Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 68

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (68)

Resignation

…Silence descended upon the noisy corridor. Only small sounds could be heard through the slightly open door crack. In that atmosphere, Lee Si-hyeok looked ahead with a hardened expression.

“…”

However, no answer came back.

Black eyes. A faint smile on white skin.

Ryu Se-eun looked at Lee Si-hyeok for a moment, then quickly entered the club room.

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes darkened as he watched her retreating figure.

Why is Ryu Se-eun here? Did I perhaps see wrong…?

‘No.’

That couldn’t be. The name tag on the shirt he had reflexively checked clearly had ‘Ryu Se-eun’ written on it. That meant they were the same person.

‘Could it be.’

As Lee Si-hyeok traced through his memories, a clue flashed through his mind.

Among countless memories. His rapidly spinning thoughts precisely pinpointed a part of the records he had seen at the mansion not long ago.

 

[Damage Status

· All 7 students present at the scene were caught in the Rift and went missing.

· Only 3 people successfully returned 7 days after the incident occurred, and the remaining 4 are presumed to have all died.]

 

The 3 who successfully returned.

Lee Si-hyeok already knew 2 of them.

Pyo Jae-hwan and Yoon Seo-jin. Then, who was the remaining one?

“…”

He had no information at all. What the Snow Flame Empress knew at that time were only the two survivors. When Lee Si-hyeok asked about the remaining one, he only got the answer that she didn’t know.

Why was that?

He had passed it by without much thought at the time, but now the strange point was becoming apparent.

Bae Jun-wan was at Eterion Magical Engineering Academy.

And if he was the Snow Flame Empress’s spy who had been infiltrating this place for a very long time, he would have delivered all information about the survivors to the Snow Flame Empress without fail.

‘…But the Snow Flame Empress knew nothing about the remaining one?’

To judge that it was omitted during the delivery process was too crude a thought.

There was insufficient evidence.

The Snow Flame Empress wasn’t someone irresponsible enough to make such mistakes.

Bustling noise could be heard from inside the club room. Bickering and giggling. Those were the kind of childish pranks suitable for students of that age.

Among them, only Pyo Jae-hwan and Ryu Se-eun maintained silence while watching the other club members.

‘This is giving me a headache.’

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

 

* * *

 

A little later, at Eterion’s Central Park.

“Phew…”

Lee Si-hyeok, sitting on a bench, rubbed his face. Things were flowing more complicatedly than expected. Originally, he had planned to quickly confirm the full story of the incident and leave.

“It would have been nice to have some coffee.”

Who knew that being unable to drink or eat due to his spiritual state would be this miserable.

Conscious of the thirst he couldn’t feel, Lee Si-hyeok retraced the recent events.

‘First, Ryu Se-eun must be a student from this time period. What makes that possible is probably…’

It must be because of Ether. Her identity that he had grasped with 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 suddenly came to mind.

It was the moment when he opened his status window to check that message again.

“…?”

Through the translucent blue window, he could see someone approaching.

Ryu Se-eun, who had come out of the building, walked over lightly and sat across from Lee Si-hyeok.

This time too, her gaze was looking directly at Lee Si-hyeok.

“So I was right that you could see me.”

This time she didn’t ignore him. Ryu Se-eun answered with a bright smile, raising the corners of her eyes.

“Yes, team leader.”

“…You even know who I am currently. What exactly is your identity?”

“Oh my. Don’t tell me you forgot about me? We were on the same team though.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking about.”

“Aw.”

She pouted her lips.

“But for someone saying that, isn’t the team leader being too much?”

“What?”

“Team leader, you’ve been lying to us all along too.”

Her curved eyes tilted deeper. In them, Lee Si-hyeok saw her pitch-black pupils rippling.

“Lee Si-hyeok.”

“…”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Lee Si-hyeok didn’t answer. Maintaining his silence, he continued to stare at her with cool eyes.

After a moment like that, Ryu Se-eun raised her voice again.

“Well, it’s fine. Team leader must have had your reasons too.”

“…I’m grateful for your understanding. By the way, don’t you plan to speak up first? That would be even more appreciated.”

