Three days into the tower.

Already half of the schedule had whizzed by, and what could be called the final assignment—a boss—was discovered and subdued within a few hours of its appearance.

Effectively, the main event was over.

As the end of the tower entry approached, competition among the cadets intensified.

Hong Yeon-hwa and her companions had moved away with a staggering Lee Hayul in tow.

They had all spent a considerable amount of physical and magical energy capturing the boss.

Baek Ahrin, who had taken an active offense to draw the boss’s attention, and Elia, who bestowed all sorts of enhancement spells and buffs on the warriors for a powerful strike.

And Hong Yeon-hwa, who had pushed the output of her sparingly used Gop-hwa to the maximum and even employed her expansion ability.

Facing cadets lured by the commotion would have been too much.

A dugout in the ground created some distance. Baek Ahrin had hastily put up a temporary base using various spells.

Building temporary bases or trenches is occasionally required knowledge in dungeons or on the front lines, so it’s proudly included in the Shio-ram curriculum.

Some time had passed since they hid to recover their strength.

Inside, with only a small hold for a bit of sunlight,

the group sat in a triangle around a centrally placed light spell…

There were four of them, but they sat in a triangle.

Diagonally to the left of Hong Yeon-hwa was Baek Ahrin, and to the right was Elia. Both their gazes were fixed this way.

A lingering awkward atmosphere and hesitant looks. Curiosity was evident, but they seemed unable to ask.

Hong Yeon-hwa carefully shifted her posture.

– Squeeze

“Hik…!”

The breath tickling her nape intensified. Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyelashes fluttered.

The one nestled in her embrace squirmed and burrowed further inside. The warmth became more pronounced.

Hong Yeon-hwa glanced down at her bosom. There lay Lee Hayul, pressing one cheek against her chest, eyes tightly shut.

‘Ugh…’

A grip on her heart and a vigorous shake forced her eyes to close tight.

People often described Hong Yeon-hwa’s personality as hasty and fiery. To some extent, it was true.

She was someone who would rather throw a punch than talk things through.

But what most didn’t know was that her current level of control was the result of barely managing her nature.

The output of Hong Yeon-hwa’s Gop-hwa was unprecedented in her family’s history, and the emotional intensity that came with it was the highest ever.

Even as a child, she was far from calm, and after manifesting Gop-hwa at an early age, it only got worse.

That’s why she had been rigorously trained in managing Gop-hwa and her emotions from a young age.

In other words, despite her actions, Hong Yeon-hwa was a person with strong patience.

And now, she was testing the limits of that patience in real-time.

She suppressed a rising impulse and gently patted Lee Hayul’s back with the hand cradling him.

“It’s okay, we’re not going anywhere…”

Usually shy, now he was burrowing into her embrace and whining.

There was a speculation. That’s why she was calmly offering her embrace and comforting him like this.

Whispers of reassurance in his ear calmed the squirming. The pats continued, and the strained breathing eased into a steady rhythm.

Hong Yeon-hwa, tense, let out a sigh of relief and continued to stroke Lee Hayul’s back gently.

Feeling a gaze, she looked up tentatively. Baek Ahrin was watching with a very complex expression.

“It’s just so awkward with you doing that, Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“What’s awkward?”

“That’s not the violent Hong Yeon-hwa I know…”

Baek Ahrin’s exaggerated response furrowed Hong Yeon-hwa’s brow. She knew it was just idle chatter before getting to the point.

Baek Ahrin’s family, the Changhae, had a deep relationship with the Gop-hwa clan.

As the Changhae heir, Baek Ahrin had often met with members of the Gop-hwa clan and had been exposed to their unique abilities.

Therefore, she could not be ignorant of the flames that emerged from Lee Hayul.

In the first place, it would be hard to find a superhuman who didn’t know of the unique ability known as Gop-hwa.

Elia had slipped away for a while. Judging by the presence felt above, she had given them space for the moment.

Baek Ahrin hesitated uncharacteristically, rolling her eyes before speaking up softly.

“Is Lee Hayul from the Gop-hwa clan?”

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“I said I don’t know.”

Hong Yeon-hwa replied brusquely, easily dismissing the inquiring gaze.

But her feelings grew more complicated.

The Gop-hwa clan had been established over 200 years ago.

The bloodline of the clan’s progenitor, Hong Yeon, had been passed down, along with the unique ability of Gop-hwa.

While there had been changes over the generations, just as people’s natures differ, the fundamental basis of Gop-hwa remained unaltered.

Not all descendants of the progenitor manifested Gop-hwa.

There were those who didn’t awaken to mana, those who didn’t manifest any unique abilities, and those who had ordinary fire attributes or entirely different attribute abilities.

Even those who did manifest Gop-hwa had slight differences from one user to the next.

Not everyone in the Gop-hwa clan manifested Gop-hwa.

However, those who did manifest it were, of course, all members of the clan, especially the ‘powerful’ Gop-hwa which always belonged to the main family.

‘……’

With a troubled face, Hong Yeon-hwa continued to stroke Lee Hayul’s head.

