Chapter 257 - Teatime

"What? Yoojin-ssi!"

Startled, Noah stood up from his seat. Sigma's fork also stopped. On the other hand, Yoohyun and Moon Hyuna's expressions were confused, not fully comprehending.

"You said you didn't want the tattoos."

"I don't want the tattoos that link you to people. Noah-ssi, do you know about that tattoo?"

"...Yes. Medsang often performs the procedure, not all of it, but about a third approximately. I also have a tattoo from the back of my neck to my shoulder blades. But that's the limit for the average person. Even if you mobilize Healing Guards, more than that would be risking your life."

"Hyung!"

Yoohyun scolded, and Moon Hyuna frowned as well.

"Have a little care, Director Han-nim. Even your brother is worried."

"I say to do it because I have extra lives. Yoohyun, I'll still have it even after we leave, you know? It's a waste to miss this opportunity. Even if it's a burden on my body right now, it might be safer once my Mana control skills have improved. I could use my skills better and maybe a rank increase would be possible. With my stats and how high my skills are, that would normally be almost impossible, right?"

If he continued to use the skills and mastered them, his rank would increase. But with my miserable Mana stat, it would be impossible to compete even with just mid-rank skills. Because I couldn't feel the skill movement and Mana flow correctly.

"If my stealth skill ranks up, it'll be much easier to escape in case of an emergency."

"Still..."

Yoohyun, with a disapproving expression still, looked at Noah.

"Is it very dangerous? What about side effects?"

"Up to a third is safe. Awake people with self-regeneration abilities have managed up to half of their backs. Medsang hasn't tested anything more yet. Yoojin-ssi, even a third is effective. Your Mana control ability would increase to near rank D."

Rank D, huh. That was high for me. But.

"Yoohyun, I'll insist on this once more. This is really the last time."

Even after I decided to receive the tattoo, I hesitated several times. Above all, thinking of my little brother made me wonder if I should let it go. I was also moved by Irin's words, who had come to protect me and not Yoohyun.

But at the same time, I wanted more power with which to protect myself. To be able to be safe in the future.

After several more conversations, we finally decided that I would undergo the tattoo surgery only up to the waist instead of the entire spine. With the condition that I would only use one spare life.

"The Mana flow lasts an average of 30 minutes after death. If the Mana flow stops, the procedure itself becomes impossible. So if something happens to you, the procedure will be completed within the next 20 minutes. Even if the inscription hasn't been marked to the extent you desire."

"Let's hope my body holds up as long as possible."

I had to revive between 25 and 30 minutes after my death.

Preparations for the tattoo surgery were made immediately. Sometime later, anesthesia began, and I lost consciousness.

"I think visiting this place once was enough."

The darkness before my eyes dimly lit up, and a familiar face came into view. Sung Hyunjae was looking at me.

He extended a gloved hand. After a moment's hesitation, I took the hand and stood up.

Then I must have died. Will I come here every time I die?

"When the current you dies, you go through a system process. To be exact, it brings me here."

Now that I think about it, he couldn't appear before I called him last time. Was it okay this time? My gaze remained on Sung Hyunjae, fixed on the missing arm. He said he lost the arm back then.

"Are your eyes okay? This time nothing special happened, so you didn't give up an eye for no reason, did you?"

I waved a hand in front of Sung Hyunjae's eyes. The pair of golden eyes followed my fingers. I think they're okay, but maybe he wasn't pretending to see them, right? If it were this guy, it would definitely be possible.

"Close one eye. How many fingers?"

"Two of them."

"The other side too."

"Five."

Fortunately, he seemed safe and sound. If it weren't for his eyes, would he have given up another part, right? Two ears, the remaining arm in one piece, two legs, and he spoke well, so his tongue was okay. Sung Hyunjae watched me as I circled around and examined him, looking somewhat lost. It was an unfamiliar expression on him.

"I'm not the one who should be worried right now, but you, Han Yoojin."

"My limbs are all fine. Even if it's not your real body, you're using it for now, so at least take care of it. Why doesn't someone who's already older take care of themselves?"

"I could say the same to you."

Sung Hyunjae grabbed me and turned me around. His hand brushed my back, left bare for the tattoo procedure.

"It's already been tattooed up to here."

It was near my heart. Suddenly, a memory from the past came to mind.

"Ah, you reserved that spot. I apologize. Should I ask if the tattoo will be fine if it sustains physical damage?"

