C90.Fake and Real (2)

Rachel returned to the sixth floor, other members of Team Black following suit . They asked what was going on as they chased after her, but Rachel only ran .

"…What . "

When they arrived on the sixth floor, they saw three cadets lying on the ground . They were all from the white team, and their hands and feet were tied together, leaving them wriggling like caterpillars .

"Um, what's this?"

The members of Team Black were befuddled by this bizarre scene . Rachel's head also drew a blank, but she soon realized what happened . She thought that even Kim Hajin wouldn't be able to handle six cadets at once, but it seemed she was wrong .

"Um, Rachel-ssi?"

"Ah, it looks like the situation is already taken care of . "

Rachel replied somewhat in awe .

At that moment, a spearman walked in from the other side of the lobby .

"Ah, it's Shin Jonghak! Jonghak~!"

Yi Kyungrak, one of Shin Jonghak's lackies, ran up to him . Looking at him, Shin Jonghak made a leisurely smile .

Although he lost to Kim Suho, he avoided taking critical damage . After escaping to the sixth floor's residential area, he was collecting breath .

"Nice to see you . "

Shin Jonghak spoke to his team members, then was surprised when he saw Rachel .

Rachel gave a slight bow in greeting, and Shin Jonghak greeted back with a light nod .

"Jonghak, do you know what happened here?"

Yi Kyungrak asked as he pointed at the tied up cadets on the ground . Shin Jonghak replied in a perfectly calm manner .

"I do . I eliminated two of them . "

Immediately, Rachel furrowed her brows .

Although what Shin Jonghak said was the truth, Rachel thought he was trying to steal Kim Hajin's achievement .

What really happened was that Shin Jonghak saw Yoo Yeonha and Chae Nayun fighting with some nimble guy, and used the opportunity to eliminate two cadets by ambushing them .

"Kuhum . Then from now… I'll take command . "

Shin Jonghak spoke as he glanced at Rachel . Rachel looked at the other members of the black team . They looked more comfortable with Shin Jonghak being their leader .

However, Rachel didn't want to be with someone who would steal someone else's achievements . Not to mention, she was the one with the artifact .

"Then I'll take my leave here . "

"Ah, you should come with us . "

Yi Kyungrak tried to dissuade her, looking visibly wistful, but Rachel was resolute . She walked to the east emergency staircase, and Shin Jonghak watched her leave for a while before leading the black team to the central staircase .

From then, the Mock Artifact Scramble resumed at a quick pace .

Shin Jonghak gathered all surviving members of the black team and managed to steal two artifacts . Rachel also made great achievements through guerilla tactics .

On the other hand, the white team protected many of their artifacts despite being led around by Rachel . Kim Suho displayed outstanding leadership and might, safely transporting five artifacts to designated locations .

Thanks to Kim Suho and Chae Nayun's performance, Team White came out victorious in the scramble . However, Rachel and Shin Jonghak also managed to get satisfactory individual grades .

…For the record, Kim Hajin, who miraculously survived Chae Nayun and Yoo Yeonha's joint attack, spent the rest of his time hiding in the fourth floor bathroom .

"…Huaaam . "

Seventh floor bathroom .

Tomer finally

opened her eyes . After waking up, she blankly stared at the ceiling for a moment . She was still a bit drowsy .

"Oh right, the mission . "

She then remembered her mission and checked her smartwatch .

"…Huh?"

But when she saw the smartwatch screen, she fell into a daze .

Currently, it was 3:02 P . M .

Thinking her smartwatch was broken, she rummaged through her pockets and took out the cadet smartwatch .

On it, a more definitive truth was being shown .

+Mock Artifact Scramble Results+

[Final survivors – Black Team: 12 / White Team: 11]

[Artifact Possession – Black Team: 3 / White Team: 5]

[White Team MVP – Kim Suho, Chae Nayun]

[Black Team MVP – Shin Jonghak, Rachel]

+White Team Victory+

"…What?"

