The spectators applauded when Chae Nayun easily struck the target at 200 meters. Everyone felt she was an amazing archer, including Kim Suho. He looked around at the ten or so student archers that came to watch.

“Chae Nayun’s posture is so good.”

“She’s been doing it for a long time.”

“Yeah, but still, how can it be so perfect?”

They commented while Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Yoo Yeonha, and Yi Yeonghan naturally listened to their explanations. Then Kim Hajin fired and missed by a mile.

“The hell…. His posture is completely off.”

Kim Suho listened as he watched the duel. Kim Hajin fired a second time and missed again.

“Maybe he really didn’t practice.”

“No, he changed his bow’s direction at the last second. He missed on purpose.”

“Huh? Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know.”

Then Kim Hajin fired his third arrow and perfectly hit the target.

“See? He missed his second shot on purpose.”

“Okay, but why?”

“Fuck man, I don’t know!”

Kim Suho continued to watch.

“I’ve never seen him before at the archery range.”

One of the cadets muttered. Two facilities existed for sharpshooters, the shooting range and the archery range. The shooting range required magic power, while the archery range served traditional purposes. Most first year sharpshooters knew each other because they could only use certain ranges.

“Have you seen him?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Maybe he comes after midnight?”

“No, that’s when I'm here, from midnight to 3, and I've never seen him.”

Kim Suho was speechless. Did Kim Hajin really not practice? However, Kim Hajin’s archery seemed too sharp and accurate. His arrows shot after the targets like a starving wild beast.

Soon, the archers began to compare their practice hours to solve this mystery. They stopped talking when the distance reached 400 meters. Kim Hajin had performed beyond their expectations. One of the cadets muttered in a daze.

“My record is 450 meters…”

Kim Hajin easily surpassed the 450 meter mark. The noisy crowd began to quiet down, and sounds of hard swallowing followed.

“Ah, Chae Nayun missed.”

Chae Nayun missed for the first time at 500 meters, but Kim Hajin easily succeeded like before. The same occurred at 550 meters. Kim Suho realized Chae Nayun would lose when she failed the second time. Now, they shot at 600 meters away. Kim Suho saw Kim Hajin saying something, but he couldn’t hear. Curious, he focused his magic power on his ears.

— But with a bow, you won’t be able to kill a single djinn, much less avenge your older brother.

Kim Suho frowned.

“What is he…”

Perhaps because of what he said, Chae Nayun failed again at the 600 meter mark. She fiercely glared at him, but Kim Hajin ignored her and concentrated on shooting.

“Whoa, what the hell!?”

The other archers exclaimed in shock as Kim Hajin shot down three targets at 600 meters, 650 meters, and 700 meters. Kim Hajin’s technique looked like a form of art, but he appeared unsatisfied and continued. Kim Suho watched him with mixed feelings.

Yoo Yeonha also observed Kim Hajin perform as expected. However, she felt he only showed a fraction of his real power and couldn’t help but wonder how much he hid.

“… What is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“It must be a specialized gift.”

A nameless archer threw out an idea. Yoo Yeonha strained her ears at the words, specialized gift. It referred to a gift that specialized in a particular role. Although it wasn’t showy like Kim Suho’s or Shin Jonghak’s, specialized gifts stood at the peak of their fields. Furthermore, most of these rare individuals usually had an additional gift.

“Then there’s no way Chae Nayun can beat him in pure archery. Not unless she uses magic power.”

“Kim Hajin also uses a gun. They said his gift was the greatest gun-related gift.”

“Maybe his specialized gift is for bows, and his other gift is for guns.”

“Wow, then imagine if they were both for the bow.”

“That wouldn’t be fair. If that were the case, he would be in the same league as Jin Seyeon.”

The archers nodded in agreement. For the record, Jin Seyeon was one of Korea’s master rank heroes, the Divine Archer.

Kim Hajin turned around after hitting the 900 meter target. The archers suddenly froze as he faced them.

“...”