Probably, he wanted me to raise a kiseungsu for him. Instead of replying, Sung Hyunjae withdrew his hand. In the same moment, our surroundings changed. The empty space turned into a garden where a gentle breeze blew. Over the table, on which wisteria flowers hung, there was even a set of light snacks. Purple petals fell one by one.

"Please, have a seat."

Sung Hyunjae said, courteously pulling out a chair.

"...What's this all of a sudden?"

"I thought of inviting you for tea."

"Can I drink in this state?"

"It's like eating in a dream."

That makes sense. While wondering why he was suddenly doing this, I sat down. Standing by the table, Sung Hyunjae lifted the teapot. He poured tea into the cups, and a gentle aroma wafted through. I hadn't had much tea before. I didn't know if it was citron tea, Job's tears tea, or barley tea, but it must be an expensive variety.

"If you're not satisfied with the engraving, why not send a mission about it? They could have avoided the part about my heart when they were writing it."

"If I thought you would listen to me, I would have sent one."

Sung Hyunjae placed a teacup in front of me. Although I would never have served someone like this, his movements were precise. I wasn't familiar with this tea, but tempted by the aroma, I took a sip.

"...Th-This is good."

"You can be honest."

"...Let's say your honesty is good."

What was this? It tasted strange. But it smelled good, and the color was nice. I looked at the tea and tasted it again. When my face wrinkled—ugh—Sung Hyunjae handed me a cookie. When I took it and ate it, it melted on my tongue. The subtle taste of the tea lingering in my mouth and its rich aroma mixed to make it seem smoother and sweeter.

"It's delicious, but too sweet."

"Then, try the tea again."

Was it good if you had them together? I picked up the cup and dr- Ugh!

"It's even weirder!"

Sung Hyunjae chuckled. With my tongue out, I quickly ate the cookies. Boy, the snacks were really good.

"Can you send some missions? I also want to give some to the kids."

"I'll send them. But if you eat them separately, they'll taste different."

Did he mean I had to wash down my tongue with that weird tea to taste them? I thought of drinking the tea again, but I refrained. If it tasted even weirder than before, I'd feel like throwing up.

"I've tormented my tongue enough."

"That's a relief."

Sung Hyunjae took the snacks and sat on the chair opposite. The cookies were quite tasty. But I didn't have to suffer just for this...

"Wait, don't tell me you're scolding me not to neglect my health for the sake of rewards."

"It's time to rest until you wake up."

"I don't think so."

Under my suspicious gaze, Sung Hyunjae drank his share of tea. He was really disgustingly elegant. If I had never known him and only seen him on TV, I would have been absolutely admirable.

"This time, I also thought things through. I didn't give up on you just like that. And I'll make sure this doesn't happen in the future."

"Even if the young master is in danger?"

I closed my mouth for a moment before opening it again.

"Yoohyun can only be happy if I'm around."

"That's true. Of course."

"I just want my brother to be safe."

I hoped he would never face danger again because of me... and that he wouldn't leave again. But.

"But it's better for him to be happy after all."

If the same thing were to happen again, I couldn't bear it at all. I'd rather someone took care of it. I wanted to tell him not to defend me, and take a resolution close to a threat that even if he did, if he had to let me go, I couldn't survive either.

But how could I? Rin's words that I didn't understand were stuck in my head. I didn't want to go on without understanding. Why my little brother smiled and things like that.

"In any case, I think I should at least live longer than my little brother... How can I say this? Then, well, I'll have to take care of myself more. It's S-rank, which means he'll live a long life, so I'm worried. Should I take care of my health?"

"Your tea is cold."

"Hmm? Although it's still warm."

New tea was poured into a new cup. This time, its smell wasn't as strong. The tea wasn't bitter at all, with a slightly salty taste that went down smoothly. It was like barley tea, but it couldn't be. I thought it was more luxurious than that.

"You're also an S-rank, Sung Hyunjae-ssi, but take care of your health. You should live a long time."

"I'll strive to live longer than you."

"Isn't that a given?"

The more I drank, the warmer I felt inside. We didn't have much time, but we were talking about useless things. I had many questions to ask when I met Sung Hyunjae again.

"About Sigma. Is he really real? You sent that mission, right?"

"You were the one who recognized him as real. I sent that mission, but I can't tell you anything about the man."