Tomer slapped her cheeks, thinking it was all a dream .

However, the smartwatch screen remained unchanged . Next, she tried slapping herself harder . But everything was still the same .

"No way, no way, no way… . "

She hurriedly ran out of the bathroom .

With classes over, all lights were turned off and the seventh floor lobby was pitch black .

"Ah… . "

Devastated, Tomer dropped to the floor .

After the end of combat training .

Cadets were sitting on a grass field . Some were frowning as they were treated with potions, but most were talking about the artifact scramble either happily or regretfully .

"Jamer, is Jamer not out yet?"

Among the cadets was the instructor Kim Soohyuk, who was calling Tomer's false name and looking for her .

"…Tsk . "

On the other hand, Chae Nayun was sitting alone, picking on poor grass .

There were many things she was unhappy with . Of course, the scramble ended with the white team's victory .

But her fight with Rachel didn't come to conclusion, and even in a one versus six situation – though Shin Jonghak interfered in the middle – she was unable to defeat Kim Hajin .

Most importantly… although she didn't act like it, she was concerned about what Yi Jiyoon said during the scramble .

"Hmm~"

Then, someone came up to her, making an audible sound . Chae Nayun turned her gaze . It was Yoo Yeonha .

Yoo Yeonha struck up a conversation with a grin .

"Are you bothered?"

"…What do I have to be bothered by?"

Chae Nayun retorted bluntly at the sudden question . Yoo Yeonha rebutted with a nod .

"Oh really? I just thought you were bothered by what Yi Jiyoon said . "

"W-What, are you crazy? Why would I be bothered by that? I don't even remember what she said . "

"But still~"

Yoo Yeonha stared at Kim Hajin . He was sitting with his team in a shade under a big tree . In other words, he was with Rachel .

Yoo Yeonha spoke straightforwardly .

"At this rate, he might get taken away . "

"Wh, what? Taken away? Can you stop spouting shit . He was never mine in the first place . "

Even though she said that, her actions clearly contradicted her words, her fists clenched and shook slightly . Yoo Yeonha looked at her for a moment, then continued speaking .

"Well, I don't believe in those rumors either, but he might be searching for someone else because you keep pushing him away . "

Then, Chae Nayun's gaze slowly turned toward Kim Hajin . She saw Rachel next to him .

Chae Nayun furrowed her brows and looked away .

"…If his feelings change that easily, he isn't my type to begin with . "

"Pft

"

"Pft . "

Yoo Yeonha couldn't help but laugh at Chae Nayun's self-justifying excuse . Chae Nayun seemed to want to strike back, but Yoo Yeonha continued talking first .

"Nayun . "

"What now?"

"Between Kim Suho and Kim Hajin, who is it?"

"You—! It's not like that!"

Chae Nayun shouted with a reddened face . Gazes of nearby cadets fell on them, but Yoo Yeonha didn't stop laughing .

"Then is it Jonghak?"

"Are you crazy?"

She reacted much colder than last time . Shin Jonghak was clearly out of the picture . Somewhat relieved, Yoo Yeonha blurted out feeling a bit bitter .

"…I'm jealous . "

"About what?"

"I have no one, but you get to choose from three . "

"Ueek . "

Chae Nayun simply shook her head, not bothering to answering Yoo Yeonha .

It was then .

Shin Jonghak approached them, wagging his butt .

After getting nine eliminations and stealing two artifacts in this Mock Artifact Scramble, his mood was through the roof .

"Yo~ Chae Nayun . "

"Oh, Shin Jonghak . Your team lost, how do you feel?"

Chae Nayun snickered as she made fun of him . However, Shin Jonghak was satisfied with being the MVP of his team, so he rebutted leisurely .

"It was inevitable . You were in the white team . "

"…Hm, I guess you're right . "

At that moment, Tomer walked out of the excavation site . Chae Nayun glanced over as well . Kim Soohyuk was approaching her with a scary expression .