Dead silence followed as Kim Hajin walked past the crowd of spectators. Kim Suho made eye contact as Kim Hajin remained expressionless. Soon, Kim Hajin passed him by, and Kim Suho stared at Chae Nayun alone in the huge lane. Then he began to walk towards her.

“Nayun.”

Chae Nayun’s body jolted. Kim Suho stood an appropriate distance and picked out words to comfort her.

“Um, I heard from the other archers. It seems Kim Hajin has a specialized—”

“It’s fine.”

Chae Nayun interrupted him.

“I’m… I’m not in the mood to talk. And specialized gift or not, that means there’s a difference in talent.”

“Nayun, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Just leave.”

Chae Nayun refused to turn around the entire time.

“… Okay.”

Kim Suho helplessly returned when he caught sight of another person smiling at him.

“Haha, you should know your place. Move over.”

Shin Jonghak sneered and walked towards Chae Nayun. However, Yoo Yeonha lightly grabbed Shin Jonghak’s sleeve and held him back.

“Jonghak, I think you should leave her alone for now.”

“No, I’m different.”

He confidently walked up to Chae Nayun despite Yoo Yeonha’s warning.

“Chae Nayun, I think you’re…”

“I SAID LEAVE!”

Chae Nayun’s roar startled Shin Jonghak.

“C-Chae Nayun? I’m not Kim Suho, I’m Shin Jonghak…”

Somewhat dazed, he placed his hand on her shoulder. She immediately smacked it away.

“I SAID LEAVE! SCREW OFF!”

“… Eh? Uh, um… uh, yeah.”

Shin Jonghak staggered back as though he just lost his soul.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“...”

Chae Nayun ran into the forest as Shin Jonghak returned to Yoo Yeonha with a devastated face. Yoo Yeonha watched her leave with a grin. She felt happy seeing Chae Nayun get stomped.

However, her cold reasoning had already calculated a plan despite her emotions. The most effective way of establishing a connection was to help someone when they were down.

Chae Nayun held a grade 1 priority in Yoo Yeonha’s connection list. Not only was Chae Nayun a chaebol, but her conglomerate family didn’t run any guilds. In other words, Yoo Yeonha could recruit Chae Nayun into her guild in the future.

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to her.”

Yoo Yeonha ran after Chae Nayun.

***

She discovered Chae Nayun behind a bush with her face buried between her knees. Her body quivered up and down.

“Nayun?”

She trembled, but didn’t respond. Yoo Yeonha quietly sat next to her, and Chae Nayun waddled to the side in response.

“…”

Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything. She only occasionally signaled to Chae Nayun that she was still there, patiently waiting. She waited for a fairly long time as the wind blew, leaves fell, and the sky grew dark. After about 30 minutes, Chae Nayun raised her head and wiped her tears.

“Yoo Yeonha.”

She called for Yoo Yeonha, who responded with a tender voice.

“Yeah?”

Chae Nayun spoke within the forest’s silence.

“Did you guys… not hear him?”

“Hear what?”

“He… mentioned my older brother.”

“… Really? We were too far.”

Yoo Yeonha was genuinely surprised. To Chae Nayun, her older brother was a line no one could cross, the reverse scale of a dragon that shouldn't be touched. Every cadet took special care not to mention him.

“Yeah, that bastard… Haa, that was the second time.”

Chae Nayun couldn’t even continue her sentence. She burned from a mixture of embarrassment and rage. She wanted to let it out, chase after him, and beat him. However, she had no strength left after he thoroughly crushed her.

“Mmm….”

Yoo Yeonha scratched her neck at the sight of Chae Nayun. Things got more complicated than she anticipated. Yoo Yeonha disliked Chae Nayun, but she also wanted to make her an ally. However, the same could be said for Kim Hajin, and he even saved her life. Rather than choosing sides, the best she could do was mend their relationship. Of course, she also wondered why Kim Hajin would say that.

“Haa.”

Yoo Yeonha sighed and contemplated what to say. She thought up a good idea exactly three minutes later. Cough. Yoo Yeonha spoke after clearing her throat.