"...Is he real just because I recognized him as such?"

"What's certain is that this world is trying to erase him. This is just the beginning."

...To think that avalanche of monsters was the 'beginning'. The difficulty level was too high.

"Uh, just in case, what if Sigma dies? It's not like we can't leave because we couldn't complete the raid, right?"

"If you install all the disks, it will be possible to leave. But."

Sung Hyunjae closed his mouth and smiled silently. Then it was something he couldn't say right now. Information that would appear as □.

"He is my responsibility, so I won't easily abandon him, but is he very important? I mean, the issue of Sigma."

"Special main missions usually have large special rewards."

The reward was just the key to the dungeon raid, but were there any additional hidden rewards?

"Besides that, all I can say is..."

Krrng, suddenly, our surroundings trembled. I could see a huge rift across the blue sky. Sung Hyunjae looked at it.

"They're starting to move."

"What? Who is?"

"Naturally, there are data about immoral people and filial duty addicts in this world. And among them."

Crack, crrreak. The crack grew even larger, and pieces of sky shattered and fell. Sung Hyunjae took off his coat and waved it lightly towards the fragments falling in all directions and over me. Countless fragments were swept away. The coat fell over my head.

"My advice is to find the young lady."

"Yerim, you say?"

"The most powerful awakened person in this world at the moment."

Yerim? Our Yerim had always been strong, but for her to be the most powerful... And this is coming from Sung Hyunjae's mouth, moreover.

Kugugung!

The opening in the sky grew even larger. Where the fragments of pale blue had fallen, there was now a wavering darkness outside. It was night. A night sky with a faint moonlight.

[Here you go, system □□□□□□□□□□□.]

A low, resonant voice came from beyond. An immoral person or a filial duty addict. My body trembled on its own under the pressure emanating from the crack in the sky.

"This is the last time we'll meet here."

After serving tea in my empty cup, Sung Hyunjae disappeared. The shattered sky and the garden dispersed in an instant, leaving only the teacup in my hands, the chair, and the coat.

I sat in silence for a while and drank the tea. As I thought, it was warm.

"...What is he doing alone, actually?"

He would be okay, that guy. From what I saw, it seemed he had also entered the body of one of the two sides. Anyway, he would have escaped on his own. He had even given up an arm, so I didn't know if he would really be okay. I couldn't help but worry even though it wasn't his original body, wondering if he would die.

I took a sip of tea in silence. It was very lonely to be alone. When could I go back? It wasn't until some time after my teacup had cooled completely that my surroundings finally changed. The operating room for the engraving that I had seen before the anesthesia...

"We're approaching the 500 meters mark!"

"Prepare to move again quickly."

"Yes!"

There were more faces I hadn't seen before. The uniformed medical guards were bustling around, with Noah standing in the center. Yoohyun's engraving adjustment must have been finished because he was sitting next to me where I lay in my surgical gown. Although I knew I had come back to life, his face was dark.

I immediately pressed the resurrection message.

"What..."

"Hyung!"

I couldn't utter a word without stiffening. Goosebumps ran all over my body. It wasn't that I hadn't felt Mana (magic power) at all, but now the flow of everything was so vivid. My sensation not only in my body but also in the air was heavy. It was like I was suffocating. Or in a typhoon.

Particularly, the mana was moving intensely around Noah.

"Are you okay?"

"This feels... strange."

Although I'd be fine once I got used to it. Boy, I could feel the presence of the Guards around me without looking. No wonder the S-ranks were nervous. With my little brother's help, I got up.

"What's happening?"

"A SSS-rank monster appeared in Akates Mana Hall."

"What?"

"Our chances of victory dealing with it where it was were second after the city of Akates was destroyed, so we moved immediately, and as you can see."

Yoohyun gestured with his gaze towards the large monitors placed to the side. There was something colossal moving there that didn't even fit on the screen.

"It's quietly following us, so we're luring it as far as we can."

To think it was a SSS-rank monster. There were several SS-rank guards, so it's not like we couldn't deal with it, but it was still a burden. Was this what Sung Hyunjae meant when he said it was the beginning? Don't tell me we'd rise to the L rank by appearing.

"Noah-ssi, Hyuna-ssi!"

At my call, the duo turned their heads and looked up.

"Where is Yerim likely to be?"

Then let's follow his advice and go look for Yerim. ...Don't tell me she'd greet us with coldness too.