Chapter 235 - Your Hyung is here (3)

“It’s so calm! And to think it went out of control when we touched him even a little.”

“We don’t know what could happen, so please stay on standby.”

“It’s incredible that it works so easily on an SS rank.”

The eyes of the observers and the evaluative voices were getting on my nerves. As those idiots said, Yoohyun lay docilely in my arms. Not only did he let me move his body when I shifted him, but he went a step further and nestled into my arms.

The sight of my brother rubbing his head against my shoulders and chest, cuddling up and drawing closer to my body impossibly, clinging to me like a puppy, made me bite my tongue. Pretending to be impassive despite the pain coursing through me, I managed to open my mouth.

“If the ability is activated too strongly, emotions could transfer. Don’t be surprised if I act strangely.”

“Emotional transfer? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It could be, but my stats are rank C. If I were a higher-ranking Guard, I couldn’t use the ability recklessly like this; Plus, I can’t use the ability on more than one person at a time.”

I added, “the ability is high-ranking, but it generally doesn’t work so easily on SS ranks.” I’m safe, so don’t worry.

“It seems the effect is stronger due to the additional confusion from the drugs. Could perhaps untying his arms help? If I assist, the ability will apply more clearly.”

After a brief discussion, they said I shouldn’t touch the bindings around his hands that prevented him from using his inventory. An S rank guard attempted to approach with the key to the bindings around his arms. In the same instant, Yoohyun’s body tensed up with tension.

“Wait! Don’t come here, please; Just throw me the key.”

With a jingle, they tossed me the key. I quickly untied my brother’s arms, pulled them back, and tied them tightly enough that it must have hurt. As soon as his arms were free again, Yoohyun wrapped them around me. At his muffled call of “hyung,” I responded in a low murmur.

“Easy, it’s okay. You have to stay calm…”

My guts burned with pain. If I could, I would have bought a master key on the spot and undone all the restraints on my brother’s body. But the S rank guards watched us closely. Trying anything rash was impossible, of course, but so was saying anything to him. It would be difficult to whisper low enough for them not to hear, and they might realize something was going on just by looking at my mouth.

“If he regains too much mana, it will be dangerous, so be prepared to leave again. We’re concerned that Alpha has become strongly adapted to the absorption.”

Mindiba said that although it was possible to extract his mana and subdue him immediately, my life would be in danger. I patted my brother’s back as he held me closer, unwilling to let go. I didn’t want to let him go.

Should I blow up a bomb here instead?

Even if I died, I would come back to life, and as for my brother… I hadn’t been told the details of what would happen to him. Since this wasn’t his real body, would they put him in suspended animation until the raid was completed? If I passed out, it would be a relief, but if I died and he remained conscious and in this state, he would surely be affected by anxiety all the time.

Even now, he was in bad shape.

‘That would be the safest and quickest way, but…’

After all, I couldn’t do it. Above all, even if it wasn’t his real body, how could I do it with my own hands? Clenching my teeth, I let out a sigh.

“…I’ll be back soon, so just sleep a little longer.”

Slowly, I released my brother’s arms that were wrapped around me. His red eyes widened and he startled.

“I won’t be long, just a little. Behave, okay?”

My Yoohyun. I reassured my brother, who tried to follow me as he did when he was little. My little brother’s face was filled with anxiety. His eyes were twisted as if they were about to shed tears again, but he didn’t hold onto me tightly. Although he must be much stronger than me as always, he obediently let me pull away without struggling.

“…Be good and wait.”

Even as he made an expression like he wanted to come to me right away, Yoohyun huddled there motionless. When I stood up from where I had been sitting, his gaze became even more desperate. His huddled body trembled. I had to bite my tongue several times. The taste of blood spread in my mouth.

…Damn it, how the hell could I turn my back on my brother when he was like this? Was there really no way to get him out of here immediately? There were two S ranks. Yoohyun’s mana wasn’t regenerating properly, and due to the drugs, he would have difficulty reacting to things normally. On top of that, if they sensed even the slightest hint of danger, they would drain his mana immediately through the imprint.

No matter how I looked at it, it was impossible. Right now, there was nothing to be done. So I had to back off, but…

“Han Yoojin-ssi?”

As soon as I turned to the suspicious call, my brother’s breathing became irregular. I felt like I was going crazy. Instead, should I just…?

At that moment, a message window appeared in front of me as if to interrupt.

[Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet]

It was a side mission. Hadn’t this just been bitter? Still, thanks to that, I regained my senses. I quickly stepped away without doing anything unexpected. As soon as I almost fled from the absorption area, the mana absorber reactivated, and I heard the thud of a body collapsing. I turned my head and saw that my brother had passed out.

“You should have tied his arms. But well, this should be fine.”

