joo smiled as normally as possible, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching.
Kim Song-cheol’s requests had to be granted unconditionally.
Specifically, if he blocked a right guaranteed by the regulations, Kim Song-cheol might develop resentment.
Nothing could be more terrible than that.
It was to the point where it would be better to even let him stay out overnight.
“Then I will head out today.”
Kim Myung-joo could only nod his head at Kim Song-cheol’s request, which was as good as a royal decree.
Whether he knew Kim Myung-joo’s heart or not, Kim Song-cheol nodded with satisfaction while drinking his tea.
“The tea is delicious.”
“….Yes.
It is high-quality tea.”
After finishing all his tea, Kim Song-cheol left the Director’s office.
Of course, until then, Kim Myung-joo had not touched the tea.
No, he couldn’t.
Kim Myung-joo, who had seen Kim Song-cheol off with a smile, pulled out his phone as soon as the door closed.
“This is Kim Myung-joo, Director of the Special Tactics Training Center.”
[Ah, hello?
What brings you to call so suddenly…?]
A bit of tension flowed through the voice of the Director of NIS, Kang Hak-sang.
In the first place, the fact that the Director of the Special Tactics Training Center was calling the Director of NIS directly was as good as evidence that something had happened.
“Trainee Kim Song-cheol has applied for overnight leave.”
Kim Myung-joo’s voice was solemnly low.
[What did you say!?]
Kang Hak-sang asked back in shock.
A rare scene unfolded where the Director of NIS and the Director of the Training Academy were breaking into a cold sweat over a mere Trainee’s outing.
“It’s overnight leave.
For Trainee Kim Song-cheol.”
Kim Myung-joo stated firmly once again.
[Ha…
I’m going crazy.]
The Director of NIS let out a low curse.
“How many foreign agents have been identified so far?”
Kim Myung-joo refreshed the atmosphere with an appropriate question.
[Currently, 21 countries.
By estimation, it’s over 50 countries.
The number of personnel deployed is impossible to even estimate right now.
Every country that’s capable of sending someone has probably sent them.]
“…That’s a lot.”
[Yes, it seems so.]
“We must use all our power to prevent contact.
As discussed in the last meeting, I request the initiation of ‘Operation Truman’.
I will request Hunter support.
There should be Hunters available since it’s right after the C-rank Gate removal.”
[Then how much time is left?]
“Hunter Kim Song-cheol’s scheduled outing time…
he’ll probably leave the Training Academy in 30 minutes.”
[Understood for now.
Please come to headquarters.]
“Yes, I will go as soon as things are wrapped up here.”
Kim Myung-joo hung up the phone and began making calls here and there again.
He thought things would be relaxed for a while after blocking the C-rank Gate, but it was a complete misconception.
30 minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Kim Song-cheol, who had been waiting in front of the dormitory, left the main gate in a car provided by the Training Academy.
That was around 10:12 AM.
And at 10:13 AM, the car carrying Kim Myung-joo quietly slipped out of the main gate and began to tail Kim Song-cheol.
It was the moment Operation Truman commenced.