"Jamer, why did you come out so late?"

"… . "

"I checked your smartwatch GPS, and it looks like you stayed in the seventh floor bathroom the entire time . "

For some reason, Tomer looked completely lost as she couldn't even reply quickly .

Once the scramble ended, I returned to my room . My body was aching all over the place . Perhaps I should have killed myself during the scramble . Because I didn't write about the Mock Artifact Scramble in detail, I stayed until the end to see how everything panned out, but I only ended up fatigued .

"Hajin~ Hajin, Hajin~"

But the fatigue melted away when Evandel ran up to me with a bright smile . I held her up and looked around the room . Nightingale, crow-tit, dog, cat… Evandel made all sorts of animals .

"You didn't forget to keep them inside the room, right?"

"Un!"

Evandel replied energetically as she checked my hands and pockets . However, I didn't bring anything back . Next, she peeked over my shoulder and even checked my back . There wasn't any food there either .

Evandel gave me a confused look .

"Hajin, you didn't bring anything…?"

"Ah… sorry . I was tired, so I forgot . "

"… . "

Evandel closed her mouth . Her sparkling eyes became filled with disappointment and betrayal, and began to tear up . I stopped her from crying with just one sentence .

"I ordered chicken and pizza . It'll arrive soon . "

Evandel's expression immediately brightened up .

"Aha~ I see~ I see~"

Of course, it was a lie . I would have to order them while I pretend to take a dump .

"I need to use the bathroom . "

I put Evandel down and walked into the bathroom . Sitting down on the toilet, I ordered a chicken and pizza set .

Then, I checked the most recent news .

"…Oh!"

I exclaimed loudly .

Finally, the news I was waiting for was trending on the front page .

[New guild Packhorse Master conquers Suwon Devil's Nest!]

August 14th came and went a long

a long time ago without any news, so I've been worried thinking that something went wrong .

But after seeing this news, I knew once again that I was rich .

I quickly entered the guild stock market .

As expected, 1 . 5 billion won had turned into 10 . 3 billion won .

"Bravo . "

I was happy, but also a little worried . Should I sell this now or later? The stock price was supposed to shoot up ten times, but currently it had only gone up seven times . Perhaps I could check again tomorrow .

Of course, even if I sold everything now, I would gain 10 . 3 billion won . That was enough for me to live the rest of my life doing whatever I wanted .

I could do whatever I wanted… but the money would be gone once I returned to my world .

"… . "

Suddenly, an odd feeling rose up from my heart . It was difficult to describe, but if I had to put it, it was a mixture of bitterness and heart-wrenching emptiness .

"Ah, rather than that…"

I slapped my cheeks and shook off these thoughts .

Currently, there was another thing I needed to worry about .

"Singing, singing… . Yi Yeonghan you son of a bitch . "

My next biggest concern was singing .

Until the end of the next midterms, no special enemies would infiltrate Cube, so I only had 'singing' to worry about .

…Yi Yeonghan, you fuck .

"Ah…!"

I was thinking about what to do, when I suddenly remembered about 'art' .

I quickly accessed my laptop .

[Art (1/3)]

According to the laptop, I could create up to three Arts . Currently, Parkour was the only Art I had .

However, I would be crazy to fill one of these precious spots with singing .

Not unless I could delete an Art whenever I wanted .

Just in case this was possible, I tried deleting Parkour .

[Parkour Art will be deleted . 200 SP will be refunded, but you will not attain the level of the Art you achieved . ]

"Oh geez . "

Frightened, I canceled immediately . Thankfully, I found out that Arts could be deleted . Not only that, a portion of SP was even refunded . In that case, singing was worth considering .

I projected up a hologram keyboard and tried writing an Art .

===

[Master Singer]

—Allows you to sing masterfully .

===

"…It's only singing . How expensive can it be?"

I tried hitting save .

===

[Master Singer] [Practical]

—Allows you to sing masterfully .

