Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (69)

Hope

“Team Leader?”

Ryu Se-eun blinked her eyes. Right in front of her. At a close distance of less than a meter. There, Lee Si-hyeok stood with an indifferent expression.

When did he get there?

Such a question arose, but it didn’t lead to any reasoning. There was something more important.

How did my voice just come out?

“Ah, ah. Uh, uhh…?”

She fumbled with her mouth and then touched her throat. Above the soft texture of her knit sweater, her Adam’s apple was clearly moving.

It was impossible.

Memory Projection Documents flow according to predetermined events. Words that weren’t spoken in the past cannot even be uttered, and other events aren’t properly implemented either.

The only reason Ryu Se-eun had been able to move freely until now was solely thanks to the ether she had absorbed into her body.

‘B-but…’

That should have been the end of it, right?

No matter how much of an unknown substance with mysterious power it was, there had to be limits. Moreover, she had only absorbed it to a certain degree, and this level of utilization was still a distant realm for her.

“Um, Se-eun?”

Ripples spread across her frozen expression.

Ignoring Pyo Jae-hwan who asked in a flustered voice, Ryu Se-eun looked beside him.

“You’re a bit later than I expected.”

“…How did you do this?”

“Do what?”

“This situation right now.”

Ryu Se-eun pointed back and forth between herself and Lee Si-hyeok with trembling fingers.

“Ah.”

After a moment, he nodded as if he understood and pulled something out from his chest.

“It’s because of this.”

“This is…”

An oval-shaped sphere with a dull gray tint.

Through its translucent surface, hundreds and thousands of mana circuits could be seen tangled chaotically.

“…Memory Anchor.”

“You know about it?”

“Ah, I have to know.”

Memory Anchor.

In other words, a ‘Memory Fixation Device.’ Simply put, it could be seen as the nucleus and core of this Memory Projection Document.

Everything that happened in this space proceeded exactly as designed in that anchor.

Lee Si-hyeok shrugged nonchalantly and pointed to a part of the anchor.

“I slightly modified only the part where your existence is recorded here. Without affecting other parts.”

“Huh, huuh…”

Modified. Upon hearing that word, Ryu Se-eun couldn’t help but let out another dumbfounded sound.

Memory Projection Documents were originally artifacts created without modification in mind.

It was natural. Since the original purpose was to record past events as they were, if room for modification was introduced, it would be no different from forgetting that role.

That’s why they deliberately made the anchor more complexly twisted.

But, that?

“…”

She couldn’t believe it.

Setting aside whether it was possible or impossible. Why would he go through the trouble of doing such a thing? Why exactly? For what purpose?

“So, what’s your answer?”

At the calm question, Ryu Se-eun unconsciously flinched her shoulders.

And when she stepped back hesitantly, Lee Si-hyeok took another step closer without caring.

“…Wh-what answer?”

“I asked you earlier. Whether you need help.”

“So, what kind of help…”

“Ah, really. You’re being frustratingly slow.”

—Swoosh. Lee Si-hyeok lightly tossed the anchor he was holding. Thud! It rolled on the floor with that sound.

“Are you going to leave now or not. Just answer that.”

“…”

“Of course, originally the moment I escape outside, you would also come out together. But there would still be momentary pain.”

“…”

“After all, it will take time to get outside, and you’ll have to stay inside that rift for that duration.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes gazed at Ryu Se-eun.

“If you want, I can eliminate even that time.”

Ryu Se-eun hesitated to answer for a moment. Then, looking at Pyo Jae-hwan’s stupid expression as he still tilted his head in confusion, she slowly parted her lips.

“…If I follow Team Leader out. If I go outside like that and return to daily life.”

Would there really be anything different then?

In the end, she would still be caught by Pyo Jae-hwan and have to live her entire life as his tool.

“Ha.”

Finding her situation absurd, a bitter laugh suddenly escaped. Thus she couldn’t voice the rest, but Lee Si-hyeok seemed to guess even that and continued speaking.

“Don’t worry about what comes after. If you nod your head here, I’ll take care of what follows too.”

“…?”

“You’re worried about the restraint device embedded in your mana core, aren’t you? It won’t be perfect because it’s mixed with ether, but there’s a solution to some extent.”

Having said that, Lee Si-hyeok pulled out something like a black sphere from his front pocket. It dangled limply from his fingertips.

“A, hamster?”

“…Something similar. Anyway, this guy also contains ether like you, so I thought of a method.”

Ryu Se-eun bit her lips tightly and looked around.

The mana rippling beyond the door and Pyo Jae-hwan standing still before her eyes. Time had been flowing slowly since some point. Did Team Leader do this too?

She didn’t know.

For some reason, she was feeling a strange emotion in one corner of her heart. Something ticklish was rising in her empty heart.

Resignation, regret, despair. Among such negative things, something newly born was gradually growing.

It was like something she had forgotten for a long time…

“…”

…Hope.

Yes, it was an emotion called by that name.

“I, I…”

Ryu Se-eun calmed her tickling heart and opened her mouth. Light momentarily swirled in her pitch-black eyes.

“…I want to live. I don’t want to suffer anymore.”

After saying that, she unconsciously squeezed her eyes shut, but the response came back surprisingly simply.

“Understood. By the way, there’s a precaution I should mention.”

“A precaution?”

“Right. It might be more painful than your current life.”

Lee Si-hyeok explained simply.

