HLEV CH 18

Chapter – 18

Inside the auditorium where the general meeting was in full swing.

The murmuring conversations cut off abruptly. Only gazes that touched Mikhail’s face before falling away busily moved back and forth.

Breaking through the silence, Albin awkwardly smiled and opened his mouth.

“Mikhail, Unit 2 only has a capacity of eight…”

“I know.”

Mikhail cut off his words and continued the story.

“Write my name at the end of the list. Say that if we stick to the capacity, I’ll be cut. Then they’ll accept everyone.”

“What do you mean…”

Albin trailed off with a dubious expression, but Mikhail closed his mouth as if he had nothing more to say.

Behind his indifferent face, scenes from the game that were the basis for his statement were passing by.

[Dispatch Unit 2 Captain, Ann Scanion.]

[Hey guys, is there anyone from the magic department we can bring over? Even one person would be fine. Truth is, we’re short on personnel and can’t even form a basic formation.]

…In other words, if they could fill the necessary personnel, increasing capacity by one or two spots wasn’t a big deal.

“…”

The silence continued a bit long, and Albin was still puzzled. Mikhail glanced at him and added a word.

“Unit 2 lacks mages. To the point where it’s hard to even form a basic formation. I’m saying if you target that point, there’s a high probability they’ll accept.”

“…Ah!”

Albin finally seemed to realize. He nodded without objection and lightly flicked his hand.

A name was engraved in the blank space on the paper.

The Unit 2 applicants lowered their hands one by one. Mikhail watched this, then unconsciously shifted his gaze toward Ethan sitting in front.

“…”

Ethan just sat in his place and looked forward. While maintaining an expressionless face whose intentions couldn’t be read.

However, only his fingertips placed on his knees were clenched.

Ethan’s knuckles turned white, and Lloyd glanced at that sight with an expressionless face.

The moment Mikhail confirmed the scene and withdrew his gaze, a system message suddenly appeared before his eyes.

【Quest: [Sub] Register for Dispatch Unit 2 Complete】

• Completion Reward: Shop Currency +1

The general meeting ended around when the sky’s edge turned red.

Ethan made an excuse and slipped out from among the crowd.

Normally, he would’ve hung out with friends and had a beer, but today he wasn’t in that mood at all.

Crunch.

Where Ethan headed was the lake at the edge of Haeohreum Forest. A place where the clearly rippling water surface emitted a soft light.

“Ha…”

Ethan, who’d reached the lakeside, sat down in place.

Ethan, who’d been blankly watching the sparkling water scales, raised his fidgeting hand to ruffle his hair.

His mind was complicated.

“…”

A breeze swept past his hot forehead.

Ethan slowly opened his mouth and murmured quietly.

“Still, earlier.”

…He was a bit grateful.

If Mikhail hadn’t stepped forward to solve the problem, he would’ve struggled quite a bit to extricate himself from that difficult situation.

To add, there was also how he’d let him go without much comment at the training ground.

And to consider one more thing, the words he’d casually offered when he’d suddenly gotten emotional and was hanging his head…

[Don’t worry about it. You didn’t do anything wrong.]

Ethan let out a hollow breath. The voice from that time was vivid as if he could hear it from beside him. Even the mixed breathing was clear.

“…”

But.

[I’ve told you over and over. Don’t think about stepping forward disgracefully. How many warnings has this been?]

[─If it’s hard to say directly, I’ll help you, okay? That he’s a guy who absolutely won’t die no matter how much you stab, cut, stab, and break him. That he’s perfect if you put him at the very front and use him as a blade catcher.]

Like relief under light, what stood out alongside it were memories of the past. Threats laced with mocking voices. Eyes where only delight bloomed. And.

—Crash!

Ethan bit his lip and clenched his fist tightly. The pain from being cut by the tip Mikhail had swung became vivid again.

‘Right, there’s no way he’d change easily.’

The unusual peace was just a brief behavior. He couldn’t hastily judge the situation based on just a few cases.

People change the masks they wear depending on their mood and needs. For weeks or months, or even years.

He was sick of knowing such things.

“…”

Ethan roughly shook his head and got up from his spot. Just as he was turning away from the lakeside toward the campus…

“!”

At a tingling sensation that suddenly struck his mind, Ethan frowned and staggered.

‘What, suddenly?’

Ethan raised his eyebrows and looked around.

“…”

His busily moving gaze touched here and there.

The moment his gaze swept past the lamp tree grove near the lakeside, the tingling sensation became a bit clearer.

Was that place a clue? Ethan narrowed his eyes and advanced toward the right lakeside.

Crunch.

He swept past the jagged grass and pushed through the bushes. A scene quite different from what Ethan knew appeared. Lamp trees with scratches carved in various places on their trunks stood in rows.

“What is this?”

Ethan stood in place and looked at the landscape, then approached a scratched trunk. He reached out and touched the carved wounds.

‘Quite deep.’

It seemed something sharp had scratched and passed by.

Claws or perhaps teeth. If it was a creature that could leave scratches this deep, it would be a wild hog or large crow type.

But weren’t they all creatures that would dwell only deep in the forest? Why did they come all the way here to rampage?

Ethan looked around in puzzlement. Perhaps traces that could help guess the circumstances might have remained.

“…”

Ethan’s eyes, which had been busily scanning the surroundings, stopped for a moment.

Where his gaze fixed was the ground. It looked ordinary, but there were places where the earth was awkwardly turned over here and there.

