Chapter 73

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to look for a shark, a kid playing soccer, and a sunflower-shaped cloud."

Having already found the puppy and chick, three remained.

Kwon Jihan paused for a moment, then let out a low chuckle.

"Oh, hyung. You're surprisingly childish."

"..."

Yoon Seo agreed. How childish were these final wishes?

Because of these childish final wishes, Yoon Seo couldn't even die properly….

Even on days when he just wanted to keep his head down, he had to look up at the sunny sky.

It was really annoying how looking at the floating white clouds in the blue sky lifted his mood, even when he didn't want it to.

Yoon Seo sighed, took out a pill bottle from his pocket, swallowed a pill, and put the bottle back. He turned to Kwon Jihan, who was watching him.

"The first one to find them wins."

"And the prize?"

"How about a round of applause? Ready, set, go."

As soon as Yoon Seo said "start," Kwon Jihan narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky. Despite calling it childish, he was earnestly joining Yoon Seo in the activity.

They spent the entire morning sitting and gazing at the sky. They found the shark cloud but couldn't spot the other two.

Instead, they discovered clouds shaped like a cat, stars, a happy cloud resembling a petted dog, and even a couple stuck together. The couple's cloud was so convincing that Yoon Seo thought about taking a photo.

"I should show this to Soo Jaehee."

Unlike Yoon Seo, who only thought about it, Kwon Jihan laughed and took pictures of the clouds.

"By the way, hyung, you talked to the couple naturally. Given your appearance, I thought the couple would be wary of you. What's your ideal type?"

Hearing that, Yoon Seo remembered hearing about Kwon Jihan's unusual ideal type. He was a bit curious but didn't ask.

"I don't know."

"If I ask Jaehee, I'd get the answer right away. Why are you hiding it? Tell me, what's your ideal type?"

"…My ideal type is someone who, in a life-or-death situation where everyone is about to die, can say, 'I still have 12 potions left,' then go destroy everything and return without a single scratch."

"..."

Kwon Jihan blinked at Yoon Seo. After a brief silence, Kwon Jihan said with a pleased tone:

"That's me, isn't it?"

"What?"

Yoon Seo was so taken aback that he glared at Kwon Jihan. But it seemed Kwon Jihan was even more stunned than Yoon Seo. His hair seemed to sway as if he was genuinely surprised.

"So, Seo Chaeyoon's ideal type is me…."

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Think about it, hyung. Who is the one who, in a dire crisis, leaves behind a message saying, 'I still have skills too powerful to level up' and clears the dungeon?"

"..."

"It's me, right?"

Yoon Seo's face turned slightly red.

"Let's just keep looking for clouds."

"Hyung, do you want to know my ideal type?"

Yoon Seo, who was about to look back at the sky, was caught by Kwon Jihan's playful voice.

"Do you want to know what my ideal type is?"

"I'm not interested."

"Come on, listen."

Kwon Jihan looked at Yoon Seo with a gentle smile.

"My ideal type is someone who, while hiding their true identity, reveals their hidden strength in a dire crisis and saves everyone."

"..."

[The Skill has been activated. Assessing the target's statement.] 

[Confidence 100 : Neutral 0 : Doubt 0]

When Yoon Seo couldn't say anything, Kwon Jihan tilted his mouth into a sly smile.

"So it turns out we're each other's ideal type. What should we do?"

"What should we do? Stop spouting nonsense and keep looking for clouds."

"Hyung, your ears are turning red."

Yoon Seo felt the heat in his ears but ignored it and abruptly turned his head towards the window.

The clouds in the sky had become strange.

They had formed and merged into the shape of a face—a man smiling lazily.

Yoon Seo shook his head vigorously. Why did they turn into that?

Kwon Jihan was still watching him.

Yoon Seo sighed.

"Even if you can't go into the dungeon, you could handle the flooding in the West Sea today, right?"

"…Huh? Out of the blue?"

"Yes, seeing that cloud that looks like Haedori made me think of Jaehee Hunter."

Kwon Jihan glanced at the cloud Yoon Seo was pointing at. It had looked like Haedori at first but had now turned into a puff.

Kwon Jihan hummed, rested his chin on his hand, and shrugged his shoulders as if agreeing to Yoon Seo's change of topic.

"If I get involved, of course, all the monsters will be wiped out by today. Do you want me to go there?"

"Please. Is your mana recovery still not complete?"

"It's almost done, but I'm not sure if I need to go."

"Isn't it your sense of justice? Wasn't there a time when you couldn't just walk past the weak in crisis, Kwon Jihan Hunter?"

When Kwon Jihan spoke provocatively, he let out a small laugh.

"They're not exactly vulnerable in a crisis. If I gave up my vacation and got involved in something that can be handled with their numbers, it wouldn't be fair to myself."

Yoon Seo looked at Kwon Jihan, his brown eyes showing confusion as if he had heard a foreign language.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that while others are precious, so am I. If I expend myself on something that doesn't really require my involvement, it's an act of not valuing myself."

"…So you don't engage in meaningless self-sacrifice."

"Exactly."

Kwon Jihan answered, observing Yoon Seo's expression. Yoon Seo said nothing.

Kwon Jihan, who had been waiting for a chance to apologize, felt this was the right moment and quickly spoke up.

"In that sense… I'm sorry, hyung."

"Sorry for what?"