“When you leave this space, you’ll go to your original world… no, somewhere other than Earth.”

“Another world?”

“You could consider it a completely different dimension. You’ll have to stay there with people you’ve never seen before for a while. Of course, it’s not a dangerous place like that rift, and all the people there follow me so it’ll be safe, but…”

“That’s fine.”

“What?”

“I don’t mind. Something like that.”

A faint smile appeared on Ryu Se-eun’s lips. Whatever awaited her, it would be much better than the current situation.

“Well, alright. Then go inside the laboratory. I plan to reverse-utilize the mana rift that’s supposed to occur originally.”

“Yes.”

Ryu Se-eun turned around and headed toward the door behind her.

Finally seeing her move, Pyo Jae-hwan, who had been frozen in place, nodded for a moment before she looked at Lee Si-hyeok as if something had occurred to her.

“Ah, that’s right. Team Leader, could you do me one favor?”

“A favor?”

“Yes. It’s something I really need.”

Ryu Se-eun took out a pen from her pocket, scribbled something on a memo pad, then handed it to Lee Si-hyeok.

“It’s my dormitory room number. The third drawer under the desk. There should be a bracelet there, could you please give it to Seo-jin?”

“Seo-jin, you mean…”

Lee Si-hyeok’s gaze turned toward Research Department Head Yoon Seo-jin inside the laboratory.

“That’s right. Yoon Seo-jin. It’s a promise I made long ago, and thanks to you, Team Leader, I can finally keep it.”

“…”

“Oh, and please take care of the things in my dormitory room as you see fit, Team Leader. You can throw them away or use them yourself.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Also, since you’re already helping out, I’d appreciate it if you could do something about that bastard Pyo Jae-hwan too. I really want to tear his limbs apart…”

“…You talk too much.”

Ryu Se-eun, who had been grinding her teeth, chuckled. The smile that had always seemed unsettling now somehow felt refreshingly bright.

“Heh, sorry. I guess I got excited without realizing it. I feel strangely elated for some reason.”

She began to walk.

As the frozen time resumed, Pyo Jae-hwan grinned wickedly, and the other club members waiting inside the laboratory welcomed her.

―Thud.

Shortly after, when Pyo Jae-hwan pressed the button, the laboratory door closed.

There was no need for Lee Si-hyeok to intervene in any complicated way here.

He just needed to interfere with the mana collision that Pyo Jae-hwan would soon trigger and twist its path toward Orbes.

‘…So dimensional gates can be opened this way too.’

Although the dangers and side effects were enormous, it was certainly one method of connecting to other dimensions.

Even though this was a virtual space called a memory projection document, there was one reason Lee Si-hyeok could intervene.

It was thanks to the existence of Ryu Se-eun and ether. He hadn’t completely figured out ether yet. Because of that, he couldn’t define it precisely, but the cause must lie in that relationship.

Whirrrr!

How much time had passed?

Pyo Jae-hwan finally pressed the activation button, and ear-splitting mechanical sounds began coming from inside the laboratory.

“Huh?”

“What is this? Jae, Jae-hwan. We should stop this for now…!”

“Hey, hey!”

The club members panicked at the sudden turn of events.

Watching them, Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes caught sight of Ryu Se-eun waiting quietly alone in the middle of it all.

“…?”

Just then, Ryu Se-eun’s lips slowly parted.

Due to the noise filling the surroundings, he couldn’t hear what she said, but he could read the shape of her lips.

―Team Leader.

She was still smiling brightly.

But for some reason, he could read countless emotions churning within her curved eyes.

―You’ll come looking for me again, right? I won’t just disappear like this and be forgotten forever, will I?

Lee Si-hyeok immediately shook his head.

His indifferent gaze. Perhaps finding reassurance in it, the anxiety vanished from Ryu Se-eun’s face in an instant.

What remained was relief.

―I’ll be waiting. It doesn’t matter when, I’ll adapt and live well. So! Please don’t forget me.

The growing rift had almost swallowed the entire laboratory. As the club members screamed and Ryu Se-eun was also losing her balance.

―Thank you, Team Leader.

She spoke with tears welling up in her eyes.

Only that voice came through exceptionally clearly.

“…”

* * *

After that.

Lee Si-hyeok safely emerged from the memory projection document.

He could have come out anytime he wanted to from the beginning. He had only stayed because there was something he needed to confirm.

“You’re back.”

The first thing he encountered upon opening his eyes was Bae Jun-wan.

He had hidden Lee Si-hyeok’s body in a corner and removed his suit jacket to help maintain his body temperature.

“Yes. How much time has passed?”

“Three hours. Fortunately, no one came in during that time. The CCTV hacking is still maintained too.”

Having said that, Bae Jun-wan glanced behind him, where Isaac was radiating a fierce aura. It was an aura close to killing intent.

“Well, that is. When that person saw you suddenly collapse, he suspected that I had pulled some kind of trick…”

“Hah.”

“Please say something to him.”

Lee Si-hyeok swallowed and looked at Isaac. The guy seemed flustered and averted his gaze.

‘Good grief.’

Isaac probably knew that the cause was the memory projection document too.

However, since he had lost consciousness nonetheless, he had no choice but to be wary of Bae Jun-wan who had led them here.

In other words, he had faithfully carried out his duty in the end.

“Well done, Isaac.”

“No. Lee, Lee Si-hyeok sir…?”

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