Mindiba said that he couldn’t use his inventory immediately and that if he tried to loosen the ties on his hands, they could drain his mana and subdue him. I let out a long sigh. My head, my heart, my whole body still hurt terribly as if I had been beaten, but this was better than Yoohyun remaining awake.

If he was unconscious, he couldn’t feel agitated.

…Still, why leave him lying like this on the cold floor?

“…Can’t he be laid to sleep in a slightly more comfortable place? I feel uncomfortable just looking at him.”

“He’s an SS rank, what are you talking about?”

Hey, you bastards, then, if they had a strong body, is sleeping carelessly on the naked floor comfortable? Come to think of it, they must not have properly fed the kid either. It seemed like they had kept him asleep all this time, so it would be strange if they had fed him. How many days had these bastards starved him?

Internally gritting my teeth, I examined the surroundings closely. The absorption footprint occupied almost half of the room. When awake people touched it, not only would it immediately absorb their mana, but it would also prevent them from using mana-powered items.

Although my brother’s arms were free, his ankles were still chained and tied to the ground with a rope, so it would be impossible to get him out with common tools.

In short, until the mana absorber was turned off, it would be impossible for awake people to get close.

‘I could ask an unconscious person to help, but…’

How would I bring an unconscious person here? Hidden items that worked even against S ranks were too expensive. The same went for teleportation items. Even single-use ones demanded tens to hundreds of millions of points depending on the distance.

My current point count was about 1.5 million points. Although it had increased a bit thanks to hidden missions, it wasn’t enough to buy high-rank items one after another. I had to consider what I would do after saving Yoohyun.

“Is that enough proof to confirm the effects?”

Trying to keep Yoohyun out of my field of vision as much as possible, I spoke to Mindiba with a smile. He nodded and said “of course.”

“For now, let’s leave.”

“Can’t I stay with Alpha right away? If I stay with him for a few days and take care of him, I think he’ll start obeying my orders soon.”

If Yoohyun were deemed safe, the Akates Defense Agency would release him on their own. Even if it was just to stop SS rank monsters. At my words, Mindiba shook his head briefly as he crossed the door leading outside.

“I understand you’re very motivated, Han Yoojin-ssi, but your affiliation hasn’t even changed yet. Our first priority is to alter his footprint to that of Akates Mana Hall and have him sign a formal contract.”

“But isn’t it a big loss to leave the SS rank Alpha as is for so long? You never know when SS rank monsters might show up.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Fortunately, Sigma-nim from Solemnis will be arriving soon.”

…Sigma? No, why did that guy have to appear again? My brow furrowed reflexively. If an SS rank guard were added, it would undoubtedly be harder to rescue Yoohyun.

“He originally rejected our request to suppress Alpha, but for some reason, he suddenly contacted us to say he would help. Once Sigma-nim arrives, we’ll be able to handle Alpha more safely.”

“…When did you get a message from him?”

“Two days ago. We received a call early in the morning. Preparations have to be made when visiting other cities, so I think he’ll arrive in one or two days.”

Two days ago. The day after I escaped. The bombs would have gone off as soon as it dawned, and he must have contacted Akates immediately after.

…Damn it. So he realized I was going to Akates. Maybe it was because I had been asking about Alpha and Akates. How disgustingly clever. No, forget about that, a SS rank guard was personally chasing after me? Was he coming because he had just received a request for help?

Anyway, he wasn’t welcome.

As I walked out into the hallway, I opened the secondary mission window with the completed marker, pretending to check a skill window.

[Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

A little gift for showing self-control! Sweet things are good for stress.

Reward: Café Latte, 15-year-old Blue Hole wine.]

What happened to these rewards? Actually, this was just a small gift.

“Would you like to take a walk a bit longer or prefer me to guide you back to your accommodation at the Defense Agency? It seems like you’ve consumed a lot of mana because of your ability. Would you prefer I connect the mana channel first?”

“No, I’m still fine. By the way, I have 15-year-old Blue Hole wine.”

“When you say Blue Hole wine, could you possibly mean…?”

Mindiba said, delighted. Even the guards protecting the entrance looked at me with wide eyes. Was it a famous drink?

“Yes, wine.”

“And to think it’s 15 years old! You’re a man of considerable wealth, just as they said… Ah, in our standard investigation. We were told by the guard who showed you around the city.”

“My pockets are quite full.”

“I won’t ask for more details, so don’t worry.”

Then he winked at me, with an expression as if he had a rough idea that something suspicious was going on. He must think I embezzled or something and fled here. But of course, I had stolen from someone else’s warehouse.

“I slept well during the day, and I’m not tired, shall we have a light drink? There are many things in the future I’d like to know about.”

“Of course, you’re welcome!”