But there was something that caught his eye even more.

“This is…”

Ethan slowly bent down. Under a large leaf was a blackened, dead weed. If this was its name…

‘…Revive grass?’

A grass that couldn’t be easily removed because of its lifeline that somehow survived if even a single root remained.

Cutting, slicing, even burning it was useless.

The only way to completely eliminate it was to pull it out to the fine roots and crush it, so it troubled those who cultivated the land.

Additionally, it was grass that reminded him of his own abilities, so when it caught his eye, he usually turned his head away.

But…

‘It couldn’t regenerate even though it has roots?’

Ethan swallowed dryly and brought his hand to the leaf.

Crumble.

The moment his fingertip touched the leaf, the dry grass crumbled finely as if it had exhausted its strength, then turned to ash.

The dark specks flew up carried by a breeze, left a vivid trace, then swept past before his eyes.

Ethan reached out his hand as if to grasp the black trajectory, but soon lowered it.

…A power that suppresses regeneration.

Could that perhaps be the kind that could be applied to the cursed ability dwelling in his body as well?

Could it make his monster-like body into one like an ordinary person’s?

His breath trembled finely at a possibility he’d never thought of until now.

Ethan slowly closed his eyes.

“…”

The unexpected moments one encounters in life disguise themselves with fancy names.

Turning point. Possibility. In other words, expectation and hope.

In truth, the essence of all those things is a mirage. Because they only vividly draw the unreachable shore that one desperately desires.

It was a conclusion he’d reached while chewing over countless resignations and frustrations.

But ironically.

Even knowing all those facts.

“…”

Under the serene atmosphere where even minute sounds couldn’t be heard.

In the ears of Ethan opening his eyes again, the voice of the person who’d been his only teacher echoed.

[At Salvator, where children who’ll face dozens, hundreds of anomalies and miracles gather with their own resolutions and stories, you’ll be able to meet someone who won’t care about your abilities. When you get hit in the back of the head by that person and come to your senses, you’ll know. That someone like me isn’t much different from other people.]

[Ku, just thinking about it makes me grin. I wanted to see your dumb face with my own two eyes.]

“…”

It was a voice that would now only echo in his head.

Ethan, who’d been silently retracing the voice, clenched his fist.

‘I need to find out what happened.’

A day passed from then.

The next day, morning. Inside the second-year magic department required course classroom.

[Magic Department: Virtual Simulation Training]

• Professor in charge: Yupion Fonteil

Mikhail glanced at the blackboard and picked up the course guide.

[Magic Department: Virtual Simulation Training]

• Final training that summarizes one year of theory classes.

Training programs tailored to individual students are applied in personal training rooms, and course grades are given according to completion of training stages. It proceeds until before the first dispatch training.

“Ah, pounding on training dummies is boring and tedious… I just want to go out for practical training quickly.”

Leaving someone’s complaint behind, Mikhail pushed the checked guide into his bag.

‘It’s growth time given right before entering the early main storyline. I’ll be able to use it usefully.’

Mikhail shouldered his bag and stood up.

Scrape.

He headed toward the entrance past the rows of desks. He planned to go to the personal training room.

For a while, holing up in the training room to build strength would be the most efficient growth route.

Because the setting was that Salvator’s personal training facilities were within the top ten on the continent.

He should be able to quickly raise his abilities up to a certain point.

‘I need to raise my stats before the first main storyline starts. If my stat average is around C grade…’

Mikhail was just passing through the classroom entrance.

A boy who’d been rushing into the classroom while brushing past him suddenly stopped, then grabbed Mikhail’s shoulder.

“—Um, Mikhail!”

Mikhail looked at the other person.

Since the appearance and dress of the boy panting as if he’d run frantically were quite clear, he could immediately recognize his identity.

Lightly fluttering pink hair and violet-colored eyes shining beneath it.

Everything indicated one thing. The boy before his eyes was a member of the southern mage family that kept the north in check.

‘However, this guy would be unusual…’

The moment Mikhail narrowly narrowed his eyes.

The boy busily rummaged through his bag, then pulled out a letter and suddenly held it out.

“This! The professor told me to give it to you.”

Mikhail glanced at the grinning face, withdrew his thoughts about the boy, and took the letter.

[Recipient: Mikhail Senit]

Neat handwriting that filled the outside of the envelope.

From the looks of it, it seemed Professor Yupion had sent it.

[Come to my research lab three days from now in the afternoon. There’s an urgent story to share regarding your personal matters.]

Mikhail tilted his head while examining the contents.

‘Personal matters. Is she trying to talk about the mana I possess? …Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll need to ask about supplies needed for the sky foxes too.’

Rustle.

Mikhail pushed the letter into his pocket and lightly nodded toward the boy standing in front.

“Thanks for delivering it.”

Then, as he was about to continue walking while passing by the boy’s side.

“U-um. Take care. And next time again…”

The boy’s hesitant voice that came through caught his departing footsteps.

As if he thought it would never reach, the greeting being carried soon faded vaguely.

“…”

Mikhail suddenly looked back. At this, the boy with drooping shoulders jumped in surprise and smiled awkwardly.

Embarrassment and awkwardness. Nervousness. And a bit of surprise.

Mikhail caught all the emotions flickering in the boy’s eyes, but deliberately didn’t show it and calmly offered a greeting.

“Yeah, see you next time. Julien.”