"For both myself and our guild. We've pushed it a bit too far trying to bring Seo Chaeyoon down. We've been relentless and provocative toward someone who just wants to live quietly… It's ironic coming from someone who dislikes self-sacrifice."

"That's not something to apologize for. Instead, don't apologize and keep acting brashly. It makes things more uncomfortable."

"...."

It seemed it wasn't the right time. Apologizing was difficult, especially when the other person didn't want it. Kwon Jihan looked up at the sky again, wondering what to do in this situation. It occurred to him that sitting quietly and gazing at the blue sky felt like a rare experience. Maybe it was the first time. So he spoke honestly.

"Hyung, finding clouds is fun. It's been a really long time since I just sat here and looked up at the blue sky."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, just sitting still like this feels like it's been ages."

This time, Yoon Seo stared at Kwon Jihan. Noticing the gaze, Kwon Jihan turned his head, their eyes meeting. Under the bright sunlight, Kwon Jihan looked strikingly beautiful as he asked with a mysterious smile.

"Isn't that a bit strange?"

"What's strange?"

"The fact that it's been a long time since I just sat still."

When Kwon Jihan tilted his head in confusion, Yoon Seo continued.

"Countless people in the world have sat still and looked up at the sky. Why haven't you allowed yourself such leisure?"

"Because I…"

"Because you're strong?"

"...."

"Not being able to look up at the sky is pointless self-sacrifice, isn't it?"

Yoon Seo attacked Kwon Jihan's values as if he had been waiting for this opportunity.

Kwon Jihan's gray eyes wavered momentarily.

"No… it's different."

"It's not different. It's the same. I have a question: if I had gone missing in perfect health without healing resistance, would you have criticized me instead of apologizing now?"

"...."

"So, even if someone loses 1,201 comrades, they must keep fighting with their limbs intact to avoid criticism. If they die, they become noble heroes. If they go missing while alive, they become cowards. Even though both the dead and the living saved the world. Is this meaningful self-sacrifice? Is this what you call righteousness?"

Kwon Jihan was left speechless, staring blankly at Yoon Seo. It was rare for him to be so at a loss for words. He seemed to be searching for something to say, but no sound came out.

Yoon Seo observed his expression quietly before finally speaking after a long pause.

"If you truly feel like apologizing later, then do so. Not now."

"...Okay."

Kwon Jihan answered softly. After that, he remained silent.

Yoon Seo didn't expect that a few words would shake Kwon Jihan's 22-year-old values. He simply thought that after this conversation, Kwon Jihan would stop pretending to be friendly. However, that was a big mistake.

The hospital was excellent. The medical staff were excessively kind, each floor had only one patient room, so there was no need to encounter others, and it was quiet and comfortable.

However, while his body was comfortable, his mind was not.

It had been four days since he was admitted. Kwon Jihan was still by Yoon Seo's side.

Kwon Jihan really did everything with Yoon Seo. When Yoon Seo watched a drama, Kwon Jihan watched it with him; when Yoon Seo drew, Kwon Jihan took out his own notebook and doodled; when Yoon Seo did squats, Kwon Jihan joined in, fueling the competition. He also kept talking, constantly engaging Yoon Seo until he responded. By the fourth day, Yoon Seo had become so used to Kwon Jihan that it felt awkward when Kwon Jihan wasn't saying anything.

"What are you going to do now? Knitting?"

"I'm going to watch a drama."

"'Love in Han River'?"

"Yes."

Yoon Seo used telekinesis to control the remote next to the TV. Now, Yoon Seo used his skills freely in front of Kwon Jihan.

"Why waste your mana? You could just ask me to change the channel."

"It's fine. I'll recover soon anyway."

"What about the cooldown?"

"It's not a combat situation, so the cooldown doesn't matter…"

"Hm, so the cooldown for that skill is short."

"You know that your skills also have short cooldowns. Especially , does it even have a cooldown?"

"It does. One second."

Yoon Seo sighed in disbelief. It was ridiculous enough that if he told someone about it, he might get punched.

"Surely not all your skills have such short cooldowns?"

"Of course not. The skill with the longest cooldown takes a whole day."

"A day isn't that long. Some skills can take months, you know."

"Do you have any skills that take months?"

"I don't have any…" 

Yoon Seo's skill with the longest cooldown was 12 hours. 

However, due to mana limitations, he couldn't use it freely. 

"Is the one with a 24-hour cooldown ?"

"Yeah, it eats up quite a bit of mana and has a 24-hour cooldown."

"How about the cooldowns for your other skills?"

"Other skills can be used continuously. They had longer cooldowns at first, but they decreased as I leveled up. Oh, also takes about ten hours. But it's not really useful."

Yoon Seo thought about and . The names of skills in the Gaia system often come from existing proper nouns, which made it easier to guess what the skills were about. If he didn't understand a term, he could look it up. After waking up, Yoon Seo had searched for "Quasar."

A quasar is the brightest and most powerful celestial object in the universe. The energy it emits extends for at least a million light-years, and its limits have not yet been measured. Some quasars were so bright that many scientists initially thought they were within our galaxy, but it was later revealed that they were actually billions of light-years away, surprising the scientific community.

A quasar emits the most powerful energy in the universe. How must Kwon Jihan have viewed Yoon Seo's skills compared to the ones derived from volcanoes or storms? Perhaps, to him, those skills seemed like child's play compared to the one drawn from the most powerful celestial object in the universe.