Smiling, Mindiba took the lead. The place he guided me to was the studio-type accommodation. They were clean and quite spacious.

After receiving only the wine reward, I put it in my recovered backpack, which had been confiscated when we entered the secure areas.

“These accommodations are mainly for staff leaving work early. After all, just because they finished their night shift early doesn’t mean they can go back home.”

Mindiba told me they had already taken care of his well-being and went into the kitchen, saying he would bring glasses and snacks. In the meantime, I immediately opened the Point Store. Quickly scrolling through the categories to consumable items, I searched for lists of medicines.

[Whispers - S

Colorless and odorless. A drink that makes you answer questions honestly. It doesn’t work on those with statistics or poison resistance of rank B or higher.

Single-use]

To think that even though it was rank S, it only worked on those up to rank C. Mental drugs really had weak effects relative to their rank. Mindiba’s rank was precisely C. It seemed unlikely that he had a rank B or higher Poison Resistance ability or item. Because he wasn’t a fighter. Although he didn’t have any worthwhile abilities to use, he had proudly presented himself as a prestigious Mana Hall and awakened people researcher.

He had said that researchers like him were the truly important and precious human resources, more so than combat-focused high-rank awakened people who could be easily created through baptisms.

Before Mindiba returned, I quickly uncorked the wine and put the drug inside. If this didn’t work, I’d have no choice but to use the traditional method. It was lucky that, for privacy reasons, there were no surveillance cameras here and it was even soundproofed.

“Since you proved that you could have effects on Alpha, an SS rank guard, your employee rank will be adjusted almost to the highest level.”

Congratulating me, Mindiba left the glasses on the table. The snacks were something like cheese and beef jerky. I grabbed the wine bottle and filled both glasses one after the other. The pink liquid reached the brim. Mindiba seemed to have no doubt towards me at all.

Who would think that someone whose background was secure, who was not only visiting the city of Akates but also seeing Alpha for the first time, was secretly planning to rescue him? Even a consistently accurate fortune teller would doubt that reading.

In addition to that, with me pouring us wine from the same bottle in front of him, he wouldn’t have thought I’d put anything in it. And my ranking was also only C.

I took a sip from my wine glass and swallowed it naturally.

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve had 15-year-old alcohol… This is wonderful.”

Genuine admiration sprang from me. It was a shame to have to drink with this damn guy in front of me. Newbie, can’t you give me another bottle? I’d like to drink with my brother after rescuing him.

With a refreshing fruity aroma and somewhat cool, clear, sweet but not sticky taste, it melted on my tongue. It stung a bit because the bite wound hadn’t been treated, but the taste was worth the pain. Since it was alcohol, I could probably disinfect it, right?

Mindiba also had a deeply moved expression. He gave a long, rambling homage to the wine.

“It lives up to its reputation. Truly amazing!”

“Indeed. Ah, about Alpha’s footprint. Could you tell me about the people linked to him by absorbing his mana?”

It was a question about something that was undoubtedly kept top secret to protect the people linked. But Mindiba casually opened his mouth.

“There are five people in total; two S ranks and three Alpha supervisors. Those supervising Alpha do not hold high-level functions, as they pose a danger to them. Naturally, I was also excluded.”

So there were five.

‘It would be difficult to fix Yoohyun’s footprint right away, so it would probably be faster to get rid of the idiots linked to him.’

Alpha’s supervisors were ranks D and C, so they would be easy to handle, but the problem was the two S ranks. When I asked for a bit more details about Alpha’s footprint, he said that, aside from the five who were connected to him, he would be safe unless the opponent had an S rank or higher mana absorption ability. And, at the perfect timing, the S rank guard with a mana absorption ability was recovering from a major injury.

“Healers are in charge of his treatment, but I’ve been told it will take several days for them to be back in action. What a mess Alpha has made!”

While that guy clicked his tongue, I personally refilled his empty glass. Although I wanted to throw it in his face.

“How does the mana absorber operate? Can I turn it off and on as well?”

“You’d have to maintain a mana flow, so it wouldn’t be easy. It’s a considerably delicate job; you would need a mana stat of rank B.”

Damn, then it would be impossible for me even if I knew how to do it.

In addition to that, I asked other detailed questions about the city of Akates and the Defense Agency. Mindiba drank everything I served him and gave answers one after another. When he ended up drunk, he fell face down on the table. A snore was heard.

Quietly watching the sleeping bastard, I got up from my seat.

“I’ll let you live for now.”

I needed an alibi that would facilitate my action. I accepted the rest of the rewards from the secondary missions. In my hand appeared a café latte topped with whipped cream. So the caffè lattes in this place were similar to those in my world, huh. It was sweet.

Using my ability to conceal myself, I left.