“… It’s understandable.”

“What?”

“Your older brother is still alive.”

“… Are you crazy?”

Chae Nayun glared at Yoo Yeonha as though she was about to strangle her. However, Yoo Yeonha calmly received her anger and continued.

“Did you know? People feel a sense of kinship with others who share similar wounds.”

The leaves shook. Chae Nayun looked confused as Yoo Yeonha continued.

“But when the depths of those wounds are different, if someone who should feel less pain is crying louder, the person with the deeper wound might find it unsightly.”

Yoo Yeonha recalled the message she received from Yoo Jinhyuk three days ago.

[It’ll take longer to look into him. Just know this, there’s definitely something about Kim Hajin.]

There’s definitely something about Kim Hajin. Yoo Yeonha was sure of her hypothesis from this meaningful sentence. Someone had murdered Kim Hajin’s parents, and Kim Hajin was searching for that person or group.

“What are you talking about? I…”

“That person, he’s an orphan. Probably because of a reason similar to yours.”

“… What?”

Chae Nayun’s eyes widened. Yoo Yeonha expected such a reaction. Chae Nayun never cared about anyone else’s past. It served as a defensive mechanism since if she dug up their past, they could dig up hers.

“Don’t you know that others harassed him about it?”

Chae Nayun looked utterly oblivious. She couldn’t imagine it in the first place. From her perspective, people who made fun of others without parents didn’t exist. Chae Nayun swallowed hard and asked again.

“He endured it?”

“That’s the only thing you’re curious about?”

Yoo Yeonha frowned as though she was tired.

“Kim Hajin was being harassed because of you. Because you told Jonghak.”

“T-That’s…”

“Nayun.”

Yoo Yeonha collected her breath before continuing.

“You're not the only one with a painful past.”

Chae Nayun’s face turned blank. She recalled mentioning what he said about her older brother to Shin Jonghak. Then the harassment and nasty rumors about Kim Hajin began. She was the source, yet she didn’t try to stop it. On the contrary, she purposely ignored it and couldn’t deny that. Still, she didn’t expect those delinquents would dig up his past.

“C-Cough.”

Yoo Yeonha held back her laughter at Chae Nayun’s ridiculous face by clearing her throat. This seemed like enough. Investing any more time and emotion didn’t suit her.

“Then I’m leaving. I'm only a third party, after all. You can think it through yourself, Nayun.”

Yoo Yeonha gently stroked her shoulder and left.

“… Uh, yeah.”

Chae Nayun’s voice sounded much weaker than before. Yoo Yeonha felt like she gained points from both of them. Satisfied, she went back with a light heart.

“…”

Chae Nayun remained all alone in the vast, silent forest. She blankly stared into the distance. Chwaaaa— From the darkness, a calm wind blew and brushed against the leaves. Chae Nayun self-reflected as she watched the leaves shake and fall.

***

“Haha, you sure got big.”

I looked at Evandel’s seed with a big grin. It acted surprisingly cute in the way it quivered to absorb blood.

I already knew what the seed would look like once it hatched. At first, she would look like a 3 to 4 year old child, but Evandel was an extraordinary witch. She could easily transform into a cat or a dog.

“Should I go with a cat? Or a dog?”

I worried because raising a child at Cube was absolutely not allowed. However, Cube allowed pets and encouraged them as they could help with mental health. Cube even had a pet adoption center.

“When will you hatch?”

I gently rubbed the seed’s belly. It quivered, almost as if it was ticklish.

“Haha, you’re so cute.”

I suddenly remembered Mong, the dog I used to own. He only liked Mom and Dad, but I missed everyone from Earth at this point. Suddenly, an alert popped up on my laptop on the desk.

[You have obtained 253 SP.] [An incredible luck has been applied to your relationship!] [Narrow Escape from Death (2/9) – A special stat, accumulation of luck, has partly unlocked!]

“What’s this?”

I couldn’t understand the alert.