“About what?”

“Your identity. The current situation.”

“Ah, that.”

She rested her chin on the table.

“Sorry. It would be faster for you to see it directly, team leader.”

“Directly?”

“Yes. Isn’t that why you came here? And if that’s right, you should go before it’s too late.”

“…?”

Lee Si-hyeok’s head tilted. Too late? Wondering what that meant, he narrowed his brow, and Ryu Se-eun turned her body slightly to look behind.

“You can’t go back empty-handed.”

There was Pyo Jae-hwan in research coat.

Carrying a bundle of files, he was coming out of the building and heading somewhere.

But his walking pace was unusually fast.

“Team leader, you know too, right? The characteristics of memory projection documents.”

Namely, that unnecessary parts in the records are quickly skipped.

Remembering the capacity limitations of magic documents, Lee Si-hyeok shot up from the bench. He had certainly kept it in mind but had momentarily forgotten due to the unexpected situation.

“Don’t tell me, the report in that file is about that incident…”

There was no time to think further.

As Lee Si-hyeok was about to step forward, Ryu Se-eun suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“Let’s go, quickly!”

 

* * *

 

The place they followed Pyo Jae-hwan into was the Dean’s Office in the main building.

A dimly lit room with curtains drawn.

In the spot where light entered through small gaps, Lee Si-hyeok and Ryu Se-eun stood side by side. She also seemed to be in a state invisible to others.

“Is everything ready?”

Pyo Jae-hwan, who had entered, stopped in front of the office desk, and the Dean, who was sitting at an angle, spoke first.

“Yes. The experiment timing, location, and method. Everything has been thoroughly completed.”

Pyo Jae-hwan carefully handed over a bundle of files from his side.

“What about the test subjects? Who did you decide on?”

The Dean asked as he skimmed through the first page of the report. His gaze remained fixed on the pages.

“A total of 6 people. We plan to proceed with our club members as subjects.”

“Will that be alright? I know you’ve been together since the entrance ceremony.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

At his emotionless response, a snicker escaped from the Dean’s lips.

“Well, I was like that once too.”

…Once? Questions arose in Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes as he listened silently. At least he could tell that Pyo Jae-hwan and the Dean were plotting something.

When he glanced to the side, Ryu Se-eun, sensing his gaze, explained nonchalantly.

“The Central Records Hall contains the corpses of faculty and staff who were subjected to human experiments by the Dean in the past.”

“…What?”

Lee Si-hyeok’s face instantly contorted.

As he was about to question the unbelievable statement, a thud was heard from the front.

“Then proceed. Handle it quietly so there’s no damage to other areas.”

“Yes.”

Pyo Jae-hwan bowed slightly and left the Dean’s office.

Soon after, the Dean, who had skimmed through the report a couple more times, also put on his coat and went outside.

The room was left with just the two of them.

Ryu Se-eun looked around the Dean’s office for a moment, then tilted her head when she noticed Lee Si-hyeok approaching the desk.

“Aren’t you following them?”

“Go ahead first.”

Lee Si-hyeok spoke briefly and stood in front of the desk.

Then, he picked up the research report that was placed on it.

 

[Eterion Magical Engineering Academy Internal Classified Records No. 842-02]

 

A familiar title. What he had seen at the Snow Flame Empress’s mansion was ‘No. 842-03’.

Since the numbers differed by one, it must contain different content from what he had seen before.

‘Probably contains the full account of the incident.’

Unlike No. 03, which only recorded results, this would be closer to a research plan or record.

He had to check it here and now.

“Time will skip again soon. If you want to read all of that, you’ll be absolutely short on time, won’t you?”

However, no answer came from Lee Si-hyeok.

Ryu Se-eun watched him for a moment as he was absorbed in the report. His eyes moved at tremendous speed, reading through the text.

“…Or maybe not.”

It seemed like it might be enough.

Well, he’ll figure it out himself. Ryu Se-eun shrugged and went outside first.

The ‘experiment’ that would soon take place.

She too, as someone who had been present at that terrible scene, had to return to that place.

 

* * *

 

Memories of the past are very vivid.