For a moment, the touch was awkward, but then his head nestled against her hand, eliciting a faint smile from her.

“…Is this the first time it’s manifested?”

“It seems so.”

Hong Yeon-hwa agreed with Baek Ahrin, who was intently observing.

“What will you do from now on? Plan to take him into the clan?”

“First, I’ll find out if he was part of the clan.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression hardened.

He had used Gop-hwa. Assuming that if blood ties meant the manifestation of Gop-hwa, then Lee Hayul must be from the Gop-hwa clan.

But why had Lee Hayul been abandoned in an orphanage since infancy? What caused the burn on his right hand, and who had inflicted such a thing on him?

Nothing was certain yet, but those were the things to find out first.

“Is Lee Hayul going to become Hong Hayul?”

“What… that’s… I’ll have to talk to Hayul first.”

“Or are you planning to take him as a son-in-law?”

“What, what? Suddenly what nonsense…! Uhm! Don’t spout weird stuff!”

Baek Ahrin erupted into laughter at the expected fiery response. Hong Yeon-hwa grinded her teeth, yet adjusted her posture just in case Lee Hayul felt uncomfortable.

The awakening of mana and innate abilities are usually determined in childhood.

When Gop-hwa first manifests, it releases flames haphazardly in all directions.

Fortunately, there are precursors that allow for some preparation, but the danger remains.

Along with the inability to control Gop-hwa, there’s also a dramatic surge in emotions.

Lee Hayul’s condition was probably just that. The mana was depleted, so Gop-hwa had stopped, but the emotional surge continued.

And so… he had thrown himself into Hong Yeon-hwa’s embrace.

A surge of emotions, amplification, elevation.

Whatever you call it, it’s difficult to regulate feelings at that moment.

However, there’s a commonality: emotions that did not exist before do not arise.

One can come to hate someone they already dislike even more, but they cannot start to like someone they despise.

Being held by her… did he always want to do that…?

The thought that suddenly crossed her mind made her cheeks warm.

The interior of the dugout was well-lit by magic. Trying to hide her flushed face, she lowered her head and then buried her nose in Lee Hayul’s hair.

“…Sniff?”

Gasp.

Hong Yeon-hwa inhaled sharply. An indescribable sensation shot down her spine. The fragrance that had been subtly wafting over her now struck her mind directly.

Lee Hayul’s body scent filled her nostrils. An unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable fragrance…

Maybe it was akin to a blend of the fresh scent of grass and the sweet fragrance of honey.

It wasn’t overpoweringly strong but rather a faint body scent filled her chest. Her body trembled with ecstasy.

‘Wow, what… is this insane…’

Such madness. Her rationality, which had been melting softly, snapped back in an instant.

Hong Yeon-hwa cursed herself in alarm. She had been indulging in such nonsense.

And just as she was about to raise her head, she sneakily glanced at Baek Ahrin.

“……”

There didn’t seem to be any reaction. Baek Ahrin had her eyes closed, idly fiddling with her fingers, likely pondering the Gop-hwa emanating from Lee Hayul.

Though Hong Yeon-hwa’s mind was in turmoil, the stimuli of the current situation were more compelling.

“…Ahem.”

Hong Yeon-hwa fell silent for a moment, then stealthily lowered her head again. Her nose nestled in the soft hair.

Sniff…

Thinking about it, wasn’t Hayul surrendering to his emotions and holding onto her? It’s just an amplification of feelings. New emotions don’t arise.

So, does that mean Hayul has always wanted to hold her deep down?

If that was the case, couldn’t she allow herself this much?

Hong Yeon-hwa justified her thoughts. Despite her mental discipline, she was still young and immature.

‘…What is he doing?’

Baek Ahrin tilted her half-closed eyes, bemused.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s head was clearly in view. Even muted, the breaths sounded almost perverse.

…Could it be any more blatant than sniffing someone like that?

Cutting the situation out of context—or even within it—the scene was peculiar.

Embracing someone who seemed to have lost consciousness, burying her head in their hair, and sniffing away…

‘Isn’t that harassment…?’

She considered intervening, then thought about how Lee Hayul usually interacted with Hong Yeon-hwa.

…Given his impassive demeanor, he might be shocked but would probably acquiesce if asked to be sniffed.

Baek Ahrin shook her head in disbelief and got up. She thought to fetch Elia, who must have been bored outside.

She took confident strides out of the dugout.

– Ding!

Suddenly, the breath tickling his ear made Lee Hayul squirm.

* * *

– Ding!

[The Blessing of Growth aids your development.]
[The Blessing of Growth (Special Provision) aids your development.]
[The Blessing of Growth (Entry to the Tower) aids your development.]

[The Curse of Doom aids your development.]
[The Curse of Solitude aids your development.]
[The Curse of Silence aids your development.]

[The Authority ‘■■ and □□’ develops.]
[The Unique Ability ‘Jack-of-all-trades’ develops.]
[The Unique Ability ‘Mana Affinity’ develops.]
[The Unique? Ability? ‘??’ manifests temporarily.]