—Allows you to clearly imbue emotions in your singing .

[500 SP will be used . Would you like to save?]

===

500 SP . 500 SP… . It was more expensive than I thought . It seemed this Art made someone sing at an artistic level .

"I don't really want to sing that well . "

I had no intention of shocking the crowd by being able to hit high notes . It wasn't like I planned on becoming a singer . 500 SP was too expensive to avoid a one-time embarrassment .

If I had to explain it, I wanted to sound like a ballad singer, someone like Sung Sikyung or Kyuhyun .

"…Is it possible?"

I tried to change the content of the Art .

—Allows you to sing beautifully .

[150 SP will be used . Would you like to save?]

150 SP wasn't cheap either, but it was acceptable . It looked like there would be there would be at least 4000 spectators . Singing in front of such a crowd would net be 60~70 SP as well .

"Yi Yeonghan, you son of a bitch . "

I cursed the source of this evil once again, then hit save .

"Ah, aaah, aaaaaah . Oho oho, oho oho . "

I tried making noises as I pressed my neck .

"Hyohyohyo, yohyohyohyo, yohyohyo . Yodelei~ yodelei~"

I couldn't really tell the difference .

Tok, tok .

At that moment, Evandel knocked on the bathroom door .

—Hajin~ someone knocked on the door . Hehe, I think the chicken is here . "

Evandel seemed to be drooling already .

"Uh, yeah, got it . "

I quickly ran out and received the chicken and pizza .

When I came back in, Evandel was sitting modestly in front of the kitchen table, wearing plastic gloves . I placed the chicken and pizza on the table, then opened it up nicely .

"Make sure to chew carefully . "

"Un!"

Then, I went back to practicing . Ah, Aaah, aaaaaah .

Woong—

Then suddenly, my smartwatch rang .

[Hajin, you have to sing, right? Don't you need to practice?]

Jin Hoseung messaged in our team's group chat .

[ㅋㅋㅋ Wanna go karaoke? What do you think, Rachel-ssi?]

That was from Yi Bokgyu . I secretly looked forward to Rachel's reply . With my new Art and the hornflute I had, I was confident in being able to sing well .

[I have to study… I want to go, but… I don't have the time ㅠ . ㅠ]

However, it seemed Rachel was unavailable .

"Damn . "

Then there was no reason for me to go either . Why would I go karaoke with a bunch of guys?

I replied that I couldn't go, then took off my watch .

Jeronimo Mercenary's office, located in the center of Seoul .

Jain was currently staring at a monitor, wearing the face of the world's 58th ranked mercenary, Yohan Zestiops .

"…This will do . "

She was looking for a mission for an apprentice mercenary . The mission had to involve killing someone, but that person had to be an evildoer who deserved death .

After finding a mission that met the criteria, she contacted her boss .

"Yeah, Boss, I found one . "

—What is it?

"An Italian Mafia . He's apparently a Djinn . No, he's like a Djinn . "

—…Not bad .

"Ah, but are you sure he accepted your offer?"

That was the problem . Jain wasn't sure whether Kim Hajin had decided to join Jeronimo Mercenary .

—I received a positive reply .

"…Really? What did he say?"

—Mm… hold on .

Boss went silent as she seemed to search through her message log .

—I got a message that says, 'I'll contact you soon when I have time… . ' Mm, I think this is a very positive reply .

Jain felt a headache the moment she heard Boss' words .

"Boss, you… when did you get that message?"

—The day I gave him our business card .

"That was two weeks ago . "

—Yeah, so he should be contacting me at any time now . So make sure you have that mission ready .

Boss said what she wanted to say and hung up .

Jain sighed from the bottom of her heart . Was it because Boss never experienced normal social life? Or was she like this naturally? In any case, she was too dense .

"Tsk . I guess I have no choice other than to do as I'm told . "

Jain placed the mafia assassination mission in the 'confirmed' folder .