The rift that exploded and swallowed everyone.

The pain of being tormented by black smoke in a space filled only with darkness.

The helplessness of being unable to offer any resistance due to the restraint devices.

‘I’m going through that again.’

Special Experiment Building No. 2, underground laboratory.

Ryu Se-eun, who had arrived at that location directly below the club room, watched the club members chattering excitedly.

“This is really my first time doing this kind of experiment in my life. My heart is pounding like crazy…!”

“I know, right. I don’t know how Jae-hwan found out about this stuff. It looked incredibly complicated.”

“It doesn’t seem like something we can handle at our level.”

“Hey, but we’re Eterion students after all!”

The beginning of everything goes back about 2 years.

When they had just entered the Magical Engineering Academy and formed a club, everyone was filled with excitement. The club members, who were conducting simple experiments, had discovered a dimensional crack by chance.

A crack created with an extremely low probability when mana collided with mana.

What flowed out of that crack was…

‘Black smoke.’

It was mysterious black smoke of unknown identity.

It was a substance impossible to understand with their learned knowledge. Though it might have been due to their limited insight, everyone present could immediately sense its danger.

Except for one person.

“Guys, are you all ready? Did you put on your lab coats?”

Pyo Jae-hwan.

Only that guy entering the laboratory with squinted eyes couldn’t take his eyes off the smoke for some reason. As if he was completely mesmerized.

But he wasn’t given the chance.

The other club members had immediately closed the dimensional crack.

‘…I didn’t know at the time.’

That he had been hiding his true intentions for a whole 2 years, planning what was happening now.

It was something Ryu Se-eun only learned after all the incidents were over.

From that time, Pyo Jae-hwan had been fascinated by that unidentified substance and conducted research alone, eventually reaching the point of joining forces with the Dean, who usually conducted all sorts of horrific experiments.

That’s how it had come to this point.

Here, Pyo Jae-hwan intended to create that rift once again.

‘…And we’re just vessels to contain the smoke, nothing more, nothing less.’

According to what Pyo Jae-hwan had discovered alone, once the black smoke enters a person’s body, it never comes back out.

In other words, he planned to trap the club members in the rift to let them mature. So they could contain as much smoke as possible.

A snicker escaped her.

She found her situation absurd. The fact that she had survived such treatment and was standing here like this.

Ryu Se-eun had a unique skill called ‘Receptivity’. An ability to better accept mana, something like that. A grateful ability that always helped with research.

That ability shone in an unexpected area.

‘Inside the rift.’

In that dimension filled with violent substances, the skill had activated.

Normally, her mind should have been devoured and she should have lost her sense of self. While other club members writhed in pain, Ryu Se-eun was strangely fine.

The first emotion she felt then was, pathetically, relief.

…Can I survive? Such thoughts.

Yes, she could definitely survive. With both mind and body intact. However, there was one condition.

She had to abandon her friends.

‘Receptivity’ wasn’t infinite. While it was enough to fully protect her mind, it was an ability with clear limits.

She agonized. And decided.

To somehow try to save her friends.

“…”

But it wasn’t easy.

Because Pyo Jae-hwan had secretly hidden ‘mana seals’ in the club members’ lab coats to effectively mature them.

Due to such restraints, Ryu Se-eun ultimately had no choice but to select one out of five people.

What followed was brief but intense.

She absorbed all the smoke from Yoon Seo-jin, who had been her closest friend, and soon transferred all the mana seals to herself as well.

She barely managed to find an exit and escape.

—Oh.

A mocking voice came from Pyo Jae-hwan, who was waiting in front of the rift.

—You didn’t die?

Still, the fact that she had survived was something, wasn’t it? She felt relieved, but a greater disaster remained.

The first was that she had absorbed too much of the black smoke.

That substance, which greatly affected human cognition, went so far as to erase Ryu Se-eun’s very existence from this world.

All relationships were severed, leaving only her physical body behind.

And the second was the Mana Seal she had inherited.

―Not bad. This should be useful.

The black smoke and Mana Seal fused together, making the restraint dozens of times stronger than before.

From that point on, Ryu Se-eun was constantly confined in Pyo Jae-hwan’s Personal Research Lab.

Still, there was no torture or experimentation. None of those terrible acts occurred, as Pyo Jae-hwan seemed to be wary of her very existence.

The fact that she remained intact despite absorbing the substance was like a ticking time bomb.

‘If only I had been tortured or experimented on back then.’

Then she would have felt only anger and hatred amidst the flesh-tearing pain.

Unable to do so, all the time she spent imprisoned became filled entirely with regret.

Regret that she couldn’t save her remaining friend, that they were probably still suffering.

Such regret constantly tormented Ryu Se-eun.

‘…Well, it doesn’t matter.’

Ryu Se-eun, who had been reminiscing about the past with her eyes tightly closed, chuckled and opened them.

What did it matter anyway.

What came at the end was resignation.

In the end, she was just Pyo Jae-hwan’s tool.

Just like how she had returned to Eterion a few years ago to alter people’s cognition, and was now quietly helping with another incident Pyo Jae-hwan was planning.

She just had to do as she was told.

Right, those so-called friends were people she had known for barely three years…

“Se-eun! Jae-hwan wants to see you!”

“…Oh, okay. I’ll go.”

Yoon Seo-jin’s cheerful voice came from one corner of the Laboratory. In her hands was a lab coat that would hide the Mana Seal.

Ryu Se-eun unconsciously bit her lips and approached Pyo Jae-hwan.

“Now, you’ve all heard what we’re doing today, right? But for safety’s sake, I’ll explain once more.”

Pyo Jae-hwan began his explanation with a seemingly kind smile. His lips curled up in a grin. Ryu Se-eun felt nauseated.

After finishing his explanation, Pyo Jae-hwan stood in front of the ‘Instant Mana Generator.’

“Then let’s all go into the Inner Room. I’ll operate it from outside.”

“Yes!”

“Okay. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Following Yoon Seo-jin who was waving her arms enthusiastically, Ryu Se-eun stopped dead in her tracks at the door.

“…”

Her feet wouldn’t move easily.

‘…Why?’

This was definitely something she had prepared for.

The cognitive ability that developed after absorbing the substance. From the moment she followed Lee Si-hyeok into this document space, she had expected this to happen.

That should have been the case.

‘Why am I acting like this?’

She hadn’t entered this space through the orthodox route like Lee Si-hyeok.

That meant she had possessed the original Ryu Se-eun’s body directly.

If she went ahead and the ‘experiment’ began, she would feel the same pain as back then.

The smile that usually lingered on her lips somehow wouldn’t appear. Her cheeks stiffened, and her eyes began to tremble.

“What are you doing, Se-eun? Aren’t you coming in?”

At those words, she creakily turned her body to look at Pyo Jae-hwan.

Countless words swirled in her mouth. The pain she thought she had forgotten, the memories she believed she had resigned herself to, were stabbing at her.

Words that had settled deep in her heart rose up to her chin.

‘…I don’t want to go in.’

I’m scared. It hurts, I’m telling you. And honestly, I’m also afraid of seeing my friends suffer. I, I…

But the words just wouldn’t come out. She mumbled, but only metallic sounds escaped as if her throat was completely blocked.

It was a predetermined past. No matter what she did, the future would flow as it originally had.

“Se-eun?”

Pyo Jae-hwan’s lips curled up as if they might tear.

That face was so terrifying that she reflexively turned her head away.

Her gaze fell on a corner of the Laboratory.

There, a now-familiar man was watching her.

‘Since when?’

He definitely wasn’t there just moments ago, right? Had he been quietly watching from somewhere invisible, trying to slip back into reality alone?

Ah, or maybe he wanted to watch more vividly?

Ryu Se-eun’s lips twisted for a moment. As the reality of being turned into a spectacle hit her again, her fear transformed into the resignation she had felt hundreds of times.

‘Of course. What was I thinking when I came here?’

She was about to move her feet with a sneer when a small voice reached her ears.

“Should I help you?”

A brief, short sentence.

The moment she heard it, Ryu Se-eun’s head moved once more.

Lee Si-hyeok had somehow approached nearby.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————